Efficient photosynthesis requires a balance of ATP and NADPH production/consumption in chloroplasts, and the exportation of reducing equivalents from chloroplasts is important for balancing stromal ATP/NADPH ratio. Here, we showed that the overexpression of purple acid phosphatase 2 on the outer membranes of chloroplasts and mitochondria can streamline the production and consumption of reducing equivalents in these two organelles, respectively. A higher capacity of consumption of reducing equivalents in mitochondria can indirectly help chloroplasts to balance the ATP/NADPH ratio in stroma and recycle NADP+, the electron acceptors of the linear electron flow (LEF). A higher rate of ATP and NADPH production from the LEF, a higher capacity of carbon fixation by the Calvin–Benson–Bassham (CBB) cycle and a greater consumption of NADH in mitochondria enhance photosynthesis in the chloroplasts, ATP production in the mitochondria and sucrose synthesis in the cytosol and eventually boost plant growth and seed yields in the overexpression lines.

Background: Individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) often present with visual symptoms (e.g., difficulty in reading, double vision) that can also be found in convergence insufficiency (CI). Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of CI-type visual symptomatology in individuals with PD, in comparison with controls. Methods: Participants ≥50 years with (n=300) and without (n=300) PD were recruited. They were administered the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS–15) over the phone. A score of ≥21 on the CISS–15, considered positive for CI-type symptomatology, served as the cutoff. Data from individuals (n=87 with, n=94 without PD) who were approached but who reported having a known oculovisual condition were analysed separately. Student’s t test and chi-square at the 0.05 level were employed for statistical significance. Results: A total of 29.3% of participants with versus 7.3% without PD presented with a score of ≥21 on the CISS–15 (p=0.001). Of the participants having a known oculovisual condition, 39.1% with versus 19.1% without PD presented with a score of ≥21 on the CISS–15 (p=0.01). Conclusions: The prevalence of CI-type visual symptoms is higher in individuals with versus without PD whether or not they have a coexisting oculovisual condition. These results suggest that PD per se places individuals with the disease at greater risk of visual symptomatology. These results further underline the importance of providing regular eye exams for individuals with PD.

Children with physical disabilities are at increased risk of limitations to participation in everyday activities. This study describes research examining the participation of children in day-to-day formal and informal activities (excluding mandated academic schooling). Using the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE) measure, data on participation patterns were collected from 427 children (229 males, 198 females; mean age 10y [SD 2y 4mo]; range 6-14y) with physical limitations and from their families. The primary types of physical disability in the sample included cerebral palsy, spina bifida, acquired brain injury, and musculoskeletal limitations. Findings indicate a broad range of diversity and intensity of participation, with proportionately greater involvement in informal rather than formal activities. Significant differences in participation and enjoyment were found between males and females, and for children more than 12 years of age. Children's participation was less diverse in families reporting lower income, single-parent status, and lower respondent parent education. These findings provide a foundation for an improved understanding of the participation of children with physical disabilities, which can assist families and service providers in planning activities that fit with their child's preferences and ensure active participation.

This study documents the development of hand and upper-extremity function in young children who have cerebral palsy (CP) with upper-extremity involvement using longitudinal data. Assessments of hand function and the quality of upper-extremity movement were conducted on 29 males and 22 females (mean age 36.2 months, SD 10.6; age range 16 to 60 months at baseline) and on four other occasions over 10 months. Linear mixed effects modeling was used to estimate average developmental curves and the degree of individual differences in the patterns of development which were conditional on the body-site distribution of CP and severity of impairments. Results indicate that hand function in this clinical population develops differently from overall upper-extremity skills with declines in function in upper-extremity skills being more common and pronounced among older children. However, there is substantial interindividual variation. Distribution of CP and severity of impairments were significant predictors of development. Results are discussed in terms of their clinical implications.

Separate groups of children with epilepsy, recruited from a regional pediatric epilepsy database, and their parents were established to discuss their life with epilepsy. Twenty-nine children (aged between 6 years and 10 years 4 months) and 42 of their parents were placed into nine and 17 groups respectively. The participants provided information about their own perceptions of life with epilepsy. Discussions were taped and textual analysis followed to extract, understand, explain, and categorize the health-related quality of life (HRQL) components. The process enabled us to identify the burdens and concerns of children with epilepsy, and to identify five emerging dimensions: (1) the experience of epilepsy, (2) life fulfillment and time use, (3) social issues, (4) impact of epilepsy, and (5) attribution. Identifying and understanding the components of HRQL is crucial for developing an HRQL scale in childhood epilepsy. In addition, this list of elements can help health professionals improve their services by considering and addressing aspects of the epilepsy experience beyond the traditional issues for children with epilepsy and their families.

In no other novel of Dickens is there presented so sinister a picture of evil as in Oliver Twist. It was Dickens' first and last excursion into that underworld which he describes with such psychological truth and objective unreality. His other novels do, indeed, contain villains and murderers but they become less and less melodramatic and more realistic until we have a Mademoiselle Hortense and Julius Slinkton drawn from life. The prototype of Fagin in Oliver Twist may have been Ikey Solomons, a celebrated fence of Dickens' own day. Had Dickens followed the same method in depicting Solomons as he used in drawing Mrs. Manning, the original of Mademoiselle Hortense, the result would have been a realistic presentation of a criminal. But he has invested Fagin, Bill Sikes, the Artful Dodger, and their companions in crime, with a quality of horror which Mr. Pugh says lends them “something of the hectic effect of leering, grinning devils in red torment. Fagin, the arch-devil, though he is limned in the fewest possible words, stands forth lurid and malignant as the figure of Satan in medieval pageantry.”1 It is this satanic quality which particulary distinguishes the villains in Oliver Twist from those in Dickens' other works.