University of South Florida

About: University of South Florida is a education organization based out in Tampa, Florida, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 34231 authors who have published 72644 publications receiving 2538044 citations. The organization is also known as: USF.

Measurement Invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale Across 26 Countries

Abstract: The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a commonly used life satisfaction scale. Cross-cultural researchers use SWLS to compare mean scores of life satisfaction across countries. Despite the wide use of SWLS in cross-cultural studies, measurement invariance of SWLS has rarely been investigated, and previous studies showed inconsistent findings. Therefore, we examined the measurement invariance of SWLS with samples collected from 26 countries. To test measurement invariance, we utilized three measurement invariance techniques: (a) multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA), (b) multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (ML-CFA), and (c) alignment optimization methods. The three methods demonstrated that configural and metric invariances of life satisfaction held across 26 countries, whereas scalar invariance did not. With partial invariance testing, we identified that the intercepts of Items 2, 4, and 5 were noninvariant. Based on two invariant intercepts, factor means of countries were compared. Chile showed the highest factor mean; Spain and Bulgaria showed the lowest. The findings enhance our understanding of life satisfaction across countries, and they provide researchers and practitioners with practical guidance on how to conduct measurement invariance testing across countries.

Human skin-color sexual dimorphism: a test of the sexual selection hypothesis.

Abstract: Applied to skin color, the sexual selection hypothesis proposes that male preference for light-skinned females explains the presence of light skin in areas of low solar radiation. According to this proposal, in areas of high solar radiation, natural selection for dark skin overrides the universal preference of males for light females. But in areas in which natural selection ceases to act, sexual selection becomes more important, and causes human populations to become light-skinned, and females to be lighter than males. The sexual selection hypothesis proposes that human sexual dimorphism of skin color should be positively correlated with distance from the equator. We tested the prediction that sexual dimorphism should increase with increasing latitude, using adult-only data sets derived from measurements with standard reflectance spectrophotometric devices. Our analysis failed to support the prediction of a positive correlation between increasing distance from the equator and increased sexual dimorphism. We found no evidence in support of the sexual selection hypothesis.

Pelagic fishes in the Marguerite Bay region of the West Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf

Abstract: Pelagic fishes in the Marguerite Bay region of the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) continental margin were sampled using a 10-m 2 MOCNESS as part of the Southern Ocean Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (SO GLOBEC) program. Sixty-two tows were completed during the course of four cruises conducted during the austral fall and winter, 22 each during the austral fall, and 9 each during the austral winter. Six thousand and sixty individuals of 34 species representing 13 families were collected in the fall, while 672 individuals of 22 species from 10 families were collected in the winter. Nearly all of the notothenioid specimens collected (families Artedraconidae, Bathydraconidae, Channichthyidae, and Nototheniidae) were either larvae or young juveniles (0–2 years). Conversely, except for the paralepidid Notolepis coatsi and the occasional juveniles of the bathylagid Bathylagus antarcticus , the gonostomatid Cyclothone kobayashii , or the myctophid Electrona antarctica , the non-notothenioid specimens collected were predominantly adults. In the fall, the nototheniids Pleuragramma antarcticum and Trematomus scotti , and the myctophid E. antarctica numerically dominated the overall assemblage, collectively accounting for 89.7% of the total catch. In the winter, E. antarctica , Cyclothone microdon , and B. antarcticus were the numerical dominants, each contributing 14–20% of the total. The pelagic fish community within the Marguerite Bay region of the WAP continental shelf is a variable mixture of mesopelagic and neritic fauna. At one extreme is an oceanic assemblage exhibiting high-diversity indices and characterized by the genera Electrona , Gymnoscopelus , Protomyctophum , Bathylagus , Cyclothone , and Notolepis . Minor components of this group include numerous less common mesopelagic genera (e.g., Paradiplospinus , Lampanyctus , Benthalbella , Borostomias ) and the occasional larval/juvenile notothenioid. At the other extreme is a coastal assemblage with low-diversity indices dominated by larval and juvenile notothenioids, particularly Pleuragramma antarcticum This assemblage is also characterized by a numerically low but consistent liparid and zoarcid component, with the latter group often contributing disproportionately to the total biomass. The degree of overlap between the two assemblages and the relative dominance of representative species is directly related to local hydrographic conditions, in particular the presence of Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW). The unique hydrographic conditions of the WAP shelf and the accompanying spatial heterogeneity in pelagic ichthyofauna provide a striking contrast to the continental margin areas of the Ross, Weddell, Davis, and Dumont d’Urville Seas where sharp temperature gradients near the shelf break result in a clear separation of oceanic and coastal assemblages.

Tumor-to-tumor metastasis: pathology and neuroimaging considerations.

Abstract: The phenomenon of tumor-to-tumor metastasis has been reported in the literature for over a century. However, it remains fairly uncommon, with fewer than 100 cases being described during that time. Virtually any benign or malignant tumor can be a recipient, but meningiomas have been implicated as the most common intracranial neoplasm to harbor metastasis. The donor neoplasm is most frequently lung or breast carcinoma, while rare cases of metastasis from other primary tumors have been reported. We report here three examples of such rare metastases. This case series reports the first documented instance involving rectal adenocarcinoma. In addition, we report two cases of metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma to a meningioma; to date of which only three cases have been published. The terms “tumor-to-tumor metastasis” and “collision tumor” are addressed, as are details of the pathology. The limitations of standard radiological imaging techniques, such as standard CT and MR, which cannot reliably identify the presence of metastasis within a meningioma are compared with physiology-based neuroimaging methods, such as perfusion MR and MR spectroscopy, which may be more useful in noninvasively differentiating tumor histology.