Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Work team effectiveness in organizational contexts: Recent research and applications in Spain and Portugal

Purpose – This introductory paper aims to provide a contextualization of recent research and applications on work team effectiveness in organizational contexts carried out in Spain and Portugal and to describe connections between this research and the main trends in the international scene.Design/methodology/approach – Since the 1990s, new occupational and organizational realities have deepened scientific interest in work teams in both Spain and Portugal. A range of recently published (1992‐2004) works in this area are reviewed. The selected sources are papers published in Spanish, Portuguese and international journals.Findings – Reviewing this work, four major trends are identified that synthesize the key concerns of researches in both countries: work teams and new information/communication technologies; intra‐ and inter‐group conflicts in organizational contexts; definition, dimensions and measurement criteria for work team effectiveness; and teams in innovation and change processes.Originality/value – .
Synonymous mutations in oncogenesis and apoptosis versus survival unveiled by network modeling

Synonymous mutations, which do not alter the encoded amino acid, have been routinely assumed to be ‘neutral’ and would have no effect on phenotype or fitness. Yet increasing observations have emerged to overturn this conventional concept. However, convicted elucidation of how synonymous mutations exert biological consequences in oncogenesis is still lacking. By performing systematic analysis of the TNF-α signaling network model, we identify the critical dose which separates the cell survival and apoptosis regions and define the sensitive parameters with single-parameter sensitivity analysis. Combining with the cancer-related mutation spectra obtained from 9 cancers, our results hint that, similar as missense and nonsense mutations, synonymous mutations are also strongly correlated with the parameter sensitivity of the critical dose, providing possible causal mechanism of the mutations in cancer development. Based on such a correlation, we furthermore dissect that members of caspases family proteases (caspase3, 6, 8) could jointly inhibit NFκB activation, providing efficient pro-apoptotic behavior. Thus, we argue that apoptosis module could suppress survival module through negative feedback of caspases family on NFκB.
Prediction of low haemoglobin levels in whole blood donors

Background and Objectives Each year, a relevant proportion of whole blood donors is deferred from donation because of low haemoglobin (Hb) levels. Such temporary deferrals are demoralizing, and donors may never return for a donation. Reliable predictions of Hb levels may guide the decision whether donors can be invited for the next donation. In this study, a prediction model was developed for the risk of low Hb levels.
Photometric Evaluation of Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Patients after Primary Columella Lengthening

Objective To evaluate the results in terms of nasal esthetics of children with bilateral cleft lip and palate, operated with the Cutting primary columella lengthening technique, associated with Grayson orthopedic nasoalveolar molding, and to compare them with the nasal aspects of children with bilateral cleft lip and palate operated with a traditional approach and to an age-matched sample of normal Caucasian children. Design Normalized photogrammetry. Setting Regional Center for CLP, Department of Maxillo-Facial Surgery, San Paolo Hospital, Milan. Patients Three groups of patients 5 years of age. Cutting group: 18 patients treated with the Grayson-Cutting technique. Delaire group: 18 patients treated with the traditional Delaire technique. Normal children: 40 normal preschool children. Results With the Cutting-Grayson technique, the columella length, nasal tip angle, and protrusion are greatly improved compared with the previous protocol and are close to normal. On the other hand, the nasolabial angle and interalar distances are still excessively wide in both samples. Conclusions Although this is not a long-term study, at this time none of the patients operated with this technique have needed secondary columella lengthening. On the other hand, although certainly improved, the nasal anatomy obtained is far from normal.
iGrasp: grasp-based adaptive keyboard for mobile devices

Multitouch tablets, such as iPad and Android tablets, support virtual keyboards for text entry. Our 64-user study shows that 98% of the users preferred different keyboard layouts and positions depending on how they were holding these devices. However, current tablets either do not allow keyboard adjustment or require users to manually adjust the keyboards. We present iGrasp, which automatically adapts the layout and position of virtual keyboards based on how and where users are grasping the devices without requiring explicit user input. Our prototype uses 46 capacitive sensors positioned along the sides of an iPad to sense users' grasps, and supports two types of grasp-based automatic adaptation: layout switching and continuous positioning. Our two 18-user studies show that participants were able to begin typing 42% earlier using iGrasp's adaptive keyboard compared to the manually adjustable keyboard. Participants also rated iGrasp much easier to use than the manually adjustable keyboard (4.2 vs 2.9 on five-point Likert scale.)
The Role of Attachment as a Protective Factor in Adolescent Violent Behavior.

This study examined how attachment relationships and cognitive attributes and socio-demographic characteristics function as protective and risk factors across a range of specific violent behaviors. The study analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Wave I). A multistage sample design was used to represent the US population of 7th-12th graders. The results of this study indicate the importance of attachment to family and school as protective factors against a range of violent behaviors in adolescence. While an intact family structure (presence of both biological parents) appears as a protective factor against violence, the data supports the idea that the meaning attached to a particular family structure is more important than the structure itself. Adolescents reporting attendance at a religious service with a parent reported lower levels of involvement in all forms of violent behavior. Given the fundamental importance of attachment, these results support the importance of providing all children with the skills and opportunities necessary to form secure attachments with parents, families and schools and that prevention and intervention programs need to incorporate a developmentally appropriate multi-dimensional approach, which is fit to the individual needs of the adolescent and family. (Abstract Adapted from Source: Adolescent & Family Health, 2000. Copyright © 2000 by the Institute for Youth Development) Violence Prevention Child Violence Juvenile Violence Late Childhood Late Adolescence Early Adolescence Family Protective Factors Family Relations Family Attachment School Protective Factors School Attachment Junior High School Student Senior High School Student Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12 Longitudinal Studies National Survey 04-02
Learning tactile characterizations of object- and pose-specific grasps

Our aim is to predict the stability of a grasp from the perceptions available to a robot before attempting to lift up and transport an object. The percepts we consider consist of the tactile imprints and the object-gripper configuration read before and until the robot's manipulator is fully closed around an object. Our robot is equipped with multiple tactile sensing arrays and it is able to track the pose of an object during the application of a grasp. We present a kernel-logistic-regression model of pose- and touch-conditional grasp success probability which we train on grasp data collected by letting the robot experience the effect on tactile and visual signals of grasps suggested by a teacher, and letting the robot verify which grasps can be used to rigidly control the object. We consider models defined on several subspaces of our input data - e.g., using tactile perceptions or pose information only. Our experiment demonstrates that joint tactile and pose-based perceptions carry valuable grasp-related information, as models trained on both hand poses and tactile parameters perform better than the models trained exclusively on one perceptual input.
Lecture Notes: (stochastic) Optimal Control

Disclaimer: These notes are not meant to be a complete or comprehensive survey on Stochastic Optimal Control. This is more of a personal script which I use to keep an overview over control methods and their derivations. One point of these notes is to fix a consistent notation and provide a coherent overview for these specific methods.
Sulfated proteoglycan synthesis by confluent cultures of rabbit costal chondrocytes grown in the presence of fibroblast growth factor

We examined the effect of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) on proteoglycan synthesis by rabbit costal chondrocyte cultures maintained on plastic tissue culture dishes. Low density rabbit costal chondrocyte cultures grown in the absence of FGF gave rise at confluency to a heterogeneous cell population composed of fibroblastic cells and poorly differentiated chondrocytes. When similar cultures were grown in the presence of FGF, the confluent cultures organized into a homogenous cartilage-like tissue composed of rounded cells surrounded by a refractile matrix. The cell ultrastructure and that of the pericellular matrix were similar to those seen in vivo. The expression of the cartilage phenotype in confluent chondrocyte cultures grown from the sparse stage in the presence vs. absence of FGF was reflected by a fivefold increase in the rate of incorporation of [35S]sulfate into proteoglycans. These FGF effects were only observed when FGF was present during the cell logarithmic growth phase, but not when it was added after chondrocyte cultures became confluent. High molecular weight, chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans synthesized by confluent chondrocyte cultures grown in the presence of FGF were slightly larger in size than that produced by confluent cultures grown in the absence of FGF. The major sulfated glycosaminoglycans associated with low molecular weight proteoglycan in FGF-exposed cultures were chondroitin sulfate, while in cultures not exposed to FGF they were chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate. Regardless of whether or not cells were grown in the presence or absence of FGF, the 6S/4S disaccharide ratio of chondroitin sulfate chains associated with high and low molecular weight proteoglycans synthesized by confluent cultures was the same. These results provide evidence that when low density chondrocyte cultures maintained on plastic tissue culture dishes are grown in the presence of FGF, it results in a stimulation of the expression and stabilization of the chondrocyte phenotype once cultures become confluent.
Experience with S-1 in older Caucasian patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC): Findings from an observational chart review

Abstract Background: An aging population will increase the number of older patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). However, there is limited knowledge about treatment in older patients as they are under-represented in clinical trials. The oral fluoropyrimidine S-1 is associated with a lower rate of adverse events than capecitabine and may therefore be a suitable drug for elderly. However, data on the use of S-1 in Caucasian mCRC patients are lacking/scarce. Material and methods: In the present study we evaluated safety and the efficacy of S-1 alone or in combination with oxaliplatin (SOx) or irinotecan (IRIS) in older mCRC patients. Patients who received at least one cycle of S-1 (first-line therapy), SOx (mainly first-line therapy) or IRIS (second-line therapy) were included. Results: From June 2012 to December 2014, 71 older patients received ≥1 cycle of either S-1 (n = 9), SOx (n = 44) or IRIS (n = 18) for mCRC. Median age was 76 years and most patients had a WHO performance status of 0 (32%) or 1 (56%). All patients were evaluable for response and safety. In the SOx group, 18 (41%) and 20 patients (45%) had partial response (PR) and stable disease (SD), respectively (disease control rate 86%). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 8.5 months and median overall survival (OS) was 18.5 months. In the S-1 group (median age 82 years), PR was 22%, median PFS 6.4 months and median OS 15.8 months. In the IRIS group, PR was 28%, median PFS 7.8 months and the median OS 16.5 months. In general, therapy was well tolerated; main non-hematological toxicities were fatigue and diarrhea. Conclusion: S-1 monotherapy, SOx and IRIS were well tolerated for older patients with mCRC and could become alternative regimens in older mCRC patients. These regimens are now further evaluated in the randomized ongoing NORDIC9 trial.
Effect of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury and Reconstruction on Proprioceptive Acuity of Knee Rotation in the Transverse Plane

Background Studies assessing proprioceptive acuity in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)–deficient knees have only considered proprioception for knee movements in the sagittal plane rather than in the transverse plane (ie, rotation), despite the fact that the ACL plays a critical role in knee rotational stability and that the ACL is injured almost exclusively with a rotation mechanism. Therefore a test of proprioception is needed that involves movements similar to the mechanism of injury, in this case, rotation. Purpose To determine whether proprioceptive acuity in rotation changes after ACL injury and reconstruction, and to examine differences in proprioceptive acuity, range, laxity, and activity level among injured knees, contralateral knees, and healthy controls. Design Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods Proprioceptive acuity for active knee rotation movements, passive rotation range of motion, anterior knee laxity, and knee function were measured in 20 consecutive participants with unilateral ACL rupture and 20 matched controls. Reconstruction was performed using a single-incision technique with a 4-strand hamstring tendon autograft. Thirty participants (15 control and 15 ACL reconstructed) were retested at 3 months, and 14 with ACL reconstruction were tested at 6 months. Results A deficit was found in preoperative knee rotation proprioception compared with healthy controls (P =. 031). Three months after reconstruction, there was a significant improvement (P =. 049) in proprioceptive acuity, single-plane anterior laxity (P =. 01), and self-reported knee function (P =. 001). At 3 months after reconstruction, proprioceptive acuity of the ACLreconstructed knee was correlated with reported activity level (r =. 63; P =. 021). Conclusion Knee rotation proprioception is reduced in ACL-deficient participants compared with healthy controls. Three to 6 months after reconstruction, rotation proprioceptive acuity, laxity, and function were improved. While these findings are consistent with a return to previous activity level 6 months after reconstruction, the extent of graft maturation and restoration of kinematics should also inform the decision about return to sport.
Adaptive decision support system (ADSS) for B2C e-commerce

This paper covers the research problem of supporting users' decision making in E-Commerce systems with complex choices, and design of an Adaptive Decision Support System (ADSS) which matches the appropriate tool support and decision strategy advice to the user's preferences and motivations. A preliminary requirements investigation will be described which used an adapted Wizard of Oz approach to test users' reaction to mock-ups of the ADSS with and without system advice. The requirements study tested users' reaction to the proposed tools and whether they were influenced by the system advice. This discussion will be followed by a description of the design and development of the ADSS and its architecture. The paper concludes with plans for future research.
Postreplication repair of deoxyribonucleic acid and daughter strand exchange in uvr- mutants of Bacillus subtilis

The fate of pyrimidine dimers in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) newly synthesized by Bacillus subtilis after ultraviolet irradiation was monitored by use of a damage-specific endonuclease that introduces single-strand breaks adjacent to nearly all of the dimer sites. Two Uvr- strains, one defective in the initiation of dimer excision and the other defective in a function required for efficient dimer excision, were found to be similar to their wild-type parent in the kinetics and extent of converting low-molecular-weight DNA newly synthesized after ultraviolet irradiation to high molecular weight. In the Uvr- strains large molecules of newly synthesized DNA remained susceptible to nicking by the damage-specific endonuclease even after extended incubation in growth medium, whereas the enzyme-sensitive sites were rapidly removed from both preexisting and newly synthesized DNA in Uvr+ cells. Our results support the hypothesis that postreplication repair in bacteria includes recombination between dimer-containing parental DNA strands and newly synthesized strands.
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and black fungus in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis without severe lymphocytopenia

Introduction: Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a rare demyelinating brain infection caused by JC polyomavirus (JCV), primarily seen in patients with severely compromised cellular immunity. Clinical presentation varies depending on the affected white matter. PML prognosis is variable and effective treatments are lacking. Case presentation: A 75-year-old Chinese woman with type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease and rheumatoid arthritis, treated with low-dose methotrexate and prednisolone for 2.5 years, developed a Pleurostomophora richardsiae infection of her left arm. After 6 months of treating this rare black fungus infection with voriconazole, surgery and immunosuppression discontinuation, she presented with progressive afebrile encephalopathy with right-sided hemiparesis. There were no signs of inflammation or metabolic abnormalities. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed diffuse frontal white matter lesions and a cerebrospinal fluid PCR confirmed PML due to JC virus. Severe lymphopenia was never present, and at PML diagnosis, CD4 and CD8 T-cell counts were 454 mm−3 and 277 mm−3. CD8 T-cells were able to respond to JCV VP1 peptide stimulation with TNFα secretion. Peripheral B-cell count was only 8 mm−3. Mirtazapine and Maraviroc were started, but unfortunately, she rapidly deteriorated and died 5 weeks after PML diagnosis. Conclusion: Although peripheral lymphocyte counts were never low and CD4 T-cell count was close to normal, the persistent black fungus infection was a hallmark of severely compromised cellular immunity. The unexpected extremely low absolute B-cell count might suggest a protective role for B-cells. The paradoxical, clinical PML onset months after immunosuppressive discontinuation suggests that it was only discovered in the context of an immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome.
A characterization of the moonshine vertex operator algebra by means of Virasoro frames

In this article, we show that a framed vertex operator algebra V satisfying the conditions: (1) V is holomorphic (i.e, V is the only irreducible V -module); (2) V is of rank 24; and (3) V1 = 0; is isomorphic to the moonshine vertex operator algebra V \ constructed by Frenkel-Lepowsky-Meurman [12].
A simulation study of the University of Iowa campus bus system

A GPSS/360 simulation model of the University of Iowa campus bus system is given. The simulation model was constructed to study modifications of the current system necessitated by the rapid growth in ridership during the first year of service. The main GPSS model is based on three macros: a customer generation and destination macro, a bus macro, and a scheduling macro. Some recommendations concerning future operations are given.
Pre-service Teachers’ Assumed and Own Epistemic Beliefs and Their Relation to the Propagated Teaching Philosophy in Vocational Schools and Colleges in Germany

The way teachers accomplish tasks and assignments in their work environment is also influenced by their epistemic beliefs and the beliefs they assume their learners have (e.g., Brownlee, 2004; Feucht, 2010). Despite the importance of knowing pre-service teachers’ epistemic beliefs for developmental purposes, little research thus far has focused on gaining further insights into these beliefs. To address this gap, 182 pre-service teachers enrolled in teacher training at the University of Oldenburg (Germany) took part in our survey research and completed a German version of the Epistemic Beliefs Questionnaire by Schraw, Bendixen, and Dunkle (2002) about their beliefs and those they assume of their learners. Latent Class Analyses identified a large heterogeneity of teachers’ assumed beliefs, differentiating between a group that presumes absolutist views of their learners and one that presumes less absolutist or even evaluativistic views. Even though the identified groups of teachers differ with respect to the assumed beliefs, these assumed beliefs largely coincide with their own beliefs. Only the group of teachers that presume their learners tend to hold absolutist beliefs (e.g. knowledge is simply structured and stable over time) differ in all dimensions regarding their own beliefs and those assumed of their learners; they hold less absolutist or evaluativistic own beliefs (e.g., knowledge is interrelated and changeable) than their learners. In contrast, the group that assumed that their learners hold less absolutist or even evaluativistic beliefs show similar beliefs themselves. These results point to inconsistencies in teachers’ epistemic beliefs systems. Given the significant reforms within the German vocational education system and their implications on teachers’ roles, it seems important to actively work on teachers’ epistemic beliefs. An essential element of teacher education and especially initial teacher education should be to support pre-service teachers in understanding their own epistemic beliefs in order to develop both their own beliefs and to support the development of their learners’ epistemic beliefs to ensure they are aligned with the prerequisites of the reformed education system and to maximise the learning opportunities.