1,241 research outputs found
Assessing What Matters in Law School: The Law School Survey of Student Engagement
Symposium: The Next Generation of Law School Rankings held April 15, 2005 at Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington
Assessing What Matters in Law School: The Law School Survey of Student Engagement
Symposium: The Next Generation of Law School Rankings held April 15, 2005 at Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington
Lifelong socioeconomic position and physical performance in midlife: results from the British 1946 birth cohort
Socioeconomic position (SEP) across life is found to be related to adult physical performance, but the underlying pathways are not well characterized. Using a British birth cohort (N = 2956), the associations of SEP from childhood into midlife with objective physical performance measures in midlife were examined, adjusting for possible confounders or mediators, including indicators of muscle development and central nervous system function. Childhood and adulthood SEP were positively related to standing balance and chair rise performance, but not to grip strength after basic adjustments. When both father’s occupation and mother’s education were included in the same model, having a mother with low education was associated with 0.6 standard deviations (SD) (95% confidence interval (CI: 0.3, 0.8)) poorer standing balance time compared with having a mother with the highest educational level, and having a father in the lowest occupational group was associated with a 0.3 SD (95% CI: 0.1, 0.6) lower chair rise score compared with having a father in the highest occupational group. These associations were maintained, albeit attenuated, after adjustment. In contrast, the associations of own education and adult occupation with physical performance were generally not maintained after adjustment. SEP across life impacts on midlife physical performance, and thereby the ageing process
Using Super-Imposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) to relate pubertal growth to bone health in later life:the Medical Research Council (MRC) National Survey of Health and Development
BACKGROUND: To explore associations between pubertal growth and later bone health in a cohort with infrequent measurements, using another cohort with more frequent measurements to support the modelling, data from the Medical Research Council (MRC) National Survey of Health and Development (2-26 years, 4901/30 004 subjects/measurements) and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents And Children (ALSPAC) (5-20 years) (10 896/74 120) were related to National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) bone health outcomes at 60-64 years. METHODS: NSHD data were analysed using Super-Imposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) growth curve analysis, either alone or jointly with ALSPAC data. Improved estimation of pubertal growth parameters of size, tempo and velocity was assessed by changes in model fit and correlations with contemporary measures of pubertal timing. Bone outcomes of radius [trabecular volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) and diaphysis cross-sectional area (CSA)] were regressed on the SITAR parameters, adjusted for current body size. RESULTS: The NSHD SITAR parameters were better estimated in conjunction with ALSPAC, i.e. more strongly correlated with pubertal timing. Trabecular vBMD was associated with early height tempo, whereas diaphysis CSA was related to weight size, early tempo and slow velocity, the bone outcomes being around 15% higher for the better vs worse growth pattern. CONCLUSIONS: By pooling NSHD and ALSPAC data, SITAR more accurately summarized pubertal growth and weight gain in NSHD, and in turn demonstrated notable associations between pubertal timing and later bone outcomes. These associations give insight into the importance of the pubertal period for future skeletal health and osteoporosis risk
NbSe3: Effect of Uniaxial Stress on the Threshold Field and Fermiology
We have measured the effect of uniaxial stress on the threshold field ET for
the motion of the upper CDW in NbSe3. ET exhibits a critical behavior, ET ~ (1
- e/ec)^g, wher e is the strain, and ec is about 2.6% and g ~ 1.2. This
ecpression remains valid over more than two decades of ET, up to the highest
fields of about 1.5keV/m. Neither g nor ec is very sensitive to the impurity
concentraction. The CDW transition temperature Tp decreases linearly with e at
a rate dTp/de = -10K/%, and it does not show any anomaly near ec. Shubnikov
de-Haas measurements show that the extremal area of the Fermi surface decreases
with increasing strain. The results suggest that there is an intimate
relationship between pinning of the upper CDW and the Fermiology of NbSe3.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
A proposed panel of biomarkers of healthy ageing.
BACKGROUND: There is no criterion reference for assessing healthy ageing and this creates difficulties when conducting and comparing research on ageing across studies. A cardinal feature of ageing is loss of function which translates into wide-ranging consequences for the individual and for family, carers and society. We undertook comprehensive reviews of the literature searching for biomarkers of ageing on five ageing-related domains including physical capability and cognitive, physiological and musculoskeletal, endocrine and immune functions. Where available, we used existing systematic reviews, meta-analyses and other authoritative reports such as the recently launched NIH Toolbox for assessment of neurological and behavioural function, which includes test batteries for cognitive and motor function (the latter described here as physical capability). We invited international experts to comment on our draft recommendations. In addition, we hosted an experts workshop in Newcastle, UK, on 22-23 October 2012, aiming to help capture the state-of-the-art in this complex area and to provide an opportunity for the wider ageing research community to critique the proposed panel of biomarkers. DISCUSSION: Here we have identified important biomarkers of healthy ageing classified as subdomains of the main areas proposed. Cardiovascular and lung function, glucose metabolism and musculoskeletal function are key subdomains of physiological function. Strength, locomotion, balance and dexterity are key physical capability subdomains. Memory, processing speed and executive function emerged as key subdomains of cognitive function. Markers of the HPA-axis, sex hormones and growth hormones were important biomarkers of endocrine function. Finally, inflammatory factors were identified as important biomarkers of immune function. We present recommendations for a panel of biomarkers that address these major areas of function which decline during ageing. This biomarker panel may have utility in epidemiological studies of human ageing, in health surveys of older people and as outcomes in intervention studies that aim to promote healthy ageing. Further, the inclusion of the same common panel of measures of healthy ageing in diverse study designs and populations may enhance the value of those studies by allowing the harmonisation of surrogate endpoints or outcome measures, thus facilitating less equivocal comparisons between studies and the pooling of data across studies
Academic expectations profiles of spanish and portuguese higher education students
Las expectativas académicas de los
estudiantes son hoy reconocidas como una
variable importante en la explicación de su
adaptación y éxito académico. Esa importancia
es mayor en los alumnos del primer año, ya
que, frecuentemente presentan expectativas
iniciales muy elevadas que no siempre llegan
a concretarse. Con la pretensión de conocer
cuáles son esas expectativas iniciales, el trabajo que se presenta analiza el perfil de las mismas en estudiantes de Enseñanza Superior (ES) de primer año. La muestra está
compuesta por 719 estudiantes de diversas
titulaciones académicas de las Universidades
de Vigo-Campus de Ourense y Minho. A los
participantes se les aplicó el Cuestionario
de Percepciones Académicas (CPA). Los
resultados han sido analizados tomando
la nacionalidad y el ámbito de estudio (cientifico, juridico-social, tecnológico). Los resultados muestran que los estudiantes
portugueses tienden a presentar expectativas
más elevadas en general, traduciéndose en
una valoración superior de su entrada en la Universidad. A su vez, considerando las siete
dimensiones de expectativas evaluadas, se comprueba un perfil similar para ambos países en relación a las expectativas más o menos
valoradas. Se destacan las expectativas de
obtener una formación que permita acceder
a un buen empleo o carrera, en primer lugar,
y las expectativas de tener en la Universidad
oportunidades de desarrollo personal y social,
en segundo lugar, como las más valoradas por
los estudiantes.Academic expectations are recognized as
an important variable for students’ adjustment
and academic success. This importance is higher for first year students, because they often present initial expectations that may
not be met. Aiming at identifying these initial
expectations, this study presents and analyses the profile of first year students' academic expectations. The sample included 719
students attending different undergraduate
programs at University of Vigo - Campus
of Ourense, and at University of Minho.
Participants completed the Academic
Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ). Analyses
were based on students’ nationality and study domain (scientific, juridical-social, technological). Results show that Portuguese
students present higher expectations, in
general, which shows they attribute a higher
value to their access to University. On the other
hand, and regarding the seven dimensions of
assessed expectations, we can see that this
difference in average scores is not structural,
because there is a similar pattern of higher and
lower expectations, for both countries. The most valued expectations are, in first place, expectations of having an education that will
lead to a good job or career, and in second
place, expectations of having opportunities of
personal and social development in University
The Impact of Lifecourse Socioeconomic Position on Cardiovascular Disease Events in African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139126/1/jah3928.pd
Childhood socioeconomic position and objectively measured physical capability levels in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis
<p><b>Background:</b> Grip strength, walking speed, chair rising and standing balance time are objective measures of physical capability that characterise current health and predict survival in older populations. Socioeconomic position (SEP) in childhood may influence the peak level of physical capability achieved in early adulthood, thereby affecting levels in later adulthood. We have undertaken a systematic review with meta-analyses to test the hypothesis that adverse childhood SEP is associated with lower levels of objectively measured physical capability in adulthood.</p>
<p><b>Methods and Findings:</b> Relevant studies published by May 2010 were identified through literature searches using EMBASE and MEDLINE. Unpublished results were obtained from study investigators. Results were provided by all study investigators in a standard format and pooled using random-effects meta-analyses. 19 studies were included in the review. Total sample sizes in meta-analyses ranged from N = 17,215 for chair rise time to N = 1,061,855 for grip strength. Although heterogeneity was detected, there was consistent evidence in age adjusted models that lower childhood SEP was associated with modest reductions in physical capability levels in adulthood: comparing the lowest with the highest childhood SEP there was a reduction in grip strength of 0.13 standard deviations (95% CI: 0.06, 0.21), a reduction in mean walking speed of 0.07 m/s (0.05, 0.10), an increase in mean chair rise time of 6% (4%, 8%) and an odds ratio of an inability to balance for 5s of 1.26 (1.02, 1.55). Adjustment for the potential mediating factors, adult SEP and body size attenuated associations greatly. However, despite this attenuation, for walking speed and chair rise time, there was still evidence of moderate associations.</p>
<p><b>Conclusions:</b> Policies targeting socioeconomic inequalities in childhood may have additional benefits in promoting the maintenance of independence in later life.</p>
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