Prevalence and clinical significance of nonorgan specific antibodies in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis as predictor markers for rheumatic diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Elnady, Basant M; Kamal, Naglaa M; Shaker, Raneyah H M; Soliman, Amal F; Hasan, Waleed A; Alghamdi, Hamed A; Algethami, Mohammed M; Jajah, Mohamed Bilal

2016-09-01

Autoimmune diseases are considered the 3rd leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the industrialized countries. Autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATDs) are associated with high prevalence of nonorgan-specific autoantibodies, such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), antidouble-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (anti-dsDNA), antiextractable-nuclear antigens (anti-ENAs), rheumatoid factor (RF), and anticyclic-citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP) whose clinical significance is unknown.We aimed to assess the prevalence of various nonorgan-specific autoantibodies in patients with ATD, and to investigate the possible association between these autoantibodies and occurrence of rheumatic diseases and, if these autoantibodies could be considered as predictor markers for autoimmune rheumatic diseases in the future.This study had 2 phases: phase 1; in which 61 ATD patients free from rheumatic manifestations were assessed for the presence of these nonorgan-specific autoantibodies against healthy 61 control group, followed by 2nd phase longitudinal clinical follow-up in which cases are monitored systematically to establish occurrence and progression of any rheumatic disease in association to these autoantibodies with its influences and prognosis.Regarding ATD patients, ANA, anti-dsDNA, Anti-ENA, and RF were present in a percentage of (50.8%), (18%), (21.3%), and (34.4%), respectively, with statistically significance difference (P rheumatic diseases, over 2 years follow-up. It was obvious that those with positive anti-dsDNA had higher risk (2.45 times) to develop rheumatic diseases than those without. There was a statistically significant positive linear relationship between occurrence of disease in months and (age, anti-dsDNA, anti-CCP, RF, and duration of thyroiditis). Anti-dsDNA and RF are the most significant predictors (P rheumatic diseases than previously thought. Anti-dsDNA, RF, and anti-CCP antibodies may be used as predictive screening markers of systemic lupus erythematosus

Non-organ-specific autoantibodies in children with chronic hepatitis C: clinical significance and impact on interferon treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Muratori, Paolo; Muratori, Luigi; Verucchi, Gabriella; Attard, Luciano; Bianchi, Francesco B; Lenzi, Marco

2003-11-15

We evaluated the prevalence and clinical significance of non-organ-specific autoantibodies (NOSAs) in 47 hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive children with abnormal alanine transaminase levels and analyzed the association between NOSAs and virus level, genotype, human leukocyte antigen status, and interferon (IFN) response. Forty-two hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive children and 25 age- and sex-matched healthy children served as control subjects. NOSAs were found in 34% of the HCV-positive children, 12% of the HBV-positive controls, and none of the healthy control subjects. Liver-kidney microsomal antibody type 1 (LKM1) was detected in 11% of the HCV-positive children but in none of the controls. The HCV load was significantly higher in NOSA-negative than in NOSA-positive children. HCV genotype distribution and human leukocyte antigen alleles were similar, irrespective of NOSA status. Long-term response to IFN therapy was achieved by 18% of the NOSA-positive and 55% of the NOSA-negative subjects. Two LKM1-positive children developed acute, self-limited hepatocellular necrosis while receiving IFN therapy. NOSAs are frequently present in children with hepatitis C, who are less likely to benefit from IFN therapy.

Specifics of marketing in the higher education system

OpenAIRE

Motekaitienė, Aistė; Juščius, Vytautas

2008-01-01

The paper presents evaluation the possibilities and effectiveness of applying marketing principles in a higher education context. By comparing business and higher education marketing we can draw one clear conclusion: in both sectors the marketing processes can only be evaluated according to how successfully consumer needs are perceived and fullfilled with the help ofthe marketing mix. Higher educational institutions must develop a different marketing mix so they could satisfy the different ne...

Determination of serum neuron specific enolase and glutathion S transferases levels in patients with acute cerebral infarction and its clinical significance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Jianyi; Lu Tianhe; Bao Yanmei

2002-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the variation of serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) and glutathion S transferases (GST) levels in patients with cerebral infarction and its clinical significance. Methods: The serum levels of NSE in cerebral infarction patients were determined with immunoradiometric assay (IRMA), and the serum level of GST were determined by enzyme immuno sandwich assay (ELISA). Results: Serum NSE levels linked in patients were significantly higher (p<0.01) and GST serum levels were significantly lower (p < 0.01) within 3 days after onset of disease than those at two weeks and those in the controls. There was a positive correlation between serum NSE levels and neurological deficit scores (p < 0.001) and a negative correlation with serum GST levels (p < 0.05). There was also a close relationship between the serum NSE levels and the volume of infarction (p < 0.001). Conclusion: There was a close relationship between the Serum levels of NSE, GST and clinical features of Patients in the early stage of cerebral infarction

The prevalence of coeliac disease is significantly higher in children compared with adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Mariné, M; Farre, C; Alsina, M; Vilar, P; Cortijo, M; Salas, A; Fernández-Bañares, F; Rosinach, M; Santaolalla, R; Loras, C; Marquès, T; Cusí, V; Hernández, M I; Carrasco, A; Ribes, J; Viver, J M; Esteve, M

2011-02-01

Some limited studies of coeliac disease have shown higher frequency of coeliac disease in infancy and adolescence than in adulthood. This finding has remained unnoticed and not adequately demonstrated. To assess whether there are age and gender differences in coeliac disease prevalence. A total of 4230 subjects were included consecutively (1 to ≥80 years old) reproducing the reference population by age and gender. Sample size was calculated assuming a population-based coeliac disease prevalence of 1:250. After an interim analysis, the paediatric sample was expanded (2010 children) due to high prevalence in this group. Anti-transglutaminase and antiendomysial antibodies were determined and duodenal biopsy was performed if positive. Log-linear models were fitted to coeliac disease prevalence by age allowing calculation of percentage change of prevalence. Differences between groups were compared using Chi-squared test. Twenty-one subjects had coeliac disease (male/female 1:2.5). Coeliac disease prevalence in the total population was 1:204. Coeliac disease prevalence was higher in children (1:71) than in adults (1:357) (P = 0.00005). A significant decrease of prevalence in older generations was observed [change of prevalence by age of -5% (95% CI: -7.58 to -2.42%)]. In the paediatric expanded group (1-14 years), a decrease of coeliac disease prevalence was also observed [prevalence change: -17% (95% CI: -25.02 to -6.10)]. The prevalence of coeliac disease in childhood was five times higher than in adults. Whether this difference is due to environmental factors influencing infancy, or latency of coeliac disease in adulthood, remains to be demonstrated in prospective longitudinal studies. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Identification of threshold prostate specific antigen levels to optimize the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer by magnetic resonance imaging/ultrasound fusion guided biopsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Shakir, Nabeel A; George, Arvin K; Siddiqui, M Minhaj; Rothwax, Jason T; Rais-Bahrami, Soroush; Stamatakis, Lambros; Su, Daniel; Okoro, Chinonyerem; Raskolnikov, Dima; Walton-Diaz, Annerleim; Simon, Richard; Turkbey, Baris; Choyke, Peter L; Merino, Maria J; Wood, Bradford J; Pinto, Peter A

2014-12-01

Prostate specific antigen sensitivity increases with lower threshold values but with a corresponding decrease in specificity. Magnetic resonance imaging/ultrasound targeted biopsy detects prostate cancer more efficiently and of higher grade than standard 12-core transrectal ultrasound biopsy but the optimal population for its use is not well defined. We evaluated the performance of magnetic resonance imaging/ultrasound targeted biopsy vs 12-core biopsy across a prostate specific antigen continuum. We reviewed the records of all patients enrolled in a prospective trial who underwent 12-core transrectal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging/ultrasound targeted biopsies from August 2007 through February 2014. Patients were stratified by each of 4 prostate specific antigen cutoffs. The greatest Gleason score using either biopsy method was compared in and across groups as well as across the population prostate specific antigen range. Clinically significant prostate cancer was defined as Gleason 7 (4 + 3) or greater. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. A total of 1,003 targeted and 12-core transrectal ultrasound biopsies were performed, of which 564 diagnosed prostate cancer for a 56.2% detection rate. Targeted biopsy led to significantly more upgrading to clinically significant disease compared to 12-core biopsy. This trend increased more with increasing prostate specific antigen, specifically in patients with prostate specific antigen 4 to 10 and greater than 10 ng/ml. Prostate specific antigen 5.2 ng/ml or greater captured 90% of upgrading by targeted biopsy, corresponding to 64% of patients who underwent multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging and subsequent fusion biopsy. Conversely a greater proportion of clinically insignificant disease was detected by 12-core vs targeted biopsy overall. These differences persisted when controlling for potential confounders on multivariate analysis. Prostate cancer upgrading with targeted biopsy increases

External Stakeholders of Higher Education Institutions in Poland: Their Identification and Significance

Science.gov (United States)

Piotrowska-Piatek, Agnieszka

2017-01-01

In the context of the ongoing changes in the management systems of higher education, the issue of higher education institutions' (HEIs) relationships with external stakeholders are of key importance. This article discusses this problem from the perspective of Polish higher education system. The aim of it is to answer the following questions: (1)…

Reasoning About Higher-Order Relational Specifications

OpenAIRE

Wang , Yuting; Chaudhuri , Kaustuv; Gacek , Andrew; Nadathur , Gopalan

2013-01-01

International audience; The logic of hereditary Harrop formulas (HH) has proven useful for specifying a wide range of formal systems. This logic includes a form of hypothetical judgment that leads to dynamically changing sets of assumptions and that is key to encoding side conditions and contexts that occur frequently in structural operational semantics (SOS) style presentations. Specifications are often useful in reasoning about the systems they describe. The Abella theorem prover supports s...

Specific mixing facilitates the comparative quantification of phosphorylation sites with significant dysregulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Jing [Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, National Chromatographic R& A Center, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Dalian 116023 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Xu, Bo [Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, National Chromatographic R& A Center, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Dalian 116023 (China); Liu, Zheyi; Dong, Mingming; Mao, Jiawei; Zhou, Ye; Chen, Jin [Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, National Chromatographic R& A Center, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Dalian 116023 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Wang, Fangjun, E-mail: wangfj@dicp.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, National Chromatographic R& A Center, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Dalian 116023 (China); Zou, Hanfa [Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, National Chromatographic R& A Center, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Dalian 116023 (China)

2017-01-15

Mass spectrometry (MS) based quantitative analyses of proteome and proteome post-translational modifications (PTMs) play more and more important roles in biological, pharmaceutical and clinical studies. However, it is still a big challenge to accurately quantify the proteins or proteins PTM sites with extreme relative abundances in comparative protein samples, such as the significantly dysregulated ones. Herein, a novel quantification strategy, Mixing at Specific Ratio (MaSR) before isotope labeling, had been developed to improve the quantification accuracy and coverage of extreme proteins and protein phosphorylation sites. Briefly, the comparative protein samples were firstly mixed together at specific ratios of 9:1 and 1:9 (w/w), followed with mass differentiate light and heavy isotope labeling, respectively. The extreme proteins and protein phosphorylation sites, even if the newly expressed or disappeared ones, could be accurately quantified due to all of the proteins' relative abundances had been adjusted to 2 orders of magnitude (1/9-9) by this strategy. The number of quantified phosphorylation sites with more than 20 folds changes was improved about 10 times in comparative quantification of pervanadate stimulated phosphoproteome of HeLa cells, and 134 newly generated and 21 disappeared phosphorylation sites were solely quantified by the MaSR strategy. The significantly up-regulated phosphorylation sites were mainly involved in the key phosphoproteins regulating the insulin-related pathways, such as PI3K-AKT and RAS-MAPK pathways. Therefore, the MaSR strategy exhibits as a promising way in elucidating the biological processes with significant dysregulations. - Highlights: • All the proteins' relative abundances were adjusted into 2 orders of magnitude (1/9-9). • The quantification accuracy and coverage of extreme proteins and protein phosphorylation sites had been improved. • The newly expressed or disappeared proteins and protein

A study of the prevalence and clinical significance of venom-specific IgE.

Science.gov (United States)

Zora, J A; Swanson, M C; Yunginger, J W

1988-01-01

The prevalence of unrecognized Hymenoptera-venom sensitization, assessed by venom skin tests (VSTs) in adults with no history of adverse reactions to sting, has been as high as 12% in previous epidemiologic studies. To assess further the clinical importance of positive VSTs in such individuals, we skin tested 33 subjects stung in the field during the preceding 12 months without reaction, and 33 persons who denied being stung in the preceding 3 years. Among the recently stung group, 12/33 had at least one positive VST (greater than or equal to 2+) at 1.0 microgram/ml, whereas 5/33 had positive VST at 0.1 microgram/ml. In contrast, only 2/33 nonstung subjects had positive VST at 1.0 microgram/ml, and none were positive at 0.1 microgram/ml. To estimate, prospectively, the sensitization rate after insect stings, we studied a third group of 11 nonsensitive patients with negative skin tests to Hymenoptera. After a deliberate in-hospital honeybee sting, only 1/11 developed a persistently positive honeybee VST. From among the three groups, we then performed nine sting challenges in eight patients with positive VSTs, and all stings were tolerated without significant reaction. We also measured IgE antibodies to Hymenoptera venoms in random blood bank donors. During April to May, 2/216 sera contained elevated venom-specific IgE antibodies, whereas 14/201 sera collected from October to November contained elevated venom-specific IgE antibodies. We conclude that a small but appreciable portion of the population has venom-specific IgE antibodies and that the prevalence is seasonably variable. Our data indicate that persons recently stung without significant reaction contribute to this group but that only a small portion of this group is at risk for a systemic reaction with a future sting.

Dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase-Lpd (Rv0462)-specific T cell recall responses are higher in healthy household contacts of TB: a novel immunodominant antigen from M. tuberculosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Devasundaram, Santhi; Raja, Alamelu

2017-07-01

The partial effectiveness against pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), displayed by the existing tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), highlights the need for novel vaccines to replace or improve BCG. In TB immunology, antigen-specific cellular immune response is frequently considered indispensable. Latency-associated antigens are intriguing as targets for TB vaccine development. The mycobacterial protein, dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (Lpd; Rv0462), the third enzyme of the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex, facilitates Mycobacterium tuberculosis to resist host reactive nitrogen intermediates. Multicolor flow cytometry analysis of whole-blood cultures showed higher Lpd-specific Th1 recall response (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2; P = 0.0006) and memory CD4 + and CD8 + T cells (CCR7 + CD45RA - and CCR7 - CD45RA - ) in healthy household contacts (HHC) of TB ( P < 0.0001), which is comparable with or higher than the standard antigens, ESAT-6 and CFP-10. The frequency of Lpd-specific multifunctional T cells was higher in HHC compared with PTB patients. However, there is no significant statistical correlation. Regulatory T cell (T reg ) analysis of HHCs and active TB patients demonstrated very low Lpd-specific CD4 + T regs relative to ESAT-6 and CFP-10. Our study demonstrates that the Lpd antigen induces a strong cellular immune response in healthy mycobacteria-infected individuals. In consideration of this population having demonstrated immunologic protection against active TB disease development, our data are encouraging about the possible use of Lpd as a target for further TB subunit vaccine development. © Society for Leukocyte Biology.

How specific is specific self-efficacy?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Tine; Makransky, Guido; Vang, Maria Louison

2017-01-01

academic learning self-efficacy (SAL-SE) and specific academic exam self-efficacy (SAE-SE), each scale being measurement invariant relative to age, Gender, admission method and specific course targeted. Furthermore, significant and relevant differences between the SAL-SE and SAE-SE scores dependent......Self-efficacy is an important and much used construct in psychology and social science studies. The validity of the measurements used is not always sufficiently evaluated. The aim was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Danish translation of the self-efficacy subscale of The Motivated...... Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ-SE) within a higher education context. Rasch measurement models were employed focusing on measurement invariance and dimensionality. Results with one students sample showed the MSLQ-SE to be not one, but two separate unidimensional subscales, measuring specific...

Serum concentration of alpha-1 antitrypsin is significantly higher in colorectal cancer patients than in healthy controls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pérez-Holanda, Sergio; Blanco, Ignacio; Menéndez, Manuel; Rodrigo, Luis

2014-01-01

The association between alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency and colorectal cancer (CRC) is currently controversial. The present study compares AAT serum concentrations and gene frequencies between a group of CRC patients and a control group of healthy unrelated people (HUP). 267 CRC subjects (63% males, 72 ± 10 years old) were enlisted from a Hospital Clinic setting in Asturias, Spain. The HUP group comprised 327 subjects (67% males, mean age 70 ± 7.5 years old) from the same geographical region. Outcome measures were AAT serum concentrations measured by nephelometry, and AAT phenotyping characterization by isoelectric focusing. Significantly higher serum concentrations were found among CRC (208 ± 60) than in HUP individuals (144 ± 20.5) (p = 0.0001). No differences were found in the phenotypic distribution of the Pi*S and Pi*Z allelic frequencies (p = 0.639), although the frequency of Pi*Z was higher in CRC (21%) than in HUP subjects (15%). The only statistically significant finding in this study was the markedly higher AAT serum concentrations found in CRC subjects compared with HUP controls, irrespective of whether their Pi* phenotype was normal (Pi*MM) or deficient (Pi*MS, Pi*MZ and Pi*SZ). Although there was a trend towards the more deficient Pi* phenotype the more advanced the tumor, the results were inconclusive due to the small sample size. Consequently, more powerful studies are needed to reach firmer conclusions on this matter

Significantly higher Carabid beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) catch in conventionally than in organically managed Christmas tree plantations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bagge, Søren; Lund, Malthe; Rønn, Regin

2012-01-01

Carabid beetles play an important role as consumers of pest organisms in forestry and agriculture. Application of pesticides may negatively affect abundance and activity of carabid beetles, thus reducing their potential beneficial effect. We investigated how abundance and diversity of pitfall...... trapped carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) varied between conventionally and organically managed Caucasian Fir (Abies nordmanniana (Stev.)) plantations, in northern Zealand, Denmark. We recorded significantly higher numbers of carabid beetle specimens and species at conventionally than at organically...

First-order and higher order sequence learning in specific language impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Gillian M; Lum, Jarrad A G

2017-02-01

A core claim of the procedural deficit hypothesis of specific language impairment (SLI) is that the disorder is associated with poor implicit sequence learning. This study investigated whether implicit sequence learning problems in SLI are present for first-order conditional (FOC) and higher order conditional (HOC) sequences. Twenty-five children with SLI and 27 age-matched, nonlanguage-impaired children completed 2 serial reaction time tasks. On 1 version, the sequence to be implicitly learnt comprised a FOC sequence and on the other a HOC sequence. Results showed that the SLI group learned the HOC sequence (η p ² = .285, p = .005) but not the FOC sequence (η p ² = .099, p = .118). The control group learned both sequences (FOC η p ² = .497, HOC η p 2= .465, ps < .001). The SLI group's difficulty learning the FOC sequence is consistent with the procedural deficit hypothesis. However, the study provides new evidence that multiple mechanisms may underpin the learning of FOC and HOC sequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Modular specification and verification for higher-order languages with state

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Kasper

The overall topic of this thesis is modular reasoning for higher-order languages with state. The thesis consists of four mostly independent chapters that each deal with a different aspect of reasoning about higher-order languages with state. The unifying theme throughout all four chapters is higher....... The third chapter of the thesis is a case study of the C# joins library. What makes this library interesting as a case study is that it combines a lot of advanced features (higher-order code with effects, concurrency, recursion through the store, shared mutable state, and fine-grained synchronization...

The prognostic significance of whole blood global and specific DNA methylation levels in gastric adenocarcinoma.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mansour S Al-Moundhri

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Epigenetics, particularly DNA methylation, has recently been elucidated as important in gastric cancer (GC initiation and progression. We investigated the clinical and prognostic importance of whole blood global and site-specific DNA methylation in GC. METHODS: Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of 105 Omani GC patients at diagnosis. DNA methylation was quantified by pyrosequencing of global DNA and specific gene promoter regions at 5 CpG sites for CDH1, 7 CpG sites for p16, 4 CpG sites for p53, and 3 CpG sites for RUNX3. DNA methylation levels in patients were categorized into low, medium, and high tertiles. Associations between methylation level category and clinicopathological features were evaluated using χ(2 tests. Survival analyses were carried out using the Kaplan-Meier method and log rank test. A backward conditional Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to identify independent predictors of survival. RESULTS: Older GC patients had increased methylation levels at specific CpG sites within the CDH1, p53, and RUNX-3 promoters. Male gender was significantly associated with reduced global and increased site-specific DNA methylation levels in CDH1, p16, and p53 promoters. Global DNA low methylation level was associated with better survival on univariate analysis. Patients with high and medium methylation vs. low methylation levels across p16 promoter CpG sites, site 2 in particular, had better survival. Multivariate analysis showed that global DNA hypermethylation was a significant independent predictor of worse survival (hazard ratio (HR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1-3.8; p = 0.02 and high methylation mean values across p16 promoter sites 1-7 were associated with better survival with HR of 0.3 (95% CI, 0.1-0.8; p = 0.02 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of global and site-specific DNA methylation in peripheral blood by pyrosequencing provides quantitative DNA methylation values that may serve as important

Common themes and cell type specific variations of higher order chromatin arrangements in the mouse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cremer Thomas

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Similarities as well as differences in higher order chromatin arrangements of human cell types were previously reported. For an evolutionary comparison, we now studied the arrangements of chromosome territories and centromere regions in six mouse cell types (lymphocytes, embryonic stem cells, macrophages, fibroblasts, myoblasts and myotubes with fluorescence in situ hybridization and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Both species evolved pronounced differences in karyotypes after their last common ancestors lived about 87 million years ago and thus seem particularly suited to elucidate common and cell type specific themes of higher order chromatin arrangements in mammals. Results All mouse cell types showed non-random correlations of radial chromosome territory positions with gene density as well as with chromosome size. The distribution of chromosome territories and pericentromeric heterochromatin changed during differentiation, leading to distinct cell type specific distribution patterns. We exclude a strict dependence of these differences on nuclear shape. Positional differences in mouse cell nuclei were less pronounced compared to human cell nuclei in agreement with smaller differences in chromosome size and gene density. Notably, the position of chromosome territories relative to each other was very variable. Conclusion Chromosome territory arrangements according to chromosome size and gene density provide common, evolutionary conserved themes in both, human and mouse cell types. Our findings are incompatible with a previously reported model of parental genome separation.

Emissions characteristics of higher alcohol/gasoline blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gautam, M.; Martin, D.W.; Carder, D.

2000-01-01

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the emissions characteristics of higher alcohols and gasoline (UTG96) blends. While lower alcohols (methanol and ethanol) have been used in blends with gasoline, very little work has been done or reported on higher alcohols (propanol, butanol and pentanol). Comparisons of emissions and fuel characteristics between higher alcohol/gasoline blends and neat gasoline were made to determine the advantages and disadvantages of blending higher alcohols with gasoline. All tests were conducted on a single-cylinder Waukesha Cooperative Fuel Research engine operating at steady state conditions and stoichiometric air-fuel (A/F) ratio. Emissions test were conducted at the optimum spark timing-knock limiting compression ratio combination for the particular blend being tested. The cycle emission [mass per unit time (g/h)] of CO, CO 2 and organic matter hydrocarbon equivalent (OMHCE) from the higher alcohol/gasoline blends were very similar to those from neat gasoline. Cycle emissions of NO x from the blends were higher than those from neat gasoline. However, for all the emissions species considered, the brake specific emissions (g/kW h) were significantly lower for the higher alcohol/gasoline blends than for neat gasoline. This was because the blends had greater resistance to knock and allowed higher compression ratios, which increased engine power output. The contribution of alcohols and aldehydes to the overall OMHCE emissions was found to be minimal. Cycle fuel consumption (g/h) of higher alcohol/gasoline blends was slightly higher than with neat gasoline due to the lower stoichiometric A/F ratios required by the blends. However, the brake specific fuel consumption (g/kW h) for the blends was significantly lower than that for neat gasoline. (Author)

The normal limits, subclinical significance, related metabolic derangements and distinct biological effects of body site-specific adiposity in relatively healthy population.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun-Ho Yun

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The accumulation of visceral adipose tissue that occurs with normal aging is associated with increased cardiovascular risks. However, the clinical significance, biological effects, and related cardiometabolic derangements of body-site specific adiposity in a relatively healthy population have not been well characterized. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we consecutively enrolled 608 asymptomatic subjects (mean age: 47.3 years, 27% female from 2050 subjects undergoing an annual health survey in Taiwan. We measured pericardial (PCF and thoracic peri-aortic (TAT adipose tissue volumes by 16-slice multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT (Aquarius 3D Workstation, TeraRecon, San Mateo, CA, USA and related these to clinical characteristics, body fat composition (Tanita 305 Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, coronary calcium score (CCS, serum insulin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP level and circulating leukocytes count. Metabolic risk was scored by Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. RESULTS: TAT, PCF, and total body fat composition all increased with aging and higher metabolic scores (all p<0.05. Only TAT, however, was associated with higher circulating leukocyte counts (ß-coef.:0.24, p<0.05, serum insulin (ß-coef.:0.17, p<0.05 and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (ß-coef.:0.24, p<0.05. These relationships persisted after adjustment in multivariable models (all p<0.05. A TAT volume of 8.29 ml yielded the largest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC: 0.79, 95%CI: 0.74-0.83 to identify metabolic syndrome. TAT but not PCF correlated with higher coronary calcium score after adjustment for clinical variables (all p<0.05. CONCLUSION: In our study, we observe that age-related body-site specific accumulation of adipose tissue may have distinct biological effects. Compared to other adiposity measures, peri-aortic adiposity is more tightly associated with cardiometabolic risk profiles and

Genome-scale portrait and evolutionary significance of human-specific core promoter tri- and tetranucleotide short tandem repeats.

Science.gov (United States)

Nazaripanah, N; Adelirad, F; Delbari, A; Sahaf, R; Abbasi-Asl, T; Ohadi, M

2018-04-05

While there is an ongoing trend to identify single nucleotide substitutions (SNSs) that are linked to inter/intra-species differences and disease phenotypes, short tandem repeats (STRs)/microsatellites may be of equal (if not more) importance in the above processes. Genes that contain STRs in their promoters have higher expression divergence compared to genes with fixed or no STRs in the gene promoters. In line with the above, recent reports indicate a role of repetitive sequences in the rise of young transcription start sites (TSSs) in human evolution. Following a comparative genomics study of all human protein-coding genes annotated in the GeneCards database, here we provide a genome-scale portrait of human-specific short- and medium-size (≥ 3-repeats) tri- and tetranucleotide STRs and STR motifs in the critical core promoter region between - 120 and + 1 to the TSS and evidence of skewing of this compartment in reference to the STRs that are not human-specific (Levene's test p human-specific transcripts was detected in the tri and tetra human-specific compartments (mid-p genome-scale skewing of STRs at a specific region of the human genome and a link between a number of these STRs and TSS selection/transcript specificity. The STRs and genes listed here may have a role in the evolution and development of characteristics and phenotypes that are unique to the human species.

Valid Competency Assessment in Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the 15 collaborative projects conducted during the new funding phase of the German research program Modeling and Measuring Competencies in Higher Education—Validation and Methodological Innovations (KoKoHs is to make a significant contribution to advancing the field of modeling and valid measurement of competencies acquired in higher education. The KoKoHs research teams assess generic competencies and domain-specific competencies in teacher education, social and economic sciences, and medicine based on findings from and using competency models and assessment instruments developed during the first KoKoHs funding phase. Further, they enhance, validate, and test measurement approaches for use in higher education in Germany. Results and findings are transferred at various levels to national and international research, higher education practice, and education policy.

A constitutive damage specific DNA-binding protein is synthesized at higher levels in UV-irradiated primate cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirschfeld, S.; Levine, A.S.; Ozato, K.; Protic, M.

1990-01-01

Using a DNA band shift assay, we have identified a DNA-binding protein complex in primate cells which is present constitutively and has a high affinity for UV-irradiated, double-stranded DNA. Cells pretreated with UV light, mitomycin C, or aphidicolin have higher levels of this damage-specific DNA-binding protein complex, suggesting that the signal for induction can either be damage to the DNA or interference with cellular DNA replication. Physiochemical modifications of the DNA and competition analysis with defined substrates suggest that the most probable target site for the damage-specific DNA-binding protein complex is a 6-4'-(pyrimidine-2'-one)-pyrimidine dimer: specific binding could not be detected with probes which contain -TT- cyclobutane dimers, and damage-specific DNA binding did not decrease after photoreactivation of UV-irradiated DNA. This damage-specific DNA-binding protein complex is the first such inducible protein complex identified in primate cells. Cells from patients with the sun-sensitive cancer-prone disease, xeroderma pigmentosum (group E), are lacking both the constitutive and the induced damage-specific DNA-binding activities. These findings suggest a possible role for this DNA-binding protein complex in lesion recognition and DNA repair of UV-light-induced photoproducts

Specific Remedy for Specific Problem: Measuring Service Quality in South African Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

de Jager, Johan; Gbadamosi, Gbolahan

2010-01-01

This study commences a process of developing a scale for the measurement of service quality in higher education in South Africa and also examines the relationship between the measures of service quality on the one hand and some other related variables such as intention to leave the university, trust in management of the university and the overall…

Teaching Sustainability Using an Active Learning Constructivist Approach: Discipline-Specific Case Studies in Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Kalamas Hedden

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper we present our rationale for using an active learning constructivist approach to teach sustainability-related topics in a higher education. To push the boundaries of ecological literacy, we also develop a theoretical model for sustainability knowledge co-creation. Drawing on the experiences of faculty at a major Southeastern University in the United States, we present case studies in architecture, engineering, geography, and marketing. Four Sustainability Faculty Fellows describe their discipline-specific case studies, all of which are project-based learning experiences, and include details regarding teaching and assessment. Easily replicated in other educational contexts, these case studies contribute to the advancement of sustainability education.

Sensitivity and specificity of radionuclide equilibrium angiocardiography for detection of hemodynamically significant secundum atrial septal defect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brunotte, F.; Laurens, M.H.; Itty, C.; Robert, J.; Cloez, J.L.; Marcon, F.; Pernot, C.

1986-12-01

To determine the value, of gated equilibrium angiography in secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) in children, the first pass pulmonic/systemic flow ratio (Qp/Qs) was compared with diastolic count ratio (DCR) and stroke count ratio (SCR) of the two ventricles. In 50 children we have found a correlation between Qp/Qs and DCR (r=0.71) and between Qp/Qs and SCR (r=0.66). For detection of significant atrial shunt (Qp/Qs>1.5) the sensitivity of DCR>2 was 0.81 and the specificity 0.75. For SCR>1.5 we sensitivity and specificity values of 0.87 and 0.71 respectively. Left and right ventricular ejection fractions were normal (0.67+-0.08 and 0.50+-0.07).

Multi-instantons and exact results II: specific cases, higher-order effects, and numerical calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zinn-Justin, Jean; Jentschura, Ulrich D.

2004-01-01

In this second part of the treatment of instantons in quantum mechanics, the focus is on specific calculations related to a number of quantum mechanical potentials with degenerate minima. We calculate the leading multi-instanton contributions to the partition function, using the formalism introduced in the first part of the treatise [Ann. Phys. (N. Y.) (previous issue) (2004)]. The following potentials are considered: (i) asymmetric potentials with degenerate minima, (ii) the periodic cosine potential, (iii) anharmonic oscillators with radial symmetry, and (iv) a specific potential which bears an analogy with the Fokker-Planck equation. The latter potential has the peculiar property that the perturbation series for the ground-state energy vanishes to all orders and is thus formally convergent (the ground-state energy, however, is non-zero and positive). For the potentials (ii), (iii), and (iv), we calculate the perturbative B-function as well as the instanton A-function to fourth order in g. We also consider the double-well potential in detail, and present some higher-order analytic as well as numerical calculations to verify explicitly the related conjectures up to the order of three instantons. Strategies analogous to those outlined here could result in new conjectures for problems where our present understanding is more limited

Significance of specific activity and a possible universal unit for its definition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svoboda, K.

1985-01-01

The growing importance of specific activity is reviewed. It concerns especially surface phenomena, toxicity, labelling of radiopharmaceuticals, isotope exchange, enzymatic and pharmacological ligand-receptor reactions. The present state of evaluating the specific activity is analyzed. Introduction of the coefficient Dsub(CF) (deviation from true carrier free state) is proposed as a possibility for universal declaration of the specific activity. (author)

Diagnostic significance of tumor markers CEA, CA50 and CA19-9 for colorectal cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yumei; Huang Gang

2005-01-01

Objective: To investigate the expression and diagnostic significance of three serum tumor markers (CEA, CA50, CA19-9) in patients with colorectal cancer, with special emphasis on their combined assay. Methods: Serum CEA, CA19-9 levels (with chemiluminescence immunoassay) and CA50 levels (with immunoradiometric assay) were determined in 94 patients with colorectal cancer, 20 patients with benign colorectal disorders and 37 controls. Results: The expressions of the serum tumor markers were significantly higher in patients with colorectal cancer than those in patients with benign colorectal disorders and controls (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the levels in the latter two groups. CEA assay had the highest sensitivity (57.4%) and specificity (85.9%). Combined assay of the three could enhance both the sensitivity (62.7%) and specificity (96.5%). The serum levels of the markers were significantly higher in patients with colonic cancer than those in patients with rectal cancer (P<0.05). The levels were positively correlated with the size of the growth and stage of the disease. Serum tumor marker levels were also significantly higher in patients with metastasis (regional/distant) than those in patients without metastasis (P<0.05). Conclusion: Determination of serum CEA, CA50 and CA19-9 levels had definite value for the diagnosis and assessment of the pathology as well as biologic behavior colorectal cancer. Combined assay of the three could enhance the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. (authors)

MRI Fusion-Targeted Transrectal Prostate Biopsy and the Role of Prostate-Specific Antigen Density and Prostate Health Index for the Detection of Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer in Southeast Asian Men.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Teck Wei; Png, Keng Siang; Lee, Chau Hung; Yuwono, Arianto; Yeow, Yuyi; Chong, Kian Tai; Lee, Yee Mun; Tan, Cher Heng; Tan, Yung Khan

2017-11-01

To test the hypothesis that targeted biopsy has a higher detection rate for clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) than systematic biopsy. We defined csPCa as any Gleason sum ≥7 cancer. In patients with Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) 3 lesions, to determine if factors, such as prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD) and prostate health index (PHI), can predict csPCa and help select patients for biopsy. We report the first series of targeted biopsies in Southeast Asian men, with comparison against systematic biopsy. Consecutive patients were registered into a prospective institutional review board-approved database in our institution. We reviewed patients who underwent biopsy from May 2016 to June 2017. Inclusion criteria for our study were patients with at least one PI-RADS ≥3, and who underwent both targeted and systematic biopsies in the same sitting. There were 115 patients in the study, of whom 74 (64.3%) had a previous negative systematic biopsy. Targeted biopsies detected significantly less Gleason 6 cancers than systematic biopsies (p < 0.01), and demonstrated significantly higher sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value (NPV) for the detection of csPCa. For patients with PI-RADS 3 lesions, PHI and PSAD were found to be the best predictors for csPCa. PSAD <0.10 ng/mL/mL had an NPV of 93% and sensitivity of 92%, while allowing 20% of patients to avoid biopsy. PHI cutoff of <27 would allow 34% of patients to avoid biopsy, with both sensitivity and NPV of 100%. Targeted prostate biopsies were found to be significantly superior to systematic biopsies for the detection of csPCa, while detecting less Gleason 6 cancer. Usage of PSAD and PHI cutoff levels in patients with PI-RADS 3 lesions may enable a number of patients to avoid unnecessary biopsy.

Normal LVEF measurements are significantly higher in females asassessed by post-stress resting Tc-99m sestamibi gated myocardial perfusion SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong Ho; Shin, Eak Kyun

1999-01-01

Volume-LVEF relationship is one of the most important factors of automatic EF quantification algorithm from gated myocardial perfusion SPECT(gMPS) (Germano et al. JNM, 1995). Gender difference whereby normal LVEF measurements are higher in females assessed by gMPS (Yao et al. JNM 1997). To validate true physiologic value of LVEF vs sampling or measured error, various parameters were evaluated statistically in both gender and age matched 200 subjects (mean age= 58.41±15.01) with normal LVEF more than 50%, and a low likelihood of coronary artery disease. Correlation between LVEDVi(ml/m2) and LVEF was highly significant (r=-0.62, p<0.0001) with similar correlations noted in both male (r=-0.45, p<0.0001) and female (r=-0.67, p<0.0001) subgroups. By multivariate analysis, LV volume and stroke volume was the most significant factor influencing LVEF in male and female, respectively. In conclusion, there is a significant negative correlation between LV volume and LVEF as measured by Tc-99m gated SPECT. Higher normal LVEF value should be applied to females as assessed by post-stress resting Tc-99m Sestamibi gated myocardial perfusion SPECT

Philanthropic Commitment Traits for Waqf in Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siti Khadijah, A. M.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Philanthropic commitment in the form of waqf is important particularly among younger working adults in ensuring sustainable flow of funds for charitable purposes. One of the vital usages of such funds is funding for higher education. A question is raised on the commitment of younger adults in such giving. This study examines waqf commitment traits among waqif (waqf contributors for higher education funding. The specific objective of this study is to measure the factors that influence the waqif to contribute their property or income into waqf for higher education fund. For the purpose of this study, 400 questionnaires have been distributed to working young adult respondents in the Klang Valley area. Waqf commitment attributes comprising of Religiosity, Trust, Altruism, Personal Characteristics, SelfImage, Psychological Benefits, Social Norms and Personal Satisfaction are examined. The findings reveal that Religiosity, Altruism, Personal Satisfaction and Commitment are significant attributes in explaining waqf commitment. However, Trust and Social Norm are not significant.

Prostate cancer volume adds significantly to prostate-specific antigen in the prediction of early biochemical failure after external beam radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Amico, Anthony V.; Propert, Kathleen J.

1996-01-01

Purpose: A new clinical pretreatment quantity that closely approximates the true prostate cancer volume is defined. Methods and Materials: The cancer-specific prostate-specific antigen (PSA), PSA density, prostate cancer volume (V Ca ), and the volume fraction of the gland involved with carcinoma (V Ca fx) were calculated for 227 prostate cancer patients managed definitively with external beam radiation therapy. 1. PSA density PSA/ultrasound prostate gland volume 2. Cancer-specific PSA = PSA - [PSA from benign epithelial tissue] 3. V Ca = Cancer-specific PSA/[PSA in serum per cm 3 of cancer] 4. V Ca fx = V Ca /ultrasound prostate gland volume A Cox multiple regression analysis was used to test whether any of these-clinical pretreatment parameters added significantly to PSA in predicting early postradiation PSA failure. Results: The prostate cancer volume (p = 0.039) and the volume fraction of the gland involved by carcinoma (p = 0.035) significantly added to the PSA in predicting postradiation PSA failure. Conversely, the PSA density and the cancer-specific PSA did not add significantly (p > 0.05) to PSA in predicting postradiation PSA failure. The 20-month actuarial PSA failure-free rates for patients with calculated tumor volumes of ≤0.5 cm 3 , 0.5-4.0 cm 3 , and >4.0 cm 3 were 92, 80, and 47%, respectively (p = 0.00004). Conclusion: The volume of prostate cancer (V Ca ) and the resulting volume fraction of cancer both added significantly to PSA in their ability to predict for early postradiation PSA failure. These new parameters may be used to select patients in prospective randomized trials that examine the efficacy of combining radiation and androgen ablative therapy in patients with clinically localized disease, who are at high risk for early postradiation PSA failure

ASSESSING SELF-STUDY WORK’S SIGNIFICANT SKILLS FOR SUCCESSFUL LEARNING IN THE HIGHER SCHOOL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galina V. Milovanova

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: the problem of organizing students’ independent work/self-study is not new, but the changes in the higher school for the last two decades show that the experience accumulated in the traditional educational model can be applied only when it is processed in the present-day conditions. The article analyses the innovative component of the educational process in terms of a significant increase in the volume of compulsory independent work in the university. Particular attention is paid to determining the levels of the formation of skills for independent work in terms of students’ readiness for its implementa¬tion. The aim of the research is to identify the most significant skills of independent work for successful study at the university. Materials and Methods: the research is based on general scholarly methods: analysis, comparison, generalisation. A questionnaire survey was carried out and a correlation analysis of the results was presented. The mathematical statistics methods in Excel application were u sed for processing the survey data. Results: the article focused on the relevance of formation the students’ ability to work independently in the learning process. Requirements for professionals recognize the need for knowledge and skills, but more importantly, the ability and readiness to complete this knowledge and be in a state of continuous education and self-education. In turn, readiness to self-education cannot exist without independent work. The ratio of students to work independently and their skills’ levels in this area of the gnostic, design, structural, organisational and communicative blocks were identified because o f the research. Discussion and Conclusions: the levels of the formation of the skills for independent work influence on the success of the learning. There is a correlation between indicators of achievement and the ability to work independently. Organisation and communication skills have significant

One step processing for future diesel specifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brierley, G.R.

1997-01-01

The trend in diesel fuel specifications is to limit the sulfur level to less than 0.05 wt- per cent. Many regions have also specified that diesel fuels must have lower aromatic levels, higher cetane numbers, and lower distillation end points. These changes will require significant refinery investment to meet the new diesel fuel specifications. The changes may also significantly affect the value of synthetic crude stocks. UOP has developed a new hydroprocessing catalyst which makes it possible to meet the new diesel specifications in one single processing step and at minimal cost. The catalyst saturates aromatics while opening ring structures at the same time. By selectively cracking heavy components into the diesel range with minimal cracking to gas or naphtha, heavier feedstocks can be upgraded to diesel, and refinery diesel yield can be augmented. Synthetic crude distillate is often high in aromatics and low in cetane number. This new UOP hydroprocessing system will allow synthetic crude producers and refiners to produce diesel fuels with higher cetane numbers, high-quality distillate blendstocks and distillate fuels. 26 figs

Predictive value of different prostate-specific antigen-based markers in men with baseline total prostate-specific antigen <2.0 ng/mL.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujizuka, Yuji; Ito, Kazuto; Oki, Ryo; Suzuki, Rie; Sekine, Yoshitaka; Koike, Hidekazu; Matsui, Hiroshi; Shibata, Yasuhiro; Suzuki, Kazuhiro

2017-08-01

To investigate the predictive value of various molecular forms of prostate-specific antigen in men with baseline prostate-specific antigen baseline prostate-specific antigen level baseline prostate-specific antigen- and age-adjusted men who did not develop prostate cancer. Serum prostate-specific antigen, free prostate-specific antigen, and [-2] proenzyme prostate-specific antigen were measured at baseline and last screening visit. The predictive impact of baseline prostate-specific antigen- and [-2] proenzyme prostate-specific antigen-related indices on developing prostate cancer was investigated. The predictive impact of those indices at last screening visit and velocities from baseline to final screening on tumor aggressiveness were also investigated. The baseline free to total prostate-specific antigen ratio was a significant predictor of prostate cancer development. The odds ratio was 6.08 in the lowest quintile baseline free to total prostate-specific antigen ratio subgroup. No serum indices at diagnosis were associated with tumor aggressiveness. The Prostate Health Index velocity and [-2] proenzyme prostate-specific antigen/free prostate-specific antigen velocity significantly increased in patients with higher risk D'Amico risk groups and higher Gleason scores. Free to total prostate-specific antigen ratio in men with low baseline prostate-specific antigen levels seems to predict the risk of developing prostate cancer, and it could be useful for a more effective individualized screening system. Longitudinal changes in [-2] proenzyme prostate-specific antigen-related indices seem to correlate with tumor aggressiveness, and they could be used as prognostic tool before treatment and during active surveillance. © 2017 The Japanese Urological Association.

High Specificity of Quantitative Methylation-Specific PCR Analysis for MGMT Promoter Hypermethylation Detection in Gliomas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paola Parrella

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Normal brain tissue from 28 individuals and 50 glioma samples were analyzed by real-time Quantitative Methylation-Specific PCR (QMSP. Data from this analysis were compared with results obtained on the same samples by MSP. QMSP analysis demonstrated a statistically significant difference in both methylation level (P=.000009 Mann Whitney Test and frequencies (P=.0000007, Z-test in tumour samples as compared with normal brain tissues. Although QMSP and MSP showed similar sensitivity, the specificity of QMSP analysis was significantly higher (93%; CI95%: 84%–100% as compared with MSP (64%; 95%CI: 46%–82%. Our results suggest that QMSP analysis may represent a powerful tool to identify glioma patients that will benefit from alkylating agents chemotherapy.

Specific psychological variables predict quality of diet in women of lower, but not higher, educational attainment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lawrence, Wendy; Schlotz, Wolff; Crozier, Sarah

2011-01-01

Our previous work found that perceived control over life was a significant predictor of the quality of diet of women of lower educational attainment. In this paper, we explore the influence on quality of diet of a range of psychological and social factors identified during focus group discussions......, and specify the way this differs in women of lower and higher educational attainment. We assessed educational attainment, quality of diet, and psycho-social factors in 378 women attending Sure Start Children's Centres and baby clinics in Southampton, UK. Multiple-group path analysis showed that in women...... of self-efficacy, perceived control or outcome expectancies on the quality of diet of women of higher educational attainment, though having more social support and food involvement were associated with improved quality of diet in these women. Our analysis confirms our hypothesis that control...

Serum endocan level and its prognostic significance in breast cancer patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ozturk Ates

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Endocan, known as endothelial cell specific molecule (ESM, is a novel endothelial dysfunction marker. The aim of this study is to examine the plasma endocan level and its prognostic significance in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Methods: A total of 84 patients were enrolled the study. Plasma endocan level was measured by specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELİSA kit. Ethical approval and informed consent were attained. Results: At the time of diagnosis, 33 patients had stage 4 disease. The median plasma endocan level was 619.9 (min 259.9–2813.2 ng/L and its level was significantly higher in metastatic breast cancer group compared to non–metastatic breast cancer group. According to molecular sub-type of breast cancer, there is not statistical difference in plasma endocan level, but its level was higher in patients with Her-2 amplified and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC. Median follow-up time is 11 (1-30 months. Event free survival (EFS was 15 months in patients with plasma endocan level lower than 620, while it was 4 months in patients with serum endocan level greater than 620 (p = 0.016. There was no difference between groups in terms of hypertension, age, Lymphovascular invasion (LVI, extra capsular extension (ECE, body mass index (BMI and White blood cells (WBC, platelet count and plasma endocan level. Conclusion: Plasma endocan levels higher than non metastatic breast cancer. Patients with high plasma endocan levels are short EFS. Further studies would be useful to assess endocan level as a prognostic factor in breast cancer. Keywords: Endothelial cell specific molecule, Breast cancer, Prognosis

The teacher of English for specific purposes and the European Space for Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana BOCANEGRA VALLE

2012-05-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the role of the teacher of English for Specific Purposes (ESP from the beginning of ESP research in the 80’s to date when educators are faced with the challenges of the European Space for Higher Education (ESHE and its implementation in educational systems across Europe. Firstly, the most outstanding aspects published in the relevant literature and dealing with the ESP teacher are explored and summarized. Secondly, the new roles to be played under the framework of ESHE are presented and discussed – it has been found that these new roles are not distinctively prescribed by ESHE but references to them are spread through the existing literature. Next, particular attention will be paid to «interdisciplinary collaboration». This notion is highlighted across ESHE instruments of implementation as a brand new practice in tertiary education but in the context of ESP it is a long-established goal with practical approaches adopted worldwide. As a way of conclusion, ESP teacher’s duties are listed bearing in mind the existing bibliography and the ESHE requirements.

Improving sensitivity of linear regression-based cell type-specific differential expression deconvolution with per-gene vs. global significance threshold.

Science.gov (United States)

Glass, Edmund R; Dozmorov, Mikhail G

2016-10-06

The goal of many human disease-oriented studies is to detect molecular mechanisms different between healthy controls and patients. Yet, commonly used gene expression measurements from blood samples suffer from variability of cell composition. This variability hinders the detection of differentially expressed genes and is often ignored. Combined with cell counts, heterogeneous gene expression may provide deeper insights into the gene expression differences on the cell type-specific level. Published computational methods use linear regression to estimate cell type-specific differential expression, and a global cutoff to judge significance, such as False Discovery Rate (FDR). Yet, they do not consider many artifacts hidden in high-dimensional gene expression data that may negatively affect linear regression. In this paper we quantify the parameter space affecting the performance of linear regression (sensitivity of cell type-specific differential expression detection) on a per-gene basis. We evaluated the effect of sample sizes, cell type-specific proportion variability, and mean squared error on sensitivity of cell type-specific differential expression detection using linear regression. Each parameter affected variability of cell type-specific expression estimates and, subsequently, the sensitivity of differential expression detection. We provide the R package, LRCDE, which performs linear regression-based cell type-specific differential expression (deconvolution) detection on a gene-by-gene basis. Accounting for variability around cell type-specific gene expression estimates, it computes per-gene t-statistics of differential detection, p-values, t-statistic-based sensitivity, group-specific mean squared error, and several gene-specific diagnostic metrics. The sensitivity of linear regression-based cell type-specific differential expression detection differed for each gene as a function of mean squared error, per group sample sizes, and variability of the proportions

Water Exchange Produces Significantly Higher Adenoma Detection Rate Than Water Immersion: Pooled Data From 2 Multisite Randomized Controlled Trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Felix W; Koo, Malcolm; Cadoni, Sergio; Falt, Premysl; Hsieh, Yu-Hsi; Amato, Arnaldo; Erriu, Matteo; Fojtik, Petr; Gallittu, Paolo; Hu, Chi-Tan; Leung, Joseph W; Liggi, Mauro; Paggi, Silvia; Radaelli, Franco; Rondonotti, Emanuele; Smajstrla, Vit; Tseng, Chih-Wei; Urban, Ondrej

2018-03-02

To test the hypothesis that water exchange (WE) significantly increases adenoma detection rates (ADR) compared with water immersion (WI). Low ADR was linked to increased risk for interval colorectal cancers and related deaths. Two recent randomized controlled trials of head-to-head comparison of WE, WI, and traditional air insufflation (AI) each showed that WE achieved significantly higher ADR than AI, but not WI. The data were pooled from these 2 studies to test the above hypothesis. Two trials (5 sites, 14 colonoscopists) that randomized 1875 patients 1:1:1 to AI, WI, or WE were pooled and analyzed with ADR as the primary outcome. The ADR of AI (39.5%) and WI (42.4%) were comparable, significantly lower than that of WE (49.6%) (vs. AI P=0.001; vs. WI P=0.033). WE insertion time was 3 minutes longer than that of AI (Prate (vs. AI) of the >10 mm advanced adenomas. Right colon combined advanced and sessile serrated ADR of AI (3.4%) and WI (5%) were comparable and were significantly lower than that of WE (8.5%) (vs. AI P<0.001; vs. WI P=0.039). Compared with AI and WI, the superior ADR of WE offsets the drawback of a significantly longer insertion time. For quality improvement focused on increasing adenoma detection, WE is preferred over WI. The hypothesis that WE could lower the risk of interval colorectal cancers and related deaths should be tested.

A natively paired antibody library yields drug leads with higher sensitivity and specificity than a randomly paired antibody library.

Science.gov (United States)

Adler, Adam S; Bedinger, Daniel; Adams, Matthew S; Asensio, Michael A; Edgar, Robert C; Leong, Renee; Leong, Jackson; Mizrahi, Rena A; Spindler, Matthew J; Bandi, Srinivasa Rao; Huang, Haichun; Tawde, Pallavi; Brams, Peter; Johnson, David S

2018-04-01

Deep sequencing and single-chain variable fragment (scFv) yeast display methods are becoming more popular for discovery of therapeutic antibody candidates in mouse B cell repertoires. In this study, we compare a deep sequencing and scFv display method that retains native heavy and light chain pairing with a related method that randomly pairs heavy and light chain. We performed the studies in a humanized mouse, using interleukin 21 receptor (IL-21R) as a test immunogen. We identified 44 high-affinity binder scFv with the native pairing method and 100 high-affinity binder scFv with the random pairing method. 30% of the natively paired scFv binders were also discovered with the randomly paired method, and 13% of the randomly paired binders were also discovered with the natively paired method. Additionally, 33% of the scFv binders discovered only in the randomly paired library were initially present in the natively paired pre-sort library. Thus, a significant proportion of "randomly paired" scFv were actually natively paired. We synthesized and produced 46 of the candidates as full-length antibodies and subjected them to a panel of binding assays to characterize their therapeutic potential. 87% of the antibodies were verified as binding IL-21R by at least one assay. We found that antibodies with native light chains were more likely to bind IL-21R than antibodies with non-native light chains, suggesting a higher false positive rate for antibodies from the randomly paired library. Additionally, the randomly paired method failed to identify nearly half of the true natively paired binders, suggesting a higher false negative rate. We conclude that natively paired libraries have critical advantages in sensitivity and specificity for antibody discovery programs.

Specific psychological variables predict quality of diet in women of lower, but not higher, educational attainment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, Wendy; Schlotz, Wolff; Crozier, Sarah; Skinner, Timothy C; Haslam, Cheryl; Robinson, Sian; Inskip, Hazel; Cooper, Cyrus; Barker, Mary

2011-02-01

Our previous work found that perceived control over life was a significant predictor of the quality of diet of women of lower educational attainment. In this paper, we explore the influence on quality of diet of a range of psychological and social factors identified during focus group discussions, and specify the way this differs in women of lower and higher educational attainment. We assessed educational attainment, quality of diet, and psycho-social factors in 378 women attending Sure Start Children's Centres and baby clinics in Southampton, UK. Multiple-group path analysis showed that in women of lower educational attainment, the effect of general self-efficacy on quality of diet was mediated through perceptions of control and through food involvement, but that there were also direct effects of social support for healthy eating and having positive outcome expectancies. There was no effect of self-efficacy, perceived control or outcome expectancies on the quality of diet of women of higher educational attainment, though having more social support and food involvement were associated with improved quality of diet in these women. Our analysis confirms our hypothesis that control-related factors are more important in determining dietary quality in women of lower educational attainment than in women of higher educational attainment. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical significance of FLG gene mutations in children with atopic dermatitis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. E. Varlamov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Skin barrier dysfunction due to deficiency of the skin protein filaggrin is one of the factors involved in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. Objective: to determine the clinical significance of 2282 del CAGT, R501X, R2447X, and S3247X mutations in the FLG gene in children with atopic dermatitis. The investigation included 58 children with atopic dermatitis. A molecular genetic analysis of the four mutations in the FLG gene was done in all the children. In the patients with FLG gene mutations, there was a tendency towards a higher frequency of sensitization to house dust allergens, significantly more often sensitization to cat epidermal allergen, and significantly higher levels of specific IgE to the cat epidermis. Conclusion. Mutations in the FLG gene encoding the protein filaggrin raise the risk for sensitization to domestic and epidermal allergens and, in case of already existing sensitization to the cat epidermis, the patients are found with a high degree of probability to have the high concentration of specific IgE to this allergen. The above fact justifies the need to place special emphasis on measures to eliminate house dust allergens, and cat epidermis allergen in particular, and to personalize approaches to therapy and prevention of atopic dermatitis in children. 

Effect of thoracoscopic esophagus cancer surgery on postoperative incision pain as well as non-specific and specific immune response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin-Long Wu1

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: To explore the effect of thoracoscopic esophagus cancer surgery on postoperative incision pain as well as non-specific and specific immune response. Methods: 56 patients with esophageal cancer who accepted surgical treatment in our hospital between March 2011 and February 2016 were collected, the operation methods and related laboratory tests were reviewed, and then they were divided into the thoracoscope group (n=27 who accepted thoracoscopic surgery and the open surgery group (n=29 who accepted traditional thoracotomy. Before operation and 1 d after operation, immune scatter turbidimetry was used to detect serum levels of pain mediators, and flow cytometer was used to detect the levels of nonspecific immune indexes and specific immune indexes. Results: Before operation, the differences in serum pain mediators as well as nonspecific immune response and specific immune response indexes were not statistically significant between two groups of patients (P>0.05. 1 d after operation, serum pain mediators 5-HT, K+ and NE levels of thoracoscope group were lower than those of open surgery group (P<0.05; nonspecific immune response indexes NK cell as well as C3 and C4 levels in peripheral blood of thoracoscope group were significantly higher than those of open surgery group (P<0.05; specific immune response indexes CD4+, CD4+/CD8+, IgA and IgG levels in peripheral blood of thoracoscope group were significantly higher than those of open surgery group (P<0.05. Conclusion: Thoracoscopic esophagus cancer surgery causes less damage, has lighter inhibition on the immune response system, and is an ideal operation method for patients with early middle esophagus cancer.

Higher Spins & Strings

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2014-01-01

The conjectured relation between higher spin theories on anti de-Sitter (AdS) spaces and weakly coupled conformal field theories is reviewed. I shall then outline the evidence in favour of a concrete duality of this kind, relating a specific higher spin theory on AdS3 to a family of 2d minimal model CFTs. Finally, I shall explain how this relation fits into the framework of the familiar stringy AdS/CFT correspondence.

Using the longest significance run to estimate region-specific p-values in genetic association mapping studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Hsin-Chou

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Association testing is a powerful tool for identifying disease susceptibility genes underlying complex diseases. Technological advances have yielded a dramatic increase in the density of available genetic markers, necessitating an increase in the number of association tests required for the analysis of disease susceptibility genes. As such, multiple-tests corrections have become a critical issue. However the conventional statistical corrections on locus-specific multiple tests usually result in lower power as the number of markers increases. Alternatively, we propose here the application of the longest significant run (LSR method to estimate a region-specific p-value to provide an index for the most likely candidate region. Results An advantage of the LSR method relative to procedures based on genotypic data is that only p-value data are needed and hence can be applied extensively to different study designs. In this study the proposed LSR method was compared with commonly used methods such as Bonferroni's method and FDR controlling method. We found that while all methods provide good control over false positive rate, LSR has much better power and false discovery rate. In the authentic analysis on psoriasis and asthma disease data, the LSR method successfully identified important candidate regions and replicated the results of previous association studies. Conclusion The proposed LSR method provides an efficient exploratory tool for the analysis of sequences of dense genetic markers. Our results show that the LSR method has better power and lower false discovery rate comparing with the locus-specific multiple tests.

Significant enhancement in thermoelectric performance of nanostructured higher manganese silicides synthesized employing a melt spinning technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Muthiah, Saravanan; Singh, R C; Pathak, B D; Avasthi, Piyush Kumar; Kumar, Rishikesh; Kumar, Anil; Srivastava, A K; Dhar, Ajay

2018-01-25

The limited thermoelectric performance of p-type Higher Manganese Silicides (HMS) in terms of their low figure-of-merit (ZT), which is far below unity, is the main bottle-neck for realising an efficient HMS based thermoelectric generator, which has been recognized as the most promising material for harnessing waste-heat in the mid-temperature range, owing to its thermal stability, earth-abundant and environmentally friendly nature of its constituent elements. We report a significant enhancement in the thermoelectric performance of nanostructured HMS synthesized using rapid solidification by optimizing the cooling rates during melt-spinning followed by spark plasma sintering of the resulting melt-spun ribbons. By employing this experimental strategy, an unprecedented ZT ∼ 0.82 at 800 K was realized in spark plasma sintered 5 at% Al-doped MnSi 1.73 HMS, melt spun at an optimized high cooling rate of ∼2 × 10 7 K s -1 . This enhancement in ZT represents a ∼25% increase over the best reported values thus far for HMS and primarily originates from a nano-crystalline microstructure consisting of a HMS matrix (20-40 nm) with excess Si (3-9 nm) uniformly distributed in it. This nanostructure, resulting from the high cooling rates employed during the melt-spinning of HMS, introduces a high density of nano-crystallite boundaries in a wide spectrum of nano-scale dimensions, which scatter the low-to-mid-wavelength heat-carrying phonons. This abundant phonon scattering results in a significantly reduced thermal conductivity of ∼1.5 W m -1 K -1 at 800 K, which primarily contributes to the enhancement in ZT.

Tribes and Territories in the 21st Century: Rethinking the Significance of Disciplines in Higher Education. International Studies in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Trowler, Paul, Ed.; Saunders, Murray, Ed.; Bamber, Veronica, Ed.

2012-01-01

The "tribes and territories" metaphor for the cultures of academic disciplines and their roots in different knowledge characteristics has been used by those interested in university life and work since the early 1990s. This book draws together research, data and theory to show how higher education has gone through major change since then…

MR first pass perfusion of benign and malignant cardiac tumours - significant differences and diagnostic accuracy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauner, K.U.; Picciolo, M.; Theisen, D.; Sandner, T.A.; Reiser, M.F.; Huber, A.M.; Sourbron, S.; Schmitz, C.

2012-01-01

To determine the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance (MR) first pass perfusion in the differentiation of benign and malignant cardiac tumours. 24 patients with cardiac tumours (11 malignant, histopathological correlation present in all cases) were examined using MRI. In addition to morphological sequences a saturation-recovery T1w-GRE technique was implemented for tumour perfusion. The maximum relative signal enhancement (RSE[%]) and the slope of the RSE t -curve (slopeRSE[%/s]) of tumour tissue were assessed. A t-test was used to identify significant differences between benign and malignant tumours. Sensitivities and specificities were calculated for detection of malignant lesions and were compared with the sensitivity and specificity based on solely morphological image assessment. The RSE and slopeRSE of malignant cardiac tumours were significantly higher compared with benign lesions (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001). The calculated sensitivities and specificities of RSE and slopeRSE for identification of malignant lesions were 100% and 84.6% and 100% and 92.3%, respectively with cut-off values of 80% and 6%/s. The sensitivity and specificity for identification of malignant lesions on the basis of morphological imaging alone were 90.9% and 69.2%. With first pass perfusion, malignant cardiac masses can be identified with higher sensitivity and specificity compared with morphological image assessment alone. (orig.)

The nuclear higher-order structure defined by the set of topological relationships between DNA and the nuclear matrix is species-specific in hepatocytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva-Santiago, Evangelina; Pardo, Juan Pablo; Hernández-Muñoz, Rolando; Aranda-Anzaldo, Armando

2017-01-15

During the interphase the nuclear DNA of metazoan cells is organized in supercoiled loops anchored to constituents of a nuclear substructure or compartment known as the nuclear matrix. The stable interactions between DNA and the nuclear matrix (NM) correspond to a set of topological relationships that define a nuclear higher-order structure (NHOS). Current evidence suggests that the NHOS is cell-type-specific. Biophysical evidence and theoretical models suggest that thermodynamic and structural constraints drive the actualization of DNA-NM interactions. However, if the topological relationships between DNA and the NM were the subject of any biological constraint with functional significance then they must be adaptive and thus be positively selected by natural selection and they should be reasonably conserved, at least within closely related species. We carried out a coarse-grained, comparative evaluation of the DNA-NM topological relationships in primary hepatocytes from two closely related mammals: rat and mouse, by determining the relative position to the NM of a limited set of target sequences corresponding to highly-conserved genomic regions that also represent a sample of distinct chromosome territories within the interphase nucleus. Our results indicate that the pattern of topological relationships between DNA and the NM is not conserved between the hepatocytes of the two closely related species, suggesting that the NHOS, like the karyotype, is species-specific. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Value of serum TORCH-specific antibody detection in assessment of neonatal jaundice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guang-Hua Dai

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: To study the value of serum TORCH-specific antibody detection in assessment of neonatal jaundice. Methods: A total of 70 cases of children with neonatal jaundice were selected as jaundice group, 70 cases of healthy newborn were the control group, and serum serum TORCH-specific antibody content as well as heart function, liver function, kidney function and nerve function indicators were detected. Results: Serum TOX-IgM, RV-IgM, CMV-IgM and HSV-IgM positive rate and content of jaundice group were significantly higher than those of control group; serum CK-MB, cTnI, AST, ALT, Cys-C, RBP, MBP, S100β and NSE content of TORCH-positive children were significantly higher than those of TORCHnegative children, and BDNF, NT-3, NT-4 and NGF content were significantly lower than those of TORCH-negative children; T1WI signal of pallidum MRI of TORCH-positive children was significantly higher than that of TORCH-negative children. Conclusions: Serum TORCHspecific antibodies significantly increase in children with neonatal jaundice and can assess the degree of bilirubin metabolism disorder and the degree of target organ damage.

Bone Mass and Strength are Significantly Improved in Mice Overexpressing Human WNT16 in Osteocytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Alam, Imranul; Reilly, Austin M; Alkhouli, Mohammed; Gerard-O'Riley, Rita L; Kasipathi, Charishma; Oakes, Dana K; Wright, Weston B; Acton, Dena; McQueen, Amie K; Patel, Bhavmik; Lim, Kyung-Eun; Robling, Alexander G; Econs, Michael J

2017-04-01

Recently, we demonstrated that osteoblast-specific overexpression of human WNT16 increased both cortical and trabecular bone mass and structure in mice. To further identify the cell-specific role of Wnt16 in bone homeostasis, we created transgenic (TG) mice overexpressing human WNT16 in osteocytes using Dmp1 promoter (Dmp1-hWNT16 TG) on C57BL/6 (B6) background. We analyzed bone phenotypes and serum bone biomarkers, performed gene expression analysis and measured dynamic bone histomorphometry in Dmp1-hWNT16 TG and wild-type (WT) mice. Compared to WT mice, Dmp1-hWNT16 TG mice exhibited significantly higher whole-body, spine and femoral aBMD, BMC and trabecular (BV/TV, Tb.N, and Tb.Th) and cortical (bone area and thickness) parameters in both male and female at 12 weeks of age. Femur stiffness and ultimate force were also significantly improved in the Dmp1-hWNT16 TG female mice, compared to sex-matched WT littermates. In addition, female Dmp1-hWNT16 TG mice displayed significantly higher MS/BS, MAR and BFR/BS compared to the WT mice. Gene expression analysis demonstrated significantly higher mRNA level of Alp in both male and female Dmp1-hWNT16 TG mice and significantly higher levels of Osteocalcin, Opg and Rankl in the male Dmp1-hWNT16 TG mice in bone tissue compared to sex-matched WT mice. These results indicate that WNT16 plays a critical role for acquisition of both cortical and trabecular bone mass and strength. Strategies designed to use WNT16 as a target for therapeutic interventions will be valuable to treat osteoporosis and other low bone mass conditions.

Flash visual evoked potentials are not specific enough to identify parieto-occipital lobe involvement in term neonates after significant hypoglycaemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Liyuan; Gu, Qiufang; Zhu, Zhen; Yang, Chenhao; Chen, Chao; Cao, Yun; Zhou, Wenhao

2014-08-01

Hypoglycaemia is a significant problem in high-risk neonates and predominant parieto-occipital lobe involvement has been observed after severe hypoglycaemic insult. We explored the use of flash visual evoked potentials (FVEP) in detecting parieto-occipital lobe involvement after significant hypoglycaemia. Full-term neonates (n = 15) who underwent FVEP from January 2008 to May 2013 were compared with infants (n = 11) without hypoglycaemia or parietal-occipital lobe injury. Significant hypoglycaemia was defined as being symptomatic or needing steroids, glucagon or a glucose infusion rate of ≥12 mg/kg/min. The hypoglycaemia group exhibited delayed latency of the first positive waveform on FVEP. The initial detected time for hypoglycaemia was later in the eight subjects with seizures (median 51-h-old) than those without (median 22-h-old) (P = 0.003). Magnetic resonance imaging showed that 80% of the hypoglycaemia group exhibited occipital-lobe injuries, and they were more likely to exhibit abnormal FVEP morphology (P = 0.007) than the controls. FVEP exhibited 100% sensitivity, but only 25% specificity, for detecting injuries to the parieto-occipital lobes. Flash visual evoked potential (FVEP) was sensitive, but not sufficiently specific, in identifying parieto-occipital lobe injuries among term neonates exposed to significant hypoglycaemia. Larger studies exploring the potential role of FVEP in neonatal hypoglycaemia are required. ©2014 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Accuracy of Carotid Duplex Criteria in Diagnosis of Significant Carotid Stenosis in Asian Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Dharmasaroja, Pornpatr A; Uransilp, Nattaphol; Watcharakorn, Arvemas; Piyabhan, Pritsana

2018-03-01

Extracranial carotid stenosis can be diagnosed by velocity criteria of carotid duplex. Whether they are accurately applied to define severity of internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis in Asian patients needs to be proved. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of 2 carotid duplex velocity criteria in defining significant carotid stenosis. Carotid duplex studies and magnetic resonance angiography were reviewed. Criteria 1 was recommended by the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound; moderate stenosis (50%-69%): peak systolic velocity (PSV) 125-230 cm/s, diastolic velocity (DV) 40-100 cm/s; severe stenosis (>70%): PSV greater than 230 cm/s, DV greater than 100 cm/s. Criteria 2 used PSV greater than 140 cm/s, DV less than 110 cm/s to define moderate stenosis (50%-75%) and PSV greater than 140 cm/s, DV greater than 110 cm/s for severe stenosis (76%-95%). A total of 854 ICA segments were reviewed. There was moderate stenosis in 72 ICAs, severe stenosis in 50 ICAs, and occlusion in 78 ICAs. Criteria 2 had slightly lower sensitivity, whereas higher specificity and accuracy than criteria 1 were observed in detecting moderate stenosis (criteria 1: sensitivity 95%, specificity 83%, accuracy 84%; criteria 2: sensitivity 92%, specificity 92%, and accuracy 92%). However, in detection of severe ICA stenosis, no significant difference in sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy was found (criteria 1: sensitivity 82%, specificity 99.57%, accuracy 98%; criteria 2: sensitivity 86%, specificity 99.68%, and accuracy 99%). In the subgroup of moderate stenosis, the criteria using ICA PSV greater than 140 cm/s had higher specificity and accuracy than the criteria using ICA PSV 125-230 cm/s. However, there was no significant difference in detection of severe stenosis or occlusion of ICA. Copyright © 2018 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Staphylococcal enterotoxin-specific IgE antibodies in atopic dermatitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ide, Fumihito; Matsubara, Tomoyo; Kaneko, Miho; Ichiyama, Takashi; Mukouyama, Tokuko; Furukawa, Susumu

2004-06-01

The authors clarified the clinical significance of the measurement of serum concentrations of specific IgE antibodies to staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) A- and SEB in atopic dermatitis (AD). The serum concentrations of SEA- and SEB-specific IgE antibodies in 140 pediatric patients with AD were measured with an immuno CAP -radioallergosorbent test system (RAST). To check the cross-reaction of specific IgE antibodies to SEA/SEB and other allergens, the CAP RAST fluorescent enzyme immunoassay inhibition test was performed. Forty-seven patients (33.6%) tested positive for either SEA- or SEB-specific IgE antibodies. School children showed higher positive rates of SEA/SEB-specific IgE antibodies than infants or young children. The patients with severe AD and those with exacerbation of symptoms in summer, had higher positive rates of SEA/SEB-specific IgE antibodies than patients with mild AD or those with exacerbation in winter. In addition, the positive rates of specific IgE antibodies to both dog-dander and cat-dander were higher in patients with positive SEA/SEB-specific IgE antibodies than in patients with negative ones. No cross-reactions occurred among specific IgE antibodies to SEA/SEB and dog/cat dander with one patient's serum, which had positive IgE-specific antibodies against cat/dog dander and SEA/SEB. The positive rate of SEA/SEB-specific IgE antibodies in the patients with dogs and/or cats as pets was 48.4%, which was higher than in those with no pets. Atopic dermatitis patients who exhibit high positive rates of SEA/SEB-specific IgE antibodies were found to be school children, severe cases, cases with high serum concentrations of total IgE, cases with exacerbation in summer, and cases with dogs and/or cats as pets. The measurement of serum concentrations of specific IgE antibodies to SEA and SEB, thus has some value for evaluating AD patients.

Total and Candida - Specific IgE in Recurrent Vaginal Candidiasis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K V Ratnam

1987-01-01

Full Text Available Total and candida specific serum IgE levels were studied in 21 patients who fulfilled the criteria for recurrent vaginal candidiasis, and 45 controls. The candida specific IgE levels were significantly higher in patients with recurrent vaginal candidiasis when compared with the controls. There was no significant difference in the total IgE levels between patients and the controls. IgE is postulated to inhibit the cellular immune respsnse to candida and thereby prevent its eradication. There may be a genetic basis for the increased IgE levels.

Significance of specificity of Tinetti B-POMA test and fall risk factor in third age of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Avdić, Dijana; Pecar, Dzemal

2006-02-01

As for the third age, psychophysical abilities of humans gradually decrease, while the ability of adaptation to endogenous and exogenous burdens is going down. In 1987, "Harada" et al. (1) have found out that 9.5 million persons in USA have difficulties running daily activities, while 59% of them (which is 5.6 million) are older than 65 years in age. The study has encompassed 77 questioned persons of both sexes with their average age 71.73 +/- 5.63 (scope of 65-90 years in age), chosen by random sampling. Each patient has been questioned in his/her own home and familiar to great extent with the methodology and aims of the questionnaire. Percentage of questioned women was 64.94% (50 patients) while the percentage for men was 35.06% (27 patients). As for the value of risk factor score achieved conducting the questionnaire and B-POMA test, there are statistically significant differences between men and women, as well as between patients who fell and those who never did. As for the way of life (alone or in the community), there are no significant statistical differences. Average results gained through B-POMA test in this study are statistically significantly higher in men and patients who did not provide data about falling, while there was no statistically significant difference in the way of life. In relation to the percentage of maximum number of positive answers to particular questions, regarding gender, way of life and the data about falling, there were no statistically significant differences between the value of B-POMA test and the risk factor score (the questionnaire).

Gastric cancer in New Mexico counties with significant deposits of uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkinson, G.S.

1985-01-01

Several counties in northern New Mexico display high rates of mortality from gastric cancer. Significant differences in sex-specific, age-adjusted, average annual stomach cancer mortality rates among whites from 1970-1979 were found between counties with significant deposits of uranium compared to those without significant deposits. These results remained unchanged when either socioeconomic status or Hispanic ethnicity were considered. Additional research needs to consider individual characteristics and competing risk factors for individuals with gastric cancer in these counties. A working hypothesis is that residents of counties with significant deposits of uranium are exposed to higher-than-average environmental levels of radionuclides such as radon and radon daughters, or to trace elements such as arsenic, cadmium, selenium, and lead which are commonly found in areas with uranium deposits

Leading Change in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

McRoy, Ian; Gibbs, Paul

2009-01-01

This article considers the situation in the UK higher education system and investigates specifically the leadership practice in a cluster of UK institutions as they changed their status. The research goes further to advocate a form of contextualized leadership that is relevant to higher institutions under change. (Contains 1 figure.)

Planning for Higher Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindstrom, Caj-Gunnar

1984-01-01

Decision processes for strategic planning for higher education institutions are outlined using these parameters: institutional goals and power structure, organizational climate, leadership attitudes, specific problem type, and problem-solving conditions and alternatives. (MSE)

Clinical significance of combined determination of serum CA199 and tumor specific growth factor (TSGF) contents in patients with primary hepatic carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Jiancheng

2005-01-01

Objective: To investigate the clinical significance of the changes of serum TSGF and CA199 contents in patients with primary hepatic carcinoma. Methods: Serum CA199 (with IRMA) and TSGF (with biochemistry method) contents were determined in 33 patients with primary hepatic carcinoma and 35 controls. Results: Serum CA199 and TSGF contents were significantly higher in patients with primary hepatic carcinoma than those in controls (P<0.01) and their levels were significantly positively correlated with those of serum AFP. Conclusion: Determination of serum TSGF and CA199 contents was of clinical diagnostic value in patients with primary hepatic carcinoma. (authors)

Higher-Order Program Generation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rhiger, Morten

for OCaml, a dialect of ML, that provides run-time code generation for OCaml programs. We apply these byte-code combinators in semantics-directed compilation for an imperative language and in run-time specialization using type-directed partial evaluation. Finally, we present an approach to compiling goal......This dissertation addresses the challenges of embedding programming languages, specializing generic programs to specific parameters, and generating specialized instances of programs directly as executable code. Our main tools are higher-order programming techniques and automatic program generation....... It is our thesis that they synergize well in the development of customizable software. Recent research on domain-specific languages propose to embed them into existing general-purpose languages. Typed higher-order languages have proven especially useful as meta languages because they provide a rich...

Rib fractures and their association With solid organ injury: higher rib fractures have greater significance for solid organ injury screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Rostas, Jack W; Lively, Timothy B; Brevard, Sidney B; Simmons, Jon D; Frotan, Mohammad A; Gonzalez, Richard P

2017-04-01

The purpose of this study was to identify patients with rib injuries who were at risk for solid organ injury. A retrospective chart review was performed of all blunt trauma patients with rib fractures during the period from July 2007 to July 2012. Data were analyzed for association of rib fractures and solid organ injury. In all, 1,103 rib fracture patients were identified; 142 patients had liver injuries with 109 (77%) associated right rib fractures. Right-sided rib fractures with highest sensitivity for liver injury were middle rib segment (5 to 8) and lower segment (9 to 12) with liver injury sensitivities of 68% and 43%, respectively (P rib fractures. Left middle segment rib fractures and lower segment rib fractures had sensitivities of 80% and 63% for splenic injury, respectively (P Rib fractures higher in the thoracic cage have significant association with solid organ injury. Using rib fractures from middle plus lower segments as indication for abdominal screening will significantly improve rib fracture sensitivity for identification of solid organ injury. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Significance of Blackstone's Understanding of Sovereign Immunity for America's Public Institutions of Higher Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Snow, Brian A.; Thro, William E.

2001-01-01

Asserts that from the perspective of America's public institutions of higher education, Blackstone's greatest legacy is his understanding of sovereign immunity. Explores the similarities between Blackstone's understanding of sovereign immunity and the current jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court. (EV)

Teaching environmental sustainability in higher education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Itard, L.C.M.; Van den Bogaard, M.E.D.; Hasselaar, E.

2010-01-01

The challenges of sustainable engineering and design are complex and so are the challenges of teaching sustainability to higher education students. This paper deals with teaching environmental sustainability, with a specific focus on the sustainability of buildings. The paper addresses specifically

Evaluation of cysticercus-specific IgG (total and subclasses and IgE antibody responses in cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with neurocysticercosis showing intrathecal production of specific IgG antibodies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisandra Akemi Suzuki

Full Text Available In the present study, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA standardized with vesicular fluid of Taenia solium cysticerci was used to screen for IgG (total and subclasses and IgE antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF samples from patients with neurocysticercosis showing intrathecal production of specific IgG antibodies and patients with other neurological disorders. The following results were obtained: IgG-ELISA: 100% sensitivity (median of the ELISA absorbances (MEA=1.17 and 100% specificity; IgG1-ELISA: 72.7% sensitivity (MEA=0.49 and 100% specificity; IgG2-ELISA: 81.8% sensitivity (MEA=0.46 and 100% specificity; IgG3-ELISA: 63.6% sensitivity (MEA=0.12 and 100% specificity; IgG4-ELISA: 90.9% sensitivity (MEA=0.85 and 100% specificity; IgE-ELISA 93.8% sensitivity (MEA=0.60 and 100% specificity. There were no significant differences between the sensitivities and specificities in the detection of IgG-ELISA and IgE-ELISA, although in CSF samples from patients with neurocysticercosis the MEA of the IgG-ELISA was significantly higher than that of the IgE-ELISA. The sensitivity and MEA values of the IgG4-ELISA were higher than the corresponding values for the other IgG subclasses. Future studies should address the contribution of IgG4 and IgE antibodies to the physiopathology of neurocysticercosis.

The applications and clinical significance of IMA, H-FABP joint CKMB in acute myocardial infarction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao-Hui Zeng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the applications and clinical significance of ischemia-modified protein (IMA, heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP joint creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB in acute myocardial infarction (AMI. Methods: From January 2014 to December 2014, 84 clinical materials of patients with AMI in Department of cardiology were collected, and 80 cases of normal projects were the control group. IMA was determinated with albumincobalt ion binding assay. The levels of H-FABP and CK-MB of 84 cases of AMI patients and 80 cases of normal subjects were determinated with immunoturbidimetric. The value of IMA, H-FABP and CK-MB of AMI patients were analyzed with subject-specific curve (ROC. Results: The levels of serum IMA, H-FABP and CK-MB of AMI group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Differences showed statistical significance (P < 0.05. The levels of serum IMA, H-FABP and CK-MB increased as the increase of coronary lesion vessels in patients with AMI (P < 0.05. The levels of IMA, H-FABP and CK-MB of the death group were significantly higher than those of the surviving group (P < 0.05. ROC curve analysis showed that when IMA, H-FABP and CK-MB joint detections of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were greater than singleindex detection (P < 0.05. Conclusions: The expression levels of IMA, H-FABP and CK-MB are closely related to the occurrence and development of disease progression in patients with AMI. IMA, H-FABP joint CK-MB detection can improve the sensitivity and specificity for early diagnosis of AMI.

Independent component analysis reveals new and biologically significant structures in micro array data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veerla Srinivas

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background An alternative to standard approaches to uncover biologically meaningful structures in micro array data is to treat the data as a blind source separation (BSS problem. BSS attempts to separate a mixture of signals into their different sources and refers to the problem of recovering signals from several observed linear mixtures. In the context of micro array data, "sources" may correspond to specific cellular responses or to co-regulated genes. Results We applied independent component analysis (ICA to three different microarray data sets; two tumor data sets and one time series experiment. To obtain reliable components we used iterated ICA to estimate component centrotypes. We found that many of the low ranking components indeed may show a strong biological coherence and hence be of biological significance. Generally ICA achieved a higher resolution when compared with results based on correlated expression and a larger number of gene clusters with significantly enriched for gene ontology (GO categories. In addition, components characteristic for molecular subtypes and for tumors with specific chromosomal translocations were identified. ICA also identified more than one gene clusters significant for the same GO categories and hence disclosed a higher level of biological heterogeneity, even within coherent groups of genes. Conclusion Although the ICA approach primarily detects hidden variables, these surfaced as highly correlated genes in time series data and in one instance in the tumor data. This further strengthens the biological relevance of latent variables detected by ICA.

Frequency and significance of parvovirus B19 infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Science.gov (United States)

Naciute, Milda; Mieliauskaite, Diana; Rugiene, Rita; Nikitenkiene, Rita; Jancoriene, Ligita; Mauricas, Mykolas; Nora-Krukle, Zaiga; Murovska, Modra

2016-01-01

The present study aims to clarify the possible involvement of parvovirus B19 (B19V) infection in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis by investigating the presence of B19V infection markers (genomic sequences and virus-specific antibodies) in association with the level of cytokines and RA clinical activity and aggressiveness. A total of 118 RA patients and 49 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Nested PCR was used to detect B19V sequences in whole blood and cell-free plasma DNA, ELISA to detect virus-specific antibodies and cytokine levels in plasma and recomLine dot blot assay for antibodies to separate B19V antigens. The detection frequency of B19V DNA was higher in patients with RA (25.4 %) in comparison with healthy persons (18.4 %). B19V DNA in cell-free plasma (B19+p) was detected significantly often in RA patients in comparison with healthy controls (13.6 vs 2 %; P=0.0002). RA B19+p patients had higher disease activity and aggressiveness, decreased haemoglobin and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rates. IL-6 plasma levels were significantly higher in RA patients than in controls. Within the RA patients’ group the IL-6 level was significantly increased in B19+p patients with disease activity scores of DAS28>5.2, high C-reactive protein and low haemoglobin. Contrary to the healthy controls, the majority of RA B19+p patients did not have antibodies to VP-1S (VP1u) and VP-N (N-terminal half of structural proteins VP1 and VP2), which correspond to the epitopes of neutralizing antibodies. These results indicate that B19V infection at least in some patients is involved in RA pathogenesis. PMID:27902343

Frequency and significance of parvovirus B19 infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Naciute, Milda; Mieliauskaite, Diana; Rugiene, Rita; Nikitenkiene, Rita; Jancoriene, Ligita; Mauricas, Mykolas; Nora-Krukle, Zaiga; Murovska, Modra; Girkontaite, Irute

2016-12-01

The present study aims to clarify the possible involvement of parvovirus B19 (B19V) infection in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis by investigating the presence of B19V infection markers (genomic sequences and virus-specific antibodies) in association with the level of cytokines and RA clinical activity and aggressiveness. A total of 118 RA patients and 49 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Nested PCR was used to detect B19V sequences in whole blood and cell-free plasma DNA, ELISA to detect virus-specific antibodies and cytokine levels in plasma and recomLine dot blot assay for antibodies to separate B19V antigens. The detection frequency of B19V DNA was higher in patients with RA (25.4 %) in comparison with healthy persons (18.4 %). B19V DNA in cell-free plasma (B19+p) was detected significantly often in RA patients in comparison with healthy controls (13.6 vs 2 %; P=0.0002). RA B19+p patients had higher disease activity and aggressiveness, decreased haemoglobin and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rates. IL-6 plasma levels were significantly higher in RA patients than in controls. Within the RA patients' group the IL-6 level was significantly increased in B19+p patients with disease activity scores of DAS28>5.2, high C-reactive protein and low haemoglobin. Contrary to the healthy controls, the majority of RA B19+p patients did not have antibodies to VP-1S (VP1u) and VP-N (N-terminal half of structural proteins VP1 and VP2), which correspond to the epitopes of neutralizing antibodies. These results indicate that B19V infection at least in some patients is involved in RA pathogenesis.

Programmed Death-1 expression on Epstein Barr virus specific CD8+ T cells varies by stage of infection, epitope specificity, and T-cell receptor usage.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas C Greenough

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Programmed Death-1 (PD-1 is an inhibitory member of the CD28 family of molecules expressed on CD8+ T cells in response to antigenic stimulation. To better understand the role of PD-1 in antiviral immunity we examined the expression of PD-1 on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV epitope-specific CD8+ T cells during acute infectious mononucleosis (AIM and convalescence. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using flow cytometry, we observed higher frequencies of EBV-specific CD8+ T cells and higher intensity of PD-1 expression on EBV-specific CD8+ T cells during AIM than during convalescence. PD-1 expression during AIM directly correlated with viral load and with the subsequent degree of CD8+ T cell contraction in convalescence. Consistent differences in PD-1 expression were observed between CD8+ T cells with specificity for two different EBV lytic antigen epitopes. Similar differences were observed in the degree to which PD-1 was upregulated on these epitope-specific CD8+ T cells following peptide stimulation in vitro. EBV epitope-specific CD8+ T cell proliferative responses to peptide stimulation were diminished during AIM regardless of PD-1 expression and were unaffected by blocking PD-1 interactions with PD-L1. Significant variability in PD-1 expression was observed on EBV epitope-specific CD8+ T cell subsets defined by V-beta usage. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These observations suggest that PD-1 expression is not only dependent on the degree of antigen presentation, but also on undefined characteristics of the responding cell that segregate with epitope specificity and V-beta usage.

Management and Accounting in English Higher Education Influenced by Environmental and Academia-Specific Factors

Science.gov (United States)

von Alberti-Alhtaybat, Larissa; Al-Htaybat, Khaldoon; Hutaibat, Khaled

2012-01-01

This article originates from a longitudinal study of management and accounting practices in the English higher education sector. The processes of strategic management and strategic management accounting in several English higher education institutions were investigated, from planning to assessment, and their meaning to members of staff. The study…

The Effects of Higher Education Programme Characteristics on the Allocation and Performance of the Graduates

Science.gov (United States)

Heijke, Hans; Meng, Christoph

2011-01-01

Using a unique European data-set, we investigated the significance of five higher education programme characteristics for the labour market position of the graduates: the academic versus discipline-specific character of the competencies generated; the standardization of these competencies; the combination of working and learning; the…

Clinical significance of serum and urinary HER2/neu protein levels in primary non-muscle invasive bladder cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ozgur Arikan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: We aimed to compare serum and urinary HER2/neu levels between healthy control group and patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Additionally, we evaluated relationship of HER2/neu levels with tumor stage, grade, recurrence and progression. Materials and Methods: Fourty-four patients with primary non-muscle invasive bladder tumors (Group 2 and 40 healthy control group (Group 1 were included the study. Blood and urinary samples were collected from all patients and HER2/neu levels were measured by ELISA method. Blood and urinary HER2/neu levels and additionally, ratio of urinary HER2/neu levels to urinary creatinine levels were recorded. Demographic data and tumor characteristics were recorded. Results: Mean serum HER2/neu levels were similar between two groups and statistically significant difference wasn't observed. Urinary HER2/neu levels were significantly higher in group 2 than group 1. Ratio of urinary HER2/neu to urinary creatinine was significantly higher in group 2 than group 1, (p=0,021. Serum and urinary HER2/ neu levels were not associated with tumor stage, grade, recurrence and progression while ratio of urinary HER2/neu to urinary creatinin levels were significantly higher in high-grade tumors. HER2/neu, the sensitivity of the test was found to be 20.5%, and the specificity was 97.5%, also for the urinary HER2/neu/urinary creatinine ratio, the sensitivity and specificity of the test were found to be 31.8% and 87.5%, respectively. Conclusions: Urinary HER2/neu and ratio of urinary creatinine urine were significantly higher in patients with bladder cancer compared to healthy subjects. Large series and controlled studies are needed for use as a tumor marker.

The Growth of Higher Educators for Social Justice: Collaborative Professional Development in Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Molly K. Ness, PhD

2010-08-01

Full Text Available In this article, we investigate what happened when, contrary to the typical isolation of faculty in higher education, a group of higher educators from various disciplines in a graduate school of education met regularly to discuss issues related to our teaching and social justice. More specifically, we explored the following research question: How does collaboration among higher educators from various disciplines shape their beliefs and practices of teaching for social justice? Over three years of collaboration and conversation, not only did we expand our own knowledge and understandings of notions of social justice, but we began to take important steps towards increasing our social justice actions in our teaching. This article explores our efforts to create a self-directed professional development group of higher educators and provides suggestions for similarly interested higher educators.

Higher physics for CFE with answers

CERN Document Server

Chambers, Paul; Moore, Ian

2013-01-01

The only new textbook appropriate for all new Higher Physics syllabus requirements from 2012 onwards Higher Physics for CfE provides complete coverage of the latest SQA syllabus for the Revised Higher (for examination 2012 onwards), and is also tailored specifically to the extended requirements, teaching approaches and syllabus outlines detailed in the Higher revisions for Curriculum for Excellence. Each section of the book matches a unit of the CfE syllabus; each chapter corresponds to a content area. The text is composed of three units: Our Dynamic Universe, Particles and Waves, and Electric

Sebum and Hydration Levels in Specific Regions of Human Face Significantly Predict the Nature and Diversity of Facial Skin Microbiome.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, Souvik; Mitra, Rupak; Maitra, Arindam; Gupta, Satyaranjan; Kumaran, Srikala; Chakrabortty, Amit; Majumder, Partha P

2016-10-27

The skin microbiome varies across individuals. The causes of these variations are inadequately understood. We tested the hypothesis that inter-individual variation in facial skin microbiome can be significantly explained by variation in sebum and hydration levels in specific facial regions of humans. We measured sebum and hydration from forehead and cheek regions of healthy female volunteers (n = 30). Metagenomic DNA from skin swabs were sequenced for V3-V5 regions of 16S rRNA gene. Altogether, 34 phyla were identified; predominantly Actinobacteria (66.3%), Firmicutes (17.7%), Proteobacteria (13.1%) and Bacteroidetes (1.4%). About 1000 genera were identified; predominantly Propionibacterium (58.6%), Staphylococcus (8.6%), Streptococcus (4.0%), Corynebacterium (3.6%) and Paracoccus (3.3%). A subset (n = 24) of individuals were sampled two months later. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that cheek sebum level was the most significant predictor of microbiome composition and diversity followed by forehead hydration level; forehead sebum and cheek hydration levels were not. With increase in cheek sebum, the prevalence of Actinobacteria (p = 0.001)/Propionibacterium (p = 0.002) increased, whereas microbiome diversity decreased (Shannon Index, p = 0.032); this was opposite for other phyla/genera. These trends were reversed for forehead hydration levels. Therefore, the nature and diversity of facial skin microbiome is jointly determined by site-specific lipid and water levels in the stratum corneum.

The Clinical Significance of Specific Antibody Deficiency (SAD) Severity in Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS).

Science.gov (United States)

Keswani, Anjeni; Dunn, Neha M; Manzur, Angelica; Kashani, Sara; Bossuyt, Xavier; Grammer, Leslie C; Conley, David B; Tan, Bruce K; Kern, Robert C; Schleimer, Robert P; Peters, Anju T

Despite the increased identification of specific antibody deficiency (SAD) in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), little is known about the relationship between SAD severity and the severity and comorbidities of CRS. The prevalence of an impaired antibody response in the general population is also unknown. The objective of this study was to determine if the SAD severity stratification applies to real-life data of patients with CRS. An electronic health record database was used to identify patients with CRS evaluated for humoral immunodeficiency with quantitative immunoglobulins and Streptococcus pneumoniae antibody titers before and after pneumococcal vaccine. SAD severity was defined, according to the guidelines, based on the numbers of titers ≥1.3 μg/dL after vaccination: severe (≤2 serotypes), moderate (3-6 serotypes), and mild (7-10 serotypes). Comorbidities and therapeutic response were assessed. The prevalence of an impaired antibody response in a normal population was assessed. Twenty-four percent of the patients with CRS evaluated for immunodeficiency had SAD, whereas 11% of a normal population had an impaired immune response to polysaccharide vaccination (P SAD. Twenty-four (10%) had severe SAD, 120 (50%) had moderate SAD, and 95 (40%) had mild SAD. Patients with moderate-to-severe SAD had worse asthma, a greater likelihood of pneumonia, and more antibiotic courses in the 2 years after vaccination than patients with mild SAD. This study provides real world data supporting stratification of SAD by severity, demonstrating a significant increase in the comorbid severity of asthma and infections in CRS patients with moderate-to-severe SAD compared with those with mild SAD and those without SAD. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Clinical and Genomic Significance of Donor-Specific Antibody–Positive/C4d-Negative and Donor-Specific Antibody–Negative/C4d-Negative Transplant Glomerulopathy

Science.gov (United States)

Hayde, Nicole; Bao, Yi; Pullman, James; Ye, Bin; Calder, R. Brent; Chung, Monica; Schwartz, Daniel; Lubetzky, Michelle; Ajaimy, Maria; de Boccardo, Graciela

2013-01-01

Summary Background This study investigated the mechanisms involved in development of donor-specific antibody (DSA) and/or C4d-negative transplant glomerulopathy (TGP) by allograft gene expression profiles using microarrays. Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements This cohort study was conducted in kidney transplant recipients. Patients were eligible for inclusion if they required a clinically indicated biopsy at any time point after their transplant. They were then classified according to their histopathology findings and DSA and C4d results. Eighteen chronic antibody-mediated rejection (CAMR), 14 DSA+/C4d− TGP, 25 DSA−/C4d− TGP, and 47 nonspecific interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (IFTA) biopsy specimens were identified. In a subset of patients from the study population, biopsy specimens in each group and normal transplant kidney specimens were analyzed with Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST Arrays. Results The mean sum score of glomerulitis and peritubular capillaritis increased from 0.28±0.78 in IFTA specimens to 0.75±0.85 in DSA−/C4d− TGP specimens, 1.71±1.49 in DSA+/C4d−/TGP specimens, and 2.11±1.74 in CAMR specimens (PTGP specimens (14.3%), and DSA−/C4d− TGP specimens (16%) (P=0.01). With use of microarrays, comparison of the gene expression profiles of DSA−/C4d− TGP specimens with glomerulitis + peritubular capillaritis scores > 0 to normal and IFTA biopsy specimens revealed higher expression of quantitative cytotoxic T cell–associated transcripts (QCAT). However, both CAMR and DSA+/C4d− TGP specimens had higher expression of not only QCAT but also IFN-γ and rejection-induced, constitutive macrophage-associated, natural killer cell–associated, and DSA-selective transcripts. Endothelial cell–associated transcript expression was upregulated only in CAMR biopsy specimens. Conclusions These results suggested that DSA+/C4d− TGP biopsy specimens may be classified as CAMR. In contrast, DSA−/C4d− TGP specimens showed

The clinical and genomic significance of donor-specific antibody-positive/C4d-negative and donor-specific antibody-negative/C4d-negative transplant glomerulopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayde, Nicole; Bao, Yi; Pullman, James; Ye, Bin; Calder, R Brent; Chung, Monica; Schwartz, Daniel; Lubetzky, Michelle; Ajaimy, Maria; de Boccardo, Graciela; Akalin, Enver

2013-12-01

This study investigated the mechanisms involved in development of donor-specific antibody (DSA) and/or C4d-negative transplant glomerulopathy (TGP) by allograft gene expression profiles using microarrays. This cohort study was conducted in kidney transplant recipients. Patients were eligible for inclusion if they required a clinically indicated biopsy at any time point after their transplant. They were then classified according to their histopathology findings and DSA and C4d results. Eighteen chronic antibody-mediated rejection (CAMR), 14 DSA+/C4d- TGP, 25 DSA-/C4d- TGP, and 47 nonspecific interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (IFTA) biopsy specimens were identified. In a subset of patients from the study population, biopsy specimens in each group and normal transplant kidney specimens were analyzed with Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST Arrays. The mean sum score of glomerulitis and peritubular capillaritis increased from 0.28±0.78 in IFTA specimens to 0.75±0.85 in DSA-/C4d- TGP specimens, 1.71±1.49 in DSA+/C4d-/TGP specimens, and 2.11±1.74 in CAMR specimens (PTGP specimens (14.3%), and DSA-/C4d- TGP specimens (16%) (P=0.01). With use of microarrays, comparison of the gene expression profiles of DSA-/C4d- TGP specimens with glomerulitis + peritubular capillaritis scores > 0 to normal and IFTA biopsy specimens revealed higher expression of quantitative cytotoxic T cell-associated transcripts (QCAT). However, both CAMR and DSA+/C4d- TGP specimens had higher expression of not only QCAT but also IFN-γ and rejection-induced, constitutive macrophage-associated, natural killer cell-associated, and DSA-selective transcripts. Endothelial cell-associated transcript expression was upregulated only in CAMR biopsy specimens. These results suggested that DSA+/C4d- TGP biopsy specimens may be classified as CAMR. In contrast, DSA-/C4d- TGP specimens showed increased cytotoxic T cell-associated transcripts, suggesting T cell activation as a mechanism of injury.

Shared Leadership Transforms Higher Education IT

Science.gov (United States)

Duin, Ann Hill; Cawley, Steve; Gulachek, Bernard; O'Sullivan, Douglas M.; Wollner, Diane

2011-01-01

Globalization, immersive research and learning environments, unlimited access to information and analytics, and fiscal realities continue to impact higher education--and higher education IT. Although IT organizations face immense pressure to meet significantly greater expectations at significantly less cost, with such pressure comes the…

The Significance of Prolonged and Saddleback Fever in Hospitalised Adult Dengue.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deborah Hl Ng

Full Text Available Dengue fever is gaining importance in Singapore with an increase in the number of cases and mortality in recent years. Although prolonged and saddleback fever have been reported in dengue fever, there are no specific studies on their significance in dengue. This study aims to examine the prevalence of prolonged and saddleback fever in dengue as well as their associations with dengue severity. A total of 2843 polymerase-chain reaction (PCR confirmed dengue patients admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital from 2004 to 2008 were included in the study. Sixty-nine percent of them were male with a median age of 34 years. Prolonged fever (fever > 7 days duration was present in 572 (20.1% of patients. Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF, dengue shock syndrome (DSS and severe dengue (SD were significantly more likely to occur in patients with prolonged fever. Mucosal bleeding, anorexia, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, lethargy, rash, clinical fluid accumulation, hepatomegaly, nosocomial infection, leukopenia, higher neutrophil count, higher hematocrit, higher alanine transaminase (ALT and aspartate transaminase (AST, higher creatinine, lower protein and prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT were significantly associated with prolonged fever but not platelet count or prothrombin time (PT. Saddleback fever was present in 165 (5.8%. Although DHF and SD were more likely to occur in patients in those with saddleback fever, DSS was not. Compared with prolonged fever, saddleback fever did not show many significant associations except for diarrhea, abdominal pain, clinical fluid accumulation, hematocrit and platelet change, and lower systolic blood pressure. This study demonstrates that prolonged fever may be associated with various warning signs and more severe forms of dengue (SD, DSS, DHF, while saddleback fever showed associations with DHF and SD but not DSS. The presence of prolonged or saddleback fever in dengue patients should therefore

Sex-specific genetic effects in physical activity: results from a quantitative genetic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Diego, Vincent P; de Chaves, Raquel Nichele; Blangero, John; de Souza, Michele Caroline; Santos, Daniel; Gomes, Thayse Natacha; dos Santos, Fernanda Karina; Garganta, Rui; Katzmarzyk, Peter T; Maia, José A R

2015-08-01

The objective of this study is to present a model to estimate sex-specific genetic effects on physical activity (PA) levels and sedentary behaviour (SB) using three generation families. The sample consisted of 100 families covering three generations from Portugal. PA and SB were assessed via the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form (IPAQ-SF). Sex-specific effects were assessed by genotype-by-sex interaction (GSI) models and sex-specific heritabilities. GSI effects and heterogeneity were tested in the residual environmental variance. SPSS 17 and SOLAR v. 4.1 were used in all computations. The genetic component for PA and SB domains varied from low to moderate (11% to 46%), when analyzing both genders combined. We found GSI effects for vigorous PA (p = 0.02) and time spent watching television (WT) (p < 0.001) that showed significantly higher additive genetic variance estimates in males. The heterogeneity in the residual environmental variance was significant for moderate PA (p = 0.02), vigorous PA (p = 0.006) and total PA (p = 0.001). Sex-specific heritability estimates were significantly higher in males only for WT, with a male-to-female difference in heritability of 42.5 (95% confidence interval: 6.4, 70.4). Low to moderate genetic effects on PA and SB traits were found. Results from the GSI model show that there are sex-specific effects in two phenotypes, VPA and WT with a stronger genetic influence in males.

Application of multiplex nested methylated specific PCR in early diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bi; Yu, Lei; Yang, Guo-Zhen; Luo, Xin; Huang, Lin

2015-01-01

To explore the application of multiplex nested methylated specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the early diagnosis of epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). Serum and fresh tissue samples were collected from 114 EOC patients. RUNX3, TFPI2 and OPCML served as target genes. Methylation levels of tissues were assessed by multiplex nested methylated specific PCR, the results being compared with those for carcinoma antigen 125 (CA125). The serum free deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) methylation spectrum of EOC patients was completely contained in the DNA spectrum of cancer tissues, providing an accurate reflection of tumor DNA methylation conditions. Serum levels of CA125 and free DNA methylation in the EOC group were evidently higher than those in benign lesion and control groups (p0.05). The sensitivity, specificity and positive predicative value (PPV) of multiplex nested methylated specific PCR were significantly higher for detection of all patients and those with early EOC than those for CA125 (pnested methylated specific PCR (p>0.05), but there was no significant difference in sensitivity (p>0.05). Serum free DNA methylation can be used as a biological marker for EOC and multiplex nested methylated specific PCR should be considered for early diagnosis since it can accurately determine tumor methylation conditions.

The Episodicity of Verbal Reports of Personally Significant Autobiographical Memories: Vividness Correlates with Narrative Text Quality More than with Detailedness or Memory Specificity

Science.gov (United States)

Habermas, Tilmann; Diel, Verena

2013-01-01

How can we tell from a memory report whether a memory is episodic or not? Vividness is required by many definitions, whereas detailedness, memory specificity, and narrative text type are competing definitions of episodicity used in research. We explored their correlations with vividness in personally significant autobiographical memories to provide evidence to support their relative claim to define episodic memories. In addition, we explored differences between different memory types and text types as well as between memories with different valences. We asked a lifespan sample (N = 168) of 8-, 12-, 16-, 20-, 40-, and 65-year-olds of both genders (N = 27, 29, 27, 27, 28, 30) to provide brief oral life narratives. These were segmented into thematic memory units. Detailedness of person, place, and time did not correlate with each other or either vividness, memory specificity, or narrative text type. Narrative text type, in contrast, correlated both with vividness and memory specificity, suggesting narrative text type as a good criterion of episodicity. Emotionality turned out to be an even better predictor of vividness. Also, differences between narrative, chronicle, and argument text types and between specific versus more extended and atemporal memories were explored as well as differences between positive, negative, ambivalent, neutral, contamination, and redemption memory reports. It is concluded that temporal sequentiality is a central characteristic of episodic autobiographical memories. Furthermore, it is suggested that the textual quality of memory reports should be taken more seriously, and that evaluation and interpretation are inherent aspects of personally significant memories. PMID:23966918

The episodicity of verbal reports of personally significant autobiographical memories: vividness correlates with narrative text quality more than with detailedness or memory specificity.

Science.gov (United States)

Habermas, Tilmann; Diel, Verena

2013-01-01

How can we tell from a memory report whether a memory is episodic or not? Vividness is required by many definitions, whereas detailedness, memory specificity, and narrative text type are competing definitions of episodicity used in research. We explored their correlations with vividness in personally significant autobiographical memories to provide evidence to support their relative claim to define episodic memories. In addition, we explored differences between different memory types and text types as well as between memories with different valences. We asked a lifespan sample (N = 168) of 8-, 12-, 16-, 20-, 40-, and 65-year-olds of both genders (N = 27, 29, 27, 27, 28, 30) to provide brief oral life narratives. These were segmented into thematic memory units. Detailedness of person, place, and time did not correlate with each other or either vividness, memory specificity, or narrative text type. Narrative text type, in contrast, correlated both with vividness and memory specificity, suggesting narrative text type as a good criterion of episodicity. Emotionality turned out to be an even better predictor of vividness. Also, differences between narrative, chronicle, and argument text types and between specific versus more extended and atemporal memories were explored as well as differences between positive, negative, ambivalent, neutral, contamination, and redemption memory reports. It is concluded that temporal sequentiality is a central characteristic of episodic autobiographical memories. Furthermore, it is suggested that the textual quality of memory reports should be taken more seriously, and that evaluation and interpretation are inherent aspects of personally significant memories.

The episodicity of verbal reports of personally significant autobiographical memories: Vividness correlates with narrative text quality more than with detailedness or memory specificity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tilmann eHabermas

2013-08-01

Full Text Available How can we tell from a memory report whether a memory is episodic or not? Vividness is required by many definitions, whereas detailedness, memory specificity, and narrative text type are competing definitions of episodicity used in research. We explored their correlations with vividness in personally significant autobiographical memories to provide evidence to support their relative claim to define episodic memories. In addition, we explored differences between different memory types and text types as well as between memories with different valences. We asked a lifespan sample (N = 168 of 8-, 12-, 16-, 20-, 40-, and 65-year-olds of both genders (N = 27, 29, 27, 27, 28, 30 to provide brief oral life narratives. These were segmented into thematic memory units. Detailedness of person, place, and time did not correlate with each other or either vividness, memory specificity, or narrative text type. Narrative text type, in contrast, correlated both with vividness and memory specificity, suggesting narrative text type as a good criterion of episodicity. Emotionality turned out to be an even better predictor of vividness. Also, differences between narrative, chronicle, and argument text types and between specific versus more extended and atemporal memory were explored as well as differences between positive, negative, ambivalent, neutral, contamination, and redemption memory reports. It is concluded that temporal sequentiality is a central characteristic of episodic autobiographical memories. Furthermore, it is suggested that the textual quality of memory reports should be taken more seriously, and that evaluation and interpretation are inherent aspects of personally significant memories.

Comparison of blood tests for liver fibrosis specific or not to NAFLD.

Science.gov (United States)

Calès, Paul; Lainé, Fabrice; Boursier, Jérôme; Deugnier, Yves; Moal, Valérie; Oberti, Frédéric; Hunault, Gilles; Rousselet, Marie Christine; Hubert, Isabelle; Laafi, Jihane; Ducluzeaux, Pierre Henri; Lunel, Françoise

2009-01-01

To compare blood tests of liver fibrosis specific for NAFLD: the FibroMeter NAFLD and the NAFLD fibrosis score (NFSA) with a non-specific test, APRI. Two hundred and thirty-five NAFLD patients with liver Metavir staging and blood markers from two independent centres were randomly assigned to a test (n=121) or a validation population (n=114). The highest accuracy--91%--for significant fibrosis was obtained with the FibroMeter whose (i) AUROC (0.943) was significantly higher than those of NFSA (0.884, p=0.008) and APRI (0.866, pliver biopsy could have been avoided in most patients: FibroMeter: 97.4% vs NFSA: 86.8% (pfibrosis, significantly outperforming NFSA and APRI.

Enantiomer-specific ketorolac pharmacokinetics in young women, including pregnancy and postpartum period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aida Kulo

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Racemic ketorolac clearance (CL is significantly higher at delivery, but S-ketorolac disposition determines the analgesic effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pregnancy and postpartum period on enantiomer-specific (S and R intravenous (IV ketorolac pharmacokinetics (PKs. Data in women shortly following cesarean delivery (n=39 were pooled with data in a subgroup of these women that was reevaluated in the later postpartum period (postpartum group, n=8/39 and with eight healthy female volunteers. All women received single IV bolus of 30 mg ketorolac tromethamine. Five plasma samples were collected at 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 hours and plasma concentrations were determined using high performance liquid chromatography. Enantiomer-specific PKs were calculated using PKSolver. Unpaired analysis showed that distribution volume at steady state (Vss, L/kg for S- and R-ketorolac was significantly higher in women shortly following cesarean delivery (n=31 compared to postpartum group (n=8 or to healthy female volunteers (n=8. CL, CL to body weight, and CL to body surface area (CL/BSA for S- and R-ketorolac were also significantly higher in women following delivery. In addition, S/R-ketorolac CL/BSA ratio was significantly higher at delivery. Paired PK analysis in eight women shortly following delivery and in postpartum group showed the same pattern. Finally, the simultaneous increase in CL and Vss resulted in similar estimates for elimination half-life in both unpaired and paired analysis. In conclusion, pregnancy affects S-, R-, and S/R-ketorolac disposition. This is of clinical relevance since S-ketorolac (analgesia CL is even more increased compared to R-ketorolac CL, and S/R-ketorolac CL ratio is higher following delivery compared to postpartum period or to healthy female volunteers.

Thermodynamics of higher dimensional black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Accetta, F.S.; Gleiser, M.

1986-05-01

We discuss the thermodynamics of higher dimensional black holes with particular emphasis on a new class of spinning black holes which, due to the increased number of Casimir invariants, have additional spin degrees of freedom. In suitable limits, analytic solutions in arbitrary dimensions are presented for their temperature, entropy, and specific heat. In 5 + 1 and 9 + 1 dimensions, more general forms for these quantities are given. It is shown that the specific heat for a higher dimensional black hole is negative definite if it has only one non-zero spin parameter, regardless of the value of this parameter. We also consider equilibrium configurations with both massless particles and massive string modes. 16 refs., 3 figs

Thermodynamics of higher dimensional black holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Accetta, F.S.; Gleiser, M.

1986-05-01

We discuss the thermodynamics of higher dimensional black holes with particular emphasis on a new class of spinning black holes which, due to the increased number of Casimir invariants, have additional spin degrees of freedom. In suitable limits, analytic solutions in arbitrary dimensions are presented for their temperature, entropy, and specific heat. In 5 + 1 and 9 + 1 dimensions, more general forms for these quantities are given. It is shown that the specific heat for a higher dimensional black hole is negative definite if it has only one non-zero spin parameter, regardless of the value of this parameter. We also consider equilibrium configurations with both massless particles and massive string modes. 16 refs., 3 figs.

Mapping Global Research on International Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Kuzhabekova, Aliya; Hendel, Darwin D.; Chapman, David W.

2015-01-01

The purpose of the study is to map global research in international higher education. Specifically, the study uses bibliometric and social network analysis methods to identify key individuals, institutions, countries, and disciplines contributing to research in international higher education and to investigate patterns of connectivity among…

Older Adults' Motivation to Learn in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yi-Yin

2011-01-01

A limited amount of literature has discussed older adults in formal education, especially their motivations to learn in higher education. This study aims to understand older adults' learning in the context of higher education. Specifically, this study argues that higher education can function as a stimulating learning environment that helps older…

Cord blood Streptococcus pneumoniae-specific cellular immune responses predict early pneumococcal carriage in high-risk infants in Papua New Guinea.

Science.gov (United States)

Francis, J P; Richmond, P C; Strickland, D; Prescott, S L; Pomat, W S; Michael, A; Nadal-Sims, M A; Edwards-Devitt, C J; Holt, P G; Lehmann, D; van den Biggelaar, A H J

2017-03-01

In areas where Streptococcus pneumoniae is highly endemic, infants experience very early pneumococcal colonization of the upper respiratory tract, with carriage often persisting into adulthood. We aimed to explore whether newborns in high-risk areas have pre-existing pneumococcal-specific cellular immune responses that may affect early pneumococcal acquisition. Cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMC) of 84 Papua New Guinean (PNG; high endemic) and 33 Australian (AUS; low endemic) newborns were stimulated in vitro with detoxified pneumolysin (dPly) or pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA; families 1 and 2) and compared for cytokine responses. Within the PNG cohort, associations between CBMC dPly and PspA-induced responses and pneumococcal colonization within the first month of life were studied. Significantly higher PspA-specific interferon (IFN)-γ, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-5, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-13 responses, and lower dPly-IL-6 responses were produced in CBMC cultures of PNG compared to AUS newborns. Higher CBMC PspA-IL-5 and PspA-IL-13 responses correlated with a higher proportion of cord CD4 T cells, and higher dPly-IL-6 responses with a higher frequency of cord antigen-presenting cells. In the PNG cohort, higher PspA-specific IL-5 and IL-6 CBMC responses were associated independently and significantly with increased risk of earlier pneumococcal colonization, while a significant protective effect was found for higher PspA-IL-10 CBMC responses. Pneumococcus-specific cellular immune responses differ between children born in pneumococcal high versus low endemic settings, which may contribute to the higher risk of infants in high endemic settings for early pneumococcal colonization, and hence disease. © 2016 British Society for Immunology.

Detection and clinical significance of serum autoantibodies in patients with myasthenia gravis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun LIU

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Objective To investigate the expressions and clinical significance of serum anti - acetylcholine receptor antibodies (AChR-Ab, anti-Titin antibodies (Titin-Ab, and anti-Ryanodine receptor antibodies (RyR-Ab in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG. Methods Serum AChR-Ab, Titin-Ab and RyR-Ab were detected with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA in 182 MG patients, 105 patients of other neurological diseases (OND and 62 normal controls. Results Serum AChR-Ab, Titin-Ab and RyR-Ab were detected positive respectively in 68.13% (124/182, 64.29% (117/182 and 67.03% (122/182 of patients in MG group. The positive rates of those antibodies in MG group were significantly higher than those in OND group (P = 0.000, for all and control group (P = 0.000, for all. When 3 antibodies coexisted, the sensitivity in the diagnosis of MG was 41.21%, with 99.40% of specificity. There was no significant difference in the positive rate of serum AChR-Ab, Titin-Ab and RyR-Ab between early-onset MG subgroup and late-onset MG subgroup (P > 0.05, for all. The positive rates of AChR-Ab were significantly higher in MG patients with thymoma than in those without thymoma (P = 0.004. There was no significant difference in the positive rate of Titin-Ab and RyR-Ab between MG with thymoma subgroup and MG without thymoma subgroup (P > 0.05, for all. The prevalence of AChR-Ab in generalized MG (GMG atients (Ⅱa and Ⅱb was higher than those in ocular MG (OMG patients (typeⅠ; P = 0.005, 0.012. There was no significant difference in the positive rate of Titin-Ab and RyR-Ab between GMG subgroup and OMG subgroup (P > 0.05, for all. Conclusions Serum AChR-Ab, Titin-Ab and RyR-Ab can be used as ndicators of the diagnosis of MG. Patients with 3 coexisted positive antibodies are highly suspected as MG. Higher AChR-Ab level in serum of OMG patients indicates the possibility of progressing to GMG. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2016.10.007

Significant determinants of academic performance by new students enrolled in the higher distance education system of Ecuador. The case of the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis F. Moncada Mora

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In this article we present the significant determiners of academic performance of new students enrolled in the higher distance education system of Ecuador. A description and correlation of the variables were undertaken to formalize the probabilistic model that confirms the positive, negative, individual and global effects.

ERP for Romanian Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Also most of the big ERP providers provide solutions for higher education, including SAP AG, Oracle, JD Eduards, Peoplesoft, universities preferr other specialized applications which better fit their specific needs. This paper presents the advantages of an integrated solution for higher education and analyzes the solutions offered for this sector by the Romanian ERP market. The conlusion is more like an invitation to discussion about possible solutions to the present Romanian university situation: low budgets, changing regulations, isolated, self-developed applications.

Verifying object-oriented programs with higher-order separation logic in Coq

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bengtson, Jesper; Jensen, Jonas Braband; Sieczkowski, Filip

2011-01-01

We present a shallow Coq embedding of a higher-order separation logic with nested triples for an object-oriented programming language. Moreover, we develop novel specification and proof patterns for reasoning in higher-order separation logic with nested triples about programs that use interfaces...... and interface inheritance. In particular, we show how to use the higher-order features of the Coq formalisation to specify and reason modularly about programs that (1) depend on some unknown code satisfying a specification or that (2) return objects conforming to a certain specification. All of our results have...

Patient-specific metrics of invasiveness reveal significant prognostic benefit of resection in a predictable subset of gliomas.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne L Baldock

Full Text Available Malignant gliomas are incurable, primary brain neoplasms noted for their potential to extensively invade brain parenchyma. Current methods of clinical imaging do not elucidate the full extent of brain invasion, making it difficult to predict which, if any, patients are likely to benefit from gross total resection. Our goal was to apply a mathematical modeling approach to estimate the overall tumor invasiveness on a patient-by-patient basis and determine whether gross total resection would improve survival in patients with relatively less invasive gliomas.In 243 patients presenting with contrast-enhancing gliomas, estimates of the relative invasiveness of each patient's tumor, in terms of the ratio of net proliferation rate of the glioma cells to their net dispersal rate, were derived by applying a patient-specific mathematical model to routine pretreatment MR imaging. The effect of varying degrees of extent of resection on overall survival was assessed for cohorts of patients grouped by tumor invasiveness.We demonstrate that patients with more diffuse tumors showed no survival benefit (P = 0.532 from gross total resection over subtotal/biopsy, while those with nodular (less diffuse tumors showed a significant benefit (P = 0.00142 with a striking median survival benefit of over eight months compared to sub-totally resected tumors in the same cohort (an 80% improvement in survival time for GTR only seen for nodular tumors.These results suggest that our patient-specific, model-based estimates of tumor invasiveness have clinical utility in surgical decision making. Quantification of relative invasiveness assessed from routinely obtained pre-operative imaging provides a practical predictor of the benefit of gross total resection.

Subjective well-being: gender differences in Holocaust survivors-specific and cross-national effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Carmel, Sara; King, David B; O'Rourke, Norm; Bachner, Yaacov G

2017-06-01

Subjective well-being (SWB) has become an important concept in evaluating older adults' quality of life. The cognitive and emotional evaluations which are used to appraise it differ in structure, characteristics, and effects on life. The purpose of this study was to support hypotheses regarding expected Holocaust survivors-specific effects and cross-cultural differences on three indicators of SWB. We recruited samples of 50 male and female Israeli Holocaust survivors, other older Israelis, and older Canadians (N = 300) for allowing us to distinguish survivors-specific effects from cross-national differences. State anxiety, depressive symptoms, and life-satisfaction were compared across groups of men and women. Where univariate differences were detected, post hoc comparisons were computed to determine which of the groups significantly differed. In general, a higher level of SWB was found among Canadians in comparison to both comparative Israeli groups. Level of depressive symptoms was significantly higher among women survivors than in the other two groups. Both groups of Israeli women had higher scores on anxiety than Canadian Women; less apparent were differences across groups of men. Life-satisfaction did not differ among the groups. Our findings regarding depression support the survivor-specific effect hypothesis for women, and a national effect on anxiety, but not any effect on life-satisfaction. These findings suggest significant differences in impacts of traumatic life events on cognitive versus emotional indicators of SWB. This issue should be further investigated due to its practical implications in use of various measures of SWB with people who experienced traumatic events.

Sensitive Troponin I Assay in Patients with Chest Pain - Association with Significant Coronary Lesions with or Without Renal Failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Soeiro, Alexandre de Matos; Gualandro, Danielle Menosi; Bossa, Aline Siqueira; Zullino, Cindel Nogueira; Biselli, Bruno; Soeiro, Maria Carolina Feres de Almeida; Leal, Tatiana de Carvalho Andreucci Torres; Serrano, Carlos Vicente; Oliveira Junior, Mucio Tavares de

2018-01-01

Despite having higher sensitivity as compared to conventional troponins, sensitive troponins have lower specificity, mainly in patients with renal failure. Study aimed at assessing the sensitive troponin I levels in patients with chest pain, and relating them to the existence of significant coronary lesions. Retrospective, single-center, observational. This study included 991 patients divided into two groups: with (N = 681) and without (N = 310) significant coronary lesion. For posterior analysis, the patients were divided into two other groups: with (N = 184) and without (N = 807) chronic renal failure. The commercial ADVIA Centaur® TnI-Ultra assay (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics) was used. The ROC curve analysis was performed to identify the sensitivity and specificity of the best cutoff point of troponin as a discriminator of the probability of significant coronary lesion. The associations were considered significant when p renal failure, the areas under the ROC curve were 0.703 (95% CI: 0.66 - 0.74) and 0.608 (95% CI: 0.52 - 0.70), respectively. The best cutoff points to discriminate the presence of significant coronary lesion were: in the general population, 0.605 ng/dL (sensitivity, 63.4%; specificity, 67%); in patients without renal failure, 0.605 ng/dL (sensitivity, 62.7%; specificity, 71%); and in patients with chronic renal failure, 0.515 ng/dL (sensitivity, 80.6%; specificity, 42%). In patients with chest pain, sensitive troponin I showed a good correlation with significant coronary lesions when its level was greater than 0.605 ng/dL. In patients with chronic renal failure, a significant decrease in specificity was observed in the correlation of troponin levels and severe coronary lesions.

Trait specific expression profiling of salt stress responsive genes in diverse rice genotypes as determined by modified Significance Analysis of Microarrays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Rashed Hossain

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Stress responsive gene expression is commonly profiled in a comparative manner involving different stress conditions or genotypes with contrasting reputation of tolerance/resistance. In contrast, this research exploited a wide natural variation in terms of taxonomy, origin and salt sensitivity in eight genotypes of rice to identify the trait specific patterns of gene expression under salt stress. Genome wide transcptomic responses were interrogated by the weighted continuous morpho-physiological trait responses using modified Significance Analysis of Microarrays. More number of genes was found to be differentially expressed under salt stressed compared to that of under unstressed conditions. Higher numbers of genes were observed to be differentially expressed for the traits shoot Na+/K+, shoot Na+, root K+, biomass and shoot Cl-, respectively. The results identified around sixty genes to be involved in Na+, K+ and anion homeostasis, transport and transmembrane activity under stressed conditions. Gene Ontology (GO enrichment analysis identified 1.36% (578 genes of the entire transcriptome to be involved in the major molecular functions such as signal transduction (>150 genes, transcription factor (81 genes and translation factor activity (62 genes etc. under salt stress. Chromosomal mapping of the genes suggests that majority of the genes are located on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 6 & 7. The gene network analysis showed that the transcription factors and translation initiation factors formed the major gene networks and are mostly active in nucleus, cytoplasm and mitochondria whereas the membrane and vesicle bound proteins formed a secondary network active in plasma membrane and vacuoles. The novel genes and the genes with unknown functions thus identified provide picture of a synergistic salinity response representing the potentially fundamental mechanisms that are active in the wide natural genetic background of rice and will be of greater use once

Cancer-specific self-efficacy and psychosocial and functional adaptation to early stage breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Manne, Sharon L; Ostroff, Jamie S; Norton, Tina R; Fox, Kevin; Grana, Generosa; Goldstein, Lori

2006-04-01

Although self-efficacy is considered a key psychological resource in adapting to chronic physical illness, this construct has received less attention among individuals coping with cancer. To examine changes in cancer self-efficacy over time among women with early stage breast cancer and associations between task-specific domains of self-efficacy and specific psychological, relationship, and functional outcomes. Ninety-five women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer completed surveys postsurgery and 1 year later. Cancer-related self-efficacy was relatively stable over 1 year, with only 2 domains of efficacy-(a) Activity Management and (b) Self-Satisfaction-evidencing significant increases over the 1-year time period. Cross-sectional findings were relatively consistent with predictions and suggested that specific domains of self-efficacy were more strongly related to relevant domains of adaptation. Longitudinal findings were not as consistent with the domain-specificity hypothesis but did suggest several predictive associations between self-efficacy and outcomes. Personal Management self-efficacy was associated with higher relationship satisfaction, higher Communication Self-Efficacy was associated with less functional impairment, and higher Affective Management self-efficacy was associated with higher self-esteem 1 year later. Specific domains of cancer-related self-efficacy are most closely related to relevant areas of adaptation when considered cross-sectionally, but further study is needed to clarify the nature of these relationships over time.

Disruptive Technologies in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Flavin, Michael

2012-01-01

This paper analyses the role of "disruptive" innovative technologies in higher education. In this country and elsewhere, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have invested significant sums in learning technologies, with Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) being more or less universal, but these technologies have not been universally…

125I-Clq-binding and specific antibodies as indicators of pulmonary disease activity in cystic fibrosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moss, R.B.; Hsu, Y.P.; Lewiston, N.J.

1981-01-01

We studied the incidence and levels of circulating immune complexes by the 125 I-Clq-binding assay in patients with cystic fibrosis in relation to clinical respiratory status and specific IgG and IgE antibodies to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans. Overall prevalence of CIC was 43%, but 86% of serially studied patients had evidence of CIC at some time. Patients with acute respiratory exacerbations and deteriorating pulmonary function had a higher incidence of CIC (76%) as compared to stable patients (36%, P less than 0.01), as well as significantly higher levels of CIC. Acute exacerbations were also associated with significant increases in IgG antibody to Pseudomonas (P less than 0.005) but not in other antibodies. CIC did not correlate with Pseudomonas-specific IgG nor with any other specific antibody studied. A variety of age-related differences in specific antibody levels were seen. The episodic appearance of CIC is common in CF and is usually associated with exacerbation of lung disease

A new research role for higher professional education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Floor Basten; Dr. Jan Geurts

2006-01-01

In 2001, higher professional education received a research function by law. This new research role is incorporated into so-called lectureships. In these lectureships, which are analogous to university chairs to some degree, experts in specific fields function as intermediaries between higher

Diagnostic significance of measurements of specific IgG antibodies to Pseudomonas aeruginosa by three different serological methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pressler, T.; Karpati, F.; Granstrom, M.

2008-01-01

to characterize patients with different infection status. Elevated levels of specific anti-Pseudomonas antibodies showed to be the risk factor for developing chronic Pa infection. Due to the specificity of the tests, antibiotic treatment based on serology might be considered in selected cases. There is a window...... of opportunity for suppression and eradication of initial P. aeruginosa infection making measurement of specific anti-Pseudomonas antibodies helpful Udgivelsesdato: 2009/1...

Is there a relationship between pain intensity and postural sway in patients with non-specific low back pain?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ruhe, A.; Fejer, R.; Walker, B.

2011-01-01

compared to healthy controls. In addition, regression analysis revealed a significant and linear increase in postural sway with higher pain ratings for all included COP parameters. Statistically significant changes in mean sway velocity in antero-posterior and medio-lateral direction and sway area were......Background: Increased center of pressure excursions are well documented in patients suffering from non-specific low back pain, whereby the altered postural sway includes both higher mean sway velocities and larger sway area. No investigation has been conducted to evaluate a relationship between...... pain intensity and postural sway in adults (aged 50 or less) with non-specific low back pain. Methods: Seventy-seven patients with non-specific low back pain and a matching number of healthy controls were enrolled. Center of pressure parameters were measured by three static bipedal standing tasks of 90...

IMPROVING MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS AT A HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nataliya N. Fedyakova

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: this paper deals with the foreign and domestic experience of creation and use of educational institution management automation systems. The problems of higher educational institutions management are essential in conditions of growing competition between educational institutions. Their complexity and timeliness defines multifunctional activity of higher educational institutions, diversity of funding sources, the variety of forms and types of educational, scientific, industrial and economic activities, the need for monitoring of the market of educational services and the labor market (including the need for employment of graduates, the necessity for adaptation to continuously changing economic conditions. Materials and Methods: system approach and method of comparison were used in analysing the current state of development and organisation of the automated information systems of higher education. These methods were also used to compare the qualitative characteristics of different technologies and methods of creation of the automated information systems. Results: the foreign and domestic educational institution management automation systems SIMS. net, Capita Education, SPRUT, Galaxy of Higher Educational Institution Management”, and “GSVedomosty” were analysed. Disadvantages of the functional module AIS – AWP pertaining to the University Rector of the higher educational institution were found. The improvement of higher educational institution AIS by implementing decision support systems for the management, made on the basis of the model of SaaS (software as a service is discussed. The author developed a model of automated score-rating system to assess the individual performance of students. Discussion and Conclusions: the author tackles the problems of higher educational institution AIS taking into account the specifics of the use of higher educational institution management information systems. They have a practical

Topologically Massive Higher Spin Gravity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bagchi, A.; Lal, S.; Saha, A.; Sahoo, B.

2011-01-01

We look at the generalisation of topologically massive gravity (TMG) to higher spins, specifically spin-3. We find a special "chiral" point for the spin-three, analogous to the spin-two example, which actually coincides with the usual spin-two chiral point. But in contrast to usual TMG, there is the

[The significances of peripheral neutrophils CD(55) and myeloperoxidase expression in patients with myeloperoxidase-specific anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, X L; Zheng, M J; Shuai, Z W; Zhang, L; Zhang, M M; Chen, S Y

2017-06-01

Objective: To investigate the expression of CD(55) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) on neutrophils in patients with MPO-specific anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis(MPO-AAV), and analyze the relationship between the expression and clinical manifestation. Methods: Forty untreated patients with active MPO-AAV (patient group) and 30 healthy volunteers (control group) were enrolled in this study. The CD(55) on neutrophils and both membrane and cytoplasmic MPO were detected by flow cytometry. Serum fragment-from the activated complement factor B(Ba) and MPO were measured by ELISA. The clinical activity of vasculitis was valued by Birmingham vasculitis activity score-version 3(BVAS-V3). The significance of laboratory data was evaluated by Spearman correlation test and multivariate linear regression analysis. Results: (1)The mean fluorescence intensity(MFI) of CD(55) expressed on neutrophils was significantly higher than that in control group[4 068.6±2 306.0 vs 2 999.5±1 504.9, P =0.033]. Similar results of serum MPO and Ba in patient group were found compared to controls [500.0(381.0, 612.7) IU/L vs 286.9(225.5, 329.1) IU/L, P <0.001; 35.2(25.2, 79.5) ng/L vs 18.0(15.0, 28.0) ng/L, P <0.001], respectively. However, MIF of cytoplasmic MPO in patients was significantly lower than that of control group(1 577.1±1 175.9 vs 3 105.3±2 323.0, P =0.003) . (2) In patient group, cytoplasmic intensity of MPO was negatively associated with the serum levels of MPO( r =-0.710, P <0.001) and Ba ( r =-0.589, P =0.001). Moreover, serum MPO was positively associated with serum Ba( r =0.691, P <0.001). Membrane intensity of CD(55) on neutrophils was positively correlated with patient age ( r =0.514, P =0.001), C reactive protein ( r =0.376, P =0.018), peripheral neutrophils count ( r =0.485, P =0.001) and BVAS-V3 ( r =0.484, P =0.002), whereas negative correlation between membrane CD(55) and disease duration was seen ( r =-0.403, P =0.01). (3) The result of multiple

Pro-inflammatory State in Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance and in Multiple Myeloma Is Characterized by Low Sialylation of Pathogen-Specific and Other Monoclonal Immunoglobulins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrien Bosseboeuf

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Multiple myeloma (MM and its pre-cancerous stage monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS allow to study immune responses and the chronology of inflammation in the context of blood malignancies. Both diseases are characterized by the production of a monoclonal immunoglobulin (mc Ig which for subsets of MGUS and MM patients targets pathogens known to cause latent infection, a major cause of inflammation. Inflammation may influence the structure of both polyclonal (pc Ig and mc Ig produced by malignant plasma cells via the sialylation of Ig Fc fragment. Here, we characterized the sialylation of purified mc and pc IgGs from 148 MGUS and MM patients, in comparison to pc IgGs from 46 healthy volunteers. The inflammatory state of patients was assessed by the quantification in serum of 40 inflammation-linked cytokines, using Luminex technology. While pc IgGs from MGUS and MM patients showed heterogeneity in sialylation level, mc IgGs from both MGUS and MM patients exhibited a very low level of sialylation. Furthermore, mc IgGs from MM patients were less sialylated than mc IgGs from MGUS patients (p < 0.01, and mc IgGs found to target an infectious pathogen showed a lower level of sialylation than mc IgGs of undetermined specificity (p = 0.048. Regarding inflammation, 14 cytokines were similarly elevated with a p value < 0.0001 in MGUS and in MM compared to healthy controls. MM differed from MGUS by higher levels of HGF, IL-11, RANTES and SDF-1-α (p < 0.05. MGUS and MM patients presenting with hyposialylated pc IgGs had significantly higher levels of HGF, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, TGF-β1, IL-17, and IL-33 compared to patients with hyper-sialylated pc IgGs (p < 0.05. In MGUS and in MM, the degree of sialylation of mc and pc IgGs and the levels of four cytokines important for the anti-microbial response were correlated, either positively (IFN-α2, IL-13 or negatively (IL-17, IL-33. Thus in MGUS as in MM

Marketing activities of higher education institutions

OpenAIRE

Varađanin Vladimir

2017-01-01

Public sector marketing is a modern-day scientific discipline which is getting more and more attention. Institutions of higher education provide a specific kind of services to their users, which makes these institutions a part of the public sector. Due to dynamic changes in the environment, the demands and needs of higher education institution's users change, which makes it necessary to monitor these changes through certain marketing activities and adjust to them in order to satisfy the users...

Reduced brain resting-state network specificity in infants compared with adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Wylie, Korey P; Rojas, Donald C; Ross, Randal G; Hunter, Sharon K; Maharajh, Keeran; Cornier, Marc-Andre; Tregellas, Jason R

2014-01-01

Infant resting-state networks do not exhibit the same connectivity patterns as those of young children and adults. Current theories of brain development emphasize developmental progression in regional and network specialization. We compared infant and adult functional connectivity, predicting that infants would exhibit less regional specificity and greater internetwork communication compared with adults. Functional magnetic resonance imaging at rest was acquired in 12 healthy, term infants and 17 adults. Resting-state networks were extracted, using independent components analysis, and the resulting components were then compared between the adult and infant groups. Adults exhibited stronger connectivity in the posterior cingulate cortex node of the default mode network, but infants had higher connectivity in medial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate cortex than adults. Adult connectivity was typically higher than infant connectivity within structures previously associated with the various networks, whereas infant connectivity was frequently higher outside of these structures. Internetwork communication was significantly higher in infants than in adults. We interpret these findings as consistent with evidence suggesting that resting-state network development is associated with increasing spatial specificity, possibly reflecting the corresponding functional specialization of regions and their interconnections through experience.

PsbS-specific zeaxanthin-independent changes in fluorescence emission spectrum as a signature of energy-dependent non-photochemical quenching in higher plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Zulfugarov, Ismayil S; Tovuu, Altanzaya; Dogsom, Bolormaa; Lee, Chung Yeol; Lee, Choon-Hwan

2010-05-01

The PsbS protein of photosystem II is necessary for the development of energy-dependent quenching of chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence (qE), and PsbS-deficient Arabidopsis plant leaves failed to show qE-specific changes in the steady-state 77 K fluorescence emission spectra observed in wild-type leaves. The difference spectrum between the quenched and un-quenched states showed a negative peak at 682 nm. Although the level of qE development in the zeaxanthin-less npq1-2 mutant plants, which lacked violaxanthin de-epoxidase enzyme, was only half that of wild type, there were no noticeable changes in this qE-dependent difference spectrum. This zeaxanthin-independent DeltaF682 signal was not dependent on state transition, and the signal was not due to photobleaching of pigments either. These results suggest that DeltaF682 signal is formed due to PsbS-specific conformational changes in the quenching site of qE and is a new signature of qE generation in higher plants.

Perspectives on Transnational Higher Education: A View from Cooperative Education%Perspectives on Transnational Higher Education:A View from Cooperative Education

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

MENG Jun

2017-01-01

The rapid development of transnational higher education among the world leaves theoretical and practical room for study on educational globalization in the age.In China,transnational higher education is mostly manifested through issues and approaches on Sino-Foreign Cooperative education,but comparatively speaking,cooperative education that is one of educational patterns has been examined and applied widely in western countries.This study offers a systematically review on transnational higher education and cooperative education specifically on its origins and practice,which demonstrate the usefulness improving development of higher education in China.

Mucorales-Specific T Cells in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies.

Science.gov (United States)

Potenza, Leonardo; Vallerini, Daniela; Barozzi, Patrizia; Riva, Giovanni; Gilioli, Andrea; Forghieri, Fabio; Candoni, Anna; Cesaro, Simone; Quadrelli, Chiara; Maertens, Johan; Rossi, Giulio; Morselli, Monica; Codeluppi, Mauro; Mussini, Cristina; Colaci, Elisabetta; Messerotti, Andrea; Paolini, Ambra; Maccaferri, Monica; Fantuzzi, Valeria; Del Giovane, Cinzia; Stefani, Alessandro; Morandi, Uliano; Maffei, Rossana; Marasca, Roberto; Narni, Franco; Fanin, Renato; Comoli, Patrizia; Romani, Luigina; Beauvais, Anne; Viale, Pier Luigi; Latgè, Jean Paul; Lewis, Russell E; Luppi, Mario

2016-01-01

Invasive mucormycosis (IM) is an emerging life-threatening fungal infection. It is difficult to obtain a definite diagnosis and to initiate timely intervention. Mucorales-specific T cells occur during the course of IM and are involved in the clearance of the infection. We have evaluated the feasibility of detecting Mucorales-specific T cells in hematological patients at risk for IM, and have correlated the detection of such cells with the clinical conditions of the patients. By using an enzyme linked immunospot assay, the presence of Mucorales-specific T cells in peripheral blood (PB) samples has been investigated at three time points during high-dose chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies. Mucorales-specific T cells producing interferon-γ, interleukin-10 and interleukin-4 were analysed in order to detect a correlation between the immune response and the clinical picture. Twenty-one (10.3%) of 204 patients, accounting for 32 (5.3%) of 598 PB samples, tested positive for Mucorales-specific T cells. Two groups could be identified. Group 1, including 15 patients without signs or symptoms of invasive fungal diseases (IFD), showed a predominance of Mucorales-specific T cells producing interferon-gamma. Group 2 included 6 patients with a clinical picture consistent with invasive fungal disease (IFD): 2 cases of proven IM and 4 cases of possible IFD. The proven patients had significantly higher number of Mucorales-specific T cells producing interleukin-10 and interleukin-4 and higher rates of positive samples by using derived diagnostic cut-offs when compared with the 15 patients without IFD. Mucorales-specific T cells can be detected and monitored in patients with hematologic malignancies at risk for IM. Mucorales-specific T cells polarized to the production of T helper type 2 cytokines are associated with proven IM and may be evaluated as a surrogate diagnostic marker for IM.

Mucorales-Specific T Cells in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Potenza

Full Text Available Invasive mucormycosis (IM is an emerging life-threatening fungal infection. It is difficult to obtain a definite diagnosis and to initiate timely intervention. Mucorales-specific T cells occur during the course of IM and are involved in the clearance of the infection. We have evaluated the feasibility of detecting Mucorales-specific T cells in hematological patients at risk for IM, and have correlated the detection of such cells with the clinical conditions of the patients.By using an enzyme linked immunospot assay, the presence of Mucorales-specific T cells in peripheral blood (PB samples has been investigated at three time points during high-dose chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies. Mucorales-specific T cells producing interferon-γ, interleukin-10 and interleukin-4 were analysed in order to detect a correlation between the immune response and the clinical picture. Twenty-one (10.3% of 204 patients, accounting for 32 (5.3% of 598 PB samples, tested positive for Mucorales-specific T cells. Two groups could be identified. Group 1, including 15 patients without signs or symptoms of invasive fungal diseases (IFD, showed a predominance of Mucorales-specific T cells producing interferon-gamma. Group 2 included 6 patients with a clinical picture consistent with invasive fungal disease (IFD: 2 cases of proven IM and 4 cases of possible IFD. The proven patients had significantly higher number of Mucorales-specific T cells producing interleukin-10 and interleukin-4 and higher rates of positive samples by using derived diagnostic cut-offs when compared with the 15 patients without IFD.Mucorales-specific T cells can be detected and monitored in patients with hematologic malignancies at risk for IM. Mucorales-specific T cells polarized to the production of T helper type 2 cytokines are associated with proven IM and may be evaluated as a surrogate diagnostic marker for IM.

Influential Factors in Choosing Higher Education Institutions Among Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zlata Kastelic

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose and Originality:The purpose of this article is to determine which factors are influential for students inchoosinga specific higher education institution. Method:By analyzing available literature and existing surveys, we gained in-depthknowledgeof key theoretical conceptsof the researched problem. The latter represents the basis on which we have designed our own research algorithm and conducted a proper survey. The purpose of the research was to analyze, which factors affect the most individuals to enroll in aspecific higher education institution, and to what extent our findings coincide with other studies’ findings. Results:The results showed a significant degree of correlation between factors that motivate foreign students to enrol in a higher education institution. Society:By knowing which areinfluential factors for students’ enrollment in HEIs the latterwill be able to recognize and satisfy needs and desires of potential students and subsequently design attractive studying programmes and thus equip them with knowledge in order to become competent individuals to successfully compete on labour market. Limitations/Future Research: Generalisation of results was limited due to the small size of the sample, and since all respondents came from only one Slovenian region. But since this is the first such surveyit represents a complex and remarkable preliminary study that can be upgradedand generate important contribution in understanding the key factors, which stimultae students for enrollment in higher education institutions.

The ratio of nurse consultation and physician efficiency index of senior rheumatologists is significantly higher than junior physicians in rheumatology residency training

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emamifar, Amir; van Bui Hansen, Morten Hai; Jensen Hansen, Inger Marie

2017-01-01

To elucidate the difference between ratios of nurse consultation sought by senior rheumatologists and junior physicians in rheumatology residency training, and also to evaluate physician efficiency index respecting patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Data regarding outpatient visits for RA...... patients between November 2013 and 2015 were extracted. The mean interval (day) between consultations, the nurse/physician visits ratio, and physician efficiency index (nurse/physician visits ratio × mean interval) for each senior and junior physicians were calculated. Disease Activity Score in 28 joints....../physician visits ratio (P = .01) and mean efficiency index (P = .04) of senior rheumatologists were significantly higher than that of junior physicians. Regression analysis showed a positive correlation between physician postgraduate experience and physician efficiency index adjusted for DAS28 at baseline...

Melanocytic Nevi and Sun Exposure in a Cohort of Colorado Children: Anatomic Distribution and Site-Specific Sunburn

Science.gov (United States)

Dodd, Athena T.; Morelli, Joseph; Mokrohisky, Stefan T.; Asdigian, Nancy; Byers, Tim E.; Crane, Lori A.

2010-01-01

Sun exposure and high prevalence of melanocytic nevi are major risk factors for melanoma, but the relationship between them is not well understood. This study examines the relationship between sun exposure (detailed by anatomic location and history of site-specific sunburns) and the presence of melanocytic nevi on 743 White children in Denver, Colorado. Parental reports of site-specific sunburns were collected annually for 2 years starting at ages 5 to 6 years. In the third year, nevi were counted and mapped by anatomic location. Nevus density was higher for boys (36.0 nevi/m2) than for girls (31.0 nevi/m2; P = 0.04). Nevus density was highest on the face, neck, and lateral forearms and was significantly higher in chronically versus intermittently sun-exposed areas (P sunburn. The face, shoulders, and back were the most frequently sunburned areas of the body. When adjusted for host factors, total number of sunburns was significantly associated with higher total nevus prevalence (P = 0.01 for one burn). Site-specific sunburns were significantly associated with nevus prevalence on the back (P = 0.03 for three or more sunburns), but not on the face, arms, or legs. In this high-risk population, there is evidence for two pathways to nevus accumulation: by chronic sun exposure and by intermittent exposure related to sunburns. PMID:17932362

Threats to the Human Capacity of Regional Higher Education Institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evgeny Valentinovich Romanov

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the sphere of science and education in Russia undergoes significant reforms. However, the existing framework guiding the development of the higher education contradict the Strategy of Scientific and Technological Development of Russia. These contradictions concern the conditions for building an integral system of personnel reserve and recruitment, which is necessary for the scientific and technological development of the country. The change of the funding model and the transition to two-tier higher education contribute to the outflow of talented youth to the cities where branded universities are concentrated. It creates threats to the human capacity of regional higher education institutions (both regarding staffing number, and regarding personnel reserve. Decreasing trend in number of students because of the federal budget appropriation and the existing system of per capita funding for regional higher education institutions are the threats for regional higher education. These threats can result in permanent reduction of the number of academic teaching staff and in potential decline in quality of education due to increasing teachers’ workloads. The transition to the two-tier model of university education has changed the approach to evaluating the efficiency of scientific research. The number of publications in the journals, which are indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus, has increased, but the patent activity of the leading higher education institutions has decreased many times. The ratio of number of articles to the number of the granted patents in the leading Russian universities significantly exceeds a similar indicator of the leading foreign universities. It can be regarded as «brain drain». Furthermore, this fact explains why the specific weight of income from the results of intellectual activity in total income in the majority of the Russian universities is close to zero. Regional higher education institutions need

A puzzle form of a non-verbal intelligence test gives significantly higher performance measures in children with severe intellectual disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Bello, Katrina D; Goharpey, Nahal; Crewther, Sheila G; Crewther, David P

2008-08-01

Assessment of 'potential intellectual ability' of children with severe intellectual disability (ID) is limited, as current tests designed for normal children do not maintain their interest. Thus a manual puzzle version of the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) was devised to appeal to the attentional and sensory preferences and language limitations of children with ID. It was hypothesized that performance on the book and manual puzzle forms would not differ for typically developing children but that children with ID would perform better on the puzzle form. The first study assessed the validity of this puzzle form of the RCPM for 76 typically developing children in a test-retest crossover design, with a 3 week interval between tests. A second study tested performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in a sample of 164 children with ID. In the first study, no significant difference was found between performance on the puzzle and book forms in typically developing children, irrespective of the order of completion. The second study demonstrated a significantly higher performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in the ID population. Similar performance on book and puzzle forms of the RCPM by typically developing children suggests that both forms measure the same construct. These findings suggest that the puzzle form does not require greater cognitive ability but demands sensory-motor attention and limits distraction in children with severe ID. Thus, we suggest the puzzle form of the RCPM is a more reliable measure of the non-verbal mentation of children with severe ID than the book form.

Randomised clinical trial: an assessment of acupuncture on specific meridian or specific acupoint vs. sham acupuncture for treating functional dyspepsia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, T T; Yu, S Y; Li, Y; Liang, F R; Tian, X P; Zheng, H; Yan, J; Sun, G J; Chang, X R; Zhao, L; Wu, X; Zeng, F

2012-03-01

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common disease without an established optimal treatment. To determine (i) the effect of acupuncture in relieving FD symptoms and improving life quality; (ii) the effect difference between acupoint and non-acupoint; and (iii) the effect difference among different acupoints. A total of 712 eligible patients were included and randomly assigned to six groups (Group A: specific acupoints of the stomach meridian; Group B: non-specific acupoints of the stomach meridian; Group C: specific acupoints of alarm and transport points; Group D: specific acupoints of the gallbladder meridian; Group E: sham acupuncture of non-acupoints; and Group F: itopride). A treatment period of 4 weeks (continuous five sessions per week), and a follow-up period of 12 weeks were arranged. The outcomes were the (i) patients' response, (ii) symptoms improvement measured using the Symptom Index of Dyspepsia and (iii) quality-of-life improvement based on Nepean Dyspepsia Index. All groups had an improvement in dyspepsia symptoms and the QoL at the end of treatment, and the improvement was sustained for 4 weeks and 12 weeks. The overall response rate was significantly higher in acupuncture group A (70.69%), and lower in sham acupuncture group (34.75%), compared with itopride and other acupuncture groups. Similarly, the difference in symptoms and QoL improvement was significant between group A and the other acupuncture groups. Acupuncture is effective in the treatment of functional dyspepsia, and is superior to non-acupoint puncture. The benefit of acupuncture relies on acupoint specificity. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Emotional Intelligence in Christian Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Gliebe, Sudi Kate

2012-01-01

This paper explores the importance of emotional intelligence in Christian higher education. Specifically, it addresses possible implications between emotional intelligence skills and success in the areas of learning, mental health, and career preparation. The paper addresses the following questions: Is there a positive relationship between…

Influence of specific and non-specific endothelin receptor antagonists on renal morphology in rats with surgical renal ablation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nabokov, A; Amann, K; Wagner, J; Gehlen, F; Münter, K; Ritz, E

1996-03-01

Studies in experimental models of chronic renal failure suggest an important role for the endothelin system in the development of renal scarring. Endothelin receptor (ETR) anatagonists interfere with progression, but it has not been resolved (i) whether this is true for all models of renal damage, (ii) to what extent the effect is modulated by systemic blood pressure and (iii) whether the effect is similar for ETAR and ETA/ETBR antagonists. 5/6 subtotal nephrectomy (SNX) by surgical ablation in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Comparison of ACE inhibitor Trandolapril (0.1 mg/kg/day), ETAR antagonist BMS 182874 (30 mg/kg/day) and ETAR/ETBR antagonist Ro 46-2005 (30 mg/kg/day) by gavage. Duration of the experiment eight weeks. Systolic blood pressure by tail plethysmography. Perfusion fixation of kidneys and morphometric analysis ET-1 and ETA/ETBR by quantitative PCR. SNX caused a significant (P < 0.01) increase of systolic blood pressure (170 +/- 8.6 mmHg) compared to sham operated controls (131 +/- 5.3 mmHg). Blood pressure was significantly (P < 0.001) lower with Trandolapril (128 +/- 5.3 mmHg), but not with BMS 182874 (153 +/- 5.9 mmHg) or Ro 46-2005 (167 +/- 7.6 mmHg). Compared to sham operated rats (0.03 +/- 0.01) glomerulosclerosis index (GSI) was significantly (P < 0.01) higher in the untreated SNX group (0.9 +/- 0.15). Significantly lower GSI was found in Trandolapril treated (0.29 +/- 0.04), BMS 182874 treated (0.36 +/- 0.05), and Ro 46-2005 treated animals (0.45 +/- 0.11). The effect of BMS 182874 was accompanied by lower tubulointerstitial damage index. Mean glomerular volume was dramatically increased (P < 0.001) in SNX rats as compared to sham operated animals. This glomerular enlargement was partially prevented by Trandolapril (P < 0.05), but not by either ETR antagonist. ET-1 mRNA tended to be higher in SNX irrespective of treatment, while ETAR and ETBR mRNA were significantly lower. Both specific (ETAR) and non-specific (ETA/ETBR) endothelin antagonists

Technology Use in Higher Education Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Elzarka, Sammy

2012-01-01

The significance of integrating technology use in higher education instruction is undeniable. The benefits include those related to access to instruction by underserved populations, adequately preparing students for future careers, capitalizing on best instructional practices, developing higher order thinking activities, and engaging students…

Age and sex specific variation in hematological and serum biochemical parameters of Beluga (Huso huso Linnaeus, 1758

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reza Akrami

2013-05-01

Full Text Available In the present study, the age- and sex-specific changes of various haematological and blood serum biochemical blood parameters of Beluga (Huso huso were investigated. Blood samples were collected from 4-, 6-, 7-, and 8-year-old beluga (n = 7 for each sex and age. The specimens were fed at a rate of 0.5-3% body weight per day. AST and LDH levels in 7- and 8-year-old fish of both sexes were significantly higher (P<0.05 than those in 4- and 6-year-old individuals. The mean ALT were significantly different (P<0.05 in both sexes of 4-, 6-, and 7-year-old sturgeon. However, the 6-, 7-, and 8-year-old female sturgeon had higher ALP levels (P<0.05. Additionally, mean RBC, PCV, and Hb values were significantly higher (P<0.05 in 7- and 8-year-old females and males than the others. Two-tailed Pearson’s correlation between the biochemical and haematological parameters obtained for beluga sturgeon indicated significant positive correlations between AST and ALP, AST and LDH, ALP and LDH, RBC and Hb, RBC and PCV, Hb and PCV, MCH and MCHC, and MCV and MCH. However, significant negative correlations were found between RBC and MCV and MCH. These results suggest that the blood parameters of beluga are influenced by age- and sex-specific factors.

The second higher education and additional education as factors of development of commercialization in Ukrainian higher education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. V. Strigul

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The attention in the article has been drawn to the nature and characteristics of commercialization in the higher education system of Ukraine. It has been noted that commercialization in the consumer society is a social process of transformation of knowledge into a product or service. It provides the growing influence of market relations on the goals and objectives of higher education, promotes the growing importance of knowledge as a source for economic development and focuses on the concept of rooting and academic capitalism and the creation of market-oriented and entrepreneurial universities, which provide dynamic development of economy based on knowledge. Defining the essence of the Ukrainian forms of commercialization, there is a significant role of further and second higher education (that is, the presence of a variety of educational forms, which allows the University receiving the profit in the monetary form. The model of commercialization, which is implemented in Ukrainian higher education, differs from the American and Western European ones, as it is focused on financial returns, not on the economization of intellectual profit. Secondly, a peculiar type of consumer behavior, consumerism, which provides growth of profitability of higher education institutions by a variety of additional services (training, additional courses, further education, developing classes, retaking tests, etc.. The factors of development and dynamics of the Ukrainian forms of commercialization, as well as recommendations for avoiding the negative consequences of the economization and commercialization in higher education structure of modern Ukraine have been considered in the article. It has been noted that the University lost its original purpose and became a huge supermarket, which offers various kinds of knowledge. Rational action considers in the desire to buy the most qualitative product – a diploma from a prestigious University. Nowadays, the higher

St. John's wort significantly increased the systemic exposure and toxicity of methotrexate in rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Shih-Ying; Juang, Shin-Hun; Tsai, Shang-Yuan; Chao, Pei-Dawn Lee; Hou, Yu-Chi

2012-01-01

St. John's wort (SJW, Hypericum perforatum) is one of the popular nutraceuticals for treating depression. Methotrexate (MTX) is an immunosuppressant with narrow therapeutic window. This study investigated the effect of SJW on MTX pharmacokinetics in rats. Rats were orally given MTX alone and coadministered with 300 and 150 mg/kg of SJW, and 25 mg/kg of diclofenac, respectively. Blood was withdrawn at specific time points and serum MTX concentrations were assayed by a specific monoclonal fluorescence polarization immunoassay method. The results showed that 300 mg/kg of SJW significantly increased the AUC 0−t and C max of MTX by 163% and 60%, respectively, and 150 mg/kg of SJW significantly increased the AUC 0−t of MTX by 55%. In addition, diclofenac enhanced the C max of MTX by 110%. The mortality of rats treated with SJW was higher than that of controls. In conclusion, coadministration of SJW significantly increased the systemic exposure and toxicity of MTX. The combined use of MTX with SJW would need to be with caution. -- Highlights: ► St. John's wort significantly increased the AUC 0−t and C max of methotrexate. ► Coadministration of St. John's wort increased the exposure and toxicity of methotrexate. ► The combined use of methotrexate with St. John's wort will need to be with caution.

Organizational resilience: Sustained institutional effectiveness among smaller, private, non-profit US higher education institutions experiencing organizational decline.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Kenneth A

2016-06-04

analysis was used to examine the direct and interaction effects between organizational decline, organizational rigidity response, organizational resilience response, and institutional effectiveness, controlling for age of institution and level of endowment. The study validated previous threat-rigidity response findings that organizational decline alone does not adversely impact institutional effectiveness. The direct effect of Goal-Directed Solution Seeking and Role Dependency organizational resilience factors had a positive, significant correlation with the Student Personal Development institutional effectiveness factor. The interactive effect of Goal-Directed Solution Seeking organizational resilience factor during organizational decline had a positive, significant correlation with the Professional Development and Quality of Faculty institutional effectiveness factor. The interactive effect of Avoidance during organizational decline had a positive, significant correlation with the Faculty and Administrator Employment Satisfaction institutional effectiveness factor. The interactive effect of Diminished Innovation, Morale, and Leader Credibility rigidity response factor and Avoidance organizational resilience factor during organizational decline had a positive, significant correlation with the Professional Development and Quality of Faculty institutional effectiveness factor. Lastly, the interactive effect of Increased Scapegoating of Leaders, Interest group Activities, and Conflict rigidity response factor and Avoidance organizational resilience factor during organizational decline had a positive, significant correlation with the Faculty and Administrator Employment Satisfaction institutional effectiveness factor. Factors of organizational resilience were found to have a positive effect among smaller, private non-profit higher educational institutions associated with this study toward sustaining institutional effectiveness during organizational decline. Specifically, the

Clinical significance of changes of expression of anti-dsDNA antibody in serum in patients with SLE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xingguo; Zhang Xiaoli; Liu Chunyan; Cao Jiwei; Du Tongxing; Wang Zizheng

2008-01-01

Objective: To investigate the significance of anti-dsDNA antibody in diagnosis and treatment of SLE through measurement of changes of serum anti-dsDNA antibody expression in patients with SLE. Methods: Serum anti-dsDNA antibody was detected with radioisotope method in 60 patients with SLE and 33 controls (consisted of patients with other collagen diseases including Sjogren syndrome, systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, polymyositis, mixed connective tissue disease, ankylosing spondylitis). Clinical manifestation and laboratory findings in the SLE patients were studied in detail. Results: (1) Serum anti-dsDNA antibody was positive in 39 of the 60 SLE patients with only two false positive cases in the 33 controls: a sensitivity of 65% and specificity of 93. 3%. (2) In SLE patients, positivity of anti-dsDNA antibody was not correlated with positivity of anti-Sm antibody (P>0.05), but was correlated with positivity of anti-SSA antibody (P<0.05). (3) Incidences of alopecia, skin rashes, oral mucosal ulcer, proteinuria were significantly higher in SLE patients with positive anti-dsDNA antibody than those in SLE patients with negative anti-dsDNA antibody (P<0.05). (4) Incidences of leukopenia and thrombocytopenia were also significantly higher in SLE patients with positive anti-dsDNA antibody (P<0.05). Conclusion: Anti-dsDNA antibody could be taken as a specific marker of SLE and the serum expression were positively correlated with the activity and severity of the disease. (authors)

Higher insulin sensitivity in vegans is not associated with higher mitochondrial density.

Science.gov (United States)

Gojda, J; Patková, J; Jaček, M; Potočková, J; Trnka, J; Kraml, P; Anděl, M

2013-12-01

Vegans have a lower incidence of insulin resistance (IR)-associated diseases and a higher insulin sensitivity (IS) compared with omnivores. The aim of this study was to examine whether the higher IS in vegans relates to markers of mitochondrial biogenesis and to intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) content. Eleven vegans and 10 matched (race, age, sex, body mass index, physical activity and energy intake) omnivorous controls were enrolled in a case-control study. Anthropometry, bioimpedance (BIA), ultrasound measurement of visceral and subcutaneous fat layer, parameters of glucose and lipid homeostasis, hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp and muscle biopsies were performed. Citrate synthase (CS) activity, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and IMCL content were assessed in skeletal muscle samples. Both groups were comparable in anthropometric and BIA parameters, physical activity and protein-energy intake. Vegans had significantly higher glucose disposal (M-value, vegans 8.11±1.51 vs controls 6.31±1.57 mg/kg/min, 95% confidence interval: 0.402 to 3.212, P=0.014), slightly lower IMCL content (vegans 13.91 (7.8 to 44.0) vs controls 17.36 (12.4 to 78.5) mg/g of muscle, 95% confidence interval: -7.594 to 24.550, P=0.193) and slightly higher relative muscle mtDNA amount (vegans 1.36±0.31 vs controls 1.13±0.36, 95% confidence interval:-0.078 to 0.537, P=0.135). No significant differences were found in CS activity (vegans 18.43±5.05 vs controls 18.16±5.41 μmol/g/min, 95% confidence interval: -4.503 to 5.050, P=0.906). Vegans have a higher IS, but comparable mitochondrial density and IMCL content with omnivores. This suggests that a decrease in whole-body glucose disposal may precede muscle lipid accumulation and mitochondrial dysfunction in IR development.

Higher-moment stochastic discount factor specifications and the cross-section of asset returns

OpenAIRE

Wang, Dengli

2013-01-01

The stochastic discount factor model provides a general framework for pricing assets. A suitably specified discount factor encompasses most of the theories currently in use, including the CAPM, consumption CAPM, higher-moment CAPM and their conditional versions. In this thesis, we focus on the empirical admissibility of alternative SDFs under restrictions that ensure that investors’ risk-preferences are well behaved. More innovatively, we explore whether the SDF implied by the 3 and 4-mome...

Occult pneumothoraces in Chinese patients with significant blunt chest trauma: radiological classification and proposed clinical significance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ryan K L; Graham, Colin A; Yeung, Janice H H; Ahuja, Anil T; Rainer, Timothy H

2012-12-01

An occult pneumothorax (OP) is a pneumothorax not seen on a supine chest X-ray (CXR) but detected on abdominal or thoracic computed tomography (CT) scanning. With the increasing use of CT in the management of significantly injured trauma patients, more OPs are being detected. The aim of this study was to classify OPs diagnosed on thoracic CT (TCT) and correlate them with their clinical significance. Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected trauma registry data. Total 36 (N=36) consecutive significantly injured trauma patients admitted through the emergency department (ED) who sustained blunt chest trauma and underwent TCT between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2008 were included. OP was defined as the identification (by a consultant radiologist) of a pneumothorax on TCT that had not been detected on supine CXR. OPs were classified by laterality (unilateral/bilateral) and location (apical, basal, non apical/basal). The size of pneumothoraces, severity of injury [including number of associated thoracic injuries and injury severity score (ISS)], length of hospital stay and mortality were compared between groups. The need for tube thoracostomy and clinical outcome were also analysed. Patients with bilateral OPs (N=8) had significantly more associated thoracic injuries (median: 2 vs. 1, p=0.01), higher ISS (median: 35 vs. 23, p=0.02) and longer hospital stay (median: 20 days vs. 11 days, p=0.01) than those with a unilateral OP (N=28). Basal OPs (N=7) were significantly larger than apical (N=10) and non-apical/basal Ops (N=11). Basal OPs were associated with significantly more associated thoracic injuries (median: 2 vs. 1, p=0.01), higher ISS (median: 35 vs. 25, p=0.04) and longer hospital stays (median: 23 days vs. 17 days, p=0.02) than apical Ops, which had higher ISS (median: 35 vs. 25, p=0.04) and longer hospital stays (median: 23 days vs. 15 days, p=0.02) than non-apical/basal OPs. Non-apical/basal OPs were associated with more related injuries (median: 2

Solar cells from 120 PPMA carbon-contaminated feedstock without significantly higher reverse current or shunt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manshanden, P.; Coletti, G. [ECN Solar Energy, Petten (Netherlands)

2012-09-15

In a bid to drive down the cost of silicon wafers, several options for solar grade silicon feedstock have been investigated over the years. All methods have in common that the resulting silicon contains higher levels of impurities like dopants, oxygen, carbon or transition metals, the type and level of impurities depending on the raw materials and refining processes. In this work wafers from a p-type mc-Si ingot made with feedstock contaminated with 120 ppma of carbon have been processed into solar cells together with reference uncontaminated feedstock from semiconductor grade polysilicon with <0.4 ppma carbon. The results show that comparable reverse current, shunts, and efficiencies can be reached for both types of wafers. Gettering and defect hydrogenation effectiveness also did not deviate from the reference. Electroluminescence pictures do not show increased hotspot formation, even at -16V.

Sustainability and Built Environment: The role of Higher Education in Architecture and Building Engineering

OpenAIRE

Emilia Conte

2016-01-01

The sustainability paradigm implies a cultural shift in order to really change the world and society. Education, and specifically higher education, plays the crucial role of preparing students to be not only responsible citizens but also actors and promoters of processes and actions for a sustainable development. This is important in general and even more significant in architecture and engineering fields, as those students will be the designers of the built environment of tomorrow.This paper...

Resident-Specific Morbidity Reduced Following ACS NSQIP Data-Driven Quality Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Turrentine, Florence E; Hanks, John B; Tracci, Megan C; Jones, R Scott; Schirmer, Bruce D; Smith, Philip W

2018-04-16

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestone Project for general surgery provided a more robust method for developing and tracking residents' competence. This framework enhanced systematic and progressive development of residents' competencies in surgical quality improvement. A 22-month interactive, educational program based on resident-specific surgical outcomes data culminated in a quality improvement project for postgraduate year 4 surgery residents. Self- assessment, quality knowledge test, and resident-specific American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Quality In-Training Initiative morbidity were compared before and after the intervention. Quality in-training initiative morbidity decreased from 25% (82/325) to 18% (93/517), p = 0.015 despite residents performing more complex cases. All participants achieved level 4 competency (4/4) within the general surgery milestones improvement of care, practice-based learning and improvement competency. Institutional American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program general surgery morbidity improved from the ninth to the sixth decile. Quality assessment and improvement self-assessment postintervention scores (M = 23.80, SD = 4.97) were not significantly higher than preintervention scores (M = 19.20, SD = 5.26), p = 0.061. Quality Improvement Knowledge Application Tool postintervention test scores (M = 17.4, SD = 4.88), were not significantly higher than pretest scores (M = 13.2, SD = 1.92), p = 0.12. Sharing validated resident-specific clinical data with participants was associated with improved surgical outcomes. Participating fourth year surgical residents achieved the highest score, a level 4, in the practice based learning and improvement competency of the improvement of care practice domain and observed significantly reduced surgical morbidity for cases in which they participated. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Globalization and Women in Southeast Asian Higher Education Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Luke, Carmen

2002-01-01

This case study of Southeast Asian women in higher education management investigates culture-specific dimensions of "glass ceiling" impediments to career advancement in higher education. Respondents note that despite considerable training and expertise, Asian values and ideologies demand enactment of a construct of Asian femininity that…

Prostate-specific antigen cancer volume: a significant prognostic factor in prostate cancer patients at intermediate risk of failing radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lankford, Scott P.; Pollack, Alan; Zagars, Gunar K.

1997-01-01

Purpose: Although the pretreatment serum prostate-specific antigen level (PSAL) is the single-most significant predictor of local and biochemical control in prostate cancer patients treated with radiotherapy, it is relatively insensitive for patients with a PSAL in the intermediate range (4-20 ng/ml). PSA density (PSAD) has been shown to be slightly more predictive of outcome than PSAL for this intermediate risk group; however, this improvement is small and of little use clinically. PSA cancer volume (PSACV), an estimate of cancer volume based on PSA, has recently been described and has been purported to be more significant t than PSAL in predicting early biochemical failure after radiotherapy. We report a detailed comparison between this new prognostic factor, PSAL, and PSAD. Methods and Materials: The records of 356 patients treated with definitive external beam radiotherapy for regionally localized (T1-4,Nx,M0) adenocarcinoma of the prostate were reviewed. Each patient had a PSAL, biopsy Gleason score, and pretreatment prostate volume by transrectal ultrasonography. The median PSAL was 9.3 ng/ml and 66% had Gleason scores in the 2-6 range. The median radiation dose was 66.0 Gy and the median follow-up for those living was 27 months. PSACV was calculated using a formula which takes into account PSAL, pretreatment prostate ultrasound volume, and Gleason score. The median PSACV was 1.43 cc. Biochemical failure was defined as increases in two consecutive follow-up PSA levels, one increase by a factor > 1.5, or an absolute increase of > 1 ng/ml. Local failure was defined as a cancer-positive prostate biopsy, obtained for evidence of tumor progression. Results: The distributions of PSACV and PSAL were similar and, when normalized by log transformation, were highly correlated (p < 0.0001, linear regression). There was a statistically significant relationship between PSACV and several potential prognostic factors including PSAL, PSAD, stage, Gleason score, and

Change and significance of serum inflammatory factors, NSE, S100 protein and stress hormone levels in patients with craniocerebral injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui-Feng Liu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the change and significance of serum inflammatory factors, neuron specific enolase (NSE, S100 protein and stress hormone levels in patients with brain diseases. Methods: A total of 115 patients with craniocerebral injury were selected as the observation group, according to the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS, they were divided into light-sized group (n=38, middle-sized group (n=40 and severe-sized group (n=37, at the same time the other 120 healthy subjects were selected as the control group. The levels of serum inflammatory cytokines [tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α and procalcitonin (PCT], neuron specific enolase (NSE, S100 protein and the stress hormone cortisol [(COR, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH, β-endorphin (β-EP] of both groups were compared. Results: The levels of TNF-α, PCT, NSE, S100, COR, ACTH and β-EP in the observation group were (145.73±19.24 ng/L, (2.41±0.64 ng/mL, (38.11±12.28 ng/mL, (0.87±0.32 μg/L, (818.87±121.14 nmol/L, (107.38±13.94 ng/L, (126.74±39.04 ng/mL, which were significantly higher than control group, the difference was statistically significant; Comparison of indexes among the observation group, NF-α, PCT, NSE, S100, COR, ACTH and β-EP levels in the middle-sized group and severe-sized group were significantly higher than those in the light-sized group, and the levels in the severe-sized group were significantly higher than those of the middle-sized group, the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: The levels of Serum inflammatory factors, NSE, S100 protein and stress hormone were significantly increased in patients with craniocerebral injury, the level was related to the degree of traumatic brain injury, which could be used as an important indicator to assess the severity of the disease.

From higher order thinking to higher order behavior: exploring the relationship between early cognitive skills and social competence in black boys.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Kristin M; Barbarin, Oscar A; Brown, Jeffrey M

2013-01-01

This study examines the relations of higher order (i.e., abstract) thinking (HOT) skills to specific domains of social competence in Black boys (n = 108) attending publicly sponsored prekindergarten (pre-K) programs. Data for the study were collected as part of the National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL) Multi-State Study, a national, longitudinal study examining the quality and outcomes in a representative sample of publicly sponsored pre-K programs in six states (N = 240). Pre-K and kindergarten teachers rated randomly selected children on measures of abstract thinking, self-regulation, and social functioning at the beginning and end of each school year. Applying structural equation modeling, compared with earlier time points, HOT measured in the fall of kindergarten significantly predicted each of the domains of social competence in the spring of kindergarten, with the exception of peer social skills, while controlling for general cognitive ability. Results suggest that early intervention to improve HOT may be an effective and more focused approach to address concerns about Black boys' early social competencies in specific domains and potentially reduce the risk of later social difficulties. © 2013 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

Correlation of Serotype-Specific Dengue Virus Infection with Clinical Manifestations

Science.gov (United States)

Halsey, Eric S.; Marks, Morgan A.; Gotuzzo, Eduardo; Fiestas, Victor; Suarez, Luis; Vargas, Jorge; Aguayo, Nicolas; Madrid, Cesar; Vimos, Carlos; Kochel, Tadeusz J.; Laguna-Torres, V. Alberto

2012-01-01

Background Disease caused by the dengue virus (DENV) is a significant cause of morbidity throughout the world. Although prior research has focused on the association of specific DENV serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4) with the development of severe outcomes such as dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome, relatively little work has correlated other clinical manifestations with a particular DENV serotype. The goal of this study was to estimate and compare the prevalence of non-hemorrhagic clinical manifestations of DENV infection by serotype. Methodology and Principal Findings Between the years 2005–2010, individuals with febrile disease from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay were enrolled in an outpatient passive surveillance study. Detailed information regarding clinical signs and symptoms, as well as demographic information, was collected. DENV infection was confirmed in patient sera with polyclonal antibodies in a culture-based immunofluorescence assay, and the infecting serotype was determined by serotype-specific monoclonal antibodies. Differences in the prevalence of individual and organ-system manifestations were compared across DENV serotypes. One thousand seven hundred and sixteen individuals were identified as being infected with DENV-1 (39.8%), DENV-2 (4.3%), DENV-3 (41.5%), or DENV-4 (14.4%). When all four DENV serotypes were compared with each other, individuals infected with DENV-3 had a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal manifestations, and individuals infected with DENV-4 had a higher prevalence of respiratory and cutaneous manifestations. Conclusions/Significance Specific clinical manifestations, as well as groups of clinical manifestations, are often overrepresented by an individual DENV serotype. PMID:22563516

Detection of HCV core antigen and its diagnostic significance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

YANG Jie

2013-02-01

Full Text Available ObjectiveTo compare the abilities of the hepatitis C virus (HCV core antigen (cAg test and the HCV RNA assay for confirming anti-HCV presence in order to determine the clinical utility of the HCV-cAg as an alternative or confirmatory diagnostic tool. MethodsSerum samples collected from 158 patients diagnosed with HCV infection were subjected to the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based HCV-cAg test. The optical density (OD measured values were used to calculate the ratio of specimen absorbance to the cutoff value (S/CO. Simultaneously, the serum samples were subjected to PCR-based nucleic acid amplification quantitative fluorescence detection of HCV RNA. ResultsNone of the serum samples had a S/CO value ＜1 for the HCV-cAg test (100% negative, but all of the samples had a S/CO value ＞5 (100% positive. The HCV-cAg test sensitivity was 87.05%, specificity was 76.67%, positive predictive value was 9653%, and negative predictive value was 44.23%. As the S/CO value gradually increased, the significantly higher positive coincident rate of the HCV RNA test decreased. The HCV RNA negative coincident rate was significantly higher than that of the HCV-cAg test. HCV-cAg S/CO values between 1 and 2 corresponded to an HCV RNA values between 1.0×103 copies/ml and 1.0×104 copies/ml. The highest S/CO value obtained was 1.992. ConclusionThe HCV-cAg test is comparable to the HCV RNA assay for diagnosing HCV infection.

Prognostic significance of multiple kallikreins in high-grade astrocytoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drucker, Kristen L.; Gianinni, Caterina; Decker, Paul A.; Diamandis, Eleftherios P.; Scarisbrick, Isobel A.

2015-01-01

Kallikreins have clinical value as prognostic markers in a subset of malignancies examined to date, including kallikrein 3 (prostate specific antigen) in prostate cancer. We previously demonstrated that kallikrein 6 is expressed at higher levels in grade IV compared to grade III astrocytoma and is associated with reduced survival of GBM patients. In this study we determined KLK1, KLK6, KLK7, KLK8, KLK9 and KLK10 protein expression in two independent tissue microarrays containing 60 grade IV and 8 grade III astrocytoma samples. Scores for staining intensity, percent of tumor stained and immunoreactivity scores (IR, product of intensity and percent) were determined and analyzed for correlation with patient survival. Grade IV glioma was associated with higher levels of kallikrein-immunostaining compared to grade III specimens. Univariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis demonstrated that elevated KLK6- or KLK7-IR was associated with poor patient prognosis. In addition, an increased percent of tumor immunoreactive for KLK6 or KLK9 was associated with decreased survival in grade IV patients. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that patients with KLK6-IR < 10, KLK6 percent tumor core stained < 3, or KLK7-IR < 9 had a significantly improved survival. Multivariable analysis indicated that the significance of these parameters was maintained even after adjusting for gender and performance score. These data suggest that elevations in glioblastoma KLK6, KLK7 and KLK9 protein have utility as prognostic markers of patient survival. The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-1566-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Clinical significance of detection of antibodies to fetal and adult acetylcholine receptors in myasthenia gravis

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Qi-Guang Shi; Zhi-Hong Wang; Xiao-Wei Ma; Da-Qi Zhang; Chun-Sheng Yang; Fu-Dong Shi; Li Yang

2012-01-01

Objective To evaluate the frequency,distribution and clinical significance of the antibodies to the fetal and/or adult acetylcholine receptor (AChR) in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG).Methods AChR antibodies were detected by cell-based assay in the serum of ocular MG (OMG) (n =90) and generalized MG (GMG) patients (n =110).The fetaltype (2α∶ β∶ γ∶ δ) and adult-type (2α∶ β∶ ε∶ δ) AChR were used as antigens,and their relevance to disease presentation was assessed.Results The overall frequencies of anti-adult and anti-fetal AChR antibodies were similar in all 200 patients examined,with 14 having serum specific to the AChR-γ subunit,and 22 to the AChR-ε subunit.The overall sensitivity when using the fetal and adult AChR antibodies was higher than that when using the fetal AChR antibody only (P =0.015).Compared with OMG patients,the mean age at disease onset and the positive ratio of antibodies to both isoforms of the AChR were significantly higher in patients who subsequently progressed to GMG.Older patients and patients with both anti-fetal and anti-adult AChR antibodies had a greater risk for developing generalized disease [odds ratio (OR),1.03;95％ confidence interval (CI),1.01-1.06 and OR,5.09;95％ CI,2.23-11.62].Conclusion Using both fetal-and adulttype AChRs as the antigens may be more sensitive than using either subtype.Patients with serum specific to both isoforms are at a greater risk of progressing to GMG.Patients with disease onset at an advanced age appear to have a higher frequency of GMG conversion.

Dyslexia in secondary and higher education: intervention and rehabilitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marisa Silva

2017-12-01

Full Text Available We present an investigation that seeks to understand a specific case of a young female, attending secondary and then higher education school, who was diagnosed with dyslexia in the primary school and then ceased to have expert support after the start of the 5th grade. This study has as its main goal to identify the changes resulting from the implementation of specific activities, established in the intervention and rehabilitation program in the specific difficulty of learning- Dyslexia.  Moreover, we want to see if these changes result in success in basic areas of development and in the academic area of reading. The intervention and rehabilitation was performed for three months in areas where the student had difficulties.Keywords: Dyslexia; secondary and higher education; intervention and rehabilitation

The determination of thyroid hormone autoantibodies and its clinical significance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Li; Zhao Zhiying; Wang Zhenghua Lian Xiaolan; Guo Zhisheng; Bai Yao; Su Wei

2003-01-01

To study the reasons of falsely high concentrations of serum thyroid hormone and the way of determination of thyroid hormone autoantibodies, the experiments of thyroid hormone autoantibodies binding reaction, dilution testing, calibration curves and their check analysis were performed. Results showed that the combination of the autoantibodies with 125 I-T 3 or 125 I-T 4 was specific, the binding rates were 58.77% and 49.05% respectively and 7-12 times higher than control groups. The radioactive peaks of the autoantibodies and rabbit anti-T 3 or T 4 antibody appeared on the same position in radio electrophoretogram analysis and these antibodies were considered as IgG. The important reasons of falsely high concentrations of serum thyroid hormone are the presence of anti-thyroid hormone antibodies. Determination of thyroid hormone autoantibodies significantly benefits diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease

Commercial Buildings Partnerships - Overview of Higher education projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parrish, Kristen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Robinson, Alastair [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Regnier, Cindy [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2013-02-01

The Commercial Building Partnership (CBP), a public/private, cost-shared program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), paired selected commercial building owners and operators with representatives of DOE, its national laboratories, and private-sector technical experts. These teams explored energy-saving measures across building systems – including some considered too costly or technologically challenging – and used advanced energy modeling to achieve peak whole-building performance. Modeling results were then included in new construction or retrofit designs to achieve significant energy reductions. CBP design goals aimed to achieve 50 percent energy savings compared to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2004 for new construction, while retrofits are designed to consume at least 30 percent less energy than either Standard 90.1-2004 or current consumption. After construction and commissioning of the project, laboratory staff continued to work with partners to collect and analyze data for verification of the actual energy reduction. CBP projects represent diverse building types in commercial real estate, including lodging, grocery, retail, higher education, office, and warehouse/storage facilities. Partners also commit to replicating low-energy technologies and strategies from their CBP projects throughout their building portfolios. As a result of CBP projects, five sector overviews (Lodging, Food Sales, General Merchandise, Higher Education, Offices) were created to capture successful strategies and recommended energy efficiency measures that could broadly be applied across these sectors. These overviews are supplemented with individual case studies providing specific details on the decision criteria, modeling results, and lessons learned on specific projects. Sector overviews and CBP case studies will also be updated to reflect verified data and replication strategies as they become available.

Significance of Lead Residues in Mallard Tissues

Science.gov (United States)

Longcore, J.R.; Locke, L.N.; Bagley, George E.; Andrews, R.

1974-01-01

Tissues of adult, lead-dosed mallards that either died or were sacrificed were analyzed for lead. Lead levels in brains, tibiae, and breast muscle of ducks that died and in tibiae of ducks that were sacrificed increased significantly from dosage until death. Lead in the heart, lung, and blood from sacrificed ducks decreased significantly from dosage until death. Lead concentrations in tissues from ducks in the two groups were not significantly different except for the liver, kidney, and lung. Average lead levels in the livers and kidneys of ducks that died were significantly higher than those in ducks that were sacrificed. The mean concentration of lead in the lungs of the ducks sacrificed was significantly higher than the mean level in the lungs of ducks that died. Measurements of the lead concentrations in this study, when compared with lead levels reported in the literature for avian and non-avian species, showed that arbitrary diagnostic levels indicating lead poisoning could be set. In mallard ducks, lead levels exceeding 3 ppm in the brain, 6 to 20 ppm in the kidney or liver, or 10 ppm in clotted blood from the heart indicated acute exposure to lead.

Sex-specific differences of craniofacial traits in Croatia: the impact of environment in a small geographic area.

Science.gov (United States)

Buretic-Tomljanovic, Alena; Giacometti, Jasminka; Ostojic, Sasa; Kapovic, Miljenko

2007-01-01

Craniometric variation in humans reflects different genetic and environmental influences. Long-term climatic adaptation is less likely to show an impact on size and shape variation in a small local area than at the global level. The aim of this work was to assess the contribution of the particular environmental factors to body height and craniofacial variability in a small geographic area of Croatia. A total of 632 subjects, aged 18-21, participated in the survey. Body height, head length, head breadth, head height, head circumference, cephalic index, morphological face height, face breadth, and facial index were analysed regarding geographic, climatic and dietary conditions in different regions of the country, and correlated with the specific climatic variables (cumulative multiyear sunshine duration, cumulative multiyear average precipitation, multiyear average air temperatures) and calcium concentrations in drinking water. Significant differences between groups classified according to geographic, climatic or dietary affiliation, and the impact of the environmental predictors on the variation in the investigated traits were assessed using multiple forward stepwise regression analyses. Higher body height measures in both sexes were significantly correlated with Mediterranean diet type. Mediterranean diet type also contributed to higher head length and head circumference measures in females. Cephalic index values correlated to geographic regions in both sexes, showing an increase from southern to eastern Croatia. In the same direction, head length significantly decreased in males and head breadth increased in females. Mediterranean climate was associated with higher and narrower faces in females. The analysis of the particular climatic variables did not reveal a significant influence on body height in either sex. Concurrently, climatic features influenced all craniofacial traits in females and only head length and facial index in males. Mediterranean climate

78 FR 78519 - Appraisals for Higher-Priced Mortgage Loans

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-26

... where the holder of the credit risk of the existing obligation remains the same on the refinancing. The....'' Specifically, new TILA section 129H prohibits a creditor from extending credit in the form of a ``higher-risk... rule.\\8\\ The term ``higher-risk mortgage'' generally encompasses a closed-end consumer credit...

The significance of peripartum fever in women undergoing vaginal deliveries.

Science.gov (United States)

Bensal, Adi; Weintraub, Adi Y; Levy, Amalia; Holcberg, Gershon; Sheiner, Eyal

2008-10-01

We investigated whether patients undergoing vaginal delivery who developed peripartum fever (PPF) had increased rates of other gestational complications. A retrospective study was undertaken comparing pregnancy complications of patients who developed PPF with those who did not. A multivariable logistic regression model was constructed to control for confounders. To avoid ascertainment bias, the year of birth was included in the model. Women who underwent cesarean delivery and those with multiple pregnancies were excluded from the study. During the study period, there were 169,738 singleton vaginal deliveries, and 0.4% of the women suffered from PPF. Hypertensive disorders, induction of labor, dystocia of labor in the second stage, suspected fetal distress, meconium-stained amniotic fluid, postpartum hemorrhage, manual lysis of a retained placenta, and revision of the uterine cavity and cervix were found to be independently associated with PPF by multivariable analysis. Year of birth was found to be a risk factor for fever. Apgar scores lower than 7 at 1 but not 5 minutes were significantly higher in the PPF group. Perinatal mortality rates were significantly higher among women with PPF (6.7% versus 1.3%, odds ratio [OR] = 5.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.9 to 7.3; P < 0.001). Using another multivariable analysis, with perinatal mortality as the outcome variable, PPF was found as an independent risk factor for perinatal mortality (OR = 2.9; 95% CI 1.9 to 4.6; P < 0.001). PPF in women undergoing vaginal deliveries is associated with adverse perinatal outcomes and specifically is an independent risk factor for perinatal mortality.

Clinical significance of combined determination of serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and lipid-associated sialic acid (LSA) in patients with lung cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Wei; Yao Dengfu; Qiu Liwei; Wu Xinghua

2003-01-01

Objective: To explore the expression and the diagnostic value of determining serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and lipid-associated sialic acid (LSA) in patients with lung cancer. Methods: The concentrations of NSE, TNF-α and LSA were measured in 78 patients with lung cancer and 32 patients with benign lung diseases as well as 109 controls by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and chemical assay respectively. Results: The levels of NSE (19.78 ± 12.10 ng/ml), TNF-α (135.64 ± 49.01 pg/ml) and LSA (106 ± 0.31 ng/ml) were significantly higher in patients with lung cancer than those in patients with benign lung diseases (NSE 7.56 ± 3.41 ng/ml, TNF-α 84.70 ± 24.89 pg/ml, LSA 0.78 ± 0.18 mg/ml) and controls (NSE 8.01 ± 2.81 ng/ml, TNF-α 71.25 ± 13.50 pg/ml, LSA 0.70 ± 0.13 ng/ml) (all p < 0.01). Conclusion: The present data suggest that the syntheses of NSE, TNF-α and LSA increase in patients with lung cancer and combined determination of NSE, TNF-α and LSA be helpful to diagnosis of lung cancer

Acute administration of nicotine into the higher order auditory Te2 cortex specifically decreases the fear-related charge of remote emotional memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Cambiaghi, Marco; Grosso, Anna; Renna, Annamaria; Concina, Giulia; Sacchetti, Benedetto

2015-12-01

Nicotine elicits several behavioural effects on mood as well as on stress and anxiety processes. Recently, it was found that the higher order components of the sensory cortex, such as the secondary auditory cortex Te2, are essential for the long-term storage of remote fear memories. Therefore, in the present study, we examined the effects of acute nicotine injection into the higher order auditory cortex Te2, on the remote emotional memories of either threat or incentive experiences in rats. We found that intra-Te2 nicotine injection decreased the fear-evoked responses to a tone previously paired with footshock. This effect was cue- and dose-specific and was not due to any interference with auditory stimuli processing, innate anxiety and fear processes, or with motor responses. Nicotine acts acutely in the presence of threat stimuli but it did not determine the permanent degradation of the fear-memory trace, since memories tested one week after nicotine injection were unaffected. Remarkably, nicotine did not affect the memory of a similar tone that was paired to incentive stimuli. We conclude from our results that nicotine, when acting acutely in the auditory cortex, relieves the fear charge embedded by learned stimuli. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Sensitivity and specificity of three Onchocerca volvulus cloned antigens in diagnosis of onchocerciasis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atti, Miska Elyemen; TR, Unnasch; Mukhtar, M.M.

1999-01-01

Onchcerciasis is endemic in three geographical regions in Sudan, and presented with variable clinical reactions. The current diagnosis of onchocerciasis is based on detection of live microflaraie in skin snips in addition to clinical signs and history of living in endemic regions. Different serological diagnostic trials using crude soluble antigens of O. volvulus have shown variable degrees of cross reaction with other nematodes co-endemic in the same area. We have studied the sensitivity and specificity of RAL-2, calreticulin and PDI O. volvulus cloned antigens using the ELISA techniques. Eighty serum samples of Onchocerciasis patients, 20 non endemic normal controls and 42 samples of patients of other endemic deseas including Leishmanoasis, malaria, tuberculosis and shestosomiasis were tested RAL-2 gave the best Ig G response, with 83.75% sensitivity and 91. 66% specificity. PDI sensitivity was 20% and specificity 91.66%, while calreticulum showed sensitivity of 37.5% and specificity of 73.30%. IgG3 subclasses was not significantly different from controls while IgG4 was significantly higher in patients. The sensitivity of RAL-2 for IgG4 was 90% with a specificity of 100%. For PDI sensitivity was 25% and 100% specificity while calreticulin resulted in sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 100%. Low levels of circulating IgE to RAL-2 antigen were detected. For all antigens there was significant correlation with gender, age, microflarial load or presence of nodules. (Author)

GENDERED CAREER PRODUCTIVITY AND SUCCESS IN ACADEMIA IN INDONESIA’S ISLAMIC HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nur Kholis

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Career advancement in Indonesian academia is nationally regulated. It, theoretically, provides equal opportunities for men and women to be productive and successful. The purpose of this study is to analyze gender effects on academic career productivity and success. Seven-hundred and fifty questionnaires were distributed randomly to eight Islamic Higher Education Institutions in seven provinces, from which 220 (Men = 57.7%, and Women = 42.3% respondents returned the questionnaires with an analyzable quality. Descriptive and multivariate analyses are employed for analyzing and presenting the results. The paper argues that women in Islamic Higher Education Institutions are less productive in terms of publications, hold lower academic rank and leadership positions, and earn significantly less than men. It further argues that Islamic Higher Education Institutions should provide specific empowerment for women by, for example, providing support for their continuing education, professional development, and career opportunities.

Assessing Field-Specific Risk of Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome Using Satellite Imagery in Iowa.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, S; Li, X; Chen, C; Kyveryga, P; Yang, X B

2016-08-01

Moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery from 2004 to 2013 were used to assess the field-specific risks of soybean sudden death syndrome (SDS) caused by Fusarium virguliforme in Iowa. Fields with a high frequency of significant decrease (>10%) of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) observed in late July to middle August on historical imagery were hypothetically considered as high SDS risk. These high-risk fields had higher slopes and shorter distances to flowlines, e.g., creeks and drainages, particularly in the Des Moines lobe. Field data in 2014 showed a significantly higher SDS level in the high-risk fields than fields selected without considering NDVI information. On average, low-risk fields had 10 times lower F. virguliforme soil density, determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, compared with other surveyed fields. Ordinal logistic regression identified positive correlations between SDS and slope, June NDVI, and May maximum temperature, but high June maximum temperature hindered SDS. A modeled SDS risk map showed a clear trend of potential disease occurrences across Iowa. Landsat imagery was analyzed similarly, to discuss the ability to utilize higher spatial resolution data. The results demonstrated the great potential of both MODIS and Landsat imagery for SDS field-specific risk assessment.

Rethinking Dropout in Online Higher Education: The Case of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josep Grau-Valldosera

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In recent years, several studies have been carried out into the reasons why students drop out of online higher education, following the rise in the relative weight of this form of education. However, more effort has gone into analyzing the causes of this phenomenon than into trying to characterize students who drop out, that is defining what a dropout student is. But obtaining a proper definition of dropout is just as important as describing its causes. It also appears that the definition of dropout is very sensitive to context. As one of the main findings of this article, we reach a pure empirical definition, at a programme level, of students who drop out of an online higher education context with non-mandatory enrollment. This definition is based on the probability of students not continuing a specific academic programme following several consecutive semesters of “theoretical break”, and is highly adaptable to institutions offering distance education with no permanence requirements, that is ones offering the possibility of taking breaks. Our findings show that there are differences regarding the number of consecutive semesters that define dropout depending on whether the programme requires previous experience or not. Additionally, we observe significant differences in the dropout rate between specific programmes, as well as a higher level of dropout in the first semesters. Analyzing the reasons behind these facts should help higher education institutions to make more sound and efficient decisions.

Gore's Controversial Priorities for Higher Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Gose, Ben

2000-01-01

Evaluates presidential candidate Al Gore's priorities for higher education, noting criticism by some educators of his emphasis on benefits for the middle class and the large number of specific proposals he has offered, including the College Opportunity Tax Cut, 21st Century Teachers' Corps, 401(j) Educational Savings Accounts, the National Tuition…

Higher 5-hydroxymethylcytosine identifies immortal DNA strand chromosomes in asymmetrically self-renewing distributed stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Huh, Yang Hoon; Cohen, Justin; Sherley, James L

2013-10-15

Immortal strands are the targeted chromosomal DNA strands of nonrandom sister chromatid segregation, a mitotic chromosome segregation pattern unique to asymmetrically self-renewing distributed stem cells (DSCs). By nonrandom segregation, immortal DNA strands become the oldest DNA strands in asymmetrically self-renewing DSCs. Nonrandom segregation of immortal DNA strands may limit DSC mutagenesis, preserve DSC fate, and contribute to DSC aging. The mechanisms responsible for specification and maintenance of immortal DNA strands are unknown. To discover clues to these mechanisms, we investigated the 5-methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) content on chromosomes in mouse hair follicle DSCs during nonrandom segregation. Although 5-methylcytosine content did not differ significantly, the relative content of 5hmC was significantly higher in chromosomes containing immortal DNA strands than in opposed mitotic chromosomes containing younger mortal DNA strands. The difference in relative 5hmC content was caused by the loss of 5hmC from mortal chromosomes. These findings implicate higher 5hmC as a specific molecular determinant of immortal DNA strand chromosomes. Because 5hmC is an intermediate during DNA demethylation, we propose a ten-eleven translocase enzyme mechanism for both the specification and maintenance of nonrandomly segregated immortal DNA strands. The proposed mechanism reveals a means by which DSCs "know" the generational age of immortal DNA strands. The mechanism is supported by molecular expression data and accounts for the selection of newly replicated DNA strands when nonrandom segregation is initiated. These mechanistic insights also provide a possible basis for another characteristic property of immortal DNA strands, their guanine ribonucleotide dependency.

The Gore/Bush Records on Higher Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Walters, Ronald

2000-01-01

Compares the records of presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore on higher education issues and, specifically, those of interest to the Black community. Concludes that Al Gore's record makes him an overall better choice in the 2000 campaign. (DB)

Experimental study on an active specific immunotherapy modified with irradiation, 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogawa, Yasuhiro; Takashima, Hitoshi; Imanaka, Kazufumi

1982-01-01

Active specific immunotherapy using low-dose-irradiated tumor cells and activated mononuclear cells was studied on the transplanted MM 46 tumor of female C3H/He mice aged 12 weeks, after radiotherapy was performed. Local irradiation with the dose of 3,000 rads by high energy electron beam was performed on the fifth day after 5 x 10 6 tumor cells were inoculated in the right hind paws. Tumor cells and mononuclear cells were separated from the tumor tissue which was irradiated with the dose of 2,000 rads on the fifth day and were injected subcutaneously into the left hind paws of the tumor burden mice on the eleventh day. Anti-tumor effect was evaluated by the changes of the tumor volume and survival curves. Tumor growth was significantly inhibited in the group which received irradiation combined with active specific immunotherapy compared with the control group (p < 0.01). Survival rate was significantly higher in the group which received irradiation combined with active specific immunotherapy than the control group (p < 0.025). (author)

Prognostic significance of radionuclide-assessed diastolic function in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chikamori, T.; Dickie, S.; Poloniecki, J.D.; Myers, M.J.; Lavender, J.P.; McKenna, W.J.

1990-01-01

To evaluate the prognostic significance of diastolic function in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC), technetium-99m gated equilibrium radionuclide angiography, acquired in list mode, was performed in 161 patients. Five diastolic indexes were calculated. During 3.0 +/- 1.9 years, 13 patients had disease-related deaths. With univariate analysis, these patients were younger (29 +/- 20 vs 42 +/- 16 years; p less than 0.05), had a higher incidence of syncope (p less than 0.025), dyspnea (p less than 0.001), reduced peak filling rate (2.9 +/- 0.9 vs 3.4 +/- 1.0 end-diastolic volume/s; p = 0.09) with increased relative filling volume during the rapid filling period (80 +/- 7 vs 75 +/- 12%; p = 0.06) and decreased atrial contribution (17 +/- 7 vs 22 +/- 11%; p = 0.07). Stepwise discriminant analysis revealed that young age at diagnosis, syncope at diagnosis, reduced peak ejection rate, positive family history, reduced peak filling rate, increased relative filling volume by peak filling rate and concentric left ventricular hypertrophy were the most statistically significant (p = 0.0001) predictors of disease-related death (sensitivity 92%, specificity 76%, accuracy 77%, positive predictive value 25%). Discriminant analysis excluding the diastolic indexes, however, showed similar predictability (sensitivity 92%, specificity 76%, accuracy 78%, positive predictive value 26%). To obtain more homogeneous groups for analysis, patients were classified as survivors or electrically unstable, including sudden death, out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia during 48-hour ambulatory electrocardiography, and heart failure death or cardiac transplant

Weather is not significantly correlated with destination-specific transport-related physical activity among adults: A large-scale temporally matched analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Durand, Casey P; Zhang, Kai; Salvo, Deborah

2017-08-01

Weather is an element of the natural environment that could have a significant effect on physical activity. Existing research, however, indicates only modest correlations between measures of weather and physical activity. This prior work has been limited by a failure to use time-matched weather and physical activity data, or has not adequately examined the different domains of physical activity (transport, leisure, occupational, etc.). Our objective was to identify the correlation between weather variables and destination-specific transport-related physical activity in adults. Data were sourced from the California Household Travel Survey, collected in 2012-3. Weather variables included: relative humidity, temperature, wind speed, and precipitation. Transport-related physical activity (walking) was sourced from participant-recorded travel diaries. Three-part hurdle models were used to analyze the data. Results indicate statistically or substantively insignificant correlations between the weather variables and transport-related physical activity for all destination types. These results provide the strongest evidence to date that transport-related physical activity may occur relatively independently of weather conditions. The knowledge that weather conditions do not seem to be a significant barrier to this domain of activity may potentially expand the universe of geographic locations that are amenable to environmental and programmatic interventions to increase transport-related walking. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Expression of a maize Myb transcription factor driven by a putative silk-specific promoter significantly enhances resistance to Helicoverpa zea in transgenic maize.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Eric T; Berhow, Mark A; Dowd, Patrick F

2007-04-18

Hi II maize (Zea mays) plants were engineered to express maize p1 cDNA, a Myb transcription factor, controlled by a putative silk specific promoter, for secondary metabolite production and corn earworm resistance. Transgene expression did not enhance silk color, but about half of the transformed plant silks displayed browning when cut, which indicated the presence of p1-produced secondary metabolites. Levels of maysin, a secondary metabolite with insect toxicity, were highest in newly emerged browning silks. The insect resistance of transgenic silks was also highest at emergence, regardless of maysin levels, which suggests that other unidentified p1-induced molecules likely contributed to larval mortality. Mean survivor weights of corn earworm larvae fed mature browning transgenic silks were significantly lower than weights of those fed mature nonbrowning transgenic silks. Some transgenic pericarps browned with drying and contained similar molecules found in pericarps expressing a dominant p1 allele, suggesting that the promoter may not be silk-specific.

[Significance of non-organ-specific autoantibodies in HCV-related chronic hepatitis].

Science.gov (United States)

Guidi, Marcello; Muratori, Paolo; Granito, Alessandro; Muratori, Luigi; Pappas, Georgios; Bianchi, Francesco B

2005-12-01

The preliminary question regarding the clinical issue of the antiviral therapy in the HCV related chronic hepatitis patients is: is it mandatory the research for the autoantibodies in the eligible patients for the antiviral treatment? This issue is of particular interest at the light of the the reported cases of HCV positive patients with positivity for liver kidney microsome type 1 antibody who developed a hepatitic flare during the antiviral treatment. The data from literature about the efficacy and safety on the antiviral treatment in patients with autoantibodies are few and controversial, particularly if the ones regarding antiviral drugs and more recent treatment regimens are taking into account (peg-interferon, combined therapy of interferon and ribavirin). Large and prospective studies are needed for a thorough evaluation about the potential impact of autoantibodies reactivity on the therapeutic outcome. To date, it must be confirmed that a strict monitoring of hepatic parameters is to recommend during the whole treatment phase. This in the light of a potential appearance of significant flares of aminotransferases, particularly in subjects with anti LKM-1 autoantibodies, during interferon therapy.

The prevalence and identity of Chlamydia-specific IgE in children with asthma and other chronic respiratory symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patel Katir K

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent studies have confirmed the presence of viable Chlamydia in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL fluid of pediatric patients with airway hyperresponsiveness. While specific IgG and IgM responses to C. pneumoniae are well described, the response and potential contribution of Ag-specific IgE are not known. The current study sought to determine if infection with Chlamydia triggers the production of pathogen-specific IgE in children with chronic respiratory diseases which might contribute to inflammation and pathology. Methods We obtained BAL fluid and serum from pediatric respiratory disease patients who were generally unresponsive to corticosteroid treatment as well as sera from age-matched control patients who saw their doctor for wellness checkups. Chlamydia-specific IgE was isolated from BAL and serum samples and their specificity determined by Western blot techniques. The presence of Chlamydia was confirmed by species-specific PCR and BAL culture assays. Results Chlamydial DNA was detected in the BAL fluid of 134/197 (68% patients. Total IgE increased with age until 15 years old and then decreased. Chlamydia-specific IgE was detected in the serum and/or BAL of 107/197 (54% patients suffering from chronic respiratory disease, but in none of the 35 healthy control sera (p p = 0.0001 tested positive for Chlamydia-specific IgE. Asthmatic patients had significantly higher IgE levels compared to non-asthmatics (p = 0.0001. Patients who were positive for Chlamydia DNA or culture had significantly higher levels of serum IgE compared to negative patients (p = 0.0071 and p = 0.0001 respectively. Only 6 chlamydial antigens induced Chlamydia-specific IgE and patients with C. pneumoniae-specific IgE had significantly greater levels of total IgE compared to C. pneumoniae-specific IgE negative ones (p = 0.0001. Conclusions IgE antibodies play a central role in allergic inflammation; therefore production of Chlamydia-specific

Association between micronucleus frequency and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade in Thinprep cytological test and its significance.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Yong-Hua; Wang, Bo-Wei; Tuokan, Talaf; Li, Qiao-Zhi; Zhang, Ya-Jing

2015-01-01

A micronucleus is an additional small nucleus formed due to chromosomes or chromosomal fragments fail to be incorporated into the nucleus during cell division. In this study, we assessed the utility of micronucleus counting as a screening tool in cervical precancerous lesions in Thinprep cytological test smears under oil immersion. High risk HPV was also detected by hybrid capture-2 in Thinprep cytological test smears. Our results showed that micronucleus counting was significantly higher in high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) and invasive carcinoma cases compared to low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and non-neoplastic cases. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that micronucleus counting possessed a high degree of sensitivity and specificity for identifying HSIL and invasive carcinoma. Cut-off of 7.5 for MN counting gave a sensitivity of 89.6% and a specificity of 66.7% (P = 0.024 and AUC = 0.892) for detecting HSIL and invasive carcinoma lesions. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that only HSIL and invasive cancer lesions not age, duration of marital life and number of pregnancy are significantly associated with MN counting. The positive rate of high risk HPV was distinctly higher in LSIL, HSIL and invasive cancer than that in non-neoplstic categories. In conclusions, MN evaluation may be viewed as an effective biomarker for cervical cancer screening. The combination of MN count with HPV DNA detection and TCT may serve as an effective means to screen precancerous cervical lesions in most developing nations.

Specific developmental pathways underlie host specificity in the parasitic plant Orobanche

Science.gov (United States)

Hiscock, Simon

2010-01-01

Parasitic angiosperms are an ecologically and economically important group of plants. However our understanding of the basis for host specificity in these plants is embryonic. Recently we investigated host specificity in the parasitic angiosperm Orobanche minor, and demonstrated that this host generalist parasite comprises genetically defined races that are physiologically adapted to specific hosts. Populations occurring naturally on red clover (Trifolium pratense) and sea carrot (Daucus carota subsp. gummifer) respectively, showed distinct patterns of host specificity at various developmental stages, and a higher fitness on their natural hosts, suggesting these races are locally adapted. Here we discuss the implications of our findings from a broader perspective. We suggest that differences in signal responsiveness and perception by the parasite, as well as qualitative differences in signal production by the host, may elicit host specificity in this parasitic plant. Together with our earlier demonstration that these O. minor races are genetically distinct based on molecular markers, our recent data provide a snapshot of speciation in action, driven by host specificity. Indeed, host specificity may be an underestimated catalyst for speciation in parasitic plants generally. We propose that identifying host specific races using physiological techniques will complement conventional molecular marker-based approaches to provide a framework for delineating evolutionary relationships among cryptic host-specific parasitic plants. PMID:20081361

Effect of gender specific anthropometric characteristics on lung function in young competitive triathletes from Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Johari, Hanapi M; Zainudin, Hakimi A; Knight, Victor F; Lumley, Steven A; Subramanium, Ananthan S; Caszo, Brinnell A; Gnanou, Justin V

2017-04-01

Anthropometric and lung function characteristics of triathletes are important for the implementation of individual specific training and recovery recommendations. However, limited data are available for these parameters in triathletes. Hence, the aim of this study was to characterize and examine the gender differences of lung function and anthropometry parameters in competitive triathletes from Malaysia. Body composition assessment and lung function tests were performed on sixteen competitive triathletes (nine male and seven female). The subject's body composition profile including muscle mass (kg), fat free mass (kg), and percent body fat was measured using a bio-impedance segmental body composition analyzer. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were measured by Quark PFT2 spirometer. The anthropometric measurements revealed that male triathletes were significantly taller than female triathletes and had significantly more protein and skeletal muscle mass. The female triathletes, however, had significantly higher percent body fat. Male triathletes had statistically significant higher FVC and FEV1 than female triathletes. Both the male and female triathletes showed a positive correlation between height, fat free mass and the lung function markers FVC and FEV1. This association was not seen with Body Mass Index (BMI) in female triathletes. The data from our study shows that anthropometric parameters are directly linked to lung function of a triathlete. We also found the relationship between BMI and lung function to be gender specific in triathletes and is dependent on the body protein and fat content. Hence, body composition characterization is essential and provides valuable information for developing individual specific training modules.

Frequency-specific corticofugal modulation of the dorsal cochlear nucleus in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Lingzhi; Xiong, Colin; Li, Liang; Yan, Jun

2014-01-01

The primary auditory cortex (AI) modulates the sound information processing in the lemniscal subcortical nuclei, including the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN), in a frequency-specific manner. The dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) is a non-lemniscal subcortical nucleus but it is tonotopically organized like the AVCN. However, it remains unclear how the AI modulates the sound information processing in the DCN. This study examined the impact of focal electrical stimulation of AI on the auditory responses of the DCN neurons in mice. We found that the electrical stimulation induced significant changes in the best frequency (BF) of DCN neurons. The changes in the BFs were highly specific to the BF differences between the stimulated AI neurons and the recorded DCN neurons. The DCN BFs shifted higher when the AI BFs were higher than the DCN BFs and the DCN BFs shifted lower when the AI BFs were lower than the DCN BFs. The DCN BFs showed no change when the AI and DCN BFs were similar. Moreover, the BF shifts were linearly correlated to the BF differences. Thus, our data suggest that corticofugal modulation of the DCN is also highly specific to frequency information, similar to the corticofugal modulation of the AVCN. The frequency-specificity of corticofugal modulation does not appear limited to the lemniscal ascending pathway.

Lack of significant metabolic abnormalities in mice with liver-specific disruption of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Lavery, Gareth G

2012-07-01

Glucocorticoids (GC) are implicated in the development of metabolic syndrome, and patients with GC excess share many clinical features, such as central obesity and glucose intolerance. In patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes, systemic GC concentrations seem to be invariably normal. Tissue GC concentrations determined by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and local cortisol (corticosterone in mice) regeneration from cortisone (11-dehydrocorticosterone in mice) by the 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) enzyme, principally expressed in the liver. Transgenic mice have demonstrated the importance of 11β-HSD1 in mediating aspects of the metabolic syndrome, as well as HPA axis control. In order to address the primacy of hepatic 11β-HSD1 in regulating metabolism and the HPA axis, we have generated liver-specific 11β-HSD1 knockout (LKO) mice, assessed biomarkers of GC metabolism, and examined responses to high-fat feeding. LKO mice were able to regenerate cortisol from cortisone to 40% of control and had no discernible difference in a urinary metabolite marker of 11β-HSD1 activity. Although circulating corticosterone was unaltered, adrenal size was increased, indicative of chronic HPA stimulation. There was a mild improvement in glucose tolerance but with insulin sensitivity largely unaffected. Adiposity and body weight were unaffected as were aspects of hepatic lipid homeostasis, triglyceride accumulation, and serum lipids. Additionally, no changes in the expression of genes involved in glucose or lipid homeostasis were observed. Liver-specific deletion of 11β-HSD1 reduces corticosterone regeneration and may be important for setting aspects of HPA axis tone, without impacting upon urinary steroid metabolite profile. These discordant data have significant implications for the use of these biomarkers of 11β-HSD1 activity in clinical studies. The paucity of metabolic abnormalities in LKO points to important compensatory effects by HPA

Higher Education and the Minerals Boom: A View from the Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Philip

2014-01-01

This paper examines the impact of the minerals boom to date on the demand for higher education in Central Queensland, and the sustainability of higher education providers in high economic growth environments. Several datasets were used to examine changes in the demand for higher education among specific student groups within the region, the…

Change and clinical significance of serum PG in patients with chronic gastritis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei-Hua Huan

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: To observe the change and clinical significance of serum PG in patients with chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG. Methods: ELISA was used to detect the peripheral blood PG level in patients confirmed with CAG, gastric polyps, and gastric cancer who were admitted in our hospital from January, 2015 to January, 2016. The normal individuals who came for physical examinations were served as the control group. The peripheral blood PG level in patients with various gastric diseases was observed. Results: The serum PG Ⅰ expression and PG I/PG Ⅱ in the gastritis group were significantly lower than those in the gastric polyps group and control group, but were significantly higher than those in the gastric cancer group; while PG Ⅱ expression was significantly higher than that in the gastric polyps group and control group, but was significantly lower than those in the gastric cancer group. PG Ⅰ expression and PG I/ PG Ⅱ in the gastric polyps group were significantly higher than those in the gastritis group and gastric cancer group, while PG Ⅱ expression was significantly lower than that in the gastritis group and gastric cancer group. PG Ⅰ expression and PG I/ PG Ⅱ in the gastric cancer group were significantly lower than those in the other three groups, while PG Ⅱ expression was significantly higher than that in the other three groups. The serum PG Ⅰ expression in patients with positive HP infection in the gastritis group and gastric cancer group was significantly higher than that in patients with negative HP infection, but the comparison of PG I/ PG Ⅱ was not statistically significant. The serum PG Ⅰ expression and PG I/ PG Ⅱ in patients with negative and positive HP infection in the gastritis group were significantly higher than those in patients with negative and positive HP infection in the gastric cancer group; while PG Ⅱ expression was significantly was significantly lower than that in the gastric cancer group

The UNIQUe Label: Supporting a Culture of Innovation and Quality in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Boonen, Annemie; Bijnens, Helena

European higher education institutions will need significant reforms, in order to guarantee their leading role in a globalized knowledge economy. These reforms can be enhanced by improving the way in which traditional universities integrate new technologies both in their educational activities and throughout their strategic and operational processes. The UNIQUe institutional accreditation scheme, analyzed and described in this chapter, intends to support this process of integrating the use of new technologies in higher education. With its specific open approach to quality in e-Learning, UNIQUe emphasizes innovation and creativity in a process that includes self-assessment and constructive dialog with peers and stakeholders involved. UNIQUe intends to use the institutional quality label as a catalyst for continuous improvement and change while setting up collaborative bench learning processes among universities for the adoption and integration of e-Learning.

[Effects of different amendments on contents of phenolic acids and specific microbes in rhizosphere of Pseudostellaria heterophylla.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Lin Kun; Wu, Hong Miao; Zhu, Quan; Chen, Jun; Wang, Juan Ying; Wu, Yan Hong; Lin, Sheng; Lin, Wen Xiong

2016-11-18

Pseudostellaria heterophylla is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. The tuberous roots of P. heterophylla are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine and have a high market demand. However, extended monoculture of P. heterophylla results in a significant decline in the biomass and quality, and escalates disease and pest problems. Therefore, it is important to understand the underlying mechanism and biocontrol methods for consecutive monoculture problems. With "Zheshen 2" as an experimental material, the changes in the contents of main nutrients in soil, phenolic acids and specific microbes under monoculture and different amendments were analyzed by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and qPCR. The results showed that consecutive monoculture of P. heterophylla led to a decrease in yield by 43.5% while the microbial fertilizer treatment and the paddy-upland rotation could relieve the consecutive monoculture problems. Available nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium and total potassium were significantly higher in the consecutively monocultured soils than in the newly planted soils. But consecutive monoculture resulted in soil acidification. HPLC analysis showed that conse-cutive monoculture of this plant did not lead to a consistent accumulation of soil phenolic acids. At middle stage of root expansion and at harvest stage, most of phenolic acids were even higher in the newly planted soils than in the consecutively monocultured soils. Furthermore, qPCR analysis showed that the amounts of three specific pathogens identified previously (i.e. Fusarium oxysporum, Talaromyces helicus, Kosakonia sacchari) were significantly higher in the consecutively monocultured soils than in the newly planted soils. However, the microbial fertilizer treatment and the paddy-upland rotation resulted in a significant decline in the population of these specific pathogens and improved the soil environment. In conclusion, the

Glossary of Higher Education Corruption with Explanations

Science.gov (United States)

Osipian, Ararat L.

2009-01-01

Higher education corruption is an emerging sub-field of research that has yet to develop its terminological apparatus and own specific research methodologies. The interdisciplinary nature of this sub-field predetermines its dependency on other well-established fields, such as microeconomics, organizational theory, political economy, education…

A Higher-Order Colon Translation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danvy, Olivier; Nielsen, Lasse Reichstein

2001-01-01

A lambda-encoding such as the CPS transformation gives rise to administrative redexes. In his seminal article ``Call-by-name, call-by-value and the lambda-calculus'', 25 years ago, Plotkin tackled administrative reductions using a so-called ``colon translation.'' 10 years ago, Danvy and Filinski...... integrated administrative reductions in the CPS transformation, making it operate in one pass. The technique applies to other lambda-encodings (e.g., variants of CPS), but we do not see it used in practice--instead, Plotkin's colon translation appears to be favored. Therefore, in an attempt to link both...... techniques, we recast Plotkin's proof of Indifference and Simulation to the higher-order specification of the one-pass CPS transformation. To this end, we extend his colon translation from first order to higher order...

Digital assessment in higher education: Promoting universal usability through requirements specification and universal design quality (UD-Q) reviews

OpenAIRE

Begnum, Miriam E. Nes; Foss-Pedersen, Rikke Julie

2017-01-01

Statistics show there is a clear relationship between higher education and employment in Norway, especially for people with disabilities. The use of digital assessment solutions is increasing in Norwegian higher education. The overall goal of this study is therefore to highlight the potential for improvement of current practices related to universal design, both for providers of digital assessment solutions and for higher education institutions. Based on a case study of practices in Norwegian...

Football as a Status System in U.S. Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Lifschitz, Arik; Sauder, Michael; Stevens, Mitchell L.

2014-01-01

Sociologists have focused almost exclusively on academic aspects of status in higher education, despite the prominence of nonacademic activities, specifically athletics, in U.S. colleges and universities. We use the case of football to investigate whether intercollegiate sports influence the distribution of status in U.S. higher education.…

Specific and non-specific match effects in negative priming.

Science.gov (United States)

Labossière, Danielle I; Leboe-McGowan, Jason P

2018-01-01

The negative priming effect occurs when withholding a response to a stimulus impairs generation of subsequent responding to a same or a related stimulus. Our goal was to use the negative priming procedure to obtain insights about the memory representations generated by ignoring vs. attending/responding to a prime stimulus. Across three experiments we observed that ignoring a prime stimulus tends to generate higher identity-independent, non-specific repetition effects, owing to an overlap in the coarse perceptual form of a prime distractor and a probe target. By contrast, attended repetition effects generate predominantly identity-specific sources of facilitation. We use these findings to advocate for using laboratory phenomena to illustrate general principles that can be of practical use to non-specialists. In the case of the negative priming procedure, we propose that the procedure provides a useful means for investigating attention/memory interactions, even if the specific cause (or causes) of negative priming effects remain unresolved. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prospective Population-Based Study of the Association between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin-D Levels and the Incidence of Specific Types of Cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skaaby, Tea; Husemoen, Lise Lotte Nystrup; Thuesen, Betina Heinsbæk

2014-01-01

nmol/L higher baseline vitamin D level were: for all cancers (HR = 1.02; 95% CI, 0.99-1.04), all cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, NMSC (HR = 1.00; 95% CI, 0.97-1.03), head and neck cancer (HR = 0.97; 95% CI, 0.84-1.12), colorectal cancer (HR = 0.95; 95% CI, 0.88-1.02), cancer of bronchus......BACKGROUND: Observational studies have suggested an inverse association between vitamin D status and cancer. We investigated the prospective associations between vitamin D status and the total and specific type of cancer in three cohorts from the general Danish population. METHODS: A total of 12...... melanoma (HR = 1.06; 95% CI, 0.95-1.17). CONCLUSIONS: Apart from a significantly higher risk for NMSC with higher vitamin D status, we found no statistically significant associations between vitamin D status and total or specific cancers. IMPACT: Our results do not indicate that there is an impact...

The risk of being depressed is significantly higher in cancer patients than in the general population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hartung, T J; Brähler, E; Faller, H

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Depression is a common co-morbidity of cancer that has a detrimental effect on quality of life, treatment adherence and potentially survival. We conducted an epidemiological multi-center study including a population-based random comparison sample and estimated the prevalence...... of depressive symptoms by cancer site, thereby identifying cancer patients with the highest prevalence of depression. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included 4020 adult cancer inpatients and outpatients from five distinct regions across Germany in a proportional stratified random sample based on the nationwide cancer......% participated (51% women, mean age = 58 years). We estimated that one in four cancer patients (24%) is depressed (PHQ-9 ≥ 10). The odds of being depressed among cancer patients were more than five times higher than in the general population (OR, 5.4; 95% CI, 4.6-6.2). Patients with pancreatic (M = 8.0, SD = 5...

Leadership Misplacement: How Can This Affect Institutions of Higher Education?

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Victor C. X.; Sedivy-Benton, Amy Lynn

2016-01-01

Well-reasoned leadership theories are described in many academic books, yet they may not apply specifically to practices in higher education. In higher education, the absence of tailored leadership theories is compounded by the lack of technical skills or leadership ethics, resulting in leadership issues that impact the organization. To illustrate…

Quality Improvement in Virtual Higher Education: A Grounded Theory Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Mahdiuon, Rouhollah; Masoumi, Davoud; Farasatkhah, Maghsoud

2017-01-01

The article aims to explore the attributes of quality and quality improvement including the process and specific actions associated with these attributes--that contribute enhancing quality in Iranian Virtual Higher Education (VHE) institutions. A total of 16 interviews were conducted with experts and key actors in Iranian virtual higher education.…

Short Communication: Significance for pasture production in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Short Communication: Significance for pasture production in the southern Cape coastal region of naturalized rhizobia nodulating the strain specific Medicago ... The significance of naturalized strains of M. polymorpha in the production of medic pastures in some soils of the southern Cape coastal region is discussed.

Regulation of higher-activity NARM wastes by EPA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bandrowski, M.S.

1988-01-01

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently developing standards for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste (LLW). As part of this Standard, EPA is including regulations for the disposal of naturally occurring and accelerator-produced radioactive material (NARM) wastes not covered under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA). The regulations will cover only higher-activity NARM wastes, defined as NARM waste with specific activity exceeding two nanocuries per gram. The proposed regulations will specify that NARM wastes exceeding the above limits, except for specific exempted items, must be disposed of in regulated radioactive waste disposal facilities. The proposed EPA regulations for NARM wastes will be discussed, as well as the costs and benefits of the regulation, how it will be implemented by EPA, and the rationale for covering only higher-activity NARM wastes exceeding two nanocuries per gram

Marketing in the Australian Higher Education Sector

Science.gov (United States)

Favaloro, Chrissa

2015-01-01

This article examines domestic marketing in the Australian higher education sector, specifically, the marketing investment patterns of universities and their levels of student growth as a return on marketing investment. Marketing expenditure by universities has risen 23 per cent in the five years to 2013, with several institutions allocating in…

Application of Food-specific IgG Antibody Detection in Allergy Dermatosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yine Hu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The application of food-specific IgG antibody detection in allergy dermatoses was explored. 181 patients with allergy dermatoses were diagnosed from January to September 2014 and 20 healthy subjects were selected. Fourteen kinds of food-specific IgG antibodies were detected by ELISA method among all the subjects. The positive rates of IgG antibody of the patient group and the healthy group were respectively 65.2% and 5.0%. The positive rates of IgG antibody of egg, milk, shrimp and crab took a large proportion in three groups of patients with three kinds of allergy dermatoses of urticaria, eczema and allergic dermatitis, the proportion of which was respectively 70.2%, 77.8% and 71.7%. Among urticaria and allergic dermatitis patients with positive antibody, the positive rate of children was significantly higher than that of adults (p0.05. Allergy dermatoses are closely related to food-specific IgG antibodies, and the allergy dermatoses patients have a high incidence rate of food intolerance; detecting IgG antibody in the serum of patients is of great significance for the diagnosis and treatment of allergy dermatoses.

Newborn Mice Vaccination with BCG.HIVA222 + MVA.HIVA Enhances HIV-1-Specific Immune Responses: Influence of Age and Immunization Routes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Narcís Saubi

2011-01-01

Full Text Available We have evaluated the influence of age and immunization routes for induction of HIV-1- and M. tuberculosis-specific immune responses after neonatal (7 days old and adult (7 weeks old BALB/c mice immunization with BCG.HIVA222 prime and MVA.HIVA boost. The specific HIV-1 cellular immune responses were analyzed in spleen cells. The body weight of the newborn mice was weekly recorded. The frequencies of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells producing IFN-γ were higher in adult mice vaccinated intradermally and lower in adult and newborn mice vaccinated subcutaneously. In all cases the IFN-γ production was significantly higher when mice were primed with BCG.HIVA222 compared with BCGwt. When the HIV-specific CTL activity was assessed, the frequencies of specific killing were higher in newborn mice than in adults. The prime-boost vaccination regimen which includes BCG.HIVA222 and MVA.HIVA was safe when inoculated to newborn mice. The administration of BCG.HIVA222 to newborn mice is safe and immunogenic and increased the HIV-specific responses induced by MVA.HIVA vaccine. It might be a good model for infant HIV and Tuberculosis bivalent vaccine.

Newborn Mice Vaccination with BCG.HIVA222 + MVA.HIVA Enhances HIV-1-Specific Immune Responses: Influence of Age and Immunization Routes

Science.gov (United States)

Saubi, Narcís; Im, Eung-Jun; Fernández-Lloris, Raquel; Gil, Olga; Cardona, Pere-Joan; Gatell, Josep Maria; Hanke, Tomáš; Joseph, Joan

2011-01-01

We have evaluated the influence of age and immunization routes for induction of HIV-1- and M. tuberculosis-specific immune responses after neonatal (7 days old) and adult (7 weeks old) BALB/c mice immunization with BCG.HIVA222 prime and MVA.HIVA boost. The specific HIV-1 cellular immune responses were analyzed in spleen cells. The body weight of the newborn mice was weekly recorded. The frequencies of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells producing IFN-γ were higher in adult mice vaccinated intradermally and lower in adult and newborn mice vaccinated subcutaneously. In all cases the IFN-γ production was significantly higher when mice were primed with BCG.HIVA222 compared with BCGwt. When the HIV-specific CTL activity was assessed, the frequencies of specific killing were higher in newborn mice than in adults. The prime-boost vaccination regimen which includes BCG.HIVA222 and MVA.HIVA was safe when inoculated to newborn mice. The administration of BCG.HIVA222 to newborn mice is safe and immunogenic and increased the HIV-specific responses induced by MVA.HIVA vaccine. It might be a good model for infant HIV and Tuberculosis bivalent vaccine. PMID:21603216

Higher-spin-matter gauge interactions in 2+1 dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasiliev, M.A.

1997-01-01

We discuss general properties of higher-spin gauge theories paying particular attention to specificities of higher-spin gauge interactions of massive matter fields in 2+1 dimensional space-time. The main conclusions are that the parameter of mass M appears as a module characterizing an appropriate vacuum solution of the full non-linear model and that M affects a structure of a global vacuum higher-spin symmetry which leaves invariant the chosen vacuum solution. Special attention is paid to local Lorentz symmetry as a guiding principle which fixes a form of non-linear higher-spin equations formulated as some zero-curvature conditions supplemented with non-linear constraints. (orig.)

Gene Expression Programs in Response to Hypoxia: Cell Type Specificity and Prognostic Significance in Human Cancers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2006-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Inadequate oxygen (hypoxia triggers a multifaceted cellular response that has important roles in normal physiology and in many human diseases. A transcription factor, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF, plays a central role in the hypoxia response; its activity is regulated by the oxygen-dependent degradation of the HIF-1alpha protein. Despite the ubiquity and importance of hypoxia responses, little is known about the variation in the global transcriptional response to hypoxia among different cell types or how this variation might relate to tissue- and cell-specific diseases. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We analyzed the temporal changes in global transcript levels in response to hypoxia in primary renal proximal tubule epithelial cells, breast epithelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells with DNA microarrays. The extent of the transcriptional response to hypoxia was greatest in the renal tubule cells. This heightened response was associated with a uniquely high level of HIF-1alpha RNA in renal cells, and it could be diminished by reducing HIF-1alpha expression via RNA interference. A gene-expression signature of the hypoxia response, derived from our studies of cultured mammary and renal tubular epithelial cells, showed coordinated variation in several human cancers, and was a strong predictor of clinical outcomes in breast and ovarian cancers. In an analysis of a large, published gene-expression dataset from breast cancers, we found that the prognostic information in the hypoxia signature was virtually independent of that provided by the previously reported wound signature and more predictive of outcomes than any of the clinical parameters in current use. CONCLUSIONS: The transcriptional response to hypoxia varies among human cells. Some of this variation is traceable to variation in expression of the HIF1A gene. A gene-expression signature of the cellular response to hypoxia is associated with a significantly poorer prognosis

The diagnostic value of transrectal ultrasonography combined with prostate specific antigen density in prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Weidong; Zha Yueqin; Wang Ajun; Hou Jianquan; Ouyang Jun

2008-01-01

Objective: To discuss the value of transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) and prostate specific antigen density (PSAD) and prostate specific antigen density of transition zone (PSATZ) for diagnosing prostate cancer. Methods: Chose cases of prostate cancer(PCa) and benign prostate hyperplasia(BPH), each was 19, all the eases were authenticated by pathology. Then compared the characteristic of prostate cancer with prostate specific antigen (PSA) and homologous PSAD, PSATZ. Results: Fourteen cases were discovered by ultrasound among the 19 PCa, the others were only diagnosed as BPH.Among the 14 cases, diffuse pathological changing was found in 1 patient, nodular changing in 13 patients (16 nodules were found). Among the 16 nodules, there were 13 hypoechoic nodules (75%) and 3 hyper echoic or compound echoic nodules (25%), and there were 13 nodules in outer zone and 3 nodules in transition zone.The PSA of PCa and BPH was 8.61-98.65 ng/ml [(48.79±25.34)ng/ml] and 0.58-28.36 ng/ml [(9.73±8.19)ng/ml]. There were no significant differences between the volume of prostate and prostate transition zone (P>0.05), but there were significant differences between the PSAD and PSATZ (P<0.01). That the PCa group was higher than that in the BPH group. Conclusion: It is higher sensitive but bess specific in diagonosis PCa by means of transrectal ultrasound. If it is combined with PSAD and PSATZ, the diagnostic rate of PCa is highly raised. (authors)

INTERNATIONALIZATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catalina Crisan-Mitra

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Internationalization of higher education is one of the key trends of development. There are several approaches on how to achieve competitiveness and performance in higher education and international academic mobility; students’ exchange programs, partnerships are some of the aspects that can play a significant role in this process. This paper wants to point out the student’s perception regarding two main directions: one about the master students’ expectation regarding how an internationalized master should be organized and should function, and second the degree of satisfaction of the beneficiaries of internationalized master programs from Babe-Bolyai University. This article is based on an empirical qualitative research that was implemented to students of an internationalized master from the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. This research can be considered a useful example for those preoccupied to increase the quality of higher education and conclusions drawn have relevance both theoretically and especially practically.

[Expressions of Ras and Sos1 in epithelial ovarian cancer tissues and their clinical significance].

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Zheng-Hua; Linghu, Hua; Liu, Qian-Fen

2016-11-20

To detect the expressions of Ras and Sos1 proteins in human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) tissues and explore their correlation with the clinicopathological features of the patients. The expressions of Ras and Sos1 proteins were detected immunohistochemically in 62 EOC tissues, 5 borderline ovarian cancer tissues, 15 benign epithelial ovarian neoplasm tissues, and 18 normal ovarian tissues. The EOC tissues showed significantly higher expression levels of both Ras and Sos1 than the other tissues tested (Ptissues, Ras and Sos1 proteins were expressed mostly on the cell membrane and in the cytoplasm. The expression level of Ras was correlated with pathological types of the tumor (Ptissue-specific variation of Ras expression can lend support to a specific diagnosis of ovarian serous adenocarcinoma. The association of Ras and Sos1 protein expression with the tumor-free survival time of the patients awaits further investigation with a larger sample size.

Radiosensitivity of higher plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Zhijie

1992-11-01

The general views on radiosensitivity of higher plants have been introduced from published references. The radiosensitivity varies with species, varieties and organs or tissues. The main factors of determining the radiosensitivity in different species are nucleus volume, chromosome volume, DNA content and endogenous compounds. The self-repair ability of DNA damage and chemical group of biological molecules, such as -SH thiohydroxy of proteins, are main factors to determine the radiosensitivity in different varieties. The moisture, oxygen, temperature radiosensitizer and protector are important external factors for radiosensitivity. Both the multiple target model and Chadwick-Leenhouts model are ideal mathematical models for describing the radiosensitivity of higher plants and the latter has more clear significance in biology

Day-by-Day: Higher Education in Afghanistan

Science.gov (United States)

Roof, David J.

2015-01-01

This paper examines higher education in Afghanistan. Based on qualitative research, including interviews with key policymakers and stakeholders, the paper examines the primary issues, challenges, progress, and future vision for higher education in the country. The research reveals that one of the most significant issues in the country in the…

Detection of prostate cancer-specific transcripts in extracellular vesicles isolated from post-DRE urine.

Science.gov (United States)

Pellegrini, Kathryn L; Patil, Dattatraya; Douglas, Kristen J S; Lee, Grace; Wehrmeyer, Kathryn; Torlak, Mersiha; Clark, Jeremy; Cooper, Colin S; Moreno, Carlos S; Sanda, Martin G

2017-06-01

The measurement of gene expression in post-digital rectal examination (DRE) urine specimens provides a non-invasive method to determine a patient's risk of prostate cancer. Many currently available assays use whole urine or cell pellets for the analysis of prostate cancer-associated genes, although the use of extracellular vesicles (EVs) has also recently been of interest. We investigated the expression of prostate-, kidney-, and bladder-specific transcripts and known prostate cancer biomarkers in urine EVs. Cell pellets and EVs were recovered from post-DRE urine specimens, with the total RNA yield and quality determined by Bioanalyzer. The levels of prostate, kidney, and bladder-associated transcripts in EVs were assessed by TaqMan qPCR and targeted sequencing. RNA was more consistently recovered from the urine EV specimens, with over 80% of the patients demonstrating higher RNA yields in the EV fraction as compared to urine cell pellets. The median EV RNA yield of 36.4 ng was significantly higher than the median urine cell pellet RNA yield of 4.8 ng. Analysis of the post-DRE urine EVs indicated that prostate-specific transcripts were more abundant than kidney- or bladder-specific transcripts. Additionally, patients with prostate cancer had significantly higher levels of the prostate cancer-associated genes PCA3 and ERG. Post-DRE urine EVs are a viable source of prostate-derived RNAs for biomarker discovery and prostate cancer status can be distinguished from analysis of these specimens. Continued analysis of urine EVs offers the potential discovery of novel biomarkers for pre-biopsy prostate cancer detection. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Socio-economic status and overall and cause-specific mortality in Sweden

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sundquist Jan

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous studies have reported discrepancies in cause-specific mortality among groups of individuals with different socio-economic status. However, most of the studies were limited by the specificity of the investigated populations and the broad definitions of the causes of death. The aim of the present population-based study was to explore the dependence of disease specific mortalities on the socio-economic status in Sweden, a country with universal health care. Another aim was to investigate possible gender differences. Methods Using the 2006 update of the Swedish Family-Cancer Database, we identified over 2 million individuals with socio-economic data recorded in the 1960 national census. The association between mortality and socio-economic status was investigated by Cox's proportional hazards models taking into account the age, time period and residential area in both men and women, and additionally parity and age at first birth in women. Results We observed significant associations between socio-economic status and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, to cancer and to endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases. The influence of socio-economic status on female breast cancer was markedly specific: women with a higher socio-economic status showed increased mortality due to breast cancer. Conclusion Even in Sweden, a country where health care is universally provided, higher socio-economic status is associated with decreased overall and cause-specific mortalities. Comparison of mortality among female and male socio-economic groups may provide valuable insights into the underlying causes of socio-economic inequalities in length of life.

Quantitative characterisation of clinically significant intra-prostatic cancer by prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expression and cell density on PSMA-11.

Science.gov (United States)

Domachevsky, Liran; Goldberg, Natalia; Bernstine, Hanna; Nidam, Meital; Groshar, David

2018-05-30

To quantitatively characterize clinically significant intra-prostatic cancer (IPC) by prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expression and cell density on PSMA-11 positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR). Retrospective study approved by the institutional review board with informed written consent obtained. Patients with a solitary, biopsy-proven prostate cancer, Gleason score (GS) ≥7, presenting for initial evaluation by PET/computerised tomography (PET/CT), underwent early prostate PET/MR immediately after PSMA-11 tracer injection. PET/MR [MRI-based attenuation correction (MRAC)] and PET/CT [CT-based AC (CTAC)] maximal standardised uptake value (SUVmax) and minimal and mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADCmin, ADCmean; respectively) in normal prostatic tissue (NPT) were compared to IPC area. The relationship between SUVmax, ADCmin and ADCmean measurements was obtained. Twenty-two patients (mean age 69.5±5.0 years) were included in the analysis. Forty-four prostate areas were evaluated (22 IPC and 22 NPT). Median MRAC SUVmax of NPT was significantly lower than median MRAC SUVmax of IPC (p prostate cancer patients with GS ≥ 7. • PSMA PET/MR metrics differentiate between normal and tumoural prostatic tissue. • A multi-parametric approach combining molecular and anatomical information might direct prostate biopsy. • PSMA PET/MR metrics are warranted for radiomics analysis.

Sterol 27-Hydroxylase Polymorphism Significantly Associates With Shorter Telomere, Higher Cardiovascular and Type-2 Diabetes Risk in Obese Subjects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofia Pavanello

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Background/objectivesThe pathologic relationship linking obesity and lipid dismetabolism with earlier onset of aging-related disorders, including cardiovascular disease (CVD and type-2 diabetes (T2D, is not fully elucidate. Chronic inflammatory state, in obese individuals, may accelerate cellular aging. However, leukocyte telomere length (LTL, the cellular biological aging indicator, is elusively linked with obesity. Recent studies indicate that sterol 27-hydroxylase (CYP27A1 is an emerging antiatherogenic enzyme, that, by converting extrahepatic cholesterol to 27-hydroxycholesterol, facilitates cholesterol removal via high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C. We tested the hypothesis that obese subjects who carry at least three copies of CYP27A1 low-hydroxylation (LH activity genome-wide-validated alleles (rs4674345A, rs1554622A, and rs4674338G present premature aging, as reflected in shorter LTL and higher levels of CVD/T2D risk factors, including reduced HDL-C.Subjects/methodsObese subjects from SPHERE project {n = 1,457; overweight [body mass index (BMI 25–30 kg/m2] 65.8% and severe-obese (BMI > 30 kg/m2 34.2%} were characterized for the presence from 0 to 6 LH-CYP27A1 allele copy number. Univariate and multivariable sex–age–smoking-adjusted linear-regression models were performed to compare CVD/T2D risk factors and biological aging (LTL in relation to the combined BMI-LH groups: overweight-LH: 0–2, overweight-LH: 3–6, severe-obese-LH: 0–2, and severe-obese-LH: 3–6.ResultsHigher LTL attrition was found in severe-obese than overweight individuals (p < 0.001. Multivariable model reveals that among severe-obese patients those with LH: 3–6 present higher LTL attrition than LH: 0–2 (p < 0.05. Univariate and multivariable models remarkably show that insulin resistance is higher both in overweight-LH: 3–6 vs overweight-LH: 0–2 (p < 0.001 and in severe-obese-LH: 3–6 vs severe-obese-LH: 0–2 (p�

Resistance to change in Greek higher education

OpenAIRE

Kremmyda, Stamatia

2015-01-01

This thesis is a study of resistance to the changes in Greek higher education that were implemented within the framework of the 1999 Bologna Agreement of the European Union in the period 2007-2008. The changes that occurred were of great significance for Greece’s education system as they introduced important changes in the structure and function of Greek higher education. This thesis argues that the organisational culture that had been created throughout the history of Greek higher education ...

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HIGHER SCHOOL STUDENTS’ COMMUNICATIVE TRAINING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. N. Nechayev

2017-01-01

character. Communicative competence is offered to be formed progressively, in the process of development among students of subject content of professional activity. It is shown that there is a change of ways and means of subject (cognitive and communicative activity at each grade level depending on objectives; in result, a professional consciousness of future expert appears. The specific role of two forms of consciousness is proved: cognitive is directed to detection of object of activity; communicative fixes the revealed contents in system of values. The conclusion is drawn on expediency of use for acquisition by students of communicative skills and abilities of activity model in which speech communications are inseparable from the purposes and motives of joint activity.Practical significance. The possibilities of development among students of terminological system of native and foreign languages as tools of the forthcoming professional activity are shown. It is summarized that the educational process in higher education institution aimed at the development of communicative competence promotes formation and development of professional consciousness and makes an essential contribution to development of the qualities necessary for the modern expert. 

Funding and the Attainment of Transformation Goals in South Africa's Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Wangenge-Ouma, Gerald

2010-01-01

The link between the funding of higher education and the attainment of higher education transformation goals in South Africa, especially access by students from previously under-represented communities, is the main focus of this paper. Specifically, the paper examines three questions: (a) How does public funding of higher education encourage (or…

Stage specific effects of soluble copper and copper oxide nanoparticles during sea urchin embryo development and their relation to intracellular copper uptake.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Duarte, Cristina; Ramos-Torres, Karla M; Rahimoff, René; Cherr, Gary N

2017-08-01

The effects of exposure to either soluble copper (copper sulfate) or copper oxide nanoparticles (nano-CuO) during specific early developmental stages of sea urchin embryos were analyzed. Soluble copper caused significant malformations in embryos (skeletal malformations, delayed development or gut malformations) when present at any given stage, while cleavage stage was the most sensitive to nano-CuO exposure causing skeletal malformations and decreased total antioxidant capacity. The stage specificity was linked to higher endocytic activity during the first hours of development that leads to higher accumulation of copper in specific cells critical for development. Results indicate that nano-CuO results in higher accumulation of copper inside of embryos and this intracellular copper is more persistent as compared to soluble copper. The possible implications later in development are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Accreditation and Its Significance for Programs of Higher Education in Criminology and Criminal Justice: A Review of the Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, Antony E.

The development of minimum standards in higher education through the evolution of accreditation in specialized disciplines, and standard setting in criminology and criminal justice education are examined. The very different experiences with the concept of accreditation encountered in the fields of public administration and law are considered. Law…

Financing and Political Economy of Higher Education: The Case of Lebanon

Science.gov (United States)

Nahas, Charbel

2011-01-01

This paper assesses the adequacy, efficiency, and equity of higher education in Lebanon in both the public and private sectors, while highlighting challenges that are specific to Lebanon. It concludes by discussing various approaches and strategies to remedy the challenges facing higher education in Lebanon.

Sex-specific metabolic interactions between liver and adipose tissue in MCD diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yun-Hee; Kim, Sou Hyun; Kim, Sang-Nam; Kwon, Hyun-Jung; Kim, Jeong-Dong; Oh, Ji Youn; Jung, Young-Suk

2016-07-26

Higher susceptibility to metabolic disease in male exemplifies the importance of sexual dimorphism in pathogenesis. We hypothesized that the higher incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in males involves sex-specific metabolic interactions between liver and adipose tissue. In the present study, we used a methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet-induced fatty liver mouse model to investigate sex differences in the metabolic response of the liver and adipose tissue. After 2 weeks on an MCD-diet, fatty liver was induced in a sex-specific manner, affecting male mice more severely than females. The MCD-diet increased lipolytic enzymes in the gonadal white adipose tissue (gWAT) of male mice, whereas it increased expression of uncoupling protein 1 and other brown adipocyte markers in the gWAT of female mice. Moreover, gWAT from female mice demonstrated higher levels of oxygen consumption and mitochondrial content compared to gWAT from male mice. FGF21 expression was increased in liver tissue by the MCD diet, and the degree of upregulation was significantly higher in the livers of female mice. The endocrine effect of FGF21 was responsible, in part, for the sex-specific browning of gonadal white adipose tissue. Collectively, these data demonstrated that distinctively female-specific browning of white adipose tissue aids in protecting female mice against MCD diet-induced fatty liver disease.

Tissue-specific and cation/anion-specific DNA methylation variations occurred in C. virgata in response to salinity stress.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiang Gao

Full Text Available Salinity is a widespread environmental problem limiting productivity and growth of plants. Halophytes which can adapt and resist certain salt stress have various mechanisms to defend the higher salinity and alkalinity, and epigenetic mechanisms especially DNA methylation may play important roles in plant adaptability and plasticity. In this study, we aimed to investigate the different influences of various single salts (NaCl, Na2SO4, NaHCO3, Na2CO3 and their mixed salts on halophyte Chloris. virgata from the DNA methylation prospective, and discover the underlying relationships between specific DNA methylation variations and specific cations/anions through the methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism analysis. The results showed that the effects on DNA methylation variations of single salts were ranked as follows: Na2CO3> NaHCO3> Na2SO4> NaCl, and their mixed salts exerted tissue-specific effects on C. virgata seedlings. Eight types of DNA methylation variations were detected and defined in C. virgata according to the specific cations/anions existed in stressful solutions; in addition, mix-specific and higher pH-specific bands were the main type in leaves and roots independently. These findings suggested that mixed salts were not the simple combination of single salts. Furthermore, not only single salts but also mixed salts showed tissue-specific and cations/anions-specific DNA methylation variations.

Tissue-specific and cation/anion-specific DNA methylation variations occurred in C. virgata in response to salinity stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xiang; Cao, Donghui; Liu, Jie; Wang, Xiaoping; Geng, Shujuan; Liu, Bao; Shi, Decheng

2013-01-01

Salinity is a widespread environmental problem limiting productivity and growth of plants. Halophytes which can adapt and resist certain salt stress have various mechanisms to defend the higher salinity and alkalinity, and epigenetic mechanisms especially DNA methylation may play important roles in plant adaptability and plasticity. In this study, we aimed to investigate the different influences of various single salts (NaCl, Na2SO4, NaHCO3, Na2CO3) and their mixed salts on halophyte Chloris. virgata from the DNA methylation prospective, and discover the underlying relationships between specific DNA methylation variations and specific cations/anions through the methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism analysis. The results showed that the effects on DNA methylation variations of single salts were ranked as follows: Na2CO3> NaHCO3> Na2SO4> NaCl, and their mixed salts exerted tissue-specific effects on C. virgata seedlings. Eight types of DNA methylation variations were detected and defined in C. virgata according to the specific cations/anions existed in stressful solutions; in addition, mix-specific and higher pH-specific bands were the main type in leaves and roots independently. These findings suggested that mixed salts were not the simple combination of single salts. Furthermore, not only single salts but also mixed salts showed tissue-specific and cations/anions-specific DNA methylation variations.

Interactive cervical motion kinematics: sensitivity, specificity and clinically significant values for identifying kinematic impairments in patients with chronic neck pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarig Bahat, Hilla; Chen, Xiaoqi; Reznik, David; Kodesh, Einat; Treleaven, Julia

2015-04-01

Chronic neck pain has been consistently shown to be associated with impaired kinematic control including reduced range, velocity and smoothness of cervical motion, that seem relevant to daily function as in quick neck motion in response to surrounding stimuli. The objectives of this study were: to compare interactive cervical kinematics in patients with neck pain and controls; to explore the new measures of cervical motion accuracy; and to find the sensitivity, specificity, and optimal cutoff values for defining impaired kinematics in those with neck pain. In this cross-section study, 33 patients with chronic neck pain and 22 asymptomatic controls were assessed for their cervical kinematic control using interactive virtual reality hardware and customized software utilizing a head mounted display with built-in head tracking. Outcome measures included peak and mean velocity, smoothness (represented by number of velocity peaks (NVP)), symmetry (represented by time to peak velocity percentage (TTPP)), and accuracy of cervical motion. Results demonstrated significant and strong effect-size differences in peak and mean velocities, NVP and TTPP in all directions excluding TTPP in left rotation, and good effect-size group differences in 5/8 accuracy measures. Regression results emphasized the high clinical value of neck motion velocity, with very high sensitivity and specificity (85%-100%), followed by motion smoothness, symmetry and accuracy. These finding suggest cervical kinematics should be evaluated clinically, and screened by the provided cut off values for identification of relevant impairments in those with neck pain. Such identification of presence or absence of kinematic impairments may direct treatment strategies and additional evaluation when needed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical significance of dental root canal microflora.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomes, B P; Lilley, J D; Drucker, D B

1996-01-01

Previous work by this group has shown that a significant association exists between pain and the presence of either Prevotella or Peptostreptococcus spp. in dental root canals. The aim of this study was to examine a more extensive series of canals microbiologically, to determine whether any other particular endodontic symptoms or clinical signs showed specific associations with individual bacterial species. Seventy root canals were examined microbiologically and clinical data collected to investigate in detail such associations. Of the canals studied, 37 were associated with pain, 49 with tenderness to percussion, 23 with swelling, six with purulent exudate and 57 presented with wet root canals. Anaerobes were isolated from 70.3% of painful canals and from 29.7% of pain-free canals. Significant associations were found between (a) pain and either Prevotella spp. or peptostreptococci, both with P spp. (P Eubacterium spp. (P spp. or Pstr. micros, both with P spp. (each P Eubacterium, Peptostreptococcus, Prevotella or Propionibacterium (each P < 0.05). It was concluded that several different endodontic clinical signs and symptoms are significantly associated with specific bacterial species.

Higher tibial quantitative ultrasound in young female swimmers.

Science.gov (United States)

Falk, B; Bronshtein, Z; Zigel, L; Constantini, N; Eliakim, A

2004-08-01

It has been found that swimming, a non-impact sport, generally has no effect on bone mineral density. To examine bone properties, as measured by quantitative ultrasound, among female swimmers in comparison with control girls and women. Subjects included 61 swimmers and 71 controls aged 8.5 to 26.5 years. None of the swimmers was at the elite level and none had included resistance training in her schedule. Bone speed of sound (SOS) was measured bilaterally at the distal radius and the mid-tibia. No differences were observed between swimmers and controls in body mass (mean (SD): 49.7 (12.3) v 50.7 (12.4) kg, respectively), although swimmers were taller (159 (12) v 155 (12) cm) and had lower body fat (18.3 (4.2)% v 22.3 (5.4)%). No difference was found in time since menarche (5.2 (4.0) and 4.5 (2.9) years in swimmers and controls, respectively; 21 swimmers and 25 control were premenarcheal). Radial speed of sound (SOS) increased with age but did not differ between swimmers and controls (non-dominant: 3904 (172) and 3889 (165) m/s for swimmers and controls, respectively). Tibial SOS also increased with age and was significantly higher in swimmers than in controls (non-dominant: 3774 (155) v 3712 (171) m/s). No differences were found between dominant and non-dominant sides. Swimming appears to be associated with higher bone SOS in the lower but not in the upper extremities. Further studies are needed to assess whether this difference reflects higher habitual activity among the swimmers or swimming specific mechanisms.

Higher Education in the United Arab Emirates: An Analysis of the Outcomes of Significant Increases in Supply and Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkins, Stephen

2010-01-01

During the last decade, several countries across the Middle and Far East have established higher education hubs, some of which have grown rapidly by attracting foreign universities to set up international branch campuses. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is by far the largest host of international branch campuses globally, having over 40 providers…

Appraisal of work ability in relation to job-specific health requirements in ambulance workers.

Science.gov (United States)

van Schaaijk, A; Boschman, J S; Frings-Dresen, M H W; Sluiter, J K

2017-01-01

To gain insight into which job-specific health requirements relate to work ability, the following two research questions were formulated: Which job-specific health requirements are associated with the appraisal of work ability in ambulance drivers and paramedics? How are appraisals of physical and mental work ability associated with the appraisal of overall work ability in ambulance drivers and paramedics? Workers Health Surveillance cross-sectional data of 506 ambulance workers (236 drivers and 270 paramedics) were used. The tests for specific job requirements were divided into six categories. Work ability was appraised as overall, physical and mental/emotional. Multiple linear stepwise regression analyses were used to model the associations. Outcomes in 'raised alertness and judgment ability' (R 2  = 0.09), 'job-specific physical abilities' (R 2  = 0.10) and 'emotional peak load' (R 2  = 0.07) significantly explained appraised overall, physical and mental/emotional work ability. Physical and mental/emotional work ability together explained 48.3% of the variance of overall work ability. The explained variance by physical and mental/emotional work ability was almost 4% higher in drivers than in paramedics. Overall work ability was significantly explained by outcomes in 'raised alertness and judgment ability' and 'emotional peak load.' Physical work ability was significantly explained by 'job-specific physical abilities' and 'raised alertness and judgment ability' outcomes, while 'emotional peak load' and 'raised alertness and judgment ability' outcomes significantly explained mental/emotional work ability. Physical and mental/emotional work ability explains the same proportion of variance in overall work ability.

Significance of serum endostatin levels in patients with primary lung cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng Qunxin; Ling Chunhua; Ji Cheng

2005-01-01

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the serum level of endostatin and the clinical pathophysiological characteristics in patients with primary lung cancer. Methods: The serum levels of endostatin were detected in 48 patients with primary lung cancer and 50 patients with benign pulmonary diseases by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results: Serum endostatin level in patients with primary lung cancer was significantly higher than it in patients with benign pulmonary diseases (P<0.01). It was higher in adenocarcinoma group than that in squamous cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma group (P<0.05). The level of serum endostatin in lung cancer with TNM stage III + IV was higher than that in patients in stage I + II (P<0.01). And it was also higher in patients suffering from lung cancer with metastasis than that in patients with no metastasis (P<0.05). However, there was not a significant relation between serum endostatin level the location of the tumor and lymph node metastasis. Conclusion: Serum endostatin level in expressed higher in patients with primary lung cancer. There is significant relationship between serum endostatin level, histological classification, TNM stage and metastasis of lung cancer. (authors)

Significance of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance on ThinPrep papanicolaou smears.

Science.gov (United States)

Eltabbakh, G H; Lipman, J N; Mount, S L; Morgan, A

2000-10-01

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors predictive of dysplasia among women seen in a gynecologic oncology service with the cytologic diagnosis of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) on Papanicolaou smears obtained by the ThinPrep method. Patients with ASCUS ThinPrep Papanicolaou smears seen at the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Vermont, between 1997 and 1999 were identified. The cytologic smears were reviewed and subtyped into reactive or suggestive of squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL). The charts of these patients were reviewed and the following information was abstracted: age, gravidity, parity, menopausal status, use of hormonal replacement therapy, smoking, history of pelvic cancer, history of radiation therapy, history of abnormal Papanicolaou smear and its treatment, history of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and follow-up information including results of repeat Papanicolaou smears, colposcopy, and biopsies. The prevalence of dysplasia was calculated. The demographic features of women with ASCUS, reactive, were compared with those with ASCUS, SIL, using a two-sample t test, chi(2), and Fisher's exact test. Risk factors predictive of dysplasia were calculated using the odds ratio and the 95% confidence interval. P ASCUS on ThinPrep Papanicolaou smear were identified; 63 patients had ASCUS, reactive, and 63 patients had ASCUS, SIL. The demographic features of both groups were similar. The overall prevalence of dysplasia was 15.9% and was significantly higher among women with ASCUS, SIL, than among women with ASCUS, reactive (25.4% versus 6.4%, P = 0.003). The type of ASCUS cytology (reactive versus SIL), smoking, and history of HPV were significant risk factors for dysplasia (P = 0.003, 0.037, and 0. 042, respectively). The prevalence of dysplasia among women seen in a gynecologic oncology service with ASCUS cytology on ThinPrep Papanicolaou smears is 15.9%. Women with ASCUS favor

St. John's wort significantly increased the systemic exposure and toxicity of methotrexate in rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Shih-Ying [Graduate Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (China); Juang, Shin-Hun [Graduate Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (China); Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan (China); Tsai, Shang-Yuan; Chao, Pei-Dawn Lee [School of Pharmacy, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (China); Hou, Yu-Chi, E-mail: hou5133@gmail.com [School of Pharmacy, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (China); Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan (China)

2012-08-15

St. John's wort (SJW, Hypericum perforatum) is one of the popular nutraceuticals for treating depression. Methotrexate (MTX) is an immunosuppressant with narrow therapeutic window. This study investigated the effect of SJW on MTX pharmacokinetics in rats. Rats were orally given MTX alone and coadministered with 300 and 150 mg/kg of SJW, and 25 mg/kg of diclofenac, respectively. Blood was withdrawn at specific time points and serum MTX concentrations were assayed by a specific monoclonal fluorescence polarization immunoassay method. The results showed that 300 mg/kg of SJW significantly increased the AUC{sub 0−t} and C{sub max} of MTX by 163% and 60%, respectively, and 150 mg/kg of SJW significantly increased the AUC{sub 0−t} of MTX by 55%. In addition, diclofenac enhanced the C{sub max} of MTX by 110%. The mortality of rats treated with SJW was higher than that of controls. In conclusion, coadministration of SJW significantly increased the systemic exposure and toxicity of MTX. The combined use of MTX with SJW would need to be with caution. -- Highlights: ► St. John's wort significantly increased the AUC{sub 0−t} and C{sub max} of methotrexate. ► Coadministration of St. John's wort increased the exposure and toxicity of methotrexate. ► The combined use of methotrexate with St. John's wort will need to be with caution.

Socio-emotionally Significant Experience and Children’s Processing of Irrelevant Auditory Stimuli

Science.gov (United States)

Schermerhorn, Alice C.; Bates, John E.; Puce, Aina; Molfese, Dennis L.

2017-01-01

Theory and research indicate considerable influence of socio-emotionally significant experiences on children’s functioning and adaptation. In the current study, we examined neurophysiological correlates of children’s allocation of information processing resources to socio-emotionally significant events, specifically, simulated marital interactions. We presented 9- to 11-year-old children (n = 24; 11 females) with 15 videos of interactions between two actors posing as a married couple. Task-irrelevant brief auditory probes were presented during the videos, and event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited to the auditory probes were measured. As hypothesized, exposure to higher levels of interparental conflict was associated with smaller P1, P2, and N2 ERPs to the probes. This finding is consistent with the idea that children who had been exposed to more interparental conflict attended more to the videos and diverted fewer cognitive resources to processing the probes, thereby producing smaller ERPs to the probes. In addition, smaller N2s were associated with more child behavior problems, suggesting that allocating fewer processing resources to the probes was associated with more problem behavior. Results are discussed in terms of implications of socio-emotionally significant experiences for children’s processing of interpersonal interactions. PMID:27993611

Knowing Better: Improving Collective Decision Making in Higher Education Shared Governance

Science.gov (United States)

Manick, Christopher J. D.

2016-01-01

This dissertation addresses the question: Should higher education governance and decision-making be an elite or collective responsibility? It brings into conversation (i) the debate over the future of shared (i.e. participatory, faculty) governance in higher education, and (ii) research in democratic theory, specifically the epistemic defense of…

Endurance exercise training induces fat depot-specific differences in basal autophagic activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tanaka, Goki; Kato, Hisashi; Izawa, Tetsuya, E-mail: tizawa@mail.doshisha.ac.jp

2015-10-23

The purpose of this study was to uncover the effect of exercise training on the expression of autophagy marker proteins in epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), inguinal WAT (iWAT), and the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) collected from eWAT. Male Wistar rats aged 4–5 weeks were randomly divided into two groups, sedentary control (n = 7) and exercise-trained (n = 7). Rats in the exercise-trained group were exercised on a treadmill set at a 5° incline 5 days/week for 9 weeks. We determined that the expression levels of an autophagosome-associating form of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-II and of p62 were significantly higher in eWAT from exercise-trained than from control rats, while those of adipose-specific deletion of autophagy-related protein (ATG7) and lysosomal-associated membrane protein type 2A (LAMP2a) showed no difference between groups. However, in iWAT, the expression levels of LC3-II and ATG7 were significantly higher in exercise-trained than in control rats. The expression of p62 was highly correlated with that of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a master regulator of adipogenesis and lipid metabolism, in both WAT types (eWAT, r = 0.856, P < 0.05; iWAT, r = 0.762, P < 0.05), whereas LC3-II and PPARγ levels were highly correlated in eWAT (r = 0.765, P < 0.05) but not in iWAT (r = −0.306, ns). In SVF, the expression levels of LC3II, ATG7, and LAMP2a were significantly higher in exercise-trained than in control rats. These results suggest that exercise training suppresses basal autophagy activity in eWAT, but that this activity is enhanced in iWAT and SVF collected from eWAT. Thus, the adaptation of basal autophagic activity following exercise training exhibits fat depot-specific differences. - Highlights: • Autophagy has been associated with obesity and associated diseases. • We examined exercise-associated rat white adipose tissue (WAT) autophagy markers. • Exercise increased

Endurance exercise training induces fat depot-specific differences in basal autophagic activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Goki; Kato, Hisashi; Izawa, Tetsuya

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to uncover the effect of exercise training on the expression of autophagy marker proteins in epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), inguinal WAT (iWAT), and the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) collected from eWAT. Male Wistar rats aged 4–5 weeks were randomly divided into two groups, sedentary control (n = 7) and exercise-trained (n = 7). Rats in the exercise-trained group were exercised on a treadmill set at a 5° incline 5 days/week for 9 weeks. We determined that the expression levels of an autophagosome-associating form of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-II and of p62 were significantly higher in eWAT from exercise-trained than from control rats, while those of adipose-specific deletion of autophagy-related protein (ATG7) and lysosomal-associated membrane protein type 2A (LAMP2a) showed no difference between groups. However, in iWAT, the expression levels of LC3-II and ATG7 were significantly higher in exercise-trained than in control rats. The expression of p62 was highly correlated with that of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a master regulator of adipogenesis and lipid metabolism, in both WAT types (eWAT, r = 0.856, P < 0.05; iWAT, r = 0.762, P < 0.05), whereas LC3-II and PPARγ levels were highly correlated in eWAT (r = 0.765, P < 0.05) but not in iWAT (r = −0.306, ns). In SVF, the expression levels of LC3II, ATG7, and LAMP2a were significantly higher in exercise-trained than in control rats. These results suggest that exercise training suppresses basal autophagy activity in eWAT, but that this activity is enhanced in iWAT and SVF collected from eWAT. Thus, the adaptation of basal autophagic activity following exercise training exhibits fat depot-specific differences. - Highlights: • Autophagy has been associated with obesity and associated diseases. • We examined exercise-associated rat white adipose tissue (WAT) autophagy markers. • Exercise increased

Gravastars with higher dimensional spacetimes

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, Shounak; Ray, Saibal; Rahaman, Farook; Guha, B. K.

2018-07-01

We present a new model of gravastar in the higher dimensional Einsteinian spacetime including Einstein's cosmological constant Λ. Following Mazur and Mottola (2001, 2004) we design the star with three specific regions, as follows: (I) Interior region, (II) Intermediate thin spherical shell and (III) Exterior region. The pressure within the interior region is equal to the negative matter density which provides a repulsive force over the shell. This thin shell is formed by ultra relativistic plasma, where the pressure is directly proportional to the matter-energy density which does counter balance the repulsive force from the interior whereas the exterior region is completely vacuum assumed to be de Sitter spacetime which can be described by the generalized Schwarzschild solution. With this specification we find out a set of exact non-singular and stable solutions of the gravastar which seems physically very interesting and reasonable.

Significant events in psychotherapy: An update of research findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Timulak, Ladislav

2010-11-01

Significant events research represents a specific approach to studying client-identified important moments in the therapy process. The current study provides an overview of the significant events research conducted, the methodology used together with findings and implications. PsychInfo database was searched with keywords such as significant events, important events, significant moments, important moments, and counselling or psychotherapy. The references of the selected studies were also searched. This process led to the identification of 41 primary studies that used client-identified significant event(s) as a main or secondary focus of the study. These were consequently reviewed with regard to their methodology and findings. The findings are presented according to type of study conducted. The impacts of helpful events reported by clients are focused on contributions to therapeutic relationship and to in-session outcomes. Hindering events focus on some client disappointment with the therapist or therapy. The group therapy modality highlighted additional helpful impacts (like learning from others). Perspectives on what is significant in therapy differ between clients and therapists. The intensive qualitative studies reviewed confirm that the processes involved in significant events are complex and ambiguous. Studies show that the helpful events may also contain many hindering elements and that specific events are deeply contextually embedded in the preceding events of therapy. Some studies suggest that helpful significant events are therapeutically productive although this may need to be established further. Specific intensive studies show that the clients' perceptions in therapy may differ dramatically from that of the therapist. Furthermore, the relational and emotional aspects of significant moments may be more important for the clients than the cognitive aspects of therapy which are frequently stressed by therapists. 2010 The British Psychological Society.

Sex-specific differences in injury types among basketball players.

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Eri; Iwamoto, Jun; Azuma, Koichiro; Matsumoto, Hideo

2015-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate sex-specific differences in injury types among basketball players. According to our database, during the 20-year period between October 1991 and June 2011, 1,219 basketball players (640 males and 579 females) consulted our sports medicine clinic; in total, 1,414 injuries in basketball players (729 injuries in males and 685 injuries in females) were recorded. The mean age of patients was 19.6 years. The most common injury site was the knee, followed by the foot and ankle, lower back, and upper extremities. There was a higher proportion of female players presenting with a knee injury, compared with male players (50.4% vs 41.7%), and a lower proportion of female players presenting with an upper extremity injury (5.1% vs 9.7%). The proportion of anterior cruciate ligament injury in the 10-19-year-old age group was higher among female players than among male players (45.9% vs 22.1%), while the proportions of Osgood-Schlatter disease in the 10-19-year-old age group and jumper's knee (patellar and femoral tendinopathy) in the 20-29-year-old age group were higher among male players than among female players (12.5% vs 1.8% and 14.6% vs 3.7%, respectively). However, the proportions of other injuries did not differ significantly between male and female players. The present observational study, which was performed using a retrospective case-series design, showed the existence of sex-specific differences in knee injuries sustained while participating in basketball.

The Different Faces of Racism in Higher Education.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Andrea, Michael; Daniels, Judy

1994-01-01

A framework for examining racism in higher education is outlined. It distinguishes several stages of racist attitude: affective-impulsive, dualistic rational, libertarian, principled, and principled-activist. These stages of cognitive development are suggested as a model for planning intervention strategies. Some specific strategies are described.…

Impact of child malnutrition on the specific anti-Plasmodium falciparum antibody response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fillol Florie

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In sub-Saharan Africa, preschool children represent the population most vulnerable to malaria and malnutrition. It is widely recognized that malnutrition compromises the immune function, resulting in higher risk of infection. However, very few studies have investigated the relationship between malaria, malnutrition and specific immunity. In the present study, the anti-Plasmodium falciparum IgG antibody (Ab response was evaluated in children according to the type of malnutrition. Methods Anthropometric assessment and blood sample collection were carried out during a cross-sectional survey including rural Senegalese preschool children. This cross-sectional survey was conducted in July 2003 at the onset of the rainy season. Malnutrition was defined as stunting (height-for-age P. falciparum whole extracts (schizont antigens was assessed by ELISA in sera of the included children. Results Both the prevalence of anti-malarial immune responders and specific IgG Ab levels were significantly lower in malnourished children than in controls. Depending on the type of malnutrition, wasted children and stunted children presented a lower specific IgG Ab response than their respective controls, but this difference was significant only in stunted children (P = 0.026. This down-regulation of the specific Ab response seemed to be explained by severely stunted children (HAZ ≤ -2.5 compared to their controls (P = 0.03, while no significant difference was observed in mildly stunted children (-2.5 P. falciparum Ab response appeared to be independent of the intensity of infection. Conclusion Child malnutrition, and particularly stunting, may down-regulate the anti-P. falciparum Ab response, both in terms of prevalence of immune responders and specific IgG Ab levels. This study provides further evidence for the influence of malnutrition on the specific anti-malarial immune response and points to the importance of taking into account child

Literature Review on the Use of Action Research in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbs, Paul; Cartney, Patricia; Wilkinson, Kate; Parkinson, John; Cunningham, Sheila; James-Reynolds, Carl; Zoubir, Tarek; Brown, Venetia; Barter, Phil; Sumner, Pauline; MacDonald, Angus; Dayananda, Asanka; Pitt, Alexandra

2017-01-01

This literature review considers the use of action research in higher education. The review specifically looks at two areas of higher education activity. The first concerns academic teaching practice and includes a discussion of research and pedagogy practice, and staff development. The second considers student engagement. In both of these core…

Internationalization of Higher Education and the Impacts on Academic Faculty Members

Science.gov (United States)

Bedenlier, Svenja; Zawacki-Richter, Olaf

2015-01-01

Research on internationalization processes in higher education has steadily increased over the past decades. However, there is still a lack of analysis of how these developments have affected higher education and, specifically, the group of academic faculty members. To close this gap, this study explores the effects of internationalization on this…

Marketing activities of higher education institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Varađanin Vladimir

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Public sector marketing is a modern-day scientific discipline which is getting more and more attention. Institutions of higher education provide a specific kind of services to their users, which makes these institutions a part of the public sector. Due to dynamic changes in the environment, the demands and needs of higher education institution's users change, which makes it necessary to monitor these changes through certain marketing activities and adjust to them in order to satisfy the users' needs. Each higher education institution sets its own goals which, broadly speaking, are to meet their own needs, the needs of students and the society as a whole. Therefore, when formulating a strategy for achieving the objectives of higher education institutions, it is necessary to have timely information from the environment. The modern approach to business puts forward the service users' needs. When it comes to institutions of higher education, the users are primarily students, who thus get the most attention. Keeping this in mind, we have conducted a research among students in order to identify the choice factors influencing their higher education institution selection process. The results obtained should provide guidelines for creating an adequate marketing mix in order to gain competitive advantage on the market for higher education. In the research descriptive and comparative methods were used. In the practical part of the research, survey technique was applied by means of a non-standardized questionnaire. The research results imply that the analysis of the factors influencing the process of selecting the higher education institution enables the creation of an adequate combination of instruments in a marketing mix which can then be used as an instrument for gaining competitive advantage.

Total and antigen-specific Ige levels in umbilical cord blood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sybilski AJ

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract The present study was conducted to learn whether the perinatal and environmental factors could influence the total and antigen-specific IgE levels in umbilical cord blood. Retrospective data were obtained from 173 mother-infant pairs. Total and specific (for children's food, wheat/grass and house dust mite-HDM cord blood IgE levels were determined using the immunoassay test. The total cord blood IgE was between 0.0-23.08 IU/ml (mean 0.55 ± 2.07 IU/ml; median 0.16 IU/ml. Total IgE levels were significantly higher in boys compared with girls (OR = 2.2; P = 0.007, and in newborns with complicated pregnancy (OR = 2.7; P = 0.003. A greater number of siblings correlated with increases in the total cord blood IgE (P

Estimation of the specific activity of radioiodinated gonadotrophins: comparison of three methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Englebienne, P [Centre for Research and Diagnosis in Endocrinology, Kain (Belgium); Slegers, G [Akademisch Ziekenhuis, Ghent (Belgium). Lab. voor Analytische Chemie

1983-01-14

The authors compared 3 methods for estimating the specific activity of radioiodinated gonadotrophins. Two of the methods (column recovery and isotopic dilution) gave similar results, while the third (autodisplacement) gave significantly higher estimations. In the autodisplacement method, B/T ratios, obtained when either labelled hormone alone, or labelled and unlabelled hormone, are added to the antibody, were compared as estimates of the mass of hormone iodinated. It is likely that immunologically unreactive impurities present in the labelled hormone solution invalidate such comparison.

Effect of specific resistance training on musculoskeletal pain symptoms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Mogens Theisen; Andersen, Lars Louis; Jørgensen, Marie Birk

2013-01-01

.16, p = 0.045), and there was a significant dose-response relationship between training volume per session and change in pain index (ß = -0.20, p = 0.034). In contrast, training attendance (mean 1.69 sessions per week, SD = 0.8) was not significantly related to the change in pain index. In conclusion......, achieving higher accumulated training volumes was important for reducing musculoskeletal pain in female office workers. The training volume per session should be optimized by securing a load at 10-15 repetition maximum and adhering to principles of progressive overload.......ABSTRACT: Pedersen, MT, Andersen, LL, Jørgensen, MB, Søgaard, K, and Sjøgaard, G. Effect of specific resistance training on musculoskeletal pain symptoms: Dose-response relationship. J Strength Cond Res 27(1): 229-235, 2013-The purpose of this study was to investigate the dose-response of strength...

Comparison of serum prostate specific antigen levels and bone scintigraphy in patients with prostate carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bielickaite, J.; Zadeikaite, R.; Jurkiene, N. and others

2003-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the levels of serum prostate specific antigen in patients with and without bone metastases detected by means of bone scintigraphy and to determine the highest prostate specific antigen level in patients without bone metastases. The 50 patients consecutively diagnosed of prostate cancer between 1999 and 2001 in our institution made up the study population. Prostate specific antigen plasmatic levels were determined and bone scintigraphy was performed (whole body study after 99mTc-methyl-diphosphonate administration) in all the patients. In patients with positive bone scans (n=23), the mean prostate specific antigen level was 71.4±35.2 ng/ml and was significantly (p<0.00005) higher than in 14 patients with negative bone scans (mean prostate specific antigen level was 10.1±10.5 ng/ml). Suspicious lesions were found in 13 patients and their mean prostate specific antigen level was 8.5±7.7 ng/ml. Regarding prostate specific antigen levels, no statistically significant differences were found between patients with suspicious lessons and normal bone scans. The highest determined prostate specific antigen level in patients without bone metastases was 18 ng/ml. The bone scintigraphy should be performed in all patients with prostate specific antigen level above 18 ng/ml, but it is of limited value in patients with prostate specific antigen level below 18 ng/ml. (author)

Higher-order techniques in computational electromagnetics

CERN Document Server

Graglia, Roberto D

2016-01-01

Higher-Order Techniques in Computational Electromagnetics explains 'high-order' techniques that can significantly improve the accuracy, computational cost, and reliability of computational techniques for high-frequency electromagnetics, such as antennas, microwave devices and radar scattering applications.

Marketing communications of higher education institutions in the Republic of Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Popović Ana

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In order to face increasing competition on the market and address other new challenges, higher education institutions (HEIs started to apply new business approaches which led to the development of higher education management and marketing. As efficient marketing communications are necessary for survival and development on higher education market, topics related to this field have had a distinct place in higher education marketing since the establishment of this discipline. Various strategies and activities, types and means of marketing communications have been defined in theory. The modern tendency is their integration for achievement of communication and strategic goals. After the review of marketing communications specifics in the mentioned context, the author presents the realized empirical research related to HEIs in the Republic of Serbia. Starting from the facts that domestic higher education market has widened relatively recently and competition has been significantly increasing since 2000, the author hypothesizes that numerous marketing communications activities are being used. The main research question is: Which types and means of marketing communications are used and how well are they integrated? The research relies on web sites of HEIs as main sources of information, as they are legally obligatory means of communication in Serbia. The author searches for other types and means which are embedded or at least mentioned on the websites, and treats that as indication of integration. The main research findings support the assumption on use of various types and means of marketing communications, but reveal problems in integration and show that HEIs use similar activities while innovative and original means and types of marketing communications are scarce.

Significance of leukocyte scanning in infected endoprostheses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, W.; Pasurka, B.; Boerner, W.

1989-03-01

31 patients with suspected septic loosening of an endoprosthesis (hip endoprosthesis n=30; knee endoprosthesis n=1) were examined with leukocyte scans (10 MBq /sup 111/In-oxine: n=22; 300 MBq /sup 99m/Tc-HMPAO: n=9). The results were compared with results of the bacterial growth (n=22), the histology (n=12) and of the bone scans (/sup 99m/Tc-MDP: n=20) which were performed within 4 days. The sensitivity of the bone scan was 100%, the specificity 30% and the diagnostic accuracy regarding a septic loosening of the arthroplasty was 55%. For the leukocyte scans a comparable sensitivity of 100%, but a higher specificity (86%) and accuracy (91%) could be calculated. A false positive leukocyte scan could be observed in a periprosthetic granuloma, an ossifying periarthritis and in a patient with negative bacterial growth with the histological proof of an inflammation.

Integrating Social Networks in Teaching in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Abousoliman, Onsy

2017-01-01

In response to the emerging and swiftly developing digital tools, this dissertation investigated integrating a specific category of these tools, social networks, in teaching in higher education. The study focused on exploring how social networks integration might impact the teaching/learning process and on investigating the challenges that could…

Access to Higher Education in China: Differences in Opportunity

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Houxiong

2011-01-01

Access to higher education in China has opened up significantly in the move towards a mass higher education system. However, aggregate growth does not necessarily imply fair or reasonable distribution of opportunity. In fact, the expansion of higher education has a rather more complex influence on opportunity when admissions statistics are viewed…

Games and simulation in higher education

OpenAIRE

Juan, Angel A.; Loch, Birgit; Daradoumis, Thanasis; Ventura, Sebastian

2017-01-01

The evolution of computer technologies, together with the increasing speed of Internet-based communications, has promoted the use of simulation software and serious games in higher education. These technological and methodological tools can significantly enrich the learning experience in almost any knowledge area. In particular, they will have a significant impact on how the learning process is performed in the so called Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. T...

Zymomonas mobilis for fuel ethanol and higher value products.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, P L; Jeon, Y J; Lee, K J; Lawford, H G

2007-01-01

High oil prices, increasing focus on renewable carbohydrate-based feedstocks for fuels and chemicals, and the recent publication of its genome sequence, have provided continuing stimulus for studies on Zymomonas mobilis. However, despite its apparent advantages of higher yields and faster specific rates when compared to yeasts, no commercial scale fermentations currently exist which use Z. mobilis for the manufacture of fuel ethanol. This may change with the recent announcement of a Dupont/Broin partnership to develop a process for conversion of lignocellulosic residues, such as corn stover, to fuel ethanol using recombinant strains of Z. mobilis. The research leading to the construction of these strains, and their fermentation characteristics, are described in the present review. The review also addresses opportunities offered by Z. mobilis for higher value products through its metabolic engineering and use of specific high activity enzymes.

Mental Fatigue Impairs Soccer-Specific Physical and Technical Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Mitchell R; Coutts, Aaron J; Merlini, Michele; Deprez, Dieter; Lenoir, Matthieu; Marcora, Samuele M

2016-02-01

To investigate the effects of mental fatigue on soccer-specific physical and technical performance. This investigation consisted of two separate studies. Study 1 assessed the soccer-specific physical performance of 12 moderately trained soccer players using the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test, Level 1 (Yo-Yo IR1). Study 2 assessed the soccer-specific technical performance of 14 experienced soccer players using the Loughborough Soccer Passing and Shooting Tests (LSPT, LSST). Each test was performed on two occasions and preceded, in a randomized, counterbalanced order, by 30 min of the Stroop task (mentally fatiguing treatment) or 30 min of reading magazines (control treatment). Subjective ratings of mental fatigue were measured before and after treatment, and mental effort and motivation were measured after treatment. Distance run, heart rate, and ratings of perceived exertion were recorded during the Yo-Yo IR1. LSPT performance time was calculated as original time plus penalty time. LSST performance was assessed using shot speed, shot accuracy, and shot sequence time. Subjective ratings of mental fatigue and effort were higher after the Stroop task in both studies (P motivation was similar between conditions. This mental fatigue significantly reduced running distance in the Yo-Yo IR1 (P performance time were not different between conditions; however, penalty time significantly increased in the mental fatigue condition (P = 0.015). Mental fatigue also impaired shot speed (P = 0.024) and accuracy (P performance.

Significant Tsunami Events

Science.gov (United States)

Dunbar, P. K.; Furtney, M.; McLean, S. J.; Sweeney, A. D.

2014-12-01

Tsunamis have inflicted death and destruction on the coastlines of the world throughout history. The occurrence of tsunamis and the resulting effects have been collected and studied as far back as the second millennium B.C. The knowledge gained from cataloging and examining these events has led to significant changes in our understanding of tsunamis, tsunami sources, and methods to mitigate the effects of tsunamis. The most significant, not surprisingly, are often the most devastating, such as the 2011 Tohoku, Japan earthquake and tsunami. The goal of this poster is to give a brief overview of the occurrence of tsunamis and then focus specifically on several significant tsunamis. There are various criteria to determine the most significant tsunamis: the number of deaths, amount of damage, maximum runup height, had a major impact on tsunami science or policy, etc. As a result, descriptions will include some of the most costly (2011 Tohoku, Japan), the most deadly (2004 Sumatra, 1883 Krakatau), and the highest runup ever observed (1958 Lituya Bay, Alaska). The discovery of the Cascadia subduction zone as the source of the 1700 Japanese "Orphan" tsunami and a future tsunami threat to the U.S. northwest coast, contributed to the decision to form the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. The great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 marked the beginning of the modern era of seismology. Knowledge gained from the 1964 Alaska earthquake and tsunami helped confirm the theory of plate tectonics. The 1946 Alaska, 1952 Kuril Islands, 1960 Chile, 1964 Alaska, and the 2004 Banda Aceh, tsunamis all resulted in warning centers or systems being established.The data descriptions on this poster were extracted from NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) global historical tsunami database. Additional information about these tsunamis, as well as water level data can be found by accessing the NGDC website www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazard/

Monoscopic versus stereoscopic photography in screening for clinically significant macular edema.

Science.gov (United States)

Welty, Christopher J; Agarwal, Anita; Merin, Lawrence M; Chomsky, Amy

2006-01-01

The purpose of the study was to determine whether monoscopic photography could serve as an accurate tool when used to screen for clinically significant macular edema. In a masked randomized fashion, two readers evaluated monoscopic and stereoscopic retinal photographs of 100 eyes. The photographs were evaluated first individually for probable clinically significant macular edema based on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study criteria and then as stereoscopic pairs. Graders were evaluated for sensitivity and specificity individually and in combination. Individually, reader one had a sensitivity of 0.93 and a specificity of 0.77, and reader two had a sensitivity of 0.88 and a specificity of 0.94. In combination, the readers had a sensitivity of 0.91 and a specificity of 0.86. They correlated on 0.76 of the stereoscopic readings and 0.92 of the monoscopic readings. These results indicate that the use of monoscopic retinal photography may be an accurate screening tool for clinically significant macular edema.

Imagining a multilingual academy: rethinking language in higher ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Language affects all aspects of the academy as a platform for the cultivation of critical thinking. The extension of multilingualism (ie "more people using more languages in more registers and in more domains") in higher education would contribute significantly to "improving the quality of the higher education sector".

Clinical significance of lymphadenectomy in patients with gastric cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Tóth, Dezső; Plósz, János; Török, Miklós

2016-02-15

Approximately thirty percent of patients with gastric cancer undergo an avoidable lymph node dissection with a higher rate of postoperative complication. Comparing the D1 and D2 dissections, it was found that there is a significant difference in morbidity, favoured D1 dissection without any difference in overall survival. Subgroup analysis of patients with T3 tumor shows a survival difference favoring D2 lymphadenectomy, and there is a better gastric cancer-related death and non-statistically significant improvement of survival for node-positive disease in patients with D2 dissection. However, the extended lymphadenectomy could improve stage-specific survival owing to the stage migration phenomenon. The deployment of centralization and application of national guidelines could improve the surgical outcomes. The Japanese and European guidelines enclose the D2 lymphadenectomy as the gold standard in R0 resection. In the individualized, stage-adapted gastric cancer surgery the Maruyama computer program (MCP) can estimate lymph node involvement preoperatively with high accuracy and in addition the Maruyama Index less than 5 has a better impact on survival, than D-level guided surgery. For these reasons, the preoperative application of MCP is recommended routinely, with an aim to perform "low Maruyama Index surgery". The sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNB) may decrease the number of redundant lymphadenectomy intraoperatively with a high detection rate (93.7%) and an accuracy of 92%. More accurate stage-adapted surgery could be performed using the MCP and SNB in parallel fashion in gastric cancer.

Human isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium from Taiwan displayed significantly higher levels of antimicrobial resistance than those from Denmark.

Science.gov (United States)

Torpdahl, Mia; Lauderdale, Tsai-Ling; Liang, Shiu-Yun; Li, Ishien; Wei, Sung-Hsi; Chiou, Chien-Shun

2013-02-01

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a major zoonotic pathogen with a high prevalence of antimicrobial resistance. This pathogen can disseminate across borders and spread far distances via the food trade and international travel. In this study, we compared the genotypes and antimicrobial resistance of 378 S. Typhimurium isolates collected in Taiwan and Denmark between 2009 and 2010. Genotyping revealed that many S. Typhimurium strains were concurrently circulating in Taiwan, Denmark and other countries in 2009 and 2010. When compared to the isolates collected from Denmark, the isolates from Taiwan displayed a significantly higher level of resistance to 11 of the 12 tested antimicrobials. Seven genetic clusters (A-G) were designated for the isolates. A high percentage of the isolates in genetic clusters C, F and G were multidrug-resistant. Of the isolates in cluster C, 79.2% were ASSuT-resistant, characterized by resistance to ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline. In cluster F, 84.1% of the isolates were ACSSuT-resistant (resistant to ASSuT and chloramphenicol). Cluster G was unique to Taiwan and characterized in most isolates by the absence of three VNTRs (ST20, ST30 and STTR6) as well as a variety of multidrug resistance profiles. This cluster exhibited very high to extremely high levels of resistance to several first-line drugs, and among the seven clusters, it displayed the highest levels of resistance to cefotaxime and ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. The high prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in S. Typhimurium from Taiwan highlights the necessity to strictly regulate the use of antimicrobials in the agriculture and human health care sectors. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a novel task specific ionic liquid for actinide ion extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paramanik, M.; Ghosh, S.K.; Raut, D.R.; Mohapatra, P.K.

2016-01-01

Separation of U and Pu from nuclear waste is of great relevance for a sustainable closed fuel cycle point of view. Spent fuel reprocessing by the well known PUREX process is done world wide for the recovery of U and Pu using TBP as the extractant. Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have shown significantly higher extraction of metal ions, particularly at lower acidity as compared to the molecular diluents. Functionalization of ionic liquids has resulted in highly efficient task specific ionic liquids (TSILs) with superior extraction properties than the analogous extractants dissolved in ionic liquids. The present paper reports the evaluation of a novel task specific ionic liquid (TSIL) containing >P=O functional group for the extraction of actinides like U(VI) and Pu(IV)

Dopaminergic Neuron-Specific Deletion of p53 Gene Attenuates Methamphetamine Neurotoxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Tao; Kim, Paul P; Greig, Nigel H; Luo, Yu

2017-08-01

p53 plays an essential role in the regulation of cell death in dopaminergic (DA) neurons and its activation has been implicated in the neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine (MA). However, how p53 mediates MA neurotoxicity remains largely unknown. In this study, we examined the effect of DA-specific p53 gene deletion in DAT-p53KO mice. Whereas in vivo MA binge exposure reduced locomotor activity in wild-type (WT) mice, this was significantly attenuated in DAT-p53KO mice and associated with significant differences in the levels of the p53 target genes BAX and p21 between WT and DAT-p53KO. Notably, DA-specific deletion of p53 provided protection of substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr) tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive fibers following binge MA, with DAT-p53KO mice having less decline of TH protein levels in striatum versus WT mice. Whereas DAT-p53KO mice demonstrated a consistently higher density of TH fibers in striatum compared to WT mice at 10 days after MA exposure, DA neuron counts within the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) were similar. Finally, supportive of these results, administration of a p53-specific inhibitor (PFT-α) provided a similarly protective effect on MA binge-induced behavioral deficits. Neither DA specific p53 deletion nor p53 pharmacological inhibition affected hyperthermia induced by MA binge. These findings demonstrate a specific contribution of p53 activation in behavioral deficits and DA neuronal terminal loss by MA binge exposure.

Engineering Potato Starch with a Higher Phosphate Content.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuan Xu

Full Text Available Phosphate esters are responsible for valuable and unique functionalities of starch for industrial applications. Also in the cell phosphate esters play a role in starch metabolism, which so far has not been well characterized in storage starch. Laforin, a human enzyme composed of a carbohydrate-binding module and a dual-specificity phosphatase domain, is involved in the dephosphorylation of glycogen. To modify phosphate content and better understand starch (dephosphorylation in storage starch, laforin was engineered and introduced into potato (cultivar Kardal. Interestingly, expression of an (engineered laforin in potato resulted in significantly higher phosphate content of starch, and this result was confirmed in amylose-free potato genetic background (amf. Modified starches exhibited altered granule morphology and size compared to the control. About 20-30% of the transgenic lines of each series showed red-staining granules upon incubation with iodine, and contained higher phosphate content than the blue-stained starch granules. Moreover, low amylose content and altered gelatinization properties were observed in these red-stained starches. Principle component and correlation analysis disclosed a complex correlation between starch composition and starch physico-chemical properties. Ultimately, the expression level of endogenous genes involved in starch metabolism was analysed, revealing a compensatory response to the decrease of phosphate content in potato starch. This study provides a new perspective for engineering starch phosphate content in planta by making use of the compensatory mechanism in the plant itself.

Students in Higher Education Governance: The Portuguese Case

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Sonia; dos Santos, Sergio Machado

2011-01-01

This article aims at analysing and discussing student participation in Portuguese higher education institutions and, specifically, in university governance. In a first moment, it describes this participation under both the previous (1988-2007) and the new legal frameworks (since 2007). A discussion of the changes introduced by this last framework…

An Exploratory Comparative Case Study of Employee Engagement in Christian Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Daniels, Jessica R.

2016-01-01

Numerous studies have identified a positive correlation between employee engagement and overall organizational performance. However, research on employee engagement specifically within higher education is limited, and even less attention has been focused on engagement within the context of Christian higher education. An exploratory comparative…

Beverage-specific mortality relationships in US population data

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, William C.; Ye, Yu

2011-01-01

Nearly all countries regulate distilled spirits differently from beer and wine. However, the scientific basis for this differential treatment has not been clearly established. This review covers beverage-specific relationships with alcohol-related mortality causes at the population level in the US and includes a new analysis of motor vehicle accident mortality. Spirits were found to be more strongly related to, or the only beverage type with a significant positive association with, cirrhosis, IHD and head and neck cancer mortality. Spirits sales, along with beer, were also implcated in motor vehicle accident mortality and homicde. While all three beverage types were found to be associated with suicide mortality, only spirits had a significant unlagged association. These associations were found under policy arrangements where spirits were discouraged with relatively higher taxes, lower availability and more restricted marketing opportunities. This suggests that the differential policy treatment found in the US and most other countries is justified on the basis of differential harm relationships. PMID:24431476

Clinical significance of the changes of serum levels of the rheumatoid activity markers IL-2, sIL-2R, HA and VEGF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bao Yong; Long Wubin; Yu Ke; Zeng Ying; Liu Deying

2004-01-01

Objective: To explore the relationship between rheumatoid activity and serum levels of the cytokines interleukin-2 (IL-2), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), hyaluronic acid (HA), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: Serum IL-2, HA(with RIA) and sIL-2R, VEGF (with ELISA) levels were determined in 30 controls, 30 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis and 30 patients with rheumatoid arthritis in remission. Sensitivity and specificity for each marker were analyzed. Results: In patients with active rheumatoid arthritis, the serum levels of sIL-2R, HA, VEGF were significantly higher and serum levels of IL-2 significantly lower than those in patients in remission and controls (p<0.01). Determination of VEGF levels possessed the highest specificity (93.3%) and also a high sensitivity (93.3% as well). Conclusion: Determination of the serum levels of any of these markers was valuable for monitoring the activity of the rheumatoid process. It is more desirable to take measurements of VEGF levels due to its highest specificity

Enzymes extracted from apple peels have activity in reducing higher alcohols in Chinese liquors.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Qi'an; Shi, Junling; Zhu, Jing; Lv, Hongliang; Du, Shuangkui

2014-10-01

As the unavoidable byproducts of alcoholic fermentation, higher alcohols are unhealthy compounds widespread in alcoholic drinks. To investigate the activity of apple crude enzymes toward higher alcohols in liquors, five kinds of apple peels, namely, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Star, and Jonagold, were chosen to prepare enzymes, and three kinds of Chinese liquors, namely, Xifeng (containing 45% ethanol), Taibai (containing 50% ethanol), and Erguotou (containing 56% ethanol), were tested. Enzymes were prepared in the forms of liquid solution, powder, and immobilized enzymes using sodium alginate (SA) and chitosan. The treatment was carried out at 37 °C for 1 h. The relative amounts of different alcohols (including ethanol, 1-propanol, isobutanol, 1-butanol, isoamylol, and 1-hexanol) were measured using gas chromatography (GC). Conditions for preparing SA-immobilized Fuji enzymes (SA-IEP) were optimized, and the obtained SA-IEP (containing 0.3 g of enzyme) was continuously used to treat Xifeng liquor eight times, 20 mL per time. Significant degradation rates (DRs) of higher alcohols were observed at different degrees, and it also showed enzyme specificity according to the apple varieties and enzyme preparations. After five repeated treatments, the DRs of the optimized Fuji SA-IEP remained 70% for 1-hexanol and >15% for other higher alcohols.

Towards higher intensities

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2010-01-01

Over the past 2 weeks, commissioning of the machine protection system has advanced significantly, opening up the possibility of higher intensity collisions at 3.5 TeV. The intensity has been increased from 2 bunches of 1010 protons to 6 bunches of 2x1010 protons. Luminosities of 6x1028 cm-2s-1 have been achieved at the start of fills, a factor of 60 higher than those provided for the first collisions on 30 March.   The recent increase in LHC luminosity as recorded by the experiments. (Graph courtesy of the experiments and M. Ferro-Luzzi) To increase the luminosity further, the commissioning crews are now trying to push up the intensity of the individual proton bunches. After the successful injection of nominal intensity bunches containing 1.1x1011 protons, collisions were subsequently achieved at 450 GeV with these intensities. However, half-way through the first ramping of these nominal intensity bunches to 3.5 TeV on 15 May, a beam instability was observed, leading to partial beam loss...

Do Vocational Pathways Improve Higher Education Access for Women and Men from Less Privileged Social Backgrounds? : A Comparison of Vocational Tracks to Higher Education in France and Switzerland

OpenAIRE

Imdorf, Christian; Koomen, Maarten; Murdoch, Jake; Guégnard, Christine

2017-01-01

International audience; Educational policy developments in France and Switzerland have increased eligibility for higher education. This paper explores the extent to which vocationally orientated pathways to higher education reduce social inequalities in France and Switzerland. More specifically, we analyse how the vocational pathway facilitates access to higher education for male and female students from lower cultural capital backgrounds. We refer to gender theory to link young people's subj...

Comparison of higher order spectra in heart rate signals during two techniques of meditation: Chi and Kundalini meditation.

Science.gov (United States)

Goshvarpour, Ateke; Goshvarpour, Atefeh

2013-02-01

The human heartbeat is one of the important examples of complex physiologic fluctuations. For the first time in this study higher order spectra of heart rate signals during meditation have explored. Specifically, the aim of this study was to analysis and compares the contribution of quadratic phase coupling of human heart rate variability during two forms of meditation: (1) Chinese Chi (or Qigong) meditation and (2) Kundalini Yoga meditation. For this purpose, Bispectrum was estimated by using biased, parametric and the direct (FFT) method. The results show that the mean Bispectrum magnitude of heart rate signals increased during Kundalini Yoga meditation, but it decreased significantly during Chi meditation. However, in both meditation techniques phase-coupled harmonics are shifted to the higher frequencies during meditation. In addition, it has shown that not only there are significant differences between rest and meditation states, but also heart rate patterns appear to be influenced by different types of meditation.

What Role for Private Higher Education in Europe?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teixeira, Pedro N.; Biscaia, Ricardo; Rocha, Vera

2016-01-01

In recent decades, we have seen the emergence of private higher education in many European countries. This has been associated with the waves of significant expansion of the higher education system and with changes in regulation patterns, which have promoted a growing private-like behavior...... of public higher education institutions and the development of private provision in several European countries. The aim of this text is to discuss the relevance of the various dimensions of privatization in European higher education and to explore the relationship between public and private sectors...... in several European countries. This analysis points out some major patterns of the private higher education sector in Europe and reflects about the major issues faced by those systems regarding the potential contribution of private higher education....

Measurement of CD8+ and CD4+ T Cell Frequencies Specific for EBV LMP1 and LMP2a Using mRNA-Transfected DCs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dae-Hee Sohn

Full Text Available An EBV-specific cellular immune response is associated with the control of EBV-associated malignancies and lymphoproliferative diseases, some of which have been successfully treated by adoptive T cell therapy. Therefore, many methods have been used to measure EBV-specific cellular immune responses. Previous studies have mainly used autologous EBV-transformed B-lymphoblastoid cell lines (B-LCLs, recombinant viral vectors transfected or peptide pulsed dendritic cells (DCs as stimulators of CD8(+ and CD4(+ T lymphocytes. In the present study, we used an interferon-γ (IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT assay by using isolated CD8(+ and CD4(+ T cells stimulated with mRNA-transfected DCs. The frequency of latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1-specific IFN-γ producing CD4(+ T cells was significantly higher than that of LMP2a. The frequency of IFN-γ producing CD4(+ T cells was significantly correlated with that of CD8(+ T cells in LMP1-specific immune responses (r = 0.7187, Pc < 0.0001. To determine whether there were changes in LMP1- or LMP2a-specific immune responses, subsequent peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs samples were analyzed. Significant changes were observed in 5 of the 10 donors examined, and CD4(+ T cell responses showed more significant changes than CD8(+ T cell responses. CD8(+ and CD4(+ T cells from EBV-seropositive donors secreted only the Th1 cytokines IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2, while Th2 (IL-4 and Th17 (IL-17a cytokines were not detected. CD4(+ T cells secreted significantly higher cytokine levels than did CD8(+ T cells. Analysis of EBV-specific T cell responses using autologous DCs transfected with mRNA might provide a comprehensive tool for monitoring EBV infection and new insights into the pathogenesis of EBV-associated diseases.

HFS-14, a Specific Quality of Life Scale Developed for Patients Suffering from Hand–Foot Syndrome

Science.gov (United States)

Dalenc, Florence; Chevreau, Christine; Roché, Henri; Delord, Jean-Pierre; Mourey, Loïc; Lacaze, Jean-Louis; Rahhali, Nora; Taïeb, Charles

2011-01-01

Background. Hand–foot syndrome (HFS) is a common reaction to certain chemotherapies and new targeted therapies, impairing patient quality of life (QoL). However, there is currently no specific tool to measure QoL in patients with HFS. Objective. The objective was to develop and validate a HFS-specific QoL questionnaire (HFS-14). Patients and Methods. From a list of 31 items identified from a literature review and patient interview notes, item reduction and pilot testing by cognitive debriefing resulted in a final 14-item questionnaire with excellent internal reliability. Clinical validity was assessed in 43 patients with HFS by comparing the HFS-14 score according to HFS clinical grade based on the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE), version 3.0, and by measuring its correlation with the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Skindex-16, and short-form 12 health-related questionnaires and pain measurement. Results. The mean HFS-14 score was significantly higher in patients with clinical grade 2 and grade 3 HFS than in those with grade 1 HFS. The higher the HFS-14 score, the greater the QoL impairment. The HFS-14 score was highly correlated with the DLQI and Skindex-16 scores. In the population of patients with severe grade 3 NCI-CTCAE HFS, the HFS-14 score was significantly higher in patients having both hands and feet severely involved than in those with severe involvement of one limb (hands or feet) with the other one less severely affected. Conclusions. This scale specifically developed for patients with HFS is a valid and valuable tool for measuring HFS-related QoL impairment. PMID:21964002

High specificity but contrasting biodiversity of Sphagnum-associated bacterial and plant communities in bog ecosystems independent of the geographical region.

Science.gov (United States)

Opelt, Katja; Berg, Christian; Schönmann, Susan; Eberl, Leo; Berg, Gabriele

2007-10-01

Mosses represent ecological niches that harbor a hitherto largely uncharacterized microbial diversity. To investigate which factors affect the biodiversity of bryophyte-associated bacteria, we analyzed the bacterial communities associated with two moss species, which exhibit different ecological behaviors and importance in bog ecosystems, Sphagnum magellanicum and Sphagnum fallax, from six temperate and boreal bogs in Germany and Norway. Furthermore, their surrounding plant communities were studied. Molecular analysis of bacterial communities was determined by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis using eubacterial and genus-specific primers for the dominant genera Burkholderia and Serratia as well as by sequence analysis of a Burkholderia 16S rRNA gene clone library. Plant communities were analyzed by monitoring the abundance and composition of bryophyte and vascular plant species, and by determining ecological indicator values. Interestingly, we found a high degree of host specificity for associated bacterial and plant communities of both Sphagnum species independent of the geographical region. Calculation of diversity indices on the basis of SSCP gels showed that the S. fallax-associated communities displayed a statistically significant higher degree of diversity than those associated with S. magellanicum. In contrast, analyses of plant communities of Sphagnum-specific habitats resulted in a higher diversity of S. magellanicum-specific habitats for all six sites. The higher content of nutrients in the S. fallax-associated ecosystems can explain higher diversity of microorganisms.

Age-dependent tissue-specific exposure of cell phone users

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christ, Andreas; Gosselin, Marie-Christine; Kuehn, Sven; Kuster, Niels [Foundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT' IS), Zeughausstr. 43, 8004 Zuerich (Switzerland); Christopoulou, Maria [National Technical University of Athens, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 9 Iroon Polytechniou Str., 15780 Athens (Greece)], E-mail: christ@itis.ethz.ch

2010-04-07

The peak spatial specific absorption rate (SAR) assessed with the standardized specific anthropometric mannequin head phantom has been shown to yield a conservative exposure estimate for both adults and children using mobile phones. There are, however, questions remaining concerning the impact of age-dependent dielectric tissue properties and age-dependent proportions of the skull, face and ear on the global and local absorption, in particular in the brain tissues. In this study, we compare the absorption in various parts of the cortex for different magnetic resonance imaging-based head phantoms of adults and children exposed to different models of mobile phones. The results show that the locally induced fields in children can be significantly higher (>3 dB) in subregions of the brain (cortex, hippocampus and hypothalamus) and the eye due to the closer proximity of the phone to these tissues. The increase is even larger for bone marrow (>10 dB) as a result of its significantly high conductivity. Tissues such as the pineal gland show no increase since their distances to the phone are not a function of age. This study, however, confirms previous findings saying that there are no age-dependent changes of the peak spatial SAR when averaged over the entire head.

Age-dependent tissue-specific exposure of cell phone users

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christ, Andreas; Gosselin, Marie-Christine; Kuehn, Sven; Kuster, Niels; Christopoulou, Maria

2010-01-01

The peak spatial specific absorption rate (SAR) assessed with the standardized specific anthropometric mannequin head phantom has been shown to yield a conservative exposure estimate for both adults and children using mobile phones. There are, however, questions remaining concerning the impact of age-dependent dielectric tissue properties and age-dependent proportions of the skull, face and ear on the global and local absorption, in particular in the brain tissues. In this study, we compare the absorption in various parts of the cortex for different magnetic resonance imaging-based head phantoms of adults and children exposed to different models of mobile phones. The results show that the locally induced fields in children can be significantly higher (>3 dB) in subregions of the brain (cortex, hippocampus and hypothalamus) and the eye due to the closer proximity of the phone to these tissues. The increase is even larger for bone marrow (>10 dB) as a result of its significantly high conductivity. Tissues such as the pineal gland show no increase since their distances to the phone are not a function of age. This study, however, confirms previous findings saying that there are no age-dependent changes of the peak spatial SAR when averaged over the entire head.

Clinical anxiety, cortisol and interleukin-6: evidence for specificity in emotion-biology relationships.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

O'Donovan, Aoife

2012-02-01

Anxiety confers increased risk for inflammatory diseases, and elevated inflammatory activity in anxious individuals may contribute to this increased risk. One complication, however, is that anxiety could be associated with inflammatory activity either through a specific anxiety pathway or through a more general negative emotionality pathway. To investigate, we measured levels of the stress hormone cortisol, the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), and the systemic inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as depression and neuroticism, in clinically anxious and non-anxious adults. Compared with non-anxious participants, clinically anxious participants exhibited significantly lower levels of morning cortisol and significantly higher levels of IL-6, independent of age, sex, and depressive symptoms. These group differences were robust when controlling for neuroticism. Conversely, the groups had equivalent levels of CRP in all analyses. Results are indicative of anxiety-specific effects on inflammatory activity, and highlight a pathway by which anxiety may increase risk for inflammatory diseases.

Age and sex-specific relationships between phthalate exposures and obesity in Chinese children at puberty.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunhui Zhang

Full Text Available To examine the age and sex-specific associations of urine levels of six mono-phthalates with body size and fat distribution in Chinese children at puberty.Four hundred and ninety-three school-aged children (247 boys, 246 girls were recruited. Obesity related anthropometric indices were measured and body fat proportion (BF% was calculated. Spot urine samples were collected and phthalate monoesters were detected by an API 2000 electrospray triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (ESI-MS/MS. Associations between phthalate exposure and overweight/obesity measures and their trends were examined by multiple linear regression and Logistic regression analyses, respectively.Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP metabolites and monobutyl phthalate (MBP were found to be the most detectable chemicals. In 8-10 years (yrs group, concentrations of MEHP and MBP were significantly higher in girls than those in boys. However, concentrations of all phthalate monoesters, except for MEP and MEHP, in 11-13 yrs boys were significantly higher than those in girls. After adjusting for confounders including puberty onset, urinary concentrations of MBP and sum of low molecular-weight phthalate metabolites (∑LMP were positively associated with boys' obesity in a concentration-effect manner, while concentrations of MEHP, MEHHP and sum of DEHP metabolites (∑MEHP were negatively associated with girls' obesity. Associations between phthalate exposure levels and BMI z-score changes were age- and sex-specific in school-age children.There are age and sex-specific concentration-effect associations between phthalate exposure and fat distribution in Chinese children. Urinary phthalate levels in 11-13 yrs boys were about 30 percent higher than those in girls, and ∑MEHP levels in younger boys (10 yrs. Associations were positive for MBP and ∑LMP with both BMI z-score and fat distribution in boys >10 years of age, and negative for ∑MEHP with fat distribution in girls <10 years of age.

Significant differences in parameters of glucose metabolism in children of hypertensive and normotensive parents.

Science.gov (United States)

Gryko, Anna; Głowińska-Olszewska, Barbara; Płudowska, Katarzyna; Smithson, W Henry; Owłasiuk, Anna; Żelazowska-Rutkowska, Beata; Wojtkielewicz, Katarzyna; Milewski, Robert; Chlabicz, Sławomir

2017-01-01

In the recent years, alterations in the carbohydrate metabolism, including insulin resistance, are considered as risk factors in the development of hypertension and its complications in young age. Hypertension is associated with significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The onset of pathology responsible for the development of hypertension, as well as levels of biomarkers specific for early stages of atherosclerosis are poorly understood. To compare a group of children whose parents have a history of hypertension (study group) with a group of children with normotensive parents (reference group), with consideration of typical risk factors for atherosclerosis, parameters of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, anthropometric data and new biomarkers of early cardiovascular disease (hsCRP, adiponectin, sICAM-1). The study population consists of 84 children. Of these, 40 children (mean age 13.6±2.7 years) had a parental history of hypertension, and 44 aged 13.1±3.7 yrs were children of normotensive parents. Anthropometric measurements were taken, and measurements of blood pressure, lipid profile, glucose and insulin levels were carried out. The insulin resistance index (HOMA IR) was calculated. Levels of hsCRP, soluble cell adhesion molecules (sICAM) and adiponectin were measured. There were no statistically significant differences in anthropometric parameters (body mass, SDS BMI, skin folds) between groups. Values of systolic blood pressure were statistically significantly higher in the study group (Me 108 vs. 100 mmHg, p= 0.031), as were glycaemia (Me 80 vs. 67 mg/dl pchildren of hypertensive parents) (Me 1.68 vs. 0.80 mmol/l × mU/l, p=0.007). Lower adiponectin levels (Me 13959.45 vs. 16822 ng/ml, p=0.020) were found in children with a family history of hypertension. No significant differences were found in the levels of sICAM, hsCRP, and parameters of lipid metabolism. Family history of hypertension is correlated with higher values of systolic blood

Mental fatigue impairs soccer-specific decision-making skill.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Mitchell R; Zeuwts, Linus; Lenoir, Matthieu; Hens, Nathalie; De Jong, Laura M S; Coutts, Aaron J

2016-07-01

This study aimed to investigate the impact of mental fatigue on soccer-specific decision-making. Twelve well-trained male soccer players performed a soccer-specific decision-making task on two occasions, separated by at least 72 h. The decision-making task was preceded in a randomised order by 30 min of the Stroop task (mental fatigue) or 30 min of reading from magazines (control). Subjective ratings of mental fatigue were measured before and after treatment, and mental effort (referring to treatment) and motivation (referring to the decision-making task) were measured after treatment. Performance on the soccer-specific decision-making task was assessed using response accuracy and time. Visual search behaviour was also assessed throughout the decision-making task. Subjective ratings of mental fatigue and effort were almost certainly higher following the Stroop task compared to the magazines. Motivation for the upcoming decision-making task was possibly higher following the Stroop task. Decision-making accuracy was very likely lower and response time likely higher in the mental fatigue condition. Mental fatigue had unclear effects on most visual search behaviour variables. The results suggest that mental fatigue impairs accuracy and speed of soccer-specific decision-making. These impairments are not likely related to changes in visual search behaviour.

Azoreductase and Nitroreductase in Human Feces: Comparison of Methods to Measure Specific Activities in the Absence of Oxygen

OpenAIRE

Carman, Robert J.; Woodburn, Mary Alice

2011-01-01

We measured the specific activity of azoreductase and nitroreductase in eight fresh samples of human feces, using three ways to produce anaerobic assay conditions. A fourth, bench top aerobic assay was also run. Using Oxyrase to produce anaerobic conditions on the open bench gave a significantly higher level of azoreductase than did running the assay entirely in an anaerobic the glove box. Nitroreductase levels were similar in the two assays. Oxyrase and the glove box both gave significantly ...

Labour Market Outcomes of Higher Education Undertaken Abroad

Science.gov (United States)

Wiers-Jenssen, Jannecke; Try, Sverre

2005-01-01

The aim of this article is to analyse the transferability of higher education undertaken abroad to a domestic labour market. More specifically, how do Norwegians who have undertaken their education abroad cope on the labour market compared to those who have a corresponding education from Norway? To examine this, we analyse short-term labour market…

The Differences in Serum Quantitative Specific IgE Levels Induced by Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae and Blomia tropicalis Sensitization in Intermittent and Persistent Allergic Asthma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agus Joko Susanto

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background: house dust mites (HDM are an important inhalant allergen in allergic asthma. However, molecular diagnostic study of specific IgE to HDM allergens has not been done in Indonesia. In addition, the association of quantitative specific IgE measurement with asthma severity has not been investigatedd. This study aimed to investigate the difference of serum quantitative specific IgE levels induced by Dermatophagoides (D. pteronyssinus, D. farinae and Blomia tropicalis sensitization in intermittent and persistent allergic asthma. Methods: this was a cross-sectional study on adult allergic asthma patients who were invited for serum specific IgE testing. This study was a part of a larger study within the Division of Allergy and Immunology, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. Asthma severity was defined based on Global Initiative on Asthma (GINA 2015 criteria and were grouped as intermittent or persistent. Quantitative specific IgE testing was done on blood serum using a multiple allergosorbent test (Polycheck Allergy, Biocheck GmbH, Munster, Germany. The HDM allergens tested were D. pteronyssinus, D. farinae, and Blomia tropicalis. Difference between two groups were analyze using Mann-Whitney test. Results: a total of 87 subjects were enrolled in this study; 69 (79.3% were women. Mean patients’ age was 40, 2 years. Sixty-three (72.4% subjects had asthma and allergic rhinitis. Fifty-eight (66.7% subjects were classified as persistent asthma. The prevalence of sensitization was 62.1% for D. farinae, 51.7% for D. pteronyssinus, and 48.3% for Blomia tropicalis. The median of specific IgE levels were significantly higher in persistent asthma compares to intermittent asthma induced by D. farinae (median 1.30 vs. 0.0 kU/L; p=0.024 and B. tropicalis (median 0.57 vs. 0.0 kU/L; p=0.015 sensitization. Level of Specific IgE  D. pteronyssinus was also to be higher in persistent asthma than the level measured in intermittent asthma (0.67 vs. 0.00 kU/L; p=0

Outcomes Following ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplantation Performed After Desensitization by Nonantigen-Specific Immunoadsorption.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Luis E; Siebert, Daniela; Süsal, Caner; Opelz, Gerhard; Leo, Albrecht; Waldherr, Rüdiger; Macher-Goeppinger, Stephan; Schemmer, Peter; Schaefer, Sebastian Markus; Klein, Katrin; Beimler, Jörg; Zeier, Martin; Schwenger, Vedat; Morath, Christian

2015-11-01

For desensitization of ABO-incompatible kidney transplant recipients we recently proposed nonantigen-specific immunoadsorption (IA) and rituximab. We now compared clinical outcomes of 34 ABO-incompatible living-donor kidney recipients who were transplanted using this protocol with that of 68 matched ABO-compatible patients. In addition, we analyzed efficacy and cost of nonantigen-specific as compared to blood group antigen-specific IA. Before desensitization, the median isoagglutinin titer of 34 ABO-incompatible patients was 1:64 (Coombs technique). Patients received a median of 7 preoperative IA treatments. Twenty-four patients had a median of 2 additional plasmapheresis treatments to reach the preoperative target isoagglutinin titer of 1:8 or less. After a median postoperative follow-up of 22 months, overall graft survival in the ABO-incompatible group was not significantly different from that in ABO-compatible patients (log-rank P = 0.20), whereas patient survival tended to be lower (log-rank P = 0.05). The incidence of rejection episodes was 15% in both groups. The ABO-incompatible kidney recipients had a higher incidence of BK virus replication (P = 0.04) and nephropathy (P = 0.01) and showed more often colonization with multidrug resistant bacteria (P = 0.02). In comparison to blood group antigen-specific IA, nonantigen-specific IA showed equal efficacy but was associated with reduction in cost. Clinical outcomes of ABO-incompatible patients desensitized with a nonantigen-specific IA device and rituximab do not differ from that of matched ABO-compatible patients although a trend toward reduced patient survival was noted. Special attention must be paid to the higher incidence of BK virus infection in recipients of ABO-incompatible grafts.

Internationalising Indian Higher Education: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gautam Rajkhowa

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the higher education system in India together with its status regarding internationalisation, and presents the case for the higher education sector in India to embrace internationalisation. Starting with an overview of the academic literature around the concepts of globalisation and internationalisation, and their interrelationship particularly in the context of higher education, the paper focuses on the specific issues of Indian higher education especially within the context of internationalisation. Reviewing the current landscape of the Indian higher education sector, the paper concludes that, in the context of a globally connected world, higher education in India is characterised by asymmetry in flows and unclear policies. Recommending that the internationalisation strategy focuses on the four strands of student and programme mobility; infrastructure and policy support; development of research capability; and the employment of technology as an enabler, the paper concludes that a clear approach to internationalisation would offer the potential to secure India a formidable global standing in higher education.

Soybean seeds expressing feedback-insensitive cystathionine γ-synthase exhibit a higher content of methionine.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Shikui; Hou, Wensheng; Godo, Itamar; Wu, Cunxiang; Yu, Yang; Matityahu, Ifat; Hacham, Yael; Sun, Shi; Han, Tianfu; Amir, Rachel

2013-04-01

Soybean seeds provide an excellent source of protein for human and livestock nutrition. However, their nutritional quality is hampered by a low concentration of the essential sulfur amino acid, methionine (Met). In order to study factors that regulate Met synthesis in soybean seeds, this study used the Met-insensitive form of Arabidopsis cystathionine γ-synthase (AtD-CGS), which is the first committed enzyme of Met biosynthesis. This gene was expressed under the control of a seed-specific promoter, legumin B4, and used to transform the soybean cultivar Zigongdongdou (ZD). In three transgenic lines that exhibited the highest expression level of AtD-CGS, the level of soluble Met increased significantly in developing green seeds (3.8-7-fold). These seeds also showed high levels of other amino acids. This phenomenon was more prominent in two transgenic lines, ZD24 and ZD91. The total Met content, which including Met incorporated into proteins, significantly increased in the mature dry seeds of these two transgenic lines by 1.8- and 2.3-fold, respectively. This elevation was accompanied by a higher content of other protein-incorporated amino acids, which led to significantly higher total protein content in the seeds of these two lines. However, in a third transgenic line, ZD01, the level of total Met and the level of other amino acids did not increase significantly in the mature dry seeds. This line also showed no significant change in protein levels. This suggests a positive connection between high Met content and the synthesis of other amino acids that enable the synthesis of more seed proteins.

Significance assessment of the external control effects of lecturers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kurbatova Margarita, V.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The state policy regarding higher education has changed in the last decade. These changes were part of the efficiency programs of the public sector. Governments of different countries ruined previously existing system of higher education state regulation and attempted to build the quasi-market structure in the higher education industry. Such transformations served as timely and progressive reforms in the recent studies of the economics of education. Substitution of bureaucratic management mechanisms and modern competition managerial tools are articulated. Economic and institutional and sociological studies on the effects of the introduction of quasi-markets and managerial tools in higher education governance oppose to orthodox market approach. They drew attention to the fact that evaluation methods and improve the effectiveness of organizations and employees that are typical of the private sector often produce results that differ from those in the public sector. To assess the consequences of the introduction of managerial tools of external control activities of university lecturers used a methodology based on the allocation of the individual structural components (effects and building on their basis of a multi-level hierarchical model in the research. Each component of the model (single effect is characterized by a degree of significance (importance and the degree of severity. The results of the systematization and assessment of the significance of the effects of external control activity of lecturers of Russian universities implemented in conditions of quasi-market mechanisms of the higher education system are highlighted in the paper.

Higher photosynthesis, nutrient- and energy-use efficiencies contribute to invasiveness of exotic plants in a nutrient poor habitat in northeast China.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ming-Chao; Kong, De-Liang; Lu, Xiu-Rong; Huang, Kai; Wang, Shuo; Wang, Wei-Bin; Qu, Bo; Feng, Yu-Long

2017-08-01

The roles of photosynthesis-related traits in invasiveness of introduced plant species are still not well elucidated, especially in nutrient-poor habitats. In addition, little effort has been made to determine the physiological causes and consequences of the difference in these traits between invasive and native plants. To address these problems, we compared the differences in 16 leaf functional traits related to light-saturated photosynthetic rate (P max ) between 22 invasive and native plants in a nutrient-poor habitat in northeast China. The invasive plants had significantly higher P max , photosynthetic nitrogen- (PNUE), phosphorus- (PPUE), potassium- (PKUE) and energy-use efficiencies (PEUE) than the co-occurring natives, while leaf nutrient concentrations, construction cost (CC) and specific leaf area were not significantly different between the invasive and native plants. The higher PNUE contributed to higher P max for the invasive plants, which in turn contributed to higher PPUE, PKUE and PEUE. CC changed independently with other traits such as P max , PNUE, PPUE, PKUE and PEUE, showing two trait dimensions, which may facilitate acclimation to multifarious niche dimensions. Our results indicate that the invasive plants have a superior resource-use strategy, i.e. higher photosynthesis under similar resource investments, contributing to invasion success in the barren habitat. © 2017 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

Prevalence and clinical significance of cancer cachexia based on time from treatment in advanced-stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Minsu; Kim, Rock Bum; Roh, Jong-Lyel; Lee, Sang-Wook; Kim, Sung-Bae; Choi, Seung-Ho; Nam, Soon Yuhl; Kim, Sang Yoon

2017-04-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of cancer cachexia and its prognostic impact in patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The prevalence of cancer cachexia was analyzed according to the follow-up periods during the first year after curative initial treatment. Recurrences, noncancer health events (NCHEs), and cause-specific survival outcomes were also analyzed according to the incidence of cancer cachexia during follow-up. Cancer cachexia was identified in 22 (6.1%), 148 (41%), 66 (18.4%), and 65 (18.7%) of 361 enrolled patients at pretreatment, immediately after treatment, 6-months after treatment, and 12-months after treatment, respectively. Sustained or newly developed cachexia at 6 and 12 months showed a significant association with recurrence and NCHE occurrence (p cachexia had a higher probability of cancer-specific death, noncancerous death, and overall death (p Cachexia prevalence at 6 and 12 months after treatment for HNSCC indicates a higher chance of recurrence, NCHE, and death. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 716-723, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Competition and Performance in European Higher Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teixeira, Pedro; Biscaia, Ricardo; Rocha, Vera

2014-01-01

Higher education institutions face today a demanding and complex context in which they are asked to fulfill multiple roles. Many of these challenges have to be faced in a complex financial context in which traditional modes of funding have been transformed and public sources are not as generous...... as they often were in the past.Like in many other public services, in recent years it became a rather common statement that higher education institutions should be more efficient in the use of taxpayers’ resources, which had a clear impact in visible changes in the funding of public higher education in Europe....... In this paper we will analyse the major trends in higher education funding in Europe and underline to what extent the current debates about higher education and its funding have been significantly influenced by economic considerations. We will identify some of the main issues that dominate the current debate...

Correlation of serotype-specific dengue virus infection with clinical manifestations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric S Halsey

Full Text Available Disease caused by the dengue virus (DENV is a significant cause of morbidity throughout the world. Although prior research has focused on the association of specific DENV serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4 with the development of severe outcomes such as dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome, relatively little work has correlated other clinical manifestations with a particular DENV serotype. The goal of this study was to estimate and compare the prevalence of non-hemorrhagic clinical manifestations of DENV infection by serotype.Between the years 2005-2010, individuals with febrile disease from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay were enrolled in an outpatient passive surveillance study. Detailed information regarding clinical signs and symptoms, as well as demographic information, was collected. DENV infection was confirmed in patient sera with polyclonal antibodies in a culture-based immunofluorescence assay, and the infecting serotype was determined by serotype-specific monoclonal antibodies. Differences in the prevalence of individual and organ-system manifestations were compared across DENV serotypes. One thousand seven hundred and sixteen individuals were identified as being infected with DENV-1 (39.8%, DENV-2 (4.3%, DENV-3 (41.5%, or DENV-4 (14.4%. When all four DENV serotypes were compared with each other, individuals infected with DENV-3 had a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal manifestations, and individuals infected with DENV-4 had a higher prevalence of respiratory and cutaneous manifestations.Specific clinical manifestations, as well as groups of clinical manifestations, are often overrepresented by an individual DENV serotype.

Cambodian higher education in transition : an institutional governance perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sam, Chanphirun

2017-01-01

Purpose: The paper aims to ascertain the governance arrangements of higher education providers in Cambodia and to seek insights into institutional governance while its higher education sector is in a significant transition towards the market model. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical research

Transitions in U.S. Higher Education: Implications for Geography Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Nellis, M. Duane

2017-01-01

In the United States, higher education institutions and structures governing higher education are going through dramatic change. The implications of new technology and changing modes of course structure, and evolving federal and state policies have the potential for significant impact on higher education. The historic federal mandates regarding…

Significance of fragmented QRS complexes for identifying culprit lesions in patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction: a single-center, retrospective analysis of 183 cases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guo Rong

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Fragmented QRS (fQRS complexes are novel electrocardiographic signals, which reflect myocardial conduction delays in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD. The importance of fQRS complexes in identifying culprit vessels was evaluated in this retrospective study. Methods A 12-lead surface electrocardiogram was obtained in 183 patients who had non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI and subsequently underwent coronary angiography (CAG. On the basis of the frequency of fQRS complexes, indices such as sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and likelihood ratio were evaluated to determine the ability of fQRS complexes to identify the culprit vessels. Results Among the patients studied, elderly patients (age ≥ 65 years and those with diabetes had a significantly higher frequency of fQRS complexes (p = 0.005, p = 0.003, respectively. The fQRS complexes recorded in the 4 precordial leads had the highest specificity (81.8% for indentifying the culprit vessel (left anterior descending artery. However, the specificity of fQRS complexes to identify lesions in the left circumflex and right coronary arteries was lower for the inferior and lateral leads than for the limb leads (65.5% versus 71.7%; however, the limb leads had higher sensitivity (92.3% versus 89.4%. And the total sensitivity and specificity of fQRS (77.1% and 71.5% were higher than those values for ischemic T-waves. Conclusions The frequency of fQRS complexes was higher in elderly and diabetic patients with NSTEMI. The frequency of fQRS complexes recorded in each of the ECG leads can be used to identify culprit vessels in patients with NSTEMI.

Organizing the Methodology Work at Higher School

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. A. Plaksina

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers the methodology components of organizing the higher school training. The research and analysis of the existing methodology systems carried out by the authors reveals that their advantages and disadvantages are related to the type of the system creating element of the methodology system organizational structure. The optimal scheme of such system has been developed in the context of Vocational School Reorganization implying the specification and expansion of the set of basic design principles of any control system. Following the suggested organizational approach provides the grounds for teachers’ self development and professional growth. The methodology of the approach allows using the given structure in any higher educational institution, providing the system transition from its simple functioning to the sustainable development mode. 

Determination of the secondary energy from the electron beam with a flattening foil by computer. Percentage depth dose curve fitting using the specific higher order polynomial

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kawakami, H [Kyushu Univ., Beppu, Oita (Japan). Inst. of Balneotherapeutics

1980-09-01

A computer program written in FORTRAN is described for determining the secondary energy of the electron beam which passed through a flattening foil, using a time-sharing computer service. The procedure of this program is first to fit the specific higher order polynomial to the measured percentage depth dose curve. Next, the practical range is evaluated by the point of intersection R of the line tangent to the fitted curve at the inflection point P and the given dose E, as shown in Fig. 2. Finally, the secondary energy corresponded to the determined practical range can be obtained by the experimental equation (2.1) between the practial range R (g/cm/sup 2/) and the electron energy T (MeV). A graph for the fitted polynomial with the inflection points and the practical range can be plotted on a teletype machine by request of user. In order to estimate the shapes of percentage depth dose curves correspond to the electron beams of different energies, we tried to find some specific functional relationships between each coefficient of the fitted seventh-degree equation and the incident electron energies. However, exact relationships could not be obtained for irreguarity among these coefficients.

Higher emotional intelligence is related to lower test anxiety among students

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmadpanah, Mohammad; Keshavarz, Mohammadreza; Haghighi, Mohammad; Jahangard, Leila; Bajoghli, Hafez; Sadeghi Bahmani, Dena; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith; Brand, Serge

2016-01-01

Background For students attending university courses, experiencing test anxiety (TA) dramatically impairs cognitive performance and success at exams. Whereas TA is a specific case of social phobia, emotional intelligence (EI) is an umbrella term covering interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, along with positive stress management, adaptability, and mood. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that higher EI and lower TA are associated. Further, sex differences were explored. Method During an exam week, a total of 200 university students completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, TA, and EI. Results Higher scores on EI traits were associated with lower TA scores. Relative to male participants, female participants reported higher TA scores, but not EI scores. Intrapersonal and interpersonal skills and mood predicted low TA, while sex, stress management, and adaptability were excluded from the equation. Conclusion The pattern of results suggests that efforts to improve intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, and mood might benefit students with high TA. Specifically, social commitment might counteract TA. PMID:26834474

Safety significance evaluation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lew, B.S.; Yee, D.; Brewer, W.K.; Quattro, P.J.; Kirby, K.D.

1991-01-01

This paper reports that the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG and E), in cooperation with ABZ, Incorporated and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), investigated the use of artificial intelligence-based programming techniques to assist utility personnel in regulatory compliance problems. The result of this investigation is that artificial intelligence-based programming techniques can successfully be applied to this problem. To demonstrate this, a general methodology was developed and several prototype systems based on this methodology were developed. The prototypes address U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) event reportability requirements, technical specification compliance based on plant equipment status, and quality assurance assistance. This collection of prototype modules is named the safety significance evaluation system

Vouchers in Dutch Higher Education : from debate to experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vossensteyn, Johan J.

2001-01-01

As market-like mechanisms become more important in higher education, demand driven funding, and more specific vouchers, gain a lot of attention. As such, the advantages and disadvantages of vouchers have been discussed in a wide variety of settings. However, hardly any country has been prepared to

Does adding metformin to clomifene citrate lead to higher pregnancy rates in a subset of women with polycystic ovary syndrome?

OpenAIRE

Moll, E.; Korevaar, J.C.; Bossuyt, P.M.M.; van der Veen, F.

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND An RCT among newly diagnosed, therapy naive women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) showed no significant differences in ovulation rate, ongoing pregnancy rate or spontaneous abortion rate in favour of clomifene citrate plus metformin compared with clomifene citrate. We wanted to assess whether there are specific subgroups of women with PCOS in whom clomifene citrate plus metformin leads to higher pregnancy rates. METHODS Subgroup analysis based on clinical and biochemical para...

z -Weyl gravity in higher dimensions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moon, Taeyoon; Oh, Phillial, E-mail: dpproject@skku.edu, E-mail: ploh@skku.edu [Department of Physics and Institute of Basic Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of)

2017-09-01

We consider higher dimensional gravity in which the four dimensional spacetime and extra dimensions are not treated on an equal footing. The anisotropy is implemented in the ADM decomposition of higher dimensional metric by requiring the foliation preserving diffeomorphism invariance adapted to the extra dimensions, thus keeping the general covariance only for the four dimensional spacetime. The conformally invariant gravity can be constructed with an extra (Weyl) scalar field and a real parameter z which describes the degree of anisotropy of conformal transformation between the spacetime and extra dimensional metrics. In the zero mode effective 4D action, it reduces to four-dimensional scalar-tensor theory coupled with nonlinear sigma model described by extra dimensional metrics. There are no restrictions on the value of z at the classical level and possible applications to the cosmological constant problem with a specific choice of z are discussed.

Spatially resolved flux measurements of NOx from London suggest significantly higher emissions than predicted by inventories.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaughan, Adam R; Lee, James D; Misztal, Pawel K; Metzger, Stefan; Shaw, Marvin D; Lewis, Alastair C; Purvis, Ruth M; Carslaw, David C; Goldstein, Allen H; Hewitt, C Nicholas; Davison, Brian; Beevers, Sean D; Karl, Thomas G

2016-07-18

To date, direct validation of city-wide emissions inventories for air pollutants has been difficult or impossible. However, recent technological innovations now allow direct measurement of pollutant fluxes from cities, for comparison with emissions inventories, which are themselves commonly used for prediction of current and future air quality and to help guide abatement strategies. Fluxes of NOx were measured using the eddy-covariance technique from an aircraft flying at low altitude over London. The highest fluxes were observed over central London, with lower fluxes measured in suburban areas. A footprint model was used to estimate the spatial area from which the measured emissions occurred. This allowed comparison of the flux measurements to the UK's National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) for NOx, with scaling factors used to account for the actual time of day, day of week and month of year of the measurement. The comparison suggests significant underestimation of NOx emissions in London by the NAEI, mainly due to its under-representation of real world road traffic emissions. A comparison was also carried out with an enhanced version of the inventory using real world driving emission factors and road measurement data taken from the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (LAEI). The measurement to inventory agreement was substantially improved using the enhanced version, showing the importance of fully accounting for road traffic, which is the dominant NOx emission source in London. In central London there was still an underestimation by the inventory of 30-40% compared with flux measurements, suggesting significant improvements are still required in the NOx emissions inventory.

Prostate specific cancer volume: a significant prognostic factor in prostate cancer patients at intermediate risk of failing radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lankford, S.P.; Pollack, A.; Zagars, G.K.

1996-01-01

Purpose: Although the pretreatment serum prostate specific antigen level (PSAL) is the single most significant predictor of local and biochemical control in prostate cancer patients treated with radiotherapy, it is relatively insensitive for patients with a PSAL in the intermediate range (4-20 ng/ml). PSA density (PSAD) has been shown to be slightly more predictive of outcome than PSAL for this intermediate risk group; however, this improvement is small and of little use clinically. PSA cancer volume (PSACV) is an estimate of cancer volume based on PSA that was recently described by D'Amico and Propert (IJROBP 32:232, 1995) as providing significant and independent prognostic information in addition to PSAL. We report here a detailed comparison between this new prognostic factor, PSAL, and PSAD. Methods and Materials: The records of 356 patients treated with definitive external beam radiotherapy for regionally localized (T1-4, Nx, M0) adenocarcinoma of the prostate were reviewed. Each patient had a PSAL, biopsy Gleason score, and pretreatment prostate volume by transrectal ultrasonography. The median PSAL was 9.3 ng/ml and 66% had Gleason scores in the 2-6 range. The median radiation dose was 66.0 Gy and the median follow-up for those living was 27 months. PSACV is a calculated parameter that takes into account PSAL (total PSA), ultrasonographic prostate volume (estimate of PSA from benign epithelium), and Gleason grade (estimate of PSA per tumor volume). The median PSACV was 1.43 cc. Biochemical failure was defined as increases in two consecutive follow-up PSA levels, one increase by a factor > 1.5, or an absolute increase of > 1 ng/ml. Local failure was defined as a cancer-positive prostate biopsy, usually undertaken because of evidence of biochemical failure. Results: The distributions of PSACV and PSAL were similar and, when normalized by log-transformation, were highly correlated (p 4 cc, as compared to those with a PSACV ≤ 0.5 cc, was over 30%. Conclusion

Perceptions of Higher Education Reforms in Russia: the Role of Institutions and Social Capital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Volchik Vyacheslav, V.

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Recent reforms of higher education in Russia are aimed at boosting the quality and efficiency of the educational process. Nevertheless, in most cases, implemented institutional and organizational innovations do not work properly. Calculative technologies and various ratings, which are widespread today, opened up the opportunities for regular managerial interventions. These interventions are not neutral. In Russian higher education, the mania for measurement resulted in a deficit of trust and rampant bureaucracy. Historically, the system of higher education has been based on specific values and institutions. Academic freedom and autonomy are extremely important for the members of the academic community, and these values cannot be eliminated. Implemented reforms destroy old institutions and organizational structures. However, new institutions, being inconsistent with present working rules and practices, are not able to replace the old ones. Such inconsistency can result in inefficiency. Social capital plays a crucial role for development and growth in the field of higher education. The structure of social capital in the field embraces three components: trust, social engagement and social integration. These elements must be taken into account when implementing educational reforms. The higher the employees are motivated and experience personal growth, the more they feel embedded in their job. We have analyzed the discourses of the key actors within the universities of Rostov Region. The discourse analysis shows that bureaucracy, constant institutional and organizational changes and the reduction of academic freedom are perceived as significant factors that influence labor productivity, organizational efficiency and the quality of educational services in the field of higher education.

What Purposes, Specifically? Re-Thinking Purposes and Specificity in the Context of the "New Vocationalism"

Science.gov (United States)

Dovey, Teresa

2006-01-01

Discipline-specific approaches to English for Academic Purposes (EAP) tend to overlook the purposes of the disciplines themselves and the issue of transferability from academic to professional contexts. This becomes problematic in the context of the "new knowledge economy" and emergent pedagogies in higher education, which are increasingly focused…

Significance of combined detection of JAK2V617F, MPL and CALR gene mutations in patients with essential thrombocythemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Liying; Qian, Mengyao; Wu, Nana; Wu, Jianmin

2017-03-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the mutation rate of JAK2V617F, MPLW515L/K and CALR genes in adult patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET) and the accuracy of the combined detection by the receiver operating curve. Three hundred and forty-two cases with high-platelets (≥300×10 9 /l) were consecutively selected. The patients were analyzed for routine blood examination, bone marrow biopsy and genetic testing. One hundred and fifty-four cases (45.03%) were diagnosed with ET and 188 cases of secondary thrombocythemia according to the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissue tumor classification standards of 2008. It was found that the mutant type of three genes showed three bands, whereas only one band for wild-type. The JAK2V617F and MPL mutations did not cause a change in the open reading frame and the CALR mutation resulted in its change. The mutation rate of JAK2V617F and CALR in ET group was significantly higher than that in the secondary thrombocythemia group (p<0.05). The positive mutation rate of MPL was only 4.55%. JAK2V617F-positive mutation alone was used to diagnose with ET. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.721. The sensitivity was 72.4%, the specificity was 79.5% and the cut-off value was 0.25. When CALR-positive mutation alone was used to diagnose ET, the AUC, sensitivity, specificity and cut-off value were 0.664, 68.4, 82.4 and 0.09%, respectively. JAK2V617F combined with CALR mutation were used for diagnosis of ET. The AUC was 0.862, the sensitivity was 85.9%, the specificity was 87.8%, and the cut-off values were 0.21 and 0.07. In conclusion, the positive mutation rate of JAK2V617F and CALR in ET was higher, and the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the diagnosis of ET were significantly improved using the detection of JAK2V617F and CALR.

Presence of specific IgG antibody to grain dust does not go with respiratory symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, H S; Suh, C H; Nahm, D H; Kim, H Y

1999-02-01

A high prevalence of work-related symptoms in relation to grain dust exposure has been reported in grain dust workers, but the role of the specific IgG antibody is unknown. To study the possible role of specific IgG (sIgG) and specific IgG4 (sIgG4) in the development of work-related symptoms, sIgG and sIgG4 subclass antibodies against grain dust antigens were determined by ELISA in sera from 43 workers and 27 non-exposed controls. They were compared with results of specific IgE antibodies, exposure intensity and the presence of respiratory symptoms. SIgG and sIgG4 antibodies were detectable in almost all sera of exposed workers, and the prevalence were significantly higher than those of controls (pgrain dust exposure and may unlikely play a role in the etiology of respiratory symptoms.

Expression of Phospho-ELK1 and Its Prognostic Significance in Urothelial Carcinoma of the Upper Urinary Tract

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satoshi Inoue

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Using preclinical models, we have recently found that ELK1, a transcriptional factor that activates downstream targets, including c-fos proto-oncogene, induces bladder cancer outgrowth. Here, we immunohistochemically determined the expression status of phospho-ELK1, an activated form of ELK1, in upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUTUC. Overall, phospho-ELK1 was positive in 47 (47.5%; 37 weak (1+ and 10 moderate (2+ of 99 UUTUCs, which was significantly (P = 0.002 higher than in benign urothelium (21 (25.3% of 83; 17 1+ and 4 2+ and was also associated with androgen receptor expression (P = 0.001. Thirteen (35.1% of 37 non-muscle-invasive versus 34 (54.8% of 62 muscle-invasive UUTUCs (P = 0.065 were immunoreactive for phospho-ELK1. Lymphovascular invasion was significantly (P = 0.014 more often seen in phospho-ELK1(2+ tumors (80.0% than in phospho-ELK1(0/1+ tumors (36.0%. There were no statistically significant associations between phospho-ELK1 expression and tumor grade, presence of concurrent carcinoma in situ or hydronephrosis, or pN status. Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests revealed that patients with phospho-ELK1(2+ tumor had marginally and significantly higher risks of disease progression (P = 0.055 and cancer-specific mortality (P = 0.008, respectively, compared to those with phospho-ELK1(0/1+ tumor. The current results thus support our previous observations in bladder cancer and further suggest that phospho-ELK1 overexpression serves as a predictor of poor prognosis in patients with UUTUC.

A discussion of higher order software concepts as they apply to functional requirements and specifications. [space shuttles and guidance

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, M.

1973-01-01

The entry guidance software functional requirements (requirements design phase), its architectural requirements (specifications design phase), and the entry guidance software verified code are discussed. It was found that the proper integration of designs at both the requirements and specifications levels are of high priority consideration.

Futures for Higher Education: Analysing Trends. Higher Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century

Science.gov (United States)

Universities UK, 2012

2012-01-01

Higher education in the United Kingdom is undergoing a period of significant change. This is being driven by a number of factors: political, cultural, economic, and technological. The trends are global in their scope, and far reaching in their impact. They affect every aspect of university provision, the environment in which universities operate,…

Influence of electroformation regime on the specific properties of cobalt oxide‒platinum composite films deposited on conductive diamond

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spătaru, Tanţa; Osiceanu, Petre; Preda, Loredana; Munteanu, Cornel [Institute of Physical Chemistry “Ilie Murgulescu”, 202 Spl. Independenţei 060021, Bucharest (Romania); Spătaru, Nicolae, E-mail: nspataru@icf.ro [Institute of Physical Chemistry “Ilie Murgulescu”, 202 Spl. Independenţei 060021, Bucharest (Romania); Fujishima, Akira [Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku Tokyo 162-8601 (Japan)

2014-04-01

Two straightforward electrochemical methods were used in the present work for depositing cobalt oxide-platinum composite films on boron-doped diamond substrates in order to put into evidence the effect of the electroformation regime on the morphological and electrochemical features of these hybrid systems. The shift from potentiostatic to potentiodynamic deposition enabled not only a significant improvement of the Pt particles dispersion but also a much higher surface concentration of oxygenated species of platinum. For similar Co{sub 3}O{sub 4} and Pt loadings, the specific capacitance of the composite films deposited by cyclic voltammetry was with ca. 8% higher than that of the potentiostatically obtained ones. Additional advantage of potentiodynamic deposition is the improved resistance to fouling during methanol anodic oxidation of Pt particles, tentatively ascribed to the higher surface concentration of oxygenated species of platinum. - Highlights: • Cobalt oxide-platinum composite films were electrodeposited on conductive diamond. • Composite films formed by cyclic voltammetry exhibit enhanced specific capacitance. • Potentiodynamic deposition enables higher concentration of oxygenated Pt species. • Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}–Pt films prepared by cyclic voltammetry are less susceptible to CO poisoning.

Significance of dipyridamole-induced transient dilation of the left ventricle during thallium-201 scintigraphy in suspected coronary artery disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chouraqui, P.; Rodrigues, E.A.; Berman, D.S.; Maddahi, J.

1990-01-01

The occurrence and significance of transient dilation of the left ventricle during dipyridamole stress-redistribution thallium-201 scintigraphy was studied in 73 patients who underwent both dipyridamole thallium-201 study and coronary angiography. Transient dilation ratio was calculated from planar anterior images by dividing the computer-derived left ventricular area on the initial image by that of the 4-hour image. In 11 patients with normal coronary arteriograms or less than 50% coronary stenosis, the transient dilation ratio was 0.98 +/- 0.046. An abnormal transient dilation ratio was defined as greater than or equal to 1.12, representing greater than or equal to 3 standard deviations above the mean normal value. When the 15 patients with an abnormal ratio were compared with the 58 with a normal ratio, the former group had a significantly higher frequency of 3 critical (greater than or equal to 90%) coronary stenoses (33 vs 5%), higher prevalence of collaterals (67 vs 24%), more extensive myocardial reversible defects by planar (71 vs 10%) or by single-photon emission computed tomography (87.5 vs 35%) imaging and a higher incidence of dipyridamole-induced anginal chest pain (53 vs 22%). No significant difference between the 2 groups was noted with respect to age, gender, prior myocardial infarction, single or double critical coronary stenosis, dipyridamole-induced ischemic electrocardiographic response and increased lung uptake. An abnormal transient dilation ratio of greater than or equal to 1.12 was a specific marker of multivessel (87%) or 3-vessel (85%) critical coronary artery disease

Integrated Information System for Higher Education Qualifications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catalin Ionut SILVESTRU

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In the present article we aim to study thoroughly and detail aspects related to architectures specific for e-learning and management of human resources training interconnected to management of qualifications. In addition, we take into consideration combining e-learning architectures with software in an e-learning system interconnected with the National Registry of Qualifications of Higher Education, in view of developing and information system that correlates educational supply from higher education from Romania with labor market demands through qualifications. The scientific endeavor consists of original architectural solutions to integrate data, systems, processes, services from various sources and to use them in the proposed system. The practical result of the scientific endeavor is represented by design of architectures required for developing an e-learning system interconnected with the National Registry of Qualifications from Romania, which involve in first stage the qualifications provided by higher education. The proposed innovative solution consists in the fact that the proposed information system combines the advantages of content management system (CMS with learning content management system (LCMS and with reusable learning objects (RLO. Thus, the architecture proposed in the research ensures the integration of a content management system with a portal for information, guidance and support in making a professional project. The integration enables correlation of competences with content areas and specific items from various teaching subjects, thus evaluating the usefulness for this registry from learning/educational perspective. Using the proposed information system in enables correlation among qualifications, content of educational program and continuous self-evaluation opportunities, which facilitate monitoring of progress and adjustment of learning content.

Ureaplasma parvum and Mycoplasma genitalium are found to be significantly associated with microscopy-confirmed urethritis in a routine genitourinary medicine setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Ciara; McKenna, James P; Watt, Alison P; Coyle, Peter V

2016-09-01

Inflammation of the urethra defined by an excess of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the absence of sexually transmitted Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae is called non-chlamydial non-gonococcal urethritis (NCNGU). Although Mycoplasma genitalium is now recognised as causing a sexually transmitted infection, the clinical significance of the other Mollicute species is less clear. This study used specific real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays to detect and quantify four Mollicute species, M. genitalium, M. hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum and U. parvum, in urine specimens from men with and without NCNGU. A total of 165 urine specimens from male patients attending a genitourinary medicine clinic were eligible for the study, with microscopy-confirmed (≥5 polymorphonuclear leukocytes in urethral swab) NCNGU in 75 (45.5%) and non-confirmed NCNGU in 90 (54.5%). Chi-squared statistical analysis indicated a significantly higher prevalence of U. parvum (17.3% vs. 5.6%; p = 0.03) and M. genitalium (12% vs. 0%; p < 0.001) in NCNGU. In a subset analysis, M. genitalium was also significantly (p = 0.03) higher in men who have sex with men (MSM; 13.5%) compared to non-MSM (3.1%). No significant associations were reported for U. urealyticum and M. hominis In conclusion, this study supports a clinically significant role in NGNCU for both U. parvum and M. genitalium. © The Author(s) 2015.

Responses of Chinese Higher Education to the Information Society

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Yuzhuo; Guo, Wenge

2006-01-01

Compared to the advanced industrial countries, the use of information technology in Chinese higher education came relatively late. Nevertheless, recent Chinese practices have achieved significant progress in the country's efforts to bridge the digital divide. This article focuses special attention on the responses of Chinese higher education to…

Clinical significance of combined determination of serum levels of free prostate specific antigen (fPSA) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in patients with prostatic cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xiaolong; Chen Baixun; Chen Yue

2004-01-01

Objective: To explore the clinical significance of combined determination of serum levels of fPSA and IGF-1 in patients with prostatic cancer. Methods: Serum levels of fPSA (with chemiluminescence) and IGF-1 (with IRMA) were measured in 48 patients with prostatic cancer, 63 patients with benign prostate hyperplasia and 38 controls. Results: Serum levels of fPSA and IGF-1 in the 111 patients were significantly higher than those in controls (P<0.05). The positive rate for prostatic cancer detection with fPSA, IGF-1 and fPSA combined with IGF-1 was 83.3%, 79.2% and 95.8% respectively. Conclusion: Combined measurement of fPSA and IGF-1 was most preferable for screening prostatic cancer

Predicting perceptual learning from higher-order cortical processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fang; Huang, Jing; Lv, Yaping; Ma, Xiaoli; Yang, Bin; Wang, Encong; Du, Boqi; Li, Wu; Song, Yan

2016-01-01

Visual perceptual learning has been shown to be highly specific to the retinotopic location and attributes of the trained stimulus. Recent psychophysical studies suggest that these specificities, which have been associated with early retinotopic visual cortex, may in fact not be inherent in perceptual learning and could be related to higher-order brain functions. Here we provide direct electrophysiological evidence in support of this proposition. In a series of event-related potential (ERP) experiments, we recorded high-density electroencephalography (EEG) from human adults over the course of learning in a texture discrimination task (TDT). The results consistently showed that the earliest C1 component (68-84ms), known to reflect V1 activity driven by feedforward inputs, was not modulated by learning regardless of whether the behavioral improvement is location specific or not. In contrast, two later posterior ERP components (posterior P1 and P160-350) over the occipital cortex and one anterior ERP component (anterior P160-350) over the prefrontal cortex were progressively modified day by day. Moreover, the change of the anterior component was closely correlated with improved behavioral performance on a daily basis. Consistent with recent psychophysical and imaging observations, our results indicate that perceptual learning can mainly involve changes in higher-level visual cortex as well as in the neural networks responsible for cognitive functions such as attention and decision making. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Antinuclear antibodies: clinical significance of fluorescence patterns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordeiro, S.L.; Habermann, F.; Franco, M.F.

1981-01-01

Fifty-four patients with 212 sera positive for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) were studied to: 1) determine the immunofluorescent nuclear staining patterns using Burnham's technique and simplified classification; 2) note the specificity of fluorescence patterns among the various connective tissue diseases; 3) study comparatively the fluorescence paterns employing 5 different antigen substrates; 4) correlate ANA titers and fluorescence patterns with renal involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It was observed: 1) most of the sera gave nonparticulate fluorescent patterns: peripheral, homogeneous, or peripheral-homogeneneous; 2) 55,5% of the patients had LE and most of those sera showed nonparticulate fluorescent patterns; 3) the sera displayed no specificity for any of the following antigen substrates: imprints of human normal spleen, frozen rat liver and kidney sections, frozen mouse kidney sections and perypheral human blood smears; 4) imprints of normal human spleen were the best substrate for accurate identification of fluorescent patterns; 5) sera from SLE patients with renal involvement showed higher ANA titers in relation to patients without renal involvement; both groups of sera gave similar ANA fluorescent patterns. (Author) [pt

Predicting dyadic adjustment from general and relationship-specific beliefs.

Science.gov (United States)

DeBord, J; Romans, J S; Krieshok, T

1996-05-01

The cognitive mediation model of human psychological functioning has received increasing attention by researchers studying the role of cognitive variables in relationship distress. This study is an examination of the role of general irrational beliefs, as measured by the Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT; Jones, 1968), and relationship-specific irrational beliefs, as measured by the Relationship Belief Questionnaire (RBQ; Romans & DeBord, 1994), in predicting the perceived quality of relationships by married or cohabiting couples. Results indicated that respondents who reported higher levels of relationship-specific irrational beliefs also reported higher levels of dyadic adjustment; but contrary to expectation, higher levels of general irrational beliefs correlated with lower levels of dyadic adjustment. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the depressive realism hypothesis.

Electromagnetic cloaking in higher order spherical cloaks

Science.gov (United States)

Sidhwa, H. H.; Aiyar, R. P. R. C.; Kulkarni, S. V.

2017-06-01

The inception of transformation optics has led to the realisation of the invisibility devices for various applications, one of which is spherical cloaking. In this paper, a formulation for a higher-order spherical cloak has been proposed to reduce its physical thickness significantly by introducing a nonlinear relation between the original and transformed coordinate systems and it has been verified using the ray tracing approach. Analysis has been carried out to observe the anomalies in the variation of refractive index for higher order cloaks indicating the presence of poles in the relevant equations. Furthermore, a higher-order spherical cloak with predefined values of the material characteristics on its inner and outer surfaces has been designed for practical application.

A facile template method to synthesize significantly improved LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 using corn stalk as a bio-template

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Guiyang; Kong, Xin; Sun, Hongyan; Wang, Baosen; Yi, Zhongzhou; Wang, Quanbiao

2014-01-01

In order to simplify the template method for the synthesis of cathode materials for lithium ion batteries, a facile template method using plant stalks as bio-templates has been introduced. Based on this method, LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 spinel with a significantly improved electrochemical performance has been synthesized using corn stalk as a template. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared pectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) have been used to investigate the phase composition and micro-morphologies of the products. Charge-discharge measurements in lithium cells, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) have been used to study the electrochemical performance of the products. The results indicate that the templated product exhibits higher crystallinity than that of non-templated product. Both of the templated product and the non-templated product are combination of the ordered space group P4 3 32 and the disordered Fd-3 m. The specific BET surface area of the templated product is about twice larger than that of the non-templated product. Moreover, the electrochemical performances of the templated product including specific capacity, cycling stability and rate capability are significantly improved as compared with the non-templated product, due to its higher crystallinity, larger Li + diffusion coefficient and lower charge transfer resistance

Russian Higher Education and European Standards of Quality Assurance

Science.gov (United States)

Motova, Galina; Pykko, Ritta

2012-01-01

This article considers the relevance and implementation of European approaches to quality assurance in the context of the Russian educational system. It covers the issues of transformation of the higher education system during the post-Soviet period, specific features of the state accreditation system, the impact of the European Standards and…

Rewarding quality teaching in higher education: the evading dream ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Teaching, and specifically quality teaching, has for many centuries been the defining characteristic of the academic profession. However, since the dawning of the 20th century, it seems that the very basis of the global higher education institutional reward system is the belief that working with, contributing to, and pursuing ...

Stakeholder Analisys of Higher Education Institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivana Maric

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In recent years, knowledge, the human capital, and learning organizations have become the key determinants of current global progress. Higher educational sector has been faced with globalization and strong competition. Therefore, the need has arisen for professional management structures and more entrepreneurial style of leadership. Organizations have been transformed to learning organizations by the life long learning concept, while the knowledge management has become the leading tool in building competitive advantages. High education organizations are being pushed forward by competitiveness. That pressure requires continuous improvement emphasizing the need for measuring outcomes and building excellence. The paradigm of stakeholder analysis, applied to specific determinations of the system of higher education institutions, could be a good way for comprehending and predicting interests, needs and requirements of all key players in the environment. The purpose of this paper is to enhance the possibility of understanding the connection between higher education institutions and its environment in context of stakeholder analysis. The paper uses literature as a basis in identifying critical parameters for stakeholder analysis and its implementation to higher education sector. The findings of the paper reveal that the concept of stakeholders is critical and difficult to implement everywhere and to everything. There is a clear attempt of all organizations, especially those that create and encourage knowledge, to understand the actions of all participants and predictions of interests and requirements of the changing environment.

Comparison of 2015 Medicare relative value units for gender-specific procedures: Gynecologic and gynecologic-oncologic versus urologic CPT coding. Has time healed gender-worth?

Science.gov (United States)

Benoit, M F; Ma, J F; Upperman, B A

2017-02-01

In 1992, Congress implemented a relative value unit (RVU) payment system to set reimbursement for all procedures covered by Medicare. In 1997, data supported that a significant gender bias existed in reimbursement for gynecologic compared to urologic procedures. The present study was performed to compare work and total RVU's for gender specific procedures effective January 2015 and to evaluate if time has healed the gender-based RVU worth. Using the 2015 CPT codes, we compared work and total RVU's for 50 pairs of gender specific procedures. We also evaluated 2015 procedure related provider compensation. The groups were matched so that the procedures were anatomically similar. We also compared 2015 to 1997 RVU and fee schedules. Evaluation of work RVU's for the paired procedures revealed that in 36 cases (72%), male vs female procedures had a higher wRVU and tRVU. For total fee/reimbursement, 42 (84%) male based procedures were compensated at a higher rate than the paired female procedures. On average, male specific surgeries were reimbursed at an amount that was 27.67% higher for male procedures than for female-specific surgeries. Female procedure based work RVU's have increased minimally from 1997 to 2015. Time and effort have trended towards resolution of some gender-related procedure worth discrepancies but there are still significant RVU and compensation differences that should be further reviewed and modified as surgical time and effort highly correlate. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Sex-specific differences in injury types among basketball players

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ito E

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Eri Ito, Jun Iwamoto, Koichiro Azuma, Hideo MatsumotoInstitute for Integrated Sports Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, JapanAbstract: The purpose of the present study was to investigate sex-specific differences in injury types among basketball players. According to our database, during the 20-year period between October 1991 and June 2011, 1,219 basketball players (640 males and 579 females consulted our sports medicine clinic; in total, 1,414 injuries in basketball players (729 injuries in males and 685 injuries in females were recorded. The mean age of patients was 19.6 years. The most common injury site was the knee, followed by the foot and ankle, lower back, and upper extremities. There was a higher proportion of female players presenting with a knee injury, compared with male players (50.4% vs 41.7%, and a lower proportion of female players presenting with an upper extremity injury (5.1% vs 9.7%. The proportion of anterior cruciate ligament injury in the 10–19-year-old age group was higher among female players than among male players (45.9% vs 22.1%, while the proportions of Osgood–Schlatter disease in the 10–19-year-old age group and jumper's knee (patellar and femoral tendinopathy in the 20–29-year-old age group were higher among male players than among female players (12.5% vs 1.8% and 14.6% vs 3.7%, respectively. However, the proportions of other injuries did not differ significantly between male and female players. The present observational study, which was performed using a retrospective case-series design, showed the existence of sex-specific differences in knee injuries sustained while participating in basketball.Keywords: sports injury, sex, anterior cruciate ligament injury, Osgood–Schlatter disease, basketball

Automatic Construction of Java Programs from Functional Program Specifications

OpenAIRE

Md. Humayun Kabir

2015-01-01

This paper presents a novel approach to construct Java programs automatically from the input functional program specifications on natural numbers from the constructive proofs of the input specifications using an inductive theorem prover called Poiti'n. The construction of a Java program from the input functional program specification involves two phases. The theorem prover is used to construct a higher order functional (HOF) program from the input specification expressed as an existential the...

Higher Dairy Food Intake Is Associated With Higher Spine Quantitative Computed Tomography (QCT) Bone Measures in the Framingham Study for Men But Not Women

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dongen, van Laura H.; Kiel, Douglas P.; Soedamah-Muthu, Sabita S.; Bouxsein, Mary L.; Hannan, Marian T.; Sahni, Shivani

2018-01-01

Previous studies found that dairy foods were associated with higher areal bone mineral density (BMD). However, data on bone geometry or compartment-specific bone density is lacking. In this cross-sectional study, the association of milk, yogurt, cheese, cream, milk+yogurt, and milk+yogurt+cheese

Study on Learning Motivation of Higher Vocational Colleges Students in Tianjin

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

HAO Dong-ze

2015-01-01

Learning motivation occupies an important position in non-intelligence factors,as it plays a pivotal role in university students’ successful completion of their studies and strengthening of professional knowledge base.However,the present university students generally lack motivation in higher education.This research used questionnaire method,which is a questionnaire random sample in 500 students of learning motivation from four comprehensive higher vocational colleges of Tianjin,and explores the sta⁃tus quo of learning motivation in higher vocational students of Tianjin.The result shows:The learning motivation level of higher vocational colleges students is above middle level;Male on the learning motivation total level is significantly higher than female;Rural students in the learning motivation on the aggregate level is significantly higher than that of urban students;Look from the different grades,sophomore students have lowest level of learning motivation;Freshmen learning motivation is at highest level.

Male bovine GH transgenic mice have decreased adiposity with an adipose depot-specific increase in immune cell populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Benencia, Fabian; Harshman, Stephanie; Duran-Ortiz, Silvana; Lubbers, Ellen R; List, Edward O; Householder, Lara; Al-Naeeli, Mawadda; Liang, Xiaoyu; Welch, Lonnie; Kopchick, John J; Berryman, Darlene E

2015-05-01

White adipose tissue (WAT) is composed of mature adipocytes and a stromal vascular fraction (SVF), which contains a variety of cells, including immune cells that vary among the different WAT depots. Growth hormone (GH) impacts immune function and adiposity in an adipose depot-specific manner. However, its effects on WAT immune cell populations remain unstudied. Bovine GH transgenic (bGH) mice are commonly used to study the in vivo effects of GH. These giant mice have an excess of GH action, impaired glucose metabolism, decreased adiposity, increased lean mass, and a shortened lifespan. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to characterize the WAT depot-specific differences in immune cell populations in the presence of excess GH in vivo. Three WAT depots were assessed: inguinal (sc), epididymal (EPI), and mesenteric (MES). Subcutaneous and MES bGH WAT depots showed a significantly higher number of total SVF cells, yet only MES bGH WAT had higher leukocyte counts compared with control samples. By means of flow cytometry analysis of the SVF, we detected greater macrophage and regulatory T-cell infiltration in sc and MES bGH WAT depots compared with controls. However, no differences were observed in the EPI WAT depot. RNA-sequencing confirmed significant alterations in pathways related to T-cell infiltration and activation in the sc depot with fewer significant changes in the EPI bGH WAT depot. These findings collectively point to a previously unrecognized role for GH in influencing the distribution of WAT immune cell populations in a depot-specific manner.

Tumor-Associated Macrophages Provide Significant Prognostic Information in Urothelial Bladder Cancer.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minna M Boström

Full Text Available Inflammation is an important feature of carcinogenesis. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs can be associated with either poor or improved prognosis, depending on their properties and polarization. Current knowledge of the prognostic significance of TAMs in bladder cancer is limited and was investigated in this study. We analyzed 184 urothelial bladder cancer patients undergoing transurethral resection of a bladder tumor or radical cystectomy. CD68 (pan-macrophage marker, MAC387 (polarized towards type 1 macrophages, and CLEVER-1/Stabilin-1 (type 2 macrophages and lymphatic/blood vessels were detected immunohistochemically. The median follow-up time was 6.0 years. High macrophage counts associated with a higher pT category and grade. Among patients undergoing transurethral resection, all studied markers apart from CLEVER-1/Stabilin-1 were associated with increased risk of progression and poorer disease-specific and overall survival in univariate analyses. High levels of two macrophage markers (CD68/MAC387+/+ or CD68/CLEVER-1+/+ groups had an independent prognostic role after transurethral resection in multivariate analyses. In the cystectomy cohort, MAC387, alone and in combination with CD68, was associated with poorer survival in univariate analyses, but none of the markers were independent predictors of outcome in multivariate analyses. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that macrophage phenotypes provide significant independent prognostic information, particularly in bladder cancers undergoing transurethral resection.

Impact of higher n-butanol addition on combustion and performance of GDI engine in stoichiometric combustion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Zheng; Yang, Feng; Xue, Shuo; Wu, Zhenkuo; Liu, Jingping

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Effects of 0–50% n-butanol addition on GDI engine are experimentally studied. • Higher n-butanol fractions increase combustion pressure and fasten burning rate. • Higher n-butanol fractions increase BSFC but improve BTE. • Higher n-butanol fractions enhance combustion stability but increase knock intensity. • Higher n-butanol fractions reduce exhaust temperature and NOx emissions. - Abstract: An experimental study was carried out on a turbocharged gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine fueled by n-butanol/gasoline blends. Effects of n-butanol percents (15%, 30%, and 50%) on combustion and performance of the engine operating on stoichiometric combustion condition were discussed and also compared with pure gasoline in this paper. The results indicate that n-butanol/gasoline blends increase combustion pressure and pressure rise rate, fasten burning rate, and shorten ignition delay and combustion duration, as compared to pure gasoline. Moreover, these trends are impacted more evidently with increased n-butanol fraction in the blends. In addition, higher n-butanol percent of gasoline blends increase combustion temperature but decrease the temperature in the later stage of expansion stroke, which contributes to the control of exhaust temperature at high-load. With regards to engine performance, higher n-butanol percent in the blends results in increased brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and higher brake thermal efficiency (BTE). However, higher n-butanol addition helps to improve combustion stability but shows slightly higher knock possibility in high-load. In that case, the knock trend could be weakened by retarding ignition timing. Moreover, higher n-butanol addition significantly decreases NOx emissions, but it increases CO emissions obviously.

Analysis of the relations between allergen specific LgG antibody and allergic dermatosis of 14 kinds foods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yin’e Hu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available To use food-specific IgG antibody detection to explore its application in the allergy dermatoses. 181 patients were included from January 2014 to September 2014. Fourteen food-specific IgG antibodies were detected by ELISA. The positive rates of IgG antibody of the patient group and the healthy group were significantly different. The positive rates of IgG antibody of egg, milk, shrimp and crab took a large proportion in three groups of patients with three kinds of allergy dermatoses of urticaria, eczema and allergic dermatitis, the proportion of which was respectively 70.2%, 77.8% and 71.7%. There was mild and moderate intolerance of food in the allergic dermatitis group while there was no distribution difference of food intolerance in urticaria group and eczema group. Among urticaria and allergic dermatitis patients with positive antibody, the positive rate of children was significantly higher than that of adults while there was no significant difference between children and adults among eczema patients with positive antibody. Allergy dermatoses are closely related to food-specific IgG antibody and the allergy dermatoses patients have a high incidence rate of food intolerance; detecting IgG antibody in patients is of great significance for the diagnosis and treatment of allergy dermatoses.

Is there a relationship between pain intensity and postural sway in patients with non-specific low back pain?

Science.gov (United States)

Ruhe, Alexander; Fejer, René; Walker, Bruce

2011-07-15

Increased center of pressure excursions are well documented in patients suffering from non-specific low back pain, whereby the altered postural sway includes both higher mean sway velocities and larger sway area. No investigation has been conducted to evaluate a relationship between pain intensity and postural sway in adults (aged 50 or less) with non-specific low back pain. Seventy-seven patients with non-specific low back pain and a matching number of healthy controls were enrolled. Center of pressure parameters were measured by three static bipedal standing tasks of 90 sec duration with eyes closed in narrow stance on a firm surface. The perceived pain intensity was assessed by a numeric rating scale (NRS-11), an equal number of patients (n = 11) was enrolled per pain score. Generally, our results confirmed increased postural instability in pain sufferers compared to healthy controls. In addition, regression analysis revealed a significant and linear increase in postural sway with higher pain ratings for all included COP parameters. Statistically significant changes in mean sway velocity in antero-posterior and medio-lateral direction and sway area were reached with an incremental change in NRS scores of two to three points. COP mean velocity and sway area are closely related to self-reported pain scores. This relationship may be of clinical use as an objective monitoring tool for patients under treatment or rehabilitation.

Disease specific knowledge about cystic fibrosis, patient education and counselling in Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sławomir Chomik

2014-06-01

Full Text Available introduction and objective. The presented study assesses levels of specific knowledge of the disease among cystic fibrosis (CF patients and their families, and evaluates the effectiveness of a targeted, disease specific education programme. materials and methods. A cross-sectional survey among 462 families with a CF child evaluated their knowledge of the disease. A one year follow up survey among 200 families assessed the effectiveness of an educational programme developed to correct gaps, errors and misconceptions identified in the previously administered survey. Self-administered, comprehensive, 5-domains, 45-item multiple-choice CF Disease Knowledge Questionnaire (CFDKQ was anonymously completed by 462 subjects. results. 228 respondents were male (49%, 234 female (51%. The level of disease-specific knowledge in the age groups 0–6 and 7–10 years, was significantly higher than in 11–14 and 15–18 years of age groups (p<0.005. General medical and Genetics/Reproduction knowledge was low in all patients. Significant predictors of patient and parental knowledge were age and domicile. Patients and parents rely heavily on doctors for information about CF (77%. The follow-up survey (CFDKQ emphasized that special education programmes significantly improved levels of disease specific knowledge (p<0.0001. conclusions. If left uncorrected, the misconceptions, gaps and errors in CF knowledge identified in the presented study could result in inadvertent non-adherence to treatment, and impact on the progression and outcome of the disease. Secondly, the results demonstrate the effectiveness of targeted, disease specific information in improving disease knowledge of CF patients and their families, and highlights the value and need for the development of educational programmes for chronically ill patients and their families.

Immigration and Higher Education: The Crisis and the Opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, David W.

1991-01-01

Changes in immigration patterns bring problems and opportunities to higher education. New federal law significantly changes the ethnic and skills mix of the immigrant pool. Issues emerging include potential brain drain; pressure for curriculum change; language as a barrier to access; and the rights of illegal immigrants to higher education. (MSE)

Theorem Proving In Higher Order Logics

Science.gov (United States)

Carreno, Victor A. (Editor); Munoz, Cesar A.; Tahar, Sofiene

2002-01-01

The TPHOLs International Conference serves as a venue for the presentation of work in theorem proving in higher-order logics and related areas in deduction, formal specification, software and hardware verification, and other applications. Fourteen papers were submitted to Track B (Work in Progress), which are included in this volume. Authors of Track B papers gave short introductory talks that were followed by an open poster session. The FCM 2002 Workshop aimed to bring together researchers working on the formalisation of continuous mathematics in theorem proving systems with those needing such libraries for their applications. Many of the major higher order theorem proving systems now have a formalisation of the real numbers and various levels of real analysis support. This work is of interest in a number of application areas, such as formal methods development for hardware and software application and computer supported mathematics. The FCM 2002 consisted of three papers, presented by their authors at the workshop venue, and one invited talk.

Regulatory function of cytomegalovirus-specific CD4+CD27-CD28- T cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tovar-Salazar, Adriana; Patterson-Bartlett, Julie; Jesser, Renee; Weinberg, Adriana

2010-01-01

CMV infection is characterized by high of frequencies of CD27 - CD28 - T cells. Here we demonstrate that CMV-specific CD4 + CD27 - CD28 - cells are regulatory T cells (T R ). CD4 + CD27 - CD28 - cells sorted from CMV-stimulated PBMC of CMV-seropositive donors inhibited de novo CMV-specific proliferation of autologous PBMC in a dose-dependent fashion. Compared with the entire CMV-stimulated CD4 + T-cell population, higher proportions of CD4 + CD27 - CD28 - T R expressed FoxP3, TGFβ, granzyme B, perforin, GITR and PD-1, lower proportions expressed CD127 and PD1-L and similar proportions expressed CD25, CTLA4, Fas-L and GITR-L. CMV-CD4 + CD27 - CD28 - T R expanded in response to IL-2, but not to CMV antigenic restimulation. The anti-proliferative effect of CMV-CD4 + CD27 - CD28 - T R significantly decreased after granzyme B or TGFβ inhibition. The CMV-CD4 + CD27 - CD28 - T R of HIV-infected and uninfected donors had similar phenotypes and anti-proliferative potency, but HIV-infected individuals had higher proportions of CMV-CD4 + CD27 - CD28 - T R . The CMV-CD4 + CD27 - CD28 - T R may contribute to the downregulation of CMV-specific and nonspecific immune responses of CMV-infected individuals.

Factoring local sequence composition in motif significance analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Patrick; Keich, Uri

2008-01-01

We recently introduced a biologically realistic and reliable significance analysis of the output of a popular class of motif finders. In this paper we further improve our significance analysis by incorporating local base composition information. Relying on realistic biological data simulation, as well as on FDR analysis applied to real data, we show that our method is significantly better than the increasingly popular practice of using the normal approximation to estimate the significance of a finder's output. Finally we turn to leveraging our reliable significance analysis to improve the actual motif finding task. Specifically, endowing a variant of the Gibbs Sampler with our improved significance analysis we demonstrate that de novo finders can perform better than has been perceived. Significantly, our new variant outperforms all the finders reviewed in a recently published comprehensive analysis of the Harbison genome-wide binding location data. Interestingly, many of these finders incorporate additional information such as nucleosome positioning and the significance of binding data.

Meal-Specific Dietary Changes From Squires Quest! II: A Serious Video Game Intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Cullen, Karen W; Liu, Yan; Thompson, Debbe I

2016-05-01

Squire's Quest! II: Saving the Kingdom of Fivealot, an online video game, promotes fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption. An evaluation study varied the type of implementation intentions used during the goal-setting process (none, action, coping, or both action and coping plans). Participants who created action plans reported higher FV consumption 6 months after baseline. This study assessed changes by specific meal in that study. A total of 400 fourth- and fifth-grade children completed 3 24-hour recalls at baseline and 6 months later. These were averaged to obtain FV intake. Analyses used repeated-measures ANCOVA. There was a significant group by time effect for vegetables at 6 months (P = .01); Action (P = .01) and coping (P = .04) group participants reported higher vegetable intake at dinner. There were significant increases in fruit intake at breakfast (P = .009), lunch (P = .01), and snack (P children to overcome barriers and consume FV. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. All rights reserved.

Patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy are significantly shorter than those with Becker muscular dystrophy, with the higher incidence of short stature in Dp71 mutated subgroup.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, Masaaki; Awano, Hiroyuki; Lee, Tomoko; Takeshima, Yasuhiro; Matsuo, Masafumi; Iijima, Kazumoto

2017-11-01

Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) are caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene and are characterized by severe and mild progressive muscle wasting, respectively. Short stature has been reported as a feature of DMD in the Western hemisphere, but not yet confirmed in Orientals. Height of young BMD has not been fully characterized. Here, height of ambulant and steroid naive Japanese 179 DMD and 42 BMD patients between 4 and 10 years of age was retrospectively examined using height standard deviation score (SDS). The mean height SDS of DMD was -1.08 SD that was significantly smaller than normal (p < 0.001), indicating short stature of Japanese DMD. Furthermore, the mean height SDS of BMD was -0.27 SD, suggesting shorter stature than normal. Remarkably, the mean height SDS of DMD was significantly smaller than that of BMD (p < 0.0001). In DMD higher incidence of short stature (height SDS < -2.5 SD) was observed in Dp71 subgroup having mutations in dystrophin exons 63-79 than others having mutations in exons 1-62 (27.8% vs. 7.5%, p = 0.017). These suggested that height is influenced by dystrophin in not only DMD but also BMD and that dystrophin Dp71 has a role in height regulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reduced brain resting-state network specificity in infants compared with adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wylie KP

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Korey P Wylie,1,* Donald C Rojas,1,* Randal G Ross,1 Sharon K Hunter,1 Keeran Maharajh,1 Marc-Andre Cornier,2 Jason R Tregellas1,3 1Department of Psychiatry, 2Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA; 3Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Denver, CO, USA *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: Infant resting-state networks do not exhibit the same connectivity patterns as those of young children and adults. Current theories of brain development emphasize developmental progression in regional and network specialization. We compared infant and adult functional connectivity, predicting that infants would exhibit less regional specificity and greater internetwork communication compared with adults.Patients and methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging at rest was acquired in 12 healthy, term infants and 17 adults. Resting-state networks were extracted, using independent components analysis, and the resulting components were then compared between the adult and infant groups.Results: Adults exhibited stronger connectivity in the posterior cingulate cortex node of the default mode network, but infants had higher connectivity in medial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate cortex than adults. Adult connectivity was typically higher than infant connectivity within structures previously associated with the various networks, whereas infant connectivity was frequently higher outside of these structures. Internetwork communication was significantly higher in infants than in adults.Conclusion: We interpret these findings as consistent with evidence suggesting that resting-state network development is associated with increasing spatial specificity, possibly reflecting the corresponding functional specialization of regions and their interconnections through experience. Keywords: functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging

THE PRICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND INDIVIDUAL DEMAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filiz Golpek

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The rise in the living standards in most of the world, the rise in population and schooling rates have increased the demand for higher education. The attribution of semi public property becomes determinant to decide whom will provide the supply and the production in semi public properties is realized by means of a supply and demand mechanism. The supply of higher education is mostly secured in accordance with the public demand as well as the resources available.  In addition, the fact that higher education services have produced significant benefits has led to over demand. This situation relates to a simple economic rule that a commodity or service which costs almost nothing or little will increase until the mariginal benefit of its demand equals to 0 or almost 0. However, the educational supply and demand is difficult to identify in accordance to the supply and demand and balance of price as observed in the economic theory. The high profits that would be attracted in the future are significant factors influencing individual’s decisions for investment. The decision for investment depends on the possible return in the future, the cost of investment, and the current interest rates. Higher education with investment purposes is influenced by these three factors and higher education is demanded more and more by individuals on the expectation that they will gain high profits In theory, it is accepted that the basic factors identifying the demand for higher education are in harmony with empirical research results in several countries including Turkey.

Specific immunotherapy in renal cancer: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirbod-Mobarakeh, Armin; Gordan, Hesam Addin; Zahiri, Zahra; Mirshahvalad, Mohammad; Hosseinverdi, Sima; Rini, Brian I; Rezaei, Nima

2017-02-01

Renal cell cancer (RCC) is the tenth most common malignancy in adults. In recent years, several approaches of active and passive immunotherapy have been studied extensively in clinical trials of patients with RCC. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the clinical efficacy of various approaches of specific immunotherapy in patients with RCC. We searched Medline, Scopus, CENTRAL, TRIP, DART, OpenGrey and ProQuest without any language filter through to 9 October 2015. One author reviewed search results for irrelevant and duplicate studies and two other authors independently extracted data from the studies. We collated study findings and calculated a weighted treatment effect across studies using Review Manager (version 5.3. Copenhagen: The Nordic Cochrane Centre, the Cochrane Collaboration). We identified 14 controlled studies with 4013 RCC patients after excluding irrelevant and duplicate studies from 11,319 references retrieved from a literature search. Overall, five autologous tumor cell vaccines, one peptide-based vaccine, one virus-based vaccine and one dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine were studied in nine controlled studies of active specific immunotherapies. A total of three passive immunotherapies including autologous cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells, auto lymphocyte therapy (ALT) and autologous lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells were studied in four controlled studies. The clinical efficacy of tumor lysate-pulsed DCs, with CIK cells was studied in one controlled trial concurrently. The overall quality of studies was fair. Meta-analysis of seven studies showed that patients undergoing specific immunotherapy had significantly higher overall survival (OS) than those in the control group [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.72; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.58-0.89, p = 0.003]. In addition, a meta-analysis of four studies showed that there was a significant difference in progression-free survival (PFS) between patients undergoing specific immunotherapy

TO THE QUESTION OF MODELS OF ANALYSIS ASSESSING FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Galushkin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this article, author discusses model of analysis assessing the financial condition of the educational organization of higher education. Author analyzes the sequence (algorithm analysis of fi nancial and economic activity of the educational organization of higher education in the process of separating the analysis of questions of the analysis of the state educational institutions of higher education and non-state educational institutions of higher education. Author also deals with the determination of the average annual values of indicators of educational institution of higher education. In conclusion, the author makes a scientifi cally-based own conclusions and gives a number of suggestions.Goal / task. Aim of the article is to identify further ways of optimizing the financial condition of the educational organization of higher education.Methodology. Author started his research with the setting and the formulation of research objectives. The author defined the subject of the study, prepared by the empirical basis of the study.Results. According to the results of the study produced five research-based fi ndings presented in the article.Conclusions / signifi cance. 1. Analysis of the financial condition of the educational institutions of higher education can be defi ned as a complex and complex economic studies to identify patterns of the system factors in the financial well-being, the subject of analysis of educational, teaching, research and related activities.2. Integral assessment of the conditions of the financial analysis of the educational institution of higher education leads to the conclusion that it should include a number of stages.3. Analysis of the financial condition of the educational institution of higher education should be characterized as a specific type of analytical work. However, it is obvious that it can not be a simple kind of financial analysis of its object, and is a special form of research. The most significant

Strain-Specificity and Disease-Specificity of Probiotic Efficacy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lynne V. McFarland

2018-05-01

Full Text Available BackgroundAs the use and diversity of probiotic products expands, the choice of an appropriate type of probiotic is challenging for both medical care professionals and the public alike. Two vital factors in choosing the appropriate probiotic are often ignored, namely, the probiotic strain-specificity and disease-specificity for efficacy. Reviews and meta-analyses often pool together different types of probiotics, resulting in misleading conclusions of efficacy.MethodsA systematic review of the literature (1970–2017 assessing strain-specific and disease-specific probiotic efficacy was conducted. Trials were included for probiotics with an identifiable strain (either single strain or mixtures of strains that had at least two randomized, controlled trials for each type of disease indication. The goal was to determine if probiotic strains have strain and/or disease-specific efficacy.ResultsWe included 228 trials and found evidence for both strain specificity and disease specificity for the efficacy of specific probiotic strains. Significant efficacy evidence was found for 7 (70% of probiotic strain(s among four preventive indications and 11 (65% probiotic strain(s among five treatment indications. Strain-specific efficacy for preventing adult antibiotic-associated diarrhea was clearly demonstrated within the Lactobacillus species [e.g., by the mixture of Lactobacillus acidophilus CL1285, Lactobacillus casei LBC80R, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus CLR2 (Bio-K+®, by L. casei DN114001 (Actimel® and by Lactobacillus reuteri 55730], while other Lactobacillus strains did not show efficacy. Significant disease-specific variations in efficacy was demonstrated by L. rhamnosus GG and Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745, as well as other probiotic strains.ConclusionStrong evidence was found supporting the hypothesis that the efficacy of probiotics is both strain-specific and disease-specific. Clinical guidelines and meta-analyses need to recognize the

Management competencies in higher education: Perceived job importance in relation to level of training required

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingrid L. Potgieter

2010-11-01

Research purpose: The aim of this article is to determine the relationship between a specific set of HOD managerial competencies identified as being important for the job and the level of training required in terms of these competencies. Motivation for the study: Research has provided evidence that HODs are often ill-prepared for their managerial role, which requires the development of specific management competencies to enable them to fulfil their roles effectively. Research design, approach and method: A non-experimental quantitative survey design approach was followed and correlational data analyses were performed. A cross-sectional sample of 41 HODs of 22 departments from various faculties of a higher education institution in Gauteng participated in this study. The Management Competency Inventory (MCI of Visser (2009 was applied as a measure. Main findings: The Pearson product-moment analysis indicated that there is a significant relationship between the competencies indicated as being important for the job and the level of training required. Practical/Managerial implications: Training needs of HODs should be formally assessed and the depth of training required in terms of the identified management competencies should be considered in the design of training programmes. Contributions/Value-add: The information obtained in this study may potentially serve as a foundation for the development of an HOD training programme in the South African higher education environment.

Pneumatic Performance Study of a High Pressure Ejection Device Based on Real Specific Energy and Specific Enthalpy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Ren

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In high-pressure dynamic thermodynamic processes, the pressure is much higher than the air critical pressure, and the temperature can deviate significantly from the Boyle temperature. In such situations, the thermo-physical properties and pneumatic performance can’t be described accurately by the ideal gas law. This paper proposes an approach to evaluate the pneumatic performance of a high-pressure air catapult launch system, in which esidual functions are used to compensate the thermal physical property uncertainties of caused by real gas effects. Compared with the Nelson-Obert generalized compressibility charts, the precision of the improved virial equation of state is better than Soave-Redlich-Kwong (S-R-K and Peng-Robinson (P-R equations for high pressure air. In this paper, the improved virial equation of state is further used to establish a compressibility factor database which is applied to evaluate real gas effects. The specific residual thermodynamic energy and specific residual enthalpy of the high-pressure air are also derived using the modified corresponding state equation and improved virial equation of state which are truncated to the third virial coefficient. The pneumatic equations are established on the basis of the derived residual functions. The comparison of the numerical results shows that the real gas effects are strong, and the pneumatic performance analysis indicates that the real dynamic thermodynamic process is obviously different from the ideal one.

Higher Education Globalization in the Context of American Guidelines

Science.gov (United States)

Bidyuk, Natalya

2016-01-01

The article deals with the problem of globalization impact on higher education system in the United Stated of America. It has been concluded that globalization as a phenomenon has been acquiring much significance in all the spheres, especially in higher education. Different views on the essence of globalization, especially in the context of higher…

Bully University? The Cost of Workplace Bullying and Employee Disengagement in American Higher Education

OpenAIRE

Leah P. Hollis

2015-01-01

Workplace bullying has a detrimental effect on employees, yet few studies have examined its impact on personnel in American higher education administration. Therefore, two central research questions guided this study: (a) What is the extent of workplace bullying in higher education administration? and (b) What is the cost of workplace bullying specifically to higher education administration? Participants from 175 four-...

The role of general parenting and cannabis-specific parenting practices in adolescent cannabis and other illicit drug use.

Science.gov (United States)

Vermeulen-Smit, E; Verdurmen, J E E; Engels, R C M E; Vollebergh, W A M

2015-02-01

To investigate general and cannabis-specific parenting practices in relation to adolescent cannabis and other illicit drug use. Data were derived from the Dutch National School Survey on Substance Use among students (N=3209; aged 12-16 years) and one of their parents in 2011. Logistic regression analyses revealed that 1) parental cannabis use was significantly related to more adolescent lifetime and recent cannabis use, and 2) restrictive cannabis-specific parental rules were associated with less adolescent recent cannabis and lifetime use of other illicit drugs, even when controlled for sociodemographic factors, general parenting, adolescent tobacco use, and tobacco-specific parenting. In addition, no significant interaction was observed between parental cannabis use and cannabis-specific rules in their relation to adolescent cannabis and other illicit drug use, indicating that cannabis rules are evenly associated with adolescent drug use for families with and without parental cannabis experience. In addition to general parenting practices, restrictive cannabis-specific rules are related to lower adolescent cannabis and other illicit drug rates. Parents who ever used cannabis have children with a higher prevalence of cannabis use. However, their restrictive cannabis-specific rules are equally related to a lower chance of adolescent cannabis use. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Student-Parents and Higher Education: A Cross-National Comparison

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, Rachel

2012-01-01

During its time in office, the UK's Labour government gave a strong message that having caring responsibilities for a young child should not be seen as a barrier to engaging in education and training. Its widening participation strategy included a specific commitment to increasing the number of mature students in higher education (HE)--students…

Unit Roots in Economic and Financial Time Series: A Re-Evaluation at the Decision-Based Significance Levels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae H. Kim

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper re-evaluates key past results of unit root tests, emphasizing that the use of a conventional level of significance is not in general optimal due to the test having low power. The decision-based significance levels for popular unit root tests, chosen using the line of enlightened judgement under a symmetric loss function, are found to be much higher than conventional ones. We also propose simple calibration rules for the decision-based significance levels for a range of unit root tests. At the decision-based significance levels, many time series in Nelson and Plosser’s (1982 (extended data set are judged to be trend-stationary, including real income variables, employment variables and money stock. We also find that nearly all real exchange rates covered in Elliott and Pesavento’s (2006 study are stationary; and that most of the real interest rates covered in Rapach and Weber’s (2004 study are stationary. In addition, using a specific loss function, the U.S. nominal interest rate is found to be stationary under economically sensible values of relative loss and prior belief for the null hypothesis.

Reporting instructions significantly impact false positive rates when reading chest radiographs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robinson, John W.; Brennan, Patrick C.; Mello-Thoms, Claudia; Lewis, Sarah J. [The University of Sydney, Medical Image Optimisation and Perception Group, Discipline of Medical Radiation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lidcombe, NSW (Australia)

2016-10-15

To determine the impact of specific reporting tasks on the performance of radiologists when reading chest radiographs. Ten experienced radiologists read a set of 40 postero-anterior (PA) chest radiographs: 21 nodule free and 19 with a proven solitary nodule. There were two reporting conditions: an unframed task (UFT) to report any abnormality and a framed task (FT) reporting only lung nodule/s. Jackknife free-response operating characteristic (JAFROC) figure of merit (FOM), specificity, location sensitivity and number of true positive (TP), false positive (FP), true negative (TN) and false negative (FN) decisions were used for analysis. JAFROC FOM for tasks showed a significant reduction in performance for framed tasks (P = 0.006) and an associated decrease in specificity (P = 0.011) but no alteration to the location sensitivity score. There was a significant increase in number of FP decisions made during framed versus unframed tasks for nodule-containing (P = 0.005) and nodule-free (P = 0.011) chest radiographs. No significant differences in TP were recorded. Radiologists report more FP decisions when given specific reporting instructions to search for nodules on chest radiographs. The relevance of clinical history supplied to radiologists is called into question and may induce a negative effect. (orig.)

Reporting instructions significantly impact false positive rates when reading chest radiographs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, John W.; Brennan, Patrick C.; Mello-Thoms, Claudia; Lewis, Sarah J.

2016-01-01

To determine the impact of specific reporting tasks on the performance of radiologists when reading chest radiographs. Ten experienced radiologists read a set of 40 postero-anterior (PA) chest radiographs: 21 nodule free and 19 with a proven solitary nodule. There were two reporting conditions: an unframed task (UFT) to report any abnormality and a framed task (FT) reporting only lung nodule/s. Jackknife free-response operating characteristic (JAFROC) figure of merit (FOM), specificity, location sensitivity and number of true positive (TP), false positive (FP), true negative (TN) and false negative (FN) decisions were used for analysis. JAFROC FOM for tasks showed a significant reduction in performance for framed tasks (P = 0.006) and an associated decrease in specificity (P = 0.011) but no alteration to the location sensitivity score. There was a significant increase in number of FP decisions made during framed versus unframed tasks for nodule-containing (P = 0.005) and nodule-free (P = 0.011) chest radiographs. No significant differences in TP were recorded. Radiologists report more FP decisions when given specific reporting instructions to search for nodules on chest radiographs. The relevance of clinical history supplied to radiologists is called into question and may induce a negative effect. (orig.)

Gender- and Sport-Specific Associations Between Religiousness and Doping Behavior in High-Level Team Sports.

Science.gov (United States)

Zvan, Milan; Zenic, Natasa; Sekulic, Damir; Cubela, Mladen; Lesnik, Blaz

2017-08-01

Religiousness is known to be specifically associated with substance abuse, but there is an evident lack of studies investigating the association between religiousness and doping behavior as a specific type of substance abuse in athletes. This study aimed to provide evidence for possible gender- and sport-specific associations between religiousness and doping behavior among team-sport athletes of both genders. The participants were 886 athletes (21.9 ± 3.8 years of age; 352 females) involved in four sports: volleyball (n = 154; 78 females), handball (n = 206; 68 females), soccer (n = 316; 110 females) and basketball (n = 230; 96 females) from Croatia and Slovenia (all traditionally Roman Catholics). The data were collected using a previously validated structured questionnaire that examined sociodemographic, sport- and doping-related factors. In addition, religiousness was captured by the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith questionnaire (SCSRF). Gender-stratified simple logistic regressions were applied to determine associations between covariates and doping behavior (criterion). There was no significant difference in potential doping behavior between males and females (OR 1.06, 95 % CI 0.76-1.46), while females reported higher religiousness (SCSRF: 23.11 ± 3.23 and 25.46 ± 7.2 for males and females, respectively; t test = 1.82, p sport and age, the SCSRF remained a significant predictor of potential doping behavior (OR 0.95, 95 % CI 0.91-0.99). For males, the belief that doping was present in sport was strongly associated with a higher likelihood of doping. Our results suggest that highly religious females involved in three of the studies sports (i.e., volleyball, handball and basketball) show a weaker tendency toward doping. Meanwhile, there is no evidence that religiousness influences doping behavior among male team-sport athletes. Therefore, sport-specific and gender-specific approach in studying possible relationships that exist

Assessing behavioural changes in ALS: cross-validation of ALS-specific measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto-Grau, Marta; Costello, Emmet; O'Connor, Sarah; Elamin, Marwa; Burke, Tom; Heverin, Mark; Pender, Niall; Hardiman, Orla

2017-07-01

The Beaumont Behavioural Inventory (BBI) is a behavioural proxy report for the assessment of behavioural changes in ALS. This tool has been validated against the FrSBe, a non-ALS-specific behavioural assessment, and further comparison of the BBI against a disease-specific tool was considered. This study cross-validates the BBI against the ALS-FTD-Q. Sixty ALS patients, 8% also meeting criteria for FTD, were recruited. All patients were evaluated using the BBI and the ALS-FTD-Q, completed by a carer. Correlational analysis was performed to assess construct validity. Precision, sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy of the BBI when compared to the ALS-FTD-Q, were obtained. The mean score of the whole sample on the BBI was 11.45 ± 13.06. ALS-FTD patients scored significantly higher than non-demented ALS patients (31.6 ± 14.64, 9.62 ± 11.38; p ALS-FTD-Q was observed (r = 0.807, p ALS-FTD-Q. Good construct validity has been further confirmed when the BBI is compared to an ALS-specific tool. Furthermore, the BBI is a more comprehensive behavioural assessment for ALS, as it measures the whole behavioural spectrum in this condition.

Teaching Higher Order Thinking in the Introductory MIS Course: A Model-Directed Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shouhong; Wang, Hai

2011-01-01

One vision of education evolution is to change the modes of thinking of students. Critical thinking, design thinking, and system thinking are higher order thinking paradigms that are specifically pertinent to business education. A model-directed approach to teaching and learning higher order thinking is proposed. An example of application of the…

Education and Research in the SEENET-MTP Regional Framework for Higher Education in Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Constantinescu, R.; Djordjevic, G. S.

2010-01-01

Southeastern European countries undergo significant changes in the demand/supply ratio on the labour market and in the structure of professional competences that are necessary for undertaking a professional activity. In addition, brain-drain process and decrease of interest for a career in basic sciences put many challenges for our community. Consequently, based on the activity of the Southeastern European Network in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics (SEENET MTP Network) in connecting groups and persons working in mathematics and theoretical physics, we investigate specific qualifications recognized in these fields in all the countries from the region, and the related competences necessary for practising the respective occupations. A list of new possible occupations will be promoted for inclusion in the National Qualifications Register for Higher Education. Finally, we analyze the vision existing in this region on the higher education qualifications against the European vision and experience, in particular in training of Master students, PhD students, and senior teaching and research staff through the Network, i.e. multilateral and bilateral programs.

A comparison study of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods for root-specific promoter analysis in soybean.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Caifeng; Zhang, Haiyan; Wang, Xiurong; Liao, Hong

2014-11-01

Both in vitro and in vivo hairy root transformation systems could not replace whole plant transformation for promoter analysis of root-specific and low-P induced genes in soybean. An efficient genetic transformation system is crucial for promoter analysis in plants. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is the most popular method to produce transgenic hairy roots or plants. In the present study, first, we compared the two different Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated hairy root transformation methods using either constitutive CaMV35S or the promoters of root-preferential genes, GmEXPB2 and GmPAP21, in soybean, and found the efficiency of in vitro hairy root transformation was significantly higher than that of in vivo transformation. We compared Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated hairy root and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated whole plant transformation systems. The results showed that low-phosphorous (P) inducible GmEXPB2 and GmPAP21 promoters could not induce the increased expression of the GUS reporter gene under low P stress in both in vivo and in vitro transgenic hairy roots. Conversely, GUS activity of GmPAP21 promoter was significantly higher at low P than high P in whole plant transformation. Therefore, both in vitro and in vivo hairy root transformation systems could not replace whole plant transformation for promoter analysis of root-specific and low-P induced genes in soybean.

Childhood physical maltreatment with physical injuries is associated with higher adult psychopathology symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamela, Diogo; Figueiredo, Bárbara

2018-05-29

Previous research has neglected the distinction between childhood physical maltreatment (CPM) behaviors and the physical sequelae resulting from CPM. Prior empirical work has combined CPM behaviors (e.g., beat, hit with a belt) and CPM physical sequelae (e.g., bruises, fractures) into a single conceptual category to predict adverse psychological consequences in adults. This is preventing the examination whether specific subgroups of CPM exposure may report a higher risk of psychopathology symptoms in adulthood. The aim of this study was to examine whether distinct experiences of CPM histories (no physical maltreatment, physical maltreatment only, and physical maltreatment with physical sequelae) would be differentially associated with specific psychopathology dimensions in adulthood. symptoms METHOD: Data were drawn from the Portuguese National Representative Study of Psychosocial Context of Child Abuse and Neglect (N = 941). Participants completed the Childhood History Questionnaire and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Three groups were created based on participants' experience of CPM assessed by the Childhood History Questionnaire. Participants who reported that suffered physical sequelae of the CPM exhibited significantly higher symptoms in all psychopathology dimensions than participants with no history of CPM and participants that were exposed to physical maltreatment without sequelae. These findings suggest that clinicians should discriminate CPM behavior from CPM physical sequelae in order to increase effectiveness of mental health treatment with adults with history of CPM. Our findings are discussed in light of the evolutionary-developmental frameworks of adaptative development and cumulative risk hypothesis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The Serum Level of Prostate Specific Antigen in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Guohong; Xu Ruiji; Zhang Zhongshu

2010-01-01

To determine whether serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level are increased in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), 40 patients with PCOS, and 50 healthy control subjects were enrolled in the study.The subjects were compared by means of serum PSA T SHBG DHEA-S levels. The correlations between PSA and T SHBG DHEA-S were evaluated.Serum PSA levels were found to be significantly higher in PCOS (PSA: 15.64±3.36 pg/mL, in PCOS; PSA: 3.56±0.44pg/mL, in control; P<0.01). Positive correlations between PSA and T (r=0.467, P<0.01) and between PSA and DHEA-S (r=, 0.205 P<0.05) were found. A negative correlation between PSA and SHBG was apparent (r=-0.260, P<0.05). Females with PCOS tended to have higher PSA than females without PCOS (P<0.01). PSA appears to be a promising marker of androgen excess in females suffering from PCOS. (authors)

External Beam Radiotherapy for Clinically Localized Hormone-Refractory Prostate Cancer: Clinical Significance of Nadir Prostate-Specific Antigen Value Within 12 Months

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogawa, Kazuhiko; Nakamura, Katsumasa; Sasaki, Tomonari; Onishi, Hiroshi; Koizumi, Masahiko; Shioyama, Yoshiyuki; Araya, Masayuki; Mukumoto, Nobutaka M.S.; Mitsumori, Michihide; Teshima, Teruki

2009-01-01

Purpose: To analyze retrospectively the results of external beam radiotherapy for clinically localized hormone-refractory prostate cancer and investigate the clinical significance of nadir prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value within 12 months (nPSA12) as an early estimate of clinical outcomes after radiotherapy. Methods and Materials: Eighty-four patients with localized hormone-refractory prostate cancer treated with external beam radiotherapy were retrospectively reviewed. The total radiation doses ranged from 30 to 76 Gy (median, 66 Gy), and the median follow-up period for all 84 patients was 26.9 months (range, 2.7-77.3 months). Results: The 3-year actuarial overall survival, progression-free survival (PFS), and local control rates in all 84 patients after radiotherapy were 67%, 61%, and 93%, respectively. Although distant metastases and/or regional lymph node metastases developed in 34 patients (40%) after radiotherapy, local progression was observed in only 5 patients (6%). Of all 84 patients, the median nPSA12 in patients with clinical failure and in patients without clinical failure was 3.1 ng/mL and 0.5 ng/mL, respectively. When dividing patients according to low (<0.5 ng/mL) and high (≥0.5 ng/mL) nPSA12 levels, the 3-year PFS rate in patients with low nPSA12 and in those with high nPSA12 was 96% and 44%, respectively (p < 0.0001). In univariate analysis, nPSA12 and pretreatment PSA value had a significant impact on PFS, and in multivariate analysis nPSA12 alone was an independent prognostic factor for PFS after radiotherapy. Conclusions: External beam radiotherapy had an excellent local control rate for clinically localized hormone-refractory prostate cancer, and nPSA12 was predictive of clinical outcomes after radiotherapy.

Effects of dietary nucleotides on growth, non-specific immune response and disease resistance of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicas.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Zehong; Yi, Lina; Xu, Wei; Zhou, Huihui; Zhang, Yanjiao; Zhang, Wenbing; Mai, Kangsen

2015-11-01

A 9-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary nucleotides (NT) on growth, immune response and disease resistance of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicas (initial weight: 5.87 ± 0.03 g). Four graded levels of dietary NT were designed as 0, 150, 375 and 700 mg/kg, respectively. After the feeding trial, sea cucumbers were challenged with Vibrio splendidus for the determination of disease resistance. The results showed that the specific growth rates were significantly higher in sea cucumber fed the diet with 375 mg/kg NT than those fed the basal diet without NT supplementation (P sea cucumber fed diets with nucleotides (≥ 375 mg/kg) had significantly higher phagocytic activities in coelomic fluid (P 0.05). After being challenged with V. splendidus, the cumulative mortalities of sea cucumber fed diets with 150 and 375 mg/kg NT were significantly lower than that in the treatment without dietary nucleotide supplementation (P sea cucumber in vivo. In conclusion, it was showed that dietary NT does increase the growth performance, non-specific immunity and disease resistance of sea cucumber. The optimum dietary NT supplementation level for sea cucumber was found to be 375 mg/kg. The application of dietary NT may present a novel strategy for health management in sea cucumber's aquaculture. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Country-specific determinants of world university rankings

OpenAIRE

Pietrucha, Jacek

2017-01-01

This paper examines country-specific factors that affect the three most influential world university rankings (the Academic Ranking of World Universities, the QS World University Ranking, and the Times Higher Education World University Ranking). We run a cross sectional regression that covers 42–71 countries (depending on the ranking and data availability). We show that the position of universities from a country in the ranking is determined by the following country-specific variables: econom...

Site specific mineral composition and microstructure of human supra-gingival dental calculus.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayashizaki, Junko; Ban, Seiji; Nakagaki, Haruo; Okumura, Akihiko; Yoshii, Saori; Robinson, Colin

2008-02-01

Dental calculus has been implicated in the aetiology of several periodontal conditions. Its prevention and removal are therefore desirable clinical goals. While it is known that calculus is very variable in chemical composition, crystallinity and crystallite size little is known about site specific variability within a dentition and between individuals. With this in mind, a study was undertaken to investigate the comparative site specific nature and composition of human dental supra-gingival dental calculus obtained from 66 male patients visiting for their dental check-up using fluorescent X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The supra-gingival dental calculus formed on the lingual surfaces of lower anterior teeth and the buccal surfaces of upper molar teeth were classified into four types based on calcium phosphate phases present. There was significant difference in composition of the crystal phase types between lower and upper teeth (pdental calculus on anterior or molar teeth of all samples. The degree of crystallinity of dental calculus formed on the upper molar teeth was higher than that formed on the lower anterior teeth (pdental calculus formed on the lower anterior teeth were higher than on upper molar teeth (pdental supra-gingival dental calculus is related to its location in the mouth.

Temperature variation of higher-order elastic constants of MgO

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

series of strains using Taylor's series expansion. The coefficients of quadratic, cu- ... as thermal expansion, specific heat at higher temperature, temperature variation of ultrasonic velocity and attenuation, .... such studies have an impression that linear variation of elastic constant is true. The experimental study shows that ...

Web Environments for Group-Based Project Work in Higher Education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Andernach, J.A.; van Diepen, N.M.; Collis, Betty; Andernach, Toine

1997-01-01

We discuss problems confronting the use of group-based project work as an instructional strategy in higher education and describe two courses in which course-specific World Wide Web (Web) environments have evolved over a series of course sequences and are used both as tool environments for

Expression and significance of TRAIL and NF-kB in osteosarcoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Xiumin; You Murong; Qi Falian; Hu Chengjin

2005-01-01

To investigate the relationship between expressions of TRAIL, NF-kB and cell proliferation in human osteosarcomas, the expressions of TRAIL and NF-kB in 16 cases of osteosarcoma, 5 cases of giant cell tumor of bone and 6 cases of chondrosarcoma were studied by flow cytometry. The expressions of TRAIL and NF-kB in osteosarcomas of different differentiation states were higher than those in other two kinds of tumors significantly in our study(P 0.05). The expressions of TRAIL and NF-kB in chondrosarcoma and giant cell tumor of bone were not different significantly(P>0.05). The higher expression of TRAIL in osteosarcoma with different differentiation states could not induce apoptosis because of the higher expression of NF-kB. NF-kB may restrain the apoptosis of tumor cells by regulating the NF-kB- induced apoptosis path way in osteosarcoma. (authors)

Assessing clinical significance of treatment outcomes using the DASS-21.

Science.gov (United States)

Ronk, Fiona R; Korman, James R; Hooke, Geoffrey R; Page, Andrew C

2013-12-01

Standard clinical significance classifications are based on movement between the "dysfunctional" and "functional" distributions; however, this dichotomy ignores heterogeneity within the "dysfunctional" population. Based on the methodology described by Tingey, Lambert, Burlingame, and Hansen (1996), the present study sought to present a 3-distribution clinical significance model for the 21-item version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21; P. F. Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) using data from a normative sample (n = 2,914), an outpatient sample (n = 1,000), and an inpatient sample (n = 3,964). DASS-21 scores were collected at pre- and post-treatment for both clinical samples, and patients were classified into 1 of 5 categories based on whether they had made a reliable change and whether they had moved into a different functional range. Evidence supported the validity of the 3-distribution model for the DASS-21, since inpatients who were classified as making a clinically significant change showed lower symptom severity, higher perceived quality of life, and higher clinician-rated functioning than those who did not make a clinically significant change. Importantly, results suggest that the new category of recovering is an intermediate point between recovered and making no clinically significant change. Inpatients and outpatients have different treatment goals and therefore use of the concept of clinical significance needs to acknowledge differences in what constitutes a meaningful change. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Combinatorial synthesis and screening of cancer cell-specific nanomedicines targeted via phage fusion proteins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James W. Gillespie

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Active tumor targeting of nanomedicines has recently shown significant improvements in the therapeutic activity of currently existing drug delivery systems, such as liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil/Caelyx/Lipodox. Previously, we have shown that isolated pVIII major coat proteins of the fd tet filamentous phage vector, containing cancer cell-specific peptide fusions at their N terminus, can be used as active targeting ligands in a liposomal doxorubicin delivery system in vitro and in vivo. Here, we show a novel major coat protein isolation procedure in 2-propanol that allows spontaneous incorporation of the hydrophobic protein core into preformed liposomal doxorubicin with minimal damage or drug loss while still retaining the targeting ligand exposed for cell-specific targeting. Using a panel of 12 structurally unique ligands with specificity towards breast, lung, and/or pancreatic cancer, we showed the feasibility of pVIII major coat proteins to significantly increase the throughput of targeting ligand screening in a common nanomedicine core. Phage protein-modified Lipodox samples showed an average doxorubicin recovery of 82.8% across all samples with 100% of protein incorporation in the correct orientation (N-terminus exposed. Following cytotoxicity screening in a doxorubicin-sensitive breast cancer line (MCF-7, three major groups of ligands were identified. Ligands showing the most improved cytotoxicity included: DMPGTVLP, ANGRPSMT, VNGRAEAP, and ANDVYLD showing a 25-fold improvement (p < 0.05 in toxicity. Similarly DGQYLGSQ, ETYNQPYL, and GSSEQLYL ligands with specificity towards a doxorubicin-insensitive pancreatic cancer line (PANC-1 showed significant increases in toxicity (2-fold; p < 0.05. Thus, we demonstrated proof-of-concept that pVIII major coat proteins can be screened in significantly higher throughput to identify novel ligands displaying improved therapeutic activity in a desired cancer phenotype.

HIGHER CHOREOGRAPHIC EDUCATION: THE EXPERIENCE OF GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iryna Tkachenko

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The current state of higher choreographic education and features of professional training of choreographers in the German-speaking countries, in particular Austria, Germany and Switzerland were analyzed. It is found that most of the German-speaking countries are Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which became the object of study. The considered the structure of higher choreographic education in the German-speaking countries. Universities, higher dance schools and higher art schools are functioning in Germany. Universities and academies are functioning in Austria and Switzerland. The institutions of theatre sciences, faculty of pedagogy and psychology, departments of performing arts are the structural units of the universities. The institutions of higher education have both private and state ownership. It is found out that the main areas for which training is future choreographers in the German-speaking countries there is a "Dance", "Dance pedagogy", "Modern dance", "Science of dance", "Choreography". German-speaking countries recognized by the training of specialists in the specialty choreography of Modern dance that has no analogues in Ukraine. The term of study is four (bachelor and two (master years. Higher choreographic education in these countries has a different approach and aims at mastering a separate specialty that provides future dance instructors completely and thoroughly master the basic knowledge and skills in this specialty. Specific conditions and rules of admission to the higher educational institutions of German-speaking countries.

External quality assurance agencies and excellence in higher education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josep Grifoll

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The article presents briefly the complexity of the concept of “excellence” in higher education. Taking into account this reality, the fundamental question is how agencies can consider this complexity in building up criteria on excellence and the use of the concept “excellence” in their improvement strategies and accountability processes in the sector of higher education. Public-private nature of higher education and its growing internationalisation have significant impact on how excellence in education is described and promoted as a tool.

Intensifying the intrinsic motivation by differentiating the teaching strategies in higher education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tulbure, C.

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Learning motivation represents one of the most importantpredictors of academic achievement in higher education. In this empirical study, we have implemented a formative program to improve the university students’ academic achievement and their intrinsic learning motivation. To fully use their intellectual potential, students were treated according to their learning style, throughout one academic year. When we considered the within subject design, both intrinsic motivation and academic achievement significantly increased at the end of the study. Only intrinsic motivation proved to be significantly higher for the between subject comparison. Because our formative program proved to have a significant impact on students’ learning motivation, we recommend the differentiated teaching strategies to improve the academic achievement in higher education.

Expanding the Availability of Lightweight Aluminum Alloy Armor Plate Procured from Detailed Military Specifications

Science.gov (United States)

Doherty, Kevin; Squillacioti, Richard; Cheeseman, Bryan; Placzankis, Brian; Gallardy, Denver

For many years, the range of aluminum alloys for armor plate applications obtainable in accordance with detailed military specifications was very limited. However, the development of improved aluminum alloys for aerospace and other applications has provided an opportunity to modernize the Army portfolio for ground vehicle armor applications. While the benefits of offering additional alloy choices to vehicle designers is obvious, the process of creating detailed military specifications for armor plate applications is not trivial. A significant amount of material and testing is required to develop the details required by an armor plate specification. Due to the vast number of material programs that require standardization and with a limited amount of manpower and funds as a result of Standardization Reform in 1995, one typically requires a need statement from a vehicle program office to justify and sponsor the work. This presentation will focus on recent aluminum alloy armor plate specifications that have added capability to vehicle designers' selection of armor materials that offer possible benefits such as lower cost, higher strength, better ballistic and corrosion resistance, improved weldability, etc.

The investigation of specific biochemical markers in monitoring kidney function of drug addicts.

Science.gov (United States)

Gąsiorowski, Jacek; Marchewka, Zofia; Łapiński, Łukasz; Szymańska, Beata; Głowacka, Krystyna; Knysz, Brygida; Długosz, Anna; Wiela-Hojeńska, Anna

2013-12-05

An increasingly important issue in the Polish population is drug abuse. It leads to extensive damage of parenchymal organs, including kidney. Establishing early markers of organ damage and their monitoring during rehabilitation therapy is therefore of pivotal importance. This study evaluated the utility of highly specific and selective markers (NGAL, IL-18, a and π-GST isoenzyme, and ß2-M). The influence of opioid drugs and other factors on kidney function (HIV and HCV infections, duration and the kind of drugs abused) was determined. Urine collected from 83 subjects who abused drugs and 33 healthy volunteers was tested with ELISA using specific antibodies (IBL, Biotron, Bioporto-Diagnostics). HIV infection was confirmed with western-blotting and HCV with PCR. CD4 lymphocytes were quantified with flow cytometry. RFLP and PCR were used to determine the viral load of HIV and HCV (genotype). A significant increase of IL-18, NGAL and β2M activity in heroin addicts compared to the control group was noted as well as the influence of HIV infection on NGAL and β2M excretion. A statistically significant (p=0.04) correlation between the viral load and IL-18 concentration was noted while no significant influence of the duration and the kind of drugs abused, the route of intake or the age of addicts was seen. Only the NGAL concentration was sex dependent and significantly higher in women. This study showed the specific, clinical utility of IL-18, NGAL, and β2M in the evaluation of renal function in drug addicts. Early detection of nephropathy with biochemical indicators might help prevent severe conditions that require hospitalization and intensive care.

Increased superior frontal gyrus activation during working memory processing in psychosis: Significant relation to cumulative antipsychotic medication and to negative symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, Tobias; Smieskova, Renata; Schmidt, André; Walter, Anna; Harrisberger, Fabienne; Eckert, Anne; Lang, Undine E; Riecher-Rössler, Anita; Graf, Marc; Borgwardt, Stefan

2016-08-01

Impairment in working memory (WM) is a core symptom in schizophrenia. However, little is known about how clinical features influence functional brain activity specific to WM processing during the development of first-episode psychosis (FEP) to schizophrenia (SZ). We compared functional WM-specific brain activity in FEP and SZ patients, including the effects of the duration of illness, psychopathological factors and antipsychotic medication. Cross-sectional study of male FEP (n=22) and SZ (n=20) patients performing an n-back task when undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Clinical features were collected by semi-structured interviews and medical records. The SZ group performed significantly worse than the FEP group in the 2-back condition. The SZ group also showed significantly higher activation in the left superior frontal gyrus in the 2-back versus 0-back condition (2-back>0-back). This frontal activation correlated positively with negative symptoms and with cumulative antipsychotic medication during the year before the fMRI examination. There were no significant correlations between activation and duration of illness. There was greater frontal neural activation in SZ than in FEP. This indicated differences in WM processing, and was significantly related to cumulative antipsychotic exposure and negative symptoms, but not to the duration of illness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Controlling Bottom Hole Flowing Pressure Within a Specific Range for Efficient Coalbed Methane Drainage

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Bin; Wang, Zhi-Yin; Hu, Ai-Mei; Zhai, Yu-Yang

2013-11-01

The stress state of coal surrounding a coalbed methane (CBM) production well is affected by the bottom hole flowing pressure (BHFP). The permeability of coal shows a marked change under compression. The BHFP must be restricted to a specific range to favor higher permeability in the surrounding coal and thus higher productivity of the well. A new method to determine this specific range is proposed in this paper. Coal has a rather low tensile strength, which induces tensile failure and rock disintegration. The deformation of coal samples under compression has four main stages: compaction, elastic deformation, strain hardening, and strain softening. Permeability is optimal when the coal samples are in the strain softening stage. The three critical values of BHFP, namely, p wmin, p wmid, and p wupper, which correspond to the occurrence of tensile failure, the start of strain softening, and the beginning of plastic deformation, respectively, are derived from theoretical principles. The permeability of coal is in an optimal state when the BHFP is between p wmin and p wmid. The BHFP should be confined to this specific range for the efficient drainage of CBM wells. This method was applied to field operations in three wells in the Hancheng CBM field in China. A comprehensive analysis of drainage data and of the BHFP indicates that the new method is effective and offers significant improvement to current practices.

The efficacy of adult christian support groups in coping with the death of a significant loved one.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodman, Herbert; Stone, Mark H

2009-09-01

Psychologists sometimes minimize important resources such as religion and spiritual beliefs for coping with bereavement. Alienation of therapeutic psychology from religious values contrasts to professional and public interest in religious experience and commitment. A supportive viewpoint has come about partially as a result of recognizing important values which clinicians have found absent in many of their clients. Until spiritual belief systems become integrated into the work of clinicians, clients may not be fully integrative in coping with loss. The key finding of this study was that individuals who participated in Christian and secular support groups showed no statistically significant difference in their mean endorsement of negative criteria on the BHS, and no statistically significant difference for their mean score endorsement of positive criteria on the RCOPE. However, a Christian-oriented approach was no less effective than a psychological-oriented one. In both groups, a spiritual connection to a specific or generalized higher power was frequently identified which clients ascribed to facilitating the management of their coping.

Tissue-specific mRNA expression profiling in grape berry tissues

Science.gov (United States)

Grimplet, Jerome; Deluc, Laurent G; Tillett, Richard L; Wheatley, Matthew D; Schlauch, Karen A; Cramer, Grant R; Cushman, John C

2007-01-01

Background Berries of grape (Vitis vinifera) contain three major tissue types (skin, pulp and seed) all of which contribute to the aroma, color, and flavor characters of wine. The pericarp, which is composed of the exocarp (skin) and mesocarp (pulp), not only functions to protect and feed the developing seed, but also to assist in the dispersal of the mature seed by avian and mammalian vectors. The skin provides volatile and nonvolatile aroma and color compounds, the pulp contributes organic acids and sugars, and the seeds provide condensed tannins, all of which are important to the formation of organoleptic characteristics of wine. In order to understand the transcriptional network responsible for controlling tissue-specific mRNA expression patterns, mRNA expression profiling was conducted on each tissue of mature berries of V. vinifera Cabernet Sauvignon using the Affymetrix GeneChip® Vitis oligonucleotide microarray ver. 1.0. In order to monitor the influence of water-deficit stress on tissue-specific expression patterns, mRNA expression profiles were also compared from mature berries harvested from vines subjected to well-watered or water-deficit conditions. Results Overall, berry tissues were found to express approximately 76% of genes represented on the Vitis microarray. Approximately 60% of these genes exhibited significant differential expression in one or more of the three major tissue types with more than 28% of genes showing pronounced (2-fold or greater) differences in mRNA expression. The largest difference in tissue-specific expression was observed between the seed and pulp/skin. Exocarp tissue, which is involved in pathogen defense and pigment production, showed higher mRNA abundance relative to other berry tissues for genes involved with flavonoid biosynthesis, pathogen resistance, and cell wall modification. Mesocarp tissue, which is considered a nutritive tissue, exhibited a higher mRNA abundance of genes involved in cell wall function and

Tissue-specific mRNA expression profiling in grape berry tissues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cramer Grant R

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Berries of grape (Vitis vinifera contain three major tissue types (skin, pulp and seed all of which contribute to the aroma, color, and flavor characters of wine. The pericarp, which is composed of the exocarp (skin and mesocarp (pulp, not only functions to protect and feed the developing seed, but also to assist in the dispersal of the mature seed by avian and mammalian vectors. The skin provides volatile and nonvolatile aroma and color compounds, the pulp contributes organic acids and sugars, and the seeds provide condensed tannins, all of which are important to the formation of organoleptic characteristics of wine. In order to understand the transcriptional network responsible for controlling tissue-specific mRNA expression patterns, mRNA expression profiling was conducted on each tissue of mature berries of V. vinifera Cabernet Sauvignon using the Affymetrix GeneChip® Vitis oligonucleotide microarray ver. 1.0. In order to monitor the influence of water-deficit stress on tissue-specific expression patterns, mRNA expression profiles were also compared from mature berries harvested from vines subjected to well-watered or water-deficit conditions. Results Overall, berry tissues were found to express approximately 76% of genes represented on the Vitis microarray. Approximately 60% of these genes exhibited significant differential expression in one or more of the three major tissue types with more than 28% of genes showing pronounced (2-fold or greater differences in mRNA expression. The largest difference in tissue-specific expression was observed between the seed and pulp/skin. Exocarp tissue, which is involved in pathogen defense and pigment production, showed higher mRNA abundance relative to other berry tissues for genes involved with flavonoid biosynthesis, pathogen resistance, and cell wall modification. Mesocarp tissue, which is considered a nutritive tissue, exhibited a higher mRNA abundance of genes involved in cell

Sources of Inspiration: The role of significant persons in young people's choice of science in higher education

Science.gov (United States)

Sjaastad, Jørgen

2012-07-01

The objectives of this article were to investigate to which extent and in what ways persons influence students' choice of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in tertiary education, and to assess the suitability of an analytical framework for describing this influence. In total, 5,007 Norwegian STEM students completed a questionnaire including multiple-choice as well as open-ended questions about sources of inspiration for their educational choice. Using the conceptualisation of significant persons suggested by Woelfel and Haller, the respondents' descriptions of parents and teachers are presented in order to elaborate on the different ways these significant persons influence a STEM-related educational choice. Parents engaged in STEM themselves are models, making the choice of STEM familiar, and they help youngsters define themselves through conversation and support, thus being definers. Teachers are models by displaying how STEM might bring fulfilment in someone's life and by giving pupils a positive experience with the subjects. They help young people discover their STEM abilities, thus being definers. Celebrities are reported to have minor influence on STEM-related educational choices. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses indicate that interpersonal relationships are key factors in order to inspire and motivate a choice of STEM education. Implications for recruitment issues and for research on interpersonal influence are discussed. It is suggested that initiatives to increase recruitment to STEM might be aimed at parents and other persons in interpersonal relationships with youth as a target group.

Toward an Understanding of Higher-Order Thinking among Minority Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Armour-Thomas, Eleanor; And Others

1992-01-01

Used principal-factors extraction with varimax rotation analysis to clarify nature and function of higher-order thinking among minority high school students (n=107) from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Results allowed for specification of mental processes associated with the construct and the extent to which students reported awareness and…

Examining the Effectiveness of Social Responsibility Courses in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Droms, Courtney; Stephen, Sheryl-Ann K.

2015-01-01

Individual and corporate social responsibility has been gaining more and more attention over the last several years. We examine the effectiveness of incorporating social responsibility courses into the curriculum in higher education, with a specific look at Butler University. In general, the results indicate that implementing this type of…

Technology Adoption in Higher Education: Overcoming Anxiety through Faculty Bootcamp

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Terri; Wisniewski, Mary Ann; Kuhlemeyer, Greg; Isaacs, Gerald; Krzykowski, Jamie

2012-01-01

The reluctance to design and teach online courses in higher education is often attributed to technology anxiety in faculty. This article documents a faculty development model that has successfully helped faculty overcome this obstacle. "Bootcamps," faculty development programs held at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI, were specifically and…

Isoform-specific interactions between meprin metalloproteases and the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A: significance in acute and chronic kidney injury

Science.gov (United States)

Niyitegeka, Jean-Marie V.; Bastidas, Adam C.; Newman, Robert H.; Taylor, Susan S.

2014-01-01

Meprin metalloproteases are abundantly expressed in the brush-border membranes of kidney proximal tubules. Meprins are implicated in ischemia-reperfusion (IR)-induced renal injury and diabetic nephropathy. The protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway modulates extracellular matrix metabolism in diabetic kidneys. The present study evaluated isoform-specific interactions between the catalytic subunit of PKA (PKA C) and meprins. To this end, cytosolic-enriched kidney proteins from meprin αβ double knockout mice, and purified forms of recombinant mouse PKA Cα, Cβ1, and Cβ2, were incubated with activated forms of either homomeric meprin A or meprin B. The cleaved protein products were subjected to SDS-PAGE and analyzed by Coomassie staining and Western blot analysis. While meprin A only cleaved PKA Cβ1, meprin B cleaved all three PKA C isoforms. Analysis of the proteolytic fragments by mass spectrometry revealed that meprin A and B cleave the PKA C isoforms at defined sites, resulting in unique cleavage products. Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics demonstrated that meprin B-mediated cleavage of PKA Cα occurs at a rate consistent with that of other physiologically relevant meprin substrates. Meprin cleavage decreased the kinase activity of PKA Cα, Cβ1, and Cβ2. PKA C levels were higher in diabetic kidneys, with evidence of in vivo fragmentation in wild-type diabetic kidneys. Confocal microscopy showed localization of meprin A in the glomeruli of diabetic kidneys. At 3 h post-IR, PKA C levels in proximal tubules decreased compared with distal tubules, which lack meprins. These data suggest that meprins may impact kidney injury, in part, via modulation of PKA signaling pathways. PMID:25354939

Higher Education Institution Leaders' Identity Constructions in Times of Changing Structures and Legislation

Science.gov (United States)

Tigerstedt, Christa

2016-01-01

The focus in this paper is on the leadership of higher education institutions (HEI) in Finland and more specifically on the rector's leadership. The higher education sector is undergoing many changes and has been so for a long time. How, then, do the current changes become visible from a leadership perspective? The leadership discourse is here…

Comparative intra-and inter-specific sexual organ reciprocity in four distylous Primula species in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hai-Dong; Ren, Zong-Xin; Zhou, Wei; Bernhardt, Peter; Zhao, Yan-Hui; Wu, Zhi-Kun; Li, De-Zhu; Wang, Hong

2018-04-23

Distyly is a mechanism promoting cross-pollination within a balanced polymorphism. Numerous studies show that the degree of inter-morph sexual organ reciprocity (SOR) within species relates to its pollen-mediated gene flow. Similarly, a lower inter-specific SOR should promote inter-specific isolation when congeners are sympatric, co-blooming, and share pollinators. In this comparative study, we address the significance of SOR at both intra- and inter-specific levels. Seventeen allopatric and eight sympatric populations representing four Primula species (P. anisodora, P. beesiana, P. bulleyana and P. poissonii) native to the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains were measured for eight floral traits in both long- and short-styled morphs. GLMM and spatial overlap methods were used to compare intra- and inter-specific SOR. While floral morphology differed among four Primula species. SOR within species was generally higher than between species, but species pairs P. poissonii / P. anisodora and P. beesiana / P. bulleyana, the SOR was high at both intra- and inter-specific levels. We didn't detect a significant variation in intra-specific SOR or inter-specific SOR when compare allopatric vs. sympatric populations for all species studied. As intra-specific SOR increased, disassortative mating may be promoted. As inter-specific SOR decreased, inter-specific isolation between co-flowering species pairs also may increase. Hybridization between congeners occurred when inter-specific SOR increased in sympatric populations was confirmed in two species pairs, P. poissonii / P. anisodora and P. beesiana / P. bulleyana. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Effect of guava leaves on growth and the non-specific immune response of Penaeus monodon.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Xiao-Li; Li, Zhuo-Jia; Yang, Keng; Lin, Hei-Zhao; Guo, Zhi-Xun

2014-09-01

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) leaf extracts have antiviral and antibacterial activity against shrimp pathogens such as yellow-head virus (YHV), white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), and Vibrio harveyi, which make it a potential water disinfectant for use in shrimp culture. In this study, the safety of guava leaf supplementation in shrimp was evaluated by studying its influence on growth and the non-specific immune response of Penaeus monodon. Six diets containing different levels of guava leaves (0% [basal diet], 0.025% [G1], 0.05% [G2], 0.1% [G3], 0.2% [G4], and 0.4% [G5]) were fed to groups of shrimp (1.576 ± 0.011 g body weight) in triplicate for 56 days. Growth performance (final body weight, WG, PWG, SGR) of shrimp fed guava leaf diets was significantly higher (P 0.05) were found. Dietary supplementation with guava leaf improved the activities of prophenoloxidase (PO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in serum, and of superoxide dismutase (SOD), acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), and lysozyme (LSZ) both in serum and hepatopancreas of shrimp. In the experimental groups, the activities of these enzymes followed a similar pattern of change; they increased initially at low levels of dietary supplementation and then decreased with increasing concentrations of dietary guava leaf. Serum PO and SOD activities in shrimp fed the G1 diet reached 7.50 U ml(-1) and 178.33 U ml(-1), respectively, with PO activity being significantly higher than in controls. In shrimp fed the G1 diet, SOD, ACP, and AKP activities in hepatopancreas were significantly higher than in the controls, reaching 57.32 U g(-1), 23.28 U g(-1), and 19.35 U g(-1) protein, respectively. The highest activities of serum ACP, AKP, LSZ, and of hepatopancreas LSZ, were observed in the G3 diet group. Total nitric oxide synthase (TNOS) activity was highest (64.80 U ml(-1)) in the G4 diet group, which was significantly higher than that observed in the control group. These results suggest that dietary

Specific Nongluten Proteins of Wheat Are Novel Target Antigens in Celiac Disease Humoral Response

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

While the antigenic specificity and pathogenic relevance of immunologic reactivity to gluten in celiac disease have been extensively researched, the immune response to nongluten proteins of wheat has not been characterized. We aimed to investigate the level and molecular specificity of antibody response to wheat nongluten proteins in celiac disease. Serum samples from patients and controls were screened for IgG and IgA antibody reactivity to a nongluten protein extract from the wheat cultivar Triticum aestivum Butte 86. Antibodies were further analyzed for reactivity to specific nongluten proteins by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. Immunoreactive molecules were identified by tandem mass spectrometry. Compared with healthy controls, patients exhibited significantly higher levels of antibody reactivity to nongluten proteins. The main immunoreactive nongluten antibody target proteins were identified as serpins, purinins, α-amylase/protease inhibitors, globulins, and farinins. Assessment of reactivity toward purified recombinant proteins further confirmed the presence of antibody response to specific antigens. The results demonstrate that, in addition to the well-recognized immune reaction to gluten, celiac disease is associated with a robust humoral response directed at a specific subset of the nongluten proteins of wheat. PMID:25329597

Beyond the Effects of Comprehensive Sexuality Education: The Significant Prospective Effects of Youth Assets on Contraceptive Behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Jennifer; Oman, Roy F; Vesely, Sara K; Cheney, Marshall; Carroll, Leslie

2017-12-01

The purpose of the study was to prospectively determine if youth assets were significantly associated with contraception use after accounting for the effects of youths' exposure to comprehensive sexuality education programming. Prospective associations between youth asset scores, comprehensive sexuality education topics received, type of contraceptive used, and consistent contraceptive use were analyzed using multinomial and binomial logistic regression in a sample of 757 sexually active youth. Higher youth asset scores were associated with condom use (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.01-2.28), hormonal birth control use (AOR = 2.71, 95% CI = 1.69-4.35), dual method use (AOR = 2.35, 95% CI = 1.44-3.82), and consistent contraceptive use (AOR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.38-2.82). After controlling for youths' experience with comprehensive sexuality education, higher youth asset scores remained a significant predictor of hormonal birth control use (AOR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.28-3.42), dual method use (AOR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.61-4.15), and consistent contraceptive use (AOR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.36-2.80). Youth serving organizations that are interested in preventing teen pregnancy should consider widespread implementation of evidence-based youth development programs that focus on building and strengthening specific youth assets. Copyright © 2017 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of higher order need strenght and job characteristics on job performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. J. H. Blignaut

1975-11-01

Full Text Available Contemporary theories of work motivation are classified according to (1 those based on the underlying assumption that all individuals posses higher level need, are capable of satisfying and will indeed satisfy such needs provided the job situation incorporates the conditions or characteristics that make satisfaction possible and (2 those theories suggesting that an individual may or may not be motivated by certain job characteristics depending on whether he in fact has specific (higher level needs to be fulfilled and whether he views the job situation as conductive to need satisfaction. 126 Subjects employed by a chemical industry took part in an experiment designed to test the basic assumptions underlying the aforementioned theories. Data relating to higher order need satisfaction, the psychological value of job content and job performance served as input to a 2X2 factorial analysis. Results indicate that only the psychological value of job content represented a significant source of variation (p is smaller as ,01 - a finding which favours category (1 theories to a large extent. No significant interaction between the latter source of variation and higher order need satisfaction could be found. Opsomming Kontemporêre motiveringsteorieë in die Bedryfsielkunde word geklassifiseer in twee groepe naamlik (1 dié wat berus op die basiese aanname dat alle werknemers hoëvlak behoeftes het en die bevrediging daarvan sal nastreef solank die inhoud van die werk dit moontlik maak en (2 dié wat op die aanname berus dat sielkundig gunstige werksinhoud waarskynlik hoëvlak behoeftebevrediging tot gevolg sal hê, afhangende van hoe die individu die werksituasie waarneem. 126 Werknemers in 'n Suid-Afrikaanse chemiese nywerheid is by 'n eksperiment betrek waarin bogenoemde basiese aannames teenoor mekaar gestel is. Data ten opsigte van die sielkundige waarde van werksinhoud, hoëvlak behoeftebevrediging en werksprestasie dien as inset tot 'n 2x2 faktoriale

The prognostic significance of preoperative serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels in endometrial carcinomas

Science.gov (United States)

Tas, Emre E.; Yavuz, Ayse F.

2017-01-01

Objectives: To determine the associations between serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels and prognostic factors in patients with endometrial carcinomas. Additionally, we investigated the clinical utility of serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels in the selection of low-risk patients with endometrioid type, tumor size <2 cm, myometrial invasion ≤50%, and histological grade 1-2. Methods: Ninety-six patients, who were surgically staged at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey, between 2007 and 2016, were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic, clinical, and surgical characteristics were retrieved from the patients’ hospital records. A p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Fifteen patients had advanced (≥Stage II) disease, 14 patients had Type 2 histology, 20 patients had Grade 3 tumors, 23 patients had lymphovascular space invasion, and 10 patients had positive lymph node involvement. Serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels were significantly higher in patients with advanced (≥Stage II) disease, Type 2 histology, Grade 3 tumors, lymp°hovascular space invasion, and positive lymph node involvement (p<0.05). Serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels were also significantly correlated with tumor size (p=0.006). Serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels were significantly lower (95% confidence interval: 0.57−0.79; p=0.03) in low-risk patients compared to other endometrial carcinoma patients. A cutoff of 25.0 IU/mL was used to identify high-risk patients with a specificity of 100%. Conclusion: Serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels significantly correlated with prognostic factors and were a useful diagnostic tool for endometrial carcinomas. PMID:29114696

The prognostic significance of preoperative serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels in endometrial carcinomas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emre E. Tas

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To determine the associations between serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels and prognostic factors in patients with endometrial carcinomas. Additionally, we investigated the clinical utility of serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels in the selection of low-risk patients with endometrioid type, tumor size less than 2 cm, myometrial invasion ≤50%, and histological grade 1-2. Methods: Ninety-six patients, who were surgically staged at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey, between 2007 and 2016, were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic, clinical, and surgical characteristics were retrieved from the patients’ hospital records. A p less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Fifteen patients had advanced (≥Stage II disease, 14 patients had Type 2 histology, 20 patients had Grade 3 tumors, 23 patients had lymphovascular space invasion, and 10 patients had positive lymph node involvement. Serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels were significantly higher in patients with advanced (≥Stage II disease, Type 2 histology, Grade 3 tumors, lymphovascular space invasion, and positive lymph node involvement (p less than 0.05. Serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels were also significantly correlated with tumor size (p=0.006. Serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels were significantly lower (95% confidence interval: 0.57−0.79; p=0.03 in low-risk patients compared to other endometrial carcinoma patients. A cutoff of 25.0 IU/mL was used to identify high-risk patients with a specificity of 100%. Conclusion: Serum cancer antigen 15-3 levels significantly correlated with prognostic factors and were a useful diagnostic tool for endometrial carcinomas.

Clinical significance of determination of serum cortisol and insulin levels in neonates with asphyxia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao Yingfei; Chen Linxing; Chen Sihong; Zhang Jinchi; Huang Hua

2004-01-01

Objective: To investigate the clinical significance of the changes of serum cortisol and insulin levels in neonates with asphyxia. Methods: Serum cortisol levels were determined with CLIA and serum insulin levels with RIA in 38 neonates with asphyxia (mild degree 20, advanced 18) and 30 controls. Results: 1) In mild cases, serum insulin levels were significantly higher than those in controls (p<0.01) and serum cortisol levels were very significantly higher (p<0.001). 2) In advanced cases, both serum insulin and cortisol levels were very significantly higher than those in the controls (p<0.001). Conclusion: Hypoxia in the neonates with asphyxia is a very severe stress and will induce hypersecretion of cortisol and hyperglycemia which is detrimental to the patients. However hypersecretion of insulin will result in hypoglycemia, which is also very damaging. Physicians in charge should be aware of these possibilities and deal with them appropriately

Higher aluminum concentration in Alzheimer's disease after Box-Cox data transformation.

Science.gov (United States)

Rusina, Robert; Matěj, Radoslav; Kašparová, Lucie; Kukal, Jaromír; Urban, Pavel

2011-11-01

Evidence regarding the role of mercury and aluminum in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains controversial. The aims of our project were to investigate the content of the selected metals in brain tissue samples and the use of a specific mathematical transform to eliminate the disadvantage of a strong positive skew in the original data distribution. In this study, we used atomic absorption spectrophotometry to determine mercury and aluminum concentrations in the hippocampus and associative visual cortex of 29 neuropathologically confirmed AD and 27 age-matched controls. The Box-Cox data transformation was used for statistical evaluation. AD brains had higher mean aluminum concentrations in the hippocampus than controls (0.357 vs. 0.090 μg/g; P = 0.039) after data transformation. Results for mercury were not significant. Original data regarding microelement concentrations are heavily skewed and do not pass the normality test in general. A Box-Cox transformation can eliminate this disadvantage and allow parametric testing.

Inclusive education in higher education institutions: narratives of students with disabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Almudena Cotán Fernández

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the partial results of a doctoral thesis linked to a research project financed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, which aims at divulging the enablers and significant obstacles that students with disabilities encountered during their stay in institutions of higher education. Using a biographical narrative the points of view of the students with disabilities is exposed identifying and explaining the barriers and aids these young people experienced at the University. For the collection of information, various instruments such as biographical interviews, photographs and lifelines were used. Specifically, the results achieved of this work focuses to know on the main barriers and help that this group identified at the institutional level at the University. The main conclusions highlight that quality education is not guaranteed by the current legislation and that support services for guidance and advice during their careers or, for example, the administration and service are of great importance as they serve as resilient factor.

Experimental study of an active specific immunotherapy modified with irradiation, 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imanaka, Kazufumi; Ogawa, Yasuhiro; Takashima, Hitoshi

1982-01-01

We had demonstrated in the former investigation that the strongest local infiltration of T-lymphocytes was observed in C3H/He mice transplanted MM46 at seven days after irradiation with the dose of 2,000 rads. This result indicated that the enhancement of the antigenicity of tumor cells was attained after low-dose-irradiation. We had also reported that specific active immunotherapy using low-dose-irradiated tumor cells and activated mononuclear cells after radiotherapy was effective on the elongation of survival period. In this paper, we studied whether the tumor cell inoculated after active specific immunotherapy was inhibited or not. Active specific immunotherapy using tumor cells and mononuclear cells was performed on female C3H/He mice aged 12 weeks in the left hind paws. Tumor cells and mononuclear cells were separated from the tumor tissue on the 12th day since inoculation of 5 x 10 6 of MM46 tumor cells which were irradiated with the dose of 2,000 rads of 3,000 rads by high energy electron beam on the fifth day. Seven days after active specific immunotherapy 1 x 10 5 or 1 x 10 6 of tumor cell were i noculated in the right hind paws of mice which received active specific immunotherapy. Anti-tumor effect was evaluated by the changes of tumor volume and survival rate. The tumor volume of the group which received active specific immunotherapy was smaller than that without active specific immunotherapy for about nine days since inoculation. Fifty-day survival rate was significantly higher in the group which received active specific immunotherapy compared with the group without immunotherapy (p < 0.01). (author)

Clinical significance of determination of serum NSE and plasma ET, IGF-II, CNP levels in patients with acute brain injury

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Bo

2010-01-01

Objective: To investigate the clinical significance of changes of plasma ET, IGF-II, CNP and serum NSE contents in patients with acute brain injury. Methods: Serum contents of neuron specific enolase (NSE) were measured with chemiluminescence immunoassay and plasma endothelin (ET), insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF-II) and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) were measured with radioimmunoassay in 30 patients with acute brain injury and 35 controls. Results: Serum contents of NSE and plasma IGF-II, CNP were not much different in patients with mild brain injury from those in controls (P >0.05), but plasma contents of ET were already significantly higher in patients with mild brain injury than those in controls(P < 0.01). The serum NSE and plasma ET levels in patients with moderate and severe brain injury were significantly higher than those in patients with mild brain injury and controls (P < 0.01). Decrease of plasma levels of IGF-II and CNP was not significant in patients with mild brain injury (vs controls). However, the plasma levels of IGF-II and CNP were significantly lower in patients with moderate and severe brain injury than those in patients with mild brain injury and controls (P <0.01). As a whole, the magnitude of changes of these parameters was proportional to the severity of the injury. Conclusion: Changes of serum NSE and plasma IGF-II, ET and CNP levels were closely related to the pathological process of brain injury. Determination of these parameters was of clinical importance for evaluation of the severity of injury and outcome prediction. (authors)

Harmonious Expansion of China's Higher Education: A New Growth Pattern

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Jiafeng

2012-01-01

How can one country narrow the regional disparity during the tremendous expansion of higher education? This issue remains unexamined and critical analysis is needed to unveil the spatial dynamics behind expansion of higher education. The spatial analysis shows that there is significant strategic interaction among neighboring provinces in China…

Is there a relationship between pain intensity and postural sway in patients with non-specific low back pain?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fejer René

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Increased center of pressure excursions are well documented in patients suffering from non-specific low back pain, whereby the altered postural sway includes both higher mean sway velocities and larger sway area. No investigation has been conducted to evaluate a relationship between pain intensity and postural sway in adults (aged 50 or less with non-specific low back pain. Methods Seventy-seven patients with non-specific low back pain and a matching number of healthy controls were enrolled. Center of pressure parameters were measured by three static bipedal standing tasks of 90 sec duration with eyes closed in narrow stance on a firm surface. The perceived pain intensity was assessed by a numeric rating scale (NRS-11, an equal number of patients (n = 11 was enrolled per pain score. Results Generally, our results confirmed increased postural instability in pain sufferers compared to healthy controls. In addition, regression analysis revealed a significant and linear increase in postural sway with higher pain ratings for all included COP parameters. Statistically significant changes in mean sway velocity in antero-posterior and medio-lateral direction and sway area were reached with an incremental change in NRS scores of two to three points. Conclusions COP mean velocity and sway area are closely related to self-reported pain scores. This relationship may be of clinical use as an objective monitoring tool for patients under treatment or rehabilitation.

Higher alcohol–biodiesel–diesel blends: An approach for improving the performance, emission, and combustion of a light-duty diesel engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imdadul, H.K.; Masjuki, H.H.; Kalam, M.A.; Zulkifli, N.W.M.; Alabdulkarem, Abdullah; Rashed, M.M.; Teoh, Y.H.; How, H.G.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The fuel properties of higher alcohol blended biodiesel were improved. • Higher alcohol shows remarkable increase in the BP, BTE and decrease the BSFC. • Alcohols mixed with biodiesel diminishes HC, CO and smoke significantly. • CO 2 emissions of pentanol blended fuel decreases at maximum speed. • Higher alcohol blended biodiesel showed improved combustion. - Abstract: Pentanol is a long-chain alcohol with five carbons in its molecular structure and is produced from renewable feedstock, which may help to improve the challenging problems of energy security and environmental issues. In this investigation, the performance, emission, and combustion characteristics of a single-cylinder, four-stroke, water-cooled, direct-injection diesel engine were evaluated by using 10%, 15%, and 20% pentanol and Calophyllum inophyllum (CI) biodiesel blends in diesel under different speed conditions. The fuel properties of the blended fuels were measured and compared. Combustion attributes, such as cylinder pressure and heat-release rate, were also analyzed. Results indicated that increasing the proportion of pentanol in biodiesel blends improved the fuel properties compared with 20% blend of CI biodiesel (CI 20). The modified blends of pentanol showed reduced brake-specific fuel consumption with higher brake thermal efficiency and brake power than CI 20. Although the modified test blends showed a slightly higher nitric oxide emission, the carbon monoxide emission and unburned hydrocarbon emission for 15% and 20% blends of pentanol showed even better reduction than CI 20. Smoke emission was also reduced significantly. The carbon dioxide emission of the test blends were reduced at the maximum speed condition compared to CI 20. In terms of combustion, the modified test fuels exhibited a significant improvement, thus indicating better performance and emission. This study concluded that the 15% and 20% blends of biodiesel, diesel, and pentanol can optimize engine

Dysregulation of serum microRNA-574-3p and its clinical significance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Xianjuan; Xue, Yajing; Cong, Hui; Wang, Xudong; Ju, Shaoqing

2018-07-01

Objectives To explore microRNA-574-3p expression in serum of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and investigate correlations between serum microRNA-574-3p expression and the development and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. Design and methods Serum samples were collected from 70 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma, 40 patients with cirrhosis and 45 healthy controls. Serum microRNA-574-3p expression levels were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The linearity, specificity and reproducibility were evaluated. In addition, the diagnostic value of microRNA-574-3p and its correlations with clinicopathologic features were assessed. Results The relative expression of microRNA-574-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, cirrhosis patients and healthy controls was 2.306 (1.801-3.130), 1.362 (0.994-1.665) and 1.263 (0.765-1.723), respectively, indicating that it was significantly higher in hepatocellular carcinoma patients than that in the other two groups ( U = 439.5, 514.5, both P hepatocellular carcinoma patients, the relative expression of microRNA-574-3p was significantly correlated with hepatitis B virus DNA concentration ( r = 0.348, P = 0.022). Compared with healthy control group, AUC ROC of serum microRNA-574-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma group was 0.837 with 95% CI: 0.763-0.910. Combining microRNA-574-3p, AFU and alpha-fetoprotein together, the sensitivity was highest compared with other markers alone or combined. Conclusions The relative expression of serum microRNA-574-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma patients was significantly higher than that in cirrhosis patients and healthy controls, and it may be an important biomarker in the auxiliary diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

A Proposed Framework for Applying the National Standards of Quality Assurance in Higher Education in Sudan from the Teaching Staff’s Perspective - Faculties of Business Administration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfatih Alamin Elfaki

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to clarify the importance of having national standards and their role in achieving quality, as well as establishing a framework for the actual application of national standards in quality assurance so as to achieve quality in higher education institutions. The researchers  followed a descriptive analytical method to achieve the objectives of the study and developed a questionnaire covering primary and secondary variables that have a role in the design of specific models to help in applying the national standards by the Sudanese universities. The questionnaire included one dependent variable; the effective application of national standards of quality assurance in higher education institutions, and the four main variables (independent are: the national standards of quality assurance in higher education in Sudan, the standard of quality assurance, the standard of teaching and learning and the standard of scientific research and publication. The study revealed a number of conclusions: there were statistically significant differences in the extent of familiarity with the  national quality assurance standards in Sudan according to the academic rank of the  faculty members; there were also significant differences in the extent of compliance with the  national quality assurance standards in Sudan according to the academic rank of the faculty members; there was full agreement between the national standards for quality assurance in Sudan and the international standards for quality assurance; and  there were statistically significant differences in that the absence of specific models would have a negative impact on effective application of national standards of quality assurance in higher education in Sudan, according to the academic rank of the faculty members. Keywords: Quality, The program, Standards, University, Total quality management.

Practical Programming with Higher-Order Encodings and Dependent Types

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poswolsky, Adam; Schürmann, Carsten

2008-01-01

, tedious, and error-prone. In this paper, we describe the underlying calculus of Delphin. Delphin is a fully implemented functional-programming language supporting reasoning over higher-order encodings and dependent types, while maintaining the benefits of HOAS. More specifically, just as representations...... for instantiation from those that will remain uninstantiated, utilizing a variation of Miller and Tiu’s ∇-quantifier [1]....

Brand Management of Higher Education Institutions in Pakistan

OpenAIRE

Abbas, Syed Ali

2014-01-01

This study focuses on brand management, marketing & promotional practices which are incorporated in Higher Education Institutions, more specifically with reference to universities in Pakistan. The case organisation taken here is University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences (UVAS); a century old historic institution yet striving for familiarity in masses as a known brand. To cope with this, the prime objective of this study is to create a promotional strategy for the said institution, which ulti...

Prediction of Adolescents’ Glycemic Control 1 Year After Diabetes-Specific Family Conflict

Science.gov (United States)

Hilliard, Marisa E.; Guilfoyle, Shanna M.; Dolan, Lawrence M.; Hood, Korey K.

2015-01-01

Objective To test adherence to blood glucose monitoring (BGM) as a mediator between diabetes-specific family conflict and glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c] levels) for 1 year. Design Three waves of prospective data spanning 1 year. Setting Diabetes clinic in a large tertiary care children’s hospital in the Midwestern United States. Participants One hundred forty-five dyads composed of an adolescent (aged 13–18 years) with type 1 diabetes mellitus and a parent. Main Exposures Adolescent- and parent-rated diabetes-specific family conflict and mean daily BGM frequency obtained through meter downloads. Main Outcome Measure Levels of HbA1c, abstracted from the medical record. Results In separate general linear models, higher adolescent-rated family conflict scores at baseline predicted less frequent BGM at 6 months (β=−0.08 [P=.01]) and higher HbA1c levels at 12 months (β=0.08 [P=.02]). In the multivariate model including baseline conflict and BGM as predictors of HbA1c levels, BGM was a significant predictor (β=−0.24 [P=.007]) and conflict was no longer significant (β=0.05 [P=.11]), supporting the mediation hypothesis. Post hoc probing showed that BGM explained 24% of the variance in the conflict-HbA1c link. The mediation between parent-reported conflict andHbA1c levels via BGM adherence was partially supported (conflict predicting HbA1c in the zero-order equation, β=−0.24 [P=.004]; multivariate equation, β=0.06 [P=.02]), and BGM frequency explained 16% of the conflict-HbA1c link. Conclusions Diabetes-specific family conflict in adolescence predicts deteriorations in BGM and subsequent glycemic control for at least 1 year. Results support ongoing intervention research designed to reduce family conflict and thus prevent a trajectory of declining adherence and glycemic control across adolescence. PMID:21727273

Clostridial Strain-Specific Characteristics Associated with Necrotizing Enterocolitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Schönherr-Hellec, Sophia; Klein, Geraldine L; Delannoy, Johanne; Ferraris, Laurent; Rozé, Jean Christophe; Butel, Marie José; Aires, Julio

2018-04-01

We aimed at identifying potential bacterial factors linking clostridia with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). We compared the phenotypic traits, stress responses, cellular cytotoxicity, and inflammatory capabilities of the largest collection of Clostridium butyricum and Clostridium neonatale strains isolated from fecal samples of NEC preterm neonates (PN) and control PNs. When strain characteristics were used as explanatory variables, a statistical discriminant analysis allowed the separation of NEC and control strains into separate groups. Strains isolated from NEC PN were characterized by a higher viability at 30°C ( P = 0.03) and higher aerotolerance ( P = 0.01), suggesting that NEC strains may have a competitive and/or survival advantage in the environmental gastrointestinal tract conditions of NEC PN. Heat-treated NEC bacteria induced higher production of interleukin-8 in Caco-2 cells ( P = 0.03), suggesting proinflammatory activity. In vitro , bacteria, bacterial components, and fecal filtrates showed variable cytotoxic effects affecting the cellular network and/or cell viability, without specific association with NEC or control samples. Altogether, our data support the existence of a specific clostridial strain signature associated with NEC. IMPORTANCE Clostridia are part of the commensal microbiota in preterm neonates (PN). However, microbiota analyses by culture and metagenomics have linked necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and intestinal colonization with clostridial species. Nevertheless, little is known about the specific characteristics that may be shared by clostridia associated with NEC compared to commensal clostridia. Therefore, our goal was to identify specific bacterial factors linking clostridial strains with NEC. We report the existence of a specific bacterial signature associated with NEC and propose that activation of the innate immune response may be a unifying causative mechanism for the development of NEC independent of a specific pathogenic

The significance of serum concentration of PRL determination in schizophrenia cases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Zhigang; Li Yuzhen; Wang Hongzhi; Cui Guofu

1997-01-01

The serum concentration of PRL is determined by radioimmunoassay on 32 patients with schizophrenia before and 4 or 8 weeks after treatment. The results show that the serum concentration of PRL in patients who have with schizophrenia is higher than normal control. The serum concentration of PRL in patients who have received chlorpromazine therapy is significantly higher than those who have received chlozepine therapy

Teaching Australian Aboriginal Higher Education Students: What Should Universities Do?

Science.gov (United States)

Rochecouste, Judith; Oliver, Rhonda; Bennell, Debra; Anderson, Roz; Cooper, Inala; Forrest, Simon

2017-01-01

This paper reports findings from a recent study of Australian Aboriginal higher education student experience. Reported here are extracts from a set of case studies of staff, specifically those working in Indigenous Centres, involved with these students in both teaching and support capacities. These participants provided a rich set of qualitative…

Outsourcing in Higher Education: An Empirical Examination

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Atul; Herath, S. Kanthi; Mikouiza, Nathalie C.

2005-01-01

Purpose: To measure the degree of implementation and satisfaction level with the outsourcing initiatives from higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach: Uses a survey questionnaire to measure the levels of satisfaction with the institutions' services and the questionnaire was based on six factors that are deemed significant in…

Gains in Life Expectancy Associated with Higher Education in Men.

Science.gov (United States)

Bijwaard, Govert E; van Poppel, Frans; Ekamper, Peter; Lumey, L H

2015-01-01

Many studies show large differences in life expectancy across the range of education, intelligence, and socio-economic status. As educational attainment, intelligence, and socio-economic status are highly interrelated, appropriate methods are required to disentangle their separate effects. The aim of this paper is to present a novel method to estimate gains in life expectancy specifically associated with increased education. Our analysis is based on a structural model in which education level, IQ at age 18 and mortality all depend on (latent) intelligence. The model allows for (selective) educational choices based on observed factors and on an unobserved factor capturing intelligence. Our estimates are based on information from health examinations of military conscripts born in 1944-1947 in The Netherlands and their vital status through age 66 (n = 39,798). Our empirical results show that men with higher education have lower mortality. Using structural models to account for education choice, the estimated gain in life expectancy for men moving up one educational level ranges from 0.3 to 2 years. The estimated gain in months alive over the observational period ranges from -1.2 to 5.7 months. The selection effect is positive and amounts to a gain of one to two months. Decomposition of the selection effect shows that the gain from selection on (latent) intelligence is larger than the gain from selection on observed factors and amounts to 1.0 to 1.7 additional months alive. Our findings confirm the strong selection into education based on socio-economic status and intelligence. They also show significant higher life expectancy among individuals with higher education after the selectivity of education choice has been taken into account. Based on these estimates, it is plausible therefore that increases in education could lead to increases in life expectancy.

Dropout Policy in Czech Higher Education: Can Universities Serve Several Masters?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Švec Václav

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to explore the way higher education institutions adapt to environmental pressures. These pressures can be represented either by various demands or by specific policies. Dropout policy is examined on a Czech case study in order to demonstrate that at the end of the day, higher education institutions respond mainly to the most pressing challenges of an economic nature in the most rational way. As a result, their traditional mission (teaching, research, the third mission, and mainly the social function of the higher education system, may be at stake. At the same time, this study illustrates how difficult it is to introduce any higher education policy without thorough evaluation of other policies in place and of various factors affecting institutional behaviour.

Enemy-free space and habitat-specific host specialization in a butterfly.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiklund, Christer; Friberg, Magne

2008-08-01

The majority of herbivorous insects have relatively specialized food habits. This suggests that specialization has some advantage(s) over generalization. Traditionally, feeding specialization has been thought to be linked to digestive or other food-related physiological advantages, but recent theory suggests that generalist natural enemies of herbivorous insects can also provide a major selective pressure for restricted host plant range. The European swallowtail butterfly Papilio machaon utilizes various plants in the Apiaceae family as hosts, but is an ecological specialist being monophagous on Angelica archangelica in southern Sweden. This perennial monocarp grows in three seaside habitat types: (1) on the barren rocky shore in the absence of any surrounding vegetation, (2) on the rocky shore with some surrounding vegetation, and (3) on species-rich meadows. The rocky shore habitat harbors few invertebrate generalist predators, whereas a number of invertebrate predators abound in the meadowland habitat. Here, we test the importance of enemy-free space for feeding specialization in Papilio machaon by assessing survival of larvae placed by hand on A. archangelica in each of the three habitat types, and by assessing the habitat-specificity of adult female egg-laying behavior by recording the distribution of eggs laid by free-flying adult females among the three habitat types. Larval survival was substantially higher in the rocky shore habitat than in the meadowland and significantly higher on host plants without surrounding vegetation on the rocky shore. Eggs laid by free-flying females were found in all three habitat types, but were significantly more frequent in the rocky shore habitat, suggesting that females prefer to lay eggs in the habitat type where offspring survival is highest. These results show that larval survivorship on the same host plant species can be strongly habitat-specific, and suggest that enemy-free space is an underlying factor that drives

Prostate-specific antigen levels are higher in African-American than in white patients in a multicenter registration study: Results of RTOG 94-12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vijayakumar, Srinivasan; Winter, Kathryn; Sause, William; Gallagher, Michael J.; Michalski, Jeff; Roach, Mack; Porter, Arthur; Bondy, Melissa

1998-01-01

Purpose: To compare serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in a national sample of African-American and white men with prostate cancer, and to attempt to explain any differences by using self-reported individual-level socioeconomic status adjustments. Methods and Materials: During 4((1)/(2)) months in 1994-95, 709 patients with nonmetastatic prostate cancer were enrolled in this prospective study; 17.5% were African-American and 82.5% were white. Information about clinical stage, tumor grade, pretreatment PSA, type of insurance, and educational and income status was obtained. Serum PSA levels were measured and racial differences were found; how the differences were influenced by other patient- or tumor-related factors and if the differences could be explained by socioeconomic status disparities were determined. In univariate analyses, factors associated with the mean PSA levels were studied; log-converted values were used to yield a normal distribution. Multivariate analyses were done on log-linear models for description of association patterns among various categorical variables; a perfectly fitted model should have a correlation value (CV) of 1.0. Results: The mean PSA level was higher in African-Americans (14.68 ng/ml) than in whites (9.82 ng/ml) (p = 0.001). Clinical stage (p = 0.001), Gleason sum tumor grade (p = 0.0001), educational level (p = 0.001), and household income (p = 0.03) were also associated with mean PSA levels; age, type of biopsy, and insurance status were not. Disease stage (p = 0.0001), grade (p 0.0001), education (p = 0.07), and income (p = 0.02) were all associated with PSA levels for whites, but none of these factors were important for African-Americans (all p values > 0.1). The best fitted log-linear model (CV = 0.99) contained PSA ( 20), Gleason sum grade (2-5, 6-7, and 8-10), race, and two interactions: PSA by race (p = 0.0012) and PSA by Gleason sum (p = 0.0001). Models replacing race for either income (CV = 0.82) or education

Partially massless higher-spin theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brust, Christopher [Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics,31 Caroline St. N, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5 (Canada); Hinterbichler, Kurt [CERCA, Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University,10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106 (United States)

2017-02-16

We study a generalization of the D-dimensional Vasiliev theory to include a tower of partially massless fields. This theory is obtained by replacing the usual higher-spin algebra of Killing tensors on (A)dS with a generalization that includes “third-order” Killing tensors. Gauging this algebra with the Vasiliev formalism leads to a fully non-linear theory which is expected to be UV complete, includes gravity, and can live on dS as well as AdS. The linearized spectrum includes three massive particles and an infinite tower of partially massless particles, in addition to the usual spectrum of particles present in the Vasiliev theory, in agreement with predictions from a putative dual CFT with the same symmetry algebra. We compute the masses of the particles which are not fixed by the massless or partially massless gauge symmetry, finding precise agreement with the CFT predictions. This involves computing several dozen of the lowest-lying terms in the expansion of the trilinear form of the enlarged higher-spin algebra. We also discuss nuances in the theory that occur in specific dimensions; in particular, the theory dramatically truncates in bulk dimensions D=3,5 and has non-diagonalizable mixings which occur in D=4,7.

Partially massless higher-spin theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brust, Christopher; Hinterbichler, Kurt

2017-01-01

We study a generalization of the D-dimensional Vasiliev theory to include a tower of partially massless fields. This theory is obtained by replacing the usual higher-spin algebra of Killing tensors on (A)dS with a generalization that includes “third-order” Killing tensors. Gauging this algebra with the Vasiliev formalism leads to a fully non-linear theory which is expected to be UV complete, includes gravity, and can live on dS as well as AdS. The linearized spectrum includes three massive particles and an infinite tower of partially massless particles, in addition to the usual spectrum of particles present in the Vasiliev theory, in agreement with predictions from a putative dual CFT with the same symmetry algebra. We compute the masses of the particles which are not fixed by the massless or partially massless gauge symmetry, finding precise agreement with the CFT predictions. This involves computing several dozen of the lowest-lying terms in the expansion of the trilinear form of the enlarged higher-spin algebra. We also discuss nuances in the theory that occur in specific dimensions; in particular, the theory dramatically truncates in bulk dimensions D=3,5 and has non-diagonalizable mixings which occur in D=4,7.

Differences in total and allergen specific IgE during pregnancy compared with 1 month and 1 year post partum.

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Lee M; Ownby, Dennis R; Wegienka, Ganesa R; Peterson, Edward L; Woodcroft, Kimberly J; Joseph, Christine L; Johnson, Christine C

2009-10-01

Pregnancy alters the function of many body systems, including the immune system. However, little is known regarding the effect of pregnancy on maternal IgE levels or atopy. To determine whether pregnancy consistently influences serum levels of total or allergen specific IgE. Blood samples were obtained from 764 women during the third trimester of pregnancy and 1 month post partum. A third sample was obtained from 106 of these women 1 year post partum. Samples were analyzed for total and specific IgE to 8 regionally common allergens using a commercially available system. Sensitization was defined as an allergen specific IgE level of 0.35 kU of allergen per liter or higher to any allergen. Total IgE increased significantly post partum, both at 1 month (40.36 vs 35.37 IU/mL intrapartum; P = .001) and at 1 year (44.97 vs 37.00 IU/mL intrapartum; P = .005). Allergen specific IgE decreased significantly at 1 month for cat, dog, ragweed, timothy grass, and egg (P = .001 to P = .02) but not for dust mite, cockroach, or Alternaria (P = .15 to P = .90). Similar patterns of change in total and specific IgE were seen at 1 year. However, on average, only 3.5% of participants changed sensitization status to the individual allergens studied during the 1 year of observation. Compared with intrapartum levels, total IgE levels increased significantly at 1 month and 1 year post partum. Conversely, at the same time points, IgE levels specific for common allergens significantly declined to most but not all allergens. Few women changed their sensitization status over 1 year.

Test Anxiety Among College Students With Specific Reading Disability (Dyslexia): Nonverbal Ability and Working Memory as Predictors.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Jason M; Lindstrom, Will; Foels, Patricia A

2015-01-01

Test anxiety and its correlates were examined with college students with and without specific reading disability (RD; n = 50 in each group). Results indicated that college students with RD reported higher test anxiety than did those without RD, and the magnitude of these differences was in the medium range on two test anxiety scales. Relative to college students without RD, up to 5 times as many college students with RD reported clinically significant test anxiety. College students with RD reported significantly higher cognitively based test anxiety than physically based test anxiety. Reading skills, verbal ability, and processing speed were not correlated with test anxiety. General intelligence, nonverbal ability, and working memory were negatively correlated with test anxiety, and the magnitude of these correlations was medium to large. When these three cognitive constructs were considered together in multiple regression analyses, only working memory and nonverbal ability emerged as significant predictors and varied based on the test anxiety measure. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

Occipital and Cingulate Hypometabolism are Significantly Under-Reported on 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography Scans of Patients with Lewy Body Dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamed, Moath; Schraml, Frank; Wilson, Jeffrey; Galvin, James; Sabbagh, Marwan N

2018-01-01

To determine whether occipital and cingulate hypometabolism is being under-reported or missed on 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) CT scans in patients with Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). Recent studies have reported higher sensitivity and specificity for occipital and cingulate hypometabolism on FDG-PET of DLB patients. This retrospective chart review looked at regions of interest (ROI's) in FDG-PET CT scan reports in 35 consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of probable, possible, or definite DLB as defined by the latest DLB Consortium Report. ROI's consisting of glucose hypometabolism in frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, and cingulate areas were tabulated and charted separately by the authors from the reports. A blinded Nuclear medicine physician read the images independently and marked ROI's separately. A Cohen's Kappa coefficient statistic was calculated to determine agreement between the reports and the blinded reads. On the radiology reports, 25.71% and 17.14% of patients reported occipital and cingulate hypometabolism respectively. Independent reads demonstrated significant disagreement with the proportion of occipital and cingulate hypometabolism being reported on initial reads: 91.43% and 85.71% respectively. Cohen's Kappa statistic determinations demonstrated significant agreement only with parietal hypometabolism (pOccipital and cingulate hypometabolism is under-reported and missed frequently on clinical interpretations of FDG-PET scans of patients with DLB, but the frequency of hypometabolism is even higher than previously reported. Further studies with more statistical power and receiver operating characteristic analyses are needed to delineate the sensitivity and specificity of these in vivo biomarkers.

Olfactory Impact of Higher Alcohols on Red Wine Fruity Ester Aroma Expression in Model Solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Cameleyre, Margaux; Lytra, Georgia; Tempere, Sophie; Barbe, Jean-Christophe

2015-11-11

This study focused on the impact of five higher alcohols on the perception of fruity aroma in red wines. Various aromatic reconstitutions were prepared, consisting of 13 ethyl esters and acetates and 5 higher alcohols, all at the average concentrations found in red wine. These aromatic reconstitutions were prepared in several matrices. Sensory analysis revealed the interesting behavior of certain compounds among the five higher alcohols following their individual addition or omission. The "olfactory threshold" of the fruity pool was evaluated in several matrices: dilute alcohol solution, dilute alcohol solution containing 3-methylbutan-1-ol or butan-1-ol individually, and dilute alcohol solution containing the mixture of five higher alcohols, blended together at various concentrations. The presence of 3-methylbutan-1-ol or butan-1-ol alone led to a significant decrease in the "olfactory threshold" of the fruity reconstitution, whereas the mixture of alcohols raised the olfactory threshold. Sensory profiles highlighted changes in the perception of fruity nuances in the presence of the mixture of higher alcohols, with specific perceptive interactions, including a relevant masking effect on fresh- and jammy-fruit notes of the fruity mixture in both dilute alcohol solution and dearomatized red wine matrices. When either 3-methylbutan-1-ol or butan-1-ol was added to the fruity reconstitution in dilute alcohol solution, an enhancement of butyric notes was reported with 3-methylbutan-1-ol and fresh- and jammy-fruit with butan-1-ol. This study, the first to focus on the impact of higher alcohols on fruity aromatic expression, revealed that these compounds participate, both quantitatively and qualitatively, in masking fruity aroma perception in a model fruity wine mixture.

Identification and characterization of insect-specific proteins by genome data analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clark Terry

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Insects constitute the vast majority of known species with their importance including biodiversity, agricultural, and human health concerns. It is likely that the successful adaptation of the Insecta clade depends on specific components in its proteome that give rise to specialized features. However, proteome determination is an intensive undertaking. Here we present results from a computational method that uses genome analysis to characterize insect and eukaryote proteomes as an approximation complementary to experimental approaches. Results Homologs in common to Drosophila melanogaster, Anopheles gambiae, Bombyx mori, Tribolium castaneum, and Apis mellifera were compared to the complete genomes of three non-insect eukaryotes (opisthokonts Homo sapiens, Caenorhabditis elegans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This operation yielded 154 groups of orthologous proteins in Drosophila to be insect-specific homologs; 466 groups were determined to be common to eukaryotes (represented by three opisthokonts. ESTs from the hemimetabolous insect Locust migratoria were also considered in order to approximate their corresponding genes in the insect-specific homologs. Stress and stimulus response proteins were found to constitute a higher fraction in the insect-specific homologs than in the homologs common to eukaryotes. Conclusion The significant representation of stress response and stimulus response proteins in proteins determined to be insect-specific, along with specific cuticle and pheromone/odorant binding proteins, suggest that communication and adaptation to environments may distinguish insect evolution relative to other eukaryotes. The tendency for low Ka/Ks ratios in the insect-specific protein set suggests purifying selection pressure. The generally larger number of paralogs in the insect-specific proteins may indicate adaptation to environment changes. Instances in our insect-specific protein set have been arrived at through

Significance and radioimmunoassay of gastric inhibitory polypeptide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Ping; Zeng Minde; Yuan Jimin

1995-01-01

We have established the GIP Radioimmunoassay which has high sensitivity and specificity by labelling with iodogen and purified with HPLC. Using this method, the plasma GIP level was measured in 64 cases of which there are 10 normal individuals, 25 cases of diabetes and 29 cases of liver cirrhosis . The results showed that the plasma GIP level was significantly increased in patients with liver cirrhosis and correlated to degree of glucose tolerance damage

Retrofitting the 5045 Klystron for Higher Efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jensen, Aaron; Fazio, Michael; Haase, Andy; Jongewaard, Erik; Kemp, Mark; Neilson, Jeff

2015-01-01

The 5045 klystron has been in production and accelerating particles at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory for over 25 years. Although the design has undergone some changes there are still significant opportunities for improvement in performance. Retrofitting the 5045 for higher efficiencies and a more mono-energetic spent beam profile is presented.

40 CFR 725.910 - Persons excluded from reporting significant new uses.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Persons excluded from reporting significant new uses. 725.910 Section 725.910 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... designated significant new uses, or (2) That the recipient has knowledge of the specific section in subpart M...

Tendon Adaptation to Sport-specific Loading in Adolescent Athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Cassel, M; Carlsohn, A; Fröhlich, K; John, M; Riegels, N; Mayer, F

2016-02-01

Tendon adaptation due to mechanical loading is controversially discussed. However, data concerning the development of tendon thickness in adolescent athletes is sparse. The purpose of this study was to examine possible differences in Achilles (AT) and patellar tendon (PT) thickness in adolescent athletes while considering age, gender and sport-specific loading. In 500 adolescent competitive athletes of 16 different sports and 40 recreational controls both ATs and PTs were sonographically measured. Subjects were divided into 2 age groups (sport type categories (ball, combat, and water sports, combined disciplines, cycling, controls). In addition, 3 risk groups (low, moderate, high) were created according to the athlete's risk of developing tendinopathy. AT and PT thickness did not significantly differ between age groups (AT/PT:sports/cyclists and lowest in controls (p≤0.002). PT thickness was greatest in water sports and lowest in controls (p=0.02). High risk athletes presented slightly higher AT thickness compared to the low risk group (p=0.03). Increased AT and PT thickness in certain sport types compared to controls supports the hypothesis of structural tendon adaptation due to sport-specific loading. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Potential for Assessing Dynamic Problem-Solving at the Beginning of Higher Education Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Csapó, Benő; Molnár, Gyöngyvér

2017-01-01

There is a growing demand for assessment instruments which can be used in higher education, which cover a broader area of competencies than the traditional tests for disciplinary knowledge and domain-specific skills, and which measure students' most important general cognitive capabilities. Around the age of the transition from secondary to tertiary education, such assessments may serve several functions, including selecting the best-prepared candidates for certain fields of study. Dynamic problem-solving (DPS) is a good candidate for such a role, as tasks that assess it involve knowledge acquisition and knowledge utilization as well. The purpose of this study is to validate an online DPS test and to explore its potential for assessing students' DPS skills at the beginning of their higher education studies. Participants in the study were first-year students at a major Hungarian university (n = 1468). They took five tests that measured knowledge from their previous studies: Hungarian language and literature, mathematics, history, science and English as a Foreign Language (EFL). A further, sixth test based on the MicroDYN approach, assessed students' DPS skills. A brief questionnaire explored learning strategies and collected data on students' background. The testing took place at the beginning of the first semester in three 2-h sessions. Problem-solving showed relatively strong correlations with mathematics (r = 0.492) and science (r = 0.401), and moderate correlations with EFL (r = 0.227), history (r = 0.192), and Hungarian (r = 0.125). Weak but still significant correlations were found with certain learning strategies, positive correlations with elaboration strategies, and a negative correlation with memorization strategies. Significant differences were observed between male and female students; men performed significantly better in DPS than women. Results indicated the dominant role of the first phase of solving dynamic problems, as knowledge acquisition

Potential for Assessing Dynamic Problem-Solving at the Beginning of Higher Education Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Csapó, Benő; Molnár, Gyöngyvér

2017-01-01

There is a growing demand for assessment instruments which can be used in higher education, which cover a broader area of competencies than the traditional tests for disciplinary knowledge and domain-specific skills, and which measure students' most important general cognitive capabilities. Around the age of the transition from secondary to tertiary education, such assessments may serve several functions, including selecting the best-prepared candidates for certain fields of study. Dynamic problem-solving (DPS) is a good candidate for such a role, as tasks that assess it involve knowledge acquisition and knowledge utilization as well. The purpose of this study is to validate an online DPS test and to explore its potential for assessing students' DPS skills at the beginning of their higher education studies. Participants in the study were first-year students at a major Hungarian university ( n = 1468). They took five tests that measured knowledge from their previous studies: Hungarian language and literature, mathematics, history, science and English as a Foreign Language (EFL). A further, sixth test based on the MicroDYN approach, assessed students' DPS skills. A brief questionnaire explored learning strategies and collected data on students' background. The testing took place at the beginning of the first semester in three 2-h sessions. Problem-solving showed relatively strong correlations with mathematics ( r = 0.492) and science ( r = 0.401), and moderate correlations with EFL ( r = 0.227), history ( r = 0.192), and Hungarian ( r = 0.125). Weak but still significant correlations were found with certain learning strategies, positive correlations with elaboration strategies, and a negative correlation with memorization strategies. Significant differences were observed between male and female students; men performed significantly better in DPS than women. Results indicated the dominant role of the first phase of solving dynamic problems, as knowledge acquisition

Potential for Assessing Dynamic Problem-Solving at the Beginning of Higher Education Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benő Csapó

2017-11-01

Full Text Available There is a growing demand for assessment instruments which can be used in higher education, which cover a broader area of competencies than the traditional tests for disciplinary knowledge and domain-specific skills, and which measure students' most important general cognitive capabilities. Around the age of the transition from secondary to tertiary education, such assessments may serve several functions, including selecting the best-prepared candidates for certain fields of study. Dynamic problem-solving (DPS is a good candidate for such a role, as tasks that assess it involve knowledge acquisition and knowledge utilization as well. The purpose of this study is to validate an online DPS test and to explore its potential for assessing students' DPS skills at the beginning of their higher education studies. Participants in the study were first-year students at a major Hungarian university (n = 1468. They took five tests that measured knowledge from their previous studies: Hungarian language and literature, mathematics, history, science and English as a Foreign Language (EFL. A further, sixth test based on the MicroDYN approach, assessed students' DPS skills. A brief questionnaire explored learning strategies and collected data on students' background. The testing took place at the beginning of the first semester in three 2-h sessions. Problem-solving showed relatively strong correlations with mathematics (r = 0.492 and science (r = 0.401, and moderate correlations with EFL (r = 0.227, history (r = 0.192, and Hungarian (r = 0.125. Weak but still significant correlations were found with certain learning strategies, positive correlations with elaboration strategies, and a negative correlation with memorization strategies. Significant differences were observed between male and female students; men performed significantly better in DPS than women. Results indicated the dominant role of the first phase of solving dynamic problems, as knowledge

A novel multi-drug metronomic chemotherapy significantly delays tumor growth in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Tagliamonte, Maria; Petrizzo, Annacarmen; Napolitano, Maria; Luciano, Antonio; Rea, Domenica; Barbieri, Antonio; Arra, Claudio; Maiolino, Piera; Tornesello, Marialina; Ciliberto, Gennaro; Buonaguro, Franco M; Buonaguro, Luigi

2016-02-24

The tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment represents a major obstacle to an effective tumor-specific cellular immune response. In the present study, the counterbalance effect of a novel metronomic chemotherapy protocol on such an immunosuppressive microenvironment was evaluated in a mouse model upon sub-cutaneous ectopic implantation of B16 melanoma cells. The chemotherapy consisted of a novel multi-drug cocktail including taxanes and alkylating agents, administered in a daily metronomic fashion. The newly designed strategy was shown to be safe, well tolerated and significantly efficacious. Treated animals showed a remarkable delay in tumor growth and prolonged survival as compared to control group. Such an effect was directly correlated with CD4(+) T cell reduction and CD8(+) T cell increase. Furthermore, a significant reduction in the percentage of both CD25(+)FoxP3(+) and CD25(+)CD127(low) regulatory T cell population was found both in the spleens and in the tumor lesions. Finally, the metronomic chemotherapy induced an intrinsic CD8(+) T cell response specific to B16 naturally expressed Trp2 TAA. The novel multi-drug daily metronomic chemotherapy evaluated in the present study was very effective in counterbalancing the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Consequently, the intrinsic anti-tumor T cell immunity could exert its function, targeting specific TAA and significantly containing tumor growth. Overall, the results show that this represents a promising adjuvant approach to significantly enhance efficacy of intrinsic or vaccine-elicited tumor-specific cellular immunity.

The need for detailed gender-specific occupational safety analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz Rios, Fernanda; Chong, Wai K; Grau, David

2017-09-01

The female work in population is growing in the United States, therefore the occupational health and safety entities must start to analyze gender-specific data related to every industry, especially to nontraditional occupations. Women working in nontraditional jobs are often exposed to extreme workplace hazards. These women have their safety and health threatened because there are no adequate policies to mitigate gender-specific risks such as discrimination and harassment. Employers tend to aggravate this situation because they often fail to provide proper reporting infrastructure and support. According to past studies, women suffered from workplace injuries and illnesses that were less prominent among men. Statistics also confirmed that men and women faced different levels of risks in distinct work environments. For example, the rates of workplace violence and murders by personal acquaintances were significantly higher among women. In this paper, the authors analyze prior public data on fatal and nonfatal injuries to understand why we need to differentiate genders when analyzing occupational safety and health issues. The analyses confirmed that women dealt with unique workplace hazards compared to men. It is urgent that public agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Labor, record gender-specific data in details and by occupations and industries. The reader will become aware of the current lack - and need - of data and knowledge about injuries and illnesses separated by gender and industry. Finally, safety and health researchers are encouraged to investigate the gender-specific data in all industries and occupations, as soon as they become available. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

TECHNICAL BASIS DOCUMENT FOR AT-POWER SIGNIFICANCE DETERMINATION PROCESS (SDP) NOTEBOOKS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

AZARM, M.A.; SMANTA, P.K.; MARTINEZ-GURIDI, G.; HIGGINS, J.

2004-01-01

To support the assessment of inspection findings as part of the risk-informed inspection in the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (USNRC's) Reactor Oversight Process (ROP), risk inspection notebooks, also called significance determination process (SDP) notebooks, have been developed for each of the operating plants in the United States. These notebooks serve as a tool for assessing risk significance of inspection findings along with providing an engineering understanding of the significance. Plant-specific notebooks are developed to capture plant-specific features, characteristics, and analyses that influence the risk profile of the plant. At the same time, the notebooks follow a consistent set of assumptions and guidelines to assure consistent treatment of inspection findings across the plants. To achieve these objectives, notebooks are designed to provide specific information that are unique both in the manner in which the information is provided and in the way the screening risk assessment is carried out using the information provided. The unique features of the SDP notebooks, the approaches used to present the information for assessment of inspection findings, the assumptions used in consistent modeling across different plants with due credit to plant-specific features and analyses form the technical basis of the SDP notebooks. In this document, the unique features and the technical basis for the notebooks are presented. The types of information that are included and the reasoning/basis for including that information are discussed. The rules and basis for developing the worksheets that are used by the inspectors in the assessment of inspection findings are presented. The approach to modeling plants' responses to different initiating events and specific assumptions/considerations used for each of the reactor types are also discussed

Genome-scale analysis of positional clustering of mouse testis-specific genes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee Bernett TK

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genes are not randomly distributed on a chromosome as they were thought even after removal of tandem repeats. The positional clustering of co-expressed genes is known in prokaryotes and recently reported in several eukaryotic organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and Homo sapiens. In order to further investigate the mode of tissue-specific gene clustering in higher eukaryotes, we have performed a genome-scale analysis of positional clustering of the mouse testis-specific genes. Results Our computational analysis shows that a large proportion of testis-specific genes are clustered in groups of 2 to 5 genes in the mouse genome. The number of clusters is much higher than expected by chance even after removal of tandem repeats. Conclusion Our result suggests that testis-specific genes tend to cluster on the mouse chromosomes. This provides another piece of evidence for the hypothesis that clusters of tissue-specific genes do exist.

Scenarios of Quality Assurance of Stakeholder Relationships in Finnish Higher Education Institutions

Science.gov (United States)

Lyytinen, Anu; Kohtamäki, Vuokko; Kivistö, Jussi; Pekkola, Elias; Hölttä, Seppo

2017-01-01

Although the role and significance of the external stakeholders of higher education institutions has grown in recent years, quality assurance of stakeholder relationships remains a new phenomenon in the management practices of higher education institutions and in higher education research. Based on interviews and expert panel data, this article…

Historical Analysis of the Challenges and Opportunities of Higher Education in Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Bishaw, Alemayehu; Melesse, Solomon

2017-01-01