Background: Eye movements reveal neurodegenerative disease processes due to overlap between oculomotor circuitry and disease-affected areas. Characterizing oculomotor behaviour in context of cognitive function may enhance disease diagnosis and monitoring. We therefore aimed to quantify cognitive impairment in neurodegenerative disease using saccade behaviour and neuropsychology. Methods: The Ontario Neurodegenerative Disease Research Initiative recruited individuals with neurodegenerative disease: one of Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, or cerebrovascular disease. Patients (n=450, age 40-87) and healthy controls (n=149, age 42-87) completed a randomly interleaved pro- and anti-saccade task (IPAST) while their eyes were tracked. We explored the relationships of saccade parameters (e.g. task errors, reaction times) to one another and to cognitive domain-specific neuropsychological test scores (e.g. executive function, memory). Results: Task performance worsened with cognitive impairment across multiple diseases. Subsets of saccade parameters were interrelated and also differentially related to neuropsychology-based cognitive domain scores (e.g. antisaccade errors and reaction time associated with executive function). Conclusions: IPAST detects global cognitive impairment across neurodegenerative diseases. Subsets of parameters associate with one another, suggesting disparate underlying circuitry, and with different cognitive domains. This may have implications for use of IPAST as a cognitive screening tool in neurodegenerative disease.

Phased Array Feed (PAF) technology is the next major advancement in radio astronomy in terms of combining high sensitivity and large field of view. The Focal L-band Array for the Green Bank Telescope (FLAG) is one of the most sensitive PAFs developed so far. It consists of 19 dual-polarization elements mounted on a prime focus dewar resulting in seven beams on the sky. Its unprecedented system temperature of ~17 K will lead to a 3 fold increase in pulsar survey speeds as compared to contemporary single pixel feeds. Early science observations were conducted in a recently concluded commissioning phase of the FLAG where we clearly demonstrated its science capabilities. We observed a selection of normal and millisecond pulsars and detected giant pulses from PSR B1937+21.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy remains common in many countries. Exposure to even low amounts of alcohol (i.e. ethanol) in pregnancy can lead to the heterogeneous fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), while heavy alcohol consumption can result in the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is characterized by cerebral dysfunction, growth restriction and craniofacial malformations. However, the effects of lower doses of alcohol during pregnancy, such as those that lead to FASD, are less well understood. In this article, we discuss the findings of recent studies performed in our laboratories on the effects of fetal alcohol exposure using sheep, in which we investigated the effects of late gestational alcohol exposure on the developing brain, arteries, kidneys, heart and lungs. Our studies indicate that alcohol exposure in late gestation can (1) affect cerebral white matter development and increase the risk of hemorrhage in the fetal brain, (2) cause left ventricular hypertrophy with evidence of altered cardiomyocyte maturation, (3) lead to a decrease in nephron number in the kidney, (4) cause altered arterial wall stiffness and endothelial and smooth muscle function and (5) result in altered surfactant protein mRNA expression, surfactant phospholipid composition and pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression in the lung. These findings suggest that fetal alcohol exposure in late gestation can affect multiple organs, potentially increasing the risk of disease and organ dysfunction in later life.

Thermoelectric materials are being important due to their application in both thermoelectric power generation and microelectronic cooling. The thermoelectric power generations convert the heat change to electricity. The waste of heat could be useful if the thermoelectric power generation is applied. Effective thermoelectric materials have a low thermal conductivity and a high electrical conductivity. A high thermal conductivity causes too much heat leakage through heat conduction. The performance of the thermoelectric materials and devices is shown by a dimensionless figure of merit, ZT = S2σT/K, where S is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is the electrical conductivity, T is the absolute temperature and K is the thermal conductivity. ZT can be increased by increasing S, increasing σ, or decreasing K. In this study, we prepared thermoelectric generator devices of SiGe at the thickness of 112 nm using the ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) system. Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) analysis was used for the elemental analysis. The 5 MeV Si ion bombardment was performed using the AAMU Pelletron ion beam accelerator to make quantum clusters in the film to decrease the cross plane thermal conductivity, increase the cross plane Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity. To characterize the thermoelectric generator devices before and after Si ion bombardment we measured the cross plane Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity by Van der Pauw method, and thermal conductivity by 3w method for different fluences.

We used microbiology and pharmacy data from health-maintenance organizations to determine whether antibiotic use by a household member increases the risk of penicillin-non-susceptible pneumococcal disease. Though it has been well established that an individual's antibiotic use increases one's risk of antibiotic-resistant infection, it is unclear whether the risk is increased if a member of one's household is exposed to antibiotics. We therefore conducted a case-control study of patients enrolled in health maintenance organizations in Western Washington and Northern California. Cases were defined as individuals with penicillin-non-susceptible pneumococcal infection; controls were individuals with penicillin-susceptible pneumococcal infection. Socioeconomic variables were obtained by linking addresses with 1997 census block group data. One-hundred and thirty-four cases were compared with 798 controls. Individual antibiotic use prior to diagnosis increased the odds of penicillin non-susceptibility, with the strongest effect seen for β-lactam use within 2 months (OR 1·8, 95% CI 1·2, 2·8). When household antibiotic use by persons other than the patient were considered, at 4 months prior to diagnosis there was a trend towards an association between penicillin non-susceptibility and β-lactam antibiotic use, and a possible association in a small subgroup of patients with eye and ear isolates. However, no significant overall pattern of association was seen. We conclude that though antibiotic use of any kind within 2 months prior to diagnosis is associated with an increased risk of penicillin-non-susceptible pneumococcal disease, there is no significant overall pattern of association between household antibiotic use and penicillin-non-susceptible pneumococcal infection.

Cattle were vaccinated with a recombinant capripox-rinderpest vaccine designed to protect cattle from infection with either rinderpest virus (RPV) or lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV). Vaccination did not induce any adverse clinical responses or show evidence of transmission of the vaccine virus to in-contact control animals. Approximately 50% of the cattle were solidly protected from challenge with a lethal dose of virulent RPV 2 years after vaccination while at 3 years approx. 30% were fully protected. In the case of LSDV, all of 4 vaccinated cattle challenged with virulent LSDV at 2 years were completely protected from clinical disease while 2 of 5 vaccinated cattle were completely protected at 3 years. The recombinant vaccine showed no loss of potency when stored lyophylized at 4 °C for up to 1 year. These results indicate that capripoxvirus is a suitable vector for the development of safe, effective and stable recombinant vaccines for cattle.

Detailed information on the timing of terminal spikelet formation, anthesis, maturity and the rate of leaf appearance is crucial to the predictive accuracy of the AFRCWHEAT2 growth simulation model for wheat. To obtain appropriate data under different growing conditions for two spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars (cvs Minaret and Canon), a main field experiment was conducted comprising eight sowing dates between mid-March and late June 1994; data from single sowings of Minaret in 1992 and 1995 were also included in the analysis. Minaret is the focus of a major European study of the impact of climate change factors on the growth and development of wheat, and data of the type reported here were essential to support the modelling aspects of the project involving AFRCWHEAT2.

The accumulated thermal time from emergence to critical developmental stages was similar for all sowings of both cultivars, even though biomass was greatly reduced in the later sowings. Although final leaf numbers were comparable for all sowing dates, the rate of leaf appearance was correlated with the rate of change of day length at crop emergence in Minaret. The unmodified AFRCWHEAT2 model did not predict the timing of critical growth stages and leaf numbers well, but removal of the vernalization and photoperiod factors from the developmental sub-model greatly improved the accuracy of such predictions. These results strongly suggest that fixed quantities of thermal time may be employed successfully to predict the timing of critical developmental stages of these spring wheat cultivars over a range of sowing dates, geographic locations and climatic conditions, since development appeared to be a linear function of temperature.

Despite removing the photoperiod and vernalization functions, the model consistently over-predicted final leaf number because leaf production by the model continued until 1·8 phyllochrons before anthesis, as compared to the three phyllochrons actually recorded for Minaret. AFRCWHEAT2 could therefore be further modified to reproduce more accurately the smaller number of leaves typical of these spring cultivars.

Cattle were vaccinated with differing doses of an equal mixture of capripox-rinderpest recombinant viruses expressing either the fusion protein (F) or the haemagglutinin protein (H) of rinderpest virus. Animals vaccinated with 2 × 104 p.f.u. or greater of the combined viruses were completely protected against challenge, 1 month later, with both virulent rinderpest and lumpy skin disease viruses. Vaccination with any of the doses did not induce any adverse clinical response in the animals or transmission of the vaccine virus between animals. All cattle challenged 6 or 12 months after vaccination with 2 × 105 p.f.u. of the mixture of recombinant viruses were protected from severe rinderpest disease. Ten out of 18 were completely protected while the remaining 8 developed mild clinical signs of rinderpest. Cattle vaccinated with the recombinant vaccines after prior infection with the parental capripox virus showed more marked clinical signs of rinderpest after challenge with virulent rinderpest, but 9 out of 10 recovered, compared with 80% mortality in the unvaccinated controls.

The structure and properties of a series of modified polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomers reinforced by in situ generated silica particles were investigated. The PDMS elastomer was modified by systematically varying the molecular weight between reactive groups incorporated into the backbone. Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and partial hydrolyzate of TEOS were used to generate silica particles. The chemistry and phase structure of the materials were investigated by 29Si magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and swelling experiments.

Results from analysis of 24 h urine collections, verified for completeness with para-amino benzoic acid, and blood samples collected over 1 year were compared with 16 d weighed records of all food consumed collected over the year, and with results from 24 h recalls, food-frequency questionnaires and estimated food records in 160 women. Using the weighed records, individuals were sorted into quintiles of the distribution of the urine N excretion: dietary N intake ratio (UN:DN). UN exceeded DN in the top quintile of this ratio; mean ratio UN:DN = 1·13 Individuals in this top quintile were heavier, had significantly greater body mass indices, were reportedly more restrained eaters, had significantly lower energy intake:basal metabolic rate ratios (EI:BMR), and had correlated ratios of UN:DN and EI:BMR (r - 0·62). Those in the top quintile reported lower intakes of energy and energy-yielding nutrients, Ca, fats, cakes, breakfast cereals, milk and sugars than individuals in the other quintiles but not lower intakes of non-starch polysaccharides, vitamin C, vegetables, potatoes or meat. Correlations between dietary intake from weighed records and 24 h urine K were 0·74 and 0·82, and between dietary vitamin C and β-carotene and plasma vitamin C and β-carotene 0·86 and 0·48. Correlations between dietary N intake from weighed records and 24 h urine excretion were high (0·78–0·87). Those between N from estimated food records and urine N were r 0·60–0·70. Correlations between urine N and 24 h recalls and food-frequency questionnaires were in the order of 0·01 to 0·5. Despite problems of underreporting in overweight individuals in 20% of this sample, weighed records remained the most accurate method of dietary assessment, and only an estimated 7 d diary was able to approach this accuracy.

The performance of CAMCOG, the cognitive section of the CAMDEX, is compared in a non-random sample of 222 elderly people with diagnoses based on agecat and on DSM–III criteria, and with the MMSE and some short rating scales. With a cut-off point of 69/70 and agecat organic syndrome as the criterion, the sensitivity of CAMCOG was 97% and the specificity 91%. However, 21% of DSM–III diagnoses of dementia scored above this cut-off; these were mostly mild cases. The correlation between CAMCOG and MMSE scores was 0.87, and the advantage of CAMCOG may be more apparent in longitudinal studies. Multivariate analyses showed that CAMCOG scores are affected by age, sociocultural factors and hearing and visual deficits in addition to dementia, but not by depression. There was a suggestion that individual subsections are differentially affected.

We have deposited diamond films on Si〈111〉 using hot filament assisted chemical vapor deposition at low pressures ∼25 Torr. Diamond films deposited at different relative concentrations of methane (ranging from 0.25% to 2.0%) in methane-hydrogen mixtures have been characterized by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. With varying methane concentration, Raman spectra show features characteristic of crystalline diamond, diamond-like carbon, and polycrystalline graphite. Scanning electron micrographs show densely packed diamond crystallites. SEM measurements made on diamond films grown as a function of time show that the median grain size of the diamond crystallites increases linearly with time during the initial phase of the growth. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals differences between the diamond sp3 covalent bonding and sp2 graphitic bonding as well as the extent of s-p hybridization as a function of methane concentration. The plasmon loss shoulder, characteristic of graphite, is absent from the spectrum of 0.25% methane concentration film. But it appears in the XPS spectra of films grown at higher concentrations.