Visual analysis of social networks in space and time using smartphone logs

We designed and applied novel interactive visualisation to investigate how social networks - derived from smartphone logs - are embedded in time and space. Social networks were identified through direct calls between participants and calls to mutual contacts of participants. Direct contact between participants was sparse and deriving networks through mutual contacts helped enrich the social networks. Our resulting interactive visualisation tool offers four linked and co-ordinated views of spatial, temporal, individual and social network aspects of the data. Brushing and altering techniques help us investigate how these aspects relate. We also simultaneously display some demographic and attitudinal variables to help add context to the behaviours we observe. Using these techniques, we were able to characterise spatial and temporal aspects of participants' social networks and suggest explanations for some of them. We reflect on the extent to which such analysis helps us understand social communication behaviour

Adrenalectomy by Retroperitoneal Laparoendoscopic Single Site Surgery

Adrenalectomy by retroperitoneal laparoendoscopic single-site surgery was found to be a feasible approach using conventional laparoscopic instrumentation

Accelerated Evolution of the ASPM Gene Controlling Brain Size Begins Prior to Human Brain Expansion

Primary microcephaly (MCPH) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by global reduction in cerebral cortical volume. The microcephalic brain has a volume comparable to that of early hominids, raising the possibility that some MCPH genes may have been evolutionary targets in the expansion of the cerebral cortex in mammals and especially primates. Mutations in ASPM, which encodes the human homologue of a fly protein essential for spindle function, are the most common known cause of MCPH. Here we have isolated large genomic clones containing the complete ASPM gene, including promoter regions and introns, from chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, and rhesus macaque by transformation-associated recombination cloning in yeast. We have sequenced these clones and show that whereas much of the sequence of ASPM is substantially conserved among primates, specific segments are subject to high Ka/Ks ratios (nonsynonymous/synonymous DNA changes) consistent with strong positive selection for evolutionary change. The ASPM gene sequence shows accelerated evolution in the African hominoid clade, and this precedes hominid brain expansion by several million years. Gorilla and human lineages show particularly accelerated evolution in the IQ domain of ASPM. Moreover, ASPM regions under positive selection in primates are also the most highly diverged regions between primates and nonprimate mammals. We report the first direct application of TAR cloning technology to the study of human evolution. Our data suggest that evolutionary selection of specific segments of the ASPM sequence strongly relates to differences in cerebral cortical size

Antibiofilm Efficacies of Flavonoid-Rich Sweet Orange Waste Extract against Dual-Species Biofilms

The current study evaluated the antibacterial properties of industrial sweet orange waste extracts (ISOWEs), which are a rich source of flavonoids. The ISOWEs exhibited antibacterial activity towards the dental cariogenic pathogens Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus casei with 13.0 ± 2.0 and 20.0 ± 2.0 mg/mL for MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) and 37.7 ± 1.5 and 43.3 ± 2.1 mg/mL for MBC (minimum bactericidal concentration), respectively. When evaluated in a 7-day dual-species oral biofilm model, ISOWEs dose-dependently reduced the viable bacteria count, and demonstrated strong synergistic effects when combined with the anti-septic chlorhexidine (at 0.1 and 0.2%). Similarly, confocal microscopy confirmed the anti-cariogenic properties of ISOWEs, alone and in combination with chlorhexidine. The citrus flavonoids contributed differently to these effects, with the flavones (nobiletin, tangeretin and sinensetin) demonstrating significantly lower MICs and MBCs compared to the flavanones hesperidin and narirutin. In conclusion, our study demonstrated the potential of citrus waste as a currently underutilised source of flavonoids for antimicrobial applications, such as in dental health

Clear Cell Basal Cell Carcinoma with Sialomucin Deposition

Clear cell basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a variant of BCC with a characteristic clear cell component that may occupy all or part of the tumor islands. Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining for glycogen is variably positive, and mild deposition of sulfated mucin has been noted. However, to our knowledge, clear cell BCC with sialomucin deposition has not been reported. Here we report a case of clear cell BCC showing sialomucin deposition. The clear tumor cells stained with PAS and showed incomplete diastase-resistance. In addition, mucin staining with alcian blue was positive at pH 2.5 but not at pH 0.5

DOMINATION AND EXPLOITATION IN THE WORLD ECONOMY IN THE 1990s

Summary This speculative article explores the economic and ethical aspects of inequality in the new post?cold war world and the relations of domination required to reproduce them in the context of a more general theory of exploitation. Some of the factors affecting international inequality and economic power in the post?war period are described and analysed. These are examined from the perspective of income distribution; poverty; growth and convergence; natural resources; human resources and productive knowledge; institutions; accumulation, distribution and exploitation; markets; status exploitation and gender. The conclusion is that the new world order lacks both moral legitimacy and democratic institutions to govern the world economy. In this context, the evolving relations of domination and exploitation which reproduce the levels of inequality described may end up producing a new world disorder. Resumé Le dominance et l'exploitation dans l'économie mondiale au cours des années 1990 L'auteur explore spéculativement, dans le cadre d'une théorie plus générale de l'exploitation, les aspects économiques et moraux de l'inégalité dans le nouveau monde d'après la Guerre froide, ainsi que les rapports dominateurs impliqués dans la replication de cette inégalité. Certains des facteurs qui affectent l'inégalité internationale et le pouvoir économique dans la période d'après?guerre sont décrits et analysés dans l'article. Ces facteurs sont examinés due point de vue de la distribution des revenus; de la pauvreté; de la croissance et de la convergence; des ressources naturelles; des ressources humaines et des connaissances productives; des institutions; de l'accumulation, de la distribution et de l'exploitation; des marchés; de l'exploitation du statut et du genre. La conclusion est que sans légitimité morale, le libéralisme économique dépourvu de diversité institutionnelle ou d'institutions démocratiques capables de gouverner l'économie mondiale, l'évolution des relations de domination et d'exploitation qui reproduisent les niveaux d'inégalité décrits dans l'article pourraient, à la longue, produire un nouveau désordre d'envergure mondiale. Resumen Dominación y explotación en la economía mundial en la década del 90 Este artículo especulativo explora los aspectos económicos y éticos de la desigualdad mundial en la nueva etapa pos?guerra fría, y las relaciones de dominación requeridas para reproducirlos en el contexto de una teoría de explotación más general. Se describen y analizan algunos de los factores que afectan a la desigualdad internacional, y al poder económico en esta nueva era. Estos factores son examinados desde la perspectivas de distribución de ingresos; pobreza; crecimiento y convergencia; recursos nacionales; recursos humanos y conocimiento productivo; instituciones; acumulación, distribución y explotación; mercados; explotación de categoría y género. La conclusión es que, sin una legitimidad moral, un liberalismo económico sin diversidad institucional o instituciones democráticas a cargo de la economía mundial, las relaciones de dominación y explotación que reproducen los niveles de desigualdad descriptos podrían producir eventualmente un nuevo desorden mundial

Trauma history and depression predict incomplete adherence to antiretroviral therapies in a low income country.

As antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV becomes increasingly available in low and middle income countries (LMICs), understanding reasons for lack of adherence is critical to stemming the tide of infections and improving health. Understanding the effect of psychosocial experiences and mental health symptomatology on ART adherence can help maximize the benefit of expanded ART programs by indicating types of services, which could be offered in combination with HIV care. The Coping with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania (CHAT) study is a longitudinal cohort study in the Kilimanjaro Region that included randomly selected HIV-infected (HIV+) participants from two local hospital-based HIV clinics and four free-standing voluntary HIV counselling and testing sites. Baseline data were collected in 2008 and 2009; this paper used data from 36 month follow-up interviews (N = 468). Regression analyses were used to predict factors associated with incomplete self-reported adherence to ART. INCOMPLETE ART ADHERENCE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE LIKELY TO BE REPORTED AMONGST PARTICIPANTS WHO EXPERIENCED A GREATER NUMBER OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMATIC EVENTS: sexual abuse prior to puberty and the death in childhood of an immediate family member not from suicide or homicide were significantly more likely in the non-adherent group and other negative childhood events trended toward being more likely. Those with incomplete adherence had higher depressive symptom severity and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In multivariable analyses, childhood trauma, depression, and financial sacrifice remained associated with incomplete adherence.\ud This is the first study to examine the effect of childhood trauma, depression and PTSD on HIV medication adherence in a low income country facing a significant burden of HIV. Allocating spending on HIV/AIDS toward integrating mental health services with HIV care is essential to the creation of systems that enhance medication adherence and maximize the potential of expanded antiretroviral access to improve health and reduce new infections

Coronal radiation of a cusp of spun-up stars and the X-ray luminosity of Sgr A*

Chandra has detected optically thin, thermal X-ray emission with a size of ~1 arcsec and luminosity ~10^33 erg/s from the direction of the Galactic supermassive black hole (SMBH), Sgr A*. We suggest that a significant or even dominant fraction of this signal may be produced by several thousand late-type main-sequence stars that possibly hide in the central ~0.1 pc region of the Galaxy. As a result of tidal spin-ups caused by close encounters with other stars and stellar remnants, these stars should be rapidly rotating and hence have hot coronae, emitting copious amounts of X-ray emission with temperatures kT<~ a few keV. The Chandra data thus place an interesting upper limit on the space density of (currently unobservable) low-mass main-sequence stars near Sgr A*. This bound is close to and consistent with current constraints on the central stellar cusp provided by infrared observations. If coronally active stars do provide a significant fraction of the X-ray luminosity of Sgr A*, it should be variable on hourly and daily time scales due to giant flares occurring on different stars. Another consequence is that the quiescent X-ray luminosity and accretion rate of the SMBH are yet lower than believed before.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures. Accepted to MNRA