What Makes a Good Passenger? From Teen Drivers’ Perspectives

An exploratory study was designed to examine male and female teenage drivers’ perceptions and expectations of peer passengers. Qualitative methods were used to interview and survey 16- and 17-year-old licensed drivers. 10 interviewees and 96 survey respondents were included in the analysis. Consistent with previous studies, teenage drivers were concerned about passenger-related distractions. There were noticeable differences between males and females in their perceptions of peer behaviors: females most expected passengers to be non-distracting and polite and males most expected passengers to behave maturely. Future studies should focus on social factors and the psychosocial function of driving for better understanding of the peer passenger interactions, and ultimately the development of passenger-related crash prevention efforts

Use of a Simulator to Objectively Distinguish Behaviors Between Low-Risk and High-Risk Drivers

The objective of this study was to validate behavioral differences between two groups of drivers through the use of a driving simulator. Controlled experiments in a driving simulator were used to gather objective and subjective evidence on how drivers reacted to roadway objects and handled various hazardous situations. Low-risk, more experienced drivers were more aware of the mental demands of having to remember and later recall a list of items when compared to high-risk, less experienced drivers. Outcomes of the study may potentially serve as the foundation for a training program that will aim to transfer risk assessment strategies from low-risk drivers to high-risk drivers

Engaged in Research/Achieving Balance: A Case Example of Teaching Research to Masters of Social Work Students

This article considers the use of participatory action research and Photovoice as a tool for engaging graduate level social work students in research education. Photovoice is an investigative tool that assists people in critically reflecting on the everyday social and political realities of their lives, enriching their understanding of their communities and the issues pertinent to them, while at the same time, giving them a voice from which to educate others on these issues. In the context of a group assignment, 26 social work students, enrolled in an introductory graduate research course, were asked to reflect upon the question, “What does balance look like for you in the MSW program?” Thirty-two photographs with captions were submitted and analyzed by class members for relevant themes. Balance was described as existing along a continuum from balanced to unbalanced and was comprised of four major themes: connection, nurturance, keeping perspective, and disengagement. Although this teaching strategy was not formally assessed, preliminary impressions are that students benefited from participating in the Photovoice activity

Violence Exposure and Sexual Risk Behaviors for African American Adolescent Girls: The Protective Role of Natural Mentorship and Organizational Religious Involvement

African American adolescent girls are at increased risk of being exposed to community violence and being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection. Fewer studies, however, have examined the protective roles of natural mentorship and organizational religious involvement as potential moderators that could lessen the effects of violence exposure on health risk behavior. Data from 273 African American ninth grade girls were used to test hypothesized independent and moderatedâ moderation models. Results suggest that natural mentorship and religious involvement were protective for girls who reported at least one mentor and moderate to high levels of religious involvement. Our findings may be relevant for community stakeholders and organizations that directly interact with religious institutions and community programs that focus on outreach to African American adolescent girls.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151908/1/ajcp12341_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151908/2/ajcp12341.pd

A "well-balanced" finite volume scheme for blood flow simulation

We are interested in simulating blood flow in arteries with a one dimensional model. Thanks to recent developments in the analysis of hyperbolic system of conservation laws (in the Saint-Venant/ shallow water equations context) we will perform a simple finite volume scheme. We focus on conservation properties of this scheme which were not previously considered. To emphasize the necessity of this scheme, we present how a too simple numerical scheme may induce spurious flows when the basic static shape of the radius changes. On contrary, the proposed scheme is "well-balanced": it preserves equilibria of Q = 0. Then examples of analytical or linearized solutions with and without viscous damping are presented to validate the calculations. The influence of abrupt change of basic radius is emphasized in the case of an aneurism.Comment: 36 page

A novel inhibitor of p75-neurotrophin receptor improves functional outcomes in two models of traumatic brain injury.

The p75 neurotrophin receptor is important in multiple physiological actions including neuronal survival and neurite outgrowth during development, and after central nervous system injury. We have discovered a novel piperazine-derived compound, EVT901, which interferes with p75 neurotrophin receptor oligomerization through direct interaction with the first cysteine-rich domain of the extracellular region. Using ligand binding assays with cysteine-rich domains-fused p75 neurotrophin receptor, we confirmed that EVT901 interferes with oligomerization of full-length p75 neurotrophin receptor in a dose-dependent manner. Here we report that EVT901 reduces binding of pro-nerve growth factor to p75 neurotrophin receptor, blocks pro-nerve growth factor induced apoptosis in cells expressing p75 neurotrophin receptor, and enhances neurite outgrowth in vitro Furthermore, we demonstrate that EVT901 abrogates p75 neurotrophin receptor signalling by other ligands, such as prion peptide and amyloid-β. To test the efficacy of EVT901 in vivo, we evaluated the outcome in two models of traumatic brain injury. We generated controlled cortical impacts in adult rats. Using unbiased stereological analysis, we found that EVT901 delivered intravenously daily for 1 week after injury, reduced lesion size, protected cortical neurons and oligodendrocytes, and had a positive effect on neurological function. After lateral fluid percussion injury in adult rats, oral treatment with EVT901 reduced neuronal death in the hippocampus and thalamus, reduced long-term cognitive deficits, and reduced the occurrence of post-traumatic seizure activity. Together, these studies provide a new reagent for altering p75 neurotrophin receptor actions after injury and suggest that EVT901 may be useful in treatment of central nervous system trauma and other neurological disorders where p75 neurotrophin receptor signalling is affected

Lineage-Restricted Function of Nuclear Factor KappaB-Inducing Kinase (NIK) in Transducing Signals Via CD40.

CD40 signaling in B cells and dendritic cells (DCs) is critical for the development of humoral and cell-mediated immunity, respectively. Nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB)-inducing kinase (NIK) has been implicated as a central transducing kinase in CD40-dependent activation. Here, we show that although NIK is essential for B cell activation, it is dispensable for activation of DCs. Such data provide compelling evidence that different intermediary kinases are used by different cellular lineages to trigger NF-kappaB activation via CD40

UV/Vis+ Photochemistry Database : Structure, Content and Applications

Acknowledgments This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. However, the authors are indebted to those colleagues who support us in maintaining the database through the provision of spectral and other photochemical data and information. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is operated by the University Coporation for Atmopsheric Research, under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the U.S.EPA. Mention of trade names or products does not convey and should not be interpreted as conveying official U.S. EPA approval, endorsement, or recommendation.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The P_33(1232) resonance contribution into the amplitudes M_{1+}^{3/2},E_{1+}^{3/2},S_{1+}^{3/2} from an analysis of the p(e,e'p)\pi^0 data at Q^2 = 2.8, 3.2, and 4 (GeV/c)^2 within dispersion relation approach

Within the fixed-t dispersion relation approach we have analysed the TJNAF and DESY data on the exclusive p(e,e'p)\pi^0 reaction in order to find the P_{33}(1232) resonance contribution into the multipole amplitudes M_{1+}^{3/2},E_{1+}^{3/2},S_{1+}^{3/2}. As an input for the resonance and nonresonance contributions into these amplitudes the earlier obtained solutions of the integral equations which follow from dispersion relations are used. The obtained values of the ratio E2/M1 for the \gamma^* N \to P_{33}(1232) transition are: 0.039\pm 0.029, 0.121\pm 0.032, 0.04\pm 0.031 for Q^2= 2.8, 3.2, and 4 (GeV/c)^2, respectively. The comparison with the data at low Q^2 shows that there is no evidence for the presence of the visible pQCD contribution into the transition \gamma N \to P_{33}(1232) at Q^2=3-4 GeV^2. The ratio S_{1+}^{3/2}/M_{1+}^{3/2} for the resonance parts of multipoles is: -0.049\pm 0.029, -0.099\pm 0.041, -0.085\pm 0.021 for Q^2= 2.8, 3.2, and 4 (GeV/c)^2, respectively. Our results for the transverse form factor G_T(Q^2) of the \gamma^* N \to P_{33}(1232) transition are lower than the values obtained from the inclusive data. With increasing Q^2, Q^4G_T(Q^2) decreases, so there is no evidence for the presence of the pQCD contribution here too

IL-9 as a mediator of Th17-driven inflammatory disease

We report that like other T cells cultured in the presence of transforming growth factor (TGF) β, Th17 cells also produce interleukin (IL) 9. Th17 cells generated in vitro with IL-6 and TGF-β as well as purified ex vivo Th17 cells both produced IL-9. To determine if IL-9 has functional consequences in Th17-mediated inflammatory disease, we evaluated the role of IL-9 in the development and progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. The data show that IL-9 neutralization and IL-9 receptor deficiency attenuates disease, and this correlates with decreases in Th17 cells and IL-6–producing macrophages in the central nervous system, as well as mast cell numbers in the regional lymph nodes. Collectively, these data implicate IL-9 as a Th17-derived cytokine that can contribute to inflammatory disease