Factors influencing university performance of associate in arts graduates transferring to the state university system

The purpose of this study was to examine the factorsbehind the failure rates of Associate in Arts (AA)graduates from Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC) transferring to the Florida State University System (SUS). In M-DCC's largest disciplines, the university failure rate was 13% for Business & Management, 13% for Computer Science, and 14% for Engineering. Hypotheses tested were: Hypothesis 1 (H1): The lower division (LD) overall cumulative GPA and/or the LD major field GPA for AA graduates are predictive of the SUS GPA for the Business Management, Computer Science, and Engineering disciplines. Hypothesis 2 (H2): Demographic variables (age, race, gender) are predictive of performance at the university among M-DCC AA graduates in Engineering, Business & Management, and Computer Science. Hypothesis 3 (H3): Administrative variables (CLAST -College Level Academic Skills Test subtests) are predictive of university performance (GPA) for the Business/Management, Engineering, and Computer Science disciplines. Hypothesis 4 (H4): LD curriculum variables (course credits, course quality points) are predictive of SUS performance for the Engineering, Business/Management and Computer Science disciplines. Multiple Regression was the inferential procedureselected for predictions. Descriptive statistics weregenerated on the predictors. Results for H1 identified the LD GPA as the most significant variable in accounting for the variability of the university GPA for the Business & Management, Computer Science, and Engineering disciplines. For H2, no significant results were obtained for theage and gender variables, but the ethnic subgroups indicated significance at the .0001 level. However, differentials in GPA may not have been due directly to the race factor but, rather, to curriculum choices and performance outcomes while in the LD. The CLAST computation variable (H3) was a significant predictor of the SUS GPA. This is most likely due to the mathematics structure pervasive in these disciplines. For H4, there were two curriculum variables significant in explaining the variability of the university GPA (number of required critical major credits completed and quality of the student's performance for these credits). Descriptive statistics on the predictors indicated that 78% of those failing in the State University System had a LD major GPA (calculated with the critical required university credits earned and quality points of these credits) of less than 3.0; and 83% of those failing at the university had an overall community college GPA of less than 3.0.

Dynamic fault tree analysis with PEWMA modeling of event rates and Bayesian updating of material balance parameters using MCMC

This research explores Bayesian updating as a tool for estimating parameters probabilistically by dynamic analysis of data sequences. Two distinct Bayesian updating methodologies are assessed. The first approach focuses on Bayesian updating of failure rates for primary events in fault trees. A Poisson Exponentially Moving Average (PEWMA) model is implemnented to carry out Bayesian updating of failure rates for individual primary events in the fault tree. To provide a basis for testing of the PEWMA model, a fault tree is developed based on the Texas City Refinery incident which occurred in 2005. A qualitative fault tree analysis is then carried out to obtain a logical expression for the top event. A dynamic Fault Tree analysis is carried out by evaluating the top event probability at each Bayesian updating step by Monte Carlo sampling from posterior failure rate distributions. It is demonstrated that PEWMA modeling is advantageous over conventional conjugate Poisson-Gamma updating techniques when failure data is collected over long time spans. The second approach focuses on Bayesian updating of parameters in non-linear forward models. Specifically, the technique is applied to the hydrocarbon material balance equation. In order to test the accuracy of the implemented Bayesian updating models, a synthetic data set is developed using the Eclipse reservoir simulator. Both structured grid and MCMC sampling based solution techniques are implemented and are shown to model the synthetic data set with good accuracy. Furthermore, a graphical analysis shows that the implemented MCMC model displays good convergence properties. A case study demonstrates that Likelihood variance affects the rate at which the posterior assimilates information from the measured data sequence. Error in the measured data significantly affects the accuracy of the posterior parameter distributions. Increasing the likelihood variance mitigates random measurement errors, but casuses the overall variance of the posterior to increase. Bayesian updating is shown to be advantageous over deterministic regression techniques as it allows for incorporation of prior belief and full modeling uncertainty over the parameter ranges. As such, the Bayesian approach to estimation of parameters in the material balance equation shows utility for incorporation into reservoir engineering workflows.

A study of primary teeth restored by intracoronal restorations in children participating in an undergraduate teaching programme at Cork University Dental School and Hospital, Ireland

Aim: To study the outcomes for restored primary molar teeth; to examine outcomes in relation to tooth type involved, intracoronal restoration complexity and to the material used. Materials and methods: Design: Retrospective study of primary molar teeth restored by intracoronal restorations. A series of restored primary molar teeth for children aged 6-12 years was studied. The principal outcome measure was failure of initial restoration (re-restoration or extraction). Three hundred patient records were studied to include three equal groups of primary molar teeth restored with amalgam, composite or glass ionomer, respectively. Restorative materials, the restoration type, simple (single surface) or complex (multi-surface) restoration, and tooth notation were recorded. Subsequent interventions were examined. Data were coded and entered into a Microsoft Excel database and analysis undertaken using SPSS v.18. Statistical differences were tested using the c2 test of statistical significance. Results: Of the 300 teeth studied, 61 restoration failures were recorded with 11 of those extracted. No significant differences were found between outcomes for upper first, upper second, lower first or lower second primary molars. Outcomes for simple primary teeth restored by intracoronal restorations were significantly better than those for complex intracoronal restorations (P = 0.042). Teeth originally restored with amalgam accounted for 19.7% of the 61 failures, composite for 29.5%, while teeth restored with glass ionomer represented 50.8% of all restoration failures. The differences were significant (P = 0.012). Conclusions: The majority (79.7%) of the 300 restored primary teeth studied were successful, and 3.7% teeth were extracted. Restorations involving more than one surface had almost twice the failure rate of single surface restorations. The difference was significant. Significant differences in failure rates for the three dental materials studied were recorded. Amalgam had the lowest failure rate while the failure rate with glass ionomer was the highest.

Establishing an EGFR mutation screening service for non-small cell lung cancer - sample quality criteria and candidate histological predictors.

INTRODUCTION: EGFR screening requires good quality tissue, sensitivity and turn-around time (TAT). We report our experience of routine screening, describing sample type, TAT, specimen quality (cellularity and DNA yield), histopathological description, mutation result and clinical outcome. METHODS: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) sections were screened for EGFR mutations (M+) in exons 18-21. Clinical, pathological and screening outcome data were collected for year 1 of testing. Screening outcome alone was collected for year 2. RESULTS: In year 1, 152 samples were tested, most (72%) were diagnostic. TAT was 4.9 days (95%confidence interval (CI)=4.5-5.5). EGFR-M+ prevalence was 11% and higher (20%) among never-smoking women with adenocarcinomas (ADCs), but 30% of mutations occurred in current/ex-smoking men. EGFR-M+ tumours were non-mucinous ADCs and 100% thyroid transcription factor (TTF1+). No mutations were detected in poorly differentiated NSCLC-not otherwise specified (NOS). There was a trend for improved overall survival (OS) among EGFR-M+ versus EGFR-M- patients (median OS=78 versus 17 months). In year 1, test failure rate was 19%, and associated with scant cellularity and low DNA concentrations. However 75% of samples with poor cellularity but representative of tumour were informative and mutation prevalence was 9%. In year 2, 755 samples were tested; mutation prevalence was 13% and test failure only 5.4%. Although samples with low DNA concentration (2.2 ng/μL), the mutation rate was 9.2%. CONCLUSION: Routine epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) screening using diagnostic samples is fast and feasible even on samples with poor cellularity and DNA content. Mutations tend to occur in better-differentiated non-mucinous TTF1+ ADCs. Whether these histological criteria may be useful to select patients for EGFR testing merits further investigation.

Rentabilização de Capital Humano

A Escola Naval apresenta uma taxa de insucesso na ordem dos 64%, acabando por perder, durante o decorrer do curso, mais de metade dos indivíduos admitidos. Este projeto surge com o intuito de perceber as causas associadas ao baixo rendimento, através da análise dos dados dos indivíduos desde a candidatura ao término do curso, para identificar as caraterísticas (designadas de variáveis) dos indivíduos com maior e com menor probabilidade de sucesso na Escola Naval. Os dados são inicialmente analisados graficamente, onde os candidatos são analisados de forma independente, e os admitidos e os finalistas são analisados em conjunto para se avaliar o comportamento das variáveis no início e no fim dos cursos. Um aumento do peso de uma variável no grupo dos finalistas em relação ao grupo dos admitidos é interpretado como um indicador de bom desempenho. É, ainda, utilizada uma análise estatística para avaliar a associação entre o sucesso e cada uma das variáveis no grupo dos admitidos, e, também, para validar as ilações obtidas através da análise gráfica. O estudo revelou que os indivíduos que entram para a Escola Naval com melhores notas e os indivíduos que tomam conhecimento do concurso de candidatura através da internet são os que apresentam uma maior predisposição para o sucesso, enquanto os indivíduos que têm ambos os pais no ativo são os que apresentam menor probabilidade de sucesso.

Desenlaces de la escala Omaha+ en los pacientes en cuidado intensivo en la fundación santa fe de Bogotá

Introducción La ventilación mecánica es fundamental en el manejo de la falla respiratoria aguda, actualmente no existe consenso sobre el momento exacto de extubación. Este estudio describe el comportamiento de la escala OMAHA+ en nuestra institución. Objetivo Principal Describir los desenlaces clínicos relacionados con la escala OMAHA+ durante la extubación de los pacientes de las unidades de cuidado intensivo del hospital universitario. Métodos Estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo, basado en el registro de la escala OMAHA+ de 68 pacientes durante el proceso de extubación en las Unidades de cuidado intensivo adulto de la Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá durante Agosto de 2014 a Mayo de 2015. Resultados Se encontraron valores gasométricos cercanos a la normalidad, con una PaO2/FiO2 media de 261 (DS 60,6), SaO2 media de 96% (DS 2%), media de lactato sérico de 1.5 mmol/L (DS 1,2 mmol/L), con signos vitales normales. La causa más común de ingreso a UCI fue Neumonía, seguida por cirugía cardiaca y abdominal. Las medias de parámetros ventilatorios al momento de extubación fueron; PEEP de 6 (DS 0,8), volumen corriente de 8ml/Kg (DS 1,4 ml/Kg), índice de Tobín de 34 (DS 11,9), test de fuga positivo 94%, y sólo una extubación fallida. Conclusiones La escala OMAHA+ puede ser una herramienta útil, aplicable y fácilmente reproducible en los pacientes con soporte ventilatorio mecánico invasivo previo al proceso de extubación, con baja proporción de fallo. Estos resultados deben ser evaluados en estudios prospectivos.

Construcción del perfil profesional docente de sétimo año: respuesta a una necesidad actual

In our country, the seventh grade is the level with the highest desertion and failure rate in high school. This was the main reason that motivated this group of researchers to define the teachers’ professional profile at this level. Based on a definition of the teachers’ characteristics, the concept of how a profile should be, the age features of seventh graders and all those aspects that benefit the teaching-learning processes, the optimum and required profile of the seventh graders’ teachers is proposed.

Chemo-physical and biological mechanisms behind the anticancer activity of plasma activated Ringer's Lactate solution for the treatment of peritoneal carcinosis from primitive epithelial ovarian/tubular tumor

Cancer research and development of targeting agents in this field is based on robust studies using preclinical models. The failure rate of standardized treatment approaches for several solid tumors has led to the urgent need to fine-tune more sophisticated and faithful preclinical models able to recapitulate the features of in vivo human tumors, with the final aim to shed light on new potential therapeutic targets. Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC) serous histotype (HGSOC) is one of the most lethal diseases in women due to its high aggressiveness (75% of patients diagnosed at FIGO III-IV state) and poor prognosis (less of 50% in 5 years), whose therapy often fails as chemoresistance sets in. This thesis aimed at using the novel perfusion-based bioreactor U-CUP that provides direct perfusion throughout the tumor tissue seeking to obtain an EOC 3D ex vivo model able to recapitulate the features of the original tumor including the tumor microenvironment and maintaining its cellular heterogeneity. Moreover, we optimized this approach so that it can be successfully applied to slow-frozen tumoral tissues, further extending the usefulness of this tool. We also investigated the effectiveness of Plasma Activated Ringer’s Lactate solution (PA-RL) against Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC) serous histotype in both 2D and 3D cultures using ex-vivo specimens from HGSOC patients. We propose PA-RL as a novel therapy with local intraperitoneal administration, which could act on primary or metastatic ovarian tumors inducing a specific cancer cell death with reduced damage on the surrounding healthy tissues.

Resting heart rate and incident heart failure and cardiovascular mortality in older adults: role of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction: the PROSPER study.

AIMS: Resting heart rate is a promising modifiable cardiovascular risk marker in older adults, but the mechanisms linking heart rate to cardiovascular disease are not fully understood. We aimed to assess the association between resting heart rate and incident heart failure (HF) and cardiovascular mortality, and to examine whether these associations might be attributable to systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 4084 older adults aged 70-82 years with known cardiovascular risk factors or previous cardiovascular disease, without pre-existing HF or beta-blockers in the PROSPER study. Over a 3.2-year follow-up period, we examined incident HF hospitalization and cardiovascular mortality according to resting heart rate, along with C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), and von Willebrand factor (vWf). Mean heart rate was 67 b.p.m. for men and 70 b.p.m. for women. CRP, IL-6, tPA, and vWf levels were all positively correlated with heart rate. After multivariate adjustment, heart rate was associated with HF hospitalization [hazard ratio (HR) 1.78 for highest vs. lowest distribution third, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21-2.63, P= 0.003] and cardiovascular mortality (HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.23-2.47, P= 0.002). Further adjustment for both IL-6 and vWf levels decreased HR to 1.60 (95% CI 1.08-2.38, P= 0.020) for HF and to 1.50 (95% CI 1.04-2.15, P= 0.028) for cardiovascular mortality. CONCLUSION: Increased heart rate is associated with increased systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. These factors are likely to contribute to, but do not fully explain, the risk of HF and cardiovascular death associated with increased heart rate in older age.

Resting heart rate and the risk of heart failure in healthy adults: the rotterdam study.

Background- An elevated resting heart rate is associated with rehospitalization for heart failure and is a modifiable risk factor in heart failure patients. We aimed to examine the association between resting heart rate and incident heart failure in a population-based cohort study of healthy adults without pre-existing overt heart disease. Methods and Results- We studied 4768 men and women aged ≥55 years from the population-based Rotterdam Study. We excluded participants with prevalent heart failure, coronary heart disease, pacemaker, atrial fibrillation, atrioventricular block, and those using β-blockers or calcium channel blockers. We used extended Cox models allowing for time-dependent variation of resting heart rate along follow-up. During a median of 14.6 years of follow-up, 656 participants developed heart failure. The risk of heart failure was higher in men with higher resting heart rate. For each increment of 10 beats per minute, the multivariable adjusted hazard ratios in men were 1.16 (95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.28; P=0.005) in the time-fixed heart rate model and 1.13 (95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.25; P=0.017) in the time-dependent heart rate model. The association could not be demonstrated in women (P for interaction=0.004). Censoring participants for incident coronary heart disease or using time-dependent models to account for the use of β-blockers or calcium channel blockers during follow-up did not alter the results. Conclusions- Baseline or persistent higher resting heart rate is an independent risk factor for the development of heart failure in healthy older men in the general population.

Effect of low-dose chest irradiation before chemotherapy on the rate of local failure in small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the rate of tumor recurrence within the irradiated volume after initial low-dose irradiation of limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), to assess the tolerance of a sequential combination of low-dose chest irradiation followed by chemotherapy, and to confirm the responsiveness of limited-stage SCLC to low-dose irradiation. METHODS AND MATERIALS: In this pilot study, 26 patients with limited-stage SCLC were treated by first-line 20-Gy thoracic irradiation followed 3 weeks later by chemotherapy (cisplatin, doxorubicin, and etoposide for six cycles). RESULTS: We present our final results with a median follow-up of surviving patients of 7 years. The response rate to this low-dose irradiation was 83%, with an overall response rate to radiochemotherapy of 96% and a median survival of 21 months. No unexpected early or late toxicity was observed. The rate of initial isolated local failure was 8%, which compares favorably with other published series using higher doses of radiochemotherapy. CONCLUSION: An initial chest irradiation of 20 Gy before chemotherapy could be sufficient to reduce the risk of local failure during the time of survival of patients with limited-stage SCLC. Potential advantages of this treatment may be the prevention of resistance mechanisms to radiotherapy induced by preliminary chemotherapy and a reduced radiation-induced toxicity.

The decreased oxygen uptake during progressive exercise in ischemia-induced heart failure is due to reduced cardiac output rate

We tested the hypothesis that the inability to increase cardiac output during exercise would explain the decreased rate of oxygen uptake (VO2) in recent onset, ischemia-induced heart failure rats. Nine normal control rats and 6 rats with ischemic heart failure were studied. Myocardial infarction was induced by coronary ligation. VO2 was measured during a ramp protocol test on a treadmill using a metabolic mask. Cardiac output was measured with a flow probe placed around the ascending aorta. Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure was higher in ischemic heart failure rats compared with normal control rats (17 ± 0.4 vs 8 ± 0.8 mmHg, P = 0.0001). Resting cardiac index (CI) tended to be lower in ischemic heart failure rats (P = 0.07). Resting heart rate (HR) and stroke volume index (SVI) did not differ significantly between ischemic heart failure rats and normal control rats. Peak VO2 was lower in ischemic heart failure rats (73.72 ± 7.37 vs 109.02 ± 27.87 mL min-1 kg-1, P = 0.005). The VO2 and CI responses during exercise were significantly lower in ischemic heart failure rats than in normal control rats. The temporal response of SVI, but not of HR, was significantly lower in ischemic heart failure rats than in normal control rats. Peak CI, HR, and SVI were lower in ischemic heart failure rats. The reduction in VO2 response during incremental exercise in an ischemic model of heart failure is due to the decreased cardiac output response, largely caused by depressed stroke volume kinetics.

Exercise training decreases myocardial collagen III and heart failure signs rate, and improves physical performance in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Age-Related Maximum Heart Rate Among Ischemic and Nonischemic Heart Failure Patients Receiving beta-Blockade Therapy

Background: Equations to predict maximum heart rate (HRmax) in heart failure (HF) patients receiving beta-adrenergic blocking (BB) agents do not consider the cause of HF. We determined equations to predict HRmax in patients with ischemic and nonischemic HF receiving BB therapy. Methods and Results: Using treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise testing, we studied HF patients receiving BB therapy being considered for transplantation from 1999 to 2010. Exclusions were pacemaker and/or implantable defibrillator, left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) >50%, peak respiratory exchange ratio (RER) <1.00, and Chagas disease. We used linear regression equations to predict HRmax based on age in ischemic and nonischemic patients. We analyzed 278 patients, aged 47 +/- 10 years, with ischemic (n = 75) and nonischemic (n = 203) HF. LVEF was 30.8 +/- 9.4% and 28.6 +/- 8.2% (P = .04), peak VO2 16.9 +/- 4.7 and 16.9 +/- 5.2 mL kg(-1) min(-1) (P = NS), and the HRmax 130.8 +/- 23.3 and 125.3 +/- 25.3 beats/min (P = .051) in ischemic and nonischemic patients, respectively. We devised the equation HRmax = 168 - 0.76 x age (R-2 = 0.095; P = .007) for ischemic HF patients, but there was no significant relationship between age and HRmax in nonischemic HF patients (R-2 = 0.006; P = NS). Conclusions: Our study suggests that equations to estimate HRmax should consider the cause of HF. (J Cardiac Fail 2012;18:831-836)