Sex Differences in White Matter Diffusivity in Children with Developmental Dyslexia.

Despite the high prevalence of developmental dyslexia in the U.S. population, research remains limited and possibly biased due to the overrepresentation of males in most dyslexic samples.

Breaching the Fortress: Photochemistry of DNA-Caged Ag.

A DNA strand can encapsulate a silver molecule to create a nanoscale, aqueous stable chromophore. A protected cluster that strongly fluoresces can also be weakly photolabile, and we describe the laser-driven photochemistry of the green fluorophore CACTCGT/Ag. The embedded cluster is selectively photoexcited at 490 nm and then bleached, and we describe how the efficiency, products, and route of this photochemical reaction are controlled by the DNA cage.

Reactive and proactive control processes in voluntary task choice.

Deciding which task to perform when multiple tasks are available can be influenced by external influences in the environment. In the present study, we demonstrate that such external biases on task-choice behavior reflect reactive control adjustments instead of a failure in control to internally select a task goal. Specifically, in two experiments we delayed the onset of one of two task stimuli by a short (50 ms), medium (300 ms), or long (1,000 ms) stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) within blocks while also varying the relative frequencies of short versus long SOAs across blocks (i.

Preliminary evidence of prolonged timing effects of theta-burst stimulation in the reading system.

Theta-burst stimulation (TBS) is a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation technique that can be used to upregulate or downregulate different brain regions. However, the timing of its effects and the differing effects of continuous TBS (cTBS) versus intermittent TBS (iTBS) in the reading system have not been explored. This study assessed how stimulation type and post-stimulation timing affected change in performance during a phonological discrimination and sight word recognition task after stimulation of supramarginal gyrus (SMG).

Integrating cognition in the laboratory with cognition in the real world: the time cognition takes, task fidelity, and finding tasks when they are mixed together.

It is now possible for real-life activities, unfolding over their natural range of temporal and spatial scales, to become the primary targets of cognitive studies. Movement toward this type of research will require an integrated methodological approach currently uncommon in the field. When executed hand in hand with thorough and ecologically valid empirical description, properly developed laboratory tasks can serve as model systems to capture the essentials of a targeted real-life activity.

Properties of white matter tract diffusivity in children with developmental dyslexia and comorbid attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Background: Developmental dyslexia (DD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are highly comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders. Individuals with DD or ADHD have both been shown to have deficits in white matter tracts associated with reading and attentional control networks. However, white matter diffusivity in individuals comorbid with both DD and ADHD (DD + ADHD) has not been specifically explored.

Interrupted DNA and Slow Silver Cluster Luminescence.

A DNA-silver cluster conjugate is a hierarchical chromophore with a partly reduced silver core embedded within the DNA nucleobases that are covalently linked by the phosphodiester backbone. Specific sites within a polymeric DNA can be targeted to spectrally tune the silver cluster. Here, the repeated (CA) strand is interrupted with a thymine, and the resulting (CA)-T-(CA) forms only Ag, a chromophore with both prompt (∼1 ns) green and sustained (∼10 μs) red luminescence.

Temporally Stable Supramolecular Polymeric Salts Enabling High-Performance 3D All-Aromatic Polyimide Lattices.

Vat photopolymerization (VP) Additive Manufacturing (AM), in which UV light is selectively applied to cure photo-active polymers into complex geometries with micron-scale resolution, has a limited selection of aliphatic thermoset materials that exhibit relatively poor thermal performance. Ring-opening dianhydrides with acrylate-containing nucleophiles yielded diacrylate ester-dicarboxylic acids that enabled photo-active polyimide (PI) precursors, termed polysalts, upon neutralization with an aromatic diamine in solution. In situ FTIR spectroscopy coupled with a solution and photo-rheological measurements revealed a previously unknown time-dependent instability of 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA) polysalts due to an aza-Michael addition.

3D Printing Carbonaceous Objects from Polyimide Pyrolysis.

Fully aromatic polyimides are amenable to efficient carbonization in thin two-dimensional (2D) films due to a complement of aromaticity and planarity of backbone repeating units. However, repeating unit rigidity traditionally imposes processing limitations, restricting many fully aromatic polyimides, e.g.

The Impact of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Reading Processes: A Systematic Review.

The current systematic review examines the behavioral effects of TMS on reading. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to targeted nodes of the brain's reading network has been shown to impact reading. Extracted data included (a) study characteristics, (b) methodology, (c) targeted nodes, (d) control paradigm, (e) type of reading task, (f) adverse effects, and (g) main findings.

The history and geographic distribution of a KCNQ1 atrial fibrillation risk allele.

The genetic architecture of atrial fibrillation (AF) encompasses low impact, common genetic variants and high impact, rare variants. Here, we characterize a high impact AF-susceptibility allele, KCNQ1 R231H, and describe its transcontinental geographic distribution and history. Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes procured from risk allele carriers exhibit abbreviated action potential duration, consistent with a gain-of-function effect.

Supramolecular Salts for Additive Manufacturing of Polyimides.

Recent advances in vat photopolymerization (VP) additive manufacturing of fully aromatic polyimides employed photoreactive high-molecular-weight precursors dissolved at modest loadings (<20 wt %) in organic solvent. These earlier efforts revealed high isotropic shrinkage, approaching 52% on a linear basis while converting to the desired polyimide. To increase the polyimide precursor concentration and decrease shrinkage during VP processing of high-performance polyimides, photoreactive fully aromatic polyimide and thermoplastic polyetherimide (PEI) supramolecular salt precursors now serve as versatile alternatives.

Dissociative Carbamate Exchange Anneals 3D Printed Acrylates.

Relative to other additive manufacturing modalities, vat photopolymerization (VP) offers designers superior surface finish, feature resolution, and throughput. However, poor interlayer network formation can limit a VP-printed part's tensile strength along the build axis. We demonstrate that the incorporation of carbamate bonds capable of undergoing dissociative exchange reactions provides improved interlayer network formation in VP-printed urethane acrylate polymers.

Long-Term Intellectual and Fine Motor Outcomes in Spina Bifida Are Related to Myelomeningocele Repair and Shunt Intervention History.

Objective: Lifespan outcomes of simultaneous versus sequential myelomeningocele repair and shunt placement or effects of repeated shunt revisions on specific domains of IQ or fine motor dexterity are largely unknown. The current study addressed these gaps in a large cohort of children and adults with spina bifida myelomeningocele (SBM).

Methods: Participants between 7 and 44 years of age with SBM and shunted hydrocephalus were recruited from international clinics at two time points.

Examining individual differences in reading and attentional control networks utilizing an oddball fMRI task.

The aim of the current study was to develop an fMRI task capable of characterizing individual differences in reading and attentional domains. Forty-nine students with a range of reading and attentional control abilities completed an event-related fMRI oddball task consisting of printed word and false font stimuli. Reading network activation was assessed by contrasting printed words with false font stimuli.

Magnetoelastic Effects in Doubly Clamped Electroplated CoFe Microbeam Resonators.

Magnetostrictive CoFe films are fully suspended to produce free-standing, clamped-clamped, microbeam resonators. A negative or positive shift in the resonant frequency is observed for magnetic fields applied parallel or perpendicular to the length of the beam, respectively, confirming the magnetoelastic nature of the shift. Notably, the resonance shifts linearly with higher-bias fields oriented perpendicular to the beam's length.

Exploring the Limits of Bottom-Up Gold Filling to Fabricate Diffraction Gratings.

Gold deposition on rotating disk electrodes, Bi adsorption on planar Au films and superconformal Au filling of trenches up to 45 μm deep are examined in Bi-containing NaAu(SO) electrolytes with pH between 9.5 and 11.5.

Assessing the role of reward in task selection using a reward-based voluntary task switching paradigm.

People exhibit a remarkable ability to both maintain controlled focus on executing a single task and flexibly shift between executing several tasks. Researchers studying human multitasking have traditionally focused on the cognitive control mechanisms that allow for such stable and flexible task execution, but there has been a recent interest in how cognitive control mechanisms drive the decision of task selection. The present research operationalizes a foraging analogy to investigate what factors drive the decision to either exploit task repetitions or explore task switches.

A Functional Assay for Sick Sinus Syndrome Genetic Variants.

Background/aims: Congenital Sick Sinus Syndrome (SSS) is a disorder associated with sudden cardiac death due to severe bradycardia and prolonged pauses. Mutations in HCN4, the gene encoding inward Na+/K+ current (If), have been described as a cause of congenital SSS. The objective of this study is to develop an SSS model in embryonic zebrafish, and use zebrafish as a moderate-throughput assay to functionally characterize HCN4 variants.

Assessment of large copy number variants in patients with apparently isolated congenital left-sided cardiac lesions reveals clinically relevant genomic events.

Congenital left-sided cardiac lesions (LSLs) are a significant contributor to the mortality and morbidity of congenital heart disease (CHD). Structural copy number variants (CNVs) have been implicated in LSL without extra-cardiac features; however, non-penetrance and variable expressivity have created uncertainty over the use of CNV analyses in such patients. High-density SNP microarray genotyping data were used to infer large, likely-pathogenic, autosomal CNVs in a cohort of 1,139 probands with LSL and their families.

Are Shunt Revisions Associated with IQ in Congenital Hydrocephalus? A Meta -Analysis.

Although it is generally acknowledged that shunt revisions are associated with reductions in cognitive functions in individuals with congenital hydrocephalus, the literature yields mixed results and is inconclusive. The current study used meta-analytic methods to empirically synthesize studies addressing the association of shunt revisions and IQ in individuals with congenital hydrocephalus. Six studies and three in-house datasets yielded 11 independent samples for meta-analysis.

High Refractive Index Copolymers with Improved Thermomechanical Properties via the Inverse Vulcanization of Sulfur and 1,3,5-Triisopropenylbenzene.

The synthesis of a novel high sulfur content material possessing improved thermomechanical properties is reported via the inverse vulcanization of elemental sulfur (S) and 1,3,5-triisopropenylbenzene (TIB). A key feature of this system was the ability to afford highly cross-linked, thermosetting materials, where the use of TIB as a comonomer enabled facile control of the network structure and dramatically improved the glass transition temperature (relative to our earlier sulfur copolymers) of poly(sulfur-random-(1,3,5-triisopropenylbenzene)) (poly(S--TIB)) materials over a range from = 68 to 130 °C. This approach allowed for the incorporation of a high content of sulfur-sulfur (S-S) units in the copolymer that enabled thermomechanical scission of these dynamic covalent bonds and thermal reprocessing of the material, which we confirmed via dynamic rheological characterization.

Kawasaki Disease and Exposure to Fine Particulate Air Pollution.

Objective: To analyze associations of short-term exposure to fine particulate matter (diameter ≤ 2.5 µm [PM2.5]), a measurable component of urban pollution, with the event date of fever onset for patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) residing in 7 metropolitan regions.

Elemental Sulfur and Molybdenum Disulfide Composites for Li-S Batteries with Long Cycle Life and High-Rate Capability.

The practical implementation of Li-S technology has been hindered by short cycle life and poor rate capability owing to deleterious effects resulting from the varied solubilities of different Li polysulfide redox products. Here, we report the preparation and utilization of composites with a sulfur-rich matrix and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) particulate inclusions as Li-S cathode materials with the capability to mitigate the dissolution of the Li polysulfide redox products via the MoS2 inclusions acting as "polysulfide anchors". In situ composite formation was completed via a facile, one-pot method with commercially available starting materials.