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The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on swallowing function in poststroke patients.We searched for potentially eligible randomized controlled trials from electronic databases, including the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and Chinese Science and Technology Periodical (VIP) databases, from their inception to January 15, 2021. All statistical analyses were performed using RevMan 5.4, and the standardized mean difference with 95% confidence intervals was estimated for the swallowing function outcomes and to understand the mean effect size.Ten studies involving 343 participants were included in this meta-analysis. The overall analyses demonstrated a significant effect size for swallowing function. Subgroup analyses suggested that both acute and chronic stroke patients showed significant effects on swallowing function after transcranial direct current stimulation. Furthermore, compared with sham stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation anodal to the affected, unaffected, and bilateral hemispheres can produce a significant effect size for swallowing function in stroke patients.This meta-analysis showed that transcranial direct current stimulation is likely to be effective for the recovery of dysphagia in poststroke patients, in the acute or chronic phase, and that the effect of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation to unaffected hemispheres is larger.

To observe the effect of acupuncture combined with regular treatment and swallowing function training on pharyngeal motor, sensory function and penetration-aspiration function in patients with dysphagia after stroke.A total of 60 patients with dysphagia after stroke were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group, 30 patients in each group. Both groups were treated with conventional treatment and swallowing function training; in addition, the observation group was treated with acupuncture at Lianquan (CV 23), Fengfu (GV 16), Yifeng (TE 17). All the treatments were given once a day, 5 days a week, for totally 4 weeks. In the two groups, the pharyngeal motor and sensory function, penetration-aspiration scores were evaluated by fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES), and the Kubota water swallowing test scores were assessed before and after treatment, and the clinical effects were compared.After treatment, the pharyngeal motor and sensory function in the two groups were all higher than those before treatment (Acupuncture combined with regular treatment and swallowing training could improve the pharyngeal motor and sensory function, and penetration-aspiration scores in patients with dysphagia after stroke.

This research explores transnational consumption of Korean entertainment among Asian viewers. To explain the appeal of Korean entertainment, this research focuses on mixed response of two opposing ...

Nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is the most common cause of acute vision loss in older people, and there is no effective therapy. The effect of the systemic or local application of steroids for NAION patients remains controversial. Oroxylin A (OA) (5,7-dihydroxy-6-methoxyflavone) is a bioactive flavonoid extracted from Scutellariae baicalensis Georgi. with various beneficial effects, including anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. A previous study showed that OA promotes retinal ganglion cell (RGC) survival after optic nerve (ON) crush injury. The purpose of this research was to further explore the potential actions of OA in ischemic injury in an experimental anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (rAION) rat model induced by photothrombosis. Our results show that OA efficiently attenuated ischemic injury in rats by reducing optic disc edema, the apoptotic death of retinal ganglion cells, and the infiltration of inflammatory cells. Moreover, OA significantly ameliorated the pathologic changes of demyelination, modulated microglial polarization, and preserved visual function after rAION induction. OA activated nuclear factor E2 related factor (Nrf2) signaling and its downstream antioxidant enzymes NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO-1) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) in the retina. We demonstrated that OA activates Nrf2 signaling, protecting retinal ganglion cells from ischemic injury, in the rAION model and could potentially be used as a therapeutic approach in ischemic optic neuropathy.

This study investigates how audience members relate to and vicariously interact with multiple characters while viewing a narrative. Under the framework of the theory of situation models, we applied...

Paecilomyces hepiali is a new species of fungus isolated from a field collection of Ophiocordyceps sinensis from Baima snow mountain, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province by the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. The specimen was identified and named as Paecilomyces hepiali by Qing-Tao Chen, the professor of the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Paecilomyces hepiali) (2008), who identified a dried culture of living strain 82-2 as the holotype. Until now, the holotype (the voucher specimen) was deposited in the Herbarium of the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica (HICMM), China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing. The P. hepiali neotype designated by the paper "Neotypification of P. hepiali (Hypocreales)" published in TAXON 64 (1) by Yao Yi-Jian et al. in February 2015 is untenable.

Cardiopulmonary arrest during and proximate to hemodialysis is rare but highly fatal. Studies have examined peridialytic sudden cardiac event risk factors, but no study has considered associates of cardiopulmonary arrests (fatal and nonfatal events including cardiac and respiratory causes). This study was designed to elucidate patient and procedural factors associated with peridialytic cardiopulmonary arrest. Data for this case-control study were taken from the hemodialysis population at Fresenius Medical Care, North America. 924 in-center cardiopulmonary events (cases) and 75,538 controls were identified. Cases and controls were 1 : 5 matched on age, sex, race, and diabetes. Predictors of cardiopulmonary arrest were considered for logistic model inclusion. Missed treatments due to hospitalization, lower body mass, coronary artery disease, heart failure, lower albumin and hemoglobin, lower dialysate potassium, higher serum calcium, greater erythropoietin stimulating agent dose, and normalized protein catabolic rate (J-shaped) were associated with peridialytic cardiopulmonary arrest. Of these, lower albumin, hemoglobin, and body mass index; higher erythropoietin stimulating agent dose; and greater missed sessions had the strongest associations with outcome. Patient health markers and procedural factors are associated with peridialytic cardiopulmonary arrest. In addition to optimizing nutritional status, it may be prudent to limit exposure to low dialysate potassium (

Game streaming—viewing live or recorded broadcasts of others’ video game play—has become widely popular in recent years due to the emergence of platforms such as Twitch and YouTube Gaming. We position game streaming as a form of collaborative game play, with implications for how we study games and communication. We first review the social history of gaming before explicating game streaming as a gaming activity that involves public performance and varying levels of social interaction and synchrony. The influence of these three core elements on the uses, processes, and effects of game streaming as an entertainment activity are discussed through the twin perspectives of communication and media psychology.

The growth of Bacillus subtilis was highly inhibited by crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis ly36 strain with or without the treatment of proteinase K. And human hepatoma cell lines SMMC-7721 and Bel-7402 were killed by the proteinase K-treated crystal proteins of B. thuringiensis ly36 strain.

Rare ginsenoside C-K was prepared using enzymatic transformation with snailase from main ginsenoside Rb1 at the following conditions: material ratio 62.14:10, pH 4.0, incubation at 46.40 °C for 15 h. After chromatography by silica gel column and crystal formation, C-K with more than 95% purity was obtained from the production of enzymatic transformation. The yield of C-K reached 63.02% after optimization, representing an about 9% increase than before. In addition, C-K we prepared exhibited an obvious inhibitory effect on the proliferation of human lung adenocarcinoma cancer cell A549 and human hepatoma cell HepG-2.

This study examines involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) that are triggered by video entertainment content so that we can better understand the interplay between our conception of self and our ability to relate to narratives. We used thought-listing techniques to obtain unsolicited autobiographical memories. We examined IAMs engendered when viewing 11 different video presentations over three studies. Results indicated that IAMs are a normal part of the media experience. Generation of IAMs appears to be related to low levels of arousal, mediated by the specific content genre, with dramas producing more IAMs than comedies. Narrative involvement (transportation) triggers more IAMs for those viewing comedy programs.

Two studies examined topic avoidance in Chinese and Taiwanese opposite-sex friendships and romantic relationships. Five areas of topic avoidance emerged through analytic induction and cluster analysis: negative appraisal, relational issues, sexual issues, politics, and personal experience. Partner protection, negative relational impact, and self inefficacy emerged as the most common reasons for avoidance. Results revealed that friends, relative to romantic partners, engaged in higher levels of topic avoidance. Taiwanese participants, moreover, avoided discussing politics to a greater extent than did mainland Chinese participants. Lacking closeness was the main reason behind avoidance of political discussion. Topic avoidance was also linked to relationship quality, as relational satisfaction negatively predicted relational issue avoidance and topic avoidance breadth (i.e. the number of topics regularly avoided in the relationship). The authors explain these and other findings based on Chinese cultural codes and historically-embedded concepts that shape interpersonal interaction.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the most popular strategies for an organization to satisfy its customers and obtain growth profits. Much attention of the research to date, however, has been paid to strategy, implementation, and organization performance, with the people dimension in CRM being under-researched. This study attempts to investigate the importance of people-driven processes of CRM in organizations and identify factors affecting the effectiveness of people-driven CRM processes. A multiple case study approach was applied and in-depth interviews were conducted with managers from four case companies to identify the factors influencing the people-driven CRM processes. Four dependency factors affecting the effectiveness of people-driven processes were identified, including customer emotional needs, customer involvement, employee capabilities, and organizational customer-oriented culture.

The relationship between tacit knowledge and informal networks has not been fully explored. Tacit knowledge cannot be well managed directly, because it is deeply embedded in individual actions and experiences. This study proposes an approach to managing informal networks as a new middle way to facilitate the sharing and transferring of tacit knowledge, owing to the fact that tacit knowledge is mostly shared and transferred through informal networks. To support the idea of the approach, an empirical case study of applying the approach to management of a large scientific project is also included. Our findings suggest that informal networks play essential roles for management of tacit knowledge, and thus good management of informal networks can lead to efficient sharing and transferring of tacit knowledge.

This paper discusses the way in which intellectual capital (IC) can be managed to assist organization to overcome dynamic challenges. An intellectual capital management capability (ICMC) model is developed which permits the management of an organization to realize the potential of IC by measuring the maturity level of its IC. The model is consistent with dynamic capability theory, which suggests leveraging internal and external resources in response to environment changes to sustain competitive advantage. By utilizing in-depth interviews with 25 chief executive officers from firms possessing high IC, this study seeks to inform the readers of the preliminary work and the way in which the maturity level of ICMC can be measured through the development and deployment of dynamic capabilities. The verification and enhancement of the proposed model has also clarified our understanding on the evolutionary path of management capabilities of IC.

Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is one of the well-known models that provide best practices for software quality improvement. Many articles praise the benefits of CMMI adoption, such as enhanced knowledge management of software development, improved software quality and increased efficiency of software development. However, these intangibles, especially those relating to knowledge management, have not been investigated yet. To build a deeper understanding of CMMI this paper intends to investigate the effectiveness of CMMI by examining the impact of quality management on the knowledge management of software development processes. A case study approach was employed to collect complete information of the impact of CMMI on software knowledge management from different aspects. The results reveal that the incongruence between managing the knowledge of software development and managing the process of software knowledge management has created blind points in the adoption of the CMMI programme. In add...

The theory of niche proposes that a new medium competes with older, more established media to fulfill users' needs. This study uses niche theory, a macrolevel theory, as well as social information processing theory and the theory of electronic propinquity, both microlevel theories, to examine the niche of instant messaging (IM) in providing general gratifications. Results indicate that IM is characterized by a broad niche, surpassed only by that of the cell phone. IM had substantial niche overlap with e-mail and the cell phone, indicating a degree of substitutability between them; the least overlap was with the landline telephone (LLP). The hierarchy that emerged indicated that the cell phone was superior to IM, which was superior to e-mail, followed by the LLP for providing general gratifications. Finally, displacement tests indicated that IM use displaced e-mail and LLP but not cell phone use. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Studies of online environments estimate that the majority of members in online forums do not contribute to ongoing discussions and only observe or “lurk” (e.g., Nonnecke & Preece, 2000). Despite the prevalence of this form of information acquisition, direct comparisons between the experiences of these “observers” (or “lurkers”) and active participants are lacking. The present research draws on previous research examining perceptual differences between participants and observers as well as social information processing theory (Walther, 1992) and reports on three studies examining such differences in computer-mediated communication (CMC). Study 1 examined the effects in the context of interpersonal interaction in synchronous CMC. Study 2 examined the effects in the context of group interaction in both synchronous and asynchronous CMC. Study 3 replicated and extended the results of the previous studies across two time periods. The overall results (a) support the presence of participant–observer differences i...

The descriptive study attempts to find house factors associated with earthquake deaths due to the earthquake that struck central Taiwan. Isoseismic area was selected for study to compare building damage and mortality. The rate of houses collapsing increased with intensity of earthquake, inferior constructing, and construction time. According to the ranking by mortality and statistics of death toll in various houses, the poor seismic resistant capacity of mud-brick residence is found to be the major factor that caused great loss of lives. There is 47.6% of the deaths occurred in mud-brick houses though present only 3.8% of all houses. While the reinforced steel concrete buildings had very low damage rate in the major earthquake. Asphyxia and internal hemorrhage were the major cause of deaths in house collapses. These results suggest that improvements in anti-seismic constructing and rescue team efforts could decrease the effect of disaster.

(2004). The Effect of New Networks on U.S. Television Diversity. Journal of Media Economics: Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 105-121.

Purpose To investigate the effect of oroxylin A on the survival of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) and the activation of microglial cells in a rat optic nerve (ON) crush model. Methods Oroxylin A (15mg/Kg in 0.2ml phosphate-buffered saline) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS control) was immediately administered after ON crush once by subcutaneous injection. Rats were euthanized at 2 weeks after the crush injury. The density of RGC was counted by retrograde labeling with FluoroGold and immunostaining of retina flat mounts for Brn3a. Electrophysiological visual function was assessed by flash visual evoked potentials (FVEP). TUNEL assay, immunoblotting analysis of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the retinas, and immunohistochemistry of GFAP in the retinas and ED1 in the ON were evaluated. Results Two weeks after the insult, the oroxylin A-treated group had significantly higher FG labeled cells and Brn3a+ cells suggesting preserved RGC density in the central and mid-peripheral retinas compared with those of the PBS-treated group. FVEP measurements showed a significantly better preserved latency of the P1 wave in the ON-crushed, oroxylin A-treated rats than the ON-crushed, PBS treated rats. TUNEL assays showed fewer TUNEL positive cells in the ON-crushed, oroxylin A-treated rats. The number of ED1 positive cells was reduced at the lesion site of the optic nerve in the ON-crushed, oroxylin A-treated group. Increased GFAP expression in the retina was reduced greatly in ON-crushed, oroxylin A-treated group. Furthermore, administration of oroxylin A significantly attenuated ON crush insult-induced iNOS and COX-2 expression in the retinas. Conclusions These results demonstrated that oroxylin A hasss neuroprotective effects on RGC survival with preserved visual function and a decrease in microglial infiltration in the ONs after ON crush injury.

Suspension cultures cell of Sorbus aucuparia (SASC) was used as materials, the changes of physiological and biochemical indexes of SASC after treatment with yeast extract (YE) were detected, and the synthetic mechanism of secondary metabolites in SASC treated with YE was preliminarily explored. The results were as follows: under the assay conditions, SASC was induced to synthesize five biphenyl compounds, and these compounds content changed differently with induction time prolonging; YE treatment inhibited cell growth, the culture medium pH was gradually reduced after treatment; water-soluble protein content showed a trend of slow decline, which was significantly increased in YE treatment group (YE group) compared with the control group (CK group), the maximum relative content was 147.76% in contrast with CK group; both YE group and CK group were extracellular Ca2+ flow influx, but the YE group flow was significantly slow than CK group. The results indicate that YE induced the cells in a stress state, which was not conducive to the growth of cells and forced the cells to synthesize biphenyl compounds against external stress; water-soluble protein may serve as intracellular enzymes involved in the synthesis of compounds regulation; Ca2+ may as signal molecule mediate cell signal transduction respond to YE stress.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) is an important molecular marker in traditional Chinese medicine research, and it is widely used in TCM authentication. The present study created a new genotyping method by combining restriction endonuclease digesting with melting curve analysis, which is a stable, rapid and easy doing SNP genotyping method. The new method analyzed SNP genotyping of two chloroplast SNP which was located in or out of the endonuclease recognition site, the results showed that when attaching a 14 bp GC-clamp (cggcgggagggcgg) to 5' end of the primer and selecting suited endonuclease to digest the amplification products, the melting curve of Lonicera japonica and Atractylodes macrocephala were all of double peaks and the adulterants Shan-yin-hua and A. lancea were of single peaks. The results indicated that the method had good stability and reproducibility for identifying authentic medicines from its adulterants. It is a potential SNP genotyping method and named restriction endonuclease digest - melting curve analysis.

By reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), an open reading frame of pathogenesis-related protein 1 (PR1) was isolated from Panax notoginseng and named as PnPR1. Molecular and bioinformatic analyses of PnPR1 revealed that an open reading frame of 501 bp was predicted to encode a 166-amino acid protein with a deduced molecular mass of 18.1 kD. Homology analysis showed that the deduced amino acid sequence of PR1 protein of Panax notoginseng had a high similarity with other higher plants had the same conservative structure domain of cysteine-rich secretory protein (CAP). The recombinant expressed plasmid pET28a(+)-PnPR1 was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21. The expression conditions were optimized by induction at different times, different temperatures, different IPTG concentrations and different giving times. The optimum expression condition was 0.4 mmol.L-1 IPTG at 28 degrees C for 20 h. The successful expression of PnPR1 provides some basis for protein purification and preparation of the monoclonal antibody.

Via studying the phenotype, growth curve and secondary metabolites of two kinds of suspension culture cell of Arnebia euchroma, the kinetics parameters of growth and accumulation of shikonin compounds in cell suspension culture of A. euchroma was obtained through simulating and modeling. This Study found that the red high-yielding one was a fine cell line for producing shikonin compounds, and the white low-yielding one may be a mutant. The first-order and second-order derivative of the fitting function were obtained by fitting the Logistic model of growth curve to get the growth rate and growth acceleration curve of the suspended cells. It is found that the best period to subculture was the 15th day cultured in fresh medium, and the best period of the induction process was the 13th-14th day. When compared the growth rate of the red line and the shikonin compounds accumulation curve, it is found that the rapid growth of the biomass of cells was not conducive to the synthesis and accumulation of shikonin compounds.

A new approach to obtain real-time positions of fiducial markers in MV treatment beam images is proposed. The MV images are firstly preprocessed to enhance contrast in the treatment field. To deal with large variations in projected marker shape, we propose a learning-based approach to detect marker locations in the enhanced MV images. We also show that marker tracking can be accomplished much more efficiently and reliably by exploiting temporal correlation between consecutive MV images. Thus, the proposed framework can accurately localize multiple markers in low-contrast MV images while satisfying the real-time constraints imposed by the IGRT. Our method has been validated using manual marker annotations as ground-truth. The marker detection rate on patient images was at least 96% for the cases collected from multiple treatment fractions.