Misrepresentation of health research in exertion games literature

HCI often requires scholars to build upon research from fields outside their expertise, creating the risk that foundational work is misunderstood and misrepresented. The prevailing goal of “exergames” research towards ameliorating obesity appears to be built on just such a misunderstanding of health research. In this paper, we analyse all citations to a single influential study, which has been extensively cited to justify research on exergames. We categorise the 375 citations based on whether they represent the findings of that study accurately or inaccurately. Our findings suggest that 69% of exergames papers citing this study misrepresent the findings, demonstrating a systematic failure of scholarship in exergames research. We argue that exergaming research should cease focusing on games as treatment for obesity, and that HCI publications should demand more critical and scholarly engagement with research from outside HCI

Computational Studies of Magnetic Nozzle Performance

An extensive literature review of magnetic nozzle research has been performed, examining previous work, as well as a review of fundamental principles. This has allow us to catalog all basic physical mechanisms which we believe underlie the thrust generation process. Energy conversion mechanisms include the approximate conservation of the magnetic moment adiabatic invariant, generalized hall and thermoelectric acceleration, swirl acceleration, thermal energy transformation into directed kinetic energy, and Joule heating. Momentum transfer results from the interaction of the applied magnetic field with currents induced in the plasma plume., while plasma detachment mechanisms include resistive diffusion, recombination and charge exchange collisions, magnetic reconnection, loss of adiabaticity, inertial forces, current closure, and self-field detachment. We have performed a preliminary study of Hall effects on magnetic nozzle jets with weak guiding magnetic fields and weak expansions (p(sub jet) approx. = P(sub background)). The conclusion from this study is that the Hall effect creates an azimuthal rotation of the plasma jet and, more generally, creates helical structures in the induced current, velocity field, and magnetic fields. We have studied plasma jet expansion to near vacuum without a guiding magnetic field, and are presently including a guiding magnetic field using a resistive MHD solver. This research is progressing toward the implementation of a full generalized Ohm's law solver. In our paper, we will summarize the basic principle, as well as the literature survey and briefly review our previous results. Our most recent results at the time of submittal will also be included. Efforts are currently underway to construct an experiment at the University of Michigan Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory (PEPL) to study magnetic nozzle physics for a RF-thruster. Our computational study will work directly with this experiment to validate the numerical model, in order to study magnetic nozzle physics and optimize magnetic nozzle design. Preliminary results from the PEPL experiment will also be presented

BioNetGen 2.2: Advances in Rule-Based Modeling

BioNetGen is an open-source software package for rule-based modeling of complex biochemical systems. Version 2.2 of the software introduces numerous new features for both model specification and simulation. Here, we report on these additions, discussing how they facilitate the construction, simulation, and analysis of larger and more complex models than previously possible.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, 1 supplementary text file. Supplementary text includes a brief discussion of the RK-PLA along with a performance analysis, two tables listing all new actions/arguments added in BioNetGen 2.2, and the "BioNetGen Quick Reference Guide". Accepted for publication in Bioinformatic

Evolution of Mass Outflow in Protostars

We have surveyed 84 Class 0, Class I, and flat-spectrum protostars in mid-infrared [Si II], [Fe II] and [S I] line emission, and 11 of these in far-infrared [O I] emission. We use the results to derive their mass outflow rates. Thereby we observe a strong correlation of mass outflow rates with bolometric luminosity, and with the inferred mass accretion rates of the central objects, which continues through the Class 0 range the trend observed in Class II young stellar objects. Along this trend from large to small mass-flow rates, the different classes of young stellar objects lie in the sequence Class 0 -- Class I/flat-spectrum -- Class II, indicating that the trend is an evolutionary sequence in which mass outflow and accretion rates decrease together with increasing age, while maintaining rough proportionality. The survey results include two which are key tests of magnetocentrifugal outflow-acceleration mechanisms: the distribution of the outflow/accretion branching ratio b, and limits on the distribution of outflow speeds. Neither rule out any of the three leading outflow-acceleration, angular-momentum-ejection mechanisms, but they provide some evidence that disk winds and accretion-powered stellar winds (APSWs) operate in many protostars. An upper edge observed in the branching-ratio distribution is consistent with the upper bound of b = 0.6 found in models of APSWs, and a large fraction (0.31) of the sample have branching ratio sufficiently small that only disk winds, launched on scales as large as several AU, have been demonstrated to account for them.Comment: Version submitted to ApJ: 36 pages, 3 tables, 8 figure

Quantitative basic residue requirements in the cleavage-activation site of the fusion glycoprotein as a determinant of virulence for Newcastle disease virus

Newcastle disease virus exhibits a wide range of pathogenicity and virulence which, as with all paramyxoviruses, is directly related to the cleavability of a precursor (F0) of the fusion glycoprotein by cellular proteases. Sequence analyses of the cleavage site of several virulent and avirulent isolates of the Newcastle disease virus serotype reveal a correlation between virulence or pathogenicity and a high content of basic amino acid residues at the cleavage site. A similar correlation has been seen for other paramyxoviruses

Robust paths to net greenhouse gas mitigation and negative emissions via advanced biofuels

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Dennis Ojima and Daniel L. Sanchez for their encouragement on this topic. The authors gratefully acknowledge partial support as follows: J.L.F., L.R.L., T.L.R., E.A.H.S., and J.J.S., the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP grant# 2014/26767-9); J.L.F., L.R.L., K.P., and T.L.R., The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, a U.S. Department of Energy Research Center supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science (grant# DE-AC05-00OR22725); L.R.L., the Sao Paulo Research Foundation, and the Link Foundation; J.L.F. and K.P., USDA/NIFA (grant# 2013-68005-21298 and 2017-67019-26327); T.L.R., USDA/NIFA (grant# 2012-68005-19703); D.S.L. and S.P.L., the Energy Biosciences Institute. Data availability The DayCent model (https://www2.nrel.colostate.edu/projects/daycent/) is freely available upon request. Specification of DayCent model runs and automated model initialization, calibration, scenario simulation, results analysis, and figure generation were implemented in Python 2.7, using the numpy module for data processing and the matplotlib module for figure generation. Analysis code is available in a version-controlled repository (https://github.com/johnlfield/Ecosystem_dynamics). A working copy of the code, all associated DayCent model inputs, and analysis outputs are also available in an online data repository (https://figshare.com/s/4c14ec168bd550db4bad; note this URL is for accessing a private version of the repository, and will eventually be replaced with an updated URL for the public version of the repository, which will only be accessible after the journal-specified embargo date).Peer reviewedPostprintPublisher PD

Distinguishing grade I meningioma from higher grade meningiomas without biopsy

BACKGROUND: Many meningiomas are identified by imaging and followed, with an assumption that they are WHO Grade I tumors. The purpose of our investigation is to find clinical or imaging predictors of WHO Grade II/III tumors to distinguish them from Grade I meningiomas. METHODS: Patients with a pathologic diagnosis of meningioma from 2002-2009 were included if they had pre-operative MRI studies and pathology for review. A Neuro-Pathologist reviewed and classified all tumors by WHO 2007. All Brain MRI imaging was reviewed by a Neuro-radiologist. Pathology and Radiology reviews were blinded from each other and clinical course. Recursive partitioning was used to create predictive models for identifying meningioma grades. RESULTS: Factors significantly correlating with a diagnosis of WHO Grade II-III tumors in univariate analysis: prior CVA (p = 0.005), CABG (p = 0.010), paresis (p = 0.008), vascularity index = 4/4: (p = 0.009), convexity vs other (p = 0.014), metabolic syndrome (p = 0.025), non-skull base (p = 0.041) and non-postmenopausal female (p = 0.045). Recursive partitioning analysis identified four categories: 1. prior CVA, 2. vascular index (vi) = 4 (no CVA), 3. premenopausal or male, vi \u3c 4, no CVA. 4. Postmenopausal, vi \u3c 4, no CVA with corresponding rates of 73, 54, 35 and 10% of being Grade II-III meningiomas. CONCLUSIONS: Meningioma patients with prior CVA and those grade 4/4 vascularity are the most likely to have WHO Grade II-III tumors while post-menopausal women without these features are the most likely to have Grade I meningiomas. Further study of the associations of clinical and imaging factors with grade and clinical behavior are needed to better predict behavior of these tumors without biopsy

Actions taken to cope with depressed mood: The role of personality traits

It is still largely unknown which actions people take to improve their mood when they feel they are getting depressed. Using the five-factor model of personality, we explore coping actions in a population of older adults in residential homes in relation to personality traits. A total of 350 non-cognitively impaired inhabitants of residential homes in the Netherlands participated in this study (mean age 85 years). They indicated which of 22 actions to cope with depression they had used in the past three months, and which of these they considered to be helpful in reducing depression. Other measures included the NEO-FFI, CES-D and MINI. Almost 60% of all subjects had used one or more actions to reduce depression in the past three months, and almost 90% considered one or more actions to be helpful in reducing depression. People scoring high on neuroticism had used more coping actions, including relaxing, eating chocolate, praying, seeking professional help, engaging in more pleasant activities, and talking to friends and relatives. People scoring high on openness considered many of the actions to be helpful. We conclude that actions taken to cope with depression and their helpfulness differ considerably for subjects with differing personality traits. © 2007 Taylor & Francis