Nebraska Adolescents' HIV/Aids Attitudes, Knowledge and Related Practices: 1989

This Prevention Center Paper (No. 22) describes the HIV/AIDS related knowledge, attitudes and practices of a random sample of 1240 Nebraska adolescents in grades 9-12. The data were gathered in 1989. Data were gathered by staff of Health Education, Inc., a Nebraska-based nonprofit research and development corporation, as part of a contract with the Nebraska Department of Education. The Nebraska Department of Education has a major HIV /AIDS cooperative agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Schools were selected at random from each of the six classifications of Nebraska schools established by the Nebraska Department of Education. Two to three classrooms for each grade 9-12 were then randomly selected within each sampled school. All students in the classes on the day of the survey voluntarily completed CDC's HIV / AIDS adolescent survey. All responses were anonymous. Classroom teachers and school administrators 'were not involved in the data collection in any way. A data collection protocol was followed to ensure validity in this self-report survey. This report is divided into four parts: Part 1 deals with students' acceptance of HIV/AIDS instruction and of people with HIV / AIDS. Part 2 describes students' access to HIV / AIDS information: Part 3 is about students ' knowledge of HIV / AIDS, and Part 4 discusses Nebraska adolescents' practices that increase the risk of HIV/AIDS.

Positively Impacting the Retention Rates and Performance for Students-of-Color

This session reports on a first-year program designed to assist students-of-color in adjusting to higher education. Session participants will have the opportunity to view the overall structure of the program, including training components, academic tracking methodology, assessment and technology, enhancement programs, and additional services that S.T.A.R.S. provides.

Effects of strength and power training on neuromuscular adaptations and jumping movement pattern and performance

Effects of strength and power training on neuromuscular adaptations and jumping movement pattern and performance. J Strength Cond Res 26(12): 3335-3344, 2012-This study aimed at comparing the effects of strength and power training (ST and PT) regimens on neuromuscular adaptations and changes on vertical jump performance, kinetics, and kinematics parameters. Forty physically active men (178.2 +/- 7.0 cm; 75.1 +/- 8.6 kg; 23.6 +/- 3.5 years) with at least 2 years of ST experience were assigned to an ST (n = 14), a PT (n = 14), or a control group (C; n = 12). The training programs were performed during 8 weeks, 3 times per week. Dynamic and isometric maximum strength, cross-sectional area, and muscle activation were assessed before and after the experimental period. Squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance, kinetics, and kinematics parameters were also assessed. Dynamic maximum strength increased similarly (p < 0.05) for the ST (22.8%) and PT (16.6%) groups. The maximum voluntary isometric contraction increased for the ST and PT groups (p < 0.05) in the posttraining assessments. There was a main time effect for muscle fiber cross-sectional area (p < 0.05), but there were no changes in muscle activation. The SJ height increased, after ST and PT, because of a faster concentric phase and a higher rate of force development (p < 0.05). The CMJ height increased only after PT (p < 0.05), but there were no significant changes in its kinetics and kinematics parameters. In conclusion, neuromuscular adaptations were similar between the training groups. The PT seemed more effective than the ST in increasing jumping performance, but neither the ST nor the PT was able to affect the SJ and the CMJ movement pattern (e.g., timing and sequencing of joint extension initiation).

Consumer attitudes, knowledge, and behavior related to salt consumption in sentinel countries of the Americas

Objective. To describe individual attitudes, knowledge, and behavior regarding salt intake, its dietary sources, and current food-labeling practices related to salt and sodium in five sentinel countries of the Americas. Methods. A convenience sample of 1 992 adults (>= 18 years old) from Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, and Ecuador (approximately 400 from each country) was obtained between September 2010 and February 2011. Data collection was conducted in shopping malls or major commercial areas using a questionnaire containing 33 questions. Descriptive estimates are presented for the total sample and stratified by country and sociodemographic characteristics of the studied population. Results. Almost 90% of participants associated excess intake of salt with the occurrence of adverse health conditions, more than 60% indicated they were trying to reduce their current intake of salt, and more than 30% believed reducing dietary salt to be of high importance. Only 26% of participants claimed to know the existence of a recommended maximum value of salt or sodium intake and 47% of them stated they knew the content of salt in food items. More than 80% of participants said that they would like food labeling to indicate high, medium, and low levels of salt or sodium and would like to see a clear warning label on packages of foods high in salt. Conclusions. Additional effort is required to increase consumers' knowledge about the existence of a maximum limit for intake and to improve their capacity to accurately monitor and reduce their personal salt consumption.

Anion dopant effects on the structure and performance of polyethersulfone membranes

In this work, the effect of various casting solution salt dopants with similar cations, but different anions: (NaPO3)(6), Na2SO4, Na2CO3, NaCl, and NaF, on the morphology and performance of polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes was evaluated. The phase inversion process was used to produce all membranes using an 18% polyethersulfone in n-methylpyrrolidone casting solution and water as the non-solvent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the membrane cross-section and surface pores were used to determine the specific anion effects on membrane morphology. The SEM images depicted significant changes to the membrane internal structure and pore size with respect to the type and concentration of the casting solution anion dopant. Membrane permeability, molecular weight cut-off, alginate retention, and susceptibility to fouling were evaluated using ultrapure water dead-end and ultrapure water, aqueous polyethylene glycol, aqueous sodium alginate, and natural surface water cross-flow filtration tests. Among the anions evaluated, hexametaphosphate doped at 1% w/w to the polymer resulted in the membrane with highest dead-end permeability at 490 LMH-bar (2- to 3-fold greater than the control), greatest alginate retention at 96.5%, and lowest susceptibility to fouling. The significant increase in membrane performance indicates that the hexametaphosphate anion has great potential to be used as a membrane casting solution dopant. It was also clearly demonstrated that membrane pore morphological characteristics can be effectively used to predict drinking water treatment performance. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of Feed Strategy on Methane Production and Performance of an AnSBBR Treating Effluent from Biodiesel Production

The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of different feeding times (2, 4 and 6 h) and applied volumetric organic loads (4.5, 6.0 and 7.5 gCOD L-1 day(-1)) on the performance of an anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactor (AnSBBR) treating effluent from biodiesel production. Polyurethane foam cubes were used as inert support in the reactor, and mixing was accomplished by recirculating the liquid phase. The effect of feeding time on reactor performance showed to be more pronounced at higher values of applied volumetric organic loads (AVOLs). Highest organic material removal efficiencies achieved at AVOL of 4.5 gCOD L-1 day(-1) were 87 % at 4-h feeding against 84 % at 2-h and 6-h feeding. At AVOL of 6.0 gCOD L-1 day(-1), highest organic material removal efficiencies achieved with 4-h and 6-h feeding were 84 %, against 71 % at 2-h feeding. At AVOL of 7.5 gCOD L-1 day(-1), organic material removal efficiency achieved with 4-h feeding was 77 %. Hence, longer feeding times favored minimization of total volatile acids concentration during the cycle as well as in the effluent, guaranteeing process stability and safety.

Breastfeeding: knowledge and practice

The objective of this study was to characterize the practices of breastfeeding promotion developed by nursing professionals of the Family Health Strategy and analyze the correlation between their knowledge of breastfeeding and how often they provided teaching regarding this topic. This cross-sectional, descriptive study was performed at the Family Health Strategy units of Uberaba, Minas Gerais with 85 nursing professionals, using two questionnaires. Data analysis was performed using frequency distribution and Spearman's correlation analysis. Most professionals said that they often addressed breastfeeding in the investigated practices. However, a poor correlation was observed between the frequency of this approach and the mean score on knowledge test. The nursing professionals' statements indicate that breastfeeding recommendations were provided regardless of their knowledge on the topic.

Kerteszia subgenus of Anopheles associated with the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest:current knowledge and future challenges

Abstract Background The Atlantic rainforest ecosystem, where bromeliads are abundant, provides an excellent environment for Kerteszia species, because these anophelines use the axils of those plants as larval habitat. Anopheles (K.) cruzii and Anopheles (K.) bellator are considered the primary vectors of malaria in the Atlantic forest. Although the incidence of malaria has declined in some areas of the Atlantic forest, autochthonous cases are still registered every year, with Anopheles cruzii being considered to be a primary vector of both human and simian Plasmodium. Methods Recent publications that addressed ecological aspects that are important for understanding the involvement of Kerteszia species in the epidemiology of malaria in the Atlantic rainforest in the Neotropical Region were analysed. Conclusion The current state of knowledge about Kerteszia species in relation to the Atlantic rainforest ecosystem was discussed. Emphasis was placed on ecological characteristics related to epidemiological aspects of this group of mosquitoes. The main objective was to investigate biological aspects of the species that should be given priority in future studies.

Weight loss in combat sports: physiological, psychological and performance effects

Abstract Background The present article briefly reviews the weight loss processes in combat sports. We aimed to discuss the most relevant aspects of rapid weight loss (RWL) in combat sports. Methods This review was performed in the databases MedLine, Lilacs, PubMed and SciELO, and organized into sub-topics: (1) prevalence, magnitude and procedures, (2) psychological, physiological and performance effects, (3) possible strategies to avoid decreased performance (4) organizational strategies to avoid such practices. Results There was a high prevalence (50%) of RWL, regardless the specific combat discipline. Methods used are harmful to performance and health, such as laxatives, diuretics, use of plastic or rubber suits, and sauna. RWL affects physical and cognitive capacities, and may increase the risk of death. Conclusion Recommendations during different training phases, educational and organizational approaches are presented to deal with or to avoid RWL.

Updated status and performance for the cosmic origins spectrograph onboard the Hubble Space Telescope

The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) was installed on the Hubble Space Telescope in May 2009. Although COS was initially designed to perform high-sensitivity medium- and low-resolution spectroscopy of astronomical objects in the 1150-3200 Å wavelength range, new wavelength settings have recently become available that allow medium-resolution spectroscopy down to 900 Å, at effective areas comparable to those of FUSE. Here we provide an update on the implementation of the new short wavelength settings G130M/1222, 1096, and 1055. We discuss changes to the Far-Ultraviolet (FUV) and Near-Ultraviolet (NUV) dark rates, FUV pulse height filtering, new and improved flux calibrations for FUV Lifetime Positions 1 and 2, changes in sensitivity for both the NUV and FUV channels, and give a general overview of the calibration projects undertaken in Cycles 19 and 20.

Androgen receptor gene polymorphisms lean mass and performance in young men

[EN] The exon-1 of the androgen receptor (AR) gene contains two repeat length polymorphisms which modify either the amount of AR protein inside the cell (GGN(n), polyglycine) or its transcriptional activity (CAG(n), polyglutamine). Shorter CAG and/or GGN repeats provide stronger androgen signalling and vice versa. To test the hypothesis that CAG and GGN repeat AR polymorphisms affect muscle mass and various variables of muscular strength phenotype traits, the length of CAG and GGN repeats was determined by PCR and fragment analysis and confirmed by DNA sequencing of selected samples in 282 men (28.6 +/- 7.6 years). Individuals were grouped as CAG short (CAG(S)) if harbouring repeat lengths of 21. GGN was considered short (GGN(S)) or long (GGN(L)) if GGN 23, respectively. No significant differences in lean body mass or fitness were observed between the CAG(S) and CAG(L) groups, or between GGN(S) and GGN(L) groups, but a trend for a correlation was found for the GGN repeat and lean mass of the extremities (r=-0.11, p=0.06). In summary, the lengths of CAG and GGN repeat of the AR gene do not appear to influence lean mass or fitness in young men.

Design and Performance Evaluation of Network-on-Chip Communication Protocols and Architectures

The scale down of transistor technology allows microelectronics manufacturers such as Intel and IBM to build always more sophisticated systems on a single microchip. The classical interconnection solutions based on shared buses or direct connections between the modules of the chip are becoming obsolete as they struggle to sustain the increasing tight bandwidth and latency constraints that these systems demand. The most promising solution for the future chip interconnects are the Networks on Chip (NoC). NoCs are network composed by routers and channels used to inter- connect the different components installed on the single microchip. Examples of advanced processors based on NoC interconnects are the IBM Cell processor, composed by eight CPUs that is installed on the Sony Playstation III and the Intel Teraflops pro ject composed by 80 independent (simple) microprocessors. On chip integration is becoming popular not only in the Chip Multi Processor (CMP) research area but also in the wider and more heterogeneous world of Systems on Chip (SoC). SoC comprehend all the electronic devices that surround us such as cell-phones, smart-phones, house embedded systems, automotive systems, set-top boxes etc... SoC manufacturers such as ST Microelectronics , Samsung, Philips and also Universities such as Bologna University, M.I.T., Berkeley and more are all proposing proprietary frameworks based on NoC interconnects. These frameworks help engineers in the switch of design methodology and speed up the development of new NoC-based systems on chip. In this Thesis we propose an introduction of CMP and SoC interconnection networks. Then focusing on SoC systems we propose: • a detailed analysis based on simulation of the Spidergon NoC, a ST Microelectronics solution for SoC interconnects. The Spidergon NoC differs from many classical solutions inherited from the parallel computing world. Here we propose a detailed analysis of this NoC topology and routing algorithms. Furthermore we propose aEqualized a new routing algorithm designed to optimize the use of the resources of the network while also increasing its performance; • a methodology flow based on modified publicly available tools that combined can be used to design, model and analyze any kind of System on Chip; • a detailed analysis of a ST Microelectronics-proprietary transport-level protocol that the author of this Thesis helped developing; • a simulation-based comprehensive comparison of different network interface designs proposed by the author and the researchers at AST lab, in order to integrate shared-memory and message-passing based components on a single System on Chip; • a powerful and flexible solution to address the time closure exception issue in the design of synchronous Networks on Chip. Our solution is based on relay stations repeaters and allows to reduce the power and area demands of NoC interconnects while also reducing its buffer needs; • a solution to simplify the design of the NoC by also increasing their performance and reducing their power and area consumption. We propose to replace complex and slow virtual channel-based routers with multiple and flexible small Multi Plane ones. This solution allows us to reduce the area and power dissipation of any NoC while also increasing its performance especially when the resources are reduced. This Thesis has been written in collaboration with the Advanced System Technology laboratory in Grenoble France, and the Computer Science Department at Columbia University in the city of New York.

Ownership, Multiple Blockholders and Performance: A study of the Indonesian Banking Industry

The objective of this study is to provide empirical evidence on how ownership structure and owner’s identity affect performance, in the banking industry by using a panel of Indonesia banks over the period 2000–2009. Firstly, we analysed the impact of the presence of multiple blockholders on bank ownership structure and performance. Building on multiple agency and principal-principal theories, we investigated whether the presence and shares dispersion across blockholders with different identities (i.e. central and regional government; families; foreign banks and financial institutions) affected bank performance, in terms of profitability and efficiency. We found that the number of blockholders has a negative effect on banks’ performance, while blockholders’ concentration has a positive effect. Moreover, we observed that the dispersion of ownership across different types of blockholders has a negative effect on banks’ performance. We interpret such results as evidence that, when heterogeneous blockholders are present, the disadvantage from conflicts of interests between blockholders seems to outweigh the advantage of the increase in additional monitoring by additional blockholder. Secondly, we conducted a joint analysis of the static, selection, and dynamic effects of different types of ownership on banks’ performance. We found that regional banks and foreign banks have a higher profitability and efficiency as compared to domestic private banks. In the short-run, foreign acquisitions and domestic M&As reduce the level of overhead costs, while in the long-run they increase the Net Interest Margin (NIM). Further, we analysed NIM determinants, to asses the impact of ownership on bank business orientation. Our findings lend support to our prediction that the NIM determinants differs accordingly to the type of bank ownership. We also observed that banks that experienced changes in ownership, such as foreign-acquired banks, manifest different interest margin determinants with respect to domestic or foreign banks that did not experience ownership rearrangements.