2,810 research outputs found
Language use in consultation: Can “we” help teachers and students?
Analyzing the use of function words such as pronouns in conversation is an increasingly popular approach in social psychology, but has not yet been applied to the study of school-based consultation. The two central purposes of this study were to: (1) examine how language is used by consultants-in-training (CITs) and consultees within a collaborative model of consultation, and (2) to explore the relation between language use and the collaborative relationship, consultee outcomes, and client outcomes. Analyses focused on CITs’ (n = 18) and consultees’ (n = 18) use of pronouns in a problem identification and analysis (PID/PA) session of problem solving. Data indicated CITs and consultees used pronouns differently during PID/PA, particularly first-person plural words (e.g., we, us, our), and some of these differences were related to consultation outcomes. Implications of this research for school consultation practice and potential avenues for future research are explored
Efficient Immunization Strategies for Computer Networks and Populations
We present an effective immunization strategy for computer networks and
populations with broad and, in particular, scale-free degree distributions. The
proposed strategy, acquaintance immunization, calls for the immunization of
random acquaintances of random nodes (individuals). The strategy requires no
knowledge of the node degrees or any other global knowledge, as do targeted
immunization strategies. We study analytically the critical threshold for
complete immunization. We also study the strategy with respect to the
susceptible-infected-removed epidemiological model. We show that the
immunization threshold is dramatically reduced with the suggested strategy, for
all studied cases.Comment: Revtex, 5 pages, 4 ps fig
Greedy Connectivity of Geographically Embedded Graphs
We introduce a measure of {\em greedy connectivity} for geographical networks
(graphs embedded in space) and where the search for connecting paths relies
only on local information, such as a node's location and that of its neighbors.
Constraints of this type are common in everyday life applications. Greedy
connectivity accounts also for imperfect transmission across established links
and is larger the higher the proportion of nodes that can be reached from other
nodes with a high probability. Greedy connectivity can be used as a criterion
for optimal network design
Global landscape of phenazine biosynthesis and biodegradation reveals species-specific colonization patterns in agricultural soils and crop microbiomes
Phenazines are natural bacterial antibiotics that can protect crops from disease. However, for most crops it is unknown which producers and specific phenazines are ecologically relevant, and whether phenazine biodegradation can counter their effects. To better understand their ecology, we developed and environmentally-validated a quantitative metagenomic approach to mine for phenazine biosynthesis and biodegradation genes, applying it to >800 soil and plant-associated shotgun-metagenomes. We discover novel producer-crop associations and demonstrate that phenazine biosynthesis is prevalent across habitats and preferentially enriched in rhizospheres, whereas biodegrading bacteria are rare. We validate an association between maize and Dyella japonica, a putative producer abundant in crop microbiomes. D. japonica upregulates phenazine biosynthesis during phosphate limitation and robustly colonizes maize seedling roots. This work provides a global picture of phenazines in natural environments and highlights plant-microbe associations of agricultural potential. Our metagenomic approach may be extended to other metabolites and functional traits in diverse ecosystems
Cross-Talk with Myeloid Accessory Cells Regulates Human Natural Killer Cell Interferon-γ Responses to Malaria
Data from a variety of experimental models suggest that natural killer (NK) cells require signals from accessory cells in order to respond optimally to pathogens, but the precise identity of the cells able to provide such signals depends upon the nature of the infectious organism. Here we show that the ability of human NK cells to produce interferon-γ in response to stimulation by Plasmodium falciparum–infected red blood cells (iRBCs) is strictly dependent upon multiple, contact-dependent and cytokine-mediated signals derived from both monocytes and myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs). Contrary to some previous reports, we find that both monocytes and mDCs express an activated phenotype following short-term incubation with iRBCs and secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines. The magnitude of the NK cell response (and of the KIR(−) CD56(bright) NK cell population in particular) is tightly correlated with resting levels of accessory cell maturation, indicating that heterogeneity of the NK response to malaria is a reflection of deep-rooted heterogeneity in the human innate immune system. Moreover, we show that NK cells are required to maintain the maturation status of resting mDCs and monocytes, providing additional evidence for reciprocal regulation of NK cells and accessory cells. However, NK cell–derived signals are not required for activation of accessory cells by either iRBCs or bacterial lipolysaccharide. Together, these data suggest that there may be differences in the sequence of events required for activation of NK cells by non-viral pathogens compared to the classical model of NK activation by virus-infected or major histocompatibility complex–deficient cells. These findings have far-reaching implications for the study of immunity to infection in human populations
Extremism propagation in social networks with hubs
One aspect of opinion change that has been of academic interest is the impact of people with extreme opinions (extremists) on opinion dynamics. An agent-based model has been used to study the role of small-world social network topologies on general opinion change in the presence of extremists. It has been found that opinion convergence to a single extreme occurs only when the average number of network connections for each individual is extremely high. Here, we extend the model to examine the effect of positively skewed degree distributions, in addition to small-world structures, on the types of opinion convergence that occur in the presence of extremists. We also examine what happens when extremist opinions are located on the well-connected nodes (hubs) created by the positively skewed distribution. We find that a positively skewed network topology encourages opinion convergence on a single extreme under a wider range of conditions than topologies whose degree distributions were not skewed. The importance of social position for social influence is highlighted by the result that, when positive extremists are placed on hubs, all population convergence is to the positive extreme even when there are twice as many negative extremists. Thus, our results have shown the importance of considering a positively skewed degree distribution, and in particular network hubs and social position, when examining extremist transmission
Examining adherence to activity monitoring devices to improve physical activity in adults with cardiovascular disease: A systematic review
Background
Activity monitoring devices are currently being used to facilitate and monitor physical activity. No prior review has examined adherence to the use of activity monitoring devices amongst adults with cardiovascular disease.
Methods
Literature from June 2012 to October 2017 was evaluated to examine the extent of adherence to any activity monitoring device used to collect objective physical activity data. Randomized control trials comparing usual care against the use of an activity monitoring device, in a community intervention for adults from any cardiovascular diagnostic group, were included. A systematic search of databases and clinical trials registers was conducted using Joanna Briggs Institute methodology.
Results
Of 10 eligible studies, two studies reported pedometer use and eight accelerometer use. Six studies addressed the primary outcome. Mean adherence was 59.1% (range 39.6% to 85.7%) at last follow-up. Studies lacked equal representation by gender (28.6% female) and age (range 42 to 82 years).
Conclusion
This review indicates that current research on activity monitoring devices may be overstated due to the variability in adherence. Results showed that physical activity tracking in women and in young adults have been understudied
Dynamic phase transition properties and hysteretic behavior of a ferrimagnetic core-shell nanoparticle in the presence of a time dependent magnetic field
We have presented dynamic phase transition features and stationary-state
behavior of a ferrimagnetic small nanoparticle system with a core-shell
structure. By means of detailed Monte Carlo simulations, a complete picture of
the phase diagrams and magnetization profiles have been presented and the
conditions for the occurrence of a compensation point in the system
have been investigated. According to N\'{e}el nomenclature, the magnetization
curves of the particle have been found to obey P-type, N-type and Q-type
classification schemes under certain conditions. Much effort has been devoted
to investigation of hysteretic response of the particle and we observed the
existence of triple hysteresis loop behavior which originates from the
existence of a weak ferromagnetic core coupling , as well as a
strong antiferromagnetic interface exchange interaction . Most
of the calculations have been performed for a particle in the presence of
oscillating fields of very high frequencies and high amplitudes in comparison
with exchange interactions which resembles a magnetic system under the
influence of ultrafast switching fields. Particular attention has also been
paid on the influence of the particle size on the thermal and magnetic
properties, as well as magnetic features such as coercivity, remanence and
compensation temperature of the particle. We have found that in the presence of
ultrafast switching fields, the particle may exhibit a dynamic phase transition
from paramagnetic to a dynamically ordered phase with increasing ferromagnetic
shell thickness.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure
The three-dimensional random field Ising magnet: interfaces, scaling, and the nature of states
The nature of the zero temperature ordering transition in the 3D Gaussian
random field Ising magnet is studied numerically, aided by scaling analyses. In
the ferromagnetic phase the scaling of the roughness of the domain walls,
, is consistent with the theoretical prediction .
As the randomness is increased through the transition, the probability
distribution of the interfacial tension of domain walls scales as for a single
second order transition. At the critical point, the fractal dimensions of
domain walls and the fractal dimension of the outer surface of spin clusters
are investigated: there are at least two distinct physically important fractal
dimensions. These dimensions are argued to be related to combinations of the
energy scaling exponent, , which determines the violation of
hyperscaling, the correlation length exponent , and the magnetization
exponent . The value is derived from the
magnetization: this estimate is supported by the study of the spin cluster size
distribution at criticality. The variation of configurations in the interior of
a sample with boundary conditions is consistent with the hypothesis that there
is a single transition separating the disordered phase with one ground state
from the ordered phase with two ground states. The array of results are shown
to be consistent with a scaling picture and a geometric description of the
influence of boundary conditions on the spins. The details of the algorithm
used and its implementation are also described.Comment: 32 pp., 2 columns, 32 figure
A measure of centrality based on the spectrum of the Laplacian
We introduce a family of new centralities, the k-spectral centralities.
k-Spectral centrality is a measurement of importance with respect to the
deformation of the graph Laplacian associated with the graph. Due to this
connection, k-spectral centralities have various interpretations in terms of
spectrally determined information.
We explore this centrality in the context of several examples. While for
sparse unweighted networks 1-spectral centrality behaves similarly to other
standard centralities, for dense weighted networks they show different
properties. In summary, the k-spectral centralities provide a novel and useful
measurement of relevance (for single network elements as well as whole
subnetworks) distinct from other known measures.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
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