1,019 research outputs found
The Gender Gap Cracks Under Pressure: A Detailed Look at Male and Female Performance Differences During Competitions
Using data from multiple-period math competitions, we show that males outperform females of similar ability during the first period. However, the male advantage is not found in any subsequent period of competition, or even after a two-week break from competition. Some evidence suggests that males may actually perform worse than females in later periods. The analysis considers various experimental treatments and finds that the existence of gender differences depends crucially on the design of the competition and the task at hand. Even when the male advantage does exist, it does not persist beyond the initial period of competition.competitiveness, gender differences, effort and productivity, field experiment
Causes of Gender Differences in Competition: Theory and Evidence
We use a game theoretic model of contests to assess different explanations for the male performance advantage in competition. Comparing the testable predictions of the model with the empirical evidence, we reject explanations involving male overcon- fidence, misperceptions about relative ability, and some preference differences. Ex- planations involving female underconfidence, stereotype threat, and adverse female reaction to competition are consistent with only some of the evidence, and an expla- nation involving lower male risk aversion is consistent with most of the evidence. Two explanations are consistent with all of the evidence: (i) male ability to perform may in- crease in the face of competition, possibly due to changes in testosterone or adrenaline; or (ii) males may care more about winning or get greater enjoyment from competition than females.contests, gender differences, effort and productivity
Partnerships for education, well-being and work : models of university service in the community
"This five month multi-perspective study, commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), investigated the nature, forms and practices of three partnership enterprises between the University of Nottingham and its local schools and communities" -- page vii
Chromium: Rise and Shine in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients?
Some trace elements are altered with chronic kidney disease. Selenium, zinc, and manganese tend to be wasted, and there is growing evidence that selenium deficiency is associated with mortality on dialysis. Other trace elements accumulate, such as chromium, cobalt, lead, molybdenum, and vanadium. The highest chromium levels are found in dialysis patients. The dialysis modality may further affect these levels, especially in hemodialysis patients, where even small contaminations in the dialysis feed water may lead to a concentration gradient that increases the concentration of certain trace elements. Chromium levels in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients have been understudied. A single cross-sectional study found substantially higher chromium levels in PD patients. In that study, the chromium concentration in the spent dialysate decreased substantially, suggesting that PD fluid could be a source of chromium. Chromium-lactate complexes may have been formed, which are easily absorbed. In our center, we observed a decrease in chromium level when using physiological PD fluids. This review discusses the potential mechanisms and raises the question of whether this accumulation of chromium is unlikely to be associated with a beneficial outcome
Determinants of change in arterial stiffness over 5 years in early chronic kidney disease
BackgroundArterial stiffness is an established and potentially modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, associated with chronic kidney disease. There have been few studies to evaluate progression of arterial stiffness over time or factors that contribute to this, particularly in early chronic kidney disease. We therefore investigated arterial stiffness over 5 years in an elderly population with chronic kidney disease stage 3, cared for in primary care.Methods1741 persons with estimated GFR 30-59mL/min/1.73m2 underwent detailed clinical and biochemical assessment at baseline, year 1 and 5. Carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured to assess arterial stiffness using a Vicorderā¢ device.Results970 participants had PWV assessments at baseline and 5 years. PWV increased significantly by a mean of 1.1 m/s (from 9.7Ā±1.9 to 10.8Ā±2.1m/s). Multivariable linear regression analysis identified the following independent determinants of ĪPWV at year 5: baseline age, diabetes status, baseline systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), baseline PWV, ĪPWV at one year, Ī systolic BP over 5 years and Ī serum bicarbonate over 5 years (R2=0.38 for equation).ConclusionsWe observed a clinically significant increase in PWV over 5 years in a cohort with early chronic kidney disease despite reasonably well controlled hypertension. Measures of blood pressure were identified as the most important modifiable determinant of change in PWV suggesting that interventions to prevent arterial disease should focus on improved control of blood pressure, particularly in those who evidence an early increase in PWV. These hypotheses should now be tested in prospective trials
2015 Fine Art Graduation Exhibition Catalogue
Graduation Exhibition 2015
Fanshawe College Fine Art Program
The Arts ProjectApril 8-18, 2015
Opening ReceptionSaturday April 11, 20157pm-10pm
Guest SpeakerJennifer SimaitisMembership Coordinator: The Power Plant Gallery Torontohttps://first.fanshawec.ca/famd_design_fineart_gradcatalogues/1010/thumbnail.jp
Associations of fibroblast growth factor 23, vitamin D and parathyroid hormone with 5-year outcomes in a prospective primary care cohort of people with chronic kidney disease stage 3
Objectives Vitamin D deficiency, elevated fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) and elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) have each been associated with increased mortality in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Previous studies have focused on the effects of FGF23 in relatively advanced CKD. This study aims to assess whether FGF23 is similarly a risk factor in people with early CKD, and how this risk compares to that associated with vitamin D deficiency or elevated PTH.
Design Prospective cohort study.
Setting Thirty-two primary care practices.
Participants One thousand six hundred and sixty-four people who met Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) definitions for CKD stage 3 (two measurements of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between 30 and 60āmL/min/1.73 m2 at least 90 days apart) prior to study recruitment.
Outcome measures All-cause mortality over the period of study follow-up and progression of CKD defined as a 25% fall in eGFR and a drop in GFR category, or an increase in albuminuria category.
Results Two hundred and eighty-nine participants died during the follow-up period. Vitamin D deficiency (HR 1.62, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.58) and elevated PTH (HR 1.42, 95%āCI 1.09 to 1.84) were independently associated with all-cause mortality. FGF23 was associated with all-cause mortality in univariable but not multivariable analysis. Fully adjusted multivariable models of CKD progression showed no association with FGF23, vitamin D status or PTH.
Conclusions In this cohort of predominantly older people with CKD stage 3 and low risk of progression, vitamin D deficiency and elevated PTH were independent risk factors for all-cause mortality but elevated FGF23 was not. While FGF23 may have a role as a risk marker in high-risk populations managed in secondary care, our data suggest that it may not be as important in CKD stage 3, managed in primary care
Chronic kidney disease in primary care: outcomes after five years in a prospective cohort study
Background
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is commonly managed in primary care, but most guidelines have a secondary care perspective emphasizing the risk of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and need for renal replacement therapy. In this prospective cohort study, we sought to study in detail the natural history of CKD in primary care to better inform the appropriate emphasis for future guidance.
Methods and Findings
In this study, 1,741 people with CKD stage 3 were individually recruited from 32 primary care practices in Derbyshire, United Kingdom. Study visits were undertaken at baseline, year 1, and year 5. Binomial logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models were used to model progression, CKD remission, and all-cause mortality. We used Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria to define CKD progression and defined CKD remission as the absence of diagnostic criteria (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] >60 ml/min/1.73 m2 and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio [uACR] <3 mg/mmol) at any study visit. Participants were predominantly elderly (mean Ā± standard deviation (SD) age 72.9 Ā± 9.0 y), with relatively mild reduction in GFR (mean Ā± SD eGFR 53.5 Ā± 11.8 mL/min/1,73 m2) and a low prevalence of albuminuria (16.9%). After 5 y, 247 participants (14.2%) had died, most of cardiovascular causes. Only 4 (0.2%) developed ESKD, but 308 (17.7%) evidenced CKD progression by KDIGO criteria. Stable CKD was observed in 593 participants (34.1%), and 336 (19.3%) met the criteria for remission. Remission at baseline and year 1 was associated with a high likelihood of remission at year 5 (odds ratio [OR] = 23.6, 95% CI 16.5ā33.9 relative to participants with no remission at baseline and year 1 study visits). Multivariable analyses confirmed eGFR and albuminuria as key risk factors for predicting adverse as well as positive outcomes. Limitations of this study include reliance on GFR estimated using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study (MDRD) equation for recruitment (but not subsequent analysis) and a study population that was predominantly elderly and white, implying that the results may not be directly applicable to younger populations of more diverse ethnicity.
Conclusions
Management of CKD in primary care should focus principally on identifying the minority of people at high risk of adverse outcomes, to allow intervention to slow CKD progression and reduce cardiovascular events. Efforts should also be made to identify and reassure the majority who are at low risk of progression to ESKD. Consideration should be given to adopting an age-calibrated definition of CKD to avoid labelling a large group of people with age-related decline in GFR and low associated risk as having CKD
Confinement of the Sun's interior magnetic field: some exact boundary-layer solutions
High-latitude laminar confinement of the Sun's interior magnetic field is
shown to be possible, as originally proposed by Gough and McIntyre (1998) but
contrary to a recent claim by Brun and Zahn (A&A 2006). Mean downwelling as
weak as 2x10^-6cm/s -- gyroscopically pumped by turbulent stresses in the
overlying convection zone and/or tachocline -- can hold the field in
advective-diffusive balance within a confinement layer of thickness scale ~
1.5Mm ~ 0.002 x (solar radius) while transmitting a retrograde torque to the
Ferraro-constrained interior. The confinement layer sits at the base of the
high-latitude tachocline, near the top of the radiative envelope and just above
the `tachopause' marking the top of the helium settling layer. A family of
exact, laminar, frictionless, axisymmetric confinement-layer solutions is
obtained for uniform downwelling in the limit of strong rotation and
stratification. A scale analysis shows that the flow is dynamically stable and
the assumption of laminar flow realistic. The solution remains valid for
downwelling values of the order of 10^-5cm/s but not much larger. This suggests
that the confinement layer may be unable to accept a much larger mass
throughput. Such a restriction would imply an upper limit on possible internal
field strengths, perhaps of the order of hundreds of gauss, and would have
implications also for ventilation and lithium burning.
The solutions have interesting chirality properties not mentioned in the
paper owing to space restrictions, but described at
http://www.atmos-dynamics.damtp.cam.ac.uk/people/mem/papers/SQBO/solarfigure.htmlComment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in conference proceedings: Unsolved
Problems in Stellar Physic
The limits of simulating gas giant entry at true gas composition and true flight velocities in an expansion tube
Due to high entry velocities when entering gas giant planets in the solar system (20-50 km/s), simulating gas giant entry in ground testing facilities is a complex problem. This paper details an investigation to simulate radiating Uranus entry flow conditions in a superorbital expansion tube facility. Theoretical calculations show that the X2 expansion tube at the University of Queensland can simulate Uranus entry at 20 km/s. This paper provides the justification for an experimental campaign that has been partially completed, but is still being analysed
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