Showing papers by "Temple University published in 2007"

The Role of the Family Context in the Development of Emotion Regulation

Abstract: This article reviews current literature examining associations between components of the family context and children and adolescents' emotion regulation (ER). The review is organized around a tripartite model of familial influence. Firstly, it is posited that children learn about ER through observational learning, modeling and social referencing. Secondly, parenting practices specifically related to emotion and emotion management affect ER. Thirdly, ER is affected by the emotional climate of the family via parenting style, the attachment relationship, family expressiveness and the marital relationship. The review ends with discussions regarding the ways in which child characteristics such as negative emotionality and gender affect ER, how socialization practices change as children develop into adolescents, and how parent characteristics such as mental health affect the socialization of ER.

Robust dimensions of anxiety sensitivity: Development and initial validation of the anxiety sensitivity index-3

Abstract: Accumulating evidence suggests that anxiety sensitivity (fear of arousal-related sensations) plays an important role in many clinical conditions, particularly anxiety disorders. Research has increasingly focused on how the basic dimensions of anxiety sensitivity are related to various forms of psychopathology. Such work has been hampered because the original measure--the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI)--was not designed to be multidimensional. Subsequently developed multidimensional measures have unstable factor structures or measure only a subset of the most widely replicated factors. Therefore, the authors developed, via factor analysis of responses from U.S. and Canadian nonclinical participants (n=2,361), an 18-item measure, the ASI-3, which assesses the 3 factors best replicated in previous research: Physical, Cognitive, and Social Concerns. Factorial validity of the ASI-3 was supported by confirmatory factor analyses of 6 replication samples, including nonclinical samples from the United States and Canada, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Spain (n=4,494) and a clinical sample from the United States and Canada (n=390). The ASI-3 displayed generally good performance on other indices of reliability and validity, along with evidence of improved psychometric properties over the original ASI.

Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence

Abstract: Prior research describes the development of susceptibility to peer pressure in adolescence as following an inverted U-shaped curve, increasing during early adolescence, peaking around age 14, and declining thereafter. This pattern, however, is derived mainly from studies that specifically examined peer pressure to engage in antisocial behavior. In the present study, age differences and developmental change in resistance to peer influence were assessed using a new self-report instrument that separates susceptibility to peer pressure from willingness to engage in antisocial activity. Data from four ethnically and socioeconomically diverse samples comprising more than 3,600 males and females between the ages of 10 and 30 were pooled from one longitudinal and two cross-sectional studies. Results show that across all demographic groups, resistance to peer influences increases linearly between ages 14 and 18. In contrast, there is little evidence for growth in this capacity between ages 10 and 14 or between 18 and 30. Middle adolescence is an especially significant period for the development of the capacity to stand up for what one believes and resist the pressures of one's peers to do otherwise.

Risk Taking in Adolescence New Perspectives From Brain and Behavioral Science

Abstract: Trying to understand why adolescents and young adults take more risks than younger or older individuals do has challenged psychologists for decades. Adolescents' inclination to engage in risky behavior does not appear to be due to irrationality, delusions of invulnerability, or ignorance. This paper presents a perspective on adolescent risk taking grounded in developmental neuroscience. According to this view, the temporal gap between puberty, which impels adolescents toward thrill seeking, and the slow maturation of the cognitive-control system, which regulates these impulses, makes adolescence a time of heightened vulnerability for risky behavior. This view of adolescent risk taking helps to explain why educational interventions designed to change adolescents' knowledge, beliefs, or attitudes have been largely ineffective, and suggests that changing the contexts in which risky behavior occurs may be more successful than changing the way adolescents think about risk.

Internationalization and the Performance of Born-Global SMEs: The Mediating Role of Social Networks

Abstract: This paper offers a social network explanation for the purported relationship between internationalization and firm performance in the context of born global small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We argue that home-based social networks play a mediating role in the relationship between inward and outward internationalization and firm performance. The mediating mechanism is attributed to three information benefits of social networks: (1) knowledge of foreign market opportunities; (2) advice and experiential learning; and (3) referral trust and solidarity. Using survey data from SMEs in the largest emerging economy of China, we found some support for this mediating role of social networks in the form of guanxi . The results imply that international business managers should consider social networks as an efficient means of helping internationally oriented SMEs to go international more rapidly and profitably

Role of Intermolecular Coupling in the Photophysics of Disordered Organic Semiconductors: Aggregate Emission in Regioregular Polythiophene

Abstract: We address the role of excitonic coupling on the nature of photoexcitations in the conjugated polymer regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene). By means of temperature-dependent absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy, we show that optical emission is overwhelmingly dominated by weakly coupled H aggregates. The relative absorbance of the 0-0 and 0-1 vibronic peaks provides a powerfully simple means to extract the magnitude of the intermolecular coupling energy, of approximately 5 and 30 meV for films spun from isodurene and chloroform solutions, respectively.

Cognitive Recovery in Socially Deprived Young Children: The Bucharest Early Intervention Project

Abstract: In a randomized controlled trial, we compared abandoned children reared in institutions to abandoned children placed in institutions but then moved to foster care. Young children living in institutions were randomly assigned to continued institutional care or to placement in foster care, and their cognitive development was tracked through 54 months of age. The cognitive outcome of children who remained in the institution was markedly below that of never-institutionalized children and children taken out of the institution and placed into foster care. The improved cognitive outcomes we observed at 42 and 54 months were most marked for the youngest children placed in foster care. These results point to the negative sequelae of early institutionalization, suggest a possible sensitive period in cognitive development, and underscore the advantages of family placements for young abandoned children.

DisProt: the Database of Disordered Proteins

Abstract: The Database of Protein Disorder (DisProt) links structure and function information for intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Intrinsically disordered proteins do not form a fixed three-dimensional structure under physiological conditions, either in their entireties or in segments or regions. We define IDP as a protein that contains at least one experimentally determined disordered region. Although lacking fixed structure, IDPs and regions carry out important biological functions, being typically involved in regulation, signaling and control. Such functions can involve high-specificity low-affinity interactions, the multiple binding of one protein to many partners and the multiple binding of many proteins to one partner. These three features are all enabled and enhanced by protein intrinsic disorder. One of the major hindrances in the study of IDPs has been the lack of organized information. DisProt was developed to enable IDP research by collecting and organizing knowledge regarding the experimental characterization and the functional associations of IDPs. In addition to being a unique source of biological information, DisProt opens doors for a plethora of bioinformatics studies. DisProt is openly available at http://www.disprot.org.

Treating Trauma and Traumatic Grief in Children and Adolescents

Abstract: Treating trauma and traumatic grief in children and adolescents by Cohen, Mannarino, and Deblinger describes what some consider the best available treatment for children who are suffering from the sequelae to trauma. The information offered in this book extends that which was presented in an earlier book and treatment manuals on trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for traumatized children, childhood traumatic grief and children who have experienced sexual abuse written by the authors. Treating trauma and traumatic grief in children and adolescents extends upon earlier publications by including published research on traumafocused cognitive-behavioral therapy and more recent work that the authors have conducted with community-based practitioners. Importantly, the more recent collaborations with community practitioners have informed how trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy can be implemented with children from diverse cultural backgrounds and children with complex family situations. In terms of the empirical support, trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy has been shown to significantly reduce posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, and behavior problems in children (Cohen, Deblinger, Mannarino, & Steer, 2004), and these treatment gains are maintained for at least two years (Deblinger, Steer, & Lippman, 1999). The treatment is also geared toward a fairly large age range. Treating trauma and traumatic grief in children and adolescents is divided into three sections. The first section

Autobiographic Narratives as Data in Applied Linguistics

Abstract: In the past decade, language memoirs, linguistic autobiographies, and learners' journals and diaries have become a popular means of data collection in applied linguistics. It is not always clear however how one should go about analyzing these data. The aim of this paper is to offer a critical review of analytical frameworks applied to second language users' personal narratives. I discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these frameworks in relation to the type of information they seek: subject reality, life reality, and text reality. I argue that some analytical approaches, in particular content and thematic analyses, are insensitive to the interpretive nature of autobiographic data. Subsequently, I offer recommendations for systematic analysis of bi- and multilinguals' narratives on macro- and micro-levels in terms of content, context, and form.

From the laboratory bench to the patient's bedside: an update on clinical trials with mesenchymal stem cells.

Abstract: Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) are non-hematopoietic multi-potent stem-like cells that are capable of differentiating into both mesenchymal and non-mesenchymal lineages. In fact, in addition to bone, cartilage, fat, and myoblasts, it has been demonstrated that MSCs are capable of differentiating into neurons and astrocytes in vitro and in vivo. MSCs are of interest because they are isolated from a small aspirate of bone marrow and can be easily expanded in vitro. As such, these cells are currently being tested for their potential use in cell and gene therapy for a number of human diseases. Nevertheless, there are still some open questions about origin, multipotentiality, and anatomical localization of MSCs. In this review, we discuss clinical trials based on the use of MSCs in cardiovascular diseases, such as treatment of acute myocardial infarction, endstage ischemic heart disease, or prevention of vascular restenosis through stem cell-mediated injury repair. We analyze data from clinical trials for treatment of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), which is a genetic disease characterized by production of defective type I collagen. We describe progress for neurological disease treatment with MSC transplants. We discuss data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and on lysosomal storage diseases (Hurler syndrome and metachromatic leukodystrophy). A section of review is dedicated to ongoing clinical trials, involving MSCs in treatment of steroid refractory Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD); periodontitis, which is a chronic disease affecting periodontium and causing destruction of attachment apparatus, heart failure, and bone fractures. Finally, we will provide information about biotech companies developing MSC therapy.

The impact of knowledge coordination on virtual team performance over time

Abstract: As the role of virtual teams in organizations becomes increasingly important, it is crucial that companies identify and leverage team members' knowledge. Yet, little is known of how virtual team members come to recognize one another's knowledge, trust one another's expertise, and coordinate their knowledge effectively. In this study, we develop a model of how three behavioral dimensions associated with transactive memory systems (TMS) in virtual teams-expertise location, task-knowledge coordination, and cognition-based trust-and their impacts on team performance change over time. Drawing on the data from a study that involves 38 virtual teams of MBA students performing a complex web-based business simulation game over an 8-week period, we found that in the early stage of the project, the frequency and volume of task-oriented communications among team members played an important role in forming expertise location and cognition-based trust. Once TMS were established, however, task-oriented communication became less important. Instead, toward the end of the project, task-knowledge coordination emerges as a key construct that influences team performance, mediating the impact of all other constructs. Our study demonstrates that TMS can be formed even in virtual team environments where interactions take place solely through electronic media, although they take a relatively long time to develop. Furthermore, our findings show that, once developed, TMS become essential to performing tasks effectively in virtual teams.

Adolescent Development in Interpersonal Context

Abstract: This chapter addresses the psychological processes associated with attaining autonomy and forming interdependent relationships with others during the second decade of life. We divide the chapter into six major sections. First, we provide an overview of the defining features of adolescence, including biological and cognitive maturation and changes in societal expectations of adolescent individuals. Second, we characterize influential conceptual perspectives on adolescence. Third, we outline the expanding social networks of adolescents and the nature and significance of interpersonal relationships with family members, friends, and romantic interests. Fourth, we describe the impact of social contexts, such as neighborhoods, schools, the workplace, and leisure settings. Fifth, we consider key adolescent developmental tasks of achieving both a sense of independence and satisfying and effective interdependent relationships with others. Finally, we consider how this contemporary approach illuminates growth and change during adolescence, as well as differences between childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Keywords: adolescence; independence; interdependence; interpersonal development

Micafungin versus Caspofungin for Treatment of Candidemia and Other Forms of Invasive Candidiasis

Abstract: Background. Invasive candidiasis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with health care–associated infection. The echinocandins have potent fungicidal activity against most Candida species, but there are few data comparing the safety and efficacy of echinocandins in the treatment of invasive candidiasis. Methods. This was an international, randomized, double-blind trial comparing micafungin (100 mg daily) and micafungin (150 mg daily) with a standard dosage of caspofungin (70 mg followed by 50 mg daily) in adults with candidemia and other forms of invasive candidiasis. The primary end point was treatment success, defined as clinical and mycological success at the end of blinded intravenous therapy. Results. A total of 595 patients were randomized to one the treatment groups and received at least 1 dose of study drug. In the modified intent-to-treat population, 191 patients were assigned to the micafungin 100 mg group, 199 to the micafungin 150 mg group, and 188 to the caspofungin group. Demographic characteristics and underlying disorders were comparable across the groups. Approximately 85% of patients had candidemia; the remainder had noncandidemic invasive candidiasis. At the end of blinded intravenous therapy, treatment was considered successful for 76.4% of patients in the micafungin 100 mg group, 71.4% in the micafungin 150 mg group, and 72.3% in the caspofungin group. The median time to culture negativity was 2 days in the micafungin 100 mg group and the caspofungin group, compared with 3 days in the micafungin 150 mg groups. There were no significant differences in mortality, relapsing and emergent infections, or adverse events between the study arms.

Bone grafts and bone graft substitutes in orthopaedic trauma surgery. A critical analysis.

Abstract: ![Graphic][1] Osteoinduction is a process that supports the mitogenesis of undifferentiated mesenchymal cells, leading to the formation of osteoprogenitor cells that form new bone. ![Graphic][2] The human skeleton has the ability to regenerate itself as part of the repair process. ![Graphic][3] Recombinant bone morphogenetic protein has osteoinductive properties, the effectiveness of which is supported by Level-I evidence from current literature sources. ![Graphic][4] Osteoconduction is a property of a matrix that supports the attachment of bone-forming cells for subsequent bone formation. ![Graphic][5] Osteogenic property is a relatively new term that can be defined as the generation of bone from bone-forming cells. Orthopaedic trauma surgery requires the regular use of bone grafts to help provide timely healing of musculoskeletal injuries. The iliac crest autologous graft remains the gold standard. The morbidity associated with the harvest of bone graft has caused practitioners to seek methods of enhancing healing with bone graft substitutes. The term bone graft substitute describes a spectrum of products that have various effects on bone-healing. Unfortunately, there is little information in the literature about when and where to use these devices. In general, we categorize the properties of bone graft substitutes as osteoinductive, osteoconductive, or osteogenic. Going through the operating room storage areas in our institutions, we find many of these products available, with various trade names that can be misleading and confusing. The purpose of this review is to give the practicing surgeon a basic fund of knowledge on the topic of bone graft substitutes as well as an opinion on the levels of evidence in the current literature supporting the use of the various materials. The answers to the most difficult questions regarding bone graft substitutes require multicenter prospective randomized studies. These are extremely difficult to design and execute, with the cost being the most onerous obstacle. Industrial funding has been one of … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif [2]: /embed/inline-graphic-2.gif [3]: /embed/inline-graphic-3.gif [4]: /embed/inline-graphic-4.gif [5]: /embed/inline-graphic-5.gif

Wakes of Innovation in Project Networks: The Case of Digital 3-D Representations in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction

Abstract: Changes in the technologies of representation in a heterogeneous, distributed sociotechnical system, such as a large construction project, can instigate a complex pattern of innovations in technologies, practices, structures, and strategies. We studied the adoption of digital three-dimensional (3-D) representations in the building projects of the architect Frank O. Gehry, and observed that multiple, heterogeneous firms in those projects produced diverse innovations, each of which created a wake of innovation. Together, these multiple wakes of innovation produce a complex landscape of innovations with unpredictable peaks and valleys. Gehry's adoption of digital 3-D representations disturbed the ecology of interactions and stimulated innovations in his project networks by: providing path-creating innovation trajectories in separate communities of practice, creating trading zones where communities could create knowledge about diverse innovations, and offering a means for intercalating innovations across heterogeneous communities. Our study suggests that changes in digital representations that are central to the functioning of a distributed system can engender multiple innovations in technologies, work practices, and knowledge across multiple communities, each of which is following its own distinctive tempo and trajectory.

Testing and refining the direct and inferential mediation model of reading comprehension

Abstract: A significant proportion of American high school students struggle with reading comprehension Theoretical models of reading comprehension might help researchers understand these difficulties, because they can point to variables that make the largest contributions to comprehension On the basis of an extensive review of the literature, we created a new model of reading comprehension, the direct and inferential mediation (DIME) model The model hypothesizes relationships among background knowledge, inferences, reading comprehension strategies, vocabulary, and word reading and addresses the direct and mediated effects of these 5 predictors on comprehension The authors tested the fit of the model and 3 variations of the model to data from 175 students in 9th grade The DIME model explained 66% of the variance in comprehension Vocabulary and background knowledge made the largest contributions to comprehension, followed by inference, word reading, and strategies Analyses of participants scoring below the 30th percentile on comprehension showed these students to have low scores on all of the measures The authors suggest that vocabulary and background knowledge interventions might be the best way to begin improving the academic reading comprehension of students like those in the sample

Prevention of Perinatal Group B Streptococcal Disease

Abstract: The 2002 Prevention of Perinatal Group B Streptococcal Disease guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) represents a revision of a prior set of guidelines represented by the CDC in 1996. Group B streptococcus (GBS) remains a leading cause of serious neonatal infection despite the significant efforts in the disease prevention through the 1990s, including recommendations presented by the CDC, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The updated 2002 guidelines were based on clinical evidence and expert opinions gathered since the 1996 recommendations (1). Significant changes in the newer guidelines included a recommendation for universal prenatal screening for GBS; detailed instructions on specimen collection, processing and testing; updated prophylaxis regimens for penicillin-allergic women; recommendations against routine antipartum antibiotic prophylaxis for GBS-colonized women undergoing planned cesarean deliveries prior to the onset of labor or the rupture of membranes; a suggested algorithm for management of threatened preterm delivery; and an updated algorithm for the management of newborns exposed to intrapartum antibiotics.

Distribution and characterization of estrogen receptor G protein-coupled receptor 30 in the rat central nervous system

Abstract: The G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR 30) has been identified as the non-genomic estrogen receptor, and G-1, the specific ligand for GPR30. With the use of a polyclonal antiserum directed against the human C-terminus of GPR30, immunohistochemical studies revealed GPR30-immunoreactivity (irGPR30) in the brain of adult male and non-pregnant female rats. A high density of irGPR30 was noted in the Islands of Calleja and striatum. In the hypothalamus, irGPR30 was detected in the paraventricular nucleus and supraoptic nucleus. The anterior and posterior pituitary contained numerous irGPR30 cells and terminal-like endings. Cells in the hippocampal formation as well as the substantia nigra were irGPR30. In the brainstem, irGPR30 cells were noted in the area postrema, nucleus of the solitary tract, and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus; a cluster of cells were prominently labeled in the nucleus ambiguus. Tissue sections processed with pre-immune serum showed no irGPR30, affirming the specificity of the antiserum. G-1 (100 nM) caused a large increase of intracellular calcium concentrations [Ca(2+) ](i) in dissociated and cultured rat hypothalamic neurons, as assessed by microfluorometric Fura-2 imaging. The calcium response to a second application of G-1 showed a marked homologous desensitization. Our result shows a high expression of irGPR30 in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, hippocampal formation, and brainstem autonomic nuclei; and the activation of GPR30 by G-1 is associated with a mobilization of calcium in dissociated and cultured rat hypothalamic neurons.

Neglected Outcomes of Customer Satisfaction

Abstract: Although there is significant evidence that customer satisfaction is an important driver of firm profitability, extant literature has largely neglected two intermediate outcomes of customer satisfaction, namely, a firm’s advertising and promotion efficiency and its human capital performance. On the basis of longitudinal analyses of large-scale secondary data from multiple sources, the authors find that customer satisfaction boosts the efficiency of future advertising and promotion investments. This finding can be explained by the possibility that customer satisfaction generates free word-of-mouth advertising and saves subsequent marketing costs. In addition, customer satisfaction has a positive influence on a company’s excellence in human capital (employee talent and manager superiority). This finding is highly novel, indicating that human resources managers should have a strong interest in customer satisfaction as well. Finally, the authors investigate the moderating influence of market concentration on both relationships. The uncovered results have important implications for marketers in their dialogue with financial executives and human resources managers.

The Safety and Efficacy of Infliximab in Moderate to Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract: Rationale: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive, smoking-related, inflammatory lung disease in which tumor necrosis factor-α is overexpressed and has been suggested to play a pathogenic role.Objectives: To determine if infliximab, an anti–TNF-α antibody, results in clinical benefit and has an acceptable safety profile in patients with moderate to severe COPD.Methods: In a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, dose-finding study, subjects with moderate to severe COPD received infliximab (3 mg/kg [n = 78] or 5 mg/kg [n = 79]) or placebo (n = 77) at Weeks 0, 2, 6, 12, 18, and 24. Efficacy, health status, and safety were assessed through Week 44.Measurements and Main Results: Infliximab was generally well tolerated, but showed no treatment benefit as measured by the primary endpoint, Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire total score. Similarly, there was no change in secondary measures, including prebronchodilator FEV1, 6-min walk distance, SF-36 physi...

Angiotensin II signal transduction through the AT1 receptor: novel insights into mechanisms and pathophysiology.

Abstract: The intracellular signal transduction of AngII (angiotensin II) has been implicated in cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis and restenosis after injury. AT(1) receptor (AngII type-1 receptor), a G-protein-coupled receptor, mediates most of the physiological and pathophysiological actions of AngII, and this receptor is predominantly expressed in cardiovascular cells, such as VSMCs (vascular smooth muscle cells). AngII activates various signalling molecules, including G-protein-derived second messengers, protein kinases and small G-proteins (Ras, Rho, Rac etc), through the AT(1) receptor leading to vascular remodelling. Growth factor receptors, such as EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor), have been demonstrated to be 'trans'-activated by the AT(1) receptor in VSMCs to mediate growth and migration. Rho and its effector Rho-kinase/ROCK are also implicated in the pathological cellular actions of AngII in VSMCs. Less is known about the endothelial AngII signalling; however, recent studies suggest the endothelial AngII signalling positively, as well as negatively, regulates the NO (nitric oxide) signalling pathway and, thereby, modulates endothelial dysfunction. Moreover, selective AT(1)-receptor-interacting proteins have recently been identified that potentially regulate AngII signal transduction and their pathogenic functions in the target organs. In this review, we focus our discussion on the recent findings and concepts that suggest the existence of the above-mentioned novel signalling mechanisms whereby AngII mediates the formation of cardiovascular diseases.

Recent computational developments in krylov subspace methods for linear systems

Abstract: Many advances in the development of Krylov subspace methods for the iterative solution of linear systems during the last decade and a half are reviewed. These new developments include different versions of restarted, augmented, deflated, flexible, nested, and inexact methods. Also reviewed are methods specifically tailored to systems with special properties such as special forms of symmetry and those depending on one or more parameters. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Has the Use of Peer Groups Contributed to Higher Pay and Less Efficient Compensation

Abstract: We provide empirical evidence on how the practice of competitive benchmarking affects CEO pay. We find that the use of benchmarking is widespread, and has a significant impact on levels and changes in CEO compensation. The practice is controversial and one view is that it is inefficient because it can lead to increases in executive pay that are not tied to firm performance. A contrasting view is that benchmarking can be a practical and efficient mechanism to gauge the market wage necessary to retain valuable human capital. Our empirical results provide some support for the latter view. We find that firms use competitive benchmarking to gauge the reservation wage necessary for retention. Our analysis also provides an alternative explanation for the documented asymmetry in the relationship between CEO pay and luck, which has previously been attributed to rent seeking behavior.

Developmental Psychology: Philosophy, Concepts, Methodology

Abstract: All scientific concepts, theories, and research methods are built on sets of fundamental, often implicit, assumptions termed metatheoretical. This chapter examines the history and contemporary developmental theoretical and methodological implications of two alternative widely held metatheories – split and relational. Split metatheory emerged from Cartesian dualism. It dichotomizes the world into elemental pure forms that stand as antinomies, resolved only by suppressing the reality of one member of the pair. This metatheory generates atomism, reductionism, foundationalism, the assumption of strictly additive complexity or aggregates, and a neo-positivist methodology. Relational metatheory emerged from a holistic ground. It synthesizes splits into integrated wholes, mends antinomies (e.g., brain and body, subject and object, nature and nurture, and continuity and discontinuity) and promotes relative standpoints of inquiry. Relational metatheory generates part-whole analysis, the assumption of nonadditive complexity or dynamic systems, and a retroductive (abductive) methodology. Keywords: concepts; dynamic systems; methods; relational metatheory; split metatheory; transformational change; variational change

Incremental Local Outlier Detection for Data Streams

Abstract: Outlier detection has recently become an important problem in many industrial and financial applications. This problem is further complicated by the fact that in many cases, outliers have to be detected from data streams that arrive at an enormous pace. In this paper, an incremental LOF (local outlier factor) algorithm, appropriate for detecting outliers in data streams, is proposed. The proposed incremental LOF algorithm provides equivalent detection performance as the iterated static LOF algorithm (applied after insertion of each data record), while requiring significantly less computational time. In addition, the incremental LOF algorithm also dynamically updates the profiles of data points. This is a very important property, since data profiles may change over time. The paper provides theoretical evidence that insertion of a new data point as well as deletion of an old data point influence only limited number of their closest neighbors and thus the number of updates per such insertion/deletion does not depend on the total number of points TV in the data set. Our experiments performed on several simulated and real life data sets have demonstrated that the proposed incremental LOF algorithm is computationally efficient, while at the same time very successful in detecting outliers and changes of distributional behavior in various data stream applications

G Protein regulation of MAPK networks

Abstract: G proteins provide signal-coupling mechanisms to heptahelical cell surface receptors and are critically involved in the regulation of different mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) networks. The four classes of G proteins, defined by the G(s), G(i), G(q) and G(12) families, regulate ERK1/2, JNK, p38MAPK, ERK5 and ERK6 modules by different mechanisms. The alpha- as well as betagamma-subunits are involved in the regulation of these MAPK modules in a context-specific manner. While the alpha- and betagamma-subunits primarily regulate the MAPK pathways via their respective effector-mediated signaling pathways, recent studies have unraveled several novel signaling intermediates including receptor tyrosine kinases and small GTPases through which these G-protein subunits positively as well as negatively regulate specific MAPK modules. Multiple mechanisms together with specific scaffold proteins that can link G-protein-coupled receptors or G proteins to distinct MAPK modules contribute to the context-specific and spatio-temporal regulation of mitogen-activated protein signaling networks by G proteins.