Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linking service quality to perceived operator-computer contribution in customer services

In modern service settings, customer service personnel are mostly facilitated with support computer systems for them to elicit and process information while interacting with customers. It is obvious that the perceived quality for such customer service tasks should be a reflection of the integrated performance of this operator-computer system that customers are actually interacting with in service encounters. From the ergonomic point of view, the performance of such operator-computer systems may greatly be influenced by the usability of support computer systems. Contemporary practices in service quality management tend to focus on the evaluation/control on the performances of service personnel. Little attention was, however, devoted to the investigation on the roles of the support information systems as needed. Therefore for the management and design of such service systems, it is valuable to understand customer perceptions on the roles/contributions of operator versus computer to the service quality perceived. This study aims to investigate customer perceptions on the connections of service quality with the perceived operator-computer contributions. A questionnaire survey to the customers of the call centers for both financial/banking and telecommunication services in Taiwan was conducted. Analysis results and the implications for quality management and system design are discussed in this paper.
[The role of NF-E2-related factor 2 in the induction of uridine 5'-diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase 1A and its isoforms by epigallocatechin gallate in colon cancer cells].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of human transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in the induction of the gene expression of uridine 5'-diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) 1A and its isoforms by epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). METHODS (1) Human colon carcinoma cells Caco-2 and HT-29 were cultured. Immunocytochemistry, western blotting and confocal laser microscopy were used to detect the protein expression of Nrf2. Twenty samples of colon carcinoma with surrounding normal tissues were collected during endoscopic course. (2) RNA interference expression vector pSilencer 3.1-H1 was used to construct four Nrf2-trageting plasmids: pSilence-Nrf2-A, B, C, and D and a control pSilence-CON. Cells were transfected with pSilence-Nrf2 for 48 hours to observe the effects of transient transfection. Cells were stably transfected with pSilence-Nrf2-B for 4 weeks and re-named as Caco-2-siNrf2 and HT-29-siNrf2 (siNrf2 cells), and others stably transfected with blank plasmid pSilencer 3.1-H1 were used as controls. (3) EGCG was added into the culture fluid of cells before and after the stably transfection. RT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of Nrf2, UGT1A, UGT1A8 and UGT1A10 in cells and the samples of human colon cancer tissue. RESULTS (1) The expressions of UGT1A8 and UGT1A10 mRNA were significantly lower than that in the surrounding healthy mucosa. (2) The mRNA expression of Nrf2, UGT1A8, and UGT1A10 increased by 1.8-9.2 times after the addition of EGCG (all P < 0.05). Immunocytochemistry, western blotting and immunofluorescence demonstrated a significant increase of Nrf2 protein expression in the nucleus after treatment with EGCG. (3) SalIenzyme digestion and DNA sequencing confirmed that pSilence-Nrf2-A, B, C, and D and pSilence-CON were all successfully constructed. The inhibition rate of Nrf2 gene expression was above 80% 48 h after transfection with pSilence-Nrf2-B, and that was no significant difference after transfection with pSilence-CON (P > 0.05). There was specific inhibition of Nrf2 in Caco-2-siNrf2, HT-29-siNrf2 cells (both P < 0.01). (4) The basal levels of UGT1A8 and UGT1A10 mRNA expression in the Caco-2-siNrf2 and HT-29-siNrf2 cells were lower by 15%-65% in comparison with those in control, and the induction of genes by EGCG was largely attenuated in them (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION Nrf2 is localized in the cytoplasm of non-stimulated cells, and EGCG triggered its rapid nuclear accumulation. Suppression of Nrf2 gene expression results in down-regulation of the constructive expression of UGT genes and their induction by EGCG. EGCG induces the expression of UGT1A, UGT1A8 and UGT1A10 genes via a Nrf2-dependent mechanism.
Chlamydia trachomatis-host cell interactions: role of the chlamydial major outer membrane protein as an adhesin

The major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of Chlamydia trachomatis is characterized by four symmetrically spaced variable domains (VDs I to IV) whose sequences vary among serotypes. The surface-exposed portions of these VDs contain contiguous sequences that are both serotyping determinants and in vivo target sites for neutralizing antibodies. Previous studies using surface proteolysis of C. trachomatis B implicated VDs II and IV of the MOMP of this serotype in the attachment of chlamydiae to host cells. In this study, we used monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific to antigenic determinants located in VDs II and IV of the MOMP of serotype B to further investigate the role of the MOMP in the attachment of chlamydiae to host cells. MABs specific to serotype- and subspecies-specific epitopes located in exposed VDs II and IV, respectively, neutralized chlamydial infectivity for hamster kidney cells by blocking chlamydial attachment. We radioiodinated these MAbs and used them to determine the number and topology of the surface-exposed VDs II and IV epitopes on chlamydial elementary bodies. VDs II and IV each comprised approximately 2.86 x 10(4) negatively charged sites and were in proximity on the chlamydial cell surface. These studies suggest that the MAbs blocked chlamydial attachment by inhibiting electrostatic interactions with host cells. We examined the effects of thermal inactivation on both chlamydial attachment and conformation of the MOMP. Heat-inactivated chlamydiae failed to attach to host cells and exhibited a conformational change in an inaccessible invariant hydrophobic nonapeptide sequence located within VD IV of the MOMPs of C. trachomatis serotypes. These findings suggest that in addition to electrostatic interactions, a common hydrophobic component of the MOMP also contributes to the binding of chlamydiae to host cells. Thus, we propose that the MOMP functions as a chlamydial adhesin by promoting nonspecific (electrostatic and hydrophobic) interactions with host cells. Surface-accessible negatively charged VDs appear to be important in electrostatic binding, while the invariant region of VD IV may provide a subsurface hydrophobic depression which further promotes binding of chlamydiae to host cells through hydrophobic interactions.
Collaborative Business Engineering with Animated Electronic Meetings

In an action research study at the Amsterdam Municipal Police Force, a collaborative business engineering approach was employed to explore the joint application of group support systems and animation techniques to support stakeholder involvement in organizational change processes. Stakeholders constructed and evaluated static and dynamic models of the police force's current and future work processes. Findings illustrate the complimentary potential of the two technologies to support stakeholder involvement in terms of efficiency, resulting model quality, and stakeholder satisfaction with process and technologies. The study illustrates the value of an incremental modeling strategy, the involvement of a substantial number of stakeholders, and the need to keep the momentum in the process. Issues for further research concern the development of a collaborative modeling environment that allows for group enabled model construction and viewing and the automatic transformation between different types of models.
Hospital characteristics and quality of care.

OBJECTIVE To compare quality of care measured by explicit criteria, implicit review, and sickness-adjusted outcomes at different types of hospitals. DESIGN Further analysis of data retrospectively abstracted from medical records to evaluate the effects of prospective payment on quality of care for hospitalized Medicare patients. SETTING Hospitals in five states were sampled to represent the national Medicare admissions along many dimensions. PATIENTS A total of 14,008 elderly patients with one of the following five diseases: congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, pneumonia, stroke, or hip fracture. These patients were randomly sampled from those with these diseases in 297 hospitals in two time periods, 1981 to 1982 and 1985 to 1986. OUTCOME MEASURES Explicit criteria, implicit review, and mortality within 30 days of admission adjusted for sickness at admission. RESULTS Quality of care ratings for hospital types are similar using explicit criteria, implicit review, and outcomes adjusted for sickness at admission. Quality differences between types of hospitals were large, with the lowest group estimated to have four percentage points higher mortality than major teaching hospitals in a cohort of patients with average mortality of 16%. Quality varies from state to state, but teaching, larger, and more urban hospitals have better quality in general than nonteaching, small, and rural hospitals. Hospital quality persists over time, but small nonteaching hospitals narrowed the gap with better quality hospitals between 1981 and 1986. CONCLUSIONS The different measures led to consistent and plausible relationships between quality and hospital characteristics. Thus, valid information about hospital quality can be obtained. We need to develop ways to use such information to improve care.
Integrated optical comb generation for coherent communications using injection locked semiconductor lasers

Slotted Fabry-Perot (SFP) semiconductor laser diodes provide single mode operation [1], which is useful in various telecommunications applications. Under optical injection locking these lasers can be used in the production of single mode coherent combs. These combs have potential application in Coherent Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CoWDM) [2]. They are also an ideal candidate for Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC's) as they satisfy the requirement of low power consumption. Another major advantage of these lasers is that they can be fabricated using a single epitaxial growth step. This means that fabrication costs can be kept to a minimum and that the fabrication process can be easily transferred to existing foundry processes. Coherent communication techniques can be used to increase the ISD but requires coherence between the separate channels involved. One particular modulation scheme, CoWDM, is focused on in this work [2].
Are Bulb Syringe Irrigators a Potential Source of Bacterial Contamination in Chronic Rhinosinusitis?

Background The purpose of this study was to determine if bulb syringe irrigators are a potential source for bacterial contamination in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. Methods Standard 3-oz bulb syringe irrigators (n = 24) were each flushed with the following solutions twice daily: A (n = 8), sterile isotonic saline; B (n = 8), prepared hypertonic saline (3 tsp table salt/L of sterile water); and C (n = 8), prepared baking soda/saline (1 tsp table salt + 1 tsp baking soda/L of commercial sterile water). Syringes were stored on a residential bathroom counter, and two from each group were harvested for culture weekly for 4 weeks. Results There was no growth from syringes irrigated with any of the three solutions after the first 7 days of irrigation. After the entire 4-week study period, potential pathogens were recovered from 6/8 (75%) bulbs from group A, 0/8 bulbs from group B, and 1/8 bulbs (12.5%) from group C. All positive cultures revealed growth by 1–2 days postinoculation (p = 0.002). The organism recovered from syringes in group A was Pseudomonas fluorescens in all six specimens. The one positive culture in group C represented a single colony of Gram-positive cocci. Conclusion Under realistic conditions, bulb syringes are susceptible to contamination with potential bacterial pathogens, particularly when using unbuffered isotonic saline.
Computation of a kind of electric field distribution of 10kV composite insulator coated by ice

In this paper, based on a kind of 10 kV composite insulator computation model and by means of finite element method, the electric field distribution magnitude of composite insulator coated by different icicle length has been calculated, respectively under icing and de-icing condition. And it could be found that nether in icing or ice-melting condition, the max magnitude of electric fields around composite insulator coated by ice have little changed. Moreover, the electric field strength around the icicle increases along with the increasing of the length of icicle. Compared to the results under freezing state, at the ice-melting state, the electric field distortion nearby the icicle tip will be even more serious. In the end, several useful measures about how to improve the electric performance of composite insulators coated by ice have been summed up.
A Comparative Study of Electric Vehicles Concerning Charging Infrastructure and Power Levels

The development of electric vehicles (EVs) is an emergent solution to green the transportation systems and to reduce the issues of climate change. This paper inspects the present status, latest deployment and challenging issues in implementation of EVs infrastructure, battery chargers, in conjunction with charging power levels. The performance criteria of batteries are not only based on charging infrastructure and the characteristics of chargers but also on battery design and its types for EVs. In this study, the on-board and off-board categories of charging systems with unidirectional and bidirectional power flow are shown. Unidirectional charging offers hardware limitation and reduce interconnection issues. Bidirectional charging offers the fundamental feature of vehicle to grid technology. Cost issues and requirements for on-board energy storage systems are reduced with the accessibility of charging infrastructures. In particular, three types of power levels, Level 1(Ease), Level 2 (primary) and Level 3 i.e. fast are enlightened. Furthermore, our study analyzed the infrastructure configurations and numerous power level chargers based on equipment, location, time of charging, cost, amount of power, impacts on the gird and other aspects.
Computed Tomographic Analysis of Airway Dimensions After Carotid Endarterectomy

Airway obstruction is a rare but serious postoperative complication of carotid endarterectomy.We prospectively studied airway dimensions between the hyoid bone and cricoid cartilage in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy using preoperative and postoperative computed tomographic (CT) scans of the neck. CT scans showed soft tissue swelling in all 19 patients. Five patients with clinical evidence of airway obstruction and a hematoma present on CT scan were intubated postoperatively. The three-dimensional reconstruction of the neck from the CT scans showed a reduction in the volume of the airway in all patients. This reduction was greater in the intubated (62% +/- 9%) compared to the nonintubated (32% +/- 7%) patients (P < 0.01). The anterior-posterior and transverse diameters of the airway were reduced, while retropharyngeal edema was increased after carotid endarterectomy. This change was greater for the upper airway at the level of the hyoid compared to the arytenoids and cricoid, and was significantly greater in the intubated than the nonintubated patients. Tracheal deviation was greater in the intubated than in the nonintubated patients. These results demonstrate significant soft tissue edema of the neck after carotid endarterectomy that reduces airway volume and can result in airway obstruction. (Anesth Analg 1996;83:12-7)
A four switch transformer isolated single phase push-pull inverter topology: Design and experimentation

The paper presents a single phase, single stage, four switches, sine wave inverter topology, employing a step up ferrite core transformer with center tapped primary. The topology has a push pull configuration and operates in a forward conversion mode for converting DC power to AC power. Battery or a solar photovoltaic panel may be used as a DC input power source. The proposed topology is basically a combination of two step up forward converters with inverting and non-inverting outputs. The topology was tested using a sine wave PWM technique. Battery bank was used as a DC source and incandescent lamps as resistive loads. The simulation was done for verification of the operation of the circuit and it was also tested experimentally for the expected output of 230 V, 50 Hz AC. In this paper, operation of the inverter topology is explained. Preliminary simulation and experimental results of the prototype are presented for realization of the operation of the topology.
Social Sensing: Assessing Social Functioning of Patients Living with Schizophrenia using Mobile Phone Sensing

Impaired social functioning is a symptom of mental illness (e.g., depression, schizophrenia) and a wide range of other conditions (e.g., cognitive decline in the elderly, dementia). Today, assessing social functioning relies on subjective evaluations and self assessments. We propose a different approach and collect detailed social functioning measures and objective mobile sensing data from N=55 outpatients living with schizophrenia to study new methods of passively accessing social functioning. We identify a number of behavioral patterns from sensing data, and discuss important correlations between social function sub-scales and mobile sensing features. We show we can accurately predict the social functioning of outpatients in our study including the following sub-scales: prosocial activities (MAE = 7.79, r = 0.53), which indicates engagement in common social activities; interpersonal behavior (MAE = 3.39, r = 0.57), which represents the number of friends and quality of communications; and employment/occupation (MAE = 2.17, r = 0.62), which relates to engagement in productive employment or a structured program of daily activity. Our work on automatically inferring social functioning opens the way to new forms of assessment and intervention across a number of areas including mental health and aging in place.
Molecular basis of different forms of metachromatic leukodystrophy.

BACKGROUND Metachromatic leukodystrophy is an autosomal recessive inherited lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of arylsulfatase A. Three forms of the disease can be distinguished according to severity and the age at onset: late infantile (1 to 2 years), juvenile (3 to 16), and adult (greater than 16). METHODS AND RESULTS To understand the molecular basis of the different forms of the disease, we analyzed arylsulfatase A alleles associated with metachromatic leukodystrophy. Two alleles (termed I and A) were identified and accounted for about half of all arylsulfatase A alleles among 68 patients with metachromatic leukodystrophy whom we examined. Sufficient information was available for 66 of the patients to allow classification of their disease. Of the six instances of homozygosity for allele I, all were associated with the late-infantile form of the disease; of the eight instances of homozygosity for allele A, five were associated with the adult form and three with the juvenile form. When both alleles were present, the juvenile form resulted (seven of seven instances). Heterozygosity for allele I (with the other allele unknown) is usually associated with late-infantile disease, and heterozygosity for allele A with a later onset of the disease. The clinical variability can be explained by the different levels of residual arylsulfatase A activity associated with these genotypes. CONCLUSIONS Like many lysosomal storage disorders, metachromatic leukodystrophy shows clinical heterogeneity that seems to reflect genetic heterogeneity. One of the known alleles (allele I) is associated with earlier and more severe disease than the other (allele A).
Biometric user authentication using brain waves

Authentication has become an essential part of our everyday lives which is used at almost every place from banks to experimental labs, from car automation to home automation. This authentication is generally provided through systems like passwords, PIN codes, card readers. At some places biometrics like fingerprint and retina scans are used. All designed with one purpose; to confirm a person's identity. Brain wave based authentication is another addition to the wide range of authentication systems, which has many advantages over other authentication systems. With a standard password someone can watch or ‘shoulder-surf’ what others type, but no one ca n watch thoughts. Cards and keys can be lost, but the brain wave is always present. Differently abled persons can't use systems which uses fingerprints or retina scans but they can use system using brain-waves. This clears that using brain waves as biometric to provide authentication is very beneficial. A system is designed and implemented which allows user to set a pattern of brain waves which must be provided as an unlock pattern to get the access. This pattern can be any combination of eye blink, attention and various brain rhythms like Alpha, Beta, Theta and Delta. The system described in this paper provides two-level authentication. First level of which is brain waves. Once the correct pattern of brain signal is provide the system will ask for a pass key as a second level of authentication. This paper describes the design and implementation of the system.
Kupffer cell engulfment of apoptotic bodies stimulates death ligand and cytokine expression

Hepatocyte apoptosis by death receptors, hepatic inflammation, and fibrosis are prominent features of liver diseases. However, the link between these processes remains unclear. Our aim was to ascertain whether engulfment of apoptotic bodies by Kupffer cells promotes hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. Isolated murine Kupffer cells efficiently engulfed apoptotic bodies generated from UV‐treated mouse hepatocytes. Engulfment of the apoptotic bodies, but not latex beads, stimulated Kupffer cell generation of death ligands, including Fas ligand, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α). Both apoptotic body phagocytosis and death ligand generation were attenuated by gadolinium chloride, a Kupffer cell toxicant. Kupffer cells isolated from 3‐day bile duct‐ligated (BDL) mice were phenotypically similar to apoptotic body‐“fed” Kupffer cells with enhanced death ligand expression; inhibition of hepatocyte apoptosis with a caspase inhibitor prevented this Kupffer cell activation. Consistent with a role for Kupffer cells in liver inflammation and fibrosis, gadolinium chloride attenuated neutrophil infiltration and markers for stellate cell activation. In conclusion, these findings support a model of cholestatic liver injury where Kupffer cell engulfment of apoptotic bodies promotes inflammation and fibrogenesis.