18,127 research outputs found
Examining the perceptions and attitudes of staff working in community based children's homes: are their needs being met?
There remains considerable ambiguity and negativity around the purpose and effectiveness of childrenâs homes. High levels of unqualified staff, low status and poor pay and conditions have continued to be the norm within residential child care. In light of this situation it is appropriate to ask why staff are viewed as a key ingredient in the service provision. It is particularly significant given the views of staff and the tasks they undertake have not been widely researched. This article provides a summary of findings from a doctoral study that attempted to address this deficit by examining the context of childrenâs homes, especially those social processes and interactions that shape key tasks
Reliability analysis of a newly developed questionnaire for quality control of follow-up visits in polyiran study
Background: The PolyIran study is a large-scale pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial of fixed-dose combination therapy (Polypill) for prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Iran. The PolyIran Quality Control Program (PIQCP) including a new questionnaire was developed to assess the quality of data collection during follow-up visits. The aim of this study was to assess the inter-rater reliability of PIQCP questionnaire. Methods: The study was conducted in 26 (11%) randomly selected clusters (from a total of 236 PolyIran clusters). All participants within these 26 clusters were enrolled. The quality scores were measured according to the PIQCP guidelines by two independent raters. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were measured. In addition, the quality scores were categorized into good (370%) and poor (<70%). The kappa coefficient was used to assess inter-rater agreement for this categorical quality scores. Results: A total number of 945 PolyIran participants were enrolled of which, 501 (53%) were from intervention arm. In 934 participants (98.8%), the quality score could be successfully identified by both raters. The ICC (95%CI) ofthe overall quality scores was 0.985 (0.983-0.987). It was 0.976 (0.972-0.980) and 0.988 (0.986-0.990) in intervention and control arms, respectively. We found excellent agreement between the two raters in identifying participants with good and poor quality scores (kappa = 0.988, P < 0.001). The kappa values were 0.972 (P < 0.001) and 1.000 (P < 0.001) in intervention and control arms, respectively. Discussion: Our results suggested that the PIQCP questionnaire is a reliable tool for assessing quality of data collection in PolyIran follow-up visits. Using this measure will help us in efficient monitoring of the PolyIran follow-ups and may ensure high quality data. © 2016, Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran. All rights reserved
Dual Isomonodromic Deformations and Moment Maps to Loop Algebras
The Hamiltonian structure of the monodromy preserving deformation equations
of Jimbo {\it et al } is explained in terms of parameter dependent pairs of
moment maps from a symplectic vector space to the dual spaces of two different
loop algebras. The nonautonomous Hamiltonian systems generating the
deformations are obtained by pulling back spectral invariants on Poisson
subspaces consisting of elements that are rational in the loop parameter and
identifying the deformation parameters with those determining the moment maps.
This construction is shown to lead to ``dual'' pairs of matrix differential
operators whose monodromy is preserved under the same family of deformations.
As illustrative examples, involving discrete and continuous reductions, a
higher rank generalization of the Hamiltonian equations governing the
correlation functions for an impenetrable Bose gas is obtained, as well as dual
pairs of isomonodromy representations for the equations of the Painleve
transcendents and .Comment: preprint CRM-1844 (1993), 28 pgs. (Corrected date and abstract.
Growth of large single crystals of Rare Earth Hexaborides
Single crystal growth of several rare earth hexaborides has been carried out
by the floating zone technique. A high power Xenon arc lamp image furnace was
used for the crystal growth. Large high quality crystals of LaB,
CeB, PrB and NdB, about 1 cc in volume have been obtained.
Crystals of all these compounds have also been grown using enriched B
isotope for use in neutron scattering experiments.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, in press (J. Crystal Growth
D-branes and Discrete Torsion II
We derive D-brane gauge theories for C^3/Z_n x Z_n orbifolds with discrete
torsion and study the moduli space of a D-brane at a point. We show that, as
suggested in previous work, closed string moduli do not fully resolve the
singularity, but the resulting space -- containing n-1 conifold singularities
-- is somewhat surprising. Fractional branes also have unusual properties.
We also define an index which is the CFT analog of the intersection form in
geometric compactification, and use this to show that the elementary D6-brane
wrapped about T^6/Z_n x Z_n must have U(n) world-volume gauge symmetry.Comment: harvmac, 25 p
Potato R1 resistance gene confers resistance against Phytophthora infestans in transgenic tomato plants
Tomato is challenged by several pathogens which cause loss of production. One such pathogen is the oomycete Phytophthora infestans which is able to attack all the aerial parts of the plant. Although a wide range of resistance sources are available, genetic control of this disease is not yet successful. Pyramiding R-genes through genetic transformation could be a straightforward way to produce tomato and potato lines carrying durable resistance to P. infestans. In this work the R1 potato gene was transferred into tomato lines. The tomato transgenic lines were analyzed by using q-RT-PCR and progeny segregation to determine the gene copy number. To test the hypothesis that R1 represents a specifically regulated R-gene, transgenic tomato plants were inoculated with P. infestans isolate 88133 and IPO. All the plants containing the R1 gene were resistant to the late blight isolate IPO-0 and susceptible to isolate 88133. These results provide evidence for specific activation of the R1 gene during pathogen challenge. Furthermore, evidence for enhancement of PR-1 gene expression during P. infestans resistance response was obtained
Characteristics of Se'i (Rotenesse Smoked Meat) Treated with Coconut Shell Liquid Smoked and Citrus Aurantifolia Extract
The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of Citrus aurantifolia extract (CAE), coconut shell liquid smoke (CSLS) and the combination of CAE and CSLS (CACS) on se'i characteristics. A completely randomized design was assigned in this experiment. Treatments used were: se'i treated with 5% (v/v) CAE, CSLS 5% (v/v), (CAE : CSL 1:1) )/ (CACS) and untreated se'i as a control (C). Parameters measured were: aroma, color, taste, pH, residual nitrite, total bacterial count, Coliform, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella. The data of aroma, color, and taste were analyzed by using Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Mann-Whitney test. The pH, residual nitrite, and bacterial data were analyzed with analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by least significant differences test. Results showed that CAE caused the highest score at both aroma and taste (P<0.05). CSLS caused the lowest residual nitrite (27 ppm) (P<0.05). Application of CAE and CACS could reduce total bacteria (P<0.05) at least 1 log. Color, pH, and Coliform number were not significantly different. S. aureus, E. coli, and Salmonella were negative in all se'i samples. CAE gives the best organoleptics and bacteriological characteristics while CSLS is more effective in reducing nitrite
Use of integrase-minus lentiviral vector for transient expression
Objective: Lentivirus-derived vectors are among the most promising viral vectors for gene therapy which is currently available, but their use in clinical practice is limited due to associated risk of insertional mutagenesis. Gene targeting is an ideal method for gene therapy, but it has low efficiency in comparison to viral vector methods. In this study, we are going to design and construct an integrase-minus lentiviral vector. This vector is suitable for transient expression of gene and gene targeting with viral vector. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, three missense mutations were induced in the catalytic domain of Integrase gene in the pLP1 plasmid and resulted D64V, D116A and E152G changes in the amino acid sequence through site directed mutagenesis. The pLenti6.2-GW/EmGFP transfer vector, associated with native and mutated packaging mix, was transfected into 293T cell line. In order to titer the lentivirus stock, the viruses were harvested. Finally, the viruses transduced into COS-7 cell line to assess green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene expression by a fluorescence microscopy. Results: Recombinant and wild lentiviruses titer was about 5ĂąïżœÂŒ8Ăïżœ10 6 transducing units/ ml in COS-7 cell line. The number of GFP-positive cells transduced with native viruses was decreased slightly during two weeks after viral transduction. In contrast, in the case of integrase-minus viruses, a dramatic decrease in the number of GFP positive cells was observed. Conclusion: This study was conducted to overcome the integration of lentiviral genome into a host genome. Nonintegrating lentiviral vectors can be used for transient gene expression and gene targeting if a Target gene cassette is placed in the lentivirus gene structure. This combination method decreases disadvantages of both processes, such as random integration of lentiviruses and low efficiency of gene targeting
The quality of life in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy
We conducted a study to evaluate the quality of life in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy aged 8â18 years, compared with that in matched healthy controls. A total of 85 boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy aged 8â18 years and 136 age, sex and living place matched healthy controls were included in this study. Patients and one of their parents separately completed the 27-item Persian version of KIDSCREEN questionnaire (child and adolescent version and parent version). From the children's perspective, the quality of life in patients was found to be lower in two subclasses: âphysical activities and healthâ (pâ<â0.001) and âfriendsâ (pâ=â0.005). Parental estimation of their sick child's quality of life was significantly lower than children's own assessment in two subclasses: âphysical activities and healthâ (pâ<â0.001) and âgeneral mood and feelingsâ (pâ<â0.001). Our results indicate that boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy have quite a satisfactory quality of life. A happier and more hopeful life can be promoted through increasing social support and improving the parental knowledge regarding their child's more positive life perspective. © 2016 Elsevier B.V
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