Evidence for the reliability and validity, and some support for the practical utility of the two-factor Consideration of Future Consequences Scale-14

Researchers have proposed 1-factor, 2-factor, and bifactor solutions to the 12-item Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFCS-12). In order to overcome some measurement problems and to create a robust and conceptually useful two-factor scale the CFCS-12 was recently modified to include two new items and to become the CFCS-14. Using a University sample, we tested four competing models for the CFCS-14: (a) a 12-item unidimensional model, (b) a model fitted for two uncorrelated factors (CFC-Immediate and CFC-Future), (c) a model fitted for two correlated factors (CFC-I and CFC-F), and (d) a bifactor model. Results suggested that the addition of the two new items has strengthened the viability of a two factor solution of the CFCS-14. Results of linear regression models suggest that the CFC-F factor is redundant. Further studies using alcohol and mental health indicators are required to test this redundancy

The Revolving Door: A Report on U.S. Hospital Readmissions

The U.S. health care system suffers from a chronic malady -- the revolving door syndrome at its hospitals. It is so bad that the federal government says one in five elderly patients is back in the hospital within 30 days of leaving.Some return trips are predictable elements of a treatment plan. Others are unplanned but difficult to prevent: patients go home, new and unexpected problems arise, and they require an immediate trip back to the hospital.But many of these readmissions can and should be prevented. They are the result of a fragmented system of care that too often leaves discharged patients to their own devices, unable to follow instructions they didn't understand, and not taking medications or getting the necessary follow-up care.The federal government has pegged the cost of readmissions for Medicare patients alone at $26 billion annually, and says more than$17 billion of it pays for return trips that need not happen if patients get the right care. This is one reason the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has identified avoidable readmissions as one of the leading problems facing the U.S. health care system and now penalizes hospitals with high rates of readmissions for their heart failure, heart attack, and pneumonia patients. This report is being released in conjunction with the Robert Wood John Foundation's Care About Your Care initiative, which is devoted to improving care transitions when people leave the hospital. It looks at the issue of readmissions in two ways: by the numbers and through the eyes of the people who live them

Measuring time perspective in adolescents : can you get the right answer by asking the wrong questions?

Time perspective continues to evolve as a psychological construct. The extant literature suggests that higher future orientation and lower present orientation are associated with better developmental outcomes. However, the extant literature also suggests that issues remain with the measurement of the construct. Recently, a 25-item version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI-25) was suggested for use based on high internal consistency estimates and good discriminant validity of scores in a sample of Italian adolescents. However, the genesis of this scale is uncertain. The present study examined the factorial validity, reliability, and concurrent validity of ZTPI-25 scores in Slovenian, American, and British adolescents. Results revealed satisfactory concurrent validity based on correlations with measures used in the development of the full ZTPI. However, internal consistency and factorial validity of scores were unsatisfactory. The present study questions the use of the ZTPI-25 with adolescents in the context of conceptual and measurement issues more broadly

Plastron properties of a superhydrophobic surface

Most insects and spiders drown when submerged during flooding or tidal inundation, but some are able to survive and others can remain submerged indefinitely without harm. Many achieve this by natural adaptations to their surface morphology to trap films of air, creating plastrons which fix the water-vapor interface and provide an incompressible oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange surface. Here the authors demonstrate how the surface of an extremely water-repellent foam mimics this mechanism of underwater respiration and allows direct extraction of oxygen from aerated water. The biomimetic principle demonstrated can be applied to a wide variety of man-made superhydrophobic materials

Adolescents consider the future differently depending on the domain in question: results of an exploratory study in the United Kingdom

The study of Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) construct has increased substantively in recent years. Underlying these developments is the presumption that consideration of the future is uniform across all domains, and not a domain-specific construct. Building on work undertaken previously, the present study used 30 researcher-derived items to assess the domain specificity of consideration of the future in three large samples of adolescents in the United Kingdom. A psychometrically valid and reliable 18-item scale measuring consideration of the future in four domains emerged. Domain specificity was supported on two levels: a good fitting multidimensional model of CFC; and low to moderate factor correlations for the four domains measured by the 18-item scale. The study suggests that adolescents are considerate of future outcomes to different degrees, depending on the domain, and the implications of this with regard to future research are discussed

A Randomized Trial Comparing Immediate versus Delayed Treatment of Anemia with Once-Weekly Epoetin Alfa in Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Scheduled to Receive First-Line Chemotherapy

Introduction:This study evaluated the safety/efficacy of once-weekly (QW) epoetin alfa measured by quality of life (QOL), hemoglobin (Hb), transfusion incidence, tumor response, and survival in patients with chemotherapy-naïve, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods:Stage IIIB/IV NSCLC patients with Hb ≥11 to <15 g/dl scheduled for at least 8 weeks of first-line chemotherapy were randomized to subcutaneously receive 40,000 U of epoetin alfa QW at chemotherapy initiation (immediate) or no epoetin alfa unless Hb decreased to ≤10 g/dl (delayed). The primary efficacy variable was change in QOL for immediate versus delayed intervention. Target accrual was 320 patients.Results:The study was terminated early because of slow accrual; of 216 patients enrolled, 211 were evaluable for efficacy. Hb was maintained in the immediate group, but it decreased in the delayed group (12.9 versus 11.6 g/dl final values, respectively). Numerically, fewer immediate patients required transfusions versus delayed patients. Mean QOL scores, modestly declining in both groups from baseline to final measurement, were not significantly different between groups. Tumor response and median overall survival were similar between groups. Epoetin alfa was well tolerated, with a similar thrombovascular event rate between groups.Conclusion:Epoetin alfa in subcutaneous doses of 40,000 U QW, given immediately at chemotherapy initiation for advanced NSCLC, was well tolerated, and it effectively maintained Hb, leading to a reduced transfusion incidence versus delayed epoetin alfa. Overall QOL scores were higher than typical in this population, decreasing slightly during treatment in both groups. Overall survival was similar between groups, with no evidence of a negative effect by early epoetin alfa intervention

On the large-scale sweeping of small-scale eddies in turbulence -- A filtering approach

We present an analysis of the Navier-Stokes equations based on a spatial filtering technique to elucidate the multi-scale nature of fully developed turbulence. In particular, the advection of a band-pass-filtered small-scale contribution by larger scales is considered, and rigorous upper bounds are established for the various dynamically active scales. The analytical predictions are confirmed with direct numerical simulation data. The results are discussed with respect to the establishment of effective large-scale equations valid for turbulent flows.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure