University of Hawaii at Manoa

About: University of Hawaii at Manoa is a education organization based out in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Sea surface temperature. The organization has 13693 authors who have published 25161 publications receiving 1023924 citations.

Evaluation of Human Serum Albumin Cobalt Binding Assay for the Assessment of Myocardial Ischemia and Myocardial Infarction

Abstract: Background: Clinical diagnoses were correlated with results of a Co(II)–albumin binding assay in 167 patients treated at an emergency department of a health maintenance organization. Methods: Patients were evaluated as being nonischemic or potentially ischemic through standard coronary disease indicators [creatine kinase (CK), CK-MB, cardiac troponin I, and electrocardiographic findings] and were tested by a Co(II)–albumin binding assay. Samples were tested anonymously, and the study was double-blinded. The sensitivity and specificity of this assay for the detection of ischemia were evaluated by ROC curve analysis. Known Co(II) binding sites on albumin were analyzed by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. Results: The mean absorbance units (ABSU) ± 2 SD for non-myocardial ischemic and myocardial ischemic individuals measured at 470 nm were 0.43 ± 0.10 and 0.63 ± 0.25, respectively ( P <0.0001). The area under the ROC curve was 0.95 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.92–0.99], and at a cutoff value of 0.50 ABSU, sensitivity and specificity were 88% (78–94%) and 94% (86–98%), respectively, suggesting a high distinction between the two groups. When we compared non-acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and AMI ischemic individuals, the area under the ROC curve was 0.66 (95% CI, 0.53–0.79) and was considered a poor discriminator between these two groups. N-Terminal amino acid sequencing data for purified albumin showed normal amino acid residues for six of seven high-ABSU (≥0.70) individuals and one nonischemic individual tested. However, only one individual with a high ABSU (0.80) had two missing amino acid residues (DA) from the N-terminal region. Clinical diagnosis for this patient did not reveal an ischemic event. Conclusions: The Co(II)–albumin binding test may serve as a useful diagnostic tool in emergency facilities for the assessment of myocardial ischemia. High and low ABSU were associated with myocardial ischemic individuals and non-myocardial ischemic individuals, respectively. However, the Co(II)–albumin binding was a poor discriminator between ischemic individuals with and without MI.

On the importance of midlatitude oceanic frontal zones for the mean state and dominant variability in the tropospheric circulation

Abstract: [1] Observations indicate that midlatitude weather systems are organized into “storm tracks” near oceanic frontal zones with pronounced sea-surface temperature (SST) gradients A pair of atmospheric general circulation model experiments with zonally uniform SST profiles prescribed show that their observed collocation is not fortuitous In one experiment, a storm track is anchored around a midlatitude SST front that maintains near-surface thermal gradients and energizes eddies Westerly momentum transport by eddies produces a well-defined polar-front jet along the front, even in winter when a subtropical jet stream intensifies In the other experiment, removal of the SST front leads to a substantial weakening in eddy activity and the PFJ especially in winter It also leads to a weakening of the annular mode —the dominant mode of westerly-jet variability— and its notable structural distortion in winter Though idealized, our experiments suggest the importance of midlatitude oceanic fronts for the tropospheric circulation and its variability

Provider attitudes toward evidence-based practices: are the concerns with the evidence or with the manuals?

Abstract: Objective: Studies examining therapists’ attitudes toward evidencebased practices, which have at times become conflated with “manualized treatments,” have indicated a number of concerns regarding perceived inflexibility, a lack of attention to the therapeutic alliance between provider and client, and a lack of emphasis on clinical judgment. This investigation examined the effect of training in two different formats of evidence-based treatments (standard treatment manuals versus modular assembly of treatment procedures) and with the use of two measures of attitudes. Methods: As part of a randomized clinical effectiveness trial, the attitudes of 59 therapists were assessed before and after training for a standard evidence-based treatment protocol and for a modular evidence-based treatment protocol. Attitudes were also assessed across two attitude measures that differentially emphasize the use of treatment manuals. Results: Results showed that compared with the standard condition, in the modular condition therapists’ attitudes became significantly more favorable toward evidence-based practices but only on the attitude measure that did not refer specifically to the use of manuals. Conclusions: The findings of this investigation have implications for dissemination of evidence-based practices and policy change. Contextual adaptations in evidence-based practice design and training may result in wider adoption of innovative and efficacious treatment practices. (Psychiatric Services 60:677–681, 2009)

The Bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current in the Pacific

Abstract: A new climatology using historical temperature and salinity data in the western Pacific is constructed to examine the bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current (NEC). Integrating dynamically calculated circulation from the sea surface to 1000 m and combining it with surface Ekman transport, it is shown that the bifurcation of the NEC occurs at the southernmost position (14.8°N) in July and the northernmost position (about 17.2°N) in December. This annual signal lags behind the seasonal meridional migration of the zero zonally integrated wind stress curl line by 4–5 months but corresponds pretty well with the local Ekman pumping associated with the Asian monsoon winds. The bifurcation latitude of the NEC is depth dependent. On the annual average, it shifts from about 13.3°N near the surface to north of 20°N at depths around 1000 m. There is a time lag of 1–2 months from the sea surface to the subsurface (300–700 m) for the annual cycle. Below 700 m, the bifurcation of the NEC approaches as far n...