Analysis of N-Linked Oligosaccharides of Prostate-Specific Antigen and Prostatic Acid Phosphatase in Prostatic Fluids

Presently, prostate cancer is the most common cancer afflicting men in the United States, with serum PSA being the gold standard protein biomarker used in the clinic for detecting and diagnosing prostate cancer. Nonetheless, serum PSA levels can also be elevated in non-cancerous conditions as well, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Due to this overlap, many unnecessary biopsies and radical prostatectomies occur, leading to patient distress. Despite recent advances to clinical assays which consider other clinical parameters, there is still a great need for improved clinical detection methodologies for prostate cancer, including improved biomarkers. Therefore, this research project aims to examine the N-glycosylation patterns of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) in prostate proximal fluids, as well as to examine the total glycan profile for prostate proximal fluids with the intent of discovering carbohydrate-based biomarkers for the detection of early prostate carcinomas. To this end, preliminary glycomic and proteomic studies were completed using seminal plasma samples, based on the disease cohorts normal, BPH, and prostate cancer. These samples resulted in sufficient protein levels of both PSA and PAP for glycopeptide and glycomic analyses. Furthermore, these studies led to additional knowledge of PSA and PAP glycosylation. In addition to this sample set, pools of disease-defined expressed prostatic secretions (EPS) were generated and subsequently analyzed for detection of both protein levels and carbohydrate structures of PSA and PAP, as well as examined for their total glycomic profile. We succeeded in characterizing EPS fluids for both protein and carbohydrate content, as well as identified potential carbohydrate targets for the generation of new clinical assays for the detection of early prostate carcinomas. These targets are fucosylated, complex sub-type glycans which we found to be under-expressed in prostate carcinoma samples as compared to their non-cancerous counterparts. We believe EPS fluids have utility not only for discovery of cancer biomarkers, but also for use in future clinical assays

Community-Based Workforce Engagement Supports for Youth and Young Adults Involved in the Criminal Legal System: Findings from an Exploratory Scan

Young people, ages 16 to 24, can face significant barriers to employment once they cross paths with the juvenile or criminal legal system. Accessing supportive services in a community-based setting can help.This report summarizes findings from an exploratory study of community-based workforce development programs. The study involved both a national survey and a series of follow-up interviews with staff members who work with youth who have been adjudicated for or convicted of serious offenses

How the Girls Really Are?: Images of College Women in LIFE Magazine during the 1960s

As an icon of American popular culture, LIFE magazine had a profound impact on an entire generation of American youth. When Henry Luce wrote his prospectus for LIFE, he wrote, "to see, and to be shown, is now the will and expectancy of half mankind." This study examines how LIFE's photographers and editors presented college women to look at during the 1960s for that "half of mankind". Drawing upon the work of feminist film critic Laura Mulvey and historian Wendy Kozol, this thesis explores how LIFE's stereotypical imagery of women was applied to college women during the 1960s. Issues of "separate spheres," sexuality and masculinization are all addressed and framed in the context of the history of education for American women and the feminist movement of the 1960s. The first section deals with LIFE magazine itself and how it structured its imagery of college women. The next three chapters deal with images in the context of their specific articles and time periods, and includes comparisons with photography from Playboy magazine. The conclusion draws the thesis into the present, making a comparative analysis of college women in LIFE today. This study illuminates the ways in which LIFE's imaging of college women has evolved, and also how it has remained static. The goal is to use the imagery in question in a discussion about the changing roles of women over the course of the 1960s and how those roles were perceived by the American public.</p

The development and validation of a tool to measure self-confidence and anxiety in nursing students while making clinical decisions

Clinical decision making (CDM) is a cornerstone skill for nurses. Self-confidence and anxiety are two affective influences that impact the learning and adeptness of CDM. Currently, no instruments exist that measure perceived self-confidence and anxiety level of undergraduate nursing students related to CDM. The purpose of this research was to develop, test, and establish psychometric properties for a quantitative instrument that measures the levels of self-confidence and anxiety experienced by undergraduate nursing students while making clinical decisions. The new tool is entitled the Nursing Anxiety and Self-Confidence with Clinical Decision Making (NASC-CDM) scale. The tool is a self-report, Likert-type instrument with two subscales measuring levels of self-confidence and anxiety. Bandura\u27s social cognitive theory, regarding self-efficacy and anxiety arousal framed the study along with two embedded nursing models which explain the relationship between self-confidence, anxiety, and CDM. Content validity and face validity were established through critique by a panel of internationally known experts in the area of CDM and by a panel of undergraduate student nurses and registered nurses. Two samples of pre-licensure associate and baccalaureate nursing students participated in either the pilot- (fall 2010, n = 303) or main-testing (spring 2011, n = 242) phase of the study to test the scale. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the scale\u27s construct validity. Items were reduced from the scale based on EFA results from each sample. Similar factor structures were found between the two samples, indicating a stable three dimensional scale. The self-confidence and anxiety subscales of the NASC-CDM scale were correlated with two psychometrically sound instruments to examine convergent validity. Pearson r correlation coefficients examined the relationship between the self-confidence subscale and the General Self-Efficacy (GSE) scale. Results were positive, moderate and significant at .54 and .62 for the fall and spring samples respectively. Pearson r correlation coefficients examined the relationship between the anxiety subscale and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale. Results were positive, low to moderate and significant at .52 and .38 for the fall and spring samples respectively. Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach\u27s alpha reliability coefficient. Alpha coefficients for the final version were: self-confidence subscale, α = .97 and anxiety subscale, α = .96. Results of the study provided initial evidentiary support for the NASC-CDM scale as a content valid, construct valid, convergent valid and reliable measurement tool. Findings of the study have important implications for nursing education. Nurse educators may be able to utilize the NASC-CDM scale in numerous situations, around real-life or simulated clinical experiences. If nurse educators are aware of how affective states, such as levels of self-confidence and anxiety, influence nursing students while moving through the process of making clinical decisions, they can intervene more effectively and facilitate students learning the vital skill of CDM

Recommendations for Practitioners Engaged in Antitrafficking Task Forces: An Evalaution of the Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Forces to Combat Human Trafficking

The Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Program funded task forces comprised of law enforcement officials, prosecutors, victim service providers, and other stakeholders at the local, state, and federal levels. This brief details recommendations from the Urban Institute's 10-site evaluation of ECM task forces across the United States. Recommendations were derived from the findings of our analysis and directly from task force stakeholders' responses to interview questions about task force recommendations and best practices. Respondents summarized recommendations across four categories including structure, operation, and funding of ECM task forces; collaboration among stakeholders; survivor engagement and service provision; and task force training, focus, and activities

Geodatabase Development to Support Hyperspectral Imagery Exploitation

Geodatabase development for coastal studies conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is essential to support the exploitation of hyperspectral imagery (HSI). NRL has found that the remote sensing and mapping science community benefits from coastal classifications that group coastal types based on similar features. Selected features in project geodatabases relate to significant biological and physical forces that shape the coast. The project geodatabases help researchers understand factors that are necessary for imagery post processing, especially those features having a high degree of temporal and spatial variability. NRL project geodatabases include a hierarchy of environmental factors that extend from shallow water bottom types and beach composition to inland soil and vegetation characteristics. These geodatabases developed by NRL allow researchers to compare features among coast types. The project geodatabases may also be used to enhance littoral data archives that are sparse. This paper highlights geodatabase development for recent remote sensing experiments in barrier island, coral, and mangrove coast types

Effect of Carbohydrate-Protein Supplement Timing on Acute Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage

Purpose: To determine if timing of a supplement would have an effect on muscle damage, function and soreness. Methods: Twenty-seven untrained men (21 ± 3 yrs) were given a supplement before or after exercise. Subjects were randomly assigned to a pre exercise (n = 9), received carbohydrate/protein drink before exercise and placebo after, a post exercise (n = 9), received placebo before exercise and carbohydrate/protein drink after, or a control group (n = 9), received placebo before and after exercise. Subjects performed 50 eccentric quadriceps contractions on an isokinetic dynamometer. Tests for creatine kinase (CK), maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and muscle soreness were recorded before exercise and at six, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h post exercise. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to analyze data. Results: There were no group by time interactions however, CK significantly increased for all groups when compared to pre exercise (101 ± 43 U/L) reaching a peak at 48 h (661 ± 1178 U/L). MVC was significantly reduced at 24 h by 31.4 ± 14.0%. Muscle soreness was also significantly increased from pre exercise peaking at 48 h. Conclusion: Eccentric exercise caused significant muscle damage, loss of strength, and soreness; however timing of ingestion of carbohydrate/protein supplement had no effect

A Methodological Approach to Assessing the Health Impact of Environmental Chemical Mixtures: PCBs and Hypertension in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

We describe an approach to examine the association between exposure to chemical mixtures and a health outcome, using as our case study polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hypertension. The association between serum PCB and hypertension among participants in the 1999–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was examined. First, unconditional multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and associated 95% confidence intervals. Next, correlation and multicollinearity among PCB congeners was evaluated, and clustering analyses performed to determine groups of related congeners. Finally, a weighted sum was constructed to represent the relative importance of each congener in relation to hypertension risk. PCB serum concentrations varied by demographic characteristics, and were on average higher among those with hypertension. Logistic regression results showed mixed findings by congener and class. Further analyses identified groupings of correlated PCBs. Using a weighted sum approach to equalize different ranges and potencies, PCBs 66, 101, 118, 128 and 187 were significantly associated with increased risk of hypertension. Epidemiologic data were used to demonstrate an approach to evaluating the association between a complex environmental exposure and health outcome. The complexity of analyzing a large number of related exposures, where each may have different potency and range, are addressed in the context of the association between hypertension risk and exposure to PCBs