Temple University

About: Temple University is a education organization based out in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 32154 authors who have published 64375 publications receiving 2219828 citations.

Issues and recommendations regarding use of the Beck Depression Inventory

Abstract: Issues concerning use of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for the self-report of depressive symptomatology are raised and considered. Discussion includes the stability of depression and the need for multiple assessment periods, specificity and the need for multiple assessment measures, and selection cut scores and the need for terminological accuracy. Recommendations for the continued use of the BDI, designed to facilitate the integration of diverse studies and improve research on self-reported depression, are provided.

Magnetodendrimers allow endosomal magnetic labeling and in vivo tracking of stem cells

Abstract: Magnetic resonance (MR) tracking of magnetically labeled stem and progenitor cells is an emerging technology, leading to an urgent need for magnetic probes that can make cells highly magnetic during their normal expansion in culture. We have developed magnetodendrimers as a versatile class of magnetic tags that can efficiently label mammalian cells, including human neural stem cells (NSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), through a nonspecific membrane adsorption process with subsequent intracellular (non-nuclear) localization in endosomes. The superparamagnetic iron oxide nanocomposites have been optimized to exhibit superior magnetic properties and to induce sufficient MR cell contrast at incubated doses as low as 1 microg iron/ml culture medium. When containing between 9 and 14 pg iron/cell, labeled cells exhibit an ex vivo nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation rate (1/T2) as high as 24-39 s-1/mM iron. Labeled cells are unaffected in their viability and proliferating capacity, and labeled human NSCs differentiate normally into neurons. Furthermore, we show here that NSC-derived (and LacZ-transfected), magnetically labeled oligodendroglial progenitors can be readily detected in vivo at least as long as six weeks after transplantation, with an excellent correlation between the obtained MR contrast and staining for beta-galactosidase expression. The availability of magnetodendrimers opens up the possibility of MR tracking of a wide variety of (stem) cell transplants.

Corporate Governance and Firm Valuation

Abstract: Gompers et al. [Gompers, P., Ishii, J., Metrick, A., 2003. Corporate governance and equity prices. Quarterly Journal of Economics 118, 107-155] created G-Index, a summary measure of corporate governance based on 24 firm-specific provisions, and showed that more democratic firms are more valuable. Bebchuk et al. [Bebchuk, L., Cohen, A., Ferrell, A., 2005. What matters in corporate governance? Working Paper, Harvard Law School] created an entrenchment index based on six provisions underlying G-Index, and found it to fully drive the Gompers et al. (2003) valuation results. Both G-Index and the entrenchment index are based on IRRC data that is comprised of anti-takeover measures, focusing on external governance [Cremers, K.J.M., Nair, V.B., 2005. Governance mechanisms and equity prices. Journal of Finance 60, 2859-2894]. We create Gov-Score, a summary governance measure based on 51 firm-specific provisions representing both internal and external governance, and we show that a parsimonious index based on seven provisions underlying Gov-Score fully drives the relation between Gov-Score and firm value. Our results support the Bebchuk et al. (2005) findings that only a small subset of provisions marketed by corporate governance data providers are related to firm valuation, and the Cremers and Nair (2005) evidence that both internal and external governance are linked to firm value. The 51 governance provisions we consider include five that are relevant to accounting and public policy: stock option expensing, and four that are audit-related. We find none of these five measures to be related to firm valuation. We document that only one of the seven governance provisions important for firm valuation was mandated by either the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 or the three major US stock exchanges. We provide researchers with an alternative measure of governance to G-Index with three distinct advantages: (1) broader in scope of governance, (2) covers more firms, and (3) more dynamic, reflecting recent changes in the corporate governance environment.

Electron-Ion Collider: The next QCD frontier: Understanding the glue that binds us all

Abstract: This White Paper presents the science case of an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), focused on the structure and interactions of gluon-dominated matter, with the intent to articulate it to the broader nuclear science community. It was commissioned by the managements of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) with the objective of presenting a summary of scientific opportunities and goals of the EIC as a follow-up to the 2007 NSAC Long Range plan. This document is a culmination of a community-wide effort in nuclear science following a series of workshops on EIC physics over the past decades and, in particular, the focused ten-week program on “Gluons and quark sea at high energies” at the Institute for Nuclear Theory in Fall 2010. It contains a brief description of a few golden physics measurements along with accelerator and detector concepts required to achieve them. It has been benefited profoundly from inputs by the users’ communities of BNL and JLab. This White Paper offers the promise to propel the QCD science program in the US, established with the CEBAF accelerator at JLab and the RHIC collider at BNL, to the next QCD frontier.

Age Differences in Future Orientation and Delay Discounting

Abstract: Age differences in future orientation are examined in a sample of 935 individuals between 10 and 30 years using a delay discounting task as well as a new self-report measure. Younger adolescents consistently demonstrate a weaker orientation to the future than do individuals aged 16 and older, as reflected in their greater willingness to accept a smaller reward delivered sooner than a larger one that is delayed, and in their characterizations of themselves as less concerned about the future and less likely to anticipate the consequences of their decisions. Planning ahead, in contrast, continues to develop into young adulthood. Future studies should distinguish between future orientation and impulse control, which may have different neural underpinnings and follow different developmental timetables.