From early on, infants show a preference for infant-directed speech (IDS) over adult-directed speech (ADS), and exposure to IDS has been correlated with language outcome measures such as vocabulary. The present multi-laboratory study explores this issue by investigating whether there is a link between early preference for IDS and later vocabulary size. Infants’ preference for IDS was tested as part of the ManyBabies 1 project, and follow-up CDI data were collected from a subsample of this dataset at 18 and 24 months. A total of 341 (18 months) and 327 (24 months) infants were tested across 21 laboratories. In neither preregistered analyses with North American and UK English, nor exploratory analyses with a larger sample did we find evidence for a relation between IDS preference and later vocabulary. We discuss implications of this finding in light of recent work suggesting that IDS preference measured in the laboratory has low test-retest reliability.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Antibiotic treatment sets the stage for intestinal domination by Candida albicanswhich is necessary for development of invasive disease, but the resources driving this bloom remain poorly defined. We sought to determine these factors in order to design novel prophylaxis strategies for reducing gastrointestinal (GI) colonization. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We initially developed a generalizable framework, termed metabolic footprinting to determine the metabolites C. albicanspreferentially uses in the mouse GI tract. After identifying the metabolites C. albicansutilizes, we usedin vitro growth assays in the presence and absence of oxygen to validate out metabolomics findings. We next determined if a probiotic E. coli that utilizes oxygen would reduce C. albicanscolonization compared to a mutant E. coli that could not respire oxygen. Finding that oxygen was a necessary resource, we utilized germ-free mice to determine if Clostridiaspp. known to reduce GI oxygen would prevent C. albicanscolonization. Lastly, we sought to see if 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) could prevent C. albicanscolonization. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We found that C. albicans preferentially utilizes simple carbohydrates including fructo-oligosaccharides (e.g., 1-kestose), disaccharides (e.g., β-gentiobiose), and alcoholic sugars (e.g., sorbitol) and is able to grow in vitro on minimal media supplemented with either of these nutrients. However, in the hypoxic environment that is found in the “healthy” colon, C. albicans cannot utilize these nutrients. We next found that pre-colonization in a mouse model with a probiotic E. coli significantly reduced C. albicanscolonization, but the mutant E. coli had no effect on colonization. We next showed that Clostridia supplementation restored GI hypoxia and reduced C. albicanscolonization. Remarkably, we found that 5-ASA significantly reduced GI colonization of C. albicans. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We have shown that C. albicans requires oxygen to colonize the GI tract. Importantly, we found that 5-ASA can prevent an antibiotic mediated bloom of C. albicans by restoring GI hypoxia, which warrants additional studies to determine if 5-ASA can be used as an adjunctive prophylactic treatment in high risk patients.

Wildlife conservation on private land is an important approach that is increasingly utilized to protect biodiversity and can help contribute to the 30 by 30 target of the Global Biodiversity Framework. In 2018, a Chilean non-profit conservation organization launched a land conservation programme aiming to build long-term partnerships with private landowners to protect critical habitat for threatened amphibians in Chilean Patagonia. Here we describe a new locality record of the micro-endemic, Endangered Barrio's frog Insuetophrynus acarpicus found at a site that joined the programme in 2020. Barrio's frog is ranked 11th in the list of Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered amphibians. Our systematic literature search showed that most aspects of the natural history and ecology of this species are unknown, limiting our ability to provide actionable science to inform its conservation. The newly described Barrio's frog population is the eighth known locality of this species and one of only three occurring within a protected area. Habitat quality assessments indicated optimal conditions for most of the measured habitat parameters in the high-gradient stream where the species occurs. This case study illustrates that long-term partnerships between private landowners and conservationists can be used as an effective tool to protect the habitat of highly threatened amphibians.

With the aim of producing a 3D representation of tumors, imaging and molecular annotation of xenografts and tumors (IMAXT) uses a large variety of modalities in order to acquire tumor samples and produce a map of every cell in the tumor and its host environment. With the large volume and variety of data produced in the project, we developed automatic data workflows and analysis pipelines. We introduce a research methodology where scientists connect to a cloud environment to perform analysis close to where data are located, instead of bringing data to their local computers. Here, we present the data and analysis infrastructure, discuss the unique computational challenges and describe the analysis chains developed and deployed to generate molecularly annotated tumor models. Registration is achieved by use of a novel technique involving spherical fiducial marks that are visible in all imaging modalities used within IMAXT. The automatic pipelines are highly optimized and allow to obtain processed datasets several times quicker than current solutions narrowing the gap between data acquisition and scientific exploitation.

The ventricular assist device is being increasingly used as a “bridge-to-transplant” option in children with heart failure who have failed medical management. Care for this medically complex population must be optimised, including through concomitant pharmacotherapy. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic alterations affecting pharmacotherapy are increasingly discovered in children supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, another form of mechanical circulatory support. Similarities between extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and ventricular assist devices support the hypothesis that similar alterations may exist in ventricular assist device-supported patients. We conducted a literature review to assess the current data available on pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics in children with ventricular assist devices. We found two adult and no paediatric pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies in ventricular assist device-supported patients. While mechanisms may be partially extrapolated from children supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, dedicated investigation of the paediatric ventricular assist device population is crucial given the inherent differences between the two forms of mechanical circulatory support, and pathophysiology that is unique to these patients. Commonly used drugs such as anticoagulants and antibiotics have narrow therapeutic windows with devastating consequences if under-dosed or over-dosed. Clinical studies are urgently needed to improve outcomes and maximise the potential of ventricular assist devices in this vulnerable population.

Stress caused by early weed competition is known to delay the rate of maize development which may result in a decrease in kernel number. Kernel number in maize is correlated negatively with the length of the anthesis-silking interval (ASI). A short ASI has been identified as an easily measured, visual trait which may identify enhanced drought tolerance in maize. Field studies were conducted to test whether: (1) delaying weed control would result in a lengthening of ASI in both a drought tolerant and non-drought tolerant maize hybrid and (2) the presence of drought tolerance genetics comes at a physiological cost, resulting in a greater yield reduction under weedy conditions. In this study, the response of a drought tolerant hybrid with its non-drought tolerant near-isoline was compared to seven different timings of weed control using wheat as a surrogate competitor. Results confirmed that there was no treatment by hybrid interaction at any site–yr for any of the parameters evaluated. Delaying weed control reduced plant height, leaf tip number, shifted and reduced biomass accumulation, kernel number and grain yield and lengthened ASI for both hybrids. Although yield losses occurred with the delay in weed control timing, no yield differences were observed between hybrids suggesting that there was no additional physiological cost associated with the drought tolerant traits. The drought tolerant hybrid, however, was found to have a shorter ASI, lower kernel number and higher kernel wt compared to the non-drought tolerant hybrid. This study confirmed that delaying weed control can influence the length of ASI, which is an important drought tolerant trait. The lengthening of ASI by early weed competition resulted in a rate of yield loss of 0.13 T ha−1 growing degree days (GDD)−1 when averaged across both hybrids and all treatments.

Gurga Chiya and Tepe Marani are small, adjacent mounds located close to the town of Halabja in the southern part of the Shahrizor Plain, one of the most fertile regions of Iraqi Kurdistan. Survey and excavation at these previously unexplored sites is beginning to produce evidence for human settlement spanning the sixth to the fourth millennia, c. 5600–3300 cal. b.c. In Mesopotamian chronology this corresponds to the Late Neolithic through to Chalcolithic periods; the Halaf, Ubaid, and Uruk phases of conventional culture history. In Iraqi Kurdistan, documentation of these periods—which witnessed many important transformations in prehistoric village life—is currently very thin. Here we offer a preliminary report on the emerging results from the Shahrizor Plain, with a particular focus on the description of material culture (ceramic and lithic assemblages), in order to establish a benchmark for further research. We also provide a detailed report on botanical remains and accompanying radiocarbon dates, which allow us to place this new evidence in a wider comparative framework. A further, brief account is given of Late Bronze Age material culture from the upper layers at Gurga Chiya. We conclude with observations on the significance of the Shahrizor Plain for wider research into the later prehistory of the Middle East, and the importance of preserving and investigating its archaeological record.

Community structure, species composition, and changes over time after disturbances are frequently studied using common descriptors. We used rank abundance distribution plots (RADs), Rényi entropy plots, common theoretical community models, ordination analysis of similarities (ANOSIM and Clusters), and abundance spectra analyses to study the effects of a gradual natural population decline and an anthropogenic punctuated disturbance on the structure of octocoral communities in Panama, considered a hot spot area for octocoral diversity in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Over a 17-month period, no significant change was found in community structure after a natural yearly population decline of 25.2%. After a disturbance, however, different recovery trajectories were observed in various coral communities. Possible physical and biological explanations for the observed differences include initial local species diversity and abundance, species life history patterns, colony morphology, and the geographical location of the community. Differences in community structure between study sites were best described using a combination of community descriptors, RADs, and abundance spectra. Rényi plots were useful in identifying changes in community structure, whereas the extent of the changes was best evaluated using ANOSIM and cluster analysis.

Even though the full process of seed dispersal is the combination of movement mode and distance, deposition, successful germination and survival (Nathan 2006, Westcott et al. 2005), relatively few studies have documented the role of mammals as facilitators of germination and survival (Paine & Harms 2009). In particular, the effectiveness of large terrestrial mammals (>50 kg) as effective dispersers of large seeds is poorly known, but has been linked to the treatment of the seeds in their digestive system, the deposition of viable seeds in nutrient-rich environments (faeces) and favourable sites. Other aspects related to long-distance movements, defecation patterns and home-range size are frequently cited as factors that favour the deposition of seeds far from parent trees, which is expected to reduce predation and intraspecific competition, and enhance fitness (Schupp et al. 2002). We addressed these issues through a large-scale field experiment.

The distribution and dynamics of plant populations depend on the recruitment of young individuals, which is influenced by seed production, animal seed dispersal, dispersal distance, and the deposition of seeds in favourable places for seed germination/establishment and seedling survival. In particular, seeds dispersed over long distances will likely encounter new environmental conditions that occur at large spatial scales, with seed and seedling survival influenced by the adaptation of plant populations to soil and climate conditions. In this paper, it is hypothesized that seed germination and seedling survival probabilities depend on seed origin and deposition sites. A reciprocal seed and seedling transplant experiment was carried out with zapote seeds (Manilkara zapota) to determine the effect of origin and deposition sites on seed germination and seedling survival over a year in the Greater Calakmul Region of Mexico. Two origin and two deposition sites were selected that show different soil moisture levels within the habitat of the Baird's tapir, a major seed disperser of M. zapota seeds. The results show that sites of origin and deposition influenced seed germination and seedling survival probabilities. This suggests that the displacement of seeds far from parent trees, while potentially reducing intraspecific competition, does not ensure their survival, and that seeds need to be deposited in microsites within their environmental tolerance for dispersal to be successful. Furthermore, this paper emphasizes the importance of field experiments to provide strong inference about the effects of environmental conditions on recruitment and distribution of plant species.

The HealthAgents project aims to provide a decision support system for brain tumour diagnosis using a collaborative network of distributed agents. The goal is that through the aggregation of the small data sets available at individual hospitals, much better decision support classifiers can be created and made available to the hospitals taking part. In this paper, we describe the technicalities of the HealthAgents framework, in particular how the interoperability of the various agents is managed using semantic web technologies. On the broad scale the architecture is based around distributed data-mart agents that provide ontological access to hospitals’ underlying data that has been anonymized and processed from proprietary formats into a canonical format. Classifier producers have agents that gather the global data from participating hospitals such that classifiers can be created and deployed as agents. The design on a microscale has each agent built upon a generic-layered framework that provides the common agent program code, allowing rapid development of agents for the system. We believe that our framework provides a well-engineered, agent-based approach to data sharing in a medical context. It can provide a better basis on which to investigate the effectiveness of new classification techniques for brain tumour diagnosis.

In this paper, we analyze the special security requirements for software support in health care and the HealthAgents system in particular. Our security solution consists of a link-anonymized data scheme, a secure data transportation service, a secure data sharing and collection service, and a more advanced access control mechanism. The novel security service architecture, as part of the integrated system architecture, provides a secure health-care infrastructure for HealthAgents and can be easily adapted for other health-care applications.

Survey and excavation by the Burials and Identity team of the Desert Migrations Project (DMP) focused in 2011 on the so-called Royal Cemetery of the Garamantes close to the Jarma escarpment, a few km south of Old Jarma. This Late Garamantian cemetery contains two distinct zones (GSC030 and GSC031) of monumental rectangular stepped tombs, which were plaster-coated and fronted by massive offering tables and stelae. Previous dating evidence has suggested they span the fourth to sixth centuries AD. However, many questions remain about the cemetery and the overall recording of the monuments had hitherto been left incomplete. The 2011 work focused on the excavation of one of the larger monuments in GSC030 and several of the smaller tombs in the neighbouring GSC031, along with an overall survey of both cemetery areas and a detailed record of the stelae and offering tables still present in considerable numbers. In addition, the team made a survey along the escarpment between the Royal Cemetery and Zinkekrā, completing and uniting the various surveys carried out by the DMP around Zinkekrā, Watwāt and the Jarma Escarpment. A survey of foggaras and settlement in the ad-Dīsa embayment was also undertaken.