Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Middle Managers on Employees’ Responses to a Merger: An LMX and Appraisal Theory Approach

ABSTRACT This study investigated how middle managers can facilitate change by affecting subordinates’ affective responses and attitudes towards a merger. We utilized leader-member exchange theory and appraisal theory to argue that employees who have a high quality exchange relationships with their supervising manager would be provided with more change information and opportunities for participation in the change, and, in turn, would have more positive affective perceptions of the change in terms of trust, cynicism, uncertainty and control, and subsequently be more open to the change. Multi-group analysis was applied to data of 326 employees of two health insurance companies that were involved in a merger. The findings largely supported the research model, suggesting that middle managers can facilitate change by developing high-quality relationships with their subordinates, and addressing employees’ affective perceptions of the change through change information and change participation. Our focus on the middle managers’ relationship with their employees offers theoretical and practical insights into the affective and attitudinal processes that occur during organizational change. MAD statement This study aims to Make a Difference by exploring how employees’ reactions to a planned organizational change can be influenced by their supervisor. This study emphasizes the importance of the work (exchange) relationship of middle managers and their subordinates. Employees who experienced a qualitatively better relationship felt better about the change because they were given more change information and opportunities to participate, and were more open to the change. So it seems that middle managers can have a vital role in the effective implementation of planned change.
Dissemination of ICT-Based Learning Models to Improve Student Learning Independence in Higher Education

The industrial revolution 4.0 era have encouraged higher education to continuously make changes by using ICT-based learning. In the previous year a validity test on the ICT-based learning model was conducted. For a broader application, dissemination and testing should be implemented by other universities, specifically by Muhammadiyah University Gresik. The research results are the lecturers ability to apply of ICT-based learning model syntaxs in high cathegory. The student response to the application of ICT-based learning models, audiobook media and excercise i-Spring quizzes are effective and helpful in improving learning activities, result and student learning independence.
Insult to injury: National analysis of return to work and financial outcomes of trauma patients

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. BACKGROUND While much of trauma care is rightly focused on improving inpatient survival, the ultimate goal of recovery is to help patients return to their daily lives after injury. Although the overwhelming majority of trauma patients in the United States survive to hospital discharge, little is known nationally regarding the postdischarge economic burden of injuries among trauma survivors. METHODS We used the National Health Interview Survey from 2008 to 2017 to identify working-age trauma patients, aged 18 to 64 years, who sustained injuries requiring hospitalization. We used propensity score matching to identify noninjured respondents. Our primary outcome measure was postinjury return to work among trauma patients. Our secondary outcomes included measures of food insecurity, medical debt, accessibility and affordability of health care, and disability. RESULTS A nationally weighted sample of 319,580 working-age trauma patients were identified. Of these patients, 51.7% were employed at the time of injury, and 58.9% of them had returned to work at the time of interview, at a median of 47 days postdischarge. Higher rates of returning to work were associated with shorter length of hospital stay, higher education level, and private health insurance. Injury was associated with food insecurity at an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 1.8 (95% confidence interval, 1.40–2.37), with difficulty affording health care at aOR of 1.6 (1.00–2.47), with medical debt at aOR of 2.6 (2.11–3.20), and with foregoing care due to cost at aOR of 2.0 (1.52–2.63). Working-age trauma patients had disability at an aOR of 17.6 (12.93–24.05). CONCLUSION The postdischarge burden of injury among working-age US trauma survivors is profound—patients report significant limitations in employment, financial security, disability, and functional independence. A better understanding of the long-term impact of injury is necessary to design the interventions needed to optimize postinjury recovery so that trauma survivors can lead productive and fulfilling lives after injury. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Economic & Value-Based Evaluations, level II; Prognostic, level II.
COVID-19 in a bone marrow transplant patient

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a new pandemic with over 190000 cases and 7800 death reported world-wide as of 18 March 2020. Due to its high infectivity and pathogenicity, most people are vulnerable to this virus, especially those with comorbidities. According to a previous study, patients with pre-existing conditions are more likely to require mechanical ventilation, which may lead to a higher risk of death. Post-transplant patients are usually under immunosuppressive therapy; this immune deficiency status may result in opportunistic infections. For now the experience in the management of COVID-19 in the post-transplant population is limited. Here we report COVID-19 case who just underwent transplantation and did not show any disease activity, despite of his suppressed immune status.
The one-year outcomes of life-sustaining treatments in intensive care units among cancer patients at the end of life stage in Taiwan: A retrospective design.

Background Terminal cancer patients’ admission to intensive care unit (ICU) remains a controversial issue and there is a lack of information about their prognosis after ICU life-sustaining treatments. This one-year study aimed to compared the impacts of life-sustaining treatments and utilization of hospital care prior to ICU admission on mortality rates between cancer and non-cancer patients at the end of life stage. Methods This study adopted a one-year longitudinal retrospective design. Data from chart reviewing at the general hospital with 44 beds of ICU included the terminally ill patients’ demographic background, diseases, DNR status and life-sustaining treatments, utilization of hospital care one-year prior to ICU admission, and death at ICU and one-year post-ICU discharge. Results The higher mortality rates at ICU and one-year after ICU discharge were found in cancer group than non-cancer group (Odds ratio = 0.742; CI = 0.511–1.012, p = 0.043) (Odds ratio = 0.225; CI = 0.121–0.417, p < 0.001). Compared with non-cancer group (14%), there were lower withdrawal rates in cancer group (6.5%). No DNR designation prior to ICU admission and near half of families (49.4%) in cancer group refused to receive hospice care consultation in ICU. After adjusting for age and APACHE II scores, mechanical ventilation (Odds ratio = 2.242; CI = 1.354–4.705, p = 0.027), enteral nutrition (Odds ratio = 1.675; CI = 1.140–2.264, p = 0.004) and parenteral nutrition (Odds ratio = 1.460; CI = 0.747–2.626, p = 0.029) significantly increased the risk of ICU mortality rates among terminal cancer patients. Moreover, enteral nutrition also increased one-year mortality rates (Odds ratio = 1.558; CI = 1.112–1.985, p = 0.014). The higher usages of hospital care from general wards were found in cancer group than non-cancer group. There were no association between utilizations of hospital care and mortality rates. Conclusions Higher utilizations of hospital care and no DNR designation prior to ICU admission demonstrates the delay and barrier of Chinese patients and families’ acceptance of hospice care at the end of life stage. The higher ICU mortality rates and lower withdrawal rates urge professionals to develop cultural-sensitive family-centered hospice care program for terminal cancer patients in ICU.
Early Adverse Childhood Experiences and Self-Control Development among Youth in Fragile Families

Though considerable research links both a lack of self-control and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to a variety of negative health and behavioral outcomes, few studies to date have explored whether ACEs are associated with deficits in self-control. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCW; n = 3,444) and a life course theoretical framework, this study aims to address this gap in the literature by examining the relationships between individual ACEs, cumulative ACEs, timing of ACEs, and durations of early ACEs and self-control development among youth. Our results indicate that as the number of ACEs (by age 5) experienced incrementally increases, the likelihood of reported self-control decreases. Moreover, when it comes to the timing and duration of ACE exposure, ACEs that are high but late, intermittent, or chronically high significantly decrease self-control. Based on our findings, researchers should continue to explore the role of ACEs in youth self-control development.
Accelerating Convolutional Neural Network-Based Hyperspectral Image Classification by Step Activation Quantization

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have achieved excellent feature extraction capabilities in remotely sensed hyperspectral image (HSI) classification. This is due to their ability to learn representative spatial and spectral features. However, it is difficult for conventional computers to classify HSIs quickly enough for practical use in many applications, mainly because of the large number of calculations and parameters needed by deep learning-based methods. Although several weight quantization methods achieved remarkable results in network compression, the network acceleration effect is still not significant because a full exploration of the potential of network acceleration brought by network weight quantization is still absent from the literature. In this article, a new step activation quantization method is proposed to constrain the input of the network layer of the CNN so that the data can be represented by low-bit integers. As a result, floating-point operations can be replaced with integer operations to greatly accelerate the forward (inference) step of the network. Specifically, nonlinear uniform quantization is adopted in this work to restrain the input of the CNN in the forward inference of the step activation quantization layer, and two functions (constant and tanh-like) are used in the backpropagation step to avoid gradient vanishing and noise. Our newly proposed step activation quantization acceleration method is applied to a CNN for HSI with two well-known benchmark data sets and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is very effective in terms of both memory savings and computation acceleration, with only a slight decrease in classification accuracy. Specifically, our method reduces memory requirements in $13.6\times $ and obtains around $10\times {}$ speedup with regard to the original real-valued network version.
Why does illegal wildlife trade persist in spite of legal alternatives in transboundary regions?

ABSTRACT Both the characteristics of the value chains and the social-ecological context within which they exist are important to uncover motivations for engagement in legal and illegal value chains. Bêche-de-mer (dried sea cucumbers), shark fins, and fish maw (dried swim bladders) are valued products in the South Fly region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). We applied value chain analysis (VCA) to map the ‘vertical’ characteristics of trade and ‘horizontal’ contextual issues driving the trade. Vertical VCA showed that both legal and illegal value chains end in the same Asian cities, but using different routes. Prices offered by illegal middlemen to PNG fishers were significantly lower than those offered by legal buyers. Horizontal analysis showed five drivers (lack of information, obligatory dependencies to middlemen, kinship ties, need for cash, inaccessibility of legal markets) for accepting lower prices. We recommend interventions necessary to tackle these systemic drivers of illegal trade.
“We’re Going Under”: The Role of Local News Media in Dislocating Climate Change Adaptation

ABSTRACT As carbon emissions continue to rise, the need to adapt to climate impacts has become increasingly urgent. Planning and implementing climate adaptation is often left to local authorities and is fraught with the challenge of negotiating with multiple stakeholders holding differing interpretations of climate change. In such a space, local media has a critical role in communicating these differing perspectives within communities. In this article we explore the central role of a local newspaper in shaping public debate over the implementation of a climate adaptation plan in a coastal region of Australia. Rather than providing an arena for public discussion and constructive debate, we find that the newspaper adopted a clear position rejecting the need for changes in planning for anticipated climate impacts. We use the case study to explore how media discourse contributes to (i) the construction of an antagonistic debate undermining climate science, and (ii) strengthening the hegemony of economic value and property rights. In response, we suggest shoring up political alliances for climate change, including in the local media, as a basis for social change.
THE ROLE OF POSITIVE EMOTION IN MEDIATING THE EFFECT OF PRICE DISCOUNT ON IMPULSE BUYING INDOMARET CUSTOMERS IN DENPASAR CITY, INDONESIA

The purpose of this study is to explain the role of positive emotion in mediating the effect of price discounts on impulse buying. This research was conducted in Denpasar City with 110 respondents as a sample through purposive sampling method with adjusted criteria. Price discount has a positive and significant effect on impulse buying. Price discount has a positive and significant effect on positive emotion. Positive emotion has a positive and significant effect on impulse buying. Positive emotion can act as a significant mediating variable between the effect of price discounts on impulse buying. The results of this study indicate that in increasing impulse buying. Indomaret minimarket management is expected to always provide promotional strategies in the form of discount prices to touch consumers' hearts and create positive emotions when shopping. Article visualizations:
Communication-related factors influencing the uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision among men in Lilongwe Urban, Malawi

Abstract Abstract: Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) has been promoted as an effective biomedical intervention in the reduction of the risk of new HIV and STI infections. The government of Malawi and its stakeholders including the World Health Organization have committed a lot of resources to VMMC programming. However, research shows that its uptake among men is still low in Malawi. This study, therefore, investigated the communication-related factors that influence decision-making in the uptake of VMMC among men in Lilongwe, Malawi. To achieve this aim, twenty-five men, aged between 18 and 35 years old were interviewed on what influenced them to undergo VMMC. The study found that the respondents were influenced to uptake VMMC mostly by peer pressure and the need for conformity; partner/girlfriend demand and considerations; and advice from health personnel. The paper concludes that although the final decision was theirs to make, the men in the study underwent circumcision under duress and/or coercion. It cannot be said to be voluntary. The medical necessity of VMMC can be said to be voluntary if it is negotiated and consented to without duress. Although the respondents mentioned the HIV and STI infection risk reduction properties, hygienic advantages, and cervical cancer reduction properties of VMMC as benefits of VMMC, these had very little influence on their decision. It is recommended that current intervention messages be reviewed and modified to incorporate new ideas that can address the shortcomings that the current crop of messages has with the aim of increasing the uptake of VMMC programmes or other health focused behaviour change programmes.
Light Quality Affects Water Use of Sweet Basil by Changing Its Stomatal Development

Different light qualities affect plant growth and physiological responses, including stomatal openings. However, most researchers have focused on stomatal responses to red and blue light only, and the direct measurement of evapotranspiration has not been examined. Therefore, we quantified the evapotranspiration of sweet basil under various red (R), green (G), and blue (B) combinations using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and investigated its stomatal responses. Seedlings were subjected to five different spectral treatments for two weeks at a photosynthetic photon flux density of 200 µmol m−2 s−1. The ratios of the RGB light intensities were as follows: R 100% (R100), R:G = 75:25 (R75G25), R:B = 75:25 (R75B25), R:G:B = 60:20:20 (R60G20B20), and R:G:B = 31:42:27 (R31G42B27). During the experiment, the evapotranspiration of the plants was measured using load cells. Although there were no significant differences in growth parameters among the treatments, the photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance were higher in plants grown under blue LEDs (R75B25, R60G20B20, and R31G42B27) than in the R100 treatment. The amount of water used was different among the treatments (663.5, 726.5, 728.7, 778.0, and 782.1 mL for the R100, R75G25, R60G20B20, R75B25, and R31G42B27 treatments, respectively). The stomatal density was correlated with the blue light intensity (p = 0.0024) and with the combined intensity of green and blue light (p = 0.0029); therefore, green light was considered to promote the stomatal development of plants together with blue light. Overall, different light qualities affected the water use of plants by regulating stomatal conductance, including changes in stomatal density.
Is Active Lifestyle Related to Autonomic Nervous System Function and Lipid Profile in People with Overweight? A Study Pilot

Autonomic nervous system function is an important predictor of physical fitness. The objective of this study was to find out the associations of autonomic activity parameters, lipid profile, insulin concentrations, and insulin resistance in overweight men with the level of physical activity. A descriptive and correlational study was carried out in 28 overweight men: 14 physically active (PA) and 14 physically inactive (PI). The following variables were assessed: Level of physical activity, HRV (heart rate variability), basal insulin, HOMA-IR index (Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin-Resistance), and lipid profile. The main results show a positive correlation between the spectral parameters of the HRV and total cholesterol (r = 0.24), LDL (r = 0.59), VLDL (r = 0.86), and insulin (r = 0.88) of sedentary people, evidencing a directly proportional correlation with BMI. We conclude that weight gain and a sedentary lifestyle are associated with an increase in sympathetic discharge, which, in turn, is associated with an increase in lipid profile and insulin levels.
Enzymatic Synthesis of Poly(alkylene succinate)s: Influence of Reaction Conditions

Application of lipases (preferentially Candida antarctica Lipase B, CALB) for melt polycondensation of aliphatic polyesters by transesterification of activated dicarboxylic acids with diols allows to displace toxic metal and metal oxide catalysts. Immobilization of the enzyme enhances the activity and the temperature range of use. The possibility to use enzyme-catalyzed polycondensation in melt is studied and compared to results of polycondensations in solution. The experiments show that CALB successfully catalyzes polycondensation of both, divinyladipate and dimethylsuccinate, respectively, with 1,4-butanediol. NMR spectroscopy, relative molar masses obtained by size exclusion chromatography, MALDI-TOF MS and wide-angle X-ray scattering are employed to compare the influence of synthesis conditions for poly(butylene adipate) (PBA) and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS). It is shown that the enzymatic activity of immobilized CALB deviates and influences the molar mass. CALB-catalyzed polycondensation of PBA in solution for 24 h at 70 °C achieves molar masses of up to Mw~60,000 g/mol, higher than reported previously and comparable to conventional PBA, while melt polycondensation resulted in a moderate decrease of molar mass to Mw~31,000. Enzymatically catalyzed melt polycondensation of PBS yields Mw~23,400 g/mol vs. Mw~40,000 g/mol with titanium(IV)n-butoxide. Melt polycondensation with enzyme catalysis allows to reduce the reaction time from days to 3–4 h.
Mapping a sector's scope transformation and the value of following the evolving core

A surprisingly neglected facet of sector evolution is the evolutionary analysis of firms’, and thus a sector’s, scope. Defining a sector as a group of firms that can change their scope over time, we study the transformation of U.S. banking firms. We undertake a sectoral, population-wide study of business-scope transformation, with particular focus on which segments banks expand into. As financial intermediation evolved, a continuously shifting set of activities became associated with “core banking,” with scope changing and relatedness itself (measured through coincidence) evolving over the banking sector’s history. Banks that expand scope while staying close to this evolving core attain net performance benefits. Identification tests show that the benefits of following the evolving core are robust to endogeneity.
Particulate Modeling of Sand Production Using Coupled DEM-LBM

Sand production is a complex phenomenon caused by the erosion of borehole walls during the extraction of hydrocarbons. In this paper, the sanding process in a typical Thick-Walled Hollow Cylinder (TWHC) test is numerically simulated. The main objective of the study is to model the particulate mechanism of sand production in granular assemblies with different bonding conditions and examine the effects of parameters such as stress level and cavity size on the sanding model. Due to the discrete nature of sand particles, the Discrete Element Method (DEM) is chosen to model solid particles, and the Lattice-Boltzmann Method (LBM) is implemented to simulate fluid flow through the solid particulate medium. A computer program is developed using the Immersed Moving Boundary (IMB) approach to couple the two methods and model fluid–solid interactions. After the program is validated, the simulations were conducted on 2D models representing cross-sections of TWHC samples under radial fluid flow. The results show that the developed program is able to capture complicated stages of sand production already observed in experiments. The program also proves to be a promising tool in the parametric study of sand production. It successfully simulates different aspects of the sanding phenomenon, including the scale effect, the extension of failure zones in samples under incremental stress, and the stress relaxation during rapid particle erosion.