Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protein phosphorylation in a tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate-nonproliferative variant of 3T3 cells

The 3T3-TNR9 cell line is a variant of Swiss 3T3 cells which does not respond mitogenically to tumor promoters, but does respond mitogenically to epidermal growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, and serum. To elucidate differences between tumor promoters and polypeptide mitogens in the pathway(s) of mitogenesis which might be responsible for the nonresponsiveness of the 3T3-TNR9 cells, we have examined in these cells the early protein phosphorylation events known to be associated with mitogenesis in the parental 3T3 cells. We find that the 3T3-TNR9 cells display levels of tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate binding and of a calcium- and phospholipid-dependent protein kinase activity which are at least the equal of those seen in the parental 3T3 cells, implicating some postreceptor event in the nonmitogenic phenotype. In addition, we find that phosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor and of 80-kDa and 22-kDa proteins, as well as the tyrosine phosphorylation of a 42-kDa protein, all proceed normally in the nonmitogenic variant, even though these phosphorylations must depend on the activation of different kinases. Thus, all these early phosphorylation reactions are intact in the 3T3-TNR9 cells. Although these phosphorylations may be necessary, they clearly are insufficient to trigger mitogenesis.
Individualized Early Goal-Directed Therapy in Systemic Inflammation: Is Full Utilization of Preload Reserve the Optimal Strategy?

Objectives:In severe acute pancreatitis, the administration of fluids in the presence of positive fluid responsiveness is associated with better outcome when compared to guiding therapy on central venous pressure. We compared the effects of such consequent maximization of stroke volume index with a regime using individual values of stroke volume index assessed prior to severe acute pancreatitis induction as therapeutic hemodynamic goals. Design:Prospective, randomized animal study. Setting:University animal research laboratory. Subjects:Thirty domestic pigs. Interventions:After randomization, fluid resuscitation was started 2 hours after severe acute pancreatitis induction and continued for 6 hours according to the respective treatment algorithms. In the control group, fluid therapy was directed by maximizing stroke volume index, and in the study group, stroke volume index assessed prior to severe acute pancreatitis served as primary hemodynamic goal. Measurements and Main Results:Within the first 6 hours of severe acute pancreatitis, the study group received a total of 1,935.8 ± 540.7 mL of fluids compared with 3,462.8 ± 828.2 mL in the control group (p < 0.001). Pancreatic tissue oxygenation did not differ significantly between both groups. Vascular endothelial function, measured by flow-mediated vasodilation before and 6 hours after severe acute pancreatitis induction, revealed less impairment in the study group after treatment interval (–90.76% [study group] vs –130.89% [control group]; p = 0.046). Further, lower levels of heparan sulfate (3.41 ± 5.6 pg/mL [study group] vs 43.67 ± 46.61 pg/mL [control group]; p = 0.032) and interleukin 6 (32.18 ± 8.81 pg/mL [study group] vs 77.76 ± 56.86 pg/mL [control group]; p = 0.021) were found in the study group compared with control group. Histopathological examination of the pancreatic head and corpus at day 7 revealed less edema for the study group compared with the control group (1.82 ± 0.87 [study group] vs 2.89 ± 0.33 [control group, pancreatic head]; p = 0.03; 2.2 ± 0.92 [study group] vs 2.91 ± 0.3 [control group, pancreatic corpus]; p = 0.025). Conclusions:Individualized optimization of intravascular fluid status during the early course of severe acute pancreatitis, compared with a treatment strategy of maximizing stroke volume by fluid loading, leads to less vascular endothelial damage, pancreatic edema, and inflammatory response.
Smoking cessation among daily smokers, aged 45-69 years: a longitudinal study in Malmö, Sweden.

OBJECTIVE To investigate differences in snuff consumption, socio-demographic and psychosocial characteristics between baseline daily smokers who had remained daily smokers, become intermittent smokers or stopped smoking at the 1-year follow-up. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND MEASUREMENTS A population of 12 507 individuals aged 45-69 years, interviewed at baseline in 1992-94 and at a 1-year follow-up, was investigated in this longitudinal study. The three groups of baseline daily smokers were compared to the total population according to socio-demographic, psychosocial and snuff consumption characteristics. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to assess differences in psychosocial conditions, adjusting for age, sex, country of origin, marital status, education and snuff consumption. FINDINGS Eighty-six per cent of all baseline daily smokers remained daily smokers, 6.5% had become intermittent smokers and 7.3% had stopped smoking at the 1-year follow-up. The daily smokers who remained daily smokers were more likely to be born in other countries than Sweden, not married, have a lower educational level and poorer psychosocial conditions than the total population, while the socio-demographic characteristics and psychosocial resources of those daily smokers who had become intermittent smokers or had stopped smoking were much more similar to the general population, with the exception of a higher snuff consumption, especially for intermittent smokers. CONCLUSIONS Daily smokers who remained daily smokers at the 1-year follow-up had poorer psychosocial assets, especially social participation, than baseline daily smokers who had become intermittent smokers or had stopped smoking, and the general population. The results suggest that low levels of social participation are a potent barrier against smoking cessation. Snuff consumption may explain a part of the increase in smoking cessation among men as opposed to women in Sweden.
Flexible load following the wind power generation

This paper presents a method for demand side management considering the amount of wind power generation. The intermittency of wind power may cause several problems like inadequacy of power, congestion in transmission lines, and power quality. All these technical concerns lead to financial challenges in power market. In this paper, a new concept of flexible loads following the wind farm output power is proposed, where several objectives are optimized through a two stage approach. In the first stage, the available transmission capacity (ATC) of the transmission corridor is maximized while the losses are minimized. In the second stage, the base load power purchased from adjacent network is maximized when the peak of exchanged power is minimized. Numerical studies are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method.
Performance analysis of Divisible Load Scheduling utilizing Multi-Installment Load Distribution with varying sizes of result load fractions

The purpose of this research is to determine the viability and theoretical performance of a task distribution scheme utilizing Multi-Installment Load Distribution with Results Collection based on Distributed Load Theory (DLT), and some of the challenges that would be encountered, and criteria that need to be considered when attempting to utilize such a scheme. This is done by providing, for the first time, the theoretical performance details of a heterogeneous computational platform utilizing Divisible Load Scheduling (DLS) with various sizes of result load fractions under different criteria of network communication and participating processor performance. The system under consideration in this research, is a system that utilizes for job scheduling a Divisible Load Scheme that entails distributing arbitrarily divisible computational loads amongst eligible processors within a bus based distributed computing environment, including the aspects of both the Multi-Installment Scheme of Divisible Load Theory along with the Results Collection Phase. The primary contribution of this research is to provide insight into the impact of the size of the results load fraction on the overall task execution time, and to identify other system characteristics that influence the performance of a system that utilizes Divisible Load Scheduling. The assertion here is that under certain system configurations, and performance criteria, care must be taken in adopting this scheme, by taking into account the size of the results fraction when estimating the performance of such a system.
Repetitive work in a dairy factory and elbow musculoskeletal disorders: Incidence, prevalence and methods for disease validation

Resumo: O cotovelo é uma articulação essencial para o movimento da mão e do antebraço. A funcionalidade da extremidade superior depende do movimento do cotovelo, e por isso o envolvimento do cotovelo em posturas de trabalho é naturalmente alto em ambientes de trabalho como o processamento de alimentos. Como consequência, os riscos para o desenvolvimento de lesões músculo--esqueléticas ligadas ao trabalho (LMELT) nesta área do membro superior, aumentam consideravelmente. Os fatores de risco intensificam-se devido a tarefas repetitivas e longas jornadas de trabalho com poucas pausas. O objetivo deste estudo é investigar a prevalência e incidência de LMELT no cotovelo, bem como o estabelecimento de métodos de validação de lesões músculo-esqueléticas do cotovelo numa fábrica de laticínios e seus derivados. A empresa tem um total de 620 funcionários e o estudo foi realizado entre 2010 e 2014 entre os 166 trabalhadores pertencentes ao setor do queijo. Foram realizadas duas avaliações, uma em 2011/2012 e outra em 2013/2014 e um total de 134 trabalhadores (80,7%) foram avaliados em ambas. A prevalência de LMELT no cotovelo através de sintomas auto referenciados, avaliação clínica e imagiologia, em ambos os períodos de avaliação, variaram entre 8% e 16%. Relativamente aos valores de incidência de LMELT no cotovelo encontrados, da primeira para a segunda avaliação, variaram entre 5% e 12%, dependendo do tipo de método de avaliação considerado. Quanto aos métodos de validação da doença músculo-esquelética do cotovelo, foram definidos três métodos de validação, variando os critérios de sensibilidade e especificidade. Os resultados deste estudo enfatizam a importância da avaliação conjunta dos resultados de diferentes métodos de avaliação.
Differences in Interpersonal Communication Efficacy among Chinese and International Students

Within Chinese societies, as in western ones, interpersonal relationships, which can also be called social relations, are one of the most important needs for human beings. Within universities, Interpersonal Communication Efficacy (ICE) has been regarded as having a direct influence on the psychological health of undergraduate students. Based upon the theory of Bandura’s self-efficacy and Xie Jing’s ICE, this article compares the extent of ICE between domestic and international students in a Chinese university. The aim is to identify the similarities and differences between the two research groups, and the implications for the stakeholders (students, teachers, policy-makers, and researchers). A case study was conducted using a questionnaire survey. By employing the methods of quantitative analysis, the questionnaires of 390 respondents were analysed by using variance analysis of SPSS software. The findings of the study reveal that Chinese students are more likely to pay attention to interpersonal communication, and are more interdependent than other international students. This implies the importance of teaching communication skills, improving interpersonal communication efficacy, and understanding teaching and learning across cultures within the ongoing internationalisation of education.
Exosomes from uninfected cells activate transcription of latent HIV-1

HIV-1 infection causes AIDS, infecting millions worldwide. The virus can persist in a state of chronic infection due to its ability to become latent. We have previously shown a link between HIV-1 infection and exosome production. Specifically, we have reported that exosomes transport viral proteins and RNA from infected cells to neighboring uninfected cells. These viral products could then elicit an innate immune response, leading to activation of the Toll-like receptor and NF-κB pathways. In this study, we asked whether exosomes from uninfected cells could activate latent HIV-1 in infected cells. We observed that irrespective of combination antiretroviral therapy, both short- and long-length viral transcripts were increased in wild-type HIV-1–infected cells exposed to purified exosomes from uninfected cells. A search for a possible mechanism for this finding revealed that the exosomes increase RNA polymerase II loading onto the HIV-1 promoter in the infected cells. These viral transcripts, which include trans-activation response (TAR) RNA and a novel RNA that we termed TAR-gag, can then be packaged into exosomes and potentially be exported to neighboring uninfected cells, leading to increased cellular activation. To better decipher the exosome release pathways involved, we used siRNA to suppress expression of ESCRT (endosomal sorting complex required for transport) proteins and found that ESCRT II and IV significantly control exosome release. Collectively, these results imply that exosomes from uninfected cells activate latent HIV-1 in infected cells and that true transcriptional latency may not be possible in vivo, especially in the presence of combination antiretroviral therapy.
The Operational Value of Social Media Information

While the value of using social media information has been established in multiple business contexts, the field of operations and supply chain management have not yet explored the possibilities it offers in improving firms' operational decisions. This study attempts to do that by empirically studying whether using publicly available social media information can improve the accuracy of daily sales forecasts.We collaborated with an online apparel retailer to assemble a dataset that combines (1) detailed internal operational information, including data on sales, advertising, and promotions, as well as (2) publicly available social media information obtained from Facebook. We implement a variety of machine learning methods to forecast daily sales. We find that using social media information results in statistically significant improvements in the out‐of‐sample accuracy of the forecasts, with relative improvements ranging from 12.85% to 23.23% over different forecast horizons. We also demonstrate that nonlinear boosting models with feature selection, such as random forests, perform significantly better than traditional linear models. The best‐performing method (random forest) yields an out‐of‐sample MAPE of 7.21% when not using social media information and 5.73% when using social media information is used. In both cases, this significantly improves the accuracy of the company's internal forecasts (a MAPE of 11.97%). Combining these empirical results, we provide recommendations for forecasting sales in general as well as with social media information.
Predictors of employees' early retirement intentions: an 11-year longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND Adjusting work life and encouraging older employees to continue at work has become a common challenge as the workforce ages. Gender differences in retirement decisions have largely been overlooked in previous studies, despite the fact that retirement as a life course event and the experience of retirement can be gender dependent. AIMS To explore which personal and work-related psychological factors predict early retirement intentions among older women and men and to investigate the stability of these predictors through use of longitudinal data. METHODS This research is based on an 11-year follow-up study of ageing Finnish municipal employees. Data on 1101 employees' early retirement intentions were analysed with binary logistic regression analysis in separate longitudinal and cross-sectional models. RESULTS Gender differences in early retirement intentions were detected both at baseline and at follow-up. Negative perceptions about work and low work and general life satisfaction were associated with early retirement intentions among women. For men, good self-rated work ability and perceived good health were negatively associated with early retirement intentions. In addition, negative perceptions about work predicted early retirement intentions among men. CONCLUSIONS Adverse work- or health-related factors detected in middle age predicted subsequent early retirement intentions.
Effects of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells on Improving the Viability of Diced Cartilage Grafts

Background: Diced cartilage grafts are useful for dorsal nasal augmentation; however, long-term resorption usually occurs. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of adipose-derived stem cells on the viability of diced cartilage grafts. Methods: Twenty Fischer rats were divided into four groups with diced cartilage grafts wrapped in the following components: abdominal fascia (group I), Surgicel (group II), abdominal fascia plus adipose-derived stem cells (group III), or Surgicel plus adipose-derived stem cells (group IV). Grafts were placed subcutaneously along the dorsal midline, and the weights were recorded both before implantation and after explantation. Histologic examination was performed after 8 weeks using hematoxylin and eosin, safranin O, van Gieson, glial fibrillary acid protein, and von Willebrand factor immunofluorescence staining. Results: The percentage reduction in weight, indicating resorption, was significantly lower in group III (p < 0.01). Both the number of nucleated lacunae per unit area and the proteoglycan content were significantly higher in group III compared with the other groups (p < 0.05). Elastic fibers around the regenerating cartilage islands were seen by van Gieson staining in the fascia groups but not in the Surgicel groups. Glial fibrillary acid protein was also significantly higher in group III (p < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in vascular density among the treatment groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that adipose-derived stem cells can maintain the viability of diced cartilage, although the exact mechanism remains to be defined. Because adipose-derived stem cells are autologous and easy to harvest, they may be useful for improving the long-term outcomes of diced cartilage grafting.
Integrating Social Media and Social Marketing

Social media is a group of Internet-based applications that allows individuals to create, collaborate, and share content with one another. Practitioners can realize social media’s untapped potential by incorporating it as part of the larger social marketing strategy, beyond promotion. Social media, if used correctly, may help organizations increase their capacity for putting the consumer at the center of the social marketing process. The purpose of this article is to provide a template for strategic thinking to successfully include social media as part of the social marketing strategy by using a four-step process.
Association among low whole blood viscosity, haematocrit, haemoglobin and diabetic retinopathy in subjects with type 2 diabetes

Objectives Haemorheological variables influence endothelial function through the release of several factors. Clinical studies have described an association among blood viscosity, haematocrit, haemoglobin and macro-angiopathy. Few data are reported about the association between haemorheological variables and micro-angiopathy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between these variables and retinopathy in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Methods 111 men, 79 postmenopausal women, and 95 healthy age- and sex-matched controls were recruited. Haematocrit and haemoglobin were measured by standard methods. Blood viscosity was calculated according to the formula (0.12× haematocrit)+(0.17× (plasma proteins−2.07)). Subjects were grouped according to the presence or absence of diabetic retinopathy, while the severity of retinopathy was classified according to the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study scale. Results Haemoglobin, haematocrit and whole blood viscosity were significantly lower in subjects with retinopathy compared to subjects without retinopathy in both sexes. These variables significantly decreased with increasing severity of retinopathy. A multiple logistic regression analysis confirmed the independent inverse association among viscosity, haematocrit, haemoglobin and retinopathy (p<0.01). Conclusion Results demonstrate the association among low viscosity, haemoglobin, haematocrit and diabetic retinopathy. The mechanisms responsible for this association can be hypothesised. Reduced haemoglobin might cause direct organ damage. Low blood viscosity, through the reduction of shear stress, might inhibit the anti-atherogenic functions of endothelial cells.
Comparative overview of UWB and VLC for data-intensive and security-sensitive applications

This paper provides a comparative overview of two short-range wireless technologies with high potential for use in various data-intensive and security-sensitive applications, namely, ultra wideband (UWB) and visible light communications (VLC). Both are emerging technologies with some unique features that draw a great research and commercial interest, also because of their applicability to the research in other fields, such as wireless robotics and communications, remote sensing and location-based communications, the medical field, and so forth. The paper outlines the most recent research and standardization developments for both technologies and gives a proposal for their suitability based on a comparative view, of the strengths and weaknesses for use in applications, such as home networking, vehicular communications, and medical care, including the main technical challenges.
Occupational therapy student experiences of a university mental health course based on an integrated application of problem-based and team-based learning

Abstract Background: The goal of problem-based and team-based learning (PBL/TBL) is to maximize student engagement and encourage interactive learning. Combining these methods in course design is described as a win-win situation that optimizes student learning, professional development, and uses varied teaching approaches that fit well within health science. More research is needed in the effectiveness of such a hybrid approach. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore student experiences of a newly developed mental health course based on an integrated application of PBL and TBL in a university occupational therapy program in Sweden. Methods: In this grounded theory study data were collected through logbooks (n = 13) and supplemental open-ended interviews (n = 7) at the end of the course. Results: The analysis resulted in two core categories: 1) learning is facilitated by a course design based on the integrated application of PBL and TBL, a current topic, and teachers who are perceived as engaging, and 2) a perceived safe setting facilitates learning and creates a good study environment. There were six related sub-categories. Conclusions: Combining elements of PBL and TBL may have a range of benefits in promoting student learning and professional development. Other aspects may also have a role to play.