Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Foundation model”

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 793 records · Page 44Linked to original sources

[Construction of a DNA vaccine against human B cell lymphoma].

AIM: To construct a DNA vaccine based on surface Ig V(H) gene of tumor cells in the human B-cell lymphoma biopsy tissue. METHODS: The V(H) gene fragment was amplified by RT-PCR using Ig superfamily primers. Also, the murine monocyte chemotactic protein 3(MCP-3) cDNA was cloned. The fusion gene fragment of MCP-3 gene with V(H) gene was constructed by recombinant PCR and then cloned into the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1 to construct the DNA vaccine plasmid pcDNA3.1/MCP-V(H). The vaccine plasmid was transiently expressed in the eukaryotic cell line COS-7. RESULTS: The DNA vaccine plasmid was successfully constructed and expressed in COS-7 cells in the form of fusion protein MCP-V(H). CONCLUSION: The DNA vaccine plasmid pcDNA3.1/MCP-V(H) is constructed and expressed successfully, which plays the foundation for further experimental research in animal model.

Animals↗

[Gene studies and nobel prize].

Gene is a DNA sequence which can be expressed and produces gene products (protein or RNA). By 2003, there are 51 Nobel Prize owners related to gene studies. Among them, 44 persons are in physiology or medicine (account for 24.72% of total 178), 7 persons are in chemistry (account for 5.69% of total 123). The paper reviews them in following 6 aspects: Drosophlie melanogaster is a good material for gene study; the double helix model of DNA structure provides a hard foundation in gene study; the studies on gene regulation illuminate many functions of gene; genetic central dogma researches created 11 Noble Prize laureates; gene engineering technologies make possible to modify and use genes; and the thorough studies of gene characteristic made us easier to understand many life phenomena.

Animals↗

Prevalence rate of thyroid diseases among autopsy cases of the atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima, 1951-1985.

To examine the radiogenic risk of latent thyroid cancer, thyroid adenoma, colloid/adenomatous goiter and chronic thyroiditis, the data for 3821 subjects collected in the course of autopsies of atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima from 1951 to 1985 by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) were analyzed using a logistic model. About 80% of the autopsies were performed at RERF and the remainder at local hospitals. The frequencies of the above diseases were not associated with whether the underlying cause of death was cancer. However, note that our results may be influenced by potentially biasing factors associated with autopsy selection. The relative frequency of latent thyroid cancer (greatest dimension < or = 1.5 cm but detectable on a routine microscopic slide of the thyroid gland) increased as the radiation dose increased and was about 1.4-fold greater at 1 Gy than in the 0-Gy dose group. The relative occurrence of thyroid adenoma also increased as radiation dose increased, and was about 1.5-fold greater at 1 Gy than in the 0-Gy dose group. Sex, age at the time of the bombing or period of observation did not significantly modify the radiogenic risks for thyroid adenoma or latent thyroid cancer. No statistically significant association was found between radiation exposure and the rates of colloid/adenomatous goiter and chronic thyroiditis. The possible late effect of atomic bomb radiation on the frequency of benign thyroid diseases is discussed on the basis of these data.

Adenoma↗

[New challenges in the field of advanced education for nursing personnel in Latin America].

This document examines and describes the basic characteristics of the 48 postgraduate nursing programs that exist in Latin American countries. A critical and holistic analysis model is used to identify their ideological foundations, the policies that govern them at the ministerial and institutional levels, and the conditions in which the programs operate, in an attempt to highlight areas where critical needs exist and to offer recommendations on how to satisfy them. Emphasis is placed on the capacity of international agencies, governments, and universities to improve postgraduate nursing education through the definition of priorities in light of the general reforms taking place in the health sector, the provision of support for research on nursing topics, and the coordination of cooperation initiatives at the national and international levels.

Education, Nursing, Continuing↗

Special Projects of National Significance and the Alaska Tribal Health System: an overview of the development of a best practice model for HIV/AIDS care and treatment in Alaska.

This article presents a discussion about the increased risk of the spread of HIV among Alaska Natives resulting from high-risk co-occurring conditions and social and cultural customs that create barriers to HIV/AIDS prevention education. Additionally, an overview of the unique structure of the Alaska Tribal Health System and how the Health Resources Service Administration's (HRSA) American Indian Alaska Native Special Projects of National Significance Initiatives (AI/AN SPNS) have been a critical component in creating the foundation for the development of a best practice model for HIV/AIDS care and treatment in Alaska is provided. This article is not a comparative analysis of the Indian Health Care System. Rather, it provides a discussion about tribal federalism, the Alaska Tribal Health System (ATHS), and the influence the AI/AN SPNS initiatives have had on the development of HIV/AIDS care and treatment in Alaska. In order to explain how the AI/AN SPNS initiatives have influenced the development of HIV/AIDS care and treatment in Alaska, it is also necessary to understand the evolution of the ATHS and how this system is unique compared to other tribal, private, and public health care systems throughout the United States.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Emergence of constraint in self-organizing systems.

Practitioners of agent-based modeling are often tasked to model or design self-organizing systems while the theoretical foundation of self-organization in science remains to be set. This paper explores self-organization in the context of an agent-based model of ant colony food foraging. We gather specific measures of order-creation and constraint construction particular to leading theories of nonequilibrium thermodynamics that purport to govern self-organizing dynamics. These measures are used to explore three claims: (a) Constraints are constructed from entropy-producing processes in the bootstrapping phase of self-organizing systems; (b) positive feedback loops are critical in the structure formation phase; and (c) constraints tend to decay. The continued presence of far-from-equilibrium boundary conditions are required to reinforce constraints in the maintenance phase.

Entropy↗

Experimental antifungal chemotherapy in granulocytopenic animal models of disseminated candidiasis: approaches to understanding investigational antifungal compounds for patients with neoplastic diseases.

Disseminated candidiasis is the most common life-threatening invasive fungal infection in granulocytopenic patients. A review of recent approaches to pre-clinical laboratory investigation of promising antifungal compounds, which may have potential utility in granulocytopenic patients is presented. A particularly useful strategy is the study of persistently granulocytopenic rabbit models of acute, subacute, and chronic forms of disseminated candidiasis. When the antifungal triazoles (fluconazole, itraconazole, and SCH 39304 [SCH 42427]) were each evaluated for use as preventive, early treatment, or delayed treatment in the different models, the triazoles were consistently more active when used for preventive and early treatment than for delayed treatment. These triazoles were as active as amphotericin B plus flucytosine (AB + FC) when used for early treatment but were less active than AB + FC when used for delayed treatment. Several lipid formulations of amphotericin B demonstrate reduced nephrotoxicity at higher safely achievable dosages in comparison to those of deoxycholate amphotericin B in several models of disseminated candidiasis. When administered to follow non-linear saturable Michaelis-Menten-type plasma pharmacokinetics, the antifungal activity of the echinocandin compound cilofungin was significantly augmented. Thoughtfully designed and carefully conducted laboratory investigations in appropriate animal models of disseminated candidiasis can provide a scientific foundation and guide for development of clinical protocols investigating new approaches to prevention and treatment of invasive candidiasis in granulocytopenic patients.

Agranulocytosis↗

Primate models for assisted reproductive technologies.

Although the deliberate creation of human embryos for scientific research is complicated by ethical and practical issues, a detailed understanding of the cellular and molecular events occurring during human fertilization is essential, particularly for understanding infertility. It is clear from cytoskeletal imaging studies of mouse fertilization that this information cannot be extrapolated to humans because of unique differences in centrosomal inheritance. However, the cytoskeletal rearrangements during non-human primate fertilization are very similar to humans, providing a compelling animal model in which to examine sperm--egg interactions. In order to address this key step in primate fertilization and to avoid the complexities in working with fertilized human zygotes, studies are now exploring the molecular foundations of various assisted fertilization techniques in a monkey model. While intracytoplasmic sperm injection with ejaculated or testicular sperm is quite successful in primate models, there are some specific differences when compared with standard IVF that warrant further investigation, particularly in regards to nuclear remodeling, genomic imprinting, Y-chromosome deletions and developmental outcomes. Similarly, primate models have been useful for examining spermatid function during fertilization but these have met with limited success. One area of primate reproductive research that has yet to be mastered is reproductive cloning. Genetically identical primates would provide the ultimate approach for accelerating stem cell-based therapies for a number of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, as well as targeted gene therapies for various metabolic disorders.

Animals↗

Dynamics of a novel pathogen in an avian host: Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in house finches.

In early 1994, a novel strain of Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG)--a poultry pathogen with a world-wide distribution--emerged in wild house finches and within 3 years had reached epidemic proportions across their eastern North American range. The ensuing epizootic resulted in a rapid decline of the host population coupled with considerable seasonal fluctuations in prevalence. To understand the dynamics of this disease system, a multi-disciplinary team composed of biologists, veterinarians, microbiologists and mathematical modelers set forth to determine factors driving and influenced by this host-pathogen system. On a broad geographic scale, volunteer observers ("citizen scientists") collected and reported data used for calculating both host abundance and disease prevalence. The scale at which this monitoring initiative was conducted is unprecedented and it has been an invaluable source of data for researchers at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology to track the spread and magnitude of disease both spatially and temporally. At a finer scale, localized and intensive field studies provided data used to quantify the effects of disease on host demographic parameters via capture-mark-recapture modeling, effects of host behavior on disease and vice-versa, and the biological and genetic profiles of birds with known phenotypic characteristics. To balance the field-based component of the study, experiments were conducted with finches held in captivity to describe and quantify the effects of experimental infections on hosts in both individual and social settings. The confluence of these various elements of the investigation provided the foundation for construction of a general compartmentalized epidemiological model of the dynamics of the house finch-MG system. This paper serves several purposes including (i) a basic review of the pathogen, host, and epidemic cycle; (ii) an explanation of our research strategy; (iii) a basic review of results from the diverse multi-disciplinary approaches employed; and (iv) pertinent questions relevant to this and other wildlife disease studies that require further investigation.

Animals↗

A multi-wall carbon nanotube tower electrochemical actuator.

Patterned multiwall carbon nanotube arrays up to four millimeters long were synthesized using chemical vapor deposition. Electrochemical actuation of a nanotube array tower was demonstrated in a 2 M NaCl solution at frequencies up to 10 Hz with 0.15% strain using a 2 V square wave excitation. The synthesis and electrochemical modeling approach outlined in the paper provide a foundation for the design of nanotube smart materials that actuate and are load bearing.

Computer Simulation↗

Neural computation in urology: an orientation.

Neural computation is a field in which mathematical models are derived from algorithms based loosely on the physiological function of the biological neuron. This paper serves as an introduction to those that follow in this issue of Molecular Urology, which describe actual applications of neural computational modeling in the urologic domain. In this introductory paper, the history of computer technology and the foundations of neural computation are discussed. Methods of determining the accuracy of computation models are reviewed, and a statistical method of evaluating the significance of individual input features to the model's output, a process known as "feature extraction," is presented. Resources that provide free and commercial neural computational programs are cited for those readers interested in applying this technology to their own datasets, and a brief description of the author's neural computational programming environment is included. Finally, deployment of computational models via the Internet and various computer platforms is discussed.

Algorithms↗

Physiological modeling of speech production: methods for modeling soft-tissue articulators.

As the initial components of a comprehensive physiological model of speech production, methods have been developed for modeling soft tissue structures, such as the tongue and lips, as continua. This approach provides a foundation for applying finite element methods to simulate these structures in a biomechanical model of speech production. Movements and deformations of the structures can then be computed as the solutions of a nonlinear second-order constraint system of ordinary differential equations, which is obtained from a finite element approximation of an energy rate equation. The muscle fibers in the soft tissue structures are represented as fields that specify the directions in which active and passive tensile stress is produced. The elastic behavior of the passive components is modeled using an isotropic exponential constitutive strain energy function, and the viscous stress components, by using linear viscosity. Incompressibility is maintained elementwise in the simulation using a simultaneously solved system for the computation of Lagrange multipliers. As first step towards modeling a vocal tract, a preliminary model of a tongue with eight muscles has been completed. Simulation results demonstrate the validity of the method and they support the feasibility of a physiologically based model of speech production.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗

A two-dimensional model of female sexual response.

On the basis of a review of previous research on orgasm consistency and sexual satisfaction in heterosexual females, a two-dimensional conceptual model of sexual responsivity is proposed as a foundation for future research and theory. Methodological problems as well as conceptual inadequacies of past research are discussed. Research evidence strongly indicates that the variable of sexual satisfaction is a long overlooked but critical concept in the full understanding of female heterosexual behavior.

Coitus↗

An integrative framework for community partnering to translate theory into effective health promotion strategy.

INTRODUCTION: Although there is general agreement about the complex interplay among individual-, family-, organizational-, and community-level factors as they influence health outcomes, there is still a gap between health promotion research and practice. The authors suggest that a disjuncture exists between the multiple theories and models of health promotion and the practitioner's need for a more unified set of guidelines for comprehensive planning of programs. Therefore, we put forward in this paper an idea toward closing the gap between research and practice, a case for developing an overarching framework--with several health promotion models that could integrate existing theories--and applying it to comprehensive health promotion strategy. AN INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK: We outline a theoretical foundation for future health promotion research and practice that integrates four models: the social ecology; the Life Course Health Development; the Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational/Environmental Diagnosis and Evaluation-Policy, Regulatory and Organizational Constructs in Educational and Environmental Development; and the community partnering models. The first three models are well developed and complementary. There is little consensus on the latter model, community partnering. However, we suggest that such a model is a vital part of an overall framework, and we present an approach to reconciling theoretical tensions among researchers and practitioners involved in community health promotion. INTEGRATING THE MODELS: THE NEED FOR SYSTEMS THEORY AND THINKING: Systems theory has been relatively ignored both by the health promotion field and, more generally, by the health services. We make a case for greater use of systems theory in the development of an overall framework, both to improve integration and to incorporate key concepts from the diverse systems literatures of other disciplines. VISION FOR HEALTHY COMMUNITIES: (1) Researchers and practitioners understand the complex interplay among individual-, family-, organizational-, and community-level factors as they influence population health; (2) health promotion researchers and practitioners collaborate effectively with others in the community to create integrated strategies that work as a system to address a wide array of health-related factors; (3) The Healthy People Objectives for the Nation includes balanced indicators to reflect health promotion realities and research-measures effects on all levels; (4) the gap between community health promotion "best practices" guidelines and the way things work in the everyday world of health promotion practice has been substantially closed. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: We suggest critical next steps toward closing the gap between health promotion research and practice: investing in networks that promote, support, and sustain ongoing dialogue and sharing of experience; finding common ground in an approach to community partnering; and gaining consensus on the proposed integrating framework.

Canada↗

The circle of health: a health definition model.

Beginning with a holistic definition in ancient times, the predominant American definition of health now focuses on physical health and disease symptoms. This limited definition of health is an inadequate foundation for holistic health care strategies. This article provides a conceptual model with an expanded definition of health as a basis for holistic and conventional health strategies. The model includes concepts of balance, energy systems, and mind-body integration from non-Western health practices. A holistic definition of health suggests an expanded range of positive, pleasurable health behaviors. The visual representation of the model can be used by health care professionals and clients to identify disease reduction strategies or a health improvement program for well individuals. Understanding and expanding the conceptualization of health and health improvement strategies offers the possibility of improving client satisfaction and health status outcomes.

Attitude to Health↗

Transforming our vision: emancipatory career planning for nurses.

Canadian nurses are experiencing profound and often disturbing changes in the health care sector. Not only have the number of jobs decreased but the nature and expectations of those jobs are changing dramatically. While these changes have raised nurses' anxiety, the changes simultaneously have presented nurses with an opportunity to transform their vision of nursing and their role in health care. This article describes a career planning pilot project for nurses which employed Freire's model of emancipatory learning. Based on the theoretical foundations of narrative psychology and critical social theory a series of four workshops were offered. Comments from the evaluation results indicate that the workshop was a transformative experience for the participants. Future implications for career planning for nurses are discussed.

Canada↗

A psychodynamic model of behavior after acute central nervous system damage.

This article describes a conceptual psychodynamic model for understanding the neurobehavioral manifestations of acute central nervous system damage (ACNSD) displayed by patients during the rehabilitation process. According to the proposed model, patientsO behavioral responses are viewed as their only means of emotional expression and therefore may not be considered entirely abnormal when viewed from the perspective of patientsO interpersonal contexts. An improved understanding of the dynamic processes through which recovering patients with ACNSD journey may lead to better interaction between the patient and the therapeutic environment, the interdisciplinary team, and family members. Combining this proposed psychodynamic model with an emerging understanding of the neurobehavioral foundations of aggression and depression may also lead to a more rational approach to intervention with various psychopharmacologic agents. During the rehabilitation process, understanding patients' cognitive deficits, motivational drives, and emotional needs and proper implementation of medical and environmental treatment can ultimately lead to a better psychosocial outcome.

Behavior↗

Motivations for play in online games.

An empirical model of player motivations in online games provides the foundation to understand and assess how players differ from one another and how motivations of play relate to age, gender, usage patterns, and in-game behaviors. In the current study, a factor analytic approach was used to create an empirical model of player motivations. The analysis revealed 10 motivation subcomponents that grouped into three overarching components (achievement, social, and immersion). Relationships between motivations and demographic variables (age, gender, and usage patterns) are also presented.

Achievement↗