Does functional communication training compete with ongoing contingencies of reinforcement? An analysis during response acquisition and maintenance

We examined the effectiveness of functional communication training (FCT) in reducing self-injurious behavior (SIB) and in shaping an alternative (communicative) response while SIB continued to be reinforced. Following a functional analysis of 3 individuals' SIB, we attempted to teach an alternative response consisting of a manual sign to each individual, using the reinforcer that maintained SIB. When FCT was implemented without extinction. SIB remained at baseline rates for all participants, and none of the participants acquired the alternative response. When extinction was added to the training procedure, SIB decreased and manual signing increased for all participants. To determine if signing, when established, would compete with SIB when both were reinforced, extinction was then withdrawn. Signing was maintained and SIB occurred at low rates for 2 individuals, but SIB returned to baseline rates for the 3rd individual, necessitating the reimplementation of extinction. These results suggest that it may be difficult to establish alternative behaviors if inappropriate behavior continues to be reinforced, but that, when established, alternative behavior might compete successfully with ongoing contingencies of reinforcement for inappropriate behavior.     

Observation of the ferroelastic domain structure near the phase transition point

Temperature and time dependences of the ferroelastic domain structure were observed near the ferroelastic phase transition temperature in [N(CH₃)₄]₂ZnBr₄ single crystal. It was, found that the domain structure reaches a metastable state within about 20sec after quenching. The domain size increases with decreasing temperature.     

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-like immunoreactivity in argyrophilic, tau-positive astrocytes in progressive supranuclear palsy

The published literature indicates 11% of CIN I lesions on average progress to a higher grade dysplasia and the remainder either regress or persist. Reliable markers of disease outcome are yet to be identified. A longitudinal study of 342 women referred for colposcopic examination of a CIN I detected by a screening Pap test, and classified by the colposcopic impression and Pap test at that exam as 相似文献   

Chronic liver failure induced by long-term administration of tegafur: a case report

A 55 year-old man was admitted with massive ascites. Although the laboratory data on admission were compatible with hepatic cirrhosis and remarkable esophageal varices were observed during endoscopy, the imaging findings such as computed tomography and ultrasonographic examination did not confirm hepatic cirrhosis. The patient had no history of alcohol abuse, blood transfusions or acute hepatitis. Serological markers related to viral and autoimmune hepatitis were all negative. Seven years ago, the patient had undergone an operation for colon cancer and has been taking tegafur since then for a total of 55 months. Tegafur was suspected as the causative agent for the liver dysfunction of this patient and the administration of tegafur was stopped. His laboratory data improved gradually and the ascites vanished. The first liver biopsy performed 6 months after discontinuation of tegafur still revealed chronic active hepatitis. However, at the liver biopsy performed 18 months after withdrawal of tegafur, inflammatory activity had subsided and the third liver biopsy, performed 34 months thereafter, revealed further improvement of the pathological changes that had occurred in the liver. We therefore conclude that the administration of tegafur may have caused chronic active liver injury with portal hypertension manifested as ascites and esophageal varices.     

Molecular cloning and functional expression of feline thrombopoietin

Feline thrombopoietin (TPO) was molecularly cloned to establish a basis for cytokine therapy of thrombocytopenia in cats. cDNA clones covering the whole coding sequence of feline TPO were isolated from feline liver. The feline TPO cDNA obtained in this study contained an open reading frame encoding 349 amino acid residues. The predicted amino acid sequence of feline TPO shared 78.7, 69.9, 72.9 and 83.0% similarity with sequences of human, murine, rat and canine TPO, respectively. Four cysteine residues and two of four N-glycosylation sites that are conserved among species were also found at the corresponding positions in feline TPO. The feline TPO cDNA fragment encoding the whole amino acid coding region was recloned into an expression vector, and the resulting vector was transfected into 293T cells using the calcium phosphate method. The supernatant of the transfected 293T cells stimulated the proliferation of a human megakaryoblastic leukemia cell line (UT-7/TPO) cells in a dose dependent manner, indicating that the feline TPO cDNA obtained in this study encodes biologically active feline TPO.     

Linkage map of phenotype and RFLP markers in rice

The results from linkage mapping activities at Kyushu University during the last 10 years are summarized in this paper. The present paper concisely reveals present situation on linkage map of phenotype markers, the integration linkage map of phenotype and RFLP markers and the genetic stocks available. Some of the problems in this field, in addition, are pointed out and discussed.     

Changes in Volume and Compression Energy upon Compression of Calcium Silicate Tablets

The compression mechanism of calcium silicate (Florite®RE, FLR)was evaluated by determining the physicochemical properties such as compression energy, volume reduction percentage during the compression process, and elastic recovery of FLR tablets. The results obtained were compared with those of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), anhydrous dibasic calcium phosphate (ADCP), cornstarch (CS), and lactose (LAC). FLR is found to have higher plasticity in the compression process and lower elastic recovery in a wide range of tablet hardnesses compared with the other 4 excipients. The results also indicate that a large part of compression energy was consumed for plastic deformation and fragmentation of particles. These characteristics are attributable to FLR's porous structure and are responsible for FLR tablets' high hardness, an important propen'y in tablet formulation. As a consequence, it was suggested that FLR would be a useful excipient for the formation of tablets in the pharmaceutical industry.     

Dual mode synchronous positioning with switching of master–slave axes by using a torque signal for contour control of articulated robot arms

Dual mode synchronous positioning control with switching of master and slave axes is proposed to realize accurate contour control of industrial robot arms. The axis which is contaminated with disturbance is selected as the master axis, then the disturbances in both first axis and second axis can be compensated. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified by experimental results of an actual articulated robot arm. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 138(2): 33–40, 2002     

Fine particle removal by a negatively-charged fine particle collector in silane plasma

To suppress inclusion of fine particles in amorphous silicon films, a negatively-charged fine particle (NFP) collector has been successfully installed in a silane plasma. Two modes of operation of the NFP collector biasing were examined: (i) turning on after the appearance of fine particles; and (ii) turning on from the very beginning of the plasma operation. While the former proved the effectiveness of the NFP collector in the removal of fine particles, apparently very small particles (<100 nm) removal in the latter reduced the degradation of the photo conductivity in deposited a-Si:H films by light soaking. This effect is accompanied by the increased density of SiH bonding, which can be related to the possible modification in the silicon networks in the amorphous film.