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The construct and criterion validity of emotional intelligence and its potential utility for management studies.

In this study, the authors reviewed the definition of emotional intelligence (EI) and argued that El is conceptually distinct from personality. In Study 1, the authors showed that EI was related to yet distinct from personality dimensions and that it had incremental predictive power on life satisfaction. The authors examined the construct validity of self-reports and others' ratings of EI using two samples in Study 2. In a student sample, parents' ratings explained additional variance in the students' life satisfaction and feelings of powerlessness after controlling for the Big Five personality dimensions. In the work sample, peer ratings were found to be significant predictors of job performance ratings provided by supervisors after controlling for the Big Five personality dimensions. Other implications for future research on EI are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Umbrellas and flagships: efficient conservation surrogates or expensive mistakes?

The use of umbrella and flagship species as surrogates for regional biota whose spatial distributions are poorly known is a popular conservation strategy. Yet many assumptions underlying the choice of surrogate species remain untested. By using biodiversity databases containing spatial incidence data for species of concern for (i) the southern California coastal sage scrub habitat, (ii) the Columbia Plateau ecoregion, and (iii) the continental United States, we evaluate the potential effectiveness of a range of conservation surrogate schemes (e.g., big carnivores, charismatic species, keystone species, wide-ranging species), asking how many species potentially are protected by each scheme and at what cost in each habitat area. For all three databases, we find that none of the surrogate schemes we evaluated performs significantly better than do a comparable number of species randomly selected from the database. Although some surrogate species may have considerable publicity value, based on the databases we analyzed, representing diverse taxa on three different geographic scales, we find that the utility of umbrella and flagship species as surrogates for regional biodiversity may be limited.

Animals↗

Receptor- and non-receptor-mediated clearance of big-endothelin and endothelin-1: differential effects of acute and chronic ETA receptor blockade.

AIMS: The aims of this study were to define and characterize the different mechanisms and sites of clearance of plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) and big endothelin-1 (BigET-1) and evaluate possible effects of ETA versus combined ETA and ETB receptor blockade or endothelin converting enzyme (ECE) inhibition. METHODS: Time courses and sites of clearance were evaluated in Wistar-Kyoto rats after bolus injection of radiolabelled peptides into the carotid artery before or after treatment with LU1 35252 (ETA) and bosentan (ETA and ETB) as receptor antagonists or the ECE inhibitor phosphoramidon. RESULTS: The study shows that differential clearance of 125I-ET-1 and 125I-BigET-1 is mediated by distinct tissue-specific, receptor- and non-receptor-mediated mechanisms. Low levels of plasma ET-1 are rapidly cleared, mainly in the pulmonary circulation, through a low-capacity saturable ETB receptor-linked mechanism. In contrast, BigET-1 clearance is markedly slower, confined largely to liver and kidneys, is essentially non-receptor-mediated and is independent of converting enzyme activity. Acute inhibition of both ETA and ETB receptors with bosentan dramatically prolonged 125I-ET-1 plasma half-life and shifted tissue uptake from lung to liver and kidneys. Pulmonary clearance of 125I-ET-1 was decreased by chronic but not acute treatment with the specific ETA receptor antagonist LU135252. In contrast, 125I-Big-ET-1 clearance and tissue uptake were essentially unchanged by all treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma levels and clearance studies on ET-1 and BigET-1 may provide differential information regarding pathological changes in their separate uptake mechanisms. Such data could have diagnostic or prognostic value in pulmonary, hepatic and renal pathophysiology or future therapeutic monitoring of treatment efficacy following administration of selective receptor antagonists.

Administration, Oral↗

Circulating growth hormone forms in type 1 diabetic subjects: comparison with normal subjects and acromegalics.

The molecular forms of growth hormone (GH) in serum from 18 Type 1 diabetic patients with poor metabolic control were analysed using sephadex G-100 chromatography. The profiles obtained were compared with those from normal subjects whose GH secretion was stimulated by exercise and hypoglycaemia and eight acromegalic patients. In the three groups three distinct GH forms were found: little (monomeric), big and big-big-GH. Samples from normal subjects contained 45% little-GH which was less than samples from the diabetics and acromegalics (53% and 65%, respectively, P less than 0.01). Further samples from normal subjects after the onset of hypoglycaemia showed an increase in little-GH. In the three groups, the higher the proportion of little-GH, the lower the proportion of big-big-GH, while the proportion of big-GH remained similar. In the acromegalics the proportion of little-GH was strongly correlated with the log concentration of serum GH. As little-GH is cleared from the circulation quicker than the larger forms these data indicate that the main component of the frequent surges of GH secretion in poorly controlled Type 1 diabetic subjects is little-GH (monomeric forms). The sustained release of GH found in acromegaly is composed largely of monomeric forms.

Acromegaly↗

Secular trends of sizes at birth in Russian infants born between 1987 and 2002.

Secular changes in the body dimensions of newborns from three different geographical localities are compared. Anthropometrical data of infants born in 1987 and in 2002 as a result of singleton full-term non-pathological postpartum were collected from medical records of children's out-patient clinics in three geographical localities: two big cities-Moscow and Saratov-and the town of Khvalynsk (Saratov region). The total number of newborns used in the analysis was 1,174. Body length and weight at birth from 1987 to 2002 increased in Moscow and Saratov, while in Khvalynsk there was a significant decrease of body length for boys. There is also a trend towards decrease of body weight in Khvalynsk boys and girls. It may be assumed that the changes in body sizes of newborns may be connected with socio-economic changes.

Analysis of Variance↗

Intertester reliability of manual muscle strength testing in leprosy patients.

This study reports the results of a study on the intertester reliability of manual muscle strength testing in leprosy patients with confirmed motor function loss of at least one nerve. Three testers graded the muscle strength of 72 patients in random order. Both hands and feet were graded. Strength was graded on a modified Medical Research Council Scale (9 points, 5, 4+, 4, 3+, 3, 2+, 2, 1, 0). The following movements were tested for strength: little finger and index finger abduction, intrinsic position of all four fingers, thumb abduction and opposition, foot dorsiflexion and eversion and extension of the big toe. The weighted kappa statistic was used to calculate the chance-corrected percentage of agreement between observers. Overall agreement for each of the 11 tests appeared to be good or very good (0.61-1.00). However, when data for hands or feet with normal strength or complete paralysis were excluded from the analysis, the reliability of the remaining mid-range scale was not acceptable (kappa 0.55-0.88, direct agreement range 11-41%). While the reliability of this scale could possibly be improved by special training, we feel that, for the evaluation of nerve function for leprosy patients with (suspected) nerve function loss, the extended 9-point VMT scale should only be used when direct intra- or intertester agreement is more than 80%.

Female↗

[TORCH infections in mothers as a cause of neonatal morbidity].

When possible, diseases by expectant mothers and newborns, like long-term disabilities also, should be prevented by establishing early diagnoses, evaluation and implementation adequate therapy. The major goal of medical care is prevention of disorders with provision of adequate prenatal care for the expectant mother and precautions regarding the exposure to teratogenic infections. The range of pathological conditions produced by infections agents is wide, and the difference between maternal and fetal effects caused by any one agent is also important. Some maternal infections, especially during the early gestation, can result in fetal loss or malformation because the ability of the fetus to resist infectious organisms is limited and the fetal immunologic system is unable to prevent the disemination of infectious organisms to the various tissues. These infections are responsible for significant congenital neonatal morbidity as for as compromises a child's quality of life and infertility and sterility. One group of microbial agents--generally known as TORCH infections can cause remarkably similar manifestations, and is uncommon to test all when a prenatal infection is suspected. We analysed the practice of TORCH analyses with our patients and their mothers during last year (1999th) at the Pediatric Clinic and Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrition-UCC Tuzla. At this time there were 5.028 deliveries. Out of short figure 544 or 10.8% newborns were early born and 245 or 4.8% were hypotrophic and 62 were still-born or 12.3 from 1000 deliveries. TORCH infection was analysed only in few cases. In the same period there were 3.457 children treated at the Pediatric Clinic in Tuzla. Only in 20 cases or 0.58% TORCH was made. Three or 15% were with remarkable sequeles like microcephaly, cerebrospinal liquid abnormality, seizures, hepatomegaly, cirrosis etc. TORCH analysis was made with all mothers. Only one was serologic CMV positive and we started with the therapy. History of four mothers or 20% have data about spontaneous abortions, and in other four or 20% we found data about early deliveries. The prevention of conatal infections was not made by any one. In our small group we made TORCH because of evident problems that were suspected of conatal infections. We concluded that there is a big risk of untreated maternal infections with women in fertile age in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This problem is not enough present in our medical practice.

Cytomegalovirus Infections↗

[Cooperation of the clinical laboratory and infection control department in prevention of hospital infections].

Recently, environments that surround hospitals are changing every moment, and hospital infections are no exceptions. As medical technology advances and population of the elderly grow larger steadily, so does the number of immune-compromised hosts. Many patients come to hospitals infected, and in such situations prevention of hospital infections has great amount of importance. Cooperation of microbiological laboratory and ICT is indispensable, accumulation and analysis of the data of resistant bacteria isolated from various medical materials are the biggest task of microbiological lab. Furthermore, nutrition support based on the values of clinical examinations is set as the ultimate goal and NST's cooperation plays a big part in supporting the control of hospital infections.

Cross Infection↗

[Effectiveness and tolerance of fenspiride treatment in chronic sinusitis. Results of the Polish multicenter study].

During this randomized, double blind study versus placebo efficacy of 3 month treatment of patients with chronic sinusitis was assessed. Main efficacy criterion was defined as the change in computed tomography of paranasal sinuses, measured in V. Lund scale. In fenspiride group, overall score changed from 8.54 to 7.57 points (0.97 points i.e. 11.4% decrease, p=0.008), while in placebo group no statistically significant change was observed (change from 9.25 to 9.27 points--0.02 points i.e. 0.2% increase). Percentage of patients who experienced worsening (defined as at least 1 point increase between the beginning and the end of the study) in the placebo group was twice as big as in the fenspiride group (35.4% and 15.2% respectively; p=0.025). Clinical symptoms of chronic sinusitis--sneezing, itchy nose and purulent character of sputum--were decreasing in the fenspiride group significantly more than in the placebo group. Data from previous studies demonstrated beneficial effect of fenspiride treatment of patients with chronic sinusitis. During this study fenspiride treatment was proved to be relatively effective in terms of computed tomography results, and well tolerated during three month therapy.

Adult↗

[The tricho-rhino-phalangeal syndrome (Giedion) (author's transl)].

We describe here six members of a family with Giedion's syndrome: sparse, fine, slow-growing hair, pear-shaped nose, cone-shaped epiphyses of the middle phalanges and variable growth retardation. There are other signs: elongated philtrum, thin upper lip, big and low set ears, medially broad eyebrows but narrow at the tip, clinobrachydactyly and marked dental caries, are as well observed in those patients. Differential diagnosis with other dysplasias is pointed out and both histological and trichological data are being valued.

Adult↗

Physicians among many participants in midst of Canada's emotional gun-control debate.

Because they are seen as advocates for public health and safety, physicians are also widely believed to be supporters of aggressive gun-control measures, but in reality there are strong feelings on both sides of the issue. "People assume that more gun control will mean less violence, but there are no hard data to support that," says Vancouver psychiatrist Joseph Noone, who argues that Canada already has highly restrictive firearms laws. Other physicians are puzzled by colleagues' opposition to the changes. "I don't understand why it's such a big deal," says Dr. Stephen Corber, medical officer of health for the Ottawa-Carleton region. He argues that registration would not be a deterrent to responsible gun use and ownership.

Canada↗

Trends in protective behaviour among single vs. married young women in sub-Saharan Africa: the big picture.

The trends in contraceptive uptake and condom use among single and married young women show distinct patterns in sub-Saharan Africa. A large median increase of 1.4 percentage points per year in condom use by single young women for pregnancy prevention was witnessed in 18 countries based on Demographic and Health Survey data from 1993 to 2001. In contrast, a modest increase in condom use was noted for married or cohabiting young women. Condom promotion in Africa has been, therefore, a success for single women. Its promotion for pregnancy prevention offers even greater potential, as pregnancy prevention is the main or partial motive of most single women who use condoms. While a myriad of research studies on condom use among young single people have been conducted and published, the needs of the married and cohabiting population have been neglected by researchers and programme staff alike, despite the fact that more than half of HIV infections in the severe epidemics of Southern and East Africa are occurring in this group. The barriers to condom adoption by married couples may not be as severe as is often assumed.

Adolescent↗

Modelling issues in cancer screening.

The two main goals of modelling cancer screening are data analysis and evaluation. In data analysis, analytical-numerical statistical models are used to test hypotheses about preclinical disease, the screening test, and the association between early detection and risk of dying from the cancer. Evaluation in cancer screening is supported by model-based prediction of screening effects and cost-effectiveness. Simulation models are suitable for these tasks, and can also be used to identify efficient age-ranges and intervals between screening tests. Striking differences exist between screening models for cervical cancer and breast cancer, which are the two cancer types for which screening is common practice. The two main problems in cervical cancer screening are the proportion of progressive and regressive among screen-detected lesions, and the impact of screening on incidence and mortality. In breast cancer, regression is not (yet) a big issue, and the relationship between screening and mortality reduction has been demonstrated in randomized controlled trials (at least for women older than 50 years). The weakest link in current breast cancer models is the association between earliness of detection and improvement in prognosis. The modelling outcomes and their usefulness are decisively influenced by the data sets that were used in quantifying the model, and the subclassifications of the data that were considered. New or pending modelling issues include HPV-based screening in cervical cancer, screening models for colorectal cancer, the use of surrogate outcome measures and model-based meta-analysis of screening trials.

Breast Neoplasms↗

GAWK, a novel human pituitary polypeptide: isolation, immunocytochemical localization and complete amino acid sequence.

During the course of reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) purification of a postulated big ACTH (1) from human pituitary gland extracts, a highly purified peptide bearing no resemblance to any known polypeptide was isolated. The complete sequence of this 74 amino acid polypeptide, called GAWK, has been determined. Search on a computer data bank on the possible homology to any known protein or fragment, using a mutation data matrix, failed to reveal any homology greater than 30%. An antibody produced against a synthetic fragment allowed us to detect several immunoreactive forms. The antisera also enabled us to localize the polypeptide, by immunocytochemistry, in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Clinical descriptive study of 40 patients with carcinoma of the nasopharynx in advanced stage in an area of low epidemiological risk].

The nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Spain, low risk geographical area, is a rare tumor. This is the cause why there few papers about it in our country. We have carried out a muestral descriptive statistical study. We have selected among all the patients diagnosed of nasopharyngeal carcinoma a big group who, have been treated with induction chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy with or without surgery, they presented very complete clinical histories in the Departments of E.N.T., Oncology and Radiotherapy that allowed us to compare all the picked up data and this increased, without doubt, the reliability of them. The results obtained in the different examined variables of our patients are the same that those we found in literature. The nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a tumor that usually affects young patients, of both sexes, without previous consumption of alcohol and tobacco and they are diagnosed in advanced stages. The rhinologic symptoms are the most frequent ones but the cervical nodes are the usual cause for consulting a doctor with a long diagnostic interval. There is a prevalence in the undifferentiated tumors showed by histology.

Adult↗

P-values and confidence intervals: two sides of the same unsatisfactory coin.

For both P-values and confidence intervals, an alpha level is chosen to set limits of acceptable probability for the role of chance in the observed distinctions. The level of alpha is used either for direct comparison with a single P-value, or for determining the extent of a confidence interval. "Statistical significance" is proclaimed if the calculations yield a P-value that is below alpha, or a 1-alpha confidence interval whose range excludes the null result of "no difference." Both the P-value and confidence-interval methods are essentially reciprocal, since they use the same principles of probabilistic calculation; and both can yield distorted or misleading results if the data do not adequately conform to the underlying mathematical requirements. The major scientific disadvantage of both methods is that their "significance" is merely an inference derived from principles of mathematical probability, not an evaluation of substantive importance for the "big" or "small" magnitude of the observed distinction. The latter evaluation has not received adequate attention during the emphasis on probabilistic decisions; and careful principles have not been developed either for the substantive reasoning or for setting appropriate boundaries for "big" or "small." After a century of "significance" inferred exclusively from probabilities, a basic scientific challenge is to develop methods for deciding what is substantively impressive or trivial.

Confidence Intervals↗

Developing a biodata measure and situational judgment inventory as predictors of college student performance.

This article describes the development and validation of a biographical data (biodata) measure and situational judgment inventory (SJI) as useful predictors of broadly defined college student performance outcomes. These measures provided incremental validity when considered in combination with standardized college-entrance tests (i.e., SAT/ACT) and a measure of Big Five personality constructs. Racial subgroup mean differences were much smaller on the biodata and SJI measures than on the standardized tests and college grade point average. Female students tended to outperform male students on most predictors and outcomes with the exception of the SAT/ACT. The biodata and SJI measures show promise for student development contexts and for selecting students on a wide range of outcomes with reduced adverse impact.

Achievement↗