Financial Stress in the Asian Christian Immigrant Community During COVID-19

The purpose of the current study was to examine how individual, economic, and psychological factors contributed to the financial concerns of Asian Christian immigrants in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., the impact of COVID-19 on employment status and income change, intolerance of uncertainty, hope, and personal meaning in life). The sample consisted of 103 immigrants from three East Asian countries affiliated with Christian churches. A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to observe how the aforementioned variables predicted the participants’ financial worries. The results showed that intolerance of uncertainty accounted for a significant amount of variance in financial worries among the participants, but the impact of COVID-19, hope, and meaning in life did not predict significant variance. Implications for practice and future research were discussed

"Gangnam Mom": A Qualitative Study on the Information Behaviors of Korean Helicopter Mothers

This study investigates information seeking, sharing, and managing behaviors of “Gangnam mothers,” a group of dedicated Korean mothers who invest significant time and effort to micro- manage their child’s academic needs. These mothers’ vibrant and sophisticated information seeking and managing loads of education-related information sources is worthy of attention from information behavior research. To learn about their information behavior, field observations and interviews with mothers of school-aged children in Gangnam, the southern part of Seoul, have been conducted. The findings show that Gangnam mothers are personal information experts who heavily utilize human channels of information and employ local, group and personal filtering strategies. The fascinating information ecology of mothers in their diverse strategies for navigating and filtering information, coupled with the unique information environment in Gangnam, makes the flood of education-related information surprisingly manageable.ye

Alternative to Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST): Understanding the Bayesian Approach

Null Hypothesis Significance Testing is the most widely used method of analysis in social science. However, there are inherent limitations of NHST. We discuss the problems of using NHST and suggest alternative ways to solve the problems, focusing on Bayesian statistics. To supplement the limitation of NHST it has been argued that providing information regarding the effect size and confidence interval are useful. Furthermore, Bayesian statistics, which is an independent stream of study, has gained attention. We introduce the basic concept of Bayesian statistics and the application of the method in organizational research.This study was supported by the Institude of Management Research at Seoul National University

The impact of dose of the angiotensin-receptor blocker valsartan on the post-myocardial infarction ventricular remodeling: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and the angiotensin-receptor blocker valsartan ameliorate ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). Based on previous clinical trials, a maximum clinical dose is recommended in practical guidelines. Yet, has not been clearly demonstrated whether the recommended dose is more efficacious compared to the lower dose that is commonly used in clinical practice.</p> <p>Method/Design</p> <p>Valsartan in post-MI remodeling (VALID) is a randomized, open-label, single-blinded multicenter study designed to compare the efficacy of different clinical dose of valsartan on the post-MI ventricular remodeling. This study also aims to assess neurohormone change and clinical parameters of patients during the post-infarct period. A total of 1116 patients with left ventricular dysfunction following the first episode of acute ST-elevation MI are to be enrolled and randomized to a maximal tolerable dose (up to 320 mg/day) or usual dose (80 mg/day) of valsartan for 12 months in 2:1 ratio. Echocardiographic analysis for quantifying post-MI ventricular remodeling is to be conducted in central core laboratory. Clinical assessment and laboratory test are performed at fixed times.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>VALID is a multicenter collaborative study to evaluate the impact of dose of valsartan on the post-MI ventricular remodeling. The results of the study provide information about optimal dosing of the drug in the management of patients after MI. The results will be available by 2012.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p><a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01340326">NCT01340326</a></p

Exploring aryl hydrocarbon receptor expression and distribution in the tumor microenvironment, with a focus on immune cells, in various solid cancer types

IntroductionAryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a transcription factor that performs various functions upon ligand activation. Several studies have explored the role of AhR expression in tumor progression and immune surveillance. Nevertheless, investigations on the distribution of AhR expression, specifically in cancer or immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME), remain limited. Examining the AhR expression and distribution in the TME is crucial for gaining insights into the mechanism of action of AhR-targeting anticancer agents and their potential as biomarkers.MethodsHere, we used multiplexed immunohistochemistry (mIHC) and image cytometry to investigate the AhR expression and distribution in 513 patient samples, of which 292 are patients with one of five solid cancer types. Additionally, we analyzed the nuclear and cytosolic distribution of AhR expression.ResultsOur findings reveal that AhR expression was primarily localized in cancer cells, followed by stromal T cells and macrophages. Furthermore, we observed a positive correlation between the nuclear and cytosolic expression of AhR, indicating that the expression of AhR as a biomarker is independent of its localization. Interestingly, the expression patterns of AhR were categorized into three clusters based on the cancer type, with high AhR expression levels being found in regulatory T cells (Tregs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).DiscussionThese findings are anticipated to serve as pivotal evidence for the design of clinical trials and the analysis of the anticancer mechanisms of AhR-targeting therapies

Electrochemical Characterization of Neurotransmitters in a Single Submicron Droplet

Single-entity electrochemistry, which employs electrolysis during the collision of single particles on ultramicroelectrodes, has witnessed significant advancements in recent years, enabling the observation and characterization of individual particles. Information on a single aqueous droplet (e.g., size) can also be studied based on the redox species contained therein. Dopamine, a redox-active neurotransmitter, is usually present in intracellular vesicles. Similarly, in the current study, the electrochemical properties of neurotransmitters in submicron droplets were investigated. Because dopamine oxidation is accompanied by proton transfer, unique electrochemical properties of dopamine were observed in the droplet. We also investigated the electrochemical properties of the adsorbed droplets containing DA and the detection of oxidized dopamine by the recollision phenomenon

Redundancy-constrained minimum-cost design of water distribution networks

Redundancy of looped water distribution networks is quantified with expected shortage, a reliability surrogate which can represent frequency, duration and severity of damages caused by failures of components. Based on this surrogate and its variations (total expected shortage and allowable shortage fraction), two optimization models that lead to the determination of minimum cost pipe diameters to provide specific levels of reliability are developed: the expected shortage optimization model (ESOM), and the allowable shortage fraction optimization model (ASFOM). Studied are comprehensively two aspects of these basic models: computational time and flexibility to satisfy sophisticated design conditions. Because the two basic models are too large to be of practical use in most cases, a modification (CBCM) that heuristically omits many constraints is constructed and its behavior explored. Minor variations of these models are also developed to demonstrate the flexibility which is inherent in the basic structure. This flexibility permits the satisfaction of special real-world design conditions that result in specific reliability requirements at particular nodes. Another variation (OMET) is capable of sizing a storage facility in addition to determining optimal pipe diameters. These models have successfully been applied to the optimization of example networks. The application results noted that a reliability surrogate of expected shortage is very useful in optimizing networks with constrained redundancy and applicational limitations of the models to practical problems in terms of computational time and flexibilities are avoidable. Especially, the results show that the models have the power to undertake direct exploration of tradeoffs between cost and reliability.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio