The Development of an Evaluational Process for the Group Home Project of the Northeast Multnomah District of Childrens\u27 Service Division

Childrens\u27 Services Division of the State of Oregon is involved in a group home project. They have to date nine group homes in operation within Multnomah County. Their staff consists of a director, three social workers and the group home provider staff. The primary goal for this practicum was the development of an evaluative system that would establish descriptions of the type of client who entered the Group Home Program and some criteria for success in that program. In developing this system, it was necessary to design instruments to measure behavioral changes and attitudes and also to collect descriptive data. Such a system should be as comprehensive as possible while remaining fairly simple and easy to implement. A secondary goal was to pre-test the evaluative system and gather data for the use of the Group Home Project. The instruments could be used continuously in an on-going evaluative process with pre-test data as a standard by which to set more definite objectives and evaluation of the program. Finally the information gathered could be valuable for the 1975 Legislative review

Signaling emotion and reason in cooperation

We explore the signal value of emotion and reason in human cooperation. Across four experiments utilizing dyadic prisoner dilemma games, we establish three central results. First, individuals infer prosocial feelings and motivations from signals of emotion. As a result, individuals believe that a reliance on emotion signals that one will cooperate more so than a reliance on reason. Second, these beliefs are generally accurate—those who act based on emotion are more likely to cooperate than those who act based on reason. Third, individuals’ behavioral responses towards signals of emotion and reason depends on their own decision mode: those who rely on emotion tend to conditionally cooperate (that is, cooperate only when they believe that their partner has cooperated), whereas those who rely on reason tend to defect regardless of their partner’s signal. These findings shed light on how different decision processes, and lay theories about decision processes, facilitate and impede cooperation

Pengembangan Modul Intervensi Untuk Meningkatkan Resiliensi Pada Individu Yang Mengalami Perubahan Fisik Menjadi Penyandang Disabilitas

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menindaklanjuti temuan sebelumnya dengan mengembangkan modul intervensi secara terperinci, yang selanjutnya dapat digunakan sebagai panduan dalam membantu meningkatkan resiliensi individu yang mengalami Perubahan kondisi fisik menjadi penyandang disabilitas. Penulis menyusun serta merinci rancangan implementasi awal yang direkomendasikan oleh penelitian sebelumnya kedalam langkah-langkah yang lebih sistematis dan operasional hingga memperoleh hasil akhir berupa modul. Metode yang digunakan berbasis tahapan riset aksi, meskipun proses yang dilakukan hanya sampai pada langkah ketiga, yaitu Perumusan solusi dari persoalan yang diangkat. Partisipan terdiri dari delapan individu yang mengalami Perubahan kondisi menjadi penyandang disabilitas. Selain partisipan, empat orang psikolog juga dilibatkan dalam penelitian ini sebagai penelaah modul. Hasil penelitian ini berupa sebuah paket modul intervensi untuk peningkatan resiliensi melalui penguatan faktor protektif serta pengembangan strategi koping dan adaptasi pada individu yang mengalami Perubahan kondisi fisik menjadi penyandang disabilitas. Paket modul tersebut terdiri dari 5 sub-modul yang telah disusun sedemikian rupa untuk memudahkan pelaksanaannya, terdiri dari modul: (1) memperkuat dukungan keluarga terhadap penyandang disabilitas; (2) pendampingan awal penyandang disabilitas; (3) intervensi lanjut 1 (penguatan faktor protektif internal); (4) intervensi lanjut 2 (pengembangan strategi koping); dan (5) intervensi lanjut 3 (langkah adaptasi positif)

Endocytic delivery of lipocalin-siderophore-iron complex rescues the kidney from ischemia-reperfusion injury

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (Ngal), also known as siderocalin, forms a complex with iron-binding siderophores (Ngal:siderophore:Fe). This complex converts renal progenitors into epithelial tubules. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that Ngal:siderophore:Fe protects adult kidney epithelial cells or accelerates their recovery from damage. Using a mouse model of severe renal failure, ischemia-reperfusion injury, we show that a single dose of Ngal (10 microg), introduced during the initial phase of the disease, dramatically protects the kidney and mitigates azotemia. Ngal activity depends on delivery of the protein and its siderophore to the proximal tubule. Iron must also be delivered, since blockade of the siderophore with gallium inhibits the rescue from ischemia. The Ngal:siderophore:Fe complex upregulates heme oxygenase-1, a protective enzyme, preserves proximal tubule N-cadherin, and inhibits cell death. Because mouse urine contains an Ngal-dependent siderophore-like activity, endogenous Ngal might also play a protective role. Indeed, Ngal is highly accumulated in the human kidney cortical tubules and in the blood and urine after nephrotoxic and ischemic injury. We reveal what we believe to be a novel pathway of iron traffic that is activated in human and mouse renal diseases, and it provides a unique method for their treatment

Risk factors for oral mucositis in paediatric oncology patients receiving alkylant chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: We describe the risk indicators for oral mucositis (OM) in paediatric oncology patients hospitalised in the Institut Gustave Roussy (Villejuif-Paris) and treated with alkylant chemotherapy with autologous peripheral blood progenitor cells. METHODS: The sample was selected using PIGAS software. Three groups of subjects received different chemotherapy regimens: A. Melphalan, B. Busulfan and C. other alkylant protocols. The degree of mucositis was recorded by CTC version 2.0 (Common Toxicity Criteria). Descriptive statistics were performed. The association between mucositis and risk indicator variables was tested using a χ(2 )test. The association between case status and covariates was tested using unconditional logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 337 children enrolled, 241 showed mucositis (group 1) and 96 did not show mucositis (group 2) during alkylant chemotherapy. There was a higher prevalence of male patients in both groups. The three different chemotherapy regimen groups are correlated with the appearance of oral mucositis (χ(2 )= 22.42, p < 0.01). Weight loss was higher in group 1 (χ(2 )= 6.31, p = 0.01). The duration of aplasia was lower in the Busulfan protocol (7.5 days) than in the Melphalan group (9.3 days) or the other regimens (8.6 days). The use of Bufulfan(® )was directly associated with case status (presence of oral mucositis): odds ratio [OR] = 2.1 and confidence interval [95%CI] = 1.3–3.0. Also, occurrences of germinal tumours and secondary bacterial infections were directly linked with case status: [OR] = 1.4 and 1.8, confidence interval [95%CI] = 1.2 – 1.7 and 1.1 – 2.5, respectively. CONCLUSION: The presence of OM was associated with the three different chemotherapy regimens considered; in particularly patients treated with Busulfan had the highest prevalence

Transcription factor TFCP2L1 patterns cells in the mouse kidney collecting ducts

Although most nephron segments contain one type of epithelial cell, the collecting ducts consists of at least two: intercalated (IC) and principal (PC) cells, which regulate acid-base and salt-water homeostasis, respectively. In adult kidneys, these cells are organized in rosettes suggesting functional interactions. Genetic studies in mouse revealed that transcription factor Tfcp2l1 coordinates IC and PC development. Tfcp2l1 induces the expression of IC specific genes, including specific H(+)-ATPase subunits and Jag1. Jag1 in turn, initiates Notch signaling in PCs but inhibits Notch signaling in ICs. Tfcp2l1 inactivation deletes ICs, whereas Jag1 inactivation results in the forfeiture of discrete IC and PC identities. Thus, Tfcp2l1 is a critical regulator of IC-PC patterning, acting cell-autonomously in ICs, and non-cell-autonomously in PCs. As a result, Tfcp2l1 regulates the diversification of cell types which is the central characteristic of 'salt and pepper' epithelia and distinguishes the collecting duct from all other nephron segments

Localization of a gene for nonsyndromic renal hypodysplasia to chromosome 1p32-33.

Nonsyndromic defects in the urinary tract are the most common cause of end-stage renal failure in children and account for a significant proportion of adult nephropathy. The genetic basis of these disorders is not fully understood. We studied seven multiplex kindreds ascertained via an index case with a nonsyndromic solitary kidney or renal hypodysplasia. Systematic ultrasonographic screening revealed that many family members harbor malformations, such as solitary kidneys, hypodysplasia, or ureteric abnormalities (in a total of 29 affected individuals). A genomewide scan identified significant linkage to a 6.9-Mb segment on chromosome 1p32-33 under an autosomal dominant model with reduced penetrance (peak LOD score 3.5 at D1S2652 in the largest kindred). Altogether, three of the seven families showed positive LOD scores at this interval, demonstrating heterogeneity of the trait (peak HLOD 3.9, with 45% of families linked). The chromosome 1p32-33 interval contains 52 transcription units, and at least 23 of these are expressed at stage E12.5 in the murine ureteric bud and/or metanephric mesenchyme. These data show that autosomal dominant nonsyndromic renal hypodysplasia and associated urinary tract malformations are genetically heterogeneous and identify a locus for this common cause of human kidney failure

A machine learning-derived risk score to predict left ventricular diastolic dysfunction from clinical cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging

IntroductionThe evaluation of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) by clinical cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) remains a challenge. We aimed to train and evaluate a machine-learning (ML) algorithm for the assessment of LVDD by clinical CMR variables and to investigate its prognostic value for predicting hospitalized heart failure and all-cause mortality.MethodsLVDD was characterized by echocardiography following the ASE guidelines. Eight demographic and nineteen common clinical CMR variables including delayed enhancement were used to train Random Forest models with a Bayesian optimizer. The model was evaluated using bootstrap and five-fold cross-validation. Area under the ROC curve (AUC) was utilized to evaluate the model performance. An ML risk score was used to stratify the risk of heart failure hospitalization and all-cause mortality.ResultsA total of 606 consecutive patients underwent CMR and echocardiography within 7 days for cardiovascular disease evaluation. LVDD was present in 303 subjects by echocardiography. The performance of the ML algorithm was good using the CMR variables alone with an AUC of 0.868 (95% CI: 0.811–0.917), which was improved by combining with demographic data yielding an AUC 0.895 (95% CI: 0.845–0.939). The algorithm performed well in an independent validation cohort with AUC 0.810 (0.731–0.874). Subjects with higher ML scores (&gt;0.4121) were associated with increased adjusted hazard ratio for a composite outcome than subjects with lower ML scores (1.72, 95% confidence interval 1.09–2.71).DiscussionAn ML algorithm using variables derived from clinical CMR is effective in identifying patients with LVDD and providing prognostication for adverse clinical outcomes