Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The measurement of employee engagement in government institutions. Risk governance & control: financial markets & institutions.

Employee engagement has consistently been rated as one of the top issues on chief executive officers’ lists of priorities and is a main focus of attention of both academics and human resources practitioners. A number of studies focus on employee engagement in the private sector, however there are relatively fewer studies that focus on employee engagement in government institutions. The aim of this study was twofold: Firstly, the validity and reliability of the employee engagement instrument for government institutions were determined. Secondly, it was determined if any significant differences could be detected between the employee engagement levels of the various biographical groups that participated in the survey. A quantitative research study was conducted using a database of a research company. The database in question is made up of 285 000 business people from various industries and sizes of business and who occupy different roles, reflecting the profile of the South African working population. A total of 4 099 employees, of which 427 represented government institutions, completed the employee engagement questionnaire. The results confirmed the validity and reliability of the questionnaire for government institutions, but with a slightly different structure. Some biographical groupings indicated that they experience employee engagement in a significantly different way. The results indicate that the younger employees together with top and senior management experience the highest levels of engagement in government institutions. The significance of these results is that not all biographical groups’ engagement levels can be managed equally.
The Effect of Household Characteristics on the Probability of Homeownership in Canada

I study the probability of owning a home for Canadian households and how it is related to the characteristics of households. The characteristics considered include the respondent’s marital status, age, household income before taxes, employment status, the number of vehicles owned, the size of the household and the province of residence. I exploit data from the Survey of Household Spending in 2009. A logit model is estimated to capture the effect of the household characteristics. The main finding is that the probability of owning a home increases as the respondent gets older. A married respondent is more likely to own a home than an unmarried respondent. People with higher incomes are also more likely to own a home. The probability of owning a dwelling increases when vehicles are owned by the household. Province of residence is also an important factor which affects homeownership. However, the respondent’s level of educational attainment and the size of the household do not affect the probability of homeownership.
Effects of time and rate of nitrogen application on phenology and some agronomical traits of maize (Zea mays L.)

Maintaining soil fertility and the use of plant nutrient in sufficient and balanced amounts is one of the key factors in increasing crop yield and decreasing adverse environmental effects and pollutions arising from nonpoint fertilizer usage. The effects of time and rate of nitrogen application on phenology and some agronomical traits of corn ( Zea mays L.) were investigated at the research farm of the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili. The trial was laid out in a split plot design based on a randomized complete block scheme with three replications. Experimental factors were nitrogen fertilizer at four levels (0, 75, 150, and 225 kg ha –1 ) in the main plots and three levels of nitrogen application time [(1/3 at sowing + 1/3 at V 8–10 + 1/3 at tasseling), (1/2 at sowing + 1/2 at tasseling), and (1/2 at sowing + 1/4 at V 8–10 + 1/4 at tasseling) as T 1 , T 2 , and T 3 , respectively] as subplots. The results showed that the maximum values of grain yield and its components, days to 50% tasseling (63.85 days), days to 50% silking (68.2 days), days to physiological maturity (128.9 days) were observed in the plots treated with 225 kg N ha –1 as T 1 . The maximum nitrogen use efficiency (38.16 kg kg –1 ) was obtained at application of 75 kg N ha –1 as T 1 , and the minimum values of this index (19.41 kg kg –1 ) were obtained in the plots that received 225 kg N ha –1 as T 2 . Based on the results, it was concluded that application of the highest N fertilizer rate (225 kg ha –1 ) in three equal splits can be recommended for profitable corn production.
Relaxing Rational Expectations

The assumption of rational expectations is potentially a serious source of misspecification in DSGE models. Many recent theories of expectations formation have relaxed rational expectations and improved the predictive properties of benchmark macroeconomic models. Problematically, the space of possible theoretical deviations from rational expectations is very large, especially since the aggregate consequences of deviations from rational expectations in equilibrium may not be directly measurable using existing surveys of expectations. This paper provides evidence on which small reduced-form state-contingent deviations from rational expectations yield the most improvement in replicating features of macroeconomic time series, and which aspects of model misspecification are and are not ameliorated by these small deviations from rational expectations. The findings: a) The data favor deviations from rational expectations among firms in which they over-estimate the persistence of inflation. b) Relaxing rational expectations in a New Keynesian model partially substitutes for the additional structural mechanisms in the larger Smets Wouters (2007) model. Relaxing rational expectations within the Smets Wouters (2007) model improves that model's ability to reproduce some of the spectral coherencies between output growth, investment growth, and labor supply. The mechanism is a combination of shocks to beliefs themselves and the role that deviations from rational expectations have in changing the propagation of other shocks.
The estimation of IL-2 and IL-2 receptors in peritoneal fluid of infertile patients with endometriosis

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate the concentrations of interleukin-2 (IL-2), soluble interleukin-2 receptors (sIL-2R) and the expressions of CD25 antigen (IL-2Rα) on T CD3 + lymphocytes in peritoneal fluid of infertile patients with endometrisis in comparison with the reference group of patients with benign ovarian tumors. Material and Methods: Twenty four infertile patients with endometriosis and 18 patients from reference group were included in the study. The concentrations of IL-2 and soluble IL-2 receptors were measured with the use of ELISA immunoenzymatic method. The expressions of surface molecules were estimated using the two-color flow cytometric method. Results: The concentrations of IL-2 in peritoneal fluid of infertile patients with endometriosis were significantly higher when compared to the reference group (2.83±2.6 pg/ml vs. 1.27±1.58 pg/ml; p<0.05). The concentrations of soluble IL-2 receptors and the expressions of CD25 antigen on T CD3 + lymphocytes in the study group did not differ significantly when compared to the reference group (sIL-2R: 463.9±200.4 U/ml vs. 461.35±209.7 U/ml; NS; T CD3 + CD25 + : 6.77±8.18% vs. 5.7±6.43%; NS). However, we have found significant differences in immunological parameters between individual stages of endometriosis. The expressions of CD25 antigen were significantly higher in the second and third stages of endometriosis when compared to the first stage of the disease. Conclusions: The excessive concentrations of IL-2 in peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis may be responsible for an infertilty in these group of patients. Higher expressions of CD25 antigen on T CD3 + lymphocytes which are observed in the third and second stage of endometriosis can suggest the acivation of T CD3 + cells during the progression of the disease.
Assessment of factors affecting afterpain in multiparous women delivered in Mashhad 17-Shahrivar Hospital, Mashhad, Iran

Background and aim: Afterpain is a common phenomenon after vaginal delivery. Any factor that causes a delay in the process of uterus sub involution and consequently returning its size to pre-pregnancy status could affect the severity of afterpain. This study aimed to investigate the factors related to afterpain in multiparous women delivered in 17-Shahrivar Hospital, Mashhad, Iran. Methods: In this descriptive study 210 multiparous women during 2-4 hours after uncomplicated spontaneous vaginal delivery with moderate or severe afterpain were conveniently selected and included in the study. Afterpain was measured each hour during the first 12 hours of postpartum period using Visual Analogue Scale (0-100 mm). The duration of lactation and ambulation, the need for any medication to relieve afterpain and also vital signs were recorded during this period. Data were analyzed with SPSS Version 14, using t Student and correlation test. Results: The mean score of afterpain severity was 55.1±16.7. There was a positive correlation between the number of pregnancies and the duration of breastfeeding with mean score of afterpain. Also the length of ambulation decreased the afterpain intensity. However, the intensity of afterpain had no significant relationship with stimulation with oxytocin in labor, prescription of methyl ergonowin and also oxytocin after delivery. Conclusion: Considering that longer duration of breast feeding and ambulation in early postpartum period could decrease afterpain, it is suggested to encourage postpartum mothers to begin breast feeding and ambulation as soon as possible after birth.
Determinants of non-farm employment and non-farm earnings in Ecuador

This article analyses the determinants of both participation in non-farm employment and nonfarm earnings in Ecuador. Using the Dubin-McFadden two-step estimation method, the results show that women are more likely than men to engage in non-farm self-employment but earn significantly less than men employed in the non-farm sector. Non-farm wage employment is a common choice among more educated individuals in landless households, while farm wage employment seems to be the only source of employment for uneducated landless people. Participation in non-farm work is more likely in areas located near medium-sized cities with dynamic economies. Finally, there are regional differences in employment patterns which appear to be associated with both the availability and the quality of land. This information is relevant in relation both to rural population growth and to the continuous process of land fragmentation in rural Ecuador.
The Validity Of Personality Trait Interactions For The Prediction Of Managerial Job Performance

Personality variables have been shown to be significant predictors of job performance (Barrick & Mount, 1991; Tett, Jackson, & Rothstein, 1991). Recent advances in methodology for analyzing personality-job performance relationships indicate that interactions among traits may yield incremental validity. Job types in which performance has been shown to relate to trait interactions include clerical jobs, jobs with high interpersonal components, and jobs in realistic and conventional contexts, (Witt, Burke, Barrick, & Mount, 2002; Burke & Witt, 2002; and Burke & Witt, 2004). This study examined the validity of trait interactions for the prediction of managerial job performance. Hypotheses included a main effect for Conscientiousness, an interaction between Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, an interaction between Extraversion and Neuroticism, and finally, a three-way interaction between Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness. An archival dataset from Personnel Decisions, International (n=680 managers) containing GPI personality scores and supervisor-rated performance scores was analyzed to test the hypotheses. Correlations and moderated hierarchical linear regressions were performed to estimate the relationships of the predictors to the criterion, and to learn whether examination of trait interactions contributes incremental validity to the single trait scales. v A main effect for Conscientiousness on managerial job performance was found. No trait interactions explained incremental variance in performance scores. Therefore, Conscientiousness is the recommended personality scale to use for selecting managers. This finding is consistent with previous research on the relation of Conscientiousness to job performance in managers (Barrick & Mount, 1991). Managers from diverse organizations and industries comprised the sample, increasing the generalizability of the results. Directions for future research include the examination of other trait interactions, more specific criteria such as competencies rather than overall managerial job performance, and effects of the hierarchical level of the manager in the organization.
Effect of lice infestation on hematological parameters in goats

The present study was conducted to gather information on hematological alteration in lice infested goats of Kashmir valley. The study was conducted on 32 lice infested goats and 6 non infested healthy goats. The present study revealed that there was a significant decrease (P<0.05) in hemoglobin, packed cell volume and total erythrocytic count in infested goats when compared to healthy goats. The total leukocytic count was significantly increased (P<0.05) in the lice infested goats. The increased leukocytic count was associated with significant increase (P<0.05) in neutrophils, significant decrease (P<0.05) in lymphocytes and significant increase (P<0.05) in eosinophils. However there was no significant difference in mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and monocytes between infested and non infested goats.
UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA

The Pinhal Novo Alcochete Fault Zone (PNAFZ) is located in the Lower Tagus Valley region, eastern sector of the Setúbal Península, in the Lower Tagus Cenozoic Sedimentary Basin (LTCB), corresponding to one of the major tectonic macrostructures of the Lisbon region. The occurrence of a few significant historical seismic events in this area indicates the presence of seismogenic active faults, which are characterized by low slip-rates, of the order of 0.05 to 0.1 mm/yr, typical of intraplate zones. These structures are still insufficiently known, so that their study is essential for a complete seismic hazard evaluation in the highly populated and developed area of Lisbon. This work is intended as a contribution for a better understanding of the regional seismotectonics, and of the PNAFZ in particular. In this framework, the regional geological setting is first presented, with emphasis on the sedimentary infill and structure of the LTCB, since the Neogene to the present. The PNAFZ most probably worked as a bordering structure of the Lusitanian Basin, implying its deep rooting in the Paleozoic basement. It was reactivated in thin-skinned deformation style during the Miocene inversion tectonics. It is one of the main, probably active tectonic structures in the study region (intended as evidencing activity in the current tectonic regime, approximately in the last 3.5 Ma). This fault zone has been identified mainly by subsurface data. It trends approximately NNW-SSE, with a complex, branched geometry, reaching a wide deformation zone of about 1.5 km. It evidences the capacity for a coseismic rupture length of at least 20 km, that may exceed 30 km, and for a coseismic rupture width of 9 km to 18 km, which is comprised within the seismogenic crust inferred from the instrumental seismicity data. The systematic offsetting of the uppermost stratigraphycal horizons (with estimated ages of about 3 Ma) and of the basal surface of the Pliocene sediments, both recognized in seismic reflection profiles and in boreholes drilled in the area for various purposes, points to recent tectonic activity of the PNAFZ, which is corroborated by few geomorphic evidences. The performed estimative of the maximum expected earthquake indicate that the PNAFZ has the potential to generate events of magnitude 6 to 7, with long average recurrence intervals, of the order of 3,000 to 11,000 yrs. These large return periods can explain the absence of historical and of significant instrumental seismicity that may be related to this fault zone. We consider however the possibility that the important 1858, Setúbal earthquake was generated in a southern segment of this tectonic structure. The PNAFZ is thus interpreted as an active tectonic structure with dominant transpressive leftlateral movement since the upper Pliocene, which is behaving as seismically “silent” but has the capacity to generate strong earthquakes with large return periods, and for which the present status of the seismic cycle is unknown.
Competitiveness of Polish International New Ventures from Managerial Perspective

The key objective of this chapter is to describe and evaluate the main sources of competitive advantages and market strategies of Polish International New Ventures (INVs). Previous research showed that in the case of firms from the developed countries, the consistent implementation of competitive strategy was the decisive factor of success. It appears that the best competitive strategy for the Polish INVs is strong differentiation, because either it was related to higher evaluation of success or it has been at least “neutral” in the sense that it has never been related to lower (or worst) evaluation of success. Similarly, the second best strategy is strong price leadership (in this case the positive relationships with companies’ success are weaker). The results of presented research brought an interesting observation of rather weak interdependence between the strategy type and the economic results of the Polish INVs. This conclusion may be explained by some macroeconomic factors, e.g. low labor costs, favorable exchange rate of Polish currency, etc., which heavily contributed to the success of Polish INVs and overweighed the shortcomings of strategy formulation. Ewa Baranowska-Prokop Warsaw School of Economics, Poland Tomasz Sikora Warsaw School of Economics, Poland Competitiveness of Polish International New Ventures from Managerial Perspective
Stommel’s Box Model of Thermohaline Circulation Revisited—The Role of Mechanical Energy Supporting Mixing and the Wind-Driven Gyration

The classical two-box model of Stommel is extended in two directions: replacing the buoyancy constraint with an energy constraint and including the wind-driven gyre. Stommel postulated a buoyancy constraint for the thermohaline circulation, and his basic idea has evolved into the dominating theory of thermohaline circulation; however, recently, it is argued that the thermohaline circulation is maintained by mechanical energy from wind stress and tides. The major difference between these two types of models is the bifurcation structure: the Stommel-like model has two thermal modes ( one stable and another one unstable) and one stable haline mode, whereas the energy-constraint model has one stable thermal mode and two saline modes ( one stable and another one unstable). Adding the wind-driven gyre changes the threshold value of thermohaline bifurcation greatly; thus, the inclusion of the wind-driven gyre is a vital step in completely modeling the physical processes related to thermohaline circulation.
Atmospheric Pressure and Room Temperature Synthesis of Methanol through Plasma-Catalytic Hydrogenation of CO2

CO2 hydrogenation to methanol is a promising process for CO2 conversion and utilization. Despite a well-developed route for CO hydrogenation to methanol, the use of CO2 as a feedstock for methanol synthesis remains underexplored, and one of its major challenges is high reaction pressure (usually 30–300 atm). In this work, atmospheric pressure and room temperature (∼30 °C) synthesis of methanol from CO2 and H2 has been successfully achieved using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) with and without a catalyst. The methanol production was strongly dependent on the plasma reactor setup; the DBD reactor with a special water-electrode design showed the highest reaction performance in terms of the conversion of CO2 and methanol yield. The combination of the plasma with Cu/γ-Al2O3 or Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst significantly enhanced the CO2 conversion and methanol yield compared to the plasma hydrogenation of CO2 without a catalyst. The maximum methanol yield of 11.3% and methanol selectivity of 53.7% were achieved ov.
Comparison of postoperative recovery from desflurane and sevoflurane anaesthesia using laryngeal mask airway: a prospective randomized comparative study

Background: Ambulatory surgeries necessitate safe anaesthesia and faster recovery. Sevoflurane and desflurane are proved as such effective inhalational anaesthetic agents. The aim of this study was to compare early postoperative recovery profile in patient undergoing elective ambulatory surgical operations and receiving anaesthesia with sevoflurane or desflurane using supreme LMA. Methods: This prospective study was conducted at Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Dr. G. Deshmukh Marg, Mumbai, from August 2014 to April 2015. Patients were randomized into two groups receiving desflurane (Group Dn=40) and sevoflurane (Group Sn=40) for maintenance of anaesthesia. Patients were monitored for recovery by using fast track criteria (FTC) score at different time intervals. Results: The demographic characteristics, hemodynamic parameters were comparable in both the groups and no statistical significance was seen among them (p>0.05). The mean time taken for postoperative recovery characteristics were significantly lower in in Group D than Group S (p=0.00). The FTC score was significantly higher in group D as compared to group S at all times (p<0.05) for thirty minutes. The prevalence of consuming additional analgesic was 12.5% in group D and 15% in group S (p=1.000). The additional antiemetic requirement was seen in 10% patients in both the groups (p=1.000). The incidence of coughing was seen in among 5% of Group D patients and in none among Group S (p=0.152). Conclusion: The study concludes that desflurane is superior to sevoflurane with respect to time of eye opening, response to verbal commands, orientation, ability to sit, early recovery profile and duration of stay in recovery room.
Grazing of heterotrophic nanoflagellates on the eukaryotic picoautotroph Choricystis sp.

Autotrophic picoplankton (APP, <2 µm), composed of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, play an important role in the production and transformation of organic carbon in freshwaters. Eukaryotic APP are commonly found in winter and spring, and heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) are regarded as significant consumers of APP. Here, we analysed the grazing impact and the growth ability of the HNF culture derived from a boreal clearwater lake on the picoalga Choricystis sp. For comparison, we used HNF monocultures of Rhynchomonas sp. and Bodo saltans flagellates with dis- tinct feeding behaviours. In the grazing experiments, all HNF cultures ingested picoalgae and reached feeding rates between 0.08 and 0.81 cells HNF -1 h -1 . We observed large species-specific dif- ferences in grazing rate (0.97 to 1.96 d -1 ), growth rate (0.35 to 0.85 d -1 ) and final abundance of HNF (5.6 × 10 4 to 74.2 × 10 4 cells ml -1 ) in the growth experiments. Surprisingly, we found an increase in picoalgal growth in the presence of a grazing HNF population. Although HNF appear to be active herbivores capable of significantly reducing APP stock, flagellates were unable to control the picoal- gal population. Overall, this study demonstrates an unexpected role of HNF in microbial food webs by imposing a positive feedback on picoalgal growth through grazing.