Communication in the IS Community: A Call for Research and Design

Many in the IS community are aware of the importance of communication practices in building a sustainable community. Yet, surprisingly, little is known about the practices and perceptions of communication within our field. In this study, members of the ISWorld listserv were surveyed for their patterns of use and involvement, their opinions on the roles and management of the listserv, and their recommendations for design. A complementary archival analysis, which includes an analysis of the 9-11 aftermath and an analysis of how people respond to requests for information, corroborated some of the survey results. The survey results suggest that members are generally satisfied with the listserv but much more can still be done to improve its conduct and design. Moreover, more research can and should be conducted on the listserv and on other forms of communication within the IS community. We enumerate several research topics that emerged from this study

Introduction – Exploring and Expanding the Political World Pioneered by Don T. Nakanishi

This essay provides an introduction to the late Don T. Nakanishi of UCLA, commenting on his legacy in the founding and development of Asian American politics as a field. It also offers an overview of the articles and dialogue essays included in this special PGI issue on Asian Pacific American Politics, the first of its kind in the nation

Note on the hydrodynamic description of thin nematic films: strong anchoring model

We discuss the long-wave hydrodynamic model for a thin film of nematic liquid crystal in the limit of strong anchoring at the free surface and at the substrate. We rigorously clarify how the elastic energy enters the evolution equation for the film thickness in order to provide a solid basis for further investigation: several conflicting models exist in the literature that predict qualitatively different behaviour. We consolidate the various approaches and show that the long-wave model derived through an asymptotic expansion of the full nemato-hydrodynamic equations with consistent boundary conditions agrees with the model one obtains by employing a thermodynamically motivated gradient dynamics formulation based on an underlying free energy functional. As a result, we find that in the case of strong anchoring the elastic distortion energy is always stabilising. To support the discussion in the main part of the paper, an appendix gives the full derivation of the evolution equation for the film thickness via asymptotic expansion

Optimisation of osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potential using clonal mesenchymal stem cell populations derived from synovial fat pad

Mesenchymal stem cells are a potential source of cells for the repair of bone and articular cartilage defects. We have previously demonstrated that the infrapatellar synovial fat pad is a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells and these cells are able to undergo osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation. Although synovial fat pad derived mesenchymal stem cells may represent a heterogenous population, clonal populations derived from the synovial fat pad have not previously been studied

Nanoscale mosaicity revealed in peptide microcrystals by scanning electron nanodiffraction.

Changes in lattice structure across sub-regions of protein crystals are challenging to assess when relying on whole crystal measurements. Because of this difficulty, macromolecular structure determination from protein micro and nanocrystals requires assumptions of bulk crystallinity and domain block substructure. Here we map lattice structure across micron size areas of cryogenically preserved three-dimensional peptide crystals using a nano-focused electron beam. This approach produces diffraction from as few as 1500 molecules in a crystal, is sensitive to crystal thickness and three-dimensional lattice orientation. Real-space maps reconstructed from unsupervised classification of diffraction patterns across a crystal reveal regions of crystal order/disorder and three-dimensional lattice tilts on the sub-100nm scale. The nanoscale lattice reorientation observed in the micron-sized peptide crystal lattices studied here provides a direct view of their plasticity. Knowledge of these features facilitates an improved understanding of peptide assemblies that could aid in the determination of structures from nano- and microcrystals by single or serial crystal electron diffraction

Characterization of a Miniature Electron Energy Analyzer for Scanning Electron Microscopes

We report the design and experimental characterisation of a miniature detector for the scanning electron microscope based on the Bessel Box (BB) electron energy analyser which has a simple cylindrical geometry. We report on the simulation and operation of a prototype BB. The energy resolution of a single BB has been numerically calculated and experimentally characterised to be < 1%. This miniature electron detector is designed to be used close to the sample, alleviating the effects of the ambient electrostatic and magnetic fields

Carbohydrate quality and human health:a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Background: Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses explaining the relationship between carbohydrate quality and health have usually examined a single marker and a limited number of clinical outcomes. We aimed to more precisely quantify the predictive potential of several markers, to determine which markers are most useful, and to establish an evidence base for quantitative recommendations for intakes of dietary fibre. Methods: We did a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of prospective studies published from database inception to April 30, 2017, and randomised controlled trials published from database inception to Feb 28, 2018, which reported on indicators of carbohydrate quality and non-communicable disease incidence, mortality, and risk factors. Studies were identified by searches in PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and by hand searching of previous publications. We excluded prospective studies and trials reporting on participants with a chronic disease, and weight loss trials or trials involving supplements. Searches, data extraction, and bias assessment were duplicated independently. Robustness of pooled estimates from random-effects models was considered with sensitivity analyses, meta-regression, dose-response testing, and subgroup analyses. The GRADE approach was used to assess quality of evidence. Findings: Just under 135 million person-years of data from 185 prospective studies and 58 clinical trials with 4635 adult participants were included in the analyses. Observational data suggest a 15–30% decrease in all-cause and cardiovascular related mortality, and incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke incidence and mortality, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer when comparing the highest dietary fibre consumers with the lowest consumers Clinical trials show significantly lower bodyweight, systolic blood pressure, and total cholesterol when comparing higher with lower intakes of dietary fibre. Risk reduction associated with a range of critical outcomes was greatest when daily intake of dietary fibre was between 25 g and 29 g. Dose-response curves suggested that higher intakes of dietary fibre could confer even greater benefit to protect against cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal and breast cancer. Similar findings for whole grain intake were observed. Smaller or no risk reductions were found with the observational data when comparing the effects of diets characterised by low rather than higher glycaemic index or load. The certainty of evidence for relationships between carbohydrate quality and critical outcomes was graded as moderate for dietary fibre, low to moderate for whole grains, and low to very low for dietary glycaemic index and glycaemic load. Data relating to other dietary exposures are scarce. Interpretation: Findings from prospective studies and clinical trials associated with relatively high intakes of dietary fibre and whole grains were complementary, and striking dose-response evidence indicates that the relationships to several non-communicable diseases could be causal. Implementation of recommendations to increase dietary fibre intake and to replace refined grains with whole grains is expected to benefit human health. A major strength of the study was the ability to examine key indicators of carbohydrate quality in relation to a range of non-communicable disease outcomes from cohort studies and randomised trials in a single study. Our findings are limited to risk reduction in the population at large rather than those with chronic disease. Funding: Health Research Council of New Zealand, WHO, Riddet Centre of Research Excellence, Healthier Lives National Science Challenge, University of Otago, and the Otago Southland Diabetes Research Trust

Evaluating shear test methods for stabilised rammed earth

Rammed earth is an accessible, sustainable and increasingly popular building material. Owing to a lack of research, current design standards for rammed earth have taken a conservative stance on material attributes like shear strength. Evaluating the shear strength of rammed earth is particularly important in seismic areas because of the material's high mass, low ductility and propensity to fail in shear. Shear test methods designed for other materials have typically been used in practice to determine the shear strength of rammed earth. In this research the design shear strength guidance available in current earth building standards was compared with experimental shear strength results for stabilised rammed earth. The triaxial (geotechnical) and triplet (masonry) tests were used to evaluate specimens reinforced with natural fibres: sisal and New Zealand flax. Both shear test methods showed that the shear strength capacity of cement-stabilised rammed earth was greater than the current guidance provided in the earth building standards. Recommendations were made to use the triaxial test to evaluate the shear strength of stabilised rammed earth and to allow the use of design shear strength equal to 7% of the compressive strength. </jats:p