High temporal resolution fluorescence measurements of a mitochondrial dye for detection of early stage apoptosis

PubMed Central

Iyer, Divya; Ray, Rachel D.; Pappas, Dimitri

2013-01-01

In the present study, early stage apoptosis is explored with high temporal resolution. In addition to monitoring early apoptosis induction in single cells by ultrasensitive confocal fluorescence microscopy (UCFM), the mitochondrial proteins release kinetics was explored. The current study shows development and optimization of a novel, rapid apoptosis assay to explore the earliest changes in cells by the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. We show that early apoptotic changes in the mitochondria begin nearly simultaneously with the addition of an apoptosis-inducing drug, such as staurosporine. With a temporal resolution of five minutes, this non-invasive analytical technique can elucidate the earliest apoptotic events in living cells. Moreover, our results show that the mitochondrial inter-membrane proteins are not involved in the extrinsic pathway of Ramos cells mediated by an anti-CD95 antibody. Additional techniques such as light microscopy and flow cytometry were employed to confirm the results obtained by ultrasensitive confocal fluorescence microscopy. The results of this study help to understand the earliest mechanisms of apoptosis induction in cells, enabling new methods of drug testing and dose-response analyses. PMID:23831722

The phaco machine: analysing new technology.

PubMed

Fishkind, William J

2013-01-01

The phaco machine is frequently overlooked as the crucial surgical instrument it is. Understanding how to set parameters is initiated by understanding fundamental concepts of machine function. This study analyses the critical concepts of partial occlusion phaco, occlusion phaco and pump technology. In addition, phaco energy categories as well as variations of phaco energy production are explored. Contemporary power modulations and pump controls allow for the enhancement of partial occlusion phacoemulsification. These significant changes in the anterior chamber dynamics produce a balanced environment for phaco; less complications; and improved patient outcomes.

Strengthen forensic entomology in court--the need for data exploration and the validation of a generalised additive mixed model.

PubMed

Baqué, Michèle; Amendt, Jens

2013-01-01

Developmental data of juvenile blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are typically used to calculate the age of immature stages found on or around a corpse and thus to estimate a minimum post-mortem interval (PMI(min)). However, many of those data sets don't take into account that immature blow flies grow in a non-linear fashion. Linear models do not supply a sufficient reliability on age estimates and may even lead to an erroneous determination of the PMI(min). According to the Daubert standard and the need for improvements in forensic science, new statistic tools like smoothing methods and mixed models allow the modelling of non-linear relationships and expand the field of statistical analyses. The present study introduces into the background and application of these statistical techniques by analysing a model which describes the development of the forensically important blow fly Calliphora vicina at different temperatures. The comparison of three statistical methods (linear regression, generalised additive modelling and generalised additive mixed modelling) clearly demonstrates that only the latter provided regression parameters that reflect the data adequately. We focus explicitly on both the exploration of the data--to assure their quality and to show the importance of checking it carefully prior to conducting the statistical tests--and the validation of the resulting models. Hence, we present a common method for evaluating and testing forensic entomological data sets by using for the first time generalised additive mixed models.

Skylab explores the Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

Data from visual observations are integrated with results of analyses of approxmately 600 of the nearly 2000 photographs taken of Earth during the 84-day Skylab 4 mission to provide additional information on (1) Earth features and processes; (2) operational procedures and constraints in observing and photographing the planet; and (3) the use of man in real-time analysis of oceanic and atmospheric phenomena.

Are High Achievers Successful in Collaborative Learning? An Explorative Study of College Students' Learning Approaches in Team Project-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Hye-Jung; Kim, Hyekyung; Byun, Hyunjung

2017-01-01

This study analyses how high-achieving students approach team project-based learning (TPBL) and aims to identify the implications and challenges of TPBL practice in higher education. After interviewing 32 high-achieving students and surveying 1022 additional students at a South Korean university, we found that four factors were particularly…

Aggressive Marital Conflict, Maternal Harsh Punishment, and Child Aggressive-Disruptive Behavior: Evidence for Direct and Mediated Relations

PubMed Central

Erath, Stephen A.; Bierman, Karen L.

2009-01-01

Direct associations between aggressive marital conflict and child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home and school were explored in this cross-sectional study of 360 kindergarten children. In addition, mediated pathways linking aggressive marital conflict to maternal harsh punishment to child aggressive-disruptive behavior were examined. Moderation analyses explored how the overall frequency of marital disagreement might buffer or exacerbate the impact of aggressive marital conflict on maternal harsh punishment and child aggressive-disruptive behavior. Hierarchical regressions revealed direct pathways linking aggressive marital conflict to child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home and school and a partially mediated pathway linking aggressive marital conflict to child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home. Further analyses revealed that rates of marital disagreement moderated the association between aggressive marital conflict and child aggressive-disruptive behavior at home, with an attenuated association at high rates of marital disagreement as compared with low rates of marital disagreement. PMID:16756397

Common Methodology Mistakes in Educational Research, Revisited, along with a Primer on Both Effect Sizes and the Bootstrap.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Bruce

As an extension of B. Thompson's 1998 invited address to the American Educational Research Association, this paper cites two additional common faux pas in research methodology and explores some research issues for the future. These two errors in methodology are the use of univariate analyses in the presence of multiple outcome variables (with the…

Atmospheric Mining in the Outer Solar System:. [Aerial Vehicle Reconnaissance and Exploration Options

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palaszewski, Bryan A.

2014-01-01

Atmospheric mining in the outer solar system has been investigated as a means of fuel production for high energy propulsion and power. Fusion fuels such as Helium 3 (3He) and hydrogen can be wrested from the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune and either returned to Earth or used in-situ for energy production. Helium 3 and hydrogen (deuterium, etc.) were the primary gases of interest with hydrogen being the primary propellant for nuclear thermal solid core and gas core rocket-based atmospheric flight. A series of analyses were undertaken to investigate resource capturing aspects of atmospheric mining in the outer solar system. This included the gas capturing rate, storage options, and different methods of direct use of the captured gases. Additional supporting analyses were conducted to illuminate vehicle sizing and orbital transportation issues. While capturing 3He, large amounts of hydrogen and 4He are produced. With these two additional gases, the potential for fueling small and large fleets of additional exploration and exploitation vehicles exists. Additional aerospacecraft or other aerial vehicles (UAVs, balloons, rockets, etc.) could fly through the outer planet atmospheres, for global weather observations, localized storm or other disturbance investigations, wind speed measurements, polar observations, etc. Deep-diving aircraft (built with the strength to withstand many atmospheres of pressure) powered by the excess hydrogen or helium 4 may be designed to probe the higher density regions of the gas giants. Outer planet atmospheric properties, atmospheric storm data, and mission planning for future outer planet UAVs are presented.

The Efficiency of Infants' Exploratory Play Is Related to Longer-Term Cognitive Development.

PubMed

Muentener, Paul; Herrig, Elise; Schulz, Laura

2018-01-01

In this longitudinal study we examined the stability of exploratory play in infancy and its relation to cognitive development in early childhood. We assessed infants' ( N = 130, mean age at enrollment = 12.02 months, SD = 3.5 months; range: 5-19 months) exploratory play four times over 9 months. Exploratory play was indexed by infants' attention to novelty, inductive generalizations, efficiency of exploration, face preferences, and imitative learning. We assessed cognitive development at the fourth visit for the full sample, and again at age three for a subset of the sample ( n = 38). The only measure that was stable over infancy was the efficiency of exploration. Additionally, infants' efficiency score predicted vocabulary size and distinguished at-risk infants recruited from early intervention sites from those not at risk. Follow-up analyses at age three provided additional evidence for the importance of the efficiency measure: more efficient exploration was correlated with higher IQ scores. These results suggest that the efficiency of infants' exploratory play can be informative about longer-term cognitive development.

The Efficiency of Infants' Exploratory Play Is Related to Longer-Term Cognitive Development

PubMed Central

Muentener, Paul; Herrig, Elise; Schulz, Laura

2018-01-01

In this longitudinal study we examined the stability of exploratory play in infancy and its relation to cognitive development in early childhood. We assessed infants' (N = 130, mean age at enrollment = 12.02 months, SD = 3.5 months; range: 5–19 months) exploratory play four times over 9 months. Exploratory play was indexed by infants' attention to novelty, inductive generalizations, efficiency of exploration, face preferences, and imitative learning. We assessed cognitive development at the fourth visit for the full sample, and again at age three for a subset of the sample (n = 38). The only measure that was stable over infancy was the efficiency of exploration. Additionally, infants' efficiency score predicted vocabulary size and distinguished at-risk infants recruited from early intervention sites from those not at risk. Follow-up analyses at age three provided additional evidence for the importance of the efficiency measure: more efficient exploration was correlated with higher IQ scores. These results suggest that the efficiency of infants' exploratory play can be informative about longer-term cognitive development. PMID:29904360

Role of thought-related beliefs and coping strategies in the escalation of intrusive thoughts: an analog to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Marcks, Brook A; Woods, Douglas W

2007-11-01

Cognitive-behavioral models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) assume that obsessions have their origin in normal intrusive thoughts. These models propose that certain beliefs, such as thought-action fusion (TAF) beliefs, combined with the use of ineffective coping strategies, such as thought suppression, lead to the development of OCD. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between these variables in a non-clinical sample in addition to exploring the effects of an alternative, acceptance-based coping strategy. This study explored the relationship between TAF beliefs, thought suppression, and OC-consistent symptoms via mediational analyses. Results showed that thought suppression mediated the relationship between TAF beliefs and OC-consistent symptoms. This study also experimentally examined the effects of various coping strategies (suppression, acceptance, or monitor-only) on the frequency of a distressing intrusion and appraisal ratings (e.g., anxiety, guilt, responsibility) after a TAF induction. Spontaneous suppression in the monitor-only group made comparisons of the experimental data difficult. However, analyses provided preliminary evidence suggesting that thought suppression is related to more intrusions, higher levels of anxiety, and negative appraisals, whereas an acceptance-based approach may be a useful alternative. Additional findings, limitations of the current study, and directions for future research are discussed.

Experiences in using DISCUS for visualizing human communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groehn, Matti; Nieminen, Marko; Haho, Paeivi; Smeds, Riitta

2000-02-01

In this paper, we present further improvement to the DISCUS software that can be used to record and analyze the flow and constants of business process simulation session discussion. The tool was initially introduced in 'visual data exploration and analysis IV' conference. The initial features of the tool enabled the visualization of discussion flow in business process simulation sessions and the creation of SOM analyses. The improvements of the tool consists of additional visualization possibilities that enable quick on-line analyses and improved graphical statistics. We have also created the very first interface to audio data and implemented two ways to visualize it. We also outline additional possibilities to use the tool in other application areas: these include usability testing and the possibility to use the tool for capturing design rationale in a product development process. The data gathered with DISCUS may be used in other applications, and further work may be done with data ming techniques.

Microcredit and domestic violence in Bangladesh: an exploration of selection bias influences.

PubMed

Bajracharya, Ashish; Amin, Sajeda

2013-10-01

This article explores the relationship between women's participation in microcredit groups and domestic violence in Bangladesh. Several recent studies have raised concern about microcredit programs by reporting higher levels of violence among women who are members. These results, however, may be attributable to selection bias because members might differ from nonmembers in ways that make them more susceptible to violence to begin with. Using a sample of currently married women from the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (BDHS) (N = 4,195), we use propensity score matching (PSM) as a way of exploring selection bias in this relationship. Results suggest that the previously seen strong positive association between membership and violence does not hold when an appropriate comparison group, generated using PSM, is used in the analyses. Additional analyses also suggest that levels of violence do not differ significantly between members and nonmembers and instead could depend on context-specific factors related to poverty. Members for whom a match is not found report considerably higher levels of violence relative to nonmembers in the unmatched group. The background characteristics of members and nonmembers who do not match suggest that they are more likely to be younger and from relatively well-to-do households.

An analysis toolbox to explore mesenchymal migration heterogeneity reveals adaptive switching between distinct modes

PubMed Central

Shafqat-Abbasi, Hamdah; Kowalewski, Jacob M; Kiss, Alexa; Gong, Xiaowei; Hernandez-Varas, Pablo; Berge, Ulrich; Jafari-Mamaghani, Mehrdad; Lock, John G; Strömblad, Staffan

2016-01-01

Mesenchymal (lamellipodial) migration is heterogeneous, although whether this reflects progressive variability or discrete, 'switchable' migration modalities, remains unclear. We present an analytical toolbox, based on quantitative single-cell imaging data, to interrogate this heterogeneity. Integrating supervised behavioral classification with multivariate analyses of cell motion, membrane dynamics, cell-matrix adhesion status and F-actin organization, this toolbox here enables the detection and characterization of two quantitatively distinct mesenchymal migration modes, termed 'Continuous' and 'Discontinuous'. Quantitative mode comparisons reveal differences in cell motion, spatiotemporal coordination of membrane protrusion/retraction, and how cells within each mode reorganize with changed cell speed. These modes thus represent distinctive migratory strategies. Additional analyses illuminate the macromolecular- and cellular-scale effects of molecular targeting (fibronectin, talin, ROCK), including 'adaptive switching' between Continuous (favored at high adhesion/full contraction) and Discontinuous (low adhesion/inhibited contraction) modes. Overall, this analytical toolbox now facilitates the exploration of both spontaneous and adaptive heterogeneity in mesenchymal migration. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.11384.001 PMID:26821527

Evolution of Mobil`s methods to evaluate exploration and producing opportunities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gaynor, C.B.; Cook, D.M. Jr.

1996-08-01

Over the past decade, Mobil has changed significantly in size, structure and focus to improve profitability. Concurrently, work processes and methodologies have been modified to improve resource utilization and opportunity selection. The key imperative has been recognition of the full range of hydrocarbon volume uncertainty, its risk and value. Exploration has focussed on increasing success through improved geotechnical estimates and demonstrating value addition. For Producing, the important tasks: (1) A centralized Exploration and Producing team was formed to help ensure an integrated, consistent worldwide approach to prospect and field assessments. Monte Carlo simulation was instituted to recognize probability-weighted ranges ofmore » possible outcomes for prospects and fields, and hydrocarbon volume category definitions were standardized. (2) Exploration instituted a global Prospect Inventory, tracking wildcat predictions vs. results. Performance analyses led to initiatives to improve the quality and consistency of assessments. Process improvement efforts included the use of multidisciplinary teams and peer reviews. Continued overestimates of hydrocarbon volumes prompted methodology changes such as the use of {open_quotes}reality checks{close_quotes} and log-normal distributions. The communication of value predictions and additions became paramount. (3) Producing now recognizes the need for Exploration`s commercial discoveries and new Producing ventures, notwithstanding the associated risk. Multi-disciplinary teams of engineers and geoscientists work on post-discovery assessments to optimize field development and maximize the value of opportunities. Mobil now integrates volume and risk assessment with correlative future capital investment programs to make proactive strategic choices to maximize shareholder value.« less

Measuring social attention and motivation in autism spectrum disorder using eye-tracking: Stimulus type matters.

PubMed

Chevallier, Coralie; Parish-Morris, Julia; McVey, Alana; Rump, Keiran M; Sasson, Noah J; Herrington, John D; Schultz, Robert T

2015-10-01

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by social impairments that have been related to deficits in social attention, including diminished gaze to faces. Eye-tracking studies are commonly used to examine social attention and social motivation in ASD, but they vary in sensitivity. In this study, we hypothesized that the ecological nature of the social stimuli would affect participants' social attention, with gaze behavior during more naturalistic scenes being most predictive of ASD vs. typical development. Eighty-one children with and without ASD participated in three eye-tracking tasks that differed in the ecological relevance of the social stimuli. In the "Static Visual Exploration" task, static images of objects and people were presented; in the "Dynamic Visual Exploration" task, video clips of individual faces and objects were presented side-by-side; in the "Interactive Visual Exploration" task, video clips of children playing with objects in a naturalistic context were presented. Our analyses uncovered a three-way interaction between Task, Social vs. Object Stimuli, and Diagnosis. This interaction was driven by group differences on one task only-the Interactive task. Bayesian analyses confirmed that the other two tasks were insensitive to group membership. In addition, receiver operating characteristic analyses demonstrated that, unlike the other two tasks, the Interactive task had significant classification power. The ecological relevance of social stimuli is an important factor to consider for eye-tracking studies aiming to measure social attention and motivation in ASD. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Does Performance in Digital Reading Relate to Computer Game Playing? A Study of Factor Structure and Gender Patterns in 15-Year-Olds' Reading Literacy Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rasmusson, Maria; Åberg-Bengtsson, Lisbeth

2015-01-01

Data from a Swedish PISA-sample were used (1) to identify a digital reading factor, (2) to investigate gender differences in this factor (if found), and (3) to explore how computer game playing might relate to digital reading performance and gender. The analyses were conducted with structural equation modeling techniques. In addition to an overall…

Integrated exploration for low-temperature geothermal resources in the Honey Lake basin, California

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schimschal, U.

An integrated exploration study is presented to locate low-temperature geothermal reservoirs in the Honey Lake area of northern California. Regional studies to locate the geothermal resources included gravity, infrared, water-temperature, and water-quality analyses. Five anomalies were mapped from resistivity surveys. Additional study of three anomalies by temperature-gradient and seismic methods was undertaken to define structure and potential of the geothermal resource. The gravity data show a graben structure in the area. Seismic reflection data, indicate faults associated with surface-resistivity and temperature-gradient data. The data support the interpretation that the shallow reservoirs are replenished along the fault zones by deeply circulatingmore » heated meteoric waters.« less

Integrated exploration for low-temperature geothermal resources in the Honey Lake Basin, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schimschal, U.

1991-01-01

An integrated exploration study is presented to locate low-temperature geothermal reservoirs in the Honey Lake area of northern California. Regional studies to locate the geothermal resources included gravity, infra-red, water-temperature, and water-quality analyses. Five anomalies were mapped from resistivity surveys. Additional study of three anomalies by temperature-gradient and seismic methods was undertaken to define structure and potential of the geothermal resource. The gravity data show a graben structure in the area. Seismic reflection data indicate faults associated with surface-resistivity and temperature-gradient data. The data support the interpretation that the shallow reservoirs are replenished along the fault zones by deeply circulating heated meteoric waters. -Author

Defense Contracting: Actions Needed to Explore Additional Opportunities to Gain Efficiencies in Acquiring Foreign Language Support

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-02-25

Directive 5160.41E, Defense Language Program . 10GAO-11-456. Page 5 GAO-13-251R Defense Contracting types of foreign language support that DOD has acquired...Language Transformation Roadmap, (January 2005), and Department of Defense Directive 5160.41E, Defense Language Program . Page 15 GAO-13-251R Defense...examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help

The Exploration Atmospheres Working Group's Report on Space Radiation Shielding Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barghouty, A. F.; Thibeault, S. A.

2006-01-01

This part of Exploration Atmospheres Working Group analyses focuses on the potential use of nonmetallic composites as the interior walls and structural elements exposed to the atmosphere of the spacecraft or habitat. The primary drive to consider nonmetallic, polymer-based composites as an alternative to aluminum structure is due to their superior radiation shielding properties. But as is shown in this analysis, these composites can also be made to combine superior mechanical properties with superior shielding properties. In addition, these composites can be made safe; i.e., with regard to flammability and toxicity, as well as "smart"; i.e., embedded with sensors for the continuous monitoring of material health and conditions. The analysis main conclusions are that (1) smart polymer-based composites are an enabling technology for safe and reliable exploration missions, and (2) an adaptive, synergetic systems approach is required to meet the missions requirements from structure, properties, and processes to crew health and protection for exploration missions.

Planetary protection issues and human exploration of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Devincenzi, D. L.

1991-01-01

A key feature of the Space Exploration Initiative involves human missions to Mars. The report describing the initiative cites the search for life on Mars, extant or extinct, as one of the five science themes for such an endeavor. Because of this, concerns for planetary protection (PP) have arisen of two fronts: (1) forward contamination of Mars by spacecraft-borne terrestrial microbes which could interfere with exobiological analyses; and (2) back contamination of Earth by species that may be present in returned Mars samples. The United States is also signatory to an international treaty designed to protect Earth and planets from harmful cross-contamination during exploration. Therefore, it is timely to assess the necessity for, and impact of, PP procedures on the mission set comprising the human exploration of Mars. The ground-rules adopted at a recent workshop which addressed PP questions of this type are presented. In addition, the workshop produced several recommendations for dealing with forward and back contamination concerns for non-scientific perspectives, including public relations, legal, regulatory, international, and environmental.

A cross-sectional study on person-centred communication in the care of older people: the COMHOME study protocol

PubMed Central

Hafskjold, Linda; Sundler, Annelie J; Holmström, Inger K; Sundling, Vibeke; van Dulmen, Sandra

2015-01-01

Introduction This paper presents an international cross-sectional study on person-centred communication with older people receiving healthcare (COMHOME). Person-centred care relies on effective communication, but few studies have explored this with a specific focus on older people. The main aim of the COMHOME study is to generate knowledge on person-centred communication with older people (>65 years) in home healthcare services, radiographic and optometric practice. Methods and analysis This study will explore the communication between care providers and older persons in home care services. Home healthcare visits will be audiorecorded (n=500) in Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden. Analyses will be performed with the Verona Coding Definitions for Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES), the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) and qualitative methods. The content of the communication, communicative challenging situations as well as empathy, power distance, decision-making, preservation of dignity and respect will be explored. In Norway, an additional 100 encounters, 50 in optometric practice (video recorded) and 50 in radiographic practice (audiorecorded), will be analysed. Furthermore, healthcare providers’ self-reported communication skills, empathy, mindfulness and emotional intelligence in relation to observed person-centred communication skills will be assessed using well-established standardised instruments. Ethics and dissemination Depending on national legislation, approval of either the central ethical committees (eg, nation or university), the national data protection officials or the local ethical committees (eg, units of home healthcare) was obtained. Study findings will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. The research findings will add knowledge to improve services provided to this vulnerable group of patients. Additionally, the findings will underpin a training programme for healthcare students and care providers focusing on communication with older people. PMID:25877282

Return to work in people with acquired brain injury: association with observed ability to use everyday technology.

PubMed

Larsson-Lund, Maria; Kottorp, Anders; Malinowsky, Camilla

2017-07-01

The aim of this study was to explore how the observed ability to use everyday technology (ET), intrapersonal capacities and environmental characteristics related to ET use contributes to the likelihood of return to work in people with ABI. The aim was also to explore whether these variables added to the likelihood of return to work to earlier defined significant variables in the group: age, perceived ADL ability and perceived ability in ET use. A cross-sectional study. The Management of Everyday Technology Assessment (META), the short version of the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire (S-ETUQ) and a revised version of the ADL taxonomy were used to evaluate 74 people with ABI. Individual ability measures from all assessments were generated by Rasch analyses and used for additional statistical analysis. The univariate analyses showed that the observed ability to use ET, as well as intrapersonal capacities and environmental characteristics related to ET use were all significantly associated with returning to work. In the multivariate analyses, none of these associations remained. The explanatory precision of return to work in people with ABI increased minimally by adding the observed ability to use ET and the variables related to ET use when age, perceived ability in ET use and ADL had been taken in account.

Family functioning mediates adaptation in caregivers of individuals with Rett syndrome.

PubMed

Lamb, Amanda E; Biesecker, Barbara B; Umstead, Kendall L; Muratori, Michelle; Biesecker, Leslie G; Erby, Lori H

2016-11-01

The objective of this study was to investigate factors related to family functioning and adaptation in caregivers of individuals with Rett syndrome (RS). A cross-sectional quantitative survey explored the relationships between demographics, parental self-efficacy, coping methods, family functioning and adaptation. A forward-backward, step-wise model selection procedure was used to evaluate variables associated with both family functioning and adaptation. Analyses also explored family functioning as a mediator of the relationship between other variables and adaptation. Bivariate analyses (N=400) revealed that greater parental self-efficacy, a greater proportion of problem-focused coping, and a lesser proportion of emotion-focused coping were associated with more effective family functioning. In addition, these key variables were significantly associated with greater adaptation, as was family functioning, while controlling for confounders. Finally, regression analyses suggest family functioning as a mediator of the relationships between three variables (parental self-efficacy, problem-focused coping, and emotion-focused coping) with adaptation. This study demonstrates the potentially predictive roles of expectations and coping methods and the mediator role of family functioning in adaptation among caregivers of individuals with RS, a chronic developmental disorder. A potential target for intervention is strengthening of caregiver competence in the parenting role to enhance caregiver adaptation. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Understanding the Flow Physics of Shock Boundary-Layer Interactions Using CFD and Numerical Analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedlander, David Joshua

Mixed compression inlets are common among supersonic propulsion systems. However they are susceptible to total pressure losses due to shock/boundary-layer interactions (SBLI's). Because of their importance, a workshop was held at the 48th American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aerospace Sciences Meeting in 2010 to gauge current computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools abilities to predict SBLI's. One conclusion from the workshop was that the CFD consistently failed to agree with the experimental data. This thesis presents additional CFD and numerical analyses that were performed on one of the configurations presented at the workshop. The additional analyses focused on the University of Michigan's Mach 2.75 Glass Tunnel with a semi-spanning 7.75 degree wedge while exploring key physics pertinent to modeling SBLI's. These include thermodynamic and viscous boundary conditions as well as turbulence modeling. Most of the analyses were 3D CFD simulations using the OVERFLOW flow solver. However, a quasi-1D MATLAB code was developed to interface with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Reference Fluid Thermodynamic and Transport Properties Database (REFPROP) code to explore perfect verses non-ideal air as this feature is not supported within OVERFLOW. Further, a grid resolution study was performed on the 3D 56 million grid point grid which was shown to be nearly grid independent. Because the experimental data was obtained via particle image velocimetry (PIV), a fundamental study pertaining to the effects of PIV on post-processing data was also explored. Results from the CFD simulations showed an improvement in agreement with experimental data with certain settings. This is especially true of the v velocity field within the streamwise data plane. Key contributions to the improvement include utilizing a laminar zone upstream of the wedge (the boundary-layer was considered transitional downstream of the nozzle throat) and the necessity of mimicking PIV particle lag for comparisons. It was also shown that the corner flow separations are highly sensitive to the turbulence model. However, the center flow region, where the experimental data was taken, was not as sensitive to the turbulence model. Results from the quasi-1D simulation showed that there was little difference between perfect and non-ideal air for the configuration presented.

Potential Effects of Climate Change on the Water Level, Flora and Macro-fauna of a Large Neotropical Wetland

PubMed Central

Úbeda, Bárbara; Di Giacomo, Adrian S.; Neiff, Juan José; Loiselle, Steven A.; Guadalupe Poi, Alicia S.; Gálvez, José Ángel; Casco, Silvina; Cózar, Andrés

2013-01-01

Possible consequences of climate change in one of the world’s largest wetlands (Ibera, Argentina) were analysed using a multi-scale approach. Climate projections coupled to hydrological models were used to analyse variability in wetland water level throughout the current century. Two potential scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions were explored, both resulting in an increase in the inter-annual fluctuations of the water level. In the scenario with higher emissions, projections also showed a long-term negative trend in water-level. To explore the possible response of biota to such water-level changes, species-area relationships of flora and aerial censuses of macro-fauna were analysed during an extraordinary dry period. Plant species richness at the basin scale was found to be highly resistant to hydrological changes, as the large dimension of the wetland acts to buffer against the water-level variations. However, local diversity decreased significantly with low water levels, leading to the loss of ecosystem resilience to additional stressors. The analysis of macro-fauna populations suggested that wetland provides refuge, in low water periods, for the animals with high dispersal ability (aquatic and migratory birds). On the contrary, the abundance of animals with low dispersal ability (mainly herbivorous species) was negatively impacted in low water periods, probably because they are required to search for alternative resources beyond the wetland borders. This period of resource scarcity was also related to increased mortality of large mammals (e.g. marsh deer) around water bodies with high anthropogenic enrichment and cyanobacteria dominance. The synergy between recurrent climatic fluctuations and additional stressors (i.e. biological invasions, eutrophication) presents an important challenge to the conservation of neotropical wetlands in the coming decades. PMID:23874446

Measuring the apparent diffusion coefficient in primary rectal tumors: is there a benefit in performing histogram analyses?

PubMed

van Heeswijk, Miriam M; Lambregts, Doenja M J; Maas, Monique; Lahaye, Max J; Ayas, Z; Slenter, Jos M G M; Beets, Geerard L; Bakers, Frans C H; Beets-Tan, Regina G H

2017-06-01

The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is a potential prognostic imaging marker in rectal cancer. Typically, mean ADC values are used, derived from precise manual whole-volume tumor delineations by experts. The aim was first to explore whether non-precise circular delineation combined with histogram analysis can be a less cumbersome alternative to acquire similar ADC measurements and second to explore whether histogram analyses provide additional prognostic information. Thirty-seven patients who underwent a primary staging MRI including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI; b0, 25, 50, 100, 500, 1000; 1.5 T) were included. Volumes-of-interest (VOIs) were drawn on b1000-DWI: (a) precise delineation, manually tracing tumor boundaries (2 expert readers), and (b) non-precise delineation, drawing circular VOIs with a wide margin around the tumor (2 non-experts). Mean ADC and histogram metrics (mean, min, max, median, SD, skewness, kurtosis, 5th-95th percentiles) were derived from the VOIs and delineation time was recorded. Measurements were compared between the two methods and correlated with prognostic outcome parameters. Median delineation time reduced from 47-165 s (precise) to 21-43 s (non-precise). The 45th percentile of the non-precise delineation showed the best correlation with the mean ADC from the precise delineation as the reference standard (ICC 0.71-0.75). None of the mean ADC or histogram parameters showed significant prognostic value; only the total tumor volume (VOI) was significantly larger in patients with positive clinical N stage and mesorectal fascia involvement. When performing non-precise tumor delineation, histogram analysis (in specific 45th ADC percentile) may be used as an alternative to obtain similar ADC values as with precise whole tumor delineation. Histogram analyses are not beneficial to obtain additional prognostic information.

Potential effects of climate change on the water level, flora and macro-fauna of a large neotropical wetland.

PubMed

Úbeda, Bárbara; Di Giacomo, Adrian S; Neiff, Juan José; Loiselle, Steven A; Poi, Alicia S Guadalupe; Gálvez, José Ángel; Casco, Silvina; Cózar, Andrés

2013-01-01

Possible consequences of climate change in one of the world's largest wetlands (Ibera, Argentina) were analysed using a multi-scale approach. Climate projections coupled to hydrological models were used to analyse variability in wetland water level throughout the current century. Two potential scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions were explored, both resulting in an increase in the inter-annual fluctuations of the water level. In the scenario with higher emissions, projections also showed a long-term negative trend in water-level. To explore the possible response of biota to such water-level changes, species-area relationships of flora and aerial censuses of macro-fauna were analysed during an extraordinary dry period. Plant species richness at the basin scale was found to be highly resistant to hydrological changes, as the large dimension of the wetland acts to buffer against the water-level variations. However, local diversity decreased significantly with low water levels, leading to the loss of ecosystem resilience to additional stressors. The analysis of macro-fauna populations suggested that wetland provides refuge, in low water periods, for the animals with high dispersal ability (aquatic and migratory birds). On the contrary, the abundance of animals with low dispersal ability (mainly herbivorous species) was negatively impacted in low water periods, probably because they are required to search for alternative resources beyond the wetland borders. This period of resource scarcity was also related to increased mortality of large mammals (e.g. marsh deer) around water bodies with high anthropogenic enrichment and cyanobacteria dominance. The synergy between recurrent climatic fluctuations and additional stressors (i.e. biological invasions, eutrophication) presents an important challenge to the conservation of neotropical wetlands in the coming decades.

Sockeye: A 3D Environment for Comparative Genomics

PubMed Central

Montgomery, Stephen B.; Astakhova, Tamara; Bilenky, Mikhail; Birney, Ewan; Fu, Tony; Hassel, Maik; Melsopp, Craig; Rak, Marcin; Robertson, A. Gordon; Sleumer, Monica; Siddiqui, Asim S.; Jones, Steven J.M.

2004-01-01

Comparative genomics techniques are used in bioinformatics analyses to identify the structural and functional properties of DNA sequences. As the amount of available sequence data steadily increases, the ability to perform large-scale comparative analyses has become increasingly relevant. In addition, the growing complexity of genomic feature annotation means that new approaches to genomic visualization need to be explored. We have developed a Java-based application called Sockeye that uses three-dimensional (3D) graphics technology to facilitate the visualization of annotation and conservation across multiple sequences. This software uses the Ensembl database project to import sequence and annotation information from several eukaryotic species. A user can additionally import their own custom sequence and annotation data. Individual annotation objects are displayed in Sockeye by using custom 3D models. Ensembl-derived and imported sequences can be analyzed by using a suite of multiple and pair-wise alignment algorithms. The results of these comparative analyses are also displayed in the 3D environment of Sockeye. By using the Java3D API to visualize genomic data in a 3D environment, we are able to compactly display cross-sequence comparisons. This provides the user with a novel platform for visualizing and comparing genomic feature organization. PMID:15123592

Consumer factors predicting level of treatment response to illness management and recovery.

PubMed

White, Dominique A; McGuire, Alan B; Luther, Lauren; Anderson, Adrienne I; Phalen, Peter; McGrew, John H

2017-12-01

This study aims to identify consumer-level predictors of level of treatment response to illness management and recovery (IMR) to target the appropriate consumers and aid psychiatric rehabilitation settings in developing intervention adaptations. Secondary analyses from a multisite study of IMR were conducted. Self-report data from consumer participants of the parent study (n = 236) were analyzed for the current study. Consumers completed prepost surveys assessing illness management, coping, goal-related hope, social support, medication adherence, and working alliance. Correlations and multiple regression analyses were run to identify self-report variables that predicted level of treatment response to IMR. Analyses revealed that goal-related hope significantly predicted level of improved illness self-management, F(1, 164) = 10.93, p < .001, R2 = .248, R2 change = .05. Additionally, we found that higher levels of maladaptive coping at baseline were predictive of higher levels of adaptive coping at follow-up, F(2, 180) = 5.29, p < .02, R2 = .38, R2 change = .02. Evidence did not support additional predictors. Previously, consumer-level predictors of level of treatment response have not been explored for IMR. Although 2 significant predictors were identified, study findings suggest more work is needed. Future research is needed to identify additional consumer-level factors predictive of IMR treatment response in order to identify who would benefit most from this treatment program. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Initial exploration of scenarios with Internal Transport Barrier in the first NBI-heated L-mode TCV plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piron, Chiara; Sauter, Olivier; Coda, Stefano; Merle, Antoine; Karpushov, Alexander; Pigatto, Leonardo; Bolzonella, Tommaso; Piovesan, Paolo; Vianello, Nicola; TCV Team; EUROfusion MST1 Team

2016-10-01

Fully non-inductive operation of high performance plasmas is one of the main objectives of contemporary Tokamak research. In this perspective, plasmas with Internal Transport Barriers (ITBs) are an attractive scenario, since they can attain a high fraction of bootstrap current. In this work we start exploring ITB scenarios on the Tokamak à Configuration Variable (TCV) heated by a newly available 1MW Neutral Beam Injector (NBI). Here we investigate for the first time in this device the impact of the additional NBI power on the performance and stability of L-mode plasmas with ITBs. Results of both experimental data analyses and ASTRA transport simulations are presented. The work examines also the Magneto Hydro-Dynamics (MHD) activity and stability of the explored plasmas. In particular, the role of plasma magnetic equilibrium parameters, such as plasma elongation and triangularity, on the sustainment of these NBI-heated ITB scenarios is discussed.

Predictors of responses to stress among families coping with poverty-related stress.

PubMed

Santiago, Catherine DeCarlo; Etter, Erica Moran; Wadsworth, Martha E; Raviv, Tali

2012-05-01

This study tested how poverty-related stress (PRS), psychological distress, and responses to stress predicted future effortful coping and involuntary stress responses one year later. In addition, we explored age, sex, ethnicity, and parental influences on responses to stress over time. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses conducted with 98 low-income families (300 family members: 136 adults, 82 school-aged children, 82 adolescents) revealed that primary control coping, secondary control coping, disengagement, involuntary engagement, and involuntary disengagement each significantly predicted future use of that response. Primary and secondary control coping also predicted less maladaptive future responses to stress, while involuntary responses to stress undermined the development of adaptive responding. Age, sex, and interactions among PRS and prior coping were also found to predict certain responses to stress. In addition, child subgroup analyses demonstrate the importance of parental modeling of coping and involuntary stress responses, and warmth/nurturance and monitoring practices. Results are discussed with regard to the implications for preventive interventions with families in poverty.

Childhood trauma and problem behavior: Examining the mediating roles of experiential avoidance and mindfulness processes.

PubMed

Roche, Anne I; Kroska, Emily B; Miller, Michelle L; Kroska, Sydney K; O'Hara, Michael W

2018-03-22

Childhood trauma is associated with a variety of risky, unhealthy, or problem behaviors. The current study aimed to explore experiential avoidance and mindfulness processes as mechanisms through which childhood trauma and problem behavior are linked in a college sample. The sample consisted of college-aged young adults recruited November-December, 2016 (N = 414). Participants completed self-report measures of childhood trauma, current problem behavior, experiential avoidance, and mindfulness processes. Bootstrapped mediation analyses examined the mechanistic associations of interest. Mediation analyses indicated that experiential avoidance was a significant mediator of the association between childhood trauma and problem behavior. Additionally, multiple mediation analyses indicated that specific mindfulness facets-act with awareness and nonjudgment of inner experience-significantly mediated the same association. Interventions for college students who have experienced childhood trauma might profitably target mechanisms such as avoidance and mindfulness in order to minimize engagement in problem behavior.

Geothermometer calculations for geothermal assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reed, M.J.; Mariner, R.H.

2007-01-01

Geothermal exploration programs have relied on the calculation of geothermometers from hot spring chemistry as an early estimation of geothermal reservoir temperatures. Calibration of the geothermometers has evolved from experimental determinations of mineral solubility as a function of temperature to calibration from analyses of water chemistry from known depths and temperatures in thermal wells. Most of the geothermometers were calibrated from analyses of sodium-chloride type waters, and the application of some geothermometers should be restricted to waters of the chemical types that were used in their calibration. Chemical analyses must be determined to be reliable before they are used to calculate geothermometers. The USGS Geothermal Resource Assessment will rely on the silica geothermometer developed by Giggenbach that approximates the transition between chalcedony at 20??C and quartz at 200??C. Above 200??C, the assessment will rely on the quartz geothermometer. In addition, the assessment will also rely on the potassium-magnesium geothermometer.

Using SQL Databases for Sequence Similarity Searching and Analysis.

PubMed

Pearson, William R; Mackey, Aaron J

2017-09-13

Relational databases can integrate diverse types of information and manage large sets of similarity search results, greatly simplifying genome-scale analyses. By focusing on taxonomic subsets of sequences, relational databases can reduce the size and redundancy of sequence libraries and improve the statistical significance of homologs. In addition, by loading similarity search results into a relational database, it becomes possible to explore and summarize the relationships between all of the proteins in an organism and those in other biological kingdoms. This unit describes how to use relational databases to improve the efficiency of sequence similarity searching and demonstrates various large-scale genomic analyses of homology-related data. It also describes the installation and use of a simple protein sequence database, seqdb_demo, which is used as a basis for the other protocols. The unit also introduces search_demo, a database that stores sequence similarity search results. The search_demo database is then used to explore the evolutionary relationships between E. coli proteins and proteins in other organisms in a large-scale comparative genomic analysis. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

COLORcation: A new application to phenotype exploratory behavior models of anxiety in mice.

PubMed

Dagan, Shachar Y; Tsoory, Michael M; Fainzilber, Mike; Panayotis, Nicolas

2016-09-01

Behavioral analyses in rodents have successfully delineated the function of many genes and signaling pathways in the brain. Behavioral testing uses highly defined experimental conditions to identify abnormalities in a given mouse strain or genotype. The open field (OF) is widely used to assess both locomotion and anxiety in rodents. In this test, the more a mouse explores and spend time in the center of the arena, the less anxious it is considered to be. However, the simplistic distinction between center and border substantially reduces the information content of the analysis and may fail to detect biologically meaningful differences. Here we describe COLORcation, a new application for improved analyses of mouse behavior in the OF. The application analyses animal exploration patterns in detailed spatial resolution (e.g. 10×10 bins) to provide a color-encoded heat map of mouse activity. In addition, COLORcation provides new parameters to track activity and locomotion of the test animals. We demonstrate the use of COLORcation in different experimental paradigms, including pharmacological and restraint-based induction of stress and anxiety. COLORcation is compatible with multiple acquisition systems, giving users the option to make the most of their raw data organized text files containing time and coordinates of animal locations as input. These analyses validate the utility of the software and establish its reliability and potential as a new tool to analyze OF data. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study Designs and Statistical Analyses for Biomarker Research

PubMed Central

Gosho, Masahiko; Nagashima, Kengo; Sato, Yasunori

2012-01-01

Biomarkers are becoming increasingly important for streamlining drug discovery and development. In addition, biomarkers are widely expected to be used as a tool for disease diagnosis, personalized medication, and surrogate endpoints in clinical research. In this paper, we highlight several important aspects related to study design and statistical analysis for clinical research incorporating biomarkers. We describe the typical and current study designs for exploring, detecting, and utilizing biomarkers. Furthermore, we introduce statistical issues such as confounding and multiplicity for statistical tests in biomarker research. PMID:23012528

Mycotoxins co-contamination: Methodological aspects and biological relevance of combined toxicity studies.

PubMed

Alassane-Kpembi, Imourana; Schatzmayr, Gerd; Taranu, Ionelia; Marin, Daniela; Puel, Olivier; Oswald, Isabelle Paule

2017-11-02

Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites produced mainly by Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium. As evidenced by large-scale surveys, humans and animals are simultaneously exposed to several mycotoxins. Simultaneous exposure could result in synergistic, additive or antagonistic effects. However, most toxicity studies addressed the effects of mycotoxins separately. We present the experimental designs and we discuss the conclusions drawn from in vitro experiments exploring toxicological interactions of mycotoxins. We report more than 80 publications related to mycotoxin interactions. The studies explored combinations involving the regulated groups of mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, zearalenone and trichothecenes, but also the "emerging" mycotoxins beauvericin and enniatins. Over 50 publications are based on the arithmetic model of additivity. Few studies used the factorial designs or the theoretical biology-based models of additivity. The latter approaches are gaining increased attention. These analyses allow determination of the type of interaction and, optionally, its magnitude. The type of interaction reported for mycotoxin combinations depended on several factors, in particular cell models and the tested dose ranges. However, synergy among Fusarium toxins was highlighted in several studies. This review indicates that well-addressed in vitro studies remain valuable tools for the screening of interactive potential in mycotoxin mixtures.

Chemical and Isotopic Exploration: A Tale of Two Telepresence-Enabled Cruises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wankel, S. D.; Michel, A.

2016-02-01

Ocean exploration has traditionally required a large team of shipboard scientists for quick decision-making as well as for sample handling and processing tasks. However, with the development of new field-going in situ sensors for chemical oceanography, comes the capability of making measurements in the deep ocean without the need for sample collection, processing and laboratory analysis. Through our participation in two cruises aboard the E/V Nautilus, we tested a new model for ocean exploration using Telepresence technology for making chemical analyses in the deep ocean with a laser spectrometer designed for in situ analyses of methane and carbon dioxide. In 2014, we used the E/V Nautilus and ROV Hercules to explore the chemical and isotopic composition of fluids and bubbles in the crater of the Kick `Em Jenny volcano ( 180m depth) just northwest off the island of Grenada. In 2015, we carried out exploration of a mud volcano/brine pool in the western Gulf of Mexico ( 1300m depth). For our focused chemical explorations in 2014, one scientist was shipboard while two were ashore at the Inner Space Center at the University of Rhode Island. Decisions concerning instrument parameters, sampling strategies and data collection and management were all carried out through this two-way remote operation scheme, while the shipboard scientist was responsible for all deployments, maintenance, and troubleshooting technical issues with instrumentation. In comparison, in 2015, two scientists were shipboard. Here we compare the successes and challenges of using Telepresence for chemical exploration. In addition, we detail our interactions with scientists, educators, and interested citizens ashore. The use of Telepresence enhanced both science communication, by enabling direct scientist-to-scientist interactions and decision-making, and science education, through broad participation of a global audience. As in situ chemical sensing advances, telepresence promises to increase engagement of a broader team of scientists ashore.

Strategic Options Development and Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ackermann, Fran; Eden, Colin

Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA) enables a group or individual to construct a graphical representation of a problematic situation, and thus explore options and their ramifications with respect to a complex system of goals or objectives. In addition the method aims to help groups arrive at a negotiated agreement about how to act to resolve the situation. It is based upon the use of causal mapping - a formally constructed means-ends network - as representation form. Because the picture has been constructed using the natural language of the problem owners it becomes a model of the situation that is ‘owned' by those who define the problem. The use of formalities for the construction of the model makes it amenable to a range of analyses as well as encouraging reflection and a deeper understanding. These analyses can be used in a ‘rough and ready' manner by visual inspection or through the use of specialist causal mapping software (Decision Explorer). Each of the analyses helps a group or individual discover important features of the problem situation, and these features facilitate agreeing agood solution. The SODA process is aimed at helping a group learn about the situation they face before they reach agreements. Most significantly the exploration through the causal map leads to a higher probability of more creative solutions and promotes solutions that are more likely to be implemented because the problem construction process is wider and more likely to include richer social dimensions about the blockages to action and organizational change. The basic theories that inform SODA derive from cognitive psychology and social negotiation, where the model acts as a continuously changing representation of the problematic situation - changing as the views of a person or group shift through learning and exploration. This chapter, jointly written by two leading practitioner academics and the original developers of SODA, Colin Eden and Fran Ackermann, describes the SODA techniques as they are applied in practice.

ISAAC - InterSpecies Analysing Application using Containers.

PubMed

Baier, Herbert; Schultz, Jörg

2014-01-15

Information about genes, transcripts and proteins is spread over a wide variety of databases. Different tools have been developed using these databases to identify biological signals in gene lists from large scale analysis. Mostly, they search for enrichments of specific features. But, these tools do not allow an explorative walk through different views and to change the gene lists according to newly upcoming stories. To fill this niche, we have developed ISAAC, the InterSpecies Analysing Application using Containers. The central idea of this web based tool is to enable the analysis of sets of genes, transcripts and proteins under different biological viewpoints and to interactively modify these sets at any point of the analysis. Detailed history and snapshot information allows tracing each action. Furthermore, one can easily switch back to previous states and perform new analyses. Currently, sets can be viewed in the context of genomes, protein functions, protein interactions, pathways, regulation, diseases and drugs. Additionally, users can switch between species with an automatic, orthology based translation of existing gene sets. As todays research usually is performed in larger teams and consortia, ISAAC provides group based functionalities. Here, sets as well as results of analyses can be exchanged between members of groups. ISAAC fills the gap between primary databases and tools for the analysis of large gene lists. With its highly modular, JavaEE based design, the implementation of new modules is straight forward. Furthermore, ISAAC comes with an extensive web-based administration interface including tools for the integration of third party data. Thus, a local installation is easily feasible. In summary, ISAAC is tailor made for highly explorative interactive analyses of gene, transcript and protein sets in a collaborative environment.

Geothermal Exploration Case Studies on OpenEI (Presentation)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Young, K.; Bennett, M.; Atkins, D.

2014-03-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) resource assessment (Williams et al., 2008) outlined a mean 30 GWe of undiscovered hydrothermal resource in the western United States. One goal of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Geothermal Technology Office (GTO) is to accelerate the development of this undiscovered resource. DOE has focused efforts on helping industry identify hidden geothermal resources to increase geothermal capacity in the near term. Increased exploration activity will produce more prospects, more discoveries, and more readily developable resources. Detailed exploration case studies akin to those found in oil and gas (e.g. Beaumont and Foster, 1990-1992) will give developersmore » central location for information gives models for identifying new geothermal areas, and guide efficient exploration and development of these areas. To support this effort, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been working with GTO to develop a template for geothermal case studies on the Geothermal Gateway on OpenEI. In 2012, the template was developed and tested with two case studies: Raft River Geothermal Area (http://en.openei.org/wiki/Raft_River_Geothermal_Area) and Coso Geothermal Area (http://en.openei.org/wiki/Coso_Geothermal_Area). In 2013, ten additional case studies were completed, and Semantic MediaWiki features were developed to allow for more data and the direct citations of these data. These case studies are now in the process of external peer review. In 2014, NREL is working with universities and industry partners to populate additional case studies on OpenEI. The goal is to provide a large enough data set to start conducting analyses of exploration programs to identify correlations between successful exploration plans for areas with similar geologic occurrence models.« less

Exploration of Structural and Functional Variations Owing to Point Mutations in α-NAGA.

PubMed

Meshach Paul, D; Rajasekaran, R

2018-03-01

Schindler disease is a lysosomal storage disorder caused due to deficiency or defective activity of alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase (α-NAGA). Mutations in gene encoding α-NAGA cause wide range of diseases, characterized with mild to severe clinical features. Molecular effects of these mutations are yet to be explored in detail. Therefore, this study was focused on four missense mutations of α-NAGA namely, S160C, E325K, R329Q and R329W. Native and mutant structures of α-NAGA were analysed to determine geometrical deviations such as the contours of root mean square deviation, root mean square fluctuation, percentage of residues in allowed regions of Ramachandran plot and solvent accessible surface area, using conformational sampling technique. Additionally, global energy-minimized structures of native and mutants were further analysed to compute their intra-molecular interactions, hydrogen bond dilution and distribution of secondary structure. In addition, docking studies were also performed to determine variations in binding energies between native and mutants. The deleterious effects of mutants were evident due to variations in their active site residues pertaining to spatial conformation and flexibility, comparatively. Hence, variations exhibited by mutants, namely S160C, E325K, R329Q and R329W to that of native, consequently, lead to the detrimental effects causing Schindler disease. This study computationally explains the underlying reasons for the pathogenesis of the disease, thereby aiding future researchers in drug development and disease management.

Social capital, collective action, and communal grazing lands in Uganda

PubMed Central

Call, Maia; Jagger, Pamela

2018-01-01

Recent scholars have found that collective action can be harnessed to sustainably manage common property, contrary to longstanding hypotheses that without effective external regulation community members will exploit communal resources. Researchers have also found that social capital, in addition to biophysical conditions and community attributes, is an important element of successful collective action. However, few studies exploring this topic have specifically examined communal grazing land, which is a critical component of rural livelihoods in many parts of the developing world. To address this gap, we explore the role that collective action plays in maintaining communal grazing lands through bridging, bonding, and linking social capital. In cases where the community does have communal grazing lands, we also explore the role of social capital in determining the condition of the land and the inclusiveness of access. Our analyses draw upon a community-level dataset composed of Uganda RePEAT survey data linked with high resolution gridded socio-environmental data. We observe that strong community bonds are associated with higher odds of successful collective action. However, increased links to external market forces may decrease the odds of successful collective action. These findings provide additional evidence for the complex relationship between social capital, collective action, and common property natural resource management. PMID:29377036

Molecular Microbial Analyses of the Mars Exploration Rovers Assembly Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Venkateswaran, Kasthuri; LaDuc, Myron T.; Newcombe, David; Kempf, Michael J.; Koke, John. A.; Smoot, James C.; Smoot, Laura M.; Stahl, David A.

2004-01-01

During space exploration, the control of terrestrial microbes associated with robotic space vehicles intended to land on extraterrestrial solar system bodies is necessary to prevent forward contamination and maintain scientific integrity during the search for life. Microorganisms associated with the spacecraft assembly environment can be a source of contamination for the spacecraft. In this study, we have monitored the microbial burden of air samples of the Mars Exploration Rovers' assembly facility at the Kennedy Space Center utilizing complementary diagnostic tools. To estimate the microbial burden and identify potential contaminants in the assembly facility, several microbiological techniques were used including culturing, cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes, DNA microarray analysis, and ATP assays to assess viable microorganisms. Culturing severely underestimated types and amounts of contamination since many of the microbes implicated by molecular analyses were not cultivable. In addition to the cultivation of Agrobacterium, Burkholderia and Bacillus species, the cloning approach retrieved 16s rDNA sequences of oligotrophs, symbionts, and y-proteobacteria members. DNA microarray analysis based on rational probe design and dissociation curves complemented existing molecular techniques and produced a highly parallel, high resolution analysis of contaminating microbial populations. For instance, strong hybridization signals to probes targeting the Bacillus species indicated that members of this species were present in the assembly area samples; however, differences in dissociation curves between perfect-match and air sample sequences showed that these samples harbored nucleotide polymorphisms. Vegetative cells of several isolates were resistant when subjected to treatments of UVC (254 nm) and vapor H202 (4 mg/L). This study further validates the significance of non-cultivable microbes in association with spacecraft assembly facilities, as our analyses have identified several non-cultivable microbes likely to contaminate the surfaces of spacecraft hardware.

The Type and Impact of Evidence Review Group Exploratory Analyses in the NICE Single Technology Appraisal Process.

PubMed

Carroll, Christopher; Kaltenthaler, Eva; Hill-McManus, Daniel; Scope, Alison; Holmes, Michael; Rice, Stephen; Rose, Micah; Tappenden, Paul; Woolacott, Nerys

2017-06-01

As part of the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) single technology appraisal process, independent evidence review groups (ERGs) critically appraise a company's submission relating to a specific technology and indication. To explore the type of additional exploratory analyses conducted by ERGs and their impact on the recommendations made by NICE. The 100 most recently completed single technology appraisals with published guidance were selected for inclusion. A content analysis of relevant documents was undertaken to identify and extract relevant data, and narrative synthesis was used to rationalize and present these data. The types of exploratory analysis conducted in relation to companies' models were fixing errors, addressing violations, addressing matters of judgment, and the provision of a new, ERG-preferred base case. Ninety-three of the 100 ERG reports contained at least one of these analyses. The most frequently reported type of analysis in these 93 ERG reports related to the category "Matters of judgment," which was reported in 83 reports (89%). At least one of the exploratory analyses conducted and reported by an ERG is mentioned in 97% of NICE appraisal consultation documents and 94% of NICE final appraisal determinations, and had a clear influence on recommendations in 72% of appraisal consultation documents and 47% of final appraisal determinations. These results suggest that the additional analyses undertaken by ERGs in the appraisal of company submissions are highly influential in the policy-making and decision-making process. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bringing nanomedicines to market: regulatory challenges, opportunities, and uncertainties.

PubMed

Nijhara, Ruchika; Balakrishnan, Krishna

2006-06-01

Scientists and entrepreneurs who contemplate developing nanomedicine products face several unique challenges in addition to many of the traditional hurdles of product development. In this review we analyze the major physicochemical, biologic and functional characteristics of several nanomedicine products on the market and explore the question of what made them unique. What made them successful? We also focus on the regulatory challenges faced by nanomedicine product developers. Based on these analyses, we propose the factors that are most likely to contribute to the success of nanomedicine products.

Results of the 2009 AORN salary survey.

PubMed

Bacon, Donald

2009-12-01

AORN conducted its seventh annual compensation survey for perioperative nurses in August of 2009. A multiple regression model was used to examine how a variety of variables including job title, education level, certification, experience, and geographic region affect nursing compensation. Comparisons between the 2009 data and previous years' data are presented. The effects of other forms of compensation, such as on-call compensation, overtime, bonuses, and shift differentials on average base compensation rates also are examined. Additional analyses explore the effect of the current economic downturn on the perioperative work environment. (c) AORN, Inc, 2009.

Dissolved organic carbon biodegradability from thawing permafrost stimulated by sunlight rather than inorganic nitrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, F.; Chen, L.; Zhang, B.; Wang, G.; Qin, S.; Yang, Y.

2017-12-01

Permafrost thaw could result in a large portion of frozen carbon being laterally transferred to aquatic ecosystems as dissolved organic carbon (DOC). During this delivery process, the size of biodegradable DOC (BDOC) determines the proportion of DOC mineralized by microorganisms and associated carbon loss to the atmosphere, which may further trigger positive carbon-climate feedback. Thermokarst is an abrupt permafrost thaw process that can enhance DOC export and also impact DOC processing through increased inorganic nitrogen (N) and sunlight exposure. However, it remains unclear how thermokarst-impacted BDOC responds to inorganic N addition and ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. Here we explored the responses of DOC concentration, composition and its biodegradability to inorganic N and UV light in a typical thermokarst on the Tibetan Plateau, by combining field observation and laboratory incubation with spectra analyses (UV-visible absorption and three-dimensional fluorescence spectra) and parallel factor analyses. Our results showed that BDOC in thermokarst feature outflows was significantly higher than in reference water. Furthermore, inorganic N addition had no influence on thermokarst-impacted BDOC, whereas exposure to UV light significantly increased BDOC by as much as 2.3 times higher than the dark-control. Moreover, N addition and UV irradiation did not generate additive effects on BDOC. These results imply that sunlight rather than inorganic N can increase thermokarst-derived BDOC, potentially strengthening the positive permafrost carbon-climate feedback.

Missing heritability in the tails of quantitative traits? A simulation study on the impact of slightly altered true genetic models.

PubMed

Pütter, Carolin; Pechlivanis, Sonali; Nöthen, Markus M; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Wichmann, Heinz-Erich; Scherag, André

2011-01-01

Genome-wide association studies have identified robust associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms and complex traits. As the proportion of phenotypic variance explained is still limited for most of the traits, larger and larger meta-analyses are being conducted to detect additional associations. Here we investigate the impact of the study design and the underlying assumption about the true genetic effect in a bimodal mixture situation on the power to detect associations. We performed simulations of quantitative phenotypes analysed by standard linear regression and dichotomized case-control data sets from the extremes of the quantitative trait analysed by standard logistic regression. Using linear regression, markers with an effect in the extremes of the traits were almost undetectable, whereas analysing extremes by case-control design had superior power even for much smaller sample sizes. Two real data examples are provided to support our theoretical findings and to explore our mixture and parameter assumption. Our findings support the idea to re-analyse the available meta-analysis data sets to detect new loci in the extremes. Moreover, our investigation offers an explanation for discrepant findings when analysing quantitative traits in the general population and in the extremes. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Maser: one-stop platform for NGS big data from analysis to visualization

PubMed Central

Kinjo, Sonoko; Monma, Norikazu; Misu, Sadahiko; Kitamura, Norikazu; Imoto, Junichi; Yoshitake, Kazutoshi; Gojobori, Takashi; Ikeo, Kazuho

2018-01-01

Abstract A major challenge in analyzing the data from high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) is how to handle the huge amounts of data and variety of NGS tools and visualize the resultant outputs. To address these issues, we developed a cloud-based data analysis platform, Maser (Management and Analysis System for Enormous Reads), and an original genome browser, Genome Explorer (GE). Maser enables users to manage up to 2 terabytes of data to conduct analyses with easy graphical user interface operations and offers analysis pipelines in which several individual tools are combined as a single pipeline for very common and standard analyses. GE automatically visualizes genome assembly and mapping results output from Maser pipelines, without requiring additional data upload. With this function, the Maser pipelines can graphically display the results output from all the embedded tools and mapping results in a web browser. Therefore Maser realized a more user-friendly analysis platform especially for beginners by improving graphical display and providing the selected standard pipelines that work with built-in genome browser. In addition, all the analyses executed on Maser are recorded in the analysis history, helping users to trace and repeat the analyses. The entire process of analysis and its histories can be shared with collaborators or opened to the public. In conclusion, our system is useful for managing, analyzing, and visualizing NGS data and achieves traceability, reproducibility, and transparency of NGS analysis. Database URL: http://cell-innovation.nig.ac.jp/maser/ PMID:29688385

Understanding the drivers on medical workloads: an analysis of spectators at the Australian Football League.

PubMed

Zeitz, Kathryn; Haghighi, Pari Delir; Burstein, Frada; Williams, Jeffrey

2013-06-01

The present study was designed to further understand the psychosocial drivers of crowds impacting on the demand for healthcare. This involved analysing different spectator crowds for medical usage at mass gatherings; more specifically, did different football team spectators (of the Australian Football League) generate different medical usage rates. In total, 317 games were analysed from 10 venues over 2 years. Data were analysed by the ANOVA and Pearson correlation tests. RESULTS; Spectators who supported different football teams generated statistically significant differences in patient presentation rates (PPR) (F15, 618=1.998, P=0.014). The present study confirmed previous findings that there is a positive correlation between the crowd size and PPR at mass gatherings but found a negative correlation between density and PPR (r = -0.206, n=317, P<0.0005). The present study has attempted to scientifically explore psychosocial elements of crowd behaviour as a driver of demand for emergency medical care. In measuring demand for emergency medical services there is a need to develop a more sophisticated understanding of a variety of drivers in addition to traditional metrics such as temperature, crowd size and other physical elements. In this study we saw that spectators who supported different football teams generated statistically significant differences in PPR. What is known about this topic? Understanding the drivers of emergency medical care is most important in the mass gathering setting. There has been minimal analysis of psychological 'crowd' variables. What does this paper add? This study explores the psychosocial impact of supporting a different team on the PPR of spectators at Australian Football League matches. The value of collecting and analysing these types of data sets is to support more balanced planning, better decision support and knowledge management, and more effective emergency medical demand management. What are the implications for practitioners? This information further expands the body of evidence being created to understand the drivers of emergency medical demand and usage. In addition, it supports the planning and management of emergency medical and health-related requirements by increasing our understanding of the effect of elements of 'crowd' that impact on medical usage and emergency healthcare.

Spatiotemporal analysis of changes in lode mining claims around the McDermitt Caldera, northern Nevada and southern Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coyan, Joshua; Zientek, Michael L.; Mihalasky, Mark J.

2017-01-01

Resource managers and agencies involved with planning for future federal land needs are required to complete an assessment of and forecast for future land use every ten years. Predicting mining activities on federal lands is difficult as current regulations do not require disclosure of exploration results. In these cases, historic mining claims may serve as a useful proxy for determining where mining-related activities may occur. We assess the utility of using a space–time cube (STC) and associated analyses to evaluate and characterize mining claim activities around the McDermitt Caldera in northern Nevada and southern Oregon. The most significant advantage of arranging the mining claim data into a STC is the ability to visualize and compare the data, which allows scientists to better understand patterns and results. Additional analyses of the STC (i.e., Trend, Emerging Hot Spot, Hot Spot, and Cluster and Outlier Analyses) provide extra insights into the data and may aid in predicting future mining claim activities.

MSL SAM-like Analyses of Hawaiian Altered Basaltic Materials: Implications for Analyses by the Mars Science Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McAdam, A.; Eigenbrode, J. L.; Young, K. E.; Bleacher, J. E.; Knudson, C. A.; Rogers, D.; Glotch, T. D.; Sutter, B.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Navarro-Gonzalez, R.; Downs, R. T.

2015-12-01

Samples of basaltic materials were collected during several traverses of the Kau Desert on the leeward side of the Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, conducted by the Remote, In Situ, and Synchrotron Studies for Science and Exploration (RIS4E) team, a node of the Solar System Exploration and Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) program. Some of these samples had been exposed to circumneutral to slightly acidic alteration conditions from exposure to fog/rain, and acidic fog/rain, while others had been exposed to more acidic conditions due to proximity to fumaroles. The samples consisted of basalts with coatings, sands and soils, and ash, and were collected using organically clean protocols to enable investigation of organic chemistry and organic-mineral associations, in addition to mineralogy. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover has analyzed basaltic materials inferred to have been altered under conditions ranging from circumneutral to acidic, but several aspects of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite results are still being investigated and analyses of relevant terrestrial analogs can play an important role in interpretation of the data. For example, all materials analyzed to date have a significant amorphous component. Comparisons of the mineralogy obtained with the MSL CheMin instrument and volatiles evolved during SAM analyses indicate that, by mass balance, some portion of the volatiles, such as SO2 and H2O, are likely associated with this component. Many of the RIS4E samples also have a significant amorphous component, and field x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray fluorescence (XRF) data indicate differences in the chemistry of this material in samples exposed to different alteration conditions. Preliminary SAM-like analyses indicate that the amorphous materials in some of these samples evolve volatiles such as H2O and SO2 during heating. Here we will discuss these results, and others, obtained through SAM-like analyses of selected samples.

Application of logistic regression to case-control association studies involving two causative loci.

PubMed

North, Bernard V; Curtis, David; Sham, Pak C

2005-01-01

Models in which two susceptibility loci jointly influence the risk of developing disease can be explored using logistic regression analysis. Comparison of likelihoods of models incorporating different sets of disease model parameters allows inferences to be drawn regarding the nature of the joint effect of the loci. We have simulated case-control samples generated assuming different two-locus models and then analysed them using logistic regression. We show that this method is practicable and that, for the models we have used, it can be expected to allow useful inferences to be drawn from sample sizes consisting of hundreds of subjects. Interactions between loci can be explored, but interactive effects do not exactly correspond with classical definitions of epistasis. We have particularly examined the issue of the extent to which it is helpful to utilise information from a previously identified locus when investigating a second, unknown locus. We show that for some models conditional analysis can have substantially greater power while for others unconditional analysis can be more powerful. Hence we conclude that in general both conditional and unconditional analyses should be performed when searching for additional loci.

Effect of Hypoeutectic Boron Additions on the Grain Size and Mechanical Properties of Ti-6Al-4V Manufactured with Powder Bed Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahbooba, Zaynab; West, Harvey; Harrysson, Ola; Wojcieszynski, Andrzej; Dehoff, Ryan; Nandwana, Peeyush; Horn, Timothy

2017-03-01

In additive manufacturing, microstructural control is feasible via processing parameter alteration. However, the window for parameter variation for certain materials, such as Ti-6Al-4V, is limited, and alternative methods must be employed to customize microstructures. Grain refinement and homogenization in cast titanium alloys has been demonstrated through the addition of hypoeutectic concentrations of boron. This work explores the influence of 0.00 wt.%, 0.25 wt.%, 0.50 wt.%, and 1.0 wt.% boron additions on the microstructure and bulk mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V samples fabricated in an Arcam A2 electron beam melting (EBM) system with commercial processing parameters for Ti-6Al-4V. Analyses of EBM fabricated Ti-6Al-4V + B indicate that the addition of 0.25-1.0 wt.% boron progressively refines the grain structure, and it improves hardness and elastic modulus. Despite a reduction in size, the β grain structure remained columnar as a result of directional heat transfer during EBM fabrication.

A cross-sectional study on person-centred communication in the care of older people: the COMHOME study protocol.

PubMed

Hafskjold, Linda; Sundler, Annelie J; Holmström, Inger K; Sundling, Vibeke; van Dulmen, Sandra; Eide, Hilde

2015-04-15

This paper presents an international cross-sectional study on person-centred communication with older people receiving healthcare (COMHOME). Person-centred care relies on effective communication, but few studies have explored this with a specific focus on older people. The main aim of the COMHOME study is to generate knowledge on person-centred communication with older people (>65 years) in home healthcare services, radiographic and optometric practice. This study will explore the communication between care providers and older persons in home care services. Home healthcare visits will be audiorecorded (n=500) in Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden. Analyses will be performed with the Verona Coding Definitions for Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES), the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) and qualitative methods. The content of the communication, communicative challenging situations as well as empathy, power distance, decision-making, preservation of dignity and respect will be explored. In Norway, an additional 100 encounters, 50 in optometric practice (video recorded) and 50 in radiographic practice (audiorecorded), will be analysed. Furthermore, healthcare providers' self-reported communication skills, empathy, mindfulness and emotional intelligence in relation to observed person-centred communication skills will be assessed using well-established standardised instruments. Depending on national legislation, approval of either the central ethical committees (eg, nation or university), the national data protection officials or the local ethical committees (eg, units of home healthcare) was obtained. Study findings will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. The research findings will add knowledge to improve services provided to this vulnerable group of patients. Additionally, the findings will underpin a training programme for healthcare students and care providers focusing on communication with older people. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Nursing Students' Opinion on the Use of Smartphone Applications (Apps) in Clinical Education and Training: A Study Protocol.

PubMed

O'Connor, Siobhan; Andrews, Tom

2016-01-01

Nurse educators are exploring different mobile technologies to provide additional support to nursing students in clinical practice. However, the view of nursing students on the use of smartphone applications (apps) to enhance clinical education has not been explored. This proposed study will use a self-reported questionnaire to examine the opinions of nursing students on the current and potential use of smartphone apps when training in clinical settings. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be performed on the quantitative data. Qualitative data from open ended questions will be thematically analysed using the framework approach. This will be the first study to examine the use of smartphone apps as a support in clinical teaching from a students' perspective. Their opinion is vital if the right mobile technology is to be designed and implemented.

An exploration of exercise training effects in coronary heart disease.

PubMed

Piperidou, Eleana; Bliss, Julie

2008-06-01

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) remains the most common cause of death and disability in many developed and developing countries. The evidence presented so far, clearly shows that exercise training leads to favourable improvements in exercise capacity, lipid levels, weight and psychosocial variables for CHD patients. Nevertheless, despite recommendations and government support, the lack of physical activity remains a major health problem, particularly for people with established CHD. The aim of this review was to explore the effects of exercise training on physical and psychosocial function among CHD patients, by analysing the content of relevant research reports. The findings showed that although there is sufficient evidence that exercise training has a number of effects that are beneficial in treatment and secondary prevention of CHD, different aspects of exercise characteristics (mode, frequency, intensity and duration) for different cardiac patient groups, warrant additional investigation.

Sport, how people choose it: A network analysis approach.

PubMed

Ferreri, Luca; Ivaldi, Marco; Daolio, Fabio; Giacobini, Mario; Rainoldi, Alberto; Tomassini, Marco

2015-01-01

In order to investigate the behaviour of athletes in choosing sports, we analyse data from part of the We-Sport database, a vertical social network that links athletes through sports. In particular, we explore connections between people sharing common sports and the role of age and gender by applying "network science" approaches and methods. The results show a disassortative tendency of athletes in choosing sports, a negative correlation between age and number of chosen sports and a positive correlation between age of connected athletes. Some interesting patterns of connection between age classes are depicted. In addition, we propose a method to classify sports, based on the analyses of the behaviour of people practising them. Thanks to this brand new classifications, we highlight the links of class of sports and their unexpected features. We emphasise some gender dependency affinity in choosing sport classes.

Tobacco Use among Native Hawaiian Middle School Students: Its Prevalence, Correlates and Implications

PubMed Central

Glanz, Karen; Mau, Marjorie; Steffen, Alana; Maskarinec, Gertraud; Arriola, Kimberly Jacob

2013-01-01

Objectives This study sought to explore whether Native Hawaiian primary ethnic identity is associated with cigarette use among Native Hawaiian middle school students. This study also explored whether social influence, psychosocial and cultural factors are associated with cigarette use in this sample. Design The data are from a cross-sectional survey of 1,695 Native Hawaiian middle school students at 22 public and private schools on five islands in Hawaii. A subset of these students from Native Hawaiian serving schools (N = 136) completed additional measures of Hawaiian cultural variables. Results Based on univariate analyses, students whose primary ethnic identification was Hawaiian were more likely to have tried smoking (p<0.001) and to be current smokers (p<0.05) as compared to those classified as part Hawaiian. However, these findings were no longer significant in multivariate analyses. Social influence variables (i.e. peer and parental smoking) were most influential in explaining both prior and current smoking. Attendance at public school was also an important factor in explaining previous (OR = 2.43; 95% CI = 1.74, 3.38) and current (OR = 7.20; 95% CI = 4.58, 11.32) smoking behavior. Finally, cultural variables such as valuing Hawaiian folklore, customs, activities and lifestyle were largely unassociated with smoking behavior among Native Hawaiian middle school youth. Conclusions Additional research is needed to understand what aspects of ethnic identity are associated with smoking behavior among Native Hawaiian youth. The strong influence of peer and parental smoking suggests the need for interventions that support the creation of social environments that discourage tobacco use. PMID:17454098

EnGeoMAP - geological applications within the EnMAP hyperspectral satellite science program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boesche, N. K.; Mielke, C.; Rogass, C.; Guanter, L.

2016-12-01

Hyperspectral investigations from near field to space substantially contribute to geological exploration and mining monitoring of raw material and mineral deposits. Due to their spectral characteristics, large mineral occurrences and minefields can be identified from space and the spatial distribution of distinct proxy minerals be mapped. In the frame of the EnMAP hyperspectral satellite science program a mineral and elemental mapping tool was developed - the EnGeoMAP. It contains a basic mineral mapping and a rare earth element mapping approach. This study shows the performance of EnGeoMAP based on simulated EnMAP data of the rare earth element bearing Mountain Pass Carbonatite Complex, USA, and the Rodalquilar and Lomilla Calderas, Spain, which host the economically relevant gold-silver, lead-zinc-silver-gold and alunite deposits. The mountain pass image data was simulated on the basis of AVIRIS Next Generation images, while the Rodalquilar data is based on HyMap images. The EnGeoMAP - Base approach was applied to both images, while the mountain pass image data were additionally analysed using the EnGeoMAP - REE software tool. The results are mineral and elemental maps that serve as proxies for the regional lithology and deposit types. The validation of the maps is based on chemical analyses of field samples. Current airborne sensors meet the spatial and spectral requirements for detailed mineral mapping and future hyperspectral space borne missions will additionally provide a large coverage. For those hyperspectral missions, EnGeoMAP is a rapid data analysis tool that is provided to spectral geologists working in mineral exploration.

Integrating Lean Exploration Loops Into Healthcare Facility Design.

PubMed

Mazur, Lukasz M; Johnson, Kendra; Pooya, Pegah; Chadwick, Janet; McCreery, John

2017-04-01

To explore what, when, and how Lean methods and tools can add value during the programming phase of design through providing additional resources and support to project leadership and the architectural design team. This case study-based research took place at one large academic hospital during design efforts of a surgical tower to house 19 operating rooms (ORs) and support spaces including pre- and postop, central processing and distribution, and materials management. Surgical services project leadership asked for support from Lean practitioners during the design process. Lean exploration loops (LELs) were conducted to generate evidence to support stakeholders, as they made important decisions about the new building design. The analyses conducted during LELs were primarily focused on the relative advantages of a large footprint with few floors or a smaller footprint with more floors and support spaces not collocated adjacent to ORs on the same floor. LELs resulted in quantifications of key operational and design features (e.g., design preferences of employees and patients, horizontal distance travel, and elevator utilization studies), which in turn complemented the architectural design process and created an opportunities to gain buy-in and consensus from stakeholders through their active participation in many of the analyses. We found Lean tools and methods to be of most value during programming phase when focused on the high-level operational and design issues to help establish buy-in and consensus among stakeholders, while acknowledging that there is often not enough design detail to perform accurate analysis.

Science Plan Visualisation for Rosetta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, A.; Grieger, B.; Völk, S.

2013-12-01

Rosetta is a mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) to rendez-vous with comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko in mid-2014. The trajectories and their corresponding operations are flexible and particularly complex. To make informed decisions among the many free parameters novel ways to communicate operations to the community have been explored. To support science planning by communicating operational ideas and disseminating operational scenarios, the science ground segment makes use of Web-based visualisation technologies. To keep the threshold to analysing operations proposals as low as possible, various implementation techniques have been investigated. An important goal was to use the Web to make the content as accessible as possible. By adopting the recent standard WebGL and generating static pages of time-dependent three-dimensional views of the spacecraft as well as the corresponding field-of-views of instruments, directly from the operational and for-study files, users are given the opportunity to explore interactively in their Web browsers what is being proposed in addition to using the traditional file products and analysing them in detail. The scenes and animations can be viewed in any modern Web browser and be combined with other analyses. This is to facilitate verification and cross-validation of complex products, often done by comparing different independent analyses and studies. By providing different timesteps in animations, it is possible to focus on long-term planning or short-term planning without distracting the user from the essentials. This is particularly important since the information that can be displayed in a Web browser is somewhat related to data volume that can be transferred across the wire. In Web browsers, it is more challenging to do numerical calculations on demand. Since requests for additional data have to be passed through a Web server, they are more complex and also require a more complex infrastructure. The volume of data that can be kept in a browser environment is limited and might have to be transferred over often slow network links. Thus, careful design and reduction of data is required. Regarding user interaction, Web browsers are often limited to a mouse and keyboards. In terms of benefits, the threshold and turn-around times for discussing operational ideas by using the visualisation techniques described here are lowered. An additional benefit of the approach was the cooperative use of products by distributed users which resulted in higher-quality software and data by incorporating more feedback than what would usually have been available.

Communication of Science Plans in the Rosetta Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, Albrecht; Grieger, Björn; Völk, Stefan

2014-05-01

Rosetta is a mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) to rendez-vous with comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko in mid-2014. The trajectories and their corresponding operations are both flexible and particularly complex. To make informed decisions among the many free parameters, novel ways to communicate operations to the community have been explored. To support science planning by communicating operational ideas and disseminating operational scenarios, the science ground segment makes use of Web-based visualisation technologies. To keep the threshold to analysing operations proposals as low as possible, various implementation techniques have been investigated. An important goal was to use the Web to make the content as accessible as possible. By adopting the recent standard WebGL and generating static pages of time-dependent three-dimensional views of the spacecraft as well as the corresponding field-of-views of instruments, directly from the operational and for-study files, users are given the opportunity to explore interactively in their Web browsers what is being proposed in addition to using the traditional file products and analysing them in detail. The scenes and animations can be viewed in any modern Web browser and be combined with other analyses. This is to facilitate verification and cross-validation of complex products, often done by comparing different independent analyses and studies. By providing different timesteps in animations, it is possible to focus on long-term planning or short-term planning without distracting the user from the essentials. This is particularly important since the information that can be displayed in a Web browser is somewhat related to data volume that can be transferred across the wire. In Web browsers, it is more challenging to do numerical calculations on demand. Since requests for additional data have to be passed through a Web server, they are more complex and also require a more complex infrastructure. The volume of data that can be kept in a browser environment is limited and might have to be transferred over often slow network links. Thus, careful design and reduction of data is required. Regarding user interaction, Web browsers are often limited to a mouse and keyboards. In terms of benefits, the threshold and turn-around times for discussing operational ideas by using the visualisation techniques described here are lowered. An additional benefit of the approach was the cooperative use of products by distributed users which resulted in higher-quality software and data by incorporating more feedback than what would usually have been available.

What Do Patients Think about the Cause of Their Mental Disorder? A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Causal Beliefs of Mental Disorder in Inpatients in Psychosomatic Rehabilitation.

PubMed

Magaard, Julia Luise; Schulz, Holger; Brütt, Anna Levke

2017-01-01

Patients' causal beliefs about their mental disorders are important for treatment because they affect illness-related behaviours. However, there are few studies exploring patients' causal beliefs about their mental disorder. (a) To qualitatively explore patients' causal beliefs of their mental disorder, (b) to explore frequencies of patients stating causal beliefs, and (c) to investigate differences of causal beliefs according to patients' primary diagnoses. Inpatients in psychosomatic rehabilitation were asked an open-ended question about their three most important causal beliefs about their mental illness. Answers were obtained from 678 patients, with primary diagnoses of depression (N = 341), adjustment disorder (N = 75), reaction to severe stress (N = 57) and anxiety disorders (N = 40). Two researchers developed a category system inductively and categorised the reported causal beliefs. Qualitative analysis has been supplemented by logistic regression analyses. The causal beliefs were organized into twelve content-related categories. Causal beliefs referring to "problems at work" (47%) and "problems in social environment" (46%) were most frequently mentioned by patients with mental disorders. 35% of patients indicate causal beliefs related to "self/internal states". Patients with depression and patients with anxiety disorders stated similar causal beliefs, whereas patients with reactions to severe stress and adjustment disorders stated different causal beliefs in comparison to patients with depression. There was no opportunity for further exploration, because we analysed written documents. These results add a detailed insight to mentally ill patients' causal beliefs to illness perception literature. Additionally, evidence about differences in frequencies of causal beliefs between different illness groups complement previous findings. For future research it is important to clarify the relation between patients' causal beliefs and the chosen treatment.

What Do Patients Think about the Cause of Their Mental Disorder? A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Causal Beliefs of Mental Disorder in Inpatients in Psychosomatic Rehabilitation

PubMed Central

Magaard, Julia Luise; Schulz, Holger; Brütt, Anna Levke

2017-01-01

Background Patients’ causal beliefs about their mental disorders are important for treatment because they affect illness-related behaviours. However, there are few studies exploring patients’ causal beliefs about their mental disorder. Objectives (a) To qualitatively explore patients’ causal beliefs of their mental disorder, (b) to explore frequencies of patients stating causal beliefs, and (c) to investigate differences of causal beliefs according to patients’ primary diagnoses. Method Inpatients in psychosomatic rehabilitation were asked an open-ended question about their three most important causal beliefs about their mental illness. Answers were obtained from 678 patients, with primary diagnoses of depression (N = 341), adjustment disorder (N = 75), reaction to severe stress (N = 57) and anxiety disorders (N = 40). Two researchers developed a category system inductively and categorised the reported causal beliefs. Qualitative analysis has been supplemented by logistic regression analyses. Results The causal beliefs were organized into twelve content-related categories. Causal beliefs referring to “problems at work” (47%) and “problems in social environment” (46%) were most frequently mentioned by patients with mental disorders. 35% of patients indicate causal beliefs related to “self/internal states”. Patients with depression and patients with anxiety disorders stated similar causal beliefs, whereas patients with reactions to severe stress and adjustment disorders stated different causal beliefs in comparison to patients with depression. Limitations There was no opportunity for further exploration, because we analysed written documents. Conclusions These results add a detailed insight to mentally ill patients’ causal beliefs to illness perception literature. Additionally, evidence about differences in frequencies of causal beliefs between different illness groups complement previous findings. For future research it is important to clarify the relation between patients’ causal beliefs and the chosen treatment. PMID:28056066

Exploring genetic variants predisposing to diabetes mellitus and their association with indicators of socioeconomic status.

PubMed

Schmidt, Börge; Dragano, Nico; Scherag, André; Pechlivanis, Sonali; Hoffmann, Per; Nöthen, Markus M; Erbel, Raimund; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Moebus, Susanne

2014-06-16

The relevance of disease-related genetic variants for the explanation of social inequalities in complex diseases is unclear and empirical analyses are largely missing. The aim of our study was to examine whether genetic variants predisposing to diabetes mellitus are associated with socioeconomic status in a population-based cohort. We genotyped 11 selected diabetes-related single nucleotide polymorphisms in 4655 participants (age 45-75 years) of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall study. Diabetes status was self-reported or defined by blood glucose levels. Education, income and paternal occupation were assessed as indicators of socioeconomic status. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the association of socioeconomic status and diabetes by estimating sex-specific and age-adjusted prevalence ratios and their corresponding 95%-confidence intervals. To explore the relationship between individual single nucleotide polymorphisms and socioeconomic status sex- and age-adjusted odds ratios were computed. We adjusted the alpha-level for multiple testing of 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms using Bonferroni's method (α(BF) ~ 0.005). In addition, we explored the association of a genetic risk score with socioeconomic status. Social inequalities in diabetes were observed for all indicators of socioeconomic status. However, there were no significant associations between individual diabetes-related risk alleles and socioeconomic status with odds ratios ranging from 0.87 to 1.23. Similarly, the genetic risk score analysis revealed no evidence for an association. Our data provide no evidence for an association between 11 diabetes-related risk alleles and different indicators of socioeconomic status in a population-based cohort, suggesting that the explored genetic variants do not contribute to health inequalities in diabetes.

Long-Term Engagement in Formal Volunteering and Well-Being: An Exploratory Indian Study

PubMed Central

Elias, Jereesh K.; Sudhir, Paulomi; Mehrotra, Seema

2016-01-01

Sustained engagement in volunteering and its correlates have been examined in many studies across the globe. However, there is a dearth of research that explores the perspectives of long-term formal volunteers on the nature of changes perceived in oneself as a result of volunteering. Moreover, the linkages between psychological well-being and volunteering have been insufficiently explored. The present study was aimed at addressing these gaps. A heterogeneous sample of 20 long-term formal volunteer engaged in volunteering across different voluntary organisations in a southern metropolitan Indian city formed the primary sample for the study. In addition, a group of 21 short-term volunteers, matched on age, income and gender, was utilised for comparison with long-term volunteers on well-being indices. A semi structured interview schedule was used to explore self-perceived changes attributable to volunteering experience. In addition, a few standardised measures were used to comprehensively assess subjective well-being and psychological well-being. The interview data provided rich descriptions of perceived positive changes in self across cognitive, behavioral and emotional domains. Mirroring these patterns, the quantitative analyses indicated that long-term volunteers experienced higher levels of psychological well-being (sense of mastery and competence, self-acceptance and sense of engagement and growth) than short-term volunteers. The potential mechanisms involved in beneficial outcomes of long-term volunteering and implications for further research are highlighted. PMID:27690114

Long-Term Engagement in Formal Volunteering and Well-Being: An Exploratory Indian Study.

PubMed

Elias, Jereesh K; Sudhir, Paulomi; Mehrotra, Seema

2016-09-27

Sustained engagement in volunteering and its correlates have been examined in many studies across the globe. However, there is a dearth of research that explores the perspectives of long-term formal volunteers on the nature of changes perceived in oneself as a result of volunteering. Moreover, the linkages between psychological well-being and volunteering have been insufficiently explored. The present study was aimed at addressing these gaps. A heterogeneous sample of 20 long-term formal volunteer engaged in volunteering across different voluntary organisations in a southern metropolitan Indian city formed the primary sample for the study. In addition, a group of 21 short-term volunteers, matched on age, income and gender, was utilised for comparison with long-term volunteers on well-being indices. A semi structured interview schedule was used to explore self-perceived changes attributable to volunteering experience. In addition, a few standardised measures were used to comprehensively assess subjective well-being and psychological well-being. The interview data provided rich descriptions of perceived positive changes in self across cognitive, behavioral and emotional domains. Mirroring these patterns, the quantitative analyses indicated that long-term volunteers experienced higher levels of psychological well-being (sense of mastery and competence, self-acceptance and sense of engagement and growth) than short-term volunteers. The potential mechanisms involved in beneficial outcomes of long-term volunteering and implications for further research are highlighted.

Nonindependence and sensitivity analyses in ecological and evolutionary meta-analyses.

PubMed

Noble, Daniel W A; Lagisz, Malgorzata; O'dea, Rose E; Nakagawa, Shinichi

2017-05-01

Meta-analysis is an important tool for synthesizing research on a variety of topics in ecology and evolution, including molecular ecology, but can be susceptible to nonindependence. Nonindependence can affect two major interrelated components of a meta-analysis: (i) the calculation of effect size statistics and (ii) the estimation of overall meta-analytic estimates and their uncertainty. While some solutions to nonindependence exist at the statistical analysis stages, there is little advice on what to do when complex analyses are not possible, or when studies with nonindependent experimental designs exist in the data. Here we argue that exploring the effects of procedural decisions in a meta-analysis (e.g. inclusion of different quality data, choice of effect size) and statistical assumptions (e.g. assuming no phylogenetic covariance) using sensitivity analyses are extremely important in assessing the impact of nonindependence. Sensitivity analyses can provide greater confidence in results and highlight important limitations of empirical work (e.g. impact of study design on overall effects). Despite their importance, sensitivity analyses are seldom applied to problems of nonindependence. To encourage better practice for dealing with nonindependence in meta-analytic studies, we present accessible examples demonstrating the impact that ignoring nonindependence can have on meta-analytic estimates. We also provide pragmatic solutions for dealing with nonindependent study designs, and for analysing dependent effect sizes. Additionally, we offer reporting guidelines that will facilitate disclosure of the sources of nonindependence in meta-analyses, leading to greater transparency and more robust conclusions. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Biochemical phenotypes to discriminate microbial subpopulations and improve outbreak detection.

PubMed

Galar, Alicia; Kulldorff, Martin; Rudnick, Wallis; O'Brien, Thomas F; Stelling, John

2013-01-01

Clinical microbiology laboratories worldwide constitute an invaluable resource for monitoring emerging threats and the spread of antimicrobial resistance. We studied the growing number of biochemical tests routinely performed on clinical isolates to explore their value as epidemiological markers. Microbiology laboratory results from January 2009 through December 2011 from a 793-bed hospital stored in WHONET were examined. Variables included patient location, collection date, organism, and 47 biochemical and 17 antimicrobial susceptibility test results reported by Vitek 2. To identify biochemical tests that were particularly valuable (stable with repeat testing, but good variability across the species) or problematic (inconsistent results with repeat testing), three types of variance analyses were performed on isolates of K. pneumonia: descriptive analysis of discordant biochemical results in same-day isolates, an average within-patient variance index, and generalized linear mixed model variance component analysis. 4,200 isolates of K. pneumoniae were identified from 2,485 patients, 32% of whom had multiple isolates. The first two variance analyses highlighted SUCT, TyrA, GlyA, and GGT as "nuisance" biochemicals for which discordant within-patient test results impacted a high proportion of patient results, while dTAG had relatively good within-patient stability with good heterogeneity across the species. Variance component analyses confirmed the relative stability of dTAG, and identified additional biochemicals such as PHOS with a large between patient to within patient variance ratio. A reduced subset of biochemicals improved the robustness of strain definition for carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae. Surveillance analyses suggest that the reduced biochemical profile could improve the timeliness and specificity of outbreak detection algorithms. The statistical approaches explored can improve the robust recognition of microbial subpopulations with routinely available biochemical test results, of value in the timely detection of outbreak clones and evolutionarily important genetic events.

The Double-edged Sword of Pedagogy: Instruction limits spontaneous exploration and discovery

PubMed Central

Shafto, Patrick; Gweon, Hyowon; Goodman, Noah D.; Spelke, Elizabeth; Schulz, Laura

2012-01-01

Motivated by computational analyses, we look at how teaching affects exploration and discovery. In Experiment 1, we investigated children’s exploratory play after an adult pedagogically demonstrated a function of a toy, after an interrupted pedagogical demonstration, after a naïve adult demonstrated the function, and at baseline. Preschoolers in the pedagogical condition focused almost exclusively on the target function; by contrast, children in the other conditions explored broadly. In Experiment 2, we show that children restrict their exploration both after direct instruction to themselves and after overhearing direct instruction given to another child; they do not show this constraint after observing direct instruction given to an adult or after observing a non-pedagogical intentional action. We discuss these findings as the result of rational inductive biases. In pedagogical contexts, a teacher’s failure to provide evidence for additional functions provides evidence for their absence; such contexts generalize from child to child (because children are likely to have comparable states of knowledge) but not from adult to child. Thus, pedagogy promotes efficient learning but at a cost: children are less likely to perform potentially irrelevant actions but also less likely to discover novel information. PMID:21216395

The double-edged sword of pedagogy: Instruction limits spontaneous exploration and discovery.

PubMed

Bonawitz, Elizabeth; Shafto, Patrick; Gweon, Hyowon; Goodman, Noah D; Spelke, Elizabeth; Schulz, Laura

2011-09-01

Motivated by computational analyses, we look at how teaching affects exploration and discovery. In Experiment 1, we investigated children's exploratory play after an adult pedagogically demonstrated a function of a toy, after an interrupted pedagogical demonstration, after a naïve adult demonstrated the function, and at baseline. Preschoolers in the pedagogical condition focused almost exclusively on the target function; by contrast, children in the other conditions explored broadly. In Experiment 2, we show that children restrict their exploration both after direct instruction to themselves and after overhearing direct instruction given to another child; they do not show this constraint after observing direct instruction given to an adult or after observing a non-pedagogical intentional action. We discuss these findings as the result of rational inductive biases. In pedagogical contexts, a teacher's failure to provide evidence for additional functions provides evidence for their absence; such contexts generalize from child to child (because children are likely to have comparable states of knowledge) but not from adult to child. Thus, pedagogy promotes efficient learning but at a cost: children are less likely to perform potentially irrelevant actions but also less likely to discover novel information. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Integrative Taxonomy and Species Delimitation in Harvestmen: A Revision of the Western North American Genus Sclerobunus (Opiliones: Laniatores: Travunioidea)

PubMed Central

Derkarabetian, Shahan; Hedin, Marshal

2014-01-01

Alpha taxonomy, and specifically the delimitation of species, is becoming increasingly objective and integrative. The use of coalescent-based methods applied to genetic data is providing new tools for the discovery and delimitation of species. Here, we use an integrative approach via a combination of discovery-based multivariate morphological analyses to detect potential new species. These potential species are then used as a priori species in hypothesis-driven validation analyses with genetic data. This research focuses on the harvestmen genus Sclerobunus found throughout the mountainous regions of western North America. Based on our analyses, we conduct a revision of Sclerobunus resulting in synonymy of Cyptobunus with Sclerobunus including transfer of S. cavicolens comb. nov. and elevation of both subspecies of S. ungulatus: S. ungulatus comb. nov. and S. madhousensis comb. nov., stat. nov. The three subspecies of S. robustus are elevated, S. robustus, S. glorietus stat. nov., and S. idahoensis stat. nov. Additionally, five new species of Sclerobunus are described from New Mexico and Colorado, including S. jemez sp. nov., S. klomax sp. nov., S. skywalkeri sp. nov., S. speoventus sp. nov., and S. steinmanni sp. nov. Several of the newly described species are single-cave endemics, and our findings suggest that further exploration of western North American cave habitats will likely yield additional new species. PMID:25144370

Use of Winemaking Supplements To Modify the Composition and Sensory Properties of Shiraz Wine.

PubMed

Li, Sijing; Bindon, Keren; Bastian, Susan E P; Jiranek, Vladimir; Wilkinson, Kerry L

2017-02-22

Wine quality can be significantly affected by tannin and polysaccharide composition, which can in turn be influenced by grape maturity and winemaking practices. This study explored the impact of three commercial wine additives, a maceration enzyme, an enotannin, and a mannoprotein, on the composition and sensory properties of red wine, in particular, in mimicking the mouthfeel associated with wines made from riper grapes. Shiraz grapes were harvested at 24 and 28 °Brix and the former vinified with commercial additives introduced either individually or in combination. Compositional analyses of finished wines included tannin and polysaccharide concentration, composition and size distribution by high-performance liquid chromatography, whereas the sensory profiles of wines were assessed by descriptive analysis. As expected, wines made from riper grapes were naturally higher in tannin and mannoprotein than wines made from grapes harvested earlier. Enzyme addition resulted in a significantly higher concentration and average molecular mass of wine tannin, which increased wine astringency. Conversely, mannoprotein addition reduced tannin concentration and astringency. Addition of enotannin did not meaningfully influence wine composition or sensory properties.

Meta-analyses of animal studies: an introduction of a valuable instrument to further improve healthcare.

PubMed

Hooijmans, Carlijn R; IntHout, Joanna; Ritskes-Hoitinga, Merel; Rovers, Maroeska M

2014-01-01

In research aimed at improving human health care, animal studies still play a crucial role, despite political and scientific efforts to reduce preclinical experimentation in laboratory animals. In animal studies, the results and their interpretation are not always straightforward, as no single study is executed perfectly in all steps. There are several possible sources of bias, and many animal studies are replicates of studies conducted previously. Use of meta-analysis to combine the results of studies may lead to more reliable conclusions and a reduction of unnecessary duplication of animal studies. In addition, due to the more exploratory nature of animal studies as compared to clinical trials, meta-analyses of animal studies have greater potential in exploring possible sources of heterogeneity. There is an abundance of literature on how to perform meta-analyses on clinical data. Animal studies, however, differ from clinical studies in some aspects, such as the diversity of animal species studied, experimental design, and study characteristics. In this paper, we will discuss the main principles and practices for meta-analyses of experimental animal studies. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

A unified model exploring parenting practices as mediators of marital conflict and children's adjustment.

PubMed

Coln, Kristen L; Jordan, Sara S; Mercer, Sterett H

2013-06-01

We examined positive and negative parenting practices and psychological control as mediators of the relations between constructive and destructive marital conflict and children's internalizing and externalizing problems in a unified model. Married mothers of 121 children between the ages of 6 and 12 completed questionnaires measuring marital conflict, parenting practices, and child adjustment. Analyses revealed significant direct paths from destructive marital conflict to negative parenting practices, psychological control, and both children's internalizing and externalizing behavior. In addition, psychological control was found to partially mediate relations between destructive marital conflict and children's internalizing and externalizing behavior.

Results of the 2012 AORN salary and compensation survey.

PubMed

Bacon, Donald R

2012-12-01

AORN conducted its 10th annual compensation survey for perioperative nurses in June 2012. A multiple regression model was used to examine how a number of variables, including job title, education level, certification, experience, and geographic region, affect nurse compensation. Comparisons between the 2012 data and previous years' data are presented. The effects of other forms of compensation, such as on-call compensation, overtime, bonuses, and shift differentials on base compensation rates, also are examined. Additional analyses explore the effect of the current economic downturn on the perioperative work environment. Copyright © 2012 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Results of the 2016 AORN Salary and Compensation Survey.

PubMed

Bacon, Donald R; Stewart, Kim A

2016-12-01

AORN conducted its 14th annual compensation survey for perioperative nurses in June 2016. A multiple regression model was used to examine how several variables, including job title, education level, certification, experience, and geographic region, affect nurse compensation. Comparisons between the 2016 data and data from previous years are presented. The effects of other forms of compensation (eg, on-call compensation, overtime, bonuses, shift differentials, benefits) on base compensation rates also are examined. Additional analyses explore the effect of the economic downturn on the perioperative work environment. Copyright © 2016 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Results of the 2013 AORN Salary and Compensation Survey.

PubMed

Bacon, Donald R; Stewart, Kim A

2013-12-01

AORN conducted its 11th annual compensation survey for perioperative nurses in June 2013. A multiple regression model was used to examine how a number of variables, including job title, education level, certification, experience, and geographic region affect nurse compensation. Comparisons among the 2013 data and previous years' data are presented. The effects of other forms of compensation, such as on-call compensation, overtime, bonuses, and shift differentials on base compensation rates are also examined. Additional analyses explore the effect of the current economic downturn on the perioperative work environment. Copyright © 2013 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Results of the 2017 AORN Salary and Compensation Survey.

PubMed

Bacon, Donald R; Stewart, Kim A

2017-12-01

AORN conducted its 15th annual compensation survey for perioperative nurses in June 2017. A multiple regression model was used to examine how several variables, including job title, educational level, certification, experience, and geographic region, affect nurse compensation. Comparisons between the 2017 data and data from previous years are presented. The effects of other forms of compensation (eg, on-call compensation, overtime, bonuses, shift differentials, benefits) on base compensation rates are examined. Additional analyses explore the current state of the nursing shortage and the sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Copyright © 2017 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Results of the 2010 AORN Salary and Compensation Survey.

PubMed

Bacon, Donald

2010-12-01

AORN conducted its eighth annual compensation survey for perioperative nurses in June and July 2010. A multiple regression model was used to examine how a number of variables, including job title, education level, certification, experience, and geographic region, affect nurse compensation. Comparisons between the 2010 data and data from previous years are presented. The effects of other forms of compensation, such as on-call compensation, overtime, bonuses, and shift differentials, on base compensation rates are also examined. Additional analyses explore the effect of the current economic downturn on the perioperative work environment. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploratory Network Meta Regression Analysis of Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation Fails to Identify Any Interactions with Treatment Effect.

PubMed

Batson, Sarah; Sutton, Alex; Abrams, Keith

2016-01-01

Patients with atrial fibrillation are at a greater risk of stroke and therefore the main goal for treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation is to prevent stroke from occurring. There are a number of different stroke prevention treatments available to include warfarin and novel oral anticoagulants. Previous network meta-analyses of novel oral anticoagulants for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation acknowledge the limitation of heterogeneity across the included trials but have not explored the impact of potentially important treatment modifying covariates. To explore potentially important treatment modifying covariates using network meta-regression analyses for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. We performed a network meta-analysis for the outcome of ischaemic stroke and conducted an exploratory regression analysis considering potentially important treatment modifying covariates. These covariates included the proportion of patients with a previous stroke, proportion of males, mean age, the duration of study follow-up and the patients underlying risk of ischaemic stroke. None of the covariates explored impacted relative treatment effects relative to placebo. Notably, the exploration of 'study follow-up' as a covariate supported the assumption that difference in trial durations is unimportant in this indication despite the variation across trials in the network. This study is limited by the quantity of data available. Further investigation is warranted, and, as justifying further trials may be difficult, it would be desirable to obtain individual patient level data (IPD) to facilitate an effort to relate treatment effects to IPD covariates in order to investigate heterogeneity. Observational data could also be examined to establish if there are potential trends elsewhere. The approach and methods presented have potentially wide applications within any indication as to highlight the potential benefit of extending decision problems to include additional comparators outside of those of primary interest to allow for the exploration of heterogeneity.

Alaska Geothermal Sites Map and Database: Bringing together legacy and new geothermal data for research, exploration and development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clough, J. G.; Harun, N. T.; Hughes, C. A.; Weakland, J. R.; Cameron, C. E.

2013-12-01

Geothermal exploration activities in Alaska from the late 1970s into the 1980s generated vast quantities of scientific data that currently is in unpublished, forgotten and obscure, as well as published formats. Alaska has 61 hot springs (hotter than 50°C) and 34 'warm to cool springs' (cooler than 50°C). Thirty-seven thermal springs are located within the Aleutian and Alaska Peninsula volcanic arc into and are related to elevated heat flows in areas of arc volcanism as well as crustal scale faults associated with accretionary tectonism. The central interior belt that extends from the Seward Peninsula to Circle Hot Springs contains 37 thermal springs that formed due to mostly extensional tectonic forces. An additional 17 thermal springs are in southeast Alaska and 4 are in the Wrangell Mountains. A new cycle of geothermal exploration is underway in Alaska and is producing a wealth of new geothermal data. The Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (ADGGS), funded by the National Geothermal Data System, is compiling both new and legacy geothermal data into a comprehensive database accessible on the ADGGS website. ADGGS has created a new ';Geothermal Sites of Alaska Map' and associated database that includes data on geothermal hot springs, direct use of geothermal resources, volcanic vents, aqueous geochemistry, borehole temperatures, core descriptions, rock chemistry, earthquakes in proximity to hot springs, and active faults. Geothermal hot springs includes locality, temperature, flow rate, sources and related resources. Direct use of geothermal resources contains facilities, capacity, energy use, temperature, flow rate and contact information from geothermal hot springs that are or have recently been used for recreational use, space heating, agricultural or energy use. Volcanic vents records 395 volcanic vents and fumaroles throughout the state that are Holocene or younger. It includes their age, location, elevation, geologic history, composition, and information source. Aqueous geochemistry, a compilation of aqueous chemistry, free gas and isotopes analyses. Aqueous geochemical analyses consist of 407 aqueous geochemical analyses from 85 geothermal sites throughout Alaska. This template also includes 106 free gas analyses from 31 geothermal sites. Isotopic analyses (285) of waters from 42 geothermal sites are also contained in this geochemical data. Borehole temperature data from geothermal, and oil and gas wells are presented along with thermal depth profiles where available. Earthquakes in proximity to hot springs consists of 1,975 earthquakes that are within 5 km of thermal hot springs and may be used to detect underground movement of thermal waters. Active faults comprises active faults across Alaska (1,527) including fault type, location, orientation and slip rate. Additionally, a new comprehensive and searchable Alaska geothermal bibliography, with links to downloadable reference sources was created during this study. The completed Alaska geothermal sites map and database will be accessible to the public and industry and will enable research and development of geothermal sites in Alaska.

From Visual Exploration to Storytelling and Back Again.

PubMed

Gratzl, S; Lex, A; Gehlenborg, N; Cosgrove, N; Streit, M

2016-06-01

The primary goal of visual data exploration tools is to enable the discovery of new insights. To justify and reproduce insights, the discovery process needs to be documented and communicated. A common approach to documenting and presenting findings is to capture visualizations as images or videos. Images, however, are insufficient for telling the story of a visual discovery, as they lack full provenance information and context. Videos are difficult to produce and edit, particularly due to the non-linear nature of the exploratory process. Most importantly, however, neither approach provides the opportunity to return to any point in the exploration in order to review the state of the visualization in detail or to conduct additional analyses. In this paper we present CLUE (Capture, Label, Understand, Explain), a model that tightly integrates data exploration and presentation of discoveries. Based on provenance data captured during the exploration process, users can extract key steps, add annotations, and author "Vistories", visual stories based on the history of the exploration. These Vistories can be shared for others to view, but also to retrace and extend the original analysis. We discuss how the CLUE approach can be integrated into visualization tools and provide a prototype implementation. Finally, we demonstrate the general applicability of the model in two usage scenarios: a Gapminder-inspired visualization to explore public health data and an example from molecular biology that illustrates how Vistories could be used in scientific journals. (see Figure 1 for visual abstract).

From Visual Exploration to Storytelling and Back Again

PubMed Central

Gratzl, S.; Lex, A.; Gehlenborg, N.; Cosgrove, N.; Streit, M.

2016-01-01

The primary goal of visual data exploration tools is to enable the discovery of new insights. To justify and reproduce insights, the discovery process needs to be documented and communicated. A common approach to documenting and presenting findings is to capture visualizations as images or videos. Images, however, are insufficient for telling the story of a visual discovery, as they lack full provenance information and context. Videos are difficult to produce and edit, particularly due to the non-linear nature of the exploratory process. Most importantly, however, neither approach provides the opportunity to return to any point in the exploration in order to review the state of the visualization in detail or to conduct additional analyses. In this paper we present CLUE (Capture, Label, Understand, Explain), a model that tightly integrates data exploration and presentation of discoveries. Based on provenance data captured during the exploration process, users can extract key steps, add annotations, and author “Vistories”, visual stories based on the history of the exploration. These Vistories can be shared for others to view, but also to retrace and extend the original analysis. We discuss how the CLUE approach can be integrated into visualization tools and provide a prototype implementation. Finally, we demonstrate the general applicability of the model in two usage scenarios: a Gapminder-inspired visualization to explore public health data and an example from molecular biology that illustrates how Vistories could be used in scientific journals. (see Figure 1 for visual abstract) PMID:27942091

Mobile text messaging for health: a systematic review of reviews.

PubMed

Hall, Amanda K; Cole-Lewis, Heather; Bernhardt, Jay M

2015-03-18

The aim of this systematic review of reviews is to identify mobile text-messaging interventions designed for health improvement and behavior change and to derive recommendations for practice. We have compiled and reviewed existing systematic research reviews and meta-analyses to organize and summarize the text-messaging intervention evidence base, identify best-practice recommendations based on findings from multiple reviews, and explore implications for future research. Our review found that the majority of published text-messaging interventions were effective when addressing diabetes self-management, weight loss, physical activity, smoking cessation, and medication adherence for antiretroviral therapy. However, we found limited evidence across the population of studies and reviews to inform recommended intervention characteristics. Although strong evidence supports the value of integrating text-messaging interventions into public health practice, additional research is needed to establish longer-term intervention effects, identify recommended intervention characteristics, and explore issues of cost-effectiveness.

Assessing God locus of control as a factor in college students' alcohol use and sexual behavior.

PubMed

Moore, Erin W

2014-01-01

This study explored God locus of control beliefs (i.e., God's control over behavior) regarding their influence on alcohol use and sexual behavior as an alternative religiosity measure to religious behaviors, which does not capture perceived influence of religiosity. Additionally, demographic differences in religious beliefs were explored. College students aged 18-24 (N = 324) completed a survey between April 2012 and March 2013. Principal components and multivariate analyses were conducted. Findings suggest that measures provide reliable, valid data from college students. God locus of control is linked to not consuming alcohol or engaging in sex. There were differences regarding relationship status and religious denomination. God locus of control beliefs are an appropriate construct for collecting data about college students' religiosity. Furthermore, health educators at faith-based institutions could incorporate this construct into their programming, encouraging abstinence but also behaving responsibly for those who do drink and are sexually experienced.

Mobile Text Messaging for Health: A Systematic Review of Reviews

PubMed Central

Hall, Amanda K.; Cole-Lewis, Heather; Bernhardt, Jay M.

2015-01-01

The aim of this systematic review of reviews is to identify mobile text-messaging interventions designed for health improvement and behavior change and to derive recommendations for practice. We have compiled and reviewed existing systematic research reviews and meta-analyses to organize and summarize the text-messaging intervention evidence base, identify best-practice recommendations based on findings from multiple reviews, and explore implications for future research. Our review found that the majority of published text-messaging interventions were effective when addressing diabetes self-management, weight loss, physical activity, smoking cessation, and medication adherence for antiretroviral therapy. However, we found limited evidence across the population of studies and reviews to inform recommended intervention characteristics. Although strong evidence supports the value of integrating text-messaging interventions into public health practice, additional research is needed to establish longer-term intervention effects, identify recommended intervention characteristics, and explore issues of cost-effectiveness. PMID:25785892

Biology and Industrial Applications of Chlorella: Advances and Prospects.

PubMed

Liu, Jin; Chen, Feng

2016-01-01

Chlorella represents a group of eukaryotic green microalgae that has been receiving increasing scientific and commercial interest. It possesses high photosynthetic ability and is capable of growing robustly under mixotrophic and heterotrophic conditions as well. Chlorella has long been considered as a source of protein and is now industrially produced for human food and animal feed. Chlorella is also rich in oil, an ideal feedstock for biofuels. The exploration of biofuel production by Chlorella is underway. Chlorella has the ability to fix carbon dioxide efficiently and to remove nutrients of nitrogen and phosphorous, making it a good candidate for greenhouse gas biomitigation and wastewater bioremediation. In addition, Chlorella shows potential as an alternative expression host for recombinant protein production, though challenges remain to be addressed. Currently, omics analyses of certain Chlorella strains are being performed, which will help to unravel the biological implications of Chlorella and facilitate the future exploration of industrial applications.

A Spatial Dashboard for Alzheimer's Disease in New South Wales.

PubMed

Robertson, Hamish; Nicholas, Nick; Dhagat, Amit; Travaglia, Joanne

2017-01-01

This paper illustrates a proof of concept scenario for the application of comprehensive data visualisation methods in the rapidly changing aged care sector. The scenario we explored is population ageing and the dementias with an emphasis on the spatial effects of change over time at the Statistical Area 2 (SA2) level for the state of New South Wales. We did this using a combination of methods, culminating in the use of the Tableau software environment to explore the intersections of demography, epidemiology and their formal cost of care implications. In addition, we briefly illustrate how key infrastructure data can be included in the same data management context by showing how service providers can be integrated and mapped in conjunction with other analyses. This is an innovative and practical approach to some of the complex issues already faced in the health and aged care sectors which can only become more pronounced as population ageing progresses.

Two Meta-Analyses Exploring the Relationship between Teacher Clarity and Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Titsworth, Scott; Mazer, Joseph P.; Goodboy, Alan K.; Bolkan, San; Myers, Scott A.

2015-01-01

This article reports the findings of two meta-analyses that explored the relationship between teacher clarity and student learning. Combined, the results suggest that teacher clarity has a larger effect for student affective learning than for cognitive learning. However, neither the effects for cognitive learning nor affective learning were…

Public culture and public understanding of genetics: a focus group study.

PubMed

Bates, Benjamin R

2005-01-01

As the role of genetic science in everyday life has grown, policymakers have become concerned about Americans' understandings of this science. Much effort has been devoted to formal schooling, but less attention has been paid to the role of public culture in shaping public understanding of genetics. Research into public cultural messages about genetics has claimed that the public is likely to adopt problematic accounts, but few studies have explored the public's articulation of these messages. This study is based on 25 focus groups convened to explore the lay public's understanding of genetics. The study found that the public processed a greater variety of messages than assumed by previous researchers, including documentaries, non-science-fiction films, and popular television in addition to previous researchers' focus on science fiction and news media. The study also found that the public does not process the messages through the linear, transmission model assumed by previous research. The public processes messages about genetics complexly and critically. On the basis of these findings, the study suggests that researchers should include a greater variety of texts about genetics in their research and attend more fully to audience processing in addition to content analyses of these texts.

Extraction of Molecular Features through Exome to Transcriptome Alignment

PubMed Central

Mudvari, Prakriti; Kowsari, Kamran; Cole, Charles; Mazumder, Raja; Horvath, Anelia

2014-01-01

Integrative Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) DNA and RNA analyses have very recently become feasible, and the published to date studies have discovered critical disease implicated pathways, and diagnostic and therapeutic targets. A growing number of exomes, genomes and transcriptomes from the same individual are quickly accumulating, providing unique venues for mechanistic and regulatory features analysis, and, at the same time, requiring new exploration strategies. In this study, we have integrated variation and expression information of four NGS datasets from the same individual: normal and tumor breast exomes and transcriptomes. Focusing on SNPcentered variant allelic prevalence, we illustrate analytical algorithms that can be applied to extract or validate potential regulatory elements, such as expression or growth advantage, imprinting, loss of heterozygosity (LOH), somatic changes, and RNA editing. In addition, we point to some critical elements that might bias the output and recommend alternative measures to maximize the confidence of findings. The need for such strategies is especially recognized within the growing appreciation of the concept of systems biology: integrative exploration of genome and transcriptome features reveal mechanistic and regulatory insights that reach far beyond linear addition of the individual datasets. PMID:24791251

A Children's Oncology Group and TARGET Initiative Exploring the Genetic Landscape of Wilms Tumor

PubMed Central

Gadd, Samantha; Huff, Vicki; Walz, Amy L.; Ooms, Ariadne H.A.G.; Armstrong, Amy E.; Gerhard, Daniela S.; Smith, Malcolm A.; Guidry Auvil, Jaime M.; Meerzaman, Daoud; Chen, Qing-Rong; Hsu, Chih Hao; Yan, Chunhua; Nguyen, Cu; Hu, Ying; Hermida, Leandro C.; Davidsen, Tanja; Gesuwan, Patee; Ma, Yussanne; Zong, Zusheng; Mungall, Andrew J.; Moore, Richard A.; Marra, Marco A.; Dome, Jeffrey S.; Mullighan, Charles G.; Ma, Jing; Wheeler, David A.; Hampton, Oliver A.; Ross, Nicole; Gastier-Foster, Julie M.; Arold, Stefan T.; Perlman, Elizabeth J.

2017-01-01

Genome-wide sequencing, mRNA and miRNA expression, DNA copy number and methylation analyses were performed on 117 Wilms tumors, followed by targeted sequencing of 651 Wilms tumors. In addition to genes previously implicated in Wilms tumors (WT1, CTNNB1, FAM123B, DROSHA, DGCR8, XPO5, DICER1, SIX1, SIX2, MLLT1, MYCN, and TP53), mutations were identified in genes not previously recognized as recurrently involved in Wilms tumors, the most frequent being BCOR, BCORL1, NONO, MAX, COL6A3, ASXL1, MAP3K4, and ARID1A. DNA copy number changes resulted in recurrent 1q gain, MYCN amplification, LIN28B gain, and let-7a loss. Unexpected germline variants involved PALB2 and CHEK2. Integrated analyses support two major classes of genetic changes that preserve the progenitor state and/or interrupt normal development. PMID:28825729

Paid family leave's effect on hospital admissions for pediatric abusive head trauma.

PubMed

Klevens, Joanne; Luo, Feijun; Xu, Likang; Peterson, Cora; Latzman, Natasha E

2016-12-01

Paediatric abusive head trauma (AHT) is a leading cause of fatal child maltreatment among young children. Current prevention efforts have not been consistently effective. Policies such as paid parental leave could potentially prevent AHT, given its impacts on risk factors for child maltreatment. To explore associations between California's 2004 paid family leave (PFL) policy and hospital admissions for AHT, we used difference-in-difference analyses of 1995-2011 US state-level data before and after the policy in California and seven comparison states. Compared with seven states with no PFL policies, California's 2004 PFL showed a significant decrease in AHT admissions in both <1 and <2-year-olds. Analyses using additional data years and comparators could yield different results. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The past, present and future of microbiome analyses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

White, Richard Allen; Callister, Stephen J.; Moore, Ronald J.

Microbes evolved on Earth approximately 3.5 billion years ago and eventually occupied every habitable environment in its biosphere. While microorganisms are responsible for key functions on Earth including carbon and nutrient cycling and determining the health and disease of its inhabitants (i.e. plants and animals), >99% of the estimated trillions of microbes have yet to be discovered.1 In addition, high microbial diversity has made it difficult to study specific functions carried out by complex microbial communities within "microbiomes", such as those inhabiting the soil and human gut.2,3 Fortunately, technological advances over the last few decades have greatly facilitated studies ofmore » complex microbiomes and their functions. Here we will specifically discuss advances related to nucleic acid sequencing and mass spectrometry analyses that have enabled exploration and understanding of complex microbiomes in a range of environments and our own bodies.4,5,6,7« less

On and Off the Mat: Yoga Experiences of Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

PubMed

Wertman, Annette; Wister, Andrew V; Mitchell, Barbara A

2016-06-01

This article explores potential differences in yoga practice between middle-and older-aged adults. A health belief - life course model frames this research, and a mixed-methods analytic strategy is employed to examine life course pathways into yoga and motivations to practice, as well as perceived barriers and health benefits. For the quantitative analyses, a convenience sample of 452 participants was collected using an online questionnaire. For the qualitative analyses, face-to-face interviews were conducted with a sub-set of 20 participants. Unique differences between the age groups (both current age and age when started yoga) as well as by gender were found for selected pathways, reasons/motivations, and barriers to engage in yoga as well as for perceived health benefits. In addition, results underscore the importance of informational cues and social linkages that affect how individuals adopt and experience yoga. Implications for health promotion programs that target older adults are discussed.

Multilevel modeling: overview and applications to research in counseling psychology.

PubMed

Kahn, Jeffrey H

2011-04-01

Multilevel modeling (MLM) is rapidly becoming the standard method of analyzing nested data, for example, data from students within multiple schools, data on multiple clients seen by a smaller number of therapists, and even longitudinal data. Although MLM analyses are likely to increase in frequency in counseling psychology research, many readers of counseling psychology journals have had only limited exposure to MLM concepts. This paper provides an overview of MLM that blends mathematical concepts with examples drawn from counseling psychology. This tutorial is intended to be a first step in learning about MLM; readers are referred to other sources for more advanced explorations of MLM. In addition to being a tutorial for understanding and perhaps even conducting MLM analyses, this paper reviews recent research in counseling psychology that has adopted a multilevel framework, and it provides ideas for MLM approaches to future research in counseling psychology. 2011 APA, all rights reserved

Condomless Sex Among Homeless Youth: The Role of Multidimensional Social Norms and Gender.

PubMed

Barman-Adhikari, Anamika; Hsu, Hsun-Ta; Begun, Stephanie; Portillo, Andrea Perez; Rice, Eric

2017-03-01

Most studies of condomless sex among homeless youth have focused on peer norms, while excluding other potentially pertinent influences. This study explored how different types of relationships contributed to norms about condomless sex and whether such norms were associated with engagement in condomless sex among homeless youth. Additionally, because recent work has noted gender differences in social networks of male and female homeless youth, gender differences in social network norms of condomless sex were also assessed. Egocentric network data were collected from homeless youth accessing services at two drop-in centers in Los Angeles, CA (N = 976). Multivariate analyses (non-stratified and stratified by gender) assessed associations between descriptive, injunctive, and communicative norms and participants' engagement in condomless sex. Multivariate analyses indicated that perception of peer condom use and communication with sexual partners were significantly associated with not engaging in condomless sex. These relationships, however, varied by gender. Implications for interventions are discussed.

Precise Chemical Analyses of Planetary Surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kring, David; Schweitzer, Jeffrey; Meyer, Charles; Trombka, Jacob; Freund, Friedemann; Economou, Thanasis; Yen, Albert; Kim, Soon Sam; Treiman, Allan H.; Blake, David;

Gender Comparison of Young People Charged With Murder in England and Wales.

PubMed

Gerard, F Jeane; Browne, Kevin D; Whitfield, Kate C

2017-03-01

This study investigated gender differences regarding young people charged with murder in England and Wales. A sample of 318 cases was collected from the Home Office's Homicide Index and analysed. Of these cases, 93% of the offenders were male and 7% female. The analyses explored gender differences in terms of the offender's race, offender's age, victim's age, victim's gender, weapon used, offender-victim relationship, and circumstances of the offence. The study found that a female offender was significantly more likely to murder a family member than a male offender, and a male offender was significantly more likely to murder a stranger than a female offender. In addition, a female offender was significantly more likely to murder a victim below the age of 5 than a male offender. Implications for interventions with young people who are charged with murder are discussed.

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of individual participant data: the PRISMA-IPD Statement.

PubMed

Stewart, Lesley A; Clarke, Mike; Rovers, Maroeska; Riley, Richard D; Simmonds, Mark; Stewart, Gavin; Tierney, Jayne F

2015-04-28

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of individual participant data (IPD) aim to collect, check, and reanalyze individual-level data from all studies addressing a particular research question and are therefore considered a gold standard approach to evidence synthesis. They are likely to be used with increasing frequency as current initiatives to share clinical trial data gain momentum and may be particularly important in reviewing controversial therapeutic areas. To develop PRISMA-IPD as a stand-alone extension to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) Statement, tailored to the specific requirements of reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of IPD. Although developed primarily for reviews of randomized trials, many items will apply in other contexts, including reviews of diagnosis and prognosis. Development of PRISMA-IPD followed the EQUATOR Network framework guidance and used the existing standard PRISMA Statement as a starting point to draft additional relevant material. A web-based survey informed discussion at an international workshop that included researchers, clinicians, methodologists experienced in conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of IPD, and journal editors. The statement was drafted and iterative refinements were made by the project, advisory, and development groups. The PRISMA-IPD Development Group reached agreement on the PRISMA-IPD checklist and flow diagram by consensus. Compared with standard PRISMA, the PRISMA-IPD checklist includes 3 new items that address (1) methods of checking the integrity of the IPD (such as pattern of randomization, data consistency, baseline imbalance, and missing data), (2) reporting any important issues that emerge, and (3) exploring variation (such as whether certain types of individual benefit more from the intervention than others). A further additional item was created by reorganization of standard PRISMA items relating to interpreting results. Wording was modified in 23 items to reflect the IPD approach. PRISMA-IPD provides guidelines for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of IPD.

Response to a Mindful Self-Compassion Intervention in Teens: A Within-person Association of Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Emotional Well-Being Outcomes

PubMed Central

Bluth, Karen; Eisenlohr-Moul, Tory A.

2017-01-01

As adolescence can be a stressful developmental stage, the purpose of this study was to determine if a novel mindful self-compassion program would decrease stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety and increase resilience, gratitude, and curiosity/exploration (positive risk-taking), and to ascertain if mindfulness and self-compassion co-varied with these outcomes over time. Forty-seven adolescents in the southeast U.S. enrolled in an 8-week mindful self-compassion course in five cohorts. Measures were assessed at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 6-week follow-up. Multilevel growth analyses revealed main effects of time on perceived stress, resilience, curiosity/exploration and gratitude. Additionally, both mindfulness and self-compassion co-varied with perceived stress and depressive symptoms; mindfulness also co-varied with anxiety and self-compassion co-varied with resilience and curiosity/exploration. Implications of these findings are that this program has potential in decreasing stress and increasing resilience and positive risk-taking. Future studies with a control group need to be conducted to confirm these findings. PMID:28414965

Gigwa-Genotype investigator for genome-wide analyses.

PubMed

Sempéré, Guilhem; Philippe, Florian; Dereeper, Alexis; Ruiz, Manuel; Sarah, Gautier; Larmande, Pierre

2016-06-06

Exploring the structure of genomes and analyzing their evolution is essential to understanding the ecological adaptation of organisms. However, with the large amounts of data being produced by next-generation sequencing, computational challenges arise in terms of storage, search, sharing, analysis and visualization. This is particularly true with regards to studies of genomic variation, which are currently lacking scalable and user-friendly data exploration solutions. Here we present Gigwa, a web-based tool that provides an easy and intuitive way to explore large amounts of genotyping data by filtering it not only on the basis of variant features, including functional annotations, but also on genotype patterns. The data storage relies on MongoDB, which offers good scalability properties. Gigwa can handle multiple databases and may be deployed in either single- or multi-user mode. In addition, it provides a wide range of popular export formats. The Gigwa application is suitable for managing large amounts of genomic variation data. Its user-friendly web interface makes such processing widely accessible. It can either be simply deployed on a workstation or be used to provide a shared data portal for a given community of researchers.

Assessment of organochlorine pesticides residues in higher plants from oil exploration areas of Niger Delta, Nigeria.

PubMed

Sojinu, O Samuel; Sonibare, Oluwadayo O; Ekundayo, Olusegun O; Zeng, Eddy Y

2012-09-01

The concentrations and distributions of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in some higher plant samples collected from oil exploration areas of the Niger Delta, Nigeria were examined. The concentrations of Σ(25)OCP ranged from 82 to 424, 44 to 200 , 34 to 358, 33 to 106 and 16 to 75 ng/g in Olomoro, Oginni, Uzere, Irri and Calabar plants, respectively. The compositional profiles of the analysed OCPs in most of the plants showed no fresh inputs in the area. The OCPs detected in the samples could have resulted from pesticide usage for intense farming activities cum the use of pesticides to control household pests and insects in the area. Drilling fluids and corrosion inhibitors used in petroleum explorations also have chlorinated compounds as additives thereby serving as potential sources of OCPs. Among the studied plants, elephant grass showed high bioaccumulation and phytoremediation potentials of OCPs. The ΣHCH concentrations exceeded the allowable daily intake limit thereby serving as potential threat to humans. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles: Drivers and Impacts of Adoption.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Levinson, Rebecca Sobel; West, Todd H.; Manley, Dawn K.

We present scenario and parametric analyses of the US light duty vehicle (LDV) stock, sim- ulating the evolution of the stock in order to assess the potential role and impacts of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The analysis probes the competition of FCEVs with other LDVs and the effects of FCEV adoption on LDV fuel use and emissions. We parameterize commodity and technology prices in order to explore the sensitivities of FCEV sales and emissions to oil, natural gas, battery technology, fuel cell technology, and hydrogen produc- tion prices. We additionally explore the effects of vehicle purchasing incentives for FCEVs,more » identifying potential impacts and tipping points. Our analyses lead to the following conclu- sions: (1) In the business as usual scenario, FCEVs comprise 7% of all new LDV sales by 2050. (2) FCEV adoption will not substantially impact green house gas emissions without either policy intervention, significant increases in natural gas prices, or technology improve- ments that motivate low carbon hydrogen production. (3) FCEV technology cost reductions have a much greater potential for impact on FCEV sales than hydrogen fuel cost reductions. (4) FCEV purchasing incentives must be both substantial and sustained in order to motivate lasting changes to FCEV adoption.« less

Nurses' Internet self-efficacy and attitudes toward web-based continuing learning.

PubMed

Liang, Jyh-Chong; Wu, Szu-Hsien; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2011-11-01

There are increasing opportunities for nurses to engage in continuing learning via the Internet; hence, it is important to explore nurses' attitudes toward web-based continuing learning. This paper explores 267 Taiwanese clinical nurses' attitudes toward web-based continuing learning. In addition, the role of the nurses' Internet self-efficacy in their attitudes is investigated. This study utilizes two questionnaires to respectively survey the nurses' Internet self-efficacy and their attitudes toward web-based continuing learning. In particular, the Internet Self-efficacy Survey includes two scales: 'Basic self-efficacy' (the perceived confidence of using basic Internet functions, such as the confidence in using a web browser or searching for online information) and 'Advanced self-efficacy' (the perceived confidence of using advanced Internet functions, such as the confidence in online discussion or making online payments). Exploratory factor analyses indicated adequate reliability and validity of the two questionnaires. The regression analyses revealed that both nurses' basic and advanced Internet self-efficacy can positively explain the perceived usefulness, ease of use and friendly feeling when using web-based continuing learning environments, whereas nurses' advanced Internet self-efficacy was the only predictor to explain how they intend to use web-based continuing learning environments more. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[EATING HABITS, EXCESS WEIGHT AND WEIGHT SELF-PERCEPTION AT SCHOOL].

PubMed

Hernández Camacho, Juan Diego; Rodríguez Lazo, Maria; Bolaños Ríos, Patricia; Ruiz Prieto, Inmaculata; Jáuregui-Lobera, Ignacio

2015-09-01

in the last years the rates of overweight and obesity in adolescents have been increasing simultaneously with a progressive abandon of the Mediterranean dietary patterns. In addition many adolescents misperceive their weight. to analyse the prevalence of overweight/ obesity, to assess the self-perception of weight and to explore the eating habits in a child and adolescent sample. The relationship among these variables and the influence on the psychosocial wellbeing are also analysed. a total of 87 secondary school students participated in this project. Weight and height were obtained, the self-perceived weight was assessed and a series of questionnaires were applied in order to explore the participants´ wellbeing. 28.73% of the sample had overweight and 9.19% obesity, 27.48% of the students misperceived their weight and only a quarter of the sample had a proper Mediterranean dietary pattern. The frequency of weight control was related positively with a higher weight perception. many participants underestimated their weight and a possible association between overweight/obesity and skipping breakfast was observed. A progressive increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescents is confirmed and the need to implement nutrition education programs after analyzing the eating habits is proposed. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Effect of hypoeutectic boron additions on the grain size and mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V manufactured with powder bed electron beam additive manufacturing

DOE PAGES

Mahbooba, Zaynab; West, Harvey; Harrysson, Ola; ...

2016-12-02

In additive manufacturing, microstructural control is feasible via processing parameter alteration. However, the window for parameter variation for certain materials, such as Ti-6Al-4V, is limited, and alternative methods must be employed to customize microstructures. Grain refinement and homogenization in cast titanium alloys has been demonstrated through the addition of hypoeutectic concentrations of boron. This work explores the influence of 0.00 wt.%, 0.25 wt.%, 0.50 wt.%, and 1.0 wt.% boron additions on the microstructure and bulk mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V samples fabricated in an Arcam A2 electron beam melting (EBM) system with commercial processing parameters for Ti-6Al-4V. Analyses of EBM fabricatedmore » Ti-6Al-4V + B indicate that the addition of 0.25–1.0 wt.% boron progressively refines the grain structure, and it improves hardness and elastic modulus. Furthermore, despite a reduction in size, the β grain structure remained columnar as a result of directional heat transfer during EBM fabrication.« less

The effects of workplace psychosocial factors on whether Japanese dual-earner couples with preschool children have additional children: a prospective study.

PubMed

Eguchi, Hisashi; Shimazu, Akihito; Fujiwara, Takeo; Iwata, Noboru; Shimada, Kyoko; Takahashi, Masaya; Tokita, Masahito; Watai, Izumi; Kawakami, Norito

2016-12-07

This study explored the effect of workplace psychosocial factors (job demand, job control, and workplace social support) on dual-earner couples in Japan having additional children, using a prospective study design. We conducted a 2-year prospective cohort study with 103 dual-earner couples with preschool children in Japan, as part of the Tokyo Work-Family Interface Study II. We used multivariable logistic regression analyses to evaluate the prospective association of job strain (categorized into low-strain job, active job, passive job, and strain job groups) and workplace social support (high and low) with couples having additional children during the follow-up period, adjusting for age, for men and women separately. Men in the active job group (i.e., with high job demands and high job control) had a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) of having additional children during the follow-up period, after controlling for age (OR 9.07, 95% confidence interval: 1.27-64.85). No significant association between any workplace psychosocial factor and having additional children was confirmed among women. Having an active job may have a positive influence on having additional children among men in dual-earner couples.

Effect of hypoeutectic boron additions on the grain size and mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V manufactured with powder bed electron beam additive manufacturing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mahbooba, Zaynab; West, Harvey; Harrysson, Ola

In additive manufacturing, microstructural control is feasible via processing parameter alteration. However, the window for parameter variation for certain materials, such as Ti-6Al-4V, is limited, and alternative methods must be employed to customize microstructures. Grain refinement and homogenization in cast titanium alloys has been demonstrated through the addition of hypoeutectic concentrations of boron. This work explores the influence of 0.00 wt.%, 0.25 wt.%, 0.50 wt.%, and 1.0 wt.% boron additions on the microstructure and bulk mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V samples fabricated in an Arcam A2 electron beam melting (EBM) system with commercial processing parameters for Ti-6Al-4V. Analyses of EBM fabricatedmore » Ti-6Al-4V + B indicate that the addition of 0.25–1.0 wt.% boron progressively refines the grain structure, and it improves hardness and elastic modulus. Furthermore, despite a reduction in size, the β grain structure remained columnar as a result of directional heat transfer during EBM fabrication.« less

Bioinformatics for spermatogenesis: annotation of male reproduction based on proteomics

PubMed Central

Zhou, Tao; Zhou, Zuo-Min; Guo, Xue-Jiang

2013-01-01

Proteomics strategies have been widely used in the field of male reproduction, both in basic and clinical research. Bioinformatics methods are indispensable in proteomics-based studies and are used for data presentation, database construction and functional annotation. In the present review, we focus on the functional annotation of gene lists obtained through qualitative or quantitative methods, summarizing the common and male reproduction specialized proteomics databases. We introduce several integrated tools used to find the hidden biological significance from the data obtained. We further describe in detail the information on male reproduction derived from Gene Ontology analyses, pathway analyses and biomedical analyses. We provide an overview of bioinformatics annotations in spermatogenesis, from gene function to biological function and from biological function to clinical application. On the basis of recently published proteomics studies and associated data, we show that bioinformatics methods help us to discover drug targets for sperm motility and to scan for cancer-testis genes. In addition, we summarize the online resources relevant to male reproduction research for the exploration of the regulation of spermatogenesis. PMID:23852026

Synergistic and Antagonistic Effects of Thermal Shock, Air Exposure, and Fishing Capture on the Physiological Stress of Squilla mantis (Stomatopoda)

PubMed Central

Raicevich, Saša; Minute, Fabrizio; Finoia, Maria Grazia; Caranfa, Francesca; Di Muro, Paolo; Scapolan, Lucia; Beltramini, Mariano

2014-01-01

This study is aimed at assessing the effects of multiple stressors (thermal shock, fishing capture, and exposure to air) on the benthic stomatopod Squilla mantis, a burrowing crustacean quite widespread in the Mediterranean Sea. Laboratory analyses were carried out to explore the physiological impairment onset over time, based on emersion and thermal shocks, on farmed individuals. Parallel field-based studies were carried out to also investigate the role of fishing (i.e., otter trawling) in inducing physiological imbalance in different seasonal conditions. The dynamics of physiological recovery from physiological disruption were also studied. Physiological stress was assessed by analysing hemolymph metabolites (L-Lactate, D-glucose, ammonia, and H+), as well as glycogen concentration in muscle tissues. The experiments were carried out according to a factorial scheme considering the three factors (thermal shock, fishing capture, and exposure to air) at two fixed levels in order to explore possible synergistic, additive, or antagonistic effects among factors. Additive effects on physiological parameters were mainly detected when the three factors interacted together while synergistic effects were found as effect of the combination of two factors. This finding highlights that the physiological adaptive and maladaptive processes induced by the stressors result in a dynamic response that may encounter physiological limits when high stress levels are sustained. Thus, a further increase in the physiological parameters due to synergies cannot be reached. Moreover, when critical limits are encountered, mortality occurs and physiological parameters reflect the response of the last survivors. In the light of our mortality studies, thermal shock and exposure to air have the main effect on the survival of S. mantis only on trawled individuals, while lab-farmed individuals did not show any mortality during exposure to air until after 2 hours. PMID:25133593

Treemap Visualizations for Space Situational Awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ianni, J.; Gorrell, Z.

Making sense of massive data sets is a problem for many military domains including space. With unwieldy big data sets used for space situational awareness (SSA), important trends and outliers may not be easy to spot especially not at-a-glance. One method being explored to visualize SSA data sets is called treemapping. Treemaps fill screen space with nested rectangles (tiles) of various sizes and colors to represent multiple dimensions of hierarchical data sets. By mapping these dimensions effectively with a tiling algorithm that maintains an appropriate aspect ratio, patterns can emerge that often would have gone unnoticed. The ability to interactively perform range filtering (in our case with sliders) and object drill-downs (hyperlinking the tiles) make this technology powerful for in-depth analyses in addition to at-a-glance awareness. For one SSA analysis, the tiles could represent satellites that are grouped by country, sized by apogee, and colored/shaded by the launch date. Filter sliders could allow apogee range or launch dates to be narrowed for better resolution of a smaller data set. The application of this technology for the Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) Mission System (JMS) is being explored on a DARPA Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) effort as a plug-in to the existing User-Defined Operational Picture (UDOP). In addition, visualization of DARPA OrbitOutlook small telescope data will be demonstrated. This research will investigate what SSA analyses are best served by treemaps, the best tiling algorithms for these problems, and how the treemaps should be integrated into the existing JMS UDOP workflow. Finally, we introduce a variation of treemaps that help leaders allocate their time to tasks based on importance and urgency.

Mars Exploration Rovers as Virtual Instruments for Determination of Terrain Roughness and Physical Properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arvidson, R. E.; Lindemann, R.; Matijevic, J.; Richter, L.; Sullivan, R.; Haldemann, A.; Anderson, R.; Snider, N.

2003-01-01

The two 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs), in combination with the Athena Payload, will be used as virtual instrument systems to infer terrain properties during traverses, in addition to using the rover wheels to excavate trenches, exposing subsurface materials for remote and in-situ observations. The MERs are being modeled using finite element-based rover system transfer functions that utilize the distribution of masses associated with the vehicle, together with suspension and wheel dynamics, to infer surface roughness and mechanical properties from traverse time series data containing vehicle yaw, pitch, roll, encoder counts, and motor currents. These analyses will be supplemented with imaging and other Athena Payload measurements. The approach is being validated using Sojourner data, the FIDO rover, and experiments with MER testbed vehicles. In addition to conducting traverse science and associated analyses, trenches will be excavated by the MERs to depths of approximately 10-20 cm by locking all but one of the front wheels and rotating that wheel backwards so that the excavated material is piled up on the side of the trench away from the vehicle. Soil cohesion and angle of internal friction will be determined from the trench telemetry data. Emission spectroscopy and in-situ observations will be made using the Athena payload before and after imaging. Trenching and observational protocols have been developed using Sojourner results; data from the FIDO rover, including trenches dug into sand, mud cracks, and weakly indurated bedrock; and experiments with MER testbed rovers. Particular attention will be focused on Mini-TES measurements designed to determine the abundance and state of subsurface water (e.g. hydrated, in zeolites, residual pore ice?) predicted to be present from Odyssey GRS/NS/HEND data.

Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) for Pan-Genomic Evolutionary Studies of Non-Model Organisms

PubMed Central

James, Karen E.; Schneider, Harald; Ansell, Stephen W.; Evers, Margaret; Robba, Lavinia; Uszynski, Grzegorz; Pedersen, Niklas; Newton, Angela E.; Russell, Stephen J.; Vogel, Johannes C.; Kilian, Andrzej

2008-01-01

Background High-throughput tools for pan-genomic study, especially the DNA microarray platform, have sparked a remarkable increase in data production and enabled a shift in the scale at which biological investigation is possible. The use of microarrays to examine evolutionary relationships and processes, however, is predominantly restricted to model or near-model organisms. Methodology/Principal Findings This study explores the utility of Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) in evolutionary studies of non-model organisms. DArT is a hybridization-based genotyping method that uses microarray technology to identify and type DNA polymorphism. Theoretically applicable to any organism (even one for which no prior genetic data are available), DArT has not yet been explored in exclusively wild sample sets, nor extensively examined in a phylogenetic framework. DArT recovered 1349 markers of largely low copy-number loci in two lineages of seed-free land plants: the diploid fern Asplenium viride and the haploid moss Garovaglia elegans. Direct sequencing of 148 of these DArT markers identified 30 putative loci including four routinely sequenced for evolutionary studies in plants. Phylogenetic analyses of DArT genotypes reveal phylogeographic and substrate specificity patterns in A. viride, a lack of phylogeographic pattern in Australian G. elegans, and additive variation in hybrid or mixed samples. Conclusions/Significance These results enable methodological recommendations including procedures for detecting and analysing DArT markers tailored specifically to evolutionary investigations and practical factors informing the decision to use DArT, and raise evolutionary hypotheses concerning substrate specificity and biogeographic patterns. Thus DArT is a demonstrably valuable addition to the set of existing molecular approaches used to infer biological phenomena such as adaptive radiations, population dynamics, hybridization, introgression, ecological differentiation and phylogeography. PMID:18301759

Utilising "Low Tech" Analytical Frameworks to Analyse Dyslexic Caribbean Students' Classroom Narratives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackman, Stacey

2007-01-01

The cognitions of Caribbean students with dyslexia are explored as part of an embedded multiple case study approach to teaching and learning at two secondary schools on the island of Barbados. This exploration employed "low tech" approaches to analyse what pupils had said in interviews using a Miles and Huberman (1994) framework.…

Refining cost-effectiveness analyses using the net benefit approach and econometric methods: an example from a trial of anti-depressant treatment.

PubMed

Sabes-Figuera, Ramon; McCrone, Paul; Kendricks, Antony

2013-04-01

Economic evaluation analyses can be enhanced by employing regression methods, allowing for the identification of important sub-groups and to adjust for imperfect randomisation in clinical trials or to analyse non-randomised data. To explore the benefits of combining regression techniques and the standard Bayesian approach to refine cost-effectiveness analyses using data from randomised clinical trials. Data from a randomised trial of anti-depressant treatment were analysed and a regression model was used to explore the factors that have an impact on the net benefit (NB) statistic with the aim of using these findings to adjust the cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. Exploratory sub-samples' analyses were carried out to explore possible differences in cost-effectiveness. Results The analysis found that having suffered a previous similar depression is strongly correlated with a lower NB, independent of the outcome measure or follow-up point. In patients with previous similar depression, adding an selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) to supportive care for mild-to-moderate depression is probably cost-effective at the level used by the English National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to make recommendations. This analysis highlights the need for incorporation of econometric methods into cost-effectiveness analyses using the NB approach.

Subgroup analyses in confirmatory clinical trials: time to be specific about their purposes.

PubMed

Tanniou, Julien; van der Tweel, Ingeborg; Teerenstra, Steven; Roes, Kit C B

2016-02-18

It is well recognized that treatment effects may not be homogeneous across the study population. Subgroup analyses constitute a fundamental step in the assessment of evidence from confirmatory (Phase III) clinical trials, where conclusions for the overall study population might not hold. Subgroup analyses can have different and distinct purposes, requiring specific design and analysis solutions. It is relevant to evaluate methodological developments in subgroup analyses against these purposes to guide health care professionals and regulators as well as to identify gaps in current methodology. We defined four purposes for subgroup analyses: (1) Investigate the consistency of treatment effects across subgroups of clinical importance, (2) Explore the treatment effect across different subgroups within an overall non-significant trial, (3) Evaluate safety profiles limited to one or a few subgroup(s), (4) Establish efficacy in the targeted subgroup when included in a confirmatory testing strategy of a single trial. We reviewed the methodology in line with this "purpose-based" framework. The review covered papers published between January 2005 and April 2015 and aimed to classify them in none, one or more of the aforementioned purposes. In total 1857 potentially eligible papers were identified. Forty-eight papers were selected and 20 additional relevant papers were identified from their references, leading to 68 papers in total. Nineteen were dedicated to purpose 1, 16 to purpose 4, one to purpose 2 and none to purpose 3. Seven papers were dedicated to more than one purpose, the 25 remaining could not be classified unambiguously. Purposes of the methods were often not specifically indicated, methods for subgroup analysis for safety purposes were almost absent and a multitude of diverse methods were developed for purpose (1). It is important that researchers developing methodology for subgroup analysis explicitly clarify the objectives of their methods in terms that can be understood from a patient's, health care provider's and/or regulator's perspective. A clear operational definition for consistency of treatment effects across subgroups is lacking, but is needed to improve the usability of subgroup analyses in this setting. Finally, methods to particularly explore benefit-risk systematically across subgroups need more research.

SOCR data dashboard: an integrated big data archive mashing medicare, labor, census and econometric information.

PubMed

Husain, Syed S; Kalinin, Alexandr; Truong, Anh; Dinov, Ivo D

Intuitive formulation of informative and computationally-efficient queries on big and complex datasets present a number of challenges. As data collection is increasingly streamlined and ubiquitous, data exploration, discovery and analytics get considerably harder. Exploratory querying of heterogeneous and multi-source information is both difficult and necessary to advance our knowledge about the world around us. We developed a mechanism to integrate dispersed multi-source data and service the mashed information via human and machine interfaces in a secure, scalable manner. This process facilitates the exploration of subtle associations between variables, population strata, or clusters of data elements, which may be opaque to standard independent inspection of the individual sources. This a new platform includes a device agnostic tool (Dashboard webapp, http://socr.umich.edu/HTML5/Dashboard/) for graphical querying, navigating and exploring the multivariate associations in complex heterogeneous datasets. The paper illustrates this core functionality and serviceoriented infrastructure using healthcare data (e.g., US data from the 2010 Census, Demographic and Economic surveys, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Center for Medicare Services) as well as Parkinson's Disease neuroimaging data. Both the back-end data archive and the front-end dashboard interfaces are continuously expanded to include additional data elements and new ways to customize the human and machine interactions. A client-side data import utility allows for easy and intuitive integration of user-supplied datasets. This completely open-science framework may be used for exploratory analytics, confirmatory analyses, meta-analyses, and education and training purposes in a wide variety of fields.

Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Opportunities in Power Electronics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Das, Sujit; Marlino, Laura D.; Armstrong, Kristina O.

The report objective is to explore the Wide Bandgap (WBG) Power Electronics (PE) market, applications, and potential energy savings in order to identify key areas where further resources and investments of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE EERE) would have the most impact on U.S. competiveness. After considering the current market, several potential near-term application areas were identified as having significant market and energy savings potential with respect to clean energy applications: (1) data centers (uninterruptible power supplies and server power supplies); (2) renewable energy generation (photovoltaic-solar and wind); (3) motor drives (industrial,more » commercial and residential); (4) rail traction; and, (5) hybrid and electric vehicles (traction and charging). After the initial explorative analyses, it became clear that, SiC, not GaN, would be the principal WBG power device material for the chosen markets in the near future. Therefore, while GaN is discussed when appropriate, this report focuses on SiC devices, other WBG applications (e.g., solid-state transformers, combined heat and power, medical, and wireless power), the GaN market, and GaN specific applications (e.g., LiDAR, 5G) will be explored at a later date. In addition to the market, supply and value chain analyses addressed in Section 1 of this report, a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis and potential energy savings analysis was conducted for each application area to identify the major potential WBG application area(s) with a U.S. competitiveness opportunity in the future.« less

What motivates the consumer's food choice?

PubMed

Jáuregui-Lobera, I; Bolaños Ríos, P

2011-01-01

The aim of the study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) in Spanish population (FCQ-SP), its factor structure and internal consistency. In addition, the relationships between the FCQ-SP and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the Irrational Food Beliefs Scale (IFBS), and the Eating Disorders Inventory-3 (EDI-3) were analysed in order to explore the validity of the FCQSP. Possible gender differences in the food choice pattern were analysed. The sample comprised 255 women and 50 men, ranged from 25 to 64 years. In order to get a better interpretation of the results associated with changes based on the age, the participants were grouped in four age intervals (25-34, 35-44, 45-54, and 55-64). All the participants were relatives of secondary and high school students in three schools of Seville and Cordoba. The factor analysis yields the seven following factors: mood, health and natural content, sensory appeal, weight control, convenience, familiarity, and price. The internal consistency was determined by means of the Cronbach's α coefficients, which ranged from 0.70 to 0.83 for the different components. With regards to the food choice profile, sensory appeal was the most motivating factor to choose food, followed by price and weight control. With respect to gender differences, women showed higher scores than men in all components except in the case of price. The FCQ-SP has adequate psychometric properties to be applied to Spanish population, and it is useful to explore the consumers' motivation with regards to food choice.

ETE: a python Environment for Tree Exploration.

PubMed

Huerta-Cepas, Jaime; Dopazo, Joaquín; Gabaldón, Toni

2010-01-13

Many bioinformatics analyses, ranging from gene clustering to phylogenetics, produce hierarchical trees as their main result. These are used to represent the relationships among different biological entities, thus facilitating their analysis and interpretation. A number of standalone programs are available that focus on tree visualization or that perform specific analyses on them. However, such applications are rarely suitable for large-scale surveys, in which a higher level of automation is required. Currently, many genome-wide analyses rely on tree-like data representation and hence there is a growing need for scalable tools to handle tree structures at large scale. Here we present the Environment for Tree Exploration (ETE), a python programming toolkit that assists in the automated manipulation, analysis and visualization of hierarchical trees. ETE libraries provide a broad set of tree handling options as well as specific methods to analyze phylogenetic and clustering trees. Among other features, ETE allows for the independent analysis of tree partitions, has support for the extended newick format, provides an integrated node annotation system and permits to link trees to external data such as multiple sequence alignments or numerical arrays. In addition, ETE implements a number of built-in analytical tools, including phylogeny-based orthology prediction and cluster validation techniques. Finally, ETE's programmable tree drawing engine can be used to automate the graphical rendering of trees with customized node-specific visualizations. ETE provides a complete set of methods to manipulate tree data structures that extends current functionality in other bioinformatic toolkits of a more general purpose. ETE is free software and can be downloaded from http://ete.cgenomics.org.

ETE: a python Environment for Tree Exploration

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Many bioinformatics analyses, ranging from gene clustering to phylogenetics, produce hierarchical trees as their main result. These are used to represent the relationships among different biological entities, thus facilitating their analysis and interpretation. A number of standalone programs are available that focus on tree visualization or that perform specific analyses on them. However, such applications are rarely suitable for large-scale surveys, in which a higher level of automation is required. Currently, many genome-wide analyses rely on tree-like data representation and hence there is a growing need for scalable tools to handle tree structures at large scale. Results Here we present the Environment for Tree Exploration (ETE), a python programming toolkit that assists in the automated manipulation, analysis and visualization of hierarchical trees. ETE libraries provide a broad set of tree handling options as well as specific methods to analyze phylogenetic and clustering trees. Among other features, ETE allows for the independent analysis of tree partitions, has support for the extended newick format, provides an integrated node annotation system and permits to link trees to external data such as multiple sequence alignments or numerical arrays. In addition, ETE implements a number of built-in analytical tools, including phylogeny-based orthology prediction and cluster validation techniques. Finally, ETE's programmable tree drawing engine can be used to automate the graphical rendering of trees with customized node-specific visualizations. Conclusions ETE provides a complete set of methods to manipulate tree data structures that extends current functionality in other bioinformatic toolkits of a more general purpose. ETE is free software and can be downloaded from http://ete.cgenomics.org. PMID:20070885

Selectivity in the Addition Reactions of Organometallic Reagents to Aziridine-2-carboxaldehydes: The Effects of Protecting Groups and Substitution Patterns

PubMed Central

Kulshrestha, Aman; Schomaker, Jennifer M.; Holmes, Daniel; Staples, Richard J.; Jackson, James E.; Borhan, Babak

2014-01-01

Good to excellent stereo-selectivity has been found in the addition reactions of Grignard and organo-zinc reagents to N-protected aziridine-2-carboxaldehydes. Specifically, high syn selectivity was obtained with benzyl-protected cis, tert-butyloxycar-bonyl-protected trans, and tosyl-pro-tected 2,3-disubstituted aziridine-2-car-boxaldehydes. Furthermore, rate and selectivity effects of ring substituents, temperature, solvent, and Lewis acid and base modifiers were studied. The diastereomeric preference of addition is dominated by the substrate aziri-dines’ substitution pattern and especially the electronic character and conformational preferences of the nitrogen protecting groups. To help rationalize the observed stereochemical outcomes, conformational and electronic structural analyses of a series of model systems representing the various substitution patterns have been explored by density functional calculations at the B3LYP/6–31G* level of theory with the SM8 solvation model to account for solvent effects. PMID:21928447

Relations of Anxiety Sensitivity, Control Beliefs, and Maternal Over-Control to Fears in Clinic-Referred Children with Specific Phobia

PubMed Central

Kane, Elisabeth J; Braunstein, Kara; Ollendick, Thomas H.; Muris, Peter

2014-01-01

The relations of fear to anxiety sensitivity, control beliefs, and maternal overprotection were examined in 126 7- to 13-year-old clinically referred children with specific phobias. Results indicated that anxiety sensitivity and control beliefs were significant predictors of children’s fear levels, accounting for approximately 48% of the total variance. Unexpectedly, age, gender, and maternal overprotection did not emerge as significant predictors of fear in the overall sample. In subsequent analyses, anxiety sensitivity was found to be a consistent, significant predictor for both girls and boys, for both younger and older children, and for children with and without an additional anxiety disorder diagnosis. Control beliefs were only a significant predictor for girls, younger children, and children with an additional anxiety diagnosis. Maternal overprotection was not a significant predictor for any group. Children with an additional anxiety disorder diagnosis had higher levels of fear, anxiety sensitivity, and maternal overprotection, as well as lower levels of control beliefs than the non-additional anxiety disorder subgroup. Future directions and clinical implications are explored. PMID:26273182

Relations of Anxiety Sensitivity, Control Beliefs, and Maternal Over-Control to Fears in Clinic-Referred Children with Specific Phobia.

PubMed

Kane, Elisabeth J; Braunstein, Kara; Ollendick, Thomas H; Muris, Peter

2015-07-01

The relations of fear to anxiety sensitivity, control beliefs, and maternal overprotection were examined in 126 7- to 13-year-old clinically referred children with specific phobias. Results indicated that anxiety sensitivity and control beliefs were significant predictors of children's fear levels, accounting for approximately 48% of the total variance. Unexpectedly, age, gender, and maternal overprotection did not emerge as significant predictors of fear in the overall sample. In subsequent analyses, anxiety sensitivity was found to be a consistent, significant predictor for both girls and boys, for both younger and older children, and for children with and without an additional anxiety disorder diagnosis. Control beliefs were only a significant predictor for girls, younger children, and children with an additional anxiety diagnosis. Maternal overprotection was not a significant predictor for any group. Children with an additional anxiety disorder diagnosis had higher levels of fear, anxiety sensitivity, and maternal overprotection, as well as lower levels of control beliefs than the non-additional anxiety disorder subgroup. Future directions and clinical implications are explored.

Design and Parametric Sizing of Deep Space Habitats Supporting NASA'S Human Space Flight Architecture Team

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toups, Larry; Simon, Matthew; Smitherman, David; Spexarth, Gary

2012-01-01

NASA's Human Space Flight Architecture Team (HAT) is a multi-disciplinary, cross-agency study team that conducts strategic analysis of integrated development approaches for human and robotic space exploration architectures. During each analysis cycle, HAT iterates and refines the definition of design reference missions (DRMs), which inform the definition of a set of integrated capabilities required to explore multiple destinations. An important capability identified in this capability-driven approach is habitation, which is necessary for crewmembers to live and work effectively during long duration transits to and operations at exploration destinations beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This capability is captured by an element referred to as the Deep Space Habitat (DSH), which provides all equipment and resources for the functions required to support crew safety, health, and work including: life support, food preparation, waste management, sleep quarters, and housekeeping.The purpose of this paper is to describe the design of the DSH capable of supporting crew during exploration missions. First, the paper describes the functionality required in a DSH to support the HAT defined exploration missions, the parameters affecting its design, and the assumptions used in the sizing of the habitat. Then, the process used for arriving at parametric sizing estimates to support additional HAT analyses is detailed. Finally, results from the HAT Cycle C DSH sizing are presented followed by a brief description of the remaining design trades and technological advancements necessary to enable the exploration habitation capability.

Exploration review

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilburn, D.R.; Vasil, R.L.; Nolting, A.

2011-01-01

This summary of international mineral exploration activities for the year 2010 draws upon available information from industry sources, published literature and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) specialists. The summary provides data on exploration budgets by region and mineral commodity, identifies significant mineral discoveries and areas of mineral exploration, discusses government programs affecting the mineral exploration industry and presents analyses of exploration activities performed by the mineral industry.

The process of processing: exploring the validity of Neisser's perceptual cycle model with accounts from critical decision-making in the cockpit.

PubMed

Plant, Katherine L; Stanton, Neville A

2015-01-01

The perceptual cycle model (PCM) has been widely applied in ergonomics research in domains including road, rail and aviation. The PCM assumes that information processing occurs in a cyclical manner drawing on top-down and bottom-up influences to produce perceptual exploration and actions. However, the validity of the model has not been addressed. This paper explores the construct validity of the PCM in the context of aeronautical decision-making. The critical decision method was used to interview 20 helicopter pilots about critical decision-making. The data were qualitatively analysed using an established coding scheme, and composite PCMs for incident phases were constructed. It was found that the PCM provided a mutually exclusive and exhaustive classification of the information-processing cycles for dealing with critical incidents. However, a counter-cycle was also discovered which has been attributed to skill-based behaviour, characteristic of experts. The practical applications and future research questions are discussed. Practitioner Summary: This paper explores whether information processing, when dealing with critical incidents, occurs in the manner anticipated by the perceptual cycle model. In addition to the traditional processing cycle, a reciprocal counter-cycle was found. This research can be utilised by those who use the model as an accident analysis framework.

Gender differences in body consciousness and substance use among high-risk adolescents.

PubMed

Black, David Scott; Sussman, Steve; Unger, Jennifer; Pokhrel, Pallav; Sun, Ping

2010-08-01

This study explores the association between private and public body consciousness and past 30-day cigarette, alcohol, marijuana, and hard drug use among adolescents. Self-reported data from alterative high school students in California were analyzed (N = 976) using multilevel regression models to account for student clustering within schools. Separate regression analyses were conducted for males and females. Both cross-sectional baseline data and one-year longitudinal prediction models indicated that body consciousness is associated with specific drug use categories differentially by gender. Findings suggest that body consciousness accounts for additional variance in substance use etiology not explained by previously recognized dispositional variables.

Geologic Mapping of the Meridiani Region of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DiAchille, G.; Hynek, B. M.

2009-01-01

The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity observed an upper layer of a more than 600-m-thick sequence of light toned outcrops that characterize the Meridiani region of Mars. Results from the rover analyses have shown that the bedrock contains mineral and textural characteristics that require at least the interaction of, and possibly an overall formation by, water-related mechanisms in order to be explained [1]. Additionally, remote sensing studies of the region have suggested that the rocks sampled in places by the MER rover consist of many distinct layers extending over an area of more than 3 10(exp 5) sq km spanning 20deg of longitude [2].

Results of the 2014 AORN Salary and Compensation Survey.

PubMed

Bacon, Donald R; Stewart, Kim A

2014-12-01

AORN conducted its 12th annual compensation survey for perioperative nurses in June and July 2014. A multiple regression model was used to examine how a number of variables, including job title, education level, certification, experience, and geographic region, affect nurse compensation. Comparisons between the data from 2014 and data from previous years are presented. The effects of other forms of compensation (eg, on-call compensation, overtime, bonuses, shift differentials) on base compensation rates also are examined. Additional analyses explore the effect of the economic downturn on the perioperative work environment. Copyright © 2014 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Results of the 2015 AORN Salary and Compensation Survey.

PubMed

Bacon, Donald R; Stewart, Kim A

2015-12-01

AORN conducted its 13th annual compensation survey for perioperative nurses in June and July 2015. A multiple regression model was used to examine how a number of variables, including job title, education level, certification, experience, and geographic region, affect nurse compensation. Comparisons between the 2015 data and data from previous years are presented. The effects of other forms of compensation (eg, on-call compensation, overtime, bonuses, shift differentials, benefits) on base compensation rates also are examined. Additional analyses explore the effect of the economic downturn on the perioperative work environment. Copyright © 2015 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Results of the 2011 AORN Salary and Compensation Survey.

PubMed

Bacon, Donald

2011-12-01

AORN conducted its ninth annual compensation survey for perioperative nurses in June and July 2011. A multiple regression model was used to examine how a number of variables, including job title, education level, certification, experience, and geographic region, affect nurse compensation. Comparisons between the 2011 data and data from previous years are presented. The effects of other forms of compensation, such as on-call compensation, overtime, bonuses, and shift differentials, on base compensation rates also are examined. Additional analyses explore the effect of the current economic downturn on the perioperative work environment. Copyright © 2011 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Of mice and men: Traces of life in the death registries of the 1630 plague in Milano.

PubMed

D'Amato, Alfonsina; Zilberstein, Gleb; Zilberstein, Svetlana; Compagnoni, Benedetto Luigi; Righetti, Pier Giorgio

2018-05-30

The death registries of the plague epidemic of 1630, stored at the Archivio di Stato of Milano, have been interrogated via the EVA film technology (ethyl vinyl acetate film studded with crushed strong anion and cation exchangers as well as C 8 resins). The EVA diskettes have been left in contact with the lower right margins of 11 different pages pertaining to the peak months of the raging disease (June through end of September) for 60-90min and then the captured material, after elution and digestion, analysed by mass spectrometry. The main findings: 17 Yersiniaceae family proteins, 31 different human keratins, 22 unique mouse keratins, about 400 peptides from different bacterial strains, 58 human tissue proteins and 130 additional mouse and rat tissue proteins. In addition, >60 plant proteins (notably potato, corn, rice, carrot and chickpeas), likely representing the meagre meals of the scribes, contaminating the pages, were detected. The significance of these unique findings is amply illustrated in the body of the article. Archivists, historians, librarians usually explore the texts of ancient and modern manuscript in order to extract the meaning of the writing and understand the mood, feelings, political, philosophical and/or religious ideas therein expressed by the authors. With the present EVA methodology (the only one, at present, able to access our Cultural Heritage without damaging or contaminating it) we interrogate, instead, the support, be it paper, parchment, wood panel, cloth, canvas and the like, in order to extract invisible data, such as the presence of drugs, medicaments, infectious pathogens, human and environmental contaminants. Metabolites, proteins and peptides thus captured are then analysed via mass spectrometry. The unique data mined by this technology should considerably enlarge the (so far) restricted horizon of the writing exploration and add new insight on the environmental conditions in which such documents were produced as well as, importantly, on the health/pathological conditions of the authors. It is believed that the present technology, as here reported, will become the officially accepted one for exploring the world Cultural Heritage. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gender consistency and flexibility: using dynamics to understand the relationship between gender and adjustment.

PubMed

DiDonato, Matthew D; Martin, Carol L; Hessler, Eric E; Amazeen, Polemnia G; Hanish, Laura D; Fabes, Richard A

2012-04-01

Controversy surrounds questions regarding the influence of being gender consistent (i.e., having and expressing gendered characteristics that are consistent with one's biological sex) versus being gender flexible (i.e., having and expressing gendered characteristics that vary from masculine to feminine as circumstances arise) on children's adjustment outcomes, such as self-esteem, positive emotion, or behavior problems. Whereas evidence supporting the consistency hypothesis is abundant, little support exists for the flexibility hypothesis. To shed new light on the flexibility hypothesis, we explored children's gendered behavior from a dynamical perspective that highlighted variability and flexibility in addition to employing a conventional approach that emphasized stability and consistency. Conventional mean-level analyses supported the consistency hypothesis by revealing that gender atypical behavior was related to greater maladjustment, and dynamical analyses supported the flexibility hypothesis by showing that flexibility of gendered behavior over time was related to positive adjustment. Integrated analyses showed that gender typical behavior was related to the adjustment of children who were behaviorally inflexible, but not for those who were flexible. These results provided a more comprehensive understanding of the relation between gendered behavior and adjustment in young children and illustrated for the first time the feasibility of applying dynamical analyses to the study of gendered behavior.

Consumer acceptance of fresh blueberries in bio-based packages.

PubMed

Almenar, Eva; Samsudin, Hayati; Auras, Rafael; Harte, Janice

2010-05-01

Instrumental analyses have shown that non-vented bio-based containers made from poly(lactic acid) (PLA) have the capability to enhance blueberry shelf life as compared with commercial vented petroleum-based clamshell containers. However, consumer preference has not been explored so far. In this study, two sensory evaluations, triangle and paired preference tests, were performed after storing fruit in both containers at 3 and 10 degrees C for 7 and 14 days. In addition, physicochemical analyses were performed after each tasting in order to correlate instrumental findings with consumer preference. The results of the triangle test showed the capability of the consumer to differentiate (P < or = 0.001) between blueberries from different packages at both storage temperatures. A consumer preference for flavour, texture, external appearance and overall quality (P < or = 0.001) of blueberries packaged in PLA containers was observed in the paired comparison test. The instrumental analyses showed that blueberries in the PLA packages exhibited a weight loss below the limit for marketable life, a stable soluble solid content and titratable acidity and no fungal growth during storage. Consumers distinguished between blueberries from different packages and preferred those packaged in the PLA containers. The instrumental analyses showed that the usable life of the berries was extended in the PLA containers. A correlation between consumer preference and instrumental evaluations was found.

Measuring the ICF components of impairment, activity limitation and participation restriction: an item analysis using classical test theory and item response theory

PubMed Central

Pollard, Beth; Dixon, Diane; Dieppe, Paul; Johnston, Marie

2009-01-01

Background The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) proposes three main health outcomes, Impairment (I), Activity Limitation (A) and Participation Restriction (P), but good measures of these constructs are needed The aim of this study was to use both Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) methods to carry out an item analysis to improve measurement of these three components in patients having joint replacement surgery mainly for osteoarthritis (OA). Methods A geographical cohort of patients about to undergo lower limb joint replacement was invited to participate. Five hundred and twenty four patients completed ICF items that had been previously identified as measuring only a single ICF construct in patients with osteoarthritis. There were 13 I, 26 A and 20 P items. The SF-36 was used to explore the construct validity of the resultant I, A and P measures. The CTT and IRT analyses were run separately to identify items for inclusion or exclusion in the measurement of each construct. The results from both analyses were compared and contrasted. Results Overall, the item analysis resulted in the removal of 4 I items, 9 A items and 11 P items. CTT and IRT identified the same 14 items for removal, with CTT additionally excluding 3 items, and IRT a further 7 items. In a preliminary exploration of reliability and validity, the new measures appeared acceptable. Conclusion New measures were developed that reflect the ICF components of Impairment, Activity Limitation and Participation Restriction for patients with advanced arthritis. The resulting Aberdeen IAP measures (Ab-IAP) comprising I (Ab-I, 9 items), A (Ab-A, 17 items), and P (Ab-P, 9 items) met the criteria of conventional psychometric (CTT) analyses and the additional criteria (information and discrimination) of IRT. The use of both methods was more informative than the use of only one of these methods. Thus combining CTT and IRT appears to be a valuable tool in the development of measures. PMID:19422677

Exploration of Near-Earth Asteroids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abell, Paul

2013-01-01

A major goal for NASA's human spaceflight program is to send astronauts to near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) in the coming decades. Missions to NEAs would undoubtedly provide a great deal of technical and engineering data on spacecraft operations for future human space exploration while conducting in-depth scientific examinations of these primitive objects. However, prior to sending human explorers to NEAs, robotic investigations of these bodies would be required in order to maximize operational efficiency and reduce mission risk. These precursor missions to NEAs would fill crucial strategic knowledge gaps concerning their physical characteristics that are relevant for human exploration of these relatively unknown destinations. Information obtained from a human investigation of a NEA, together with ground-based observations and prior spacecraft investigations of asteroids and comets, will also provide a real measure of ground truth to data obtained from terrestrial meteorite collections. Major advances in the areas of geochemistry, impact history, thermal history, isotope analyses, mineralogy, space weathering, formation ages, thermal inertias, volatile content, source regions, solar system formation, etc. can be expected from human NEA missions. Samples directly returned from a primitive body would lead to the same kind of breakthroughs for understanding NEAs that the Apollo samples provided for understanding the Earth-Moon system and its formation history. In addition, robotic precursor and human exploration missions to NEAs would allow the NASA and its international partners to gain operational experience in performing complex tasks (e.g., sample collection, deployment of payloads, retrieval of payloads, etc.) with crew, robots, and spacecraft under microgravity conditions at or near the surface of a small body. This would provide an important synergy between the worldwide Science and Exploration communities, which will be crucial for development of future international deep space exploration architectures and has potential benefits for future exploration of other destinations beyond low-Earth orbit.

Radical scavenging behavior of eriodictyol and fustin flavonoid compounds - A DFT study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadasivam, K.; Praveena, R.; Anbakzhakan, K.

2018-05-01

The density functional theory (DFT) protocol together with B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory has been utilized to explore and compare the structural features and molecular characteristics of two naturally occurring flavonoid compounds eriodictyol and fustin. The -OH bond dissociation energy (BDE) for all the radical species have been computed and interpreted in accordance with the radical scavenging activity. The ionization potential (IP) value of fustin flavonoid compound was found to be within the range of synthetic food additives. The polar nature and their capacity to polarise other atoms are established through the dipole moment analysis. Additionally, various parameters that are relevant to chemical potential such as electron affinity, hardness, softness, electro negativity and electrophilic index were calculated and analysed in the light of quercetin flavonoid compound in view of their antioxidant activity. The antioxidant capability of fustin is found to be superior to eriodictyol flavonoid.

Subsurface Sample Acquisition and Transfer Systems (SSATS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafeek, S.; Gorevan, S. P.; Kong, K. Y.

2001-01-01

In the exploration of planets and small bodies, scientists will need the services of a deep drilling and material handling system to not only obtain the samples necessary for analyses but also to precisely transfer and deposit those samples in in-situ instruments on board a landed craft or rover. The technology for such a deep sampling system as the SSATS is currently been developed by Honeybee Robotics through a PIDDP effort. The SSATS has its foundation in a one-meter prototype (SATM) drill that was developed under the New Millenium Program for ST4/Champollion. Additionally the SSATS includes relevant coring technology form a coring drill (Athena Mini-Corer) developed for the Mars Sample Return Mission. These highly developed technologies along with the current PIDDP effort, is combined to produce a sampling system that can acquire and transfer samples from various depths. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Test Analysis Guidelines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeng, Frank F.

2007-01-01

Development of analysis guidelines for Exploration Life Support (ELS) technology tests was completed. The guidelines were developed based on analysis experiences gained from supporting Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) technology development in air revitalization systems and water recovery systems. Analyses are vital during all three phases of the ELS technology test: pre-test, during test and post test. Pre-test analyses of a test system help define hardware components, predict system and component performances, required test duration, sampling frequencies of operation parameters, etc. Analyses conducted during tests could verify the consistency of all the measurements and the performance of the test system. Post test analyses are an essential part of the test task. Results of post test analyses are an important factor in judging whether the technology development is a successful one. In addition, development of a rigorous model for a test system is an important objective of any new technology development. Test data analyses, especially post test data analyses, serve to verify the model. Test analyses have supported development of many ECLSS technologies. Some test analysis tasks in ECLSS technology development are listed in the Appendix. To have effective analysis support for ECLSS technology tests, analysis guidelines would be a useful tool. These test guidelines were developed based on experiences gained through previous analysis support of various ECLSS technology tests. A comment on analysis from an experienced NASA ECLSS manager (1) follows: "Bad analysis was one that bent the test to prove that the analysis was right to begin with. Good analysis was one that directed where the testing should go and also bridged the gap between the reality of the test facility and what was expected on orbit."

Compliance and schizophrenia: the predictive potential of insight into illness, symptoms, and side effects.

PubMed

Kao, Yu-Cheng; Liu, Yia-Ping

2010-01-01

Personal beliefs about medication compliance have been reliably associated with emotional and behavioral response to mental health problems and health outcomes. This notion has been extensively explored in relation to mental illness. In the current study, a questionnaire designed to assess beliefs about medication compliance (the medication adherence rating scale [MARS]) was translated into Taiwanese to explore beliefs about compliance in schizophrenic patients. In this cross-sectional study, 104 patients who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria for schizophrenic disorders were recruited and independently interviewed. We first determined the psychometric properties of the translated MARS, including internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity. In addition, we investigated the relationships between medication compliance and clinical variables through correlation and regression analyses. We found that the translated MARS was a simple and reliable self-reported compliance scale. Furthermore, in this exploratory study, we found that patients with better medication compliance had better insight into mental illness, less severe psychopathologic condition, and less negative subjective response to side effects of antipsychotics. Additional research focusing on these patient outcomes will be of great interest and value in elucidating the role of medication compliance in management of schizophrenic patients. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

FoodMicrobionet: A database for the visualisation and exploration of food bacterial communities based on network analysis.

PubMed

Parente, Eugenio; Cocolin, Luca; De Filippis, Francesca; Zotta, Teresa; Ferrocino, Ilario; O'Sullivan, Orla; Neviani, Erasmo; De Angelis, Maria; Cotter, Paul D; Ercolini, Danilo

2016-02-16

Amplicon targeted high-throughput sequencing has become a popular tool for the culture-independent analysis of microbial communities. Although the data obtained with this approach are portable and the number of sequences available in public databases is increasing, no tool has been developed yet for the analysis and presentation of data obtained in different studies. This work describes an approach for the development of a database for the rapid exploration and analysis of data on food microbial communities. Data from seventeen studies investigating the structure of bacterial communities in dairy, meat, sourdough and fermented vegetable products, obtained by 16S rRNA gene targeted high-throughput sequencing, were collated and analysed using Gephi, a network analysis software. The resulting database, which we named FoodMicrobionet, was used to analyse nodes and network properties and to build an interactive web-based visualisation. The latter allows the visual exploration of the relationships between Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) and samples and the identification of core- and sample-specific bacterial communities. It also provides additional search tools and hyperlinks for the rapid selection of food groups and OTUs and for rapid access to external resources (NCBI taxonomy, digital versions of the original articles). Microbial interaction network analysis was carried out using CoNet on datasets extracted from FoodMicrobionet: the complexity of interaction networks was much lower than that found for other bacterial communities (human microbiome, soil and other environments). This may reflect both a bias in the dataset (which was dominated by fermented foods and starter cultures) and the lower complexity of food bacterial communities. Although some technical challenges exist, and are discussed here, the net result is a valuable tool for the exploration of food bacterial communities by the scientific community and food industry. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Large-scale contamination of microbial isolate genomes by Illumina PhiX control.

PubMed

Mukherjee, Supratim; Huntemann, Marcel; Ivanova, Natalia; Kyrpides, Nikos C; Pati, Amrita

2015-01-01

With the rapid growth and development of sequencing technologies, genomes have become the new go-to for exploring solutions to some of the world's biggest challenges such as searching for alternative energy sources and exploration of genomic dark matter. However, progress in sequencing has been accompanied by its share of errors that can occur during template or library preparation, sequencing, imaging or data analysis. In this study we screened over 18,000 publicly available microbial isolate genome sequences in the Integrated Microbial Genomes database and identified more than 1000 genomes that are contaminated with PhiX, a control frequently used during Illumina sequencing runs. Approximately 10% of these genomes have been published in literature and 129 contaminated genomes were sequenced under the Human Microbiome Project. Raw sequence reads are prone to contamination from various sources and are usually eliminated during downstream quality control steps. Detection of PhiX contaminated genomes indicates a lapse in either the application or effectiveness of proper quality control measures. The presence of PhiX contamination in several publicly available isolate genomes can result in additional errors when such data are used in comparative genomics analyses. Such contamination of public databases have far-reaching consequences in the form of erroneous data interpretation and analyses, and necessitates better measures to proofread raw sequences before releasing them to the broader scientific community.

Biochemical Phenotypes to Discriminate Microbial Subpopulations and Improve Outbreak Detection

PubMed Central

Galar, Alicia; Kulldorff, Martin; Rudnick, Wallis; O'Brien, Thomas F.; Stelling, John

2013-01-01

Background Clinical microbiology laboratories worldwide constitute an invaluable resource for monitoring emerging threats and the spread of antimicrobial resistance. We studied the growing number of biochemical tests routinely performed on clinical isolates to explore their value as epidemiological markers. Methodology/Principal Findings Microbiology laboratory results from January 2009 through December 2011 from a 793-bed hospital stored in WHONET were examined. Variables included patient location, collection date, organism, and 47 biochemical and 17 antimicrobial susceptibility test results reported by Vitek 2. To identify biochemical tests that were particularly valuable (stable with repeat testing, but good variability across the species) or problematic (inconsistent results with repeat testing), three types of variance analyses were performed on isolates of K. pneumonia: descriptive analysis of discordant biochemical results in same-day isolates, an average within-patient variance index, and generalized linear mixed model variance component analysis. Results: 4,200 isolates of K. pneumoniae were identified from 2,485 patients, 32% of whom had multiple isolates. The first two variance analyses highlighted SUCT, TyrA, GlyA, and GGT as “nuisance” biochemicals for which discordant within-patient test results impacted a high proportion of patient results, while dTAG had relatively good within-patient stability with good heterogeneity across the species. Variance component analyses confirmed the relative stability of dTAG, and identified additional biochemicals such as PHOS with a large between patient to within patient variance ratio. A reduced subset of biochemicals improved the robustness of strain definition for carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae. Surveillance analyses suggest that the reduced biochemical profile could improve the timeliness and specificity of outbreak detection algorithms. Conclusions The statistical approaches explored can improve the robust recognition of microbial subpopulations with routinely available biochemical test results, of value in the timely detection of outbreak clones and evolutionarily important genetic events. PMID:24391936

Atmospheric Mining in the Outer Solar System: Aerial Vehicle Mission and Design Issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palaszewski, Bryan

2015-01-01

Atmospheric mining in the outer solar system has been investigated as a means of fuel production for high energy propulsion and power. Fusion fuels such as Helium 3 (3He) and deuterium can be wrested from the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune and either returned to Earth or used in-situ for energy production. Helium 3 and deuterium were the primary gases of interest with hydrogen being the primary propellant for nuclear thermal solid core and gas core rocket-based atmospheric flight. A series of analyses were undertaken to investigate resource capturing aspects of atmospheric mining in the outer solar system. This included the gas capturing rate, storage options, and different methods of direct use of the captured gases. While capturing 3He, large amounts of hydrogen and 4He are produced. With these two additional gases, the potential for fueling small and large fleets of additional exploration and exploitation vehicles exists. The mining aerospacecraft (ASC) could fly through the outer planet atmospheres, for global weather observations, localized storm or other disturbance investigations, wind speed measurements, polar observations, etc. Analyses of orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs), landers, and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) mining factories are included. Preliminary observations are presented on near-optimal selections of moon base orbital locations, OTV power levels, and OTV and lander rendezvous points.

Simulating smoke transport from wildland fires with a regional-scale air quality model: sensitivity to spatiotemporal allocation of fire emissions.

PubMed

Garcia-Menendez, Fernando; Hu, Yongtao; Odman, Mehmet T

2014-09-15

Air quality forecasts generated with chemical transport models can provide valuable information about the potential impacts of fires on pollutant levels. However, significant uncertainties are associated with fire-related emission estimates as well as their distribution on gridded modeling domains. In this study, we explore the sensitivity of fine particulate matter concentrations predicted by a regional-scale air quality model to the spatial and temporal allocation of fire emissions. The assessment was completed by simulating a fire-related smoke episode in which air quality throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area was affected on February 28, 2007. Sensitivity analyses were carried out to evaluate the significance of emission distribution among the model's vertical layers, along the horizontal plane, and into hourly inputs. Predicted PM2.5 concentrations were highly sensitive to emission injection altitude relative to planetary boundary layer height. Simulations were also responsive to the horizontal allocation of fire emissions and their distribution into single or multiple grid cells. Additionally, modeled concentrations were greatly sensitive to the temporal distribution of fire-related emissions. The analyses demonstrate that, in addition to adequate estimates of emitted mass, successfully modeling the impacts of fires on air quality depends on an accurate spatiotemporal allocation of emissions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effects of workplace psychosocial factors on whether Japanese dual-earner couples with preschool children have additional children: a prospective study

PubMed Central

EGUCHI, Hisashi; SHIMAZU, Akihito; FUJIWARA, Takeo; IWATA, Noboru; SHIMADA, Kyoko; TAKAHASHI, Masaya; TOKITA, Masahito; WATAI, Izumi; KAWAKAMI, Norito

2016-01-01

This study explored the effect of workplace psychosocial factors (job demand, job control, and workplace social support) on dual-earner couples in Japan having additional children, using a prospective study design. We conducted a 2-year prospective cohort study with 103 dual-earner couples with preschool children in Japan, as part of the Tokyo Work–Family Interface Study II. We used multivariable logistic regression analyses to evaluate the prospective association of job strain (categorized into low-strain job, active job, passive job, and strain job groups) and workplace social support (high and low) with couples having additional children during the follow-up period, adjusting for age, for men and women separately. Men in the active job group (i.e., with high job demands and high job control) had a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) of having additional children during the follow-up period, after controlling for age (OR 9.07, 95% confidence interval: 1.27–64.85). No significant association between any workplace psychosocial factor and having additional children was confirmed among women. Having an active job may have a positive influence on having additional children among men in dual-earner couples. PMID:27760893

Response to a mindful self-compassion intervention in teens: A within-person association of mindfulness, self-compassion, and emotional well-being outcomes.

PubMed

Bluth, Karen; Eisenlohr-Moul, Tory A

2017-06-01

As adolescence can be a stressful developmental stage, the purpose of this study was to determine if a novel mindful self-compassion program would decrease stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety and increase resilience, gratitude, and curiosity/exploration (positive risk-taking), and to ascertain if mindfulness and self-compassion co-varied with these outcomes over time. Forty-seven adolescents in the southeast U.S. enrolled in an 8-week mindful self-compassion course in five cohorts. Measures were assessed at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 6-week follow-up. Multilevel growth analyses revealed main effects of time on perceived stress, resilience, curiosity/exploration and gratitude. Additionally, both mindfulness and self-compassion co-varied with perceived stress and depressive symptoms; mindfulness also co-varied with anxiety and self-compassion co-varied with resilience and curiosity/exploration. Implications of these findings are that this program has potential in decreasing stress and increasing resilience and positive risk-taking. Future studies with a control group need to be conducted to confirm these findings. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated Modeling and Simulation Verification, Validation, and Accreditation Strategy for Exploration Systems Mission Directorate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hale, Joseph P.

2006-01-01

Models and simulations (M&S) are critical resources in the exploration of space. They support program management, systems engineering, integration, analysis, test, and operations and provide critical information and data supporting key analyses and decisions (technical, cost and schedule). Consequently, there is a clear need to establish a solid understanding of M&S strengths and weaknesses, and the bounds within which they can credibly support decision-making. Their usage requires the implementation of a rigorous approach to verification, validation and accreditation (W&A) and establishment of formal process and practices associated with their application. To ensure decision-making is suitably supported by information (data, models, test beds) from activities (studies, exercises) from M&S applications that are understood and characterized, ESMD is establishing formal, tailored W&A processes and practices. In addition, to ensure the successful application of M&S within ESMD, a formal process for the certification of analysts that use M&S is being implemented. This presentation will highlight NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) management approach for M&S W&A to ensure decision-makers receive timely information on the model's fidelity, credibility, and quality.

The relationship between attendance at birth and maternal mortality rates: an exploration of United Nations' data sets including the ratios of physicians and nurses to population, GNP per capita and female literacy.

PubMed

Robinson, J J; Wharrad, H

2001-05-01

The relationship between attendance at birth and maternal mortality rates: an exploration of United Nations' data sets including the ratios of physicians and nurses to population, GNP per capita and female literacy. This is the third and final paper drawing on data taken from United Nations (UN) data sets. The first paper examined the global distribution of health professionals (as measured by ratios of physicians and nurses to population), and its relationship to gross national product per capita (GNP) (Wharrad & Robinson 1999). The second paper explored the relationships between the global distribution of physicians and nurses, GNP, female literacy and the health outcome indicators of infant and under five mortality rates (IMR and u5MR) (Robinson & Wharrad 2000). In the present paper, the global distribution of health professionals is explored in relation to maternal mortality rates (MMRs). The proportion of births attended by medical and nonmedical staff defined as "attendance at birth by trained personnel" (physicians, nurses, midwives or primary health care workers trained in midwifery skills), is included as an additional independent variable in the regression analyses, together with the ratio of physicians and nurses to population, female literacy and GNP. To extend our earlier analyses by considering the relationships between the global distribution of health professionals (ratios of physicians and nurses to population, and the proportion of births attended by trained health personnel), GNP, female literacy and MMR.

Solar System Exploration Augmented by In-Situ Resource Utilization: Human Planetary Base Issues for Mercury and Saturn

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palaszewski, Bryan A.

2017-01-01

Establishing a lunar presence and creating an industrial capability on the Moon may lead to important new discoveries for all of human kind. Historical studies of lunar exploration, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and industrialization all point to the vast resources on the Moon and its links to future human and robotic exploration. In references 1 through 9, a broad range of technological innovations are described and analyzed. Figures 1 depicts program planning for future human missions throughout the solar system which included lunar launched nuclear rockets, and future human settlements on the Moon. Figures 2 and 3 present the results for human Mercury missions, including LEO departure masses and round trip Mercury lander masses. Using in-situ resources, the missions become less burdensome to the LEO launch infrastructure. In one example using Mercury derived hydrogen, the LEO mass of the human Mercury missions can be reduced from 2,800 MT to 1,140 MT (Ref. 15). Additional analyses of staging options for human Mercury missions will be presented. Figures 4 shows an option for thermal control for long term in-space cryogenic storage and Figure 5 depicts the potentially deleterious elements emanating from Mercury that must be addressed, respectively. Updated analyses based on the visions presented will be presented. While advanced propulsion systems were proposed in these historical studies, further investigation of nuclear options using high power nuclear thermal and nuclear electric propulsion as well as advanced chemical propulsion can significantly enhance these scenarios. Human bases at Mercury may have to be resupplied from resources from regolith and water resources in permanently shadowed craters at its northern pole.

Mothers with breast cancer: A mixed-method systematic review on the impact on the parent-child relationship.

PubMed

Tavares, Rita; Brandão, Tânia; Matos, Paula Mena

2018-02-01

To systematically review and integrate the findings from quantitative and qualitative studies on parenting and parent-child relationships in families where mothers had breast cancer (BC). Ten different databases were searched from inception to January 2016. All authors assessed these data independently. Full-text, peer-reviewed articles exploring parenting and/or mother-child relationships in families where the mother had BC, regardless of cancer stage, were considered for inclusion. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. From 116 studies, 23 were deemed eligible for inclusion. Five of them were quantitative, 15 were qualitative, and 1 study used a mixed-method approach. Most studies analysed the mother's perceptions about the experience of having BC in parenting and in the parent-child relationship. The majority of studies explored experiences and perspectives on the parent-child relationship in mothers with minor children, although a minority of studies included adult children. Additionally, a few studies (17%) addressed perceptions and experiences of women with advanced stage cancer. Three main themes were found: priorities and concerns of patients, decision-making processes about sharing the diagnosis with their children, and mother-child relationship and parenting after mother's diagnosis. Findings indicated that the diagnosis of BC is accompanied by an array of challenges that affect parental roles and parenting. Further studies are needed to explore these issues more sensitively. For now, however, the evidence suggests that the families of women with BC, and particularly the women themselves, may benefit from informal and formal support aimed at helping them cope effectively with this challenging life event. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analyzing and synthesizing phylogenies using tree alignment graphs.

PubMed

Smith, Stephen A; Brown, Joseph W; Hinchliff, Cody E

2013-01-01

Phylogenetic trees are used to analyze and visualize evolution. However, trees can be imperfect datatypes when summarizing multiple trees. This is especially problematic when accommodating for biological phenomena such as horizontal gene transfer, incomplete lineage sorting, and hybridization, as well as topological conflict between datasets. Additionally, researchers may want to combine information from sets of trees that have partially overlapping taxon sets. To address the problem of analyzing sets of trees with conflicting relationships and partially overlapping taxon sets, we introduce methods for aligning, synthesizing and analyzing rooted phylogenetic trees within a graph, called a tree alignment graph (TAG). The TAG can be queried and analyzed to explore uncertainty and conflict. It can also be synthesized to construct trees, presenting an alternative to supertrees approaches. We demonstrate these methods with two empirical datasets. In order to explore uncertainty, we constructed a TAG of the bootstrap trees from the Angiosperm Tree of Life project. Analysis of the resulting graph demonstrates that areas of the dataset that are unresolved in majority-rule consensus tree analyses can be understood in more detail within the context of a graph structure, using measures incorporating node degree and adjacency support. As an exercise in synthesis (i.e., summarization of a TAG constructed from the alignment trees), we also construct a TAG consisting of the taxonomy and source trees from a recent comprehensive bird study. We synthesized this graph into a tree that can be reconstructed in a repeatable fashion and where the underlying source information can be updated. The methods presented here are tractable for large scale analyses and serve as a basis for an alternative to consensus tree and supertree methods. Furthermore, the exploration of these graphs can expose structures and patterns within the dataset that are otherwise difficult to observe.

Analyzing and Synthesizing Phylogenies Using Tree Alignment Graphs

PubMed Central

Smith, Stephen A.; Brown, Joseph W.; Hinchliff, Cody E.

2013-01-01

Phylogenetic trees are used to analyze and visualize evolution. However, trees can be imperfect datatypes when summarizing multiple trees. This is especially problematic when accommodating for biological phenomena such as horizontal gene transfer, incomplete lineage sorting, and hybridization, as well as topological conflict between datasets. Additionally, researchers may want to combine information from sets of trees that have partially overlapping taxon sets. To address the problem of analyzing sets of trees with conflicting relationships and partially overlapping taxon sets, we introduce methods for aligning, synthesizing and analyzing rooted phylogenetic trees within a graph, called a tree alignment graph (TAG). The TAG can be queried and analyzed to explore uncertainty and conflict. It can also be synthesized to construct trees, presenting an alternative to supertrees approaches. We demonstrate these methods with two empirical datasets. In order to explore uncertainty, we constructed a TAG of the bootstrap trees from the Angiosperm Tree of Life project. Analysis of the resulting graph demonstrates that areas of the dataset that are unresolved in majority-rule consensus tree analyses can be understood in more detail within the context of a graph structure, using measures incorporating node degree and adjacency support. As an exercise in synthesis (i.e., summarization of a TAG constructed from the alignment trees), we also construct a TAG consisting of the taxonomy and source trees from a recent comprehensive bird study. We synthesized this graph into a tree that can be reconstructed in a repeatable fashion and where the underlying source information can be updated. The methods presented here are tractable for large scale analyses and serve as a basis for an alternative to consensus tree and supertree methods. Furthermore, the exploration of these graphs can expose structures and patterns within the dataset that are otherwise difficult to observe. PMID:24086118

Statistical correlations and risk analyses techniques for a diving dual phase bubble model and data bank using massively parallel supercomputers.

PubMed

Wienke, B R; O'Leary, T R

2008-05-01

Linking model and data, we detail the LANL diving reduced gradient bubble model (RGBM), dynamical principles, and correlation with data in the LANL Data Bank. Table, profile, and meter risks are obtained from likelihood analysis and quoted for air, nitrox, helitrox no-decompression time limits, repetitive dive tables, and selected mixed gas and repetitive profiles. Application analyses include the EXPLORER decompression meter algorithm, NAUI tables, University of Wisconsin Seafood Diver tables, comparative NAUI, PADI, Oceanic NDLs and repetitive dives, comparative nitrogen and helium mixed gas risks, USS Perry deep rebreather (RB) exploration dive,world record open circuit (OC) dive, and Woodville Karst Plain Project (WKPP) extreme cave exploration profiles. The algorithm has seen extensive and utilitarian application in mixed gas diving, both in recreational and technical sectors, and forms the bases forreleased tables and decompression meters used by scientific, commercial, and research divers. The LANL Data Bank is described, and the methods used to deduce risk are detailed. Risk functions for dissolved gas and bubbles are summarized. Parameters that can be used to estimate profile risk are tallied. To fit data, a modified Levenberg-Marquardt routine is employed with L2 error norm. Appendices sketch the numerical methods, and list reports from field testing for (real) mixed gas diving. A Monte Carlo-like sampling scheme for fast numerical analysis of the data is also detailed, as a coupled variance reduction technique and additional check on the canonical approach to estimating diving risk. The method suggests alternatives to the canonical approach. This work represents a first time correlation effort linking a dynamical bubble model with deep stop data. Supercomputing resources are requisite to connect model and data in application.

Network meta-analyses performed by contracting companies and commissioned by industry.

PubMed

Schuit, Ewoud; Ioannidis, John Pa

2016-11-25

Industry commissions contracting companies to perform network meta-analysis for health technology assessment (HTA) and reimbursement submissions. Our objective was to estimate the number of network meta-analyses performed by consulting companies contracted by industry, to assess whether they were published, and to explore reasons for non-publication. We searched MEDLINE for network meta-analyses of randomized trials. Papers were included if they had authors affiliated with any contracting company. All identified contracting companies as well as additional ones from the list of the exhibitors at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, an annual meeting that representatives from many contracting companies attend and exhibit at, were surveyed regarding conduct and publication of network meta-analyses. In 162 of 822 (20%) network meta-analysis papers, authors were affiliated to 66 contracting companies. Another 36 contracting companies were identified by the exhibitors list. Three companies had no contact information and six merged with others, therefore 93 companies were contacted. Thirty seven out of ninety three (40%) companies responded, and 19 indicated that they had performed a total of 476 network meta-analyses, but only 102 (21%) papers were published. Thirteen companies that disclosed to have conducted 174 network meta-analyses (45 published) provided reasons for non-publication. Of the 129 still unpublished meta-analyses, for 40 there were plans for future publication, for 37 the sponsor did not allow publication, for 16 the contracting companies did not plan to publish the meta-analysis, for another 23 plans were unclear, and the remaining 13 were used as HTA submission. The protocol of the network meta-analysis was publically available from 11/162 (6.8%) network meta-analyses published by authors affiliated with contracting companies. There is a prolific sector of professional contracting companies that perform network meta-analyses. Industry commissions many network meta-analyses, but most are not registered before or published after analyses in the scientific literature. Mechanisms to improve publication rates of network meta-analysis commissioned by industry are warranted.

Nanopipettes: probes for local sample analysis† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5sc00668f Click here for additional data file.

PubMed Central

Saha-Shah, Anumita; Weber, Anna E.; Karty, Jonathan A.; Ray, Steven J.; Hieftje, Gary M.

2015-01-01

Nanopipettes (pipettes with diameters <1 μm) were explored as pressure-driven fluid manipulation tools for sampling nanoliter volumes of fluids. The fundamental behavior of fluids confined in the narrow channels of the nanopipette shank was studied to optimize sampling volume and probe geometry. This method was utilized to collect nanoliter volumes (<10 nL) of sample from single Allium cepa cells and live Drosophila melanogaster first instar larvae. Matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) was utilized to characterize the collected sample. The use of nanopipettes for surface sampling of mouse brain tissue sections was also explored. Lipid analyses were performed on mouse brain tissues with spatial resolution of sampling as small as 50 μm. Nanopipettes were shown to be a versatile tool that will find further application in studies of sample heterogeneity and population analysis for a wide range of samples. PMID:28706697

How good strong union men line it out: explorations of the structure and dynamics of coal-miners' class consciousness

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yarrow, M.N.

1982-01-01

This study explores how working-class people apprehend and analyze the class dynamics of their social world. As an exploratory empirical study of the structure and dynamics of working-class consciousness, it seeks to develop the theory of actual class consciousness by bringing previous theories into dialogue with the articulated analyses of coal miners in central Appalachia. Although changing conditions are shown to have a powerful effect on class consciousness, the respondents were found to respond differently to the changing context and to remain loyal to important elements of their earlier perspectives. Suggestions are made for how the theory could be developedmore » further. The data for the study are flexibly structured interviews which were conducted with active, retired, and disabled miners in southern West Virginia and western Virginia. A dozen miners were interviewed during the 1978 strike and again the following summer; during the summer of 1978, nineteen additional miners were interviewed.« less

The "invisible caregiver": multicaregiving among diabetic African-American grandmothers.

PubMed

Carthron, Dana L; Bailey, Donald E; Anderson, Ruth A

2014-01-01

To explore the multicaregiving roles African-American grandmothers assume while self-managing their diabetes. This longitudinal, qualitative pilot study explored the challenges of self-managing diabetes among six African-American caregiving grandmothers. Data were collected at 5 times points across 18 months. Content analysis, guided by the Adaptive Leadership framework, was conducted using data matrices to facilitate within-case and cross-case analyses. Although participants initially stated they cared only for grandchildren, all had additional caregiving responsibilities. Four themes emerged which illustrated how African-American caregiving grandmothers put the care of dependent children, extended family and community before themselves. Using the Adaptive Leadership framework, technical and adaptive challenges arising from multicaregiving were described as barriers to diabetes self-management. When assisting these women to self-manage their diabetes, clinicians must assess challenges arising from multicaregiving. This might require developing collaborative work relationships with the client to develop meaningful and attainable goals. Copyright © 2014 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

OAST Space Theme Workshop. Volume 3: Working group summary. 3: Sensors (E-3). A. Statement. B. Technology needs (form 1). C. Priority assessment (form 2). D. Additional assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

Developments required to support the space power, SETI, solar system exploration and global services programs are identified. Instrumentation and calibration sensors (rather than scientific) are needed for the space power system. Highly sophisticated receivers for narrowband detection of microwave sensors and sensors for automated stellar cataloging to provide a mapping data base for SETI are needed. Various phases of solar system exploration require large area solid state imaging arrays from UV to IR; a long focal plane telescope; high energy particle detectors; advanced spectrometers; a gravitometer; and atmospheric distanalyzer; sensors for penetrometers; in-situ sensors for surface chemical analysis, life detection, spectroscopic and microscopic analyses of surface soils, and for meteorological measurements. Active and passive multiapplication sensors, advanced multispectral scanners with improved resolution in the UV and IR ranges, and laser techniques for advanced probing and oceanographic characterization will enhance for global services.

Estimating the net benefit of a specialized return-to-work program for workers on short-term disability related to a mental disorder: an example exploring investment in collaborative care.

PubMed

Dewa, Carolyn S; Hoch, Jeffrey S

2014-06-01

This article estimates the net benefit for a company incorporating a collaborative care model into its return-to-work program for workers on short-term disability related to a mental disorder. Employing a simple decision model, the net benefit and uncertainty were explored. The breakeven point occurs when the average short-term disability episode is reduced by at least 7 days. In addition, 85% of the time, benefits could outweigh costs. Model results and sensitivity analyses indicate that organizational benefits can be greater than the costs of incorporating a collaborative care model into a return-to-work program for workers on short-term disability related to a mental disorder. The results also demonstrate how the probability of a program's effectiveness and the magnitude of its effectiveness are key factors that determine whether the benefits of a program outweigh its costs.

Multi-Terrain Earth Landing Systems Applicable for Manned Space Capsules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fasanella, Edwin L.

2008-01-01

A key element of the President's Vision for Space Exploration is the development of a new space transportation system to replace Shuttle that will enable manned exploration of the moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA has tasked the Constellation Program with the development of this architecture, which includes the Ares launch vehicle and Orion manned spacecraft. The Orion spacecraft must carry six astronauts and its primary structure should be reusable, if practical. These requirements led the Constellation Program to consider a baseline land landing on return to earth. To assess the landing system options for Orion, a review of current operational parachute landing systems such as those used for the F-111 escape module and the Soyuz is performed. In particular, landing systems with airbags and retrorockets that would enable reusability of the Orion capsule are investigated. In addition, Apollo tests and analyses conducted in the 1960's for both water and land landings are reviewed. Finally, tests and dynamic finite element simulations to understand land landings for the Orion spacecraft are also presented.

Voxel based morphometry in optical coherence tomography: validation and core findings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antony, Bhavna J.; Chen, Min; Carass, Aaron; Jedynak, Bruno M.; Al-Louzi, Omar; Solomon, Sharon D.; Saidha, Shiv; Calabresi, Peter A.; Prince, Jerry L.

2016-03-01

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the human retina is now becoming established as an important modality for the detection and tracking of various ocular diseases. Voxel based morphometry (VBM) is a long standing neuroimaging analysis technique that allows for the exploration of the regional differences in the brain. There has been limited work done in developing registration based methods for OCT, which has hampered the advancement of VBM analyses in OCT based population studies. Following on from our recent development of an OCT registration method, we explore the potential benefits of VBM analysis in cohorts of healthy controls (HCs) and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Specifically, we validate the stability of VBM analysis in two pools of HCs showing no significant difference between the two populations. Additionally, we also present a retrospective study of age and sex matched HCs and relapsing remitting MS patients, demonstrating results consistent with the reported literature while providing insight into the retinal changes associated with this MS subtype.

Moral emotions associated with prosocial and antisocial behavior in school-aged children.

PubMed

Ortiz Barón, María J; Etxebarria Bilbao, Itziar; Apodaca Urquijo, Pedro; Conejero López, Susana; Pascual Jimeno, Aitziber

2018-02-01

The present study aims to explore the main effects and interactive effects of empathy, guilt, shame, pride (authentic and hubristic), and moral pride, on prosocial and antisocial behavior in children. The sample group comprised 351 children aged between 10 and 14 selected from four schools in the Basque Country (Spain). Hierarchical multiple regression models were used in the statistical analyses. Prosocial behavior was found to be predicted by the additive interaction between empathy and moral pride, by guilt and, to a lesser extent and negatively, by shame. In relation to antisocial behavior, children with a strong disposition to guilt scored lower for antisocial behavior, regardless of their empathy levels. Nevertheless, the combination of low empathy and low guilt levels was associated with highest antisocial behavior scores. As regards shame, this emotion was moderately associated with antisocial behavior. By exploring interactions the present study provided a more nuanced view of the emotional factors associated with children´s prosocial and antisocial behavior.

Co-occurrences Between Adolescent Substance Use and Academic Performance: School Context Inuences a Multilevel-Longitudinal Perspective

PubMed Central

Andrade, Fernando H.

2014-01-01

A growing body of literature has linked substance use and academic performance exploring substance use as a predictor of academic performance or vice versa. This study uses a different approach conceptualizing substance use and academic performance as parallel outcomes and exploring two topics: its multilevel-longitudinal association and school contextual effects on both outcomes. Using multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis and multilevel-longitudinal analyses, the empirical estimates relied on 7843 students nested in 114 schools (Add Health study). The main finding suggests that the correlation between substance use and academic performance was positive at the school level in contraposition to the negative relationship at the individual level. Additional findings suggest a positive effect of a school risk factor on substance use and a positive effect of academic pressure on academic performance. These findings represent a contribution to our understanding of how schools could affect the relationship between academic performance and substance use. PMID:25057764

An Examination of the Multi-Faceted Motivation System in Healthy Young Adults.

PubMed

Da Silva, Susana; Apatsidou, Areti; Saperia, Sarah; Siddiqui, Ishraq; Jeffay, Eliyas; Voineskos, Aristotle N; Daskalakis, Zafiris J; Remington, Gary; Zakzanis, Konstantine K; Foussias, George

2018-01-01

Background: Amotivation is a prevalent symptom in schizophrenia (SZ) and depression (MDD), and is linked to poor functional outcomes in affected individuals. Conceptualizations of motivation have outlined a multi-faceted construct comprised of reward responsiveness, reward expectancy, reward valuation, effort valuation, and action selection/preference-based decision making. To date, findings from studies utilizing variable-centered approaches to examining isolated facets of motivation in SZ and MDD have been inconsistent. Thus, the present study adopted a person-centered approach, and comprehensively examined the reward system in a non-clinical sample in an attempt to explore potential subtypes of motivation impairments, while minimizing the effects of illness-related confounds. Methods: Ninety-six healthy undergraduate students were evaluated for amotivation, schizotypal traits, depressive symptoms, and cognition, and administered objective computerized tasks to measure the different facets of motivation. Cluster analysis was performed to explore subgroups of individuals based on similar motivation task performance. Additionally, correlational analyses were conducted in order to examine inter-relationships between motivation facets, and relations between clinical measures and facets of motivation. Results: Cluster analysis identified two subgroups of individuals with differential motivation performance profiles. Correlational analyses revealed that reward responsiveness was associated with amotivation, depressive symptoms, and negative schizotypy. Further, significant inter-correlations were found between reward responsiveness and reward expectancy, as well as between reward valuation and effort valuation. Conclusions: Our results mark important steps forward in understanding motivation in a non-clinical sample, and guide future dimensional and comprehensive analyses of the multi-faceted reward system. It remains to be seen whether these patterns of results will be similar in clinical populations such as SZ and MDD.

An Examination of the Multi-Faceted Motivation System in Healthy Young Adults

PubMed Central

Da Silva, Susana; Apatsidou, Areti; Saperia, Sarah; Siddiqui, Ishraq; Jeffay, Eliyas; Voineskos, Aristotle N.; Daskalakis, Zafiris J.; Remington, Gary; Zakzanis, Konstantine K.; Foussias, George

2018-01-01

Background: Amotivation is a prevalent symptom in schizophrenia (SZ) and depression (MDD), and is linked to poor functional outcomes in affected individuals. Conceptualizations of motivation have outlined a multi-faceted construct comprised of reward responsiveness, reward expectancy, reward valuation, effort valuation, and action selection/preference-based decision making. To date, findings from studies utilizing variable-centered approaches to examining isolated facets of motivation in SZ and MDD have been inconsistent. Thus, the present study adopted a person-centered approach, and comprehensively examined the reward system in a non-clinical sample in an attempt to explore potential subtypes of motivation impairments, while minimizing the effects of illness-related confounds. Methods: Ninety-six healthy undergraduate students were evaluated for amotivation, schizotypal traits, depressive symptoms, and cognition, and administered objective computerized tasks to measure the different facets of motivation. Cluster analysis was performed to explore subgroups of individuals based on similar motivation task performance. Additionally, correlational analyses were conducted in order to examine inter-relationships between motivation facets, and relations between clinical measures and facets of motivation. Results: Cluster analysis identified two subgroups of individuals with differential motivation performance profiles. Correlational analyses revealed that reward responsiveness was associated with amotivation, depressive symptoms, and negative schizotypy. Further, significant inter-correlations were found between reward responsiveness and reward expectancy, as well as between reward valuation and effort valuation. Conclusions: Our results mark important steps forward in understanding motivation in a non-clinical sample, and guide future dimensional and comprehensive analyses of the multi-faceted reward system. It remains to be seen whether these patterns of results will be similar in clinical populations such as SZ and MDD.

Regional Geochemical Results from Analyses of Stream-Water, Stream-Sediment, Soil, Soil-Water, Bedrock, and Vegetation Samples, Tangle Lakes District, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wang, Bronwen; Gough, L.P.; Wanty, R.B.; Lee, G.K.; Vohden, James; O'Neill, J. M.; Kerin, L.J.

2008-01-01

We report chemical analyses of stream-water, stream-sediment, soil, soil-water, bedrock, and vegetation samples collected from the headwaters of the Delta River (Tangle Lakes District, Mount Hayes 1:250,000-scale quadrangle) in east-central Alaska for the period June 20-25, 2006. Additionally, we present mineralogic analyses of stream sediment, concentrated by panning. The study area includes the southwestward extent of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Delta River Mining District (Bittenbender and others, 2007), including parts of the Delta River Archeological District, and encompasses an area of about 500 km2(approximately bordered by the Denali Highway to the south, near Round Tangle Lake, northward to the foothills of the Alaska Range (fig. 1). The primary focus of this study was the chemical characterization of native materials, especially surface-water and sediment samples, of first-order streams from the headwaters of the Delta River. The impetus for this work was the need, expressed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR), for an inventory of geochemical and hydrogeochemical baseline information about the Delta River Mining District. This information is needed because of a major upturn in exploration, drilling, and general mineral-resources assessments in the region since the late 1990s. Currently, the study area, called the 'MAN Project' area is being explored by Pure Nickel, Inc. (http://www.purenickel.com/s/MAN_Alaska.asp), and includes both Cu-Au-Ag and Ni-Cu-PGE (Pt-Pd-Au-Ag) mining claims. Geochemical data on surface-water, stream-sediment, soil, soil-water, grayleaf willow (Salix glauca L.), and limited bedrock samples are provided along with the analytical methodologies used and panned-concentrate mineralogy. We are releasing the data at this time with only minimal interpretation.

Web-based workflows to produce ocean climatologies using DIVA (Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis) and Jupyter notebooks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barth, Alexander; Troupin, Charles; Watelet, Sylvain; Alvera-Azcarate, Aida; Beckers, Jean-Marie

2017-04-01

The analysis tool DIVA (Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis) is designed to generate gridded fields or climatologies from in situ observations. The tool DIVA minimizes a cost function to ensure that the analysed field is relatively close to the observations and conforms at the same time to a set of dynamical constraints. In particular, DIVA naturally decouples water bodies which are not directly connected and it uses a (potentially spatial varying) correlation length to describe over which length-scale the analysed variable is correlated. In addition, DIVA can also take ocean currents into account to introduce a preferential direction for the correlation. The SeaDataCloud project aims to facilitate the access and use of ocean in situ data from 45 national oceanographic data centres and marine data centres from 35 countries riparian to all European seas. A central aspect is to provide web-based virtual research environment, where scientists can easily access and explore the data sets through the SeaDataCloud infrastructure. For users familiar with programming languages like Julia and Python, Jupyter (acronym for Julia, Python and R) notebooks provide an exciting way to analyse and to interact with ocean data. Jupyter notebooks are made up of cells that can be run individually and can contain text, formulas or code fragment. A complete notebook explains how to go from input data and parameters to a result, in this case a gridded field obtained executing DIVA. This presentation discusses this new web-based workflow for generating climatologies using DIVA. It explores its new possibilities in particular, in terms of improved ease of use and reproducibility of the results. The integration in the infrastructure of EUDAT is also addressed.

Physical, lifestyle, psychological, and social determinants of pain intensity, pain disability, and the number of pain locations in depressed older adults.

PubMed

Hanssen, Denise J C; Naarding, Paul; Collard, Rose M; Comijs, Hannie C; Oude Voshaar, Richard C

2014-10-01

Late-life depression and pain more often co-occur than can be explained by chance. Determinants of pain in late-life depression are unknown, even though knowledge on possible determinants of pain in depression is important for clinical practice. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were 1) to describe pain characteristics of depressed older adults and a nondepressed comparison group, and 2) to explore physical, lifestyle, psychological, and social determinants of acute and chronic pain intensity, disability, and multisite pain in depressed older adults. Data from the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older Persons cohort, consisting of 378 depressed persons, diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition criteria, and 132 nondepressed persons aged 60 years and older, were used in a cross-sectional design. Pain characteristics were measured by the Chronic Graded Pain Scale. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to explore the contribution of physical, lifestyle, psychological, and social determinants to outcomes pain intensity, disability, and the number of pain locations. Depressed older adults more often reported chronic pain and experienced their pain as more intense and disabling compared to nondepressed older adults. Adjusted for demographic, physical, and lifestyle characteristics, multinomial logistic regression analyses showed increased odds ratios (OR) for depression in acute pain (OR 3.010; P=0.005) and chronic pain (OR 4.544, P<0.001). In addition, linear regression analyses showed that acute and chronic pain intensity, disability, and multisite pain were associated with several biopsychosocial determinants, of which anxiety was most pronounced. Further research could focus on the temporal relationship between anxiety, late-life depression, and pain. Copyright © 2014 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adaptation of Chain Event Graphs for use with Case-Control Studies in Epidemiology.

PubMed

Keeble, Claire; Thwaites, Peter Adam; Barber, Stuart; Law, Graham Richard; Baxter, Paul David

2017-09-26

Case-control studies are used in epidemiology to try to uncover the causes of diseases, but are a retrospective study design known to suffer from non-participation and recall bias, which may explain their decreased popularity in recent years. Traditional analyses report usually only the odds ratio for given exposures and the binary disease status. Chain event graphs are a graphical representation of a statistical model derived from event trees which have been developed in artificial intelligence and statistics, and only recently introduced to the epidemiology literature. They are a modern Bayesian technique which enable prior knowledge to be incorporated into the data analysis using the agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithm, used to form a suitable chain event graph. Additionally, they can account for missing data and be used to explore missingness mechanisms. Here we adapt the chain event graph framework to suit scenarios often encountered in case-control studies, to strengthen this study design which is time and financially efficient. We demonstrate eight adaptations to the graphs, which consist of two suitable for full case-control study analysis, four which can be used in interim analyses to explore biases, and two which aim to improve the ease and accuracy of analyses. The adaptations are illustrated with complete, reproducible, fully-interpreted examples, including the event tree and chain event graph. Chain event graphs are used here for the first time to summarise non-participation, data collection techniques, data reliability, and disease severity in case-control studies. We demonstrate how these features of a case-control study can be incorporated into the analysis to provide further insight, which can help to identify potential biases and lead to more accurate study results.

Subcortical volumetric changes across the adult lifespan: subregional thalamic atrophy accounts for age-related sensorimotor performance declines.

PubMed

Serbruyns, Leen; Leunissen, Inge; Huysmans, Toon; Cuypers, Koen; Meesen, Raf L; van Ruitenbeek, Peter; Sijbers, Jan; Swinnen, Stephan P

2015-04-01

Even though declines in sensorimotor performance during healthy aging have been documented extensively, its underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we explored whether age-related subcortical atrophy plays a role in sensorimotor performance declines, and particularly during bimanual manipulative performance (Purdue Pegboard Test). The thalamus, putamen, caudate and pallidum of 91 participants across the adult lifespan (ages 20-79 years) were automatically segmented. In addition to studying age-related changes in the global volume of each subcortical structure, local deformations within these structures, indicative of subregional volume changes, were assessed by means of recently developed shape analyses. Results showed widespread age-related global and subregional atrophy, as well as some notable subregional expansion. Even though global atrophy failed to explain the observed performance declines with aging, shape analyses indicated that atrophy in left and right thalamic subregions, specifically subserving connectivity with the premotor, primary motor and somatosensory cortical areas, mediated the relation between aging and performance decline. It is concluded that subregional volume assessment by means of shape analyses offers a sensitive tool with high anatomical resolution in the search for specific age-related associations between brain structure and behavior. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coupling Post-Event and Prospective Analyses for El Niño-related Risk Reduction in Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

French, Adam; Keating, Adriana; Mechler, Reinhard; Szoenyi, Michael; Cisneros, Abel; Chuquisengo, Orlando; Etienne, Emilie; Ferradas, Pedro

2017-04-01

Analyses in the wake of natural disasters play an important role in identifying how ex ante risk reduction and ex post hazard response activities have both succeeded and fallen short in specific contexts, thereby contributing to recommendations for improving such measures in the future. Event analyses have particular relevance in settings where disasters are likely to reoccur, and especially where recurrence intervals are short. This paper applies the Post Event Review Capability (PERC) methodology to the context of frequently reoccurring El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events in the country of Peru, where over the last several decades ENSO impacts have generated high levels of damage and economic loss. Rather than analyzing the impacts of a single event, this study builds upon the existing PERC methodology by combining empirical event analysis with a critical examination of risk reduction and adaptation measures implemented both prior to and following several ENSO events in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Additionally, the paper explores linking the empirical findings regarding the uptake and outcomes of particular risk reduction and adaptation strategies to a prospective, scenario-based approach for projecting risk several decades into the future.

The management of vocal fold nodules in children: a national survey of speech-language pathologists.

PubMed

Signorelli, Monique E; Madill, Catherine J; McCabe, Patricia

2011-06-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the management options and voice therapy techniques currently being used by practicing speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to treat vocal fold nodules (VFNs) in children. The sources used by SLPs to inform and guide their clinical decisions when managing VFNs in children were also explored. Sixty-two SLPs completed a 23-item web-based survey. Data was analysed using frequency counts, content analyses, and supplementary analyses. SLPs reported using a range of management options and voice therapy techniques to treat VFNs in children. Voice therapy was reportedly the most frequently used management option across all respondents, with the majority of SLPs using a combination of indirect and direct voice therapy techniques. When selecting voice therapy techniques, the majority of SLPs reported that they did not use the limited external evidence available to guide their clinical decisions. Additionally, the majority of SLPs reported that they frequently relied on lower levels of evidence or non-evidence-based sources to guide clinical practice both in the presence and absence of higher quality evidence. Further research needs to investigate strategies to remove the barriers that impede SLPs use of external evidence when managing VFNs in children.

Synergistic Activities of Near-Earth Object Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abell, Paul

2011-01-01

U.S. President Obama stated on April 15, 2010 that the next goal for human spaceflight will be to send human beings to near-Earth asteroids by 2025. Missions to NEOs would undoubtedly provide a great deal of technical and engineering data on spacecraft operations for future human space exploration while conducting in-depth scientific examinations of these primitive objects. Information obtained from a human investigation of a NEO, together with ground-based observations and prior spacecraft investigations of asteroids and comets, will also provide a real measure of ground truth to data obtained from terrestrial meteorite collections. Major advances in the areas of geochemistry, impact history, thermal history, isotope analyses, mineralogy, space weathering, formation ages, thermal inertias, volatile content, source regions, solar system formation, etc. can be expected from human NEO missions. Samples directly returned from a primitive body would lead to the same kind of breakthroughs for understanding NEOs that the Apollo samples provided for understanding the Earth-Moon system and its formation history. In addition, robotic precursor and human exploration missions to NEOs would allow the NASA and its international partners to gain operational experience in performing complex tasks (e.g., sample collection, deployment of payloads, retrieval of payloads, etc.) with crew, robots, and spacecraft under microgravity conditions at or near the surface of a small body. This would provide an important synergy between the worldwide Science and Exploration communities, which will be crucial for development of future international deep space exploration architectures and has potential benefits for future exploration of other destinations beyond low-Earth orbit.

Maximizing beneficence and autonomy. Ethical support for the use of nonpharmacological methods for managing dental anxiety.

PubMed

Donate-Bartfield, Evelyn; Spellecy, Ryan; Shane, Nicholas J

2010-01-01

This article examines advantages associated with nonpharmacological behavioral management techniques and suggests that there are benefits to their use (such as achieving a more lasting solution to the problem of dental anxiety) that are not realized with medication-based interventions. Analyses that use Kantian and existential viewpoints for exploring the use of medication versus behavioral interventions for managing life problems yield parallel conclusions: there are advantages gained by using behavioral interventions that are not always associated with medication-based interventions. These analyses, taken together with an understanding of the psychology of dental anxiety management, suggest that using nonpharmacological techniques for the management of dental anxiety can maximize adherence to the ethical principles of beneficence and patient autonomy. The authors discuss the barriers that make nonpharmacological interventions for anxiety management difficult for dentists to routinely use, and suggest that additional training in these methods and increased collaboration with mental health professionals are needed for dentists.

Complementary experimental-simulational study of surfactant micellar phase in the extraction process of metallic ions: Effects of temperature and salt concentration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soto-Ángeles, Alan Gustavo; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, María del Rosario; Soto-Figueroa, César; Vicente, Luis

2018-02-01

The thermoresponsive micellar phase behaviour that exhibits the Triton-X-100 micelles by temperature effect and addition of salt in the extraction process of metallic ions was explored from mesoscopic and experimental points. In the theoretical study, we analyse the formation of Triton-X-100 micelles, load and stabilization of dithizone molecules and metallic ions extraction inside the micellar core at room temperature; finally, a thermal analysis is presented. In the experimental study, the spectrophotometric outcomes confirm the solubility of the copper-dithizone complex in the micellar core, as well as the extraction of metallic ions of aqueous environment via a cloud-point at 332.2 K. The micellar solutions with salt present a low absorbance value compared with the micellar solutions without salt. The decrease in the absorbance value is attributed to a change in the size of hydrophobic region of colloidal micelles. All transitory stages of extraction process are discussed and analysed in this document.

Automated Reconstruction of Three-Dimensional Fish Motion, Forces, and Torques

PubMed Central

Voesenek, Cees J.; Pieters, Remco P. M.; van Leeuwen, Johan L.

2016-01-01

Fish can move freely through the water column and make complex three-dimensional motions to explore their environment, escape or feed. Nevertheless, the majority of swimming studies is currently limited to two-dimensional analyses. Accurate experimental quantification of changes in body shape, position and orientation (swimming kinematics) in three dimensions is therefore essential to advance biomechanical research of fish swimming. Here, we present a validated method that automatically tracks a swimming fish in three dimensions from multi-camera high-speed video. We use an optimisation procedure to fit a parameterised, morphology-based fish model to each set of video images. This results in a time sequence of position, orientation and body curvature. We post-process this data to derive additional kinematic parameters (e.g. velocities, accelerations) and propose an inverse-dynamics method to compute the resultant forces and torques during swimming. The presented method for quantifying 3D fish motion paves the way for future analyses of swimming biomechanics. PMID:26752597

Exploratory analysis of TOF-SIMS data from biological surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaidyanathan, Seetharaman; Fletcher, John S.; Henderson, Alex; Lockyer, Nicholas P.; Vickerman, John C.

2008-12-01

The application of multivariate analytical tools enables simplification of TOF-SIMS datasets so that useful information can be extracted from complex spectra and images, especially those that do not give readily interpretable results. There is however a challenge in understanding the outputs from such analyses. The problem is complicated when analysing images, given the additional dimensions in the dataset. Here we demonstrate how the application of simple pre-processing routines can enable the interpretation of TOF-SIMS spectra and images. For the spectral data, TOF-SIMS spectra used to discriminate bacterial isolates associated with urinary tract infection were studied. Using different criteria for picking peaks before carrying out PC-DFA enabled identification of the discriminatory information with greater certainty. For the image data, an air-dried salt stressed bacterial sample, discussed in another paper by us in this issue, was studied. Exploration of the image datasets with and without normalisation prior to multivariate analysis by PCA or MAF resulted in different regions of the image being highlighted by the techniques.

Evaluation of optimal water fluoridation on the incidence and skeletal distribution of naturally arising osteosarcoma in pet dogs

PubMed Central

Rebhun, R. B.; Kass, P. H.; Kent, M. S.; Watson, K. D.; Withers, S. S.; Culp, W. T. N.; King, A.M.

2016-01-01

Experimental toxicological studies in laboratory animals and epidemiological human studies have reported a possible association between water fluoridation and osteosarcoma (OSA). To further explore this possibility, a case-control study of individual dogs evaluated by the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital was conducted using ecologic data on water fluoridation based on the owner’s residence. The case group included 161 dogs with OSA diagnosed between 2008–2012. Two cancer control groups included dogs diagnosed with lymphoma (LSA) or hemangiosarcoma (HSA) during the same period (n = 134 and n = 145, respectively). Dogs with OSA were not significantly more likely to live in an area with optimized fluoride in the water than dogs with LSA or HSA. Additional analyses within OSA patients also revealed no significant differences in age, or skeletal distribution of OSA cases relative to fluoride status. Taken together, these analyses do not support the hypothesis that optimal fluoridation of drinking water contributes to naturally occurring OSA in dogs. PMID:26762869

Predictors of attachment security in preschool children from intact and divorced families.

PubMed

Nair, Hira; Murray, Ann D

2005-09-01

The authors selected 58 mother-child dyads from divorced and intact families to participate in a study on the impact of divorce on preschoolers' attachment security. The authors explored pathways that lead to security of attachment. They found that mothers from divorced families were younger, had lower income levels, and had lower levels of education compared with their intact counterparts. Divorced mothers also reported significantly higher levels of stress, depression, need for social support, and conflict with their spouses. Mothers from intact families were more likely to use positive (authoritative) parenting styles compared with divorced mothers. Children in the divorced group had lower security scores on the Attachment Q-Set instrument (E. Waters, 1995). Regression analyses indicated that parenting style made a direct (independent) contribution to attachment security. In addition, temperament was related to attachment security, but temperament did not diminish the association of parenting style with attachment security. Furthermore, regression analyses indicated that the relationship of divorce to attachment security was mediated by parenting style.

Mars soil - A sterile regolith or a medium for plant growth?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banin, Amos

1989-01-01

The mineralogical composition and the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of the Mars soil have been the subject of a number of studies. Though definitive mineralogical measurements are lacking, elemental-chemical analyses and simulation experiments have indicated that clays are major components of the soil and that iron is present as adsorbed ion and as amorphous mineral coating the clay particles (Banin, 1986). Whether this soil can support plant growth or food production, utilizing conventional or advanced cultivational technologies, is a question that has not been thoroughly analyzed, but may be of importance and usefulness for the future exploration of Mars. Assuming that the proposed model of Mars soil components is valid, and drawing additional information from the analyses of the SNC meteorites believed to be ejected Mars rocks - the present contribution analyzes and evaluates the suitability of the soil as a medium for plant growth, attempting to identify the most critical limiting factors for such an undertaking and the possible remedies.

Cyclone preparedness and response: an analysis of lessons identified using an adapted military planning framework.

PubMed

Tatham, Peter; Oloruntoba, Richard; Spens, Karen

2012-01-01

The United Kingdom uses the Defence Lines of Development (DLOD) framework to analyse and understand the key components and costs of a military capability. Rooted in the Resource Based View (RBV) of a firm, an adapted DLOD approach is employed to explore, analyse and discuss the preparedness, planning and response strategies of two markedly different countries (Australia and Bangladesh) when faced with a major cyclone event of a comparable size. Given the numerous similarities in the challenges facing military forces in a complex emergency and humanitarian agencies in a natural disaster, the paper demonstrates the applicability of the DLOD framework as an analysis and planning tool in the cyclone preparedness planning and response phases, and more broadly within the disaster management area. In addition, the paper highlights the benefit to disaster managers, policymakers and researchers of exploiting comparative cross-learning opportunities from disaster events, drawn from different sectors and countries. © 2012 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2012.

Evaluation of optimal water fluoridation on the incidence and skeletal distribution of naturally arising osteosarcoma in pet dogs.

PubMed

Rebhun, R B; Kass, P H; Kent, M S; Watson, K D; Withers, S S; Culp, W T N; King, A M

2017-06-01

Experimental toxicological studies in laboratory animals and epidemiological human studies have reported a possible association between water fluoridation and osteosarcoma (OSA). To further explore this possibility, a case-control study of individual dogs evaluated by the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital was conducted using ecologic data on water fluoridation based on the owner's residence. The case group included 161 dogs with OSA diagnosed between 2008-2012. Two cancer control groups included dogs diagnosed with lymphoma (LSA) or hemangiosarcoma (HSA) during the same period (n = 134 and n = 145, respectively). Dogs with OSA were not significantly more likely to live in an area with optimized fluoride in the water than dogs with LSA or HSA. Additional analyses within OSA patients also revealed no significant differences in age, or skeletal distribution of OSA cases relative to fluoride status. Taken together, these analyses do not support the hypothesis that optimal fluoridation of drinking water contributes to naturally occurring OSA in dogs. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Levee Presence and Wetland Areas within the 100-Year Floodplain of the Wabash Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrison, R. R.; Dong, Q.; Nardi, F.; Grantham, T.; Annis, A.

2016-12-01

Wetlands have declined over the past century due to land use changes and water management activities in the United States. Levees have been extensively built to provide protection against flooding events, and can fundamentally alter the water distribution and hydrologic dynamics within floodplains. Although levees can reduce wetlands in many places, it is unclear how much wetland areas are impacted at a basin-scale. This study explores the relationship between wetlands, levee presence, and other important hydrologic metrics within a 100-year floodplain. We estimated total wetland area, levee length, floodplain area and other variables, in discrete 12-digit hydrologic units (HUC-12) of the Wabash Basin (n=854) and examined the relationship between these variables using non-parametric statistical tests. We found greater areas of wetland habitat in HUC12 units that contain levees compared to those without levees when we aggregated the results across the entire basin. Factors such as stream order, mean annual flow, and HUC12 area are not correlated with the wetland area in HUC-12 units that contain levees. In addition, median wetland area in HUC12 units with levees is surprisingly consistent regardless of maximum stream order. Visual observations of wetland distributions indicate that wetland presence may be dependent on its location relative to levees. These results indicate that refined geospatial analyses may be necessary to explore the complex influence of levees on wetland habitat, and that additional basins should be explored to develop more generalized trends. This information is preliminary and subject to revision.

3D Groundwater flow model at the Upper Rhine Graben scale to delineate preferential target areas for geothermal projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Armandine Les Landes, Antoine; Guillon, Théophile; Peter-Borie, Mariane; Rachez, Xavier

2017-04-01

Any deep unconventional geothermal project remains risky because of the uncertainty regarding the presence of the geothermal resource at depth and the drilling costs increasing accordingly. That's why this resource must be located as precisely as possible to increase the chances of successful projects and their economic viability. To minimize the risk, as much information as possible should be gathered prior to any drilling. Usually, the position of the exploration wells of geothermal energy systems is chosen based on structural geology observations, geophysics measurements and geochemical analyses. Confronting these observations to results from additional disciplines should bring more objectivity in locating the region to explore and where to implant the geothermal system. The Upper Rhine Graben (URG) is a tectonically active rift system that corresponds to one branch of the European Cenozoic Rift System where the basin hosts a significant potential for geothermal energy. The large fault network inherited from a complex tectonic history and settled under the sedimentary deposits hosts fluid circulation patterns. Geothermal anomalies are strongly influenced by fluid circulations within permeable structures such as fault zones. In order to better predict the location of the geothermal resource, it is necessary to understand how it is influenced by heat transport mechanisms such as groundwater flow. The understanding of fluid circulation in hot fractured media at large scale can help in the identification of preferential zones at a finer scale where additional exploration can be carried out. Numerical simulations is a useful tool to deal with the issue of fluid circulations through large fault networks that enable the uplift of deep and hot fluids. Therefore, we build a numerical model to study groundwater flow at the URG scale (150 x 130km), which aims to delineate preferential zones. The numerical model is based on a hybrid method using a Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) and 3D elements to simulate groundwater flow in the 3D regional fault network and in sedimentary deposits, respectively. Firstly, the geometry of the 3D fracture network and its hydraulic connections with 3D elements (sedimentary cover) is built in accordance with the tectonic history and based on geological and geophysical evidences. Secondly, data from previous studies and site-specific geological knowledge provide information on the fault zones family sets and on respective hydraulic properties. Then, from the simulated 3D groundwater flow model and based on a particle tracking methodology, groundwater flow paths are constructed. The regional groundwater flow paths results are extracted and analysed to delineate preferential zones to explore at finer scale and so to define the potential positions of the exploration wells. This work is conducted in the framework of the IMAGE project (Integrated Methods for Advanced Geothermal Exploration, grant agreement No. 608553), which aims to develop new methods for better siting of exploitation wells.

Prospectivity Modeling of Karstic Groundwater Using a Sequential Exploration Approach in Tepal Area, Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharifi, Fereydoun; Arab-Amiri, Ali Reza; Kamkar-Rouhani, Abolghasem; Yousefi, Mahyar; Davoodabadi-Farahani, Meysam

2017-09-01

The purpose of this study is water prospectivity modeling (WPM) for recognizing karstic water-bearing zones by using analyses of geo-exploration data in Kal-Qorno valley, located in Tepal area, north of Iran. For this, a sequential exploration method applied on geo-evidential data to delineate target areas for further exploration. In this regard, two major exploration phases including regional and local scales were performed. In the first phase, indicator geological features, structures and lithological units, were used to model groundwater prospectivity as a regional scale. In this phase, for karstic WPM, fuzzy lithological and structural evidence layers were generated and combined using fuzzy operators. After generating target areas using WPM, in the second phase geophysical surveys including gravimetry and geoelectrical resistivity were carried out on the recognized high potential zones as a local scale exploration. Finally the results of geophysical analyses in the second phase were used to select suitable drilling locations to access and extract karstic groundwater in the study area.

The causes of high power diode laser brazed seams fractures of dissimilar materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamiak, Marcin; Czupryński, Artur; Janicki, Damian; Górka, Jacek

2016-12-01

Presented in this article are the results of experiments carried out to determine the causes of braze cracking of dissimilar materials brazed with a ROFIN DL 020 high power diode laser with the use of additional powdered EN AW-1070A aluminium alloy to bond thin aluminium sheets with soft, low alloy DC04+ZE75/75 steel plate which was electrolytically coated with zinc on both sides. Presented are the results of metallographic, macroscopic, microscopic, diffractometric phase analyses of the weld joints. Metallurgical problems arising during processing as well as suggestions regarding technical aspects of laser brazing dissimilar materials in regards to their physical characteristics and chemical composition are explored.

Solar Array Hysteresis and its Interaction with the MPPT System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandez, A.; Baur, C.; Gomez-Carpintero, F.

2014-08-01

It is well known that solar cells have a capacitance in parallel which value changes with the voltage. Depending on the section arrangement on the Solar Array, the power conversion unit connected to it will see a smaller or larger capacitance value and will have to cope with its adverse effects. In the case of converters with an MPPT, this capacitance gives place to an hysteresis effect that might shift the tracking point, reducing the power extracted from the Solar Array. This paper explores the different sides of this issue, from capacitance modelling to the effects on the MPPT. Additionally, this paper analyses a similar interaction between MPPTs and commercial SAS.

Learning to be cruel?: exploring the onset and frequency of animal cruelty.

PubMed

Hensley, Christopher; Tallichet, Suzanne E

2005-02-01

Few studies have examined how animal cruelty is learned within a specific social context among incarcerated individuals. Using data from 261 inmates, this study specifically addressed how demographic characteristics and childhood experiences with animal abuse may have affected the recurrence and onset of childhood and adolescent cruelty as a learned behavior. Multiple regression analyses revealed that inmates who experienced animal cruelty at a younger age were more likely to demonstrate recurrent animal cruelty themselves. In addition, respondents who observed a friend abuse animals were more likely to hurt or kill animals more frequently. Finally, inmates who were younger when they first witnessed animal cruelty also hurt or killed animals at a younger age.

Gratifications, collective self-esteem, online emotional openness, and traitlike communication apprehension as predictors of Facebook uses.

PubMed

Zhang, Yin; Tang, Leo Shing-Tung; Leung, Louis

2011-12-01

This study explores whether and how gratifications and psychological traits impact people's Facebook use. First, a factor analysis of an online survey (N= 437) outlined a unique set of gratifications obtained from the use of Facebook. Six aspects of gratifications (i.e., social surveillance, entertainment, recognition, emotional support, network extension, and maintenance) were identified. Results from regression analyses showed that psychological traits (i.e., collective self-esteem, online emotional openness, and traitlike communication apprehension) were strong predictors of most Facebook gratifications. Additionally, gratifications and, to a lesser extent, psychological traits significantly predicted Facebook usage, both in perceived importance and different indicators in the level of Facebook use.

Enhancement of Spartium junceum L. fibres properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovačević, Z.; Bischof, S.; Antonović, A.

2017-10-01

Properties of lignocellulosic Spartium junceum L. (SJL) fibres were investigated in order to use them as reinforcement in composite material production. The fibres were obtained by microwave maceration process and additionally modified with NaOH, nanoclay and citric acid with the aim to improve their mechanical, thermal and other physical-chemical properties. Tensile and thermal properties of these natural fibres were enhanced by the different modification treatment which is investigated by the Vibrodyn/Vibroskop method and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), whilst determination of chemical composition and fibre’s surface properties were explored using scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and elektrokinetic analyser. All the results show great improvement of nanoclay/citric acid modified SJL properties.

The past, present, and future of Leishmania genomics and transcriptomics

PubMed Central

Cantacessi, Cinzia; Dantas-Torres, Filipe; Nolan, Matthew J.; Otranto, Domenico

2015-01-01

It has been nearly 10 years since the completion of the first entire genome sequence of a Leishmania parasite. Genomic and transcriptomic analyses have advanced our understanding of the biology of Leishmania, and shed new light on the complex interactions occurring within the parasite–host–vector triangle. Here, we review these advances and examine potential avenues for translation of these discoveries into treatment and control programs. In addition, we argue for a strong need to explore how disease in dogs relates to that in humans, and how an improved understanding in line with the ‘One Health’ concept may open new avenues for the control of these devastating diseases. PMID:25638444

The genetic and environmental foundations of political, psychological, social, and economic behaviors: a panel study of twins and families.

PubMed

Hatemi, Peter K; Smith, Kevin; Alford, John R; Martin, Nicholas G; Hibbing, John R

2015-06-01

Here we introduce the Genetic and Environmental Foundations of Political and Economic Behaviors: A Panel Study of Twins and Families (PIs Alford, Hatemi, Hibbing, Martin, and Smith). This study was designed to explore the genetic and environmental influences on social, economic, and political behaviors and attitudes. It involves identifying the psychological mechanisms that operate on these traits, the heritability of complex economic and political traits under varying conditions, and specific genetic correlates of attitudes and behaviors. In addition to describing the study, we conduct novel analyses on the data, estimating the heritability of two traits so far unexplored in the extant literature: Machiavellianism and Baron-Cohen's Empathizing Quotient.

Priority rules as solutions to conflicting health care rights.

PubMed

Andersson, Anna-Karin; Lindemark, Frode; Johansson, Kjell Arne

2017-03-01

Recent health legislation in Norway significantly increases access to specialist care within a legally binding time frame. The paper describes the contents of the new legislation and introduces some of the challenges with proliferations of rights to health care. The paper describes some of the challenges associated with the proliferation of legal rights to health care. It explains the benefits of assessing the new law in the light of a rights framework. It then analyses the problematic aspects of establishing additional priority rules as solutions to rights conflicts. It then defends adequacy criteria for acceptable priority rules when such rules are unavoidable. It finally defends our proposed method and explores concrete applications.

Value and usability of unpublished data sources for systematic reviews and network meta-analyses.

PubMed

Halfpenny, Nicholas James Anthony; Quigley, Joan Mary; Thompson, Juliette Catherine; Scott, David Alexander

2016-12-01

Peer-reviewed publications and conference proceedings are the mainstay of data sources for systematic reviews and network meta-analyses (NMA), but access to informative unpublished data is now becoming commonplace. To explore the usefulness of three types of 'grey' literature-clinical trials registries, clinical study reports and data from regulatory authorities-we conducted four case studies. The reporting of outcome data in peer-reviewed publications, the clinical trials registries and the clinical study reports for two clinical trials-one in melanoma, one in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-was examined. In addition, we assessed the value of including unpublished data from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in evidence syntheses of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), respectively. For the clinical trials in melanoma and JIA, we identified outcome parameters on ClinicalTrials.gov additional to those reported in the peer-reviewed publications: subgroup data and additional efficacy end points/extended follow-up, respectively. The clinical study report also provided results for several subgroups unavailable elsewhere. For HCV and COPD, additional outcome data were obtained from the EMA European Public Assessment Report (EPAR) and the FDA, respectively, including data on subgroups and mortality. We conclude that data from these grey literature sources have the potential to influence results of systematic reviews and NMAs, and may thus have implications for healthcare decisions. However, it is important to consider carefully the availability, reliability and consequent usability of these data sources in systematic reviews and NMAs. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The impact of assumptions regarding vaccine-induced immunity on the public health and cost-effectiveness of hepatitis A vaccination: Is one dose sufficient?

PubMed

Curran, Desmond; de Ridder, Marc; Van Effelterre, Thierry

2016-11-01

Hepatitis A vaccination stimulates memory cells to produce an anamnestic response. In this study, we used a mathematical model to examine how long-term immune memory might convey additional protection against clinical/icteric infections. Dynamic and decision models were used to estimate the expected number of cases, and the costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), respectively. Several scenarios were explored by assuming: (1) varying duration of vaccine-induced immune memory, (2) and/or varying levels of vaccine-induced immune memory protection (IMP), (3) and/or varying levels of infectiousness in vaccinated individuals with IMP. The base case analysis assumed a time horizon of 25 y (2012 - 2036), with additional analyses over 50 and 75 y. The analyses were conducted in the Mexican public health system perspective. In the base case that assumed no vaccine-induced IMP, the 2-dose hepatitis A vaccination strategy was cost-effective compared with the 1-dose strategy over the 3 time horizons. However, it was not cost-effective if we assumed additional IMP durations of at least 10 y in the 25-y horizon. In the 50- and 75-y horizons, the 2-dose strategy was always cost-effective, except when 100% reduction in the probability of icteric Infections, 75% reduction in infectiousness, and mean durations of IMP of at least 50 y were assumed. This analysis indicates that routine vaccination of toddlers against hepatitis A virus would be cost-effective in Mexico using a single-dose vaccination strategy. However, the cost-effectiveness of a second dose depends on the assumptions of additional protection by IMP and the time horizon over which the analysis is performed.

The impact of assumptions regarding vaccine-induced immunity on the public health and cost-effectiveness of hepatitis A vaccination: Is one dose sufficient?

PubMed Central

Curran, Desmond; de Ridder, Marc; Van Effelterre, Thierry

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Hepatitis A vaccination stimulates memory cells to produce an anamnestic response. In this study, we used a mathematical model to examine how long-term immune memory might convey additional protection against clinical/icteric infections. Dynamic and decision models were used to estimate the expected number of cases, and the costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), respectively. Several scenarios were explored by assuming: (1) varying duration of vaccine-induced immune memory, (2) and/or varying levels of vaccine-induced immune memory protection (IMP), (3) and/or varying levels of infectiousness in vaccinated individuals with IMP. The base case analysis assumed a time horizon of 25 y (2012 – 2036), with additional analyses over 50 and 75 y. The analyses were conducted in the Mexican public health system perspective. In the base case that assumed no vaccine-induced IMP, the 2-dose hepatitis A vaccination strategy was cost-effective compared with the 1-dose strategy over the 3 time horizons. However, it was not cost-effective if we assumed additional IMP durations of at least 10 y in the 25-y horizon. In the 50- and 75-y horizons, the 2-dose strategy was always cost-effective, except when 100% reduction in the probability of icteric Infections, 75% reduction in infectiousness, and mean durations of IMP of at least 50 y were assumed. This analysis indicates that routine vaccination of toddlers against hepatitis A virus would be cost-effective in Mexico using a single-dose vaccination strategy. However, the cost-effectiveness of a second dose depends on the assumptions of additional protection by IMP and the time horizon over which the analysis is performed. PMID:27428611

Space transfer concepts and analysis for exploration missions. Implementation plan and element description document. Volume 1: Major trades. Book 1: Draft final

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This document presents trade studies and reference concept designs accomplished during a study of Space Transfer Concepts and Analyses for Exploration Missions (STCAEM). This volume contains the major top level trades, level 2 trades conducted in support of NASA's Lunar/Mars Exploration Program Office, and a synopsis of the vehicles for different propulsion systems under trade consideration. The vehicles are presented in more detail in other volumes of this report. Book 1 of Volume 1 covers the following analyses: lunar/Mars commonality trades, lunar/Mars mission operations, and Mars transfer systems.

Exploration Space Suit Architecture and Destination Environmental-Based Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Terry R.; McFarland, Shane M.; Korona, F. Adam

2013-01-01

This paper continues forward where EVA Space Suit Architecture: Low Earth Orbit Vs. Moon Vs. Mars left off in the development of a space suit architecture that is modular in design and could be reconfigured prior to launch or during any given mission depending on the tasks or destination. This space suit system architecture and technologies required based on human exploration (EVA) destinations will be discussed, and how these systems should evolve to meet the future exploration EVA needs of the US human space flight program. A series of exercises and analyses provided a strong indication that the Constellation Program space suit architecture, with its maximum reuse of technology and functionality across a range of mission profiles and destinations, is postured to provide a viable solution for future space exploration missions. The destination environmental analysis demonstrates that the modular architecture approach could provide the lowest mass and mission cost for the protection of the crew, given any human mission outside of low-Earth orbit. Additionally, some of the high-level trades presented here provide a review of the environmental and nonenvironmental design drivers that will become increasingly important as humans venture farther from Earth. The presentation of destination environmental data demonstrates a logical clustering of destination design environments that allows a focused approach to technology prioritization, development, and design that will maximize the return on investment, largely independent of any particular design reference mission.

Exploration Space Suit Architecture and Destination Environmental-Based Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Terry R.; McFarland, Shane M.; Korona, F. Adam

2013-01-01

This paper continues forward where EVA Space Suit Architecture: Low Earth Orbit Vs. Moon Vs. Mars1 left off in the development of a space suit architecture that is modular in design and could be reconfigured prior to launch or during any given mission depending on the tasks or destination. This paper addresses the space suit system architecture and technologies required based on human exploration (EVA) destinations, and describes how these systems should evolve to meet the future exploration EVA needs of the US human space flight program. A series of exercises and analyses provided a strong indication that the Constellation Program space suit architecture, with its maximum reuse of technology and functionality across a range of mission profiles and destinations, is postured to provide a viable solution for future space exploration missions. The destination environmental analysis demonstrates that the modular architecture approach could provide the lowest mass and mission cost for the protection of the crew, given any human mission outside of low-Earth orbit. Additionally, some of the high-level trades presented here provide a review of the environmental and non-environmental design drivers that will become increasingly important as humans venture farther from Earth. This paper demonstrates a logical clustering of destination design environments that allows a focused approach to technology prioritization, development, and design that will maximize the return on investment, largely independent of any particular design reference mission.

The short-term effects of air pollutants on respiratory disease mortality in Wuhan, China: comparison of time-series and case-crossover analyses

PubMed Central

Ren, Meng; Li, Na; Wang, Zhan; Liu, Yisi; Chen, Xi; Chu, Yuanyuan; Li, Xiangyu; Zhu, Zhongmin; Tian, Liqiao; Xiang, Hao

2017-01-01

Few studies have compared different methods when exploring the short-term effects of air pollutants on respiratory disease mortality in Wuhan, China. This study assesses the association between air pollutants and respiratory disease mortality with both time-series and time-stratified–case-crossover designs. The generalized additive model (GAM) and the conditional logistic regression model were used to assess the short-term effects of air pollutants on respiratory disease mortality. Stratified analyses were performed by age, sex, and diseases. A 10 μg/m3 increment in SO2 level was associated with an increase in relative risk for all respiratory disease mortality of 2.4% and 1.9% in the case-crossover and time-series analyses in single pollutant models, respectively. Strong evidence of an association between NO2 and daily respiratory disease mortality among men or people older than 65 years was found in the case-crossover study. There was a positive association between air pollutants and respiratory disease mortality in Wuhan, China. Both time-series and case-crossover analyses consistently reveal the association between three air pollutants and respiratory disease mortality. The estimates of association between air pollution and respiratory disease mortality from the case–crossover analysis displayed greater variation than that from the time-series analysis. PMID:28084399

The short-term effects of air pollutants on respiratory disease mortality in Wuhan, China: comparison of time-series and case-crossover analyses.

PubMed

Ren, Meng; Li, Na; Wang, Zhan; Liu, Yisi; Chen, Xi; Chu, Yuanyuan; Li, Xiangyu; Zhu, Zhongmin; Tian, Liqiao; Xiang, Hao

2017-01-13

Few studies have compared different methods when exploring the short-term effects of air pollutants on respiratory disease mortality in Wuhan, China. This study assesses the association between air pollutants and respiratory disease mortality with both time-series and time-stratified-case-crossover designs. The generalized additive model (GAM) and the conditional logistic regression model were used to assess the short-term effects of air pollutants on respiratory disease mortality. Stratified analyses were performed by age, sex, and diseases. A 10 μg/m 3 increment in SO 2 level was associated with an increase in relative risk for all respiratory disease mortality of 2.4% and 1.9% in the case-crossover and time-series analyses in single pollutant models, respectively. Strong evidence of an association between NO 2 and daily respiratory disease mortality among men or people older than 65 years was found in the case-crossover study. There was a positive association between air pollutants and respiratory disease mortality in Wuhan, China. Both time-series and case-crossover analyses consistently reveal the association between three air pollutants and respiratory disease mortality. The estimates of association between air pollution and respiratory disease mortality from the case-crossover analysis displayed greater variation than that from the time-series analysis.

The short-term effects of air pollutants on respiratory disease mortality in Wuhan, China: comparison of time-series and case-crossover analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Meng; Li, Na; Wang, Zhan; Liu, Yisi; Chen, Xi; Chu, Yuanyuan; Li, Xiangyu; Zhu, Zhongmin; Tian, Liqiao; Xiang, Hao

2017-01-01

Few studies have compared different methods when exploring the short-term effects of air pollutants on respiratory disease mortality in Wuhan, China. This study assesses the association between air pollutants and respiratory disease mortality with both time-series and time-stratified-case-crossover designs. The generalized additive model (GAM) and the conditional logistic regression model were used to assess the short-term effects of air pollutants on respiratory disease mortality. Stratified analyses were performed by age, sex, and diseases. A 10 μg/m3 increment in SO2 level was associated with an increase in relative risk for all respiratory disease mortality of 2.4% and 1.9% in the case-crossover and time-series analyses in single pollutant models, respectively. Strong evidence of an association between NO2 and daily respiratory disease mortality among men or people older than 65 years was found in the case-crossover study. There was a positive association between air pollutants and respiratory disease mortality in Wuhan, China. Both time-series and case-crossover analyses consistently reveal the association between three air pollutants and respiratory disease mortality. The estimates of association between air pollution and respiratory disease mortality from the case-crossover analysis displayed greater variation than that from the time-series analysis.

Predictors of cancer fear: the association between mass media and fear of cancer among cancer diagnosed and nondiagnosed individuals.

PubMed

Nelissen, Sara; Beullens, Kathleen; Lemal, Marijke; Van den Bulck, Jan

2015-03-01

Few studies have explored the impact of mass media on fear of cancer levels. This study investigates whether television and Internet use are associated with fear of cancer, and whether this association is different for cancer diagnosed and nondiagnosed individuals. A quantitative, standardized survey was used and administered to 2008 respondents in Flanders (Belgium), of which 621 individuals were diagnosed with cancer. For statistical analyses, hierarchical regression analyses, independent samples T-tests and post hoc mediation analyses were conducted. The results indicated that cancer diagnosed individuals differed from nondiagnosed individuals in terms of perceived cancer susceptibility, perceived cancer severity, fear of cancer, and media use. Furthermore, television exposure was directly and positively related to fear of cancer, whereas Internet use was not. The relationship between television and Internet use and fear of cancer was not different for cancer diagnosed and nondiagnosed individuals. Additional post hoc mediation analyses, however, seemed to suggest that watching more television and surfing more on the Internet could both lead to having a more negative perceived health and this was in turn associated with higher fear of cancer. To help reduce the burden of fear of cancer, cancer educators and individuals working with cancer patients need to be aware of the possible negative effects media use might have on health perception and on the levels of fear of cancer.

24 CFR 81.65 - Other information and analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Other information and analyses. 81... information and analyses. When deemed appropriate and requested in writing, on a case by-case basis, by the... conduct additional analyses concerning any such report. A GSE shall submit additional reports or other...

24 CFR 81.65 - Other information and analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Other information and analyses. 81... information and analyses. When deemed appropriate and requested in writing, on a case by-case basis, by the... conduct additional analyses concerning any such report. A GSE shall submit additional reports or other...

24 CFR 81.65 - Other information and analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Other information and analyses. 81... information and analyses. When deemed appropriate and requested in writing, on a case by-case basis, by the... conduct additional analyses concerning any such report. A GSE shall submit additional reports or other...

24 CFR 81.65 - Other information and analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Other information and analyses. 81... information and analyses. When deemed appropriate and requested in writing, on a case by-case basis, by the... conduct additional analyses concerning any such report. A GSE shall submit additional reports or other...

24 CFR 81.65 - Other information and analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Other information and analyses. 81... information and analyses. When deemed appropriate and requested in writing, on a case by-case basis, by the... conduct additional analyses concerning any such report. A GSE shall submit additional reports or other...

Multi-locus phylogeny of dolphins in the subfamily Lissodelphininae: character synergy improves phylogenetic resolution

PubMed Central

Harlin-Cognato, April D; Honeycutt, Rodney L

2006-01-01

Background Dolphins of the genus Lagenorhynchus are anti-tropically distributed in temperate to cool waters. Phylogenetic analyses of cytochrome b sequences have suggested that the genus is polyphyletic; however, many relationships were poorly resolved. In this study, we present a combined-analysis phylogenetic hypothesis for Lagenorhynchus and members of the subfamily Lissodelphininae, which is derived from two nuclear and two mitochondrial data sets and the addition of 34 individuals representing 9 species. In addition, we characterize with parsimony and Bayesian analyses the phylogenetic utility and interaction of characters with statistical measures, including the utility of highly consistent (non-homoplasious) characters as a conservative measure of phylogenetic robustness. We also explore the effects of removing sources of character conflict on phylogenetic resolution. Results Overall, our study provides strong support for the monophyly of the subfamily Lissodelphininae and the polyphyly of the genus Lagenorhynchus. In addition, the simultaneous parsimony analysis resolved and/or improved resolution for 12 nodes including: (1) L. albirostris, L. acutus; (2) L. obscurus and L. obliquidens; and (3) L. cruciger and L. australis. In addition, the Bayesian analysis supported the monophyly of the Cephalorhynchus, and resolved ambiguities regarding the relationship of L. australis/L. cruciger to other members of the genus Lagenorhynchus. The frequency of highly consistent characters varied among data partitions, but the rate of evolution was consistent within data partitions. Although the control region was the greatest source of character conflict, removal of this data partition impeded phylogenetic resolution. Conclusion The simultaneous analysis approach produced a more robust phylogenetic hypothesis for Lagenorhynchus than previous studies, thus supporting a phylogenetic approach employing multiple data partitions that vary in overall rate of evolution. Even in cases where there was apparent conflict among characters, our data suggest a synergistic interaction in the simultaneous analysis, and speak against a priori exclusion of data because of potential conflicts, primarily because phylogenetic results can be less robust. For example, the removal of the control region, the putative source of character conflict, produced spurious results with inconsistencies among and within topologies from parsimony and Bayesian analyses. PMID:17078887

'Acupuncture for antenatal depression: It's worth giving it a go' - A qualitative study.

PubMed

Ormsby, Simone M; Dahlen, Hannah G; Ee, Carolyn C; Keedle, Hazel; Smith, Caroline A

2018-06-01

Treatment strategies for the management of antenatal depression are limited by varied and often modest response rates, unpleasant medication side effects and uncertainty regarding foetal safety. Consequently, many pregnant women experiencing depression seek alternative non-pharmaceutical options. Acupuncture may provide a safe and potentially effective additional treatment, however further investigation is required. In this qualitative study, we explored the views of health professionals regarding the possible incorporation of acupuncture into mainstream care. Two separate focus groups were run with 16 midwives. In-depth interviews were conducted with two maternity service managers and nine doctors (3 obstetricians, 2 psychiatrists and 4 general practitioners). Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Participants were generally positive about acupuncture and open to its possible inclusion in conventional care, on the proviso that it was safe and could be shown to be effective. The overarching theme to emerge was 'acupuncture for antenatal depression: it's worth giving it a go', which participants concluded after considering 'the dilemma of mental health' treatment during the antenatal period and the additional limitations this presented, along with the belief that 'if it doesn't do any harm, I'm not against it'. Practical considerations regarding potential 'barriers' and facilitators' to implementation were additionally explored in 'making it mainstream', whereby the different 'philosophical beliefs' held by participants were seen to influence perspectives. Participants expressed an overall positive attitude towards the possible inclusion of acupuncture into mainstream care for antenatal depression, suggesting various hospital barriers could be overcome with further safety and effectiveness evidence. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of additional bevacizumab to pemetrexed plus cisplatin for malignant pleural mesothelioma based on the MAPS trial.

PubMed

Zhan, Mei; Zheng, Hanrui; Xu, Ting; Yang, Yu; Li, Qiu

2017-08-01

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare malignancy, and pemetrexed/cisplatin (PC) is the gold standard first-line regime. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of the addition of bevacizumab to PC (with maintenance bevacizumab) for unresectable MPM based on a phase III trial that showed a survival benefit compared with chemotherapy alone. To estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of the incorporation of bevacizumab, a Markov model based on the MAPS trial, including the disease states of progression-free survival, progressive disease and death, was used. Total costs were calculated from a Chinese payer perspective, and health outcomes were converted into quality-adjusted life year (QALY). Model robustness was explored in sensitivity analyses. The addition of bevacizumab to PC was estimated to increase the cost by $81446.69, with a gain of 0.112 QALYs, resulting in an ICER of $727202.589 per QALY. In both one-way sensitivity and probabilistic sensitivity analyses, the ICER exceeded the commonly accepted willingness-to-pay threshold of 3 times the gross domestic product per capita of China ($23970.00 per QALY). The cost of bevacizumab had the most important impact on the ICER. The combination of bevacizumab with PC chemotherapy is not a cost-effective treatment option for MPM in China. Given its positive clinical value and extremely low incidence of MPM, an appropriate price discount, assistance programs and medical insurance should be considered to make bevacizumab more affordable for this rare patient population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dimensions of science capital: exploring its potential for understanding students' science participation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeWitt, Jennifer; Archer, Louise; Mau, Ada

2016-11-01

As concerns about participation rates in post-compulsory science continue unabated, considerable research efforts have been focused on understanding and addressing the issue, bringing various theoretical lenses to bear on the problem. One such conceptual lens is that of 'science capital' (science-related forms of social and cultural capital), which has begun to be explored as a tool for examining differential patterns of aspiration and participation in science. This paper continues this line of work, attempting to further refine our conceptualisation of science capital and to consider potential insights it might offer beyond existing, related constructs. We utilise data from two surveys conducted in England as part of the wider Enterprising Science project, a broader national survey and a more targeted survey, completed by students from schools generally serving more disadvantaged populations. Logistic regression analyses indicated that science capital was more closely related than cultural capital to science aspirations-related outcome variables. In addition, further analyses reflected that particular dimensions of science capital (science literacy, perceived transferability and utility of science, family influences) seem to be more closely related to anticipated future participation and identity in science than others. These patterns held for both data sets. While these findings are generally in alignment with previous research, we suggest that they highlight the potential value of science capital as a distinct conceptual lens, which also carries particular implications for the types of interventions that may prove valuable in considering ways to address disparities in science engagement and participation.

Exploring nursing expertise in residential care for older people: a mixed method study.

PubMed

Phelan, Amanda; McCormack, Brendan

2016-10-01

To explore the expertise of Registered Nurses in residential care for older people. As older people in residential care have many complex dependencies, nursing expertise is an essential component of care excellence. However, the work of these nurses can be invisible and, therefore, unrecognized. Thus, additional attention is required to illuminate such nursing expertise. A mixed method design was used in this study. The research took place in 2012 in the Republic of Ireland. Twenty-three case study nurses were recruited from nursing homes. Each case study nurse involved five data collection methods: shadowing, interview with a colleague, interview with a resident, a demographic profile and a director of nursing survey. The study was also informed by a modified focus group. Qualitative data were analysed using directed content analysis using a conceptual framework generated from the literature on nursing expertise. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS and presented in descriptive statistics. The findings from the case studies and the modified focus group are presented in seven themes, which represent nursing expertise in residential care of older people: transitions, context of the nursing home, saliency, holistic practice knowledge, knowing the resident, moral agency and skilled know how. Nursing expertise in residential care of older people is a complex phenomenon which encompasses many aspects of care delivery in a person-centred framework. By rendering this expertise visible, the need for appropriate and adequate skill mix for a growing residential care population is presented. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Environmental distribution of two widespread uncultured freshwater Euryarchaeota clades unveiled by specific primers and quantitative PCR.

PubMed

Restrepo-Ortiz, Claudia X; Casamayor, Emilio O

2013-12-01

Quantitative environmental distribution of two widely distributed uncultured freshwater Euryarchaeota with unknown functional role was explored by newly designed quantitative PCR primers targeting the 16S rRNA gene of clades Miscellaneous Euryarchaeota Group (MEG, containing the groups pMC2A384 and VALII/Eury4) and Deep-Sea Euryarchaeotal Groups (DSEG, targeting the cluster named VALIII containing the DHVE-3/DSEG, BC07-2A-27/DSEG-3 and DSEG-2 groups), respectively. The summer surface plankton of 28 lakes was analysed, and one additional dimictic deep alpine lake, Lake Redon, was temporally and vertically surveyed covering seasonal limnological variability. A trophic range between 0.2 and 5.2 μg l(-1) Chl a, and pH span from 3.8 to 9.5 was explored at altitudes between 632 and 2590 m above sea level. The primers showed to be highly selective with c. 85% coverage and 100% specificity. Only pH significantly explained the changes observed in gene abundances and environment. In Lake Redon, DSEG bloomed in deep stratified waters both in summer and early spring, and MEG at intermediate depths during the ice-cover period. Overall, MEG and DSEG showed a differential ecological distribution although correlational analyses indicated lack of coupling of both Euryarchaeota with phytoplankton (chlorophyll a). However, an intriguing positive and significant relationship was found between DSEG and putative ammonia oxidizing thaumarchaeota. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

Constructions of sexuality in later life: analyses of Canadian magazine and newspaper portrayals of online dating.

PubMed

Wada, Mineko; Hurd Clarke, Laura; Rozanova, Julia

2015-01-01

Advertisements as well as contemporary literature and films often depict older adults as sexually undesirable and unattractive, which reinforces the stereotype that they are nonsexual. However, the evolving discourses of successful aging emphasize that active engagement in life is a key element of healthy aging and as such, have been influencing the ways that older adults' sexuality is represented. This paper explores how popular newspapers and magazines in Canada construct and portray later life sexuality within the context of online dating. We retrieved 144 newspaper and magazine articles about later life online dating that were published between 2009 and 2011. Our thematic and discursive analyses of the articles generated six themes. Of 144 articles, 13% idealized sexuality (sexual attractiveness and optimal sexual engagement) for older adults. The articles portrayed sexual interests and functioning as declining in later life (19%) more often than sustaining (15%). Approximately 15% of the articles suggested that older adults should explore new techniques to boost sexual pleasure, thereby medicalizing and ameliorating sexual decline. In addition, the articles challenged the stereotype of older adults as non-sexual and claimed that sexual engagement in later life was valuable as it contributed to successful aging. We address the paradox in the articles' positive portrayals of older adults' sexuality and the tensions that arise between the two distinct ideals of sexuality that they advance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring multiple trajectories of causality: collaboration between Anthropology and Epidemiology in the 1982 birth cohort, Pelotas, Southern Brazil

PubMed Central

Béhague, Dominique P; Gonçalves, Helen

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Although the relationship between epidemiology and anthropology has a long history, it has generally been comprised of the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods. Only recently have the two fields begun to converge along theoretical lines, leading to a growing mutual interest in explaining rather than simply describing phenomena. This paper aimed to illustrate how ethnographic analyses can be used to assist with the in-depth and theoretically-imbued interpretation of epidemiological results. METHODS: The anthropological analysis presented in this paper used ethnographic data collected as part of the ongoing 1982 birth cohort study, between 1997 and 2007 in Pelotas, Southern Brazil. Analyses were framed according to the results presented in two of the epidemiological articles published in this series on the determinants of mental morbidity and age of sexual initiation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The ethnographic results show that statistical associations consist of multiple pathways of influence and causality that generally correspond to the unique experiences of specific subgroups. In exploring these pathways, the paper highlights the importance of an additional set of mediating factors that account for epidemiological results; these include the awareness and experience of inequities, the role of violence in everyday life, traumatic life events, increasing social isolation and emotional introversion as a response to life's difficulties, and differing approaches towards socio-psychological maturation. Theoretical and methodological collaboration between anthropology and epidemiology is important for public health, as it has positively modified both fields. PMID:19142353

[Exploring multiple trajectories of causality: collaboration between Anthropology and Epidemiology in the 1982 birth cohort, Pelotas, Southern Brazil].

PubMed

Béhague, Dominique P; Gonçalves, Helen

2008-12-01

Although the relationship between epidemiology and anthropology has a long history, it has generally been comprised of the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods. Only recently have the two fields begun to converge along theoretical lines, leading to a growing mutual interest in explaining rather than simply describing phenomena. This paper aimed to illustrate how ethnographic analyses can be used to assist with the in-depth and theoretically-imbued interpretation of epidemiological results. The anthropological analysis presented in this paper used ethnographic data collected as part of the ongoing 1982 birth cohort study, between 1997 and 2007 in Pelotas, Southern Brazil. Analyses were framed according to the results presented in two of the epidemiological articles published in this series on the determinants of mental morbidity and age of sexual initiation. The ethnographic results show that statistical associations consist of multiple pathways of influence and causality that generally correspond to the unique experiences of specific subgroups. In exploring these pathways, the paper highlights the importance of an additional set of mediating factors that account for epidemiological results; these include the awareness and experience of inequities, the role of violence in everyday life, traumatic life events, increasing social isolation and emotional introversion as a response to life's difficulties, and differing approaches towards socio-psychological maturation. Theoretical and methodological collaboration between anthropology and epidemiology is important for public health, as it has positively modified both fields.

Exploring patient satisfaction predictors in relation to a theoretical model.

PubMed

Grøndahl, Vigdis Abrahamsen; Hall-Lord, Marie Louise; Karlsson, Ingela; Appelgren, Jari; Wilde-Larsson, Bodil

2013-01-01

The aim is to describe patients' care quality perceptions and satisfaction and to explore potential patient satisfaction predictors as person-related conditions, external objective care conditions and patients' perception of actual care received ("PR") in relation to a theoretical model. A cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected using one questionnaire combining questions from four instruments: Quality from patients' perspective; Sense of coherence; Big five personality trait; and Emotional stress reaction questionnaire (ESRQ), together with questions from previous research. In total, 528 patients (83.7 per cent response rate) from eight medical, three surgical and one medical/surgical ward in five Norwegian hospitals participated. Answers from 373 respondents with complete ESRQ questionnaires were analysed. Sequential multiple regression analysis with ESRQ as dependent variable was run in three steps: person-related conditions, external objective care conditions, and PR (p < 0.05). Step 1 (person-related conditions) explained 51.7 per cent of the ESRQ variance. Step 2 (external objective care conditions) explained an additional 2.4 per cent. Step 3 (PR) gave no significant additional explanation (0.05 per cent). Steps 1 and 2 contributed statistical significance to the model. Patients rated both quality-of-care and satisfaction highly. The paper shows that the theoretical model using an emotion-oriented approach to assess patient satisfaction can explain 54 per cent of patient satisfaction in a statistically significant manner.

Art in cancer care: Exploring the role of visual art-making programs within an Energy Restoration Framework.

PubMed

Kirshbaum, Marilynne N; Ennis, Gretchen; Waheed, Nasreena; Carter, Fiona

2017-08-01

In contrast to art-therapy, little is known about the role of art-making for people who have been diagnosed with cancer, and even less is known about program-based art-making. This study explored the experience of participation in a visual art-making program for people during and after cancer treatment in the Northern Territory of Australia. A longitudinal, qualitative, single cohort study was undertaken. Eight women diagnosed with breast and/or ovarian cancer participated in weekly art-making sessions over eight weeks, facilitated by two professional artists. Data were collected before, during and after the sessions by interviews and group discussions. The Energy Restoration Framework was used to document and analyse the benefits of participation in terms of the a priori themes of: Expansive, Belonging, Nurturing and Purposeful. The four a priori themes were retained and an additional attribute of an energy restoration activity called Stimulating was added, along with sub-themes, which broadened and deepened understanding of the art-making experience within cancer care. Involvement in an activity that was expansive, new, beautiful and fascinating was highly valued in addition to the appreciation for being with and belonging to a supportive and accepting group facilitated by dynamic artists. There is much scope for continued research and promotion of art-making programs as an adjunct to cancer treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visualisations as a Means for Exploring Academics' Teacher Identities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nevgi, Anne; Löfström, Erika

2014-01-01

Academics' teacher identities is a relatively little explored area. This paper explores this through an analysis of drawings by academics. The data consist of 90 drawings. The participants are academics who have attended basic courses in university pedagogy. The drawings were content analysed. In the drawings, the academics expressed themselves as…

Exploring the Influence of Student Affairs on Adjustment and Adaptation for Indonesian Graduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, David J.; Larson, Jay B.

2017-01-01

This qualitative study explored the influence of student affairs on academic adjustment and adaptation for 10 Indonesian graduate students at a single campus. Semi-structured interviews explored student affairs' role in adaptation and transition to collegiate life in the United States. Analyses illuminated ways in which participants experienced…

Using Dynamic Geometry Software to Explore Eigenvectors: The Emergence of Dynamic-Synthetic-Geometric Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gol Tabaghi, Shiva; Sinclair, Nathalie

2013-01-01

This article analyses students' thinking as they interacted with a dynamic geometric sketch designed to explore eigenvectors and eigenvalues. We draw on the theory of instrumental genesis and, in particular, attend to the different dragging modalities used by the students throughout their explorations. Given the kinaesthetic and dynamic…

Additive Interaction between Heterogeneous Environmental Quality Domains (Air, Water, Land, Sociodemographic, and Built Environment) on Preterm Birth.

PubMed

Grabich, Shannon C; Rappazzo, Kristen M; Gray, Christine L; Jagai, Jyotsna S; Jian, Yun; Messer, Lynne C; Lobdell, Danelle T

2016-01-01

Environmental exposures often occur in tandem; however, epidemiological research often focuses on singular exposures. Statistical interactions among broad, well-characterized environmental domains have not yet been evaluated in association with health. We address this gap by conducting a county-level cross-sectional analysis of interactions between Environmental Quality Index (EQI) domain indices on preterm birth in the Unites States from 2000 to 2005. The EQI, a county-level index constructed for the 2000-2005 time period, was constructed from five domain-specific indices (air, water, land, built, and sociodemographic) using principal component analyses. County-level preterm birth rates ( n  = 3141) were estimated using live births from the National Center for Health Statistics. Linear regression was used to estimate prevalence differences (PDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing worse environmental quality to the better quality for each model for (a) each individual domain main effect, (b) the interaction contrast, and (c) the two main effects plus interaction effect (i.e., the "net effect") to show departure from additivity for the all U.S. counties. Analyses were also performed for subgroupings by four urban/rural strata. We found the suggestion of antagonistic interactions but no synergism, along with several purely additive (i.e., no interaction) associations. In the non-stratified model, we observed antagonistic interactions, between the sociodemographic/air domains [net effect (i.e., the association, including main effects and interaction effects) PD: -0.004 (95% CI: -0.007, 0.000), interaction contrast: -0.013 (95% CI: -0.020, -0.007)] and built/air domains [net effect PD: 0.008 (95% CI 0.004, 0.011), interaction contrast: -0.008 (95% CI: -0.015, -0.002)]. Most interactions were between the air domain and other respective domains. Interactions differed by urbanicity, with more interactions observed in non-metropolitan regions. Observed antagonistic associations may indicate that those living in areas with multiple detrimental domains may have other interfering factors reducing the burden of environmental exposure. This study is the first to explore interactions across different environmental domains and demonstrates the utility of the EQI to examine the relationship between environmental domain interactions and human health. While we did observe some departures from additivity, many observed effects were additive. This study demonstrated that interactions between environmental domains should be considered in future analyses.

Species trees from consensus single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data: Testing phylogenetic approaches with simulated and empirical data.

PubMed

Schmidt-Lebuhn, Alexander N; Aitken, Nicola C; Chuah, Aaron

2017-11-01

Datasets of hundreds or thousands of SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) from multiple individuals per species are increasingly used to study population structure, species delimitation and shallow phylogenetics. The principal software tool to infer species or population trees from SNP data is currently the BEAST template SNAPP which uses a Bayesian coalescent analysis. However, it is computationally extremely demanding and tolerates only small amounts of missing data. We used simulated and empirical SNPs from plants (Australian Craspedia, Asteraceae, and Pelargonium, Geraniaceae) to compare species trees produced (1) by SNAPP, (2) using SVD quartets, and (3) using Bayesian and parsimony analysis with several different approaches to summarising data from multiple samples into one set of traits per species. Our aims were to explore the impact of tree topology and missing data on the results, and to test which data summarising and analyses approaches would best approximate the results obtained from SNAPP for empirical data. SVD quartets retrieved the correct topology from simulated data, as did SNAPP except in the case of a very unbalanced phylogeny. Both methods failed to retrieve the correct topology when large amounts of data were missing. Bayesian analysis of species level summary data scoring the two alleles of each SNP as independent characters and parsimony analysis of data scoring each SNP as one character produced trees with branch length distributions closest to the true trees on which SNPs were simulated. For empirical data, Bayesian inference and Dollo parsimony analysis of data scored allele-wise produced phylogenies most congruent with the results of SNAPP. In the case of study groups divergent enough for missing data to be phylogenetically informative (because of additional mutations preventing amplification of genomic fragments or bioinformatic establishment of homology), scoring of SNP data as a presence/absence matrix irrespective of allele content might be an additional option. As this depends on sampling across species being reasonably even and a random distribution of non-informative instances of missing data, however, further exploration of this approach is needed. Properly chosen data summary approaches to inferring species trees from SNP data may represent a potential alternative to currently available individual-level coalescent analyses especially for quick data exploration and when dealing with computationally demanding or patchy datasets. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Challenges to complete and useful data sharing.

PubMed

Mbuagbaw, Lawrence; Foster, Gary; Cheng, Ji; Thabane, Lehana

2017-02-14

Data sharing from clinical trials is one way of promoting fair and transparent conduct of clinical trials. It would maximise the use of data and permit the exploration of additional hypotheses. On the other hand, the quality of secondary analyses cannot always be ascertained, and it may be unfair to investigators who have expended resources to collect data to bear the additional burden of sharing. As the discussion on the best modalities of sharing data evolves, some of the practical issues that may arise need to be addressed. In this paper, we discuss issues which impede the use of data even when sharing should be possible: (1) multicentre studies requiring consent from all the investigators in each centre; (2) remote access platforms with software limitations and Internet requirements; (3) on-site data analysis when data cannot be moved; (4) governing bodies for data generated in one jurisdiction and analysed in another; (5) using programmatic data collected as part of routine care; (6) data collected in multiple languages; (7) poor data quality. We believe these issues apply to all primary data and cause undue difficulties in conducting analysis even when there is some willingness to share. They can be avoided by anticipating the possibility of sharing any clinical data and pre-emptively removing or addressing restrictions that limit complete sharing. These issues should be part of the data sharing discussion.

Exploration Space Suit Architecture and Destination Environmental-Based Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Terry R.; Korona, F. Adam; McFarland, Shane

2012-01-01

This paper continues forward where EVA Space Suit Architecture: Low Earth Orbit Vs. Moon Vs. Mars [1] left off in the development of a space suit architecture that is modular in design and could be reconfigured prior to launch or during any given mission depending on the tasks or destination. This paper will address the space suit system architecture and technologies required based upon human exploration extravehicular activity (EVA) destinations, and describe how they should evolve to meet the future exploration EVA needs of the US human space flight program.1, 2, 3 In looking forward to future US space exploration to a space suit architecture with maximum reuse of technology and functionality across a range of mission profiles and destinations, a series of exercises and analyses have provided a strong indication that the Constellation Program (CxP) space suit architecture is postured to provide a viable solution for future exploration missions4. The destination environmental analysis presented in this paper demonstrates that the modular architecture approach could provide the lowest mass and mission cost for the protection of the crew given any human mission outside of low-Earth orbit (LEO). Additionally, some of the high-level trades presented here provide a review of the environmental and non-environmental design drivers that will become increasingly important the farther away from Earth humans venture. This paper demonstrates a logical clustering of destination design environments that allows a focused approach to technology prioritization, development, and design that will maximize the return on investment, independent of any particular program, and provide architecture and design solutions for space suit systems in time or ahead of need dates for any particular crewed flight program in the future. The approach to space suit design and interface definition discussion will show how the architecture is very adaptable to programmatic and funding changes with minimal redesign effort such that the modular architecture can be quickly and efficiently honed into a specific mission point solution if required. Additionally, the modular system will allow for specific technology incorporation and upgrade as required with minimal redesign of the system.

Formation of Apprenticeships in the Swedish Education System: Different Stakeholder Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andersson, Ingela; Wärvik, Gun-Britt; Thång, Per-Olof

2015-01-01

The article explores the major features of the Swedish Government's new initiative--a school based Upper Secondary Apprenticeship model. The analyses are guided by activity theory. The analysed texts are part of the parliamentary reform-making process of the 2011 Upper Secondary School reform. The analyses unfold how the Government, the Swedish…

The importance of temperature fluctuations in understanding mosquito population dynamics and malaria risk.

PubMed

Beck-Johnson, Lindsay M; Nelson, William A; Paaijmans, Krijn P; Read, Andrew F; Thomas, Matthew B; Bjørnstad, Ottar N

2017-03-01

Temperature is a key environmental driver of Anopheles mosquito population dynamics; understanding its central role is important for these malaria vectors. Mosquito population responses to temperature fluctuations, though important across the life history, are poorly understood at a population level. We used stage-structured, temperature-dependent delay-differential equations to conduct a detailed exploration of the impacts of diurnal and annual temperature fluctuations on mosquito population dynamics. The model allows exploration of temperature-driven temporal changes in adult age structure, giving insights into the population's capacity to vector malaria parasites. Because of temperature-dependent shifts in age structure, the abundance of potentially infectious mosquitoes varies temporally, and does not necessarily mirror the dynamics of the total adult population. In addition to conducting the first comprehensive theoretical exploration of fluctuating temperatures on mosquito population dynamics, we analysed observed temperatures at four locations in Africa covering a range of environmental conditions. We found both temperature and precipitation are needed to explain the observed malaria season in these locations, enhancing our understanding of the drivers of malaria seasonality and how temporal disease risk may shift in response to temperature changes. This approach, tracking both mosquito abundance and age structure, may be a powerful tool for understanding current and future malaria risk.

Synthesis and characterization of an energetic compound Cu(Mtta)2(NO3)2 and effect on thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate.

PubMed

Yang, Qi; Chen, Sanping; Xie, Gang; Gao, Shengli

2011-12-15

An energetic coordination compound Cu(Mtta)(2)(NO(3))(2) has been synthesized by using 1-methyltetrazole (Mtta) as ligand and its structure has been characterized by X-ray single crystal diffraction. The central copper (II) cation was coordinated by four O atoms from two Mtta ligands and two N atoms from two NO(3)(-) anions to form a six-coordinated and distorted octahedral structure. 2D superamolecular layer structure was formed by the extensive intermolecular hydrogen bonds between Mtta ligands and NO(3)(-) anions. Thermal decomposition process of the compound was predicted based on DSC and TG-DTG analyses results. The kinetic parameters of the first exothermic process of the compound were studied by the Kissinger's and Ozawa-Doyle's methods. Sensitivity tests revealed that the compound was insensitive to mechanical stimuli. In addition, compound was explored as additive to promote the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) by differential scanning calorimetry. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The utility of Bayesian predictive probabilities for interim monitoring of clinical trials

PubMed Central

Connor, Jason T.; Ayers, Gregory D; Alvarez, JoAnn

2014-01-01

Background Bayesian predictive probabilities can be used for interim monitoring of clinical trials to estimate the probability of observing a statistically significant treatment effect if the trial were to continue to its predefined maximum sample size. Purpose We explore settings in which Bayesian predictive probabilities are advantageous for interim monitoring compared to Bayesian posterior probabilities, p-values, conditional power, or group sequential methods. Results For interim analyses that address prediction hypotheses, such as futility monitoring and efficacy monitoring with lagged outcomes, only predictive probabilities properly account for the amount of data remaining to be observed in a clinical trial and have the flexibility to incorporate additional information via auxiliary variables. Limitations Computational burdens limit the feasibility of predictive probabilities in many clinical trial settings. The specification of prior distributions brings additional challenges for regulatory approval. Conclusions The use of Bayesian predictive probabilities enables the choice of logical interim stopping rules that closely align with the clinical decision making process. PMID:24872363

Optimal order policy in response to announced price increase for deteriorating items with limited special order quantity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouyang, Liang-Yuh; Wu, Kun-Shan; Yang, Chih-Te; Yen, Hsiu-Feng

2016-02-01

When a supplier announces an impending price increase due to take effect at a certain time in the future, it is important for each retailer to decide whether to purchase additional stock to take advantage of the present lower price. This study explores the possible effects of price increases on a retailer's replenishment policy when the special order quantity is limited and the rate of deterioration of the goods is assumed to be constant. The two situations discussed in this study are as follows: (1) when the special order time coincides with the retailer's replenishment time and (2) when the special order time occurs during the retailer's sales period. By analysing the total cost savings between special and regular orders during the depletion time of the special order quantity, the optimal order policy for each situation can be determined. We provide several numerical examples to illustrate the theories in practice. Additionally, we conduct a sensitivity analysis on the optimal solution with respect to the main parameters.

Potential new regulatory options for e-cigarettes in New Zealand.

PubMed

Wilson, Nick; Edwards, Richard; Hoek, Janet; Thomson, George; Blakely, Tony; van der Deen, Frederieke Sanne; Crane, Julian

2015-11-20

While e-cigarette usage has grown rapidly in New Zealand and around the world, the scientific evidence base regarding the net benefits and risks of these types of products at the population level remains uncertain. The health-based policy experience is also minimal. Here, we analyse plausible future regulatory options for e-cigarettes that the New Zealand Government could explore, and that further research could help clarify. These options include: (1) a full free market (an option we doubt is desirable for multiple reasons); (2) controlled increased access through: (a) pharmacy only, (b) pharmacy only plus sales by prescription/ to licensed vapers; (c) additional controls through non-profit supply/distribution (eg, public hospital pharmacies); (3) increased restrictions compared with current (eg, adopting a complete ban on self-imports and use). In addition, we consider mechanisms to improve product quality and safety, and argue that policy makers should take great care when regulating e-cigarettes, given the scientific uncertainty and the role of commercial vested interests.

Collins azimuthal asymmetries of hadron production inside jets

DOE PAGES

Kang, Zhong -Bo; Prokudin, Alexei; Ringer, Felix; ...

2017-10-18

Here, we investigate the Collins azimuthal asymmetry of hadrons produced inside jets in transversely polarized proton-proton collisions. Recently, the quark transversity distributions and the Collins fragmentation functions have been extracted within global analyses from data of the processes semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering and electron-positron annihilation. We calculate the Collins azimuthal asymmetry for charged pions inside jets using these extractions for RHIC kinematics at center-of-mass energies of 200 and 500 GeV. We compare our results with recent data from the STAR Collaboration at RHIC and find good agreement, which confirms the universality of the Collins fragmentation functions. In addition, we furthermore » explore the impact of transverse momentum dependent evolution effects.« less

Why are hyperactivity and academic achievement related?

PubMed

Saudino, Kimberly J; Plomin, Robert

2007-01-01

Although a negative association between hyperactivity and academic achievement is well documented, little is known about the genetic and/or environmental mechanisms responsible for the association. The present study explored links between parent and teacher ratings of hyperactive behavior problems and teacher-assessed achievement in a sample of 1,876 twin pairs (mean age 7.04 years). The results did not differ across rater, nor were there significant differences between males or females or for twins in the same or different classrooms. Hyperactivity was significantly correlated with achievement. Multivariate model-fitting analyses revealed significant genetic and nonshared environmental covariance between the two phenotypes. In addition, bivariate heritabilities were substantial, indicating that the phenotypic correlations between hyperactivity and achievement were largely mediated by genetic influences.

Bone Density Following Long Duration Space Flight and Recovery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amin, Shreyasee; Achenbach, Sara J.; Atkinson, Elizabeth J.; Melton, L. Joseph; Khosla, Sundeep; Sibonga, Jean

2010-01-01

At approx.12 months, Bone Mineral Density (BMD) at most sites in men remained lower than would be predicted, raising concerns for long-term bone health consequences following space flight. Additional analyses based on longer follow-up are being conducted. Although the N is too small for definitive conclusions, women had lower rates of loss at load-bearing sites of the hip and spine immediately post-flight relative to men and smaller differences between observed vs. predicted BMD at most sites, both immediately and 12 months post-flight, relative to men. The role of other exposures/risk factors need to be explored to further understand these possible gender differences in BMD loss and recovery following long-duration space flight.

Muscular strength is associated with self-esteem in college men but not women.

PubMed

Ciccolo, Joseph T; SantaBarbara, Nicholas J; Dunsiger, Shira I; Busch, Andrew M; Bartholomew, John B

2016-12-01

Muscular strength is a well-known predictor of morbidity and mortality. Similarly, self-esteem is a predictor of health and well-being. The relationship between these two variables, however, is currently unknown. This study examined the cross-sectional relationship between maximal muscular strength (i.e. handgrip and one-repetition-maximum (1-RM) squat) and global self-esteem in 126 college students. Significant correlations were found between both measures of muscular strength and self-esteem. Further analyses revealed that these relationships were only significant for men. Based on these results, additional research is needed to further explore the relationship between muscular strength and self-esteem, especially in other demographic groups and longitudinally. © The Author(s) 2015.

Collins azimuthal asymmetries of hadron production inside jets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kang, Zhong -Bo; Prokudin, Alexei; Ringer, Felix

Here, we investigate the Collins azimuthal asymmetry of hadrons produced inside jets in transversely polarized proton-proton collisions. Recently, the quark transversity distributions and the Collins fragmentation functions have been extracted within global analyses from data of the processes semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering and electron-positron annihilation. We calculate the Collins azimuthal asymmetry for charged pions inside jets using these extractions for RHIC kinematics at center-of-mass energies of 200 and 500 GeV. We compare our results with recent data from the STAR Collaboration at RHIC and find good agreement, which confirms the universality of the Collins fragmentation functions. In addition, we furthermore » explore the impact of transverse momentum dependent evolution effects.« less

Population and labour force projections for 27 European countries, 2002-052: impact of international migration on population ageing: Projections de population et de population active pour 27 pays européens 2002-052: impact de la migration internationale sur le vieillissement de la population.

PubMed

Bijak, Jakub; Kupiszewska, Dorota; Kupiszewski, Marek; Saczuk, Katarzyna; Kicinger, Anna

2007-03-01

Population and labour force projections are made for 27 selected European countries for 2002-052, focussing on the impact of international migration on population and labour force dynamics. Starting from single scenarios for fertility, mortality and economic activity, three sets of assumptions are explored regarding migration flows, taking into account probable policy developments in Europe following the enlargement of the EU. In addition to age structures, various support ratio indicators are analysed. The results indicate that plausible immigration cannot offset the negative effects of population and labour force ageing.

"This is what you need to be learning": an analysis of messages received by first-year mathematics students during their transition to university

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kouvela, Eirini; Hernandez-Martinez, Paul; Croft, Tony

2018-06-01

This paper explores the messages that first-year mathematics students receive in the context of their academic studies during their transition from school to university mathematics. Through observations of lectures and discussions with first-year mathematics undergraduates in an English university, we identified and analysed the messages that two of their lecturers transmitted to them during this transitional phase. The results suggest that strongly framed messages are more easily perceived by students and affect them during their transition. Additionally, messages that have been received in the school context continue to have control over students' thinking and on many occasions can impede adjustment to the new setting.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boyack, B.E.; Steiner, J.L.; Harmony, S.C.

The PIUS advanced reactor is a 640-MWe pressurized water reactor developed by Asea Brown Boveri (ABB). A unique feature of the PIUS concept is the absence of mechanical control and shutdown rods. Reactivity is normally controlled by coolant boron concentration and the temperature of the moderator coolant. ABB submitted the PIUS design to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for preapplication review, and Los Alamos supported the NRC`s review effort. Baseline analyses of small-break initiators at two locations were performed with the system neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analysis code TRAC-PF1/MOD2. In addition, sensitivity studies were performed to explore the robustness ofmore » the PIUS concept to severe off-normal conditions having a very low probability of occurrence.« less

Seeing is believing: on the use of image databases for visually exploring plant organelle dynamics.

PubMed

Mano, Shoji; Miwa, Tomoki; Nishikawa, Shuh-ichi; Mimura, Tetsuro; Nishimura, Mikio

2009-12-01

Organelle dynamics vary dramatically depending on cell type, developmental stage and environmental stimuli, so that various parameters, such as size, number and behavior, are required for the description of the dynamics of each organelle. Imaging techniques are superior to other techniques for describing organelle dynamics because these parameters are visually exhibited. Therefore, as the results can be seen immediately, investigators can more easily grasp organelle dynamics. At present, imaging techniques are emerging as fundamental tools in plant organelle research, and the development of new methodologies to visualize organelles and the improvement of analytical tools and equipment have allowed the large-scale generation of image and movie data. Accordingly, image databases that accumulate information on organelle dynamics are an increasingly indispensable part of modern plant organelle research. In addition, image databases are potentially rich data sources for computational analyses, as image and movie data reposited in the databases contain valuable and significant information, such as size, number, length and velocity. Computational analytical tools support image-based data mining, such as segmentation, quantification and statistical analyses, to extract biologically meaningful information from each database and combine them to construct models. In this review, we outline the image databases that are dedicated to plant organelle research and present their potential as resources for image-based computational analyses.

[Forensic Analysis of 6 Cases of Sudden Death due to Hyperthyroid Heart Disease].

PubMed

Zhang, M Z; Li, B X; Zhao, R; Guan, D W; Zhang, G H; Wu, X; Zhu, B L; Li, R B

2017-10-01

To analyse the cases of sudden death due to hyperthyroid heart disease, and explore the general information of deaths and the forensic pathological characteristics to provide reference evidence for forensic identification of such cases. Six cases of sudden death due to hyperthyroid heart disease between 2001 and 2016 were selected from School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University. The general information （gender and age）, clinical manifestations, medical history, anatomical and histopathological findings, biochemical parameters and cause of death were analysed retrospectively. Most of the 6 patients had definite history of hyperthyroidism, and they all showed certain degrees of symptoms of cardiovascular disease; had obvious incentive factors of death; histopathological examination of thyroid conformed to the performances of diffuse toxic goiter; with increase of cardiac weight, dilatation of cardiac chambers, myocardial hypertrophy and focal necrosis; postmortem biochemical analyses of pericardial fluid could be used as an additional method for diagnostic of sudden death due to hyperthyroid heart disease. The identification of death due to hyperthyroid heart disease should be based on the clinical history and the results of autopsy, histopathological examination, postmortem toxicology tests. The postmortem biochemical detection of thyroid and cardiac function should be performed if necessary. Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Forensic Medicine

Transcriptional profiling of murine osteoblast differentiation based on RNA-seq expression analyses.

PubMed

Khayal, Layal Abo; Grünhagen, Johannes; Provazník, Ivo; Mundlos, Stefan; Kornak, Uwe; Robinson, Peter N; Ott, Claus-Eric

2018-04-11

Osteoblastic differentiation is a multistep process characterized by osteogenic induction of mesenchymal stem cells, which then differentiate into proliferative pre-osteoblasts that produce copious amounts of extracellular matrix, followed by stiffening of the extracellular matrix, and matrix mineralization by hydroxylapatite deposition. Although these processes have been well characterized biologically, a detailed transcriptional analysis of murine primary calvaria osteoblast differentiation based on RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses has not previously been reported. Here, we used RNA-seq to obtain expression values of 29,148 genes at four time points as murine primary calvaria osteoblasts differentiate in vitro until onset of mineralization was clearly detectable by microscopic inspection. Expression of marker genes confirmed osteogenic differentiation. We explored differential expression of 1386 protein-coding genes using unsupervised clustering and GO analyses. 100 differentially expressed lncRNAs were investigated by co-expression with protein-coding genes that are localized within the same topologically associated domain. Additionally, we monitored expression of 237 genes that are silent or active at distinct time points and compared differential exon usage. Our data represent an in-depth profiling of murine primary calvaria osteoblast differentiation by RNA-seq and contribute to our understanding of genetic regulation of this key process in osteoblast biology. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Abnormally high expression of POLD1, MCM2, and PLK4 promotes relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

PubMed

Li, Sheng; Wang, Chengzhong; Wang, Weikai; Liu, Weidong; Zhang, Guiqin

2018-05-01

This study aimed to explore the underlying mechanism of relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).Datasets of GSE28460 and GSE18497 were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between diagnostic and relapsed ALL samples were identified using Limma package in R, and a Venn diagram was drawn. Next, functional enrichment analyses of co-regulated DEGs were performed. Based on the String database, protein-protein interaction network and module analyses were also conducted. Moreover, transcription factors and miRNAs targeting co-regulated DEGs were predicted using the WebGestalt online tool.A total of 71 co-regulated DEGs were identified, including 56 co-upregulated genes and 15 co-downregulated genes. Functional enrichment analyses showed that upregulated DEGs were significantly enriched in the cell cycle, and DNA replication, and repair related pathways. POLD1, MCM2, and PLK4 were hub proteins in both protein-protein interaction network and module, and might be potential targets of E2F. Additionally, POLD1 and MCM2 were found to be regulated by miR-520H via E2F1.High expression of POLD1, MCM2, and PLK4 might play positive roles in the recurrence of ALL, and could serve as potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of relapsed ALL.

Perceptions about medical male circumcision and sexual behaviours of adults in rural Uganda: a cross sectional study.

PubMed

Mukama, Trasias; Ndejjo, Rawlance; Musinguzi, Geofrey; Musoke, David

2015-01-01

Medical male circumcision is currently recognized as an additional important HIV preventive intervention to reduce the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men. However, sexual behaviours after medical circumcision can potentially reduce the expected benefits of the practice. This study explored the perceptions about medical male circumcision and sexual behaviours of adults in Kayunga district, Uganda. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 393 respondents using a semi structured questionnaire. In addition, four focus group discussions were conducted. Quantitative data was analysed using STATA 12. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were carried out. Qualitative data was analysed thematically. The study established various perceptions about medical male circumcision and sexual behaviours. Majority 247 (64.5%) did not perceive circumcision as a practice that can lead men to have multiple sexual partners. Males were 3 times more likely to think that circumcision would lead to having multiple sexual partners than females (AOR=2.99, CI: 1.93-4.61). Only 89 (23.2%) believed that circumcision would lead to complacency and compromise the use of condoms to prevent against infection with HIV. Respondents who had education above primary were less likely to think that circumcision would compromise the use of condoms (AOR=0.49, CI: 0.31- 0.79). The perception that circumcised youths were less likely to abstain from sexual intercourse was less held among those with education above primary (AOR=0.58, CI: 0.37-0.91) and those older than 30 years (AOR=0.59, CI: 0.38-0.92). There were gaps in knowledge and negative perceptions about MMC in the study community. Measures are needed to avert the negative perceptions by equipping communities with sufficient, accurate and consistent information about medical male circumcision and sexual behaviour.

Solar System Exploration Augmented by In-Situ Resource Utilization: Human Mercury and Saturn Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palaszewski, Bryan

2015-01-01

Human and robotic missions to Mercury and Saturn are presented and analyzed. Unique elements of the local planetary environments are discussed and included in the analyses and assessments. Using historical studies of space exploration, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), and industrialization all point to the vastness of natural resources in the solar system. Advanced propulsion benefitted from these resources in many way. While advanced propulsion systems were proposed in these historical studies, further investigation of nuclear options using high power nuclear thermal and nuclear pulse propulsion as well as advanced chemical propulsion can significantly enhance these scenarios. Updated analyses based on these historical visions will be presented. Nuclear thermal propulsion and ISRU enhanced chemical propulsion landers are assessed for Mercury missions. At Saturn, nuclear pulse propulsion with alternate propellant feed systems and Titan exploration with chemical propulsion options are discussed.

Combining computational analyses and interactive visualization for document exploration and sensemaking in jigsaw.

PubMed

Görg, Carsten; Liu, Zhicheng; Kihm, Jaeyeon; Choo, Jaegul; Park, Haesun; Stasko, John

2013-10-01

Investigators across many disciplines and organizations must sift through large collections of text documents to understand and piece together information. Whether they are fighting crime, curing diseases, deciding what car to buy, or researching a new field, inevitably investigators will encounter text documents. Taking a visual analytics approach, we integrate multiple text analysis algorithms with a suite of interactive visualizations to provide a flexible and powerful environment that allows analysts to explore collections of documents while sensemaking. Our particular focus is on the process of integrating automated analyses with interactive visualizations in a smooth and fluid manner. We illustrate this integration through two example scenarios: an academic researcher examining InfoVis and VAST conference papers and a consumer exploring car reviews while pondering a purchase decision. Finally, we provide lessons learned toward the design and implementation of visual analytics systems for document exploration and understanding.

Issues Related to the Frequency of Exploratory Analyses by Evidence Review Groups in the NICE Single Technology Appraisal Process.

PubMed

Kaltenthaler, Eva; Carroll, Christopher; Hill-McManus, Daniel; Scope, Alison; Holmes, Michael; Rice, Stephen; Rose, Micah; Tappenden, Paul; Woolacott, Nerys

2017-06-01

Evidence Review Groups (ERGs) critically appraise company submissions as part of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Single Technology Appraisal (STA) process. As part of their critique of the evidence submitted by companies, the ERGs undertake exploratory analyses to explore uncertainties in the company's model. The aim of this study was to explore pre-defined factors that might influence or predict the extent of ERG exploratory analyses. The aim of this study was to explore predefined factors that might influence or predict the extent of ERG exploratory analyses. We undertook content analysis of over 400 documents, including ERG reports and related documentation for the 100 most recent STAs (2009-2014) for which guidance has been published. Relevant data were extracted from the documents and narrative synthesis was used to summarise the extracted data. All data were extracted and checked by two researchers. Forty different companies submitted documents as part of the NICE STA process. The most common disease area covered by the STAs was cancer (44%), and most ERG reports (n = 93) contained at least one exploratory analysis. The incidence and frequency of ERG exploratory analyses does not appear to be related to any developments in the appraisal process, the disease area covered by the STA, or the company's base-case incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). However, there does appear to be a pattern in the mean number of analyses conducted by particular ERGs, but the reasons for this are unclear and potentially complex. No clear patterns were identified regarding the presence or frequency of exploratory analyses, apart from the mean number conducted by individual ERGs. More research is needed to understand this relationship.

Nitrogen deposition and soil carbon sequestration: enzymes, experiments, and model estimates (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodale, C. L.; Weiss, M.; Tonitto, C.; Stone, M.

2010-12-01

Atmospheric nitrogen has long been expected to increase forest carbon sequestration, by means of enhanced productivity and litter production. More recently, N deposition has received attention for its potential for inducing soil C sequestration by suppressing microbial decomposition. Here, we present a range of measurements and model projections of the effects of N additions on soil C dynamics in forest soils of the northeastern U.S. A review of field-scale measurements of soil C stocks suggests modest enhancements of soil C storage in long-term N addition studies. Measurements of forest floor material from six long-term N addition studies showed that N additions suppressed microbial biomass and oxidative enzyme activity across sites. Additional analyses on soils from two of these sites are exploring the interactive effects of temperature and N addition on the activity of a range of extracellular enzymes used for decomposition of a range of organic matter. Incubations of forest floor material from four of these sites showed inhibition of heterotrophic respiration by an average of 28% during the first week of incubation, although this inhibition disappeared after 2 to 11 months. Nitrogen additions had no significant effect on DOC loss or on the partitioning of soil C into light or heavy (mineral-associated) organic matter. Last, we have adapted a new model of soil organic matter decomposition for the PnET-CN model to assess the long-term impact of suppressed decomposition on C sequestration in various soil C pools.

Exploring Stability and Change in Preschool Teachers' Shared Book Reading Verbal Language Profiles across One Semester

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bales, Mary K. Cockburn

2013-01-01

This study explored preschool teachers' verbal language profiles during shared book reading sessions. The verbal language profiles were comprised of a combination of instructional and management strategies both at the fall and winter time points. Latent profile and transition analyses were used to explore the profiles identified in the study's…

The Validity of a German Version of the Career Exploration Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowold, Jens; Staufenbiel, Kathrin

2010-01-01

This paper reports psychometric properties of a German version of the Career Exploration Survey (CES-G). The instrument's 16 scales allow for a detailed description of career exploration. Based on data from two studies (N[subscript 1] = 1023; N[subscript 2] = 816), confirmatory factor analyses supported the 16-factor model. With regard to…

Daily goal progress is facilitated by spousal support and promotes psychological, physical, and relational well-being throughout adulthood

PubMed Central

Jakubiak, Brittany K.; Feeney, Brooke C.

2016-01-01

In two daily-diary studies, we tested the consequences and precursors of daily goal progress throughout the adult lifespan. Attachment theory posits that exploration—including the pursuit of autonomous goals—promotes well-being across the lifespan and is facilitated by support from close others. For both young-adult newlyweds (Study 1) and married couples in late adulthood (Study 2), daily independent goal progress predicted same-day and next-day improvements in psychological, physical, and relational well-being. Specifically, when participants made more progress on their goals than usual on one day, they reported increases in positive affect, sleep quality, and relationship quality, and decreased physical symptoms, the following day (as well as concurrently). Additionally, spousal support (i.e., availability, encouragement, and noninterference) enabled same-day and next-day goal progress. Mediational analyses showed indirect links between spousal support and well-being through goal progress. Some effects were moderated by attachment orientation in the newlywed sample; individuals with greater insecure attachment benefited most from goal progress, and spousal support enabled goal progress most strongly for individuals with less anxious attachment. Overall, these results support and extend attachment theoretical propositions regarding the importance of the exploration system across the adult lifespan. They contribute to existing literature by demonstrating wide-ranging consequences of successful exploration for well-being and by providing evidence for the importance of both exploration and support for exploration into late adulthood. PMID:27560610

Exploring nutrition capacity in Australia's charitable food sector.

PubMed

Wingrove, Kate; Barbour, Liza; Palermo, Claire

2017-11-01

The primary aim of this study was to explore the capacity of community organisations within Australia's charitable food sector to provide nutritious food to people experiencing food insecurity. A secondary aim was to explore their capacity to provide food in an environment that encourages social interaction. This qualitative research used an exploratory case study design and was informed by a nutrition capacity framework. Participants were recruited through SecondBite, a not-for-profit food rescue organisation in Australia. Convenience sampling methods were used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the knowledge, attitudes and experiences of people actively involved in emergency food relief provision. Transcripts were thematically analysed using an open coding technique. Nine interviews were conducted. The majority of participants were female (n = 7, 77.8%) and worked or volunteered at organisations within Victoria (n = 7, 77.8%). Results suggest that the capacity for community organisations to provide nutritious food to their clients may be limited by resource availability more so than the nutrition-related knowledge and attitudes of staff members and volunteers. Australia's charitable food sector plays a vital role in addressing the short-term needs of people experiencing food insecurity. To ensure the food provided to people experiencing food insecurity is nutritious and provided in an environment that encourages social interaction, it appears that the charitable food sector requires additional resources. In order to reduce demand for emergency food relief, an integrated policy approach targeting the underlying determinants of food insecurity may be needed. © 2016 Dietitians Association of Australia.

Routine activities and victimization at school: the significance of gender.

PubMed

Popp, Ann Marie; Peguero, Anthony A

2011-08-01

Routine activities theory has not fully considered the role of gender in shaping victimization and yet, the research literature clearly demonstrates that gender is associated with an individual's risk of victimization. In addition to the pervasive effect of gender on victimization, gender shapes an individual's daily routines and thus may create a gender-specific relationship with victimization. This article explores the importance of gender in understanding the relationship between student's participation in extracurricular routine activities (e.g., student government, clubs, sports, and etc.) and the risk of victimization. From the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, a sample of 10th-grade students was drawn for analyses. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling was employed to explore the role of gender in the relationship between extracurricular routine activities and victimization at school. The results reveal that students' gender indeed interacts with several of the extracurricular routine activities creating gender-specific risks of victimization. This article highlights the importance of gender in explaining victimization and suggests researchers should consider how gender may interact with other routine activities and victimization.

MutationAligner: a resource of recurrent mutation hotspots in protein domains in cancer

PubMed Central

Gauthier, Nicholas Paul; Reznik, Ed; Gao, Jianjiong; Sumer, Selcuk Onur; Schultz, Nikolaus; Sander, Chris; Miller, Martin L.

2016-01-01

The MutationAligner web resource, available at http://www.mutationaligner.org, enables discovery and exploration of somatic mutation hotspots identified in protein domains in currently (mid-2015) more than 5000 cancer patient samples across 22 different tumor types. Using multiple sequence alignments of protein domains in the human genome, we extend the principle of recurrence analysis by aggregating mutations in homologous positions across sets of paralogous genes. Protein domain analysis enhances the statistical power to detect cancer-relevant mutations and links mutations to the specific biological functions encoded in domains. We illustrate how the MutationAligner database and interactive web tool can be used to explore, visualize and analyze mutation hotspots in protein domains across genes and tumor types. We believe that MutationAligner will be an important resource for the cancer research community by providing detailed clues for the functional importance of particular mutations, as well as for the design of functional genomics experiments and for decision support in precision medicine. MutationAligner is slated to be periodically updated to incorporate additional analyses and new data from cancer genomics projects. PMID:26590264

pypet: A Python Toolkit for Data Management of Parameter Explorations

PubMed Central

Meyer, Robert; Obermayer, Klaus

2016-01-01

pypet (Python parameter exploration toolkit) is a new multi-platform Python toolkit for managing numerical simulations. Sampling the space of model parameters is a key aspect of simulations and numerical experiments. pypet is designed to allow easy and arbitrary sampling of trajectories through a parameter space beyond simple grid searches. pypet collects and stores both simulation parameters and results in a single HDF5 file. This collective storage allows fast and convenient loading of data for further analyses. pypet provides various additional features such as multiprocessing and parallelization of simulations, dynamic loading of data, integration of git version control, and supervision of experiments via the electronic lab notebook Sumatra. pypet supports a rich set of data formats, including native Python types, Numpy and Scipy data, Pandas DataFrames, and BRIAN(2) quantities. Besides these formats, users can easily extend the toolkit to allow customized data types. pypet is a flexible tool suited for both short Python scripts and large scale projects. pypet's various features, especially the tight link between parameters and results, promote reproducible research in computational neuroscience and simulation-based disciplines. PMID:27610080

pypet: A Python Toolkit for Data Management of Parameter Explorations.

PubMed

Meyer, Robert; Obermayer, Klaus

2016-01-01

pypet (Python parameter exploration toolkit) is a new multi-platform Python toolkit for managing numerical simulations. Sampling the space of model parameters is a key aspect of simulations and numerical experiments. pypet is designed to allow easy and arbitrary sampling of trajectories through a parameter space beyond simple grid searches. pypet collects and stores both simulation parameters and results in a single HDF5 file. This collective storage allows fast and convenient loading of data for further analyses. pypet provides various additional features such as multiprocessing and parallelization of simulations, dynamic loading of data, integration of git version control, and supervision of experiments via the electronic lab notebook Sumatra. pypet supports a rich set of data formats, including native Python types, Numpy and Scipy data, Pandas DataFrames, and BRIAN(2) quantities. Besides these formats, users can easily extend the toolkit to allow customized data types. pypet is a flexible tool suited for both short Python scripts and large scale projects. pypet's various features, especially the tight link between parameters and results, promote reproducible research in computational neuroscience and simulation-based disciplines.

Co-occurrences between adolescent substance use and academic performance: school context influences a multilevel-longitudinal perspective.

PubMed

Andrade, Fernando H

2014-08-01

A growing body of literature has linked substance use and academic performance exploring substance use as a predictor of academic performance or vice versa. This study uses a different approach conceptualizing substance use and academic performance as parallel outcomes and exploring two topics: its multilevel-longitudinal association and school contextual effects on both outcomes. Using multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis and multilevel-longitudinal analyses, the empirical estimates relied on 7843 students nested in 114 schools (Add Health study). The main finding suggests that the correlation between substance use and academic performance was positive at the school level in contraposition to the negative relationship at the individual level. Additional findings suggest a positive effect of a school risk factor on substance use and a positive effect of academic pressure on academic performance. These findings represent a contribution to our understanding of how schools could affect the relationship between academic performance and substance use. Copyright © 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A newly developed tool for intra-tracheal temperature and humidity assessment in laryngectomized individuals: the Airway Climate Explorer (ACE)

PubMed Central

Zuur, J. K.; Muller, S. H.; de Jongh, F. H. C.; van der Horst, M. J.; Shehata, M.; van Leeuwen, J.; Sinaasappel, M.

2007-01-01

The aim of this study is to develop a postlaryngectomy airway climate explorer (ACE) for assessment of intratracheal temperature and humidity and of influence of heat and moisture exchangers (HMEs). Engineering goals were within-device condensation prevention and fast response time characteristics. The ACE consists of a small diameter, heated air-sampling catheter connected to a heated sensor house, containing a humidity sensor. Air is sucked through the catheter by a controlled-flow pump. Validation was performed in a climate chamber using a calibrated reference sensor and in a two-flow system. Additionally, the analyser was tested in vivo. Over the clinically relevant range of humidity values (5–42 mg H2O/l air) the sensor output highly correlates with the reference sensor readings (R2 > 0.99). The 1–1/e response times are all <0.5 s. A first in vivo pilot measurement was successful. The newly developed, verified, fast-responding ACE is suitable for postlaryngectomy airway climate assessment. PMID:17629761

Short-wave infrared reflectance investigation of sites of paleobiological interest: applications for Mars exploration.

PubMed

Brown, Adrian; Walter, Malcolm; Cudahy, Thomas

2004-01-01

Rover missions to the rocky bodies of the Solar System and especially to Mars require lightweight, portable instruments that use minimal power, require no sample preparation, and provide suitably diagnostic mineralogical information to an Earth-based exploration team. Short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectroscopic instruments such as the Portable Infrared Mineral Analyser (PIMA, Integrated Spectronics Pty Ltd., Baulkham Hills, NSW, Australia) fulfill all these requirements. We describe an investigation of a possible Mars analogue site using a PIMA instrument. A survey was carried out on the Strelley Pool Chert, an outcrop of stromatolitic, silicified Archean carbonate and clastic succession in the Pilbara Craton, interpreted as being modified by hydrothermal processes. The results of this study demonstrate the capability of SWIR techniques to add significantly to the geological interpretation of such hydrothermally altered outcrops. Minerals identified include dolomite, white micas such as illite-muscovite, and chlorite. In addition, the detection of pyrophyllite in a bleached and altered unit directly beneath the succession suggests acidic, sulfur-rich hydrothermal activity may have interacted with the silicified sediments of the Strelley Pool Chert.

Multi-Terrain Earth Landing Systems Applicable for Manned Space Capsules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fasanella, Edwin L.

2008-01-01

A key element of the President's Vision for Space Exploration is the development of a new space transportation system to replace the Shuttle that will enable manned exploration of the moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA has tasked the Constellation Program with the development of this architecture, which includes the Ares launch vehicle and Orion manned spacecraft. The Orion spacecraft must carry six astronauts and its primary structure should be reusable, if practical. These requirements led the Constellation Program to consider a baseline land landing on return to earth. To assess the landing system options for Orion, a review of current operational parachute landing systems such as those used for the F-111 escape module and the Soyuz is performed. In particular, landing systems with airbags and retrorockets that would enable reusability of the Orion capsule are investigated. In addition, Apollo tests and analyses conducted in the 1960's for both water and land landings are reviewed. Finally, tests and dynamic finite element simulations to understand land landings for the Orion spacecraft are also presented.

Radiometric assessment method for diffraction effects in hyperspectral imagers applied to the earth explorer #8 mission candidate flex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berlich, R.; Harnisch, B.

2017-11-01

An accurate stray light analysis represents a crucial part in the early design phase of hyperspectral imaging systems, since scattering effects can severely limit the radiometric accuracy performance. In addition to conventional contributors including ghost images and surface scattering, i.e. caused by a residual surface micro-roughness and particle contamination, diffraction effects can result in significant radiometric errors in the spatial and spectral domain of pushbroom scanners. In this paper, we present a mathematical approach that efficiently evaluates these diffraction effects based on a Fourier analysis. It is shown that considering the conventional diffraction at the systems entrance pupil only, significantly overestimates the stray light contribution. In fact, a correct assessment necessitates taking into account the joint influence of the entrance pupil, the spectrometer slit as well as the dispersion element. We quantitatively investigate the corresponding impact on the Instrument Spectral Response Function (ISRF) of the Earth Explorer #8 Mission Candidate FLEX and analyse the expected radiometric error distribution for a typical earth observation scenario requirement.

The SEEDS High-Contrast Imaging Survey of Exoplanets Around Young Stellar Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uyama, Taichi; Hashimoto, Jun; Kuzuhara, Masayuki; Mayama, Satoshi; Akiyama, Eiji; Currie, Thayne; Livingston, John; Kudo, Tomoyuki; Kusakabe, Nobuhiko; Abe, Lyu; Brandner, Wolfgang; Brandt, Timothy D.; Carson, Joseph C.; Egner, Sebastian; Feldt, Markus; Goto, Miwa; Grady, Carol A.; Guyon, Olivier; Hayano, Yutaka; Hayashi, Masahiko; Hayashi, Saeko S.; Henning, Thomas; Hodapp, Klaus W.; Ishii, Miki; Iye, Masanori; Janson, Markus; Kandori, Ryo; Knapp, Gillian R.; Kwon, Jungmi; Matsuo, Taro; Mcelwain, Michael W.; Miyama, Shoken; Morino, Jun-Ichi; Moro-Martin, Amaya; Nishimura, Tetsuo; Pyo, Tae-Soo; Serabyn, Eugene; Suenaga, Takuya; Suto, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Ryuji; Takahashi, Yasuhiro H.; Takami, Michihiro; Takato, Naruhisa; Terada, Hiroshi; Thalmann, Christian; Turner, Edwin L.; Watanabe, Makoto; Wisniewski, John; Yamada, Toru; Takami, Hideki; Usuda, Tomonori; Tamura, Motohide

2017-03-01

We present high-contrast observations of 68 young stellar objects (YSOs) that have been explored as part of the Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru (SEEDS) survey on the Subaru telescope. Our targets are very young (<10 Myr) stars, which often harbor protoplanetary disks where planets may be forming. We achieve a typical contrast of ˜10-4-10-5.5 at an angular distance of 1″ from the central star, corresponding to typical mass sensitivities (assuming hot-start evolutionary models) of ˜10 M J at 70 au and ˜6 M J at 140 au. We detected a new stellar companion to HIP 79462 and confirmed the substellar objects GQ Lup b and ROXs 42B b. An additional six companion candidates await follow-up observations to check for common proper motion. Our SEEDS YSO observations probe the population of planets and brown dwarfs at the very youngest ages; these may be compared to the results of surveys targeting somewhat older stars. Our sample and the associated observational results will help enable detailed statistical analyses of giant planet formation.

Loopholes in Z ' searches at the LHC: exploring supersymmetric and leptophobic scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Araz, Jack Y.; Corcella, Gennaro; Frank, Mariana; Fuks, Benjamin

2018-02-01

Searching for heavy vector bosons Z ', predicted in models inspired by Grand Unification Theories, is among the challenging objectives of the LHC. The ATLAS and CMS collaborations have looked for Z ' bosons assuming that they can decay only into Standard Model channels, and have set exclusion limits by investigating dilepton, dijet and, to a smaller extent, top-antitop final states. In this work we explore possible loopholes in these Z ' searches, by studying supersymmetric as well as leptophobic scenarios. We demonstrate the existence of realizations in which the Z ' boson automatically evades the typical bounds derived from the analyses of the Drell-Yan invariant-mass spectrum. Dileptonic final states can in contrast only originate from supersymmetric Z ' decays and are thus accompanied by additional effects. This feature is analyzed in the context of judiciously chosen bench-mark configurations, for which visible signals could be expected in future LHC data with a 4 σ - 7 σ significance. Our results should hence motivate an extension of the current Z ' search program to account for supersymmetric and leptophobic models.

Teaching Plate Tectonic Concepts using GeoMapApp Learning Activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodwillie, A. M.; Kluge, S.

2012-12-01

GeoMapApp Learning Activities ( http://serc.carleton.edu/geomapapp/collection.html ) can help educators to expose undergraduate students to a range of earth science concepts using high-quality data sets in an easy-to-use map-based interface called GeoMapApp. GeoMapApp Learning Activities require students to interact with and analyse research-quality geoscience data as a means to explore and enhance their understanding of underlying content and concepts. Each activity is freely available through the SERC-Carleton web site and offers step-by-step student instructions and answer sheets. Also provided are annotated educator versions of the worksheets that include teaching tips, additional content and suggestions for further work. The activities can be used "off-the-shelf". Or, since the educator may require flexibility to tailor the activities, the documents are provided in Word format for easy modification. Examples of activities include one on the concept of seafloor spreading that requires students to analyse global seafloor crustal age data to calculate spreading rates in different ocean basins. Another activity has students explore hot spots using radiometric age dating of rocks along the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain. A third focusses upon the interactive use of contours and profiles to help students visualise 3-D topography on 2-D computer screens. A fourth activity provides a study of mass wasting as revealed through geomorphological evidence. The step-by-step instructions and guided inquiry approach reduce the need for teacher intervention whilst boosting the time that students can spend on productive exploration and learning. The activities can be used, for example, in a classroom lab with the educator present and as self-paced assignments in an out-of-class setting. GeoMapApp Learning Activities are funded through the NSF GeoEd program and are aimed at students in the introductory undergraduate, community college and high school levels. The activities are based upon GeoMapApp (http://www.geomapapp.org), a free map-based data exploration and visualisation tool that allows students to access a wide range of geoscience data in a virtual lab-like environment.

Linking Quality of Work in Midlife to Volunteering During Retirement: a European Study.

PubMed

Wahrendorf, Morten; Blane, David; Matthews, Katey; Siegrist, Johannes

There is increasing recognition that disadvantaged work and employment conditions over the life course, including psychosocial stress at work, have negative long-term effects on health at older ages. Yet, the question whether stress at work additionally influences the likelihood of participating in voluntary work during retirement still needs to be explored. This paper studies long-term influences of stressful work during adulthood (as defined by low control and low reward at work) on participation in voluntary work in older ages. Analyses are based on the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), with detailed retrospective information on individual life courses collected among 11,751 retired men and women in 13 European countries. Results of multivariable analyses demonstrate that people who experienced stressful work are also less likely to participate in voluntary work during retirement. Importantly, these associations remain significant after controlling for important factors, including disability in older ages and disadvantaged socioeconomic circumstances. In conclusion, findings suggest that promoting good working conditions may not only increase health and well-being, but also encourage participation in productive activities after labour market exit.

New pseudopterosin and seco-pseudopterosin diterpene glycosides from two Colombian isolates of Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae and their diverse biological activities.

PubMed

Rodríguez, Ileana I; Shi, Yan-Ping; García, Oscar J; Rodríguez, Abimael D; Mayer, Alejandro M S; Sánchez, Juan A; Ortega-Barria, Eduardo; González, José

2004-10-01

As part of an ongoing program to explore the chemical constituents of Caribbean marine invertebrates, a family of 13 new diterpene glycosides, pseudopterosins P-Z (1-11) and seco-pseudopterosins H (12) and I (13), have been isolated from the organic extracts of two collections of the sea whip Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae procured near the Colombian Southwestern Caribbean Sea. The structures of compounds 1-13, including absolute stereochemistry, have been proposed on the basis of comprehensive spectral analyses, chemical transformations, specific rotation, and TLC chromatographic analyses. Pseudopterosin Q (2) inhibited thromboxane B2 (TXB2) (IC50 = 4.7 microM) and superoxide anion (O2-) (IC50 = 11.2 microM) generation from E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activated rat neonatal microglia in vitro. In contrast, pseudopterosins P (1), U (6), V (7), W (8), and X (9) as well as seco-pseudopterosins H (12) and I (13) demonstrated minimal effects on both TXB2 and O2- release. In addition, some of the new compounds displayed strong antituberculosis, antiviral, antimalarial, and anticancer activity.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, ascending-dose, randomized study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and effects on cognition of AL-108 after 12 weeks of intranasal administration in subjects with mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Morimoto, Bruce H; Schmechel, Don; Hirman, Joe; Blackwell, Andrew; Keith, Julian; Gold, Michael

2013-01-01

AL-108-211 was a placebo-controlled, ascending-dose study that explored the safety, tolerability and efficacy of 12 weeks of treatment with AL-108 in subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. A total of 144 subjects were randomized in a 2:1 drug:placebo ratio. Subjects were enrolled into the low-dose group or placebo and then to the high-dose group or placebo. Pooling of the placebo groups yielded 3 groups (approx. 48/group) whose baseline demographics and disease characteristics were well matched. AL-108 was generally safe and well tolerated. Analyses of efficacy data failed to detect a statistically significant difference between the treatment groups on the composite cognitive memory score. Analyses of the individual cognitive tasks identified signals of potential efficacy in 2 tests of memory and attention. These data suggest that AL-108 was generally safe, well tolerated and merits additional investigation as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

An international systematic review and meta-analysis of multisession psychosocial interventions compared with educational or minimal interventions on the HIV sex risk behaviors of people who use drugs.

PubMed

Meader, Nicholas; Semaan, Salaam; Halton, Marie; Bhatti, Henna; Chan, Melissa; Llewellyn, Alexis; Des Jarlais, Don C

2013-07-01

This systematic review and meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of multisession psychosocial interventions compared with educational interventions and minimal interventions in reducing sexual risk in people who use drugs (51 studies; 19,209 participants). We conducted comprehensive searches (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and PsychINFO 1998-2012). Outcomes (unprotected sex, condom use, or a composite outcome) were extracted by two authors and synthesised using meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression were conducted to explore heterogeneity. Multisession psychosocial interventions had modest additional benefits compared to educational interventions (K = 46; OR 0.86; 95% CI 0.77, 0.96), and large positive effects compared to minimal interventions (K = 7; OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.46, 0.78). Comparison with previous meta-analyses suggested limited progress in recent years in developing more effective interventions. Multisession psychosocial and educational interventions provided similar modest sexual risk reduction justifying offering educational interventions in settings with limited exposure to sexual risk reduction interventions, messages, and resources.

What makes a good GP? An empirical perspective on virtue in general practice

PubMed Central

Braunack-Mayer, A

2005-01-01

This paper takes a virtuist approach to medical ethics to explore, from an empirical angle, ideas about settled ways of living a good life. Qualitative research methods were used to analyse the ways in which a group of 15 general practitioners (GPs) articulated notions of good doctoring and the virtues in their work. I argue that the GPs, whose talk is analysed here, defined good general practice in terms of the ideals of accessibility, comprehensiveness, and continuity. They regarded these ideals significant both for the way they dealt with morally problematic situations and for how they conducted their professional lives more generally. In addition, I argue that the GPs who articulated these ideals most clearly were able to, in part, because they shared the experience of working in rural areas. This experience helped them to develop an understanding of the nature of general practice that their urban colleagues were less able to draw on. In that sense, the structural and organisational framework of general practice in rural areas provided the context for their understanding of ideals in general practice. PMID:15681671

Hotspots and Coldspots: Household and village-level variation in orphanhood prevalence in rural Malawi

PubMed Central

Weinreb, Alexander; Gerland, Patrick; Fleming, Peter

2009-01-01

We explore the characteristics of households and villages in which orphans are resident in two areas of Malawi. We first review pertinent themes in qualitative data collected in our research sites. Then, using spatial analysis, we show how positive and negative clusters of orphans – which we term orphanhood "hotspots" and "coldspots" – can be found at the village and sub-village levels. In the third and longest section of the paper, and using multilevel analyses with both simple and complex variance structures, we evaluate the relationship between the presence of orphans and a range of individual, household and village-level characteristics, including households' spatial relationship to each other and to other local sites of significance. This series of analyses shows that the most important covariates of orphan presence are household size, wealth, and religious characteristics, with all measured simultaneously at both household and village-level. In addition, most of these have heterogenous effects across villages. We conclude by reviewing some difficulties in explaining causal mechanisms underlying these observed relationships, and discuss conceptual, theoretical and programmatic implications. PMID:20148129

The morality of socioscientific issues: Construal and resolution of genetic engineering dilemmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Troy D.; Zeidler, Dana L.

2004-01-01

The ability to negotiate and resolve socioscientific issues has been posited as integral components of scientific literacy. Although philosophers and science educators have argued that socioscientific issues inherently involve moral and ethical considerations, the ultimate arbiters of morality are individual decision-makers. This study explored the extent to which college students construe genetic engineering issues as moral problems. Twenty college students participated in interviews designed to elicit their ideas, reactions, and feelings regarding a series of gene therapy and cloning scenarios. Qualitative analyses revealed that moral considerations were significant influences on decision-making, indicating a tendency for students to construe genetic engineering issues as moral problems. Students engaged in moral reasoning based on utilitarian analyses of consequences as well as the application of principles. Issue construal was also influenced by affective features such as emotion and intuition. In addition to moral considerations, a series of other factors emerged as important dimensions of socioscientific decision-making. These factors included personal experiences, family biases, background knowledge, and the impact of popular culture. The implications for classroom science instruction and future research are discussed.

Pathways to achieve universal household access to modern energy by 2030

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pachauri, Shonali; van Ruijven, Bas J.; Nagai, Yu; Riahi, Keywan; van Vuuren, Detlef P.; Brew-Hammond, Abeeku; Nakicenovic, Nebojsa

2013-06-01

A lack of access to modern energy impacts health and welfare and impedes development for billions of people. Growing concern about these impacts has mobilized the international community to set new targets for universal modern energy access. However, analyses exploring pathways to achieve these targets and quantifying the potential costs and benefits are limited. Here, we use two modelling frameworks to analyse investments and consequences of achieving total rural electrification and universal access to clean-combusting cooking fuels and stoves by 2030. Our analysis indicates that these targets can be achieved with additional investment of US200565-86 billion per year until 2030 combined with dedicated policies. Only a combination of policies that lowers costs for modern cooking fuels and stoves, along with more rapid electrification, can enable the realization of these goals. Our results demonstrate the critical importance of accounting for varying demands and affordability across heterogeneous household groups in both analysis and policy setting. While the investments required are significant, improved access to modern cooking fuels alone can avert between 0.6 and 1.8 million premature deaths annually in 2030 and enhance wellbeing substantially.

An integrated approach utilising chemometrics and GC/MS for classification of chamomile flowers, essential oils and commercial products.

PubMed

Wang, Mei; Avula, Bharathi; Wang, Yan-Hong; Zhao, Jianping; Avonto, Cristina; Parcher, Jon F; Raman, Vijayasankar; Zweigenbaum, Jerry A; Wylie, Philip L; Khan, Ikhlas A

2014-01-01

As part of an ongoing research program on authentication, safety and biological evaluation of phytochemicals and dietary supplements, an in-depth chemical investigation of different types of chamomile was performed. A collection of chamomile samples including authenticated plants, commercial products and essential oils was analysed by GC/MS. Twenty-seven authenticated plant samples representing three types of chamomile, viz. German chamomile, Roman chamomile and Juhua were analysed. This set of data was employed to construct a sample class prediction (SCP) model based on stepwise reduction of data dimensionality followed by principle component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The model was cross-validated with samples including authenticated plants and commercial products. The model demonstrated 100.0% accuracy for both recognition and prediction abilities. In addition, 35 commercial products and 11 essential oils purported to contain chamomile were subsequently predicted by the validated PLS-DA model. Furthermore, tentative identification of the marker compounds correlated with different types of chamomile was explored. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Kinematic, dynamic, and thermodynamic impacts of hook-echo hydrometeors, including explorations into the utilization of polarimetric radar data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Askelson, Mark Anthony

Recent studies have revealed that the thermodynamic properties of the rear flank downdraft (RFD) may dictate whether or not a supercell becomes tornadic. Since hydrometeors are thought to be an important driving force for the RFD, it is postulated that they may be important to its thermodynamic properties and, possibly, to tornadogenesis. The role hook-echo hydrometeors play in driving RFDs is investigated by estimating hook-echo hydrometeor types and amounts from polarimetric radar data and by using that information to drive a relatively simple downdraft model. Soundings for the individual cases are used to initialize the downdraft model in order to replicate the environments of the storms as closely as possible. Since this effort and others like it require the quantitative utilization of radar data, issues pertaining to this are explored. In addition to analyses of coordinate transformation equations and an innovative objective analysis technique for weather radar data, the difficult problem of response functions for arbitrary weight functions and data distributions was considered. A novel approach to this problem revealed that the local response function for distance dependent weighted averaging schemes is the complex conjugate of the normalized Fourier transform of the effective weight function. This facilitates new research avenues, especially regarding analyses of irregularly spaced data. Simulations of hydrometeor driven RFDs show that hydrometeor fields inferred from radar data are able to drive significant downdrafts without the influence of vertical perturbation pressure gradients. Moreover, they reveal that above the boundary layer supercell environments are relatively resistant to downdrafts whereas within the boundary layer they are generally supportive of downdrafts. It appears that in many supercell environments relatively large hail (≥1 cm in diameter) or vertical perturbation pressure gradients may be needed to drive deep midlevel downdrafts that penetrate into the boundary layer. Because the boundary layer is an important downdraft generation/intensification layer, its thetae profile appears to be important to the surface RFD thetae deficit and, consequently, to tornadogenesis. To further examine these issues, analyses using idealized soundings that represent multiple possible RFD environments and analyses of the complete set of VORTEX cases are planned.

Exploring the links between personality traits and motivations to play online games.

PubMed

Park, Jowon; Song, Yosep; Teng, Ching-I

2011-12-01

The present study explores the links between personality traits and motivations to play online games. We identified the underlying dimensions of motivations to play online games, examined how personality traits predict motivation, and investigated how personality traits predict online gaming behavior (i.e., playing time and preference for game genres). Factor analyses identified five motivational factors: relationships, adventure, escapism, relaxation, and achievement. The regression analyses indicated that two personality traits, extraversion and agreeableness, predicted various motivations; however, personality traits did not affect the playing time and game genre preference.

Complementary Network-Based Approaches for Exploring Genetic Structure and Functional Connectivity in Two Vulnerable, Endemic Ground Squirrels

PubMed Central

Zero, Victoria H.; Barocas, Adi; Jochimsen, Denim M.; Pelletier, Agnès; Giroux-Bougard, Xavier; Trumbo, Daryl R.; Castillo, Jessica A.; Evans Mack, Diane; Linnell, Mark A.; Pigg, Rachel M.; Hoisington-Lopez, Jessica; Spear, Stephen F.; Murphy, Melanie A.; Waits, Lisette P.

2017-01-01

The persistence of small populations is influenced by genetic structure and functional connectivity. We used two network-based approaches to understand the persistence of the northern Idaho ground squirrel (Urocitellus brunneus) and the southern Idaho ground squirrel (U. endemicus), two congeners of conservation concern. These graph theoretic approaches are conventionally applied to social or transportation networks, but here are used to study population persistence and connectivity. Population graph analyses revealed that local extinction rapidly reduced connectivity for the southern species, while connectivity for the northern species could be maintained following local extinction. Results from gravity models complemented those of population graph analyses, and indicated that potential vegetation productivity and topography drove connectivity in the northern species. For the southern species, development (roads) and small-scale topography reduced connectivity, while greater potential vegetation productivity increased connectivity. Taken together, the results of the two network-based methods (population graph analyses and gravity models) suggest the need for increased conservation action for the southern species, and that management efforts have been effective at maintaining habitat quality throughout the current range of the northern species. To prevent further declines, we encourage the continuation of management efforts for the northern species, whereas conservation of the southern species requires active management and additional measures to curtail habitat fragmentation. Our combination of population graph analyses and gravity models can inform conservation strategies of other species exhibiting patchy distributions. PMID:28659969

Sample heterogeneity in unipolar depression as assessed by functional connectivity analyses is dominated by general disease effects.

PubMed

Feder, Stephan; Sundermann, Benedikt; Wersching, Heike; Teuber, Anja; Kugel, Harald; Teismann, Henning; Heindel, Walter; Berger, Klaus; Pfleiderer, Bettina

2017-11-01

Combinations of resting-state fMRI and machine-learning techniques are increasingly employed to develop diagnostic models for mental disorders. However, little is known about the neurobiological heterogeneity of depression and diagnostic machine learning has mainly been tested in homogeneous samples. Our main objective was to explore the inherent structure of a diverse unipolar depression sample. The secondary objective was to assess, if such information can improve diagnostic classification. We analyzed data from 360 patients with unipolar depression and 360 non-depressed population controls, who were subdivided into two independent subsets. Cluster analyses (unsupervised learning) of functional connectivity were used to generate hypotheses about potential patient subgroups from the first subset. The relationship of clusters with demographical and clinical measures was assessed. Subsequently, diagnostic classifiers (supervised learning), which incorporated information about these putative depression subgroups, were trained. Exploratory cluster analyses revealed two weakly separable subgroups of depressed patients. These subgroups differed in the average duration of depression and in the proportion of patients with concurrently severe depression and anxiety symptoms. The diagnostic classification models performed at chance level. It remains unresolved, if subgroups represent distinct biological subtypes, variability of continuous clinical variables or in part an overfitting of sparsely structured data. Functional connectivity in unipolar depression is associated with general disease effects. Cluster analyses provide hypotheses about potential depression subtypes. Diagnostic models did not benefit from this additional information regarding heterogeneity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Opiliones tree of life: shedding light on harvestmen relationships through transcriptomics.

PubMed

Fernández, Rosa; Sharma, Prashant P; Tourinho, Ana Lúcia; Giribet, Gonzalo

2017-02-22

Opiliones are iconic arachnids with a Palaeozoic origin and a diversity that reflects ancient biogeographic patterns dating back at least to the times of Pangea. Owing to interest in harvestman diversity, evolution and biogeography, their relationships have been thoroughly studied using morphology and PCR-based Sanger approaches to infer their systematic relationships. More recently, two studies utilized transcriptomics-based phylogenomics to explore their basal relationships and diversification, but sampling was limiting for understanding deep evolutionary patterns, as they lacked good taxon representation at the family level. Here, we analysed a set of the 14 existing transcriptomes with 40 additional ones generated for this study, representing approximately 80% of the extant familial diversity in Opiliones. Our phylogenetic analyses, including a set of data matrices with different gene occupancy and evolutionary rates, and using a multitude of methods correcting for a diversity of factors affecting phylogenomic data matrices, provide a robust and stable Opiliones tree of life, where most families and higher taxa are precisely placed. Our dating analyses using alternative calibration points, methods and analytical parameters provide well-resolved old divergences, consistent with ancient regionalization in Pangea in some groups, and Pangean vicariance in others. The integration of state-of-the-art molecular techniques and analyses, together with the broadest taxonomic sampling to date presented in a phylogenomic study of harvestmen, provide new insights into harvestmen interrelationships, as well as an overview of the general biogeographic patterns of this ancient arthropod group. © 2017 The Author(s).

Complementary Network-Based Approaches for Exploring Genetic Structure and Functional Connectivity in Two Vulnerable, Endemic Ground Squirrels.

PubMed

Zero, Victoria H; Barocas, Adi; Jochimsen, Denim M; Pelletier, Agnès; Giroux-Bougard, Xavier; Trumbo, Daryl R; Castillo, Jessica A; Evans Mack, Diane; Linnell, Mark A; Pigg, Rachel M; Hoisington-Lopez, Jessica; Spear, Stephen F; Murphy, Melanie A; Waits, Lisette P

2017-01-01

The persistence of small populations is influenced by genetic structure and functional connectivity. We used two network-based approaches to understand the persistence of the northern Idaho ground squirrel ( Urocitellus brunneus) and the southern Idaho ground squirrel ( U. endemicus ), two congeners of conservation concern. These graph theoretic approaches are conventionally applied to social or transportation networks, but here are used to study population persistence and connectivity. Population graph analyses revealed that local extinction rapidly reduced connectivity for the southern species, while connectivity for the northern species could be maintained following local extinction. Results from gravity models complemented those of population graph analyses, and indicated that potential vegetation productivity and topography drove connectivity in the northern species. For the southern species, development (roads) and small-scale topography reduced connectivity, while greater potential vegetation productivity increased connectivity. Taken together, the results of the two network-based methods (population graph analyses and gravity models) suggest the need for increased conservation action for the southern species, and that management efforts have been effective at maintaining habitat quality throughout the current range of the northern species. To prevent further declines, we encourage the continuation of management efforts for the northern species, whereas conservation of the southern species requires active management and additional measures to curtail habitat fragmentation. Our combination of population graph analyses and gravity models can inform conservation strategies of other species exhibiting patchy distributions.

The Opiliones tree of life: shedding light on harvestmen relationships through transcriptomics

PubMed Central

Sharma, Prashant P.; Tourinho, Ana Lúcia

2017-01-01

Opiliones are iconic arachnids with a Palaeozoic origin and a diversity that reflects ancient biogeographic patterns dating back at least to the times of Pangea. Owing to interest in harvestman diversity, evolution and biogeography, their relationships have been thoroughly studied using morphology and PCR-based Sanger approaches to infer their systematic relationships. More recently, two studies utilized transcriptomics-based phylogenomics to explore their basal relationships and diversification, but sampling was limiting for understanding deep evolutionary patterns, as they lacked good taxon representation at the family level. Here, we analysed a set of the 14 existing transcriptomes with 40 additional ones generated for this study, representing approximately 80% of the extant familial diversity in Opiliones. Our phylogenetic analyses, including a set of data matrices with different gene occupancy and evolutionary rates, and using a multitude of methods correcting for a diversity of factors affecting phylogenomic data matrices, provide a robust and stable Opiliones tree of life, where most families and higher taxa are precisely placed. Our dating analyses using alternative calibration points, methods and analytical parameters provide well-resolved old divergences, consistent with ancient regionalization in Pangea in some groups, and Pangean vicariance in others. The integration of state-of-the-art molecular techniques and analyses, together with the broadest taxonomic sampling to date presented in a phylogenomic study of harvestmen, provide new insights into harvestmen interrelationships, as well as an overview of the general biogeographic patterns of this ancient arthropod group. PMID:28228511

Sensitivity to Uncertainty in Asteroid Impact Risk Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathias, D.; Wheeler, L.; Prabhu, D. K.; Aftosmis, M.; Dotson, J.; Robertson, D. K.

2015-12-01

The Engineering Risk Assessment (ERA) team at NASA Ames Research Center is developing a physics-based impact risk model for probabilistically assessing threats from potential asteroid impacts on Earth. The model integrates probabilistic sampling of asteroid parameter ranges with physics-based analyses of entry, breakup, and impact to estimate damage areas and casualties from various impact scenarios. Assessing these threats is a highly coupled, dynamic problem involving significant uncertainties in the range of expected asteroid characteristics, how those characteristics may affect the level of damage, and the fidelity of various modeling approaches and assumptions. The presented model is used to explore the sensitivity of impact risk estimates to these uncertainties in order to gain insight into what additional data or modeling refinements are most important for producing effective, meaningful risk assessments. In the extreme cases of very small or very large impacts, the results are generally insensitive to many of the characterization and modeling assumptions. However, the nature of the sensitivity can change across moderate-sized impacts. Results will focus on the value of additional information in this critical, mid-size range, and how this additional data can support more robust mitigation decisions.

bc-GenExMiner 3.0: new mining module computes breast cancer gene expression correlation analyses.

PubMed

Jézéquel, Pascal; Frénel, Jean-Sébastien; Campion, Loïc; Guérin-Charbonnel, Catherine; Gouraud, Wilfried; Ricolleau, Gabriel; Campone, Mario

2013-01-01

We recently developed a user-friendly web-based application called bc-GenExMiner (http://bcgenex.centregauducheau.fr), which offered the possibility to evaluate prognostic informativity of genes in breast cancer by means of a 'prognostic module'. In this study, we develop a new module called 'correlation module', which includes three kinds of gene expression correlation analyses. The first one computes correlation coefficient between 2 or more (up to 10) chosen genes. The second one produces two lists of genes that are most correlated (positively and negatively) to a 'tested' gene. A gene ontology (GO) mining function is also proposed to explore GO 'biological process', 'molecular function' and 'cellular component' terms enrichment for the output lists of most correlated genes. The third one explores gene expression correlation between the 15 telomeric and 15 centromeric genes surrounding a 'tested' gene. These correlation analyses can be performed in different groups of patients: all patients (without any subtyping), in molecular subtypes (basal-like, HER2+, luminal A and luminal B) and according to oestrogen receptor status. Validation tests based on published data showed that these automatized analyses lead to results consistent with studies' conclusions. In brief, this new module has been developed to help basic researchers explore molecular mechanisms of breast cancer. DATABASE URL: http://bcgenex.centregauducheau.fr

VCF-Explorer: filtering and analysing whole genome VCF files.

PubMed

Akgün, Mete; Demirci, Hüseyin

2017-11-01

The decreasing cost in high-throughput technologies led to a number of sequencing projects consisting of thousands of whole genomes. The paradigm shift from exome to whole genome brings a significant increase in the size of output files. Most of the existing tools which are developed to analyse exome files are not adequate for larger VCF files produced by whole genome studies. In this work we present VCF-Explorer, a variant analysis software capable of handling large files. Memory efficiency and avoiding computationally costly pre-processing step enable to carry out the analysis to be performed with ordinary computers. VCF-Explorer provides an easy to use environment where users can define various types of queries based on variant and sample genotype level annotations. VCF-Explorer can be run in different environments and computational platforms ranging from a standard laptop to a high performance server. VCF-Explorer is freely available at: http://vcfexplorer.sourceforge.net/. mete.akgun@tubitak.gov.tr. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Changes in racial identity among African American college students following the election of Barack Obama.

PubMed

Fuller-Rowell, Thomas E; Burrow, Anthony L; Ong, Anthony D

2011-11-01

The current study considered the influence of the 2008 presidential election on the racial identity of African American college students (M(age) = 19.3 years; 26.3% male). The design of the study consisted of 2 components: longitudinal and daily. The longitudinal component assessed 3 dimensions of racial identity (centrality, private regard, and public regard) 2 weeks before and 5 months after the election, and the daily diary component assessed racial identity and identity exploration on the days immediately before and after the election. Daily items measuring identity exploration focused on how much individuals thought about issues relating to their race. Analyses considered the immediate effects of the election on identity exploration and the extent to which changes in exploration were shaped by racial identity measured prior to the election. We also considered immediate and longer term changes in racial identity following the election and the extent to which longer term changes were conditioned by identity exploration. Findings suggest that the election served as an "encounter" experience (Cross, 1991, 1995, pp. 60-61), which led to increases in identity exploration. Moreover, analyses confirmed that changes in identity exploration were most pronounced among those with higher levels of racial centrality. Results also suggest that the election had both an immediate and a longer term influence on racial identity, which in some instances was conditioned by identity exploration.

Exploring Science Teachers' Affective States: Pedagogical Discontentment, Self-efficacy, Intentions to Reform, and Their Relationships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kahveci, Ajda; Kahveci, Murat; Mansour, Nasser; Alarfaj, Maher Mohammed

2017-06-01

Teachers play a key role in moving reform-based science education practices into the classroom. Based on research that emphasizes the importance of teachers' affective states, this study aimed to explore the constructs pedagogical discontentment, science teaching self-efficacy, intentions to reform, and their correlations. Also, it aimed to provide empirical evidence in light of a previously proposed theoretical model while focusing on an entirely new context in Middle East. Data were collected in Saudi Arabia with a total of randomly selected 994 science teachers, 656 of whom were females and 338 were males. To collect the data, the Arabic versions of the Science Teachers' Pedagogical Discontentment scale, the Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument and the Intentions to Reform Science Teaching scale were developed. For assuring the validity of the instruments in a non-Western context, rigorous cross-cultural validations procedures were followed. Factor analyses were conducted for construct validation and descriptive statistical analyses were performed including frequency distributions and normality checks. Univariate analyses of variance were run to explore statistically significant differences between groups of teachers. Cross-tabulation and correlation analyses were conducted to explore relationships. The findings suggest effect of teacher characteristics such as age and professional development program attendance on the affective states. The results demonstrate that teachers who attended a relatively higher number of programs had lower level of intentions to reform raising issues regarding the conduct and outcomes of professional development. Some of the findings concerning interrelationships among the three constructs challenge and serve to expand the previously proposed theoretical model.

Exploring biological, chemical and geomorphological patterns in fluvial ecosystems with Structural Equation Modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bizzi, S.; Surridge, B.; Lerner, D. N.:

2009-04-01

River ecosystems represent complex networks of interacting biological, chemical and geomorphological processes. These processes generate spatial and temporal patterns in biological, chemical and geomorphological variables, and a growing number of these variables are now being used to characterise the status of rivers. However, integrated analyses of these biological-chemical-geomorphological networks have rarely been undertaken, and as a result our knowledge of the underlying processes and how they generate the resulting patterns remains weak. The apparent complexity of the networks involved, and the lack of coherent datasets, represent two key challenges to such analyses. In this paper we describe the application of a novel technique, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), to the investigation of biological, chemical and geomorphological data collected from rivers across England and Wales. The SEM approach is a multivariate statistical technique enabling simultaneous examination of direct and indirect relationships across a network of variables. Further, SEM allows a-priori conceptual or theoretical models to be tested against available data. This is a significant departure from the solely exploratory analyses which characterise other multivariate techniques. We took biological, chemical and river habitat survey data collected by the Environment Agency for 400 sites in rivers spread across England and Wales, and created a single, coherent dataset suitable for SEM analyses. Biological data cover benthic macroinvertebrates, chemical data relate to a range of standard parameters (e.g. BOD, dissolved oxygen and phosphate concentration), and geomorphological data cover factors such as river typology, substrate material and degree of physical modification. We developed a number of a-priori conceptual models, reflecting current research questions or existing knowledge, and tested the ability of these conceptual models to explain the variance and covariance within the dataset. The conceptual models we developed were able to explain correctly the variance and covariance shown by the datasets, proving to be a relevant representation of the processes involved. The models explained 65% of the variance in indices describing benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Dissolved oxygen was of primary importance, but geomorphological factors, including river habitat type and degree of habitat degradation, also had significant explanatory power. The addition of spatial variables, such as latitude or longitude, did not provide additional explanatory power. This suggests that the variables already included in the models effectively represented the eco-regions across which our data were distributed. The models produced new insights into the relative importance of chemical and geomorphological factors for river macroinvertebrate communities. The SEM technique proved a powerful tool for exploring complex biological-chemical-geomorphological networks, for example able to deal with the co-correlations that are common in rivers due to multiple feedback mechanisms.

Depressive Symptoms and Their Interactions With Emotions and Personality Traits Over Time: Interaction Networks in a Psychiatric Clinic.

PubMed

Semino, Laura N; Marksteiner, Josef; Brauchle, Gernot; Danay, Erik

2017-04-13

Associations between depression, personality traits, and emotions are complex and reciprocal. The aim of this study is to explore these interactions in dynamical networks and in a linear way over time depending on the severity of depression. Participants included 110 patients with depressive symptoms (DSM-5 criteria) who were recruited between October 2015 and February 2016 during their inpatient stay in a general psychiatric hospital in Hall in Tyrol, Austria. The patients filled out the Beck Depression Inventory-II, a German emotional competence questionnaire (Emotionale Kompetenz Fragebogen), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the German versions of the Big Five Inventory-short form and State-Trait-Anxiety-Depression Inventory regarding symptoms, emotions, and personality during their inpatient stay and at a 3-month follow-up by mail. Network and regression analyses were performed to explore interactions both in a linear and a dynamical way at baseline and 3 months later. Regression analyses showed that emotions and personality traits gain importance for the prediction of depressive symptoms with decreasing symptomatology at follow-up (personality: baseline, adjusted R2 = 0.24, P < .001; follow-up, adjusted R2 = 0.65, P < .001). Network analyses additionally showed that the interaction network of depression, emotions, and personality traits is significantly denser and more interconnected (network comparison test: P = .03) at follow-up than at baseline, meaning that with decreased symptoms interconnections get stronger. During depression, personality traits and emotions are walled off and not strongly interconnected with depressive symptoms in networks. With decreasing depressive symptomatology, interfusing of these areas begins and interconnections become stronger. This finding has practical implications for interventions in an acute depressive state and with decreased symptoms. The network approach offers a new perspective on interactions and is a way to make the complexity of these interactions more tangible. © Copyright 2017 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Ares V: New Opportunities for Scientific Payloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Creech, Steve

2009-01-01

What if scientists and payload planners had access to three to five times the volume and five to nine times the mass provided by today's launch vehicles? This simple question can lead to numerous exciting possibilities, all involving NASA's new Ares V cargo launch vehicle now on the drawing board. Multiple scientific fields and payload designers have that opportunity with the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, being developed at NASA as the heavy-lift component of the U.S. Space Exploration Policy. When the Ares V begins flying late next decade, its capabilities will significantly exceed the 1960s-era Saturn V or the current Space Shuttle, while it benefits from their engineering, manufacturing, and infrastructure heritage. It will send more crew and cargo to more places on the lunar surface than Apollo and provide ongoing support to a permanent lunar outpost. Moreover, it will restore a strategic heavy-lift U.S. asset, which can support human and robotic exploration and scientific ventures for decades to come. Assessment of astronomy payload requirements since Spring 2008 has indicated that Ares V has the potential to support a range of payloads and missions. Some of these missions were impossible in the absence of Ares V's capabilities. Collaborative design/architecture inputs, exchanges, and analyses have already begun between scientists and payload developers. A 2008 study by a National Research Council (NRC) panel, as well as analyses presented by astronomers and planetary scientists at two weekend conferences in 2008, support the position that Ares V has benefit to a broad range of planetary and astronomy missions. This early dialogue with Ares V engineers is permitting the greatest opportunity for payload/transportation/mission synergy and the least financial impact to Ares V development. In addition, independent analyses suggest that Ares V has the opportunity to enable more cost-effective mission design.

Geometric morphometric analysis of mandibular shape diversity in Pan.

PubMed

Robinson, Chris

2012-07-01

The aim of this research is to determine whether geometric morphometric (GM) techniques can provide insights into how the shape of the mandibular corpus differs between bonobos and chimpanzees and to explore the potential implications of those results for our understanding of hominin evolution. We focused on this region of the mandible because of the relative frequency with which it has been recovered in the hominin fossil record. In addition, no previous study had explored in-depth three-dimensional (3D) mandibular corpus shape differences between adults of the two Pan species using geometric morphometrics. GM methods enable researchers to quantitatively analyze and visualize 3D shape changes in skeletal elements and provide an important compliment to traditional two-dimensional analyses. Eighteen mandibular landmarks were collected using a Microscribe 3DX portable digitizer. Specimen configurations were superimposed using Generalized Procrustes analysis and the projections of the fitted coordinates to tangent space were analyzed using multivariate statistics. The size-adjusted corpus shapes of Pan paniscus and Pan troglodytes could be assigned to species with approximately 93% accuracy and the Procrustes distance between the two species was significant. Analyses of the residuals from a multivariate linear regression of the data on centroid size suggested that much of the shape difference between the species is size-related. Chimpanzee subspecies and a small sample of Australopithecus specimens could be correctly identified to taxon, at best, only 75% of the time, although the Procrustes distances between these taxa were significant. The shape of the mandibular symphysis was identified as especially useful in differentiating Pan species from one another. This suggests that this region of the mandible has the potential to be informative for taxonomic analyses of fossil hominoids, including hominins. The results also have implications for phylogenetic hypotheses of hominoid evolution. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Samoan Philosophy of Nursing: a basis for culturally proficient care and policy.

PubMed

Enoka, I S; Petrini, M A; Turale, S

2014-09-01

To explore nurses' perspectives about the Samoan Philosophy of Nursing, and determine its feasibility for nursing care of Samoans internationally. This philosophy is the conceptual cultural framework for nursing law, practice, education and research in Samoa, and was developed by Samoan nurses who recognized the need for guidance to deliver quality, culturally competent and proficient health care. A mixed method study, employing a questionnaire and ethnographic methods. The Samoan Philosophy of Nursing Questionnaire sought demographic data and aspects about the philosophy from 95 registered nurse clinicians, administrators and educators throughout Samoa during 2012. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Additionally, 19 focus groups (5-6 participants each) and 19 in-depth interviews were held to further explore these aspects, as well as participant observations. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data, and Spradley's ethnographic method was adopted for analysing the qualitative data. Of 95 questionnaires analysed, 70% of participants reported using the philosophy all the time, and 30% most of the time. They placed a high satisfaction rate, value and importance on this philosophy. From the ethnography, six major themes emerged: valuable framework of learning; conceptual framework for holistic assessment; benchmark for regulating and monitoring practice improving interaction and culturally proficient practice; potential use for Samoans overseas; and maintaining quality health and the dignity of people. This first-time study evaluated the Samoan Philosophy of Nursing and adds to nursing knowledge. Findings confirmed its usefulness as a culturally based conceptual framework to facilitate, regulate and monitor education, research and practice for sustainable health outcomes in Samoa, and for Samoans living abroad. It is important that Samoans living abroad receive culturally proficient care, but this requires the support of policymakers, nurse leaders and educators so that nurses internationally can access and competently utilize relevant aspects of this philosophy in practice. © 2014 International Council of Nurses.

40 CFR 194.15 - Content of compliance re-certification application(s).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... application shall be updated to provide sufficient information for the Administrator to determine whether or... include: (1) All additional geologic, geophysical, geochemical, hydrologic, and meteorologic information; (2) All additional monitoring data, analyses and results; (3) All additional analyses and results of...

Using complexity theory to analyse the organisational response to resurgent tuberculosis across London.

PubMed

Trenholm, Susan; Ferlie, Ewan

2013-09-01

We employ complexity theory to analyse the English National Health Service (NHS)'s organisational response to resurgent tuberculosis across London. Tennison (2002) suggests that complexity theory could fruitfully explore a healthcare system's response to this complex and emergent phenomenon: we explore this claim here. We also bring in established New Public Management principles to enhance our empirical analysis, which is based on data collected between late 2009 and mid-2011. We find that the operation of complexity theory based features, especially self-organisation, are significantly impacted by the macro context of a New Public Management-based regime which values control, measurement and risk management more than innovation, flexibility and lateral system building. We finally explore limitations and suggest perspectives for further research. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Play-fairway analysis for geothermal exploration: Examples from the Great Basin, western USA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Siler, Drew L; Faulds, James E

2013-10-27

Elevated permeability within fault systems provides pathways for circulation of geothermal fluids. Future geothermal development depends on precise and accurate location of such fluid flow pathways in order to both accurately assess geothermal resource potential and increase drilling success rates. The collocation of geologic characteristics that promote permeability in a given geothermal system define the geothermal ‘fairway’, the location(s) where upflow zones are probable and where exploration efforts including drilling should be focused. We define the geothermal fairway as the collocation of 1) fault zones that are ideally oriented for slip or dilation under ambient stress conditions, 2) areas withmore » a high spatial density of fault intersections, and 3) lithologies capable of supporting dense interconnected fracture networks. Areas in which these characteristics are concomitant with both elevated temperature and fluids are probable upflow zones where economic-scale, sustainable temperatures and flow rates are most likely to occur. Employing a variety of surface and subsurface data sets, we test this ‘play-fairway’ exploration methodology on two Great Basin geothermal systems, the actively producing Brady’s geothermal system and a ‘greenfield’ geothermal prospect at Astor Pass, NV. These analyses, based on 3D structural and stratigraphic framework models, reveal subsurface characteristics about each system, well beyond the scope of standard exploration methods. At Brady’s, the geothermal fairways we define correlate well with successful production wells and pinpoint several drilling targets for maintaining or expanding production in the field. In addition, hot-dry wells within the Brady’s geothermal field lie outside our defined geothermal fairways. At Astor Pass, our play-fairway analysis provides for a data-based conceptual model of fluid flow within the geothermal system and indicates several targets for exploration drilling.« less

The relationship between drug use and sexual aggression in men across time.

PubMed

Swartout, Kevin M; White, Jacquelyn W

2010-09-01

The relationship between drug use and sexual aggression in a sample of men was examined at five time points from adolescence through the 4th year of college. Hierarchical linear modeling explored the relationship between proximal drug use and severity of sexual aggression after controlling for proximal alcohol use at each time period. Results revealed that proximal drug use was associated with sexual aggression severity: Increased drug use predicted increased severity of sexual aggression across time. A second set of analyses explored the relationship between distal marijuana use and severity of sexual aggression after controlling for distal alcohol use. Results indicated that increased marijuana use predicted increased severity of sexual aggression across time. A third set of analyses explored the relationship between distal use of other illicit drugs and severity of sexual aggression after controlling for distal alcohol use. Results mirrored those of the second set of analyses and are discussed in terms of drug use as a component of deviant lifestyles that may include sexually aggressive behavior, including implications for applied settings.

A spectral power analysis of driving behavior changes during the transition from nondistraction to distraction.

PubMed

Wang, Yuan; Bao, Shan; Du, Wenjun; Ye, Zhirui; Sayer, James R

2017-11-17

This article investigated and compared frequency domain and time domain characteristics of drivers' behaviors before and after the start of distracted driving. Data from an existing naturalistic driving study were used. Fast Fourier transform (FFT) was applied for the frequency domain analysis to explore drivers' behavior pattern changes between nondistracted (prestarting of visual-manual task) and distracted (poststarting of visual-manual task) driving periods. Average relative spectral power in a low frequency range (0-0.5 Hz) and the standard deviation in a 10-s time window of vehicle control variables (i.e., lane offset, yaw rate, and acceleration) were calculated and further compared. Sensitivity analyses were also applied to examine the reliability of the time and frequency domain analyses. Results of the mixed model analyses from the time and frequency domain analyses all showed significant degradation in lateral control performance after engaging in visual-manual tasks while driving. Results of the sensitivity analyses suggested that the frequency domain analysis was less sensitive to the frequency bandwidth, whereas the time domain analysis was more sensitive to the time intervals selected for variation calculations. Different time interval selections can result in significantly different standard deviation values, whereas average spectral power analysis on yaw rate in both low and high frequency bandwidths showed consistent results, that higher variation values were observed during distracted driving when compared to nondistracted driving. This study suggests that driver state detection needs to consider the behavior changes during the prestarting periods, instead of only focusing on periods with physical presence of distraction, such as cell phone use. Lateral control measures can be a better indicator of distraction detection than longitudinal controls. In addition, frequency domain analyses proved to be a more robust and consistent method in assessing driving performance compared to time domain analyses.

Hazardous Alcohol Use in 2 Countries: A Comparison Between Alberta, Canada and Queensland, Australia

PubMed Central

Voaklander, Donald

2017-01-01

Objectives This article aimed to compare alcohol consumption between the populations of Queensland in Australia and Alberta in Canada. Furthermore, the associations between greater alcohol consumption and socio-demographic characteristics were explored in each population. Methods Data from 2500 participants of the 2013 Alberta Survey and the 2013 Queensland Social Survey were analyzed. Regression analyses were used to explore the associations between alcohol risk and socio-demographic characteristics. Results A higher rate of hazardous alcohol use was found in Queenslanders than in Albertans. In both Albertans and Queenslanders, hazardous alcohol use was associated with being between 18 and 24 years of age. Higher income, having no religion, living alone, and being born in Canada were also associated with alcohol risk in Albertans; while in Queenslanders, hazardous alcohol use was also associated with common-law marital status. In addition, hazardous alcohol use was lower among respondents with a non-Catholic or Protestant religious affiliation. Conclusions Younger age was associated with greater hazardous alcohol use in both populations. In addition, different socio-demographic factors were associated with hazardous alcohol use in each of the populations studied. Our results allowed us to identify the socio-demographic profiles associated with hazardous alcohol use in Alberta and Queensland. These profiles constitute valuable sources of information for local health authorities and policymakers when designing suitable preventive strategies targeting hazardous alcohol use. Overall, the present study highlights the importance of analyzing the socio-demographic factors associated with alcohol consumption in population-specific contexts. PMID:29020759

Applications of Metabolomics in Cancer Studies.

PubMed

Armitage, Emily Grace; Ciborowski, Michal

2017-01-01

Since the start of metabolomics as a field of research, the number of studies related to cancer has grown to such an extent that cancer metabolomics now represents its own discipline. In this chapter, the applications of metabolomics in cancer studies are explored. Different approaches and analytical platforms can be employed for the analysis of samples depending on the goal of the study and the aspects of the cancer metabolome being investigated. Analyses have concerned a range of cancers including lung, colorectal, bladder, breast, gastric, oesophageal and thyroid, amongst others. Developments in these strategies and methodologies that have been applied are discussed, in addition to exemplifying the use of cancer metabolomics in the discovery of biomarkers and in the assessment of therapy (both pharmaceutical and nutraceutical). Finally, the application of cancer metabolomics in personalised medicine is presented.

The Lunar Lander "HabiTank" Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, Kriss J.

2007-01-01

This paper will summarize the study that was conducted under the auspices of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), lead by Johnson Space Center s Engineering Directorate in support of the Lunar Lander Preparatory Study (LLPS) as sponsored by the Constellation Program Office (CxPO), Advanced Projects Office (APO). The lunar lander conceptual design and analysis is intended to provide an understanding of requirements for human space exploration of the Moon using the Advanced Projects Office Pre-Lander Project Office selected "HabiTank" Lander concept. In addition, these analyses help identify system "drivers," or significant sources of cost, performance, risk, and schedule variation along with areas needing technology development. Recommendations, results, and conclusions in this paper do not reflect NASA policy or programmatic decisions. This paper is an executive summary of this study.

Small FDIRC designs

DOE PAGES

Dey, B.; Ratcliff, B.; Va’vra, J.

2017-02-16

In this article, we explore the angular resolution limits attainable in small FDIRC designs taking advantage of the new highly pixelated detectors that are now available. Since the basic FDIRC design concept attains its particle separation performance mostly in the angular domain as measured by two-dimensional pixels, this paper relies primarily on a pixel-based analysis, with additional chromatic corrections using the time domain, requiring single photon timing resolution at a level of 100–200 ps only. This approach differs from other modern DIRC design concepts such as TOP or TORCH detectors, whose separation performances rely more strongly on time-dependent analyses. Inmore » conclusion, we find excellent single photon resolution with a geometry where individual bars are coupled to a single plate, which is coupled in turn to a cylindrical lens focusing camera.« less

Small FDIRC designs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dey, B.; Ratcliff, B.; Va’vra, J.

In this article, we explore the angular resolution limits attainable in small FDIRC designs taking advantage of the new highly pixelated detectors that are now available. Since the basic FDIRC design concept attains its particle separation performance mostly in the angular domain as measured by two-dimensional pixels, this paper relies primarily on a pixel-based analysis, with additional chromatic corrections using the time domain, requiring single photon timing resolution at a level of 100–200 ps only. This approach differs from other modern DIRC design concepts such as TOP or TORCH detectors, whose separation performances rely more strongly on time-dependent analyses. Inmore » conclusion, we find excellent single photon resolution with a geometry where individual bars are coupled to a single plate, which is coupled in turn to a cylindrical lens focusing camera.« less

Misconduct Within the "Four Walls": Does Organizational Justice Matter in Explaining Prison Officers' Misconduct and Job Stress?

PubMed

Boateng, Francis D; Hsieh, Ming-Li

2018-06-01

Primarily, this article examines the role of organizational justice in understanding prison officers' behavior. The authors surveyed 169 correctional officers across five correctional facilities in Ghana to explore the role of three organizational justice dimensions in prison misconduct and job stress. Results from the negative binomial and ordinal logistic analyses revealed the significant contributions of two dimensions of organizational justice in explaining misconduct and stress among officers. Officers who had higher perceptions of distributive fairness and interaction in the organization had lower odds of receiving misconduct-related complaints. Also, greater interaction was found to be associated with reduced job stress among prison officers. In addition, several officers' characteristics were found to predict the number of times officers received misconduct complaints.

Associations between Responsible Beverage Service Laws and Binge Drinking and Alcohol-Impaired Driving

PubMed Central

Linde, Ann C.; Toomey, Traci L.; Wolfson, Julian; Lenk, Kathleen M.; Jones-Webb, Rhonda; Erickson, Darin J.

2017-01-01

We explored potential associations between the strength of state Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) laws and self-reported binge drinking and alcohol-impaired driving in the U.S. A multilevel logistic mixed-effects model was used, adjusting for potential confounders. Analyses were conducted on the overall BRFSS sample and drinkers only. Seven percent of BRFSS respondents lived in states with the strongest RBS laws, 15% reported binge drinking and 2% reported driving after having too much to drink at least once in the past 30 days. There was no evidence of a significant association between RBS law strength and self-reported binge drinking or alcohol-impaired driving. Future studies should include additional information about RBS laws and use a prospective research design. PMID:29225382

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP AND EMPLOYEE VOICE: EMPLOYEE SELF-EFFICACY AND SELF-IMPACT AS MEDIATORS.

PubMed

Wang, Duanxu; Gan, Chenjing; Wu, Chaoyan; Wang, Danqi

2015-06-01

Previous studies have used social learning theory to explain the influence of ethical leadership. This study continues the previous research by using social learning theory to explain the mediating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between ethical leadership and employee voice. In addition, this study extends previous studies by introducing expectancy theory to explore whether self-impact also mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and employee voice. Ethical leadership, self-efficacy, self-impact, and employee voice were assessed using paired surveys among 59 supervisors and 295 subordinates employed at nine firms in the People's Republic of China. Using HLM and SEM analyses, the results revealed that ethical leadership was positively related to employee voice and that this relationship was partially mediated by both self-efficacy and self-impact.

Frontal EEG Asymmetry and Temperament Across Infancy and Early Childhood: An Exploration of Stability and Bidirectional Relations

PubMed Central

Howarth, Grace Z.; Fettig, Nicole B.; Curby, Timothy W.; Bell, Martha Ann

2015-01-01

The stability of frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry, temperamental activity level and fear, as well as bidirectional relations between asymmetry and temperament across the first four years of life were examined in a sample of 183 children. Children participated in annual lab visits through 48 months, providing EEG and maternal report of temperament. EEG asymmetry showed moderate stability between 10 and 24 months. Analyses revealed that more left asymmetry predicted later activity level across the first three years. Conversely, asymmetry did not predict fear. Rather, fear at 36 months predicted more right asymmetry at 48 months. Results highlight the need for additional longitudinal research of infants and children to increase understanding of bidirectional relations between EEG and temperament in typically developing populations. PMID:26659466

On the relationship between the “default mode network” and the “social brain”

PubMed Central

Mars, Rogier B.; Neubert, Franz-Xaver; Noonan, MaryAnn P.; Sallet, Jerome; Toni, Ivan; Rushworth, Matthew F. S.

2012-01-01

The default mode network (DMN) of the brain consists of areas that are typically more active during rest than during active task performance. Recently however, this network has been shown to be activated by certain types of tasks. Social cognition, particularly higher-order tasks such as attributing mental states to others, has been suggested to activate a network of areas at least partly overlapping with the DMN. Here, we explore this claim, drawing on evidence from meta-analyses of functional MRI data and recent studies investigating the structural and functional connectivity of the social brain. In addition, we discuss recent evidence for the existence of a DMN in non-human primates. We conclude by discussing some of the implications of these observations. PMID:22737119

Synthesis, characterization and spectroscopic behavior of novel 2-oxo-1,4-disubstituted-1,2,5,6-tetrahydrobenzo[h]quinoline-3-carbonitrile dyes.

PubMed

Khan, Salman A; Asiri, Abdullah M; Al-Thaqafy, Saad H; Faidallah, Hassan M; El-Daly, Samy A

2014-12-10

Two synthetic pathways were adopted to synthesize the target 2-oxo-1,4-disubstituted-1,2,5,6-tetrahydro-benzo[h]quinoline-3-carbonitriles. Structure of the synthesized compounds has been characterized based on FT-IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR and elemental analyses. UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy measurements provided that all compounds are good absorbent and fluorescent. Fluorescence polarity study demonstrated that these compounds were sensitive to the polarity of the microenvironment provided by different solvents. In addition, spectroscopic and physicochemical parameters, including singlet absorption, extinction coefficient, Stokes shift, oscillator strength and dipole moment were investigated in order to explore the analytical potential of synthesized compounds. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The antidepressant debate and the balanced placebo trial design: an ethical analysis.

PubMed

Waring, Duff R

2008-12-01

There is ongoing debate about whether randomized, placebo-controlled trials under a double-blind have reliably established the pharmacological efficacy of antidepressants. Numerous meta-analyses of antidepressant efficacy trials, e.g., Kirsch et al. [Kirsch, I., Moore, T. J., Scoboria, A., & Nicholls, S. (2002). The emperor's new drugs: An analysis of antidepressant medication data submitted to the U.S. food and drug administration. Prevention and Treatment, 5, Article 23. (Retrieved July 19, 2007 from http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume5)], have shown a modest drug-placebo difference but methodological problems with standard trial design preclude a definitive conclusion that this difference results from specific biological effects of antidepressants or the nonspecific factors that have not been adequately excluded. Standard trial design assumes the additivity thesis of pharmacological efficacy, being the assumption that the specific or "true" magnitude of the pharmacological effect is limited to the difference between the drug and placebo responses in a standard trial. If the drug effects are as small as these meta-analyses suggest, then their clinical effectiveness is questionable. If the drug effects are actually larger but masked by placebo effects, then the additivity thesis is not valid and we risk false negative results with standard trial design. Kirsch et al. propose an alternative, four arm balanced placebo trial design (BPTD) that can accurately test the additivity thesis. The BPTD uses antidepressants, active placebos and the intentional deception of research subjects. My focal question is whether the BPTD is ethically defensible. I will explore two objections that can be raised against it: 1) lying to BPTD research subjects violates their autonomy and exploits their illness and 2) the BPTD may not enable us to test the additivity thesis with accuracy, i.e., it may contribute to the masking of drug effects that it aims to avoid. I argue that these objections support the conclusion that the BPTD is ethically indefensible.

The effects of fossil placement and calibration on divergence times and rates: an example from the termites (Insecta: Isoptera).

PubMed

Ware, Jessica L; Grimaldi, David A; Engel, Michael S

2010-01-01

Among insects, eusocial behavior occurs in termites, ants, some bees and wasps. Isoptera and Hymenoptera convergently share social behavior, and for both taxa its evolution remains poorly understood. While dating analyses provide researchers with the opportunity to date the origin of eusociality, fossil calibration methodology may mislead subsequent ecological interpretations. Using a comprehensive termite dataset, we explored the effect of fossil placement and calibration methodology. A combined molecular and morphological dataset for 42 extant termite lineages was used, and a second dataset including these 42 taxa, plus an additional 39 fossil lineages for which we had only morphological data. MrBayes doublet-model analyses recovered similar topologies, with one minor exception (Stolotermitidae is sister to the Hodotermitidae, s.s., in the 42-taxon analysis but is in a polytomy with Hodotermitidae and (Kalotermitidae + Neoisoptera) in the 81-taxon analysis). Analyses using the r8s program on these topologies were run with either minimum/maximum constraints (analysis a = 42-taxon and analysis c = 81-taxon analyses) or with the fossil taxon ages fixed (ages fixed to be the geological age of the deposit from which they came, analysis b = 81-taxon analysis). Confidence intervals were determined for the resulting ultrametric trees, and for most major clades there was significant overlap between dates recovered for analyses A and C (with exceptions, such as the nodes Neoisoptera, and Euisoptera). With the exception of isopteran and eusiopteran node ages, however, none of the major clade ages overlapped when analysis B is compared with either analysis A or C. Future studies on Dictyoptera should note that the age of Kalotermitidae was underestimated in absence of kalotermitid fossils with fixed ages. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teatime Threats. Choking Incidents at the Evening Meal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guthrie, Susan; Stansfield, Jois

2017-01-01

Purpose: To explore caregiver perceptions of the socio-environmental issues around evening meal ("teatime") which influence choking. Methodology: A qualitative study of caregivers witnessing a choking incident was undertaken. Semi-structured interviews explored perceptions of the causes. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.…

Distinguishing Error from Chaos in Ecological Time Series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugihara, George; Grenfell, Bryan; May, Robert M.

1990-11-01

Over the years, there has been much discussion about the relative importance of environmental and biological factors in regulating natural populations. Often it is thought that environmental factors are associated with stochastic fluctuations in population density, and biological ones with deterministic regulation. We revisit these ideas in the light of recent work on chaos and nonlinear systems. We show that completely deterministic regulatory factors can lead to apparently random fluctuations in population density, and we then develop a new method (that can be applied to limited data sets) to make practical distinctions between apparently noisy dynamics produced by low-dimensional chaos and population variation that in fact derives from random (high-dimensional)noise, such as environmental stochasticity or sampling error. To show its practical use, the method is first applied to models where the dynamics are known. We then apply the method to several sets of real data, including newly analysed data on the incidence of measles in the United Kingdom. Here the additional problems of secular trends and spatial effects are explored. In particular, we find that on a city-by-city scale measles exhibits low-dimensional chaos (as has previously been found for measles in New York City), whereas on a larger, country-wide scale the dynamics appear as a noisy two-year cycle. In addition to shedding light on the basic dynamics of some nonlinear biological systems, this work dramatizes how the scale on which data is collected and analysed can affect the conclusions drawn.

Study design and sampling intensity for demographic analyses of bear populations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harris, R.B.; Schwartz, C.C.; Mace, R.D.; Haroldson, M.A.

2011-01-01

The rate of population change through time (??) is a fundamental element of a wildlife population's conservation status, yet estimating it with acceptable precision for bears is difficult. For studies that follow known (usually marked) bears, ?? can be estimated during some defined time by applying either life-table or matrix projection methods to estimates of individual vital rates. Usually however, confidence intervals surrounding the estimate are broader than one would like. Using an estimator suggested by Doak et al. (2005), we explored the precision to be expected in ?? from demographic analyses of typical grizzly (Ursus arctos) and American black (U. americanus) bear data sets. We also evaluated some trade-offs among vital rates in sampling strategies. Confidence intervals around ?? were more sensitive to adding to the duration of a short (e.g., 3 yrs) than a long (e.g., 10 yrs) study, and more sensitive to adding additional bears to studies with small (e.g., 10 adult females/yr) than large (e.g., 30 adult females/yr) sample sizes. Confidence intervals of ?? projected using process-only variance of vital rates were only slightly smaller than those projected using total variances of vital rates. Under sampling constraints typical of most bear studies, it may be more efficient to invest additional resources into monitoring recruitment and juvenile survival rates of females already a part of the study, than to simply increase the sample size of study females. ?? 2011 International Association for Bear Research and Management.

Long-term energy security in a national scale using LEAP. Application to de-carbonization scenarios in Andorra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Travesset-Baro, Oriol; Jover, Eric; Rosas-Casals, Marti

2016-04-01

This paper analyses the long-term energy security in a national scale using Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP) modelling tool. It builds the LEAP Andorra model, which forecasts energy demand and supply for the Principality of Andorra by 2050. It has a general bottom-up structure, where energy demand is driven by the technological composition of the sectors of the economy. The technological model is combined with a top-down econometric model to take into account macroeconomic trends. The model presented in this paper provides an initial estimate of energy demand in Andorra segregated into all sectors (residential, transport, secondary, tertiary and public administration) and charts a baseline scenario based on historical trends. Additional scenarios representing different policy strategies are built to explore the country's potential energy savings and the feasibility to achieve the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) submitted in April 2015 to UN. In this climatic agreement Andorra intends to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 37% as compared to a business-as-usual scenario by 2030. In addition, current and future energy security is analysed in this paper under baseline and de-carbonization scenarios. Energy security issues are assessed in LEAP with an integrated vision, going beyond the classic perspective of security of supply, and being closer to the sustainability's integrative vision. Results of scenarios show the benefits of climate policies in terms of national energy security and the difficulties for Andorra to achieving the de-carbonization target by 2030.

Analysing how negative emotions emerge and are addressed in veterinary consultations, using the Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES).

PubMed

Vijfhuizen, Malou; Bok, Harold; Matthew, Susan M; Del Piccolo, Lidia; McArthur, Michelle

2017-04-01

To explore the applicability, need for modifications and reliability of the VR-CoDES in a veterinary setting while also gaining a deeper understanding of clients' expressions of negative emotion and how they are addressed by veterinarians. The Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences for client cues and concerns (VR-CoDES-CC) and health provider responses (VR-CoDES-P) were used to analyse 20 audiotaped veterinary consultations. Inter-rater reliability was established. The applicability of definitions of the VR-CoDES was identified, together with the need for specific modifications to suit veterinary consultations. The VR-CoDES-CC and VR-CoDES-P generally applied to veterinary consultations. Cue and concern reliability was found satisfactory for most types of cues, but not for concerns. Response reliability was satisfactory for explicitness, and for providing and reducing space for further disclosure. Modifications to the original coding system were necessary to accurately reflect the veterinary context and included minor additions to the VR-CoDES-CC. Using minor additions to the VR-CoDES including guilt, reassurance and cost discussions it can be reliably adopted to assess clients' implicit expressions of negative emotion and veterinarians' responses. The modified VR-CoDES could be of great value when combined with existing frameworks used for teaching and researching veterinary communication. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Gap hunting" to characterize clustered probe signals in Illumina methylation array data.

PubMed

Andrews, Shan V; Ladd-Acosta, Christine; Feinberg, Andrew P; Hansen, Kasper D; Fallin, M Daniele

2016-01-01

The Illumina 450k array has been widely used in epigenetic association studies. Current quality-control (QC) pipelines typically remove certain sets of probes, such as those containing a SNP or with multiple mapping locations. An additional set of potentially problematic probes are those with DNA methylation distributions characterized by two or more distinct clusters separated by gaps. Data-driven identification of such probes may offer additional insights for downstream analyses. We developed a procedure, termed "gap hunting," to identify probes showing clustered distributions. Among 590 peripheral blood samples from the Study to Explore Early Development, we identified 11,007 "gap probes." The vast majority (9199) are likely attributed to an underlying SNP(s) or other variant in the probe, although SNP-affected probes exist that do not produce a gap signals. Specific factors predict which SNPs lead to gap signals, including type of nucleotide change, probe type, DNA strand, and overall methylation state. These expected effects are demonstrated in paired genotype and 450k data on the same samples. Gap probes can also serve as a surrogate for the local genetic sequence on a haplotype scale and can be used to adjust for population stratification. The characteristics of gap probes reflect potentially informative biology. QC pipelines may benefit from an efficient data-driven approach that "flags" gap probes, rather than filtering such probes, followed by careful interpretation of downstream association analyses. Our results should translate directly to the recently released Illumina EPIC array given the similar chemistry and content design.

How to pose the question matters: Behavioural Economics concepts in decision making on the basis of ensemble forecasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alfonso, Leonardo; van Andel, Schalk Jan

2014-05-01

Part of recent research in ensemble and probabilistic hydro-meteorological forecasting analyses which probabilistic information is required by decision makers and how it can be most effectively visualised. This work, in addition, analyses if decision making in flood early warning is also influenced by the way the decision question is posed. For this purpose, the decision-making game "Do probabilistic forecasts lead to better decisions?", which Ramos et al (2012) conducted at the EGU General Assembly 2012 in the city of Vienna, has been repeated with a small group and expanded. In that game decision makers had to decide whether or not to open a flood release gate, on the basis of flood forecasts, with and without uncertainty information. A conclusion of that game was that, in the absence of uncertainty information, decision makers are compelled towards a more risk-averse attitude. In order to explore to what extent the answers were driven by the way the questions were framed, in addition to the original experiment, a second variant was introduced where participants were asked to choose between a sure value (for either loosing or winning with a giving probability) and a gamble. This set-up is based on Kahneman and Tversky (1979). Results indicate that the way how the questions are posed may play an important role in decision making and that Prospect Theory provides promising concepts to further understand how this works.

Coping with examinations: exploring relationships between students' coping strategies, implicit theories of ability, and perceived control.

PubMed

Doron, Julie; Stephan, Yannick; Boiché, Julie; Le Scanff, Christine

2009-09-01

Relatively little is known about the contribution of students' beliefs regarding the nature of academic ability (i.e. their implicit theories) on strategies used to deal with examinations. This study applied Dweck's socio-cognitive model of achievement motivation to better understand how students cope with examinations. It was expected that students' implicit theories of academic ability would be related to their use of particular coping strategies to deal with exam-related stress. Additionally, it was predicted that perceived control over exams acts as a mediator between implicit theories of ability and coping. Four hundred and ten undergraduate students (263 males, 147 females), aged from 17 to 26 years old (M=19.73, SD=1.46) were volunteers for the present study. Students completed measures of coping, implicit theories of academic ability, and perception of control over academic examinations during regular classes in the first term of the university year. Multiple regression analyses revealed that incremental beliefs of ability significantly and positively predicted active coping, planning, venting of emotions, seeking social support for emotional and instrumental reasons, whereas entity beliefs positively predicted behavioural disengagement and negatively predicted active coping and acceptance. In addition, analyses revealed that entity beliefs of ability were related to coping strategies through students' perception of control over academic examinations. These results confirm that exam-related coping varies as a function of students' beliefs about the nature of academic ability and their perceptions of control when approaching examinations.

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea in Europe: In-Detail Analyses of Disease Dynamics and Molecular Epidemiology.

PubMed

Hanke, Dennis; Pohlmann, Anne; Sauter-Louis, Carola; Höper, Dirk; Stadler, Julia; Ritzmann, Mathias; Steinrigl, Adi; Schwarz, Bernd-Andreas; Akimkin, Valerij; Fux, Robert; Blome, Sandra; Beer, Martin

2017-07-06

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is an acute and highly contagious enteric disease of swine caused by the eponymous virus (PEDV) which belongs to the genus Alphacoronavirus within the Coronaviridae virus family. Following the disastrous outbreaks in Asia and the United States, PEDV has been detected also in Europe. In order to better understand the overall situation, the molecular epidemiology, and factors that might influence the most variable disease impact; 40 samples from swine feces were collected from different PED outbreaks in Germany and other European countries and sequenced by shot-gun next-generation sequencing. A total of 38 new PEDV complete coding sequences were generated. When compared on a global scale, all investigated sequences from Central and South-Eastern Europe formed a rather homogeneous PEDV S INDEL cluster, suggesting a recent re-introduction. However, in-detail analyses revealed two new clusters and putative ancestor strains. Based on the available background data, correlations between clusters and location, farm type or clinical presentation could not be established. Additionally, the impact of secondary infections was explored using the metagenomic data sets. While several coinfections were observed, no correlation was found with disease courses. However, in addition to the PEDV genomes, ten complete viral coding sequences from nine different data sets were reconstructed each representing new virus strains. In detail, three pasivirus A strains, two astroviruses, a porcine sapelovirus, a kobuvirus, a porcine torovirus, a posavirus, and an enterobacteria phage were almost fully sequenced.

The relative contributions of function, perceived psychological burden and partner support to cognitive distress in bladder cancer.

PubMed

Heyes, Susan M; Bond, Malcolm J; Harrington, Ann; Belan, Ingrid

2016-09-01

Bladder cancer is a genitourinary disease of increasing incidence. Despite improvements in treatment, outcomes remain equivocal with high recurrence rates. It is associated with poor psychosocial outcomes due to reduced functioning of the genitourinary system. The objective of these analyses was to query whether reported loss of function or the perception of psychological burden caused by this functional impedance was the key to understanding psychosocial outcomes. The sample comprised 119 participants with a confirmed diagnosis of bladder cancer. They completed a self-report questionnaire comprising the Bladder Cancer Index, Mini-mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale, Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale and standard sociodemographic details. Simple mediation and serial mediation were used to explore the potential for psychological burden to mediate associations between loss of function and cognitive distress, and the potential additional contribution of positive partner support on these relationships. Age and duration of cancer were considered as covariates. Simple mediation demonstrated that the association between function and cognitive distress was fully mediated by perceived psychological burden. Serial mediation, which allowed for the addition of partner support, again demonstrated full mediation, with partner support being the key predictive variable. These analyses emphasise the importance of an appreciation of individuals' interpretation of the burden occasioned by bladder cancer and the role of a supportive partner. The implications for management discussions and support services in alleviating negative psychological outcomes in bladder cancer are highlighted. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evidence-based surgery: barriers, solutions, and the role of evidence synthesis.

PubMed

Garas, George; Ibrahim, Amel; Ashrafian, Hutan; Ahmed, Kamran; Patel, Vanash; Okabayashi, Koji; Skapinakis, Petros; Darzi, Ara; Athanasiou, Thanos

2012-08-01

Surgery is a rapidly evolving field, making the rigorous testing of emerging innovations vital. However, most surgical research fails to employ randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and has particularly been based on low-quality study designs. Subsequently, the analysis of data through meta-analysis and evidence synthesis is particularly difficult. Through a systematic review of the literature, this article explores the barriers to achieving a strong evidence base in surgery and offers potential solutions to overcome the barriers. Many barriers exist to evidence-based surgical research. They include enabling factors, such as funding, time, infrastructure, patient preference, ethical issues, and additionally barriers associated with specific attributes related to researchers, methodologies, or interventions. Novel evidence synthesis techniques in surgery are discussed, including graphics synthesis, treatment networks, and network meta-analyses that help overcome many of the limitations associated with existing techniques. They offer the opportunity to assess gaps and quantitatively present inconsistencies within the existing evidence of RCTs. Poorly or inadequately performed RCTs and meta-analyses can give rise to incorrect results and thus fail to inform clinical practice or revise policy. The above barriers can be overcome by providing academic leadership and good organizational support to ensure that adequate personnel, resources, and funding are allocated to the researcher. Training in research methodology and data interpretation can ensure that trials are conducted correctly and evidence is adequately synthesized and disseminated. The ultimate goal of overcoming the barriers to evidence-based surgery includes the improved quality of patient care in addition to enhanced patient outcomes.

Sequencing and annotation of mitochondrial genomes from individual parasitic helminths.

PubMed

Jex, Aaron R; Littlewood, D Timothy; Gasser, Robin B

2015-01-01

Mitochondrial (mt) genomics has significant implications in a range of fundamental areas of parasitology, including evolution, systematics, and population genetics as well as explorations of mt biochemistry, physiology, and function. Mt genomes also provide a rich source of markers to aid molecular epidemiological and ecological studies of key parasites. However, there is still a paucity of information on mt genomes for many metazoan organisms, particularly parasitic helminths, which has often related to challenges linked to sequencing from tiny amounts of material. The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies has paved the way for low cost, high-throughput mt genomic research, but there have been obstacles, particularly in relation to post-sequencing assembly and analyses of large datasets. In this chapter, we describe protocols for the efficient amplification and sequencing of mt genomes from small portions of individual helminths, and highlight the utility of NGS platforms to expedite mt genomics. In addition, we recommend approaches for manual or semi-automated bioinformatic annotation and analyses to overcome the bioinformatic "bottleneck" to research in this area. Taken together, these approaches have demonstrated applicability to a range of parasites and provide prospects for using complete mt genomic sequence datasets for large-scale molecular systematic and epidemiological studies. In addition, these methods have broader utility and might be readily adapted to a range of other medium-sized molecular regions (i.e., 10-100 kb), including large genomic operons, and other organellar (e.g., plastid) and viral genomes.

Short sleep duration as a risk factor for hypercholesterolemia: analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

PubMed

Gangwisch, James E; Malaspina, Dolores; Babiss, Lindsay A; Opler, Mark G; Posner, Kelly; Shen, Sa; Turner, J Blake; Zammit, Gary K; Ginsberg, Henry N

2010-07-01

To explore the relationship between sleep duration in adolescence and hypercholesterolemia in young adulthood. Experimental sleep restriction has been shown to significantly increase total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels in women. Short sleep duration has been found in cross sectional studies to be associated with higher total cholesterol and lower HDL cholesterol levels. Sleep deprivation could increase the risk for hypercholesterolemia by increasing appetite and dietary consumption of saturated fats, decreasing motivation to engage in regular physical activity, and increasing stress and resultant catecholamine induced lipolysis. No previous published population studies have examined the longitudinal relationship between sleep duration and high cholesterol. Multivariate longitudinal analyses stratified by sex of the ADD Health using logistic regression. United States nationally representative, school-based, probability-based sample. Adolescents (n = 14,257) in grades 7 to 12 at baseline (1994-95) and ages 18 to 26 at follow-up (2001-02). Among females, each additional hour of sleep was associated with a significantly decreased odds of being diagnosed with high cholesterol in young adulthood (OR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.75-0.96) after controlling for covariates. Additional sleep was associated with decreased, yet not statistically significant, odds ratios for hypercholesterolemia in males (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.79-1.05). Short sleep durations in adolescent women could be a significant risk factor for high cholesterol. Interventions that lengthen sleep could potentially serve as treatments and as primary preventative measures for hypercholesterolemia.

Space Transfer Concepts and Analyses for Exploration Missions. Technical Directive 12: Beamed Power Systems Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eder, D.

1992-01-01

Parametric models were constructed for Earth-based laser powered electric orbit transfer from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit. These models were used to carry out performance, cost/benefit, and sensitivity analyses of laser-powered transfer systems including end-to-end life cycle cost analyses for complete systems. Comparisons with conventional orbit transfer systems were made indicating large potential cost savings for laser-powered transfer. Approximate optimization was done to determine best parameter values for the systems. Orbit transfer flights simulations were conducted to explore effects of parameters not practical to model with a spreadsheet. The simulations considered view factors that determine when power can be transferred from ground stations to an orbit transfer vehicle and conducted sensitivity analyses for numbers of ground stations, Isp including dual-Isp transfers, and plane change profiles. Optimal steering laws were used for simultaneous altitude and plane change. Viewing geometry and low-thrust orbit raising were simultaneously simulated. A very preliminary investigation of relay mirrors was made.

Based on the development status of British BIM, exploring China’s BIM road

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiangang, Chu; hui, Li; shanjun, Zhang; Ningshan, Jiang; Dan, Zhang; Yu, Zhang; Guibo, Bao

2018-05-01

This article mainly analyses the development and application status and development trend of BIM technology after the implementation of the British government, to explore the policies and methods that our government should carry out in the development of BIM. The article also summarizes and analyses the relevant policies and standards implemented by various provincial and municipal governments in promoting BIM technology in China and summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of each other by comparing the development status of the implementation of BIM policies in various provinces and cities. The article also analysed the obstacles encountered in the implementation of some specific projects at the current stage of BIM technology, and summarized the feasible solutions. The article mainly analyses the application prospects of BIM from the technical aspects of design, the application of technology in the construction process, and the strategic implementation and operation of the company, and provides a reference for promoting the application of BIM in the construction industry in China, especially in the western region.

'A band of brothers'-an exploration of the range of medical ethical issues faced by British senior military clinicians on deployment to Afghanistan: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Bernthal, Elizabeth M; Draper, H J A; Henning, J; Kelly, J C

2017-06-01

To identify and explore features of ethical issues that senior clinicians faced as deployed medical directors (DMDs) to the British Field Hospital in Afghanistan as well as to determine the ethical training requirements for future deployments. A qualitative study in two phases conducted from November 2014 to June 2015. Phase 1 analysed 60 vignettes of cases that had generated ethical dilemmas for DMDs. Phase 2 included focus groups and an interview with 13 DMDs. Phase 1 identified working with limited resources, dual conflict of meeting both clinical and military obligations and consent of children as the most prevalent ethical challenges. Themes found in Phase 2 included sharing clinical responsibilities with clinicians from other countries and not knowing team members' ways of working, in addition to the themes from Phase 1. This study has drawn together examples of scenarios to form a repository that will aid future training. Recommendations included undertaking ethics training together as a team before, during and after deployment which must include all nationalities who are assigned to the same operational tour, so that different ethical views can be explored beforehand. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Safe Management of Waste Generated during Shale Gas Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukulska-Zając, Ewa; Król, Anna; Holewa-Rataj, Jadwiga

2017-04-01

Exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits, regardless of their type, are connected with the generation of waste, which may have various environmental effects. Such wastes may pose a serious risk to the surrounding environment and public health because they usually contain numerous potentially toxic chemicals. Waste associated with exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbon deposits is composed of a mixture of organic and inorganic materials, the qualitative and quantitative composition of which changes widely over time, depending on numerous factors. As a result the proper characteristic of this type of waste is very important. Information gained from detailed chemical analyses of drilling chemicals, drilling wastes, and flowback water can be used to manage shale gas-related wastes more appropriately, to develop treatment methods, to store the waste, and assess the potential environmental and health risk. The following paper will focus mainly on the results of research carried out on waste samples coming from the unconventional hydrogen exploration sites. Additionally, regulatory frameworks applicable to the management of wastes produced during this type of works will be discussed. The scope of research concerning physicochemical parameters for this type of wastes will also be presented. The presented results were obtained during M4ShaleGas project realization. The M4ShaleGas project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 640715.

Children's understanding of the immune system: Integrating the cognitive-developmental and intuitive theories' perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landry-Boozer, Kristine L.

Traditional cognitive-developmental researchers have provided a large body of evidence supporting the stage-like progression of children's cognitive development. Further, from this body of research comes evidence that children's understanding of HIV/AIDS develops in much the same way as their understanding of other illness-related concepts. Researchers from a newer perspective assert that biological concepts develop from intuitive theories. In general, as children are exposed to relevant content and have opportunities to organize this information, their theories become more accurate and differentiated. According to this perspective, there are no broad structural constraints on developing concepts, as asserted by cognitive developmental theorists. The purpose of the current study was two-fold: to provide support for both theoretical perspectives, while at the same time to explore children's conceptualizations of the immune system, which has not been done previously in the cognitive-developmental literature. One hundred ninety children ranging in age from 4 years old through 11 years old, and a group of adults, participated. Each participant was interviewed regarding health concepts and the body's function in maintaining health. Participants were also asked to report if they had certain experiences that would have led to relevant content exposure. Qualitative analyses were utilized to code the interviews with rubrics based on both theoretical perspectives. Quantitative analyses consisted of a series of univariate ANOVAs (and post hoc tests when appropriate) examining all three coding variables (accuracy, differentiation, and developmental level) across various age-group combinations and exposure groups. Results of these analyses provided support for both theoretical perspectives. When the data were analyzed for developmental level by all ages, a stage-like progression consistent with Piagetian stages emerged. When accuracy and differentiation were examined (intuitive theories perspective), discrete groups could not be formed. Instead, a gradual increase in accuracy and differentiation was observed. Additional support for this perspective was found when the responses of participants who had additional exposure provided responses that were more accurate, differentiated, and sophisticated than those of participants with no additional exposure. Theoretical and educational implications of these findings are discussed.

Integrated approach for quantification of fractured tight reservoir rocks: Porosity, permeability analyses and 3D fracture network characterisation on fractured dolomite samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voorn, Maarten; Barnhoorn, Auke; Exner, Ulrike; Baud, Patrick; Reuschlé, Thierry

2015-04-01

Fractured reservoir rocks make up an important part of the hydrocarbon reservoirs worldwide. A detailed analysis of fractures and fracture networks in reservoir rock samples is thus essential to determine the potential of these fractured reservoirs. However, common analyses on drill core and plug samples taken from such reservoirs (including hand specimen analysis, thin section analysis and laboratory porosity and permeability determination) suffer from various problems, such as having a limited resolution, providing only 2D and no internal structure information, being destructive on the samples and/or not being representative for full fracture networks. In this study, we therefore explore the use of an additional method - non-destructive 3D X-ray micro-Computed Tomography (μCT) - to obtain more information on such fractured samples. Seven plug-sized samples were selected from narrowly fractured rocks of the Hauptdolomit formation, taken from wellbores in the Vienna Basin, Austria. These samples span a range of different fault rocks in a fault zone interpretation, from damage zone to fault core. 3D μCT data is used to extract porosity, fracture aperture, fracture density and fracture orientations - in bulk as well as locally. The 3D analyses are complemented with thin sections made to provide some 2D information with a much higher detail than the μCT data. Finally, gas- and water permeability measurements under confining pressure provide an important link (at least in order of magnitude) of the µCT results towards more realistic reservoir conditions. Our results show that 3D μCT can be applied efficiently on plug-sized samples of naturally fractured rocks, and that several important parameters can be extracted. μCT can therefore be a useful addition to studies on such reservoir rocks, and provide valuable input for modelling and simulations. Also permeability experiments under confining pressure provide important additional insights. Combining these and other methods can therefore be a powerful approach in microstructural analysis of reservoir rocks, especially when applying the concepts that we present (on a small set of samples) in a larger study, in an automated and standardised manner.

77 FR 39959 - Draft Guidance To Implement Requirements for the Treatment of Air Quality Monitoring Data...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-06

... of the revised draft High Winds Guidance document, the EPA identifies example technical analyses that... identified analyses and any additional technical analyses that air agencies could use to demonstrate that the... Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/analysis/exevents.htm for additional details on the draft non...

The dual role of fragments in fragment-assembly methods for de novo protein structure prediction

PubMed Central

Handl, Julia; Knowles, Joshua; Vernon, Robert; Baker, David; Lovell, Simon C.

2013-01-01

In fragment-assembly techniques for protein structure prediction, models of protein structure are assembled from fragments of known protein structures. This process is typically guided by a knowledge-based energy function and uses a heuristic optimization method. The fragments play two important roles in this process: they define the set of structural parameters available, and they also assume the role of the main variation operators that are used by the optimiser. Previous analysis has typically focused on the first of these roles. In particular, the relationship between local amino acid sequence and local protein structure has been studied by a range of authors. The correlation between the two has been shown to vary with the window length considered, and the results of these analyses have informed directly the choice of fragment length in state-of-the-art prediction techniques. Here, we focus on the second role of fragments and aim to determine the effect of fragment length from an optimization perspective. We use theoretical analyses to reveal how the size and structure of the search space changes as a function of insertion length. Furthermore, empirical analyses are used to explore additional ways in which the size of the fragment insertion influences the search both in a simulation model and for the fragment-assembly technique, Rosetta. PMID:22095594

Global isoform-specific transcript alterations and deregulated networks in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

PubMed Central

Hamilton, Michael J.; Girke, Thomas; Martinez, Ernest

2018-01-01

Extensive genome-wide analyses of deregulated gene expression have now been performed for many types of cancer. However, most studies have focused on deregulation at the gene-level, which may overlook the alterations of specific transcripts for a given gene. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is one of the best-characterized and most pervasive renal cancers, and ccRCCs are well-documented to have aberrant RNA processing. In the present study, we examine the extent of aberrant isoform-specific RNA expression by reporting a comprehensive transcript-level analysis, using the new kallisto-sleuth-RATs pipeline, investigating coding and non-coding differential transcript expression in ccRCC. We analyzed 50 ccRCC tumors and their matched normal samples from The Cancer Genome Altas datasets. We identified 7,339 differentially expressed transcripts and 94 genes exhibiting differential transcript isoform usage in ccRCC. Additionally, transcript-level coexpression network analyses identified vasculature development and the tricarboxylic acid cycle as the most significantly deregulated networks correlating with ccRCC progression. These analyses uncovered several uncharacterized transcripts, including lncRNAs FGD5-AS1 and AL035661.1, as potential regulators of the tricarboxylic acid cycle associated with ccRCC progression. As ccRCC still presents treatment challenges, our results provide a new resource of potential therapeutics targets and highlight the importance of exploring alternative methodologies in transcriptome-wide studies.

Orbitrap mass analyser for in situ characterisation of planetary environments: Performance evaluation of a laboratory prototype

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briois, Christelle; Thissen, Roland; Thirkell, Laurent; Aradj, Kenzi; Bouabdellah, Abdel; Boukrara, Amirouche; Carrasco, Nathalie; Chalumeau, Gilles; Chapelon, Olivier; Colin, Fabrice; Coll, Patrice; Cottin, Hervé; Engrand, Cécile; Grand, Noel; Lebreton, Jean-Pierre; Orthous-Daunay, François-Régis; Pennanech, Cyril; Szopa, Cyril; Vuitton, Véronique; Zapf, Pascal; Makarov, Alexander

2016-10-01

For decades of space exploration, mass spectrometry has proven to be a reliable instrumentation for the characterisation of the nature and energy of ionic and neutral, atomic and molecular species in the interplanetary medium and upper planetary atmospheres. It has been used as well to analyse the chemical composition of planetary and small bodies environments. The chemical complexity of these environments calls for the need to develop a new generation of mass spectrometers with significantly increased mass resolving power. The recently developed OrbitrapTM mass analyser at ultra-high resolution shows promising adaptability to space instrumentation, offering improved performances for in situ measurements. In this article, we report on our project named ;Cosmorbitrap; aiming at demonstrating the adaptability of the Orbitrap technology for in situ space exploration. We present the prototype that was developed in the laboratory for demonstration of both technical feasibility and analytical capabilities. A set of samples containing elements with masses ranging from 9 to 208 u has been used to evaluate the performance of the analyser, in terms of mass resolving power (reaching 474,000 at m/z 9) and ability to discriminate between isobaric interferences, accuracy of mass measurement (below 15 ppm) and determination of relative isotopic abundances (below 5%) of various samples. We observe a good agreement between the results obtained with the prototype and those of a commercial instrument. As the background pressure is a key parameter for in situ exploration of atmosphere planetary bodies, we study the effect of background gas on the performance of the Cosmorbitrap prototype, showing an upper limit for N2 in our set-up at 10-8 mbar. The results demonstrate the strong potential to adapt this technology to space exploration.

Exploring changes over time and characteristics associated with data retrieval across individual participant data meta-analyses: systematic review

PubMed Central

Marson, Anthony G; Davie, Becky; Reynolds, Sally; Williams, Lisa; Smith, Catrin Tudur

2017-01-01

Abstract Objective To investigate whether the success rate of retrieving individual participant data (IPD) for use in IPD meta-analyses has increased over time, and to explore the characteristics associated with IPD retrieval. Design Systematic review of published IPD meta-analyses, supplemented by a reflection of the Cochrane Epilepsy Group’s 20 years’ experience of requesting IPD. Data sources Medline, CENTRAL, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL Plus, and PsycINFO. Eligibility criteria for study selection IPD meta-analyses of studies of all designs and all clinical areas published in English. Results 760 IPD meta-analyses which identified studies by systematic methods that had been published between 1987 and 2015 were included. Only 188 (25%) of these IPD meta-analyses retrieved 100% of the eligible IPD for analysis, with 324 (43%) of these IPD meta-analyses retrieving 80% or more of relevant IPD. There is insufficient evidence to suggest that IPD retrieval rates have improved over time. IPD meta-analyses that included only randomised trials, had an authorship policy, included fewer eligible participants, and were conducted outside of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were associated with a high or complete IPD retrieval rate. There was no association between the source of funding of the IPD meta-analyses and IPD retrieval rate. The IPD retrieval rate of the Cochrane Epilepsy Group has declined from 83% (up to 2005) to 65% (between 2012 and 2015) and the reported reasons for lack of data availability have changed in recent years. Conclusions IPD meta-analyses are considered to be the “gold standard” for the synthesis of data from clinical research studies; however, only 25% of published IPD meta-analyses have had access to all IPD. PMID:28381561

Exploration Blueprint: Data Book

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drake, Bret G. (Editor)

2007-01-01

The material contained in this report was compiled to capture the work performed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Exploration study team in the late 2002 timeframe. The "Exploration Blueprint Data Book" documents the analyses and findings of the 90-day Agency-wide study conducted from September - November 2002. During the summer of 2002, the NASA Deputy Administrator requested that a study be performed with the following objectives: (1) Develop the rationale for exploration beyond low-Earth orbit (2) Develop roadmaps for how to accomplish the first steps through humans to Mars (3) Develop design reference missions as a basis for the roadmaps 4) Make recommendations on what can be done now to effect this future This planning team, termed the Exploration Blueprint, performed architecture analyses to develop roadmaps for how to accomplish the first steps beyond LEO through the human exploration of Mars. The previous NASA Exploration Team activities laid the foundation and framework for development of NASA's Integrated Space Plan. The reference missions resulting from the analysis performed by the Exploration Blueprint team formed the basis for requirement definition, systems development, technology roadmapping, and risk assessments for future human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. Emphasis was placed on developing recommendations on what could be done now to effect future exploration activities. The Exploration Blueprint team embraced the "Stepping Stone" approach to exploration where human and robotic activities are conducted through progressive expansion outward beyond low-Earth orbit. Results from this study produced a long-term strategy for exploration with near-term implementation plans, program recommendations, and technology investments. Specific results included the development of a common exploration crew vehicle concept, a unified space nuclear strategy, focused bioastronautics research objectives, and an integrated human and robotic exploration strategy. Recommendations from the Exploration Blueprint included the endorsement of the Nuclear Systems Initiative, augmentation of the bioastronautics research, a focused space transportation program including heavy-lift launch and a common exploration vehicle design for ISS and exploration missions, as well as an integrated human and robotic exploration strategy for Mars.

Exploration Blueprint: Data Book

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drake, Bret G.

2007-02-01

The material contained in this report was compiled to capture the work performed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Exploration study team in the late 2002 timeframe. The "Exploration Blueprint Data Book" documents the analyses and findings of the 90-day Agency-wide study conducted from September - November 2002. During the summer of 2002, the NASA Deputy Administrator requested that a study be performed with the following objectives: (1) Develop the rationale for exploration beyond low-Earth orbit (2) Develop roadmaps for how to accomplish the first steps through humans to Mars (3) Develop design reference missions as a basis for the roadmaps 4) Make recommendations on what can be done now to effect this future This planning team, termed the Exploration Blueprint, performed architecture analyses to develop roadmaps for how to accomplish the first steps beyond LEO through the human exploration of Mars. The previous NASA Exploration Team activities laid the foundation and framework for development of NASA's Integrated Space Plan. The reference missions resulting from the analysis performed by the Exploration Blueprint team formed the basis for requirement definition, systems development, technology roadmapping, and risk assessments for future human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. Emphasis was placed on developing recommendations on what could be done now to effect future exploration activities. The Exploration Blueprint team embraced the "Stepping Stone" approach to exploration where human and robotic activities are conducted through progressive expansion outward beyond low-Earth orbit. Results from this study produced a long-term strategy for exploration with near-term implementation plans, program recommendations, and technology investments. Specific results included the development of a common exploration crew vehicle concept, a unified space nuclear strategy, focused bioastronautics research objectives, and an integrated human and robotic exploration strategy. Recommendations from the Exploration Blueprint included the endorsement of the Nuclear Systems Initiative, augmentation of the bioastronautics research, a focused space transportation program including heavy-lift launch and a common exploration vehicle design for ISS and exploration missions, as well as an integrated human and robotic exploration strategy for Mars.

Analysis of a Moon outpost for Mars enabling technologies through a Virtual Reality environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casini, Andrea E. M.; Maggiore, Paolo; Viola, Nicole; Basso, Valter; Ferrino, Marinella; Hoffman, Jeffrey A.; Cowley, Aidan

2018-02-01

The Moon is now being considered as the starting point for human exploration of the Solar System beyond low-Earth orbit. Many national space agencies are actively advocating to build up a lunar surface habitat capability starting from 2030 or earlier: according to ESA Technology Roadmaps for Exploration this should be the result of a broad international cooperation. Taking into account an incremental approach to reduce risks and costs of space missions, a lunar outpost can be considered as a test bed towards Mars, allowing to validate enabling technologies, such as water processing, waste management, power generation and storage, automation, robotics and human factors. Our natural satellite is rich in resources that could be used to pursue such a goal through a necessary assessment of ISRU techniques. The aim of this research is the analysis of a Moon outpost dedicated to the validation of enabling technologies for human space exploration. The main building blocks of the outpost are identified and feasible evolutionary scenarios are depicted, to highlight the incremental steps to build up the outpost. Main aspects that are dealt with include outpost location and architecture, as well as ISRU facilities, which in a far term future can help reduce the mass at launch, by producing hydrogen and oxygen for consumables, ECLSS, and propellant for Earth-Moon sorties and Mars journeys. A test outpost is implemented in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment as a first proof-of-concepts, where the elements are computer-based mock-ups. The VR facility has a first-person interactive perspective, allowing for specific in-depth analyses of ergonomics and operations. The feedbacks of these analyses are crucial to highlight requirements that might otherwise be overlooked, while their general outputs are fundamental to write down procedures. Moreover, the mimic of astronauts' EVAs is useful for pre-flight training, but can also represent an additional tool for failures troubleshooting during the flight controllers' nominal operations. Additionally, illumination maps have been obtained to study the light conditions, which are essential parameters to assess the base elements location. This unique simulation environment may offer the largest suite of benefits during the design and development phase, as it allows to design future systems to optimize operations, thus maximizing the mission's scientific return, and to enhance the astronauts training, by saving time and cost. The paper describes how a virtual environment could help to design a Moon outpost for an incremental architecture strategy towards Mars missions.

Biomonitoring and risk assessment on earth and during exploratory missions using AquaHab ®

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slenzka, K.; Dünne, M.; Jastorff, B.

2008-12-01

Bioregenerative closed ecological life support systems (CELSS) will be necessary in the exploration context revitalizing atmosphere, waste water and producing food for the human CELSS mates. During these long-term space travels and stays far away from Earth in an hostile environment as well as far for example from any hospital and surgery potential, it will be necessary to know much more about chemical and drug contamination in the special sense and by human's themselves in detail. Additionally, there is a strong need on Earth for more relevant standardized test systems including aquatic ones for the prospective risk assessment of chemicals and drugs in general on a laboratory scale. Current standardized test systems are mono species tests, and thus do not represent system aspects and have reduced environmental relevance. The experience gained during the last years in our research group lead to the development of a self-sustaining closed aquatic habitat/facility, called AquaHab ® which can serve regarding space exploration and Earth application. The AquaHab ® module can be the home of several fish species, snails, plants, amphipods and bacteria. The possibility to use different effect endpoints with certain beneficial characteristics is the basis for the application of AquaHab ® in different fields. Influence of drugs and chemicals can be tested on several trophic levels and ecosystem levels; guaranteeing a high relevance for aquatic systems in the real environment. Analyses of effect parameters of different complexity (e.g. general biological and water chemical parameters, activity of biotransforming enzymes) result in broad spectra of sensitivity. Combined with residual analyses (including all metabolites), this leads to an extended prospective risk assessment of a chemical on Earth and in a closed Life Support System. The possibility to measure also sensitive "online" parameters (e.g. behavior, respiration/photosynthetic activity) enables a quick and sensitive effect analysis of water contaminants in respective environments. AquaHab ® is currently under development to an early warning biomonitoring system using genetically modified fish and green algae. The implementation of biosensors/biochip in addition is also discussed.

Network Connectedness, Sense of Community, and Risk Perception of Climate Change Professionals in the Pacific Islands Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corlew, L. K.; Keener, V. W.; Finucane, M.

2013-12-01

The Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (Pacific RISA) Program conducted social network analysis research of climate change professionals (broadly defined) who are from or work in Hawaii and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) region. This study is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center (PICSC) to address an identified need for a resource that quantifies the region's collaborative network of climate change professionals, and that supports the further development of cross-regional and inter-sectoral collaborations for future research and adaptation activities. A survey was distributed to nearly 1,200 people who are from and/or work in climate change related fields in the region. The Part One Survey questions (not confidential) created a preferential attachment network by listing major players in Hawaii and the USAPI, with additional open fields to identify important contacts in the greater professional network. Participants (n=340) identified 975 network contacts and frequency of communications (weekly, monthly, seasonally, yearly, at least once ever). Part Two Survey questions (confidential, n=302) explored climate change risk perceptions, Psychological Sense of Community (PSOC), sense of control over climate change impacts, sense of responsibility to act, policy beliefs and preferences regarding climate change actions, concern and optimism scales about specific impacts, and demographic information. Graphical representations of the professional network are being developed for release in September 2013 as a free online tool to promote and assist collaboration building among climate professionals in the region. The graphs are partitioned according to network 'hubs' (high centrality), participant location, and profession to clearly identify network strengths and opportunities for future collaborations across spatial and professional boundaries. For additional analyses, scores are assigned for participant degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and Eigenvector centrality from the Part One Survey, as well as PSOC, control, responsibility, risk perceptions, concern, optimism, and policy preferences from the Part Two Survey. Statistical interaction analyses explore factors motivating connectedness within the network, as well as climate change research and adaptation needs and priorities of participants.

Compositions of Spherules and Rock Surfaces at Meridiani

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mittlefehldt, David W.; Jolliff, B. L.; Clark, B. C.; Gellert, R.

2007-01-01

The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometers (APXS) on the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) have proven extremely valuable for analyzing rocks and soils on the surface of Mars. The precision of their compositional measurements has been shown to be phenomenal through analyses of the compositionally very uniform Meridiani soils. Through combined use of the rock abrasion tool (RAT) and the analytical instruments on the in-situ deployment device (IDD), analyses of the interiors of fine-grained and texturally uniform rocks with surfaces ground flat have been made under conditions that are nearly ideal for this mode of analysis. The APXS has also been used frequently to analyze materials whose characteristics, surface morphologies, and sample-detector geometries are less than ideal, but the analyses of which are nonetheless very useful for understanding the makeup of the target materials. Such targets include undisturbed rocks with irregular and sometimes coated surfaces and mixed targets such as soils that include fine-grained components as well as coarse grains and pieces of rocks. Such target materials include the well known hematite-rich concretions, referred to as blueberries because of their multispectral color, size, and mode of occurrence. In addition to non-ideal target geometry, such mixed materials also present a heterogeneous target in terms of density. These irregularities violate the assumptions commonly associated with analyses done in the laboratory to achieve the highest possible accuracy. Here we acknowledge the irregularities and we examine the inferences drawn from specific chemical trends obtained on imperfect targets in light of one of the potential pitfalls of natural materials on the surface of Mars, namely thin dust coatings.

Self-Esteem as a Mediator between Personality Traits and Body Esteem: Path Analyses across Gender and Race/Ethnicity

PubMed Central

Skorek, Małgorzata; Song, Anna V.; Dunham, Yarrow

2014-01-01

Prior literature examines the direct relationship between personality traits and body esteem. This article explores the possibility that self-esteem mediates this relationship. 165 undergraduate women and 133 men (age 18–21; 42.6% Hispanic, 28.9% Asian, 28.5% Caucasian) completed items measuring personality traits (Big Five), self-esteem, and body esteem. Path analyses were used to test for mediation. The analyses confirmed that in both men and women self-esteem mediated the relationship between three personality traits and body esteem: higher levels of conscientiousness, emotional stability, and extraversion were associated with higher self-esteem and consequently higher body esteem. Once self-esteem was included in the model the relationships between personality traits and body esteem were not significant, suggesting full mediation. In addition, the analyses revealed several racial/ethnic differences. In Asian American participants, self-esteem mediated the relationship between conscientiousness and body esteem and between emotional stability and body esteem. In Hispanic Americans, self-esteem mediated the relationship between conscientiousness and body esteem and between extraversion and body esteem. And in Caucasian Americans, self-esteem mediated the relationship between emotional stability and body esteem and between extraversion and body esteem. The most important contribution of this study is evidence for an indirect relationship between personality traits and body esteem, with this relationship being mediated by self-esteem. This has important implications for the study of personality and eating disorders in young adults, most particularly implying a need for more emphasis on self-esteem as a predictor of body image problems. PMID:25375238

Comparative Transcriptomics Unravel Biochemical Specialization of Leaf Tissues of Stevia for Diterpenoid Production1

PubMed Central

Kim, Mi Jung; Jin, Jingjing; Zheng, Junshi

2015-01-01

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) produces not only a group of diterpenoid glycosides known as steviol glycosides (SGs), but also other labdane-type diterpenoids that may be spatially separated from SGs. However, their biosynthetic routes and spatial distribution in leaf tissues have not yet been elucidated. Here, we integrate metabolome and transcriptome analyses of Stevia to explore the biosynthetic capacity of leaf tissues for diterpenoid metabolism. Tissue-specific chemical analyses confirmed that SGs were accumulated in leaf cells but not in trichomes. On the other hand, Stevia leaf trichomes stored other labdane-type diterpenoids such as oxomanoyl oxide and agatholic acid. RNA sequencing analyses from two different tissues of Stevia provided a comprehensive overview of dynamic metabolic activities in trichomes and leaf without trichomes. These metabolite-guided transcriptomics and phylogenetic and gene expression analyses clearly identified specific gene members encoding enzymes involved in the 2-C-methyl-d-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway and the biosynthesis of steviol or other labdane-type diterpenoids. Additionally, our RNA sequencing analysis uncovered copalyl diphosphate synthase (SrCPS) and kaurene synthase1 (SrKS1) homologs, SrCPS2 and KS-like (SrKSL), which were specifically expressed in trichomes. In vitro and in planta assays showed that unlike SrCPS and SrKS1, SrCPS2 synthesized labda-13-en-8-ol diphosphate and successively catalyzed the formation of manoyl oxide and epi-manoyl oxide in combination with SrKSL. Our findings suggest that Stevia may have evolved to use distinct metabolic pathways to avoid metabolic interferences in leaf tissues for efficient production of diverse secondary metabolites. PMID:26438788

Application of Numerical Weather Models to Mitigating Atmospheric Artifacts in InSAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, J. H.; Kealy, J.; Businger, S.; Cherubini, T.; Brooks, B. A.; Albers, S. C.; Lu, Z.; Poland, M. P.; Chen, S.; Mass, C.

2011-12-01

A high-resolution weather "hindcasting" system to model the atmosphere at the time of SAR scene acquisitions has been established to investigate and mitigate the impact of atmospheric water vapor on InSAR deformation maps. Variations in the distributions of water vapor in the atmosphere between SAR acquisitions lead to artifacts in interferograms that can mask real ground motion signals. A database of regional numerical weather prediction model outputs generated by the University of Washington and U.C. Davis for times matching SAR acquisitions was used as "background" for higher resolution analyses of the atmosphere for Mount St Helens volcano in Washington, and Los Angeles in southern California. Using this background, we use LAPS to incrementally incorporate all other available meteorological data sets, including GPS, to explore the impact of additional observations on model accuracy. Our results suggest that, even with significant quantities of contemporaneously measured data, high-resolution atmospheric analyses are unable to model the timing and location of water vapor perturbations accurately enough to produce robust and reliable phase screens that can be directly subtracted from interferograms. Despite this, the analyses are able to reproduce the statistical character of the atmosphere with some confidence, suggesting that, in the absence of unusually dense in-situ measurements (such as is the case with GPS data for Los Angeles), weather analysis can play a valuable role in constraining the power-spectrum expected in an interferogram due to the troposphere. This could be used to provide objective weights to scenes during traditional stacking or to tune the filter parameters in time-series analyses.

Exploring Reading Comprehension Skill Relationships through the G-DINA Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Huilin; Chen, Jinsong

2016-01-01

By analysing the test data of 1029 British secondary school students' performance on 20 Programme for International Student Assessment English reading items through the generalised deterministic input, noisy "and" gate (G-DINA) model, the study conducted two investigations on exploring the relationships among the five reading…

Working with Youth on LGBT Issues: Why Gay-Straight Alliance Advisors Become Involved

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valenti, Maria; Campbell, Rebecca

2009-01-01

This phenomenological qualitative study explores motivation for citizen participation in a local context by exploring the experiences of Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club advisors from public high schools. Fourteen advisors from one midwestern state were randomly recruited for participation. Inductive and deductive qualitative analyses elucidated…

Exploring Teaching Concerns and Characteristics of Graduate Teaching Assistants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, YoonJung; Kim, Myoungsook; Svinicki, Marilla D.; Decker, Mark Lowry

2011-01-01

The purpose of the study was to explore a conceptual structure of graduate teaching assistant (GTA) teaching concerns. Results indicated that GTAs experience five distinct, inter-related types of concerns: class control, external evaluation, task, impact and role/time/communication. These "teaching concerns" were further analysed by…

An Exploration of Teachers' Agency and Social Relationships within Dyslexia-Support Provision in an English Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Helen

2017-01-01

This article explores teachers' experiences of dyslexia and classroom interventions via lesson observations and semi-structured interviews. These experiences were analysed through a Bourdieusien lens, based on Jenkins's "levels of interaction", to delineate power relationships inherent in classroom interactions, teachers' interactions…

Principals' Learning Mechanisms: Exploring an Emerging Construct

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schechter, Chen; Qadach, Mowafaq

2016-01-01

This exploration of principal learning mechanisms (PLM) to support a learning-centered school aimed to develop, field-test, and validate a PLM-measuring instrument. Following exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of items to examine factorial validity, the developed scale was correlated with other work-related established constructs (e.g.,…

Skylab Explores the Earth.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC.

This book describes the Skylab 4 Earth Explorations Project. Photographs of the earth taken by the Skylab astronauts are reproduced here and accompanied by an analytical and explanatory text. Some of the geological and geographical topics covered are: (1) global tectonics - some geological analyses of observations and photographs from Skylab; (2)…

Exploring the Integration of Field Portable Instrumentation into Real-Time Surface Science Operations with the RIS4E SSERVI Team

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, K. E.; Bleacher, J. E.; Rogers, D.; Garry, W. B.; McAdam, A.; Scheidt, S. P.; Carter, L. M.; Glotch, T. D.

2015-12-01

The Remote, In Situ, and Synchrotron Studies for Science (RIS4E) team represents one node of the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) program. While the RIS4E team consists of four themes, each dedicated to a different aspect of airless body exploration, this submission details the RIS4E work underway to maximize an astronaut's effectiveness while conducting surface science. The next generation of surface science operations will look quite different than the EVAs (extravehicular activities) conducted during Apollo. Astronauts will possess data of much higher resolution than the Apollo reconnaissance data, and the EVAs will thus be designed to answer targeted science questions. Additionally, technological advancements over the last several decades have made it possible to conduct in situ analyses of a caliber much greater than was achievable during Apollo. For example, lab techniques such as x-ray fluorescence, x-ray diffraction, and multi-spectral imaging are now available in field portable formats, meaning that astronauts can gain real-time geochemical awareness during sample collection. The integration of these instruments into EVA operations, however, has not been widely tested. While these instruments will provide the astronaut with a high-resolution look at regional geochemistry and structure, their implementation could prove costly to the already constrained astronaut EVA timeline. The RIS4E team, through fieldwork at the December 1974 lava flow at Kilauea Volcano, HI, investigates the incorporation of portable technologies into planetary surface exploration and explores the relationship between science value added from these instruments and the cost associated with integrating them into an EVA timeline. We also consider what an appropriate instrumentation suite would be for the exploration of a volcanic terrain using this ideal terrestrial analog (see Rogers et al., Young et al., Bleacher et al., and Yant et al., this meeting).

GEMINI: Integrative Exploration of Genetic Variation and Genome Annotations

PubMed Central

Paila, Umadevi; Chapman, Brad A.; Kirchner, Rory; Quinlan, Aaron R.

2013-01-01

Modern DNA sequencing technologies enable geneticists to rapidly identify genetic variation among many human genomes. However, isolating the minority of variants underlying disease remains an important, yet formidable challenge for medical genetics. We have developed GEMINI (GEnome MINIng), a flexible software package for exploring all forms of human genetic variation. Unlike existing tools, GEMINI integrates genetic variation with a diverse and adaptable set of genome annotations (e.g., dbSNP, ENCODE, UCSC, ClinVar, KEGG) into a unified database to facilitate interpretation and data exploration. Whereas other methods provide an inflexible set of variant filters or prioritization methods, GEMINI allows researchers to compose complex queries based on sample genotypes, inheritance patterns, and both pre-installed and custom genome annotations. GEMINI also provides methods for ad hoc queries and data exploration, a simple programming interface for custom analyses that leverage the underlying database, and both command line and graphical tools for common analyses. We demonstrate GEMINI's utility for exploring variation in personal genomes and family based genetic studies, and illustrate its ability to scale to studies involving thousands of human samples. GEMINI is designed for reproducibility and flexibility and our goal is to provide researchers with a standard framework for medical genomics. PMID:23874191

QuickRNASeq lifts large-scale RNA-seq data analyses to the next level of automation and interactive visualization.

PubMed

Zhao, Shanrong; Xi, Li; Quan, Jie; Xi, Hualin; Zhang, Ying; von Schack, David; Vincent, Michael; Zhang, Baohong

2016-01-08

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), a next-generation sequencing technique for transcriptome profiling, is being increasingly used, in part driven by the decreasing cost of sequencing. Nevertheless, the analysis of the massive amounts of data generated by large-scale RNA-seq remains a challenge. Multiple algorithms pertinent to basic analyses have been developed, and there is an increasing need to automate the use of these tools so as to obtain results in an efficient and user friendly manner. Increased automation and improved visualization of the results will help make the results and findings of the analyses readily available to experimental scientists. By combing the best open source tools developed for RNA-seq data analyses and the most advanced web 2.0 technologies, we have implemented QuickRNASeq, a pipeline for large-scale RNA-seq data analyses and visualization. The QuickRNASeq workflow consists of three main steps. In Step #1, each individual sample is processed, including mapping RNA-seq reads to a reference genome, counting the numbers of mapped reads, quality control of the aligned reads, and SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) calling. Step #1 is computationally intensive, and can be processed in parallel. In Step #2, the results from individual samples are merged, and an integrated and interactive project report is generated. All analyses results in the report are accessible via a single HTML entry webpage. Step #3 is the data interpretation and presentation step. The rich visualization features implemented here allow end users to interactively explore the results of RNA-seq data analyses, and to gain more insights into RNA-seq datasets. In addition, we used a real world dataset to demonstrate the simplicity and efficiency of QuickRNASeq in RNA-seq data analyses and interactive visualizations. The seamless integration of automated capabilites with interactive visualizations in QuickRNASeq is not available in other published RNA-seq pipelines. The high degree of automation and interactivity in QuickRNASeq leads to a substantial reduction in the time and effort required prior to further downstream analyses and interpretation of the analyses findings. QuickRNASeq advances primary RNA-seq data analyses to the next level of automation, and is mature for public release and adoption.

The Microbiota of the Vagina and Its Influence on Women’s Health and Disease

PubMed Central

Martin, David H.

2011-01-01

Explorations of the vaginal microbiota (VMB) began over 150 years ago. Using light microscopy and bacterial cultures the concept of normal versus abnormal microbiotain women began to emerge. The latter became known by the term “bacterial vaginosis” or BV. BV microbiota is dominated by Gardnerella vaginalis and includes a number of anaerobic organisms. In contrast normal flora is dominated various Lactobacilli. BV microbiota is associated with vaginal discharge, poor pregnancy outcomes, pelvic inflammatory disease, post-operative wound infections, and endometritis following elective abortions. Additionally, BV flora predisposes women to infection by HIV as well as other STDs. Application of molecular techniques over the last decade has significantly advanced our understanding of the VMB. It is far more complex than previously recognized and is comprised of many previously unknown organisms in addition to those already identified by culture. Analyses using high-throughput sequencing techniques have revealed unique microbial communities not previously recognized within the older, established vaginal flora categories. These new findings will inform the design of future clinical investigations of the role of the VMB in health and disease. PMID:22143133

Changing images of violence in Rap music lyrics: 1979-1997.

PubMed

Herd, Denise

2009-12-01

Rap music has been at the center of concern about the potential harmful effects of violent media on youth social behavior. This article explores the role of changing images of violence in rap music lyrics from the 1970s to the 1990s. The results indicate that there has been a dramatic and sustained increase in the level of violence in rap music. The percentage of songs mentioning violence increased from 27 per cent during 1979-1984 to 60 per cent during 1994-1997. In addition, portrayals of violence in later songs are viewed in a more positive light as shown by their increased association with glamor, wealth, masculinity, and personal prowess. Additional analyses revealed that genre, specifically gangster rap, is the most powerful predictor of the increased number of violent references in songs. The discussion suggests that violence in rap music has increased in response to the complex interplay of changing social conditions such as the elevated levels of youth violence in the 1980s and changing commercial practices within the music industry.

Uncertainty analysis and robust trajectory linearization control of a flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pu, Zhiqiang; Tan, Xiangmin; Fan, Guoliang; Yi, Jianqiang

2014-08-01

Flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicles feature significant uncertainties which pose huge challenges to robust controller designs. In this paper, four major categories of uncertainties are analyzed, that is, uncertainties associated with flexible effects, aerodynamic parameter variations, external environmental disturbances, and control-oriented modeling errors. A uniform nonlinear uncertainty model is explored for the first three uncertainties which lumps all uncertainties together and consequently is beneficial for controller synthesis. The fourth uncertainty is additionally considered in stability analysis. Based on these analyses, the starting point of the control design is to decompose the vehicle dynamics into five functional subsystems. Then a robust trajectory linearization control (TLC) scheme consisting of five robust subsystem controllers is proposed. In each subsystem controller, TLC is combined with the extended state observer (ESO) technique for uncertainty compensation. The stability of the overall closed-loop system with the four aforementioned uncertainties and additional singular perturbations is analyzed. Particularly, the stability of nonlinear ESO is also discussed from a Liénard system perspective. At last, simulations demonstrate the great control performance and the uncertainty rejection ability of the robust scheme.

Conceptual Blending Monitoring Students' Use of Metaphorical Concepts to Further the Learning of Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fredriksson, Alexandra; Pelger, Susanne

2018-03-01

The aim of this study is to explore how tertiary science students' use of metaphors in their popular science article writing may influence their understanding of subject matter. For this purpose, six popular articles written by students in physics or geology were analysed by means of a close textual analysis and a metaphor analysis. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students. The articles showed variation regarding the occurrence of active (non-conventional) metaphors, and metaphorical concepts, i.e. metaphors relating to a common theme. In addition, the interviews indicated that students using active metaphors and metaphorical concepts reflected more actively upon their use of metaphors. These students also discussed the possible relationship between subject understanding and creation of metaphors in terms of conceptual blending. The study suggests that students' process of creating metaphorical concepts could be described and visualised through integrated networks of conceptual blending. Altogether, the study argues for using conceptual blending as a tool for monitoring and encouraging the use of adequate metaphorical concepts, thereby facilitating students' opportunities of understanding and influencing the learning of science.

Predictors of suicidality across the life span: the Isle of Wight study.

PubMed

Pickles, A; Aglan, A; Collishaw, S; Messer, J; Rutter, M; Maughan, B

2010-09-01

Data from a representative community sample were used to explore predictors of lifetime suicidality and to examine associations between distal adolescent and more proximal adult risks. Data are from a midlife follow-up of the Isle of Wight study, an epidemiological sample of adolescents assessed in 1968. Ratings of psychiatric symptoms and disorder, relationships and family functioning and adversity were made in adolescence; adult assessments included lifetime psychiatric history and suicidality, neuroticism and retrospective reports of childhood sexual abuse and harsh parenting. A wide range of measures of childhood psychopathology, adverse experiences and interpersonal difficulties were associated with adult suicidality; associations were particularly strong for adolescent irritability, worry and depression. In multivariate analyses, substantial proportions of these effects could be explained by their association with adult psychopathology and neuroticism, but additional effects remained for adolescent irritability and worry. Factors of importance for long-term suicidality risk are evident in adolescence. These include family and experiential adversities as well as psychopathology. In particular, markers of adolescent worry and irritability appeared both potent risks and ones with additional effects beyond associations with adult disorder and adult neuroticism.

Transnational Policy Discourses on Teacher Education: A Cosmopolitan Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wahlström, Ninni

2015-01-01

In this article, I analyse some of the transnational "authoritative" policy documents on teacher education and teacher development from a cosmopolitan perspective. The purpose is to explore the possibilities for analysing the characteristics of teacher education and the role of the teacher in transnational texts from a cosmopolitan…

Ubiquitous Learning Ecologies for a Critical Cyber-Citizenship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Díez-Gutiérrez, Enrique; Díaz-Nafría, José-María

2018-01-01

The aim of this research is to identify and analyse the ubiquitous learning acquired through blending education settings devoted to the "lifelong training of trainers" and how these contribute to the development of a conscious, critic and engaged citizenship. Through active exploration of the learning process, the study analyses the…

Exploration of Heterogeneity in Distributed Research Network Drug Safety Analyses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Richard A.; Zeng, Peng; Ryan, Patrick; Gao, Juan; Sonawane, Kalyani; Teeter, Benjamin; Westrich, Kimberly; Dubois, Robert W.

2014-01-01

Distributed data networks representing large diverse populations are an expanding focus of drug safety research. However, interpreting results is difficult when treatment effect estimates vary across datasets (i.e., heterogeneity). In a previous study, risk estimates were generated for selected drugs and potential adverse outcomes. Analyses were…

Assessing Higher Level Learning: Developing Rubrics for Case Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rochford, Linda; Borchert, Patricia S.

2011-01-01

Case study analyses allow students to demonstrate proficiency in executing authentic tasks in marketing and management, facilitating faculty evaluation of higher order learning outcomes. Effective and consistent assessment of case analyses depends in large part on the development of sound rubrics. The authors explored the process of rubric…

The Research Identity Scale: Psychometric Analyses and Scale Refinement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorgensen, Maribeth F.; Schweinle, William E.

2018-01-01

The 68-item Research Identity Scale (RIS) was informed through qualitative exploration of research identity development in master's-level counseling students and practitioners. Classical psychometric analyses revealed the items had strong validity and reliability and a single factor. A one-parameter Rasch analysis and item review was used to…

Effect of Asian dust storms on mortality in three Asian cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hyewon; Honda, Yasushi; Lim, Youn-Hee; Guo, Yue Leon; Hashizume, Masahiro; Kim, Ho

2014-06-01

Asian dust storms (ADS) have affected several Asian countries and have been a major concern due to adverse effects on public health. The occurrence of ADS differs in each country based on geographical features and distance from the storms' origin. Many studies have reported significant associations between ADS and morbidity. However, regarding the association between ADS and mortality, only a few studies have found statistically significant ADS effects in Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the effects of ADS on daily mortality in three Asian cities (Seoul, South Korea; Taipei, Taiwan; and Kitakyushu, Japan) and to explore the differences in the extent of effects in each city. We performed time-series analyses using a generalized additive model (GAM) with Quasi-Poisson regressions. Deaths due to accidents or external causes were excluded. We used a dummy variable as an indicator of ADS and considered lag effects of ADS. Stratified analyses by disease and age and sensitivity analyses controlling for NO2, SO2, and PM10 were also conducted respectively. Additionally, influenza epidemics were adjusted for considering seasonal patterns, and a meta-analysis was performed. We reported results as excess mortality by percentage due to Asian dust storms. We found significant excess mortality in Seoul and Kitakyushu as follows. In Seoul, ADS showed adverse effects on mortality under 65 years old (lag 2: 4.44%, lag 3: 5%, lag 4: 4.39%). In Kitakyushu, ADS had adverse effects on respiratory mortality (lag 2: 18.82%). Contradictory to results in Seoul and Kitakyushu, ADS seemed to have a protective effect in Taipei: total non-accidental mortality (lag 0: -2.77%, lag 1: -3.24%), mortality over 65 years old (lag 0: -3.35%, lag 1: -3.29%) and respiratory mortality (lag 0: -10.62%, lag 1: -9.67%). Sensitivity analyses showed similar findings as the main results. Our findings suggest that ADS may affect mortality in several Asian cities, and that a dust storm warning system could help protect people from dust storms.

Searching for the self: an identity control theory approach to triggers of occupational exploration.

PubMed

Anderson, Katherine L; Mounts, Nina S

2012-01-01

Identity control theory researchers have found evidence for two processes of identity development (identity defense and identity change) and have theorized a third process (identity exploration). College students (N = 123) self-rated as high or low in occupational identity certainty and importance received self-discrepant feedback to induce identity disturbance, and dependent measures of identity defense, identity change, and identity exploration were obtained. As predicted, high certainty about identity standards led to identity defense, while low certainty led to identity change. Although an interaction between certainty and importance was hypothesized to predict identity exploration, results showed that the two operated independently. Low certainty predicted exploration of additional occupational areas, whereas high importance predicted exploration of self, environment, and additional occupational areas.

The future of coastal upwelling in the Humboldt current from model projections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oyarzún, Damián; Brierley, Chris M.

2018-03-01

The Humboldt coastal upwelling system in the eastern South Pacific ocean is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. A weakening of the upwelling activity could lead to severe ecological impacts. As coastal upwelling in eastern boundary systems is mainly driven by wind stress, most studies so far have analysed wind patterns change through the 20th and 21st Centuries in order to understand and project the phenomenon under specific forcing scenarios. Mixed results have been reported, and analyses from General Circulation Models have suggested even contradictory trends of wind stress for the Humboldt system. In this study, we analyse the ocean upwelling directly in 13 models contributing to phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) in both the historical simulations and an extreme climate change scenario (RCP8.5). The upwelling is represented by the upward ocean mass flux, a newly-included variable that represents the vertical water transport. Additionally, wind stress, ocean stratification, Ekman layer depth and thermocline depth were also analysed to explore their interactions with coastal upwelling throughout the period studied. The seasonal cycle of coastal upwelling differs between the Northern and Southern Humboldt areas. At lower latitudes, the upwelling season spans most of the autumn, winter and spring. However, in the Southern Humboldt area the upwelling season takes place in spring and the summertime with downwelling activity in winter. This persists throughout the Historical and RCP8.5 simulations. For both the Northern and Southern Humboldt areas an increasing wind stress is projected. However, different trends of upwelling intensity are observed away from the sea surface. Whereas wind stress will continue controlling the decadal variability of coastal upwelling on the whole ocean column analysed (surface to 300 m depth), an increasing disconnect with upwelling intensity is projected below 100 m depth throughout the 21st Century. This relates to an intensification of ocean stratification under global warming as shown by the sea water temperature profiles. Additionally, a divergence between the Ekman layer and thermocline depths is also evidenced. Given the interaction of upwelled nutrients and microscopic organisms essential for fish growth, a potential decline of coastal upwelling at depth could lead to unknown ecological and socio-economical effects.

Gender empowerment and female-to-male smoking prevalence ratios

PubMed Central

Fong, Geoffrey T

2011-01-01

Abstract Objective To determine whether in countries with high gender empowerment the female-to-male smoking prevalence ratio is also higher. Methods Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were performed to explore the relation between the United Nations Development Programme’s gender empowerment measure (GEM) and the female-to-male smoking prevalence ratio (calculated from the 2008 WHO global tobacco control report). Because a country’s progression through the various stages of the tobacco epidemic and its gender smoking ratio (GSR) are thought to be influenced by its level of development, we explored this correlation as well, with economic development defined in terms of gross national income (GNI) per capita and income inequality (Gini coefficient). Findings The GSR was significantly and positively correlated with the GEM (r = 0.680; P < 0.001). In addition, the GEM was the strongest predictor of the GSR (β, adjusted: 0.47; P < 0.0001) after controlling for GNI per capita and for Gini coefficient. Conclusion Whether progress towards gender empowerment can take place without a corresponding increase in smoking among women remains to be seen. Strong tobacco control measures are needed in countries where women are being increasingly empowered. PMID:21379415

MutationAligner: a resource of recurrent mutation hotspots in protein domains in cancer.

PubMed

Gauthier, Nicholas Paul; Reznik, Ed; Gao, Jianjiong; Sumer, Selcuk Onur; Schultz, Nikolaus; Sander, Chris; Miller, Martin L

2016-01-04

The MutationAligner web resource, available at http://www.mutationaligner.org, enables discovery and exploration of somatic mutation hotspots identified in protein domains in currently (mid-2015) more than 5000 cancer patient samples across 22 different tumor types. Using multiple sequence alignments of protein domains in the human genome, we extend the principle of recurrence analysis by aggregating mutations in homologous positions across sets of paralogous genes. Protein domain analysis enhances the statistical power to detect cancer-relevant mutations and links mutations to the specific biological functions encoded in domains. We illustrate how the MutationAligner database and interactive web tool can be used to explore, visualize and analyze mutation hotspots in protein domains across genes and tumor types. We believe that MutationAligner will be an important resource for the cancer research community by providing detailed clues for the functional importance of particular mutations, as well as for the design of functional genomics experiments and for decision support in precision medicine. MutationAligner is slated to be periodically updated to incorporate additional analyses and new data from cancer genomics projects. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

The experience of receiving a kidney transplant from a deceased donor: Implications for renal services.

PubMed

Lonargáin, Diarmaid Ó; Brannigan, Dawn; Murray, Craig

2017-02-01

The study aimed to explore the psychological experiences of receiving a kidney transplant from a deceased donor and to examine resulting implications for renal services. A qualitative design was utilised within an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) framework. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six adults (male = 5, mean age = 45 yrs) on their experiences of receiving a kidney transplant from a deceased donor. All participants had their transplant within the preceding 21 months. Data were analysed using IPA. The four elicited themes incorporate recipients' positive feelings about receiving a transplant, mainly arising from the newfound freedom that this entails, in addition to strong feelings of gratitude towards their donors. They also capture challenges, such as the uncertainty of living with a transplanted kidney, and highlight the increased dependence on others throughout the transplant process. The findings indicate a range of psychological, social and occupational experiences for participants. It is concluded that optimal care in renal services would incorporate a holistic approach to pre and post-transplant care; identifying and supporting the needs of transplant recipients. A biopsychosocial model of care may enhance service user well-being. Potential areas of future research are explored.

Phaeophleospora vochysiae Savi & Glienke sp. nov. Isolated from Vochysia divergens Found in the Pantanal, Brazil, Produces Bioactive Secondary Metabolites.

PubMed

Savi, Daiani C; Shaaban, Khaled A; Gos, Francielly Maria Wilke Ramos; Ponomareva, Larissa V; Thorson, Jon S; Glienke, Chirlei; Rohr, Jürgen

2018-02-15

Microorganisms associated with plants are highly diverse and can produce a large number of secondary metabolites, with antimicrobial, anti-parasitic and cytotoxic activities. We are particularly interested in exploring endophytes from medicinal plants found in the Pantanal, a unique and widely unexplored wetland in Brazil. In a bio-prospecting study, strains LGMF1213 and LGMF1215 were isolated as endophytes from Vochysia divergens, and by morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses were characterized as Phaeophleospora vochysiae sp. nov. The chemical assessment of this species reveals three major compounds with high biological activity, cercoscosporin (1), isocercosporin (2) and the new compound 3-(sec-butyl)-6-ethyl-4,5-dihydroxy-2-methoxy-6-methylcyclohex-2-enone (3). Besides the isolation of P. vochysiae as endophyte, the production of cercosporin compounds suggest that under specific conditions this species causes leaf spots, and may turn into a pathogen, since leaf spots are commonly caused by species of Cercospora that produce related compounds. In addition, the new compound 3-(sec-butyl)-6-ethyl-4,5-dihydroxy-2-methoxy-6-methylcyclohex-2-enone showed considerable antimicrobial activity and low cytotoxicity, which needs further exploration.

Education, Genetic Ancestry, and Blood Pressure in African Americans and Whites

PubMed Central

Gravlee, Clarence C.; Mulligan, Connie J.

2012-01-01

Objectives. We assessed the relative roles of education and genetic ancestry in predicting blood pressure (BP) within African Americans and explored the association between education and BP across racial groups. Methods. We used t tests and linear regressions to examine the associations of genetic ancestry, estimated from a genomewide set of autosomal markers, and education with BP variation among African Americans in the Family Blood Pressure Program. We also performed linear regressions in self-identified African Americans and Whites to explore the association of education with BP across racial groups. Results. Education, but not genetic ancestry, significantly predicted BP variation in the African American subsample (b = −0.51 mm Hg per year additional education; P = .001). Although education was inversely associated with BP in the total population, within-group analyses showed that education remained a significant predictor of BP only among the African Americans. We found a significant interaction (b = 3.20; P = .006) between education and self-identified race in predicting BP. Conclusions. Racial disparities in BP may be better explained by differences in education than by genetic ancestry. Future studies of ancestry and disease should include measures of the social environment. PMID:22698014

GeoLab 2011: New Instruments and Operations Tested at Desert RATS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, Cindy A.; Calaway, M. J.; Bell, M. S.

2012-01-01

GeoLab is a geological laboratory and testbed designed for supporting geoscience activities during NASA's analog demonstrations. Scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center built GeoLab as part of a technology project to aid the development of science operational concepts for future planetary surface missions [1, 2, 3]. It is integrated into NASA's Habitat Demonstration Unit, a first generation exploration habitat test article. As a prototype workstation, GeoLab provides a high fidelity working space for analog mission crewmembers to perform in-situ characterization of geologic samples and communicate their findings with supporting scientists. GeoLab analog operations can provide valuable data for assessing the operational and scientific considerations of surface-based geologic analyses such as preliminary examination of samples collected by astronaut crews [4, 5]. Our analog tests also feed into sample handling and advanced curation operational concepts and procedures that will, ultimately, help ensure that the most critical samples are collected during future exploration on a planetary surface, and aid decisions about sample prioritization, sample handling and return. Data from GeoLab operations also supports science planning during a mission by providing additional detailed geologic information to supporting scientists, helping them make informed decisions about strategies for subsequent sample collection opportunities.

Exploring nursing staffs communication in stressful and non-stressful situations.

PubMed

André, Beate; Frigstad, Sigrun A; Nøst, Torunn H; Sjøvold, Endre

2016-03-01

To explore the factors that characterise the work environment, focusing on communication among nurses in stressful and non-stressful situations. Nursing is often described as a stressful occupation. Implementation of change may be an additional stress factor. Nurses and assistant nurses completed a questionnaire from two different perspectives, 'communication in non-stressful situations' and 'communication under stress'. The Systematising Person-Group Relations method was used to gather and analyse the data. When the two perspectives, 'communication in non-stressful situations' and 'communication under stress', were compared, there were significant differences in 8 of the 12 factors. The stressful situations were characterised by low values in task orientation, caring, criticism, loyalty, acceptance, engagement and empathy; only the factor creativity had higher scores. The stressful situations were characterised by creative and spontaneous behaviour, not by task orientation and engagement, indicating a potential patient safety risk. There is a need to help health-care workers develop more mature analytical and task-oriented behaviours related to both independent work and collaboration in stressful situations. Nursing leadership and organisation must focus on healthy work environments to promote engaged communication in stressful situations, ultimately increasing patient safety. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Nursing Management Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Exploring the spectral variability of the Seyfert 1.5 galaxy Markarian 530 with Suzaku

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehler, H. J. S.; Gonzalez, A. G.; Gallo, L. C.

2018-05-01

A 2012 Suzaku observation of the Seyfert 1.5 galaxy Markarian 530 was analysed and found to exhibit two distinct modes of variability, which were found to be independent from one another. Firstly, the spectrum undergoes a smooth transition from a soft to a hard spectrum. Secondly, the spectrum displays more rapid variability seemingly confined to a very narrow energy band (˜1 - 3 keV). Three physical models (blurred reflection, partial covering, and soft Comptonisation) were explored to characterise the average spectrum of the observation as well as the spectral state change. All three models were found to fit the average spectrum and the spectral changes equally well. The more rapid variability appears as two cycles of a sinusoidal function, but we cannot attribute this to periodic variability. The Fe Kα band exhibits a narrow 6.4 keV emission line consistent with an origin from the distant torus. In addition, features blueward of the neutral iron line are consistent with emission from He-like and H-like iron that could be originating from the highly ionised layer of the torus, but a broad Gaussian profile at ˜6.7 keV also fits the spectrum well.

Functional Connectivity and Quantitative EEG in Women with Alcohol Use Disorders: A Resting-State Study.

PubMed

Herrera-Díaz, Adianes; Mendoza-Quiñones, Raúl; Melie-Garcia, Lester; Martínez-Montes, Eduardo; Sanabria-Diaz, Gretel; Romero-Quintana, Yuniel; Salazar-Guerra, Iraklys; Carballoso-Acosta, Mario; Caballero-Moreno, Antonio

2016-05-01

This study was aimed at exploring the electroencephalographic features associated with alcohol use disorders (AUD) during a resting-state condition, by using quantitative EEG and Functional Connectivity analyses. In addition, we explored whether EEG functional connectivity is associated with trait impulsivity. Absolute and relative powers and Synchronization Likelihood (SL) as a measure of functional connectivity were analyzed in 15 AUD women and fifteen controls matched in age, gender and education. Correlation analysis between self-report impulsivity as measured by the Barratt impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and SL values of AUD patients were performed. Our results showed increased absolute and relative beta power in AUD patients compared to matched controls, and reduced functional connectivity in AUD patients predominantly in the beta and alpha bands. Impaired connectivity was distributed at fronto-central and occipito-parietal regions in the alpha band, and over the entire scalp in the beta band. We also found that impaired functional connectivity particularly in alpha band at fronto-central areas was negative correlated with non-planning dimension of impulsivity. These findings suggest that functional brain abnormalities are present in AUD patients and a disruption of resting-state EEG functional connectivity is associated with psychopathological traits of addictive behavior.

Education, genetic ancestry, and blood pressure in African Americans and Whites.

PubMed

Non, Amy L; Gravlee, Clarence C; Mulligan, Connie J

2012-08-01

We assessed the relative roles of education and genetic ancestry in predicting blood pressure (BP) within African Americans and explored the association between education and BP across racial groups. We used t tests and linear regressions to examine the associations of genetic ancestry, estimated from a genomewide set of autosomal markers, and education with BP variation among African Americans in the Family Blood Pressure Program. We also performed linear regressions in self-identified African Americans and Whites to explore the association of education with BP across racial groups. Education, but not genetic ancestry, significantly predicted BP variation in the African American subsample (b=-0.51 mm Hg per year additional education; P=.001). Although education was inversely associated with BP in the total population, within-group analyses showed that education remained a significant predictor of BP only among the African Americans. We found a significant interaction (b=3.20; P=.006) between education and self-identified race in predicting BP. Racial disparities in BP may be better explained by differences in education than by genetic ancestry. Future studies of ancestry and disease should include measures of the social environment.

Exploring students' conceptions of science learning via drawing: a cross-sectional analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsieh, Wen-Min; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2017-02-01

This cross-sectional study explored students' conceptions of science learning via drawing analysis. A total of 906 Taiwanese students in 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade were asked to use drawing to illustrate how they conceptualise science learning. Students' drawings were analysed using a coding checklist to determine the presence or absence of specified attributes. Data analysis showed that the majority of students pictured science learning as school-based, involving certain types of experiment or teacher lecturing. In addition, notable cross-sectional differences were found in the 'Activity' and 'Emotions and attitudes' categories in students' drawings. Three major findings were made: (1) lower grade level students conceptualised science learning with a didactic approach, while higher graders might possess a quantitative view of science learning (i.e. how much is learned, not how well it is learned), (2) students' positive and negative emotions and attitudes toward science learning reversed around middle school, and (3) female students expressed significantly more positive emotions and attitudes than their male counterparts. In conclusion, higher graders' unfruitful conceptions of science learning warrant educators' attention. Moreover, further investigation of girls' more positive emotions and attitudes found in this study is needed.

Qualitative exploration of the views of healthy living champions from pharmacies in England.

PubMed

Rutter, Paul; Vryaparj, Gursharan

2015-02-01

In England, the 'Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP)' initiative has been trialed; positive outcomes led to national roll-out across England to 20 pathfinder sites. A HLP provides health promotion/prevention services through a structured framework to meet local population need. Non-pharmacist staff receive additional training so that they can provide these services, and are known as Healthy Living Champions (HLCs). To explore HLCs views on their role and to identify any barriers or facilitators in performing the role. Fourteen semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted during February and March 2013 in NHS Dudley, and analysed using the principles of content analysis. Three themes emerged from the interviews; HLC job role; training; and public awareness. HLC staff showed high levels of motivation, a strong desire to help people and felt a sense of personal reward, resulting in increased levels of job satisfaction. Training had improved their confidence but they still had reservations in offering services such as alcohol intervention and weight management. All believed that public awareness was low despite advertising. HLCs were positive toward their new role and derived job satisfaction from helping people to improve their health, although on-going training and support was perceived as important.

Exploring the facilitators and barriers to engagement in physical activity for people with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Kayes, Nicola M; McPherson, Kathryn M; Schluter, Philip; Taylor, Denise; Leete, Marta; Kolt, Gregory S

2011-01-01

To explore the relationship that cognitive behavioural and other previously identified variables have with physical activity engagement in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). This study adopted a cross-sectional questionnaire design. Participants were 282 individuals with MS. Outcome measures included the Physical Activity Disability Survey--Revised, Cognitive and Behavioural Responses to Symptoms Questionnaire, Barriers to Health Promoting Activities for Disabled Persons Scale, Multiple Sclerosis Self-efficacy Scale, Self-Efficacy for Chronic Diseases Scales and Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire. Multivariable stepwise regression analyses found that greater self-efficacy, greater reported mental fatigue and lower number of perceived barriers to physical activity accounted for a significant proportion of variance in physical activity behaviour, over that accounted for by illness-related variables. Although fear-avoidance beliefs accounted for a significant proportion of variance in the initial analyses, its effect was explained by other factors in the final multivariable analyses. Self-efficacy, mental fatigue and perceived barriers to physical activity are potentially modifiable variables which could be incorporated into interventions designed to improve physical activity engagement. Future research should explore whether a measurement tool tailored to capture beliefs about physical activity identified by people with MS would better predict participation in physical activity.

"A Nightmare Land, a Place of Death": An Exploration of the Moon as a Motif in Herge's "Destination Moon" (1953) and "Explorers on the Moon" (1954)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beauvais, Clementine

2010-01-01

This article analyses the symbolic meaning of the Moon in two "bande dessinee" books from the Tintin series, Herge's "Destination Moon" ("Objectif Lune," 1953) and its sequel "Explorers on the Moon" ("On a Marche sur la Lune," 1954). It argues that these two volumes stand out in the series for their graphic, narrative and philosophical emphasis on…

Everyday technology use among people with mental retardation: relevance, perceived difficulty, and influencing factors.

PubMed

Hällgren, Monica; Nygård, Louise; Kottorp, Anders

2014-05-01

While the development and possibilities of technology today are commonly regarded to be unlimited, knowledge regarding the technological needs of people with mental retardation is fairly limited. The aim of this study was to enhance knowledge of perceived relevance and difficulty in using everyday technology (ET) such as stoves, cell phones, and elevators in adults with mental retardation. 120 participants with different levels of mental retardation were interviewed with the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire (ETUQ) about their use of such technologies in their everyday life. Analyses of variance, post hoc tests, and regression analyses were used to explore the data. Participants with moderate and severe mental retardation differed in mean perceived difficulty from those with mild mental retardation, suggesting that increased perceived difficulty in ET use is related to the level of mental retardation. Differences between groups were also found in the proportion of items that were relevant for each person. The variables Level of Mental Retardation, Additional Disabilities, and Proportional Relevance of ET Items could together predict 67.2% of the variation in perceived difficulty in technology use. The findings also indicate that age, housing, gender, and geographical district do not covariate with perceived difficulty in ET use.

Context variations and pluri-methodological issues concerning the expression of a social representation: the example of the Gypsy community.

PubMed

Piermattéo, Anthony; Lo Monaco, Grégory; Moreau, Laure; Girandola, Fabien; Tavani, Jean-Louis

2014-11-20

Within the social representations' field of research, the "mute zone" hypothesis considers that some objects are characterized by counternormative content that people usually do not express in standard conditions of production. Within the framework of this approach, this study aims to explore the variations in the expression about the Gypsy community following the manipulation of different contexts and the issues associated with a pluri-methodological approach of data analysis. Indeed, two methodologies have been combined. The participants were asked to express themselves in public or in private. In addition, the identity of the experimenter was also manipulated as she presented herself as a Gypsy or not. Then, through a set of analyses based on a methodological triangulation approach, we were able to observe a recurrent modulation of the participants' answers. These analyses highlighted a greater incidence of the expression of counternormative elements when the context of expression was private and especially when the experimenter did not present herself as a Gypsy (p < .01, η p ² = .06). These results will be discussed in terms of the contribution of the methodologies employed and their comparison within the framework of the study of counternormative content.

Willingness to pay for mammography: item development and testing among five ethnic groups

PubMed Central

Hu, Teh-wei; Dueñas, Grace V.; Pasick, Rena J.

2010-01-01

The goal of this study was to develop a willingness to pay (WTP) question for mammography that is appropriate for low income, ethnically-diverse women. Through qualitative research with 50 low income women of five ethnic groups we developed both a WTP question and a willingness to travel question (WTT). After being refined through interviews with 41 women, these questions were pilot tested on a random sample of 52 low income, ethnically-diverse women in the San Francisco area. Results show that the concepts underlying WTP and WTT were culturally appropriate to the five ethnicities in this study. Analyses generally confirm the validity of the WTP and WTT questions. As expected, WTP was associated with household income, perceived risk of cancer, and knowledge that one needs a mammogram even after a clinical breast examination. Despite the small samples, WTP varied among the ethnic groups. Additionally, WTT was moderately correlated with the natural log of WTP (r = 0.58, P < 0.001). These questions are now in use in a larger clinical trial and future analyses will explore willingness to pay and willingness to travel within and across the ethnic groups. PMID:11014787

Rumination is independently associated with poor psychological health: Comparing emotion regulation strategies.

PubMed

Zawadzki, Matthew J

2015-01-01

Emotion regulation (ER) strategies are related to psychological health, with most work examining reappraisal and suppression. Yet, emerging findings suggest that rumination may have stronger relationships with psychological health, namely depression, than other ER strategies. This paper replicated and extended this work by testing whether rumination was independently associated with a range of poor psychological health risk indicators and outcomes. In addition, it explored whether the reason why rumination is so deleterious to health is because it underlies the stress-health relationship. Participants (n = 218) completed measures online. Surveys assessed ER strategies (reappraisal, suppression, proactive coping, emotion support seeking, and rumination), health risk indicators (hostility, optimism, self-esteem), health outcomes (depression, poor sleep quality, anxiety) and perceived chronic stress. Multivariate regression analyses revealed rumination as the only ER strategy with a consistent independent effect on all the health risk indicators and outcomes. Bootstrapping analyses revealed indirect effects of perceived chronic stress on all the health variables via rumination. Rumination had a deleterious relationship with psychological health, perhaps because rumination underlies the relationship between stress and psychological health. Results have implications for interventions, particularly emphasizing the need to target ruminative thinking after stressful experiences.

An Anthropocentric View of the Virosphere-Host Relationship

PubMed Central

Rodrigues, Rodrigo A. L.; Andrade, Ana C. dos S. P.; Boratto, Paulo V. de M.; Trindade, Giliane de S.; Kroon, Erna G.; Abrahão, Jônatas S.

2017-01-01

For over a century, viruses have been known as the most abundant and diverse group of organisms on Earth, forming a virosphere. Based on extensive meta-analyses, we present, for the first time, a wide and complete overview of virus–host network, covering all known viral species. Our data indicate that most of known viral species, regardless of their genomic category, have an intriguingly narrow host range, infecting only 1 or 2 host species. Our data also show that the known virosphere has expanded based on viruses of human interest, related to economical, medical or biotechnological activities. In addition, we provide an overview of the distribution of viruses on different environments on Earth, based on meta-analyses of available metaviromic data, showing the contrasting ubiquity of head-tailed phages against the specificity of some viral groups in certain environments. Finally, we uncovered all human viral species, exploring their diversity and the most affected organic systems. The virus–host network presented here shows an anthropocentric view of the virology. It is therefore clear that a huge effort and change in perspective is necessary to see more than the tip of the iceberg when it comes to virology. PMID:28912772

Responsibility attribution of HIV infection and coping among injection drug users in Malaysia.

PubMed

Chou, Chih-Chin; Chronister, Julie; Chou, Chih-Hung; Tan, Sooyin; Macewicz, Thomas

2013-01-01

This study explored responsibility attribution (RA) of HIV/AIDS infection (i.e., how an individual perceives the cause of their HIV/AIDS infection) and its relationship to coping styles among injection drug users (IDUs) with HIV/AIDS. In addition, this study investigated whether self-esteem, social support, and religiosity mediate the relationship between RA and coping styles of IDUs with HIV/AIDS. Participants were 201 adult IDUs with HIV/AIDS participating in the National Drug Rehabilitation Center in Malaysia. Five measures were used to assess the above constructs. Cluster analysis, analysis of variance, and mediation analyses were conducted. Results of this study indicated that IDUs with HIV/AIDS in Malaysia can be classified into four homogenous attribution groups: external, fatalistic, internal, and indeterminate. Mediator analyses revealed that combination of self-esteem, social support, and religiosity mediate the relationship between RA and coping behaviors. Clinicians working with IDUs with HIV/AIDS need to address the role of RA, self-esteem, religiosity, and social support as these psychosocial constructs are linked to coping with HIV/AIDS. Future researchers should investigate whether enhancing self-esteem, social support, and religiosity can promote active problem-solving coping and reduce the use of avoidance coping behaviors.

DBDA as a Novel Matrix for the Analyses of Small Molecules and Quantification of Fatty Acids by Negative Ion MALDI-TOF MS.

PubMed

Ling, Ling; Li, Ying; Wang, Sheng; Guo, Liming; Xiao, Chunsheng; Chen, Xuesi; Guo, Xinhua

2018-04-01

Matrix interference ions in low mass range has always been a concern when using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to analyze small molecules (<500 Da). In this work, a novel matrix, N1,N4-dibenzylidenebenzene-1,4-diamine (DBDA) was synthesized for the analyses of small molecules by negative ion MALDI-TOF MS. Notably, only neat ions ([M-H] - ) of fatty acids without matrix interference appeared in the mass spectra and the limit of detection (LOD) reached 0.3 fmol. DBDA also has great performance towards other small molecules such as amino acids, peptides, and nucleotide. Furthermore, with this novel matrix, the free fatty acids in serum were quantitatively analyzed based on the correlation curves with correlation coefficient of 0.99. In addition, UV-Vis experiments and molecular orbital calculations were performed to explore mechanism about DBDA used as matrix in the negative ion mode. The present work shows that the DBDA matrix is a highly sensitive matrix with few interference ions for analysis of small molecules. Meanwhile, DBDA is able to precisely quantify the fatty acids in real biological samples. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Trophic interactions between native and introduced fish species in a littoral fish community.

PubMed

Monroy, M; Maceda-Veiga, A; Caiola, N; De Sostoa, A

2014-11-01

The trophic interactions between 15 native and two introduced fish species, silverside Odontesthes bonariensis and rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, collected in a major fishery area at Lake Titicaca were explored by integrating traditional ecological knowledge and stable-isotope analyses (SIA). SIA suggested the existence of six trophic groups in this fish community based on δ(13)C and δ(15)N signatures. This was supported by ecological evidence illustrating marked spatial segregation between groups, but a similar trophic level for most of the native groups. Based on Bayesian ellipse analyses, niche overlap appeared to occur between small O. bonariensis (<90 mm) and benthopelagic native species (31.6%), and between the native pelagic killifish Orestias ispi and large O. bonariensis (39%) or O. mykiss (19.7%). In addition, Bayesian mixing models suggested that O. ispi and epipelagic species are likely to be the main prey items for the two introduced fish species. This study reveals a trophic link between native and introduced fish species, and demonstrates the utility of combining both SIA and traditional ecological knowledge to understand trophic relationships between fish species with similar feeding habits. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Detection of pigments of halophilic endoliths from gypsum: Raman portable instrument and European Space Agency's prototype analysis

PubMed Central

Culka, Adam; Osterrothová, Kateřina; Hutchinson, Ian; Ingley, Richard; McHugh, Melissa; Oren, Aharon; Edwards, Howell G. M.; Jehlička, Jan

2014-01-01

A prototype instrument, under development at the University of Leicester, for the future European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars mission, was used for the analysis of microbial pigments within a stratified gypsum crust from a hypersaline saltern evaporation pond at Eilat (Israel). Additionally, the same samples were analysed using a miniaturized Raman spectrometer, featuring the same 532 nm excitation. The differences in the position of the specific bands, attributed to carotenoid pigments from different coloured layers, were minor when analysed by the ESA prototype instrument; therefore, making it difficult to distinguish among the different pigments. The portable Delta Nu Advantage instrument allowed for the discrimination of microbial carotenoids from the orange/green and purple layers. The purpose of this study was to complement previous laboratory results with new data and experience with portable or handheld Raman systems, even with a dedicated prototype Raman system for the exploration of Mars. The latter is equipped with an excitation wavelength falling within the carotenoid polyene resonance region. The ESA prototype Raman instrument detected the carotenoid pigments (biomarkers) with ease, although further detailed distinctions among them were not achieved. PMID:25368354

The impact of ethnicity, family income, and parental education on children's health and use of health services.

PubMed Central

Flores, G; Bauchner, H; Feinstein, A R; Nguyen, U S

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVES: This study characterized ethnic disparities for children in demographics, health status, and use of services; explored whether ethnic subgroups (Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Mexican) have additional distinctive differences; and determined whether disparities are explained by differences in family income and parental education. METHODS: Bivariate and multivariate analyses of data on 99,268 children from the 1989-91 National Health Interview Surveys were conducted. RESULTS: Native American, Black, and Hispanic children are poorest (35%, 41% below poverty level vs 10% of Whites), least healthy (66%-74% in excellent or very good health vs 85% of Whites), and have the least well educated parents. Compared with Whites, non-White children average fewer doctor visits and are more likely to have excessive intervals between visits. Hispanic subgroup differences in demographics, health, and use of services equal or surpass differences among major ethnic groups. In multivariate analyses, almost all ethnic group disparities persisted after adjustment for family income, parental education, and other relevant covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Major ethnic groups and subgroups of children differ strikingly in demographics, health, and use of services; subgroup differences are easily overlooked; and most disparities persist even after adjustment for family income and parental education. PMID:10394317

Exploration Review

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilburn, D.R.; Stanley, K.A.

2013-01-01

This summary of international mineral exploration activities for 2012 draws upon information from industry sources, published literature and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) specialists. The summary provides data on exploration budgets by region and mineral commodity, identifies significant mineral discoveries and areas of mineral exploration, discusses government programs affecting the mineral exploration industry and presents analyses of exploration activities performed by the mineral industry. Three sources of information are reported and analyzed in this annual review of international exploration for 2012: 1) budgetary statistics expressed in U.S. nominal dollars provided by SNL Metals Economics Group (MEG) of Halifax, Nova Scotia; 2) regional and site-specific exploration activities that took place in 2012 as compiled by the USGS and 3) regional events including economic, social and political conditions that affected exploration activities, which were derived from published sources and unpublished discussions with USGS and industry specialists.

Effects of Non-Symbolic Approximate Number Practice on Symbolic Numerical Abilities in Pakistani Children.

PubMed

Khanum, Saeeda; Hanif, Rubina; Spelke, Elizabeth S; Berteletti, Ilaria; Hyde, Daniel C

2016-01-01

Current theories of numerical cognition posit that uniquely human symbolic number abilities connect to an early developing cognitive system for representing approximate numerical magnitudes, the approximate number system (ANS). In support of this proposal, recent laboratory-based training experiments with U.S. children show enhanced performance on symbolic addition after brief practice comparing or adding arrays of dots without counting: tasks that engage the ANS. Here we explore the nature and generality of this effect through two brief training experiments. In Experiment 1, elementary school children in Pakistan practiced either a non-symbolic numerical addition task or a line-length addition task with no numerical content, and then were tested on symbolic addition. After training, children in the numerical training group completed the symbolic addition test faster than children in the line length training group, suggesting a causal role of brief, non-symbolic numerical training on exact, symbolic addition. These findings replicate and extend the core findings of a recent U.S. laboratory-based study to non-Western children tested in a school setting, attesting to the robustness and generalizability of the observed training effects. Experiment 2 tested whether ANS training would also enhance the consistency of performance on a symbolic number line task. Over several analyses of the data there was some evidence that approximate number training enhanced symbolic number line placements relative to control conditions. Together, the findings suggest that engagement of the ANS through brief training procedures enhances children's immediate attention to number and engagement with symbolic number tasks.

Effects of Non-Symbolic Approximate Number Practice on Symbolic Numerical Abilities in Pakistani Children

PubMed Central

Khanum, Saeeda; Hanif, Rubina; Spelke, Elizabeth S.; Berteletti, Ilaria; Hyde, Daniel C.

2016-01-01

Current theories of numerical cognition posit that uniquely human symbolic number abilities connect to an early developing cognitive system for representing approximate numerical magnitudes, the approximate number system (ANS). In support of this proposal, recent laboratory-based training experiments with U.S. children show enhanced performance on symbolic addition after brief practice comparing or adding arrays of dots without counting: tasks that engage the ANS. Here we explore the nature and generality of this effect through two brief training experiments. In Experiment 1, elementary school children in Pakistan practiced either a non-symbolic numerical addition task or a line-length addition task with no numerical content, and then were tested on symbolic addition. After training, children in the numerical training group completed the symbolic addition test faster than children in the line length training group, suggesting a causal role of brief, non-symbolic numerical training on exact, symbolic addition. These findings replicate and extend the core findings of a recent U.S. laboratory-based study to non-Western children tested in a school setting, attesting to the robustness and generalizability of the observed training effects. Experiment 2 tested whether ANS training would also enhance the consistency of performance on a symbolic number line task. Over several analyses of the data there was some evidence that approximate number training enhanced symbolic number line placements relative to control conditions. Together, the findings suggest that engagement of the ANS through brief training procedures enhances children's immediate attention to number and engagement with symbolic number tasks. PMID:27764117

Further Exploring the Potential for Assimilation of Unmanned Aircraft Observations to Benefit Hurricane Analyses and Forecasts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sippel, Jason A.; Zhang, Fuqing; Weng, Yonghui; Braun, Scott A.; Cecil, Daniel J.

2015-01-01

This study explores the potential of assimilating data from multiple instruments onboard high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft to improve hurricane analyses and forecasts. A recent study found a significant positive impact on analyses and forecasts of Hurricane Karl when an ensemble Kalman filter was used to assimilate data from the High-altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP), a new Doppler radar onboard the NASA Global Hawk (GH) unmanned airborne system. The GH can also carry other useful instruments, including dropsondes and the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD), which is a new radiometer that estimates large swaths of wind speeds and rainfall at the ocean surface. The primary finding is that simultaneously assimilating data from HIWRAP and the other GH-compatible instruments results in further analysis and forecast improvement for Karl. The greatest improvement comes when HIWRAP, HIRAD, and dropsonde data are simultaneously assimilated.

Are you ready? Exploring readiness to engage in exercise among people living with HIV and multimorbidity in Toronto, Canada: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Simonik, Alya; Vader, Kyle; Ellis, Denine; Kesbian, Dirouhi; Leung, Priscilla; Jachyra, Patrick; Chan Carusone, Soo; O'Brien, Kelly K

2016-01-01

Objectives Our aim was to explore readiness to engage in exercise among people living with HIV and multimorbidity. Design We conducted a descriptive qualitative study using face-to-face semistructured interviews with adults living with HIV. Setting We recruited adults (18 years or older) who self-identified as living with HIV and 2 or more additional health-related conditions from a specialty hospital in Toronto, Canada. Participants 14 participants with a median age of 50 years and median number of 9 concurrent health-related conditions participated in the study. The majority of participants were men (64%) with an undetectable viral load (71%). Outcome measures We asked participants to describe their readiness to engage in exercise and explored how contextual factors influenced their readiness. We analysed interview transcripts using thematic analysis. Results We developed a framework to describe readiness to engage in exercise and the interplay of factors and their influence on readiness among adults with HIV and multimorbidity. Readiness was described as a diverse, dynamic and fluctuating spectrum ranging from not thinking about exercise to routinely engaging in daily exercise. Readiness was influenced by the complex and episodic nature of HIV and multimorbidity comprised of physical impairments, mental health challenges and uncertainty from HIV and concurrent health conditions. This key factor created a context within which 4 additional subfactors (social supports, perceptions and beliefs, past experience with exercise, and accessibility) may further hinder or facilitate an individual's position along the spectrum of readiness to exercise. Conclusions Readiness to engage in exercise among people living with HIV is a dynamic and fluctuating construct that may be influenced by the episodic nature of HIV and multimorbidity and 4 subfactors. Strategies to facilitate readiness to exercise should consider the interplay of these factors in order to enhance physical activity and subsequently improve health outcomes of people with HIV and multimorbidity. PMID:26956163

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

This is a coordinated program to effect the microbiological degradation of cellulosic biomasses and will focus on the use of anaerobic microorganisms which possess cellulolytic enzyme. The studies will attempt to increase the enzyme levels through genetics, mutation and strain selection. In addition, the direct conversion from cellulosic biomasses to liquid fuel (ethanol) and/or soluble sugars by the cellulolytic, anaerobic organism is also within the scope of this program. Process and engineering scale-up, along with economic analyses, will be performed throughout the course of the program. The second area of our major effort is devoted to the production of chemicalmore » feedstocks. In particular, three fermentations have been identified for exploration. These are: acrylic acid, acetone/butanol and acetic acid. The main efforts in these fermentations will address means for the reduction of the cost of manufacturing for these large volume chemicals.« less

Investigation of effective strategies for developing creative science thinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Kuay-Keng; Lee, Ling; Hong, Zuway-R.; Lin, Huann-shyang

2016-09-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the creative inquiry-based science teaching on students' creative science thinking and science inquiry performance. A quasi-experimental design consisting one experimental group (N = 20) and one comparison group (N = 24) with pretest and post-test was conducted. The framework of the intervention focused on potential strategies such as promoting divergent and convergent thinking and providing an open, inquiry-based learning environment that are recommended by the literature. Results revealed that the experimental group students outperformed their counterparts in the comparison group on the performances of science inquiry and convergent thinking. Additional qualitative data analyses from classroom observations and case teacher interviews identified supportive teaching strategies (e.g. facilitating associative thinking, sharing impressive ideas, encouraging evidence-based conclusions, and reviewing and commenting on group presentations) for developing students' creative science thinking.

Design and synthesis of inositolphosphoglycan putative insulin mediators.

PubMed

López-Prados, Javier; Cuevas, Félix; Reichardt, Niels-Christian; de Paz, José-Luis; Morales, Ezequiel Q; Martín-Lomas, Manuel

2005-03-07

The binding modes of a series of molecules, containing the glucosamine (1-->6) myo-inositol structural motif, into the ATP binding site of the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) have been analysed using molecular docking. These calculations predict that the presence of a phosphate group at the non-reducing end in pseudodisaccharide and pseudotrisaccharide structures properly orientate the molecule into the binding site and that pseudotrisaccharide structures present the best shape complementarity. Therefore, pseudodisaccharides and pseudotrisaccharides have been synthesised from common intermediates using effective synthetic strategies. On the basis of this synthetic chemistry, the feasibility of constructing small pseudotrisaccharide libraries on solid-phase using the same intermediates has been explored. The results from the biological evaluation of these molecules provide additional support to an insulin-mediated signalling system which involves the intermediacy of inositolphosphoglycans as putative insulin mediators.

Intergenerational continuity in high conflict family environments

PubMed Central

Rothenberg, W. Andrew; Hussong, Andrea M.; Chassin, Laurie

2016-01-01

In the current study, we examined continuity in conflict across generations and explored potential mediators and moderators that could explain this continuity. We followed 246 targets from adolescence to adulthood and examined family conflict as reported by multiple reporters in targets' family of origin and current families. Results showed that conflict in the current family was strongly correlated with that of the family of origin in women but not in men. Continuity in family conflict across generations was mediated by patterns of elevated adolescent externalizing behavior in members of the second generation (G2). Additionally, analyses revealed an interaction between both G2 partners' externalizing behavior such that if one partner in the G2 family demonstrated high levels of externalizing behavior, elevated levels of family conflict resulted. Potential explanations and implications of these findings are considered. PMID:26018605

Cultural leisure activities, recovery and work engagement among hospital employees

PubMed Central

TUISKU, Katinka; VIRTANEN, Marianna; DE BLOOM, Jessica; KINNUNEN, Ulla

2016-01-01

This study explored the relationship between cultural leisure activities, recovery experiences and two outcomes among hospital workers. The differences in recovery experiences (detachment, relaxation, mastery and control) and outcomes (work engagement and subjective recovery state) among hospital personnel (N=769) were analysed by the type (receptive or creative) and frequency of cultural activities. The cross-sectional data were collected by a digital questionnaire. Employees who reported both receptive and creative cultural leisure activities on a weekly basis had the highest relaxation, mastery and control experiences during off-job time. In addition, those with weekly creative activities had beneficial mastery experiences. There were no differences in recovery outcomes after adjustment for age, except in work engagement. Cultural leisure activities, and creative activities in particular, play an important role in certain aspects of recovery. PMID:26829973

A Qualitative Exploration of a Clinical Ethicist's Role and Contributions During Family Meetings.

PubMed

Bruce, Courtenay R; Bibler, Trevor M; Pena, Adam M; Kusin, Betsy

2016-12-01

Despite the interpersonal nature of family meetings and the frequency in which they occur, the clinical ethics literature is devoid of any rich descriptions of what clinical ethicists should actually be doing during family meetings. Here, we propose a framework for describing and understanding "transitioning" facilitation skills based on a retrospective review of our internal documentation of 100 consecutive cases (June 01, 2013-December 31, 2014) wherein a clinical ethicist facilitated at least one family meeting. The internal documents were analyzed using qualitative methodologies, i.e., "codes", to identify emergent themes. We identified four different transitioning strategies clinical ethicists use to reach a meaningful resolution. These transitioning strategies serve as a jumping-off point for additional analyses, future research, evaluating clinical ethics consultation, and overall performance improvement of a consultation service.

SAGE ground truth plan: Correlative measurements for the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) on the AEM-B satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, P. B. (Editor); Cunnold, D. M.; Grams, G. W.; Laver, J.; Mccormick, M. P.; Mcmaster, L. R.; Murcray, D. G.; Pepin, T. J.; Perry, T. W.; Planet, W. G.

1979-01-01

The ground truth plan is outlined for correlative measurements to validate the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) sensor data. SAGE will fly aboard the Applications Explorer Mission-B satellite scheduled for launch in early 1979 and measure stratospheric vertical profiles of aerosol, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and molecular extinction between 79 N and 79 S. latitude. The plan gives details of the location and times for the simultaneous satellite/correlative measurements for the nominal launch time, the rationale and choice of the correlative sensors, their characteristics and expected accuracies, and the conversion of their data to extinction profiles. In addition, an overview of the SAGE expected instrument performance and data inversion results are presented. Various atmospheric models representative of stratospheric aerosols and ozone are used in the SAGE and correlative sensor analyses.

Long-term dietary sodium, potassium and fluid intake; exploring potential novel risk factors for renal cell cancer in the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer.

PubMed

Deckers, I A G; van den Brandt, P A; van Engeland, M; Soetekouw, P M M B; Baldewijns, M M L L; Goldbohm, R A; Schouten, L J

2014-02-04

As sodium, potassium and fluid intake are related to hypertension, an established risk factor for renal cell cancer (RCC), they may be independent risk factors for RCC. The Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS) with case-cohort design included 120,852 participants aged 55-69 years. At baseline, diet and lifestyle were assessed with questionnaires. After 17.3 years of follow-up, 485 RCC cases and 4438 subcohort members were available for analyses. Sodium intake increased RCC risk (P-trend=0.03), whereas fluid and potassium intake did not. For high sodium and low fluid intake, the RCC risk additionally increased (P-interaction=0.02). Sodium intake is a potential risk factor for RCC, particularly if fluid consumption is low.

Diammonium phosphate stimulates transcription of L-lactate dehydrogenase leading to increased L-lactate production in the thermotolerant Bacillus coagulans strain.

PubMed

Sun, Lifan; Li, Yanfeng; Wang, Limin; Wang, Yanping; Yu, Bo

2016-08-01

Exploration of cost-effective fermentation substrates for efficient lactate production is an important economic objective. Although some organic nitrogen sources are also cheaper, inorganic nitrogen salts for lactate fermentation have additional advantages in facilitating downstream procedures and significantly improving the commercial competitiveness of lactate production. In this study, we first established an application of diammonium phosphate to replace yeast extract with a reduced 90 % nitrogen cost for a thermotolerant Bacillus coagulans strain. In vivo enzymatic and transcriptional analyses demonstrated that diammonium phosphate stimulates the gene expression of L-lactate dehydrogenase, thus providing higher specific enzyme activity in vivo and increasing L-lactic acid production. This new information provides a foundation for establishing a cost-effective process for polymer-grade L-lactic acid production in an industrial setting.

Adverse Childhood Experiences of Violent Female Offenders: A Comparison of Homicide and Sexual Perpetrators.

PubMed

Pflugradt, Dawn M; Allen, Bradley P; Zintsmaster, Amanda J

2018-06-01

Adverse childhood experiences are associated with a multitude of health and social problems. In addition to an increased risk of poor health, mental disorders, and substance abuse, childhood maltreatment is also significantly related to adult violent offending. Although gender-specific analyses suggest that early childhood maltreatment precedes later violence for males across offense categories, it is unknown whether this association also applies to different types of female offenders. This study explores the types and quantity of adverse childhood experiences for two groups of violent female offenders: perpetrators of intentional homicide ( N = 28) and perpetrators of sexual offenses ( N = 47). A nonparametric analysis using odds ratios (OR) indicated that female homicide perpetrators experienced significantly more adverse childhood experiences (as measured by the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire) than female sex offenders. Implications for future research are discussed.

Improved decryption quality and security of a joint transform correlator-based encryption system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vilardy, Juan M.; Millán, María S.; Pérez-Cabré, Elisabet

2013-02-01

Some image encryption systems based on modified double random phase encoding and joint transform correlator architecture produce low quality decrypted images and are vulnerable to a variety of attacks. In this work, we analyse the algorithm of some reported methods that optically implement the double random phase encryption in a joint transform correlator. We show that it is possible to significantly improve the quality of the decrypted image by introducing a simple nonlinear operation in the encrypted function that contains the joint power spectrum. This nonlinearity also makes the system more resistant to chosen-plaintext attacks. We additionally explore the system resistance against this type of attack when a variety of probability density functions are used to generate the two random phase masks of the encryption-decryption process. Numerical results are presented and discussed.

Space radiation concerns for manned exploration.

PubMed

Stanford, M; Jones, J A

1999-07-01

Spaceflight exposes astronaut crews to natural ionizing radiation. To date, exposures in manned spaceflight have been well below the career limits recommended to NASA by the National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP). This will not be the case for long-duration exploratory class missions. Additionally. International Space Station (ISS) crews will receive higher doses than earlier flight crews. Uncertainties in our understanding of long-term bioeffects, as well as updated analyses of the Hiroshima. Nagasaki and Chernobyl tumorigenesis data, have prompted the NCRP to recommend further reductions by 30-50% for career dose limit guidelines. Intelligent spacecraft design and material selection can provide a shielding strategy capable of maintaining crew exposures within recommended guidelines. Current studies on newer radioprotectant compounds may find combinations of agents which further diminish the risk of radiation-induced bioeffects to the crew.

Life Sciences Implications of Lunar Surface Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chappell, Steven P.; Norcross, Jason R.; Abercromby, Andrew F.; Gernhardt, Michael L.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this report is to document preliminary, predicted, life sciences implications of expected operational concepts for lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA). Algorithms developed through simulation and testing in lunar analog environments were used to predict crew metabolic rates and ground reaction forces experienced during lunar EVA. Subsequently, the total metabolic energy consumption, the daily bone load stimulus, total oxygen needed, and other variables were calculated and provided to Human Research Program and Exploration Systems Mission Directorate stakeholders. To provide context to the modeling, the report includes an overview of some scenarios that have been considered. Concise descriptions of the analog testing and development of the algorithms are also provided. This document may be updated to remain current with evolving lunar or other planetary surface operations, assumptions and concepts, and to provide additional data and analyses collected during the ongoing analog research program.

Analysing the integration of engineering in science lessons with the Engineering-Infused Lesson Rubric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterman, Karen; Daugherty, Jenny L.; Custer, Rodney L.; Ross, Julia M.

2017-09-01

Science teachers are being called on to incorporate engineering practices into their classrooms. This study explores whether the Engineering-Infused Lesson Rubric, a new rubric designed to target best practices in engineering education, could be used to evaluate the extent to which engineering is infused into online science lessons. Eighty lessons were selected at random from three online repositories, and coded with the rubric. Overall results documented the strengths of existing lessons, as well as many components that teachers might strengthen. In addition, a subset of characteristics was found to distinguish lessons with the highest level of engineering infusion. Findings are discussed in relation to the potential of the rubric to help teachers use research evidence-informed practice generally, and in relation to the new content demands of the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards, in particular.

Specialized Prisons and Services: Results From a National Survey

PubMed Central

Cropsey, Karen L.; Wexler, Harry K.; Melnick, Gerald; Taxman, Faye S.; Young, Douglas W.

2008-01-01

Findings from the National Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) National Criminal Justice Treatment Practices survey are examined to describe types of services provided by three types of prisons: those that serve a cross-section of offenders, those that specialize in serving offenders with special psychosocial and medical needs, and those that specialize in serving legal status or gender specific populations. Information is presented on the prevalence and type of specialized prisons and services provided to offenders as reported by wardens and other facility directors drawn from a nationally representative sample of prisons. Additional analyses explore organizational factors that differentiate prisons that serve specialized populations including staffing, training, other resources, leadership, and climate for change and innovation. Implications for expanding and improving services for special populations in correctional settings and the values of specialized prisons are discussed. PMID:18443650

Quest for Accountability: Exploring the Evaluation Process of Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minelli, Eliana; Rebora, Gianfranco; Turri, Matteo

2015-01-01

The article explores the organisational impact of evaluation and control mechanisms on universities from the point of view of accountability. Three case studies are analysed with the aim of understanding the significance of these systems both at corporate governance level and in relation to their influence on the behaviour of the academic staff.…

Tests of Alignment among Assessment, Standards, and Instruction Using Generalized Linear Model Regression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fulmer, Gavin W.; Polikoff, Morgan S.

2014-01-01

An essential component in school accountability efforts is for assessments to be well-aligned with the standards or curriculum they are intended to measure. However, relatively little prior research has explored methods to determine statistical significance of alignment or misalignment. This study explores analyses of alignment as a special case…

Socioscience and Ethics in Science Classrooms: Teacher Perspectives and Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadler, Troy D.; Amirshokoohi, Aidin; Kazempour, Mahsa; Allspaw, Kathleen M.

2006-01-01

This study explored teacher perspectives on the use of socioscientific issues (SSI) and on dealing with ethics in the context of science instruction. Twenty-two middle and high school science teachers from three US states participated in semi-structured interviews, and researchers employed inductive analyses to explore emergent patterns relative…

Exploration of Individual Study Paths of Successful First-Year Students: An Interview Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindblom-Ylänne, Sari; Haarala-Muhonen, Anne; Postareff, Liisa; Hailikari, Telle

2017-01-01

The aim of the present study was to explore the individual profiles of successful, rapidly progressing first-year university students. The participants numbered 38 humanities and law students, who volunteered to be interviewed. The interview data were analysed using abductive content analysis. Two student profiles were distinguished:…

"I Carry Her in My Heart": An Exploration of the Experience of Bereavement for People with Learning Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thorp, Nicki; Stedmon, Jacqui; Lloyd, Helen

2018-01-01

Background: Bereavement is a universal experience, yet little research has explored the lived experience of bereavement for people with learning disability (PWLD). Materials and methods: Four PWLD were interviewed about their experience of bereavement. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Four themes were…

Exploring the Complex Interplay of National Learning and Teaching Policy and Academic Development Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Karen

2016-01-01

Academic developers are important interpreters of policy, yet little research has focussed on the interplay of policy and academic development practice. Using methods from critical discourse analysis, this article analyses a national learning and teaching policy, charts its development, and explores its interpretation by the academic development…

Exploring and Implementing Participatory Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savin-Baden, Maggi; Wimpenny, Katherine

2007-01-01

This paper explores the research method of participatory action research, first by examining the roots of this approach and then analysing the shift to using more participatory approaches than in former years. It begins by considering the reasoning and theoretical underpinning for adopting this approach and provides an overview of the steps to be…

Narrative Inquiry: Theory and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savin-Baden, Maggi; Van Niekerk, Lana

2007-01-01

This article offers an overview of the method of narrative inquiry and explores competing trends in the use of the approach. It not only examines the theories relating to the method but also offers practical guidance on using narrative inquiry, including an exploration of what might count as a narrative and ways of analysing narrative data. The…

A Qualitative Exploration of Community-Based Organization Programs, Resources, and Training to Promote Adolescent Sexual Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCarthy, Molly A.; Fisher, Christopher M.; Zhou, Junmin; Zhu, He; Pelster, Aja Kneip; Schober, Daniel J.; Baldwin, Kathleen; Fortenberry, J. Dennis; Goldsworthy, Richard

2015-01-01

Youth development professionals (YDPs) working at community-based organizations (CBOs) can promote adolescent sexual health through programs. This study explored the programs and resources that youth access at CBOs and training YDPs receive. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with YDPs. Qualitative content analyses were conducted…

Exploring Trainer and Trainee Emotional Talk in Narratives about Workplace-Based Feedback Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dennis, A. A.; Foy, M. J.; Monrouxe, L. V.; Rees, C. E.

2018-01-01

Emotion characterises learners' feedback experiences. While the failure-to-fail literature suggests that emotion may be important, little is known about the role of emotion for educators. Secondary analyses were therefore conducted on data exploring 110 trainers' and trainees' feedback experiences. Group and individual narrative interviews were…

Exploring the Diverse Motivations of Transnational Higher Education in China: Complexities and Contradictions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hou, Junxia; Montgomery, Catherine; McDowell, Liz

2014-01-01

This article analyses the current situation of transnational higher education (TNE) in China by conducting a comprehensive documentary analysis. It first situates the phenomenon in global transnational mobility in higher education and then explores the diverse motivations of importing and exporting countries taking China and the UK as linked…

Exploring the Living Learning Laboratory: An Approach to Strengthen Campus Sustainability Initiatives by Using Sustainability Science Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zen, Irina Safitri

2017-01-01

Purpose: The paper aims to explore and analyse the potential of campus living learning laboratory (LLL) as an integrated mechanism to provide the innovative and creative teaching and learning experiences, robust research output and strengthening the campus sustainability initiatives by using the sustainability science approach.…

The Dimensionality of Cognitive Structure: A MIRT Approach and the Use of Subscores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Yi-Ling

2016-01-01

The present study explored the dimensionality of cognitive structure from two approaches. The first approach used a famous relation between Visual Spatial Working Memory (VSWM) and calculation to demonstrate the multidimensional item response analyses when true dimensions are unknown. The second approach explored the detectability of dimensions by…

The Double-Edged Sword of Pedagogy: Instruction Limits Spontaneous Exploration and Discovery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonawitz, Elizabeth; Shafto, Patrick; Gweon, Hyowon; Goodman, Noah D.; Spelke, Elizabeth; Schulz, Laura

2011-01-01

Motivated by computational analyses, we look at how teaching affects exploration and discovery. In Experiment 1, we investigated children's exploratory play after an adult pedagogically demonstrated a function of a toy, after an interrupted pedagogical demonstration, after a naive adult demonstrated the function, and at baseline. Preschoolers in…

Human Resource Strategic Management in NPOs: An Explorative Study on Managers' Psychosocial Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benevene, Paula; Cortini, Michela

2010-01-01

Purpose: This explorative research aims at examining the social representation of psychosocial training in NPOs managers. Design/methodology/approach: An adopted multiple research approach was adopted to analyse a corpus of qualitative data. A detailed semi-structured interview was administered to 122 senior managers of as many Italian NPOs.…

Exploring the Congruence between the Lesotho Junior Secondary Geography Curriculum and Environmental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raselimo, Mohaeka; Irwin, Pat; Wilmot, Di

2013-01-01

In this article, we analyse the Lesotho junior secondary geography curriculum document with the purpose of exploring the congruence between geography and environmental education. The study is based on a curriculum reform process introduced by the Lesotho Environmental Education Support Project (LEESP) in 2001. we draw theoretical insights from…

Science and Religion on the Blackboard: Exploring Schoolmasters' Beliefs and Practices in Senegal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Croché, Sarah

2015-01-01

This article treats the various forms of adjustment between scientific and religious discourses at school. It aims to analyse the beliefs and practices of schoolmasters and to explore how the oppositions between the "dominant" discourses of Western science and those of religion are addressed in secondary education in Senegal. The…

From data to decisions? Exploring how healthcare payers respond to the NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare in England.

PubMed

Schang, Laura; Morton, Alec; DaSilva, Philip; Bevan, Gwyn

2014-01-01

Although information on variations in health service performance is now more widely available, relatively little is known about how healthcare payers use this information to improve resource allocation. We explore to what extent and how Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England have used the NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare, which has highlighted small area variation in rates of expenditure, activity and outcome. Data collection involved an email survey among PCT Chief Executives and a telephone follow-up to reach non-respondents (total response: 53 of 151 of PCTs, 35%). 45 senior to mid-level staff were interviewed to probe themes emerging from the survey. The data were analysed using a matrix-based Framework approach. Just under half of the respondents (25 of 53 PCTs) reported not using the Atlas, either because they had not been aware of it, lacked staff capacity to analyse it, or did not perceive it as applicable to local decision-making. Among the 28 users, the Atlas served as a prompt to understand variations and as a visual tool to facilitate communication with clinicians. Achieving clarity on which variations are unwarranted and agreeing on responsibilities for action appeared to be important factors in moving beyond initial information gathering towards decisions about resource allocation and behaviour change. Many payers were unable to use information on small area variations in expenditure, activity and outcome. To change this what is additionally required are appropriate tools to understand causes of unexplained variation, in particular unwarranted variation, and enable remedial actions to be prioritised in terms of their contribution to population health. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Being a parent or grandparent with back pain, ankylosing spondylitis or rheumatoid arthritis: a descriptive postal survey.

PubMed

Grant, M I; Foster, N E; Wright, C C; Barlow, J H; Cullen, L A

2004-01-01

Research that explores being a parent or grandparent with musculoskeletal problems has been fairly limited to date. The aim of this study was to describe the experience of parenting in the context of back pain (BP), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with a particular focus on the extent and nature of childcare experiences and to compare these experiences across the three groups. In addition, the possible reasons for these reported experiences, the availability of advice and support and the development of strategies for coping were explored using a cross-sectional descriptive survey. A total of 448 participants was recruited from relevant charitable organizations and the National Health Service (280 with BP, 106 with AS and 62 with RA). A combination of opportunistic and random sampling was used. Quantitative data were analysed with appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 10). Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. Results indicate that a high proportion of all groups experienced a wide range of difficulties with parenting (81% BP, 77% AS, 97% RA). The most prevalent problems were similar for all three groups: lifting baby/child from the floor or cot, encouraging children/grandchildren to help with domestic chores and keeping up (in terms of energy) with children/grandchildren. However, the RA group reported having greater difficulties than the other two groups. Very little advice was offered to participants with parenting difficulties which may indicate a gap in service provision. However, a wide range of strategies for coping were described by respondents. The study highlighted a need for healthcare professionals to develop a greater awareness of parenting issues and to provide opportunities for these issues to be addressed. Copyright (c) 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

History, haldanes and health inequities: exploring phenotypic changes in body size by generation and income level in the US-born White and Black non-Hispanic populations 1959-1962 to 2005-2008.

PubMed

Krieger, Nancy; Chen, Jarvis T; Waterman, Pamela D; Kosheleva, Anna; Beckfield, Jason

2013-02-01

Most public health literature on trends in population health and health inequities pertains to observed or targeted changes in rates or proportions per year or decade. We explore, in novel analyses, whether additional insight can be gained by using the 'haldane', a metric developed by evolutionary biologists to measure change in traits in standard deviations per generation, thereby enabling meaningful comparisons across species and time periods. We analysed the phenotypic embodied traits of body height, weight and body mass index of US-born White and Black non-Hispanic adults ages 20 to 44 as measured in six large nationally representative population samples spanning from the 1959-1962 National Health Examination Survey I to the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Setting the former as baseline, we computed the haldane for each outcome for each racial/ethnic group for each survey, overall and stratified by family income quintile. For height, high rates of phenotypic change (haldane ≥ 0.3) occurred chiefly between 1960 and 1980, especially for the Black population in the higher income quintiles. By contrast, for weight, high rates of phenotypic change became evident for both the White and Black populations in the late 1980s and increased thereafter; for body mass index, the shift to high rates of change started in both groups in the late 1990s, especially in the middle income quintiles. Our results support use of the haldane as a supplemental metric to place changes in population health and health inequities in a larger biological and historical context.

Exposure to coarse particulate matter during gestation and birth weight in the U.S.

PubMed

Ebisu, Keita; Berman, Jesse D; Bell, Michelle L

2016-09-01

Few studies have explored the relationship between coarse particles (PM10-2.5) and adverse birth outcomes. We examined associations between gestational exposure of PM10-2.5 and birth weight. U.S. birth certificates data (1999-2007) were acquired for 8,017,865 births. Gestational and trimester exposures of PM10-2.5 were estimated using co-located PM10 and PM2.5 monitors ≤35km from the population-weighted centroid of mothers' residential counties. A linear regression model was applied, adjusted by potential confounders. As sensitivity analyses, we explored alternative PM10-2.5 estimations, adjustment for PM2.5, and stratification by regions. Gestational exposure to PM10-2.5 was associated with 6.6g (95% Confidence Interval: 5.9, 7.2) lower birth weight per interquartile range increase (7.8μg/m(3)) in PM10-2.5 exposures. All three trimesters showed associations. Under different exposure methods for PM10-2.5, associations remained consistent but with different magnitudes. Results were robust after adjusting for PM2.5, and regional analyses showed associations in all four regions with larger estimates in the South. Our results suggest that PM10-2.5 is associated with birth weight in addition to PM2.5. Regional heterogeneity may reflect differences in population, measurement error, region-specific emission pattern, or different chemical composition within PM10-2.5. Most countries do not set health-based standards for PM10-2.5, but our findings indicate potentially important health effects of PM10-2.5. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consumer consciousness on meat and the environment - Exploring differences.

PubMed

Pohjolainen, Pasi; Tapio, Petri; Vinnari, Markus; Jokinen, Pekka; Räsänen, Pekka

2016-06-01

Global environmental challenges require changes in both the production and the consumption of goods. In this paper we analyse how consumers perceive the high environmental burden of meat. We analysed consumer environmental consciousness, including problem awareness and a support to action dimensions, latter including perceived self-efficacy as well as solutions to problems. The solutions were positioned on a continuum from increasing the efficiency of production to discussing sufficiency levels in consumption practices (techno-optimism, local meat, organic meat and meat reduction, respectively). We used a statistically representative survey sample (n = 1890) from the population of Finland and cluster analysis to explore differences among consumers. The analysis revealed that most Finns seem to be rather unsure of the study topic. At the same time they tend to have a comparably high level of self-efficacy (55 per cent of respondents) and endorsement of particularly local meat solution type (55%), followed by organic meat (35%), meat reduction (25%) and techno-optimism (15%), though the neutral stand was the most common one across the data. We also identified six consumer groups that reveal not only a high number of Highly unsure consumers (40%), but also some Rather conscious (20%) and a relatively small number of Highly conscious (8%). In addition, there were also easily observable groups of Careless conscious (14%), Rather unsure (9%) and Resistant (8%). The results highlight the need for a multitude of political actions to guide meat consumption, as there are groups that may benefit from practical tools for making dietary changes as well as groups in need for more comprehensive selection of measures, including environmental information. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Marital status integration and suicide: A meta-analysis and meta-regression.

PubMed

Kyung-Sook, Woo; SangSoo, Shin; Sangjin, Shin; Young-Jeon, Shin

2018-01-01

Marital status is an index of the phenomenon of social integration within social structures and has long been identified as an important predictor suicide. However, previous meta-analyses have focused only on a particular marital status, or not sufficiently explored moderators. A meta-analysis of observational studies was conducted to explore the relationships between marital status and suicide and to understand the important moderating factors in this association. Electronic databases were searched to identify studies conducted between January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2016. We performed a meta-analysis, subgroup analysis, and meta-regression of 170 suicide risk estimates from 36 publications. Using random effects model with adjustment for covariates, the study found that the suicide risk for non-married versus married was OR = 1.92 (95% CI: 1.75-2.12). The suicide risk was higher for non-married individuals aged <65 years than for those aged ≥65 years, and higher for men than for women. According to the results of stratified analysis by gender, non-married men exhibited a greater risk of suicide than their married counterparts in all sub-analyses, but women aged 65 years or older showed no significant association between marital status and suicide. The suicide risk in divorced individuals was higher than for non-married individuals in both men and women. The meta-regression showed that gender, age, and sample size affected between-study variation. The results of the study indicated that non-married individuals have an aggregate higher suicide risk than married ones. In addition, gender and age were confirmed as important moderating factors in the relationship between marital status and suicide. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

History, haldanes and health inequities: exploring phenotypic changes in body size by generation and income level in the US-born White and Black non-Hispanic populations 1959–1962 to 2005–2008

PubMed Central

Krieger, Nancy; Chen, Jarvis T; Waterman, Pamela D; Kosheleva, Anna; Beckfield, Jason

2013-01-01

Background Most public health literature on trends in population health and health inequities pertains to observed or targeted changes in rates or proportions per year or decade. We explore, in novel analyses, whether additional insight can be gained by using the ‘haldane’, a metric developed by evolutionary biologists to measure change in traits in standard deviations per generation, thereby enabling meaningful comparisons across species and time periods. Methods We analysed the phenotypic embodied traits of body height, weight and body mass index of US-born White and Black non-Hispanic adults ages 20 to 44 as measured in six large nationally representative population samples spanning from the 1959–1962 National Health Examination Survey I to the 2005–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Setting the former as baseline, we computed the haldane for each outcome for each racial/ethnic group for each survey, overall and stratified by family income quintile. Results For height, high rates of phenotypic change (haldane ≥ 0.3) occurred chiefly between 1960 and 1980, especially for the Black population in the higher income quintiles. By contrast, for weight, high rates of phenotypic change became evident for both the White and Black populations in the late 1980s and increased thereafter; for body mass index, the shift to high rates of change started in both groups in the late 1990s, especially in the middle income quintiles. Conclusions Our results support use of the haldane as a supplemental metric to place changes in population health and health inequities in a larger biological and historical context. PMID:23220719

A Framework for Designing Effective Professional Development: Science Teachers' Perspectives in a Context of Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

EL-Deghaidy, Heba; Mansour, Nasser; Aldahmash, Abdulwali; Alshamrani, Saeed

2015-01-01

This paper explores science teachers' experiences, views, and preferences of what constitutes effective teacher professional development. The research method utilised both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The former was used with responses from closed-ended questions while responses to an open-ended question were analysed qualitatively. The…

Exploring Metacognitive Strategy Use during Note-Taking for Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyle, Joseph R.; Rosen, Sonia M.; Forchelli, Gina

2016-01-01

This mixed-methods study analysed over 200 interviews from 20 seventh-grade students with learning disabilities (LD). Students were instructed how to use a note-taking intervention during science lectures. The interview analyses were supported by pre- and post-intervention quantitative data. Data suggest that the intervention helped students…

Factors Affecting Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Availability in Competitive Venues of US Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terry-McElrath, Yvonne M.; O'Malley, Patrick M.; Johnston, Lloyd D.

2012-01-01

Background: This study explores sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) availability in US secondary school competitive venues during the first 3 years following the school wellness policy requirement (2007-2009). Furthermore, analyses examine associations with school policy and SSB availability. Methods: Analyses use questionnaire data from 757 middle and…

A Decade of Dedication: Giving, Giving, Giving...And Giving up Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulholland, Judith; Wallace, John

2012-01-01

In this paper, we explore the circumstances leading to an elementary teacher's decision to leave the profession. We analyse her accounts of eleven years of teaching using a storyline technique and a framework provided by the five aspects of teacher self-understandings (Kelchtermans, 2009). We also analyse the interplay between vulnerability,…

Narrative and the Origins of Discourse: Patterns of Discourse in Stories around the World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, David

2005-01-01

This paper summarises findings of discourse analyses of traditional stories from eleven language phyla around the world. The aim is a preliminary exploration of relationships amongst diverse languages in patterns of discourse, using a systemic functional language model. Several techniques were developed for managing and displaying the analyses,…

Media's Moral Messages: Assessing Perceptions of Moral Content in Television Programming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glover, Rebecca J.; Garmon, Lance C.; Hull, Darrell M.

2011-01-01

This study extends the examination of moral content in the media by exploring moral messages in television programming and viewer characteristics predictive of the ability to perceive such messages. Generalisability analyses confirmed the reliability of the Media's Moral Messages (MMM) rating form for analysing programme content and the existence…

The Needs Analysis in Self-Concept Module Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yusop, Yusni Mohamad; Sumari, Melati; Mohamed, Fatanah; Said, Shahriza; Azeez, Mohd Ibrahim K.; Jamil, Mohd Ridhuan Mohd

2015-01-01

This research studies needs analyses conducted to examine the need for a self-concept module. Two types of analyses had been conducted; content analysis and experts' consensus. Content analysis was conducted to explore the issues of self-concept from the theory and literature perspective. Later, needs analysis had also been carried out to observe…

Educational Leadership in a Competitive State: A Contradiction in Terms?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moos, Lejf

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how important the choice of theoretical perspective is on the analyses of empirical data from a Danish case study. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical bases for the analyses are qualitative, longitudinal case studies of school leadership in the International Successful School Principalship…

Applying Beliefs and Resources Frameworks to the Psychometric Analyses of an Epistemology Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yerdelen-Damar, Sevda; Elby, Andrew; Eryilmaz, Ali

2012-01-01

This study explored how researchers' views about the form of students' epistemologies influence how the researchers develop and refine surveys and how they interpret survey results. After running standard statistical analyses on 505 physics students' responses to the Turkish version of the Maryland Physics Expectations-II survey, probing students'…

A Model for Describing, Analysing and Investigating Cultural Understanding in EFL Reading Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Porto, Melina

2013-01-01

This article describes a model used to explore cultural understanding in English as a foreign language reading in a developing country, namely Argentina. The model is designed to investigate, analyse and describe EFL readers' processes of cultural understanding in a specific context. Cultural understanding in reading is typically investigated…

Identification of a novel susceptibility locus at 13q34 and refinement of the 20p12.2 region as a multi-signal locus associated with bladder cancer risk in individuals of European ancestry

PubMed Central

Figueroa, Jonine D.; Middlebrooks, Candace D.; Banday, A. Rouf; Ye, Yuanqing; Garcia-Closas, Montserrat; Chatterjee, Nilanjan; Koutros, Stella; Kiemeney, Lambertus A.; Rafnar, Thorunn; Bishop, Timothy; Furberg, Helena; Matullo, Giuseppe; Golka, Klaus; Gago-Dominguez, Manuela; Taylor, Jack A.; Fletcher, Tony; Siddiq, Afshan; Cortessis, Victoria K.; Kooperberg, Charles; Cussenot, Olivier; Benhamou, Simone; Prescott, Jennifer; Porru, Stefano; Dinney, Colin P.; Malats, Núria; Baris, Dalsu; Purdue, Mark P.; Jacobs, Eric J.; Albanes, Demetrius; Wang, Zhaoming; Chung, Charles C.; Vermeulen, Sita H.; Aben, Katja K.; Galesloot, Tessel E.; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Sulem, Patrick; Stefansson, Kari; Kiltie, Anne E.; Harland, Mark; Teo, Mark; Offit, Kenneth; Vijai, Joseph; Bajorin, Dean; Kopp, Ryan; Fiorito, Giovanni; Guarrera, Simonetta; Sacerdote, Carlotta; Selinski, Silvia; Hengstler, Jan G.; Gerullis, Holger; Ovsiannikov, Daniel; Blaszkewicz, Meinolf; Castelao, Jose Esteban; Calaza, Manuel; Martinez, Maria Elena; Cordeiro, Patricia; Xu, Zongli; Panduri, Vijayalakshmi; Kumar, Rajiv; Gurzau, Eugene; Koppova, Kvetoslava; Bueno-De-Mesquita, H. Bas; Ljungberg, Börje; Clavel-Chapelon, Françoise; Weiderpass, Elisabete; Krogh, Vittorio; Dorronsoro, Miren; Travis, Ruth C.; Tjønneland, Anne; Brennan, Paul; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Riboli, Elio; Conti, David; Stern, Marianna C.; Pike, Malcolm C.; Van Den Berg, David; Yuan, Jian-Min; Hohensee, Chancellor; Jeppson, Rebecca P.; Cancel-Tassin, Geraldine; Roupret, Morgan; Comperat, Eva; Turman, Constance; De Vivo, Immaculata; Giovannucci, Edward; Hunter, David J.; Kraft, Peter; Lindstrom, Sara; Carta, Angela; Pavanello, Sofia; Arici, Cecilia; Mastrangelo, Giuseppe; Kamat, Ashish M.; Zhang, Liren; Gong, Yilei; Pu, Xia; Hutchinson, Amy; Burdett, Laurie; Wheeler, William A.; Karagas, Margaret R.; Johnson, Alison; Schned, Alan; Monawar Hosain, G. M.; Schwenn, Molly; Kogevinas, Manolis; Tardón, Adonina; Serra, Consol; Carrato, Alfredo; García-Closas, Reina; Lloreta, Josep; Andriole, Gerald; Grubb, Robert; Black, Amanda; Diver, W. Ryan; Gapstur, Susan M.; Weinstein, Stephanie; Virtamo, Jarmo; Haiman, Christopher A.; Landi, Maria Teresa; Caporaso, Neil E.; Fraumeni, Joseph F.; Vineis, Paolo; Wu, Xifeng; Chanock, Stephen J.; Silverman, Debra T.; Prokunina-Olsson, Ludmila; Rothman, Nathaniel

2016-01-01

Candidate gene and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 15 independent genomic regions associated with bladder cancer risk. In search for additional susceptibility variants, we followed up on four promising single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that had not achieved genome-wide significance in 6911 cases and 11 814 controls (rs6104690, rs4510656, rs5003154 and rs4907479, P < 1 × 10−6), using additional data from existing GWAS datasets and targeted genotyping for studies that did not have GWAS data. In a combined analysis, which included data on up to 15 058 cases and 286 270 controls, two SNPs achieved genome-wide statistical significance: rs6104690 in a gene desert at 20p12.2 (P = 2.19 × 10−11) and rs4907479 within the MCF2L gene at 13q34 (P = 3.3 × 10−10). Imputation and fine-mapping analyses were performed in these two regions for a subset of 5551 bladder cancer cases and 10 242 controls. Analyses at the 13q34 region suggest a single signal marked by rs4907479. In contrast, we detected two signals in the 20p12.2 region—the first signal is marked by rs6104690, and the second signal is marked by two moderately correlated SNPs (r2 = 0.53), rs6108803 and the previously reported rs62185668. The second 20p12.2 signal is more strongly associated with the risk of muscle-invasive (T2-T4 stage) compared with non-muscle-invasive (Ta, T1 stage) bladder cancer (case–case P ≤ 0.02 for both rs62185668 and rs6108803). Functional analyses are needed to explore the biological mechanisms underlying these novel genetic associations with risk for bladder cancer. PMID:26732427

VMSbase: an R-package for VMS and logbook data management and analysis in fisheries ecology.

PubMed

Russo, Tommaso; D'Andrea, Lorenzo; Parisi, Antonio; Cataudella, Stefano

2014-01-01

VMSbase is an R package devised to manage, process and visualize information about fishing vessels activity (provided by the vessel monitoring system--VMS) and catches/landings (as reported in the logbooks). VMSbase is primarily conceived to be user-friendly; to this end, a suite of state-of-the-art analyses is accessible via a graphical interface. In addition, the package uses a database platform allowing large datasets to be stored, managed and processed vey efficiently. Methodologies include data cleaning, that is removal of redundant or evidently erroneous records, and data enhancing, that is interpolation and merging with external data sources. In particular, VMSbase is able to estimate sea bottom depth for single VMS pings using an on-line connection to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) database. It also allows VMS pings to be assigned to whatever geographic partitioning has been selected by users. Standard analyses comprise: 1) métier identification (using a modified CLARA clustering approach on Logbook data or Artificial Neural Networks on VMS data); 2) linkage between VMS and Logbook records, with the former organized into fishing trips; 3) discrimination between steaming and fishing points; 4) computation of spatial effort with respect to user-selected grids; 5) calculation of standard fishing effort indicators within Data Collection Framework; 6) a variety of mapping tools, including an interface for Google viewer; 7) estimation of trawled area. Here we report a sample workflow for the accessory sample datasets (available with the package) in order to explore the potentialities of VMSbase. In addition, the results of some performance tests on two large datasets (1×10(5) and 1×10(6) VMS signals, respectively) are reported to inform about the time required for the analyses. The results, although merely illustrative, indicate that VMSbase can represent a step forward in extracting and enhancing information from VMS/logbook data for fisheries studies.

Seeing the "Big" Picture: Big Data Methods for Exploring Relationships Between Usage, Language, and Outcome in Internet Intervention Data.

PubMed

Carpenter, Jordan; Crutchley, Patrick; Zilca, Ran D; Schwartz, H Andrew; Smith, Laura K; Cobb, Angela M; Parks, Acacia C

2016-08-31

Assessing the efficacy of Internet interventions that are already in the market introduces both challenges and opportunities. While vast, often unprecedented amounts of data may be available (hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of participants with high dimensions of assessed variables), the data are observational in nature, are partly unstructured (eg, free text, images, sensor data), do not include a natural control group to be used for comparison, and typically exhibit high attrition rates. New approaches are therefore needed to use these existing data and derive new insights that can augment traditional smaller-group randomized controlled trials. Our objective was to demonstrate how emerging big data approaches can help explore questions about the effectiveness and process of an Internet well-being intervention. We drew data from the user base of a well-being website and app called Happify. To explore effectiveness, multilevel models focusing on within-person variation explored whether greater usage predicted higher well-being in a sample of 152,747 users. In addition, to explore the underlying processes that accompany improvement, we analyzed language for 10,818 users who had a sufficient volume of free-text response and timespan of platform usage. A topic model constructed from this free text provided language-based correlates of individual user improvement in outcome measures, providing insights into the beneficial underlying processes experienced by users. On a measure of positive emotion, the average user improved 1.38 points per week (SE 0.01, t122,455=113.60, P<.001, 95% CI 1.36-1.41), about an 11% increase over 8 weeks. Within a given individual user, more usage predicted more positive emotion and less usage predicted less positive emotion (estimate 0.09, SE 0.01, t6047=9.15, P=.001, 95% CI .07-.12). This estimate predicted that a given user would report positive emotion 1.26 points (or 1.26%) higher after a 2-week period when they used Happify daily than during a week when they didn't use it at all. Among highly engaged users, 200 automatically clustered topics showed a significant (corrected P<.001) effect on change in well-being over time, illustrating which topics may be more beneficial than others when engaging with the interventions. In particular, topics that are related to addressing negative thoughts and feelings were correlated with improvement over time. Using observational analyses on naturalistic big data, we can explore the relationship between usage and well-being among people using an Internet well-being intervention and provide new insights into the underlying mechanisms that accompany it. By leveraging big data to power these new types of analyses, we can explore the workings of an intervention from new angles, and harness the insights that surface to feed back into the intervention and improve it further in the future.

Seeing the “Big” Picture: Big Data Methods for Exploring Relationships Between Usage, Language, and Outcome in Internet Intervention Data

PubMed Central

Carpenter, Jordan; Crutchley, Patrick; Zilca, Ran D; Schwartz, H Andrew; Smith, Laura K; Cobb, Angela M

2016-01-01

Background Assessing the efficacy of Internet interventions that are already in the market introduces both challenges and opportunities. While vast, often unprecedented amounts of data may be available (hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of participants with high dimensions of assessed variables), the data are observational in nature, are partly unstructured (eg, free text, images, sensor data), do not include a natural control group to be used for comparison, and typically exhibit high attrition rates. New approaches are therefore needed to use these existing data and derive new insights that can augment traditional smaller-group randomized controlled trials. Objective Our objective was to demonstrate how emerging big data approaches can help explore questions about the effectiveness and process of an Internet well-being intervention. Methods We drew data from the user base of a well-being website and app called Happify. To explore effectiveness, multilevel models focusing on within-person variation explored whether greater usage predicted higher well-being in a sample of 152,747 users. In addition, to explore the underlying processes that accompany improvement, we analyzed language for 10,818 users who had a sufficient volume of free-text response and timespan of platform usage. A topic model constructed from this free text provided language-based correlates of individual user improvement in outcome measures, providing insights into the beneficial underlying processes experienced by users. Results On a measure of positive emotion, the average user improved 1.38 points per week (SE 0.01, t122,455=113.60, P<.001, 95% CI 1.36–1.41), about a 27% increase over 8 weeks. Within a given individual user, more usage predicted more positive emotion and less usage predicted less positive emotion (estimate 0.09, SE 0.01, t6047=9.15, P=.001, 95% CI .07–.12). This estimate predicted that a given user would report positive emotion 1.26 points higher after a 2-week period when they used Happify daily than during a week when they didn’t use it at all. Among highly engaged users, 200 automatically clustered topics showed a significant (corrected P<.001) effect on change in well-being over time, illustrating which topics may be more beneficial than others when engaging with the interventions. In particular, topics that are related to addressing negative thoughts and feelings were correlated with improvement over time. Conclusions Using observational analyses on naturalistic big data, we can explore the relationship between usage and well-being among people using an Internet well-being intervention and provide new insights into the underlying mechanisms that accompany it. By leveraging big data to power these new types of analyses, we can explore the workings of an intervention from new angles, and harness the insights that surface to feed back into the intervention and improve it further in the future. PMID:27580524

Solar power satellite system definition study. Volume 3: Operations and systems synthesis, phase 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

The results of the operations analyses are reported. Some of these analyses examined operations aspects of space vehicle in-space maintenance. Many of the analyses explored in great depth operations concerned the LEO Base cargo handling operations. Personnel transportation operations and cargo packaging were also analyzed. These operations analyses were performed to define the operational requirements for all of the SPS system elements so that equipment and facilities could be synthesized, and to make estimates of the manpower requirements. An overall, integrated, end-to-end description of the SPS operations is presented. The detailed operations analyses, upon which this integrated description was based, are included.

Research-derived insights into surface geochemical hydrocarbon exploration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Price, L.C.

1996-01-01

Research studies based on foreland basins (mainly in eastern Colorado) examined three surface geochemical exploration (SGE) methods as possible hydrocarbon (HC) exploration techniques. The first method, microbial soil surveying, has high potential as an exploration tool, especially hi development and enhanced recovery operations. Integrative adsorption, the second technique, is not effective as a quantitative SGE method because water, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, unsaturated hydrocarbons, and organic compounds are collected by the adsorbent (activated charcoal) much more strongly than covalently bonded microseeping Q-Cs thermogenic HCs. Qualitative comparisons (pattern recognition) of C8+ mass spectra cannot gauge HC gas microseepage that involves only the Q-Cs HCs. The third method, soil cakite surveying, also has no potential as an exploration tool. Soil calcite concentrations had patterns with pronounced areal contrasts, but these patterns had no geometric relationship to surface traces of established or potential production, that is, the patterns were random. Microscopic examination of thousands of soils revealed that soil calcite was an uncrystallized caliche coating soil particles. During its precipitation, caliche captures or occludes any gases, elements, or compounds in its immediate vicinity. Thus, increased signal intensity of some SGE methods should depend on increasing soil calcite concentrations. Analyses substantiate this hypothesis. Because soil calcite has no utility as a surface exploration tool, any surface method that depends on soil calcite has a diminished utility as an SGE tool. Isotopic analyses of soil calcites revealed carbonate carbon ??13C values of -4.0 to +2.07co (indicating a strong influence of atmospheric CO2) as opposed to expected values of-45 to -30%c if the carbonate carbon had originated from microbial oxidation of microseeping HC gases. These analyses confirm a surface origin for this soil calcite (caliche), which is not necessarily related to HC gas microseepage. This previously unappreciated pivotal role of caliche is hypothesized to contribute significantly to the poor and inconsistent results of some SGE methods.

Multiple coloured ornaments in male common kestrels: different mechanisms to convey quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vergara, Pablo; Fargallo, Juan A.

2011-04-01

The simultaneous exhibition of more than one secondary sexual trait is a widespread phenomenon in nature, though it has rarely been explored. It has been proposed that different ornaments may convey complementary or back-up information about a single aspect of individual quality (redundancy hypothesis) or that each ornament may convey unique information (multiple-messages hypothesis). During a 5-year period, we measured several carotenoid-based (eye ring, bill cere and tarsi skin) and melanin-based (head, back, rump and tail feathers) potential ornamental colours in male common kestrels. We analysed whether multiple ornaments can convey different or related information about individual quality. We explored whether different ornaments can express different information depending on the pigment (carotenoids or melanins), the time-scale over which the ornament can change (dynamic vs. static) and the season of the year when the ornament is formed. We found that both melanin- and carotenoid- based traits correlated with indexes of quality, including body condition, body condition of their partners and laying date. However, not all ornaments correlated with the same measures of quality. In addition, some ornaments were intercorrelated within the same individuals while others were not. These results suggest that different ornaments can convey information about different qualities, as predicted by the multiple-messages hypothesis. In addition, this study suggests that the predominant pigment (e.g. carotenoid vs. melanin, eumelanin vs. pheomelanin), the time-scale over which the trait is developed (static feathers vs. dynamic skin) and the season of the year at which the ornament is produced can be potential mechanisms to convey different messages in male common kestrels.

Characterizing mammographic images by using generic texture features

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Introduction Although mammographic density is an established risk factor for breast cancer, its use is limited in clinical practice because of a lack of automated and standardized measurement methods. The aims of this study were to evaluate a variety of automated texture features in mammograms as risk factors for breast cancer and to compare them with the percentage mammographic density (PMD) by using a case-control study design. Methods A case-control study including 864 cases and 418 controls was analyzed automatically. Four hundred seventy features were explored as possible risk factors for breast cancer. These included statistical features, moment-based features, spectral-energy features, and form-based features. An elaborate variable selection process using logistic regression analyses was performed to identify those features that were associated with case-control status. In addition, PMD was assessed and included in the regression model. Results Of the 470 image-analysis features explored, 46 remained in the final logistic regression model. An area under the curve of 0.79, with an odds ratio per standard deviation change of 2.88 (95% CI, 2.28 to 3.65), was obtained with validation data. Adding the PMD did not improve the final model. Conclusions Using texture features to predict the risk of breast cancer appears feasible. PMD did not show any additional value in this study. With regard to the features assessed, most of the analysis tools appeared to reflect mammographic density, although some features did not correlate with PMD. It remains to be investigated in larger case-control studies whether these features can contribute to increased prediction accuracy. PMID:22490545

Long-chain n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of atrial fibrillation: Results from a Danish cohort study.

PubMed

Mortensen, Lotte Maxild; Lundbye-Christensen, Søren; Schmidt, Erik Berg; Calder, Philip C; Schierup, Mikkel Heide; Tjønneland, Anne; Parner, Erik T; Overvad, Kim

2017-01-01

Studies of the relation between polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of atrial fibrillation have been inconclusive. The risk of atrial fibrillation may depend on the interaction between n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids as both types of fatty acids are involved in the regulation of systemic inflammation. We investigated the association between dietary intake of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (individually and in combination) and the risk of atrial fibrillation with focus on potential interaction between the two types of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The risk of atrial fibrillation in the Diet, Cancer and Health Cohort was analyzed using the pseudo-observation method to explore cumulative risks on an additive scale providing risk differences. Dietary intake of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids was assessed by food frequency questionnaires. The main analyses were adjusted for the dietary intake of n-3 α-linolenic acid and n-6 linoleic acid to account for endogenous synthesis of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Interaction was assessed as deviation from additivity of absolute association measures (risk differences). Cumulative risks in 15-year age periods were estimated in three strata of the cohort (N = 54,737). No associations between intake of n-3 or n-6 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and atrial fibrillation were found, neither when analyzed separately as primary exposures nor when interaction between n-3 and n-6 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids was explored. This study suggests no association between intake of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of atrial fibrillation.

Cultural competency and communication skills of dental students: clinical supervisors' perceptions.

PubMed

Mariño, R; Ghanim, A; Morgan, M; Barrow, S

2017-11-01

This study explored clinical supervisor's (CS) views and experiences of dental students' cultural competence (CC) at the Melbourne Dental School, The University of Melbourne, Australia. Additionally, this study explored CS insights into how CC could be taught. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were organised with consenting CS. Interview topics included the following: the importance of CC, communication and rapport, the role of culture in oral health and the need for curriculum enhancement. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed to identify key areas using NVivo software. A total of 12 CS participated in this study. CS acknowledged the importance of CC and felt that it was important for good patient management. CS's definition of CC focused primarily on language and communication skills. CS felt that dental students were generally able to manage culturally diverse patients. However, CS indicated that additional training in this area would be beneficial. Concerns were raised about the students' ability to establish good rapport and communication, with CS highlighting areas such as misuse of interpreters and use of jargon. CS felt that clinical experience, confidence and a positive attitude are effective tools for overcoming cultural barriers. Furthermore, some CS also felt that cultural competency was a skill that is learnt through experience. For most CS, cultural competence was an important part of the clinician-patient exchange which would benefit from enhanced curriculum. They also highlighted areas where transcultural education could be improved. The majority of CS believed dental students managed culturally diverse patients well. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Genetic variation in polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism and its potential relevance for human development and health.

PubMed

Glaser, Claudia; Lattka, Eva; Rzehak, Peter; Steer, Colin; Koletzko, Berthold

2011-04-01

Blood and tissue contents of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) are related to numerous health outcomes including cardiovascular health, allergies, mental health and cognitive development. Evidence has accumulated to show that in addition to diet, common polymorphisms in the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene cluster have very marked effects on human PUFA and LC-PUFA status. Recent results suggest that in addition to fatty acid desaturase 1 and fatty acid desaturase 2, the gene product of fatty acid desaturase 3 is associated with desaturating activity. New data have become available to show that FADS single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) also modulate docosahexaenoic acid status in pregnancy as well as LC-PUFA levels in children and in human milk. There are indications that FADS SNPs modulate the risk for allergic disorders and eczema, and the effect of breastfeeding on later cognitive development. Mechanisms by which FADS SNPs modulate PUFA levels in blood, breast milk and tissues should be explored further. More studies are required to explore the effects of FADS gene variants in populations with different ethnic backgrounds, lifestyles and dietary habits, and to investigate in greater depth the interaction of gene variants, diet and clinical end points, including immune response and developmental outcomes. Analyses of FADS gene variants should be included into all sizeable cohort and intervention studies addressing biological effects of PUFA and LC-PUFA in order to consider these important confounders, and to enhance study sensitivity and precision. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Canadian National EMS Research Agenda: Impact and Feasibility of Implementation of Previously Generated Recommendations.

PubMed

Jensen, J L; Blanchard, I E; Bigham, B L; Carter, Aje; Brown, R; Socha, D; Brown, L H; Travers, A H; Craig, A M; Morrison, L J

2015-09-01

A recent mixed-methods study on the state of emergency medical services (EMS) research in Canada led to the generation of nineteen actionable recommendations. As part of the dissemination plan, a survey was distributed to EMS stakeholders to determine the anticipated impact and feasibility of implementing these recommendations in Canadian systems. An online survey explored both the implementation impact and feasibility for each recommendation using a five-point scale. The sample consisted of participants from the Canadian National EMS Research Agenda study (published in 2013) and additional EMS research stakeholders identified through snowball sampling. Responses were analysed descriptively using median and plotted on a matrix. Participants reported any planned or ongoing initiatives related to the recommendations, and required or anticipated resources. Free text responses were analysed with simple content analysis, collated by recommendation. The survey was sent to 131 people, 94 (71.8%) of whom responded: 30 EMS managers/regulators (31.9%), 22 researchers (23.4%), 15 physicians (16.0%), 13 educators (13.8%), and 5 EMS providers (5.3%). Two recommendations (11%) had a median impact score of 4 (of 5) and feasibility score of 4 (of 5). Eight recommendations (42%) had an impact score of 5, with a feasibility score of 3. Nine recommendations (47%) had an impact score of 4 and a feasibility score of 3. For most recommendations, participants scored the anticipated impact higher than the feasibility to implement. Ongoing or planned initiatives exist pertaining to all recommendations except one. All of the recommendations will require additional resources to implement.

­Comparative spigot ontogeny across the spider tree of life

PubMed Central

Griswold, Charles E.; Miller, Kelly B.

2018-01-01

Spiders are well known for their silk and its varying use across taxa. Very few studies have examined the silk spigot ontogeny of the entire spinning field of a spider. Historically the spider phylogeny was based on morphological data and behavioral data associated with silk. Recent phylogenomics studies have shifted major paradigms in our understanding of silk use evolution, reordering phylogenetic relationships that were once thought to be monophyletic. Considering this, we explored spigot ontogeny in 22 species, including Dolomedes tenebrosus and Hogna carolinensis, reported here for the first time. This is the first study of its kind and the first to incorporate the Araneae Tree of Life. After rigorous testing for phylogenetic signal and model fit, we performed 60 phylogenetic generalized least squares analyses on adult female and second instar spigot morphology. Six analyses had significant correlation coefficients, suggesting that instar, strategy, and spigot variety are good predictors of spigot number in spiders, after correcting for bias of shared evolutionary history. We performed ancestral character estimation of singular, fiber producing spigots on the posterior lateral spinneret whose potential homology has long been debated. We found that the ancestral root of our phylogram of 22 species, with the addition of five additional cribellate and ecribellate lineages, was more likely to have either none or a modified spigot rather than a pseudoflagelliform gland spigot or a flagelliform spigot. This spigot ontogeny approach is novel and we can build on our efforts from this study by growing the dataset to include deeper taxon sampling and working towards the capability to incorporate full ontogeny in the analysis. PMID:29362692

The moderating effect of religiosity on caregiving burden and depressive symptoms in caregivers of patients with dementia.

PubMed

Yoon, Kyung Hee; Moon, Yoo Sun; Lee, Yunhwan; Choi, Seong Hye; Moon, So Young; Seo, Sang Won; Park, Kyung Won; Ku, Bon D; Han, Hyun Jeong; Park, Kee Hyung; Han, Seol-Heui; Kim, Eun-Joo; Lee, Jae-Hong; Park, Sun A; Shim, Yong S; Kim, Jong Hun; Hong, Chang Hyung; Na, Duk L; Ye, Byoung Seok; Kim, Hee Jin; Moon, Yeonsil; Lee, Sang Soo; Kim, Do Hoon

2018-01-01

This study explored whether religiosity/spirituality has a protective role against negative caregiving outcomes, in a large multicenter nationwide sample of caregivers of patients with dementia in South Korea. Additionally, this study was the first to examine whether religiosity/spirituality could affect caregiving outcomes according to the various religious affiliations of caregivers. The study was conducted on a sample of 476 caregivers of patients with dementia participated in the Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea (CREDOS). We examined the moderating effect of each of the three dimensions of religiosity/spirituality (organizational religious activity, ORA; non-organizational religious activity, NORA; intrinsic religiosity, IR) on the relationship between activities of daily living (ADL) of patients with dementia and caregiving burden and depressive symptoms of caregivers, using a series of hierarchical regression analyses. In addition, these analyses were conducted according to the religious affiliations of the caregivers. ORA, NORA, and IR of religiosity/spirituality alleviated the effect of ADL of patients on caregiving burden. ORA and IR moderated the relationship between ADL of patients and depressive symptoms of caregivers. These moderating effects of religiosity on caregiving outcomes were different according to various religious groups. We have identified religiosity/spirituality as a protective factor for caregivers of patients with dementia. The sub-dimensions of religiosity as moderators were different by religious affiliations of caregivers. Further studies are needed to investigate the specific religiosity-related factors which could positively impact the mental health of the caregivers of patients with dementia by religions.

TelCoVis: Visual Exploration of Co-occurrence in Urban Human Mobility Based on Telco Data.

PubMed

Wu, Wenchao; Xu, Jiayi; Zeng, Haipeng; Zheng, Yixian; Qu, Huamin; Ni, Bing; Yuan, Mingxuan; Ni, Lionel M

2016-01-01

Understanding co-occurrence in urban human mobility (i.e. people from two regions visit an urban place during the same time span) is of great value in a variety of applications, such as urban planning, business intelligence, social behavior analysis, as well as containing contagious diseases. In recent years, the widespread use of mobile phones brings an unprecedented opportunity to capture large-scale and fine-grained data to study co-occurrence in human mobility. However, due to the lack of systematic and efficient methods, it is challenging for analysts to carry out in-depth analyses and extract valuable information. In this paper, we present TelCoVis, an interactive visual analytics system, which helps analysts leverage their domain knowledge to gain insight into the co-occurrence in urban human mobility based on telco data. Our system integrates visualization techniques with new designs and combines them in a novel way to enhance analysts' perception for a comprehensive exploration. In addition, we propose to study the correlations in co-occurrence (i.e. people from multiple regions visit different places during the same time span) by means of biclustering techniques that allow analysts to better explore coordinated relationships among different regions and identify interesting patterns. The case studies based on a real-world dataset and interviews with domain experts have demonstrated the effectiveness of our system in gaining insights into co-occurrence and facilitating various analytical tasks.

An exploration of maternal intimate partner violence experiences and infant general health and temperament.

PubMed

Burke, Jessica Griffin; Lee, Li-Ching; O'Campo, Patricia

2008-03-01

While the women's health consequences of intimate partner violence have received much research attention, less is known about how maternal abuse experiences affect infant health and well-being. Existing studies have also been unable to examine specific types of intimate partner violence such as psychological aggression, physical abuse, and sexual coercion. This secondary data analysis explored the prevalence, patterns, and types of intimate partner violence within a large cohort of mothers and explored the relationship between maternal intimate partner violence experiences and infant's general health and temperament at 1 year of age. Existing data were drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study which collected data through surveys conducted shortly after the infant's birth (baseline) and at 1 year of age (follow-up). Records from 4,141 mothers recruited from 75 hospitals, in 20 cities, in the US were used. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted. Results show high rates of intimate partner violence. Maternal reports of any intimate partner violence at baseline or follow-up were both significantly associated with increased odds of less than excellent infant general health and difficult temperament. Independent examination of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse revealed differential relationships between the types of intimate partner violence and infant health outcomes. Results from this study contribute to our understanding of the infant health threats associated with maternal intimate partner violence experiences. Additional research addressing the complex relationship between maternal abuse experiences and infant health and specific intervention implications is warranted.

Working with words: exploring textual analysis in medical education research.

PubMed

Park, Sophie; Griffin, Ann; Gill, Deborah

2012-04-01

  Text is familiar to us all. This paper offers an introduction to, and an exploration of, the range of methodological possibilities open to the education researcher who has chosen to use text as a research data source. It encourages a purposeful deliberation of the different textual sources available as data, the range of methodological approaches possible and the types of interpretation that can be adopted when embarking on an empirical study using textual data.   Approaches to interpreting text are varied and utilise a range of analytical and interpretative strategies. To illustrate the theoretical points raised within this paper, two contrasting methods were applied to the same text. Tag cloud analysis and performative narrative analysis (PNA) were employed to analyse Chapter 4 of the UK government's 2010 White Paper Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS.   The adoption of these contrasting methodologies, which are not currently used extensively in medical education research, revealed that some common issues were identified by both tag clouds and PNA, but, in addition, each approach was able to unveil something unique about the text.   These two methods highlight the range of affordances, or possibilities, that textual analysis will have on the results. We suggest that medical education researchers should be encouraged to move away from the current dominant and privileged methodologies that seek to provide answers and explore other methods and approaches to textual data that encourage us to question and reflect more deeply. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

Integrating Lean Exploration Loops Into Healthcare Facility Design.

PubMed

Johnson, Kendra; M Mazur, Lukasz; Chadwick, Janet; Pooya, Pegah; Amos, Alison; McCreery, John

2017-04-01

To explore how Lean can add value during the schematic phase of design through providing additional resources and support to project leadership and the architectural design team. This case study-based research took place at one large academic hospital during design efforts of surgical tower to house 19 operating rooms (ORs) and support spaces including pre- and post-op, central processing and distribution, and materials management. Surgical services project leadership asked for Lean practitioners' support during the design process. Lean Exploration Loops (LELs) were conducted to generate evidence to support stakeholders, as they made important decisions about the new building design. The analyses conducted during LELs during the schematic phase were primarily conducted using express workouts (EWOs) and were focused on the flow of patients, staff, and family throughout the pavilion. LELs resulted in recommendations for key design features (e.g., number of pre- and post-op bays per OR floor, location of doors, scrub sinks, stretcher alcoves, equipment storage, and sterile core areas). Two-sided pre- and post-op bays with an inner clinical workspace and an outer patient transport corridor were recommended. Communicating elevator and a centrally located stairwell for staff to alleviate stress on the main bank of elevators at peak usage times were also suggested. We found Lean tools and methods to be of most value during schematic phase when focused on detailed process and layout analysis, while acknowledging the usefulness of focused EWOs to generate the evidence needed for the decision-making.

Perception of co-speech gestures in aphasic patients: a visual exploration study during the observation of dyadic conversations.

PubMed

Preisig, Basil C; Eggenberger, Noëmi; Zito, Giuseppe; Vanbellingen, Tim; Schumacher, Rahel; Hopfner, Simone; Nyffeler, Thomas; Gutbrod, Klemens; Annoni, Jean-Marie; Bohlhalter, Stephan; Müri, René M

2015-03-01

Co-speech gestures are part of nonverbal communication during conversations. They either support the verbal message or provide the interlocutor with additional information. Furthermore, they prompt as nonverbal cues the cooperative process of turn taking. In the present study, we investigated the influence of co-speech gestures on the perception of dyadic dialogue in aphasic patients. In particular, we analysed the impact of co-speech gestures on gaze direction (towards speaker or listener) and fixation of body parts. We hypothesized that aphasic patients, who are restricted in verbal comprehension, adapt their visual exploration strategies. Sixteen aphasic patients and 23 healthy control subjects participated in the study. Visual exploration behaviour was measured by means of a contact-free infrared eye-tracker while subjects were watching videos depicting spontaneous dialogues between two individuals. Cumulative fixation duration and mean fixation duration were calculated for the factors co-speech gesture (present and absent), gaze direction (to the speaker or to the listener), and region of interest (ROI), including hands, face, and body. Both aphasic patients and healthy controls mainly fixated the speaker's face. We found a significant co-speech gesture × ROI interaction, indicating that the presence of a co-speech gesture encouraged subjects to look at the speaker. Further, there was a significant gaze direction × ROI × group interaction revealing that aphasic patients showed reduced cumulative fixation duration on the speaker's face compared to healthy controls. Co-speech gestures guide the observer's attention towards the speaker, the source of semantic input. It is discussed whether an underlying semantic processing deficit or a deficit to integrate audio-visual information may cause aphasic patients to explore less the speaker's face. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Primary care team working in Ireland: a qualitative exploration of team members' experiences in a new primary care service.

PubMed

Kennedy, Norelee; Armstrong, Claire; Woodward, Oonagh; Cullen, Walter

2015-07-01

Team working is an integral aspect of primary care, but barriers to effective team working can limit the effectiveness of a primary care team (PCT). The establishment of new PCTs in Ireland provides an excellent opportunity to explore team working in action. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of team members working in a PCT. Team members (n = 19) from two PCTs were interviewed from May to June 2010 using a semi-structured interview guide. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed using NVivo (version 8). Thematic analysis was used to explore the data. We identified five main themes that described the experiences of the team members. The themes were support for primary care, managing change, communication, evolution of roles and benefits of team working. Team members were generally supportive of primary care and had experienced benefits to their practice and to the care of their patients from participation in the team. Regular team meetings enabled communication and discussion of complex cases. Despite the significant scope for role conflict due to the varied employment arrangements of the team members, neither role nor interpersonal conflict was evident in the teams studied. In addition, despite the unusual team structure in Irish PCTs - where there is no formally appointed team leader or manager - general issues around team working and its benefits and challenges were very similar to those found in other international studies. This suggests, in contrast to some studies, that some aspects of the leadership role may not be as important in successful PCT functioning as previously thought. Nonetheless, team leadership was identified as an important issue in the further development of the teams. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Seed: a user-friendly tool for exploring and visualizing microbial community data.

PubMed

Beck, Daniel; Dennis, Christopher; Foster, James A

2015-02-15

In this article we present Simple Exploration of Ecological Data (Seed), a data exploration tool for microbial communities. Seed is written in R using the Shiny library. This provides access to powerful R-based functions and libraries through a simple user interface. Seed allows users to explore ecological datasets using principal coordinate analyses, scatter plots, bar plots, hierarchal clustering and heatmaps. Seed is open source and available at https://github.com/danlbek/Seed. danlbek@gmail.com Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

Aligning Learning Outcomes Descriptors in National and Meta-Frameworks of Qualifications--Learning from Irish Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maguire, Bryan; Mernagh, Edwin; Murray, Jim

2008-01-01

In this paper, the issues involved in aligning national and meta-frameworks are explored and analysed. The exploration is timely, given that two qualifications meta-frameworks are currently being developed and implemented in Europe: the question is now how relationships should be established between these new reference tools and national…

Exploring Pre-Service Science Teachers' Pedagogical Capacity for Formative Assessment through Analyses of Student Answers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydeniz, Mehmet; Dogan, Alev

2016-01-01

Background: There has been an increasing emphasis on empowering pre-service and in-service science teachers to attend student reasoning and use formative assessments to guide student learning in recent years. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore pre-service science teachers' pedagogical capacity for formative assessment. Sample: This…

The Relationship between Parental Literacy Involvement, Socio-Economic Status and Reading Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemmerechts, Kenneth; Agirdag, Orhan; Kavadias, Dimokritos

2017-01-01

In this article, we explore the relationship between parental literacy activities with the child, socio-economic status (SES) and reading literacy. We draw upon the Bourdieusian theory of habitus development to explore this relationship. Multilevel analyses of a survey of 43,870 pupils (with an average age of 10 years) in 10 Western European…

Organic chemistry in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, R. D.

1977-01-01

Organic cosmochemistry, organic materials in space exploration, and biochemistry of man in space are briefly surveyed. A model of Jupiter's atmosphere is considered, and the search for organic molecules in the solar system and in interstellar space is discussed. Materials and analytical techniques relevant to space exploration are indicated, and the blood and urine analyses performed on Skylab are described.

Content Coverage Differences across Districts/States: A Persisting Challenge for U.S. Education Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, William H.; Cogan, Leland S.; Houang, Richard T.; McKnight, Curtis C.

2011-01-01

This article utilizes the 1999 TIMSS-R data from U.S. states and districts to explore the consequences of variation in opportunities to learn specific mathematics content. Analyses explore the relationship between classroom mathematics content coverage and student achievement as measured by the TIMSS-R international mathematics scaled score.…

An Alternative Approach for the Analyses and Interpretation of Attachment Sort Items

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirkland, John; Bimler, David; Drawneek, Andrew; McKim, Margaret; Scholmerich, Axel

2004-01-01

Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) is a tool for quantifying observations about toddler/caregiver relationships. Previous studies have applied factor analysis to the full 90 AQS item set to explore the structure underlying them. Here we explore that structure by applying multidimensional scaling (MDS) to judgements of inter-item similarity. AQS items are…

The Impact of a Teacher Education Culture-Based Project on Identity as a Mathematically Thinking Teacher

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Kay

2014-01-01

Identity as a mathematics teacher is enhanced when a teacher explores the cultural setting of their mathematics. The reports of projects that link culture and mathematics were analysed to explore the impact of sociocultural situations together with affective and cognitive aspects of self-regulation on identity. The reports were written by…

Combined Patterns of Risk for Problem and Obesogenic Behaviors in Adolescents: A Latent Class Analysis Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleary, Sasha A.

2017-01-01

Background: Several studies have used latent class analyses to explore obesogenic behaviors and substance use in adolescents independently. We explored a variety of health risks jointly to identify distinct patterns of risk behaviors among adolescents. Methods: Latent class models were estimated using Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System…

Exploring Change in Graduate Students' Perceptions of Web-Based Education throughout an Asynchronous Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Timotheou, Maria Mama

2017-01-01

This paper presents the main findings of a UK study exploring graduate students' perceptions of web-based education, with a specific focus on their change over time, throughout an asynchronous course. Data were collected through online messages and interviews, and analyzed qualitatively, following content and thematic analyses. Participant pre-…