Effective staff functioning in dealing with executive teams.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Administrative Personnel↗
SEARCH · PubMed Health
Results for “executive function”
Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
[Usefulness of radioisotopic methods in the study of the salivary glands].
The results achieved by dynamic and static salivary gland scintigraphy in 272 patients over a ten year time (January 1976-December 1985) are reported. On the basis of a semi-quantitative assessment of time/activity curves, dynamic studies prove to be the most suitable method for studying functional disorders (phlogosis, facial paralysis, etc.). Harmlessness, easy execution and functional results are the main advantages of radioisotope techniques. Salivary gland scintigraphy has some limits in the study of space occupying lesions (SOL): however, ultrasounds, CT and sialography represent the methods of choice in this field of salivary gland pathology.
Acute Disease↗
Pretreatment neuropsychological status and associated factors in children with primary brain tumors.
We report on the neuropsychological status of 31 children with primary brain tumors who underwent assessment before receiving therapy. Overall, the children performed within normal limits in all test areas. The exception was the group with anterior hemispheric tumors who demonstrated deficits in executive cognitive functions. Also, when compared according to tumor type, children with midline tumors and hydrocephalus performed more poorly than others on measures of intelligence, executive abilities, visual-motor skills, and fine-motor functions. Although one-half to two-thirds of the children with supratentorial midline and infratentorial tumors had cranial nerve, oculomotor, or cerebellar deficits, only the latter were associated with specific neuropsychological deficits (poorer performance on fine-motor and visual-motor tests). Age did not appear to be a factor in these children's neuropsychological test performances.
Adolescent↗
GAL4 mutations that separate the transcriptional activation and GAL80-interactive functions of the yeast GAL4 protein.
The carboxy-terminal 28 amino acids of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptional activator protein GAL4 execute two functions--transcriptional activation and interaction with the negative regulatory protein, GAL80. Here we demonstrate that these two functions are separable by single amino acid changes within this region. We determined the sequences of four GAL4C-mutations, and characterized the abilities of the encoded GAL4C proteins to activate transcription of the galactose/melibiose regulon in the presence of GAL80 and superrepressible GAL80S alleles. One of the GAL4C mutations can be compensated by a specific GAL80S mutation, resulting in a wild-type phenotype. These results support the idea that while the GAL4 activation function tolerates at least minor alterations in the GAL4 carboxyl terminus, the GAL80-interactive function is highly sequence-specific and sensitive even to single amino acid alterations. They also argue that the GAL80S mutations affect the affinity of GAL80 for GAL4, and not the ability of GAL80 to bind inducer.
Alleles↗
A RAD9-dependent checkpoint blocks meiosis of cdc13 yeast cells.
Mutations in CDC13 have previously been found to cause cell cycle arrest of Saccharomyces cerevisiae at a stage in G2 immediately preceding the mitotic division. We show here that cdc13 blocks the meiotic pathway at a stage that follows DNA replication, but in this case the spindle has not yet formed nor have the chromosomes undergone synapsis or recombination. This arrest is alleviated by rad9, thus implicating the same checkpoint function that delays mitotic progression when chromosomal lesions are present. An assessment of the spores produced upon alleviation of the meiotic arrest by rad9 reveals that the absence of recombination in strains bearing cdc13 alone is attributable to the RAD9-mediated arrest rather than to other effects of cdc13 lesions. We have tested the possibility that this checkpoint function is important in regulating meiotic progression to permit resolution of recombinational intermediates during ongoing meiosis and have found no evidence that rad9 alters the execution of functions that might depend upon such regulation. We consider the possible role of other checkpoints in yeast meiosis.
Cell Cycle Proteins↗
IL-1 and pro-inflammatory cytokines produced by primary and transformed fibroblasts abrogate the tumorigenic potential of fibrosarcomas.
In the present study we report on novel immunoregulatory functions lately attributed to fibroblasts, namely participation in cellular immune responses in connective tissues, by generation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and by presenting antigens to proliferating T cells. In order to execute immunoregulatory functions, the fibroblast has to be activated by signals abundant at inflammatory sites, i.e., cytokines and bacterial products. It was demonstrated that such immune-activated fibroblasts are able to generate a variety of cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, colony stimulating factors (CSFs) as well as prostaglandins. The array of cytokines generated by immune-activated fibroblasts is determined by the stimulant and is controlled at multiple regulatory levels, such as transcription, translation, post-translational modifications, compartmentalization within the producing cell as well as the timing of expression. Some oncogene-transformed fibroblastoid cells lines were shown to constitutively generate IL-1 (and not IL-1 beta), as evidenced by the continuous expression of specific mRNA and biological activity of the cytokine, associated to the cell membrane or located in the cytosol. When these IL-2 producing cell lines were injected into mice, they failed to generate established tumors or regressed following initial growth, possibly due to mounting the host anti-tumor specific immune responses in which cytotoxic lymphocytes (CTLs) predominate. In contrast, IL-1 non-producing tumor cell lines induced progressive tumors which ultimately killed the animals. However, IL-1 non-producing fibroblastoid cell lines shifted from an in vivo progressive to a regressive phenotype, following immune activation of the malignant cells in vitro with cytokines/LPS. Similarly, primary immune-activated fibroblasts also induced tumor regression, mediated by anti-tumor specific immune responses, when the fibroblasts were injected into the vicinity of the tumor. Thus, the importance of activated stromal cells on tumor development was emphasized. This situation is relevant to the development of malignancies, as tumor growth is often accompanied by a local inflammatory response. Thus, the induction of IL-1 and other pro-inflammatory cytokines expression by the malignant cells or by stromal cells, in the vicinity of the tumor, might be efficient for tumor eradication. These findings should serve as a basis for development of novel immunotherapeutical strategies for the eradication of solid tumors.
Animals↗
FUS3 represses CLN1 and CLN2 and in concert with KSS1 promotes signal transduction.
FUS3 is functionally redundant with KSS1, a homologous yeast protein kinase, for a step(s) in signal transduction between the beta subunit of the guanine nucleotide binding protein (G protein), STE4, and the mating type-specific transcriptional activator, STE12. Either FUS3 or KSS1 can execute this function; when neither gene encoding these protein kinases is present, signal transduction is blocked, causing sterility. This functional redundancy is strain dependent; some standard laboratory strains (S288C) are kss1-. FUS3 has additional functions required for cell cycle arrest and vegetative growth that do not overlap with KSS1 functions. FUS3 mediates cell cycle arrest during mating through transcriptional repression of two G1 cyclins (CLN1 and CLN2) and through posttranscriptional inhibition of a third G1 cyclin (CLN3). FUS3 is also required for vegetative growth in haploid strains dependent upon CLN3 for cell cycle progression but is not required in strains dependent upon either CLN1 or CLN2, suggesting a functional divergence among the three G1 cyclins. The diverse roles for FUS3 suggest that the FUS3 protein kinase has multiple substrates, some of which may be shared with KSS1.
Cell Cycle↗
Adaptive cellular interactions in the immune system: the tunable activation threshold and the significance of subthreshold responses.
A major challenge for immunologists is to explain how the immune system adjusts its responses to the microenvironmental context in which antigens are recognized. We propose that lymphocytes achieve this by tuning and updating their responsiveness to recurrent signals. In particular, cellular anergy in vivo is a dynamic state in which the threshold for a stereotypic mode of activation has been elevated. Anergy is associated with other forms of cellular activity, not paralysis. Cells engaged in such subthreshold interactions mediate functions such as maintenance of immunological memory and control of infections. In such interactions, patterns of signals are recognized and classified and evoke selective responses. The robust mechanism proposed for segregation of suprathreshold and subthreshold immune responses allows lymphocytes to use recognition of self-antigens in executing physiological functions. Autoreactivity is allowed where it is dissociated from uncontrolled aggression.
Animals↗
An operator approach to interactive data processing. I. The system.
A computer software system for interactive data processing is described. Data are transferred between functions ('operators'). Execution flow is designed in a semi-graphical language. Data are composed of arbitrary data types in sequences of any length. The system works as an interpreter and the user may define or modify its current operation without delay. Lucidity is increased by the possibility of building complex functions ('macros') from simpler ones. Once such a construction has been made, the functions included can be made transparent to the user. Portability is emphasized by using only standard PASCAL. To promote flexibility, entirely new procedures and data types can be introduced. Both short- and long-term solutions are thus supported.
Electronic Data Processing↗
Microcomputer-controlled laboratory system for field potential experiments.
A microcomputer-controlled laboratory system for hippocampal field potential experiments was constituted. This system realized the quasi-simultaneous processing of execution of stimulation, data acquisition, data display and data analysis by means of a microcomputer for the first time. To attain this quasi-simultaneous processing, a new algorithm for drawing a tangent on the wave-form of the potential was contrived, which enabled rapid analysis of an arbitrary population spike even in the case of generation of double spikes. The system has the following functions: (1) execution of the programmed stimulation paradigm, (2) analog/digital (A/D) conversion of the evoked field potential with a sampling interval of more than 50 microseconds per channel, (3) display of the A/D converted wave-form data on a CRT and storage of the data on a floppy disk, (4) on-line analysis of the population excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) and population spike, (5) more detailed off-line analysis of the field potentials, and (6) output of the wave-form data and measured values through a printer and an X-Y plotter.
Action Potentials↗
Reconstitution of GTP-binding Sar1 protein function in ER to Golgi transport.
In the yeast secretory pathway, two genes SEC12 and SAR1, which encode a 70-kD integral membrane protein and a 21-kD GTP-binding protein, respectively, cooperate in protein transport from the ER to the Golgi apparatus. In vivo, the elevation of the SAR1 dosage suppresses temperature sensitivity of the sec12 mutant. In this paper, we show cell-free reconstitution of the ER-to-Golgi transport that depends on both of these gene products. First, the membranes from the sec12 mutant cells reproduce temperature sensitivity in the in vitro ER-to-Golgi transport reaction. Furthermore, the addition of the Sar1 protein completely suppresses this temperature-sensitive defect of the sec12 membranes. The analysis of Sar1p partially purified by E. coli expression suggests that GTP hydrolysis is essential for Sar1p to execute its function.
Cloning, Molecular↗
The impact of utilization review on nursing.
At first glance, nursing's role in UR appears to be of strategic significance to the profession. But there are several issues that nurse executives need to consider. First, since UR departments are seldom part of the nursing department, UR nurses are practicing outside the realm of nursing. What responsibility, if any, does the nursing department have to nurses practicing in the hospital, yet not in the nursing department? What can the nursing department do to help UR nurses maintain their identification with the profession and appreciate the strategic importance of their role, with its legal and financial ramifications? Second, UR is changing the established role of the primary care nurse. In your institution UR may already have taken the staff nurses' discharge planning function. It appears that several factors are contributing to this role change. Patient acuity has increased the time needed to administer physical care. The nursing shortage means more patients are assigned to each professional nurse and paraprofessionals are doing more patient care. There is less and less time left for the primary nurse to practice the professional attributes of nursing, primarily discharge planning. This function is shifting to the UR Department. Is discharge planning a function nurse executives wish to relinquish? Finally, we are entering another period of severe nurse shortages, where recruitment and retention of staff are paramount. Actively competing for our staff are the UR departments. Forty professional nurses work in three regional centers of the American Health Network, American Group Insurance Company (Dallas, Texas). In one hospital of 450 beds, nine nurses are employed by the UR department.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Humans↗
The functional significance of morphological variation of the human mandible and masticatory muscles.
A review is given of what is known about the functional significance of variation of the morphology of the human mandible and jaw muscles. First, the mandible is a lever transferring muscular forces to the teeth. The angle between corpus and ramus and the width of the ramus are particularly relevant in this respect as they determine the mechanical advantage of the lever system and the capacity for sagittal (open-close) movement. The stability of the mandible in asymmetric bites is especially affected by the ratio between the intermolar and intercondylar distances. The repertoire of bite forces that can be generated at any tooth and the loading pattern of the temporomandibular joint are strongly dependent on the relative size of the masseter, temporalis and medial pterygoid muscles. Second, executing its function as a lever, the mandible is subjected to shearing, bending and torsional forces. The bony parts harbouring the teeth, joints and muscle attachments serve to counter these forces; additional strength is needed in three areas i.e. in the symphysis, the condylar neck and in the transition area between corpus and ramus. In human populations there are clear-cut patterns of correlation between some facial skeletal traits, jaw joint morphology and strength and line of action of the jaw muscles. As a result, facial morphologies can be distinguished with marked differences in mechanical performance of their masticatory apparatus. It is suggested that they emerge as a result of diverging environmental influences during postnatal growth.
Humans↗
Effects of Exergame Balance Training with Variable Cognitive Motor Challenges on Serum BDNF, p-tau181, and Cognitive Functions in Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Trial.
INTRODUCTION: Cognitive-motor exergame balance training may increase attentional demands and neuronal processing, potentially affecting serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), Aβ1-42, and p-tau181, as well as train cognitive abilities in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study aimed to compare the effects of exergame balance training of mild, moderate, high-difficulty, and Wii Fit™ groups on blood serum levels of BDNF, Aβ1-42, p-tau181, and cognition function in adults with MCI. METHODS: In this four-arm, parallel group randomized clinical trial, 97 adults with MCI were randomly assigned to exergame balance training groups of mild, moderate, high-difficulty, and Wii Fit exergame as a control group. All participants received 40 min/session, 3 times/week for 8 weeks. Assessment of serum levels of p-tau181, Aβ1-42, BDNF, and cognitive functions was conducted at baseline, after weeks 4 and 8. A mixed-model analysis of covariance was used, with post-baseline measurements (weeks 4 and 8) specified as the within-subject factor and the corresponding baseline value entered as a covariate to adjust for initial between-group variability. RESULTS: A significant group × time interaction was found for BDNF, F(3,92) = 6.413, P = 0.017, ηp2 = 0.181; p-tau181, F(3,92) = 4.640, P = 0.040, ηp2 = 0.138; attention, F(3,92) = 4.171, P = 0.045, ηp2 = 0.057; abstraction, F(3,92) = 4.263, P = 0.043, ηp2 = 0.058; and visuospatial skills, F(3,92) = 6.931, P < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.234. CONCLUSION: Cognitive-motor challenge-based exergame balance training was associated with an increase in serum BDNF, a reduction in p-tau181. In contrast, the Aβ1-42 levels remained stable. These changes were accompanied by improvement in selective cognitive functions (attention, abstraction, and visuospatial skills) in individuals with MCI. Greater effects were observed in moderate and high-difficulty groups, suggesting the importance of intervention intensity in promoting cognitive and neurobiological outcomes in MCI.
Humans↗
Effects of acute resistance exercise on prefrontal oxygenation and task-switching performance: Considerations of loading strategies and blood flow restriction.
Although acute resistance exercise (RE) has been proposed to influence cognitive flexibility and underlying neural mechanisms, it remains unclear whether these effects vary across loading strategies and whether exercise-induced prefrontal hemodynamic responses translate into cognitive outcomes. The present study examined (1) prefrontal cortex (PFC) oxygenated hemoglobin (O2Hb) responses across exercise sets and conditions, (2) the effects of low-load (LL), LL with blood flow restriction (BFR), and high-load (HL) RE on task-switching performance, and (3) whether exercise-related PFC O2Hb responses were associated with pre- to post-exercise changes in task-switching performance. Thirty physically active adults completed three randomized, counterbalanced RE conditions consisting of four sets of barbell squats. LL was performed at 30% one-repetition maximum (1RM) with and without BFR, whereas HL was performed at 70% 1RM. Cognitive flexibility was assessed pre- and post-exercise using a modified Stroop task, indexed by switch-cost reaction time (RT) and accuracy. PFC O2Hb was assessed using functional near-infrared spectroscopy during exercise and expressed as changes from the resting baseline for each set (Sets 1-4). PFC O2Hb increased across sets, rising from Set 1 to Set 3 before plateauing, with no differences observed across conditions. Switch cost RT and accuracy did not improve from pre- to post-exercise, and no differences across conditions were detected. PFC O2Hb during the final set was not associated with changes in switch cost. These findings suggest that although acute RE elicits robust increases in prefrontal hemodynamic activity, such responses may not translate into acute improvements in cognitive flexibility.
Humans↗
Neuropsychological correlates of bilateral amygdala damage.
We conducted an extensive neuropsychological investigation in a patient with bilateral amygdala damage due to Urbach-Wiethe disease. The patient had significant defects in nonverbal visual memory, in social behavior, and in "executive control" functions, findings consistent with the proposal, based on experimental animal work, that the amygdala plays important roles in memory and in the modulation of social and emotional behavior. General intellect and language were normal. A psychophysiological study showed that she had normal electrodermal activity (skin conductance responses), an important finding in view of the role that has been attributed to the amygdala in the central control of autonomic responses.
Adult↗
Interleukin-1 beta regulates proenkephalin gene expression in astrocytes cultured from rat cortex.
Glial cells execute essential functions in central nervous system (CNS) development and are also believed to play important roles during gliosis in response to trauma or disease. These developmental and pathological states have also been associated with elevated expression of opioid genes. Because levels of the cytokine interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) increase following CNS lesions, we examined the possible influence of IL-1 beta on the expression of opioid genes in astrocytes cultured from rat cortex. Proenkephalin mRNA expression was stimulated by IL-1 beta in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, being maximal with 5 U/ml IL-1 beta at 4 h. Although the beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol was also active, interferon, glutamate, and carbachol were not. Unlike isoproterenol, the actions of IL-1 beta were not associated with a cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-dependent pathway. Interleukin-1 beta also regulated a proenkephalin-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase fusion gene transiently transfected into astrocytes, with a dose-response similar to that active in proenkephalin mRNA. These effects of IL-1 beta were region-specific, not being observed with either cerebellar or hippocampal astrocytes; however, isoproterenol was active in the latter cell populations. Proenkephalin mRNA in cortical astrocytes was stimulated following a temperature stress. These results suggest that enhanced proenkephalin gene expression in astrocytes by IL-1 beta may be important in neuroimmune interactions and in trauma-induced CNS injury or stress.
Animals↗
Image processing in swallowing and speech research.
An image processing system for application to studies of the temporal and spatial parameters of movement during swallowing and speech is described. Image sequences from videotape are digitized for computerized manipulation and analysis in an attempt to improve on conventional visual inspection. The system is "interactive" or "event-driven": after executing a function, the computer waits for guidance from the user who controls the program through keyboard and mouse input, selecting options from menus and responding to prompts. The analyst alters image clarity by the application of filters and heightens contrast through video enhancement. A technique called "remapping" reduces head motion and provides uniform spatial scaling. Animated sequences of images are used, as opposed to frame-by-frame analysis, to preserve temporal context and increase efficiency of measurement. Low cost off-the-shelf personal computer hardware is used along with original software tailored to the application.
Deglutition↗