Prenatal Maternal Stress,Child Cortical Thickness,and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms

Prenatal maternal stress predicts subsequent elevations in youth depressive symptoms, but the neural processes associated with these links are unclear. This study evaluated whether prenatal maternal stress is associated with child brain development, and adolescent depressive symptoms using a prospective design with 74 mother child pairs (40 boys). Maternal stress was assessed during pregnancy, child cortical thickness at age 7, and depressive symptoms at age 12. Prenatal maternal stress was associated with less cortical thickness primarily in frontal and temporal regions and with elevated depressive symptoms; child cortical thickness additionally correlated with adolescent depressive symptoms. The observed associations are consistent with the possibility that cortical thickness in superior frontal regions links associations between prenatal maternal stress and adolescent depressive symptoms.     

Herceptin functionalized microfluidic polydimethylsiloxane devices for the capture of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive circulating breast cancer cells

Building on recent breakthroughs in the field of microfluidic-based capture of rare cancer cells circulating in the blood, the present article reports on the use of Herceptin functionalized PDMS devices designed to efficiently capture from blood cancer cells, overexpressing the tyrosine kinase human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2). The identification of patients overexpressing HER2 is critical as it typically associates with an aggressive disease course in breast cancer and poor prognosis. Importantly, HER2 positive patients have been found to significantly benefit from Herceptin (Trastuzumab), a humanized monoclonal antibody (MAb) against HER2. Disposable PDMS devices prepared using standard soft lithography were functionalized by the plasma polymerization of an epoxy-containing monomer. The epoxy-rich thin film (AGEpp) thus created could be conjugated with Herceptin either directly or through a polyethylene glycol interlayer. The properties and reactivity toward the monoclonal antibody conjugation of these coatings were determined using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; direct conjugation provided a good compromise in reactivity and resistance to biologically nonspecific fouling and was selected. Using the breast cancer cell line SK-BR-3 as a model for cells overexpressing HER2, the immunocapture efficacy of the Herceptin functionalized PDMS was demonstrated in model studies. Validation studies confirmed the ability of the device to efficiently capture (～80% capture yield) HER2 positive cells from full blood.     

Why Do I Feel Awkward with Boys？

Cindy最近有件事很困惑．就是她一到男生面前,就变得很不自在．不知道怎样跟他们谈话交流。曾经自己还跟他们一起嬉笑玩耍,为什么现在却变得“扭捏”起来了？Cindy心中很是不解,Brad对此又有何建议？     

视角

纵使银丝爬上发梢,膝下绕了儿孙,68岁的Brad却从来没觉得自己老。他爱工作,爱运动．爱旅行．对生活有股年轻人都比不上的热情劲儿。这不．Brad又开始畅想起了未来……     

与Brad对话： Nobody Likes Me at School

Lavender很内向,在学校里也没有朋友。他感觉自己被同学们孤立了,非常苦恼,连想退学的心都有了。对此,Brad有什么建议呢？     

A Young Girl Selling Postcards

As regular readers know, I have been lucky enough to travel to many parts of China. What you may not know is that I am, mostly, a people person, that is, someone who is more interested in people than other things. With that in mind, I want to tell you about my visit to one of China＇s wonders, the Terracotta Soldiers near Xi＇an.     

Questioning minds on the lookout for potential workplace research and improvement markers: Practice‐based research

In the performance improvement field, performance technologists are in an ideal position to detect and investigate unexpected effects (UEs) in the workplace: those near‐invisible root variables that, once exposed, pose either potentially performance‐harming or performance‐enhancing challenges for their organization. Working with UE triggers and trends will round out performance technologists' capabilities through the adoption of what is known as practice‐based research.