Worker-Centered Design: Expanding HCI Methods for Supporting Labor

HCI has long considered sites of workplace collaboration. From airline cockpits to distributed groupware systems, scholars emphasize the importance of supporting a multitude of tasks and creating technologies that integrate into collaborative work settings. More recent scholarship highlights a growing need to consider the concerns of workers within and beyond established workplace settings or roles of employment, from steelworkers whose jobs have been eliminated with post-industrial shifts in the economy to contractors performing the content moderation that shapes our social media experiences. This one-day workshop seeks to bring together a growing community of HCI scholars concerned with the labor upon which the future of work we envision relies. We will discuss existing methods for studying work that we find both productive and problematic, with the aim of understanding how we might better bridge current gaps in research, policy, and practice. Such conversations will focus on the challenges associated with taking a worker-oriented approach and outline concrete methods and strategies for conducting research on labor in changing industrial, political, and environmental contexts

Stroke Ready Intervention: Community Engagement to Decrease Prehospital Delay

Background: Time-limited acute stroke treatments are underused, primarily due to prehospital delay. One approach to decreasing prehospital delay is to increase stroke preparedness, the ability to recognize stroke, and the intention to immediately call emergency medical services, through community engagement with high-risk communities. Methods and Results: Our community-academic partnership developed and tested "Stroke Ready," a peer-led, workshop-based, health behavior intervention to increase stroke preparedness among African American youth and adults in Flint, Michigan. Outcomes were measured with a series of 9 stroke and nonstroke 1-minute video vignettes; after each video, participants selected their intended response (primary outcome) and symptom recognition (secondary outcome), receiving 1 point for each appropriate stroke response and recognition. We assessed differences between baseline and posttest appropriate stroke response, which was defined as intent to call 911 for stroke vignettes and not calling 911 for nonstroke, nonemergent vignettes and recognition of stroke. Outcomes assessments were performed before workshop 1 (baseline), at the conclusion of workshop 2 (immediate post-test), and 1 month later (delayed post-test). A total of 101 participants completed the baseline assessment (73 adults and 28 youths), 64 completed the immediate post-test, and 68 the delayed post-test. All participants were African American. The median age of adults was 56 (interquartile range 35-65) and of youth was 14 (interquartile range 11-16), 65% of adults were women, and 50% of youths were women. Compared to baseline, appropriate stroke response was improved in the immediate post-test (4.4 versus 5.2, P < 0.01) and was sustained in the delayed post-test (4.4 versus 5.2, P < 0.01). Stroke recognition did not change in the immediate post-test (5.9 versus 6.0, P=0.34), but increased in the delayed post-test (5.9 versus 6.2, P=0.04). Conclusions: Stroke Ready increased stroke preparedness, a necessary step toward increasing acute stroke treatment rates

Auroral Current and Electrodynamics Structure Measured by Two SOunding Rockets in Flight Simultaneously

On January 29, 2009, two identically instrumented sounding rockets were launched into a sub-storm auroral arc from Poker Flat Alaska. Labeled the Auroral Currents and Electrodynamics Structure (ACES) mission, the payloads were launched to different apogees (approx.350km and approx.120km) and staggered in time so as to optimize their magnetic conjunctions. The different altitudes provided simultaneous in-situ measurements of magnetospheric input and output to the ionosphere and the ionospheric response in the lower F and E region. Measurements included 3-axis magnetic field, 2-axis electric field nominally perpendicular to the magnetic field, energetic particles, electron and ion, up to 15keV, cold plasma temperature and density. In addition, PFISR was also operating in a special designed mode to measure electric field and density profiles in the plane defined by the rocket trajectories and laterally to either side of the trajectories. Observation of the measured currents and electrodynamics structure of the auroral form encountered are presented in the context of standard auroral models and the temporal/spatial limitations of mission designs

A Rocket-Base Study of Auroral Electrodynamics Within the Current Closure Ionosphere

The Auroral Current and Electrodynamics Structure (ACES) mission consisted of two sounding rockets launched nearly simultaneously from Poker Flat Research Range, AK on January 29, 2009 into a dynamic multiple-arc aurora. The ACES rocket mission, in conjunction with the PFISR Radar, was designed to observe the three-dimensional current system of a stable auroral arc system. ACES utilized two well instrumented payloads flown along very similar magnetic field footprints, at various altitudes with small temporal separation between both payloads. ACES High, the higher altitude payload (apogee 360 km), took in-situ measurements of the plasma parameters above the current closure region to provide the input signature into the lower ionosphere. ACES Low, the low-altitude payload (apogee 130 km), took similar observations within the current closure region, where cross-field currents can flow. We present results comparing observations of the electric fields, magnetic fields, electron flux, and the electron temperature at similar magnetic footpoints between both payloads. We further present data from all-sky imagers and PFISR detailing the evolution of the auroral event as the payloads traversed regions connected by similar magnetic footpoints. Current measurements derived from the magnetometers on both payloads are further compared. We examine data from both PFISR and observations on the high-altitude payload which we interpreted as a signature of electron acceleration by means of Alfv n waves. We further examine all measurements to understand ionospheric conductivity and how energy is being deposited into the ionosphere through Joule heating. Data from ACES is compared against models of Joule heating to make inferences regarding the effect of collisions at various altitudes

The SPARC Toroidal Field Model Coil Program

The SPARC Toroidal Field Model Coil (TFMC) Program was a three-year effort between 2018 and 2021 that developed novel Rare Earth Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO) superconductor technologies and then successfully utilized these technologies to design, build, and test a first-in-class, high-field (~20 T), representative-scale (~3 m) superconducting toroidal field coil. With the principal objective of demonstrating mature, large-scale, REBCO magnets, the project was executed jointly by the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) and Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS). The TFMC achieved its programmatic goal of experimentally demonstrating a large-scale high-field REBCO magnet, achieving 20.1 T peak field-on-conductor with 40.5 kA of terminal current, 815 kN/m of Lorentz loading on the REBCO stacks, and almost 1 GPa of mechanical stress accommodated by the structural case. Fifteen internal demountable pancake-to-pancake joints operated in the 0.5 to 2.0 nOhm range at 20 K and in magnetic fields up to 12 T. The DC and AC electromagnetic performance of the magnet, predicted by new advances in high-fidelity computational models, was confirmed in two test campaigns while the massively parallel, single-pass, pressure-vessel style coolant scheme capable of large heat removal was validated. The REBCO current lead and feeder system was experimentally qualified up to 50 kA, and the crycooler based cryogenic system provided 600 W of cooling power at 20 K with mass flow rates up to 70 g/s at a maximum design pressure of 20 bar-a for the test campaigns. Finally, the feasibility of using passive, self-protection against a quench in a fusion-scale NI TF coil was experimentally assessed with an intentional open-circuit quench at 31.5 kA terminal current.Comment: 17 pages 9 figures, overview paper and the first of a six-part series of papers covering the TFMC Progra

Thermodynamics of Ligand Binding to a Heterogeneous RNA Population in the Malachite Green Aptamer

The malachite green aptamer binds two closely related ligands, malachite green (MG) and tetramethylrosamine (TMR), with nearly equal affinity. The MG ligand consists of three phenyl rings emanating from a central carbon, while TMR has two of the three rings connected by an ether linkage. The binding pockets for MG and TMR in the aptamer, known from high-resolution structures, differ only in the conformation of a few nucleotides. Herein, we applied isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to compare the thermodynamics of binding of MG and TMR to the aptamer. Binding heat capacities were obtained from ITC titrations over the temperature range of 15–60 °C. Two temperature regimes were found for MG binding: one from 15 to 45 °C where MG bound with a large negative heat capacity and an apparent stoichiometry (<i>n</i>) of ∼0.4 and another from 50 to 60 °C where MG bound with a positive heat capacity and an <i>n</i> of ∼1.1. The binding of TMR, on the other hand, revealed only one temperature regime for binding, with a more modest negative heat capacity and an <i>n</i> of ∼1.2. The large difference in heat capacity between the two ligands suggests that significantly more conformational rearrangement occurs upon the binding of MG than that of TMR, which is consistent with differences in solvent accessible surface area calculated for available ligand-bound structures. Lastly, we note that the binding stoichiometry of MG was improved not only by an increase in the temperature but also by a decrease in the concentration of Mg²⁺ or an increase in the time between ITC injections. These studies suggest that binding of a dynamical ligand to a functional RNA requires the RNA itself to have significant dynamics

Race and ethnicity and pharmacy dispensing of SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists in type 2 diabetesResearch in context

Summary: Background: Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors (SGLT2i) and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RA) improve cardiorenal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. Equitable use of SGLT2i and GLP-1 RA has the potential to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. We evaluated trends in pharmacy dispensing of SGLT2i and GLP-1 RA by race and ethnicity. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of patients (≥18 years) with type 2 diabetes using 2014–2022 electronic health record data from six US care delivery systems. Entry was at earliest pharmacy dispensing of any type 2 diabetes medication. We used multivariable logistic regression to evaluate the association between pharmacy dispensing of SGLT2i and GLP1-RA and race and ethnicity. Findings: Our cohort included 687,165 patients (median 6 years of dispensing data; median 60 years; 0.3% American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), 16.6% Asian, 10.5% Black, 1.4% Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (HPI), 31.1% Hispanic, 3.8% Other, and 36.3% White). SGLT2i was lower for AI/AN (OR 0.80, 95% confidence interval 0.68–0.94), Black (0.89, 0.86–0.92) and Hispanic (0.87, 0.85–0.89) compared to White patients. GLP-1 RA was lower for AI/AN (0.78, 0.63–0.97), Asian (0.50, 0.48–0.53), Black (0.86, 0.83–0.90), HPI (0.52, 0.46–0.57), Hispanic (0.69, 0.66–0.71), and Other (0.78, 0.73–0.83) compared to White patients. Interpretation: Dispensing of SGLT2is, and GLP-1 RAs was lower in minority group patients. There is a need to evaluate approaches to increase use of these cardiorenal protective drugs in patients from racial and ethnic minority groups with type 2 diabetes to reduce adverse cardiorenal outcomes and improve health equity. Funding: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and National Institutes of Health