It is time to talk about people: a human-centered healthcare system

Examining vulnerabilities within our current healthcare system we propose borrowing two tools from the fields of engineering and design: a) Reason's system approach [1] and b) User-centered design [2,3]. Both approaches are human-centered in that they consider common patterns of human behavior when analyzing systems to identify problems and generate solutions. This paper examines these two human-centered approaches in the context of healthcare. We argue that maintaining a human-centered orientation in clinical care, research, training, and governance is critical to the evolution of an effective and sustainable healthcare system

Business analytics in industry 4.0: a systematic review

Recently, the term “Industry 4.0” has emerged to characterize several Information Technology and Communication (ICT) adoptions in production processes (e.g., Internet-of-Things, implementation of digital production support information technologies). Business Analytics is often used within the Industry 4.0, thus incorporating its data intelligence (e.g., statistical analysis, predictive modelling, optimization) expert system component. In this paper, we perform a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) on the usage of Business Analytics within the Industry 4.0 concept, covering a selection of 169 papers obtained from six major scientific publication sources from 2010 to March 2020. The selected papers were first classified in three major types, namely, Practical Application, Reviews and Framework Proposal. Then, we analysed with more detail the practical application studies which were further divided into three main categories of the Gartner analytical maturity model, Descriptive Analytics, Predictive Analytics and Prescriptive Analytics. In particular, we characterized the distinct analytics studies in terms of the industry application and data context used, impact (in terms of their Technology Readiness Level) and selected data modelling method. Our SLR analysis provides a mapping of how data-based Industry 4.0 expert systems are currently used, disclosing also research gaps and future research opportunities.The work of P. Cortez was supported by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020. We would like to thank to the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions

<it>Zizyphus lotus </it>L. (Desf.) modulates antioxidant activity and human T-cell proliferation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Zizyphus lotus </it>L. (Desf.) also known as Jujube, is a deciduous shrub which belongs to Rhamnaceae family. This plant is used in Algerian traditional medicine for its anti-diabetic, sedative, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and hypoglycaemic activities. In the present study, we determined the concentrations of different vitamins (vitamin A, C and E) and fatty acids in root, stem, leaves, fruit pulp and seed of <it>Zizyphus lotus </it>L. (Desf.) and assessed the effects of their aqueous extracts on antioxidant status and human T-cell proliferation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Aqueous filtrates from different parts, <it>i.e</it>, root, leaf, stem, fruit pulp and seed, of <it>Zizyphus lotus </it>L. (Desf.) were prepared. Vitamin C levels were determined by precipitating with 10% trichloroacetic acid and vitamin A and E were assessed by HPLC. Lipid composition of these extracts was determined by gas-liquid chromatography. Anti-oxidant capacity was evaluated by using anti-radical resistance kit [Kit Radicaux Libres (KRL^@; Kirial International SA, Couternon, France)]. T-cell blastogenesis was assessed by the incorporation of ³H-thymidine. IL-2 gene expression was evaluated by RT-qPCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results show that fruit pulp contained higher vitamin A and C contents than other parts of the plant. Furthermore, the fruit pulp was the richest source of linoleic acid (18:2n-6), a precursor of n-6 fatty acids. Fruit seeds possessed higher vitamin C levels than leaves, roots and stem. The leaves were the richest source of vitamin E and linolenic acid (18:3n-3), a precursor of n-3 fatty acids. The antioxidant capacity of the different extracts, measured by KRL^@test, was as follows: pulp < seed<leaf<root < stem. As far as T-cell proliferation is concerned, we observed that the different extracts of <it>Zizyphus lotus </it>L. (Desf.) exerted immunosuppressive effects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Seed extracts exerted the most potent immunosuppressive effects on T cell proliferation and IL-2 mRNA expression. The results of the present study are discussed in the light of their use to modulate the immune-mediated diseases.</p

Hyper-proteolytic mutant of Beauveria bassiana, a new biological control agent against the tomato borer

The world tomato production is threatened by the invasive tomato borer Tuta absoluta. Difficulties in managing this pest were imposed mainly by the development of resistance in strains treated with conventional chemical insecticides. Resistance problems were even reported to insecticides of natural origin, leading to search for other control alternatives. P2 is a spontaneous mutant of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. It was previously selected from a local strain (P1) and was characterized as hyper-producer of extracellular proteases. Here, the insecticidal potential of P1 and P2 strains was evaluated against T. absoluta larvae under laboratory conditions. Both strains were effective but P2 showed stronger effect than P1; median lethal concentration of P2 is tenfold lower than that of P1. Enzymatic assay analysis showed that extracellular enzymes are differently expressed by the two strains, especially proteases and chitinases which are known as cuticle degrading enzymes. The major expressed subtilisin-like protease (SBP) was upregulated at the transcriptional level in P2 strain. Proteomic analysis revealed four SBP isoforms which are highly overexpressed in this strain compared to P1. Post-translational regulation, most probably phosphorylation, was further suggested to control the SBP protease expression in B. bassiana P1 and P2 strains. The enzymatic profile in the two strains might explain their different insecticidal potential against the tomato borer. This is the first report showing such efficiency of Beauveria strains against this dangerous pest. Particularly, P2 strain showed high virulence reaching almost total larval mortality within 5 days post-application. It thus should be recommended as a new tool for the biocontrol of T. absoluta