Conducting Assessments in Technology Needs: From Assessment to Implementation

Practitioners with an expertise in assistive technology and technology assessments are in demand to be full participants in the selection, planning, and implementation of instruction for students with mild disabilities. Frequently, practitioners with knowledge of assistive technology are assigned to evaluate students with sensory, physical, language, or severe disabilities. Our article highlights aspects of technology assessments and progress monitoring that can be used for students with mild disabilities. Given the impact that technology integration can have on the access that students with mild disabilities have to the general education classroom, we argue that all practitioners should be cognizant of protocols for assistive technology assessment and evaluation and that all evaluation teams should include an assistive technology specialist.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Opposite cannabis-cognition associations in psychotic patients depending on family history

The objective of this study is to investigate cognitive performance in a first-episode psychosis sample, when stratifying the interaction by cannabis use and familial or non-familial psychosis. Hierarchical-regression models were used to analyse this association in a sample of 268 first-episode psychosis patients and 237 controls. We found that cannabis use was associated with worse working memory, regardless of family history. However, cannabis use was clearly associated with worse cognitive performance in patients with no family history of psychosis, in cognitive domains including verbal memory, executive function and global cognitive index, whereas cannabis users with a family history of psychosis performed better in these domains. The main finding of the study is that there is an interaction between cannabis use and a family history of psychosis in the areas of verbal memory, executive function and global cognition: that is, cannabis use is associated with a better performance in patients with a family history of psychosis and a worse performance in those with no family history of psychosis. In order to confirm this hypothesis, future research should explore the actual expression of the endocannabinoid system in patients with and without a family history of psychosis

Solving large systems of linear equations on GPUs

Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) have become more accessible peripheral devices with great computing capacity. Moreover, GPUs can be used not only to accelerate the graphics produced by a computer but also for general purpose computing. Many researchers use this technique on their personal workstations to accelerate the execution of their programs and have often encountered that the amount of memory available on GPU cards is typically smaller than the amount of memory available on the host computer. We are interested in exploring approaches to solve problems with this restriction. Our main contribution is to devise ways in which portions of the problem can be moved to the memory of the GPU to be solved using its multiprocessing capabilities. We implemented on a GPU the Jacobi iterative method to solve systems of linear equations and report the details from the results obtained, analyzing its performance and accuracy. Our code solves a system of linear equations large enough to exceed the card’s memory, but not the host memory. Significant speedups were observed, as the execution time taken to solve each system is faster than those obtained with Intel® MKL and Eigen, libraries designed to work on CPUs. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018

Solving large systems of linear equations on GPUs

Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) have become more accessible peripheral devices with great computing capacity. Moreover, GPUs can be used not only to accelerate the graphics produced by a computer but also for general purpose computing. Many researchers use this technique on their personal workstations to accelerate the execution of their programs and have often encountered that the amount of memory available on GPU cards is typically smaller than the amount of memory available on the host computer. We are interested in exploring approaches to solve problems with this restriction. Our main contribution is to devise ways in which portions of the problem can be moved to the memory of the GPU to be solved using its multiprocessing capabilities. We implemented on a GPU the Jacobi iterative method to solve systems of linear equations and report the details from the results obtained, analyzing its performance and accuracy. Our code solves a system of linear equations large enough to exceed the card’s memory, but not the host memory. Significant speedups were observed, as the execution time taken to solve each system is faster than those obtained with Intel® MKL and Eigen, libraries designed to work on CPUs. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018

The Rho family GTPase Cdc42 regulates the activation of Ras/MAP kinase by the exchange factor Ras-GRF.

The Ras guanine-nucleotide exchange factor Ras-GRF/Cdc25(Mn) harbors a complex array of structural motifs that include a Dbl-homology (DH) domain, usually found in proteins that interact functionally with the Rho family GTPases, and the role of which is not yet fully understood. Here, we present evidence that Ras-GRF requires its DH domain to translocate to the membrane, to stimulate exchange on Ras, and to activate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). In an unprecedented fashion, we have found that these processes are regulated by the Rho family GTPase Cdc42. We show that GDP- but not GTP-bound Cdc42 prevents Ras-GRF recruitment to the membrane and activation of Ras/MAPK, although no direct association of Ras-GRF with Cdc42 was detected. We also demonstrate that catalyzing GDP/GTP exchange on Cdc42 facilitates Ras-GRF-induced MAPK activation. Moreover, we show that the potentiating effect of ionomycin on Ras-GRF-mediated MAPK stimulation is also regulated by Cdc42. These results provide the first evidence for the involvement of a Rho family G protein in the control of the activity of a Ras exchange factor

The ecology of the European badger (Meles meles) in Ireland: a review

peer-reviewedThe badger is an ecologically and economically important species. Detailed knowledge of aspects of the ecology of this animal in Ireland has only emerged through research over recent decades. Here, we review what is known about the species' Irish populations and compare these findings with populations in Britain and Europe. Like populations elsewhere, setts are preferentially constructed on south or southeast facing sloping ground in well-drained soil types. Unlike in Britain, Irish badger main setts are less complex and most commonly found in hedgerows. Badgers utilise many habitat types, but greater badger densities have been associated with landscapes with high proportions of pasture and broadleaf woodlands. Badgers in Ireland tend to have seasonally varied diets, with less dependence on earthworms than some other populations in northwest Europe. Recent research suggests that females exhibit later onset and timing of reproductive events, smaller litter sizes and lower loss of blastocysts than populations studied in Britain. Adult social groups in Ireland tend to be smaller than in Britain, though significantly larger than social groups from continental Europe. Although progress has been made in estimating the distribution and density of badger populations, national population estimates have varied widely in the Republic of Ireland. Future research should concentrate on filling gaps in our knowledge, including population models and predictive spatial modelling that will contribute to vaccine delivery, management and conservation strategies.Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and FoodTeagasc Walsh Fellowship Programm

Body measurements and serum lipid profile of overweight adult dogs fed diet with containing conjugated linoleic acid Medidas corporais e perfil lipídico plasmático de cães adultos com sobrepeso alimentados com dieta contendo ácido linoléico conjugado

Studies with human beings and animals have shown that dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) promotes changes in body structure, markedly, body fat reduction. This research aimed to assess the effect of CLA (60% of conjugated linoleic acid methyl ester, at the proportion of 1:1 of the 9, 11: 10, 12 isomers) on changes in body weight, subcutaneous tissue thickness, body fat mass and concentration of serum lipids (triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, LDL and HDL) in overweight dogs. Dogs of different breeds weighting 16.85&plusmn;7.13 assigned in a randomized assay. Two types of diets were offered for 120 days: control (-CLA) and test (+CLA, 0.3%). There was no difference between control and test groups considering body weight and serum levels of triacylglycerols, total cholesterol and LDL portion. There was a significant difference between the final and initial results for subcutaneous tissue thickness and body fat mass and for serum concentration of HDL in dogs supplemented with CLA. The addition of 0.3% of CLA in the diet of overweight dogs decreased the fat deposition on subcutaneous tissue and the development of body fat mass but increased blood levels of HDL.<br>Estudos em humanos e animais têm demonstrado que o uso do ácido linoléico conjugado (ALC) promove alterações na composição corporal, principalmente reduzindo a deposição de gordura. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as alterações sobre o peso corporal, tecido adiposo subcutâneo, gordura corporal e concentração sérica de lípideos (triacilglicerol, colesterol total, LDL e HDL) de cães com sobrepeso alimentados com ALC (60% de ácido linoléico conjugado metil ester, na proporção de 1:1 de 9, 11: 10, 12 isômeros) na dieta. Duas dietas foram fornecidas por quatro meses, para 14 cães com sobrepeso (16,85&plusmn;7,13) de diferentes raças: dietas controle (-ALC) e teste (+ALC, 0,3%). O experimento seguiu delineamento inteiramente casualizado. Não houve diferença entre os grupos para peso corporal e nível sérico de triacilglicerol, colesterol total e LDL. No entanto, foram observadas diferenças significativas entre os períodos final e inicial para tecido adiposo subcutâneo, gordura corporal e nível sérico de HDL nos cães que receberam ALC. A suplementação de 0,3% de ALC na dieta de cães com sobrepeso diminuiu a deposição de lipídios no tecido subcutâneo e a gordura corporal total, mas aumentou os níveis sanguíneos de HDL