Polymeric dielectrics having different ratios of hydroxyl groups were intentionally synthesized to investigate the effect of hydroxyl groups on the electrical properties of pentacene-based organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). Large hysteresis usually observed in OTFT devices was confirmed to be strongly related to the hydroxyl bonds existing inside of polymeric dielectrics and could be reduced by substituting with cinnamoyl groups. Although the hydroxyl groups deteriorate the capacitance-voltage characteristics and gate leakage current densities, exceptionally high hole mobility (5.5cm2V−1s−1) could be obtained by increasing the number of hydroxyl groups, which was not caused by the improvement of pentacene crystallinity but related to the interface characteristics.

<H4>ABSTRACT</H4> <P>Teaching nursing students therapeutic communication skills begins in the classroom and extends to the clinical environment. The usual method of instruction consists of random patient encounters observed by faculty and measures of competence that rely on paper-and-pencil tests. Using standardized patients (SPs) offers an alternative approach to the traditional method of teaching. Standardized patients are individuals who have been carefully trained to present an illness or scenario in a standardized, unvarying manner. This pilot study compared use of SPs with the usual method of instruction in a class of undergraduate nursing students. Results indicated that students who participated in the SP method overwhelmingly described the experience as positive, creative, and meaningful. No significant differences were found between the two groups on measures of interpersonal skills, therapeutic communication skills, and knowledge of depression.</P> <H4>AUTHORS</H4> <P>Received: July 30, 2002</P> <P>Accepted: February 1, 2005</P> <P>Ms. Becker is Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Adult Nurse Practitioner Program, Dr. Rose is Director, Baccalaureate Program, Ms. Berg is Instructor, and Ms. Park is a doctoral student, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing; and Dr. Shatzer is Director, Office for Teaching and Learning in Medicine and Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.</P> <P>Address correspondence to Kathleen L. Becker, MS, CRNP, Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 525 N. Wolfe Street, #459, Baltimore, MD 21201; e-mail: <A HREF="mailto:KBECKER@son.jhmi.edu">KBECKER@son.jhmi.edu</A>.</P>

These findings suggest that higher levels of warmth, characteristics of both parenting styles, may be a critical factor in the development of health-related behaviors.

Objectives To review the evidence supporting the validity of health literacy (HL) measures for ethnic minority populations. Methods PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases were searched for HL measures between 1965 and 2013. Results A total of 109HL measures were identified; 37 were non-English HL measures and 72 were English language measures. Of the 72 English language measures, 17 did not specify the racial/ethnic characteristic of their sample. Of the remaining 55 measures, 10 (18%) did not include blacks, 30 (55%) did not include Hispanics, and 35 (64%) did not include Asians in their validation sample. When Hispanic and Asian Americans were included, they accounted for small percentages in the overall sample. Between 2005–2013, a growing number of REALM and TOFHLA translations were identified, and new HL measures for specific cultural/linguistic groups within and outside the United States were developed. Conclusions While there are a growing number of new and translated HL measures for minority populations, many existing HL measures have not been properly validated for minority groups. Practice Implications HL measures that have not been properly validated for a given population should be piloted before wider use. In addition, improving HL instrument development/validation methods are imperative to increase the validity of these measures for minority populations.

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Erythroid differentiation regulator (Erdr1) was first discovered in mouse leukemia cell lines and functions as a stress-related survival factor. This study investigated whether Erdr1 regulates murine melanoma progression, as well as the mechanism involved in Erdr1-regulated metastasis. The expression of Erdr1 is negatively correlated with IL-18 expression, which has a pro-cancer effect in melanoma. To study the role of Erdr1 as an anti-cancer factor, cell migration, invasion, and proliferation were measured. Erdr1 overexpression markedly inhibited the level of cell migration, invasion, and proliferation in B16F10 cells in vitro. In addition, Erdr1 overexpression significantly suppressed melanoma lung colonization, metastasis, and tumor growth in vivo. To identify the factors involved in Erdr1-reduced metastasis, heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), a well-known stress protein and contributor to tumor metastasis, was examined. We found that HSP90 was significantly decreased in Erdr1-overexpressing cells. Functional analysis demonstrated that HSP90 small-interfering RNA transfection reduced the migration ability and metastasis of melanoma. In conclusion, Erdr1 shows a powerful anti-metastasis effect that leads to the ability to reduce the metastatic potential of murine malignant melanoma cells. Erdr1 is an anti-metastatic factor that may be a possible therapeutic target for treatment of melanoma.

L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) has been reported to play a role in the treatment and prevention of cancer. However, its specific mechanistic pathways remain obscure. This study was carried out to identify the sodium ascorbate-induced apoptotic pathway in B16F10 murine melanoma cells. Sodium ascorbate was found to induce the apoptosis of B16F10 murine melanoma in a time- and dose-dependent manner, and this was prevented by pretreatment with N-acetyl- L-cysteine (NAC), a well-known antioxidant. In fact, sodium ascorbate-treated B16F10 melanoma cells showed increased intracellular reactive oxygen species generation (ROS) levels. These results indicate that sodium ascorbate induced apoptosis in B16F10 murine melanoma cells by acting as a prooxidant. We examined the involvement of caspase-8 using a specific caspase-8 inhibitor (z-IETD-fmk) on the sodium ascorbate-induced apoptotic pathway. Cell death was found not to be inhibited by z-IETD-fmk treatment, indicating that sodium ascorbate-induced apoptosis is not mediated by caspase-8. In addition, we detected a reduction in the mitochondrial membrane potential during apoptosis and confirmed cytochrome-c release from mitochondria by immunoblotting. Taken together, it appears that the induction of a prooxidant state by sodium ascorbate and a subsequent reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential are involved in the apoptotic pathway of B16F10 murine melanoma cells, and that this occurs in a caspase-8-independent manner.

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