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The transition to an activity-based workplace: Experiences of managers and employees from a sense of coherence perspective in public sector workplaces
Background The Activity-Based Workplace (ABW) is an increasingly popular office design that aims to facilitate new ways of working. Research focusing on the effects of ABWs on various outcomes is growing but there is a lack of studies looking at how managers and employees perceive the transition to ABWs from a salutogenic health-promotion perspective. This study aims to explore how managers and employees experienced a transition period to ABWs through the lens of a sense of coherence. Methods A qualitative design was applied through semi-structured interviews with six managers and focus group interviews with nine employees working in the public sector in Sweden. A content analysis of the interviews was conducted using Aaron Antonovsky’s sense of coherence concept, with the three main aspects of comprehensibility, meaningfulness and manageability acting as a theoretical framework for the analysis. Results Six sub-categories within the three main SOC categories were identified in the material and considered important to the participants during their transition to the ABW. The sub-categories were divided into facilitating factors and barriers to obtaining a sense of coherence. The identified factors were: information and preparation, clear rules, adaptability, leadership, social relations and health and well-being. Conclusions The analysis showed that the managers and employees were exposed to factors which may have acted as both facilitators and barriers to a sense of coherence during the transition to the ABW. When implementing ABWs, consideration must be given to the facilitators and barriers identified in this study during the transition process. The sense of coherence framework appears valuable for gaining a deeper knowledge of managers’ and employees’ experiences during the transition to ABW.
Enhancing hydrodynamic efficiency in Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) utilizing adjoint method and proper orthogonal decomposition
In recent years, there has been a significant need for high-performing and efficient Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). This is primarily because of their use in offshore mineral exploitation and oceanographic research. While there have been notable breakthroughs in applying the adjoint technique to optimize air and land vehicles, there is still a deficiency in optimizing AUVs using the adjoint method. The present research explores how to improve the hydrodynamic efficiency of an AUV using the gradient-based adjoint technique and Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD). This study especially tries to minimize drag forces on the entire AUV by exclusively employing the adjoint approach on the AUV’s wing. The simulation was conducted using computational fluid dynamics methodology utilizing the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) model, with velocities ranging from 0.5 m/s to 2 m/s. Numerical computations demonstrated significant reductions in drag force, with the most advantageous improvements obtained when the wing geometry was altered by 9%. More precisely, the optimization resulted in a 9% drop in drag force at a speed of 1 m/s, going from 98.91 N to 90.17 N. By traveling at a speed of 2 m/s, a significant 17% reduction in drag force was achieved, reducing it from 386.34 N to 320.90 N. This signifies a substantial improvement of 20.25% in power consumption. The POD technique was employed to determine the dominant modes in the flow field, resulting in improved simulations and a better comprehension of flow patterns.
Device-aided therapies (DATs) in Parkinson’s disease (PD). The DATs-PD GETM Spanish Registry Protocol Study
Background and objective Device-aided therapies (DATs) are treatments indicated for people with Parkinson´s disease (PwP) experiencing clinical fluctuations that remain suboptimal despite conventional medication. New DATs have recently emerged such as levodopa-entacapone-carbidopa intestinal gel infusion (LECIG) and subcutaneous infusion of foslevodopa/foscarbidopa (fLD/fCD). Understanding the differences between various DATs is essential. Patients and Methods We present here the protocol study of the DATs-PD GETM Spanish Registry. This is a descriptive, observational, prospective, multicenter, open study that is proposed as a clinical registry with progressive inclusion of PwP treated with a DAT in daily clinical practice conditions in more 40 centers from Spain for 10 years. The principal aim is to know the type of DAT that PwP in our country (Spain) receive. Specific objectives are to compare the clinical characteristics of the patients, the effectiveness, safety and tolerability, to identify predictors of a good response and to analyze the response by groups (gender, disease duration, phenotype, etc.). There is a baseline visit (V1; indication of the therapy), start visit (V2; initiation of the therapy) and follow-up visits at 6 months ± 3 months (V3_6M) and after this annually ± 3 months for 10 years (V3_12M, V3_24M, etc.). Results The registry is on going. The first patient was included on April 10, 2024. Patient recruitment and follow-up will be conducted until 31/DEC/2033. It is estimated that the registry will include a minimum of 3,000 patients. Conclusion The present study will help improve the care of PD patients treated with a DAT.
Model interpretability on private-safe oriented student dropout prediction
Student dropout is a significant social issue with extensive implications for individuals and society, including reduced employability and economic downturns, which, in turn, drastically influence social sustainable development. Identifying students at high risk of dropping out is a major challenge for sustainable education. While existing machine learning and deep learning models can effectively predict dropout risks, they often rely on real student data, raising ethical concerns and the risk of information leakage. Additionally, the poor interpretability of these models complicates their use in educational management, as it is difficult to justify identifying a student as high-risk based on an opaque model. To address these two issues, we introduced for the first time a modified Preprocessed Kernel Inducing Points data distillation technique (PP-KIPDD), specializing in distilling tabular structured dataset, and innovatively employed the PP-KIPDD to reconstruct new samples that serve as qualified training sets simulating student information distributions, thereby preventing student privacy information leakage, which showed better performance and efficiency compared to traditional data synthesis techniques such as the Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks. Furthermore, we empower the classifiers credibility by enhancing model interpretability utilized SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) values and elucidated the significance of selected features from an educational management perspective. With well-explained features from both quantitative and qualitative aspects, our approach enhances the feasibility and reasonableness of dropout predictions using machine learning techniques. We believe our approach represents a novel end-to-end framework of artificial intelligence application in the field of sustainable education management from the view of decision-makers, as it addresses privacy leakage protection and enhances model credibility for practical management implementations.
Identification and control of booming noise of thin-walled metal plates of commercial vehicle body subjected to high-speed airflow
The thin walled metal plates (TWMP) on top of a commercial vehicle body are easy to produce vibration and booming noise under the action of high-speed airflow, which reduces the sound quality inside the vehicle. Therefore, the effective control of the noise of TWMP is very important for vehicle comfort performance. Based on experimental, finite element, dynamic and fluid techniques, a method for identification, analysis and optimization of TWMP booming noise under high-speed airflow is proposed in this paper. The problem frequency, the noise source and the cause of booming noise inside the vehicle are identified by amplitude-frequency characteristics analysis and modal analysis. By establishing the dynamic model of damping patch, the matching method of damping patch is proposed. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results, which shows that the method is correct. And the damping coefficient, attachment position and attachment area of the damping plate can be analyzed quickly and accurately by using the method, and the vibration and noise of TWMP can be reduced obviously.
Study of heterogeneity in immune responses to exposure in breast cancer: A protocol for a systematic review
Background Radiation is a treatment modality of interest in both palliative and curative settings for patients with breast cancer (BC). Despite many advances in radiation oncology, anti-radiation resistance remains a problem in mechanistic aspects. Studies show that immune cells respond to radiation in a heterogeneous manner and suggest the determinant role of these responses in the ultimate clinical classification of patients with BC as anti-radiation resistant/sensitive. Objective A systematic review of in vivo and in vitro studies will be defined here to assess the radiation response of immune cells in BC comprehensively. Methods/design A systematic search for in vivo and in vitro studies will collect studies that compare the radiation alone-treated and control (untreated or sham) subjects, as well as subjects treated with radiation in combination and subjects treated with radiation alone. The primary outcome of interest will be measures of the abundance of immune cell subsets. The secondary outcomes will include measures derived from co-culture assays leading to immunoregulatory roles or mechanisms proposed for the potential cross-talks between immune-BC cells that will be influenced by radiation. The review results will be primarily synthesized in a narrative and qualitative manner. Meta-analysis will be considered if there are three or more observations with data available for a specific outcome. We will use the SYRCLE “Risk of Bias” assessment tool for appraising the risk of bias in preclinical in vivo studies, and given the lack of standardized instruments for in vitro studies, we will design a checklist suitable for our specific in vitro research questions and publish it along with our systematic review.
Fluorometric combination analysis of conformational changes in urea-induced unfolding of soybean protein isolates and their complexes with casein
Soybean proteins isolates (SPIs) could misfold to form amorphous aggregates after unfolding due to processing conditions, leading to a decrease in their solubility, and casein might be able to block the formation of amorphous aggregates. The turbidity curves showed that SPIs/7S/11S could maintain a soluble state in the presence of casein. The folding and unfolding processes of SPIs are not a single-step event. Fluorescence phase diagram method was utilized to analyze the unfolding process of SPIs and SPI-casein complexes. The results showed that there was one intermediate (molten globule, MG) in the unfolding process of SPIs, while there were two intermediates (dimer or trimer intermediates and MG) in that of SPI-casein complexes. Further attempts were made to explain the conformational changes of SPIs when binding with casein. The surface hydrophobicity index indicated that the intermediate with strong hydrophobicity was exposed when induced by 2 mol/L urea. The fluorescence quenching experiments using KI as a quencher showed that the Ksv of SPIs and 11S and their complexes with casein all reached peak values when urea concentration was 2 mol/L, while Ksv values of 7S and 7S–casein complex peaked at urea concentration 8mol/L and 6mol/L, respectively. Besides, Ksv and fm changing trends of 7S–casein complex was similar to that of SPIs–casein. Based on the above results, it could be inferred that the interactions between SPIs and casein mainly occurs in 7S. The molecular docking of 7S chains from SPIs and casein showed that SPIs could form a “pocket” conformation to “hold” the casein chain. These findings provide new perspectives for understanding the mechanism of interaction between soy proteins and casein, and may provide a basis for research on the functionality of proteins in the food industry. Note: Ksv is the quenching constant of the quenching agent, and fm is the quenching rate.
Effects of preoperative topical levofloxacin on conjunctival microbiome in patients undergoing intravitreal injections
Purpose Endophthalmitis is a serious eye infection that can occur after intravitreal injections. Topical antibiotics are frequently used as a preventative measure, but their impact on the conjunctival microbiome is not fully understood. Methods Conjunctival swabs were collected from 33 eyes of 33 patients undergoing intravitreal injections, both before and after a 3-day course of prophylactic topical levofloxacin 0.5%. Conjunctival microbiome analysis was conducted using 16S rRNA sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. Bioinformatics processing identified unique amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) to evaluate microbial diversity and community composition. Alpha and beta diversity indices were analyzed. Results Topical levofloxacin treatment resulted in no significant change in alpha diversity indices, including Shannon index, Chao1, Shannon, PD whole tree, and observed ASVs, indicating stable microbial richness and evenness. In contrast, beta diversity analysis, assessed through Bray-Curtis dissimilarity, revealed significant differences in microbial composition between pre- and post-treatment samples. These changes included a decrease in the abundance of Staphylococcus and Bacillus species and an increase in the abundance of Streptococcus, Haemophilus, and Neisseria. Conclusion Although prophylactic topical levofloxacin was found to alter the conjunctival microbiome and showed inconsistent effects on the abundance of pathogenic bacteria, its clinical effectiveness as a preventative measure against endophthalmitis remains inconclusive. Further studies are needed to clarify its role in infection prevention.
Virtual reality-based training for radiopharmaceutical administration: development and educational effectiveness
In Japan, task shifting and sharing are promoted to reduce the workload of physicians. Radiological technologists have been assigned new responsibilities, such as securing venous access for radiopharmaceutical administration. This study aimed to develop a prototype Virtual Reality (VR) training system that allows safe and repeatable training for radiological technologists. Additionally, the educational effectiveness of VR training was evaluated, and the concentration levels of the participants were assessed using multiple physiological indicators. Overall, 17 male and 12 female participants (mean age 20.1 ± 0.9 years) were enrolled in this study and classified into two groups—video-based and immersive VR system groups—both of which simulated radiopharmaceutical administration. Concentration and tension levels were evaluated using electroencephalography (EEG) data, salivary amylase levels, and mood assessments. The educational effectiveness was evaluated using a multiple-choice cognitive test. Compared with the resting levels, the alpha/beta ratio of EEG (indicating relaxed concentration) was significantly decreased by 19% in the video-based VR and increased by 40% in the immersive VR groups (both p < 0.05). No significant difference was observed in salivary amylase levels between the two groups. The cognitive test scores, increased by 2.0 and 3.4 points in the video-based VR and immersive VR groups, respectively; a significant difference was observed between both groups (p < 0.05). However, no correlation was found between the EEG ratio and test performance. Thus, immersive VR promotes a more relaxed and concentrated state and was found to have higher educational effectiveness than video-based VR. This suggests that participatory VR training may be more effective than observational VR training. Further research should explore the relationship between educational effectiveness and the evaluation of medical skills.
Complementary Ribo-seq approaches map the translatome and provide a small protein census in the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni
Abstract In contrast to transcriptome maps, bacterial small protein (≤50-100 aa) coding landscapes, including overlapping genes, are poorly characterized. However, an emerging number of small proteins have crucial roles in bacterial physiology and virulence. Here, we present a Ribo-seq-based high-resolution translatome map for the major foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni. Besides conventional Ribo-seq, we employed translation initiation site (TIS) profiling to map start codons and also developed a translation termination site (TTS) profiling approach, which revealed stop codons not apparent from the reference genome in virulence loci. Our integrated approach combined with independent validation expanded the small proteome by two-fold, including CioY, a new 34 aa component of the CioAB oxidase. Overall, our study generates a high-resolution annotation of the C. jejuni coding landscape, provided in an interactive browser, and showcases a strategy for applying integrated Ribo-seq to other species to enrich our understanding of small proteomes.
Disentangling edge and bulk spin-to-charge interconversion in MoS2 monolayer flakes
Abstract Semiconductor transition metal dichalcogenides are an archetype for spintronic devices due to their spin-to-charge interconversion mechanisms. However, the exact microscopic origin of this interconversion is not yet determined. In our study, we investigated light-induced spin pumping in YIG/MoS 2 heterostructures. Our findings revealed that the MoS 2 monolayer microsized flakes contribute to spin current injection through two distinct mechanisms: metallic edge states and semiconductor area states. The competition between these mechanisms, influenced by the flake size, leads to different behaviors of spin-pumping. Our calculations of the local density of states, by means of density functional theory, of a flake show that light-driven spin current injection can be controlled based on the intensity of light with a suitable wavelength. We demonstrate that a lightdriven spin current injection can enhance up to very high values, attenuate, or even switch on/off the spin-to-charge interconversion. These results hold promise for developing low energy-consuming opto-spintronic device applications.
Alkyne dimerization-hydroarylation to form pentasubstituted 1,3-dienes via binuclear nickel catalysis
Updating the sub-nanometric cognition of reconstructed oxyhydroxide active phase for water oxidation
Cryo-TEM structure of β-glucocerebrosidase in complex with its transporter LIMP-2
Abstract Targeting proteins to their final cellular destination requires transport mechanisms and nearly all lysosomal enzymes reach the lysosome via the mannose-6-phosphate receptor pathway. One of the few known exceptions is the enzyme β-glucocerebrosidase (GCase) that requires the lysosomal integral membrane protein type-2 (LIMP-2) as a proprietary lysosomal transporter. Genetic variations in the GCase encoding gene GBA1 cause Gaucher’s disease (GD) and present the highest genetic risk factor to develop Parkinson’s disease (PD). Activators targeting GCase emerge as a promising therapeutic approach to treat GD and PD, with pre-clinical and clinical trials ongoing. In this study, we resolve the complex of GCase and LIMP-2 using cryo-electron microscopy with the aid of an engineered LIMP-2 shuttle and two GCase-targeted pro-macrobodies. We identify helix 5 and helix 7 of LIMP-2 to interact with a binding pocket in GCase, forming a mostly hydrophobic interaction interface supported by one essential salt bridge. Understanding the interplay of GCase and LIMP-2 on a structural level is crucial to identify potential activation sites and conceptualizing novel therapeutic approaches targeting GCase. Here, we unveil the protein structure of a mannose-6-phosphate-independent lysosomal transport complex and provide fundamental knowledge for translational clinical research to overcome GD and PD.
Quantitative PET imaging and modeling of molecular blood-brain barrier permeability
Abstract Neuroimaging of blood-brain barrier permeability has been instrumental in identifying its broad involvement in neurological and systemic diseases. However, current methods evaluate the blood-brain barrier mainly as a structural barrier. Here we developed a non-invasive positron emission tomography method in humans to measure the blood-brain barrier permeability of molecular radiotracers that cross the blood-brain barrier through its molecule-specific transport mechanism. Our method uses high-temporal resolution dynamic imaging and kinetic modeling for multiparametric imaging and quantification of the blood-brain barrier permeability-surface area product of molecular radiotracers. We show, in humans, our method can resolve blood-brain barrier permeability across three radiotracers and demonstrate its utility in studying brain aging and brain-body interactions in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver inflammation. Our method opens new directions to effectively study the molecular permeability of the human blood-brain barrier in vivo using the large catalogue of available molecular positron emission tomography tracers.