Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Employee performance, well‐being, and differential effects of human resource management subdimensions: Mutual gains or conflicting outcomes?

The human resource management (HRM) literature supports the idea that coherent systems of HRM practices can induce attitudinal effects when perceived subjectively by employees. Recently, scholars have proposed that subdimensions of HRM systems exist and account for variance in outcomes. This study explores differential effects of three subdimensions of HRM systems (skill‐, motivation‐, and opportunity‐enhancing HRM practices) on employee innovative behaviours and well‐being. Our predictions are based on the mutual gains perspective, which specifies positive relationships between HRM practices and employee performance, and the conflicting outcomes perspective that links HRM practices to higher job demands and stress. Using data from the Finnish 2012 Practices of Working Life Survey, we find support for both the mutual gains and conflicting outcomes perspectives; however, we also show that the effects of the subsets of HRM practices are heterogeneous.
Effect of dentifrices against hydrochloric acid-induced erosion.

PURPOSE This in vitro investigation assessed whether different dentifrices would be capable of controlling the enamel erosion progression caused by HCl. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixty bovine enamel slabs were covered with acid-resistant varnish, except for a 2.5-mm2 circular area on the labial surface. According to a complete block design, the experimental units were immersed in HCl solution (pH 1.2; 0.1M). After storage in artificial saliva for 1 h, specimens (n = 15) were exposed to different dentifrices: Sensodyne Cool Gel (1100 ppm F), Sensodyne ProNamel (1450 ppm F), and PrevDent 5000 (5000 ppm F). The control group was immersed in deionised water. Following five cycles of erosive challenge, the slabs were prepared for porosity evaluation using solutions of copper sulfate and rubeanic acid. RESULTS ANOVA demonstrated no difference in the enamel porosity as a function of the dentifrice employed (P = 0.5494). CONCLUSION The damage caused by a simulated intrinsic erosive challenge seems unable to be controlled by fluoridated dentifrices, even when this ion is found in elevated concentrations.
Lenalidomide, melphalan and dexamethasone in a population of patients with immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis with high rates of advanced cardiac involvement

Immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis remains incurable despite recent therapeutic advances, and is particularly difficult to treat in patients with amyloid cardiomyopathy. Based on evidence of activity in multiple myeloma, we designed a pilot study of an oral regimen of lenalidomide in combination with dexamethasone and low-dose melphalan in order to evaluate its safety and efficacy in patients with amyloidosis, including those with advanced cardiac involvement. Twenty-five patients were enrolled. Ninety-two percent of patients had cardiac involvement by amyloidosis, and 36% of patients met the criteria for Mayo Clinic cardiac stage III disease. Patients received up to nine cycles of treatment, consisting of lenalidomide 10 mg/day orally on days 1 – 21 (28-day cycle); melphalan 0.18 mg/kg orally on days 1–4; and dexamethasone 40 mg orally on days 1, 8, 15, and 22. High rates (33%) of cardiac arrhythmias and low rates of treatment completion (12.5%) were observed. Ten patients died during the study, all within the first several months of treatment due to acute cardiac events. The overall hematologic response rate was 58%, however organ responses were seen in only 8% of patients. The overall survival rate at 1 year was 58%. While we confirmed the hematologic response rates observed with similar regimens, front-line treatment with melphalan, lenalidomide and dexamethasone was toxic, ineffective, and did not alter survival outcomes for patients with high-risk cardiac disease. Our data highlight the importance of developing novel treatment approaches for amyloid cardiomyopathy. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials. gov (NCT00890552).
Myopia Control: A Review

Abstract: Slowing the progression of myopia has become a considerable concern for parents of myopic children. At the same time, clinical science is rapidly advancing the knowledge about methods to slow myopia progression. This article reviews the peer-reviewed literature regarding several modalities attempting to control myopia progression. Several strategies have been shown to be ineffective for myopia control, including undercorrection of myopic refractive error, alignment fit gas-permeable contact lenses, outdoor time, and bifocal of multifocal spectacles. However, a recent randomized clinical trial fitted progressing myopic children with executive bifocals for 3 years and found a 39% slowing of myopia progression for bifocal-only spectacles and 50% treatment effect for bifocal spectacles with base-in prism, although there was not a significant difference in progression between the bifocal-only and bifocal plus prism groups. Interestingly, outdoor time has shown to be effective for reducing the onset of myopia but not for slowing the progression of myopic refractive error. More effective methods of myopia control include orthokeratology, soft bifocal contact lenses, and antimuscarinic agents. Orthokeratology and soft bifocal contact lenses are both thought to provide myopic blur to the retina, which acts as a putative cue to slow myopic eye growth. Each of these myopia control methods provides, on average, slightly less than 50% slowing of myopia progression. All studies have shown clinically meaningful slowing of myopia progression, including several randomized clinical trials. The most investigated antimuscarinic agents include pirenzepine and atropine. Pirenzepine slows myopia progression by approximately 40%, but it is not commercially available in the United States. Atropine provides the best myopia control, but the cycloplegic and mydriatic side effects render it a rarely prescribed myopia control agent in the United States. However, low-concentration atropine has been shown to provide effective myopia control with far fewer side effects than 1.0% atropine. Finally, two agents, low-concentration atropine and outdoor time have been shown to reduce the likelihood of myopia onset. Over the past few years, much has been learned about how to slow the progression of nearsightedness in children, but we still have a lot to learn.
Salt effects on Origanum majorana fatty acid and essential oil composition.

BACKGROUND The effects of salt on the essential oil yield and fatty acid composition of aerial parts of two marjoram varieties were investigated. Plants with 6 leaves were treated with NaCl (75mM). RESULTS Salt treatment led to a reduction in aerial part growth. Salinity increased the fatty acid content more significantly in Tunisian variety (TV) than in Canadian variety (CV). CV showed an increase in double-bond index (DBI) and a decrease in malondialdehyde content under salt stress, while the opposite was observed in TV. The DBI was mainly affected by a strong reduction in oleic and linoleic acids in TV, whereas a strong stimulation of linoleic acid in CV was observed. Salt decreased and increased the essential oil yield in TV and CV respectively. The main constituents of the essential oil of TV were trans-hydrate sabinene and terpinen-4-ol, which showed a significant decrease under salt stress. In contrast, the main constituents of the essential oil of CV were sabinene and trans-hydrate sabinene, which showed a significant decrease and increase respectively under salt stress. CONCLUSION Marjoram oil is a rich source of many compounds such as essential oils and fatty acids, but the distribution of these compounds differed significantly between the two varieties studied.
A conserved family of cellular genes related to the baculovirus iap gene and encoding apoptosis inhibitors.

The baculovirus inhibitor of apoptosis gene, iap, can impede cell death in insect cells. Here we show that iap can also prevent cell death in mammalian cells. The ability of iap to regulate programmed cell death in widely divergent species raised the possibility that cellular homologs of iap might exist. Consistent with this hypothesis, we have isolated Drosophila and human genes which encode IAP‐like proteins (dILP and hILP). Like IAP, both dILP and hILP contain amino‐terminal baculovirus IAP repeats (BIRs) and carboxy‐terminal RING finger domains. Human ilp encodes a widely expressed cytoplasmic protein that can suppress apoptosis in transfected cells. An analysis of the expressed sequence tag database suggests that hilp is one of several human genes related to iap. Together these data suggest that iap and related cellular genes play an evolutionarily conserved role in the regulation of apoptosis.
Effect of 6‐dimethylaminopurine on electrically activated in vitro matured porcine oocytes

The effect of the protein kinase inhibitor, 6‐dimethylaminopurine (6‐DMAP), on the maturation promoting factor (MPF) activity, pronuclear formation, and parthenogenetic development of electrically activated in vitro matured (IVM) porcine oocytes was investigated. Oocytes were activated by exposure to two DC pulses, each of 1.5 kV/cm field strength and 60 μsec duration, applied 1 sec apart. In the first experiment, subsequent incubation with 2 or 5 mM 6‐DMAP for 3 hr increased the incidence of blastocyst formation compared with no treatment, whereas incubation with 2 or 5 mM 6‐DMAP for 5 hr did not. In the proceeding experiments, oocytes exposed to 6‐DMAP were incubated with 2 mM of the reagent for 3 hr. Assaying histone H1 kinase activity in the second experiment revealed that the levels of active MPF in electrically activated oocytes treated with 6‐DMAP were depleted more rapidly and remained depleted for longer compared with electrical activation alone. The kinetics of MPF activity following 6‐DMAP treatment were similar to that found in inseminated oocytes in the third experiment. The effect of 6‐DMAP was correlated with an increased incidence of parthenogenetic blastocyst formation. A fourth experiment was undertaken to examine the diploidizing effect of 6‐DMAP. Electrically activated oocytes treated with 6‐DMAP and cytochalasin B, either alone or in combination, displayed a higher incidence of second polar body retention compared with those that were untreated or treated with cycloheximide alone. After 6 days of culture in vitro, parthenotes exposed to 6‐DMAP, either alone or in combination with cytochalasin B, formed blastocysts at a greater rate compared with those exposed to cytochalasin B alone, cycloheximide alone or no treatment. The combined 6‐DMAP and cytochalasin B treatment induced the highest rate of blastocyst formation (47%), but the numbers of trophectoderm and total cells in these blastocysts were lower compared with those obtained following exposure to 6‐DMAP alone. These results suggest that the increased developmental potential of 6‐DMAP‐treated parthenotes may be attributable to the MPF‐inactivating effect of 6‐DMAP, rather than the diploidizing effect of 6‐DMAP. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 62: 387–396, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
New Approach of Radiation Pattern Control for Leaky-Wave Antennas Based on the Effective Radiation Sections

In this paper, a new radiation pattern-control approach for leaky-wave antenna designs is proposed based on the theory of effective radiation sections. This approach can be used to generate radiation null regions around desired direction or to reduce the side lobe levels of leaky-wave antennas in a simple and efficient way, i.e., by controlling the radiation from the effective radiation sections. The traveling-wave line-source model is employed for simplifying the analysis at first. Then, the approach is implemented in the sub strate integrated waveguide (SIW) long-straight slot Leaky-wave antennas (LWA) by changing the slot width at the locations corresponding to the effective radiation sections (ERSs). The simulation results show that the radiation null region can be introduced around the desired direction, and the side lobe level can be reduced. Furthermore, the cross-polar level can be controlled to a very low level. Experimental results are also given as verification. In addition, the proposed method still has some limitations, which are discussed in detail and will be improved in the future.
Contribution of epididymal factors to sperm maturation and storage

Summary In fertile men, the majority of epididymal spermatozoa acquire the potential to fertilize (assessed with sperm function assays) on passage into the corpus and cauda regions of the epididymis. Although secretions of the epididymal epithelium are clearly important for sperm maturation and survival, their role in this process has yet to be fully determined. Alterations in epididymal sperm membranes may result from the incorporation of protein, sugar and lipid determinants. Most probably, factors of epididymal origin act in concert with constitutional changes to spermatozoa, which together permit full sperm function. Epididymal spermatozoa incubated with epididymal epithelial cell cultures can undergo some maturation in vitro, which can lead to the development of sperm fertilizing capacity. Co‐incubations of human sperm with epididymal epithelial cultures, at 37 °C with medium replenished every other day, led to 50% of spermatozoa retaining motility after 8 days. In one case, a few spermatozoa survived for 17 days, the inherent maximal survival time of human spermatozoa in situ. An important aspect of coculture experiments is that close interactions between spermatozoa and epithelial cells can be examined in detail. This coculture technique may yield important information related to epididymal sperm maturation and storage.
FACILITATION OF ALLOGENEIC BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION BY A T CELL–SPECIFIC IMMUNOTOXIN CONTAINING DAUNOMYCIN

Daunomycin coupled via an acid-sensitive spacer to monoclonal Thy-1.2-specific antibody was used to purge T lymphocytes from a 1:1 mixture of murine C57BL/6J bone marrow and spleen cells prior to engraftment in fully allogeneic, irradiated BALB/c recipients. Treatment of bone marrow with the immunotoxin at a concentration used for purging had no effect on the viability of committed hematopoietic progenitor or multipotent stem cells. All of the recipients of purged bone marrow were at least 80% chimeric for donor peripheral blood cells and none developed graft-versus-host disease. Out of 50 chimeras, 49 were still alive more than 200 days posttransplantation. The chimeras were shown to be tolerant to donor tissue as tested by mixed lymphocyte reactivity, cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and skin grafting. The same tests revealed full immunocompetence of chimeras to third-party alloantigens. In vivo IgM and IgG antibody responses to sheep red blood cells were similar in magnitude in allogeneically and syngeneically reconstituted mice.
[Expression and significance of adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein in placenta, serum and umbilical cord blood in preeclampsia].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the change of adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (FABP4) in maternal serum and umbilical cord blood and FABP4 mRNA placental expression in patients with preeclampsia (PE). METHODS A total of 60 women with PE and 60 normal pregnant women as control participated in this study.All are admitted to Fujian Maternity and Children Health Hospital for delivery from December 2008 to October 2009. Patients with PE were divided into early-onset group (n = 30, presented at ≤ 34 weeks of gestation) and late-onset group (n = 30, presented at > 34 weeks of gestation), with 30 normal pregnant women as early control group (≤ 34 weeks of gestation) and 30 as late control group (> 34 weeks of gestation). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect FABP4, fasting serum glucose, fasting insulin (FINS) in maternal serum and FABP4 in umbilical cord blood. Real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription PCR was used to detect placental FABP4 mRNA expression. Furthermore, clinical and biochemical parameters were recorded, such as body mass index (BMI), systolic pressure (SP), diastolic pressure (DP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), creatinine (Cr), uric acid (UA), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), 24 hours urine protein in pregnant women and neonatal weight. RESULTS (1) Maternal serum FABP4 was (176 ± 9) ng/L in early-onset PE group and (170 ± 9) ng/L in late-onset PE group, significantly elevated as compared to (81 ± 13) ng/L in early control group and (94 ± 15) ng/L in late control group. (2) Mean maternal FINS, homeostasis model of assessment for insulin resistence index (HOMA-IR) were significantly elevated in the early-onset PE group and late-onset PE group as compared to control groups, respectively. (3) Mean placental FABP4 mRNA expression were significantly elevated in the early-onset PE group and late-onset PE group as compared to late control group. However, no significant difference was found in placental FABP4 mRNA expression between early-onset and late-onset PE groups. (4) Mean umbilical cord blood FABP4 concentrations were significantly decreased in the early-onset PE group and late-onset PE group as compared to late control group. Furthermore, umbilical cord blood FABP4 concentration correlated negatively with maternal serum FABP4 level and placental FABP4 mRNA expression, but positively with neonatal weight. (5) Mean maternal serum FABP4 concentrations correlated positively with placental FABP4 mRNA expression, TG, FINS, HOMA-IR, Cr, UA; and negatively with HDL, GFR. CONCLUSIONS Increased FABP4 expression in maternal serum and placenta may be involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Increased FABP4 mRNA expression in placenta may contribute to high serum FABP4 level in women with PE.
Effects of cover crop termination and cotton planting methods on cotton production in conservation systems

Abstract In conservation agriculture, cover crops are utilized to improve soil properties and to enhance cash crop growth. One important part of cover crop management is termination. With smaller profit margins and constraints on time and labor, producers are searching for ways to reduce time and labor required to terminate cover crops while maintaining or increasing profitability. This study examined the effect of 11 different combinations of terminating cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) and planting cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) on population, seed cotton yield, total costs and net returns; and how combined operations affect labor, fuel consumption and carbon (CO2) emissions in a conservation system. Cereal rye followed by cotton was planted in central Alabama during the 2009–2011 crop years. Treatments included cotton planted directly into standing cereal rye, cover crops terminated at early milk growth stage using mechanical (roller or roller/crimper) with or without chemical termination (spraying) followed by cotton planting, and cover crop termination combined with cotton planting using spraying with or without rolling termination. While the 2011 crop year had the lowest plant populations, there was no year effect on seed cotton yields, total costs or net returns. Rolling with or without spraying yielded higher plant populations (26%), seed cotton yields (18.3%) and net returns (17.2%) than cotton planted into standing rye; however, rolling with or without spraying also had 23.8% higher costs due to increased fuel usage, machinery and labor hours, and yield varying costs. While rolling with spraying had slightly higher total costs compared with rolling alone (6.5%), plant populations, seed cotton yields and net returns were 11.42%, 6.4% and 6.5% higher, respectively. Converting from three separate operations for cover crop termination and cotton planting to rolling and spraying combined with planting, producers could potentially reduce CO2 emissions from fuel use and labor hours associated with cover crop termination and cotton planting by up to 51%.
MR of the spine with a fast T1-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence.

PURPOSE To optimize a T1-weighted fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequence using computer-simulated data and to study its clinical utility for imaging the spine. METHODS Relative signal intensities and contrast of relevant normal and pathologic tissues in the spine were computed using an inversion recovery equation modified to account for a hybrid RARE (rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement) readout. A range of inversion time (TI) and repetition time (TR) pairs that null the signal from CSF was generated. A contrast-optimized heavily T1-weighted fast FLAIR sequence, based on the generated data, was qualitatively compared with conventional T1-weighted spin-echo sequences for imaging various spinal abnormalities. RESULTS A T1/TR pair of approximately 862/2000 was extracted from the computer-generated data to produce effective nulling of CSF signal, to achieve heavy T1 weighting, and to optimize contrast between abnormal tissues and cord/bone marrow. Clinical implementation of the optimized T1-weighted fast FLAIR sequence revealed superior contrast at the CSF-cord interface, better conspicuity of lesions of the spinal cord and bone marrow, and reduced hardware-related artifacts as compared with conventional T1-weighted spin-echo sequences. CONCLUSION The optimized T1-weighted fast FLAIR technique has definite advantages over spin-echo sequences for imaging the spine. Comparable acquisition times render the FLAIR sequence the method of choice for T1-weighted imaging of the spine.
Transnational education in schools, universities, and beyond: Definitions and research areas

Abstract The article is directed to theorizing Transnational Education (TNE). This entails definitions of what is meant by transnational and by education. It also focuses a variety of social realities which might be classified as TNE. The main aim of the article is to sharpen TNE as an analytical concept and at the same time broaden the horizon on the range of actors who are involved in TNE within different sectors of education epitomized as schools, universities, and beyond. It is posited that for research it is not only essential to have a clear view of what is considered as transnational, but also to take into account which sectors of education shall be addressed. This leads to questions of legitimacy and governance, because: who defines, controls, and regulates TNE? Here the theoretical crushing point is the relation of TNE to the sovereignty principle of national education policy. In the first part of the article TNE is defined and conceptualized, whereas in the second part the three TNE research areas announced in the title are characterized.
Dc SQUID Phase Qubit With an LC Filter

We describe the design of an inductor-capacitor (LC) network to increase the isolation of a dc SQUID phase qubit from its current bias leads and thereby increase the relaxation time T1 and coherence time T2. One junction in the SQUID acts as an ideal phase qubit while the second junction and the SQUID loop inductance act as a broadband inductive filter to isolate the first junction from the current bias leads. The LC isolation network provides an additional isolation factor at the junction plasma frequency and allows flexibility in the choice of SQUID parameters. Our thin-film on-chip LC isolation network has a 10 nH inductor and an 80 pF capacitor. The combination of the broadband filter and LC filter provides a maximum nominal isolation factor of about 108 at a qubit plasma frequency of about 6.7 GHz. To reduce dielectric loss and two level systems in the qubit junction, we use a relatively small area (4 mum2) Al/AlOx/Al qubit junction built on sapphire and add an external capacitor with 100 nm thick SiNx dielectric layers. Measurements revealed Rabi oscillations with an envelope decay time constant of about 42 ns, and an energy relaxation time of 32 ns, consistent with a loss tangent tan(delta)=7times10-4 in the SiNx.