Structured interviews for the Glasgow Outcome Scale and the extended Glasgow Outcome Scale: Guidelines for their use

The Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) is the most widely used outcome measure after traumatic brain injury, but it is increasingly recognized to have important limitations. It is proposed that shortcomings of the GOS can be addressed by adopting a standard format for the interview used to assign outcome. A set of guidelines are outlined that are directed at the main problems encountered in applying the GOS. The guidelines cover the general principles underlying the use of the GOS and common practical problems of applying the scale. Structured interview schedules are described for both the five-point GOS and an extended eight-point GOS (GOSE). An interrater reliability study of the structured interviews for the GOS and GOSE yielded weighted kappa values of 0.89 and 0.85, respectively. It is concluded that assessment of the GOS using a standard format with a written protocol is practical and reliable

A Functional Genomics Approach to Establish the Complement of Carbohydrate Transporters in Streptococcus pneumoniae

The aerotolerant anaerobe Streptococcus pneumoniae is part of the normal nasopharyngeal microbiota of humans and one of the most important invasive pathogens. A genomic survey allowed establishing the occurrence of twenty-one phosphotransferase systems, seven carbohydrate uptake ABC transporters, one sodium∶solute symporter and a permease, underlining an exceptionally high capacity for uptake of carbohydrate substrates. Despite high genomic variability, combined phenotypic and genomic analysis of twenty sequenced strains did assign the substrate specificity only to two uptake systems. Systematic analysis of mutants for most carbohydrate transporters enabled us to assign a phenotype and substrate specificity to twenty-three transport systems. For five putative transporters for galactose, pentoses, ribonucleosides and sulphated glycans activity was inferred, but not experimentally confirmed and only one transport system remains with an unknown substrate and lack of any functional annotation. Using a metabolic approach, 80% of the thirty-two fermentable carbon substrates were assigned to the corresponding transporter. The complexity and robustness of sugar uptake is underlined by the finding that many transporters have multiple substrates, and many sugars are transported by more than one system. The present work permits to draw a functional map of the complete arsenal of carbohydrate utilisation proteins of pneumococci, allows re-annotation of genomic data and might serve as a reference for related species. These data provide tools for specific investigation of the roles of the different carbon substrates on pneumococcal physiology in the host during carriage and invasive infection

From Nutrients to Nurturance: A Conceptual Introduction to Food Well-Being

Ovaj rad bavi se procesom izrade ilustracija za aktivnosti istraživanja emocija u odgojno-obrazovnom radu. Rad je koncipiran u nekoliko tematskih cjelina koje se odnose na različite faze istraživanja. Nakon uvoda, u kojem se iznose ciljevi i svrha rada, ispituje se što su to emocije, kakve odgovore daju znanstvena istraživanja emocija, emocionalni i socijalni razvoj osobe te kako se emocije izražavaju. Detaljnija razrada tematike kreće od treće cjeline u kojoj se razmatra prikaz emocija u ilustracijama Walt Disneyja i animiranom Pixarovom filmu „Izvrnuto-Obrnuto“. Slijedi analiza procesa kreiranja lika postupkom osmišljavanja i crtanja te istraživanje likovnih rješenja drugih autora koji su prikazali predmete kao samodjelatna bića - likove. U petoj cjelini se prolazi kroz proces izrade ilustracija osmišljenog lika Žarulje Žarke u nekoliko različitih emotivnih stanja. Posljednja cjelina upućuje na mogućnosti primjene tog lika u aktivnostima istraživanja emocija.The focus of this thesis is the creation of illustrations for the purpose of exploring emotions in educational work. The thesis is presented in several thematical sections which relate to different stages of research of the subject matter. After the introductory part, in which the goals and purpose of the thesis are defined, comes the exploration of emotion itself. Results of various scientific research on the topic of emotions are introduced, it is defined how an individual develops emotionally aswell as socially and, finally, how emotions are expressed. A focused insight into the practical side of the subject matter begins in chapter three with observations of portraying emotions in Walt Disney's illustrative works and in the animated movie „Inside Out“ produced by Pixar. Next, the analysis of how a character is created from the process of concieving to actually drawing a specific character as well as an insight into artistic solutions of other artists who conveyed objects as self-active beings is researched and presented. In section five, the whole process of character creation is portrayed through an originally conceptalized character Žarulja Žarka in various emotional states. The analysis is completed by suggestions of application in which the created character can be used as a tool to attribute to the activities for research of emotions