cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
An algorithm directed computer aided software engineering (CASE) environment for C.
Creators: name: Ouerd, Messaouda.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1990
Subjects: subject: Computer Science.

description: The objectives of computer aided software engineering (CASE) systems are to improve productivity during the software development process and the quality of software using software engineering concepts via automation of the software development life cycle. This will result in a reusable software and will decrease the cost and time of software development and maintenance. The main concern in this thesis is with describing the features of a particular software understanding environment for C. An algorithm directed computer aided software engineering environment for C language has been developed and implemented. The system has been implemented on a Sun Workstation using the Sunview window interface. It provides computer aided software engineering tools which: (1) Assist the user in developing structured algorithms for procedural languages; (2) Automatically transform a structured algorithm into a corresponding program; (3) Redocument the resulting C program (or any C program developed using any other technique) in an organized representation.
A sociocultural perspective of professional transition in occupational therapy
Creators: name: Toal-Sullivan, Darene
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2003
Subjects: subject: Health Sciences, Rehabilitation and Therapy.
subject: Education, Adult and Continuing.

description: This qualitative study explored the experience of professional transition from student to practitioner among six Canadian occupational therapists in the first year of their career, with a focus on how beginning practitioners learn about doing practice. A sociocultural theory of learning provided the framework to understand the role of context and activity in learning. Data collection consisted of two semi-structured interviews and a series of journal entries. An initial interview was conducted with each participant beginning in their third to fifth month of practice to discover their perception of transition, their learning needs, and the role of collaborative interactions in supporting their learning. Each participant then maintained a journal of their experience of transition and their learning experiences for one month A second interview was held with the participants in their eighth to tenth month of practice, which focussed on their change in knowledge and skills. The transitional experiences of the research participants revealed that the support of colleagues and peers was critical to their learning and eased their adjustment to practice. They preferred to learn from an experienced occupational therapist, and the availability of this support influenced the new practitioners' choice of their first job. In their initial months of practice they struggled with their lack of practical experience, responsibilities of client care, challenges to client-centred practice and competing work demands. Their relationship with clients was particularly valuable to the participants' learning and professional identity. Mentoring and implementing practical learning experiences in the university curriculum were suggested as strategies for easing the transition from student to therapist. The role of client interaction as a valuable source of learning was also recognized.
Linear and nonlinear deflection analysis of thick rectangular plates using finite differences.
Creators: name: Bencharif, Nasr-Eddine.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1992
Subjects: subject: Engineering, Civil.

description: Variational methods are widely used for the solution of complex differential equations in mechanics for which exact solutions are not possible. The finite difference method, although well known as an efficient numerical method was applied in the past only for the solution of linear and nonlinear thin plates. In the present study, the suitability of the method for the solution of nonlinear deflection of thick plates is studied for the first time. While there is major differences between small deflection and large deflection plate theories, the former can be treated as a particular case of the latter, when the centre deflection of the plate is less than or equal to 0.2-0.25 of the thickness of the plate. The finite difference method as applied here is a modified finite difference approach to the ordinary finite difference method generally used for the solution of thin plate problems. In this thesis thin plates are treated as a particular case of the corresponding thick plate when the boundary conditions of the plates are taken into account. The method is first applied to investigate the deflection behaviour of square clamped and simply supported square isotropic thick plates. After the validity of the method is established, it is then extended to the solution of rectangular thick plates of various aspect ratios and thicknesses. Generally, beginning with the use of a limited number of mesh sizes for a given plate aspect ratio and boundary conditions, a general solution of the problem including the investigation of accuracy and convergence was extended to rectangular thick plates by providing more detailed functions satisfying the rectangular mesh sizes generated automatically by the programme. Whenever possible results of the present method are compared with the existing solutions in the technical literature obtained by much more laborious methods and close agreements are found. Significant amounts of results presented herein are not currently available in the technical literature for various plate aspect ratios and Poisson's ratios. The submatrices involved in the formation of the finite difference equations from the governing differential equations forming the general system are generated directly by the computer programme. The subroutine SOLINV from the second directed method as developed and illustrated in Chapter V takes care of the inversion of the general matrix. The subroutine developed by the author has been proven to be more efficient than the former methods known for the computation of linear simultaneous equations [61]. Simplicity in formulation and quick convergence are the obvious advantages of the finite difference formulation developed here for small and large deflection analysis of thick plate in comparison with other numerical methods requiring extensive computer facilities.
Highly regio and stereoselective hydroxy-directed Diels-Alder reaction.
Creators: name: Thomas, Jermaine D. O.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2002
Subjects: subject: Chemistry, Organic.

description: The Diels-Alder reaction has proven to be an invaluable tool in the arsenal of the synthetic organic chemist for the relatively facile construction of cyclic cores. However, the utility of this reaction is not without its shortcomings. Lack of regio and stereoselectivity are two problems that are often encountered with asymmetric dienophiles. Although Lewis acids have been successfully employed to control the selectivity of Diels-Alder reactions involving activated dienophiles, there is little precedent in the literature for their use with dienes containing a tertiary alcohol functionality, due to elimination complications. To this end, a new method has been developed, and reported herein, for the control of both the regio and facial selectivity of the Diels-Alder reaction via a Lewis acid tether to the dienophile directed by the tertiary alcohol on the diene.* *Please refer to dissertation for diagrams.
Lignin valorization: lignin nanoparticles as high-value bio-additive for multifunctional nanocomposites
Creators: name: Tian, Dong
name: Hu, Jinguang
name: Bao, Jie
name: Chandra, Richard P.
name: Saddler, J. N. (John N.), 1953-
name: Lu, Canhui
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2017

description: Background: Although conversion of low value but high-volume lignin by-product to its usable form is one of the determinant factors for building an economically feasible integrated lignocellulose biorefinery, it has been challenged by its structural complexity and inhomogeneity. We and others have shown that uniform lignin nanoparticles can be produced from a wide range of technical lignins, despite the varied lignocellulosic biomass and the pretreatment methods/conditions applied. This value-added nanostructure lignin enriched with multifunctional groups can be a promising versatile material platform for various downstream utilizations especially in the emerging nanocomposite fields. Results: Inspired by the story of successful production and application of nanocellulose biopolymer, two types of uniform lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) were prepared through self-assembling of deep eutectic solvent (DES) and ethanol-organosolv extracted technical lignins derived from a two-stage fractionation pretreatment approach, respectively. Both LPNs exhibited sphere morphology with unique core–shell nanostructure, where the DES–LNPs showed a more uniform particle size distribution. When incorporated into the traditional polymeric matrix such as poly(vinyl alcohol), these LPN products displayed great potential to formulate a transparent nanocomposite film with additional UV-shielding efficacy (reached ~80% at 400 nm with 4 wt% of LNPs) and antioxidant functionalities (reached ~160 μm mol Trolox g−1 with 4 wt% of LNPs). At the same time, the abundant phenolic hydroxyl groups on the shell of LNPs also provided good interfacial adhesion with PVA matrix through the formation of hydrogen bonding network, which further improved the mechanical and thermal performances of the fabricated LNPs/PVA nanocomposite films. Conclusions: Both LNPs are excellent candidates for producing multifunctional polymer nanocomposites using facile technical route. The prepared transparent and flexible LNPs/PVA composite films with high UV-shielding efficacy, antioxidant activity, and biocompatibility are promising in the advanced packaging field, which potentially provides an additional high-value lignin product stream to the lignocellulose biorefinery. This study could open the door for the production and application of novel LNPs in the nascent bioeconomy. Graphical abstract Lignin nanoparticle for transparent nanocomposite film with UV-shielding efficacy
Montreal jazz vocalists: The relationship between their status and improvisation, and the canons of jazz.
Creators: name: Beausoleil-Morrison, Rachel Chantal.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1999
Subjects: subject: Music.

description: This thesis deals with jazz singing as it is experienced in Montreal. It examines the interplay between social and musical aspects of vocal jazz. The first chapter deals with the canons of jazz, that is, the established standards within or against which jazz singers construct their vision of vocal jazz. The second chapter examines the status of singers within the larger jazz community, and that of the voice within the jazz ensemble. The third chapter deals with the musical practices of vocalists and techniques in vocal improvisation. This thesis shows how the status of jazz vocalists is inextricably tied to issues of gender and race, and is therefore embroiled in the politics of representation of the jazz world. It also shows that jazz vocalists have been largely dismissed in these politics, and in the process, the specificity of their contribution and means of transmission have hardly been documented. The focus of this study on vocal jazz in Montreal aims to fill this gap in the literature. It also aims to promote the recognition and appreciation of the complexities and subtleties of jazz singing.
The cost-effectiveness of screening for hepatocellular carcinoma in hepatitis C-related cirrhosis.
Creators: name: Dubé, Jeanne Catherine.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1999
Subjects: subject: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery.

description: Background. Approximately four minion individuals in the United States are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The relative risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis is at least 7 to 10 times that of the general population. The majority of patients who develop symptoms from HCC harbour tumors that are at an advanced and rapidly fatal stage. Screening has therefore been advocated as a mean of reducing cancer-related deaths. Objective. To determine, from a Canadian perspective, the cost-effectiveness of screening for HCC with biannual liver ultrasound (US) and alpha foetoprotein levels (AFP) in patients with well compensated hepatitis C-related cirrhosis. Methods. Decision analysis with a Markov model was used to simulate a cohort of 3 500 patients with compensated HCV related cirrhosis who would either be screened biannually with US and AFP or be followed expectantly. Therapeutic alternatives included surgical resection and percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI). The probabilities of clinical events were extracted from a systematic review of the literature on HCC and hepatitis C in Western patients; costs were determined from a third party payer perspective, in 1997 Canadian dollars; utilities were generated from a computerized interview of members of the general public; costs and utilities were discounted at 3% per year. Results. Screening is associated with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 6 820 dollars per quality-adjusted life year ($/QALY). Screening was an economically attractive strategy over the entire range of possible values of all variables. Conclusion. Screening for HCC with liver US and AFP in hepatitis C-related cirrhosis is a highly cost-effective strategy, even in populations with a low incidence of HCC.
Price patterns in an oligopoly with switching cost and uncertain demand
Creators: name: ZAWISZA, Mateusz
name: KAMIŃSKI, Bogumił
Publisher: name: Wrocław University of Technology, Wrocław University of Economics, Polish Operational and Systems Research Society
Year: 2013
Subjects: price competition, switching cost, agent-based modeling, uncertain demand, price volatility

description: OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND DECISIONS; ISSN 2081-8858
Chromaffin cell scinderin, a novel calcium dependent actin severing protein.
Creators: name: Jeyapragasan, Manjula.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1990
Subjects: subject: Chemistry, Biochemistry.

description: The study describes the purification and characterization of a novel Ca$\sp{2+}$ activated actin severing protein, scinderin present in the chromaffin cell of the adrenal medulla. Scinderin has been purified to homogeneity using a combination of chromatographic procedures. The protein has an apparent molecular weight of 79,600 $\pm$ 450 daltons, three isoforms and two calcium binding sites; a high affinity site, and a low affinity site. Scinderin interacts with F-actin in the presence of Ca$\sp{2+}$ and produces a decrease in the viscosity of actin gels as a result of F-actin filament severing as demonstrated by electron microscopy. Scinderin is a structurally and immunologically different protein from chromaffin cell gelsolin. This protein is mainly located in the subplasmalemma region of the chromaffin cell. Presence of scinderin and gelsolin, two Ca$\sp{2+}$ dependent actin severing proteins in the same cell suggests the possibility of synergistic functions by the two proteins in the control of cellular actin filament networks. Alternatively, the actin severing activity of the two proteins might be under the control of different transduction and modulating influences. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Palliative Care in Nursing Homes During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
Creators: name: Ninteau, Kacy Jordan
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2021
Subjects: COVID-19
Hospice Care
Nursing Homes
Palliative Care

description: COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has a devastating impact on older adults, especially those who live in nursing home facilities. Palliative care, a medical specialty which addresses suffering induced by serious illness, is a potentially powerful tool for managing the devastating effects of COVID-19 in this population. Yet, the crisis amplified existing barriers to palliative care in nursing homes, as well as created novel barriers to this type of care. This study reports the results of exploratory, qualitative interviews with six Directors of Nursing (DONs) in Massachusetts nursing home facilities. Overall, we found that facilitators of palliative care include knowledge diffusion from outside providers, in-house staff certified in palliative care/hospice, and high-quality advance care planning conversations. We also report that many residents signed do-not-hospitalize orders and opted to receive in-house palliative care rather than being hospitalized for symptoms of COVID-19 or other serious illnesses during this crisis. Finally, a lack of personal staff knowledge around palliative care, a lack of PPE, insufficient guidelines from regulatory agencies, facility lockdowns, and patient isolation acted as barriers to palliative care during this time. Future work should focus on improving in-house staff’s ability to deliver palliative care without relying on outside providers. This will likely decrease the time residents wait to receive palliative care, lower hospitalization rates, and make in-house staff more prepared for future crises which require facility lockdowns
Surgical frailty assessment: a missed opportunity
Creators: name: Eamer, Gilgamesh
name: Gibson, Jennifer A.
name: Gillis, Chelsia
name: Hsu, Amy T.
name: Krawczyk, Marian
name: MacDonald, Emily
name: Whitlock, Reid
name: Khadaroo, Rachel G.
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2018

description: Background: Preoperative frailty predicts adverse postoperative outcomes. Despite the advantages of incorporating frailty assessment into surgical settings, there is limited research on surgical healthcare professionals’ use of frailty assessment for perioperative care. Methods: Healthcare professionals caring for patients enrolled at a Canadian teaching hospital were surveyed to assess their perceptions of frailty, as well as attitudes towards and practices for frail patients. The survey contained open-ended and 5-point Likert scale questions. Responses were compared across professions using independent sample t-tests and correlations between survey items were analyzed. Results: Nurses and allied health professionals were more likely than surgeons to think frailty should play a role in planning a patient’s care (nurses vs. surgeons p = 0.008, allied health vs. surgeons p = 0.014). Very few respondents (17.5%) reported that they ‘always used’ a frailty assessment tool. Results from qualitative data analysis identified four main barriers to frailty assessment: institutional, healthcare system, professional knowledge, and patient/family barriers. Conclusion: Across all disciplines, the lack of knowledge about frailty issues was a prominent barrier to the use of frailty assessments in practice, despite clinicians’ understanding that frailty affects their patients’ outcomes. Confidence in frailty assessment tool use through education and addressing barriers to implementation may increase use and improve patient care. Healthcare professionals agree that frailty assessments should play a role in perioperative care. However, few perform them in practice. Lack of knowledge about frailty is a key barrier in the use of frailty assessments and the majority of respondents agreed that they would benefit from further training.
Acute effects of ferumoxytol on regulation of renal hemodynamics and oxygenation
Creators: name: Cantow, Kathleen
name: Pohlmann, Andreas
name: Flemming, Bert
name: Ferrara, Fabienne
name: Waiczies, Sonia
name: Grosenick, Dirk
name: Niendorf, Thoralf
name: Seeliger, Erdmann
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: The superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle ferumoxytol is increasingly used as intravascular contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study details the impact of ferumoxytol on regulation of renal hemodynamics and oxygenation. In 10 anesthetized rats, a single intravenous injection of isotonic saline (used as volume control) was followed by three consecutive injections of ferumoxytol to achieve cumulative doses of 6, 10, and 41 mg Fe/kg body mass. Arterial blood pressure, renal blood flow, renal cortical and medullary perfusion and oxygen tension were continuously measured. Regulation of renal hemodynamics and oxygenation was characterized by dedicated interventions: brief periods of suprarenal aortic occlusion, hypoxia, and hyperoxia. None of the three doses of ferumoxytol resulted in significant changes in any of the measured parameters as compared to saline. Ferumoxytol did not significantly alter regulation of renal hemodynamics and oxygenation as studied by aortic occlusion and hypoxia. The only significant effect of ferumoxytol at the highest dose was a blunting of the hyperoxia-induced increase in arterial pressure. Taken together, ferumoxytol has only marginal effects on the regulation of renal hemodynamics and oxygenation. This makes ferumoxytol a prime candidate as contrast agent for renal MRI including the assessment of renal blood volume fraction.
Lake level variations and global hydrological change: A spatio-temporal analysis.
Creators: name: Viau, André E.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1999
Subjects: subject: Physical Geography.

description: Variations in the global hydrological cycle occur at many time and space scales. An important source of evidence about past variations in the hydrological balance are records of lake level fluctuations. The spatial extent and depth of a lake varies in response to changes In the water balance over its surface and catchment. These variations may result from local factors or climate change. However, spatial climatically-induced patterns can be identified when most lakes in a region change in a similar way. A global lake-level database was constructed from three previously developed databases, and used to investigate large-scale patterns present in the lake-level data during the Holocene. Using the geostatistical approach, regional patterns were objectively identified by examining the spatial correlation between sites and gridded using ordinary and indicator kriging at 3,000 year intervals. These maps were produced using two assumptions. First, the data were used under the assumption that climate is continuous in space, and hence, the data were treated as spatial continuous interval data. Then, the data were used under the assumption that the data is spatial categorical and that the classes are mutually exclusive. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Cloning and characterization of Xenopus laevis insulin receptor substrate (xIRS-u) and progesterone receptor (xPR).
Creators: name: Bayaa, Mustafa.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2001
Subjects: subject: Chemistry, Biochemistry.

description: Xenopus laevis oocytes are physiologically arrested at G2 of meiosis I. Resumption of meiosis, or oocyte maturation, is triggered in vivo by progesterone, and in vitro by many hormones, such as insulin. Downstream of IGF-1 receptor activation is the activity of docking proteins such as xIRS-1 and xIRS-u. Sequence analysis suggested that xIRS-u was a novel member of the IRS family rather than a Xenopus homolog of an existing member. The cloned xIRS-u cDNA contains an amino-terminal pleckstrin homology (PH) domain and phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domain. The carboxy terminus of xIRS-u contains several potential Src homology 2 (SH2)-binding sites, five such sites are potential binding sites for phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (YM/LXM). It also contains a putative binding site for Grb2 (YINID). The injection of xIRS-u mRNA accelerated insulin-induced MAP kinase activation and oocyte maturation. An amino-terminal deletion of the PH domain reduced the ability of xIRS-u to potentiate insulin signaling. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Even a virtual synchronous classroom has walls: There's more to collective meaning making than the technology
Creators: name: Thompson, Terrie Lynn
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2003
Subjects: subject: Education, Technology of.

description: The parade of new technologies is relentless. Are newer learning paradigms, such as sociocultural perspectives, reflected in the design and delivery of e-learning experiences? Studying the triad of stakeholders involved in a workplace e-learning experience---learners, adult educators, and software developers---I explored how technology, workplace context, and assumptions about learning influence collective meaning making. The setting for this qualitative case study was a multi-national organization using a sophisticated web-based technology. Multiple data collection methods helped construct a multifaceted understanding of teaching and learning in the virtual synchronous classroom (VSC). The findings point to the gap between contemporary learning research and the use of e-learning technologies, highlighting that the human and contextual dimensions ultimately define the nature of the learning. Through communities of practice, sociocultural perspectives allow us to envision how the VSC could shape more dynamic learning that extends beyond the walls of a classroom---physical or virtual.
Wikipedia en de Koninklijke Bibliotheek - samen een wereldwijd bereik, 27-02-2014
Creators: name: Janssen, Olaf
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: GLAMwiki
Wikimedia
Wikipedia
KB, national library of the Netherlands
Koninklijke Bibliotheek
Olaf Janssen
GLAM
publieksbereik
public outreach
digital cultural heritage

description: Nederlands:  Dit artikel legt uit hoe het internationale Wikipedia-netwerk er voor zorgt dat de visuele en tekstuele bronnen (uit diensten) van de KB wereldwijd gezien en gelezen worden. De KB en Wikipedia zorgen er dus samen voor dat de Nederlandse geschiedenis, cultuur en samenleving tot ver buiten de landsgrenzen verspreid, bekeken en bekend wordt.

 

English:  This article explains how the international Wikipedia network ensures that the visual and textual sources (from services) of the KB are seen and read worldwide. The KB and Wikipedia together ensure that Dutch history, culture and society are spread, viewed and known far beyond the national borders.
Positive Feedback Promotes Oscillations in Negative Feedback Loops
Creators: name: Ananthasubramaniam, Bharath
name: Herzel, Hanspeter
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik::570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie::570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie

description: A simple three-component negative feedback loop is a recurring motif in biochemical oscillators. This motif oscillates as it has the three necessary ingredients for oscillations: a three-step delay, negative feedback, and nonlinearity in the loop. However, to oscillate, this motif under the common Goodwin formulation requires a high degree of cooperativity (a measure of nonlinearity) in the feedback that is biologically “unlikely.” Moreover, this recurring negative feedback motif is commonly observed augmented by positive feedback interactions. Here we show that these positive feedback interactions promote oscillation at lower degrees of cooperativity, and we can thus unify several common kinetic mechanisms that facilitate oscillations, such as self- activation and Michaelis-Menten degradation. The positive feedback loops are most beneficial when acting on the shortest lived component, where they function by balancing the lifetimes of the different components. The benefits of multiple positive feedback interactions are cumulative for a majority of situations considered, when benefits are measured by the reduction in the cooperativity required to oscillate. These positive feedback motifs also allow oscillations with longer periods than that determined by the lifetimes of the components alone. We can therefore conjecture that these positive feedback loops have evolved to facilitate oscillations at lower, kinetically achievable, degrees of cooperativity. Finally, we discuss the implications of our conclusions on the mammalian molecular clock, a system modeled extensively based on the three-component negative feedback loop.
title: Red Flags
title: Clinical Signs for Identifying Autoimmune Encephalitis in Psychiatric Patients
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Herken, Julia
name: Pruess, Harald
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: autoimmune encephalitis
subject: schizophreniform syndrome
subject: cerebrospinal fluid analysis
subject: anti-neuronal autoantibodies
subject: immunotherapy
subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Autoimmune mechanisms causing diverse psychiatric symptoms are increasingly recognized and brought about a paradigm shift in neuropsychiatry. Identification of underlying antibodies against neuronal ion channels or receptors led to the speculation that a number of patients go misdiagnosed with a primary psychiatric disease. However, there is no clear consensus which clinical signs in psychiatric patients should prompt further investigations including measurement of anti-neuronal autoantibodies. We therefore aimed to analyze the presenting symptoms in patients with autoimmune encephalitis and the time between symptom onset and initiation of antibody diagnostics. For this, we recruited 100 patients from the Charité Center for Autoimmune Encephalitis between May and October 2016, including all types of autoimmune encephalitides. Psychiatric abnormalities were the most common clinical symptoms and were the presenting sign in 60%. One-third of patients were initially hospitalized in a psychiatric ward. All patients positive for antibodies against the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor showed behavioral changes, hallucinations, memory deficits, catatonia, or delusions. Patients positive for antibodies against other cell surface or intracellular antigens were often hospitalized with a psychosomatic diagnosis. The time between occurrence of first symptoms and antibody testing was often alarmingly prolonged. In patients with symptom onset between 2013 and 2016, the mean delay was 74 days, in cases diagnosed between 2007 and 2012 even 483 days, suggesting though that increased awareness of this novel disease group helped to expedite proper diagnosis and treatment. By analyzing the medical records in detail, we identified clinical signs that may help to assist in earlier diagnosis, including seizures, catatonia, autonomic instability, or hyperkinesia. Indeed, reanalyzing the whole cohort using these “red flags” led to a 58% reduction of time between symptom onset and diagnosis. We conclude that the timely diagnosis of an autoimmune psychiatric disease can be facilitated by use of the described clinical warning signs, likely enabling earlier immunotherapy and better prognosis. Also, the threshold for cerebrospinal fluid analysis and autoantibody testing should be low.
Preferences for pre-exposure prophylaxis delivery among HIV-negative pregnant and breastfeeding women in Zambia: evidence from a discrete choice experiment
Creators: name: Bosomprah S
name: Arije O
name: Igumbor J
name: Mutale W
name: Hamoonga TE
name: Chi BH
Publisher: name: Frontiers Media SA
Year: 2024

description: Introduction: Pregnant and breastfeeding women at substantial risk for HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa can benefit from biomedical interventions such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We estimated the benefit that pregnant and breastfeeding women may derive from PrEP service delivery in order to guide PrEP roll-out in the target population in Zambia. Methods: Between September and December 2021, we conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE) among a convenient sample of 389 pregnant and breastfeeding women not living with HIV in Lusaka, Zambia. Women aged 18 years or older, with a documented negative HIV result in their antenatal card responded to a structured questionnaire containing 12 choice sets on service delivery attributes of PrEP: waiting time at the facility, travel time to the facility dispensing PrEP, location for PrEP pick-up, health care provider attitude and PrEP supply at each refill. Mixed logit regression analysis was used to determine the participant’s willingness to trade off one attribute of PrEP for the other at a 5% significance level. Willingness to wait (WTW) was used to determine the relative utility derived from each attribute against waiting time. Results: Waiting time at the facility, travel time to the facility, health care provider attitude and amount of PrEP supply at each refill were important attributes of PrEP service delivery (all p < 0.01). Participants preferred less waiting time at the facility (β = −0.27, p < 0.01). Women demonstrated a strong preference for a 3-months’ supply of PrEP (β=1.69, p < 0.01). They were willing to wait for 5 h at the facility, walk for more than an hour to a facility dispensing PrEP, encounter a health care provider with a negative attitude in order to receive PrEP enough for 3 months. Conclusion: Patient-centered approaches can help to inform the design and implementation of PrEP services among pregnant and breastfeeding women. In this study, we found that a reduction in clinic visits—including through multimonth dispensing of PrEP—could improve uptake of services in antenatal and postnatal settings.
Molecular and neuronal mechanisms underlying rapid experience-dependent plasticity in a single thermosensory neuron
Creators: name: Hill, Tyler J
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2024
Subjects: AFD
C. elegans
cGMP-gated channel
receptor guanylyl cyclase
Sensory Adaptation
Thermosensation

description: For optimal survival, animals must be able to respond robustly and flexibly to a dynamic sensory environment. Sensory systems must be able to adapt rapidly to receive and transmit relevant information in an experience and context-dependent manner. Since temperature is a key variable that informs nearly all physiological processes, thermosensory systems must maintain accurate representation of the thermosensory environment. Although much is now known about sensory transduction pathways, there are still questions unanswered about the mechanisms by which thermosensory neurons respond and adapt to changes in temperature. Using the small nematode C. elegans, I have characterized molecular mechanisms that work to maintain the high sensitivity of the thermosensory AFD neurons over a wide dynamic range. Specifically, I show that individual thermosensory guanylyl cyclases expressed in this neuron exhibit distinct modes of plasticity upon short-term temperature experience, perhaps driven by differential regulation of conserved phosphorylation sites on these proteins. I also show that there are cGMP and calcium-dependent feedback mechanisms that are integral for AFD response threshold plasticity. Upon calcium influx into the neuron, the neuronal calcium sensor NCS-2 acts to modulate basal cGMP levels through interactions with the thermosensory guanylyl cyclases. Increased cyclase activity upon upwards temperature shifts activates the cGMP-dependent protein kinases EGL-4 and PKG-2, which phosphorylate the CNG-3 α subunit to raise the cGMP threshold of the channel. My data suggest a model in which these mechanisms all act in tandem to mediate the rapid shift of the AFD response threshold upon short-term temperature experience.
Differences in CD44 Surface Expression Levels and Function Discriminates IL-17 and IFN-γ Producing Helper T Cells
Creators: name: Schumann, Julia
name: Stanko, Katarina
name: Schliesser, Ulrike
name: Appelt, Christine
name: Sawitzki, Birgit
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: CD44 is a prominent activation marker which distinguishes memory and effector T cells from their naïve counterparts. It also plays a role in early T cell signaling events as it is bound to the lymphocyte-specific protein kinase and thereby enhances T cell receptor signalling. Here, we investigated whether IFN-γ and IL-17 producing T helper cells differ in their CD44 expression and their dependence of CD44 for differentiation. Stimulation of CD4+ T cells with allogeneic dendritic cells resulted in the formation of three distinguishable populations: CD44+, CD44++ and CD44+++. In vitro and in vivo generated allo- reactive IL-17 producing T helper cells were mainly CD44+++ as compared to IFN-γ+ T helper cells, which were CD44++. This effect was enhanced under polarizing conditions. T helper 17 polarization led to a shift towards the CD44+++ population, whereas T helper 1 polarization diminished this population. Furthermore, blocking CD44 decreased IL-17 secretion, while IFN-γ was barely affected. Titration experiments revealed that low T cell receptor and CD28 stimulation supported T helper 17 rather than T helper 1 development. Under these conditions CD44 could act as a co-stimulatory molecule and replace CD28. Indeed, rested CD44+++CD4+ T cells contained already more total and especially phosphorylated zeta-chain-associated protein kinase 70 as compared to CD44++ cells. Our results support the notion, that CD44 enhances T cell receptor signaling strength by delivering lymphocyte-specific protein kinase, which is required for induction of IL-17 producing T helper cells.
Maternal blood contamination of collected cord blood can be identified using DNA methylation at three CpGs
Creators: name: Morin, Alexander M.
name: Gatev, Evan
name: McEwen, Lisa M.
name: MacIsaac, Julia L.
name: Lin, David T. S.
name: Koen, Nastassja
name: Czamara, Darina
name: Räikkönen, Katri
name: Zar, Heather J.
name: Koenen, Karestan
name: Stein, Dan J.
name: Kobor, Michael S. (Geneticist)
name: Jones, Meaghan J.
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2017

description: Background: Cord blood is a commonly used tissue in environmental, genetic, and epigenetic population studies due to its ready availability and potential to inform on a sensitive period of human development. However, the introduction of maternal blood during labor or cross-contamination during sample collection may complicate downstream analyses. After discovering maternal contamination of cord blood in a cohort study of 150 neonates using Illumina 450K DNA methylation (DNAm) data, we used a combination of linear regression and random forest machine learning to create a DNAm-based screening method. We identified a panel of DNAm sites that could discriminate between contaminated and non-contaminated samples, then designed pyrosequencing assays to pre-screen DNA prior to being assayed on an array. Results: Maternal contamination of cord blood was initially identified by unusual X chromosome DNA methylation patterns in 17 males. We utilized our DNAm panel to detect contaminated male samples and a proportional amount of female samples in the same cohort. We validated our DNAm screening method on an additional 189 sample cohort using both pyrosequencing and DNAm arrays, as well as 9 publically available cord blood 450K data sets. The rate of contamination varied from 0 to 10% within these studies, likely related to collection specific methods. Conclusions: Maternal blood can contaminate cord blood during sample collection at appreciable levels across multiple studies. We have identified a panel of markers that can be used to identify this contamination, either post hoc after DNAm arrays have been completed, or in advance using a targeted technique like pyrosequencing.
Deconstruction and relativism.
Creators: name: William, Joseph.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1998
Subjects: subject: Philosophy.

description: During the last fifteen years a revival of philosophical interest has gathered strength in the thesis of relativism. It is not uncommon, for example, to find accusations to the effect that Rorty, Putnam, Quine, foucault, Kuhn, Gadamer, Lyotard, Derrida and many others are guilty of propounding relativism. For many people, Derrida's deconstructionsm is a splendid example of the drift towards relativism. The problem, however, is that no one has yet explained in any detail how and why deconstruction entails relativism, and Derrida himself rejects outright the claim that a relationship obtains between deconstruction and relativism. The central goal of this study is to settle this problem by explicating the nature of the relationship between deconstruction and relativism. The object of my research is two-fold. Firstly and most importantly, the thesis will attempt to show that Derrida's deconstructionism does in fact entail an unconstrained version of relativism. To achieve this, I shall examine in some detail the nature of the key terms, such as "differance", "trace," "supplement," etc., that are used by Derrida in deconstructing texts. The nature of these terms, I shall argue, entail a relativistic standpoint. Secondly, the thesis will attempt to show that Derrida's brand of relativism is incoherent. In particular, I propose to examine some of the main arguments and counterarguments in the debate between the proponents and detractors of relativism, and then argue that the common ground argument (which is sometimes also called the common world argument) is effective against Derrida's brand of relativism and, I shall urge, against relativism in general. In summary, I propose to show that by making the connection between deconstruction and relativism, we see more clearly what Derrida's deconstructionism represents, namely, an ultimately incoherent brand of relativism. This approach will go some way towards establishing the claim that the influence exerted by deconstruction on the contemporary intellectual scene is philosophically untenable.
Variation on motherhood in Woolf, Lawrence, and Joyce.
Creators: name: Totev, Stela Kostova.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2002
Subjects: subject: Literature, Modern.

description: Woolf, Lawrence, and Joyce all have a deep interest in the problem of the mother, and especially in the problem of the mother figured as a problem of the self. The main focus of their work is the identity of the self and how problematic it is to find or preserve that identity. In this quest, they raise some of the general concerns of modernism about origins. Since origins are a major aspect of self-definition, here is where the problem of motherhood begins. This thesis explores the mother figure as seen through the psychoanalytical lens of Freud. By using such Freudian concepts as narcissism, melancholy, and the death instinct, it focuses on the mother figure as she relates to the child or child figures, to the world, and to her own function as a mother and shows how Woolf, Lawrence, and Joyce cooperate with Freud in defining for mothers a central role in the modern self's investigations of its origins. For Woolf, Lawrence, and Joyce, the mother figure is something other than a specific person. Although the actual mother in the novels I study is physically out of reach, she is still present as a psychological projection of the self, so that even though the self can grow out of its biological need for the mother, it is impossible to grow out of the epistemological need for her. Thus, my analyses of the mother figure are concerned with what the mother is not, or should not be---since inheritance, history, and identity can emerge only if there is something beyond the mother as a specific person, some continuity leading from the mother outward to what is beyond her. And it is precisely this function of continuity, rather than the individual physical experience of having a child, that I define as motherhood proper. All three authors investigate the relationship of a specific female human being to motherhood, and the degree to which the mother as a concrete human being is more, less, or other than motherhood, as well as the ways in which motherhood is something more than the individual. The mother figure is ontologically dead/unavailable as origin for Woolf, physically dead/sexually unavailable for Lawrence, and historically dead/unavailable as inheritance for Joyce. For Woolf, there are doubts that the mother ever existed in the past (lack of continuity); for Lawrence, that she exists in the present (lack of contemporaneity); and for Joyce, that she will be reincarnated in the future (lack of chronology). But in all three of them, motherhood emerges as problematic and ambivalent, and, if its status and authority are restored, it is only through the struggle and growth of the individual self.
Organizing Everywhere: How Social Media and Relational Organizing are Redefining Political Participation in the Digital Age
Creators: name: Newman, Holly DeWolf
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2022
Subjects: campaigns
elections
social media
relational organizing
volunteering
covid-19
pandemic
youth activism
activism
political organizing
Political Participation

description: Social media and digital tools have changed not only the ways that political campaigns interact with voters externally, but also the ways that campaigns organize themselves internally. The COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique opportunity to examine the impacts of digitization on campaign tactics and organization structures in a digital work environment, and to study the effects of the pandemic and broader changes in digital campaign strategies on political participation trends. The novel concept of ‘relational organizing’ has also had significant implications for how campaigns engage with communities as well as how campaign participants engage with one another. This study synthesizes emerging trends in digital campaign strategies, social media norms, and relational organizing theories within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic to contribute to academic conceptions of political participation in a newly digital environment.
title: Bacterial Meningitis
title: A Density-Equalizing Mapping Analysis of the Global Research Architecture
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Pleger, Niklas
name: Kloft, Beatrix
name: Quarcoo, David
name: Zitnik, Simona
name: Mache, Stefanie
name: Klingelhoefer, Doris
name: Groneberg, David A.
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Bacterial meningitis is caused by a variety of pathogens and displays an important public health threat all over the world. Despite the necessity to develop customized public health-related research projects, a thorough study of global meningitis research is not present, so far. Therefore, the aim of this study was a combined density-equalizing and scientometric study. To evaluate the scientific efforts of bibliometric methods, density-equalizing algorithms and large-scale data analysis of the Web of Science were applied in the period between 1900 and 2007. From this, 7998 publications on bacterial meningitis have been found. With a number of 2698, most publications have been written by U.S. authors, followed by the UK (912), Germany (749) and France (620). This dominance can also be shown in the international cooperation. The specific citation analyses reveal that the nation with the highest average citation rate (citations per publications) was Norway (26.36), followed by Finland (24.16) and the U.S. (24.06). This study illustrates the architecture of global research on bacterial meningitis and points to the need for customized research programs with a focus on local public health issues in countries with a low development index, but high incidences, to target this global public health problem.