Symptom clusters: impediments and suggestions for solutions.

Journal ArticleThe human experience of cancer is marked by the occurrence of multiple symptoms that influence one's ability to continue usual activities and enjoy life. Although the symptom experience is complex and multifaceted, knowledge of it has been limited by a paradigm that has been singular in scope, even when multiple symptoms have been studied. This approach, focused on one symptom at time, holds true not only for descriptive and intervention research, but also for studies and published treatise on the barriers to management of specific symptoms

Ionized Gas Kinematics at High Resolution IV: Star Formation and a Rotating Core in the Medusa (NGC 4194)

NGC 4194 is a post-merger starburst known as The Medusa for its striking tidal features. We present here a detailed study of the structure and kinematics of ionized gas in the central 0.65 kpc of the Medusa. The data include radio continuum maps with resolution up to 0.18\arcsec (35 pc) and a $12.8\mu$m [NeII] data cube with spectral resolution $\sim4$\kms: the first {\it high resolution, extinction-free} observations of this remarkable object. The ionized gas has the kinematic signature of a core in solid-body rotation. The starburst has formed a complex of bright compact \HII~regions, probably excited by deeply embedded super star clusters, but none of these sources is a convincing candidate for a galactic nucleus. The nuclei of the merger partners that created the Medusa have not yet been identified.Comment: to appear in Ap

The mediating roles of disgust sensitivity and danger expectancy in relation to hand washing behaviour

Copyright © 2010 British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive PsychotherapiesBackground: Recent interest in the role of vulnerability factors in obsessional washing has suggested that disgust sensitivity, danger expectancy and health anxiety may be of interest. Aims: This study explores the differential impact of these factors on both behavioural and cognitive measures of washing behaviour and is based on a replication of the Jones and Menzies (1997) experiment, during which participants immersed their hands in a noxious compound while rating themselves on a range of measures: the time they subsequently took to wash their hands was measured and danger expectancies were found to be the best predictor of this. Method: The present study added measures of disgust sensitivity and health anxiety to this experimental methodology while removing factors they found to be of little import to compulsive washing. Thirty non-clinical participants took part. Results: Results confirmed that disgust sensitivity was related to the behavioural measure of washing time, but that this relationship was almost entirely mediated by the danger expectancy concerning judgements of severity of consequent disease. However, a different pattern emerged when the outcome measure was questionnaire based: danger expectancy was not at all related to this. Disgust sensitivity mediated the relationship between health anxiety and scores on a questionnaire measure of washing compulsions. Interestingly, these scores were not related to the behavioural measure of washing time. Conclusions: The implications of these relationships to the further development of subtypes of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are discussed

WOODLAND POND SALAMANDER ABUNDANCE IN RELATION TO FOREST MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN NORTHERN WISCONSIN

Woodland ponds are important landscape features that help sustain populations of amphibians that require this aquatic habitat for successful reproduction. Species abundance patterns often reflect site-specific differences in hydrology, physical characteristics, and surrounding vegetation. Large-scale processes such as changing land cover and environmental conditions are other potential drivers influencing amphibian populations in the Upper Midwest, but little information exists on the combined effects of these factors. We used Blue-spotted (Ambystoma laterale Hallowell) and Spotted Salamander (A. maculatum Shaw) monitoring data collected at the same woodland ponds thirteen years apart to determine if changing environmental conditions and vegetation cover in surrounding landscapes influenced salamander movement phenology and abundance. Four woodland ponds in northern Wisconsin were sampled for salamanders in April 1992-1994 and 2005-2007. While Bluespotted Salamanders were more abundant than Spotted Salamanders in all ponds, there was no change in the numbers of either species over the years. However, peak numbers of Blue-spotted Salamanders occurred 11.7 days earlier (range: 9-14 days) in the 2000s compared to the 1990s; Spotted Salamanders occurred 9.5 days earlier (range: 3 - 13 days). Air and water temperatures (April 13- 24) increased, on average, 4.8 oC and 3.7 oC, respectively, between the decades regardless of pond. There were no discernible changes in canopy openness in surrounding forests between decades that would have warmed the water sooner (i.e., more light penetration). Our finding that salamander breeding phenology can vary by roughly 10 days in Wisconsin contributes to growing evidence that amphibian populations have responded to changing climate conditions by shifting life-cycle events. Managers can use this information to adjust monitoring programs and forest management activities in the surrounding landscape to avoid vulnerable amphibian movement periods. Considering direct and indirect stressors such as changing habitat and environmental conditions simultaneously to better understand trends in space and time can help improve monitoring programs for this taxa, which is at major risk of continued declines

Eccentric exercise versus usual-care with older cancer survivors: the impact on muscle and mobility- an exploratory pilot study

Journal ArticleBackground: Resistance exercise programs with high compliance are needed to counter impaired muscle and mobility in older cancer survivors. To date outcomes have focused on older prostate cancer survivors, though more heterogeneous groups of older survivors are in-need. The purpose of this exploratory pilot study is to examine whether resistance exercise via negative eccentrically-induced work (RENEW) improves muscle and mobility in a diverse sample of older cancer survivors. Methods: A total of 40 individuals (25 female, 15 male) with a mean age of 74 (? 6) years who have survived (8.4 ? 8 years) since their cancer diagnosis (breast, prostate, colorectal and lymphoma) were assigned to a RENEW group or a non-exercise Usual-care group. RENEW was performed for 12 weeks and measures of muscle size, strength, power and mobility were made pre and post training. Results: RENEW induced increases in quadriceps lean tissue average cross sectional area (Pre: 43.2 ? 10.8 cm2; Post: 44.9 ? 10.9 cm2), knee extension peak strength (Pre: 248.3 ? 10.8 N; Post: 275.4 ? 10.9 N), leg extension muscle power (Pre: 198.2 ? 74.7 W; Post 255.5 ? 87.3 W), six minute walk distance (Pre: 417.2 ? 127.1 m; Post 466.9 ? 125.1 m) and a decrease on the time to safely descend stairs (Pre: 6.8 ? 4.5 s; Post 5.4 ? 2.5 s). A significant (P < 0.05) group x time interaction was noted for the muscle size and mobility improvements. Conclusions: This exploration of RENEW in a heterogeneous cohort of older cancer survivors demonstrates increases in muscle size, strength and power along with improved mobility. The efficacy of a high-force, low perceived exertion exercise suggests RENEW may be suited to older individuals who are survivors of cancer

On the Fly BI: Reaching and Teaching from the Reference Desk

Today’s reference librarians are constantly faced with the challenge of orienting users to the complex, ever changing world of the electronic library. A well-structured library instruction program is one important approach to the overall goal of educating users. But library instruction sessions cannot and do not reach all students. Studies indicate that students are most receptive to learning research techniques at the point of need, which most often occurs at the reference desk. Although many reference librarians are committed to ‘‘teaching students to fish,’’ they are frequently faced with students whose research needs require in-depth lessons that exceed the time available for most reference desk transactions. This paper offers a way to close the gap by providing a set of techniques and strategies, utilizing behaviors and props, which can be used in those short, one-on-one instruction-based situations

Testing of Candidate Rigid Heatshield Materials at LHMEL for the Entry, Descent, and Landing Technology Development Project

The material testing results described in this paper were part of a material development program of vendor-supplied, proposed heat shield materials. The goal of this program was to develop low density, rigid material systems with an appreciable weight savings over phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator (PICA) while improving material response performance. New technologies, such as PICA-like materials in honeycomb or materials with variable density through-the-thickness were tested. The material testing took place at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Laser Hardened Materials Laboratory (LHMEL) using a 10.6 micron CO2 laser operating with the test articles immersed in a nitrogen-gas environment at 1 atmosphere pressure. Test measurements included thermocouple readings of in-depth temperatures, pyrometer readings of surface temperatures, weight scale readings of mass loss, and sectioned-sample readings of char depth. Two laser exposures were applied. The first exposure was at an irradiance of 450 W/cm2 for 50 or 60 seconds to simulate an aerocapture maneuver. The second laser exposure was at an irradiance of 115 W/cm2 for 100 seconds to simulate a planetary entry. Results from Rounds 1 and 2 of these screening tests are summarized

Perceptions of Leadership Behaviors by Female Principals in North Caroline

This study was designed to investigate whether significant differences exist among the perceptions of leadership behaviors of female principals in North Carolina using Bolman and Deal\u27s (1984) four frames (structural, human re- source, political, and symbolic) for analysis. Participants consisted of 1,245 fe- male principals from elementary, middle, and secondary public schools in North Carolina. The researchers collected 525 responses for a 53% response rate. Overall, female principals in North Carolina perceive that they use multiple frame perspectives in their leadership behaviors. Furthermore, results indicate that age, parental status, and years in current position made a difference in the number and type of frames female principals use

Test of the lower mantle slab penetration hypothesis using broadband S waves

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95293/1/grl3310.pd