Data visualization from a feminist perspective - Interview with Catherine D´Ignazio

Catherine D’Ignazio is a scholar, artist/designer and software developer who focuses on data literacy, feminist technology and civic art. She has run breastpump hackathons, created award-winning water quality sculptures that talk and tweet, and led walking data visualizations to envision the future of sea level rise. Her research at the intersection of gender, technology and the humanities has been published in the Journal of Peer Production, the Journal of Community Informatics, and the proceedings of Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM SIGCHI). D’Ignazio is an Assistant Professor of Civic Media and Data Visualization at Emerson College, a faculty director of the Engagement Lab and a research affiliate at the MIT Center for Civic Media

Development and control of caries lesions on the occlusal surface using a new in vivo caries model

The aim of this study was to develop a new in vivo caries model for the occlusal surface and to describe the enamel features observed before and after dental plaque control (DPC). Four volunteers (12-15 years old) participated in the experiment, each of which was due to have 2 homologous first premolars extracted for orthodontic reasons. Test surfaces did not present visible signs of demineralization, opacities or fillings. A wire mesh was used to promote dental plaque accumulation on the occlusal surface. After 4 weeks, the wire mesh was removed and DPC was performed. In Groups 1 and 2, DPC was performed by the subjects daily and, in Groups 3 and 4, DPC was performed by the subjects daily and by the professional weekly. One tooth/pair of Groups 1 and 3 was extracted after 2 weeks. One tooth/pair of Groups 2 and 4 was extracted after 4 weeks. All test surfaces showed demineralization after the wire mesh was removed. The observed re-establishment of the enamel brightness was directly related to the increase of the DPC duration. In polarized light microscopy, interindividual differences varying from pseudoisotropic areas to enamel lesions were noted in specimens submitted to 2 weeks of DPC. Specimens submitted to 4 weeks of DPC showed less tissue porosity. It was concluded that the new in vivo caries model was effective since all occlusal surfaces presented clinical and microscopic signs of mineral loss in different stages after 4 weeks of cariogenic challenge. After DPC on the test surfaces, there was a reduction of mineral loss suggesting control of demineralization on these surfaces.O objetivo deste estudo foi desenvolver um modelo de cárie in vivo para superfície oclusal e descrever as características do esmalte observadas antes e após o controle mecânico de placa dental (CMPD). Quatro voluntários (12-15 anos) participaram do experimento, contribuindo com um par de pré-molares homólogos, com indicação de extração por motivos ortodônticos, sem sinais visíveis de desmineralização, opacidades nem restaurações. Uma tela metálica colocada sobre a superfície oclusal propiciou acúmulo microbiano. Após 4 semanas, removeu-se a tela e a superfície foi submetida ao CMPD. Nos Grupos 1 e 2, o CMPD foi realizado pelo indivíduo diariamente e nos Grupos 3 e 4 diariamente pelo indivíduo e semanalmente pelo profissional. Os dentes dos Grupos 1 e 3 foram extraídos após 2 semanas, e os dos Grupos 2 e 4, após 4 semanas de CMPD. Após a remoção da tela, foram visíveis diferentes graus de desmineralização em todas as superfícies-teste, e a recuperação do brilho foi diretamente proporcional ao tempo de CMPD. Microscopicamente, foram notadas diferenças interindividuais como áreas pseudo-isotrópicas até lesões em esmalte, após 2 semanas de reexposição ao CMPD. Uma menor porosidade tecidual foi encontrada nos espécimes submetidos a 4 semanas de CMPD. Concluiu-se que o modelo de cárie in vivo desenvolvido foi efetivo, visto que todas as superfícies oclusais apresentaram sinais clínicos e microscópicos de perda mineral em diferentes graus, após 4 semanas de desafio cariogênico. Após a reexposição das superfícies-teste ao CMPD, notou-se uma redução das perdas minerais que foi sugestiva do controle da desmineralização nessas superfícies

Data criticality

The data moment, we argue, is not a single event, but a multiplicity of encounters that reveal what we call ‘data criticality’. Data criticality draws our attention to those moments of deciding whether and how data will exist, thus rendering data critically relevant to a societal context and imbuing data with ‘liveliness’ and agency. These encounters, we argue, also require our critical engagement. First, we develop and theorize our argument about data criticality. Second, by using predictive policing as an example, we present six moments of data criticality. A description of how data is imagined, generated, stored, selected, processed, and reused invites our reflections about data criticality within a broader range of data practices

Assessment of personality-related levels of functioning:a pilot study of clinical assessment of the DSM-5 level of personality functioning based on a semi-structured interview

BACKGROUND: The personality disorder categories in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV have been extensively criticized, and there is a growing consensus that personality pathology should be represented dimensionally rather than categorically. The aim of this pilot study was to test the Clinical Assessment of the Level of Personality Functioning Scale, a semi-structured clinical interview, designed to assess the Level of Personality Functioning Scale of the DSM-5 (Section III) by applying strategies similar to what characterizes assessments in clinical practice. METHODS: The inter-rater reliability of the assessment of the four domains and the total impairment in the Level of Personality Functioning Scale were measured in a patient sample that varied in terms of severity and type of pathology. Ratings were done independently by the interviewer and two experts who watched a videotaped Clinical Assessment of the Level of Personality Functioning Scale interview. RESULTS: Inter-rater reliability coefficients varied between domains and were not sufficient for clinical practice, but may support the use of the interview to assess the dimensions of personality functioning for research purposes. CONCLUSIONS: While designed to measure the Level of Personality Functioning Scale with a high degree of similarity to clinical practice, the Clinical Assessment of the Level of Personality Functioning Scale had weak reliabilities and a rating based on a single interview should not be considered a stand-alone assessment of areas of functioning for a given patient

Ion channel recordings on an injection-molded polymer chip

In this paper, we demonstrate recordings of the ion channel activity across the cell membrane in a biological cell by employing the so-called patch clamping technique on an injection-molded polymer microfluidic device. The findings will allow direct recordings of ion channel activity to be made using the cheapest materials and production platform to date and with the potential for very high throughput. The employment of cornered apertures for cell capture allowed the fabrication of devices without through holes and via a scheme comprising master origination by dry etching in a silicon substrate, electroplating in nickel and injection molding of the final part. The most critical device parameters were identified as the length of the patching capillary and the very low surface roughness on the inside of the capillary. The cross-sectional shape of the orifice was found to be less critical, as both rectangular and semicircular profiles seemed to have almost the same ability to form tight seals with cells with negligible leak currents. The devices were functionally tested using human embryonic kidney cells expressing voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav1.7) and benchmarked against a commercial state-of-the-art system for automated ion channel recordings. These experiments considered current–voltage (IV) relationships for activation and inactivation of the Nav1.7 channels and their sensitivity to a local anesthetic, lidocaine. Both IVs and lidocaine dose–response curves obtained from the injection-molded polymer device were in good agreement with data obtained from the commercial system

The Relationships Between Fluoride Intake Levels and Fluorosis of Late‐Erupting Permanent Teeth

Objectives To examine the relationships between fluoride intake levels and fluorosis of late‐erupting permanent teeth. Methods The current study used information collected from 437 children in the longitudinal Iowa Fluoride Study. Participants\u27 fluoride intake information was collected using questionnaires from birth to age 10 years. Estimated mean daily fluoride intake was categorized into low, moderate, and high intake tertiles for each age interval (2‐5, 5‐8, and 2‐8 years). Bivariate analyses were performed to study the relationships between self‐reported fluoride intake levels during three age intervals and dental fluorosis. Results For canines and second molars, the prevalence of mostly mild fluorosis was less than 10% in the lowest fluoride intake tertile and more than 25% in the highest intake tertile. For both first and second premolars, the prevalence in the low and high intake tertiles was approximately 10‐15% and 25‐40%, respectively. When estimated total daily fluoride intake was 0.04 mg/kg BW during ages 2‐8 years, the predicted probability of fluorosis was 16.0%, 20.5%, 21.8%, and 15.4% for canines, 1st and 2nd and premolars and 2nd molars, respectively. We found that an incremental increase in fluoride intake during the age 5‐ to 8‐year interval led to greater odds for development of mostly mild dental fluorosis in late‐erupting teeth compared to increases in fluoride intake during other age intervals. Conclusions Our results clearly show that dental fluorosis prevalence is closely related to fluoride intake levels and that teeth have greater susceptibility to fluoride intake during certain age intervals

Data S1: Sabokseir et al. raw dataset

Background. The inconsistent prevalence of fluorosis for a given level of fluoride in drinking water suggests developmental defects of enamel (DDEs) other than fluorosis were being misdiagnosed as fluorosis. The imprecise definition and subjective perception of fluorosis indices could result in misdiagnosis of dental fluorosis. This study was conducted to distinguish genuine fluorosis from fluorosis-resembling defects that could have adverse health-related events as a cause using Early Childhood Events Life-grid method (ECEL). Methods. A study was conducted on 400 9-year-old children from areas with high, optimal and low levels of fluoride in the drinking water of Fars province, Iran. Fluorosis cases were diagnosed on the standardized one view photographs of the anterior teeth using Dean’s and TF (Thylstrup and Fejerskov) Indices by calibrated dentists. Agreements between examiners were tested. Early childhood health-related data collected retrospectively by ECEL method were matched with the position of enamel defects. Results. Using both Dean and TF indices three out of four dentists diagnosed that 31.3% (115) children had fluorosis, 58.0%, 29.1%, and 10.0% in high (2.12–2.85 ppm), optimal (0.62–1.22 ppm), and low (0.24–0.29 ppm) fluoride areas respectively (p < 0.001). After matching health-related events in the 115 (31.3%) of children diagnosed with fluorosis, 31 (8.4%) of children had fluorosis which could be matched with their adverse health-related events. This suggests that what was diagnosed as fluorosis were non-fluoride related DDEs that resemble fluorosis. Discussion. The frequently used measures of fluorosis appear to overscore fluorosis. Use of ECEL method to consider health related events relevant to DDEs could help to differentiate between genuine fluorosis and fluorosis-resembling defects