5,185 research outputs found
Using Network Analysis to Understand Knowledge Mobilization in a Community-based Organization
Background
Knowledge mobilization (KM) has been described as putting research in the hands of research users. Network analysis is an empirical approach that has potential for examining the complex process of knowledge mobilization within community-based organizations (CBOs). Yet, conducting a network analysis in a CBO presents challenges.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the value and feasibility of using network analysis as a method for understanding knowledge mobilization within a CBO by (1) presenting challenges and solutions to conducting a network analysis in a CBO, (2) examining the feasibility of our methodology, and (3) demonstrating the utility of this methodology through an example of a network analysis conducted in a CBO engaging in knowledge mobilization activities.
Method
The final method used by the partnership team to conduct our network analysis of a CBO is described.
Results
An example of network analysis results of a CBO engaging in knowledge mobilization is presented. In total, 81 participants completed the network survey. All of the feasibility benchmarks set by the CBO were met. Results of the network analysis are highlighted and discussed as a means of identifying (1) prominent and influential individuals in the knowledge mobilization process and (2) areas for improvement in future knowledge mobilization initiatives.
Conclusion
Findings demonstrate that network analysis can be feasibly used to provide a rich description of a CBO engaging in knowledge mobilization activities
Measurement of D*+/- diffractive cross sections in photoproduction at HERA
The first measurement of D*+/- meson diffractive photoproduction cross
sections has been performed with the ZEUS detector at the HERA collider,
using an integrated luminosity of 38 pb^-1. The measurement has been performed
for photon--proton center-of-mass energies in the range 130 < W < 280 GeV and
photon virtualities Q^2 < 1 GeV^2. D*+/- mesons have been reconstructed with
p_T(D*)>2 GeV and -1.5 D^0 \pi^+_s
with D^0 --> K-\pi^+ (+c.c.). The diffractive component has been selected with
0.001<x_Pom<0.018. The measured diffractive cross section in this kinematic
range is: \sigma_(ep --> e'D*Xp') =
0.74 +/- 0.21 (stat.)^{+0.27}_{-0.18} (syst.) +/-0.16 (p. diss.) ~nb (ZEUS
preliminary). Measured integrated and differential cross sections have been
compared to theoretical expectations.Comment: LaTeX2e, 10 pages, 6 Postscript figures. Talk given at the Russian
Academy of Science (RAS) Nuclear Physics 2000 Conference, Moscow, Russia,
November 27-December 2, 2000. To be published in Rus. Nucl. Phys. (Ya.F.),
Proceedings of RAS Nucl. Phys. 2000 Con
Anaerobic Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase Diversity in the Homoacetogenic Hindgut Microbial Communities of Lower Termites and the Wood Roach
Anaerobic carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH) is a key enzyme in the Wood-Ljungdahl (acetyl-CoA) pathway for acetogenesis performed by homoacetogenic bacteria. Acetate generated by gut bacteria via the acetyl-CoA pathway provides considerable nutrition to wood-feeding dictyopteran insects making CODH important to the obligate mutualism occurring between termites and their hindgut microbiota. To investigate CODH diversity in insect gut communities, we developed the first degenerate primers designed to amplify cooS genes, which encode the catalytic (β) subunit of anaerobic CODH enzyme complexes. These primers target over 68 million combinations of potential forward and reverse cooS primer-binding sequences. We used the primers to identify cooS genes in bacterial isolates from the hindgut of a phylogenetically lower termite and to sample cooS diversity present in a variety of insect hindgut microbial communities including those of three phylogenetically-lower termites, Zootermopsis nevadensis, Reticulitermes hesperus, and Incisitermes minor, a wood-feeding cockroach, Cryptocercus punctulatus, and an omnivorous cockroach, Periplaneta americana. In total, we sequenced and analyzed 151 different cooS genes. These genes encode proteins that group within one of three highly divergent CODH phylogenetic clades. Each insect gut community contained CODH variants from all three of these clades. The patterns of CODH diversity in these communities likely reflect differences in enzyme or physiological function, and suggest that a diversity of microbial species participate in homoacetogenesis in these communities
A Digital Health Solution for Child Growth Monitoring at Home: Testing the Accuracy of a Novel “GrowthMonitor” Smartphone Application to Detect Abnormal Height and Body Mass Indices
Objective:
To develop and evaluate a smartphone application that accurately measures height and provides notifications when abnormalities are detected.
Patients and Methods:
A total of 145 (75 boys) participants with a mean age ± SD of 8.7±4.5 years (range, 1.0-17.0 years), from the Children’s Hospital at Barts Health Trust, London, United Kingdom, were enrolled in the study. “GrowthMonitor” (UCL Creatives) iPhone application (GMA) measures height using augmented reality. Using population-based (UK-WHO) references, algorithms calculated height SD score (HSDS), distance from target height (THSDSDEV), and HSDS change over time (ΔHSDS). Pre-established thresholds discriminated normal/abnormal growth. The GMA and a stadiometer (Harpenden; gold standard) measured standing heights of children at routine clinic visits. A subset of parents used GMA to measure their child’s height at home. Outcome targets were 95% of GMA measurements within ±0.5 SDS of the stadiometer and the correct identification of abnormal HSDS, THSDSDEV, and ΔHSDS.
Results:
Bland-Altman plots revealed no appreciable bias in differences between paired study team GMA and stadiometer height measurements, with a mean of the differences of 0.11 cm with 95% limits of agreement of −2.21 to 2.42 cm. There was no evidence of greater bias occurring for either shorter/younger children or taller/older children. The 2 methods of measurements were highly correlated (R=0.999). GrowthMonitor iPhone application measurements performed by parents in clinic and at home were slightly less accurate. The κ coefficient indicated reliable and consistent agreement of flag alerts for HSDS (κ=0.74) and THSDSDEV (κ=0.88) between 83 paired GMA and stadiometer measurements. GrowthMonitor iPhone application yielded a detection rate of 96% and 97% for HSDS-based and THSDSDEV-based red flags, respectively. Forty-two (18 boys) participants had GMA calculated ΔHSDS using an additional height measurement 6-16 months later, and no abnormal flag alerts were triggered for ΔHSDS values.
Conclusion:
GrowthMonitor iPhone application provides the potential for parents/carers and health care professionals to capture serial height measurements at home and without specialized equipment. Reliable interpretation and flagging of abnormal measurements indicate the potential of this technology to transform childhood growth monitoring
Explaining the t tbar forward-backward asymmetry without dijet or flavor anomalies
We consider new physics explanations of the anomaly in the top quark
forward-backward asymmetry measured at the Tevatron, in the context of flavor
conserving models. The recently measured LHC dijet distributions strongly
constrain many otherwise viable models. A new scalar particle in the
antitriplet representation of flavor and color can fit the t tbar asymmetry and
cross section data at the Tevatron and avoid both low- and high-energy bounds
from flavor physics and the LHC. An s-channel resonance in uc to uc scattering
at the LHC is predicted to be not far from the current sensitivity. This model
also predicts rich top quark physics for the early LHC from decays of the new
scalar particles. Single production gives t tbar j signatures with high
transverse momentum jet, pair production leads to t tbar j j and 4 jet final
states.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures; v2: notation clarified, references adde
Skeletal trade-offs in coralline algae in response to ocean acidification
Ocean acidification is changing the marine environment, with potentially serious consequences for many organisms. Much of our understanding of ocean acidification effects comes from laboratory experiments, which demonstrate physiological responses over relatively short timescales. Observational studies and, more recently, experimental studies in natural systems suggest that ocean acidification will alter the structure of seaweed communities. Here, we provide a mechanistic understanding of altered competitive dynamics among a group of seaweeds, the crustose coralline algae (CCA). We compare CCA from historical experiments (1981-1997) with specimens from recent, identical experiments (2012) to describe morphological changes over this time period, which coincides with acidification of seawater in the Northeastern Pacific. Traditionally thick species decreased in thickness by a factor of 2.0-2.3, but did not experience a change in internal skeletal metrics. In contrast, traditionally thin species remained approximately the same thickness but reduced their total carbonate tissue by making thinner inter-filament cell walls. These changes represent alternative mechanisms for the reduction of calcium carbonate production in CCA and suggest energetic trade-offs related to the cost of building and maintaining a calcium carbonate skeleton as pH declines. Our classification of stress response by morphological type may be generalizable to CCA at other sites, as well as to other calcifying organisms with species-specific differences in morphological types
QCD Coherence and the Top Quark Asymmetry
Coherent QCD radiation in the hadroproduction of top quark pairs leads to a
forward--backward asymmetry that grows more negative with increasing transverse
momentum of the pair. This feature is present in Monte Carlo event generators
with coherent parton showering, even though the production process is treated
at leading order and has no intrinsic asymmetry before showering. In addition,
depending on the treatment of recoils, showering can produce a positive
contribution to the inclusive asymmetry. We explain the origin of these
features, compare them in fixed-order calculations and the Herwig++, Pythia and
Sherpa event generators, and discuss their implications.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figures, 2 table
Expression of Foxp3 in colorectal cancer but not in Treg cells correlates with disease progression in patients with colorectal cancer
Background: Regulatory T cells (Treg) expressing the transcription factor forkhead-box protein P3 (Foxp3) have been identified to counteract anti-tumor immune responses during tumor progression. Besides, Foxp3 presentation by cancer cells itself may also allow them to evade from effector T-cell responses, resulting in a survival benefit of the tumor. For colorectal cancer (CRC) the clinical relevance of Foxp3 has not been evaluated in detail. Therefore the aim of this study was to study its impact in colorectal cancer (CRC).
Methods and Findings: Gene and protein analysis of tumor tissues from patients with CRC was performed to quantify the expression of Foxp3 in tumor infiltrating Treg and colon cancer cells. The results were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and patients overall survival. Serial morphological analysis demonstrated Foxp3 to be expressed in cancer cells. High Foxp3 expression of the cancer cells was associated with poor prognosis compared to patients with low Foxp3 expression. In contrast, low and high Foxp3 level in tumor infiltrating Treg cells demonstrated no significant differences in overall patient survival.
Conclusions: Our findings strongly suggest that Foxp3 expression mediated by cancer cells rather than by Treg cells contribute to disease progression
W boson production at hadron colliders: the lepton charge asymmetry in NNLO QCD
We consider the production of W bosons in hadron collisions, and the
subsequent leptonic decay W->lnu_l. We study the asymmetry between the rapidity
distributions of the charged leptons, and we present its computation up to the
next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD perturbation theory. Our
calculation includes the dependence on the lepton kinematical cuts that are
necessarily applied to select W-> lnu_l events in actual experimental analyses
at hadron colliders. We illustrate the main differences between the W and
lepton charge asymmetry, and we discuss their physical origin and the effect of
the QCD radiative corrections. We show detailed numerical results on the charge
asymmetry in ppbar collisions at the Tevatron, and we discuss the comparison
with some of the available data. Some illustrative results on the lepton charge
asymmetry in pp collisions at LHC energies are presented.Comment: 37 pages, 21 figure
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