5,154 research outputs found
Neuropsychology: music of the hemispheres
No full textMusic may be the food of love but it is also good fodder for cognitive scientists. Here we highlight a recent study of a neuropsychological patient who has lost her ability to read music, but not text, in the absence of any other musical deficit
Reformulating the rj-McMC Algorithm for 3D Inversion of Passive Seismic Data for Near-Surface Characterization
No full textGeophysical subsurface characterization techniques could, due to their non-invasive nature, play a crucial role in the design and subsequent construction of infrastructure in urban & industrial environ- ments. Geo-data specialist company Fugro sees potential in upgrading their current ambient-seismic- noise-tomography workflow, to make use of state-of-the-art inversion schemes with the main goal of increasing the quality and accuracy of the initial-site characterization delivered to clients. In this thesis I explore the feasibility of utilizing the reverse-jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (rj-McMC) algorithm for the inversion of ambient seismic noise for characterization in urban & industrial environments. Specif- ically, testing the potential of scaling down this inversion algorithm to fit in a small scale, near-surface framework. To achieve this, I first carried out analyses to evaluate the appropriate Rayleigh wave frequency range, after which realistic noise hyperparameters, suited for this reduced scale problem, were obtained. Because of the potential exploitation of in-situ borehole measurements, I reformulated the Bayesian prior within the rj-McMC algorithm to implement these constraining shear wave velocity values appropriately. I conducted extensive synthetic experiments to gain insight into the behavior of this adapted algorithm, from which it was concluded that the inherent dynamic discretization partially prevents these constraints from being implemented to their full extent. Nevertheless, promising results lead me to conclude that the use of the rj-McMC algorithm for application in near-surface urban & industrial environments is feasible.Applied Geophysics | IDEA Leagu
10 kHz spinal cord stimulation: a retrospective analysis of real-world data from a community-based, interdisciplinary pain facility [Corrigendum]
No full textDiBenedetto DJ, Wawrzyniak KM, Schatman ME, Kulich RJ, Finkelman M. J Pain Res. 2018;11:2929–2941. On page 2931, Figure 1 was incorrect. The correct figure is included below: Read the original articl
A TECNOLOGIA DA INFORMAÇÃO COMO PROPICIADORA DE PROCESSOS DE GOVÊRNO ELETRÔNICO: O CASO DETRAN-RJ
No full textEste artigo discute o papel da tecnologia da informação (TI) como propiciadora da inovação de processos organizacionais, mormente em função da atual disponibilidade de meios para a conectividade eletrônica, através de redes de comunicação de dados e da Internet. O estudo é fundamentado através da análise de um estudo de caso simples, abrangendo o Departamento de Trânsito do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (DETRAN-RJ), onde é demonstrada, empiricamente, a contribuição da tecnologia da informação para inovação de antigos processos produtivos desenvolvidos por esse órgão governamental, relativos à concessão e renovação de carteiras de habilitação em um projeto de Governo Eletrônico
Clowns, Fools, and Killers: An Exploration of Horror, Comedy, and Madness Through the Roles of Murderer 2 and Sir Richard Ratcliffe in William Shakespeare\u27s Richard III
No full textThis document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts with a Concentration in Musical Theatre. It is a detailed account of author RJ Magee’s artistic and scholarly process in creating the roles of Murderer 2 and Sir Richard Ratcliffe in William Shakespeare’s Richard III. The production was performed as part of Minnesota State University, Mankato’s mainstage season in October of 2022. In five chapters, this thesis chronicles the actor’s process: a preproduction analysis, a historical and critical perspective, a rehearsal and performance journal, a post-production analysis, and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included
Use of methodological search filters to identify diagnostic accuracy studies can lead to the omission of relevant studies
No full textOBJECTIVE: To determine the usefulness of methodological filters in search
strategies for diagnostic studies in systematic reviews.
STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We made an inventory of existing methodological search
filters for diagnostic accuracy studies and applied them in PubMed to a reference
set derived from 27 published systematic reviews in a broad range of clinical
fields. Outcome measures were the fraction of not identified relevant studies and
the reduction in the number of studies to read.
RESULTS: We tested 12 search filters. Of the studies included in the systematic
reviews, 2%-28% did not pass the sensitive search filters, 4%-24% did not pass
the accurate filters, and 39%-42% did not pass the specific filters. Decrease in
number-needed-to-read when a search filter was used in a search strategy for a
diagnostic systematic review varied from 0% to 77%.
CONCLUSION: The use of methodological filters to identify diagnostic accuracy
studies can lead to omission of a considerable number of relevant studies that
would otherwise be included. When preparing a systematic review, it may be
preferable to avoid using methodological filters
Disabling chronic conditions in childhood and socioeconomic disadvantage : a systematic review and meta-analyses of observational studies
No full textObjective To determine the association of socioeconomic disadvantage with the prevalence of childhood disabling chronic conditions in high-income countries.
Study design Systematic review and meta-analyses.
Data sources 6 electronic databases, relevant websites, reference lists and experts in the field.
Study selection 160 observational studies conducted in high-income countries with data on socioeconomic status and disabling chronic conditions in childhood, published between 1 January 1991 and 31 December 2013.
Data extraction and synthesis Abstracts were reviewed, full papers obtained, and papers identified for inclusion by 2 independent reviewers. Inclusion decisions were checked by a third reviewer. Where reported, ORs were extracted for low versus high socioeconomic status. For studies reporting raw data but not ORs, ORs were calculated. Narrative analysis was undertaken for studies without data suitable for meta-analysis.
Results 126 studies had data suitable for meta-analysis. ORs for risk estimates were: all-cause disabling chronic conditions 1.72 (95% CI 1.48 to 2.01); psychological disorders 1.88 (95% CI 1.68 to 2.10); intellectual disability 2.41 (95% CI 2.03 to 2.86); activity-limiting asthma 2.20 (95% CI 1.87 to 2.85); cerebral palsy 1.42 (95% CI 1.26 to 1.61); congenital abnormalities 1.41 (95% CI 1.24 to 1.61); epilepsy 1.38 (95% CI 1.20 to 1.59); sensory impairment 1.70 (95% CI 1.39 to 2.07). Heterogeneity was high across most estimates (I2>75%). Of the 34 studies without data suitable for meta-analysis, 26 reported results consistent with increased risk associated with low socioeconomic status.
Conclusions The findings indicate that, in high-income countries, childhood disabling chronic conditions are associated with social disadvantage. Although evidence of an association is consistent across different countries, the review provides limited evidence to explain the association; future research, using longitudinal data, will be required to distinguish low socioeconomic status as the cause or consequence of childhood disabling chronic conditions and the aetiological pathways and mechanisms
Radiation-induced root surface caries restored with glass-ionomer cement placed in conventional and ART cavity preparations: Results at two years
No full textThe document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association (8th Jan 2008). An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Background: There are no published studies comparing the clinical performances of more-viscous glass-ionomer cement (GIC) restorations when placed using conventional and atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) cavity preparation methods to restore root surface caries. Methods: One dentist used encapsulated Fuji IX GP and Ketac-Molar to restore 72 conventional and 74 ART cavity preparations for 15 patients who had received cervicofacial radiation therapy. Two assessors evaluated the restorations at six, 12, and 24 months for retention, marginal defects and surface wear, and recurrent caries. Results: After two years, the cumulative restoration successes were 65.2 per cent for the conventional and 66.2 per cent for the ART cavity preparations, without statistical or clinical significance (P>0.50). Restoration dislodgement accounted for 82.8 per cent and marginal defects for 17.2 per cent of all failures. There were no instances of unsatisfactory restoration wear or recurrent caries observed. Teeth with three or more restored cervical surfaces accounted for 79.3 per cent of all failures (P<0.0001). Conclusions: For root surface caries restored with GIC, the use of hand instruments only with the ART method was an equally effective alternative to conventional rotary instrumentation for cavity preparation. Larger restorations had higher failures, usually from dislodgement.JY Hu, XC Chen, YQ Li, RJ Smales and KH Yi
Review of ‘Child Victims and Restorative Justice’ by Gal. T
No full textThis book comes garlanded with praise from experts in, and advocates of, restorative justice (RJ). Not least amongst those exponents is the most renowned and honoured academic in the RJ field, John Braithwaite (1985). It is potentially an important book, since it represents an advance in terms of the rigour of its arguments and the clarity of its purposes over much writing on children's rights and child victimisation. That said, it is not an easy read. In many ways, this is a challenging book, not least in the paradigmatic change surrounding children we are invited to explore by the author
De novo assembly of Euphorbia fischeriana root transcriptome identifies prostratin pathway related genes
No full textBackground
Euphorbia fischeriana is an important medicinal plant found in Northeast China. The plant roots contain many medicinal compounds including 12-deoxyphorbol-13-acetate, commonly known as prostratin that is a phorbol ester from the tigliane diterpene series. Prostratin is a protein kinase C activator and is effective in the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) by acting as a latent HIV activator. Latent HIV is currently the biggest limitation for viral eradication. The aim of this study was to sequence, assemble and annotate the E. fischeriana transcriptome to better understand the potential biochemical pathways leading to the synthesis of prostratin and other related diterpene compounds.
Results
In this study we conducted a high throughput RNA-seq approach to sequence the root transcriptome of E. fischeriana. We assembled 18,180 transcripts, of these the majority encoded protein-coding genes and only 17 transcripts corresponded to known RNA genes. Interestingly, we identified 5,956 protein-coding transcripts with high similarity (>=75%) to Ricinus communis, a close relative to E. fischeriana. We also evaluated the conservation of E. fischeriana genes against EST datasets from the Euphorbeacea family, which included R. communis, Hevea brasiliensis and Euphorbia esula. We identified a core set of 1,145 gene clusters conserved in all four species and 1,487 E. fischeriana paralogous genes. Furthermore, we screened E. fischeriana transcripts against an in-house reference database for genes implicated in the biosynthesis of upstream precursors to prostratin. This identified 24 and 9 candidate transcripts involved in the terpenoid and diterpenoid biosyntehsis pathways, respectively. The majority of the candidate genes in these pathways presented relatively low expression levels except for 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl 4-diphosphate synthase (HDS) and isopentenyl diphosphate/dimethylallyl diphosphate synthase (IDS), which are required for multiple downstream pathways including synthesis of casbene, a proposed precursor to prostratin.
Conclusion
The resources generated in this study provide new insights into the upstream pathways to the synthesis of prostratin and will likely facilitate functional studies aiming to produce larger quantities of this compound for HIV research and/or treatment of patients
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