Hofstra University

About: Hofstra University is a education organization based out in Hempstead, New York, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 6341 authors who have published 11896 publications receiving 268028 citations.

Timing and structural expression of the Nevadan orogeny, Sierra Nevada, California

Abstract: The Nevadan orogeny was a very short-lived event in the Late Jurassic that involved the deformation of a great variety of rock types and Paleozoic and Mesozoic terranes throughout the extent of the Sierra Nevada. The Nevadan structures show great variation in style but relatively constant orientations. These relations can be explained by considering the prior histories of the various terranes. Slaty cleavages and tight folds are the characteristic main-phase structures in the western belt of Jurassic island-arc volcanic rocks and flysch-type sedimentary rocks. A strip of phyllites and greenschists along the eastern edge of the belt apparently represents similar Jurassic rocks that were deformed and metamorphosed at greater depths, probably during underthrusting of the western belt beneath the central belt. The central belt of Paleozoic metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks shows the most extreme variation in style of main-phase structures, from weak, spaced to crenulation cleavages in the south, where polyphase deformed rocks formed a structural basement, to slaty and phyllitic cleavages and asymmetric to isoclinal folds in the north, where most of the Paleozoic basement rocks lack penetrative pre-Nevadan fabrics. Eastward-directed thrust faulting apparently was important only in the northern part of the range, where main-phase deformation was most intense. The eastern belt of Jurassic and Triassic magmatic arc-volcanic and sedimentary rocks defines the core of a major synclinorium, and the rocks contain penetrative slaty cleavages and asymmetric, tight to isoclinal folds. A late phase of Nevadan structures, consisting of northeast-trending cleavages and minor folds, also shows a marked variation in style, from relatively intensely developed in the north to very weakly developed in the south. The regional extent and geometry of the Nevadan structures indicate that the Nevadan orogeny involved underthrusting of island-arc rocks on the west and significant crustal shortening in the central and eastern belts. These features suggest that the Nevadan orogeny resulted from the collision of the island arc (western belt) with an andean-type arc (eastern belt) situated at the western edge of North America.

Genetic correlation between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and schizophrenia

Abstract: We have previously shown higher-than-expected rates of schizophrenia in relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting an aetiological relationship between the diseases. Here, we investigate the genetic relationship between ALS and schizophrenia using genome-wide association study data from over 100,000 unique individuals. Using linkage disequilibrium score regression, we estimate the genetic correlation between ALS and schizophrenia to be 14.3% (7.05-21.6; P=1 × 10-4) with schizophrenia polygenic risk scores explaining up to 0.12% of the variance in ALS (P=8.4 × 10-7). A modest increase in comorbidity of ALS and schizophrenia is expected given these findings (odds ratio 1.08-1.26) but this would require very large studies to observe epidemiologically. We identify five potential novel ALS-associated loci using conditional false discovery rate analysis. It is likely that shared neurobiological mechanisms between these two disorders will engender novel hypotheses in future preclinical and clinical studies.

The RAISE early treatment program for first-episode psychosis: background, rationale, and study design.

Abstract: Objective The premise of the National Institute of Mental Health Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode Early Treatment Program (RAISE-ETP) is to combine state-of-the-art pharmacologic and psychosocial treatments delivered by a well-trained, multidisciplinary team in order to significantly improve the functional outcome and quality of life for first-episode psychosis patients. The study is being conducted in non-academic (ie, real-world) treatment settings, using primarily extant reimbursement mechanisms. Method We developed a treatment model and training program based on extensive literature review and expert consultation. Our primary aim is to compare the experimental intervention to "usual care" on quality of life. Secondary aims include comparisons on remission, recovery, and cost-effectiveness. Patients 15-40 years old with a first episode of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, psychotic disorder not otherwise specified, or brief psychotic disorder according to DSM-IV and no more than 6 months of treatment with antipsychotic medications were eligible. Patients are followed for a minimum of 2 years, with major assessments conducted by blinded, centralized raters using live, 2-way video. We selected 34 clinical sites in 21 states and utilized cluster randomization to assign 17 sites to the experimental treatment and 17 to usual care. Enrollment began in July 2010 and ended in July 2012 with 404 subjects. The results of the trial will be published separately. The goal of the article is to present both the overall development of the intervention and the design of the clinical trial to evaluate its effectiveness. Conclusions We believe that we have succeeded in both designing a multimodal treatment intervention that can be delivered in real-world clinical settings and implementing a controlled clinical trial that can provide the necessary outcome data to determine its impact on the trajectory of early phase schizophrenia. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01321177.

Search for gravitational waves from galactic and extra-galactic binary neutron stars

Abstract: We use 373 hours (≈15 days) of data from the second science run of the LIGO gravitational-wave detectors to search for signals from binary neutron star coalescences within a maximum distance of about 1.5 Mpc, a volume of space which includes the Andromeda Galaxy and other galaxies of the Local Group of galaxies. This analysis requires a signal to be found in data from detectors at the two LIGO sites, according to a set of coincidence criteria. The background (accidental coincidence rate) is determined from the data and is used to judge the significance of event candidates. No inspiral gravitational-wave events were identified in our search. Using a population model which includes the Local Group, we establish an upper limit of less than 47 inspiral events per year per Milky Way equivalent galaxy with 90% confidence for nonspinning binary neutron star systems with component masses between 1 and 3M⊙.

Responses to Humorous ADS: Does Audience Involvement Matter?

Abstract: (2006). Responses to Humorous ADS: Does Audience Involvement Matter? Journal of Advertising: Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 113-127.