Exploring how graduate students use smartphones for academic purposes outside of the classroom

This exploratory research study looks at how graduate students use their smartphones outside of the classroom for work related to their classes and research. The participants interviewed were two American and two South Korean graduate students. In particular, the locations of use, the perceived impact of smartphone use on academic success, and national differences were compared. The results from this preliminary study suggest that graduate students engage in smartphone use for multiple reasons, and that those reasons are contextual and situationally specific. The goal of this research study is to critically analyze and compare the behaviors of domestic and international graduate students in the United States to understand how they utilize their smartphones for academic purposes

Seeking Information in Online Environments — Where, Who, and Why?

Given the ubiquity of social media and Web 2.0 resources, there is a current lack of knowledge about the complementary aspects of individualized and social search strategies. This paper looks at the information resource preferences of users, focusing on online resources. Two exploratory studies were done to analyze the motivations behind online information seeking behavior, specifically looking at where people go for information and reasons behind that decision. The first study collected log data from users who used the Web for browsing and searching information, and also asked questions on Q&A sites. The second study used a survey with four different scenarios that asked respondents to rank different information resources. The findings from these studies provide a more comprehensive understanding of how and why people choose to use an information resource/method depending on their information needs.ye

Society Key: Integrating Social Media Data with Governmental Open Data to Encourage Community Wellbeing

In this paper, we present a service incorporating an electronic online system that integrates data from multiple social media sources and multiple governmental open data sources with the intention of improving awareness of available societal data and to encourage individuals and groups of people to take action towards the wellbeing of their local communities. We call our proposed service/system, “Society Key”.ye

TCR-transgenic T cells and YB-1-based oncolytic virotherapy improve survival in a preclinical Ewing sarcoma xenograft mouse model

BackgroundEwing sarcoma (EwS) is an aggressive and highly metastatic bone and soft tissue tumor in pediatric patients and young adults. Cure rates are low when patients present with metastatic or relapsed disease. Therefore, innovative therapy approaches are urgently needed. Cellular- and oncolytic virus-based immunotherapies are on the rise for solid cancers.MethodsHere, we assess the combination of EwS tumor-associated antigen CHM1319-specific TCR-transgenic CD8+ T cells and the YB-1-driven (i.e. E1A13S-deleted) oncolytic adenovirus XVir-N-31 in vitro and in a xenograft mouse model for antitumor activity and immunostimulatory properties.ResultsIn vitro both approaches specifically kill EwS cell lines in a synergistic manner over controls. This effect was confirmed in vivo, with increased survival using the combination therapy. Further in vitro analyses of immunogenic cell death and antigen presentation confirmed immunostimulatory properties of virus-infected EwS tumor cells. As dendritic cell maturation was also increased by XVir-N-31, we observed superior proliferation of CHM1319-specific TCR-transgenic CD8+ T cells only in virus-tested conditions, emphasizing the superior immune-activating potential of XVir-N-31.ConclusionOur data prove synergistic antitumor effects in vitro and superior tumor control in a preclinical xenograft setting. Combination strategies of EwS-redirected T cells and YB-1-driven virotherapy are a highly promising immunotherapeutic approach for EwS and warrant further evaluation in a clinical setting

A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of \u3cem\u3eN\u3c/em\u3e-Acetylcysteine for Cannabis Use Disorder in Adults

Background—Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is a prevalent and impairing condition, and established psychosocial treatments convey limited efficacy. In light of recent findings supporting the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for CUD in adolescents, the objective of this trial was to evaluate its efficacy in adults. Methods—In a 12-week double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial, treatment-seeking adults ages 18–50 with CUD (N=302), enrolled across six National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network-affiliated clinical sites, were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to a 12-week course of NAC 1200 mg (n=153) or placebo (n=149) twice daily. All participants received contingency management (CM) and medical management. The primary efficacy measure was the odds of negative urine cannabinoid tests during treatment, compared between NAC and placebo participants. Results—There was not statistically significant evidence that the NAC and placebo groups differed in cannabis abstinence (odds ratio = 1.00, 95% confidence interval 0.63 – 1.59; p=0.984). Overall, 22.3% of urine cannabinoid tests in the NAC group were negative, compared with 22.4% in the placebo group. Many participants were medication non-adherent; exploratory analysis within medication-adherent subgroups revealed no significant differential abstinence outcomes by treatment group. Conclusions—In contrast with prior findings in adolescents, there is no evidence that NAC 1200 mg twice daily plus CM is differentially efficacious for CUD in adults when compared to placebo plus CM. This discrepant finding between adolescents and adults with CUD may have been influenced by differences in development, cannabis use profiles, responses to embedded behavioral treatment, medication adherence, and other factors

Exploring how graduate students use smartphones for academic purposes outside of the classroom

This exploratory research study looks at how graduate students use their smartphones outside of the classroom for work related to their classes and research. The participants interviewed were two American and two South Korean graduate students. In particular, the locations of use, the perceived impact of smartphone use on academic success, and national differences were compared. The results from this preliminary study suggest that graduate students engage in smartphone use for multiple reasons, and that those reasons are contextual and situationally specific. The goal of this research study is to critically analyze and compare the behaviors of domestic and international graduate students in the United States to understand how they utilize their smartphones for academic purposes

Vaccination against RhoC induces long-lasting immune responses in patients with prostate cancer: results from a phase I/II clinical trial

Background Peptide-based vaccination is a rational option for immunotherapy of prostate cancer. In this first-in-man phase I/II study, we assessed the safety, tolerability and immunological impact of a synthetic long peptide vaccine targeting Ras homolog gene family member C (RhoC) in patients with prostate cancer. RhoC is a small GTPase overexpressed in advanced solid cancers, metastases and cancer stem cells.Methods Twenty-two patients who had previously undergone radical prostatectomy received subcutaneous injections of 0.1 mg of a single RhoC-derived 20mer peptide emulsified in Montanide ISA-51 every 2 weeks for the first six times, then five times every 4 weeks for a total treatment time of 30 weeks. The drug safety and vaccine-specific immune responses were assessed during treatment and thereafter within a 13-month follow-up period. Serum level of prostate-specific antigen was measured up to 26 months postvaccination.Results Most patients (18 of 21 evaluable) developed a strong CD4 T cell response against the vaccine, which lasted at least 10 months following the last vaccination. Three promiscuouslypresented HLA-class II epitopes were identified. Vaccine-specific CD4 T cells were polyfunctional and effector memory T cells that stably expressed PD-1 (CD279) and OX-40 (CD134), but not LAG-3 (CD223). One CD8 T cell response was detected in addition. The vaccine was well tolerated and no treatment-related adverse events of grade ≥3 were observed.Conclusion Targeting of RhoC induced a potent and long-lasting T cell immunity in the majority of the patients. The study demonstrates an excellent safety and tolerability profile. Vaccination against RhoC could potentially delay or prevent tumor recurrence and metastasis formation.Trial registration number NCT03199872

Weight development of the chick groups over the 9 weeks of the study.

Small letters indicate significant differences between groups within weeks with 2,4,6,7,8,9 indicating the age of the chickens in weeks.</p