Privacy Attitudes among Early Adopters of Emerging Health Technologies.

IntroductionAdvances in health technology such as genome sequencing and wearable sensors now allow for the collection of highly granular personal health data from individuals. It is unclear how people think about privacy in the context of these emerging health technologies. An open question is whether early adopters of these advances conceptualize privacy in different ways than non-early adopters.PurposeThis study sought to understand privacy attitudes of early adopters of emerging health technologies.MethodsTranscripts from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with early adopters of genome sequencing and health devices and apps were analyzed with a focus on participant attitudes and perceptions of privacy. Themes were extracted using inductive content analysis.ResultsAlthough interviewees were willing to share personal data to support scientific advancements, they still expressed concerns, as well as uncertainty about who has access to their data, and for what purpose. In short, they were not dismissive of privacy risks. Key privacy-related findings are organized into four themes as follows: first, personal data privacy; second, control over personal information; third, concerns about discrimination; and fourth, contributing personal data to science.ConclusionEarly adopters of emerging health technologies appear to have more complex and nuanced conceptions of privacy than might be expected based on their adoption of personal health technologies and participation in open science. Early adopters also voiced uncertainty about the privacy implications of their decisions to use new technologies and share their data for research. Though not representative of the general public, studies of early adopters can provide important insights into evolving attitudes toward privacy in the context of emerging health technologies and personal health data research

Academics’ understandings of the authorial academic writer: a qualitative analysis of authorial identity

Research on authorial identity has focused almost exclusively on the attitudes and beliefs of students. This paper explores how academics understand authorial identity in higher education. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 professional academics and analysed using thematic analysis, identifying themes at two levels. At the semantic level was a main theme called ‘the authorial writer’, with five subthemes: ‘authorial confidence’, ‘valuing writing’, ‘ownership and attachment’, ‘authorial thinking’, and ‘authorial goals’. At the latent level were two integrative themes: ‘tacit learning’ and ‘negotiating identities’. The semantic subthemes represent attributes that could be targets for pedagogic interventions. The integrative themes suggest processes in the development of authorial identity, which can inform more effective teaching. By identifying attributes and processes associated with authorial identity, these findings help towards a psychological understanding of authorial identity, informing development of more effective pedagogy to help students improve their academic writing and avoid plagiarism.Postgraduate studentship awarded to Kevin Yet Fong Cheung by the Teaching Informed by Research fund at the University of Derb

Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change

Since the Eighth International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones (IWTC-8), held in December 2014, progress has been made in our understanding of the relationship between tropical cyclone (TC) characteristics, climate and climate change. New analysis of observations has revealed trends in the latitude of maximum TC intensity and in TC translation speed. Climate models are demonstrating an increasing ability to simulate the observed TC climatology and its regional variations. The limited representation of air-sea interaction processes in most climate simulations of TCs remains an issue. Consensus projections of future TC behavior continue to indicate decreases in TC numbers, increases in their maximum intensities and increases in TC-related rainfall. Future sea level rise will exacerbate the impact of storm surge on coastal regions, assuming all other factors equal. Studies have also begun to estimate the effect on TCs of the climate change that has occurred to date. Recommendations are made regarding future research directions

Galaxy Zoo: Are Bars Responsible for the Feeding of Active Galactic Nuclei at 0.2 < z < 1.0?

We present a new study investigating whether active galactic nuclei (AGN) beyond the local universe are preferentially fed via large-scale bars. Our investigation combines data from Chandra and Galaxy Zoo: Hubble (GZH) in the AEGIS, COSMOS, and GOODS-S surveys to create samples of face-on, disc galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.0. We use a novel method to robustly compare a sample of 120 AGN host galaxies, defined to have 10^42 erg/s < L_X < 10^44 erg/s, with inactive control galaxies matched in stellar mass, rest-frame colour, size, Sersic index, and redshift. Using the GZH bar classifications of each sample, we demonstrate that AGN hosts show no statistically significant enhancement in bar fraction or average bar likelihood compared to closely-matched inactive galaxies. In detail, we find that the AGN bar fraction cannot be enhanced above the control bar fraction by more than a factor of two, at 99.7% confidence. We similarly find no significant difference in the AGN fraction among barred and non-barred galaxies. Thus we find no compelling evidence that large-scale bars directly fuel AGN at 0.2<z<1.0. This result, coupled with previous results at z=0, implies that moderate-luminosity AGN have not been preferentially fed by large-scale bars since z=1. Furthermore, given the low bar fractions at z>1, our findings suggest that large-scale bars have likely never directly been a dominant fueling mechanism for supermassive black hole growth.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted by MNRA

Tropical cyclones and climate change

Recent research has strengthened the understanding of the links between climate and tropical cyclones (TCs) on various timescales. Geological records of past climates have shown century-long variations in TC numbers. While no significant trends have been identified in the Atlantic since the late 19th century, significant observed trends in TC numbers and intensities have occurred in this basin over the past few decades, and trends in other basins are increasingly being identified. However, understanding of the causes of these trends is incomplete, and confidence in these trends continues to be hampered by a lack of consistent observations in some basins. A theoretical basis for maximum TC intensity appears now to be well established, but a climate theory of TC formation remains elusive. Climate models mostly continue to predict future decreases in global TC numbers, projected increases in the intensities of the strongest storms and increased rainfall rates. Sea level rise will likely contribute toward increased storm surge risk. Against the background of global climate change and sea level rise, it is important to carry out quantitative assessments on the potential risk of TC-induced storm surge and flooding to densely populated cities and river deltas. Several climate models are now able to generate a good distribution of both TC numbers and intensities in the current climate. Inconsistent TC projection results emerge from modeling studies due to different downscaling methodologies and warming scenarios, inconsistencies in projected changes of large-scale conditions, and differences in model physics and tracking algorithms

Galaxy Zoo: the effect of bar-driven fuelling on the presence of an active galactic nucleus in disc galaxies

We study the influence of the presence of a strong bar in disc galaxies which host an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and morphological classifications from the Galaxy Zoo 2 project, we create a volume-limited sample of 19756 disc galaxies at 0.01<z<0.05 which have been visually examined for the presence of a bar. Within this sample, AGN host galaxies have a higher overall percentage of bars (51.8 per cent) than inactive galaxies exhibiting central star formation (37.1 per cent). This difference is primarily due to known effects: that the presence of both AGN and galactic bars is strongly correlated with both the stellar mass and integrated colour of the host galaxy. We control for this effect by examining the difference in AGN fraction between barred and unbarred galaxies in fixed bins of mass and colour. Once this effect is accounted for, there remains a small but statistically significant increase that represents 16 per cent of the average barred AGN fraction. Using the $L_{\rm {[O\,{\small {iii}}]}}$/MBH ratio as a measure of AGN strength, we show that barred AGNs do not exhibit stronger accretion than unbarred AGNs at a fixed mass and colour. The data are consistent with a model in which bar-driven fuelling does contribute to the probability of an actively growing black hole, but in which other dynamical mechanisms must contribute to the direct AGN fuelling via smaller, non-axisymmetric perturbation

Impact of obesity on surgical outcomes following laminectomy for spinal metastases

To determine the effect of obesity (body mass index >30 kg/m(2)) on perioperative morbidity and mortality after surgical decompression of spinal metastases. Methods: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database is a large multicenter clinical registry that collects preoperative risk factors, intraoperative variables, and 30-day postoperative morbidity and mortality outcomes from hospitals nationwide. Current Procedural Terminology codes were used to query the database for adults who underwent decompression with laminectomy for treatment of metastatic spinal lesions between 2010 and 2014. Patients were separated into 2 cohorts based on the presence of absence of obesity. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the effect of obesity on perioperative morbidity and mortality. Results: There was a significantly higher rate of venous thromboembolism (VTE; obese 6.6% vs nonobese 4.2%; P = .01) and pulmonary complications (obese 2.6% vs nonobese 2.2%; P = .046) in the obese group compared with the nonobese group. The nonobese group had prolonged hospitalization (obese 62.0% vs nonobese 69.0%; P = .001) and a higher incidence of blood transfusions (obese 26.8% vs nonobese 34.2%; P < .001). On multivariate analysis, obesity was found to be an independent risk factor for VTE (odds ratio = 1.75, confidence interval = 1.17-2.63, P = .007). Conclusions: Obese patients were predisposed to an elevated risk of VTE following laminectomy for spinal metastases. Early postoperative mobilization and a low threshold to evaluate for perioperative VTE are important in these patients in order to appropriately diagnose and treat these complications and minimize morbidity93254259sem informaçãosem informaçã

Essential Regulation of Cell Bioenergetics by Constitutive InsP3 Receptor Ca2+ Transfer to Mitochondria

SummaryMechanisms that regulate cellular metabolism are a fundamental requirement of all cells. Most eukaryotic cells rely on aerobic mitochondrial metabolism to generate ATP. Nevertheless, regulation of mitochondrial activity is incompletely understood. Here we identified an unexpected and essential role for constitutive InsP3R-mediated Ca2+ release in maintaining cellular bioenergetics. Macroautophagy provides eukaryotes with an adaptive response to nutrient deprivation that prolongs survival. Constitutive InsP3R Ca2+ signaling is required for macroautophagy suppression in cells in nutrient-replete media. In its absence, cells become metabolically compromised due to diminished mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake. Mitochondrial uptake of InsP3R-released Ca2+ is fundamentally required to provide optimal bioenergetics by providing sufficient reducing equivalents to support oxidative phosphorylation. Absence of this Ca2+ transfer results in enhanced phosphorylation of pyruvate dehydrogenase and activation of AMPK, which activates prosurvival macroautophagy. Thus, constitutive InsP3R Ca2+ release to mitochondria is an essential cellular process that is required for efficient mitochondrial respiration and maintenance of normal cell bioenergetics