281 research outputs found
Induction of potent protection against acute and latent herpes simplex virus infection in mice vaccinated with dendritic cells
No full textBackground aims. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen presenting cells of the immune system and have been under intense study with regard to their use in immunotherapy against cancer and infectious disease agents. In the present study, DCs were employed to assess their value in protection. against live virus challenge in an experimental model using lethal and latent herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in Balb/c mice. Methods. DCs obtained ex vivo in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-4 were loaded with HSV-1 proteins (DC/HSV-1 vaccine). Groups of mice were vaccinated twice, 7 days apart, via subcutaneous, intraperitoneal or intramuscular routes with DC/HSV-1 and with mock (DC without virus protein) and positive (alum adjuvanted HSV-1 proteins [HSV-1/ALH]) control vaccines. After measuring anti-HSV-1 antibody levels in blood samples, mice were given live HSV-1 intraperitoneally or via ear pinna to assess the protection level of the vaccines with respect to lethal or latent infection challenge. Results. Intramuscular, but not subcutaneous or intraperitoneal, administration of DC/HSV-1 vaccine provided complete protection against lethal challenge and establishment of latent infection as assessed by death and virus recovery from the trigeminal ganglia. It was also shown that the immunity was not associated with antibody production because DC/HSV-1 vaccine, as opposed to HSV-1/ALH vaccine, produced very little, if any, HSV-1-specific antibody. Conclusions. Overall, our results may have some impact on the design of vaccines against genital HSV as well as chronic viral infections such as hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus
Higher-order Traits and Happiness in the Workplace: The Importance of Occupational Project Scale for the Evaluation of Characteristic Adaptations
No full textBuruk, Pelin ( Arel Graduate Student), Şimşek, Ömer Faruk (Arel Author)This study attempts to explain the relationship between job satisfaction and the Big Two, Stability and Plasticity, which are the higher-order traits of Big Five. Occupational Project, a narrative construct, was considered a mediator variable in this relationship. Occupational Project consists of affective and cognitive evaluations of an individual's work life as a project in terms of the completed (past), the ongoing (present) and the prospective (future) parts. The survey method was applied to a sample of 253 participants. The results supported the proposed model, in which Occupational Project mediated the relationship between the Big Two and both job satisfaction and affect in workplace. Discussion is focused on applying Occupational Project as a practical tool for management. Consideration of an employee's Occupational Project could provide management with a means to question, understand, intervene with and redefine the narrative quality of his/her occupational project that influences job satisfaction
Detection of Human Herpesvirus 6 DNA but not Human Herpesvirus 7 or 8 DNA in Atherosclerotic and Nonatherosclerotic Vascular Tissues
No full textDr. Ping and Dr. Pong: Rethinking Writing and Work with Playful Embodied AIs
No full textWhat if artificial intelligence (AI) could transform academic writing into an exhilarating game of table tennis? This paper explores AI’s potential to foster creativity, enjoyment, and play. We challenge the view of AI as merely a tool for efficiency, showcasing its capacity for embodied interaction and intellectual engagement. We introduce an AI-infused table tennis setup, where two people can co-author a paper while playing ping pong. Using ChatGPT and an Arduino-driven system, this environment generates writing prompts based on gameplay, blending physical play with intellectual practice. Through PingPonGPT, we demonstrate AI’s role in reflective practices, enriching overall work and creative processes.Non peer reviewe
Ecological In/congruence: Becoming Sensitised to Nature in Video Games through Humanistic First-Person Research
No full textThe ongoing ecological crisis is the current biggest threat for our species. As we attempt to address the situation through policy, interventions, and education, we urgently need to understand how people encounter and relate to nature: As it is, in the world, and portrayed through different media. As an exemplary medium facilitating digital nature, this paper focuses on video games. Using first-person research methods, we report on the first author sensitising themselves to nature as a ubiquitous feature, theme, and actor in video games. They played eight nature-focused games for three months. Through auto-ethnography, close reading and “noticing” (after Tsing), we make sense of their experiences using the humanistic concept of ecological (in)congruence: We draw out the relational gap and potential meanings between real nature and its virtual equivalent. Based on these insights, we outline two design impulses for how the HCI community might approach nature-within games and beyond.Peer reviewe
ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY, SURFACE ROUGHNESS, FLEXURAL STRENGTH, AND SOLUBILITY OF CONVENTIONAL LUTING CEMENTS CONTAINING CHLORHEXIDINE DIACETATE/CETRIMIDE MIXTURES
No full textStatement of problem. The failure of fixed dental restorations is commonly associated with caries. The use of conventional luting cements containing antibacterial agents may overcome this problem. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity (ABA), surface roughness (Ra), flexural strength (FS), and solubility (SL) patterns of the conventional dental luting cements zinc phosphate (ZP), zinc polycarboxylate (PC), and glass ionomer (GIC) after the addition of 5% chlorhexidine diacetate/cetrimide (CHX+CT). Material and methods. Antibacterial agents with a total concentration of 5% (2.5% CHX+2.5% CT) were added to antibacterial agent-free conventional luting cement powders (ZPC, PCC, and GICC) and designated as experimental groups (ZPE, PCE, and GICE). ABA against Streptococcus mutans (SM) and Lactobacillus casei (LB) was examined by using the agar diffusion test method. Ra, FS, and SL values were obtained after storage in distilled water at 37 degrees C for 24 hours. The Kruskal-Wallis and Mann Whitney U with Bonferroni correction tests were used to test for agar diffusion (alpha=.05) and 2-way ANOVA and Fisher Least Significant Difference (LSD) test were used to measure Ra, FS, and SL (alpha=.05). Results. The control groups exhibited limited ABA. With the exception of PCE>PCC on day 1 for SM, all experimental groups showed significantly greater and longer-lasting protection against SM and LB bacteria for up to 180 days than their controls (PZPE; P>.05, PCC>PCE; PGICC (P>.05) when compared with their individual controls. Control groups exhibited higher FS values than did the experimental groups (ZPC>ZPE; PPCE; PGICE; P>.05). The experimental groups exhibited higher solubilities than did their controls in the ZPC (P>.05) and GICC groups (P<.05) but were lower in PCC group (P<.05). Conclusions. Incorporating a 5% CHX+CT mixture into conventional dental luting cements and altering their Ra, FS, and SL values may provide greater antibacterial protection against SM and LB. (J Prosthet Dent 2013;110:107-115
Kewenangan Hakim Dalam Mengubah Klausul Kontrak Yang Dibuat Atau Dilaksanakan Dengan Itikad Buruk
No full textPara praktiknya kadangkala pihak-pihak yang terikat dalam sebuah kontrak tidak memiliki kedudukan yang seimbang, baik dari segi ekonomi, pengetahuan, maupun pengalaman. Hal ini menyebabkan potensi adanya klausul pada perjanjian yang merugikan salah satu pihak apabila ditinjau dari kacamata orang pada umumnya yang berakal sehat. Penulis berpendapat bahwa hakim tidak perlu ragu untuk membatalkan maupun mengubah klausul pada kontrak yang demikian, dengan didasari Pasal 1338 dan Pasal 1339 KUH Perdata maupun konsep misbruik van omstandigheden. Adapun mekanisme perubahan atau pembatalannya adalah dengan pengajuan gugatan perbuatan melawan hukum oleh Penasihat Hukum ataupun masyarakat pada umumnya. Penasihat Hukum pada khususnya harus menyadari hal ini untuk melindungi klien yang secara ekonomi dan pendidikan berada dalam posisi yang lebih lemah.
Kata Kunci: Kontrak, Misbruik van omstandigheden, Itikad Buruk
In practice, sometimes the parties related with a contract do not have the same economics, knowledge, or experience level. This condition is causing the potential of the existence of clauses in a contract which will be detrimental to the weaker party, if the contract were to be observed objectively by a reasonable third party. The Author opined that in such case, judges do not have to hesitate in cancelling or altering the related clauses in a contract. The legal basis for this proposal is Article 1338 and Article 1339 of Civil Code, as well as the concept of misbruik van omstandigheden. The mechanism to put this proposal to action is by a submission of a tort lawsuit by a lawyer or the general public. Especially for the lawyers, they need to understand this concept in order to protect their weaker clients in term of socioeconomics statuses.
Keywords: Contract, Misbruik van omstandighede, Bad Fait
Wearable gaming technology: A study on the relationships between wearable features and gameful experiences
No full textWith the parallel advancement and evolution of psycho-physiological sensors, haptics, and overall wearable computing, wearable devices have become a mainstay in everyday life. While gaming is one of the most intuitively appealing areas for using wearable devices, most gaming concepts relying on wearable devices have had only moderate success. Therefore, further knowledge is needed by game developers for innovating new gaming concepts, by wearable designers to innovate new affordances for gaming in wearables, and by gamers for seeing the possibilities of what wearables can bring to gaming. To address this research problem, we combined vignette and survey studies (N = 289) to investigate which features of wearables (integrability, wearability, modularity, sociability, programmability, bio-adaptability, audiovisuality, and embodied modality) would lead to gameful experiences. Overall, the results indicate that integrability to games, wearability, modularity, and sociability were dimensions of wearables which were most strongly connected with the expectation of a heightened game experience. The findings of the study contribute to the current understanding of the experiential value of gaming wearables, as well as providing practical guidance for gaming wearables designers and marketers.© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/4.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed
CEP152 is a genome maintenance protein disrupted in Seckel syndrome
No full textFunctional impairment of DNA damage response pathways leads to increased genomic instability. Here we describe the centrosomal protein CEP152 as a new regulator of genomic integrity and cellular response to DNA damage. Using homozygosity mapping and exome sequencing, we identified CEP152 mutations in Seckel syndrome and showed that impaired CEP152 function leads to accumulation of genomic defects resulting from replicative stress through enhanced activation of ATM signaling and increased H2AX phosphorylation
- …
