Search results for "functioning"

Constant Hierarchic Patterns of Physical Functioning Across Seven Populations in Five Countries

1998

This research was aimed at identifying critical steps in the decline in physical function that often parallels aging. Six basic and nine instrumental activities of daily living (ADLs) were classified into four domains of disability characterized by specific underlying physical impairment. The hierarchical order of this classification was verified in two random samples representative of the older home-dwelling population. The concordance level of disability and results of performance-based measures of physical function were also tested. Finally, the cross-cultural reliability of the model was verified in seven population-based samples of older persons living in five European countries. In ol…

Using ‘Ambient Intelligence’ for Compensating Intellectual Difficulties of People with Severe Learning Difficulties and/or Autistic Spectrum Disorders

2004

This paper describes a set of services and software created so that what is called ‘ambient intelligence’ would compensate for the ‘intellectual difficulties’ that people from this collective have. Existing concepts and standards of ambient intelligence are strongly reinforced through the use of the exact current user’s position as a key factor to calculate how the ‘digital home’ or any ‘digital environment’ behaves at every moment. This will be obtained using both Wi-Fi personal locators (embedded in necklaces or bracelets) and Wi-Fi communication from the PDA. This mix, together with individual capabilities and preferences, makes the development of a wide range of services possible when c…

Emotional variables and learning profiles in children with different levels of Intellectual Functioning

2014

International Education Studies: Increasing Their Linguistic Comparability by Developing Judgmental Reviews

2012

In international education studies, the different-language test versions need to be equally difficult to read and answer for the test to be valid. To ensure comparability, several quality control procedures have been developed. Among these, surprisingly little attention has been paid to judgmental reviews and their ability to identify language-related sources of bias. Also, the reviews have often failed in identifying biases. This paper explored whether it is possible to improve the ability of judgmental reviews to identify language-related sources of bias. A new review was made of two Finnish items which in the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2000 reading test showed …

Transcriptomic metaanalyses of autistic brains reveals shared gene expression and biological pathway abnormalities with cancer

2019

Este es el artículo que se ha publicado de forma definitiva en: https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-019-0262-8 En este artículo también participa Joan Climent, Vera Pancaldi, Lourdes Fañanás, Celso Arango, Mara Parellada, Anaïs Baudot, Daniel Vogt, John L. Rubenstein, Alfonso Valencia y Rafael Tabarés-Seisdedos. Background: Epidemiological and clinical evidence points to cancer as a comorbidity in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A significant overlap of genes and biological processes between both diseases has also been reported. Methods: Here, for the first time, we compared the gene expression profiles of ASD frontal cortex tissues and 22 cancer t…

A scoping review on interventions to promote physical activity among adults with disabilities

2016

People with disabilities are at increased risk for obesity as well as other secondary conditions that lead to further decline in health and functional status. Despite there being strong evidence that physical activity (PA) can help to reduce the incidence and severity of preventable conditions, approximately half of all adults with disabilities get no regular physical activity. In addition, there is limited knowledge on the PA promotion interventions effectiveness among individuals with disabilities. Recently the Behaviour Change Techniques Taxonomy version 1 (BCT Taxonomy v1) became available as a method for reporting, replicating, and synthesizing research evidence, yet it is lacking in s…

Human stem cells from single blastomeres reveal pathways of embryonic or trophoblast fate specification.

2015

Mechanisms of initial cell fate decisions differ among species. To gain insights into lineage allocation in humans, we derived ten human embryonic stem cell lines (designated UCSFB1-10) from single blastomeres of four 8-cell embryos and one 12-cell embryo from a single couple. Compared with numerous conventional lines from blastocysts, they had unique gene expression and DNA methylation patterns that were, in part, indicative of trophoblast competence. At a transcriptional level, UCSFB lines from different embryos were often more closely related than those from the same embryo. As predicted by the transcriptomic data, immunolocalization of EOMES, T brachyury, GDF15 and active β-catenin reve…

Adaptive Function and Brain Evolution

2012

Comparing brains is not a mere intellectual exercise but also helps to understand how the brain enables adaptive behavioral strategies to cope with an ever-changing world and how this complex organ has evolved during the phylogeny. For instance, comparative neurobiology helps understanding the specific features of our species, an issue that attracted scientists since the time of Santiago Ramon y Cajal. Following this tradition, 20 years ago Hans ten Donkelaar and Gerhard Roth started the European Conferences on Comparative Neurobiology (ECCN). This e-book includes some of the contributions to the last meeting, the sixth ECCN (Valencia, Spain; April 22-24 2010), plus selected works by severa…

2020

The disease and treatment of patients with head and neck cancer can lead to multiple late and long-term sequelae. Especially pain, psychosocial problems, and voice issues can have a high impact on patients’ health-related quality of life. The aim was to show the feasibility of implementing an electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). Driven by our department’s intention to assess Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) based on the International Classification of Functioning during tumor aftercare, the program “OncoFunction” has been implemented and continuously refined in everyday practice. The new version of “OncoFunction” was evaluated by 20 …

May the force be with you: Transfer of healthy mitochondria from stem cells to stroke cells

2018

Stroke is a major cause of death and disability in the United States and around the world with limited therapeutic option. Here, we discuss the critical role of mitochondria in stem cell-mediated rescue of stroke brain by highlighting the concept that deleting the mitochondria from stem cells abolishes the cells’ regenerative potency. The application of innovative approaches entailing generation of mitochondria-voided stem cells as well as pharmacological inhibition of mitochondrial function may elucidate the mechanism underlying transfer of healthy mitochondria to ischemic cells, thereby providing key insights in the pathology and treatment of stroke and other brain disorders plagued with…