Digital Commons Network^™

Políticas Y Medidas Para Fomentar Las Remesas Familiares En La República Dominicana: Impacto Económico Y Lecciones Para Cuba, Mario A. Gonzalez-Corzo, Scott Larson

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Biocaster: Detecting Public Health Rumors With A Web-Based Text Mining System, Nigel Collier, Son Doan, Ai Kawazoe, Reiko Matsuda Goodwin, Mike Conway, Yoshio Tateno, Quoc-Hung Ngo, Dinh Dien, Asanee Kawtrakul, Koichi Takeuchi, Mika Shigematsu, Kiyosu Taniguchi

Publications and Research

Summary: BioCaster is an ontology-based text mining system for detecting and tracking the distribution of infectious disease outbreaks from linguistic signals on the Web. The system continuously analyzes documents reported from over 1700 RSS feeds, classifies them for topical relevance and plots them onto a Google map using geocoded information. The background knowledge for bridging the gap between Layman's terms and formal-coding systems is contained in the freely available BioCaster ontology which includes information in eight languages focused on the epidemiological role of pathogens as well as geographical locations with their latitudes/longitudes. The system consists of four main stages: topic …

Neural Substrates Of Sound–Touch Synesthesia After A Thalamic Lesion, Michael S. Beauchamp, Tony Ro

Publications and Research

Neural plasticity induced by stroke can mediate positive outcomes, such as recovery of function, but can also result in the formation of abnormal connections with negative consequences for perception and cognition. In three experiments using blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the neural substrates of acquired auditory-tactile synesthesia, in which certain sounds can produce an intense somatosensory tingling sensation in a patient with a thalamic lesion. Compared with nine normal controls, the first experiment showed that the patient had a threefold greater BOLD response to sounds in the parietal operculum, the location of secondary somatosensory cortex. …

An Analysis Of Entries In The First Tac Market Design Competition, Jinzhong Niu, Kai Cai, Peter Mcburney, Simon Parsons

Publications and Research

This paper presents an analysis of entries in the first TAC Market Design Competition final that compares the entries across several scenarios. The analysis complements previous work analyzing the 2007 competition, demonstrating some vulnerabilities of entries that placed highly in the competition. The paper also suggests a simple strategy that would have performed well.

Meta-Analysis: Prophylactic Drainage And Bleeding Complications In Thyroid Surgery, Steven A. Kennedy, Robert A. Irvine, Brian D. Westerberg, Hongbin Zhang

Publications and Research

Objective: To conduct a comprehensive systematic review and high-quality meta-analysis to determine whether prophylactic drain placement reduces adverse bleeding events in thyroid surgery.

Data Sources: MEDLINE (OVID and PubMed), CENTRAL, CDSR, ACP Journal Club, DARE, EMBASE, PREMEDUNE, OLDMEDLINE, CINAHL, BIOSIS Previews, LILACS, KOREAMED, SAMED, IndMED, SIGLE, ScienceDirect, and INGENTACONNECT.

Review Methods: Studies for evaluation included all prospective trials assessing the use of drainage in thyroid surgery. We excluded case studies, retrospective studies, reviews, and studies that had a "selective" method of postoperative drainage that was not defined or was based on surgeon preference. Search strategies were broad and …

Lis Open Access E-Journal -Where Are You?, Izabella Taler

Publications and Research

Access to published information is of interest to many users. Library and information science (LIS) professionals are especially interested in gaining access and guiding users to all available information. Though they are often dependent on traditional subscription-based library resources, moving away from the costly ones and replacing them with usage of available open access sources, presents practitioners with a significant budget consideration in today's shrinking economy. This paper examines the availability of current LIS open access e-journals; their presence in well- and less-well known abstracting and indexing sources, their inclusion in standard library bibliographic tools as well as coverage by …

La Libertad De La Ciudad, David Harvey

Publications and Research

David Harvey explora aquí la relación existente entre el problema de la reubicación del excedente de capital y las transformaciones del espacio urbano a una escala cada vez mayor. En este artículo, escrito antes de que fuera declarada la crisis económica mundial, Harvey ofrece un análisis espacial que anticipa dicha crisis y analiza las consecuencias que la continuidad del modelo económico vigente tendrá para el futuro de la vida urbana.

In this paper David Harvey explores the existing relation between the problem of surplus capital allocation and the increasing transformations of urban space. The paper, written before the world economic …

Successful Weight Loss Maintenance In Relation To Method Of Weight Loss, Angela Marinilli Pinto, Amy A. Gorin, Hollie A. Raynor, Deborah F. Tate, Joseph L. Fava, Rena R. Wing

Publications and Research

This study examined the relation between method of weight loss and long-term maintenance among successful weight losers enrolled in a weight-loss maintenance trial. Participants were 186 adults (mean age = 51.6 +/- 10.7 years, mean BMI = 28.6 +/- 4.7 kg/m(2)) enrolled in the STOP Regain trial who had lost at least 10% of their body weight in the past 2 years using a very low-calorie diet (VLCD; n = 24), commercial program (n = 95), or self-guided approach (n = 67). Participants were randomized to a weight-maintenance intervention delivered face to face or over the internet or to a …

The Auditing Profession: 21st Century Challenges, Gary John Previts

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Alien As Other: Spiritual, Political, And Cultural Representations Of The Alien In Late 20 Th Century Cinema, Benjamin Franz

Publications and Research

Storytellers frame their morals and fables of us through the lens of the 'Others'. When the popular form of storytelling evolved into film, the Other naturally became that which was most fascinating and curious, the Intergalactic Entity, or Alien.

In the film Contact(1997), Dr. Ellie Arroway struggles with a disbelief in things greater than herself, and the desire to see what is out there in the cosmos. In Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), strangers are brought together by the vision of harmony set forth by cosmic visitors. The theme of belief in something greater than oneself echoes …

Experiencing Visuo-Motor Plasticity By Prism Adaptation In A Classroom Setting, Andrea Li

Publications and Research

Neural plasticity is a key topic in the study of behavioral neuroscience, yet it can be a difficult concept to demonstrate in a classroom setting. In this report, we describe an interactive technique that can be used to demonstrate and quantify in a laboratory setting the plasticity of motor coordination to altered visual input, i.e. visuo-motor plasticity. Visual input can be easily altered by horizontally-displacing prism goggles. Open-loop motor coordination immediately after putting on these goggles is inaccurate. However, after performing a number of visuo-motor tasks wearing these goggles, coordination adapts and improves. Immediately after removing the goggles, a robust …

Blood Collection From The American Horseshoe Crab, Limulus Polyphemus, Peter Armstrong, Mara Conrad

Publications and Research

The horseshoe crab has the best-characterized immune system of any long-lived invertebrate. The study of immunity in horseshoe crabs has been facilitated by the ease in collecting large volumes of blood and from the simplicity of the blood. Horseshoe crabs show only a single cell type in the general circulation, the granular amebocyte. The plasma has the salt content of sea water and only three abundant proteins, hemocyanin, the respiratory protein, the C-reactive proteins, which function in the cytolytic destruction of foreign cells, including bacterial cells, and α2-macroglobulin, which inhibits the proteases of invading pathogens. Blood is collected by direct …

Critical Thinking Is A Life Relevancy: A Hospitality Management Student Case Study., Monica Berger

Publications and Research

This article describes a library workshop for freshman hospitality management students enrolled at New York City College of Technology, CUNY, which features a focus on critical thinking. An active learning experience uses an element of surprise. Students evaluate the website of a bankrupt company where information about the company’s situation is hidden or not present. When the instructor guides the class to find unbiased information from newspapers, many students begin to think critically about sources.

On The Assessment Of Pointcut Design In Evolving Aspect-Oriented Software, Raffi T. Khatchadourian, Phil Greenwood, Awais Rashid

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Hiv/Aids: An Opportunistic Infection Of Globalization?, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Myosin Ii Has Distinct Functions In Pns And Cns Myelin Sheath Formation, Haibo Wang, Ambika Tewari, Steven Einheber, James L. Salzer, Carmen V. Melendez-Vasquez

Publications and Research

The myelin sheath forms by the spiral wrapping of a glial membrane around the axon. The mechanisms responsible for this process are unknown but are likely to involve coordinated changes in the glial cell cytoskeleton. We have found that inhibition of myosin II, a key regulator of actin cytoskeleton dynamics, has remarkably opposite effects on myelin formation by Schwann cells (SC) and oligodendrocytes (OL). Myosin II is necessary for initial interactions between SC and axons, and its inhibition or down-regulation impairs their ability to segregate axons and elongate along them, preventing the formation of a 1:1 relationship, which is critical …

Enduring Mental Health Morbidity And Social Function Impairment In World Trade Center Rescue, Recovery, And Cleanup Workers: The Psychological Dimension Of An Environmental Health Disaster, Jeanne Mager Stellman, Rebecca P. Smith, Craig L. Katz, Vansh Sharma, Dennis S. Charney, Robin Herbert, Jacqueline Moline, Benjamin J. Luft, Steven Markowitz, Iris Udasin, Denise Harrison, Sherry Baron, Philip J. Landrigan, Stephen M. Levin, Steven Southwick

Publications and Research

Background The World Trade Center (WTC) attacks exposed thousands of workers to hazardous environmental conditions and psychological trauma. In 2002, to assess the health of these workers, Congress directed the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to establish the WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program. This program has established a large cohort of WTC rescue, recovery, and cleanup workers. We previously documented extensive pulmonary dysfunction in this cohort related to toxic environmental exposures. Objectives Our objective in this study was to describe mental health outcomes, social function impairment, and psychiatric comorbidity in the WTC worker cohort, as well as …

Testimony Of Jeremy Travis, President Of John Jay College Of Criminal Justice, Before The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, On “New Strategies For Combating Violent Crime: Drawing Lessons From Recent Experience”., Jeremy Travis

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

An Integrated Intervention In Pregnant African Americans Reduces Postpartum Risk: A Randomized Trial, Ayman El-Mohandes, Michele Kiely, Jill G. Joseph, Siva Subramanian, Allan A. Johnson, Susn M. Blake, Marie G. Gantz, M. Nabil El-Khorazaty

Publications and Research

Objective—To evaluate the efficacy of an integrated multiple risk intervention delivered mainly during pregnancy, in reducing such risks (smoking, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, depression and intimate partner violence) postpartum.

Design—Data from this randomized controlled trial were collected prenatally and on average 10 weeks postpartum in six prenatal care sites in the District of Columbia. African Americans were screened, recruited and randomly assigned to the behavioral intervention or usual care. Clinic-based, individually tailored counseling was delivered to intervention women. The outcome measures were number of reisks reported postpartum and reduction of these risks between baseline and postpartum.

Results—The …

Rejuvenate Pointcut: A Tool For Pointcut Expression Recovery In Evolving Aspect-Oriented Software, Raffi T. Khatchadourian, Awais Rashid

Publications and Research

Aspect-oriented programming (AOP) strives to localize the scattered and tangled implementations of crosscutting concerns (CCCs) by allowing developers to declare that certain actions (advice) should be taken at specific points (join points) during the execution of software where a CCC (an aspect) is applicable. However, it is non-trivial to construct optimal pointcut expressions (a collection of join points) that capture the true intentions of the programmer and, upon evolution, maintain these intentions. We demonstrate an AspectJ source-level inferencing tool called rejuvenate pointcut which helps developers maintain pointcut expressions over the lifetime of a software product. A key insight into the …

The Contribution Of Advective Fluxes To Net Ecosystem Exchange In A High-Elevation, Subalpine Forest, Chuixiang Yi, Dean E. Anderson, Andrew A. Turnipseed, Sean P. Burns, Jed P. Sparks, David I. Stannard, Russell K. Monson

Publications and Research

The eddy covariance technique, which is used in the determination of net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE), is subject to significant errors when advection that carries CO₂ in the mean flow is ignored. We measured horizontal and vertical advective CO₂ fluxes at the Niwot Ridge AmeriFlux site (Colorado, USA) using a measurement approach consisting of multiple towers. We observed relatively high rates of both horizontal (F_hadv) and vertical (F_vadv) advective fluxes at low surface friction velocities (u_*) which were associated with downslope katabatic flows. We observed that F_hadv was confined to …

Dynamic Surface Activity By Folding And Unfolding An Amphiphilic Α-Helix, Vikas Jain, Angela Jimenez, Charles Maldarelli, Raymond S. Tu

Publications and Research

We describe a rationally designed peptide with tunable surface activity, where the dynamics of surface activity are an outcome of helical folding. Our rationally designed model peptide is surface-active only as an α-helix. We apply circular dichroism to show that the folded population can be controlled with changes in electrolyte concentration, and we apply pendant bubble tensiometry to explore dynamic surfactant activity. This study shows a peptide that responds to environmental stimuli with dynamic folding and surface activity. Extending this concept to selective binding peptides will lead to new tools, where dynamic surface activity is coupled to targeted binding.

Keeping Abreast Of Quantum News: Quantum Computing On The Web And In The Literature, Jill Cirasella

Publications and Research

This appendix describes tools that can help you track developments in quantum computing.

Historical Bibliography Of Quantum Computing, Jill Cirasella

Publications and Research

This bibliographic essay reviews seminal papers in quantum computing. Although quantum computing is a young science, its researchers have already published thousands of noteworthy articles, far too many to list here. Therefore, this appendix is not a comprehensive chronicle of the emergence and evolution of the field but rather a guided tour of some of the papers that spurred, formalized, and furthered its study.

Gene Expression And Functional Studies Of The Optic Nerve Head Astrocyte Transcriptome From Normal African Americans And Caucasian Americans Donors, Haixi Miao, Lin Chen, Sean M. Riordan, Wenjun Li, Santiago Juarez, Andrea M. Crabb, Thomas J. Lukas, Pan Du, Simon M. Lin, Alexandria Wise, Olga A. Agapova, Ping Yang, Charles C. Gu, M. Rosario Hernandez

Publications and Research

Purpose To determine whether optic nerve head (ONH) astrocytes, a key cellular component of glaucomatous neuropathy, exhibit differential gene expression in primary cultures of astrocytes from normal African American (AA) donors compared to astrocytes from normal Caucasian American (CA) donors. Methods We used oligonucleotide Affymetrix microarray (HG U133A & HG U133A 2.0 chips) to compare gene expression levels in cultured ONH astrocytes from twelve CA and twelve AA normal age matched donor eyes. Chips were normalized with Robust Microarray Analysis (RMA) in R using Bioconductor. Significant differential gene expression levels were detected using mixed effects modeling and Statistical Analysis of …

New Breast Milk In Old Bottles, Barbara Katz Rothman

Publications and Research

This paper identifies how the different ideologies of patriarchy, technology, capitalism, race and feminism shape how we see breastfeeding and the breastfeeding mother with child. Ultimately, while we can make good strong arguments for breastfeeding from the perspective of health, of outcome, of good scientific data, we need to appreciate that they are only rationalizations for a shared belief that the image of the breastfeeding woman with baby represents something precious and valuable. So while it may be important to make arguments that draw on what is valued in society, we need to think hard about what it is that …

Pointcut Rejuvenation: Recovering Pointcut Expressions In Evolving Aspect-Oriented Software, Raffi T. Khatchadourian, Phil Greenwood, Awais Rashid, Guoqing Harry Xu

Publications and Research

Pointcut fragility is a well-documented problem in Aspect-Oriented Programming; changes to the base-code can lead to join points incorrectly falling in or out of the scope of pointcuts. In this paper, we present an automated approach which limits fragility problems by providing mechanical assistance in pointcut maintenance. The approach is based on harnessing arbitrarily deep structural commonalities between program elements corresponding to join points selected by a pointcut. The extracted patterns are then applied to later versions to offer suggestions of new join points that may require inclusion. To illustrate that the motivation behind our proposal is well-founded, we first …

Cities Of Consumption: The Impact Of Corporate Practices On The Health Of Urban Populations, Nicholas Freudenberg, Sandro Galea

Publications and Research

The increasing concentration of the world's population in cities and the growing accumulation of political and economic power by corporations create new threats to health and opportunities for improving global health. By considering the intersection of these two fundamental social determinants of well-being, we elucidate some of the mechanisms by which they influence the health of urban populations. After reviewing the changing historical impact of corporations on cities, we focus on the growth of consumption as a leading cause of mortality and morbidity and describe how the food, tobacco, automobile, and other industries promote unhealthy behaviors and lifestyles in urban …

Wide Distribution Of A High-Virulence Borrelia Burgdorferi Clone In Europe And North America, Wei-Gang Qiu, John F. Bruno, William D. Mccaig, Yun Xu, Ian Livey, Martin E. Schriefer, Benjamin J. Luft

Publications and Research

We found substantial population differentiation and recent trans-Atlantic dispersal of a high-virulence B. burgdorferi clone.

Volunteers: An Untapped Resource, Maria J. D'Agostino

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.