Does a past conflict still sting? The influence of recall style and self-esteem on the impact of conflict memories

The current research examined whether the impact of people\u27s past conflicts on their current relationships is associated with (1) the way people think about the conflicts, (2) their self-regard. Specifically, we expected that people\u27s relationships should be more negatively influenced if they recall conflicts in a vivid manner, focusing on how the conflicts happened and recalling them in vivid detail, rather than if they recall conflicts in a pallid manner, focusing on why the conflict occurred and recalling little detail. We also predicted that past conflicts are more likely to adversely affect the appraisals of the relationships of low self-esteem people than those of high self-esteem people. Three studies were conducted to test the hypotheses. Participants recalled a past conflict with their partner in either a vivid or pallid manner according to the manipulation. Participants\u27 self-esteem and their subsequent evaluations of the conflict and their relationship were measured. The hypothesis concerning self-esteem but not the one concerning recall style was supported

Improving maintenance operation through transformational outsourcing

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-42).Outsourcing maintenance to third-party contractors has become an increasingly popular option for manufacturers to achieve tactical and/or strategic objectives. Though simple in concept, maintenance outsourcing is difficult in execution, especially in a cost-sensitive environment. This project examines the Full Service business under ABB Ltd to understand the key factors that drive the success of an outsourced maintenance operation. We present a qualitative causal loop diagram developed based on the case study of Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill in New Zealand. The diagram describes the interconnections among various technical, economic, relationship, and humanistic factors and shows how cost-cutting initiatives can frequently undermine labor relationship and tip the plant into the vicious cycle of reactive, expensive work practices. The model also explains how Kinleith achieved a remarkable turnaround under ABB, yielding high performance and significant improvements in labor relations. A case study of Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill provides a contrasting case where success has been more difficult. Results point to the importance of creating sufficient resources ("slack") to implement improvement activities and pace implementation based on pre-existing dynamics on site.by Jacqueline Ming-Shih Ye.S.M.M.B.A

Policy Issues in Implementing Smart Cards in Urban Public Transit Systems

Many public transportation institutions have been discarding their magnetic strip payment cards or traditional cash-based fee collection systems in favor of automated fare collection systems with smart card technology. Smart cards look like traditional credit cards or ID cards; however, using RFID technology, they allow for contactless payment and identification. Smart cards are becoming increasingly popular among transit agencies primarily because they are convenient for customers, reduce administrative costs for transit agencies, and have the potential of improving the performance of complex transit systems overall. The increased availability and affordability of contactless cards has also contributed to this trend in adoption

Anti-CD20 as the B-Cell Targeting Agent in a Combined Therapy to Modulate Anti-Factor VIII Immune Responses in Hemophilia a Inhibitor Mice

Neutralizing antibody formation against transgene products can represent a major complication following gene therapy with treatment of genetic diseases, such as hemophilia A. Although successful approaches have been developed to prevent the formation of anti-factor VIII (FVIII) antibodies, innovative strategies to overcome pre-existing anti-FVIII immune responses in FVIII-primed subjects are still lacking. Anti-FVIII neutralizing antibodies circulate for long periods in part due to persistence of memory B-cells. Anti-CD20 targets a variety of B-cells (pre-B-cells to mature/memory cells); therefore, we investigated the impact of B-cell depletion on anti-FVIII immune responses in hemophilia A mice using anti-CD20 combined with regulatory T (T(reg)) cell expansion using IL-2/IL-2mAb complexes plus rapamycin. We found that anti-CD20 alone can partially modulate anti-FVIII immune responses in both unprimed and FVIII-primed hemophilia A mice. Moreover, in mice treated with anti-CD20+IL-2/IL-2mAb complexes+rapamycin+FVIII, anti-FVIII antibody titers were significantly reduced in comparison to mice treated with regimens targeting only B or T cells. In addition, titers remained low after a second challenge with FVIII plasmid. T(reg) cells and activation markers were transiently and significantly increased in the groups treated with IL-2/IL-2mAb complexes; however, significant B-cell depletion was obtained in anti-CD20-treated groups. Importantly, both FVIII-specific antibody-secreting cells and memory B-cells were significantly reduced in mice treated with combination therapy. This study demonstrates that a combination regimen is highly promising as a treatment option for modulating anti-FVIII antibodies and facilitating induction of long-term tolerance to FVIII in hemophilia A mice

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Self‐Regulation Intervention for Older Adults with Asthma

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98408/1/jgs12218.pd

A new reference genome assembly for the microcrustacean Daphnia pulex

Comparing genomes of closely related genotypes from populations with distinct demographic histories can help reveal the impact of effective population size on genome evolution. For this purpose, we present a high quality genome assembly of Daphnia pulex (PA42), and compare this with the first sequenced genome of this species (TCO), which was derived from an isolate from a population with >90% reduction in nucleotide diversity. PA42 has numerous similarities to TCO at the gene level, with an average amino acid sequence identity of 98.8 and >60% of orthologous proteins identical. Nonetheless, there is a highly elevated number of genes in the TCO genome annotation, with similar to 7000 excess genes appearing to be false positives. This view is supported by the high GC content, lack of introns, and short length of these suspicious gene annotations. Consistent with the view that reduced effective population size can facilitate the accumulation of slightly deleterious genomic features, we observe more proliferation of transposable elements (TEs) and a higher frequency of gained introns in the TCO genome

Association of NEDA-4 With No Long-term Disability Progression in Multiple Sclerosis and Comparison With NEDA-3: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Esclerosis múltiple; Discapacidad; NEDA-4Esclerosi múltiple; Discapacitat; NEDA-4Multiple sclerosis; Disability; NEDA-4Background and Objectives No evidence of disease activity (NEDA)-4 has been suggested as a treatment target for disease-modifying therapy (DMT) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). However, the ability of NEDA-4 to discriminate long-term outcomes in MS and how its performance compares with NEDA-3 remain uncertain. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate (1) the association between NEDA-4 and no long-term disability progression in MS and (2) the comparative performance of NEDA-3 and NEDA-4 in predicting no long-term disability progression. Methods English-language abstracts and manuscripts were systematically searched in MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane databases from January 2006 to November 2021 and reviewed independently by 2 investigators. We selected studies that assessed NEDA-4 at 1 or 2 years after DMT start and had at least 4 years of follow-up for determination of no confirmed disability progression. We conducted a meta-analysis using random-effects model to determine the pooled odds ratio (OR) for no disability progression with NEDA-4 vs EDA-4. For the comparative analysis, we selected studies that evaluated both NEDA-3 and NEDA-4 with at least 4 years of follow-up and examined the difference in the association of NEDA-3 and NEDA-4 with no disability progression. Results Five studies of 1,000 patients (3 interferon beta and 2 fingolimod) met inclusion criteria for both objectives. The median duration of follow-up was 6 years (interquartile range: 4–6 years). The prevalence of NEDA-4 ranged from 4.2% to 13.9% on interferon beta therapy and 24.9% to 25.1% on fingolimod therapy. The pooled OR for no long-term confirmed disability progression with NEDA-4 vs EDA-4 was 2.14 (95% confidence interval: 1.36–3.37; I2 = 0). We did not observe any significant difference between NEDA-4 and NEDA-3 in the comparative analyses. Discussion In patients with RRMS, NEDA-4 at 1–2 years was associated with 2 times higher odds of no long-term disability progression, at 6 years compared with EDA-4, but offered no advantage over NEDA-3

Relations of Change in Plasma Levels of LDL‐C, Non‐HDL‐C and apoB With Risk Reduction From Statin Therapy: A Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Trials

Background: Identifying the best markers to judge the adequacy of lipid‐lowering treatment is increasingly important for coronary heart disease (CHD) prevention given that several novel, potent lipid‐lowering therapies are in development. Reductions in LDL‐C, non‐HDL‐C, or apoB can all be used but which most closely relates to benefit, as defined by the reduction in events on statin treatment, is not established. Methods and Results: We performed a random‐effects frequentist and Bayesian meta‐analysis of 7 placebo‐controlled statin trials in which LDL‐C, non‐HDL‐C, and apoB values were available at baseline and at 1‐year follow‐up. Summary level data for change in LDL‐C, non‐HDL‐C, and apoB were related to the relative risk reduction from statin therapy in each trial. In frequentist meta‐analyses, the mean CHD risk reduction (95% CI) per standard deviation decrease in each marker across these 7 trials were 20.1% (15.6%, 24.3%) for LDL‐C; 20.0% (15.2%, 24.7%) for non‐HDL‐C; and 24.4% (19.2%, 29.2%) for apoB. Compared within each trial, risk reduction per change in apoB averaged 21.6% (12.0%, 31.2%) greater than changes in LDL‐C (P<0.001) and 24.3% (22.4%, 26.2%) greater than changes in non‐HDL‐C (P<0.001). Similarly, in Bayesian meta‐analyses using various prior distributions, Bayes factors (BFs) favored reduction in apoB as more closely related to risk reduction from statins compared with LDL‐C or non‐HDL‐C (BFs ranging from 484 to 2380). Conclusions: Using both a frequentist and Bayesian approach, relative risk reduction across 7 major placebo‐controlled statin trials was more closely related to reductions in apoB than to reductions in either non‐HDL‐C or LDL‐C

Impaired coordination of nutrient intake and substrate oxidation in melanocortin-4 receptor knockout mice

Mutations in the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) are associated with obesity. The obesity syndrome observed in humans with MC4R haploinsufficiency is similar to that observed in MC4R knockout mice: increased longitudinal growth, hyperphagia, and fasting hyperinsulinemia. For comparison with other commonly investigated models of obesity and insulin resistance, we have backcrossed Mc4r-/- mice into the C57BL/6J (B6) background. Female obese Mc4r-/- mice exhibit reduced energy expenditure and an attenuated increase in fatty acid oxidation following exposure to high fat diets compared to obese Lep ob/Lepob mice. The reduced energy expenditure and fatty acid oxidation correlates with changes in hepatic gene expression. The expression of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation increased in obese Lep ob/Lepob mice compared to wild type and obese Mc4r-/- mice. In contrast, a key lipogenic enzyme (fatty acid synthase) is increased in obese Mc4r-/- mice compared to obese Lepob/Lepob mice. Hyperinsulinemia, increased FAS mRNA expression and hepatic steatosis appear to be secondary to obesity in B6 Mc4r-/- mice. However, Mc4r-/- mice in a mixed genetic background develop severe hepatic steatosis at an early age. This might suggest an important role of the MC4R in regulating liver fatty acid metabolism this is masked on the B6 background. Interestingly, the 10- to 20-fold increase in liver triglyceride in this strain of Mc4r-/- mice is not always associated with fasting hyperinsulinemia or increased FAS mRNA expression. This observation suggests changes in liver secondary to triglyceride accumulation lead to hyperinsulinemia and increased hepatic FAS expression in Mc4r-/- mice