644 results on '"Christian Smith"'
Search Results
352. Fundamentalism et al: Conservative Protestants in America
- Author
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Robert D. Woodberry and Christian Smith
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education.field_of_study ,Sociology and Political Science ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Population ,Gender studies ,Evangelism ,Conservatism ,Quarter (United States coin) ,Biology and political orientation ,Politics ,Protestantism ,Fundamentalism ,Sociology ,Positive economics ,education ,media_common - Abstract
Since the rise of the religious right, scholars have become increasingly interested in studying conservative Protestantism. Not only do conservative Protestants (CPs) make up at least a quarter of the US population; they differ from many Americans in gender-role attitudes, childrearing styles, political orientation, and other ways as well. In fact, religious factors often predict people's political views better than do either class or gender, even though the latter two have received far more attention in the scholarly literature ( Manza & Brooks 1997 , Kellstedt et al 1996b ). Unfortunately research in this area has been hampered by imprecise measurement and poor understanding of the various movements grouped together as CPs. This has muddied statistical results, stifled theoretical development, and blinded researchers to promising areas of analysis. Thus, in this chapter we first discuss the history and distinctive qualities of the various CP movements, then we use these insights to propose better survey measures, and finally we apply this knowledge to several substantive areas (i.e., gender-role attitudes, childrearing styles, tolerance, the “culture wars,” the religious right, and the reasons for the religious vitality of CP groups).
- Published
- 1998
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353. Towards a Unified Behavior Trees Framework for Robot Control
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Alejandro Marzinotto, Petter Ögren, Michele Colledanchise, and Christian Smith
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Consistency (database systems) ,Computer science ,business.industry ,Datorseende och robotik (autonoma system) ,Behavior Trees ,Plan (drawing) ,Artificial intelligence ,Representation (mathematics) ,business ,Computer Vision and Robotics (Autonomous Systems) ,Robot control - Abstract
This paper presents a unified framework for Behavior Trees (BTs), a plan representation and execution tool. The available literature lacks the consistency and mathematical rigor required for robotic and control applications. Therefore, we approach this problem in two steps: first, reviewing the most popular BT literature exposing the aforementioned issues; second, describing our unified BT framework along with equivalence notions between BTs and Controlled Hybrid Dynamical Systems (CHDSs). This paper improves on the existing state of the art as it describes BTs in a more accurate and compact way, while providing insight about their actual representation capabilities. Lastly, we demonstrate the applicability of our framework to real systems scheduling open-loop actions in a grasping mission that involves a NAO robot and our BT library. QC 20150507
- Published
- 2014
354. On Social Solidarity
- Author
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Katherine Sorrell and Christian Smith
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Sociological theory ,Reductionism ,Mechanical and organic solidarity ,Social system ,Social change ,Critical realism (philosophy of the social sciences) ,Sociology ,Solidarity ,Social relation ,Epistemology - Abstract
We believe it is necessary to understand solidarity as one mode of relation or operation among others in human social life. It is not the only mode of human relations in social life, but it is also a distinct type of human relating that is fundamental and necessary. In contrast to this multimode view of different types of human social relations, sociological theory has long been tempted to reduce all of human social experience to one or another mode of operation. One approach frames human social life as all about the group struggles for domination and status on fields of contention. Another theorizes social existence as all about actors following norms toward the meeting of the social system’s functional requisites to ensure society’s survival and proper functioning. Still another conceives of humans as atomistic, rational cost-benefit calculators seeking to maximize their own utility. The list of reductionistic theories that compress the complexities of human social life into one-dimensional descriptive and explanatory frameworks could be lengthened. By contrast, we approach the question as critical realists, understanding the task of social science to be best described by the philosophy of critical realism (Bhaskar 1979, 2008; C. Smith 2010; Danermark et al. 2002; Archer 1995; Sayer 1992). That means in part that we understand reality to be differentiated, stratified, emergent, and complex; that the job of theory is to well describe what exists in reality and how it works; and so theory must strive toward “adequate complexity” in its descriptive and explanatory accounts to capture and represent the real multidimensional nature of human life and experience, instead of providing what turn out to be simplistic accounts in the name of parsimony.
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- 2014
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355. Sustainable Water Jobs
- Author
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Juliet Christian-Smith, Eli Moore, Heather Cooley, and Kristina Donnelly
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Natural resource economics ,business.industry ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Economic sector ,Environmental resource management ,Stormwater ,Reuse ,Water conservation ,Goods and services ,State (polity) ,Agriculture ,business ,media_common ,Sustainable water management - Abstract
Many jobs, in different sectors of the economy, are required to manage, deliver, and treat the freshwater required to satisfy our commercial, institutional, industrial, agricultural, and domestic needs for goods and services. A range of sustainable water strategies to address twenty-first-century water challenges have emerged that reach far beyond the conventional water sector. Growing attention is being given to sustainable measures such as low-impact development, water reuse, watershed restoration, water conservation and efficiency, and many other proven and promising practices. As the country shifts to more sustainable water management, new services, occupations, and markets are emerging. In addition, over the next decade there will be a need for major investments in the nation’s aging infrastructure for wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water along with ongoing operation and maintenance jobs to sustain that infrastructure. Many of these jobs are eligible for public funding and have been the focus of increased funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and other federal and state policies. However, information is needed to help local, state, and federal agencies; utilities; companies; unions; and nonprofit entities adopt strategies that maximize job creation and other potential benefits of these practices.
- Published
- 2014
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356. Mapping Human Intentions to Robot Motions via Physical Interaction Through a Jointly-held Object
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Christian Smith, Danica Kragic, and Yiannis Karayiannidis
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0209 industrial biotechnology ,Robot kinematics ,business.industry ,Computer science ,GRASP ,Robotics ,02 engineering and technology ,Translation (geometry) ,Object (computer science) ,Robot control ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,Robotteknik och automation ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Robot ,020201 artificial intelligence & image processing ,Computer vision ,Artificial intelligence ,business ,Rotation (mathematics) - Abstract
In this paper we consider the problem of human-robot collaborative manipulation of an object, where the human is active in controlling the motion, and the robot is passively following the human's lead. Assuming that the human grasp of the object only allows for transfer of forces and not torques, there is a disambiguity as to whether the human desires translation or rotation. In this paper, we analyze different approaches to this problem both theoretically and in experiment. This leads to the proposal of a control methodology that uses switching between two different admittance control modes based on the magnitude of measured force to achieve disambiguation of the rotation/translation problem. QC 20150310
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- 2014
357. Global Water Governance in the Twenty-First Century
- Author
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Newsha K. Ajami, Kristina Donnelly, Veena Srinivasan, Heather Cooley, Juliet Christian-Smith, Jason Morrison, and Mai-Lan Ha
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Water resources ,Ecosystem health ,Sanitation ,Endowment ,business.industry ,Natural resource economics ,Environmental resource management ,Virtual water ,Population growth ,Water supply ,business ,Water scarcity - Abstract
Growing pressure on the world’s water resources is having major impacts on our social and economic well-being. Even as the planet’s endowment of water is expected to remain constant, human appropriation of water, already at 50 percent by some measures, is expected to increase further (Postel et al. 1996). Pressures on water resources are likely to worsen in response to population growth, shifts toward more meat-based diets, climate change, and other challenges. Moreover, the world’s water is increasingly becoming degraded in quality, raising the cost of treatment and threatening human and ecosystem health (Palaniappan et al. 2010). Furthermore, the physical availability of freshwater resources does not guarantee that a safe, affordable water supply is available to all. At least 780 million people do not have access to clean drinking water, some 2.5 billion people lack access to safe sanitation systems, and 2–5 million people—mainly children—die as a result of preventable water-related diseases every year (Gleick 2002; UN 2009; WHO and UNICEF 2012).
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- 2014
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358. Online Contact Point Estimation for Uncalibrated Tool Use
- Author
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Danica Kragic, Christian Smith, Yiannis Karayiannidis, and Francisco E. Vina
- Subjects
Engineering ,business.industry ,Datorseende och robotik (autonoma system) ,GRASP ,Robot ,Control engineering ,Point estimation ,business ,Computer Vision and Robotics (Autonomous Systems) - Abstract
One of the big challenges for robots working outside of traditional industrial settings is the ability to robustly and flexibly grasp and manipulate tools for various tasks. When a tool is interacting with another object during task execution, several problems arise: a tool can be partially or completely occluded from the robot's view, it can slip or shift in the robot's hand - thus, the robot may lose the information about the exact position of the tool in the hand. Thus, there is a need for online calibration and/or recalibration of the tool. In this paper, we present a model-free online tool-tip calibration method that uses force/torque measurements and an adaptive estimation scheme to estimate the point of contact between a tool and the environment. An adaptive force control component guarantees that interaction forces are limited even before the contact point estimate has converged. We also show how to simultaneously estimate the location and normal direction of the surface being touched by the tool-tip as the contact point is estimated. The stability of the the overall scheme and the convergence of the estimated parameters are theoretically proven and the performance is evaluated in experiments on a real robot. QC 20150507
- Published
- 2014
359. Dual Arm Manipulation using ConstraintBased Programming
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Francisco E. Vina, Yuquan Wang, Petter Ögren, Christian Smith, and Yiannis Karayiannidis
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Robots manipulators ,Motion Control Systems ,Intelligent robotics ,Robotteknik och automation ,Computer science ,Control theory ,Constraint based programming ,Trajectory ,Feed forward ,Robotics ,Manipulator ,DUAL (cognitive architecture) ,Tracking (particle physics) ,Haptic technology ,Task (project management) - Abstract
In this paper, we present a technique for online generation of dual arm trajectories using constraint based programming based on bound margins. Using this formulation, we take both equality and inequality constraints into account, in a way that incorporates both feedback and feedforward terms, enabling e.g. tracking of timed trajectories in a new way. The technique is applied to a dual arm manipulator performing a bi-manual task. We present experimental validation of the approach, including comparisons between simulations and real experiments of a complex bimanual tracking task. We also show how to add force feedback to the framework, to account for modeling errors in the systems. We compare the results with and without feedback, and show how the resulting trajectory is modified to achieve the prescribed interaction forces. QC 20150630. QC 20200713 European Union FP7 project RoboHow.Cog
- Published
- 2014
360. The Empty Church: The Suicide of Liberal Christianity; By Thomas C. Reeves New York, Free, 1996. 276 pp. $25.00
- Author
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Christian Smith
- Subjects
Philosophy ,Liberal Christianity ,Religious studies ,Theology - Published
- 1997
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361. Integrating 3D features and virtual visual servoing for hand-eye and humanoid robot pose estimation
- Author
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Christian Smith, Mårten Björkman, Xavi Gratal, and Danica Kragic
- Subjects
business.industry ,Computer science ,Robot ,Mobile robot ,Computer vision ,Artificial intelligence ,business ,Visual servoing ,3D pose estimation ,Pose ,Articulated body pose estimation ,Humanoid robot ,Robot control - Abstract
In this paper, we propose an approach for vision-based pose estimation of a robot hand or full-body pose. The method is based on virtual visual servoing using a CAD model of the robot and it combines 2-D image features with depth features. The method can be applied to estimate either the pose of a robot hand or pose of the whole body given that its joint configuration is known. We present experimental results that show the performance of the approach as demonstrated on both a mobile humanoid robot and a stationary manipulator.
- Published
- 2013
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362. Predicting slippage and learning manipulation affordances through Gaussian Process regression
- Author
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Yiannis Karayiannidis, Yasemin Bekiroglu, E B Francisco Vina, Danica Kragic, and Christian Smith
- Subjects
robotic grasping ,0209 industrial biotechnology ,business.industry ,Computer science ,05 social sciences ,Process (computing) ,robotic manipulation ,Robotics ,02 engineering and technology ,Collision ,Object (computer science) ,050105 experimental psychology ,Contact force ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,Robotteknik och automation ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Computer vision ,Noise (video) ,Slippage ,Artificial intelligence ,business ,Affordance - Abstract
Object grasping is commonly followed by someform of object manipulation – either when using the grasped object as a tool or actively changing its position in the hand through in-hand manipulation to afford further interaction. In this process, slippage may occur due to inappropriate contact forces, various types of noise and/or due to the unexpected interaction or collision with the environment. In this paper, we study the problem of identifying continuous bounds on the forces and torques that can be applied on a grasped object before slippage occurs. We model the problem as kinesthetic rather than cutaneous learning given that the measurements originate from a wrist mounted force-torque sensor. Given the continuous output, this regression problem is solved using a Gaussian Process approach.We demonstrate a dual armed humanoid robot that can autonomously learn force and torque bounds and use these to execute actions on objects such as sliding and pushing. We show that the model can be used not only for the detection of maximum allowable forces and torques but also for potentially identifying what types of tasks, denoted as manipulation affordances, a specific grasp configuration allows. The latter can then be used to either avoid specific motions or as a simple step of achieving in-hand manipulation of objects through interaction with the environment. QC 20130930
- Published
- 2013
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363. Time to prostate specific antigen (PSA) nadir may predict rapid relapse in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) receiving docetaxel chemotherapy
- Author
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Jason F. Lester, Betsan Thomas, Jessica Evans, Jacob S. Tanguay, Nachi Palaniappan, Christian Smith, M.R. Button, John Staffurth, and Satish Kumar
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Oncology ,Male ,Cancer Research ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Disease Response ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Docetaxel ,Castration resistant ,Disease-Free Survival ,Prostate cancer ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Castration ,Psa nadir ,Aged ,Retrospective Studies ,Aged, 80 and over ,Chemotherapy ,Hematology ,business.industry ,Prostatic Neoplasms ,General Medicine ,Middle Aged ,Prostate-Specific Antigen ,medicine.disease ,Prostate-specific antigen ,Disease Progression ,Taxoids ,Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ,business ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Docetaxel has been shown to improve survival in patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). There is no clear consensus regarding the optimum duration of chemotherapy. If patients at greater risk of rapid disease relapse could be identified when on chemotherapy, appropriate follow-up strategies could be put into place. The aim of our study was to find prostate specific antigen (PSA) characteristics that predict a shorter disease response to docetaxel chemotherapy. Data from 41 consecutive mCRPC patients treated with three-weekly docetaxel chemotherapy at a single centre between February 2010 and February 2012 were retrospectively analysed. All patients had ≥50 % reduction in their PSA with chemotherapy. The relationship between time to PSA nadir (TTN) and PSA halving time with time to PSA progression and overall chemotherapy response duration was analysed. TTN was a strong predictor of the duration of chemotherapy response and time to PSA progression. When TTN was ≥16 weeks, the mean duration of response to chemotherapy was 37.5 weeks compared to 19.9 weeks when TTN
- Published
- 2013
364. Model-free robot manipulation of doors and drawers by means of fixed-grasps
- Author
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Yiannis Karayiannidis, Petter Ögren, Danica Kragic, Francisco E. Vina, and Christian Smith
- Subjects
Velocity controllers ,0209 industrial biotechnology ,Engineering ,02 engineering and technology ,Kinematics ,Robot manipulation ,Computer Science::Robotics ,Motion direction ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,Control theory ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Torque ,Torque sensor ,Damping torque ,Instant centre of rotation ,Simulation ,Friction torque ,business.industry ,Robot interactions ,Robotics ,Revolute joint ,Motion control ,Center of rotation ,Tangential velocities ,Prior knowledge ,Robotteknik och automation ,Force/torque sensor ,020201 artificial intelligence & image processing ,business - Abstract
This paper addresses the problem of robot interaction with objects attached to the environment through joints such as doors or drawers. We propose a methodology that requires no prior knowledge of the objects’ kinematics, including the type of joint - either prismatic or revolute. The method consists of a velocity controller which relies onforce/torque measurements and estimation of the motion direction,rotational axis and the distance from the center of rotation.The method is suitable for any velocity controlled manipulatorwith a force/torque sensor at the end-effector. The force/torquecontrol regulates the applied forces and torques within givenconstraints, while the velocity controller ensures that the endeffectormoves with a task-related desired tangential velocity. The paper also provides a proof that the estimates converge tothe actual values. The method is evaluated in different scenarios typically met in a household environment. QC 20140116
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
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365. A model of handing interaction towards a pedestrian
- Author
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Chao Shi, Masahiro Shiomi, Christian Smith, Takayuki Kanda, and Hiroshi Ishiguro
- Subjects
Robotteknik och automation ,Human Robot Interaction ,ComputingMethodologies_IMAGEPROCESSINGANDCOMPUTERVISION ,Robotics ,Object Handing ,ComputingMethodologies_COMPUTERGRAPHICS - Abstract
This video reports our research on developing a model for a robot handing flyers to pedestrians. The difficulty is that potential receivers are pedestrians who are not necessarily cooperative; thus, the robot needs to appropriately plan its motion making it is easy and non-obstructive for potential receivers to receive the flyers. In order to establish a model, we analyzed human interaction, and found that (1) a giver approaches a pedestrian from frontal right/left but not frontal center, and (2) he simultaneously stops his walking motion and arm-extending motion at the moment when he hands out the flyer. Using these findings, we established a model for a robot to perform natural proactive handing. The proposed model is implemented in a humanoid robot and is confirmed as effective in a field experiment. QC 20130719
- Published
- 2013
366. Online Kinematics Estimation for Active Human-Robot Manipulation of Jointly Held Objects
- Author
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Yiannis Karayiannidis, Christian Smith, Danica Kragic, and Francisco E. Vina
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0209 industrial biotechnology ,Engineering ,Robot kinematics ,Inverse kinematics ,business.industry ,Robotics ,02 engineering and technology ,Robot end effector ,Object (computer science) ,Manipulated objects ,Human–robot interaction ,law.invention ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,Robotteknik och automation ,law ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Human agent ,Robot ,020201 artificial intelligence & image processing ,Computer vision ,Motion planning ,Artificial intelligence ,Real robot ,business - Abstract
This paper introduces a method for estimating the constraints imposed by a human agent on a jointly manipulated object. These estimates can be used to infer knowledge of where the human is grasping an object, enabling the robot to plan trajectories for manipulating the object while subject to the constraints. We describe the method in detail, motivate its validity theoretically, and demonstrate its use in co-manipulation tasks with a real robot. QC 20140320
- Published
- 2013
367. Lost in Transition : The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood
- Author
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Christian Smith, Kari Christoffersen, Hilary Davidson, Patricia Snell Herzog, Christian Smith, Kari Christoffersen, Hilary Davidson, and Patricia Snell Herzog
- Subjects
- Young adults--United States--Conduct of life, Young adults--United States--Attitudes, Young adults--United States--Social life and customs--21st century
- Abstract
Life for emerging adults is vastly different today than it was for their counterparts even a generation ago. Young people are waiting longer to marry, to have children, and to choose a career direction. As a result, they enjoy more freedom, opportunities, and personal growth than ever before. But the transition to adulthood is also more complex, disjointed, and confusing. In Lost in Transition, Christian Smith and his collaborators draw on 230 in-depth interviews with a broad cross-section of emerging adults (ages 18-23) to investigate the difficulties young people face today, the underlying causes of those difficulties, and the consequences both for individuals and for American society as a whole. Rampant consumer capitalism, ongoing failures in education, hyper-individualism, postmodernist moral relativism, and other aspects of American culture are all contributing to the chaotic terrain that emerging adults must cross. Smith identifies five major problems facing very many young people today: confused moral reasoning, routine intoxication, materialistic life goals, regrettable sexual experiences, and disengagement from civic and political life. The trouble does not lie only with the emerging adults or their poor individual decisions but has much deeper roots in mainstream American culture--a culture which emerging adults have largely inherited rather than created. Older adults, Smith argues, must recognize that much of the responsibility for the pain and confusion young people face lies with them. Rejecting both sky-is-falling alarmism on the one hand and complacent disregard on the other, Smith suggests the need for what he calls'realistic concern'--and a reconsideration of our cultural priorities and practices--that will help emerging adults more skillfully engage unique challenges they face. Even-handed, engagingly written, and based on comprehensive research, Lost in Transition brings much needed attention to the darker side of the transition to adulthood.
- Published
- 2011
368. How to Go From Being a Good Evangelical to a Committed Catholic in Ninety-Five Difficult Steps
- Author
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Christian Smith and Christian Smith
- Subjects
- Catholic Church--Relations--Evangelicalism, Evangelicalism--Relations--Catholic Church
- Abstract
American evangelicalism has recently experienced a new openness to Roman Catholicism, and many evangelicals, both famous and ordinary, have joined the Catholic Church or are considering the possibility. This book helps evangelicals who are exploring Catholicism to sort out the kind of concerns that typically come up in discerning whether to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church. In simple language, it explains many theological misunderstandings that evangelicals often have about Catholicism and suggests the kind of practical steps many take to enter the Catholic Church. The book frames evangelicals becoming Roman Catholic as a kind of'paradigm shift'involving the buildup of anomalies about evangelicalism, a crisis of the evangelical paradigm, a paradigm revolution, and the consolidation of the new Catholic paradigm. It will be useful for both evangelicals interested in pursuing and understanding Catholicism and Catholic pastoral workers seeking to help evangelical seekers who come to them.
- Published
- 2011
369. Whole Body Control of a Dual-Arm Mobile Robot Using a Virtual Kinematic Chain
- Author
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Yuquan Wang, Yiannis Karayiannidis, Petter Ögren, and Christian Smith
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Kinematic chain ,0209 industrial biotechnology ,Inverse kinematics ,business.industry ,Computer science ,Mechanical Engineering ,05 social sciences ,Mobile robot ,Robotics ,02 engineering and technology ,Kinematics ,Workspace ,Computer Science::Robotics ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,Artificial Intelligence ,Control theory ,Redundancy (engineering) ,Robot ,Artificial intelligence ,0509 other social sciences ,050904 information & library sciences ,business ,Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics ,Simulation - Abstract
Dual-arm manipulators have more advanced manipulation abilities compared to single-arm manipulators and manipulators mounted on a mobile base have additional mobility and a larger workspace. Combining these advantages, mobile dual-arm robots are expected to perform a variety of tasks in the future. Kinematically, the configuration of two arms that branches from the mobile base results in a serial-to-parallel kinematic structure. In order to respond to external disturbances, this serial-to-parallel kinematic structure makes inverse kinematic computations non-trivial, as the motion of the base has to take the needs of both arms into account. Instead of using the dual-arm kinematics directly, we propose to use a virtual kinematic chain (VKC) to specify the common motion of the two arms. We formulate a constraint-based programming solution which consists of two parts. In the first part, we use an extended serial kinematic chain including the mobile base and the VKC to formulate constraints that realize the desired orientation and translation expressed in the world frame. In the second part, we use the resolved VKC motion to constrain the common motion of the two arms. In order to explore the redundancy of the two arms in an optimization framework, we also provide a VKC-oriented manipulability measure as well as its closed-form gradient. We verify the proposed approach with simulations and experiments that are performed on a PR2 robot, which has two 7 degrees of freedom (DoF) arms and a 3 DoF mobile base.
- Published
- 2016
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370. Optimal command ordering for serial link manipulators
- Author
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Yiannis Karayiannidis and Christian Smith
- Subjects
0209 industrial biotechnology ,business.industry ,Serial communication ,Computer science ,Robotics ,02 engineering and technology ,Degrees of freedom (mechanics) ,Optimal control ,Serial manipulator ,Computer Science::Robotics ,03 medical and health sciences ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,0302 clinical medicine ,Robotteknik och automation ,humanoids ,Control theory ,Robot design ,Robot ,Artificial intelligence ,business ,control ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Humanoid robot - Abstract
Reducing the number of cables needed for the actuators and sensors of humanoid and other robots with high numbers of degrees of freedom (DoF) is a relevant problem, often solved by using a common bus for all communication, which may result in bandwidth limitation problems. This paper proposes an optimized method to re-order the commands sent to the joint-local controllers of a high DoF serial manipulator. The proposed method evaluates which local controller would benefit the most from an updated command given a cost function, and sends a command to this controller. As is demonstrated in both simulation and in experiments on a real robot, the resulting scheme can significantly improve system performance, equivalent to increasing the communication frequency by up to 3 times. QC 20130110
- Published
- 2012
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371. 'Open sesame!' adaptive force/velocity control for opening unknown doors
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Christian Smith, Petter Ögren, Francisco E. Vina, Yiannis Karayiannidis, and Danica Kragic
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0209 industrial biotechnology ,Engineering ,business.industry ,Hinge ,Control engineering ,Robotics ,02 engineering and technology ,Kinematics ,Robot end effector ,Motion control ,law.invention ,Computer Science::Robotics ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,Control theory ,law ,Position (vector) ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Robot ,020201 artificial intelligence & image processing ,Artificial intelligence ,business ,ComputingMethodologies_COMPUTERGRAPHICS - Abstract
The problem of door opening is fundamental for robots operating in domestic environments. Since these environments are generally less structured than industrial environments, several types of uncertainties associated with the dynamics and kinematics of a door must be dealt with to achieve successful opening. This paper proposes a method that can open doors without prior knowledge of the door kinematics. The proposed method can be implemented on a velocity-controlled manipulator with force sensing capabilities at the end-effector. The method consists of a velocity controller which uses force measurements and estimates of the radial direction based on adaptive estimates of the position of the door hinge. The control action is decomposed into an estimated radial and tangential direction following the concept of hybrid force/motion control. A force controller acting within the velocity controller regulates the radial force to a desired small value while the velocity controller ensures that the end effector of the robot moves with a desired tangential velocity leading to task completion. This paper also provides a proof that the adaptive estimates of the radial direction converge to the actual radial vector. The performance of the control scheme is demonstrated in both simulation and on a real robot.
- Published
- 2012
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372. Publication trends in knee surgery: a review of the last 16 years
- Author
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Adil, Ajuied, Diane, Back, Christian, Smith, Andrew J, Davies, Fabian, Wong, and Peter H, Earnshaw
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Publishing ,Knee Joint ,Journal Impact Factor ,Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee ,Authorship - Abstract
The trends in the publication of articles regarding knee arthroplasty and soft tissue surgery were analysed with regard to geographical authorship, institutional funding and number of authors. Over 7500 articles from relevant journals with the highest impact factors according to the Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Report (2010) were evaluated from 1995 to 2010. The rate of publication increased by 16.9 per year for arthroplasty articles and by 13.9 per year for soft tissue surgery articles. The relative supremacy of the USA has declined over the 16 years, its share dropping from 72.2% to 39.2% for arthroplasty articles and from 61.7% to 36.6% for soft tissue surgery articles. The UK, Japan, South Korea and smaller countries in Asia and South America have become increasingly prolific.
- Published
- 2012
373. Conclusions and Recommendations
- Author
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Juliet Christian-Smith, Peter H. Gleick, Heather Cooley, Lucy Allen, Amy Vanderwarker, and Kate A. Berry
- Published
- 2012
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374. Protecting Freshwater Ecosystems
- Author
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Juliet Christian-Smith and Lucy Allen
- Subjects
Ecology ,Environmental science ,Freshwater ecosystem - Published
- 2012
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375. Water and Agriculture
- Author
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Juliet Christian-Smith
- Subjects
Water resources ,Water conservation ,Environmental protection ,Agriculture ,business.industry ,Environmental science ,Environmental impact of agriculture ,business - Published
- 2012
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376. A Twenty-First Century U.S. Water Policy
- Author
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William K. Reilly, Peter H. Gleick, Heather Cooley, Lucy Allen, Kate A. Berry, Amy Vanderwarker, and Juliet Christian-Smith
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Water resources ,Environmental justice ,Economic growth ,education.field_of_study ,National Water Policy ,Natural resource economics ,Political science ,Population ,Integrated water resources management ,Water quality ,education ,Water scarcity ,Water trading - Abstract
As is becoming clearer and clearer, pressures on water resources in the United States are growing, with no foreseeable end in sight. Yet these pressures are not due to a national water scarcity. While the Southwest faces the problems of draught, a rising population, and over-allocation of resources, the Northeast and Northern Plains must deal with increasingly wet weather and flooding. The greatest challenges that the United States faces with regard to water are regional disparities in availability, a changing climate, worsening water quality, and, increasingly, controversies over management strategies and policies. While many countries have adopted federal approaches to water management, the United States has no cohesive national water policy. In fact, the oversight of current water policy is shared by over sixty different agencies,and the last national water assessment undertaken in the United States occurred over forty years ago. The lack of coordinated oversight not only renders national policymakers unable to make informed analyses of water quality standards and availability, it also results in large gaps of understanding regarding variability of water resources and how to most efficiently and effectively manage and preserve those resources. A Twenty-First Century U.S. Water Policy culls together independent analysis of freshwater availability; water usage in agriculture, municipalities, tribal settlements, and energy production; exisiting legal frameworks; environmental justice movements; and data on water quality and climate change. The result is a visionary proposal for a coherent and critically needed federal water policy. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/politicalscience/9780199859443/toc.html
- Published
- 2012
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377. Water and Energy
- Author
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Juliet Christian-Smith and Heather Cooley
- Subjects
Water-energy nexus ,Environmental engineering ,Environmental science ,Energy (signal processing) - Published
- 2012
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378. Grasping the Big Sociological Picture Shaping the Moral Lives of College Students Today
- Author
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Christian Smith
- Subjects
Order (exchange) ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Human life ,ComputingMilieux_COMPUTERSANDEDUCATION ,Personality ,Life course approach ,Sociology ,Morality ,Set (psychology) ,Phase (combat) ,Social psychology ,media_common ,Social influence - Abstract
In order to understand the character and moral lives of college students today, it is necessary to set an examination within a larger framework of the macrosocial and cultural forces that have developed emerging adulthood as a relatively new and important phase of the American life course. Also helpful are identifying some of the key social-structural features of standard college life in the United States today, which exert significant influences on college students. In the midst of considering how to address issues of morality and character among college students, it is also necessary to explicitly name our assumptions and beliefs about what is good for human persons, what a good human life looks like, and then consider the role that college life may play in nurturing or hindering its achievement. Interrogating our own assumptions about what is normal and good for youth and college students is helpful. This essay concludes by commending an approach of “realistic care” as superior to the alternatives.
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
379. hTERT extends the life of human fibroblasts without compromising type I interferon signaling
- Author
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David J. Davido, Erica T. Goddard, Miles Christian Smith, and Mirna Perusina Lanfranca
- Subjects
Viral Diseases ,viruses ,lcsh:Medicine ,Apoptosis ,Virus Replication ,Sendai virus ,0302 clinical medicine ,Interferon ,Infectious Diseases of the Nervous System ,Molecular Cell Biology ,lcsh:Science ,Lung ,Telomerase ,Cellular Senescence ,0303 health sciences ,Multidisciplinary ,biology ,Chromosome Biology ,Antivirals ,Innate Immunity ,3. Good health ,Host-Pathogen Interaction ,Telomeres ,Infectious Diseases ,Vesicular stomatitis virus ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Interferon Type I ,Medicine ,Cell aging ,medicine.drug ,Signal Transduction ,Research Article ,Cell Survival ,Microbiology ,Virus ,Cell Line ,03 medical and health sciences ,Virology ,medicine ,Humans ,Telomerase reverse transcriptase ,Biology ,030304 developmental biology ,lcsh:R ,Immunity ,Herpes Simplex ,Vesiculovirus ,Fibroblasts ,biology.organism_classification ,Viral replication ,Cell culture ,lcsh:Q ,Interferon type I - Abstract
Primary cells are often used to study viral replication and host-virus interactions as their antiviral pathways have not been altered or inactivated; however, their use is restricted by their short lifespan. Conventional methods to extend the life of primary cultures typically utilize viral oncogenes. Many of these oncogenes, however, perturb or inactivate cellular antiviral pathways, including the interferon (IFN) response. It has been previously shown that expression of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene extends the life of certain cell types. The effect that TERT expression has on the innate antiviral response to RNA- and DNA-containing viruses has not been examined. In the current study, we introduced the human TERT (hTERT) gene into a primary human embryonic lung (HEL-299) cell strain, which is known to respond to the type I IFN, IFN-β. We show that the resulting HEL-TERT cell line is capable of replicating beyond 100 population doublings without exhibiting signs of senescence. Treatment with IFN-β resulted in the upregulation of four model IFN stimulated genes (ISGs) in HEL-299 and HEL-TERT cells. Both cell lines supported the replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and impaired the replication of both viruses upon IFN-β pretreatment. Introduction of the viral oncoprotein, simian virus 40 (SV40) large T-antigen, which is frequently used to immortalize cells, largely negated this effect. Taken together, our data indicate that expression of hTERT does not alter type 1 IFN signaling and/or the growth of two viruses, making this cell line a useful reagent for studying viral replication and virus-cell interactions.
- Published
- 2012
380. [Bilateral adrenal haemorrhage during sepsis does not equal total adrenal insufficiency]
- Author
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Manan, Pareek, Mette Lundgren, Nielsen, and Christian, Smith-Sivertsen
- Subjects
Male ,Adolescent ,Hydrocortisone ,Sepsis ,Humans ,Hemorrhage ,Meningitis, Meningococcal ,Neisseria meningitidis ,Tomography, X-Ray Computed ,Adrenal Insufficiency - Abstract
Bilateral adrenal haemorrhage can occur in the setting of severe clinical sepsis. The clinical presentation may be non-specific, and the degree to which adrenal haemorrhage causes adrenal insufficiency remains unclear. We describe a case of an 18-year-old male presenting with meningococcaemia. The diagnosis was confirmed by a computed tomography, and the patient was treated with antibiotics and corticosteroids. His adrenal function was initially subnormal; however, three months after discharge, he had fully recovered his adrenal function.
- Published
- 2012
381. Climate Change and Transboundary Waters
- Author
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Juliet Christian-Smith, Lucy Allen, Michael J. Cohen, Peter H. Gleick, and Heather Cooley
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geography ,Resource (biology) ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,business.industry ,Drainage basin ,Climate change ,Distribution (economics) ,Water resources ,Politics ,Habitat ,Climatology ,business ,Environmental planning ,Waste disposal - Abstract
Freshwater is a fundamental resource, integral to all ecological and societal activities, including food and energy production, transportation, waste disposal, industrial development, habitat for fish species, and human health. Yet freshwater resources are unevenly and irregularly distributed, with some regions of the world extremely short of water. Political borders and boundaries rarely coincide with borders of watersheds, ensuring that politics inevitably intrude on water policy. Indeed, over 260 river basins are shared by two or more nations. Just as oil creates disputes between states, water also plays a role in international conflicts. Inequities in the distribution, use, and consequences of water management have been a source of tension and dispute. In addition, as previous volumes of The World’s Water have explored (see, for example, Gleick 1998), water resources have been used to achieve military and political goals, and water systems and infrastructure, such as dams and supply canals, have long been military targets.
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
382. Dual arm manipulation - A survey
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Dimos V. Dimarogonas, Lazaros Nalpantidis, Xavi Gratal, Danica Kragic, Yiannis Karayiannidis, Christian Smith, and Peng Qi
- Subjects
0209 industrial biotechnology ,Computer science ,General Mathematics ,02 engineering and technology ,Modelling ,Task (project management) ,Domestic manipulation ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,Human–computer interaction ,Control ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Learning ,Survey ,Dual arm robots ,business.industry ,Robotics ,DUAL (cognitive architecture) ,Computer Science Applications ,Robot control ,Planning ,Robotteknik och automation ,Control and Systems Engineering ,Robot ,020201 artificial intelligence & image processing ,Artificial intelligence ,business ,Software - Abstract
Recent advances in both anthropomorphic robots and bimanual industrial manipulators had led to an increased interest in the specific problems pertaining to dual arm manipulation. For the future, we foresee robots performing human-like tasks in both domestic and industrial settings. It is therefore natural to study specifics of dual arm manipulation in humans and methods for using the resulting knowledge in robot control. The related scientific problems range from low-level control to high level task planning and execution. This review aims to summarize the current state of the art from the heterogenous range of fields that study the different aspects of these problems specifically in dual arm manipulation. QC 20120816
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
383. U.S. Water Policy Reform
- Author
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Juliet Christian-Smith, Heather Cooley, and Peter H. Gleick
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Water resources ,Water conservation ,Economic policy ,Climate change ,Business ,Climate change adaptation ,Energy source ,Sustainable water management ,Water demand - Abstract
The United States faces a bevy of persistent and emerging water challenges in the 21st century. Many key water laws and policies are outdated or not effectively or equitably enforced. An increasing number of aquatic ecosystems are in danger of collapse. Many cities, businesses, and farms are not taking advantage of existing, cost-effective water conservation technologies and practices. Much of the nation’s infrastructure is outdated and will become increasingly obsolete as climate change alters the timing and magnitude of water supplies. Rising energy demands and shifts in energy sources, such as increased ethanol and natural gas production, are putting additional pressure on the nation’s water resources. In turn, increased water demand for growing populations will have important energy implications.
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
384. Incompletely erupted third molars in the line of mandibular fractures
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Arne Eckerdal, Peter Marker, and Christian Smith-Sivertsen
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Molar ,business.industry ,Fracture site ,Dentistry ,Retrospective cohort study ,Mandibular angle ,Intermaxillary fixation ,Pathology and Forensic Medicine ,Mandibular third molar ,Fixation (surgical) ,stomatognathic system ,Retrospective analysis ,Medicine ,business ,General Dentistry - Abstract
A retrospective investigation was carried out of 57 cases of mandibular angle fractures, where a completely or partially impacted third molar was present in the line of fracture. Closed reduction was used in all of the cases, using intermaxillary fixation over a period of 42 days. Antibiotics were given to all patients for a period of 1 week. Thirty-one patients (55%) were treated within the first 24 hours and 43 (75%) within 48 hours. Infection at the fracture site occurred in two patients (3.5%). Both of these patients had been treated within the first 24 hours. It is concluded that closed reduction with retention of the mandibular third molar within the line of a mandibular angle fracture can be carried out with less morbidity compared with cases in which rigid fixation is used and movement of the jaws permitted immediately. Because of the size of the study group, no relationship could be demonstrated between cases with infection and the time from trauma to fixation.
- Published
- 1994
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- View/download PDF
385. Ethical Issues in Professional Life
- Author
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John-Christian Smith
- Subjects
Philosophy ,Multimedia ,Ethical issues ,Professional life ,Sociology ,computer.software_genre ,computer ,Education ,Course (navigation) - Published
- 1994
- Full Text
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386. Strong Separatism in Professional Ethics
- Author
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John-Christian Smith
- Subjects
Pedagogy ,Professional ethics ,General Medicine ,Sociology ,Applied philosophy - Published
- 1994
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
387. Captive to Consumerism
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Christian Smith
- Subjects
Consumerism ,Environmental ethics ,Sociology - Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
388. Civic and Political Disengagement
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Christian Smith
- Subjects
Politics ,Political economy ,Political science ,Disengagement theory - Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
389. Introduction
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Christian Smith
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
390. The Shadow Side of Sexual Liberation
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Christian Smith
- Subjects
Psychoanalysis ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Liberation ,Art ,media_common - Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
391. Intoxication’s 'Fake Feeling of Happiness'
- Author
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Christian Smith
- Subjects
Feeling ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Happiness ,Psychology ,Social psychology ,media_common - Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
392. Conclusion
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Christian Smith
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- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
393. Lost in Transition
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Christian Smith, Kari Christoffersen, Hilary Davidson, and Patricia Snell Herzog
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
394. CK2 Inhibitors Increase the Sensitivity of HSV-1 to Interferon-β
- Author
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David J. Davido, Erica T. Goddard, Miles Christian Smith, and Adam M. Bayless
- Subjects
viruses ,Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases ,Blotting, Western ,Herpesvirus 1, Human ,Virus Replication ,Antiviral Agents ,Article ,Adenoviridae ,Cell Line ,Immediate-Early Proteins ,Promyelocytic leukemia protein ,Viral life cycle ,Interferon ,Virology ,medicine ,Humans ,Protein kinase A ,Casein Kinase II ,Lung ,Protein Kinase Inhibitors ,Pharmacology ,biology ,Kinase ,Herpes Simplex ,Interferon-beta ,Vesiculovirus ,biology.organism_classification ,Ubiquitin ligase ,Viral replication ,Microscopy, Fluorescence ,Vesicular stomatitis virus ,Host-Pathogen Interactions ,biology.protein ,medicine.drug ,Signal Transduction - Abstract
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) requires the activities of cellular kinases for efficient replication. The host kinase, CK2, has been shown or is predicted to modify several HSV-1 proteins and has been proposed to affect one or more steps in the viral life cycle. Furthermore, potential cellular and viral substrates of CK2 are involved in antiviral pathways and viral counter-defenses, respectively, suggesting that CK2 regulates these processes. Consequently, we tested whether pharmacological inhibitors of CK2 impaired HSV-1 replication, either alone or in combination with the cellular antiviral factor, interferon-β (IFN-β). Our results indicate that the use of CK2 inhibitors results in a minor reduction in HSV-1 replication but enhanced the inhibitory effect of IFN-β on replication. This effect was dependent on the HSV-1 E3 ubiquitin ligase, infected cell protein 0 (ICP0), which impairs several host antiviral responses, including that produced by IFN-β. Inhibitors of CK2 did not, however, impede the ability of ICP0 to induce the degradation of two cellular targets: the promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) and the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs). Notably, this effect was only apparent for HSV-1, as the CK2 inhibitors did not enhance the antiviral effect of IFN-β on either vesicular stomatitis virus or adenovirus type 5. Thus, our data suggest that the activity of CK2 is required for an early function during viral infection that assists the growth of HSV-1 in IFN-β-treated cells.
- Published
- 2011
395. How the Sociology of Education Can Help Us Better Understand Religion and Morality
- Author
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Christian Smith
- Subjects
Political science ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Field (Bourdieu) ,Perspective (graphical) ,Sociology of religion ,Social science ,Morality ,Sociology of Education ,Morality and religion ,Epistemology ,media_common - Abstract
What might the sociology of education contribute to our broader understanding of crucial issues related to schools and education, viewed from the perspective of someone, like me, who is not directly involved in that field but still interested in these matters? Much of my own research in recent years has focused in the sociology of religion and morality, and I bring those concerns to the present question. When I survey the sociology of education, it seems to me that the field could improve its research in at least four significant areas.
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
396. Nett Warrior C3Conflict Experiment: Measuring the Effect of Battlefield Awareness in Small Units
- Author
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Christian Smith
- Subjects
Engineering ,Battlefield ,Situation awareness ,business.industry ,Computer security ,computer.software_genre ,business ,computer - Published
- 2011
- Full Text
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397. Automating Inspection of Highway Pavement Surfaces
- Author
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Christian Smith, Eric S. Suen, and Sidney A. Guralnick
- Subjects
Video recording ,Information management ,Engineering drawing ,Engineering ,business.industry ,Pavement management ,Transportation ,Civil engineering ,Automation ,Surface conditions ,Concave surface ,Computer software ,business ,Intelligent transportation system ,Civil and Structural Engineering - Abstract
Reliable, complete, and uptodate information concerning the state of pavement surface is necessary for any costeffective highway pavement management program. An automatic imaging system based on st...
- Published
- 1993
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
398. Cultural Theory: An Introduction. By Philip Smith. Blackwell, 2001. 268 pp
- Author
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Christian Smith
- Subjects
History ,Sociology and Political Science ,Anthropology ,Culture theory ,Sociology - Published
- 2001
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
399. Multiple Modernities and Religion
- Author
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Brandon Vaidyanathan and Christian Smith
- Subjects
Anthropology ,Islam ,Sociology ,Religious studies ,Modernization theory - Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
400. The Relevance of Hispanic Culture to the Treatment of a Patient with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Author
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Melinda, Fierros and Christian, Smith
- Subjects
Psychotherapy Rounds - Abstract
Cahill, et al.(1) discussed the importance of psychotherapy and psychotropic medications in the prevention and treatment of acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the September, 2005, issue of Psychiatry. In this article, we will specifically explore PTSD in the Hispanic population and present a composite case to demonstrate several clinical issues to consider when treating this population. This topic is timely and highly relevant to the practice of psychiatry as the Latino population continues to grow at a pace that far exceeds the capability of both current Latino/bilingual psychiatrists and the number of Latinos in the mental health provider pipeline. Given this great disparity, all psychiatrists need to be equipped with knowledge that will enable them to provide culturally sensitive care(2) that will result in better Hispanic patient outcomes.
- Published
- 2010
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