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Preadolescents are spending more money on consumer goods than anyother time in history. Although the interest in the adolescent (childrenaged 13-18) market has stimulated much research, little attention hasfocused on the years of preadolescence, ages 8-12. During this periodchildren begin making product decisions and building a foundation ofproduct knowledge. Information about the preadolescent child and theimportant role that conformity to parents and peers plays in apparelpurchasing is necessary for researchers and educators to understand howthese consumers are socialized. The purpose of this research is toexamine the extent to which conformity motivators influence shoppingbehavior among preadolescents, especially with regard to clothingpurchase criteria and shopping independence. Overall, this researchfound that preadolescents are exposed to and influenced by the behaviorsand opinions of others, often using clothing to conform to peer groupsas early as age 8. Analysis also indicates that as preadolescents age,both normative and informational conformity motivation increase inapparel purchase decisions. These conformity factors influence howchildren shop, who they shop with, and what they purchase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the access and attitude of Australian rural allied health workers toward continuing professional development (CPD). Use of innovative technologies to deliver programs; Connection between CPD and stated intentions to stay or leave the profession; Reasons influencing professionals to continue to find ways to offer rural practitioners quality career development programs.

A detailed understanding of the electronic structure of semiconducting polymers and their building blocks is essential to develop efficient materials for organic electronics. (Time-resolved) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is particularly suited to address these questions, allowing one to directly detect paramagnetic states and to reveal their spin-multiplicity, besides its clearly superior resolution compared to optical methods. We present here evidence for a direct S 0 →T optical excitation of distinct triplet states in the repeat unit of a conjugated polymer used in organic photovoltaics. These states differ in their electronic structure from those populated via intersystem crossing from excited singlet states. This is an additional and so far unconsidered route to triplet states with potentially high impact on efficiency of organic electronic devices.

Time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy is shown to be a powerful tool to characterize triplet excitons of conjugated polymers. The resulting spectra are highly sensitive to the orientation of the molecule. In thin films cast on PET film, the molecules' orientation with respect to the surface plane can be determined, providing access to sample morphology on a microscopic scale. Surprisingly, the conjugated polymer investigated here, a promising material for organic photovoltaics, exhibits ordering even in bulk samples. Orientation effects may significantly influence the efficiency of solar cells, thus rendering proper control of sample morphology highly important., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Context: Although bacteriuria with acute coexisting illness is common in hospitalized older adults, distinguishing it from urinary tract infection (UTI) can be challenging., Objectives: To examine the rate of agreement between two geriatricians in distinguishing UTI from asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB). To analyze the incidence of associated acute comorbidities and determine if an association exists between clinical manifestations and bacteriuria status on acute hospital admission., Methods: Two physicians conducted a retrospective analysis of 296 inpatient records, including 142 records from age- and condition-matched nonbacteriuria control subjects. Using consensus criteria to diagnose UTI vs ASB, these independent experts evaluated inpatient records, including admission and discharge diagnoses as well as urinalysis results. A kappa statistic was used to determine reviewer agreement. Risk assessment was measured by odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval., Results: Expert agreement for the diagnosis of UTI and ASB was 98% and 44%, respectively. Agreement was reached at a level greater than chance (z=6.74, P<.001, kappa=0.49). In the 30 cases where interexpert agreement was not reached, half of the subjects had acute pulmonary disease. Symptom crossover for this comorbid condition is the likely cause for lack of diagnostic agreement. Among other conditions observed, delirium was most common in UTI subjects., Conclusion: Limited interexpert agreement seemed to result from difficulty in diagnosing patients who had no local symptoms but acute comorbid conditions with potential symptom crossover. Among the conditions observed in our sample population, delirium was most closely associated with UTI.