Organizational Chart Inference

Nowadays, to facilitate the communication and cooperation among employees, a new family of online social networks has been adopted in many companies, which are called the "enterprise social networks" (ESNs). ESNs can provide employees with various professional services to help them deal with daily work issues. Meanwhile, employees in companies are usually organized into different hierarchies according to the relative ranks of their positions. The company internal management structure can be outlined with the organizational chart visually, which is normally confidential to the public out of the privacy and security concerns. In this paper, we want to study the IOC (Inference of Organizational Chart) problem to identify company internal organizational chart based on the heterogeneous online ESN launched in it. IOC is very challenging to address as, to guarantee smooth operations, the internal organizational charts of companies need to meet certain structural requirements (about its depth and width). To solve the IOC problem, a novel unsupervised method Create (ChArT REcovEr) is proposed in this paper, which consists of 3 steps: (1) social stratification of ESN users into different social classes, (2) supervision link inference from managers to subordinates, and (3) consecutive social classes matching to prune the redundant supervision links. Extensive experiments conducted on real-world online ESN dataset demonstrate that Create can perform very well in addressing the IOC problem.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 1 table. The paper is accepted by KDD 201

Proteoglycan Breakdown of Meniscal Explants Following Dynamic Compression Using a Novel Bioreactor

Motivated by our interest in examining meniscal mechanotransduction processes, we report on the validation of a new tissue engineering bioreactor. This paper describes the design and performance capabilities of a tissue engineering bioreactor for cyclic compression of meniscal explants. We showed that the system maintains a tissue culture environment equivalent to that provided by conventional incubators and that its strain output was uniform and reproducible. The system incorporates a linear actuator and load cell aligned together in a frame that is contained within an incubator and allows for large loads and small displacements. A plunger with six Teflon-filled Delrin compression rods is attached to the actuator compressing up to six tissue explants simultaneously and with even pressure. The bioreactor system was used to study proteoglycan (PG) breakdown in porcine meniscal explants following various input loading tests (0–20% strain, 0–0.1 MPa). The greatest PG breakdown was measured following 20% compressive strain. These strain and stress levels have been shown to correspond to partial meniscectomy. Thus, these data suggest that removing 30–60% of meniscal tissue will result in the breakdown of meniscal tissue proteoglycans

Neuro and hepatic toxicological profile of (S)-2,4-diaminobutanoic acid in embryonic, adolescent and adult zebrafish

(S)-2,4-Diaminobutanoic acid (DABA) is a noncanonical amino acid often co-produced by cyanobacteria along with β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA) in algal blooms. Although BMAA is a well-established neurotoxin, the toxicity of DABA remains unclear. As part of our development of biocompatible materials, we wish to make use of DABA as both a building block and as the end-product of enzymatically-induced depolymerization; however, if it is toxic at very low concentrations, this would not be possible. We examined the toxicity of DABA using both in vivo embryonic and adult zebrafish models. At higher sub-lethal concentrations (700 µM), the fish demonstrated early signs of cardiotoxicity. Adolescent zebrafish were able to tolerate a higher concentration. Post-mortem histological analysis of juvenile zebrafish showed no liver or brain abnormalities associated with hepato- or neurotoxicity. Combined, these results show that DABA exhibits no overt toxicity at concentrations (100-300 µM) within an order of magnitude of those envisioned for its application. This study further highlights the low-cost and ease of using zebrafish as an early-stage toxicological screening tool

What is known about the patient's experience of medical tourism? A scoping review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Medical tourism is understood as travel abroad with the intention of obtaining non-emergency medical services. This practice is the subject of increasing interest, but little is known about its scope.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A comprehensive scoping review of published academic articles, media sources, and grey literature reports was performed to answer the question: what is known about the patient's experience of medical tourism? The review was accomplished in three steps: (1) identifying the question and relevant literature; (2) selecting the literature; (3) charting, collating, and summarizing the information. Overall themes were identified from this process.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>291 sources were identified for review from the databases searched, the majority of which were media pieces (<it>n </it>= 176). A further 57 sources were included for review after hand searching reference lists. Of the 348 sources that were gathered, 216 were ultimately included in this scoping review. Only a small minority of sources reported on empirical studies that involved the collection of primary data (<it>n </it>= 5). The four themes identified via the review were: (1) decision-making (e.g., push and pull factors that operate to shape patients' decisions); (2) motivations (e.g., procedure-, cost-, and travel-based factors motivating patients to seek care abroad); (3) risks (e.g., health and travel risks); and (4) first-hand accounts (e.g., patients' experiential accounts of having gone abroad for medical care). These themes represent the most discussed issues about the patient's experience of medical tourism in the English-language academic, media, and grey literatures.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This review demonstrates the need for additional research on numerous issues, including: (1) understanding how multiple information sources are consulted and evaluated by patients before deciding upon medical tourism; (2) examining how patients understand the risks of care abroad; (3) gathering patients' prospective and retrospective accounts; and (4) the push and pull factors, as well as the motives of patients to participate in medical tourism. The findings from this scoping review and the knowledge gaps it uncovered also demonstrate that there is great potential for new contributions to our understanding of the patient's experience of medical tourism.</p

Postnatal Changes in the Expression Pattern of the Imprinted Signalling Protein XLαs Underlie the Changing Phenotype of Deficient Mice

The alternatively spliced trimeric G-protein subunit XLαs, which is involved in cAMP signalling, is encoded by the Gnasxl transcript of the imprinted Gnas locus. XLαs deficient mice show neonatal feeding problems, leanness, inertia and a high mortality rate. Mutants that survive to weaning age develop into healthy and fertile adults, which remain lean despite elevated food intake. The adult metabolic phenotype can be attributed to increased energy expenditure, which appears to be caused by elevated sympathetic nervous system activity. To better understand the changing phenotype of Gnasxl deficient mice, we compared XLαs expression in neonatal versus adult tissues, analysed its co-localisation with neural markers and characterised changes in the nutrient-sensing mTOR1-S6K pathway in the hypothalamus. Using a newly generated conditional Gnasxl lacZ gene trap line and immunohistochemistry we identified various types of muscle, including smooth muscle cells of blood vessels, as the major peripheral sites of expression in neonates. Expression in all muscle tissues was silenced in adults. While Gnasxl expression in the central nervous system was also developmentally silenced in some midbrain nuclei, it was upregulated in the preoptic area, the medial amygdala, several hypothalamic nuclei (e.g. arcuate, dorsomedial, lateral and paraventricular nuclei) and the nucleus of the solitary tract. Furthermore, expression was detected in the ventral medulla as well as in motoneurons and a subset of sympathetic preganglionic neurons of the spinal cord. In the arcuate nucleus of Gnasxl-deficient mice we found reduced activity of the nutrient sensing mTOR1-S6K signalling pathway, which concurs with their metabolic status. The expression in these brain regions and the hypermetabolic phenotype of adult Gnasxl-deficient mice imply an inhibitory function of XLαs in energy expenditure and sympathetic outflow. By contrast, the neonatal phenotype of mutant mice appears to be due to a transient role of XLαs in muscle tissues

5-HT1A receptor blockade reverses GABAA receptor α3 subunit-mediated anxiolytic effects on stress-induced hyperthermia

Stress-related disorders are associated with dysfunction of both serotonergic and GABAergic pathways, and clinically effective anxiolytics act via both neurotransmitter systems. As there is evidence that the GABA(A) and the serotonin receptor system interact, a serotonergic component in the anxiolytic actions of benzodiazepines could be present. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether the anxiolytic effects of (non-)selective alpha subunit GABA(A) receptor agonists could be reversed with 5-HT1A receptor blockade using the stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH) paradigm. The 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY-100635 (0.1-1 mg/kg) reversed the SIH-reducing effects of the non-alpha-subunit selective GABA(A) receptor agonist diazepam (1-4 mg/kg) and the GABA(A) receptor alpha(3)-subunit selective agonist TP003 (1 mg/kg), whereas WAY-100635 alone was without effect on the SIH response or basal body temperature. At the same time, co-administration of WAY-100635 with diazepam or TP003 reduced basal body temperature. WAY-100635 did not affect the SIH response when combined with the preferential alpha(1)-subunit GABA(A) receptor agonist zolpidem (10 mg/kg), although zolpidem markedly reduced basal body temperature. The present study suggests an interaction between GABA(A) receptor alpha-subunits and 5-HT1A receptor activation in the SIH response. Specifically, our data indicate that benzodiazepines affect serotonergic signaling via GABA(A) receptor alpha(3)-subunits. Further understanding of the interactions between the GABA(A) and serotonin system in reaction to stress may be valuable in the search for novel anxiolytic drugs

Neural Substrate of Cold-Seeking Behavior in Endotoxin Shock

Systemic inflammation is a leading cause of hospital death. Mild systemic inflammation is accompanied by warmth-seeking behavior (and fever), whereas severe inflammation is associated with cold-seeking behavior (and hypothermia). Both behaviors are adaptive. Which brain structures mediate which behavior is unknown. The involvement of hypothalamic structures, namely, the preoptic area (POA), paraventricular nucleus (PVH), or dorsomedial nucleus (DMH), in thermoregulatory behaviors associated with endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide [LPS])-induced systemic inflammation was studied in rats. The rats were allowed to select their thermal environment by freely moving in a thermogradient apparatus. A low intravenous dose of Escherichia coli LPS (10 µg/kg) caused warmth-seeking behavior, whereas a high, shock-inducing dose (5,000 µg/kg) caused cold-seeking behavior. Bilateral electrocoagulation of the PVH or DMH, but not of the POA, prevented this cold-seeking response. Lesioning the DMH with ibotenic acid, an excitotoxin that destroys neuronal bodies but spares fibers of passage, also prevented LPS-induced cold-seeking behavior; lesioning the PVH with ibotenate did not affect it. Lesion of no structure affected cold-seeking behavior induced by heat exposure or by pharmacological stimulation of the transient receptor potential (TRP) vanilloid-1 channel (“warmth receptor”). Nor did any lesion affect warmth-seeking behavior induced by a low dose of LPS, cold exposure, or pharmacological stimulation of the TRP melastatin-8 (“cold receptor”). We conclude that LPS-induced cold-seeking response is mediated by neuronal bodies located in the DMH and neural fibers passing through the PVH. These are the first two landmarks on the map of the circuitry of cold-seeking behavior associated with endotoxin shock