Traditional methods for investigating work hours rely on an employee's physical presence at the worksite. However, accurately identifying break times at the worksite and distinguishing remote work ...outside the worksite poses challenges in work hour estimations. Machine learning has the potential to differentiate between human-smartphone interactions at work and off work.
In this study, we aimed to develop a novel approach called "probability in work mode," which leverages human-smartphone interaction patterns and corresponding GPS location data to estimate work hours.
To capture human-smartphone interactions and GPS locations, we used the "Staff Hours" app, developed by our team, to passively and continuously record participants' screen events, including timestamps of notifications, screen on or off occurrences, and app usage patterns. Extreme gradient boosted trees were used to transform these interaction patterns into a probability, while 1-dimensional convolutional neural networks generated successive probabilities based on previous sequence probabilities. The resulting probability in work mode allowed us to discern periods of office work, off-work, breaks at the worksite, and remote work.
Our study included 121 participants, contributing to a total of 5503 person-days (person-days represent the cumulative number of days across all participants on which data were collected and analyzed). The developed machine learning model exhibited an average prediction performance, measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, of 0.915 (SD 0.064). Work hours estimated using the probability in work mode (higher than 0.5) were significantly longer (mean 11.2, SD 2.8 hours per day) than the GPS-defined counterparts (mean 10.2, SD 2.3 hours per day; P<.001). This discrepancy was attributed to the higher remote work time of 111.6 (SD 106.4) minutes compared to the break time of 54.7 (SD 74.5) minutes.
Our novel approach, the probability in work mode, harnessed human-smartphone interaction patterns and machine learning models to enhance the precision and accuracy of work hour investigation. By integrating human-smartphone interactions and GPS data, our method provides valuable insights into work patterns, including remote work and breaks, offering potential applications in optimizing work productivity and well-being.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract During the course of oncogenesis and tumor progression, cancer cells constitutively upregulate signaling pathways relevant to cell proliferation and survival as a strategy to overcome ...genomic instability and acquire resistance phenotype to chemotherapeutic agents. In light of this clinical and molecular heterogeneity of human cancers, it is desirable to concomitantly target these genetic abnormalities by using an agent with pleiotropic mode of action. Indole-3-carbinol and its metabolite 3,3′-diindoylmethane (DIM) target multiple aspects of cancer cell-cycle regulation and survival including Akt-NFκB signaling, caspase activation, cyclin-dependent kinase activities, estrogen metabolism, estrogen receptor signaling, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and BRCA gene expression. This broad spectrum of anti-tumor activities in conjunction with low toxicity underscores the translational value of indole-3-carbinol and its metabolites in cancer prevention/therapy. Furthermore, novel anti-tumor agents with overlapping underlying mechanisms have emerged via structural optimization of indole-3-carbinol and DIM, which may provide considerable therapeutic advantages over the parental compounds with respect to chemical stability and anti-tumor potency. Together, these agents might foster new strategies for cancer prevention and therapy.
Silicone printing can enable a lot more accessibility and customizability towards utilizing silicone in different applications, including medicine for its biocompatibility. However, challenges ...existed for printing in specific geometries due to the lack of guidelines and studies on the mechanical properties. To support the understanding of printing three-dimensional silicone structure having different infill patterns and gel-like material, this paper conducted a parametric study for the specimens printed using a Bowden-type silicone printer and measurements of the tensile properties. Four printing parameters of print speed, infill density, flow rate, and infill pattern, are categorized following the Taguchi L9 method, and arranged into the four-parameter-three-level orthogonal array. The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio was calculated based on the principle of the-larger-the-better, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also obtained. Tensile performance was further discussed with the characterization of internal structure, using the cross-sections of the printed specimens. It was found that the change of flow rate is the most significant to the tensile stress; and for the tensile strain, infill pattern was found to be the most significant parameter. The Line infill pattern consistently presented the highest tensile stress. Agglomeration can be seen inside the printed structure, hence optimal printing parameters play an important role for complicated geometry, while ensuring the flow rate and infill density do not exceed a reasonable value. This study would serve as the guideline for printing three-dimensional silicone structures.
Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with various diseases and adverse health outcomes, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Currently, the majority of vitamin D testing is ...conducted in large-scale laboratories upon the request of a physician as part of an annual panel of blood tests. In this paper, we present a novel paper-based microfluidic system that enables the rapid quantification of vitamin D levels on a portable platform. The system comprises a smartphone accessory, an app, and a test strip that allows for the colorimetric detection of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 using a gold-nanoparticle-based immunoassay. We demonstrate that the system can accurately measure the physiological levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with an accuracy higher than 25 nM and a precision of 10 nM. We compared our system with the well-established ELISA test kits for serum samples of unknown concentration and demonstrated the equivalency of the obtained results.
This study aimed to design and fabricate planar constricted-expanded structures that are integrated into paper-based channels in order to enhance their chaotic advection and improve their mixing ...performance. Chromatography papers were used to print paper-based microfluidics using a solid-wax printer. Three different constricted-expanded structures-i.e., zigzag, crossed, and curved channels-were designed in order to evaluate their mixing performance in comparison with that of straight channels. A numerical simulation was performed in order to investigate the mixing mechanism, and to examine the ways in which the planar constricted-expanded structures affected the flow patterns. The experimental and numerical results indicated that the proposed structures can successfully mix confluents. The experimental results revealed that the mixing indices (
) rose from the initial 20.1% (unmixed) to 34.5%, 84.3%, 87.3%, and 92.4% for the straight, zigzag, curved, and cross-shaped channels, respectively. In addition, the numerical calculations showed a reasonable agreement with the experimental results, with a variation in the range of 1.0-11.0%. In future, we hope that the proposed passive paper-based mixers will be a crucial component in the application of paper-based microfluidic devices.
Sambar (Rusa unicolor) in Taiwan experienced overexploitation by humans before the 1990s. In recent years, however, the population has recovered rapidly, and has become regionally abundant, resulting ...in damage to forests in some conservation areas. We investigated space use and habitat selection of sambar using global positioning system telemetry and resource selection function models. We collected sambar locations from 12 collared deer (6 males and 6 females) from December 2009 to March 2014 in Taroko National Park, Taiwan. Males had the largest mean home range size during the hot-wet season (May–Oct, 95% fixed kernel method: 1.43 ± 0.23 km²). Males in the cold-dry season (Nov–Apr) and females in both seasons had similar mean home range sizes of approximately 0.70 km². Sambar moved to higher elevations during the hot–wet season and moved to lower elevations during the cold–dry season. Sambar preferred cypress (Chamaecyparis spp.) forest, pine (Pinus spp.) forest, fir (Abies spp.)-hemlock (Tsuga spp.) forest, or thicket to broad-leaved forest and open areas during both seasons. In addition, they preferred areas that were humid and had moderate solar radiation. We recommend estimating sambar population density in the cold–dry season when males and females have similar home range sizes. We predict that the rapid growth of the sambar population in Taiwan will be restrained as they expand to lower elevations because they prefer alpine landcover types and sambar habitats at lower elevations are fragmented.
Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are the underlying reason for tumor recurrence, progression, and therapeutic resistance. Aptamers are synthetic ...single-stranded oligonucleotides that can specifically bind to various molecular targets. Here, we aim to develop an effective aptamer-based biomarker and therapeutic tool that targets CSCs for cancer therapy. We perform whole-cell-based systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (cell-SELEX) to screen DNA aptamers that specifically bound to lung CSCs, modeled by E-cadherin-silenced A549 cells. We develop a CSC-specific aptamer (AP-9R) specifically recognizing lung CSCs with high affinity and identify Annexin A2, a Ca2+-dependent membrane-binding protein, as its target. Annexin A2 expression was upregulated in lung CSCs and involved in cancer stemness. The expression of Annexin A2 was associated with signatures of stemness and metastasis, as well as poor clinical outcomes, in lung cancer in silico. Moreover, AP-9R decreased Annexin A2 expression and suppressed CSC properties in CSCs in vitro and in vivo. The present findings suggest that Annexin A2 is a CSC marker and regulator, and the CSC-specific aptamer AP-9R has potential theranostic applications for lung cancer.
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Cancer stem cells (CSCs) contribute to tumor recurrence, progression, and therapeutic resistance. The present study identified that Annexin A2 is a novel lung CSC marker and regulator, and the Annexin A2-binding DNA aptamer AP-9R has potential applications in the treatment and diagnosis of lung cancer.
The use of microfluidic systems for screening of aptamers and their biomedical applications are reviewed in this paper. Aptamers with different nucleic acid sequences have been extensively studied ...and the results demonstrated a strong binding affinity to target molecules such that they can be used as promising candidate biomarkers for diagnosis and therapeutics. Recently, the aptamer screening protocol has been conducted with microfluidic-based devices. Furthermore, aptamer affinity screening by a microfluidic-based method has demonstrated remarkable advantages over competing traditional methods. In this paper, we first reviewed microfluidic systems which demonstrated efficient and rapid screening of a specific aptamer. Then, the clinical applications of screened aptamers, also performed by microfluidic systems, are further reviewed. These automated microfluidic systems can provide advantages over their conventional counterparts including more compactness, faster analysis, less sample/reagent consumption and automation. An aptamer-based compact microfluidic system for diagnosis may even lead to a point-of-care device. The use of microfluidic systems for aptamer screening and diagnosis is expected to continue growing in the near future and may make a substantial impact on biomedical applications.
Aerosols and droplets are the transmission routes of many respiratory infectious diseases. The COVID-19 management guidance recommends against the use of nebulized inhalation therapy directly in the ...emergency room or in an ambulance to prevent possible viral transmission. The three-dimensional printing method was used to develop an aerosol inhalation treatment mask that can potentially prevent aerosol dispersion. We conducted this utility validation study to understand the practicability of this new nebulizer mask system. The fit test confirmed that the filter can efficiently remove small particles. The different locations of the mask had an excellent fit with a high pressure making a proper face seal usability. The full-face mask appeared to optimize filtration with pressure and is an example of materials that perform well for improvised respiratory protection using this design. The filtering effect test confirmed that the contamination of designated locations could be protected when using the mask with filters. As in the clinical safety test, a total of 18 participants (10 55.6% females; aged 33.1 + or - 0.6 years) were included in the final analysis. There were no significant changes in SPO.sub.2, EtCO.sub.2, HR, SBP, DBP, and RR at the beginning, 20th, 40th, or 60th minutes of the test (all p >.05). The discomfort of wearing a mask increased slightly after time but remained within the tolerable range. The vision clarity score did not significantly change during the test. The mask also passed the breathability test. The results of our study showed that this mask performed adequately in the fit test, the filtering test, and the clinical safety test. The application of a full-face mask with antiviral properties, together with the newly designed shape of a respirator that respects the natural curves of a human face, will facilitate the production of personal protective equipment with a highly efficient filtration system. We conducted three independent tests in this validation study: (1) a fit test to calculate the particle number concentration and its association with potential leakage; (2) a filtering effect test to verify the mask's ability to contain aerosol spread; and (3) a clinical safety test to examine the clinical safety, comfortableness, and visual clarity of the mask.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A microfluidic device consisting of a nanoscale Nafion membrane and a polydimethylsiloxane microchannel is proposed for the preconcentration of diluted multi-mixed species samples then following ...separation and collection. When an electric field is applied across the microchip, an accumulation of the mixed-species sample occurs at the junction between the microchannel and the membrane by means of ion concentration polarization effect. A separation of the sample then takes place due to the difference in the electrophoretic mobilities of the sample components. Finally, the component of interest is guided to a collection reservoir by manipulating the external potential configuration and is trapped in place by means of a magnetically actuated valve. The preconcentration performance of the proposed device is evaluated in both straight and convergent microchannels using a fluorescein isothiocyanate labeled bovine serum albumin (FITC-BSA) sample. It is shown that a preconcentration factor of 40 times can be achieved using a straight microchannel. By contrast, the preconcentration factor increases to 50 times when using a convergent channel. The practical feasibility of the proposed device is demonstrated by performing the preconcentration, separation, and collection of a mixed FITC-BSA and Tetramethylrhodamine sample.
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