The rise of remote working has highlighted the importance of office spaces that support employees' social well-being. However, there is a lack of explicit knowledge on how to design such spaces. In ...order to address this gap, this study explored the strategies employed by practitioners in designing social office spaces. In-depth interviews with fifteen experienced interior designers were analysed using means-end chain theory. This revealed the designers' common aim to encourage informal social interactions through creating attractive, spacious, recognisable, and spatially integrated breakout spaces. Additionally, communicating group identity, promoting visibility, and offering a cosy atmosphere aimed to foster a sense of connectedness among employees. These findings not only enable more deliberate design decisions but also serve as valuable insights for less experienced designers. Moreover, the framework of design components, affordances and design objectives that emerged from this study can enhance communication between designers and stakeholders involved in office projects.
Experienced interior designers were interviewed about completed office projects to understand how they design social offices. They shared five important strategies to enhance co-worker connectedness and eleven strategies to encourage informal social interactions at work. The study identified ten types of social workplace affordances along with their specific design attributes.
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BFBNIB, GIS, IJS, KISLJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
Peroxynitrite is a short-lived and reactive biological oxidant formed from the diffusion-controlled reaction of the free radicals superoxide (O2 •–) and nitric oxide (•NO). In this review, we first ...analyze the biochemical evidence for the formation of peroxynitrite in vivo and the reactions that lead to it. Then, we describe the principal reactions that peroxynitrite undergoes with biological targets and provide kinetic and mechanistic details. In these reactions, peroxynitrite has roles as (1) peroxide, (2) Lewis base, and (3) free radical generator. Physiological levels of CO2 can change the outcome of peroxynitrite reactions. The second part of the review assesses the formation of protein 3-nitrotyrosine (NO2Tyr) by peroxynitrite-dependent and -independent mechanisms, as one of the hallmarks of the actions of •NO-derived oxidants in biological systems. Moreover, tyrosine nitration impacts protein structure and function, tyrosine kinase signal transduction cascades and protein turnover. Overall, the review is aimed to provide an integrated biochemical view on the formation and reactions of peroxynitrite under biologically relevant conditions and the impact of this stealthy oxidant and one of its major footprints, protein NO2Tyr, in the disruption of cellular homeostasis.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
The San Pablo community in El Triunfo, Ecuador, is emerging as a promising community-based tourism destination. Despite its potential, the lack of knowledge about self-organization and its ...implementation has hindered effective tourism management. To address this challenge, a participatory approach was employed, involving the community and key stakeholders, such as the local government of El Triunfo. Through the utilization of Design Thinking and both online and in-person interviews, it was identified that an organizational structure based on networks and a culture of self-organization can drive local tourism. These aspects were incorporated into a Design Thinking-guided process, contributing to the understanding of how to forge an appropriate organizational framework for the community. Furthermore, this study aims for broader impact. The goal is not only to strengthen tourism in San Pablo, but also to inform the management of strategies and policies in other entities. The findings offer valuable insights to similar communities in Ecuador and the region. Collectively, this research enhances the comprehension of community-based tourism and proposes practical solutions for optimizing its management in emerging contexts.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background and Aims
The gap between patients on transplant waiting lists and available donor organs is steadily increasing. Human organoids derived from leucine‐rich repeat‐containing G ...protein‐coupled receptor 5 (LGR5)–positive adult stem cells represent an exciting new cell source for liver regeneration; however, culturing large numbers of organoids with current protocols is tedious and the level of hepatic differentiation is limited.
Approach and Results
Here, we established a method for the expansion of large quantities of human liver organoids in spinner flasks. Due to improved oxygenation in the spinner flasks, organoids rapidly proliferated and reached an average 40‐fold cell expansion after 2 weeks, compared with 6‐fold expansion in static cultures. The organoids repopulated decellularized liver discs and formed liver‐like tissue. After differentiation in spinner flasks, mature hepatocyte markers were highly up‐regulated compared with static organoid cultures, and cytochrome p450 activity reached levels equivalent to hepatocytes.
Conclusions
We established a highly efficient method for culturing large numbers of LGR5‐positive stem cells in the form of organoids, which paves the way for the application of organoids for tissue engineering and liver transplantation.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
•Nanoparticles (NPAac) were obtained by nanoprecipitation from acetylated starch.•Nanoprecipitation process increases thermal stability of acetylated starch.•NPAac were essentially amorphous when ...compared with acetylated starch.•Films with low amounts of NPAac showed improved mechanical, thermal and barrier properties.•Films containing NPAac have potential use as active packing.
This paper reports the use of acetylated starch nanoparticles (NPAac) as reinforcement in thermoplastic starch films. NPAac with an average size of approximately 500nm were obtained by nanoprecipitation. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that NPAac are more thermally stable and essentially amorphous when compared with acetylated starch. Thermoplastic starch films with different proportions of NPAac (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 10.0%, w/w) were obtained and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water vapor permeability (WVP), adsorption isotherms, TGA and mechanical tests. The inclusion of reinforcement caused changes in film properties: WVP was lowered by 41% for film with 1.5% (w/w) of NPAac and moisture adsorption by 33% for film with 10% (w/w) of NPAac; and the Young's modulus and thermal stability were increased by 162% and 15%, respectively, for film with 0.5% (w/w) of NPAac compared to the starch film without the addition of NPAac.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Chemotherapy remains the standard of care for most cancers worldwide, however development of chemoresistance due to the presence of the drug-effluxing ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters remains ...a significant problem. The development of safe and effective means to overcome chemoresistance is critical for achieving durable remissions in many cancer patients. We have investigated the energetic demands of ABC transporters in the context of the metabolic adaptations of chemoresistant cancer cells. Here we show that ABC transporters use mitochondrial-derived ATP as a source of energy to efflux drugs out of cancer cells. We further demonstrate that the loss of methylation-controlled J protein (MCJ) (also named DnaJC15), an endogenous negative regulator of mitochondrial respiration, in chemoresistant cancer cells boosts their ability to produce ATP from mitochondria and fuel ABC transporters. We have developed MCJ mimetics that can attenuate mitochondrial respiration and safely overcome chemoresistance in vitro and in vivo. Administration of MCJ mimetics in combination with standard chemotherapeutic drugs could therefore become an alternative strategy for treatment of multiple cancers.
Knowledge of medical specialists' numbers and geographical distribution are essential for planning health services and health workforce supply. However, although the distribution of physicians is a ...significant concern for society and policymakers in Ecuador, no studies have evaluated the distribution of specialists in the country. This study aimed to explore the geographical and temporal distribution of medical specialists in Ecuador over 18 years from 2000 to 2017 and analyse its implications for health planning and medical training.
We conducted an ecological time-series study based on the National Statistical Register of Resources and Health Activities data. This register provides administrative information for health professionals working in public and private health institutions. Rates of medical specialists by year, geographical area, and speciality were estimated. We used joint-point analyses to identify time trends for medical specialists and physicians in training.
From 2000 to 2017, medical specialists grew from 2737 to 10,929. The rate of medical specialists per 10,000 population increased from 4 in 2000 to 10.3 in 2017. Based on Joint point analysis, two temporal trends were identified. Between 2000 to 2015, specialists increased by 4.1% per year, and between 2015 and 2017, they increased by 20% per year. For the entire study period, three cities (Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca) accounted for more than 50% of the specialists in the country. However, medical specialists in other cities and rural areas increased from 37% in 2000 to 46% in 2017. The provinces of Esmeraldas, Carchi, Bolívar and Los Ríos presented rates of less than 6 specialists per 10,000 population by 2017. Of the 46 medical specialities identified by 2017, three represented more than 30% of the professionals (gynaecology 12%, paediatrics 11% and family and community health 8.4%).
This study shows that the number of medical specialists in Ecuador has increased significantly over the last two decades, although with inequalities in the distribution of specialists between provinces and regions. The results of this study provide background for the Ecuadorian health system when introducing Human Resources of Health (HRH) policies.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In this paper, we study the simplest quadratic matrix equation:
Q(X)=X2+BX+C=0$$ \mathcal{Q}(X)={X}^2+ BX+C=0 $$. We transform this equation into an equivalent fixed‐point equation, and based on it, ...we construct the Krasnoselskij method. From this transformation, we can obtain iterative schemes more accurate than the successive approximation method. Moreover, under suitable conditions, we establish different results for the existence and localization of a solution for this equation with the Krasnoselskij method. Finally, we see numerically that the predictor–corrector iterative scheme, with the Krasnoselskij method as a predictor and the Newton method as corrector method, can improve the numerical application of the Newton method when approximating a solution of the quadratic matrix equation.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
This paper develops a two-stage stochastic program and solution procedure to optimize the selection of capacity enhancement strategies to increase the resilience of electric power systems to ...earthquakes. The model explicitly considers the range of earthquake events that are possible and, for each, an approximation of the distribution of damage to be experienced. This is important because electric power systems are spatially distributed; hence their performance is driven by the distribution of damage to the components. We test this solution procedure against the nonlinear integer solver in LINGO 13 and apply the formulation and solution strategy to the Eastern Interconnect where the seismic hazard primarily stems from the New Madrid Seismic Zone. We show the feasibility of optimized capacity expansion to improve the resilience of large-scale power systems with respect to large earthquakes.
Fernando Reati y Paula Simón, Filosofía de la incomunicación. Las cartas clandestinas de la Unidad Penitenciaria 1 durante la dictadura (Córdoba, 1976-1979)
(Villa María, Eduvim, 382 pp. ISBN ...978-987-699-652-5)
por Natalia Romero Marchesini
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