149 research outputs found

    Facilitating social constructivist learning environments for product design Students using social software (Web2) and wireless mobile device.

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    It is well understood and has been well documented that there is much to gain by using social software in creating collaborative learning communities. However little is known about using a context independent interactive collaborative environment with an emphasis upon sharing, ease of use, customization and personal publishing (MobileWeb2). This paper describes an innovative and integrated MobileWeb2 technology in a product design live project setting, that assists product designers to solve a real problem to serve a real client. Students and teaching staff use a smartphone to capture design decisions and prototypes and collate and share these via an online eportfolio. From the data collected from staff/students surveys it was found that this method provided a stimulating collaborative environment that develops personal skill to bring out their latent creativity in such a way that these will become part of their project. Opportunities for mobile web2 product design projects are outlined. The logistics of providing access to appropriate hardware and software for all students are also discussed

    Understanding Knowledge Sharing Among Researchers by Social Network Analysis

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    This work mainly concerns with the differential analysis of the knowledge sharing pattern among the research scholars with the aid of Pajek software and R programming; whereby a holistic knowledge sharing network for the entire set of research scholars in the institution is established and the centrality features of the network is analyzed

    Characterization of Surface Geology and Hydrogeology in the Upper Ulua River Basin, Honduras

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    This research includes a hydrogeologic assessment in and around La Union, Honduras to determine the contribution of groundwater to the surface water system and understand the geological control of groundwater storage and movement. Field methods were employed and focused on spring characterization, geochemical signatures, and structural data. Field data was gathered, and locations determined using cellular-integrated GPS signal and the Fulcrum mapping software mobile application. During the summer of 2017, data on 111 geologic points and 34 water points were collected to understand the hydrogeology of the region. Streams and springs were monitored for pH, flow characteristics and conductance as a measure of total-dissolved-solids (TDS). TDS ranged from 22.6 to 485 mg/L with higher values indicating groundwater influx into the surface system. In comparison, lower TDS values are attributed to runoff. Structural information was collected using a Brunton transit compass for strike and dip of lithologic contacts. Structural trends include strikes around 240 degrees, dip direction and approximate magnitudes at 330 and 40 degrees, respectively. Geologic data indicate significant structural deformation, supportive of tectonic activity in the region. For many of the springs in this area, the data can be used to interpret that water is stored in the Jaitique Formation as a perched aquifer controlled by stratigraphy and structure. The groundwater moves down dip through secondary porosity in the Jaitique Formation until it comes into contact with the Lower Valle de Angeles. This Lower Valle de Angeles unit acts as an aquiclude preventing percolation into the ground and resulting in springs at the surface

    Rural-urban disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension and diabetes among aging Indians

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    INTRODUCTION: Hypertension and diabetes are modifiable risk factors for dementia. We aimed to assess rural-urban disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions among aging Indians.METHODS: Participants (n = 6316) were from two parallel, prospective aging cohorts in rural and urban India. Using self-report and clinical/biochemical assessments, we subdivided participants with diabetes and hypertension into undiagnosed and untreated groups. Logistic regression and Fairlie decomposition analysis were the statistical methods utilized.RESULTS: There was a significant rural-urban disparity in undiagnosed hypertension (25.14%), untreated hypertension (11.75%), undiagnosed diabetes (16.94%), and untreated diabetes (11.62%). Further, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, such as age and tobacco use were the common contributors to the disparities in both undiagnosed hypertension and undiagnosed diabetes, whereas education and body mass index (BMI) were significant contributors to the disparity in untreated hypertension.DISCUSSION: Rural Indians face significant healthcare disadvantages as compared to their urban counterparts, which prompts the urgent need for strategies for equitable healthcare.</p

    Development of StressCheck: A telehealth motivational enhancement therapy to improve voluntary engagement for PTSD treatment among active-duty service members

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    Background: Rates of PTSD in active-duty military are high relative to the general population. Although efficacious treatments exist, they are underutilized. Many service members with PTSD do not present for treatment and, of those who do, many do not receive sufficient doses of the interventions to receive full benefits. Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) “check-ups”, are brief interventions designed to elicit treatment engagement for those who are not treatment-seeking. Methods: StressCheck is an MET for nontreatment seeking Army and Air Force personnel. StressCheck aims to improve PTSD and increase treatment engagement, especially around evidence-based interventions, as well as to decrease stigma about seeking mental health services and improve knowledge about treatment options. This paper describes the intervention components and process of treatment development. The paper also describes next steps in testing the effectiveness of the intervention. Conclusion: PTSD is associated with deleterious health, occupational, and psychological effects. If effective, this innovative intervention will bridge the gap between those who are not treatment seeking and existing services, thereby enhancing reach and impact of existing services

    Using Triplet Periodicity of Nucleotide Sequences for Finding Potential Reading Frame Shifts in Genes

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    We introduce a novel approach for the detection of possible mutations leading to a reading frame (RF) shift in a gene. Deletions and insertions of DNA coding regions are considerable events for genes because an RF shift results in modifications of the extensive region of amino acid sequence coded by a gene. The suggested method is based on the phenomenon of triplet periodicity (TP) in coding regions of genes and its relative resistance to substitutions in DNA sequence. We attempted to extend 326 933 regions of continuous TP found in genes from the KEGG databank by considering possible insertions and deletions. We revealed totally 824 genes where such extension was possible and statistically significant. Then we generated amino acid sequences according to active (KEGG's) and hypothetically ancient RFs in order to find confirmation of a shift at a protein level. Consequently, 64 sequences have protein similarities only for ancient RF, 176 only for active RF, 3 for both and 581 have no protein similarity at all. We aimed to have revealed lower bound for the number of genes in which a shift between RF and TP is possible. Further ways to increase the number of revealed RF shifts are discussed

    Cells of the human intestinal tract mapped across space and time

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    Acknowledgements We acknowledge support from the Wellcome Sanger Cytometry Core Facility, Cellular Genetics Informatics team, Cellular Generation and Phenotyping (CGaP) and Core DNA Pipelines. This work was financially supported by the Wellcome Trust (W1T20694, S.A.T.; 203151/Z/16/Z, R. A. Barker.); the European Research Council (646794, ThDefine, S.A.T.); an MRC New Investigator Research Grant (MR/T001917/1, M.Z.); and a project grant from the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, Sparks (V4519, M.Z.). The human embryonic and fetal material was provided by the Joint MRC/Wellcome (MR/R006237/1) Human Developmental Biology Resource (https://www.hdbr.org/). K.R.J. holds a Non-Stipendiary Junior Research Fellowship from Christ’s College, University of Cambridge. M.R.C. is supported by a Medical Research Council Human Cell Atlas Research Grant (MR/S035842/1) and a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award (220268/Z/20/Z). H.W.K. is funded by a Sir Henry Wellcome Fellowship (213555/Z/18/Z). A.F. is funded by a Wellcome PhD Studentship (102163/B/13/Z). K.T.M. is funded by an award from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. H.H.U. is supported by the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and the The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. We thank A. Chakravarti and S. Chatterjee for their contribution to the analysis of the enteric nervous system. We also thank R. Lindeboom and C. Talavera-Lopez for support with epithelium and Visium analysis, respectively; C. Tudor, T. Li and O. Tarkowska for image processing and infrastructure support; A. Wilbrey-Clark and T. Porter for support with Visium library preparation; A. Ross and J. Park for access to and handling of fetal tissue; A. Hunter for assistance in protocol development; D. Fitzpatrick for discussion on developmental intestinal disorders; and J. Eliasova for the graphical images. We thank the tissue donors and their families, and the Cambridge Biorepository for Translational Medicine and Human Developmental Biology Resource, for access to human tissue. This publication is part of the Human Cell Atlas: https://www.humancellatlas.org/publications.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

    Cells of the human intestinal tract mapped across space and time.

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    Funder: Medical Research CouncilThe cellular landscape of the human intestinal tract is dynamic throughout life, developing in utero and changing in response to functional requirements and environmental exposures. Here, to comprehensively map cell lineages, we use single-cell RNA sequencing and antigen receptor analysis of almost half a million cells from up to 5 anatomical regions in the developing and up to 11 distinct anatomical regions in the healthy paediatric and adult human gut. This reveals the existence of transcriptionally distinct BEST4 epithelial cells throughout the human intestinal tract. Furthermore, we implicate IgG sensing as a function of intestinal tuft cells. We describe neural cell populations in the developing enteric nervous system, and predict cell-type-specific expression of genes associated with Hirschsprung's disease. Finally, using a systems approach, we identify key cell players that drive the formation of secondary lymphoid tissue in early human development. We show that these programs are adopted in inflammatory bowel disease to recruit and retain immune cells at the site of inflammation. This catalogue of intestinal cells will provide new insights into cellular programs in development, homeostasis and disease

    Yolk sac cell atlas reveals multiorgan functions during human early development

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    The extraembryonic yolk sac (YS) ensures delivery of nutritional support and oxygen to the developing embryo but remains ill-defined in humans. We therefore assembled a comprehensive multiomic reference of the human YS from 3 to 8 postconception weeks by integrating single-cell protein and gene expression data. Beyond its recognized role as a site of hematopoiesis, we highlight roles in metabolism, coagulation, vascular development, and hematopoietic regulation. We reconstructed the emergence and decline of YS hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from hemogenic endothelium and revealed a YS-specific accelerated route to macrophage production that seeds developing organs. The multiorgan functions of the YS are superseded as intraembryonic organs develop, effecting a multifaceted relay of vital functions as pregnancy proceeds

    Tracking the international spread of SARS-CoV-2 lineages B.1.1.7 and B.1.351/501Y-V2

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    Publisher Copyright: © 2021 O'Toole Á et al.Late in 2020, two genetically-distinct clusters of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with mutations of biological concern were reported, one in the United Kingdom and one in South Africa. Using a combination of data from routine surveillance, genomic sequencing and international travel we track the international dispersal of lineages B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 (variant 501Y-V2). We account for potential biases in genomic surveillance efforts by including passenger volumes from location of where the lineage was first reported, London and South Africa respectively. Using the software tool grinch (global report investigating novel coronavirus haplotypes), we track the international spread of lineages of concern with automated daily reports, Further, we have built a custom tracking website (cov-lineages.org/global_report.html) which hosts this daily report and will continue to include novel SARS-CoV-2 lineages of concern as they are detected.Peer reviewe
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