Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interpersonal Trust and Emotion as Antecedents of Cooperation: Evidence From Korea

In this field study (n = 514), we examined the relationships among interpersonal trust, interpersonal emotion, cooperation, and the characteristics of both the trustor and trustee at work. We found that interpersonal trust and interpersonal emotion were positively related to willingness to cooperate among members working in teams. We also found that interpersonal emotion was positively related to interpersonal trust. Interpersonal trust and interpersonal emotion, in turn, were predicted by 3 trustee characteristics: ability, benevolence, and integrity. Together, interpersonal trust, interpersonal emotion, and trustee characteristics accounted for 70% of the variance in willingness to cooperate among the team members. jasp_776 1603.1631
Early Inhibition of IL-1β Expression by IFN-γ Is Mediated by Impaired Binding of NF-κB to the IL-1β Promoter but Is Independent of Nitric Oxide

The significance of bacterial RNA recognition for initiating innate immune responses against invading pathogens has only recently started to be elucidated. Bacterial RNA is an important trigger of inflammasome activation, resulting in caspase-1–dependent cleavage of pro–IL-1β into the active form. It was reported previously that prolonged treatment with IFN-γ can inhibit IL-1β production at the level of both transcription and Nlrp3 inflammasome activation in an NO-dependent manner. As a result of the delayed kinetics of NO generation after IFN-γ stimulation, these effects were only observed at later time points. We report that IFN-γ suppressed bacterial RNA and LPS induced IL-1β transcription in primary murine macrophages and dendritic cells by an additional, very rapid mechanism that was independent of NO. Costimulation with IFN-γ selectively attenuated binding of NF-κB p65 to the IL-1β promoter, thus representing a novel mechanism of IL-1β inhibition by IFN-γ. Transcriptional silencing was specific for IL-1β because expression of other proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF, IL-6, and IL-12p40, was not affected. Furthermore, by suppressing IL-1β production, IFN-γ impaired differentiation of Th17 cells and production of neutrophil chemotactic factor CXCL1 in vitro. The findings provide evidence for a rapid immune-modulating effect of IFN-γ independent of NO.
Impact of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists on Major Gastrointestinal Disorders for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Mixed Treatment Comparison Meta-Analysis

Aim. We aimed to integrate evidence from all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and assess the impact of different doses of exenatide or liraglutide on major gastrointestinal adverse events (GIAEs) in type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods. RCTs evaluating different doses of exenatide and liraglutide against placebo or an active comparator with treatment duration ≥4 weeks were searched and reviewed. A total of 35, 32 and 28 RCTs met the selection criteria evaluated for nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, respectively. Pairwise random-effects meta-analyses and mixed treatment comparisons (MTC) of all RCTs were performed. Results. All GLP-1 dose groups significantly increased the probability of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea relative to placebo and conventional treatment. MTC meta-analysis showed that there was 99.2% and 85.0% probability, respectively, that people with exenatide 10 μg twice daily (EX10BID) was more vulnerable to nausea and vomiting than those with other treatments. There was a 78.90% probability that liraglutide 1.2 mg once daily (LIR1.2) has a higher risk of diarrhea than other groups. A dose-dependent relationship of exenatide and liraglutide on GIAEs was observed. Conclusions. Our MTC meta-analysis suggests that patients should be warned about these GIAEs in early stage of treatment by GLP-1s, especially by EX10BID and LIR1.2, to promote treatment compliance.
Applying Lessons Learned from Counselling: on Nurturing Relations in E-Government Projects

This paper elaborates on the relevance of deploying focus and effort on personal relation, in interventions for organisational innovation. Supporting the establishment of sense making and trust with Social Practice Design (SPD) approaches is found to be of primary importance in an eGovernment development project. Here regional employees user-design a computer-based aid for public tender editing – a tender configurator with the support of facilitators. The paper offers a demonstration of the mission critical relevance of the relational component in SPD, intertwined with the customary functional component, in resuming governance towards project success. We address the structural problem with infra-structural measures including open conversations to promote shared understanding, and user design laboratories to promote concept emergence and learning, while practicing relation and trust building all along. Our constructivist approach renounces from the start to solve the governance problem within a narrow managerial perspective. This experience is far from a complete experiment. But a wealth of indications and partial results have been harvested on needs, opportunities, and practices, for promoting shared understanding and trust in the project, and letting emerge idiosyncratic solutions. Our SPD approach is entrenched in the deployment of facilitator interventions in the case site, in an action research (AR) like approach employing Interactive Use Cases (IUC) as a Participative Design (PD) tool. Key is the awareness and intentionality in conceiving, proposing, co-constructing with users the appropriate path, in the context, towards desired change. A holistic, long-term commitment. Quality of the path more important, that the very goal. The SPD approach is evolved through: a) the attempts from facilitators to build up personal relations of trust with managers and personnel; b) ethnographic observations; c) the analysis and awareness creation of the main traits of the extant situation in the company, through interviews, meetings, and workshops; d) the joint identification with the company’s personnel of the crucial how question e) the conception and joint co-construction of visions of solution by personnel and facilitators. PD techniques employed as special measures include: user laboratories, learning sessions, design sessions. We judge the quality of the SPD approach by three requirements (Baskerville and Myers 2004): a contribution to practice (the action), a contribution to research (the theory), the criteria by which to judge the research, and we show explicitly how the research in the case meets these criteria.
Early Attrition From Treatment Among Women With Cooccurring Substance Use Disorders and PTSD

Participant retention is one of the more challenging issues in the treatment of substance use disorders. Using data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network's Women and Trauma Study (recruitment in 2004–2005), we examine prominent factors associated with early attrition among women with cooccurring substance use disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (N = 340). Early treatment attrition is associated with a history of youth partner violence, perceived need for psychological treatment, and abuse of alcohol, opioids, and stimulants. Logistical barriers (e.g., transportation, having children) were not significantly associated with early attrition. Findings provide insight into characteristics of women who might need additional supports to engage in treatment.
SentenceRacer: A Game with a Purpose for Image Sentence Annotation

Recently datasets that contain sentence descriptions of images have enabled models that can automatically generate image captions. However, collecting these datasets are still very expensive. Here, we present SentenceRacer, an online game that gathers and verifies descriptions of images at no cost. Similar to the game hangman, players compete to uncover words in a sentence that ultimately describes an image. SentenceRacer both generates and verifies that the sentences are accurate descriptions. We show that SentenceRacer generates annotations of higher quality than those generated on Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT).
QANUS: An Open-source Question-Answering Platform

In this paper, we motivate the need for a publicly available, generic software framework for question-answering (QA) systems. We present an open-source QA framework QANUS which researchers can leverage on to build new QA systems easily and rapidly. The framework implements much of the code that will otherwise have been repeated across different QA systems. To demonstrate the utility and practicality of the framework, we further present a fully functioning factoid QA system QA-SYS built on top of QANUS.
"A breath of fresh air worth spreading": media coverage of retailer abandonment of tobacco sales.

OBJECTIVES Media play an important role in the diffusion of innovations by spreading knowledge of their relative advantages. We examined media coverage of retailers abandoning tobacco sales to explore whether this innovation might be further diffused by media accounts. METHODS We searched online media databases (Lexis Nexis, Proquest, and Access World News) for articles published from 1995 to 2011, coding retrieved items through a collaborative process. We analyzed the volume, type, provenance, prominence, and content of coverage. RESULTS We found 429 local and national news items. Two retailers who were the first in their category to end tobacco sales received the most coverage and the majority of prominent coverage. News items cited positive potential impacts of the decision more often than negative potential impacts, and frequently referred to tobacco-caused disease, death, or addiction. Letters to the editor and editorials were overwhelmingly supportive. CONCLUSIONS The content of media coverage about retailers ending tobacco sales could facilitate broader diffusion of this policy innovation, contributing to the denormalization of tobacco and moving society closer to ending the tobacco epidemic. Media advocacy could increase and enhance such coverage.
ENGINEERING OF MICROBIAL PROTEASES: IMPROVING STABILITY AND CATALYTIC PERFORMANCES

ABSTRACT been extremely useful in substitution of important amino acids of microbial proteases; though its majoobstacle is that it is imperative to know the three dimensional (3D) structure of the protease in question. This review aimed at gathering the disperse literature on thbeen chosen as sources of microbial proteases. A recent flow cytometry based screening system for DE Corresponding author: Email: bashirsajomienda@yahoo.co.uk; Tel: +60169929915; Fax: +6075531112 [I] INTRODUCTION Many industrial applications of proteases require enzymes with properties that are non physiological. Protein engineering pave ways for the introduction of predesigned changes into the gene for the synthesis of a protein with an altered function that is desired for designated industrial application. Advances seen in recombinant DNA technology and the ability to selectively exchange amino acids by site -directed mutagenesis (SDM) have been responsible for the alarming progress of protein engineering. Identification of the gene and in-depth knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of the protein in question are the two main prerequisites for rational design aspect of protein engineering. The X-ray crystallographic structures of several proteases have been determined [1, 2, 3]. However, because not all proteins and / or enzymes that the scientist have the knowledge of their gene and three-dimensional structures, directed evolution (DE) emerged as a new promising aspect of protein engineering, where the fundamental knowledge of the gene and the 3D structure is less important. Proteases from bacteria and fungi have been engineered to improve their stability and/or catalytic properties to suit their particular applications.
Mathematical Evaluation of the Amino Acid and Polyphenol Content and Antioxidant Activities of Fruits from Different Apricot Cultivars

Functional foods are of interest because of their significant effects on human health, which can be connected with the presence of some biologically important compounds. In this study, we carried out complex analysis of 239 apricot cultivars (Prunus armeniaca L.) cultivated in Lednice (climatic area T4), South Moravia, Czech Republic. Almost all previously published studies have focused only on analysis of certain parameters. However, we focused on detection both primary and secondary metabolites in a selection of apricot cultivars with respect to their biological activity. The contents of thirteen biogenic alpha-L-amino acids (arginine, asparagine, isoleucine, lysine, serine, threonine, valine, leucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, tyrosine, proline and alanine) were determined using ion exchange chromatography with UV-Vis spectrometry detection. Profile of polyphenols, measured as content of ten polyphenols with significant antioxidant properties (gallic acid, procatechinic acid, p-aminobenzoic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, vanillin, p-coumaric acid, rutin, ferrulic acid and quercetrin), was determined by high performance liquid chromatography with spectrometric/electrochemical detection. Moreover, content of total phenolics was determined spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Antioxidant activity was determined using five independent spectrophotometric methods: DPPH assay, DMPD method, ABTS method, FRAP and Free Radicals methods. Considering the complexity of the obtained data, they were processed and correlated using bioinformatics techniques (cluster analysis, principal component analysis). The studied apricot cultivars were clustered according to their common biochemical properties, which has not been done before. The observed similarities and differences were discussed.
Sensitivity to change of rheumatoid arthritis clinical trial outcome measures.

OBJECTIVES To present the properties of an efficiency measure that may be used to make statistical comparisons of sensitivities of trial outcome measures. To use this measure to examine the relative sensitivities of several common rheumatoid arthritis (RA) trial outcome measures in 2 different trial settings. METHODS Efficiency is expressed as the mean change divided by the standard deviation of change. Variability and correlations of efficiencies for typical RA trial outcomes are described. RESULTS From among a variety of joint assessments and other clinical measures, pain and global measures, and health status and laboratory measures, the joint tenderness and pain measures were the most sensitive, both in a trial of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) and in a set of second-line drug trials. Measures with rather different sensitivities in the 2 types of trials were erythrocyte sedimentation rate (low sensitivity in the NSAID trial) and physician and patient global measures (higher sensitivity in the NSAID trial). CONCLUSION The use of statistical information on efficiency estimates allows for a variety of comparisons of measures and may inform the selection of outcome measures for clinical trials.
Endocrinological evaluation and hormonal therapy for women with difficult acne

Acne vulgaris is the most common skin condition observed in the medical community. Convention is to treat this condition with a combination of comedolytics, anti‐inflammatory and antibacterial topical agents, or if indicated, oral antibiotics or retinoids. In addition to these therapies, hormonal therapy is potentially an option in women whose acne is not responding to conventional treatment or if signs of endocrine abnormalities are present. This paper focuses on the use of hormonal therapy in women with severe or recalcitrant acne. After a brief description of the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris, and the conventional treatment modalities, indications for hormonal therapy are discussed. This is followed by an outline of a suggested endocrine evaluation, and interpretation of the evaluation test results. Various options for hormonal therapy are then described, including a further discussion of oral contraceptives (OCs) in the treatment of acne.
Mitigating Case Mix Factors by Choice of Glycemic Control Performance Measure Threshold

OBJECTIVE—Performance measures are tools for assessing quality of care but may be influenced by patient factors. We investigated how currently endorsed performance measures for glycemic control in diabetes may be influenced by case mix composition. We assessed differences in A1C performance measure threshold attainment by case mix factors for A1C >9% and examined how lowering the threshold to A1C >8% or >7% changed these differences. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Using data from the 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 843 adults self-reporting diabetes, we computed the mean difference in A1C threshold attainment of >9, >8, and >7% by various case mix factors. The mean difference is the average percentage point difference in threshold attainment for population groups compared with that for the overall population. RESULTS—Diabetes medication was the only factor for which the difference in threshold attainment increased at lower thresholds, with mean differences of 5.7 percentage points at A1C >9% (reference), 10.1 percentage points at A1C >8% (P < 0.05), and 14.1 percentage points at A1C >7% (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS—As 87% of U.S. adults have A1C <9%, a performance measure threshold of >9% will not drive major improvements in glycemic control. Lower thresholds do not exacerbate differences in threshold attainment for most factors. Reporting by diabetes medication use may compensate for heterogeneous case mix when a performance measure threshold of A1C >8% or lower is used.
Changing Gears: Shifting to an Environmental Perspective in Social Work Education

This paper seeks to add to the growing literature on environmental social work education which suggests the need for a fundamental rethinking of the humanistic values and theories informing social work to embrace concerns relating to environmental degradation and climate change. For the most part, social work's interest in the environment to date relates to human needs. Of most concern here is the over-representation of people in poverty and subsistence among those impacted by deforestation and climate injustice. However, even here the emphasis is on the human experience of environmental and climate change when this is an outcome of human actions and structural inequalities. The paper begins with an overview of the theoretical terrain of environmental thought before examining issues in relation to perspective transformation and the implications for under- and post-graduate curriculum development.
Structural and functional distinctions between auditory centers revealed with MRI in living humans

From brainstem to cortex, sound is processed in centers that are functionally and structurally distinct. In animals, invasive electrophysiology and histology has revealed these distinctions and, consequently, organizational principles behind sound processing. In humans, however, comparable demonstrations are sparse. This thesis presents three MRI studies that provide new information regarding structural and functional distinctions between auditory centers in living humans. The first study compared the effect of a fundamental acoustic variable, sound level, on the population neural activity of auditory brainstem, thalamus and cortex. Brainstem and cortex exhibited contrasting sensitivities to sound level (growth in activation followed by saturation in brainstem vs. plateau then growth in cortex), with thalamus showing intermediate properties. The second study identified functional distinctions between cortical areas by spatially mapping the temporal properties of fMRI responses. Using a continuous noise stimulus, we found sustained responses on Heschl's gyrus flanked medially and laterally by more phasic activity. This pattern suggests that transient activity marking the beginning and end of a sound is most pronounced in non-primary areas of auditory cortex. The region of sustained responses may correspond to primary and primary-like areas. Thus, it may present a physiological marker for these areas in neuroimaging studies, something that has long been needed in the auditory neuroimaging field. The third study examined whether auditory cortical areas can be distinguished in the living human brain based on classical features of cortical gray matter previously resolvable only in postmortem tissue. By mapping the imaging parameter R1, we identified regions of heavily myelinated gray matter that may correspond to primary auditory cortex. We further found greater gray matter myelination of the left temporal lobe, which may be a substrate for higher fidelity temporal processing on the left, and for left-hemispheric speech and language specializations. Being able to resolve gray matter structure in-vivo opens the way to relating cortical physiology and structure directly in living humans in ways previously possible only in animals. Thesis Supervisor: Jennifer R. Melcher, Ph.D. Title: Assistant Professor of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School
Growing an Agile Culture from Value Seeds

Values can be powerful forces when applied to a small company. From their seed personalized practices are grown. By starting with agile values and then making them your own, you can instill a creative force for change and adaptation, a necessary ingredient for success. Traditional agile practices become personalized through iterative improvement measured against these values. Different teams can create new practices that are applicable to their disciplines. Most importantly, values defined at the outset can frame every conversation and decision, growing a culture oriented towards rapid execution and shared vision.