Organising obscenity : a three-part exploration into the architecture of adult sites from the western world, their intimate interactions and lusty language when searching for sex

Video-streaming porn websites made porn media more widespread and commonplace to the everyday internet user. This study takes a multi-disciplinary approach to exploring porn by treating it as information and viewing it through the lens of Information Science. It updates the idea of porn, the user’s journey and the interaction found on porn websites. The thesis comprises three parts using a scientific approach that experiments, morphs and builds on each study to build a narrative of exploratory discovery within this lesser-studied field. The first part of the study expands on the definitions of porn sites. Using concepts and frameworks from Information Architecture, it breaks down the many types of porn sites and focuses specifically on video-streaming sites. Video streaming sites are then broken down into defining characteristics that are compared to other sites to show the overlapping features and how they straddle different site categories; allowing them to simultaneously fit within the internet yet stand out from these sites. By also applying the video streaming porn site characteristics to a sample of porn sites to test, it draws out further nuances and questions. The second part, applies the new characteristics to the interactive elements found on the sample sites. Primary and secondary data builds a quantitative and qualitative picture of the user's journey. This chapter illustrates the breakdown of interactions and viewership, making correlations between the two and comparing them across the sites. A list of interactions are broken into two types, Simple and Complex, and the site's areas for interaction into two layers, Basic and Involved. Information Seeking concepts like Berrypicking and Information Foraging are used as a framework to create speculations and hypotheses, possible reasons, and searching methods that inform the site's usability. The third part focuses on Pornhub as an example and descriptively explains the changes to its categories over time by using resources like the Wayback Machine for data collection. It takes an exploratory approach to the changing categories and use of tags to supplement the information-seeking speculations made in the previous chapter. Focusing on the links between categories as Controlled Vocabularies and tags as Folksonomies informs how the sites morph and change to suit the content creators commercially and the users communally. Anecdotal evidence closes this chapter with speculations from industry professionals about their opinions on the site changes and future predictions. The thesis concludes with contributions that include new definitions, terminology, methods and applications. The definition of porn expands by employing information science that encompasses the nuances of the internet. The various interactions and options create new terminology. New methods explore frameworks for future studies to collect data in new ways. Applying Information Architecture and information-seeking behaviours to porn sites provides a novel way of viewing and speculations about porn sites for future interest and application.Video-streaming porn websites made porn media more widespread and commonplace to the everyday internet user. This study takes a multi-disciplinary approach to exploring porn by treating it as information and viewing it through the lens of Information Science. It updates the idea of porn, the user’s journey and the interaction found on porn websites. The thesis comprises three parts using a scientific approach that experiments, morphs and builds on each study to build a narrative of exploratory discovery within this lesser-studied field. The first part of the study expands on the definitions of porn sites. Using concepts and frameworks from Information Architecture, it breaks down the many types of porn sites and focuses specifically on video-streaming sites. Video streaming sites are then broken down into defining characteristics that are compared to other sites to show the overlapping features and how they straddle different site categories; allowing them to simultaneously fit within the internet yet stand out from these sites. By also applying the video streaming porn site characteristics to a sample of porn sites to test, it draws out further nuances and questions. The second part, applies the new characteristics to the interactive elements found on the sample sites. Primary and secondary data builds a quantitative and qualitative picture of the user's journey. This chapter illustrates the breakdown of interactions and viewership, making correlations between the two and comparing them across the sites. A list of interactions are broken into two types, Simple and Complex, and the site's areas for interaction into two layers, Basic and Involved. Information Seeking concepts like Berrypicking and Information Foraging are used as a framework to create speculations and hypotheses, possible reasons, and searching methods that inform the site's usability. The third part focuses on Pornhub as an example and descriptively explains the changes to its categories over time by using resources like the Wayback Machine for data collection. It takes an exploratory approach to the changing categories and use of tags to supplement the information-seeking speculations made in the previous chapter. Focusing on the links between categories as Controlled Vocabularies and tags as Folksonomies informs how the sites morph and change to suit the content creators commercially and the users communally. Anecdotal evidence closes this chapter with speculations from industry professionals about their opinions on the site changes and future predictions. The thesis concludes with contributions that include new definitions, terminology, methods and applications. The definition of porn expands by employing information science that encompasses the nuances of the internet. The various interactions and options create new terminology. New methods explore frameworks for future studies to collect data in new ways. Applying Information Architecture and information-seeking behaviours to porn sites provides a novel way of viewing and speculations about porn sites for future interest and application

Testing limits to airflow perturbation device (APD) measurements

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Pediatric Feeding Disorder: Consensus Definition and Conceptual Framework

Pediatric feeding disorders (PFDs) lack a universally accepted definition. Feeding disorders require comprehensive assessment and treatment of 4 closely related, complementary domains (medical, psychosocial, and feeding skill-based systems and associated nutritional complications). Previous diagnostic paradigms have, however, typically defined feeding disorders using the lens of a single professional discipline and fail to characterize associated functional limitations that are critical to plan appropriate interventions and improve quality of life. Using the framework of the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health, a unifying diagnostic term is proposed: “Pediatric Feeding Disorder” (PFD), defined as impaired oral intake that is not age-appropriate, and is associated with medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and/or psychosocial dysfunction. By incorporating associated functional limitations, the proposed diagnostic criteria for PFD should enable practitioners and researchers to better characterize the needs of heterogeneous patient populations, facilitate inclusion of all relevant disciplines in treatment planning, and promote the use of common, precise, terminology necessary to advance clinical practice, research, and health-care policy

It's more than low BMI: prevalence of cachexia and associated mortality in COPD

Background: Cachexia is associated with increased mortality risk among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. However, low body mass index (BMI) as opposed to cachexia is often used, particularly when calculating the BODE (BMI, Obstruction, Dyspnea and Exercise) index. For this reason, we examined mortality using a consensus definition and a weight-loss definition of cachexia among COPD cases and compared two new COPD severity indices with BODE. Methods: In the current report, the consensus definition for cachexia incorporated weight-loss > 5% in 12-months or low BMI in addition to 3/5 of decreased muscle strength, fatigue, anorexia, low FFMI and inflammation. The weight-loss definition incorporated weight-loss > 5% or weight-loss > 2% (if low BMI) in 12-months. The low BMI component in BODE was replaced with the consensus definition to create the CODE (Consensus cachexia, Obstruction, Dyspnea and Exercise) index and the weight-loss definition to create the WODE (Weight loss, Obstruction, Dyspnea and Exercise) index. Mortality was assessed using Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox Regression. Performance of models was compared using C-statistics. Results: Among 1483 COPD cases, the prevalences of cachexia by the consensus and weight-loss definitions were 4.7 and 10.4%, respectively. Cachectic patients had a greater than three-fold increased mortality by either the consensus or the weight-loss definition of cachexia independent of BMI and lung function. The CODE index predicted mortality slightly more accurately than the BODE and WODE indices. Conclusions: Cachexia is associated with increased mortality among COPD patients. Monitoring cachexia using weight-loss criteria is relatively simple and predictive of mortality among COPD cases who may be missed if only low BMI is used

Body mass index change in gastrointestinal cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is associated with Dedicator of Cytokinesis 1

Background: There have been a number of candidate gene association studies of cancer cachexia-related traits, but no genome-wide association study (GWAS) has been published to date. Cachexia presents in patients with a number of complex traits, including both cancer and COPD. The objective of the current investigation was to search for a shared genetic aetiology for change in body mass index (ΔBMI) among cancer and COPD by using GWAS data in the Framingham Heart Study. Methods: A linear mixed effects model accounting for age, sex, and change in smoking status was used to calculate ΔBMI in participants over 40 years of age with three consecutive BMI time points (n = 4162). Four GWAS of ΔBMI using generalized estimating equations were performed among 1085 participants with a cancer diagnosis, 204 with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, 112 with lung cancer, and 237 with COPD to test for association with 418 365 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Results: Two SNPs reached a level of genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8) with ΔBMI: (i) rs41526344 within the CNTN4 gene, among COPD cases (β = 0.13, P = 4.3 × 10−8); and (ii) rs4751240 in the gene Dedicator of Cytokinesis 1 (DOCK1) among GI cancer cases (β = 0.10, P = 1.9 × 10−8). The DOCK1 SNP association replicated in the ΔBMI GWAS among COPD cases (βmeta-analyis = 0.10, Pmeta-analyis = 9.3 × 10−10). The DOCK1 gene codes for the dedicator of cytokinesis 1 protein, which has a role in myoblast fusion. Conclusions: In sum, one statistically significant common variant in the DOCK1 gene was associated with ΔBMI in GI cancer and COPD cases providing support for at least partially shared aetiology of ΔBMI in complex diseases

Evolution of Traumatic Parenchymal Intracranial Hematomas (ICHs): Comparison of Hematoma and Edema Components

This study seeks to quantitatively assess evolution of traumatic ICHs over the first 24 h and investigate its relationship with functional outcome. Early expansion of traumatic intracranial hematoma (ICH) is common, but previous studies have focused on the high density (blood) component. Hemostatic therapies may increase the risk of peri-hematoma infarction and associated increased cytotoxic edema. Assessing the magnitude and evolution of ICH and edema represented by high and low density components on computerized tomography (CT) may be informative for designing therapies targeted at traumatic ICH. CT scans from participants in the COBRIT (Citicoline Brain Injury Trial) study were analyzed using MIPAV software. CT scans from patients with non-surgical intraparenchymal ICHs at presentation and approximately 24 h later (±12 h) were selected. Regions of high density and low density were quantitatively measured. The relationship between volumes of high and low density were compared to several outcome measures, including Glasgow Outcome Score—Extended (GOSE) and Disability Rating Score (DRS). Paired scans from 84 patients were analyzed. The median time between the first and second scan was 22.79 h (25%ile 20.11 h; 75%ile 27.49 h). Over this time frame, hematoma and edema volumes increased &gt;50% in 34 (40%) and 46 (55%) respectively. The correlation between the two components was low (r = 0.39, p = 0.002). There was a weak correlation between change in edema volume and GOSE at 6 months (r = 0.268, p = 0.037), change in edema volume and DRS at 3 and 6 months (r = −0.248, p = 0.037 and r = 0.358, p = 0.005, respectively), change in edema volume and COWA at 6 months (r = 0.272, p = 0.049), and between final edema volume and COWA at 6 months (r = 0.302, p = 0.028). To conclude, both high density and low density components of traumatic ICHs expand significantly in the first 2 days after TBI. In our study, there does not appear to be a relationship between hematoma volume or hematoma expansion and functional outcome, while there is a weak relationship between edema expansion and functional outcome

Ki67 Proliferation Index as a Tool for Chemotherapy Decisions During and After Neoadjuvant Aromatase Inhibitor Treatment of Breast Cancer: Results From the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z1031 Trial (Alliance)

To determine the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate in estrogen receptor (ER) –positive primary breast cancer triaged to chemotherapy when the protein encoded by the MKI67 gene (Ki67) level was > 10% after 2 to 4 weeks of neoadjuvant aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy. A second objective was to examine risk of relapse using the Ki67-based Preoperative Endocrine Prognostic Index (PEPI)

The Effect of Axial Length on the Thickness of Intraretinal Layers of the Macula.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of axial length (AL) on the thickness of intraretinal layers in the macula using optical coherence tomography (OCT) image analysis. METHODS: Fifty three randomly selected eyes of 53 healthy subjects were recruited for this study. The median age of the participants was 29 years (range: 6 to 67 years). AL was measured for each eye using a Lenstar LS 900 device. OCT imaging of the macula was also performed by Stratus OCT. OCTRIMA software was used to process the raw OCT scans and to determine the weighted mean thickness of 6 intraretinal layers and the total retina. Partial correlation test was performed to assess the correlation between the AL and the thickness values. RESULTS: Total retinal thickness showed moderate negative correlation with AL (r = -0.378, p = 0.0007), while no correlation was observed between the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCC), retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and AL. Moderate negative correlation was observed also between the thickness of the ganglion cell layer and inner plexiform layer complex (GCL+IPL), inner nuclear layer (INL), outer plexiform layer (OPL), outer nuclear layer (ONL) and AL which were more pronounced in the peripheral ring (r = -0.402, p = 0.004; r = -0.429, p = 0.002; r = -0.360, p = 0.01; r = -0.448, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results have shown that the thickness of the nuclear layers and the total retina is correlated with AL. The reason underlying this could be the lateral stretching capability of these layers; however, further research is warranted to prove this theory. Our results suggest that the effect of AL on retinal layers should be taken into account in future studies

Natural Disaster and Risk of Psychiatric Disorders in Puerto Rican Children

We examined the persistence of psychiatric disorders at approximately 18 and 30 months after a hurricane among a random sample of the child and adolescent population (4–17 years) of Puerto Rico. Data were obtained from caretaker-child dyads (N = 1,886) through in person interviews with primary caretakers (all children) and youth (11–17 years) using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children IV in Spanish. Logistic regressions, controlling for sociodemographic variables, were used to study the relation between disaster exposure and internalizing, externalizing, or any disorder. Children’s disaster-related distress manifested as internalizing disorders, rather than as externalizing disorders at 18 months post-disaster. At 30 months, there was no longer a significant difference in rates of disorder between hurricane-exposed and non-exposed youth. Results were similar across age ranges. Rates of specific internalizing disorders between exposed and unexposed children are provided. Research and clinical implications are discussed

Family Influences on the Long Term Post-Disaster Recovery of Puerto Rican Youth

This study focused on characteristics of the family environment that may mediate the relationship between disaster exposure and the presence of symptoms that met DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for symptom count and duration for an internalizing disorder in children and youth. We also explored how parental history of mental health problems may moderate this meditational model. Approximately 18 months after Hurricane Georges hit Puerto Rico in 1998, participants were randomly selected based on a probability household sample using 1990 US Census block groups. Caregivers and children (N=1,886 dyads) were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children and other questionnaires in Spanish. Areas of the family environment assessed include parent-child relationship quality, parent-child involvement, parental monitoring, discipline, parents’ relationship quality and parental mental health. SEM models were estimated for parents and children, and by age group. For children (4–10 years old), parenting variables were related to internalizing psychopathology, but did not mediate the exposure-psychopathology relationship. Exposure had a direct relationship to internalizing psychopathology. For youth (11–17 years old), some parenting variables attenuated the relation between exposure and internalizing psychopathology. Family environment factors may play a mediational role in psychopathology post-disaster among youth, compared to an additive role for children. Hurricane exposure had a significant relation to family environment for families without parental history of mental health problems, but no influence for families with a parental history of mental health problems