Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a low-incidence disorder with high impacts on individuals, families, and society. School-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have tremendous responsibilities toward individuals with ASD, but pre-service SLPs are not adequately trained to fulfill these expectations. In order to reduce the widespread financial and social impact of ASD, school-based SLPs need to complete effective training to prepare them for the selection of established social-communication practices. One framework for the selection of individualized intervention is the Ziggurat Model (Aspy & Grossman, 2008). The following study used mixed methods to investigate the research question: “Does the ASD knowledge base of ASHA-certified school-based SLPs change when they complete an online training module based upon Aspy and Grossman’s Ziggurat Model? If so, what are those changes?” A pre-test post-test control group design demonstrated a significant difference in the experimental group’s and the control group’s pre-test post-test change scores, as demonstrated by an independent samples t-test (p=.039, 18df). Qualitative data analysis resulted in six themes. While the online training of Aspy and Grossman’s Ziggurat Model used in this study was an effective method with which to train school-based SLPs in using a comprehensive framework, more rigorous research is needed on this model relative to the selection of intervention.

Recently there have been reports that certain physiological data seem to have the properties of long-range correlation and self-similarity. These two properties can be characterized by a long-range dependent parameter d, as well as a self-similar parameter H. In Peng et al (1995), the alteration of long-range correlations with life-threatening pathologies are studied by analyzing the heart rate data of different groups of subjects. The self-similarity properties of two well-known processes, namely the Fractional Brownian Motion (FBM) and the Fractional ARIMA (FARIMA), are of interest to see if it is suitable to be used to model the heart rate data in order to examine the health conditions of some patients. The Embedded Branching Process (EBP) method for estimating parameter $H$ and a goodness of fit test for examining the self-similarity of a process based on the EBP method are proposed in Jones and Shen (2004). In this work, the performance of the goodness of fit test are examined using simulated data from the FBM and FARIMA processes. A modification of the distribution of the test statistics under null hypothesis is proposed and has been modified to be more appropriate. Some simulation comparisons of different estimation methods of the parameter $H$ for some FARIMA processes are also presented and applied to heart rate data obtained from Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital.

Ischemic brain injury causes neurodegeneration. In this study, the mechanism of neurodegeneration was investigated by examining the role of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), CCAAT enhancer binding protein&amp / #946 / (C/EBP&amp / #946 / ), glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Carotid artery occlusion (CAO) plus hypotension was produced for 10 minutes. Control groups were sham operated. Animals were sacrificed after 24 hours, 1 week, 2 and 4 weeks of reperfusion periods. The expression of C/EBP&amp / #946 / and SREBP-1 in rat brain cortex and cerebellum were examined by western blotting. C/EBP&amp / #946 / expressions significantly increased in both cytosolic (1.19, 1.58 fold) and nuclear (1.73, 1.81 fold) extracts of brain cortex at 24 hours and 1 week CAO groups, respectively. In cerebellum, C/EBP&amp / #946 / expression significantly increased in 1 week, cytosolic (1.63 fold), and nuclear (1.35 fold) extracts. SREBP-1 expression increased significantly in both cytosolic (2.07 fold) and nuclear (1.41 fold) extracts of brain cortex in 1 week. SREBP-1 expression significantly increased in cytosolic (2.15 fold) and nuclear (1.79 fold) extracts of cerebellum in 1 week. There were no significant alterations in SREBP-1 C/EBP&amp / #946 / expressions for 2 and 4 weeks in both cytosolic and nuclear extracts of brain cortex and cerebellum. There were insignificant changes in GSH and GST levels in cortex. However, MDA and SOD levels significantly increased by 43.0 % and 47.3 %, respectively, in 24 hours. Our findings indicate that increase in SREBP-1 and C/EBP&amp / #946 / expressions may be related to oxidative stress during ischemic neurodegenerative processes.

Background Internationally, speech and language therapists (SLTs) are involving parents and providing home tasks in intervention for phonology-based speech sound disorder (SSD). To ensure that SLTs’ involvement of parents is guided by empirical research, a review of peer-reviewed published evidence is needed. Aims To provide SLTs and researchers with a comprehensive appraisal and analysis of peer-reviewed published intervention research reporting parent involvement and the provision of home tasks in intervention studies for children with phonology-based SSD. Methods & Procedures A systematic search and review was conducted. Academic databases were searched for peer-reviewed research papers published between 1979 and 2013 reporting on phonological intervention for SSD. Of the 176 papers that met the criteria, 61 were identified that reported on the involvement of parents and/or home tasks within the intervention. These papers were analysed using a quality appraisal tool. Details regarding the involvement of parents and home tasks were extracted and analysed to provide a summary of these practices within the evidence base. Main Contribution Parents have been involved in intervention research for phonology-based SSD. However, most of the peer-reviewed published papers reporting this research have provided limited details regarding what this involved. This paucity of information presents challenges for SLTs wishing to integrate external evidence into their clinical services and clinical decision-making. It also raises issues regarding treatment fidelity for researchers wishing to replicate published intervention research. Conclusions & Implications The range of tasks in which parents were involved, and the limited details reported in the literature, present challenges for SLTs wanting to involve parents in intervention. Further high-quality research reporting more detail regarding the involvement of parents and home tasks in intervention for SSD is needed.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes and beliefs of art therapists towards Evidence-Based Practices (EBP). EBP is a rising trend in healthcare that refers to the process of using empirically validated research to make clinical decisions that best meet the needs of each client (Patterson, Miller, Carnes & Wilson, 2004).The investigators used a mixed methods approach to the research topic. Part A consists of a survey distributed to graduates of the Department of Marital and Family Therapy (MFT) at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). In addition to answering questions, survey participants were asked to create an art response depicting their perspective on the relationship between art therapy and EBP. In the second phase (Part B), the researchers used an arts-based methodology to further explore the findings from Part A. Part B involved the creation of key idea cards pulled from the literature review and the findings, individual art responses by each investigator, and verbal and written analyses of the content and process. The idea that art therapists are already integrating EBP and art therapy in their practices emerged as the major finding of the research. This realization that clinicians are already at the intersection of EBP and art therapy was a contrast to the cautious divided attitudes that were discovered in the literature review. Further research could not only strengthen the evidence base of art therapy, but also illuminate how exactly therapists have managed to bridge the gap between EBP and art therapy.

La fonction et la différenciation des cellules de Leydig sont connues pour être régulées par différents stimuli incluant 1' hormone lutéinisante (LB) et autres facteurs paracrines et autocrines comme les cytokines dont 1 ' IL-1. NUR 77 est un facteur de transcription présent au niveau des cellules de Leydig et impliqué dans la régulation de la stéroïdogenèse. Malgré que Nur77 soit connu pour être régulé par les cytokines dans différents types cellulaires, cette régulation n 'est pas encore bien caractérisée au niveau des cellules de Leydig. Afin de mieux comprendre la régulation de Nur77 par les cytokines, j ' ai décidé d'étudier l' effet de deux facteurs de transcription, C/EBP~ et NF -KB, connus pour être impliqués dans les voies de signalisation des cytokines, sur le promoteur Nur77. J'ai trouvé que les facteurs de transcription C/EBP~ et NF -KB coopèrent ensemble dans l'activation du promoteur Nur77. Cette coopération nécessite la présènce d'au moins un des deux éléments nouvellement identifiés dans cette étude : C/EBP~ (à -110 pb en fonction du site d'initiation de la transcription) ou p50 (KB à -18 pb). L'activation du promoteur Nur77 par ces facteurs de transcription appuie mon hypothèse selon laquelle NUR 77 peut être un effecteur dans la voie de signalisation des cytokines comme 1 'IL-l.

Nous avons utilisé une approche ethnobotanique pour identifier des espèces de plantes utilisées par les Cris afin de traiter les symptômes du diabète de type 2. Larix laricina du Roi (L. laricina) a récemment été identifiée comme une des meilleures plantes qui a stimulé le transport de glucose dans les cellules C2C12 et fortement potentialisé la différenciation des 3T3-L1 en indiquant une sensibilité potentiellement accrue à l’insuline. Ensuite, ces études de criblage ont été effectuées sur des extraits éthanolique (EE) en utilisant une série de bioessais in vitro. Cependant, les préparations traditionnelles des plantes sont souvent faites avec l’eau chaude. Le but de cette thèse de doctorat était d’isoler les principes actifs de L. laricina par un fractionnement guidé par l’adipogenèse; d’évaluer et de comparer l’activité et les mécanismes antidiabétiques des EE et des extraits aqueux (HWE) de ces 17 plantes. Pour le fractionnement de L. laricina, on a isolé plusieurs composés connus et identifié un nouveau composé actif cycloartane triterpene, qui a amélioré fortement l’adipogenèse et a été responsable en partie de l’activité adipogénique (potentiellement similaire à l’effet sensibilisateur à l’insuline des glitazone) de l’extrait éthanolique issu de l’écorce de L. laricina. Pour le métabolisme lipidique, nos résultats ont confirmé que 10 parmi les 17 EE ont augmenté la différenciation des adipocytes alors que 2 extraits seulement l’ont inhibée. Les HWE ont montré une faible activité adipogénique ou antiadipogénique. Les EE de R. groenlandicum et K. angustifolia ont le PPAR γ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ), le SREBP-1 (sterol regulatory element binding protein-1) et le C/EBP (CCAAT-enhancer binding proteins) α, alors que ceux de P. balsamifera et A. incana les ont inhibés. L’effet inhibiteur de P. balsamifera a également été prouvé d’avoir impliqué l’activation de la protéine kinase activée par l’AMP (AMPK). Les EE et HWE de R. groenlandicum ont stimulé les mêmes facteurs de transcription alors que les extraits aqueux d’autres plantes sélectionnées ont perdu ces effets en comparaison avec leurs extraits éthanoliques respectifs. L’analyse phytochimique a également identifié le groupe des espèces actives et inactives, notamment lorsque les espèces ont été séparées par famille de plante. Finalement concernant l’homéostasie de glucose, nos résultats ont confirmé que plusieurs EE ont stimulé le transport de glucose musculaire et inhibé l’activité de la glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) hépatique. Certains des HWE ont partiellement ou complètement perdu ces activités antidiabétiques par rapport aux EE, tandis qu’une seule plante (R.groenlandicum) a juste conservé un potentiel similaire entre les EE et HWE dans les deux essais. Dans les cellules musculaires, les EE de R.groenlandicum, A. incana et S. purpurea ont stimulé le transport de glucose en activant la voie de signalisation de l’AMPK et en augmentant le niveau d’expression des GLUT4. En comparaison avec les EE, les HWE de R.groenlandicum ont montré des activités similaires; les HWE de A. incana ont complètement perdu leur effet sur tous les paramètres étudiés; les HWE de S. purpurea ont activé la voie de l’insuline au lieu de celle de l’AMPK pour augmenter le transport de glucose. Dans les cellules H4IIE, les EE et HWE des 5 plantes ont activé la voie de l’AMPK, et en plus les EE et HWE de 2 plantes ont activé la voie de l’insuline. La quercétine-3-O-galactoside et la quercétine 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside ont été identifiées comme des composés ayant un fort potentiel antidiabétique et donc responsables de l'activité biologique des plantes HWE actifs avec le transport du glucose. En conclusion, on a isolé plusieurs composés connus et identifié un nouveau triterpène actif à partir du fractionnement de L. laricina. Nous avons fourni également une preuve directe pour l'évaluation et la comparaison d'une action analogue à l'insuline ou insulino-sensibilisateur des EE et HWE de plantes médicinales Cris au niveau de muscle, de foie et de tissus adipeux. Une partie de leur action peut être liée à la stimulation des voies de signalisation intracellulaire insulino-dépendante et non-insulino-dépendante, ainsi que l’activation de PPARγ. Nos résultats indiquent que les espèces de plantes, les tissus ou les cellules cibles, ainsi que les méthodes d'extraction sont tous des déterminants significatifs de l'activité biologique de plantes médicinales Cris sur le métabolisme glucidique et lipidique. / We have used a collaborative ethnobotanical approach to identify plant species used by the Cree of Eeyou Istchee (CEI) to treat symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Several screening studies were performed on 17 species identified in a survey of the Cree Nation. Firstly, Larix laricina du Roi (L. laricina) was recently identified as one of the top plants, which stimulated glucose uptake in C2C12 muscle cells and strongly potentiated the differentiation of 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes suggesting enhanced insulin sensitivity. Secondly, these screening studies were performed on ethanol extracts (EE) using an in vitro bioassay platform, however, traditional preparations are often based on hot water. So the purpose of this PhD thesis was to isolate the active principles from L. laricina through adipogenesis-guided fractionation, and to evaluate and compare the antidiabetic activity and mechanisms of EE and hot water extracts (HWE) of these 17 Cree plants. For the fractionation of L. laricina, we isolated several known compounds and identified a new active cycloartane triterpene, which strongly enhanced adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells and was responsible partly for the adipogenic (potentially glitazone-like insulin sensitizing) activity of the ethanol extract of the bark of L. laricina. In the adipocyte lipid metabolism course, the results confirmed that 10 of the 17 EE stimulated adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis, whereas 2 had inhibitory effects. Corresponding HWE exhibited partial or complete loss of such adipogenic or anti-adipogenic activity. R. groenlandicum and K. angustifolia EEs activated Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR γ), sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) and CCAAT-enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) α, whereas P. balsamifera and A. incana decreased these transcription factors. P. balsamifera’s inhibitory effect was also found to involve AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. R. groenlandicum HWE and EE stimulated similar transcription factors, but HWE of other selected plants lost such effects compared to their respective EE. Phytochemical analysis also uncovered clustering of active versus inactive species, notably when species were segregated by plant family. The results showed that several EE stimulated muscle glucose uptake and inhibited hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) activity. Some of the HWE partially or completely lost these antidiabetic activities in comparison to EE; while one plant (R.groenlandicum) retained similar potential between EE and HWE in both assays. In C2C12 muscle cells, EE of R.groenlandicum, A. incana and S. purpurea stimulated glucose uptake by activating AMPK pathway and increasing GLUT4 expression level. In comparison to EE, HWE of R.groenlandicum exhibited similar activities; HWE of A. incana completely lost its effect on all parameters; interestingly, HWE of S. purpurea activated insulin pathway instead of AMPK pathway to increase glucose uptake. In the H4IIE cells, all selected 5 plants HWE and EE activated AMPK pathway, and in addition, 2 plants EE and HWE also activated insulin pathways. Quercetin-3-O-galactoside and quercetin 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside were identified as potential candidates to be responsible for the biological activity of the active HWE plants in the glucose transport assay. In conclusion, we isolated several known compounds and identified a new active triterpene from fractionation of L. laricina. We also provide direct evidence evaluating and comparing of an insulin-like or insulin-sensitizing action of EE and HWE of Cree medicinal plants at the level of muscle, liver and adipose tissue. Part of their actions may be related to stimulation of insulin-dependent and insulin-independent intracellular signaling pathways, as well as to PPARγ activation. The results indicate that plant species, target tissues or cells, as well as extraction methods, are all significant determinants of the biological activity of Cree medicinal plants on glucose and lipid metabolism.

Student Number : 9008538J - MSc Dissertation - School of Biology - Faculty of Science / O’Regan SP, 2005. The long-term effects of fire frequency and season on the woody vegetation in the Pretoriuskop sourveld of the Kruger National Park. MSc Dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. The role of fire in the management of conservation areas has historically been a contentious issue in which traditional agricultural principles and ever-changing conservation principles tend to collide. The Kruger National Park (KNP) in the early 1950s was no exception where the appropriate use of fire and its ecosystem consequences were hotly debated. The controversy surrounding the management of fire in the KNP highlighted the significant lack of understanding of fire and its role in the ecosystem and because of this controversy, the Experimental Burn Plot (EBP) experiment was established in 1954. The EBP experiment comprised 12 treatments, and a pseudo-randomised block design was used in which the 12 fire treatments were replicated four times each in four of the six major vegetation zones identified at the time. The EBP experiment originally comprised 192 experimental plots approximately 7 Ha in size each and covered approximately 12 km2 in the KNP. The twelve fire treatments were an annual burn in August, biennial and triennial burns in February, April, August, October, and December, and a control on which fire was excluded. Despite having been plagued with negative assessments from internal and external researchers from its inception, the EBP experiment was meticulously maintained, and it has now become a valuable research asset in the KNP. Four replicates of twelve plots each were located in the Pretoriuskop sourveld landscape of the KNP. These replicates were named Fayi, Kambeni, Numbi, and Shabeni after nearby landmarks. The Pretoriuskop region is a moist infertile mesic-savanna, which experiences on average 744mm of rain annually. The dominant tree species in Pretoriuskop are Dichrostachys cinerea and Terminalia sericea and the dominant grass species is Hyperthelia dissoluta. A baseline survey of the woody vegetation was done on all the Pretoriuskop plots in 1954 by HP Van Der Schijff. A second survey of the woody vegetation on all the Pretoriuskop plots was done in 1996 by SP O’Regan. This provided a 42-year period of treatment application over which the effects of fire frequency and season on the woody vegetation of the Pretoriuskop region were studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effects of the twelve fire treatments on the density, structure, and species composition of the woody vegetation in Pretoriuskop. The objectives of this study were: 1. To carry out a complete re-survey of the trees and shrubs on the Pretoriuskop EBPs using similar methods as those used in the baseline survey in 1954. 2. To capture into a digital format pertinent woody vegetation survey data from surveys that had been conducted on the Pretoriuskop EBPs between 1954 and 1996. 3. To compare the density, structure, and composition of the woody vegetation on the Pretoriuskop EBPs between 1954 and 1996, to determine the effects of fire on the woody vegetation of Pretoriuskop. 4. To investigate the history of the Kruger National Park Experimental Burn Plots experiment. The four replicates in the Pretoriuskop region were found generally to have very similar woody vegetation traits (density, species composition, and structural composition). However, the EBPs were established and surveyed in two distinct phases, the first phase comprised the control, August Annual, and the Biennial plots, and the second phase comprised the Triennial plots. The baseline structural composition of the plots established in the first phase was different from the structural composition of the plots in the second phase. Furthermore, the Pretoriuskop EBPs are located in two distinct vegetation types, namely the open and the closed Terminalia sericea \ Combretum woodlands of the Pretoriuskop region. The Numbi and Shabeni replicates are in the open Terminalia sericea \ Combretum woodlands, and the Kambeni and Fayi replicates are in the closed Terminalia sericea \ Combretum woodlands. It was found that the species composition of the plots was influenced by the location of the plots in the different vegetation types. The exclusion of fire in the Pretoriuskop sourveld results in an increase in the density of the overstorey and understorey woody vegetation, and an increase in the number of species, species diversity, and species evenness. This is because fire sensitive and fire intolerant woody species become more abundant as the period between fires increases. In Pretoriuskop, there is no evidence of relay floristic succession, because fire sensitive and fire intolerant woody species do not replace fire tolerant species. Instead, the floristic succession is accumulative and fire tolerant, fire sensitive, and fire intolerant woody species coexist as the period between fires increases. Woody species tolerant of frequent fires in Pretoriuskop are Albizia versicolor, Catunaregam spinosa, Lonchocarpus capassa, Pavetta schumanniana, Senna petersiana, Strychnos madagascariensis, and Turraea nilotica. Woody species that are sensitive or intolerant of fire in Pretoriuskop are Acacia swazica, Bauhinia galpinii, Combretum mossambicense, Commiphora neglecta, Croton gratissimus, Dalbergia melanoxylon, Diospyros lycioides, Diospyros whyteana, Euclea natalensis, Hyperacanthus amoenus, Kraussia floribunda, Ochna natalitia, Olea europaea, Psydrax locuples, Putterlickia pyracantha, Tarenna supra-axillaris, and Zanthoxylum capense. Dichrostachys cinerea and Terminalia sericea were found to dominate in areas that had been burnt frequently as well as areas where fire has been excluded. The change in the density of the woody vegetation as the inter-fire period increases is not linear but rather J shaped with an initial decrease in the density as the inter-fire period increases from 1 year to 3 years. This initial decrease in density is the result of a loss of very short (<1m tall) woody individuals. In contrast, there is no initial decrease in the number of tree equivalents (phytomass) of the woody vegetation as the inter-fire period increases. After the initial decrease in the density of the woody vegetation, the density increases as the inter-fire period increases beyond 3 years. Generally in Pretoriuskop, post fire age of the vegetation was found to be an important factor affecting the structure of the woody vegetation, and as the inter-fire period increases the number of structural groups, the structural diversity, and the structural evenness of the woody vegetation increases. As the inter-fire period increases the number of single-stem individuals relative to the number of multi-stem individuals increases, and the average height of the woody vegetation increases. The findings regarding the effects of fire frequency on the Pretoriuskop EBPs were similar to the findings on other fire experiments in mesic African savannas. The finding on the Pretoriuskop EBPs differed from the findings in other fire trials that were in arid savannas in Africa. Generally, the exclusion of fire in moist savannas (> 600 mm of rain annually) results in the woody vegetation becoming denser, while the exclusion of fire in arid to semi-arid savannas (< 600mm of rain annually) does not result in the woody vegetation becoming denser. In Pretoriuskop, fires occurring in summer between December and February have a different impact on the density, species composition, and structure of the woody vegetation than fires occurring in winter between August and October. Furthermore, fires occurring in April have a different impact on the density, species composition, and structure of the woody vegetation in Pretoriuskop. Woody vegetation burnt by summer fires is denser than woody vegetation burnt by winter fires. The number of species and species diversity of the woody vegetation is also higher in vegetation burnt by summer fires in comparison with vegetation burnt by winter fires. The density and species composition of woody vegetation in areas that have been burnt in summer fires is more similar to areas where fire has been excluded than to areas that have been burnt in winter fires. The woody species associated with vegetation burnt in summer fires and where fire has been excluded are Euclea natalensis, Antidesma venosum, Diospyros lycioides, Phyllanthus reticulatus, Grewia flavescens, Grewia monticola, Ochna natalitia, Peltophorum africanum, Rhus pyroides, Diospyros mespiliformis, Rhus transvaalensis, Securinega virosa, Putterlickia pyracantha, Rhus pentheri, Commiphora neglecta, Heteropyxis natalensis, and Olea europaea. Structurally the average height of the woody vegetation is taller in areas burnt by winter fires than in areas burnt by summer fires. The woody vegetation in areas burnt in summer fires have more single-stem individuals relative to multi-stem individuals than in areas burnt in winter fires. The structural composition of areas burnt in summer fires is more similar to areas where fire has been excluded than with areas burnt in winter fires. The structure of the woody vegetation in areas burnt in winter fires is generally dominated by multi-stem individuals that are 0-1m tall or 3-5m tall. The structure of the woody vegetation in areas burnt in summer fires or where fire has been excluded is dominated by both single-stem and multi-stem individuals of all heights and basal diameters. Findings regarding the effect of early dry season fires (April) in comparison with late dry season fire (August) on the woody vegetation are consistent with the findings on other fire trails in Africa. However, a comparison of all the fire-timing treatments between the Pretoriuskop and Satara EBPs in the KNP reveals that the timing of fires affects the woody vegetation differently in different areas even when the affects at certain times appear similar. The data collected on the Pretoriuskop EBPs reveals that there have been significant changes in the woody vegetation in Pretoriuskop between 1954 and 1996. The density of the woody vegetation increased between 1954 and 1996 by almost 200%. The number of species and the species diversity of the woody vegetation also increased between 1954 and 1996. In 1954, there were approximately equal numbers of single-stem and multi-stem individuals, while in 1996 there were more multi-stem individuals than single-stem individuals. The increase in atmospheric CO2 levels between 1954 and 1996 is believed to have been a factor that has driven the changes in the woody vegetation of Pretoriuskop between 1954 and 1996.

No description available.