73 research outputs found
Mouth Matters: Impact of Therapeutic Communication on Inpatient Oral Hygiene Practices in Medical-Surgical Units
No full textPICOT Question: In adults over 18 years of age on a medical-surgical floor(P), how can therapeutic communication strategies be implemented to encourage oral hygiene practices(I), compare to providing the resources without therapeutic communication(C), in maintenance of daily oral hygiene practices(O), during length of hospital stay(T).https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/nurseresidency/1119/thumbnail.jp
Neural basis for priming of pop-out during visual search revealed with fMRI
No full textMalikovic and Nakayama first showed that visual search efficiency can be influenced by priming effects. Even "pop-out" targets (defined by unique color) are judged quicker if they appear at the same location and/or in the same color as on the preceding trial, in an unpredictable sequence. Here, we studied the potential neural correlates of such priming in human visual search using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that repeating either the location or the color of a singleton target led to repetition suppression of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activity in brain regions traditionally linked with attentional control, including bilateral intraparietal sulci. This indicates that the attention system of the human brain can be "primed," in apparent analogy to repetition-suppression effects on activity in other neural systems. For repetition of target color but not location, we also found repetition suppression in inferior temporal areas that may be associated with color processing, whereas repetition of target location led to greater reduction of activation in contralateral inferior parietal and frontal areas, relative to color repetition. The frontal eye fields were also implicated, notably when both target properties (color and location) were repeated together, which also led to further BOLD decreases in anterior fusiform cortex not seen when either property was repeated alone. These findings reveal the neural correlates for priming of pop-out search, including commonalities, differences, and interactions between location and color repetition. fMRI repetition-suppression effects may arise in components of the attention network because these settle into a stable 1. attractor state" more readily when the same target property is repeated than when a different attentional state is required
The trade-off between accuracy and accessibility of syphilis screening assays.
No full textThe availability of rapid and sensitive methods to diagnose syphilis facilitates screening of pregnant women, which is one of the most cost-effective health interventions available. We have evaluated two screening methods in Tanzania: an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and a point-of-care test (POCT). We evaluated the performance of each test against the Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay (TPPA) as the reference method, and the accessibility of testing in a rural district of Tanzania. The POCT was performed in the clinic on whole blood, while the other assays were performed on plasma in the laboratory. Samples were also tested by the rapid plasma Reagin (RPR) test. With TPPA as reference assay, the sensitivity and specificity of EIA were 95.3% and 97.8%, and of the POCT were 59.6% and 99.4% respectively. The sensitivity of the POCT and EIA for active syphilis cases (TPPA positive and RPR titer ≥ 1/8) were 82% and 100% respectively. Only 15% of antenatal clinic attenders in this district visited a health facility with a laboratory capable of performing the EIA. Although it is less sensitive than EIA, its greater accessibility, and the fact that treatment can be given on the same day, means that the use of POCT would result in a higher proportion of women with syphilis receiving treatment than with the EIA in this district of Tanzania
Modeling age-related differences in immediate memory using SIMPLE
No full textIn the SIMPLE model (Scale Invariant Memory and Perceptual Learning), performance on memory tasks is determined by the locations of items in multidimensional space, and better performance is associated with having fewer close neighbors. Unlike most previous simulations with SIMPLE, the ones reported here used measured, rather than assumed, dimensional values. The data to be modeled come from an experiment in which younger and older adults recalled lists of acoustically confusable and nonconfusable items. A multidimensional scaling solution based on the memory confusions was obtained. SIMPLE accounted for the overall difference in performance both between the two age groups and, within each age group, the overall difference between acoustically confusable and nonconfusable items in terms of the MDS coordinates. Moreover, the model accounted for the serial position functions and error gradients. Finally, the generality of the model’s account was examined by fitting data from an already published study. The data and the modeling support the hypothesis that older adults’ memory may be worse, in part, because of altered representations due to age-related auditory perceptual deficits
Current concepts on oxidative/carbonyl stress, inflammation and epigenetics in pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
No full textChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a global health problem. The current therapies for COPD are poorly effective and the mainstays of pharmacotherapy are bronchodilators. A better understanding of the pathobiology of COPD is critical for the development of novel therapies. In the present review, we have discussed the roles of oxidative/aldehyde stress, inflammation/immunity, and chromatin remodeling in the pathogenesis of COPD. An imbalance of oxidants/antioxidants caused by cigarette smoke and other pollutants/biomass fuels plays an important role in the pathogenesis of COPD by regulating redox-sensitive transcription factors (e.g., NF-κB), autophagy and unfolded protein response leading to chronic lung inflammatory response. Cigarette smoke also activates canonical/alternative NF-κB pathways and their upstream kinases leading to sustained inflammatory response in lungs. Recently, epigenetic regulation has been shown to be critical for the development of COPD because the expression/activity of enzymes that regulate these epigenetic modifications have been reported to be abnormal in airways of COPD patients. Hence, the significant advances made in understanding the pathophysiology of COPD as described herein will identify novel therapeutic targets for intervention in COPD
Kognition und funktionelle Reorganisation bei Kindern mit Rolando-Epilepsie
No full textDie Rolando-Epilepsie (RE) oder benigne Epilepsie mit zentro-temporalen Spikes (BECTS) ist mit ihrer hohen Prävalenz eine der häufigsten kindlichen fokalen idiopathischen Epilepsien. Trotz ihrer Benignität hinsichtlich des Verlaufs, können kognitive Defizite auftreten, die mit der Funktionsstörung der fokalen epileptischen Entladungen in direktem Zusammenhang zu stehen scheinen und letztlich Reorganisationsprozesse auslösen können. Im ersten Teil wird auf die RE im Allgemeinen eingegangen. In einem weiteren Teil werden die neuropsychologischen Aspekte von Patienten mit einer RE diskutiert und in einem dritten Teil werden Einblicke in die Reorganisationsfähigkeit des Gehirns mithilfe bildgebender Verfahren aufgezeigt. Zuletzt wird mit drei publizierten Artikeln, die aus einer in Basel durchgeführten Studie hervorgegangen sind, nochmals auf diese Themen Bezug genommen. Im ersten Artikel wird die kognitive Funktionsfähigkeit von Kindern mit RE mit derer gesunder Kontrollkinder verglichen und mittels funktioneller Magnetresonanztomographie (fMRT) aufgezeigt, wie sprachliche Defizite mithilfe einer Reorganisation behoben werden können. Eine zweite Studie berichtet longitudinal von einem Einzelfall, der durch atypische Rolando-Symptome als Landau-Kleffner-Syndrom (LKS) diagnostiziert wurde. Diese Studie erscheint vor dem Hintergrund interessant, dass eine solche Diagnose sehr selten vorkommt und klinisch einen schwerwiegenderen Verlauf zeigt als die klassische RE, jedoch aus ihr hervorgehen kann und damit zum selben Krankheitsspektrum zu zählen ist. In der letzten Studie wird auf ein relativ neues Thema eingegangen, das sogenannte „Default mode network“ (DMN), welches bei verschiedenen neurologischen sowie psychiatrischen Erkrankungen untersucht worden ist. Das DMN wird bei unterschiedlichsten Störungen als verändert bezeichnet, was wiederum einen Einfluss auf die Kognition der Patienten hat. Diese Arbeit soll insgesamt einen vertieften Einblick in die derzeitige neuropsychologische und bildgebende Forschung bei Kindern mit RE geben
Specialization of the rostral prefrontal cortex for distinct analogy processes
No full textAnalogical reasoning is central to learning and abstract thinking. It involves using a more familiar situation (source) to make inferences about a less familiar situation (target). According to the predominant cognitive models, analogical reasoning includes 1) generation of structured mental representations and 2) mapping based on structural similarities between them. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to specify the role of rostral prefrontal cortex (PFC) in these distinct processes. An experimental paradigm was designed that enabled differentiation between these processes, by temporal separation of the presentation of the source and the target. Within rostral PFC, a lateral subregion was activated by analogy task both during study of the source (before the source could be compared with a target) and when the target appeared. This may suggest that this subregion supports fundamental analogy processes such as generating structured representations of stimuli but is not specific to one particular processing stage. By contrast, a dorsomedial subregion of rostral PFC showed an interaction between task (analogy vs. control) and period (more activated when the target appeared). We propose that this region is involved in comparison or mapping processes. These results add to the growing evidence for functional differentiation between rostral PFC subregions
Iowa History and Culture : A Bibliography of Materials Published Between 1952 and 1986, 1989
No full textThis bibliography was compiled by two reference librarians, Patricia Dawson and David Hudson with the goal of making it easier of tracking down material on Iowa history and culture. This supplements the Iowa History Reference Guide published in 1952 by William Petersen
The MNC and the political economy of low wage female labour in Southeast Asian industrialisation : the case of Malaysia
No full textIn International Political Economy (IPE), feminist perspectives that highlight the centrality of gender relations to the functioning of the global economy have remained largely at the margins of the discipline. This is particularly the case in studies of the multinational firm, where the focus on the relative power of states vis a vis the rising power ofMNCs dominates debates. Although some scholars have sought to evaluate the impact ofMNCs on host societies, this analysis has largely been undertaken in gender neutral terms. The supposed gender-neutrality of multinational investment is reflected more widely in liberal accounts of economic development and globalisation that assume that the incorporation of local societies into the global market economy is a positive force for developmental and "progressive" change. Hence the MNC is regarded as an agent ofglobalisation, and the employment of women in MNCs leads the way for the progressive undermining of "backward" patriarchal attitudes. This thesis rejects this Western-centric discourse of the "progressive firm", suggesting that neither firms nor the global market economy can be perceived in such gender neutral terms. Using case study research, it is suggested that the firm can be seen as drawing upon and benefiting from gender and ethnic divisions deeply embedded in the local political economy of host states.
This thesis, therefore, highlights the important role of gender in Wlderstanding the operations of a firm's overseas investment strategy. The case study firm selected for this thesis is a garment sector firm that has invested in Malaysia. The garment sector has traditionally been reliant on low wage female labour, and the thesis observes how this reliance led to the firm moving offshore in order to seek out new sources of cheap labour for the most labour intensive parts of its production process. But the thesis also draws attention to the role of the Malaysian state in adopting a model of economic development based largely upon the attraction ofFDI into labour-intensive sectors where female labour dominates. So ifFDI is a gendered process (both in terms of the firm's decision to move offshore and in terms of the policies implemented to attract FDI into a developing country), then what are the mechanisms through which this process takes place? This thesis suggests that an analysis of recruitment strategies and practices at the case study firm provides the sort of detail that enables us to examine exactly how the firm engages with the local society that it invests into - in particular how company recruitment strategies enable the firm to mobilise the sort of low paid workers required for labour intensive garment sector production. Thus despite the many advantages that factory employment may bring to women workers, by focusing on the operations of the firm itself (rather than the actual experiences of women workers as many gender and development scholars have done), it can be observed that the firm derives considerable benefit from the operation of gendered divisions oflabour and thus women remain stratified into low paid assembly line work
Publisher Correction: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is an immune escape variant with an altered cell entry pathway (Nature Microbiology, (2022), 7, 8, (1161-1179), 10.1038/s41564-022-01143-7)
No full text\ua9 The Author(s) 2022.In the version of this article initially published, the author affiliation information was incomplete, neglecting to note that Brian J. Willett, Joe Grove, Oscar A. MacLean, Craig Wilkie, Giuditta De Lorenzo, Wilhelm Furnon, Diego Cantoni, Sam Scott, Nicola Logan and Shirin Ashraf contributed equally and that John Haughney, David L. Robertson, Massimo Palmarini, Surajit Ray and Emma C. Thomson jointly supervised the work, as now indicated in the HTML and PDF versions of the article
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