ETHICS IN DATA COLLECTION AND ADVERTISING

This paper will explore the ethical connotations within the current advertising methods used by companies who want to market their products online. Specifically, the paper will focus on how customer data is collected and used via targeted advertising and what the ethics behind this method of advertising are. While marketers argue that targeted advertising using customer information results in greater consumer market efficiency, by sparking customers’ interests through tailored advertisements, many consumer privacy groups have questioned the ethicality of such practices

Worth Fighting For: Thirty-Five Years of Title IX Advocacy in the Courts, Congress and the Federal Agencies

This article focuses on Title IX and women\u27s continuing struggle to secure equal opportunity on the playing fields. But athletics is not unique. Indeed, the lessons of Title IX in athletics, its importance to women and girls, and how the law has been shaped over the years by advocacy in each branch of government, apply to all the fields of endeavor that still remain only partially available to the young women of this nation. Women and girls continue to lag behind in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, remain clustered in “traditionally female” programs such as cosmetology that prepare them for low-wage careers, and are still treated like second-class citizens on the playing fields

Moving forward in GME reform: a 4 + 1 model of resident ambulatory training

Traditional ambulatory training models have limitations in important domains, including opportunities for residents to learn, fragmentation of care delivery experience, and satisfaction with ambulatory experiences. New models of ambulatory training are needed. To compare the impact of a traditional ambulatory training model with a templated 4 + 1 model. A large university-based internal medicine residency using three different training sites: a patient-centered medical home, a hospital-based ambulatory clinic, and community private practices. Residents, faculty, and administrative staff. Development of a templated 4 + 1 model of residency where trainees do not attend to inpatient and outpatient responsibilities simultaneously. A mixed-methods analysis of survey and nominal group data measuring three primary outcomes: 1) Perception of learning opportunities and quality of faculty teaching; 2) Reported fragmentation of care delivery experience; 3) Satisfaction with ambulatory experiences. Self-reported empanelment was a secondary outcome. Residents\u27 learning opportunities increased (p = 0.007) but quality of faculty teaching was unchanged. Participants reported less fragmentation in the care residents provide patients in the inpatient and outpatient setting (p \u3c 0.0001). Satisfaction with ambulatory training improved (p \u3c 0.0001). Self-reported empanelment also increased (p \u3c 0.0001). Results held true for residents, faculty, and staff at all three ambulatory training sites (p \u3c 0.0001). A 4 + 1 model increased resident time in ambulatory continuity clinic, enhanced learning opportunities, reduced fragmentation of care residents provide, and improved satisfaction with ambulatory experiences. More studies of similar models are needed to evaluate effects on additional trainee and patient outcomes. (C) Society of General Internal Medicine 201

Osteogenic Cells Derived From Embryonic Stem Cells Produced Bone Nodules in Three-Dimensional Scaffolds

An approach for 3D bone tissue generation from embryonic stem (ES) cells was investigated. The ES cells were induced to differentiate into osteogenic precursors, capable of proliferating and subsequently differentiating into bone-forming cells. The differentiated cells and the seeded scaffolds were characterized using von Kossa and Alizarin Red staining, electron microscopy, and RT-PCR analysis. The results demonstrated that ES-derived bone-forming cells attached to and colonized the biocompatible and biodegradable scaffolds. Furthermore, these cells produced bone nodules when grown for 3–4 weeks in mineralization medium containing ascorbic acid and beta-glycerophosphate both in tissue culture plates and in scaffolds. The differentiated cells also expressed osteospecific markers when grown both in the culture plates and in 3D scaffolds. Osteogenic cells expressed alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and osteopontin, but not an ES cell-specific marker, oct-4. These findings suggest that ES cell can be used for in vitro tissue engineering and cultivation of graftable skeletal structures

Extension of thermonuclear functions through the pathway model including Maxwell-Boltzmann and Tsallis distributions

The Maxwell-Boltzmannian approach to nuclear reaction rate theory is extended to cover Tsallis statistics (Tsallis, 1988) and more general cases of distribution functions. An analytical study of respective thermonuclear functions is being conducted with the help of statistical techniques. The pathway model, recently introduced by Mathai (2005), is utilized for thermonuclear functions and closed-form representations are obtained in terms of H-functions and G-functions. Maxwell-Boltzmannian thermonuclear functions become particular cases of the extended thermonuclear functions. A brief review on the development of the theory of analytic representations of nuclear reaction rates is given.Comment: 16 pages, LaTe

The effect of post-meal walking on 24-hour central blood pressure in young women with and without excess adiposity

Post-meal walking (PMW) performed after breakfast, lunch, and dinner has been demonstrated to reduce blood glucose. However, no studies have examined the potential additive benefits of post-meal walking exercise on daytime central blood pressure (BP) in young women. METHODS: Thirteen physically inactive, non-hypertensive women (Age: 20±1 years; percent body fat: 28.2±13%) completed the study during the early follicular or placebo phase of their contraceptive cycle. Participants completed a control day (CON; no exercise/excess physical activity) and PMW day (3 bouts x 15 minutes of brisk walking) over five days in random order. Daytime ambulatory BP and accelerometry data (to estimate METs) were measured and compared. RESULTS: PMW increased metabolic expenditure (PMW= 35.8±1.44 vs. CON= 33.7±0.94 METs, p0.05 for all). CONCLUSION: PMW does not lead to reductions in central BP in young, physically inactive women

From stars to patients: Lessons from space science and astrophysics for health care informatics

Big Data are revolutionizing nearly every aspect of the modern society. One area where this can have a profound positive societal impact is the field of Health Care Informatics (HCI), which faces many challenges. The key idea behind this study is: can we use some of the experience and technical and methodological solutions from the fields that have successfully adapted to the Big Data era, namely astronomy and space science, to help accelerate the progress of HCI? We illustrate this with examples from the Virtual Observatory framework, and the NCI EDRN project. An effective sharing and reuse of tools, methods, and experiences from different fields can save a lot of effort, time, and expense. HCI can thus benefit from the proven solutions to big data challenges from other domains