Developing the Observatory Test of Capacity,Performance, and Developmental Disregard (OTCPDD) for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid instrument, named the Observatory Test of Capacity, Performance, and Developmental Disregard (OTCPDD), for measuring the amount and quality of use of affected upper limb functions in the daily routines of children with CP.

Methods

Forty-eight participants (24 children with CP and 24 matched typically developing children) were recruited. The OTCPDD was administered twice (the spontaneous use condition first, followed by the forced use condition) on children with CP. Their parents were asked to complete the Pediatric Motor Activity Log-Revised (PMAL-R). The internal consistency, the intrarater and interrater reliabilities, and the convergent and discriminate validities were measured.

Results

The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) and the intrarater and interrater reliabilities were higher than 0.9 for all of the OTCPDD scores. The convergent validity was confirmed by significant correlations between the OTCPDD and the PMAL-R. For the discriminant validity, significant differences (p<0.05) were found between children with CP and typically developing children.

Conclusions

The results support that the OTCPDD is a reliable and valid observation-based assessment. The OTCPDD, which uses bimanual daily living activities, is able to represent the children’s general affected hand functions (including capacity, performance, and developmental disregard) in their daily routines.     

Sodium transport in Na+-rich Chlorella cells

Summary The rate of Na⁺/Na⁺ exchange as measured with ²⁴Na⁺ in Na⁺-rich cells of Chlorella pyrenoidosa is governed by a single rate constant and saturates with increasing external Na⁺ concentration. The K _mvalue for this process is 0.8 mM Na⁺ and the maximum rate of exchange in illuminated cells is about 5 pmoles cm^-2 sec^-1. These values contrast with a K _mof 0.18 mM K⁺ and maximum rate of about 17 pmoles K⁺·cm^-2·sec^-1 for net K⁺ influx. Although the Na⁺/Na⁺ exchange was only slightly sensitive to light it was inhibited by the uncouplers CCCP and DNP and by the energy transfer inhibitor DCCD. This inhibition of the rate of Na⁺/Na⁺ exchange was not accompanied by a loss of internal Na⁺. Both the effect of external K⁺ on ²⁴Na⁺ influx into Na⁺-rich cells and the inhibition of net K⁺ uptake by the presence of external Na⁺ indicates that Na⁺/Na⁺ and K⁺/Na⁺ exchanges share the same carrier and that the external site of this carrier has a three to four times higher affinity for K⁺ over Na⁺.     

Survey of Microorganisms for the Production of Extracellular Phytase

A culture enrichment technique was used to isolate phytase-producing microorganisms. Also, microorganisms from various culture collections were tested for their phytase-producing ability. A number of the Aspergillus niger group produced extracellular phytase which dephosphorylated calcium phytate in acidic solution. A soil isolate, A. ficuum NRRL 3135, produced the most active phytase in a cornstarch-based medium. Production of phytase was strongly repressed by inorganic phosphates and required a high carbon to phosphorus ratio in the medium.     

华南鱼藤的分析及毒力试验

一、绪言 鱼藤(Derris)是一种优良的植物质杀虫剂,对多数害虫有毒杀的效力,而对人畜无害,对作物亦绝不发生药害,同时更不影响作物固有的风味,为近代综合有机杀虫药剂所不能及的。鱼藤为各国普遍所采用,尤其对一般园艺作物害虫的防治,更受欢迎。鱼藤在我国除台湾在日伪时代曾大量推广繁殖,从事专业栽培外;     

Antagonists of the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) with emphasis on the TRP7 of the salmon and chicken II LHRH's

The sequences of four naturally occurring luteinizing hormone releasing hormones (LHRH's) differ only in positions 5, 7 and 8. Salmon and chicken II LHRH's have Trp7; porcine/ovine (P/O) and chicken I LHRH's have Leu7. The receptor for P/O LHRH might effectively bind certain antagonists with Trp7. Thirteen antagonists having Trp7 and eight antagonists with other substitutions in position 7 were synthesized. One of the thirteen antagonists with the natural Trp7, [N-Ac-D-2-Nal1,D-pClPhe2,D-3-Pal3,D-Arg6,Trp7,D- Ala10]-LHRH, not only maintained activity, but had increased potency (ca. 58%; 90% antiovulatory activity/250 ng; rats) in comparison with the companion analog with the natural Leu7 of P/O LHRH. The other twelve Trp7-antagonists had lower potency.     

Abscisic acid inhibits shoot elongation of Scirpus mucronatus

The relationships between free ABA levels and shoot elongation were investigated in shoots of Scirpus mucronatus L. Under submergence, shoot elongation increased but free ABA levels decreased. The extent of the increase in length and the decrease in free ABA in submerged shoots increased with the increase of water depth. When the shoots were transferred to air after 12 days of submergence, they ceased to elongate and the free ABA levels recovered to the values of air-grown shoots. ABA, at concentrations from 1 μ M to 1 m M , inhibited the submergence-induced shoot elongation. In ambient air, fluridone, an inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis, at 7 μ M decreased the free ABA levels in shoots but increased shoot elongation. The effects could be reversed by 10 μ M ABA. These results indicate that ABA is an internal inhibitor of shoot growth in Scirpus .     

Vibrio salinus sp. nov., a marine nitrogen-fixing bacterium isolated from the lagoon sediment of an islet inside an atoll in the western Pacific Ocean

A marine, facultatively anaerobic, nitrogen-fixing bacterium, designated strain DNF-1^T, was isolated from the lagoon sediment of Dongsha Island, Taiwan. Cells grown in broth cultures were Gram-negative rods that were motile by means of monotrichous flagella. Cells grown on plate medium produced prosthecae and vesicle-like structures. NaCl was required and optimal growth occurred at about 2–3% NaCl, 25–30 °C and pH 7–8. The strain grew aerobically and was capable of anaerobic growth by fermenting D-glucose or other carbohydrates as substrate. Both the aerobic and anaerobic growth could be achieved with NH₄Cl as a sole nitrogen source. When N₂ served as the sole nitrogen source only anaerobic growth was observed. Major cellular fatty acids were C_14:0, C_16:0 and C_16:1 ω7c, while major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. The DNA G+C content was 42.2 mol% based on the genomic DNA data. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA genes and the housekeeping genes, gapA, pyrH, recA and gyrB, revealed that the strain formed a distinct lineage at species level in the genus Vibrio of the family Vibrionaceae. These results and those from genomic, chemotaxonomic and physiological studies strongly support the assignment of a novel Vibrio species. The name Vibrio salinus sp. nov. is proposed for the novel species, with DNF-1^T (=?BCRC 81209^T?=?JCM 33626^T) as the type strain. This newly proposed species represents the second example of the genus Vibrio that has been demonstrated to be capable of anaerobic growth by fixing N₂ as the sole nitrogen source.