90 research outputs found
Validation of the Patient Activation Measure in a Multiple Sclerosis Clinic Sample and Implications for Care
Purpose. Patient engagement in multiple sclerosis (MS) care can be challenging at times given the unpredictable disease course, wide range of symptoms, variable therapeutic response to treatment and high rates of patient depression. Patient activation, a model for conceptualising patients’ involvement in their health care, has been found useful for discerning patient differences in chronic illness management. The purpose of this study was to validate the patient activation measure (PAM-13) in an MS clinic sample.
Methods. This was a survey study of 199 MS clinic patients. Participants completed the PAM-13 along with measures of MS medication adherence, self-efficacy, depression and quality of life.
Results. Results from Rasch and correlation analyses indicate that the PAM-13 is reliable and valid for the MS population. Activation was associated with MS self-efficacy, depression and quality of life but not with self-reported medication adherence. Also, participants with relapse-remitting MS, current employment, or high levels of education were more activated than other subgroups.
Conclusions. The PAM-13 is a useful tool for understanding health behaviours in MS. The findings of this study support further clinical consideration and investigation into developing interventions to increase patient activation and improve health outcomes in MS
Differential gene expression in response to eCry3.1Ab ingestion in an unselected and eCry3.1Abselected western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) population
Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, the western corn rootworm (WCR) is one of the most destructive pests in the U.S. Corn Belt. Transgenic maize lines expressing various Cry toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis have been adopted as a management strategy. However, resistance to many Bt toxins has occurred. To investigate the mechanisms of Bt resistance we carried out RNA-seq using Illumina sequencing technology on resistant, eCry3.1Ab-selected and susceptible, unselected, whole WCR neonates which fed on seedling maize with and without eCry3.1Ab for 12 and 24 hours. In a parallel experiment RNA-seq experiments were conducted when only the midgut of neonate WCR was evaluated from the same treatments. After de novo transcriptome assembly we identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Results from the assemblies and annotation indicate that WCR neonates from the eCry3.1Ab-selected resistant colony expressed a small number of up and down-regulated genes following Bt intoxication. In contrast, unselected susceptible WCR neonates expressed a large number of up and down-regulated transcripts in response to intoxication. Annotation and pathway analysis of DEGs between susceptible and resistant whole WCR and their midgut tissue revealed genes associated with cell membrane, immune response, detoxification, and potential Bt receptors which are likely related to eCry3.1Ab resistance. This research provides a framework to study the toxicology of Bt toxins and mechanism of resistance in WCR, an economically important coleopteran pest species
Examining the Role of Environment in a Comprehensive Sample of Compact Groups
(Abridged) Compact groups, with their high number densities, small velocity
dispersions, and an interstellar medium that has not been fully processed,
provide a local analog to conditions of galaxy interactions in the earlier
universe. The frequent and prolonged gravitational encounters that occur in
compact groups affect the evolution of the constituent galaxies in a myriad of
ways, for example gas processing and star formation. Recently, a statistically
significant "gap" has been discovered mid-infrared IRAC colorspace of compact
group galaxies. This gap is not seen in field samples and is a new example of
how the compact group environment may affect the evolution of member galaxies.
In order to investigate the origin and nature of this gap, we have compiled a
sample of 49 compact groups. We find that a statistically significant deficit
of galaxies in this gap region of IRAC colorspace is persistant in this sample,
lending support to the hypothesis that the compact group environment inhibits
moderate SSFRs. We note a curvature in the colorspace distribution, which is
fully consistent with increasing dust temperature as the activity in a galaxy
increases. This full sample of 49 compact groups allows us to subdivide the
data according to physical properties of the groups. An analysis of these
subsamples indicates that neither projected physical diameter nor density show
a trend in colorspace within the values represented by this sample. We
hypothesize that the apparent lack of a trend is due to the relatively small
range of properties in this sample. Thus, the relative influence of stochastic
effects becomes dominant. We analyze spectral energy distributions of member
galaxies as a function of their location in colorspace and find that galaxies
in different regions of MIR colorspace contain dust with varying temperatures
and/or PAH emission.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astronomical
Journa
Two Populations of Molecular Clouds in the Antennae Galaxies
Super star clusters --- extremely massive clusters found predominately in
starburst environments --- are essential building blocks in the formation of
galaxies and thought to dominate star formation in the high-redshift universe.
However, the transformation from molecular gas into these ultra-compact star
clusters is not well understood. To study this process, we used the
Submillimeter Array and the Plateau de Bure Interferometer to obtain high
angular resolution (~1.5" or 160 pc) images of the Antennae overlap region in
CO(2--1) to search for the molecular progenitors of the super star clusters. We
resolve the molecular gas distribution into a large number of clouds, extending
the differential cloud mass function down to a 5\sigma completeness limit of
3.8x10^5 M_sun. We identify a distinct break in the mass function around log
M_mol/M_sun ~ 6.5, which separates the molecular clouds into two distinct
populations. The smaller, less massive clouds reside in more quiescent areas in
the region, while the larger, more massive clouds cluster around regions of
intense star formation. A broken power-law fit to the mass function yields
slopes of \alpha = -1.39+/-0.10 and \alpha = -1.44+/-0.14 for the low- and
high-mass cloud population, well-matched to the mass function found for super
star clusters in the Antennae galaxies. We find large velocity gradients and
velocity dispersions at the locations of intense star formation, suggestive of
compressive shocks. It is likely that these environmental factors contribute to
the formation of the observed massive molecular clouds and super star clusters
in the Antennae galaxies.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, accepted by Ap
Mid-Infrared Evidence for Accelerated Evolution in Compact Group Galaxies
We find evidence for accelerated evolution in compact group galaxies from the
distribution in mid-infrared colorspace of 42 galaxies from 12 Hickson Compact
Groups (HCGs) compared to the the distributions of several other samples
including the LVL+SINGS galaxies, interacting galaxies, and galaxies from the
Coma Cluster. We find that the HCG galaxies are not uniformly distributed in
colorspace, as well as quantitative evidence for a gap. Galaxies in the infall
region of the Coma cluster also exhibit a non-uniform distribution and a less
well defined gap, which may reflect a similarity with the compact group
environment. Neither the Coma Center or interacting samples show evidence of a
gap, leading us to speculate that the gap is unique to the environment of high
galaxy density where gas has not been fully processed or stripped.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the Galaxy Wars: Stellar Populations
and Star Formation in Interacting Galaxies Conferenc
Comparison of Six Artificial Diets for Western Corn Rootworm Bioassays and Rearing
The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is considered the most important maize (Zea mays L.) pest in the U.S. Corn Belt. Bioassays testing susceptibility to Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) and other toxins of corn rootworm larvae often rely on artificial diet formulations. Successful bioassays on artificial diet for corn rootworm have sometimes been challenging because of microbial contamination. Toward the long-term goal of developing a universal artificial diet for western corn rootworm larvae, we compared larval survival, dry weight, and percentage of molt in 10-d bioassays from six current diets of which we were aware. In addition, as part of longer term rearing efforts, we recorded molting over an extended period of development (60 d). Six different artificial diets, including four proprietary industry diets (A, B, C, and D), the first published artificial diet for western corn rootworm (Pleau), and a new diet (WCRMO-1) were evaluated. Western corn rootworm larval survival was above 90% and contamination was 0% on all diets for 10 d. Diet D resulted in the greatest dry weight and percentage molting when compared with the other diets. Although fourth-instar western corn rootworm larvae have not been documented previously (only three instars have been previously documented), as many as 10% of the larvae from Diet B molted into a fourth instar prior to pupating. Overall, significant differences were found among artificial diets currently used to screen western corn rootworm. In order for data from differing toxins to be compared, a single, reliable and high-quality western corn rootworm artificial diet should eventually be chosen by industry, academia, and the public as a standard for bioassays
Little Things
We present LITTLE THINGS (Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes,
The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey) that is aimed at determining what drives star
formation in dwarf galaxies. This is a multi-wavelength survey of 37 Dwarf
Irregular and 4 Blue Compact Dwarf galaxies that is centered around HI-line
data obtained with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) Very Large
Array (VLA). The HI-line data are characterized by high sensitivity (less than
1.1 mJy/beam per channel), high spectral resolution (less than or equal to 2.6
km/s), and high angular resolution (~6 arcseconds. The LITTLE THINGS sample
contains dwarf galaxies that are relatively nearby (less than or equal to 10.3
Mpc; 6 arcseconds is less than or equal to 300 pc), that were known to contain
atomic hydrogen, the fuel for star formation, and that cover a large range in
dwarf galactic properties. We describe our VLA data acquisition, calibration,
and mapping procedures, as well as HI map characteristics, and show channel
maps, moment maps, velocity-flux profiles, and surface gas density profiles. In
addition to the HI data we have GALEX UV and ground-based UBV and Halpha images
for most of the galaxies, and JHK images for some. Spitzer mid-IR images are
available for many of the galaxies as well. These data sets are available
on-line.Comment: In press in A
The Naturalized Gender Order Of Rock and Roll
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66933/2/10.1177_019685999501900104.pd
Changing factors associated with parent activation after pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant
To identify factors associated with parent activation in parents of children undergoing pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) in the 6 months following HSCT, and to address if their association with parent activation changes over time
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