Risk Markers Associated with Caregiver Elder Abuse: A Meta-Analytic Study

Elder abuse is a significant public health problem affecting approximately 10% of the US population, with international prevalence rates ranging from 3% to 30% (e.g. Burnes et al., 2015; Melchiorre, Penhale, & Lamura, 2014; Roepke-Buehler & Dong, 2015; Selwood, Cooper, & Livingston, 2007). A quantitative meta-analysis was performed to assess risk markers associated with caregivers who abuse the elderly. This dissertation will identify background information specific to this study, discuss specific objectives of the study, and explain the rationale for why this study is being done. Two theoretical frameworks will be discussed and linked with caregiver elder abuse: Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and role accumulation theory. Literature was used to describe the concepts of the perpetration of caregiver elder maltreatment and how they relate to the meta-analytic study. Results indicate that contextual/environmental, demographic/individual, and cognitive/physical/mental health risk markers are significantly linked with perpetration of caregiver elder maltreatment. Furthermore, strengths and weaknesses specific to this study will be explained. No IRB will be used for this study as it does not involve human subjects and is based off secondary data

The decline of user experience in transition from automated driving to manual driving

Automated driving technologies are rapidly being developed. However, until vehicles are fully automated, the control of the dynamic driving task will be shifted between the driver and automated driving system. This paper aims to explore how transitions from automated driving to manual driving affect user experience and how that experience correlates to take-over performance. In the study 20 participants experienced using an automated driving system during rush-hour traffic in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA. The automated driving system was available in congested traffic situations and when active, the participants could engage in non-driving related activities. The participants were interviewed afterwards regarding their experience of the transitions. The findings show that most of the participants experienced the transition from automated driving to manual driving as negative. Their user experience seems to be shaped by several reasons that differ in temporality and are derived from different phases during the transition process. The results regarding correlation between participants’ experience and take-over performance are inconclusive, but some trends were identified. The study highlights the need for new design solutions that do not only improve drivers’ take-over performance, but also enhance user experience during take-over requests from automated to manual driving

Learning science through engaging with its epistemic representational practices

This group of papers explores the development of student understanding and application of the discursive tools of science to reason in this subject, as the basis for classroom practices that parallel scientists’ knowledge production practices. We explore how this account of the disciplinary literacies of science can be enabled through effective pedagogies. The papers draw on research from Australia and Sweden that have overlapping agendas and theoretical perspectives including pragmatism (Peirce 1931-58; Dewey 1938/1997), social semiotics (Kress et al. 2001) and socio-cultural perspectives on language and learning (Lemke, 2004). The papers examine the role of language/multimodal representations in generating knowledge claims in science classrooms, the classroom epistemologies that support learning, and assessment practices from this perspective. A large body of conceptual change research has identified trenchant problems in conceptual learning in science, spawning long-standing and ongoing programs to identify pedagogies to address this. By redefining the problem in terms of language and representation, we aim to offer a way forward to support student engagement and learning in science

The Molecular Ridge Close to 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud

With the ATNF Mopra telescope we are performing a survey in the 12CO(1-0) line to map the molecular gas in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). For some regions we also obtained interferometric maps of the high density gas tracers HCO+ and HCN with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). Here we discuss the properties of the elongated molecular complex that stretches about 2 kpc southward from 30 Doradus. Our data suggests that the complex, which we refer to as the ``molecular ridge,'' is not a coherent feature but consists of many smaller clumps that share the same formation history. Likely molecular cloud formation triggers are shocks and shearing forces that are present in the surrounding south-eastern HI overdensity region, a region influenced by strong ram pressure and tidal forces. The molecular ridge is at the western edge of the the overdensity region where a bifurcated velocity structure transitions into a single disk velocity component. We find that the 12CO(1-0) and HI emission peaks in the molecular ridge are typically near each other but never coincide. A likely explanation is the conversion of warmer, low-opacity HI to colder, high-opacity HI from which H2 subsequently forms. On smaller scales, we find that very dense molecular gas, as traced by interferometric HCO+ and HCN maps, is associated with star formation along shocked filaments and with rims of expanding shell-like structures, both created by feedback from massive stars.Comment: accepted for publication in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australi

Sub-millimeter Observations of Giant Molecular Clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud: Temperature and Density as Determined from J=3-2 and J=1-0 transitions of CO

We have carried out sub-mm 12CO(J=3-2) observations of 6 giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with the ASTE 10m sub-mm telescope at a spatial resolution of 5 pc and very high sensitivity. We have identified 32 molecular clumps in the GMCs and revealed significant details of the warm and dense molecular gas with n(H2) $\sim$ 10$^{3-5}$ cm$^{-3}$ and Tkin $\sim$ 60 K. These data are combined with 12CO(J=1-0) and 13CO(J=1-0) results and compared with LVG calculations. We found that the ratio of 12CO(J=3-2) to 12CO(J=1-0) emission is sensitive to and is well correlated with the local Halpha flux. We interpret that differences of clump propeties represent an evolutionary sequence of GMCs in terms of density increase leading to star formation.Type I and II GMCs (starless GMCs and GMCs with HII regions only, respectively) are at the young phase of star formation where density does not yet become high enough to show active star formation and Type III GMCs (GMCs with HII regions and young star clusters) represents the later phase where the average density is increased and the GMCs are forming massive stars. The high kinetic temperature correlated with \Halpha flux suggests that FUV heating is dominant in the molecular gas of the LMC.Comment: 74 pages, including 41 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Transitions across cognitive states and death among older adults in relation to education:A multistate survival model using data from six longitudinal studies

INTRODUCTION: This study examines the role of educational attainment, an indicator of cognitive reserve, on transitions in later life between cognitive states (normal Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), mild MMSE impairment, and severe MMSE impairment) and death. METHODS: Analysis of six international longitudinal studies was performed using a coordinated approach. Multistate survival models were used to estimate the transition patterns via different cognitive states. Life expectancies were estimated. RESULTS: Across most studies, a higher level of education was associated with a lower risk of transitioning from normal MMSE to mild MMSE impairment but was not associated with other transitions. Those with higher levels of education and socioeconomic status had longer nonimpaired life expectancies. DISCUSSION: This study highlights the importance of education in later life and that early life experiences can delay later compromised cognitive health. This study also demonstrates the feasibility and benefit in conducting coordinated analysis across multiple studies to validate findings

The Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median z=0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z=2.32), and 90,897 new stellar spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009 December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in temperature estimates for stars with T_eff<5000 K and in metallicity estimates for stars with [Fe/H]>-0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2). The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) along with another year of data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in December 2014.Comment: 9 figures; 2 tables. Submitted to ApJS. DR9 is available at http://www.sdss3.org/dr

The Magellanic Mopra Assessment (MAGMA). I. The Molecular Cloud Population of the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present the properties of an extensive sample of molecular clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) mapped at 11 pc resolution in the CO(1-0) line. We identify clouds as regions of connected CO emission, and find that the distributions of cloud sizes, fluxes and masses are sensitive to the choice of decomposition parameters. In all cases, however, the luminosity function of CO clouds is steeper than dN/dL \propto L^{-2}, suggesting that a substantial fraction of mass is in low-mass clouds. A correlation between size and linewidth, while apparent for the largest emission structures, breaks down when those structures are decomposed into smaller structures. We argue that the correlation between virial mass and CO luminosity is the result of comparing two covariant quantities, with the correlation appearing tighter on larger scales where a size-linewidth relation holds. The virial parameter (the ratio of a cloud's kinetic to self-gravitational energy) shows a wide range of values and exhibits no clear trends with the CO luminosity or the likelihood of hosting young stellar object (YSO) candidates, casting further doubt on the assumption of virialization for molecular clouds in the LMC. Higher CO luminosity increases the likelihood of a cloud harboring a YSO candidate, and more luminous YSOs are more likely to be coincident with detectable CO emission, confirming the close link between giant molecular clouds and massive star formation.Comment: Accepted by ApJS; 22 pages in emulateapj format; full-resolution version and data tables available at http://mmwave.astro.illinois.edu/magma

Validity and reproducibility of an interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire for healthy French-Canadian men and women

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the validity (study 1) and the reproducibility (study 2) of an interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). METHOD: The FFQ was designed at Laval University and contains 91 items and 33 subquestions. Study 1: The FFQ was compared against a 3-day food record (2 week-days and 1 weekend-day), at week 0, 6 and 12 of a nutritional intervention. Study 2: In order to evaluate the reproducibility of the FFQ, 2 registered dietitians administered the FFQ 4-weeks apart among subjects who were not part of the nutritional intervention. RESULTS: Study 1: Mean values for intake of most nutrients assessed by the FFQ and by the 3-day food record were not statistically different. Energy-adjusted correlation coefficients for major macronutrients ranged from 0.36 for proteins to 0.60 for carbohydrates (p ≤ 0.01). Agreement analysis revealed that on average, 35% of the subjects were classified in the same quartile when nutrients were assessed by either the 3-day food record or the FFQ. Study 2: Significant associations were observed between dietary measurements derived from the two FFQs administered 4 weeks apart. Correlation coefficients for the reproducibility of macronutrients ranged from 0.66 for carbohydrates to 0.83 for lipids after energy adjustment. On average, 46% of the subjects were classified in the same quartile when nutrient intakes were assessed by either FFQ. CONCLUSION: These data indicated that the FFQ developed has a good validity and is reproducible

The role of neutral Rh(PONOP)H, free NMe2H, boronium and ammonium salts in the dehydrocoupling of dimethylamine-borane using the cationic pincer [Rh(PONOP)(η2-H2)]+ catalyst

The σ-amine-borane pincer complex [Rh(PONOP)(η1-H3B·NMe3)][BArF4] [2, PONOP = κ3-NC5H3-2,6-(OPtBu2)2] is prepared by addition of H3B·NMe3 to the dihydrogen precursor [Rh(PONOP)(η2-H2)][BArF4], 1. In a similar way the related H3B·NMe2H complex [Rh(PONOP)(η1-H3B·NMe2H)][BArF4], 3, can be made in situ, but this undergoes dehydrocoupling to reform 1 and give the aminoborane dimer [H2BNMe2]2. NMR studies on this system reveal an intermediate neutral hydride forms, Rh(PONOP)H, 4, that has been prepared independently. 1 is a competent catalyst (2 mol%, ∼30 min) for the dehydrocoupling of H3B·Me2H. Kinetic, mechanistic and computational studies point to the role of NMe2H in both forming the neutral hydride, via deprotonation of a σ-amine-borane complex and formation of aminoborane, and closing the catalytic cycle by reprotonation of the hydride by the thus-formed dimethyl ammonium [NMe2H2]+. Competitive processes involving the generation of boronium [H2B(NMe2H)2]+ are also discussed, but shown to be higher in energy. Off-cycle adducts between [NMe2H2]+ or [H2B(NMe2H)2]+ and amine-boranes are also discussed that act to modify the kinetics of dehydrocoupling