Utilizing social virtual reality robot (V2R) for music education to children with high-functioning autism

Virtual Reality (VR) technology is a growing technology that has been used in various fields of psychology, education, and therapy. One group of potential users of VR are children with autism who need education and have poor social interactions; this technology could help them improve their social skills through real-world simulation. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of conducting virtual music education programs with automatic assessment system for children with autism at treatment/research centers without the need to purchase a robot, resulting in the possibility of offering schedules on a larger scale and at a lower cost. Intervention sessions were conducted for five children with high-functioning autism ranging in age from 6 to 8 years old during 20 weeks which includes a baseline session, a pre-test, training sessions, a post-test, and a follow-up test. Each music education sessions involved teaching different notes and pieces of music according to the child’s cooperation, accuracy, and skill level utilizing virtual reality robots and virtual musical instruments. Actually, by analysis of psychological tests, and questionnaires conducted by a psychologist, we observe slight improvements in cognitive skills because of the ceiling effect. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the proposed method was proved by conducting statistical analysis on the child’s performance data during the music education sessions which were obtained by using both video coding and the proposed automatic assessment system. Consequently, a general upward trend in the musical ability of participants was shown to occur in these sessions, which warrants future studies in this field

Symptom Evaluation in Pediatric Oncology Outpatient Setting; A Cross-Sectional Study: Symptoms in Pediatric Oncology

Detection and management of cancer-related symptoms is a key component in children‟s quality of life. We evaluate symptoms and their severity in Iranian pediatric oncology outpatients using Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist for Children (TRSC-C). This was a cross-sectional study conducted in two outpatient pediatric oncology settings. We included all patients aged between 5-17 years. The validated and reliable Persian translated version of TRSC-C was used to study the symptoms. Overall 1425 symptoms were documented from 162 patients (mean age 8.6 ±3.2, acute lymphoblastic leukemia: 76.5%). In 96.3% of patients at least one symptom was present. Twenty (12.34%) patients experienced at least 15 events. Irritable, loss of appetite, cough, pain and hair loss were the top 5 frequent symptoms. The highest mean severity scores were also belonged to irritable, loss of appetite, and hair loss. We found no significant difference between gender, age group or time of the last chemotherapy with mean total severity scores or total number of symptoms (P>0.05). In conclusion, TRSC-C is an appropriate symptom assessment checklist for our settings and it would give us the ability to track symptoms and designate clinical interventions based on the frequent and severe identified symptoms

Evaluation of the Anti-inflammatory Effects of Atorvastatin on Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory joint disorder with unknown etiology. Atorvastatin is a lipid-lowering agent that affects the inflammatory processes. Objective: This study aimed to determine the anti-inflammatory effects of atorvastatin on the Disease Activity Index and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations in RA patients. Methods: This clinical trial was performed on 38 RA patients, who were referred to the Imam Reza and Ghaem Medical Centers of Mashhad, Iran between 2013 and 2014. Patients were divided into two groups: 1) the intervention group, which received 40 mg of atorvastatin, and 2) the control group. Response to treatment and the clinical status of patients were evaluated using the Disease Activity Score (DAS-28) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at weeks zero, four, eight, and twelve, based on the 2010 ACR/EULAR Criteria by two rheumatologists. Disease activity and laboratory parameters, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), high-sensitivity Creactive protein (hs-CRP), DAS-ESR, DAS- hs-CRP, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and liver function test (LFT) were measured in both groups. Results: There was a significant difference in the mean number of swollen joints (p<0.011), ESR (p <0.005), DAS-ESR (P<0.043), LDL (0.036), and HDL (0.016) between the two groups. The changes in trend showed no significant difference in the mean number of tender joints (p =0.38), VAS (p =0.715), CRP (p =0.07), DAS-hs- CRP (p=0.431), total cholesterol (p=0.285), or TG (p =0.331) between the two groups. However, the Disease Activity Index decreased by 48.4% in the intervention group, compared to 35.5% in the control group. Conclusion: As the results indicated, atorvastatin has a positive effect on the course of RA. In fact, atorvastatin, as an anti-inflammatory agent, could significantly influence inflammation in RA patients. Therefore, adding a lipid-lowering agent to standard medications in RA may be warranted and could decrease disease activity. Clinical trial registration: The trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (Website: http://www.irct.ir, Irct ID: IRCT2015122425648N2). Funding: The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this articl

Effect of Cell Wall, Cytoplasmic Fraction and Killed-Candida albicans on Nitric Oxide Production by Peritoneal Macrophages from BALB/c Mice

Objective(s)The fractions of Candida albicans have been used as an immunomodulator. The present work assessed theeffect of different fractions of C. albicans on nitric oxide (NO) production by mice peritoneal macrophages.Materials and MethodsCell wall and cytoplasmic fractions of C. albicans ATCC 10321 strain were extracted. Mice peritonealmacrophages were purified and cultured. Different concentrations of both fractions and also killedC. albicans cells were used for macrophages stimulation and evaluation of NO production. NO amount wasdetected in culture supernatants of macrophages by Griess reagent. Also, MTT assay was performed toassess the viability of macrophages.ResultsThe results elucidated that suppressive effect of cell wall proteins on NO release was significant at the doseof 100 μg/ml (P=0.01), while cytoplasmic fraction increased NO amount at the dose of 1 μg/ml compared tothe control group (P=0.003). Augmentation of NO production was statistically significant at 200 killedC. albicans per well (P=0.006).ConclusionAccording to our findings, cytoplasmic fractions and killed C. albicans have a positive effect on NOproduction by peritoneal macrophages, while cell wall fractions did not. Therefore, it is proposed thatC. albicans fractions can be studied more as inflammation modulators.Keywords: Candida albicans, Macrophages, Nitric Oxid

Perspectives on ENCODE

The Encylopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project launched in 2003 with the long-term goal of developing a comprehensive map of functional elements in the human genome. These included genes, biochemical regions associated with gene regulation (for example, transcription factor binding sites, open chromatin, and histone marks) and transcript isoforms. The marks serve as sites for candidate cis-regulatory elements (cCREs) that may serve functional roles in regulating gene expression1. The project has been extended to model organisms, particularly the mouse. In the third phase of ENCODE, nearly a million and more than 300,000 cCRE annotations have been generated for human and mouse, respectively, and these have provided a valuable resource for the scientific community.11Nsciescopu

Expanded encyclopaedias of DNA elements in the human and mouse genomes

AbstractThe human and mouse genomes contain instructions that specify RNAs and proteins and govern the timing, magnitude, and cellular context of their production. To better delineate these elements, phase III of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project has expanded analysis of the cell and tissue repertoires of RNA transcription, chromatin structure and modification, DNA methylation, chromatin looping, and occupancy by transcription factors and RNA-binding proteins. Here we summarize these efforts, which have produced 5,992 new experimental datasets, including systematic determinations across mouse fetal development. All data are available through the ENCODE data portal (https://www.encodeproject.org), including phase II ENCODE1 and Roadmap Epigenomics2 data. We have developed a registry of 926,535 human and 339,815 mouse candidate cis-regulatory elements, covering 7.9 and 3.4% of their respective genomes, by integrating selected datatypes associated with gene regulation, and constructed a web-based server (SCREEN; http://screen.encodeproject.org) to provide flexible, user-defined access to this resource. Collectively, the ENCODE data and registry provide an expansive resource for the scientific community to build a better understanding of the organization and function of the human and mouse genomes.11Nsciescopu