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Background: Parents of children who stutter (CWS) are often uncertain, hesitant and uncomfortable to communicate openly with their CWS and other people on the topic of the stutter and disclosing the stutter to the child and/or other people., Aims: To map and understand the dynamics involved when parents communicate with their CWS and other people on the topic of their child's stuttering and disclosure of the stutter to the child and/or other people., Methods: This scoping review was conducted in accordance with Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. The following platforms and search engines were identified and searched: Google Scholar, PubMed, ProQuest Databases and EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier, Africa-Wide Information, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center), Health Source Nursing/Academic Edition and MEDLINE. The search was limited to studies pertaining to parents of CWS, instead of people who stutter. The first two authors screened titles and abstracts of identified records, and thereafter, full-text screening was conducted of the selected articles as well as the reference lists., Results: The scoping review yielded 14 records that included data from 12 different countries representing five continents. The 14 records comprised one systematic review, four expert opinions, two studies with mixed methods, five with qualitative designs and two with quantitative designs. The review content provided information about the nature, advantages and disadvantages of open communication and disclosure as well as reasons why parents of CWS are reluctant or willing to communicate in an open way., Conclusions: There is limited information available about parental communication with CWS on the topic of their stuttering and disclosure of the child's stuttering to the child and/other people. The complexity of communication dynamics between CWS and their parents requires further in-depth research., Contribution: This study highlights the lack of empirical evidence about disclosure and the dynamics of open communication between parents and their CWS and the need for research to gain insight into this topic., What This Paper Adds: What is already known on the subject Parents of CWS are often uncertain, hesitant and uncomfortable to communicate openly with their CWS and other people on the topic of the stutter and disclosing the stutter to the child and/or other people. Despite the important and indispensable role parents play in the life of their CWS, little information is available regarding the way in which parents communicate about stuttering with their CWS, and how they accomplish the process of stuttering disclosure. What this study adds This scoping review confirms that limited information is available regarding the process of parental communication with CWS and disclosure of the stutter. This study forms a basis for planning further research as it assessed the current state of knowledge on the issue. What are the clinical implications of this work? The results of this study have future potential in helping parents of CWS to understand the processes involved related to parental communication with CWS and disclosure of the stutter. Further research regarding this issue is encouraged., (© 2024 The Author(s). International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.)

Only by understanding the ability to take a third-person perspective can we begin to elucidate the neural processes responsible for one's inimitable conscious experience. The current study examined differences in hemispheric laterality during a first-person perspective (1PP) and third-person perspective (3PP) taking task, using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Participants were asked to take either the 1PP or 3PP when identifying the number of spheres in a virtual scene. During this task, single-pulse TMS was delivered to the motor cortex of both the left and right hemispheres of 10 healthy volunteers. Measures of TMS-induced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) of the contralateral abductor pollicis brevis (APB) were employed as an indicator of lateralized cortical activation. The data suggest that the right hemisphere is more important in discriminating between 1PP and 3PP. These data add a novel method for determining perspective taking and add to the literature supporting the role of the right hemisphere in meta representation.

Mycotoxins are widely studied by many research groups in all aspects, but the stability of these compounds needs further research for clarification. The objective of this study is to evaluate deoxynivalenol and zearalenone stability during all steps of the malting and brewing processes. The levels of these compounds decreased significantly during the production process (barley to beer). During the malting process, the DON levels decreased significantly in the steeping, germination, and malting steps (62%, 51.5%, and 68%, respectively). Considering ZEN, when the levels were compared between barley and the last step of the process, a significant decrease was observed. Most of the mycotoxins produced were transferred to the rootlets and spent grains, which is advantageous considering the final product. Furthermore, the mycotoxin dietary intake estimation was included in this study. The results proved that if the concentrations of target mycotoxins in raw material are under the limits established by the regulations, the levels decrease during the malting and brewing processes and make the beer secure for consumers. The quality of the five commodities involved in the beer process plays a decisive role in the creation of a safe final product., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The Zuli River is one of the branches of the upper Yellow River, as an inland catchment with semiarid climate in northwestern China, and the formation, evolution, and development of brackish water at such a large scale have remained unclear. This study aims to find clues about the origin and formation mechanism of salty water through multiple methods of hydrochemistry and isotope hydrology. The results show that groundwater is dominantly recharged by precipitation, and the river water was mainly recharged by groundwater discharge. The relatively high tritium content of groundwater (>5.0 TU) clearly suggests the occurrence of a modern recharge and rapid circulation. The dissolution of evaporate minerals, followed by incongruent dissolution of carbonate minerals (dolomite), constituted the main processes controlling groundwater salinization. In addition, the intense evaporation and unreasonable use of fertilizers further increase the TDS of the river, which should be the primary external mechanism of water salinization. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The authors aimed to find clues about the formation mechanism of salty water in an inland catchment of the Yellow River. The results of this research shows that the dissolution of dissolved minerals constituted the main processes controlling groundwater salinization. In addition, the intense evaporation and unreasonable use of fertilizers, which should be the primary external mechanism of water salinization. This work would provide a theoretical basis for government to develop rational utilization of brackish water resources in the study area, which is also significant for understanding the mechanism of water salinization in an inland mountain watershed and even in similar inland watersheds around the world., (© 2018 Water Environment Federation.)

Mild traumatic brain injury afflicts over 2 million people annually and little can be done for the underlying injury. The Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs Minocycline plus N-acetylcysteine (MINO plus NAC) synergistically improved cognition and memory in a rat mild controlled cortical impact (mCCI) model of traumatic brain injury. 3 The underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of the drug combination are unknown. This study addressed the effect of the drug combination on white matter damage and neuroinflammation after mCCI. Brain tissue from mCCI rats given either sham-injury, saline, MINO alone, NAC alone, or MINO plus NAC was investigated via histology and qPCR at four time points (2, 4, 7, and 14 days post-injury) for markers of white matter damage and neuroinflammation. MINO plus NAC synergistically protected resident oligodendrocytes and decreased the number of oligodendrocyte precursor cells. Activation of microglia/macrophages (MP/MG) was synergistically increased in white matter two days post-injury after MINO plus NAC treatment. Patterns of M1 and M2 MP/MG were also altered after treatment. The modulation of neuroinflammation is a potential mechanism to promote remyelination and improve cognition and memory. These data also provide new and important insights into how drug treatments can induce repair after traumatic brain injury.

Working in crime scenes presents a challenge to the forensic scientist, as some surfaces, such as floors and walls, cannot be transferred to the lab for further development and must, therefore, be processed at the crime scene itself. Two main types of latent fingermarks may be encountered in crime scenes: amino acids based and blood contaminated. One of the most common reagents, which are able to develop both types of fingermarks on porous surfaces, is ninhydrin. As blood contaminated fingermarks may be crucial in connecting the suspect to the crime it is important to be able to distinguish between them and natural fingermarks. More than a decade of experience in crime scene investigations led to the understanding that there is a clear visual distinction between natural and blood contaminated fingermarks that are developed by ninhydrin. This study attempted to translate the visual difference into a mobile, non-destructive spectrophotometric method that can be used in crime scenes. Three independent spectrophotometric approaches were examined. The first showed a clear difference between the UV-vis spectra of the solution of blood and ninhydrin versus that of Ruhemann's purple. The second introduced another method in the solid phase to better simulate a real exhibit found in crime scenes. Once establishing the scientific foundation for the visible difference, a third technique for colour measurements was used in order to provide a potentially fast, quantitative, accurate and non-destructive field test for blood determination at the crime scene., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus has increased at an alarming rate in recent years. Recent estimations project that 366 million people could have diabetes by 2030. The incretin system emerges as a new target for type 2 diabetes therapy, and new molecules are being approved for its use in humans since the year 2005. These agents could be divided into 2 main groups, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors. Endogenous GLP-1 is an incretin hormone composed by a 30-amino acid peptide and is secreted from L-cells in distal small intestine in response to calorie intake, causing a glucose-dependent β-cell response resulting in a restoration of the first-phase insulin response. Additionally, GLP-1 regulates glucagon production, which leads to inhibition of glucogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in the liver. Synthetic molecules such as exenatide and liraglutide have been developed to bind GLP-1 receptor and mimic GLP-1 effects in pancreatic cells and other target organs.

HLA-DM is now known to have a major contribution to the selection of immunodominant epitopes. A better understanding of the mechanisms controlling epitope selection can be achieved by examination of the biophysical behavior of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules upon binding of antigenic peptides and the effect of DM on the interactions. Using purified soluble molecules, in this chapter, we describe several in vitro methods for measuring peptide binding to HLA-DR molecules and the effects of HLA-DM on the interactions. A simple qualitative method, Gentle SDS-PAGE Assay, would assess the ability of peptides to form tight complexes with MHC class II molecules. Measuring binding kinetics is among the most informative approaches to understanding molecular mechanisms, and here we describe two different methods for measuring binding kinetics of peptide-MHC complexes. In one method, rates of association and dissociation of fluorescently labeled peptides to soluble MHC class II molecules can be determined using G50 spin columns to separate unbound peptides from those in complex with MHC molecules. In another method, association and dissociation of unlabeled peptides and MHC class II molecules can be determined in real time using BIAcore surface plasmon resonance (SPR). We also have described an Intrinsic Tryptophan Fluorescence Assay for studying transient interactions of DM and MHC class II molecules.

Objective: South Africa has very high rates of both HIV infection and cervical pathology. The management of ASC-H is colposcopy and directed biopsy, but with so many women diagnosed with HSIL and a dearth of colposcopy centres in South Africa, women with cytologic diagnosis of ASC-H may not be prioritized for colposcopy. The aim of this study was to determine if HIV-positive women with a cytologic diagnosis of ASC-H should undergo immediate colposcopy or whether colposcopy can be delayed, within the context of an underfunded health care setting with so many competing health needs., Materials and Methods: A computer database search was performed from the archives of an NGO-administered clinic that offers comprehensive HIV care. All women with a cytologic diagnosis of ASC-H on cervical smears from September 2005 until August 2009 were identified. Histologic follow up was sought in all patients., Results: A total of 2111 cervical smears were performed and 41 diagnosed as ASC-H (1.94%). No histologic follow up data was available in 15 cases. Follow up histologic results were as follows: three negative (11.5%), five koilocytosis and/ or CIN1 (19.2%), ten CIN2 (38.5%) and eight CIN3 (30.8%). There were no cases of invasive carcinoma on follow up., Conclusion: The current appropriate management of HIV-positive women in low-resource settings with a diagnosis of ASC-H on cervical smear is colposcopy, despite the costs involved. In the future and if cost-effective in developing nations, use of novel markers may help select which HIV-positive women can be managed conservatively and which ones referred for more active treatment. More research in this regard is warranted.

Purpose: In this study, two unreported estrogen antagonists were identified using a combination of computational screening and a simple bacterial estrogen sensor., Methods: Molecules here presented were initially part of a group obtained from a library of over a half million chemical compounds, using the Shape Signatures method. The structures within this group were then clustered and compared to known antagonists based on their physico-chemical parameters, and possible binding modes of the compounds to the Estrogen Receptor alpha (ER alpha) were analyzed. Finally, thirteen candidate compounds were purchased, and two of them were shown to behave as potential subtype-selective estrogen antagonists using a set of bacterial estrogen biosensors, which included sensors for ER alpha, ER beta, and a negative control thyroid hormone beta biosensor. These activities were then analyzed using an ELISA assay against activated ER alpha in human MCF-7 cell extract., Results: Two new estrogen receptor antagonists were detected using in silico Shape Signatures method with an engineered subtype-selective bacterial estrogen biosensor and commercially available ELISA assay. Additional thyroid biosensor control experiments confirmed no compounds interacted with human thyroid receptor beta., Conclusions: This work demonstrates an effective combination of computational analysis and simple bacterial screens for rapid identification of potential hormone-like therapeutics.

A growing body of medical research has demonstrated that intensive control of serum glucose levels can minimize the development of diabetes-related complications. Success with insulin management ultimately depends on how closely a given regimen can mimic normal physiologic insulin release patterns. The new insulin analogs, including the rapid-acting analogs (aspart, lispro, glulisine), the long-acting basal analogs (glargine, detemir), and the premixed insulin analog formulations (75% neutral protamine lispro, 25% lispro; 50% neutral protamine lispro, 50% lispro; 70% protamine aspart, 30% aspart) have been formulated to allow for a closer replication of a normal insulin profile. The rapid-acting analogs can be administered at mealtimes and produce a rapid and short-lived insulin spike to address postprandial glucose elevations, while the long-acting analogs come close to the ideal of a smooth, relatively flat, 24-hour basal insulin supply, with less variability in action compared to NPH insulin. Despite these clear pharmacologic advantages, measurable clinical benefits in a complex disease such as diabetes can be hard to measure. To date, reviews of insulin analog studies have not found a dramatic overall improvement in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) outcomes compared to traditional human insulins, although all-analog basal-bolus regimens were associated with significantly lower HbA1c than all-human-insulin basal bolus regimens in some studies. Beyond HbA1c comparisons, however, insulin analogs have been shown in many instances to be associated with lower risks of hypoglycemia, lower levels of postprandial glucose excursions, better patient adherence, greater quality of life, and higher satisfaction with treatment. The long-acting basal analog insulin detemir has the additional advantage of producing less weight gain, which has been considered until now an almost inevitable consequence of insulin replacement.

Increasing attention is being paid to the role of selenium, both as an essential component required for the activity of many enzymes and in the context of selenium-based pharmaceutical agents. A wide range of therapeutics that include selenium are on the market and under development, such as antihypertensive, anticancerogenic, antiviral, and immunosuppressive agents. Computer-aided drug design (CADD) has proven to be an important tool for the development of new drugs. Many CADD techniques, including docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and other receptor-based approaches, require an accurate understanding of the nature of the intermolecular forces that act to stabilize protein-ligand complexes; moreover, a quantitative assessment of these interactions furthers our efforts to rationalize the drug design process. In this paper, we consider one class of interaction involving selenium, that between Se and aromatic rings. Prior work has shown that interactions between divalent sulfur and aromatic rings are observed much more frequently than would be expected on the basis of chance, both in protein structures and the crystal structures of organic compounds that include these moieties. Recent studies on the optimization of inhibitor-protein binding also suggest that sulfur-aromatic interactions are important in stabilizing these complexes and may be crucial focal point for CADD. Given that selenium and sulfur have similar chemistry, and that selenium is significantly more polarizable, we propose that Se-aromatic interactions may also play an important stabilizing role in the structure of folded proteins and in drug-protein complexes. We have tested this hypothesis against data from the Cambridge Crystallographic Database and ab initio quantum chemical calculations. We have found evidence that selenium does interact strongly with aromatic rings and may play a role analogous to sulfur in stabilizing protein folds. In addition, selenium should be considered along with sulfur in rational drug design strategies that seek to improve binding to target protein sites that include aromatic rings., (Copyright 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Introduction: Time to defibrillation (T(defib)) is the most important modifiable factor affecting survival from cardiac arrest. Mortality increases by approximately 7--10% for each minute of defibrillation delay. The purpose of this study was to determine whether defibrillator electrode design complexity affects T(defib)., Methods: This was a randomized sequential design study utilizing a standardized ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest model for CPR mannequins. We evaluated two common types of defibrillator electrode models: a single connector design and a double connector design that requires an adaptor. We compared the time required by cardiac arrest team leaders to apply the two types of defibrillator electrodes to a manikin, connect them to a defibrillator, and then deliver a first defibrillatory shock. The primary outcome was time to defibrillation. The secondary outcome was difficulty of application as perceived by the physician participants on a 10 cm visual analog scale., Results: Thirty-two residents performed a sequential assessment of both electrodes. The average T(defib) for the double connector model was 42.9s longer than that of the single connector model (87.5s versus 44.6s, p<0.001). As evaluated by the study participants, the single connector model was significantly easier to apply then the double connector model (1.3 cm versus 4.4 cm, p<0.001)., Conclusion: The single connector defibrillator electrode design was associated with a significantly shorter T(defib) than the double connector design. It also was judged to be easier to apply in this model. Ergonomic design of defibrillator electrodes can significantly impact time to defibrillation.

We have cloned the RAG-1 promoter region and have determined that almost all detectable promoter activity resides within a 208-bp fragment. Sequence analysis of this promoter region has identified potential recognition motifs for a number of lymphocyte-restricted and ubiquitous transcription factors. Subsequent assays have revealed that the NF-Y transcription factor interacts with a CCAAT site within the RAG-1 promoter and appears to play an important role in the positive transcriptional regulation of this gene.

In a 5-year study of survivors of a first myocardial infarction, the effect of an alpha-linolenic acid-enriched diet (experimental) was compared with the prudent diet of the American Heart Association (control) in prevention of secondary coronary events. After a mean follow-up of 27 months, there were 5 nonfatal myocardial infarctions and 3 cardiac deaths in the experimental group versus 17 nonfatal myocardial infarctions and 16 cardiac deaths in the control group. Overall mortality was 20 in the control and 8 in the experimental group. An alpha-linolenic acid-enriched diet appears to be effective in secondary prevention of coronary events, but a follow-up trial with a larger sample size is suggested.

The Limulus in vitro endotoxin assay was evaluated as a possible method for the prompt detection and measurement of endotoxins of Gram-negative bacteria in milk. Quantitative results were obtained following 1 h incubation of Limulus lysate and 10-fold dilutions of milk from normal quarters and from quarters of cows with clinical mastitis. This test was capable of detecting endotoxins associated with acute coliform mastitis. A positive Limulus reaction was recorded at dilutions ranging from 1: 10(4) to 1: 10(9) of milk from quarters affected with clinical mastitis due to coliform bacteria. Milk from normal quarters and from clinical mastitis cases due to Gram-positive bacteria was consistently negative to the test when diluted 1:10(3).