6501 research outputs found
Sort by
Rhetorical empathy in the context of ontology
Get PDFThis article aspires to elaborate the intersection of empathy and rhetoric with particular reference to empathic responsiveness. The argument regarding rhetorical empathy in the context of ontology proceeds through three phases. First, empathy is distinguished ontologically from a psychological mechanism. Second, the different aspects of empathy are exemplified. What brings forth empathy and makes it present? Heidegger’s hermeneutic phenomenology is usefully appropriated for an ontological account of empathy. The elaboration of the intersection of empathy and rhetoric goes beyond Heidegger; and the argument is made that empathy is incomplete without an empathic response. This empathic response is the opening in which rhetorical empathy comes forth. “Empathic response” is synonymous with “rhetorical empathy.” A rigorous and critical empathy knows that it can be wrong. Finally, diverse examples of rhetorical empathy are provided
“THERE’S A TERM FOR THAT?”: MORAL INJURY IN K-5 TEACHERS
No full textThe purpose of this study was to examine how changes in the nature of teacher work due to factors such as high-stakes accountability systems and teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to teachers’ experiences of moral injury. Understanding moral injury is important because it is an issue for teachers who remain in the profession and for those who decide to leave. Moral injury has been examined in the context of American Public Education and scholars have contributed to the growing body of moral injury in teachers. However, a review of the literature reveals the need for more empirical data to understand teachers’ experiences of moral injury. The questions that guided this study are: What are teachers’ experiences of working in a classroom and how, if at all, do those experiences relate to moral injury? In what ways do teachers adjust their expectations about their profession over time and how, if at all, does this relate to moral injury? How do teachers make sense of any incongruence between what they believe is good teaching versus what they feel they can currently do? The method used was modified narrative inquiry. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight experienced teachers (five or more years) in one of six elementary schools in one district in New Jersey
Comparing the Effectiveness of Hyaluronic Acid and Dextrose Prolotherapy Injections in the Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Get PDFBackground: Lateral epicondylitis (LE), commonly referred to as tennis elbow, is characterized by micro-tears to the tendon origin that attaches to the outer portion of the elbow, with the extensor carpi radialis brevis being the most commonly affected tendon. It presents most often amongst manual workers and athletes that participate in repetitive movements. Patients may experience burning and aching sensations that can potentially radiate down to the wrist. Hyaluronic acid is a primary component of synovial fluid and has anti-inflammatory properties and also provides lubrication to joints. Prolotherapy involves injection of an irritant, most commonly dextrose, into the common extensor origin space to stimulate the body’s natural immune response and induce proliferation of new cells. Both hyaluronic acid and prolotherapy injections have proven to be an effective treatment for lateral epicondylitis.
Purpose: This systematic review and meta-analysis compares the effectiveness of hyaluronic acid and dextrose prolotherapy injections in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis 4 weeks and 12 weeks post-injection.
Methods: The systematic review and meta-analysis followed the 2020 PRISMA guidelines. Five databases were screened (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus) for studies that utilized either hyaluronic acid or dextrose prolotherapy. A total of 8 studies contained pre- and post-treatment Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) or Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH). All included studies contained follow up data up to 12 weeks post-injection. 2 dextrose prolotherapy studies contained 1 year VAS follow-up data and were excluded as there were no HA comparison group with 1 year data. The remaining studies consisted of 4 double-blinded, 3 single-blinded randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 1 prospective clinical trial with a total of 427 for final analysis. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS.
Results: Following treatment of the dextrose prolotherapy injections, there was a strong clinically significant decrease in VAS at 12 weeks compared to the hyaluronic acid injection (Cohen’s d = 3.31). Within the HA subgroup, there was slight improvement in VAS scores between 4 and 12 weeks (Difference of Cohen’s d = 0.86). Within the dextrose prolotherapy subgroup, there was significant improvement in VAS scores between 4 and 12 weeks (Cohen’s d = 4.15). No significant difference was identified for QuickDash scores between the two treatment modalities at 12 weeks.
Conclusion: While HA had a slight increase in VAS scores between 4 and 12 weeks, dextrose prolotherapy showed a significant improvement in VAS scores over the same time period. Throughout the studies analyzed, both injection therapies produced similar results at 4 weeks, with clinically significant improvements VAS scores seen at 12 weeks following dextrose prolotherapy
Elastin-like polypeptide as a model to study Intrinsically Disordered Proteins
Get PDFThe elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) is a well-studied structural protein that is easily amenable to amino acid (AA) sequence modifications and has the potential to yield a wide variety of uses in bioengineering and biomedical applications. One unique property of ELP is the inclusion of intrinsically disordered domains (IDP) within the structure that allow for its diversity of physical properties. While it is generally understood that amino acid sequence dictates protein folding arrangements, the contributions of specific amino acid sequences to the intrinsic disorder of ELP has yet to be fully resolved. Therefore, identifying the contributions of specific amino acid sequences to the final physical properties of ELP at the sequence level is an important step in understanding the basis of ELP’s unique biophysical properties. The results of this study resolve the role of amino acid sequence and repeat composition on the disordered structure of ELP. Experimentally, an enhanced synthetic ELP[AV-60] was developed, produced, and purified, with novel photocrosslinking and a transition temperature of 37°C. Computationally, the conserved AA sequence of valine-proline (VP) in the endogenous ELN sequence and its major function in the structure of ELP was identified. Finally, we identified a specific AA monomeric unit, VPGXAG with potential for application in IDPs research
MRI IMAGE REGRESSION CNN FOR BONE MARROW LESION VOLUME PREDICTION
Get PDFBone marrow lesions (BMLs), occurs from fluid build up in the soft tissues inside your bone. This can be seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and is characterized by excess water signals in the bone marrow space. This disease is commonly caused by osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative join disease where tissues within the joint breakdown over time [1]. These BMLs are an emerging target for OA, as they are commonly related to pain and worsening of the diseased area until surgical intervention is required [2]–[4]. In order to assess the BMLs, MRIs were utilized as input into a regression convolutional neural network (CNN). Initial experimentation handled the MRI using each individual slice in a 2D convolutional neural network as a baseline model, eventually progressing to a tensor stacked input into a 3D convolutional neural network. The viability and effectiveness of the models were evaluated using mean absolute error (MAE), mean squared error (MSE), root mean squared error (RMSE), and R2. The 3D regression CNN models were observed to perform better than the 2D regression CNN models
Close Contacts of Xenograft Recipients: Ethical Considerations Due to Risk of Xenozoonosis
Get PDFWith decades of pre-clinical studies culminating in the recent clinical application of xenotransplantation, it would appear timely to provide recommendations for operationalizing oversight of xenotransplantation clinical trials. Ethical issues with clinical xenotransplantation have been described for decades, largely centering on animal welfare, the risks posed to the recipient, and public health risks posed by potential spread of xenozoonosis. Much less attention has been given to considerations relating to potentially elevated risks faced by those who may care for or otherwise have close contact with xenograft recipients. This paper examines the ethical and logistical issues raised by the potential exposure to xenozoonotic disease faced by close contacts of xenotransplant recipients-defined herein as including but not limited to caregivers, household contacts, and sexual partners-which warrants special attention given their increased risk of exposure to infection compared to the general public. We discuss implications of assent or consent by these close contacts to potentially undergo, along with the recipient, procedures for infection screening and possible quarantine. We then propose several options and recommendations for operationalizing oversight of xenotransplantation clinical trials that could account for and address close contacts\u27 education on and agency regarding the risk of xenozoonosis
Near-Neutral Balanced Selection Theory (NNBST): Implication on the molecular evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and Zika virus
Get PDFVirus pandemics have significantly impacted human welfare and development. Understanding the true molecular evolution of viruses is critical for preventing future pandemics and developing the next-generation drugs and vaccines. Unfortunately, viruses exhibiting constant genomic substitution rates (GSRs) despite increasing vaccinations and human infections (SARS-CoV-2) and viruses under seemingly extreme conservation (ZIKV) paints a confusing picture of viral evolution, and the main evolutionary theories (Selectionist Theory, Kimura’s Neutral Theory) cannot explain their molecular evolution. Here, we developed a first-principle model, c/u, to characterize reproductive fitness changes in viruses based on variations in the nucleotide/codon mutation rate (c) with respect to the global genomic mutation rate (u). c/u is nucleotide-centric, since phenotypic changes in proteins are reflected by genotypic changes in genes. c/u can assign selection types to coding regions (virus function) and non-coding untranslated regions (UTRs, virus gene regulation). Additionally, c/u can handle conserved sites (c/u=0) and sites with few mutations under false positive selection (c/u\u3c\u3c\u3e\u3e1). The constant GSRs of SARS-CoV-2 and ZIKV are seemingly under effective neutral selection (c/u=1), indicating no advantageous/disadvantageous fitness change. Yet, the L-shaped probability distribution of c/u for a NT site indicates high sequence conservation, with higher c/u values being increasingly uncommon. Varying nucleotide and segment substitution rates were observed in both viruses, indicating a mixture of advantageous selection (c/u\u3e1) and purifying selection (c/
Snack, Chat and Chill: A virtual nutrition, socialization and stress reduction intervention for adults with disabilities
Get PDFObjective: Create and evaluate a virtual intervention to improve dietary habits, social interaction, and stress management among persons with disabilities (PwD). Assess validity and reliability of survey instruments to measure intervention constructs.
Design: Pre- and post-intervention surveys; post-intervention focus groups.
Setting: Virtual sessions from home kitchens.
Participants: Adults ages 18 and older with intellectual and developmental disabilities (n=27) and their caregivers (n=15).
Intervention: Eight 75-minute sessions included preparing and eating a healthy snack, a nutrition game and discussion, and a guided relaxation activity.
Main Outcome Measures: PwD’s knowledge, attitudes and behaviors; and caregivers’ perceptions of PwD’s attitudinal and behavioral measures were assessed.
Analysis: T-tests, correlational analysis and McNemar’s tests were used with quantitative data. Thematic analysis was used with focus group data.
Results: Reliability and content validity were acceptable for perceived stress, loneliness and sleep quality assessments, but not for dietary factor assessments. Caregivers were reliable proxies for assessing PwD. Post-session knowledge was demonstrated most frequently for Mindful Eating and least frequently for Portion Sizes. No significant changes in dietary habits were measured post-intervention.
Conclusions and Implications: The online intervention was well-received and feasible. Valid and reliable survey instruments for dietary factors are needed for the disability population