Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of Feedback Quality and Organizational Cynicism for Affective Commitment Through Leader–Member Exchange

Affective commitment is crucial for employees to guarantee that they adhere to organizational interests and goals, but not self-evident for street-level bureaucrats who have a great deal of discretionary freedom in doing their work. Street-level bureaucrats can deviate from organizational goals during the execution of custom-fit solutions, and particularly so when they are cynical toward their organization. To increase affective commitment among street-level bureaucrats, leaders may play an important role by providing qualitative feedback and having a high-quality leader–member exchange relationship with their team members. We examined the cross-level interaction of leaders’ feedback quality and police officers’ organizational cynicism in relation with affective commitment through Leader–Member eXchange (LMX). Building on theorizing on human resource (HR) attributions and on the assumption in social exchange theory that individuals engage in different reciprocation efforts, we expected that police officers who are more cynical toward their organization would be hesitant to reciprocate with more commitment to their organization when their leader’s feedback quality is low. Our findings in a sample of 266 police officers nested in 71 teams supported this expectation. Hence, this study contributes to a better understanding of how to foster the affective commitment of employees who have discretion in their work. Feedback quality appears to be crucial, both for LMX and affective commitment, and this particularly for police officers who are more cynical about their organization.
Do Technology-Based Sales Support Materials Make a Difference in Personal Selling? The Impact of Technology Usage by Gender in the Personal Selling Process

Technology usage is widespread across most fields of business. In sales, “back-end” technologies, such as customer relationship management or salesforce automation, offer a foundation for effective and efficient “front-line” interactions in the personal selling process (PSP). In many instances, “front-line” technology applications have replaced traditional, hard-copy sales support materials. However, do these technology-based sales support materials (TSSM) offer meaningful utility in the PSP? Using a randomized field experiment, the current study answers the question through examining the use of TSSM within the PSP and across genders. Results indicate that the use of TSSM offers utility during the presentation and objection-handling stages of the PSP. There are no gender effects associated with technology use. The study offers educators pedagogical recommendations regarding the use of TSSM within the PSP. The study also validates the PSP scale.
Glaciecola punicea gen. nov., sp. nov. and Glaciecola pallidula gen. nov., sp. nov.: psychrophilic bacteria from Antarctic sea-ice habitats

A group of pigmented, psychrophilic, strictly aerobic chemoheterotrophs isolated from sea-ice cores collected from coastal areas of eastern Antarctica was found to represent a novel 16S rRNA lineage within the gamma subclass of the Proteobacteria, adjacent to the genus Alteromonas. The isolates are motile, Gram-negative, rod-shaped cells, which are psychrophilic and slightly halophilic, and possess an absolute requirement for seawater. Differences in phenotypic characteristics and DNA-DNA hybridization indicated the isolates formed two distinct taxa which have DNA G+C contents of 44–46 mol% and 40 mol%, respectively. Whole-cell fatty acid profiles of the isolates were however very similar and included 16:1ω7c, 18:1ω7c, 16:0 and 17:1ω8c as the major fatty acid components. Overall, sufficient differences exist to distinguish the sea-ice strains from currently recognized bacterial genera. It is proposed the sea-ice strains represent a new genus, Glaciecola, which contains two species, Glaciecola punicea gen. nov., sp. nov. (ACAM 611T) and Glaciecola pallidula gen. nov., sp. nov. (ACAM 615T).
Title Relationship between mitochondrial haplogroup and seasonal changes ofphysiological responses to cold

Background: Physiological responses to cold exhibit individual variation that can be affected by various factors, such as morphological characteristics, seasonal changes, and lifestyle; however, the genetic factors associated with this variation remain unclear. Recent studies have identified mtDNA as a potential genetic factor affecting cold adaptation. In addition, non-shivering thermogenesis (NST), a process closely related to mitochondrial dynamics, has also been suggested as an important factor affecting human response to cold. The present study aimed to clarify the relationship between mitochondrial haplogroup and NST during periods of mild cold exposure. Methods: Seventeen healthy university students (D: n = 8, non-D: n = 9) participated in the present study during summer and winter. A climate chamber was programmed so that ambient temperature inside dropped from 28°C to 16°C over the course of an 80-minute period. Physiological parameters were recorded throughout the course of the experiments. Results: Increases in VO2 were significantly greater during periods of cold exposure in winter than they were during periods of cold exposure in summer, and individuals from the D group exhibited greater winter values of ΔVO2 than individuals from the non-D group. Tre was significantly lower during periods of rest and cold exposure in winter; however, no significant difference was observed between Tre values of individuals in the D and non-D groups. In addition, although Tdist was significantly lower during periods of rest in winter than it was during those same periods in summer, no significant seasonal differences in values of Tdist were observed during periods of cold exposure. Conclusions: Results of the present study indicated that NST was greater in winter, and that the D group exhibited greater NST than the non-D group during winter. Despite the differences between groups in NST, no significant differences in rectal and skin temperatures were found between groups in either season. Therefore, it was supposed that mitochondrial DNA haplogroups had a greater effect on variation in energy expenditure involving NST than they had on insulative responses. Future studies are necessary in order to investigate more multiple candidate genes related to human cold adaptation and to elucidate the relationship between gene polymorphism and physiological polytypism.
Estimating and Projecting Potential Output Using CBO ’ s Forecasting Growth Model

As part of its responsibility for producing baseline projections of the economy and the federal budget, the Congressional Budget Office regularly produces estimates and projections of potential output, a measure of the economy’s fundamental ability to supply goods and services. The projection of potential output serves as a key input to CBO’s macroeconomic forecasts and budget projections, helping the agency maintain consistency between its projections of labor supply and capital accumulation and its projections of taxes on income from labor and capital, of federal expenditures, and of the accumulation of public debt. This paper updates the agency’s description of the data sources, analytic methods, and modeling framework that it uses both to estimate historical values of the components of potential output and to project those values into the future. It describes the major changes that CBO has introduced in its approach since it last published a methodological description in 2001, outlines the linkages between its analysis of potential output and other elements of its economic and policy analysis, and discusses some of the major challenges associated with understanding and projecting recent trends in fundamental components of the economy.
Effects of immersion system and gibberellic acid on the growth and acclimatization of micropropagated pineapple

Micropropagation based techniques enable the mass production of pest- and disease-free stock plants. Aiming at optimizing pineapple [Ananas comosus (L.) Merril] micropropagation, a complete randomized experiment with three factors was established: immersion system (2 L twin flasks temporary immersion and permanent immersion); culture medium (supplemented or not with GA3); and shoot height class. The effects on regeneration rate (number of new shoots per 1 g fresh mass (FM) of inoculated microshoots), FM per shoot, and shoot survival were evaluated. Significant interactions (p<0.05) were observed in the regeneration rate, and simple effects (p<0.05) were detected for FM per shoot. All treatments resulted in a survival rate higher than 95%. Altogether, it was found that 2 L twin flasks temporary immersion and MS culture medium free of GA3 allowed the optimization of the protocol used. This treatment was tested with positive response in a biofactory system that uses sterile plastic bottles (5 L).
Critical Examination of the Parametric Approaches to Analysis of the Non-Verbal Human Behavior: A Case Study in Facial Pre-Touch Interaction

A prevailing assumption in many behavioral studies is the underlying normal distribution of the data under investigation. In this regard, although it appears plausible to presume a certain degree of similarity among individuals, this presumption does not necessarily warrant such simplifying assumptions as average or normally distributed human behavioral responses. In the present study, we examine the extent of such assumptions by considering the case of human–human touch interaction in which individuals signal their face area pre-touch distance boundaries. We then use these pre-touch distances along with their respective azimuth and elevation angles around the face area and perform three types of regression-based analyses to estimate a generalized facial pre-touch distance boundary. First, we use a Gaussian processes regression to evaluate whether assumption of normal distribution in participants’ reactions warrants a reliable estimate of this boundary. Second, we apply a support vector regression (SVR) to determine whether estimating this space by minimizing the orthogonal distance between participants’ pre-touch data and its corresponding pre-touch boundary can yield a better result. Third, we use ordinary regression to validate the utility of a non-parametric regressor with a simple regularization criterion in estimating such a pre-touch space. In addition, we compare these models with the scenarios in which a fixed boundary distance (i.e., a spherical boundary) is adopted. We show that within the context of facial pre-touch interaction, normal distribution does not capture the variability that is exhibited by human subjects during such non-verbal interaction. We also provide evidence that such interactions can be more adequately estimated by considering the individuals’ variable behavior and preferences through such estimation strategies as ordinary regression that solely relies on the distribution of their observed behavior which may not necessarily follow a parametric distribution.
Definition of factors limiting the growth of industrial production

Issues related to the formation of new types of industrial production have been relevant in recent years, since it is industry that creates new technologies, products, provides human life and the existence of the state, in this regard, the authors of the study present this work. The transition of the industrial structure from one stage to another allows us to offer new scientific and practical solutions that ensure the development of industrial potential. The work revealed that industrial production in Russia is in stagnation and there are no changes in this area of activity. Based on the obtained data, a factor model was proposed, which made it possible to identify factors limiting the development of industrial production.
Neuroprotective effects of thymoquinone against ketamine- and MK-801-induced neurotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells: From the perspective of glutamatergic dysfunction in schizophrenia

Objective: Schizophrenia is a chronic disorder with approximately 1% prevalence and related to disrupted neurodevelopment process. It has been known that N-methyl D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists such as ketamine and MK-801 mimic schizophrenia-like behaviors in rodents and cellular changes in cell culture. There are certain preliminary reports showing the beneficial effects of Nigella sativa L. extracts or its main active ingredient, thymoquinone, on psychiatric disorders. In our study, we aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of thymoquinone against ketamine- and MK-801- induced neurotoxicites, which may be relevant to schizophrenia. Methods: The neurotoxic concentrations of ketamine and MK-801, and non-toxic concentrations of thymoquinone were determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) test at the 24th hour of administrations in SH-SY5Y cells. Seven different concentrations of thymoquinone (0.5 µM, 1 µM, 2.5 µM, 5 µM, 10 µM, 20 µM, 30 µM) were tested against two different concentrations of ketamine (250 µg/ml, 500 µg/ml) and one concentration of MK-801 (100 µM). Results: Ketamine (250 µg/ml and 500 µg/ml) and MK-801 (100 µM) decreased (P<0.05) the cellular viabilities at the 24 hour of administrations. Thymoquinone pretreatment prevented (P<0.05) the decrease of cell viabilities against ketamine (250 µg/ml) and ketamine (500 µg/ml) at 1 uM, 2.5 µM, 5 µM, 10 µM, 20 µM, and 2.5 µM concentrations, respectively. Thymoquinone pretreatment also increased (P<0.05) cell viability compared to MK-801. Conclusion: We suggested that thymoquinone had neuroprotective effects on the NMDA receptor antagonists induced neurotoxicity and encourage researchers for further in vivo studies for schizophrenia.
Landscape‐scale vegetation dynamics inferred from spatial patterns of soil δ13C in a subtropical savanna parkland

Grasslands and savannas around the world have experienced woody plant encroachment during the past 100 years, but we know little regarding the manner in which woody plants spread across the landscape. We used soil δ13C, aerial photography, and geostatistics to quantify patterns of woody encroachment in a 160 × 100 m georeferenced grid subdivided into 10 × 10 m cells in a savanna parkland landscape in southern Texas. δ13C contour maps revealed that centers of closed contours coincided with centers of woody patches, and that larger woody patches developed from smaller woody plant clusters that spread laterally and coalesced. Areas where woody patches were expanding into grassland were characterized by low densities of soil δ13C contour lines, and indicated the direction and extent of woody encroachment. Conversely, areas with high contour densities represented grassland‐woodland boundaries that were temporally stable. Indeed, aerial photos from 1930, 1941, 1982, and 2003 confirmed that woody patches with low spatial variability in δ13C corresponded to areas where woody plants had encroached during the past 30–75 years. While aerial photos can only record vegetation cover at the photo acquisition time, kriged maps of soil δ13C allowed us to accurately reconstruct long‐term temporal dynamics of woody plant encroachment into grassland. This approach can reliably reconstruct landscape‐scale vegetation changes in areas where historical aerial photography or satellite imagery are unavailable and provides a strong spatial context for studies aimed at understanding the functional consequences of vegetation change.
Effect of salt on the fermentation of soybean (Glycine max) into daddawa using Bacillus subtilis as starter culture

Previous studies showed that 1% salt improved the organoleptic attributes of traditional fermented daddawa. Also, Bacillus subtilis as a monoculture starter produced daddawa of same quality with traditional daddawa. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 1% salt on some biochemical changes occurring in the fermentation of soybean into daddawa using Bacillus subtilis as starter. Viable cell count of Bacillus subtilis increased with fermentation and was significantly (P showed preference for 1% salted daddawa.
Time-Space Characterization of Wellbore-Cement Alteration by CO2-Rich Brine

The risk of CO2 leakage from damaged wellbore is identified as a critical issue for the feasibility and environmental acceptance of CO2 underground storage. For instance, Portland cement can be altered if flow of CO2-rich water occurs in hydraulic discontinuities such as cement-tubing or cement-caprock interfaces. In this case, the raw cement matrix is altered by diffusion of the solutes. This fact leads to the formation of distinctive alteration fronts indicating the dissolution of portlandite, the formation of a carbonate-rich layer and the decalcification of the calcium silicate hydrate, controlled by the interplay between the reaction kinetics, the diffusion-controlled renewing of the reactants and products, and the changes in the diffusion properties caused by the changes in porosity induced by the dissolution and precipitation mechanisms. In principle, these mass transfers can be easily simulated using diffusion-reaction numerical models. However, the large uncertainties of the parameters characterizing the reaction rates (mainly the kinetic and thermodynamic coefficients and the evolving reactive surface area) and of the porosity-dependent diffusion properties prevent making reliable predictions required for risk assessment. In this paper, we present the results of a set of experiments consisting in the alteration of a holed disk of class-G cement in contact with a CO2-rich brine at reservoir conditions (P = 12 MPa and T = 60 °C) for various durations. This new experimental protocol allows producing time-resolved data for both the spatially distributed mass transfers inside the cement body and the total mass transfers inferred from the boundary conditions mass balance. The experimental results are used to study the effect of the fluid salinity and the pCO2 on the overall reaction efficiency. Experiments at high salinity triggers more portlandite dissolution, thinner carbonate layers, and larger alteration areas than those at low salinity. These features are accompanied with different spatial distribution of the alteration layers resulting from a complex interplay between salinity-controlled dissolution and precipitation mechanisms. Conversely, the effect of the pCO2 is more intuitive: Increasing pCO2 results in increasing the overall alteration rate without modifying the relative distribution of the reaction fronts.
Near-infrared radiation background, gravitational wave background, and star formation rate of Pop III and Pop II during cosmic reionization

Context. The transition from Population III (Pop III) to Population I I (Pop II) stars plays an important role in the universe histo ry. Due to a huge amount of ionizing photons generated by Pop III stars, they begin to ionize the intergalactic medium (IGM) at the early stage of reionization. Meanwhile, the feedback from reionization and metal enrichment changes the evolution of different populations. The near-infrared radiation background (NIRB) and the background of gravitational waves (SBGWs) from these early stars will provide important information about the transition form Pop III to Pop II stars. Aims. In this paper, we obtain the NIRB and SBGWs from the early stars, which are constrained by the observation of reionization and star formation rate. Methods. We study the transition from Pop III to Pop II stars via the star formation model of different population, which takes into account the reionization and the metal enrichment evolution. We calculate the two main metal pollution channels arising from the supernova-driven protogalactic outflows and “genetic chan nel”. We obtain the SFRs of Pop III and Pop II and their NIRB and SBGWs radiation. Results. We predict that the upper limit of metallicity in metal-enri ched IGM (the galaxies whose polluted via “genetic channel”) reaches Zcrit = 10 −3.5 Z⊙ at z∼ 13 (z∼ 11), which is consistent with our star formation model. We constrain on the SFR of Pop III stars from the observation of reionization. The peak intensity of NIRB is about 0.03− 0.2 nWm −2 sr −1 at∼ 1µm for z> 6. The prediction of NIRB signal is consistent with the metallicity evolution. We also obtain the gravitational wave background from the black holes formed by these early stars. The predicted gravitational wave background has a peak amplitude of GW≃ 8× 10 −9 atν = 158 Hz for Pop II star remnants. However, the background generated by Pop III.2 stars is much less than Pop II stars, with a peak amplitude of GW ≃ 1.2× 10 −11 atν = 28 Hz. The background of Pop III.1 shifts to lower frequencies, and the amplitude of GW for Pop III.1 stars shows a minimum value atν≃ 10 Hz, due to the lack of gravitational wave signals from the stars with 140 M⊙< M∗< 260 M⊙.
Deformation and sedimentation processes, and hydrocarbon accumulations on upturned salt diapir flanks in the Lusitanian Basin, Portugal

The onshore Lusitanian Basin is dominated by two large diapiric salt walls which extend for up to 100 km. Seismic sections indicate that stratal onlap onto an intervening salt pillow initiated in Early Jurassic times. Well-exposed diapir flanks reveal three types of halokinetic-related unconformities (hook, low-angle wedge and high-angle flap-onlap – a new term) of Kimmeridgian to Turonian age, indicating that diapirism was active throughout this period. Stratal dip-fanning and wedge-thinning is predominantly caused by original sedimentary depositional processes with multiple low-angle unconformities (1°–5° pinchout angles) in both carbonate- and clastic-dominated sequences. No significant sedimentary slumping was observed in the clastic-dominated strata but important slumping of flank material is present in the carbonate-dominated sequences. Two tar accumulations are derived from oil trapped in sandstones on the flanks of the São Pedro de Moel and Santa Cruz salt diapirs. These are interpreted to be exhumed, but now biodegraded, oilfields. To our knowledge, these are the only exposed examples of salt-flank hydrocarbon accumulations that have been documented in the literature.
Job-related attitudes and expatriate managers' intention to quit a foreign assignment

A prominent issue in international staffing literature is the premature return of an expatriate to his/her home country or resignation during or shortly after the international assignment. This paper is based on an empirical study that draws upon quantitative and qualitative data generated through self-administered questionnaires from among a sample of South African expatriate managers. The main purpose of the study was to determine to what degree job-related attitude predicts the intention to quit prematurely, or intention to quit their job during or post completion of an international assignment, and which job-related attitude variables are accountable for this intention to quit or not to quit. The findings provide empirical evidence that expatriate failure rates could reach unacceptable levels and job-related attitudes are identified as critical to the adjustment process. The results and recommendations may assist multinational corporations in South Africa to facilitate the expatriation and repatriation processes of managers, saving substantial sums of money and keeping valuable human capital within the multinational corporation as part of talent management.