Asynchronous Remote Medical Consultation for Ghana

Computer-mediated communication systems can be used to bridge the gap between doctors in underserved regions with local shortages of medical expertise and medical specialists worldwide. To this end, we describe the design of a prototype remote consultation system intended to provide the social, institutional and infrastructural context for sustained, self-organizing growth of a globally-distributed Ghanaian medical community. The design is grounded in an iterative design process that included two rounds of extended design fieldwork throughout Ghana and draws on three key design principles (social networks as a framework on which to build incentives within a self-organizing network; optional and incremental integration with existing referral mechanisms; and a weakly-connected, distributed architecture that allows for a highly interactive, responsive system despite failures in connectivity). We discuss initial experiences from an ongoing trial deployment in southern Ghana.Comment: 10 page

The influence of advertisement familiarity and originality on visual attention and brand memory.

Based on Mandler's theory of schema organization and previous visual attention research, we formulate and test hypotheses about the impact of ad familiarity and ad originality on attention and memory for print advertisements. To that end, one hundred and nineteen consumers browsed through two consumer magazines containing 68 print advertisements. Attention to the ads and their brand, picture and text components was assessed through infrared eye tracking. Trained judges rated the ads independently for familiarity and originality. In support of the hypotheses we find a sharp attention decline with ad familiarity, which is largely due to a reduction in attention to text. Originality of ad execution serves as a buffer against the negative influence of ad familiarity on attention, but only for the brand and picture components. The reduction of attention to the text is even larger for original than for unoriginal ads. Moreover, over and above their indirect influence through visual attention patterns, ad familiarity, ad originality and their interaction had a direct influence on brand memory.Advertising;

ICTD for Healthcare in Ghana: Two Parallel Case Studies

This paper examines two parallel case studies to promote remote medical consultation in Ghana. These projects, initiated independently by different researchers in different organizations, both deployed ICT solutions in the same medical community in the same year. The Ghana Consultation Network currently has over 125 users running a Web-based application over a delay-tolerant network of servers. OneTouch MedicareLine is currently providing 1700 doctors in Ghana with free mobile phone calls and text messages to other members of the medical community. We present the consequences of (1) the institutional context and identity of the investigators, as well as specific decisions made with respect to (2) partnerships formed, (3) perceptions of technological infrastructure, and (4) high-level design decisions. In concluding, we discuss lessons learned and high-level implications for future ICTD research agendas.Comment: 11 page

Preference in the harried eye of the beholder: the effect of time pressure and task motivation.

We report a study in which eye tracking data were gathered to examine the impact of time-pressure and task motivation on the flow of visual attention during choice processing from a naturalistic stimulus-based product display. We find patterns of adaptation of visual attention to time pressure in terms of acceleration, filtration, and strategy shift that have not been reported previously. In addition we find, regardless of condition, strong correlation's between visual attention to the brands in the choice set and preference for the brands. Results are discussed in terms of strategic and non-strategic information acquisition during stimulus-based choice, and implications for attention theory are offered.

Inhibition of the multidrug resistance P-glycoprotein: Time for a change of strategy?

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a key player in the multidrug-resistant phenotype in cancer. The protein confers resistance by mediating the ATP-dependent efflux of an astonishing array of anticancer drugs. Its broad specificity has been the subject of numerous attempts to inhibit the protein and restore the efficacy of anticancer drugs. The general strategy has been to develop compounds that either compete with anticancer drugs for transport or act as direct inhibitors of P-gp. Despite considerable in vitro success, there are no compounds currently available to "block" P-gp-mediated resistance in the clinic. The failure may be attributed to toxicity, adverse drug interaction, and numerous pharmacokinetic issues. This review provides a description of several alternative approaches to overcome the activity of P-gp in drug-resistant cells. These include 1) drugs that specifically target resistant cells, 2) novel nanotechnologies to provide high-dose, targeted delivery of anticancer drugs, 3) compounds that interfere with nongenomic transfer of resistance, and 4) approaches to reduce the expression of P-gp within tumors. Such approaches have been developed through the pursuit of greater understanding of resistance mediators such as P-gp, and they show considerable potential for further application. Copyright © 2014 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Directional optical switching and transistor functionality using optical parametric oscillation in a spinor polariton fluid

Over the past decade, spontaneously emerging patterns in the density of polaritons in semiconductor microcavities were found to be a promising candidate for all-optical switching. But recent approaches were mostly restricted to scalar fields, did not benefit from the polariton's unique spin-dependent properties, and utilized switching based on hexagon far-field patterns with 60{\deg} beam switching (i.e. in the far field the beam propagation direction is switched by 60{\deg}). Since hexagon far-field patterns are challenging, we present here an approach for a linearly polarized spinor field, that allows for a transistor-like (e.g., crucial for cascadability) orthogonal beam switching, i.e. in the far field the beam is switched by 90{\deg}. We show that switching specifications such as amplification and speed can be adjusted using only optical means

Microparticles derived from drug-resistant cells regulate miR-503 and PYK2 to promote migration and invasion in breast cancer

Abstract Introduction: Drug resistance and metastatic spread are two of the most malicious aspects of cancer progression. Microparticles (MPs) have previously been implicated in the spread of these phenotypes independently. We now demonstrate that these two characteristics are linked, with the MP-mediated acquisition of drug resistance correlating with the emergence of an enhanced metastatic capacity. In this way, MPs serve as a conduit between drug resistance and metastasis. Therefore, addressing the impact of MPs may be a means of managing both of these deleterious aspects simultaneously. This makes MPs a significant and viable target in the management of cancer. Methods and results: We used microarray analysis to identify regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs) contributing to the dissemination of the metastatic trait in our cancer model. miR-503 was downregulated in recipient cells following coculture with MPs isolated from drug resistant cells. This was inversely associated with metastatic capacity, as demonstrated in wound healing/scratch migration assays and Matrigel®-coated transwell invasion assays. We also found that the proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (PYK2) gene transcript and miRNAs associated with its regulation, were upregulated in recipient cells following co-culture with MPs derived from drug-resistant cells. Elevated PYK2 was accompanied with increased migration and invasion, with these phenotypes reversible in the presence of a pharmacological inhibitor of PYK2 phosphorylation, tyrphostin A9. However, the MP-mediated promotion of metastatic traits was not due to the direct transfer of effectors in the selectively packaged MP cargo. Rather, acquired PYK2 protein and transcripts were downstream effectors of components within the cargo itself. Therefore, the consideration of the role of MPs in trait acquisition extends beyond the direct transfer of components within the cargo to also include the transfer of intermediary regulators, resulting in alterations in the proteomic and transcriptional landscape of the recipient cells. This implicates the expanding role of MPs in the deleterious survival mechanisms of cancer pathogenesis. This research is funded by the NHMRC (APP1007613). Note: These results were published in Frontiers in Oncology as a full-length article before the online publication of this abstract. Citation information: Microparticles mediate the intercellular regulation of microRNA-503 and proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 to alter the migration and invasion capacity of breast cancer cells. Gong J, Luk F, Jaiswal R, Bebawy M. Front Onc. 2014 Aug 15;4:220. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2014.00220. eCollection 2014. Citation Format: Joyce Gong, Frederick Luk, Ritu Jaiswal, Mary Bebawy. Microparticles derived from drug-resistant cells regulate miR-503 and PYK2 to promote migration and invasion in breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Drug Sensitivity and Resistance: Improving Cancer Therapy; Jun 18-21, 2014; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2015;21(4 Suppl): Abstract nr PR08.</jats:p