The Underrepresentation of Women in Prestigious Ethics Journals

It has been widely reported that women are underrepresented in academic philosophy as faculty and students. This article investigates whether this representation may also occur in the domain of journal article publishing. Our study looked at whether women authors were underrepresented as authors in elite ethics journals — Ethics, Philosophy & Public Affairs, the Journal of Political Philosophy, and the Journal of Moral Philosophy — between 2004-2014, relative to the proportion of women employed in academic ethics (broadly construed). We found that women are indeed underrepresented overall in prestigious ethics journal publishing. Though this is not our focus, we discuss possible causes for this finding, such as top ethics journals’ tendency not to publish much feminist philosophy; the impact of women’s lesser professional status or rank within philosophy on their prospects for, and success in, journal publishing; and the review process itself, which may disadvantage or discourage women authors — perhaps especially when their gender, rank, and affiliation are known to the editor or reviewer, or if their work is explicitly feminist. We discuss possible avenues for future research on the "woman problem" in philosophy, noting how our study relates to existing research on this issue

Improving Letter and Word Recognition Using a Multisensory Approach

The effects of multisensory instruction upon the letter and sight word recognition and reading of five and six year old students were investigated during this study. A total of ten kindergarten and first grade students, identified as in need of extra reading support, were assigned to control and experimental groups. Five students were assigned to each group. Students in the control group learned and practiced identifying letters and reading sight words using their visual and auditory modalities. Students in the experimental group used their. visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile modalities to identify and read letters and sight words. Students were assessed on their recognition of letter names through Marie Clay\u27s Letter Identification task. Sight words were assessed using a teacher made word recognition assessment based on sixteen sight words from Dolch Sight Words List I. Informal oral interview questions were coupled with anecdotal records to triangulate the data gathering by the researcher. Upon completion of four weeks of instruction, each group was assessed for a second time on their recognition of letter names and sight word reading. Results of this study yielded the finding that students instructed through multisensory activities not only improved their number of sight words and letters, but also expressed more pleasurable recounts of the lessons experienced. The discrepancy between the control and experimental group is elaborated on in the discussion portion. Furthermore, in an effort to benefit future classrooms, practical implications are discussed and topics for further research are also stated. Anyone who thinks there is one right way to teach reading, has never worked with two children (Ford, 2005

THE TREE DON’T CARE WHAT THE LITTLE BIRD SINGS: THE AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION AND EDWARD SNOWDEN

By making Americans aware of a secret government surveillance program targeting their electronic communications, Edward Snowden intended to kickstart a public debate on the nature of democratic governance. His intentions are likely to hit a wall of indifference. Why? The answer may lie in the American political culture

Effects of Lithotripter Fields on Biological Tissues

Abstract: Biological effects resulting from exposure to lithotripter fields include hemorrhage in soft tissues, such as the kidney, lung and intestine, the production of premature cardiac contractions, malformations in the chicken embryo and killing of Drosophila larvae, Pulsed ultrasound can produce similar bioeffects at comparable pressure thresholds. Tissues that contain gas bodies, either naturally or after the addition of ultrasound contrast agents, are particularly susceptible to damage from low ampfitude Iithotripter fields. Lung and intestine contain gas naturally and are hemorrhaged by exposure to lithotripter fields on the order of 1 MPa. After the introduction of an ultrasound contrast agent into the vasculature, many organs and tissues, such as the bladder, kidney, fat, muscle and mesentery, show extensive hemorrhage after exposure to Iithotripter pressures less than 2 MPa. Tissues near developing bone are also selectively susceptible to damage from exposure to low amplitude lithotripter fields. The thresholds for hemorrhage in tissues near developing bone, such as the fetal head, limbs and ribs, are all less than 1 ma for exposures with a piezoelectric Iithotripter. Cavitation and purely mechanical forces have been investigated as possible mechanisms for these biological effects of Iithotripter fields

Drive Encryption and Secure Login to a Secure Workstation for Special Applications, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2012, nr 3

We discuss the problem of a secure login to a virtualized workstation. For increased security, the workstation’s hard drive is encrypted. During the startup, a decryption password to the drive must be entered by a user. We propose a solution that involves mutual authentication between the workstation and the user and ensures the password may be entered securely

Diagnostic Ultrasound Safety Review for Point-of-Care Ultrasound Practitioners

Potential ultrasound exposure safety issues are reviewed, with guidance for prudent use of point‐of‐care ultrasound (POCUS). Safety assurance begins with the training of POCUS practitioners in the generation and interpretation of diagnostically valid and clinically relevant images. Sonographers themselves should minimize patient exposure in accordance with the as‐low‐as‐reasonably‐achievable principle, particularly for the safety of the eye, lung, and fetus. This practice entails the reduction of output indices or the exposure duration, consistent with the acquisition of diagnostically definitive images. Informed adoption of POCUS worldwide promises a reduction of ionizing radiation risks, enhanced cost‐effectiveness, and prompt diagnoses for optimal patient care

Acute SIV Infection in Sooty Mangabey Monkeys Is Characterized by Rapid Virus Clearance from Lymph Nodes and Absence of Productive Infection in Germinal Centers

Lymphoid tissue immunopathology is a characteristic feature of chronic HIV/SIV infection in AIDS-susceptible species, but is absent in SIV-infected natural hosts. To investigate factors contributing to this difference, we compared germinal center development and SIV RNA distribution in peripheral lymph nodes during primary SIV infection of the natural host sooty mangabey and the non-natural host pig-tailed macaque. Although SIV-infected cells were detected in the lymph node of both species at two weeks post infection, they were confined to the lymph node paracortex in immune-competent mangabeys but were seen in both the paracortex and the germinal center of SIV-infected macaques. By six weeks post infection, SIV-infected cells were no longer detected in the lymph node of sooty mangabeys. The difference in localization and rate of disappearance of SIV-infected cells between the two species was associated with trapping of cell-free virus on follicular dendritic cells and higher numbers of germinal center CD4+ T lymphocytes in macaques post SIV infection. Our data suggests that fundamental differences in the germinal center microenvironment prevent productive SIV infection within the lymph node germinal centers of natural hosts contributing to sustained immune competency

On Dimensioning and Routing in the IP QoS System, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2011, nr 3

This article presents dimensioning and routing solutions in IP QoS System designed during the implementation of the PBZ project: “Next Generation Services and Networks – technical, application and market aspects: Traffic management – IP QoS System”. The paper presents the functional architecture together to the description of the functions and methods implemented in the system

Boost your brain: a simple 100% normobaric oxygen treatment improves human motor learning processes

IntroductionHuman motor learning processes are a fundamental part of our daily lives and can be adversely affected by neurologic conditions. Motor learning largely depends on successfully integrating cognitive and motor-related sensory information, and a simple, easily accessible treatment that could enhance such processes would be exciting and clinically impactful. Normobaric 100% oxygen treatment (NbOxTr) is often used as a first-line intervention to improve survival rates of brain cells in neurological trauma, and recent work indicates that improvements in elements crucial for cognitive-motor-related functions can occur during NbOxTr. However, whether NbOxTr can enhance the motor learning processes of healthy human brains is unknown. Here, we investigated whether a brief NbOxTr administered via nasal cannula improves motor learning processes during a visuomotor adaptation task where participants adapt to a visual distortion between visual feedback and hand movements.Methods40 healthy young adults (M = 21 years) were randomly assigned to a NbOxTr (N = 20; 100% oxygen) or air (N = 20; regular air) group and went through four typical visuomotor adaptation phases (Baseline, Adaptation, After-Effect, Refresher). Gas treatment (flow rate 5 L/min) was only administered during the Adaptation phase of the visuomotor experiment, in both groups.ResultsThe NbOxTr provided during the Adaptation phase led to significantly faster and about 30% improved learning (p < 0.05). Notably, these motor learning improvements consolidated into the subsequent experiment phases, i.e., after the gas treatment was terminated (p < 0.05).DiscussionWe conclude that this simple and brief NbOxTr dramatically improved fundamental human motor learning processes and may provide promising potential for neurorehabilitation and skill-learning approaches. Further studies should investigate whether similar improvements exist in elderly and neurologically impaired individuals, other motor learning tasks, and also long-lasting effects