Workshop: Practical Examples for Teaching Discrete Mathematics in an Information Systems Curriculum

This workshop, designed for Faculty in Information Systems (IS) programs that have received or are seeking ABET IS accreditation, offers practical information and experience on how to design and implement a discrete mathematics course and modules for information systems (IS) programs seeking ABET IS accreditation or already accredited by ABET. The workshop will deliver small group practice with materials, online software resources, activities, and teaching techniques are targeted toward needs and interests of IS students. These materials and resources can be used (1) in a discrete mathematics course, (2) in modules in core curriculum courses, such as networking and data communications, operating systems, database management, systems analysis and design, programming and application development, network security, or (3) in both. Such materials, resources, and activities foster motivation and confidence for students as well as understanding of how the concepts presented serve in learning and will serve them in career settings. The technological and societal relevance of discrete mathematics concepts in the IS curriculum is covered. A matrix correlates each local ABET-accreditable core curriculum with a standard set of discrete mathematics topics to derive relevant topic coverage. Experiences in the information systems (IS) and information systems management (ISM) programs at Robert Morris University (RMU) guided the design of this workshop. The workshop includes orientation to rationale (based on matrix of discrete mathematics and IS core curriculum topics), design, and resources. shows how a formal discrete mathematics foundation supports the reliability of information technology, and covers assessment

The Challenge Of Negation In Searches And Queries

Negation poses certain challenges for queries and searches. This paper deals with exclusionary queries implemented using the ISO database language SQL and a dialog-based interface and with retrieval searches involving negation. This research arose because instructors in database courses noticed a large proportion of students making mistakes on certain queries. The paper explores underlying comprehension issues and makes practical recommendations on identifying potential sources of error and avoiding incorrect or misleading results. Proposed actions include changes in general education and database training and encouraging implementation of the new SQL:1999 standard

Sexual Dimorphism and Estrogen Regulation of KCNE3 Expression Modulates the Functional Properties of KCNQ1 K+ Channels

The KCNQ1 potassium channel associates with various KCNE ancillary subunits that drastically affect channel gating and pharmacology. Co-assembly with KCNE3 produces a current with nearly instantaneous activation, some time-dependent activation at very positive potentials, a linear current voltage relationship and a 10-fold higher sensitivity to chromanol 293B. KCNQ1:KCNE3 channels are expressed in colonic crypts and mediate basolateral K+ recycling required for Cl- secretion. We have previously reported the female-specific anti-secretory effects of estrogen via KCNQ1:KCNE3 channel inhibition in colonic crypts. This study was designed to determine whether gender and estrogen regulate the expression and function of KCNQ1 and KCNE3 in rat distal colon. Colonic crypts were isolated from Sprague-Dawley rats and used for whole-cell patch-clamp and to extract total RNA and protein. Sheets of epithelium were used for short-circuit current recordings. KCNE1 and KCNE3 mRNA and protein abundance was significantly higher in male than female crypts. No expression of KCNE2 was found and no difference was observed in KCNQ1 expression between male and female (at estrous) colonic crypts. Male crypts showed a 2.2-fold higher level of association of KCNQ1 and KCNE3 compared to female cells. In female colonic crypts, KCNQ1 and KCNE3 protein expression fluctuated throughout the estrous cycle and 17-estradiol (E2 10 nM) produced a rapid (\u3c15\u3emin) dissociation of KCNQ1 and KCNE3 in female crypts only. Whole-cell K+ currents showed a linear current-voltage relationship in male crypts, while K+ currents in colonic crypts isolated from females displayed voltage-dependent outward rectification. Currents in isolated male crypts and epithelial sheets were 10-fold more sensitive to specific KCNQ1 inhibitors, such as chromanol 293B and HMR-1556, than in female. The effect of E2 on K+ currents mediated by KCNQ1 with or without different -subunits was assayed from current-voltage relations elicited in CHO cells transfected with KCNQ1 and KCNE3 or KCNE1 cDNA. E2 (100 nM) reduced the currents mediated by the KCNQ1:KCNE3 potassium channel and had no effect on currents via KCNQ1:KCNE1 or KCNQ1 alone. Currents mediated by the complex formed by KCNQ1 and the mutant KCNE3-S82A β-subunit showed rapid run-down and insensitivity to E2. Together, these data suggest that estrogen regulates the expression of the KCNE1 and KCNE3 and with it the gating and pharmacological properties of the K+ conductance required for Cl- secretion. The decreased association of the KCNQ1:KCNE3 channel complex promoted by estrogen exposure underlies the molecular mechanism for the sexual dimorphism and estrous cycle dependence of the anti-secretory actions of estrogen in the intestine

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Pleural Mesothelioma Staging Project: Updated Modeling of Prognostic Factors in Pleural Mesothelioma

INTRODUCTION The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer developed an international pleural mesothelioma database to improve staging. Data entered from 1995 to 2009 (training data set) were analyzed previously to evaluate supplemental prognostic factors. We evaluated these factors with new clinical data to determine whether the previous models could be improved. METHODS Patients entered into the database from 2009 to 2019 (validation cohort) were assessed for the association between previous prognosticators and overall survival using Cox proportional hazards regression with bidirectional stepwise selection. Additional variables were analyzed and models were compared using Harrell's C-index. RESULTS The training data set included 3101 patients and the validation cohort, 1733 patients. For the multivariable pathologic staging model applied to the training cohort, C-index was 0.68 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.656-0.705). For the validation data set (n = 497), C-index was 0.650 (95% CI: 0.614-0.685), and pathologic stage, histologic diagnosis, sex, adjuvant therapy, and platelet count were independently associated with survival. Adding anemia to the model increased the C-index to 0.652 (95% CI: 0.618-0.686). A basic presentation model including all parameters before staging yielded a C-index of 0.668 (95% CI: 0.641-0.695). In comparison, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer model yielded C-indices of 0.550 (95% CI: 0.511-0.589) and 0.577 (95% CI: 0.550-0.604) for pathologic staging and presentation models, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Although significant predictors differed slightly, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer training model performed well in the validation set and better than the model of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. International collaboration is critical to improve outcomes in this rare disease

Time- and region-dependent blood-brain barrier impairment in a rat model of organophosphate-induced status epilepticus

Acute organophosphate (OP) intoxication can trigger seizures that progress to status epilepticus (SE), and survivors often develop chronic morbidities, including spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS). The pathogenic mechanisms underlying OP-induced SRS are unknown, but increased BBB permeability is hypothesized to be involved. Previous studies reported BBB leakage following OP-induced SE, but key information regarding time and regional distribution of BBB impairment during the epileptogenic period is missing. To address this data gap, we characterized the spatiotemporal progression of BBB impairment during the first week post-exposure in a rat model of diisopropylfluorophosphate-induced SE, using MRI and albumin immunohistochemistry. Increased BBB permeability, which was detected at 6 h and persisted up to 7 d post-exposure, was most severe and persistent in the piriform cortex and amygdala, moderate but persistent in the thalamus, and less severe and transient in the hippocampus and somatosensory cortex. The extent of BBB leakage was positively correlated with behavioral seizure severity, with the strongest association identified in the piriform cortex and amygdala. These findings provide evidence of the duration, magnitude and spatial breakdown of the BBB during the epileptogenic period following OP-induced SE and support BBB regulation as a viable therapeutic target for preventing SRS following acute OP intoxication

‘The Internet Is Magic’: Technology, Intimacy and Transnational Families

Drawing on multi-sited ethnography and qualitative research, I argue that the visual register in particular modes of communication technology like Skype and Facebook ushers in a different quality of relationships for transnational families. Most participants in this study are undocumented immigrants unable to return to their families for long periods of time because of legal consequences that will ban them from coming back and working in the USA. On the other hand, their families in the Philippines cannot visit the USA without proper documentation. The economic necessity of working abroad and legal conditions deter family reunification. Consequently, since these families are separated their only means of sustaining their relationships is through communication technology. The new mediums of communication, given their innovations in visuality, frequency and access to one another’s digital lives, present complicated issues as well as different forms of intimacy for members in a transnational family

Gothic visions of classical architecture in Hablot Knight Browne’s “dark” illustrations for the novels of Charles Dickens

In the early gothic literature of the eighteenth century danger lurked in the darkness beneath the pointed arches of gothic buildings. During the nineteenth century there was a progressive, although never complete, dislocation of gothic literary readings from gothic architecture. This article explores a phase in that development through discussion of a series of ‘dark’ illustrations produced by Hablot Knight Browne to illustrate novels by Charles Dickens. These show the way in which the rounded arches of neo-classical architecture were depicted in the mid-nineteenth century as locales of oppression and obscurity. Such depictions acted, in an age of political and moral reform, to critique the values of the system of power and authority that such architecture represented

Bilateral Visual Improvement with Unilateral Gene Therapy Injection for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy

REVERSE is a randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled, multicenter, phase III clinical trial that evaluated the efficacy of a single intravitreal injection of rAAV2/2 ND4 in subjects with visual loss from Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). A total of 37 subjects carrying the m.11778G>A (MT-ND4) mutation and with duration of vision loss between 6 to 12 months were treated. Each subject’s right eye was randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to treatment with rAAV2/2 ND4 (GS010) or sham injection. The left eye received the treatment not allocated to the right eye. Unexpectedly, sustained visual improvement was observed in both eyes over the 96-week follow-up period. At Week 96, rAAV2/2 ND4-treated eyes showed a mean improvement in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of -0.308 LogMAR (+15 ETDRS letters). A mean improvement of 0.259 (0.068) LogMAR (+13 ETDRS letters) was observed in the sham treated eyes. Consequently, the primary endpoint, defined as the difference in the change in BCVA from baseline to Week 48 between the two treatment groups, was not met (p = 0.894, ANCOVA). At Week 96, 25 subjects (68%) had a clinically relevant recovery in BCVA from baseline in at least one eye and 29 subjects (78%) had an improvement in vision in both eyes. A non-human primate study was conducted to investigate this bilateral improvement. Evidence of transfer of viral vector DNA from the injected eye to the anterior segment, retina and optic nerve of the contralateral non-injected eye supports a plausible mechanistic explanation for the unexpected bilateral improvement in visual function after unilateral injection

A mitotic recombination map proximal to the APC locus on chromosome 5q and assessment of influences on colorectal cancer risk

Mitotic recombination is important for inactivating tumour suppressor genes by copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Although meiotic recombination maps are plentiful, little is known about mitotic recombination. The APC gene (chr5q21) is mutated in most colorectal tumours and its usual mode of LOH is mitotic recombination.