LITERATURE STUDY: TEACHING FACTORY IMPLEMENTATION ANALYSIS IN THE WORLD OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN INDONESIA AS AN EFFORT TO FACE FUTURE CHALLENGES

Vocational High School is a vocational education unit at the secondary education level which aims to prepare students to be able to work, either independently or fill existing job vacancies as middle-level workers in accordance with their competencies. One of what makes Vocational High School independent is the teaching factory in it. Destination this research is to analyze implementation of the teaching factory in the world of vocational education using the literature study method. The results show that the teaching factory able to improve the competence of graduates, the implementation of Teaching Factory in Vocational High School can be measured based on the 7x7 Parameter Assessment for Implementation of Teaching Factory. Teaching Factory is a combination of competency-based learning and -based learning production and applied based on actual work procedures and standards for produce products according to the market

Neural processing of emotions in traumatized children treated with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy: a hdEEG study

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has been proven efficacious in restoring affective regulation in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) patients. However, its effectiveness on emotion processing in children with complex trauma has yet to be explored. High density Electroencephalography (hdEEG) was used to investigate the effects of EMDR on brain responses to adults\u27 emotions on children with histories of early maltreatment. Ten school-aged children were examined before (T0) and within one month after the conclusion of EMDR (T1). hdEEGs were recorded while children passively viewed angry, afraid, happy, and neutral faces. Clinical scales were administered at the same time. Correlation analyses were performed to detect brain regions whose activity was linked to children\u27s traumatic symptom-related and emotional-adaptive problem scores. In all four conditions, hdEEG showed similar significantly higher activity on the right medial prefrontal and fronto-temporal limbic regions at T0, shifting towards the left medial and superior temporal regions at T1. Moreover, significant correlations were found between clinical scales and the same regions whose activity significantly differed between pre- and post-treatment. These preliminary results demonstrate that, after EMDR, children suffering from complex trauma show increased activity in areas implicated in high-order cognitive processing when passively viewing pictures of emotional expressions. These changes are associated with the decrease of depressive and traumatic symptoms, and with the improvement of emotional-adaptive functioning over time

Setup for human sera MALDI profiling: The case of rhEPO treatment

The implementation of high-throughput technologies based on qualitative and quantitative methodologies for the characterization of complex protein mixtures is increasingly required in clinical laboratories. MALDI profiling is a robust and sensitive technology although the serum high dynamic range imposes a major limitation hampering the identification of less abundant species decreasing the quality of MALDI profiling. A setup to improve these parameters has been performed for recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) monitoring in serum, analyzing the effects of two commercially available columns (MARS Hu7 and Hu14) for immunodepletion, and two matrices (\u3b1-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid and 2\u2032,4\u2032-dihydroxyacetophenone) for peak quality improvement. The immunodepletion capability of both columns was determined by 2-D DIGE, which precisely revealed the efficacy of Hu14 in protein removal and the serum dynamic range decrement. In addition, the type of matrix, the sample dilution, and the efficacy of optimized parameters were used for serum profiling of ten healthy subjects before and after rhEPO treatment. The principal component analysis indicates that a combination of Hu14 column and 2\u2032,4\u2032-dihydroxyacetophenone matrix increases data quality allowing the discrimination between treated and untreated samples, making serum MALDI profiling suitable for clinical monitoring of rhEP

Metabolic spatial connectivity in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis as revealed by independent component analysis

Objectives. Positron emission tomography (PET) and volume of interest (VOI) analysis have recently shown in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) an accuracy of 93% in differentiating patients from controls. The aim of this study was to disclose by spatial independent component analysis (ICA) the brain networks involved in ALS pathological processes and evaluate their discriminative value in separating patients from controls. Experimental design. Two hundred fifty-nine ALS patients and 40 age- and sex-matched control subjects underwent brain 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose PET (FDG-PET). Spatial ICA of the preprocessed FDG-PET images was performed. Intensity values were converted to z-scores and binary masks were used as data-driven VOIs. The accuracy of this classifier was tested versus a validated system processing intensity signals in 27 brain meta-VOIs. A support vector machine was independently applied to both datasets and the \u27leave-one-out\u27 technique verified the general validity of results. Principal observations: The 8 components selected as pathophysiologically meaningful discriminated patients from controls with 99.0% accuracy, the discriminating value of bilateral cerebellum/midbrain alone representing 96.3%. Among the meta-VOIs, right temporal lobe alone reached an accuracy of 93.7%. Conclusions: Spatial ICA identified in a very large cohort of ALS patients distinct spatial networks showing a high discriminatory value, improving substantially on the previously obtained accuracy. The cerebellar/midbrain component accounted for the highest accuracy in separating ALS patients from controls. Spatial ICA and multivariate analysis perform better than univariate semi-quantification methods in identifying the neurodegenerative features of ALS and pave the way for inclusion of PET in clinical trials and early diagnosis

Protein signature in cerebrospinal fluid and serum of Alzheimer’s disease patients : the case of apolipoprotein A-1 proteoforms

In the diagnosis of Alzheimer\u2019s disease (AD) total tau (T-tau), tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (P-tau181), and the 42 amino acid isoform of alpha \u3b2-amyloid (A\u3b2) are well established surrogate CSF markers. However, there is a constant need for new diagnostic markers to identify the disease at a very early stage. The identification of new molecules for AD diagnosis and monitoring in CSF is hampered by several \u201cconfounding\u201d factors including intra- and inter-individual, pre-analytical and analytical variabilities. In an attempt to partially overcome patient\u2019s variability and to determine new molecules significantly dysregulated in CSF, we assessed the proteome profile of low molecular weight protein species in CSF and serum of the same patients. CSFs and sera from 36 ADs, 32 iNPHs (idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus) and 12 controls were compared by MALDI profiling (non-parametric statistics, CV0.750). After protein identification by mass spectrometry, the proteoform composition was assessed by 2-D DIGE/MS. Results indicated that CSF of iNPH can be used as control. Serum and CSF of AD patients shows a specific protein profile compared to iNPH samples. A variation (p<0.01) of Apo A-1 levels in AD, together with a specific dysregulation of Apo A-1 proteoforms was observed. The profiling of CSF and serum of the same patients, suggests that the decrement of total Apo A-1 occurs specifically in CSF. Serum and CSF of AD shows a characteristic Apo A-1 proteoform pattern suggesting it as potential marker which can support the clinical workflow adopted for AD diagnosis and progression

Functional pattern of Brain FDG-PET in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Objective: We investigated a large sample of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at rest in order to assess the value of 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) PET as a biomarker to discriminate patients from controls. Methods: A total of 195 patients with ALS and 40 controls underwent brain 18F-FDG-PET, most within 5 months of diagnosis. Spinal and bulbar subgroups of ALS were also investigated. Twenty-five bilateral cortical and subcortical volumes of interest and cerebellum were taken into account, and 18F-FDG uptakes were individually normalized by whole-brain values. Group analyses investigated the ALS-related metabolic changes. Discriminant analysis investigating sensitivity and specificity was performed using the 51 volumes of interest as well as age and sex. Metabolic connectivity was explored by voxel-wise interregional correlation analysis. Results: Hypometabolismwas found in frontal, motor, and occipital cortex and hypermetabolismin midbrain, temporal pole, and hippocampus in patients with ALS compared to controls. A similar metabolic pattern was also found in the 2 subgroups. Discriminant analysis showed a sensitivity of 95% and a specificity of 83% in separating patients from controls. Connectivity analysis found a highly significant positive correlation between midbrain and white matter in corticospinal tracts in patients with ALS. Conclusions: 18F-FDG distribution changes in ALS showed a clear pattern of hypometabolism in frontal and occipital cortex and hypermetabolism in midbrain. The latter might be interpreted as the neurobiological correlate of diffuse subcortical gliosis. Discriminant analysis resulted in high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating patients with ALS from controls. Once validated by diseased-control studies, the present methodology might represent a potentially useful biomarker for ALS diagnosis. Classificaton of evidence: This study provides Class III evidence that 18F-FDG-PET accurately distinguishes patients with ALS from normal controls (sensitivity 95.4%, specificity 82.5%)

Novel roles for well-known players: from tobacco mosaic virus pests to enzymatically active assemblies

The rod-shaped nanoparticles of the widespread plant pathogen tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) have been a matter of intense debates and cutting-edge research for more than a hundred years. During the late 19th century, their behavior in filtration tests applied to the agent causing the \u27plant mosaic disease\u27 eventually led to the discrimination of viruses from bacteria. Thereafter, they promoted the development of biophysical cornerstone techniques such as electron microscopy and ultracentrifugation. Since the 1950s, the robust, helically arranged nucleoprotein complexes consisting of a single RNA and more than 2100 identical coat protein subunits have enabled molecular studies which have pioneered the understanding of viral replication and self-assembly, and elucidated major aspects of virus–host interplay, which can lead to agronomically relevant diseases. However, during the last decades, TMV has acquired a new reputation as a well-defined high-yield nanotemplate with multivalent protein surfaces, allowing for an ordered high-density presentation of multiple active molecules or synthetic compounds. Amino acid side chains exposed on the viral coat may be tailored genetically or biochemically to meet the demands for selective conjugation reactions, or to directly engineer novel functionality on TMV-derived nanosticks. The natural TMV size (length: 300 nm) in combination with functional ligands such as peptides, enzymes, dyes, drugs or inorganic materials is advantageous for applications ranging from biomedical imaging and therapy approaches over surface enlargement of battery electrodes to the immobilization of enzymes. TMV building blocks are also amenable to external control of in vitro assembly and re-organization into technically expedient new shapes or arrays, which bears a unique potential for the development of \u27smart\u27 functional 3D structures. Among those, materials designed for enzyme-based biodetection layouts, which are routinely applied, e.g., for monitoring blood sugar concentrations, might profit particularly from the presence of TMV rods: Their surfaces were recently shown to stabilize enzymatic activities upon repeated consecutive uses and over several weeks. This review gives the reader a ride through strikingly diverse achievements obtained with TMV-based particles, compares them to the progress with related viruses, and focuses on latest results revealing special advantages for enzyme-based biosensing formats, which might be of high interest for diagnostics employing \u27systems-on-a-chip\u27

18F-FDG-PET correlates of cognitive impairment in ALS

Objective: To identify the metabolic signature of the various levels of cognitive deficits in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-PET (18F-FDG-PET). Methods: A total of 170 ALS cases consecutively enrolled at the ALS Center of Turin underwent brain 18F-FDG-PET and were classified as displaying normal cognition (ALS-Cn; n 5 94), full-blown frontotemporal dementia (ALS-FTD; n 5 20), executive or nonexecutive cognitive impairment not fulfilling FTD criteria (ALS-Ci; n 5 37), prevalent behavioral changes (n 5 9), or nonclassifiable impairment (n 5 10) according to neuropsychological testing. Group comparisons of 18F-FDG-PET pattern were carried out among the cognitive subgroups. Results: We found a significantly reduced frontal and prefrontal metabolism in ALS-FTD as compared to ALS-Cn, while ALS-Ci showed an intermediate metabolic behavior in frontal cortex, being hypometabolic as compared to ALS-Cn, and relatively hypermetabolic as compared to ALS-FTD. Hypometabolism in frontal regions was associated in all comparisons to hypermetabolism in cerebellum, midbrain, and corticospinal tracts: the more severe the cognitive decline, the larger the size of the cluster and the statistical significance of 18F-FDG uptake differences. Conclusions: This study demonstrated in a large cohort of patients with ALS a continuum of frontal lobe metabolic impairment reflecting the clinical and anatomic continuum ranging from pure ALS, through ALS with intermediate cognitive deficits, to ALS-FTD, and showing that patients with intermediate cognitive impairment display a characteristic metabolic pattern. Since 18F-FDG-PET allows us to estimate the cerebral lesion load in vivo in neurodegenerative diseases, it might be helpful to investigate in ALS its association with neuropsychological testing along the disease course to disclose the early metabolic signature of possible cognitive impairment

Similar levels of efficacy of two different maintenance doses of adalimumab on clinical severity and quality of life of patients with hidradenitis suppurativa

Adalimumab is the only biologic agent approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) patients (i.e., with Hurley II or III), which is recommended in two different maintenance doses (i.e., 40 mg weekly or 80 mg every two weeks). We conducted a prospective multicentric study to measure outcomes related to the severity of disease and quality of life (QoL) of patients affected by moderate-to-severe HS, treated with adalimumab at a maintenance dosing of 40 mg or 80 mg. Assessments were performed at baseline (T0) and after 32 weeks of treatment (T32). We enrolled 85 moderate-to-severe HS Italian patients, 43 men (50.6%) and 42 women, aged between 16 and 62 years (median 31 years, interquartile range 24.4-43.8). Statistically significant improvements were observed for clinical status (with a mean reduction of 7.1 points for the International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Severity Score System (IHS4)), pain levels (3.1 mean decrease in VAS), and QoL (3.4 mean improvement in DLQI score). Patients with no comorbidities, and those with higher levels of perceived pain showed significantly greater improvement in QoL than their counterpart from T0 to T32. As for the proportion of patients who at follow-up reached the minimal clinical important difference (MCID) in QoL, significantly higher proportions of success were observed for age (patients in the 29-39 category), pain (patients with higher reported pain), and Hurley stage III. While both treatment regimen groups (i.e., 40 vs. 80 mg) improved significantly, no statistical differences were observed when comparing the two treatment dosages