Pharmacological effects of Radix Angelica Sinensis (Danggui) on cerebral infarction

Radix Angelica Sinensis, the dried root of Angelica sinensis (Danggui), is a herb used in Chinese medicine to enrich blood, promote blood circulation and modulate the immune system. It is also used to treat chronic constipation of the elderly and debilitated as well as menstrual disorders. Research has demonstrated that Danggui and its active ingredients, as anti-arthrosclerotic, anti-hypertensive, antioxidant anti-inflammatory agents which would limit platelet aggregation, are effective in reducing the size of cerebral infarction and improving neurological deficit scores

IBDV particles packaged with only segment A dsRNA

AbstractMulti-segmented dsRNA viruses have been suggested to utilize cis-acting elements in the plus-strand RNA to accomplish genomic RNA assortment during viral packaging. It is not clear if bi-segmented dsRNA birnavirus uses the same strategy. By applying a reverse genetic technique, we generated IBDV particles packaged with only segment A by co-transfection DF-1 cells of cDNA from segment A and VP1 (without 5′ and 3′ noncoding region of segment B) supporting random assortment mechanism and indicating the packaging elements of segment B include sequences in the 5′ and 3′ NCR. However, gfp-containing IBDV could not be generated in the presence of gfp cDNA constructs flanked by 5′ and 3′ NCR from segment A or segment B. The data suggest additional packaging signals are required for IBDV genomic packaging. The presence of VP1 protein in the IBDV-A particles also suggests the formation of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes might be involved in the assembly of viral particles

Qualitative Study Of Taiwanese Students Studying Abroad: Social Interactions, Navigating Us Culture, And Experiences Learning English Language

The English language increasingly influences Taiwanese life because Taiwan entered the global village and English language changed into a more important skill in order to communicate with foreigners. Many Taiwanese parents desire their children become proficient English speakers so that they send them to buxiban (cram schools) in Taiwan or study abroad in the Unites States. Therefore, this qualitative phenomenological research was to investigate individual experience of Taiwanese students studying abroad in Michigan in the United States. Sakurai et al. (2010) study is divided into three models of studying abroad learners\u27 social network: co-national, multinational and local (p. 177). According to the in-depth individual interview and the focused group interview, this study also found most participants spent much time with the same national group and they do not improve their oral skill in English during studying abroad in the United States

Assessing the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life for Outcome Measurement in Stroke Rehabilitation: Minimal Detectable Change and Clinically Important Difference

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study was conducted to establish the minimal detectable change (MDC) and clinically important differences (CIDs) of the physical category of the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale in patients with stroke.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>MDC and CIDs scores were calculated from the data of 74 participants enrolled in randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of two rehabilitation programs in patients with stroke. These participants received treatments for 3 weeks and underwent clinical assessment before and after treatment. To obtain test-retest reliability for calculating MDC, another 25 patients with chronic stroke were recruited. The MDC was calculated from the standard error of measurement (SEM) to indicate a real change with 95% confidence for individual patients (MDC₉₅). Distribution-based and anchor-based methods were adopted to triangulate the ranges of minimal CIDs. The percentage of scale width was calculated by dividing the MDC and CIDs by the total score range of each physical category. The percentage of patients exceeding MDC₉₅and minimal CIDs was also reported.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The MDC₉₅of the mobility, self-care, and upper extremity (UE) function subscales were 5.9, 4.0, and 5.3 respectively. The minimal CID ranges for these 3 subscales were 1.5 to 2.4, 1.2 to 1.9, and 1.2 to 1.8. The percentage of patients exceeding MDC₉₅and minimal CIDs of the mobility, self-care, and UE function subscales were 9.5% to 28.4%, 6.8% to 28.4%, and 12.2% to 33.8%, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The change score of an individual patient has to reach 5.9, 4.0, and 5.3 on the 3 subscales to indicate a true change. The mean change scores of a group of patients with stroke on these subscales should reach the lower bound of CID ranges of 1.5 (6.3% scale width), 1.2 (6.0% scale width), and 1.2 (6.0% scale width) to be regarded as clinically important change. This information may facilitate interpretations of patient-reported outcomes after stroke rehabilitation. Future research is warranted to validate these findings.</p

Patent Analysis for the Formulation of Technology Policy: Evidence from 4G LTE Industry

Policy-makers seek a more rigorous method of selecting potentially successful technologies to fulfil the requirements of different stakeholders. Patent analysis should be able to assist policy-makers in (1) understanding the development trajectory of technologies and monitoring the status of technological development to gain a dynamic view of the current competition situation; (2) applying the concept of relative patent advantage (RPA) to grasp the comparative advantages or disadvantages of specific technology domains in each nation; and (3) combining the patent data and multivariate methods of analysis to clarify the current state of an industry’s leading technologies. With the goal of combining the methods of patent data analysis and multivariate analysis, we assess the 4G LTE techniques and explore the comparative technological advantages of Top 10 countries with most patents. This study aims to provide suggestions to serve as an important reference for each nation in formulating its future technology policies

Oromotor variability in children with mild spastic cerebral palsy: a kinematic study of speech motor control

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Treating motor speech dysfunction in children with CP requires an understanding of the mechanism underlying speech motor control. However, there is a lack of literature in quantitative measures of motor control, which may potentially characterize the nature of the speech impairments in these children. This study investigated speech motor control in children with cerebral palsy (CP) using kinematic analysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We collected 10 children with mild spastic CP, aged 4.8 to 7.5 years, and 10 age-matched children with typical development (TD) from rehabilitation department at a tertiary hospital. All children underwent analysis of percentage of consonants correct (PCC) and kinematic analysis of speech tasks: poly-syllable (PS) and mono-syllable (MS) tasks using the Vicon Motion 370 system integrated with a digital camcorder. Kinematic parameters included spatiotemporal indexes (STIs), and average values and coefficients of variation (CVs) of utterance duration, peak oral opening displacement and velocity. An ANOVA was conducted to determine whether PCC and kinematic data significantly differed between groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CP group had relatively lower PCCs (80.0-99.0%) than TD group (<it>p </it>= 0.039). CP group had higher STIs in PS speech tasks, but not in MS tasks, than TD group did (<it>p </it>= 0.001). The CVs of utterance duration for MS and PS tasks of children with CP were at least three times as large as those of TD children (<it>p </it>< 0.01). However, average values of utterance duration, peak oral opening displacement and velocity and CVs of other kinematic data for both tasks did not significantly differ between two groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>High STI values and high variability on utterance durations in children with CP reflect deficits in relative spatial and/or especially temporal control for speech in the CP participants compared to the TD participants. Children with mild spastic CP may have more difficulty in processing increased articulatory demands and resulted in greater oromotor variability than normal children. The kinematic data such as STIs can be used as indices for detection of speech motor control impairments in children with mild CP and assessment of the effectiveness in the treatment.</p