bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Selected determinants of strategies to cope with the disease among women treated for gynecological cancer
Authors: Bucholc Marzena , Kucharczyk Marta , Kanadys Katarzyna , Wiktor Krzysztof , Wiktor Henryk
Published: January 2017

Introduction. The cancer of the reproductive organ, due to its specificity, is an extremely difficult situation for a woman.

Aim. The aim of the study was to answer the question what are the determinants of strategies to cope with the disease among women treated for cancer of the reproductive organ.

Material and methods. The study included 102 women treated for gynecological cancer. To assess coping strategies with disease, denoting adaptation to cancer, a Mini-Mac standardized scale of the Mental Adjustment to Cancer Diseases and the own construction questionnaire were used. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi2 test, Mann-Whitney U test, W. Shapiro-Wilk, Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Results. Research shows that most respondents coped with the disease using the strategy: the fighting spirit (FS), and positive reevaluation (PR), but to a lesser degree they applied preoccupation with anxiety (PwA) and helplessness – hopelessness strategy (HH).

Conclusions. 1. Most of the women fighting against cancer used constructive strategies, while the remaining part – the destructive ones. Choosing the type is determined by factors like the duration of the disease, the incidence of complications during treatment, subjective evaluation of how to improve the health status and satisfaction with treatment or length of hospital stay. 2. Strategies of mental adaptation significantly affect the course of treatment. The use of absorbing anxiety causes significantly more women not to feel the improvement of health and hospitalization for them is a traumatic experience. In contrast, a form of helplessness – hopelessness is associated with low satisfaction with treatment, and lack of improvement in subjective health. People who use fighting spirit were significantly more satisfied with the results of treatment.
Approximal Plaque Index, parameters of calcium-phosphate and iron metabolism and the quality of life of hemodialysis patients
Authors: Książek Katarzyna , Żołnierz Joanna , Sak Jarosław Jerzy
Published: January 2017

Introduction. Hemodialysis patients require high standards in the field of dental diseases prevention and also in pharmacological and dialysis methods of combating biochemical disorders. It is necessary to question the methods of monitoring oral hygiene quality among hemodialysis patients.

Aim. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between Approximal Plaque Index (API) and the quality of life and biochemical parameters of the calcium, phosphate and iron metabolism.

Material and methods. The study was conducted on a group of 124 individuals – 65 women (52%) and 59 men (48%) aged 24-90, volunteered to undergo hemodialysis in chronic renal failure, who consented to participate in this study. All participants of the study were treated for at least 6 months, through repeated hemodialyses in dialysis centers in Lublin. The dental examination was performed and Approximal Plaque Index (API) was determined. The Polish version of the quality of life questionnaire SF-36 was used. The values of urea, serum creatinine concentration, serum level of calcium, serum phosphorus, parathormone, transferrin, ferritin, and iron were also under control. The Kruskal-Wallis H test and Spearman Rank Correlation was used.

Results. Patients with optimal API reported higher levels of iron and lowest concentration of transferrin and serum phosphorus before HD. Patients who were characterized by high levels of phosphate and parathyroid hormone evaluated their functioning in the emotional sphere as worse compared to others. Higher concentrations of iron and transferrin favor a better sense of the quality of life.

Conclusions. Lower concentrations of phosphate before hemodialysis and higher iron levels contribute to maintaining optimal interdental hygiene in patients treated with renal replacement therapy. Normalization of biochemical parameters of calcium-phosphate and iron metabolism promotes a sense of better quality of life among patients on chronic hemodialysis. The level of interdental hygiene does not distinguish between general indicators of the sense of quality of life.
Sociomedical and epidemiological analysis of patients aged 18-34 years visiting the dental office
Authors: Kubić-Filiks Beata , Szalewski Leszek , Pietryka-Michałowska Elżbieta , Fux-Zalewska Kamila , Szymańska Jolanta
Published: January 2017

Introduction. Carelessness in caring for oral cavity in adults may contribute to severity of dental caries, periodontal diseases and diseases of mucous membranes that pose a risk to health of both dental and systemic character.

Aim. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between selected demographic factors and the cause of visiting the dental practitioner and the dental health status in adults.

Material and methods. The study comprised 194 patients, aged 18-34 who visited in 2015 one of the dental offices in Lublin, which offers treatment under the framework of an agreement with the National Health Fund or for a fee. Gender, age, the place of residence and the reason for visiting the dental office were analyzed. The place of residence was a village, a town of less than 200 thousand inhabitants or the city of more than 200 thousand inhabitants. The reason for visiting the dental office was a checkup visit, loss of filling or a toothache. Dental condition was assessed by calculating the DMF index. The results were statistically analyzed.

Results. In the group of respondents, women accounted for 53.62%, and men – 45.88%. The prevalence of dental caries was 100% and the incidence expressed by the mean DMF index was 14.64±5.78, and increased with age. The main reason for visiting the dentist for 65.46% of respondents was a check-up visit, for 17.53% – loss of filling and for 17.01% – a toothache. The lowest incidence of tooth decay was found in people visiting the dentist for a check-up, higher in patients appearing with the loss of filling and toothache.

Conclusions. A high percentage of people visiting the dentist because of toothache, confirms the low level of health-related knowledge in adult patients. High incidence of tooth decay proves the need to intensify preventive measures against the carious disease in adults. It is necessary to intensify educational activities and programs addressed to the adult part of Polish society to prevent the development of dental caries.
Antenatal classes as a form of preparation for parenthood: analysis of benefits of participating in prenatal education
Authors: Krysa Justyna , Iwanowicz-Palus Grażyna J. , Bień Agnieszka M. , Rzońca Ewa , Zarajczyk Marta
Published: January 2017

Prenatal education in the form of antenatal classes, referred to as School of Birth in Poland, aims at preparing both pregnant women and their partners for parenthood, on theoretical and practical basis. This is achieved by providing women with information on safe pregnancy, labor and puerperium, developing healthy behaviors and preparing parents to look after the newborn/infant. The course program covers all psychophysical issues related to pregnancy, labor, puerperium and early stages of the child’s life. The objective is to strengthen the health of mothers and children, alleviate pregnancy-related anxiety and fear, decrease the number of premature births and reduce the perinatal mortality rate. However, the scope of potential advantages of Schools of Birth depends not only on individual traits of the participants, but also on the engagement of professionals who teach the courses and the type of the school.
Designing a Fiscal Framework for a Prospective Commodity-producer: Options for Lebanon
Authors: Jarmuzek Mariusz , Mesa Puyo Diego , Nakhle Najla
Published: January 2017

Lebanon is expected to have gas resources in its Mediterranean basin, and these could turn the country into a natural gas producer over the next decade. Lebanon’s economy and institutions will thus need to adapt to the challenges and opportunities that such change will bring. In this paper, we address how Lebanon’s fiscal framework will need to be reformulated to take into account potential resource revenue. Designing a fiscal regime appropriately is an absolute prerequisite to make sure that the government can receive a fair share of the resources while investors face appropriate incentives to invest and develop the sector. This step should be followed by setting macro-fiscal anchors and supporting institutions. The prospective framework should be focused on ensuring fiscal sustainability and intergenerational equity, given the estimated relatively short horizon of Lebanon’s gas resources. Strong institutional arrangements also need to underpin the prospective framework, to ensure that the pace of resource wealth’s use is set in line with Lebanon’s capacity constraints.
Partial purification, characterization and wheat bran degradation studies of a new phytase from the Bacillus megaterium EBD 9-1 strain
Authors: Demirkan Elif , Sevgi Tuba , Akcakoca Dilara , Ersoy Figen
Published: January 2017

Objective

The present study was designed to report the bacterial identification and characterization of a new phytase enzyme from a Bacillus sp. strain isolated from soil.

Methods

Bacillus sp. strain was identified based on 16S rRNA analysis. The phytase was partially purified through ammonium sulfate precipitation and Sephadex G100 gel filtration steps, and characterized for its activity and stability.

Results

The new isolate EBD 9-1 showed 100% sequence identity with Bacillus megaterium. The partially purified enzyme had the maximum activity at pH 7.0 and 60°C. The activity of the enzyme was stimulated in the presence of Ca+2, Vmax and Km for enzyme were found to be 333 U/mL and 2 mM, respectively. The estimated molecular weight of enzyme was 45 kDa. The storage stability of phytase was 93% of the initial activity after 6 months at 4°C and −20°C. This study represents the partial purification, characterization and wheat bran degradation studies for B. megaterium phytase.

Conclusion

Consequently, due to the characteristics such as significant stability at higher temperatures, alkaline pH and storage of the novel phytase enzyme produced by B. megaterium EBD 9-1, the enzyme may be suitable for supplementing animal feeds to improve the availability of phosphorus from phytates.
Cortactin Is a Regulator of Activity-Dependent Synaptic Plasticity Controlled by Wingless
Authors: Alicea Daniel , Perez Marizabeth , Maldonado Carolina , Dominicci-Cotto Carihann , Marie Bruno
Published: January 2017

Major signaling molecules initially characterized as key early developmental regulators are also essential for the plasticity of the nervous system. Previously, the Wingless (Wg)/Wnt pathway was shown to underlie the structural and electrophysiological changes during activity-dependent synaptic plasticity at theDrosophilaneuromuscular junction. A challenge remains to understand how this signal mediates the cellular changes underlying this plasticity. Here, we focus on the actin regulator Cortactin, a major organizer of protrusion, membrane mobility, and invasiveness, and define its new role in synaptic plasticity. We show that Cortactin is present presynaptically and postsynaptically at theDrosophilaNMJ and that it is a presynaptic regulator of rapid activity-dependent modifications in synaptic structure. Furthermore, animals lacking presynaptic Cortactin show a decrease in spontaneous release frequency, and presynaptic Cortactin is necessary for the rapid potentiation of spontaneous release frequency that takes place during activity-dependent plasticity. Most interestingly, Cortactin levels increase at stimulated synaptic terminals and this increase requires neuronal activity,de novotranscription and depends on Wg/Wnt expression. Because it is not simply the presence of Cortactin in the presynaptic terminal but its increase that is necessary for the full range of activity-dependent plasticity, we conclude that it probably plays a direct and important role in the regulation of this process.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTIn the nervous system, changes in activity that lead to modifications in synaptic structure and function are referred to as synaptic plasticity and are thought to be the basis of learning and memory. The secreted Wingless/Wnt molecule is a potent regulator of synaptic plasticity in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie these plastic changes is a major gap in our knowledge. Here, we identify a presynaptic effector molecule of the Wingless/Wnt signal, Cortactin. We show that this molecule is a potent regulator of modifications in synaptic structure and is necessary for the electrophysiological changes taking place during synaptic plasticity.
Zika Virus Targeting in the Developing Brain
Authors: van den Pol Anthony N. , Mao Guochao , Yang Yang , Ornaghi Sara , Davis John N.
Published: January 2017

Zika virus (ZIKV), a positive-sense RNA flavivirus, has attracted considerable attention recently for its potential to cause serious neurological problems, including microcephaly, cortical thinning, and blindness during early development. Recent findings suggest that ZIKV infection of the brain can occur not only during very early stages of development, but also in later fetal/early neonatal stages of maturation. Surprisingly, after peripheral inoculation of immunocompetent mice on the day of birth, the first cells targeted throughout the brain were isolated astrocytes. At later stages, more neurons showed ZIKV immunoreactivity, in part potentially due to ZIKV release from infected astrocytes. In all developing mice studied, we detected infection of retinal neurons; in many mice, this was also associated with infection of the lateral geniculate, suprachiasmatic nuclei, and superior colliculus, suggesting a commonality for the virus to infect cells of the visual system. Interestingly, in mature mice lacking a Type 1 interferon response (IFNR−/−), after inoculation of the eye, the initial majority of infected cells in the visual system were glial cells along the optic tract. ZIKV microinjection into the somatosensory cortex on one side of the normal mouse brain resulted in mirror infection restricted to the contralateral somatosensory cortex without any infection of midline brain regions, indicating the virus can move by axonal transport to synaptically coupled brain loci. These data support the view that ZIKV shows considerable complexity in targeting the CNS and may target different cells at different stages of brain development.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTZika virus (ZIKV) can cause substantial damage to the developing human brain. Here we examine a developmental mouse model of ZIKV infection in the newborn mouse in which the brain is developmentally similar to a second-trimester human fetus. After peripheral inoculation, the virus entered the CNS in all mice tested and initially targeted astrocytes throughout the brain. Infections of the retina were detected in all mice, and infection of CNS visual system nuclei in the brain was common. We find that ZIKV can be transported axonally, thereby enhancing virus spread within the brain. These data suggest that ZIKV infects multiple cell types within the brain and that astrocyte infection may play a more important role in initial infection than previously appreciated.
Individual Differences in Music-Perceived Emotions
Authors: Taruffi Liila , Allen Rory , Downing John , Heaton Pamela
Published: January 2017

Previous music and emotion research suggests that individual differences in empathy, alexithymia, personality traits, and musical expertise might play a role in music-perceived emotions. In this study, we investigated the relationship between these individual characteristics and the ability of participants to recognize five basic emotions (happiness, sadness, tenderness, fear, and anger) conveyed by validated excerpts of film music. One hundred and twenty participants were recruited through an online platform and completed an emotion recognition task as well as the IRI (Interpersonal Reactivity Index), TAS-20 (Toronto Alexithymia Scale), BFI (Big Five Inventory), and Gold-MSI (Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index). While participants recognized the emotions depicted by the music at levels that were better than chance, their performance accuracy was negatively associated with the externally oriented thinking subscale from the TAS-20. Our results suggest that alexithymia, previously linked to a deficit in perception of facial and vocal expressions of emotion, is also associated with difficulties in perception of emotions conveyed by music.
Perception and Familiarity of Diatonic Modes
Authors: Tan Daphne , Temperley David
Published: January 2017

In a prior study (Temperley & Tan, 2013), participants rated the “happiness” of melodies in different diatonic modes. A strong pattern was found, with happiness decreasing as scale steps were lowered. We wondered: Does this pattern reflect the familiarity of diatonic modes? The current study examines familiarity directly. In the experiments reported here, college students without formal music training heard a series of melodies, each with a three-measure beginning (“context”) in a diatonic mode and a one-measure ending that was either in the context mode or in a mode that differed from the context by one scale degree. Melodies were constructed using four pairs of modes with the same tonic: Lydian/Ionian, Ionian/Mixolydian, Dorian/Aeolian, and Aeolian/Phrygian. Participants rated how well the ending “fit” the context. Two questions were of interest: (1) Do listeners give higher ratings to some modes (as endings) overall? (2) Do listeners give a higher rating to the ending if its mode matches that of the context? The results show a strong main effect of ending, with Ionian (major) and Aeolian (natural minor) as the most familiar (highly rated) modes. This aligns well with corpus data representing the frequency of different modes in popular music. There was also a significant interaction between ending and context, whereby listeners rated an ending higher if its mode matched the context. Our findings suggest that (1) our earlier “happiness” results cannot be attributed to familiarity alone, and (2) listeners without formal knowledge of diatonic modes are able to internalize diatonic modal frameworks.
Prediction of Specific Physical characteristic and Fitness Related Variables on Cardiovascular Endurance among some Selected Uniform Arm Units of University Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia.
Authors: Abdullah Mohamad Razali , Hairi Muhammad Syahrul Nidzam Akmal , Musa Rabiu Muazu , Maliki Ahmad Bisyri Husin Musawi , Kosni Norlaila Azura
Published: January 2017

Cardiovascular endurance is considered the most vital aspect of fitness due to its direct impact on human performance. For any uniform arm units to discharge their duties effectively, they need to meet up to the requirement of highest physical fitness level in respective of their body characteristics. This study aims to predict the relationship of physical characteristics and fitness variables on cardiovascular endurance performance among armed uniform package unit of UniSZA. A total of 26 participants within the age range of (±20.45) randomly selected from the three co-arm units of the university took part in this study. Standard physical characteristics measurement and fitness tests were conducted, and multiple linear regression was applied to predict their cardiovascular endurance performance as the dependent variables (DV) on their body characteristics and performance of physical fitness as the independent variable (IV). A significant regression equation was obtained F (9, 16) = 4.97, p < 0.05, R2 = 0.74 indicating that the model accounted for approximately 74% variability of the whole data set. Sensitivity prediction analysis of the contributions of each variable revealed that height, speed, agility, upper body strength and core body strength are factors to cardiovascular endurance p < 0.05 while, weight, waist circumference, neck circumference, and flexibility cannot determine cardiovascular endurance p> 0.05. To improve the cardiovascular performance of uniform arm units, certain physical and fitness variables have to be considered for an effective discharge of their duties.
A review on non-invasive hypertension monitoring system by using photoplethysmography method
Authors: Taha Zahari , Shirley Lum , Mohd Razman Mohd Azraai
Published: January 2017

Hypertension, the abnormal elevation of blood pressure, is one of the chronic disease that usually comes with no symptom and signal. As the systolic blood pressure (SBP) over 140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) is over 90 mmHg, it is considered as hypertension. The purpose of this paper is to determine a method to early diagnose of hypertension by monitoring the SBP, DBP, and heart rate (HR) non-invasively. Although accurate measurement of BP and HR of a person can be obtained invasively, the measuring probe needs to place under patient’s skin and it would cause wound. Therefore, this paper review on methods to measure BP and HR non-invasively. External pressures are needed to induce to the artery in order to measure BP and HR by using auscultatory and oscillometric methods, hence, a pressure cuff is used for measuring BP. The pressure cuff will restrict the motion of patient and it is not suitable for continuous monitoring. Pulse transit time (PTT) and photoplethysmography (PPG) methods are introduced to measuring BP non-invasively without cuff. The limitation of PTT over PPG is PTT needs both PPG waveform and ECG waveform to estimate BP, and artificial phase lag is occurred which will affect the reliability of the measured result. Therefore, for long term monitoring hypertension, non-invasively, by using photoplephymosgraphy method is preferred since it enables continuous monitoring without cuff and it is only one waveform, which is PPG waveform, is needed to estimate the BP as well as HR.
Ready to Learn: The Impact of the Morning Blast Physical Activity Intervention on Elementary School Students
Authors: Xu Tingting , Byker Erik Jon , Gonzales Monica Rae
Published: January 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an aerobic exercise intervention programme on elementary school students’ math learning and daily physical activity. Methods: This mixed-methods study included 7 educators and 83 students (n=90). The students were all children who were enrolled in Grades 3, 4, and 5 in a semi-rural elementary school in the United States of America. Data were collected through focus-group interviews, surveys, quantitative analysis of step counts, and from quasi-experimental research design. Results: Students in the experimental group were found to have: (1) increased scores on math standard score, (2) greater confidence in their academic ability, and (3) had more accumulated steps compared to students in the control group. Students in the experimental group also reported that they were more “ready to learn” after completing the physical activity intervention. This finding was also confirmed by their teachers. Conclusion: This study demonstrates how an increase in physical activity during the morning time has positive benefits for students throughout the school day.
Linkage Mapping and Comparative Genomics of Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) Using Next-Generation Sequencing
Authors: Hollenbeck Christopher M , Portnoy David S , Wetzel Dana , Sherwood Tracy A , Samollow Paul B , Gold John R
Published: January 2017

Developments in next-generation sequencing allow genotyping of thousands of genetic markers across hundreds of individuals in a cost-effective manner. Because of this, it is now possible to rapidly produce dense genetic linkage maps for nonmodel species. Here, we report a dense genetic linkage map for red drum, a marine fish species of considerable economic importance in the southeastern United States and elsewhere. We used a prior microsatellite-based linkage map as a framework and incorporated 1794 haplotyped contigs derived from high-throughput, reduced representation DNA sequencing to produce a linkage map containing 1794 haplotyped restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) contigs, 437 anonymous microsatellites, and 44 expressed sequence-tag-linked microsatellites (EST-SSRs). A total of 274 candidate genes, identified from transcripts from a preliminary hydrocarbon exposure study, were localized to specific chromosomes, using a shared synteny approach. The linkage map will be a useful resource for red drum commercial and restoration aquaculture, and for better understanding and managing populations of red drum in the wild.
Single-Step BLUP with Varying Genotyping Effort in Open-Pollinated Picea glauca
Authors: Ratcliffe Blaise , El-Dien Omnia Gamal , Cappa Eduardo P , Porth Ilga , Klápště Jaroslav , Chen Charles , El-Kassaby Yousry A
Published: January 2017

Maximization of genetic gain in forest tree breeding programs is contingent on the accuracy of the predicted breeding values and precision of the estimated genetic parameters. We investigated the effect of the combined use of contemporary pedigree information and genomic relatedness estimates on the accuracy of predicted breeding values and precision of estimated genetic parameters, as well as rankings of selection candidates, using single-step genomic evaluation (HBLUP). In this study, two traits with diverse heritabilities [tree height (HT) and wood density (WD)] were assessed at various levels of family genotyping efforts (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) from a population of white spruce (Picea glauca) consisting of 1694 trees from 214 open-pollinated families, representing 43 provenances in Québec, Canada. The results revealed that HBLUP bivariate analysis is effective in reducing the known bias in heritability estimates of open-pollinated populations, as it exposes hidden relatedness, potential pedigree errors, and inbreeding. The addition of genomic information in the analysis considerably improved the accuracy in breeding value estimates by accounting for both Mendelian sampling and historical coancestry that were not captured by the contemporary pedigree alone. Increasing family genotyping efforts were associated with continuous improvement in model fit, precision of genetic parameters, and breeding value accuracy. Yet, improvements were observed even at minimal genotyping effort, indicating that even modest genotyping effort is effective in improving genetic evaluation. The combined utilization of both pedigree and genomic information may be a cost-effective approach to increase the accuracy of breeding values in forest tree breeding programs where shallow pedigrees and large testing populations are the norm.
Functional Analysis of Kinases and Transcription Factors in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Using an Integrated Overexpression Library
Authors: Youn Ji-Young , Friesen Helena , Nguyen Ba Alex N , Liang Wendy , Messier Vincent , Cox Mike J , Moses Alan M , Andrews Brenda
Published: January 2017

Kinases and transcription factors (TFs) are key modulators of important signaling pathways and their activities underlie the proper function of many basic cellular processes such as cell division, differentiation, and development. Changes in kinase and TF dosage are often associated with disease, yet a systematic assessment of the cellular phenotypes caused by the combined perturbation of kinases and TFs has not been undertaken. We used a reverse-genetics approach to study the phenotypic consequences of kinase and TF overexpression (OE) in the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We constructed a collection of strains expressing stably integrated inducible alleles of kinases and TFs and used a variety of assays to characterize the phenotypes caused by TF and kinase OE. We used the Synthetic Genetic Array (SGA) method to examine dosage-dependent genetic interactions (GIs) between 239 gain-of-function (OE) alleles of TFs and six loss-of-function (LOF) and seven OE kinase alleles, the former identifying Synthetic Dosage Lethal (SDL) interactions and the latter testing a GI we call Double Dosage Lethality (DDL). We identified and confirmed 94 GIs between 65 OE alleles of TFs and 9 kinase alleles. Follow-up experiments validated regulatory relationships between genetically interacting pairs (Cdc28–Stb1 and Pho85–Pdr1), suggesting that GI studies involving OE alleles of regulatory proteins will be a rich source of new functional information.
Reproduction and In-Depth Evaluation of Genome-Wide Association Studies and Genome-Wide Meta-analyses Using Summary Statistics
Authors: Niu Yao-Fang , Ye Chengyin , He Ji , Han Fang , Guo Long-Biao , Zheng Hou-Feng , Chen Guo-Bo
Published: January 2017

In line with open-source genetics, we report a novel linear regression technique for genome-wide association studies (GWAS), called Open GWAS algoriTHm (OATH). When individual-level data are not available, OATH can not only completely reproduce reported results from an experimental model, but also recover underreported results from other alternative models with a different combination of nuisance parameters using naïve summary statistics (NSS). OATH can also reliably evaluate all reported results in-depth (e.g., p-value variance analysis), as demonstrated for 42 Arabidopsis phenotypes under three magnesium (Mg) conditions. In addition, OATH can be used for consortium-driven genome-wide association meta-analyses (GWAMA), and can greatly improve the flexibility of GWAMA. A prototype of OATH is available in the Genetic Analysis Repository (https://github.com/gc5k/GEAR).
Creativity in Citizen Cyberscience
Authors: Jennett Charlene , Kloetzer Laure , Cox Anna L. , Schneider Daniel , Collins Emily , Fritz Mattia , Bland Michael J. , Regalado Cindy , Marcus Ian , Stockwell Hannah , Francis Louise , Rusack Eleanor , Charalampidis Ioannis
Published: January 2017

In the context of citizen cyberscience, creativity is generally thought to be positive and should be encouraged. When volunteers think “outside of the box” they bring their own unique perspectives to scientific problems and generate new ideas. In some cases, creativity can even lead to new scientific discoveries. However there are still many unanswered questions about creativity. Is creativity in citizen science just about scientific discovery, or are there other kinds of creative products in citizen cyberscience? How does creativity compare across different kinds of citizen cyberscience, such as volunteer thinking and participatory sensing? In Citizen Cyberlab we explored creativity across four different pilot projects: GeoTag-X, Virtual Atom Smasher, Synthetic Biology, and Extreme Citzien Science. We conducted 96 interviews in total: 86 with volunteers (citizen scientists) and 10 with scientists. Based on our findings, we present several creative products that are a result of active involvement in citizen cyberscience: discussing ideas, suggesting improvements, development of new technologies, gamification, artwork, creative writing, outreach activities, and the development of new research projects. We also discuss factors that encourage creativity, such as having a supportive environment for volunteers and building a sense of community.
Data Analytics in Citizen Cyberscience: Evaluating Participant Learning and Engagement with Analytics
Authors: Abu Amsha Oula , Schneider Daniel K. , Fernandez-Marquez Jose Luis , Da Costa Julien , Fuchs Brian , Kloetzer Laure
Published: January 2017

Citizen Cyberscience (CCS) projects are online projects that engage participants with no necessary prior scientific experience in online tasks of very varied types and that contribute to the scientific research in different domains. Many research studies confirm the usefulness of CCS projects to researchers while less has been done to explore their added-value for the participants. Specifically, we are interested to know to what extent CCS projects help participants learn while participating through typically small-sized and very specific tasks.We propose in this work to include another source of quantitative data to the research toolbox usually used to evaluate learning in informal learning contexts as the context of citizen science. This data source is learning analytics that makes use of the already very ubiquitous web analytics and that is heavily used in varied online learning environments. Based on our experience with two CCS pilot projects, we created a framework to help CCS project designers properly implement learning analytics in their project in order to make the full use of these analytics and integrate them with other sources of quantitative data related to the user experience. We apply the proposed framework to explore the interaction between learning and engagement in two pilot CCS projects of different types: volunteer thinking and gaming. We conclude with a number of recommendations to avoid pitfalls and proposals for best practice based on our experience.
Improving Citizen Science Games through Open Analytics Data
Authors: Himmelstein Jesse
Published: January 2017

Game developers make heavy use of "metrics" (or "analytics") in order to understand how their games are being played by the public. Through recording players' actions within a game, designers can identify weaknesses in the game design, such as sections of the game that are too difficult, or never explored. Meanwhile, a genre of “scientific games” has emerged, in which players contribute to the advancement of science through their actions in a game, learn scientific concepts, or both. Although most scientific games incorporate metrics, the data is meant only for the developers and is rarely shared with the public. This represents a missed opportunity for the public to learn from the data that they and their fellow players are generating.Inspired by the belief that anyone can contribute to science, we have created an open source game analytics service called "RedMetrics" in which all data gathered is freely and immediately available online. RedMetrics can gather data from any platform (web, PC, console, etc.) and stores it on an open repository. The data is available via a web API as well as a web application. To ease integration, we provide interfaces for the popular game engine Unity as well as for the web browser.In this paper, we demonstrate RedMetrics through a case study of Hero.Coli, a game to learn synthetic biology. We study the progression of players through the game and use RedMetrics to identify bottlenecks in the game design that hinder learning.
GeoKey - open infrastructure for community mapping and science
Authors: Haklay Muki
Published: January 2017

The development of the geospatial web (GeoWeb) over the past decade opened up opportunities for collaborative mapping and large scale data collection at unprecedented scales. Projects such as OpenStreetMap, which engage hundreds of thousands of volunteers in different aspects of mapping physical and human-made objects, to eBird, which records millions of bird observations from across the globe. While these collaborative mapping efforts are impressive in their scale and reach, there is another type of mapping which is localised, frequently carried out over a limited period of time, and aims at solving a specific issue that the people who are living in the locality are facing. These needs are addressed in participatory mapping, which nowadays includes citizen science elements in data collection and management. The paper describes the background and design of a novel infrastructure for participatory mapping and science – GeoKey. The paper provides a differentiation between collaborative and participatory mapping, describes the state of the art and several use cases of community mapping, and the architecture of GeoKey, focussing both on the approaches to data capture and subsequent potential to share the data in an open manner where possible. It also describes the design elements that support learning and creativity in these projects
The smell of us – crowdsourcing human body odor evaluation
Authors: Benony Marguerite , Cardon Marianne , Ferré Arnaud , Coquet Jean , Foulquier Nathan , Thonier Florian , Le Lann Lucas , De Belly Henry , Evans Alexandre , Jain Aakriti , García Arcos Juan Manuel , Bland Jason , Marcus Ian , Lindner Ariel B , Wintermute Edwin H
Published: January 2017

Human body odor is produced when sweat-secreted compounds are metabolized by bacteria present on the skin. The resulting volatile mixture is often negatively perceived, motivating the use of personal cosmetic deodorants. Yet body odor may also be positively perceived in some contexts, and is proposed to play a role in sexual attraction, kin identification and social bonding. Because only human smellers can report the hedonic qualities of body odor, their persceptions are a valualbe complement to modern GC-MS-based quantitative chemical measurements. Here we present a crowdsourcing framework that engages volunteer smellers to characterize human sweat samples. Our approach seeks to reward both the sweat donor and the smeller with a web-based graphical interface that is informative, interesting, and fun. 300 samples from 87 individual donors were scored by 93 smellers for intensity, pleasantness, and a variety of odor descriptors. Body odor intensity and pleasantness were determined to vary with age, gender, and self-reported deodorant use. Counterintuitively, deodorant use showed no effect on the perceived intensity of body odor, and was associated with a decrease in the perceived pleasantness. From these data, we determine the precision and dynamic range of the volunteer nose as a body odor evaluation instrument and estimate the scale of crowdsourcing effort that would be required to precisely quantify the public perception of body odors.
The Relation of Childhood BMI to Adult Adiposity: The Bogalusa Heart Study
Authors: Freedman David S. , Khan Laura Kettel , Serdula Mary K. , Dietz William H. , Srinivasan Sathanur R. , Berenson Gerald S.
Published: January 2017

Objective. Although many studies have found that childhood levels of body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) are associated with adult levels, it has been reported that childhood BMI is not associated with adult adiposity. We further examined these longitudinal associations.

Design. Cohort study based on examinations between 1973 and 1996.

Setting. Bogalusa, Louisiana.

Participants. Children (2610; ages 2-17 years old) who were followed to ages 18 to 37 years; the mean follow-up was 17.6 years.

Main Outcome Measures. BMI-for-age and triceps skinfold thickness (SF) were measured in childhood. Subscapular and triceps SFs were measured among adults, and the mean SF was used as an adiposity index. Adult obesity was defined as a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and adult overfat as a mean SF in the upper (gender-specific) quartile.

Results. Childhood levels of both BMI and triceps SF were associated with adult levels of BMI and adiposity. The magnitude of these longitudinal associations increased with childhood age, but the BMI levels of even the youngest (ages 2-5 years) children were moderately associated (r = 0.33-0.41) with adult adiposity. Overweight (BMI-for-age ≥ 95th centile) 2- to 5-year-olds were >4 times as likely to become overfat adults (15 of 23 [65%]), as were children with a BMI < 50th centile (30 of 201 [15%]). Even after accounting for the triceps SF of children, BMI-for-age provided additional information on adult adiposity.

Conclusions. Childhood BMI is associated with adult adiposity, but it is possible that the magnitude of this association depends on the relative fatness of children.
Trends in Operative Management of Pediatric Splenic Injury in a Regional Trauma System
Authors: Davis Daniela H. , Localio A. Russell , Stafford Perry W. , Helfaer Mark A. , Durbin Dennis R.
Published: January 2017

Objective. Selective nonoperative management of pediatric blunt splenic injury became the standard of care in the late 1980s. The extent to which this practice has been adopted in both trauma centers and nontrauma hospitals has been investigated sporadically. Several studies have demonstrated significant variations in practice patterns; however, most published studies capture only a selective population over a relatively short time interval, often without simultaneous adjustment for confounding variables. The objective of this study was to characterize the variation in operative versus nonoperative management of blunt splenic injury in children in nontrauma hospitals and in trauma centers with varying resources for pediatric care within a regionalized trauma system in the past decade.

Methods. The study population included all children who were younger than 19 years and had a diagnosis of blunt injury to the spleen (International Classification of Diseases code 865.00–865.09) and were admitted to each of the 175 acute care hospitals in Pennsylvania between 1991 and 2000. The proportion of patients who were treated operatively was stratified by trauma-level certification and adjusted for age and splenic injury severity. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to generate probabilities of splenectomy by age, injury severity, and hospital type.

Results. From 1991 through 2000 in Pennsylvania, 3245 children sustained blunt splenic injury that required hospitalization; 752 (23.2%) were treated operatively. Generally, as age and splenic injury severity increased, the proportion of patients who were treated operatively increased. Compared with pediatric trauma centers, the relative risk (with associated 95% confidence interval) of splenectomy was 4.4 (3.0–6.3) for level 1 trauma centers with additional qualifications in pediatrics; 6.2 (4.4–8.7) for level 1 trauma centers, 6.3 (5.3–7.4) for level 2 trauma centers, and 5.0 (4.2–5.9) for nontrauma centers. Significant variation in practice pattern was seen among hospital types and over time even after adjustment for age and injury severity.

Conclusions. The operative management of splenic injury in children varied significantly by hospital trauma status and over time during the past decade in Pennsylvania. Given the relative benefits of nonoperative treatment for children with blunt splenic injury, these results highlight the need for more widespread and standardized adoption of this treatment, particularly in hospitals without a large volume of pediatric trauma patients.
Utility of Bedside Bladder Ultrasound Before Urethral Catheterization in Young Children
Authors: Chen Lei , Hsiao Allen L. , Moore Christopher L. , Dziura James D. , Santucci Karen A.
Published: January 2017

Background. Urethral catheterization is the method of choice for obtaining samples for urine culture and urine analysis in infants. Before the procedure, there is little certainty of the presence or amount of urine in the bladder. Consequently, this relatively invasive and uncomfortable procedure often needs to be repeated. The newly available technology of portable ultrasound may be useful in reducing the number of unsuccessful procedures.

Objective. To investigate the utility of bedside ultrasound of the bladder performed by pediatric emergency medicine physicians before catheterization in reducing the number of unsuccessful attempts.

Methods. A prospective, 2-phase study was performed in the setting of an urban pediatric emergency department from August 2003 to February 2004. Children who were between the ages of 0 and 24 months were enrolled. During the observation phase, the amount of urine obtained during the first catheterization was recorded for each patient. During the intervention period, a rapid bedside ultrasound of the bladder was performed by a pediatric emergency medicine physician immediately before urethral catheterization. When a sufficient amount of urine was seen, catheterization was conducted as usual. Otherwise, catheterization was deferred and repeated ultrasound was performed at 30-minute intervals until sufficient urine was identified. The amount of urine obtained was recorded.

Results. During the observation phase, 136 infants underwent urethral catheterization. Overall, the rate of success during the first attempt, defined as obtaining >2 mL of urine, sufficient for culture and other routine studies, was 72% (95% confidence interval: 66%–78%). A total of 112 subjects were enrolled during the intervention phase. Sufficient urine was identified on the first ultrasound in 76% (n = 85) of the patients. Among these, 98% (n = 83) underwent successful urethral catheterization during the first attempt. Among those in whom insufficient urine was identified initially (n = 27; 24%), subsequent ultrasound revealed sufficient amount in all patients within 90 minutes. Among these, 93% (n = 25) underwent successful urethral catheterization during the first attempt. Overall rate of success of initial urethral catheterization during the intervention phase was 96% (95% confidence interval: 93%–99%). Compared with the success rate during the observation phase, the differences were statistically significant. The results were consistent after being adjusted for gender.

Conclusion. A rapid bedside ultrasound of the bladder performed by pediatric emergency physicians led to an increased success rate of urethral catheterization in children who were younger than 2 years. We were able to avoid repeated invasive testing with a simple noninvasive procedure.
Air Pollution and Birth Weight Among Term Infants in California
Authors: Parker Jennifer D. , Woodruff Tracey J. , Basu Rupa , Schoendorf Kenneth C.
Published: January 2017

Objective. To examine associations between birth weight and air pollution among full-term infants in California.

Methods. We matched exposure data collected from air pollution monitors for small particles (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) to California birth records for singleton births delivered at 40 weeks' gestation in 2000 using the locations of the monitors and mother's residence. Pollution measurements collected within 5 miles of the mother's residence, averaged for the time period corresponding to the duration of pregnancy and each trimester, were used as exposure variables. Logistic and linear regression models were used to estimate the associations between the pollution measures and 2 pregnancy outcomes: small for gestational age (SGA) and birth weight. Variations of the models were used to examine the robustness of the findings.

Results. The adjusted odds ratio for SGA for exposure in the highest compared with lowest quartile of PM2.5 was 1.26 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–1.50). We found no association between CO and birth weight or SGA after controlling for maternal factors and PM2.5 (mean birth weight difference: 2.6 g; 95% CI: −20.6 to 25.8). The difference in mean birth weight for infants with a 9-month exposure in the highest quartile of PM2.5 compared with that of infants who were exposed in the lowest quartile was −36.1 g (95% CI: −16.5 g to −55.8 g); this difference was similar after controlling for CO. We did not find PM2.5 exposure during a particular trimester most important for assessing birth weight; trimester-level associations were similar to those found using the 9-month exposure variable.

Conclusions. We found an increased odds of SGA and a small difference in mean birth weight between infants with the highest and lowest exposures to PM2.5 but not CO. These findings have important implications for infant health because of the ubiquitous exposure to fine particulate air pollution across the United States.