Smartphone-Based pH Sensor for Home Monitoring of Pulmonary Exacerbations in Cystic Fibrosis.

Currently, Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients lack the ability to track their lung health at home, relying instead on doctor checkups leading to delayed treatment and lung damage. By leveraging the ubiquity of the smartphone to lower costs and increase portability, a smartphone-based peripheral pH measurement device was designed to attach directly to the headphone port to harvest power and communicate with a smartphone application. This platform was tested using prepared pH buffers and sputum samples from CF patients. The system matches within ~0.03 pH of a benchtop pH meter while fully powering itself and communicating with a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone paired with either a glass or Iridium Oxide (IrOx) electrode. The IrOx electrodes were found to have 25% higher sensitivity than the glass probes at the expense of larger drift and matrix sensitivity that can be addressed with proper calibration. The smartphone-based platform has been demonstrated as a portable replacement for laboratory pH meters, and supports both highly robust glass probes and the sensitive and miniature IrOx electrodes with calibration. This tool can enable more frequent pH sputum tracking for CF patients to help detect the onset of pulmonary exacerbation to provide timely and appropriate treatment before serious damage occurs

Implementing Responsible AI: Tensions and Trade-Offs Between Ethics Aspects

Many sets of ethics principles for responsible AI have been proposed to allay concerns about misuse and abuse of AI/ML systems. The underlying aspects of such sets of principles include privacy, accuracy, fairness, robustness, explainability, and transparency. However, there are potential tensions between these aspects that pose difficulties for AI/ML developers seeking to follow these principles. For example, increasing the accuracy of an AI/ML system may reduce its explainability. As part of the ongoing effort to operationalise the principles into practice, in this work we compile and discuss a catalogue of 10 notable tensions, trade-offs and other interactions between the underlying aspects. We primarily focus on two-sided interactions, drawing on support spread across a diverse literature. This catalogue can be helpful in raising awareness of the possible interactions between aspects of ethics principles, as well as facilitating well-supported judgements by the designers and developers of AI/ML systems

From “Mind Playing Tricks On Me” to “Trauma”: Adverse Childhood Experiences and Hip Hop’s Prescription

Over the past two decades, research focused on the causes and the lasting impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, has been changing the way researchers, healthcare providers, and advocates approach areas like mental health, risky behaviors, and chronic disease. Numerous studies have produced and solidified results that present three undeniable truths: (1) the vast majority of Americans have experienced some form of trauma in their childhood, (2) people with low income or educational attainment and people of color experience increased instances of childhood trauma and adversity, and (3) the more childhood trauma an individual experiences, the higher the risk that he or she will be exposed to “multiple risk factors for several of the leading causes of death in adults.” The causal link between childhood trauma and negative health outcomes has been shown to be so severe that Dr. Robert Block, former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, notably stated, “Adverse Childhood Experiences are the single greatest unaddressed public health threat facing our nation today.” Childhood trauma and adversity has shaped the music, careers, and lives of many of hip-hop’s brightest stars. The lasting impact of traumatic childhood experiences has propelled some artists to international stardom, as listeners around the globe are able to connect with them through the honest and raw lyrics and musical styles born out of, and in spite of, such adversity. What can hip-hop, a proud and storied genre that is no stranger to taking on taboo topics, and its artists, many of whom are the products of communities teeming with adversity, tell us about Adverse Childhood Experiences? How can lawmakers, mental healthcare providers, and community activists work to address and curtail the prevalence and negative impact of childhood trauma through the framework provided to them by hip-hop artists and messages? Messages that dictate action by courageously challenging the complacent status quo, beginning with efforts that spread awareness and education, and building on the work of those in the field that have come before? What would laws and policies developed through a hip hop framework look like? This article seeks to answer these questions and to encourage immediate action in combating the epidemic of childhood trauma

Developing Linguistic Literacy: Perspectives from Corpus Linguistics and Multi-Dimensional Analysis

In their conceptual framework for linguistic literacy development, Ravid & Tolchinsky synthesize research studies from several perspectives. One of these is corpus-based research, which has been used for several large-scale research studies of spoken and written registers over the past 20 years. In this approach, a large, principled collection of natural texts (a \u27corpus\u27) is analysed using computational and interactive techniques, to identify the salient linguistic characteristics of each register or text variety. Three characteristics of corpus-based analysis are particularly important (see Biber, Conrad & Reppen 1998):(1) a special concern for the representativeness of the text sample being analysed, and for the generalizability of fndings; (2) overt recognition of the interactions among linguistic features: the ways in which features co-occur and alternate; (3) a focus on register as the most important parameter of linguistic variation: strong patterns of use in one register often represent only weak patterns in other registers. Corpus studies have documented the linguistic differences among spoken and written registers in English and other languages. Further, by analyzing systematic corpora produced by students at different stages, these same techniques have been used to track the patterns of extended language development associated with literacy. Two major patterns emerge from studies in this research tradition: (1) adult written language is dramatically different from natural conversation; and (2) written language is by no means homogeneous: rather, there are major linguistic differences among written registers. Thus, the developmental acquisition of linguistic literacy requires control over the patterns of register variation, in addition to a mastery of the mechanics of the written mode

Structural Identification and Kinetic Analysis of the in Vitro Products Formed by Reaction of Bisphenol A‑3,4-quinone with N‑Acetylcysteine and Glutathione

Bisphenol A (BPA) has received considerable attention as an endocrine disrupting chemical and a possible substrate for genotoxic metabolites. BPA metabolism leads to formation of electrophilic o-quinones cable of binding to DNA and other endogenous nucleophiles. We have structurally identified the products resulting from the reaction of bisphenol A-3,4-quinone (BPAQ) with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and glutathione (GSH). The major and minor isomers are both the result of 1,6-conjugate addition and are produced almost instantly in high yield. Reactions using 1.3 equiv of GSH showed the presence of a bis-glutathionyl adduct which was not observed using higher GSH concentration relative to BPAQ. NAC reactions with BPAQ showed no bis-N-acetylcysteinyl adducts. Stopped-flow kinetic analysis reveals the 1,6-conjugate additions to be reversible with a forward free energy of activation of 9.2 and 7.8 kcal/mol for the NAC and GSH reactions, respectively. The bimolecular forward rate constant at 19.4 °C was approximately three time faster for GSH compared to NAC, 1547 vs 496 M−1 s−1. The free energy of activation for the reverse reactions were similar, 11.7 and 11.2 kcal/mol for NAC and GSH, respectively. We plan to use this model system to further explore the mechanism of adduct formation between sulfur nucleophiles and o-quinones and the resulting chemical properties of both NAC and GSH adducts

Driving Biomineralisation Using Soft Templation

Sea shells, bones and teeth are three examples of Nature's unrivalled ability to produce complex hierarchical structures from simple inorganic materials. Unlike the synthetic approach of using 'exotic' materials to introduce functionality, Nature has employed structural control to maximise properties. Key to this control is the use of an organic framework to guide inorganic nucleation and growth. The question of how structural information is transferred from the organic framework to the inorganic crystal has inspired many studies in the field of biomineralisation, yet our understanding remains limited. One aspect that has received considerable attention is the molecular recognition process that occurs at the organic/inorganic interface. Unlocking the mysteries of the intermolecular interactions associated with molecular recognition using a model Langmuir monolayer system is the aim of this research. Elucidation of the molecular recognition process requires an understanding of host/guest chemistry, double layer theory, Langmuir monolayer chemistry, and crystallisation theory, with the added complexity that both the host and guest are dynamic and constantly changing. This level of complexity demands a holistic approach to accommodate the many interacting parameters, therefore this study consists of a comparative analysis of calcium carbonate crystallisation under twelve subtly altered surfactant monolayer systems. Based around the acid and alcohol moieties, commonly explored in biomineralisation studies, these monolayer systems involve: mixtures of octadecanoic acid and octadecanol, hydroxyl-, carboxyl-, bromine- and methyl- substituted octadecanoic acids. By making minor chemical modifications to the membrane molecules we can subtly alter the electronic landscape presented to the supersaturated subphase and probe how the mix of intermolecular forces changes the interfacial interaction. In order to understand the monolayer/subphase interaction and therefore build up a picture of the crystallising system each monolayer was probed on pure water, calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate subphases. The understanding gleaned from these experiments fed into the elucidation of the significantly more complex calcium carbonate crystallising subphase/monolayer interaction. Information about monolayer and subphase behaviour was obtained from surface pressure isotherms, surface potential measurements, Brewster Angle Microscopy, grazing incidence Xray diffraction (GIXD) and X-ray reflectivity (XRR). This information was correlated with crystal properties such as the nucleation face and gross morphology to develop a picture of the interfacial interaction. Results show that monolayer surface charge and ion-ion electrostatic interactions are important but do not dictate crystal orientation. The manipulation of the head group chemistry highlighted the influence of head group spacing and therefore lattice matching in crystal orientation. Further it was found that a high degree of interfacial matching not only facilitated face-selective nucleation but also has a significant impact of crystal morphology. GIXD results show the rearrangement of the monolayer structure upon nucleation for the first time. Combined with X-ray reflectivity generated electron density profiles this has lead to a significant improvement in our understanding of the interfacial interaction. As such this body of work has culminated in the proposition of a cation-mediated hydrogen-bonded soap network facilitated by the presence of the bicarbonate anion as an intermediate entity for crystal nucleation under Langmuir monolayers. Such a network accounts for the influence of electrostatics, lattice, symmetry and spatial geometry matching that contribute to face-selective nucleation and more generally the molecular recognition process in biomineralisation. However the evidence presented here for a monolayer/subphase network is largely qualitative and the hypothesis requires more direct validation

Soviet perspectives on current Sino-Soviet relations.

http://archive.org/details/sovietperspectiv00meisNAN

Negotiating boundaries: Framing and sense-making in a design thinking project with an elderly community

In recent years Design Thinking has established itself as a popular methodology for unlocking the creative potential that drives innovation, and scholars have begun to apply it in the health sector. However, as a conceptual framework, the approach has been criticised for lacking coherence and empirical validation. Although few have explicitly highlighted the central role of frame management in Design Thinking, we propose that much of the innovative potential, as outlined in its founding principles, stems from a concern with mental processes that contextualise new information to give it meaning and significance. Here we sought to address this gap by studying the framing process in two design teams tasked with developing solutions to assist an elderly population with compliance with medication schedules. Findings from a qualitative analysis indicate that although Design Thinking has clear merit as a methodology for helping designers shift beyond their immediate field of expertise, feedback and observations gathered during engagement with stakeholders inevitably appear to make their way through a filtering process where specific interpretations and meanings become censored and constrained by dominant discourses. Especially in the health sector, where information is sensitive, critical attention to the underlying value systems and prevailing discourses that influence designers’ implicit frames of reference is needed if Design Thinking is to gain credibility as a scientifically robust method for innovation. design thinking, framing, health innovation, medication adherenc

Malignant Progression in Two Children with Multiple Osteochondromas

Multiple Osteochondromas (MO) is a disease of benign bony growths with a low incidence of malignant transformation. Secondary chondrosarcoma in children is rare even in children with MO. Making a diagnosis of malignancy in low-grade cartilage tumors is challenging and requires consideration of clinical, radiographic, and histopathological factors. We report two cases of skeletally immature patients with MO who presented with rapidly enlarging and radiographically aggressive lesions consistent with malignant transformation. Both underwent allograft reconstruction of the involved site with no signs of recurrence or metastatic disease at a minimum of four-year follow-up