San Francisco State University

About: San Francisco State University is a education organization based out in San Francisco, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Planet. The organization has 5669 authors who have published 11433 publications receiving 408075 citations. The organization is also known as: San Francisco State & San Francisco State Normal School.

Age-Related Hyperkyphosis: Its Causes, Consequences, and Management

Abstract: Synopsis Age-related hyperkyphosis is an exaggerated anterior curvature in the thoracic spine that occurs commonly with advanced age. This condition is associated with low bone mass, vertebral compression fractures, and degenerative disc disease, and contributes to difficulty performing activities of daily living and decline in physical performance. While there are effective treatments, currently there are no public health approaches to prevent hyperkyphosis among older adults. Our objective is to review the prevalence and natural history of hyperkyphosis, associated health implications, measurement tools, and treatments to prevent this debilitating condition. Level of Evidence Diagnosis/prognosis/therapy, level 5. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2010;40(6):352–360.doi:10.2519/jospt.2010.3099

Mindfulness Revisited A Buddhist-Based Conceptualization

Abstract: Recent scholarship on mindfulness has narrowly focused on attention enhancement, present-moment awareness, and its stress reduction effects. Moreover, current operational definitions of mindfulness...

Motivational Factors and Persistence in Foreign Language Study

Abstract: The predictive ability of motivational and attitudinal factors in continuation of foreign language study beyond the second level among high-school students was investigated among students in two different geographical areas in the U.S. Three classes of French and three classes of Spanish Level 2 high-school students participated in the study. The data were collected through a survey questionnaire. Discriminant function analyses were used to address the research questions. The results of the study indicate that motivational and attitudinal factors in addition to grade level and course grade successfully discriminate between continuing and discontinuing students. Interest in culture and in learning the language thoroughly—including reading, writing, and speaking it—distinguished continuing students from discontinuing students. On the other hand, interest in fulfilling a college entrance requirement primarily characterized the discontinuing students. Grade level when taking the second level of a foreign language and grade in the foreign language course were also found to be discriminating variables. Based upon these findings, profiles of continuing and discontinuing students were constructed and recommendations are made for interventions that may promote the type of intrinsic interest in language learning indicated by continuing students.

Influence of the Amazon River plume on distributions of free-living and symbiotic cyanobacteria in the western tropical north Atlantic Ocean

Abstract: The vertical and horizontal distributions of seven diazotrophic populations in the western tropical north Atlantic (WTNA) Ocean were examined using a nifH DNA quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) approach. The nifH phylotype abundances were highest near the surface and decreased with depth, with the exception of the cyanobacterial symbiont Calothrix, which was not detected at any station. Richelia associated with the diatoms Rhizosolenia clevei and Hemiaulus hauckii were distributed within the freshwater lens of the Amazon plume. Abundances of H. hauckii-Richelia nifH genes dominated all depths in 6 of 10 vertical profiles and 10 of 20 surface samples. In addition, estimates of Richelia associated with H. hauckii increased northwest (8– 12uN, 56–54uW) from the river mouth, where significantly ( p , 0.001) higher abundances (.105 copies L–1) were found in mesohaline waters (31–34.9). nifH copy abundance for surface populations of the H. hauckii-Richelia symbioses were positively correlated (r2 5 0.59) with salinity. Three unicellular cyanobacterial groups and Trichodesmium had similar horizontal distributions, where the highest nifH copy estimates were at stations with salinity $35 and northeast (6–10u N5 0uW) of the freshwater lens. The abundance of Trichodesmium spp. and unicellular Group B nifH gene copies co-varied (r2 5 0.60). The QPCR study showed the dominance of H. hauckii-Richelia symbioses in the Amazon plume waters, implying that these associations had an ecological advantage over the other diazotrophs. Outside of the plume nutrients were below detection, abundances of freeliving unicellular cyanobacterial phylotypes, including a novel group designated Group C, were abundant (.105 copies L21) and comparable to the abundances of Trichodesmium spp. Thus, there appeared to be a cascade of diazotrophic communities along gradients of salinity and nutrients in the WTNA.