Uncovering factors influencing railway passenger experiences through love and breakup declarations

While existing approaches for assessing passenger experience are often limited to surveys of customer satisfaction, societal and technological challenges push the railway industry to adopt a user-centric approach to the design of their service. We used the love and breakup method in a study involving N = 53 passengers making a declaration to their railway company to collect qualitative feedback on the passenger experience. The method allowed to gather personal, emotional, and contextual insights into passengers' experiences that can inform the transportation service design process. We describe 21 factors and 8 needs influencing the passenger experience, thereby consolidating and deepening prior work in the railway context. Using the lens of user experience theories, we argue that the service should be assessed against fulfilling these needs, which can act as guiding principles regarding service improvement. The study also presents valuable insights into the love and breakup method to explore service experiences.

Runner's Perceptions of Reasons to Quit Running: Influence of Gender, Age and Running-Related Characteristics

Physical inactivity has become a major public health concern and, consequently, the awareness of striving for a healthy lifestyle has increased. As a result, the popularity of recreational sports, such as running, has increased. Running is known for its low threshold to start and its attractiveness for a heterogeneous group of people. Yet, one can still observe high drop-out rates among (novice) runners. To understand the reasons for drop-out as perceived by runners, we investigate potential reasons to quit running among short distance runners (5 km and 10 km) (n = 898). Data used in this study were drawn from the standardized online Eindhoven Running Survey 2016 (ERS16). Binary logistic regressions were used to investigate the relation between reasons to quit running and different variables like socio-demographic variables, running habits and attitudes, interests, and opinions (AIOs) on running. Our results indicate that, not only people of different gender and age show significant differences in perceived reasons to quit running, also running habits, (e.g., running context and frequency) and AIOs are related to perceived reasons to quit running too. With insights into these related variables, potential drop-out reasons could help health professionals in understanding and lowering drop-out rates among recreational runners.

How Do Runners Experience Personalization of Their Training Scheme: The Inspirun E-Coach?

Among runners, there is a high drop-out rate due to injuries and loss of motivation. These runners often lack personalized guidance and support. While there is much potential for sports apps to act as (e-)coaches to help these runners to avoid injuries, set goals, and maintain good intentions, most available running apps primarily focus on persuasive design features like monitoring, they offer few or no features that support personalized guidance (e.g., personalized training schemes). Therefore, we give a detailed description of the working mechanism of Inspirun e-Coach app and on how this app uses a personalized coaching approach with automatic adaptation of training schemes based on biofeedback and GPS-data. We also share insights into how end-users experience this working mechanism. The primary conclusion of this study is that the working mechanism (if provided with accurate data) automatically adapts training sessions to the runners' physical workload and stimulates runners' goal perception, motivation, and experienced personalization. With this mechanism, we attempted to make optimal use of the potential of wearable technology to support the large group of novice or less experienced runners and that by providing insight in our working mechanisms, it can be applied in other technologies, wearables, and types of sports.

A Scoping Review of Digital Tools to Reduce Sedentary Behavior or Increase Physical Activity in Knowledge Workers

Background: There is increasing interest in the role that technology can play in improving the vitality of knowledge workers. A promising and widely adopted strategy to attain this goal is to reduce sedentary behavior (SB) and increase physical activity (PA). In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art SB and PA interventions using technology in the office environment. By scoping the existing landscape, we identified current gaps and underexplored possibilities. We discuss opportunities for future development and research on SB and PA interventions using technology. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in the Association for Computing Machinery digital library, the interdisciplinary library Scopus, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Xplore Digital Library to locate peer-reviewed scientific articles detailing SB and PA technology interventions in office environments between 2009 and 2019. Results: The initial search identified 1130 articles, of which 45 studies were included in the analysis. Our scoping review focused on the technologies supporting the interventions, which were coded using a grounded approach. Conclusion: Our findings showed that current SB and PA interventions using technology provide limited possibilities for physically active ways of working as opposed to the common strategy of prompting breaks. Interventions are also often offered as additional systems or services, rather than integrated into existing office infrastructures. With this work, we have mapped different types of interventions and provide an increased understanding of the opportunities for future multidisciplinary development and research of technologies to address sedentary behavior and physical activity in the office context.

Contributions of participatory ergonomics to the improvement of safety culture in an industrial context

This paper presents the results of an ergonomic intervention conducted within a blast furnace plant. As part of its risk prevention program, the company decided to set up an action plan, in a participatory manner, by setting up working groups to solve health & safety issues. This field mission involved 230 employees, 80 of whom participated actively by being incorporated into working groups. After four months of intervention, a questionnaire survey has been conducted among employees to study the effects of participation on the safety climate. The results seem promising and show that the benefits of participation are numerous: a more positive safety climate associated to safer attitudes and behaviors. However, rather than just participation, it seems to be the employee involvement in the working groups and the satisfaction they derive from their participation that guarantee these positive results. Hence, participatory ergonomics seems to be an effective way to decrease the number of unsafe behaviors at work, provided that the type of participation has been previously well defined and organized according to the specific context of each organization.

Single-stranded RNA viruses inactivate the transcriptional activity of p53 but induce NOXA-dependent apoptosis via post-translational modifications of IRF-1, IRF-3 and CREB

To characterize the mechanisms underlying apoptosis induced by viral infection, transcriptional activation of genes encoding members of the 'BH3-only' family of proteins was analysed during the course of virus infection. Among these genes, only NOXA is transcriptionally activated by vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), sendai virus (SV), measles virus, herpes simplex virus, or dsRNA and required for efficient apoptosis of cells. Transcriptional activation of NOXA by VSV or SV is independent of p53, but requires the presence of interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1), IRF-3 and cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB). Binding to and transactivation of the NOXA promoter by each of these transcription factors is governed by post-translational modification involving different pathways for each factor. Thus, SV infection activates IRF-3 and CREB by phosphorylation triggered by Toll like receptor 3 signalling, and a pathway involving calcium-independent phopholipase A2, respectively. In addition transactivation induced by IRF-1 during viral infection correlates with a 10 kDa increase in its molecular weight, suggesting a covalent linkage with a previously unknown regulatory polypeptide.

Prolonged allograft survival in cynomolgus monkeys treated with a monoclonal antibody to the human type I interferon receptor and low doses of cyclosporine

A monoclonal antibody (mAb) directed against the extracellular domain of the IFNAR1 chain of the human interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) receptor (IFN-alphaR), which inhibits activation of the Jak-Stat signal transduction pathway, administered together with a subeffective dose of cyclosporine induced prolonged survival of skin allografts in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) divergent cynomolgus monkeys. Skin biopsies from animals treated with anti-IFN-alphaR mAb and cyclosporine revealed very low levels of MHC class I and class II antigen expression and the absence of histologic signs of rejection. Monkey antibodies (IgG) to the mouse antihuman IFN-alphaR mAb were not detected in the serum of any of the animals treated with the anti-IFN-alphaR mAb either alone or together with cyclosporine. The anti-IFN-alphaR mAb abrogated activation of the Jak-Stat signal transduction pathway in IFN-treated cells. These results, which show that selective and long-lasting immunosuppression can be obtained by short-term administration of an IFN-alpha antagonist together with a subeffective dose of cyclosporine, may have important implications for the therapy of human allograft rejection.

Identification of a novel transcriptional regulatory element common to the p53 and interferon regulatory factor 1 genes

The promoter regions of both the interferon regulatory factor (IRF1) and p53 antioncogenes contain a previously unidentified sequence denoted IRF1 p53 common sequence (IPCS), which markedly increases the transcriptional activity of a reporter gene placed under the control of an heterologous promoter in transfected U937 cells. In contrast, transfection of U937 cells with reporter vectors containing p53 and IRF1 promoters with mutated IPCS sites resulted in a 4-fold reduction in the constitutive expression of those two genes. The transcriptional activity of IPCS is strictly correlated with the binding of a novel nuclear factor, IPCS-binding factor (IPCS-BF). IPCS-BF, which is composed of a single polypeptide of 26 kDa, is present constitutively in nuclear extracts of both U937 cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors. The finding that the pattern of binding of IPCS-BF to the IPCS is unlike that of any known transcription factor and that the IPCS sequence does not exhibit any significant homology with any known binding site present in the data base, strongly suggest that IPCS-BF is a novel transcription factor which, by virtue of this ability to regulate the expression of the p53 and IRF1 genes, could play a central role in the control of cell proliferation and/or apoptosis.

Constitutive expression of specific interferon isotypes in peripheral blood leukocytes from normal individuals and in promonocytic U937 cells

Constitutive expression of IFN-alpha5 and IFN-beta was detected in different lymphoid cells including peripheral blood mononuclear cells from normal individuals following amplification of IFN mRNA by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing of the amplified product. The activated form of the interferon-induced transcription factor complex ISGF3 was also detected in nuclear extracts from uninduced cells. Culture supernatants from uninduced U937 cells were also found to activate an ISRE cloned upstream of the luciferase reporter gene, indicating the presence of endogenous IFN activity equivalent to approximately 0.3 to 0.5 IU/mL. This endogenous IFN was also shown to play a role in maintaining the basal level of expression of the major histocompatibility class I genes in lymphoid cells. These results suggest that IFN-alpha5 and IFN-beta are produced at low levels in normal tissues and play an important role in the regulation of cell function and in the maintenance of homeostasis.

An antisense interferon-beta RNA abolishes repression of c-fos gene expression

To determine the cellular functions which are modified when interferon-beta (IFN-beta) gene expression is inhibited, a plasmid allowing the constitutive expression of RNA complementary to IFN-beta mRNA was constructed and stably introduced into L929 cells. Some of the selected clones expressing this antisense IFN-beta mRNA, named L-ASI, were unable to produce IFN-beta and lost the ability to arrest in the G0 phase of the cell cycle. Indeed, the usual transrepression of the c-fos gene observed in quiescent cells was blocked in IFN-beta antisense L-ASI clones and the c-fos gene was permanently stimulated. This overexpression of c-fos was not modified in response to protein kinase C agonists such as phorbol esters, but increased in response to the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin. In addition, the ability to induce major histocompatibility class I genes following recombinant IFN-beta treatment was impaired in antisense IFN-beta L-ASI clones, suggesting an important alteration of this cell with regard to the interferon system. Unexpectedly, the tumorigenicity of the clones was significantly diminished. We postulate that IFN-beta antisense RNA blocks the repression of the c-fos gene and thus prevents the arrest of cells in the G0 phase of the cycle.

A common cellular pathway for v-mos and v-Ki-ras is not required for v-Ki-ras-induced tumorigenicity in a nonmalignant, v-mos-expressing revertant cell

A revertant cell line was selected from Moloney sarcoma virus-transformed BALB/c cells after long-term treatment with type I interferon. Despite an actively transcribed and transfectable v-mos gene, these revertant cells were nontumorigenic in nude mice. The functionality of the mos protein was investigated, focusing on the alpha 2(1) collagen promoter regulation, which is known to be affected by mos-induced trans-acting factors. Both in transient expression assays and after stable integration into the cellular genome, the transfected alpha 2(1) collagen promoter fused to the cat reporter gene was activated in the revertant while being downregulated in the original transformed cells. In retransformation assays of the revertant by Moloney sarcoma virus strains homologous to the original transforming virus, no detectable change was noted in the in vitro phenotype or in tumorigenicity. These results reveal that the mos-directed factors were no longer effective on their specific targets. Thus, the R.MSVIF cell could be either an oncoprotein-deficient or a target-related revertant. Attempts at retransformation with unrelated sarcoma viruses bearing v-sis, v-fms, or v-fos oncogenes were also negative. In contrast, tumorigenicity was obtained with the unrelated Kirsten sarcoma virus without any change in the revertant morphology or collagen expression. These findings showed that the common pathway blocked by the reversion and shared by v-mos and v-ras was not required for ras-induced tumorigenicity.

Serum lipoproteins in venous blood serum from birth to the end of the first week: feeding influences

Serum lipoproteins were explored on the first day of life (D1) and on the sixth day (D6) in blood drawn by peripheral venipuncture from 43 normal term newborns, 22 breast-fed and 21 formula-fed, and were compared to those of a control group of 28 young adults. With the exception of apolipoprotein E (Apo E), values of lipoprotein components obtained at D1 were similar, although generally slightly lower than those previously reported for cord blood serum. Total Apo E concentration at D1 (71 +/- 25 mg/l) was much higher than that obtained for the adult group (30 +/- 7 mg/l). Apo E distribution within the lipoprotein spectrum confirmed the presence of an already known Apo E-rich high density lipoprotein subfraction, which was responsible for the high total Apo E level at birth. The rise of lipoproteins of low density from D1 to D6, as evidenced by the increase of very low density lipoprotein + low density lipoprotein cholesterol and low density lipoprotein apolipoprotein B concentrations, was shown to be diet dependent. It was significantly less important in newborns fed a standard formula moderately enriched in unsaturated fatty acids than in breast-fed newborns.