Medical school accreditation in Australia: Issues involved in assessing major changes and new programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael J. Field

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The Australian Medical Council (AMC is an independent company for quality assurance and quality improvement in medical education in Australia and New Zealand. Accreditation procedures for the 20 medical schools in these two countries are somewhat different for three different circumstances or stages of school development: existing medical schools, established courses undergoing major changes, and new schools. This paper will outline some issues involved in major changes to existing courses, and new medical school programs. Major changes have included change from a 6 year undergraduate course to a 5 year undergraduate course or 4 year graduate-entry course, introduction of a lateral graduate-entry stream, new domestic site of course delivery, offshore course delivery, joint program between two universities, and major change to curriculum. In the case of a major change assessment, accreditation of the new or revised course may be granted for a period up to two years after the full course has been implemented. In the assessment of proposals for introduction of new medical courses, six issues needing careful consideration have arisen: forward planning, academic staffing, adequate clinical experience, acceptable research program, adequacy of resources, postgraduate training program and employment.

Involving IDPs in the Darfur peace process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Lanz

2008-04-01

Full Text Available The UN estimates that there are 2.4 millionIDPs in Darfur –over one third of the totalpopulation. There can be no meaningfulpeace process without their involvement.Giving IDPs a formal seat in official peacenegotiations is problematic but there areother ways to ensure their participation.

Benefit-risk trade-offs in retrospect: how major stakeholders perceive the decision-making process in the Barents Sea oil field development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Renn, Ortwin; Grieger, Khara Deanne; Øien, Knut

2013-01-01

review of the decision-making process seen through the lenses of the major stakeholders involved in this process. The research design used qualitative methods of empirical research including stakeholder interviews during a five-day period in 2011 in Northern Norway. Results showed that the siting process...... additional benefits to the communities which would then be fairly distributed among the beneficiaries have been disappointed. We review the reasons behind these results as well as formulate recommendations regarding potential improvements to the risk-benefit communication process in addition to future siting...

Differential processing and attitude change following majority versus minority arguments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

DeDreu, CKW; DeVries, NK

This experiment tested the general hypothesis that majority influence induces convergent processing, which stimulates attitude change on focal issues, whereas minority influence sometimes produces divergent processing, which might stimulate change on related attitudes. Results of a numerical support

Hemispheric involvement in the processing of Chinese idioms: An fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jie; Li, Ping; Fang, Xiaoping; Shu, Hua; Liu, Youyi; Chen, Lang

2016-07-01

Although the left hemisphere is believed to handle major language functions, the role of the right hemisphere in language comprehension remains controversial. Recently researchers have investigated hemispheric language processing with figurative language materials (e.g., metaphors, jokes, and idioms). The current study capitalizes on the pervasiveness and distinct features of Chinese idioms to examine the brain mechanism of figurative language processing. Native Chinese speakers performed a non-semantic task while reading opaque idioms, transparent idioms, and non-idiomatic literal phrases. Whole-brain analyses indicated strong activations for all three conditions in an overlapping brain network that includes the bilateral inferior/middle frontal gyrus and the temporo-parietal and occipital-temporal regions. The two idiom conditions elicited additional activations in the right superior parietal lobule and right precuneus. Item-based modulation analyses further demonstrated that activation amplitudes in the right angular gyrus, right superior parietal lobule and right precuneus, as well as left inferior temporo-occipital cortex, are negatively correlated with the semantic transparency of the idioms. These results suggest that both hemispheres are involved in idiom processing but they play different roles. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of theories of figurative language processing and hemispheric functions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neural Networks Involved in Adolescent Reward Processing: An Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis of Functional Neuroimaging Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Silverman, Merav H.; Jedd, Kelly; Luciana, Monica

2015-01-01

Behavioral responses to, and the neural processing of, rewards change dramatically during adolescence and may contribute to observed increases in risk-taking during this developmental period. Functional MRI (fMRI) studies suggest differences between adolescents and adults in neural activation during reward processing, but findings are contradictory, and effects have been found in non-predicted directions. The current study uses an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach for quantitative meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies to: 1) confirm the network of brain regions involved in adolescents’ reward processing, 2) identify regions involved in specific stages (anticipation, outcome) and valence (positive, negative) of reward processing, and 3) identify differences in activation likelihood between adolescent and adult reward-related brain activation. Results reveal a subcortical network of brain regions involved in adolescent reward processing similar to that found in adults with major hubs including the ventral and dorsal striatum, insula, and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Contrast analyses find that adolescents exhibit greater likelihood of activation in the insula while processing anticipation relative to outcome and greater likelihood of activation in the putamen and amygdala during outcome relative to anticipation. While processing positive compared to negative valence, adolescents show increased likelihood for activation in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and ventral striatum. Contrasting adolescent reward processing with the existing ALE of adult reward processing (Liu et al., 2011) reveals increased likelihood for activation in limbic, frontolimbic, and striatal regions in adolescents compared with adults. Unlike adolescents, adults also activate executive control regions of the frontal and parietal lobes. These findings support hypothesized elevations in motivated activity during adolescence. PMID:26254587

Differential processing and attitude change following majority versus minority arguments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Dreu, C.K.W.; van de Vliert, E.

1996-01-01

Tested the hypothesis that majority (MAJ) influence induces convergent processing, which stimulates attitude change (AC) on focal issues (FISs), whereas minority (MIN) influence produces divergent processing, which might stimulate change on related attitudes. Ss were 86 high school students. Results

Stakeholders involvement in the decommissioning processes in Italy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dionisi, Mario

2006-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present the situation about stakeholders involvement in Italy in the framework of the decommissioning process of the Italian nuclear installations, and in particular the specific experience of the Italian Regulatory Body APAT. Specific aspects and APAT initiatives for building confidence of stakeholders in the process of the release of solid material from the regulatory control are presented. Content: Decommissioning activities in Italy, Decommissioning licensing procedures (Site and material release, APAT - ARPA Partnership approach in the clearance process)

44 CFR 5.8 - Records involved in litigation or other judicial process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... litigation or other judicial process. 5.8 Section 5.8 Emergency Management and Assistance FEDERAL EMERGENCY... Provisions § 5.8 Records involved in litigation or other judicial process. Where there is reason to believe that any records requested may be involved in litigation or other judicial process in which the United...

The Interaction between Personality, Social Network Position and Involvement in Innovation Process

NARCIS (Netherlands)

E. Dolgova (Evgenia); W. van Olffen (Woody); F.A.J. van den Bosch (Frans); H.W. Volberda (Henk)

2010-01-01

textabstractAbstract This dissertation proposal investigates how personality and individuals’ social network position affect individuals’ involvement into the innovation process. It posits that people would feel inclined to become involved into the different phases of the innovation process

Processes involved in solving mathematical problems

Science.gov (United States)

Shahrill, Masitah; Putri, Ratu Ilma Indra; Zulkardi, Prahmana, Rully Charitas Indra

2018-04-01

This study examines one of the instructional practices features utilized within the Year 8 mathematics lessons in Brunei Darussalam. The codes from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study were applied and strictly followed, and from the 183 mathematics problems recorded, there were 95 problems with a solution presented during the public segments of the video-recorded lesson sequences of the four sampled teachers. The analyses involved firstly, identifying the processes related to mathematical problem statements, and secondly, examining the different processes used in solving the mathematical problems for each problem publicly completed during the lessons. The findings revealed that for three of the teachers, their problem statements coded as `using procedures' ranged from 64% to 83%, while the remaining teacher had 40% of his problem statements coded as `making connections.' The processes used when solving the problems were mainly `using procedures', and none of the problems were coded as `giving results only'. Furthermore, all four teachers made use of making the relevant connections in solving the problems given to their respective students.

Classification of processes involved in sharing individual participant data from clinical trials [version 1; referees: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Ohmann

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Background: In recent years, a cultural change in the handling of data from research has resulted in the strong promotion of a culture of openness and increased sharing of data. In the area of clinical trials, sharing of individual participant data involves a complex set of processes and the interaction of many actors and actions. Individual services/tools to support data sharing are available, but what is missing is a detailed, structured and comprehensive list of processes/subprocesses involved and tools/services needed. Methods: Principles and recommendations from a published data sharing consensus document are analysed in detail by a small expert group. Processes/subprocesses involved in data sharing are identified and linked to actors and possible services/tools. Definitions are adapted from the business process model and notation (BPMN and applied in the analysis. Results: A detailed and comprehensive list of individual processes/subprocesses involved in data sharing, structured according to 9 main processes, is provided. Possible tools/services to support these processes/subprocesses are identified and grouped according to major type of support. Conclusions: The list of individual processes/subprocesses and tools/services identified is a first step towards development of a generic framework or architecture for sharing of data from clinical trials. Such a framework is strongly needed to give an overview of how various actors, research processes and services could form an interoperable system for data sharing.

Secretory processes involved in the formation of milk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knutsson, P.G.

1976-01-01

Current knowledge on milk formation is reviewed. Emphasis is given to sites of formation of protein, fat and lactose, and transfer of these compounds into the alveolar lumen. Further, the formation of the water phase of milk is thoroughly discussed, and evidence presented that milk formation includes both secretory and re-absorptive processes as well as diffusion. A short presentation of colostrum formation is included. Neither biochemical processes involved in synthesis of organic compounds nor mammary gland endocrinology are discussed. (author)

Public involvement in decision making process in nuclear field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Constantin, M.; Diaconu, D.

2009-01-01

Decision Making Process (DMP) in nuclear field is influenced by multiple factors such as: complex technical aspects, diversity of stakeholders, long term risks, psychological stresses, societal attitudes, etc. General public is sometimes considered as the only one of stakeholders, the involvement of the public being seen as a factor to obtain the acceptance in the late phase of DMP. Generally it is assessed by public consultation on the environment impact studies and by approval of the sitting through the local authorities decision. Modern society uses methods to involve public from the beginning of DMP. The paper shows a general view of the methods and tools used in Europe for public involvement in DMP. The process of construction of a continuous democratic dialog inside of Romanian Stakeholder Group (RSG) in the frame of the FP6-COWAM2 and CIP projects is presented with a focusing of the barriers and factors of disturbing the trust and collaboration between stakeholders. The influence on the public acceptance is also discussed. (authors)

Charge exchange processes involving iron ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phaneuf, R.A.

1985-01-01

A review and evaluation is given of the experimental data which are available for charge exchange processes involving iron ions and neutral H, H 2 and He. Appropriate scaling laws are presented, and their accuracy estimated for these systems. A bibliography is given of available data sources, as well as of useful data compilations and review articles. A procedure is recommended for providing single approximate formulae to the fusion community to describe total cross sections for electron capture by partially-stripped Fe/sup q+/ ions in collisions with H, H 2 and He, based on the scaling relationships suggested by Janev and Hvelplund

Classification of processes involved in sharing individual participant data from clinical trials [version 2; referees: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Ohmann

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: In recent years, a cultural change in the handling of research data has resulted in the promotion of a culture of openness and an increased sharing of data. In the area of clinical trials, sharing of individual participant data involves a complex set of processes and the interaction of many actors and actions. Individual services and tools to support data sharing are becoming available, but what is missing is a detailed, structured and comprehensive list of processes and subprocesses involved and the tools and services needed. Methods: Principles and recommendations from a published consensus document on data sharing were analysed in detail by a small expert group. Processes and subprocesses involved in data sharing were identified and linked to actors and possible supporting services and tools. Definitions adapted from the business process model and notation (BPMN were applied in the analysis. Results: A detailed and comprehensive tabulation of individual processes and subprocesses involved in data sharing, structured according to 9 main processes, is provided. Possible tools and services to support these processes are identified and grouped according to the major type of support. Conclusions: The identification of the individual processes and subprocesses and supporting tools and services, is a first step towards development of a generic framework or architecture for the sharing of data from clinical trials. Such a framework is needed to provide an overview of how the various actors, research processes and services could interact to form a sustainable system for data sharing.

STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT IN THE HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT PROCESS IN LATIN AMERICA.

Science.gov (United States)

Pichon-Riviere, Andres; Soto, Natalie; Augustovski, Federico; Sampietro-Colom, Laura

2018-06-11

Latin American countries are taking important steps to expand and strengthen universal health coverage, and health technology assessment (HTA) has an increasingly prominent role in this process. Participation of all relevant stakeholders has become a priority in this effort. Key issues in this area were discussed during the 2017 Latin American Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Policy Forum. The Forum included forty-one participants from Latin American HTA agencies; public, social security, and private insurance sectors; and the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. A background paper and presentations by invited experts and Forum members supported discussions. This study presents a summary of these discussions. Stakeholder involvement in HTA remains inconsistently implemented in the region and few countries have established formal processes. Participants agreed that stakeholder involvement is key to improve the HTA process, but the form and timing of such improvements must be adapted to local contexts. The legitimization of both HTA and decision-making processes was identified as one of the main reasons to promote stakeholder involvement; but to be successful, the entire system of assessment and decision making must be properly staffed and organized, and certain basic conditions must be met, including transparency in the HTA process and a clear link between HTA and decision making. Participants suggested a need for establishing clear rules of participation in HTA that would protect HTA producers and decision makers from potentially distorting external influences. Such rules and mechanisms could help foster trust and credibility among stakeholders, supporting actual involvement in HTA processes.

Inclusive Briefing and User Involvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Per Anker

2011-01-01

Briefing is not just about specifying needs as requirements but also about evaluating how well design proposals fulfil needs and aspirations. Furthermore, briefing is not only about building design. Briefing starts at the preproject stage to create a basis for the project decision and can include...... by top management. The article describes the briefing processes and the methods for user involvement, identifies problem areas and points out possible improvements. The author was actively involved in the project as deputy project director, with responsibility for the briefing process, and is now...... includes a literature study on briefing and user involvement in building projects, and presents a case study of a major building project of a new headquarters and media centre for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in Copenhagen. The building project was actively used as part of a corporate change process...

Has patients' involvement in the decision-making process changed over time?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brink-Muinen, A. van den; Dulmen, A.M. van; Haes, H.C.J.M. de; Visser, A.P.; Schellevis, F.G.; Bensing, J.M.

2006-01-01

Objective: To get insight into the changes over time of patients' involvement in the decision-making process, and into the factors contributing to patients' involvement and general practitioners' (GPs) communication related to the Medical Treatment Act (MTA) Issues: information about treatment,

Has patients’ involvement in the decision-making process changed over time?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brink-Muinen, A. van den; Dulmen, S.M. van; Haes, H.C.J.M. de; Visser, A.P.; Schellevis, F.G.; Bensing, J.

2006-01-01

Objective To get insight into the changes over time of patients’ involvement in the decision-making process, and into the factors contributing to patients’ involvement and general practitioners’ (GPs) communication related to the Medical Treatment Act (MTA) issues: information about treatment,

Involvement of Leishmania donovani major surface glycoprotein ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The major surface glycoprotein gp63 of the kinetoplastid protozoal parasite Leishmania is implicated as a ligand mediating uptake of the parasite into, and survival within, the host macrophage. By expressing gp63 antisense RNA from an episomal vector in L. donovani promastigotes, gp63-deficient transfectants were ...

Red Queen Processes Drive Positive Selection on Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC Genes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maciej Jan Ejsmond

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC genes code for proteins involved in the incitation of the adaptive immune response in vertebrates, which is achieved through binding oligopeptides (antigens of pathogenic origin. Across vertebrate species, substitutions of amino acids at sites responsible for the specificity of antigen binding (ABS are positively selected. This is attributed to pathogen-driven balancing selection, which is also thought to maintain the high polymorphism of MHC genes, and to cause the sharing of allelic lineages between species. However, the nature of this selection remains controversial. We used individual-based computer simulations to investigate the roles of two phenomena capable of maintaining MHC polymorphism: heterozygote advantage and host-pathogen arms race (Red Queen process. Our simulations revealed that levels of MHC polymorphism were high and driven mostly by the Red Queen process at a high pathogen mutation rate, but were low and driven mostly by heterozygote advantage when the pathogen mutation rate was low. We found that novel mutations at ABSs are strongly favored by the Red Queen process, but not by heterozygote advantage, regardless of the pathogen mutation rate. However, while the strong advantage of novel alleles increased the allele turnover rate, under a high pathogen mutation rate, allelic lineages persisted for a comparable length of time under Red Queen and under heterozygote advantage. Thus, when pathogens evolve quickly, the Red Queen is capable of explaining both positive selection and long coalescence times, but the tension between the novel allele advantage and persistence of alleles deserves further investigation.

Major ion chemistry of the Son River, India: Weathering processes ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Major ion chemistry of the Son River, India: Weathering processes, dissolved fluxes and water quality assessment. Chinmaya Maharana, Sandeep Kumar Gautam,. Abhay Kumar Singh and Jayant K Tripathi. J. Earth Syst. Sci. 124(6) cO Indian Academy of Sciences. Supplementary data ...

Scintigraphic evaluation of bone involvement in beta thalassemia major

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armijo, Soledad; Hidalgo, Pablo

2000-01-01

In this article, the authors describe a 19 year old man with beta-thalassemia major and back pain, who was studied with a Tc99m Metilendiphosphonate (Tc99m MDP) bone scan. This case shows many of the complications of beta-thalassemia major in the skeletal system. Also we can see some indirect signs of endocrinopathies associated (Au)

Involving patients in health technology funding decisions: stakeholder perspectives on processes used in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Edilene; Street, Jackie; Carter, Drew; Merlin, Tracy

2016-04-01

Governments use a variety of processes to incorporate public perspectives into policymaking, but few studies have evaluated these processes from participants' point of view. The objective of this study was twofold: to understand the perspectives of selected stakeholders with regard to involvement processes used by Australian Advisory Committees to engage the public and patients; and to identify barriers and facilitators to participation. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of different stakeholder groups involved in health technology funding decisions in Australia. Data were collected and analysed using a theoretical framework created by Rowe and Frewer, but adapted to more fully acknowledge issues of power and influence. Stakeholder groups disagreed as to what constitutes effective and inclusive patient involvement. Barriers reported by interviewees included poor communication, a lack of transparency, unworkable deadlines, and inadequate representativeness. Also described were problems associated with defining the task for patients and their advocates and with the timing of patient input in the decision-making process. Interviewees suggested that patient participation could be improved by increasing the number of patient organizations engaged in processes and including those organizations at different stages of decision making, especially earlier. The different evaluations made by stakeholder groups appear to be underpinned by contrasting conceptions of public involvement and its value, in line with Graham Martin's work which distinguishes between 'technocratic' and 'democratic' public involvement. Understanding stakeholders' perspectives and the contrasting conceptions of public involvement could foster future agreement on which processes should be used to involve the public in decision making. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Functional brain imaging study on brain processes involved in visual awareness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Tetsuo; Futakawa, Hiroyuki; Tokita, Shohko; Jung, Jiuk

2003-01-01

Recently, there has been great interest in visual awareness because it is thought that it may provide valuable information in understanding aspects of consciousness. An important but still controversial issue is what region in the brain is involved in visual awareness. When viewing ambiguous figures, observers can be aware of only one of multiple competing percepts at any given moment, but experience spontaneous alternations among the percepts over time. This phenomenon is known as multistable perceptions and thought to be essential in understanding the brain processes involved in visual awareness. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the brain activities associated with multistable perceptions. Two separate experiments were performed based on two different multistable phenomena known as binocular rivalry and perceptions of ambiguous figures. Significant differential activations in the parietal and prefrontal areas were commonly observed under multistable conditions compared to monostable control conditions in the two separate experiments. These findings suggest that neural processes in the parietal and prefrontal areas may be involved in perceptual alternations in situations involving multistable phenomena. (author)

EARLY READING ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS: ABILITIES AND PROCESSES INVOLVED

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Cláudia de Souza

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the following early reading assessment instruments: “Bateria de Recepção e Produção da Linguagem Verbal” (SCLIAR-CABRAL, 2003a and “Teste de Competência de Leitura de Palavras e Pseudopalavras” (SEABRA; CAPOVILLA, 2010. The main research goal is to analyze in each one of these reading assessment instruments some of the multiple cognitive processes and basic low-level abilities involved in reading. In this sense, decoding, word recognition, lexical access, syntactic and textual processing, and comprehension are the cognitive processes taken into account. With regard to the basic reading abilities, accuracy and fluency (rhythm, prosody and speed are considered. The results indicate that each one of the analyzed reading assessment instruments assesses different aspects of the reading processes and abilities, mainly through off-line measures. ScliarCabral’s assessment battery allows the researcher or the teacher to evaluate the following processes: perception of the grapheme opposition in minimal pairs of words and in sentences, difficulties in sentence processing, skills in decoding the graphemic-phonemic relationship, and textual comprehension. In its turn, the reading assessment instrument proposed by Seabra e Capovilla allows one to evaluate student’s reading development level, by classifying the kind of processing as logographic, alphabetic or orthographic.

Genomic polymorphism, recombination, and linkage disequilibrium in human major histocompatibility complex-encoded antigen-processing genes.

Science.gov (United States)

van Endert, P M; Lopez, M T; Patel, S D; Monaco, J J; McDevitt, H O

1992-01-01

Recently, two subunits of a large cytosolic protease and two putative peptide transporter proteins were found to be encoded by genes within the class II region of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). These genes have been suggested to be involved in the processing of antigenic proteins for presentation by MHC class I molecules. Because of the high degree of polymorphism in MHC genes, and previous evidence for both functional and polypeptide sequence polymorphism in the proteins encoded by the antigen-processing genes, we tested DNA from 27 consanguineous human cell lines for genomic polymorphism by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. These studies demonstrate a strong linkage disequilibrium between TAP1 and LMP2 RFLPs. Moreover, RFLPs, as well as a polymorphic stop codon in the telomeric TAP2 gene, appear to be in linkage disequilibrium with HLA-DR alleles and RFLPs in the HLA-DO gene. A high rate of recombination, however, seems to occur in the center of the complex, between the TAP1 and TAP2 genes. Images PMID:1360671

Global process industry initiatives to reduce major accident hazards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pitblado, Robin [DNV Energy Houston, TX (United States). SHE Risk Management; Pontes, Jose [DNV Energy Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Americas Region; Oliveira, Luiz [DNV Energy Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2008-07-01

Since 2000, disasters at Texas City, Toulouse, Antwerp, Buncefield, P-36 and several near total loss events offshore in Norway have highlighted that major accident process safety is still a serious issue. Hopes that Process Safety Management or Safety Case regulations would solve these issues have not proven true. The Baker Panel recommended to BP several actions mainly around leadership, incentives, metrics, safety culture and more effective implementation of PSM systems. In Europe, an approach built around mechanical integrity and safety barriers, especially relating to technical safety systems, is being widely adopted. DNV has carried out a global survey of process industry initiatives, by interview and by literature review, for both upstream and downstream activities, to identify what the industry itself is planning to implement to enhance process safety in the next 5 - 10 years. This shows that an approach combining Baker Panel and EU barrier approaches and some nuclear industry real-time risk management approaches might be the best means to achieve a factor of 3-4 improvement in process safety. (author)

The Characterization of Cognitive Processes Involved in Chemical Kinetics Using a Blended Processing Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Bain, Kinsey; Rodriguez, Jon-Marc G.; Moon, Alena; Towns, Marcy H.

2018-01-01

Chemical kinetics is a highly quantitative content area that involves the use of multiple mathematical representations to model processes and is a context that is under-investigated in the literature. This qualitative study explored undergraduate student integration of chemistry and mathematics during problem solving in the context of chemical…

Developing Third Year Thai Major Students’ Researching Skill Using Coaching and Mentoring Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wimonrat Soonthornrojana

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The purposes of the study were (1 to develop third year Thai major students’ researching skill according to the criterion of 80 percent, and (2 to study third and fourth year Thai major students’ satisfaction in Coaching and Mentoring process. 95 participants were selected using purposive sampling from third year Thai major students. Five research instruments were used in this study ; (1 classroom research comprehension tests, (2 outline evaluation forms, lesson plan evaluation forms and achievement tests, teaching performance evaluation forms and research report evaluation forms, (3 research behavioral observation forms for third year Thai major students, (4 third year Thai major students interview forms, and (5 satisfaction questionnaire. Statistics used in the study were percentage average, and standard deviation. The result showed third year Thai major students who had taken research course using Coaching and Mentoring process scored 80% in researching skill according to the criterion and had positive satisfaction with average value of 4.54 or 90.79%. Moreover, the result found that fourth year students had positive satisfaction in counseling third year students with average value of 4.73 or 96.38%.

Patient involvement in a scientific advisory process: setting the research agenda for medical products.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elberse, J.E.; Pittens, C.A.C.M.; de Cock Buning, J.T.; Broerse, J.E.W.

2012-01-01

Patient involvement in scientific advisory processes could lead to more societally relevant advice. This article describes a case study wherein the Health Council of the Netherlands involved patient groups in an advisory process with a predefined focus: setting a research agenda for medical products

Major disruption process in tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurita, Gen-ichi; Azumi, Masafumi; Tuda, Takashi; Takizuka, Tomonori; Tsunematsu, Toshihide; Tokuda, Shinji; Itoh, Kimitaka; Takeda, Tatsuoki

1981-11-01

The major disruption in a cylindrical tokamak is investigated by using the multi-helicity code, and the destabilization of the 3/2 mode by the mode coupling with the 2/1 mode is confirmed. The evolution of the magnetic field topology caused by the major disruption is studied in detail. The effect of the internal disruption on the 2/1 magnetic island width is also studied. The 2/1 magnetic island is not enhanced by the flattening of the q-profile due to the internal disruption. (author)

PROCESSES OF ASSIMILATION INVOLVING DENTAL STOP CONSOANTS /t, d/ IN BRASILIAN PORTUGUESE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dermeval da HORA

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The major aim of this paper is to present, based on quantitative sociolinguistics, a analyse of the process of progressive assimilation that involve the dental stop consonants. First of all, one overview about the regressive assimilation, which was extensively studied in Brazilian Portuguese, will be present. Then, the contexts of progressive assimilation in the speech community of Itabaiana-PB will be analyzed. The motivation for this paper is the fact that, in the dialect from Itabaiana, the process of progressive assimilation, in words such as muito ‘many/much’ and gosto ‘like”, in which the preceding phonological context exerts influence over the following one, tend to undergo the process of regressive assimilation, such as as pote ‘pot’ and bote ‘boat’, more useful when we think about the Brazilian Portuguese. The theoretical approach underlying the research is the variation theory, or quantitative Sociolinguistics, pioneered by William Labov (1972. The data collected had already been electronically stored in the corpus from Projeto Variação Linguística da Paraíba – VALPB. The sample consists of 36 informants from the community, being stratified according to gender, age group and years of schooling. As result, the computer program Goldvarb (SANKOFF; TAGLIAMONTE; SMITH, 2005 pointed as favorite to the application of the rule: the gender (male gender, the level of schooling (no scholar historic since the primary, the following phonological context (high back vowel, the precedent phonological context (monophthong, and the tonicity (post-stressed syllable.

From actors to authors: a first account about the involvement of patients in the informed consent governance of a major Italian translational research hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Casati, Sara; Monti, Paolo; Bonino, Ferruccio

2010-01-01

From 2007 to 2009 Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, one of the major public research hospitals in Italy, has invested on a participatory action to promote a good practice of informed consent. The project focused on the improvement and innovation of informed consent considered as a participated act through the involvement of all the actors at stake. The main purpose was to improve the informative practices through the participatory innovation of institutional and organizational elements as conditions of possibility. Therefore the project has pursued the involvement of managers, healthcare professionals, patients and their associations in the institutional governance of informed consent. The involvement of citizens and patients within the whole process meant to put them in charge not just as actors or final evaluators of a good practice, but as co-authors in defining standards, tools and conditions for a good practice. Several actions were taken, including a phase of analysis which involved 20 patients from 8 Associations, a phase of innovation and education where 113 patients and citizens worked together with clinicians from 53 Units in deliberative laboratories, the institution of a multidisciplinary committee inclusive of representatives from 6 associations of patients.The project has produced different outcomes: new institutional guidelines adopted by the hospital; the renewal of consent forms and procedures as part of an explicit shared informative process; an increased implementation of institutional standards of good informative practice; the measure and communication of the outcomes of care and their bench-marking; bottom-up building of paths of validation; the creation of participatory electronic tools; an innovative education on the field for patients and clinicians.

Broad spectrum detoxification: the major longevity assurance process regulated by insulin/IGF-1 signaling?

Science.gov (United States)

Gems, David; McElwee, Joshua J

2005-03-01

Our recent survey of genes regulated by insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) in Caenorhabditis elegans suggests a role for a number of gene classes in longevity assurance. Based on these findings, we propose a model for the biochemistry of longevity assurance and ageing, which is as follows. Ageing results from molecular damage from highly diverse endobiotic toxins. These are stochastic by-products of diverse metabolic processes, of which reactive oxygen species (ROS) are likely to be only one component. Our microarray analysis suggests a major role in longevity assurance of the phase 1, phase 2 detoxification system involving cytochrome P450 (CYP), short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes. Unlike superoxide and hydrogen peroxide detoxification, this system is energetically costly, and requires the excretion from the cell of its products. Given such costs, its activity may be selected against, as predicted by the disposable soma theory. CYP and UGT enzymes target lipophilic molecular species; insufficient activity of this system is consistent with age-pigment (lipofuscin) accumulation during ageing. We suggest that IIS-regulated longevity assurance involves: (a) energetically costly detoxification and excretion of molecular rubbish, and (b) conservation of existing proteins via molecular chaperones. Given the emphasis in this theory on investment in cellular waste disposal, and on protein conservation, we have dubbed it the green theory.

Gasification processes old and new: a basic review of the major technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breault, R. W.

2010-01-01

This paper has been put together to provide a single source document that not only reviews the historical development of gasification but also compares the process to combustion. It also provides a short discussion on integrated gasification and combined cycle processes. The major focus of the paper is to describe the twelve major gasifiers being marketed today. Some of these are already fully developed while others are in various stages of development. The hydrodynamics and kinetics of each are reviewed along with the most likely gas composition from each of the technologies when using a variety of fuels under different conditions from air blown to oxygen blown and atmospheric pressure to several atmospheres. (author)

A process for integrating public involvement into technical/social programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiltshire, S.; Williams, C.

1994-01-01

Good technical/social decisions--those that are technically sound and publicly acceptable--result from a planning process that considers consulting the public a basic part of the technical program, as basic as hiring a technical consultant to advise about new ideas in computer modeling. This paper describes a specific process for making public involvement an integral part of decision-making about high-level radioactive waste management, so that important technical, social, environmental, economic, and cultural information and values can be incorporated in a meaningful way in planning and carrying out a high-level waste management program or project. The process for integration must consider: (a) the decision or task for which public interaction is needed; (b) the people who should or will want to participate in the decision or task; (c) the goals or purposes of the communication or interaction--the agency's and the public's; (d) the kinds of information the public needs and that the agency needs in order to understand the relevant technical and social issues; and (e) the types of communication or involvement that best serve to meet the agency's and the public's goals

Assessment of major nuclear technologies with decision and risk analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winterfeldt, D. von

1995-01-01

Selecting technologies for major nuclear programs involves several complexities, including multiple stakeholders, multiple conflicting objectives, uncertainties, and risk. In addition, the programmatic risks related to the schedule, cost, and performance of these technologies often become major issues in the selection process. This paper describes a decision analysis approach for addressing these complexities in a logical manner

Involving construction in the preliminary engineering process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahoney, D.T. Jr.; Boccieri, S.V. Jr.

1994-01-01

With today's high cost associated with modifications in nuclear power plants, it is imperative that the authors continue to investigate ways to cut costs but at the same time improve efficiency and reduce radiation exposure to those directly associated with the implementation of modifications. The success associated with involving construction in the preliminary engineering process will not only cut costs and improve efficiency but will establish a Team Building concept to provide accountability to all those associated with the implementation of the task. This form of partnering focuses on the solutions rather than highlighting the difficulties. This paper will demonstrate techniques to implement such ideas and provide examples to corroborate actual successes already achieved

Characterization of a Novel Endoplasmic Reticulum Protein Involved in Tubercidin Resistance in Leishmania major.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Ide Aoki

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Tubercidin (TUB is a toxic adenosine analog with potential antiparasitic activity against Leishmania, with mechanism of action and resistance that are not completely understood. For understanding the mechanisms of action and identifying the potential metabolic pathways affected by this drug, we employed in this study an overexpression/selection approach using TUB for the identification of potential targets, as well as, drug resistance genes in L. major. Although, TUB is toxic to the mammalian host, these findings can provide evidences for a rational drug design based on purine pathway against leishmaniasis.After transfection of a cosmid genomic library into L. major Friedlin (LmjF parasites and application of the overexpression/selection method, we identified two cosmids (cosTUB1 and cosTU2 containing two different loci capable of conferring significant levels of TUB resistance. In the cosTUB1 contained a gene encoding NUPM1-like protein, which has been previously described as associated with TUB resistance in L. amazonensis. In the cosTUB2 we identified and characterized a gene encoding a 63 kDa protein that we denoted as tubercidin-resistance protein (TRP. Functional analysis revealed that the transfectants were less susceptible to TUB than LmjF parasites or those transfected with the control vector. In addition, the trp mRNA and protein levels in cosTUB2 transfectants were higher than LmjF. TRP immunolocalization revealed that it was co-localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER, a cellular compartment with many functions. In silico predictions indicated that TRP contains only a hypothetical transmembrane domain. Thus, it is likely that TRP is a lumen protein involved in multidrug efflux transport that may be involved in the purine metabolic pathway.This study demonstrated for the first time that TRP is associated with TUB resistance in Leishmania. The next challenge is to determine how TRP mediates TUB resistance and whether purine

Characterization of a Novel Endoplasmic Reticulum Protein Involved in Tubercidin Resistance in Leishmania major.

Science.gov (United States)

Aoki, Juliana Ide; Coelho, Adriano Cappellazzo; Muxel, Sandra Marcia; Zampieri, Ricardo Andrade; Sanchez, Eduardo Milton Ramos; Nerland, Audun Helge; Floeter-Winter, Lucile Maria; Cotrim, Paulo Cesar

2016-09-01

Tubercidin (TUB) is a toxic adenosine analog with potential antiparasitic activity against Leishmania, with mechanism of action and resistance that are not completely understood. For understanding the mechanisms of action and identifying the potential metabolic pathways affected by this drug, we employed in this study an overexpression/selection approach using TUB for the identification of potential targets, as well as, drug resistance genes in L. major. Although, TUB is toxic to the mammalian host, these findings can provide evidences for a rational drug design based on purine pathway against leishmaniasis. After transfection of a cosmid genomic library into L. major Friedlin (LmjF) parasites and application of the overexpression/selection method, we identified two cosmids (cosTUB1 and cosTU2) containing two different loci capable of conferring significant levels of TUB resistance. In the cosTUB1 contained a gene encoding NUPM1-like protein, which has been previously described as associated with TUB resistance in L. amazonensis. In the cosTUB2 we identified and characterized a gene encoding a 63 kDa protein that we denoted as tubercidin-resistance protein (TRP). Functional analysis revealed that the transfectants were less susceptible to TUB than LmjF parasites or those transfected with the control vector. In addition, the trp mRNA and protein levels in cosTUB2 transfectants were higher than LmjF. TRP immunolocalization revealed that it was co-localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a cellular compartment with many functions. In silico predictions indicated that TRP contains only a hypothetical transmembrane domain. Thus, it is likely that TRP is a lumen protein involved in multidrug efflux transport that may be involved in the purine metabolic pathway. This study demonstrated for the first time that TRP is associated with TUB resistance in Leishmania. The next challenge is to determine how TRP mediates TUB resistance and whether purine metabolism is affected

Drowning unconformities: Palaeoenvironmental significance and involvement of global processes

Science.gov (United States)

Godet, Alexis

2013-07-01

Drowning unconformities are stratigraphic key surfaces in the history of carbonate platforms. They mostly consist in the deposition of deep marine facies on top of shallow marine limestones. Although large-scale depositional geometries mimic lowstand systems track architecture, these sedimentary turnovers are developed in relation with major sea level rise, inducing an increase in the rate of creation of accommodation space that outpaces the capacity of carbonate to keep up. This so-called paradox of carbonate platform drowning implies that parameters other than purely eustatic fluctuations are involved in the demise of shallow marine ecosystems. Worldwide and at different times during Earth history, in-depth studies of drowning unconformities revealed that changes in nutrient input, clastic delivery, temperature, or a combination of them may be responsible for a decrease in light penetration in the water column and the progressive suffocation and poisoning of photosynthetic carbonate producers. The examination of such case examples from various stratigraphic intervals and palaeogeographical settings thus helps in identifying and hierarchizing potential triggering mechanisms for drowning unconformities. This is complemented by new data from Early Cretaceous successions from the Helvetic Alps. During this time period, the Helvetic carbonate platform developed along the northern Tethyan margin using both photozoan and heterozoan communities. Phases of healthy production were interrupted by several drowning episodes. The latter are marked in the sedimentary record by condensation and associated phosphogenesis and glauconitisation. From the earliest Valanginian to the early to late Barremian, three drowning unconformities reflect the intermittent installation of a more humid climate and subsequent enhanced trophic conditions, which first induced a switch from photozoan to heterozoan communities and then to long-lasting drowning phases. The latter encompass several sea

Situation concerning public information about and involvement in the decision-making processes in the nuclear sector. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gadbois, S.; Heriard Dubreuil, G. [Mutadis, 75 - Paris (France); Vaillant, L.; Schneider, T. [Centre d' Etude sur l' Evaluation de la Protection dans le Domaine Nucleaire - CEPN, 92 - Fontenay aux Roses (France); Paterson, J.; Dawson, M.; Borg Barthet, J. [Aberdeen Univ. (United Kingdom); Prades, A.; Lopez, M.; Sala, R. [CIEMAT, Barcelona (Spain)

2007-07-01

levels (local, national, international), and entail safety, economic, social, ethical, political, legal and environmental issues. This situation has led to major conflicts on technological development in recent decades, and to a crisis of trust in decision-makers, as well as in experts. As this crisis unfolded, it became obvious that in order to embrace complexity, the different stakeholders should contribute to the knowledge base of decisions. In this new light, participation appears to be much more than a support to information. Participation would provide stakeholders with the means to get involved in decision-making processes and to contribute their views so as to improve the quality of expertise, the reliability of decisions and the safe operation of activities. There is a belief that, far from diminishing effectiveness, by moving away from a purely technical approach and towards an inclusive approach, one can enhance effectiveness and practicability in the decision-making process. The case studies illustrate different best practices of stakeholder involvement in this regard. They demonstrate that it is actually possible to improve decision-making processes by engaging concerned parties in the preparation of decisions and in the oversight of nuclear activities. The analysis of the case studies clearly pointed out that the effectiveness of stakeholder involvement relies on two major transformations: a stronger role for new categories of actors, including local and regional governments and institutions; and an opening up of the institutions in the perspective of stakeholder involvement in the decision-making process in the nuclear sector. These transformations prove to be practicable and achievable. Although they imply significant changes from the various actors, they are by no means 'revolutionary', but rather manifest a progressive evolution that is respectful of existing institutional structures. Over and above the general emergence of a new role for

Situation concerning public information about and involvement in the decision-making processes in the nuclear sector. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gadbois, S.; Heriard Dubreuil, G.; Vaillant, L.; Schneider, T.; Paterson, J.; Dawson, M.; Borg Barthet, J.; Prades, A.; Lopez, M.; Sala, R.

2007-01-01

, national, international), and entail safety, economic, social, ethical, political, legal and environmental issues. This situation has led to major conflicts on technological development in recent decades, and to a crisis of trust in decision-makers, as well as in experts. As this crisis unfolded, it became obvious that in order to embrace complexity, the different stakeholders should contribute to the knowledge base of decisions. In this new light, participation appears to be much more than a support to information. Participation would provide stakeholders with the means to get involved in decision-making processes and to contribute their views so as to improve the quality of expertise, the reliability of decisions and the safe operation of activities. There is a belief that, far from diminishing effectiveness, by moving away from a purely technical approach and towards an inclusive approach, one can enhance effectiveness and practicability in the decision-making process. The case studies illustrate different best practices of stakeholder involvement in this regard. They demonstrate that it is actually possible to improve decision-making processes by engaging concerned parties in the preparation of decisions and in the oversight of nuclear activities. The analysis of the case studies clearly pointed out that the effectiveness of stakeholder involvement relies on two major transformations: a stronger role for new categories of actors, including local and regional governments and institutions; and an opening up of the institutions in the perspective of stakeholder involvement in the decision-making process in the nuclear sector. These transformations prove to be practicable and achievable. Although they imply significant changes from the various actors, they are by no means 'revolutionary', but rather manifest a progressive evolution that is respectful of existing institutional structures. Over and above the general emergence of a new role for local actors, these

Youth Involvement In Rural Development Activities In Ogba District ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

. This is because they are major stakeholders in the development process. This study investigates youth involvement in rural development activities in Ogba district of Rivers state, Nigeria. Data was collected from 120 randomly selected youths ...

A voice from the high wire: Public involvement in a co-operative siting process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oates, D.J.L.

1995-01-01

The author is a public consultation and communications consultant to the Siting Task Force (STF), Low level Radioactive Waste Management. The STF is a Canadian government-appointed yet independent body implementing a voluntary, co-operative siting process for a long term storage or disposal facility for 1 million cubic metres of LLRW. The presentation will document the experiences of and lessons learned by the author during her role developing and implementing a public involvement program for the process. The Co-operative Siting Process is a new approach to siting controversial facilities. It is based on the belief that communities should accept such a facility in their backyard and not be forced against their will on technical or political grounds. A formal 'ground rules-up-front' process was developed and is now being carried out, with completion slated for April, 1995. Putting these rules and theories into practice has resulted in significant changes being made to the work plan for technical activities, and in a sober second look at the intricacies involved in planning and carrying out a thorough and efficient public involvement program that remain practical and cost-effective. There is a delicate balancing act between meaningful public participation that lays the foundation for trust, confidence and consensus, and public involvement that can result in the process being side-tracked and legitimate solutions and technical activities becoming mired in political and personal agendas

Systematic and heuristic processing of majority and minority-endorsed messages: the effects of varying outcome relevance and levels of orientation on attitude and message processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Robin; Hewstone, Miles; Martin, Pearl Y

2007-01-01

Two experiments investigated the conditions under which majority and minority sources instigate systematic processing of their messages. Both experiments crossed source status (majority vs. minority) with message quality (strong vs. weak arguments). In each experiment, message elaboration was manipulated by varying either motivational (outcome relevance, Experiment 1) or cognitive (orientating tasks, Experiment 2) factors. The results showed that when either motivational or cognitive factors encouraged low message elaboration, there was heuristic acceptance of the majority position without detailed message processing. When the level of message elaboration was intermediate, there was message processing only for the minority source. Finally, when message elaboration was high, there was message processing for both source conditions. These results show that majority and minority influence is sensitive to motivational and cognitive factors that constrain or enhance message elaboration and that both sources can lead to systematic processing under specific circumstances.

The purchase decision process and involvement of the elderly regarding nonprescription products.

Science.gov (United States)

Reisenwitz, T H; Wimbish, G J

1997-01-01

The elderly or senior citizen is a large and growing market segment that purchases a disproportionate amount of health care products, particularly nonprescription products. This study attempts to examine the elderly's level of involvement (high versus low) and their purchase decision process regarding nonprescription or over-the-counter (OTC) products. Frequencies and percentages are calculated to indicate level of involvement as well as purchase decision behavior. Previous research is critiqued and managerial implications are discussed.

Processes and parameters involved in modeling radionuclide transport from bedded salt repositories. Final report. Technical memorandum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evenson, D.E.; Prickett, T.A.; Showalter, P.A.

1979-07-01

The parameters necessary to model radionuclide transport in salt beds are identified and described. A proposed plan for disposal of the radioactive wastes generated by nuclear power plants is to store waste canisters in repository sites contained in stable salt formations approximately 600 meters below the ground surface. Among the principal radioactive wastes contained in these canisters will be radioactive isotopes of neptunium, americium, uranium, and plutonium along with many highly radioactive fission products. A concern with this form of waste disposal is the possibility of ground-water flow occurring in the salt beds and endangering water supplies and the public health. Specifically, the research investigated the processes involved in the movement of radioactive wastes from the repository site by groundwater flow. Since the radioactive waste canisters also generate heat, temperature is an important factor. Among the processes affecting movement of radioactive wastes from a repository site in a salt bed are thermal conduction, groundwater movement, ion exchange, radioactive decay, dissolution and precipitation of salt, dispersion and diffusion, adsorption, and thermomigration. In addition, structural changes in the salt beds as a result of temperature changes are important. Based upon the half-lives of the radioactive wastes, he period of concern is on the order of a million years. As a result, major geologic phenomena that could affect both the salt bed and groundwater flow in the salt beds was considered. These phenomena include items such as volcanism, faulting, erosion, glaciation, and the impact of meteorites. CDM reviewed all of the critical processes involved in regional groundwater movement of radioactive wastes and identified and described the parameters that must be included to mathematically model their behavior. In addition, CDM briefly reviewed available echniques to measure these parameters

Effect of antidepressant medication use on emotional information processing in major depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Tony T; Clerkin, Elise M; Ellis, Alissa J; Beevers, Christopher G

2014-02-01

Acute administration of antidepressant medication increases emotional information processing for positive information in both depressed and healthy persons. This effect is likely relevant to the therapeutic actions of these medications, but it has not been studied in patients with major depressive disorder taking antidepressants as typically prescribed in the community. The authors used eye tracking to examine the effects of antidepressant medication on selective attention for emotional stimuli in a sample of 47 patients with major depressive disorder (21 medicated and 26 unmedicated) and 47 matched comparison subjects without depression. Participants completed a passive-viewing eye-tracking task assessing selective attention for positive, dysphoric, threatening, and neutral stimuli in addition to providing medication information and self-report measures of depression and anxiety severity. Depressed participants currently taking antidepressants and nondepressed comparison subjects demonstrated greater total gaze duration and more fixations for positive stimuli compared with unmedicated depressed participants. Depressed participants on medication also had fewer fixations for dysphoric stimuli compared with depressed participants not on medication. Antidepressants, as prescribed in the community to patients with depression, appear to modify emotional information processing in the absence of differences in depression severity. These results are consistent with previous work and indicate a robust effect for antidepressants on positive information processing. They also provide further evidence for modification of information processing as a potential mechanism of action for antidepressant medication.

Cochlear Implant: the complexity involved in the decision making process by the family.

Science.gov (United States)

Vieira, Sheila de Souza; Bevilacqua, Maria Cecília; Ferreira, Noeli Marchioro Liston Andrade; Dupas, Giselle

2014-01-01

to understand the meanings the family attributes to the phases of the decision-making process on a cochlear implant for their child. qualitative research, using Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory as the theoretical and methodological frameworks, respectively. Data collection instrument: semistructured interview. Nine families participated in the study (32 participants). knowledge deficit, difficulties to contextualize benefits and risks and fear are some factors that make this process difficult. Experiences deriving from interactions with health professionals, other cochlear implant users and their relatives strengthen decision making in favor of the implant. deciding on whether or not to have the implant involves a complex process, in which the family needs to weigh gains and losses, experience feelings of accountability and guilt, besides overcoming the risk aversion. Hence, this demands cautious preparation and knowledge from the professionals involved in this intervention.

The Relationship between 4-H Division Leaders' Propensity toward Delegation and Involvement in and Major Responsibility for Leader Identification and Selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunbar, Mary Elizabeth

This research was to determine the relationship between New York State Cooperative Extension 4-H Division Leaders' propensity toward delegation of work responsibility and (1) their degree of involvement in the performance of leader identification and selection tasks, (2) assignment of major responsibility for these tasks, and (3) other selected…

Domain general sequence operations contribute to pre-SMA involvement in visuo-spatial processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Charles eLeek

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This study used 3T MRI to elucidate the functional role of supplementary motor area (SMA in relation to visuo-spatial processing. A localizer task contrasting sequential number subtraction and repetitive button pressing was used to functionally delineate non-motor sequence processing in pre-SMA, and activity in SMA-proper associated with motor sequencing. Patterns of BOLD responses in these regions were then contrasted to those from two tasks of visuo-spatial processing. In one task participants performed mental rotation in which recognition memory judgments were made to previously memorized 2D novel patterns across image-plane rotations. The other task involved abstract grid navigation in which observers computed a series of imagined location shifts in response to directional (arrow cues around a mental grid. The results showed overlapping activation in pre-SMA for sequential subtraction and both visuo-spatial tasks. These results suggest that visuo-spatial processing is supported by non-motor sequence operations that involve pre-SMA. More broadly, these data further highlight the functional heterogeneity of pre-SMA, and show that its role extends to processes beyond the planning and online control of movement.

Cochlear Implant: the complexity involved in the decision making process by the family

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheila de Souza Vieira

2014-06-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: to understand the meanings the family attributes to the phases of the decision-making process on a cochlear implant for their child.METHOD: qualitative research, using Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory as the theoretical and methodological frameworks, respectively. Data collection instrument: semistructured interview. Nine families participated in the study (32 participants.RESULTS: knowledge deficit, difficulties to contextualize benefits and risks and fear are some factors that make this process difficult. Experiences deriving from interactions with health professionals, other cochlear implant users and their relatives strengthen decision making in favor of the implant.CONCLUSION: deciding on whether or not to have the implant involves a complex process, in which the family needs to weigh gains and losses, experience feelings of accountability and guilt, besides overcoming the risk aversion. Hence, this demands cautious preparation and knowledge from the professionals involved in this intervention.

Identification of human cytochrome P450 and UGT enzymes involved in the metabolism of ferulic acid, a major bioactive component in traditional Chinese medicines.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuang, Xiao-Mei; Chen, Lin; Tan, Yan; Yang, Hai-Ying; Lu, Chuang; Gao, Yue; Li, Hua

2017-09-01

Ferulic acid (FA) is an active component of herbal medicines. One of the best documented activities of FA is its antioxidant property. Moreover, FA exerts antiallergic, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective effects. However, the metabolic pathways of FA in humans remain unclear. To identify whether human CYP or UGT enzymes are involved in the metabolism of FA, reaction phenotyping of FA was conducted using major CYP-selective chemical inhibitors together with individual CYP and UGT Supersomes. The CYP- and/or UGT-mediated metabolism kinetics were examined simultaneously or individually. Relative activity factor and total normalized rate approaches were used to assess the relative contributions of each major human CYPs towards the FA metabolism. Incubations of FA with human liver microsomes (HLM) displayed NADPH- and UDPGA-dependent metabolism with multiple CYP and UGT isoforms involved. CYPs and UGTs contributed equally to the metabolism of FA in HLM. Although CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 appeared to be the major contributors in the CYP-mediated clearance, their contributions to the overall clearance are still minor (medicines because multiple phase I and phase II enzymes are involved in its metabolism. Copyright © 2017 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT IN A CHANGE PROCESS - A CASE STUDY FOR ROMANIAN ORGANIZATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prediscan Mariana

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Innovation, competitive advantage, change are some concepts that should be on every organization's agenda, due to the fact the global market leads to global competition so in order to increase the market share, turnover or profit organizations have to incorporate those concepts in their strategies. The outside environment is very unstable and things are evolving very fast so managers from all levels have to acknowledge the importance of change and to identify as soon as possible several new ideas that should be the subject of different change processes. Openness to organizational change has become a mandatory feature for those organizations that want to survive and adapt to the external pressure, helping them to be efficient. Even if in many cases managers are the initiators of change, this process is very complex and needs support and involvement from all the members of the organization, so the employee's attitude and commitment to change is crucial. In many cases employees have a negative attitude towards change and manifest a strong resistance, due to the fact that they are not consulted and are not involved in the process of the identification for the need of change. Without understanding and knowing very well what it is expected from them, employees are afraid of the unknown and prefer to perform their tasks as they did before. Creating a climate and a culture for change is very important, because like this change will be something normal, continuous and people will feel comfortable with any change initiatives, without being surprised, confused or scared. Even if any change process should improve the current state of the organization, sometimes change efforts fail because the ones that resist change are stronger than the ones supporting change. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how often are Romanian employees involved in the processes of change and how important is the role they play. We have also tried to see the Romanian manager

Real-Time Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Amygdala Neurofeedback Changes Positive Information Processing in Major Depressive Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Kymberly D; Misaki, Masaya; Harmer, Catherine J; Victor, Teresa; Zotev, Vadim; Phillips, Raquel; Siegle, Greg J; Drevets, Wayne C; Bodurka, Jerzy

2017-10-15

In participants with major depressive disorder who are trained to upregulate their amygdalar hemodynamic responses during positive autobiographical memory recall with real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rtfMRI-nf) training, depressive symptoms diminish. This study tested whether amygdalar rtfMRI-nf also changes emotional processing of positive and negative stimuli in a variety of behavioral and imaging tasks. Patients with major depressive disorder completed two rtfMRI-nf sessions (18 received amygdalar rtfMRI-nf, 16 received control parietal rtfMRI-nf). One week before and following rtfMRI-nf training, participants performed tasks measuring responses to emotionally valenced stimuli including a backward-masking task, which measures the amygdalar hemodynamic response to emotional faces presented for traditionally subliminal duration and followed by a mask, and the Emotional Test Battery in which reaction times and performance accuracy are measured during tasks involving emotional faces and words. During the backward-masking task, amygdalar responses increased while viewing masked happy faces but decreased to masked sad faces in the experimental versus control group following rtfMRI-nf. During the Emotional Test Battery, reaction times decreased to identification of positive faces and during self-identification with positive words and vigilance scores increased to positive faces and decreased to negative faces during the faces dot-probe task in the experimental versus control group following rtfMRI-nf. rtfMRI-nf training to increase the amygdalar hemodynamic response to positive memories was associated with changes in amygdalar responses to happy and sad faces and improved processing of positive stimuli during performance of the Emotional Test Battery. These results may suggest that amygdalar rtfMRI-nf training alters responses to emotional stimuli in a manner similar to antidepressant pharmacotherapy. Copyright © 2017 Society of

Tightening the Purchasing Process: Superintendents Get More Involved in Buying Policies

Science.gov (United States)

Rivero, Victor

2009-01-01

Over the last 18 months, school district purchasing offices across the country have been tightening the reins like never before while more top-level administrators get involved in the budget process. "When the economy really hit the skids, states got hit hard, so a lot of school districts were forced to make severe budget cuts," says John Musso,…

An Information Processing Approach to the Assessment of Creative Ability in College Music Majors.

Science.gov (United States)

Obenshain, Kathryn; Biskin, Donald

The research attempted to determine if there are creative processes which are independent of intelligence, as generally measured, and to describe these processes. An original test battery was designed and administered to 102 college music majors. The subjects were separated into the categories of a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design by high or low…

Understanding the cognitive processes involved in writing to learn.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Kathleen M; Umanath, Sharda; Thio, Kara; Reilly, Walter B; McDaniel, Mark A; Marsh, Elizabeth J

2017-06-01

Writing is often used as a tool for learning. However, empirical support for the benefits of writing-to-learn is mixed, likely because the literature conflates diverse activities (e.g., summaries, term papers) under the single umbrella of writing-to-learn. Following recent trends in the writing-to-learn literature, the authors focus on the underlying cognitive processes. They draw on the largely independent writing-to-learn and cognitive psychology learning literatures to identify important cognitive processes. The current experiment examines learning from 3 writing tasks (and 1 nonwriting control), with an emphasis on whether or not the tasks engaged retrieval. Tasks that engaged retrieval (essay writing and free recall) led to better final test performance than those that did not (note taking and highlighting). Individual differences in structure building (the ability to construct mental representations of narratives; Gernsbacher, Varner, & Faust, 1990) modified this effect; skilled structure builders benefited more from essay writing and free recall than did less skilled structure builders. Further, more essay-like responses led to better performance, implicating the importance of additional cognitive processes such as reorganization and elaboration. The results highlight how both task instructions and individual differences affect the cognitive processes involved when writing-to-learn, with consequences for the effectiveness of the learning strategy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Final report on the public involvement process phase 1, Monitored Retrievable Storage Facility Feasibility Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moore, L.; Shanteau, C.

1992-12-01

This report summarizes the pubic involvement component of Phase 1 of the Monitored Retrievable Storage Facility (NM) Feasibility Study in San Juan County, Utah. Part of this summary includes background information on the federal effort to locate a voluntary site for temporary storage of nuclear waste, how San Juan County came to be involved, and a profile of the county. The heart of the report, however, summarizes the activities within the public involvement process, and the issues raised in those various forums. The authors have made every effort to reflect accurately and thoroughly all the concerns and suggestions expressed to us during the five month process. We hope that this report itself is a successful model of partnership with the citizens of the county -- the same kind of partnership the county is seeking to develop with its constituents. Finally, this report offers some suggestions to both county officials and residents alike. These suggestions concern how decision-making about the county's future can be done by a partnership of informed citizens and listening decision-makers. In the Appendix are materials relating to the public involvement process in San Juan County.

Final report on the public involvement process phase 1, Monitored Retrievable Storage Facility Feasibility Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moore, L.; Shanteau, C.

1992-12-01

This report summarizes the pubic involvement component of Phase 1 of the Monitored Retrievable Storage Facility (NM) Feasibility Study in San Juan County, Utah. Part of this summary includes background information on the federal effort to locate a voluntary site for temporary storage of nuclear waste, how San Juan County came to be involved, and a profile of the county. The heart of the report, however, summarizes the activities within the public involvement process, and the issues raised in those various forums. The authors have made every effort to reflect accurately and thoroughly all the concerns and suggestions expressed to us during the five month process. We hope that this report itself is a successful model of partnership with the citizens of the county -- the same kind of partnership the county is seeking to develop with its constituents. Finally, this report offers some suggestions to both county officials and residents alike. These suggestions concern how decision-making about the county`s future can be done by a partnership of informed citizens and listening decision-makers. In the Appendix are materials relating to the public involvement process in San Juan County.

Final report on the public involvement process phase 1, Monitored Retrievable Storage Facility Feasibility Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, L.; Shanteau, C.

1992-12-01

This report summarizes the pubic involvement component of Phase 1 of the Monitored Retrievable Storage Facility (NM) Feasibility Study in San Juan County, Utah. Part of this summary includes background information on the federal effort to locate a voluntary site for temporary storage of nuclear waste, how San Juan County came to be involved, and a profile of the county. The heart of the report, however, summarizes the activities within the public involvement process, and the issues raised in those various forums. The authors have made every effort to reflect accurately and thoroughly all the concerns and suggestions expressed to us during the five month process. We hope that this report itself is a successful model of partnership with the citizens of the county -- the same kind of partnership the county is seeking to develop with its constituents. Finally, this report offers some suggestions to both county officials and residents alike. These suggestions concern how decision-making about the county's future can be done by a partnership of informed citizens and listening decision-makers. In the Appendix are materials relating to the public involvement process in San Juan County

A critical analysis of the implementation of service user involvement in primary care research and health service development using normalization process theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Tierney, Edel; McEvoy, Rachel; O'Reilly-de Brún, Mary; de Brún, Tomas; Okonkwo, Ekaterina; Rooney, Michelle; Dowrick, Chris; Rogers, Anne; MacFarlane, Anne

2016-06-01

There have been recent important advances in conceptualizing and operationalizing involvement in health research and health-care service development. However, problems persist in the field that impact on the scope for meaningful involvement to become a routine - normalized - way of working in primary care. In this review, we focus on current practice to critically interrogate factors known to be relevant for normalization - definition, enrolment, enactment and appraisal. Ours was a multidisciplinary, interagency team, with community representation. We searched EBSCO host for papers from 2007 to 2011 and engaged in an iterative, reflexive approach to sampling, appraising and analysing the literature following the principles of a critical interpretive synthesis approach and using Normalization Process Theory. Twenty-six papers were chosen from 289 papers, as a purposeful sample of work that is reported as service user involvement in the field. Few papers provided a clear working definition of service user involvement. The dominant identified rationale for enrolling service users in primary care projects was linked with policy imperatives for co-governance and emancipatory ideals. The majority of methodologies employed were standard health services research methods that do not qualify as research with service users. This indicates a lack of congruence between the stated aims and methods. Most studies only reported positive outcomes, raising questions about the balance or completeness of the published appraisals. To improve normalization of meaningful involvement in primary care, it is necessary to encourage explicit reporting of definitions, methodological innovation to enhance co-governance and dissemination of research processes and findings. © 2014 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Involvement of microRNAs in physiological and pathological processes in the lung

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kriegova Eva

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract To date, at least 900 different microRNA (miRNA genes have been discovered in the human genome. These short, single-stranded RNA molecules originate from larger precursor molecules that fold to produce hairpin structures, which are subsequently processed by ribonucleases Drosha/Pasha and Dicer to form mature miRNAs. MiRNAs play role in the posttranscriptional regulation of about one third of human genes, mainly via degradation of target mRNAs. Whereas the target mRNAs are often involved in the regulation of diverse physiological processes ranging from developmental timing to apoptosis, miRNAs have a strong potential to regulate fundamental biological processes also in the lung compartment. However, the knowledge of the role of miRNAs in physiological and pathological conditions in the lung is still limited. This review, therefore, summarizes current knowledge of the mechanism, function of miRNAs and their contribution to lung development and homeostasis. Besides the involvement of miRNAs in pulmonary physiological conditions, there is evidence that abnormal miRNA expression may lead to pathological processes and development of various pulmonary diseases. Next, the review describes current state-of-art on the miRNA expression profiles in smoking-related diseases including lung cancerogenesis, in immune system mediated pulmonary diseases and fibrotic processes in the lung. From the current research it is evident that miRNAs may play role in the posttranscriptional regulation of key genes in human pulmonary diseases. Further studies are, therefore, necessary to explore miRNA expression profiles and their association with target mRNAs in human pulmonary diseases.

Molecular evolution of the major chemosensory gene families in insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Gracia, A; Vieira, F G; Rozas, J

2009-09-01

Chemoreception is a crucial biological process that is essential for the survival of animals. In insects, olfaction allows the organism to recognise volatile cues that allow the detection of food, predators and mates, whereas the sense of taste commonly allows the discrimination of soluble stimulants that elicit feeding behaviours and can also initiate innate sexual and reproductive responses. The most important proteins involved in the recognition of chemical cues comprise moderately sized multigene families. These families include odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs), which are involved in peripheral olfactory processing, and the chemoreceptor superfamily formed by the olfactory receptor (OR) and gustatory receptor (GR) families. Here, we review some recent evolutionary genomic studies of chemosensory gene families using the data from fully sequenced insect genomes, especially from the 12 newly available Drosophila genomes. Overall, the results clearly support the birth-and-death model as the major mechanism of evolution in these gene families. Namely, new members arise by tandem gene duplication, progressively diverge in sequence and function, and can eventually be lost from the genome by a deletion or pseudogenisation event. Adaptive changes fostered by environmental shifts are also observed in the evolution of chemosensory families in insects and likely involve reproductive, ecological or behavioural traits. Consequently, the current size of these gene families is mainly a result of random gene gain and loss events. This dynamic process may represent a major source of genetic variation, providing opportunities for FUTURE specific adaptations.

Tools for Stakeholder Involvement in Facility Management Service Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nardelli, Giulia; Scupola, Ada

that are more in line with the stakeholder needs and expectations, and may thus result in increased customer satisfaction, better services and, at the very end, an increased competitive advantage for the organization. Background: The background of this study lies in user involvement in service design...... in the design process as well as FM service provision processes. Research limitations: The major limitation of the study consists of the relatively small amount of interviews conducted, which is the basis for finding the tools in FM service design processes....

Stakeholder involvement in stages of a participatory process illustrated in interior design cases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vink, Peter; van Rhijn, Gu; Seim, Rikke

2008-01-01

In a previous study (Vink et al., 2008) an overview was made of the involvement of different stakeholders in a participatory design process. In this paper this overview was used to describe four participatory design cases focused on improvising productivity, health, and comfort by interior design....... It appeared that this overview is useful to describe the involvement in participatory interior design projects. However, it can only serve as an initial benchmark as much is dependent on the specific case at hand....

The impact of stakeholder involvement in hospital policy decision-making: a study of the hospital's business processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Malfait, Simon; Van Hecke, Ann; Hellings, Johan; De Bodt, Griet; Eeckloo, Kristof

2017-02-01

In many health care systems, strategies are currently deployed to engage patients and other stakeholders in decisions affecting hospital services. In this paper, a model for stakeholder involvement is presented and evaluated in three Flemish hospitals. In the model, a stakeholder committee advises the hospital's board of directors on themes of strategic importance. To study the internal hospital's decision processes in order to identify the impact of a stakeholder involvement committee on strategic themes in the hospital decision processes. A retrospective analysis of the decision processes was conducted in three hospitals that implemented a stakeholder committee. The analysis consisted of process and outcome evaluation. Fifteen themes were discussed in the stakeholder committees, whereof 11 resulted in a considerable change. None of these were on a strategic level. The theoretical model was not applied as initially developed, but was altered by each hospital. Consequentially, the decision processes differed between the hospitals. Despite alternation of the model, the stakeholder committee showed a meaningful impact in all hospitals on the operational level. As a result of the differences in decision processes, three factors could be identified as facilitators for success: (1) a close interaction with the board of executives, (2) the inclusion of themes with a more practical and patient-oriented nature, and (3) the elaboration of decisions on lower echelons of the organization. To effectively influence the organization's public accountability, hospitals should involve stakeholders in the decision-making process of the organization. The model of a stakeholder committee was not applied as initially developed and did not affect the strategic decision-making processes in the involved hospitals. Results show only impact at the operational level in the participating hospitals. More research is needed connecting stakeholder involvement with hospital governance.

Compilation of information on uncertainties involved in deposition modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewellen, W.S.; Varma, A.K.; Sheng, Y.P.

1985-04-01

The current generation of dispersion models contains very simple parameterizations of deposition processes. The analysis here looks at the physical mechanisms governing these processes in an attempt to see if more valid parameterizations are available and what level of uncertainty is involved in either these simple parameterizations or any more advanced parameterization. The report is composed of three parts. The first, on dry deposition model sensitivity, provides an estimate of the uncertainty existing in current estimates of the deposition velocity due to uncertainties in independent variables such as meteorological stability, particle size, surface chemical reactivity and canopy structure. The range of uncertainty estimated for an appropriate dry deposition velocity for a plume generated by a nuclear power plant accident is three orders of magnitude. The second part discusses the uncertainties involved in precipitation scavenging rates for effluents resulting from a nuclear reactor accident. The conclusion is that major uncertainties are involved both as a result of the natural variability of the atmospheric precipitation process and due to our incomplete understanding of the underlying process. The third part involves a review of the important problems associated with modeling the interaction between the atmosphere and a forest. It gives an indication of the magnitude of the problem involved in modeling dry deposition in such environments. Separate analytics have been done for each section and are contained in the EDB

Pathophysiology of major depressive disorder: mechanisms involved in etiology are not associated with clinical progression.

Science.gov (United States)

Verduijn, J; Milaneschi, Y; Schoevers, R A; van Hemert, A M; Beekman, A T F; Penninx, B W J H

2015-09-29

Meta-analyses support the involvement of different pathophysiological mechanisms (inflammation, hypothalamic-pituitary (HPA)-axis, neurotrophic growth and vitamin D) in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, it remains unknown whether dysregulations in these mechanisms are more pronounced when MDD progresses toward multiple episodes and/or chronicity. We hypothesized that four central pathophysiological mechanisms of MDD are not only involved in etiology, but also associated with clinical disease progression. Therefore, we expected to find increasingly more dysregulation across consecutive stages of MDD progression. The sample from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (18-65 years) consisted of 230 controls and 2333 participants assigned to a clinical staging model categorizing MDD in eight stages (0, 1A, 1B, 2, 3A, 3B, 3C and 4), from familial risk at MDD (stage 0) to chronic MDD (stage 4). Analyses of covariance examined whether pathophysiological mechanism markers (interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), cortisol, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vitamin D) showed a linear trend across controls, those at risk for MDD (stages 0, 1A and 1B), and those with full-threshold MDD (stages 2, 3A, 3B, 3C and 4). Subsequently, pathophysiological differences across separate stages within those at risk and with full-threshold MDD were examined. A linear increase of inflammatory markers (CRP P=0.026; IL-6 P=0.090), cortisol (P=0.025) and decrease of vitamin D (P<0.001) was found across the entire sample (for example, from controls to those at risk and those with full-threshold MDD). Significant trends of dysregulations across stages were present in analyses focusing on at-risk individuals (IL-6 P=0.050; cortisol P=0.008; vitamin D P<0.001); however, no linear trends were found in dysregulations for any of the mechanisms across more progressive stages of full-threshold MDD. Our results support that the examined pathophysiological mechanisms are

Public Involvement in Repository Site Selection for Nuclear Waste: Towards a more Dynamic View in Decision-Making Processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kruetli, Pius; Stauffacher, Michael; Flueeler, Thomas; Scholz, Roland W. [ETH Zuerich (Switzerland). lnst. for Human-Environment Systems (HES)

2006-09-15

This paper discusses possibilities of public involvement in radioactive waste management. A general overview of the radioactive waste issue is presented referring to a proposed model of the respective decision-making process. Based on the well known participation ladder by Arnstein, we differentiate various intensities of public involvement. A matrix with public involvement and the decision-making process is introduced and three prototypical patterns are discussed. We conclude that time frame, the level of public involvement and the mission have to be considered as well as techniques and the overarching context - all in all, a systematic and dynamic approach for public involvement is needed.

Public Involvement in Repository Site Selection for Nuclear Waste: Towards a more Dynamic View in Decision-Making Processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruetli, Pius; Stauffacher, Michael; Flueeler, Thomas; Scholz, Roland W.

2006-01-01

This paper discusses possibilities of public involvement in radioactive waste management. A general overview of the radioactive waste issue is presented referring to a proposed model of the respective decision-making process. Based on the well known participation ladder by Arnstein, we differentiate various intensities of public involvement. A matrix with public involvement and the decision-making process is introduced and three prototypical patterns are discussed. We conclude that time frame, the level of public involvement and the mission have to be considered as well as techniques and the overarching context - all in all, a systematic and dynamic approach for public involvement is needed

Process research and development

Science.gov (United States)

Bickler, D. B.

1986-01-01

The following major processes involved in the production of crystalline-silicon solar cells were discussed: surface preparation, junction formation, metallization, and assembly. The status of each of these processes, and the sequence in which these processes are applied, were described as they were in 1975, as they were in 1985, and what they might be in the future.

Cochlear Implant: the complexity involved in the decision making process by the family1

Science.gov (United States)

Vieira, Sheila de Souza; Bevilacqua, Maria Cecília; Ferreira, Noeli Marchioro Liston Andrade; Dupas, Giselle

2014-01-01

Objective to understand the meanings the family attributes to the phases of the decision-making process on a cochlear implant for their child. Method qualitative research, using Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory as the theoretical and methodological frameworks, respectively. Data collection instrument: semistructured interview. Nine families participated in the study (32 participants). Results knowledge deficit, difficulties to contextualize benefits and risks and fear are some factors that make this process difficult. Experiences deriving from interactions with health professionals, other cochlear implant users and their relatives strengthen decision making in favor of the implant. Conclusion deciding on whether or not to have the implant involves a complex process, in which the family needs to weigh gains and losses, experience feelings of accountability and guilt, besides overcoming the risk aversion. Hence, this demands cautious preparation and knowledge from the professionals involved in this intervention. PMID:25029052

Defining stakeholder involvement in participatory design processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vink, P.; Imada, A.S.; Zink, K.J.

2008-01-01

A participatory approach could be used to implement work place or organizational improvements. However, the question is which participants should be involved and how. In this paper the theoretical involvement in different steps of a linear stepwise approach is described and compared with the latest

Sulfomethylated lignosulfonates as additives in oil recovery processes involving chemical recovery agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalfoglou, G.

1979-10-30

A process for producing petroleum from subterranean formations is disclosed wherein production from the formation is obtained by driving a fluid from an injection well to a production well. The process involves injecting via the injection well into the formation an aqueous solution of sulfomethylated lignosulfonate salt as a sacrificial agent to inhibit the deposition of surfactant and/or polymer on the reservoir matrix. The process may best be carried out by injecting the sulfomethylated lignosulfonates into the formation through the injection well mixed with either a polymer, a surfactant solution and/or a micellar dispersion. This mixture would then be followed by a drive fluid such as water to push the chemicals to the production well.

Sulfomethylated lignosulfonates as additives in oil recovery processes involving chemical recovery agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalfoglou, G.

1981-05-26

A process for producing petroleum from subterranean formations is disclosed wherein production from the formation is obtained by driving a fluid from an injection well to a production well. The process involves injecting via the injection well into the formation an aqueous solution of sulfomethylated lignosulfonate salt as a sacrificial agent to inhibit the deposition of surfactant and/or polymer on the reservoir matrix. The process may best be carried out by injecting the sulfomethylated lignosulfonates into the formation through the injection well mixed with either a polymer, a surfactant solution and/or a micellar dispersion. This mixture would then be followed by a drive fluid such as water to push the chemicals to the production well.

Early print-tuned ERP response with minimal involvement of linguistic processing in Japanese Hiragana strings.

Science.gov (United States)

Okumura, Yasuko; Kasai, Tetsuko; Murohashi, Harumitsu

2014-04-16

The act of reading leads to the development of specific neural responses for print, the most frequently reported of which is the left occipitotemporal N170 component of event-related potentials. However, it remains unclear whether this electrophysiological response solely involves print-tuned neural activities. The present study examined an early print-tuned event-related potential response with minimal involvement of linguistic processing in a nonalphabetic language. Japanese Hiragana words, nonwords, and alphanumeric symbol strings were presented rapidly and the task was to detect the change in color of a fixation cross to restrict linguistic processing. As a result, Hiragana words and nonwords elicited a larger posterior N1 than alphanumeric symbol strings bilaterally, irrespective of intercharacter spacing. The fact that this N1 was enhanced specifically for rapidly presented Hiragana strings suggests the existence of print-tuned neural processes that are relatively independent of the influence of linguistic processing.

Access to the decision-making process: opportunities for public involvement in the facility decommissioning process of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cameron, F.X.

1996-01-01

This paper discusses recent initiatives taken by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC) to effectively involve the public in decommissioning decisions. Initiatives discussed include the Commission's rulemaking to establish the radiological criteria for decommissioning, as well as public involvement methods that have been used on a site-by-site basis. As un example of public involvement, the NRC is currently in the process of developing generic rules on the radiological criteria for the decontamination and decommissioning of NRC-licensed sites. Not only was this proposed rule developed through an extensive and novel approach for public involvement, but it also establishes the basic provisions that will govern public involvement in future NRC decisions on the decommissioning of individual sites. The aim is to provide the public with timely information about all phases of the NRC staff to express concerns and make recommendations. Th NRC recognizes the value and the necessity of effective public involvement in its regulatory activities and has initiated a number of changes to its regulatory program to accomplish this. From the NRC's perspective, it is much easier and less costly to incorporate these mechanisms for public involvement into the regulatory program early in the process, rather than try to add them after considerable public controversy on an action has already been generated. The historical antecedents for initiatives mentioned, as well as 'lessons learned' from prior experience are also discussed. (author)

Searching for the majority: algorithms of voluntary control.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Fan

Full Text Available Voluntary control of information processing is crucial to allocate resources and prioritize the processes that are most important under a given situation; the algorithms underlying such control, however, are often not clear. We investigated possible algorithms of control for the performance of the majority function, in which participants searched for and identified one of two alternative categories (left or right pointing arrows as composing the majority in each stimulus set. We manipulated the amount (set size of 1, 3, and 5 and content (ratio of left and right pointing arrows within a set of the inputs to test competing hypotheses regarding mental operations for information processing. Using a novel measure based on computational load, we found that reaction time was best predicted by a grouping search algorithm as compared to alternative algorithms (i.e., exhaustive or self-terminating search. The grouping search algorithm involves sampling and resampling of the inputs before a decision is reached. These findings highlight the importance of investigating the implications of voluntary control via algorithms of mental operations.

Forms And Methods Of Modern Russian Youth Involvement Into The Electoral Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksey D. Maslov

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In the present article authors analyzes forms and methods of modern Russian youth involvement in the electoral process. Involving young people in the electoral process is directly related to the problem of increasing the level of political culture in the society. This article presents the main forms of work to attract young people to participate in elections in our country, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC of Russia, some of the regional election commissions, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (WCIOM. Authors note that at present there are more than one hundred and sixty legislative acts of the Russian Federation, which reflect certain aspects of the state youth policy. All these measures stimulate the political activity of young people, but in our opinion, that is not enough. The fundamental change in the attitude of young people to politics, to the institution of elections is possible only when young people feel like a real part and the subject of transformation processes in our country. In conclusion authors summarizes, that a fundamental change in the relationship of young people to politics, the institution of elections is possible only, when very young feel a real party and the subject of transformation processes in our country. This is possible only when the state is really and not formally prioritizes youth policy. Young people should have a daily state support for education, starting a business, implementation of acquired skills for a decent fee, starting a family, buying a house, etc.

A quality assurance program for environmental data operations involving waste management processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, G.L.; Blacker, S.M.

1990-01-01

This paper describes the 'core' elements needed in an effective Quality Program for environmental data operations involving nuclear, mixed, or non-nuclear wastes. For each core element, this paper examines the minimum components needed for an effective Quality Program for EDOs, and compares approaches to Quality Programs currently required by the U.S. DOE and the U.S. EPA. The comparison suggests how the Quality Program requirements used at DOE, and defined by NQA-1 and its supplements, and those used by EPA through its QAMS program guidance, may provide a basis for developing a harmonized Quality Program for EDOs involving any waste management processes, nuclear, non-nuclear, or mixed. (orig./DG)

A non-linear decision making process for public involvement in environmental management activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harper, M.R.; Kastenberg, W.

1995-01-01

The international industrial and governmental institutions involved in radioactive waste management and environmental remediation are now entering a new era in which they must significantly expand public involvement. Thus the decision making processes formerly utilized to direct and guide these institutions must now be shifted to take into consideration the needs of many more stakeholders than ever before. To meet this challenge, they now have the job of developing and creating a new set of accurate, sufficient and continuous self-regulating and self-correcting information pathways between themselves and the many divergent stakeholder groups in order to establish sustainable, trusting and respectful relationships. In this paper the authors introduce a new set of non-linear, practical and effective strategies for interaction. These self-regulating strategies provide timely feedback to a system, establishing trust and creating a viable vehicle for staying open and responsive to the needs out of which change and balanced adaptation can continually emerge for all stakeholders. The authors present a decision making process for public involvement which is congruent with the non-linear ideas of holographic and fractal relationships -- the mutual influence between related parts of the whole and the self-symmetry of systems at every level of complexity

Motor cortical processing is causally involved in object recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Decloe, Rebecca; Obhi, Sukhvinder S

2013-12-14

Motor activity during vicarious experience of actions is a widely reported and studied phenomenon, and motor system activity also accompanies observation of graspable objects in the absence of any actions. Such motor activity is thought to reflect simulation of the observed action, or preparation to interact with the object, respectively. Here, in an initial exploratory study, we ask whether motor activity during observation of object directed actions is involved in processes related to recognition of the object after initial exposure. Single pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) was applied over the thumb representation of the motor cortex, or over the vertex, during observation of a model thumb typing on a cell-phone, and performance on a phone recognition task at the end of the trial was assessed. Disrupting motor processing over the thumb representation 100 ms after the onset of the typing video impaired the ability to recognize the phone in the recognition test, whereas there was no such effect for TMS applied over the vertex and no TMS trials. Furthermore, this effect only manifested for videos observed from the first person perspective. In an additional control condition, there was no evidence for any effects of TMS to the thumb representation or vertex when observing and recognizing non-action related shape stimuli. Overall, these data provide evidence that motor cortical processing during observation of object-directed actions from a first person perspective is causally linked to the formation of enduring representations of objects-of-action.

Child involvement, alliance, and therapist flexibility: process variables in cognitive-behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders in childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Hudson, Jennifer L; Kendall, Philip C; Chu, Brian C; Gosch, Elizabeth; Martin, Erin; Taylor, Alan; Knight, Ashleigh

2014-01-01

This study examined the relations between treatment process variables and child anxiety outcomes. Independent raters watched/listened to taped therapy sessions of 151 anxiety-disordered (6-14 yr-old; M = 10.71) children (43% boys) and assessed process variables (child alliance, therapist alliance, child involvement, therapist flexibility and therapist functionality) within a manual-based cognitive-behavioural treatment. Latent growth modelling examined three latent variables (intercept, slope, and quadratic) for each process variable. Child age, gender, family income and ethnicity were examined as potential antecedents. Outcome was analyzed using factorially derived clinician, mother, father, child and teacher scores from questionnaire and structured diagnostic interviews at pretreatment, posttreatment and 12-month follow-up. Latent growth models demonstrated a concave quadratic curve for child involvement and therapist flexibility over time. A predominantly linear, downward slope was observed for alliance, and functional flexibility remained consistent over time. Increased alliance, child involvement and therapist flexibility showed some albeit inconsistent, associations with positive treatment outcome. Findings support the notion that maintaining the initial high level of alliance or involvement is important for clinical improvement. There is some support that progressively increasing alliance/involvement also positively impacts on treatment outcome. These findings were not consistent across outcome measurement points or reporters. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DHA involvement in neurotransmission process

OpenAIRE

Vancassel Sylvie; Aïd Sabah; Denis Isabelle; Guesnet Philippe; Lavialle Monique

2007-01-01

The very high enrichment of the nervous system in the polyunsaturated fatty acids, arachidonic (AA, 20: 4n-6) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA, 22: 6n-3), is dependant of the dietary availability of their respective precursors, linoleic (18: 2n-6) and_-linolenic acids (18: 3n-3). Inadequate amounts of DHA in brain membranes have been linked to a wide variety of abnormalities ranging from visual acuity and learning irregularities, to psychopathologies. However, the molecular mechanisms involved ...

Involving the stakeholders in the curriculum process: a recipe for success?

Science.gov (United States)

Keogh, Johannes J; Fourie, Willem J; Watson, Sheona; Gay, H

2010-01-01

The Department of Nursing and Health Studies at the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) in Auckland, New Zealand, decided to involve stakeholders from the health care sector in developing a new curriculum. After implementing the new curriculum, the process was evaluated using a content analysis as qualitative research design. Seven individual interviews and one Focus group interview were conducted with the stakeholders to determine their experiences during the process. Ethical permission was sought from the MIT ethical committee. The analyses of the collected data enabled the researchers to identify six main categories. The categories were: "Existing Programme", "The need to change", "The curriculum development process", "The stakeholders", "Personnel", and "Ethnic minorities". From the collected data, it was clear that a new curriculum was necessary to enable the graduates to meet the health care needs of the New Zealand population, especially after the primary health care policy was introduced in New Zealand. It was also clear that the curriculum development process could be a painful process for all concerned, but a strong leadership could cement a feeling of "collegiality" between stakeholders and teaching staff. The importance of considering the rights of ethnic minorities is clearly stated in the Treaty of Waitangi, safeguarding the rights of the Maori People, and therefore applied rigorously in the development process. In this project, the collaborative process was very successful, and the stakeholders actually expressed feelings of "Ownership" of the curriculum.

Trial Courts in the Judicial Process.

Science.gov (United States)

McKnight, R. Neal

1981-01-01

Describes a college course which examines the organizational and behavioral characteristics of trial courts in the American judicial process. A major course objective is to help students understand the trial court process as a political process by showing how trial court organizations are involved in the allocation of social values. (RM)

Photoprotection in Plants Involves a Change in Lutein 1 Binding Domain in the Major Light-harvesting Complex of Photosystem II

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ilioaia, C.; Johnson, M.P.; Liao, P.N.; Pascal, A.A.; van Grondelle, R.; Walla, P.J.; Ruban, A.V.; Robert, B.

2011-01-01

Nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) is the fundamental process by which plants exposed to high light intensities dissipate the potentially harmful excess energy as heat. Recently, it has been shown that efficient energy dissipation can be induced in the major light-harvesting complexes of photosystem

Power relations and contrasting conceptions of evidence in patient-involvement processes used to inform health funding decisions in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Edilene; Carter, Drew; Street, Jackie

2015-06-01

We collected and analysed views of key stakeholders on the processes used to involve patient organisations in health care funding decision making in Australia. We conducted 12 semi-structured interviews with patient organisation representatives and members of Advisory Committees that provide advice to the Australian Department of Health and employ Health Technology Assessment (HTA) as an evaluation framework. Using two theoretical frameworks, we analysed structural and contextual elements pertaining to the involvement processes. The findings reported in this article relate to interviewees' perspectives on contextual elements, analysed using a Foucauldian lens. These elements include: the perspectives of marginalised voices; the diversity of views on what ought to be considered valid evidence in a HTA setting; and the relationships between stakeholders, along with how these relationships impact on involvement processes and the outcomes of those processes. The findings demonstrate that the involvement processes currently used are deemed inadequate by both patient organisation representatives and Advisory Committee members, but for different reasons connected to how different stakeholders conceptualise evidence. Advisory Committee members viewed evidence as encompassing clinical outcomes and patient preferences, whereas patient organisation representatives tended to view evidence as encompassing aspects not directly related to a disease entity, such as the social and emotional aspects of patients' experiences in living with illness. Patient organisation representatives reported interacting with other stakeholders (especially industry) to increase the influence of their conception of evidence on decision making. The use of this strategy by interviewees illustrates how power struggles occur in government decision-making processes which involve both medical expertise and patients' accounts. Such struggles, and the power differentials they reflect, need to be considered

Innovations in major system reconfiguration in England: a study of the effectiveness, acceptability and processes of implementation of two models of stroke care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fulop Naomi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Significant changes in provision of clinical care within the English National Health Service (NHS have been discussed in recent years, with proposals to concentrate specialist services in fewer centres. Stroke is a major public health issue, accounting for over 10% of deaths in England and Wales, and much disability among survivors. Variations have been highlighted in stroke care, with many patients not receiving evidence-based care. To address these concerns, stroke services in London and Greater Manchester were reorganised, although different models were implemented. This study will analyse processes involved in making significant changes to stroke care services over a short time period, and the factors influencing these processes. We will examine whether the changes have delivered improvements in quality of care and patient outcomes; and, in light of this, whether the significant extra financial investment represented good value for money. Methods/design This study brings together quantitative data on ‘what works and at what cost?’ with qualitative data on ‘understanding implementation and sustainability’ to understand major system change in two large conurbations in England. Data on processes of care and their outcomes (e.g. morbidity, mortality, and cost will be analysed to evidence services’ performance before and after reconfiguration. The evaluation draws on theories related to the dissemination and sustainability of innovations and the ‘social matrix’ underlying processes of innovation. We will conduct a series of case studies based on stakeholder interviews and documentary analysis. These will identify drivers for change, how the reconfigurations were governed, developed, and implemented, and how they influenced service quality. Discussion The research faces challenges due to: the different timings of the reconfigurations; the retrospective nature of the evaluation; and the current organisational

Innovations in major system reconfiguration in England: a study of the effectiveness, acceptability and processes of implementation of two models of stroke care.

Science.gov (United States)

Fulop, Naomi; Boaden, Ruth; Hunter, Rachael; McKevitt, Christopher; Morris, Steve; Pursani, Nanik; Ramsay, Angus Ig; Rudd, Anthony G; Tyrrell, Pippa J; DA Wolfe, Charles

2013-01-05

Significant changes in provision of clinical care within the English National Health Service (NHS) have been discussed in recent years, with proposals to concentrate specialist services in fewer centres. Stroke is a major public health issue, accounting for over 10% of deaths in England and Wales, and much disability among survivors. Variations have been highlighted in stroke care, with many patients not receiving evidence-based care. To address these concerns, stroke services in London and Greater Manchester were reorganised, although different models were implemented. This study will analyse processes involved in making significant changes to stroke care services over a short time period, and the factors influencing these processes. We will examine whether the changes have delivered improvements in quality of care and patient outcomes; and, in light of this, whether the significant extra financial investment represented good value for money. This study brings together quantitative data on 'what works and at what cost?' with qualitative data on 'understanding implementation and sustainability' to understand major system change in two large conurbations in England. Data on processes of care and their outcomes (e.g. morbidity, mortality, and cost) will be analysed to evidence services' performance before and after reconfiguration. The evaluation draws on theories related to the dissemination and sustainability of innovations and the 'social matrix' underlying processes of innovation. We will conduct a series of case studies based on stakeholder interviews and documentary analysis. These will identify drivers for change, how the reconfigurations were governed, developed, and implemented, and how they influenced service quality. The research faces challenges due to: the different timings of the reconfigurations; the retrospective nature of the evaluation; and the current organisational turbulence in the English NHS. However, these issues reflect the realities of major

APP processing and the APP-KPI domain involvement in the amyloid cascade.

Science.gov (United States)

Menéndez-González, M; Pérez-Pinera, P; Martínez-Rivera, M; Calatayud, M T; Blázquez Menes, B

2005-01-01

Alternative APP mRNA splicing can generate isoforms of APP containing a Kunitz protease inhibitor (KPI) domain. KPI is one of the main serine protease inhibitors. Protein and mRNA KPI(+)APP levels are elevated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain and are associated with increased amyloid beta deposition. In the last years increasing evidence on multiple points in the amyloid cascade where KPI(+)APP is involved has been accumulated, admitting an outstanding position in the pathogenesis of AD to the KPI domain. This review focuses on the APP processing, the molecular activity of KPI and its physiological and pathological roles and the KPI involvement in the amyloid cascade through the nerve growth factor, the lipoprotein receptor-related protein, the tumor necrosis factor-alpha converting enzyme and the Notch1 protein.

TRAINING DURING ISO 9001 IMPLEMENTATION AND WORKERS INVOLVEMENT INTO THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROCESS IN MONTENEGRO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marc-Arthur Diaye

2009-03-01

Full Text Available According to several researchers, workers involvement into the implementation of a quality system in a firm is a key of its success. Since training can improve workers involvement during the implementation of a quality system in a firm, we try in this paper to evaluate quantitatively in the case of Montenegro, the impact of training of workers' involvement. Using an original data set about two leading firms from Montenegro, we show that the coefficient associated with the training variable is on average about -1.44 and is significant at a level of 1%. That is workers who are not trained during the ISO 9001 implementation are strongly less involved into the quality management process of their firms.

Adolescent fathers: knowledge of and involvement in the breast feeding process in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres de Lacerda, Ana Catarina; Lucena de Vasconcelos, Maria Gorete; Nascimento de Alencar, Eloine; Osório, Mônica Maria; Pontes, Cleide Maria

2014-03-01

to understand the ways in which adolescent fathers participate in the breast feeding process in the family environment in North-eastern Brazil. a descriptive, exploratory, qualitative study was undertaken involving 10 couples with infants aged 6-8 months living in a single community in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with questions to guide the interviewer. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis, and interpreted under the theoretical reference of being an adolescent father within the context of breast feeding. from the data collected, three themes were identified: knowledge of the benefits of breast feeding for the child's health; discontinued participation of the father in breast feeding during the pregnancy-childbearing cycle; and exclusion of the adolescent father from the breast feeding process. The adolescent fathers knew about the benefits of breast feeding in terms of the child's health, but did not mention benefits for the mother, the family or society. For some adolescent fathers, their participation in the breast feeding process started during pregnancy, whereas for others, it was only initiated after the infant was born. One of the fathers was prevented, by his wife and mother-in-law, from participating in the breast feeding process. the involvement of adolescent fathers in the breast feeding process oscillated during the pregnancy-childbearing cycle. This may be due to the patriarchal cultural heritage, Brazilian paternity laws, and the fact that these fathers were adolescents. This study showed that adolescent parents were knowledgeable about breast feeding. Finally, fathers want a new model of parenting in which the man participates in child care. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Motor cortical processing is causally involved in object recognition

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Motor activity during vicarious experience of actions is a widely reported and studied phenomenon, and motor system activity also accompanies observation of graspable objects in the absence of any actions. Such motor activity is thought to reflect simulation of the observed action, or preparation to interact with the object, respectively. Results Here, in an initial exploratory study, we ask whether motor activity during observation of object directed actions is involved in processes related to recognition of the object after initial exposure. Single pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) was applied over the thumb representation of the motor cortex, or over the vertex, during observation of a model thumb typing on a cell-phone, and performance on a phone recognition task at the end of the trial was assessed. Disrupting motor processing over the thumb representation 100 ms after the onset of the typing video impaired the ability to recognize the phone in the recognition test, whereas there was no such effect for TMS applied over the vertex and no TMS trials. Furthermore, this effect only manifested for videos observed from the first person perspective. In an additional control condition, there was no evidence for any effects of TMS to the thumb representation or vertex when observing and recognizing non-action related shape stimuli. Conclusion Overall, these data provide evidence that motor cortical processing during observation of object-directed actions from a first person perspective is causally linked to the formation of enduring representations of objects-of-action. PMID:24330638

Students' Perceptions of Parental and Teacher Academic Involvement: Consequences on Achievement Goals

Science.gov (United States)

Regner, Isabelle; Loose, Florence; Dumas, Florence

2009-01-01

The present study examined whether students' perceptions of two major facets of parental and teacher academic involvement (i.e., academic support and academic monitoring), contribute to the process of students' achievement goals adoption. French junior high-school students completed two questionnaires assessing first their perceptions of parental…

Decision process involved in preparing the Shippingport reactor pressure vessel for transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphie, W.E.

1989-01-01

The most significant part of the Shippingport Station Decommissioning Project was the one-piece removal and shipment of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). Implicit in the RPV transport was the task of qualifying the RPV as a waste package acceptable for shipment. Soon after physical decommissioning began on September 1985, questions regarding the packaging certification and transport of the RPV from Shippingport, Pennsylvania to the US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Waste Burial Site necessitated reexamination of several planning assumptions. A complete reassessment of the regulatory requirements governing the RPV shipment resulted in a programmatic decision to obtain a type B(U) Certificate of Compliance and abandon the originally planned US Department of Transportation (DOT) low specific activity (LSA) shipment. The decision process resulting in this conclusion was extensive and involved many organizations and agencies. Incidental to this process, several subtle certification issues were identified that required resolution. Some of these issues involved the definition of LSA material for large packages; interpretation and compliance with DOE, DOT and US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations for the transport of radioactive material; incorporation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations by the Panama Canal; and DOE policy requiring advance notification to states of radioactive waste shipments. 2 figs

Decision process involved in preparing the Shippingport reactor pressure vessel for transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphie, W.E.

1990-01-01

The most significant part of the Shippingport Station Decommissioning Project was the one-piece removal and shipment of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). Implicit in the RPV transport was the task of qualifying the RPV as a waste package acceptable for shipment. Soon after physical decommissioning began on September, 1985, questions regarding the packaging certification and transport of the RPV from Shippingport, Pennsylvania to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford waste burial site necessitated reexamination of several planning assumptions. A complete reassessment of the regulatory requirements governing the RPV shipment resulting in a programmatic decision to obtain a Type B(U) Certification of Compliance and abandon the originally planned U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) low specific activity (LSA) shipment. The decision process resulting in this conclusion was extensive and involved many organizations and agencies. Incidental to this process, several subtle certification issues were identified that required resolution. Some of these issues involved the definition of LSA material for large packages; interpretation and compliance with DOE, DOT and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations for the transport of radioactive material; incorporation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations by the Panama Canal; and DOE policy requiring advance notification to states of radioactive waste shipments

Perceptions of legally mandated public involvement processes in the U.S. Forest Service

Science.gov (United States)

S. Andrew Predmore; Marc J. Stern; Michael J. Mortimer; David N. Seesholtz

2011-01-01

Results from an agency-wide survey of U.S. Forest Service personnel indicate that respondents in our sample engage in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) public involvement processes primarily to accomplish two goals. The most commonly supported goal was to inform and disclose as mandated by the act. The other goal reflected interests in managing agency...

Cellular processes involved in human epidermal cells exposed to extremely low frequency electric fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Collard, J-F; Hinsenkamp, M

2015-05-01

We observed on different tissues and organisms a biological response after exposure to pulsed low frequency and low amplitude electric or electromagnetic fields but the precise mechanism of cell response remains unknown. The aim of this publication is to understand, using bioinformatics, the biological relevance of processes involved in the modification of gene expression. The list of genes analyzed was obtained after microarray protocol realized on cultures of human epidermal explants growing on deepidermized human skin exposed to a pulsed low frequency electric field. The directed acyclic graph on a WebGestalt Gene Ontology module shows six categories under the biological process root: "biological regulation", "cellular process", "cell proliferation", "death", "metabolic process" and "response to stimulus". Enriched derived categories are coherent with the type of in vitro culture, the stimulation protocol or with the previous results showing a decrease of cell proliferation and an increase of differentiation. The Kegg module on WebGestalt has highlighted "cell cycle" and "p53 signaling pathway" as significantly involved. The Kegg website brings out interactions between FoxO, MAPK, JNK, p53, p38, PI3K/Akt, Wnt, mTor or NF-KappaB. Some genes expressed by the stimulation are known to have an exclusive function on these pathways. Analyses performed with Pathway Studio linked cell proliferation, cell differentiation, apoptosis, cell cycle, mitosis, cell death etc. with our microarrays results. Medline citation generated by the software and the fold change variation confirms a diminution of the proliferation, activation of the differentiation and a less well-defined role of apoptosis or wound healing. Wnt and DKK functional classes, DKK1, MACF1, ATF3, MME, TXNRD1, and BMP-2 genes proposed in previous publications after a manual analysis are also highlighted with other genes after Pathway Studio automatic procedure. Finally, an analysis conducted on a list of genes

Snowmelt runoff from northern alpine tundra hillslopes: major processes and methods of simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. L. Quinton

2004-01-01

Full Text Available In northern alpine tundra, large slope gradients, late-lying snow drifts and shallow soils overlying impermeable substrates all contribute to large hillslope runoff volumes during the spring freshet. Understanding the processes and pathways of hillslope runoff in this environment is, therefore, critical to understanding the water cycle within northern alpine tundra ecosystems. This study: (a presents the results of a field study on runoff from a sub-alpine tundra hillslope with a large snow drift during the spring melt period; (b identifies the major runoff processes that must be represented in simulations of snowmelt runoff from sub-alpine tundra hillslopes; (c describes how these processes can be represented in a numerical simulation model; and d compares field measurements with modelled output to validate or refute the conceptual understanding of runoff generation embodied in the process simulations. The study was conducted at Granger Creek catchment, 15 km south of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, on a north-facing slope below a late-lying snow drift. For the freshet period, the major processes to be represented in a runoff model include the rate of meltwater release from the late-lying snowdrift, the elevation and thickness of the saturated layer, the magnitude of the soil permeability and its variation with depth. The daily cycle of net all-wave radiation was observed to drive the diurnal pulses of melt water from the drift; this, in turn, was found to control the daily pulses of flow through the hillslope subsurface and in the stream channel. The computed rate of frost table lowering fell within the observed values; however, there was wide variation among the measured frost table depths. Spatial variability in frost table depth would result in spatial variabilities in saturated layer depth and thickness, which would, in turn, produce variations in subsurface flow rates over the slope, including preferential flowpaths. Keywords

Experiences and performance of the Harshaw dosimetry system at two major processing centres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tawil, R.A.; Olhalber, T.; Rathbone, B.

1996-01-01

The installations, operating practice, dose algorithms and results and maintenance experience at two major dosimetry processing centres are described. System selection considerations and a comprehensive quality programme are described in the light of the publication of testing requirements by various dosimetry regulatory organisations. Reported information from Siemens Dosimetry Services comprises their selection of dosemeters and processing equipment including service history, a description of their dose computation algorithm, and detailed results of their testing against DOELAP standards. Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories (PNL) provides a description of their dosemeters and equipment with service history; in addition, a discussion of their new neural network approach to a dose computation algorithm and test results from that algorithm are presented. (Author)

ADHD Coaching with College Students: Exploring the Processes Involved in Motivation and Goal Completion

Science.gov (United States)

Prevatt, Frances; Smith, Shannon M.; Diers, Sarah; Marshall, Diana; Coleman, Jennifer; Valler, Emilee; Miller, Nathan

2017-01-01

College students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience increased academic difficulties, which can negatively impact graduation rates, employment, self-esteem, and mental health. ADHD coaching assists students with ADHD to reduce such difficulties. The present study evaluated the processes involved in ADHD coaching…

Mobility of persons who are blind: How the attentional processes and working memory are involved?

OpenAIRE

PIGEON, Caroline; MARIN-LAMELLET, Claude

2015-01-01

Although navigation without vision seems to strongly mobilize the attentional processes and the working memory, few studies seem to be conducted about the link between these processes and the mobility of people who are blind. The main aim of this PhD work is to consider the attentional and working memory capacities of people who are blind and investigate the attentional processes involved during the navigation activity. In the first part of this PhD work, blind participants (early and late) p...

Manufacturing history of etanercept (Enbrel®): Consistency of product quality through major process revisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hassett, Brian; Singh, Ena; Mahgoub, Ehab; O'Brien, Julie; Vicik, Steven M; Fitzpatrick, Brian

2018-01-01

Etanercept (ETN) (Enbrel®) is a soluble protein that binds to, and specifically inhibits, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a proinflammatory cytokine. ETN is synthesized in Chinese hamster ovary cells by recombinant DNA technology as a fusion protein, with a fully human TNFRII ectodomain linked to the Fc portion of human IgG1. Successful manufacture of biologics, such as ETN, requires sophisticated process and product understanding, as well as meticulous control of operations to maintain product consistency. The objective of this evaluation was to show that the product profile of ETN drug substance (DS) has been consistent over the course of production. Multiple orthogonal biochemical analyses, which included evaluation of attributes indicative of product purity, potency, and quality, were assessed on >2,000 batches of ETN from three sites of DS manufacture, during the period 1998-2015. Based on the key quality attributes of product purity (assessed by hydrophobic interaction chromatography HPLC), binding activity (to TNF by ELISA), potency (inhibition of TNF-induced apoptosis by cell-based bioassay) and quality (N-linked oligosaccharide map), we show that the integrity of ETN DS has remained consistent over time. This consistency was maintained through three major enhancements to the initial process of manufacturing that were supported by detailed comparability assessments, and approved by the European Medicines Agency. Examination of results for all major quality attributes for ETN DS indicates a highly consistent process for over 18 years and throughout changes to the manufacturing process, without affecting safety and efficacy, as demonstrated across a wide range of clinical trials of ETN in multiple inflammatory diseases.

[Motor capacities involved in the psychomotor skills of the cardiopulmonary resuscitation technique: recommendations for the teaching-learning process].

Science.gov (United States)

Miyadahira, A M

2001-12-01

It is a bibliographic study about the identification of the motor capacities involved in the psychomotor skills of the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) which aims to obtain subsidies to the planning of the teaching-learning process of this skill. It was found that: the motor capacities involved in the psychomotor skill of the CPR technique are predominantly cognitive and motor, involving 9 perceptive-motor capacities and 8 physical proficiency capacities. The CPR technique is a psychomotor skill classified as open, done in series and categorized as a thin and global skill and the teaching-learning process of the CPR technique has an elevated degree of complexity.

Stakeholders in nursing education: their role and involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Virgolesi, M; Marchetti, A; Piredda, M; Pulimeno, A M L; Rocco, G; Stievano, A; De Marinis, M G

2014-01-01

In literature, there is evidence that all stakeholders need to be involved in the curricula building process to make sure that health professionals are "educated" to meet the stakeholders' "demands". In Italy, the involvement of stakeholders in the definition of university curricula is ratified by various regulations. To describe the major experiences of stakeholder involvement in nursing education, identify the main stakeholders for nursing education, and the processes in which they are involved. The search strategy included an electronic exploration of the relevant databases. The search terms were: Stakeholders, Curriculum, Nursing Education combined with Boolean operators. The references of the retrieved articles were hand searched for additional related studies. Most of the studies identified were from the United Kingdom, Australia, and the USA. In Italy, no relevant studies were found. The most frequently identified stakeholders were: students, clinicians, educators, nurse managers. They were mainly involved during profound changes in the curricula and the implementation of new educational approaches. Stakeholders are mostly involved in countries with a private funding system for universities. Such funding systems have probably developed in the academia a greater propensity to involve stakeholders, to provide recognition of success when starting new programs, and are perceived more as marketing research. This seems contrary to the spirit of the Italian and European regulatory interventions, which instead, provide a structured commitment to consolidating and expanding the collaboration among universities, users, and the world of labor. This latter collaboration should facilitate internship activities, lifelong learning, and employability of the newly-graduated professionals.

Customer Involvement in the Game Development Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaja Prystupa-Rządca

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The creative industry is a fast developing sector of economy in many countries. Growing competition in this area has led many companies to implement strategy of users' involvement in product development in order to deliver products that are more aligned with customers’ needs. On the other hand, the attempt to align the customers’ expectations with artistic creativity may create tensions. Therefore, the aim of the research is to examine the methods of users’ involvement in product development and real impact of the users on project design. The obtained findings are based on two-year qualitative research project conducted in game development companies.

The insula is not specifically involved in disgust processing: an fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schienle, A; Stark, R; Walter, B; Blecker, C; Ott, U; Kirsch, P; Sammer, G; Vaitl, D

2002-11-15

fMRI studies have shown that the perception of facial disgust expressions specifically activates the insula. The present fMRI study investigated whether this structure is also involved in the processing of visual stimuli depicting non-mimic disgust elicitors compared to fear-inducing and neutral scenes. Twelve female subjects were scanned while viewing alternating blocks of 40 disgust-inducing, 40 fear-inducing and 40 affectively neutral pictures, shown for 1.5 s each. Afterwards, affective ratings were assessed. The disgust pictures, rated as highly repulsive, induced activation in the insula, the amygdala, the orbitofrontal and occipito-temporal cortex. Since during the fear condition the insula was also involved, our findings do not fit the idea of the insula as a specific disgust processor.

Numerical simulations of industrial processes involving fluid dynamics, combustion and radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ducrocq, J [Air Liquide, Centre de Recherche Claude-Delorme, Jouy-en-Josas (France)

1998-12-31

Moving out of the scientific community research laboratories, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software packages are now allowing industrials to analyse and optimize industrial processes involving the use of gases, liquids and even some two-phase fluids. Their attractiveness and their impact stems out from the opportunity they offer to bring insight into an existing unit, or even at the design stage, by displaying the spatial distribution of process relevant variables such as temperature, concentration. The filling of the spacing in between a two-layer window is a simple example. This new opportunity of visualisation is at times an unique way, when the process environment is an opaque one, such as liquid metal flowing into a tundish or when measurements of flows may be a long and tedious work, such as flows within water treatment basins. This environment we are to investigate in order to optimize can also be a harsh one, due to its high temperature level for example. Such are burners. But then pure fluid flow analysis, such as cold flow water models, has too many shortcomings. The description of combustion processes and of radiation become a necessary feature in order to describe thermal heat transfer or to locate `hot spots`. Such numerical models showing our oxycombustion expertise in glass melting will be presented. (author)

Numerical simulations of industrial processes involving fluid dynamics, combustion and radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ducrocq, J. [Air Liquide, Centre de Recherche Claude-Delorme, Jouy-en-Josas (France)

1997-12-31

Moving out of the scientific community research laboratories, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software packages are now allowing industrials to analyse and optimize industrial processes involving the use of gases, liquids and even some two-phase fluids. Their attractiveness and their impact stems out from the opportunity they offer to bring insight into an existing unit, or even at the design stage, by displaying the spatial distribution of process relevant variables such as temperature, concentration. The filling of the spacing in between a two-layer window is a simple example. This new opportunity of visualisation is at times an unique way, when the process environment is an opaque one, such as liquid metal flowing into a tundish or when measurements of flows may be a long and tedious work, such as flows within water treatment basins. This environment we are to investigate in order to optimize can also be a harsh one, due to its high temperature level for example. Such are burners. But then pure fluid flow analysis, such as cold flow water models, has too many shortcomings. The description of combustion processes and of radiation become a necessary feature in order to describe thermal heat transfer or to locate `hot spots`. Such numerical models showing our oxycombustion expertise in glass melting will be presented. (author)

Involvement of the Warburg effect in non-tumor diseases processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhe; Liu, Meiqing; Li, Lanfang; Chen, Linxi

2018-04-01

Warburg effect, as an energy shift from mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis, is extensively found in various cancers. Interestingly, increasing researchers show that Warburg effect plays a crucial role in non-tumor diseases. For instance, inhibition of Warburg effect can alleviate pulmonary vascular remodeling in the process of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Interference of Warburg effect improves mitochondrial function and cardiac function in the process of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. Additionally, the Warburg effect induces vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and contributes to atherosclerosis. Warburg effect may also involve in axonal damage and neuronal death, which are related with multiple sclerosis. Furthermore, Warburg effect significantly promotes cell proliferation and cyst expansion in polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Besides, Warburg effect relieves amyloid β-mediated cell death in Alzheimer's disease. And Warburg effect also improves the mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Finally, we also introduce some glycolytic agonists. This review focuses on the newest researches about the role of Warburg effect in non-tumor diseases, including PH, tuberculosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), failing heart, cardiac hypertrophy, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's diseases, multiple sclerosis, and PKD. Obviously, Warburg effect may be a potential therapeutic target for those non-tumor diseases. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Public involvement in the decision making process, Argentine experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clein, D.

1999-01-01

In the frame of a young participative democracy the Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica (C.N.E.A.), technical and legal responsible for radioactive waste management, is developing a plan for the close out of tailings facilities from past mining and milling operations and the environmental restoration of nine different sites in six provinces all over the country. In the first site, Malargue Facility, different activities have been developed promoting public involvement in the decision making process. The lessons learned and the experience acquired have given the background for the systematization of public consultation in the ongoing and future stages of the plan. Malargue's experience in this field will be analyzed stressing on different aspects considered of importance for the design of a communicational strategy adapted to the characteristics of a society without experience in this field. The influence of public concern on conservative bias of technical decisions will be evaluated. (author)

Using the domain identification model to study major and career decision-making processes

Science.gov (United States)

Tendhar, Chosang; Singh, Kusum; Jones, Brett D.

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which (1) a domain identification model could be used to predict students' engineering major and career intentions and (2) the MUSIC Model of Motivation components could be used to predict domain identification. The data for this study were collected from first-year engineering students. We used a structural equation model to test the hypothesised relationship between variables in the partial domain identification model. The findings suggested that engineering identification significantly predicted engineering major intentions and career intentions and had the highest effect on those two variables compared to other motivational constructs. Furthermore, results suggested that success, interest, and caring are plausible contributors to students' engineering identification. Overall, there is strong evidence that the domain identification model can be used as a lens to study career decision-making processes in engineering, and potentially, in other fields as well.

Molecular heterogeneity in major urinary proteins of Mus musculus subspecies: potential candidates involved in speciation

Science.gov (United States)

Hurst, Jane L.; Beynon, Robert J.; Armstrong, Stuart D.; Davidson, Amanda J.; Roberts, Sarah A.; Gómez-Baena, Guadalupe; Smadja, Carole M.; Ganem, Guila

2017-01-01

When hybridisation carries a cost, natural selection is predicted to favour evolution of traits that allow assortative mating (reinforcement). Incipient speciation between the two European house mouse subspecies, Mus musculus domesticus and M.m.musculus, sharing a hybrid zone, provides an opportunity to understand evolution of assortative mating at a molecular level. Mouse urine odours allow subspecific mate discrimination, with assortative preferences evident in the hybrid zone but not in allopatry. Here we assess the potential of MUPs (major urinary proteins) as candidates for signal divergence by comparing MUP expression in urine samples from the Danish hybrid zone border (contact) and from allopatric populations. Mass spectrometric characterisation identified novel MUPs in both subspecies involving mostly new combinations of amino acid changes previously observed in M.m.domesticus. The subspecies expressed distinct MUP signatures, with most MUPs expressed by only one subspecies. Expression of at least eight MUPs showed significant subspecies divergence both in allopatry and contact zone. Another seven MUPs showed divergence in expression between the subspecies only in the contact zone, consistent with divergence by reinforcement. These proteins are candidates for the semiochemical barrier to hybridisation, providing an opportunity to characterise the nature and evolution of a putative species recognition signal. PMID:28337988

TF-finder: A software package for identifying transcription factors involved in biological processes using microarray data and existing knowledge base

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cui Xiaoqi

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Identification of transcription factors (TFs involved in a biological process is the first step towards a better understanding of the underlying regulatory mechanisms. However, due to the involvement of a large number of genes and complicated interactions in a gene regulatory network (GRN, identification of the TFs involved in a biology process remains to be very challenging. In reality, the recognition of TFs for a given a biological process can be further complicated by the fact that most eukaryotic genomes encode thousands of TFs, which are organized in gene families of various sizes and in many cases with poor sequence conservation except for small conserved domains. This poses a significant challenge for identification of the exact TFs involved or ranking the importance of a set of TFs to a process of interest. Therefore, new methods for recognizing novel TFs are desperately needed. Although a plethora of methods have been developed to infer regulatory genes using microarray data, it is still rare to find the methods that use existing knowledge base in particular the validated genes known to be involved in a process to bait/guide discovery of novel TFs. Such methods can replace the sometimes-arbitrary process of selection of candidate genes for experimental validation and significantly advance our knowledge and understanding of the regulation of a process. Results We developed an automated software package called TF-finder for recognizing TFs involved in a biological process using microarray data and existing knowledge base. TF-finder contains two components, adaptive sparse canonical correlation analysis (ASCCA and enrichment test, for TF recognition. ASCCA uses positive target genes to bait TFS from gene expression data while enrichment test examines the presence of positive TFs in the outcomes from ASCCA. Using microarray data from salt and water stress experiments, we showed TF-finder is very efficient in recognizing

Emotion and attention interactions in social cognition: brain regions involved in processing anger prosody.

Science.gov (United States)

Sander, David; Grandjean, Didier; Pourtois, Gilles; Schwartz, Sophie; Seghier, Mohamed L; Scherer, Klaus R; Vuilleumier, Patrik

2005-12-01

Multiple levels of processing are thought to be involved in the appraisal of emotionally relevant events, with some processes being engaged relatively independently of attention, whereas other processes may depend on attention and current task goals or context. We conducted an event-related fMRI experiment to examine how processing angry voice prosody, an affectively and socially salient signal, is modulated by voluntary attention. To manipulate attention orthogonally to emotional prosody, we used a dichotic listening paradigm in which meaningless utterances, pronounced with either angry or neutral prosody, were presented simultaneously to both ears on each trial. In two successive blocks, participants selectively attended to either the left or right ear and performed a gender-decision on the voice heard on the target side. Our results revealed a functional dissociation between different brain areas. Whereas the right amygdala and bilateral superior temporal sulcus responded to anger prosody irrespective of whether it was heard from a to-be-attended or to-be-ignored voice, the orbitofrontal cortex and the cuneus in medial occipital cortex showed greater activation to the same emotional stimuli when the angry voice was to-be-attended rather than to-be-ignored. Furthermore, regression analyses revealed a strong correlation between orbitofrontal regions and sensitivity on a behavioral inhibition scale measuring proneness to anxiety reactions. Our results underscore the importance of emotion and attention interactions in social cognition by demonstrating that multiple levels of processing are involved in the appraisal of emotionally relevant cues in voices, and by showing a modulation of some emotional responses by both the current task-demands and individual differences.

Brucella abortus Inhibits Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Expression and Antigen Processing through Interleukin-6 Secretion via Toll-Like Receptor 2▿

Science.gov (United States)

Barrionuevo, Paula; Cassataro, Juliana; Delpino, M. Victoria; Zwerdling, Astrid; Pasquevich, Karina A.; Samartino, Clara García; Wallach, Jorge C.; Fossati, Carlos A.; Giambartolomei, Guillermo H.

2008-01-01

The strategies that allow Brucella abortus to survive inside macrophages for prolonged periods and to avoid the immunological surveillance of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II)-restricted gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing CD4+ T lymphocytes are poorly understood. We report here that infection of THP-1 cells with B. abortus inhibited expression of MHC-II molecules and antigen (Ag) processing. Heat-killed B. abortus (HKBA) also induced both these phenomena, indicating the independence of bacterial viability and involvement of a structural component of the bacterium. Accordingly, outer membrane protein 19 (Omp19), a prototypical B. abortus lipoprotein, inhibited both MHC-II expression and Ag processing to the same extent as HKBA. Moreover, a synthetic lipohexapeptide that mimics the structure of the protein lipid moiety also inhibited MHC-II expression, indicating that any Brucella lipoprotein could down-modulate MHC-II expression and Ag processing. Inhibition of MHC-II expression and Ag processing by either HKBA or lipidated Omp19 (L-Omp19) depended on Toll-like receptor 2 and was mediated by interleukin-6. HKBA or L-Omp19 also inhibited MHC-II expression and Ag processing of human monocytes. In addition, exposure to the synthetic lipohexapeptide inhibited Ag-specific T-cell proliferation and IFN-γ production of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from Brucella-infected patients. Together, these results indicate that there is a mechanism by which B. abortus may prevent recognition by T cells to evade host immunity and establish a chronic infection. PMID:17984211

Welding processes handbook

CERN Document Server

Weman, Klas

2003-01-01

Deals with the main commercially significant and commonly used welding processes. This title takes the student or novice welder through the individual steps involved in each process in an easily understood way. It covers many of the requirements referred to in European Standards including EN719, EN 729, EN 729 and EN 287.$bWelding processes handbook is a concise, explanatory guide to the main commercially significant and commonly-used welding processes. It takes the novice welder or student through the individual steps involved in each process in a clear and easily understood way. It is intended to provide an up-to-date reference to the major applications of welding as they are used in industry. The contents have been arranged so that it can be used as a textbook for European welding courses in accordance with guidelines from the European Welding Federation. Welding processes and equipment necessary for each process are described so that they can be applied to all instruction levels required by the EWF and th...

29 CFR 570.61 - Occupations in the operation of power-driven meat-processing machines and occupations involving...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

..., for example, the slicing in a retail delicatessen of meat, poultry, seafood, bread, vegetables, or.... This section shall not apply to: (1) The killing and processing of poultry, rabbits, or small game in... and occupations involving slaughtering, meat and poultry packing, processing, or rendering (Order 10...

Processing concrete words: fMRI evidence against a specific right-hemisphere involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiebach, Christian J; Friederici, Angela D

2004-01-01

Behavioral, patient, and electrophysiological studies have been taken as support for the assumption that processing of abstract words is confined to the left hemisphere, whereas concrete words are processed also by right-hemispheric brain areas. These are thought to provide additional information from an imaginal representational system, as postulated in the dual-coding theory of memory and cognition. Here we report new event-related fMRI data on the processing of concrete and abstract words in a lexical decision task. While abstract words activated a subregion of the left inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45) more strongly than concrete words, specific activity for concrete words was observed in the left basal temporal cortex. These data as well as data from other neuroimaging studies reviewed here are not compatible with the assumption of a specific right-hemispheric involvement for concrete words. The combined findings rather suggest a revised view of the neuroanatomical bases of the imaginal representational system assumed in the dual-coding theory, at least with respect to word recognition.

Stakeholder Involvement in Swedish Nuclear Waste Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elam, Mark; Sundqvist, Goeran

2006-01-01

The focus in this paper is on past, current and emerging patterns of stakeholder involvement in the siting of a deep repository for final disposal of Sweden's spent nuclear fuel. In particular, we concentrate on how the two municipalities of Oskarshamn and Oesthammar have acted as engaged stakeholders, and have gained recognition as such, in the siting process. In general: How has stakeholder involvement gained acceptance as an activity of value in the siting of major waste facilities? What are the issues currently subject to stakeholder involvement and how have these been decided upon? An effect of the history of nuclear activity in Oskarshamn and Oesthammar is that stakeholder involvement over a final repository can be divided into social and technical issues. Both municipalities have out of tradition, as part of their social acceptance of a new repository, been prepared to surrender extended involvement in key safety issues. They have been prepared to do this because they also see themselves being able to delegate these safety issues to the government authorities SSI and SKI. These two authorities have been acceptable to the two municipalities as their legitimate 'technological guardians'. As physical geology re-enters the siting process for a deep repository, Oskarshamn appear more prepared to break with tradition than Oesthammar. Oskarshamn are currently demanding transparency from SKB in relation to the exact technical and geological criteria they will use to choose between them and Oesthammar as a repository site. In contrast to Oesthammar, Oskarshamn are preparing with the expected help of SKI and SSI to dispute their geology and its relation to nuclear safety with SKB if they consider it necessary. If Oskarshamn act to draw safety issues in relation to alternative methods and sitings into the EIA process where might this lead? As environmental groups now enter the process (three groups were granted funding in the first round - 2005) the character of site

Recent Advances in Non-invasive Brain Stimulation for Major Depressive Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shui Liu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Non-invasive brain stimulation (NBS is a promising treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD, which is an affective processing disorder involving abnormal emotional processing. Many studies have shown that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS over the prefrontal cortex can play a regulatory role in affective processing. Although the clinical efficacy of NBS in MDD has been demonstrated clinically, the precise mechanism of action remains unclear. Therefore, this review article summarizes the current status of NBS methods, including rTMS and tDCS, in the treatment of MDD. The article explores possible correlations between depressive symptoms and affective processing, highlighting the relevant affective processing mechanisms. Our review provides a reference for the safety and efficacy of NBS methods in the clinical treatment of MDD.

Alveolar process fractures in the permanent dentition. Part 2. The risk of healing complications in teeth involved in an alveolar process fracture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauridsen, Eva; Gerds, Thomas; Andreasen, Jens Ove

2016-01-01

AIM: To analyze the risk of pulp canal obliteration (PCO), pulp necrosis (PN), repair-related resorption (RRR), infection-related resorption (IRR), ankylosis-related resorption (ARR), marginal bone loss (MBL), and tooth loss (TL) for teeth involved in an alveolar process fracture and to identify ...

An Investigation into the Involvement of California Central Valley High School Students with Disabilities in the IEP Process

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Cheryle Ann

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the involvement of California Central Valley high school students with disabilities in the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process. Specifically, this study investigated the involvement of students with disabilities in the development of the IEP and IEP meetings. In addition, this study explored the…

Classical neurotransmitters and neuropeptides involved in major depression in a multi-neurotransmitter system: a focus on antidepressant drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, Felix-Martin; Coveñas, R

2013-01-01

We summarize the alterations of classical neurotransmitters and neuropeptides and the corresponding subreceptors involved in major depression. Neuronal circuits in the brainstem, hippocampus and hypothalamus are developed, since they can be used to derive a multimodal pharmacotherapy. In this sense, serotonin hypoactivity could occur through a strong presynaptic inhibition of glutaminergic neurons via the subtype 5 of metabotropic glutaminergic receptors, and noradrenaline hypoactivity could be due to an enhanced presynaptic inhibition of GABAergic neurons via GABAB receptors. In the hippocampus, dopamine hypoactivity leads to a decreased positive effect. In clinical trials, the antidepressant effect of drugs interfering with the mentioned subreceptors, for example the triple reuptake inhibitor amitifadine, is being investigated. Moreover, the alterations of neuropeptides, such as corticotropin-releasing hormone, neuropeptide Y and galanin are pointed out. The additional antidepressant effect of analogs, agonists and antagonists of the mentioned neuropeptides should be examined.

Reflections on Practical Approaches to Involving Children and Young People in the Data Analysis Process

Science.gov (United States)

Coad, Jane; Evans, Ruth

2008-01-01

This article reflects on key methodological issues emerging from children and young people's involvement in data analysis processes. We outline a pragmatic framework illustrating different approaches to engaging children, using two case studies of children's experiences of participating in data analysis. The article highlights methods of…

The interactive alphabet with augmented reality as a form of involving children in educational process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir D. Sekerin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Research objective: to prove the expediency of using technologies with augmented reality in educational process of children in order to increase the level of their involvement and to improve the efficiency of educational process. Materials and methods. The information base of the research was made by scientific publications, information and analytical reviews, periodicals, monographs, information placed in the Internet network, concerning practical application of technologies with augmented reality in educational process, descriptive and comparative methods of analysis form the methodical basis of this research. Results. It is shown that in educational process of children it is expedient to use the modern technological achievements allowing organizing productive interactions and relationship of the students among themselves and with teachers, lecturers. Educational, business, role-playing games, discussions promoting acceleration of acquiring  a new experience and receiving new knowledge are the perspective formats of realizing the educational process. The world of augmented reality has the following properties: combines the real and virtual, interacts in real time mode, and functions in three-dimensional space. The advantages of the Interactive alphabet on the basis of the augmented reality technology are as follows: 1 security of strong emotional responses; 2 the involvement and interactivity promoting steady memorizing; 3 possibilities of interaction with the artificial world by means of gadgets; 4 Digital and offline communication; 5 possibility of carrying out virtual lessons. One of the main features of virtual reality is the feeling of participation and the opportunity to observe everything from the first person. It makes expedient to carry out lessons entirely in the virtual reality. Achievement of full involvement in educational process promotes increase of motivation and progress in knowledge acquisition.  The use of the augmented

Links between social information processing in middle childhood and involvement in bullying. [IF 0.95

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Camodeca, M.; Goossens, F.A.; Schuengel, C.; Meerum Terwogt, M.

2003-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the way in which bullies, victims, bully/victims, and those not involved process social information. A peer nomination measure of bullying and victimization was administered twice over an interval of one year. The sample consisted of 236 (126 girls and 110

Process evaluation of the health education resource Abre los Ojos for street-involved youth in Medellín

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John L. Wylie

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: Conduct a process evaluation of a health education resource (pamphlet¸ Abre los Ojos, designed for street-involved youth in Medellín. The primary foci of the evaluation were the process of developing the resource and youth’s subsequent perception of the resource. Methodology: Drawing upon both qualitative and quantitative data, a process evaluation was undertaken. Ninety four street-involved youth between the ages of 14–24 years completed surveys about the resource. These semi-structured interviews were key for the information about youth perception of the resource. In addition to individual interviews, prior to resource creation, a series of focus groups were integral for the development of the resource. Results: The process of consulting with the target population through the focus groups was effective in obtaining their ideas and feedback about what type of content they would like to see in a health education resource, and how they wanted that content presented. After distribution, participants described that Abre los Ojos contained information that was valuable and relevant to their experiences. While not a primary focus of this evaluation, the individual interviews were also able to provide some preliminary insight into whether Abre los Ojos was an effective means for participants to increase their knowledge of content included in the resource. Conclusion: The collaborative process of jointly developing the resource content in partnership with the youth proved very worthwhile. While our research team chose to include information about HIV, through focus group dialogue, the youth themselves determined the additional content themes (piercings, use of solvents, and description of life on the street. The resulting resource was well-received by members of the street-involved population who had not been involved in its design.

Alterations in the neuropeptide galanin system in major depressive disorder involve levels of transcripts, methylation, and peptide

Science.gov (United States)

Barde, Swapnali; Rüegg, Joelle; Prud’homme, Josée; Ekström, Tomas J.; Palkovits, Miklos; Turecki, Gustavo; Bagdy, Gyorgy; Ihnatko, Robert; Theodorsson, Elvar; Juhasz, Gabriella; Diaz-Heijtz, Rochellys; Mechawar, Naguib; Hökfelt, Tomas G. M.

2016-01-01

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a substantial burden to patients, families, and society, but many patients cannot be treated adequately. Rodent experiments suggest that the neuropeptide galanin (GAL) and its three G protein-coupled receptors, GAL1–3, are involved in mood regulation. To explore the translational potential of these results, we assessed the transcript levels (by quantitative PCR), DNA methylation status (by bisulfite pyrosequencing), and GAL peptide by RIA of the GAL system in postmortem brains from depressed persons who had committed suicide and controls. Transcripts for all four members were detected and showed marked regional variations, GAL and galanin receptor 1 (GALR1) being most abundant. Striking increases in GAL and GALR3 mRNA levels, especially in the noradrenergic locus coeruleus and the dorsal raphe nucleus, in parallel with decreased DNA methylation, were found in both male and female suicide subjects as compared with controls. In contrast, GAL and GALR3 transcript levels were decreased, GALR1 was increased, and DNA methylation was increased in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of male suicide subjects, however, there were no changes in the anterior cingulate cortex. Thus, GAL and its receptor GALR3 are differentially methylated and expressed in brains of MDD subjects in a region- and sex-specific manner. Such an epigenetic modification in GALR3, a hyperpolarizing receptor, might contribute to the dysregulation of noradrenergic and serotonergic neurons implicated in the pathogenesis of MDD. Thus, one may speculate that a GAL3 antagonist could have antidepressant properties by disinhibiting the firing of these neurons, resulting in increased release of noradrenaline and serotonin in forebrain areas involved in mood regulation. PMID:27940914

Family involvement for breast cancer decision making among Chinese-American women.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Shiuyu Katie C; Knobf, M Tish

2016-12-01

To describe family involvement in decision making for primary treatment in Chinese-American women with early-stage breast cancer. Qualitative data were collected in 2003 from semi-structured questions in interviews with a sample of Chinese-American (ChA) women with breast cancer, who were recruited from the metropolitan New York area. Responses to the questions were written in Chinese immediately during the interview and read back to the subject for accuracy and validation. Content analysis was used to inductively code and analyze the data to generate themes. The participants consisted of 123 ChA women with early stage breast cancer with a mean age of 48.7 years (±9.3) and who had lived in the United States a median of 13.6 years. Support and Caring was the major theme that described family involvement in the breast cancer decision-making process. Gathering Information, Being There, Navigating the Health Care System, Maintaining Family Life and Making the Decision described the aspects of family support in the process. The majority of women described the treatment decision making as a collaborative supportive process with the family, but limited English fluency, strong opinions, lack of a shared perspective, distant living proximity and competing work responsibilities of family members were stressful for the women and perceived as non-supportive. Family involvement in health care decision making is culturally embedded in Asian populations. Culturally sensitive patient and family consultation strategies are needed to assist informed treatment decision making in Chinese-American women diagnosed with breast cancer. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ethical issues in research involving minority populations: the process and outcomes of protocol review by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Thailand

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Recruiting minorities into research studies requires special attention, particularly when studies involve “extra-vulnerable” participants with multiple vulnerabilities, e.g., pregnant women, the fetuses/neonates of ethnic minorities, children in refugee camps, or cross-border migrants. This study retrospectively analyzed submissions to the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Tropical Medicine (FTM-EC) in Thailand. Issues related to the process and outcomes of proposal review, and the main issues for which clarification/revision were requested on studies, are discussed extensively. Methods The study data were extracted from proposals and amendments submitted to the FTM-EC during the period October 2009 – September 2012, and then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The main issues for clarification/revision were analyzed by thematic content analysis. Results 373 proposals were submitted; 44 studies involved minority groups with 21 extra-vulnerable minorities. All clinical and 2/3 of non-clinical studies submitted for initial review underwent full-board review. For combined clinical and non-clinical study submissions, 92.1% were referred back to the investigators and approved after clarification/revision, while 2.7% were deferred due to major/critical changes, and 2.1% not approved due to substantial violations of ethical principles. The main issues needing clarification/revision differed between all studies and those involving minorities: participant information sheet (62.2% vs. 86.4%), informed consent/assent form (51.2% vs. 86.4%), and research methodology (80.7% vs. 84.1%), respectively. The main ethical issues arising during the meetings, regarding studies involving minorities, included ensuring no exploitation, coercion, or pressure on the minority to participate; methodology not affecting their legal status; considering ethnicity and cultural structure; and providing appropriate compensation. Conclusion Delays in the approval or non

Diversity for design: A framework for involving neurodiverse children in the technology design process

OpenAIRE

Benton, L.; Vasalou, A.; Khaled, R.; Johnson, H.; Gooch, D.

2014-01-01

The neurodiversity movement seeks to positively reframe certain neurological conditions, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and dyslexia, by concentrating on their strengths. In recent years, neurodiverse children have increasingly been involved in the technology design process, but the design approaches adopted have focused mostly on overcoming difficulties of working with these children, leaving their strengths untapped. We present a new participatory design (PD) framework, Diversity f...

Diversity for design : a framework for involving neurodiverse children in the technology design process

OpenAIRE

Benton, Laura; Vasalou, Asimina; Khaled, Rilla; Johnson, Hilary; Gooch, Daniel

2014-01-01

The neurodiversity movement seeks to positively reframe certain neurological conditions, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and dyslexia, by concentrating on their strengths. In recent years, neurodiverse children have increasingly been involved in the technology design process, but the design approaches adopted have focused mostly on overcoming difficulties of working with these children, leaving their strengths untapped. We present a new participatory design (PD) framework, Diversity f...

Major transcriptome reprogramming underlies floral mimicry induced by the rust fungus Puccinia monoica in Boechera stricta.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liliana M Cano

Full Text Available Pucciniamonoica is a spectacular plant parasitic rust fungus that triggers the formation of flower-like structures (pseudoflowers in its Brassicaceae host plant Boecherastricta. Pseudoflowers mimic in shape, color, nectar and scent co-occurring and unrelated flowers such as buttercups. They act to attract insects thereby aiding spore dispersal and sexual reproduction of the rust fungus. Although much ecological research has been performed on P. monoica-induced pseudoflowers, this system has yet to be investigated at the molecular or genomic level. To date, the molecular alterations underlying the development of pseudoflowers and the genes involved have not been described. To address this, we performed gene expression profiling to reveal 256 plant biological processes that are significantly altered in pseudoflowers. Among these biological processes, plant genes involved in cell fate specification, regulation of transcription, reproduction, floral organ development, anthocyanin (major floral pigments and terpenoid biosynthesis (major floral volatile compounds were down-regulated in pseudoflowers. In contrast, plant genes involved in shoot, cotyledon and leaf development, carbohydrate transport, wax biosynthesis, cutin transport and L-phenylalanine metabolism (pathway that results in phenylethanol and phenylacetaldehyde volatile production were up-regulated. These findings point to an extensive reprogramming of host genes by the rust pathogen to induce floral mimicry. We also highlight 31 differentially regulated plant genes that are enriched in the biological processes mentioned above, and are potentially involved in the formation of pseudoflowers. This work illustrates the complex perturbations induced by rust pathogens in their host plants, and provides a starting point for understanding the molecular mechanisms of pathogen-induced floral mimicry.

Application of quality by design principles to the development and technology transfer of a major process improvement for the manufacture of a recombinant protein.

Science.gov (United States)

Looby, Mairead; Ibarra, Neysi; Pierce, James J; Buckley, Kevin; O'Donovan, Eimear; Heenan, Mary; Moran, Enda; Farid, Suzanne S; Baganz, Frank

2011-01-01

This study describes the application of quality by design (QbD) principles to the development and implementation of a major manufacturing process improvement for a commercially distributed therapeutic protein produced in Chinese hamster ovary cell culture. The intent of this article is to focus on QbD concepts, and provide guidance and understanding on how the various components combine together to deliver a robust process in keeping with the principles of QbD. A fed-batch production culture and a virus inactivation step are described as representative examples of upstream and downstream unit operations that were characterized. A systematic approach incorporating QbD principles was applied to both unit operations, involving risk assessment of potential process failure points, small-scale model qualification, design and execution of experiments, definition of operating parameter ranges and process validation acceptance criteria followed by manufacturing-scale implementation and process validation. Statistical experimental designs were applied to the execution of process characterization studies evaluating the impact of operating parameters on product quality attributes and process performance parameters. Data from process characterization experiments were used to define the proven acceptable range and classification of operating parameters for each unit operation. Analysis of variance and Monte Carlo simulation methods were used to assess the appropriateness of process design spaces. Successful implementation and validation of the process in the manufacturing facility and the subsequent manufacture of hundreds of batches of this therapeutic protein verifies the approaches taken as a suitable model for the development, scale-up and operation of any biopharmaceutical manufacturing process. Copyright © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Effects of fire on major forest ecosystem processes: an overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhong

2006-09-01

Fire and fire ecology are among the best-studied topics in contemporary ecosystem ecology. The large body of existing literature on fire and fire ecology indicates an urgent need to synthesize the information on the pattern of fire effects on ecosystem composition, structure, and functions for application in fire and ecosystem management. Understanding fire effects and underlying principles are critical to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic wildfires and for proper use of fire as an effective management tool toward management goals. This overview is a synthesis of current knowledge on major effects of fire on fire-prone ecosystems, particularly those in the boreal and temperate regions of the North America. Four closely related ecosystem processes in vegetation dynamics, nutrient cycling, soil and belowground process and water relations were discussed with emphases on fire as the driving force. Clearly, fire can shape ecosystem composition, structure and functions by selecting fire adapted species and removing other susceptible species, releasing nutrients from the biomass and improving nutrient cycling, affecting soil properties through changing soil microbial activities and water relations, and creating heterogeneous mosaics, which in turn, can further influence fire behavior and ecological processes. Fire as a destructive force can rapidly consume large amount of biomass and cause negative impacts such as post-fire soil erosion and water runoff, and air pollution; however, as a constructive force fire is also responsible for maintaining the health and perpetuity of certain fire-dependent ecosystems. Considering the unique ecological roles of fire in mediating and regulating ecosystems, fire should be incorporated as an integral component of ecosystems and management. However, the effects of fire on an ecosystem depend on the fire regime, vegetation type, climate, physical environments, and the scale of time and space of assessment. More ecosystem

Consensus states of local majority rule in stochastic process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luo, Yu-Pin [Department of Electronic Engineering, National Formosa University, Huwei, 63201, Taiwan (China); Tang, Chia-Wei; Xu, Hong-Yuan [Department of Physics, Chung-Yuan Christian University, Chungli, 32023, Taiwan (China); Wu, Jinn-Wen [Department of Applied Mathematics, Chung-Yuan Christian University, Chungli, 32023, Taiwan (China); Huang, Ming-Chang, E-mail: mchuang@cycu.edu.tw [Center for Theoretical Science and Department of Physics, Chung-Yuan Christian University, Chungli, 32023, Taiwan (China)

2015-04-03

A sufficient condition for a network system to reach a consensus state of the local majority rule is shown. The influence of interpersonal environment on the occurrence probability of consensus states for Watts–Strogatz and scale-free networks with random initial states is analyzed by numerical method. We also propose a stochastic local majority rule to study the mean first passage time from a random state to a consensus and the escape rate from a consensus state for systems in a noisy environment. Our numerical results show that there exists a window of fluctuation strengths for which the mean first passage time from a random to a consensus state reduces greatly, and the escape rate of consensus states obeys the Arrhenius equation in the window. - Highlights: • A sufficient condition for reaching a consensus. • The relation between the geometry of networks and the reachability of a consensus. • Stochastic local majority rule. • The mean first-passage time and the escape rate of consensus states.

Consensus states of local majority rule in stochastic process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Yu-Pin; Tang, Chia-Wei; Xu, Hong-Yuan; Wu, Jinn-Wen; Huang, Ming-Chang

2015-01-01

A sufficient condition for a network system to reach a consensus state of the local majority rule is shown. The influence of interpersonal environment on the occurrence probability of consensus states for Watts–Strogatz and scale-free networks with random initial states is analyzed by numerical method. We also propose a stochastic local majority rule to study the mean first passage time from a random state to a consensus and the escape rate from a consensus state for systems in a noisy environment. Our numerical results show that there exists a window of fluctuation strengths for which the mean first passage time from a random to a consensus state reduces greatly, and the escape rate of consensus states obeys the Arrhenius equation in the window. - Highlights: • A sufficient condition for reaching a consensus. • The relation between the geometry of networks and the reachability of a consensus. • Stochastic local majority rule. • The mean first-passage time and the escape rate of consensus states

Characterization of moulds associated with processed garri stored ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ogbonna Innocent Okonkwo

2014-01-29

Jan 29, 2014 ... ration and spoilage of garri are major cause of food borne illnesses and threat to public health. However, some unhygienic practices involved in production, processing of cassava to garri and post processing handling such as spreading on the floor and mats after frying, displaying in. *Corresponding author ...

A machine learning framework involving EEG-based functional connectivity to diagnose major depressive disorder (MDD).

Science.gov (United States)

Mumtaz, Wajid; Ali, Syed Saad Azhar; Yasin, Mohd Azhar Mohd; Malik, Aamir Saeed

2018-02-01

Major depressive disorder (MDD), a debilitating mental illness, could cause functional disabilities and could become a social problem. An accurate and early diagnosis for depression could become challenging. This paper proposed a machine learning framework involving EEG-derived synchronization likelihood (SL) features as input data for automatic diagnosis of MDD. It was hypothesized that EEG-based SL features could discriminate MDD patients and healthy controls with an acceptable accuracy better than measures such as interhemispheric coherence and mutual information. In this work, classification models such as support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR) and Naïve Bayesian (NB) were employed to model relationship between the EEG features and the study groups (MDD patient and healthy controls) and ultimately achieved discrimination of study participants. The results indicated that the classification rates were better than chance. More specifically, the study resulted into SVM classification accuracy = 98%, sensitivity = 99.9%, specificity = 95% and f-measure = 0.97; LR classification accuracy = 91.7%, sensitivity = 86.66%, specificity = 96.6% and f-measure = 0.90; NB classification accuracy = 93.6%, sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 87.9% and f-measure = 0.95. In conclusion, SL could be a promising method for diagnosing depression. The findings could be generalized to develop a robust CAD-based tool that may help for clinical purposes.

Early Involvement and Integration in Construction Projects: The Benefits of DfX in Elimination of Wastes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heikki Halttula

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Typical construction processes provide waste: material waste but especially process-related waste. The majority of this waste can be avoided with efficient planning in the front end of projects. The main aim is to describe how the concept of Design for Excellence (DfX can reduce the most severe waste in construction projects. Based on a literature review of waste and requirements that aid early involvement and integration, we created a survey for analyzing and prioritizing types of waste in the construction industry. We describe how DFX reduces this waste, especially through the use of early involvement and integration. When applied, DfX creates incentives for project stakeholders to eliminate waste automatically through early involvement and integration.

Visual and Auditory Input in Second-Language Speech Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Hardison, Debra M.

2010-01-01

The majority of studies in second-language (L2) speech processing have involved unimodal (i.e., auditory) input; however, in many instances, speech communication involves both visual and auditory sources of information. Some researchers have argued that multimodal speech is the primary mode of speech perception (e.g., Rosenblum 2005). Research on…

The difficulties experienced by nurses and healthcare staff involved in the process of breaking bad news.

Science.gov (United States)

Warnock, Clare; Buchanan, Jean; Tod, Angela Mary

2017-07-01

The aim of this study was to explore the difficulties experienced by nurses and healthcare professionals when engaging in the process of breaking bad news. The challenges faced by staff when breaking bad news have previously been researched in relation to particular settings or participants. This study involved staff from diverse settings and roles to develop broader insights into the range of difficulties experienced in clinical practice. The study used a descriptive survey design involving self-reported written accounts and framework analysis. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire containing a free text section that asked participants to describe a difficult experience they had encountered when involved in the process of breaking bad news. Data were collected from healthcare staff from hospital, community, hospice and care home settings attending training days on breaking bad news between April 2011 and April 2014. Multiple inter-related factors presented challenges to staff engaging in activities associated with breaking bad news. Traditional subjects such as diagnostic and treatment information were described but additional topics were identified such as the impact of illness and care at the end of life. A descriptive framework was developed that summarizes the factors that contribute to creating difficult experiences for staff when breaking bad news. The framework provides insights into the scope of the challenges faced by staff when they engage in the process of breaking bad news. This provides the foundation for developing interventions to support staff that more closely matches their experiences in clinical practice. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Development of Prescription Drug Information Leaflets: Impact of Cognitive Effort and Patient Involvement on Prescription Medication Information Processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Harshali K; Bapat, Shweta S; Bhansali, Archita H; Sansgiry, Sujit S

2018-01-01

The objective of this study was to develop a one-page (1-page) prescription drug information leaflet (PILs) and assess their impact on the information processing variables, across 2 levels of patient involvement. One-page PILs were developed using cognitive principles to lower mental effort and improve comprehension. An experimental, 3 × 2 repeated measures study was conducted to determine the impact of cognitive effort, manipulated using leaflet type on comprehension across 2 levels (high/low) of patient involvement. Adults (≥18 years) in a university setting in Houston were recruited for the study. Each participant was exposed to 3 different types of prescription drug information leaflet (the current practice, preexisting 1-page text-only, and 1-page PILs) for the 3 drugs (Celebrex, Ventolin HFA, Prezista) for a given involvement scenario. A prevalidated survey instrument was used to measure product knowledge, attitude toward leaflet, and intention to read. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant positive effect of cognitive effort, involvement, and their interaction effect across all measured variables. Mean scores for product knowledge, attitude toward leaflet, and intention to read were highest for PILs ( P information processing for consumers by reducing their cognitive effort.

Reflective processes and competencies involved in teaching practice at university: a case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caetano da Costa

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Founded on practical rationality, this qualitative case study aimed to explore the teaching practice at university, focusing on teacher's reflections and competencies. To this end, teaching practices were described, analyzed, and interpreted. These interactions with students on a course in the pharmacy program, brought about situations involving dilemmas and learning opportunities for problem-solving and decision-making skills. Throughout the study, students were encouraged to use knowledge-in-action, reflection-in-action, and reflection-on-action, and these processes were also experienced by the teacher. Analysis of the records from classroom observation and the interviews with students and the teacher showed the fundamental role of such reflective processes, which led to attainment of the intended objectives. In this sense, the teacher's reflective practice was essential for supporting the application of each curricular component of the course.

Optimization of Malaxation Process using Major Aroma Compounds in Virgin Olive Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serife Cevik

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Optimization of major aroma compounds in olive oils produced from fruits at three maturity stages wasstudied. A central composite design was used for the optimization of malaxation conditions of temperature and times, each at five levels with 13 runs including five central points. The responses of interest were trans-2-hexenal and hexanal, which were investigated and their contents were optimized. A full quadratic second order regression model including the linear, quadratic, and two factor interaction effects was proposed to explain the variation in the contents of target compounds depending on the malaxation conditions. Adequacies of models were evaluated by checking regression coefficients for each model. Models were found to work with high success for trans-2-hexenal prediction for oils from fruits at both purple and black stages, whereas the model for hexanalwas only in black stage oil. Their regression coefficients were higher than 0.86. Influences of time and temperature for the malaxation process were found to be significant for the transition of major aroma compounds from the fruit matrix to olive oil. The optimum conditions of temperature and time pairs to maximize trans-2-hexenal and hexanal was found to be 23°C/31 minutes for black olive and to maximize only trans-2-hexenal was also 29°C/41 minutes for purple olive.

Decommissioning: guiding principles and best practices for involving local stakeholders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keyes, D.

2005-01-01

Full text: A wide range of nuclear facilities covering the entire nuclear fuel cycle have been constructed and operated for many years worldwide. For communities where the facilities are located, concerns about safety and environmental contamination are paramount. Working together with elected officials, local community leaders and the public at large during the earliest planning stages will help alleviate concerns about facility operation and ultimate disposition, and will result in better decisions about facility design, location, construction, operation and, ultimately, decommissioning. Such comprehensive community involvement has been the exception rather than the norm. Now that older facilities are being considered for decommissioning, efforts to involve local stakeholders and alleviate their concerns face major challenges. This is particularly true where some residual radioactive contamination will remain onsite and future use of the site may need to be restricted. Plans for stakeholder involvement at the decommissioning stage should be carefully designed and provide for honest, authentic and meaningful involvement of all stakeholders affected by decommissioning decisions. A set of principles and best practices is proposed to help guide the design and implementation of effective community involvement programs. The principles and best practices are drawn from the experiences of public involvement practitioners in a variety of environmental contamination applications. Successful community involvement is the result of a carefully crafted set of coordinated activities conducted over the long term. Ideally, facility decommissioning is simply the end stage of the involvement process, or the beginning of a site stewardship process in those cases where decommissioning does not produce an uncontaminated site. In either case, decommissioning will not be a new, unexpected event, and stakeholders could be involved just as they have been over the life of the facility. In

LAMMER kinase Kic1 is involved in pre-mRNA processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, Zhaohua; Luca, Maria; Portillio, Jessica; Ngo, Benson; Chang, Cathey; Wen, Teresa; Murray, Johanne; Carr, Antony

2011-01-01

The LAMMER kinases are conserved through evolution. They play vital roles in cell growth/differentiation, development, and metabolism. One of the best known functions of the kinases in animal cells is the regulation of pre-mRNA splicing. Kic1 is the LAMMER kinase in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Despite the reported pleiotropic effects of kic1 + deletion/overexpression on various cellular processes the involvement of Kic1 in splicing remains elusive. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that Kic1 not only is required for efficient splicing but also affects mRNA export, providing evidence for the conserved roles of LAMMER kinases in the unicellular context of fission yeast. Consistent with the hypothesis of its direct participation in multiple steps of pre-mRNA processing, Kic1 is predominantly present in the nucleus during interphase. In addition, the kinase activity of Kic1 plays a role in modulating its own cellular partitioning. Interestingly, Kic1 expression oscillates in a cell cycle-dependent manner and the peak level coincides with mitosis and cytokinesis, revealing a potential mechanism for controlling the kinase activity during the cell cycle. The novel information about the in vivo functions and regulation of Kic1 offers insights into the conserved biological roles fundamental to LAMMER kinases in eukaryotes.

Levels of processing in working memory: differential involvement of frontotemporal networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Nathan S; Craik, Fergus I M; Buchsbaum, Bradley R

2015-03-01

How does the brain maintain to-be-remembered information in working memory (WM), particularly when the focus of attention is drawn to processing other information? Cognitive models of WM propose that when items are displaced from focal attention recall involves retrieval from long-term memory (LTM). In this fMRI study, we tried to clarify the role of LTM in performance on a WM task and the type of representation that is used to maintain an item in WM during rehearsal-filled versus distractor-filled delays. Participants made a deep or shallow levels-of-processing (LOP) decision about a single word at encoding and tried to recall the word after a delay filled with either rehearsal of the word or a distracting math task. Recalling one word after 10 sec of distraction demonstrated behavioral and neural indices of retrieval from LTM (i.e., LOP effects and medial-temporal lobe activity). In contrast, recall after rehearsal activated cortical areas that reflected reporting the word from focal attention. In addition, areas that showed an LOP effect at encoding (e.g., left ventrolateral VLPFC and the anterior temporal lobes [ATLs]) were reactivated at recall, especially when recall followed distraction. Moreover, activity in left VLPFC during encoding, left ATL during the delay, and left hippocampus during retrieval predicted recall success after distraction. Whereas shallow LOP and rehearsal-related areas supported active maintenance of one item in focal attention, the behavioral processes and neural substrates that support LTM supported recall of one item after it was displaced from focal attention.

Aspects of Information Architecture involved in process mapping in Military Organizations under the semiotic perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mac Amaral Cartaxo

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The description of the processes to represent the activities in an organization has important call semiotic, It is the flowcharts of uses, management reports and the various forms of representation of the strategies used. The subsequent interpretation of the organization's employees involved in learning tasks and the symbols used to translate the meanings of management practices is essential role for the organization. Objective: The objective of this study was to identify evidence of conceptual and empirical, on aspects of information architecture involved in the mapping process carried out in military organizations under the semiotic perspective. Methodology: The research is characterized as qualitative, case study and the data collection technique was the semi-structured interview, applied to management advisors. Results: The main results indicate that management practices described with the use of pictorial symbols and different layouts have greater impact to explain the relevance of management practices and indicators. Conclusion: With regard to the semiotic appeal, it was found that the impact of a management report is significant due to the use of signs and layout that stimulate further reading by simplifying complex concepts in tables, diagrams summarizing lengthy descriptions.

Monitoring and control of amygdala neurofeedback involves distributed information processing in the human brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Paret, Christian; Zähringer, Jenny; Ruf, Matthias; Gerchen, Martin Fungisai; Mall, Stephanie; Hendler, Talma; Schmahl, Christian; Ende, Gabriele

2018-03-30

Brain-computer interfaces provide conscious access to neural activity by means of brain-derived feedback ("neurofeedback"). An individual's abilities to monitor and control feedback are two necessary processes for effective neurofeedback therapy, yet their underlying functional neuroanatomy is still being debated. In this study, healthy subjects received visual feedback from their amygdala response to negative pictures. Activation and functional connectivity were analyzed to disentangle the role of brain regions in different processes. Feedback monitoring was mapped to the thalamus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), ventral striatum (VS), and rostral PFC. The VS responded to feedback corresponding to instructions while rPFC activity differentiated between conditions and predicted amygdala regulation. Control involved the lateral PFC, anterior cingulate, and insula. Monitoring and control activity overlapped in the VS and thalamus. Extending current neural models of neurofeedback, this study introduces monitoring and control of feedback as anatomically dissociated processes, and suggests their important role in voluntary neuromodulation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

"Coding" and "Decoding": hypothesis for the regulatory mechanism involved in heparan sulfate biosynthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xu; Wang, Fengshan; Sheng, Juzheng

2016-06-16

Heparan sulfate (HS) is widely distributed in mammalian tissues in the form of HS proteoglycans, which play essential roles in various physiological and pathological processes. In contrast to the template-guided processes involved in the synthesis of DNA and proteins, HS biosynthesis is not believed to involve a template. However, it appears that the final structure of HS chains was strictly regulated. Herein, we report research based hypothesis that two major steps, namely "coding" and "decoding" steps, are involved in the biosynthesis of HS, which strictly regulate its chemical structure and biological activity. The "coding" process in this context is based on the distribution of sulfate moieties on the amino groups of the glucosamine residues in the HS chains. The sulfation of these amine groups is catalyzed by N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase, which has four isozymes. The composition and distribution of sulfate groups and iduronic acid residues on the glycan chains of HS are determined by several other modification enzymes, which can recognize these coding sequences (i.e., the "decoding" process). The degree and pattern of the sulfation and epimerization in the HS chains determines the extent of their interactions with several different protein factors, which further influences their biological activity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

IDEA and Family Involvement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet Emin Öztürk

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA gives many rights to parents with special needs in terms of involvement and participation. Given the importance of family involvement in the special education process, and federal legislation that increasingly mandated and supported such involvement over time, considerable research has focused on the multiple ways that relationships between schools and families in the special education decision making process have played out. Educational professionals should create a positive climate for CLD families so that they feel more comfortable and therefore are able to participate more authentically and meaningfully.

Stakeholders and public involvement in river management: heterogeneous acceptance of participatory processes among Swiss institutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Buletti, Nora; Utz, Stephan; Ejderyan, Olivier; Graefe, Olivier; Lane, Stuart; Reynard, Emmanuel

2014-05-01

This research explores participatory processes in the domain of river management in Switzerland. The main objective is to better understand how participatory processes are incorporated into river management practice. Switzerland being a federal state, river management is a cantonal (regional) responsibility, under the supervision (and co-funding) of the State (a Confederation). The federal funding includes the opportunity to fund additional participatory activities to aid river management, not least because the federal authorities consider the involvement of wider stakeholders and the public in decision-making as a means of aiding the progression of projects. This is a particularly important goal in a Swiss setting where direct democracy (the possibility of calling the decision of any level of government into question through a popular vote) means that a reasonable level of project acceptance is a necessary element of project progression. River management in Switzerland now includes both flood protection and river restoration objectives, which has served to increase its controversy: river corridors contain competing interests with different objectives (e.g. ecological enhancement, protection of agricultural land, flood risk reduction). We were asked by the Confederation to evaluate participatory processes it sponsored and one element of this evaluation aimed to develop a typology of stakeholder participation. We conducted interviews with the 26 cantonal officers in charge of river management. These interviews were based upon thematically structured open ended questions, with the responses analyzed qualitatively. We have identified significant divergence in the implementation of participatory processes between the cantons. These appear to be related to two factors: (1) the canton's historical experience of river management; and (2) the methods used to select stakeholders for inclusion in the decisional process. Cantons that refer to guidelines or pre

Food poisoning--a major threat to airline operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Burslem, C D; Kelly, M J; Preston, F S

1990-01-01

In the spring of 1984, British Airways was involved in a major food poisoning outbreak which affected nearly 1000 passengers, aircrew and ground personnel. The operational impact was worldwide and could have resulted in the cessation of the airline's day-to-day operations. The investigation paralleled a major aircraft disaster in the number of national and international agencies involved and in the variety of disciplines engaged. Although the causative organism was rapidly identified (salmonella), and its introduction into the food chain proved to be a key factor, the scale of the outbreak was the result of an interaction of other factors. As with a major aircraft accident, none of the factors alone would have caused the near disaster that occurred.

The role of oxidative and nitrosative stress in accelerated aging and major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Maurya, Pawan Kumar; Noto, Cristiano; Rizzo, Lucas B; Rios, Adiel C; Nunes, Sandra O V; Barbosa, Décio Sabbatini; Sethi, Sumit; Zeni, Maiara; Mansur, Rodrigo B; Maes, Michael; Brietzke, Elisa

2016-02-04

Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects millions of individuals and is highly comorbid with many age associated diseases such as diabetes mellitus, immune-inflammatory dysregulation and cardiovascular diseases. Oxidative/nitrosative stress plays a fundamental role in aging, as well as in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative/neuropsychiatric disorders including MDD. In this review, we critically review the evidence for an involvement of oxidative/nitrosative stress in acceleration of aging process in MDD. There are evidence of the association between MDD and changes in molecular mechanisms involved in aging. There is a significant association between telomere length, enzymatic antioxidant activities (SOD, CAT, GPx), glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxidation (MDA), nuclear factor κB, inflammatory cytokines with MDD. Major depression also is characterized by significantly lower concentration of antioxidants (zinc, coenzyme Q10, PON1). Since, aging and MDD share a common biological base in their pathophysiology, the potential therapeutic use of antioxidants and anti-aging molecules in MDD could be promising.

Qualified public involvement in the decision making process of siting a waste repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodrigues, Danielle Monegalha; Almeida, Ivan Pedro Salati de

2009-01-01

The main objective of this paper is to identify the most important characteristics required for the qualification of local communities for participating in the process of defining a specific site for a radioactive waste repository. It also compares the strategies used by Hungary, United Kingdom and Belgium to stimulate the public participation in the decision-making process of building and operating a radioactive waste repository, considering both the stepwise process and the spontaneous candidacy. Two main aspects are discussed as prerequisites to constitute a qualified public. The first aspect is how well the person or entity can be considered an effective representative of the community affected by the repository. This means the conditions the representative has to speak on behalf of the community and participate in the decision making process as its voice. The second characteristic is the level and quality of the information that the community and its representatives must have to participate actively in the decision-making process and what can be done to improve this status. Referring to the strategy to public involvement, this paper discusses the importance of transparency in the process, aiming the credibility of the entrepreneur as the first pace to gaining the confidence of the public affected by the project. Implementing an open dialog and listening to the needs and claims of the population are the first steps to being accepted as a true partner of the community. Preliminary discussions and explanations are important to introduce the subject and to reduce beliefs of false threats in the affected community. The constitution of a local committee is suggested, to act as a legal and formal channel to facilitate the partnership between local community, neighbors and the entrepreneur in order to achieve a positive result in the whole process. (author)

Involvement of translation and transcription processes into neurophysiological mechanisms of long-term memory reconsolidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kozyrev, S A; Nikitin, V P

2013-03-01

We studied the involvement of translation and transcription processes into behavioral and neuronal mechanisms of reconsolidation of the long-term memory of the conditioned taste aversion in edible snails. Injection of cycloheximide (an inhibitor of protein synthesis) to the snails in 48 h after training combined with subsequent reminder and presentation of the conditional stimulus resulted in the development of persistent amnesia and depression of the responses of the defensive behavior command neurons LPl1 and RPl1 to the conditional stimulus. Injection of mRNA synthesis inhibitors actinomycin D or DRB (5,6-dichloro-1-β-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidasole) in 48 h after conditioning with subsequent reminding procedure produced no effects on memory retention and on the responses of the command neurons to the conditional stimulus. The study suggests that the proteins translated from previously synthesized and stored mRNA were involved in the mechanisms of reconsolidation of the memory responsible for conditioned taste aversion.

A Major in Science? Initial Beliefs and Final Outcomes for College Major and Dropout

OpenAIRE

Ralph Stinebrickner; Todd R. Stinebrickner

2014-01-01

Taking advantage of unique longitudinal data, we provide the first characterization of what college students believe at the time of entrance about their final major, relate these beliefs to actual major outcomes, and provide an understanding of why students hold the initial beliefs about majors that they do. The data collection and analysis are based directly on a conceptual model in which a student's final major is best viewed as the end result of a learning process. We find that students en...

Sibling experiences after a major childhood burn injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehna, Carlee

2010-01-01

The purpose of this research project was to understand, primarily from the sibling perspective, the effect of a child's major burn injury on his or her sibling. A mixed method qualitative dominant design was implemented using the life story method for the qualitative portion. Additionally, the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire -Revised (SRQ-R) was used as a structured interview guide and for calculating scoring data to explore sibling relationship factors of warmth/closeness, rivalry, conflict, and relative status/power. Participants from 22 family cases (one or multiple family members) and 40 individuals were interviewed. To capture impact on the family over time, interviews began a minimum of two years post-burn. The central thematic pattern for the sibling relationship in families having a child with a major burn injury was that of normalization. Two components of normalization were described: areas of normalization and the process of adjustment. Areas of normalization were found in play and other activities, in school and work, and in family relations with siblings. The process of adjustment was varied and often gradual, involved school and work re-entry, and in some instances, seemed to change life perspective. Clinical implications in providing family-centered care can focus on promoting normalization by assessing and supporting siblings who may only be occasionally seen in the hospital or clinic.

Are podoplanin and ezrin involved in the invasion process of the ameloblastomas?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y.F. Costa

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The association between podoplanin and ezrin in the process of odontogenic tumors invasion has been suggested, but was not studied yet. Our purpose was to investigate the relationship between podoplanin and ezrin expressions in the odontogenic epithelium of ameloblastomas. Forty-seven ameloblastomas were analyzed by immunohistochemistry using anti-podoplanin and anti-ezrin antibodies. The expressions of both proteins were evaluated using a score method and the comparison and association between these proteins were verified, respectively, by Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test and by Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, using a statistical significance level of 0.05. The majority of tumors (87.2% exhibited strong membranous expression of podoplanin in the peripheral cells. Cytoplasmic expression of ezrin in the peripheral cells of ameloblastomas was stronger than its membranous expression. No statistically significant correlation was observed between podoplanin and ezrin. However, there was statistically significant difference between membranous podoplanin and membranous ezrin expressions, between cytoplasmic podoplanin and membranous ezrin expressions, and between cytoplasmic podoplanin and cytoplasmic ezrin expressions. There was no statistical difference between membranous podoplanin and cytoplasmic ezrin expressions. These results suggest a synergistic role of both proteins in the process of invasion of ameloblastomas.

The Public Health Service guidelines. Governing research involving human subjects: An analysis of the policy-making process

Science.gov (United States)

Frankel, M. S.

1972-01-01

The policy making process which led to development of the Public Health Service Guidelines governing research involving human subjects is outlined. Part 1 examines the evolution of PHS Guidelines, tracing (1) evolution of thought and legal interpretation regarding research using human subjects; (2) initial involvement of the Federal government; (3) development of the government's research program; (4) the social-political environment in which formal government policy was developed; and (5) various policy statements issued by the government. Part 2 analyzes the process by which PHS Guidelines were developed and examines the values and other underlying factors which contributed to their development. It was concluded that the evolution of the Guidelines is best understood within the context of a mixed-scanning strategy. In such a strategy, policy makers make fundamental decisions regarding the basic direction of policy and subsequent decisions are made incrementally and within the contexts set by the original fundamental decisions.

Review of tribological sinks in six major industries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Imhoff, C.H.; Brown, D.R.; Hane, G.J.; Hutchinson, R.A.; Erickson, R.; Merriman, T.; Gruber, T.; Barber, S.

1985-09-01

Friction and material wear occur throughout all industries and are involved in many processes within each industry. These conditions make assessing tribological activity overall in industry very complex and expensive. Therefore, a research strategy to obtain preliminary information on only the most significant industrial tribological sinks was defined. The industries examined were selected according to both the magnitude of overall energy consumption (particularly machine drive) and the known presence of significant tribological sinks. The six industries chosen are as follows: mining, agriculture, primary metals, chemicals/refining, food, and pulp and paper. They were reviewed to identify and characterize the major tribology sinks. It was concluded that wear losses are greater than friction losses, and that reducing wear rates would improve industrial productivity.

Genes involved in complex adaptive processes tend to have highly conserved upstream regions in mammalian genomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kohane Isaac

2005-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent advances in genome sequencing suggest a remarkable conservation in gene content of mammalian organisms. The similarity in gene repertoire present in different organisms has increased interest in studying regulatory mechanisms of gene expression aimed at elucidating the differences in phenotypes. In particular, a proximal promoter region contains a large number of regulatory elements that control the expression of its downstream gene. Although many studies have focused on identification of these elements, a broader picture on the complexity of transcriptional regulation of different biological processes has not been addressed in mammals. The regulatory complexity may strongly correlate with gene function, as different evolutionary forces must act on the regulatory systems under different biological conditions. We investigate this hypothesis by comparing the conservation of promoters upstream of genes classified in different functional categories. Results By conducting a rank correlation analysis between functional annotation and upstream sequence alignment scores obtained by human-mouse and human-dog comparison, we found a significantly greater conservation of the upstream sequence of genes involved in development, cell communication, neural functions and signaling processes than those involved in more basic processes shared with unicellular organisms such as metabolism and ribosomal function. This observation persists after controlling for G+C content. Considering conservation as a functional signature, we hypothesize a higher density of cis-regulatory elements upstream of genes participating in complex and adaptive processes. Conclusion We identified a class of functions that are associated with either high or low promoter conservation in mammals. We detected a significant tendency that points to complex and adaptive processes were associated with higher promoter conservation, despite the fact that they have emerged

Involvement of the major histocompatibility complex region in the genetic regulation of circulating CD8 T-cell numbers in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, E; Vieira, J; Gonçalves, R; Alves, H; Almeida, S; Rodrigues, P; Lacerda, R; Porto, G

2004-07-01

Variability in T-lymphocyte numbers is partially explained by a genetic regulation. From studies in animal models, it is known that the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is involved in this regulation. In humans, this has not been shown yet. The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that genes in the MHC region influence the regulation of T-lymphocyte numbers. Two approaches were used. Association studies between T-cell counts (CD4(+) and CD8(+)) or total lymphocyte counts and HLA class I alleles (A and B) or mutations in the HFE (C282Y and H63D), the hemochromatosis gene, in an unrelated population (n = 264). A second approach was a sibpair correlation analysis of the same T-cell counts in relation to HLA-HFE haplotypes in subjects belonging to 48 hemochromatosis families (n = 456 sibpairs). In the normal population, results showed a strong statistically significant association of the HLA-A*01 with high numbers of CD8(+) T cells and a less powerful association with the HLA-A*24 with low numbers of CD8(+) T cells. Sibpair correlations revealed the most significant correlation for CD8(+) T-cell numbers for sibpairs with HLA-HFE-identical haplotypes. This was not observed for CD4(+) T cells. These results show that the MHC region is involved in the genetic regulation of CD8(+) T-cell numbers in humans. Identification of genes responsible for this control may have important biological and clinical implications.

Expression Analysis of Multiple Genes May Involve in Antimony Resistance among Leishmania major Clinical Isolates from Fars Province, Central Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nafiseh GHOBAKHLOO

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL is being faced with serious difficulties in Fars Province, due to emerging of resistance against meglumine antimonite (Glucantime®. In this context, determining some biomarkers for drug sensitivity monitoring seems to be highly essential. Different studies have been carried out to decipher the genes might be involved in antimony resistant phenotype in Leishmania spp. Here, we selected three genes: AQP (as drug transporter, TDR-1-1(as drug activator, and γ-GCS (inducing reduction environment for comparative expression analysis on clinical resistant and sensitive isolates of L. major.Methods: The clinical isolates of L. major were collected from CL patients referred to Valfajr Health Center, Shiraz from Oct 2011 to Feb 2012. The susceptibility test was performed to confirm drug sensitivity of strains in vitro as well. Then, the gene expression analysis was performed by quantitative real-time PCR using SYBR® Green.Results: By comparison of expression level between strains, up regulation of γ-GCS gene and down regulation of AQP gene were observed in resistant strains compared to the sensitive isolates; however, down regulation of AQP was not statistically specific. Analysis of TDR-1-1 gene unexpectedly showed a high level of expression in the non-responsive cases.Conclusion: The γ-GCS, at least, can be considered as a suitable molecular marker for screening antimony sensitivity in clinical isolates, although AQP and TDR-1-1gene seem not to be reliable resistant markers. 

Whole-brain functional connectivity during emotional word classification in medication-free Major Depressive Disorder: Abnormal salience circuitry and relations to positive emotionality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Tol, Marie-José; Veer, Ilya M.; van der Wee, Nic J. A.; Aleman, André; van Buchem, Mark A.; Rombouts, Serge A. R. B.; Zitman, Frans G.; Veltman, Dick J.; Johnstone, Tom

2013-01-01

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has been associated with biased processing and abnormal regulation of negative and positive information, which may result from compromised coordinated activity of prefrontal and subcortical brain regions involved in evaluating emotional information. We tested whether

Whole-brain functional connectivity during emotional word classification in medication-free Major Depressive Disorder : Abnormal salience circuitry and relations to positive emotionality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Tol, Marie-Jose; Veer, Ilya M.; van der Wee, Nic J. A.; Aleman, Andre; van Buchem, Mark A.; Rombouts, Serge A. R. B.; Zitman, Frans G.; Veltman, Dick J.; Johnstone, Tom

2013-01-01

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has been associated with biased processing and abnormal regulation of negative and positive information, which may result from compromised coordinated activity of prefrontal and subcortical brain regions involved in evaluating emotional information. We tested whether

Heavy oils processing materials requirements crude processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sloley, Andrew W. [CH2M Hill, Englewood, CO (United States)

2012-07-01

Over time, recommended best practices for crude unit materials selection have evolved to accommodate new operating requirements, feed qualities, and product qualities. The shift to heavier oil processing is one of the major changes in crude feed quality occurring over the last 20 years. The three major types of crude unit corrosion include sulfidation attack, naphthenic acid attack, and corrosion resulting from hydrolyzable chlorides. Heavy oils processing makes all three areas worse. Heavy oils have higher sulfur content; higher naphthenic acid content; and are more difficult to desalt, leading to higher chloride corrosion rates. Materials selection involves two major criteria, meeting required safety standards, and optimizing economics of the overall plant. Proper materials selection is only one component of a plant integrity approach. Materials selection cannot eliminate all corrosion. Proper materials selection requires appropriate support from other elements of an integrity protection program. The elements of integrity preservation include: materials selection (type and corrosion allowance); management limits on operating conditions allowed; feed quality control; chemical additives for corrosion reduction; and preventive maintenance and inspection (PMI). The following discussion must be taken in the context of the application of required supporting work in all the other areas. Within that context, specific materials recommendations are made to minimize corrosion due to the most common causes in the crude unit. (author)

Statistical process control charts for attribute data involving very large sample sizes: a review of problems and solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammed, Mohammed A; Panesar, Jagdeep S; Laney, David B; Wilson, Richard

2013-04-01

The use of statistical process control (SPC) charts in healthcare is increasing. The primary purpose of SPC is to distinguish between common-cause variation which is attributable to the underlying process, and special-cause variation which is extrinsic to the underlying process. This is important because improvement under common-cause variation requires action on the process, whereas special-cause variation merits an investigation to first find the cause. Nonetheless, when dealing with attribute or count data (eg, number of emergency admissions) involving very large sample sizes, traditional SPC charts often produce tight control limits with most of the data points appearing outside the control limits. This can give a false impression of common and special-cause variation, and potentially misguide the user into taking the wrong actions. Given the growing availability of large datasets from routinely collected databases in healthcare, there is a need to present a review of this problem (which arises because traditional attribute charts only consider within-subgroup variation) and its solutions (which consider within and between-subgroup variation), which involve the use of the well-established measurements chart and the more recently developed attribute charts based on Laney's innovative approach. We close by making some suggestions for practice.

The posterior medial cortex is involved in visual but not in verbal memory encoding processing: an intracerebral recording study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stillová, K; Jurák, P; Chládek, J; Halámek, J; Telecká, S; Rektor, I

2013-03-01

The objective is to study the involvement of the posterior medial cortex (PMC) in encoding and retrieval by visual and auditory memory processing. Intracerebral recordings were studied in two epilepsy-surgery candidates with depth electrodes implanted in the retrosplenial cingulate, precuneus, cuneus, lingual gyrus and hippocampus. We recorded the event-related potentials (ERP) evoked by visual and auditory memory encoding-retrieval tasks. In the hippocampus, ERP were elicited in the encoding and retrieval phases in the two modalities. In the PMC, ERP were recorded in both the encoding and the retrieval visual tasks; in the auditory modality, they were recorded in the retrieval task, but not in the encoding task. In conclusion, the PMC is modality dependent in memory processing. ERP is elicited by memory retrieval, but it is not elicited by auditory encoding memory processing in the PMC. The PMC appears to be involved not only in higher-order top-down cognitive activities but also in more basic, rather than bottom-up activities.

Microwave heating processes involving carbon materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menendez, J.A.; Arenillas, A.; Fidalgo, B.; Fernandez, Y.; Zubizarreta, L.; Calvo, E.G.; Bermudez, J.M. [Instituto Nacional del Carbon, CSIC, Apartado 73, 33080 Oviedo (Spain)

2010-01-15

Carbon materials are, in general, very good absorbents of microwaves, i.e., they are easily heated by microwave radiation. This characteristic allows them to be transformed by microwave heating, giving rise to new carbons with tailored properties, to be used as microwave receptors, in order to heat other materials indirectly, or to act as a catalyst and microwave receptor in different heterogeneous reactions. In recent years, the number of processes that combine the use of carbons and microwave heating instead of other methods based on conventional heating has increased. In this paper some of the microwave-assisted processes in which carbon materials are produced, transformed or used in thermal treatments (generally, as microwave absorbers and catalysts) are reviewed and the main achievements of this technique are compared with those obtained by means of conventional (non microwave-assisted) methods in similar conditions. (author)

Bane of Hydrogen-Bond Formation on the Photoinduced Charge-Transfer Process in Donor–Acceptor Systems

KAUST Repository

Alsam, Amani Abdu; Adhikari, Aniruddha; Parida, Manas R.; Aly, Shawkat Mohammede; Bakr, Osman; Mohammed, Omar F.

2017-01-01

Controlling the ultrafast dynamical process of photoinduced charge transfer at donor acceptor interfaces remains a major challenge for physical chemistry and solar cell communities. The process is complicated by the involvement of other complex

Involving people with learning disabilities in nurse education: towards an inclusive approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Bollard, Martin; Lahiff, John; Parkes, Neville

2012-02-01

There is limited evidence that explores how to effectively include people with learning disabilities in nurse education in the U.K. The majority of reported work relates to mental health nursing and social work training (Morgan and Jones, 2009). This paper specifically reports on the processes and activities undertaken by the authors with people with learning disabilities in the development of a new BSc learning disability nursing programme, a specific branch of nursing in the U.K. In doing so, findings and discussion from two separate projects involving students and people with learning disabilities will be integrated into the paper. EPICURE (Engagement, Processing, Interpretation, Critique, Usefulness, Relevance and Ethics (Stige et al. 2009) is adopted as a qualitative framework throughout the paper to evaluate the reported work that took place between September 2006 and October 2010. Suggestions are therefore made regarding the benefits and challenges of striving towards an inclusive approach to user involvement in nurse education, with particular reference to learning disability. The work presented in the paper demonstrates how through careful involvement of this population, deeper learning opportunities for all nursing students can be created. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Innovative Pedagogical Processes Involving Educational Technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weitze, Charlotte Lærke

to create motivating learning for the students. This was done by examining the three actors in the educational institution (students, teachers and the surrounding organisation) individually and relationally. The design-based research project developed knowledge in co-design processes with the three actors...

The Effects of Argument Quality and Involvement Type on Attitude Formation and Attitude Change: A Test of Dual-Process and Social Judgment Predictions

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hee Sun; Levine, Timothy R.; Kingsley Westerman, Catherine Y.; Orfgen, Tierney; Foregger, Sarah

2007-01-01

Involvement has long been theoretically specified as a crucial factor determining the persuasive impact of messages. In social judgment theory, ego-involvement makes people more resistant to persuasion, whereas in dual-process models, high-involvement people are susceptible to persuasion when argument quality is high. It is argued that these…

Review of major plutonium pyrochemical technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moser, W.S.; Navratil, J.D.

1983-01-01

The past twenty years have seen significant growth in the development and application of pyrochemical technology for processing of plutonium. For particular feedstocks and specific applications, non-aqueous high-temperature processes offer key advantages over conventional hydrometallurgical systems. Major processes in use today include: (1) direct oxide reduction for conversion of PuO 2 to metal, (2) molten salt extraction for americium removal from plutonium, (3) molten salt electrorefining for Pu purification, and (4) hydriding to remove plutonium from host substrates. This paper reviews current major pyrochemical processes from the classical calcination-hydrofluorination-bomb reduction sequence through new techniques under development. Each process is presented and brief descriptions of production equipment are given. 47 references, 5 figures

Evaluation of some handling and processing parameters for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Biomass materials require reduction and densification for the purpose of handling and space requirements. Guinea corn (Sorghum bi-color) is a major source of biomass material in the tropic regions. The densification process involves some measurable parameters, namely: pressure, particles size and binder ratio. Guinea ...

Characterization of decontamination and decommissioning wastes expected from the major processing facilities in the 200 Areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amato, L.C.; Franklin, J.D.; Hyre, R.A.; Lowy, R.M.; Millar, J.S.; Pottmeyer, J.A.; Duncan, D.R.

1994-08-01

This study was intended to characterize and estimate the amounts of equipment and other materials that are candidates for removal and subsequent processing in a solid waste facility when the major processing and handling facilities in the 200 Areas of the Hanford Site are decontaminated and decommissioned. The facilities in this study were selected based on processing history and on the magnitude of the estimated decommissioning cost cited in the Surplus Facilities Program Plan; Fiscal Year 1993 (Winship and Hughes 1992). The facilities chosen for this study include B Plant (221-B), T Plant (221-T), U Plant (221-U), the Uranium Trioxide (UO 3 ) Plant (224-U and 224-UA), the Reduction Oxidation (REDOX) or S Plant (202-S), the Plutonium Concentration Facility for B Plant (224-B), and the Concentration Facility for the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) and REDOX (233-S). This information is required to support planning activities for current and future solid waste treatment, storage, and disposal operations and facilities

Characterization of decontamination and decommissioning wastes expected from the major processing facilities in the 200 Areas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amato, L.C.; Franklin, J.D.; Hyre, R.A.; Lowy, R.M.; Millar, J.S.; Pottmeyer, J.A. [Los Alamos Technical Associates, Kennewick, WA (United States); Duncan, D.R. [Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States)

1994-08-01

This study was intended to characterize and estimate the amounts of equipment and other materials that are candidates for removal and subsequent processing in a solid waste facility when the major processing and handling facilities in the 200 Areas of the Hanford Site are decontaminated and decommissioned. The facilities in this study were selected based on processing history and on the magnitude of the estimated decommissioning cost cited in the Surplus Facilities Program Plan; Fiscal Year 1993 (Winship and Hughes 1992). The facilities chosen for this study include B Plant (221-B), T Plant (221-T), U Plant (221-U), the Uranium Trioxide (UO{sub 3}) Plant (224-U and 224-UA), the Reduction Oxidation (REDOX) or S Plant (202-S), the Plutonium Concentration Facility for B Plant (224-B), and the Concentration Facility for the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) and REDOX (233-S). This information is required to support planning activities for current and future solid waste treatment, storage, and disposal operations and facilities.

Relevant Factors in the Process of Socialization, Involvement and Belonging of Descendants in Family Businesses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melquicedec Lozano-Posso

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This research works toward the identification of the factors that comprise the process of socialization, involvement and initial belonging of descendants in family businesses and the key relationships between them. By means of a qualitative detailed study of four cases, complemented by a quantitative survey of 274 Colombian family businesses, the authors generate a new model that takes into account both factors explored in previous research as well as others identified in this study. Findings confirm the specific dependency of each stage on the subsequent ones; socialization influences involvement, which in turn influences the belonging of the descendants to the family business, with a strong presence of factors such as knowledge, leadership, mode, timing, and motivation. Those responsible for the orientation of potential successors may examine these findings in order to optimize their preparation efforts and support of family human resources for the continuity of the business.

Genome-wide transcriptome study in wheat identified candidate genes related to processing quality, majority of them showing interaction (quality x development) and having temporal and spatial distributions

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background The cultivated bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) possesses unique flour quality, which can be processed into many end-use food products such as bread, pasta, chapatti (unleavened flat bread), biscuit, etc. The present wheat varieties require improvement in processing quality to meet the increasing demand of better quality food products. However, processing quality is very complex and controlled by many genes, which have not been completely explored. To identify the candidate genes whose expressions changed due to variation in processing quality and interaction (quality x development), genome-wide transcriptome studies were performed in two sets of diverse Indian wheat varieties differing for chapatti quality. It is also important to understand the temporal and spatial distributions of their expressions for designing tissue and growth specific functional genomics experiments. Results Gene-specific two-way ANOVA analysis of expression of about 55 K transcripts in two diverse sets of Indian wheat varieties for chapatti quality at three seed developmental stages identified 236 differentially expressed probe sets (10-fold). Out of 236, 110 probe sets were identified for chapatti quality. Many processing quality related key genes such as glutenin and gliadins, puroindolines, grain softness protein, alpha and beta amylases, proteases, were identified, and many other candidate genes related to cellular and molecular functions were also identified. The ANOVA analysis revealed that the expression of 56 of 110 probe sets was involved in interaction (quality x development). Majority of the probe sets showed differential expression at early stage of seed development i.e. temporal expression. Meta-analysis revealed that the majority of the genes expressed in one or a few growth stages indicating spatial distribution of their expressions. The differential expressions of a few candidate genes such as pre-alpha/beta-gliadin and gamma gliadin were validated by RT

Genome-wide transcriptome study in wheat identified candidate genes related to processing quality, majority of them showing interaction (quality x development) and having temporal and spatial distributions.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Anuradha; Mantri, Shrikant; Sharma, Monica; Chaudhury, Ashok; Tuli, Rakesh; Roy, Joy

2014-01-16

The cultivated bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) possesses unique flour quality, which can be processed into many end-use food products such as bread, pasta, chapatti (unleavened flat bread), biscuit, etc. The present wheat varieties require improvement in processing quality to meet the increasing demand of better quality food products. However, processing quality is very complex and controlled by many genes, which have not been completely explored. To identify the candidate genes whose expressions changed due to variation in processing quality and interaction (quality x development), genome-wide transcriptome studies were performed in two sets of diverse Indian wheat varieties differing for chapatti quality. It is also important to understand the temporal and spatial distributions of their expressions for designing tissue and growth specific functional genomics experiments. Gene-specific two-way ANOVA analysis of expression of about 55 K transcripts in two diverse sets of Indian wheat varieties for chapatti quality at three seed developmental stages identified 236 differentially expressed probe sets (10-fold). Out of 236, 110 probe sets were identified for chapatti quality. Many processing quality related key genes such as glutenin and gliadins, puroindolines, grain softness protein, alpha and beta amylases, proteases, were identified, and many other candidate genes related to cellular and molecular functions were also identified. The ANOVA analysis revealed that the expression of 56 of 110 probe sets was involved in interaction (quality x development). Majority of the probe sets showed differential expression at early stage of seed development i.e. temporal expression. Meta-analysis revealed that the majority of the genes expressed in one or a few growth stages indicating spatial distribution of their expressions. The differential expressions of a few candidate genes such as pre-alpha/beta-gliadin and gamma gliadin were validated by RT-PCR. Therefore, this study

A Proteomic Approach for the Identification of Up-Regulated Proteins Involved in the Metabolic Process of the Leiomyoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Ura, Blendi; Scrimin, Federica; Arrigoni, Giorgio; Franchin, Cinzia; Monasta, Lorenzo; Ricci, Giuseppe

2016-04-09

Uterine leiomyoma is the most common benign smooth muscle cell tumor of the uterus. Proteomics is a powerful tool for the analysis of complex mixtures of proteins. In our study, we focused on proteins that were upregulated in the leiomyoma compared to the myometrium. Paired samples of eight leiomyomas and adjacent myometrium were obtained and submitted to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry for protein identification and to Western blotting for 2-DE data validation. The comparison between the patterns revealed 24 significantly upregulated (p leiomyoma and not with the normal myometrium. The overexpression of seven proteins involved in the metabolic processes of the leiomyoma was further validated by Western blotting and 2D Western blotting. Four of these proteins have never been associated with the leiomyoma before. The 2-DE approach coupled with mass spectrometry, which is among the methods of choice for comparative proteomic studies, identified a number of proteins overexpressed in the leiomyoma and involved in several biological processes, including metabolic processes. A better understanding of the mechanism underlying the overexpression of these proteins may be important for therapeutic purposes.

Neural responses to ambiguity involve domain-general and domain-specific emotion processing systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Neta, Maital; Kelley, William M; Whalen, Paul J

2013-04-01

Extant research has examined the process of decision making under uncertainty, specifically in situations of ambiguity. However, much of this work has been conducted in the context of semantic and low-level visual processing. An open question is whether ambiguity in social signals (e.g., emotional facial expressions) is processed similarly or whether a unique set of processors come on-line to resolve ambiguity in a social context. Our work has examined ambiguity using surprised facial expressions, as they have predicted both positive and negative outcomes in the past. Specifically, whereas some people tended to interpret surprise as negatively valenced, others tended toward a more positive interpretation. Here, we examined neural responses to social ambiguity using faces (surprise) and nonface emotional scenes (International Affective Picture System). Moreover, we examined whether these effects are specific to ambiguity resolution (i.e., judgments about the ambiguity) or whether similar effects would be demonstrated for incidental judgments (e.g., nonvalence judgments about ambiguously valenced stimuli). We found that a distinct task control (i.e., cingulo-opercular) network was more active when resolving ambiguity. We also found that activity in the ventral amygdala was greater to faces and scenes that were rated explicitly along the dimension of valence, consistent with findings that the ventral amygdala tracks valence. Taken together, there is a complex neural architecture that supports decision making in the presence of ambiguity: (a) a core set of cortical structures engaged for explicit ambiguity processing across stimulus boundaries and (b) other dedicated circuits for biologically relevant learning situations involving faces.

Reasons for family involvement in elective surgical decision-making in Taiwan: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Mei-Ling; Huang, Chuen-Teng; Chen, Ching-Huey

2017-07-01

To inquire into the reasons for family involvement in adult patients' surgical decision-making processes from the point of view of the patients' family. Making a patient the centre of medical decision-making is essential for respecting individual's autonomy. However, in a Chinese society, family members are often deeply involved in a patient's medical decision-making. Although family involvement has long been viewed as an aspect of the Chinese culture, empirical evidence of the reasons for family involvement in medical decision-making has been lacking. A qualitative study. In order to record and examine reasons for family involvement in adult patients' surgical decision-making, 12 different family members of 12 elective surgery patients were interviewed for collecting and analysing data. Three major reasons for family involvement emerged from the data analyses: (1) to share responsibility; (2) to ensure the correctness of medical information; and (3) to safeguard the patient's well-being. These findings also reveal that culture is not the only reason for family involvement. Making decision to undergo a surgery is a tough and stressful process for a patient. Family may provide the patient with timely psychological support to assist the patient to communicate with his or her physician(s) and other medical personnel to ensure their rights. It is also found that due to the imbalanced doctor-patient power relationship, a patient may be unable, unwilling to, or even dare not, tell the whole truth about his or her illness or feelings to the medical personnel. Thus, a patient would expect his or her family to undertake such a mission during the informed consent and decision-making processes. The results of this study may provide medical professionals with relevant insights into family involvement in adult patients' surgical decision-making. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Enhancing Information Usefulness by Line Managers’ Involvement in Cross-Unit Activities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foss, Kirsten; Rodgers, Waymond

2011-01-01

Organization and management scholars have long advocated that efficient use of information is critical for firms to compete successfully in the modern marketplace. This study examines whether the use of managerial cross-unit involvement in an organization enhances managers’ propensity to use useful...... information provided by a functionally related unit in the organization. Senior line managers in a major global bank participated in our study in which they provided information related to their information processing and assessments of the usefulness of corporate audit information. We analyse the effect...

Hypoxia-inducible Lipid Droplet-associated (HILPDA) Is a Novel Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor (PPAR) Target Involved in Hepatic Triglyceride Secretion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mattijsen, F.; Georgiadi, A.; Andasarie, T.; Szalowska, E.; Zota, A.; Krones-Herzig, A.; Kersten, A.H.

2014-01-01

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) play major roles in the regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism through the control of numerous genes involved in processes such as lipid uptake and fatty acid oxidation. Here we identify hypoxia-inducible lipid droplet-associated (Hilpda/Hig2) as a

A study on evaluation of public dose for hypothetical exposure from industrial sources in major Indian cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandrasekaran, S.; Sivasubramanian, K.; Venkatraman, B.

2016-01-01

With expanding industrial establishments in India, the requirements for quality Assurance (QA) have become stringent at every stages of process including selection of raw material, manufacturing process and packing and transport. Radiography, a non-destructive method is widely employed for QA testing. Inadvertent handling or loss of these sources may result in exposure of public/workers to higher levels of ionizing radiation. A well planned emergency preparedness is essential to manage any such untoward incidents. Dose estimation to members of public involved is the major challenge as the time available is very short and eases of availability/labs surrounding the location. This paper determines the dose up to 30m distance as prescribed in AERB safety guidelines and using the population data of four major metropolitan cities in India, public dose is also estimated

Trace and major element pollution originating from coal ash suspension and transport processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Popovic, A; Djordjevic, D; Polic, P

2001-04-01

Coal ash obtained by coal combustion in the "Nikola Tesla A" power plant in Obrenovac, near Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is mixed with water of the Sava river and transported to the dump. In order to assess pollution caused by leaching of some minor and major elements during ash transport through the pipeline, two sets of samples (six samples each) were subjected to a modified sequential extraction. The first set consisted of coal ash samples taken immediately after combustion, while the second set was obtained by extraction with river water, imitating the processes that occur in the pipeline. Samples were extracted consecutively with distilled water and a 1 M solution of KCl, pH 7, and the differences in extractability were compared in order to predict potential pollution. Considering concentrations of seven trace elements as well as five major elements in extracts from a total of 12 samples, it can be concluded that lead and cadmium do not present an environmental threat during and immediately after ash transport to the dump. Portions of zinc, nickel and chromium are released during the ash transport, and arsenic and manganese are released continuously. Copper and iron do not present an environmental threat due to element leaching during and immediately after the coal ash suspension and transport. On the contrary, these elements, as well as chromium, become concentrated during coal ash transport. Adsorbed portions of calcium, magnesium and potassium are also leached during coal ash transport.

A successful effort to involve stakeholders in a facility siting decision using LIPS with stakeholder involvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merkhofer, L.; Conway, R.; Anderson, B.

1995-01-01

Local public opposition to federal bureaucratic decisions has resulted in public agencies rethinking the role of stakeholders in decision making. Efforts to include stakeholders directly in the decision-making process are on the increase. Unfortunately, many attempts to involve members of the public in decisions involving complex technical issues have failed. A key problem has been defining a meaningful role for the public in the process of arriving at a technical decision. This paper describes a successful effort by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in New Mexico to involve stakeholders in an important technical decision associated with its Environmental Restoration (ER) Project. The decision was where to locate a Corrective Action Management Unit (CAMU), a facility intended to consolidate and store wastes generated from the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. A formal priority setting process known as the Laboratory Integration Prioritization System (LIPS) was adapted to provide an approach for involving the public. Although rarely applied to stakeholder participation, the LIPS process proved surprisingly effective. It produced a consensus over a selected site and enhanced public trust and understanding of Project activities

Differential performance on tasks of affective processing and decision-making in patients with Panic Disorder and Panic Disorder with comorbid Major Depressive Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Johanna S; Erickson, Kristine; Luckenbaugh, David A; Weiland-Fiedler, Petra; Geraci, Marilla; Sahakian, Barbara J; Charney, Dennis; Drevets, Wayne C; Neumeister, Alexander

2006-10-01

Neuropsychological studies have provided evidence for deficits in psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and mood disorders. However, neuropsychological function in Panic Disorder (PD) or PD with a comorbid diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has not been comprehensively studied. The present study investigated neuropsychological functioning in patients with PD and PD + MDD by focusing on tasks that assess attention, psychomotor speed, executive function, decision-making, and affective processing. Twenty-two unmedicated patients with PD, eleven of whom had a secondary diagnosis of MDD, were compared to twenty-two healthy controls, matched for gender, age, and intelligence on tasks of attention, memory, psychomotor speed, executive function, decision-making, and affective processing from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), Cambridge Gamble Task, and Affective Go/No-go Task. Relative to matched healthy controls, patients with PD + MDD displayed an attentional bias toward negatively-valenced verbal stimuli (Affective Go/No-go Task) and longer decision-making latencies (Cambridge Gamble Task). Furthermore, the PD + MDD group committed more errors on a task of memory and visual discrimination compared to their controls. In contrast, no group differences were found for PD patients relative to matched control subjects. The sample size was limited, however, all patients were drug-free at the time of testing. The PD + MDD patients demonstrated deficits on a task involving visual discrimination and working memory, and an attentional bias towards negatively-valenced stimuli. In addition, patients with comorbid depression provided qualitatively different responses in the areas of affective and decision-making processes.

Using a Virtual Tablet Machine to Improve Student Understanding of the Complex Processes Involved in Tablet Manufacturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattsson, Sofia; Sjöström, Hans-Erik; Englund, Claire

2016-06-25

Objective. To develop and implement a virtual tablet machine simulation to aid distance students' understanding of the processes involved in tablet production. Design. A tablet simulation was created enabling students to study the effects different parameters have on the properties of the tablet. Once results were generated, students interpreted and explained them on the basis of current theory. Assessment. The simulation was evaluated using written questionnaires and focus group interviews. Students appreciated the exercise and considered it to be motivational. Students commented that they found the simulation, together with the online seminar and the writing of the report, was beneficial for their learning process. Conclusion. According to students' perceptions, the use of the tablet simulation contributed to their understanding of the compaction process.

The Orosomucoid 1 protein is involved in the vitamin D – mediated macrophage de-activation process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gemelli, Claudia, E-mail: claudia.gemelli@unimore.it [Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287, 41125 Modena (Italy); Center for Regenerative Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Gottardi 100, 41125 Modena (Italy); Martello, Andrea; Montanari, Monica; Zanocco Marani, Tommaso; Salsi, Valentina; Zappavigna, Vincenzo; Parenti, Sandra; Vignudelli, Tatiana; Selmi, Tommaso; Ferrari, Sergio; Grande, Alexis [Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287, 41125 Modena (Italy)

2013-12-10

Orosomucoid 1 (ORM1), also named Alpha 1 acid glycoprotein A (AGP-A), is an abundant plasma protein characterized by anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating properties. The present study was designed to identify a possible correlation between ORM1 and Vitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3), a hormone exerting a widespread effect on cell proliferation, differentiation and regulation of the immune system. In particular, the data described here indicated that ORM1 is a 1,25(OH)2D3 primary response gene, characterized by the presence of a VDRE element inside the 1 kb sequence of its proximal promoter region. This finding was demonstrated with gene expression studies, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation and luciferase transactivation experiments and confirmed by VDR full length and dominant negative over-expression. In addition, several experiments carried out in human normal monocytes demonstrated that the 1,25(OH)2D3 – VDR – ORM1 pathway plays a functional role inside the macrophage de-activation process and that ORM1 may be considered as a signaling molecule involved in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and remodeling. - Highlights: • ORM1 is a Vitamin D primary response gene. • VD and its receptor VDR are involved in the de-activation process mediated by human resident macrophages. • The signaling pathway VD-VDR-ORM1 plays an important role in the control of macrophage de-activation process. • ORM1 may be defined as a signaling molecule implicated in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and remodeling.

The Orosomucoid 1 protein is involved in the vitamin D – mediated macrophage de-activation process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gemelli, Claudia; Martello, Andrea; Montanari, Monica; Zanocco Marani, Tommaso; Salsi, Valentina; Zappavigna, Vincenzo; Parenti, Sandra; Vignudelli, Tatiana; Selmi, Tommaso; Ferrari, Sergio; Grande, Alexis

2013-01-01

Orosomucoid 1 (ORM1), also named Alpha 1 acid glycoprotein A (AGP-A), is an abundant plasma protein characterized by anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating properties. The present study was designed to identify a possible correlation between ORM1 and Vitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3), a hormone exerting a widespread effect on cell proliferation, differentiation and regulation of the immune system. In particular, the data described here indicated that ORM1 is a 1,25(OH)2D3 primary response gene, characterized by the presence of a VDRE element inside the 1 kb sequence of its proximal promoter region. This finding was demonstrated with gene expression studies, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation and luciferase transactivation experiments and confirmed by VDR full length and dominant negative over-expression. In addition, several experiments carried out in human normal monocytes demonstrated that the 1,25(OH)2D3 – VDR – ORM1 pathway plays a functional role inside the macrophage de-activation process and that ORM1 may be considered as a signaling molecule involved in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and remodeling. - Highlights: • ORM1 is a Vitamin D primary response gene. • VD and its receptor VDR are involved in the de-activation process mediated by human resident macrophages. • The signaling pathway VD-VDR-ORM1 plays an important role in the control of macrophage de-activation process. • ORM1 may be defined as a signaling molecule implicated in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and remodeling

Neural mechanisms of reinforcement learning in unmedicated patients with major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothkirch, Marcus; Tonn, Jonas; Köhler, Stephan; Sterzer, Philipp

2017-04-01

According to current concepts, major depressive disorder is strongly related to dysfunctional neural processing of motivational information, entailing impairments in reinforcement learning. While computational modelling can reveal the precise nature of neural learning signals, it has not been used to study learning-related neural dysfunctions in unmedicated patients with major depressive disorder so far. We thus aimed at comparing the neural coding of reward and punishment prediction errors, representing indicators of neural learning-related processes, between unmedicated patients with major depressive disorder and healthy participants. To this end, a group of unmedicated patients with major depressive disorder (n = 28) and a group of age- and sex-matched healthy control participants (n = 30) completed an instrumental learning task involving monetary gains and losses during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The two groups did not differ in their learning performance. Patients and control participants showed the same level of prediction error-related activity in the ventral striatum and the anterior insula. In contrast, neural coding of reward prediction errors in the medial orbitofrontal cortex was reduced in patients. Moreover, neural reward prediction error signals in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum showed negative correlations with anhedonia severity. Using a standard instrumental learning paradigm we found no evidence for an overall impairment of reinforcement learning in medication-free patients with major depressive disorder. Importantly, however, the attenuated neural coding of reward in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and the relation between anhedonia and reduced reward prediction error-signalling in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum likely reflect an impairment in experiencing pleasure from rewarding events as a key mechanism of anhedonia in major depressive disorder. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford

Across frequency processes involved in auditory detection of coloration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buchholz, Jörg; Kerketsos, P

2008-01-01

filterbank was designed to approximate auditory filter-shapes measured by Oxenham and Shera [JARO, 2003, 541-554], derived from forward masking data. The results of the present study demonstrate that a “purely” spectrum-based model approach can successfully describe auditory coloration detection even at high......When an early wall reflection is added to a direct sound, a spectral modulation is introduced to the signal's power spectrum. This spectral modulation typically produces an auditory sensation of coloration or pitch. Throughout this study, auditory spectral-integration effects involved in coloration...... detection are investigated. Coloration detection thresholds were therefore measured as a function of reflection delay and stimulus bandwidth. In order to investigate the involved auditory mechanisms, an auditory model was employed that was conceptually similar to the peripheral weighting model [Yost, JASA...

The Prototypical Majority Effect Under Social Influence.

Science.gov (United States)

Koriat, Asher; Adiv-Mashinsky, Shiri; Undorf, Monika; Schwarz, Norbert

2018-05-01

Majority views are reported with greater confidence and fluency than minority views, with the difference increasing with majority size. This Prototypical Majority Effect (PME) was attributed generally to conformity pressure, but Koriat et al. showed that it can arise from the processes underlying decision and confidence independent of social influence. Here we examined the PME under conditions that differ in social influence. In Experiment 1, a robust PME emerged in the absence of information about the majority views, but the provision sof that information increased the choice of the majority view and magnified the PME. In Experiment 2, a PME emerged in a minority-biased condition that misled participants to believe that the majority view was the minority view, but the PME was stronger in a majority-biased condition. The results were discussed in terms of a dual-process view: The PME observed under social influence may contain externally driven and internally driven components.

Electro/powder separation process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunn, J.P.

1977-01-01

A report is presented to introduce the ELECTRO/POWDER process to the P/M Industry. The process effectively uses electrostatic forces to convey, sort, meter, and blend fine powders. The major advantages of this separating process consist of the processing of primary particles, low particle energy due to particle velocity control and the pattern of particle movement over the sieve (vertical oscillation of particles above the sieve aperture). The report briefly describes the forces involved in both mechanical and sieving devices, with major emphasis on the operating principles of this process. Sieve separation of particulates is basically the result of two physical separating processes which occur simultaneously or independently; separation (dispersion) of particulates from each other and the size separation by passage through fixed apertures. In order to accomplish this goal, mechanical sieving devices utilize various motions to induce shear forces between the sieve surface and the particulates, and between the particulates themselves. It is noted that the ELECTRO/POWDER process is making steady progress in becoming an industrial tool for sieving and feeding of fine particles. Its potential extends into both the blending and admixing of powders, either by incorporating two opposing feeders, one being charged with the opposite polarity or by modifying the ELECTRO/SIEVE to incorporate more than one input and a solid electrode to replace the sieve electrode

Altered neural processing of reward and punishment in adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Landes, I; Bakos, S; Kohls, G; Bartling, J; Schulte-Körne, G; Greimel, E

2018-05-01

Altered reward and punishment function has been suggested as an important vulnerability factor for the development of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Prior ERP studies found evidence for neurophysiological dysfunctions in reinforcement processes in adults with MDD. To date, only few ERP studies have examined the neural underpinnings of reinforcement processing in adolescents diagnosed with MDD. The present event-related potential (ERP) study aimed to investigate neurophysiological mechanisms of anticipation and consumption of reward and punishment in adolescents with MDD in one comprehensive paradigm. During ERP recording, 25 adolescents with MDD and 29 healthy controls (12-17 years) completed a Monetary Incentive Delay Task comprising both a monetary reward and a monetary punishment condition. During anticipation, the cue-P3 signaling attentional allocation was recorded. During consumption, the feedback-P3 and Reward Positivity (RewP) were recorded to capture attentional allocation and outcome evaluation, respectively. Compared to controls, adolescents with MDD showed prolonged cue-P3 latencies to reward cues. Furthermore, unlike controls, adolescents with MDD displayed shorter feedback-P3 latencies in the reward versus punishment condition. RewPs did not differ between groups. It remains unanswered whether the observed alterations in adolescent MDD represent a state or trait. Delayed neural processing of reward cues corresponds to the clinical presentation of adolescent MDD with reduced motivational tendencies to obtain rewards. Relatively shorter feedback-P3 latencies in the reward versus punishment condition could indicate a high salience of performance-contingent reward. Frequent exposure of negatively biased adolescents with MDD to performance-contingent rewards might constitute a promising intervention approach. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Streptomyces lunalinharesii strain 235 shows the potential to inhibit bacteria involved in biocorrosion processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Pacheco da Rosa, Juliana; Korenblum, Elisa; Franco-Cirigliano, Marcella Novaes; Abreu, Fernanda; Lins, Ulysses; Soares, Rosângela M A; Macrae, Andrew; Seldin, Lucy; Coelho, Rosalie R R

2013-01-01

Four actinomycete strains previously isolated from Brazilian soils were tested for their antimicrobial activity against Bacillus pumilus LF-4 and Desulfovibrio alaskensis NCIMB 13491, bacteria that are well known to be involved in biofilm formation and biocorrosion. Strain 235, belonging to the species Streptomyces lunalinharesii, inhibited the growth of both bacteria. The antimicrobial activity was seen over a wide range of pH, and after treatment with several chemicals and heat but not with proteinase K and trypsin. The antimicrobial substances present in the concentrated supernatant from growth media were partially characterized by SDS-PAGE and extracellular polypeptides were seen. Bands in the size range of 12 to 14.4 kDa caused antimicrobial activity. Transmission electron microscopy of D. alaskensis cells treated with the concentrated supernatant containing the antimicrobial substances revealed the formation of prominent bubbles, the spherical double-layered structures on the cell membrane, and the periplasmic space completely filled with electron-dense material. This is the first report on the production of antimicrobial substances by actinomycetes against bacteria involved in biocorrosion processes, and these findings may be of great relevance as an alternative source of biocides to those currently employed in the petroleum industry.

Corporate Involvement in C AI

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Justine C.

1978-01-01

Historic perspective of computer manufacturers and their contribution to CAI. Corporate CAI products and services are mentioned, as is a forecast for educational involvement by computer corporations. A chart of major computer corporations shows gross sales, net earnings, products and services offered, and other corporate information. (RAO)

Understanding the effectiveness of the entertainment-education strategy: an investigation of how audience involvement, message processing, and message design influence health information recall.

Science.gov (United States)

Quintero Johnson, Jessie M; Harrison, Kristen; Quick, Brian L

2013-01-01

A growing body of evidence suggests that entertainment-education (EE) is a promising health communication strategy. The purpose of this study was to identify some of the factors that facilitate and hinder audience involvement with EE messages. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the authors introduce a construct they call experiential involvement, which describes the experience of being cognitively and emotionally involved with EE messages and is a product of transportation into an EE text and identification with EE characters. Using an experimental design, the authors also investigated how reports of experiential involvement and health information recall varied depending on the degree to which the educational content was well integrated with the narrative content in EE messages. Findings indicated that integration significantly influenced health information recall. Results indicated that experiential involvement and the perception that the health topic in EE messages was personally relevant predicted participants' systematic processing of the information in EE messages. Contrary to expectation, personal relevance did not predict experiential involvement, and systematic message processing was negatively related to health information recall. Implications for the construction of EE messages and the study of the EE strategy are discussed.

The perceptual cognitive processes underpinning skilled performance in volleyball: evidence from eye-movements and verbal reports of thinking involving an in situ representative task.

Science.gov (United States)

Afonso, José; Garganta, Jêlio; McRobert, Allistair; Williams, Andrew M; Mesquita, Isabel

2012-01-01

An extensive body of work has focused on the processes underpinning perceptual-cognitive expertise. The majority of researchers have used film-based simulations to capture superior performance. We combined eye movement recording and verbal reports of thinking to explore the processes underpinning skilled performance in a complex, dynamic, and externally paced representative volleyball task involving in situ data collection. Altogether, 27 female volleyball players performed as centre backcourt defenders in simulated sessions while wearing an eye-tracking device. After each sequence, athletes were questioned concerning their perception of the situation. The visual search strategies employed by the highly-skilled players were more exploratory than those used by skilled players, involving more fixations to a greater number of locations. Highly-skilled participants spent more time fixating on functional spaces between two or more display areas, while the skilled participants fixated on the ball trajectory and specific players. Moreover, highly-skilled players generated more condition concepts with higher levels of sophistication than their skilled counterparts. Findings highlight the value of using representative task designs to capture performance in situ. Key pointsDecision-making in complex sports relies deeply on perceptual-cognitive expertise. In turn, the effect of expertise is highly dependent on the nature and complexity of the task.Nonetheless, most researchers use simple tasks in their research designs, risking not capturing performance in a meaningful way. We proposed to use a live action setting with a complex task design, representative of real world situations.We combined eye movement registration with collection of immediate retrospective verbal reports. Although the two data sets are not directly comparable, they may be used in a complementary manner, providing a deeper and fuller understanding of the processes underpinning superior performance

Monitoring of the microbial communities involved in the soy sauce manufacturing process by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Yasushi; Watanabe, Jun; Mogi, Yoshinobu

2012-08-01

Soy sauce is a traditional seasoning produced through the fermentation of soybeans and wheat using microbes. In this study, the microbial communities involved in the soy sauce manufacturing process were analyzed by PCR-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). The bacterial DGGE profile indicated that the bacterial microbes in the koji were Weissella cibaria (Weissella confusa, Weissella kimchii, Weissella salipiscis, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus iners, or Streptococcus thermophilus), Staphylococcus gallinarum (or Staphylococcus xylosus), and Staphylococcus kloosii. In addition to these bacteria, Tetragenococcus halophilus was also detected in the mash during lactic acid fermentation. The fungal DGGE profile indicated that the fungal microbes in the koji were not only Aspergillus oryzae but also several yeasts. In the mash, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii appeared in the early fermentation stage, Candida etchellsii (or Candida nodaensis) and Candida versatilis were detected at the middle fermentation stage, and Candida etchellsii was detected at the mature fermentation stage. These results suggest that the microbial communities present during the soy sauce manufacturing process change drastically throughout its production. This is the first report to reveal the microbial communities involved in the soy sauce manufacturing process using a culture-independent method. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association between toll-like receptors expression and major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Yi-Yung; Kang, Hong-Yo; Huang, Kai-Wei; Huang, Tiao-Lai

2014-12-15

Accumulating evidences suggest that Toll-like receptors (TLRs) were involved in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder. TLR4 was thought to be associated with major depressive disorder in animal model, but the others were still unknown. In order to examine TLR1-9 mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood and their relationships with the psychopathology of major depressive disorder, 30 patients with major depressive disorder were compared with 29 healthy controls. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) was used to assess the severity of major depression. The mRNA expression levels of TLRs were examined in parallel with a housekeeping gene using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Analysis of covariance with age and body mass index adjustment revealed a significantly higher expression of TLR3, 4, 5 and 7 mRNA but lower expression of TLR1 and 6 in patients with major depressive disorder as compared with healthy controls. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that TLR4 was an independent risk factor relating to severity of major depression. These findings suggest that TLRs, especially TLR4, may be involved in the psychopathology of major depression. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nuclear science in the 20th century. Radiation chemistry and radiation processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Tao; Xu Furong; Zheng Chunkai

2003-01-01

The application of nuclear science and technology to chemistry has led to two important subjects, radiation chemistry and radiation processing, which are playing important roles in many aspects of science and society. We review the development and major applications of radiation chemistry and radiation processing, including the basic physical and chemical mechanisms involved

Posttranslational processing of progastrin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bundgaard, Jens René; Rehfeld, Jens F.

2010-01-01

as a major neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The tissue-specific expression of the hormones is regulated at the transcriptional level, but the posttranslational phase is also decisive and is highly complex in order to ensure accurate maturation of the prohormones in a cell...... picomolar concentrations, whereas the cellular expression of gastrin is expressed at higher levels, and accordingly gastrin circulates in 10-20-fold higher concentrations. Both common cancers and the less frequent neuroendocrine tumors express the gastrin gene and prohormone. But the posttranslational......, as are structural features of progastrin that are involved in the precursor activation process. Thus, the review describes how the processing depends on the cell-specific expression of the processing enzymes and kinetics in the secretory pathway....

Idaho Chemical Processing Plant Process Efficiency improvements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griebenow, B.

1996-03-01

In response to decreasing funding levels available to support activities at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) and a desire to be cost competitive, the Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID) and Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company have increased their emphasis on cost-saving measures. The ICPP Effectiveness Improvement Initiative involves many activities to improve cost effectiveness and competitiveness. This report documents the methodology and results of one of those cost cutting measures, the Process Efficiency Improvement Activity. The Process Efficiency Improvement Activity performed a systematic review of major work processes at the ICPP to increase productivity and to identify nonvalue-added requirements. A two-phase approach was selected for the activity to allow for near-term implementation of relatively easy process modifications in the first phase while obtaining long-term continuous improvement in the second phase and beyond. Phase I of the initiative included a concentrated review of processes that had a high potential for cost savings with the intent of realizing savings in Fiscal Year 1996 (FY-96.) Phase II consists of implementing long-term strategies too complex for Phase I implementation and evaluation of processes not targeted for Phase I review. The Phase II effort is targeted for realizing cost savings in FY-97 and beyond

Involving patients in a multidisciplinary European consensus process and in the development of a 'patient summary of the consensus document for colon and rectal cancer care'.

Science.gov (United States)

Boelens, Petra G; Taylor, Claire; Henning, Geoffrey; Marang-van de Mheen, Perla J; Espin, Eloy; Wiggers, Theo; Gore-Booth, Jola; Moss, Barbara; Valentini, Vincenzo; van de Velde, Cornelis J H

2014-01-01

High-quality cancer care should be accessible for patients and healthcare professionals. Involvement of patients as partners in guideline formation and consensus processes is still rarely found. EURECCA, short for European Registration of Cancer Care, is the platform to improve outcomes of cancer care by reducing variation in the diagnostic and treatment process. EURECCA acknowledges the important role of patients in implementation of consensus information in clinical practice. The aim of this article is to describe the process of involving patients in the consensus process and in developing the patient summary of the consensus for colon and rectal cancer care. The Delphi method for achieving consensus was used. Three online voting rounds and one tele-voting round were offered to an expert panel of oncology professionals and patient representatives. At four different stages, patients and/or patient representatives were involved in the process: (1) during the consensus process, (2) lecturing about the role of the patient, (3) development of the patient summary, and (4) testing the patient summary. Representatives were invited to the voting and commenting rounds of this process and given an equal vote. Although patients were not consulted during the planning stages of this process, patient involvement increased following the panel's discussion of the implementation of the consensus among the patient population. After the consensus meeting, the patient summary was written by patient representatives, oncologists and nurses. A selection of proactive patients reviewed the draft patient summary; responses were positive and several patient-reported outcomes were added. Questionnaires to evaluate the use and implementation of the patient summary in daily practice are currently being developed and tested. Patient consultation will be needed in future planning for selection of topics. The present study may function as a model for future consensus processes to involve patients

A free radical-generating system regulates AβPP metabolism/processing: involvement of the ubiquitin/proteasome and autophagy/lysosome pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Recuero, María; Munive, Victor A; Sastre, Isabel; Aldudo, Jesús; Valdivieso, Fernando; Bullido, María J

2013-01-01

Oxidative stress is an early event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We previously reported that, in SK-N-MC cells, the xanthine/xanthine oxidase (X-XOD) free radical generating system regulates the metabolism/processing of the amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP). Oxidative stress alters the two main cellular proteolytic machineries, the ubiquitin/proteasome (UPS) and the autophagy/lysosome systems, and recent studies have established connections between the malfunctioning of these and the pathogenesis of AD. The aim of the present work was to examine the involvement of these proteolytic systems in the regulation of AβPP metabolism by X-XOD. The proteasome inhibitor MG132 was found to accelerate the metabolism/processing of AβPP promoted by X-XOD because it significantly enhances the secretion of α-secretase-cleaved soluble AβPP and also the levels of both carboxy-terminal fragments (CTFs) produced by α- and β-secretase. Further, MG132 modulated the intracellular accumulation of holo-AβPP and/or AβPP CTFs. This indicates that the X-XOD modulation of AβPP metabolism/processing involves the UPS pathway. With respect to the autophagy/lysosome pathway, the AβPP processing and intracellular location patterns induced by X-XOD treatment closely resembled those produced by the lysosome inhibitor ammonium chloride. The present results suggest that the regulation of AβPP metabolism/processing by mild oxidative stress requires UPS activity with a simultaneous reduction in that of the autophagy/lysosome system.

Changes in Pre-service Science Teachers' Understandings After Being Involved in Explicit Nature of Science and Socioscientific Argumentation Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Kutluca, A. Y.; Aydın, A.

2017-08-01

The study explored the changes in pre-service science teachers' understanding of the nature of science and their opinions about the nature of science, science teaching and argumentation after their participation in explicit nature of science (NOS) and socioscientific argumentation processes. The participants were 56 third-grade pre-service science teachers studying in a state university in Turkey. The treatment group comprised 27 participants, and there were 29 participants in the comparison group. The comparison group participants were involved in a student-centred science-teaching process, and the participants of the treatment group were involved in explicit NOS and socioscientific argumentation processes. In the study, which lasted a total of 11 weeks, a NOS-as-argumentation questionnaire was administered to all the participants to determine their understanding of NOS at the beginning and end of the data collection process, and six random participants of the treatment group participated in semi-structured interview questions in order to further understand their views regarding NOS, science teaching and argumentation. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis revealed that the explicit NOS and socioscientific argumentation processes had a significant effect on pre-service science teachers' NOS understandings. Furthermore, NOS, argumentation and science teaching views of the participants in the treatment group showed a positive change. The results of this study are discussed in light of the related literature, and suggestions are made within the context of contribution to science-teaching literature, improvement of education quality and education of pre-service teachers.

Stakeholder involvement in Swedish nuclear waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elam, Mark; Sundqvist, Goeran

2006-09-01

This report concerning Swedish nuclear waste management has been produced as part of a cross national research project: CARL - A Social Science Research Project into the Effects of Stakeholder involvement on Decision-Making in Radioactive Waste Management. Besides Sweden, the participating countries are Belgium, Canada, Finland, Slovenia and United Kingdom. A social science research team, working for three years, is in the first phase conducting research in their own countries in order to produce 6 country reports. During the next years the focus will shift to comparisons of stakeholder involvement practices in the participating countries. The report addresses current practices of Swedish nuclear waste management and their historical development. The main focus is on past, current and emerging patterns of stakeholder involvement in the siting of a deep repository for the final disposal of Sweden's spent nuclear fuel. The general questions attended to in the report are: Who are the main stakeholders, and how have they emerged and gained recognition as such? What are the issues currently subject to stakeholder involvement and how have these been decided upon? How is stakeholder involvement organized locally and nationally and how has this changed over time? How has stakeholder involvement gained acceptance as an activity of value in the siting of major waste facilities? The report have attempted to show the development of stakeholder involvement in the siting of a final repository for Sweden's spent nuclear fuel as resembling something other than a straightforward linear process of improvement and refinement. Stakeholder involvement has developed, over the past 15 years or so, into something more like a patchwork of different shapes and forms. Some of the forces that may well contribute to the further elaboration of the patchwork of stakeholder involvement have been pointed out, contingently modifying once more its overall colour and orientation. Questions have been

Stakeholder involvement in Swedish nuclear waste management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elam, Mark; Sundqvist, Goeran [Goeteborg Univ. (Sweden). Section for Science and Technology Studies

2006-09-15

This report concerning Swedish nuclear waste management has been produced as part of a cross national research project: CARL - A Social Science Research Project into the Effects of Stakeholder involvement on Decision-Making in Radioactive Waste Management. Besides Sweden, the participating countries are Belgium, Canada, Finland, Slovenia and United Kingdom. A social science research team, working for three years, is in the first phase conducting research in their own countries in order to produce 6 country reports. During the next years the focus will shift to comparisons of stakeholder involvement practices in the participating countries. The report addresses current practices of Swedish nuclear waste management and their historical development. The main focus is on past, current and emerging patterns of stakeholder involvement in the siting of a deep repository for the final disposal of Sweden's spent nuclear fuel. The general questions attended to in the report are: Who are the main stakeholders, and how have they emerged and gained recognition as such? What are the issues currently subject to stakeholder involvement and how have these been decided upon? How is stakeholder involvement organized locally and nationally and how has this changed over time? How has stakeholder involvement gained acceptance as an activity of value in the siting of major waste facilities? The report have attempted to show the development of stakeholder involvement in the siting of a final repository for Sweden's spent nuclear fuel as resembling something other than a straightforward linear process of improvement and refinement. Stakeholder involvement has developed, over the past 15 years or so, into something more like a patchwork of different shapes and forms. Some of the forces that may well contribute to the further elaboration of the patchwork of stakeholder involvement have been pointed out, contingently modifying once more its overall colour and orientation. Questions

Insights into iron and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) involvement in chronic inflammatory processes in peritoneal endometriosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Defrère, Sylvie; González-Ramos, Reinaldo; Lousse, Jean-Christophe; Colette, Sébastien; Donnez, Olivier; Donnez, Jacques; Van Langendonckt, Anne

2011-08-01

Endometriosis is a chronic pelvic inflammatory process. Local inflammation is known to play a role in pain and infertility associated with the disease, and may be extensively involved in molecular and cellular processes leading to endometriosis development. In this review, we focus on two inflammatory mediators clearly implicated in the pathogenesis of endometriosis, iron and NF-kappaB, and their potential association. Iron is essential for all living organisms, but excess iron results in toxicity and is linked to pathological disorders. In endometriosis patients, iron overload has been demonstrated in the different compartments of the peritoneal cavity (peritoneal fluid, endometriotic lesions, peritoneum and macrophages). This iron overload affects numerous mechanisms involved in endometriosis development. Moreover, iron can generate free radical species able to react with a wide range of cellular constituents, inducing cellular damage. Overproduction of reactive oxygen species also impairs cellular function by altering gene expression via regulation of redox-sensitive transcription factors such as NF-kappaB, which is clearly implicated in endometriosis. Indeed, NF-kappaB is activated in endometriotic lesions and peritoneal macrophages of endometriosis patients, which stimulates synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines, generating a positive feedback loop in the NF-kappaB pathway. NF-kappaB-mediated gene transcription promotes a variety of processes, including endometriotic lesion establishment, maintenance and development. In conclusion, iron and NF-kappaB appear to be linked and both are clearly involved in endometriosis development, making these pathways an attractive target for future treatment and prevention of this disease.

Analyzing Parental Involvement Dimensions in Early Childhood Education

Science.gov (United States)

Kurtulmus, Zeynep

2016-01-01

The importance of parental involvement in children's academic and social development has been widely accepted. For children's later school success, the first years are crucial. Majority of the research focuses on enhancing and supporting parental involvement in educational settings. The purpose of this study was to analyze dimensions of parental…

"My Child has Cerebral Palsy": Parental Involvement and Children's School Engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Armanda; Moreira, Tânia; Lopes, Sílvia; Nunes, Ana R; Magalhães, Paula; Fuentes, Sonia; Reoyo, Natalia; Núñez, José C; Rosário, Pedro

2016-01-01

Engaged students tend to show school-committed behaviors (e.g., attend classes, get involved with the learning process), high achievement, and sense of belonging. However, students with disabilities are prone to show a lack of engagement with school due to the specific difficulties they have to handle. In fact, children with disabilities are likely to show poor participation in school when compared with children without disabilities. This poor involvement is related to their low autonomy to participate in the school activities, which, in turn, results in low school engagement. Parents play a crucial role in their children's education. Parental involvement in school activities promotes autonomous behaviors and, consequently, school engagement. In fact, extant literature has shown close relationships between parental involvement, school engagement, and academic performance. Yet, parental involvement in school activities of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) has received little direct attention from researchers. These children tend to display lower participation due to the motor, or cognitive, impairments that compromise their autonomy, and have a high likelihood to develop learning disabilities, with special incidences in reading and arithmetic. Therefore, our aim is twofold, to understand the parental styles; and how the perceived parental involvement in school activities is related to their children school engagement. Hence, 19 interviews were conducted with one of the parents of 19 children with CP. These interviews explored the school routines of children and the perceived involvement of parents in those routines. Additionally, children filled out a questionnaire on school engagement. Results show that the majority of the parents were clustered in the Autonomy Allowance and Acceptance and Support parental style, and the majority of their children were perceived as autonomous. Moreover, about a half of the children reported a high level of school engagement

Relationship between cardiac vagal activity and mood congruent memory bias in major depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, Ronald G; Valenza, Gaetano; Tomaz, Carlos A; Barbieri, Riccardo

2016-01-15

Previous studies suggest that autonomic reactivity during encoding of emotional information could modulate the neural processes mediating mood-congruent memory. In this study, we use a point-process model to determine dynamic autonomic tone in response to negative emotions and its influence on long-term memory of major depressed subjects. Forty-eight patients with major depression and 48 healthy controls were randomly assigned to either neutral or emotionally arousing audiovisual stimuli. An adaptive point-process algorithm was applied to compute instantaneous estimates of the spectral components of heart rate variability [Low frequency (LF), 0.04-0.15 Hz; High frequency (HF), 0.15-0.4 Hz]. Three days later subjects were submitted to a recall test. A significant increase in HF power was observed in depressed subjects in response to the emotionally arousing stimulus (p=0.03). The results of a multivariate analysis revealed that the HF power during the emotional segment of the stimulus was independently associated with the score of the recall test in depressed subjects, after adjusting for age, gender and educational level (Coef. 0.003, 95%CI, 0.0009-0.005, p=0.008). These results could only be interpreted as responses to elicitation of specific negative emotions, the relationship between HF changes and encoding/recall of positive stimuli should be further examined. Alterations on parasympathetic response to emotion are involved in the mood-congruent cognitive bias observed in major depression. These findings are clinically relevant because it could constitute the mechanism by which depressed patients maintain maladaptive patterns of negative information processing that trigger and sustain depressed mood. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Involvement of α2-adrenoceptors in inhibitory and facilitatory pain modulation processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Vo, L; Drummond, P D

2016-03-01

In healthy humans, high-frequency electrical stimulation (HFS) of the forearm not only produces hyperalgesia at the site of stimulation but also reduces sensitivity to pressure-pain on the ipsilateral side of the forehead. In addition, HFS augments the ipsilateral trigeminal nociceptive blink reflex and intensifies the ipsilateral component of conditioned pain modulation. The aim of this study was to determine whether α2-adrenoceptors mediate these ipsilateral nociceptive influences. The α2-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine was administered to 22 participants in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. In each session, thermal and mechanical sensitivity in the forearms and forehead was assessed before and after HFS. In addition, the combined effect of HFS and yohimbine on the nociceptive blink reflex and on conditioned pain modulation was explored. In this paradigm, the conditioning stimulus was cold pain in the ipsilateral or contralateral temple, and the test stimulus was electrically evoked pain in the forearm. Blood pressure and electrodermal activity increased for several hours after yohimbine administration, consistent with blockade of central α2-adrenoceptors. Yohimbine not only augmented the nociceptive blink reflex ipsilateral to HFS but also intensified the inhibitory influence of ipsilateral temple cooling on electrically evoked pain at the HFS-treated site in the forearm. Yohimbine had no consistent effect on primary or secondary hyperalgesia in the forearm or on pressure-pain in the ipsilateral forehead. These findings imply involvement of α2-adrenoceptors both in ipsilateral antinociceptive and pronociceptive pain modulation processes. However, a mechanism not involving α2-adrenoceptors appears to mediate analgesia in the ipsilateral forehead after HFS. © 2015 European Pain Federation - EFIC®

Anticonvulsants Teratogenic Mechanism Involves Alteration of Bioelectrically-controlled Processes in the Embryo. A hypothesis

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández-Díaz, Sonia; Levin, Michael

2014-01-01

Maternal use of anticonvulsants during the first trimester of pregnancy has been associated with an elevated risk of major congenital malformations in the offspring. Whether the increased risk is caused by the specific pharmacological mechanisms of certain anticonvulsants, the underlying epilepsy, or common genetic or environmental risk factors shared by epilepsy and malformations is controversial. We hypothesize that anticonvulsant therapies during pregnancy that attain more successful inhibition of neurotransmission might lead to both better seizure control in the mother and stronger alteration of bioelectrically-controlled processes in the embryo that result in structural malformations. If our theory were correct, development of pharmaceuticals that do not alter cell resting transmembrane voltage levels could result in safer drugs. PMID:24815983

Can the BestGrid Process Improve Stakeholder Involvement in Electricity Transmission Projects?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadejda Komendantova

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The European Union has set ambitious targets for deployment of renewable energy sources to reach goals of climate change mitigation and energy security policies. However, the current state of electricity transmission infrastructure is a major bottleneck for further scaling up of renewable energy in the EU. Several thousands of kilometers of new lines have to be constructed and upgraded to accommodate growing volumes of intermittent renewable electricity. In many countries, construction of electricity transmission projects has been delayed for several years due to concerns of local stakeholders. The innovative BESTGRID approach, reported here, brings together transmission system operators (TSOs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs to discuss and understand the nature of stakeholder concerns. This paper has three objectives: (1 to understand stakeholder concerns about the deployment of electricity transmission grids in four pilot projects according to five guiding principles: need, transparency, engagement, environment, and impacts on human health as well as benefits; (2 to understand how these principles can be addressed to provide a basis for better decision-making outcomes; and (3 to evaluate the BESTGRID process based on feedback received from stakeholders and the level of participation achieved according to the ladder of Arnstein. This paper goes beyond a discussion of “measures to mitigate opposition” to understand how dialogue between TSOs and the public—represented mainly by NGOs and policy-makers—might lead to a better decision-making process and more sustainable electricity transmission infrastructure deployment.

Parental acculturation level moderates outcome in peer-involved and parent-involved CBT for anxiety disorders in Latino youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaclavik, Daniella; Buitron, Victor; Rey, Yasmin; Marin, Carla E; Silverman, Wendy K; Pettit, Jeremy W

2017-09-01

Cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs) are efficacious treatments for anxiety disorders in Latino youth. However, there is a gap in knowledge about moderators of CBT outcomes in Latino youth. This study addresses this gap by examining parental acculturation as a moderator of youth anxiety outcomes in a randomized controlled trial of parent-involved CBT (CBT/P) and peer-involved group CBT (GCBT) in 139 Latino youth (ages 6 to 16 years; mean age = 9.68 years). Comparable youth anxiety reduction effects were found for CBT/P and GCBT. Parental acculturation to majority US culture, but not identification with country of origin, significantly moderated youth anxiety outcomes: at low levels of parental acculturation to majority US culture, youth posttreatment anxiety scores were lower in GCBT than CBT/P; at high levels of parental acculturation to majority US culture, youth posttreatment anxiety scores were lower in CBT/P than GCBT. These findings provide further evidence for the efficacy of CBTs for anxiety disorders in Latino youth and also provide guidance for moving toward personalization of CBTs' selection depending on parental acculturation levels.

A Traveller Information System: Minimisation of the Number of Graphs’ Nodes Involved When Processing Route Requests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bendaoud Zakaria

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The number of people using public transport is continuously increasing. Transport companies want to fulfil travellers’ expectations wherever possible. However, the great number of public transport companies operating in the same area can sometimes confuse travellers as to which route they should take and how to obtain the information relative to their journey. In this paper we suggest integrating several traveller information systems from different companies into the same multimodal information system, offering companies the choice not to share their data. This encourages them to join the system. Additionally, we have minimised the number of nodes involved when processing travellers’ requests in order to simplify the calculation process. To put our plan into action, we have opted for a multi-agent system coupled with the Voronoi decomposition for managing the network.

Streptomyces lunalinharesii Strain 235 Shows the Potential to Inhibit Bacteria Involved in Biocorrosion Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Pacheco da Rosa

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Four actinomycete strains previously isolated from Brazilian soils were tested for their antimicrobial activity against Bacillus pumilus LF-4 and Desulfovibrio alaskensis NCIMB 13491, bacteria that are well known to be involved in biofilm formation and biocorrosion. Strain 235, belonging to the species Streptomyces lunalinharesii, inhibited the growth of both bacteria. The antimicrobial activity was seen over a wide range of pH, and after treatment with several chemicals and heat but not with proteinase K and trypsin. The antimicrobial substances present in the concentrated supernatant from growth media were partially characterized by SDS-PAGE and extracellular polypeptides were seen. Bands in the size range of 12 to 14.4 kDa caused antimicrobial activity. Transmission electron microscopy of D. alaskensis cells treated with the concentrated supernatant containing the antimicrobial substances revealed the formation of prominent bubbles, the spherical double-layered structures on the cell membrane, and the periplasmic space completely filled with electron-dense material. This is the first report on the production of antimicrobial substances by actinomycetes against bacteria involved in biocorrosion processes, and these findings may be of great relevance as an alternative source of biocides to those currently employed in the petroleum industry.

Enhancing Managers' Skills through Conflict Process Review | EPIE ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A study was carried out among Nigerian managers who were asked to remember a conflict episode in which they had been involved in the past and to evaluate, in retrospect, the way they had handled the conflict. Results revealed that a majority of respondents showed evidence of positive learning as a result of the process ...

Plasma and ion beam processing at Los Alamos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rej, D.J.; Davis, H.A.; Henins, I.

1994-01-01

Efforts are underway at Los Alamos National Laboratory to utilize plasma and intense ion beam science and technology of the processing of advanced materials. A major theme involves surface modification of materials, e.g., etching, deposition, alloying, and implantation. In this paper, we concentrate on two programs, plasma source ion implantation and high-intensity pulsed ion beam deposition

SU-E-T-635: Process Mapping of Eye Plaque Brachytherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huynh, J; Kim, Y [University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: To apply a risk-based assessment and analysis technique (AAPM TG 100) to eye plaque brachytherapy treatment of ocular melanoma. Methods: The role and responsibility of personnel involved in the eye plaque brachytherapy is defined for retinal specialist, radiation oncologist, nurse and medical physicist. The entire procedure was examined carefully. First, major processes were identified and then details for each major process were followed. Results: Seventy-one total potential modes were identified. Eight major processes (corresponding detailed number of modes) are patient consultation (2 modes), pretreatment tumor localization (11), treatment planning (13), seed ordering and calibration (10), eye plaque assembly (10), implantation (11), removal (11), and deconstruction (3), respectively. Half of the total modes (36 modes) are related to physicist while physicist is not involved in processes such as during the actual procedure of suturing and removing the plaque. Conclusion: Not only can failure modes arise from physicist-related procedures such as treatment planning and source activity calibration, but it can also exist in more clinical procedures by other medical staff. The improvement of the accurate communication for non-physicist-related clinical procedures could potentially be an approach to prevent human errors. More rigorous physics double check would reduce the error for physicist-related procedures. Eventually, based on this detailed process map, failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) will identify top tiers of modes by ranking all possible modes with risk priority number (RPN). For those high risk modes, fault tree analysis (FTA) will provide possible preventive action plans.

Social anxiety disorder exhibit impaired networks involved in self and theory of mind processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Qian; Vanman, Eric J; Long, Zhiliang; Pang, Yajing; Chen, Yuyan; Wang, Yifeng; Duan, Xujun; Chen, Heng; Gong, Qiyong; Zhang, Wei; Chen, Huafu

2017-08-01

Most previous studies regarding social anxiety disorder (SAD) have focused on the role of emotional dysfunction, while impairments in self- and theory of mind (ToM)-processing have relatively been neglected. This study utilised functional connectivity density (FCD), resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and discriminant analyses to investigate impairments in self- and ToM-related networks in patients with SAD. Patients with SAD exhibited decreased long-range FCD in the right rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and decreased short-range FCD in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG)-key nodes involved in self- and ToM-processing, respectively. Decreased RSFC of the right rACC and STG with widespread frontal, temporal, posteromedial, sensorimotor, and somatosensory, regions was also observed in patients with SAD. Altered RSFC between the right rACC and bilateral superior frontal gyrus, between the right rACC and right middle frontal gyrus, and within the right STG itself provided the greatest contribution to individual diagnoses of SAD, with an accuracy of 84.5%. These results suggest that a lack of cognitive inhibition on emotional self-referential processing as well as impairments in social information integration may play critical roles in the pathomechanism of SAD and highlight the importance of recognising such features in the diagnosis and treatment of SAD. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

Interactive methods to involve users into workspace design process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Souza da Conceição, Carolina; Broberg, Ole; Banke, Palle

2013-01-01

This paper addresses the question of whether the use of a combination of interactive methods involving workers can lead to a useful input to the (re)design of their workspace. The workbook and the layout design game methods were tested, and a comparison between their use and the ergonomic analysi...

Strategy Innovation with Employee Involvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friis, Ole Uhrskov; Koch, Christian

2015-01-01

The purpose of this article is to investigate how employees can be involved in strategy innovation processes and how new strategy practices (new tools and procedures) are used to change strategy praxis in order to sustain value creation. In the strategizing actions, we found that even...... if the managers still dominate, some processes of direct involvement of employees occur, in particular when employees are asked to supplement overall strategic goals and when they directly shape several sub-strategies. Strategy practices found include strategy planning, an open space workshop and organised...... strategy projects. Especially the latter two are important in facilitating the employee involvement. The case, however, also exhibits enterprise-situated praxises related to unplanned events, like the mitigation of taboos....

Facilitated workshop method to involve stakeholders and public in decision making process in radiological emergencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mustonen, Raimo; Sinkko, Kari; Haemaelaeinen, Raimo P.

2006-01-01

International organisations in radiation protection have for many years recommended that key players, e.g. authorities, expert organisations, industry, producers of foodstuffs and even the public, should be involved in the planning of protective actions in case of a nuclear accident. In this work, we have developed and tested a facilitated workshop method where representatives from various fields of the society aim to identify and evaluate systematically protective actions. Decision analysis techniques have been applied in workshops in order to find out the most feasible countermeasure strategies and to make the decision making-process transparent and auditable. The work builds on case studies where it was assumed that a hypothetical accident had led to a release of considerable amounts of radionuclides and therefore various types of countermeasures should be considered. This paper provides experiences gained in several European countries on how to facilitate this kind of workshops and how modern decision analysis techniques can be applied in the decision-making process

Facilitated workshop method to involve stakeholders and public in decision making process in radiological emergencies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mustonen, Raimo; Sinkko, Kari [STUK-Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Helsinki (Finland). Research and Environmental Surveillance; Haemaelaeinen, Raimo P. [Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Helsinki (Finland). System Analysis Laboratory

2006-09-15

International organisations in radiation protection have for many years recommended that key players, e.g. authorities, expert organisations, industry, producers of foodstuffs and even the public, should be involved in the planning of protective actions in case of a nuclear accident. In this work, we have developed and tested a facilitated workshop method where representatives from various fields of the society aim to identify and evaluate systematically protective actions. Decision analysis techniques have been applied in workshops in order to find out the most feasible countermeasure strategies and to make the decision making-process transparent and auditable. The work builds on case studies where it was assumed that a hypothetical accident had led to a release of considerable amounts of radionuclides and therefore various types of countermeasures should be considered. This paper provides experiences gained in several European countries on how to facilitate this kind of workshops and how modern decision analysis techniques can be applied in the decision-making process.

Phagocytosis in Teleosts. Implications of the New Cells Involved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Ángeles Esteban

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Phagocytosis is the process by which cells engulf some solid particles to form internal vesicles known as phagosomes. Phagocytosis is in fact a specific form of endocytosis involving the vesicular interiorization of particles. Phagocytosis is essentially a defensive reaction against infection and invasion of the body by foreign substances and, in the immune system, phagocytosis is a major mechanism used to remove pathogens and/or cell debris. For these reasons, phagocytosis in vertebrates has been recognized as a critical component of the innate and adaptive immune responses to pathogens. Furthermore, more recent studies have revealed that phagocytosis is also crucial for tissue homeostasis and remodeling. Professional phagocytes in teleosts are monocyte/macrophages, granulocytes and dendritic cells. Nevertheless, in recent years phagocytic properties have also been attributed to teleost lymphocytes and thrombocytes. The possible implications of such cells on this important biological process, new factors affecting phagocytosis, evasion of phagocytosis or new forms of phagocytosis will be considered and discussed.

Brain network involved in visual processing of movement stimuli used in upper limb robotic training: an fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nocchi, Federico; Gazzellini, Simone; Grisolia, Carmela; Petrarca, Maurizio; Cannatà, Vittorio; Cappa, Paolo; D'Alessio, Tommaso; Castelli, Enrico

2012-07-24

The potential of robot-mediated therapy and virtual reality in neurorehabilitation is becoming of increasing importance. However, there is limited information, using neuroimaging, on the neural networks involved in training with these technologies. This study was intended to detect the brain network involved in the visual processing of movement during robotic training. The main aim was to investigate the existence of a common cerebral network able to assimilate biological (human upper limb) and non-biological (abstract object) movements, hence testing the suitability of the visual non-biological feedback provided by the InMotion2 Robot. A visual functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) task was administered to 22 healthy subjects. The task required observation and retrieval of motor gestures and of the visual feedback used in robotic training. Functional activations of both biological and non-biological movements were examined to identify areas activated in both conditions, along with differential activity in upper limb vs. abstract object trials. Control of response was also tested by administering trials with congruent and incongruent reaching movements. The observation of upper limb and abstract object movements elicited similar patterns of activations according to a caudo-rostral pathway for the visual processing of movements (including specific areas of the occipital, temporal, parietal, and frontal lobes). Similarly, overlapping activations were found for the subsequent retrieval of the observed movement. Furthermore, activations of frontal cortical areas were associated with congruent trials more than with the incongruent ones. This study identified the neural pathway associated with visual processing of movement stimuli used in upper limb robot-mediated training and investigated the brain's ability to assimilate abstract object movements with human motor gestures. In both conditions, activations were elicited in cerebral areas involved in visual

Brain network involved in visual processing of movement stimuli used in upper limb robotic training: an fMRI study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nocchi Federico

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The potential of robot-mediated therapy and virtual reality in neurorehabilitation is becoming of increasing importance. However, there is limited information, using neuroimaging, on the neural networks involved in training with these technologies. This study was intended to detect the brain network involved in the visual processing of movement during robotic training. The main aim was to investigate the existence of a common cerebral network able to assimilate biological (human upper limb and non-biological (abstract object movements, hence testing the suitability of the visual non-biological feedback provided by the InMotion2 Robot. Methods A visual functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI task was administered to 22 healthy subjects. The task required observation and retrieval of motor gestures and of the visual feedback used in robotic training. Functional activations of both biological and non-biological movements were examined to identify areas activated in both conditions, along with differential activity in upper limb vs. abstract object trials. Control of response was also tested by administering trials with congruent and incongruent reaching movements. Results The observation of upper limb and abstract object movements elicited similar patterns of activations according to a caudo-rostral pathway for the visual processing of movements (including specific areas of the occipital, temporal, parietal, and frontal lobes. Similarly, overlapping activations were found for the subsequent retrieval of the observed movement. Furthermore, activations of frontal cortical areas were associated with congruent trials more than with the incongruent ones. Conclusions This study identified the neural pathway associated with visual processing of movement stimuli used in upper limb robot-mediated training and investigated the brain’s ability to assimilate abstract object movements with human motor gestures. In both conditions

Integrated durability process in product development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pompetzki, M.; Saadetian, H.

2002-01-01

This presentation describes the integrated durability process in product development. Each of the major components of the integrated process are described along with a number of examples of how integrated durability assessment has been used in the ground vehicle industry. The durability process starts with the acquisition of loading information, either physically through loads measurement or virtually through multibody dynamics. The loading information is then processed and characterized for further analysis. Durability assessment was historically test based and completed through field or laboratory evaluation. Today, it is common that both the test and CAE environments are used together in durability assessment. Test based durability assessment is used for final design sign-off but is also critically important for correlating CAE models, in order to investigate design alternatives. There is also a major initiative today to integrate the individual components into a process, by linking applications and providing a framework to communicate information as well as manage all the data involved in the entire process. Although a single process is presented, the details of the process can vary significantly for different products and applications. Recent applications that highlight different parts of the durability process are given. As well as an example of how integration of software tools between different disciplines (MBD, FE and fatigue) not only simplifies the process, but also significantly improves it. (author)

Improving Patient Involvement in the Drug Development Process: Case Study of Potential Applications from an Online Peer Support Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, Amrutha; Brandwood, Helen Jane; Jameson Evans, Matt

2017-11-01

To date, social media has been used predominantly by the pharmaceutical industry to market products and to gather feedback and comments on products from consumers, a process termed social listening. However, social media has only been used cautiously in the drug development cycle, mainly because of regulations, restrictions on engagement with patients, or a lack of guidelines for social media use from regulatory bodies. Despite this cautious approach, there is a clear drive, from both the industry and consumers, for increased patient participation in various stages of the drug development process. The authors use the example of HealthUnlocked, one of the world's largest health networks, to illustrate the potential applications of online health communities as a means of increasing patient involvement at various stages of the drug development process. Having identified the willingness of the user population to be involved in research, numerous ways to engage users on the platform have been identified and explored. This commentary describes some of these approaches and reports how online health networks that encourage people to share their experiences in managing their health can, in turn, enable rapid patient engagement for clinical research within the constraints of industry regulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier HS Journals, Inc. All rights reserved.

Meningeal involvement in Behcet's disease: MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guma, A.; Aguilera, C.; Pons, L.; Acebes, J.; Arruga, J.

1998-01-01

Behcet's disease is a multisystem disease that involves the central nervous system up to half of cases. Presentation with neurologic symptoms occurs in 5 % of cases and cerebral venous thrombosis is one of its major manifestations. A feature not previously reported is progressive meningeal thickening with involvement of both optic nerves. We report a patient with cerebral venous thrombosis, meningeal thickening and contrast enhancement on MRI. This patient had two other unusual features: positive antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies and later development of central diabetes insipidus. (orig.)

Exercise for patients with major depression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogh, Jesper; Speyer, Helene; Gluud, Christian

2015-01-01

is to investigate the beneficial and harmful effects of exercise, in terms of severity of depression, lack of remission, suicide, and so on, compared with treatment as usual with or without co-interventions in randomized clinical trials involving adults with a clinical diagnosis of major depression. A meta......BACKGROUND: The lifetime prevalence of major depression is estimated to affect 17% of the population and is considered the second largest health-care problem globally in terms of the number of years lived with disability. The effects of most antidepressant treatments are poor; therefore, exercise...... has been assessed in a number of randomized clinical trials. A number of reviews have previously analyzed these trials; however, none of these reviews have addresses the effect of exercise for adults diagnosed with major depression. METHODS/DESIGN: The objective of this systematic review...

Shared decision making and the concept of equipoise: the competences of involving patients in healthcare choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Elwyn, G; Edwards, A; Kinnersley, P; Grol, R

2000-11-01

) arrange follow-up. These clinicians viewed involvement as an implicit ethos that should permeate medical practice, provided that clinicians respect and remain alert to patients' individual preferred roles in decision making. The interpersonal skills and the information requirements needed to successfully share decisions are major challenges to the clinical consultation process in medical practice. The benefits of patient involvement and the skills required to achieve this approach need to be given much higher priority at all levels: at policy, education, and within further professional development strategies.

Public interest group involvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shelley, P.

1986-01-01

Including public interest groups in the siting process for nuclear waste disposal facilities is of great importance. Controversial sitings often result in litigation, but involving public interest groups early in the process will lessen the change of this. They act as surrogates for the general public and should be considered as members of the team. It is important to remember though, that all public interest groups are different. In choosing public panels such as public advisory committees, members should not be chosen on the basis of some quota. Opposition groups should not be excluded. Also, it is important to put the right person in charge of the committee. The goal of public involvement is to identify the conflicts. This must be done during the decision process, because conflicts must be known before they can be eliminated. Regarding litigation, it is important to ease through and around legal battles. If the siting process has integrity and a good faith effort has been shown, the court should uphold the effort. In addition, it is important to be negotiable and to eliminate shortcuts

The interleukin 1 beta (IL1B) gene is associated with failure to achieve remission and impaired emotion processing in major depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Baune, Bernhard T; Dannlowski, Udo; Domschke, Katharina; Janssen, Debbie G A; Jordan, Margaret A; Ohrmann, Patricia; Bauer, Jochen; Biros, Erik; Arolt, Volker; Kugel, Harald; Baxter, Alan G; Suslow, Thomas

2010-03-15

Accumulating evidence suggests the involvement of inflammatory processes and cytokines in particular in the pathophysiology of major depression (MDD) and resistance to antidepressant treatment. Furthermore, amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) responsiveness to emotional stimuli has been suggested as a predictor of treatment response. This study investigated the association between genetic variants of the interleukin 1 beta (IL1B) gene and amygdala and ACC responsiveness to emotional stimuli and response to antidepressant treatment. In this analysis, 256 Caucasian patients with MDD (145 women, 111 men) were genotyped for variants rs16944, rs1143643, and rs1143634 in the IL1B gene (2q14). Response to antidepressant treatment over 6 weeks was defined as remission (50% decrease on Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-21-question). Brain activity under visual presentation of emotional faces was assessed in a subsample of 32 depressed patients by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T. Pharmacogenetic analyses show significant associations of the GG genotypes of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs16944 (odds ratio = 1.74; 95% confidence interval 1.2-4.3) and rs1143643 (odds ratio = 3.1; 95% confidence interval 1.3-7.8) (compared with the AA genotype) with nonremission after 6 weeks. The imaging analyses show that the number of G-alleles in both SNPs (rs16944 and rs1143643) was associated with reduced responsiveness of the amygdala and ACC to emotional stimulation. The present study suggests a negative effect of the IL1B gene on pharmacological response and amygdala and ACC function involving the same genotypes of two SNPs (rs16944, rs116343), which taken together increase the risk of nonremission over 6 weeks of antidepressant treatment in MDD. Copyright 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical redox processes involving soluble cerium species

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arenas, L.F.; Ponce de León, C.; Walsh, F.C.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The relevance of cerium in laboratory and industrial electrochemistry is considered. • The history of fundamental electrochemical studies and applications is considered. • The chemistry, redox thermodynamics and electrode kinetics of cerium are summarised. • The uses of cerium ions in synthesis, energy storage, analysis and environmental treatment are illustrated. • Research needs and development perspectives are discussed. - Abstract: Anodic oxidation of cerous ions and cathodic reduction of ceric ions, in aqueous acidic solutions, play an important role in electrochemical processes at laboratory and industrial scale. Ceric ions, which have been used for oxidation of organic wastes and off-gases in environmental treatment, are a well-established oxidant for indirect organic synthesis and specialised cleaning processes, including oxide film removal from tanks and process pipework in nuclear decontamination. They also provide a classical reagent for chemical analysis in the laboratory. The reversible oxidation of cerous ions is an important reaction in the positive compartment of various redox flow batteries during charge and discharge cycling. A knowledge of the thermodynamics and kinetics of the redox reaction is critical to an understanding of the role of cerium redox species in these applications. Suitable choices of electrode material (metal or ceramic; coated or uncoated), geometry/structure (2-or 3-dimensional) and electrolyte flow conditions (hence an acceptable mass transport rate) are critical to achieving effective electrocatalysis, a high performance and a long lifetime. This review considers the electrochemistry of soluble cerium species and their diverse uses in electrochemical technology, especially for redox flow batteries and mediated electrochemical oxidation.

Unity in Major Themes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Booss-Bavnbek, Bernhelm; Davis, Philip J.

We describe and explain the desire, common among mathematicians, both for unity and independence in its major themes. In the dialogue that follows, we express our spontaneous and considered judgment and reservations; by contrasting the development of mathematics as a goal-driven process as opposed...

Abnormal proactive and reactive cognitive control during conflict processing in major depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderhasselt, Marie-Anne; De Raedt, Rudi; De Paepe, Annick; Aarts, Kristien; Otte, Georges; Van Dorpe, Jan; Pourtois, Gilles

2014-02-01

According to the Dual Mechanisms of Control framework, cognitive control consists of two complementary components: proactive control refers to anticipatory maintenance of goal-relevant information, whereas reactive control acts as a correction mechanism that is activated when a conflict occurs. Possibly, the well-known diminished inhibitory control in response to negative stimuli in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) patients stems from a breakdown in proactive control, and/or anomalies in reactive cognitive control. In our study, MDD patients specifically showed increased response latencies when actively inhibiting a dominant response to a sad compared with a happy face. This condition was associated with a longer duration of a dominant ERP topography (800-900 ms poststimulus onset) and a stronger activity in the bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, reflecting abnormal reactive control when inhibiting attention to a negative stimulus. Moreover, MDD patients showed abnormalities in proactive cognitive control when preparing for the upcoming imperative stimulus (abnormal modulation of the contingent negative variation component), accompanied by more activity in brain regions belonging to the default mode network. All together, deficits to inhibit attention to negative information in MDD might originate from an abnormal use of both proactive resources and reactive control processes. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Majority members' acculturation goals as predictors and effects of attitudes and behaviours towards migrants.

Science.gov (United States)

Geschke, Daniel; Mummendey, Amélie; Kessler, Thomas; Funke, Friedrich

2010-09-01

Migration causes permanent processes of acculturation involving migrants but also members of mainstream society. A longitudinal field study with 70 German majority members investigated how their acculturation goals causally related to their attitudes and behaviours towards migrants. We distinguished acculturation goals concerning the migrants' culture(s) (what migrants should do) and acculturation goals concerning the usually neglected own changing mainstream culture. Both were conceived along the two dimensions of 'culture maintenance' and 'culture adoption'. Cross-sectionally we found many strong links between acculturation goals and attitudes and behaviours towards migrants, only some of which held longitudinally. As hypothesized there was no clear one-sided causal direction. As many causal links lead from acculturation goals to attitudes and behaviours, as in the opposite direction. Majority members' German culture acculturation goals proved especially valuable, because they determined attitudes and behaviour towards migrants most strongly.

Patients' preferences for involvement in the decision-making process for treating diabetic retinopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Marahrens, Lydia; Kern, Raimar; Ziemssen, Tjalf; Fritsche, Andreas; Martus, Peter; Ziemssen, Focke; Roeck, Daniel

2017-08-09

To assess factors associated with the preferred role of the attending ophthalmologist in the decision-making processes before treating diabetic retinopathy (DR). Cross-sectional study of 810 adults attending secondary diabetes care centers (NCT02311504). Diabetes patients were classified using a validated questionnaire in an ophthalmologist-dominant decision-making (ODM), shared decision-making (SDM) and patient-dominant decision-making (PDM) style. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine factors associated with the decision-making process. A majority of 74.3% patients preferred SDM between ophthalmologist and patient, 17.4% patients wanted ODM, delegating the decision-making process to the ophthalmologist, 8.3% preferred the autonomous style of PDM. Patients wanting ODM were older (OR = 1.2 per decade, p = 0.013), had a lower level of education (OR = 1.4, p = 0.001) and had a higher frequency of consultations per year (OR = 1.3, p = 0.022). Patients with better basic knowledge in DR and memorizing their HbA 1 c level showed a higher propensity for SDM (OR = 1.1, p = 0.037). Patients wanting PDM had a significantly higher education (OR = 1.3, p = 0.036) and a greater desire for receiving information from self-help groups (OR = 1.3, p = 0.015). The first evaluation of the general patient wishes for the treatment of DR confirmed the concept of SDM, which was favored by three quarters. In particular, older patients with low educational attainment wanted to delegate the decision-making process to the ophthalmologist. Amelioration of ophthalmologic education in diabetic programs might take up patients' propensity for SDM. Regardless of the decision-making group, nearly all patients wanted the medical and scientific information to be transferred by and shared with the ophthalmologist. The study was registered on www.clinicaltrials.gov (identifier: NCT02311504) on December 4th 2014.

Degassing of primordial hydrogen and helium as the major energy source for internal terrestrial processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arie Lev Gilat

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Examples of the mightiest energy releases by great earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and hypotheses providing explanations for them are analyzed along with the results of some recently published researches and visualizations. The emerging conclusions are that the mechanism of the strong earthquake is a chemical explosion; that volcanic eruption is a special type of earthquake wherein the hypocenter rises to the earth-surface; and that there is an association between the seismic-volcanic processes and mantle “fluids” and the lack of energy for mantle plumes. A conceptual system of hypotheses is put forward to explain the conservation of energy during Earth’s accretion, its quasi-stable release by primordial H- and He-degassing and of the crucial role of the energy of degassing-comprising-reactions in endogenic processes. Specific mechanisms and chemical processes are proposed for the gas-liquid mantle plumes melting through the solid mantle using heat-energy released in reactions of their metamorphic and chemical transformation under gradual decrease of pressure and temperature; volcanic gases are put forward as energy carriers. 3He performance as a unique measuring transformer correlative to the internal heat flow was used for calculation of energy release by degassing; it equals to 5.12 × 1020 J/yr, an amount of energy five-fold greater than the entire energy loss involved in earthquake and volcanic activity. The hypotheses proposed are objectively testable.

Characteristics of Patients Involved in Psychotherapy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabina Alispahić

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of Bosnian and Herzegovinian patients involved in psychotherapeutic treatments in order to explore the current situation of psychotherapy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Methods: The study included 213 patients (154 women and 47 men undergoing diverse psychotherapeutic treatments. Data about demographic and clinical characteristics were collected by questionnaire. Following characteristics were documented: age, sex, education, employment status, marital status, specific problem that got the client involved in psychotherapy, type of psychotherapy, and use of psychopharmacology.Results: Majority of the patients undergoing psychotherapy are age up to 40 and female. They are by vast majority holding a university degree and are employed. Nearly equal number of patients is living in partnership or marriage compared to single or never been married. Most frequent reasons for getting involved in the psychotherapy treatment are of the intrapersonal nature (depression, anxiety and panic attacks. Majority of the patients were involved in gestalt and cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, and at the same time majority of those were not prescribed medicaments.Conclusions: We point out and overview some of the most prominent socio-demographic traits of patients undergoing psychotherapy, the ones that could be important in the future research with the higher degree of control. In the terms of personal initiative, psychotherapy stops being a taboo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, there is still a long path until it reaches integration in daily life of the people.

NVL2, a nucleolar AAA-ATPase, is associated with the nuclear exosome and is involved in pre-rRNA processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshikatsu, Yuki; Ishida, Yo-ichi; Sudo, Haruka; Yuasa, Keizo; Tsuji, Akihiko; Nagahama, Masami

2015-08-28

Nuclear VCP-like 2 (NVL2) is a member of the chaperone-like AAA-ATPase family and is involved in the biosynthesis of 60S ribosomal subunits in mammalian cells. We previously showed the interaction of NVL2 with a DExD/H-box RNA helicase MTR4/DOB1, which is a known cofactor for an exoribonuclease complex, the exosome. This finding implicated NVL2 in RNA metabolic processes during ribosome biogenesis. In the present study, we found that a series of mutations within the ATPase domain of NVL2 causes a defect in pre-rRNA processing into mature 28S and 5.8S rRNAs. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis showed that NVL2 was associated with the nuclear exosome complex, which includes RRP6 as a nucleus-specific catalytic subunit. This interaction was prevented by depleting either MTR4 or RRP6, indicating their essential role in mediating this interaction with NVL2. Additionally, knockdown of MPP6, another cofactor for the nuclear exosome, also prevented the interaction by causing MTR4 to dissociate from the nuclear exosome. These results suggest that NVL2 is involved in pre-rRNA processing by associating with the nuclear exosome complex and that MPP6 is required for maintaining the integrity of this rRNA processing complex. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Clustering of double strand break-containing chromosome domains is not inhibited by inactivation of major repair proteins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krawczyk, P. M.; Stap, C.; Van Oven, C.; Hoebe, R.; Aten, J. A.

2006-01-01

For efficient repair of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) cells rely on a process that involves the Mre11/Rad50/Nbs1 complex, which may help to protect non-repaired DNA ends from separating until they can be rejoined by DNA repair proteins. It has been observed that as a secondary effect, this process can lead to unintended clustering of multiple, initially separate, DSB-containing chromosome domains. This work demonstrates that neither inactivation of the major repair proteins XRCC3 and the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) nor inhibition of DNA-PK by vanillin influences the aggregation of DSB-containing chromosome domains. (authors)

The involvement of carbohydrate reserves in hydrogen photoproduction by the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chochois, V.

2009-09-01

The unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is able to produce hydrogen, using water as an electron donor, and sunlight as an energy source. Although this property offers interesting biotechnological perspectives, a major limitation is related to the sensitivity of hydrogenase to oxygen which is produced by photosynthesis. It had been previously shown that in conditions of sulfur deprivation, C. reinhardtii is able to produce hydrogen during several days (Melis et an. 2000). During this process, two pathways, one direct depending on photosystem II (PSII) activity and the other involving only the PSI, are involved, starch reserves being supposed to play a role in both of these pathways. The purpose of this phD thesis was to elucidate the mechanisms linking starch catabolism to the hydrogen photoproduction process. Firstly, the analysis of mutants affected in starch biosynthesis (sta6 and sta7) showed that if starch reserves are essential to the functioning of the indirect pathway, they are not involved in the direct one. Secondly, in order to identify metabolic steps and regulatory processes involved in starch breakdown, we developed a genetic approach based on the search of mutants affected in starch reserves mobilization. Eight mutant (std1 to std8) diversely affected in their ability to degrade starch after an accumulation phase have been isolated from an insertional mutant library of 15,000 clones. One of these mutants, std1, is affected in a kinase related to the DYRK family (dual-specificity tyrosine regulated serine threonine kinase). Although the targets of this putative kinase remain to be identified, the analysis of the granule bound proteome displayed profound alterations in the expression profile of starch phosphorylases, potentially involved in starch breakdown. STD1 represents the first starch catabolism regulator identified to date in plants. (author)

Involvement of GSK3 in the formation of the leading process and migration of neurons from the embryonic rat medial ganglionic eminence in vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Niimura, Yuri; Aminaka, Yuichi; Hayashi, Kensuke

2015-03-04

Migrating neurons have leading processes that direct cell movement in response to guidance cues. We investigated the involvement of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) in the formation of leading processes and migration of neurons in vitro. We used embryonic rat medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) neurons, which are precursors of inhibitory neurons that migrate into the cerebral cortex. When MGE neurons were placed on an astrocyte layer, they migrated freely with the highest speed among neurons from other parts of the embryonic forebrain. When they were cultured alone, they showed bipolar morphology and extended leading processes within 20 h. Their leading processes had large growth cones, but did not elongate during 3 days in culture, indicating that leading processes are distinct from short axons. Next, we examined the effect of GSK3 inhibitors on leading processes and the migratory behavior of MGE neurons. MGE neurons treated with GSK3 inhibitors showed multipolar morphology and altered process shapes. Moreover, migration of MGE neurons on the astrocyte layer was significantly decreased in the presence of GSK3 inhibitors. These data suggest that GSK3 is involved in the formation of leading processes and in the migration of MGE neurons.

The processing of music notation: some implications for piano sight ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Most piano pupils and many professional pianists find it difficult to sight-read music fluently. A major reason for this phenomenon is the complexity of the piano sight-reading process. Cognitive research reveals an intricate system of neural networks spread over all four cortical lobes of the brain, which are involved in ...

Imbalance in subregional connectivity of the right temporoparietal junction in major depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Poeppl, Timm B; Müller, Veronika I; Hoffstaedter, Felix; Bzdok, Danilo; Laird, Angela R; Fox, Peter T; Langguth, Berthold; Rupprecht, Rainer; Sorg, Christian; Riedl, Valentin; Goya-Maldonado, Roberto; Gruber, Oliver; Eickhoff, Simon B

2016-08-01

Major depressive disorder (MDD) involves impairment in cognitive and interpersonal functioning. The right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ) is a key brain region subserving cognitive-attentional and social processes. Yet, findings on the involvement of the RTPJ in the pathophysiology of MDD have so far been controversial. Recent connectivity-based parcellation data revealed a topofunctional dualism within the RTPJ, linking its anterior and posterior part (aRTPJ/pRTPJ) to antagonistic brain networks for attentional and social processing, respectively. Comparing functional resting-state connectivity of the aRTPJ and pRTPJ in 72 MDD patients and 76 well-matched healthy controls, we found a seed (aRTPJ/pRTPJ) × diagnosis (MDD/controls) interaction in functional connectivity for eight regions. Employing meta-data from a large-scale neuroimaging database, functional characterization of these regions exhibiting differentially altered connectivity with the aRTPJ/pRTPJ revealed associations with cognitive (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, parahippocampus) and behavioral (posterior medial frontal cortex) control, visuospatial processing (dorsal visual cortex), reward (subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, medial orbitofrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex), as well as memory retrieval and social cognition (precuneus). These findings suggest that an imbalance in connectivity of subregions, rather than disturbed connectivity of the RTPJ as a whole, characterizes the connectional disruption of the RTPJ in MDD. This imbalance may account for key symptoms of MDD in cognitive, emotional, and social domains. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2931-2942, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Theoretical and experimental study of integrated membrane / distillation processes for industrial applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Perez, P.

2007-01-01

In industrial practice the separation of an azeotropic mixture usually involves adding a third component to the distillation process to break the azeotrope. The major disadvantages of this so called azeotropic and extractive distillation are the relatively high capital and high energy costs and the

Guidelines for inclusion: Ensuring Indigenous peoples' involvement in water planning processes across South Eastern Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Saenz Quitian, Alejandra; Rodríguez, Gloria Amparo

2016-11-01

Indigenous peoples within the Murray-Darling Basin have traditionally struggled for the recognition of their cultural, social, environmental, spiritual, commercial and economic connection to the waters that they have traditionally used, as well as their right to engage in all stages of water planning processes. Despite Australian national and federal frameworks providing for the inclusion of Indigenous Australians' objectives in planning frameworks, water plans have rarely addressed these objectives in water, or the strategies to achieve them. Indeed, insufficient resources, a lack of institutional capacity in both Indigenous communities and agencies and an inadequate understanding of Indigenous people's objectives in water management have limited the extent to which Indigenous objectives are addressed in water plans within the Murray-Darling Basin. In this context, the adoption of specific guidelines to meet Indigenous requirements in relation to basin water resources is crucial to support Indigenous engagement in water planning processes. Using insights from participatory planning methods and human rights frameworks, this article outlines a set of alternative and collaborative guidelines to improve Indigenous involvement in water planning and to promote sustainable and just water allocations.

Nonlinear digital signal processing in mental health: characterization of major depression using instantaneous entropy measures of heartbeat dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Valenza, Gaetano; Garcia, Ronald G; Citi, Luca; Scilingo, Enzo P; Tomaz, Carlos A; Barbieri, Riccardo

2015-01-01

Nonlinear digital signal processing methods that address system complexity have provided useful computational tools for helping in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of pathologies. More specifically, nonlinear measures have been successful in characterizing patients with mental disorders such as Major Depression (MD). In this study, we propose the use of instantaneous measures of entropy, namely the inhomogeneous point-process approximate entropy (ipApEn) and the inhomogeneous point-process sample entropy (ipSampEn), to describe a novel characterization of MD patients undergoing affective elicitation. Because these measures are built within a nonlinear point-process model, they allow for the assessment of complexity in cardiovascular dynamics at each moment in time. Heartbeat dynamics were characterized from 48 healthy controls and 48 patients with MD while emotionally elicited through either neutral or arousing audiovisual stimuli. Experimental results coming from the arousing tasks show that ipApEn measures are able to instantaneously track heartbeat complexity as well as discern between healthy subjects and MD patients. Conversely, standard heart rate variability (HRV) analysis performed in both time and frequency domains did not show any statistical significance. We conclude that measures of entropy based on nonlinear point-process models might contribute to devising useful computational tools for care in mental health.

Near miss and minor occupational injury: Does it share a common causal pathway with major injury?

Science.gov (United States)

Alamgir, Hasanat; Yu, Shicheng; Gorman, Erin; Ngan, Karen; Guzman, Jaime

2009-01-01

An essential assumption of injury prevention programs is the common cause hypothesis that the causal pathways of near misses and minor injuries are similar to those of major injuries. The rates of near miss, minor injury and major injury of all reported incidents and musculoskeletal incidents (MSIs) were calculated for three health regions using information from a surveillance database and productive hours from payroll data. The relative distribution of individual causes and activities involved in near miss, minor injury and major injury were then compared. For all reported incidents, there were significant differences in the relative distribution of causes for near miss, minor, and major injury. However, the relative distribution of causes and activities involved in minor and major MSIs were similar. The top causes and activities involved were the same across near miss, minor, and major injury. Finding from this study support the use of near miss and minor injury data as potential outcome measures for injury prevention programs. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Public relations work for major railway projects; Oeffentlichkeitsarbeit fuer grosse Bahnprojekte

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guertner, R. [Tram Zuerich West, Verkehrsbetriebe Zuerich (Switzerland); Braun, D.; Steiner, R. [Basler und Hofmann Ingenieure und Planer AG, Zuerich (Switzerland)

2005-07-01

Major railway construction projects attract a lot of public attention. They involve heavy investment, and cause local residents a good deal of inconvenience. This tends to obscure the fact that new railway lines and new railway tunnels bring significant improvements for the majority of citizens: better connections, more comfortable travel and frequently also less local noise. Furthermore, only a few people in the know are aware of how much technical and human effort lies behind the new structures. All the more reason therefore to make a serious public relations effort - on the part of the clients as well as the contractors involved. (orig.)

Management and worker involvement: cat and mouse or win-win?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cremers, J.; Vitols, S.; Kluge, N.

2011-01-01

In his contribution the author discusses the positive contributions that worker involvement makes to the company, and argues that stronger worker involvement could bring major improvements in company practice. Managers generally do not have the capacity and tools by themselves to follow ‘best

Study of the mechanisms involved in the laser superficial hardening process of metallic alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Edmara Marques Rodrigues da

2001-01-01

The laser superficial hardening process of a ferrous alloy (gray cast iron) and of an aluminum-silicon alloy was investigated in this work. These metallic alloys are used in the automobile industry for manufacturing cylinders and pistons, respectively. By application of individual pulses and single tracks, the involved mechanisms during the processing were studied. Variables such as energy density, power density, temporal width, beam diameter on the sample surface, atmosphere of the processing region, overlapping and scanning velocity. The hardened surface was characterized by optical and scanning electronic microscopy, dispersive energy microanalysis, X-ray mapping, X-ray diffraction, and measurements of roughness and Vickers microhardness. Depending on the processing parameters, it is possible to obtain different microstructures. The affected area of gray cast iron, can be hardened by remelting or transformation hardening (total or partial) if the reached temperature is higher or not that of melting temperature. Laser treatment originated new structures such as retained austenite, martensite and, occasionally, eutectic of cellular dendritic structure. Aluminum-silicon alloy does not have phase transformation in solid state, it can be hardened only by remelting. The increase of hardness is a function of the precipitation hardening process, which makes the silicon particles smaller and more disperse in the matrix. Maximal values of microhardness (700-1000 HV) were reached with the laser treatment in gray cast iron samples. The initial microhardness is of 242 HV. For aluminum-silicon alloy, the laser remelting increases the initial microhardness of 128 HV to the range of 160-320 HV. The found results give a new perspective for using the CLA/IPEN's laser in the heat treatment area. Besides providing a higher absorptivity to the materials, compared with the CO 2 laser, and optical fiber access, the superficial hardening with Nd:YAG laser, depending on the level of

FMRI evidence for the involvement of the procedural memory system in morphological processing of a second language.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christos Pliatsikas

Full Text Available Behavioural evidence suggests that English regular past tense forms are automatically decomposed into their stem and affix (played  = play+ed based on an implicit linguistic rule, which does not apply to the idiosyncratically formed irregular forms (kept. Additionally, regular, but not irregular inflections, are thought to be processed through the procedural memory system (left inferior frontal gyrus, basal ganglia, cerebellum. It has been suggested that this distinction does not to apply to second language (L2 learners of English; however, this has not been tested at the brain level. This fMRI study used a masked-priming task with regular and irregular prime-target pairs (played-play/kept-keep to investigate morphological processing in native and highly proficient late L2 English speakers. No between-groups differences were revealed. Compared to irregular pairs, regular pairs activated the pars opercularis, bilateral caudate nucleus and the right cerebellum, which are part of the procedural memory network and have been connected with the processing of morphologically complex forms. Our study is the first to provide evidence for native-like involvement of the procedural memory system in processing of regular past tense by late L2 learners of English.

2015 Status Report on Major Defence Equipment Procurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Perry

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Federal elections may be good for democracy, but the campaigns — particularly the lengthy one recently held in Canada — can be crippling for plans to better arm our military. Just before the election was called, there were public signs of important progress being made in what has long been a frustratingly slow and bureaucratically complex procurement process. But then the campaign left the Department of National Defence and other federal departments unable to secure approvals from either a defence minister or the Treasury Board, until the election ended and the new prime minister appointed the current cabinet. There had already been upheaval prior to that: In the first seven months of 2015, the three senior leaders at the Canadian Forces and the Defence Department (including the minister had been replaced, along with many other people critical to the procurement process. In addition, there had been changes in the Public Works Department and the Defence Procurement Strategy Secretariat. Frustrating and disappointing delays have long been a matter of course in Canada’s defence procurement process. In 2014/15, the number of ministerial or Treasury Board approvals to allow projects to proceed was half of that in 2009/10. Yet the demand for approvals has not abated. In addition to the turnover of key figures involved in the procurement and approval process, delays have come from a number of major steps added to the process, making an already lengthy and complex system even more so. To be sure, these steps were added in the pursuit of improved financial management and project management, with the aim of addressing longstanding problems. But it will take years to see if those objectives have been realized. An irony here is that the budget for military procurement has increased. Between 2004 and 2009, the Defence Department’s procurement budget nearly doubled. But the funding was never matched by the capacity to manage it. In 2003, the Material

Family members' involvement in elder care provision in nursing homes and their considerations about financial compensation: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Habjanič, Ana; Pajnkihar, Majda

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to establish how family members are involved in elder care provision in nursing homes; this included research into their feelings about potentially extending their involvement to obtain financial benefits as compensation for high accommodation costs. Family members remain involved in the caring process after their relatives have been admitted to an institution. On average, accommodation costs in nursing homes in Slovenia have risen above the residents' retirement pension, and families must supplement the difference. Because of this, familial involvement should be linked to reduced accommodation costs. This research employed a non-experimental, descriptive study design through unstructured interviews. Participants included fifty family members (n=50) who visit their relatives in nursing homes. Data were collected in 2010 at five nursing homes in Slovenia and processed by means of conventional content analysis. The major themes that emerged from the content analysis, describing family involvement, were as follows: visiting and making oneself useful, delivery of items for personal use, hands-on care, physical therapy and organization of nursing home activities. Family members showed some interest in receiving financial compensation for their involvement. The proposed financial compensation may be a delicate and morally questionable matter but would involve fairness and transparency, while enabling easier organization of elder care provision. Eventually, nursing home residents' well-being could be improved. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parental Involvement and Children's School Achievement: Evidence for Mediating Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Maria A.; Theule, Jennifer; Ryan, Bruce A.; Adams, Gerald R.; Keating, Leo

2009-01-01

This study used path analytic techniques and an ecological framework to examine the association between children's perceptions of their parents' educational involvement, children's personal characteristics, and their school achievement. Fathers' academic pressure was predictive of lower achievement, whereas mothers' encouragement and support…

Healthcare decisions: a review of children's involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Baston, Jenny

2008-04-01

Children's rights, their ability to consent to treatment and their involvement in healthcare decisions have received considerable attention in recent years. There is some evidence to suggest that when children are involved in the decision-making process, they retain a sense of control over their situation. However there are still unresolved issues related to a child's right to decide and nurses may be confused about the extent to which children can and should be involved in decision-making. A code of practice for involving children in decisions was first suggested in 2001 and there is still a need for a consistent, structured and robust method of ensuring that children are included in the decision-making process at all stages of their health care.

Stakeholder Involvement in Nuclear Decision Making, NEA Workshop, 17-19 January 2017. Workshop wrap-up and conclusions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maclachlan, Ann

2017-01-01

The NEA workshop in January 2017 gathered representatives of governments, specialists of most aspects of the operation, management and oversight of the full nuclear fuel cycle, and other actors and experts from across the world. Stakeholder involvement in almost all types of nuclear decision making was addressed, and findings were underlined in other technology sectors. The plenary talks and topical presentations provided an overview of major considerations, while dialogue sessions enabled workshop attendees to deepen their understanding and exchange experience. Even considering the specificity of each context, some take-away were clearly supported by presentations, dialogues and exchanges. They constitute a part of the collective wisdom developed when participants from across member countries and sectors come together at such a unique, cross-cutting workshop. It was beneficial to sit together, talk and compare experience with persons from different backgrounds and areas of competence. Stakeholder involvement is not only about what decision is made. It is also about achieving decisions that visibly and transparently reflect stakeholder concerns and input. Stakeholder involvement is 'a process or a tool to reach a decision that is better-informed, sound and widely accepted'. Stakeholder involvement is viewed also as a principle of democracy. There is no one-approach-fits-all: the stakeholder involvement process needs to be adapted to the country-specific context. Across nations, there are different political systems and legal frameworks that are reflected in the mind-sets of populations and approaches to stakeholder involvement. The shape of involvement will be different in the case of a general, policy-type decision or a project or site-specific decision. The involvement process may respond strictly to legal requirements or it may go beyond this minimum. Societal expectations are that stakeholder involvement will go beyond the sharing of information or consultation

Salutogenic service user involvement in nursing research: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mjøsund, Nina Helen; Vinje, Hege Forbech; Eriksson, Monica; Haaland-Øverby, Mette; Jensen, Sven Liang; Kjus, Solveig; Norheim, Irene; Portaasen, Inger-Lill; Espnes, Geir Arild

2018-05-12

The aim was to explore the process of involving mental healthcare service users in a mental health promotion research project as research advisors and to articulate features of the collaboration which encouraged and empowered the advisors to make significant contributions to the research process and outcome. There is an increasing interest in evaluating aspects of service user involvement in nursing research. Few descriptions exist of features that enable meaningful service user involvement. We draw on experiences from conducting research which used the methodology interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore how persons with mental disorders perceived mental health. Aside from the participants in the project, five research advisors with service user experience were involved in the entire research process. We applied a case study design to explore the ongoing processes of service user involvement. Documents and texts produced while conducting the project (2012-2016), as well as transcripts from multistage focus group discussions with the research advisors, were analysed. The level of involvement was dynamic and varied throughout the different stages of the research process. Six features: leadership, meeting structure, role clarification, being members of a team, a focus on possibilities and being seen and treated as holistic individuals, were guiding principles for a salutogenic service user involvement. These features strengthened the advisors' perception of themselves as valuable and competent contributors. Significant contributions from research advisors were promoted by facilitating the process of involvement. A supporting structure and atmosphere were consistent with a salutogenic service user involvement. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Chemomics-based marker compounds mining and mimetic processing for exploring chemical mechanisms in traditional processing of herbal medicines, a continuous study on Rehmanniae Radix.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Li; Xu, Jin-Di; Zhou, Shan-Shan; Shen, Hong; Mao, Qian; Kong, Ming; Zou, Ye-Ting; Xu, Ya-Yun; Xu, Jun; Li, Song-Lin

2017-12-29

Exploring processing chemistry, in particular the chemical transformation mechanisms involved, is a key step to elucidate the scientific basis in traditional processing of herbal medicines. Previously, taking Rehmanniae Radix (RR) as a case study, the holistic chemome (secondary metabolome and glycome) difference between raw and processed RR was revealed by integrating hyphenated chromatographic techniques-based targeted glycomics and untargeted metabolomics. Nevertheless, the complex chemical transformation mechanisms underpinning the holistic chemome variation in RR processing remain to be extensively clarified. As a continuous study, here a novel strategy by combining chemomics-based marker compounds mining and mimetic processing is proposed for further exploring the chemical mechanisms involved in herbal processing. First, the differential marker compounds between raw and processed herbs were rapidly discovered by untargeted chemomics-based mining approach through multivariate statistical analysis of the chemome data obtained by integrated metabolomics and glycomics analysis. Second, the marker compounds were mimetically processed under the simulated physicochemical conditions as in the herb processing, and the final reaction products were chemically characterized by targeted chemomics-based mining approach. Third, the main chemical transformation mechanisms involved were clarified by linking up the original marker compounds and their mimetic processing products. Using this strategy, a set of differential marker compounds including saccharides, glycosides and furfurals in raw and processed RR was rapidly found, and the major chemical mechanisms involved in RR processing were elucidated as stepwise transformations of saccharides (polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and monosaccharides) and glycosides (iridoid glycosides and phenethylalcohol glycosides) into furfurals (glycosylated/non-glycosylated hydroxymethylfurfurals) by deglycosylation and/or dehydration. The

Process Industry and Energy Savings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-07-01

Over a period of two years the NAP's Special Interest Group Energy (SIG-E) has dedicated itself to studying the way in which the process industry and its supply chain has been dealing with energy as a theme. In the past it was strongly believed that many opportunities were left unused and that different forms of cooperation inside the chain should contribute to accelerated improvement of energy efficiency in the process industry. Sixteen companies that are actively involved in the entire value chain have scrutinised their daily situation wondering how to operate more successfully. With approximately one quarter of total energy consumption the Dutch process industry is a major player in reaching national energy and climate objectives by 2020. The objective (improve energy efficiency by 2% annually) is as ambitious as that 'business as usual' is insufficient. A drastic change in how matters are approached is thus essential. The question is how to proceed? By analysing energy projects, in-depth interviews with decision makers in the industry, through literature searches and by organising lectures inside and outside the sector, SlG-E has been able to develop a true picture of the mechanisms concerning energy-related investments. Two major points of interest have been energy-oriented tendering (demand side) and the market introduction of innovations (supply side). The main problems of 'how to do more in the energy domain' is: (a) the process industry is insufficiently familiar with the capabilities of the supply chain, and (b) the supply chain is insufficiently aware of the questions that exist in the process industry. Therefore, the links in the value chain understand each other poorly. The answer to this problem is compound and consists of more interaction between the process industry and the supply chain (machine constructors, engineering firms and consultancies, education and research). As for the process industry: (a) Make improved energy

Heat processing of peanut seed enhances the sensitization potential of the major peanut allergen Ara h 6.

Science.gov (United States)

Guillon, Blanche; Bernard, Hervé; Drumare, Marie-Françoise; Hazebrouck, Stéphane; Adel-Patient, Karine

2016-12-01

Processing of food has been shown to impact IgE binding and functionality of food allergens. In the present study, we investigated the impact of heat processing on the sensitization capacity of Ara h 6, a major peanut allergen and one of the most potent elicitors of the allergic reaction. Peanut extracts obtained from raw or heat-processed peanut and some fractions thereof were biochemically and immunochemically characterized. These extracts/fractions, purified Ara h 6, or recombinant Ara h 6 including Ara h 6 mutants lacking disulfide bridges were used in in vitro digestion tests and mouse models of experimental sensitization. Peanut roasting led to the formation of complexes of high molecular weight, notably between Ara h 6 and Ara h 1, which supported the induction of IgE specific to native Ara h 6. On the contrary, a fraction containing free monomeric 2S albumins or purified native Ara h 6 displayed no intrinsic allergenicity. In addition to complex formation, heat denaturation and/or partial destabilization enhanced Ara h 6 immunogenicity and increased its sensitivity to digestion. These results suggest that sensitization potency and IgE binding capacity can be supported by different structures, modified and/or produced during food processing in interaction with other food constituents. © 2016 The Authors. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

“My Child has Cerebral Palsy”: Parental Involvement and Children’s School Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Armanda; Moreira, Tânia; Lopes, Sílvia; Nunes, Ana R.; Magalhães, Paula; Fuentes, Sonia; Reoyo, Natalia; Núñez, José C.; Rosário, Pedro

2016-01-01

Engaged students tend to show school-committed behaviors (e.g., attend classes, get involved with the learning process), high achievement, and sense of belonging. However, students with disabilities are prone to show a lack of engagement with school due to the specific difficulties they have to handle. In fact, children with disabilities are likely to show poor participation in school when compared with children without disabilities. This poor involvement is related to their low autonomy to participate in the school activities, which, in turn, results in low school engagement. Parents play a crucial role in their children’s education. Parental involvement in school activities promotes autonomous behaviors and, consequently, school engagement. In fact, extant literature has shown close relationships between parental involvement, school engagement, and academic performance. Yet, parental involvement in school activities of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) has received little direct attention from researchers. These children tend to display lower participation due to the motor, or cognitive, impairments that compromise their autonomy, and have a high likelihood to develop learning disabilities, with special incidences in reading and arithmetic. Therefore, our aim is twofold, to understand the parental styles; and how the perceived parental involvement in school activities is related to their children school engagement. Hence, 19 interviews were conducted with one of the parents of 19 children with CP. These interviews explored the school routines of children and the perceived involvement of parents in those routines. Additionally, children filled out a questionnaire on school engagement. Results show that the majority of the parents were clustered in the Autonomy Allowance and Acceptance and Support parental style, and the majority of their children were perceived as autonomous. Moreover, about a half of the children reported a high level of school engagement

“My Child has Cerebral Palsy”: Parental Involvement and Children’s School Engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armanda Pereira

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Engaged students tend to show school-committed behaviors (e.g., attend classes, get involved with the learning process, high achievement, and sense of belonging. However, students with disabilities are prone to show a lack of engagement with school due to the specific difficulties they have to handle. In fact, children with disabilities are likely to show poor participation in school when compared with children without disabilities. This poor involvement is related to their low autonomy to participate in the school activities, which, in turn, results in low school engagement. Parents play a crucial role in their children’s education. Parental involvement in school activities promotes autonomous behaviors and, consequently, school engagement. In fact, extant literature has shown close relationships between parental involvement, school engagement, and academic performance. Yet, parental involvement in school activities of children with Cerebral Palsy has received little direct attention from researchers.These children tend to display lower participation due to the motor, or cognitive, impairments that compromise their autonomy, and have a high likelihood to develop learning disabilities, with special incidences in reading and arithmetic. Therefore, our aim is twofold, to understand the parental styles; and how the perceived parental involvement in school activities is related to their children school engagement. Hence, 19 interviews were conducted with one of the parents of 19 children with Cerebral Palsy. These interviews explored the school routines of children and the perceived involvement of parents in those routines. Additionally, children filled out a questionnaire on school engagement. Results show that the majority of the parents were clustered in the Autonomy Allowance and Acceptance and Support parental style, and the majority of their children were perceived as autonomous. Moreover, about a half of the children reported a high level

Identification of naturally processed hepatitis C virus-derived major histocompatibility complex class I ligands.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benno Wölk

Full Text Available Fine mapping of human cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL responses against hepatitis C virus (HCV is based on external loading of target cells with synthetic peptides which are either derived from prediction algorithms or from overlapping peptide libraries. These strategies do not address putative host and viral mechanisms which may alter processing as well as presentation of CTL epitopes. Therefore, the aim of this proof-of-concept study was to identify naturally processed HCV-derived major histocompatibility complex (MHC class I ligands. To this end, continuous human cell lines were engineered to inducibly express HCV proteins and to constitutively express high levels of functional HLA-A2. These cell lines were recognized in an HLA-A2-restricted manner by HCV-specific CTLs. Ligands eluted from HLA-A2 molecules isolated from large-scale cultures of these cell lines were separated by high performance liquid chromatography and further analyzed by electrospray ionization quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (MS/tandem MS. These analyses allowed the identification of two HLA-A2-restricted epitopes derived from HCV nonstructural proteins (NS 3 and 5B (NS3₁₄₀₆₋₁₄₁₅ and NS5B₂₅₉₄₋₂₆₀₂. In conclusion, we describe a general strategy that may be useful to investigate HCV pathogenesis and may contribute to the development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines in the future.

Circadian phenotype composition is a major predictor of diurnal physical performance in teams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elise Rose Facer-Childs

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Team performance is a complex phenomenon involving numerous influencing factors including physiology, psychology, and management. Biological rhythms and the impact of circadian phenotype have not been studied for their contribution to this array of factors so far despite our knowledge of the circadian regulation of key physiological processes involved in physical and mental performance. This study involved 216 individuals from 12 different teams who were categorized into circadian phenotypes using the novel RBUB chronometric test. The composition of circadian phenotypes within each team was used to model predicted daily team performance profiles based on physical performance tests. Our results show that the composition of circadian phenotypes within teams is variable and unpredictable. Predicted physical peak performance ranged from 1.52pm to 8.59pm with performance levels fluctuating by up to 14.88% over the course of the day. The major predictor for peak performance time of day in a team is the occurrence of late circadian phenotypes. We conclude that circadian phenotype is a performance indicator in teams that allows new insight and a better understanding of team performance variation in the course of a day as often observed in different groupings of individuals.

Major health service transformation and the public voice: conflict, challenge or complicity?

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Graham P; Carter, Pam; Dent, Mike

2018-01-01

Objectives Calls for major reconfigurations of health services have been accompanied by recommendations that wide ranging stakeholders be involved. In particular, patients and the wider public are seen as critical contributors as both funders and beneficiaries of public health care. But public involvement is fraught with challenges, and little research has focused on involvement in the health service transformation initiatives. This paper examines the design and function of public involvement in reconfiguration of health services within the English NHS. Methods Qualitative data including interviews, observation and documents were collected in two health service 'transformation' programmes; interviews include involved public and professional participants. Data were analysed using parallel deductive and inductive approaches. Results Public involvement in the programmes was extensive but its terms of reference, and the individuals involved, were restricted by policy pressures and programme objectives. The degree to which participants descriptively or substantively represented the wider public was limited; participants sought to 'speak for' this public but their views on what was 'acceptable' and likely to influence decision-making led them to constrain their contributions. Conclusions Public involvement in two major service reconfiguration programmes in England was seen as important and functional, and could not be characterized as tokenistic. Yet involvement in these programmes fell short of normative ideals, and could inadvertently reduce, rather than enlarge, public influence on health service reconfiguration decisions.

Process and domain specificity in regions engaged for face processing: an fMRI study of perceptual differentiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Heather R; Zhu, Xun; Bhatt, Ramesh S; Clark, Jonathan D; Joseph, Jane E

2012-12-01

The degree to which face-specific brain regions are specialized for different kinds of perceptual processing is debated. This study parametrically varied demands on featural, first-order configural, or second-order configural processing of faces and houses in a perceptual matching task to determine the extent to which the process of perceptual differentiation was selective for faces regardless of processing type (domain-specific account), specialized for specific types of perceptual processing regardless of category (process-specific account), engaged in category-optimized processing (i.e., configural face processing or featural house processing), or reflected generalized perceptual differentiation (i.e., differentiation that crosses category and processing type boundaries). ROIs were identified in a separate localizer run or with a similarity regressor in the face-matching runs. The predominant principle accounting for fMRI signal modulation in most regions was generalized perceptual differentiation. Nearly all regions showed perceptual differentiation for both faces and houses for more than one processing type, even if the region was identified as face-preferential in the localizer run. Consistent with process specificity, some regions showed perceptual differentiation for first-order processing of faces and houses (right fusiform face area and occipito-temporal cortex and right lateral occipital complex), but not for featural or second-order processing. Somewhat consistent with domain specificity, the right inferior frontal gyrus showed perceptual differentiation only for faces in the featural matching task. The present findings demonstrate that the majority of regions involved in perceptual differentiation of faces are also involved in differentiation of other visually homogenous categories.

Process- and Domain-Specificity in Regions Engaged for Face Processing: An fMRI Study of Perceptual Differentiation

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Heather R.; Zhu, Xun; Bhatt, Ramesh S.; Clark, Jonathan D.; Joseph, Jane E.

2015-01-01

The degree to which face-specific brain regions are specialized for different kinds of perceptual processing is debated. The present study parametrically varied demands on featural, first-order configural or second-order configural processing of faces and houses in a perceptual matching task to determine the extent to which the process of perceptual differentiation was selective for faces regardless of processing type (domain-specific account), specialized for specific types of perceptual processing regardless of category (process-specific account), engaged in category-optimized processing (i.e., configural face processing or featural house processing) or reflected generalized perceptual differentiation (i.e. differentiation that crosses category and processing type boundaries). Regions of interest were identified in a separate localizer run or with a similarity regressor in the face-matching runs. The predominant principle accounting for fMRI signal modulation in most regions was generalized perceptual differentiation. Nearly all regions showed perceptual differentiation for both faces and houses for more than one processing type, even if the region was identified as face-preferential in the localizer run. Consistent with process-specificity, some regions showed perceptual differentiation for first-order processing of faces and houses (right fusiform face area and occipito-temporal cortex, and right lateral occipital complex), but not for featural or second-order processing. Somewhat consistent with domain-specificity, the right inferior frontal gyrus showed perceptual differentiation only for faces in the featural matching task. The present findings demonstrate that the majority of regions involved in perceptual differentiation of faces are also involved in differentiation of other visually homogenous categories. PMID:22849402

Comparing International and American Students: Involvement in College Life and Overall Satisfaction

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Ji; Cole, Darnell

2017-01-01

Using longitudinal survey data, this study compares 191 international and 409 American students' involvement in college life, the extent to which the involvement is influenced by race/ethnicity, gender, and language background, and the extent to which the involvement influences overall satisfaction. Major findings include: International and…

TbPIF5 is a Trypanosoma brucei mitochondrial DNA helicase involved in processing of minicircle Okazaki fragments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beiyu Liu

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Trypanosoma brucei's mitochondrial genome, kinetoplast DNA (kDNA, is a giant network of catenated DNA rings. The network consists of a few thousand 1 kb minicircles and several dozen 23 kb maxicircles. Here we report that TbPIF5, one of T. brucei's six mitochondrial proteins related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial DNA helicase ScPIF1, is involved in minicircle lagging strand synthesis. Like its yeast homolog, TbPIF5 is a 5' to 3' DNA helicase. Together with other enzymes thought to be involved in Okazaki fragment processing, TbPIF5 localizes in vivo to the antipodal sites flanking the kDNA. Minicircles in wild type cells replicate unidirectionally as theta-structures and are unusual in that Okazaki fragments are not joined until after the progeny minicircles have segregated. We now report that overexpression of TbPIF5 causes premature removal of RNA primers and joining of Okazaki fragments on theta structures. Further elongation of the lagging strand is blocked, but the leading strand is completed and the minicircle progeny, one with a truncated H strand (ranging from 0.1 to 1 kb, are segregated. The minicircles with a truncated H strand electrophorese on an agarose gel as a smear. This replication defect is associated with kinetoplast shrinkage and eventual slowing of cell growth. We propose that TbPIF5 unwinds RNA primers after lagging strand synthesis, thus facilitating processing of Okazaki fragments.

Total magnetic reconnection during a tokamak major disruption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goetz, J.A.

1990-09-01

Magnetic reconnection has long been considered to be the cause of sawtooth oscillations and major disruptions in tokamak experiments. Experimental confirmation of reconnection models has been hampered by the difficulty of direct measurement of reconnection, which would involve tracing field lines for many transits around the tokamak. Perhaps the most stringent test of reconnection in a tokamak involves measurement of the safety factor q. Reconnection arising from a single helical disturbance with mode numbers m and n should raise q to m/n everywhere inside of the original resonant surface. Total reconnection should also flatten the temperature and current density profiles inside of this surface. Disruptive instabilities have been studied in the Tokapole 2, a poloidal divertor tokamak. When Tokapole 2 is operated in the material limiter configuration, a major disruption results in current termination as in most tokamaks. However, when operated in the magnetic limiter configuration current termination is suppressed and major disruptions appear as giant sawtooth oscillations. The objective of this thesis is to determine if total reconnection is occurring during major disruptions. To accomplish this goal, the poloidal magnetic field has been directly measured in Tokapole 2 with internal magnetic coils. A full two-dimensional measurement over the central current channel has been done. From these measurements, the poloidal magnetic flux function is obtained and the magnetic surfaces are plotted. The flux-surface-averaged safety factor is obtained by integrating the local magnetic field line pitch over the experimentally obtained magnetic surface

THE TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESSES INVOLVING MOTOR SKILLS THAT OCCUR UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF BASIC PRELIMINARY TRAINING IN YOUNG HANDBALL PLAYERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markovic Sasa

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The population from which we extracted a sample of 76 subjects consisted of elementary school students in Kursumlija, all male, aged 12-13, who were divided into a sub-sample consisting of 38 young handball players who took part in the training sessions of a school of handball and another sub-sample consisting of 38 non-athletes, who only took part in their regular physical education classes. The aim of the research was to determine the transformation processes involving motor skills, which occur under the influence of basic preliminary training in young handball players. The subject matter of the study was to examine whether a statistically significant increase in the level of motor skills would occur under the influence of physical exercise as part of basic preliminary training in the final as compared to the initial state. Six motor tests which define the dimensions of explosive and repetitive strength were used. The results of the research indicate that significant transformational processes involving the motor skills of young handball players occurred in the final as compared to the initial measuring, under the influence of basic preliminary training.

Age and gender modulate the neural circuitry supporting facial emotion processing in adults with major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Briceño, Emily M; Rapport, Lisa J; Kassel, Michelle T; Bieliauskas, Linas A; Zubieta, Jon-Kar; Weisenbach, Sara L; Langenecker, Scott A

2015-03-01

Emotion processing, supported by frontolimbic circuitry known to be sensitive to the effects of aging, is a relatively understudied cognitive-emotional domain in geriatric depression. Some evidence suggests that the neurophysiological disruption observed in emotion processing among adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) may be modulated by both gender and age. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of gender and age on the neural circuitry supporting emotion processing in MDD. Cross-sectional comparison of fMRI signal during performance of an emotion processing task. Outpatient university setting. One hundred adults recruited by MDD status, gender, and age. Participants underwent fMRI while completing the Facial Emotion Perception Test. They viewed photographs of faces and categorized the emotion perceived. Contrast for fMRI was of face perception minus animal identification blocks. Effects of depression were observed in precuneus and effects of age in a number of frontolimbic regions. Three-way interactions were present between MDD status, gender, and age in regions pertinent to emotion processing, including frontal, limbic, and basal ganglia. Young women with MDD and older men with MDD exhibited hyperactivation in these regions compared with their respective same-gender healthy comparison (HC) counterparts. In contrast, older women and younger men with MDD exhibited hypoactivation compared to their respective same-gender HC counterparts. This the first study to report gender- and age-specific differences in emotion processing circuitry in MDD. Gender-differential mechanisms may underlie cognitive-emotional disruption in older adults with MDD. The present findings have implications for improved probes into the heterogeneity of the MDD syndrome. Copyright © 2015 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-resolution mapping and characterization of qRgls2, a major quantitative trait locus involved in maize resistance to gray leaf spot.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Ling; Zhang, Yan; Shao, Siquan; Chen, Wei; Tan, Jing; Zhu, Mang; Zhong, Tao; Fan, Xingming; Xu, Mingliang

2014-08-31

Gray leaf spot (GLS) caused by Cercospora zeae-maydis (Czm) or Cercospora zeina (Cz) is a devastating maize disease and results in substantial yield reductions worldwide. GLS resistance is a quantitatively inherited trait. The development and cultivation of GLS-resistant maize hybrids are the most cost-effective and efficient ways to control this disease. We previously detected a major GLS resistance QTL, qRgls2, in bin 5.03-04, which spans the whole centromere of chromosome 5 encompassing a physical distance of ~110-Mb. With advanced backcross populations derived from the cross between the resistant Y32 and susceptible Q11 inbred lines, a sequential recombinant-derived progeny testing strategy was adapted to fine map qRgls2. We narrowed the region of qRgls2 from an initial ~110-Mb to an interval of ~1-Mb, flanked by the markers G346 and DD11. qRgls2 showed predominantly additive genetic effects and significantly increased the resistance percentage by 20.6 to 24.6% across multiple generations. A total of 15 genes were predicted in the mapped region according to the 5b.60 annotation of the maize B73 genome v2. Two pieces of the mapped qRgls2 region shared collinearity with two distant segments on maize chromosome 4. qRgls2, a major QTL involved in GLS resistance, was mapped to a ~1-Mb region close to the centromere of chromosome 5. There are 15 predicted genes in the mapped region. It is assumed that qRgls2 could be widely used to improve maize resistance to GLS.

Ionic Liquids in Biomass Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Suzie Su Yin; Macfarlane, Douglas R.

Ionic liquids have been studied for their special solvent properties in a wide range of processes, including reactions involving carbohydrates such as cellulose and glucose. Biomass is a widely available and renewable resource that is likely to become an economically viable source of starting materials for chemical and fuel production, especially with the price of petroleum set to increase as supplies are diminished. Biopolymers such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin may be converted to useful products, either by direct functionalisation of the polymers or depolymerisation to monomers, followed by microbial or chemical conversion to useful chemicals. Major barriers to the effective conversion of biomass currently include the high crystallinity of cellulose, high reactivity of carbohydrates and lignin, insolubility of cellulose in conventional solvents, as well as heterogeneity in the native lignocellulosic materials and in lignin itself. This combination of factors often results in highly heterogeneous depolymerisation products, which make efficient separation difficult. Thus the extraction, depolymerisation and conversion of biopolymers will require novel reaction systems in order to be both economically attractive and environmentally benign. The solubility of biopolymers in ionic liquids is a major advantage of their use, allowing homogeneous reaction conditions, and this has stimulated a growing research effort in this field. This review examines current research involving the use of ionic liquids in biomass reactions, with perspectives on how it relates to green chemistry, economic viability, and conventional biomass processes.

Processing of the major autolysin of E. faecalis, AtlA, by the zinc-metalloprotease, GelE, impacts AtlA septal localization and cell separation

OpenAIRE

Stinemetz, Emily K.; Gao, Peng; Pinkston, Kenneth L.; Montealegre, Maria Camila; Murray, Barbara E.; Harvey, Barrett R.

2017-01-01

AtlA is the major peptidoglycan hydrolase of Enterococcus faecalis involved in cell division and cellular autolysis. The secreted zinc metalloprotease, gelatinase (GelE), has been identified as an important regulator of cellular function through post-translational modification of protein substrates. AtlA is a known target of GelE, and their interplay has been proposed to regulate AtlA function. To study the protease-mediated post-translational modification of AtlA, monoclonal antibodies were ...

Pediatric emergency department census during major sporting events.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Tommy Y; Barcega, Besh B; Denmark, T Kent

2012-11-01

Our study attempted to evaluate the effects of major sporting events on the census of a pediatric emergency department (ED) in the United States specifically related to the National Football League Super Bowl, National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, and Major League Baseball World Series. We performed a retrospective data analysis of our pediatric ED census on the number of visits during major sporting events over a 5-year period. Data during the same period 1 week after the major sporting event were collected for comparison as the control. We evaluated the medians of 2-hour increments around the event start time. Subgroup analysis was performed for games involving the local sporting teams. Our results showed no significant difference in ED census during the sporting events, except in the post 6 to 8 hours of the NBA finals. Subgroup analysis of the Los Angeles Lakers showed the same significant findings in the post 6 to 8 hours of the NBA finals. No major difference in pediatric ED census is observed during the most major sporting events in the United States.

Specific involvement of atypical PKCζ/PKMζ in spinal persistent nociceptive processing following peripheral inflammation in rat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marchand Fabien

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Central sensitization requires the activation of various intracellular signalling pathways within spinal dorsal horn neurons, leading to a lowering of activation threshold and enhanced responsiveness of these cells. Such plasticity contributes to the manifestation of chronic pain states and displays a number of features of long-term potentiation (LTP, a ubiquitous neuronal mechanism of increased synaptic strength. Here we describe the role of a novel pathway involving atypical PKCζ/PKMζ in persistent spinal nociceptive processing, previously implicated in the maintenance of late-phase LTP. Results Using both behavioral tests and in vivo electrophysiology in rats, we show that inhibition of this pathway, via spinal delivery of a myristoylated protein kinase C-ζ pseudo-substrate inhibitor, reduces both pain-related behaviors and the activity of deep dorsal horn wide dynamic range neurons (WDRs following formalin administration. In addition, Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA-induced mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity was also reduced by inhibition of PKCζ/PKMζ activity. Importantly, this inhibition did not affect acute pain or locomotor behavior in normal rats and interestingly, did not inhibited mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia in neuropathic rats. Pain-related behaviors in both inflammatory models coincided with increased phosphorylation of PKCζ/PKMζ in dorsal horn neurons, specifically PKMζ phosphorylation in formalin rats. Finally, inhibition of PKCζ/PKMζ activity decreased the expression of Fos in response to formalin and CFA in both superficial and deep laminae of the dorsal horn. Conclusions These results suggest that PKCζ, especially PKMζ isoform, is a significant factor involved in spinal persistent nociceptive processing, specifically, the manifestation of chronic pain states following peripheral inflammation.

Information Processing and Risk Perception: An Adaptation of the Heuristic-Systematic Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Trumbo, Craig W.

2002-01-01

Describes heuristic-systematic information-processing model and risk perception--the two major conceptual areas of the analysis. Discusses the proposed model, describing the context of the data collections (public health communication involving cancer epidemiology) and providing the results of a set of three replications using the proposed model.…

Development of brain networks involved in spoken word processing of Mandarin Chinese.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Fan; Khalid, Kainat; Lee, Rebecca; Brennan, Christine; Yang, Yanhui; Li, Kuncheng; Bolger, Donald J; Booth, James R

2011-08-01

Developmental differences in phonological and orthographic processing of Chinese spoken words were examined in 9-year-olds, 11-year-olds and adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Rhyming and spelling judgments were made to two-character words presented sequentially in the auditory modality. Developmental comparisons between adults and both groups of children combined showed that age-related changes in activation in visuo-orthographic regions depended on a task. There were developmental increases in the left inferior temporal gyrus and the right inferior occipital gyrus in the spelling task, suggesting more extensive visuo-orthographic processing in a task that required access to these representations. Conversely, there were developmental decreases in activation in the left fusiform gyrus and left middle occipital gyrus in the rhyming task, suggesting that the development of reading is marked by reduced involvement of orthography in a spoken language task that does not require access to these orthographic representations. Developmental decreases may arise from the existence of extensive homophony (auditory words that have multiple spellings) in Chinese. In addition, we found that 11-year-olds and adults showed similar activation in the left superior temporal gyrus across tasks, with both groups showing greater activation than 9-year-olds. This pattern suggests early development of perceptual representations of phonology. In contrast, 11-year-olds and 9-year-olds showed similar activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus across tasks, with both groups showing weaker activation than adults. This pattern suggests late development of controlled retrieval and selection of lexical representations. Altogether, this study suggests differential effects of character acquisition on development of components of the language network in Chinese as compared to previous reports on alphabetic languages. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Behavioural change phases of different stakeholders involved in the implementation process of ergonomics measures in bricklaying (vol 36, pg 449, 2005)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Molen, H. F.; Sluiter, J. K.; Frings-Dresen, M. H. W.

2005-01-01

The objective of this qualitative study was to assess whether a hypothesised sequential order of behavioural change phases would be fulfilled in different groups of stakeholders involved at the start of a process to implement ergonomic measures in bricklaying teams. The measures include trestles,

Drug involvement in fatal overdoses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher J. Ruhm

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Death certificate data from the Multiple Cause of Death (MCOD files were analyzed to better understand the drug categories most responsible for the increase in fatal overdoses occurring between 1999 and 2014. Statistical adjustment methods were used to account for the understatement in reported drug involvement occurring because death certificates frequently do not specify which drugs were involved in the deaths. The frequency of combination drug use introduced additional uncertainty and so a distinction was made between any versus exclusive drug involvement. Many results were sensitive to the starting and ending years chosen for examination. Opioid analgesics played a major role in the increased drug deaths for analysis windows starting in 1999 but other drugs, particularly heroin, became more significant for recent time periods. Combination drug use was important for all time periods and needs to be accounted for when designing policies to slow or reverse the increase in overdose deaths.

Stakeholder involvement in developing brochures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vargas, M.; Garing, K.; Waldrop, D.

1994-01-01

The Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Environmental Management involved stakeholders (i.e., people who perceive themselves to be affected by the DOE's activities) in a pre-decisional draft of a DOE public document-a practice that the public has called for if the DOE is to begin real public participation. Early and ongoing public input is key to realizing Environmental Management's goal of increasing public participation. The stakeholder review process employed in the development of this document, a brochure outlining public participation information, demonstrates that Environmental Management is open-quotes practicing what it preachesclose quotes about institutionalizing public participation in its program. environmental Management's objective for the brochure is to create a document that uses plain, direct language that encourages citizens to become involved in its decision making process. The information in the brochure provides the public with the information they need to become involved stakeholders. The breadth and volume of comments received assisted in the development of a brochure that includes many viewpoints

Implications of Building Information Modeling on Interior Design Education: The Impact on Teaching Design Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amy Roehl, MFA

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Currently, major shifts occur in design processes effecting business practices for industries involved with designing and delivering the built environment. These changing conditions are a direct result of industry adoption of relatively new technologies called BIM or Building Information Modeling. This review of literature examines implications of these changing processes on interior design education.

NVL2, a nucleolar AAA-ATPase, is associated with the nuclear exosome and is involved in pre-rRNA processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoshikatsu, Yuki [Department of Life Systems, Institute of Technology and Science, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima 770-8506 (Japan); Ishida, Yo-ichi; Sudo, Haruka [Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Meiji Pharmaceutical University, Kiyose, Tokyo 204-8588 (Japan); Yuasa, Keizo; Tsuji, Akihiko [Department of Life Systems, Institute of Technology and Science, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima 770-8506 (Japan); Nagahama, Masami, E-mail: nagahama@my-pharm.ac.jp [Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Meiji Pharmaceutical University, Kiyose, Tokyo 204-8588 (Japan)

2015-08-28

Nuclear VCP-like 2 (NVL2) is a member of the chaperone-like AAA-ATPase family and is involved in the biosynthesis of 60S ribosomal subunits in mammalian cells. We previously showed the interaction of NVL2 with a DExD/H-box RNA helicase MTR4/DOB1, which is a known cofactor for an exoribonuclease complex, the exosome. This finding implicated NVL2 in RNA metabolic processes during ribosome biogenesis. In the present study, we found that a series of mutations within the ATPase domain of NVL2 causes a defect in pre-rRNA processing into mature 28S and 5.8S rRNAs. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis showed that NVL2 was associated with the nuclear exosome complex, which includes RRP6 as a nucleus-specific catalytic subunit. This interaction was prevented by depleting either MTR4 or RRP6, indicating their essential role in mediating this interaction with NVL2. Additionally, knockdown of MPP6, another cofactor for the nuclear exosome, also prevented the interaction by causing MTR4 to dissociate from the nuclear exosome. These results suggest that NVL2 is involved in pre-rRNA processing by associating with the nuclear exosome complex and that MPP6 is required for maintaining the integrity of this rRNA processing complex. - Highlights: • ATPase-deficient mutants of NVL2 have decreased pre-rRNA processing. • NVL2 associates with the nuclear exosome through interactions with MTR4 and RRP6. • MPP6 stabilizes MTR4-RRP6 interaction and allows NVL2 to interact with the complex.

MicroRNA and Cancer: Tiny Molecules with Major Implications

OpenAIRE

VandenBoom II, Timothy G; Li, Yiwei; Philip, Philip A; Sarkar, Fazlul H

2008-01-01

Cancer is currently a major public health problem and, as such, emerging research is making significant progress in identifying major players in its biology. One recent topic of interest involves microRNAs (miRNAs) which are small, non-coding RNA molecules that inhibit gene expression post-transcriptionally. They accomplish this by binding to the 3? untranslated region (3?UTR) of target messengerRNA (mRNA), resulting in either their degradation or inhibition of translation, depending on the d...

Status and functioning of the European Commission's major accident reporting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirchsteiger, C.

1999-01-01

This paper describes the background, functioning and status of the European Commission's Major Accident Reporting System (MARS), dedicated to collect, in a consistent way, data on major industrial accidents involving dangerous substances from the Member States of the European Union, to analyse and statistically process them, and to create subsets of all non-confidential accidents data and analysis results for export to all Member States. This modern information exchange and analysis tool is made up of two connected parts: one for each local unit (i.e., for the Competent Authority of each EU Member State), and one central part for the European Commission. The local, as well as the central parts of this information network, can serve both as data logging systems and, on different levels of complexity, as data analysis tools. The central database allows complex cluster and pattern analysis, identifying and analysing the succession of the disruptive factors leading to an accident. On this basis, 'lessons learned' can be formulated for the industry for the purposes of further accident prevention. Further, results from analysing data of major industrial accidents reported to MARS are presented. It can be shown that some of the main assumptions in the new 'Seveso II Directive' can directly be validated from MARS data. (Copyright (c) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. All rights reserved.)

The major tokamak distruption in cylindrical plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jeong Sik; Choi, Eun Ha; Choi, Duk In

1986-01-01

The mechanism of the major disruption in tokamak plasma which involves the nonlinear interaction of tearing models is numerically studied in two and three dimensional formulations. In this study, it is found that in the two dimensional case with a flattened current density profile the magnetic islands of the m=2; n=1 mode do not saturate nonlinearly and but strongly interact with the limiter. Thus it is suggested that the helical perturbation of the m=2;n=1 mode plays the dominant role in the major disruption. We also show that the m=2;n=1 mode nonlinearly destablizes other tearing modes, especially the m=3;n=2 mode, from the nonlinear coupling of different helicities as also shown in other studies. The plasma extends across the plasma cross section, and the plasma core shifts inward along the major radius during the major disruption. The numerical result for the major disruption time measured using the nonlinear 3-D procedure for the initial value problem with PLT parameters is about 450 μsec which agrees reasonably well with the experimental value of 500 μsec. (Author)

Physical Processes Involved In Yellow Sea Solitary Waves

Science.gov (United States)

Warn-Varnas, A.; Chin-Bing, S.; King, D.; Lamb, K.; Hawkins, J.; Teixeira, M.

The study area is located south of the Shandong peninsula. In this area, soliton gener- ation and propagation studies are per formed with the Lamb(1994) model. The model is nonhydrostatic and is formulated in 2 1/2 dimensions for terrain following c oordi- nates. In the area, 20 to 30 m topographic variations over distances of 10 to 20 km are found to occur in the digit al atlas of Choi (1999). The area is shallow with maximum depths ranging from 40 m to 70 m. Along the southern boundary of the region the semi-diurnal tidal strength magnitude varies from .6 m/sec to 1.2 m/sec, Fang(1994). We show that, for sum mer conditions, the existing physical processes associated with the semi-diurnal tidal flow over the topographic variations , in the shelfbreak region, lead to the formation of internal bores in the model simulations. Through acting phys- ical proce sses, the internal bores propagate on and off the shelf. A disintegration process of internal bores into solitary waves occ urs through frequency and ampli- tude dispersion. SAR observations of the area show images containing six events con- sisting of internal bores and solitary waves that travel in a well-defined direction for two and a half days. The origin of the trains appeared to be at a point along a steep topo graphic drop. The SAR observations are used for guiding and tuning the model simulations, by comparing spectra of observed and modeled wavelengths. The tuned model yields wavelengths that are within a factor of 2 of the SAR data. The modeled amp litudes are within a factor of 2 of amplitudes obtained with a two-layer model and the SAR data The signature on the acoustical field of ongoing physical processes through the interaction of the resultant oceanic struct ure with the acoustical field is pursued. Internal bore and solitary wave structures interact with the acoustic field. A re distribution of acoustical energy to higher acoustical modes occurs at some fre- quencies. Mode decomposition of the

Effect of Feed Composition Changing at Naphtha Catalytic Reforming Unit Due to Involvement of Gasoline Fraction Obtained by Diesel Fuels Hydrodewaxing into the Processing

OpenAIRE

Belinskaya, Natalia Sergeevna; Ivanchina, Emilia Dmitrievna; Ivashkina, Elena Nikolaevna; Frantsina, Evgeniya Vladimirovna; Silko, Galina Yurievna

2014-01-01

One of the primary products of hydrodewaxing process is stable gasoline, which is characterized by low octane number on the one hand. On the other hand, it contains a significant amount of iso-paraffins (on average 45% wt.) and naphthenes (on average 25% wt.), which are reagents in the naphtha catalytic reforming process primary reactions. Feasibility of stable gasoline obtained by means of diesel fuel catalytic hydrodewaxing process involving into the processing at the naphtha catalytic refo...

Forest Soil Bacteria: Diversity, Involvement in Ecosystem Processes, and Response to Global Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Lladó, Salvador; López-Mondéjar, Rubén; Baldrian, Petr

2017-06-01

The ecology of forest soils is an important field of research due to the role of forests as carbon sinks. Consequently, a significant amount of information has been accumulated concerning their ecology, especially for temperate and boreal forests. Although most studies have focused on fungi, forest soil bacteria also play important roles in this environment. In forest soils, bacteria inhabit multiple habitats with specific properties, including bulk soil, rhizosphere, litter, and deadwood habitats, where their communities are shaped by nutrient availability and biotic interactions. Bacteria contribute to a range of essential soil processes involved in the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. They take part in the decomposition of dead plant biomass and are highly important for the decomposition of dead fungal mycelia. In rhizospheres of forest trees, bacteria interact with plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi as commensalists or mycorrhiza helpers. Bacteria also mediate multiple critical steps in the nitrogen cycle, including N fixation. Bacterial communities in forest soils respond to the effects of global change, such as climate warming, increased levels of carbon dioxide, or anthropogenic nitrogen deposition. This response, however, often reflects the specificities of each studied forest ecosystem, and it is still impossible to fully incorporate bacteria into predictive models. The understanding of bacterial ecology in forest soils has advanced dramatically in recent years, but it is still incomplete. The exact extent of the contribution of bacteria to forest ecosystem processes will be recognized only in the future, when the activities of all soil community members are studied simultaneously. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Experimental quantum annealing: case study involving the graph isomorphism problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Zick, Kenneth M; Shehab, Omar; French, Matthew

2015-06-08

Quantum annealing is a proposed combinatorial optimization technique meant to exploit quantum mechanical effects such as tunneling and entanglement. Real-world quantum annealing-based solvers require a combination of annealing and classical pre- and post-processing; at this early stage, little is known about how to partition and optimize the processing. This article presents an experimental case study of quantum annealing and some of the factors involved in real-world solvers, using a 504-qubit D-Wave Two machine and the graph isomorphism problem. To illustrate the role of classical pre-processing, a compact Hamiltonian is presented that enables a reduced Ising model for each problem instance. On random N-vertex graphs, the median number of variables is reduced from N(2) to fewer than N log2 N and solvable graph sizes increase from N = 5 to N = 13. Additionally, error correction via classical post-processing majority voting is evaluated. While the solution times are not competitive with classical approaches to graph isomorphism, the enhanced solver ultimately classified correctly every problem that was mapped to the processor and demonstrated clear advantages over the baseline approach. The results shed some light on the nature of real-world quantum annealing and the associated hybrid classical-quantum solvers.

Getting involved in research.

Science.gov (United States)

Banner, Davina; Grant, Lyle G

2011-01-01

The need for quality nursing research to promote evidence-based practice and optimize patient care is well recognized. This is particularly pertinent in cardiovascular nursing, where cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide (World Health Organization, 2007). Across the spectrum of academic, clinical, and health care administration nursing roles, research remains fundamental to bridging theory, practice, and education (LoBiondo-Wood, Haber, Cameron, & Singh, 2009). Despite recognition of the importance of nursing research, the gap between research and practice continues to be an ongoing issue (Funk, Tornquist, & Champagne, 1995; Pettengill, Gillies, & Clark, 1994; Rizzuto, Bostrom, Suterm, & Chenitz, 1994; Rolfe, 1998). Nurses are appropriately situated to contribute to research that improves clinical outcomes and health service delivery. However, the majority of nurses in clinical practice do not have a significant research component structured into their nursing role. In this research column, the authors outline the importance of nurses being engaged in research and present some different levels of involvement that nurses may assume. A continuum of nursing research involvement includes asking researchable questions, being a savvy consumer of research evidence, finding your own level of research involvement, and aspiring to lead.

The anaerobic digestion process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rivard, C.J. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States); Boone, D.R. [Oregon Graduate Inst., Portland, OR (United States)

1996-01-01

The microbial process of converting organic matter into methane and carbon dioxide is so complex that anaerobic digesters have long been treated as {open_quotes}black boxes.{close_quotes} Research into this process during the past few decades has gradually unraveled this complexity, but many questions remain. The major biochemical reactions for forming methane by methanogens are largely understood, and evolutionary studies indicate that these microbes are as different from bacteria as they are from plants and animals. In anaerobic digesters, methanogens are at the terminus of a metabolic web, in which the reactions of myriads of other microbes produce a very limited range of compounds - mainly acetate, hydrogen, and formate - on which the methanogens grow and from which they form methane. {open_quotes}Interspecies hydrogen-transfer{close_quotes} and {open_quotes}interspecies formate-transfer{close_quotes} are major mechanisms by which methanogens obtain their substrates and by which volatile fatty acids are degraded. Present understanding of these reactions and other complex interactions among the bacteria involved in anaerobic digestion is only now to the point where anaerobic digesters need no longer be treated as black boxes.

Process development for elemental recovery from PGM tailings by thermochemical treatment: Preliminary major element extraction studies using ammonium sulphate as extracting agent.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed, Sameera; van der Merwe, Elizabet M; Altermann, Wladyslaw; Doucet, Frédéric J

2016-04-01

Mine tailings can represent untapped secondary resources of non-ferrous, ferrous, precious, rare and trace metals. Continuous research is conducted to identify opportunities for the utilisation of these materials. This preliminary study investigated the possibility of extracting major elements from South African tailings associated with the mining of Platinum Group Metals (PGM) at the Two Rivers mine operations. These PGM tailings typically contain four major elements (11% Al2O3; 12% MgO; 22% Fe2O3; 34% Cr2O3), with lesser amounts of SiO2 (18%) and CaO (2%). Extraction was achieved via thermochemical treatment followed by aqueous dissolution, as an alternative to conventional hydrometallurgical processes. The thermochemical treatment step used ammonium sulphate, a widely available, low-cost, recyclable chemical agent. Quantification of the efficiency of the thermochemical process required the development and optimisation of the dissolution technique. Dissolution in water promoted the formation of secondary iron precipitates, which could be prevented by leaching thermochemically-treated tailings in 0.6M HNO3 solution. The best extraction efficiencies were achieved for aluminium (ca. 60%) and calcium (ca. 80%). 35% iron and 32% silicon were also extracted, alongside chromium (27%) and magnesium (25%). Thermochemical treatment using ammonium sulphate may therefore represent a promising technology for extracting valuable elements from PGM tailings, which could be subsequently converted to value-added products. However, it is not element-selective, and major elements were found to compete with the reagent to form water-soluble sulphate-metal species. Further development of this integrated process, which aims at achieving the full potential of utilisation of PGM tailings, is currently underway. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Major hazards onshore and offshore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

This symposium continues the tradition of bringing together papers on a topic of current interest and importance in terms of process safety - in this case, Major Hazards Onshore and Offshore. Lord Cullen in his report on the Piper Alpha disaster has, in effect, suggested that the experience gained in the control of major hazards onshore during the 1980s should be applied to improve safety offshore during the 1990s. This major three-day symposium reviews what has been learned so far with regard to major hazards and considers its present and future applications both onshore and offshore. The topics covered in the programme are wide ranging and deal with all aspects of legislation, the application of regulations, techniques for evaluating hazards and prescribing safety measures in design, construction and operation, the importance of the human factors, and recent technical developments in protective measures, relief venting and predicting the consequences of fires and explosions. (author)

Effect of Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning on Non-majors Biology Students' Understanding of Biological Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Wozniak, Breann M.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of process-oriented guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) on non-majors college biology students' understanding of biological classification. This study addressed an area of science instruction, POGIL in the non-majors college biology laboratory, which has yet to be qualitatively and quantitatively researched. A concurrent triangulation mixed methods approach was used. Students' understanding of biological classification was measured in two areas: scores on pre and posttests (consisting of 11 multiple choice questions), and conceptions of classification as elicited in pre and post interviews and instructor reflections. Participants were Minnesota State University, Mankato students enrolled in BIOL 100 Summer Session. One section was taught with the traditional curriculum (n = 6) and the other section in the POGIL curriculum (n = 10) developed by the researcher. Three students from each section were selected to take part in pre and post interviews. There were no significant differences within each teaching method (p familiar animal categories and aquatic habitats, unfamiliar organisms, combining and subdividing initial groupings, and the hierarchical nature of classification. The POGIL students were the only group to surpass these challenges after the teaching intervention. This study shows that POGIL is an effective technique at eliciting students' misconceptions, and addressing these misconceptions, leading to an increase in student understanding of biological classification.

Automotive HMI design and participatory user involvement: review and perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

François, Mathilde; Osiurak, François; Fort, Alexandra; Crave, Philippe; Navarro, Jordan

2017-04-01

Automotive human-machine interface (HMI) design is facing new challenges due to the technological advances of the last decades. The design process has to be adapted in order to address human factors and road safety challenges. It is now widely accepted that user involvement in the HMI design process is valuable. However, the current form of user involvement in industry remains at the stages of concept assessment and usability tests. Moreover, the literature in other fields (e.g. information systems) promotes a broader user involvement with participatory design (i.e. the user is fully involved in the development process). This article reviews the established benefits of participatory design and reveals perspectives for automotive HMI quality improvement in a cognitive ergonomic framework. Practitioner Summary: Automotive HMI quality determines, in part, drivers' ability to perform primary driving tasks while using in-vehicle devices. User involvement in the design process is a key point to contribute to HMI quality. This article reports the potential benefits of a broad involvement from drivers to meet automotive HMI design challenges.

Equations involving Malliavin calculus operators applications and numerical approximation

CERN Document Server

Levajković, Tijana

2017-01-01

This book provides a comprehensive and unified introduction to stochastic differential equations and related optimal control problems. The material is new and the presentation is reader-friendly. A major contribution of the book is the development of generalized Malliavin calculus in the framework of white noise analysis, based on chaos expansion representation of stochastic processes and its application for solving several classes of stochastic differential equations with singular data involving the main operators of Malliavin calculus. In addition, applications in optimal control and numerical approximations are discussed.  The book is divided into four chapters. The first, entitled White Noise Analysis and Chaos Expansions, includes notation and provides the reader with the theoretical background needed to understand the subsequent chapters.  In Chapter 2, Generalized Operators of Malliavin Calculus, the Malliavin derivative operator, the Skorokhod integral and the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck operator are introdu...

Major hydrogeochemical processes in an acid mine drainage affected estuary.

Science.gov (United States)

Asta, Maria P; Calleja, Maria Ll; Pérez-López, Rafael; Auqué, Luis F

2015-02-15

This study provides geochemical data with the aim of identifying and quantifying the main processes occurring in an Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) affected estuary. With that purpose, water samples of the Huelva estuary were collected during a tidal half-cycle and ion-ion plots and geochemical modeling were performed to obtain a general conceptual model. Modeling results indicated that the main processes responsible for the hydrochemical evolution of the waters are: (i) the mixing of acid fluvial water with alkaline ocean water; (ii) precipitation of Fe oxyhydroxysulfates (schwertmannite) and hydroxides (ferrihydrite); (iii) precipitation of Al hydroxysulfates (jurbanite) and hydroxides (amorphous Al(OH)3); (iv) dissolution of calcite; and (v) dissolution of gypsum. All these processes, thermodynamically feasible in the light of their calculated saturation states, were quantified by mass-balance calculations and validated by reaction-path calculations. In addition, sorption processes were deduced by the non-conservative behavior of some elements (e.g., Cu and Zn). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Veteran preferences for romantic partner involvement in depression treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Hershenberg, Rachel; Mavandadi, Shahrzad; Klaus, Johanna R; Oslin, David W; Sayers, Steven L

2014-01-01

The objective was to examine Veterans' preferences for romantic partner involvement in depression treatment and patient characteristics that are associated with the likelihood of preferred involvement. One hundred seventy-nine Veterans who met criteria for major or minor depression reported if they wanted their partners to give them medication reminders, accompany them to appointments, and speak with their treatment provider. Greater depression severity and wanting a partner to be less critical and more encouraging were associated with greater preferences for involvement. Veterans may view their partners' involvement in depression treatment as one opportunity for partners to decrease blame or understand more about their problems. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Technological transitions as evolutionary configuration processes: A multi-level perspective and a case-study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geels, F.W.

2002-01-01

This paper addresses the question of how technological transitions (TT) come about? Are there particular patterns and mechanisms in transition processes? TT are defined as major, long-term technological changes in the way societal functions are fulfilled. TT do not only involve changes in

Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: a multi-level perspective and a case study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geels, F.W.

2002-01-01

This paper addresses the question of how technological transitions (TT) come about? Are there particular patterns and mechanisms in transition processes? TT are defined as major, long-term technological changes in the way societal functions are fulfilled. TT do not only involve changes in

Consumer involvement in dietary guideline development: opinions from European stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Kerry A; Hermoso, Maria; Timotijevic, Lada; Barnett, Julie; Lillegaard, Inger Therese L; Řehůřková, Irena; Larrañaga, Ainhoa; Lončarević-Srmić, Azra; Andersen, Lene Frost; Ruprich, Jiří; Fernández-Celemín, Laura; Raats, Monique M

2013-05-01

The involvement of consumers in the development of dietary guidelines has been promoted by national and international bodies. Yet, few best practice guidelines have been established to assist with such involvement. Qualitative semi-structured interviews explored stakeholders' beliefs about consumer involvement in dietary guideline development. Interviews were conducted in six European countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Serbia, Spain and the UK. Seventy-seven stakeholders were interviewed. Stakeholders were grouped as government, scientific advisory body, professional and academic, industry or non-government organisations. Response rate ranged from 45 % to 95 %. Thematic analysis was conducted with the assistance of NVivo qualitative software. Analysis identified two main themes: (i) type of consumer involvement and (ii) pros and cons of consumer involvement. Direct consumer involvement (e.g. consumer organisations) in the decision-making process was discussed as a facilitator to guideline communication towards the end of the process. Indirect consumer involvement (e.g. consumer research data) was considered at both the beginning and the end of the process. Cons to consumer involvement included the effect of vested interests on objectivity; consumer disinterest; and complications in terms of time, finance and technical understanding. Pros related to increased credibility and trust in the process. Stakeholders acknowledged benefits to consumer involvement during the development of dietary guidelines, but remained unclear on the advantage of direct contributions to the scientific content of guidelines. In the absence of established best practice, clarity on the type and reasons for consumer involvement would benefit all actors.

Review of computational fluid dynamics applications in biotechnology processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, C; Malhotra, D; Rathore, A S

2011-01-01

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is well established as a tool of choice for solving problems that involve one or more of the following phenomena: flow of fluids, heat transfer,mass transfer, and chemical reaction. Unit operations that are commonly utilized in biotechnology processes are often complex and as such would greatly benefit from application of CFD. The thirst for deeper process and product understanding that has arisen out of initiatives such as quality by design provides further impetus toward usefulness of CFD for problems that may otherwise require extensive experimentation. Not surprisingly, there has been increasing interest in applying CFD toward a variety of applications in biotechnology processing in the last decade. In this article, we will review applications in the major unit operations involved with processing of biotechnology products. These include fermentation,centrifugation, chromatography, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, and freeze drying. We feel that the future applications of CFD in biotechnology processing will focus on establishing CFD as a tool of choice for providing process understanding that can be then used to guide more efficient and effective experimentation. This article puts special emphasis on the work done in the last 10 years. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers

Business process re-engineering in service operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClintock, J.W.

1995-01-01

The concept of business process re-engineering, and how it was applied to the operations of the Consumers Gas Company were discussed. Business process re-engineering was defined as the improvement of the efficiency of the customer-service process, and the overall improvement of practices and operations. The re-engineering project was said to involve a thorough analysis of information technology, current limitations, and business operational needs, undertaken on an enterprise-wide basis. Viewed generically,a re-engineering project was said to have six major components: (1) business drivers (i.e. the articulation of the Company's strategic issues); (2) benchmark measures; (3) future state process models; (4) cost/benefit analysis; (5) a change management plan; and (6) a development plan. Business improvements expected to result from the project include reduced cost of operation, reduction of waste, and a substantially complete re-design of the business process. Management of the project involved a team approach, and help of a consultant to identify the scope of the re-design, its limitations, and future state. A life expectancy of approximately 10 years was given for the re-engineering plan, with annual benefits (in terms of cost reduction) of $4.6 million by the year 2000

Trace and major element pollution originating from coal ash suspension and transport processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Popovic, A.; Djordjevic, D.; Polic, P. [University of Belgrade, Belgrade (Yugoslavia). Faculty of Science, Dept. of Chemistry

2001-07-01

Coal ash obtained from Nikola Tesla A power plant in Obrenovac, near Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is mixed with water of the Sava river and transported to the dump. In order to assess pollution caused by leaching of some minor and major elements during ash transport through the pipeline, two sets of samples (six samples each) were subjected to a modified sequential extraction. The first set consisted of coal ash samples taken immediately after combustion, while the second set was obtained by extraction with river water, imitating the processes that occur in the pipeline. Samples were extracted consecutively with distilled water and a 1 M solution of KCl, pH 7, and the differences in extractability were compared in order to predict potential pollution. It is concluded that lead and cadmium do not present an environmental threat during and immediately after ash transport to the dump. Portions of zinc, nickel and chromium are released during the ash transport, and arsenic and manganese are released continuously. Copper and iron do not present an environmental threat due to element leaching during and immediately after the coal ash suspension and transport. On the contrary, these elements, as well as chromium, become concentrated during coal ash transport. Adsorbed portions of calcium, magnesium and potassium are also leached during coal ash transport.

Are cognitive "insomnia" processes involved in the development and maintenance of delayed sleep wake phase disorder?

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Cele E; Gradisar, Michael; Barbero, Sebastian C

2016-04-01

Although individuals with delayed sleep wake phase disorder (DSWPD) and chronic insomnia disorder (CID) share many of the same phenomenological experiences, theories relating to the development and maintenance of these disorders are distinct in focus. Unlike CID, theory relating to DSWPD is primarily physiologically based and assumes almost no cognitive pathway. However, recent research findings suggest that individuals with DSWPD also display many of the sleep-disordered cognitive processes that were previously assumed to be unique to the insomnia experience. As such, this review aims to summarise current research findings to address the question "Could cognitive processes be involved in the development and maintenance of DSWPD?" In particular, the presence of cognitive and physiological pre-sleep arousal, sleep-related attentional bias, distorted perception of sleep and daytime functioning, dysfunctional beliefs and safety behaviours will be investigated. As this emerging area of research requires a stronger evidence base, we highlight suggestions for future investigation and provide preliminary practice points for clinicians assessing and treating "insomnia" in patients with DSWPD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differential involvement of glutamate-gated chloride channel splice variants in the olfactory memory processes of the honeybee Apis mellifera.

Science.gov (United States)

Démares, Fabien; Drouard, Florian; Massou, Isabelle; Crattelet, Cindy; Lœuillet, Aurore; Bettiol, Célia; Raymond, Valérie; Armengaud, Catherine

2014-09-01

Glutamate-gated chloride channels (GluCl) belong to the cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel superfamily and their expression had been described in several invertebrate nervous systems. In the honeybee, a unique gene amel_glucl encodes two alternatively spliced subunits, Amel_GluCl A and Amel_GluCl B. The expression and differential localization of those variants in the honeybee brain had been previously reported. Here we characterized the involvement of each variant in olfactory learning and memory processes, using specific small-interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting each variant. Firstly, the efficacy of the two siRNAs to decrease their targets' expression was tested, both at mRNA and protein levels. The two proteins showed a decrease of their respective expression 24h after injection. Secondly, each siRNA was injected into the brain to test whether or not it affected olfactory memory by using a classical paradigm of conditioning the proboscis extension reflex (PER). Amel_GluCl A was found to be involved only in retrieval of 1-nonanol, whereas Amel_GluCl B was involved in the PER response to 2-hexanol used as a conditioned stimulus or as new odorant. Here for the first time, a differential behavioral involvement of two highly similar GluCl subunits has been characterized in an invertebrate species. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Meaningful community involvement in protected area issues: a dialogue session

Science.gov (United States)

Laurie Yung

2000-01-01

The current effort to rethink public involvement in decision-making processes for federal lands is gaining momentum. Advocates of alternative decision-making processes seek to involve communities in more meaningful ways than traditional NEPA-style public participation. These new processes take the form of citizen monitoring, partnerships, and most often, collaboration...

Major hydrogeochemical processes in an Acid Mine Drainage affected estuary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asta, Maria P.; Calleja, Maria Ll.; Pérez-López, Rafael; Auqué, Luis F.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Mixing of acid riverine water with alkaline seawater was studied in an estuary. • Combination of data and geochemical tools allowed modeling the water mixing. • The main geochemical processes were identified and for the first time quantified. • Water chemistry is the result of mixing, dissolution-precipitation and sorption. • Main reactions: gypsum and calcite dissolution and Al and Fe solids precipitation. - Abstract: This study provides geochemical data with the aim of identifying and quantifying the main processes occurring in an Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) affected estuary. With that purpose, water samples of the Huelva estuary were collected during a tidal half-cycle and ion–ion plots and geochemical modeling were performed to obtain a general conceptual model. Modeling results indicated that the main processes responsible for the hydrochemical evolution of the waters are: (i) the mixing of acid fluvial water with alkaline ocean water; (ii) precipitation of Fe oxyhydroxysulfates (schwertmannite) and hydroxides (ferrihydrite); (iii) precipitation of Al hydroxysulfates (jurbanite) and hydroxides (amorphous Al(OH) 3 ); (iv) dissolution of calcite; and (v) dissolution of gypsum. All these processes, thermodynamically feasible in the light of their calculated saturation states, were quantified by mass-balance calculations and validated by reaction-path calculations. In addition, sorption processes were deduced by the non-conservative behavior of some elements (e.g., Cu and Zn)

Information support for major public events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

The unique capabilities of the IAEA illicit trafficking database is used to provide information on and assesment of illicit trafficking and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and other radioactive materials to national authorities in charge of nuclear security of major public events. The information communicated to state parties cooperating with IAEA is on incidences confirmed to the agency on illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive materials and also incidences reported in open sources which have not been confirmed.

Neurobiology of Major Depressive Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Villanueva

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We survey studies which relate abnormal neurogenesis to major depressive disorder. Clinically, descriptive gene and protein expression analysis and genetic and functional studies revised here show that individual alterations of a complex signaling network, which includes the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; the production of neurotrophins and growth factors; the expression of miRNAs; the production of proinflammatory cytokines; and, even, the abnormal delivery of gastrointestinal signaling peptides, are able to induce major mood alterations. Furthermore, all of these factors modulate neurogenesis in brain regions involved in MDD, and are functionally interconnected in such a fashion that initial alteration in one of them results in abnormalities in the others. We highlight data of potential diagnostic significance and the relevance of this information to develop new therapeutic approaches. Controversial issues, such as whether neurogenesis is the basis of the disease or whether it is a response induced by antidepressant treatments, are also discussed.

Status and potential of atmospheric plasma processing of materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pappas, Daphne [United States Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland 21005 (United States)

2011-03-15

This paper is a review of the current status and potential of atmospheric plasma technology for materials processing. The main focus is the recent developments in the area of dielectric barrier discharges with emphasis in the functionalization of polymers, deposition of organic and inorganic coatings, and plasma processing of biomaterials. A brief overview of both the equipment being used and the physicochemical reactions occurring in the gas phase is also presented. Atmospheric plasma technology offers major industrial, economic, and environmental advantages over other conventional processing methods. At the same time there is also tremendous potential for future research and applications involving both the industrial and academic world.

Status and potential of atmospheric plasma processing of materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pappas, Daphne

2011-01-01

This paper is a review of the current status and potential of atmospheric plasma technology for materials processing. The main focus is the recent developments in the area of dielectric barrier discharges with emphasis in the functionalization of polymers, deposition of organic and inorganic coatings, and plasma processing of biomaterials. A brief overview of both the equipment being used and the physicochemical reactions occurring in the gas phase is also presented. Atmospheric plasma technology offers major industrial, economic, and environmental advantages over other conventional processing methods. At the same time there is also tremendous potential for future research and applications involving both the industrial and academic world.

The endocannabinoid system in brain reward processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Solinas, M; Goldberg, S R; Piomelli, D

2008-05-01

Food, drugs and brain stimulation can serve as strong rewarding stimuli and are all believed to activate common brain circuits that evolved in mammals to favour fitness and survival. For decades, endogenous dopaminergic and opioid systems have been considered the most important systems in mediating brain reward processes. Recent evidence suggests that the endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) system also has an important role in signalling of rewarding events. First, CB(1) receptors are found in brain areas involved in reward processes, such as the dopaminergic mesolimbic system. Second, activation of CB(1) receptors by plant-derived, synthetic or endogenous CB(1) receptor agonists stimulates dopaminergic neurotransmission, produces rewarding effects and increases rewarding effects of abused drugs and food. Third, pharmacological or genetic blockade of CB(1) receptors prevents activation of dopaminergic neurotransmission by several addictive drugs and reduces rewarding effects of food and these drugs. Fourth, brain levels of the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol are altered by activation of reward processes. However, the intrinsic activity of the endocannabinoid system does not appear to play a facilitatory role in brain stimulation reward and some evidence suggests it may even oppose it. The influence of the endocannabinoid system on brain reward processes may depend on the degree of activation of the different brain areas involved and might represent a mechanism for fine-tuning dopaminergic activity. Although involvement of the various components of the endocannabinoid system may differ depending on the type of rewarding event investigated, this system appears to play a major role in modulating reward processes.

Factors that influence the way local communities respond to consultation processes about major service change: A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Barratt, Helen; Harrison, David A; Raine, Rosalind; Fulop, Naomi J

2015-09-01

In England, proposed service changes such as Emergency Department closures typically face local opposition. Consequently, public consultation exercises often involve protracted, hostile debates. This study examined a process aimed at engaging a community in decision-making about service reconfiguration, and the public response to this process. A documentary analysis was conducted to map consultation methods used in an urban area of England where plans to consolidate hospital services on fewer sites were under discussion. In-depth interviews (n=20) were conducted with parents, older people, and patient representatives. The analysis combined inductive and deductive approaches, informed by risk communication theories. The commissioners provided a large volume of information about the changes, alongside a programme of public events. However, the complexity of the process, together with what members of the public perceived to be the commissioners' dismissal of their concerns, led the community to question their motivation. This was compounded by a widespread perception that the proposals were financially driven. Government policy emphasises the importance of clinical leadership and 'evidence' in public consultation. However, an engagement process based on this approach fuelled hostility to the proposals. Policymakers should not assume communities can be persuaded to accommodate service change which may result in reduced access to care. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Majority and minority influence: A dual role interpretation

OpenAIRE

de Vries, N.K.; de Dreu, C.; Gordijn, E.; Schuurman, M.

1996-01-01

This chapter offers an analysis of majority vs. minority influence using the Heuristic-Systematic Model of persuasion (HSM). We evaluate evidence for and against leading perspectives such as Conversion Theory. Next, research and theory is reviewed suggesting that majority vs. minority influence differentially affect the processing of persuasive arguments. A dual-role interpretation of majority and minority influence is presented. First, numerical support for discrepant messages affects the de...

Personnel involved in nuclear standards development: 1980 directory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carr, S.J.

1980-03-01

The development of nuclear standards is an active and necessary endeavor that is concerned with the safe, orderly, and economic development of nuclear potential. There are almost 4100 people from the teachnical community who are presently involved either in writing nuclear standards, including codes, or in the management and processing roles necessary for their approval and promulgation. This document identifies the current participation of each individual as member, chairman, cochairman (vice-chairman), or secretary of about 700 standards development committees and groups. The standards committees and groups are identified with the organizations that are responsible for the preparation, review, and maintenance of the standards and that provide support through supervisory committees and headquarters staff. This directory includes four major sections: personnel, employers, committees, and a Key-Word-in-Context (KWIC) Index of committee titles. It can also be used to identify the participation of employers as well as to recognize the contributions of individuals to the often interdisciplinary activity of standards development

Personnel involved in nuclear standards development: 1980 directory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carr, S.J. (ed.)

1980-03-01

The development of nuclear standards is an active and necessary endeavor that is concerned with the safe, orderly, and economic development of nuclear potential. There are almost 4100 people from the teachnical community who are presently involved either in writing nuclear standards, including codes, or in the management and processing roles necessary for their approval and promulgation. This document identifies the current participation of each individual as member, chairman, cochairman (vice-chairman), or secretary of about 700 standards development committees and groups. The standards committees and groups are identified with the organizations that are responsible for the preparation, review, and maintenance of the standards and that provide support through supervisory committees and headquarters staff. This directory includes four major sections: personnel, employers, committees, and a Key-Word-in-Context (KWIC) Index of committee titles. It can also be used to identify the participation of employers as well as to recognize the contributions of individuals to the often interdisciplinary activity of standards development.

The problem of the involvement of the off-balance reserves of the metallic ores into the production process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. I. Golik

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The underground mining of the ore deposits by means of the intensive methods of the traditional technologies is characterized by the loss of the reserves, which are off-balance for the technologies applied. The experience, which was accumulated by the state-of-the-art enterprises before the economic reforms and the crisis indicates, that it is possible to decrease the loss of metals. This can be assumed by means of involving the off-balance reserves into the production process with the metal lixiviation during closed work. The purpose of the present-day research is the substantiation of the technical possibility and economic reasonability of the lixiviation of metals from the off-balance reserves and poorly balance ores. The correct estimation of the perspectives of those combined technology is still one of the purposes. It is a matter of fact that combining traditional technologies of the underground mining with new ones concerned with the creation of the effective lixiviation of metals from ores can be carried out with the two-stage processing. It happens when the excavation of some amount of the balance reserves creates the compensational space for crushing off-balance reserves. Involving off-balance ores into the production process solves a set of the mining production problems. For example, the fullness of mineral resources usage, the strengthening of the resource base, the reduction of load of the environment and the security of works. The involvement of the off-balance reserves into the development in the course of the revaluation of the resources and in the technological facilities of the development in the context of the growth of the scale of production reduces the production price to the competitive level. The field of application of these results is in the mining enterprises which extract solid metal-containing ores by means of the underground mining. These ores are mostly of the nonferrous, rare and precious metals, which are easily

Analysis of the Proteolytic Processing of ABCA3: Identification of Cleavage Site and Involved Proteases.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicole Hofmann

Full Text Available ABCA3 is a lipid transporter in the limiting membrane of lamellar bodies in alveolar type II cells. Mutations in the ABCA3 gene cause respiratory distress syndrome in new-borns and childhood interstitial lung disease. ABCA3 is N-terminally cleaved by an as yet unknown protease, a process believed to regulate ABCA3 activity.The exact site where ABCA3 is cleaved was localized using mass spectrometry (MS. Proteases involved in ABCA3 processing were identified using small molecule inhibitors and siRNA mediated gene knockdown. Results were verified by in vitro digestion of a synthetic peptide substrate mimicking ABCA3's cleavage region, followed by MS analysis.We found that cleavage of ABCA3 occurs after Lys174 which is located in the proteins' first luminal loop. Inhibition of cathepsin L and, to a lesser extent, cathepsin B resulted in attenuation of ABCA3 cleavage. Both enzymes showed activity against the ABCA3 peptide in vitro with cathepsin L being more active.We show here that, like some other proteins of the lysosomal membrane, ABCA3 is a substrate of cathepsin L. Therefore, cathepsin L may represent a potential target to therapeutically influence ABCA3 activity in ABCA3-associated lung disease.

Parent attitudes toward integrating parent involvement into teenage driver education courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartos, Jessica; Huff, David C

2008-01-01

The widespread adoption of graduated driver licensing (GDL) policies has effectively reduced crash risk for young drivers; however, parents must support, reinforce, and enforce GDL for it to be effective, and research indicates that parents need better information and instruction for adhering to GDL requirements, conducting supervised practice driving, and restricting independent teenage driving. Because teenagers in most states must take driver education to enter the licensing process prior to age 18, integrating parent involvement into driver education may be an effective way to inform and instruct parents on a large scale about teen driver safety. This study assessed parent attitudes (overall and by rural status, minority status, and income level) toward integrating parent involvement into teenage driver education classes. In this study, 321 parents of teenagers enrolled in driver education classes across the state of Montana completed surveys about current involvement in driver education and attitudes toward required involvement. The results indicated that parents were not very involved currently in their teenagers' driver education classes, but 76% reported that parents should be required to be involved. If involvement were required, parents would prefer having written materials sent home, access to information over the Internet, or discussions in person with the instructor; far fewer would prefer to attend classes or behind-the-wheel driving instruction. There were few differences in parent attitudes by rural or minority status but many by income level. Compared to higher income parents, lower income parents were more likely to endorse required parent involvement in teenage driver education classes and to want parent information from driver education about many teen driving issues. That the majority of parents are open to required involvement in their teenagers' driver education classes is promising because doing so could better prepare parents to understand

Circadian Phenotype Composition is a Major Predictor of Diurnal Physical Performance in Teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Facer-Childs, Elise; Brandstaetter, Roland

2015-01-01

Team performance is a complex phenomenon involving numerous influencing factors including physiology, psychology, and management. Biological rhythms and the impact of circadian phenotype have not been studied for their contribution to this array of factors so far despite our knowledge of the circadian regulation of key physiological processes involved in physical and mental performance. This study involved 216 individuals from 12 different teams who were categorized into circadian phenotypes using the novel RBUB chronometric test. The composition of circadian phenotypes within each team was used to model predicted daily team performance profiles based on physical performance tests. Our results show that the composition of circadian phenotypes within teams is variable and unpredictable. Predicted physical peak performance ranged from 1:52 to 8:59 p.m. with performance levels fluctuating by up to 14.88% over the course of the day. The major predictor for peak performance time in the course of a day in a team is the occurrence of late circadian phenotypes. We conclude that circadian phenotype is a performance indicator in teams that allows new insight and a better understanding of team performance variation in the course of a day as often observed in different groupings of individuals.

Measuring and improving the quality of postoperative epidural analgesia for major abdominal surgery using statistical process control charts.

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, Fiona; Haigh, Carol

2013-10-01

To explore and improve the quality of continuous epidural analgesia for pain relief using Statistical Process Control tools. Measuring the quality of pain management interventions is complex. Intermittent audits do not accurately capture the results of quality improvement initiatives. The failure rate for one intervention, epidural analgesia, is approximately 30% in everyday practice, so it is an important area for improvement. Continuous measurement and analysis are required to understand the multiple factors involved in providing effective pain relief. Process control and quality improvement Routine prospectively acquired data collection started in 2006. Patients were asked about their pain and side effects of treatment. Statistical Process Control methods were applied for continuous data analysis. A multidisciplinary group worked together to identify reasons for variation in the data and instigated ideas for improvement. The key measure for improvement was a reduction in the percentage of patients with an epidural in severe pain. The baseline control charts illustrated the recorded variation in the rate of several processes and outcomes for 293 surgical patients. The mean visual analogue pain score (VNRS) was four. There was no special cause variation when data were stratified by surgeons, clinical area or patients who had experienced pain before surgery. Fifty-seven per cent of patients were hypotensive on the first day after surgery. We were able to demonstrate a significant improvement in the failure rate of epidurals as the project continued with quality improvement interventions. Statistical Process Control is a useful tool for measuring and improving the quality of pain management. The applications of Statistical Process Control methods offer the potential to learn more about the process of change and outcomes in an Acute Pain Service both locally and nationally. We have been able to develop measures for improvement and benchmarking in routine care that

Active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production involving continuous processes--a process system engineering (PSE)-assisted design framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Cervera-Padrell, Albert E; Skovby, Tommy; Kiil, Søren; Gani, Rafiqul; Gernaey, Krist V

2012-10-01

A systematic framework is proposed for the design of continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Specifically, the design framework focuses on organic chemistry based, active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) synthetic processes, but could potentially be extended to biocatalytic and fermentation-based products. The method exploits the synergic combination of continuous flow technologies (e.g., microfluidic techniques) and process systems engineering (PSE) methods and tools for faster process design and increased process understanding throughout the whole drug product and process development cycle. The design framework structures the many different and challenging design problems (e.g., solvent selection, reactor design, and design of separation and purification operations), driving the user from the initial drug discovery steps--where process knowledge is very limited--toward the detailed design and analysis. Examples from the literature of PSE methods and tools applied to pharmaceutical process design and novel pharmaceutical production technologies are provided along the text, assisting in the accumulation and interpretation of process knowledge. Different criteria are suggested for the selection of batch and continuous processes so that the whole design results in low capital and operational costs as well as low environmental footprint. The design framework has been applied to the retrofit of an existing batch-wise process used by H. Lundbeck A/S to produce an API: zuclopenthixol. Some of its batch operations were successfully converted into continuous mode, obtaining higher yields that allowed a significant simplification of the whole process. The material and environmental footprint of the process--evaluated through the process mass intensity index, that is, kg of material used per kg of product--was reduced to half of its initial value, with potential for further reduction. The case-study includes reaction steps typically used by the pharmaceutical

Public involvement: the critical path in siting controversial facilities. Proceedings of the Nuclear Energy Low-Level Waste Mangement Program conference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

The purpose of the conference was to: exchange information among those responsible for, or interested in, the development of new low-level waste disposal facilities; acquaint participants with past experiences of states and organizations in enfranchising the public in the siting of controversial facilities; and discuss various mechanisms and techniques for effectively involving the public in decision-making processes. The conference addressed four major topics: lessons from past experiences; mechanisms and techniques for public involvement, conflict resolution, and working constructively with the media. A series of presentations on each topic was followed by questions and discussion among presenters and conference participants. Several key points emerged as the conference proceeded

PERSPECTIVES ON MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM PROCESSES AMONG HEALTHCARE EXECUTIVES: PROCESSES THAT FACILITATE TEAM EFFECTIVENESS.

Science.gov (United States)

Landry, Amy; Erwin, Cathleen

2015-01-01

Multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) are used in healthcare organizations to address both clinical and managerial functions. Despite their prevalence, little is known about how team processes work to facilitate effectiveness among MDT leadership teams. This study explores perceptions of MDT participation experienced by organizational leaders in healthcare organizations in the United States. A survey of American College of Healthcare Executives members was conducted to assess involvement and perceptions of MDTs among health care management professionals. Descriptive statistics, independent T-Tests and Chi-square analyses were used to examine participation in MDTs, perception of MDT processes, and the association of participation and perceived processes with employee and organizational characteristics. The survey yielded a sample comprised of 492 healthcare executive or executive-track employees. An overwhelming majority indicated participation in MDTs. The study identified team processes that could use improvement including communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution. The study provides evidence that can help guide the development of training programs that focus on providing managerial leaders with strategies aimed at improving communication, coordination, and conflict resolution that will improve the effectiveness of MDT functioning in healthcare organizations.

Teacher Involvement in Adult Marketing Education: Impeding Factors and Enhancing Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Price, William T., Jr.

1988-01-01

Using the nominal group technique, 60 of the 323 high school marketing teachers in Virginia identified major factors impeding their involvement in adult marketing education as lack of time and demands of the job. Insufficient compensation for working with adults and lack of administrator support also inhibited teacher involvement in adult…

Rho family GTP binding proteins are involved in the regulatory volume decrease process in NIH3T3 mouse fibroblasts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Stine F; Beisner, Kristine H; Willumsen, Berthe M

2002-01-01

The role of Rho GTPases in the regulatory volume decrease (RVD) process following osmotic cell swelling is controversial and has so far only been investigated for the swelling-activated Cl- efflux. We investigated the involvement of RhoA in the RVD process in NIH3T3 mouse fibroblasts, using wild......-type cells and three clones expressing constitutively active RhoA (RhoAV14). RhoAV14 expression resulted in an up to fourfold increase in the rate of RVD, measured by large-angle light scattering. The increase in RVD rate correlated with RhoAV14 expression. RVD in wild-type cells was unaffected by the Rho...

Processes involved in pion capture in hydrogen-containing molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horvath, D.

1983-03-01

A systematic analysis is presented of the possible elementary processes determining the fate of negative pions stopped in hydrogen-containing samples. Using a phenomenological description in comparison with the available experimental information on pion capture in hydrogen, it is shown that the formation and decay of pπ - atoms in compounds Zsub(m)Hsub(n) are determined mainly by the processes of Auger capture in a molecular orbit ZHπ - , transition from molecular to atomic orbit, transfer of pions to atoms Z in collisions pπ - +Z, and nuclear capture in collisions pπ - +H. The recent assumption of a considerable role of the processes of radiative atomic capture in bound hydrogen atoms, nuclear capture of pions by protons from the molecular state ZHπ - , or 'inner' transfer of the pion via tunnelling through the bond Z-H is not supported by the theory and contradicts the experimental data

Types of parents’ involvement in early childhood development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara Chojnacka-Synaszko

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Depending on their involvement in assisting their child’s development, parents may have various chances of improving and refining their childcare, parenting, and therapeutic methods. The objective of this study was to learn the opinions of the parents of children covered by the early intervention/early assisted-development programme regarding their own involvement in the processes, and determining which types of involvement, whether active or passive, the parents seem to practice. The empirical material was acquired in a survey conducted in the form of a questionnaire in May 2015 and June 2016, covering a total of 143 parents. According to our results, the respondents not only follow the recommendations provided by the specialists based at a given support centre (96.5%, but also actively seek information and knowledge related to activities and measures aimed at assisting their child’s development, incorporating them in daily childcare and education routine (88.8%. Most respondents (65% actively seek the specialists’ advice and opinion related to  the child’s education and development as well as keep the child company at the appointments, sessions, and activities held at the centre (63.65%. A large majority (90.2% combine various types of “active” (self-inspired involvement with “passive” (specialist-inspired involvement of supportive character. Each of the parents covered by the study engages in assisting the child’s development at home according to the specialists’ recommendations, or we might say, as inspired by the specialist team. There is a need for enhancing the parents’ “active” (self-inspired involvement in the child’s situation at the centre (encouraging initiativetaking as well as the parents’ specialist-inspired involvement in the child’s situation at the centre.

Generalized Majority Logic Criterion to Analyze the Statistical Strength of S-Boxes

Science.gov (United States)

Hussain, Iqtadar; Shah, Tariq; Gondal, Muhammad Asif; Mahmood, Hasan

2012-05-01

The majority logic criterion is applicable in the evaluation process of substitution boxes used in the advanced encryption standard (AES). The performance of modified or advanced substitution boxes is predicted by processing the results of statistical analysis by the majority logic criteria. In this paper, we use the majority logic criteria to analyze some popular and prevailing substitution boxes used in encryption processes. In particular, the majority logic criterion is applied to AES, affine power affine (APA), Gray, Lui J, residue prime, S8 AES, Skipjack, and Xyi substitution boxes. The majority logic criterion is further extended into a generalized majority logic criterion which has a broader spectrum of analyzing the effectiveness of substitution boxes in image encryption applications. The integral components of the statistical analyses used for the generalized majority logic criterion are derived from results of entropy analysis, contrast analysis, correlation analysis, homogeneity analysis, energy analysis, and mean of absolute deviation (MAD) analysis.

Biological pathways and genetic mechanisms involved in social functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Ordoñana, Juan R; Bartels, Meike; Boomsma, Dorret I; Cella, David; Mosing, Miriam; Oliveira, Joao R; Patrick, Donald L; Veenhoven, Ruut; Wagner, Gert G; Sprangers, Mirjam A G

2013-08-01

To describe the major findings in the literature regarding associations between biological and genetic factors and social functioning, paying special attention to: (1) heritability studies on social functioning and related concepts; (2) hypothesized biological pathways and genetic variants that could be involved in social functioning, and (3) the implications of these results for quality-of-life research. A search of Web of Science and PubMed databases was conducted using combinations of the following keywords: genetics, twins, heritability, social functioning, social adjustment, social interaction, and social dysfunction. Variability in the definitions and measures of social functioning was extensive. Moderate to high heritability was reported for social functioning and related concepts, including prosocial behavior, loneliness, and extraversion. Disorders characterized by impairments in social functioning also show substantial heritability. Genetic variants hypothesized to be involved in social functioning are related to the network of brain structures and processes that are known to affect social cognition and behavior. Better knowledge and understanding about the impact of genetic factors on social functioning is needed to help us to attain a more comprehensive view of health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) and will ultimately enhance our ability to identify those patients who are vulnerable to poor social functioning.

The design of diagnostic imaging and nuclear medicine facilities in a major new teaching hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Causer, D.A.

2010-01-01

Full text: The design of the layout and radiation shielding for diagnostic imaging and nuclear medicine facilities in a modern teaching hospital requires the collaboration of persons from a number of professions including architects, engineers, radiologists, nuclear medicine physi cians, medical imaging technologists and medical physicists. This paper discusses the design of such facilities, including PET/CT and T-131 ablation therapy suites for a major new tertiary hospital in Perth. The importance of involving physicists on the planning team from the earliest stages of the design process is stressed, design plans presented, and some of the problems which may present themselves and their solutions are illustrated.

Computer performance optimization systems, applications, processes

CERN Document Server

Osterhage, Wolfgang W

2013-01-01

Computing power performance was important at times when hardware was still expensive, because hardware had to be put to the best use. Later on this criterion was no longer critical, since hardware had become inexpensive. Meanwhile, however, people have realized that performance again plays a significant role, because of the major drain on system resources involved in developing complex applications. This book distinguishes between three levels of performance optimization: the system level, application level and business processes level. On each, optimizations can be achieved and cost-cutting p

Magnetohydrodynamic research in fusion blanket engineering and metallurgical processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokuhiro, A.

1991-11-01

A review of recent research activities in liquid metal magnetohydrodynamics (LM-MHDs) is presented in this article. Two major reserach areas are discussed. The first topic involves the thermomechanical design issues in a proposed tokamak fusion reactor. The primary concerns are in the magneto-thermal-hydraulic performance of a self-cooled liquid metal blanket. The second topic involves the application of MHD in material processing in the metallurgical and semiconductor industries. The two representative applications are electromagnetic stirring (EMS) of continuously cast steel and the Czochralski (CZ) method of crystal growth in the presence of a magnetic field. (author) 24 figs., 10 tabs., 136 refs

Source/process apportionment of major and trace elements in sinking particles in the Sargasso sea

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, S.; Conte, M. H.

2009-01-01

Elemental composition of the particle flux at the Oceanic Flux Program (OFP) time-series site off Bermuda was measured from January 2002 to March 2005. Eighteen elements (Mg, Al, Si, P, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Cd, Ba and Pb) in sediment trap material from 500, 1500 and 3200 m depths were quantified using fusion-HR-ICPMS. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) was used to elucidate sources, elemental associations and processes that affect geochemical behavior in the water column. Results provide evidence for intense elemental cycling between the sinking flux material and the dissolved and suspended pools within mesopelagic and bathypelagic waters. Biological processing and remineralization rapidly deplete the sinking flux material in organic matter and associated elements (N, P, Cd, Zn) between 500 and 1500 m depth. Suspended particle aggregation, authigenic mineral precipitation, and chemical scavenging enriches the flux material in lithogenic minerals, barite and redox sensitive elements (Mn, Co, V, Fe). A large increase in the flux of lithogenic elements is observed with depth and confirms that the northeast Sargasso is a significant sink for advected continental materials, likely supplied via Gulf Stream circulation. PMF resolved major sources that contribute to sinking flux at all depths (carbonate, high-Mg carbonate, opal, organic matter, lithogenic material, and barite) as well as additional depth-specific elemental associations that contribute about half of the compositional variability in the flux. PMF solutions indicate close geochemical associations of barite-opal, Cd-P, Zn-Co, Zn-Pb and redox sensitive elements in the sinking flux material at 500 m depth. Major reorganizations of element associations occur as labile carrier phases break down and elements redistribute among new carrier phases deeper in the water column. Factor scores show strong covariation and similar temporal phasing among the three trap depths and indicate a tight

Influence of water column dynamics on sulfide oxidation and other major biogeochemical processes in the chemocline of Mariager Fjord (Denmark)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zopfi, J.; Ferdelman, TG; Jørgensen, BB

2001-01-01

Major electron donors (H2S, NH4+, Mn2+, Fe2+) and accepters (O-2, NO3-, Mn(IV), Fe(III)), process rates ((SO42-)-S-35 reduction, dark (CO2)-C-14 fixation) and vertical fluxes were investigated to quantify the dominant biogeochemical processes at the chemocline of a shallow brackish fjord. Under...... steady-stare conditions, the upward fluxes of reductants and downward fluxes of oxidants in the water column were balanced. However, changes in the hydrographical conditions caused a transient nonsteady-state at the chemocline and had a great impact on process rates and the distribution of chemical...... species. Maxima of S-0 (17.8 mu mol l(-1)), thiosulfate (5.2 mu mol l(-1)) and sulfite (1.1 mu mol l(-1)) occurred at the chemocline, but were hardly detectable in the sulfidic deep water. The distribution of S-0 suggested that the high concentration of S-0 was (a) more likely due to a low turnover than...

Dating the past 7000 years of major earthquakes on the Alpine Fault, New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, KJ.; Biasi, G.

2009-01-01

The Alpine Fault, New Zealand, is a major plate boundary fault that accommodates two thirds of the motion between the Australian and Pacific plates. The Hokuri Stream locality at the southern end of the Alpine Fault has the potential to contain a long record of earthquakes. The field component of this study involved the description, measurement and sampling of multiple river bank outcrops of the Hokuri sedimentary sequence. Sampling was undertaken by two approaches: discrete sediment sampling and continuous push-core sampling. Radiocarbon samples were processed at the Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, New Zealand. 123 samples were dated and the most commonly dated organic fractions were individual leaves, reeds, and seeds. 15 refs., 6 figs.

Auditory cortex involvement in emotional learning and memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Grosso, A; Cambiaghi, M; Concina, G; Sacco, T; Sacchetti, B

2015-07-23

Emotional memories represent the core of human and animal life and drive future choices and behaviors. Early research involving brain lesion studies in animals lead to the idea that the auditory cortex participates in emotional learning by processing the sensory features of auditory stimuli paired with emotional consequences and by transmitting this information to the amygdala. Nevertheless, electrophysiological and imaging studies revealed that, following emotional experiences, the auditory cortex undergoes learning-induced changes that are highly specific, associative and long lasting. These studies suggested that the role played by the auditory cortex goes beyond stimulus elaboration and transmission. Here, we discuss three major perspectives created by these data. In particular, we analyze the possible roles of the auditory cortex in emotional learning, we examine the recruitment of the auditory cortex during early and late memory trace encoding, and finally we consider the functional interplay between the auditory cortex and subcortical nuclei, such as the amygdala, that process affective information. We conclude that, starting from the early phase of memory encoding, the auditory cortex has a more prominent role in emotional learning, through its connections with subcortical nuclei, than is typically acknowledged. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Supporting Active User Involvment in Prototyping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grønbæk, Kaj

1990-01-01

The term prototyping has in recent years become a buzzword in both research and practice of system design due to a number of claimed advantages of prototyping techniques over traditional specification techniques. In particular it is often stated that prototyping facilitates the users' involvement...... in the development process. But prototyping does not automatically imply active user involvement! Thus a cooperative prototyping approach aiming at involving users actively and creatively in system design is proposed in this paper. The key point of the approach is to involve users in activities that closely couple...... development of prototypes to early evaluation of prototypes in envisioned use situations. Having users involved in such activities creates new requirements for tool support. Tools that support direct manipulation of prototypes and simulation of behaviour have shown promise for cooperative prototyping...

Identification and verification of critical performance dimensions. Phase 1 of the systematic process redesign of drug distribution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Colen, H.B.B.; Neef, C.; Schuring, R.W.

2003-01-01

Background: Worldwide patient safety has become a major social policy problem for healthcare organisations. As in other organisations, the patients in our hospital also suffer from an inadequate distribution process, as becomes clear from incidents reports involving medication errors. Medisch

Starting an Actuarial Science Major at a Liberal Arts College

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Mark A.

2014-01-01

The article provides details of the process of starting an actuarial science major at a small, liberal arts college. Some critique of the major is included, as well as some challenges that may be faced by others wanting to start such a major at their institution.

Isolated posterior fossa involvement of progressive multifocal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2017-11-14

Nov 14, 2017 ... and the HIV pandemic has resulted in an increased prevalence of PML, affecting 3% – 7% of HIV- infected ... majority of HIV-infected patients with PML have CD4 lymphocyte counts < 200 cells/mm3. JC ... infrequent contrast enhancement.3 There is no involvement of the optic nerves or spinal cord. Isolated ...

A rural community's involvement in the design and usability testing of a computer-based informed consent process for the Personalized Medicine Research Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahnke, Andrea N; Plasek, Joseph M; Hoffman, David G; Partridge, Nathan S; Foth, Wendy S; Waudby, Carol J; Rasmussen, Luke V; McManus, Valerie D; McCarty, Catherine A

2014-01-01

Many informed consent studies demonstrate that research subjects poorly retain and understand information in written consent documents. Previous research in multimedia consent is mixed in terms of success for improving participants' understanding, satisfaction, and retention. This failure may be due to a lack of a community-centered design approach to building the interventions. The goal of this study was to gather information from the community to determine the best way to undertake the consent process. Community perceptions regarding different computer-based consenting approaches were evaluated, and a computer-based consent was developed and tested. A second goal was to evaluate whether participants make truly informed decisions to participate in research. Simulations of an informed consent process were videotaped to document the process. Focus groups were conducted to determine community attitudes towards a computer-based informed consent process. Hybrid focus groups were conducted to determine the most acceptable hardware device. Usability testing was conducted on a computer-based consent prototype using a touch-screen kiosk. Based on feedback, a computer-based consent was developed. Representative study participants were able to easily complete the consent, and all were able to correctly answer the comprehension check questions. Community involvement in developing a computer-based consent proved valuable for a population-based genetic study. These findings may translate to other types of informed consents, including those for trials involving treatment of genetic disorders. A computer-based consent may serve to better communicate consistent, clear, accurate, and complete information regarding the risks and benefits of study participation. Additional analysis is necessary to measure the level of comprehension of the check-question answers by larger numbers of participants. The next step will involve contacting participants to measure whether understanding of

Stakeholder involvement in CSR strategy-making?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trapp, Leila

2014-01-01

A given characteristic of successful corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs is that they reflect stakeholder expectations and preferences for corporate behavior. This study examines the process by which this alignment is sought by CSR managers in the CSR strategy-making process. Through...... listening to others in the strategy-making process rather than directly involving others in decision-making. Also, because non-stakeholders, such as paid-for consultants, are found to be note-worthy influencers in the CSR strategy-making process, it is concluded that the process is not only a stakeholder...

Managing the Organizational and Cultural Precursors to Major Events — Recognising and Addressing Complexity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, R. H.; Carhart, N.; May, J.; Wijk, L. G. A. van

2016-01-01

Research at the University of Bristol, Safety Systems Research Centre has drawn out the key organizational and cultural precursors leading to major events in several industries (nuclear, petrochemical, transport and major civil engineering projects). It has shown that these are strikingly similar. The research built on preliminary work reported to the IAEA in 2004. Organizational and cultural findings contributing to each event were assembled from the published reports for twelve events and grouped under eight generic headings. These were: 1. leadership issues; 2. ‘local’ operational attitudes and behaviours (operational ‘culture’); 3. the impact of the business environment (often commercial and budgetary pressures); 4. oversight and scrutiny; 5. competence and training (at all levels); 6. risk assessment and risk management (also at all levels); 7. organizational learning; 8. communication issues. From the findings, sets of ‘Expectations’ were then developed as statements of good practice, which if recognised and implemented, should enable organizations to build stronger defences against the occurrence of future events. To probe operational reality, these were reformulated and developed into sets of draft ‘penetrating’ questions which explore whether ‘reality aligns with expectation’. Initial work has been carried out to refine some of these expectations and question sets by working with industry and further work is planned. The questions can be used by both duty holders and regulators to assess the vulnerability of organizations (‘condition monitoring’). Examples will be given in the presentation and full paper. To enable organizations to address these often neglected factors, new tools are being developed that can be employed to address the risks systematically. This might be regarded as analogous to the use of systematic processes (e.g., fault and event trees) to assess risks arising from engineering and human factors-related issues. An

Major plant retrofits at Monticello nuclear generating plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsen, D.E.; Hogg, C.B.

1986-01-01

For the past several years, Northern States Power (NSP) has been making major plant retrofits to Monticello Nuclear generating Station in order to improve plant availability and upgrade the plant components for the potential extension of the operating license (life extension). This paper discusses in detail three major retrofits that have been completed or in the process of completion; recirculation loop piping replacement, reactor pressure vessel (RPV) water level-instrumentation modification, core spray piping replacement, the authors will address the scope of work, design and installation concerns, and life extension considerations during the design and procurement process for these three projects

Compliance with Environmental Regulations through Complex Geo-Event Processing

OpenAIRE

Federico Herrera; Laura González; Daniel Calegari; Bruno Rienzi

2017-01-01

In a context of e-government, there are usually regulatory compliance requirements that support systems must monitor, control and enforce. These requirements may come from environmental laws and regulations that aim to protect the natural environment and mitigate the effects of pollution on human health and ecosystems. Monitoring compliance with these requirements involves processing a large volume of data from different sources, which is a major challenge. This volume is also increased with ...

Kynurenine pathway metabolites and enzymes involved in redox reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

González Esquivel, D; Ramírez-Ortega, D; Pineda, B; Castro, N; Ríos, C; Pérez de la Cruz, V

2017-01-01

Oxido-reduction reactions are a fundamental part of the life due to support many vital biological processes as cellular respiration and glucose oxidation. In the redox reactions, one substance transfers one or more electrons to another substance. An important electron carrier is the coenzyme NAD + , which is involved in many metabolic pathways. De novo biosynthesis of NAD + is through the kynurenine pathway, the major route of tryptophan catabolism, which is sensitive to redox environment and produces metabolites with redox capacity, able to alter biological functions that are controlled by redox-responsive signaling pathways. Kynurenine pathway metabolites have been implicated in the physiology process and in the physiopathology of many diseases; processes that also share others factors as dysregulation of calcium homeostasis, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, inflammation and cell death, which impact the redox environment. This review examines in detail the available evidence in which kynurenine pathway metabolites participate in redox reactions and their effect on cellular redox homeostasis, since the knowledge of the main factors and mechanisms that lead to cell death in many neurodegenative disorders and other pathologies, such as mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and kynurenines imbalance, will allow to develop therapies using them as targets. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'The Kynurenine Pathway in Health and Disease'. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cortical gamma activity during auditory tone omission provides evidence for the involvement of oscillatory activity in top-down processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurtubay, I G; Alegre, M; Valencia, M; Artieda, J

2006-11-01

Perception is an active process in which our brains use top-down influences to modulate afferent information. To determine whether this modulation might be based on oscillatory activity, we asked seven subjects to detect a silence that appeared randomly in a rhythmic auditory sequence, counting the number of omissions ("count" task), or responding to each omission with a right index finger extension ("move" task). Despite the absence of physical stimuli, these tasks induced a 'non-phase-locked' gamma oscillation in temporal-parietal areas, providing evidence of intrinsically generated oscillatory activity during top-down processing. This oscillation is probably related to the local neural activation that takes place during the process of stimulus detection, involving the functional comparison between the tones and the absence of stimuli as well as the auditory echoic memory processes. The amplitude of the gamma oscillations was reduced with the repetition of the tasks. Moreover, it correlated positively with the number of correctly detected omissions and negatively with the reaction time. These findings indicate that these oscillations, like others described, may be modulated by attentional processes. In summary, our findings support the active and adaptive concept of brain function that has emerged over recent years, suggesting that the match of sensory information with memory contents generates gamma oscillations.

Alveolar process fractures in the permanent dentition. Part 2. The risk of healing complications in teeth involved in an alveolar process fracture.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauridsen, Eva; Gerds, Thomas; Andreasen, Jens Ove

2016-04-01

To analyze the risk of pulp canal obliteration (PCO), pulp necrosis (PN), repair-related resorption (RRR), infection-related resorption (IRR), ankylosis-related resorption (ARR), marginal bone loss (MBL), and tooth loss (TL) for teeth involved in an alveolar process fracture and to identify possible risk factors. A total of 91 patients with 223 traumatized teeth. The risks of PCO, PN, RRR, IRR, ARR, MBL, and TL were analyzed separately for teeth with immature and mature root development using Kaplan-Meier and Aalen-Johansen methods. Possible risk factors for PN (age, fracture in relation to apex, displacement, gingival injury, degree of repositioning, type of splint, duration of splinting, treatment delay, and antibiotics) were analyzed for mature teeth using Cox regression. The level of significance was 5%. Immature: No severe complications (PN, IRR, ARR, MBL, or TL) were diagnosed during follow up. Mature: Estimated risk after a 10-year follow up: PN: 56% (95% confidence interval (CI): 48.1-63.9), IRR: 2.5% (95% CI: 0-5.1), ARR: 2.1% (95% CI: 0.1-4.1), MBL: 2.4% (95% CI: 0.3-4.4), and TL: 7.8% (95% CI: 0-15.7). The following factors significantly increased the risk of PN in teeth with mature root development: fracture in relation to apex (hazard ratio (HR): 2.6 (95% CI: 0.2 - 5.7), P = 0.01), displacement in the horizontal part of the fracture >2 mm (HR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.1-3.2, P = 0.03), incomplete repositioning (HR: 2.1 (95% CI: 1.3-3.5), P = 0.003), and age >30 years (HR: 2.3 (95% CI: 1.1-4.6), P = 0.02). The type of splint (rigid or flexible), the duration of splinting (more or less than 4 weeks), and the administration of antibiotics did not affect the risk of PN. Teeth involved in alveolar process fractures appear, apart from PN, to have a good prognosis. A conservative treatment approach is recommended. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Implementing Best Practices for Major Business Processes in the Department of Defense

Science.gov (United States)

2014-07-24

Inventory Optimization. ✩ Walmart requires major suppliers to connect directly to its own inventory management system, making suppliers...unity of effort. ★ Senior Leadership Governance of Supply Chain. ✩ Ford, IBM, and Walmart rely on centralized executive “C-Suite level” management

Processing and analysis techniques involving in-vessel material generation

Science.gov (United States)

Schabron, John F [Laramie, WY; Rovani, Jr., Joseph F.

2012-09-25

In at least one embodiment, the inventive technology relates to in-vessel generation of a material from a solution of interest as part of a processing and/or analysis operation. Preferred embodiments of the in-vessel material generation (e.g., in-vessel solid material generation) include precipitation; in certain embodiments, analysis and/or processing of the solution of interest may include dissolution of the material, perhaps as part of a successive dissolution protocol using solvents of increasing ability to dissolve. Applications include, but are by no means limited to estimation of a coking onset and solution (e.g., oil) fractionating.

Software Quality Perceptions of Stakeholders Involved in the Software Development Process

Science.gov (United States)

Padmanabhan, Priya

2013-01-01

Software quality is one of the primary determinants of project management success. Stakeholders involved in software development widely agree that quality is important (Barney and Wohlin 2009). However, they may differ on what constitutes software quality, and which of its attributes are more important than others. Although, software quality…

Cognitive and neural consequences of memory suppression in major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Sacchet, Matthew D; Levy, Benjamin J; Hamilton, J Paul; Maksimovskiy, Arkadiy; Hertel, Paula T; Joormann, Jutta; Anderson, Michael C; Wagner, Anthony D; Gotlib, Ian H

2017-02-01

Negative biases in cognition have been documented consistently in major depressive disorder (MDD), including difficulties in the ability to control the processing of negative material. Although negative information-processing biases have been studied using both behavioral and neuroimaging paradigms, relatively little research has been conducted examining the difficulties of depressed persons with inhibiting the retrieval of negative information from long-term memory. In this study, we used the think/no-think paradigm and functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the cognitive and neural consequences of memory suppression in individuals diagnosed with depression and in healthy controls. The participants showed typical behavioral forgetting effects, but contrary to our hypotheses, there were no differences between the depressed and nondepressed participants or between neutral and negative memories. Relative to controls, depressed individuals exhibited greater activity in right middle frontal gyrus during memory suppression, regardless of the valence of the suppressed stimuli, and differential activity in the amygdala and hippocampus during memory suppression involving negatively valenced stimuli. These findings indicate that depressed individuals are characterized by neural anomalies during the suppression of long-term memories, increasing our understanding of the brain bases of negative cognitive biases in MDD.

Solutions to major world problems found in gamma processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ouwerkerk, T [Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Ottawa, Ontario. Commercial Products

1984-01-01

Food irradiation is well researched, but work has still to be done on process improvement and validation. Great potential is seen for disinfestation, salmonella control, and for controlling the quality of spices. Other promising applications of radiation are disinfection of airport and seaport wastes, of laboratory wastes, and of municipal sewage sludge.

Crossing boundaries : Involving external parties in innovation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slot, J.H.

2013-01-01

To improve the return on investments in innovation, firms increasingly open up their new product development (NPD) processes by inviting external parties to participate. This dissertation focuses on the involvement of three different types of external parties in the NPD process: suppliers,

Proteolytic enzymes involved in MHC class I antigen processing: A guerrilla army that partners with the proteasome.

Science.gov (United States)

Lázaro, Silvia; Gamarra, David; Del Val, Margarita

2015-12-01

Major histocompatibility complex class I proteins (MHC-I) load short peptides derived from proteolytic cleavage of endogenous proteins in any cell of the body, in a process termed antigen processing and presentation. When the source proteins are altered self or encoded by a pathogen, recognition of peptide/MHC-I complexes at the plasma membrane leads to CD8(+) T-lymphocyte responses that clear infections and probably underlie tumor immune surveillance. On the other hand, presentation of self peptides may cause some types of autoimmunity. The peptides that are presented determine the specificity and efficiency of pathogen clearance or, conversely, of immunopathology. In this review we highlight the growing number of peptidases which, as a by-product of their regular activity, can generate peptide epitopes for immune surveillance. These ∼20 peptidases collectively behave as a guerrilla army partnering with the regular proteasome army in generating a variety of peptides for presentation by MHC-I and thus optimally signaling infection. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

On the application of semi-Markovian processes to the unavailability analysis of majority voting protective systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frutuoso e Melo, Paulo Fernando Ferreira

1992-01-01

In this work the application of semi-Markovian processes to the unavailability analysis of majority voting protective systems is discussed aiming at: modeling two problems that, possess practical relevance: explicit consideration of test intervals and possibility of including nonexponential repair times. Initially, protective systems up to 5 channels are modeled considering intervals between tests by means of a Markovian model in or.der to take into account the possibility of high demand rates. This model is a new extension of previous ones already published in the literature. The above mentioned Markovian model allows for considering either that the failure of a single channel is re by a real system demand or, alternatively, the failure is revealed only when k channels are found failed. Practical implications of this policies are important as they allow for different system actuation policies to be discussed and evaluated. A computer co de named RAMPSMM has been written in order to perform the aforementioned analysis. Results for different system configurations are shown and compared to published results concerning one and two channels. Those results agree adequately and the effect of higher demand rates on the systems is acknowledged. Next, a new semi-Markovian model for the the intervals between tests is discussed. The reason for employing it is that it describes a time interval that is constant, so that its describing process is not Markovian anymore. The model takes into account the influence of different parameters and repair policies as, for example, demand rate (considering the possibility of test overrides), staggered and sequential test policies and so on. l' Another consideration is made concerning the possibility of nonexponential ,- repair times. These kind of repair times are modeled by means of negative binomial distributions which correspond to discretized gamma densities assumed for the repair times. A second computer code named RAMPSSM has been

Protocol for a between-group experimental study examining cultural differences in emotion processing between Malay and Caucasian adults with and without major depressive disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Mohan, S N; Mukhtar, F; Jobson, L

2016-01-01

Introduction Depression is a mood disorder that affects a significant proportion of the population worldwide. In Malaysia and Australia, the number of people diagnosed with depression is on the rise. It has been found that impairments in emotion processing and emotion regulation play a role in the development and maintenance of depression. This study is based on Matsumoto and Hwang's biocultural model of emotion and Triandis' Subjective Culture model. It aims to investigate the influence of culture on emotion processing among Malaysians and Australians with and without major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods and analysis This study will adopt a between-group design. Participants will include Malaysian Malays and Caucasian Australians with and without MDD (N=320). There will be four tasks involved in this study, namely: (1) the facial emotion recognition task, (2) the biological motion task, (3) the subjective experience task and (4) the emotion meaning task. It is hypothesised that there will be cultural differences in how participants with and without MDD respond to these emotion tasks and that, pan-culturally, MDD will influence accuracy rates in the facial emotion recognition task and the biological motion task. Ethics and dissemination This study is approved by the Universiti Putra Malaysia Research Ethics Committee (JKEUPM) and the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC). Permission to conduct the study has also been obtained from the National Medical Research Register (NMRR; NMRR-15-2314-26919). On completion of the study, data will be kept by Universiti Putra Malaysia for a specific period of time before they are destroyed. Data will be published in a collective manner in the form of journal articles with no reference to a specific individual. PMID:27798019

Protocol for a between-group experimental study examining cultural differences in emotion processing between Malay and Caucasian adults with and without major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohan, S N; Mukhtar, F; Jobson, L

2016-10-21

Depression is a mood disorder that affects a significant proportion of the population worldwide. In Malaysia and Australia, the number of people diagnosed with depression is on the rise. It has been found that impairments in emotion processing and emotion regulation play a role in the development and maintenance of depression. This study is based on Matsumoto and Hwang's biocultural model of emotion and Triandis' Subjective Culture model. It aims to investigate the influence of culture on emotion processing among Malaysians and Australians with and without major depressive disorder (MDD). This study will adopt a between-group design. Participants will include Malaysian Malays and Caucasian Australians with and without MDD (N=320). There will be four tasks involved in this study, namely: (1) the facial emotion recognition task, (2) the biological motion task, (3) the subjective experience task and (4) the emotion meaning task. It is hypothesised that there will be cultural differences in how participants with and without MDD respond to these emotion tasks and that, pan-culturally, MDD will influence accuracy rates in the facial emotion recognition task and the biological motion task. This study is approved by the Universiti Putra Malaysia Research Ethics Committee (JKEUPM) and the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC). Permission to conduct the study has also been obtained from the National Medical Research Register (NMRR; NMRR-15-2314-26919). On completion of the study, data will be kept by Universiti Putra Malaysia for a specific period of time before they are destroyed. Data will be published in a collective manner in the form of journal articles with no reference to a specific individual. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Mentoring Novice Teachers: Motives, Process, and Outcomes from the Mentor's Point of View

Science.gov (United States)

Iancu-Haddad, Debbie; Oplatka, Izhar

2009-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present the major motives leading senior teachers to be involved in a mentoring process of newly appointed teachers and its benefits for the mentor teacher. Based on semi-structured interviews with 12 experienced teachers who participated in a university-based mentoring program in Israel, the current study found a…

Involvement of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor and Receptors in Immune Cells in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahanand Chatoo

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder defined by ROME IV criteria as pain in the lower abdominal region, which is associated with altered bowel habit or defecation. The underlying mechanism of IBS is not completely understood. IBS seems to be a product of interactions between various factors with genetics, dietary/intestinal microbiota, low-grade inflammation, and stress playing a key role in the pathogenesis of this disease. The crosstalk between the immune system and stress in IBS mechanism is increasingly recognized. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF, a major mediator in the stress response, is involved in altered function in GI, including inflammatory processes, colonic transit time, contractile activity, defecation pattern, pain threshold, mucosal secretory function, and barrier functions. This mini review focuses on the recently establish local GI-CRF system, its involvement in modulating the immune response in IBS, and summarizes current IBS animal models and mapping of CRF, CRFR1, and CRFR2 expression in colon tissues. CRF and receptors might be a key molecule involving the immune and movement function via brain–gut axis in IBS.

The impact of consumer involvement in research: an evaluation of consumer involvement in the London Primary Care Studies Programme.

Science.gov (United States)

Wyatt, Katrina; Carter, Mary; Mahtani, Vinita; Barnard, Angela; Hawton, Annie; Britten, Nicky

2008-06-01

The value of consumer involvement in health services research is widely recognized. While there is a growing body of evidence about the principles of good consumer involvement, there is little research about the effect that involvement can have on the research. This evaluation assessed the level and impact of consumer involvement in the London Primary Care Studies Programme (LPCSP), all of whose individual projects had to demonstrate substantial involvement as a condition of funding. To evaluate consumer involvement in the LPSCP and understand what impact consumers had on the research process and outcomes. A multi-method case study approach was undertaken, using survey techniques, interviews, focus groups, observation and scrutiny of written documents. The overall data set comprised 61 questionnaires, 44 semi-structured interviews, 2 focus groups and 15 hours of observation of meetings. Eleven primary care-based research projects which together made up the LPCSP. An in-depth description of consumer involvement in the Programme was produced. Nine projects had consumers as co-applicants, four projects had been completed before the evaluation began and one was still ongoing at the time of the evaluation. Of the eight projects which have produced final reports, all met their aims and objectives. Consumers had had an additional impact in the research, in the initial design of the study, in recruitment of the research subjects, in developing data collection tools, in collecting the data, in analysis and disseminating the findings. Consumer involvement in National Health Service research is a relatively recent policy development and while there is an increasing amount of literature about how and why consumers should be involved in research, there is less evidence about the impact of such involvement. This evaluation provides evidence about the impact that consumers have not only on the research process but also on the outcomes of the research.

The ARIPAR project: analysis of the major accident risks connected with industrial and transportation activities in the Ravenna area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Egidi, Demetrio; Foraboschi, Franco P.; Spadoni, Gigliola; Amendola, Aniello

1995-01-01

The paper describes the ARIPAR project aimed at the assessment of the major accident risks connected with storage, process and transportation of dangerous substances in the densely populated Ravenna area in Italy, which includes a large complex of chemical and petrochemical plants and minor industries, essentially distributed around an important commercial port. Large quantities of dangerous goods are involved in various transportation forms connected with the industrial and commercial activity of the port. The project started by making a complete inventory of fixed installations and transportation activities capable of provoking major fire, explosion and toxic release events; then relevant accident scenarios were developed for the single hazard sources; probabilities were assigned to the events and consequences were evaluated; finally iso-risk contours and F-N diagrams were evaluated both for the single sources and for the overall area. This required the development of a particular methodology for analysis of area risk and of associated software packages which allowed examination of the relative importance of the different activities and typologies of materials involved. The methodological approach and the results have proved to be very useful for the priority-ranking of risk mitigating interventions and physical planning in a complex area

An integrative process model of leadership: examining loci, mechanisms, and event cycles.

Science.gov (United States)

Eberly, Marion B; Johnson, Michael D; Hernandez, Morela; Avolio, Bruce J

2013-09-01

Utilizing the locus (source) and mechanism (transmission) of leadership framework (Hernandez, Eberly, Avolio, & Johnson, 2011), we propose and examine the application of an integrative process model of leadership to help determine the psychological interactive processes that constitute leadership. In particular, we identify the various dynamics involved in generating leadership processes by modeling how the loci and mechanisms interact through a series of leadership event cycles. We discuss the major implications of this model for advancing an integrative understanding of what constitutes leadership and its current and future impact on the field of psychological theory, research, and practice. © 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Pectoralis Major Repair With Unicortical Button Fixation And Suture Tape.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Anthony; Ferrari, Marcio B; Frangiamore, Salvatore J; Sanchez, George; Kruckeberg, Bradley M; Provencher, Matthew T

2017-06-01

Although injuries of the pectoralis major muscle are generally uncommon, ruptures of the pectoralis major are occasionally seen in younger, more active patients who participate in weightlifting activities. These injuries usually occur during maximal contraction of the muscle, while in extension and external rotation. In the case of a rupture, operative treatment is advocated especially in young, active patients regardless of the chronicity of the injury. Various surgical techniques for reattachment of the avulsed tendon have been described, but bone tunnel and suture anchor repair techniques are most widely used. In this Technical Note, we present our preferred technique for acute pectoralis major rupture repair involving use of cortical buttons for tendon stump-to-bone fixation.

Temporary stages and motivational variables: Two complementary perspectives in the help-seeking process for mental disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Del Valle Del Valle, Gema; Carrió, Carmen; Belloch, Amparo

2017-10-09

Help-seeking for mental disorders is a complex process, which includes different temporary stages, and in which the motivational variables play an especially relevant role. However, there is a lack of instruments to evaluate in depth both the temporary and motivational variables involved in the help-seeking process. This study aims to analyse in detail these two sets of variables, using a specific instrument designed for the purpose, to gain a better understanding of the process of treatment seeking. A total of 152 patients seeking treatment in mental health outpatient clinics of the NHS were individually interviewed: 71 had Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, 21 had Agoraphobia, 18 had Major Depressive Disorder), 20 had Anorexia Nervosa, and 22 had Cocaine Dependence. The patients completed a structured interview assessing the help-seeking process. Disorder severity and quality of life was also assessed. The patients with agoraphobia and with major depression took significantly less time in recognising their mental health symptoms. Similarly, patients with major depression were faster in seeking professional help. Motivational variables were grouped in 3 sets: motivators for seeking treatment, related to the negative impact of symptoms on mood and to loss of control over symptoms; motivators for delaying treatment, related to minimisation of the disorder; and stigma-associated variables. The results support the importance of considering the different motivational variables involved in the several stages of the help-seeking process. The interview designed to that end has shown its usefulness in this endeavour. Copyright © 2017 SEP y SEPB. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

The involvement of mRNA processing factors TIA-1, TIAR, and PABP-1 during mammalian hibernation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tessier, Shannon N; Audas, Timothy E; Wu, Cheng-Wei; Lee, Stephen; Storey, Kenneth B

2014-11-01

Mammalian hibernators survive low body temperatures, ischemia-reperfusion, and restricted nutritional resources via global reductions in energy-expensive cellular processes and selective increases in stress pathways. Consequently, studies that analyze hibernation uncover mechanisms which balance metabolism and support survival by enhancing stress tolerance. We hypothesized processing factors that influence messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) maturation and translation may play significant roles in hibernation. We characterized the amino acid sequences of three RNA processing proteins (T cell intracellular antigen 1 (TIA-1), TIA1-related (TIAR), and poly(A)-binding proteins (PABP-1)) from thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus), which all displayed a high degree of sequence identity with other mammals. Alternate Tia-1 and TiaR gene variants were found in the liver with higher expression of isoform b versus a in both cases. The localization of RNA-binding proteins to subnuclear structures was assessed by immunohistochemistry and confirmed by subcellular fractionation; TIA-1 was identified as a major component of subnuclear structures with up to a sevenfold increase in relative protein levels in the nucleus during hibernation. By contrast, there was no significant difference in the relative protein levels of TIARa/TIARb in the nucleus, and a decrease was observed for TIAR isoforms in cytoplasmic fractions of torpid animals. Finally, we used solubility tests to analyze the formation of reversible aggregates that are associated with TIA-1/R function during stress; a shift towards the soluble fraction (TIA-1a, TIA-1b) was observed during hibernation suggesting enhanced protein aggregation was not present during torpor. The present study identifies novel posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms that may play a role in reducing translational rates and/or mRNA processing under unfavorable environmental conditions.

Research Education: Perspectives and subjective processes involved in educational research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harm H. Tillema

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Educational research acknowledges that researcher’s beliefs and training play a role in framing the outcomes of any study. Research not only consists of defining objectives and following certain methods (search but also of making decisions over the steps taking during the inquiry process (research.Establishing a conceptual framework to guide actions on the subjective processes in research is then crucial to control them. With that purpose in mind we offer researchers and Teacher Educators a heuristic tool to be conscious on the risks that can be taken when immersed in research interpretative process. This instrument could be utilised in PhD programs, masters and research projects.

Patient involvement in research priorities (PIRE)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Piil, Karin; Jarden, Mary

2016-01-01

Introduction: Patient involvement in healthcare has expanded from the clinical practice setting to include collaboration during the research process. There has been a growing international interest in patient and public involvement in setting research priorities to reduce the risk of discrepancy...... between what patients with cancer and their relatives experience as important unanswered questions and those which are actually researched. This study aims to challenge the conventional research process by inviting patients with life-threatening cancer (primary malignant brain tumours or acute leukaemia......), relatives and patient organisations to join forces with clinical specialists and researchers to identify, discuss and prioritise supportive care and rehabilitation issues in future research. Methods and analysis: This is an exploratory qualitative study comprising two sets of three focus group interviews...

Motivational Processes Underlying Substance Abuse Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

King, Christopher P.; Ferrario, Carrie R.

2016-01-01

Drug addiction is a syndrome of dysregulated motivation, evidenced by intense drug craving and compulsive drug-seeking behavior. In the search for common neurobiological substrates of addiction to different classes of drugs, behavioral neuroscientists have attempted to determine the neural basis for a number of motivational concepts and describe how they are changed by repeated drug use. Here, we describe these concepts and summarize previous work describing three major neural systems that play distinct roles in different conceptual aspects of motivation: (1) a nigrostriatal system that is involved in two forms of instrumental learning, (2) a ventral striatal system that is involved in Pavlovian incentive motivation and negative reinforcement, and (3) frontal cortical areas that regulate decision making and motivational processes. Within striatal systems, drug addiction can involve a transition from goal-oriented, incentive processes to automatic, habit-based responding. In the cortex, weak inhibitory control is a predisposing factor to, as well as a consequence of, repeated drug intake. However, these transitions are not absolute, and addiction can occur without a transition to habit-based responding, occurring as a result of the overvaluation of drug outcomes and hypersensitivity to incentive properties of drug-associated cues. Finally, we point out that addiction is not monolithic and can depend not only on individual differences between addicts, but also on the neurochemical action of specific drug classes. PMID:26475159

NRC perspectives on the digital system review process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mauck, J.L.

1998-01-01

Since about 1988, the USNRC has been involved in the review of digital retrofits to instrumentation and control (I and C) systems in nuclear power plants. Initially, this involvement was limited but with the advent of the 1990s, NRC involvement has become greater because of increased interest in and application of digital systems as existing analog systems become obsolete. Criteria for the design of such systems to ensure safety has been promulgated over the years and the USNRC has been actively involved both nationally and internationally with this effort. With the publication of the Zion Eagle 21 Safety Evaluation Report in 1992, Generic Letter 95-02 in April 1995 which endorses EPRI guidance document TR-102348 on digital upgrades and the latest revision to Regulatory Guide 1.152 which endorses IEEE 7.4.3.2-1993; a basic digital system review process was established. The NRC supplemented this review process with recently issued inspection procedures for use by NRC inspectors when conducting onsite reviews of digital modifications. In addition, the NRC undertook a major effort to codify the above guidance and the experience gained from digital system reviews of both operating plant modifications and advanced reactor designs, over these years into a revision to Standard Review Plan, (SRP), NUREG-0800, Chapter 7, Instrumentation and Control. This SRP revision was published in June, 1997, and included new SRP sections, branch technical positions and six new regulatory guides endorsing IEEE standards on software quality. The NRC staff believes that a stable digital system review process is now in place. (author)

US and MR Imaging of Pectoralis Major Injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yauk K; Skalski, Matt R; White, Eric A; Tomasian, Anderanik; Phan, Diane D; Patel, Dakshesh B; Matcuk, George R; Schein, Aaron J

2017-01-01

During the past 2 decades, the frequency of pectoralis major muscle injuries has increased in association with the increased popularity of bench press exercises. Injury of the pectoralis major can occur at the muscle origin, muscle belly, musculotendinous junction, intratendinous region, and/or humeral insertion-with or without bone avulsion. The extent of the tendon injury ranges from partial to complete tears. Treatment may be surgical or conservative, depending on the clinical scenario and anatomic characteristics of the injury. The radiologist has a critical role in the patient's treatment-first in detecting and then in characterizing the injury. In this article, the authors review the normal anatomy and anatomic variations of the pectoralis major muscle, classifications and typical patterns of pectoralis major injuries, and associated treatment considerations. The authors further provide an instructive guide for ultrasonographic (US) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging evaluation of pectoralis major injuries, with emphasis on a systematic approach involving the use of anatomic landmarks. After reviewing this article, the reader should have an understanding of how to perform-and interpret the findings of-US and MR imaging of the pectoralis major. The reader should also understand how to classify pectoralis major injuries, with emphasis on the key findings used to differentiate injuries for which surgical management is required from those for which nonsurgical management is required. Familiarity with the normal but complex anatomy of the pectoralis major is crucial for performing imaging-based evaluation and understanding the injury findings. © RSNA, 2017 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Export Marketing Involvement of African Small and Medium Size ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Export Marketing Involvement of African Small and Medium Size Enterprises: Tanzania's Fish Processing Industry. ... This study examined the Export marketing involvement of SMEs from the Least ... EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT

Gesture analysis of students' majoring mathematics education in micro teaching process

Science.gov (United States)

Maldini, Agnesya; Usodo, Budi; Subanti, Sri

2017-08-01

In the process of learning, especially math learning, process of interaction between teachers and students is certainly a noteworthy thing. In these interactions appear gestures or other body spontaneously. Gesture is an important source of information, because it supports oral communication and reduce the ambiguity of understanding the concept/meaning of the material and improve posture. This research which is particularly suitable for an exploratory research design to provide an initial illustration of the phenomenon. The goal of the research in this article is to describe the gesture of S1 and S2 students of mathematics education at the micro teaching process. To analyze gesture subjects, researchers used McNeil clarification. The result is two subjects using 238 gesture in the process of micro teaching as a means of conveying ideas and concepts in mathematics learning. During the process of micro teaching, subjects using the four types of gesture that is iconic gestures, deictic gesture, regulator gesturesand adapter gesture as a means to facilitate the delivery of the intent of the material being taught and communication to the listener. Variance gesture that appear on the subject due to the subject using a different gesture patterns to communicate mathematical ideas of their own so that the intensity of gesture that appeared too different.

Highlight: Private sector could play a major role in feeding Africa ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2014-09-08

Sep 8, 2014 ... Highlight: Private sector could play a major role in feeding Africa ... scale, we will need to involve the private sector," said IDRC President Jean Lebel. ... There is ample evidence that addressing gender inequalities and ...

Axillary bud and pericycle involved in the thickening process of the rhizophore nodes in Smilax species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B Appezzato-da-Glória

Full Text Available AbstractThe species of the genus Smilax, popularly known as sarsaparilla, are widely used in folk medicine due to the antirheumatic properties of its underground structures. Smilax fluminensis and S. syphilitica occur in forested areas and form thickened stems called rhizophores from which adventitious roots grow. To provide information for more accurate identification of the commercialised product and for elucidating the process of stem thickening, a morphology and anatomy study of the underground organs of the two species was conducted. The adventitious roots differ in colour and diameter depending on the stage of development. They are white and have a larger diameter in the early stages of development, but as they grow, the adventitious roots become brown and have a smaller diameter due to the disintegration of the epidermis and virtually the entire cortex. In brown roots, the covering function is then performed by the lignified endodermis and the remaining walls of the cells from the last parenchyma cortical layer. These results are similar to those found in studies of other Smilax and suggest that the anatomy of the roots can be useful for identifying fraud in commercialised materials. The thickening process of the nodal regions of the rhizophores in both species involves the activity of axillary buds and pericyclic layers.

Multiple transfused thalassemia major: Ocular manifestations in a hospital-based population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taneja Rashi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To study the ocular manifestations in multiple transfused beta-thalassemia major patients and assess the ocular side-effects of iron chelating agents. Materials and Methods: In this prospective observational study, 45 multiple transfused beta-thalassemia major children between six months and 21 years of age were enrolled and assigned groups according to the treatment regimens suggested. Group A received only blood transfusions, Group B blood transfusions with subcutaneous desferrioxamine, Group C blood transfusions with desferrioxamine and oral deferriprone and Group D blood transfusions with deferriprone. Ocular status at the time of enrolment was documented. Subjects were observed quarterly for one year for changes in ocular status arising due to the disease process and due to iron chelation therapy. Children with hemoglobinopathies other than beta-thalassemia major, congenital ocular anomalies and anemia due to other causes were excluded. Results: Ocular involvement was observed in 58% of patients. Lenticular opacities were the most common ocular finding (44%, followed by decreased visual acuity (33%. An increased occurrence of ocular changes was observed with increase of serum ferritin and serum iron levels as well as with higher number of blood transfusions received. Desferrioxamine seemed to have a protective influence on retinal pigment epithelium (RPE mottling. Occurrence of lenticular opacities and RPE degeneration correlated positively with use of desferrioxamine and deferriprone respectively. Follow-up of patients for one year did not reveal any change in ocular status. Conclusion: Regular ocular examinations can aid in preventing, delaying or ameliorating the ocular complications of thalassemia.

Industrial irradiation processing of polymers. Status and prospects. Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-08-01

At the close of the 20th century and now in the beginning of the 21st, several changes have taken place in the businesses marketing radiation source technologies used in industrial radiation processing. Such changes involved more than just transitions in ownership and product line extensions for proven equipment, but also the market successes of new accelerator technologies, the evolution of high intensity X ray processing and the ability of providers and users of isotope sources to cope with heightened security issues involving radioactive materials. Concurrent with this evolution in source technologies, there has been a modest increase in the acceptance of radiation processing for polymeric materials. At the same time, there has been a broadening of polymer options available to formulators and producers of irradiated products. Unfortunately, however, there have been no major market breakthroughs; no adoption of radiation processing on a large scale in some new industrial application. For example, the much proven and long hoped for use of radiation processing by the food industry remains at a very small scale. This is despite the fact that this technology has cleared most regulatory hurdles that call for efficacy and the maintenance of food quality. This brief paper describes some of these changes and outlines some current issues that remain to be addressed

Altered insular activation and increased insular functional connectivity during sad and happy face processing in adolescent major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Henje Blom, Eva; Connolly, Colm G; Ho, Tiffany C; LeWinn, Kaja Z; Mobayed, Nisreen; Han, Laura; Paulus, Martin P; Wu, Jing; Simmons, Alan N; Yang, Tony T

2015-06-01

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide and occurs commonly first during adolescence. The insular cortex (IC) plays an important role in integrating emotion processing with interoception and has been implicated recently in the pathophysiology of adult and adolescent MDD. However, no studies have yet specifically examined the IC in adolescent MDD during processing of faces in the sad-happy continuum. Thus, the aim of the present study is to investigate the IC during sad and happy face processing in adolescents with MDD compared to healthy controls (HCL). Thirty-one adolescents (22 female) with MDD and 36 (23 female) HCL underwent a well-validated emotional processing fMRI paradigm that included sad and happy face stimuli. The MDD group showed significantly less differential activation of the anterior/middle insular cortex (AMIC) in response to sad versus happy faces compared to the HCL group. AMIC also showed greater functional connectivity with right fusiform gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, and right amygdala/parahippocampal gyrus in the MDD compared to HCL group. Moreover, differential activation to sad and happy faces in AMIC correlated negatively with depression severity within the MDD group. Small age-range and cross-sectional nature precluded assessment of development of the AMIC in adolescent depression. Given the role of the IC in integrating bodily stimuli with conscious cognitive and emotional processes, our findings of aberrant AMIC function in adolescent MDD provide a neuroscientific rationale for targeting the AMIC in the development of new treatment modalities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Citizen Science- Lessons learned from non-science majors involved in Globe at Night and the Great Worldwide Star Count

Science.gov (United States)

Browning, S.

2011-12-01

Non-science majors often misunderstand the process of science, potentially leading to a fear or mistrust of scientific inquiry and current scientific theory. Citizen science projects are a critical means of reaching this audience, as many will only take a limited number of science courses during their undergraduate careers. For the past three years, our freshman Earth Science students have participated in both Globe at Night and the Great Worldwide Star Count, citizen science programs that encourage simple astronomical observations which can be compiled globally to investigate a number of issues. Our focus has been introducing students to the effect of light pollution on observational astronomy in an effort to highlight the effect of increasing urbanization in the U.S. on amateur astronomy. These programs, although focused on astronomy, often awaken natural curiosity about the Earth and man's effect on the natural world, a concept that can easily be translated to other areas of Earth science. Challenges encountered include content specific issues, such as misinterpreting the location or magnitude of the constellation being observed, as well as student disinterest or apathy if the project is not seen as being vital to their performance in the course. This presentation reports on lessons learned in the past three years, and offers suggestions for engaging these students more fully in future projects.

From micronutrient recommendations to policy: consumer and stakeholder involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Timotijevic, L; Raats, M M; Barnett, J; Brown, K; Shepherd, R; Fernandez, L; Dömölki, L; Ruprich, J; Sonne, A-M; Hermoso, M; Koletzko, B; Frost-Andersen, L; Timmer, A

2010-06-01

To achieve the nutritional goals stipulated by micronutrient recommendations, greater attention must be paid to the behavioural routes to such nutritional outcomes. Coopting stakeholders and consumers into decisions regarding micronutrient recommendations is an important step towards achieving a greater link between micronutrient recommendations and behaviour. This study aims to examine the rationale and processes associated with consumer and stakeholder involvement in setting micronutrient recommendations across Europe. Using the contacts established through the Eurreca network of excellence (commissioned by the European Commission), the research involved in-depth desk research of key documents and communication channels linked to the process of setting micronutrient recommendations across seven countries: the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Stakeholder engagement is recognized by most countries as an important aspect of the process of setting micronutrient recommendations and their translation into policy, although there is notable variation in the extent to which this has been achieved across the seven countries and its effect on final decisions. Stakeholders were not involved at the outset of the process ('framing' of the problem) in any of the countries, and there was no evidence of consumer involvement and open public fora. Some of the key explanatory factors for diversity in the degree of involvement include historical sociopolitical context; the extent to which food and nutrition are key policy agenda; and the relative power of stakeholders in influencing food and nutrition policy.

Transcriptome profiling of the Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) ovary reveals genes involved in oogenesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Lu; Wang, Lei; Yang, Yi-Fan; Zou, Ming-Min; He, Wei-Yi; Wang, Yue; Wang, Qing; Vasseur, Liette; You, Min-Sheng

2017-12-30

As a specialized organ, the insect ovary performs valuable functions by ensuring fecundity and population survival. Oogenesis is the complex physiological process resulting in the production of mature eggs, which are involved in epigenetic programming, germ cell behavior, cell cycle regulation, etc. Identification of the genes involved in ovary development and oogenesis is critical to better understand the reproductive biology and screening for the potential molecular targets in Plutella xylostella, a worldwide destructive pest of economically major crops. Based on transcriptome sequencing, a total of 7.88Gb clean nucleotides was obtained, with 19,934 genes and 1861 new transcripts being identified. Expression profiling indicated that 61.7% of the genes were expressed (FPKM≥1) in the P. xylostella ovary. GO annotation showed that the pathways of multicellular organism reproduction and multicellular organism reproduction process, as well as gamete generation and chorion were significantly enriched. Processes that were most likely relevant to reproduction included the spliceosome, ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, endocytosis, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, insulin signaling pathway, cAMP signaling pathway, and focal adhesion were identified in the top 20 'highly represented' KEGG pathways. Functional genes involved in oogenesis were further analyzed and validated by qRT-PCR to show their potential predominant roles in P. xylostella reproduction. Our newly developed P. xylostella ovary transcriptome provides an overview of the gene expression profiling in this specialized tissue and the functional gene network closely related to the ovary development and oogenesis. This is the first genome-wide transcriptome dataset of P. xylostella ovary that includes a subset of functionally activated genes. This global approach will be the basis for further studies on molecular mechanisms of P. xylostella reproduction aimed at screening potential molecular targets for integrated pest

Heterologous expression of Pycnoporus cinnabarinus cellobiose dehydrogenase in Pichia pastoris and involvement in saccharification processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bey Mathieu

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH is an extracellular hemoflavoenzyme produced by lignocellulose-degrading fungi including Pycnoporus cinnabarinus. We investigated the cellulolytic system of P. cinnabarinus, focusing on the involvement of CDH in the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. Results First, P. cinnabarinus growth conditions were optimized for CDH production. Following growth under cellulolytic conditions, the main components secreted were cellulases, xylanases and CDH. To investigate the contribution of P. cinnabarinus secretome in saccharification processes, the Trichoderma reesei enzymatic cocktail was supplemented with the P. cinnabarinus secretome. A significant enhancement of the degradation of wheat straw was observed with (i the production of a large amount of gluconic acid, (ii increased hemicellulose degradation, and (iii increased overall degradation of the lignocellulosic material. P. cinnabarinus CDH was heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris to obtain large amounts of pure enzyme. In a bioreactor, the recombinant CDH (rCDH expression level reached 7800 U/L. rCDH exhibited values of biochemical parameters similar to those of the natural enzyme, and was able to bind cellulose despite the absence of a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM. Following supplementation of purified rCDH to T. reesei enzymatic cocktail, formation of gluconic acid and increased hemicellulose degradation were observed, thus confirming the previous results observed with P. cinnabarinus secretome. Conclusions We demonstrate that CDH offers an attractive tool for saccharification process enhancement due to gluconic acid production from raw lignocellulosic material.

The extended functional neuroanatomy of emotional processing biases for masked faces in major depressive disorder.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teresa A Victor

Full Text Available Major depressive disorder (MDD is associated with a mood-congruent processing bias in the amygdala toward face stimuli portraying sad expressions that is evident even when such stimuli are presented below the level of conscious awareness. The extended functional anatomical network that maintains this response bias has not been established, however.To identify neural network differences in the hemodynamic response to implicitly presented facial expressions between depressed and healthy control participants.Unmedicated-depressed participants with MDD (n=22 and healthy controls (HC; n=25 underwent functional MRI as they viewed face stimuli showing sad, happy or neutral face expressions, presented using a backward masking design. The blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD signal was measured to identify regions where the hemodynamic response to the emotionally valenced stimuli differed between groups.The MDD subjects showed greater BOLD responses than the controls to masked-sad versus masked-happy faces in the hippocampus, amygdala and anterior inferotemporal cortex. While viewing both masked-sad and masked-happy faces relative to masked-neutral faces, the depressed subjects showed greater hemodynamic responses than the controls in a network that included the medial and orbital prefrontal cortices and anterior temporal cortex.Depressed and healthy participants showed distinct hemodynamic responses to masked-sad and masked-happy faces in neural circuits known to support the processing of emotionally valenced stimuli and to integrate the sensory and visceromotor aspects of emotional behavior. Altered function within these networks in MDD may establish and maintain illness-associated differences in the salience of sensory/social stimuli, such that attention is biased toward negative and away from positive stimuli.

The extended functional neuroanatomy of emotional processing biases for masked faces in major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Victor, Teresa A; Furey, Maura L; Fromm, Stephen J; Bellgowan, Patrick S F; Öhman, Arne; Drevets, Wayne C

2012-01-01

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with a mood-congruent processing bias in the amygdala toward face stimuli portraying sad expressions that is evident even when such stimuli are presented below the level of conscious awareness. The extended functional anatomical network that maintains this response bias has not been established, however. To identify neural network differences in the hemodynamic response to implicitly presented facial expressions between depressed and healthy control participants. Unmedicated-depressed participants with MDD (n=22) and healthy controls (HC; n=25) underwent functional MRI as they viewed face stimuli showing sad, happy or neutral face expressions, presented using a backward masking design. The blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal was measured to identify regions where the hemodynamic response to the emotionally valenced stimuli differed between groups. The MDD subjects showed greater BOLD responses than the controls to masked-sad versus masked-happy faces in the hippocampus, amygdala and anterior inferotemporal cortex. While viewing both masked-sad and masked-happy faces relative to masked-neutral faces, the depressed subjects showed greater hemodynamic responses than the controls in a network that included the medial and orbital prefrontal cortices and anterior temporal cortex. Depressed and healthy participants showed distinct hemodynamic responses to masked-sad and masked-happy faces in neural circuits known to support the processing of emotionally valenced stimuli and to integrate the sensory and visceromotor aspects of emotional behavior. Altered function within these networks in MDD may establish and maintain illness-associated differences in the salience of sensory/social stimuli, such that attention is biased toward negative and away from positive stimuli.

Development of a core outcome set for studies involving patients undergoing major lower limb amputation for peripheral arterial disease: study protocol for a systematic review and identification of a core outcome set using a Delphi survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Ambler, Graeme K; Bosanquet, David C; Brookes-Howell, Lucy; Thomas-Jones, Emma; Waldron, Cherry-Ann; Edwards, Adrian G K; Twine, Christopher P

2017-12-28

The development of a standardised reporting set is important to ensure that research is directed towards the most important outcomes and that data is comparable. To ensure validity, the set must be agreed by a consensus of stakeholders including patients, healthcare professionals and lay representatives. There is currently no agreed core outcome set for patients undergoing major lower limb amputation for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) for either short- or medium-term research outcomes. By developing these sets we aim to rationalise future trial outcomes, facilitate meta-analysis and improve the quality and applicability of amputation research. We will undertake a comprehensive systematic review of studies of patients undergoing major lower limb amputation for PAD. Data regarding all primary and secondary outcomes reported in relevant studies will be extracted and summarised as outcome domains. We will then undertake focus groups with key stakeholders (patients, carers, health and social care workers) to collect qualitative data to identify the main short- and medium-term research outcomes for patients undergoing major lower limb amputation. Results of the systematic review and focus groups will be combined to create a comprehensive list of potential key outcomes. Stakeholders (patients, researchers and health and social care workers) will then be polled to determine which of the outcomes are considered to be important in a general context using a three-phase Delphi process. After preliminary analysis, results will be presented at a face-to-face meeting of key stakeholders for discussion and voting on the final set of core outcomes. This project is being run in parallel with a feasibility trial assessing perineural catheters in patients undergoing lower limb amputation (the PLACEMENT trial). Full ethical approval has been granted for the study (Wales REC 3 reference number 16/WA/0353). Core outcome sets will be developed for short- and medium-term outcomes of

DECOMPOSITION OF MANUFACTURING PROCESSES: A REVIEW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N.M.Z.N. Mohamed

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Manufacturing is a global activity that started during the industrial revolution in the late 19th century to cater for the large-scale production of products. Since then, manufacturing has changed tremendously through the innovations of technology, processes, materials, communication and transportation. The major challenge facing manufacturing is to produce more products using less material, less energy and less involvement of labour. To face these challenges, manufacturing companies must have a strategy and competitive priority in order for them to compete in a dynamic market. A review of the literature on the decomposition of manufacturing processes outlines three main processes, namely: high volume, medium volume and low volume. The decomposition shows that each sub process has its own characteristics and depends on the nature of the firm’s business. Two extreme processes are continuous line production (fast extreme and project shop (slow extreme. Other processes are in between these two extremes of the manufacturing spectrum. Process flow patterns become less complex with cellular, line and continuous flow compared with jobbing and project. The review also indicates that when the product is high variety and low volume, project or functional production is applied.

Preferences, constraints, and the process of sex segregation in college majors: A choice analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ochsenfeld, Fabian

2016-03-01

The persistence of horizontal sex segregation in higher education continues to puzzle social scientists. To help resolve this puzzle, we analyze a sample of college entrants in Germany with a discrete choice design that allows for social learning from the experiences of others. We make at least two contributions to the state of research. First, we test whether essentialist gender stereotypes affect major selection mostly through internalization or rather as external constraints that high school graduates adapt their behavior to. Empirically, we find that internalized vocational interests better explain gendered major choices than conformance with friends' and parents' expectations does. Second, we scrutinize whether segregation results from women's anticipation of gendered family roles or from their anticipation of sex-based discrimination, but we find no evidence for either of these hypotheses. As in most previous studies, differences in mathematics achievement fail to explain gendered patterns of selection into college majors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Patient involvement in hospital architecture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herriott, Richard

2017-01-01

the structure of the design process, identification and ranking of stakeholders, the methods of user-involvement and approaches to accessibility. The paper makes recommendations for a change of approach to user-participation in large-scale, long-duration projects. The paper adds new insight on an under...

Characterizing the epistemological development of physics majors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Gire

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Students in introductory physics courses are likely to have views about physics that differ from those of experts. However, students who continue to study physics eventually become experts themselves. Presumably these students either possess or develop more expertlike views. To investigate this process, the views of introductory physics students majoring in physics are compared with the views of introductory physics students majoring in engineering. In addition, the views of physics majors are assessed at various stages of degree progress. The Colorado learning attitudes about science survey is used to evaluate students’ views about physics, and students’ overall survey scores and responses to individual survey items are analyzed. Beginning physics majors are significantly more expertlike than nonmajors in introductory physics courses, and this high level of sophistication is consistent for most of undergraduate study.

A strategy for teacher involvement in curriculum development ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Hence this study focuses on an effective strategy for teacher involvement in curriculum development. The strength of the strategy is that it involves formal teacher training with semesterised courses. There is phased- in implementation of the different phases of the curriculum development process. This formal training course ...

Potential for Australian involvement in ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Connor, D. J.; Collins, G. A.; Hole, M. J.

2006-01-01

Full text: Full text: Fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, offers a solution to the world's long-term energy needs: providing large scale energy production with zero greenhouse gas emissions, short-lived radio-active waste compared to conventional nuclear fission cycles, and a virtually limitless supply of fuel. Almost three decades of fusion research has produced spectacular progress. Present-day experiments have a power gain ratio of approximately 1 (ratio of power out to power in), with a power output in the 10's of megawatts. The world's next major fusion experiment, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), will be a pre-prototype power plant. Since announcement of the ITER site in June 2005, the ITER project, has gained momentum and political support. Despite Australia's foundation role in the field of fusion science, through the pioneering work of Sir Mark Oliphant, and significant contributions to the international fusion program over the succeeding years, Australia is not involved in the ITER project. In this talk, the activities of a recently formed consortium of scientists and engineers, the Australian ITER Forum will be outlined. The Forum is drawn from five Universities, ANSTO (the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) and AINSE (the Australian Institute for Nuclear Science and Engineering), and seeks to promote fusion energy in the Australian community and negotiate a role for Australia in the ITER project. As part of this activity, the Australian government recently funded a workshop that discussed the ways and means of engaging Australia in ITER. The workshop brought the research, industrial, government and general public communities, together with the ITER partners, and forged an opportunity for ITER engagement; with scientific, industrial, and energy security rewards for Australia. We will report on the emerging scope for Australian involvement

Involvement of galectin-1 in reproduction: past, present and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrientos, Gabriela; Freitag, Nancy; Tirado-González, Irene; Unverdorben, Laura; Jeschke, Udo; Thijssen, Victor L J L; Blois, Sandra M

2014-01-01

After recognition of its pivotal contribution to fetomaternal tolerance, the study of galectin-1 (gal-1) functions in the context of pregnancy became an attractive topic in reproductive medicine. Despite considerable advances in the understanding of the immuno- and growth-regulatory properties of gal-1 at the fetal-maternal interface, many functional aspects of this lectin in reproduction are only emerging. The published literature was searched using Pubmed focusing on gal-1 signalling and functional properties at the maternal-fetal interface, including data on its implication in pregnancy disorders and malignancies of the female reproductive system. Papers discussing animal and human studies were included. This review provides an overview of gal-1 functions during pregnancy, such as modulation of maternal immune responses and roles in embryo implantation and placentation. We also emphasize the role of gal-1 in key regulatory processes, including trophoblast migration, invasion, syncytium formation and expression of non-classical MHC class I molecules (HLA-G). In addition, we argue in favour of gal-1 pro-angiogenic properties, as observed in tumourigenesis and other pathological settings, and its implication in the angiogenesis process associated with early gestation. The involvement of gal-1 in the regulation of different processes during the establishment, development and maintenance of pregnancy could be described as unique. Gal-1 has emerged as an important lectin with major functions in pregnancy.

Prevention of Major Accident Hazards (MAHs) in major Hazard Installation (MHI) premises via land use planning (LUP): a review

Science.gov (United States)

Khudbiddin, M. Q.; Rashid, Z. A.; Yeong, A. F. M. S.; Alias, A. B.; Irfan, M. F.; Fuad, M.; Hayati, H.

2018-03-01

For a number of years, there is a concern about the causes of major hazards, their identification, risk assessment and the process of its management from the global perspective on the activities of the industries due to the protection of the environment, human and property. Though, industries cannot take pleasure in their business by harming the nature of the land, there are a number of measures that need to be put into consideration by the industries. Such measures are in terms of management and safety for the businesses, lives, properties, as well as the environment. The lack of consideration in the selected appropriate criteria can result in major accidental hazards (MAHs). This paper will review the land use planning (LUP) methods used in the past and present to prevent major accident hazards at major hazard installation (MHI).

Selected Plant Metabolites Involved in Oxidation-Reduction Processes during Bud Dormancy and Ontogenetic Development in Sweet Cherry Buds (Prunus avium L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susanne Baldermann

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Many biochemical processes are involved in regulating the consecutive transition of different phases of dormancy in sweet cherry buds. An evaluation based on a metabolic approach has, as yet, only been partly addressed. The aim of this work, therefore, was to determine which plant metabolites could serve as biomarkers for the different transitions in sweet cherry buds. The focus here was on those metabolites involved in oxidation-reduction processes during bud dormancy, as determined by targeted and untargeted mass spectrometry-based methods. The metabolites addressed included phenolic compounds, ascorbate/dehydroascorbate, reducing sugars, carotenoids and chlorophylls. The results demonstrate that the content of phenolic compounds decrease until the end of endodormancy. After a long period of constancy until the end of ecodormancy, a final phase of further decrease followed up to the phenophase open cluster. The main phenolic compounds were caffeoylquinic acids, coumaroylquinic acids and catechins, as well as quercetin and kaempferol derivatives. The data also support the protective role of ascorbate and glutathione in the para- and endodormancy phases. Consistent trends in the content of reducing sugars can be elucidated for the different phenophases of dormancy, too. The untargeted approach with principle component analysis (PCA clearly differentiates the different timings of dormancy giving further valuable information.

Donor Motivations and Decision Making: Understanding the Major Gift Development Process from a Donor's Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Anna Lee

2015-01-01

Higher education is faced with a challenge to its traditional funding structure. As a result, academic programs must seek alternative sources of support. Chief among these sources is philanthropy in the form of major gifts. Insight into donor motivations and decision making when approached to consider a major gift may help to maximize the success…

From public participation to stakeholder involvement: The rocky road to more inclusiveness

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peelle, E.

1995-07-01

Surviving always at the edge of extinction, public participation in environmental decision making has an uncertain and problematic history. From its emergence from the urban planning and delivery system efforts of the 1960s to many siting and non-siting uses today, it remains a battleground, with few successes and many failures. While some compelling structural, organizational and cultural explanations for this state of affairs exist, the author offers a further one--a too-limited definition and vision of public participation. One then can argue for a more inclusive process such as stakeholder involvement (SI) to enable a more viable approach to decision making. One can argue that the narrow conceptualization offered in the term public participation (PP) is partly responsible for the meager results of decades of efforts by earnest practitioners. Because of the limited, unique, and self-selected publics that respond to the major PP mechanisms such as public hearings, PP has become largely the province of organized activist groups and is largely accepted as such by most parties, including PP professionals. The author reviews the roles of Congress, federal agencies/proponents, local governments, activist groups and PP professionals in creating the current limited PP processes. She discusses trends and prospects for moving to broader based, more inclusive SI approaches. The emerging SI approach presents major methodological and organizational challenges, but offers the promise of outcomes more likely to be legitimated and potentially more lasting.

Rapid thermal processing and beyond applications in semiconductor processing

CERN Document Server

Lerch, W

2008-01-01

Heat-treatment and thermal annealing are very common processing steps which have been employed during semiconductor manufacturing right from the beginning of integrated circuit technology. In order to minimize undesired diffusion, and other thermal budget-dependent effects, the trend has been to reduce the annealing time sharply by switching from standard furnace batch-processing (involving several hours or even days), to rapid thermal processing involving soaking times of just a few seconds. This transition from thermal equilibrium, to highly non-equilibrium, processing was very challenging a

Groundwater sources and geochemical processes in a crystalline fault aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

Roques, Clément; Aquilina, Luc; Bour, Olivier; Maréchal, Jean-Christophe; Dewandel, Benoît; Pauwels, Hélène; Labasque, Thierry; Vergnaud-Ayraud, Virginie; Hochreutener, Rebecca

2014-11-01

The origin of water flowing in faults and fractures at great depth is poorly known in crystalline media. This paper describes a field study designed to characterize the geochemical compartmentalization of a deep aquifer system constituted by a graben structure where a permeable fault zone was identified. Analyses of the major chemical elements, trace elements, dissolved gases and stable water isotopes reveal the origin of dissolved components for each permeable domain and provide information on various water sources involved during different seasonal regimes. The geochemical response induced by performing a pumping test in the fault-zone is examined, in order to quantify mixing processes and contribution of different permeable domains to the flow. Reactive processes enhanced by the pumped fluxes are also identified and discussed. The fault zone presents different geochemical responses related to changes in hydraulic regime. They are interpreted as different water sources related to various permeable structures within the aquifer. During the low water regime, results suggest mixing of recent water with a clear contribution of older water of inter-glacial origin (recharge temperature around 7 °C), suggesting the involvement of water trapped in a local low-permeability matrix domain or the contribution of large scale circulation loops. During the high water level period, due to inversion of the hydraulic gradient between the major permeable fault zone and its surrounding domains, modern water predominantly flows down to the deep bedrock and ensures recharge at a local scale within the graben. Pumping in a permeable fault zone induces hydraulic connections with storage-reservoirs. The overlaid regolith domain ensures part of the flow rate for long term pumping (around 20% in the present case). During late-time pumping, orthogonal fluxes coming from the fractured domains surrounding the major fault zone are dominant. Storage in the connected fracture network within the

Identification and quantification of six major α-dicarbonyl process contaminants in high-fructose corn syrup.

Science.gov (United States)

Gensberger, Sabrina; Mittelmaier, Stefan; Glomb, Marcus A; Pischetsrieder, Monika

2012-07-01

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a widely used liquid sweetener produced from corn starch by hydrolysis and partial isomerization of glucose to fructose. During these processing steps, sugars can be considerably degraded, leading, for example, to the formation of reactive α-dicarbonyl compounds (α-DCs). The present study performed targeted screening to identify the major α-DCs in HFCS. For this purpose, α-DCs were selectively converted with o-phenylendiamine to the corresponding quinoxaline derivatives, which were analyzed by liquid chromatography with hyphenated diode array-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-DAD-MS/MS) detection. 3-Deoxy-D-erythro-hexos-2-ulose (3-deoxyglucosone), D-lyxo-hexos-2-ulose (glucosone), 3-deoxy-D-threo-hexos-2-ulose (3-deoxygalactosone), 1-deoxy-D-erythro-hexos-2,3-diulose (1-deoxyglucosone), 3,4-dideoxyglucosone-3-ene, methylglyoxal, and glyoxal were identified by enhanced mass spectra as well as MS/MS product ion spectra using the synthesized standards as reference. Addition of diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid and adjustment of the derivatization conditions ensured complete derivatization without de novo formation for all identified α-DCs in HFCS matrix except for glyoxal. Subsequently, a ultra-high performance LC-DAD-MS/MS method was established to quantify 3-deoxyglucosone, glucosone, 3-deoxygalactosone, 1-deoxyglucosone, 3,4-dideoxyglucosone-3-ene, and methylglyoxal in HFCS. Depending on the α-DC compound and concentration, the recovery ranged between 89.2% and 105.8% with a relative standard deviation between 1.9% and 6.5%. Subsequently, the α-DC profiles of 14 commercial HFCS samples were recorded. 3-Deoxyglucosone was identified as the major α-DC with concentrations up to 730 μg/mL HFCS. The total α-DC content ranged from 293 μg/mL to 1,130 μg/mL HFCS. Significantly different α-DC levels were not detected between different HFCS specifications, but between samples of various manufacturers indicating that the �

All Cues Are Not Created Equal: Obtaining Attitude Persistence under Low-Involvement Conditions.

OpenAIRE

Sengupta, Jaideep; Goodstein, Ronald C; Boninger, David S

1997-01-01

Attitude persistence research in consumer behavior has been predominantly associated with high- rather than low-involvement processing. Advertising, however, is most often processed as a low-involvement communication. The authors predict that different low-involvement cues lead to different degrees of attitude persistence. Consistent with this prediction, they find that under low-involvement conditions, when both related and unrelated peripheral cues evoke similar initial attitudes, only when...

Respiratory processes in non-photosynthetic plastids

Science.gov (United States)

Renato, Marta; Boronat, Albert; Azcón-Bieto, Joaquín

2015-01-01

Chlororespiration is a respiratory process located in chloroplast thylakoids which consists in an electron transport chain from NAD(P)H to oxygen. This respiratory chain involves the NAD(P)H dehydrogenase complex, the plastoquinone pool and the plastid terminal oxidase (PTOX), and it probably acts as a safety valve to prevent the over-reduction of the photosynthetic machinery in stress conditions. The existence of a similar respiratory activity in non-photosynthetic plastids has been less studied. Recently, it has been reported that tomato fruit chromoplasts present an oxygen consumption activity linked to ATP synthesis. Etioplasts and amyloplasts contain several electron carriers and some subunits of the ATP synthase, so they could harbor a similar respiratory process. This review provides an update on the study about respiratory processes in chromoplasts, identifying the major gaps that need to be addressed in future research. It also reviews the proteomic data of etioplasts and amyloplasts, which suggest the presence of a respiratory electron transport chain in these plastids. PMID:26236317

Respiratory processes in non-photosynthetic plastids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta eRenato

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Chlororespiration is a respiratory process located in chloroplast thylakoids which consists in an electron transport chain from NAD(PH to oxygen. This respiratory chain involves the NAD(PH dehydrogenase complex, the plastoquinone pool and the plastid terminal oxidase (PTOX, and it probably acts as a safety valve to prevent the over-reduction of the photosynthetic machinery in stress conditions. The existence of a similar respiratory activity in non-photosynthetic plastids has been less studied. Recently, it has been reported that tomato fruit chromoplasts present an oxygen consumption activity linked to ATP synthesis. Etioplasts and amyloplasts contain several electron carriers and some subunits of the ATP synthase, so they could harbor a similar respiratory process. This review provides an update on the study about respiratory processes in chromoplasts, identifying the major gaps that need to be addressed in future research. It also reviews the proteomic data of etioplasts and amyloplasts, which suggest the presence of a respiratory electron transport chain in these plastids.

Stress-induced resistance to the fear memory labilization/reconsolidation process. Involvement of the basolateral amygdala complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Espejo, Pablo Javier; Ortiz, Vanesa; Martijena, Irene Delia; Molina, Victor Alejandro

2016-10-01

Consolidated memories can enter into a labile state after reactivation followed by a restabilization process defined as reconsolidation. This process can be interfered with Midazolam (MDZ), a positive allosteric modulator of the GABA-A receptor. The present study has evaluated the influence of prior stress on MDZ's interfering effect. We also assessed the influence of both systemic and intra-basolateral amygdala (BLA) infusion of d-cycloserine (DCS), a partial agonist of the NMDA receptors, on the MDZ effect in previously stressed rats. Furthermore, we analyzed the effect of stress on the expression of Zif-268 and the GluN2B sites, two molecular markers of the labilization/reconsolidation process, following reactivation. The results revealed that prior stress resulted into a memory trace that was insensitive to the MDZ impairing effect. Both systemic and intra-BLA DCS administration previous to reactivation restored MDZ's disruptive effect on memory reconsolidation in stressed animals. Further, reactivation enhanced Zif-268 expression in the BLA in control unstressed rats, whereas no elevation was observed in stressed animals. In agreement with the behavioral findings, DCS restored the increased level of Zif-268 expression in the BLA in stressed animals. Moreover, memory reactivation in unstressed animals elevated GluN2B expression in the BLA, thus suggesting that this effect is involved in memory destabilization, whereas stressed animals did not reveal any changes. These findings are consistent with resistance to the MDZ effect in these rats, indicating that stress exposure prevents the onset of destabilization following reactivation. In summary, prior stress limited both the occurrence of the reactivation-induced destabilization and restabilization. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Who's Involved with Hunger: An Organization Guide. Third Edition.