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The complex communities of microbes that constitute the human microbiome are influenced by host and environmental factors. Here, we address how a fundamental aspect of human biology, blood type, contributes to shaping this microscopic ecosystem. Although this question remains largely unexplored, we glean insights from decades of work describing relationships between pathogens and blood type. The bacterial strategies, molecular mechanisms, and host responses that shaped those relationships may parallel those that characterize how blood type and commensals interact. Understanding these nuanced interactions will expand our capacity to analyze and manipulate the human microbiome.

Grounded in the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI), institutional theory, configuration theory, and technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, the study proposes a model incorporating factors in technological, organizational and environmental contexts that may influence an organization's decision to adopt big data strategies. Using survey data collected from Chinese companies, eight factors in three categories are tested utilizing a structural equation modeling (SEM) and Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The empirical results show that the factors relative advantage, technological competence, technology resources, support from top management, competitive pressure, and the regulatory environment all have a significant impact on the organizational adoption of big data. These findings contribute to the development of a better understanding of precisely how the big data diffusion process across industries functions in B2B practice.

To determine whether women overactive bladder symptoms would report more frequent unhealthy toileting behaviors.A community-based sample of adult women was electronically recruited to complete the Toileting Behavior Scale and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - Overactive Bladder module, as well as clinical and demographic questionnaires. The associations between overactive bladder and toileting behavior subscales were assessed as continuous variables using Spearman's rank correlation and as dichotomous variables with multivariable logistic regression.Of the 6562 adult women included in the analytic sample, 1059 (16.1%) were classified as having overactive bladder. Of the toileting behavior subscales, convenience voiding had the highest, positive association with overactive bladder score (r = 0.301, P.0001). On multivariable logistic regression, women with overactive bladder (OAB) were more likely to report behaviors of convenience voiding (odds ratio [OR] 1.13, confidence intervals [CI] 1.11-1.15), delayed voiding (OR 1.05, CI 1.02-1.08), straining to void (OR 1.05, CI 1.03-1.07), and position preference (OR 1.13, CI 1.08-1.18).OAB symptoms were associated with specific toileting behaviors of convenience voiding, delayed voiding, straining to void, and position preference. Further investigation is needed to determine if toileting behaviors are a risk factor for OAB or a compensatory adaptation to mitigate symptoms.

Dysbiosis, an imbalance in microbial communities, is linked with disease when this imbalance disturbs microbiota functions essential for maintaining health or introduces processes that promote disease. Dysbiosis in disease is predicted when microbiota differ compositionally from a healthy control population, but only truly defined when these differences are mechanistically related to adverse phenotypes. For the human gut microbiota, dysbiosis varies across diseases. One common manifestation is replacement of the complex community of anaerobes typical of the healthy adult gut microbiome with a community of lower overall microbial diversity and increased facultative anaerobes. Here we review diseases in which low-diversity dysbiosis has been observed and mechanistically linked with disease, with a particular focus on liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and Clostridium difficile infection.

BACKGROUND Food desensitization via oral immunotherapy (OIT) is gaining higher acceptance in clinical practice. Due to adverse reactions, the duration of the build-up phase until a maintenance dose is achieved may be prolonged, and in a minority of cases, OIT is stopped. OBJECTIVE We aimed to assess factors associated with the probability of reaching the maintenance dose in cow’s milk (CM) OIT. METHODS Data was collected from patients undergoing CM OIT at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, BC Children’s Hospital, and Hospital for Sick Children. We compared uni- and multivariable Cox regressions to evaluate sociodemographic factors, co-morbidities, clinical characteristics and biomarkers at study entry associated with the likelihood of reaching a maintenance dose of 200 mL of CM. RESULTS Among 69 children who reached 4 mL of milk, the median age was 12 years (Interquartile Range [IQR] 9-15) and 59% were male. The median duration of build-up phase from 4 mL to 200 mL was 24.0 weeks (IQR 17.7-33.4). After adjusting for age and sex, higher baseline levels of specific IgE (sIgE) antibodies for α-lactalbumin (ALA, hazard ratio [HR] 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.67-0.95), β-lactoglobulin (BLG, HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.76-0.98), casein (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.72-0.94), and total CM (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.65-0.97), were associated with a decreased probability of reaching maintenance. Additionally, for every increase of 10 mL CM tolerated at entry challenge, the probability of reaching maintenance increased by 10%. CONCLUSION The data suggest that higher levels of CM-sIgE decreased the likelihood of reaching maintenance, while an increased cumulative CM dose at entry challenge increased the likelihood. Assessing these factors prior to therapy may assist in predicting the success of CM OIT.

A big data analytics-enabled transformation model based on practice-based view is developed, which reveals the causal relationships among big data analytics capabilities, IT-enabled transformation practices, benefit dimensions, and business values. This model was then tested in healthcare setting. By analyzing big data implementation cases, we sought to understand how big data analytics capabilities transform organizational practices, thereby generating potential benefits. In addition to conceptually defining four big data analytics capabilities, the model offers a strategic view of big data analytics. Three significant path-to-value chains were identified for healthcare organizations by applying the model, which provides practical insights for managers.

The Singapore High Court decision in Re Taisoo Suk is a notable development of the law on cross-border insolvency for two reasons. First, the decision has implications on the relationship between the admiralty jurisdiction in Singapore and the Singapore court’s inherent powers in the context of cross-border insolvency. Second, it is the most recent in a series of cases breaking from Rubin v Eurofinance SA (Rubin) and developing Singapore’s common law authority to assist foreign insolvency proceedings. While Singapore subsequently adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (Model Law), the increased scope of the court’s inherent authority remains a flexible tool available to debtors and, whereas the Model Law’s adoption in the Companies Act (enacted 1967, amended 2017) does not extend to personal bankruptcy, the decision paved the way for common law recognition of foreign personal bankruptcy proceedings. The case also establishes persuasive precedent for jurisdictions seeking to adopt a more flexible common law approach.

An association between mucosa-adherent commensal bacteria and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been proposed for humans. There are no reports characterizing the mucosa-adherent duodenal microbiota in dogs with idiopathic IBD using molecular methods. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in the mucosa-adherent duodenal microbiota between dogs with idiopathic IBD and healthy dogs. Duodenal biopsy samples were collected from seven dogs with IBD and seven healthy control dogs. DNA was extracted, 16S ribosomal RNA genes were amplified and 16S rRNA gene clone libraries were constructed and compared between groups. A total of 1035 clones were selected, and based on a 98% similarity criterion, 133 unique phylotypes were identified across all dogs. These phylotypes belonged to seven bacterial phyla: Proteobacteria (52.9%), Firmicutes (26.1%), Bacteroidetes (7.7%), Actinobacteria (8.6%), Fusobacteria (4.4%), Tenericutes (0.2%) and Verrucomicrobia (0.1%). Significant differences were identified in the relative abundance of several bacterial groups between dogs with IBD and healthy dogs (p

Kirby RL, Corkum CG, Smith C, Rushton P, MacLeod DA, Webber A. Comparing performance of manual wheelchair skills using new and conventional rear anti-tip devices: randomized controlled trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2008;89: 480-5. Objective: To test the hypotheses that, compared with par- ticipants using manual wheelchairs equipped with conventional rear anti-tip devices (C-RADs), those using a new RAD design that deploys through an arc (Arc-RAD) perform RAD-relevant wheelchair skills better and as safely. Design: A randomized controlled study. Setting: A rehabilitation center. Participants: Participants (N30) including 16 able-bodied and 14 wheelchair users. Intervention: Participants were provided with wheelchair skills training (up to 2.4h). Main Outcome Measures: Total percentage score on a set of 23 RAD-relevant skills of the Wheelchair Skills Test (WST, version 3.2) administered a minimum of 3 days after training. Results: For the C-RAD and Arc-RAD groups, the mean standard deviation RAD-relevant WST scores were 32.3%8.5% and 85.1%18.9% (Kruskal-Wallis, P.001). Of the 23 RAD- relevant individual skills, the success rates for the Arc-RAD group were at least 20% higher (the criterion we set for clinical signif- icance) in 17 (74%). For the C-RAD group, the success rate was 0% for the 12 wheelie-dependent skills, the 13-cm -high obstacle, and the 15-cm level change ascent. There were no serious adverse effects in either group. Conclusions: The new RAD design allows much better performance on relevant wheelchair skills than the conven- tional design without compromising safety.

The thermal behavior of thin films of a homologous series of poly( n -alkyl methacrylate)s supported on silicon substrates was probed using spectroscopic ellipsometry. Deviations from bulk behavior for the glass transition temperature ( T g ) and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) were observed for films thinner than approximately 60 nm, consistent with most observations for confinement effects in polymer films. However, the extent of the decrease of CTE and the deviation in T g are significantly influenced by the alkyl chain length. As the alkyl chain length is increased from methyl to n -octyl, the deviation from bulk behavior is significantly suppressed. This behavior is similar to that observed by Torkelson and coworkers (Physical Review Letters 2004; 92: 095702) for polystyrene films as small molecule diluents were added; this behavior was attributed to the decrease in size of the cooperative segmental dynamics, ξ i (CRR), with addition of solvent. ξ i (CRR) decreases as the alkyl chain length is increased; this is consistent with the hypothesis for the relationship between ξ i (CRR) and confinement effects in thin polymer films. However, a two order of magnitude difference between the thickness of nanoconfinement onset and ξ i (CRR) for poly( n -octyl methacrylate) results in uncertainty for ξ i (CRR) as the origin of the nanoconfinement effect.

Organizations today face complex decision-making environments in which multiple perspectives must be considered. Mitroff and Linstone [The Unbounded Mind: Breaking the Chains of Traditional Business Thinking (1993) Oxford University Press, New York] developed Unbounded Systems Thinking (UST), of which multiple perspectives are an integral part. They suggest that, while the theory of applying multiple perspectives to decision-making and knowledge creation is sound and well researched, the implementation of multiple perspectives is difficult. It is maintained here that agent-oriented modeling can be used to design a system supporting multiple perspectives and to extend UST. This paper applies the Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) model of agents to UST to demonstrate the use of agent-oriented modeling to facilitate multiple perspective decision support.

Researchers have studied human speech interaction with computers for many years. Much of the focus in this area has been on creating better technical speech recognition (SR) systems, and almost all of the testing has centered on accuracy and productivity gains. However, there has been little study of other issues, such as user acceptance. This paper reports the results of an experiment investigating word generation rates, word error rates, and user acceptance of a speech recognition program as compared to typing. Although the subjects made more errors when using the speech recognition software, they were able to generate more than twice as much text in the same amount of time. However, this relative efficiency was not enough to overcome the inaccuracy and annoyance in fixing so many errors.

In an era of codification and statutory law, several states still rely on the common law to protect vital individual rights. As an example, New Jersey grounds its protection against self-incrimination in the common law, not its state constitution.In this Article, I compare two remarkably similar cases involving police deception during custodial interrogations — one before the Supreme Court of the United States and the other before the Supreme Court of New Jersey. The issue faced by each court was the admissibility of confessions obtained after police officers failed to inform a suspect that an attorney had been retained on his behalf, was present, and was seeking to advise him. The article explains the federal precedent by examining Moran v. Burbine, a 1986 Supreme Court decision. By comparing Moran with State v. Reed, a New Jersey Supreme Court decision nearing its twentieth anniversary — I explore (1) the methods used by state courts when departing from federal precedent, and (2) the efficacy of using the common law to do so. I posit that not only, was the court’s decision to base Reed on the common-law right against self-incrimination rather than resorting to constitutional adjudication legitimate, but that it was the better course of action. Indeed, I believe that New Jersey can serve as a model for other states in this regard. Not only does the court’s methodology conform to long-standing rules of judicial construction, it also affords a level of flexibility and reasonableness not available from broad constitutional pronouncements.

A growing number of plaintiff’s lawyers in digital copyright infringement cases are aggressively pursuing claims against even unlikely defendants. Most notably, in one case a seventy year old grandmother accused of pirating pornography. Furthermore, plaintiff’s lawyers state in settlement letters that “[t]he Internet Service Provider . . . account holder is responsible for securing [their] [wireless] connection and may be legally responsible for any infringement(s) that result from an unsecured wireless network/router,” even if a “spouse, child, roommate, employee, or business associate” committed the infringement. Some of these initial settlement letters even state that the affirmative defense of having an unsecured wireless network “has never been successfully argued, in multiple contexts, including child pornography and civil copyright infringements actions.” Recently negligent operation of a wireless network (WLAN) has also begun to appear as a cause of action in digital copyright infringement cases. One unnamed defendant (Doe 4) even agreed to pay $10,000 as part of a settlement in which he “acknowledge[d] that a failure to secure [his] wireless internet router by password protection may invite infringing uses of copyrighted materials accessible to individuals through such a router.” Doe 4 also agreed to take steps to “secure his . . . router and to deny [the] use of his internet connection to anyone who would engage in infringing conduct.” This paper focuses on the liability of wireless network operators for the wrongful acts committed by others on their unsecured networks. The premise of this paper is that the operator of an unsecured wireless router is not liable for the wrongful acts of third parties committed over his open Internet connection.