Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment and Treatment of Cognition and Communication Skills in Adults With Acquired Brain Injury via Telepractice: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE This is a systematic review of assessment and treatment of cognitive and communicative abilities of individuals with acquired brain injury via telepractice versus in person. The a priori clinical questions were informed by previous research that highlights the importance of considering any functional implications of outcomes, determining disorder- and setting-specific concerns, and measuring the potential impact of diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy data on interpretation of findings. METHOD A literature search of multiple databases (e.g., PubMed) was conducted using key words and study inclusion criteria associated with the clinical questions. RESULTS Ten group studies were accepted that addressed assessment of motor speech, language, and cognitive impairments; assessment of motor speech and language activity limitations/participation restrictions; and treatment of cognitive impairments and activity limitations/participation restrictions. In most cases, equivalence of outcomes was noted across service delivery methods. CONCLUSIONS Limited findings, lack of diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy data, and heterogeneity of assessments and interventions precluded robust evaluation of clinical implications for telepractice equivalence and the broader area of telepractice efficacy. Future research is needed that will build upon current knowledge through replication. In addition, further evaluation at the impairment and activity limitation/participation restriction levels is needed.
In Vitro Cytokine Responses to Periodontal Pathogens: Generalized Aggressive Periodontitis is Associated with Increased IL‐6 Response to Porphyromonas gingivalis

Generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAgP) is an inflammatory condition resulting in destruction of tooth‐supporting tissues. We examined the production of IL‐1β, IL‐6, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, IL‐12 and IL‐10 in cultures of peripheral mononuclear cells (MNC) from 10 patients with GAgP and 10 controls stimulated with periodontal pathogens or a control antigen, tetanus toxoid (TT) in the presence of autologous serum. The pathogens used were Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia and Fusobacterium nucleatum, either as type strains or bacteria isolated from the participants’ inherent oral flora. The P. gingivalis ‐induced production of IL‐6 was approximately 2.5‐fold higher in patients with GAgP than in healthy controls (P < 0.05), while the corresponding TNF‐α production was non‐significantly elevated. IL‐1β production induced by P. gingivalis, as all cytokine responses induced by Pr. intermedia, F. nucleatum and TT was similar in the two groups. A reduced IL‐12p70 response to Pr. intermedia and F. nucleatum was observed in smokers compared to non‐smoking patients (P < 0.02). To assess the role of serum factors in the elevated IL‐6 response to P. gingivalis, MNC from two donors free of disease were stimulated with this bacterium in the presence of the various patient and control sera. An elevated IL‐6 and TNF‐α response was observed in the presence of patient sera (P < 0.01 and P < 0.04, respectively). The data suggest that an exaggerated production of IL‐6 occurs in GAgP, and that pro‐inflammatory serum factors play an essential role in the response.
Projections of chemically identified myenteric neurons of the small and large intestine of the mouse

The projections of different subpopulations of myenteric neurons in the mouse small and large intestine were examined by combining immunohistological techniques with myotomy and myectomy operations. The myotomies were used to examine the polarity of neurons projecting within the myenteric plexus and showed that neurons containing immunoreactivity for nitric oxide synthase (NOS), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), calbindin and 5‐HT projected anally, while neurons with substance P (SP)‐immunoreactivity projected orally, in both the small and large intestine. Neurons containing neuropeptide Y (NPY)‐ and calretinin‐immunoreactivity projected locally. In the large intestine, GABA‐immunoreactive neurons projected both orally and anally, with more axons tending to project anally. Myectomy operations revealed that circular muscle motor neurons containing NOS/VIP/±NPY and calretinin neurons projected anally both in the small and large intestine, while SP‐immunoreactive circular muscle motor neurons projected orally. In the large intestine, GABA‐IR circular muscle motor neurons projected both orally and anally. This study showed that although some neurons, such as the NOS/VP inhibitory motor neurons and interneurons, SP excitatory motor neurons and 5‐HT interneurons had similar projections to those in other species, the projections of other chemical classes of neurons in the mouse intestine differed from those reported in other species.
An integrated microfluidic system for antibiotic resistance gene identification capable differentiating live and dead of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus

This study presents an integrated microfluidic system which can identify the vancomycin resistant gene (vanA) from live hetero-bacteria automatically. In this study, a new approach to diagnose the vanA gene from live hetero-bacteria by using ethidium monoazide (EMA) and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) was proposed and its feasibility was tested and verified. In addition, an integrated microfluidic system including a microfluidic chip and a home-made control system was also demonstrated. The experimental results showed that the developed system can detect the vanA gene from “live” Enterococcus but not “dead” Enterococcus successfully with a detection limit of 10 colony formation units (CFU). The entire process including the sample pre-treatment process could be automated within 1 hour. This is the first time that an integrated microfluidic system was demonstrated to diagnose the vanA gene from live bacteria by using a molecular diagnosis approach. With its high sensitivity and accuracy, the proposed system may be promising to verify antibiotic resistance genes from live hetero-bacteria which cannot be achieved by using the existing diagnostic methods.
Comparative inhibition of mitochondrial and cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinases by stereospecific substrate analogues.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase [GTP:oxaloacetate carboxy-lyase (transphosphorylating), EC 4.1. 1.32] was purified from the liver of several species; the mitochondrial enzyme and the cytosolic enzyme were separated from each other. The species included guinea pig, monkey, rat, and chicken. Each enzyme was assayed for inhibition by the substrate analogues E-2-phosphoenolbutyrate and Z-2-phosphoenolbutyrate. Each enzyme tested displayed the same stereospecificity: the E diastereoisomer was the more potent inhibitor than the Z. These results suggest an active site homology for all carboxykinases. The absolute values for Ki measured show that in almost every case the mitochondrial enzyme is more susceptible to inhibition by these analogues than is the cytosolic enzyme. The Ki values are one-fifth those for the mitochondrial enzymes. These results imply subtle differences in ligand interactions at the active sites of these enzymes.
A decade of molecular biology of retinoic acid receptors

Retinoids play an important role in development, differentiation, and homeostasis. The discovery of retinoid receptors belonging to the superfamily of nuclear ligand‐activated transcriptional regulators has revolutionized our molecular understanding as to how these structurally simple molecules exert their pleiotropic effects. Diversity in the control of gene expression by retinoid signals is generated through complexity at different levels of the signaling pathway. A major source of diversity originates from the existence of two families of retinoid acid (RA) receptors (R), the RAR isotypes (α, β, and γ) and the three RXR isotypes (α, β, and γ), and their numerous isoforms, which bind as RXR/RAR heterodimers to the polymorphic cis.acting response elements of RA target genes. The possibility of cross‐modulation (cross‐talk) with cell‐surface receptors signaling pathways, as well as the finding that RARs and RXRs interact with multiple putative coactivators and/or corepressors, generates additional levels of complexity for the array of combinatorial effects that underlie the pleiotropic effects of retinoids. This review focuses on recent developments, particularly in the area of structure‐ function relationships. —Chambon, P. A decade of molecular biology of retinoic acid receptors. FASEB J. 10, 940‐954 (1996)
Alteration of a single serine in the basic domain of the Epstein-Barr virus ZEBRA protein separates its functions of transcriptional activation and disruption of latency

The ZEBRA protein from Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) activates a switch from the latent to the lytic expression program of the virus. ZEBRA, a member of the bZIP family of DNA-binding proteins, is a transcriptional activator capable of inducing expression from viral lytic cycle promoters. It had previously been thought that ZEBRA's capacity to disrupt EBV latency resided primarily in its ability to activate transcription of genes that encode products required for lytic replication. We generated a point mutant of ZEBRA, Z(S186A), that was not impaired in its ability to activate transcription; however, this mutation abolished its ability to initiate the viral lytic cascade. The mutant, containing a serine-to-alanine substitution in the DNA-binding domain of the protein, bound to several known ZEBRA-binding sites and activated transcription from reporters bearing known ZEBRA-responsive promoters but did not disrupt latency in EBV-infected cell lines. Therefore, initiation of the EBV lytic cycle by the ZEBRA protein requires a function in addition to transcriptional activation; a change of serine 186 to alanine in the DNA-binding domain of ZEBRA abolished this additional function and uncovered a new role for the ZEBRA protein in disruption of EBV latency. The additional function that is required for initiation of the lytic viral life cycle is likely to require phosphorylation of serine 186 of the ZEBRA protein, which may influence either DNA recognition or transcriptional activation of lytic viral promoters in a chromatinized viral episome.
Motor Design and Characteristics Comparison of Outer-Rotor-Type BLDC Motor and BLAC Motor Based on Numerical Analysis

In this study, we dealt with the design and characteristics of an outer-rotor type motor applied for the blower system of a vehicle according to a brushless dc motor (BLDCM) and a brushless ac motor (BLACM) through finite element analysis (FEA). In order to guarantee proper back electromotive force (BEMF) waveforms for each model, 8-pole/12-slot and 16-pole/12-slot types were applied to a BLDCM and a BLACM, respectively. Furthermore, we designed and analyzed all models based on a 3-D FEA to consider the 3-D effect of the end-plate of the rotor core. As a result, the BLACM was verified as having an advantage in the reduction of torque ripple and motor size, under identical current density conditions, considering the driving method. Finally, we suggest a 4-parallel delta-winding for a 12-slot motor to improve the winding usability.
ShareRender: Bypassing GPU Virtualization to Enable Fine-grained Resource Sharing for Cloud Gaming

Cloud gaming is promising to provide high-quality game services by outsourcing game execution to cloud so that users can access games via thin clients (e.g., smartphones or tablets). However, existing cloud gaming systems su er from low GPU utilization in the virtualized environment. Moreover, GPU resources are scheduled in units of virtual machines (VMs) and this kind of coarse-grained scheduling at the VM-level fails to fully exploit GPU processing capacity. In this paper, we present ShareRender, a cloud gaming sys- tem that o oads graphics workloads within VMs directly to GPUs, bypassing GPU virtualization. For each game running in a VM, ShareRender starts a graphics wrapper to intercept frame rendering requests and assign them to render agents responsible for frame rendering on GPUs. Thanks to the exible workload assignment among multiple render agents, ShareRender enables ne-grained resource sharing at the frame-level to signi cantly improve GPU utilization. Further more, we design an online algorithm to determine workload assignment and migration of render agents, which considers the tradeo between minimizing the number of active server and low agent migration cost. We conduct experiments on real deployment and trace-driven simulations to evaluate the performance of ShareRender under di erent system settings. The results show that ShareRender outperforms the existing video-streaming-based cloud gaming system by over 4 times.
Risk and vulnerability in social assistance receipt of young adults in Finland

Social background may affect not only individuals’ wellbeing, but also their ability to manage the typical and problematic transitions occurring during young adulthood. Hence, this article has used Finnish population register data to analyse how social background and critical life-course factors predict the number of months of social assistance received annually among young adults aged 19–29. Special interest was given to asking whether those with a disadvantaged social background are more vulnerable to the effects of critical life-course factors. The results showed that social background and critical life-course factors have independent effects on social assistance receipt. Additionally, this study shows that the effects and the incidence of critical life-course factors can be affected by social background.
Öğretmen Motivasyonunun Artırılmasında “ÖNKAS” Ödül Sistemi

Ogretmenler egitim ogretim faaliyetlerinin merkezinde yer almaktadir. Bu nedenle ogretmenleri motive edici calismalar yapilmalidir. Ogretmenlerle ilgili mevcut yasal duzenlemelerde motivasyonu arttirmaya yonelik planlama eksikligi acikca gorulmektedir. Bu calisma ogretmen motivasyonunun arttirilmasina yonelik odullendirme sistemi onerisini icermektedir.Ogretmenleri ilgilendiren kanunlar incelendiginde; 657 sayili Devlet Memurlari Kanununda memurlar icin “Basari ve Ustun Basari” belgeleri ongorulmus ancak bu belgeleri alabilmesi icin memurlardan beklenen davranislar oznel ifadelerle aciklanmistir. Ayni kanunda memurlar icin ongorulen cezalar ise en ince ayrintisina kadar belirtilmistir. 1702 sayili kanunda ogretmenlerin odullendirilmesi icin“Orijinal bir eser” olusturma sarti konmus ancak orijinal eserden neyin kastedildigi acikca belirtilmemistir. Buna karsin ayni kanunda cezalara meslekten cikarilmaya kadar detayli bir sekilde yer verilmistir. 4357 sayili kanunda, ogretmenler icin bir takim oduller ongorulmus fakat kanunda belirtilen “Ustun basarili sayilmak, Basogretmen namzedi unvani verilmek, Maarif memuru namzedi unvani verilmek, Yeni bir tesise adi verilmek, Ulku eri sayilmak” seklinde belirtilen oduller kanunun yayinlandigi 1943 yilinda belirlenmistir. Kanunun yayinlandigi donem ile gunumuz arasinda gecen surede calisma sartlari ve ogretmen rolleri degismistir. Bu yuzden gunumuz calisma sartlarina uygun oduller ve odullendirme kriterleri belirlenmelidir. MEB personelinin aylikla odullendirilmesi, takdir, tesekkur verilmesi gibi odulleri iceren yonergeler ise 2643 sayili resmi gazetede yayinlanan yonerge ile kaldirilmistir. Arastirma ekibi tarafindan hazirlanip gelistirilen ve ogretmen motivasyonunu arttirmasi amaclanan ONKAS (Olculebilir, Nesnel, Kesin, Acik, Somut) odullendirme sistemi, onerisi ile okullarda egitim kalitesinin artacagi ve odul adaletinin saglanacagi dusunulmektedir.
‘And the beat goes on’ The cardiac conduction system: the wiring system of the heart

The cardiac conduction system (CCS), consisting of the sino‐atrial node, atrioventricular node and His–Purkinje system, is responsible for the initiation and co‐ordination of the heart beat. In the last decade, our understanding of the CCS has been transformed. Immunohistochemistry, used in conjunction with anatomical techniques, has transformed our understanding of its anatomy; arguably, we now understand the position of the sino‐atrial node (not the same as in medical textbooks), and our new understanding of the atrioventricular node anatomy means that we can compute its physiological and pathophysiological behaviour. Ion channel expression in the CCS has been shown to be fundamentally different from that in the working myocardium. Dysfunction of the CCS has previously been attributed to fibrosis, but it is now clear that remodelling of ion channels plays an important role in dysfunction during ageing, heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Differences in ion channel expression may even be responsible for the bradycardia in the athlete and differences in heart rate among different species (such as humans and mice). Recent work has highlighted less well‐known components of the CCS, including tricuspid, mitral and aortic rings and even a third (retro‐aortic) node. These additional tissues do not participate in the initiation and co‐ordination of the heart beat and instead they are likely to be the source of various life‐threatening arrhythmias. During embryological development, all parts of the CCS have been shown to develop from the primary myocardium of the linear heart tube, partly under the influence of the transcription factor, Tbx3.
The design and implementation of a virtual machine operating system using a Virtual Access Method

In the autumn of 1969, we decided to try a new approach to the design of a virtual machine operating system. Until that time, most installations using Virtual Machine Monitors merely ran operating systems that already existed for “stand-alone” use. Few, if any, installations had attempted to design and create an operating system that took advantage of its running environment. The Virtual Machine Monitor we were using was a highly modified version of CP-67 which was designed to operate on an IBM S/360 Model 67. Our design motivation centered on the reduction of CP-67 overhead by reducing the amount of virtual memory required to support the operating system. A secondary design goal was to produce a “production oriented” system. The resulting operating system should be able to be “tailored” to a particular user's requirements. The design of the New System (NS), as it came to be called, revolved around the fact that it not only knew it was executing within a virtual machine, but took advantage of it. Special communication links were designed and installed allowing NS to more directly control its paging and I/O profile.
Haemostatic management of cardiac surgical haemorrhage

Almost 30 000 cardiopulmonary bypass operations are performed in the UK every year, consuming a considerable portion of the UK blood supply. Each year, in cardiac surgery, 90% of blood products are used by only 10% of patients, and over the past 25 years, much innovation and research has gone into improving peri‐operative diagnosis and therapy for these patients. Visco‐elastic tests performed at the bedside, with modifications to allow direct quantification of fibrinogen levels, are probably the biggest advancement. There is no clear advantage of thromboelastometry over thromboelastography, and the published literature remains scarce. Visco‐elastic testing has recently been coupled with the systematic replacement of clotting factors by means of factor concentrates, with objective improvement in terms of blood loss, red blood cell usage and surgical re‐exploration. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has reviewed the available evidence and recommended visco‐elastic tests as cost effective in cardiac surgery. Factor concentrates, however, carry significant risks, particularly unnecessary donor exposures, potential selective over‐correction of partial deficiencies and the possibility that the postoperative risk of venous thromboembolism is increased; as yet there are no data on risk–benefit analysis. There are a number of promising drugs used in topical haemostasis, but the requirement to apply these before major bleeding is manifest limits their use considerably. Hyperfibrinolysis is less important than in the past due to the wide spread adoption of antifibrinolytic agents and close intra‐operative monitoring of heparin effect.
Increased release and activity of matrix metalloproteinase‐9 in patients with mandibuloacral dysplasia type A, a rare premature ageing syndrome

Mandibuloacral dysplasia type A (MADA; OMIM 248370), a rare disorder caused by mutation in the LMNA gene, is characterized by post‐natal growth retardation, craniofacial and skeletal anomalies (mandibular and clavicular hypoplasia, acroosteolysis, delayed closure of cranial sutures, low bone mass and joint contractures), cutaneous changes and partial lipodystrophy. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms by which LMNA mutations produce bone alterations. An altered bone extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling could play a pivotal role in this disorder and influence part of the typical bone phenotype observed in patients. Therefore, we have focused our investigation on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which are degradative enzymes involved in ECM degradation and ECM remodelling, thus likely contributing to the altered bone mineral density and bone metabolism values seen in five MADA patients. We evaluated the serum levels of several MMPs involved in bone development, remodelling and homeostasis, such as MMP‐9, ‐2, ‐3, ‐8 and ‐13, and found that only the 82 kDa active enzyme forms of MMP‐9 are significantly higher in MADA sera compared with healthy controls (n = 16). The serum level of MMP‐3 was instead lower in all patients. No significant differences were observed between controls and MADA patients for the serum levels of MMP‐2, ‐8 and ‐13 and of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2, a natural inhibitor of MMP‐9. Similarly, normal serum levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α), interleukin (IL)‐6 and IL‐1β were detected. These data suggest a possible involvement of MMP‐9 in MADA disease, underlying the potential use in diagnosis and therapy.
Prevalence of hearing loss and differences by demographic characteristics among US adults: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004.

BACKGROUND Hearing loss affects health and quality of life. The prevalence of hearing loss may be growing because of an aging population and increasing noise exposure. However, accurate national estimates of hearing loss prevalence based on recent objective criteria are lacking. METHODS We determined hearing loss prevalence among US adults and evaluated differences by demographic characteristics and known risk factors for hearing loss (smoking, noise exposure, and cardiovascular risks). A national cross-sectional survey with audiometric testing was performed. Participants were 5742 US adults aged 20 to 69 years who participated in the audiometric component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004. The main outcome measure was 25-dB or higher hearing loss at speech frequencies (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) and at high frequencies (3, 4, and 6 kHz). RESULTS In 2003-2004, 16.1% of US adults (29 million Americans) had speech-frequency hearing loss. In the youngest age group (20-29 years), 8.5% exhibited hearing loss, and the prevalence seems to be growing among this age group. Odds of hearing loss were 5.5-fold higher in men vs women and 70% lower in black subjects vs white subjects. Increases in hearing loss prevalence occurred earlier among participants with smoking, noise exposure, and cardiovascular risks. CONCLUSIONS Hearing loss is more prevalent among US adults than previously reported. The prevalence of US hearing loss differs across racial/ethnic groups, and our data demonstrate associations with risk factors identified in prior smaller-cohort studies. Our findings also suggest that hearing loss prevention (through modifiable risk factor reduction) and screening should begin in young adulthood.