The Use Of Computer Mediated Communication In Consumer Complaining: A Study In Higher Education

The electronic channel for consumer complaining has increased dramatically in recent years and continued growth is expected in the future. The objective of this research was to explore how computer-mediated communication is being used as a channel for complaining in higher education. A study was conducted of the complaint intentions of 222 students at one college in the eastern half of the United States.  Four complaining dimensions were studied:  Voice, Negative Word-of-Mouth, Third Party, and Exit.  The results indicated that the most common behavioral intentions are: Complain to other students face-to-face, complain to the professor in office, and never take another class from the professor. The research findings also indicate the number of students who are likely to use computer-mediated communication to complain. In addition, the results show strong correlations between computer-mediated complaining and other complaining responses

Thought Processes College Students Use When Evaluating Faculty: A Qualitative Study

This study explores the thought processes college students use when answering survey questions on standardized course/faculty evaluations.   Thought processes are categorized as: System One or System Two, based on the framework developed by Kahneman (2003) and Stanovich and West (2000). System One processes are typically hurried, superficial, effortless, and charged with emotions. System Two processes are considered to be slower, more deliberate, thoughtful evaluations. Results from eight focus group discussions are provided.  Student responses were categorized according to their adherence to System One or System Two cognitive processing. In total, 59% of the student responses were categorized as System One. Implications for faculty and higher education administrators are presented

Financially At-Risk College Students: An Exploratory Investigation of Student Loan Debt and Prioritization of Debt Repayment

College students today face heavy student loan debt that is intensified by the amount of credit card debt they carry. This study provides a profile of financially at-risk students based on their credit card usage behavior. When compared to the non-financially at-risk students, those in the financially at-risk group were found to have higher student loan balances, both currently and expected at graduation. In addition, if forced to prioritize debt repayment after graduation, students in the financially at-risk group indicated they would pay their credit card bills before making their student loan payments

Explorations, Vol. 5, No. 2

Articles include: Cover: Brian McLain of New Harbor, measuring a V-notched lobster; slide taken by Robert C. Bayer, University of Maine Professor of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. April is Aquaculture Month Guest Editorial, by Kathleen Lignell Hospital Project Teams: Gaining Cooperation, by Mary Beth Pinto The Maine Lobster Institute: Science and Industry Working Together, by Susan White The Theory of Common Property Resources: Scientific Law or Myth? by James M. Acheson What do Seedless Watermelons and Triploid Oysters have in Common? by Mary Lee Technology and the Competitive Edge, by John Field and Eric Beenfeldt Growing our State Tree Faster: Fertilizing White Pine, by Robert Shepard and M.W. Blumenstoc

P-COSCA (Pediatric Core Outcome Set for Cardiac Arrest) in children : an advisory statement from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation

Studies of pediatric cardiac arrest use inconsistent outcomes, including return of spontaneous circulation and short-term survival, and basic assessments of functional and neurological status. In 2018, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation sponsored the COSCA initiative (Core Outcome Set After Cardiac Arrest) to improve consistency in reported outcomes of clinical trials of adult cardiac arrest survivors and supported this P-COSCA initiative (pediatric COSCA). The P-COSCA Steering Committee generated a list of potential survival, life impact, and economic impact outcomes and assessment time points that were prioritized by a multidisciplinary group of healthcare providers, researchers, and parents/caregivers of children who survived cardiac arrest. Then, expert panel discussions achieved consensus regarding the core outcomes, the methods to measure those core outcomes, and the timing of the measurements. The P-COSCA includes assessment of survival, brain function, cognitive function, physical function, and basic daily life skills. Survival and brain function were assessed at discharge or 30 days (or both if possible) and between 6 and 12 months postarrest. Cognitive function, physical function, and basic daily life skills were assessed between 6 and 12 months after cardiac arrest. Because many children have prearrest comorbidities, the P-COSCA also includes documentation of baseline (ie, prearrest) brain function and calculation of changes after cardiac arrest. Supplementary outcomes of survival, brain function, cognitive function, physical function, and basic daily life skills are assessed at 3 months and beyond 1 year after cardiac arrest if resources are available

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Spatial Organization and Molecular Correlation of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Using Deep Learning on Pathology Images

Beyond sample curation and basic pathologic characterization, the digitized H&E-stained images of TCGA samples remain underutilized. To highlight this resource, we present mappings of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) based on H&E images from 13 TCGA tumor types. These TIL maps are derived through computational staining using a convolutional neural network trained to classify patches of images. Affinity propagation revealed local spatial structure in TIL patterns and correlation with overall survival. TIL map structural patterns were grouped using standard histopathological parameters. These patterns are enriched in particular T cell subpopulations derived from molecular measures. TIL densities and spatial structure were differentially enriched among tumor types, immune subtypes, and tumor molecular subtypes, implying that spatial infiltrate state could reflect particular tumor cell aberration states. Obtaining spatial lymphocytic patterns linked to the rich genomic characterization of TCGA samples demonstrates one use for the TCGA image archives with insights into the tumor-immune microenvironment

Male breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers : pathology data from the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2

Background: BRCA1 and, more commonly, BRCA2 mutations are associated with increased risk of male breast cancer (MBC). However, only a paucity of data exists on the pathology of breast cancers (BCs) in men with BRCA1/2 mutations. Using the largest available dataset, we determined whether MBCs arising in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers display specific pathologic features and whether these features differ from those of BRCA1/2 female BCs (FBCs). Methods: We characterised the pathologic features of 419 BRCA1/2 MBCs and, using logistic regression analysis, contrasted those with data from 9675 BRCA1/2 FBCs and with population-based data from 6351 MBCs in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Results: Among BRCA2 MBCs, grade significantly decreased with increasing age at diagnosis (P = 0.005). Compared with BRCA2 FBCs, BRCA2 MBCs were of significantly higher stage (P for trend = 2 x 10(-5)) and higher grade (P for trend = 0.005) and were more likely to be oestrogen receptor-positive [odds ratio (OR) 10.59; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 5.15-21.80] and progesterone receptor-positive (OR 5.04; 95 % CI 3.17-8.04). With the exception of grade, similar patterns of associations emerged when we compared BRCA1 MBCs and FBCs. BRCA2 MBCs also presented with higher grade than MBCs from the SEER database (P for trend = 4 x 10(-12)). Conclusions: On the basis of the largest series analysed to date, our results show that BRCA1/2 MBCs display distinct pathologic characteristics compared with BRCA1/2 FBCs, and we identified a specific BRCA2-associated MBC phenotype characterised by a variable suggesting greater biological aggressiveness (i.e., high histologic grade). These findings could lead to the development of gender-specific risk prediction models and guide clinical strategies appropriate for MBC management.Peer reviewe