PAŽANGAUS KAIMO VYSTYMOSI VAROMOSIOS JĖGOS

Straipsnyje daugiausia dėmesio skiriama pažangių kaimų vystymo problemai, kuri susijusi su tvaria kaimo plėtra. Nagrinėjami mokslinių tyrimų rezultatai, vietinių ir tarptautinių organizacijų patirtis. Gerosios praktikos pavyzdžiai padėjo suvokti pažangaus kaimo vystymosi varomąsias jėgas ir pagrindines modelio dedamąsias. Nustatytos kaimo vietovių pažangos ir pažangaus kaimo vystymosi varomųjų jėgų prielaidos. Atliekant tyrimą taikyti mokslinės literatūros, dokumentų, gerosios praktikos pavyzdžių analizės, sisteminimo, lyginimo ir kiti metodai. Analizuoti ir vertinti tik sėkmingi gerosios praktikos pavyzdžiai. Nustatytos pažangaus kaimo vystymosi varomosios jėgos: tikslusis ūkininkavimas (žemdirbystė); skaitmeninės ir kitos atviros inovacijoms platformos; dalijimosi ekonomika; žiedinė ekonomika; bioištekliais (atsinaujinančiais) pagrįsta ekonomika; atsinaujinančioji energija; kaimo turizmas, apimantis ekologinį, sveikatai palankų maistą ir poilsį, rekreacinį turizmą; socialinės inovacijos kaimo paslaugų ir verslumo srityje; įtraukios socialinės infrastruktūros, partnerystės organizacinio mechanizmo kūrimas ir diegimas. Pažangaus kaimo vystymosi modelis turėtų būti grindžiamas partnerystės organizacinio mechanizmo, t. y. informavimo, konsultavimo, įtraukimo ir dalyvavimo, sprendimais, kelių veiklų ir sinchroniškai veikiančių suinteresuotųjų funkcionavimu.PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: pažangūs kaimai, pažangaus kaimo vystymosi varomosios jėgos, gyvosios laboratorijos.JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: R58, Z18DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/rfds.v26i3.180

Determination and modelling of bond properties of synthetic macro-fibres in concrete

Bond behaviour of a synthetic macro-fibre in concrete is the object of this research. The bond strength and stiffness are the parameters characterising the bonding mechanism that determines the efficiency of the reinforcing material. However, there is no general methodology developed to evaluate fibre efficiency. There also exists neither a straightforward procedure to estimate the bond quality of a synthetic macro-fibre nor a reliable numerical model to simulate the bond behaviour of such fibres. In this work, the bond mechanisms of 40 mm long synthetic macro-fibres are investigated using pull-out tests: 16 concrete cubes were made for that purpose. One type of synthetic macro-fibre available at the market is considered. In each test sample, three fibres were inserted perpendicular to the top and two side surfaces; two bonding lengths (10 mm and 20 mm) were used. A gripping system was developed to protect the fibres from local damage. A physically non-linear finite element model of the pull-out sample was developed. A bond model was proposed to simulate deformation behaviour of the fibres. Article in English. Betono ir sintetinio makroplaušo sukibties savybių nustatymas ir modeliavimas Santrauka Šio tyrimo objektas – sintetinio makroplaušo sukibties elgsena betone. Sukibties stiprumas ir standumas yra parametrai, apibūdinantys sukibties mechanizmą, kuris lemia armatūrinės medžiagos efektyvumą. Tačiau nėra bendros metodikos, kuria būtų galima įvertinti plaušo efektyvumą. Taip pat nėra nei paprasčiausios sintetinio makroplaušo sukibties kokybės įvertinimo procedūros, nei patikimo skaitmeninio modelio, kuris imituotų tokių plaušų sukibties elgesį. Šiame darbe 40 mm ilgio sintetinių makroplaušų sukibties mechanizmai tiriami atliekant ištraukimo bandymus. Tam buvo pagaminta 16 betono kubelių. Išbandoma viena iš rinkoje esančių sintetinių makroplaušų rūšių. Kiekviename bandinyje trys plaušai buvo įgilinami statmenai viršutiniam ir dviem šoniniams paviršiams. Buvo naudojami du įgilinimo ilgiai (10 mm ir 20 mm). Sukurta įtvirtinimo sistema, apsauganti plaušus nuo vietinių pažeidimų. Buvo sukurtas fiziškai netiesinis iš betono ištraukiamų plaušų baigtinių elementų modelis, pasiūlytas sukibties modelis, siekiant imituoti plaušų elgseną deformuojantis. Reikšminiai žodžiai: sintetiniai plaušai, ištraukimas, bandymas, sukibties elgsena, skaitmeninis modeliavimas

Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder With Regression Exhibit a Different Profile in Plasma Cytokines and Adhesion Molecules Compared to Children Without Such Regression

In the etiopathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it has been suggested that a proinflammatory condition, as well as an alteration in adhesion molecules in the early stages of neurodevelopment, may play a role in the pathophysiology of the disorder. This study set out to evaluate the plasma levels of certain inflammatory cytokines, adhesion molecules, and growth factors in a sample of pediatric patients with ASD and compare them to the levels in a control group of healthy children. Higher levels of NGF were observed in the ASD group compared with the levels in the control group (p < 0.05). However, in the analysis of the ASD subgroups, lower plasma levels of NCAM and higher levels of NGF were found in the group of ASD children without developmental regression compared to the levels in the group of typically-developing children. These results suggest differences that could be related to different pathophysiological mechanisms in ASD. There is not a specific profile for the expression of relevant plasma cytokines, adhesion molecules or growth factors in children with ASD compared with that in typically-developing children. However, in the ANMR and AMR subgroups, some of the adhesion molecules and neuronal growth factors show differences that may be related to synaptogenesisThis study was supported by the FUNDACIÓ AGRUPACIÓ Àmbit de la Infància, 404 Research Grant INVEST from the Spanish Society of Pediatrics and Red de Salud Materno Infantil (RED SAMID)

Adaptive and Innate Immune Responses in Autism: Rationale for Therapeutic Use of Intravenous Immunoglobulin

Autism is a complex polygenic neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in communication and social interactions as well as specific stereotypical behaviors. Both genetic and environmental factors appear to contribute to the pathogenesis of autism. Accumulating data including changes in immune responses, linkage to major histocompatibility complex antigens, and the presence of autoantibodies to neural tissues/antigens suggest that the immune system plays an important role in its pathogenesis. In this brief review, we discuss the data regarding changes in both innate and adaptive immunity in autism and the evidence in favor of the role of the immune system, especially of maternal autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of a subset of patients with autism. The rationale for possible therapeutic use of intravenous immunoglobulin is also discussed

Mechanisms underlying fatigue: a voxel-based morphometric study of chronic fatigue syndrome

BACKGROUND: Fatigue is a crucial sensation that triggers rest, yet its underlying neuronal mechanisms remain unclear. Intense long-term fatigue is a symptom of chronic fatigue syndrome, which is used as a model to study the mechanisms underlying fatigue. METHODS: Using magnetic resonance imaging, we conducted voxel-based morphometry of 16 patients and 49 age-matched healthy control subjects. RESULTS: We found that patients with chronic fatigue syndrome had reduced gray-matter volume in the bilateral prefrontal cortex. Within these areas, the volume reduction in the right prefrontal cortex paralleled the severity of the fatigue of the subjects. CONCLUSION: These results are consistent with previous reports of an abnormal distribution of acetyl-L-carnitine uptake, which is one of the biochemical markers of chronic fatigue syndrome, in the prefrontal cortex. Thus, the prefrontal cortex might be an important element of the neural system that regulates sensations of fatigue

Immunological characterization and transcription profiling of peripheral blood (PB) monocytes in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and specific polysaccharide antibody deficiency (SPAD): case study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>There exists a small subset of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) characterized by fluctuating behavioral symptoms and cognitive skills following immune insults. Some of these children also exhibit specific polysaccharide antibody deficiency (SPAD), resulting in frequent infection caused by encapsulated organisms, and they often require supplemental intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) (ASD/SPAD). This study assessed whether these ASD/SPAD children have distinct immunological findings in comparison with ASD/non-SPAD or non-ASD/SPAD children.</p> <p>Case description</p> <p>We describe 8 ASD/SPAD children with worsening behavioral symptoms/cognitive skills that are triggered by immune insults. These ASD/SPAD children exhibited delayed type food allergy (5/8), treatment-resistant seizure disorders (4/8), and chronic gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms (5/8) at high frequencies. Control subjects included ASD children without SPAD (N = 39), normal controls (N = 37), and non-ASD children with SPAD (N = 12).</p> <p>Discussion and Evaluation</p> <p>We assessed their innate and adaptive immune responses, by measuring the production of pro-inflammatory and counter-regulatory cytokines by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in responses to agonists of toll like receptors (TLR), stimuli of innate immunity, and T cell stimulants. Transcription profiling of PB monocytes was also assessed. ASD/SPAD PBMCs produced less proinflammatory cytokines with agonists of TLR7/8 (IL-6, IL-23), TLR2/6 (IL-6), TLR4 (IL-12p40), and without stimuli (IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α) than normal controls. In addition, cytokine production of ASD/SPAD PBMCs in response to T cell mitogens (IFN-γ, IL-17, and IL-12p40) and candida antigen (Ag) (IL-10, IL-12p40) were less than normal controls. ASD/non-SPAD PBMDs revealed similar results as normal controls, while non-ASD/SPAD PBMCs revealed lower production of IL-6, IL-10 and IL-23 with a TLR4 agonist. Only common features observed between ASD/SPAD and non-ASD/SPAD children is lower IL-10 production in the absence of stimuli. Transcription profiling of PB monocytes revealed over a 2-fold up (830 and 1250) and down (653 and 1235) regulation of genes in ASD/SPAD children, as compared to normal (N = 26) and ASD/non-SPAD (N = 29) controls, respectively. Enriched gene expression of TGFBR (p < 0.005), Notch (p < 0.01), and EGFR1 (p < 0.02) pathways was found in the ASD/SPAD monocytes as compared to ASD/non-SPAD controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Immunological findings in the ASD/SPAD children who exhibit fluctuating behavioral symptoms and cognitive skills cannot be solely attributed to SPAD. Instead, these findings may be more specific for ASD/SPAD children with the above-described clinical characteristics, indicating a possible role of these immune abnormalities in their neuropsychiatric symptoms.</p

In Search of Cellular Immunophenotypes in the Blood of Children with Autism

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social behavior, communication difficulties and the occurrence of repetitive or stereotyped behaviors. There has been substantial evidence for dysregulation of the immune system in autism.We evaluated differences in the number and phenotype of circulating blood cells in young children with autism (n = 70) compared with age-matched controls (n = 35). Children with a confirmed diagnosis of autism (4-6 years of age) were further subdivided into low (IQ<68, n = 35) or high functioning (IQ ≥ 68, n = 35) groups. Age- and gender-matched typically developing children constituted the control group. Six hundred and forty four primary and secondary variables, including cell counts and the abundance of cell surface antigens, were assessed using microvolume laser scanning cytometry.There were multiple differences in immune cell populations between the autism and control groups. The absolute number of B cells per volume of blood was over 20% higher for children with autism and the absolute number of NK cells was about 40% higher. Neither of these variables showed significant difference between the low and high functioning autism groups. While the absolute number of T cells was not different across groups, a number of cellular activation markers, including HLA-DR and CD26 on T cells, and CD38 on B cells, were significantly higher in the autism group compared to controls.These results support previous findings that immune dysfunction may occur in some children with autism. Further evaluation of the nature of the dysfunction and how it may play a role in the etiology of autism or in facets of autism neuropathology and/or behavior are needed

A population-based nested case control study on recurrent pneumonias in children with severe generalized cerebral palsy: ethical considerations of the design and representativeness of the study sample

BACKGROUND: In children with severe generalized cerebral palsy, pneumonias are a major health issue. Malnutrition, dysphagia, gastro-oesophageal reflux, impaired respiratory function and constipation are hypothesized risk factors. Still, no data are available on the relative contribution of these possible risk factors in the described population. This paper describes the initiation of a study in 194 children with severe generalized cerebral palsy, on the prevalence and on the impact of these hypothesized risk factors of recurrent pneumonias. METHODS/DESIGN: A nested case-control design with 18 months follow-up was chosen. Dysphagia, respiratory function and constipation will be assessed at baseline, malnutrition and gastro-oesophageal reflux at the end of the follow-up. The study population consists of a representative population sample of children with severe generalized cerebral palsy. Inclusion was done through care-centres in a predefined geographical area and not through hospitals. All measurements will be done on-site which sets high demands on all measurements. If these demands were not met in "gold standard" methods, other methods were chosen. Although the inclusion period was prolonged, the desired sample size of 300 children was not met. With a consent rate of 33%, nearly 10% of all eligible children in The Netherlands are included (n = 194). The study population is subtly different from the non-participants with regard to severity of dysphagia and prevalence rates of pneumonias and gastro-oesophageal reflux. DISCUSSION: Ethical issues complicated the study design. Assessment of malnutrition and gastro-oesophageal reflux at baseline was considered unethical, since these conditions can be easily treated. Therefore, we postponed these diagnostics until the end of the follow-up. In order to include a representative sample, all eligible children in a predefined geographical area had to be contacted. To increase the consent rate, on-site measurements are of first choice, but timely inclusion is jeopardized. The initiation of this first study among children with severe neurological impairment led to specific, unexpected problems. Despite small differences between participants and non-participating children, our sample is as representative as can be expected from any population-based study and will provide important, new information to bring us further towards effective interventions to prevent pneumonias in this population