Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Authentic Leadership: Getting Back to the Roots of the ‘Root Construct’?

In their 2011 review paper Gardner et al concluded that the Authentic Leadership (AL) construct was still in the first stage of evolution, that of concept introduction and evaluation. At that time, the field was characterized by two types of contribution: conceptual expositions and largely quantitative research seeking to map out its antecedents and consequences, moderators and mediators. The current review aims to: 1) critically evaluate the development of the AL construct to the present time; and 2) taking this evaluation as a point of departure, propose the need for a radical re-grounding of our understanding of AL aimed at countering what we believe to be the substantive flaws in both its philosophical underpinnings and empirical grounding. We propose that these shortcomings have arisen due to the failure of existential and other critiques of the dominant (normative and functionalist) discourse of AL to gain traction, and due to an absence of practice-based, qualitative research. As a strategic platform for the potential re-grounding and relaunch of AL we propose a radical return to the existential and practice roots of authenticity as the basis for a broader understanding of ‘authentic leadership’ as a ‘central organizing principle’ in leadership studies. Despite the flaws identified in the AL construct, we suggest that the notion of authenticity may still have a valuable role to play in the study of leadership: that role, however, can only be determined through a thorough understanding of authentic leadership as a practice-based phenomenon.
Voicing One’s Ideas: Intragroup Respect as an Antecedent of Assertive Behavior

Abstract In this research, we tested equality-based respect from ingroup members as a social antecedent of positive assertiveness (i.e., voicing one’s opinions) and group performance. A pretest with employees at the workplace supported that the variables of interest were indeed correlated. The main experimental study then confirmed that participants who had received high as compared with low intragroup respect displayed more assertive behavior and yielded higher group performance in dyadic intragroup discussions. In contrast, high intergroup respect (i.e., from outgroup members) lowered assertiveness and performance levels in intergroup interactions relative to low respect. We discuss implications for social interactions and discourses.
Fiscal Indulgence in Central Europe: Loss of the External Anchor?

In recent years, fiscal performance in Central Europe has steadily deteriorated, in contrast to the improvement in the Baltics. This paper explores the determinants of such differences among countries on the path to EU accession. Regression estimates suggest that economic and institutional fundamentals do not provide a full explanation. An alternative explanation lies in the political economy of the accession process, and a game-theoretic model illustrates why a country with a stronger bargaining position might have an incentive to deviate from convergence to the Maastricht criteria. The model generates alternative fiscal policy regimes - allowing for regime shifts - depending on country characteristics and EU policies.
Gender gaps at the top: Does board composition affect executive compensation?

Will adding women to the board of directors reduce firm gender pay disparities? Our research suggests ‘no’ … and ‘yes. ’ It is not a matter of simply adding more women to the board or integrating women into key board committees that moves the needle. If firms really want to stimulate change through board diversity, then they need to empower female directors and place them in key leadership roles. We find that women’s integration on the board of directors and on the compensation committee has no significant impact on lessening the compensation gap within the top executive team. However, when women influence compensation decisions through service as the chair of the compensation committee, the top executive compensation gap is diminished. Our analysis relies on a dataset built by the authors of all top management team executives and board members from the S&P 500 from 2009–2013. We test three mechanisms that may enable women to overcome limitations with respect to pay equity: (i) integration, (ii) direct decision making and (iii) influence. Our findings suggest that not all types of power are equal; the more direct influence women have over compensation decisions, the smaller the compensation gap.
Improved Markov models for terrestrial free-space optical links

Finite-state Markov chains are a useful tool for modelling communication channels with correlated fading and have recently also been applied with success to terrestrial free-space optical communication channels. However, the issue of how such Markov models should be optimised in order to accurately approximate the original continuous fading channel has not been addressed in a systematic manner. In this study, the authors improve on previous proposals by optimising the state space partitioning of the considered models. In particular, they investigate the properties and approximation accuracy of Markov models which are optimised according to information-theoretic considerations. They validate and evaluate their approach using a set of experimental measurements over a 12 km link distance. The obtained results confirm that optimised Markov models can provide better accuracy at lower state complexity, yet there remain shortcomings in capturing the autocovariance of the fading process.
Shared Realms of Consideration in Virtual Teams: Some Field-Based Experiences

Research on media effects suggests that the collaborative technologies (CTs) used by teams influence intervening group processes and ultimately team effectiveness. While much of the work on media effects has not occurred in a field setting, we believe it can be useful in explaining how choices about technological capabilities help or hinder the relational development and task outcomes of teams. We conducted a field-based, longitudinal study of three virtual teams. Over a six month period we captured data about their relational development, technology awareness and choices, and their performance. From this data we draw inferences about how members’ individual awareness of various technologies affected group choices about technology used to execute group tasks. Further, we develop a new concept, the realm of consideration, a cognitive list of functionalities embedded in various collaborative technologies from which the user selects alternatives, to aid our understanding of the group technology choice processes and their outcomes.
A Parallel Algorithm for Minimizing the Fleet Size in the Pickup and Delivery Problem with Time Windows

In this paper, we propose a parallel guided ejection search algorithm to minimize the fleet size in the NP-hard pickup and delivery problem with time windows. The parallel processes co-operate periodically to enhance the quality of results and to accelerate the convergence of computations. The experimental study shows that the parallel algorithm retrieves very high-quality results. Finally, we report 13 (22% of all considered benchmark tests) new world's best solutions.
Application of logical effort on design of arithmetic blocks

In this paper, we review the logical effort model presented in Sutherland et al. (1991). Based on the HSPICE simulation results using 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS technology as applied to logic blocks used in arithmetic circuits; we analyze the efficiency of the model and also present modifications that include modeling of wire delay. We propose a new model for logical effort that better fits the behavior of these blocks. The results are applicable for evaluation of arithmetic units as well as for development of new arithmetic algorithms. Our ultimate objective is to close the gap between arithmetic algorithms and their performance in VLSI CMOS.
The prevalence of antiretroviral drug resistance in the United States

Background: Antiretroviral therapy has dramatically reduced the morbidity and mortality of infection due to HIV. The emergence of drug-resistant virus has limited the usefulness of many drugs. Objective: To determine the prevalence of HIV drug resistance in the population of adults receiving care in the United States. Design and methods: HIV drug susceptibility assays were performed on plasma virus from a random sample representative of the 132 500 HIV-infected American adults who had received medical care in early 1996 yet were viremic with > 500 copies/ml of HIV RNA in late 1998. A blood sample was obtained from 1797 patients who comprised a representative sample of the 208 900 adults receiving urban care for HIV infection in early 1996 who survived to late 1998. The sampling procedure permitted weighting each evaluated patient to reflect demographic and other characteristics of the target population. Results: We estimated that 132 500 (63%) of the target population had HIV viremia of > 500 copies/ml. Among viremic patients, an estimated 76% had resistance to one or more antiretroviral drugs. The odds of resistance were significantly higher in patients with a history of antiretroviral drug use, advanced HIV disease, higher plasma HIV viral load and lowest CD4 cell count by self-report. Conclusions: The frequent selection for drug-resistant virus among viremic patients during the first 3 years of widespread use of potent antiretroviral combination therapy has significant implications for HIV treatment and transmission.
Teachers and Polish children: capturing changes in the linguistic field

Abstract This article presents original insights into the English learning experiences of Polish children and contributes a longitudinal perspective on teachers’ relationships with them. Data from interviews conducted in 2016 with primary school teachers, Polish children and their parents are compared with outcomes from an earlier study ending in 2009, in order to examine whether teachers’ practice for their Polish children has persisted or changed. Previously, findings suggested that teachers in England are constrained by a monolingually-oriented curriculum and that they identify Polish children as a ‘model minority’. In the current study, interviews with teachers, parents and children were used to develop and question these findings. Using Bourdieuian notions of linguistic field, habitus and capital, data analysis illuminates: the changing responses of teachers to migration; the ways in which teachers’ pedagogy has adapted for children who have English as an additional language; and the fluid nature of children’s linguistic identities.
Late Miocene paleoenvironments and tectonic setting of the southern margin of Cyprus and the Eratosthenes Seamount

During drilling of Leg 160 in the Eastern Mediterranean (April -May, 1995), Messinian (i.e., uppermost Miocene) facies were identified at a site at the base of the Cyprus slope (Site 968) and at two sites on the Eratosthenes Seamount (Sites 965 a nd 967). The new results can be compared with the recovery of Messinian evaporites from the Florence Rise west of Cyprus (Deep Sea Drilling Project Sites 375 and 376), with onshore southern Cyprus, and with other Mediterranean basins. The Messinian at Site 968 is dominated by dark, anoxic muds and minor turbiditic silts and sands that contain grains of pelagic limestone, chert , and ophiolitic rocks, all derived from onshore southern Cyprus. Minor intercalations of fine- to rarely coarse-grained gypsum show evidence of gravity reworking. At Site 967, on the lower southern slopes of the Eratosthenes Seamount, the existence of a thin (<5 m) interval of gypsum was inferred from both geophysical logging and pore-water geochemical studies. Postcruise studies have led to the recognition of an important Messinian/Pliocene boundary interval in Hole 967A, with accumulation of brackish water, Lago Mare‐type sediments containing ostracods. A thin unit (approximately 6 m) of Messinian paleosols and caliche was recovered at Site 955 on the upper slopes of the seamount. On the crestal area of the seamount at Site 966, Messinian is absent, and lower Pliocene sediment rests unconformably on diagenetically altered Miocene shallow-water limestone. A terrigenous-dominated succession at Site 968 at the base of the Cyprus slope resembles the upper Messinian interval cored on the Florence Rise west of Cyprus (Sites 375 and 376). Both areas lie on the trend of the Cyprus active margin that accommodates convergence of the Eurasian and African Plates. The Eratosthenes Seamount was already a raised feature in the Miocene, above the level of Messinian evaporite precipitation. The northern upper slope area (Site 965) and the seamount plateau area then formed part of a laterally extensive carbonate platform, followed by breakup and subsidence in Pliocene‐Pleistocene time. However, the northern lower slope area (Site 967) lay beyond the area of shallow-water carbonate deposition in the Miocene and continued to accumulate pelagic carbonates, as recorded by Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene planktonic biota that were reworked within chalky debris flows before the Messinian. Thin Messinian gypsum (<5 m) then accumulated, possibly under fault control, followed by marine transgression, with accumulation of laminated ooze containing ferruginous oxide. Overall, the late Miocene‐early Pliocene paleoenvironments document the subduction and initial states of breakup of the Eratosthenes Seamount as it began to collide with Cyprus active margin to the north.
The Prognostic Value of Global DNA Hypomethylation in Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Background Aberrant methylation of the global genome has been investigated as a prognostic indicator in various cancers, but the results are controversial and ambiguous. Methods and Findings This meta-analysis presents pooled estimates of the evidence to elucidate this issue. We searched the electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, ISI Web of Science and the Cochrane library (up to August 2013) to identify all of the relevant studies. The association between the level of surrogates' indexes of genome-wide hypomethylation (LINE-1, Alu and Sat–α) and the overall survival (OS) of cancer patients was examined. In addition, the pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with their 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were calculated to estimate the influences through fixed-effects and random-effects model. Finally, twenty studies with total population of 5447 met the inclusion criteria. The results indicate that the summary HRs for the studies employing LINE-1, Alu, and Sat-α repetitive elements also show that the global DNA hypomethylation have significant desirable effects on the tumour prognostic value. The pooled HRs (and CIs) of LINE-1, Alu and Sat-α were 1.83 (1.38–2.44), 2.00 (1.16–3.45), and 2.92 (1.04–8.25), with a heterogeneity measure index of I2 (and p-value) shows of 66.6% (p = 0.001), 57.1% (p = 0.053) and 68.2% (p = 0.076) respectively. The meta-regression and subgroup analysis indicated that the percentage of hypomethylated sample of cancer patients is one source of heterogeneity. Conclusion Our meta-analysis findings support the hypothesis that the global DNA hypomethylation is associated with a detrimental prognosis in tumour patients.
The Value of PIC Cystography in Detecting De Novo and Residual Vesicoureteral Reflux after Dextranomer/Hyaluronic Acid Copolymer Injection

The endoscopic injection of Dx/HA in the management of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) has become an accepted alternative to open surgery. In the current study we evaluated the value of cystography to detect de novo contralateral VUR in unilateral cases of VUR at the time of Dx/HA injection and correlated the findings of immediate post-Dx/HA injection cystography during the same anesthesia to 2-month postoperative VCUG to evaluate its ability to predict successful surgical outcomes. The current study aimed to evaluate whether an intraoperatively performed cystogram could replace postoperative studies. But a negative intraoperative cystogram correlates with the postoperative study in only 80%. Considering the 75–80% success rate of Dx/HA implantation, the addition of intraoperative cystograms cannot replace postoperative studies. In patients treated with unilateral VUR, PIC cystography can detect occult VUR and prevent postoperative contralateral new onset of VUR.
Sovereign Credit Risk with Endogenous Default

This paper provides a model of sovereign default risk pricing, in which a sovereign country endogenously determines the timing of default on its external debt. The theoretical relationships between credit risk and the macro-variables considered in the model are consistent with the empirical literature. The model also helps to explain the variation across time in Emerging Market Bond Index (EMBI+) spreads to a degree not o¤ered by prior theoretical or empirical models. The model credit spreads explain 77% of the time variation in quarterly credit spreads for Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Russia over the period 1998-2006, using quarterly data on government revenue. Accounting for daily information on stock market prices, the explanatory power rises to 92%. The success of the model lies in the transformation of the non-linear relationship between observed EMBI+ spreads and quarterly government revenue, or daily stock market prices, into a linear relationship between the model spreads and EMBI+ spreads. I also show that endogenizing the recovery rate upon default helps to better capture the high level of EMBI+ spreads. JEL Codes: F34, G12, G13, G15 Keywords: Sovereign Debt, Credit Risk, Sovereign Spreads, Debt Renegotiation Acknowledgements: I am deeply grateful to Darrell Du¢ e and Bernard Dumas for insightful discussions and priceless comments. This paper has also greatly bene ted from suggestions provided by Laura Alfaro, Daniel Andrei, Tim Bollerslev, Ricardo J. Caballero, John Y. Campbell, Je¤rey A. Frankel, Ricardo Hausmann, Michael Hutchison, Jean Imbs, Philippe Jorion, Robert C. Merton, Erwan Morellec, Pascal François, Rajna Gibson, Roberto Rigobon, René Stulz, Michael Waibel, Vivian Yue, participants of the 2007 Paris Finance International Meeting, the 2008 Derivatives Securities and Risk Management FDIC Conference, the 2008 Swiss Doctoral Workshop in Finance, the 2008 European Finance Association, and seminar participants at Harvard University, UC Santa Cruz, University of Lausanne, and University of Zurich. I acknowledge the nancial support from Swiss Finance Institute and the NCCR FINRISK, managed by the Swiss National Science Foundation. An earlier version of this article has circulated as "A Structural Model for Sovereign Credit Risk". This research has been completed while the author was a visiting research fellow at Harvard University. All errors, conclusions and opinions contained herein are solely those of the author. yThe author is currently a visiting scholar at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Permanent contact details: University of Lausanne, Institute of Banking and Finance, Extranef 201, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland alexandre.jeanneret@unil.ch
Identification of Arabidopsis rat Mutants

Limited knowledge currently exists regarding the roles of plant genes and proteins in the Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation process. To understand the host contribution to transformation, we carried out root-based transformation assays to identify Arabidopsis mutants that are resistant to Agrobacterium transformation (rat mutants). To date, we have identified 126 rat mutants by screening libraries of T-DNA insertion mutants and by using various “reverse genetic” approaches. These mutants disrupt expression of genes of numerous categories, including chromatin structural and remodeling genes, and genes encoding proteins implicated in nuclear targeting, cell wall structure and metabolism, cytoskeleton structure and function, and signal transduction. Here, we present an update on the identification and characterization of these rat mutants.
Piezoelectric Biosensor for a Simple Serological Diagnosis of Tularemia in Infected European Brown Hares (Lepus europaeus)

Piezoelectric biosensor was used for diagnosis of infection by Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica in European brown hares. Two kinds of experiments were performed in this study. First, sera from experimentally infected European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) were assayed by piezoelectric biosensor and the seventh day post infection was found as the first one when statistically significant diagnosis of tularemia was possible; all other sera collected from hares later than on day 7 following the infection were found tularemia positive. Typing to classify the field strain of F. tularensis used for the experimental infection was confirmed by proteome study. Second, sera from 35 European brown hare specimens sampled at hunting grounds and tested as tularemia positive by slow agglutination allowed diagnosis of tularemia by the piezoelectric biosensor. All these sera of naturally infected hares were found as tularemia positive, too. Efficacy of the piezoelectric biosensor for the serological diagnosis of tularemia is discussed.
Pediatric Sedation: A Global Challenge

Pediatric sedation is a challenge which spans all continents and has grown to encompass specialties outside of anesthesia, radiology and emergency medicine. All sedatives are not universally available and local and national regulations often limit the sedation practice to specific agents and those with specific credentials. Some specialties have established certification and credentials for sedation delivery whereas most have not. Some of the relevant sedation guidelines and recommendations of specialty organizations worldwide will be explored. The challenge facing sedation care providers moving forward in the 21st century will be to determine how to apply the local, regional and national guidelines to the individual sedation practices. A greater challenge, perhaps impossible, will be to determine whether the sedation community can come together worldwide to develop standards, guidelines and recommendations for safe sedation practice.
Circle detection using isosceles triangles sampling

Detection of circular objects in digital images is an important problem in several vision applications. Circle detection using randomized sampling has been developed in recent years to reduce the computational intensity. Randomized sampling, however, is sensitive to noise that can lead to reduced accuracy and false-positive candidates. This paper presents a new circle detection method based upon randomized isosceles triangles sampling to improve the robustness of randomized circle detection in noisy conditions. It is shown that the geometrical property of isosceles triangles provide a robust criterion to find relevant edge pixels and thereby efficiently provide an estimation of the circle center and radii. The estimated results given by the isosceles triangles sampling from each connected component of edge map were analyzed using a simple clustering approach for efficiency. To further improve on the accuracy we applied a two-step refinement process using chords and linear error compensation with gradient information of the edge pixels. Extensive experiments using both synthetic and real images were presented and results were compared to leading state-of-the-art algorithms and showed that the proposed algorithm: are efficient in finding circles with a low number of iterations; has high rejection rate of false-positive circle candidates; and has high robustness against noise, making it adaptive and useful in many vision applications.