1,974 research outputs found
Fitting the Means to the Ends: One Schoolâs Experience with Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Curriculum Evaluation During Curriculum Change
Curriculum evaluation plays an important role in substantive curriculum change. The experience of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) with evaluation processes developed for the new Integrated Medical Curriculum (IMC) illustrates how evaluation methods may be chosen to match the goals of the curriculum evaluation process. Quantitative data such as ratings of courses or scores on external exams are useful for comparing courses or assessing whether standards have been met. Qualitative data such as studentsâ comments about aspects of courses are useful for eliciting explanations of observed phenomena and describing relationships between curriculum features and outcomes. The curriculum evaluation process designed for the IMC used both types of evaluation methods in a complementary fashion. Quantitative and qualitative methods have been used for formative evaluation of the new IMC courses. They are now being incorporated into processes to judge the IMC against its goals and objectives
Recognition and management of stroke in young adults and adolescents.
Approximately 15% of all ischemic strokes (IS) occur in young adults and adolescents. To date, only limited prior public health and research efforts have specifically addressed stroke in the young. Early diagnosis remains challenging because of the lack of awareness and the relative infrequency of stroke compared with stroke mimics. Moreover, the causes of IS in the young are heterogeneous and can be relatively uncommon, resulting in uncertainties about diagnostic evaluation and cause-specific management. Emerging data have raised public health concerns about the increasing prevalence of traditional vascular risk factors in young individuals, and their potential role in increasing the risk of IS, stroke recurrence, and poststroke mortality. These issues make it important to formulate and enact strategies to increase both awareness and access to resources for young stroke patients, their caregivers and families, and health care professionals. The American Academy of Neurology recently convened an expert panel to develop a consensus document concerning the recognition, evaluation, and management of IS in young adults and adolescents. The report of the consensus panel is presented herein
The role of SH3BP2 in the pathophysiology of cherubism
Cherubism is a rare bone dysplasia that is characterized by symmetrical bone resorption limited to the jaws. Bone lesions are filled with soft fibrous giant cell-rich tissue that can expand and cause severe facial deformity. The disorder typically begins in children at ages of 2-5 years and the bone resorption and facial swelling continues until puberty; in most cases the lesions regress spontaneously thereafter. Most patients with cherubism have germline mutations in the gene encoding SH3BP2, an adapter protein involved in adaptive and innate immune response signaling. A mouse model carrying a Pro416Arg mutation in SH3BP2 develops osteopenia and expansile lytic lesions in bone and some soft tissue organs. In this review we discuss the genetics of cherubism, the biological functions of SH3BP2 and the analysis of the mouse model. The data suggest that the underlying cause for cherubism is a systemic autoinflammatory response to physiologic challenges despite the localized appearance of bone resorption and fibrous expansion to the jaws in humans
Risky Decision Making Assessed With the Gambling Task in Adults with HIV
Decision making was assessed using a laboratory gambling task in 67 adults with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV+) and in 19 HIV-seronegative (HIVâ) control participants. Neurocognitive test performance across several domains was also analyzed to examine potential cognitive mechanisms of gambling task performance. As predicted, the HIV+ group performed worse on the gambling task, indicating greater risky decision making. Specifically, the HIV+ group selected more cards from the âriskyâ or disadvantageous deck that included relatively large payoffs but infrequent large penalties. The control group also selected such risky cards but quickly learned to avoid them. Exploratory analyses also indicated that in the HIV+ group, but not in the control group, gambling task performance was correlated with Stroop Interference performance and long delay free recall on the California Verbal Learning Test, suggesting the role of inhibitory processes and verbal memory in the poorer gambling task performance in HIV. These findings indicate the usefulness of the gambling task as a laboratory tool to examine risky decision making and cognition in the HIV population
Sensation Seeking and Visual Selective Attention in Adults with HIV/AIDS
The association between sensation seeking and visual selective attention was examined in 31 adults with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Sensation seeking was measured with Zuckermanâs Sensation Seeking Scale Form V (SSS-V). Selective attention was assessed with a perceptual span task, where a target letter-character must be identified in a quickly presented array of nontarget letter-characters. As predicted, sensation seeking was strongly associated (R2 = .229) with perceptual span performance in the array size 12 condition, where selective attention demands were greatest, but not in the easier conditions. The Disinhibition, Boredom Susceptibility, and Experience Seeking subscales of the SSS-V were associated with span performance. It is argued that personality factors such as sensation seeking may play a significant role in selective attention and related cognitive abilities in HIV positive adults. Furthermore, sensation seeking differences might explain certain inconsistencies in the HIV neuropsychology literature
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Cherubism: best clinical practice
Cherubism is a skeletal dysplasia characterized by bilateral and symmetric fibro-osseous lesions limited to the mandible and maxilla. In most patients, cherubism is due to dominant mutations in the SH3BP2 gene on chromosome 4p16.3. Affected children appear normal at birth. Swelling of the jaws usually appears between 2 and 7 years of age, after which, lesions proliferate and increase in size until puberty. The lesions subsequently begin to regress, fill with bone and remodel until age 30, when they are frequently not detectable
Characterisation of the effects of mutation of the caldesmon sequence 691glu-trp-leu-thr-lys-thr696 to pro-gly-his-tyr-asn-asn on caldesmon-calmodulin interaction
AbstractWe have investigated the functional properties of a mutant (Cg1) derived from the C-terminal 99 amino acids of chicken caldesmon, 658â756 (658C) where the sequence 691glu-trp-leu-thr-lys-thr696 is changed to pro-gly-his-tyr-asn-asn. Cg1 bound Ca2+-calmodulin with (1/7)th of the affinity as compared to 658C or whole caldesmon. NMR titrations indicate that the contacts of Ca2+-calmodulin with the Trp-722 region of the peptide are retained but that those at the mutated site are lost. Most importantly Ca2+-calmodulin is not able to reverse the Cg1-induced inhibition. We conclude that the interaction of calmodulin with this caldesmon sequence is crucial for the reversal of caldesmon inhibition of actin-tropomyosin activation of myosin ATPase. The results are interpreted in terms of multi-site attachment of actin and Ca2+-calmodulin to overlapping sequences in caldesmon domain 4b
Spitzer Space Telescope observatory planning and scheduling team
Launched as the space infrared telescope facility (SIRTF) in August, 2003 and renamed in early 2004, the Spitzer space telescope is performing an extended series of science observations at wavelengths ranging from 3 to 180 microns. The California Institute of Technology is the home of the Spitzer Science Center (SSC) and operates the science operations system (SOS), which supports science operations of the observatory. A key function supported by the SOS is the long-range planning and short-term scheduling of the observatory. This paper describes the role and function of the SSC observatory planning and scheduling team (OPST), its operational interfaces, processes, and tools
New fat free mass - fat mass model for use in physiological energy balance equations
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Forbes equation relating fat-free mass (<it>FFM</it>) to fat mass (<it>FM</it>) has been used to predict longitudinal changes in <it>FFM </it>during weight change but has important limitations when paired with a one dimensional energy balance differential equation. Direct use of the Forbes model within a one dimensional energy balance differential equation requires calibration of a translate parameter for the specific population under study. Comparison of translates to a representative sample of the US population indicate that this parameter is a reflection of age, height, race and gender effects.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We developed a class of fourth order polynomial equations relating <it>FFM </it>to <it>FM </it>that consider age, height, race and gender as covariates eliminating the need to calibrate a parameter to baseline subject data while providing meaningful individual estimates of <it>FFM</it>. Moreover, the intercepts of these polynomial equations are nonnegative and are consistent with observations of very low <it>FM </it>measured during a severe Somali famine. The models preserve the predictive power of the Forbes model for changes in body composition when compared to results from several longitudinal weight change studies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The newly developed <it>FFM</it>-<it>FM </it>models provide new opportunities to compare individuals undergoing weight change to subjects in energy balance, analyze body composition for individual parameters, and predict body composition during weight change when pairing with energy balance differential equations.</p
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