This paper reports the methods and preliminary findings of Germina, an ongoing cohort study to identify biomarkers and trajectories of executive functions and language development in the first 3 years of life. 557 mother-infant dyads (mean age of mothers 33.7 years, 65.2% white, 48.7% male infants) have undergone baseline and are currently collecting data for other timepoints. A linear regression was used to predict baseline Bayley-III using scores derived from data-driven sparse partial least squares utilizing a multiple holdout framework of 15 domains. Significant associations were found between socioeconomic/demographic characteristics (B = 0.29), epigenetics (B = 0.11), EEG theta (B = 0.14) and beta activity (B = 0.11), and microbiome functional pathways (B = 0.08) domains, and infant development measured by the Bayley-III at T1, suggesting potential interventions to prevent impairments.

Graduate schools provide students opportunities for fieldwork and training in archaeological methods and theory, but they often overlook instruction in field safety and well-being. We suggest that more explicit guidance on how to conduct safe fieldwork will improve the overall success of student-led projects and prepare students to direct safe and successful fieldwork programs as professionals. In this article, we draw on the experiences of current and recent graduate students as well as professors who have overseen graduate fieldwork to outline key considerations in improving field safety and well-being and to offer recommendations for specific training and safety protocols. In devising these considerations and recommendations, we have referenced both domestic and international field projects, as well as those involving community collaboration.

Denture-related stomatitis caused by Candida spp. affects elderly individuals using partial/total prosthesis, provoking several discomforts including burning sensation and altered taste. Herein, we have studied 52 denture-wearing individuals (>60 years-old), attended at the dentistry clinic of UNIVALE, aiming to isolate Candida spp. directly from the stomatitis lesions and to evaluate their potential to produce virulence attributes. A low prevalence of denture-related stomatitis was reported in these patients (4/52; 7.7%). Candida albicans was isolated in the 4 selected patients, with the ability to form biofilm over a polystyrene surface and to produce aspartic protease, esterase and hemolysin. However, neither phospholipase nor caseinase activities were detected. Planktonic-growing yeasts were susceptible to amphotericin B and caspofungin, while the susceptibility to azoles (fluconazol, itraconazole and voriconazole) varied depending on either the isolate or antifungal. Relevantly, biofilm-forming C. albicans cells exhibited resistance to all studied antifungals. So, new effective drugs against resistant C. albicans isolates causing denture-related stomatitis are urgently required.

Successful completion of endurance exercise is facilitated by conditioning that enhances the capacity of the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems to maintain a high level of aerobic activity. Insufficiency or disease in these systems may be diagnosed using routine haematology and serum chemistry testing. Pre-race blood samples obtained from 82 endurance-trained sled dogs were used to test the hypothesis that common haematological and serum chemistry values could identify subjects with occult disease, decreasing the likelihood of their finishing a multi-day exercise challenge. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the combinations of specific biomarkers that best predicted the eventual outcome of the exercise challenge for an individual dog. This analysis constructed six different predictive formulas. In all cases, the formulae contained the pre-race values for creatine kinase and some measurement of erythrocyte abundance. When a probability of 0.4 was used as a cut-off value, all dogs with values below the cut-off did not complete the race. These results suggest that in a population of healthy, aerobically conditioned subjects, routine clinical biomarkers can be used to identify subjects unsuited to performance for endurance exercise.

Recent research in phonological disorders has focused on phonological processes, to determine the number of children using particular processes. This study investigated individual patterns of phonological process occurrence in nine phonologically disordered children. The purpose of the study was to determine frequency of occurrence of each process for each child and frequency of occurrence of unusual processes. Results indicated that a small, basic subset of phonological processes seemed to account for the majority of errors made by these children. Unusual processes were primarily changes in word structure. Within the common framework of basic and unusual processes, the children realized the processes in unique ways.