bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Guess who? An empirical study of gender deception and detection in computer‐mediated communication
Authors: Ho Shuyuan Mary , Hollister Jonathan M.
Published: May 2014

The verification of an online conversation partner's identity is a challenge due to the lack of verbal and visual cues in computer‐mediated communication. People must constantly assess the identity of whomever they are communicating with based on limited interaction. This poster describes an empirical study that identifies how people attribute gender and detects gender deception in online text‐based communication. Data has been collected through an interactive social media game platform and designed as a quasi‐experiment. Our study confirms that the speakers' domain knowledge, perceived trustworthiness, and self‐efficacy have an impact on the success of gender deception and attribution. Perceived gender of the speaker also had an impact on the successful detection of gender deceptive messages.
Bonded design: Children as co‐designers of an educational tool for students involved in an inquiry‐based project
Authors: AlGhamdi Mohammed J. , Beheshti Jamshid , Cole Charles , Abuhimed Dhary , Lamoureux Isabelle
Published: May 2014

This paper reports on the use of the bonded design methodology with an intergenerational research team in the development of an educational tool to assist students engaged in an inquiry‐based project. Bonded design was used to achieve two objectives: (1) Identify the process each student used to complete the inquiry‐based project and (2) design an educational tool to help future students engaged in the same project. Initial findings suggest that the process identified by the team members is in accordance with Kuhlthau's (2004) Information Search Process (ISP) model, which formed the foundation of the proposed educational tool.
Crowdsourcing health literacy: The case of an online community
Authors: Rubenstein Ellen L.
Published: May 2014

Drawing on data from 31 semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews, participant observation, and online archives analysis, this paper examines the health information interactions that participants in an online breast cancer community experienced as they progressed through breast cancer and survivorship. The findings reveal … This research highlights patients' perceptions of information gaps, how patients navigated through their information gaps with the help of the community, and the significance of peer interaction in the comprehension of medical information and medical decision‐making.
Information horizons of college students: Source preferences and source referrals in academic contexts
Authors: Tsai Tien‐I , Kim Kyung‐Sun
Published: May 2014

An information horizon (IH) is a mental map where individuals position various sources according to their preferences in specific contexts. IH not only highlights the roles of contexts, situations, and social networks in individuals' information behavior, but also emphasizes the importance of examining the relationships among sources used by individuals. This study investigates undergraduate students' source use preferences in academic contexts—course‐related, program‐related, and coursework‐related moral‐support situations. The study also investigates the referral networks among sources used by students. Interviews were conducted with twenty undergraduate students. Each participant was also asked to draw their IH maps. Based on existent IH literature, the study used innovative methods to analyze and present the data. Results show that students had different source preferences in different situations in academic contexts. While peers were consulted across all situations, most of the other sources were typically consulted only in certain situations. As to source referrals, interpersonal sources (e.g., peers) were more likely to direct students to other sources than to receive referrals from other sources, and experts tended to direct students to a wide range of sources, especially to official sources. The findings suggest that universities should facilitate students' use of both official sources and experts as academic sources.
Time pressure, user satisfaction and task difficulty
Authors: Crescenzi Anita , Capra Robert , Arguello Jaime
Published: May 2014

In this paper, we explore the question of whether or not perceived time pressure and task difficulty are predictors of users' satisfaction with their search strategies. We conducted a crowd‐sourced user study in which 269 participants completed a total of 600 information‐seeking tasks. Based on self‐reported data gathered from post‐task questionnaires, we found that both perceived time pressure and task difficulty were significant predictors of satisfaction with search strategy. No interaction effect was found. This exploratory analysis suggests that time pressure can influence search processes and is a dimension that should be investigated in more depth. We propose future research to investigate the impact of time pressure on other contextual factors and search outcome measures.
Representation patterns for cultural heritage resources
Authors: Urban Richard J.
Published: May 2014

The universe of available cultural heritage metadata schemas grows more complex every day. Existing schemas are optimized for use in the library, archive, or museum domains and to fit the needs of shared services and applications. Emerging Linked Data approaches introduce additional challenges for metadata designers and creators responsible for implementing these standards. In other domains, design patterns are used to clearly articulate problems, their contexts, and available solutions. This poster introduces preliminary research to identify such patterns in cultural heritage metadata standards using content analysis and a participatory design methodology.
User perception of 4 hierarchical layouts
Authors: Merc̆un Tanja , Z̆umer Maja
Published: May 2014

Information visualization offers an opportunity to provide quick overviews and support exploration of the information landscape. However, there are many visualization techniques and layouts to choose from and some designs work better than others. The poster presents four hierarchical layouts developed in our FrbrVis prototype to display bibliographic work families and looks at user's perceptions of the layouts gathered through a usability study. The results of reaction cards and interviews show that the radial layout was perceived least favorably while sunburst received the highest number of positive comments.
Compassion at a distance: How ordinary people are enabling their compassion to self‐organize disaster relief efforts remotely and collaboratively
Authors: Takazawa Aiko
Published: May 2014

The continuity in technologically mediated environments relentlessly reconfigures the temporal nature of disaster impacts and facilitates emergent behavior of ordinary people coming into being as a group for humanitarian efforts. This study looks at forms of remote collaborative action, especially ones among ordinary people with rudimentary knowledge and skills who utilize appropriate technologies and other resources that are available to them even though they do not have any prior experiences of this kind or pre‐disaster histories of collaboration among themselves. There is a need for better understanding of how ordinary people are able to self‐organize relief work and how technologies leverage their compassion and distance for such action. I am exploring these issues in the context of a group of Japanese women living in Finland as they responded to the 2011 Japanese disaster. Despite their distance from the disaster site, the seven Japanese women living in Finland orchestrated people, information, and technologies through interactions in digital and physical social spaces learning by doing how to deliver Finnish baby formula directly to the disaster‐affected mothers and families in Japan.
Wikipedians from Mars: Female students' perceptions toward wikipedia
Authors: Kim Jinyoung
Published: May 2014

This paper presents the results of a preliminary study on non‐contributing behaviors among college‐aged Wikipedia users. By focusing on female freshmen, I investigated how college‐aged female students start establishing certain attitudes toward Wikipedia, how previous experience influences these perceptions, and how a new social environment has an impact on their perceptions. Based on in‐depth interviews with 9 female college freshmen and 4 non‐freshmen students, the results suggest that experience, subjective norms, and their social position as a college student influenced female freshmen to establish negative perceptions and constrain them from contributing to Wikipedia. The present study is significant in that it provides multifaceted aspects of perceptions that discourage contributions from young female students to Wikipedia, and design implications for promoting their participation.
Applying the stratified model of relevance interactions to music information retrieval
Authors: Weigl David M. , Guastavino Catherine
Published: May 2014

While research on the notion of relevance has a long and rich history in information retrieval for textual documents, formal considerations of relevance concepts in Music Information Retrieval (MIR) remain scarce. We discuss the application of Saracevic's stratified model of relevance interactions to the music information domain. This model offers a tool for deliberation on the development of user‐oriented MIR systems, and a framework for the aggregation of findings on the music information needs and behaviours of potential users.
Bilingual researcher profiles: Modeling dutch researchers in both english and dutch using the VIVO ontology
Authors: Chambers Tamy , Shah Sahil , Urankar Ashish , Kalyan Venkat , Scharnhorst Andrea , Reijnhoudt Linda , Rideour Laura , Guéret Christophe , Ding Ying
Published: May 2014

In this paper we describe the process of mapping researcher information from the Dutch National Academic Research and Collaborations Information System (NARCIS) to the VIVO ontology. Our goal is to use the VIVO ontology to accurately represent these researchers and their organizations, while remaining true to the native language and structure of the Dutch university. To achieve this, we first created an extension ontology to account for differences in the Dutch naming structure and differences in university position description and alignment. Secondly, through the use of language attribute tags, we recorded data in both English and Dutch to achieve better access by both the native Dutch population and the larger English based research community. Finally, we leveraged the SKOS ontology to take advantage of a classification structure, already created by NARCIS, to describe researcher expertise uniformly across the system.
Comparing user experience in a news website across three devices: iPhone, iPad, and desktop
Authors: Lu Yunhui , Wang Xin , Ma Yanfei
Published: May 2014

Mobile devices are becoming an increasingly important access channel for news resources and services. Even though providing a mobile site for mobile device users may greatly enhance their news reading experience, many news organizations cannot afford such an additional option due to limited funding and staffing resources. Therefore, an alternative approach is to design a full website with careful consideration of both desktop users and mobile users. This study compared user experiences in a news website accessed via mobile devices (iPhone & iPad) as well as desktop computers. We aimed to discover similar and different design requirements across desktop, iPad, and iPhone users. Users across three types of devices reported to have similar perspectives on the organization schemes of news, the importance of currency of news, the need for more powerful image search functions and algorithms, and better visibility of menus/buttons. Meanwhile, differences between mobile users and desktop users have also been identified: mobile users reported requirements of making more efficient use of space on web pages, less typing, more user control and flexibility, and more sharing options via social media. Based on the findings, we provided a series of recommendations for improving the design of a full site which can meet the needs of both mobile and desktop users.
A comparison of a hierarchical tree to an associative map interface for the selection of classification terms
Authors: Buzydlowski Jan W. , Lin Xia , Zhang Mi , Cassel Lillian N.
Published: May 2014

This paper reports the results of a user study comparing the use of a traditional hierarchical tree interface with an associative graphical interface to select controlled vocabulary terms for document classification. The results suggest that users prefer to have both the hierarchical and associative map rather than the hierarchical tree alone and tend to ascribe more categories when using the experimental interface.
Building a framework for site‐based data curation
Authors: Palmer Carole L. , Thomer Andrea K. , Baker Karen S. , Wickett Karen M. , Varvel Virgil , Choudhury Sayeed , DiLauro Timothy , Fouke Bruce , Asangba Abigail E. , Rodman Ann
Published: May 2014

The Site‐Based Data Curation (SBDC) project is developing a framework of guidelines and processes for the curation of research data generated at scientifically significant sites. SBDC will advance the professional work of curation by articulating principles, workflows and inter‐institutional relationships essential for site‐based curation. Work to date has concentrated on stakeholder analysis, with results informing metadata guidelines for capture of essential site‐based specifics and clarifying the value in aggregating data around site factors for both scientist and YNP stakeholder groups.
Searchers switch tactics under increased mental load
Authors: Gwizdka Jacek
Published: May 2014

Effects of mental demands on searchers were examined by controlling tasks complexity and by assessing searchers' working memory span (WM). The searchers were divided into low and high WM group. We expected that on more complex tasks all searchers would perform more searches to find more information. However, only high‐WM searchers performed more search actions. Low‐WM searchers performed about the same number of searches and switched their tactic by visiting significantly fewer search results.
Knowledge artefacts: Lessons learned and Stories as a means to transfer knowledge amongst cohorts of high school students working on an inquiry‐based project
Authors: Abuhimed Dhary , Beheshti Jamshid , Cole Charles , AlGhamdi Mohammed J , Lamoureux Isabelle
Published: May 2014

This paper briefly outlines the framework of an ongoing exploratory study on knowledge transfer (KT) between student cohorts working on an inquiry‐based project using knowledge artefacts (KA) mediated by a website. Three successive cohorts of grade 8 students completed a history project which led them to build knowledge about an historical topic of interest. While working on their inquiry‐based project, the students encountered obstacles and gained experiential knowledge of the research process. The researcher recorded the lessons learned and stories told by the students' in the form of knowledge artefacts (KA). The goal of this study is to transfer the experiential knowledge from previous cohorts, coded in the form of KAs and mediated by a website, to new students. The research rationale is based on the assumption that the transfer of experiential knowledge may improve the research processes and results of new students working on a similar project.
Guidelines for older‐adult‐friendly online tutorial for Facebook: Content, design, and training principles
Authors: Choi Wonchan , Carranza Julia , Fox Melissa
Published: May 2014

This poster reports preliminary findings from a research project, which attempts to suggest guidelines for developing an older‐adult‐friendly online tutorial for Facebook. An existing online tutorial for Facebook, Facebook 101, was analyzed to provide a more practical discussion. Weaknesses and improvement points of the tutorial were identified based on the literature regarding principles of design and training for older adults (OAs). Moreover, hierarchical task analyses (HTAs) were conducted to re‐design lessons (i.e., content of the tutorial) for popular Facebook activities by OAs. This poster includes a demo version of the OA‐friendly online tutorial for Facebook by reflecting the findings and experiences from the study. This paper also outlines future research directions.
Iterative design of a collaborative 3D virtual information management environment
Authors: Komlodi Anita , Hercegfi Karoly , Koles Mate , Hamornik Balazs
Published: May 2014

The goal of this paper is to describe the design of a collaborative 3D immersive virtual information management environment. This environment was developed in order to study collaborative information retrieval behavior by users. In the first phase of research we designed and developed this environment in the Virtual Collaboration Arena (VirCA) collaborative space.
Information seeking through social media: Impact of user characteristics on social media use
Authors: Kim Kyung‐Sun , Sin Sei‐Ching Joanna , He Yuqi
Published: May 2014

The study investigated how college students, including both undergraduate and graduate students, use different social media platforms for the purpose of information seeking in the academic context. A Web survey was used to collect data. A total of 1,286 students participated in the study. It was found that most of the social media platforms were used for the purpose of information seeking, although Wikis was the one most frequently used. Significant differences between undergraduate and graduate students were found in the use of social media for information seeking. In the academic context, the undergraduates used Social Q&A, Media‐sharing sites, and Wikis frequently. On the other hand, graduate students used Blogs more often than the undergraduates. Significant gender differences were also found. Male students tended to use Wikis and Internet forums more often than female students. Furthermore, significant differences in disciplines were found. Students in science and engineering tended to use Wikis and Social Q&A more often, and Blogs and Microblogs less often, than did students in humanities and social sciences. Humanities students used Online reviews more often than students in science and engineering. Implications of the findings were discussed in light of information literacy and user services for college students.
Children's information needs of a patient engagement system in a hospital room: Insights from usability testing in a simulation laboratory
Authors: Haggerty Kenneth , Yadamsuren Borchuluun , Kibaru Francis , Basic Josipa
Published: May 2014

Patient engagement systems are an emerging area in health information systems. These systems aim to involve patients in health care communication allowing them to access their electronic health records, order food, watch educational videos and play games. Little research has been performed on the information needs of children when using patient engagement systems. This poster presents the preliminary findings of a study which evaluated the usability of myStation, a patient engagement system in a simulated hospital room. In order to identify the information needs of children, we conducted think aloud interviews with 10 children ages 7–12. The findings of this study suggest that children expect more fun and entertainment‐oriented features in patient engagement system design. They want to be provided with multiple options for customizing the interface and the ability to search for information rather than to browse. In addition, children want to have social media features when using a patient engagement system.
Contribution of wiki trace and wiki resource use variables towards quality of game design in a guided discovery‐based program of game design learning
Authors: Baik Eun Jung , Reynolds Rebecca B.
Published: May 2014

This in‐progress research study investigates students' use of a wiki‐based e‐learning platform as a coordinating representation in the context of their guided discovery‐based game design work. This study sets out to preliminarily investigate young students' engagement in project‐based game design teamwork in a blended learning context. Here we report that exploratory and descriptive results on the analysis of wiki trace log data and resource use post‐survey data to predict the quality of students' game design. This research holds implications for instructional design optimization of the e‐learning system under investigation, curriculum and professional development support for educators involved, for quality of actual student learning outcomes (i.e., the quality of game design), and, for the wider field of e‐learning systems design and learning analytics.
Measuring happiness of US cities by mining user‐generated text in Flickr.com: A pilot analysis
Authors: You Sukjin , DesArmo Joel , Joo Soohyung
Published: May 2014

This poster describes a methodology to numerically represent the happiness of a city by mining user generated terms in Flickr.com. As a pilot analysis, we collected 15,000 text records consisting of titles, tags, descriptions, and comments for the thirty most populous cities in the United States. Parsed text was utilized to calculate happiness scores (H‐Score) by matching text extracted from Flickr.com with a happiness index dictionary. In addition, we examined the relationships between the calculated H‐scores and real world phenomena including population, crime rate, and climate. Based on this pilot analysis, a future study is planed that involves a large dataset with prediction analysis.
Medical image users' search tactics across different search tasks
Authors: Wang Xin , Erdelez Sanda
Published: May 2014

Image searching behaviors are complex interactions among many factors. This study sheds light on the effects of two key factors (domain knowledge and search tasks) on search tactics in order to provide implementation guides for designing medical image information systems. 41 participants were recruited to perform on three types of image search tasks. The preliminary results demonstrated that domain knowledge and search tasks have significant effects on two types of search tactics: Term Selection Tactics and Search Monitoring Tactics. More specifically, domain experts are more likely to use self‐generated queries, spend longer time in reading instructions (preparation for searching). Novices were found to use more given or derived queries and to re‐read instructions most in order to compensate for their inability to understand and memorize search topics. This study found that Specific Tasks result in more use of search tactics such as Re‐reading Instructions than General Tasks and Abstract Tasks.
Information behavior shift: How and why medical students use Facebook
Authors: Saparova Dinara , Williams Jayne A. , Inabnit Christopher K. , Fiesta Michelle
Published: May 2014

The poster offers a unique opportunity to learn about the information behavior of a group of medical students using a social networking site (SNS) group over the period of almost three, full, consecutive, academic years without faculty supervision to facilitate their learning. Mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis allowed us to obtain a comprehensive overview of the SNS group usage and conclude that it played an important role in student learning. Patterns of the group utilization became the evidence of extending the classic principles of PBL in medical education into a digital learning environment, which, in its turn, results in gradual transformation of medical students' information behavior. By shifting from more traditional forms of communication and information technology to using content available through social media, medical students incorporate SNS in their learning as an online environment that supplements their face‐to‐face interactions and facilitates acquisition and/or exchange of school‐related information in easier, more efficient ways.
Mobile device policies in archive reading rooms
Authors: Karadkar Unmil P. , Trace Ciaran B.
Published: May 2014

Humanities scholars increasingly use mobile devices such as laptops, iPhones, and iPads in their professional lives. We are exploring the opportunities for employing such devices for supporting scholarly activities in archive reading rooms. As a first step in this process, we are studying how reading room policies related to the use of technological devices impact scholars' interaction with the source materials in terms of capturing, organizing, note taking, and record keeping for future use of found materials. We studied the policy documents made available by thirty archives and complemented the results by soliciting the perspectives of administrators who craft these policies and scholars who use these archives. We present our analysis and an early prototype of a policy awareness mobile application called AMTracker.
Robust phase unwrapping for MR temperature imaging using a magnitude‐sorted list, multi‐clustering algorithm
Authors: Maier Florian , Fuentes David , Weinberg Jeffrey S. , Hazle John D. , Stafford R. Jason
Published: May 2014

Purpose

Several methods in MRI use the phase information of the complex signal and require phase unwrapping (e.g., B0 field mapping, chemical shift imaging, and velocity measurements). In this work, an algorithm was developed focusing on the needs and requirements of MR temperature imaging applications.

Methods

The proposed method performs fully automatic unwrapping using a list of all pixels sorted by magnitude in descending order and creates and merges clusters of unwrapped pixels until the entire image is unwrapped. The algorithm was evaluated using simulated phantom data and in vivo clinical temperature imaging data.

Results

The evaluation of the phantom data demonstrated no errors in regions with signal‐to‐noise ratios of at least 4.5. For the in vivo data, the algorithm did not fail at an average of more than one pixel for signal‐to‐noise ratios greater than 6.3. Processing times less than 30 ms per image were achieved by unwrapping pixels inside a region of interest (53 × 53 pixels) used for referenceless MR temperature imaging.

Conclusions

The algorithm has been demonstrated to operate robustly with clinical in vivo data in this study. The processing time for common regions of interest in referenceless MR temperature imaging allows for online updates of temperature maps without noticeable delay. Magn Reson Med 73:1662–1668, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A nonlocal parabolic model for type‐I superconductors
Authors: Slodička Marian , Van Bockstal Karel
Published: May 2014

A vectorial nonlocal linear parabolic problem on a bounded domain with applications in superconductors of type‐I is studied. The nonlocal term is represented by a (space) convolution with a singular kernel (arising in Eringen's model). The well‐posedness of the problem is discussed under low regularity assumptions, and the error estimates for an implicit and semiimplicit time‐discrete scheme (based on backward Euler approximation) are established. It is shown that the solution of the problem satisfies a simpler nonlocal problem with a positive definite kernel if the normal component of the unknown vector field equals zero on the boundary of the domain. Numerical experiments support the obtained theoretical results. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 30: 1821–1853, 2014
Reduction of percolation threshold of multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) in polystyrene (PS)/low‐density polyethylene (LDPE)/MWCNT nanocomposites: An eco‐friendly approach
Authors: Patra Rajat , Suin Supratim , Mandal Dipankar , Khatua B.B.
Published: May 2014

In this article, we introduce an eco‐friendly approach to achieve electrical conductivity at sufficiently lower loading of MWCNT in the PS/LDPE/MWCNT nanocomposites through judicious control of temperature during melt blending. The percolation threshold was achieved at 0.21 wt% of MWCNT following this method, which is lower, compared to the result obtained from direct mixing as well as the previously reported data. The morphological analysis revealed a co‐continuous structure of the (70/30, PS/LDPE)/MWCNT nanocomposites in such a high asymmetric composition of blend constituents, which facilitates in the lowering of percolation threshold through selective dispersion of MWCNT in the minor LDPE phase. The electron conduction in the nanocomposites has well been explained in terms of tunneling mechanism, supporting thin coating of polymer over individual CNTs. The morphological, electric and dielectric properties have been well explained in this article. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:1574–1583, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers
Development of a full‐length human protein production pipeline
Authors: Saul Justin , Petritis Brianne , Sau Sujay , Rauf Femina , Gaskin Michael , Ober‐Reynolds Benjamin , Mineyev Irina , Magee Mitch , Chaput John , Qiu Ji , LaBaer Joshua
Published: May 2014

There are many proteomic applications that require large collections of purified protein, but parallel production of large numbers of different proteins remains a very challenging task. To help meet the needs of the scientific community, we have developed a human protein production pipeline. Using high‐throughput (HT) methods, we transferred the genes of 31 full‐length proteins into three expression vectors, and expressed the collection as N‐terminal HaloTag fusion proteins in Escherichia coli and two commercial cell‐free (CF) systems, wheat germ extract (WGE) and HeLa cell extract (HCE). Expression was assessed by labeling the fusion proteins specifically and covalently with a fluorescent HaloTag ligand and detecting its fluorescence on a LabChip® GX microfluidic capillary gel electrophoresis instrument. This automated, HT assay provided both qualitative and quantitative assessment of recombinant protein. E. coli was only capable of expressing 20% of the test collection in the supernatant fraction with ≥20 μg yields, whereas CF systems had ≥83% success rates. We purified expressed proteins using an automated HaloTag purification method. We purified 20, 33, and 42% of the test collection from E. coli, WGE, and HCE, respectively, with yields ≥1 μg and ≥90% purity. Based on these observations, we have developed a triage strategy for producing full‐length human proteins in these three expression systems.
The Standardized Extract of Ziziphus jujuba Fruit (Jujube) Regulates Pro‐inflammatory Cytokine Expression in Cultured Murine Macrophages: Suppression of Lipopolysaccharide‐stimulated NF‐κB Activity
Authors: Chen Jianping , Du Crystal Y. Q. , Lam Kelly Y. C. , Zhang Wendy L. , Lam Candy T. W. , Yan Artemis L. , Yao Ping , Lau David T. W. , Dong Tina T. X. , Tsim Karl W. K.
Published: May 2014

The fruit of Ziziphus jujuba Mill., known as jujube or Chinese date, is commonly consumed as a health supplement or herbal medicine worldwide. To study the beneficial role of jujube in regulating immune response, we investigated its roles on the expressions of pro‐inflammatory cytokines in cultured macrophages. Application of chemically standardized jujube water extract for 24 h stimulated the transcriptional expression of interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α in cultured RAW 264.7 macrophages. In contrast, the pretreatment with jujube water extract suppressed the expression of IL‐1β and IL‐6, but not for TNF‐α in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated macrophages. The IL‐1β and IL‐6 cytokines in LPS‐induced macrophages were suppressed by jujube water extract in both mRNA and protein levels. In parallel, the inhibition of jujube water extract on the transcriptional activity of nuclear factor‐kappa B was revealed in LPS‐induced macrophages. These results verified the bidirectional immune‐modulatory roles of jujube by regulating the expressions of pro‐inflammatory cytokines in macrophages. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
What Drives Warming Trends in Streams? A Case Study from the Alpine Foothills
Authors: Lepori F. , Pozzoni M. , Pera S.
Published: May 2014

We investigated the effects of climate warming and land‐use changes on the temperature and discharge of seven Swiss and Italian streams in the catchment of Lake Lugano. In addition, we attempted to predict future stream conditions based on regional climate scenarios. Between 1976 and 2012, the study streams warmed by 1.5–4.3 °C, whereas discharge showed no long‐term trends. Warming trends were driven mainly by catchment urbanization and two large‐scale climatic oscillations, the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. In comparison, independent influences by radiative forcing due to increased atmospheric CO2 were uncertain. However, radiative forcing was predicted to further increase stream temperature (to +3–7 °C), reduce summer discharge (to −46%) and increase winter discharge (to +96%) between the present and 2070–2099. These results provide new insights into the drivers of long‐term temperature and discharge trends in European streams subject to multiple impacts. The picture emerging is one of transition, where greenhouse‐gas forcing is gaining ground over climate oscillations and urbanization, the drivers of past trends. This shift would impress a more directional nature upon future changes in stream temperature and discharge, and extend anthropogenic warming to rural streams. Diffusing future impacts on stream ecosystems would require adaptation measures at local to national scales and mitigation of greenhouse‐gas emissions at the global scale. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Wedge sampling for computing clustering coefficients and triangle counts on large graphs†
Authors: Seshadhri C. , Pinar Ali , Kolda Tamara G.
Published: May 2014

Graphs are used to model interactions in a variety of contexts, and there is a growing need to quickly assess the structure of such graphs. Some of the most useful graph metrics are based on triangles, such as those measuring social cohesion. Algorithms to compute them can be extremely expensive, even for moderately sized graphs with only millions of edges. Previous work has considered node and edge sampling; in contrast, we consider wedge sampling, which provides faster and more accurate approximations than competing techniques. Additionally, wedge sampling enables estimating local clustering coefficients, degree‐wise clustering coefficients, uniform triangle sampling, and directed triangle counts. Our methods come with provable and practical probabilistic error estimates for all computations. We provide extensive results that show our methods are both more accurate and faster than state‐of‐the‐art alternatives.
Authentication and key relay in medical cyber‐physical systems
Authors: Kanjee Mohammed Raza , Liu Hong
Published: May 2014

Medical cyber‐physical systems (MCPS) monitor/control patients' physiologic dynamics with embedded/distributed computing process and wireless/wired communication network. MCPS greatly impact the society with high‐quality medical services and low‐cost ubiquitous healthcare. The major component that integrates the physical world with the cyber space is wireless body area network (WBAN) of medical sensors and actuators worn or implanted in a patient. The life‐critical nature of MCPS mandates safe and effective system design. MCPS must operate safely under malicious attacks. Authentication ensures that a medical device is what it claims to be and does what it declares to do, the first line of MCPS defense. Traditional authentication mechanisms, relied on cryptography, are not applicable to MCPS because of the constraints on computing/communication/energy resources. Recent innovations to secure mobile wireless sensor networks, with multi‐sensor fusion to save power consumption, are not adequate. Besides challenges, MCPS present grand opportunities with the unique physical features of WBAN for non‐cryptographic authentication and human‐aided security. This paper proposes an authentication framework for MCPS. By studying medical processes and investigating healthcare adversaries, the novel design crosses physical world and cyber space. With uneven resource allocation, resource‐scarce WBAN utilizes no encryption for authentication. Evaluation of this authentication protocol shows promising aspects and ease of adaptability. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Regaining confidence in confidence intervals for the mean treatment effect
Authors: O'Gorman Thomas W.
Published: May 2014

In many experiments, it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment by comparing the responses of two groups of subjects. This evaluation is often performed by using a confidence interval for the difference between the population means. To compute the limits of this confidence interval, researchers usually use the pooled t formulas, which are derived by assuming normally distributed errors. When the normality assumption does not seem reasonable, the researcher may have little confidence in the confidence interval because the actual one‐sided coverage probability may not be close to the nominal coverage probability. This problem can be avoided by using the Robbins–Monro iterative search method to calculate the limits. One problem with this iterative procedure is that it is not clear when the procedure produces a sufficiently accurate estimate of a limit. In this paper, we describe a multiple search method that allows the user to specify the accuracy of the limits. We also give guidance concerning the number of iterations that would typically be needed to achieve a specified accuracy. This multiple iterative search method will produce limits for one‐sided and two‐sided confidence intervals that maintain their coverage probabilities with non‐normal distributions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
sRNA-seq Analysis of Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Definitive Endoderm Reveals Differentially Expressed MicroRNAs and Novel IsomiRs with Distinct Targets
Authors: Hinton Andrew , Hunter Shaun E. , Afrikanova Ivka , Jones G. Adam , Lopez Ana D. , Fogel Gary B. , Hayek Alberto , King Charles C.
Published: May 2014

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding, regulatory RNAs expressed dynamically during differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into defined lineages. Mapping developmental expression of miRNAs during transition from pluripotency to definitive endoderm (DE) should help to elucidate the mechanisms underlying lineage specification and ultimately enhance differentiation protocols. In this report, next generation sequencing was used to build upon our previous analysis of miRNA expression in human hESCs and DE. From millions of sequencing reads, 747 and 734 annotated miRNAs were identified in pluripotent and DE cells, respectively, including 77 differentially expressed miRNAs. Among these, four of the top five upregulated miRNAs were previously undetected in DE. Furthermore, the stem-loop for miR-302a, an important miRNA for both hESCs self-renewal and endoderm specification, produced several highly expressed miRNA species (isomiRs). Overall, isomiRs represented >10% of sequencing reads in >40% of all detected stem-loop arms, suggesting that the impact of these abundant miRNA species may have been overlooked in previous studies. Because of their relative abundance, the role of differential isomiR targeting was studied using the miR-302 cluster as a model system. A miRNA mimetic for miR-302a-5p, but not miR-302a-5p(+3), decreased expression of orthodenticle homeobox 2 (OTX2). Conversely, isomiR 302a-5p(+3) selectively decreased expression of tuberous sclerosis protein 1, but not OTX2, indicating nonoverlapping specificity of miRNA processing variants. Taken together, our characterization of miRNA expression, which includes novel miRNAs and isomiRs, helps establish a foundation for understanding the role of miRNAs in DE formation and selective targeting by isomiRs. Stem Cells  2014;32:2360–2372
Gastrin-Releasing Peptide Contributes to the Regulation of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Neuronal Development
Authors: Walton Noah M. , de Koning Anoek , Xie Xiuyuan , Shin Rick , Chen Qian , Miyake Shinichi , Tajinda Katsunori , Gross Adam K. , Kogan Jeffrey H. , Heusner Carrie L. , Tamura Kouichi , Matsumoto Mitsuyuki
Published: May 2014

In the postnatal hippocampus, newly generated neurons contribute to learning and memory. Disruptions in neurogenesis and neuronal development have been linked to cognitive impairment and are implicated in a broad variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders. To identify putative factors involved in this process, we examined hippocampal gene expression alterations in mice possessing a heterozygous knockout of the calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II alpha heterozygous knockout gene (CaMK2α-hKO), an established model of cognitive impairment that also displays altered neurogenesis and neuronal development. Using this approach, we identified gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) as the most dysregulated gene. In wild-type mice, GRP labels NeuN-positive neurons, the lone exception being GRP-positive, NeuN-negative cells in the subgranular zone, suggesting GRP expression may be relevant to neurogenesis and/or neuronal development. Using a model of in vitro hippocampal neurogenesis, we determined that GRP signaling is essential for the continued survival and development of newborn neurons, both of which are blocked by transient knockdown of GRP’s cognate receptor (GRPR). Furthermore, GRP appears to negatively regulate neurogenesis-associated proliferation in neural stem cells both in vitro and in vivo. Intracerebroventricular infusion of GRP resulted in a decrease in immature neuronal markers, increased cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation, and decreased neurogenesis. Despite increased levels of GRP mRNA, CaMK2α-hKO mutant mice expressed reduced levels of GRP peptide. This lack of GRP may contribute to the elevated neurogenesis and impaired neuronal development, which are reversed following exogenous GRP infusion. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that GRP modulates neurogenesis and neuronal development and may contribute to hippocampus-associated cognitive impairment. Stem Cells  2014;32:2454–2466
Dopamine Mobilizes Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells Through D2-Class Receptors and Their PI3K/AKT Pathway
Authors: Mirones Isabel , Ángel Rodríguez-Milla Miguel , Cubillo Isabel , Mariñas-Pardo Luis , de la Cueva Teresa , Zapata Agustín , González Carlos , Ramírez Manuel , García-Castro Javier
Published: May 2014

As the nervous system exerts direct and indirect effects on stem cells mobilization and catecholamines mobilize hematopoietic stem cells, we hypothesized that dopamine might induce mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs) mobilization. We show that dopamine induced in vitro MPCs migration through D2-class receptors, and their alternative phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathways. Also, administration of catecholamines induced in vivo mobilization of colony-forming unit-fibroblast in mice. In contrast, in vitro and in vivo MPCs migration was suppressed by D2-class receptors antagonists and blocking antibodies, consistent with dopamine signaling pathway implication. In humans, patients treated with L-dopa or catecholaminergic agonists showed a significant increase of a MPC-like population (CD45−CD31−CD34−CD105+) in their peripheral blood. These findings reveal a new link between catecholamines and MPCs mobilization and suggest the potential use of D2-class receptors agonists for mobilization of MPCs in clinical settings. Stem Cells  2014;32:2529–2538
Deficiency of the NR4A Orphan Nuclear Receptor NOR1 in Hematopoietic Stem Cells Accelerates Atherosclerosis
Authors: Qing Hua , Liu Yi , Zhao Yue , Aono Jun , Jones Karrie L. , Heywood Elizabeth B. , Howatt Deborah , Binkley Cassi M. , Daugherty Alan , Liang Ying , Bruemmer Dennis
Published: May 2014

The NR4A orphan nuclear receptor NOR1 functions as a constitutively active transcription factor regulating cellular inflammation and proliferation. In this study, we used bone marrow transplantation to determine the selective contribution of NOR1 expression in hematopoietic stem cells to the development of atherosclerosis. Reconstitution of lethally irradiated apoE−/− mice with NOR1-deficient hematopoietic stem cells accelerated atherosclerosis formation and macrophage recruitment following feeding a diet enriched in saturated fat. NOR1 deficiency in hematopoietic stem cells induced splenomegaly and monocytosis, specifically the abundance of inflammatory Ly6C+ monocytes. Bone marrow transplantation studies further confirmed that NOR1 suppresses the proliferation of macrophage and dendritic progenitor (MDP) cells. Expression analysis identified RUNX1, a critical regulator of hematopoietic stem cell expansion, as a target gene suppressed by NOR1 in MDP cells. Finally, in addition to inducing Ly6C+ monocytosis, NOR1 deletion increased the replicative rate of lesional macrophages and induced local foam cell formation within the atherosclerotic plaque. Collectively, our studies demonstrate that NOR1 deletion in hematopoietic stem cells accelerates atherosclerosis formation by promoting myelopoiesis in the stem cell compartment and by inducing local proatherogenic activities in the macrophage, including lesional macrophage proliferation and foam cell formation. Stem Cells  2014;32:2419–2429
There Is More to a Paradox Than Credence
Authors: Darby George , Landes Jürgen ,   Philosophy Documentation Center
Published: May 2014

Besides the usual business of solving paradoxes, there has been recent philosophical work on their essential nature. Lycan characterises a paradox as “an inconsistent set of propositions, each of which is very plausible.” Building on this definition, Paseau offers a numerical measure of paradoxicality of a set of principles: a function of the degrees to which a subject believes the principles considered individually (all typically high) and of the degree to which the subject believes the principles considered together (typically low).We argue (a) that Paseau’s measure fails to score certain paradoxes properly and (b) that this failure is not due to the particular measure but rather that any such function just of credences fails to adequately capture paradoxicality. Our analysis leads us to conclude that Lycan’s definition also fails to capture the notion of paradox.