MS

thesisThe purpose of this study was to determine the impact of baccalaureate faculty workload on the opportunity and ability of Nursing; faculty to undertake scholarly research. Inherent in this study were the perceptions of baccalaureate Nursing; faculty concerning the concepts of role conflict and role ambiguity and their effects on the pursuit and production of professional research. The study was conducted by mailing an 18 item questionnaire to 116 baccalaureate faculty members in three colleges of Nursing; situation in state university medical centers in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. There was a 58% return rate from the questionnaires. The data were analyzed statistically using chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis Anova, Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranked, and Mann-Whitney U tests as well as frequencies to determine what impact the workload might have on the production of Nursing; research. The results of the study indicate three important findings. First, and most significant, is that the faculty surveyed reported that they generally do not fulfill well the three requirements of teaching, research, and community service traditionally expected in the university setting. Second, role conflict and role ambiguity were validated statistically as contributors to the low level of research produced. The third prominent finding was that the faculty members in this study met the description of typical baccalaureate faculty members referred to in the literature

Galaxy Star Formation as a Function of Environment in the Early Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We present in this paper a detailed analysis of the effect of environment on the star formation activity of galaxies within the Early Data Release (EDR) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We have used the Halpha emission line to derive the star formation rate (SFR) for each galaxy within a volume-limited sample of 8598 galaxies with 0.05 less than or equal to z less than or equal to 0.095 and M (r*) less than or equal to 20.45. We find that the SFR of galaxies is strongly correlated with the local ( projected) galaxy density, and thus we present here a density-SFR relation that is analogous to the density-morphology relation. The effect of density on the SFR of galaxies is seen in three ways. First, the overall distribution of SFRs is shifted to lower values in dense environments compared with the field population. Second, the effect is most noticeable for the strongly star-forming galaxies (Halpha EW > 5 Angstrom) in the 75th percentile of the SFR distribution. Third, there is a break ( or characteristic density) in the density-SFR relation at a local galaxy density of similar to1 h(75)(-2) Mpc(-2). To understand this break further, we have studied the SFR of galaxies as a function of clustercentric radius from 17 clusters and groups objectively selected from the SDSS EDR data. The distribution of SFRs of cluster galaxies begins to change, compared with the field population, at a clustercentric radius of 3-4 virial radii (at the >1sigma statistical significance), which is consistent with the characteristic break in density that we observe in the density-SFR relation. This effect with clustercentric radius is again most noticeable for the most strongly star-forming galaxies. Our tests suggest that the density-morphology relation alone is unlikely to explain the density-SFR relation we observe. For example, we have used the ( inverse) concentration index of SDSS galaxies to classify late-type galaxies and show that the distribution of the star-forming (EW Halpha > 5Angstrom) late-type galaxies is different in dense regions ( within 2 virial radii) compared with similar galaxies in the field. However, at present, we are unable to make definitive statements about the independence of the density-morphology and density-SFR relation. We have tested our work against potential systematic uncertainties including stellar absorption, reddening, SDSS survey strategy, SDSS analysis pipelines, and aperture bias. Our observations are in qualitative agreement with recent simulations of hierarchical galaxy formation that predict a decrease in the SFR of galaxies within the virial radius. Our results are in agreement with recent 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey results as well as consistent with previous observations of a decrease in the SFR of galaxies in the cores of distant clusters. Taken together, these works demonstrate that the decrease in SFR of galaxies in dense environments is a universal phenomenon over a wide range in density (from 0.08 to 10 h(75)(-2) Mpc(-2)) and redshift (out to z similar or equal to 0.5)

Youth violence: What we know and what we need to know.

School shootings tear the fabric of society. In the wake of a school shooting, parents, pediatricians, policymakers, politicians, and the public search for "the" cause of the shooting. But there is no single cause. The causes of school shootings are extremely complex. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School rampage shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, we wrote a report for the National Science Foundation on what is known and not known about youth violence. This article summarizes and updates that report. After distinguishing violent behavior from aggressive behavior, we describe the prevalence of gun violence in the United States and age-related risks for violence. We delineate important differences between violence in the context of rare rampage school shootings, and much more common urban street violence. Acts of violence are influenced by multiple factors, often acting together. We summarize evidence on some major risk factors and protective factors for youth violence, highlighting individual and contextual factors, which often interact. We consider new quantitative "data mining" procedures that can be used to predict youth violence perpetrated by groups and individuals, recognizing critical issues of privacy and ethical concerns that arise in the prediction of violence. We also discuss implications of the current evidence for reducing youth violence, and we offer suggestions for future research. We conclude by arguing that the prevention of youth violence should be a national priority. (PsycINFO Database Recor

Exhaustive expansion: A novel technique for analyzing complex data generated by higher-order polychromatic flow cytometry experiments

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The complex data sets generated by higher-order polychromatic flow cytometry experiments are a challenge to analyze. Here we describe Exhaustive Expansion, a data analysis approach for deriving hundreds to thousands of cell phenotypes from raw data, and for interrogating these phenotypes to identify populations of biological interest given the experimental context.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We apply this approach to two studies, illustrating its broad applicability. The first examines the longitudinal changes in circulating human memory T cell populations within individual patients in response to a melanoma peptide (gp100_209-2M) cancer vaccine, using 5 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to delineate subpopulations of viable, gp100-specific, CD8+ T cells. The second study measures the mobilization of stem cells in porcine bone marrow that may be associated with wound healing, and uses 5 different staining panels consisting of 8 mAbs each.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the first study, our analysis suggests that the cell surface markers CD45RA, CD27 and CD28, commonly used in historical lower order (2-4 color) flow cytometry analysis to distinguish memory from naïve and effector T cells, may not be obligate parameters in defining central memory T cells (T_CM). In the second study, we identify novel phenotypes such as CD29+CD31+CD56+CXCR4+CD90+Sca1-CD44+, which may characterize progenitor cells that are significantly increased in wounded animals as compared to controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Taken together, these results demonstrate that Exhaustive Expansion supports thorough interrogation of complex higher-order flow cytometry data sets and aids in the identification of potentially clinically relevant findings.</p

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)