Rana berlandieri

Number of Pages: 4Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Rana chiricahuensis

Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Rana yavapaiensis

Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Effects of recruit training on police attitudes towards diversity: a randomised controlled trial of a values education programme.

Research Question Did a values education program taught to Queensland police recruits change their attitudes towards police workplace diversity and equality, relative to recruits in the same cohorts who did not received the program? Data A survey designed to measure attitudes towards workplace diversity and related issues was administered three times to 260 police recruits, who were randomly assigned to receive a values education program or not over the 25-week initial police recruit course. The surveys were conducted in week two of the course, at the conclusion of the values education program, and six weeks after the program concluded. Methods Three separate cohorts were split by batch random assignment into experimental and controls, for 132 experimental recruits and 128 controls. Using a variety of validated scales and items, the attitudes of the two groups were compared at all three survey waves, and in comparative longitudinal trends. Findings While the values education program did not improve experimental group recruit attitudes towards diversity in the workplace over time, it protected that group from a clear decline in support for diversity associated with the standard recruit training experience. Because the design was an RCT, the study clearly revealed that the benefit of the program was as a successful buffer against what happened to reduce diversity support among the other recruits. Conclusions The findings show that in at least one police recruit experience, there is a clear shift away from support for diversity by race and gender in the police workplace in the course of initial training. Fortunately, the results also provide at least one possible preventative measure for that problem, in the form of a values education program similar to one used widely in many countries

Spectral properties and geology of bright and dark material on dwarf planet Ceres

Variations and spatial distributions of bright and dark material on dwarf planet Ceres play a key role in understanding the processes that have led to its present surface composition. We define limits for bright and dark material in order to distinguish them consistently, based on the reflectance of the average surface using Dawn Framing Camera data. A systematic classification of four types of bright material is presented based on their spectral properties, composition, spatial distribution, and association with specific geomorphological features. We found obvious correlations of reflectance with spectral shape (slopes) and age; however, this is not unique throughout the bright spots. Although impact features show generally more extreme reflectance variations, several areas can only be understood in terms of inhomogeneous distribution of composition as inferred from Dawn Visible and Infrared Spectrometer data. Additional material with anomalous composition and spectral properties are rare. The identification of the composition and origin of the dark, particularly the darkest material, remains to be explored. The spectral properties and the morphology of the dark sites suggest an endogenic origin, but it is not clear whether they are more or less primitive surficial exposures or excavated subsurface but localized material. The reflectance, spectral properties, inferred composition, and geologic context collectively suggest that the bright and dark material tends to gradually change toward the average surface over time. This could be because of multiple processes, i.e., impact gardening/space weathering, and lateral mixing, including thermal and aqueous alteration, accompanied by changes in composition and physical properties such as grain size, surface temperature, and porosity (compaction).Comment: Meteoritics and Planetary Science; Dawn at Ceres special issu

Estimating effects by combining instrumental variables with case-control designs: the role of principal stratification

The instrumental variable framework is commonly used in the estimation of causal effects from cohort samples. In the case of more efficient designs such as the case-control study, however, the combination of the instrumental variable and complex sampling designs requires new methodological consideration. As the prevalence of Mendelian randomization studies is increasing and the cost of genotyping and expression data can be high, the analysis of data gathered from more cost-effective sampling designs is of prime interest. We show that the standard instrumental variable analysis is not applicable to the case-control design and can lead to erroneous estimation and inference. We also propose a method based on principal stratification for the analysis of data arising from the combination of case-control sampling and instrumental variable design and illustrate it with a study in oncology

The Role of Nonlinear Dynamics in Quantitative Atomic Force Microscopy

Various methods of force measurement with the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) are compared for their ability to accurately determine the tip-surface force from analysis of the nonlinear cantilever motion. It is explained how intermodulation, or the frequency mixing of multiple drive tones by the nonlinear tip-surface force, can be used to concentrate the nonlinear motion in a narrow band of frequency near the cantilevers fundamental resonance, where accuracy and sensitivity of force measurement are greatest. Two different methods for reconstructing tip-surface forces from intermodulation spectra are explained. The reconstruction of both conservative and dissipative tip-surface interactions from intermodulation spectra are demonstrated on simulated data.Comment: 25 pages (preprint, double space) 7 figure

Rubin H. Flocks and Colloidal Gold Treatments for Prostate Cancer

In the early 1950s, Rubin H. Flocks of the University of Iowa began to treat prostate cancer patients with colloidal gold (Au198) therapy, evolving his technique over nearly 25 years in 1515 patients. We reviewed the long-term outcomes of Flocks' prostate cancer patients as compared to those patients treated by other methods at the University of Iowa before Flocks' chairmanship. We reviewed archived patient records, Flocks' published data, and long-term survival data from the Iowa Tumor Registry to determine short- and long-term outcomes of Flocks' work with colloidal gold. We also reviewed the literature of Flocks’ time to compare his outcomes against those of his contemporaries. The use of colloidal gold, either as primary or adjunctive therapy, provided short- and long-term survival benefit for the majority of Flocks' patients as compared to historical treatment options (p < 0.001). Flocks' use of colloidal gold for the treatment of locally advanced prostate cancer offered short- and long-term survival benefits compared to other contemporary treatments