336 research outputs found
An Initative to Narrow the Digital Divide: Preliminary Results
The Digital Divide has been defined as a gap between those with access to new information technologies and those without. The term is also used to characterize the disparity between those who can effectively use information technology and those who cannot. This paper first explores the digital divide within the United States (U.S.) and worldwide. Factors contributing to the widening of the gap are identified, including differences in income, age, education, race, household type, and geographic location. In an effort to reduce the Digital Divide, various initiatives have been undertaken. Preliminary results of an initiative designed to narrow the divide are presented
A Community Initiative that Diminished the Digital Divide
During the 1990s, businesses began relying on the convenience of ubiquitous computer systems and on the efficiencies of digital networks. This new techno-economic dynamic prompted White House administrations of the 1990s to take note of public policy issues surrounding the information superhighway and the digital divide. Yet, because the digital world seems intangible, relatively few policymakers connected the virtual world with its potential impact on the physical world [Frye, 2002]. A case study of a community organizing program was conducted to examine the digital divide in the United States and its connection to other factors. This field study of computer-illiterate people in a public housing community was undertaken to better understand the complexities of the have vs. have not divide so that effective public policies can be deployed to bridge the gap. Community members ran this program with assistance from volunteers and set their own technology learning plan to minimize their techno-disadvantage. Overall, the results indicate the importance of a community-driven organizing strategy. Even though the program was effective in that participants learned computers skills, their emotional state declined. Becoming computer literate did not eliminate feelings of isolation from mainstream society, which is considered a factor contributing to the divide. Those who are adversely digitally divided may also be divided by a culture of failure. Bridging the digital divide requires a more comprehensive approach--and not a quick fix. It requires a process that is, for example, driven by a local community program and strategy to initiate and sustain members\u27 use of technology
An Integrated Disease/Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Model Suggests Improved Interleukin-21 Regimens Validated Prospectively for Mouse Solid Cancers
Interleukin (IL)-21 is an attractive antitumor agent with potent immunomodulatory functions. Yet thus far, the cytokine has yielded only partial responses in solid cancer patients, and conditions for beneficial IL-21 immunotherapy remain elusive. The current work aims to identify clinically-relevant IL-21 regimens with enhanced efficacy, based on mathematical modeling of long-term antitumor responses. For this purpose, pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) data were acquired from a preclinical study applying systemic IL-21 therapy in murine solid cancers. We developed an integrated disease/PK/PD model for the IL-21 anticancer response, and calibrated it using selected “training” data. The accuracy of the model was verified retrospectively under diverse IL-21 treatment settings, by comparing its predictions to independent “validation” data in melanoma and renal cell carcinoma-challenged mice (R2>0.90). Simulations of the verified model surfaced important therapeutic insights: (1) Fractionating the standard daily regimen (50 µg/dose) into a twice daily schedule (25 µg/dose) is advantageous, yielding a significantly lower tumor mass (45% decrease); (2) A low-dose (12 µg/day) regimen exerts a response similar to that obtained under the 50 µg/day treatment, suggestive of an equally efficacious dose with potentially reduced toxicity. Subsequent experiments in melanoma-bearing mice corroborated both of these predictions with high precision (R2>0.89), thus validating the model also prospectively in vivo. Thus, the confirmed PK/PD model rationalizes IL-21 therapy, and pinpoints improved clinically-feasible treatment schedules. Our analysis demonstrates the value of employing mathematical modeling and in silico-guided design of solid tumor immunotherapy in the clinic
The Pancreatic Expression Database: 2018 update.
The Pancreatic Expression Database (PED, http://www.pancreasexpression.org) continues to be a major resource for mining pancreatic -omics data a decade after its initial release. Here, we present recent updates to PED and describe its evolution into a comprehensive resource for extracting, analysing and integrating publicly available multi-omics datasets. A new analytical module has been implemented to run in parallel with the existing literature mining functions. This analytical module has been created using rich data content derived from pancreas-related specimens available through the major data repositories (GEO, ArrayExpress) and international initiatives (TCGA, GENIE, CCLE). Researchers have access to a host of functions to tailor analyses to meet their needs. Results are presented using interactive graphics that allow the molecular data to be visualized in a user-friendly manner. Furthermore, researchers are provided with the means to superimpose layers of molecular information to gain greater insight into alterations and the relationships between them. The literature-mining module has been improved with a redesigned web appearance, restructured query platforms and updated annotations. These updates to PED are in preparation for its integration with the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank (PCRFTB), a vital resource of pancreas cancer tissue for researchers to support and promote cutting-edge research.Pancreatic Cancer Research
Fund [Tissue Bank grant]; Cancer Research UK [Grant
A12008]; Breast Cancer Campaign [Tissue Bank Bioinformatics
grant TB2016BIF]
Transverse-momentum-dependent Multiplicities of Charged Hadrons in Muon-Deuteron Deep Inelastic Scattering
A semi-inclusive measurement of charged hadron multiplicities in deep
inelastic muon scattering off an isoscalar target was performed using data
collected by the COMPASS Collaboration at CERN. The following kinematic domain
is covered by the data: photon virtuality (GeV/), invariant
mass of the hadronic system GeV/, Bjorken scaling variable in the
range , fraction of the virtual photon energy carried by the
hadron in the range , square of the hadron transverse momentum
with respect to the virtual photon direction in the range 0.02 (GeV/ (GeV/). The multiplicities are presented as a
function of in three-dimensional bins of , , and
compared to previous semi-inclusive measurements. We explore the
small- region, i.e. (GeV/), where
hadron transverse momenta are expected to arise from non-perturbative effects,
and also the domain of larger , where contributions from
higher-order perturbative QCD are expected to dominate. The multiplicities are
fitted using a single-exponential function at small to study
the dependence of the average transverse momentum on , and . The power-law behaviour of the
multiplicities at large is investigated using various
functional forms. The fits describe the data reasonably well over the full
measured range.Comment: 28 pages, 20 figure
Longitudinal double spin asymmetries in single hadron quasi-real photoproduction at high
We measured the longitudinal double spin asymmetries for single
hadron muo-production off protons and deuterons at photon virtuality <
1(GeV/) for transverse hadron momenta in the range 0.7
GeV/ to 4 GeV/ . They were determined using COMPASS data taken
with a polarised muon beam of 160 GeV/ or 200 GeV/ impinging on
polarised or targets. The experimental
asymmetries are compared to next-to-leading order pQCD calculations, and are
sensitive to the gluon polarisation inside the nucleon in the range
of the nucleon momentum fraction carried by gluons
Interplay among transversity induced asymmetries in hadron leptoproduction
In the fragmentation of a transversely polarized quark several left-right
asymmetries are possible for the hadrons in the jet. When only one unpolarized
hadron is selected, it exhibits an azimuthal modulation known as Collins
effect. When a pair of oppositely charged hadrons is observed, three
asymmetries can be considered, a di-hadron asymmetry and two single hadron
asymmetries. In lepton deep inelastic scattering on transversely polarized
nucleons all these asymmetries are coupled with the transversity distribution.
From the high statistics COMPASS data on oppositely charged hadron-pair
production we have investigated for the first time the dependence of these
three asymmetries on the difference of the azimuthal angles of the two hadrons.
The similarity of transversity induced single and di-hadron asymmetries is
discussed. A new analysis of the data allows to establish quantitative
relationships among them, providing for the first time strong experimental
indication that the underlying fragmentation mechanisms are all driven by a
common physical process.Comment: 6 figure
Interplay among transversity induced asymmetries in hadron leptoproduction
In the fragmentation of a transversely polarized quark several left-right
asymmetries are possible for the hadrons in the jet. When only one unpolarized
hadron is selected, it exhibits an azimuthal modulation known as Collins
effect. When a pair of oppositely charged hadrons is observed, three
asymmetries can be considered, a di-hadron asymmetry and two single hadron
asymmetries. In lepton deep inelastic scattering on transversely polarized
nucleons all these asymmetries are coupled with the transversity distribution.
From the high statistics COMPASS data on oppositely charged hadron-pair
production we have investigated for the first time the dependence of these
three asymmetries on the difference of the azimuthal angles of the two hadrons.
The similarity of transversity induced single and di-hadron asymmetries is
discussed. A new analysis of the data allows to establish quantitative
relationships among them, providing for the first time strong experimental
indication that the underlying fragmentation mechanisms are all driven by a
common physical process.Comment: 6 figure
Collins and Sivers asymmetries in muonproduction of pions and kaons off transversely polarised proton
Measurements of the Collins and Sivers asymmetries for charged pions and
charged and neutral kaons produced in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering
of high energy muons off transversely polarised protons are presented. The
results were obtained using all the available COMPASS proton data, which were
taken in the years 2007 and 2010. The Collins asymmetries exhibit in the
valence region a non-zero signal for pions and there are hints of non-zero
signal also for kaons. The Sivers asymmetries are found to be positive for
positive pions and kaons and compatible with zero otherwise.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures and 1 tabl
The Spin Structure Function of the Proton and a Test of the Bjorken Sum Rule
New results for the double spin asymmetry and the proton
longitudinal spin structure function are presented. They were
obtained by the COMPASS collaboration using polarised 200 GeV muons scattered
off a longitudinally polarised NH target. The data were collected in 2011
and complement those recorded in 2007 at 160\,GeV, in particular at lower
values of . They improve the statistical precision of by
about a factor of two in the region . A next-to-leading order
QCD fit to the world data is performed. It leads to a new determination
of the quark spin contribution to the nucleon spin, ranging
from 0.26 to 0.36, and to a re-evaluation of the first moment of .
The uncertainty of is mostly due to the large uncertainty in
the present determinations of the gluon helicity distribution. A new evaluation
of the Bjorken sum rule based on the COMPASS results for the non-singlet
structure function yields as ratio of the axial and
vector coupling constants , which validates the sum rule to an accuracy of about
9\%.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures and table
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