A mathematical model of operant choice, the generalized matching law was used to analyze play-calling data from the 2004 National Football League season. In all analyses, the relative ratio of passing to rushing plays was examined as a function of the relative ratio of reinforcement, defined as yards gained, from passing versus rushing. Different analyses focused on season-aggregate data for th...

BACKGROUND Men who have sex with men (MSM) have the highest HIV prevalence in Peru, yet they are underserved by traditional preventive programs. In Peru, the Internet and mobile phones have emerged as an effective and convenient tool to reach this population. METHODS AND FINDINGS From October 2010 to February 2011, we conducted eight focus groups with gay identified MSM (closeted and out-of-t...

BACKGROUND Data regarding Hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV) prevalence among military personnel in Brazil are lacking, but the work-related risk of exposure can be high. The objective of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV and the risk factors associated to HBV exposure among Brazilian military personnel. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted and include...

By performing tasks traditionally fulfilled by service personnel in physical settings and having a humanlike appearance, virtual customer service agents seem to bring classical service personnel characteristics to the online service encounter, which in turn may elicit social responses and feelings of personalization. This paper sheds light on these dynamics by proposing and testing a nomologica...

Because of a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (10-20%) among veterans seeking care in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, current US military forces were evaluated for HCV infection. Banked serum samples were randomly selected from military personnel serving in 1997 and were tested for antibody to HCV (anti-HCV). Overall prevalence of anti-HCV among 10,000 active-...

External quality assurance (EQA) or proficiency testing for point-of-care (POC) testing is in principle similar to EQA for larger hospital laboratories, but the participants are different. The participants are usually health care personnel with little or no knowledge of laboratory medicine. The implication of this is that the EQA provider has to a) convince the participants that participation i...

Several instruments are now available for full automation of serologic testing in the transfusion service. Selection of an instrument is based on the facility's needs for testing and its resources. Installation, validation, interfacing, and operations require new skill sets for most transfusion service personnel. The newer instruments are suitable for use in smaller transfusion services, where ...

UNLABELLED Shooting is an activity that exposes military personnel to noise impact, which may cause irreversible effects on hearing. OBJECTIVE To evaluate impact noise on the hearing of military personnel that practice shooting. STUDY DESIGN A case-control retrospective study. METHODS 115 military personnel were enrolled; 65 had been exposed to impact noise and 50 were non-exposed. Firear...

Though transactive memory systems (TMS) help improve group performance by increasing the ability of groups to coordinate and specialize, little work has investigated under what conditions TMS is more or less helpful for a group. Past work has explored ways that TMS can be disabled, such as through member turnover, but both turnover and role change after turnover could alter a group’s ability or...