Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developing and Leading Ambidextrous Teams: A Team-Centric Framework of Ambidexterity in Volatile Environments

ABSTRACT To meet the adaptive challenges of rapidly changing environments, leaders of organizational teams and team-based entities can leverage the powerful dynamic capabilities of ambidexterity to achieve sustainable innovation and longterm adaptation. This conceptual inquiry focuses on the special characteristics of teams and teamwork, and how those can afford dynamic potential for achieving ambidexterity. Teams intrinsically function dynamically as integrative adaptive systems. Teams hold unique advantages for sensing and seizing new opportunities, and for reallocating taskwork and reconfiguring resources. Such advantages enable teams to more effectively align and balance exploration and exploitation for sustained innovation and successful adaptation. This inquiry draws from existing studies of dynamic capabilities and ambidexterity, and integrates that research with the well-established literature on teams and teamwork. This study examines the key processes and dynamics of team ambidexterity. The study synthesizes, and proposes a systems model that indicates team-centric mechanisms and dynamic linkages by which ambidexterity can operate as dynamic capabilities within teams. The analysis and model add to the development of organizational change theory and orients future studies of ambidexterity at meso level. This inquiry also benefits organizational leaders by providing valuable insights and practical tools for developing, leading, and supporting teams that can perform effectively under turbulent conditions.
An improved quadratic poly-harmonic distortion behavioral model

In this paper, the basic quadratic form of the poly-harmonic distortion model is first presented and this is then extended to provide a new, modified quadratic poly-harmonic distortion model. Comparisons between the X-parameter model, the basic quadratic poly-harmonic distortion model, and the modified version are provided. Both simulation and experimental test results show that the new modified model provides significant improvements in accuracy, not only for the fundamental frequency, but also for DC. Work on the optimization of the model is also presented, providing further improvements in both the model extraction time and the file size.
Towards a digitalize economy: The Impact of Training on the Performance of Public Sector IT firms in Africa

Research background: The widespread adoption of technological advances, such as ICT-enabled infrastructure is becoming the new norm for most African countries. The quest to achieve a digitalized Africa has fuelled public sector IT firms to embark on staff training to enhance their productivity. Purpose of the article: The present study seeks to examine the influence of such training on public sector IT performance. Methods: The study uses 70 employees from the public sector IT firm, sampled from LinkedIn professional platform. Primary source of data; mainly the questionnaire was used to gather responses. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the gathered data. Using the correlation coefficient, regression, independent and paired sample test, hypotheses were tested. Findings & Value added: The paired sample t test revealed that after training, there was a significant difference in the scores of the IT firm productivity PRO1 (M = 19.97, SD = 1.88) and PRO2 (M = 21.77, SD = 1.94), t (-5.00) = 69, p < 0.05. There is no significant difference in the scores of male staff (M = 21.80, SD = 1.93) from those of the female staff (M = 21.70, SD = 1.98), t (1.95) = 68, p = 0.846 as indicated by the independent sample t test. The relationship between training organizational performance is positive (r= 0.52, n= 70, p < 0.05) while the regression technique shows a positive effect (b= 0.19, p < 5%) between staff training and IT firm productivity.
Limited water access is associated with food insecurity and diarrheal episodes among children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition in Far-North Cameroon

To gain further understanding of the interlinkages between poor water access, household food insecurity, and undernutrition among children, this study used a cross-sectional design with 474 female caretakers of children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) to explore the relationship between limited access to water and diarrheal diseases among children, aged <5 years, experiencing MAM. The mean age of the caretakers was 28.50±6.88 years and that of their MAM children (sex ratio=0.7) was 17.79±9.59 months. The participants reported spending an average of 19.29±15.69 min for one trip to fetch water. A negative correlation was found between mean time spent fetching drinking water and hygiene and handwashing score (r=−0.141, p=0.003). Furthermore, the more severe the food insecurity status of a household, the farther the family member likely had to go to fetch for drinking water [F(2, 444)=8.64, p≤0.001]. Results from binary logistic regression showed that children from households practicing open defecation (p=0.008) and/or having inadequate hygiene practices (p=0.004) had increased odds of developing diarrhea. Therefore, ameliorating water access in households with MAM children could contribute to improvements in hygiene and sanitation attitudes with a subsequent increase in the effectiveness of nutrition interventions aiming at reducing acute malnutrition among children.
Interviewee Transcript Review as a Tool to Improve Data Quality and Participant Confidence in Sensitive Research

Interviewee Transcript Review (ITR), a form of Respondent Validation, is a way to share and check interview transcripts with research participants. To date, the literature has considered how these practices affect data quality, focused on the ability of a participant to correct, add or remove data. Less considered is the extent to which ITR might enable sensitive research. Reporting on research examining the experiences and perspectives of different stakeholders involved in Domestic Homicide Reviews, 40 participants who took part in semi-structured interviews were offered the opportunity to review their transcripts. This paper contributes to the understanding of the use of ITR, demonstrating how it can be used to increase participant confidence to provide assurance about, and indeed active involvement in, the steps being taken to preserve their anonymity.
Novel Switched-Inductor Quasi-Z-source Inverter

A novel switched-inductor quasi-Z-source inverter is proposed in this study. Compared with classic topologies, the boost ability of the proposed topology is strengthened. The voltage stress of the capacitors, diodes, and power devices are reduced, and the current ripple of the DC voltage source is suppressed. Conversion efficiency is also improved. The operation principle of the proposed topology is analyzed in detail and compared with that of similar topologies. The feasibility of the proposed topology is verified by simulations and experiments on a laboratory prototype.
Feature-aided Bundle Adjustment Learning Framework for Self-supervised Monocular Visual Odometry

Bundle adjustment refines scene geometry and relative camera poses simultaneously via reprojection error, computed by a set of images from different viewpoints, which is the gold standard for visual odometry. However, deep learning methods have not been well exploited within this area of study. This paper introduces a self-supervised learning framework for monocular visual odometry, inside which depth maps, relative camera poses, and dense feature maps (with the same resolution as images) are estimated and used for photometric, geometric, and feature-metric losses in bundle adjustment. In this manner, we consider that the learning of neural networks can be geometrically constrained by multi-view geometry. Furthermore, bundle adjustment is only required during the training time, allowing the networks to benefit from bundle adjustment without any additional computation burden during the inference time. To stabilize the training process, we apply a two-stage strategy that yields promising results. Finally, we carefully select the neural network architectures to ensure efficiency, and experimental results demonstrate the success of our proposed approach in terms of visual odometry accuracy and high speed.
Modification of High-Density Lipoprotein Functions by Diet and Other Lifestyle Changes: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) functional traits have emerged as relevant elements that may explain HDL antiatherogenic capacity better than HDL cholesterol levels. These properties have been improved in several lifestyle intervention trials. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the results of such trials of the most commonly used dietary modifications (fatty acids, cholesterol, antioxidants, alcohol, and calorie restriction) and physical activity. Articles were screened from the Medline database until March 2021, and 118 randomized controlled trials were selected. Results from HDL functions and associated functional components were extracted, including cholesterol efflux capacity, cholesteryl ester transfer protein, lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase, HDL antioxidant capacity, HDL oxidation status, paraoxonase-1 activity, HDL anti-inflammatory and endothelial protection capacity, HDL-associated phospholipase A2, HDL-associated serum amyloid A, and HDL-alpha-1-antitrypsin. In mainly short-term clinical trials, the consumption of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (particularly omega-3 in fish), and dietary antioxidants showed benefits to HDL functionality, especially in subjects with cardiovascular risk factors. In this regard, antioxidant-rich dietary patterns were able to improve HDL function in both healthy individuals and subjects at high cardiovascular risk. In addition, in randomized trial assays performed mainly in healthy individuals, reverse cholesterol transport with ethanol in moderate quantities enhanced HDL function. Nevertheless, the evidence summarized was of unclear quality and short-term nature and presented heterogeneity in lifestyle modifications, trial designs, and biochemical techniques for the assessment of HDL functions. Such findings should therefore be interpreted with caution. Large-scale, long-term, randomized, controlled trials in different populations and individuals with diverse pathologies are warranted.
Maternal serum lactate dehydrogenase level and adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with hypertensive disorder of pregnancy at a tertiary care centre: a retrospective study

Background: Hypertensive disorder of pregnancy affect 6-8% of all pregnancies, contributing immensely to maternal morbidity and mortality. Thus, presence of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) signifies tissue damage and haemolysis. The aim of the study was to correlate LDH levels with blood pressure ranges and maternal and foetal outcome in women with gestational hypertension, pre-eclampsia.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology of AJ Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Mangalore for a period of 1 year (January 2020 to January 2021). Based on the eligibility criteria, 52 hypertensive pregnant women were enrolled as cases.Results: Mean±SD period of gestation at delivery was lowest (34.57±1.39 weeks) for pregnant women with S. LDH levels>800 IU/l, whereas with S. LDH<00 IU/l delivered at around 37 weeks of gestation. Mean Apgar scores were lowest for the babies born to hypertensive pregnant women>800 IU/l, mean±SD Apgar scores at the end of 1 min, 5 minutes and 10 min were 4.42±0.79, 4.75±2.26 and 5.50±2.65 respectively.Conclusions: It can be concluded that S. LDH has the potential to be considered as a screening tool or predictor of the outcome of pregnancy in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. However, studies of larger magnitude may be required to confirm the presence and the strength of association of S. LDH levels with pregnancy outcome.
Awareness, Prevention, Detection, and Therapy Applications for Depression and Anxiety in Serious Games for Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review

Background Depression and anxiety in children and adolescents are major health problems worldwide. In recent years, serious games research has advanced in the development of tools to address these mental health conditions. However, there has not been an extensive analysis of these games, their tendencies, and capacities. Objective This review aims to gather the most current serious games, published from 2015 to 2020, with a new approach focusing on their applications: awareness, prevention, detection, and therapy. The purpose is also to analyze the implementation, development, and evaluation of these tools to obtain trends, strengths, and weaknesses for future research lines. Methods The identification of the serious games through a literature search was conducted on the databases PubMed, Scopus, Wiley, Taylor and Francis, Springer, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Web of Science, and Science Direct. The identified records were screened to include only the manuscripts meeting these criteria: a serious game for PC, smartphone, or virtual reality; developed by research teams; targeting only depression or anxiety or both; aiming specifically at children or adolescents. Results A total of 34 studies have been found that developed serious games for PC, smartphone, and virtual reality devices and tested them in children and adolescents. Most of the games address both conditions and are applied in prevention and therapy. Nevertheless, there is a trend that anxiety is targeted more in childhood and depression targeted more in adolescence. Regarding design, the game genres arcade minigames, adventure worlds, and social simulations are used, in this order. For implementation, these serious games usually require sessions of 1 hour and are most often played using a PC. Moreover, the common evaluation tools are normalized questionnaires that measure acquisition of skills or reduction of symptoms. Most studies collect and compare these data before and after the participants play. Conclusions The results show that more awareness and detection games are needed, as well as games that mix the awareness, prevention, detection, and therapy applications. In addition, games for depression and anxiety should equally target all age ranges. For future research, the development and evaluation of serious games should be standardized, so the implementation of serious games as tools would advance. The games should always offer support while playing, in addition to collecting data on participant behavior during the game to better analyze their learning. Furthermore, there is an open line regarding the use of virtual reality for these games due to the capabilities offered by this technology.
PROCESS AND CASE ILLUSTRATION OF CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION

This paper describes the major stages and component steps leading to the realization of the technical and commercial potential of a new construction technology. It encompasses a process of innovation and invention, which is generically applicable to any construction innovation. A case illustration of a new asphalt compaction technology is also described within each stage to provide a “real life” example. Motivation for the new technology came from the fact that existing, conventional rollers can cause serious damage to the compacted asphalt mat at the time of construction. This damage is in the form of construction cracks, often termed “roller checking,” which can result in accelerated, in-service deterioration. The new technology originally termed the “Asphalt Multi Integrated Roller” (AMIR), overcomes the problems of current rollers through stiffness compatibility with the asphalt mix and a different geometry than conventional rollers. Commercial realization of the technology has been achieved through a.
Patterns of lipid profile abnormalities in hypertensive patients and normotensive subjects: a cross-sectional observational study

Background: It is a well-known fact that hypertension and altered lipid profile or dyslipidaemia are leading risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. The coexistence of these two conditions has remained an interesting matter, among cardiologists and researchers alike. In this study, we analysed the serum lipid patterns of hypertensive patients and normotensive control subjects.Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a tertiary healthcare and teaching center of Northwestern India during the period of 2010 and 2011. The study comprised of 100 hypertensive patients and 100 normotensive control subjects. Data were collected regarding demographic details, past medical/drug history and lipid profile including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Results: A total of 200 subjects with the age above 20 years were enrolled in the study. The mean BMI in hypertensive patients (24.14±2.15 kg/m2) was significantly higher than normotensive subjects (22.60±2.62 kg/m2) (p<0.05). When we compared the mean of TC and TG among the hypertensive patients and normotensive subjects, highly significant differences were obtained (p<0.001). The significant decline in mean HDL level was observed in hypertensive patients than normotensive subjects (40.41±4.57 versus 44.64±5.97, p<0.005). Conclusions: The dyslipidaemia has been more evident among hypertensive patients. Hence, the measurement of blood pressure and lipid profile are of great importance to prevent cardiovascular diseases, stroke and other comorbidities.
Evaluation of Effective Thermal Conductivity of Multilayer Printed Circuit Board

To perform a rational thermal design of a printed circuit board (PCB) with highly anisotropic heat transfer nature in its initial stage, effective thermal conductivities in thickness direction and in in-plane direction must be given depending on the electric circuit of the board. However, a simple evaluation method for the effective thermal conductivities of such PCB has not been developed yet. In this study, as the first step to propose a simple evaluation method, the heat transfer coefficient by natural convection around a horizontal disk, which is indispensable for measuring the effective thermal conductivity, has been evaluated. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity of the glass epoxy resin in in-plane direction has been evaluated by applying the evaluated heat transfer coefficient, and then, the validity of the proposed thermal conductivity measurements of the anisotropic PCB has been confirmed.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Perceived effects of COVID-19 pandemic on stress levels and its related factors of NICU nurses

Abstract COVID-19 pandemic has affected numerous conditions in nurses’ jobs, which led to stress. Stress in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses is different from other units due to neonates’ fragility. This study aims to identify the perceived effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in NICU nurses’ stress levels and its related factors. This cross-sectional study took place in Hasan Sadikin General Hospital Bandung, Indonesia, in October – December 2020, involving 23 NICU nurses. Subjects filled in the online questionnaires for three different time frames: before the pandemic, at the onset of the pandemic, and in the new normal era. Data were analyzed using Friedman test, post hoc Wilcoxon test, and Bonferroni correction. There was significant difference in nurses’ stress before the pandemic, at the onset of the pandemic, and in the new normal era. The stress increased at the onset of the pandemic and then decreased in the new normal era. The COVID-19 pandemic increased stress level and affected workloads, work-safety, interpersonal relationships, family problems, and economic problems. With these findings, we recommend the hospital management do a regular stress screening on NICU nurses and refer to the psychiatric department if nurses experience stress.
Fatigue Assessment of Slender Long-Span Bridges: Reliability Approach

It is well known that wind loads result in wind-induced buffeting of slender long-span bridges. Traffic also frequently exists on a slender long-span bridge simultaneously throughout its service life, which can affect the dynamic behavior of the slender structural systems. The nature of the vibration of a slender long-span bridge is further complicated by the dynamic coupling effects among the bridge, wind, and traffic. Fatigue damage is an important consideration in the serviceability performance of slender long-span bridges that typically experience cyclic or repetitive loads, such as those induced by wind and traffic. Stochastic wind and traffic loads, dynamic interaction, and fatigue accumulation for a slender long-span bridge essentially vary over time, with uncertainty contributions from each. Therefore, a reliability-based fatigue assessment model, which can rationally consider the combined load effects from wind and traffic as well as the associated uncertainties, is needed to provide an accurate estimate of reliability for fatigue. Initially, a scenario-based deterministic fatigue analysis model is developed. A typical year is categorized into several representative scenarios of traffic and wind conditions. After identifying the duration for each representative scenario in a typical year, a cumulative yearly fatigue damage factor can be predicted by superposing the cumulative hourly damage factors for all representative scenarios. On the basis of the scenario-based deterministic analytical model, the framework of the reliability-based fatigue damage assessment for a slender long-span bridge is further developed. Finally, an illustrative example for a prototype bridge is conducted.
Professional quality of life among health care professionals in cystic fibrosis and child and adolescent mental health

Abstract Purpose is to investigate and compare professional quality of life (ProQoL) among health care providers (HCPs) in cystic fibrosis (CF) ambulances and inpatient clinic for child and adolescent psychiatry. The ProQoL R-IV Inventory was administered to 96 HCPs to investigate: compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress (STS). HCPs in CF centers and inpatient psychiatry did not differ in their ProQoL. However, the occupational groups differed regarding STS (F(3,92)=3.726, p=. 01). Physicians reported more STS than other groups. Longer work experience was associated with more STS (r=-0.21, p=.04). Regular screening should be put in place to identify HCPs at risk of decreased ProQoL.
Ecological validity and bilingual language control: voluntary language switching between sentences

ABSTRACT Few language switching studies have found conditions in which there is no significant cost to switching languages. Since language-switch costs are a measure of language control, this could be seen as evidence for the ubiquity of this process in bilingual language production. However, one claim is that ecologically valid bilingual contexts lead to small or even absent switch costs. To further investigate this, we examined voluntary language switching between sentences. This ecologically more valid setup (compared to the more prominent involuntary language switching setup with single word production) resulted in switch costs for sentences produced in the second language, but no significant switch costs for sentences produced in the first language, whereas involuntary language switching between sentences resulted in substantial switch costs across both languages. These results indicate that more ecologically valid contexts can lead to circumstances that might require little to no language control.