Examining Seasonal Trends of the Martian Polar Warming with the NASA Ames Mars Global Climate Model

The presented work focuses on polar warming as a diagnostic of the mean circulation to increase our understanding of processes that control the mean meridional circulation and transport in the Mars middle atmosphere. The NASA Ames Mars Global Climate Model is utilized to isolate physical processes to determine their impact on polar warming and its seasonal trends

Digital Preservation and Academic Library Consortia: A Case Study of the Triangle Research Libraries Network Consortial Licenses

The scholarly communication crisis has been a chronic problem affecting libraries and publishing for the last quarter century. The current transition into a new information age presents a new set of concerns with the proliferation of electronic resources. Digital preservation, or the archiving of electronic resources for preservation and access, is an issue that must be resolved to ensure the retention of human heritage in perpetuity. This paper explores the potential role of consortia in digital preservation. An overview of the status of digital preservation precedes an examination of the consortial licensing landscape. A case study of the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN), a consortium beginning to address digital preservation concerns, license agreements explores the presence, content, and provisions of archival statements. Based on the results and current digital preservation environment, this paper concludes with a proposed method for a successful consortial digital preservation project

From Social Exclusion to Supported Inclusion: Adults with Intellectual Disability Discuss Their Lived Experiences of a Sructured Social Group

Background People with intellectual disability often have few friends and experience social exclusion. Recognising this gap, supported social groups with the aim of inclusion and interdependence were created by a supported employment provider. Methods Interviews were undertaken with 10 adults with intellectual disability exploring their lived experiences of a supported social group. Data were analysed using descriptive phenomenology. Results Two themes emerged (i) supported engagement fosters wellbeing, and (ii) developing social belonging and connectedness. Participants not only acknowledged the support that they needed to participate, but also that the social group had changed their lives in many ways. Conclusions Adults with intellectual disability want to socialise, have friends and be part of their community. For this to be achieved, they recognise the need to seek some form of support. With appropriate and targeted support, adults with intellectual disability can move from social exclusion towards supported inclusion and experience richer lives

Effects of study design and allocation on self-reported alcohol consumption: randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: What participants think about the nature of a study might affect their behaviour and bias findings. We tested two hypotheses: (1) participants told they were in an intervention trial would report lower alcohol consumption at follow-up than those told they were in a cohort study; (2) participants told they were in the intervention group in a trial would have lower alcohol consumption at follow-up than those told they were in the control group. METHODS: Students from four universities (N = 72,903) were invited to participate in a 'research project on student drinking'. Of 10,415 respondents, 6,788 were moderate to heavy drinkers and were randomized. Group A ('cohort') were informed their drinking would be assessed at baseline and again in one month. Group B ('control') were told the study was an intervention trial and they were in the control group. Group C ('intervention') were told the study was an intervention trial and they were to receive the intervention. All were assessed and directed to read identical online alcohol education material. Whether and how long they accessed the material were recorded. One month later, alcohol intake was reassessed. RESULTS: In relation to hypothesis 1, there were no differences between the groups on the prespecified outcome measures. In relation to hypothesis 2, there were no differences though all point estimates were in the hypothesized direction (that is, 'intervention' < 'control'). The 'cohort' and 'control' groups accessed the material to a similar extent (59% versus 57%) while the 'intervention' group were more likely to access it (78%) and to read it for longer (median 35 s (25th and 75th percentiles: 6, 97) versus medians of 7 s (0, 28) and 8 s (4, 42) for the 'cohort' and 'control' groups, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Although the context given to the research participants significantly influenced access to the online information and reading time, this did not translate into any effect on drinking behaviour, for either hypothesis. This might be because of failure in the experimental paradigm or the possibility of weaker effects using the online approach. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12610000846022

The relationship between aortic wall distensibility and rupture of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm

AbstractObjective: A more accurate means of prediction of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture would improve the clinical and cost effectiveness of prophylactic repair. The purpose of this study was to determine whether AAA wall distensibility can be used to predict time to rupture independently of other recognized risk factors. Methods: A prospective, six-center study of 210 patients with AAA in whom blood pressure (BP), maximum AAA diameter (Dmax), and AAA distensibility (pressure strain elastic modulus [Ep] and stiffness [β]) were measured at 6 months with an ultrasound scan-based echo-tracking technique. A stepwise, time-dependent, Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the effect on time to rupture of age, gender, BP, Dmax, BP, Ep, β, and change in Dmax, Ep, and β adjusted for time between follow-up visits. Results: Median (interquartile range) AAA diameter was 48 mm (41 to 54 mm), median age was 72 years (68 to 77 years), and median follow-up period was 19 months (9 to 30 months). In the Cox model, female gender (hazards ratio [HR], 2.78; 95% CI, 1.23 to 6.28; P =.014), larger Dmax (HR, 1.36 for 10% increase in Dmax; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.66; P =.002), higher diastolic BP (HR, 1.13 for 10% increase in BP; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.92; P =.004), and a decrease in Ep (increase in distensibility) over time (HR, 1.38 for 10% decrease in Ep over 6 months; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.78; P =.010) significantly reduced the time to rupture (had a shorter time to rupture). Conclusion: Women have a shorter time to AAA rupture. The measurement of AAA distensibility, diastolic BP, and diameter may provide a more accurate assessment of rupture risk than diameter alone. (J Vasc Surg 2003;37:112-7.

What causes breast cancer? A systematic review of causal attributions among breast cancer survivors and how these compare to expert endorsed risks.

This item is under embargo for a period of 12 months from the date of publication, in accordance with the publisher's policy. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10552-014-0377-3.Purpose. The aim of this paper was to review published research that analyzed causal attributions for breast cancer among women previously diagnosed with breast cancer. These attributions were compared with risk factors identified by published scientific evidence in order to determine the level of agreement between cancer survivors’ attributions and expert opinion. Methods. A comprehensive search for articles, published between 1982 and 2012, reporting studies on causal attributions for breast cancer among patients and survivors was undertaken. Of 5,135 potentially relevant articles, 22 studies met the inclusion criteria. Two additional articles were sourced from reference lists of included studies. Results. Results indicated a consistent belief among survivors that their own breast cancer could be attributed to family history, environmental factors, stress, fate or chance. Lifestyle factors were less frequently identified, despite expert health information highlighting the importance of these factors in controlling and modifying cancer risk. This review demonstrated that misperceptions about the contribution of modifiable lifestyle factors to the risk of breast cancer have remained largely unchanged over the past 30 years. Conclusions. The findings of this review indicate that beliefs about the causes of breast cancer among affected women are not always consistent with the judgment of experts. Breast cancer survivors did not regularly identify causal factors supported by expert consensus such as age, physical inactivity, breast density, alcohol consumption and reproductive history. Further research examining psychological predictors of attributions and the impact of cancer prevention messages on adjustment and well-being of cancer survivors is warranted