On the poverty of a priorism: technology, surveillance in the workplace and employee responses

Many debates about surveillance at work are framed by a set of a priori assumptions about the nature of the employment relationship that inhibits efforts to understand the complexity of employee responses to the spread of new technology at work. In particular, the debate about the prevalence of resistance is hamstrung from the outset by the assumption that all apparently non-compliant acts, whether intentional or not, are to be counted as acts of resistance. Against this background this paper seeks to redress the balance by reviewing results from an ethnographic study of surveillance-capable technologies in a number of British workplaces. It argues for greater attention to be paid to the empirical character of the social relations at work in and through which technologies are deployed and in the context of which employee responses are played out

Craniodental functional evolution in sauropodomorph dinosaurs

AbstractSauropodomorpha included the largest known terrestrial vertebrates and was the first dinosaur clade to achieve a global distribution. This success is associated with their early adoption of herbivory, and sauropod gigantism has been hypothesized to be a specialization for bulk feeding and obligate high-fiber herbivory. Here, we apply a combination of biomechanical character analysis and comparative phylogenetic methods with the aim of quantifying the evolutionary mechanics of the sauropodomorph feeding apparatus. We test for the role of convergence to common feeding function and divergence toward functional optima across sauropodomorph evolution, quantify the rate of evolution for functional characters, and test for coincident evolutionary rate shifts in craniodental functional characters and body mass. Results identify a functional shift toward increased cranial robustness, increased bite force, and the onset of static occlusion at the base of the Sauropoda, consistent with a shift toward bulk feeding. Trends toward similarity in functional characters are observed in Diplodocoidea and Titanosauriformes. However, diplodocids and titanosaurs retain significant craniodental functional differences, and evidence for convergent adoption of a common “adaptive zone” between them is weak. Modeling of craniodental character and body-mass evolution demonstrates that these functional shifts were not correlated with evolutionary rate shifts. Instead, a significant correlation between body mass and characters related to bite force and cranial robustness suggests a correlated-progression evolutionary mode, with positive-feedback loops between body mass and dietary specializations fueling sauropod gigantism.</jats:p

The effect of weight-based chemotherapy dosing in a cohort of gynecologic oncology patients

The American Society of Clinical Oncology recommends that full weight-based doses of chemotherapy be used to treat obese patients with cancer. However, many oncologists limit the dose of chemotherapy based on ideal body weight or a maximum body surface area (BSA) of m2. The objective of our study is to determine how weight-based chemotherapy dosing affects toxicity, treatment delays, and laboratory values in a cohort of obese gynecologic cancer patients at our institution. We hypothesize that full weight-based dosing in obese patients does not increase adverse chemotherapy outcomes

Elastic and inelastic scattering of 240-MeV (6)Li ions from (40)Ca and (48)Ca and tests of a systematic optical potential

Journals published by the American Physical Society can be found at http://publish.aps.org/Elastic and inelastic scattering of 240-MeV (6)Li particles from (40)Ca and (48)Ca were measured with the multipole-dipole-multipole spectrometer from 4 degrees <= theta(c.m.) <= 40 degrees. Optical potential parameters were obtained by fitting the elastic-scattering data with the double-folding model using the density-dependent M3Y NN effective interaction and B(E2) and B(E3) values obtained for low-lying 2(+) and 3(-) states agreed with the adopted values. The results are compared with those obtained using potentials derived from the systematics of potentials previously obtained for (24)Mg, (28)Si, (58)Ni, and (90)Zr. Cross sections for excitation of giant resonances were also calculated with the potentials obtained

Zmiz1 is overexpressed in epithelial ovarian cancer and associated with p53 gene mutations

Zmiz1 staining is elevated in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Tumors that are Zmiz1 positive are associated with mutations of the p53 gene. Zmiz1 overexpression may be associated with decreased survival in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Additional studies are needed to more clearly determine the role of Zmiz1 in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

Zmiz1 is overexpressed in epithelial ovarian cancer and associated with p53 gene mutations

Zmiz1 staining is elevated in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Tumors that are Zmiz1 positive are associated with mutations of the p53 gene. Zmiz1 overexpression may be associated with decreased survival in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Additional studies are needed to more clearly determine the role of Zmiz1 in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

Elastic and inelastic scattering to low-lying states of (58)Ni and (90)Zr using 240-MeV (6)Li

Journals published by the American Physical Society can be found at http://publish.aps.org/Elastic and inelastic scattering of 240-MeV (6)Li particles from (58)Ni and (90)Zr were measured with the multipole-dipole-multipole spectrometer from 4 degrees <= theta(c.m.) <= 43 degrees. The elastic scattering data were fitted with the double-folding model using the density-dependent M3Y NN effective interaction and with a phenomenological Woods-Saxon potential. B(E2) and B(E3) values obtained for low-lying 2(+) and 3(-) states with the double-folding calculations agreed with the adopted values

How much change is enough?:Evidence from a longitudinal study on depression in UK primary care

BACKGROUND: The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) are widely used in the evaluation of interventions for depression and anxiety. The smallest reduction in depressive symptoms that matter to patients is known as the Minimum Clinically Important Difference (MCID). Little empirical study of the MCID for these scales exists. METHODS: A prospective cohort of 400 patients in UK primary care were interviewed on four occasions, 2 weeks apart. At each time point, participants completed all three questionnaires and a ‘global rating of change’ scale (GRS). MCID estimation relied on estimated changes in symptoms according to reported improvement on the GRS scale, stratified by baseline severity on the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R). RESULTS: For moderate baseline severity, those who reported improvement on the GRS had a reduction of 21% (95% confidence interval (CI) −26.7 to −14.9) on the PHQ-9; 23% (95% CI −27.8 to −18.0) on the BDI-II and 26.8% (95% CI −33.5 to −20.1) on the GAD-7. The corresponding threshold scores below which participants were more likely to report improvement were −1.7, −3.5 and −1.5 points on the PHQ-9, BDI-II and GAD-7, respectively. Patients with milder symptoms require much larger reductions as percentage of their baseline to endorse improvement. CONCLUSIONS: An MCID representing 20% reduction of scores in these scales, is a useful guide for patients with moderately severe symptoms. If treatment had the same effect on patients irrespective of baseline severity, those with low symptoms are unlikely to notice a benefit. FUNDING: Funding. National Institute for Health Research