West Virginia University

About: West Virginia University is a education organization based out in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 25632 authors who have published 48308 publications receiving 1343934 citations. The organization is also known as: WVU & West Virginia University, WVU.

Gene transfer agents: phage-like elements of genetic exchange

Abstract: Horizontal gene transfer is important in the evolution of bacterial and archaeal genomes. An interesting genetic exchange process is carried out by diverse phage-like gene transfer agents (GTAs) that are found in a wide range of prokaryotes. Although GTAs resemble phages, they lack the hallmark capabilities that define typical phages, and they package random pieces of the producing cell's genome. In this Review, we discuss the defining characteristics of the GTAs that have been identified to date, along with potential functions for these agents and the possible evolutionary forces that act on the genes involved in their production.

Exploring the Magnetoelectric Coupling at the Composite Interfaces of FE/FM/FE Heterostructures.

Abstract: Multiferroic materials have attracted considerable attention as possible candidates for a wide variety of future microelectronic and memory devices, although robust magnetoelectric (ME) coupling between electric and magnetic orders at room temperature still remains difficult to achieve. In order to obtain robust ME coupling at room temperature, we studied the Pb(Fe0.5Nb0.5)O3/Ni0.65Zn0.35Fe2O4/Pb(Fe0.5Nb0.5)O3 (PFN/NZFO/PFN) trilayer structure as a representative FE/FM/FE system. We report the ferroelectric, magnetic and ME properties of PFN/NZFO/PFN trilayer nanoscale heterostructure having dimensions 70/20/70 nm, at room temperature. The presence of only (00l) reflection of PFN and NZFO in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and electron diffraction patterns in Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) confirm the epitaxial growth of multilayer heterostructure. The distribution of the ferroelectric loop area in a wide area has been studied, suggesting that spatial variability of ferroelectric switching behavior is low, and film growth is of high quality. The ferroelectric and magnetic phase transitions of these heterostructures have been found at ~575 K and ~650 K, respectively which are well above room temperature. These nanostructures exhibit low loss tangent, large saturation polarization (Ps ~ 38 µC/cm2) and magnetization (Ms ~ 48 emu/cm3) with strong ME coupling at room temperature revealing them as potential candidates for nanoscale multifunctional and spintronics device applications.

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy with Behavior Problem Children: One and Two Year Maintenance of Treatment Effects in the Family

Abstract: Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an empirically supported treatment for conduct-disordered young children in which parents learn the skills of child-directed interaction (CDI) in the first phase of treatment and parent-directed interaction (PDI) in the second. This study examined the long-term treatment outcome for 13 families who had participated in a treatment study examining the effects of treatment phase sequence one and two years earlier. Seven families were in the CDI-First treatment group and six families were in the PDI-First group. Immediately after treatment, 11 of the 13 families had achieved clinically significant changes on both observational and parent report measures, and there is no significant difference between treatment groups. Treatment effects were maintained at one-year follow-up for eight of the 13 families, and at two-year follow-up for nine families, with no long- term impact of phase sequence evident at either follow-up assessment. This study represents the fir...

The Relationship of Teachers' Use of Humor in the Classroom to Immediacy and Student Learning.

Abstract: This study investigated teachers' use of humor in relationship to immediacy and learning. The amount and type of humor recorded by 206 students as observations of things teachers did to show “a sense of humor” were analyzed and correlated with overall immediacy and perceived cognitive and affective learning outcomes. The results indicated that amount and type of humor influenced learning, that students were particularly aware of tendentious humor, and that an overdependence on tendentious humor diminished affect. The effects of humor were more pronounced for male students and male teachers; however, indications of previous research that humor use negatively influenced evaluations of female teachers and that female teachers' humor was largely different than male teachers' humor were not supported.

A randomized comparison of indwelling pleural catheter and doxycycline pleurodesis in the management of malignant pleural effusions.

Abstract: BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness and safety of a chronic indwelling pleural catheter with doxycycline pleurodesis via tube thoracostomy in the treatment of patients with recurrent symptomatic malignant pleural effusions (MPE). METHODS In this multi-institutional study conducted between March 1994 and February 1997, 144 patients (61 men and 83 women) were randomized in a 2:1 distribution to either an indwelling pleural catheter or doxycycline pleurodesis. Patients receiving the indwelling catheter drained their effusions via vacuum bottles every other day or as needed for relief of dyspnea. RESULTS The median hospitalization time was 1.0 day for the catheter group and 6.5 days for the doxycycline group. The degree of symptomatic improvement in dyspnea and the quality of life was comparable in each group. Six of 28 patients who received doxycycline (21%) had a late recurrence of pleural effusion, whereas 12 of 91 patients who had an indwelling catheter (13%) had a late recurrence of their effusions or a blockage of their catheter after the initially successful treatment (P = 0.446). Of the 91 patients sent home with the pleural catheter, 42 (46%) achieved spontaneous pleurodesis at a median of 26.5 days. CONCLUSIONS A chronic indwelling pleural catheter is an effective treatment for the management of patients with symptomatic, recurrent, malignant pleural effusions. When compared with doxycycline pleurodesis via tube thoracostomy, the pleural catheter requires a shorter hospitalization and can be placed and managed on an outpatient basis. Cancer 1999;86:1992–9. © 1999 American Cancer Society.