Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Flexibility in use: Switching behaviour and satisfaction in activity-based work environments

Purpose Despite their growing popularity among organisations, satisfaction with activity-based work (ABW) environments is found to be below expectations. Research also suggests that workers typically do not switch frequently, or not at all, between different activity settings. Hence, the purpose of this study is to answer two main questions: Is switching behaviour related to satisfaction with ABW environments? Which factors may explain switching behaviour? Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire data provided by users of ABW environments (n = 3,189) were used to carry out ANOVA and logistic regression analyses. Findings Satisfaction ratings of the 4 per cent of the respondents who switched several times a day appeared to be significantly above average. Switching frequency was found to be positively related to heterogeneity of the activity profile, share of communication work and external mobility. Practical implications Our findings suggest that satisfaction with ABW environments might be enhanced by stimulating workers to switch more frequently. However, as strong objections against switching were observed and switching frequently does not seem to be compatible with all work patterns, this will presumably not work for everyone. Many workers are likely to be more satisfied if provided with an assigned (multifunctional) workstation. Originality/value In a large representative sample, clear evidence was found for relationships between behavioural aspects and appreciation of ABW environments that had not been studied previously.
Two Boundaries Separate Borrelia burgdorferi Populations in North America

ABSTRACT Understanding the spread of infectious diseases is crucial for implementing effective control measures. For this, it is important to obtain information on the contemporary population structure of a disease agent and to infer the evolutionary processes that may have shaped it. Here, we investigate on a continental scale the population structure of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis (LB), a tick-borne disease, in North America. We test the hypothesis that the observed population structure is congruent with recent population expansions and that these were preceded by bottlenecks mostly likely caused by the near extirpation in the 1900s of hosts required for sustaining tick populations. Multilocus sequence typing and complementary population analytical tools were used to evaluate B. burgdorferi samples collected in the Northeastern, Upper Midwestern, and Far-Western United States and Canada. The spatial distribution of sequence types (STs) and inferred population boundaries suggest that the current populations are geographically separated. One major population boundary separated western B. burgdorferi populations transmitted by Ixodes pacificus in California from Eastern populations transmitted by I. scapularis; the other divided Midwestern and Northeastern populations. However, populations from all three regions were genetically closely related. Together, our findings suggest that although the contemporary populations of North American B. burgdorferi now comprise three geographically separated subpopulations with no or limited gene flow among them, they arose from a common ancestral population. A comparative analysis of the B. burgdorferi outer surface protein C (ospC) gene revealed novel linkages and provides additional insights into the genetic characteristics of strains.
Technological Support for Group Process Modeling

During business analysis, business activities are modeled and analyzed. Redefined models become the blueprints for improved business activities. The cost to produce models of the organization is high and model accuracy is important. Involvement from knowledgeable participants and stakeholders is desirable during business modeling and analysis. Traditional modeling approaches limit direct participation to a small handful of participants. This paper discusses the development and evaluation of an electronic meeting system (EMS) based activity modeling tool. Modeling efforts supported by this new approach are compared with modeling efforts supported by analysts with a single-user tool. The results of this comparison reveal that the EMS-based modeling tool allows a greater number of individuals to participate efficiently in model development. Models are developed between 175 percent and 251 percent faster with the new approach than with the traditional approach. Specific features are discussed that help relatively novice modelers work with analysts to develop models of reasonable quality. Measures are set forth that can be used to assess modeling efficiency and quality.
Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the Canadian adult population

Background: Metabolic syndrome refers to a constellation of conditions that increases a person’s risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We describe the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components in relation to sociodemographic factors in the Canadian adult population. Methods: We used data from cycle 1 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey, a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of the population. We included data for respondents aged 18 years and older for whom fasting blood samples were available; pregnant women were excluded. We calculated weighted estimates of the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components in relation to age, sex, education level and income. Results: The estimated prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 19.1%. Age was the strongest predictor of the syndrome: 6.5% of participants 18–39 years old had metabolic syndrome, as compared with 39.0% of those 70–79 years. Abdominal obesity was the most common component of the syndrome (35.0%) and was more prevalent among women than among men (40.0% v. 29.1%; p = 0.013). Men were more likely than women to have an elevated fasting glucose level (18.9% v. 13.6%; p = 0.025) and hypertriglyceridemia (29.0% v. 20.0%; p = 0.012). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was higher among people in households with lower education and income levels. Interpretation: About one in five Canadian adults had metabolic syndrome. People at increased risk were those in households with lower education and income levels. The burden of abdominal obesity, low HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and hypertriglyceridemia among young people was especially of concern, because the risk of cardiovascular disease increases with age.
Mesoscale Structures in World City Networks

This study conceptualizes variant mesoscale structures (e.g., core–periphery, community, flat-world, or hybrid) in world city networks (WCNs) that enable us to understand the grouping features of cities with similar roles and positions, which are defined by distinctive relational patterns between cities as well as groups. A new analytical framework relying on a Bayesian-inference weighted stochastic block model (WSBM) is proposed to infer and compare latent mesoscale structures. This framework is superior to existing city-clustering approaches, which either ex ante postulate a mesoscale structure before clustering (e.g., the community detection method) or ex post explain the roles and positions of cities after clustering based on their similarities in attributes and thus avoid the traps of methodological determinism and territorialism. For substantiating mesoscale structures, we study a WCN of 126 cities, between which the relational strength is measured by the pairwise coreference frequency of cities on massive Internet Web pages collected by a webometrics approach. Modeling results show that the WCN reflected on Web pages has a distinctive multicore–periphery structure mixed with communities. We also develop a likelihood-based estimation to compare alternative mesoscale structures and find that the WCN configuration differs from many geographical imaginaries of globalization, such as a homogenous world, a ranking hierarchy, or a territorialist regional geography. This study asks for more comparative analyses of mesoscale structures in the future research agenda of macroregional or WCN studies.
Structure-Function Analysis of BfpB, a Secretin-Like Protein Encoded by the Bundle-Forming-Pilus Operon of EnteropathogenicEscherichia coli

ABSTRACT Production of type IV bundle-forming pili by enteropathogenicEscherichia coli (EPEC) requires BfpB, an outer-membrane lipoprotein and member of the secretin protein superfamily. BfpB was found to compose a ring-shaped, high-molecular-weight outer-membrane complex that is stable in 4% sodium dodecyl sulfate at temperatures of ≤65°C. Chemical cross-linking and immunoprecipitation experiments disclosed that the BfpB multimeric complex interacts with BfpG, and mutational studies showed that BfpG is required for the formation and/or stability of the multimer but not for the outer-membrane localization of BfpB. Formation of the BfpB multimer also does not require BfpA, the repeating subunit of the pilus filament. Functional studies of the BfpB-BfpG complex revealed that its presence confers vancomycin sensitivity, indicating that it may form an incompletely gated channel through the outer membrane. BfpB expression is also associated with accumulation of EPEC proteins in growth medium, suggesting that it may support both pilus biogenesis and protein secretion.
Soluble MHC‐II proteins promote suppressive activity in CD4+ T cells

Soluble MHCII (sMHCII) molecules are present in body fluids of healthy individuals and are considered to be involved in the maintenance of self tolerance, and are also related to various diseases. Their concentration increases during in vivo antigen‐specific tolerogenic stimulation and it was recently shown that exosome‐mediated tolerance is MHCII dependent. At the cellular level, sMHCII proteins compete with membrane MHCII for T‐cell receptor binding on CD4+ T cells. Immunoaffinity purification techniques isolated sMHCII antigens from the serum of human serum albumin (HSA) ‐tolerant mice as a single highly glycosylated protein of ~ 60 000 molecular weight, specifically interacting with anti‐class II antibodies in Western blotting and ELISA. Mass spectroscopy showed that these sMHCII proteins were loaded with the tolerogenic peptide as well as multiple self peptides. At the cellular level, sMHCII suppressed antigen‐specific, and to a lesser degree antigen‐non‐specific, spleen cell proliferation and induced CD25 in naive T cells. In T cells activated by antigen‐seeded macrophages, sMHCII decreased CD28 and increased CTLA‐4 protein expression, while decreasing interleukin‐2 and increasing interleukin‐10 production. In this case, sMHCII proteins were shown to decrease ZAP‐70 and LAT phosphorylation. The results presented here for the first time provide evidence for the role of sMHCII proteins in immune response suppression and maintenance of tolerance, revealing novel regulatory mechanisms for immune system manipulation.
Selected nucleon form factors and a composite scalar diquark

A covariant, composite scalar diquark, Fadde'ev amplitude model for the nucleon is used to calculate pseudoscalar, isoscalar- and isovector-vector, axial-vector and scalar nucleon form factors. The last yields the nucleon {sigma} term and on-shell {sigma}-nucleon coupling. The calculated form factors are soft, and the couplings are generally in good agreement with experiment and other determinations. Elements in the dressed-quark-axial-vector vertex that are not constrained by the Ward-Takahashi identity contribute {approx}20% to the magnitude of g{sub A}. The calculation of the nucleon {sigma} term elucidates the only unambiguous means of extrapolating meson-nucleon couplings off the meson mass shell. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.
Vitamin D Deficiency in Children With Newly Diagnosed Idiopathic Epilepsy

Several studies have shown a link between vitamin D deficiency and epilepsy. This study includes 60 newly diagnosed idiopathic epilepsy patients and 101 healthy controls (between the ages of 5 and 16). Each group was also divided into two subgroups according to seasonal changes in terms of months of longer versus shorter daylight. We retrospectively evaluated the levels of calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, and 25-OH vitamin-D3 in the study participants. Levels below 20 ng/ml were defined as vitamin D deficiency and levels of 20-30 ng/ml as insufficiency. There were no significant differences in age, gender distribution and levels of calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase and parathyroid hormone between the groups. The level of 25-OH vitamin-D3 in the patient group was significantly lower when compared to the control group (p < 0.05) (14.07 ± 8.12 and 23.38 ± 12.80 ng/ml, respectively). This difference also held true when evaluation was made according to seasonal evaluation (12.38 ± 6.53 and 17.64 ± 1.14 in shorter daylight and 18.71 ± 9.87 and 30.82 ± 1.04 in longer daylight).
Binding Properties of Neuroligin 1 and Neurexin 1β Reveal Function as Heterophilic Cell Adhesion Molecules*

β-Neurexins and neuroligins are plasma membrane proteins that are displayed on the neuronal cell surface. We have now investigated the interaction of neurexin 1β with neuroligin 1 to evaluate their potential to function as heterophilic cell adhesion molecules. Using detergent-solubilized neuroligins and secreted neurexin 1β-IgG fusion protein, we observed binding of these proteins to each other only in the presence of Ca2+ and in no other divalent cation tested. Only neurexin 1β lacking an insert in splice site 4 bound neuroligins, whereas neurexin 1β containing an insert was inactive. Half-maximal binding required 1–3 μm free Ca2+, which probably acts by binding to neuroligin 1 but not to neurexin 1β. To determine if neurexin 1β and neuroligin 1 can also interact with each other when present in a native membrane environment on the cell surface, we generated transfected cell lines expressing neuroligin 1 and neurexin 1β. Upon mixing different cell populations, we found that cells aggregate only if cells expressing neurexin 1β are mixed with cells expressing neuroligin 1. Aggregation was dependent on Ca2+ and was inhibited by the addition of soluble neurexin 1β lacking an insert in splice site 4 but not by the addition of neurexin 1β containing an insert in splice site 4. We conclude that neurexin 1β and neuroligin 1 (and, by extension, other β-neurexins and neuroligins) function as heterophilic cell adhesion molecules in a Ca2+-dependent reaction that is regulated by alternative splicing of β-neurexins.
Prognostic Effect of Long Noncoding RNA NEAT1 Expression Depends on p53 Mutation Status in Cancer

Recently, many studies have revealed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in various biological and pathological processes. Our previous study reported that lncRNA NEAT1 is a direct transcriptional target of p53. NEAT1 is an essential component of paraspeckles, which have recently been identified as a novel type of nuclear compartment. Although our previous findings indicate that NEAT1 induction contributes to the tumor-suppressor function of p53, the role of NEAT1 in cancer is still controversial. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the relationship between NEAT1 expression and p53 mutation status. Interestingly, survival analysis based on NEAT1 expression in several cancer tissues revealed that the p53 wild-type group with high NEAT1 expression had a good prognosis, while poor prognosis or no correlation between NEAT1 expression and survival was observed in the p53-mutated group. These results demonstrate that the tumor-suppressive effect of NEAT1 depends on p53 function and is consistent with our previous report showing that NEAT1 supports the tumor-suppressive function of p53. Specifically, NEAT1 seems to play a tumor-suppressive role only in the presence of wild-type p53. These results provide important clues to the roles of NEAT1 in cancer.
Psychopharmacological treatment for military posttraumatic stress disorder: An integrative review

Purpose: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious mental health disorder. The current first‐line psychopharmacologic treatment for PTSD is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Recently, the efficacy of SSRIs has been challenged in favor of propranolol use. This article reviews the origins of PTSD, its impact within the veteran population, psychopharmacological treatment of PTSD, and current literature on the use of propranolol for PTSD treatment. Data sources: The search strategies used included ProQuest, Medline, CINAHL, and Psychiatry Online and were searched using the key terms: PTSD, psychopharmacological treatment, SSRIs, propranolol, military, and veterans in multiple combinations. Conclusions: Studies to date indicate that (a) SSRIs are only moderately effective as a first‐line treatment for PTSD and less so for military personnel, (b) propranolol has the ability to attenuate traumatic memory in primary and tertiary use, and (c) ethical and moral consideration as well as further research and testing is needed for substantiating propranolol as a first‐line PTSD psychopharmacological treatment. Implications for practice: Current research has shown propranolol to be an effective treatment option for PTSD.
Anti—vascular approaches to solid tumour therapy: Evaluation of vinblastine and flavone acetic acid

Several agents have now been identified which exert their anti‐tumour effects in large part via the tumour vasculature; these include TNFα and flavone acetic acid (FAA). More recently, Vincristine and Vinblastine have also been shown to cause a prolonged and selective decrease in tumour perfusion. Vinblastine, unlike FAA, causes no increase in plasma TNFα levels in mice bearing the CaNT tumour, suggesting 2 distinct mechanisms of anti‐vascular activity for these structurally diverse agents. Since FAA and Vinblastine also show quite different normal tissue toxicities, which are separately dose‐limiting, we have examined the strategy of combining these 2 agents. When Vinblastine preceded FAA by 24 hr or less, tumour growth delay was significantly enhanced without a concomitant increase in toxicity. The level of enhancement was not significantly reduced by a 5‐fold decrease in Vinblastine dose, though any reduction in the dose of FAA caused a rapid reduction in treatment effectiveness. Investigation of the functional vasculature of treated tumours suggested that increased anti‐vascular effects may contribute to the enhanced growth inhibition of the combined treatment. Our results demonstrate the potential benefit of combining 2 different classes of antivas‐cular agent, using Vinblastine and FAA (or 5,6‐MeXAA) as prototype drugs.
The evolution of stock market efficiency in the US: a non-Bayesian time-varying model approach

ABSTRACT A non-Bayesian time-varying model is developed by introducing the concept of the degree of market efficiency that varies over time. This model may be seen as a reflection of the idea that continuous technological progress alters the trading environment over time. With new methodologies and a new measure of the degree of market efficiency, we examine whether the US stock market evolves over time. In particular, a time-varying autoregressive (TV-AR) model is employed. Our main findings are: (i) the US stock market has evolved over time and the degree of market efficiency has cyclical fluctuations with a considerably long periodicity, from 30 to 40 years; and (ii) the US stock market has been efficient with the exception of four times in our sample period: during the long recession of 1873–1879; the recession of 1902–1904; the New Deal era; and the recession of 1957–1958 and soon after it. It is then shown that our results are partly consistent with the view of behavioural finance.
College Students’ Experiences and Attitudes Regarding Middle and High School–Based Breastfeeding Education

This study examined the attitudes and experiences of male and female college students relative to breastfeeding education within middle and high school programs of study. Findings revealed that 36.7% of the participants were taught about breastfeeding while enrolled in a specific course in high school; 11.3% received information about breastfeeding in middle school. Overall, participants expressed positive attitudes toward breastfeeding and were supportive of the promotion of breastfeeding within a formal educational setting. However, 54% disagreed with offering information about breastfeeding to middle school students. Furthermore, most (67.8%) participants found public breastfeeding to be unacceptable; 77.7% indicated that breastfeeding is an intimate behavior that should be kept private. School nurses are in a unique position to influence school health and science-related curricula designed to promote the health benefits of breast-feeding. More education is needed to teach young people about the advantages of breastfeeding and to make breastfeeding a socially and culturally acceptable lifestyle behavior.
Endoparasitoid Assemblage of the Pea Leafminer, Liriomyza huidobrensis (Diptera: Agromyzidae), in Southern Ontario

Abstract The pea leafminer, Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard) (Diptera: Agromyzidae), is an important pest of leafy greens in the Holland Marsh, Bradford, Ontario, and was first discovered in this area in 1998. A 2-yr study was undertaken to document the parasitoid complex of this recent addition to leafminer guild in Ontario and examine endoparasitoids reared from pea leafminer pupae collected from eight host plants: celery (Apium graveolens L.), spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), mustard greens (Brassica juncea L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), and gai lan (Brassica alboglabra L.). Members of three families of Hymenopteran parasitoids were identified: Chrysocharis oscinidis Ashmead (Eulophidae), Halticoptera circulus (Walker) (Pteromalidae), and three species in the Braconidae, including two unidentified Dacnusa spp. and one unidentified Opius sp. Mortality and parasitism rates of pea leafminer pupae were higher in 2002 than 2003 and varied according to host plant. Parasitism rates ranged from 4 to 27% in 2002 and 4% to 13% in 2003. The parasitoid complex differed among host plants, and there were differences in the range of host plants on which parasitoids were found to parasitize pea leafminers.
The Effect of Culture on Fertility Behavior of US Teen Mothers

ABSTRACT This paper studies the impact of culture on the fertility behavior of teenage women in the US. To identify this effect, it took an epidemiological approach, exploiting the variations in teenage women's fertility rates by ancestral home country. Using three different databases (the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, and the 2000 US Census), the results show that culture has quantitatively important effects on the fertility behavior of teenage women. This finding is robust to alternative specifications, to the introduction of a range of home country variables to proxy culture, and to the measurement of individual characteristics present when teenage women continue with a pregnancy to have a child.