Hyperfine Structure Constants for Eu Isotopes: Is The Empirical Formula of HFS Anomaly Universal ?

We calculate the hyperfine structure constant for the Eu isotopes with shell model wave functions. The calculated results are compared with those predicted by the Moskowitz-Lombardi (M-L) empirical formula. It turns out that the two approaches give the very different behaviors of the hfs constants in the isotope dependence. This should be easily measured by experiment, which may lead to the universality check of the M-L formula.Comment: 18 pages, Latex, two figure

L’évolution des enfants difficiles

Dans cet article, les auteurs relatent une recherche faite, dans le cadre du projet Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, sur l'ajustement des enfants socialement atypiques durant l'adolescence. Plus précisément, ils tentent de répondre à la question suivante: Quels comportements de l'enfant et quelles tangentes de son développement mènent à des problèmes psychologiques majeurs à l'adolescence et à l'âge adulte? Après une analyse complexe de divers facteurs, leurs résultats indiquent que les enfants perçus comme agressifs, repliés sur eux-mêmes ou souvent agressifs et repliés sur eux-mêmes par leur camarades, sont susceptibles d'avoir des problèmes à l'adolescence. Ils explicitent ensuite selon ces trois groupes les difficultés de chacun.In this article, the authors discuss a study carried out during a Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project that deals with the adjustment of socially atypical children in their adolescent years. More precisely, they try to answer the following question : What child behaviors and which tangents of their development lead to major psychological problems as an adolescent and as an adult? After a complex analysis of various factors, their results indicate that children perceived as aggressive, keeping to themselves or often aggressive and keeping to themselves because of peer pressure, are liable to have problems in their adolescent years. The authors then elaborate on the difficulties experienced by each of these three groups

Evaluation of complication rates after coronary artery bypass surgery using administrative data

Our objectives were (1) to determine if studying hospital complication rates after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery provides information not available when only mortality is studied, and (2) to reexplore the utility of ICD-9-CM administrative data for CABG outcomes assessment. Using data from Massachusetts, we identified CABG cohorts from 1990 and 1992 to respectively develop and validate multivariate risk adjustment models predicting in-hospital mortality and complications. The resulting models had good discrimination and calibration. In 1992, adjusted hospital complication rates ranged widely from 13.0% to 57.6%, while mortality rates ranged from 1.4% to 6.1%. Hospitals with high complication rates tended to have high mortality (r = 0.74, p = 0.006), but 2 of the 12 hospitals studied ranked quite differently when judged by complications rather than mortality. We conclude that (1) complications after CABG occur frequently and may provide information about hospital quality beyond that obtained from hospital mortality rates, and that (2) administrative data continue to be a promising resource for outcomes research

Continuous-time link-based kinematic wave model: formulation, solution existence, and well-posedness

We present a continuous-time link-based kinematic wave model (LKWM) for dynamic traffic networks based on the scalar conservation law model. Derivation of the LKWM involves the variational principle for the Hamilton-Jacobi equation and junction models defined via the notions of demand and supply. We show that the proposed LKWM can be formulated as a system of differential algebraic equations (DAEs), which captures shock formation and propagation, as well as queue spillback. The DAE system, as we show in this paper, is the continuous-time counterpart of the link transmission model. In addition, we present a solution existence theory for the continuous-time network model and investigate continuous dependence of the solution on the initial data, a property known as well-posedness. We test the DAE system extensively on several small and large networks and demonstrate its numerical efficiency.Comment: 39 pages, 14 figures, 2 tables, Transportmetrica B: Transport Dynamics 201

Granulosa Cell Proliferation is Inhibited by PGE2 in the Primate Ovulatory Follicle

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a key paracrine mediator of ovulation. Few specific PGE2-regulated gene products have been identified, so we hypothesized that PGE2 may regulate the expression and/or activity of a network of proteins to promote ovulation. To test this concept, Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was used to predict PGE2-regulated functionalities in the primate ovulatory follicle. Cynomolgus macaques underwent ovarian stimulation. Follicular granulosa cells were obtained before (0 h) or 36 h after an ovulatory dose of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), with ovulation anticipated 37-40 h after hCG. Granulosa cells were obtained from additional monkeys 36 h after treatment with hCG and the PTGS2 inhibitor celecoxib, which significantly reduced hCG-stimulated follicular prostaglandin synthesis. Granulosa cell RNA expression was determined by microarray and analyzed using IPA. No granulosa cell mRNAs were identified as being significantly up-regulated or down-regulated by hCG + celecoxib compared with hCG only. However, IPA predicted that prostaglandin depletion significantly regulated several functional pathways. Cell cycle/cell proliferation was selected for further study because decreased granulosa cell proliferation is known to be necessary for ovulation and formation of a fully-functional corpus luteum. Prospective in vivo and in vitro experiments confirmed the prediction that hCG-stimulated cessation of granulosa cell proliferation is mediated via PGE2. Our studies indicate that PGE2 provides critical regulation of granulosa cell proliferation through mechanisms that do not involve significant regulation of mRNA levels of key cell cycle regulators. Pathway analysis correctly predicted that PGE2 serves as a paracrine mediator of this important transition in ovarian structure and function

Effect of information about organic production on beef liking and consumer willingness to pay

The present study was aimed to assess the effect of information about organic production on beef liking and consumer willingness to pay. Mean scores of perceived liking were higher for organic beef (OB) as compared to conventional beef (CB). Expected liking scores were higher for OB than for CB. For OB the expected liking was significantly higher than the perceived liking expressed in blind conditions (negative disconfirmation), whereas for CB no difference was observed. Consumers completely assimilated their liking for OB in the direction of expectations. Consumers showed a willingness to pay for OB higher than the suggested price (P < 0.001), the latter corresponding to the local commercial value for organic beef. We conclude that the information about organic farming can be a major determinant of beef liking, thus providing a potential tool for meat differentiation to traditional farms

Documenting Nursing and Medical Students’ Stereotypes about Hispanic and American Indian Patients

Objective: Hispanic Americans and American Indians face significant health disparities compared with White Americans. Research suggests that stereotyping of minority patients by members of the medical community is an important antecedent of race and ethnicity-based health disparities. This work has primarily focused on physicians’ perceptions, however, and little research has examined the stereotypes healthcare personnel associate with Hispanic and American Indian patients. The present study assesses: 1) the health-related stereotypes both nursing and medical students hold about Hispanic and American Indian patients, and 2) nursing and medical students’ motivation to treat Hispanic and American Indian patients in an unbiased manner. Design: Participants completed a questionnaire assessing their awareness of stereotypes that healthcare professionals associate with Hispanic and American Indian patients then completed measures of their motivation to treat Hispanics and American Indians in an unbiased manner. Results: Despite being highly motivated to treat Hispanic and American Indian individuals fairly, the majority of participants reported awareness of stereotypes associating these patient groups with noncompliance, risky health behavior, and difficulty understanding and/or communicating health-related information. Conclusion: This research provides direct evidence for negative health-related stereotypes associated with two understudied minority patient groups—Hispanics and American Indians—among both nursing and medical personnel

Renal cell carcinoma: associations between tumor imaging features and epidemiological risk factors

Purpose: To investigate associations between imaging features of tumors and age, gender and body mass index (BMI) in patients with renal cell carcinoma. Method: This IRB-approved, HIPAA-compliant study included 1348 patients with histopathologically confirmed renal cell carcinoma of the clear cell subtype (ccRCC, n = 904) or non-clear cell subtype (n = 444), who underwent pre-treatment CT imaging less than 180 days before nephrectomy between 1999 and 2011. Two radiologists independently, retrospectively analyzed all imaging studies and identified features (necrosis, renal vein invasion, contact with renal sinus fat, multicystic appearance and nodular enhancement), which were then correlated with patient age, gender and BMI at time of surgery. Results: Inter-reader agreement on imaging features ranged from substantial to excellent (kappa: 0.688 to 0.982). In the ccRCC group, multicystic tumor appearance was significantly associated with lower patient age (p &lt; 0.05) and lower BMI (p &lt; 0.05); the presence of renal vein invasion was significantly associated with lower BMI in males (p &lt; 0.05); and both tumor contact with the renal sinus and nodular enhancement were significantly associated with greater patient age (p &lt; 0.05). In the non-clear cell RCC group, necrosis was associated with lower BMI for females (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: This study demonstrated significant associations between imaging features of RCC and patient age and BMI, hinting an influence of these factors on tumor biology and genomic make-up. These findings could aid future studies in selecting patients while investigating genomic, molecular and metabolic variables in RCC and might potentially impact on future stratification and therapy of patients

Developing and validating an experience sampling measure of aggression:The Aggression-ES Scale

Experience sampling methodologies are likely to play an important role in advancing our understanding of momentary influences on aggression, including short-term antecedent psychological states and situations. In this study, we evaluate whether a newly developed experiencing sampling measure of aggression, the Aggression Experience Sampler (Aggression-ES), provides a valid and reliable measure of aggression in experience sampling contexts. Participants were a convenience sample of 23 young adults recruited from the local University community. Data were collected using an experience sampling smartphone application over 8 days. They were analyzed using multilevel structural equation modeling. Our results support the within- and between-person reliability and the criterion validity of the Aggression-ES. The Aggression-ES represents a good choice of measure for use in experience sampling studies of aggression. Further work in other samples will help to provide further validity evidence for the measure