Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding the design of energy interventions to reduce end-user demand in organisational and domestic environments

Energy demand is on the rise globally due to unchecked factors such as population growth, lifestyle choices, and the industrialization of developing countries. Governments are investing in technologies for efficient and renewable energy in an attempt to secure energy for the future over current dependencies on fossil fuels, but the development costs are high, and the rate of developed technologies is projected to fall far short of meeting global requirements. Overshadowing this growing appetite for energy is the global issue of climate change, igniting the scientific and humanitarian debate over the use of fossil fuels and a need for renewable energy, presenting a societal problem of generating clean, sustainable and secure energy for future generations. As part of understanding how society can make positive changes to daily practices around energy use, many governments have turned to behaviour change, or ‘nudge’ units, that research work on changing energy consumption behaviours. The importance of this is underlined by a focus on reducing end-user energy demand (EUED) by providing contextual energy feedback, interwoven with behaviour change strategies, in both residential and organizational sectors. EUED in large organisations and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) accounts for a significant proportion of a nation’s energy requirements. In Europe, the services sector saw a 34% growth in EUED in the period 1990-2012, with computers and other appliances in the office substantially contributing to this. In the UK, for example, 13% of total energy consumed in 2011-2012 was within the services sector, which accounts for services and business, while the residential sector consumed 30% of total consumption. Given a lack of academic HCI research in the organisational energy intervention space when comparted to domestic, the principle research undertaken in this thesis was to understand employee energy consumption practices and attitudes in the workplace, through a combination of qualitative enquiry and analysis. Additionally, alternative forms of feedback such as aversive stimuli are often ignored in the HCI literature, with favour focused on positive feedback alone as a means for behaviour change. The work in this thesis presents findings on the design implications and considerations that inform the design of in-the-field organisational energy interventions that integrate feedback and antecedent behaviour contingencies. Additionally, research is undertaken in understanding the design of aversive feedback as part of domestic energy interventions. A significant contribution is made to the HCI sustainability literature on understanding the workplace energy intervention design space, and a contribution made on how aversive feedback can in fact be a useful and engaging method for the domestic environment.
Chronic pain as a narratological distress: a phenomenological study

Objectives: This paper reports finding from a study that focused on people living with chronic pain, chronicling their experiences of pain and emotional distress, and their social and personal narratives. Methods: The paper presents an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of six interviews conducted with men and women aged between 27 and 61. The interviews were taken from a larger study of the experience of chronic pain. Findings: Chronic pain is a double faced phenomenon: a vivid and total experience on one hand, an elusive and deceptive phenomenon on the other. The nature of this phenomenon – together with the medical and public discourse that ignores and delegitimizes chronic pain this condition – prompts people to question their own experiences and to face what we define as a narratological distress. Discussion: Narratological distress is the internal battle between two unwanted narratives: The elusive delegitimizing narrative of denial, which seeks to ignore the experience of pain; and the narrative that acknowledges the pain, but with the price of accepting oneself as “ill” or “disabled. ”
Glycoprotein Ib/IX complex is the target in rifampicin‐induced immune thrombocytopenia

Thrombocytopenia is a major adverse effect of several drug treatments. Rifampicin has been recognized as a cause of immune thrombocytopenia during intermittent high‐dose therapy. We characterized the antibody of a patient who presented with purpura and thrombocytopenia during treatment of tuberculosis with rifampicin. Drug‐dependent binding of the antibody to platelets was demonstrated by flow cytometry. In a glycoprotein‐specific immunoassay, the binding epitope of the IgG antibody was found in the glycoprotein Ib/IX complex, using four different monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against various epitopes on the GPIb/IX complex, as well as mAbs against GPIIb/IIIa, GPIa/IIa and GPIV. By immunoprecipitation of biotin‐labelled platelets, reactivity of the antibody with GPIb/IX was found only in the presence of the drug. These findings clearly demonstrate that rifampicin induces the formation of drug‐dependent antibodies capable of causing thrombocytopenia. The binding site of the rifampicin‐dependent antibody, located in the GPIb/IX complex, seems to be a favoured target for antibodies induced by different drugs.
Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis after declining incidence, New York City, 2001–2003

SUMMARY Tuberculosis incidence in New York City (NYC) declined between 1992 and 2000 from 51·1 to 16·6 cases per 100 000 population. In January 2001, universal real-time genotyping of TB cases was implemented in NYC. Isolates from culture-confirmed tuberculosis cases from 2001 to 2003 were genotyped using IS6110 and spoligotype to describe the extent and factors associated with genotype clustering after declining TB incidence. Of 2408 (91·8%) genotyped case isolates, 873 (36·2%) had a pattern indistinguishable from that of another study period case, forming 212 clusters; 248 (28·4%) of the clustered cases had strains believed to have been widely transmitted during the epidemic years in the early 1990s in NYC. An estimated 27·4% (873 minus 212) of the 2408 cases were due to recent infection that progressed to active disease during the study period. Younger age, birth in the United States, homelessness, substance abuse and presence of TB symptoms were independently associated with greater odds of clustering.
Diagnostic utility of aquaporin-4 in the analysis of active demyelinating lesions

Objective: To assess, in a surgical biopsy cohort of active demyelinating lesions, the diagnostic utility of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) immunohistochemistry in identifying neuromyelitis optica (NMO) or NMO spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and describe pathologic features that should prompt AQP4 immunohistochemical analysis and AQP4–immunoglobulin G (IgG) serologic testing. Methods: This was a neuropathologic cohort study of 20 surgical biopsies (19 patients; 11 cord/9 brain), performed because of diagnostic uncertainty, interpreted as active demyelinating disease and containing 2 or more of the following additional features: tissue vacuolation, granulocytic infiltrates, or astrocyte injury. Results: AQP4 immunoreactivity was lost in 18 biopsies and increased in 2. Immunopathologic features of the AQP4 loss cohort were myelin vacuolation (18), dystrophic astrocytes and granulocytes (17), vascular hyalinization (16), macrophages containing glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP)–positive debris (14), and Creutzfeldt-Peters cells (0). All 14 cases with available serum tested positive for AQP4-IgG after biopsy. Diagnosis at last follow-up was NMO/NMOSD (15) and longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (1 each relapsing and single). Immunopathologic features of the AQP4 increased cohort were macrophages containing GFAP-positive debris and granulocytes (2), myelin vacuolation (1), dystrophic astrocytes (1), Creutzfeldt-Peters cells (1), and vascular hyalinization (1). Diagnosis at last follow-up was multiple sclerosis (MS) and both tested AQP4-IgG seronegative after biopsy. Conclusions: AQP4 immunohistochemistry with subsequent AQP4-IgG testing has diagnostic utility in identifying cases of NMO/NMOSD. This study highlights the importance of considering NMOSD in the differential diagnosis of tumefactive brain or spinal cord lesions. AQP4-IgG testing may avert biopsy and avoid ineffective therapies if these patients are erroneously treated for MS.
Telomere length behaves as biomarker of somatic redundancy rather than biological age

Biomarkers of aging are essential to predict mortality and aging‐related diseases. Paradoxically, age itself imposes a limitation on the use of known biomarkers of aging because their associations with mortality generally diminish with age. How this pattern arises is, however, not understood. With meta‐analysis we show that human leucocyte telomere length (TL) predicts mortality, and that this mortality association diminishes with age, as found for other biomarkers of aging. Subsequently, we demonstrate with simulation models that this observation cannot be reconciled with the popular hypothesis that TL is proportional to biological age. Using the reliability theory of aging, we instead propose that TL is a biomarker of somatic redundancy, the body's capacity to absorb damage, which fits the observed pattern well. We discuss to what extent diminishing redundancy with age may also explain the observed diminishing mortality modulation with age of other biomarkers of aging. Considering diminishing somatic redundancy as the causal agent of aging may critically advance our understanding of the aging process, and improve predictions of life expectancy and vulnerability to aging‐related diseases.
Correlation between second trimester maternal serum inhibin-A and human chorionic gonadotrophin for the prediction of pre-eclampsia.

We aimed to investigate the relationship between inhibin-A and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) concentrations in the second trimester in the same cohort of women and compare their screening efficiency for the subsequent development of pre-eclampsia. The main outcome measures were pre-eclampsia and pre-eclampsia requiring delivery before 37 weeks.We carried out a retrospective examination of inhibin-A and free beta-hCG levels taken between 15 and 19 weeks of gestation, from 685 women. The values were corrected for weight and gestation and presented as multiples of the median (MoM). Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves for the prediction of pre-eclampsia and pre-eclampsia requiring delivery before 37 weeks were created for both analytes alone and in combination. Based on this data the sensitivities for the prediction of pre-eclampsia using inhibin-A and hCG, alone and in combination were examined for a specificity of 90 per cent.Thirty-five (5.5 per cent) women developed pre-eclampsia, of whom 15 (2.7 per cent) required delivery before term as a result of pre-eclampsia. There was no correlation between inhibin-A and hCG for the whole population (r=0.08) but there was a significant correlation for women who subsequently developed pre-eclampsia (r=0.648) or preterm pre-eclampsia (r=0.84). For a specificity of 90 per cent the sensitivity using inhibin-A was significantly better than for hCG (48.6 per cent versus 31.4 per cent, P< 0.05). The results were similar for preterm pre-eclampsia (P< 0.05). The addition of hCG data to inhibin-A data did not improve the sensitivity for pre-eclampsia compared to inhibin-A alone (42.9 per cent versus 48.6 per cent, P< 0.20). Inhibin-A is a more sensitive marker for the subsequent development of pre-eclampsia than hCG. Addition of hCG data to inhibin-A did not improve the screening efficacy for pre-eclampsia suggesting that inhibin-A and hCG are markers of the same underlying pathological process.
H‐ras, but not N‐ras, induces an invasive phenotype in human breast epithelial cells: A role for MMP‐2 in the h‐ras‐induced invasive phenotype

Elevated p21ras expression is associated with tumor aggressiveness in breast cancer including the extent of invasion into fat tissues, infiltration into lymphatic vessels and tumor recurrence. In the present study, we have examined the roles of H‐ras and N‐ras, members of the human ras gene family, in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. We show that H‐ras, but not N‐ras, induces an invasive phenotype in human breast epithelial cells (MCF10A) as determined by the Matrigel invasion assay, whereas both H‐ras and N‐ras induce anchorage‐independent growth, as shown by soft agar assay. We examined the effects of H‐ras and N‐ras activation on the expression of MMP‐2 and MMP‐9, which can degrade type IV collagen, the major structural collagen of the basement membrane. We show that MMP‐2 is efficiently induced by H‐ras, whereas MMP‐9 induction is more prominent in N‐ras‐activated MCF10A cells. We also show that H‐ras‐mediated invasiveness is significantly inhibited when the expression of MMP‐2 is down‐regulated, using an oligodeoxyribonucleotide complementary to the MMP‐2 mRNA, or when MMP‐2 activity is blocked by its inhibitor TIMP‐2 (tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinase‐2). Our results show that the H‐ras‐induced invasive phenotype is associated more closely with the expression of MMP‐2 in human breast epithelial cells, rather than the induction of MMP‐9 expression, as shown previously for rat embryonic fibroblasts. Int. J. Cancer 85:176–181, 2000. ©2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Neuregulin 1–erbB Signaling Is Necessary for Normal Myelination and Sensory Function

To investigate the role of erbB signaling in the interactions between peripheral axons and myelinating Schwann cells, we generated transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative erbB receptor in these glial cells. Mutant mice have delayed onset of myelination, thinner myelin, shorter internodal length, and smaller axonal caliber in adulthood. Consistent with the morphological defects, transgenic mice also have slower nerve conduction velocity and defects in their responses to mechanical stimulation. Molecular analysis indicates that erbB signaling may contribute to myelin formation by regulating transcription of myelin genes. Analysis of sciatic nerves showed a reduction in the levels of expression of myelin genes in mutant mice. In vitro assays revealed that neuregulin-1 (NRG1) induces expression of myelin protein zero (P0). Furthermore, we found that the effects of NRG1 on P0 expression depend on the NRG1 isoform used. When NRG1 is presented to Schwann cells in the context of cell–cell contact, type III but not type I NRG1 regulates P0 gene expression. These results suggest that disruption of the NRG1–erbB signaling pathway could contribute to the pathogenesis of peripheral neuropathies with hypomyelination and neuropathic pain.
Digestion of Non-Starch Polysaccharides by Non-Ruminant Omnivores

The definition of fibre, particularly in the context of foods eaten by man, is still controversial. For the purposes of the present paper, a reductionist view will be taken and fibre considered to be non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), since in making digestibility measurements a definition is required which can be translated into an analytical method suitable for use with foods and faeces. This reductionist approach ignores many other food components including starches resistant to pancreatic amylase, oligosaccharides, lactose (for most animals and man post weaning), some protein and lipid fractions (Cummings & Englyst, 1987) and organic anions such as oxalate and tartrate (Florin et al. 1990) which, in the large intestine (LI), behave similarly to some NSP and might be included within the definition of fibre by those taking an holistic view. However, there is little quantitative information on the amounts of these fractions in foods or their sites and extents of digestion so that the restricted definition of fibre is justified at present.
HIV Infection Deregulates the Balance Between Regulatory T Cells and IL-2–Producing CD4 T Cells by Decreasing the Expression of the IL-2 Receptor in Treg

Abstract:Indexation of regulatory T cells (Treg) to the number of activated T cells constitutes a homeostatic mechanism ensuring that T-cell expansion remains under control. However, immune hyperactivation observed in HIV-infected patients suggests a possible dysfunction of this mechanism. Here we show that the Treg/IL-2–producing cells' balance is deeply disturbed in viremic HIV-infected patients. We found a lower expression of IL-2 receptor alpha on Treg from viremic patients. We confirmed in vitro that HIV infection of Treg downregulates IL-2 receptor alpha and phosphorylated STAT5. Our results argue for an impaired capacity of Treg to sense the expansion of activated T cells in HIV-infected patients that could contribute to the immune deregulation.
Effect of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on Heart Rate, Heart Rate Recovery and QTc and P-wave Dispersion in Newly Diagnosed Untreated Patients

Introduction:Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with autonomic dysfunction, whereas increased heart rate (HR), HR recovery time (HRR-1), QT-corrected interval (QTc) and P-wave dispersion (Pd) are associated with cardiovascular events. The aim of the current investigation was to clarify the influence of OSAS severity on these cardiac parameters. Methods:Ninety newly diagnosed and untreated patients with OSAS underwent overnight polysomnography and cardiopulmonary exercise testing, including HRR-1, echocardiography, 24-hour Holter electrocardiography, surface electrocardiogram (ECG) and measurement of several metabolic parameters. The patients were divided into the following 4 groups: 26 with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) <5, 20 with 5 ⩽ AHI <15, 20 with 15 ⩽ AHI <30 and 24 with AHI ≥30. QTc and Pd were calculated in all leads of the surface ECG. Mean HR was measured using 24-hour Holter ECG, and HRR-1 was measured using cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Results:QTc was increased in patients with moderate-to-severe OSAS. Pd was significantly increased in patients with OSAS compared with those without OSAS. In addition, Pd was correlated with AHI and associated with the severity of disease. Mean HRs over a period of 24 hours during wakefulness and sleep correlated significantly with AHI and the lowest SpO2 in patients with OSAS, whereas HRR-1 was inversely correlated with the severity of OSAS, as expressed by AHI. Conclusion:We showed that HR, Pd, HRR-1 and QT-corrected time are correlated with OSAS severity. Further studies are required in order to investigate the prognostic effect of HRR-1, Pd, HR and QTc in OSAS.
Proteins of the kallikrein‐kinin system in human semen Isolation and properties of kininase II: Proteine des Kallikrein‐Kinin‐Systems im menschlichen Samen Isolierung und Eigenschaften von Kininase II

Summary A rapid and highly efficient procedure for purification of kininase II from human seminal plasma is described. After ultracentrifugation, the enzyme was purified by gel filtration on Sepharose 6B CL and ion exchange chromatography followed by affinity chromatography of EDTA‐inhibited enzyme on bradykinin‐Sepharose. The enzyme was specifically inhibited by Captopril® and BPP9a but not by phosphoamidon. PAGE in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate under reducing conditions resulted in two major protein bands with apparent molecular masses of about 55 kDa and 65 kDa and two faint protein bands at higher molecular masses. Antibodies raised against the major protein bands showed full cross reactivity with all four protein bands. The presented data indicate that kininase II of subunits.
Effects of Caffeine Consumption by Women and Men on the Outcome of In Vitro Fertilization.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to estimate the association between caffeine consumption and in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. METHODS A total of 2474 couples were prospectively enrolled prior to undergoing their first cycle of IVF, contributing a total of 4716 IVF cycles. Discrete survival analysis adjusting for observed confounders was applied to quantify the relation between caffeine consumption and livebirth. Secondary outcomes of interest were oocyte retrieval, peak estradiol level, implantation rate, and fertilization rate. RESULTS Overall, caffeine consumption by women was not significantly associated with livebirth (ptrend=0.74). Compared with women who do not drink caffeine, the likelihood of livebirth was not significantly different for women who drank low (>0-800 mg/week; odds ratio [OR]=1.00, 95% confidence interval [CI])=0.83-1.21), moderate (>800-1400 mg/week; OR=0.89, 95% CI=0.71-1.12), or high levels of caffeine (>1400 mg/week; OR=1.07, 95% CI=0.85-1.34). Greater caffeine intake by women was associated with a significantly lower peak estradiol level (ptrend=0.03), but was not associated with the number of oocytes retrieved (ptrend=0.75), fertilization rate (ptrend=0.10), or implantation rate (ptrend=0.23). There was no significant association between caffeine intake by men and livebirth (ptrend=0.27), fertilization (ptrend=0.72), or implantation (ptrend=0.24). The individual effects of consumption of coffee, tea, or soda by women or men were not related to livebirth. CONCLUSION Caffeine consumption by women or men was not associated with IVF outcomes.
Effect of mechanical perturbation on the biomechanics, primary growth and secondary tissue development of inflorescence stems of Arabidopsis thaliana.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Mechanical perturbation is known to inhibit elongation of the inflorescence stem of Arabidopsis thaliana. The phenomenon has been reported widely for both herbaceous and woody plants, and has implications for how plants adjust their size and form to survive in mechanically perturbed environments. While this response is an important aspect of the plant's architecture, little is known about how mechanical properties of the inflorescence stem are modified or how its primary and secondary tissues respond to mechanical perturbation. METHODS Plants of the Columbia-0 ecotype were exposed to controlled brushing treatments and then submitted to three-point bending tests to determine stem rigidity and stiffness. Contributions of different tissues to the inflorescence stem geometry were analysed. KEY RESULTS Perturbed plants showed little difference in stem diameter, were 50 % shorter, 75 % less rigid and 70 % less stiff than controls. Changes in mechanical properties were linked to significant changes in tissue geometry - size and position of the pith, lignified interfascicular tissue and cortex - as well as a reduction in density of lignified cells. Stem mechanical properties were modified by changes in primary tissues and thus differ from changes observed in most woody plants tested with indeterminate growth - even though a vascular cambium is present in the inflorescence axis. CONCLUSIONS The study suggests that delayed development of key primary developmental features of the stem in this ecotype of Arabidopsis results in a 'short and flexible' rather than a 'short and rigid' strategy for maintaining upright axes in conditions of severe mechanical perturbation. The mechanism is comparable with more general phenomena in plants where changes in developmental rate can significantly affect the overall growth form of the plant in both ecological and evolutionary contexts.
Cytokine production in unmedicated and treated schizophrenic patients

Recent findings have strengthened the hypothesis that immunological dysfunctions may contribute towards the multifactorial pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The validity of these findings is questioned by the fact that most studied subjects have received potentially immunomodulatory medication upon investigation. In order to rule out such confounding effects, 24 initially unmedicated acutely ill schizophrenic patients were studied immunologically and psychiatrically (PANSS) before and during 4 weeks of neuroleptic treatment. The production of IFN-γ was decreased upon admission and after 2 weeks of treatment compared to matched healthy controls. No differences in IL-2 and IFN-γ production between unmedicated and medicated states were observed. These results do not support the notion that neuroleptic medication in vivo might influence TH1 cytokine production in schizophrenia.