Thursday, November 28, 2019

Authors vs. authors

Authors vs. authors Authors vs. authors? Hi. At Reedsy we live, sleep, and all but photosynthesise self-publishing news and discussion. Even if you were living under a rock, a massive rock, like a boulder, you wouldn’t have been able to avoid the suddenly very loudly proclaimed views of authors both traditionally published and self-published over the whole Amazon-Hachette blood war that’s been happening for over a month by now. So we had to say something. In fact, we said two things. Below you can find Ricardo’s take, and you can find Dave’s perspective over here.–Petition vs. petitionOne thought came to my mind when I read Barry Eisler’s article on last week’s two recent and infamous (in certain circles anyway) petitions: Have you guys forgotten that you’re all authors? Shouldn’t you all be on the same page?A little context for those totally unfamiliar with these things. You’re probably aware of the Amazon vs Hachette clash, right? But you probably don’t know why these two publishing giants are at each other’s throats (because, by the way, Barry is right: Hachette is part of the Lagardà ¨re group, which is also a giant). Well, don’t feel bad about it - it’s starting to seem like no one else is much more informed than you are.When trying to research what exactly Amazon and Hachette are fighting about about, it’s diff icult to get any details more specific than ‘pricing and distribution’ (who could have guessed, right?). Whatever’s going on, everyone is worried this could affect†¦ well, everyone (even self-published authors?†¦)On Wednesday Douglas Preston published an open letter to readers, asking them to email Jeff Bezos to tell him†¦ something. To be nicer to Hachette, maybe? Because when you don’t know what the problem is, it’s difficult to ask for solutions.Rather than emailing Amazon, Hugh Howey, Barry Eisler, and other self-published authors responded with with their own petition, including plenty of persuasive detail about everything Amazon has done for them (making self-publishing possible), and their bad experiences with traditional publishing. This makes Howey Bezos’s defender.Where does that leave us (meaning, still, readers)? Who should we be listening to? Speaking totally personally, I like what Howey said. More importantly, ev en there’s a lot of truth on both sides, I feel I can endorse Howey in a way I just can’t endorse Preston et al. Why? Because they speak with clarity. They say they side with Amazon and against Hachette, and say it plain and clear. Preston’s letter is eloquence without effect, reiterating a problem without resolving it: â€Å"we are not siding with anyone†. Come on†¦An author voice for the publishers?Well, I’m afraid we still don’t have an answer to this vital question. For now, it’s self-pub authors vs. â€Å"some trad† authors. And that’s bad enough. Were it to be truly trad. vs. pub, that would be worse.Until now, I’ve always seen mutual respect between self-publishing authors and mainstream ones. Hugh Howey’s battle was against publishers and bookshops, not against authors. As a reader, I don’t want that to change.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Youth Antisocial Behaviour Britain

Youth Antisocial Behaviour Britain The problem of the youth antisocial behaviour in the British society is discussed at several levels. Today definite Antisocial Behaviour Orders are developed by the government as one of the main measures in order to control and correct the facts of antisocial behaviours in community.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Youth Antisocial Behaviour: Britain specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Nevertheless, the effectiveness of this practice is argued by the researchers, sociologists, and psychologists because of the complexity of the notion of antisocial behaviour and its connection with the adolescents’ behaviour (Burney 2009; Connell et al. 2011). That is why the major issues which are discussed in the literature on the topic of reducing youth antisocial behaviour with the help of legislative programmes are associated with the questions of the definition of the term, the problem of the programmes’ effectiveness , the possible success in the usage of the community-related programmes, and the role of the family in the process. The term ‘antisocial behaviour’ is rather broad and has different variants of its interpretation from the position of the governors, psychologists, and sociologists. There is also a number of associated notions. Thus, Burney states that it is necessary to distinct between the notions which can be discussed by the public as equal ones because they refer to the same field, but are connected with different problems. These terms are, for instance, ‘disorder’, ‘crime’, and ‘antisocial behaviour’. According to Burney, â€Å"‘disorder’ is a term applied collectively to communities; ‘anti-social behaviour’ is something done by individuals who are thereby singled out and blamed for the harm they inflict upon communities† (Burney 2009, p. 2). Following Burney’s considerations, it is possi ble to say that antisocial behaviour is predominantly connected with the specific behaviour of a person or a group of person which influences the character of their interactions with other representatives of the community negatively. Moreover, it is also important to pay attention to the fact that the term of ‘antisocial behaviour’ also involves the problem of the intrusive measures realized against individuals (Burney 2009).Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To define the term more clearly, it is significant to focus on the examples or patterns of realizing by the youth their antisocial behaviour in communities. Connell, Cook, Aklin, Vanderplong, and Brex developed the study in which they concentrated on the analysis of the most typical patterns of antisocial behaviour using the results of conducting the survey (latent class analysis) in a nonmetropolitan r egion of Britain (Connell et al. 2011). According to their survey, such types or patterns of the youth antisocial behaviour as damaging property, stealing, vandalism, and fighting were determined. Furthermore, the evidences stated that the fact of antisocial behaviour was in the most cases fixed by police (Connell et al. 2011). Having determined the most frequent patterns of antisocial behaviour typical for the youth in Britain, the researchers analysed the results of the survey and proposed the groups or classes of antisocial behaviours (ASBs) organised according to their severity. These classes are a non-ASB class, a mild ASB, a moderate ASB, and a serious ASB class (Connell et al. 2011). If Connell and the group of researchers’ classification is based on the level of severity of the definite antisocial behaviour (according to the determined patterns), the types of antisocial behaviour provided by Frick and White depend on such a characteristic as callous-unemotional (CU) t raits (Frick White 2008). Concentrating on this term, the researchers determine such influential traits as the absence of empathy presented by the adolescents in their personal interactions, the lack of guilt as the determiner of the level of their responsibility and tolerance (Frick White 2008). Therefore, callous-unemotional traits are important factors for forming the youth model of antisocial behaviour. The focus on the problem of antisocial behaviour in Britain resulted in the development of the practice of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) as the measure to realise the antisocial behaviour policy in the country. The project of ASBOs was presented in 1998. It was worked out as the measure to control and regulate the level of antisocial behaviours in society. Today this order is associated with the antisocial behaviour of adolescents who are inclined to realising different antisocial behaviour patterns. In his research, Donoghue discusses the problem of ASB and ASBO with ref erences to such terms as ‘reflexive modernity’ and ‘risk society’ (Donoghue 2008).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Youth Antisocial Behaviour: Britain specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More From this point of view ASBOs are considered not only as the ways of the legislative control but also as the facts of the social control. Explaining the aspects of the notion of ‘risk society’, Donoghue states that ‘risk society’ provokes the occurrences of the youth antisocial behaviours (Donoghue 2008). That is why the effectiveness of realising ASBOs in the context of modern ‘risk societies’ depends on reformatting the main principles of providing ASBOs as the key controlling and regulating measures. However, there are many categories according to which it is necessary to analyse the aspects of ASBOs. In their research, Flint and Nixon concentrate on the concepts of ci tizenship, self-regulation, and responsibilities as the basic ones for determining the idea of a socially appropriate behaviour. The authors of the research focus on the discussion of ASBs from the point of Antisocial Behaviour Orders, Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, and tenancy agreements (Flint Nixon 2008). However, along with paying much attention to the government’s role in providing the legislative programmes for controlling the situation and reducing ASBs Flint and Nixon emphasise the role of communities in regulating the youth antisocial behaviour (Flint Nixon 2008). They also make accents on the fact that the effectiveness of the governmental measures and legislative programmes significantly depends on the range of the regulatory mechanisms used. In spite of the fact Flint and Nixon discuss the issue with focusing on the character of interactions and antisocial behaviour in definite residential areas, their conclusions can be used for the proper analysis of the situ ation with the occurrences of antisocial behaviour at individual and community levels (Flint Nixon 2008).Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thus, legislative programmes can become more effective, if they are implemented with referring to the development of the system of community control. Many researchers agree that the social effect of involving the community in the process of controlling and regulating the youth antisocial behaviour is higher than the effectiveness of such programmes as, for instance, ASBO (Burney 2009; Donoghue 2008; Flint Nixon 2008). Moreover, to regulate the issue of antisocial behaviour which is typical for adolescents in Britain, it is necessary to use all the opportunities to predict it (Flint Nixon 2008). That is why researchers accentuate the role of community and family in forming the individual vision of possible positive interactions in society which do not abuse the interests of the other people (Donoghue 2008). Psychologists state that antisocial behaviour of adolescents is in many cases a result of reflecting the situation at home, the character of relations between parents and the re lations of the individual with his or her parents (Burney 2009; Donoghue 2008). Analysing the role of the relations between parents and their children, Connell, Cook, Aklin, Vanderplong, and Brex states that positive relations in families which are based on the principles of mutual understanding between the members of the family can be considered as the protective factor or as a key aspect for predicting the further antisocial behaviour of adolescents. Moreover, this protective factor can be discussed as effective for different levels of antisocial behaviour (Connell et al. 2011). To understand the nature of the adolescents’ possible antisocial behaviour, Ensor, Marks, Jacobs, and Hughes concentrates on the examination of the aspects of the relations between the siblings in the family (Ensor et al. 2010). The fact of demonstrating aggression, anxiety, and hatred directed toward the other children in the family is typical for many families. Nevertheless, to state that such sit uation in the family can provoke the adolescents’ further antisocial behaviour, it is necessary to analyse all the aspects of the problem. The researchers determined three factors according to which they examined the siblings’ behaviour. These factors were the refusal to interact with each other, the frequency of the occurrences of bullying and harming each other (Ensor et al. 2010). The results of the research confirm the psychological visions of the nature of relations between siblings. Moreover, they can be discussed as significant for the development of the possible strategies of predicting the issues of antisocial behaviour in the future (Ensor et al. 2010). The role of the community and family is also significant with references to the factors which can stimulate children and adolescents’ antisocial behaviour. Paying much attention to CU traits, Frick and White focus on the connection between the realization of these traits in childhood and adolescence and the role of the community in regulating the development of CU traits which can lead to the formation of the antisocial and aggressive youth. Mahoney, Stattin, and Lord conducted the investigation on the base of the sample from Sweden. The researchers examined the peculiarities of the unstructured youth recreation centre participation and concluded that the participation in such centres also cannot be considered as the effective measures to regulate the adolescents’ behaviour and predict their further antisocial behaviour (Mahoney, Stattin, Lord 2004). Such conclusions are the result of the analysis of the adolescents’ relations between each other and between them and their peers in the centres. Thus, according to the research’s evidences, many peers can provoke, stimulate, and promote the adolescents’ antisocial behaviour (Mahoney, Stattin, Lord 2004). The controversial question of the effectiveness of legislative programmes as the measures to control the youth antisocial behaviour is also associated with the problem of predicting and regulating. In their research, Rutten, Biesta, Dekovic, Stams, Schuengel, and Verweel state that it is possible to use such methods as a forum theatre intervention in order to create the necessary positive atmosphere in the group of adolescents and avoid or correct the issues of antisocial behaviour (Rutten et al. 2010). Nevertheless, the findings of the research accentuated the fact that the changes in the antisocial behaviour of the youth are not significant in comparison with the other methods to correct the ASBs (Rutten et al. 2010). To provide the effective research of the problem of reducing youth antisocial behaviour through legislative programmes in Britain, it is important to concentrate on the methods used for conducting the investigation, collecting the necessary data and evidences, and analysing the findings. The issue of antisocial behaviour is closely connected with the aspects of psyc hology of children and adolescents. That is why it is effective to use the research methods which are generally utilised while conducting the psychological surveys and investigations (Breakwell 2006). Sekaran proposes a range of research methods which can be successfully used in providing the studies in the field of social sciences (Sekaran 2006). According to the criteria presented in the book by Sekaran, the research on the topic of reducing youth antisocial behaviour in Britain should be realised with the help of combination of such methods as the elements of the quantitative research and the aspects of the descriptive study (Sekaran 2006). The priorities of the programmes developed to solve the problem of antisocial behaviour in the British society are generally changed according to the main principles provided by this or that prime-minister. According to the findings presented in the researched literature, the existing policies should be reformed with references to the new soci al demands and requirements because of the fact that community control and definite measures provided at the community level can work more effectively in comparison with the effectiveness of the legislative programmes. There were several stages in discussing the effectiveness of ASBOs which reflected the public and governmental vision of the issue. Thus, the whole campaign has faced a lot of criticism from different sides. It is possible to say that the majority of the British society agrees that the Antisocial Behavior Orders are not really successful in stopping the development of antisocial behavior in Britain (Squires Stephen 2005). Reference List Breakwell, GM 2006, Research methods in psychology. Sage Publications Ltd, London. Burney, E 2009, Making people behave: anti-social behaviour, politics and policy, Willan Publishing, Cullompton, UK. Connell, CM, Cook, EC, Aklin, WM, Vanderplong, JJ, Brex, RA 2011, â€Å"Risk and protective factors associated with patterns of antiso cial behaviour among nonmetropolitan adolescents†. Aggressive Behaviour, vol. 37 no. 1, pp. 98-106. Donoghue, J 2008, â€Å"Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBO’s) in Britain: contextualizing risk and reflexive modernization†. Sociology, vol. 42 no. 2, pp. 337-355. Ensor, R, Marks, A, Jacobs, L, Hughes, C 2010, â€Å"Trajectories of antisocial behaviour towards siblings predict antisocial behaviour towards peers†. Journal of Child Psychology Psychiatry, vol. 51 no. 11, pp. 1208-1216. Flint, J Nixon, J 2006, â€Å"Governing neighbours: Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and new forms of regulating conduct in the UK†. Urban Studies, vol. 43 no. 5-6, pp. 939-955. Frick, PJ White, SF 2008, â€Å"Research review: the importance of callous-unemotional traits for developmental models of aggressive and antisocial behaviour†. Journal of Child Psychology Psychiatry, vol. 49 no. 4, pp. 359-375. Mahoney, J, Stattin, H, Lord, H 2004, â€Å"Unstructured yout h recreation centre participation and antisocial behaviour development: selection influences and the moderating role of antisocial peers†. International Journal of Behavioural Development, vol. 28 no. 6, pp. 553-560. Rutten, EA, Biesta, GJJ, Dekovic, M, Stams, GJJM, Schuengel, C, Verweel, P 2010, â€Å"Using forum theatre in organized youth soccer to positively influence antisocial and prosocial behaviour: a pilot study†. Journal of Moral Education, vol. 39 no. 1, pp. 65-78. Sekaran, U 2006, Research methods for business: a skill building approach. Wiley-India, Mumbai. Squires, P Stephen, DE 2005, Rougher justice: anti-social behaviour and young people, Willan Publishing, Cullompton.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Small assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Small assignment - Essay Example At the end of the ongoing renovation and expansion process, which will be over within a week, I assure you we will have better services. We have tried our level best not to cause many inconveniences to you and decided that we can finish the installation of new equipment within 24 hours. I hope all the valued customers of ONELAB will understand the necessity of this closure and expect and request your cooperation. If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us either by mail or through phone As part of our expansion and renovation plans, we are all set to install some of the most modern equipment which is needed to increase our service capabilities. These machineries are quite new in the market and we believe that you need some training on this equipment before the reopening of the lab after the 24-hour closure, which will begin from tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. onwards. The training session on this equipment will be conducted tomorrow in order to avoid any time delay to the customers and I ask all our employees to report for training tomorrow at 6 a.m. even though the lab will remain closed for customers. As part of our expansion and renovation processes, we are all set to install some of the most modern equipment which is needed to increase our service capabilities. As a result we are forced to implement a 24-hour close down of our lab from 6 am tomorrow (10/9/09) to 6 am the day after tomorrow (11/9/09) and no deliveries or receipts will be executed during this period. I expect a big increase in the volume of our business after the renovation and expansion process which will definitely be beneficial to you as well. I request your cooperation and valued services in the future also. As part of our expansion and renovation plans, we are all set to install some of the most modern equipments which needed to increase our service

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Principles of Marketing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Principles of Marketing - Article Example The difference in these two articles is that one does customers knowing and relations online and using technology while the explanation in the book utilizes both the traditional method and technological one (Kotler & Armstrong, 2015). In the article by (Wong, 2015), there is in depth analysis of advertisements growth and where it is headed in the future which is similar to what the article by (Kotler & Armstrong, 2015) explains which is all towards making customer satisfied by pinpointing their exact needs and wants. Both articles in short explain the need of advertisement as a marketing tool for a company’s products and services and using platform and ways that can reach most people at the same time. The creativity of the advertisements is what will bring customers’ interests in the products and what will eventually profit the company. When the advertisement addresses the right demands, needs and wants of the customers, they are bound to become loyal to the product and the brand in extension (Wong, 2015). Davenport, T., Mule, L. & Lucker, J. (2011, December). Know What Your Customers Want Before They Do. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2011/12/know-what-your-customers-want-before-they-do Wong, B. (2015, April 26). The Future of Advertising: Farewell, Mass Marketing. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from

Monday, November 18, 2019

Finding number PI Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Finding number PI - Research Paper Example In modern times, however, with the advent of computers, the emphasis has shifted to the speed at which the value of Pi can be determined together with increasing the number of decimal places. This paper traces the history of Pi and the efforts made by mathematicians and astronomers to get closer and closer to the â€Å"precise† value of Ï€, and then discusses two methods for determining the value of Pi – one ancient method and one modern method. The very first attempts to determine the value of Ï€ date back to around 2000 B.C., when the Babylonians and Egyptians approached the problem in their own ways. While the Babylonians obtained the value of 3+1/8, the Egyptians obtained the value as (4/3) ^4 for Ï€. About the same time, Indians used the value of square root of 10 for Pi. All these values were based, essentially, on measurement of circumferences and diameters of circles of different sizes (Beckmann, 12-15 and 98-106). The first major step towards determining the value of Pi is attributed to the great Greek mathematician and physicist, Archimedes around 250 B.C. The ancient Greeks, with their penchant for precision, were interested in precise mathematical proportions in their architecture, music and other art forms, and hence were curious about better precision in determining the value of Pi. Thus Archimedes developed a method using inscribed and circumscribed polygons for calculating better and better approximati ons to the value of Ï€ and came to the conclusion: Subsequently, around 150 A.D., the Egyptian mathematician Ptolemy (of Alexandria) gave the value of 377/120, and around 500 A.D., the Chinese Tsu-Ch’ung-Chi gave Pi the value of 355/113. Many others like Ptolemy and Tsu-Ch’ung-Chi continued to use Archimedes’s method to calculate the vale of Pi to better approximations. Ludolph von Ceulen used this method with a 2^62-sided polygon to calculate Pi to 35 decimal

Friday, November 15, 2019

MicroRNA-21 Concentrations in Breast Cancer

MicroRNA-21 Concentrations in Breast Cancer Direct Serum Assay for MicroRNA-21 Concentrations in Early and Advanced Breast Cancer Abstract Background Small noncoding RNA molecules known as microRNAs (miRs) are involved in the regulation of gene expression. The hypothesis was based on the biomarker, miR-21 present in the serum, which related to the presence and stage of breast cancer. The direct application of reverse-transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) in a direct serum assay has been used for the quantification and detection of the miR-21 in breast cancer patients. Methods A total of 102 breast cancer patients with varying stages of breast cancer and 20 healthy female patients were tested by the RT-qPCR applied directly in serum assay for miR-21. Results Detection for RT-qPCR-DS was limited to 0.625 µl of serum. miR-21 levels detected in the healthy donors were comparatively lower with respect to breast cancer patients with different stage of the disease. A significantly higher levels of miR-21 was detected in patients with stage IV breast cancer compared to patients with other stages of the disease. The odds ratio was 1.796 and area under the curve was 0.721 for the distinction of loco regional breast cancers and healthy donors. Multivariate analysis confirmed that a correlation of miR-21 concentrations and stage of breast cancer existed. Conclusion- The novel RT-qPCR-DS serves as a better technique in detecting circulating miR. miR-21 proves to be a significant biomarker for breast cancer, which could also probably detect the progression of the disease. Further research could lead to improved breast cancer care by this serum biomarker as a key tool. EVALUATION Traditional methods Mammography (also known as film mammography) is a traditional method for screening breast cancer (Boyd et al., 2007). Its principle lies in the use of low-dose x-rays. Soft tissue such as fat is radiographically lucent, which appears dark on a mammogram. In contrast, stroma and epithelial tissue are radiographically dense, which is termed mammographic density, appearing light on a mammogram (Boyd et al., 2007). It has been established that the more immense the density, the more association it had with regard to the greater risk of breast cancer. A dense tissue present in 75% or more of the breast poses a risk of breast cancer (Boyd et al., 2007).   A limitation of this method revolves around the fact that expansive mammographic density may be difficult to detect by mammography, thereby indicating a false negative (Boyd et al., 2007). Cancers may be masked by surrounding dense breast tissue, limiting the sensitivity of the screening (Boyd et al., 2007), thereby increasing the risk o f breast cancer (Pisano et al., 2005). High false positive results and costs are drawbacks of mammography (Asaga et al., 2010).   An alternative breast cancer screening technique is the MRI, which is sensitive, but its limitations include the lack of cost-effectiveness and specificity (Esserman et al., 2007). Digital mammography, an upgrade to film mammography allowed the manipulation of the degree of contrast on digital images. This allowed the differentiation of dense breast tissues from malignant cells (Pisano et al., 2005). Women under 50 years of age, with dense breast tissue or those who are pre-menopausal or peri-menopausal were mostly detected by digital mammography (Pisano et al., 2005). In comparison to the film mammography method, digital mammography has an increased cost (1.5-4 times more), but is quicker at developing the image (Pisano et al., 2005). BRCA1 and BRCA2 are tumour markers used to identify individuals who are at risk of developing breast cancer via inheritance (Duffy, 2001). Only 5-10% cases of breast cancers are hereditary. 80-85% risk of developing breast cancer was reported in individuals carrying either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene (Duffy, 2001). Cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) is a gene product of the MUC1 gene. Overexpression of MUC1 gene in malignant breast tumours allows CA 15-3 to be used as a tumour marker for breast cancer (Kabel, 2017). False positive results were reported in benign breast and benign liver diseases (Kabel, 2017). The serum concentration of patients with elevated levels of CA 15-3 became more detectable as the size of tumour and severity of the disease increased. Therefore, this is suitable as a prognostic and pharmacokinetic biomarker (Kabel, 2017). The lack of sensitivity for women with early disease have been a main limitation of CA 15-3 biomarker (Duffy et al., 2010). Rising levels of another extensively used biomarker, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) indicated poor treatment or the risk of recurrence following treatment (Kabel, 2017). The lack of disease sensitivity and specificity prevents the use of CEA as predictive biomarker (Kabel, 2017). Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) serve as pharmacokinetic biomarkers (Kabel, 2017). Relevance to current article Elevated levels of miR-21 was observed in breast cancer patients (N = 102) compared to healthy females (N = 20) in the study done by Asaga et al., (2010). Detection of circulating miR by RT-qPCR-DS was robust and effective (Asaga et al., 2010). The differentiation of patients with stage I, stage II or stage III from patients with stage IV breast cancer was possible with the direct assay, but not by the standard RT-qPCR (Asaga et al., 2010). The assay had a sensitivity and specificity of 67% and 75% respectively in distinguishing loco regional breast cancer patients from healthy patients. The specificity and sensitivity in distinguishing patients with stage IV breast cancer from the earlier stages was 86% and 70% respectively (Asaga et al., 2010). The use of the novel RT-qPCR in direct serum assay reduced mechanical and human errors and minimized the time and overall cost (Asaga et al., 2010). CA 15-3 and CEA are low in sensitivity and specificity, therefore cannot be used as a diagnostic marker (Ng et al., 2013). Comparatively, miR-21 shows a better specificity and sensitivity (Asaga et al., 2010). Current methods 3D mammography is an evolution of the mammography technology (Houssami et al., 2017). 3D mammography improves cancer visibility by reducing the images of overlapping breast tissue, leading to the visualization of benign and malignant breast lesions which would have been masked in traditional mammography (Houssami et al., 2016). It may also decrease the false positive recall. Cost and time-taken to read a 3D mammography are limitations of this method (Houssami et al., 2017). A study by Ng et al., (2013) detected elevation in miR-451, miR-16 and miR-21, while a reduction in miR-145 was observed in the plasma of breast cancer patients. The combination of miR-451 and miR-145 served as the best biomarkers for breast cancer with an optimal specificity of 92% and optimal sensitivity of 90% in distinguishing breast cancer patients from control subjects of other types of cancers (gastric cancer, lung cancer) recruited in the study (Ng et al., 2013). This study by Ng et al., (2013) recognized a combination of miRNAs specific to breast cancer and not the other cancers. Drawbacks include the lack of information regarding whether these miRNAs can be used to distinguish between the subtypes of breast cancer and between sporadic and familial forms (Ng et al., 2013). The study done by Asaga et al., (2010) only focused on miR-21 as a predictive marker in breast cancer, but miR-21 has been implicated in other types of cancer too. Comparatively the study done by Ng et al. , (2013) has identified biomarkers specific to breast cancer. In conclusion, the use of miR-21 as a biomarker in breast cancer presented a correlation of circulating miR-21 with the stage of breast cancer. More research is required to establish miR-21 as an important biomarker in breast cancer (Asaga et al., 2010). A combined expression analysis of miR-21 and miR-191 increased the specificity to 100% and sensitivity to 92% (Chen and Wang, 2013). The study done by Chen and Wang (2013) proved that a combination of miRNAs were better as a predictive biomarker for breast cancer. WORD COUNT ABSTRACT 243 EVALUATION 1039 REFERENCES Asaga, S., Kuo, C., Nguyen, T., Terpenning, M., Giuliano, A. and Hoon, D. (2010). Direct Serum Assay for MicroRNA-21 Concentrations in Early and Advanced Breast Cancer. Clinical Chemistry, 57(1), pp.84-91.Boyd, N., Guo, H., Martin, L., Sun, L., Stone, J., Fishell, E., Jong, R., Hislop, G., Chiarelli, A., Minkin, S. and Yaffe, M. (2007). Mammographic Density and the Risk and Detection of Breast Cancer. The New England Journal of Medicine, 356(3), pp.227-236. Chen, J. and Wang, X. (2013). MicroRNA-21 in breast cancer: diagnostic and prognostic potential. Clinical and Translational Oncology, 16(3), pp.225-233. Duffy, M. (2001). Biochemical markers in breast cancer: which ones are clinically useful?. Clinical Biochemistry, 34(5), pp.347-352. Duffy, M., Evoy, D. and McDermott, E. (2010). CA 15-3: Uses and limitation as a biomarker for breast cancer. Clinica Chimica Acta, 411(23-24), pp.1869-1874. Esserman, L., Shieh, Y., Park, J. and Ozanne, E. (2007). A role for biomarkers in the screening and diagnosis of breast cancer in younger women. Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics, 7(5), pp.533-544. Houssami, N., Là ¥ng, K., Bernardi, D., Tagliafico, A., Zackrisson, S. and Skaane, P. (2016). Digital breast tomosynthesis (3D-mammography) screening: A pictorial review of screen-detected cancers and false recalls attributed to tomosynthesis in prospective screening trials. The Breast, 26, pp.119-134. Houssami, N., Bernardi, D., Pellegrini, M., Valentini, M., Fantà ², C., Ostillio, L., Tuttobene, P., Luparia, A. and Macaskill, P. (2017). Breast cancer detection using single-reading of breast tomosynthesis (3D-mammography) compared to double-reading of 2D-mammography: Evidence from a population-based trial. Cancer Epidemiology, 47, pp.94-99. Kabel, A. (2017). Tumor markers of breast cancer: New prospectives. Journal of Oncological Sciences. Ng, E., Li, R., Shin, V., Jin, H., Leung, C., Ma, E., Pang, R., Chua, D., Chu, K., Law, W., Law, S., Poon, R. and Kwong, A. (2013). Circulating microRNAs as Specific Biomarkers for Breast Cancer Detection. PLoS ONE, 8(1), p.e53141. Pisano, E., Gatsonis, C., Hendrick, E., Yaffe, M., Baum, J., Acharyya, S., Conant, E., Fajardo, L., Bassett, L., DOrsi, C., Jong, R. and Rebner, M. (2005). Diagnostic Performance of Digital versus Film Mammography for Breast-Cancer Screening. New England Journal of Medicine, 353(17), pp.1773-1783.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Analysis of Virtual Reality Essay -- Virtual Reality Technology Comput

Analysis of Virtual Reality The term Virtual Reality (VR) is used by many different people with many meanings. There are some people to whom VR is a specific collection of technologies, that is a Head Mounted Display, Glove Input Device and Audio. Some other people stretch the term to include conventional books, movies or pure fantasy and imagination. However, for purposes of this research, we restrict VR to computer mediated systems. We would define Virtual Reality as a way for humans to visualize, manipulate and interact with computers and extremely complex data. The visualization part refers to the computer generating visual, auditory or other sensual outputs to the user of a world within the computer. This world may be a CAD model, a scientific simulation, or a view into a database. The user can interact with the world and directly manipulate objects within the world. Some worlds are animated by other processes, perhaps physical simulations, or simple animation scripts. Interaction with the virtual world, at least with near real time control of the viewpoint, is a critical test for a 'virtual reality'. Some people object to the term "Virtual Reality", saying it is an oxymoron. Other terms that have been used are Synthetic Environments, Cyberspace, Artificial Reality, Simulator Technology, etc. VR is the most common and sexiest. It has caught the attention of the media. Types of VR Systems A major distinction of VR systems is the mode with which they interface to the user. We would describe some of the common modes used in VR systems. Window on World Systems (WoW) Some systems use a conventional computer monitor to display the visual world. This sometimes called Desktop VR or a Window on a World (WoW). This concept traces its lineage back through the entire history of computer graphics. In 1965, Ivan Sutherland laid out a research program for computer graphics in a paper called "The Ultimate Display" that has driven the field for the past nearly thirty years. "One must look at a display screen," he said, "as a window through which one beholds a virtual world. The challenge to computer graphics is to make the picture in the window look real, sound real and the objects act real." Video Mapping A variation of the WoW approach merges a video input of the user's silhouette with a 2D-computer graphic. The user watches a monitor that... ...irplane that the inspector can navigate through via voice commands to mark a region of the airplane that is in need of service. Once identified, the application tags the area for transmission to the maintenance database and initiates the proper form for the inspector to fill out. The form is completed and then transmitted to the same maintenance database. When the inspector has identified all of the problems with a particular region, voice navigation is used to continue to other areas of the aircraft. The inspector is not required to take any information about the aircraft, previous defect records, clipboards, paper, etc. with them, everything required to perform the inspection is on-line and displayed in a manageable fashion in real time during the inspection. When the inspector completes the inspection, no further input is required. The inspector is not required to take notes and then pass them off to someone else to decipher and input to the system. The information is already in the maintenance database and ready for verification, planning, and scheduling. The timesaving realized from start to finish of that inspection is 30-50% depending on the inspector and the aircraft. Analysis of Virtual Reality Essay -- Virtual Reality Technology Comput Analysis of Virtual Reality The term Virtual Reality (VR) is used by many different people with many meanings. There are some people to whom VR is a specific collection of technologies, that is a Head Mounted Display, Glove Input Device and Audio. Some other people stretch the term to include conventional books, movies or pure fantasy and imagination. However, for purposes of this research, we restrict VR to computer mediated systems. We would define Virtual Reality as a way for humans to visualize, manipulate and interact with computers and extremely complex data. The visualization part refers to the computer generating visual, auditory or other sensual outputs to the user of a world within the computer. This world may be a CAD model, a scientific simulation, or a view into a database. The user can interact with the world and directly manipulate objects within the world. Some worlds are animated by other processes, perhaps physical simulations, or simple animation scripts. Interaction with the virtual world, at least with near real time control of the viewpoint, is a critical test for a 'virtual reality'. Some people object to the term "Virtual Reality", saying it is an oxymoron. Other terms that have been used are Synthetic Environments, Cyberspace, Artificial Reality, Simulator Technology, etc. VR is the most common and sexiest. It has caught the attention of the media. Types of VR Systems A major distinction of VR systems is the mode with which they interface to the user. We would describe some of the common modes used in VR systems. Window on World Systems (WoW) Some systems use a conventional computer monitor to display the visual world. This sometimes called Desktop VR or a Window on a World (WoW). This concept traces its lineage back through the entire history of computer graphics. In 1965, Ivan Sutherland laid out a research program for computer graphics in a paper called "The Ultimate Display" that has driven the field for the past nearly thirty years. "One must look at a display screen," he said, "as a window through which one beholds a virtual world. The challenge to computer graphics is to make the picture in the window look real, sound real and the objects act real." Video Mapping A variation of the WoW approach merges a video input of the user's silhouette with a 2D-computer graphic. The user watches a monitor that... ...irplane that the inspector can navigate through via voice commands to mark a region of the airplane that is in need of service. Once identified, the application tags the area for transmission to the maintenance database and initiates the proper form for the inspector to fill out. The form is completed and then transmitted to the same maintenance database. When the inspector has identified all of the problems with a particular region, voice navigation is used to continue to other areas of the aircraft. The inspector is not required to take any information about the aircraft, previous defect records, clipboards, paper, etc. with them, everything required to perform the inspection is on-line and displayed in a manageable fashion in real time during the inspection. When the inspector completes the inspection, no further input is required. The inspector is not required to take notes and then pass them off to someone else to decipher and input to the system. The information is already in the maintenance database and ready for verification, planning, and scheduling. The timesaving realized from start to finish of that inspection is 30-50% depending on the inspector and the aircraft.