Not Small Technicalities: Gender's Impact on Choosing Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)This exploratory study looks at the underrepresentation of certain groups, especially women, in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupations. Using longitudinal data, it investigates the impact of math and technical abilities as well as social status measures such as sex, race/ethnicity and household income on STEM career choice, arguing that social status variables have an important influence apart from abilities, with an emphasis on gender. Results show significant impacts of sex, race/ethnicity, income and both math and technical skills on STEM career choice; however, only sex, math and technical skill have statistically significant impacts when controlling for all other variables, with technical skill having the strongest impact in all tests. Implications of these findings are discussed, confirming previous studies but also setting the groundwork for inclusion of technical skill in research on STEM areas. Future efforts are argued to focus on technical ability, as well as gender and mathematical adroitness

Manganese evolution in Omega Centauri: a clue to the cluster formation mechanisms?

We model the evolution of manganese relative to iron in the progenitor system of the globular cluster Omega Centauri by means of a self-consistent chemical evolution model. We use stellar yields that already reproduce the measurements of [Mn/Fe] versus [Fe/H] in Galactic field disc and halo stars, in Galactic bulge stars and in the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We compare our model predictions to the Mn abundances measured in a sample of 10 red giant members and six subgiant members of ω Cen. The low values of [Mn/Fe] observed in a few, metal-rich stars of the sample cannot be explained in the framework of our standard, homogeneous chemical evolution model. Introducing cooling flows that selectively bring to the cluster core only the ejecta from specific categories of stars does not help to heal the disagreement with the observations. The capture of field stars does not offer a viable explanation either. The observed spread in the data and the lowest [Mn/Fe] values could, in principle, be understood if the system experienced inhomogeneous chemical evolution. Such an eventuality is qualitatively discussed in this paper. However, more measurements of Mn in ω Cen stars are needed to settle the issue of Mn evolution in this cluste

Il Barocco e l’antico.: Roma e i suoi monumenti antichi nell’età barocca.

This study aims to analyse the use of Roman antiquities, (ancient buildings, monuments and works of art) in the definition of the urban space of the city of Rome during the Baroque period, and the influence that these antiquities had on the design and realisation of the architectural and artistic works of the main exponents of Baroque taste, especially Bernini, Borromini and Petro da Cortona. Divided in the dispute between the Classical and Baroque currents, which was very strong especially in Rome, many artists of the two factions had as a starting point precisely the study of antiquities, as evidenced by their biographical notes, the study of preparatory drawings of artworks and architectural projects.  This basic study of antiquities would later be developed through the individual creative process of the sculptors/architects/painters and lead to the birth and realisation of what is known as Baroque Rome.Questo studio vuole analizzare l’utilizzo delle antichità romane, (edifici antichi, monumenti e opere d’arte) nella definizione dello spazio urbano della città di Roma durante il periodo barocco, e l’influenza che queste antichità ebbero nella progettazione e nella realizzazione delle opere architettoniche e artistiche dei principali esponenti del gusto barocco, Bernini, Borromini e Pietro da Cortona. Divisi nella contesa tra corrente classica e quella barocca, molto forte soprattutto a Roma, molti artisti delle due fazioni ebbero come punto di partenza proprio lo studio delle antichità, come evidenziano le loro notizie biografiche, lo studio dei disegni preparatori delle opere e dei progetti architettonici.  Questo studio di base delle antichità verrà poi sviluppato attraverso il processo creativo individuale degli scultori/architetti/pittori e porterà alla nascita e alla realizzazione di quella che viene definita Roma Barocca

Characterization of EST derived SSRs from the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Blackwell Publishing for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Molecular Ecology Notes 5 (2005): 567-568, doi:10.1111/j.1471-8286.2005.00996.x.Interest in bay scallop conservation has resulted in organized stock enhancement efforts and increased attention to fisheries management issues. Genetic markers can facilitate the monitoring of enhancement efforts, characterization of wild populations, and optimize hatchery practices. We have identified eight polymorphic simple sequence repeat markers including one dinucleotide, six trinucleotide and one compound dinucleotide repeats, in expressed sequence tags generated from multiple bay scallop cDNA libraries. The numbers of alleles range from two to five. The expected and observed heterozygosities range from 0.093 to 0.720 and 0.095 to 0.600, respectively.This project was supported by National Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2003-35206-12834 from the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service and by a grant from the County of Barnstable Massachusetts, USA (both to SBR)

Separaxion anxiety in pediatric migraine without aura: A pilot study

Background: Separation anxiety (SA) can be defined as the fear reaction and protest manifested by children when the main caregivers move away from him/her or in front of unfamiliar person. SA near eight months may be considered as an important and normal phase of the correct and typical social neurodevelopment. Aims of the present pilot study is assessing the prevalence of separation anxiety in a population of patients with migraine without aura (MwA). Materials and methods: 119 children (69 males) suffering from MwA (mean age 1.78 ± 7:59) were consecutively recruited. The control population consisted of 231 (114 males) healthy subjects similar for age (7.64 ± 1:34; p = 0.768) and gender (p=0.987) The Screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (SCARED) test was used to assess the prevalence of separation anxiety among MwA children. Results: Healthy individuals are on average less affected (mean 4.72 ± 0:32) of the Separation Anxiety Disorder respect of MwA children (mean 6.83 ± 0.97; p < 0.001) (Figure 1). Conclusion. MwA presents many psychiatric comorbidities and among ones separation anxiety may be considered in the clinical and therapeutic management of pediatric primary headache

Longitudinal prospective observational type study about determinants of renal resistive index variations in chronic renal failure patients treated with conventional medical and dietetic therapy

Objective: This longitudinal prospective observational type study was conceived with the aim to examine the impact on renal resistive index (RRI) of the variables that we can manipulate with therapeutic and or dietetic interventions in a chronic kidney disease population in order to known which of these variables was statistically related to changes in RRI and therefore could become the object of the greatest therapeutic effort. Material and methods: This study was undertaken between May 2016 to May 2017 in the outpatient nephrology and urology clinic of San Donato Hospital in Arezzo. The study population (84 patients: 47 males and 37 females) was randomly selected among the chronic kidney patients (with various degrees of renal impairment) affected by hypertension and or diabetes mellitus. After a comprehensive medical examination these patients were submitted to determination of serum creatinine, glycated hemoglobin, 24-hour urinary albumin excretion and finally renal Doppler ultrasonography. Then the patients were submitted to a full therapeutic and dietetic intervention to ameliorate the renal impairment by a wide range of actions and after on average a one-year interval were submitted again to a new medical examination and a second determination of serum creatinine, glycated hemoglobin, 24-hour urinary albumin excretion and a new renal Doppler ultrasonography too. Results: The comparison between basal and final data revealed a slight reduction in the mean of bilateral renal resistance indices (Delta RRI: -0.0182 ± 0.08), associated to a slight increase in the mean glomerular filtration rate (Delta GFR: 0.8738 ± 10.95 ml/min/1.73 m2), a reduction in mean body weight (Delta weight: -1.9548 ± 5.26 Kg) and mean BMI (Delta BMI: -0.7643 ± 2.10 Kg/m2) as well as a reduction in the mean systolic blood pressure (Delta systolic blood pressure: -8.8333 ± 25.19 mmHg). Statistical analysis showed statistically significant correlations (p < 0.05) between Delta RRI and Delta weight (p < 0.03), Delta BMI (p < 0.02) and Delta systolic blood pressure (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Despite the many limitations the our study clearly identifies the targets (yet widely known) to act on to prevent kidney alterations related to RRI and provides further evidence, if any, of the utility of RRI as a key parameter in monitoring patients with chronic renal failure and as a valuable tool to drive the clinical efforts to contrast the kidney disease