Yale University

About: Yale University is a education organization based out in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 89824 authors who have published 220665 publications receiving 12834776 citations. The organization is also known as: Yale & Collegiate School.

Scope and Impact of Financial Conflicts of Interest in Biomedical Research: A Systematic Review

Abstract: ContextDespite increasing awareness about the potential impact of financial conflicts of interest on biomedical research, no comprehensive synthesis of the body of evidence relating to financial conflicts of interest has been performed.ObjectiveTo review original, quantitative studies on the extent, impact, and management of financial conflicts of interest in biomedical research.Data SourcesStudies were identified by searching MEDLINE (January 1980-October 2002), the Web of Science citation database, references of articles, letters, commentaries, editorials, and books and by contacting experts.Study SelectionAll English-language studies containing original, quantitative data on financial relationships among industry, scientific investigators, and academic institutions were included. A total of 1664 citations were screened, 144 potentially eligible full articles were retrieved, and 37 studies met our inclusion criteria.Data ExtractionOne investigator (J.E.B.) extracted data from each of the 37 studies. The main outcomes were the prevalence of specific types of industry relationships, the relation between industry sponsorship and study outcome or investigator behavior, and the process for disclosure, review, and management of financial conflicts of interest.Data SynthesisApproximately one fourth of investigators have industry affiliations, and roughly two thirds of academic institutions hold equity in start-ups that sponsor research performed at the same institutions. Eight articles, which together evaluated 1140 original studies, assessed the relation between industry sponsorship and outcome in original research. Aggregating the results of these articles showed a statistically significant association between industry sponsorship and pro-industry conclusions (pooled Mantel-Haenszel odds ratio, 3.60; 95% confidence interval, 2.63-4.91). Industry sponsorship was also associated with restrictions on publication and data sharing. The approach to managing financial conflicts varied substantially across academic institutions and peer-reviewed journals.ConclusionsFinancial relationships among industry, scientific investigators, and academic institutions are widespread. Conflicts of interest arising from these ties can influence biomedical research in important ways.

Identification of the 64K autoantigen in insulin-dependent diabetes as the GABA-synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase.

Abstract: The pancreatic islet β-cell autoantigen of relative molecular mass 64,000 (64K), which is a major target of autoantibodies associated with the development of insulin-dependent diabetes mel-litus (IDDM) has been identified as glutamic acid decarboxylase, the biosynthesizing enzyme of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid). Pancreatic β cells and a subpopulation of central nervous system neurons express high levels of this enzyme. Autoantibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase with a higher titre and increased epitope recognition compared with those usually associated with IDDM are found in stiff-man syndrome, a rare neurological disorder characterized by a high coincidence with IDDM.

Context and leadership: An examination of the nine-factor full-range leadership theory using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire.

Abstract: In this study, we examined the validity of the measurement model and factor structure of Bass and Avolio’s Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) (Form 5X). We hypothesized that evaluations of leadership—and hence the psychometric properties of leadership instruments—may be affected by the context in which leadership is observed and evaluated. Using largely homogenous business samples consisting of 2279 pooled male and 1089 pooled female raters who evaluated same-gender leaders, we found support for the nine-factor leadership model proposed by Bass and Avolio. The model was configurally and partially metrically invariant—suggesting that the same constructs were validly measured in the male and female groups. Mean differences were found between the male and female samples on four leadership factors (Study 1). Next, using factor-level data of 18 independently gathered samples (N=6525 raters) clustered into prototypically homogenous contexts, we tested the nine-factor model and found it was stable (i.e., fully invariant) within homogenous contexts (Study 2). The contextual factors comprised environmental risk, leader–follower gender, and leader hierarchical level. Implications for use of the MLQ and nine-factor model are discussed.

Systematic Design of Adaptive Controllers for Feedback Linearizable Systems

Abstract: A systematic procedure is developed for the design of new adaptive regulation and trackdng schemes for a class of feedback linearizable nonlinear systems. The coordinate-free geometric conditions, which characterize this class of systems, neither restrict the location of the unknown parameters, nor constrain the growth of the nonlinearities. Instead, they require that the nonlinear system be transformable into the so-called pure-feedback form. When this form is "strict", the proposed scheme guarantees global regulation and tracking properties, and substantially enlarges the class of nonlinear systems with unknown parameters for which global stabilization can be achieved. The main results of this paper use simple analytical tools, familiar to most control engineers.

Impulsivity resulting from frontostriatal dysfunction in drug abuse: implications for the control of behavior by reward-related stimuli.

Abstract: Drug abuse and dependence define behavioral states involving increased allocation of behavior towards drug seeking and taking at the expense of more appropriate behavioral patterns. As such, addiction can be viewed as increased control of behavior by the desired drug (due to its unconditioned, rewarding properties). It is also clear that drug-associated (conditioned) stimuli acquire heightened abilities to control behaviors. These phenomena have been linked with dopamine function within the ventral striatum and amygdala and have been described specifically in terms of motivational and incentive learning processes. New data are emerging that suggest that regions of the frontal cortex involved in inhibitory response control are directly affected by long-term exposure to drugs of abuse. The result of chronic drug use may be frontal cortical cognitive dysfunction, resulting in an inability to inhibit inappropriate unconditioned or conditioned responses elicited by drugs, by related stimuli or by internal drive states. Drug-seeking behavior may thus be due to two related phenomena: (1) augmented incentive motivational qualities of the drug and associated stimuli (due to limbic/amygdalar dysfunction) and (2) impaired inhibitory control (due to frontal cortical dysfunction). In this review, we consider the neuro-anatomical and neurochemical substrates subserving inhibitory control and motivational processes in the rodent and primate brain and their putative impact on drug seeking. The evidence for cognitive impulsivity in drug abuse associated with dysfunction of the frontostriatal system will be discussed, and an integrative hypothesis for compulsive reward-seeking in drug abuse will be presented.