Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over premotor cortex facilitates observational learning of a motor sequence.

Motor skills, including complex movement sequences, can be acquired by observing a model without physical practice of the skill, a phenomenon known as observational learning. Observational learning of motor skills engages the same memory substrate as physical practice, and is thought to be mediated by the action observation network, a bilateral fronto-parietal circuit with mirror-like properties. We examined the effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over premotor cortex, a key node of the action observation network, on observational learning of a serial response time task.

Polyphosphoinositide binding domains: Key to inositol lipid biology.

Polyphosphoinositides (PPIn) are an important family of phospholipids located on the cytoplasmic leaflet of eukaryotic cell membranes. Collectively, they are critical for the regulation of many aspects of membrane homeostasis and signaling, with notable relevance to human physiology and disease. This regulation is achieved through the selective interaction of these lipids with hundreds of cellular proteins, and thus the capability to study these localized interactions is crucial to understanding their functions.

Ligand design in gold catalysis and chemistry of gold-oxonium intermediates.

Gold catalysis is considered one of the most important breakthroughs in organic synthesis during the last decade. Many gold-catalyzed reactions suffer from high catalyst loading, which is a serious limitation on the application of gold catalysis in larger scale synthesis. Because ligands play a major role in the tuning of reactivity of transition metal catalysts, there has been an increased effort on rationally understanding ligand effects in gold catalysis and using a rational ligand design to achieve higher efficiency.

Advanced technologies for future ground-based, laser-interferometric gravitational wave detectors.

We present a review of modern optical techniques being used and developed for the field of gravitational wave detection. We describe the current state-of-the-art of gravitational waves detector technologies with regard to optical layouts, suspensions and test masses. We discuss the dominant sources and noise in each of these subsystems and the developments that will help mitigate them for future generations of detectors.

Impact of corticosteroid-binding globulin deficiency on pregnancy and neonatal sex.

Context: Plasma corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) transports cortisol but high progesterone levels at the maternal-fetal interface can displace cortisol from its steroid-binding site. A secretion-deficient CBG mutant (A51V) in ∼1 of 36 Chinese causes low circulating CBG levels.

Objective: Assess the implications of a CBG deficiency on pregnancy outcomes.

Epineurial repair of an iatrogenic facial nerve neurotmesis after total ear canal ablation and lateral bulla osteotomy in a dog with concurrent cranio-mandibular osteopathy.

A 7-year-old male entire West Highland white terrier was referred to the Small Animal Hospital at the University of Glasgow for bilateral, chronic, medically unresponsive otitis media and externa. A history of cranio-mandibular osteopathy was also reported. Bilateral total ear canal ablation and lateral bulla osteotomy was performed with the aid of a pneumatic burr.

Somatostatin is essential for the sexual dimorphism of GH secretion, corticosteroid-binding globulin production, and corticosterone levels in mice.

Distinct male and female patterns of pituitary GH secretion produce sexually differentiated hepatic gene expression profiles, thereby influencing steroid and xenobiotic metabolism. We used a fully automated system to obtain serial nocturnal blood samples every 15 minutes from cannulated wild-type (WT) and somatostatin knockout (Sst-KO) mice to determine the role of SST, the principal inhibitor of GH release, in the generation of sexually dimorphic GH pulsatility. WT males had lower mean and median GH values, less random GH secretory bursts, and longer trough periods between GH pulses than WT females.

Early mortality and primary causes of death in mothers of children with intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder: a retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Mothers of children with intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have poorer health than other mothers. Yet no research has explored whether this poorer health is reflected in mortality rates or whether certain causes of death are more likely. We aimed to calculate the hazard ratios for death and for the primary causes of death in mothers of children with intellectual disability or ASD compared to other mothers.

Improved upper limits on the stochastic gravitational-wave background from 2009-2010 LIGO and Virgo data.

Gravitational waves from a variety of sources are predicted to superpose to create a stochastic background. This background is expected to contain unique information from throughout the history of the Universe that is unavailable through standard electromagnetic observations, making its study of fundamental importance to understanding the evolution of the Universe. We carry out a search for the stochastic background with the latest data from the LIGO and Virgo detectors.

Supported gold nanoparticle-catalyzed hydration of alkynes under basic conditions.

TiO2-supported nanosize gold particles catalyze the hydration of alkynes using morpholine as a basic cocatalyst. Unlike most homogeneous cationic gold catalysts, the TiO2-Au/morpholine system is weakly basic and is compatible with acid-sensitive functional groups (e.g.

Evaluating the performance of parallel subsurface simulators: An illustrative example with PFLOTRAN.

[1] To better inform the subsurface scientist on the expected performance of parallel simulators, this work investigates performance of the reactive multiphase flow and multicomponent biogeochemical transport code PFLOTRAN as it is applied to several realistic modeling scenarios run on the Jaguar supercomputer. After a brief introduction to the code's parallel layout and code design, PFLOTRAN's parallel performance (measured through strong and weak scalability analyses) is evaluated in the context of conceptual model layout, software and algorithmic design, and known hardware limitations. PFLOTRAN scales well (with regard to strong scaling) for three realistic problem scenarios: (1) in situ leaching of copper from a mineral ore deposit within a 5-spot flow regime, (2) transient flow and solute transport within a regional doublet, and (3) a real-world problem involving uranium surface complexation within a heterogeneous and extremely dynamic variably saturated flow field.

Voluntary control of facial musculature in Parkinson's disease.

Aside from being measured in the context of producing facial expressions of emotion, the ability to voluntarily control a range of facial muscles in Parkinson's disease (PD) has not been systematically measured. We used in three enrollment phases an adaptation of the Upper and Lower Face Apraxia test, a measure of the ability to make voluntary movements of the upper and lower face in PD patients and healthy controls. Errors were scored due to (1) pauses prior to movement initiation, (2) loss of individuation, (3) impoverished movement, (4) no movement at all, or (5) content errors (likened to ideational apraxia errors).

Efficient hydration of alkynes through acid-assisted Brønsted acid catalysis.

The combined acid catalyzed hydration of alkynes is an efficient one-step synthesis of carbonyl compounds. This atom-economical method is effective with a wide range of substrates, and the products are obtained in very good yields with low catalyst loading (0.2%).

Repeatability and intra- and inter-observer agreement of cervical vertebral sagittal diameter ratios in horses with neurological disease.

Background: Sagittal ratio values (SRVs) of cervical vertebrae are used for ante-mortem diagnosis of cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy, but intraobserver and interobserver variability in measurement may influence radiographic interpretation of vertebral stenosis in horses with neurological disease.

Objectives: To determine intraobserver repeatability in SRVs, intra- and interobserver agreement in SRVs and whether or not agreement was influenced by animal age.

Animals: Forty-two horses (>1 year old) with neurological disease from which laterolateral computed radiographic images of C2-C7 were obtained.

Synthesis of Pyrrolidines and Pyrroles via Tandem Amination/Cyanation/Alkylation and Amination/Oxidation Sequences.

Starting from a primary amine-tethered alkyne , a copper-catalyzed three-component tandem amination/cyanation/alkylation sequence gives α-CN pyrrolidine in good yield and regioselectivity. Also, a silver mediated tandem amination/oxidation of a secondary amine-tethered alkyne produces functionalized pyrrole in good yield. All reactions were conducted in one pot without any protection/deprotection steps.

Naturally occurring mutations of human corticosteroid-binding globulin.

Context: Corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) is encoded by SERPINA6. It is the major plasma binding protein of glucocorticoids and regulates plasma cortisol levels and bioavailability in humans. Several proteases target CBG and disrupt its steroid-binding properties.

Rapid chemical reaction workup based on a rigid solvent extraction.

The conventional chemical reaction workup based on liquid-liquid extraction is a time- and labor-consuming practice. We have developed a substantially faster technique for the routine workup that relies on a porous organic polymer (Porelite) supported solvent phase to extract organic products from an aqueous reaction mixture. We call this process rigid solvent extraction.

Designer HF-based fluorination reagent: highly regioselective synthesis of fluoroalkenes and gem-difluoromethylene compounds from alkynes.

Hydrogen fluoride (HF) and selected nonbasic and weakly coordinating (toward cationic metal) hydrogen-bond acceptors (e.g., DMPU) can form stable complexes through hydrogen bonding.

A tail of new lipids.

The inositol lipids play many essential roles in eukaryotic physiology, although the action has usually focused on the special properties of their headgroup. Now, a study by Clark et al (2014) re-focuses attention on the hydrophobic lipid tails, showing that these too exhibit unique biochemical properties--and are also likely to play a fundamental role in the biology of the lipid.

Discriminating facial expressions of emotion and its link with perceiving visual form in Parkinson's disease.

We investigated the link between the ability to perceive facial expressions of emotion and the ability to perceive visual form in Parkinson's disease (PD). We assessed in individuals with PD and healthy controls the ability to discriminate graded intensities of facial expressions of anger from neutral expressions and the ability to discriminate radial frequency (RF) patterns with modulations in amplitude from a perfect circle. Those with PD were, as a group, impaired relative to controls in discriminating graded intensities of angry from neutral expressions and discriminating modulated amplitudes of RF patterns from perfect circles; these two abilities correlated positively and moderately to highly, even after removing the variance that was shared with disease progression and general cognitive functioning.

Diagnostic Exercise: Circling and Behavioral Changes in a Cat.

A 4-year old spayed male domestic shorthair cat was presented with a history of circling and behavioral changes. Neurologic examination showed mild proprioceptive deficits. The lesion was localized in the forebrain, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed the presence of a large midline intracranial mass extending from the frontal lobe to the tentorial region of the brain.

Anodal motor cortex stimulation paired with movement repetition increases anterograde interference but not savings.

Retention of motor adaptation is evident in savings, where initial learning improves subsequent learning, and anterograde interference, where initial learning impairs subsequent learning. Previously, we proposed that use-dependent movement biases induced by movement repetition contribute to anterograde interference, but not to savings. Here, we evaluate this proposal by limiting or extending movement repetition while stimulating the motor cortex (M1) with anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a brain stimulation technique known to increase use-dependent plasticity when applied during movement repetition.

Search for gravitational waves associated with γ-ray bursts detected by the interplanetary network.

We present the results of a search for gravitational waves associated with 223 γ-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the InterPlanetary Network (IPN) in 2005-2010 during LIGO's fifth and sixth science runs and Virgo's first, second, and third science runs. The IPN satellites provide accurate times of the bursts and sky localizations that vary significantly from degree scale to hundreds of square degrees. We search for both a well-modeled binary coalescence signal, the favored progenitor model for short GRBs, and for generic, unmodeled gravitational wave bursts.

Genome wide association identifies common variants at the SERPINA6/SERPINA1 locus influencing plasma cortisol and corticosteroid binding globulin.

Variation in plasma levels of cortisol, an essential hormone in the stress response, is associated in population-based studies with cardio-metabolic, inflammatory and neuro-cognitive traits and diseases. Heritability of plasma cortisol is estimated at 30-60% but no common genetic contribution has been identified. The CORtisol NETwork (CORNET) consortium undertook genome wide association meta-analysis for plasma cortisol in 12,597 Caucasian participants, replicated in 2,795 participants.