Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Succeeding at Sales by Avoiding Failure: Social Achievement Goals in a Collectivist Cultural Context

Social achievement goals are introduced as useful in understanding the motivation of sales people. Further, although past research has indicated that avoidance based achievement goals are maladaptive, recent evidence suggests they are less harmful or may even be helpful in collectivist cultural contexts. Yet, this research has not been extended to work settings. The study tests the validity of social goals and the nature of avoidance based goals in predicting sales outcomes in Sri Lanka. Salespeople in a large organization were surveyed to examine their motivational goals and performance. Results indicated that social achievement goals were predictive of performance and that avoidance based social achievement goals were positively related or unrelated to sales performance. The findings highlight social achievement goals as useful to understanding the behaviour and motivation of salespeople and suggest that regional variations in culture may require motivational programmes that are very different in nature.
Blocking Toll-Like Receptors 7 and 9 Reduces Postinterventional Remodeling via Reduced Macrophage Activation, Foam Cell Formation, and Migration

Objective—The role of toll-like receptors (TLRs) in vascular remodeling is well established. However, the involvement of the endosomal TLRs is unknown. Here, we study the effect of combined blocking of TLR7 and TLR9 on postinterventional remodeling and accelerated atherosclerosis. Methods and Results—In hypercholesterolemic apolipoprotein E*3-Leiden mice, femoral artery cuff placement led to strong increase of TLR7 and TLR9 presence demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. Blocking TLR7/9 with a dual antagonist in vivo reduced neointimal thickening and foam cell accumulation 14 days after surgery by 65.6% (P=0.0079). Intima/media ratio was reduced by 64.5% and luminal stenosis by 62.8%. The TLR7/9 antagonist reduced the arterial wall inflammation, with reduced macrophage infiltration, decreased cytoplasmic high-mobility group box 1 expression, and altered serum interleukin-10 levels. Stimulation of cultured macrophages with TLR7 and TLR9 ligands enhanced tumor necrosis factor-&agr; expression, which is decreased by TLR7/9 antagonist coadministration. Additionally, the antagonist abolished the TLR7/9-enhanced low-density lipoprotein uptake. The antagonist also reduced oxidized low-density lipoprotein–induced foam cell formation, most likely not via decreased influx but via increased efflux, because CD36 expression was unchanged whereas interleukin-10 levels were higher (36.1±22.3 pg/mL versus 128.9±6.6 pg/mL; P=0.008). Conclusion—Blocking TLR7 and TLR9 reduced postinterventional vascular remodeling and foam cell accumulation indicating TLR7 and TLR9 as novel therapeutic targets.
Spread of Epidemic MRSA-ST5-IV Clone Encoding PVL as a Major Cause of Community Onset Staphylococcal Infections in Argentinean Children

Background Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-(CA-MRSA) strains have emerged in Argentina. We investigated the clinical and molecular evolution of community-onset MRSA infections (CO-MRSA) in children of Córdoba, Argentina, 2005–2008. Additionally, data from 2007 were compared with the epidemiology of these infections in other regions of the country. Methodology/Principal Findings Two datasets were used: i) lab-based prospective surveillance of CA-MRSA isolates from 3 Córdoba pediatric hospitals-(CBAH1-H3) in 2007–2008 (compared to previously published data of 2005) and ii) a sampling of CO-MRSA from a study involving both, healthcare-associated community-onset-(HACO) infections in children with risk-factors for healthcare-associated infections-(HRFs), and CA-MRSA infections in patients without HRFs detected in multiple centers of Argentina in 2007. Molecular typing was performed on the CA-MRSA-(n: 99) isolates from the CBAH1-H3-dataset and on the HACO-MRSA-(n: 51) and CA-MRSA-(n: 213) isolates from other regions. Between 2005–2008, the annual proportion of CA-MRSA/CA-S. aureus in Córdoba hospitals increased from 25% to 49%, P<0.01. Total CA-MRSA infections increased 3.6 fold-(5.1 to 18.6 cases/100,000 annual-visits, P<0.0001), associated with an important increase of invasive CA-MRSA infections-(8.5 fold). In all regions analyzed, a single genotype prevailed in both CA-MRSA (82%) and HACO-MRSA(57%), which showed pulsed-field-gel electrophoresis-(PFGE)-type-“I”, sequence-type-5-(ST5), SCCmec-type-IVa, spa-t311, and was positive for PVL. The second clone, pulsotype-N/ST30/CC30/SCCmecIVc/t019/PVL+, accounted for 11.5% of total CA-MRSA infections. Importantly, the first 4 isolates of Argentina belonging to South American-USA300 clone-(USA300/ST8/CC8/SCCmecIVc/t008/PVL+/ACME−) were detected. We also demonstrated that a HA-MRSA clone-(pulsotype-C/ST100/CC5) caused 2% and 10% of CA-MRSA and HACO-MRSA infections respectively and was associated with a SCCmec type closely related to SCCmecIV(2B&5). Conclusions/Significance The dissemination of epidemic MRSA clone, ST5-IV-PVL+ was the main cause of increasing staphylococcal community-onset infections in Argentinean children (2003–2008), conversely to other countries. The predominance of this clone, which has capacity to express the h-VISA phenotype, in healthcare-associated community-onset cases suggests that it has infiltrated into hospital-settings.
Multiobjective evolutionary optimization of the size, shape, and position parameters of radial basis function networks for function approximation

This paper presents a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm to optimize radial basis function neural networks (RBFNNs) in order to approach target functions from a set of input-output pairs. The procedure allows the application of heuristics to improve the solution of the problem at hand by including some new genetic operators in the evolutionary process. These new operators are based on two well-known matrix transformations: singular value decomposition (SVD) and orthogonal least squares (OLS), which have been used to define new mutation operators that produce local or global modifications in the radial basis functions (RBFs) of the networks (the individuals in the population in the evolutionary procedure). After analyzing the efficiency of the different operators, we have shown that the global mutation operators yield an improved procedure to adjust the parameters of the RBFNNs.
Selective immortalization of a phenotypically distinct epithelial cell type by microinjection of SV40 DNA into cultured human milk cells

An immortal cell line, MMSV‐1, has been developed which exhibits many features of the common luminal epithelial cell of the human mammary gland. The cell line was developed by microinjection of SV40 DNA into individual cells in selected colonies in cultures of human milk epithelial cells. Immunohistochemical staining shows that the MMSV‐1 cells express keratins 7,8, 18 and 19 homogeneously in organized filaments which lead into well‐developed desmosomes. They do not express vimentin or keratins found in stratified epithelia or keratin 14 found in basal cells in the mammary gland. The PEM mucin, recognized by the antibody HMFG‐1, is also expressed and appears to be processed normally. Fibronectin is detected but shows the punctate pattern typical of cultured normal milk epithelial cells. MMSV‐1 cells show a reduced requirement for added growth factors, including cyclic AMP‐elevating agents, but do not grow in agar or form tumours in nude mice. Since the transfected cells could be selected on the basis of an extended in vitro life span, antibiotic resistance markers were not introduced and the cells remain sensitive to hygromycin and neomycin.
Caesarean delivery for the second twin.

BACKGROUND The optimal mode of delivery for a second twin in breech position is controversial, with support for both caesarean and vaginal delivery. OBJECTIVES The objective of this review was to assess the effects of caesarean delivery compared with vaginal delivery of a second twin not presenting cephalically. SEARCH STRATEGY The Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, and bibliographies up to December 1998. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised trials of Caesarean delivery compared with vaginal delivery in women with a twin pregnancy where the second twin is not presenting cephalically. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS All assessments of trial eligibility, quality and data extractions were done by the author without blinding. MAIN RESULTS One trial involving 60 pairs of twins was included. Maternal febrile morbidity were increased in women allocated to the caesarean group (relative risk (RR) 3.67, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15-11.69), and there was a trend to an increased need for use of general anaesthesia (RR 2.40, 95% CI 0. 98-5.88). No differences were detected in neonatal outcome. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS caesarean section for delivery of a second twin not presenting cephalically is associated with increased maternal febrile morbidity with, as yet, no identified improvement in neonatal outcome. This policy should not be adopted except within the context of further controlled trials
Sheng: Peer language, Swahili dialect or emerging Creole?

Quantitative data collected during a recent research trip have shed light on the social and linguistic factors that affect language choice and use in the complex multilingual setting of Nairobi City. The first section of this paper provides the sociolinguistic backdrop of Nairobi, addressing issues of language choice among the city residents, the general distribution of Kenyan national languages in areas of the city, and functional uses of those languages as well as Swahili and English. The main section of the paper however focuses on the widely used mixed code known as 'Sheng'. Used principally among the youth, it is based on Swahili grammar but uses resources from other Kenyan languages to create a dynamic, mixed code. Stratified data samples were collected during a period of four weeks in selected city locations covering the four compass directions. While the larger part of the survey consisted of quantitative information in the form of a written questionnaire, raw speech data collected during open-ended interviews are used to sketch a structural description of Sheng in areas of morpho-syntax and phonology. These are then contrasted to Kenyan Standard Swahili. Attitudes towards Sheng are also considered, and compared to Swahili, English and other langauges spoken in the city. Present and future implications of the use and spread of Sheng in urban Kenya raise a few questions about the impact of Sheng in primary and secondary school, its implications for the growth of Standard Swahili, and (lack of) language policy in Kenya.
Media Effects, Selective Exposure, and Fahrenheit 9/11

With increasing media choice and diverse media outlets, people have more opportunities to engage in selective exposure. The present study investigates this phenomenon by looking at the widely viewed anti–President George W. Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. Using survey data gathered from a national sample before and after the opening of Fahrenheit 9/11, this study investigates the degree of selective exposure and the potential media effects occurring as a result of exposure to the film. The data provide evidence that selective exposure occurred—the audience for the film held more negative attitudes toward President George W. Bush. This study then turns to evaluating whether the film had political effects. Results suggest that those who viewed the film had significantly more negative attitudes toward Bush compared to those who intended to view the film, even after controlling for demographic, political, and media use differences between the groups. Results also suggest that political discussion with frien.
Evolutionary Optimization of Neural Networks for Face Detection

For face recognition from video streams speed and accuracy are vital aspects. The first decision whether a preprocessed image region represents a human face or not is often made by a neural network, e.g., in the Viisage-FaceFINDER video surveillance system. We describe the optimization of such a network by a hybrid algorithm combining evolu- tionary computation and gradient-based learning. The evolved solutions perform considerably faster than an expert-designed architecture without loss of accuracy.
Ability Test Equity in Predicting Job Performance Work Samples

There has been a lack of work sample job performance criteria to support the usage of ability tests for personnel selection. Work samples of performance were collected for three air force jobs. Differences in slopes and intercepts on the basis of race and sex were tested for the regressions of work sample scores on Armed Forces Qualification Test scores. This ability test was found to be fair to Blacks, Whites, males, and females for all three jobs using Cleary's definition of test bias.
Revisiting old drugs as novel agents for retinoblastoma: in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of cardenolides.

PURPOSE Intra-arterial delivery of chemotherapeutic agents offers a new and exciting opportunity for the treatment of advanced intraocular retinoblastoma. It allows local delivery of relatively high doses of chemotherapy agents while bypassing general blood circulation. For this reason, this study was undertaken to revisit some of the FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of retinoblastoma. METHODS High-throughput screening (HTS) of 2640 approved drugs and bioactive compounds resulted in the identification of cytotoxic agents with potent activity toward both the Y79 and RB355 human retinoblastoma cell lines. Subsequent profiling of the drug candidates was performed in a panel of ocular cancer cell lines. Induction of apoptosis in Y79 cells was assessed by immunofluorescence detection of activated caspase-3. Therapeutic effect was evaluated in a xenograft model of retinoblastoma. RESULTS Several FDA-approved drugs were identified that showed potent cytotoxic activity toward retinoblastoma cell lines in vitro. Among them were several cardiac glycosides, a class of cardenolides historically associated with the prevention and treatment of congestive heart failure. Caspase-3 activation studies provided an insight into the mechanism of action of cardenolides in retinoblastoma cells. When tested in a xenograft model of retinoblastoma, the cardenolide ouabain induced complete tumor regression in the treated mice. CONCLUSIONS Cardenolides were identified as a new class of antitumor agents for the treatment of retinoblastoma. Members of this class of cardiotonic drugs could be repositioned for retinoblastoma if administered locally via direct intra-arterial infusion.
The Utility of Career and Personality Assessment in Predicting Academic Progress

We examined the ability of four career and personality assessment inventories to predict students’ first-year college performance and persistence. Among our sample of 677 college freshmen who enrolled in a freshman orientation course, subscales from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Strong Interest Inventory, and Social Skills Inventory uniquely predicted first-year college GPA, and subscales from these three instruments and the Career Factors Inventory uniquely contributed to the prediction of freshman-to-sophomore persistence, each after controlling for ACT/SAT scores. Our findings suggest that college counseling and career center staff may provide valuable retention-promotion efforts by helping to identify students at risk for poor academic performance or attrition on the basis of commonly used career and personality assessment inventories.
Laser Welding of BTi-6431S High Temperature Titanium Alloy

A new type of high temperature titanium alloy, BTi-6431S, has recently become the focus of attention as a potential material for aircraft engine applications, which could be used up to 700 °C. Pulsed laser welding was used to butt join the BTi-6431S titanium alloy in order to understand the feasibility of using fusion-based welding techniques on this material. The effect of laser energy on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints was investigated. The microstructural features of the joints were characterized by means of microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Tensile testing was conducted at both room temperature and high temperature to simulate potential service conditions. The results show that the microstructure of the laser welded joints consists of primary α phase and needle α’ phase, while the microstructure of the heat affected zone consists of α, β, and needle α’ phases. The tensile strength of the welded joints at room temperature was similar to that of the base material, despite a reduction in the maximum elongation was observed. This was related to the unfavorable microstructure in the welded joints. Nonetheless, based on these results, it is suggested that laser welding is a promising joining technique for the new BTi-6431S titanium alloy for aerospace applications.
The ROSAT All-Sky Survey: a Catalog of Clusters of Galaxies in a Region of 1 steradian around the South Galactic Pole

A field of 1.013 sr in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS), centered on the south Galactic pole (SGP), has been searched in a systematic, objective manner for clusters of galaxies. The procedure relied on a correlation of the X-ray positions and properties of ROSAT sources in the field with the distribution of galaxies in the COSMOS digitized database, which was obtained from scanning the plates of the UK Schmidt IIIa-J optical survey of the southern sky. The study used the second ROSAT survey database (RASS-2) and included several optical observing campaigns to measure cluster redshifts. The search, which is a precursor to the larger REFLEX survey encompassing the whole southern sky, reached the detection limits of both the RASS and the COSMOS data and yielded a catalog of 186 clusters in which the lowest flux is 1.5 × 10-12 ergs cm-2 s-1 in the 0.1-2.4 keV band. Of these 157 have measured redshifts. Using a flux limit of 3.0 × 10-12 ergs cm-2 s-1 a complete subset of 112 clusters was obtained, of which 110 have measured redshifts. The spatial distribution of the X-ray clusters out to a redshift of 0.15 shows an extension of the Local Supercluster to the Pisces-Cetus supercluster (z <∼ 0.07), and an orthogonal structure at higher redshift (0.07 < z < 0.15). This result is consistent with large-scale structure suggested by optical surveys.
1 Parallel Corpus in Translation Studies : An Intercultural Approach

This paper explores the potential use of parallel corpus in translation studies from an intercultural perspective. To achieve this objective, the paper first investigates the early development of parallel corpora. This is followed by an examination of current English and Chinese corpora and their applications in translation. To illustrate the practical use of parallel corpus in translation, the paper makes a comparative study of some source texts and their translations both in English and Chinese at lexical, syntactical, and discourse levels. By using these examples, the paper attempts to explore the possibility of providing an intercultural dimension in the translation classroom and address the value of intercultural knowledge in the translation process and foreign language studies. Lastly, the exploitation of parallel corpora for teaching translation as well as current limitations is discussed.
A Profile of Today's Distance Learners: An Investigation of Demographic and Individual Difference Variables of Distance and Non-Distance Learners

ABSTRACT Distance learning has existed for more than a century (Huntley and Mather, 1999; Sherry, 1995). However, recent technological advances have rejuvenated the distance learning industry by making it possible for institutes of higher education to provide their services at many locations at the convenience of the student, without compromising quality (Magiera, 1994). As a result, the numbers of students that are taking courses at a distance have increased exponentially. As this market grows, it is important to determine how similar or different present day distance learners are from non-distance learners so that they might be better served. This study attempts to accomplish this task by comparing key demographic and individual difference variables of distance and non-distance learners. Results revealed significant differences in gender, age, employment status, motivation, and risk taking propensity between distance and non-distance learners. Study implications and directions for future research are also discussed.
Which Problems to Solve? Online Knowledge Sharing and Attention Allocation in Organizations

Why do individuals allocate attention to specific problems in organizations? Viewing online knowledge sharing as a matching process between knowledge providers and problems, we examine attention allocation in the context of an online community within which knowledge providers respond to problems posted by other organization members. We argue that knowledge providers are more likely to allocate attention to solving problems that more closely match their expertise, but that decisions to allocate attention are also influenced by problem characteristics such as length, breadth, and novelty, as well as by problem crowding. Analyzing 1,251 realized matches and 12,510 nonrealized matches among knowledge providers and problems posted over a 32-month period on an online discussion forum within a global engineering firm, we find evidence to support our claim that attention allocation is driven by the features of a particular provider--problem match, thereby shifting the discourse from knowledge provider--seeker relationships to knowledge provider--problem matches. The implications for theories of knowledge sharing, matching processes, and managerial attention are discussed