The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of experience staging techniques (personalization through co-creation and multisensory stimuli) on engagement level. This study also explores the possible contribution of experience staging techniques as practical tools that recreation professionals can use to better engage participants in recreation activities and events. A 2-way univariate ANOVA revealed no significant relationship between the use of co-creative and multisensory stimulating techniques and engagement levels in participants (F (3,200) = .263, p = .826, partial η2 = .004). Practical applications for recreation professionals and further research opportunities are discussed.

The notion of staging in the neurodegenerative disorders is modulated by the constant and progressive loss of several aspects of brain structural integrity, circuitry, and neuronal processes. These destructive processes eventually remove individuals' abilities to perform at sufficient and necessary functional capacity at several levels of disease severity. The classification of (a) patients on the basis of diagnosis, risk prognosis, and intervention outcome, forms the basis of clinical staging, and (b) laboratory animals on the basis of animal model of brain disorder, extent of insult, and dysfunctional expression, provides the components for the clinical staging and preclinical staging, respectively, expressing associated epidemiological, biological, and genetic characteristics. The major focus of clinical staging in the present account stems from the fundamental notions of Braak staging as they describe the course and eventual prognosis for Alzheimer's disease, Lewy Body dementia, and Parkinson's disease. Mild cognitive impairment, which expresses the decline in episodic and semantic memory performance below the age-adjusted normal range without marked loss of global cognition or activities of daily living, and the applications of longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging, major instruments for the monitoring of either disease progression in dementia, present important challenges for staging concepts. Although Braak notions present the essential basis for further developments, current staging conceptualizations seem inadequate to comply with the massive influx of information dealing with neurodegenerative processes in brain, advanced both under clinical realities, and discoveries in the laboratory setting. The contributions of various biomarkers of disease progression, e.g., amyloid precursor protein, and neurotransmitter system imbalances, e.g., dopamine receptor supersensitivity and interactive propensities, await their incorporation into the existing staging models thereby underlining the ongoing, dynamic feature of the staging of brain disorders.

Neurodevelopmental risk factors have assumed a critical role in prevailing notions concerning the etiopathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders. Staging, diagnostic elements at which phase of disease is determined, provides a means of conceptualizing the degree and extent of factors affecting brain development trajectories, but is concurrently specified through the particular interactions of genes and environment unique to each individual case. For present purposes, staging perspectives in neurodevelopmental aspects of the disease processes are considered from conditions giving rise to neurodevelopmental staging in affective states, adolescence, dopamine disease states, and autism spectrum disorders. Three major aspects influencing the eventual course of individual developmental trajectories appear to possess an essential determinant influence upon outcome: (i) the type of agent that interferes with brain development, whether chemical, immune system activating or absent (anoxia/hypoxia), (ii) the phase of brain development at which the agent exerts disruption, whether prenatal, postnatal, or adolescent, and (iii) the age of expression of structural and functional abnormalities. Clinical staging may be assumed at any or each developmental phase. The present perspective offers both a challenge to bring further order to diagnosis, intervention, and prognosis and a statement regarding the extreme complexities and interwoven intricacies of epigenetic factors, biomarkers, and neurobehavioral entities that aggravate currents notions of the neuropsychiatric disorders.

The prevailing utility, and indeed necessity, of clinical staging models applied in considerations of neuropsychiatric disease progressions is discussed from the perspectives of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and affective disorders, cannabis in schizopsychotic disorder, incidences of affect and psychosis, staging disorders in aging and the indices and prevalence of apathy. There would appear to be a strong current consensus that the pursuit of clinical staging of these and other brain disease states has contributed a systematic conceptual instrument to facilitate the better understanding, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment as derived from a multitude of genetic predispositions, symptoms and syndromes, early-onset and prodromal phases, recurrences and relapses, that have complicated the situation of the patient. Through a staging determination of the disorder, elements of diagnosis will describe the progression of symptoms/syndromes through pre-onset, prodromal, first-episode, recurrences and relapses, and treatment resistance thereby facilitating the eventual prognosis, intervention alternatives and treatment. This approach varies from observations of individuals at early stages of development (infancy, childhood, adolescece) to early middle age, in the case of diseases expressed through the aging processes. Essentially, the major contribution of the staging model may lie in the early identification, diagnosis, and treatments of disorders that afflict the brain and central nervous system.

Epigenetics, or alterations in the phenotype or gene expression due to mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence, reflects the sensitivity and responsiveness of human and animal brains in constantly varying circumstances regulating gene expression profiles that define the biomarkers and present the ultimate phenotypical outcomes, such as cognition and emotion. Epigenetics is associated with functionally relevant alterations to the genome in such a fashion that under the particular conditions of early, adolescent, and adult life, environmental signals may activate intracellular pathways that remodel the "epigenome," triggering changes in gene expression and neural function. Thus, genetic influences in neuropsychiatric disorders that are subject to clinical staging, epigenetics in schizophrenia, epigenetic considerations in the expression of sensorimotor gating resulting from disease conditions, biomarkers of drug use and addiction, current notions on the role of dopamine in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and the discrete interactions of biomarkers in persistent memory were to greater or lesser extents reflected upon. The relative contributions of endophenotypes and epistasis for mediating epigenetic phenomena and the outcomes as observed in the analysis of biomarkers appear to offer a multitude of interactive combinations to further complicate the labyrinthine machinations of diagnosis, intervention, and prognosis.

<p>Vitamin D ima antiproliferativno, proapoptotsko i prodiferencijaciono dejstvo. Dokazi o dejstvu na ćelije adenokarcinoma prostate su malobrojni i nekonzistentni. Cilj ispitivanja je određivanje stepena povezanosti između nivoa vitamina D, stadijuma adenokarcinoma prostate, prostata specifičnog antigena, Gleason grade i progresije oboljenja. Ispitivanje je prospektivno, sprovedeno na 120 ispitanika (90 pacijenata sa dijagnostikovanim karcinomom prostate i 30 kontrolnih, zdravih subjekata). Pacijenti sa dijagnostikovanim adenokarcinomom prostate podeljeni su prema stadijumu bolesti u dve grupe: lokalizovano (pT2cN0M0, prostata specifični antigen &le; 20 ng/ml, Gleason 2-7) i metastatsko oboljenje (pT3-4, N1, M 0,1(a,b,c), prostata specifični antigen &ge; 20 ng/ml, Gleason &ge; 8), dok su prema ordiniranoj terapiji podeljeni u tri grupe: pacijenti koji su hemijski kastrirani, hirur&scaron;ki kastrirani i grupa kod koje je urađena radikalna prostatektomija. Uzorci za analizu nivoa vitamina D i prostata specifičnog antigen uzeti pre ordinirane terapije a nakon toga posle 6 i 12 meseci. Kako ne postoje definisane vrednosti unosa vitamina D i kalcijuma za ispitivano podneblje formirani smo Upitnik kojim smo evaluirali dnevni unos kod 90 zdravih subjekata mu&scaron;kog pola starijih od 50 godina koji nisu učestvovali u ispitivanju. Da bismo uočili ispitanike koji su hranom ili životnim navikama drastično uticali na vrednost vitamina D isti Upitnik su ispunili svi ispitanici uključeni u ispitivanje. Ustanovljena je očuvana godi&scaron;nja oscilacija vitamina D kod ispitanika te smo statističkim modelom korigovali ovu varijablu. Rezultati pokazuju da grupa obolelih nema apsolutno niske vrednosti vitamina D i da su vrednosti kod obolelih niže u odnosu na kontrolne subjekte (64.12 nmol/l vs. 74.45 nmol/l). Nije uočena razlika u nivou vitamina D kod pacijenata sa lokalizovanim i metastatskim oboljenjem (62.90 nmol/l vs. 64,65 nmol/l). Odnos između prostata specifičnog antigena i vitamina D posmatran tokom perioda ispitivanja pokazuje da je kod obolelih pacijenata koji su hemijski ili hirur&scaron;ki kastrirani i kod pacijenata kod kojih je urađena radikalna prostektomija postoji pozitivna korelacija pre ordinirane terapije u sve tri grupe, nakon ordinirane terapije možemo uočiti inverznu korelaciju. Konrolna grupa ispitanika pokazuje stalnu pozitivnu korelaciju između nivoa vitamina D i prostata specifičnog antigena. Pacijenti kod kojih je do&scaron;lo do progresije imaju niže vrednosti nivoa vitamina D u odnosu na pacijente kod kojih nije do&scaron;lo do progresije. Nije ustanovljena korelacija između vremenskog intervala do progresije oboljenja i nivoa vitamina D.</p> / <p>Vitamin D has antiproliferative, proapoptotic and prodifferentiational actions. There is a limited number of studies asessing influence of vitamin D on prostate cancer. Results of those available studies are inconsistent. This study hypothesizes with correlation of vitamin D, prostate cancer stage, prostate specific antigen, Gleason grade, stage, and disease progression. This prospective study included 120 subjects (90 subjects with diagnosed prostate cancer and 30 healthy, age adjusted controls). Patients with diagnosed prostate cancer formed two groups by criterion of disease advancement: localized (&le;pT2cN0M0, prostate specific antigen &le; 20 ng/ml, Gleason 2-7) and metastatic (&ge;pT3-4, N1, M 0,1(a,b,c), prostate specific antigen &ge; 20 ng/ml, Gleason &ge; 8. According to applied therapy subjects were devided in three groups: surgicaly castrated, medicamentous castrated and radical prostatectomy treated. Samples were obtained before therapy and after 6 and 12 months. As no defined value for vitamin D and calcium intake could be found we formed Questionnaire for vitamin D and calcium intake. Data were obtained from 90 healthy, age adjusted subjects, not included in this study. All subjects included in this study filed the Questionnarie and subjects with unusual vitamin D and calcium intake were excluded. Annual oscilation of vitamin D was observed, so we applied statistical model that excluded this variable. Subjects with diagnosed prostate cancer didn&#39;t have absolutely low vitamin D level. This level was lower in group of subjects whith diagnosed prostate cancer comparing to controls (64.12 nmol/l vs. 74.45 nmol/l). No differences in vitamin D level was observed in groups of patients with localised and metastatic disease (62.90 nmol/l vs. 64,65 nmol/l).<br />Correlation of vitamin D and prostate specific antigen during 12 months period showed that castrated subjects and subjects in radical prostatectomy group showed possitive correlation before surgical treatment and inverse, negative correlation, after treatment. Control group showed possitive correlation of vitamin D and prostate specific antigen in all three measurements. Subjects with progression have significantly lower vitamin D level comparing to subjects without progression. No correlation between time to progression and vitamin D have been observed.</p>

Background: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in adults and the most frequent cancer diagnosed in women. In South Africa, breast cancer accounts for 38.5% of cancers diagnosed in women. Since the presence, extent and location of distant metastases is one important prognostic factor in locally advanced breast cancer (LABC), accurate staging at diagnosis is crucial to ensure patients receive the appropriate treatment. Increasing evidence shows that the use of 18F-FDG PET/CT for disease staging of LABC may improve diagnostic sensitivity. Aim: To prospectively assess the difference in diagnostic accuracy between whole-body PET/PET-CT and conventional imagine (CI) for staging LABC. Methods: A total of 42 participants with clinical stage III and a select few stage II breast cancer underwent both 18F-FDG PET/CT and CI. Results: 18F-FDG PET/CT found significantly more (p=0.0077) distant metastatic sites than CI (36% vs. 21%). 18F-FDG PET/CT upstaged 9 (21.4%) of patients from clinical stage IIIa to stage IIIc, and changed management of 54% of patients. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of the patients had their clinical stage unchanged. One of 5 suspected metastatic sites 18F FDG PET/CT was positive for malignancy on biopsy. Conclusion: The 18F-FDG PET/CT is useful for staging locally advanced non-inflammatory infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast. Use of 18F-FDG PET/CT was superior to conventional imaging in assessing metastatic mediastinal lymphadenopathy, but with a poor specificity. The use of 18F-FDG PET/CT in LABC is useful, with the biopsy of isolated suspicious lesions for metastasis increasing its accuracy.

The aim of this thesis is to understand how the level design elements in Lost in Random, staging, scale, and shape language convey danger within combat areas. The purpose of the analysis was to find patterns in the visual level design elements presented in the first moment of combat. Through this analysis, the authors offer level designers an overview of how visual level design elements could be used to communicate and create meaningful experiences in combat areas with Lost in Random as an example. A formal analysis was conducted in which screenshots of the game were analyzed to discover whether the visual level design elements are present in the first playable frame of the combat areas and if they share scale and shape characteristics throughout the combats. The main findings can show patterns in the use of staging and how enclosed areas are presented by using the focal point to guide the players towards the goals or challenges. Based on previous theories referenced in this thesis, there is an expectation that triangular shapes and exaggerated sizes will appear as part of these patterns.

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