University of Minnesota

About: University of Minnesota is a education organization based out in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Transplantation. The organization has 117432 authors who have published 257986 publications receiving 11944239 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities & University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Overcoming the Liability of Foreignness

Abstract: This study addressed the question of whether firms in a competitive, globally integrated environment face a “liability of foreignness” and to what extent either importing home-country organizational capabilities or copying the practices of successful local firms can help them overcome this liability. Predictions were tested with a paired sample of 24 foreign exchange trading rooms of major Western and Japanese banks in New York and Tokyo. Results support the existence of a liability of foreignness and the role of a firm's administrative heritage in providing competitive advantage to its multinational subunits. They also highlight the difficulty firms face in copying organizational practices from other firms.

Sparse Principal Component Analysis

Abstract: Principal component analysis (PCA) is widely used in data processing and dimensionality reduction. However, PCA suffers from the fact that each principal component is a linear combination of all the original variables, thus it is often difficult to interpret the results. We introduce a new method called sparse principal component analysis (SPCA) using the lasso (elastic net) to produce modified principal components with sparse loadings. We first show that PCA can be formulated as a regression-type optimization problem; sparse loadings are then obtained by imposing the lasso (elastic net) constraint on the regression coefficients. Efficient algorithms are proposed to fit our SPCA models for both regular multivariate data and gene expression arrays. We also give a new formula to compute the total variance of modified principal components. As illustrations, SPCA is applied to real and simulated data with encouraging results.

Circulating microRNAs in sera correlate with soluble biomarkers of immune activation but do not predict mortality in ART treated individuals with HIV-1 infection : a case control study

Abstract: Introduction The use of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced HIV-1 associated morbidity and mortality. However, HIV-1 infected individuals have increased rates of morbidity and mortality compared to the non-HIV-1 infected population and this appears to be related to end-organ diseases collectively referred to as Serious Non-AIDS Events (SNAEs). Circulating miRNAs are reported as promising biomarkers for a number of human disease conditions including those that constitute SNAEs. Our study sought to investigate the potential of selected miRNAs in predicting mortality in HIV-1 infected ART treated individuals. Materials and Methods A set of miRNAs was chosen based on published associations with human disease conditions that constitute SNAEs. This case: control study compared 126 cases (individuals who died whilst on therapy), and 247 matched controls (individuals who remained alive). Cases and controls were ART treated participants of two pivotal HIV-1 trials. The relative abundance of each miRNA in serum was measured, by RTqPCR. Associations with mortality (all-cause, cardiovascular and malignancy) were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Correlations between miRNAs and CD4+ T cell count, hs-CRP, IL-6 and D-dimer were also assessed. Results None of the selected miRNAs was associated with all-cause, cardiovascular or malignancy mortality. The levels of three miRNAs (miRs -21, -122 and -200a) correlated with IL-6 while miR-21 also correlated with D-dimer. Additionally, the abundance of miRs -31, -150 and -223, correlated with baseline CD4+ T cell count while the same three miRNAs plus miR-145 correlated with nadir CD4+ T cell count. Discussion No associations with mortality were found with any circulating miRNA studied. These results cast doubt onto the effectiveness of circulating miRNA as early predictors of mortality or the major underlying diseases that contribute to mortality in participants treated for HIV-1 infection.

The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the Presence of and Search for Meaning in Life

Abstract: Counseling psychologists often work with clients to increase their well-being as well as to decrease their distress. One important aspect of well-being, highlighted particularly in humanistic theories of the counseling process, is perceived meaning in life. However, poor measurement has hampered research on meaning in life. In 3 studies, evidence is provided for the internal consistency, temporal stability, factor structure, and validity of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), a new 10-item measure of the presence of, and the search for, meaning in life. A multitrait-multimethod matrix demonstrates the convergent and discriminant validity of the MLQ subscales across time and informants, in comparison with 2 other meaning scales. The MLQ offers several improvements over current meaning in life measures, including no item overlap with distress measures, a stable factor structure, better discriminant validity, a briefer format, and the ability to measure the search for meaning.

Plasma Norepinephrine as a Guide to Prognosis in Patients with Chronic Congestive Heart Failure

Abstract: Hemodynamics, plasma norepinephrine, and plasma renin activity were measured at supine rest in 106 patients (83 men and 23 women) with moderate to severe congestive heart failure. During follow-up lasting 1 to 62 months, 60 patients died (57 per cent); 47 per cent of the deaths were sudden, and 45 per cent were related to progressive heart failure. Statistically unrelated to the risk of mortality were cause of disease (60 patients had coronary disease, and 46 had cardiomyopathy), age (mean, 54.8 years), cardiac index (mean, 2.11 liters per minute per square meter of body-surface area), pulmonary wedge pressure (mean, 24.5 mm Hg), and mean arterial pressure (mean, 83.2 mm Hg). A multivariate analysis of the five significant univariate prognosticators--heart rate (mean, 84.4 beats per minute), plasma renin activity (mean, 15.4 ng per milliliter per hour), plasma norepinephrine (mean, 700 pg per milliliter), serum sodium (mean, 135.7 mmol per liter), and stroke-work index (mean, 21.0 g-meters per square meter)--found only plasma norepinephrine to be independently (P = 0.002) related to the subsequent risk of mortality. Norepinephrine was also higher in patients who died from progressive heart failure than in those who died suddenly. These data suggest that a single resting venous blood sample showing the plasma norepinephrine concentration provides a better guide to prognosis than other commonly measured indexes of cardiac performance.