A Validity and Reliability Study of a Chinese Assessment Tool for Persons with Moderate to Severe Intellectual Disabilities

This study was designed to test the psychometric properties of the Chinese interRAI Intellectual Disability (ID) tool in a Chinese population with learning disabilities in Hong Kong. The Chinese interRAI ID was prepared based on the original interRAI ID which is a standardized, comprehensive instrument and is designed to evaluate the strengths, preferences, and needs of persons with all levels of ID living in various care settings. A sample of 100 people with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities was assessed with the Chinese interRAI ID and its criterion measures. The subscales of the interRAI ID, including the Cognitive Performance Scale, Depression Rating Scale, Aggressive Behavior Scale, Activities of Daily Living Hierarchy Scale, and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Involvement Scale, had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .66 to .87) and test–retest reliability (r = .96 to .99; κ = .68 to .81). Comparison of the interRAI ID scales with criterion measures supported concurrent and discriminant validity of these scales. The study results provide preliminary support for the Chinese interRAI ID as a reliable and valid tool for assessing Chinese individuals with learning disabilities in Hong Kong

Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 (CDK5)-Mediated Phosphorylation of Upstream Stimulatory Factor 2 (USF2) Contributes to Carcinogenesis

The transcription factor USF2 is supposed to have an important role in tumor development. However, the regulatory mechanisms contributing to the function of USF2 are largely unknown. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) seems to be of importance since high levels of CDK5 were found in different cancers associated with high USF2 expression. Here, we identified USF2 as a phosphorylation target of CDK5. USF2 is phosphorylated by CDK5 at two serine residues, serine 155 and serine 222. Further, phosphorylation of USF2 at these residues was shown to stabilize the protein and to regulate cellular growth and migration. Altogether, these results delineate the importance of the CDK5-USF2 interplay in cancer cells

Exploring racial disparity in obesity: A mediation analysis considering geo-coded environmental factors.

Research shows aconsistent racial disparity in obesity between white and black adults in the United States. Accounting for the disparity is a challenge given the variety of the contributing factors, the nature of the association, and the multilevel relationships among the factors. We used the multivariable mediation analysis (MMA) method to explore the racial disparity in obesity considering not only the individual behavior but also geospatially derived environmental risk factors. Results from generalized linear models (GLM) were compared with those from multiple additive regression trees (MART) which allow for hierarchical data structure, and fitting of nonlinear and complex interactive relationships. As results, both individual and geographically defined factors contributed to the racial disparity in obesity. MART performed better than GLM models in that MART explained a larger proportion of the racial disparity in obesity. However, there remained disparities that cannot be explained by factors collected in this study

Los valores en niños mexicanos y franceses

Se hizo una comparación de los valores morales en niños (de 10 a 12 años), de México y Francia. El estudio se realizó con 202 niños mexicanos y 118 franceses inscritos en quinto y sexto año de educación primaria, utilizando el instrumento de valores de Valdez Medina (2001). Las aplicaciones se hicieron de forma colectiva en los salones de clase. Los resultados muestran que sí hubo diferencias en cuanto a los valores que guían la vida de los niños, encontrándose que los mexicanos se orientan por valores asociados al trabajo, en comparación con los franceses que se guían más por los relacionados con el altruismo. Al comparar los valores por sexo en cada cultura, se observó que las niñas mexicanas se ubican como más educadas que los niños. Asimismo, en el caso de Francia, fue interesante observar que los hombres se mostraron más cercanos a los afectos y las buenas costumbres que las niñas, lo cual es ampliamente contrastante con lo observado en los niños mexicano

Temporal Lobe Cortical Electrical Stimulation during the Encoding and Retrieval Phase Reduces False Memories

A recent study found that false memories were reduced by 36% when low frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was applied to the left anterior temporal lobe after the encoding (study) phase. Here we were interested in the consequences on a false memory task of brain stimulation throughout the encoding and retrieval task phases. We used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) because it has been shown to be a useful tool to enhance cognition. Specifically, we examined whether tDCS can induce changes in a task assessing false memories. Based on our preliminary results, three conditions of stimulation were chosen: anodal left/cathodal right anterior temporal lobe (ATL) stimulation (“bilateral stimulation”); anodal left ATL stimulation (with a large contralateral cathodal electrode – referred as “unilateral stimulation”) and sham stimulation. Our results showed that false memories were reduced significantly after the two active conditions (unilateral and bilateral stimulation) as compared with sham stimulation. There were no significant changes in veridical memories. Our findings show that false memories are reduced by 73% when anodal tDCS is applied to the anterior temporal lobes throughout the encoding and retrieval stages, suggesting a possible strategy for improving certain aspects of learning

Investigation of possible epistatic interactions between GRIA2 and GRIA4 variants on clinical outcomes in patients with major depressive disorder

Abstract OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of glutamate receptor, ionotropic, alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) 2 (GRIA2) rs4260586 and glutamate receptor, ionotropic, AMPA 4 (GRIA4) rs10736648 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on response to antidepressants in Korean patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), and to ascertain whether epistatic interactions might exist between these SNPs. METHODS: In this retrospective analysis, patients were assessed at hospital admission and discharge using the Montgomery-Åsberg depression rating scale (MADRS). A multiple regression model was employed to investigate the effects of the two SNP variants on clinical/sociodemographic outcomes relating to MDD. RESULTS: Out of 145 Korean patients, the presence of both GRIA2 rs4260586 and GRIA4 rs10736648 polymorphisms had no significant association with MADRS improvement scores or other clinical/sociodemographic variables. CONCLUSIONS: These data potentially suggest a lack of epistatic interaction between GRIA2 and GRIA4 variants, regarding clinical outcomes in patients with MDD. The study was limited by small sample size, use of different antidepressants and incomplete coverage of genes under investigation. Future research should include larger patient samples treated with different antidepressants, analysis of different SNPs and/or investigation of different gene-gene interactions within the glutamatergic system. KEYWORDS: AMPA 2 (GRIA2), AMPA 4 (GRIA4), Glutamate receptor, epistasis, glutamate receptor, glutamatergic, ionotropic, major depression, single nucleotide polymorphis

Planificación estratégica y productividad laboral en el área de RR.HH. de una empresa de transportes, Callao, 2021

La presente tesis trata sobre la Planificación Estratégica y la Productividad Laboral de una empresa de transportes, Callao, 2021, teniendo como objetivo general determinar la relación entre la Planificación Estratégica y Productividad Laboral en el área de RR.HH. de una empresa de transportes - Callao - 2021. Teniendo como enfoque de investigación cuantitativo, de diseño No Experimental, de clase Transversal, Correlacional, de tipo Aplicada y nivel descriptivo. Se tuvo una población de 30 trabajadores de una empresa de transportes, de la cual se tomó el mismo número de muestra, es decir, 30 colaboradores de una empresa de transporte para la aplicación de la encuesta, empleando como instrumento el cuestionario, el cual consta de constó de 60 ítems, 30 por cada variable, los cuales se midieron en la escala tipo Likert de 5 puntos. Los datos recolectados de la aplicación de las encuestas fueron ordenados en el programa Microsoft Excel y luego fueron procesados mediante el programa estadístico IBM SPSS versión 25, donde se analizaron primeramente por dimensiones y posteriormente por variables. Obteniendo como resultados mediante la prueba de Rho de Spearman, un nivel de correlación positiva alta de 0.970, llegando a la conclusión que la Planificación Estratégica se relaciona significativamente con Productividad Laboral de una empresa de transportes

The private sector : Can zero deforestation commitments save tropical forests?

Key messages • There are three approaches to private sector commitments on zero deforestation: individual company or group-level adoption of voluntary standards; sector-wide supply chain-based interventions; and mixed supply chain and territorial initiatives at jurisdictional level. • The main implementation challenges of these approaches are the limits of voluntary standards, traceability systems that are difficult to implement, selective actions that cannot deliver at scale, associated leakage effects, and persistence of segmented supply chains. • Approaches have evolved to deal with such challenges, however progress requires committed companies to increase implementation efforts, other supply chain actors to adhere to commitments, and governments to harness the potential of jurisdictional approaches.Peer reviewe

Las tecnologías de información y comunicación (tic), realidad latente como herramienta para el docente

Las Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación mejor conocidas como TIC, son herramientas fundamentales en las diferentes actividades personales y profesionales que realiza el docente en el mundo globalizado. Los docentes de hoy en día, dan la bienvenida, al advenimiento del paradigma centrado en el aprendizaje de los estudiantes, llevando de esta manera, a asumir la función de facilitadores. Utilizando para la construcción del conocimiento, herramientas tecnológicas, siendo la multimedia indispensable para su aplicación. Es inevitable eludir este cambio, por que existe una brecha digital entre los maestros y sus estudiantes, y los docentes se enfrentan al reto de adquirir capacitación, dejando a un lado la inercia y la tradición, a la modalidad de impartir su cátedra. Viéndose obligados a estar a la vanguardia, al adquirir la habilidad y destreza para el manejo apropiado de las TIC, como herramientas de trabajo; pero la tarea del docente no termina ahí, tendrá que aplicar dentro de las TIC, las Tecnologías del Aprendizaje y Conocimiento (TAC), proporcionando estas últimas la parte pedagógica