Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beyond Facts and Figures: The Role of Emotions in Boardroom Dynamics

We address the call for qualitative research in order to better understand the micro-level dynamics of board work. Our aim is to investigate the role of emotions when board members interact to perform the board's control and service tasks. Empirical accounts from board meetings and diary notes from a CEO show in detail how emotions work as power energizers and status energizers in boardroom dynamics. We find that short-term as well as long-term emotions are a source of energy that affects board work, and that they are influential in the board members' task performance. We provide process insights with process insights to a field dominated by studies of the structures of corporate governance. We disclose the difference between board expectations and board performance, and offer a new understanding as to how and why this difference emerges. Our results also challenge theories that propose that authenticity of emotional displays is necessary in order to achieve a positive outcome in boardroom interactions. The findings also show that confrontation of negative emotions in boardroom communication may alter the power and status relations among board members. Our study shows that the board members who influence processes in the board are those whose emotional energies are built up and transformed as power and status energizers in line with board task expectations. Being aware, and able to understand the subtle working of emotions in board processes are crucial for being an effective board member.
A fixed frequency ZVS integrated boost dual three-phase bridge dc-dc LCL-type series resonant converter

A new fixed-frequency controlled 3-phase dc-dc LCL-type series resonant converter with integrated boost function is proposed for medium to large power applications with wide input voltage variation that is typical of alternate energy sources. The converter includes dual three-phase LCL-type resonant bridge inverter modules connected in parallel, thus significantly reducing the component stresses when subjected to medium to large power applications. The fixed-frequency control of the output power is achieved by phase shifting the gating signals of one module with respect to the other while the rectified voltage at the secondary windings of a 3-phase high-frequency transformer connected between the two modules is added to the input voltage to boost the supply voltage to the modules. The zero-voltage-switching of all the switches is accomplished by designing the converter to operate in the lagging pf mode for wide variations in the input voltage and the load. Detailed modeling of the 3-phase boost section is done and the steady-state analysis of the proposed converter for 3-phase LCL-type dc-dc converter modules using complex ac circuit analysis method is presented. For illustration purpose, an example dc-dc converter of 600 W is designed, and its performance is verified using PSIM simulations. An experimental model of the converter is built in the laboratory to verify its performance for wide variations input voltage and load changes.
Operative Treatment of Intraarticular Calcaneal Fractures in the Pediatric Population

Background: Calcaneal fractures in children are rare injuries, and those with displaced intraarticular fracture patterns are found even less frequently. Recent data in the adult literature have suggested operative treatment of displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures leads to a more favorable outcome. Most pediatric calcaneal fractures are due to low-energy trauma and are therefore minimally displaced and extraarticular. However, some children are exposed to high-energy trauma, leading to severe intraarticular injuries. Operatively treated calcaneal fractures in children have been poorly described in the literature. The purpose of this study was to analyze the outcomes of surgically treated displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures in children. Methods: All children with closed displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures treated with open reduction internal fixation at 1 institution were reviewed at an average of 67 months postoperatively. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs and preoperative computed tomographic scans were used to classify fractures. Functional outcome was assessed by the use of the subjective portions of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) hindfoot score. Results: Fourteen fractures in 13 patients who met the inclusion criteria were treated with open reduction internal fixation. We found 7 tongue-type and 7 joint depression-type fractures based on the Essex-Lopresti classification. Based on the Sanders classification, we found 9 type II (2-part) fractures and 5 type III (3-part) fractures. The average preoperative and postoperative Bohler angles were 11.8 and 28.4 degrees (P < 0.0001), respectively. The average subjective AOFAS hindfoot score was 64 of a possible 68 points. Of 14 fractures, 13 were fixed with a buttressing plate laterally. One patient was fixed with a single 3.5-mm cortical screw and had the lowest AOFAS hindfoot score. Four minor complications in 3 patients were encountered. Conclusions: We found that most children with displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures treated with open reduction and internal fixation at 1 institution had a good clinical outcome with few complications. Level of Evidence: Level IV. Retrospective case series.
S-Concave Distributions: Towards Broader Distributions for Noise-Tolerant and Sample-Efficient Learning Algorithms

We provide new results concerning noise-tolerant and sample-efficient learning algorithms under $s$-concave distributions over $\mathbb{R}^n$ for $-\frac{1}{2n+3}\le s\le 0$. The new class of $s$-concave distributions is a broad and natural generalization of log-concavity, and includes many important additional distributions, e.g., the Pareto distribution and $t$-distribution. This class has been studied in the context of efficient sampling, integration, and optimization, but much remains unknown concerning the geometry of this class of distributions and their applications in the context of learning. The challenge is that unlike the commonly used distributions in learning (uniform or more generally log-concave distributions), this broader class is not closed under the marginalization operator and many such distributions are fat-tailed. In this work, we introduce new convex geometry tools to study the properties of s-concave distributions and use these properties to provide bounds on quantities of interest to learning including the probability of disagreement between two halfspaces, disagreement outside a band, and disagreement coefficient. We use these results to significantly generalize prior results for margin-based active learning, disagreement-based active learning, and passively learning of intersections of halfspaces. Our analysis of geometric properties of s-concave distributions might be of independent interest to optimization more broadly.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Class-Based Language Modeling for Translating into Morphologically Rich Languages

Class-based language modeling (LM) is a long-studied and effective approach to overcome data sparsity in the context of n-gram model training. In statistical machine translation (SMT), different forms of class-based LMs have been shown to improve baseline translation quality when used in combination with standard word-level LMs but no published work has systematically compared different kinds of classes, model forms and LM combination methods in a unified SMT setting. This paper aims to fill these gaps by focusing on the challenging problem of translating into Russian, a language with rich inflectional morphology and complex agreement phenomena. We conduct our evaluation in a large-data scenario and report statistically significant BLEU improvements of up to 0.6 points when using a refined variant of the class-based model originally proposed by Brown et al. (1992).
Achieving excellence and equity: reflections on the development of practices in one local district over 10 years

As education systems in many countries respond to demands for higher standards, they face the challenge of how to achieve equity. Put simply, how can systems continue to raise overall levels of achievement whilst reducing the gap between higher and lower performing groups of learners? This paper reflects on evidence collected as a result of a series of studies, all carried out in 1 English local education authority, to address this agenda. This programme of research was unusual in that it tracked developments over 10 years. The findings point to the potential of processes of networking between schools as a possible way forward. At the same time, they also reveal how the implementation of such collaborative approaches presents difficulties, particularly within a policy context that emphasises competition between schools as the main driver for reform.
Improving protocol performance by dynamic control of communication resources

A problem frequently faced by complex distributed applications is to control the interaction of their communication and computational activities such that they jointly adhere to desired performance and timing requirements. This research concerns communication infrastructures able to cope with the varying processing and QoS/sup 1/ requirements imposed on them by application programs. Specifically, we describe and evaluate COMM/sup adapt/, a communication infrastructure enabling the on-line adaptation of a protocol's resource usage to currently available resources and application requirements. The key feature of COMM/sup adapt/ is its dynamic (auto-)configurability, which is its support of on-line configuration transparent to application programs. Such configuration is performed by a heuristic that accommodates changes in a connection's resource requirements by reallocating resources based on its knowledge of actual resource usage by other active connections. The heuristic's design and implementation are based on extensive investigations of the manner in which alternative assignments of protocol tasks to underlying processing resources can influence program-level latency and throughput requirements.
The Mare Model to Study the Effects of Ovarian Dynamics on Preantral Follicle Features

Ovarian tissue collected by biopsy procedures allows the performance of many studies with clinical applications in the field of female fertility preservation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of reproductive phase (anestrous vs. diestrous) and ovarian structures (antral follicles and corpus luteum) on the quality, class distribution, number, and density of preantral follicles, and stromal cell density. Ovarian fragments were harvested by biopsy pick-up procedures from mares and submitted to histological analysis. The mean preantral follicle and ovarian stromal cell densities were greater in the diestrous phase and a positive correlation of stromal cell density with the number and density of preantral follicles was observed. The mean area (mm2) of ovarian structures increased in the diestrous phase and had positive correlations with number of preantral follicles, follicle density, and stromal cell density. Biopsy fragments collected from ovaries containing an active corpus luteum had a higher follicle density, stromal cell density, and proportion of normal preantral follicles. In conclusion, our results showed: (1) the diestrous phase influenced positively the preantral follicle quality, class distribution, and follicle and stromal cell densities; (2) the area of ovarian structures was positively correlated with the follicle and stromal cell densities; and (3) the presence of an active corpus luteum had a positive effect on the quality of preantral follicles, and follicle and stromal densities. Therefore, herein we demonstrate that the presence of key ovarian structures favors the harvest of ovarian fragments containing an appropriate number of healthy preantral follicles.
Situational influences upon children's beliefs about global warming and energy

This paper explores children's beliefs about global warming and energy sources from a psychological perspective, focusing upon situational influences upon subjective beliefs, including perceived self‐efficacy. The context of the research is one of growing concern at the potential impacts of global warming, yet demonstrably low levels of self‐efficacy amongst both adults and children to effectively respond to this large‐scale environmental problem. Empirical research was conducted on a sample of 198 UK children and adults to explore the influence of a cooperative learning environment upon children's beliefs about global warming and energy. A comparative design was adopted, contrasting 9–12 year old members of the Woodcraft Folk educational organisation with non‐members of similar age and with adult members of the same organisation. Results indicate that cooperative learning environments can have a significant and positive effect upon children's beliefs about large‐scale environmental problems. In particular, Woodcraft folk children reported significantly higher levels of personal awareness and perceived self‐efficacy in relation to global warming in comparison to their peers. Secondly, unexpected differences were identified between levels of perceived self‐efficacy in children and adult Woodcraft folk. The implications of these differences for the design of educational programmes seeking to empower children to respond to global warming are discussed.
Rodent and Germplasm Trafficking: Risks of Microbial Contamination in a High-Tech Biomedical World

Abstract High-tech biomedical advances have led to increases both in the number of mice used for research and in exchanges of mice and/or their tissues between institutions. The latter are associated with the risk of dissemination of infectious agents. Because of the lack of international standardization of health surveillance programs, health certificates for imported rodents may be informative but may not address the needs of the importing facility. Preservation of mouse germ-plasm is achieved by cryopreservation of spermatozoa, embryos, or ovaries, and embryonic stem cells are used for the production of genetically engineered mice. After embryo transfer, recipients and rederived pups that test negative in microbiological screening for relevant microorganisms are released into full barrier holding areas. However, current research shows that embryos may also transmit microorganisms, especially viruses, to the recipient mice. In this article, we discuss regulations and practical issues in the shipping of live mice and mouse tissues, including spermatozoa, embryos, ovaries, and embryonic stem cells, and review work on microbial contamination of these biological materials. In addition, we present ways to reduce the risk of transmission of pathogens to mice under routine conditions.
Leaf Trait Diversification and Design in Seven Rare Taxa of the Hawaiian Plantago Radiation

Linkages among leaf traits and environment have most often been tested across communities but infrequently within lineages. We studied seven endemic Hawaiian Plantago taxa radiated across elevations, climates, and habitats. We grew plants of six taxa in controlled conditions for 1–2 yr and collected leaves from a seventh in the field. For all taxa, we measured 46 leaf traits and tested hypotheses for trait-environment and trait-trait associations. Because of the rarity of the study plants, our study included low replication within taxa and multiple growth locations; despite these limitations, given reasonable assumptions, our analyses pointed to genetic differentiation among taxa. The leaves of bog taxa were smaller and thicker than those of woodland taxa, with higher leaf mass per area (LMA), stomatal pore area per leaf area, and carbon isotope discrimination (δ13C). Taxa from higher elevations had thicker leaves and higher LMA, as well as lower nitrogen per mass and higher adaxial stomatal distribution. Taxa of drier sites had higher vein density and δ13C. Many traits were allometrically related to leaf area, including stomatal density, major vein densities, and xylem conduit numbers and dimensions. Stomatal and xylem traits were correlated, indicating a matching of hydraulic supply and demand. Leaf diversification in Hawaiian Plantago involved coordinated trait shifts, generating strong, apparently adaptive trait linkages.
Individuals with Alzheimer's disease achieve implicit and explicit learning: Previous success replicated with different stimuli

Background: This study is a replication and extension of a verbal learning experiment reported in this journal (Arkin, Rose, & Hopper, 2000) with individuals who had Alzheimer's disease (AD). Those participants demonstrated implicit and explicit learning of exemplars from an inanimate semantic category (items people wear). Aims: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of repeated exposure to animal exemplars on implicit and explicit learning of 13 individuals with mild to moderate dementia due to AD (of which 7 also participated in the earlier study). Methods and Procedures: Following 18–20 60‐second baseline fluency tests of the target category “animals”, participants engaged in eight sessions of a picture naming and related quiz exercise (study task) that contained 34 words from the target category (exposure words). One hour after each study task session, the fluency test used at baseline was re‐administered (experimental fluency test (EFT)). Outcomes and Results: On the study task, the group achieved a significant improvement in the number of correct answers from the first to their best and to their eighth trial (evidence of explicit learning). On the EFTs, 10 of the 13 AD participants produced one or more exposure words never named during the baseline fluency tests (evidence of implicit learning), and 12 out of 13 participants produced novel words that were not exposure words and not produced at baseline (evidence of spreading activation). Additionally, the explicit learning performance of the seven individuals who participated in our earlier study and in this study were compared for the “items people wear” (nonliving) and “animals” (living) categories. This comparison revealed a significantly greater improvement in naming performance from the first to the best study task trials for the “items people wear” (nonliving) category than for the animals (living) category. Conclusions: Results suggest that repeated exposure to and practice in retrieving category exemplars facilitate short‐term (over a 1‐hour time interval) implicit and explicit learning and semantic activation in AD participants with very mild to moderately severe dementia. Future directions include exploring the length of time over which this explicit and implicit learning is maintained post‐intervention. The differential learning curve for living versus nonliving exemplars observed here is suggestive and requires further investigation under more rigorous conditions.
Comparison of Lateral and Medial Orbital Decompression for the Treatment of Compressive Optic Neuropathy in Thyroid Eye Disease

Purpose: To compare the efficacy of lateral orbital decompression with medial orbital decompression for the treatment of compressive optic neuropathy (CON) caused by thyroid eye disease (TED). Methods: A retrospective review of all patients undergoing orbital decompression for TED-associated CON between 2003 and 2008 was conducted. Clinical outcome measures included visual acuity, mean deviation on Humphrey visual field, Ishihara color plate testing, afferent pupillary defect, and Hertel exophthalmometry. A composite CON score was also calculated for each patient based on the 3 visual outcome measures, with a higher CON score reflecting greater disease severity. Results: Twenty-eight eyes of 17 patients were included in the study. Ten orbits underwent lateral wall decompression, and 18 orbits underwent medial decompression. Both groups showed a significant postoperative improvement in visual acuity, Humphrey visual field testing, and color testing at 3 months following the initial surgery. The composite CON score improved 9.04 ± 9.97 points after lateral decompression (p = 0.02) and 9.03 ± 10.84 points after medial decompression (p = 0.003). There was no significant difference in the degree of improvement in any of the visual outcome measures between the lateral and medial groups. There was a statistically significant difference in the amount of proptosis reduction resulting from lateral decompression compared with medial decompression (6.3 versus 3.1 mm, respectively, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Lateral orbital decompression and medial orbital decompression are both efficacious for the treatment of TED-associated CON. Lateral decompression also results in a greater proptosis reduction than medial decompression.
The Self-Enhancement Motive in Collectivistic Cultures

Self-enhancement biases are generally weaker or absent in collectivistic cultures than they are in independent ones. The source of this effect has been the topic of debate. Some claim the self-enhancement motive is absent in collectivistic cultures, whereas others claim that collectivistic cultures discourage the motive's expression. The majority of the articles in this special issue provides greater support for the latter explanation than for the former. Self-enhancement biases were found in collectivistic cultures—including Japan, once restrictions there that normally discourage the motive's expression were loosened or eliminated. These results point to the self-enhancement motive as a universal force of human behavior.
Callous—Unemotional Traits and Antisocial Behavior

This study compared early parenting characteristics in children with different levels of callous—unemotional (CU) traits and antisocial behavior (AB). Four groups were formed on the basis of teacher assessments: high CU and low AB (CU+; N = 378), high CU and high AB (AB/CU+; N = 234), low CU and high AB (AB+; N = 210), and controls (N = 3,608). In addition, genetic and environmental influences on elevated levels of CU traits were specifically investigated in CU+ and AB/CU+ subgroups. Multivariate analysis of variance and DeFries-Fulker extremes analysis yielded three main findings: First, AB/CU+ and AB+ children exhibited higher levels of early negative parenting characteristics than CU+ children and controls. Second, these higher levels of negative parenting characteristics in AB/CU+ and AB+ children were explained by early child effects on parenting. Third, heritability estimates for CU in AB/CU+ and CU+ groups are of similar magnitude.
Sleep in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

Abstract This review describes recent research in pediatric sleep disorders associated with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs) and their treatment. NDDs affect more than 2% of the general population and represent more than 35% of the total cases of children referred to a neuropsychiatric center for sleep problems. Specific clinical and therapeutic aspects of sleep disorders associated with Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Prader–Willi syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Rett syndrome, Smith–Magenis syndrome, cerebral palsy, and autism spectrum disorders are described. Furthermore, the drugs commonly used for sleep disorders in children with NDDs are described. The review clearly highlighted that children with NDDs are often affected by sleep disorders that require appropriate clinical and therapeutic approach to improve quality of life in both patients and families.