Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Managing weak ties in collaborative work

Information and communication technology, ICT, has introduced new styles of working. Based on ICT, these styles have a strong virtual flavour, ranging from flexwork, hot-desking and telework to virtual teams and virtual organizations. The virtuality of the styles has impacts on how employees within an organization perform their task and how they interact with colleagues, clients and supervisors, but the impact is not yet well understood. 24 board level executives from 18 Swiss knowledge firms have been interviewed about virtual work arrangements and the change these bring in networking dynamics within their organization. The contribution of the paper is that new networking dynamics can be related to complement the theory on weak, strong and absent ties. More in particular, virtual networks can be located in weak ties, thereby making strong ties less important. We point out how network dynamics are located in weak ties through which virtuality and flexibility of a network can be expressed.
Von Willebrand factor (Vonvendi®): the first recombinant product licensed for the treatment of von Willebrand disease

ABSTRACT Introduction: Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is the most common autosomally inherited bleeding disorder, characterized by a quantitative or qualitative defect of the multimeric adhesive glycoprotein von Willebrand factor (VWF). The mainstay of treatment of bleeding in VWD involves the use of desmopressin and plasma-derived factor VIII (FVIII)-VWF concentrates. In addition, a new recombinant VWF has been recently manufactured and licensed in the USA. Areas covered: This narrative review, after a brief presentation of the current therapeutic strategies in VWD, will focus on recombinant VWF, analyzing its characteristics and the results of the completed phase I and III trials. Finally, the potential role of this recombinant drug in the therapeutic scenario of VWD is discussed. Expert commentary: Based on the evidence from literature analysis, we can conclude that recombinant VWF is a novel, interesting therapeutic option for VWD, which could help to further personalize the management of this complex inherited bleeding disorder.
In vivo evaluation of bioactive glass foams associated with platelet‐rich plasma in bone defects

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of bioactive glass foams produced by the sol–gel process, associated or not with platelet‐rich plasma (PRP), in the regeneration of bone defects. Mongrel dogs (n = 14) were divided into two groups after having their superior first premolar removed. A small piece of vestibular bone from the alveolus was intentionally removed. The area was filled with bioactive glass foam produced by the sol–gel method. Two groups were tested: group A was the glass foam; group B was the same material associated with PRP, prepared from each animal. The other side of alveolar bone was used as a control group, in which the bone defect did not receive any biomaterial. The thickness of the bone area was measured before and after the intervention. After a period of 60 days implantation, the right and left bones were measured again, and a bone biopsy on both regions was conducted for histological analysis. The findings show an increase of bone thickness for both materials implanted compared to the control group. Group B, implanted with bioactive glass foam associated with PRP, showed a thicker bone area compared to Group A. Histological results indicate bone formation for both materials used. However, the bioactive glass associated with PRP gave rise to a more mature bone formation. These results show that bioactive glass foams processed by a sol–gel method is effective in maintaining the thickness of the alveolar ridge, and the use of PRP associated with the foams improve bone formation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reading Comprehension with Coattention Encoders

We present an end-to-end network architecture for question answering task given a real-world paragraph context. Using SQuAD dataset composed of 100K <question, context, answer> pairs, we train a coattention encoder to obtain a knowledge representation of the question and context data. This in turn is given as input to the decoder, which generates answer spans within the context. The prediction results are evaluated using F1 and EM scores, and we show that the coattention model performs significantly better than a simple Bi-LSTM baseline model. After sufficient training, we were able to obtain 54.2% F1 and 41.3% EM score against the test set.
Prevalence and Correlates of Depressive Disorders among People Living with HIV/AIDS, in North Central Nigeria

Background: Depressive disorders are a significant public health issue. They are prevalent, disabling, and often chronic, with a high economic burden to the society. Although depression is common, determining its prevalence across studies and within different segments of the HIV population is not easy, given the variety of methodological issues that warrant consideration. This study estimates the prevalence of depressive disorders and its correlates. Objectives: The study sought to determine the prevalence of depression among adults, HIV/AIDS respondents, attending HIV/AIDS clinic in Kwara State specialist Hospital, Sobi, Ilorin, Nigeria. Methods: This was a hospital based, cross sectional, descriptive study of three hundred adult HIV/AIDS patients attending the HIV clinic of Kwara State specialist hospital, Sobi, Ilorin from 1 st of March to 30 th July, 2013. Informed consent was obtained from the respondents. The PHQ-9 was administered to the respondents to screen for depression. A pre-tested PHQ-9 questionnaire was used to collect data. Subject who scored one and more were assessed clinically for depression. The severity of the depression was further classified as minimal, mild, moderate and severe. The three keys of social determinants of depression (SDS) were assessed and the association with depression sought. Results: One hundred and seventy (56.7%) satisfied the criteria for a depressive disorder using the PHQ-9 score. Depressive symptoms were strongly related to gender, below average year of schooling, poor economic status, low social cohesion, and stressful life events. Conclusion: Clinicians should assess HIV-infected subjects for depression, to ensure early detection and treatment. Failure to recognize depression may endanger both the subjects and others in the community. This result calls for improved public health education and awareness programme, to highlight the health impact of depressive symptoms among People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
Behavioural status during the intracarotid amobarbital procedure (Wada test): relevance for surgical management

Cold agglutinins are cold reactive autoantibodies that have haemolytic effects on red blood cells mediated via complement fixation. Neuropathy associated with cold agglutinins has been described,1-5 however, details of its pathomechanism are unclear. Here, we report the clinical, electrophysiological, and pathological findings of a mononeuropathy multiplex in a patient with cold agglutinins, who responded very well to plasmapheresis. A 72 year old man was admitted with a 1 month history of progressing dysaesthesia and weakness of the limbs. He had no anaemia, jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, or lymphadenopathy. Cranial nerves and the cerebellum were not involved. There was severe weakness and atrophy of bilateral thenar, interossei, and plantar muscles with severe dysaesthesia of both palms and plantaris. Pin prick and light touch were reduced as well as position and vibratory sensation in both hands and feet. Deep tendon reflexes were hypoactive. Babinski’s sign was negative. Laboratory investigation showed a raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate: 52 mm/hour (normal <10) and serum C reactive protein: 1.8 mg/dl (normal; < 0.5). Blood cell counts were within normal limits. The following were normal or negative; IgG, IgA, IgE, IgM, M-protein, direct and indirect Coombs tests, cryoglobulin, antibodies to mycoplasma, myelin associated glycoprotein, gangliosides (GM1, GD1b, asialo-GM1, GT1b, GQ1b, Gal-C), P-ANCA, and C-ANCA. The CSF was normal. Titre of cold agglutinins was detectable at 1:1024 at 4°C (normal; <1:256). The patient’s serum agglutinated adult …
News of the Profession

The Association solicits information on vacancies in all disciplines touching upon Slavic and Eastern Europe from educational and research institutions, government agencies, and private employers. This listing service is performed without charge to the prospective employers, and the information is then made available to members through the pages of the AAASS Newsletter mailed to members quarterly. Other individuals may receive this information by placing subscriptions to the Newsletter ($4.00 per year). Lists of new job openings, when available, are also distributed at the annual national meeting. The central office of the Association regrets that owing to a shortage of clerical staff it cannot at this time provide placement assistance to nonmembers.
Looking at Ophelia: a comparison of viewing art in the gallery and in the lab

There are an increasing number of relatively rare conditions that are associated with serum autoantibodies to receptors, ion channels or associated proteins in the nervous system. Particularly exciting has been the recent recognition of autoimmune central nervous system (CNS) diseases, associated with specific antibodies to neuronal targets, which improve substantially with immunotherapies. In addition, there are antibodies to glial or myelin targets in demyelinating conditions. Although rare, the identification and treatment of these conditions can be very rewarding.
Non-conventional neuropathological manifestations of canine distemper virus infection in dogs

Cuiaba, MT, Brazil. The conventional neuropathological manifestation of canine distemper virus (CDV) infection is characterized by demyelinating encephalomyelitis. Other recognized non-conventional neuropathological manifestations of distemper include acute encephalopathy, acute encephalitis, polioencephalomalacia, inclusion body polioencephalitis, and old dog encephalitis. With the use of molecular techniques, CDV has been demonstrated in types of non-suppurative meningoencephalitis of unknown etiology that were never previously associated with CDV. Additionally, nonconventional necrotizing encephalopathies affecting the forebrain have been reported in dogs with CDV infection. Because the neuropathology of CDV infection contains many aspects, much of the current literature about distemper has been focused on conventional neuropathological aspects. For these reasons, the authors have concentrated on non-conventional neuropathological features of CDV infection for years; in this mini-review such manifestations of distemper will be addressed.
Learning Transportation Modes From Smartphone Sensors Based on Deep Neural Network

In recent years, the importance of user information has increased rapidly for context-aware applications. This paper proposes a deep learning mechanism to identify the transportation modes of smartphone users. The proposed mechanism is evaluated on a database that contains more than 1000 h of accelerometer, magnetometer, and gyroscope measurements from five transportation modes, including still, walk, run, bike, and vehicle. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism, which achieves approximately 95% classification accuracy and outperforms four well-known machine learning methods. Meanwhile, we investigated the model size and execution time of different algorithms to address practical issues.
Dehydroabietic acid, a diterpene, improves diabetes and hyperlipidemia in obese diabetic KK‐Ay mice

Terpenoids, which are contained in a large number of dietary and herbal plants, have many biological effects. In this study, the effects of dehydroabietic acid (DAA), a diterpene, on glucose and lipid metabolism were examined using obese diabetic KK‐Ay mice. We showed here that DAA treatment decreased not only plasma glucose and insulin levels but also plasma triglyceride (TG) and hepatic TG levels. To examine the mechanism underlying the effects of DAA, the production of inflammatory cytokines was measured. It was shown that the DAA treatment suppressed the production of monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1) and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNFα) (proinflammatory cytokines) and increased that of adiponectin (an anti‐inflammatory cytokine). As a result of the changes in the production of inflammatory cytokines caused by the DAA treatment, the accumulation of macrophages in adipose tissues was reduced. These results indicate that treatment with DAA improves the levels of plasma glucose, plasma insulin, plasma TG, and hepatic TG through the decrease in the macrophage infiltration into adipose tissues, suggesting that DAA is a useful food‐derived compound for treating obesity‐related diseases. © 2009 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.
T‐helper‐ and accessory‐cell‐independent cytotoxic responses to human tumor cells transfected with A B7 retroviral vector

As a means to increase the immunogenicity of tumor cells, we have developed a retroviral vector to transfect human B7, a molecule capable of delivering co‐stimulatory signals to T cells. Three different tumors, a melanoma, an ovarian carcinoma and a myelomonocytic leukemia, were transfected with high efficiency. When compared for their capacity to stimulate allogeneic T cells, B7+ but not B7− tumor cells were able to stimulate strong proliferative and cytotoxic responses. The effector CTL generated recognised B7+ and B7− cells as well as untransfected tumor cells, indicating that B7 is required in the inductive but not the effector phase of the response. Remarkably, B7+ tumor cells were able to induce cytotoxic responses both by CD4‐depleted and by CD8‐purified T cells, demonstrating that expression of B7 is at the same time necessary and sufficient to induce a cytotoxic response in the absence of T‐helper cells and accessory cells.
Mutations on the α2-Globin Gene That May Trigger α+-Thalassemia

Abstract In the present study, a total of 11 individuals with hypochromic microcytic anemia who did not reveal the most common α-thalassemia (α-thal) deletions or mutations, were subjected to more investigations by DNA sequencing of the α-globin genes. Seven novel nondeletional α-thal mutations localized on the α2-globin gene in the heterozygous state were identified. These mutations either corrupted regulatory splice sites and consequently affected RNA processing or created unstable hemoglobin (Hb) variants. The mutations described here produced globin gene variants that lead to amino acid changes in critical regions of the globin chain. The clinical presentation of most patients was a persistent mild microcytic anemia similar to an α+-thal. In the last decade, numerous α-globin mutations have been observed leading to an α-thal phenotype and these studies have been considered to be important as discussed here.
MODIFICATIONS OF HISTOCHEMICAL TECHNIQUES FOR THE DEMONSTRATION OF CYTOCHROME OXIDASE

Four reagents were employed in conjunction with p-aminodiphenylamine as new histochemical substrates for cytochrome oxidase. The most useful [See figures in PDF file] substrates were 8-amino-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinone (I) and 8-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (III). (I) forms blue dyes and is recommended for general use, as well as for tissues of low activity (human gingiva). With the latter, the reaction may be augmented by the addition of cytochrome c. The dye produced from (III) has a strong affinity (substantivity) for tissue elements and resists dehydration with solvents. The new-substrates were useful in visualizing cytochrome oxidase activity in the digestive tract including oral mucosa, central nervous system, muscle and bone.
A versatile strategy for signal amplification based on core/shell silica nanoparticles.

The design of fluorescent chemosensors for biologicallyrelevant chemical species has important impacts in many ap-plications, and for this reason it has been the subject ofactive research in many laboratories worldwide. The ach-ievements in this wide research topic have promoted enor-mous steps forwards, for example, in the field of cell biology,thanks to the comprehension of the role of different chemi-cal species in many biological processes. Recently, research-ers have been moving from molecular chemosensors basedon two communicating units, a receptor and a dye, towardmore complex and sophisticated structures, and have triedto push further the limits of sensitivity and selectivity. Manydifferent solutions have been proposed but, among them,sensing systems based on nanoparticles are certainly one ofthe most interesting and promising.
Single-Phase to Three-Phase Converters With Two Parallel Single-Phase Rectifiers and Reduced Switch Count

This paper presents two single-phase to three-phase conversion systems for a three-phase load application. The load is connected to a single-phase grid through an ac-dc-ac single-phase to three-phase converter. The single-phase rectifier is composed of two parallel single-phase half-bridge rectifiers. The first proposed topology is composed of a full-bridge three-phase inverter, i.e., three-leg inverter, while the other topology is composed of a two-leg inverter. Suitable modeling, including the circulation current, and control strategy are presented. A pulsewidth modulation (PWM) technique using a single or double carriers PWM implementation is presented. Proposed topologies permit to improve the harmonic distortion. In addition, the P5L converter can reduce the converter power losses. Finally, simulation and experimental results are presented for validation purposes.
Website Structure Mining using Social Network Analysis

Purpose – Web sites are typically designed attending to a variety of criteria. However, web site structure determines browsing behavior and way‐finding results. The aim of this study is to identify the main profiles of web sites' organizational structure by modeling them as graphs and considering several social network analysis features.Design/methodology/approach – A case study based on 80 institutional Spanish universities' web sites has been used for this purpose. For each root domain, two different networks have been considered: the first is the domain network, and the second is the page network. In both cases, several indicators related to social network analysis have been evaluated to characterize the web site structure. Factor analysis provides the statistical methodology to adequately extract the main web site profiles in terms of their internal structure.Findings – This paper allows the categorization of web site design styles and provides general guidelines to assist designers to better identify.
Uncertainty modeling of data and uncertainty propagation for risk studies

Risk modeling techniques for probabilistic riskassessment are fairly well established, however, data tosupport risk assessment is still a major problem oftenleading to questionable risk assessment results. Selectingappropriate data sources and modeling uncertainty helpsto improve risk assessment results and can help to makemore informed decisions. Risk assessments need to beable to capture existing data with varying uncertaintiesfor risk analysis. Complete databases to quantify eventprobabilities may not be available relying on the existingstate of knowledge for risk assessment. Probabilistic andsubjective uncertainty modeling techniques can both beapplied to PRA's based on the varying levels ofknowledge to support the quantitative assessment.Probabilistic uncertainty representation using probabilitydistributions require detailed information on thereliability of system components to make risk judgment.However, much of the data available for risk assessmentdoes not contain the information to make estimates ofprobability distributions. The application of fuzzy andinterval representations are appropriate uncertaintytechniques when data is subjective, vague, or cognitive.
SNCA rs356219 variant increases risk of sporadic Parkinson's disease in ethnic Chinese

Alpha‐synuclein gene (SNCA) polymorphisms have been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). A recently published genome‐wide association study (GWAS) meta‐analysis from the USA and Europe found a strong association between SNCA rs356219 and PD. Considering the population‐specific heterogeneity, we investigated the role of SNCA rs356219 as PD susceptibility in a large Han Chinese population of 685 patients and 569 controls. The SNCA rs356219‐G allele was found to increase the risk to develop PD (OR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.54–2.13, P = 5.71E−13). The meta‐analysis revealed that the frequency of AG + GG genotypes higher in PD than in control subjects (OR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.56–2.19, P = 0.00001) in the Asian population. PD patients with AG + GG genotypes were associated with earlier age at onset compared with those with AA genotype. No such significant association was observed in the clinical presentation for gender, age at onset, and onset symptoms. Our study provides strong support for the susceptibility role of SNCA rs356219 in sporadic PD in a Han Chinese population from mainland China and the meta‐analysis also revealed a similar finding in the Asian population. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Improving language comprehension in preschool children with language difficulties: a cluster randomized trial

BACKGROUND Children with language comprehension difficulties are at risk of educational and social problems, which in turn impede employment prospects in adulthood. However, few randomized trials have examined how such problems can be ameliorated during the preschool years. METHODS We conducted a cluster randomized trial in 148 preschool classrooms. Our intervention targeted language comprehension skills and lasted 1 year and 1 month, with five blocks of 6 weeks and intervention three times per week (about 75 min per week). Effects were assessed on a range of measures of language performance. RESULTS Immediately after the intervention, there were moderate effects on both near, intermediate and distal measures of language performance. At delayed follow-up (7 months after the intervention), these reliable effects remained for the distal measures. CONCLUSIONS It is possible to intervene in classroom settings to improve the language comprehension skills of children with language difficulties. However, it appears that such interventions need to be intensive and prolonged.