Productivity Working From Home During The Pandemic

I will be focusing my research on productivity during working from home. Specifically I will be focusing on men versus women productivity levels working from home, as well as single women versus women with children. This research is also designed to investigate the extent of work employees do while working at home and their productivity levels. The Covid19 pandemic had a major impact on the working environment. People were stuck inside their houses and were not able to go to their offices for months to years and this is still an ongoing problem we are dealing with today. It can be harder to focus, be productive, and get work done at home for reasons like family, pets, laundry, etc. Working from home has become the new normal in today’s world and people do not plan on going back into the office full time. Since working from home seems to be our future, we want to know how productive it really is. This paper investigates the amount of work that gets done, what factors play a role in who is more productive at home, and overall how focused people are while working from their home. This topic is important because our future entails mostly hybrid or remote jobs, so the results will help us understand if that is good or bad for the economy

Accurate Determination of Conformational Transitions in Oligomeric Membrane Proteins

The structural dynamics governing collective motions in oligomeric membrane proteins play key roles in vital biomolecular processes at cellular membranes. In this study, we present a structural refinement approach that combines solid-state NMR experiments and molecular simulations to accurately describe concerted conformational transitions identifying the overall structural, dynamical, and topological states of oligomeric membrane proteins. The accuracy of the structural ensembles generated with this method is shown to reach the statistical error limit, and is further demonstrated by correctly reproducing orthogonal NMR data. We demonstrate the accuracy of this approach by characterising the pentameric state of phospholamban, a key player in the regulation of calcium uptake in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, and by probing its dynamical activation upon phosphorylation. Our results underline the importance of using an ensemble approach to characterise the conformational transitions that are often responsible for the biological function of oligomeric membrane protein states

Small for Gestational Age Babies After 37 Weeks: An Impact Study of a Risk Stratification Protocol.

OBJECTIVES: Although no clear evidence exists, many international guidelines advocate early term delivery of small for gestational age (SGA) fetuses. The aim of this study was to determine whether a protocol that included monitoring SGA fetuses beyond 37 weeks affected perinatal and maternal outcomes. METHODS: The impact of the introduction in 2014 of a protocol for management of SGA, which included risk stratification with surveillance and expectant management after 37 weeks for lower risk babies (Group 2), was compared with the previous strategy, which recommended delivery at around 37 weeks (Group 1). Data from all referred SGA babies over a 39 month period were analyzed. RESULTS: In group 1 there were 138 SGA babies; in group 2 there were 143. The mean gestation at delivery was 37 + 4 and 38 + 2 weeks respectively (p = 0.04). The incidence of neonatal composite adverse outcomes was lower in Group 2 (9% v 22% v; p < 0.01) as was neonatal NNU admission (13% v 42%; p < 0.01). Induction of labour and caesarean section rates were lower, and vaginal delivery (83% v 60%; p < 0.01) was higher in group 2. Most of the differences were due to delayed delivery of SGA babies that were stratified as low risk. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that protocol-based management of SGA babies may improve outcomes and that identification of moderate SGA should not alone prompt delivery. Larger numbers are required to assess any impact on perinatal mortality

Network Awareness of P2P Live Streaming Applications

Early P2P-TV systems have already attracted millions of users, and many new commercial solutions are entering this market. Little information is however available about how these systems work. In this paper we present large scale sets of experiments to compare three of the most successful P2P-TV systems, namely PPLive, SopCast and TVAnts. Our goal is to assess what level of "network awareness" has been embedded in the applications, i.e., what parameters mainly drive the peer selection and data exchange. By using a general framework that can be extended to other systems and metrics, we show that all applications largely base their choices on the peer bandwidth, i.e., they prefer high-bandwidth users, which is rather intuitive. Moreover, TVAnts and PPLive exhibits also a preference to exchange data among peers in the same autonomous system the peer belongs to. However, no evidence about preference versus peers in the same subnet or that are closer to the considered peer emerges. We believe that next-generation P2P live streaming applications definitively need to improve the level of network-awareness, so to better localize the traffic in the network and thus increase their network-friendliness as wel

Overall dietary variety and adherence to the Mediterranean diet show additive protective effects against coronary heart disease.

Abstract Background and aim Along with the increasing evidence of the cardioprotective effects of the Mediterranean Diet (MD), the scientific interest and advocacy of dietary variety as a potentially healthy eating habit gradually faded, until its complete oblivion in the latest European cardiovascular prevention guidelines. Our study aims to investigate whether dietary variety adds to the "Mediterranean-ness" of the diet in protecting against coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods and results In this case–control Italian study, data on eating habits were collected from 178 patients with CHD and 155 healthy controls, primarily males, frequency matched for age and gender, using the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Adherence to MD was estimated from FFQ by the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), an index developed by Trichopoulou (2003) ranging from 0 to 9, with higher scores indicating a stricter adherence. Overall dietary variety was computed from FFQ as a count of single food items consumed at least once a month. Associations between MDS or overall dietary variety and coronary status were evaluated by logistic regression models adjusted for BMI, physical activity, smoking, education, and caloric intake; the Odds Ratio (OR) for CHD for each 1.5-point increase in MDS was 0.76 [IC 95% 0.59; 0.98], whereas the OR for CHD for each 15-item increase in dietary variety was 0.62 [IC 95% 0.46; 0.84]. Remarkably, adherence to MD and overall dietary variety were independently associated with a significantly reduced chance of CHD. Conclusion Dietary Mediterranean-ness and overall dietary variety exhibit additive cardioprotective effects

Network Awareness of P2P Live Streaming Applications: A Measurement Study

Abstract: Early P2P-TV systems have already attracted millions of users, and many new commercial solutions are entering this market. Little information is however available about how these systems work, due to their closed and proprietary design. In this paper, we present large scale experiments to compare three of the most successful P2P-TV systems, namely PPLive, SopCast and TVAnts. Our goal is to assess what level of "network awareness" has been embedded in the applications. We first define a general framework to quantify which network layer parameters leverage application choices, i.e., what parameters mainly drive the peer selection and data exchange. We then apply the methodology to a large dataset, collected during a number of experiments where we deployed about 40 peers in several European countries. From analysis of the dataset, we observe that TVAnts and PPLive exhibit a mild preference to exchange data among peers in the same autonomous system the peer belongs to, while this clustering effect is less intense in SopCast. However, no preference versus country, subnet or hop count is shown. Therefore, we believe that next-generation P2P live streaming applications definitively need to improve the level of network-awareness, so to better localize the traffic in the network and thus increase their network-friendliness as well

Patho- physiological role of BDNF in fibrin clotting

Circulating levels of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) are lower in coronary heart disease (CHD) than in healthy subjects and are associated with coronary events and mortality. However, the mechanism(s) underling this association is not fully understood. We hypothesize that BDNF may influence fibrin fiber structure and clot stability, favoring clot lysis and thrombus resolution. We showed that recombinant BDNF (rh-BDNF) influenced with clot formation in a concentration-dependent manner in both purified fibrinogen and plasma from healthy subjects. In particular, rh-BDNF reduced the density of fibrin fibers, the maximum clot firmness (MCF) and the maximum clot turbidity, and affected the lysis of clot. In addition, both thrombin and reptilase clotting time were prolonged by rh-BDNF, despite the amount of thrombin formed was greater. Intriguingly, CHD patients had lower levels of BDNF, greater fibrin fibers density, higher MCF than control subjects, and a negative correlation between BDNF and MCF was found. Of note, rh-BDNF markedly modified fibrin clot profile restoring physiological clot morphology in CHD plasma. In conclusion, we provide evidence that low levels of BDNF correlate with the formation of bigger thrombi (in vitro) and that this effect is mediated, at least partially, by the alteration of fibrin fibers formation