778 research outputs found

    Augustana Seniors Fall 1884: Frtiz Jacobson

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    Fritz was a senior at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, in the Fall of 1884. His name appears in the college catalog of 1884 – 1885, along with his birthplace, the year of his birth, and a few other facts. From this start, we researched the genealogy and family history of Fritz Jacobsen. This paper contains a short biography of Fritz Jacobsen, a report on his ancestors, a report on his descendants, and some open questions for further research

    Recruitment strategies and rates of a multi-site behavioral intervention for adolescents and young adults with cancer

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    INTRODUCTION: To provide an overview of factors related to recruitment of adolescents and young adults (AYA) into research and recruitment rates and reasons for refusal from a multicenter study entitled "Stories and Music for Adolescent/Young Adult Resilience during Transplant" (SMART). METHODS: A randomized clinical trial study design was used. The settings included 9 hospitals. The sample included AYAs (aged 11-24 years) who were undergoing a stem cell transplant. Several instruments were used to measure symptom distress, coping, resilience, and quality of life in AYA with cancer. RESULTS: A total of 113 AYA were recruited (50%) for this study. Strategies were refined as the study continued to address challenges related to recruitment. We provide a description of recruitment strategies and an evaluation of our planning, implementing, and monitoring of recruitment rates for the SMART study. DISCUSSION: When designing a study, careful consideration must be given to factors influencing recruitment as well as special considerations for unique populations. Dissemination of strategies specific to unique populations will be helpful to the design of future research studies

    Healthy living champions network: An opportunity for community pharmacy's sustained participation in tackling local health inequalities

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    Background Evaluations recognize healthy living champions (HLCs) as key contributors to the Health Living Pharmacy (HLP) project's success; the project has served to reduce pressure on family doctor services and clients who would have otherwise not sought professional advice have accessed HLP services. Objectives To investigate the impact of innovative networking opportunities in supporting HLCs to function within their role and to explore the network's potential in promoting sustained HLP participation. Method Twenty of Portsmouth's (England) HLCs (n = 33) agreed to participate in focus groups. Transcripts were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis guided by grounded theory. The transcripts were read repeatedly; recurrent themes were identified and coded manually and consensus was reached by discussion within the research team. Findings Network meetings provide HLCs with professional development, networking opportunities and continued encouragement. Recommendations to develop and sustain the network included the formation of a group committee and establishing of a communication facility accessible between meetings. Conclusion The successful Portsmouth HLP project informed the design of UK HLP projects. The current focus is to build a successful strategy to sustain the positive outcomes, building on the recognized enablers. This study contributes further lessons learned to guide health commissioners and service implementers to best support staff development, involvement and motivation through innovative practice

    Until Somebody Hears Me: Parental Voice and Advocacy in Special Education Decision-Making

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    This is the author's accepted manuscript. The original publication is available at http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1111/j.1467-8578.2006.00430.x.When a family finds out their child has a disability, they enter the world of special education which has its own terminology, rules, settings and personnel. In addition to grappling with the meaning of their child's special needs, families are also thrown into the role of principle advocate for their child. The research study reported here presents the findings from focus groups conducted in the United States of America with 27 diverse families on their efforts to obtain the best educational outcomes for their children. In this article, Robyn Hess, Amy Molina and Elizabeth Kozleski bring their collective past experiences, as a school psychologist, bilingual counsellor and special education teacher respectively, to bear on this topic and frame the issue from a systemic perspective. They argue that engaging in conversation with families around their needs, as well as assisting them in their efforts to advocate for their child, is the first step in creating more equal partnerships between parents of children with special needs and educational professionals

    UGC 4599: A Photometric Study of the Nearest Hoag-Type Ring Galaxy

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    We present a photometric study of UGC 4599, a low-luminosity galaxy superficially resembling Hoag's Object in that on sky survey images it appears to be a complete ring surrounding a roundish core. The nature of the outer ring of Hoag-type galaxies is still debated and may be related either to slow secular evolution or to environmental processes, such as galaxy-galaxy interactions. we show that in UGC 4599 (a) the nearly round central body follows well an r^1/4 light profile almost all the way to the centre, (b) the isophotes are strongly twisted with a sharp 45 deg transition at a radius of r~6 arcsec, (c) the blue ring seems to have reached near-equilibrium configuration with the central body, (d) the ring is actually composed of a one-and-a-half turn spiral feature, and (e) one side of the spiral shows conspicuous star formation in the form of at least nine HII regions, revealed by their H_alpha emission. Based on the photometric data, together with HI information from the literature, we characterize UGC 4599 as an elliptical-like object surrounded by a luminous ring and a massive, extremely extended HI disc. Given its observed properties, we rule out UGC 4599 as representing a late phase in barred early-type galaxies evolution. We discuss the origin of UGC 4599 and conclude that this galaxy could be the result of a major interaction between two gas-rich spiral galaxies that took place at least 5 Gyr ago. However, deep optical imaging and a detailed stellar population analysis are required to determine whether the large gas reservoir could have been accreted directly from the intergalactic medium onto a pre-existing elliptical galaxy in the early Universe. A detailed kinematical study will shed light on the exact nature of the central body and the ring of UGC 4599.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures and 5 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. The abstract is abridged compared to the published versio

    Calibrating Extinction-Free Star Formation Rate Diagnostics with 33GHz Free-Free Emission in NGC6946

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    Abridged: Using free-free emission measured in the Ka-band (26-40GHz) for 10 star-forming regions in the nearby galaxy NGC6946, including its starbursting nucleus, we compare a number of SFR diagnostics that are typically considered to be unaffected by interstellar extinction: i.e., non-thermal radio (i.e., 1.4GHz), total infrared (IR; 8-1000um), and warm dust (i.e., 24um) emission, along with the hybrid (obscured + unobscured) indicators of H\alpha+24um and UV+IR. The 33GHz free-free emission is assumed to provide the most accurate measure of the current SFR. Among the extranuclear star-forming regions, the 24um, H\alpha+24um and UV+IR SFR calibrations are in good agreement with the 33GHz free-free SFRs. However, each of the SFR calibrations relying on some form of dust emission overestimate the nuclear SFR by a factor of ~2. This is more likely the result of excess dust heating through an accumulation of non-ionizing stars associated with an extended episode of star formation in the nucleus rather than increased competition for ionizing photons by dust. SFR calibrations using the non-thermal radio continuum yield values which only agree with the free-free SFRs for the nucleus, and underestimate the SFRs from the extranuclear star-forming regions by a factor of ~2. This result likely arises from the CR electrons decaying within the starburst region with negligible escape compared to the young extranuclear star-forming regions. Finally, we find that the SFRs estimated using the total 33GHz emission agree well with the free-free SFRs due to the large thermal fractions present at these frequencies even when local diffuse backgrounds are not removed. Thus, rest-frame 33GHz observations may act as a reliable method to measure the SFRs of galaxies at increasingly high redshift without the need of ancillary radio data to account for the non-thermal emission.Comment: 18 pages, 7 Figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

    A Perspective of Coagulation Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis and in Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis

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    A key role of both coagulation and vascular thrombosis has been reported since the first descriptions of multiple sclerosis (MS). Subsequently, the observation of a close concordance between perivascular fibrin(ogen) deposition and the occurrence of clinical signs in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS, led to numerous investigations focused on the role of thrombin and fibrin(ogen). Indeed, the activation of microglia, resident innate immune cells, occurs early after fibrinogen leakage in the pre-demyelinating lesion stage of EAE and MS. Thrombin has both neuroprotective and pro-apoptotic effects according to its concentration. After exposure to high concentrations of thrombin, astrocytes become reactive and lose their neuroprotective and supportive functions, microglia proliferate, and produce reactive oxygen species, IL-1ÎČ, and TNFα. Heparin inhibits the thrombin generation and suppresses EAE. Platelets play an important role too. Indeed, in the acute phase of the disease, they begin the inflammatory response in the central nervous system by producing of IL-1alpha and triggering and amplifying the immune response. Their depletion, on the contrary, ameliorates the course of EAE. Finally, it has been proven that the use of several anticoagulant agents can successfully improve EAE. Altogether, these studies highlight the role of the coagulation pathway in the pathophysiology of MS and suggest possible therapeutic targets that may complement existing treatments
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