Civic Probes: A Method That Embeds Questions of Civic Infrastructure and Participation

Many civic technologies within HCI, despite having various ambitions and purposes, fail in similar and predictable ways. In this article, we posit that the fundamental pathologies that have held back or obstructed digital civics studies are inherent in the way participatory and grassroots approaches are adopted by digital civics researchers. Specific aspects of the designer\u27s or researcher\u27s expertise and experience are often put aside in the pursuit of a (participatory/user-centered/co)-design that is diligent in its avoidance of technodeterminism and other forms of top-down-ism to the detriment of applying learning from lived experience

A Qualitative Evaluation of an NHS Weight Management Programme for Obese Patients in Liverpool

Purpose – The increasing prevalence of obesity in the UK has been of concern for some time. This is particularly true in Liverpool and in response the Liverpool Weight Management Programme (LWMP) was devised. It offers a service involving dietitians and other expert agencies working towards facilitating dietary and lifestyle changes in obese NHS patients in Liverpool via a 12-week education programme. This qualitative study aims to investigate patients' experiences of the LWMP. Design/methodology/approach – Informed volunteers participated in focus groups exploring their experiences following the programme. Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, then analysed following a thematic approach utilising constant comparison analysis to allow a qualitative view of the LWMP to be formed. Findings – Participants described an increase in immediate self-confidence during the LWMP, as opposed to coercion and pressure experienced elsewhere. The results also show the implementation of dietary changes by participants and favourable opinions towards both the group settings and patient-centred care. Participants also positively described the LWMP regarding the programmes social approach and aspects of programme content; however, there were issues with over-dependence on healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals also need to recognise that long-term empowerment may still be lacking and that follow-up support and the effectiveness of some areas of programme content need to be considered to ensure patients benefit from sustainable weight management. Originality/value – This paper addresses an identified need for qualitative research in the area of health service weight management programmes and highlights the importance of long-term support in empowering patients by exploring their lived experience of the LWMP

Vaccinomics and Personalized Vaccinology: Is Science Leading Us Toward a New Path of Directed Vaccine Development and Discovery?

As is apparent in many fields of science and medicine, the new biology, and particularly new high-throughput genetic sequencing and transcriptomic and epigenetic technologies, are radically altering our understanding and views of science. In this article, we make the case that while mostly ignored thus far in the vaccine field, these changes will revolutionize vaccinology from development to manufacture to administration. Such advances will address a current major barrier in vaccinology—that of empiric vaccine discovery and development, and the subsequent low yield of viable vaccine candidates, particularly for hyper-variable viruses. While our laboratory's data and thinking (and hence also for this paper) has been directed toward viruses and viral vaccines, generalization to other pathogens and disease entities (i.e., anti-cancer vaccines) may be appropriate

Enhancing Distorted Metal Organic Framework Derived ZnO as Anode Material for Lithium Storage by the Addition of Ag2S Quantum Dots.

The lithium storage properties of the distorted metal-organic framework (MOF) derived nanosized ZnO@C are significantly improved by the introduction of Ag2S quantum dots (QDs) during the processing of the material. In the thermal treatment, the Ag2S QDs react to produce Ag nanoparticles and ZnS. The metal nanoparticles act to shorten electron pathways and improve the connectivity of the matrix and the partial sulfidation of the ZnO surface improves the cycling stability of the material. The electrochemical properties of ZnO@C, Ag2S QDs treated ZnO@C and the amorphous carbon in ZnO@C have been compared. The small weight ratio of Ag2S QDs to ZnO@C at 1:180 shows the best performance in lithium storage. The exhibited specific capacities are improved and retained remarkably in the cycling at high current rates. At low current densi-ties (200 mA g-1) treatment of ZnO@C with Ag2S QDs results in a 38% increase in the specific capacity

Analysis of RAD51C germline mutations in high-risk breast and ovarian cancer families and ovarian cancer patients

There is strong evidence that overtly inactivating mutations in RAD51C predispose to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer but the prevalence of such mutations, and whether they are associated with a particular clinical phenotype, remains unclear. Resolving these questions has important implications for the implementation of RAD51C into routine clinical genetic testing. Consequently, we have performed a large RAD51C mutation screen of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer families, and the first study of unselected patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Our data confirm a consistent but low frequency (2/335 families) of inactivating RAD51C mutations among families with a history of both breast and ovarian cancer and an absence of mutations among breast cancer only families (0/1,053 families). Our data also provide support for the designation of the missense variant p.Gly264Ser as a moderate penetrance allele

Assessment of Global Kidney Health Care Status.

Kidney disease is a substantial worldwide clinical and public health problem, but information about available care is limited.To collect information on the current state of readiness, capacity, and competence for the delivery of kidney care across countries and regions of the world.Questionnaire survey administered from May to September 2016 by the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) to 130 ISN-affiliated countries with sampling of key stakeholders (national nephrology society leadership, policy makers, and patient organization representatives) identified by the country and regional nephrology leadership through the ISN.Core areas of country capacity and response for kidney care.Responses were received from 125 of 130 countries (96%), including 289 of 337 individuals (85.8%, with a median of 2 respondents [interquartile range, 1-3]), representing an estimated 93% (6.8 billion) of the world's population of 7.3 billion. There was wide variation in country readiness, capacity, and response in terms of service delivery, financing, workforce, information systems, and leadership and governance. Overall, 119 (95%), 95 (76%), and 94 (75%) countries had facilities for hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and kidney transplantation, respectively. In contrast, 33 (94%), 16 (45%), and 12 (34%) countries in Africa had facilities for hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and kidney transplantation, respectively. For chronic kidney disease (CKD) monitoring in primary care, serum creatinine with estimated glomerular filtration rate and proteinuria measurements were reported as always available in only 21 (18%) and 9 (8%) countries, respectively. Hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and transplantation services were funded publicly and free at the point of care delivery in 50 (42%), 48 (51%), and 46 (49%) countries, respectively. The number of nephrologists was variable and was low (<10 per million population) in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Oceania and South East Asia (OSEA) regions. Health information system (renal registry) availability was limited, particularly for acute kidney injury (8 countries [7%]) and nondialysis CKD (9 countries [8%]). International acute kidney injury and CKD guidelines were reportedly accessible in 52 (45%) and 62 (52%) countries, respectively. There was relatively low capacity for clinical studies in developing nations.This survey demonstrated significant interregional and intraregional variability in the current capacity for kidney care across the world, including important gaps in services and workforce. Assuming the responses accurately reflect the status of kidney care in the respondent countries, the findings may be useful to inform efforts to improve the quality of kidney care worldwide

A habituation account of change detection in same/different judgments

We investigated the basis of change detection in a short-term priming task. In two experiments, participants were asked to indicate whether or not a target word was the same as a previously presented cue. Data from an experiment measuring magnetoencephalography failed to find different patterns for “same” and “different” responses, consistent with the claim that both arise from a common neural source, with response magnitude defining the difference between immediate novelty versus familiarity. In a behavioral experiment, we tested and confirmed the predictions of a habituation account of these judgments by comparing conditions in which the target, the cue, or neither was primed by its presentation in the previous trial. As predicted, cue-primed trials had faster response times, and target-primed trials had slower response times relative to the neither-primed baseline. These results were obtained irrespective of response repetition and stimulus–response contingencies. The behavioral and brain activity data support the view that detection of change drives performance in these tasks and that the underlying mechanism is neuronal habituation

A compendium and functional characterization of mammalian genes involved in adaptation to Arctic or Antarctic environments

Many mammals are well adapted to surviving in extremely cold environments. These species have likely accumulated genetic changes that help them efficiently cope with low temperatures. It is not known whether the same genes related to cold adaptation in one species would be under selection in another species. The aims of this study therefore were: to create a compendium of mammalian genes related to adaptations to a low temperature environment; to identify genes related to cold tolerance that have been subjected to independent positive selection in several species; to determine promising candidate genes/pathways/organs for further empirical research on cold adaptation in mammals

A family of key agreement mechanisms for mission critical communications for secure mobile ad hoc and wireless mesh internetworking

Future wireless networks like mobile ad hoc networks and wireless mesh networks are expected to play important role in demanding communications such as mission critical communications. MANETs are ideal for emergency cases where the communication infrastructure has been completely destroyed and there is a need for quick set up of communications among the rescue/emergency workers. In such emergency scenarios wireless mesh networks may be employed in a later phase for providing advanced communications and services acting as a backbone network in the affected area. Internetworking of both types of future networks will provide a broad range of mission critical applications. While offering many advantages, such as flexibility, easy of deployment and low cost, MANETs and mesh networks face important security and resilience threats, especially for such demanding applications. We introduce a family of key agreement methods based on weak to strong authentication associated with several multiparty contributory key establishment methods. We examine the attributes of each key establishment method and how each method can be better applied in different scenarios. The proposed protocols support seamlessly both types of networks and consider system and application requirements such as efficient and secure internetworking, dynamicity of network topologies and support of thin clients. © 2011 Ioannis G. Askoxylakis et al