Sample records for conduction pathways concise

  1. Randomization to Standard and Concise Informed Consent Forms: Development of Evidence-Based Consent Practices

    PubMed Central

    Enama, Mary E.; Hu, Zonghui; Gordon, Ingelise; Costner, Pamela; Ledgerwood, Julie E.; Grady, Christine

    2012-01-01

    Background Consent to participate in research is an important component of the conduct of ethical clinical trials. Current consent practices are largely policy-driven. This study was conducted to assess comprehension of study information and satisfaction with the consent form between subjects randomized to concise or to standard informed consent forms as one approach to developing evidence-based consent practices. Methods Participants (N=111) who enrolled into two Phase I investigational influenza vaccine protocols (VRC 306 and VRC 307) at the NIH Clinical Center were randomized to one of two IRB-approved consents; either a standard or concise form. Concise consents had an average of 63% fewer words. All other aspects of the consent process were the same. Questionnaires about the study and the consent process were completed at enrollment and at the last visit in both studies. Results Subjects using concise consent forms scored as well as those using standard length consents in measures of comprehension (7 versus 7, p=0.79 and 20 versus 21, p=0.13), however, the trend was for the concise consent group to report feeling better informed. Both groups thought the length and detail of the consent form was appropriate. Conclusions Randomization of study subjects to different length IRB-approved consents forms as one method for developing evidence-based consent practices, resulted in no differences in study comprehension or satisfaction with the consent form. A concise consent form may be used ethically in the context of a consent process conducted by well-trained staff with opportunities for discussion and education throughout the study. PMID:22542645

  2. Pathway-based factor analysis of gene expression data produces highly heritable phenotypes that associate with age.

    PubMed

    Anand Brown, Andrew; Ding, Zhihao; Viñuela, Ana; Glass, Dan; Parts, Leopold; Spector, Tim; Winn, John; Durbin, Richard

    2015-03-09

    Statistical factor analysis methods have previously been used to remove noise components from high-dimensional data prior to genetic association mapping and, in a guided fashion, to summarize biologically relevant sources of variation. Here, we show how the derived factors summarizing pathway expression can be used to analyze the relationships between expression, heritability, and aging. We used skin gene expression data from 647 twins from the MuTHER Consortium and applied factor analysis to concisely summarize patterns of gene expression to remove broad confounding influences and to produce concise pathway-level phenotypes. We derived 930 "pathway phenotypes" that summarized patterns of variation across 186 KEGG pathways (five phenotypes per pathway). We identified 69 significant associations of age with phenotype from 57 distinct KEGG pathways at a stringent Bonferroni threshold ([Formula: see text]). These phenotypes are more heritable ([Formula: see text]) than gene expression levels. On average, expression levels of 16% of genes within these pathways are associated with age. Several significant pathways relate to metabolizing sugars and fatty acids; others relate to insulin signaling. We have demonstrated that factor analysis methods combined with biological knowledge can produce more reliable phenotypes with less stochastic noise than the individual gene expression levels, which increases our power to discover biologically relevant associations. These phenotypes could also be applied to discover associations with other environmental factors. Copyright © 2015 Brown et al.

  3. Pathway-Based Factor Analysis of Gene Expression Data Produces Highly Heritable Phenotypes That Associate with Age

    PubMed Central

    Anand Brown, Andrew; Ding, Zhihao; Viñuela, Ana; Glass, Dan; Parts, Leopold; Spector, Tim; Winn, John; Durbin, Richard

    2015-01-01

    Statistical factor analysis methods have previously been used to remove noise components from high-dimensional data prior to genetic association mapping and, in a guided fashion, to summarize biologically relevant sources of variation. Here, we show how the derived factors summarizing pathway expression can be used to analyze the relationships between expression, heritability, and aging. We used skin gene expression data from 647 twins from the MuTHER Consortium and applied factor analysis to concisely summarize patterns of gene expression to remove broad confounding influences and to produce concise pathway-level phenotypes. We derived 930 “pathway phenotypes” that summarized patterns of variation across 186 KEGG pathways (five phenotypes per pathway). We identified 69 significant associations of age with phenotype from 57 distinct KEGG pathways at a stringent Bonferroni threshold (P<5.38×10−5). These phenotypes are more heritable (h2=0.32) than gene expression levels. On average, expression levels of 16% of genes within these pathways are associated with age. Several significant pathways relate to metabolizing sugars and fatty acids; others relate to insulin signaling. We have demonstrated that factor analysis methods combined with biological knowledge can produce more reliable phenotypes with less stochastic noise than the individual gene expression levels, which increases our power to discover biologically relevant associations. These phenotypes could also be applied to discover associations with other environmental factors. PMID:25758824

  4. Disposition and Mechanisms of Toxicities of Metals and Metalloids

    EPA Science Inventory

    Dr. Hughes will provide a concise overview of general disposition (e.g., absorption) and mechanisms of toxicity of metal toxicity (e.g., direct interaction with functional groups of critical proteins, generation of reactive oxygen species, and alteration of cell signaling pathway...

  5. The clinical effectiveness of concise cognitive behavioral therapy with or without pharmacotherapy for depressive and anxiety disorders; a pragmatic randomized controlled equivalence trial in clinical practice.

    PubMed

    Meuldijk, D; Carlier, I V E; van Vliet, I M; van Veen, T; Wolterbeek, R; van Hemert, A M; Zitman, F G

    2016-03-01

    Depressive and anxiety disorders contribute to a high disease burden. This paper investigates whether concise formats of cognitive behavioral- and/or pharmacotherapy are equivalent with longer standard care in the treatment of depressive and/or anxiety disorders in secondary mental health care. A pragmatic randomized controlled equivalence trial was conducted at five Dutch outpatient Mental Healthcare Centers (MHCs) of the Regional Mental Health Provider (RMHP) 'Rivierduinen'. Patients (aged 18-65 years) with a mild to moderate anxiety and/or depressive disorder, were randomly allocated to concise or standard care. Data were collected at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months by Routine Outcome Monitoring (ROM). Primary outcomes were the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the Web Screening Questionnaire (WSQ). We used Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) to assess outcomes. Between March 2010 and December 2012, 182 patients, were enrolled (n=89 standard care; n=93 concise care). Both intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses demonstrated equivalence of concise care and standard care at all time points. Severity of illness reduced, and both treatments improved patient's general health status and subdomains of quality of life. Moreover, in concise care, the beneficial effects started earlier. Concise care has the potential to be a feasible and promising alternative to longer standard secondary mental health care in the treatment of outpatients with a mild to moderate depressive and/or anxiety disorder. For future research, we recommend adhering more strictly to the concise treatment protocols to further explore the beneficial effects of the concise treatment. The study is registered in the Netherlands Trial Register, number NTR2590. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01643642. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Two-Dimensional Transition Metal Oxide and Chalcogenide-Based Photocatalysts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haque, Farjana; Daeneke, Torben; Kalantar-zadeh, Kourosh; Ou, Jian Zhen

    2018-06-01

    Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal oxide and chalcogenide (TMO&C)-based photocatalysts have recently attracted significant attention for addressing the current worldwide challenges of energy shortage and environmental pollution. The ultrahigh surface area and unconventional physiochemical, electronic and optical properties of 2D TMO&Cs have been demonstrated to facilitate photocatalytic applications. This review provides a concise overview of properties, synthesis methods and applications of 2D TMO&C-based photocatalysts. Particular attention is paid on the emerging strategies to improve the abilities of light harvesting and photoinduced charge separation for enhancing photocatalytic performances, which include elemental doping, surface functionalization as well as heterojunctions with semiconducting and conductive materials. The future opportunities regarding the research pathways of 2D TMO&C-based photocatalysts are also presented. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  7. Concise Review: Inner Ear Stem Cells—An Oxymoron, But Why?

    PubMed Central

    Ronaghi, Mohammad; Nasr, Marjan; Heller, Stefan

    2012-01-01

    Hearing loss, caused by irreversible loss of cochlear sensory hair cells, affects millions of patients worldwide. In this concise review, we examine the conundrum of inner ear stem cells, which obviously are present in the inner ear sensory epithelia of nonmammalian vertebrates, giving these ears the ability to functionally recover even from repetitive ototoxic insults. Despite the inability of the mammalian inner ear to regenerate lost hair cells, there is evidence for cells with regenerative capacity because stem cells can be isolated from vestibular sensory epithelia and from the neonatal cochlea. Challenges and recent progress toward identification of the intrinsic and extrinsic signaling pathways that could be used to re-establish stemness in the mammalian organ of Corti are discussed. PMID:22102534

  8. Concise review: Inner ear stem cells--an oxymoron, but why?

    PubMed

    Ronaghi, Mohammad; Nasr, Marjan; Heller, Stefan

    2012-01-01

    Hearing loss, caused by irreversible loss of cochlear sensory hair cells, affects millions of patients worldwide. In this concise review, we examine the conundrum of inner ear stem cells, which obviously are present in the inner ear sensory epithelia of nonmammalian vertebrates, giving these ears the ability to functionally recover even from repetitive ototoxic insults. Despite the inability of the mammalian inner ear to regenerate lost hair cells, there is evidence for cells with regenerative capacity because stem cells can be isolated from vestibular sensory epithelia and from the neonatal cochlea. Challenges and recent progress toward identification of the intrinsic and extrinsic signaling pathways that could be used to re-establish stemness in the mammalian organ of Corti are discussed. Copyright © 2011 AlphaMed Press.

  9. Using a Novel Transgenic Mouse Model to Study c-Myc Oncogenic Pathway in Castration Resistance and Chemoresistance of Prostate Cancer

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-12-01

    AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-13-1-0162 TITLE: Using a Novel Transgenic Mouse Model to Study c-Myc Oncogenic Pathway in Castration Resistance and...DATES COVERED 15Sept2013 - 14Sept2017 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Using a Novel Transgenic Mouse Model to Study c-Myc Oncogenic...for concisely studying castration response and CRPC. However, most mice never developed significant tumors. Here, we showed that ablation of p53 in this

  10. Phase analysis in the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome with surgically proven accessory conduction pathways: concise communication

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nakajima, K.; Bunko, H.; Tada, A.

    1984-01-01

    Twenty-one patients with the Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome who underwent surgical division of the accessory conduction pathway (ACP) were studied by gated blood-pool scintigraphy. In each case, a functional image of the phase was generated, based on the fundamental frequency of the Fourier transform. The location of the ACP was confirmed by electrophysiologic study, epicardial mapping, and surgery. Phase analysis identified the side of preexcitation correctly in 16 out of 20 patients with WPW syndrome with a delta wave. All patients with right-cardiac type (N=9) had initial contraction in the right ventricle (RV). In patients with left-cardiac type (N=10), six hadmore » initial movement in the left ventricle (LV); but in the other four the ACPs in the anterior or lateral wall of the left ventricle (LV) could not be detected. In patients with multiple ACPs (N=2), one right-cardiac type had initial contraction in the RV, while in the other (with an intermittent WPW syndrome) the ACP was not detected. These observations indicate that abnormal wall motion is associated with the conduction anomalies of the WPW syndrome. We conclude that phase analysis can correctly identify the side of initial contraction in the WPW syndrome before and after surgery. However, as a method of preoperative study, it seems difficult to determine the precise site of the ACP by phase analysis alone.« less

  11. The RNA Silencing Pathway: The Bits and Pieces That Matter

    PubMed Central

    Groenenboom, Marian A. C; Marée, Athanasius F. M; Hogeweg, Paulien

    2005-01-01

    Cellular pathways are generally proposed on the basis of available experimental knowledge. The proposed pathways, however, may be inadequate to describe the phenomena they are supposed to explain. For instance, by means of concise mathematical models we are able to reveal shortcomings in the current description of the pathway of RNA silencing. The silencing pathway operates by cleaving siRNAs from dsRNA. siRNAs can associate with RISC, leading to the degradation of the target mRNA. We propose and analyze a few small extensions to the pathway: a siRNA degrading RNase, primed amplification of aberrant RNA pieces, and cooperation between aberrant RNA to trigger amplification. These extensions allow for a consistent explanation for various types of silencing phenomena, such as virus induced silencing, transgene and transposon induced silencing, and avoidance of self-reactivity, as well as for differences found between species groups. PMID:16110335

  12. Update on Staphylococcal Superantigen-Induced Signaling Pathways and Therapeutic Interventions

    PubMed Central

    Krakauer, Teresa

    2013-01-01

    Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) and related bacterial toxins cause diseases in humans and laboratory animals ranging from food poisoning, acute lung injury to toxic shock. These superantigens bind directly to the major histocompatibility complex class II molecules on antigen-presenting cells and specific Vβ regions of T-cell receptors (TCR), resulting in rapid hyper-activation of the host immune system. In addition to TCR and co-stimulatory signals, proinflammatory mediators activate signaling pathways culminating in cell-stress response, activation of NFκB and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). This article presents a concise review of superantigen-activated signaling pathways and focuses on the therapeutic challenges against bacterial superantigens. PMID:24064719

  13. A randomized trial comparing concise and standard consent forms in the START trial

    PubMed Central

    Touloumi, Giota; Walker, A. Sarah; Smolskis, Mary; Sharma, Shweta; Babiker, Abdel G.; Pantazis, Nikos; Tavel, Jorge; Florence, Eric; Sanchez, Adriana; Hudson, Fleur; Papadopoulos, Antonios; Emanuel, Ezekiel; Clewett, Megan; Munroe, David; Denning, Eileen

    2017-01-01

    Background Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of research informed consent is a high priority. Some express concern about longer, more complex, written consent forms creating barriers to participant understanding. A recent meta-analysis concluded that randomized comparisons were needed. Methods We conducted a cluster-randomized non-inferiority comparison of a standard versus concise consent form within a multinational trial studying the timing of starting antiretroviral therapy in HIV+ adults (START). Interested sites were randomized to standard or concise consent forms for all individuals signing START consent. Participants completed a survey measuring comprehension of study information and satisfaction with the consent process. Site personnel reported usual site consent practices. The primary outcome was comprehension of the purpose of randomization (pre-specified 7.5% non-inferiority margin). Results 77 sites (2429 participants) were randomly allocated to use standard consent and 77 sites (2000 participants) concise consent, for an evaluable cohort of 4229. Site and participant characteristics were similar for the two groups. The concise consent was non-inferior to the standard consent on comprehension of randomization (80.2% versus 82%, site adjusted difference: 0.75% (95% CI -3.8%, +5.2%)); and the two groups did not differ significantly on total comprehension score, satisfaction, or voluntariness (p>0.1). Certain independent factors, such as education, influenced comprehension and satisfaction but not differences between consent groups. Conclusions An easier to read, more concise consent form neither hindered nor improved comprehension of study information nor satisfaction with the consent process among a large number of participants. This supports continued efforts to make consent forms more efficient. Trial registration Informed consent substudy was registered as part of START study in clinicaltrials.gov #NCT00867048, and EudraCT # 2008-006439-12 PMID:28445471

  14. Deterministic modelling and stochastic simulation of biochemical pathways using MATLAB.

    PubMed

    Ullah, M; Schmidt, H; Cho, K H; Wolkenhauer, O

    2006-03-01

    The analysis of complex biochemical networks is conducted in two popular conceptual frameworks for modelling. The deterministic approach requires the solution of ordinary differential equations (ODEs, reaction rate equations) with concentrations as continuous state variables. The stochastic approach involves the simulation of differential-difference equations (chemical master equations, CMEs) with probabilities as variables. This is to generate counts of molecules for chemical species as realisations of random variables drawn from the probability distribution described by the CMEs. Although there are numerous tools available, many of them free, the modelling and simulation environment MATLAB is widely used in the physical and engineering sciences. We describe a collection of MATLAB functions to construct and solve ODEs for deterministic simulation and to implement realisations of CMEs for stochastic simulation using advanced MATLAB coding (Release 14). The program was successfully applied to pathway models from the literature for both cases. The results were compared to implementations using alternative tools for dynamic modelling and simulation of biochemical networks. The aim is to provide a concise set of MATLAB functions that encourage the experimentation with systems biology models. All the script files are available from www.sbi.uni-rostock.de/ publications_matlab-paper.html.

  15. Adverse outcome pathways: a concise introduction for toxicologists

    PubMed Central

    Vergauwen, Lucia; Hengstler, Jan G.; Angrish, Michelle; Whelan, Maurice

    2018-01-01

    Adverse outcome pathways are designed to provide a clear-cut mechanistic representation of critical toxicological effects that propagate over different layers of biological organization from the initial interaction of a chemical with a molecular target to an adverse outcome at the individual or population level. Adverse outcome pathways are currently gaining momentum, especially in view of their many potential applications as pragmatic tools in the fields of human toxicology, ecotoxicology and risk assessment. A number of guidance documents, issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as landmark papers, outlining best practices to develop, assess and use adverse outcome pathways, have been published in the last few years. The present paper provides a synopsis of the main principles related to the adverse outcome pathway framework for the toxicologist less familiar with this area, followed by two case studies relevant for human toxicology and ecotoxicology. PMID:28660287

  16. Concise Review: Dental Pulp Stem Cells: A Novel Cell Therapy for Retinal and Central Nervous System Repair.

    PubMed

    Mead, Ben; Logan, Ann; Berry, Martin; Leadbeater, Wendy; Scheven, Ben A

    2017-01-01

    Dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) are neural crest-derived ecto-mesenchymal stem cells that can relatively easily and non-invasively be isolated from the dental pulp of extracted postnatal and adult teeth. Accumulating evidence suggests that DPSC have great promise as a cellular therapy for central nervous system (CNS) and retinal injury and disease. The mode of action by which DPSC confer therapeutic benefit may comprise multiple pathways, in particular, paracrine-mediated processes which involve a wide array of secreted trophic factors and is increasingly regarded as the principal predominant mechanism. In this concise review, we present the current evidence for the use of DPSC to repair CNS damage, including recent findings on retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection and regeneration in optic nerve injury and glaucoma. Stem Cells 2017;35:61-67. © 2016 AlphaMed Press.

  17. Bioinformatic and Biochemical Characterizations of C–S Bond Formation and Cleavage Enzymes in the Fungus Neurospora crassa Ergothioneine Biosynthetic Pathway

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Ergothioneine is a histidine thiol derivative. Its mycobacterial biosynthetic pathway has five steps (EgtA-E catalysis) with two novel reactions: a mononuclear nonheme iron enzyme (EgtB) catalyzed oxidative C–S bond formation and a PLP-mediated C–S lyase (EgtE) reaction. Our bioinformatic and biochemical analyses indicate that the fungus Neurospora crassa has a more concise ergothioneine biosynthetic pathway because its nonheme iron enzyme, Egt1, makes use of cysteine instead of γ-Glu-Cys as the substrate. Such a change of substrate preference eliminates the competition between ergothioneine and glutathione biosyntheses. In addition, we have identified the N. crassa C–S lyase (NCU11365) and reconstituted its activity in vitro, which makes the future ergothioneine production through metabolic engineering feasible. PMID:25275953

  18. Designing and Proposing Your Research Project. Concise Guides to Conducting Behavioral, Health, and Social Science Research Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Urban, Jennifer Brown; van Eeden-Moorefield, Bradley Matheus

    2017-01-01

    Designing your own study and writing your research proposal takes time, often more so than conducting the study. This practical, accessible guide walks you through the entire process. You will learn to identify and narrow your research topic, develop your research question, design your study, and choose appropriate sampling and measurement…

  19. Solar Energy Information and Education Project. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hensley, Michael

    The New Mexico Solar Energy Institute (NMSEI) conducted a concentrated information and education program during 1985. This report summarizes NMSEI's Information and Education project activities. It provides detailed descriptions of project costs and concise recommendations for similar programs. Individual sections contain explanations of the scope…

  20. 76 FR 43726 - Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement: Developing a Method for Conducting an Internal...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-07-21

    ... domains, such as leadership, external collaboration, management and operations, sanctions, assessment and... concise and accessible format provides an opportunity for agency leadership and management to assess... Audience: The primary audience for this product is the leadership and management of correctional...

  1. Synthesis of functionalized indolizidines through Pauson-Khand cycloaddition of 2-allylpyrrolidines.

    PubMed

    McCormack, Michael P; Waters, Stephen P

    2013-02-01

    A concise entry to functionalized indolizidine scaffolds through a domino 2-aza-Cope-[3 + 2] dipolar cycloaddition and Pauson-Khand [2 + 2 + 1] cyclization has been accomplished. The process was conducted under mild conditions to afford diverse indolizidine systems as single diastereomers in good overall yields.

  2. Synthesis of Functionalized Indolizidines through Pauson–Khand Cycloaddition of 2-Allylpyrrolidines

    PubMed Central

    McCormack, Michael P.

    2013-01-01

    A concise entry to functionalized indolizidine scaffolds through a domino 2-aza-Cope-[3+2] dipolar cycloaddition and Pauson–Khand [2+2+1] cyclization has been accomplished. The process was conducted under mild conditions to afford diverse indolizidine systems as single diastereomers in good overall yields. PMID:23311620

  3. A Review of the Therapeutic Antitumor Potential of Cannabinoids.

    PubMed

    Bogdanović, Višnja; Mrdjanović, Jasminka; Borišev, Ivana

    2017-11-01

    The aim of this review is to discuss cannabinoids from a preclinical and clinical oncological perspective and provide the audience with a concise, retrospective overview of the most significant findings concerning the potential use of cannabinoids in cancer treatment. A literature survey of medical and scientific databases was conducted with a focus on the biological and medical potential of cannabinoids in cancer treatment. Cannabis sativa is a plant rich in more than 100 types of cannabinoids. Besides exogenous plant cannabinoids, mammalian endocannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoid analogues have been identified. Cannabinoid receptors type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2) have been isolated and characterized from mammalian cells. Through cannabinoid receptor and non-receptor signaling pathways, cannabinoids show specific cytotoxicity against tumor cells, while protecting healthy tissue from apoptosis. The dual antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of cannabinoids and associated signaling pathways have been investigated on a large panel of cancer cell lines. Cannabinoids also display potent anticancer activity against tumor xenografts, including tumors that express high resistance to standard chemotherapeutics. Few studies have investigated the possible synergistic effects of cannabinoids with standard oncology therapies, and are based on the preclinically confirmed concept of "cannabinoid sensitizers." Also, clinical trials aimed to confirm the antineoplastic activity of cannabinoids have only been evaluated on a small number of subjects, with no consensus conclusions regarding their effectiveness. A large number of cannabinoid compounds have been discovered, developed, and used to study the effects of cannabinoids on cancers in model systems. However, few clinical trials have been conducted on the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of cancers in humans. Further studies require extensive monitoring of the effects of cannabinoids alone or in combination with standard anticancer strategies. With such knowledge, cannabinoids could become a therapy of choice in contemporary oncology.

  4. Modulation of apoptosis sensitivity through the interplay with autophagic and proteasomal degradation pathways

    PubMed Central

    Delgado, M E; Dyck, L; Laussmann, M A; Rehm, M

    2014-01-01

    Autophagic and proteasomal degradation constitute the major cellular proteolysis pathways. Their physiological and pathophysiological adaptation and perturbation modulates the relative abundance of apoptosis-transducing proteins and thereby can positively or negatively adjust cell death susceptibility. In addition to balancing protein expression amounts, components of the autophagic and proteasomal degradation machineries directly interact with and co-regulate apoptosis signal transduction. The influence of autophagic and proteasomal activity on apoptosis susceptibility is now rapidly gaining more attention as a significant modulator of cell death signalling in the context of human health and disease. Here we present a concise and critical overview of the latest knowledge on the molecular interplay between apoptosis signalling, autophagy and proteasomal protein degradation. We highlight that these three pathways constitute an intricate signalling triangle that can govern and modulate cell fate decisions between death and survival. Owing to rapid research progress in recent years, it is now possible to provide detailed insight into the mechanisms of pathway crosstalk, common signalling nodes and the role of multi-functional proteins in co-regulating both protein degradation and cell death. PMID:24457955

  5. Implementation of Service-Learning in Engineering and Its Impact on Students' Attitudes and Identity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dukhan, N.; Schumack, M. R.; Daniels, J. J.

    2008-01-01

    The current paper outlines a concise engineering service-learning model and describes its implementation and logistics in the context of a typical heat transfer course for undergraduate engineering students. The project was executed in collaboration with a not-for-profit organisation. Summative reflections were conducted by the students by…

  6. Procedures for Conducting Installation Compatible Use Zone (ICUZ) studies

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-08-01

    Yes ( Penguin Books, New York, 1986). This book is a national bestseller on negotiation. It provides a concise, step-by-step, proven strategy for...AL ftA TE trate your proposal: Basic Principles of this CP TECHNIQUE - You may be able to transport some of the It’s not infrequent that public

  7. Drug-Free Schools & Communities: Program Planning Guidelines & Community Inventory.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Montana State Board of Crime Control, Helena.

    This book is designed to provide Montana communities with the most current research-based information available concerning drug and alcohol prevention/education program planning. It also provides a concise overview of the programs being conducted in various Montana communities. It is intended for use as a resource manual, to provide readers with…

  8. Skylab, Space Shuttle, Space Benefits Today and Tomorrow.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC.

    The pamphlet "Skylab" describes very generally the kinds of activities to be conducted with the Skylab, America's first manned space station. "Space Shuttle" is a pamphlet which briefly states the benefits of the Space Shuttle, and a concise review of present and future benefits of space activities is presented in the pamphlet "Space Benefits…

  9. Wundt on Introspection: Reflection on Current Controversy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leahey, Thomas H.; And Others

    Wilhelm Wundt provided a complete and concise description of his introspective method in a 1907 paper criticizing the thought experiments conducted by the Wurzburg psychologists. This major work is now being translated for the first time. For Wundt, the role of experimental method was to ensure the best conditions for observing and reporting…

  10. Incorporating Topic Assignment Constraint and Topic Correlation Limitation into Clinical Goal Discovering for Clinical Pathway Mining.

    PubMed

    Xu, Xiao; Jin, Tao; Wei, Zhijie; Wang, Jianmin

    2017-01-01

    Clinical pathways are widely used around the world for providing quality medical treatment and controlling healthcare cost. However, the expert-designed clinical pathways can hardly deal with the variances among hospitals and patients. It calls for more dynamic and adaptive process, which is derived from various clinical data. Topic-based clinical pathway mining is an effective approach to discover a concise process model. Through this approach, the latent topics found by latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) represent the clinical goals. And process mining methods are used to extract the temporal relations between these topics. However, the topic quality is usually not desirable due to the low performance of the LDA in clinical data. In this paper, we incorporate topic assignment constraint and topic correlation limitation into the LDA to enhance the ability of discovering high-quality topics. Two real-world datasets are used to evaluate the proposed method. The results show that the topics discovered by our method are with higher coherence, informativeness, and coverage than the original LDA. These quality topics are suitable to represent the clinical goals. Also, we illustrate that our method is effective in generating a comprehensive topic-based clinical pathway model.

  11. Incorporating Topic Assignment Constraint and Topic Correlation Limitation into Clinical Goal Discovering for Clinical Pathway Mining

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Xiao; Wei, Zhijie

    2017-01-01

    Clinical pathways are widely used around the world for providing quality medical treatment and controlling healthcare cost. However, the expert-designed clinical pathways can hardly deal with the variances among hospitals and patients. It calls for more dynamic and adaptive process, which is derived from various clinical data. Topic-based clinical pathway mining is an effective approach to discover a concise process model. Through this approach, the latent topics found by latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) represent the clinical goals. And process mining methods are used to extract the temporal relations between these topics. However, the topic quality is usually not desirable due to the low performance of the LDA in clinical data. In this paper, we incorporate topic assignment constraint and topic correlation limitation into the LDA to enhance the ability of discovering high-quality topics. Two real-world datasets are used to evaluate the proposed method. The results show that the topics discovered by our method are with higher coherence, informativeness, and coverage than the original LDA. These quality topics are suitable to represent the clinical goals. Also, we illustrate that our method is effective in generating a comprehensive topic-based clinical pathway model. PMID:29065617

  12. [The dynamic concision for three-dimensional reconstruction of human organ built with virtual reality modeling language (VRML)].

    PubMed

    Yu, Zhengyang; Zheng, Shusen; Chen, Huaiqing; Wang, Jianjun; Xiong, Qingwen; Jing, Wanjun; Zeng, Yu

    2006-10-01

    This research studies the process of dynamic concision and 3D reconstruction from medical body data using VRML and JavaScript language, focuses on how to realize the dynamic concision of 3D medical model built with VRML. The 2D medical digital images firstly are modified and manipulated by 2D image software. Then, based on these images, 3D mould is built with VRML and JavaScript language. After programming in JavaScript to control 3D model, the function of dynamic concision realized by Script node and sensor node in VRML. The 3D reconstruction and concision of body internal organs can be formed in high quality near to those got in traditional methods. By this way, with the function of dynamic concision, VRML browser can offer better windows of man-computer interaction in real time environment than before. 3D reconstruction and dynamic concision with VRML can be used to meet the requirement for the medical observation of 3D reconstruction and has a promising prospect in the fields of medical image.

  13. Dynamic concision for three-dimensional reconstruction of human organ built with virtual reality modelling language (VRML).

    PubMed

    Yu, Zheng-yang; Zheng, Shu-sen; Chen, Lei-ting; He, Xiao-qian; Wang, Jian-jun

    2005-07-01

    This research studies the process of 3D reconstruction and dynamic concision based on 2D medical digital images using virtual reality modelling language (VRML) and JavaScript language, with a focus on how to realize the dynamic concision of 3D medical model with script node and sensor node in VRML. The 3D reconstruction and concision of body internal organs can be built with such high quality that they are better than those obtained from the traditional methods. With the function of dynamic concision, the VRML browser can offer better windows for man-computer interaction in real-time environment than ever before. 3D reconstruction and dynamic concision with VRML can be used to meet the requirement for the medical observation of 3D reconstruction and have a promising prospect in the fields of medical imaging.

  14. Dynamic concision for three-dimensional reconstruction of human organ built with virtual reality modelling language (VRML)*

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Zheng-yang; Zheng, Shu-sen; Chen, Lei-ting; He, Xiao-qian; Wang, Jian-jun

    2005-01-01

    This research studies the process of 3D reconstruction and dynamic concision based on 2D medical digital images using virtual reality modelling language (VRML) and JavaScript language, with a focus on how to realize the dynamic concision of 3D medical model with script node and sensor node in VRML. The 3D reconstruction and concision of body internal organs can be built with such high quality that they are better than those obtained from the traditional methods. With the function of dynamic concision, the VRML browser can offer better windows for man-computer interaction in real-time environment than ever before. 3D reconstruction and dynamic concision with VRML can be used to meet the requirement for the medical observation of 3D reconstruction and have a promising prospect in the fields of medical imaging. PMID:15973760

  15. Fundamental Escherichia coli biochemical pathways for biomass and energy production: creation of overall flux states.

    PubMed

    Carlson, Ross; Srienc, Friedrich

    2004-04-20

    We have previously shown that the metabolism for most efficient cell growth can be realized by a combination of two types of elementary modes. One mode produces biomass while the second mode generates only energy. The identity of the four most efficient biomass and energy pathway pairs changes, depending on the degree of oxygen limitation. The identification of such pathway pairs for different growth conditions offers a pathway-based explanation of maintenance energy generation. For a given growth rate, experimental aerobic glucose consumption rates can be used to estimate the contribution of each pathway type to the overall metabolic flux pattern. All metabolic fluxes are then completely determined by the stoichiometries of involved pathways defining all nutrient consumption and metabolite secretion rates. We present here equations that permit computation of network fluxes on the basis of unique pathways for the case of optimal, glucose-limited Escherichia coli growth under varying levels of oxygen stress. Predicted glucose and oxygen uptake rates and some metabolite secretion rates are in remarkable agreement with experimental observations supporting the validity of the presented approach. The entire most efficient, steady-state, metabolic rate structure is explicitly defined by the developed equations without need for additional computer simulations. The approach should be generally useful for analyzing and interpreting genomic data by predicting concise, pathway-based metabolic rate structures. Copyright 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Controlled cellular energy conversion in brown adipose tissue thermogenesis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Horowitz, J. M.; Plant, R. E.

    1978-01-01

    Brown adipose tissue serves as a model system for nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) since a) it has as a primary physiological function the conversion of chemical energy to heat; and b) preliminary data from other tissues involved in NST (e.g., muscle) indicate that parallel mechanisms may be involved. Now that biochemical pathways have been proposed for brown fat thermogenesis, cellular models consistent with a thermodynamic representation can be formulated. Stated concisely, the thermogenic mechanism in a brown fat cell can be considered as an energy converter involving a sequence of cellular events controlled by signals over the autonomic nervous system. A thermodynamic description for NST is developed in terms of a nonisothermal system under steady-state conditions using network thermodynamics. Pathways simulated include mitochondrial ATP synthesis, a Na+/K+ membrane pump, and ionic diffusion through the adipocyte membrane.

  17. Assessing the Impact of the Funding Environment on Researchers' Risk Aversion: The Use of Citation Statistics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zoller, Frank A.; Zimmerling, Eric; Boutellier, Roman

    2014-01-01

    The funding environment has a profound impact on researchers' behavior. In particular, it influences their freedom and readiness to conduct research ventures with highly uncertain outcomes. In this conceptual paper, we propose a concise new methodology to evaluate researchers' risk aversion based on citation statistics. The derived…

  18. Research Needs for Technology Education: A U.S. Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Gene; Ritz, John

    2012-01-01

    This study was conducted for the purpose of identifying research needs for technology education by generating a rank-ordered list of research topics that the profession's members might wish to explore individually or in collaboration with colleagues and students. The researchers' goal was to provide a concise list of topics that could be used by…

  19. Conducting School-Based Assessments of Child and Adolescent Behavior. The Guilford School Practitioner Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shapiro, Edward S., Ed.; Kratochwill, Thomas R., Ed.

    This guide brings educational practitioners up to date on how to administer and interpret a wide range of assessment methods for students presenting with emotional and behavioral difficulties. It offers insights and tools for K-12 practitioners and trainees in regular and special education. Delineating a concise conceptual framework, the first…

  20. Blood banking and transfusion medicine for the apheresis medicine practitioner.

    PubMed

    Jeffus, Susanne; Wehrli, Gay

    2012-01-01

    This article provides a concise overview of blood banking and transfusion medicine (BBTM) for the therapeutic apheresis medicine practitioner. It addresses the complete pathway from blood donor qualification to blood collection, to processing and storing blood components, to patient testing, to ordering blood components for therapeutic apheresis (TA) procedures, to preparing the component for transfusion, and finally to transfusion. The nurses, technologists, and physicians orchestrate these activities in concert to best serve patients undergoing TA procedures. Enhancing knowledge of these processes may improve the quality of patient care and the utilization of blood products. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. 22 CFR 216.9 - Bilateral and multilateral studies and concise reviews of environmental issues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Bilateral and multilateral studies and concise... DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTAL PROCEDURES § 216.9 Bilateral and multilateral studies and concise reviews of... or multilateral environmental studies, relevant or related to the proposed action, prepared by the...

  2. 22 CFR 216.9 - Bilateral and multilateral studies and concise reviews of environmental issues.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Bilateral and multilateral studies and concise... DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTAL PROCEDURES § 216.9 Bilateral and multilateral studies and concise reviews of... or multilateral environmental studies, relevant or related to the proposed action, prepared by the...

  3. Introductory Talk: Adding Up Chemicals: Component-Based Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixturesand Primary Talk: Grouping Chemicals for Assessment and Conducting Assessments with the Hazard Index and Related Methods

    EPA Science Inventory

    Dr. Simmons will provide a concise overview of established and emerging methods to group chemicals for component-based mixture risk assessments. This will be followed by introduction to several important component-based methods, the Hazard Index, Target Organ Hazard Index, Multi...

  4. A flow-based synthesis of imatinib: the API of Gleevec.

    PubMed

    Hopkin, Mark D; Baxendale, Ian R; Ley, Steven V

    2010-04-14

    A concise, flow-based synthesis of Imatinib, a compound used for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia, is described whereby all steps are conducted in tubular flow coils or cartridges packed with reagents or scavengers to effect clean product formation. An in-line solvent switching procedure was developed enabling the procedure to be performed with limited manual handling of intermediates.

  5. Meta-Reflective Service Learning Poster Fairs: Purposive Pedagogy for Pre-Service Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stewart, Trae

    2008-01-01

    Given that teachers need to present information in a concise, understandable way, to reflect on their practices to inform future actions, and to know how to create and use a teaching artifact, this article reports the findings from a study conducted to examine the impacts from a class-based poster session in teacher education. First, a review of…

  6. Mapping Topographic Structure in White Matter Pathways with Level Set Trees

    PubMed Central

    Kent, Brian P.; Rinaldo, Alessandro; Yeh, Fang-Cheng; Verstynen, Timothy

    2014-01-01

    Fiber tractography on diffusion imaging data offers rich potential for describing white matter pathways in the human brain, but characterizing the spatial organization in these large and complex data sets remains a challenge. We show that level set trees–which provide a concise representation of the hierarchical mode structure of probability density functions–offer a statistically-principled framework for visualizing and analyzing topography in fiber streamlines. Using diffusion spectrum imaging data collected on neurologically healthy controls (N = 30), we mapped white matter pathways from the cortex into the striatum using a deterministic tractography algorithm that estimates fiber bundles as dimensionless streamlines. Level set trees were used for interactive exploration of patterns in the endpoint distributions of the mapped fiber pathways and an efficient segmentation of the pathways that had empirical accuracy comparable to standard nonparametric clustering techniques. We show that level set trees can also be generalized to model pseudo-density functions in order to analyze a broader array of data types, including entire fiber streamlines. Finally, resampling methods show the reliability of the level set tree as a descriptive measure of topographic structure, illustrating its potential as a statistical descriptor in brain imaging analysis. These results highlight the broad applicability of level set trees for visualizing and analyzing high-dimensional data like fiber tractography output. PMID:24714673

  7. Cyclone: java-based querying and computing with Pathway/Genome databases.

    PubMed

    Le Fèvre, François; Smidtas, Serge; Schächter, Vincent

    2007-05-15

    Cyclone aims at facilitating the use of BioCyc, a collection of Pathway/Genome Databases (PGDBs). Cyclone provides a fully extensible Java Object API to analyze and visualize these data. Cyclone can read and write PGDBs, and can write its own data in the CycloneML format. This format is automatically generated from the BioCyc ontology by Cyclone itself, ensuring continued compatibility. Cyclone objects can also be stored in a relational database CycloneDB. Queries can be written in SQL, and in an intuitive and concise object-oriented query language, Hibernate Query Language (HQL). In addition, Cyclone interfaces easily with Java software including the Eclipse IDE for HQL edition, the Jung API for graph algorithms or Cytoscape for graph visualization. Cyclone is freely available under an open source license at: http://sourceforge.net/projects/nemo-cyclone. For download and installation instructions, tutorials, use cases and examples, see http://nemo-cyclone.sourceforge.net.

  8. A concise review on advances in development of small molecule anti-inflammatory therapeutics emphasising AMPK: An emerging target.

    PubMed

    Gejjalagere Honnappa, Chethan; Mazhuvancherry Kesavan, Unnikrishnan

    2016-12-01

    Inflammatory diseases are complex, multi-factorial outcomes of evolutionarily conserved tissue repair processes. For decades, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cyclooxygenase inhibitors, the primary drugs of choice for the management of inflammatory diseases, addressed individual targets in the arachidonic acid pathway. Unsatisfactory safety and efficacy profiles of the above have necessitated the development of multi-target agents to treat complex inflammatory diseases. Current anti-inflammatory therapies still fall short of clinical needs and the clinical trial results of multi-target therapeutics are anticipated. Additionally, new drug targets are emerging with improved understanding of molecular mechanisms controlling the pathophysiology of inflammation. This review presents an outline of small molecules and drug targets in anti-inflammatory therapeutics with a summary of a newly identified target AMP-activated protein kinase, which constitutes a novel therapeutic pathway in inflammatory pathology. © The Author(s) 2016.

  9. Concise review: genetic dissection of hypoxia signaling pathways in normal and leukemic stem cells.

    PubMed

    Gezer, Deniz; Vukovic, Milica; Soga, Tomoyoshi; Pollard, Patrick J; Kranc, Kamil R

    2014-06-01

    Adult hematopoiesis depends on rare multipotent hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that self-renew and give rise to progenitor cells, which differentiate to all blood lineages. The strict regulation of the fine balance between self-renewal and differentiation is essential for normal hematopoiesis and suppression of leukemia development. HSCs and progenitor cells are commonly assumed to reside within the hypoxic BM microenvironment, however, there is no direct evidence supporting this notion. Nevertheless, HSCs and progenitors do exhibit a hypoxic profile and strongly express Hif-1α. Although hypoxia signaling pathways are thought to play important roles in adult HSC maintenance and leukemogenesis, the precise function of Hif-dependent signaling in HSCs remains to be uncovered. Here we discuss recent gain-of-function and loss-of-function studies that shed light on the complex roles of hypoxia-signaling pathways in HSCs and their niches in normal and malignant hematopoiesis. Importantly, we comment on the current and often contrasting interpretations of the role of Hif-dependent signaling in stem cell functions. © 2014 AlphaMed Press.

  10. Chronic Inflammatory Diseases and Green Tea Polyphenols

    PubMed Central

    Oz, Helieh S.

    2017-01-01

    Chronic inflammatory diseases affect millions of people globally and the incidence rate is on the rise. While inflammation contributes to the tissue healing process, chronic inflammation can lead to life-long debilitation and loss of tissue function and organ failure. Chronic inflammatory diseases include hepatic, gastrointestinal and neurodegenerative complications which can lead to malignancy. Despite the millennial advancements in diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, there remains no effective cure for patients who suffer from inflammatory diseases. Therefore, patients seek alternatives and complementary agents as adjunct therapies to relieve symptoms and possibly to prevent consequences of inflammation. It is well known that green tea polyphenols (GrTPs) are potent antioxidants with important roles in regulating vital signaling pathways. These comprise transcription nuclear factor-kappa B mediated I kappa B kinase complex pathways, programmed cell death pathways like caspases and B-cell lymphoma-2 and intervention with the surge of inflammatory markers like cytokines and production ofcyclooxygenase-2. This paper concisely reviews relevant investigations regarding protective effects of GrTPs and some reported adverse effects, as well as possible applications for GrTPs in the treatment of chronic and inflammatory complications. PMID:28587181

  11. The anatomy and art of writing a successful grant application: a practical step-by-step approach.

    PubMed

    Gholipour, Ali; Lee, Edward Y; Warfield, Simon K

    2014-12-01

    Writing a compelling grant application is a skill that is crucial to conducting high-quality and high-impact scientific research. A successful grant proposal provides the resources necessary to foster activity in an important area of investigation. A concise and practical overview of the anatomy and art of grant writing is provided in this article, along with citations to resources that are particularly useful for junior investigators.

  12. Paraesthesia and peripheral neuropathy.

    PubMed

    Beran, Roy

    2015-03-01

    Paraesthesia reflects an abnormality affecting the sensory pathways anywhere between the peripheral sensory nervous system and the sensory cortex. As with all neurology, the fundamental diagnostic tool is a concise history, devoid of potentially ambiguous jargon, which properly reflects the true nature of what the patient is experiencing, provocateurs, precipitating and relieving factors, concomitant illnesses, such as diabetes, and any treatments that could evoke neuropathies. Some localised neuropathies, such as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) or ulnar neuropathy, produce classical features, such as weakness of the 'LOAF' (lateral two lumbricals, opponens pollicis, abductor pollicis brevis and flexor pollicis brevis) median innervated muscles, thereby obviating need for further neurophysiology. Nerve conduction studies may be necessary to diagnose peripheral neuropathy, but they may also be normal with small fibre neuropathy. Even with a diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy, definition of the underlying cause may remain elusive in a significant proportion of cases, despite involvement of consultants. Treatment is based on the relevant diagnosis and mechanism to address the cause. This includes better glycaemic control for diabetes, night splint for CTS or elbow padding for ulnar neuropathy, modifying lifestyle with reduced alcohol consumption or replacing dietary deficiencies or changing medications where appropriate and practical. Should such intervention fail to relieve symptoms, consideration of intervention to relieve symptoms of neuropathic pain may be required.

  13. An update on the potential role of C-peptide in diabetes and osteoporosis.

    PubMed

    Pujia, Arturo; Gazzaruso, Carmine; Montalcini, Tiziana

    2017-12-01

    C-peptide secretion is deficient or absent in type 1 diabetes mellitus. It is well accepted that insulin replacement therapy cannot prevent the development of long-term diabetes-related complications, which can often be disabling or even life-threatening. Several cross-sectional investigations have suggested that residual C-peptide production in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus would help prevent a number of complications. In animal models of diabetes and in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, C-peptide replacement improves renal function, skin and skeletal muscle blood flow, nerve conduction, glucose utilization, and other diabetes-related complications. Recent investigations suggest a new beneficial effect of C-peptide, which to date has never been studied. It is known that osteoporosis is the most prevalent short-term complication in type 1 diabetes mellitus. This review will highlight new insights into the pathophysiology and future therapeutic modalities for osteoporosis in individuals with diabetes. This review provides a concise summary of old and new insights into the role of C-peptide in diabetes-related complications. The data suggest that C-peptide is a bioactive peptide, acting independently of insulin, which binds to a G-protein-coupled membrane binding site in different cell types. By triggering Ca 2+ -dependent intracellular signaling pathways, both Na + , K + -ATPase and endothelial nitric oxide synthase are activated. C-peptide may act on osteoblast cells by ERK 1/2 pathway activation, modulate collagen biosynthesis and RANKL expression. Furthermore, C-peptide-deficient postmenopausal women, not affected by diabetes, have a lower bone mineral density than those with normal C-peptide levels. Taken together these studies encourage further investigations to elucidate the role of C-peptide in preventing bone loss in type 1 diabetes mellitus and in those individuals with C-peptide deficiency and osteoporosis.

  14. Clinical usefulness of the two-question assessment tool for depressive symptoms in Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

    PubMed

    Arimura, Yasuji; Yamazaki, Shin; Yanagi, Shigehisa; Matsumoto, Nobuhiro; Takegami, Misa; Hayashino, Yasuaki; Fukuhara, Shunichi; Nakazato, Masamitsu

    2013-02-01

    Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and have been associated with poor outcomes. Developing a concise questionnaire to measure depressive symptoms in COPD patients is needed in outpatient settings. We evaluated the clinical usefulness of a concise two-question instrument to assess depressive symptoms in patients with COPD. The study was conducted as a cross-sectional analysis in patients with COPD. All patients completed a self-reported questionnaire consisting of the two-question instrument, as well as a shortened version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) to measure depressive symptoms. Performance of the two-question instrument was evaluated using the results for CESD-10 as standard. We also measured patients' health-related quality of life using the Medical Outcomes Study 8-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-8) to determine whether the instrument was related to SF-8. Sensitivity of the two-question instrument in the detection of depressive symptoms was 73.3 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 51-95.7), specificity was 73 % (95 % CI 58.7-87.3), and area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was 0.73 (95 % CI 0.59-0.87). When study patients were divided into two groups with a cutoff of 1 point on the two-question instrument, scores for all subscales of the SF-8 except "bodily pain" were significantly lower in patients with than without depressive symptoms. This concise two-question instrument is useful as assessment of depressive symptom in patients with COPD in busy outpatient settings.

  15. Neuroprotection Against Hypoxic/Ischemic Injury: δ-Opioid Receptors and BDNF-TrkB Pathway.

    PubMed

    Sheng, Shiying; Huang, Jingzhong; Ren, Yi; Zhi, Feng; Tian, Xuansong; Wen, Guoqiang; Ding, Guanghong; Xia, Terry C; Hua, Fei; Xia, Ying

    2018-05-11

    The delta-opioid receptor (DOR) is one of three classic opioid receptors in the opioid system. It was traditionally thought to be primarily involved in modulating the transmission of messages along pain signaling pathway. Although there were scattered studies on its other neural functions, inconsistent results and contradicting conclusions were found in past literatures, especially in terms of DOR's role in a hypoxic/ischemic brain. Taking inspiration from the finding that the turtle brain exhibits a higher DOR density and greater tolerance to hypoxic/ischemic insult than the mammalian brain, we clarified DOR's specific role in the brain against hypoxic/ischemic injury and reconciled previous controversies in this aspect. Our serial studies have strongly demonstrated that DOR is a unique neuroprotector against hypoxic/ischemic injury in the brain, which has been well confirmed in current research. Moreover, mechanistic studies have shown that during acute phases of hypoxic/ischemic stress, DOR protects the neurons mainly by the stabilization of ionic homeostasis, inhibition of excitatory transmitter release, and attenuation of disrupted neuronal transmission. During prolonged hypoxia/ischemia, however, DOR neuroprotection involves a variety of signaling pathways. More recently, our data suggest that DOR may display its neuroprotective role via the BDNF-TrkB pathway. This review concisely summarizes the progress in this field. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

  16. The Many Faces of Fear: Comparing the Pathways and Impacts of Nonconsumptive Predator Effects on Prey Populations

    PubMed Central

    Preisser, Evan L.; Bolnick, Daniel I.

    2008-01-01

    Background Most ecological models assume that predator and prey populations interact solely through consumption: predators reduce prey densities by killing and consuming individual prey. However, predators can also reduce prey densities by forcing prey to adopt costly defensive strategies. Methodology/Principal Findings We build on a simple Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model to provide a heuristic tool for distinguishing between the demographic effects of consumption (consumptive effects) and of anti-predator defenses (nonconsumptive effects), and for distinguishing among the multiple mechanisms by which anti-predator defenses might reduce prey population growth rates. We illustrate these alternative pathways for nonconsumptive effects with selected empirical examples, and use a meta-analysis of published literature to estimate the mean effect size of each pathway. Overall, predation risk tends to have a much larger impact on prey foraging behavior than measures of growth, survivorship, or fecundity. Conclusions/Significance While our model provides a concise framework for understanding the many potential NCE pathways and their relationships to each other, our results confirm empirical research showing that prey are able to partially compensate for changes in energy income, mitigating the fitness effects of defensive changes in time budgets. Distinguishing the many facets of nonconsumptive effects raises some novel questions, and will help guide both empirical and theoretical studies of how predation risk affects prey dynamics. PMID:18560575

  17. Recent Progress in the Development of Conducting Polymer-Based Nanocomposites for Electrochemical Biosensors Applications: A Mini-Review.

    PubMed

    Naseri, Maryam; Fotouhi, Lida; Ehsani, Ali

    2018-06-01

    Among various immobilizing materials, conductive polymer-based nanocomposites have been widely applied to fabricate the biosensors, because of their outstanding properties such as excellent electrocatalytic activity, high conductivity, and strong adsorptive ability compared to conventional conductive polymers. Electrochemical biosensors have played a significant role in delivering the diagnostic information and therapy monitoring in a rapid, simple, and low cost portable device. This paper reviews the recent developments in conductive polymer-based nanocomposites and their applications in electrochemical biosensors. The article starts with a general and concise comparison between the properties of conducting polymers and conducting polymer nanocomposites. Next, the current applications of conductive polymer-based nanocomposites of some important conducting polymers such as PANI, PPy, and PEDOT in enzymatic and nonenzymatic electrochemical biosensors are overviewed. This review article covers an 8-year period beginning in 2010. © 2018 The Chemical Society of Japan & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. A Review on Structures and Functions of Bcl-2 Family Proteins from Homo sapiens.

    PubMed

    Sivakumar, Dakshinamurthy; Sivaraman, Thirunavukkarasu

    2016-01-01

    Cancer cells evade apoptosis, which is regulated by proteins of Bcl-2 family in the intrinsic pathways. Numerous experimental three-dimensional (3D) structures of the apoptotic proteins and the proteins bound with small chemical molecules/peptides/proteins have been reported in the literature. In this review article, the 3D structures of the Bcl-2 family proteins from Homo sapiens and as well complex structures of the anti-apoptotic proteins bound with small molecular inhibitors reported in the literature to date have been comprehensively listed out and described in detail. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms by which the Bcl-2 family proteins modulate the apoptotic processes and strategies for designing antagonists to anti-apoptotic proteins have been concisely discussed.

  19. Carbureting conditions characteristics of aircraft engines

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tice, Percival S

    1920-01-01

    Tests were conducted at the altitude laboratory erected at the Bureau of Standards for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to determine the changes in engine performance with changes in atmospheric temperature and pressure at various levels above the earth's surface, with special reference to (a) the variables affecting the functioning of the carburetor and (b) the changes in performance resulting from variables in the carburetor itself. This report constitutes a concise statement of the difficulties to be encountered in this branch of carburetion.

  20. The functional cancer map: a systems-level synopsis of genetic deregulation in cancer.

    PubMed

    Krupp, Markus; Maass, Thorsten; Marquardt, Jens U; Staib, Frank; Bauer, Tobias; König, Rainer; Biesterfeld, Stefan; Galle, Peter R; Tresch, Achim; Teufel, Andreas

    2011-06-30

    Cancer cells are characterized by massive dysegulation of physiological cell functions with considerable disruption of transcriptional regulation. Genome-wide transcriptome profiling can be utilized for early detection and molecular classification of cancers. Accurate discrimination of functionally different tumor types may help to guide selection of targeted therapy in translational research. Concise grouping of tumor types in cancer maps according to their molecular profile may further be helpful for the development of new therapeutic modalities or open new avenues for already established therapies. Complete available human tumor data of the Stanford Microarray Database was downloaded and filtered for relevance, adequacy and reliability. A total of 649 tumor samples from more than 1400 experiments and 58 different tissues were analyzed. Next, a method to score deregulation of KEGG pathway maps in different tumor entities was established, which was then used to convert hundreds of gene expression profiles into corresponding tumor-specific pathway activity profiles. Based on the latter, we defined a measure for functional similarity between tumor entities, which yielded to phylogeny of tumors. We provide a comprehensive, easy-to-interpret functional cancer map that characterizes tumor types with respect to their biological and functional behavior. Consistently, multiple pathways commonly associated with tumor progression were revealed as common features in the majority of the tumors. However, several pathways previously not linked to carcinogenesis were identified in multiple cancers suggesting an essential role of these pathways in cancer biology. Among these pathways were 'ECM-receptor interaction', 'Complement and Coagulation cascades', and 'PPAR signaling pathway'. The functional cancer map provides a systematic view on molecular similarities across different cancers by comparing tumors on the level of pathway activity. This work resulted in identification of novel superimposed functional pathways potentially linked to cancer biology. Therefore, our work may serve as a starting point for rationalizing combination of tumor therapeutics as well as for expanding the application of well-established targeted tumor therapies.

  1. 10 CFR 75.34 - Inventory change reports.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... Transactions Reports (Inventory Change Reports), when appropriate, must be accompanied by Concise Notes... Commission, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Washington, DC 20555-0001. This Concise Note is... operational program for the facility, including particularly, but not exclusively, the schedule for taking...

  2. 10 CFR 75.34 - Inventory change reports.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... Transactions Reports (Inventory Change Reports), when appropriate, must be accompanied by Concise Notes... Commission, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Washington, DC 20555-0001. This Concise Note is... operational program for the facility, including particularly, but not exclusively, the schedule for taking...

  3. 10 CFR 75.34 - Inventory change reports.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... Transactions Reports (Inventory Change Reports), when appropriate, must be accompanied by Concise Notes... Commission, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Washington, DC 20555-0001. This Concise Note is... operational program for the facility, including particularly, but not exclusively, the schedule for taking...

  4. 10 CFR 75.34 - Inventory change reports.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... Transactions Reports (Inventory Change Reports), when appropriate, must be accompanied by Concise Notes... Commission, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Washington, DC 20555-0001. This Concise Note is... operational program for the facility, including particularly, but not exclusively, the schedule for taking...

  5. A concise synthesis of optically active solanacol, the germination stimulant for seeds of root parasitic weeds.

    PubMed

    Kumagai, Hiroshi; Fujiwara, Mami; Kuse, Masaki; Takikawa, Hirosato

    2015-01-01

    Solanacol, isolated from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), is a germination stimulant for seeds of root parasitic weeds. A concise synthesis of optically active solanacol has been achieved by employing enzymatic resolution as a key step.

  6. Platelet-rich plasma for regeneration of neural feedback pathways around dental implants: a concise review and outlook on future possibilities

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Yan; Bornstein, Michael M; Lambrichts, Ivo; Yu, Hai-Yang; Politis, Constantinus; Jacobs, Reinhilde

    2017-01-01

    Along with the development of new materials, advanced medical imaging and surgical techniques, osseointegrated dental implants are considered a successful and constantly evolving treatment modality for the replacement of missing teeth in patients with complete or partial edentulism. The importance of restoring the peripheral neural feedback pathway and thus repairing the lack of periodontal mechanoreceptors after tooth extraction has been highlighted in the literature. Nevertheless, regenerating the nerve fibers and reconstructing the neural feedback pathways around osseointegrated implants remain a challenge. Recent studies have provided evidence that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is a promising treatment for musculoskeletal injuries. Because of its high biological safety, convenience and usability, PRP therapy has gradually gained popularity in the clinical field. Although much remains to be learned, the growth factors from PRP might play key roles in peripheral nerve repair mechanisms. This review presents known growth factors contributing to the biological efficacy of PRP and illustrates basic and (pre-)clinical evidence regarding the use of PRP and its relevant products in peripheral nerve regeneration. In addition, the potential of local application of PRP for structural and functional recovery of injured peripheral nerves around dental implants is discussed. PMID:28282030

  7. THE CONCISE GUIDE TO PHARMACOLOGY 2017/18: Overview.

    PubMed

    Alexander, Stephen Ph; Kelly, Eamonn; Marrion, Neil V; Peters, John A; Faccenda, Elena; Harding, Simon D; Pawson, Adam J; Sharman, Joanna L; Southan, Christopher; Buneman, O Peter; Cidlowski, John A; Christopoulos, Arthur; Davenport, Anthony P; Fabbro, Doriano; Spedding, Michael; Striessnig, Jörg; Davies, Jamie A

    2017-12-01

    The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2017/18 is the third in this series of biennial publications. This version provides concise overviews of the key properties of nearly 1800 human drug targets with an emphasis on selective pharmacology (where available), plus links to an open access knowledgebase of drug targets and their ligands (www.guidetopharmacology.org), which provides more detailed views of target and ligand properties. Although the Concise Guide represents approximately 400 pages, the material presented is substantially reduced compared to information and links presented on the website. It provides a permanent, citable, point-in-time record that will survive database updates. The full contents of this section can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.13882/full. In addition to this overview, in which are identified 'Other protein targets' which fall outside of the subsequent categorisation, there are eight areas of focus: G protein-coupled receptors, ligand-gated ion channels, voltage-gated ion channels, other ion channels, nuclear hormone receptors, catalytic receptors, enzymes and transporters. These are presented with nomenclature guidance and summary information on the best available pharmacological tools, alongside key references and suggestions for further reading. The landscape format of the Concise Guide is designed to facilitate comparison of related targets from material contemporary to mid-2017, and supersedes data presented in the 2015/16 and 2013/14 Concise Guides and previous Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in close conjunction with the Nomenclature Committee of the Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (NC-IUPHAR), therefore, providing official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where appropriate. © 2017 The Authors. British Journal of Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.

  8. The NMatrix, a new method of presenting statistics, displays the characteristics of medicines with similar effects used in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis concisely and clearly, facilitating the selection of appropriate medications.

    PubMed

    Nakamura, Masao

    2015-07-01

    It is often difficult to compare the characteristics of a medicine with those of others based on common standards, whereas the application of rational standards would be expected to facilitate the comparison of medicines with similar effects. The present study was conducted to clarify the characteristics of individual medicines and to examine whether rational standards allow the most appropriate medicines to be chosen. Participants diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) were assessed for QOL and ADL based on the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, JOA score, VAS, and the presence of intermittent claudication (IC). Four medicines--beraprost sodium, ethyl icosapentate (EPA), sarpogrelate hydrochloride, and limaprost alfadex (PGE1)--were prescribed in a random manner. These four medicines were assessed independently in four studies using the same study design and size in each case. Using the NMatrix, the characteristics of the four medicines and the results of mutual comparisons could be displayed concisely and clearly in one matrix based on significance levels. This work involved analyzing pooled data from the four studies. All four medicines improved IC--one of the characteristic symptoms of LSS--by 12 weeks after administration. PGE1 required more time than the other medicines to affect IC. EPA appeared to almost significantly ameliorate some items at every point, though the evidence was insufficient. The NMatrix concisely and clearly displays the characteristics of "medicines with similar effects" for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis, and can help physicians to choose the optimal medicine based on rational criteria for individual patients, according to their symptoms and progress.

  9. PCB remediation in schools: a review.

    PubMed

    Brown, Kathleen W; Minegishi, Taeko; Cummiskey, Cynthia Campisano; Fragala, Matt A; Hartman, Ross; MacIntosh, David L

    2016-02-01

    Growing awareness of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in legacy caulk and other construction materials of schools has created a need for information on best practices to control human exposures and comply with applicable regulations. A concise review of approaches and techniques for management of building-related PCBs is the focus of this paper. Engineering and administrative controls that block pathways of PCB transport, dilute concentrations of PCBs in indoor air or other exposure media, or establish uses of building space that mitigate exposure can be effective initial responses to identification of PCBs in a building. Mitigation measures also provide time for school officials to plan a longer-term remediation strategy and to secure the necessary resources. These longer-term strategies typically involve removal of caulk or other primary sources of PCBs as well as nearby masonry or other materials contaminated with PCBs by the primary sources. The costs of managing PCB-containing building materials from assessment through ultimate disposal can be substantial. Optimizing the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of remediation programs requires aligning a thorough understanding of sources and exposure pathways with the most appropriate mitigation and abatement methods.

  10. Inborn Errors in Immunity

    PubMed Central

    Lionakis, M.S.; Hajishengallis, G.

    2015-01-01

    In recent years, the study of genetic defects arising from inborn errors in immunity has resulted in the discovery of new genes involved in the function of the immune system and in the elucidation of the roles of known genes whose importance was previously unappreciated. With the recent explosion in the field of genomics and the increasing number of genetic defects identified, the study of naturally occurring mutations has become a powerful tool for gaining mechanistic insight into the functions of the human immune system. In this concise perspective, we discuss emerging evidence that inborn errors in immunity constitute real-life models that are indispensable both for the in-depth understanding of human biology and for obtaining critical insights into common diseases, such as those affecting oral health. In the field of oral mucosal immunity, through the study of patients with select gene disruptions, the interleukin-17 (IL-17) pathway has emerged as a critical element in oral immune surveillance and susceptibility to inflammatory disease, with disruptions in the IL-17 axis now strongly linked to mucosal fungal susceptibility, whereas overactivation of the same pathways is linked to inflammatory periodontitis. PMID:25900229

  11. Personality, Organizational Orientations and Self-Reported Learning Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bamber, David; Castka, Pavel

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: To identify competencies connecting personality, organizational orientations and self-reported learning outcomes (as measured by concise Likert-type scales), for individuals who are learning for their organizations. Design/methodology/approach: Five concise factor scales were constructed to represent aspects of personality. Three further…

  12. Ethical Challenges and Solutions Regarding Delirium Studies in Palliative Care

    PubMed Central

    Sweet, Lisa; Adamis, Dimitrios; Meagher, David; Davis, Daniel; Currow, David; Bush, Shirley H.; Barnes, Christopher; Hartwick, Michael; Agar, Meera; Simon, Jessica; Breitbart, William; MacDonald, Neil; Lawlor, Peter G.

    2014-01-01

    Context Delirium occurs commonly in settings of palliative care (PC), in which patient vulnerability in the unique context of end-of-life care and delirium-associated impairment of decision-making capacity may together present many ethical challenges. Objectives Based on deliberations at the Studies to Understand Delirium in Palliative Care Settings (SUNDIPS) meeting and an associated literature review, this article discusses ethical issues central to the conduct of research on delirious PC patients. Methods Together with an analysis of the ethical deliberations at the SUNDIPS meeting, we conducted a narrative literature review by key words searching of relevant databases and a subsequent hand search of initially identified articles. We also reviewed statements of relevance to delirium research in major national and international ethics guidelines. Results Key issues identified include the inclusion of PC patients in delirium research, capacity determination, and the mandate to respect patient autonomy and ensure maintenance of patient dignity. Proposed solutions include designing informed consent statements that are clear, concise, and free of complex phraseology; use of concise, yet accurate, capacity assessment instruments with a minimally burdensome schedule; and use of PC friendly consent models, such as facilitated, deferred, experienced, advance, and proxy models. Conclusion Delirium research in PC patients must meet the common standards for such research in any setting. Certain features unique to PC establish a need for extra diligence in meeting these standards and the employment of assessments, consent procedures, and patient-family interactions that are clearly grounded on the tenets of PC. PMID:24388124

  13. A General, Concise Strategy that Enables Collective Total Syntheses of over 50 Protoberberine and Five Aporhoeadane Alkaloids within Four to Eight Steps.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Shiqiang; Tong, Rongbiao

    2016-05-17

    A concise, catalytic, and general strategy that allowed efficient total syntheses of 22 natural 13-methylprotoberberines within four steps for each molecule is reported. This synthesis represents the most efficient and shortest route to date, featuring three catalytic processes: CuI-catalyzed redox-A(3) reaction, Pd-catalyzed reductive carbocyclization, and PtO2 -catalyzed hydrogenation. Importantly, this new strategy to the tetracyclic framework has also been applied to the collective concise syntheses of >30 natural protoberberines (without 13-methyl group) and five aporhoeadane alkaloids. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Identifying Core Profiles in Attitudes toward School Violence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frisby, Craig L.; Kim, Se-Kang; Wolfmeyer, Mary Anne

    2005-01-01

    Focus group methods for studying opinions and perceptions of school violence are effective for understanding differences among individuals, but cannot report these differences in a concise manner. Traditional quantitative methods for analyzing data from school violence perception surveys allow for the concise reporting of data, but cannot…

  15. Consensus and conflict cards for metabolic pathway databases

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background The metabolic network of H. sapiens and many other organisms is described in multiple pathway databases. The level of agreement between these descriptions, however, has proven to be low. We can use these different descriptions to our advantage by identifying conflicting information and combining their knowledge into a single, more accurate, and more complete description. This task is, however, far from trivial. Results We introduce the concept of Consensus and Conflict Cards (C2Cards) to provide concise overviews of what the databases do or do not agree on. Each card is centered at a single gene, EC number or reaction. These three complementary perspectives make it possible to distinguish disagreements on the underlying biology of a metabolic process from differences that can be explained by different decisions on how and in what detail to represent knowledge. As a proof-of-concept, we implemented C2CardsHuman, as a web application http://www.molgenis.org/c2cards, covering five human pathway databases. Conclusions C2Cards can contribute to ongoing reconciliation efforts by simplifying the identification of consensus and conflicts between pathway databases and lowering the threshold for experts to contribute. Several case studies illustrate the potential of the C2Cards in identifying disagreements on the underlying biology of a metabolic process. The overviews may also point out controversial biological knowledge that should be subject of further research. Finally, the examples provided emphasize the importance of manual curation and the need for a broad community involvement. PMID:23803311

  16. Consensus and conflict cards for metabolic pathway databases.

    PubMed

    Stobbe, Miranda D; Swertz, Morris A; Thiele, Ines; Rengaw, Trebor; van Kampen, Antoine H C; Moerland, Perry D

    2013-06-26

    The metabolic network of H. sapiens and many other organisms is described in multiple pathway databases. The level of agreement between these descriptions, however, has proven to be low. We can use these different descriptions to our advantage by identifying conflicting information and combining their knowledge into a single, more accurate, and more complete description. This task is, however, far from trivial. We introduce the concept of Consensus and Conflict Cards (C₂Cards) to provide concise overviews of what the databases do or do not agree on. Each card is centered at a single gene, EC number or reaction. These three complementary perspectives make it possible to distinguish disagreements on the underlying biology of a metabolic process from differences that can be explained by different decisions on how and in what detail to represent knowledge. As a proof-of-concept, we implemented C₂Cards(Human), as a web application http://www.molgenis.org/c2cards, covering five human pathway databases. C₂Cards can contribute to ongoing reconciliation efforts by simplifying the identification of consensus and conflicts between pathway databases and lowering the threshold for experts to contribute. Several case studies illustrate the potential of the C₂Cards in identifying disagreements on the underlying biology of a metabolic process. The overviews may also point out controversial biological knowledge that should be subject of further research. Finally, the examples provided emphasize the importance of manual curation and the need for a broad community involvement.

  17. Biochemical Pathways: An Atlas of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (edited by Gerhard Michal)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Voige, Reviewed By William H.

    2000-02-01

    For decades, a wall chart detailing living organisms' metabolic pathways has been a fixture in many classrooms and laboratories where biochemistry is taught. One of the most popular of those charts first appeared 30 years ago. Now its editor, Gerhard Michal, has produced a book that summarizes metabolism (broadly defined) in graphical and textual formats. The book retains the elegance of the chart. Names of molecules are printed in a crisp, easy-to-read font, and structural formulas are shown with exemplary clarity. Color coding serves multiple purposes: to differentiate enzymes, substrates, cofactors, and effector molecules; to indicate in which group or groups of organisms a reaction has been observed; and to distinguish enzymatic reactions from regulatory effects. The primary advantage of presenting this information in book format is immediately apparent. A typical metabolic chart covers about 2 m2; the book has a total surface area nearly 10 times greater. The extra space is used to add explanatory text to the figures and to include many topics not covered by the traditional definition of metabolism. Examples include replication, transcription, translation, reaction mechanisms for proteolytic enzymes, and the role of chaperones in protein folding. Illustrating these topics is not as straightforward as delineating a metabolic pathway, but the author has done an admirable job of designing figures that clarify these and other aspects of biochemistry and complement the accompanying text. A potential deficiency of book format is the inability to clearly show links between different realms of metabolism: carbohydrate and amino acid pathways, for example. The book overcomes this problem in two ways. A diagrammatic overview of metabolism (with references to applicable sections of the book) is printed inside its front cover, and key compounds (pyruvate, for example) have a distinctive green background to provide a visual link between pathways. (The author compares this feature to the hyperlinks in an electronic document.) The book's index is comprehensive and useful. Entries for "phenylketonuria" and "sickle cell anemia", for example, lead to commendably concise summaries of these hereditary diseases (and the relevant metabolic pathway, in the former case). Looking up a specific molecule, however, is less helpful. The listing for fumarate hydratase, a citric acid cycle enzyme, directs the reader to the chapter on special bacterial metabolism but not to the section on the citric acid cycle itself. Literature references are included at the end of each section and are mainly from the 1990s, but they could be more useful. A long section on heme proteins, for example, concludes with eight citations, but their titles are not included, so it is impossible to determine what topic each one addresses. This book will be most useful to those with a good understanding of the fundamentals of biochemistry. Some of the information it presents could easily confuse less experienced readers. For example, it classifies selenocysteine as a standard amino acid in a figure but not in the accompanying text. In the diagram of anaerobic glycolysis, a double-headed arrow for the hexokinase reaction reinforces the frustratingly common student misperception that the phosphoryl group of glucose-6-phosphate can be used to phosphorylate ADP. Biochemical Pathways compiles a large amount of information in a single source. Its good index and clear, concise text and diagrams should make it a reliable way of gaining insight into many biochemical topics. With a price similar to that of most textbooks, it merits a place in the libraries of individuals and academic departments that teach biochemistry.

  18. Intracellular trafficking of new anticancer therapeutics: antibody-drug conjugates.

    PubMed

    Kalim, Muhammad; Chen, Jie; Wang, Shenghao; Lin, Caiyao; Ullah, Saif; Liang, Keying; Ding, Qian; Chen, Shuqing; Zhan, Jinbiao

    2017-01-01

    Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) is a milestone in targeted cancer therapy that comprises of monoclonal antibodies chemically linked to cytotoxic drugs. Internalization of ADC takes place via clathrin-mediated endocytosis, caveolae-mediated endocytosis, and pinocytosis. Conjugation strategies, endocytosis and intracellular trafficking optimization, linkers, and drugs chemistry present a great challenge for researchers to eradicate tumor cells successfully. This inventiveness of endocytosis and intracellular trafficking has given considerable momentum recently to develop specific antibodies and ADCs to treat cancer cells. It is significantly advantageous to emphasize the endocytosis and intracellular trafficking pathways efficiently and to design potent engineered conjugates and biological entities to boost efficient therapies enormously for cancer treatment. Current studies illustrate endocytosis and intracellular trafficking of ADC, protein, and linker strategies in unloading and also concisely evaluate practically applicable ADCs.

  19. Intracellular trafficking of new anticancer therapeutics: antibody–drug conjugates

    PubMed Central

    Kalim, Muhammad; Chen, Jie; Wang, Shenghao; Lin, Caiyao; Ullah, Saif; Liang, Keying; Ding, Qian; Chen, Shuqing; Zhan, Jinbiao

    2017-01-01

    Antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) is a milestone in targeted cancer therapy that comprises of monoclonal antibodies chemically linked to cytotoxic drugs. Internalization of ADC takes place via clathrin-mediated endocytosis, caveolae-mediated endocytosis, and pinocytosis. Conjugation strategies, endocytosis and intracellular trafficking optimization, linkers, and drugs chemistry present a great challenge for researchers to eradicate tumor cells successfully. This inventiveness of endocytosis and intracellular trafficking has given considerable momentum recently to develop specific antibodies and ADCs to treat cancer cells. It is significantly advantageous to emphasize the endocytosis and intracellular trafficking pathways efficiently and to design potent engineered conjugates and biological entities to boost efficient therapies enormously for cancer treatment. Current studies illustrate endocytosis and intracellular trafficking of ADC, protein, and linker strategies in unloading and also concisely evaluate practically applicable ADCs. PMID:28814834

  20. Infrared and reflectron time-of-flight mass spectroscopic study on the synthesis of glycolaldehyde in methanol (CH3OH) and methanol-carbon monoxide (CH3OH-CO) ices exposed to ionization radiation.

    PubMed

    Maity, Surajit; Kaiser, Ralf I; Jones, Brant M

    2014-01-01

    We present conclusive evidence on the formation of glycolaldehyde (HOCH2CHO) synthesized within astrophysically relevant ices of methanol (CH3OH) and methanol-carbon monoxide (CH3OH-CO) upon exposure to ionizing radiation at 5.5 K. The radiation induced chemical processes of the ices were monitored on line and in situ via infrared spectroscopy which was complimented by temperature programmed desorption studies post irradiation, utilizing highly sensitive reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled with single photon fragment free photoionization (ReTOF-PI) at 10.49 eV. Specifically, glycolaldehyde was observed via the v14 band and further enhanced with the associated frequency shifts of the carbonyl stretching mode observed in irradiated isotopologue ice mixtures. Furthermore, experiments conducted with mixed isotopic ices of methanol-carbon monoxide (13CH3OH-CO, CH3(18)OH-CO, CD3OD-13CO and CH3OH-C18O) provide solid evidence of at least three competing reaction pathways involved in the formation of glycolaldehyde via non-equilibrium chemistry, which were identified as follows: (i) radical-radical recombination of HCO and CH2OH formed via decomposition of methanol--the "two methanol pathway"; (ii) via the reaction of one methanol unit (CH2OH from the decomposition of CH3OH) with one carbon monoxide unit (HCO from the hydrogenation of CO)--the "one methanol, one carbon monoxide pathway"; and (iii) formation via hydrogenation of carbon monoxide resulting in radicals of HCO and CH2OH--the "two carbon monoxide pathway". In addition, temperature programmed desorption studies revealed an increase in the amount of glycolaldehyde formed, suggesting further thermal chemistry of trapped radicals within the ice matrix. Sublimation of glycolaldehyde during the warm up was also monitored via ReTOF-PI and validated via the mutual agreement of the associated isotopic frequency shifts within the infrared band positions and the identical sublimation profiles obtained from the ReTOF spectra and infrared spectroscopy of the corresponding isotopes. In addition, an isomer of glycolaldehyde (ethene-1,2-diol) was tentatively assigned. Confirmation of the identified pathways based on infrared spectroscopy was also obtained from the observed ion signals corresponding to isotopomers of glycolaldehyde. These coupled techniques provide clear, concise evidence of the formation of a complex and astrobiologically important organic, glycolaldehyde, relevant to the icy mantles observed in the interstellar medium.

  1. SLC9A9 Co-expression modules in autism-associated brain regions.

    PubMed

    Patak, Jameson; Hess, Jonathan L; Zhang-James, Yanli; Glatt, Stephen J; Faraone, Stephen V

    2017-03-01

    SLC9A9 is a sodium hydrogen exchanger present in the recycling endosome and highly expressed in the brain. It is implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Little research concerning its gene expression patterns and biological pathways has been conducted. We sought to investigate its possible biological roles in autism-associated brain regions throughout development. We conducted a weighted gene co-expression network analysis on RNA-seq data downloaded from Brainspan. We compared prenatal and postnatal gene expression networks for three ASD-associated brain regions known to have high SLC9A9 gene expression. We also performed an ASD-associated single nucleotide polymorphism enrichment analysis and a cell signature enrichment analysis. The modules showed differences in gene constituents (membership), gene number, and connectivity throughout time. SLC9A9 was highly associated with immune system functions, metabolism, apoptosis, endocytosis, and signaling cascades. Gene list comparison with co-immunoprecipitation data was significant for multiple modules. We found a disproportionately high autism risk signal among genes constituting the prenatal hippocampal module. The modules were enriched with astrocyte and oligodendrocyte markers. SLC9A9 is potentially involved in the pathophysiology of ASDs. Our investigation confirmed proposed functions for SLC9A9, such as endocytosis and immune regulation, while also revealing potential roles in mTOR signaling and cell survival.. By providing a concise molecular map and interactions, evidence of cell type and implicated brain regions we hope this will guide future research on SLC9A9. Autism Res 2017, 10: 414-429. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Preparing and Training for the Full Spectrum of Military Challenges. Insights from the Experiences of China, France, the United Kingdom, India, and Israel

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-01-01

    CPCO Centre de Planification et de Conduite des Opérations CPF Centre de Préparation des Forces CPX command post exercise CT collective training CTC...forces presides over the joint staff and commands French forces in the conduct of operations through the Centre de Planification et de Conduite des...i] t is difficult to identify a single concise statement of the government’s foreign policy.”17 The committee instead pointed to the mission state

  3. Concise total syntheses of (+/-)-strychnine and (+/-)-akuammicine.

    PubMed

    Sirasani, Gopal; Paul, Tapas; Dougherty, William; Kassel, Scott; Andrade, Rodrigo B

    2010-05-21

    Concise total syntheses of Strychnos alkaloids strychnine (1) and akuammicine (2) have been realized in 13 and 6 operations, respectively. Key steps include (1) the vinylogous Mannich reaction; (2) a novel, sequential one-pot spirocyclization/intramolecular aza-Baylis-Hillman reaction; and (3) a Heck cyclization. The synthesis of 1 proceeds via the Wieland-Gumlich aldehyde (26).

  4. The Dirty Dozen: A Concise Measure of the Dark Triad

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jonason, Peter K.; Webster, Gregory D.

    2010-01-01

    There has been an exponential increase of interest in the dark side of human nature during the last decade. To better understand this dark side, the authors developed and validated a concise, 12-item measure of the Dark Triad: narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism. In 4 studies involving 1,085 participants, they examined its structural…

  5. Concise solid-phase synthesis of inverse poly(amidoamine) dendrons using AB2 building blocks.

    PubMed

    Huang, Adela Ya-Ting; Tsai, Ching-Hua; Chen, Hsing-Yin; Chen, Hui-Ting; Lu, Chi-Yu; Lin, Yu-Ting; Kao, Chai-Lin

    2013-06-28

    A concise solid-phase synthesis of inverse poly(amidoamine) dendrons was developed. Upon introduction of AB2-type monomers, each dendron generation was constructed via one reaction. G2 to G5 dendrons were constructed in a peptide synthesizer in 93%, 89%, 82%, and 78% yields, respectively, within 5 days.

  6. The Affective Reactivity Index: A Concise Irritability Scale for Clinical and Research Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stringaris, Argyris; Goodman, Robert; Ferdinando, Sumudu; Razdan, Varun; Muhrer, Eli; Leibenluft, Ellen; Brotman, Melissa A.

    2012-01-01

    Background: Irritable mood has recently become a matter of intense scientific interest. Here, we present data from two samples, one from the United States and the other from the United Kingdom, demonstrating the clinical and research utility of the parent- and self-report forms of the Affective Reactivity Index (ARI), a concise dimensional measure…

  7. Synthetic study toward ecteinascidin 743: concise construction of the diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane skeleton and assembly of the pentacyclic core.

    PubMed

    Enomoto, Taro; Yasui, Yoshizumi; Takemoto, Yoshiji

    2010-07-16

    Synthesis of the pentacyclic core of ecteinascidin 743 is described. This synthesis features concise construction of the diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane skeleton using gold(I)-catalyzed one-pot keto amide formation, acid-promoted enamide formation, and oxidative Friedel-Crafts cyclization as the key steps.

  8. Ethical challenges and solutions regarding delirium studies in palliative care.

    PubMed

    Sweet, Lisa; Adamis, Dimitrios; Meagher, David J; Davis, Daniel; Currow, David C; Bush, Shirley H; Barnes, Christopher; Hartwick, Michael; Agar, Meera; Simon, Jessica; Breitbart, William; MacDonald, Neil; Lawlor, Peter G

    2014-08-01

    Delirium occurs commonly in settings of palliative care (PC), in which patient vulnerability in the unique context of end-of-life care and delirium-associated impairment of decision-making capacity may together present many ethical challenges. Based on deliberations at the Studies to Understand Delirium in Palliative Care Settings (SUNDIPS) meeting and an associated literature review, this article discusses ethical issues central to the conduct of research on delirious PC patients. Together with an analysis of the ethical deliberations at the SUNDIPS meeting, we conducted a narrative literature review by key words searching of relevant databases and a subsequent hand search of initially identified articles. We also reviewed statements of relevance to delirium research in major national and international ethics guidelines. Key issues identified include the inclusion of PC patients in delirium research, capacity determination, and the mandate to respect patient autonomy and ensure maintenance of patient dignity. Proposed solutions include designing informed consent statements that are clear, concise, and free of complex phraseology; use of concise, yet accurate, capacity assessment instruments with a minimally burdensome schedule; and use of PC friendly consent models, such as facilitated, deferred, experienced, advance, and proxy models. Delirium research in PC patients must meet the common standards for such research in any setting. Certain features unique to PC establish a need for extra diligence in meeting these standards and the employment of assessments, consent procedures, and patient-family interactions that are clearly grounded on the tenets of PC. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Kynurenine-3-monooxygenase: a review of structure, mechanism, and inhibitors.

    PubMed

    Smith, Jason R; Jamie, Joanne F; Guillemin, Gilles J

    2016-02-01

    Kynurenine monooxygenase (KMO) is an enzyme of the kynurenine (Kyn) pathway (KP), which is the major catabolic route of tryptophan. Kyn represents a branch point of the KP, being converted into the neurotoxin 3-hydroxykynurenine via KMO, neuroprotectant kynurenic acid, and anthranilic acid. As a result of this branch point, KMO is an attractive drug target for several neurodegenerative and/or neuroinflammatory diseases, especially Huntington's (HD), Alzheimer's (AD), and Parkinson's (PD) diseases. Although a neurological target, administration of KMO inhibitors in the periphery has demonstrated promising pharmacological results. In light of a recent crystal structure release and reports of preclinical candidates, here we provide a concise yet comprehensive update on the current state of research into the enzymology of KMO and related drug discovery efforts, highlighting areas where further work is required. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Conducting Polymers in the Fields of Energy, Environmental Remediation, and Chemical-Chiral Sensors.

    PubMed

    Ibanez, Jorge G; Rincón, Marina E; Gutierrez-Granados, Silvia; Chahma, M'hamed; Jaramillo-Quintero, Oscar A; Frontana-Uribe, Bernardo A

    2018-05-09

    Conducting polymers (CPs), thanks to their unique properties, structures made on-demand, new composite mixtures, and possibility of deposit on a surface by chemical, physical, or electrochemical methodologies, have shown in the last years a renaissance and have been widely used in important fields of chemistry and materials science. Due to the extent of the literature on CPs, this review, after a concise introduction about the interrelationship between electrochemistry and conducting polymers, is focused exclusively on the following applications: energy (energy storage devices and solar cells), use in environmental remediation (anion and cation trapping, electrocatalytic reduction/oxidation of pollutants on CP based electrodes, and adsorption of pollutants) and finally electroanalysis as chemical sensors in solution, gas phase, and chiral molecules. This review is expected to be comprehensive, authoritative, and useful to the chemical community interested in CPs and their applications.

  11. Comparative evaluation of microleakage of lingual retainer wires bonded with three different lingual retainer composites: an in vitro study.

    PubMed

    Nimbalkar-Patil, Smita; Vaz, Anna; Patil, Pravinkumar G

    2014-11-01

    To evaluate microleakage when two types of retainer wires were bonded with two light cured and a self cured lingual retainer composites. Total 120 freshly extracted human mandibular incisor teeth were collected and separated into six subgroups of 20 teeth each. Two different wires, a 0.036 inch hard round stainless steel (HRSS) wire sandblasted at the ends and 0.0175 inch multistranded wire bonded onto the lingual surfaces of the incisors with three different types of composite resins of 3M company; Concise Orthodontic (self-cure), Transbond XT (light-cure) and Transbond LR (light-cure). Specimens were further sealed with a nail varnish, stained with 0.5% basic fuchsine for 24 hours, sectioned and examined under a stereomicroscope, and scored for microleakage for the enamel-composite and wire-composite interfaces. Statistical analysis was performed by Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U-tests. For HRSS wire, at the enamel-composite interface, the microleakage was least with Transbond LR followed by Concise Orthodontic and greatest for Transbond XT (p<0.05). At the wire composite interface too, the microleakage was in order of Transbond LR

  12. The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2015/16: Overview.

    PubMed

    Alexander, Stephen Ph; Kelly, Eamonn; Marrion, Neil; Peters, John A; Benson, Helen E; Faccenda, Elena; Pawson, Adam J; Sharman, Joanna L; Southan, Christopher; Buneman, O Peter; Catterall, William A; Cidlowski, John A; Davenport, Anthony P; Fabbro, Doriano; Fan, Grace; McGrath, John C; Spedding, Michael; Davies, Jamie A

    2015-12-01

    The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2015/16 provides concise overviews of the key properties of over 1750 human drug targets with their pharmacology, plus links to an open access knowledgebase of drug targets and their ligands (www.guidetopharmacology.org), which provides more detailed views of target and ligand properties. The full contents can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.13347/full. This compilation of the major pharmacological targets is divided into eight areas of focus: G protein-coupled receptors, ligand-gated ion channels, voltage-gated ion channels, other ion channels, nuclear hormone receptors, catalytic receptors, enzymes and transporters. These are presented with nomenclature guidance and summary information on the best available pharmacological tools, alongside key references and suggestions for further reading. The Concise Guide is published in landscape format in order to facilitate comparison of related targets. It is a condensed version of material contemporary to late 2015, which is presented in greater detail and constantly updated on the website www.guidetopharmacology.org, superseding data presented in the previous Guides to Receptors & Channels and the Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2013/14. It is produced in conjunction with NC-IUPHAR and provides the official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where appropriate. It consolidates information previously curated and displayed separately in IUPHAR-DB and GRAC and provides a permanent, citable, point-in-time record that will survive database updates. © 2015 The Authors. British Journal of Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The British Pharmacological Society.

  13. Concise, Stereocontrolled Synthesis of the Citrinadin B Core Architecture

    PubMed Central

    Guerrero, Carlos A.; Sorensen, Erik J.

    2011-01-01

    A concise, stereocontrolled synthesis of the citrinadin B core architecture from scalemic, readily available starting materials is disclosed. Highlights include ready access to both cyclic tryptophan tautomer and TRANS-2,6-disubstituted piperidine fragments, an efficient, stereoretentive mixed Claisen acylation for the coupling of these halves, and further diastereoselective carbonyl addition and oxidative rearrangement for assembly of the core. PMID:21894952

  14. Acute and chronic psychological stress as risk factors for cardiovascular disease: Insights gained from epidemiological, clinical and experimental studies.

    PubMed

    Lagraauw, H Maxime; Kuiper, Johan; Bot, Ilze

    2015-11-01

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of death worldwide and identification and therapeutic modulation of all its risk factors is necessary to ensure a lower burden on the patient and on society. The physiological response to acute and chronic stress exposure has long been recognized as a potent modulator of immune, endocrine and metabolic pathways, however its direct implications for cardiovascular disease development, progression and as a therapeutic target are not completely understood. More and more attention is given to the bidirectional interaction between psychological and physical health in relation to cardiovascular disease. With atherosclerosis being a chronic disease starting already at an early age the contribution of adverse early life events in affecting adult health risk behavior, health status and disease development is receiving increased attention. In addition, experimental research into the biological pathways involved in stress-induced cardiovascular complications show important roles for metabolic and immunologic maladaptation, resulting in increased disease development and progression. Here we provide a concise overview of human and experimental animal data linking chronic and acute stress to CVD risk and increased progression of the underlying disease atherosclerosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. A Summary of Best Management Practices for Nonpoint Source Pollution

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1992-08-01

    200-1, Environmental Protection and Enhancement, requies that NPS pollution be minimized and that Army installations and major commands comply with...Federal and state regula- tions. However, environmental managers and engineers have no concise summary of alterna- tives available for NPS pollution... environmental managers and engineers have no concise summary of alternatives available for NPS pollution control. This report presents a range of

  16. A glossary of terms to assist the recognition and diagnosis of skin conditions associated with lower-limb chronic oedema.

    PubMed

    Elwell, Rebecca; Craven, Nicholas

    2015-04-01

    There are a number of recognised skin conditions associated with chronic oedema, but the lack of agreed definitions and terminology often leads to poor recognition and a delay in treatment. Many patients are given a diagnostic 'label' (e.g. varicose eczema) that often turns out to be incorrect, leading to an interruption in the patient pathway. Every skin condition can be described in a variety of ways and each professional group adheres to certain phrases and words that, within each discipline, are recognised, but when making onward referral or working between professions, it helps to have clear and concise definitions. This article aims is to standardise the terminology used to describe skin conditions of the lower limbs among health professionals, removing some of the discrepancy, and to develop a glossary to aid recognition, definition and hence diagnosis to ensure prompt and appropriate management is implemented.

  17. State-of-the-art radiation detectors for medical imaging: Demands and trends

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Darambara, Dimitra G.

    2006-12-01

    Over the last half-century a variety of significant technical advances in several scientific fields has been pointing to an exploding growth in the field of medical imaging leading to a better interpretation of more specific anatomical, biochemical and molecular pathways. In particular, the development of novel imaging detectors and readout electronics has been critical to the advancement of medical imaging allowing the invention of breakthrough platforms for simultaneous acquisition of multi-modality images at molecular level. The present paper presents a review of the challenges, demands and constraints on radiation imaging detectors imposed by the nature of the modality and the physics of the imaging source. This is followed by a concise review and perspective on various types of state-of-the-art detector technologies that have been developed to meet these requirements. Trends, prospects and new concepts for future imaging detectors are also highlighted.

  18. Concise Review: Regeneration in Mammalian Cochlea Hair Cells: Help from Supporting Cells Transdifferentiation.

    PubMed

    Franco, Bénédicte; Malgrange, Brigitte

    2017-03-01

    It is commonly assumed that mammalian cochlear cells do not regenerate. Therefore, if hair cells are lost following an injury, no recovery could occur. However, during the first postnatal week, mice harbor some progenitor cells that retain the ability to give rise to new hair cells. These progenitor cells are in fact supporting cells. Upon hair cells loss, those cells are able to generate new hair cells both by direct transdifferentiation or following cell cycle re-entry and differentiation. However, this property of supporting cells is progressively lost after birth. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms that are involved in mammalian hair cell development and regeneration. Manipulating pathways used during development constitute good candidates for inducing hair cell regeneration after injury. Despite these promising studies, there is still no evidence for a recovery following hair cells loss in adult mammals. Stem Cells 2017;35:551-556. © 2017 AlphaMed Press.

  19. A Subspace Approach to the Structural Decomposition and Identification of Ankle Joint Dynamic Stiffness.

    PubMed

    Jalaleddini, Kian; Tehrani, Ehsan Sobhani; Kearney, Robert E

    2017-06-01

    The purpose of this paper is to present a structural decomposition subspace (SDSS) method for decomposition of the joint torque to intrinsic, reflexive, and voluntary torques and identification of joint dynamic stiffness. First, it formulates a novel state-space representation for the joint dynamic stiffness modeled by a parallel-cascade structure with a concise parameter set that provides a direct link between the state-space representation matrices and the parallel-cascade parameters. Second, it presents a subspace method for the identification of the new state-space model that involves two steps: 1) the decomposition of the intrinsic and reflex pathways and 2) the identification of an impulse response model of the intrinsic pathway and a Hammerstein model of the reflex pathway. Extensive simulation studies demonstrate that SDSS has significant performance advantages over some other methods. Thus, SDSS was more robust under high noise conditions, converging where others failed; it was more accurate, giving estimates with lower bias and random errors. The method also worked well in practice and yielded high-quality estimates of intrinsic and reflex stiffnesses when applied to experimental data at three muscle activation levels. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that SDSS accurately decomposes the intrinsic and reflex torques and provides accurate estimates of physiologically meaningful parameters. SDSS will be a valuable tool for studying joint stiffness under functionally important conditions. It has important clinical implications for the diagnosis, assessment, objective quantification, and monitoring of neuromuscular diseases that change the muscle tone.

  20. The TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS): design, current status, and selected findings.

    PubMed

    Ormel, Johan; Oldehinkel, Albertine J; Sijtsema, Jelle; van Oort, Floor; Raven, Dennis; Veenstra, Rene; Vollebergh, Wilma A M; Verhulst, Frank C

    2012-10-01

    The objectives of this study were as follows: to present a concise overview of the sample, outcomes, determinants, non-response and attrition of the ongoing TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), which started in 2001; to summarize a selection of recent findings on continuity, discontinuity, risk, and protective factors of mental health problems; and to document the development of psychopathology during adolescence, focusing on whether the increase of problem behavior often seen in adolescence is a general phenomenon or more prevalent in vulnerable teens, thereby giving rise to diverging developmental pathways. The first and second objectives were achieved using descriptive statistics and selective review of previous TRAILS publications; and the third objective by analyzing longitudinal data on internalizing and externalizing problems using Linear Mixed Models (LMM). The LMM analyses supported the notion of diverging pathways for rule-breaking behaviors but not for anxiety, depression, or aggression. Overall, rule-breaking (in both genders) and withdrawn/depressed behavior (in girls) increased, whereas aggression and anxious/depressed behavior decreased during adolescence. TRAILS has produced a wealth of data and has contributed substantially to our understanding of mental health problems and social development during adolescence. Future waves will expand this database into adulthood. The typical development of problem behaviors in adolescence differs considerably across both problem dimensions and gender. Developmental pathways during adolescence suggest accumulation of risk (i.e., diverging pathways) for rule-breaking behavior. However, those of anxiety, depression and aggression slightly converge, suggesting the influence of counter-forces and changes in risk unrelated to initial problem levels and underlying vulnerability. Copyright © 2012 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. A concise and practical stereoselective synthesis of ipragliflozin L-proline

    PubMed Central

    Ma, Shuai; Liu, Zhenren; Pan, Jing; Zhang, Shunli

    2017-01-01

    A concise and practical stereoselective synthesis of ipragliflozin L-proline was presented starting from 2-[(5-iodo-2-fluorophenyl)methyl]-1-benzothiophene and 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-pivaloyl-α-D-glucopyranosyl bromide without catalyst via iodine–lithium–zinc exchange. The overall yield was 52% in three steps and the product purity was excellent. Two key diastereomers were prepared with efficient and direct access to the α-C-arylglucoside. PMID:28684985

  2. Mental Representations Formed From Educational Website Formats

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Elizabeth T. Cady; Kimberly R. Raddatz; Tuan Q. Tran

    2006-10-01

    The increasing popularity of web-based distance education places high demand on distance educators to format web pages to facilitate learning. However, limited guidelines exist regarding appropriate writing styles for web-based distance education. This study investigated the effect of four different writing styles on reader’s mental representation of hypertext. Participants studied hypertext written in one of four web-writing styles (e.g., concise, scannable, objective, and combined) and were then administered a cued association task intended to measure their mental representations of the hypertext. It is hypothesized that the scannable and combined styles will bias readers to scan rather than elaborately read, whichmore » may result in less dense mental representations (as identified through Pathfinder analysis) relative to the objective and concise writing styles. Further, the use of more descriptors in the objective writing style will lead to better integration of ideas and more dense mental representations than the concise writing style.« less

  3. Beyond the classical theory of heat conduction: a perspective view of future from entropy

    PubMed Central

    Lai, Xiang; Zhu, Pingan

    2016-01-01

    Energy is conserved by the first law of thermodynamics; its quality degrades constantly due to entropy generation, by the second law of thermodynamics. It is thus important to examine the entropy generation regarding the way to reduce its magnitude and the limit of entropy generation as time tends to infinity regarding whether it is bounded or not. This work initiates such an analysis with one-dimensional heat conduction. The work not only offers some fundamental insights of universe and its future, but also builds up the relation between the second law of thermodynamics and mathematical inequalities via developing the latter of either new or classical nature. A concise review of entropy is also included for the interest of performing the analysis in this work and the similar analysis for other processes in the future. PMID:27843400

  4. NMR Mapping of Protein Conformational Landscapes using Coordinated Behavior of Chemical Shifts upon Ligand Binding

    PubMed Central

    Cembran, Alessandro; Kim, Jonggul; Gao, Jiali; Veglia, Gianluigi

    2014-01-01

    Proteins exist as an ensemble of conformers that are distributed on free energy landscapes resembling folding funnels. While the most stable conformers populate low energy basins, protein function is often carried out through low-populated conformational states that occupy high energy basins. Ligand binding shifts the populations of these states, changing the distribution of these conformers. Understanding how the equilibrium among the states is altered upon ligand binding, interaction with other binding partners, and/or mutations and post-translational modifications is of critical importance for explaining allosteric signaling in proteins. Here, we propose a statistical analysis of the chemical shifts (CONCISE, COordiNated ChemIcal Shifts bEhavior) for the interpretation of protein conformational equilibria following linear trajectories of NMR chemical shifts. CONCISE enables one to quantitatively measure the population shifts associated with ligand titrations and estimate the degree of collectiveness of the protein residues’ response to ligand binding, giving a concise view of the structural transitions. The combination of CONCISE with thermocalorimetric and kinetic data allows one to depict a protein’s approximate conformational energy landscape. We tested this method with the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A, a ubiquitous enzyme that undergoes conformational transitions upon both nucleotide and pseudo-substrate binding. When complemented with chemical shift covariance analysis (CHESCA), this new method offers both collective response and residue-specific correlations for ligand binding to proteins. PMID:24604024

  5. Knowledge representation in metabolic pathway databases.

    PubMed

    Stobbe, Miranda D; Jansen, Gerbert A; Moerland, Perry D; van Kampen, Antoine H C

    2014-05-01

    The accurate representation of all aspects of a metabolic network in a structured format, such that it can be used for a wide variety of computational analyses, is a challenge faced by a growing number of researchers. Analysis of five major metabolic pathway databases reveals that each database has made widely different choices to address this challenge, including how to deal with knowledge that is uncertain or missing. In concise overviews, we show how concepts such as compartments, enzymatic complexes and the direction of reactions are represented in each database. Importantly, also concepts which a database does not represent are described. Which aspects of the metabolic network need to be available in a structured format and to what detail differs per application. For example, for in silico phenotype prediction, a detailed representation of gene-protein-reaction relations and the compartmentalization of the network is essential. Our analysis also shows that current databases are still limited in capturing all details of the biology of the metabolic network, further illustrated with a detailed analysis of three metabolic processes. Finally, we conclude that the conceptual differences between the databases, which make knowledge exchange and integration a challenge, have not been resolved, so far, by the exchange formats in which knowledge representation is standardized.

  6. Rare phenotypes in the understanding of autoimmunity

    PubMed Central

    Zeissig, Yvonne; Petersen, Britt-Sabina; Franke, Andre; Blumberg, Richard S; Zeissig, Sebastian

    2017-01-01

    The study of rare phenotypes has a long history in the description of autoimmune disorders. First Mendelian syndromes of idiopathic tissue destruction were defined more than 100 years ago and were later revealed to result from immune-mediated reactivity against self. In the past two decades, continuous advances in sequencing technology and particularly the advent of next-generation sequencing have allowed to define the genetic basis of an ever-growing number of Mendelian forms of autoimmunity. This has provided unique insight into the molecular pathways that govern immunological homeostasis and that are indispensable for the prevention of self-reactive immune-mediated tissue damage and ‘horror autotoxicus’. Here we will discuss selected examples of past and recent investigations into rare phenotypes of autoimmunity that have delineated pathways critical for central and peripheral control of the adaptive immune system. We will outline the implications of these findings for rare and common forms of autoimmunity and will discuss the benefits and potential pitfalls of the integration of next-generation sequencing into algorithms for clinical diagnostics. Because of the concise nature of this review, we will focus on syndromes caused by defects in the control of adaptive immunity as innate immune-mediated autoinflammatory disorders have been covered in excellent recent reviews on Mendelian and polygenic forms of autoimmunity. PMID:27562064

  7. Concise Redox Deracemization of Secondary and Tertiary Amines with a Tetrahydroisoquinoline Core via a Nonenzymatic Process.

    PubMed

    Ji, Yue; Shi, Lei; Chen, Mu-Wang; Feng, Guang-Shou; Zhou, Yong-Gui

    2015-08-26

    A concise deracemization of racemic secondary and tertiary amines with a tetrahydroisoquinoline core has been successfully realized by orchestrating a redox process consisted of N-bromosuccinimide oxidation and iridum-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation. This compatible redox combination enables one-pot, single-operation deracemization to generate chiral 1-substituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines with up to 98% ee in 93% yield, offering a simple and scalable synthetic technique for chiral amines directly from racemic starting materials.

  8. Concise chemical synthesis of a tetrasaccharide repeating unit of the O-antigen of Hafnia alvei 10457.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Rishi; Maulik, Prakas R; Misra, Anup Kumar

    2008-08-01

    Concise chemical synthesis of a tetrasaccharide repeating unit of the O-antigen of Hafnia alvei 10457 is reported. Construction of the tetrasaccharide as its 4-methoxyphenyl glycoside was achieved by condensation of less abundant monosaccharide units such as, D-galactofuranose, N-acetyl-D-galactosamine and N-acetylneuraminic acid. The synthetic strategy consists of the preparation of suitably protected required monosaccharide intermediates from the commercially available reducing sugars and high yielding glycosylation reactions.

  9. Extravehicular activities limitations study. Volume 2: Establishment of physiological and performance criteria for EVA gloves

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ohara, John M.; Briganti, Michael; Cleland, John; Winfield, Dan

    1988-01-01

    One of the major probelms faced in Extravehicular Activity (EVA) glove development has been the absence of concise and reliable methods to measure the effects of EVA gloves on human hand capabilities. This report describes the development of a standardized set of tests designed to assess EVA-gloved hand capabilities in six measurement domains: Range of Motion, Strength, Tactile Perception, Dexterity, Fatigue, and Comfort. Based on an assessment of general human hand functioning and EVA task requirements several tests within each measurement domain were developed to provide a comprehensive evaluation. All tests were designed to be conducted in a glove box with the bare hand as a baseline and the EVA glove at operating pressure. A test program was conducted to evaluate the tests using a representative EVA glove. Eleven test subjects participated in a repeated-measures design. The report presents the results of the tests in each capability domain.

  10. GLASS TRANSITION AND DEGREE OF CONVERSION OF A LIGHT-CURED ORTHODONTIC COMPOSITE

    PubMed Central

    Sostena, Michela M. D. S.; Nogueira, Renata A.; Grandini, Carlos R.; Moraes, João Carlos Silos

    2009-01-01

    Objective: This study evaluated the glass transition temperature (Tg) and degree of conversion (DC) of a light-cured (Fill Magic) versus a chemically cured (Concise) orthodontic composite. Material and Methods: Anelastic relaxation spectroscopy was used for the first time to determine the Tg of a dental composite, while the DC was evaluated by infrared spectroscopy. The light-cured composite specimens were irradiated with a commercial LED light-curing unit using different exposure times (40, 90 and 120 s). Results: Fill Magic presented lower Tg than Concise (35-84°C versus 135°C), but reached a higher DC. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that Fill Magic has lower Tg than Concise due to its higher organic phase content, and that when this light-cured composite is used to bond orthodontic brackets, a minimum energy density of 7.8 J/cm2 is necessary to reach adequate conversion level and obtain satisfactory adhesion. PMID:20027428

  11. GAPIT: genome association and prediction integrated tool.

    PubMed

    Lipka, Alexander E; Tian, Feng; Wang, Qishan; Peiffer, Jason; Li, Meng; Bradbury, Peter J; Gore, Michael A; Buckler, Edward S; Zhang, Zhiwu

    2012-09-15

    Software programs that conduct genome-wide association studies and genomic prediction and selection need to use methodologies that maximize statistical power, provide high prediction accuracy and run in a computationally efficient manner. We developed an R package called Genome Association and Prediction Integrated Tool (GAPIT) that implements advanced statistical methods including the compressed mixed linear model (CMLM) and CMLM-based genomic prediction and selection. The GAPIT package can handle large datasets in excess of 10 000 individuals and 1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms with minimal computational time, while providing user-friendly access and concise tables and graphs to interpret results. http://www.maizegenetics.net/GAPIT. zhiwu.zhang@cornell.edu Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  12. Alumina Matrix Composites with Non-Oxide Nanoparticle Addition and Enhanced Functionalities

    PubMed Central

    Galusek, Dušan; Galusková, Dagmar

    2015-01-01

    The addition of SiC or TiC nanoparticles to polycrystalline alumina matrix has long been known as an efficient way of improving the mechanical properties of alumina-based ceramics, especially strength, creep, and wear resistance. Recently, new types of nano-additives, such as carbon nanotubes (CNT), carbon nanofibers (CNF), and graphene sheets have been studied in order not only to improve the mechanical properties, but also to prepare materials with added functionalities, such as thermal and electrical conductivity. This paper provides a concise review of several types of alumina-based nanocomposites, evaluating the efficiency of various preparation methods and additives in terms of their influence on the properties of composites. PMID:28347002

  13. An Introduction to the Gas Phase

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vallance, Claire

    2017-11-01

    'An Introduction to the Gas Phase' is adapted from a set of lecture notes for a core first year lecture course in physical chemistry taught at the University of Oxford. The book is intended to give a relatively concise introduction to the gas phase at a level suitable for any undergraduate scientist. After defining the gas phase, properties of gases such as temperature, pressure, and volume are discussed. The relationships between these properties are explained at a molecular level, and simple models are introduced that allow the various gas laws to be derived from first principles. Finally, the collisional behaviour of gases is used to explain a number of gas-phase phenomena, such as effusion, diffusion, and thermal conductivity.

  14. An Ever Present Danger: A Concise History of British Military Operations on the North-West Frontier, 1849-1947 (Occasional Paper, Number 33)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-06-01

    belong almost exclusively to the trans-border Pashtun tribes. As Thomas H. Johnson and M. Chris Mason have pointed out; “The implica- 2 tions of the...Moreman, The Army in India and the Development of Frontier Warfare, 1849–1947 (London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 1998), 240. 4. Thomas H. Johnson and M...time they confronted the Pashtun tribes of the North-West Frontier. 14 Notes 1. Barbara D. Metcalf and Thomas R. Metcalf, A Concise History

  15. Monte Carlo analysis of uncertainty propagation in a stratospheric model. 1: Development of a concise stratospheric model

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rundel, R. D.; Butler, D. M.; Stolarski, R. S.

    1977-01-01

    A concise model has been developed to analyze uncertainties in stratospheric perturbations, yet uses a minimum of computer time and is complete enough to represent the results of more complex models. The steady state model applies iteration to achieve coupling between interacting species. The species are determined from diffusion equations with appropriate sources and sinks. Diurnal effects due to chlorine nitrate formation are accounted for by analytic approximation. The model has been used to evaluate steady state perturbations due to injections of chlorine and NO(X).

  16. Concise synthesis and PTP1B inhibitory activity of (R)- and (S)-dihydroresorcylide.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Cheng-Shi; Zhang, Li; Gong, Jing-Xu; Li, Jing-Ya; Yao, Li-Gong; Li, Jia; Guo, Yue-Wei

    2017-12-01

    The present study was designed to develop a concise synthetic route for macrolide, with the purpose of confirming the absolute configuration of natural dihydroresorcylide (1) and making it more easily accessible for biological evaluation. The absolute configuration of C-3 in natural 1 was revised to be R by comparison of the rotation sign of synthetic (R)- and (S)-1. The synthetic (R)-1 was found to be a novel highly specific PTP1B inhibitor with an IC 50 value of 17.06 μM.

  17. Effects of Plants and Isolates of Celastraceae Family on Cancer Pathways.

    PubMed

    Bukhari, Syed Nasir Abbas; Jantan, Ibrahim; Seyed, Mohamed Ali

    2015-01-01

    The evaluation of crude drugs of natural origin as sources of new effective anticancer agents continues to be important due to the lack of effective anticancer drugs currently used in practice which are generally accompanied with adverse effects at different levels of severity. The aim of this concise review is to gather existing literature on anticancer potential of extracts and compounds isolated from Celastraceae species. This review covers six genera (Maytenus, Tripterygium, Hippocratea, Gymnosporia, Celastrus and Austroplenckia) belonging to this family and their 33 isolates. Studies carried out by using different cell lines have shown remarkable indication of anticancer activity, however, only a restricted number of studies have been reported using in vivo tumor models. Some of the compounds, such as triptolide, celastrol and demethylzeylasteral from T. wilfordii, have been extensively studied on their mechanisms of action due to their potent activity on various cancer cell lines. Such promising lead compounds should generate considerable interest among scientists to improve their therapeutic potential with fewer side effects by molecular modification.

  18. Comprehensive review of genetic factors contributing to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma development in low-risk, nontraditional patients.

    PubMed

    Gingerich, Morgan A; Smith, Joshua D; Michmerhuizen, Nicole L; Ludwig, Megan; Devenport, Samantha; Matovina, Chloe; Brenner, Chad; Chinn, Steven B

    2018-05-01

    The past 2 decades have seen an increased incidence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in a nontraditional, low-risk patient population (ie, ≤45 years of age, no substance use history), owing to a combination of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and individual genetic variation. Articles positing genetic variants as contributing factors in HNSCC incidence in low-risk, nontraditional patients were identified using a PubMed search, reviewed in detail, and concisely summarized herein. Recent data suggest that common polymorphisms in DNA repair enzymes, cell-cycle control proteins, apoptotic pathway members, and Fanconi anemia-associated genes likely modulate susceptibility to HNSCC development in low-risk, nontraditional patients. At present, there is a lack of robust, comprehensive data on genetic drivers of oncogenesis in low-risk patients and a clear need for further research on genetic alterations underlying the rising incidence of HNSCC in low-risk, nontraditional patients. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Progress in bipolar disorder drug design toward the development of novel therapeutic targets: a clinician's perspective.

    PubMed

    Fornaro, Michele; Kardash, Lubna; Novello, Stefano; Fusco, Andrea; Anastasia, Annalisa; De Berardis, Domenico; Perna, Giampaolo; Carta, Mauro Giovanni

    2018-03-01

    Bipolar disorder (BD) is a considerable burden to the affected individual. The need for novel drug targets and improved drug design (DD) in BD is therefore clear. Areas covered: The following article provides a brief, narrative, clinician-oriented overview of the most promising novel pharmacological targets for BD along with a concise overview regarding the general DD process and the unmet needs relevant to BD. Expert opinion: A number of novel potential drug targets have been investigated. With the notable exception of the kynurenine pathway, available evidence is too scarce to highlight a definitive roadmap for forthcoming DD in BD. BD itself may present with different facets, as it is a polymorphic clinical spectrum. Therefore, promoting clinical-case stratification should be based on precision medicine, rather than on novel biological targets. Furthermore, the full release of raw study data to the scientific community and the development of uniform clinical trial standards (including more realistic outcomes) should be promoted to facilitate the DD process in BD.

  20. Ontology aided modeling of organic reaction mechanisms with flexible and fragment based XML markup procedures.

    PubMed

    Sankar, Punnaivanam; Aghila, Gnanasekaran

    2007-01-01

    The mechanism models for primary organic reactions encoding the structural fragments undergoing substitution, addition, elimination, and rearrangements are developed. In the proposed models, each and every structural component of mechanistic pathways is represented with flexible and fragment based markup technique in XML syntax. A significant feature of the system is the encoding of the electron movements along with the other components like charges, partial charges, half bonded species, lone pair electrons, free radicals, reaction arrows, etc. needed for a complete representation of reaction mechanism. The rendering of reaction schemes described with the proposed methodology is achieved with a concise XML extension language interoperating with the structure markup. The reaction scheme is visualized as 2D graphics in a browser by converting them into SVG documents enabling the desired layouts normally perceived by the chemists conventionally. An automatic representation of the complex patterns of the reaction mechanism is achieved by reusing the knowledge in chemical ontologies and developing artificial intelligence components in terms of axioms.

  1. From embryonic stem cells to functioning germ cells: science, clinical and ethical perspectives.

    PubMed

    Kiatpongsan, Sorapop

    2007-10-01

    Embryonic stem cells have been well recognized as cells having a versatile potential to differentiate into all types of cells in the body including germ cells. There are many research studies focusing on the differentiation processes and protocols to derive various types of somatic cells from embryonic stem cells. However, germ cells have unique differentiation process and developmental pathway compared with somatic cells. Consequently, they will require different differentiation protocols and special culture techniques. More understanding and established in vitro systems for gametogenesis will greatly contribute to further progression of knowledge and technology in germ cell biology, reproductive biology and reproductive medicine. Moreover if oocytes can be efficiently produced in vitro, this will play an important role on progression in nuclear transfer and nuclear reprogramming technology. The present article will provide concise review on past important discoveries, current ongoing studies and future views of this challenging research area. An ethical perspective has also been proposed to give comprehensive summary and viewpoint for future clinical application.

  2. When the value of gold is zero.

    PubMed

    Chase, J Geoffrey; Moeller, Knut; Shaw, Geoffrey M; Schranz, Christoph; Chiew, Yeong Shiong; Desaive, Thomas

    2014-06-27

    This manuscript presents the concerns around the increasingly common problem of not having readily available or useful "gold standard" measurements. This issue is particularly important in critical care where many measurements used in decision making are surrogates of what we would truly wish to use. However, the question is broad, important and applicable in many other areas.In particular, a gold standard measurement often exists, but is not clinically (or ethically in some cases) feasible. The question is how does one even begin to develop new measurements or surrogates if one has no gold standard to compare with?We raise this issue concisely with a specific example from mechanical ventilation, a core bread and butter therapy in critical care that is also a leading cause of length of stay and cost of care. Our proposed solution centers around a hierarchical validation approach that we believe would ameliorate ethics issues around radiation exposure that make current gold standard measures clinically infeasible, and thus provide a pathway to create a (new) gold standard.

  3. An evaluation of portion size estimation aids: Consumer perspectives on their effectiveness.

    PubMed

    Faulkner, Gemma P; Livingstone, M Barbara E; Pourshahidi, L Kirsty; Spence, Michelle; Dean, Moira; O'Brien, Sinead; Gibney, Eileen R; Wallace, Julie M W; McCaffrey, Tracy A; Kerr, Maeve A

    2017-07-01

    This qualitative study aimed to investigate consumer opinions on the usefulness of portion size estimation aids (PSEA); consumer preferences in terms of format and context for use; and the level of detail of guidance considered necessary for the effective application of PSEA. Six focus groups (three to eight participants per group) were conducted to elicit views on PSEA. The discussions were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed by two independent researchers using a template approach. The focus groups were conducted in 2013 by an experienced moderator in various sites across the island of Ireland (three in the Republic of Ireland and three in Northern Ireland) including local leisure, community and resource centres; the home environment; and a university meeting room. General population, males (n = 17) and females (n = 15) aged 18-64 years old. Participants were recruited from both urban and rural locations representing a range of socio-economic groups. The majority of participants deemed the coloured portion pots and disposable plastic cup (household measures) to be useful particularly for the estimation of amorphous cereal products (e.g. breakfast cereals). Preferences were evident for "visual" PSEA (reference objects, household measures and food packaging) rather than 'quantities and measures' such as weighing in grams or ounces. Participants stated that PS education should be concise, consistent, from a reputable source, initiated at school age and communicated innovatively e.g. mobile app or TV advertisement. Guidance in relation to gender, age and activity level was favoured over a "one size fits all" approach. This study identified consumer preferences and acceptance of "visual" PSEA such as portion pots/cups to estimate appropriate PS of amorphous grain foods such as breakfast cereals, pasta and rice. Concise information from a reputable source in relation to gender, age and activity level should accompany PSEA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Exocyst and autophagy-related membrane trafficking in plants.

    PubMed

    Pecenková, Tamara; Markovic, Vedrana; Sabol, Peter; Kulich, Ivan; Žárský, Viktor

    2017-12-18

    Endomembrane traffic in eukaryotic cells functions partially as a means of communication; delivery of membrane in one direction has to be balanced with a reduction at the other end. This effect is typically the case during the defence against pathogens. To combat pathogens, cellular growth and differentiation are suppressed, while endomembrane traffic is poised towards limiting the pathogen attack. The octameric exocyst vesicle-tethering complex was originally discovered as a factor facilitating vesicle-targeting and vesicle-plasma membrane (PM) fusion during exocytosis prior to and possibly during SNARE complex formation. Interestingly, it was recently implicated both in animals and plants in autophagy membrane traffic. In animal cells, the exocyst is integrated into the mTOR-regulated energy metabolism stress/starvation pathway, participating in the formation and especially initiation of an autophagosome. In plants, the first functional link was to autophagy-related anthocyanin import to the vacuole and to starvation. In this concise review, we summarize the current knowledge of exocyst functions in autophagy and defence in plants that might involve unconventional secretion and compare it with animal conditions. Formation of different exocyst complexes during undisturbed cell growth, as opposed to periods of cellular stress reactions involving autophagy, might contribute to the coordination of endomembrane trafficking pathways. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Bio-inspired synthesis yields a tricyclic indoline that selectively resensitizes methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to β-lactam antibiotics

    PubMed Central

    Podoll, Jessica D.; Liu, Yongxiang; Chang, Le; Walls, Shane; Wang, Wei; Wang, Xiang

    2013-01-01

    The continuous emergence of resistant bacteria has become a major worldwide health threat. The current development of new antibacterials has lagged far behind. To discover reagents to fight against resistant bacteria, we initiated a chemical approach by synthesizing and screening a small molecule library, reminiscent of the polycyclic indole alkaloids. Indole alkaloids are a class of structurally diverse natural products, many of which were isolated from plants that have been used as traditional medicine for millennia. Specifically, we adapted an evolutionarily conserved biosynthetic strategy and developed a concise and unified diversity synthesis pathway. Using this pathway, we synthesized 120 polycyclic indolines that contain 26 distinct skeletons and a wide variety of functional groups. A tricyclic indoline, Of1, was discovered to selectively potentiate the activity of β-lactam antibiotics in multidrug-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but not in methicillin-sensitive S. aureus. In addition, we found that Of1 itself does not have antiproliferative activity but can resensitize several MRSA strains to the β-lactam antibiotics that are widely used in the clinic, such as an extended-spectrum β-lactam antibiotic amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and a first-generation cephalosporin cefazolin. These data suggest that Of1 is a unique selective resistance-modifying agent for β-lactam antibiotics, and it may be further developed to fight against resistant bacteria in the clinic. PMID:24019472

  6. Concise Review: Challenges in Regenerating the Diabetic Heart: A Comprehensive Review.

    PubMed

    Satthenapalli, Venkata R; Lamberts, Regis R; Katare, Rajesh G

    2017-09-01

    Stem cell therapy is one of the promising regenerative strategies developed to improve cardiac function in patients with ischemic heart diseases (IHD). However, this approach is limited in IHD patients with diabetes due to a progressive decline in the regenerative capacity of stem cells. This decline is mainly attributed to the metabolic memory incurred by diabetes on stem cell niche and their systemic cues. Understanding the molecular pathways involved in the diabetes-induced deterioration of stem cell function will be critical for developing new cardiac regeneration therapies. In this review, we first discuss the most common molecular alterations occurring in the diabetic stem cells/progenitor cells. Next, we highlight the key signaling pathways that can be dysregulated in a diabetic environment and impair the mobilization of stem/progenitor cells, which is essential for the transplanted/endogenous stem cells to reach the site of injury. We further discuss the possible methods of preconditioning the diabetic cardiac progenitor cell (CPC) with an aim to enrich the availability of efficient stem cells to regenerate the diseased diabetic heart. Finally, we propose new modalities for enriching the diabetic CPC through genetic or tissue engineering that would aid in developing autologous therapeutic strategies, improving the proliferative, angiogenic, and cardiogenic properties of diabetic stem/progenitor cells. Stem Cells 2017;35:2009-2026. © 2017 AlphaMed Press.

  7. Rapid prototype extruded conductive pathways

    DOEpatents

    Bobbitt, III, John T.

    2016-06-21

    A process of producing electrically conductive pathways within additively manufactured parts and similar parts made by plastic extrusion nozzles. The process allows for a three-dimensional part having both conductive and non-conductive portions and allows for such parts to be manufactured in a single production step.

  8. Method of forming electrical pathways in indium-tin-oxide coatings

    DOEpatents

    Haynes, T.E.

    1996-12-03

    An electrical device includes a substrate having an ITO coating thereon, a portion of which is conductive and defines at least one electrical pathway, and the balance of the ITO being insulative. The device is made by the following general steps: a. providing a substrate having a conductive ITO coating on at least one surface thereof; b. rendering a preselected portion of the coating of conductive ITO insulative, leaving the remaining portion of conductive ITO as at least one electrical pathway. 8 figs.

  9. Method of forming electrical pathways in indium-tin-oxide coatings

    DOEpatents

    Haynes, T.E.

    1997-03-04

    An electrical device includes a substrate having an ITO coating thereon, a portion of which is conductive and defines at least one electrical pathway, the balance of the ITO being insulative. The device is made by the following general steps: (a) providing a substrate having a conductive ITO coating on at least one surface thereof; (b) rendering a preselected portion of the coating of conductive ITO insulative, leaving the remaining portion of conductive ITO as at least one electrical pathway. 8 figs.

  10. Method of forming electrical pathways in indium-tin-oxide coatings

    DOEpatents

    Haynes, Tony E.

    1996-01-01

    An electrical device includes a substrate having an ITO coating thereon, a portion of which is conductive and defines at least one electrical pathway, and the balance of the ITO being insulative. The device is made by the following general steps: a. providing a substrate having a conductive ITO coating on at least one surface thereof; b. rendering a preselected portion of the coating of conductive ITO insulative, leaving the remaining portion of conductive ITO as at least one electrical pathway.

  11. Method of forming electrical pathways in indium-tin-oxide coatings

    DOEpatents

    Haynes, Tony E.

    1997-01-01

    An electrical device includes a substrate having an ITO coating thereon, a portion of which is conductive and defines at least one electrical pathway, and the balance of the ITO being insulative. The device is made by the following general steps: a. providing a substrate having a conductive ITO coating on at least one surface thereof; b. rendering a preselected portion of the coating of conductive ITO insulative, leaving the remaining portion of conductive ITO as at least one electrical pathway.

  12. Concise Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Finlay, Warren H.

    This book is intended to give a concise summary of some of the more interesting astrophysical facts that are known about objects commonly observed by amateur astronomers. Pondering this information while viewing an object in the field has added a new level to the author's enjoyment of deep-sky observing, and it is hoped this information will be similarly enjoyed by other amateur astronomers. The book is not intended to be read cover to cover, but rather is designed so that each object entry can be read individually one at a time and in no particular order, perhaps while at the eyepiece.

  13. From elementary flux modes to elementary flux vectors: Metabolic pathway analysis with arbitrary linear flux constraints.

    PubMed

    Klamt, Steffen; Regensburger, Georg; Gerstl, Matthias P; Jungreuthmayer, Christian; Schuster, Stefan; Mahadevan, Radhakrishnan; Zanghellini, Jürgen; Müller, Stefan

    2017-04-01

    Elementary flux modes (EFMs) emerged as a formal concept to describe metabolic pathways and have become an established tool for constraint-based modeling and metabolic network analysis. EFMs are characteristic (support-minimal) vectors of the flux cone that contains all feasible steady-state flux vectors of a given metabolic network. EFMs account for (homogeneous) linear constraints arising from reaction irreversibilities and the assumption of steady state; however, other (inhomogeneous) linear constraints, such as minimal and maximal reaction rates frequently used by other constraint-based techniques (such as flux balance analysis [FBA]), cannot be directly integrated. These additional constraints further restrict the space of feasible flux vectors and turn the flux cone into a general flux polyhedron in which the concept of EFMs is not directly applicable anymore. For this reason, there has been a conceptual gap between EFM-based (pathway) analysis methods and linear optimization (FBA) techniques, as they operate on different geometric objects. One approach to overcome these limitations was proposed ten years ago and is based on the concept of elementary flux vectors (EFVs). Only recently has the community started to recognize the potential of EFVs for metabolic network analysis. In fact, EFVs exactly represent the conceptual development required to generalize the idea of EFMs from flux cones to flux polyhedra. This work aims to present a concise theoretical and practical introduction to EFVs that is accessible to a broad audience. We highlight the close relationship between EFMs and EFVs and demonstrate that almost all applications of EFMs (in flux cones) are possible for EFVs (in flux polyhedra) as well. In fact, certain properties can only be studied with EFVs. Thus, we conclude that EFVs provide a powerful and unifying framework for constraint-based modeling of metabolic networks.

  14. From elementary flux modes to elementary flux vectors: Metabolic pathway analysis with arbitrary linear flux constraints

    PubMed Central

    Klamt, Steffen; Gerstl, Matthias P.; Jungreuthmayer, Christian; Mahadevan, Radhakrishnan; Müller, Stefan

    2017-01-01

    Elementary flux modes (EFMs) emerged as a formal concept to describe metabolic pathways and have become an established tool for constraint-based modeling and metabolic network analysis. EFMs are characteristic (support-minimal) vectors of the flux cone that contains all feasible steady-state flux vectors of a given metabolic network. EFMs account for (homogeneous) linear constraints arising from reaction irreversibilities and the assumption of steady state; however, other (inhomogeneous) linear constraints, such as minimal and maximal reaction rates frequently used by other constraint-based techniques (such as flux balance analysis [FBA]), cannot be directly integrated. These additional constraints further restrict the space of feasible flux vectors and turn the flux cone into a general flux polyhedron in which the concept of EFMs is not directly applicable anymore. For this reason, there has been a conceptual gap between EFM-based (pathway) analysis methods and linear optimization (FBA) techniques, as they operate on different geometric objects. One approach to overcome these limitations was proposed ten years ago and is based on the concept of elementary flux vectors (EFVs). Only recently has the community started to recognize the potential of EFVs for metabolic network analysis. In fact, EFVs exactly represent the conceptual development required to generalize the idea of EFMs from flux cones to flux polyhedra. This work aims to present a concise theoretical and practical introduction to EFVs that is accessible to a broad audience. We highlight the close relationship between EFMs and EFVs and demonstrate that almost all applications of EFMs (in flux cones) are possible for EFVs (in flux polyhedra) as well. In fact, certain properties can only be studied with EFVs. Thus, we conclude that EFVs provide a powerful and unifying framework for constraint-based modeling of metabolic networks. PMID:28406903

  15. Genetic control of root growth: from genes to networks

    PubMed Central

    Slovak, Radka; Ogura, Takehiko; Satbhai, Santosh B.; Ristova, Daniela; Busch, Wolfgang

    2016-01-01

    Background Roots are essential organs for higher plants. They provide the plant with nutrients and water, anchor the plant in the soil, and can serve as energy storage organs. One remarkable feature of roots is that they are able to adjust their growth to changing environments. This adjustment is possible through mechanisms that modulate a diverse set of root traits such as growth rate, diameter, growth direction and lateral root formation. The basis of these traits and their modulation are at the cellular level, where a multitude of genes and gene networks precisely regulate development in time and space and tune it to environmental conditions. Scope This review first describes the root system and then presents fundamental work that has shed light on the basic regulatory principles of root growth and development. It then considers emerging complexities and how they have been addressed using systems-biology approaches, and then describes and argues for a systems-genetics approach. For reasons of simplicity and conciseness, this review is mostly limited to work from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, in which much of the research in root growth regulation at the molecular level has been conducted. Conclusions While forward genetic approaches have identified key regulators and genetic pathways, systems-biology approaches have been successful in shedding light on complex biological processes, for instance molecular mechanisms involving the quantitative interaction of several molecular components, or the interaction of large numbers of genes. However, there are significant limitations in many of these methods for capturing dynamic processes, as well as relating these processes to genotypic and phenotypic variation. The emerging field of systems genetics promises to overcome some of these limitations by linking genotypes to complex phenotypic and molecular data using approaches from different fields, such as genetics, genomics, systems biology and phenomics. PMID:26558398

  16. Therapeutic Alliance: A Concept for the Childbearing Season

    PubMed Central

    Doherty, Mary Ellen

    2009-01-01

    This analysis was conducted to describe the concept of therapeutic alliance and its appropriateness for health-care provider-client interactions during the childbearing season. The concept has been defined in other disciplines. A universal definition suggested a merging of efforts directed toward health. A simple and concise definition evolved, which is applicable to the childbearing season as well as to health-care encounters across the life span. This definition states: Therapeutic alliance is a process within a health-care provider-client interaction that is initiated by an identified need for positive client health-care behaviors, whereby both parties work together toward this goal with consideration of the client's current health status and developmental stage within the life span. PMID:20514120

  17. Recent Advances in Electrochemical Biosensors Based on Fullerene-C60 Nano-Structured Platforms.

    PubMed

    Pilehvar, Sanaz; De Wael, Karolien

    2015-11-23

    Nanotechnology is becoming increasingly important in the field of (bio)sensors. The performance and sensitivity of biosensors is greatly improved with the integration of nanomaterials into their construction. Since its first discovery, fullerene-C60 has been the object of extensive research. Its unique and favorable characteristics of easy chemical modification, conductivity, and electrochemical properties has led to its tremendous use in (bio)sensor applications. This paper provides a concise review of advances in fullerene-C60 research and its use as a nanomaterial for the development of biosensors. We examine the research work reported in the literature on the synthesis, functionalization, approaches to nanostructuring electrodes with fullerene, and outline some of the exciting applications in the field of (bio)sensing.

  18. Zernike expansion of derivatives and Laplacians of the Zernike circle polynomials.

    PubMed

    Janssen, A J E M

    2014-07-01

    The partial derivatives and Laplacians of the Zernike circle polynomials occur in various places in the literature on computational optics. In a number of cases, the expansion of these derivatives and Laplacians in the circle polynomials are required. For the first-order partial derivatives, analytic results are scattered in the literature. Results start as early as 1942 in Nijboer's thesis and continue until present day, with some emphasis on recursive computation schemes. A brief historic account of these results is given in the present paper. By choosing the unnormalized version of the circle polynomials, with exponential rather than trigonometric azimuthal dependence, and by a proper combination of the two partial derivatives, a concise form of the expressions emerges. This form is appropriate for the formulation and solution of a model wavefront sensing problem of reconstructing a wavefront on the level of its expansion coefficients from (measurements of the expansion coefficients of) the partial derivatives. It turns out that the least-squares estimation problem arising here decouples per azimuthal order m, and per m the generalized inverse solution assumes a concise analytic form so that singular value decompositions are avoided. The preferred version of the circle polynomials, with proper combination of the partial derivatives, also leads to a concise analytic result for the Zernike expansion of the Laplacian of the circle polynomials. From these expansions, the properties of the Laplacian as a mapping from the space of circle polynomials of maximal degree N, as required in the study of the Neumann problem associated with the transport-of-intensity equation, can be read off within a single glance. Furthermore, the inverse of the Laplacian on this space is shown to have a concise analytic form.

  19. Simultaneous conduction over the fast and slow pathways during induction of atrioventricular nodal reentrant arrhythmia with a rate of less than 100 bpm and infra-His block after radiofrequency ablation of the slow pathway.

    PubMed

    Amasyalı, Basri; Köktürk, Bülent; Otomo, Kiyoshi; Köse, Sedat

    2011-04-01

    Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is the most common form of paroxysmal regular supraventricular tachycardia in adults. It is typically induced with an anterograde block over the fast pathway (FP) and conduction over the slow pathway (SP), with subsequent retrograde conduction over the FP. Rarely, a simultaneous conduction of a premature atrial complex occurs over the FP and SP to induce AVNRT and is called "one for two phenomenon". We present a 46-year-old woman with atrioventricular nodal rhythm with a rate of 95 beats per minute with distinct electrophysiological characteristics showing simultaneous conduction over the FP and SP during induction of tachycardia and an infra-His block after radiofrequency ablation of the SP.

  20. Communication: Dimensionality of the ionic conduction pathways in glass and the mixed-alkali effect.

    PubMed

    Novy, Melissa; Avila-Paredes, Hugo; Kim, Sangtae; Sen, Sabyasachi

    2015-12-28

    A revised empirical relationship between the power law exponent of ac conductivity dispersion and the dimensionality of the ionic conduction pathway is established on the basis of electrical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) measurements on crystalline ionic conductors. These results imply that the "universal" ac conductivity dispersion observed in glassy solids is associated with ionic transport along fractal pathways. EIS measurements on single-alkali glasses indicate that the dimensionality of this pathway D is ∼2.5, while in mixed-alkali glasses, D is lower and goes through a minimum value of ∼2.2 when the concentrations of the two alkalis become equal. D and σ display similar variation with alkali composition, thus suggesting a topological origin of the mixed-alkali effect.

  1. A concise guide for the determination of less-studied technology-critical elements (Nb, Ta, Ga, In, Ge, Te) by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in environmental samples

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Filella, Montserrat; Rodushkin, Ilia

    2018-03-01

    There is an increasing demand for analytical techniques able to measure so-called 'technology-critical elements', a set of chemical elements increasingly used in technological applications, in environmental matrices. Nowadays, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has become the technique of choice for measuring trace element concentrations. However, its application is often less straightforward than often assumed. The hints and drawbacks of ICP-MS application to the measurement of a set of less-studied technology-critical elements (Nb, Ta, Ga, In, Ge and Te) is discussed here and concise guidelines given.

  2. Vascular complications of transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A concise literature review

    PubMed Central

    Chaudhry, Muhammad Ali; Sardar, Muhammad Rizwan

    2017-01-01

    Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a relatively newer therapeutic modality which offers a promising alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement for patients with prohibitive, high and intermediate surgical risk. The increasing trend to pursue TAVR in these patients has also led to growing awareness of the associated potential vascular complications. The significant impact of these complications on eventual clinical outcome and mortality makes prompt recognition and timely management a critical factor in TAVR patients. We hereby present a concise review with emphasis on diverse vascular complications associated with TAVR and their effective management to improve overall clinical outcomes. PMID:28824787

  3. Developmental Pathways to Conduct Disorder: Implications for Future Directions in Research, Assessment, and Treatment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frick, Paul J.

    2012-01-01

    Research has indicated that there are several common pathways through which children and adolescents develop conduct disorder, each with different risk factors and each with different underlying developmental mechanisms leading to the child's aggressive and antisocial behavior. The current article briefly summarizes research on these pathways,…

  4. Recent Advances in Electrochemical Biosensors Based on Fullerene-C60 Nano-Structured Platforms

    PubMed Central

    Pilehvar, Sanaz; De Wael, Karolien

    2015-01-01

    Nanotechnology is becoming increasingly important in the field of (bio)sensors. The performance and sensitivity of biosensors is greatly improved with the integration of nanomaterials into their construction. Since its first discovery, fullerene-C60 has been the object of extensive research. Its unique and favorable characteristics of easy chemical modification, conductivity, and electrochemical properties has led to its tremendous use in (bio)sensor applications. This paper provides a concise review of advances in fullerene-C60 research and its use as a nanomaterial for the development of biosensors. We examine the research work reported in the literature on the synthesis, functionalization, approaches to nanostructuring electrodes with fullerene, and outline some of the exciting applications in the field of (bio)sensing. PMID:26610583

  5. Materials science tetrahedron--a useful tool for pharmaceutical research and development.

    PubMed

    Sun, Changquan Calvin

    2009-05-01

    The concept of materials science tetrahedron (MST) concisely depicts the inter-dependent relationship among the structure, properties, performance, and processing of a drug. Similar to its role in traditional materials science, MST encompasses the development in the emerging field of pharmaceutical materials science and forms a scientific foundation to the design and development of new drug products. Examples are given to demonstrate the applicability of MST to both pharmaceutical research and product development. It is proposed that a systematic implementation of MST can expedite the transformation of pharmaceutical product development from an art to a science. By following the principle of MST, integration of research among different laboratories can be attained. The pharmaceutical science community as a whole can conduct more efficient, collaborative, and coherent research.

  6. How to conduct a high-quality original study on a diagnostic research topic.

    PubMed

    Yao, Xiaomei; Vella, Emily

    2017-09-01

    As health research methodologists and journal reviewers, we noticed that the methodological rigor of many publications on diagnostic or prognostic topics in the medical literature could be improved. We present a concise and clear series of reviews to help clinicians and health researchers to master the basic key components of how to conduct a high-quality original study or systematic review on a diagnostic or prognostic research topic from a methodological perspective. This is the first review of the series, which focuses on how to conduct a high-quality diagnostic study. We are introducing four aspects: clarifying the objectives; generating an appropriate research question; planning the study design; and reporting and analyzing data. This review highlights that diagnostic test accuracy outcomes are surrogates for patient outcomes, a diagnostic test has three roles, the "PIRO" components should be included in a diagnostic research question, a new study should be registered, multiple index tests can be compared in one study, and prevalence affects test accuracy outcomes. This review also emphasizes reporting any thresholds, calculating sample size, and performing a two-by-three table to calculate diagnostic outcomes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Three-dimensional protonic conductivity in porous organic cage solids.

    PubMed

    Liu, Ming; Chen, Linjiang; Lewis, Scott; Chong, Samantha Y; Little, Marc A; Hasell, Tom; Aldous, Iain M; Brown, Craig M; Smith, Martin W; Morrison, Carole A; Hardwick, Laurence J; Cooper, Andrew I

    2016-09-13

    Proton conduction is a fundamental process in biology and in devices such as proton exchange membrane fuel cells. To maximize proton conduction, three-dimensional conduction pathways are preferred over one-dimensional pathways, which prevent conduction in two dimensions. Many crystalline porous solids to date show one-dimensional proton conduction. Here we report porous molecular cages with proton conductivities (up to 10(-3) S cm(-1) at high relative humidity) that compete with extended metal-organic frameworks. The structure of the organic cage imposes a conduction pathway that is necessarily three-dimensional. The cage molecules also promote proton transfer by confining the water molecules while being sufficiently flexible to allow hydrogen bond reorganization. The proton conduction is explained at the molecular level through a combination of proton conductivity measurements, crystallography, molecular simulations and quasi-elastic neutron scattering. These results provide a starting point for high-temperature, anhydrous proton conductors through inclusion of guests other than water in the cage pores.

  8. Three-dimensional protonic conductivity in porous organic cage solids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Ming; Chen, Linjiang; Lewis, Scott; Chong, Samantha Y.; Little, Marc A.; Hasell, Tom; Aldous, Iain M.; Brown, Craig M.; Smith, Martin W.; Morrison, Carole A.; Hardwick, Laurence J.; Cooper, Andrew I.

    2016-09-01

    Proton conduction is a fundamental process in biology and in devices such as proton exchange membrane fuel cells. To maximize proton conduction, three-dimensional conduction pathways are preferred over one-dimensional pathways, which prevent conduction in two dimensions. Many crystalline porous solids to date show one-dimensional proton conduction. Here we report porous molecular cages with proton conductivities (up to 10-3 S cm-1 at high relative humidity) that compete with extended metal-organic frameworks. The structure of the organic cage imposes a conduction pathway that is necessarily three-dimensional. The cage molecules also promote proton transfer by confining the water molecules while being sufficiently flexible to allow hydrogen bond reorganization. The proton conduction is explained at the molecular level through a combination of proton conductivity measurements, crystallography, molecular simulations and quasi-elastic neutron scattering. These results provide a starting point for high-temperature, anhydrous proton conductors through inclusion of guests other than water in the cage pores.

  9. Fabrication of Nitrogen-Doped Mesoporous-Carbon-Coated Palladium Nanoparticles: An Intriguing Electrocatalyst for Methanol and Formic Acid Oxidation.

    PubMed

    Ray, Chaiti; Dutta, Soumen; Sahoo, Ramkrishna; Roy, Anindita; Negishi, Yuichi; Pal, Tarasankar

    2016-05-20

    Inspired by the attractive catalytic properties of palladium and the inert nature of carbon supports in catalysis, a concise and simple methodology for in situ nitrogen-doped mesoporous-carbon-supported palladium nanoparticles (Pd/N-C) has been developed by carbonizing a palladium dimethylglyoximate complex. The as-synthesized Pd/N-C has been exfoliated as a fuel cell catalyst by studying the electro-oxidation of methanol and formic acid. The material synthesized at 400 °C,namely, Pd/N-C-400,exhibitssuperior mass activity and stability among catalysts synthesized under different carbonization temperaturesbetween300 and 500 °C. The unique 1D porous structure in Pd/N-C-400 helps better electron transport at the electrode surface, which eventually leads to about five times better catalytic activity and about two times higher stability than that of commercial Pd/C. Thus, our designed sacrificial metal-organic templatedirected pathway becomes a promising technique for Pd/N-C synthesis with superior catalytic performances. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Integrin αIIbβ3 outside-in signaling

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Integrin αIIbβ3 is a highly abundant heterodimeric platelet receptor that can transmit information bidirectionally across the plasma membrane, and plays a critical role in hemostasis and thrombosis. Upon platelet activation, inside-out signaling pathways increase the affinity of αIIbβ3 for fibrinogen and other ligands. Ligand binding and integrin clustering subsequently stimulate outside-in signaling, which initiates and amplifies a range of cellular events driving essential platelet processes such as spreading, thrombus consolidation, and clot retraction. Integrin αIIbβ3 has served as an excellent model for the study of integrin biology, and it has become clear that integrin outside-in signaling is highly complex and involves a vast array of enzymes, signaling adaptors, and cytoskeletal components. In this review, we provide a concise but comprehensive overview of αIIbβ3 outside-in signaling, focusing on the key players involved, and how they cooperate to orchestrate this critical aspect of platelet biology. We also discuss gaps in the current understanding of αIIbβ3 outside-in signaling and highlight avenues for future investigation. PMID:28794070

  11. Targeted α-Particle Therapy of Bone Metastases in Prostate Cancer

    PubMed Central

    Jadvar, Hossein; Quinn, David I.

    2013-01-01

    Medical oncology is moving toward personalized and precision treatments. This evolution is spearheaded by ongoing discoveries on the fundamental machinery that controls tumor and hosts microenvironment biological behavior. α-Particles with their high energy and short range had long been recognized as potentially useful in the treatment of cancer. More than a century after the discovery of radium by the Curies, 223Ra dichloride is now available in the expanding armamentarium of therapies for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. This advance occurs in the context of several other novel therapeutics in advanced prostate cancer that include more effective androgen receptor pathway inhibition, better chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. We present a concise review on the therapeutic use of 223Ra dichloride in this clinically important setting including excerpts on the radium history, physical properties, the alpharadin in symptomatic prostate cancer clinical trial, and practical information on its use in the clinic. It is anticipated that, with the current emergence of 223Ra as a viable form of therapy, interest in and use of α-particle therapy in the management of cancer will grow. PMID:24212441

  12. Concise, stereodivergent and highly stereoselective synthesis of cis- and trans-2-substituted 3-hydroxypiperidines – development of a phosphite-driven cyclodehydration

    PubMed Central

    Westphal, Julia C

    2014-01-01

    Summary A concise (5 to 6 steps), stereodivergent, highly diastereoselective (dr up to >19:1 for both stereoisomers) and scalable synthesis (up to 14 g) of cis- and trans-2-substituted 3-piperidinols, a core motif in numerous bioactive compounds, is presented. This sequence allowed an efficient synthesis of the NK-1 inhibitor L-733,060 in 8 steps. Additionally, a cyclodehydration-realizing simple triethylphosphite as a substitute for triphenylphosphine is developed. Here the stoichiometric oxidized P(V)-byproduct (triethylphosphate) is easily removed during the work up through saponification overcoming separation difficulties usually associated to triphenylphosphine oxide. PMID:24605158

  13. A three-pathway pore model describes extensive transport data from Mammalian microvascular beds and frog microvessels.

    PubMed

    Wolf, Matthew B

    2002-12-01

    To show that a three-pathway pore model can describe extensive transport data in cat and rat skeletal muscle microvascular beds and in frog mesenteric microvessels. A three-pathway pore model was used to predict transport data measured in various microcirculatory preparations. The pathways consist of 4- and 24-nm radii pore systems with a 2.5:1 ratio of hydraulic conductivities and a water-only pathway of variable conductivity. The pore sizes and relative hydraulic conductivities of the small- and large-pore systems were derived from a model fit to reflection coefficient (sigma) data in the cat hindlimb. The fraction (alpha(w)) of total hydraulic conductivity (L(p)) or hydraulic capacity (L(p)S) contributed by the water-only pathway was uniquely determined for each preparation by a fit of the three-pathway model (parameters fixed as above) to sigma data measured in that preparation. These parameter values were unchanged when the model was used to predict diffusion capacity (permeability-surface area product, P(d)S) data in the cat or rat preparations or diffusional permeability (P(d)) data in frog microvessels. The values for L(p) or L(p)S used to predict diffusional data in each preparation were taken from the literature. Predictions of P(d) ratios for solute pairs were also compared with experimental data. The three-pathway model closely predicted the trend of P(d)S or P(d) experimental data in all three preparations; in general, predicted P(d) ratios for paired solutes were quite similar to experimental data. For these comparisons, the only parameter varied between these preparations was alpha(w). It varied considerably, from 7 to 16 to 41% of total in frog, rat, and cat preparations. Individual P(d)S or P(d) experimental data were closely predicted in the cat but somewhat overestimated in the frog and rat. This result could be due the use of L(p) or L(p)S values in the model that were affected by methodological problems. Calculated hydraulic conductivities of the water-only pathway in the three preparations were quite similar. : These results support the hypothesis of a common structure of the transmembrane pathways in these three, very different, microcirculatory preparations. What varies considerably between them is the total number of solute-conducting pathways, but not their dimensions, nor the hydraulic conductivities of their water-only pathways. Because of the wide variation of alpha(w) among these preparations, the ratio of P(d) to L(p) for any solute is not constant, but the deviation from constancy may not be detectable because of errors in the experimental data.

  14. Concise Review: Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Regenerative Medicine: Applications and Challenges

    PubMed Central

    Chong, Mark Seow Khoon; Ng, Wei Kai

    2016-01-01

    Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are currently being studied as candidate cell sources for revascularization strategies. Significant advances have been made in understanding the biology of EPCs, and preclinical studies have demonstrated the vasculogenic, angiogenic, and beneficial paracrine effects of transplanted EPCs in the treatment of ischemic diseases. Despite these promising results, widespread clinical acceptance of EPCs for clinical therapies remains hampered by several challenges. The present study provides a concise summary of the different EPC populations being studied for ischemic therapies and their known roles in the healing of ischemic tissues. The challenges and issues surrounding the use of EPCs and the current strategies being developed to improve the harvest efficiency and functionality of EPCs for application in regenerative medicine are discussed. Significance Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have immense clinical value for cardiovascular therapies. The present study provides a concise description of the EPC subpopulations being evaluated for clinical applications. The current major lines of investigation involving preclinical and clinical evaluations of EPCs are discussed, and significant gaps limiting the translation of EPCs are highlighted. The present report could be useful for clinicians and clinical researchers with interests in ischemic therapy and for basic scientists working in the related fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. PMID:26956207

  15. Plain Language to Communicate Physical Activity Information: A Website Content Analysis.

    PubMed

    Paige, Samantha R; Black, David R; Mattson, Marifran; Coster, Daniel C; Stellefson, Michael

    2018-04-01

    Plain language techniques are health literacy universal precautions intended to enhance health care system navigation and health outcomes. Physical activity (PA) is a popular topic on the Internet, yet it is unknown if information is communicated in plain language. This study examined how plain language techniques are included in PA websites, and if the use of plain language techniques varies according to search procedures (keyword, search engine) and website host source (government, commercial, educational/organizational). Three keywords ("physical activity," "fitness," and "exercise") were independently entered into three search engines (Google, Bing, and Yahoo) to locate a nonprobability sample of websites ( N = 61). Fourteen plain language techniques were coded within each website to examine content formatting, clarity and conciseness, and multimedia use. Approximately half ( M = 6.59; SD = 1.68) of the plain language techniques were included in each website. Keyword physical activity resulted in websites with fewer clear and concise plain language techniques ( p < .05), whereas fitness resulted in websites with more clear and concise techniques ( p < .01). Plain language techniques did not vary by search engine or the website host source. Accessing PA information that is easy to understand and behaviorally oriented may remain a challenge for users. Transdisciplinary collaborations are needed to optimize plain language techniques while communicating online PA information.

  16. Regulation of tight junction permeability with switch-like speed.

    PubMed

    Beyenbach, Klaus W

    2003-09-01

    The case is made that tight junctions can undergo large reversible conductance changes in a matter of seconds and yet preserve their permselectivity. The diuretic peptide leucokinin transforms (renal) Malpighian tubules of the yellow fever mosquito from a moderately tight epithelium to a leaky epithelium by increasing the chloride-conductance of the paracellular shunt pathway. The nine-fold increase in the paracellular chloride-conductance brings about a non-selective stimulation of transepithelial sodium chloride and potassium chloride secretion, as expected from a conductance increase in the pathway taken by the counterion of sodium and potassium. The leucokinin signaling pathway consists in part of a receptor coupled G-protein, phospholipase C, inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate, and increased intracellular calcium concentration that bring about the increase in the paracellular, tight junction chloride-conductance. As the conductance of the tight junction pathway increases it becomes more selective for the transepithelial passage of chloride. Epithelial cells in Malpighian tubules taper to tight junctions at their lateral edges exposing them directly to apical and serosal solutions. Furthermore, evolutionary pressures to excrete salt and water at high rates without the aid of glomerular filtration have led to powerful mechanisms of tubular secretion, capable of diuresis when the mosquito is challenged with the volume expansion of a blood meal. The tubular diuresis is mediated in part by increasing the paracellular chloride conductance. Thus, anatomical and physiological specializations in Malpighian tubules combine to yield the evidence for the dynamic hormonal regulation of the tight junction pathway.

  17. A Patient-Centered Approach to Informed Consent: Results from a Survey and Randomized Trial.

    PubMed

    Krishnamurti, Tamar; Argo, Nichole

    2016-08-01

    Traditional informed consent documents tend to be too lengthy and technical to facilitate proper patient engagement. Patient-centered, short informed consent content could be equally informative, while minimizing patient burden and producing greater patient engagement. This study aimed to develop and evaluate patient-centered, patient-designed paper and video informed consent formats. Two studies were conducted. In study 1, 118 self-identifying asthma patients recruited from a national, online pool completed survey tasks from their personal computers. Participants in study 1 were randomly assigned to examine sections of a standard informed consent document for an asthma trial and to select information they deemed critical to their decision making. In study 2, a sample of 83 self-identifying asthma patients completed experimental tasks in a university laboratory. Participants in study 2 were randomly assigned to a full informed consent document; a shortened, patient-designed informed consent document created from study 1; or a video with content matched to the shortened paper form. Study 1 yielded a more readable, concise version of a standard informed consent document (5 v. 17 pages). This shortened, patient-designed form closely met normative criteria for good clinical practice. In study 2, participants who viewed either the shortened paper consent or video reported greater engagement than those viewing the standard paper consent, without lowered performance on any other decision-relevant variables (i.e., comprehension, judged risk/benefit, feelings of trust). The video consent format did not cause increased enrollment. Results suggest that providing concise informed consent content, systematically developed from patients' self-reported information needs, may be more effective at engaging and informing clinical trial participants than the traditional consent approach, without detriment to trial comprehension, risk assessment, or enrollment. © The Author(s) 2016.

  18. Mission and science activity scheduling language

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hull, Larry G.

    1993-01-01

    To support the distributed and complex operational scheduling required for future National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) missions, a formal, textual language, the Scheduling Applications Interface Language (SAIL), has been developed. Increased geographic dispersion of investigators is leading to distributed mission and science activity planning, scheduling, and operations. SAIL is an innovation which supports the effective and efficient communication of scheduling information among physically dispersed applications in distributed scheduling environments. SAIL offers a clear, concise, unambiguous expression of scheduling information in a readable, hardware independent format. The language concept, syntax, and semantics incorporate language features found useful during five years of research and prototyping with scheduling languages in physically distributed environments. SAIL allows concise specification of mission and science activity plans in a format which promotes repetition and reuse.

  19. The second demographic transition: A concise overview of its development

    PubMed Central

    Lesthaeghe, Ron

    2014-01-01

    This article gives a concise overview of the theoretical development of the concept of the “second demographic transition” since it was coined in 1986, its components, and its applicability, first to European populations and subsequently also to non-European societies as well. Both the demographic and the societal contrasts between the first demographic transition (FDT) and the second demographic transition (SDT) are highlighted. Then, the major criticisms of the SDT theory are outlined, and these issues are discussed in the light of the most recent developments in Europe, the United States, the Far East, and Latin America. It turns out that three major SDT patterns have developed and that these evolutions are contingent on much older systems of kinship and family organization. PMID:25453112

  20. Crohn's disease: management in adults, children and young people - concise guidance .

    PubMed

    Tun, Gloria Sz; Cripps, Sarah; Lobo, Alan J

    2018-06-01

    Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract. Individuals with CD present with acute inflammatory exacerbations as well as acute and chronic complications. Management requires specialist input from gastroenterologists, colorectal surgeons, nurse specialists and pharmacists as well as general and primary care physicians to allow appropriate selection of treatment options including surgery and rapid assessment and treatment of those with acute exacerbations. Monitoring of the individual and their medication is crucial in preventing and recognising complications including those associated with treatment. This concise guideline focuses on recommendations from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) -Clinical -Guideline 152 (CG152) considered of key importance for implementation. © Royal College of Physicians 2018. All rights reserved.

  1. Concise expression of a classical radiation spectrum

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, C.

    1993-06-01

    In this paper we present a concise expression of the classical electromagnetic radiation spectrum of a moving charge. It is shown to be equivalent to the often used and much more complicated form derived from the Lienard-Wiechert potentials when the observation distance [ital R] satisfies the condition [ital R][much gt][gamma][lambda]. The expression reveals a relationship between the radiation spectrum and the motion of the radiation source. It also forms the basis of an efficient computing approach, which is of practical value in numerical calculations of the spectral output of accelerated charges. The advantages of this approach for analytical and numericalmore » applications are discussed and the bending-magnet synchrotron radiation spectrum is calculated according to the approach.« less

  2. Feasibility study of an Integrated Program for Aerospace vehicle Design (IPAD). Volume 1B: Concise review

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Miller, R. E., Jr.; Southall, J. W.; Kawaguchi, A. S.; Redhed, D. D.

    1973-01-01

    Reports on the design process, support of the design process, IPAD System design catalog of IPAD technical program elements, IPAD System development and operation, and IPAD benefits and impact are concisely reviewed. The approach used to define the design is described. Major activities performed during the product development cycle are identified. The computer system requirements necessary to support the design process are given as computational requirements of the host system, technical program elements and system features. The IPAD computer system design is presented as concepts, a functional description and an organizational diagram of its major components. The cost and schedules and a three phase plan for IPAD implementation are presented. The benefits and impact of IPAD technology are discussed.

  3. Developing web-based training for public health practitioners: what can we learn from a review of five disciplines?

    PubMed Central

    Ballew, Paula; Castro, Sarah; Claus, Julie; Kittur, Nupur; Brennan, Laura; Brownson, Ross C.

    2013-01-01

    During a time when governmental funding, resources and staff are decreasing and travel restrictions are increasing, attention to efficient methods of public health workforce training is essential. A literature review was conducted to inform the development and delivery of web-based trainings for public health practitioners. Literature was gathered and summarized from five disciplines: Information Technology, Health, Education, Business and Communications, following five research themes: benefits, barriers, retention, promotion and evaluation. As a result, a total of 138 articles relevant to web-based training design and implementation were identified. Key recommendations emerged, including the need to conduct formative research and evaluation, provide clear design and layout, concise content, interactivity, technical support, marketing and promotion and incentives. We conclude that there is limited application of web-based training in public health. This review offers an opportunity to learn from other disciplines. Web-based training methods may prove to be a key training strategy for reaching our public health workforce in the environment of limited resources. PMID:22987862

  4. New Insights into the Compositional Dependence of Li-Ion Transport in Polymer-Ceramic Composite Electrolytes.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Jin; Hu, Yan-Yan

    2018-01-31

    Composite electrolytes are widely studied for their potential in realizing improved ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability. Understanding the complex mechanisms of ion transport within composites is critical for effectively designing high-performance solid electrolytes. This study examines the compositional dependence of the three determining factors for ionic conductivity, including ion mobility, ion transport pathways, and active ion concentration. The results show that with increase in the fraction of ceramic Li 7 La 3 Zr 2 O 12 (LLZO) phase in the LLZO-poly(ethylene oxide) composites, ion mobility decreases, ion transport pathways transit from polymer to ceramic routes, and the active ion concentration increases. These changes in ion mobility, transport pathways, and concentration collectively explain the observed trend of ionic conductivity in composite electrolytes. Liquid additives alter ion transport pathways and increase ion mobility, thus enhancing ionic conductivity significantly. It is also found that a higher content of LLZO leads to improved electrochemical stability of composite electrolytes. This study provides insight into the recurring observations of compositional dependence of ionic conductivity in current composite electrolytes and pinpoints the intrinsic limitations of composite electrolytes in achieving fast ion conduction.

  5. Hydrogen Pathways: Updated Cost, Well-to-Wheels Energy Use, and Emissions for the Current Technology Status of Ten Hydrogen Production, Delivery, and Distribution Scenarios

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ramsden, T.; Ruth, M.; Diakov, V.

    2013-03-01

    This report describes a life-cycle assessment conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of 10 hydrogen production, delivery, dispensing, and use pathways that were evaluated for cost, energy use, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This evaluation updates and expands on a previous assessment of seven pathways conducted in 2009. This study summarizes key results, parameters, and sensitivities to those parameters for the 10 hydrogen pathways, reporting on the levelized cost of hydrogen in 2007 U.S. dollars as well as life-cycle well-to-wheels energy use and GHG emissions associated with the pathways.

  6. Clustering XML Documents Using Frequent Subtrees

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kutty, Sangeetha; Tran, Tien; Nayak, Richi; Li, Yuefeng

    This paper presents an experimental study conducted over the INEX 2008 Document Mining Challenge corpus using both the structure and the content of XML documents for clustering them. The concise common substructures known as the closed frequent subtrees are generated using the structural information of the XML documents. The closed frequent subtrees are then used to extract the constrained content from the documents. A matrix containing the term distribution of the documents in the dataset is developed using the extracted constrained content. The k-way clustering algorithm is applied to the matrix to obtain the required clusters. In spite of the large number of documents in the INEX 2008 Wikipedia dataset, the proposed frequent subtree-based clustering approach was successful in clustering the documents. This approach significantly reduces the dimensionality of the terms used for clustering without much loss in accuracy.

  7. Light Field Imaging Based Accurate Image Specular Highlight Removal

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Haoqian; Xu, Chenxue; Wang, Xingzheng; Zhang, Yongbing; Peng, Bo

    2016-01-01

    Specular reflection removal is indispensable to many computer vision tasks. However, most existing methods fail or degrade in complex real scenarios for their individual drawbacks. Benefiting from the light field imaging technology, this paper proposes a novel and accurate approach to remove specularity and improve image quality. We first capture images with specularity by the light field camera (Lytro ILLUM). After accurately estimating the image depth, a simple and concise threshold strategy is adopted to cluster the specular pixels into “unsaturated” and “saturated” category. Finally, a color variance analysis of multiple views and a local color refinement are individually conducted on the two categories to recover diffuse color information. Experimental evaluation by comparison with existed methods based on our light field dataset together with Stanford light field archive verifies the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm. PMID:27253083

  8. Developmental pathways from childhood conduct problems to early adult depression: findings from the ALSPAC cohort.

    PubMed

    Stringaris, Argyris; Lewis, Glyn; Maughan, Barbara

    2014-07-01

    Pathways from early-life conduct problems to young adult depression remain poorly understood. To test developmental pathways from early-life conduct problems to depression at age 18. Data (n = 3542) came from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Previously derived conduct problem trajectories (ages 4-13 years) were used to examine associations with depression from ages 10 to 18 years, and the role of early childhood factors as potential confounders. Over 43% of young adults with depression in the ALSPAC cohort had a history of child or adolescent conduct problems, yielding a population attributable fraction of 0.15 (95% CI 0.08-0.22). The association between conduct problems and depression at age 18 was considerable even after adjusting for prior depression (odds ratio 1.55, 95% CI 1.24-1.94). Early-onset persistent conduct problems carried the highest risk for later depression. Irritability characterised depression for those with a history of conduct problems. Early-life conduct problems are robustly associated with later depressive disorder and may be useful targets for early intervention. Royal College of Psychiatrists.

  9. Developmental pathways from childhood conduct problems to early adult depression: findings from the ALSPAC cohort

    PubMed Central

    Stringaris, Argyris; Lewis, Glyn; Maughan, Barbara

    2014-01-01

    Background Pathways from early-life conduct problems to young adult depression remain poorly understood. Aims To test developmental pathways from early-life conduct problems to depression at age 18. Method Data (n = 3542) came from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Previously derived conduct problem trajectories (ages 4-13 years) were used to examine associations with depression from ages 10 to 18 years, and the role of early childhood factors as potential confounders. Results Over 43% of young adults with depression in the ALSPAC cohort had a history of child or adolescent conduct problems, yielding a population attributable fraction of 0.15 (95% CI 0.08-0.22). The association between conduct problems and depression at age 18 was considerable even after adjusting for prior depression (odds ratio 1.55, 95% CI 1.24-1.94). Early-onset persistent conduct problems carried the highest risk for later depression. Irritability characterised depression for those with a history of conduct problems. Conclusions Early-life conduct problems are robustly associated with later depressive disorder and may be useful targets for early intervention. PMID:24764545

  10. Integrated Science Assessments

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Integrated Science Assessments are reports that represent a concise evaluation and synthesis of the most policy-relevant science for reviewing the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for the six principal pollutants.

  11. DEPOSITION DISTRICUTION AMONG THE PARALLEL PATHWAYS IN THE HUMAN LUNG CONDUCTING AIRWAY STRUCTURE.

    EPA Science Inventory

    DEPOSITION DISTRIBUTION AMONG THE PARALLEL PATHWAYS IN THE HUMAN LUNG CONDUCTING AIRWAY STRUCTURE. Chong S. Kim*, USEPA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Lab. RTP, NC 27711; Z. Zhang and C. Kleinstreuer, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North C...

  12. Screening possible solid electrolytes by calculating the conduction pathways using Bond Valence method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Jian; Chu, Geng; He, Meng; Zhang, Shu; Xiao, RuiJuan; Li, Hong; Chen, LiQuan

    2014-08-01

    Inorganic solid electrolytes have distinguished advantages in terms of safety and stability, and are promising to substitute for conventional organic liquid electrolytes. However, low ionic conductivity of typical candidates is the key problem. As connective diffusion path is the prerequisite for high performance, we screen for possible solid electrolytes from the 2004 International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD) database by calculating conduction pathways using Bond Valence (BV) method. There are 109846 inorganic crystals in the 2004 ICDD database, and 5295 of them contain lithium. Except for those with toxic, radioactive, rare, or variable valence elements, 1380 materials are candidates for solid electrolytes. The rationality of the BV method is approved by comparing the existing solid electrolytes' conduction pathways we had calculated with those from experiments or first principle calculations. The implication for doping and substitution, two important ways to improve the conductivity, is also discussed. Among them Li2CO3 is selected for a detailed comparison, and the pathway is reproduced well with that based on the density functional studies. To reveal the correlation between connectivity of pathways and conductivity, α/ γ-LiAlO2 and Li2CO3 are investigated by the impedance spectrum as an example, and many experimental and theoretical studies are in process to indicate the relationship between property and structure. The BV method can calculate one material within a few minutes, providing an efficient way to lock onto targets from abundant data, and to investigate the structure-property relationship systematically.

  13. Promising strategies for advancement in knowledge of suicide risk factors and prevention.

    PubMed

    Sareen, Jitender; Isaak, Corinne; Katz, Laurence Y; Bolton, James; Enns, Murray W; Stein, Murray B

    2014-09-01

    Suicide is an important public health problem. Although there have been advances in our knowledge of suicide, gaps remain in knowledge about suicide risk factors and prevention. Here, we discuss research pathways that have the potential to rapidly advance knowledge in suicide risk assessment and reduction of suicide deaths over the next decade. We provide a concise overview of the methodologic approaches that have the capacity to rapidly increase knowledge and change practice, which have been successful in past work in psychiatry and other areas of medicine. We suggest three specific pathways to advance knowledge of suicide risk factors and prevention. First, analysis of large-scale epidemiologic surveys and administrative data sets can advance the understanding of suicide. Second, given the low base rate of suicide, there is a need for networks/consortia of investigators in the field of suicide prevention. Such consortia have the capacity to analyze existing epidemiologic data sets, create multi-site cohort studies of high-risk groups to increase knowledge of biological and other risk factors, and create a platform for multi-site clinical trials. Third, partnerships with policymakers and researchers would facilitate careful scientific evaluation of policies and programs aimed at reducing suicide. Suicide intervention policies are often multifaceted, expensive, and rarely evaluated. Using quasi-experimental methods or sophisticated analytic strategies such as propensity score-matching techniques, the impact of large-scale interventions on suicide can be evaluated. Furthermore, such partnerships between policymakers and researchers can lead to the design and support of prospective RCTs (e.g., cluster randomized trials, stepped wedge designs, waiting list designs) in high-risk groups (e.g., people with a history of suicide attempts, multi-axial comorbidity, and offspring of people who have died by suicide). These research pathways could lead to rapid knowledge uptake between communities and have the strong potential to reduce suicide. Copyright © 2014 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. The Concise Guide to Pharmacology 2013/14: Enzymes

    PubMed Central

    Alexander, Stephen PH; Benson, Helen E; Faccenda, Elena; Pawson, Adam J; Sharman, Joanna L; Spedding, Michael; Peters, John A; Harmar, Anthony J

    2013-01-01

    The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2013/14 provides concise overviews of the key properties of over 2000 human drug targets with their pharmacology, plus links to an open access knowledgebase of drug targets and their ligands (www.guidetopharmacology.org), which provides more detailed views of target and ligand properties. The full contents can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.12444/full. Enzymes are one of the seven major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being G protein-coupled receptors, ligand-gated ion channels, ion channels, nuclear hormone receptors, catalytic receptors and transporters. These are presented with nomenclature guidance and summary information on the best available pharmacological tools, alongside key references and suggestions for further reading. A new landscape format has easy to use tables comparing related targets. It is a condensed version of material contemporary to late 2013, which is presented in greater detail and constantly updated on the website www.guidetopharmacology.org, superseding data presented in previous Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in conjunction with NC-IUPHAR and provides the official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where appropriate. It consolidates information previously curated and displayed separately in IUPHAR-DB and the Guide to Receptors and Channels, providing a permanent, citable, point-in-time record that will survive database updates. PMID:24528243

  15. The Affective Reactivity Index: a concise irritability scale for clinical and research settings

    PubMed Central

    Stringaris, Argyris; Goodman, Robert; Ferdinando, Sumudu; Razdan, Varun; Muhrer, Eli; Leibenluft, Ellen; Brotman, Melissa A

    2012-01-01

    Background Irritable mood has recently become a matter of intense scientific interest. Here, we present data from two samples, one from the United States and the other from the United Kingdom, demonstrating the clinical and research utility of the parent- and self-report forms of the Affective Reactivity Index (ARI), a concise dimensional measure of irritability. Methods The US sample (n = 218) consisted of children and adolescents recruited at the National Institute of Mental Health meeting criteria for bipolar disorder (BD, n = 39), severe mood dysregulation (SMD, n = 67), children at family risk for BD (n = 35), or were healthy volunteers (n = 77). The UK sample (n = 88) was comprised of children from a generic mental health setting and healthy volunteers from primary and secondary schools. Results Parent- and self-report scales of the ARI showed excellent internal consistencies and formed a single factor in the two samples. In the US sample, the ARI showed a gradation with irritability significantly increasing from healthy volunteers through to SMD. Irritability was significantly higher in SMD than in BD by parent-report, but this did not reach significance by self-report. In the UK sample, parent-rated irritability was differentially related to emotional problems. Conclusions Irritability can be measured using a concise instrument both in a highly specialized US, as well as a general UK child mental health setting. PMID:22574736

  16. The Concise Guide to Pharmacology 2013/14: G Protein-Coupled Receptors

    PubMed Central

    Alexander, Stephen PH; Benson, Helen E; Faccenda, Elena; Pawson, Adam J; Sharman, Joanna L; Spedding, Michael; Peters, John A; Harmar, Anthony J

    2013-01-01

    The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2013/14 provides concise overviews of the key properties of over 2000 human drug targets with their pharmacology, plus links to an open access knowledgebase of drug targets and their ligands (www.guidetopharmacology.org), which provides more detailed views of target and ligand properties. The full contents can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.12444/full. G protein-coupled receptors are one of the seven major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being G protein-coupled receptors, ligand-gated ion channels, ion channels, catalytic receptors, nuclear hormone receptors, transporters and enzymes. These are presented with nomenclature guidance and summary information on the best available pharmacological tools, alongside key references and suggestions for further reading. A new landscape format has easy to use tables comparing related targets. It is a condensed version of material contemporary to late 2013, which is presented in greater detail and constantly updated on the website www.guidetopharmacology.org, superseding data presented in previous Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in conjunction with NC-IUPHAR and provides the official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where appropriate. It consolidates information previously curated and displayed separately in IUPHAR-DB and the Guide to Receptors and Channels, providing a permanent, citable, point-in-time record that will survive database updates. PMID:24517644

  17. The Concise Guide to Pharmacology 2013/14: Transporters

    PubMed Central

    Alexander, Stephen PH; Benson, Helen E; Faccenda, Elena; Pawson, Adam J; Sharman, Joanna L; Spedding, Michael; Peters, John A; Harmar, Anthony J

    2013-01-01

    The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2013/14 provides concise overviews of the key properties of over 2000 human drug targets with their pharmacology, plus links to an open access knowledgebase of drug targets and their ligands (www.guidetopharmacology.org), which provides more detailed views of target and ligand properties. The full contents can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.12444/full. Transporters are one of the seven major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being G protein-coupled receptors, ligand-gated ion channels, ion channels, catalytic receptors, nuclear hormone receptors and enzymes. These are presented with nomenclature guidance and summary information on the best available pharmacological tools, alongside key references and suggestions for further reading. A new landscape format has easy to use tables comparing related targets. It is a condensed version of material contemporary to late 2013, which is presented in greater detail and constantly updated on the website www.guidetopharmacology.org, superseding data presented in previous Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in conjunction with NC-IUPHAR and provides the official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where appropriate. It consolidates information previously curated and displayed separately in IUPHAR-DB and the Guide to Receptors and Channels, providing a permanent, citable, point-in-time record that will survive database updates. PMID:24528242

  18. Procedures For Microbial-Ecology Laboratory

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Huff, Timothy L.

    1993-01-01

    Microbial Ecology Laboratory Procedures Manual provides concise and well-defined instructions on routine technical procedures to be followed in microbiological laboratory to ensure safety, analytical control, and validity of results.

  19. 46 CFR 201.74 - Declaratory orders.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... PROCEDURE Formal Proceedings, Notice, Pleadings, Replies (Rule 7) § 201.74 Declaratory orders. The... the issuance thereof shall state clearly and concisely the nature of the controversy or uncertainty...

  20. On Electromagnetic Modulation of Flow Instabilities, Mixing and Heat Transfer in Conducting and Magnetized Fluids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kenjeres, S.

    2016-09-01

    In the present paper we give a concise review of some recent highlights of our research dealing with electromagnetic control of flow, mixing and heat transfer of electrically conductive or magnetized fluids. We apply a combination of state-of-art numerical (DNS and LES) and experimental (PIV and LIF) techniques to provide fundamental insights into the complex phenomena of interactions between imposed (or induced) electromagnetic fields and underlying fluid flow. Our analysis covers an extensive range of working fluids, i.e. weakly- and highly-electrically-conductive, as well as magnetized fluids. These interactions are defined through the presence of different types of body forces acting per volume of fluid. A fully closed system of governing equations containing an extended set of the Navier-Stokes and a simplified set of the Maxwell equations is presented. The four characteristic examples are selected: the electromagnetic control of self-sustained jet oscillations, the electromagnetic enhancement of heat transfer in thermal convection, the wake interactions behind magnetic obstacles and finally, the thermo-magnetic convection in differentially heated cubical enclosure. The comparative assessment between experimental and numerical results is presented. It is concluded that generally good agreement between simulations and experiments is obtained for all cases considered, proving the concept of electromagnetic modulation, which can be used in numerous technological applications.

  1. Scabies.

    PubMed

    Bielan, B

    2001-08-01

    The "Clinical Snapshot" series provides a concise examination of a clinical presentation including history, treatment, patient education, and nursing measures. Using the format here, you are invited to submit your "Clinical Snapshot" to Dermatology Nursing.

  2. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kolda, Tamara Gibson

    We propose two new multilinear operators for expressing the matrix compositions that are needed in the Tucker and PARAFAC (CANDECOMP) decompositions. The first operator, which we call the Tucker operator, is shorthand for performing an n-mode matrix multiplication for every mode of a given tensor and can be employed to concisely express the Tucker decomposition. The second operator, which we call the Kruskal operator, is shorthand for the sum of the outer-products of the columns of N matrices and allows a divorce from a matricized representation and a very concise expression of the PARAFAC decomposition. We explore the properties ofmore » the Tucker and Kruskal operators independently of the related decompositions. Additionally, we provide a review of the matrix and tensor operations that are frequently used in the context of tensor decompositions.« less

  3. "Which Pathway Am I?" Using a Game Approach to Teach Students about Biochemical Pathways

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ooi, Beng Guat; Sanger, Michael J.

    2009-01-01

    This game was designed to provide students with an alternative way to learn biochemical pathways through an interactive approach. In this game, students worked in pairs to help each other identify pathways taped to each other's backs by asking simple "yes or no" questions related to these pathways. This exercise was conducted after the traditional…

  4. Controlling ion aggregation and conduction in PEO-based ionomers.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Caldwell, David, II; Maranas, Janna

    2015-03-01

    PEO-based ionomers are ideal for reducing concentration polarization found in typical solid polymer electrolytes. This is achieved by binding the anion to the polymer backbone, significantly reducing the anions mobility. Ion aggregation is prevalent in these systems, but their influence on SPE performance is difficult to study experimentally. We present results of molecular dynamics simulations that explore the relationship between ion content and temperature on ion aggregation, polymer motion, and ion conduction. An unforeseen result of ionomers is the creation of string like aggregates that form conduction pathways in the amorphous region. These conduction pathways allow for a partial decoupling of ion conduction with polymer dynamics. The improvement in conductivity through the use of ion aggregates can be quantified by calculating the inverse of the Haven Ratio, dubbed f-value. Typical SPEs have an f-value less than 0.2, while the ionomers of study exhibit f-values near unity or higher. Understanding what properties influence the development and use of these conduction pathways will provide insight for further development of solid polymer electrolytes.

  5. Genetic control of root growth: from genes to networks.

    PubMed

    Slovak, Radka; Ogura, Takehiko; Satbhai, Santosh B; Ristova, Daniela; Busch, Wolfgang

    2016-01-01

    Roots are essential organs for higher plants. They provide the plant with nutrients and water, anchor the plant in the soil, and can serve as energy storage organs. One remarkable feature of roots is that they are able to adjust their growth to changing environments. This adjustment is possible through mechanisms that modulate a diverse set of root traits such as growth rate, diameter, growth direction and lateral root formation. The basis of these traits and their modulation are at the cellular level, where a multitude of genes and gene networks precisely regulate development in time and space and tune it to environmental conditions. This review first describes the root system and then presents fundamental work that has shed light on the basic regulatory principles of root growth and development. It then considers emerging complexities and how they have been addressed using systems-biology approaches, and then describes and argues for a systems-genetics approach. For reasons of simplicity and conciseness, this review is mostly limited to work from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, in which much of the research in root growth regulation at the molecular level has been conducted. While forward genetic approaches have identified key regulators and genetic pathways, systems-biology approaches have been successful in shedding light on complex biological processes, for instance molecular mechanisms involving the quantitative interaction of several molecular components, or the interaction of large numbers of genes. However, there are significant limitations in many of these methods for capturing dynamic processes, as well as relating these processes to genotypic and phenotypic variation. The emerging field of systems genetics promises to overcome some of these limitations by linking genotypes to complex phenotypic and molecular data using approaches from different fields, such as genetics, genomics, systems biology and phenomics. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Theory of back-surface-field solar cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Vonroos, O.

    1979-01-01

    Report describes simple concise theory of back-surface-field (BSF) solar cells (npp + junctions) based on Shockley's depletion-layer approximation and cites superiority of two-junction devices over conventional unijunction cells.

  7. Guide to cement-based integrated pavement solutions.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-08-01

    This guide provides a clear, concise, and cohesive presentation of cement-bound materials options for 10 : specific engineering pavement applications: new concrete pavements, concrete overlays, pervious concrete, : precast pavements, roller-compacted...

  8. 10 CFR 2.348 - Separation of functions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... allocation of agency resources; or (iv) General regulatory, scientific, or engineering principles that are... decision that clearly and concisely sets forth the information or argument relied on to show the contrary...

  9. 10 CFR 2.348 - Separation of functions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... allocation of agency resources; or (iv) General regulatory, scientific, or engineering principles that are... decision that clearly and concisely sets forth the information or argument relied on to show the contrary...

  10. 47 CFR 61.33 - Letters of transmittal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... inches (21.6 cm×27.9 cm) in size. All letters of transmittal must (1) Concisely explain the nature and... No. Secretary, Federal Communications Commission; Washington, DC 20554 Attention: Wireline...

  11. Discrimination and health inequities.

    PubMed

    Krieger, Nancy

    2014-01-01

    In 1999, only 20 studies in the public health literature employed instruments to measure self-reported experiences of discrimination. Fifteen years later, the number of empirical investigations on discrimination and health easily exceeds 500, with these studies increasingly global in scope and focused on major types of discrimination variously involving race/ethnicity, indigenous status, immigrant status, gender, sexuality, disability, and age, separately and in combination. And yet, as I also document, even as the number of investigations has dramatically expanded, the scope remains narrow: studies remain focused primarily on interpersonal discrimination, and scant research investigates the health impacts of structural discrimination, a gap consonant with the limited epidemiologic research on political systems and population health. Accordingly, to help advance the state of the field, this updated review article: (a) briefly reviews definitions of discrimination, illustrated with examples from the United States; (b) discusses theoretical insights useful for conceptualizing how discrimination can become embodied and produce health inequities, including via distortion of scientific knowledge; (c) concisely summarizes extant evidence--both robust and inconsistent--linking discrimination and health; and (d) addresses several key methodological controversies and challenges, including the need for careful attention to domains, pathways, level, and spatiotemporal scale, in historical context.

  12. A concise review of testosterone and bone health

    PubMed Central

    Mohamad, Nur-Vaizura; Soelaiman, Ima-Nirwana; Chin, Kok-Yong

    2016-01-01

    Osteoporosis is a condition causing significant morbidity and mortality in the elderly population worldwide. Age-related testosterone deficiency is the most important factor of bone loss in elderly men. Androgen can influence bone health by binding to androgen receptors directly or to estrogen receptors (ERs) indirectly via aromatization to estrogen. This review summarized the direct and indirect effects of androgens on bone derived from in vitro, in vivo, and human studies. Cellular studies showed that androgen stimulated the proliferation of preosteoblasts and differentiation of osteoblasts. The converted estrogen suppressed osteoclast formation and resorption activity by blocking the receptor activator of nuclear factor k-B ligand pathway. In animal studies, activation of androgen and ERα, but not ERβ, was shown to be important in acquisition and maintenance of bone mass. Human epidemiological studies demonstrated a significant relationship between estrogen and testosterone in bone mineral density and fracture risk, but the relative significance between the two remained debatable. Human experimental studies showed that estrogen was needed in suppressing bone resorption, but both androgen and estrogen were indispensable for bone formation. As a conclusion, maintaining optimal level of androgen is essential in preventing osteoporosis and its complications in elderly men. PMID:27703340

  13. First total synthesis of a novel amide alkaloid derived from Aconitum taipeicum and its anticancer activity.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xinxin; Li, Dandan; Xue, Xuanji; Zhang, Yan; Zhang, Jie; Huang, Chen; Guo, Zengjun; Tadesse, Nigatu

    2018-01-01

    A concise total synthesis of a naturally occurring 3-isopropyl-tetrahydropyrrolo[1, 2-a]pyrimidine-2, 4(1H, 3H)-dione (ITPD) isolated from Aconitum taipeicum with a three-step approach was depicted in this study for the first time. Two key intermediates, diethyl isopropylmalonate (2) and pyrrolidin-2-amine (3), being synthsesised separately from initial diethyl malonate (4) and 3, 4-dihydro-2H-pyrrol-5-amine (5), were utilised to obtain the compound entitled ITPD. ITPD showed a promising anticancer activity in vitro on SMMC-7721 cell lines. Flow cytometry and cell cycle analysis revealed that ITPD could induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in S phase. The occurrence of apoptosis possibly attributed to the mechanism that ITPD could mediate the mitochondrial pathway through activating caspase-3/9 and increasing the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 to finally trigger cell apoptosis and DNA damage. Collectively, the possibility to produce sufficient quantity of synthetic ITPD provided the base for further bio-evaluation in vivo and in vitro. The bioactive assay suggested that it may be a potential candidate for further chemical optimisation and use in cancer therapy.

  14. Xanthones from Mangosteen Extracts as Natural Chemopreventive Agents: Potential Anticancer Drugs

    PubMed Central

    Shan, T.; Ma, Q.; Guo, K.; Liu, J.; Li, W.; Wang, F.; Wu, E.

    2011-01-01

    Despite decades of research, the treatment and management of malignant tumors still remain a formidable challenge for public health. New strategies for cancer treatment are being developed, and one of the most promising treatment strategies involves the application of chemopreventive agents. The search for novel and effective cancer chemopreventive agents has led to the identification of various naturally occurring compounds. Xanthones, from the pericarp, whole fruit, heartwood, and leaf of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana Linn., GML), are known to possess a wide spectrum of pharmacologic properties, including anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral activities. The potential chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic activities of xanthones have been demonstrated in different stages of carcinogenesis (initiation, promotion, and progression) and are known to control cell division and growth, apoptosis, inflammation, and metastasis. Multiple lines of evidence from numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have confirmed that xanthones inhibit proliferation of a wide range of human tumor cell types by modulating various targets and signaling transduction pathways. Here we provide a concise and comprehensive review of preclinical data and assess the observed anticancer effects of xanthones, supporting its remarkable potential as an anticancer agent. PMID:21902651

  15. Concise Review: Criteria for Chamber‐Specific Categorization of Human Cardiac Myocytes Derived from Pluripotent Stem Cells

    PubMed Central

    Kane, Christopher

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Human pluripotent stem cell‐derived cardiomyocytes (PSC‐CMs) have great potential application in almost all areas of cardiovascular research. A current major goal of the field is to build on the past success of differentiation strategies to produce CMs with the properties of those originating from the different chambers of the adult human heart. With no anatomical origin or developmental pathway to draw on, the question of how to judge the success of such approaches and assess the chamber specificity of PSC‐CMs has become increasingly important; commonly used methods have substantial limitations and are based on limited evidence to form such an assessment. In this article, we discuss the need for chamber‐specific PSC‐CMs in a number of areas as well as current approaches used to assess these cells on their likeness to those from different chambers of the heart. Furthermore, describing in detail the structural and functional features that distinguish the different chamber‐specific human adult cardiac myocytes, we propose an evidence‐based tool to aid investigators in the phenotypic characterization of differentiated PSC‐CMs. Stem Cells 2017;35:1881–1897 PMID:28577296

  16. Stem Cells of Dental Origin: Current Research Trends and Key Milestones towards Clinical Application

    PubMed Central

    About, Imad

    2016-01-01

    Dental Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs), including Dental Pulp Stem Cells (DPSCs), Stem Cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous teeth (SHED), and Stem Cells From Apical Papilla (SCAP), have been extensively studied using highly sophisticated in vitro and in vivo systems, yielding substantially improved understanding of their intriguing biological properties. Their capacity to reconstitute various dental and nondental tissues and the inherent angiogenic, neurogenic, and immunomodulatory properties of their secretome have been a subject of meticulous and costly research by various groups over the past decade. Key milestone achievements have exemplified their clinical utility in Regenerative Dentistry, as surrogate therapeutic modules for conventional biomaterial-based approaches, offering regeneration of damaged oral tissues instead of simply “filling the gaps.” Thus, the essential next step to validate these immense advances is the implementation of well-designed clinical trials paving the way for exploiting these fascinating research achievements for patient well-being: the ultimate aim of this ground breaking technology. This review paper presents a concise overview of the major biological properties of the human dental MSCs, critical for the translational pathway “from bench to clinic.” PMID:27818690

  17. Vigor of survival determinism: subtle evolutionary gradualism interspersed with robust phylogenetic leaping.

    PubMed

    Krsmanovic, Pavle

    2017-12-01

    Discussions of the survival determinism concept have previously focused on its primary role in the evolution of early unicellular organisms in the light of findings which have been reported on a number of diseases. The rationale for such parallel was in the view according to which multicellular organisms could be regarded as sophisticated colonies of semi-autonomous, single-celled entities, whereby various diseases were described as conditions arising upon the activation of the respective survival mechanisms in a milieu unsuitable for such robust stress response. The cellular mechanisms that were discussed in these contexts have been known to play various roles in other biological processes. The proposed notion could thereby be further extended to discussion on mechanisms for the implementation of the respective survival pathways in the development of metazoa, considering that they would have been propagated in their evolution for so long. This manuscript first presents a concise overview of the model previously discussed, followed by the discussion on the role of respective mechanism(s) in origins and development of metazoa. Finally, a reflection on the concept in relation to the prominent evolutionary models is put forward to illustrate a broader context of what is being discussed.

  18. Is it really theoretical? A review of sampling in grounded theory studies in nursing journals.

    PubMed

    McCrae, Niall; Purssell, Edward

    2016-10-01

    Grounded theory is a distinct method of qualitative research, where core features are theoretical sampling and constant comparative analysis. However, inconsistent application of these activities has been observed in published studies. This review assessed the use of theoretical sampling in grounded theory studies in nursing journals. An adapted systematic review was conducted. Three leading nursing journals (2010-2014) were searched for studies stating grounded theory as the method. Sampling was assessed using a concise rating tool. A high proportion (86%) of the 134 articles described an iterative process of data collection and analysis. However, half of the studies did not demonstrate theoretical sampling, with many studies declaring or indicating a purposive sampling approach throughout. Specific reporting guidelines for grounded theory studies should be developed to ensure that study reports describe an iterative process of fieldwork and theoretical development. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Space and biotechnology: An industry profile

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johnston, Richard S.; Norton, David J.; Tom, Baldwin H.

    1988-01-01

    The results of a study conducted by the Center for Space and Advanced Technology (CSAT) for NASA-JSC are presented. The objectives were to determine the interests and attitudes of the U.S. biotechnology industry toward space biotechnology and to prepare a concise review of the current activities of the biotechnology industry. In order to accomplish these objectives, two primary actions were taken. First, a questionnaire was designed, reviewed, and distributed to U.S. biotechnology companies. Second, reviews of the various biotechnology fields were prepared in several aspects of the industry. For each review, leading figures in the field were asked to prepare a brief review pointing out key trends and current industry technical problems. The result is a readable narrative of the biotechnology industry which will provide space scientists and engineers valuable clues as to where the space environment can be explored to advance the U.S. biotechnology industry.

  20. [Development and validation of an instrument for initial nursing assessment].

    PubMed

    Fernández-Sola, Cayetano; Granero-Molina, José; Mollinedo-Mallea, Judith; de Gonzales, María Hilda Peredo; Aguilera-Manrique, Gabriel; Ponce, Mara Luna

    2012-12-01

    The objective of this study, conducted in Bolivia from April to July of 2008, is the design and validation of an initial nursing assessment instrument to be used in clinical and educational environments in Santa Cruz (Bolivia). Twelve Bolivian nurses participated; both document analysis as well as consensus techniques were used to determine the categories and criteria to be assessed. Categories included in the nursing assessment instrument are a physical assessment and the eleven Gordon's Functional Health Patterns. The nursing assessment instrument stands out as being concise, easy to complete and utilizing a nursing approach. It does not include items for advanced nursing assessment. However, it incorporates items regarding lifestyle and the patient's autonomy. The nursing assessment instrument contributes to improving the quality of clinical records, supports the nursing diagnosis and implementation of the nursing process, promotes the nurse's role and helps to standardize practice.

  1. A concise review of Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) and the importance of iodine, selenium, vitamin D and gluten on the autoimmunity and dietary management of HT patients.Points that need more investigation.

    PubMed

    Liontiris, Michael I; Mazokopakis, Elias E

    2017-01-01

    Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a chronic autoimmune thyroid disease caused by an interaction between genetic factors and environmental conditions, both of which are yet to be fully understood. The management of HT depends on its clinical manifestations, commonly including diffuse or nodular goiter with euthyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism and permanent hypothyroidism. However, in most cases of patients with HT, lifelong levothyroxine substitution is required. The additional role of diet for the management of HT is usually overlooked. A literature search regarding the importance and the influence of iodine, selenium, vitamin D and gluten on HT was conducted. In HT careful supplementation of possible deficiencies is recommended for the dietary management of these patients. The use of a diet low in gluten among HT patients with or without celiac disease (CD) is discussed.

  2. Second Generation Antipsychotics in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: An Update

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Sheng-Min; Han, Changsu; Lee, Soo-Jung; Jun, Tae-Youn; Patkar, Ashwin A; Masand, Prakash S

    2016-01-01

    Less than one third of patients who suffer from major depressive disorder (MDD) report remission following antidepressant treatments requiring more diverse treatment approaches. Augmentation of second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) has been increasingly recognized as an important treatment option. The authors have previously provided a comprehensive review of SGAs for the treatment of MDD in 2013. Since then, numerous additional clinical trials have been conducted to investigate diverse issues regarding the utility of SGAs in MDD. Moreover, a new SGA, brexpiprazole, was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration in July 2015 for the treatment of MDD as an augmentation agent to antidepressants. Thus, the aim of this study was to provide a concise update of all the available SGAs for the treatment of MDD, in particular on the additional clinical trials which have been published since 2013. PMID:27689026

  3. Review of the Space Applications program, 1974

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1974-01-01

    The purpose of this review is to provide the participants in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration/National Academy of Engineers' Summer Study in Applications a concise overview of the NASA Applications Program as it stands in 1974. The review covers the accomplishments of the various discipline-oriented programs that make up the total Applications Program, discusses the program plan for the 1975 to 1980 period, and examines the anticipated spaceflight capabilities of the 1980's. NASA has requested the National Academy of Engineers to conduct through its Space Applications Board a comprehensive study of the future Space Applications Program encompassing the following: (1) the Applications Program in general, with particular emphasis on practical approaches, including assessment of the socio-economic benefits and (2) how the broad comprehensive program envisioned above influences, or is influenced by, the shuttle system, the principal space transport system of the 1980's.

  4. Structural equation modeling: building and evaluating causal models: Chapter 8

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Grace, James B.; Scheiner, Samuel M.; Schoolmaster, Donald R.

    2015-01-01

    Scientists frequently wish to study hypotheses about causal relationships, rather than just statistical associations. This chapter addresses the question of how scientists might approach this ambitious task. Here we describe structural equation modeling (SEM), a general modeling framework for the study of causal hypotheses. Our goals are to (a) concisely describe the methodology, (b) illustrate its utility for investigating ecological systems, and (c) provide guidance for its application. Throughout our presentation, we rely on a study of the effects of human activities on wetland ecosystems to make our description of methodology more tangible. We begin by presenting the fundamental principles of SEM, including both its distinguishing characteristics and the requirements for modeling hypotheses about causal networks. We then illustrate SEM procedures and offer guidelines for conducting SEM analyses. Our focus in this presentation is on basic modeling objectives and core techniques. Pointers to additional modeling options are also given.

  5. Development of a Multidimensional Functional Health Scale for Older Adults in China.

    PubMed

    Mao, Fanzhen; Han, Yaofeng; Chen, Junze; Chen, Wei; Yuan, Manqiong; Alicia Hong, Y; Fang, Ya

    2016-05-01

    A first step to achieve successful aging is assessing functional wellbeing of older adults. This study reports the development of a culturally appropriate brief scale (the Multidimensional Functional Health Scale for Chinese Elderly, MFHSCE) to assess the functional health of Chinese elderly. Through systematic literature review, Delphi method, cultural adaptation, synthetic statistical item selection, Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis, we conducted development of item pool, two rounds of item selection, and psychometric evaluation. Synthetic statistical item selection and psychometric evaluation was processed among 539 and 2032 older adults, separately. The MFHSCE consists of 30 items, covering activities of daily living, social relationships, physical health, mental health, cognitive function, and economic resources. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.92, and the comparative fit index was 0.917. The MFHSCE has good internal consistency and construct validity; it is also concise and easy to use in general practice, especially in communities in China.

  6. Pediatric Drowning: A Standard Operating Procedure to Aid the Prehospital Management of Pediatric Cardiac Arrest Resulting From Submersion.

    PubMed

    Best, Rebecca R; Harris, Benjamin H L; Walsh, Jason L; Manfield, Timothy

    2017-05-08

    Drowning is one of the leading causes of death in children. Resuscitating a child following submersion is a high-pressure situation, and standard operating procedures can reduce error. Currently, the Resuscitation Council UK guidance does not include a standard operating procedure on pediatric drowning. The objective of this project was to design a standard operating procedure to improve outcomes of drowned children. A literature review on the management of pediatric drowning was conducted. Relevant publications were used to develop a standard operating procedure for management of pediatric drowning. A concise standard operating procedure was developed for resuscitation following pediatric submersion. Specific recommendations include the following: the Heimlich maneuver should not be used in this context; however, prolonged resuscitation and therapeutic hypothermia are recommended. This standard operating procedure is a potentially useful adjunct to the Resuscitation Council UK guidance and should be considered for incorporation into its next iteration.

  7. Practical Guidelines for Qualitative Research Using Online Forums

    PubMed Central

    Im, Eun-Ok; Chee, Wonshik

    2012-01-01

    With an increasing number of Internet research in general, the number of qualitative Internet studies has recently increased. Online forums are one of the most frequently used qualitative Internet research methods. Despite an increasing number of online forum studies, very few articles have been written to provide practical guidelines to conduct an online forum as a qualitative research method. In this paper, practical guidelines in using an online forum as a qualitative research method are proposed based on three previous online forum studies. First, the three studies are concisely described. Practical guidelines are proposed based on nine idea categories related to issues in the three studies: (a) a fit with research purpose and questions; (b) logistics; (c) electronic versus conventional informed consent process; (d) structure and functionality of online forums; (e) interdisciplinary team; (f) screening methods; (g) languages; (h) data analysis methods; and (i) getting participants’ feedback. PMID:22918135

  8. Practical guidelines for qualitative research using online forums.

    PubMed

    Im, Eun-Ok; Chee, Wonshik

    2012-11-01

    With an increasing number of Internet research in general, the number of qualitative Internet studies has recently increased. Online forums are one of the most frequently used qualitative Internet research methods. Despite an increasing number of online forum studies, very few articles have been written to provide practical guidelines to conduct an online forum as a qualitative research method. In this article, practical guidelines in using an online forum as a qualitative research method are proposed based on three previous online forum studies. First, the three studies are concisely described. Practical guidelines are proposed based on nine idea categories related to issues in the three studies: (a) a fit with research purpose and questions, (b) logistics, (c) electronic versus conventional informed consent process, (d) structure and functionality of online forums, (e) interdisciplinary team, (f) screening methods, (g) languages, (h) data analysis methods, and (i) getting participants' feedback.

  9. Defect-Engineered Metal–Organic Frameworks

    PubMed Central

    Fang, Zhenlan; Bueken, Bart; De Vos, Dirk E; Fischer, Roland A

    2015-01-01

    Defect engineering in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is an exciting concept for tailoring material properties, which opens up novel opportunities not only in sorption and catalysis, but also in controlling more challenging physical characteristics such as band gap as well as magnetic and electrical/conductive properties. It is challenging to structurally characterize the inherent or intentionally created defects of various types, and there have so far been few efforts to comprehensively discuss these issues. Based on selected reports spanning the last decades, this Review closes that gap by providing both a concise overview of defects in MOFs, or more broadly coordination network compounds (CNCs), including their classification and characterization, together with the (potential) applications of defective CNCs/MOFs. Moreover, we will highlight important aspects of “defect-engineering” concepts applied for CNCs, also in comparison with relevant solid materials such as zeolites or COFs. Finally, we discuss the future potential of defect-engineered CNCs. PMID:26036179

  10. Materials Laboratory Classes for First Year Undergraduates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fahy, F. W.

    1975-01-01

    Describes a combined demonstration and student experiment course to illustrate fundamental techniques, instrumentation, and concise report writing. Describes experiments including tensile tests, heat treatment, equilibrium diagram, microexamination, strain measurement, and recrystallization. (GH)

  11. Genetics Home Reference: Majeed syndrome

    MedlinePlus

    ... Al-Saad KK, Ijadi-Maghsoodi R, El-Shanti HI, Ferguson PJ. A splice site mutation confirms the ... gov/books/NBK1974/ Citation on PubMed El-Shanti HI, Ferguson PJ. Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis: a concise ...

  12. CSC Tip Sheets: Action Checklists

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Learn how to use action checklists to motivate behavior change by providing a clear and concise list of activities that community members and organizations can use to reduce their carbon footprint and achieve other sustainability goals.

  13. Integrated mobility measurement and notation system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roebuck, J. A., Jr.

    1967-01-01

    System for description of movements and positions facilitates design of space suits with more mobility. This measurement and notation system gives concise and unequivocal descriptions, compatible with engineering analysis and applicable to specific needs.

  14. 28 CFR 0.181 - Requirements for orders.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... the Attorney General § 0.181 Requirements for orders. Each order prepared for issuance by or approval of the Attorney General shall be given a suitable title, shall contain a clear and concise statement...

  15. 10 CFR 2.348 - Separation of functions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ..., scientific, or engineering principles that are useful for an understanding of the issues in a proceeding and... final decision that clearly and concisely sets forth the information or argument relied on to show the...

  16. 10 CFR 2.348 - Separation of functions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ..., scientific, or engineering principles that are useful for an understanding of the issues in a proceeding and... final decision that clearly and concisely sets forth the information or argument relied on to show the...

  17. Polarons in acetanilide

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Scott, Alwyn C.; Bigio, Irving J.; Johnston, Clifford T.

    1989-06-01

    The best available data are presented of the integrated intensity of the 1650-cm-1 band in crystalline acetanilide as a function of temperature. A concise theory of polaron states is presented and used to interpret the data.

  18. Polarons in acetanilide

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Scott, A. C.; Bigio, I. J.; Johnston, C. T.

    1989-06-15

    The best available data are presented of the integrated intensity of the1650-cm/sup /minus/1/ band in crystalline acetanilide as a function oftemperature. A concise theory of polaron states is presented and used tointerpret the data.

  19. Biogenetically inspired approach to the Strychnos alkaloids. Concise syntheses of (+/-)-akuammicine and (+/-)-strychnine.

    PubMed

    Ito, M; Clark, C W; Mortimore, M; Goh, J B; Martin, S F

    2001-08-22

    A linear synthesis of the indole alkaloid (+/-)-akuammicine (2) was completed by a novel sequence of reactions requiring only 10 steps from commercially available starting materials. The approach features a tandem vinylogous Mannich addition and an intramolecular hetero Diels-Alder reaction to rapidly assemble the pentacyclic heteroyohimboid derivative 8 from the readily available hydrocarboline 6. Oxidation of the E ring of 8 gave the lactone 9 that was converted into deformylgeissoschizine (11). The subsequent elaboration of 11 into 2 was effected by a biomimetically patterned transformation that involved sequential oxidation and base-induced skeletal reorganization. A variation of these tactics was then applied to the synthesis of the C(18) hydroxylated akuammicine derivative 36. Because 36 had previously been converted into strychnine (1) in four steps, its preparation constitutes a concise, formal synthesis of this complex alkaloid.

  20. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in the treatment of acute radiation syndrome: a concise review.

    PubMed

    Hofer, Michal; Pospíšil, Milan; Komůrková, Denisa; Hoferová, Zuzana

    2014-04-16

    This article concisely summarizes data on the action of one of the principal and best known growth factors, the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), in a mammalian organism exposed to radiation doses inducing acute radiation syndrome. Highlighted are the topics of its real or anticipated use in radiation accident victims, the timing of its administration, the possibilities of combining G-CSF with other drugs, the ability of other agents to stimulate endogenous G-CSF production, as well as of the capability of this growth factor to ameliorate not only the bone marrow radiation syndrome but also the gastrointestinal radiation syndrome. G-CSF is one of the pivotal drugs in the treatment of radiation accident victims and its employment in this indication can be expected to remain or even grow in the future.

  1. Generating Concise Rules for Human Motion Retrieval

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mukai, Tomohiko; Wakisaka, Ken-Ichi; Kuriyama, Shigeru

    This paper proposes a method for retrieving human motion data with concise retrieval rules based on the spatio-temporal features of motion appearance. Our method first converts motion clip into a form of clausal language that represents geometrical relations between body parts and their temporal relationship. A retrieval rule is then learned from the set of manually classified examples using inductive logic programming (ILP). ILP automatically discovers the essential rule in the same clausal form with a user-defined hypothesis-testing procedure. All motions are indexed using this clausal language, and the desired clips are retrieved by subsequence matching using the rule. Such rule-based retrieval offers reasonable performance and the rule can be intuitively edited in the same language form. Consequently, our method enables efficient and flexible search from a large dataset with simple query language.

  2. Concise Stereocontrolled Formal Synthesis of (±)-Quinine and Total Synthesis of (±)-7-Hydroxyquinine via Merged Morita-Baylis-Hillman-Tsuji-Trost Cyclization

    PubMed Central

    Webber, Peter; Krische, Michael J.

    2010-01-01

    Concise stereoselective syntheses of (±)-quinine and (±)-7-hydroxyquinine are achieved using a catalytic enone cycloallylation that combines the nucleophilic features of the Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction and the electrophilic features of the Tsuji-Trost reaction. Cyclization of enone-allyl carbonate 11 delivers the product of cycloallylation 13 in 68% yield. Diastereoselective conjugate reduction of the enone 13 (>20:1 dr) followed by exchange of N-protecting groups provides the saturated N-Boc-protected methyl ketone 19, which upon aldol dehydration provides quinoline containing enone 15, possessing all carbon atoms of quinine. Exposure of ketone 15 to L-selectride enables diastereoselective carbonyl reduction (>20:1 dr) to furnish the allylic alcohol 16. Stereoselective hydroxyl-directed epoxidation using an oxovanadium catalyst modified by N-hydroxy-N-Me-pivalamide delivers epoxide 17 (17:1 dr). Cyclization of the resulting amine-epoxide 17 provides (±)-7-hydroxyquinine in 13 steps and 11% overall yield from aminoacetaldehyde diethyl acetal. Notably, highly stereoselective formation of five contiguous stereocenters is achieved through a series of 1,2-asymmetric induction events. A formal synthesis of (±)-quinine is achieved upon deoxygenation of the N-Cbz-protected allylic acetate 22 to provide olefin 23, which previously has been converted to quinine. Thus, (±)-quinine is accessible in 16 steps and 4% overall yield from commercial aminoacetaldehyde diethyl acetal, making this route the most concise approach to quinine, to date. PMID:18989927

  3. Relationship between the quality of children's handwriting and the Beery Buktenica developmental test of visuomotor integration after one year of writing tuition.

    PubMed

    Duiser, Ivonne H F; van der Kamp, John; Ledebt, Annick; Savelsbergh, Geert J P

    2014-04-01

    We examined whether the three subtests of the Beery Buktenica developmental test of visuomotor integration predicted quality of handwriting across and within groups of boys and girls classified as proficient, at risk or non-proficient writers according to the Concise Assessment Scale for Children's Handwriting. The Beery Buktenica developmental test of visuomotor integration and the Concise Assessment Scale for Children's Handwriting tests were administered to 240 grade 2 children. Proficient writers scored better on the visuomotor integration subtest than non-proficient writers, while proficient and at risk writers scored better than non-proficient writers on the motor coordination subtest. No differences were found on the visual perception subtest. Girls were more often classified as proficient writers than boys, and they scored better on the motor coordination subtest. Across groups, regression indicated that gender and both the visuomotor integration subtest and the motor coordination subtest were significant predictors for the quality of handwriting (i.e., accounted for 17% of the variance). After one year of writing tuition, the visuomotor integration subtest (and to a lesser extent the motor coordination subtest) but not the visual perception subtest significant relates to quality of children's handwriting as measured with the Concise Assessment Scale for Children's Handwriting. However, the relatively little variance explained also points to other abilities and/or task constraints that underlie quality of handwriting. © 2013 Occupational Therapy Australia.

  4. Evaluation of the remineralization potential of amorphous calcium phosphate and fluoride containing pit and fissure sealants using scanning electron microscopy.

    PubMed

    Choudhary, Prashant; Tandon, Shobha; Ganesh, M; Mehra, Anshul

    2012-01-01

    To evaluate the remineralization potential of Amorphous Calcium Phosphate (ACP) and Fluoride containing pit and Fissure Sealants using Scanning Electron Microscopy. Thirty maxillary first premolars were divided into three groups of ten each and were randomly selected for ACP containing (Aegis- Opaque White, Bosworth Co. Ltd.), Fluoride containing (Teethmate F1 Natural Clear, Kuraray Co. Ltd.), resin based (Concise- Opaque White, 3M ESPE Co. Ltd.) pit and fissure sealant applications. The Concise group served as a control. The teeth weresubjected to the pH-cycling regimen for a period of two weeks. After two weeks, the teeth were sectioned bucco-lingually into 4mm sections and were observed under Scanning Electron Microscope at 50X, 250X, 500X, 1000X and 1500X magnifications. The qualitative changes at the tooth surface and sealant interface were examined and presence of white zone at the interface was considered positive for remineralization. Both ACP containing (Aegis) and Fluoride containing (Teethmate F1) group showed white zone at the tooth surface-sealant interface. The resin based group (Concise) showed regular interface between the sealant and the tooth structure, but no clear cut white zone was observed. Both, Aegis and Teethmate F1 have the potential to remineralize. Release of Amorphous Calcium Phosphate molecules in Aegis group and formation of Fluoroapetite in Teethmate F1 group, were probably responsible for the remineralization.

  5. Catheter ablation as a treatment of atrioventricular block.

    PubMed

    Tuohy, Stephen; Saliba, Walid; Pai, Manjunath; Tchou, Patrick

    2018-01-01

    Symptomatic second-degree atrioventricular (AV) block is typically treated by implantation of a pacemaker. An otherwise healthy AV conduction system can nevertheless develop AV block due to interference from junctional extrasystoles. When present with a high burden, these can produce debilitating symptoms from AV block despite an underlying normal AV node and His-Purkinje system properties. The purpose of this study was to describe a catheter ablation approach for alleviating symptomatic AV block due to a ventricular nodal pathway interfering with AV conduction. Common clinical monitoring techniques such as Holter and event recorders were used. Standard electrophysiological study techniques using multipolar recording and ablation catheters were utilized during procedures. A 55-year-old woman presented with highly symptomatic, high-burden second-degree AV block due to concealed and manifest junctional premature beats. Electrophysiological characteristics indicated interference of AV conduction due to a concealed ventricular nodal pathway as the cause of the AV block. The patient's AV nodal and His-Purkinje system conduction characteristics were otherwise normal. Radiofrequency catheter ablation of the pathway was successful in restoring normal AV conduction and eliminating her clinical symptoms. Pathways inserting into the AV junction can interfere with AV conduction. When present at a high burden, this type of AV block can be highly symptomatic. Catheter ablation techniques can be used to alleviate this type of AV block and restore normal AV conduction. Copyright © 2017 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Enhancement of thermal conductive pathway of boron nitride coated polymethylsilsesquioxane composite.

    PubMed

    Kim, Gyungbok; Ryu, Seung Han; Lee, Jun-Tae; Seong, Ki-Hun; Lee, Jae Eun; Yoon, Phil-Joong; Kim, Bum-Sung; Hussain, Manwar; Choa, Yong-Ho

    2013-11-01

    We report here in the fabrication of enhanced thermal conductive pathway nanocomposites of boron nitride (BN)-coated polymethylsilsesquioxane (PMSQ) composite beads using isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as a mixing medium. Exfoliated and size-reduced boron nitride particles were successfully coated on the PMSQ beads and explained by surface charge differences. A homogeneous dispersion and coating of BN on the PMSQ beads using IPA medium was confirmed by SEM. Each condition of the composite powder was carried into the stainless still mould and then hot pressed in an electrically heated hot press machine. Three-dimensional percolation networks and conductive pathways created by exfoliated BN were precisely formed in the nanocomposites. The thermal conductivity of nanocomposites was measured by multiplying specific gravity, specific heat, and thermal diffusivity, based upon the laser flash method. Densification of the composite resulted in better thermal properties. For an epoxy reinforced composite with 30 vol% BN and PMSQ, a thermal conductivity of nine times higher than that of pristine PMSQ was observed.

  7. Creation New Patient Information Leaflets with Diabetes by Pharmacists and Assesment Conducted by Patients.

    PubMed

    Arai, Motoharu; Maeda, Kazuto; Satoh, Hiroki; Miki, Akiko; Sawada, Yasufumi

    2016-10-01

    We created a draft of new patient information leaflets to ensure patients' proper use of drugs and to highlight safety issues and improvement plans extracted and proposed by small group discussions (SGD) with pharmacists. A total of 3 SGDs (participants: 15 pharmacists) were conducted with the aim of improving patient information leaflets for oral diabetes drugs. First, the disadvantages and advantages of the current instructions as well as requests for ideal patient information leaflets were obtained from participants. Conventional patient information leaflets that could be improved were useful to understand drug efficacy, adverse effects, and instructions for daily consumption of medicines, and to encourage patients to re-check drugs at home and inform their family of the measures to be taken in the case of adverse effects from the standpoint of patients. However, some disadvantages arose; for example, the instructions were difficult to read because of small lettering and illustrations and too much text. It was not tailored for individual patients, and descriptions about serious adverse effects caused patients much anxiety. Therefore, we have created a draft of new patient information leaflets with diabetes that are simpler and easier to understand and use concise wording and illustrations that are impactful.

  8. The Function Biomedical Informatics Research Network Data Repository

    PubMed Central

    Keator, David B.; van Erp, Theo G.M.; Turner, Jessica A.; Glover, Gary H.; Mueller, Bryon A.; Liu, Thomas T.; Voyvodic, James T.; Rasmussen, Jerod; Calhoun, Vince D.; Lee, Hyo Jong; Toga, Arthur W.; McEwen, Sarah; Ford, Judith M.; Mathalon, Daniel H.; Diaz, Michele; O’Leary, Daniel S.; Bockholt, H. Jeremy; Gadde, Syam; Preda, Adrian; Wible, Cynthia G.; Stern, Hal S.; Belger, Aysenil; McCarthy, Gregory; Ozyurt, Burak; Potkin, Steven G.

    2015-01-01

    The Function Biomedical Informatics Research Network (FBIRN) developed methods and tools for conducting multi-scanner functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Method and tool development were based on two major goals: 1) to assess the major sources of variation in fMRI studies conducted across scanners, including instrumentation, acquisition protocols, challenge tasks, and analysis methods, and 2) to provide a distributed network infrastructure and an associated federated database to host and query large, multi-site, fMRI and clinical datasets. In the process of achieving these goals the FBIRN test bed generated several multi-scanner brain imaging data sets to be shared with the wider scientific community via the BIRN Data Repository (BDR). The FBIRN Phase 1 dataset consists of a traveling subject study of 5 healthy subjects, each scanned on 10 different 1.5 to 4 Tesla scanners. The FBIRN Phase 2 and Phase 3 datasets consist of subjects with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder along with healthy comparison subjects scanned at multiple sites. In this paper, we provide concise descriptions of FBIRN’s multi-scanner brain imaging data sets and details about the BIRN Data Repository instance of the Human Imaging Database (HID) used to publicly share the data. PMID:26364863

  9. Case report: Time of death estimation of a buried body by modeling a decomposition matrix for a pig carcass.

    PubMed

    Niederegger, Senta; Schermer, Julia; Höfig, Juliane; Mall, Gita

    2015-01-01

    Estimating time of death of buried human bodies is a very difficult task. Casper's rule from 1860 is still widely used which illustrates the lack of suitable methods. In this case study excavations in an arbor revealed the crouching body of a human being, dressed only in boxer shorts and socks. Witnesses were not able to generate a concise answer as to when the person in question was last seen alive; the pieces of information opened a window of 2-6 weeks for the possible time of death. To determine the post mortem interval (PMI) an experiment using a pig carcass was conducted to set up a decomposition matrix. Fitting the autopsy findings of the victim into the decomposition matrix yielded a time of death estimation of 2-3 weeks. This time frame was later confirmed by a new witness. The authors feel confident that a widespread conduction of decomposition matrices using pig carcasses can lead to a great increase of experience and knowledge in PMI estimation of buried bodies and will eventually lead to applicable new methods. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Ethical decision-making in intensive care: are nurses suitable patient advocates?

    PubMed

    Norrie, P

    1997-06-01

    According to the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) code of conduct (1992), nurses in Britain are expected to act as patient advocates. An advocate is someone who 'pleads for another' (Concise Oxford Dictionary 1982). However, it has been shown that advocacy is a complex issue and it is debatable as to whether or not it is a legitimate attribute of the role of the nurse (Gates 1995). Mallik (1997) also finds that advocacy can be a risky career option. Professional codes of conduct spell out duties, but do not give moral guidance. Phrases such as 'promote and safeguard the well-being of the patient' (UKCC 1992) are used, but although undoubtedly well-intentioned, this is platitudinous and these codes commonly shed little light on how to define an action that is to the patient's benefit or detriment. It is tempting to suggest that they are used as a drunken man uses a street lamp; more for support than illumination. Castledine (1981) identified a number of factors that would make a nurse an inappropriate advocate and these will be discussed within the context of intensive care units (ICUs).

  11. Wood machining highlights, 1972 and 1973

    Treesearch

    Charles W. Mcmillin

    1975-01-01

    Important wood machining research published during 1972 and 1973 is highlighted to provide the reader with a concise summary of activity in 17 fields of endeavor. The review is based on 427 references and contains 154 citations.

  12. Geometric Design Laboratory Fact Sheet

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2006-08-02

    This fact sheet provides concise information about the Geometric Design Laboratory (GDL) at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center. The mission of the GDL is to provide technical support to the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Safety R...

  13. WHAT'S the Matter at Rhic?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Cassagnac, Raphael Granier

    I present here a concise review of the experimental results obtained at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), which shed light on the hot and dense quark gluon matter produced at these high temperature and density conditions.

  14. Magnetohydrodynamic power generation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, J. L.

    1984-01-01

    Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Power Generation is a concise summary of MHD theory, history, and future trends. Results of the major international MHD research projects are discussed. Data from MHD research is included. Economics of initial and operating costs are considered.

  15. Solid state Impatt Amplifiers performance data

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1973-12-01

    Evaluation data on an 8-watt and a 16-watt Impatt Amplifier represented to concisely describe the performance of these amplifiers. The data include component specifications and photographs, TSC test set-up configuration, amplitude and phase character...

  16. Sustainable concrete pavements : a manual of practice.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-08-01

    Developed as a more detailed follow-up to a 2009 briefing document, Building Sustainable Pavement with Concrete, this guide provides a clear, concise, and cohesive discussion of pavement sustainability concepts and of recommended practices for maximi...

  17. Guide for Commenting on NEEDS and IPM

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Find on this page a document intended to provide guidance on submitting clear, concise, and impactful comments on NEEDS (National Electric Energy Data System), other inputs to the Integrated Planning Model (IPM), or outputs from IPM.

  18. Wood Machining Highlights, 1972 and 1973

    Treesearch

    C.W. McMillin

    1975-01-01

    Important wood machining research published during 1972 and 1973 is highlighted to provide the reader with a concise summary of activity in 17 fields of endeavor. The review is based on 427 references and contains 154 citations.

  19. Benzo[b]fluorenes via indanone dianion annulation: a short synthesis of prekinamycin.

    PubMed

    Birman, Vladimir B; Zhao, Zhufeng; Guo, Lei

    2007-03-29

    [structure: see text]. A rapid construction of benzo[b]fluorenones via reaction of 1-indanone dianions with phthalate diesters is described. Its utility is illustrated with a concise synthesis of prekinamycin.

  20. Defining Terrorism.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoffman, Bruce

    1986-01-01

    Notes the lack of a concise meaning for the word terrorism. Develops a working definition which states that terrorism is the deliberate creation and exploitation of fear through violence or the threat of violence in the attainment of political objectives. (JDH)

  1. Hydrograph Separations can Identify Contaminant-Specific Pathways for Conservation Targeting in a Tile-Drained Watershed

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Water quality issues continue to vex agriculture. Understanding contaminant-specific pathways could help clarify effective water quality management strategies in watersheds. Hypothesis: If conducted at nested scales, hydrograph separation techniques can identify contaminant-specific pathways that co...

  2. The heterogeneity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and conduct problems: Cognitive inhibition, emotion regulation, emotionality, and disorganized attachment.

    PubMed

    Forslund, Tommie; Brocki, Karin C; Bohlin, Gunilla; Granqvist, Pehr; Eninger, Lilianne

    2016-09-01

    This study examined the contributions of several important domains of functioning to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and conduct problems. Specifically, we investigated whether cognitive inhibition, emotion regulation, emotionality, and disorganized attachment made independent and specific contributions to these externalizing behaviour problems from a multiple pathways perspective. The study included laboratory measures of cognitive inhibition and disorganized attachment in 184 typically developing children (M age = 6 years, 10 months, SD = 1.7). Parental ratings provided measures of emotion regulation, emotionality, and externalizing behaviour problems. Results revealed that cognitive inhibition, regulation of positive emotion, and positive emotionality were independently and specifically related to ADHD symptoms. Disorganized attachment and negative emotionality formed independent and specific relations to conduct problems. Our findings support the multiple pathways perspective on ADHD, with poor regulation of positive emotion and high positive emotionality making distinct contributions to ADHD symptoms. More specifically, our results support the proposal of a temperamentally based pathway to ADHD symptoms. The findings also indicate that disorganized attachment and negative emotionality constitute pathways specific to conduct problems rather than to ADHD symptoms. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

  3. FY 1993 report on aluminum-nitrate testing at the ETF

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Goodman, M.D.D.; Wise, M.D.

    1993-09-30

    This report summarizes the progress of the Aluminum Nitrate Nonhydrate (ANN) testing program at the F/H-Area Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF) for Fiscal Year 1993. Three tests were conducted in the months of February, April, and September. The tests yielded data that validated earlier conclusions that the addition of ANN to non-routine feed has a positive effect on the performance of ETF`s submicron filtration unit. Performance was observed to increase from 30--309%, depending on the season. The data also supports SRTC`s earlier conclusion that an optimal aluminum concentration exists in the range of 30--40 ppm, and concentrations above this range beginmore » to retard filtration performance. A rudimentary mathematical model that would predict Stage 1 flux was also developed during FY93. The model allowed for a more concise comparison of filter test runs, as well as increase the efficiency of the testing program by allowing shorter test runs to be conducted. It is postulated that the model can be further optimized to include aluminum concentration and time of year as independent variables that determine Stage 1 flux. Such a model should unequivocally prove the merits of pretreating ETF`s wastewater with aluminum nitrate. To proceed with the development of the model, further testing is proposed with stringent control of the aluminum concentration in the feed. In order to account for seasonal effects, one test should be conducted each month for Fiscal Year 1994. High Level Waste Engineering requests permission to conduct these test runs according to the following schedule: conduct tests in even numbered months beginning with October with routine influent as it is collected from normal process sewer influents and conduct tests in odd numbered months beginning with November with non-routine feed from H-Retention Basin.« less

  4. 20 CFR 30.720 - How can an excluded provider request a hearing?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... shall contain: (a) A concise notice of the issues on which the provider desires to give evidence at the... medical standards, medical ethics or medical regulation for an advisory opinion from a competent...

  5. 20 CFR 10.820 - How can an excluded provider request a hearing?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... named under § 10.818(f) and shall contain: (a) A concise notice of the issues on which the provider... questions concerning professional medical standards, medical ethics or medical regulation for an advisory...

  6. Strategies for improving traveler information.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-01-01

    This project developed a clear, concise, and fiscally sound plan to improve traveler information : for the Michigan Department of Transportation (DOT). The DOT has a long history of innovation : in the field of ITS, including a robust traveler inform...

  7. FRATIS concept of operations : assess test readiness of FRATIS (task 4).

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-08-01

    This technical memorandum presents a concise assessment of the key technical and nontechnical issues and limitations related to field-testing the Freight Advanced Traveler Information System (FRATIS) Dynamic Mobility Applications (DMA) bundle and its...

  8. 75 FR 57261 - Request for Comments on Incentivizing Humanitarian Technologies and Licensing Through the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-20

    ... to develop a workable test to apply these principles that is clear, concise, administratively... was made available to researchers on generous terms. The USPTO seeks to develop a workable test to...

  9. Cybernetics and Workshop Design.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eckstein, Daniel G.

    1979-01-01

    Cybernetic sessions allow for the investigation of several variables concurrently, resulting in a large volume of input compacted into a concise time frame. Three session questions are reproduced to illustrate the variety of ideas generated relative to workshop design. (Author)

  10. Concise, Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (-)-Alstonerine

    PubMed Central

    Miller, Kenneth A.

    2008-01-01

    A novel enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-alstonerine has been completed that requires only 1 5 steps from L-tryptophan. The synthesis features the first application of a Pauson-Khand reaction t o synthesize an azabridged bicyclic skeleton. PMID:17298078

  11. 50 CFR 221.55 - What evidence is admissible at the hearing?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... guidance by the ALJ and the parties in interpreting and applying the provisions of this section. (b) Objections. Any party objecting to the admission or exclusion of evidence shall concisely state the grounds...

  12. 7 CFR 1.655 - What evidence is admissible at the hearing?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... guidance by the ALJ and the parties in interpreting and applying the provisions of this section. (b) Objections. Any party objecting to the admission or exclusion of evidence shall concisely state the grounds...

  13. Quantitative evaluation of refolding conditions for a disulfide-bond-containing protein using a concise 18O-labeling technique

    PubMed Central

    Uchimura, Hiromasa; Kim, Yusam; Mizuguchi, Takaaki; Kiso, Yoshiaki; Saito, Kazuki

    2011-01-01

    A concise method was developed for quantifying native disulfide-bond formation in proteins using isotopically labeled internal standards, which were easily prepared with proteolytic 18O-labeling. As the method has much higher throughput to estimate the amounts of fragments possessing native disulfide arrangements by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) than the conventional high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses, it allows many different experimental conditions to be assessed in a short time. The method was applied to refolding experiments of a recombinant neuregulin 1-β1 EGF-like motif (NRG1-β1), and the optimum conditions for preparing native NRG1-β1 were obtained by quantitative comparisons. Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) was most effective at the reduced/oxidized glutathione ratio of 2:1 for refolding the denatured sample NRG1-β1 with the native disulfide bonds. PMID:21500299

  14. Soft Systems Methodology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Checkland, Peter; Poulter, John

    Soft systems methodology (SSM) is an approach for tackling problematical, messy situations of all kinds. It is an action-oriented process of inquiry into problematic situations in which users learn their way from finding out about the situation, to taking action to improve it. The learning emerges via an organised process in which the situation is explored using a set of models of purposeful action (each built to encapsulate a single worldview) as intellectual devices, or tools, to inform and structure discussion about a situation and how it might be improved. This paper, written by the original developer Peter Checkland and practitioner John Poulter, gives a clear and concise account of the approach that covers SSM's specific techniques, the learning cycle process of the methodology and the craft skills which practitioners develop. This concise but theoretically robust account nevertheless includes the fundamental concepts, techniques, core tenets described through a wide range of settings.

  15. Design and Fabrication of Full Wheatstone-Bridge-Based Angular GMR Sensors.

    PubMed

    Yan, Shaohua; Cao, Zhiqiang; Guo, Zongxia; Zheng, Zhenyi; Cao, Anni; Qi, Yue; Leng, Qunwen; Zhao, Weisheng

    2018-06-05

    Since the discovery of the giant magnetoresistive (GMR) effect, GMR sensors have gained much attention in last decades due to their high sensitivity, small size, and low cost. The full Wheatstone-bridge-based GMR sensor is most useful in terms of the application point of view. However, its manufacturing process is usually complex. In this paper, we present an efficient and concise approach to fabricate a full Wheatstone-bridge-based angular GMR sensor by depositing one GMR film stack, utilizing simple patterned processes, and a concise post-annealing procedure based on a special layout. The angular GMR sensor is of good linear performance and achieves a sensitivity of 0.112 mV/V/Oe at the annealing temperature of 260 °C in the magnetic field range from -50 to +50 Oe. This work provides a design and method for GMR-sensor manufacturing that is easy for implementation and suitable for mass production.

  16. Targeted nanosystems: Advances in targeted dendrimers for cancer therapy.

    PubMed

    Yang, Hu

    2016-02-01

    Dendrimers possess discrete highly compact nanostructures constituted of successive branched layers. Soon after the inception of dendrimers, recognition of their tunable structures and biologically favorable properties provoked a great enthusiasm in delving deeply into the utility of dendrimers for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. One of the most important nanotechnology applications is the development of nanomedicines for targeted cancer therapies. Tremendous success in targeted therapies has been achieved with the use of dendrimer-based nanomedicines. This article provides a concise review on latest advances in the utility of dendrimers in immunotherapies and hormone therapies. Much basic and clinical research has been done since the invention of dendrimers, which are highly branched nano-sized molecules with the ability to act as carriers in nanomedicine. In this concise review article, the authors highlighted the current use of dendrimers in immunotherapies and hormone therapies in the fight against cancers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Mechanical modeling for magnetorheological elastomer isolators based on constitutive equations and electromagnetic analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Qi; Dong, Xufeng; Li, Luyu; Ou, Jinping

    2018-06-01

    As constitutive models are too complicated and existing mechanical models lack universality, these models are beyond satisfaction for magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) devices. In this article, a novel universal method is proposed to build concise mechanical models. Constitutive model and electromagnetic analysis were applied in this method to ensure universality, while a series of derivations and simplifications were carried out to obtain a concise formulation. To illustrate the proposed modeling method, a conical MRE isolator was introduced. Its basic mechanical equations were built based on equilibrium, deformation compatibility, constitutive equations and electromagnetic analysis. An iteration model and a highly efficient differential equation editor based model were then derived to solve the basic mechanical equations. The final simplified mechanical equations were obtained by re-fitting the simulations with a novel optimal algorithm. In the end, verification test of the isolator has proved the accuracy of the derived mechanical model and the modeling method.

  18. Assessment and management of alcohol dependence and withdrawal in the acute hospital: concise guidance.

    PubMed

    Stewart, Stephen; Swain, Sharon

    2012-06-01

    Alcohol dependence is common among patients attending acute hospitals. It can be the major reason for attendance or a significant cofactor. Assessment of these patients in the acute setting can be challenging owing to the multidisciplinary approach required. Doctors in acute hospitals are often inexperienced in managing dependence, a mental health problem. They might focus on the physical harms or the withdrawal, a consequence of the dependence. For this reason, assessment of dependence and prevention and management of acute alcohol withdrawal are often suboptimal. There is little existing guidance on how to manage this patient population, especially in non-specialist settings. With recently published National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance on the management of dependence and withdrawal, now is the perfect time to produce concise guidelines in the hope that a more succinct suite of guidance can reach a larger audience.

  19. Accelerating evaluation of converged lattice thermal conductivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qin, Guangzhao; Hu, Ming

    2018-01-01

    High-throughput computational materials design is an emerging area in materials science, which is based on the fast evaluation of physical-related properties. The lattice thermal conductivity (κ) is a key property of materials for enormous implications. However, the high-throughput evaluation of κ remains a challenge due to the large resources costs and time-consuming procedures. In this paper, we propose a concise strategy to efficiently accelerate the evaluation process of obtaining accurate and converged κ. The strategy is in the framework of phonon Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) coupled with first-principles calculations. Based on the analysis of harmonic interatomic force constants (IFCs), the large enough cutoff radius (rcutoff), a critical parameter involved in calculating the anharmonic IFCs, can be directly determined to get satisfactory results. Moreover, we find a simple way to largely ( 10 times) accelerate the computations by fast reconstructing the anharmonic IFCs in the convergence test of κ with respect to the rcutof, which finally confirms the chosen rcutoff is appropriate. Two-dimensional graphene and phosphorene along with bulk SnSe are presented to validate our approach, and the long-debate divergence problem of thermal conductivity in low-dimensional systems is studied. The quantitative strategy proposed herein can be a good candidate for fast evaluating the reliable κ and thus provides useful tool for high-throughput materials screening and design with targeted thermal transport properties.

  20. Atrial flutter with 1:1 conduction in undiagnosed Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

    PubMed

    Nelson, Jessie G; Zhu, Dennis W

    2014-05-01

    Atrial flutter with 1:1 atrioventricular conduction via an accessory pathway is an uncommon presentation of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome not previously reported in the emergency medicine literature. Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a form of ventricular preexcitation sometimes initially seen and diagnosed in the emergency department (ED), can present with varied tachydysrhythmias for which certain treatments are contraindicated. For instance, atrial fibrillation with preexcited conduction needs specific consideration of medication choice to avoid potential degeneration into ventricular fibrillation. We describe an adult female presenting with a very rapid, regular wide complex tachycardia successfully cardioverted in the ED followed by a normal electrocardiogram (ECG). Electrophysiology study confirmed atrial flutter with 1:1 conduction and revealed an accessory pathway consistent with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, despite lack of ECG findings of preexcitation during sinus rhythm. Why should an emergency physician be aware of this? Ventricular tachycardia must be the first consideration in patients with regular wide complex tachycardia. However, clinicians should consider atrial flutter with 1:1 conduction related to an accessory pathway when treating patients with the triad of very rapid rate (>250 beats/min), wide QRS complex, and regular rhythm, especially when considering pharmacologic treatment. Emergency physicians also should be aware of electrocardiographically concealed accessory pathways, and that lack of delta waves does not rule out preexcitation syndromes such as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Do parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) receive adequate information about the disorder and its treatments? A qualitative investigation.

    PubMed

    Ahmed, Rana; Borst, Jacqueline M; Yong, Cheng Wei; Aslani, Parisa

    2014-01-01

    Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent pediatric neurodevelopmental condition, commonly treated using pharmacological agents such as stimulant medicines. The use of these agents remains contentious, placing parents in a difficult position when deciding to initiate and/or continue their child's treatment. Parents refer to a range of information sources to assist with their treatment decision-making. This qualitative study aimed to investigate 1) parents' ADHD-related knowledge pre- and post-diagnosis, 2) the information sources accessed by parents, 3) whether parents' information needs were met post-diagnosis, and 4) parents' views about strategies to meet their information needs. Three focus groups (n=16 parents), each lasting 1.0-1.5 hours were conducted. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed using the framework method, coded, and categorized into themes. Generally, parents had limited ADHD-related knowledge prior to their child's diagnosis and perceived prescription medicines indicated for ADHD in a negative context. Parents reported improved knowledge after their child's diagnosis; however, they expressed dissatisfaction with information that they accessed, which was often technical and not tailored to their child's needs. Verbal information sought from health care professionals was viewed to be reliable but generally medicine-focused and not necessarily comprehensive. Parents identified a need for concise, tailored information about ADHD, the medicines used for its treatment, and changes to their child's medication needs with age. They also expressed a desire for increased availability of support groups and tools to assist them in sourcing information from health care professionals during consultations, such as question prompt lists. There are gaps in parents' knowledge about ADHD and its treatment, and an expressed need for tailored and reliable information. Future research needs to focus on providing parents with avenues to access concise, reliable, and relevant information and support in order to empower them to make the best treatment decision for their child.

  2. Clinical Decision-Making Tool for Safe and Effective Prescription of Exercise in Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Results From an Interdisciplinary Delphi Survey and Focus Groups.

    PubMed

    Camp, Pat G; Reid, W Darlene; Chung, Frank; Kirkham, Ashley; Brooks, Dina; Goodridge, Donna; Marciniuk, Darcy D; Hoens, Alison M

    2015-10-01

    Exercise is recommended for people with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), yet there is little information to guide safe and effective mobilization and exercise for these patients. The purpose of this study was to develop a clinical decision-making tool to guide health care professionals in the assessment, prescription, monitoring, and progression of mobilization and therapeutic exercise for patients with AECOPD. A 3-round interdisciplinary Delphi panel identified and selected items based on a preselected consensus of 80%. These items were summarized in a paper-based tool titled Mobilization in Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (AECOPD-Mob). Focus groups and questionnaires were subsequently used to conduct a sensibility evaluation of the tool. Nine researchers, 13 clinicians, and 7 individuals with COPD identified and approved 110 parameters for safe and effective exercise in AECOPD. These parameters were grouped into 5 categories: (1) "What to Assess Prior to Mobilization," (2) "When to Consider Not Mobilizing or to Discontinue Mobilization," (3) "What to Monitor During Mobilization for Patient Safety," (4) "How to Progress Mobilization to Enhance Effectiveness," and (5) "What to Confirm Prior to Discharge." The tool was evaluated in 4 focus groups of 18 health care professionals, 90% of whom reported the tool was easy to use, was concise, and would guide a health care professional who is new to the acute care setting and working with patients with AECOPD. The tool was developed based on published evidence and expert opinion, so the applicability of the items to patients in all settings cannot be guaranteed. The Delphi panel consisted of health care professionals from Canada, so items may not be generalizable to other jurisdictions. The AECOPD-Mob provides practical and concise information on safe and effective exercise for the AECOPD population for use by the new graduate or novice acute care practitioner. © 2015 American Physical Therapy Association.

  3. Implementing scientific evidence to improve the quality of Child Protection

    PubMed Central

    Cowley, Laura; Tempest, Vanessa; Maguire, Sabine; Mann, Mala; Naughton, Aideen; Wain, Laura; Kemp, Alison

    2013-01-01

    In contrast to other areas of medical practice, there was a lack of a clear, concise and accessible synthesis of scientific literature to aid the recognition and investigation of suspected child abuse, and no national training program or evidence based guidelines for clinicians. The project's aim was to identify the current scientific evidence for the recognition and investigation of suspected child abuse and neglect and to disseminate and introduce this into clinical practice. Since 2003 a comprehensive program of Systematic Reviews of all aspects of physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect of children, has been developed. Based on NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination standards, methodology was devised and reviewers trained. Dissemination was via peer reviewed publications, a series of leaflets highlighting key points in a Question and Answer format, and a website. To date, 21 systematic reviews have been completed, generating 28 peer reviewed publications, and six leaflets around each theme (eg fractures, bruising). More than 250,000 have been distributed to date. Our website generates more than 10,000 hits monthly. It hosts primary reviews that are updated annually, links to all included studies, publications, and detailed methodology. The reviews have directly informed five national clinical guidelines, and the first evidence based training in Child Maltreatment. Child abuse is every health practitioner's responsibility, and it is vital that the decisions made are evidence based, as it is expected in all other fields of medicine. Although challenging, this project demonstrates that it is possible to conduct high quality systematic reviews in this field. For the first time a clear concise synthesis of up to date scientific evidence is available to all practitioners in a range of accessible formats. This has underpinned high quality national guidance and training programs. It ensures all professionals have the appropriate knowledge base in this difficult and challenging field. PMID:26734183

  4. Development and evaluation of 'briefing notes' as a novel knowledge translation tool to aid the implementation of sex/gender analysis in systematic reviews: a pilot study.

    PubMed

    Doull, Marion; Welch, Vivian; Puil, Lorri; Runnels, Vivien; Coen, Stephanie E; Shea, Beverley; O'Neill, Jennifer; Borkhoff, Cornelia; Tudiver, Sari; Boscoe, Madeline

    2014-01-01

    There is increasing recognition of sex/gender differences in health and the importance of identifying differential effects of interventions for men and women. Yet, to whom the research evidence does or does not apply, with regard to sex/gender, is often insufficiently answered. This is also true for systematic reviews which synthesize results of primary studies. A lack of analysis and reporting of evidence on sex/gender raises concerns about the applicability of systematic reviews. To bridge this gap, this pilot study aimed to translate knowledge about sex/gender analysis (SGA) into a user-friendly 'briefing note' format and evaluate its potential in aiding the implementation of SGA in systematic reviews. Our Sex/Gender Methods Group used an interactive process to translate knowledge about sex/gender into briefing notes, a concise communication tool used by policy and decision makers. The briefing notes were developed in collaboration with three Cochrane Collaboration review groups (HIV/AIDS, Hypertension, and Musculoskeletal) who were also the target knowledge users of the briefing notes. Briefing note development was informed by existing systematic review checklists, literature on sex/gender, in-person and virtual meetings, and consultation with topic experts. Finally, we held a workshop for potential users to evaluate the notes. Each briefing note provides tailored guidance on considering sex/gender to reviewers who are planning or conducting systematic reviews and includes the rationale for considering sex/gender, with examples specific to each review group's focus. Review authors found that the briefing notes provided welcome guidance on implementing SGA that was clear and concise, but also identified conceptual and implementation challenges. Sex/gender briefing notes are a promising knowledge translation tool. By encouraging sex/gender analysis and equity considerations in systematic reviews, the briefing notes can assist systematic reviewers in ensuring the applicability of research evidence, with the goal of improved health outcomes for diverse populations.

  5. Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary | ECHO | US EPA

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary provides users with a list of the variables and definitions that have been incorporated into the Detailed Facility Report. The Detailed Facility Report provides a concise enforcement and compliance history for a facility.

  6. Is Science Logical?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pease, Craig M.; Bull, J. J.

    1992-01-01

    Offers a concise, abstract description of the scientific method different from the historical, philosophical, and case-study approaches, which lead to comprehension of this method. Discusses features of scientific models, dynamic interactions underlying scientific progress, ways that scientist successfully understand nature, mechanisms for…

  7. Religion and Multiculturalism in Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexander, H. A.

    1995-01-01

    Provides a concise historical overview of theological thinking concerning fundamentalism, absolutism, and relativism. Considers corresponding responses to issues regarding multiculturalism. Concludes that a diversity of viewpoints is necessary for society to learn from its mistakes and progress in a positive fashion. (MJP)

  8. The Good Buy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newsom, John

    2002-01-01

    Describes school purchasing process, examples of illegal or wasteful purchasing activities, a concise ethical guide to school purchasing excerpted from the Texas Agency's Financial Accountability System Resource Guide, and suggestions from experts on how schools can ensure legal and ethical purchasing practices. (PKP)

  9. Exploring the Scopes "Monkey" Trial in Dayton, Tennessee: A Guide to People & Places

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cameron, Jacquelyn; Moore, Randy

    2015-01-01

    Many biology teachers visit Dayton, Tennessee, to experience "ground zero" of the evolution-creationism controversy. This article provides concise descriptions, addresses, and GPS coordinates for the trial-related sites in and around Dayton.

  10. Correcting a Widespread Error concerning the Angular Velocity of a Rotating Rigid Body.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leubner, C.

    1981-01-01

    Since many texts use an incorrect argument in obtaining the instantaneous velocity of a rotating body, a correct and concise derivation of this quantity for a rather general case is given. (Author/SK)

  11. Research Update: Write Research to be Read.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murray, Donald M.

    1982-01-01

    Discusses 10 rules of thumb for writing educational research reports that are concise and accessible. The principles include writing in terms of people, emphasizing the positive, editing for simplicity, and breaking any of the previously discussed rules when necessary. (HTH)

  12. Public reporting, consumerism, and patient empowerment.

    PubMed

    Huckman, Robert S; Kelley, Mark A

    2013-11-14

    Public reporting of health care outcomes is largely ignored by consumers, perhaps because it doesn't include concise, comprehensible information on factors such as out-of-pocket costs, the effectiveness of a procedure or treatment, and applicability to their situation.

  13. Synthesis of labeled meropenem for the analysis of M. tuberculosis transpeptidases.

    PubMed

    Kastrinsky, David B; Barry, Clifton E

    2010-01-01

    A concise synthesis of (14)C labeled meropenem prepared from (14)C dimethylamine hydrochloride is described. Using a similar reaction sequence, the meropenem nucleus was also attached to biotin providing a probe for protein interaction studies.

  14. ITS logical architecture : volume II, process specifications.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1981-07-01

    Author's abstract: This report identifies 24 critical issues related to pedestrian and bicycle facilities and programs, summarizes the state-of-the-art on each issue as it is contained in the published literature, and provides a concise commentary on...

  15. Low resistance, large dimension entrance to the inner cavity of BK channels determined by changing side-chain volume

    PubMed Central

    Niu, Xiaowei

    2011-01-01

    Large-conductance Ca2+- and voltage-activated K+ (BK) channels have the largest conductance (250–300 pS) of all K+-selective channels. Yet, the contributions of the various parts of the ion conduction pathway to the conductance are not known. Here, we examine the contribution of the entrance to the inner cavity to the large conductance. Residues at E321/E324 on each of the four α subunits encircle the entrance to the inner cavity. To determine if 321/324 is accessible from the inner conduction pathway, we measured single-channel current amplitudes before and after exposure and wash of thiol reagents to the intracellular side of E321C and E324C channels. MPA− increased currents and MTSET+ decreased currents, with no difference between positions 321 and 324, indicating that side chains at 321/324 are accessible from the inner conduction pathway and have equivalent effects on conductance. For neutral amino acids, decreasing the size of the entrance to the inner cavity by substituting large side-chain amino acids at 321/324 decreased outward single-channel conductance, whereas increasing the size of the entrance with smaller side-chain substitutions had little effect. Reductions in outward conductance were negated by high [K+]i. Substitutions had little effect on inward conductance. Fitting plots of conductance versus side-chain volume with a model consisting of one variable and one fixed resistor in series indicated an effective diameter and length of the entrance to the inner cavity for wild-type channels of 17.7 and 5.6 Å, respectively, with the resistance of the entrance ∼7% of the total resistance of the conduction pathway. The estimated dimensions are consistent with the structure of MthK, an archaeal homologue to BK channels. Our observations suggest that BK channels have a low resistance, large entrance to the inner cavity, with the entrance being as large as necessary to not limit current, but not much larger. PMID:21576375

  16. Seborrheic dermatitis: a clinical practice snapshot.

    PubMed

    Schmidt, Jennifer A

    2011-08-01

    Seborrheic dermatitis is a chronic, recurring skin disorder that has no cure.Current clinical research has implicated Malassezia yeast in the etiology. Using a clear, concise clinical picture and a thorough patient history, even the novice NP can formulate an effective treatment plan.

  17. Successfully Preparing Your CMS Web Area for OWC Review

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Common issues in draft websites reviewed by EPA's Office of Web Communications that result in multiple rounds of review; such as lack of focus on key audiences' top tasks, not using plain language and conciseness, and unclear titles and headings.

  18. From Chains for Mean Value Inequalities to Mitrinovic's Problem II

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhu, Ling

    2005-01-01

    In this note, an integrated form of some significant means with two variables is provided, and some chains for mean value inequalities are obtained. At the same time, a concise family of algebraic functions appears, which satisfy Mitrinovic's requirements.

  19. 10 CFR 603.1005 - General responsibilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... incorporate clauses from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR parts 1-53) or Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR parts 901-970) because those provisions are designed for procurement contracts...) Be written in clear and concise language, to minimize potential ambiguity. ...

  20. Aging integumentary system. Podiatric review.

    PubMed

    Muehlman, C; Rahimi, F

    1990-11-01

    The authors present a concise review of age-related changes that occur in the skin and its derivatives, as they pertain to the podiatric practitioner. A brief discussion of wound healing and several common skin disorders that affect the elderly is also included.

  1. Humans and the Environment in America's Past.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harvey, Mark W. T.

    1996-01-01

    Presents a concise and interesting overview of U.S. attitudes towards nature, conservation, and environmental issues. Traces the constantly shifting relationship between these issues and social and commercial interests. Follows this relationship from the early colonists to the current environmental movement. (MJP)

  2. Immune System Toxicity and Immunotoxicity Hazard Identification

    EPA Science Inventory

    Exposure to chemicals may alter immune system health, increasing the risk of infections, allergy and autoimmune diseases. The chapter provides a concise overview of the immune system, host factors that affect immune system heal, and the effects that xenobiotic exposure may have ...

  3. Best Practices for Effective Poster Design

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Star Cartier, Kimberly Michelle; Zhao, Ming; Beatty, Thomas G.; Morehead, Robert C.; Jontof-Hutter, Daniel

    2016-01-01

    This meta-poster illustrates how good poster design can effectively communicate scientific ideas to a broad professional audience. Inclusion of illustrative fugues supplemented by concise explanations of scientific information will provide a clear overview of your science to aid your oral pitch.

  4. 10 CFR 603.1005 - General responsibilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... incorporate clauses from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR parts 1-53) or Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR parts 901-970) because those provisions are designed for procurement contracts...) Be written in clear and concise language, to minimize potential ambiguity. ...

  5. 10 CFR 603.1005 - General responsibilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... incorporate clauses from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR parts 1-53) or Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR parts 901-970) because those provisions are designed for procurement contracts...) Be written in clear and concise language, to minimize potential ambiguity. ...

  6. 10 CFR 603.1005 - General responsibilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... incorporate clauses from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR parts 1-53) or Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR parts 901-970) because those provisions are designed for procurement contracts...) Be written in clear and concise language, to minimize potential ambiguity. ...

  7. 10 CFR 603.1005 - General responsibilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... incorporate clauses from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR parts 1-53) or Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR parts 901-970) because those provisions are designed for procurement contracts...) Be written in clear and concise language, to minimize potential ambiguity. ...

  8. 36 CFR 218.2 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW PROCESSES Predecisional Administrative Review Process for Hazardous Fuel Reduction Projects... reduction project: A hazardous fuel reduction project authorized by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of... reduction project pursuant to the HFRA. Decision notice (DN): A concise written record of a responsible...

  9. 36 CFR 220.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... environmental impact statement (EIS) or environmental assessment (EA). Decision notice. A concise written record... ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA) COMPLIANCE § 220.3 Definitions. The following definitions supplement, by adding... about natural resource systems is sometimes uncertain. Decision document. A record of decision, decision...

  10. Media: A Pocket Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arrasjid, Harun; Arrasjid, Dorine Audrey

    An attempt has been made to provide a concise but comprehensive guide to instructional media for instructors, students, and teachers. Topics covered include audio learning systems, overhead projection, opaque projection, slide and filmstrip projection, projection surfaces, chalkboards and markboards, graphics, models, duplicating, motion pictures,…

  11. Synthesis of labeled meropenem for the analysis of M. tuberculosis transpeptidases

    PubMed Central

    Kastrinsky, David B.; Barry, Clifton E.

    2009-01-01

    A concise synthesis of 14C labeled meropenem prepared from 14C dimethylamine hydrochloride is described. Using a similar reaction sequence, the meropenem nucleus was also attached to biotin providing a probe for protein interaction studies. PMID:20161438

  12. Curriculum Resources.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thompson, Norma H.

    1988-01-01

    Discusses an article which presents a concise discussion of secular humanism. Reviews additional materials on censorship from the perspective of the new religious right, the fundamentalists, and public policy and the law. The sources provide background to enhance teaching about secular humanism and textbook censorship. (SLM)

  13. Roundhouse Diagrams.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ward, Robin E.; Wandersee, James

    2000-01-01

    Students must understand key concepts through reasoning, searching out related concepts, and making connections within multiple systems to learn science. The Roundhouse diagram was developed to be a concise, holistic, graphic representation of a science topic, process, or activity. Includes sample Roundhouse diagrams, a diagram checklist, and…

  14. 75 FR 19340 - Wireless Technologies, Devices, and Services

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-14

    ... Technologies, Devices, and Services AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY... technologies, devices, and services. Specifically, the Commission seeks comment regarding particular changes to... concise rules that facilitate new wireless technologies, devices and services, and are easy for the public...

  15. 76 FR 14442 - 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: DS 6561 Pre-Assignment for Overseas Duty for...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-16

    ... automated collection techniques or other forms of technology. Abstract of proposed collection: The DS 6561 form provides a concise summary of basic medical history, lab tests and physical examination. Since...

  16. The twisted ion-permeation pathway of a resting voltage-sensing domain.

    PubMed

    Tombola, Francesco; Pathak, Medha M; Gorostiza, Pau; Isacoff, Ehud Y

    2007-02-01

    Proteins containing voltage-sensing domains (VSDs) translate changes in membrane potential into changes in ion permeability or enzymatic activity. In channels, voltage change triggers a switch in conformation of the VSD, which drives gating in a separate pore domain, or, in channels lacking a pore domain, directly gates an ion pathway within the VSD. Neither mechanism is well understood. In the Shaker potassium channel, mutation of the first arginine residue of the S4 helix to a smaller uncharged residue makes the VSD permeable to ions ('omega current') in the resting conformation ('S4 down'). Here we perform a structure-guided perturbation analysis of the omega conductance to map its VSD permeation pathway. We find that there are four omega pores per channel, which is consistent with one conduction path per VSD. Permeating ions from the extracellular medium enter the VSD at its peripheral junction with the pore domain, and then plunge into the core of the VSD in a curved conduction pathway. Our results provide a model of the resting conformation of the VSD.

  17. Comparative study on gene set and pathway topology-based enrichment methods.

    PubMed

    Bayerlová, Michaela; Jung, Klaus; Kramer, Frank; Klemm, Florian; Bleckmann, Annalen; Beißbarth, Tim

    2015-10-22

    Enrichment analysis is a popular approach to identify pathways or sets of genes which are significantly enriched in the context of differentially expressed genes. The traditional gene set enrichment approach considers a pathway as a simple gene list disregarding any knowledge of gene or protein interactions. In contrast, the new group of so called pathway topology-based methods integrates the topological structure of a pathway into the analysis. We comparatively investigated gene set and pathway topology-based enrichment approaches, considering three gene set and four topological methods. These methods were compared in two extensive simulation studies and on a benchmark of 36 real datasets, providing the same pathway input data for all methods. In the benchmark data analysis both types of methods showed a comparable ability to detect enriched pathways. The first simulation study was conducted with KEGG pathways, which showed considerable gene overlaps between each other. In this study with original KEGG pathways, none of the topology-based methods outperformed the gene set approach. Therefore, a second simulation study was performed on non-overlapping pathways created by unique gene IDs. Here, methods accounting for pathway topology reached higher accuracy than the gene set methods, however their sensitivity was lower. We conducted one of the first comprehensive comparative works on evaluating gene set against pathway topology-based enrichment methods. The topological methods showed better performance in the simulation scenarios with non-overlapping pathways, however, they were not conclusively better in the other scenarios. This suggests that simple gene set approach might be sufficient to detect an enriched pathway under realistic circumstances. Nevertheless, more extensive studies and further benchmark data are needed to systematically evaluate these methods and to assess what gain and cost pathway topology information introduces into enrichment analysis. Both types of methods for enrichment analysis require further improvements in order to deal with the problem of pathway overlaps.

  18. Concise Review: Kidney Generation with Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

    PubMed

    Morizane, Ryuji; Miyoshi, Tomoya; Bonventre, Joseph V

    2017-11-01

    Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide health care problem, resulting in increased cardiovascular mortality and often leading to end-stage kidney disease, where patients require kidney replacement therapies such as hemodialysis or kidney transplantation. Loss of functional nephrons contributes to the progression of CKD, which can be attenuated but not reversed due to inability to generate new nephrons in human adult kidneys. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), by virtue of their unlimited self-renewal and ability to differentiate into cells of all three embryonic germ layers, are attractive sources for kidney regenerative therapies. Recent advances in stem cell biology have identified key signals necessary to maintain stemness of human nephron progenitor cells (NPCs) in vitro, and led to establishment of protocols to generate NPCs and nephron epithelial cells from human fetal kidneys and hPSCs. Effective production of large amounts of human NPCs and kidney organoids will facilitate elucidation of developmental and pathobiological pathways, kidney disease modeling and drug screening as well as kidney regenerative therapies. We summarize the recent studies to induce NPCs and kidney cells from hPSCs, studies of NPC expansion from mouse and human embryonic kidneys, and discuss possible approaches in vivo to regenerate kidneys with cell therapies and the development of bioengineered kidneys. Stem Cells 2017;35:2209-2217. © 2017 AlphaMed Press.

  19. Computational Investigation of Environment-Noise Interaction in Single-Cell Organisms: The Merit of Expression Stochasticity Depends on the Quality of Environmental Fluctuations.

    PubMed

    Lück, Anja; Klimmasch, Lukas; Großmann, Peter; Germerodt, Sebastian; Kaleta, Christoph

    2018-01-10

    Organisms need to adapt to changing environments and they do so by using a broad spectrum of strategies. These strategies include finding the right balance between expressing genes before or when they are needed, and adjusting the degree of noise inherent in gene expression. We investigated the interplay between different nutritional environments and the inhabiting organisms' metabolic and genetic adaptations by applying an evolutionary algorithm to an agent-based model of a concise bacterial metabolism. Our results show that constant environments and rapidly fluctuating environments produce similar adaptations in the organisms, making the predictability of the environment a major factor in determining optimal adaptation. We show that exploitation of expression noise occurs only in some types of fluctuating environment and is strongly dependent on the quality and availability of nutrients: stochasticity is generally detrimental in fluctuating environments and beneficial only at equal periods of nutrient availability and above a threshold environmental richness. Moreover, depending on the availability and nutritional value of nutrients, nutrient-dependent and stochastic expression are both strategies used to deal with environmental changes. Overall, we comprehensively characterize the interplay between the quality and periodicity of an environment and the resulting optimal deterministic and stochastic regulation strategies of nutrient-catabolizing pathways.

  20. Stress and the psyche-brain-immune network in psychiatric diseases based on psychoneuroendocrineimmunology: a concise review.

    PubMed

    Bottaccioli, Anna Giulia; Bottaccioli, Francesco; Minelli, Andrea

    2018-05-15

    In the last decades, psychoneuroendocrineimmunology research has made relevant contributions to the fields of neuroscience, psychobiology, epigenetics, molecular biology, and clinical research by studying the effect of stress on human health and highlighting the close interrelations between psyche, brain, and bodily systems. It is now well recognized that chronic stress can alter the physiological cross-talk between brain and biological systems, leading to long-lasting maladaptive effects (allostatic overload) on the nervous, immune, endocrine, and metabolic systems, which compromises stress resiliency and health. Stressful conditions in early life have been associated with profound alterations in cortical and subcortical brain regions involved in emotion regulation and the salience network, showing relevant overlap with different psychiatric conditions. This paper provides a summary of the available literature concerning the notable effects of stress on the brain and immune system. We highlight the role of epigenetics as a mechanistic pathway mediating the influences of the social and physical environment on brain structure and connectivity, the immune system, and psycho-physical health in psychiatric diseases. We also summarize the evidence regarding the effects of stress management techniques (mainly psychotherapy and meditation practice) on clinical outcomes, brain neurocircuitry, and immune-inflammatory network in major psychiatric diseases. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.

  1. Multiscale Mechanics of Articular Cartilage: Potentials and Challenges of Coupling Musculoskeletal, Joint, and Microscale Computational Models

    PubMed Central

    Halloran, J. P.; Sibole, S.; van Donkelaar, C. C.; van Turnhout, M. C.; Oomens, C. W. J.; Weiss, J. A.; Guilak, F.; Erdemir, A.

    2012-01-01

    Articular cartilage experiences significant mechanical loads during daily activities. Healthy cartilage provides the capacity for load bearing and regulates the mechanobiological processes for tissue development, maintenance, and repair. Experimental studies at multiple scales have provided a fundamental understanding of macroscopic mechanical function, evaluation of the micromechanical environment of chondrocytes, and the foundations for mechanobiological response. In addition, computational models of cartilage have offered a concise description of experimental data at many spatial levels under healthy and diseased conditions, and have served to generate hypotheses for the mechanical and biological function. Further, modeling and simulation provides a platform for predictive risk assessment, management of dysfunction, as well as a means to relate multiple spatial scales. Simulation-based investigation of cartilage comes with many challenges including both the computational burden and often insufficient availability of data for model development and validation. This review outlines recent modeling and simulation approaches to understand cartilage function from a mechanical systems perspective, and illustrates pathways to associate mechanics with biological function. Computational representations at single scales are provided from the body down to the microstructure, along with attempts to explore multiscale mechanisms of load sharing that dictate the mechanical environment of the cartilage and chondrocytes. PMID:22648577

  2. Concise Review: Current Status and Future Directions on Research Related to Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

    PubMed

    Wruck, Wasco; Graffmann, Nina; Kawala, Marie-Ann; Adjaye, James

    2017-01-01

    Considered a feature of the metabolic syndrome, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, obesity and drug toxicity. Its prevalence is estimated at about 30% in western countries mainly due to sedentary life styles and high fat diets. Genome-wide association studies have identified polymorphisms in several genes, for example, PNPLA3, and TM6SF2 which confer susceptibility to NAFLD. Here, we review recent findings in the NAFLD field with a particular focus on published transcriptomics datasets which we subject to a meta-analysis. We reveal a common gene signature correlating with the progression of the disease from steatosis and steatohepatitis and reveal that lipogenic and cholesterol metabolic pathways are main actors in this signature. We propose the use of disease-in-a-dish models based on hepatocyte-like cells derived from patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). These will enable investigations into the contribution of genetic background in the progression from NALFD to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Furthermore, an iPSC-based approach should aid in the elucidation of the function of new biomarkers, thus enabling better diagnostic tests and validation of potential drug targets. Stem Cells 2017;35:89-96. © 2016 AlphaMed Press.

  3. Cancer stem cells with increased metastatic potential as a therapeutic target for esophageal cancer.

    PubMed

    Wang, D; Plukker, J Th M; Coppes, R P

    2017-06-01

    Esophageal cancers (EC) are highly aggressive tumors, commonly presented in a locally advanced stage with a poor prognosis and survival. Up to 50% of the patients are eligible for treatment with curative intent and receive the standard treatment with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) and surgery. Currently, pathologic complete response to nCRT is 20-30%, with a partial or no response in about 50% and 20%, respectively. EC recurrences occur frequently even after successful anti-cancer treatment, suggesting high aggressiveness with increased metastatic potential. A tumor sub-population of so-called cancer stem cells (CSCs), is known to display a high metastatic potential and resistance to conventional anti-cancer therapy, hereby being responsible for the unbeneficial clinical features. In this review, a concise overview will be given of the current literature on esophageal CSCs and related metastases. Esophageal CSC markers will be discussed followed by the pathways that initiate and sustain these cells. In addition, the cellular processes, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), hypoxia and autophagy, known to contribute to cancer stemness and metastasis will be explained. Finally, potential options for treatment also related to cancer genome atlas (TCGA) data on EC will be discussed. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  4. Concealed Accessory Pathways with a Single Ventricular and Two Discrete Atrial Insertion Sites.

    PubMed

    Kipp, Ryan T; Abu Sham'a, Raed; Hiroyuki, Ito; Han, Frederick T; Refaat, Marwan; Hsu, Jonathan C; Field, Michael E; Kopp, Douglas E; Marcus, Gregory M; Scheinman, Melvin M; Hoffmayer, Kurt S

    2017-03-01

    Atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia (AVRT) utilizing a concealed accessory pathway is common. It is well appreciated that some patients may have multiple accessory pathways with separate atrial and ventricular insertion sites. We present three cases of AVRT utilizing concealed pathways with evidence that each utilizing a single ventricular insertion and two discrete atrial insertion sites. In case one, two discrete atrial insertion sites were mapped in two separate procedures, and only during the second ablation was the Kent potential identified. Ablation of the Kent potential at this site remote from the two atrial insertion sites resulted in the termination of the retrograde conduction in both pathways. Case two presented with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) with alternating eccentric atrial activation patterns without alteration in the tachycardia cycle length. The two distinct atrial insertion sites during orthodromic AVRT and ventricular pacing were targeted and each of the two atrial insertion sites were successfully mapped and ablated. In case three, retrograde decremental conduction utilizing both atrial insertion sites was identified prior to ablation. After mapping and ablation of the first discrete atrial insertion site, tachycardia persisted utilizing the second atrial insertion site. Only after ablation of the second atrial insertion site was SVT noninducible, and VA conduction was no longer present. Concealed retrograde accessory pathways with discrete atrial insertion sites may have a common ventricular insertion site. Identification and ablation of the ventricular insertion site or the separate discrete atrial insertion sites result in successful treatment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Accessory pathway ablation in a 6-year-old girl using remote magnetic navigation as an alternative to cryoablation.

    PubMed

    Mantziari, Lilian; Rigby, Michael; Till, Janice; Ernst, Sabine

    2013-03-01

    A 6-year-old girl with evidence of a parahisian accessory pathway on a baseline electrocardiogram underwent successful catheter ablation using magnetic navigation. Magnetic remote controlled ablation eliminated the parahisian pathway with the first radiofrequency application. A second anterolaterally located concealed pathway was successfully ablated in the same session, resulting in exclusively atrioventricular nodal conduction bidirectionally (total fluoroscopy, 4 min; 25 μGy).

  6. Taiwan: Background Notes Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reams, Joanne Reppert

    Concise background information on Taiwan is provided. The publication begins with a profile of Taiwan, discussing the people, geography, political establishment, and economy. A map of the country is provided. The bulk of the publication then provides more detailed information on Taiwan's people, geography, history, administration, political…

  7. How to Write Effective Procedure Manuals.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wold, Geoffrey H.

    1987-01-01

    Describes six key guidelines for developing usable procedure manuals, including defining the audience; designing a standard format; preparing an outline; using a clear, concise writing style; testing the procedures; and "finalizing" the product with indices, glossaries, appendices, and section tabs. Well-written manuals can increase…

  8. Constraint Reasoning Over Strings

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Koga, Dennis (Technical Monitor); Golden, Keith; Pang, Wanlin

    2003-01-01

    This paper discusses an approach to representing and reasoning about constraints over strings. We discuss how many string domains can often be concisely represented using regular languages, and how constraints over strings, and domain operations on sets of strings, can be carried out using this representation.

  9. 48 CFR 5.704 - Publicizing preaward.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Publicizing preaward. 5.704 Section 5.704 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION ACQUISITION...), use clear and concise language to describe the planned procurement. Use descriptions of the goods and...

  10. A concise history of central venous access.

    PubMed

    Beheshti, Michael V

    2011-12-01

    Central venous access has become a mainstay of modern interventional radiology practice. Its history has paralleled and enabled many current medical therapies. This short overview provides an interesting historical perspective of these increasingly common interventional procedures. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Phytoremediation of Contaminated Soil and Ground Water at Hazardous Waste Sites

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The purpose of this issue paper is to provide a concise discussion of the processes associated with the use of phytoremediation as a cleanup or containment technique for remediation of hazardous waste sites. Introductory material on plant processes is ...

  12. 48 CFR 5.704 - Publicizing preaward.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Publicizing preaward. 5.704 Section 5.704 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION ACQUISITION...), use clear and concise language to describe the planned procurement. Use descriptions of the goods and...

  13. 48 CFR 5.704 - Publicizing preaward.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Publicizing preaward. 5.704 Section 5.704 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION ACQUISITION...), use clear and concise language to describe the planned procurement. Use descriptions of the goods and...

  14. 48 CFR 5.704 - Publicizing preaward.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Publicizing preaward. 5.704 Section 5.704 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION ACQUISITION...), use clear and concise language to describe the planned procurement. Use descriptions of the goods and...

  15. 48 CFR 5.704 - Publicizing preaward.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Publicizing preaward. 5.704 Section 5.704 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION ACQUISITION...), use clear and concise language to describe the planned procurement. Use descriptions of the goods and...

  16. CEIS: Does the Foundation for a Nationwide Information System for Education Already Exist?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Journal of Educational Data Processing, 1974

    1974-01-01

    Complete but concise picture of the California Education Information System, how it developed, its current status, its basic features, and a description of its contents. Covers design, developmental history, business subsystem, pupil subsystem, and a summary. (Author)

  17. Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments. Second Edition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jonassen, David, Ed.; Land, Susan, Ed.

    2012-01-01

    "Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments" provides students, faculty, and instructional designers with a clear, concise introduction to the major pedagogical and psychological theories and their implications for the design of new learning environments for schools, universities, or corporations. Leading experts describe the most…

  18. 40 CFR 164.22 - Contents of document setting forth objections.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... objections. 164.22 Section 164.22 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED... RODENTICIDE ACT, ARISING FROM REFUSALS TO REGISTER, CANCELLATIONS OF REGISTRATIONS, CHANGES OF CLASSIFICATIONS... registration, or change the classification of a pesticide, shall clearly and concisely set forth such...

  19. 40 CFR 164.22 - Contents of document setting forth objections.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... objections. 164.22 Section 164.22 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED... RODENTICIDE ACT, ARISING FROM REFUSALS TO REGISTER, CANCELLATIONS OF REGISTRATIONS, CHANGES OF CLASSIFICATIONS... registration, or change the classification of a pesticide, shall clearly and concisely set forth such...

  20. 78 FR 8195 - Biweekly Notice

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-05

    ... of the bases for the contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert opinion which..., ``Allowable Value for Primary Containment and Drywell Isolation Instrumentation,'' Function 3.c, ``Reactor Core Isolation Cooling (RCIC) Steam Supply Line Pressure--Low.'' This TS allowable value will be...

  1. Federal Election Commission.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elliot, Lee Ann

    1996-01-01

    Presents a concise overview of the responsibilities, membership, structure, and requirements of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Created in 1974, the FEC oversees the financial activities of candidates and political parties. Discusses corporate and union political action committees (PACs) as well as contribution limits and prohibitions. (MJP)

  2. Priority Techniques for High Occupancy Vehicles : State-of-the-Art Overview

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1975-11-01

    The report, part of a series of publications based on research and development efforts is a concise state-of-the-art overview of priority techniques for high occupancy vehicles (buses, carpools, and vanpools). The report identifies and summarizes sel...

  3. The Independent Music Teacher: Practice and Preparation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Uszler, Marienne

    1996-01-01

    Provides a concise overview of the working conditions and challenges faced by independent music teachers (IMT). Most IMTs function in a number of capacities, as performer, teacher, and entrepreneur. Discusses changing trends in employment, including computer technology and the move for national certification. (MJP)

  4. Marxism and Liberation Theology.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hudelson, Richard

    1986-01-01

    Provides a concise summary of the main features of Marxism and challenges the thesis of the Vatican's "Instruction on Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation" that any use of Marxist categories or analysis entails a wholesale acceptance of Marxist philosophy, with its atheistic implications. (Author/ABB)

  5. Commuter choice primer : an employer's guide to implementing effective commuter choice programs

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2003-01-01

    The Commuter Choice Primer is intended to be a concise, user-friendly reference guide for employers and transportation professionals to developing and implementing worksite commuter choice programs. It is available on-line in both HTML and PDF format...

  6. Staphylococcus aureus

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    There is a need, in addition to the peer-reviewed research publications, for a concise monograph that provides a thoughtful synthesis of the genome sequencing data of key etiologic agents for food borne disease, with a focus on the novel, interesting, and potentially useful aspects of the genome se...

  7. Generating highly uniform electromagnetic field characteristics

    DOEpatents

    Crow, James Terry

    1998-01-01

    An apparatus and method for generating homogenous electromagnetic fields within a volume. The homogeneity provided may be for magnetic and/or electric fields, and for field magnitude, radial gradient, or higher order radial derivative. The invention comprises conductive pathways oriented mirror symmetrically about a desired region of homogeneity. A corresponding apparatus and method is provided for substantially canceling the electromagnetic field outside of the apparatus, comprising a second set of conductive pathways placed outside the first set.

  8. Generating highly uniform electromagnetic field characteristics

    DOEpatents

    Crow, James T.

    1998-01-01

    An apparatus and method for generating homogenous electromagnetic fields within a volume. The homogeneity provided may be for magnetic and/or electric fields, and for field magnitude, radial gradient, or higher order radial derivative. The invention comprises conductive pathways oriented about a desired region of homogeneity. A corresponding apparatus and method is provided for substantially canceling the electromagnetic field outside of the apparatus, comprising a second set of conductive pathways placed outside the first set.

  9. Generating highly uniform electromagnetic field characteristics

    DOEpatents

    Crow, James T.

    1997-01-01

    An apparatus and method for generating homogenous electromagnetic fields within a volume. The homogeneity provided may be for magnetic and/or electric fields, and for field magnitude, radial gradient, or higher order radial derivative. The invention comprises conductive pathways oriented mirror symmetrically about a desired region of homogeneity. A corresponding apparatus and method is provided for substantially cancelling the electromagnetic field outside of the apparatus, comprising a second set of conductive pathways placed outside the first set.

  10. Pathways to the Profession Survey 2008: Report and Results

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spencer, Sarah E.; Kreutzer, Kim; Shallenberger, David

    2008-01-01

    "Pathways to the Profession" has been a multi-tiered project that has looked at the profession of education abroad and the individuals who serve in the profession. The first Pathways survey was conducted by Dr. Joe Brockington of Kalamazoo College. The first survey analyzed how people came to the field of education abroad, what knowledge and…

  11. A human factors evaluation of Extravehicular Activity gloves

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    O'Hara, John M.; Briganti, Michael; Cleland, John; Winfield, Dan

    1989-01-01

    One of the major problems faced in Extravehicular Activity (EVA) glove development has been the absence of concise and reliable methods to measure the effects of EVA gloves on human-hand capabilities. NASA has sponsored a program to develop a standardized set of tests designed to assess EVA-gloved hand capabilities in six performance domains: Range of Motion, Strength, Tactile Perception, Dexterity, Fatigue, and Comfort. Based upon an assessment of general human-hand functioning and EVA task requirements, several tests within each performance domain were developed to provide a comprehensive evaluation. All tests were designed to be conducted in a glove box with the bare hand, an EVA glove without pressure, an EVA glove at operation pressure. Thus, the differential effect on performance of the glove with and without pressure was tested. Bare hand performance was used to 'calibrate' the effects. Ten subjects participated in the test setup as a repeated-measures experimental design. The paper will report the results of the test program.

  12. Structural texture similarity metrics for image analysis and retrieval.

    PubMed

    Zujovic, Jana; Pappas, Thrasyvoulos N; Neuhoff, David L

    2013-07-01

    We develop new metrics for texture similarity that accounts for human visual perception and the stochastic nature of textures. The metrics rely entirely on local image statistics and allow substantial point-by-point deviations between textures that according to human judgment are essentially identical. The proposed metrics extend the ideas of structural similarity and are guided by research in texture analysis-synthesis. They are implemented using a steerable filter decomposition and incorporate a concise set of subband statistics, computed globally or in sliding windows. We conduct systematic tests to investigate metric performance in the context of "known-item search," the retrieval of textures that are "identical" to the query texture. This eliminates the need for cumbersome subjective tests, thus enabling comparisons with human performance on a large database. Our experimental results indicate that the proposed metrics outperform peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity metric (SSIM) and its variations, as well as state-of-the-art texture classification metrics, using standard statistical measures.

  13. Mixed Methods in Biomedical and Health Services Research

    PubMed Central

    Curry, Leslie A.; Krumholz, Harlan M.; O’Cathain, Alicia; Plano Clark, Vicki L.; Cherlin, Emily; Bradley, Elizabeth H.

    2013-01-01

    Mixed methods studies, in which qualitative and quantitative methods are combined in a single program of inquiry, can be valuable in biomedical and health services research, where the complementary strengths of each approach can yield greater insight into complex phenomena than either approach alone. Although interest in mixed methods is growing among science funders and investigators, written guidance on how to conduct and assess rigorous mixed methods studies is not readily accessible to the general readership of peer-reviewed biomedical and health services journals. Furthermore, existing guidelines for publishing mixed methods studies are not well known or applied by researchers and journal editors. Accordingly, this paper is intended to serve as a concise, practical resource for readers interested in core principles and practices of mixed methods research. We briefly describe mixed methods approaches and present illustrations from published biomedical and health services literature, including in cardiovascular care, summarize standards for the design and reporting of these studies, and highlight four central considerations for investigators interested in using these methods. PMID:23322807

  14. Hyper-X Stage Separation Trajectory Validation Studies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tartabini, Paul V.; Bose, David M.; McMinn, John D.; Martin, John G.; Strovers, Brian K.

    2003-01-01

    An independent twelve degree-of-freedom simulation of the X-43A separation trajectory was created with the Program to Optimize Simulated trajectories (POST II). This simulation modeled the multi-body dynamics of the X-43A and its booster and included the effect of two pyrotechnically actuated pistons used to push the vehicles apart as well as aerodynamic interaction forces and moments between the two vehicles. The simulation was developed to validate trajectory studies conducted with a 14 degree-of-freedom simulation created early in the program using the Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanics Systems (ADAMS) simulation software. The POST simulation was less detailed than the official ADAMS-based simulation used by the Project, but was simpler, more concise and ran faster, while providing similar results. The increase in speed provided by the POST simulation provided the Project with an alternate analysis tool. This tool was ideal for performing separation control logic trade studies that required the running of numerous Monte Carlo trajectories.

  15. Stanislaw Smreczynskis legacy and the Department of Zoology of the Jagiellonian University of Krakow (Poland).

    PubMed

    Jaglarz, Mariusz K

    2008-01-01

    This article covers the origin and development of scientific interest in insect and amphibian developmental biology at the Department of Systematic Zoology and Zoogeography of the Jagiellonian University. The greater part of this historical account is devoted to Professor Stanislaw Smreczynski (1899-1975), the founding father of the Department, and comments on his biography and research achievements in the field of animal experimental embryology. A particular emphasis is on Smreczynski's contributions to contemporary understanding of early embryonic development of amphibians and insects as well as his expertise in Pleistocene and extant weevils (Curculionidae). A concise survey of developmental phenomena studied by some of Smreczynski's co-workers and followers is also presented, including the early embryogenesis of entognathans as well as germ cell determination and gonad formation in Drosophila virilis conducted by Jura; analysis of oogenesis in Collembola carried out by Krzysztofowicz; investigations of insects and tradigrades by Weglarska, and finally research into various aspects of ovary structure in diverse insect taxa by the Bilinski group.

  16. Proton Relaxivity and Magnetic Hyperthermia Evaluation of Gadolinium Doped Nickel Ferrite Nanoparticles as Potential Theranostic Agents.

    PubMed

    Yadavalli, Tejabhiram; Raja, Paradeep; Ramaswamy, Shivaraman; Chandrasekharan, Gopalakrishnan; Chennakesavulu, Ramasamy

    2017-02-01

    This paper outlines the preparation of gadolinium doped nickel ferrite nanoparticles as potential magnetic carriers and longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents using hydrothermal method with gadolinium concentration varying from 10% to 40%. A concise effect on the crystal structure was observed at 10% and 20% gadolinium doping, while gadolinium oxide was observed to leach at concentrations exceeding 20%. Further, gadolinium doped nickel ferrites were analyzed for their morphological, magnetic, proton relaxation and magnetic hyperthermia heating properties to understand their potential role as magnetic carrier agents. Low temperature and room temperature magnetic studies conducted on the samples showed comparatively high magnetic saturation with low remanent magnetization. Further, relaxometry studies revealed a high relaxation rate of 6.63 s−1 at a concentration of 0.1 mg/mL. Magnetic hyperthermia studies of the samples at a concentration of 1 mg/mL, assessed that the samples attained a temperature of 68 °C in 240 seconds.

  17. Space shuttle seal material and design development for earth storable propellant systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1973-01-01

    The results of a program to investigate and characterize seal materials suitable for space shuttle storable propellant systems are given. Two new elastomeric materials were identified as being potentially superior to existing state-of-the art materials for specific sealing applications. These materials were AF-E-124D and AF-E-411. AF-E-124D is a cured perfluorinated polymer suitable for use with dinitrogen tetroxide oxidizer, and hydrazine base fuels. AF-E-411 is an ethylene propylene terpolymer material for hydrazine base fuel service. Data are presented relative to low and high temperature characteristics as well as propellant exposure effects. Types of data included are: mechanical properties, stress strain curves, friction and wear characteristics, compression set and permeability. Sealing tests with a flat poppet-seal valve were conducted for verification of sealing capability. A bibliography includes over 200 references relating to seal design or materials and presents a concise tabulation of the more useful seal design data sources.

  18. MARRVEL: Integration of Human and Model Organism Genetic Resources to Facilitate Functional Annotation of the Human Genome.

    PubMed

    Wang, Julia; Al-Ouran, Rami; Hu, Yanhui; Kim, Seon-Young; Wan, Ying-Wooi; Wangler, Michael F; Yamamoto, Shinya; Chao, Hsiao-Tuan; Comjean, Aram; Mohr, Stephanie E; Perrimon, Norbert; Liu, Zhandong; Bellen, Hugo J

    2017-06-01

    One major challenge encountered with interpreting human genetic variants is the limited understanding of the functional impact of genetic alterations on biological processes. Furthermore, there remains an unmet demand for an efficient survey of the wealth of information on human homologs in model organisms across numerous databases. To efficiently assess the large volume of publically available information, it is important to provide a concise summary of the most relevant information in a rapid user-friendly format. To this end, we created MARRVEL (model organism aggregated resources for rare variant exploration). MARRVEL is a publicly available website that integrates information from six human genetic databases and seven model organism databases. For any given variant or gene, MARRVEL displays information from OMIM, ExAC, ClinVar, Geno2MP, DGV, and DECIPHER. Importantly, it curates model organism-specific databases to concurrently display a concise summary regarding the human gene homologs in budding and fission yeast, worm, fly, fish, mouse, and rat on a single webpage. Experiment-based information on tissue expression, protein subcellular localization, biological process, and molecular function for the human gene and homologs in the seven model organisms are arranged into a concise output. Hence, rather than visiting multiple separate databases for variant and gene analysis, users can obtain important information by searching once through MARRVEL. Altogether, MARRVEL dramatically improves efficiency and accessibility to data collection and facilitates analysis of human genes and variants by cross-disciplinary integration of 18 million records available in public databases to facilitate clinical diagnosis and basic research. Copyright © 2017 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Design of a concise Féry-prism hyperspectral imaging system based on multi-configuration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, Wei; Nie, Yun-feng; Zhou, Jin-song

    2013-08-01

    In order to meet the needs of space borne and airborne hyperspectral imaging system for light weight, simplification and high spatial resolution, a novel design of Féry-prism hyperspectral imaging system based on Zemax multi-configuration method is presented. The novel structure is well arranged by analyzing optical monochromatic aberrations theoretically, and the optical structure of this design is concise. The fundamental of this design is Offner relay configuration, whereas the secondary mirror is replaced by Féry-prism with curved surfaces and a reflective front face. By reflection, the light beam passes through the Féry-prism twice, which promotes spectral resolution and enhances image quality at the same time. The result shows that the system can achieve light weight and simplification, compared to other hyperspectral imaging systems. Composed of merely two spherical mirrors and one achromatized Féry-prism to perform both dispersion and imaging functions, this structure is concise and compact. The average spectral resolution is 6.2nm; The MTFs for 0.45~1.00um spectral range are greater than 0.75, RMSs are less than 2.4um; The maximal smile is less than 10% pixel, while the keystones is less than 2.8% pixel; image quality approximates the diffraction limit. The design result shows that hyperspectral imaging system with one modified Féry-prism substituting the secondary mirror of Offner relay configuration is feasible from the perspective of both theory and practice, and possesses the merits of simple structure, convenient optical alignment, and good image quality, high resolution in space and spectra, adjustable dispersive nonlinearity. The system satisfies the requirements of airborne or space borne hyperspectral imaging system.

  20. The Function Biomedical Informatics Research Network Data Repository.

    PubMed

    Keator, David B; van Erp, Theo G M; Turner, Jessica A; Glover, Gary H; Mueller, Bryon A; Liu, Thomas T; Voyvodic, James T; Rasmussen, Jerod; Calhoun, Vince D; Lee, Hyo Jong; Toga, Arthur W; McEwen, Sarah; Ford, Judith M; Mathalon, Daniel H; Diaz, Michele; O'Leary, Daniel S; Jeremy Bockholt, H; Gadde, Syam; Preda, Adrian; Wible, Cynthia G; Stern, Hal S; Belger, Aysenil; McCarthy, Gregory; Ozyurt, Burak; Potkin, Steven G

    2016-01-01

    The Function Biomedical Informatics Research Network (FBIRN) developed methods and tools for conducting multi-scanner functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Method and tool development were based on two major goals: 1) to assess the major sources of variation in fMRI studies conducted across scanners, including instrumentation, acquisition protocols, challenge tasks, and analysis methods, and 2) to provide a distributed network infrastructure and an associated federated database to host and query large, multi-site, fMRI and clinical data sets. In the process of achieving these goals the FBIRN test bed generated several multi-scanner brain imaging data sets to be shared with the wider scientific community via the BIRN Data Repository (BDR). The FBIRN Phase 1 data set consists of a traveling subject study of 5 healthy subjects, each scanned on 10 different 1.5 to 4 T scanners. The FBIRN Phase 2 and Phase 3 data sets consist of subjects with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder along with healthy comparison subjects scanned at multiple sites. In this paper, we provide concise descriptions of FBIRN's multi-scanner brain imaging data sets and details about the BIRN Data Repository instance of the Human Imaging Database (HID) used to publicly share the data. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. How to engage occupational physicians in recruitment of research participants: a mixed-methods study of challenges and opportunities.

    PubMed

    Arends, Iris; Bültmann, Ute; Shaw, William S; van Rhenen, Willem; Roelen, Corné; Nielsen, Karina; van der Klink, Jac J L

    2014-03-01

    To investigate barriers and facilitators for research participant recruitment by occupational physicians (OPs). A mixed-methods approach was used. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with OPs to explore perceived barriers and facilitators for recruitment. Based on data of a cluster-randomised controlled trial (cluster-RCT), univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to investigate associations between OPs' personal and work characteristics and the number of recruited participants for the cluster-RCT per OP. Perceived barriers and facilitators for recruitment were categorised into: study characteristics (e.g. concise inclusion criteria); study population characteristics; OP's attention; OP's workload; context (e.g. working at different locations); and OP's characteristics (e.g. motivated to help). Important facilitators were encouragement by colleagues and reminders by information technology tools. Multivariate analyses showed that the number of OPs within the clinical unit who recruited participants was positively associated with the number of recruited participants per OP [rate ratio of 1.43, 95 % confidence interval 1.24-1.64]. When mobilising OPs for participant recruitment, researchers need to engage entire clinical units rather than approach OPs on an individual basis. OPs consider regular communication, especially face-to-face contact and information technology tools serving as reminders, as helpful.

  2. Carbon-shell-constrained silicon cluster derived from Al-Si alloy as long-cycling life lithium ion batteries anode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Su, Junming; Zhang, Congcong; Chen, Xiang; Liu, Siyang; Huang, Tao; Yu, Aishui

    2018-03-01

    Although silicon is the most promising anode material for Li-ion batteries, large volume expansion during lithiation and delithiation is the main obstacle limiting the commercial application of silicon anodes. There are two ways to alleviate volume expansion and prevent further pulverization of a Si anode: fabrication of a rational nanostructure possessing void spaces and uniform distribution of the conducting sites, without a good balance effect in mitigating the limiting factors and enhancing battery performance. In this paper, we propose a novel nanostructure - a carbon-shell-constrained Si cluster (Si/C shell) with both adequate void space and good distribution of electrical contact sites to guarantee homogeneous lithiation in the initial cycle. Benefiting from the ability to maintain electrical conductivity of the outer carbon shell, even after cluster fragmentation, the Si/C shell synthesized from low-cost commercial Al-Si alloy spheres can deliver 0.03% capacity loss from 100th to 1000th cycles at a current density of 1 A g-1. The Si/C shell sample with the dual functional structure mentioned above can also maintain its own nanostructure during cycling and deliver excellent rate performance. It is a concise and scalable strategy which can simplify the preparation of other alloy anode materials for Li-ion batteries.

  3. Comparative cardiac effects of three hepatobiliary radiopharmacologicals in the dog: concise communication

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shani, J.; Sarel, O.; Rogel, S.

    1982-04-01

    Three hepatobiliary agents with an acetanilide-imidoacetic-acid moiety resembling that in lidocaine were investigated for their possible effects on contractility and conductivity in the heart and on arterial pressure and aortic blood flow. This was done in the light of lidocaine's numerous cardiac side effects. HIDA, BIDA, and DIPA, each with traces of decayed /sup 99m/Tc, were injected i.v. into anesthetized dogs with an A-V block, and their effects on the above parameters were followed until control levels were reestablished. Whereas lidocaine raises the diastolic threshold and prolongs the refractory period, the three agents tested do not prolong myocardial conductivity. Bothmore » HIDA and BIDA have an effect similar to that of lidocaine, but DIPA has no effect on the latter two parameters. Moreover, whereas lidocaine depressed myocardial contractility, blood pressure, and blood flow, HIDA has a less prominent effect on these parameters, and neither BIDA nor DIPA has any such effect. It is concluded that even though the effect of HIDA on the heart is milder than that of lidocaine, the effects of both BIDA and DIPA are even less pronounced, and they are less likely to cause cardiac side effects when similar doses are administered during nuclear medicine procedures.« less

  4. Comparative cardiac effects of three hepatobiliary radiopharmacologicals in the dog: concise communication

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shani, J.; Rogel, S.; Weininger, J.

    1982-04-01

    Three hepatobiliary agents with an acetanilide-imidoacetic-acid moiety resembling that in lidocaine were investigated for their possible effects on contractility and conductivity in the heart and on arterial pressure and aortic blood flow. This was done in the light of lidocaine's numerous cardiac side effects. HIDA, BIDA, and DIPA, each with traces of decayed Tc-99m, were injected i.v. into anesthetized dogs with an A-V block, and their effects on the above parameters were followed until control levels were reestablished. Wheras lidocaine raises the diastolic threshold and prolongs the refractory period, the three agents tested do not prolong myocardial conductivity. Both HIDAmore » and BIDA have an effect similar to that of lidocaine, but DIPA has no effect on the latter two parameters. Moreover, whereas lidocaine depresses myocardial contractility, blood pressure, and blood flow, HIDA has a less prominent effect on these parameters, and neither BIDA nor DIPA has any such effect. It is concluded that even though the effect of HIDA on the heart is milder than that of lidocaine, the effects of both BIDA and DIPA are even less pronounced, and they are less likely to cause cardiac side effects when similar doses are administered during nuclear medicine procedures.« less

  5. Care pathways for organ donation after brain death: guidance from available literature?

    PubMed

    Hoste, Pieter; Vanhaecht, Kris; Ferdinande, Patrick; Rogiers, Xavier; Eeckloo, Kristof; Blot, Stijn; Hoste, Eric; Vogelaers, Dirk; Vandewoude, Koenraad

    2016-10-01

    A discussion of the literature concerning the impact of care pathways in the complex and by definition multidisciplinary process of organ donation following brain death. Enhancing the quality and safety of organs for transplantation has become a central concern for governmental and professional organizations. At the local hospital level, a donor coordinator can use a range of interventions to improve the donation and procurement process. Care pathways have been proven to represent an effective intervention in several settings for optimizing processes and outcomes. A discussion paper. A systematic review of the Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library databases was conducted for articles published until June 2015, using the keywords donation after brain death and care pathways. Each paper was reviewed to investigate the effects of existing care pathways for donation after brain death. An additional search for unpublished information was conducted. Although literature supports care pathways as an effective intervention in several settings, few studies have explored its use and effectiveness for complex care processes such as donation after brain death. Nurses should be aware of their role in the donation process. Care pathways have the potential to support them, but their effectiveness has been insufficiently explored. Further research should focus on the development and standardization of the clinical content of a care pathway for donation after brain death and the identification of quality indicators. These should be used in a prospective effectiveness assessment of the proposed pathway. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Generating Concise Natural Language Summaries.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKeown, Kathleen; And Others

    1995-01-01

    Presents an approach to summarization that combines information from multiple facts into a single sentence using linguistic constructions. Describes two applications: one produces summaries of basketball games, and the other contains summaries of telephone network planning activity. Both summarize input data as opposed to full text. Discusses…

  7. Microfiltration and Ultrafiltration Membranes for Drinking Water

    EPA Science Inventory

    This article provides a concise and abbreviated summary of AWWA Manual of Practice M53, Microfiltration and Ultrafiltration Membranes for Drinking Water, to serve as a quick point of reference. For convenience, the article’s organization matches that of M53, as follows: • wate...

  8. 24 CFR 91.315 - Strategic plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... concise summary of the jurisdiction's activities to enhance coordination among Continuums of Care, public... care (such as health-care facilities, mental health facilities, foster care and other youth facilities...), which must be developed in accordance with the primary objective of the CDBG program to develop viable...

  9. 24 CFR 91.315 - Strategic plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... concise summary of the jurisdiction's activities to enhance coordination among Continuums of Care, public... care (such as health-care facilities, mental health facilities, foster care and other youth facilities...), which must be developed in accordance with the primary objective of the CDBG program to develop viable...

  10. 24 CFR 91.315 - Strategic plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... concise summary of the jurisdiction's activities to enhance coordination among Continuums of Care, public... care (such as health-care facilities, mental health facilities, foster care and other youth facilities...), which must be developed in accordance with the primary objective of the CDBG program to develop viable...

  11. Cloud Computing Explained

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Metz, Rosalyn

    2010-01-01

    While many talk about the cloud, few actually understand it. Three organizations' definitions come to the forefront when defining the cloud: Gartner, Forrester, and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST). Although both Gartner and Forrester provide definitions of cloud computing, the NIST definition is concise and uses…

  12. 40 CFR 1508.9 - Environmental assessment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Environmental assessment. 1508.9 Section 1508.9 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.9 Environmental assessment. Environmental assessment: (a) Means a concise public document for which a Federal...

  13. Silvics of Missouri bottomland tree species

    Treesearch

    John Kabrick; Daniel Dey

    2001-01-01

    This issue of Notes For Forest Managers provides a concise summary of important silvical characteristics of Missouri's bottomland trees. It focuses on species adaptations to or tolerances of, environmental and site conditions. It is a compilation of information from seven different references cited in the text.

  14. Attitudes and Action.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glander, Molly H.; O'Donnell, William J.

    This handbook provides sexual information for college students. Though designed for students at North Carolina State University, it is a good model for similar publications on other campuses. The booklet begins by defining different forms of sexual activity--solo, casual, relational, and procreational. Other sections provide concise information on…

  15. The Language of Library Leadership: Effective Communication.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hanson, Charles D.

    This paper examines the role of communication in library leadership. The discussion is organized into 14 sections: (1) multidimensional approaches to effective leadership communication and varying communication style to the situation; (2) the importance of conciseness; (3) streamlining library communication; (4) the vision being communicated by…

  16. Training the Technical Editor.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cathcart, Margaret E.

    The demand for skilled technical editors is growing as society places increasing emphasis on receiving accurate, concise, and complete technical data. Since many organizations do not have inhouse programs for training technical editors, a need exists to provide inexperienced people with basic editing skills. One organization has developed two…

  17. 40 CFR 1508.9 - Environmental assessment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 33 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Environmental assessment. 1508.9 Section 1508.9 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.9 Environmental assessment. Environmental assessment: (a) Means a concise public document for which a Federal...

  18. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Lead (Final Report, Jul 2013)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA announced the availability of the final report, Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Lead (Pb). This document represents a concise synthesis and evaluation of the most policy-relevant science and will ultimately provide the scientific bases for EPA’s decision regard...

  19. Integrating Creativity into Online University Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muirhead, Brent

    2007-01-01

    In this article, the author provides a concise discussion on creativity, defining the term, sharing theoretical background information and offering insights into promoting creativity in online university classes. Emphasis will be placed on relevant ways to integrate creativity into instructional activities across the academic disciplines. He…

  20. 21 CFR 809.10 - Labeling for in vitro diagnostic products.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... principles of the procedure. Explain concisely, with chemical reactions and techniques involved, if...) Instruments: (i) Use or function. (ii) Installation procedures and special requirements. (iii) Principles of... product testing prior to full commercial marketing (for example, for use on specimens derived from humans...

  1. 5 CFR 297.307 - Statement of disagreement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Section 297.307 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PRIVACY... concise statement of disagreement. Such a statement should be filed with the appropriate system manager... system manager should provide a copy of the statement of disagreement to any individual or agency to whom...

  2. 5 CFR 297.307 - Statement of disagreement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... Section 297.307 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PRIVACY... concise statement of disagreement. Such a statement should be filed with the appropriate system manager... system manager should provide a copy of the statement of disagreement to any individual or agency to whom...

  3. Educational Stratification in Russia during the Soviet Period.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerber, Theodore P.; Hout, Michael

    1995-01-01

    Maintains that, in spite of state efforts to reduce educational inequities, stratification actually increased during the Soviet period. Removing gender preferences for men corrected some inequity. However, parents' education, occupation, and geographical origin contributed to the stratification. Contains a concise history of Soviet educational…

  4. Clinically relevant pharmacokinetic herb-drug interactions in antiretroviral therapy

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    For healthcare professionals, the volume of literature available on herb-drug interactions often makes it difficult to separate experimental/potential interactions from those deemed clinically relevant. There is a need for concise and conclusive information to guide pharmacotherapy in HIV/AIDS. In t...

  5. Constructive Management of Conflict in Groups.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchell, Rex C.; Mitchell, Rie R.

    1984-01-01

    Provides a concise overview of important conflict management concepts and strategies for those working in group settings. Presents a brief conceptual basis for understanding conflict and group memebers' behavior when in conflict, followed by specific recommendations for managing and making use of conflict in groups. (JAC)

  6. Types and Consequences of DNA Damage

    EPA Science Inventory

    This review provides a concise overview of the types of DNA damage and the molecular mechanisms by which a cell senses DNA damage, repairs the damage, converts the damage into a mutation, or dies as a consequence of unrepaired DNA damage. Such information is important in consid...

  7. MARINE MAMMAL DISEASES: PATHOGENS AND PROCESSES

    EPA Science Inventory

    The purpose of this chapter is to provide a concise overview of the pathogens and processes that alter the health of marine mammals. Viral disease is the most common etiology of significant mortality events in marine mammals. Discussion of viral disease focuses on effects in the ...

  8. DERMAL EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT: A SUMMARY OF EPA APPROACHES

    EPA Science Inventory

    This final report presents a concise description and evaluation of the approaches used in the Agency for dermal exposure assessment including a discussion about harmonization and research needs in this area. The report is intended to be used by EPA program offices in their effort...

  9. 17 CFR 229.402 - (Item 402) Executive compensation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ..., concise and understandable disclosure of all plan and non-plan compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid... stock units, phantom stock, phantom stock units, common stock equivalent units or any similar..., registrants may omit information regarding group life, health, hospitalization, or medical reimbursement plans...

  10. 17 CFR 229.402 - (Item 402) Executive compensation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ..., concise and understandable disclosure of all plan and non-plan compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid... stock units, phantom stock, phantom stock units, common stock equivalent units or any similar..., registrants may omit information regarding group life, health, hospitalization, or medical reimbursement plans...

  11. 17 CFR 229.402 - (Item 402) Executive compensation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ..., concise and understandable disclosure of all plan and non-plan compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid... stock units, phantom stock, phantom stock units, common stock equivalent units or any similar... to one person. Registrants may omit information regarding group life, health, hospitalization, or...

  12. 17 CFR 229.402 - (Item 402) Executive compensation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ..., concise and understandable disclosure of all plan and non-plan compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid... stock units, phantom stock, phantom stock units, common stock equivalent units or any similar... to one person. Registrants may omit information regarding group life, health, hospitalization, or...

  13. Living English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Speight, Stephen

    1977-01-01

    The latest (July, 1976) edition of the "Concise Oxford Dictionary" is seen as "prescriptive," and of limited use to foreigners, since it lacks an international phonetic transcription. It is questioned whether sufficient treatment is given to new words, scientific words, non-British English, obscene language, change of meaning, and obsolescence.…

  14. Radiology of spinal curvature

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    De Smet, A.A.

    1985-01-01

    This book offers the only comprehensive, concise summary of both the clinical and radiologic features of thoracic and lumbar spine deformity. Emphasis is placed on idiopathic scoliosis, which represents 85% of all patients with scoliosis, but less common areas of secondary scoliosis, kyphosis and lordosis are also covered.

  15. China: Background Notes Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reams, Joanne Reppert

    Concise background information on the People's Republic of China is provided. The publication begins with a profile of the country, outlining the people, geography, economy, and membership in international organizations. The bulk of the document then discusses in more detail China's people, geography, history, government, education, economy, and…

  16. Coverage vs Frequency : Is Spatial Coverage or Temporal Frequency More Impactful on Transit Ridership?

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2017-08-01

    Transit ridership has long been studied, and the findings are concisely elucidated by Taylor & Fink (2003) when they say To sum, transit ridership is largely, though not completely, a product of factors outside the control of transit managers. ...

  17. Pulse!! The Virtual Clinical Learning Lab and Center of Excellence

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-08-01

    environments, physiological assets and case-authoring tools using state- of-the art technologies common to the videogame industry but here appropriated...interior processes (e.g., fluid dynamics) are beyond the current reach of the videogame industry. c. Concise Accomplishments (limit 200 words/170

  18. Why Teach Playwriting?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levy, Jonathan

    2001-01-01

    Ponders what students might learn from a course in playwriting: the ability to think in vivid instances and moments; the habit of close observation of the details of human behavior; the ability to think through and see through cliches; making hard choices; sympathy; dreaming within limits; and concision. (SR)

  19. MicroSIFT Courseware Evaluations (88-168).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holznagel, Donald C., Ed.

    This document consists of 81 microcomputer software package evaluations prepared for the MicroSIFT (Microcomputer Software and Information for Teachers) Clearinghouse at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) and distributed during 1983 as "sets" 6, 7, and 8. The concise, single-sheet resume describing and evaluating each…

  20. A simple rule of direct reciprocity leads to the stable coexistence of cooperation and defection in the Prisoner's Dilemma game.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Xiu-Deng; Li, Cong; Yu, Jie-Ru; Wang, Shi-Chang; Fan, Song-Jia; Zhang, Bo-Yu; Tao, Yi

    2017-05-07

    The long-term coexistence of cooperation and defection is a common phenomenon in nature and human society. However, none of the theoretical models based on the Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) game can provide a concise theoretical model to explain what leads to the stable coexistence of cooperation and defection in the long-term even though some rules for promoting cooperation have been summarized (Nowak, 2006, Science 314, 1560-1563). Here, based on the concept of direct reciprocity, we develop an elementary model to show why stable coexistence of cooperation and defection in the PD game is possible. The basic idea behind our theoretical model is that all players in a PD game prefer a cooperator as an opponent, and our results show that considering strategies allowing opting out against defection provide a general and concise way of understanding the fundamental importance of direct reciprocity in driving the evolution of cooperation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Concise Review: Fetal Membranes in Regenerative Medicine: New Tricks from an Old Dog?

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Abstract The clinical application of the fetal membranes dates back to nearly a century. Their use has ranged from superficial skin dressings to surgical wound closure. The applications of the fetal membranes are constantly evolving, and key to this is the uncovering of multiple populations of stem and stem‐like cells, each with unique properties that can be exploited for regenerative medicine. In addition to pro‐angiogenic and immunomodulatory properties of the stem and stem‐like cells arising from the fetal membranes, the dehydrated and/or decellularized forms of the fetal membranes have been used to support the growth and function of other cells and tissues, including adipose‐derived mesenchymal stem cells. This concise review explores the biological origin of the fetal membranes, a history of their use in medicine, and recent developments in the use of fetal membranes and their derived stem and stem‐like cells in regenerative medicine. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:1767–1776 PMID:28834402

  2. Concise Review: Therapeutic Potential of Adipose Tissue-Derived Angiogenic Cells

    PubMed Central

    Brinchmann, Jan E.

    2012-01-01

    Inadequate blood supply to tissues is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality today. Ischemic symptoms caused by obstruction of arterioles and capillaries are currently not treatable by vessel replacement or dilatation procedures. Therapeutic angiogenesis, the treatment of tissue ischemia by promoting the proliferation of new blood vessels, has recently emerged as one of the most promising therapies. Neovascularization is most often attempted by introduction of angiogenic cells from different sources. Emerging evidence suggests that adipose tissue (AT) is an excellent reservoir of autologous cells with angiogenic potential. AT yields two cell populations of importance for neovascularization: AT-derived mesenchymal stromal cells, which likely act predominantly as pericytes, and AT-derived endothelial cells (ECs). In this concise review we discuss different physiological aspects of neovascularization, briefly present cells isolated from the blood and bone marrow with EC properties, and then discuss isolation and cell culture strategies, phenotype, functional capabilities, and possible therapeutic applications of angiogenic cells obtained from AT. PMID:23197872

  3. Gastric precancerous diseases classification using CNN with a concise model.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xu; Hu, Weiling; Chen, Fei; Liu, Jiquan; Yang, Yuanhang; Wang, Liangjing; Duan, Huilong; Si, Jianmin

    2017-01-01

    Gastric precancerous diseases (GPD) may deteriorate into early gastric cancer if misdiagnosed, so it is important to help doctors recognize GPD accurately and quickly. In this paper, we realize the classification of 3-class GPD, namely, polyp, erosion, and ulcer using convolutional neural networks (CNN) with a concise model called the Gastric Precancerous Disease Network (GPDNet). GPDNet introduces fire modules from SqueezeNet to reduce the model size and parameters about 10 times while improving speed for quick classification. To maintain classification accuracy with fewer parameters, we propose an innovative method called iterative reinforced learning (IRL). After training GPDNet from scratch, we apply IRL to fine-tune the parameters whose values are close to 0, and then we take the modified model as a pretrained model for the next training. The result shows that IRL can improve the accuracy about 9% after 6 iterations. The final classification accuracy of our GPDNet was 88.90%, which is promising for clinical GPD recognition.

  4. Adapting Comparative Effectiveness Research Summaries for Delivery to Patients and Providers through a Patient Portal

    PubMed Central

    McDougald Scott, Amanda M.; Jackson, Gretchen Purcell; Ho, Yun-Xian; Yan, Zhou; Davison, Coda; Rosenbloom, S. Trent

    2013-01-01

    Despite increases in the scientific evidence for a variety of medical treatments, a gap remains in the adoption of best medical practices. This manuscript describes a process for adapting published summary guides from comparative effectiveness research to render them concise, targeted to audience, and easily actionable; and a strategy for disseminating such evidence to patients and their physicians through a web-based portal and linked electronic health record. This project adapted summary guides about oral medications for adults with type 2 diabetes to a fifth-grade literacy level and modified the resulting materials based on evaluations with the Suitability Assessment of Materials instrument. Focus groups and individual interviews with patients, diabetes providers, and health literacy experts were employed to evaluate and enhance the adapted summary guide. We present the lessons learned as general guidelines for the creation of concise, targeted, and actionable evidence and its delivery to both patients and providers through increasingly prevalent health information technologies. PMID:24551387

  5. Surface engineering of graphitic carbon nitride polymers with cocatalysts for photocatalytic overall water splitting

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Guigang; Lan, Zhi-An

    2017-01-01

    Graphitic carbon nitride based polymers, being metal-free, accessible, environmentally benign and sustainable, have been widely investigated for artificial photosynthesis in recent years for the photocatalytic splitting of water to produce hydrogen fuel. However, the photocatalytic stoichiometric splitting of pure water into H2 and O2 with a molecular ratio of 2 : 1 is far from easy, and is usually hindered by the huge activation energy barrier and sluggish surface redox reaction kinetics. Herein, we provide a concise overview of cocatalyst modified graphitic carbon nitride based photocatalysts, with our main focus on the modulation of the water splitting redox reaction kinetics. We believe that a timely and concise review on this promising but challenging research topic will certainly be beneficial for general readers and researchers in order to better understand the property–activity relationship towards overall water splitting, which could also trigger the development of new organic architectures for photocatalytic overall water splitting through the rational control of surface chemistry. PMID:28959425

  6. Reynolds number scaling to predict droplet size distribution in dispersed and undispersed subsurface oil releases.

    PubMed

    Li, Pu; Weng, Linlu; Niu, Haibo; Robinson, Brian; King, Thomas; Conmy, Robyn; Lee, Kenneth; Liu, Lei

    2016-12-15

    This study was aimed at testing the applicability of modified Weber number scaling with Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude oil, and developing a Reynolds number scaling approach for oil droplet size prediction for high viscosity oils. Dispersant to oil ratio and empirical coefficients were also quantified. Finally, a two-step Rosin-Rammler scheme was introduced for the determination of droplet size distribution. This new approach appeared more advantageous in avoiding the inconsistency in interfacial tension measurements, and consequently delivered concise droplet size prediction. Calculated and observed data correlated well based on Reynolds number scaling. The relation indicated that chemical dispersant played an important role in reducing the droplet size of ANS under different seasonal conditions. The proposed Reynolds number scaling and two-step Rosin-Rammler approaches provide a concise, reliable way to predict droplet size distribution, supporting decision making in chemical dispersant application during an offshore oil spill. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. 3-D World Modeling For An Autonomous Robot

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goldstein, M.; Pin, F. G.; Weisbin, C. R.

    1987-01-01

    This paper presents a methodology for a concise representation of the 3-D world model for a mobile robot, using range data. The process starts with the segmentation of the scene into "objects" that are given a unique label, based on principles of range continuity. Then the external surface of each object is partitioned into homogeneous surface patches. Contours of surface patches in 3-D space are identified by estimating the normal and curvature associated with each pixel. The resulting surface patches are then classified as planar, convex or concave. Since the world model uses a volumetric representation for the 3-D environment, planar surfaces are represented by thin volumetric polyhedra. Spherical and cylindrical surfaces are extracted and represented by appropriate volumetric primitives. All other surfaces are represented using the boolean union of spherical volumes (as described in a separate paper by the same authors). The result is a general, concise representation of the external 3-D world, which allows for efficient and robust 3-D object recognition.

  8. THE HUMAN BEHAVIOR RATING SCALE-BRIEF: A TOOL TO MEASURE 21ST CENTURY SKILLS OF K-12 LEARNERS.

    PubMed

    Woods-Groves, Suzanne

    2015-06-01

    Currently there is a call for brief concise measurements to appraise relevant 21st century college readiness skills in K-12 learners. This study employed K-12 teachers' ratings for over 3,000 students for an existing 91-item rating scale, the Human Behavior Rating Scale, that measured the 21st century skills of persistence, curiosity, externalizing affect, internalizing affect, and cognition. Teachers' ratings for K-12 learners were used to develop a brief, concise, and manageable 30-item tool, the Human Behavior Rating Scale-Brief. Results yielded high internal consistency coefficients and inter-item correlations. The items were not biased with regard to student sex or race, and were supported through confirmatory factor analyses. In addition, when teachers' ratings were compared with students' academic and behavioral performance data, moderate to strong relationships were revealed. This study provided an essential first step in the development of a psychometrically sound, manageable, and brief tool to appraise 21st century skills in K-12 learners.

  9. Frontiers of Theoretical Research on Shape Memory Alloys: A General Overview

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chowdhury, Piyas

    2018-03-01

    In this concise review, general aspects of modeling shape memory alloys (SMAs) are recounted. Different approaches are discussed under four general categories, namely, (a) macro-phenomenological, (b) micromechanical, (c) molecular dynamics, and (d) first principles models. Macro-phenomenological theories, stemming from empirical formulations depicting continuum elastic, plastic, and phase transformation, are primarily of engineering interest, whereby the performance of SMA-made components is investigated. Micromechanical endeavors are generally geared towards understanding microstructural phenomena within continuum mechanics such as the accommodation of straining due to phase change as well as role of precipitates. By contrast, molecular dynamics, being a more recently emerging computational technique, concerns attributes of discrete lattice structures, and thus captures SMA deformation mechanism by means of empirically reconstructing interatomic bonding forces. Finally, ab initio theories utilize quantum mechanical framework to peek into atomistic foundation of deformation, and can pave the way for studying the role of solid-sate effects. With specific examples, this paper provides concise descriptions of each category along with their relative merits and emphases.

  10. The Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) Model: An Overview and Operational Definition.

    PubMed

    Reiter, Jeffrey T; Dobmeyer, Anne C; Hunter, Christopher L

    2018-06-01

    The Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model is a prominent approach to the integration of behavioral health services into primary care settings. Implementation of the PCBH model has grown over the past two decades, yet research and training efforts have been slowed by inconsistent terminology and lack of a concise, operationalized definition of the model and its key components. This article provides the first concise operationalized definition of the PCBH model, developed from examination of multiple published resources and consultation with nationally recognized PCBH model experts. The definition frames the model as a team-based approach to managing biopsychosocial issues that present in primary care, with the over-arching goal of improving primary care in general. The article provides a description of the key components and strategies used in the model, the rationale for those strategies, a brief comparison of this model to other integration approaches, a focused summary of PCBH model outcomes, and an overview of common challenges to implementing the model.

  11. Serious Games: A Concise Overview on What They Are and Their Potential Applications to Healthcare.

    PubMed

    Giunti, Guido; Baum, Analía; Giunta, Diego; Plazzotta, Fernando; Benitez, Sonia; Gómez, Adrián; Luna, Daniel; Bernaldo de Quiros, Fernan González

    2015-01-01

    Younger generations are extensive users of digital devices; these technologies have always existed and have always been a part of their lives. Video games are a big part of their digital experience. User-centered design is an approach to designing systems informed by scientific knowledge of how people think, act, and coordinate to accomplish their goals. There is an emerging field of intervention research looking into using these techniques to produce video games that can be applied to healthcare. Games with the purpose of improving an individual's knowledge, skills, or attitudes in the "real" world are called "Serious Games". Before doctors and patients can consider using Serious Games as a useful solution for a health care-related problem, it is important that they first are aware of them, have a basic understanding of what they are, and what, if any, claims on their effectiveness exist. In order to bridge that gap, we have produced this concise overview to introduce physicians to the subject at hand.

  12. Pathway to care for drug resistant tuberculosis cases identified during a retrospective study conducted in high TB burden wards in Mumbai

    PubMed Central

    Lobo, Eunice; Shah, Shimoni; Rangan, Sheela; Dholakia, Yatin; Mistry, Nerges

    2018-01-01

    Background: Mumbai is witnessing a rising incidence of all forms of drug resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). Methods: A population-based, retrospective study was conducted between April and July 2014, in 15 high TB burden wards in Mumbai, to capture the patient pathways to TB care. A total of 23 DR-TB patients were identified and their pathways to access DR-TB care were recorded using semi-structured interviews. Results: The total DR-TB pathway time of new patients (who did not report any past episode of TB) (180 days; IQR 123,346) was found to be more than twice that of retreatment patients (who reported a past episode of TB) (69 days; IQR 42,128). Conclusions: The unacceptable delay for diagnosis and treatment of DR-TB in Mumbai advocates for consistent implementation of early screening of patients using rapid gene-based technologies. PMID:29863175

  13. Pathway to care for drug resistant tuberculosis cases identified during a retrospective study conducted in high TB burden wards in Mumbai.

    PubMed

    Lobo, Eunice; Shah, Shimoni; Rangan, Sheela; Dholakia, Yatin; Mistry, Nerges

    2018-05-10

    Background: Mumbai is witnessing a rising incidence of all forms of drug resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). Methods: A population-based, retrospective study was conducted between April and July 2014, in 15 high TB burden wards in Mumbai, to capture the patient pathways to TB care. A total of 23 DR-TB patients were identified and their pathways to access DR-TB care were recorded using semi-structured interviews. Results: The total DR-TB pathway time of new patients (who did not report any past episode of TB) (180 days; IQR 123,346) was found to be more than twice that of retreatment patients (who reported a past episode of TB) (69 days; IQR 42,128). Conclusions: The unacceptable delay for diagnosis and treatment of DR-TB in Mumbai advocates for consistent implementation of early screening of patients using rapid gene-based technologies.

  14. Generating highly uniform electromagnetic field characteristics

    DOEpatents

    Crow, J.T.

    1997-06-24

    An apparatus and method are disclosed for generating homogeneous electromagnetic fields within a volume. The homogeneity provided may be for magnetic and/or electric fields, and for field magnitude, radial gradient, or higher order radial derivative. The invention comprises conductive pathways oriented mirror symmetrically about a desired region of homogeneity. A corresponding apparatus and method is provided for substantially canceling the electromagnetic field outside of the apparatus, comprising a second set of conductive pathways placed outside the first set. 26 figs.

  15. Generating highly uniform electromagnetic field characteristics

    DOEpatents

    Crow, J.T.

    1998-05-05

    An apparatus and method are disclosed for generating homogeneous electromagnetic fields within a volume. The homogeneity provided may be for magnetic and/or electric fields, and for field magnitude, radial gradient, or higher order radial derivative. The invention comprises conductive pathways oriented about a desired region of homogeneity. A corresponding apparatus and method is provided for substantially canceling the electromagnetic field outside of the apparatus, comprising a second set of conductive pathways placed outside the first set. 55 figs.

  16. Generating highly uniform electromagnetic field characteristics

    DOEpatents

    Crow, J.T.

    1998-02-10

    An apparatus and method for generating homogeneous electromagnetic fields within a volume is disclosed. The homogeneity provided may be for magnetic and/or electric fields, and for field magnitude, radial gradient, or higher order radial derivative. The invention comprises conductive pathways oriented mirror symmetrically about a desired region of homogeneity. A corresponding apparatus and method is provided for substantially canceling the electromagnetic field outside of the apparatus, comprising a second set of conductive pathways placed outside the first set. 39 figs.

  17. Urban community gardeners' knowledge and perceptions of soil contaminant risks.

    PubMed

    Kim, Brent F; Poulsen, Melissa N; Margulies, Jared D; Dix, Katie L; Palmer, Anne M; Nachman, Keeve E

    2014-01-01

    Although urban community gardening can offer health, social, environmental, and economic benefits, these benefits must be weighed against the potential health risks stemming from exposure to contaminants such as heavy metals and organic chemicals that may be present in urban soils. Individuals who garden at or eat food grown in contaminated urban garden sites may be at risk of exposure to such contaminants. Gardeners may be unaware of these risks and how to manage them. We used a mixed quantitative/qualitative research approach to characterize urban community gardeners' knowledge and perceptions of risks related to soil contaminant exposure. We conducted surveys with 70 gardeners from 15 community gardens in Baltimore, Maryland, and semi-structured interviews with 18 key informants knowledgeable about community gardening and soil contamination in Baltimore. We identified a range of factors, challenges, and needs related to Baltimore community gardeners' perceptions of risk related to soil contamination, including low levels of concern and inconsistent levels of knowledge about heavy metal and organic chemical contaminants, barriers to investigating a garden site's history and conducting soil tests, limited knowledge of best practices for reducing exposure, and a need for clear and concise information on how best to prevent and manage soil contamination. Key informants discussed various strategies for developing and disseminating educational materials to gardeners. For some challenges, such as barriers to conducting site history and soil tests, some informants recommended city-wide interventions that bypass the need for gardener knowledge altogether.

  18. Urban Community Gardeners' Knowledge and Perceptions of Soil Contaminant Risks

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Brent F.; Poulsen, Melissa N.; Margulies, Jared D.; Dix, Katie L.; Palmer, Anne M.; Nachman, Keeve E.

    2014-01-01

    Although urban community gardening can offer health, social, environmental, and economic benefits, these benefits must be weighed against the potential health risks stemming from exposure to contaminants such as heavy metals and organic chemicals that may be present in urban soils. Individuals who garden at or eat food grown in contaminated urban garden sites may be at risk of exposure to such contaminants. Gardeners may be unaware of these risks and how to manage them. We used a mixed quantitative/qualitative research approach to characterize urban community gardeners' knowledge and perceptions of risks related to soil contaminant exposure. We conducted surveys with 70 gardeners from 15 community gardens in Baltimore, Maryland, and semi-structured interviews with 18 key informants knowledgeable about community gardening and soil contamination in Baltimore. We identified a range of factors, challenges, and needs related to Baltimore community gardeners' perceptions of risk related to soil contamination, including low levels of concern and inconsistent levels of knowledge about heavy metal and organic chemical contaminants, barriers to investigating a garden site's history and conducting soil tests, limited knowledge of best practices for reducing exposure, and a need for clear and concise information on how best to prevent and manage soil contamination. Key informants discussed various strategies for developing and disseminating educational materials to gardeners. For some challenges, such as barriers to conducting site history and soil tests, some informants recommended city-wide interventions that bypass the need for gardener knowledge altogether. PMID:24516570

  19. Monitoring groundwater-surface water interaction using time-series and time-frequency analysis of transient three-dimensional electrical resistivity changes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Johnson, Timothy C.; Slater, Lee D.; Ntarlagiannis, Dimitris; Day-Lewis, Frederick D.; Elwaseif, Mehrez

    2012-01-01

    Time-lapse resistivity imaging is increasingly used to monitor hydrologic processes. Compared to conventional hydrologic measurements, surface time-lapse resistivity provides superior spatial coverage in two or three dimensions, potentially high-resolution information in time, and information in the absence of wells. However, interpretation of time-lapse electrical tomograms is complicated by the ever-increasing size and complexity of long-term, three-dimensional (3-D) time series conductivity data sets. Here we use 3-D surface time-lapse electrical imaging to monitor subsurface electrical conductivity variations associated with stage-driven groundwater-surface water interactions along a stretch of the Columbia River adjacent to the Hanford 300 near Richland, Washington, USA. We reduce the resulting 3-D conductivity time series using both time-series and time-frequency analyses to isolate a paleochannel causing enhanced groundwater-surface water interactions. Correlation analysis on the time-lapse imaging results concisely represents enhanced groundwater-surface water interactions within the paleochannel, and provides information concerning groundwater flow velocities. Time-frequency analysis using the Stockwell (S) transform provides additional information by identifying the stage periodicities driving groundwater-surface water interactions due to upstream dam operations, and identifying segments in time-frequency space when these interactions are most active. These results provide new insight into the distribution and timing of river water intrusion into the Hanford 300 Area, which has a governing influence on the behavior of a uranium plume left over from historical nuclear fuel processing operations.

  20. Pathways to Healing: Person-centered Responses to Complementary Services

    PubMed Central

    Bertrand, Sharon W.; Fermon, Barbara; Coleman, Julie Foley

    2014-01-01

    Objectives: This research study assessed perceived changes in quality-of-life measures related to participation in complementary services consisting of a variety of nontraditional therapies and/or programs at Pathways: A Health Crisis Resource Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Design: Survey data were used to assess perceived changes participants ascribed to their experience with complementary services at Pathways. Quantitative data analysis was conducted using participant demographics together with participant ratings of items from the “Self-Assessment of Change” (SAC) measure developed at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Qualitative data analysis was conducted on written responses to an additional survey question: “To what extent has your participation at Pathways influenced your healing process?” Setting/Location: Pathways offers a variety of services, including one-to-one sessions using nontraditional healing therapies, support groups, educational classes, and practice groups such as yoga and meditation for those facing serious health challenges. These services are offered free of charge through community financial support using volunteer practitioners. Participants: People (126) diagnosed with serious health challenges who used Pathways services from 2007 through 2009. Interventions: Participation in self-selected Pathways services. Measures: Responses to items on the SAC measure plus written responses to the question, “To what extent has your participation at Pathways influenced your healing process?” Results: Quantitative findings: Participants reported experiencing significant changes across all components of the SAC measure. Qualitative findings: Responses to the open-ended survey question identified perspectives on the culture of Pathways and a shift in participants' perceptions of well-being based on their experience of Pathways services. Conclusions: Participation in services provided by the Pathways organization improved perceptions of quality of life and well-being and led to more active involvement in the experience of a healing process. PMID:24753990

  1. The Workaholism Syndrome: An Emerging Issue in the Psychological Literature

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Piotrowski, Chris; Vodanovich, Stephen J.

    2008-01-01

    The present paper provides a concise overview of the "workaholism syndrome." This includes a discussion of workaholism from an addiction perspective, it's overall components and consequences, and a conceptual framework. Suggestions are offered for effective strategies to confront and mediate the onerous impact of workaholism.

  2. Diagnosis and Treatment of Eating Disorders.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neuman, Patricia; And Others

    This paper was designed to provide professional counselors with a comprehensive but concise method of accurately evaluting, interviewing, and planning for treatment of eating disorder clients. The paper is organized in five sections. The first section, Diagnosis, compares, contrasts, and offers clear explanations of the diagnostic criteria for…

  3. Information, Education, Communication in Population.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawaii Univ., Honolulu. East-West Center.

    Programs and services of the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) are reviewed in this report on resources available for the support of population information, education, and communication activities. Four major sections describe in concise, outline form: (1) the agency and its programs, (2) the specific program in population/family…

  4. A Second-Year Undergraduate Course in Applied Differential Equations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fahidy, Thomas Z.

    1991-01-01

    Presents the framework for a chemical engineering course using ordinary differential equations to solve problems with the underlying strategy of concisely discussing the theory behind each solution technique without extensions to formal proofs. Includes typical class illustrations, student responses to this strategy, and reaction of the…

  5. Teaching Cell Division: Basics and Recommendations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Mike U.; Kindfield, Ann C. H.

    1999-01-01

    Presents a concise overview of cell division that includes only the essential concepts necessary for understanding genetics and evolution. Makes recommendations based on published research and teaching experiences that can be used to judge the merits of potential activities and materials for teaching cell division. Makes suggestions regarding the…

  6. ECO-Report - Halfway home

    Treesearch

    Jane Kapler Smith; Janet Sullivan; Clinton E. Carlson; L. Jack Lyon; J. Tewksbury; S. Hejl; T. Martin; Stephen F. Arno; Ward McCaughey; Cathy Stewart; Colin Hardy; J. Greg Jones; Madelyn Kempf; Leslie Weldon

    1996-01-01

    ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

  7. 48 CFR 2452.242-71 - Contract management system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ..., concise summary of technical progress made and the costs incurred for each task during the reporting... technical progress made for each task during the reporting period; and (B) Identifies problems, or potential... and progress reporting as described herein. (b) The contract management system shall consist of two...

  8. Strategic Planning for Educational Reform and Improvement.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    D'Amico, Joseph J.

    1988-01-01

    Defines strategic planning, outlines its key elements and activities, and summarizes the difficulties of applying a top-down, profit-driven process to education. Explains Strategic Planning for Educational Reform and Improvement (SPERI), a set of manageable, concise procedures for top school administrators. Describes SPERI applications in an…

  9. Multiple Intelligences: A Collection.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fogarty, Robin, Ed.; Bellanca, James, Ed.

    As a concise resource for Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences and its implications for schooling around the world, this collection is designed for educators, parents, and others interested in education. The first section discusses Gardner and his background, and the second section expounds his theory. The third section explores the…

  10. How To Improve Students' Writing Styles.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffin, Beverly Norris

    Instructors often criticize student writing styles in abstract, nebulous terms which further serve to alienate student writers from the concept of style. College instructors should direct students to such concise, recognized discourses on improving writing style as Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style." In these manuals, specific, effective…

  11. A CONCISE REVIEW OF THE TOXICITY AND CARCINOGENICITY OF DIMETHYLARSINIC ACID

    EPA Science Inventory

    Dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) has been used as an herbicide (cacodylic acid) and is the major metabolite formed after exposure to tri- (arsenite) or pentavalent (arsenate) inorganic arsenic (iAs) via ingestion or inhalation in both humans and rodents. Once viewed simply as a detoxi...

  12. 44 CFR 10.12 - Pre-implementation actions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... integrated into the decision-making process. Because of the diversity of FEMA, it is not feasible to describe..., for integration of environmental considerations into the decision-making process. The Regional... document for the purpose of justifying the decision. Rather it is a concise document that sets forth the...

  13. 44 CFR 10.12 - Pre-implementation actions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... decision-making process. Because of the diversity of FEMA, it is not feasible to describe in this part the... shall provide further guidance, commensurate with their programs and organization, for integration of... the decision. Rather it is a concise document that sets forth the decision and describes the...

  14. 44 CFR 10.12 - Pre-implementation actions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... integrated into the decision-making process. Because of the diversity of FEMA, it is not feasible to describe..., for integration of environmental considerations into the decision-making process. The Regional... document for the purpose of justifying the decision. Rather it is a concise document that sets forth the...

  15. 44 CFR 10.12 - Pre-implementation actions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... integrated into the decision-making process. Because of the diversity of FEMA, it is not feasible to describe..., for integration of environmental considerations into the decision-making process. The Regional... document for the purpose of justifying the decision. Rather it is a concise document that sets forth the...

  16. 34 CFR 682.401 - Basic program agreement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... or converting the records relating to its existing guaranty portfolio to an information or computer... that owns or controls the agency's existing information or computer system. If the agency is soliciting... must include a concise description of the agency's conversion project and the actual or estimated cost...

  17. 34 CFR 682.401 - Basic program agreement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... or converting the records relating to its existing guaranty portfolio to an information or computer... that owns or controls the agency's existing information or computer system. If the agency is soliciting... must include a concise description of the agency's conversion project and the actual or estimated cost...

  18. PHYTOREMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED SOIL AND GROUND WATER AT HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES

    EPA Science Inventory

    The purpose of this issue paper is to provide a concise discussion of the processes associated with the use of phytoremediation as a cleanup or containment technique for remediation of hazardous waste sites. Introductory material on plant processes is provided. The different fo...

  19. Reconstructing the Pupils Attitude towards Technology-Survey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ardies, Jan; De Maeyer, Sven; Gijbels, David

    2013-01-01

    In knowledge based economies technological literacy is gaining interest. Technological literacy correlates with attitude towards technology. When measuring technological literacy as an outcome of education, the attitudinal dimension has to be taken into account. This requires a valid, reliable instrument that should be as concise as possible, in…

  20. 49 CFR 802.14 - Review procedure and judicial review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... concise statement enumerating the reasons for the requester's disagreement with the denial, pursuant to...) Statements of Disagreement. (1) Written Statements of Disagreement may be furnished by the individual within... envelope, “Privacy Act Statement of Disagreement.” (2) The Director, Bureau of Administration, or his...

  1. BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS AND DOSIMETRY OF STATIC AND ELF (EXTREMELY LOW FREQUENCY) ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS

    EPA Science Inventory

    The book offers a good introduction to the research field for students, as well as a valuable overall review for the experienced investigator. The six chapters on interactions provide concise descriptions of physical processes for natural and man-made environmental exposures and ...

  2. A Brief History.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yalouris, Nicolaos

    1996-01-01

    Provides a brief but concise overview of the historical development of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece. Originally conceived as a one day, single-race event, the Games grew to the point where they represented an apotheosis of Greek culture. Discusses the role played by conflict within the city-states. (MJP)

  3. Sudden Fiction: What Is It?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tindall, James

    Initially an assignment for a library science class, this paper presents various definitions of the current creative writing phenomenon called "sudden fiction" (very short short stories with concise character sketches, and terse tales limited in length to several pages). The paper includes: (1) a list of well regarded sudden fiction…

  4. Outline of Polish Morphology.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bidwell, Charles E.

    This volume, one of a series of concise but relatively exhaustive descriptions of the grammatical structures of the principal standard Slavic languages, contains an outline of Polish morphology. The four major sections are morphophonemics, nominal inflection, the Polish verb (Part 1--stem alternation and conjugation, and the Polish verb (Part…

  5. Labor Comes into Its Own.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wehrle, Edmund F.

    1996-01-01

    Presents a concise and interesting overview of the rise and extension of labor activity during the New Deal. Labor took advantage of Roosevelt's pro-union policies to consolidate their power and forever transform the lives of working men and women. Discusses improvements in working conditions, wages, and benefits. (MJP)

  6. Handbook of noise ratings

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pearsons, K. S.; Bennett, R. L.

    1974-01-01

    The handbook was compiled to provide information in a concise form, describing the multitude of noise rating schemes. It is hoped that by describing the noise rating methods in a single volume the user will have better access to the definitions, application and calculation procedures of the current noise rating methods.

  7. The Y2K problem and management strategies for the individual practitioner.

    PubMed

    Alex, J C; Jassin, B M

    1999-01-01

    This article will detail concisely the nature of the Y2K problem, how it could affect your computer systems and your business, and what measures you can institute to minimize and/or eliminate computer failure as you enter the year 2000.

  8. Multicultural Issues in Child Care.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gonzalez-Mena, Janet

    This volume focuses on cultural differences relevant to all child-care-giving settings, including day care, nursery, and preschool programs. Based on respect for cultural pluralism, this concise supplementary text is designed to increase caregiver sensitivity to different cultural child-care practices and values and to improve communication and…

  9. The Systems Approach: Its Variety of Aspects.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mattessich, Richard

    1982-01-01

    This concise survey of the vast literature currently available in field-of-systems thinking and cybernetics discusses the areas of systems philosophy, systems analysis (mathematical systems theory), empirical systems research, and systems engineering, and outlines contributions of selected scholars. A bibliography of 148 books and papers is…

  10. Effective Literacy Instruction for Students with Moderate or Severe Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Copeland, Susan R.; Keefe, Elizabeth B.

    2007-01-01

    For students with moderate or severe disabilities, developing literacy skills is a critical component of successful communication, employment, and community participation. Finally, educators have a practical, concise guidebook for helping these students meet NCLB's academic standards for literacy. Appropriate for use in all settings, including…

  11. Linking Multilingual Advertising to Foreign Language Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Elizabeth

    It is suggested that print advertising is particularly well suited to classroom second language teaching because it is attractive, entertaining, contains powerful emotional or factual messages, and is concise. Research indicates that multilingual or code-mixed advertising is common and reveals interesting linguistic phenomena, including semantic,…

  12. 21 CFR 101.13 - Nutrient content claims-general principles.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... must also bear: (A) Clear and concise quantitative information comparing the amount of the subject... is on the information panel, the quantitative information may be located elsewhere on the information...., “Modified fat cheesecake”). This statement of identity must be immediately followed by the comparative...

  13. 21 CFR 101.13 - Nutrient content claims-general principles.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... must also bear: (A) Clear and concise quantitative information comparing the amount of the subject... is on the information panel, the quantitative information may be located elsewhere on the information...., “Modified fat cheesecake”). This statement of identity must be immediately followed by the comparative...

  14. 21 CFR 101.13 - Nutrient content claims-general principles.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... must also bear: (A) Clear and concise quantitative information comparing the amount of the subject... is on the information panel, the quantitative information may be located elsewhere on the information...., “Modified fat cheesecake”). This statement of identity must be immediately followed by the comparative...

  15. 21 CFR 101.13 - Nutrient content claims-general principles.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... must also bear: (A) Clear and concise quantitative information comparing the amount of the subject... is on the information panel, the quantitative information may be located elsewhere on the information...., “Modified fat cheesecake”). This statement of identity must be immediately followed by the comparative...

  16. 21 CFR 101.13 - Nutrient content claims-general principles.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... must also bear: (A) Clear and concise quantitative information comparing the amount of the subject... is on the information panel, the quantitative information may be located elsewhere on the information...., “Modified fat cheesecake”). This statement of identity must be immediately followed by the comparative...

  17. The Community College Story. Third Edition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vaughan, George B.

    2006-01-01

    This concise history of community colleges touches on major themes, including open access and equity, comprehensiveness, community-based philosophy, commitment to teaching, and lifelong learning. The third edition includes revised text as well as updated statistical information, time line, reading list, and Internet resources. In the more than a…

  18. Vocabulary Instruction: Research to Practice. Second Edition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kame'enui, Edward J., Ed.; Baumann, James F., Ed.

    2012-01-01

    This highly regarded work brings together prominent authorities on vocabulary teaching and learning to provide a comprehensive yet concise guide to effective instruction. The book showcases practical ways to teach specific vocabulary words and word-learning strategies and create engaging, word-rich classrooms. Instructional activities and games…

  19. 29 CFR 458.55 - Content of complaint.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... Prohibited Discipline § 458.55 Content of complaint. (a) The complaint shall contain appropriate identifying information and a clear and concise statement of the facts constituting the alleged violation. (b) The complainant shall submit with his complaint a statement setting forth the procedures, if any, invoked to...

  20. Waiting in the surgery.

    PubMed

    Fry, F

    1994-07-01

    The concise Oxford English Dictionary defines 'dilemma' as an argument forcing one to choose one of two alternatives, both of which are unfavourable. This is a situation that frequently confronts the general practitioner. This paper will present one practitioner's view on the subject of patients waiting to see the doctor.

  1. Jane's School Safety Handbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Marleen; Kelly, James; Stephens, Ronald D.

    This book advises schools in a concise, detailed format about crisis management. Its chapters address: (1) crisis planning; (2) early warning signs; (3) crisis response; (4) crisis recovery; (5) case studies of schools that have encountered crisis situations; and (6) sample letters to be distributed in case of crisis. (Appendices discuss…

  2. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) of Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (Final Report, Feb 2013)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA announced the availability of the final report, Integrated Science Assessment of Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants. This document represents a concise synthesis and evaluation of the most policy-relevant science and will ultimately provide the scientific bases f...

  3. The Common Vision. Reviews: Books.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chattin-McNichols, John

    1998-01-01

    Reviews Marshak's book describing the work of educators Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, Aurobindo Ghose, and Inayat Khan. Maintains that the book gives clear, concise information on each educator and presents a common vision for children and their education; also maintains that it gives theoretical and practical information and discusses…

  4. Implementing Educational Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa--Review Essay.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thakur, Dan S.

    1991-01-01

    Reviews a series of 10 World Bank documents examining policy implementation activity in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Lesotho, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The reports are concise and well documented and show a great conceptualization of education issues (such as deteriorating enrollments contracting educational finances) and policy…

  5. 50 CFR 679.42 - Limitations on use of QS and IFQ.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... transferor (seller); (F) A written declaration from a licensed medical doctor, advanced nurse practitioner... include: (1) The identity of the licensed medical doctor, advanced nurse practitioner, or primary..., advanced nurse practitioner, or primary community health aide; (2) A concise description of the medical...

  6. 34 CFR 682.401 - Basic program agreement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... or converting the records relating to its existing guaranty portfolio to an information or computer... that owns or controls the agency's existing information or computer system. If the agency is soliciting... must include a concise description of the agency's conversion project and the actual or estimated cost...

  7. 34 CFR 682.401 - Basic program agreement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... or converting the records relating to its existing guaranty portfolio to an information or computer... that owns or controls the agency's existing information or computer system. If the agency is soliciting... must include a concise description of the agency's conversion project and the actual or estimated cost...

  8. Try a Videotape for Communicating with District Patrons.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DiazGrandox, Frederick

    1991-01-01

    A small Idaho school district gained public support for a school levy by producing and distributing a videotape of school activities and district needs. The videotape provided a clear, concise presentation of information while avoiding confrontations that often occur with other methods of communication. (Author/SV)

  9. Domain specific languages for modeling and simulation: use case OMS3

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    A domain-specific language (DSL) is usually a concise, declarative language that strongly emphasizes a particular problem domain. DSL methods and implementations in general are widely prototyped and applied in academia for creating elegant ways to express properties, relationships, and behavior of r...

  10. A study of the influence of conductive paths and their directions in randomly generated conductor network.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mandolesi, E.; Moorkamp, M.; Jones, A. G.

    2014-12-01

    Most electromagnetic (EM) geophysical methods focus on the electrical conductivity of rocks and sediments to determine the geological structure of the subsurface. Electric conductivity itself is measured in the laboratory with a wide range of instruments and techniques. These measurements seldom return a compatible result. The presence of partially-interconnected random pathways of electrically conductive materials in resistive hosts has been studied for decades, and recently with increasing interest. To comprehend which conductive mechanism scales from the microstructures up to field electrical conductivity measurements, two main branch of studies have been undertaken: statistical probability of having a conductive pathways and mixing laws. Several numerical approaches have been tested to understand the effects of interconnected pathways of conductors at field scale. Usually these studies were restricted in two ways: the sources are considered constant in time (i.e., DC) and the domain is, with few exception, two-dimensional. We simulated the effects of time-varying EM sources on the conductivity measured on the surface of a three-dimensional randomly generated body embedded in an uniform host by using electromagnetic induction equations. We modelled a two-phase mixture of resistive and conductive elements with the goal of comparing the conductivity measured on field scale with the one proper of the elements constituting the random rock, and to test how the internal structures influence the directionality of the responses. Moreover, we modelled data from randomly generated bodies characterized by coherent internal structures, to check the effect of the named structures on the anisotropy of the effective conductivity. We compared these values with the electrical conductivity limits predicted by Hashin-Shtrikman bounds and the effective conductivity predicted by the Archie's law, both cast in its classic form and in an updated that allow to take in account two materials. The same analysis was done for both the resistive and the conductive conductivity values for the anisotropic case.

  11. Atrioventricular node functional remodeling induced by atrial fibrillation.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Youhua; Mazgalev, Todor N

    2012-09-01

    The atrioventricular node (AVN) plays a vital role in determining the ventricular rate during atrial fibrillation (AF). AF results in profound electrophysiological and structural remodeling in the atria as well as the sinus node. However, it is unknown whether AVN undergoes remodeling during AF. To determine whether AVN undergoes functional remodeling during AF. AVN conduction properties were studied in vitro in 9 rabbits with AF and 10 normal controls. A previously validated index of AVN dual-pathway electrophysiology, His-electrogram alternans, was used to monitor fast-pathway or slow-pathway (SP) AVN conduction in these experiments. AVN conduction properties were further studied in vivo in 7 dogs with chronic AF and 8 controls. Compared with the control rabbits, the rabbits with AF had a longer AVN conduction time (83 ± 16 ms vs 68 ± 7 ms; P <.01), longer AVN effective refractory period (141 ± 27 ms vs 100 ± 9 ms; P <.01), an earlier transition from fast-pathway to SP conduction (at a longer prematurity, 249 ± 60 ms vs 171 ± 24 ms; P <.01), and a slower ventricular rate during simulated AF (RR interval 249 ± 42 ms vs 202 ± 12 ms; P <.01). Notably, a larger proportion of conducted beats utilized the SP in AF preparations (92% ± 12% vs 63% ± 32%; P <.05). Long-term AF in dogs resulted in a longer atrioventricular conduction time and AVN effective refractory period and a slower ventricular rate during AF compared with the controls. Pronounced AVN functional electrophysiological remodeling occurs after long-term AF, which could lead to a spontaneous slowing of the ventricular rate. Furthermore, the SP dominance during AF underscores the effectiveness of its modification by ablation for ventricular rate control during AF. Copyright © 2012 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Best strategies to implement clinical pathways in an emergency department setting: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Jabbour, Mona; Curran, Janet; Scott, Shannon D; Guttman, Astrid; Rotter, Thomas; Ducharme, Francine M; Lougheed, M Diane; McNaughton-Filion, M Louise; Newton, Amanda; Shafir, Mark; Paprica, Alison; Klassen, Terry; Taljaard, Monica; Grimshaw, Jeremy; Johnson, David W

    2013-05-22

    The clinical pathway is a tool that operationalizes best evidence recommendations and clinical practice guidelines in an accessible format for 'point of care' management by multidisciplinary health teams in hospital settings. While high-quality, expert-developed clinical pathways have many potential benefits, their impact has been limited by variable implementation strategies and suboptimal research designs. Best strategies for implementing pathways into hospital settings remain unknown. This study will seek to develop and comprehensively evaluate best strategies for effective local implementation of externally developed expert clinical pathways. We will develop a theory-based and knowledge user-informed intervention strategy to implement two pediatric clinical pathways: asthma and gastroenteritis. Using a balanced incomplete block design, we will randomize 16 community emergency departments to receive the intervention for one clinical pathway and serve as control for the alternate clinical pathway, thus conducting two cluster randomized controlled trials to evaluate this implementation intervention. A minimization procedure will be used to randomize sites. Intervention sites will receive a tailored strategy to support full clinical pathway implementation. We will evaluate implementation strategy effectiveness through measurement of relevant process and clinical outcomes. The primary process outcome will be the presence of an appropriately completed clinical pathway on the chart for relevant patients. Primary clinical outcomes for each clinical pathway include the following: Asthma--the proportion of asthmatic patients treated appropriately with corticosteroids in the emergency department and at discharge; and Gastroenteritis--the proportion of relevant patients appropriately treated with oral rehydration therapy. Data sources include chart audits, administrative databases, environmental scans, and qualitative interviews. We will also conduct an overall process evaluation to assess the implementation strategy and an economic analysis to evaluate implementation costs and benefits. This study will contribute to the body of evidence supporting effective strategies for clinical pathway implementation, and ultimately reducing the research to practice gaps by operationalizing best evidence care recommendations through effective use of clinical pathways. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01815710.

  13. Patterns and determinants of pathways to reach comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care (CEmONC) in South Sudan: qualitative diagrammatic pathway analysis.

    PubMed

    Elmusharaf, Khalifa; Byrne, Elaine; AbuAgla, Ayat; AbdelRahim, Amal; Manandhar, Mary; Sondorp, Egbert; O'Donovan, Diarmuid

    2017-08-29

    Maternity referral systems have been under-documented, under-researched, and under-theorised. Responsive emergency referral systems and appropriate transportation are cornerstones in the continuum of care and central to the complex health system. The pathways that women follow to reach Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmONC) once a decision has been made to seek care have received relatively little attention. The aim of this research was to identify patterns and determinants of the pathways pregnant women follow from the onset of labour or complications until they reach an appropriate health facility. This study was conducted in Renk County in South Sudan between 2010 and 2012. Data was collected using Critical Incident Technique (CIT) and stakeholder interviews. CIT systematically identified pathways to healthcare during labour, and factors associated with an event of maternal mortality or near miss through a series of in-depth interviews with witnesses or those involved. Face-to-face stakeholder interviews were conducted with 28 purposively identified key informants. Diagrammatic pathway and thematic analysis were conducted using NVIVO 10 software. Once the decision is made to seek emergency obstetric care, the pregnant woman may face a series of complex steps before she reaches an appropriate health facility. Four pathway patterns to CEmONC were identified of which three were associated with high rates of maternal death: late referral, zigzagging referral, and multiple referrals. Women who bypassed nonfunctional Basic EmONC facilities and went directly to CEmONC facilities (the fourth pathway pattern) were most likely to survive. Overall, the competencies of the providers and the functionality of the first point of service determine the pathway to further care. Our findings indicate that outcomes are better where there is no facility available than when the woman accesses a non-functioning facility, and the absence of a healthcare provider is better than the presence of a non-competent provider. Visiting non-functioning or partially functioning healthcare facilities on the way to competent providers places the woman at greater risk of dying. Non-functioning facilities and non-competent providers are likely to contribute to the deaths of women.

  14. Influence of cellular and paracellular conductance patterns on epithelial transport and metabolism.

    PubMed Central

    Essig, A

    1982-01-01

    Theoretical analysis of transepithelial active Na transport is often based on equivalent electrical circuits comprising discrete parallel active and passive pathways. Recent findings show, however, that Na+ pumps are distributed over the entire basal lateral surface of epithelial cells. This suggests that Na+ that has been actively transported into paracellular channels may to some extent return to the apical (mucosal) bathing solution, depending on the relative conductances of the pathways via the tight junctions and the lateral intercellular spaces. Such circulation, as well as the relative conductance of cellular and paracellular pathways, may have an important influence on the relationships between parameters of transcellular and transepithelial active transport and metabolism. These relationships were examined by equivalent circuit analysis of active Na transport, Na conductance, the electromotive force of Na transport, the "stoichiometry" of transport, and the degree of coupling of transport to metabolism. Although the model is too crude to permit precise quantification, important qualitative differences are predicted between "loose" and "tight" epithelia in the absence and presence of circulation. In contrast, there is no effect on the free energy of metabolic reaction estimated from a linear thermodynamic formalism. Also of interest are implications concerning the experimental evaluation of passive paracellular conductance following abolition of active transport, and the use of the cellular voltage-divider ratio to estimate the relative conductances of apical and basal lateral plasma membranes. PMID:6284264

  15. Biofuels Fuels Technology Pathway Options for Advanced Drop-in Biofuels Production

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kevin L Kenney

    2011-09-01

    Advanced drop-in hydrocarbon biofuels require biofuel alternatives for refinery products other than gasoline. Candidate biofuels must have performance characteristics equivalent to conventional petroleum-based fuels. The technology pathways for biofuel alternatives also must be plausible, sustainable (e.g., positive energy balance, environmentally benign, etc.), and demonstrate a reasonable pathway to economic viability and end-user affordability. Viable biofuels technology pathways must address feedstock production and environmental issues through to the fuel or chemical end products. Potential end products include compatible replacement fuel products (e.g., gasoline, diesel, and JP8 and JP5 jet fuel) and other petroleum products or chemicals typically produced from a barrelmore » of crude. Considering the complexity and technology diversity of a complete biofuels supply chain, no single entity or technology provider is capable of addressing in depth all aspects of any given pathway; however, all the necessary expert entities exist. As such, we propose the assembly of a team capable of conducting an in-depth technology pathway options analysis (including sustainability indicators and complete LCA) to identify and define the domestic biofuel pathways for a Green Fleet. This team is not only capable of conducting in-depth analyses on technology pathways, but collectively they are able to trouble shoot and/or engineer solutions that would give industrial technology providers the highest potential for success. Such a team would provide the greatest possible down-side protection for high-risk advanced drop-in biofuels procurement(s).« less

  16. 78 FR 28749 - Private Land Mobile Radio Stations Below 800 MHz

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-16

    ... private land mobile radio (PLMR) licensing, including increasing the power limit for end-of-train devices, modifying trunking rules for PLMR stations below 800 MHz, and permitting digital transmission of station... provide clear and concise rules that facilitate new wireless technologies, devices and services, and are...

  17. 49 CFR 511.53 - Appeal from initial decision.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... position taken on each question, with specific page references to the record and legal or other material... matters in the brief, with page references, and a table of cases (alphabetically arranged), textbooks, statutes, and other material cited, with page references thereto; (2) A concise statement of the case; (3...

  18. 49 CFR 511.53 - Appeal from initial decision.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... position taken on each question, with specific page references to the record and legal or other material... matters in the brief, with page references, and a table of cases (alphabetically arranged), textbooks, statutes, and other material cited, with page references thereto; (2) A concise statement of the case; (3...

  19. 49 CFR 511.53 - Appeal from initial decision.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... position taken on each question, with specific page references to the record and legal or other material... matters in the brief, with page references, and a table of cases (alphabetically arranged), textbooks, statutes, and other material cited, with page references thereto; (2) A concise statement of the case; (3...

  20. 46 CFR 531.9 - Publication.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... NSAs under this part are also required to make available to the public, contemporaneously with the filing of each NSA with the Commission, and in tariff format, a concise statement of the following... not be made to a tariff of a common carrier other than the NVOCC party to the NSA. (c) Location. The...

  1. 46 CFR 531.9 - Publication.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... NSAs under this part are also required to make available to the public, contemporaneously with the filing of each NSA with the Commission, and in tariff format, a concise statement of the following... not be made to a tariff of a common carrier other than the NVOCC party to the NSA. (c) Location. The...

  2. 46 CFR 531.9 - Publication.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... NSAs under this part are also required to make available to the public, contemporaneously with the filing of each NSA with the Commission, and in tariff format, a concise statement of the following... not be made to a tariff of a common carrier other than the NVOCC party to the NSA. (c) Location. The...

  3. 46 CFR 531.9 - Publication.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... NSAs under this part are also required to make available to the public, contemporaneously with the filing of each NSA with the Commission, and in tariff format, a concise statement of the following... not be made to a tariff of a common carrier other than the NVOCC party to the NSA. (c) Location. The...

  4. 46 CFR 531.9 - Publication.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... NSAs under this part are also required to make available to the public, contemporaneously with the filing of each NSA with the Commission, and in tariff format, a concise statement of the following... not be made to a tariff of a common carrier other than the NVOCC party to the NSA. (c) Location. The...

  5. PechaKucha Presentations: Teaching Storytelling, Visual Design, and Conciseness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lucas, Kristen; Rawlins, Jacob D.

    2015-01-01

    When speakers rely too heavily on presentation software templates, they often end up stultifying audiences with a triple-whammy of bullet points. In this article, Lucas and Rawlins present an alternative method--PechaKucha (the Japanese word for "chit chat")--a presentation style driven by a carefully planned, automatically timed…

  6. Enantioselective Total Synthesis of Natural Isoflavans: Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation/Deoxygenation of Isoflavanones with Dynamic Kinetic Resolution.

    PubMed

    Keßberg, Anton; Lübken, Tilo; Metz, Peter

    2018-05-02

    A concise and highly enantioselective synthesis of structurally diverse isoflavans from a single chromone is described. The key transformation is a single-step conversion of racemic isoflavanones into virtually enantiopure isoflavans by domino asymmetric transfer hydrogenation/deoxygenation with dynamic kinetic resolution.

  7. Beyond [lambda][subscript max] Part 2: Predicting Molecular Color

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Darren L.; Flaherty, Thomas J.; Alnasleh, Bassam K.

    2009-01-01

    A concise roadmap for using computational chemistry programs (i.e., Gaussian 03W) to predict the color of a molecular species is presented. A color-predicting spreadsheet is available with the online material that uses transition wavelengths and peak-shape parameters to predict the visible absorbance spectrum, transmittance spectrum, chromaticity…

  8. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Lead (First External Review Draft, May 2011)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA announced that the First External Review Draft of the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Lead (Pb) was made available for independent peer review and public review. This draft ISA represents a concise synthesis and evaluation of the most policy-relevant science and will ...

  9. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Carbon Monoxide (Second External Review Draft, Sep 2009)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA announced that the Second External Review Draft of the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Carbon Monoxide (CO) and related Annexes was made available for independent peer review and public review. This draft ISA document represents a concise synthesis and evaluation of t...

  10. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Carbon Monoxide (First External Review Draft, Mar 2009)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA announced that the First External Review Draft of the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Carbon Monoxide (CO) and related Annexes was made available for independent peer review and public review. This draft ISA document represents a concise synthesis and evaluation of th...

  11. Technical Snobbery Versus Clear Communicating.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ransone, R. K.

    Jargon, when used properly, defines precisely and concisely the concepts peculiar to a profession. Within a profession, it meets the criteria for clear, brief, specific communication. When used outside that profession, however, it tries to impress rather than to express. Engineers and other professionals need to be taught when--and when not--to…

  12. Effective Strategies for Teaching in K-8 Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Kenneth D.; Hansen, Jacqueline

    2011-01-01

    Featuring a wealth of reflection activities and connections to standards, this concise, easy-to-read teaching methods text equips students with the content knowledge and skills they need to become effective K-8 teachers. The book maximizes instructional flexibility, reflects current educational issues, highlights recent research, and models best…

  13. Post earthquake recovery in natural gas systems--1971 San Fernando Earthquake

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Johnson, W.T. Jr.

    1983-01-01

    In this paper a concise summary of the post earthquake investigations for the 1971 San Fernando Earthquake is presented. The effects of the earthquake upon building and other above ground structures are briefly discussed. Then the damages and subsequent repairs in the natural gas systems are reported.

  14. Women's Health USA, 2003.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Health Resources and Services Administration (DHHS/PHS), Rockville, MD. Bureau of Maternal and Child Health and Resources Development.

    This book provides a collection of current and historical data on some of the most pressing health challenges facing women, their families, and their communities. It is intended to be a concise reference for policymakers and program managers at the federal, state, and local levels. The book brings together the latest available data from various…

  15. Guidelines to Support Professional Copyright Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dryden, Jean

    2012-01-01

    Copyright is extremely complex, and it is difficult to convey its complexities in a clear and concise form. Through decades of experience, archivists developed informal best practices for dealing with copyright in the analog world; however the application of copyright in the digital environment is evolving in response to rapidly changing…

  16. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Oxides of Nitrogen – Health Criteria (Second External Review Draft, 2008)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA has announced that the Second External Review Draft of the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Oxides of Nitrogen – Health Criteria has been made available for independent peer review and public review. This draft ISA document represents a concise synthesis and evaluation...

  17. ECO-Report - Research-management-public partnership continues

    Treesearch

    Jane Kapler Smith; Greg Jones; Nan Christianson; Lucia Solorzano; Gloria Weisgerber; Steve Arno; Sallie J. Hejl; F. Jeremy Wheeler; Timothy S. Redman; Joshua J. Tewksbury; Tom DeLuca; K. Zouhar

    1998-01-01

    ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

  18. Occupational Literacy Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rush, R. Timothy; And Others

    Intended for teachers of adult basic education as well as teachers in job retraining programs, this book focuses on the development of written and oral language competencies required in occupational and training settings. The first four chapters offer a concise synthesis of recent research on adult learning and on workplace literacy for ten…

  19. Russian HyperTutor: Designing Interactive Multimedia for the Macintosh.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitrevski, George

    1995-01-01

    Describes an interactive, multimedia computer program designed to teach Russian grammar, and accompany a commercial textbook. Each of the 35 lessons integrates graphics, sound, and animation. A dictionary and extensive vocabulary exercises are also included. Tutorials provide simple but concise grammar explanations that the teacher can edit or…

  20. ECO-Report - Great issues, great diversions

    Treesearch

    Janie Canton-Thompson; Jim Saveland; Sharon Ritter; Yvette K Ortega; Dean F. Pearson; Mick Harrington; Elaine Kennedy Sutherland; Clint Cook; Greg Jones

    2004-01-01

    ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

  1. ECO-Report - Scientific independence: A key to credibility

    Treesearch

    Sharon Ritter; Janie Canton-Thompson; Leonard F. Ruggiero; Greg Jones; Janet Sullivan; Ward McCaughey; Yvette Ortega; Neal Christensen; Mick Harrington; Deborah Page-Dumroese

    2007-01-01

    EcoReport is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

  2. Testing and Standards: A Brief Encyclopedia.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilde, Sandra

    This reference guide contains clear and concise explanations of concepts related to educational testing and standards. The book may be read straight through as a primer on educational assessment or may be used as a reference for particular topics. The sections are: (1) Accountability (Consumers, Taxpayers, and Citizens); (2) Authenticity in…

  3. An Intervention to Improve School and Student Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shaver, Becky

    2008-01-01

    Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement (GLISI) used ISPI's 10 Standards of Performance Technology to share the design, development, and implementation of an intervention striving to help Georgia districts and schools share their success stories in a clear and concise format. This intervention took the form of a PowerPoint…

  4. Using Human Factors Techniques to Design Text Message Reminders for Childhood Immunization

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahlers-Schmidt, Carolyn R.; Hart, Traci; Chesser, Amy; Williams, Katherine S.; Yaghmai, Beryl; Shah-Haque, Sapna; Wittler, Robert R.

    2012-01-01

    This study engaged parents to develop concise, informative, and comprehensible text messages for an immunization reminder system using Human Factors techniques. Fifty parents completed a structured interview including demographics, technology questions, willingness to receive texts from their child's doctor, and health literacy. Each participant…

  5. Real-World Writing in a Secondary-School Earth-Science Class.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Millette, Patricia Marie

    1991-01-01

    Author describes how 22 first-year high school students became politically active concerning coastal-zone management and wetlands protection. Students translated regulations of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection into plain English. Students wrote their opinions in a concise manner and appeared at a board meeting to influence its…

  6. CounselorQuest: Concise Analyses of Critical Counseling Topics.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walz, Garry R., Comp.

    This document contains 167 Educational Resources and Information Center (ERIC) digests from eight ERIC Clearinghouses covering topics of interest to counselors who work with clients from preschool age through adults. Digests are organized alphabetically by title; three indices help users locate digests alphabetically, by educational level, and by…

  7. Real-Time Computer-Mediated Communication: Email and Instant Messaging Simulation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newman, Amy

    2007-01-01

    As computer-mediated communication becomes increasingly prevalent in the workplace, students need to apply effective writing principles to today's technologies. Email, in particular, requires interns and new hires to manage incoming messages, use an appropriate tone, and craft clear, concise messages. In addition, with instant messaging (IM)…

  8. 32 CFR 37.1005 - What are my general responsibilities concerning the award document?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... requirements. You generally should not incorporate clauses from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR parts 1-53) or Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (48 CFR parts 201-253), because those... for TIAs or other assistance instruments. (c) Is written in clear and concise language, to minimize...

  9. ECO-Report - One ranger's experience in summer 2000

    Treesearch

    Janie Canton-Thompson; Greg Jones; Jane Kapler Smith; Peter Rice; Mick Harrington; Elaine Kennedy Sutherland; Kevin McKelvey; Yvette Ortega; Ward McCaughey; Robert Pfister; Greg Jones; Larry Swanson; Vita Wright

    2001-01-01

    ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

  10. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur - Ecological Criteria (Final Report, Dec 2008)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA announced the availability of the final report, Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur - Ecological Criteria. This document represents a concise synthesis and evaluation of the most policy-relevant science and will ultimately provide the ...

  11. Sudden oak death and Phytophthora ramorum: a summary of the literature

    Treesearch

    John T. Kliejunas

    2010-01-01

    Sudden oak death and Phytophthora ramorum, both first recognized about a decade ago, have been the subject of hundreds of scientific and popular press articles. This document presents a comprehensive, concise summary of sudden oak death and P. ramorum research findings and management activities. Topics covered include...

  12. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Particulate Matter (First External Review Draft, Dec 2008)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA has announced that the First External Review Draft of the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Particulate Matter and related Annexes have been made available for independent peer review and public review. This draft ISA document represents a concise synthesis and e...

  13. Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen – Health Criteria (Final Report, Jul 2008)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Oxides of Nitrogen – Health Criteria document represents a concise synthesis and evaluation of the most policy-relevant science and will ultimately provide the scientific bases for EPA’s decision regarding whether the current standard f...

  14. Occupational Choice Strategy: A Small Group Vocational Counseling Program. Participant's Workbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schriner, Kay Fletcher; Roessler, Richard T.

    The student workbook is part of the Occupational Choice Strategy (OCS) small group vocational counseling program. OCS incorporates: (1) concise occupational information easily accessed by the participants, (2) assessment methods that clarify a client's self-picture and vocational potential, (3) opportunities to practice decision-making and…

  15. Weather Fundamentals: Rain & Snow. [Videotape].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    1998

    The videos in this educational series, for grades 4-7, help students understand the science behind weather phenomena through dramatic live-action footage, vivid animated graphics, detailed weather maps, and hands-on experiments. This episode (23 minutes) gives concise explanations of the various types of precipitation and describes how the water…

  16. Preliminary analysis of an integrated logistics system for OSSA payloads. Volume 3: OSSA integrated logistics support planning document

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Palguta, T.; Bradley, W.; Stockton, T.

    1988-01-01

    Guidance in preparing and updating an integrated logistics support plan (ILSP) is given. Clear, concise, and detailed instructions are provided on the preparation and content of an ILSP in order to ensure a quality document that reflects total program requirements.

  17. Visual Scripting.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Halas, John

    Visual scripting is the coordination of words with pictures in sequence. This book presents the methods and viewpoints on visual scripting of fourteen film makers, from nine countries, who are involved in animated cinema; it contains concise examples of how a storybook and preproduction script can be prepared in visual terms; and it includes a…

  18. Reading Motivation and Reading Engagement: Clarifying Commingled Conceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Unrau, Norman J.; Quirk, Matthew

    2014-01-01

    The constructs of motivation for reading and reading engagement have frequently become blurred and ambiguous in both research and discussions of practice. To address this commingling of constructs, the authors provide a concise review of the literature on motivation for reading and reading engagement and illustrate the blurring of those concepts…

  19. The Really Useful Elementary Science Book

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bloom, Jeffrey W.

    2010-01-01

    Amongst the challenges that elementary teachers may often face as they introduce their students to science is the need to maintain a solid understanding of the many scientific concepts and details themselves. This indispensible resource, intended for pre- and in-service elementary school teachers, provides concise and comprehensible explanation of…

  20. Population. Readings for Senior Secondary Social Studies. Updated 1989.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Victoria International Development Education Association (British Columbia).

    This document contains the information kit developed for the annual Model Summit Conferences for schools in the Victoria, British Columbia (Canada) and surrounding school districts. Materials germane to the conference topic were compiled and assembled for participants. The materials are of current interest, concise, simple and provide a balanced…

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