13 research outputs found
Prevention Of Spontaneous Tumors By Pharmacological Inhibition Of The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor
No full textThe epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a ligand-activated tyrosine kinase receptor that is often overexpressed in cancers and plays a significant role in cell proliferation and inhibition of apoptosis. Mouse model studies have demonstrated the ability of EGFR inhibition to hinder spontaneous colorectal cancer occurrence by 50-80% when EGFR inhibition is induced before the establishment of tumors (Rinella, ES and Threadgill, DW doi 10.1371/journal.pone.0039552). The success rates reported in human clinical trials differ from mouse model studies, with a 15% success rate among colorectal cancer patients receiving anti-EGFR treatment (Pritchart CC, and Grady WM doi 10.1136/gut.2009.206250). Timing of treatment is the major difference between animal/mouse trials and human therapeutic treatment of end-stage cancers. In our study, it was hypothesized that earlier preventative doses of the AG1478 chemotherapy inhibitor would reduce the frequency of spontaneous tumor occurrence in a preventative, rather than therapeutic, manner in a murine population. This current study provides additional specificity and histopathological analysis of the spontaneous tumor occurrence in a large murine sample of four genetically distinct wild-type strain mice to better simulate a variable human population. Such specificity includes, but is not limited to, the number, type and severity of the tumors that did occur and whether the concentration of the drug is correlated to a reduction in tumor occurrence. Such information will broaden the discussion of EGFR’s role in tumor treatment
Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Jared Diamond To Speak At UNHs Undergraduate Research Conference April 27
No full textCreating legal blackholes? Terrorism and detention without trial: towards a changing rule in international law?
No full textHardly any attention has been paid to another important aspect touching on general international law and international human rights law in particular: What is the effect of counter-terrorist actions on existing rules of human rights law when these actions violate these norms? Could they possibly create a new rule? The thesis will look at this neglected aspect of the 'war on terrorism' with focus on the troublesome practice of designating persons terrorists and detaining them without trial. A look at the current state of international law reveals that such detention without trial is prohibited under human rights law and humanitarian law. Nevertheless, states across the world have adopted this 'crown jewel of [e]mergency measures'. The question of how states justify their approach in order to get around the prohibition arises. And could the practice together with its justification provide the basis for the emergence of a new rule of international law? The approach taken in this thesis will firstly establish the existing rules, secondly examine state practice in contravention of the existing rules and thirdly analyse the effect of this contravention on the existing rules
The new comparative economics
No full textIn recent years, comparative economics experienced a revival, with a new focus on comparing capitalist economies. The theme of the new research is that institutions exert a profound influence on economic development. The authors argue that, to understand capitalist institutions, one needs to understand the basic tradeoff between the costs of disorder and those of dictatorship. They then apply this logic to study the structure of efficient institutions, the consequences of colonial transplantation, and the politics of institutional choice.Labor Policies,Decentralization,National Governance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,National Governance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Governance Indicators,Banks&Banking Reform
The role of the home literacy environment in the early literacy development of children at family-risk of dyslexia
No full textThis thesis examines the role of early home literacy environment (HLE) in the literacy development of a sample of children at family-risk of dyslexia via an affected first-degree relative (FR) and a typically developing control group (TD). The first study described the HLE of 4-year-old FR children. Two distinct factors were identified: storybook exposure and direct instruction of orthographic forms. The amount of interactional literacy-related input that FR and TD children received at home was broadly equivalent.
Second, the relationship of the early HLE to language and emergent literacy skills both concurrently and longitudinally (at age 5) was investigated. Storybook exposure predicted a wider range of child outcomes than previous research has suggested. Notably, a relationship between storybook exposure and phoneme awareness emerged later for FR than TD children. Direct instruction predicted children’s decoding skills in the first year of school. A pair of path models predicting decoding and reading comprehension skills at age 6 revealed multiple indirect pathways from early HLE to reading outcomes two years later. The magnitude of several longitudinal relationships was larger for FR than TD children. A direct pathway from early storybook exposure to reading comprehension was identified in the FR group only. Effects of family SES on reading outcomes were fully mediated by the HLE variables and oral language.
In an observation study, the linguistic and socio-emotional quality of shared storybook interactions was found to be equivalent between FR and TD mother-child dyads. Children’s orientation to print at age 4 predicted word reading ability a year later, and interactional affective quality predicted children’s oral language skills. These findings are discussed, with a focus on the potential for rich early literacy-related experiences in the home to act as a protective factor in the literacy development of children at elevated risk of reading difficulty
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The revised Approved Instructional Resources score: An improved quality evaluation tool for online educational resources
No full textBackgroundFree Open-Access Medical education (FOAM) use among residents continues to rise. However, it often lacks quality assurance processes and residents receive little guidance on quality assessment. The Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Approved Instructional Resources tool (AAT) was created for FOAM appraisal by and for expert educators and has demonstrated validity in this context. It has yet to be evaluated in other populations.ObjectivesWe assessed the AAT's usability in a diverse population of practicing emergency medicine (EM) physicians, residents, and medical students; solicited feedback; and developed a revised tool.MethodsAs part of the Medical Education Translational Resources: Impact and Quality (METRIQ) study, we recruited medical students, EM residents, and EM attendings to evaluate five FOAM posts with the AAT and provide quantitative and qualitative feedback via an online survey. Two independent analysts performed a qualitative thematic analysis with discrepancies resolved through discussion and negotiated consensus. This analysis informed development of an initial revised AAT, which was then further refined after pilot testing among the author group. The final tool was reassessed for reliability.ResultsOf 330 recruited international participants, 309 completed all ratings. The Best Evidence in Emergency Medicine (BEEM) score was the component most frequently reported as difficult to use. Several themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: for ease of use-understandable, logically structured, concise, and aligned with educational value. Limitations include deviation from questionnaire best practices, validity concerns, and challenges assessing evidence-based medicine. Themes supporting its use include evaluative utility and usability. The author group pilot tested the initial revised AAT, revealing a total score average measure intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of moderate reliability (ICC = 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0 to 0.962). The final AAT's average measure ICC was 0.88 (95% CI = 0.77 to 0.95).ConclusionsWe developed the final revised AAT from usability feedback. The new score has significantly increased usability, but will need to be reassessed for reliability in a broad population
Iowa History and Culture : A Bibliography of Materials Published Between 1952 and 1986, 1989
No full textThis bibliography was compiled by two reference librarians, Patricia Dawson and David Hudson with the goal of making it easier of tracking down material on Iowa history and culture. This supplements the Iowa History Reference Guide published in 1952 by William Petersen
The revised Approved Instructional Resources score: An improved quality evaluation tool for online educational resources.
No full textBACKGROUND: Free Open-Access Medical education (FOAM) use among residents continues to rise. However, it often lacks quality assurance processes and residents receive little guidance on quality assessment. The Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Approved Instructional Resources tool (AAT) was created for FOAM appraisal by and for expert educators and has demonstrated validity in this context. It has yet to be evaluated in other populations.
OBJECTIVES: We assessed the AAT\u27s usability in a diverse population of practicing emergency medicine (EM) physicians, residents, and medical students; solicited feedback; and developed a revised tool.
METHODS: As part of the Medical Education Translational Resources: Impact and Quality (METRIQ) study, we recruited medical students, EM residents, and EM attendings to evaluate five FOAM posts with the AAT and provide quantitative and qualitative feedback via an online survey. Two independent analysts performed a qualitative thematic analysis with discrepancies resolved through discussion and negotiated consensus. This analysis informed development of an initial revised AAT, which was then further refined after pilot testing among the author group. The final tool was reassessed for reliability.
RESULTS: Of 330 recruited international participants, 309 completed all ratings. The Best Evidence in Emergency Medicine (BEEM) score was the component most frequently reported as difficult to use. Several themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: for ease of use-understandable, logically structured, concise, and aligned with educational value. Limitations include deviation from questionnaire best practices, validity concerns, and challenges assessing evidence-based medicine. Themes supporting its use include evaluative utility and usability. The author group pilot tested the initial revised AAT, revealing a total score average measure intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of moderate reliability (ICC = 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0 to 0.962). The final AAT\u27s average measure ICC was 0.88 (95% CI = 0.77 to 0.95).
CONCLUSIONS: We developed the final revised AAT from usability feedback. The new score has significantly increased usability, but will need to be reassessed for reliability in a broad population
The revised Approved Instructional Resources score: An improved quality evaluation tool for online educational resources
No full textBACKGROUND: Free Open‐Access Medical education (FOAM) use among residents continues to rise. However, it often lacks quality assurance processes and residents receive little guidance on quality assessment. The Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Approved Instructional Resources tool (AAT) was created for FOAM appraisal by and for expert educators and has demonstrated validity in this context. It has yet to be evaluated in other populations. OBJECTIVES: We assessed the AAT’s usability in a diverse population of practicing emergency medicine (EM) physicians, residents, and medical students; solicited feedback; and developed a revised tool. METHODS: As part of the Medical Education Translational Resources: Impact and Quality (METRIQ) study, we recruited medical students, EM residents, and EM attendings to evaluate five FOAM posts with the AAT and provide quantitative and qualitative feedback via an online survey. Two independent analysts performed a qualitative thematic analysis with discrepancies resolved through discussion and negotiated consensus. This analysis informed development of an initial revised AAT, which was then further refined after pilot testing among the author group. The final tool was reassessed for reliability. RESULTS: Of 330 recruited international participants, 309 completed all ratings. The Best Evidence in Emergency Medicine (BEEM) score was the component most frequently reported as difficult to use. Several themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: for ease of use—understandable, logically structured, concise, and aligned with educational value. Limitations include deviation from questionnaire best practices, validity concerns, and challenges assessing evidence‐based medicine. Themes supporting its use include evaluative utility and usability. The author group pilot tested the initial revised AAT, revealing a total score average measure intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of moderate reliability (ICC = 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0 to 0.962). The final AAT’s average measure ICC was 0.88 (95% CI = 0.77 to 0.95). CONCLUSIONS: We developed the final revised AAT from usability feedback. The new score has significantly increased usability, but will need to be reassessed for reliability in a broad population
On the Problem of Vague Terms: A Glossary of Clearly Stated Assumptions & Careful, Patient, Descriptions
No full textCoase 1930 endures through the decades as one of the most-cited papers in economics due to the fact that it highlights a fundamental and equally enduring problem: "Economic theory has suffered in the past from a failure to state clearly its assumptions. Economists in building up a theory have often omitted to examine the foundations on which it was erected. This examination is, however, essential not only to prevent the misunderstanding and needless controversy which arise from a lack of knowledge of the assumptions on which a theory is based, but also because of the extreme importance for economics of good judgement in choosing between rival sets of assumptions." In 1944 Von Neumann and Morgenstern offered the simply, yet invariably rejected solution: "In… economics the most fruitful work may be that of careful, patient description; indeed this may be by far the largest domain for the present and some time to come….Economic problems [have been and are often] not formulated clearly and are often stated in such vague terms as to make mathematical treatment a priori appear hopeless because it is quite uncertain what the problems really are. There is no point in using exact methods where there is no clarity in the concepts and issues to which they are to be applied. Consequently the initial task is to clarify the knowledge of the matter by further careful descriptive work." This paper offers a stone along the path to the solution to this problem by offering a glossary in this spirit, a glossary germain to some of the most fundamental, open problems in economics. As the fate of the human race may lay in the balance to finding solutions to these problems, this glossary may be a steop in the right direction.economic terms; methodology; scientific method; coase 1930; Von Neumann & Morgenstern 1944; definitions; careful, patient descriptions
