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Over the past few decades there has been a rise in the number of federally funded large scientific research initiatives, with increased calls to evaluate their processes and outcomes. This article describes efforts to evaluate such initiatives in one agency within the U.S. federal government. The authors introduce the Evaluation of Large Initiatives (ELI) project, a preliminary effort to explore how to accomplish such evaluation. They describe a pilot effort of this project to evaluate the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC) initiative of the National Cancer Institute. They present a summary of this pilot evaluation including the methods used (concept mapping, logic modeling, a detailed researcher survey, content analysis and systematic peer-evaluation of progress reports, bibliometric analysis and peer evaluation of publications and citations, and financial expenditures analysis) and a brief overview of results. Finally, they discuss several important lessons and recommendations that emerged from this work. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table, and 6 notes.)

Neuroblastoma prognosis is dependent on both the differentiation state and stromal content of the tumor. Neuroblastoma tumor stroma is thought to suppress neuroblast growth via release of soluble differentiating factors. Here, we identified critical growth-limiting components of the differentiating stroma secretome and designed a potential therapeutic strategy based on their central mechanism of action. We demonstrated that expression of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), including TβRIII, GPC1, GPC3, SDC3, and SDC4, is low in neuroblasts and high in the Schwannian stroma. Evaluation of neuroblastoma patient microarray data revealed an association between TGFBR3, GPC1, and SDC3 expression and improved prognosis. Treatment of neuroblastoma cell lines with soluble HSPGs promoted neuroblast differentiation via FGFR1 and ERK phosphorylation, leading to upregulation of the transcription factor inhibitor of DNA binding 1 (ID1). HSPGs also enhanced FGF2-dependent differentiation, and the anticoagulant heparin had a similar effect, leading to decreased neuroblast proliferation. Dissection of individual sulfation sites identified 2-O, 3-O-desulfated heparin (ODSH) as a differentiating agent, and treatment of orthotopic xenograft models with ODSH suppressed tumor growth and metastasis without anticoagulation. These studies support heparan sulfate signaling intermediates as prognostic and therapeutic neuroblastoma biomarkers and demonstrate that tumor stroma biology can inform the design of targeted molecular therapeutics., Introduction Neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in infancy (1), arises from neural crest-derived sympathoadrenal precursor cells. Survival rates in late-stage disease are below 40% (2), due to disease recurrence and [...]

Discusses computers and related technologies as a significant means for acquiring language arts skills. Samples a wide array of uses for educational computing in English and language arts classes. (SR)

In recent years, deep learning has achieved tremendous success in image segmentation for computer vision applications. The performance of these models heavily relies on the availability of large-scale high-quality training labels (e.g., PASCAL VOC 2012). Unfortunately, such large-scale high-quality training data are often unavailable in many real-world spatial or spatiotemporal problems in earth science and remote sensing (e.g., mapping the nationwide river streams for water resource management). Although extensive efforts have been made to reduce the reliance on labeled data (e.g., semi-supervised or unsupervised learning, few-shot learning), the complex nature of geographic data such as spatial heterogeneity still requires sufficient training labels when transferring a pre-trained model from one region to another. On the other hand, it is often much easier to collect lower-quality training labels with imperfect alignment with earth imagery pixels (e.g., through interpreting coarse imagery by non-expert volunteers). However, directly training a deep neural network on imperfect labels with geometric annotation errors could significantly impact model performance. Existing research that overcomes imperfect training labels either focuses on errors in label class semantics or characterizes label location errors at the pixel level. These methods do not fully incorporate the geometric properties of label location errors in the vector representation. To fill the gap, this article proposes a weakly supervised learning framework to simultaneously update deep learning model parameters and infer hidden true vector label locations. Specifically, we model label location errors in the vector representation to partially reserve geometric properties (e.g., spatial contiguity within line segments). Evaluations on real-world datasets in the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) refinement application illustrate that the proposed framework outperforms baseline methods in classification accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We examined the pathways to smoking cessation between late adolescence and young adulthood. Methods. We obtained data from a sample of urban African American and Puerto Rican young adults (N=242), mean age 19 years, who reported tobacco use and determined cessation rates between late adolescence and young adulthood. We used structural equation modeling to examine the pathways of positive family relations, family smoking, maladaptive personality attributes, and substance use to smoking cessation. Results. A mediational pathway linked the absence of positive family relations with maladaptive personality attributes, both of which were related to substance use and ultimately smoking cessation. Substance use mediated the path between family smoking and smoking cessation. Conclusions. The results suggest that a positive relationship with one's parents, less smoking in the family, conventional personality attributes, and little or no other substance use facilitate smoking cessation among young adults. (Am J Public Health. 2007;97:1444-1448. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.101212)

Objectives. Smokeless tobacco has many adverse health effects. We analyzed long-term national trends in smokeless tobacco use. Methods. We used 1987 to 2000 National Health Interview Survey data for adults aged 18 years and older, 1986 to 2003 data from Monitoring the Future surveys of adolescents, and 1991 to 2003 data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey for 9th- to 12th-grade students to examine overall and demographic-specific trends. Results. Smokeless tobacco use among adult and adolescent females was low and showed little change. Smokeless tobacco use among men declined slowly (relative decline = 26%), with the largest declines among those aged 18 to 24 years or 65 years and older, Blacks, residents of the South, and persons in more rural areas. Overall and demographic-specific data for adolescent boys indicate that smokeless tobacco use increased for 12th-grade students from 1986 until the early 1990s, but has subsequently declined rapidly in all grades since then (range of relative overall declines = 43% to 48%). Conclusions. Smokeless tobacco use has declined sharply, especially among adolescent boys. Ongoing prevention and cessation efforts are needed to continue this trend.

Research suggests dopamine may significantly affect the tendency to smoke cigarettes. Allele 9 of a dopamine transporter gene, also known as SLC6A3-9, alters dopamine transmission to reduce the need for novelty and reward, behaviors associated with smoking.

Here we report the operation of an optical synthetic aperture radar employing, for the first time to our knowledge, a solid-state laser as the source. The experimental data-acquisition and digital processing techniques are described, by which spatial resolution superior to that limited by diffraction is demonstrated.

RECENT STUDIES INDICATE a high level of public support for the further regulation of tobacco. Forster and coworkers [1] found that more than 50 percent of respondents from seven Minnesota […]

Students who begin smoking before age 12 appear more likely to be heavy or regular smokers later on while students who participate in sports appear less likely to to be heavy or regular smokers. Of 11,248 high school students surveyed, 72% had smoked at least once and 32% were current smokers. Students who were older, white, did poorly in school and did not participate in school sports were more likely to be heavy regular smokers. Students who had first tried smoking before age 12 were more likely to be regular smokers than students who first tried at a later age. Current smokers who started smoking before age 12 were more likely to be heavy smokers than current smokers who started smoking at a later age. These findings suggest that smoking during childhood increases the risk of nicotine addiction while still young. Efforts to prevent smoking among youth should begin in elementary school, and smoking-cessation programs should also target teenagers who smoke.

Abstract Background Over the past decade, tobacco companies have introduced cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products (known as Potential Reduced Exposure Products, PREPs) with purportedly lower levels of some toxins than conventional cigarettes and smokeless products. It is essential that public health agencies monitor awareness, interest, use, and perceptions of these products so that their impact on population health can be detected at the earliest stages. Methods This paper reviews and critiques existing strategies for measuring awareness of PREPs from 16 published and unpublished studies. From these measures, we developed new surveillance items and subjected them to two rounds of cognitive testing, a common and accepted method for evaluating questionnaire wording. Results Our review suggests that high levels of awareness of PREPs reported in some studies are likely to be inaccurate. Two likely sources of inaccuracy in awareness measures were identified: 1) the tendency of respondents to misclassify "no additive" and "natural" cigarettes as PREPs and 2) the tendency of respondents to mistakenly report awareness as a result of confusion between PREPs brands and similarly named familiar products, for example, Eclipse chewing gum and Accord automobiles. Conclusion After evaluating new measures with cognitive interviews, we conclude that as of winter 2006, awareness of reduced exposure products among U.S. smokers was likely to be between 1% and 8%, with the higher estimates for some products occurring in test markets. Recommended measurement strategies for future surveys are presented.

Describes a simple computer game for writing poetry. Notes the advantages and limitations of such computer assisted English instruction. (RL)

First of a two-part series identifying probable changes in English instruction resulting from technology's impact on society and schools. Predicts consequences of interactive reading and writing software, style checkers, teacher-monitored networks in electronic writing labs, computer generated texts, and desktop publishing. (JG)

Second of a two-part series that identifies probable changes in English instruction resulting from technology's impact on society and schools. Provides a review of five books recommended for considering the source, nature, and direction of trends in hardware, software, and "neural netware," or brains. Reports questions used by researchers on this subject. (JG)

Annual Physical Dedicated to M. Gupta, MD A fragmented life. Fatigue, my closest companion. Drugs, my daily nutrition. Doctor's appointment, my camouflaged lifeline. Words exchanged body explored problems sought Listening, [...]

The article discusses the reported improper expansion of reissue law and practice by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the 2011 case In re Yasuhito Tanaka which deals with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Director power to grant reissue patents in cases where the original patent is wholly or partly invalid or inoperative due to a defective specification or drawing. The U.S. Leahy-Smith America Invents Act and Tanaka's patent for an alternator pulley are examined.

Background: Self-determination within mental health services is increasingly recognized as an ethical imperative, but we still know little about the impact of choice on outcomes among people with severe mental illnesses. This study examines whether choice predicts outcomes and whether this relationship is mediated by therapeutic alliance. Method: The study sample of 396 participants completed a survey measuring choice, therapeutic alliance, recovery, quality of life and functioning. Multivariate analyses examined choice as a predictor of outcomes, and Sobel tests assessed alliance as a mediator. Results: Choice variables predicted recovery, quality of life and perceived outcomes. Sobel tests indicated that the relationship between choice and outcome variables was mediated by therapeutic alliance. Implications: The study demonstrates that providing more choice and opportunities for collaboration within services does improve consumer outcomes. The results also show that collaboration is dependent on the quality of the relationship between the provider and consumer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify recent studies in the scientific literature that evaluated structured postgraduate public health and biomedical training programs and reported career outcomes among individual trainees, a comprehensive search of several databases was conducted to identify published studies in English between January 1995 and January 2012. Studies of interest included those that evaluated career outcomes for trainees completing full-time public health or biomedical training programs of at least 12 months duration, with structured training offered on-site. Of the over 600 articles identified, only 13 met the inclusion criteria. Six studies evaluated US federal agency programs and six were of university-based programs. Seven programs were solely or predominantly of physicians, with only one consisting mainly of PhDs. Most studies used a cohort or cross-sectional design. The studies were mainly descriptive, with only four containing statistical data. Type of employment was the most common outcome measure (n = 12) and number of scientific publications (n = 6) was second. The lack of outcomes evaluation data from postgraduate public health and biomedical training programs in the published literature is a lost opportunity for understanding the career paths of trainees and the potential impact of training programs. Suggestions for increasing interest in conducting and reporting evaluation studies of these structured postgraduate training programs are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study collected data five times between 1983 and 2002 from 400 participants who originally came from upstate New York. These participants completed structured interviews as did their mothers three times. LISREL analysis generally supported the hypothesized model. The results indicated that having parents who smoked and having low educational aspirations and expectations were associated with being unconventional, which, in turn, was related to having low emotional control and reporting more internalizing behaviors. Internalizing behaviors were directly associated with a lower likelihood of smoking cessation, as was parental smoking. Research and clinical implications are discussed and the limitations noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite significant declines in smoking rates in the United States, a substantial percentage of adults continue to smoke. Improved understanding of current smokers and their contact with sources of cessation support future tobacco control efforts. Recent evidence suggests that hardcore smokers, established smokers without a history of quit attempts, have less contact with cessation support. Although gender is among the major factors that influence smoking cessation, no research is available on gender differences among hardcore smokers. Methods: Demographic, environmental, and smoking-related characteristics of female hardcore smokers and male hardcore smokers and other female smokers were examined. Data from 17,777smokers from the 2003 Current Population Survey Tobacco Use Supplement were analyzed. Results: Compared with female hardcore smokers, male hardcore smokers were more likely to have contact with smoking restrictions at work (OR = 1.69) and at home (OR = 1.45). Compared with female hardcore smokers, female other smokers were more likely to have seen a healthcare provider during the past year who advised them to quit smoking (OR = 1.39) and more likely to have smoking restrictions at work (OR = 1.25) and at home (OR = 2.32)). Measures of nicotine dependence suggested that female hardcore smokers were less dependent than male hardcore smokers but more dependent than other female smokers. Conclusions: The sociodemographic and healthcare access variations in tobacco use identified in our analyses have significant public health implications and underscore the vital need for clinical and scientific advances in tobacco use prevention and control efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined associations between cigarette smoking, cancer, and self-reported physical (SF-36® Physical Component Summary Score, [PCS]) and mental health (SF36® Mental Component Summary Score, [MCS]) among 123,567 Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in managed care plans. As expected for a sample of older individuals, the SF-36® PCS mean (42.6) was lower than the U.S. general population mean of 50. The SF-36® MCS mean (51.7) for the sample was higher than the general population mean. In addition, least squares means revealed significantly poorer health for current smokers and those who recently quit, regardless of their cancer status. Although statistically significant, the differences between current smokers and never smokers were small among those with or without cancer. Encouraging smokers to quit and providing abstinence support to persons who have recently quit may help reduce health-related impacts of cigarette use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]