Breast Cancer, Genetic Testing And Attribution of Responsibility

In this study I research how the refusal of genetic testing shapes people\u27s perceptions of responsibility or attribution for a friend\u27s breast cancer diagnosis, emotions, and willingness to help. Bernard Weiner\u27s theory of attribution and emotion is useful for understanding how blame and causation shape one\u27s willingness to help. Weiner\u27s theory suggests that perceived attributions influence one\u27s emotional state, which in turn shapes their willingness to help others. Most studies using Weiner\u27s attribution theory examine highly stigmatized illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and mental illness, but few analyses consider breast cancer and even fewer have assessed how the availability of genetic testing might shape attribution. How might the availability of genetic testing shape one\u27s emotions toward breast cancer patients? Will willingness to help diminish if causation and blame for the cancer are perceived as controllable, such as when a patient refuses available testing? The data analyzed in this research were collected using a group-administered survey at UND in 2008. A total of 170 surveys were analyzed using OLS regression techniques. The sample was randomly given one of two factious scenarios regarding a friend named Amber who has a family history of breast cancer and is diagnosed with breast cancer. In one scenario Amber does not receive a recommendation to genetic test from her doctor (so she doesn\u27t seek testing) and in the second Amber rejects her doctor\u27s recommendation and does not get genetic testing for breast cancer. The findings do not show that refusal of genetic testing shapes a person\u27s willingness to help. The findings do suggest that attribution of responsibility matters when shaping a willingness to help, particularly in the way that it shapes people\u27s emotions toward others, providing support for Weiner\u27s causal model. This research also shows that gender is a factor that shapes willingness to help

In the mood: online mood profiling, mood response clusters, and mood-performance relationships in high-risk vocations

The relationship between mood and performance has long attracted the attention of researchers. Typically, research on the mood construct has had a strong focus on psychometric tests that assess transient emotions (e.g., Profile of Mood States [POMS]; McNair, Lorr, & Dropplemann, 1971, 1992; Terry, Lane, Lane, & Keohane, 1999). Commonly referred to as mood profiling, many inventories have originated using limited normative data (Terry et al., 1999), and cannot be generalised beyond the original population of interest. With brevity being an important factor when assessing mood, Terry et al. (1999) developed a 24-item version of the POMS, now known as the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS). Including six subscales (i.e., tension, depression, anger, vigour, fatigue, and confusion), the BRUMS has undergone rigorous validity testing (Terry, Lane, & Fogarty, 2003) making it an appropriate measure in several performance environments. Mood profiling is used extensively for diverse purposes around the world, although Internet-delivered interventions have only recently been made available, being in conjunction with the proliferation of the World Wide Web. Developed by Lim and Terry in 2011, the In The Mood website (http://www.moodprofiling.com) is a web-based mood profiling measure based on the BRUMS and guided by the mood-performance conceptual framework of Lane and Terry (2000). The focus of the website is to facilitate a prompt calculation and interpretation of individual responses to a brief mood scale, and link idiosyncratic feeling states to specific mood regulation strategies with the aim of facilitating improved performance. Although mood profiling has been a popular clinical technique since the 1970s, currently there are no published investigations of whether distinct mood profiles can be identified among the general population. Given this, the underlying aim of the present research was to investigate clusters of mood profiles. The mood responses (N = 2,364) from the In The Mood website were analysed using agglomerative, hierarchical cluster analysis which distinguished six distinct and theoretically meaningful profiles. K-means clustering with a prescribed six-cluster solution was used to further refine the final parameter solution. The mood profiles identified were termed the iceberg, inverse iceberg, inverse Everest, shark fin, surface, and submerged profiles. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed significant differences between clusters on each dimension of mood, and a series of chi-square tests of goodness-of-fit indicated that gender, age, and education were unequally distributed. Further, a simultaneous multiple discriminant function analysis (DFA) showed that cluster membership could be correctly classified with a high degree of accuracy. Following this, a second (N = 2,303) and third (N = 1,865) sample each replicated the results. Given that certain vocations are by nature riskier than others (Khanzode, Maiti, & Ray, 2011) highlighting the importance of performance in the workplace, the present research aimed to further generalise the BRUMS to high-risk industries using a web-based delivery method. Participants from the construction and mining industries were targeted, and the relationship between mood and performance in the context of safety was investigated, together with associated moderating variables (i.e., gender, age, education, occupation, roster, ethnicity, and location)

Pleat Perspectives

The purpose of this research was to explore the importance of pleats in fashion, to identify the methods, uses, history, and design possibilities of pleats, and then to create a design based on one of the many pleat inspirations

Response of river-dominated delta channel networks to permanent changes in river discharge

Using numerical experiments, we investigate how river-dominated delta channel networks are likely to respond to changes in river discharge predicted to occur over the next century as a result of environmental change. Our results show for a change in discharge up to 60% of the initial value, a decrease results in distributary abandonment in the delta, whereas an increase does not significantly affect the network. However, an increase in discharge beyond a threshold of 60% results in channel creation and an increase in the density of the distributary network. This behavior is predicted by an analysis of an individual bifurcation subject to asymmetric water surface slopes in the bifurcate arms. Given that discharge in most river basins will change by less than 50% in the next century, our results suggest that deltas in areas of increased drought will be more likely to experience significant rearrangement of the delta channel network. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union

In vitro and in vivo modification of Neisseria gonorrhoeae lipooligosaccharide epitope structure by sialylation.

After growth of gonococci in the presence of cytidine monophospho-N-acetyl-neuraminic acid (CMP-NANA), their 4.5-kD lipooligosaccharide (LOS) component was increased by approximately 400 daltons, whereas the LOS of strains lacking the 4.5-kD component were unaffected. Expression of mAb-defined epitopes on the 4.5-kD component was decreased on LOS of strains grown in CMP-NANA, and treatment of the LOS with neuraminidase reversed this affect. Gonococci incubated with human PMNs also had decreased expression of the 4.5-kD+ epitopes. A detergent extract of gonococci incorporated radiolabeled NANA in the LOS, suggesting the presence of a sialyltransferase in gonococci. Exogenous sialyltransferases also could use LOS as an acceptor

Temporal variations in English Populations of a forest insect pest, the green spruce aphid (Elatobium abietinum), associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation and global warming

Based on an exceptionally long modern ecological dataset (41 years), it has been possible to show that warm weather in England associated with a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index causes the spring migration of the green spruce aphid (Elatobium abietinum), a pest species of spruce trees (Picea) to start earlier, continue for longer and contain more aphids. An upward trend in the NAO index during the period 1966-2006 is associated with an increasing population size of E. abietinum. It is important to understand the mechanisms behind the population fluctuations, because this aphid causes considerable damage to Picea plantations. Present day weather associated fluctuations in forest insect pests may be useful analogues in understanding past pest outbreaks in forests

Selection of a New Ball Clover Variety

Last updated: 6/9/200

Risk of intra-articular injection with longitudinal ultrasound-guided injection of the collateral ligaments of the distal interphalangeal joint in the horse

Desmopathy of the collateral ligaments of the distal interphalangeal joint is a common cause of equine foot lameness and carries a poor prognosis with conservative management. Intralesional injections may improve healing, although accuracy of radiographically guided injections is significantly less than when guided by MRI, which requires special needles. Longitudinal ultrasound‐guided injection of the distal collateral ligament has not been evaluated objectively. In this prospective, anatomic study, seven equine cadaver limbs (14 collateral ligaments) were injected with methylene blue dye and radiographic contrast medium using ultrasound to guide the needle longitudinally into the collateral ligaments until contacting bone. The insertion site of the needle proximal to the coronary band was measured on the limb and the needles left in place for radiography and CT to evaluate the needle angulation, location of the contrast medium, and whether the contrast entered the distal interphalangeal joint. The limbs were frozen and sectioned with a band saw to identify the location of the dye. Fifty percentage of injections were in or around the collateral ligaments. However, the percentage of “successful” injections, defined as in the collateral ligament but not in the joint, was only 36%. All legs had dye and contrast in the joint after both ligaments had been injected. There were no significant differences between the needle angle and entry site for “successful” and “unsuccessful” injections. Findings from this study indicates that the success rate is low for injecting the distal portions of the distal interphalangeal joint collateral ligaments using ultrasound guidance alone

The placental protein syncytin-1 impairs antiviral responses and exaggerates inflammatory responses to influenza

© 2015 Tolosa et al. Background Pregnancy increases susceptibility to influenza. The placenta releases an immunosuppressive endogenous retroviral protein syncytin-1.We hypothesised that exposure of peripheral monocytes (PBMCs) to syncytin-1 would impair responses to H1N1pdm09 influenza. Methods and Findings Recombinant syncytin-1 was produced. PBMCs from non-pregnant women (n=10) were exposed to H1N1pdm09 in the presence and absence of syncytin-1 and compared to responses of PBMCs from pregnant women (n=12). PBMCs were characterised using flow cytometry, release of interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-λ, IFN-γ, IL-10, IL-2, IL-6 and IL-1β were measured by cytometric bead array or ELISA. Exposure of PBMCs to H1N1pdm09 resulted in the release of IFN-α, (14,787 pg/mL, 95% CI 7311-22,264 pg/mL) IFN-λ (1486 pg/mL, 95% CI 756-2216 pg/mL) and IFN-γ (852 pg/mL, 95% CI 193-1511 pg/mL) after 48 hours. This was significantly impaired in pregnant women (IFN-α; p<0.0001 and IFN-λ; p<0.001). Furthermore, in the presence of syncytin-1, PBMCs demonstrated marked reductions in IFN-α and IFN-λ, while enhanced release of IL-10 as well as IL-6 and IL-1β. Conclusions Our data indicates that a placental derived protein, syncytin-1 may be responsible for the heightened vulnerability of pregnant women to influenza

A magnetic white dwarf in a detached eclipsing binary

SDSS J030308.35+005444.1 is a close, detached, eclipsing white dwarf plus M dwarf binary which shows a large infrared excess which has been interpreted in terms of a circumbinary dust disc. In this paper, we present optical and near-infrared photometric and spectroscopic data for this system. At optical wavelengths, we observe heated pole caps from the white dwarf caused by accretion of wind material from the main-sequence star on to the white dwarf. At near-infrared wavelengths, we see the eclipse of two poles on the surface of the white dwarf by the main-sequence star indicating that the white dwarf is magnetic. Our spectroscopic observations reveal Zeeman-split emission lines in the hydrogen Balmer series, which we use to measure the magnetic field strength as 8 MG. This measurement indicates that the cyclotron lines are located in the infrared, naturally explaining the infrared excess without the need for a circumbinary dust disc. We also detect magnetically confined material located roughly midway between the two stars. Using measurements of the radial velocity amplitude and rotational broadening of the M star, we constrain the physical parameters of the system, a first for a magnetic white dwarf, and the location of the poles on the surface of the white dwarf. SDSS J030308.35+005444.1 is a pre-cataclysmic variable that will likely evolve into an intermediate polar in ∼1 Gyr