Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “PLAY”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 775 records · Page 43Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

The association between language and symbolic play at two years: evidence from deaf toddlers.

The association between expressive language and symbolic play was investigated in 3 groups of 2-year-olds: deaf children with hearing parents (dH), deaf children with deaf parents (dD), and hearing children with hearing parents (hH). (Each group included 6 girls and 4 boys.) 3 language-level groups were defined. The highest group was well into the vocabulary "explosion" and frequently produced multiword/sign utterances; a middle group was beginning the period of vocabulary expansion and occasionally produced utterances of more than 1 word/sign; a third group produced single word/sign utterances only, and had a limited vocabulary. Hearing status was associated with duration of symbolic play (deaf > hearing). Higher language levels were associated with more canonically sequenced and preplanned play, even when language delays were due to exogenous factors.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1996

Using live theatre combined with role playing and discussion to examine what at-risk adolescents think about substance abuse, its consequences, and prevention.

Live theater is used as a means of stimulating thought and discussion among adolescents on topics related to the effects of substance abuse in their lives. A thirty-minute professional and contemporary live musical play, Captain Clean, was performed at three Chicago high schools (grades 9-12). In general, students in these schools had been judged to be at risk for drug problems by school administrators and by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. Students' responses to issues highlighted in the play were examined through ethnographic procedures used during role playing and discussion immediately following the performance. In addition, written comments were collected from the students two weeks after viewing. The amount of interaction and level of student response indicate that live theater is an effective means for stimulating both thought and discussion pertaining to the effects of drugs in the lives of adolescents. In addition, analysis of the students' responses reveals: (1) an unmet need for individual counseling; (2) a pervasive ignorance of the legal consequences of drug use; (3) the importance of family as a source of information and support; and (4) an expressed concern for their own futures as well as those of their peers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Sex-typed play in opposite-sex twins.

To examine possible prenatal hormonal influences on sex-typed play, we compared girls with a boy co-twin to girls with a girl co-twin and girls with an older brother. In opposite-sex dizygotic twin pairs, the uterine environment may allow transfer of testosterone from the male to the female fetus. Singletons with an older brother provide a control for shared social environment. Girls aged 3 to 8 years (N = 91) were observed playing with sex-typed toys, and mothers completed questionnaires about the child's activities. Contrary to expectation, girls with a boy co-twin did not spend more time playing with boys' toys than girls with a girl co-twin or girls with an older brother. Although these results might suggest that normal variations in hormones do not contribute to within-sex variations in childhood activities, they combine with other work to suggest factors to consider in evaluating hormonal influences on human behavior, including level and timing of exposure.

Child↗
PubMed1976

"Play mobile" for blind infants.

The "Play Mobile" has been designed to help develop cognitive and motor skills in blind infants. It consists of an expandable metal rod which fits varying widths of cot, play-pen or doorway. Two hollow, ridged tubes are attached to the rod by springs, and from these are suspended four interchangeable objects which vary in shape and texture. The function of the "Play Mobile" is to provide a stimulating environment for the infant and to encourage him to expolre and to learn from the different properties and structures in his environmetn.

Blindness↗
PubMed1999

A comparison of the randomized play-the-winner rule and the triangular test for clinical trials with binary responses.

We consider a clinical trial model comparing an experimental treatment with a control treatment when the responses are binary. For fixed significance level and power, we compare the expected number of treatment failures for two designs--the randomized play-the-winner rule and the triangular test. The former is an example of an adaptive design while the latter is an example of a fully sequential design. We show how to determine the sample size for the randomized play-the-winner rule and how to choose the stopping boundaries for the triangular test so that the two designs have similar power functions. With this choice of design parameters, simulation indicates that the triangular test is generally more effective at reducing the expected number of treatment failures, particularly when there is a large difference between the two probabilities of success. The expected number of treatment failures can be further reduced if the triangular test is applied using the randomized play-the-winner rule to assign each patient to one of the two treatments.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed1997

TCP-11, the product of a mouse t-complex gene, plays a role in stimulation of capacitation and inhibition of the spontaneous acrosome reaction.

Tcp-11 is a candidate for a distorter gene within the t-complex on mouse chromosome 17; although t-complex genes appear to affect sperm function, relatively little is known about mechanisms whereby these genes might play a specific physiological role. We present evidence that the protein TCP-11 is found on the surface of mature epididymal spermatozoa. Although detected on both the acrosomal cap region of the head and the flagellum of acrosome-intact cells, it is absent from the heads of acrosome-reacted cells. When epididymal spermatozoa were incubated in the presence of anti-TCP-11 IgG Fab fragments for a total of 120 min and assessed using chlortetracycline fluorescence, we observed a stimulation of capacitation and an inhibition of spontaneous acrosome loss, suggestive of enhanced fertility compared with untreated suspensions. In vitro fertilization experiments confirmed that Fab-treated suspensions became fertile more quickly and then maintained high fertility. Because these responses were remarkably similar to those obtained using the TRH-related peptide FPP (fertilization promoting peptide; pGlu-Glu-ProNH2) and adenosine, we investigated responses to Fab fragments, FPP, and adenosine. Results indicated that the Fab fragments appear to work at the same extracellular site as FPP, one that is distinct from the adenosine site of action. Further evidence for this conclusion was obtained using pGlu-Gln-ProNH2, an FPP-related tripeptide known to competitively inhibit responses to FPP; as with FPP, pGlu-Glu-ProNH2 inhibited the stimulatory effect of Fab fragments in a concentration-dependent manner. From these results we suggest that TCP-11 may be the receptor for FPP and that the adenylate clyclase/cyclic AMP pathway may be the signal transduction pathway activated by interactions between extracellular effector molecules (e.g., Fab fragments or FPP acting as an agonist) and TCP-11. A mechanism such as this that promotes capacitation but inhibits spontaneous acrosome loss in vivo would play a very important role by helping to maximize the fertilizing potential of the few spermatozoa that reach the site of fertilization. The fact that there is a human homolog of Tcp-11 suggests that this gene could play an important role in regulation of human, as well as mouse, sperm function.

Acrosome↗
PubMed1986

Social play in juvenile rats prenatally exposed to alcohol.

Offspring of rat dams that consumed isocaloric liquid diets containing either 35% or 0% ethanol-derived calories (EDC) from gestation days 6-20 were tested for play-fighting behavior as juveniles. Offspring from a group of dams maintained on standard lab chow and water throughout gestation were also included. Animals were tested in pairs, with offspring from each of the three prenatal treatment conditions (35% EDC, 0% EDC, and lab chow) being paired with another same-sex animal from one of these three prenatal treatment groups. Although play-fighting in juveniles is normally sexually dimorphic, this normal pattern was absent in juveniles prenatally exposed to alcohol. Male alcohol-exposed offspring displayed feminized behavior while female alcohol-exposed offspring showed masculinized behavior. This reversal of the normal sexually dimorphic aspects of play suggests that some of the behavioral disturbances associated with prenatal alcohol exposure may result, in part, from an alcohol-induced disruption of the hormonal environment in which the fetus develops.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The hexose transporters of Saccharomyces cerevisiae play different roles during enological fermentation.

We investigated the role of hexose transporters in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain derived from an industrial wine strain by carrying out a functional analysis of HXT genes 1-7 under enological conditions. A strain in which the sugar carrier genes HXT1-HXT7 were deleted was constructed and the HXT genes were expressed individually or in combination to evaluate their role under wine alcoholic fermentation conditions. No growth or fermentation was observed in winemaking conditions for the hxt1-7 delta strain. The low-affinity carriers Hxt1 and Hxt3 were the only carriers giving complete fermentation of sugars when expressed alone, indicating that these carriers play a predominant role in wine fermentation. However, these two carriers have different functions. The Hxt3 transporter is thought to play a major role, as it was the only carrier that gave an almost normal fermentation profile when produced alone. The hxt1 carrier was much less effective during the stationary phase and its role is thought to be restricted to the beginning of fermentation. The high-affinity carriers Hxt2, Hxt6 and/or Hxt7 were also required for normal fermentation. These high-affinity transporters have different functions: hxt2 is involved in growth initiation, whereas Hxt6 and/or Hxt7 are required at the end of alcoholic fermentation. This work shows that the successful alcoholic fermentation of wine involves at least four or five hexose carriers, playing different roles at various stages in the fermentation cycle.

Carbon Dioxide↗
PubMed2005

[Nurturing fair play in competitive sports. Results from a study on competitively oriented youth soccer].

Apologists of sports praise them as an ideal way to prevent addiction and violence. Sports critics see it rather as a socialization authority on the morals of the fair foul. This contradiction was investigated based on an examination of fairness behaviour and fairness education in youth soccer as well as the question of the connection between sports and violence and the preventive possibilities of sports. Our results point to differences in understanding fairness according to age, sex and primarily performance/success orientation. Teenagers learn al ready at the latest in the C youth that it is important and right in the interest of success to break rules. Thus it applies that the more distinctive the success orientation, the more in formal and formal fair play degenerate into fictitious action morals of competitive sport and make way for morals of the "fair foul". The coaches play an important, even quite obviously the central role as socialization agents. In stead of learning fairness, the opposite is often conveyed to many young people in the organizations. However, our examinations also show that coach es can positively influence both fairness understanding and fairness behaviour of young footballers. Coach es are thus challenged as role models to exemplify fair play by their own actions.

Achievement↗
PubMed1999

Characterization of the role played by the RAD59 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in ectopic recombination.

The RAD52 group of genes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae controls the repair of DNA damage by a recombinational mechanism. Despite the growing evidence for physical and biochemical interactions between the proteins of this repair group, mutations in individual genes show very different effects on various types of recombination. The RAD59 gene encodes a protein with similarity to Rad52p which plays a role in the repair of damage caused by ionizing radiation. In the present study we have examined the role played by the Rad59 protein in mitotic ectopic recombination and analyzed the genetic interactions with other members of the repair group. We found that Rad59p plays a role in ectopic gene conversion that depends on the presence of Rad52p but is independent of the function of the RecA homologue Rad51p and of the Rad57 protein. The RAD59 gene product also participates in the RAD1-dependent pathway of recombination between direct repeats. We propose that Rad59p may act in a salvage mechanism that operates when the Rad51 filament is not functional.

DNA Repair↗
PubMed2006

Men & women playing games: gender and the gambling preferences of Iowa gambling treatment program participants.

Historically, gambling has been a predominantly male pastime; however, as legalized gambling has expanded, female participation has increased. Nevertheless, some research suggests that a divide remains between the play patterns of men and women. For example, research suggests that men gravitate towards casino table games and track betting and women are attracted to games such as bingo and casino slots. Researchers have hypothesized that play pattern disparities exist because of inherent differences between the natures of men and women. Using data from 2256 (1309 male) problem gambling treatment participants, this research examines the influence of gender on play patterns. We tested the ability of gender and a series of demographic, economic, and health-related factors to discriminate among three groups of gamblers with different game preferences: casino preferred, slots preferred, and non-institutional preferred. The results of multiple discriminant function analyses indicated that gender provided a minimal contribution to discrimination beyond that of specific demographic, economic, and health-related factors. This finding suggests that for understanding gambling patterns, gender is less informative than descriptive gambler profiles.

Adult↗
PubMed2007

Return-to-play decisions after cervical spine injuries.

This article summarizes the current evidence and expert opinion on making return-to-play decisions after cervical spine injuries. Injuries discussed include fractures, central cord neuropraxia, stringers, disc herniations, strains, sprains, and instability. Each of these injuries may be complicated by coexistence of other conditions making return-to-play decisions more complicated. The congenital, developmental, and disease processes discussed include spear tackler's spine, congenital and developmental stenosis, Klippel-Feil syndrome, odontoid abnormalities, rheumatoid arthritis, spina bifida, and Arnold-Chiari malformations. Postsurgical considerations are also discussed. This review represents an abundant amount of expert opinion that was overwhelmingly based on case series, case reports, and biomechanical studies to support the return-to-play guidelines.

Athletic Injuries↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of type A personality on physiological arousal while playing computer games.

Despite the widespread use of computer games, there is a lack of systematic research in the area--particularly on their "addictiveness" potential. Anecdotal evidence suggests that computer game addiction may be due to arousal properties of computer games, although other factors may be important. This study examined the relationship between Type A personality and arousal in computer-game play. It was hypothesised that, during computer-game play, Type A and Type B subjects would have significantly higher heart rates as compared with baseline levels and that Type A subjects would experience a significantly greater increase in arousal when playing a computer game than Type B subjects. These hypotheses were both supported and the results are discussed in relation to arousal, personality, and addiction.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

p53 plays a central role in UVA and UVB induced cell damage and apoptosis in melanoma cells.

We investigated whether p53 plays a role in UV induced apoptosis in melanoma. UVA and UVB induced apoptosis in dose dependent and wild type p53 melanoma cells were much more vulnerable than the mutant cells, indicating that p53 played a role in UV-induced apoptosis in melanoma. No difference in p53 expression pattern between the primary and matched metastatic melanomas was noticed in tumour tissue or cell lines from the same patients. Our findings indicate that expression of p53 plays a role in UV-induced apoptosis in melanoma cells, but not important in melanoma progression from primary to metastasis.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed2004

Return to play after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

The goal of knee ligament reconstruction is to return the athlete to the previous level of function as quickly and as safely as possible. The appropriate level of aggressiveness in returning the athlete to sport remains controversial. Information in the literature regarding safe return to play has been dominated by the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction literature. The basic concepts that hold true for returning the ACL-reconstructed athlete to play can be generalized to injuries treated nonoperatively as well. This article presents a review of the principles of rehabilitation following knee ligament reconstruction, with an emphasis on criteria for return to play.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament↗
PubMed2006

Spleen plays an important role in the induction of accelerated blood clearance of PEGylated liposomes.

It is well known that steric stabilization of the surface of liposomes by a polyethyleneglycol (PEG) conjugated lipid results in reduced recognition of the liposomes by the cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system and consequently extended circulation times of the liposomes (t1/2 approximately 20 h in rat). Recently, we reported on the "accelerated blood clearance (ABC) phenomenon", causing PEGylated liposomes to be cleared very rapidly from the circulation upon repeated injection. We also reported that abundant binding of IgM, secreted into the blood stream after the first dose and, to PEGylated liposomes, plays an essential role in the induction of the ABC phenomenon. Spleen is well known to play a central role in the immune reaction and to produce IgM following a bacterial infection. The aim of the present study was to determine whether spleen contributes to the induction of the ABC phenomenon and to unravel its role in the phenomenon. In rats that were splenectomized (surgical removal of spleen) prior to the first injection of liposomes (0.001 micromol phospholipids/kg), the ABC phenomenon was totally abolished. In these rats serum IgM concentrations as well as the amounts of IgM bound to PEGylated liposomes were substantially reduced. Splenectomy attenuated the ABC phenomenon when performed until 3 days post-first injection. Removal of the spleen 4 days post-first injection left the ABC phenomenon unchanged. This finding indicates that the immune reaction in the spleen against the PEGylated liposomes occurs during at least 2-3 days following the first administration and then IgM reactive to PEGylated liposomes is produced. The present study proves that the spleen plays a critical role in the induction phase of the ABC phenomenon. For effective clinical application, many liposomal drug formulations will require multiple injections. The ABC phenomenon described in this and several preceding papers therefore has important implications for the development and evaluation of therapeutically useful liposomal formulations requiring multiple-dose administration.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Matrix metalloproteinases synthesized in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease play a role in development of a concurrent abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm is well known to be associated with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Kidney tubules of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease synthesize and secrete high levels of matrix metalloproteinase 2, 3, and 9, especially matrix metalloproteinase 2, and serum matrix metalloproteinase 1 and plasma matrix metalloproteinase 9 concentrations in the disease are significantly higher than those in healthy controls. On the other hand, matrix metalloproteinases play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Inflammatory cell expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 plays a critical role in an experimental model of aortic aneurysm disease. Macrophage-derived matrix metalloproteinase 9 and mesenchymal cell matrix metalloproteinase 2 are both required and work in concert to produce abdominal aortic aneurysm. The plasma matrix metalloproteinase 9 levels are significantly higher in the patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm than in the patients with aortoiliac occlusive disease or the healthy patients. Remarkably elevated matrix metalloproteinase 2 mRNA and protein levels in abdominal aortic aneurysm tissues as compared with normal and atherosclerotic aortic tissues are detected, and matrix metalloproteinase 2 proteolytic activity is several-fold higher in abdominal aortic aneurysms than in other pathological or normal states. Patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm elevate matrix metalloproteinase 2 levels in the vasculature remote from the aorta, supporting both the systemic nature of aneurysmal disease and a primary role of matrix metalloproteinase 2 in aneurysm formation. The authors propose a novel hypothesis that matrix metalloproteinases, synthesized and secreted by kidney tubules of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, play a critical role in development of a concurrent abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

A novel theory: biological processes mostly involve two types of mediators, namely general and specific mediators Endogenous small radicals such as superoxide and nitric oxide may play a role of general mediator in biological processes.

A great number of papers have shown that free radicals as well as bioactive molecules can play a role of mediator in a wide spectrum of biological processes, but the biological actions and chemical reactivity of the free radicals are quite different from that of the bioactive molecules, and that a wide variety of bioactive molecules can be easily modified by free radicals due to having functional groups sensitive to redox, and the significance of the interaction between the free radicals and the bioactive molecules in biological processes has been confirmed by the results of some in vitro and in vivo studies. Based on these evidence, this article presented a novel theory about the mediators of biological processes. The essentials of the theory are: (a) mediators of biological processes can be classified into general and specific mediators; the general mediators include two types of free radicals, namely superoxide and nitric oxide; the specific mediators include a wide variety of bioactive molecules, such as specific enzymes, transcription factors, cytokines and eicosanoids; (b) a general mediator can modify almost any class of the biomolecules, and thus play a role of mediator in nearly every biological process via diverse mechanisms; a specific mediator always acts selectively on certain classes of the biomolecules, and may play a role of mediator in different biological processes via a same mechanism; (c) biological processes are mostly controlled by networks of their mediators, so the free radicals can regulate the last consequence of a biological process by modifying some types of the bioactive molecules, or in cooperation with these bioactive molecules; the biological actions of superoxide and nitric oxide may be synergistic or antagonistic. According to this theory, keeping the integrity of these networks and the balance between the free radicals and the bioactive molecules as well as the balance between the free radicals and the free radical scavengers would be of vital importance for physiological processes, and disturbance of these networks and balances would be a critical factor of pathological processes. Therefore, the investigators who want to get a deep and full understanding of the mechanism of a biological process should pay attention to the roles of both free radical and bioactive molecule species, and the free radical scavengers, which are used for health protection, such a vitamin E and carotenoid, should be taken in a suitable dosage.

Models, Biological↗