Academic Performance and Behavioral Patterns

Identifying the factors that influence academic performance is an essential part of educational research. Previous studies have documented the importance of personality traits, class attendance, and social network structure. Because most of these analyses were based on a single behavioral aspect and/or small sample sizes, there is currently no quantification of the interplay of these factors. Here, we study the academic performance among a cohort of 538 undergraduate students forming a single, densely connected social network. Our work is based on data collected using smartphones, which the students used as their primary phones for two years. The availability of multi-channel data from a single population allows us to directly compare the explanatory power of individual and social characteristics. We find that the most informative indicators of performance are based on social ties and that network indicators result in better model performance than individual characteristics (including both personality and class attendance). We confirm earlier findings that class attendance is the most important predictor among individual characteristics. Finally, our results suggest the presence of strong homophily and/or peer effects among university students

Tumor markers in breast cancer - European Group on Tumor Markers recommendations

Recommendations are presented for the routine clinical use of serum and tissue-based markers in the diagnosis and management of patients with breast cancer. Their low sensitivity and specificity preclude the use of serum markers such as the MUC-1 mucin glycoproteins ( CA 15.3, BR 27.29) and carcinoembryonic antigen in the diagnosis of early breast cancer. However, serial measurement of these markers can result in the early detection of recurrent disease as well as indicate the efficacy of therapy. Of the tissue-based markers, measurement of estrogen and progesterone receptors is mandatory in the selection of patients for treatment with hormone therapy, while HER-2 is essential in selecting patients with advanced breast cancer for treatment with Herceptin ( trastuzumab). Urokinase plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 are recently validated prognostic markers for lymph node-negative breast cancer patients and thus may be of value in selecting node-negative patients that do not require adjuvant chemotherapy. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

Recent breast cancer trends among Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and African-American women in the US: changes by tumor subtype

Abstract available at publisher's website

Do trench sediments affect great earthquake occurrence in subduction zones?

Seismic energy release is dominated by the underthrusting earthquakes in subduction zones, and this energy release is further concentrated in a few subduction zones. While some subduction zones are characterized by the occurrence of great earthquakes, others are relatively aseismic. This variation in maximum earthquake size between subduction zones is one of the most important features of global seismicity. Previous work has shown that the variation in maximum earthquake size is correlated with the variation in two other subduction zone properties: age of the subducting lithosphere and convergence rate. These two properties do not explain all the variance in maximum earthquake size. I propose that a third subduction zone property, “trench sediments”, explains part of the remaining variance in maximum earthquake size. Subduction zones are divided into two groups: (1) those with excess trench sediments, and (2) those with horst and graben structure at the trench. Thirteen of the 19 largest subduction zone events, including the three largest, occur in zones with excess trench sediments. About half the zones with excess trench sediments are characterized by great earthquake occurrence. Most of the other zones with excess trench sediments but without great earthquakes are predicted to have small earthquakes by the age-rate correlation. Two notable exceptions are the Oregon-Washington and Middle America zones. Overall, the presence of excess trench sediments appears to enhance great earthquake occurrence. One speculative physical mechanism that connects trench sediments and earthquake size is that excess trench sediments are associated with the subduction of a coherent sedimentary layer, which at elevated temperature and pressure, forms a homogeneous and strong contact zone between the plates.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43133/1/24_2004_Article_BF00874629.pd

Trans-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of prostate cancer identifies new susceptibility loci and informs genetic risk prediction.

Prostate cancer is a highly heritable disease with large disparities in incidence rates across ancestry populations. We conducted a multiancestry meta-analysis of prostate cancer genome-wide association studies (107,247 cases and 127,006 controls) and identified 86 new genetic risk variants independently associated with prostate cancer risk, bringing the total to 269 known risk variants. The top genetic risk score (GRS) decile was associated with odds ratios that ranged from 5.06 (95% confidence interval (CI), 4.84-5.29) for men of European ancestry to 3.74 (95% CI, 3.36-4.17) for men of African ancestry. Men of African ancestry were estimated to have a mean GRS that was 2.18-times higher (95% CI, 2.14-2.22), and men of East Asian ancestry 0.73-times lower (95% CI, 0.71-0.76), than men of European ancestry. These findings support the role of germline variation contributing to population differences in prostate cancer risk, with the GRS offering an approach for personalized risk prediction

A dual sensor spin trap for use with EPR spectroscopy

Redox active metal ions, carbon-centered radicals, and oxygen-centered radicals are important to oxidative stress. A radical detector combining a nitrone spin trap, a phenol, and a cyclopropane radical clocklike unit was prepared and used with EPR spectroscopy to detect and distinguish between hydroxyl radicals, methyl radicals, and iron(III) ions. Iron(III) reacts with the phenol unit inducing opening of the cyclopropane ring and cyclization to generate a stable nitroxyl radical

Mobile Visualization: Challenges and Solution Concepts

Relatively cheap and widely available wireless data communication services are available to the mass-market. Within the coverage of the cellular network used,the vision of information access for `everyone, anytime, anywhere' has become reality. A Global Information Visualization environment can be imagined where the vision of `All information at your fingertip' is reality. In this environment, every information, data, or tool available on any computer connected to the global network is directly accessible to the user. However because of the low bandwidth of wireless networks and the limited resources of mobile hardware, the handling of highly interactive distributed multimedia applications faces severe problems. The objective of `Mobile Visualization' is to provide effective solutions to these problems. This paper discusses the relevant aspects of systems and data models for Mobile Visualization and tries to provide an integrative view on the field based on the vision of Global Informa..