Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the utilization of methylsuccinate, the product of methane activation via fumarate addition.

Methylsuccinate is a branched-chain, 5-carbon (C5) dicarboxylate that can be generated from the O-independent activation of methane via fumarate addition. However, no established metabolic pathway enables growth and product synthesis from methylsuccinate. Here, we report a synthetic pathway that converts methylsuccinate into two precursor metabolites: pyruvate and acetyl-CoA.

Directed Evolution of Protein-Based Sensors for Anaerobic Biological Activation of Methane.

Microbial alkane degradation pathways provide biological routes for converting these hydrocarbons into higher-value products. We recently reported the functional expression of a methyl-alkylsuccinate synthase (Mas) system in , allowing for the heterologous anaerobic activation of short-chain alkanes. However, the enzymatic activation of methane via natural or engineered alkylsuccinate synthases has yet to be reported.

Co-Expression of type 1 fimbriae and flagella in : consequences for adhesion at interfaces.

expresses surface appendages including fimbriae, flagella, and curli, at various levels in response to environmental conditions and external stimuli. Previous studies have revealed an interplay between expression of fimbriae and flagella in several strains, but how this regulation between fimbrial and flagellar expression affects adhesion to interfaces is incompletely understood. Here, we investigate how the concurrent expression of fimbriae and flagella by engineered strains of MG1655 affects their adhesion at liquid-solid and liquid-liquid interfaces.

Latent profiles as predictors of response to instruction for students with reading difficulties.

The program code developed by others is appropriately cited in the text and listed in the references section. The raw and processed data on which study conclusions are based are not available. The statistical syntax needed to reproduce analyses in the article is available upon request.

Cognitive Predictors of the Overlap of Reading and Math in Middle School.

Math and reading skills are known to be related, and predictors of each are well researched. What is less understood is the extent to which these predictors, uniquely and collectively, overlap with one another, are differentially important for different academic skills, and account for the overlap of math and reading. We examined 20 potential predictors from four domains (working memory, processing speed, attention, and language) using latent variables and both timed and untimed achievement skill, in a sample (N=212) of at-risk middle schoolers, half of whom were English learners.

Brain Engagement During a Cognitive Flexibility Task Relates to Academic Performance in English Learners.

English Learners (ELs), students from non-English-speaking backgrounds, are a fast-growing, understudied, group of students in the U.S. with unique learning challenges.

The efficient synthesis and purification of 2'3'- cGAMP from .

Agonists of the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway are being explored as potential immunotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer and as vaccine adjuvants for infectious diseases. Although chemical synthesis of 2'3' - cyclic Guanosine Monophosphate-Adenosine Monophosphate (cGAMP) is commercially feasible, the process results in low yields and utilizes organic solvents. To pursue an efficient and environmentally friendly process for the production of cGAMP, we focused on the recombinant production of cGAMP via a whole-cell biocatalysis platform utilizing the murine cyclic Guanosine monophosphate-Adenosine monophosphate synthase (mcGAS).

A survey of the perceptions and practices of faculty in clinical neuropsychology doctoral training programs: is heterogeneity the norm?

Doctoral education is a cornerstone in the training of clinical neuropsychologists. However, we know little about perceptions, practices, and needs of the faculty who oversee doctoral training in clinical neuropsychology (CN). Seventy-one faculty from 45 doctoral programs providing CN training completed at least part of a survey assessing characteristics of their programs, current training practices and views, and challenges to CN doctoral training.

Benzodiazepine Interference with Fertility and Embryo Development: A Preliminary Survey in the Sea Urchin .

Psychotropic drugs and benzodiazepines are nowadays among the primary substances of abuse. This results in a large and constant release into aquatic environments where they have potentially harmful effects on non-target organisms and, eventually, human health. In the last decades, evidence has been collected on the possible interference of benzodiazepines with reproductive processes, but data are few and incomplete.

Framing Executive Function as a Construct and its Relation to Academic Achievement.

The goal of this work is to provide a framework for understanding the relationship of executive function (EF) to reading and other academic achievement to promote future work in this area. After briefly reviewing extant theoretical and empirical support about what is known in this area, we then more deeply evaluate the construct of EF itself. This is necessary because EF means any number of things to any number of individuals, scientists included.

An Evaluation of the Structure of Attention in Adolescence.

This study evaluated the factor structure of attention, considering internal and external attention, and juxtaposed alongside processing speed (PS) and working memory (WM). We expected the hypothesized model to fit better than unitary or method factors. We included 27 measures with 212 Hispanic middle schoolers from Spanish-speaking backgrounds, where a substantial proportion were at risk for learning difficulties.

PROPERTIES OF A COMBINED MEASURE OF READING AND WRITING: THE ASSESSMENT OF WRITING, SELF-MONITORING, AND READING (AWSM READER).

There is significant overlap between reading and writing, but no known standardized measure assesses these jointly. The goal of the present study is to evaluate the properties of a novel measure, the Assessment of Writing, Self-Monitoring, and Reading (AWSM Reader), that simultaneously evaluates both reading comprehension and writing. In doing so, we evaluate reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and various aspects of construct-related validity, including separate criterion measures of reading and writing, and the AWSM Reader's relations with other variables, including language and executive function (EF), both of which are implicated for both reading and writing.

Small fiber neuropathy and intractable scalp pruritus in dermatomyositis patients.

Background: Scalp pruritus is a common symptom in Dermatomyositis (DM) patients. There are indications that small nerve fibers neuropathy could be involved in this symptom, however the etiology of scalp pruritus is not fully understood.

Objectives: To assess epidermal nerve fiber (ENF) density of dermatomyositis patients with scalp pruritus by biopsy by confocal microscopy and immunohistochemistry with subsequent imaging analysis.

Characterization of English and Spanish language proficiency among middle school English learners with reading difficulties.

Among bilinguals, language-related variables such as first and second language proficiency and balance may be related to important cognitive and academic outcomes, but approaches to characterizing these variables are inconsistent, particularly among at-risk samples of children. The current study employed comprehensive language assessment of English and Spanish language skills and contrasted various approaches to the characterization of language among at-risk ELs in middle school ( = 161). Specifically, we contrasted variable-centered and person-centered approaches, and convergence between objective and self-report measures.

DYSPHAGIA OCCURRENCE IN COVID-19-POSITIVE PATIENTS IN TWO HOSPITALS IN BRAZIL.

Background: COVID-19 comprises a respiratory infection resulting from contamination by SARS-CoV-2, with acute respiratory failure being one of its main characteristics, leading to a high frequency of orotracheal intubation (OTI), which in turn increases the risk for dysphagia. Since this can lead to pulmonary impairment, knowing the real occurrence of dysphagia in part of the Brazilian population and its associations allows early and effective clinical management of the multidisciplinary team in relation to patients.

Objective: To verify the occurrence of dysphagia in COVID-19-positive adult patients in two Brazilian reference hospitals in the care of the pandemic.

The Not-So-Simple View of Writing in Struggling Readers/Writers.

Research suggests that executive function, motivation, transcription, and composition processes are implicated in the writing quality and productivity of children with and without learning difficulties. However, numerous components embedded within these constructs create both conceptual and empirical challenges to the study of written expression. These challenges are reflected in the writing research by way of poor delineation of constructs and insufficient distinction among domain general resources (e.

Cognitive predictors of social adjustment in pediatric brain tumor survivors treated with photon versus proton radiation therapy.

Background: Pediatric brain tumor survivors are at risk for poor social outcomes. It remains unknown whether cognitive sparing with proton radiotherapy (PRT) supports better social outcomes relative to photon radiotherapy (XRT). We hypothesized that survivors treated with PRT would outperform those treated with XRT on measures of cognitive and social outcomes.

Design and characterization of a salicylic acid-inducible gene expression system for Jurkat cells.

With continued progress in cell and gene therapies, there is an immediate need for exogenously tunable gene expression systems with safe and predictable behavior in specific human cell types. Here, we demonstrate the ability of the salicylic acid (SA)-inducible MarR repressor protein from Escherichia coli to regulate target gene expression in a human T lymphocyte cell line. Two lentiviral vectors, one encoding an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter cassette and the other a repressor cassette, were sequentially transduced into Jurkat cells, using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to isolate stable Jurkat progeny.

Visual attention and reading: A test of their relation across paradigms.

Relations of visual attention to reading have long been hypothesized; however, findings in this literature are quite mixed. These relations have been investigated using several different visual attention paradigms and with variable controls for other competing reading-related processes. We extended current knowledge by evaluating four of the key visual attention paradigms used in this research-visual attention span, attention blink, visual search, and visuospatial attention-in a single study.

Engineering Escherichia coli for anaerobic alkane activation: Biosynthesis of (1-methylalkyl)succinates.

In anoxic environments, microbial activation of alkanes for subsequent metabolism occurs most commonly through the addition of fumarate to a subterminal carbon, producing an alkylsuccinate. Alkylsuccinate synthases are complex, multi-subunit enzymes that utilize a catalytic glycyl radical and require a partner, activating enzyme for hydrogen abstraction. While many genes encoding putative alkylsuccinate synthases have been identified, primarily from nitrate- and sulfate-reducing bacteria, few have been characterized and none have been reported to be functionally expressed in a heterologous host.

Sustained attention and behavioral ratings of attention in struggling readers.

Attention is correlated with reading, but the extent to which behavioral ratings and sustained attention relate to reading skills is unclear. We assessed 245 4 and 5 grade struggling readers (mean age = 10.3 years) on behavioral ratings of attention, sustained attention, and reading over a school year.

Long-term cognitive and academic outcomes among pediatric brain tumor survivors treated with proton versus photon radiotherapy.

Background: Proton radiotherapy (PRT) may be associated with less neurocognitive risk than photon RT (XRT) for pediatric brain tumor survivors. We compared neurocognitive and academic outcomes in long-term survivors treated with XRT versus PRT.

Methods: Survivors underwent neurocognitive evaluation >1 year after craniospinal (CSI) or focal PRT or XRT.

Executive Functioning with the NIH EXAMINER and Inference Making in Struggling Readers.

Executive functioning (EF) is a domain-general process implicated in reading, but there remains lack of clarity within the domain due to varied assessment methods. We investigated the relation of EF (indexed with the NIH EXAMINER) to word reading, reading fluency, and reading comprehension in struggling readers and evaluated the mediational role of inference making for the EF-comprehension link. Analyses revealed an overall effect of EF on reading, with significant differences between fluency and comprehension, and between single word reading and comprehension, but not between fluency and single-word reading.

The Structure of Processing Speed in Children and its Impact on Reading.

The present study had two aims. First, we set out to evaluate the structure of processing speed in children by comparing five alternative models: two conceptual models (a unitary model, a complexity model) and three methodological models (a stimulus material model, an output response model, and a timing modality model). Second, we then used the resulting models to predict multiple types of reading, a highly important developmental outcome, using other well-known predictors as covariates.