Papers by Robert Friedman
2007 11th IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers, 2007
In this paper, we present a real-time algorithm for automatic recognition of not only physical ac... more In this paper, we present a real-time algorithm for automatic recognition of not only physical activities, but also, in some cases, their intensities, using five triaxial wireless accelerometers and a wireless heart rate monitor. The algorithm has been evaluated using datasets consisting of 30 physical gymnasium activities collected from a total of 21 people at two different labs. On these
A stable subline of 38C13 B-cell lymphoma(SIR-1) resistant to the antiproliferativeeffects of a-i... more A stable subline of 38C13 B-cell lymphoma(SIR-1) resistant to the antiproliferativeeffects of a-interferon(IFN) was isolated. In additionto defects in antiproliferativeeffects of IFN, SIR-1 is defective in IFN- mediatedantiviral activity against both encephalomyocarditisvirus and vesicularstomatitisvirus. It is also defective in the inductionof 2'-5'- oligoadenylatesynthetase mRNA and enzyme activity, enhancementof H-2 antigen expression, and transient inductionand subsequentrepres sion of c-myc by IFN.
This basic research program comprised two major areas: (1) acquisition and analysis of marine mic... more This basic research program comprised two major areas: (1) acquisition and analysis of marine microbial metagenomic data and development of genomic analysis tools for broad, external community use; (2) development of a minimal bacterial genome. Our Marine Metagenomic Diversity effort generated and analyzed shotgun sequencing data from microbial communities sampled from over 250 sites around the world. About 40% of
Industrial Biotechnology, 2007
1 Executive summary ene and genome synthesis, that is, constructing long stretches of DNA from co... more 1 Executive summary ene and genome synthesis, that is, constructing long stretches of DNA from constituent chemicals, provides sci-entists with new and unparalleled capabilities, both for understanding biology and for using it for beneficial pur-poses. But along with new ...
Quarterly Journal of Speech, 1960
THE COMPLETE GREEK TRAGEDIES. Four volumes boxed. Edited by David Grene and Richmond Lattimore. C... more THE COMPLETE GREEK TRAGEDIES. Four volumes boxed. Edited by David Grene and Richmond Lattimore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, c1959; pp. (Vol. I, AESCHYLUS) viii+351; (Vol. II, SOPHOCLES) vi+460; (Vol. III, EURIPIDES) x+1330; (Vol. IV, EURIPIDES) vi+616. $20.00.THE LIVING THEATRE. By Elmer Rice. New York: Harper, 1959; pp. xii+306. Trade $5.50, text $4.00.THE THIRD VOICE: MODERN BRITISH AND AMERICAN VERSE DRAMA. By Denis Donoghue. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1959; pp. 286. $5.00.STAGE SCENERY: ITS CONSTRUCTION AND RIGGING. By A. S. Gillette. New York: Harper, 1959; pp. xiv+315. $4.50 (in quantity orders).STANISLAVSKI'S LEGACY: A COLLECTION OF COMMENTS ON A VARIETY OF ASPECTS OF AN ACTOR'S ART AND LIFE. By Constantin Stanislavski. Edited and translated by Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood. New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1958; pp. x+182. $3.50.TEXTUAL AND LITERARY CRITICISM. By Fredson Bowers. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959; pp. lx+186. $3.75.A TREASURY OF GREAT AMERICAN SPEECHES. Edited by Charles Hurd. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1959; pp. 364. $5.95.SELECTED AMERICAN SPEECHES ON BASIC ISSUES: 1850–1950. Edited by Carl G. Brandt and Edward M. Shatter, Jr. Boston: Hough‐ton Mifflin, i960; pp. ix+426. Cloth $3.50, paper $2.25.ADVENTURES OF A BIOGRAPHER. By Catherine Drinker Bowen. Boston: Atlantic‐Little, Brown, 1959; 235 pp. $4.00.THOMAS LODGE, GENTLEMAN. By Pat M. Ryan, Jr. Hamden, Connecticut: The Shoe String Press, 1958; pp. 122+xxxviii. $4.25.ALEXANDER HAMILTON: PORTRAIT IN PARADOX. By John C. Miller. New York: Harper, 1959; pp. xii+659. $8.50.THADDEUS STEVENS, SCOURGE OF THE SOUTH. By Fawn M. Brodie. New York: W. W. Norton, 1959; pp. 448. $7.50.JONATHAN PRENTISS DOLLIVER: A STUDY IN POLITICAL INTEGRITY AND INDEPENDENCE. By Thomas Richard Ross. Iowa City: State Historical Society of Iowa, 1958; pp. xiii+366. $6.50.NEBRASKA SYMPOSIUM ON MOTIVATION 1959. Series in CURRENT THEORY AND RESEARCH IN MOTIVATION, Volume VII. Edited by Marshall R. Jones. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1959; pp. ix+243. Paper $3.00, cloth $4.25.THE MEASUREMENT OF MEANING. By Charles E. Osgood, George J. Suci, and Percy H. Tannenbaum. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1957; pp. 342. $7.50.ROOTS FOR A NEW RHETORIC. By Daniel Fogarty, S.J. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1959; pp. xvi+158. $5.00.LEVELS OF KNOWING AND EXISTENCE: STUDIES IN GENERAL SEMANTICS. By Harry L. Weinberg. New York: Harper, 1959; pp. xiv+274. Text $3.25.OUR LANGUAGE AND OUR WORLD. Edited by S. I. Hayakawa. New York: Harper, 1959; pp. xii+402. $5.00.INTRODUCTION TO GROUP DYNAMICS. By Malcolm and Hulda Knowles. New York: Association Press. 1959; pp. viii+95. $2.50.GROUP DYNAMICS, PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS. By Hubert Bonner, New York: Ronald Press, 1959; pp. viii+531. $6.50.MASS COMMUNICATION, A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE. By Charles R. Wright. New York: Random House, 1959; pp. 124. Paper $0.95.RADIO FREE EUROPE. By Robert T. Holt. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1958; pp. xiv+242. $5.00.MEMO TO A COLLEGE TRUSTEE: A REPORT ON FINANCIAL AND STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS OF THE LIBERAL COLLEGE. By Beardsley Ruml and Donald H. Morrison. New York: McGraw‐Hill, 1959; pp. xvi+94. Paper $1.00.
Quarterly Journal of Speech, 1959
Quarterly Journal of Speech, 1971
PLoS ONE, 2014
Bacterial community composition and functional potential change subtly across gradients in the su... more Bacterial community composition and functional potential change subtly across gradients in the surface ocean. In contrast, while there are significant phylogenetic divergences between communities from freshwater and marine habitats, the underlying mechanisms to this phylogenetic structuring yet remain unknown. We hypothesized that the functional potential of natural bacterial communities is linked to this striking divide between microbiomes. To test this hypothesis, metagenomic sequencing of microbial communities along a 1,800 km transect in the Baltic Sea area, encompassing a continuous natural salinity gradient from limnic to fully marine conditions, was explored. Multivariate statistical analyses showed that salinity is the main determinant of dramatic changes in microbial community composition, but also of large scale changes in core metabolic functions of bacteria. Strikingly, genetically and metabolically different pathways for key metabolic processes, such as respiration, biosynthesis of quinones and isoprenoids, glycolysis and osmolyte transport, were differentially abundant at high and low salinities. These shifts in functional capacities were observed at multiple taxonomic levels and within dominant bacterial phyla, while bacteria, such as SAR11, were able to adapt to the entire salinity gradient. We propose that the large differences in central metabolism required at high and low salinities dictate the striking divide between freshwater and marine microbiomes, and that the ability to inhabit different salinity regimes evolved early during bacterial phylogenetic differentiation. These findings significantly advance our understanding of microbial distributions and stress the need to incorporate salinity in future climate change models that predict increased levels of precipitation and a reduction in salinity.
PLoS ONE, 2013
Understanding the microbial content of the air has important scientific, health, and economic imp... more Understanding the microbial content of the air has important scientific, health, and economic implications. While studies have primarily characterized the taxonomic content of air samples by sequencing the 16S or 18S ribosomal RNA gene, direct analysis of the genomic content of airborne microorganisms has not been possible due to the extremely low density of biological material in airborne environments. We developed sampling and amplification methods to enable adequate DNA recovery to allow metagenomic profiling of air samples collected from indoor and outdoor environments. Air samples were collected from a large urban building, a medical center, a house, and a pier. Analyses of metagenomic data generated from these samples reveal airborne communities with a high degree of diversity and different genera abundance profiles. The identities of many of the taxonomic groups and protein families also allows for the identification of the likely sources of the sampled airborne bacteria.
Journal of Medical Systems, 2006
Mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability and functional impairment in the Unit... more Mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability and functional impairment in the United States (1 in 5). The negative effect of mental health disorders is felt both in the personal and public lives of the affected individuals, particularly in the workplace where it adversely impacts productivity. Only a small fraction of the affected people in the work force seeks help. The cost to employers and the economy of these untreated individuals is staggering. Some employers have tried to address employees' emotional well-being by establishing Employee Assistance Programs. Yet, even these programs do not sufficiently address existing barriers to the detection and treatment of mental health disorders in the workplace. This paper describes the design of an automated workplace program that uses an Interactive, computer-assisted telephonic system (Interactive Voice Response or IVR) to assess workers for a variety of mental health disorders and subsequently refers untreated and inadequately treated workers to appropriate treatment settings.
Journal of Medical Systems, 2000
To explore to what extent observation and semistructured in-depth interviews provide effective to... more To explore to what extent observation and semistructured in-depth interviews provide effective tools for usability testing of two automated home-based systems aimed at monitoring patients' health status at home and improving self-care. Telephone-Linked Care for Diet Adherence in Dyslipidemia (TLC-DietAid) used computer telephony to interact with users and Home Asthma Telemonitoring System (HAT System) used a combination of Personal Digital Assistant (palmtops) and the Internet for similar purposes. Both systems were evaluated in two separate pilot studies. Our pilot studies uncovered "medium-specific" and "content-specific" issues that addressed either the process of the interaction or its content. The results demonstrated that patient-users tended to evaluate each system on the basis of how it fit into everyday life and corresponded to personal preferences. The methodology also allowed the system designers to understand users' concerns and the context of adoption in order to introduce necessary changes to the design to address such concerns.
Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2000
A cross-sectional mailed survey of heads of general internal medicine teaching units affiliated w... more A cross-sectional mailed survey of heads of general internal medicine teaching units affiliated with U.S. internal medicine training programs who responded between December 1996 and December 1997.
International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 2008
... Efforts by employers to tackle this problem include creation Ramesh Farzanfar Allison Stevens... more ... Efforts by employers to tackle this problem include creation Ramesh Farzanfar Allison StevensQuyen Pham Robert Friedman Medical Information Systems Unit, Boston University A Formative Qualitative Evaluation of Usability and Acceptability of a Workplace Mental ...
Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 1990
Health Psychology, 2007
Given the prevalence of physical inactivity among American adults, convenient, low-cost intervent... more Given the prevalence of physical inactivity among American adults, convenient, low-cost interventions are strongly indicated. This study determined the 6- and 12-month effectiveness of telephone interventions delivered by health educators or by an automated computer system in promoting physical activity. Initially inactive men and women age 55 years and older (N = 218) in stable health participated. Participants were randomly assigned to human advice, automated advice, or health education control. The validated 7-day physical activity recall interview was used to estimate minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Physical activity differences by experimental arm were verified on a random subsample via accelerometry. Using intention-to-treat analysis, at 6 months, participants in both interventions, although not differing from one another, showed significant improvements in weekly physical activity compared with controls. These differences were generally maintained at 12 months, with both intervention arms remaining above the target of 150 min per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity on average. Automated telephone-linked delivery systems represent an effective alternative for delivering physical activity advice to inactive older adults.
Health Psychology, 2014
An automated telehealth counseling system, aimed at inactive midlife and older adults, was shown ... more An automated telehealth counseling system, aimed at inactive midlife and older adults, was shown previously to achieve 12-month physical activity levels similar to those attained by human advisors. This investigation evaluated the sustained 18-month impacts of the automated advisor compared with human advisors. Following the end of the 12-month randomized, controlled trial, participants who had been randomized to either the human advisor (n = 73) or automated advisor (n = 75) arms were followed for an additional 6 months. During that period, human or automated advisor-initiated telephone contacts ceased and participants were encouraged to initiate contact with their advisor as deemed relevant. The primary outcome was moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), measured using the Stanford Physical Activity Recall and validated during the major trial via accelerometry. The two arms did not differ significantly in 18-month MVPA or the percentage of participants meeting national physical activity guidelines (ps >.50). No significant within-arm MVPA differences emerged between 12 and 18 months. Evaluation of the trajectory of physical activity change across the 18-month study period indicated that, for both arms, the greatest physical activity increases occurred during the first 6 months of intervention, followed by a relatively steady amount of physical activity across the remaining months. The results provide evidence that an automated telehealth advice system can maintain physical activity increases at a level similar to that achieved by human advisors through 18 months. Given the accelerated use of mobile phones in developing countries, as well as industrialized nations, automated telehealth systems merit further evaluation.
Health Education Research, 2002
Physical inactivity among middle-and olderaged adults is pervasive, and is linked with numerous c... more Physical inactivity among middle-and olderaged adults is pervasive, and is linked with numerous chronic conditions that diminish health and functioning. Counselor-directed physical activity programs may enhance extrinsic motivation (reflected in social influence theories, such as self-presentation theory) and, in turn, physical activity adherence, while the counselor is in charge of program delivery. However, external influences can undermine intrinsic motivation, making it more difficult to maintain physical activity once counselorinitiated contact ends. In contrast, programs that diminish the socially evaluative and controlling aspects of the counseling interchange may promote intrinsic motivation (described in cognitive evaluation theory), and, thus, physical activity maintenance, even when counselorinitiated contact ceases. The objective of the Community Health Advice by Telephone (CHAT) project is to compare these two theories by conducting a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of a telephoneadministered counseling program delivered by
Computers in Human Behavior, 2007
Objectives: To qualitatively evaluate the response of patients with unipolar depression who used ... more Objectives: To qualitatively evaluate the response of patients with unipolar depression who used a computer telephony system designed to monitor their disease severity and support self-care, principally adherence to medication regimen and clinical office visit attendance. Methods: Weekly in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 patients who used the computer telephony system for 4 weeks. Users had a diagnosis of unipolar depression and took at least one antidepressant. All interviews were audio-taped and immediately transcribed. The transcripts of the interviews were subsequently coded and analyzed thematically by two qualitative researchers.
Annals of Internal Medicine, 2000
Gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment are common in medical practice and may be even ... more Gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment are common in medical practice and may be even more prevalent in academic medicine. To examine the prevalence of gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment among medical school faculty and the associations of gender-based discrimination with number of publications, career satisfaction, and perceptions of career advancement. A self-administered mailed questionnaire of U.S. medical school faculty that covered a broad range of topics relating to academic life. 24 randomly selected medical schools in the contiguous United States. A random sample of 3332 full-time faculty, stratified by specialty, graduation cohort, and sex. Prevalence of self-reported experiences of discrimination and harassment, number of peer-reviewed publications, career satisfaction, and perception of career advancement. Female faculty were more than 2.5 times more likely than male faculty to perceive gender-based discrimination in the academic environment (P < 0.001). Among women, rates of reported discrimination ranged from 47% for the youngest faculty to 70% for the oldest faculty. Women who reported experiencing negative gender bias had similar productivity but lower career satisfaction scores than did other women (P< 0.001). About half of female faculty but few male faculty experienced some form of sexual harassment. These experiences were similarly prevalent across the institutions in the sample and in all regions of the United States. Female faculty who reported being sexually harassed perceived gender-specific bias in the academic environment more often than did other women (80% compared with 61 %) and more often reported experiencing gender bias in professional advancement (72% compared with 47%). Publications, career satisfaction, and professional confidence were not affected by sexual harassment, and self-assessed career advancement was only marginally lower for female faculty who had experienced sexual harassment (P = 0.06). Despite substantial increases in the number of female faculty, reports of gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment remain common.
Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2005
Interventions for smoking cessation have been typically evaluated on reactively recruited samples... more Interventions for smoking cessation have been typically evaluated on reactively recruited samples in clinical trials (efficacy trials). However, to have an impact on smoking rates in a general population, the intervention should also be evaluated with proactively recruited representative samples (effectiveness trials). Purpose: The characteristics of participants and two groups of nonparticipants recruited for a population-based nicotine replacement therapy study were compared. Methods: All members of a large New England Veterans' Administration Medical Center were contacted, and interviews were completed with 3,239 identified smokers (at least 10 cigarettes per day). At the end of the interview, all smokers were offered participation in a multiple intervention study. Of the interviewed smokers, 2,915 verbally agreed to participate in the study (90%). Of those who gave initial verbal consent, 2,054 returned the written informed consent form and became participants (70%). Results: The participants (full consent group) differed significantly from both nonparticipant groups-that is, the smokers who were interviewed but declined participation by active refusal (survey only group) and those who gave verbal con-sent but passively refused participation by failing to return the written consent form (verbal consent only group). Participants were more likely to be married, younger, and female; to live with others; and to have previously used or considered using nicotine replacement therapy. The survey only group was also more likely to be in the precontemplation stage (54%), whereas the participants were more likely to be in the contemplation (46%) or preparation stage (35%). The verbal consent only group was intermediate of the other two groups in stage-of-change characteristics.
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Papers by Robert Friedman