366 research outputs found
Public Health Nursing Acceptance of the 5 A's Protocol for Prenatal Smoking Cessation
Oregon’s efforts in tobacco cessation have historically focused on the general population and have depended on quit line services as the primary intervention. The Oregon Smoke Free Mothers and Babies Program (SFMB) was developed in 2002 to focus on public health nurses and prenatal care providers who work with high risk pregnant women. It seeks to increase smoking cessation among low income and other high risk pregnant women by disseminating the U.S. Public Health Service best practices, the 5 A’s (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) tobacco brief intervention protocol, to public health nurses and prenatal care providers. Interventions included teaching nurses the 5 A’s, how to use stages of change for pregnant quitters and providing them with client materials. We report the survey results gathered from nurses regarding their use of the 5 A’s. Nurses were questioned at 3 intervals: at the beginning of the SFMB project, 12 months later and 24 months later. While over 45 nurses in 10 counties were involved in the program, staff turnover and budget cuts affected program evaluation and analysis of the survey responses. As a result, only 10 nurses completed all three surveys. We found that, at baseline, all of the nurses were already performing the Ask and Advise components. The training resulted in a significant increase in the nurses using Assess (p<0.05) and Assist (p<0.05) both at 12 and 24 months. We also found that there was a statistically significant increase in the use of Arrange at 12 months (p<0.01) that was not sustained at 24 months (p=0.07). We conclude that public health nurses were already routinely doing Ask and Advise; our 5 A’s program was successful in improving Assess and Assist. More work is needed to understand why increases in Arrange were not sustained
Average distance in a hierarchical scale-free network: an exact solution
Various real systems simultaneously exhibit scale-free and hierarchical
structure. In this paper, we study analytically average distance in a
deterministic scale-free network with hierarchical organization. Using a
recursive method based on the network construction, we determine explicitly the
average distance, obtaining an exact expression for it, which is confirmed by
extensive numerical calculations. The obtained rigorous solution shows that the
average distance grows logarithmically with the network order (number of nodes
in the network). We exhibit the similarity and dissimilarity in average
distance between the network under consideration and some previously studied
networks, including random networks and other deterministic networks. On the
basis of the comparison, we argue that the logarithmic scaling of average
distance with network order could be a generic feature of deterministic
scale-free networks.Comment: Definitive version published in Journal of Statistical Mechanic
Anomalous behavior of trapping on a fractal scale-free network
It is known that the heterogeneity of scale-free networks helps enhancing the
efficiency of trapping processes performed on them. In this paper, we show that
transport efficiency is much lower in a fractal scale-free network than in
non-fractal networks. To this end, we examine a simple random walk with a fixed
trap at a given position on a fractal scale-free network. We calculate
analytically the mean first-passage time (MFPT) as a measure of the efficiency
for the trapping process, and obtain a closed-form expression for MFPT, which
agrees with direct numerical calculations. We find that, in the limit of a
large network order , the MFPT behaves superlinearly as with an exponent 3/2 much larger than 1, which is in sharp contrast
to the scaling with , previously obtained
for non-fractal scale-free networks. Our results indicate that the degree
distribution of scale-free networks is not sufficient to characterize trapping
processes taking place on them. Since various real-world networks are
simultaneously scale-free and fractal, our results may shed light on the
understanding of trapping processes running on real-life systems.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures; Definitive version accepted for publication in
EPL (Europhysics Letters
Role of Umklapp Processes in Conductivity of Doped Two-Leg Ladders
Recent conductivity measurements performed on the hole-doped two-leg ladder
material reveal an approximately linear
power law regime in the c-axis DC resistivity as a function of temperature for
. In this work, we employ a bosonic model to argue that umklapp processes
are responsible for this feature and for the high spectral weight in the
optical conductivity which occurs beyond the finite frequency Drude-like peak.
Including quenched disorder in our model allows us to reproduce experimental
conductivity and resistivity curves over a wide range of energies. We also
point out the differences between the effect of umklapp processes in a single
chain and in the two-leg ladder.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Identification of alternatively spliced Dab1 and Fyn isoforms in pig
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Disabled-1 (Dab1) is an adaptor protein that is essential for the intracellular transduction of Reelin signaling, which regulates the migration and differentiation of postmitotic neurons during brain development in vertebrates. Dab1 function depends on its tyrosine phosphorylation by Src family kinases, especially Fyn.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have isolated alternatively spliced forms of porcine Dab1 from brain (sDab1) and liver (sDab1-Li) and Fyn from brain (sFyn-B) and spleen (sFyn-T). Radiation hybrid mapping localized porcine Dab1 (sDab1) and Fyn (sFyn) to chromosomes 6q31-35 and 1p13, respectively. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) demonstrated that different isoforms of Dab1 and Fyn have tissue-specific expression patterns, and sDab1 and sFyn-B display similar temporal expression characteristics in the developing porcine cerebral cortex and cerebellum. Both sDab1 isoforms function as nucleocytoplasmic shuttling proteins. It was further shown that sFyn phosphorylates sDab1 at tyrosyl residues (Tyr) 185, 198/200 and 232, whereas sDab1-Li was phosphorylated at Tyr 185 and Tyr 197 (corresponding to Y232 in sDab1) in vitro.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Alternative splicing generates natural sDab1-Li that only carries Y185 and Y197 (corresponding to Y232 in sDab1) sites, which can be phosphorylated by Fyn in vitro. sDab1-Li is an isoform that is highly expressed in peripheral organs. Both isoforms are suggested to be nucleocytoplasmic shuttling proteins. Our results imply that the short splice form sDab1-Li might regulate cellular responses to different cell signals by acting as a dominant negative form against the full length sDab1 variant and that both isoforms might serve different signaling functions in different tissues.</p
Random Sierpinski network with scale-free small-world and modular structure
In this paper, we define a stochastic Sierpinski gasket, on the basis of
which we construct a network called random Sierpinski network (RSN). We
investigate analytically or numerically the statistical characteristics of RSN.
The obtained results reveal that the properties of RSN is particularly rich, it
is simultaneously scale-free, small-world, uncorrelated, modular, and maximal
planar. All obtained analytical predictions are successfully contrasted with
extensive numerical simulations. Our network representation method could be
applied to study the complexity of some real systems in biological and
information fields.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures; final version accepted for publication in EPJ
Signet-ring cell lymphoma: clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, and fluorescence in situ hybridization studies of 7 cases
Context
Signet-ring cell lymphoma (SRCL) is a rare morphologic variant of non–Hodgkin lymphoma. Although it was initially reported as a rare morphologic variant of follicular lymphoma (FL), SRCL has to date been described in most types of non–Hodgkin lymphoma, mostly as single-case reports.
Objective
To study SRCL systematically by immunohistochemical stains and fluorescent in situ hybridization analyses.
Design
Seven SRCL cases were stained for CD3, CD5, CD20, PAX-5, CD10, CD21, CD23, cyclin D1, BCL2, BCL6, Ki-67, and MUM-1, and were analyzed by fluorescent in situ hybridization for BCL2, BCL6, MYC, and MALT1 rearrangements. Clinical information and patient outcome were reviewed in all patients.
Results
The patients were 3 women and 3 men, ranging in age from 31 to 75 years (average 60.3 years). The lesions involved lymph nodes, tonsil, parotid gland, soft tissue, and breast. There were 4 FLs, 1 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 1 DLBCL with FL, and 1 DLBCL with marginal zone lymphoma. All cases had typical signet-ring cell morphology. They were positive for CD20 and BCL-2, and had low-to-intermediate Ki-67 proliferation index (10%-40%) except in the parotid DLBCL with FL (70%). BCL-6 was detected in all but 1 FL (6/7). Fluorescent in situ hybridization detected IGH/BCL2 translocation in 1 FL, increased BCL6 copy number in another FL, BCL6 rearrangement, and increased copy number of MYC and MALT1 in the DLBCL with marginal zone lymphoma.
Conclusions
The FL with signet-ring cell morphology (1/5) tends to lack IGH/BCL2 translocation, and an extended immunohistochemical study is recommended for correct diagnosis and classification of SRCL
Comparison of 133 Xenon Ventilation Equilibrium Scan (XV) and 99m Technetium Transmission (TT) Scan for Use in Regional Lung Analysis by 2D Gamma Scintigraphy in Healthy and Cystic Fibrosis Lungs
Quantification of particle deposition in the lung by gamma scintigraphy requires a reference image for location of regions of interest (ROIs) and normalization to lung thickness. In various laboratories, the reference image is made by a transmission scan (57Co or 99mTc) or gas ventilation scan (133Xe or 81Kr). There has not been a direct comparison of measures from the two methods
Trapping in scale-free networks with hierarchical organization of modularity
A wide variety of real-life networks share two remarkable generic topological
properties: scale-free behavior and modular organization, and it is natural and
important to study how these two features affect the dynamical processes taking
place on such networks. In this paper, we investigate a simple stochastic
process--trapping problem, a random walk with a perfect trap fixed at a given
location, performed on a family of hierarchical networks that exhibit
simultaneously striking scale-free and modular structure. We focus on a
particular case with the immobile trap positioned at the hub node having the
largest degree. Using a method based on generating functions, we determine
explicitly the mean first-passage time (MFPT) for the trapping problem, which
is the mean of the node-to-trap first-passage time over the entire network. The
exact expression for the MFPT is calculated through the recurrence relations
derived from the special construction of the hierarchical networks. The
obtained rigorous formula corroborated by extensive direct numerical
calculations exhibits that the MFPT grows algebraically with the network order.
Concretely, the MFPT increases as a power-law function of the number of nodes
with the exponent much less than 1. We demonstrate that the hierarchical
networks under consideration have more efficient structure for transport by
diffusion in contrast with other analytically soluble media including some
previously studied scale-free networks. We argue that the scale-free and
modular topologies are responsible for the high efficiency of the trapping
process on the hierarchical networks.Comment: Definitive version accepted for publication in Physical Review
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