Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TITLE: HRM roles in cross culture training provision: Insights from Israeli companies AUTHORS:

In light of a steady use of traditional expatriate assignments and the increased popularity of alternative assignments (e.g. Brookfieldgrs, 2016; KPMG, 2017) it is not surprising that the factors that contribute to their success have attracted a lot of attention (e.g. Ananthram and Chan, 2013; Littrell et al., 2006). In this context the role of cross culture training (CCT) has been widely discussed, as part of wider global HR approaches (Ananthram and Chan, 2013; Menipaz and Menipaz, 2011). Often described as a ̳practice with potential‘ (Morley and Parkinson, 2015), CCT is generally portrayed as comprising practices that focus on specific or general cultural content (e.g. Caligiuri, 2006; Okpara and Kabongo, 2011) and aim to shorten the adjustment period by enhancing expatriates‘ awareness and creating realistic expectations (e.g. Caligiuri et al., 2001), facilitating the development of positive relationships abroad (e.g. Okpara and Kabongo, 2011) and helping with assignment related stressors (Littrell et al., 2006). In this vein, specific CCT constructs have been linked to the achievement of different cultural adjustment dimensions, such as work (e.g. Chien, 2012; Haslberger et al., 2013), cognitive (e.g. Haslberger et al., 2013) and interpersonal adjustment (e.g. Susanto and Rositani, 2012).
Applying Metaheuristic for Time-Dependent Traveling Salesman Problem in Postdisaster

The Time-Dependent Traveling Salesman Problem (TDTSP) is a generalization of the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) and Traveling Repairman Problem (TRP). In the TSP and TRP, the travel time to travel is assumed to be constant. However, in practice, the travel times vary according to several factors that naturally depend on the time of day. Therefore, the TDTSP is closer to several real practical situations than the TSP. In this paper, we introduce a new variant of the TDTSP, that is, the Time-Dependent Traveling Salesman Problem in Postdisaster (TDTSP-PD). In the problem, the travel costs need to be added debris removal times after a disaster occurs. To solve the TDTSP-PD, we present an effective population-based algorithm that combines the diversification power of the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and the intensification strength of Local Search (LS). Therefore, our metaheuristic algorithm maintains a balance between diversification and intensification. The results of the experimental simulation are compared with the well-known and successful metaheuristic algorithms. These results show that the proposed algorithm reaches better solutions in many cases.
Enhancing the Effectiveness of Carbon Dioxide Flooding by Managing Asphaltene Precipitation

The objective of this project was to identify conditions at which carbon dioxide induced precipitation occurred in crude oils. Establishing compositions of the relevant liquid and solid phases was planned. Other goals of the project were to determine if precipitation occurred in cores and to implement thermodynamic and compositional models to examine the phenomenon. Exploring kinetics of precipitation was also one of the project goals. Crude oil from the Rangely Field (eastern Colorado) was used as a prototype.
Role of Landfill Cover in Reducing Methane Emission

Abstract Uncontrolled emissions of landfill gas may contribute significantly to climate change, since its composition represents a high fraction of methane, a greenhouse gas with 100- year global warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide. Landfill cover could create favourable conditions for methanotrophy (microbial methane oxidation), an activity of using bacteria to oxidize methane to carbon dioxide. This paper presents a brief review of methanotrophic activities in landfill cover. Emphasis is given to the effects of cover materials, environmental conditions and landfill vegetation on the methane oxidation potential, and to their underlying effect mechanisms. Methanotrophs communities and methane oxidation kinetics are also discussed. Results from the overview suggest that well-engineered landfill cover can substantially increase its potential for reducing emissions of methane produced in landfill to the atmosphere.
A Comprehensive Study of Machine Learning Methods on Diabetic Retinopathy Classification

Diabetes is one of the emerging threats to public health all over the world. According to projections by the World Health Organization, diabetes will be the seventh foremost cause of death in 2030 (WHO, Diabetes, 2020. https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/diabetes). Diabetic retinopathy (DR) results from long-lasting diabetes and is the fifth leading cause of visual impairment, worldwide.Earlydiagnosisandtreatmentprocessesarecriticaltoovercomingthisdisease. Thediagnosticprocedureischalleng-ing,especiallyinlow-resourcesettings,ortime-consuming,dependingontheophthalmologist’sexperience.Recently,automated systemsnowaddressDRclassificationtasks.ThisstudyproposesanautomatedDRclassificationsystembasedonpreprocess-ing,featureextraction,andclassificationstepsusingdeepconvolutionalneuralnetwork(CNN)andmachinelearningmethods. Featuresareextractedfromapretrainedmodelbythetransferlearningapproach.DRimagesareclassifiedbyseveralmachine learningmethods.XGBoostoutperformsothermethods. Dimensionalityreductionalgorithmsareappliedtoobtainalower-dimensionalrepresentationofextractedfeatures.Theproposedmodelistrainedandevaluatedonapubliclyavailabledataset. Gridsearchandcalibrationareusedintheanalysis.Thisstudyprovidesresearcherswithperformancecomparisonsofdifferent machinelearningmethods.TheproposedmodeloffersarobustsolutionfordetectingDRwithasmallnumberofimages. We usedatransferlearningapproach,whichdiffersfromotherstudiesintheliterature,duringthefeatureextraction.Itprovidesa data-driven,cost-effectivesolution,whichincludescomprehensivepreprocessingandfine-tuningprocesses. © 2021 The Authors . Published by Atlantis Press B.V. This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org
Was It Market Power or Sarbanes-Oxley? An Analysis Using the Workhorse Audit Fee Model and Panel Data Techniques

The market for audit services continues to be highly concentrated, raising concerns about the potential for anti-competitive pricing and increasing the importance of precise estimates of concentration’s effect on audit fees. This is especially important in the wake of new costs related to the internal control provisions mandated by Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). Although panel data allows researchers to identify and measure effects that are not detectable in pure cross-sectional and time series designs, its use has not been fully exploited in the audit fee literature. This paper uses panel data techniques to analyze a data set of several thousand companies from 2000 to 2006. By exploiting variation across industrial sectors and over time, we are able to disentangle the impact of overall concentration and individual market power from other important determinants of audit fees, such as the SarbanesOxley regulations. We find that the effect of greater market concentration on audit fees is only positive for the biggest clients and is dwarfed by the increased demand for audit service driven by SOX.
Electrical life threshold models for solid insulating materials subjected to electrical and multiple stresses. II. Probabilistic approach to generalized life models

For pt.I see ibid., vol.27, no.5, p.974-86 (1992). Probability distribution functions valid for solid insulating materials subjected to multiple electrical and thermal stresses, which show life lines tending towards electrical threshold, are presented. They are based on the Weibull distribution. The probabilistic life models are checked on the basis of the results of life tests performed on different insulating materials, i.e. XLPE, composite Nomex-Myler-Nomex, epoxy resin, and polyimide. They provide the estimates of failure time percentiles at selected probabilities and stress sao that life curves at fixed failure probabilities can be drawn. These models should help in the choice of compatible thermal and electrical stresses for the design of insulation systems, apparatus, and components. >
The impact of liquid drops on purple cabbage leaves (Brassica oleracea l. Var. Capitata)

Liquid drop impact on solid surfaces has been well studied due to its wide industrial application; however, there are very few studies of liquid drop impact on vegetable surfaces. The present work determined the drop impact pattern on purple cabbage leaves' surface and evaluated the influence of water drop viscosity and surface tension. The pattern of fluid impact on cabbage surface was evaluated by using a high-speed camera (1250 frames/s) at different impact heights for Weber numbers ranging from 100-800. The results showed that greater maximum spread factor was achieved with higher impact speed and lower surface tension drops. Viscosity had great influence on maximum spread factor and on dynamic impact. Maximum scaled spread factor ξmax was We1/4 for low viscosity water drops (water and Tween20-water). Fluid viscosity could be increased or surface tension decreased to prevent droplet rebound and keep them on purple cabbage surface by spraying them with an edible coating.
Femtosecond Transient Absorption of Zinc Porphyrins with Oligo(phenylethylnyl) Linkers in Solution and on TiO2 Films

We measured femtosecond transient absorption of dye solutions and TiO2 films sensitized with two zinc porphyrins (PE1 and PE4) to investigate the interfacial dynamics of electron transfer in relation to the dependence of cell performance on the length of the linker (Lin, C.-Y.; Lo, C.-F.; Luo, L.; Lu, H.-P.; Hung, C.-S.; Diau, E. W.-G. J. Phys. Chem. C 2009, 113, 755−764). For both porphyrins adsorbed on TiO2 films with S1 excitation (λex = 620 nm), the transient absorption kinetics probed at 630 nm and 4.9 μm are complementary to each other because only the excited-state and ground-state species were observed at 630 nm whereas only the charge-separation intermediates were observed at 4.9 μm. The transient of the PE1/TiO2 film shows a single exponential decay with a large offset, whereas the transient of the PE4/TiO2 film displays a biexponential decay with a small offset. Because of the existence of an additional ps component, the amount of free delocalized electrons (offset signal) in PE4/TiO2 is smalle.
Diclofenac potassium removal from water by adsorption on natural and pillared clay

AbstractThis study explores the removal of Diclofenac potassium, an example of hazardous pharmaceutical pollutant, from aqueous solution. Pharmaceutical pollutants are a group of emerging contaminants that contain different groups of human and veterinary medicinal compounds that are widely used all over the globe. Pharmaceutical pollutants have been considered as an emerging environmental problem. In this work, the removal of diclofenac potassium by the use of iron-pillared clays as adsorbents, in comparison with their starting material (a natural clay mineral) was studied. The aim of this study is to improve diclofenac potassium removal by an adsorption process, using modified clays instead of the natural clay mineral. The pillared clays were synthesized from a natural clay mineral from Algeria, by using iron oligocation. The samples were characterized by several techniques (emission scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), remarking that some structural and textural cha.
EFFECTS OF FAMILIARIZATION ON CHILDREN'S RATINGS OF PICTURES OF WHITES AND BLACKS

CANTOR, GORDON N. Effects of Familiarization on Children's Ratings of Pictures of Whites and Blacks. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1972, 43, 1219-1229. 80 9to 11-year-old white children (40 males, 40 females) were exposed to 10 10-second presentations of each of 3 pictures of white and each of 3 pictures of black boys. The Ss then rated these pictures and also those of 3 previously unseen whites and blacks on a 5-point rating scale, indicating the extent to which they "would like to bring the boy home to spend time with them and their families. " The major results were: (a) the Ss as a group rated the blacks more highly than the whites; and (b) familiarization enhanced ratings made by both male and female Ss of the blacks, but not ratings of the whites (male Ss rated familiar whites below nonfamiliar whites, whereas female Ss gave these groups virtually identical ratings). These results were discussed with reference to earlier child studies on familiarization effects and the adult literature concerned with the effects of "mere exposure. "
Flow Injection Spectrophotometric Determination of Dipyrone in Pharmaceutical Formulations Using Fe(III) as Reagent

A flow injection spectrophotometric procedure with symmetric merging zones for dipyrone determination in pharmaceutical formulations is proposed. The determination is based on the formation of a blue complex (monitored at a wavelength of 642 nm) yield in the complexation reaction of dipyrone with Fe(III) in acid medium. Under optimum conditions, a calibration curve was obtained from 3.5 to 281 mg L−1 with a detection limit of 2.8 mg L−1 and the samples throughput was 80 h−1. The analytical results obtained for commercial formulation samples by applying the proposed method were in good agreement with labeled values and those obtained by a comparative procedure at a 95% confidence level.
Social Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Are Common Among Persons With Multiple Sclerosis at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh

Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with a physical disability and disturbed psychosocial functioning in young people. Many psychological and psychiatric comorbidities have been reported in MS. Objective To determine the frequency of social anxiety disorder (SAD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among MS patients and their relation to MS severity. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in an adult MS cohort. Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) were used to determine the presence and severity of OCD and SAD. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) was used for statistical analysis. The Mann-Whitney U test and logistic regression were used to assess the association of the two diseases with the severity of MS. Results A total of 145 persons with MS (pwMS) were studied. The mean age was 33.5 (±8.5) years; the mean duration of MS was 7.2 (± 5.1) years. The majority (74.1%) were women; 57.3% were married; 63% had a college education; 50% belonged to the higher middle-class socioeconomic strata. Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis was the most common type of MS (92.2%). The mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score was 2.24 (±2.19). SAD was reported by 26.9%, and OCD was reported by 31% of the cohort. PwMS with walking difficulty but not wheelchair-bound had a statistically significant increased risk of SAD (p = 0.036). There was no direct association between MS-related disability and OCD. However, pwMS with SAD were more likely to have concomitant OCD (t=4.68, p-value <0.001, 95% CI: 0.47-1.16). Increasing disability was associated with higher chances of developing social anxiety and, in turn, OCD (t=3.39, p-value <0.001, 95% CI: 0.66-2.52). Conclusions Social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders were present in nearly one-third of pwMS. Impaired walking but not wheelchair dependence was associated with social anxiety. PwMS with SAD were more likely to have obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using the Lotus lalambensis Aqueous Leaf Extract and Their Anti-Candidal Activity against Oral Candidiasis

Oral candidiasis is widely spread in both humans and animals, which is caused mainly by Candida albicans. In this study, we aimed to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for the first time using the Lotus lalambensis Schweinf leaf extract (L-AgNPs) and investigated their anti-candidal potency alone or in combination with the leaf extract of L. lalambensis (L-AgNPs/LL) against C. albicans. The biosynthesized L-AgNPs were characterized by imaging (transmission electron microscopy, TEM), UV–vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results of the disk diffusion method showed the potent synergistic anti-candidal activity of L-AgNPs/LL (24 mm inhibition zone). L-AgNPs/LL completely inhibited the morphogenesis of C. albicans and suppressed the adhesion and the formation of the biofilm of C. albicans by 82.5 and 78.7%, respectively. Further, L-AgNPs/LL inhibited the production of antioxidant enzymes of C. albicans by 80%. SEM and TEM revealed deteriorations in the cell wall ultrastructure in L-AgNPs/LL-treated C. albicans. Interestingly, L-AgNPs/LL showed less than 5% cytotoxicity when examined with either the primary bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMSCs) or MCF-7 cell line at MIC values of L-AgNPs/LL. In conclusion, we identified L-AgNPs/LL as a potential biosynthesized-based drug for oral candidiasis in humans and animals.
Substance Use among Homeless Reproductive Age People in Southern Ethiopia

Introduction Substance use by homeless reproductive age people may result to anxiety, involvement of risky sexual behaviors, and increasing the likelihood of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Therefore, this study assessed the magnitude of alcohol use, sexual intercourse after alcohol use, and its associated factors among homeless reproductive age people in southern Ethiopia. Methods Community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among homeless reproductive age people. The snowball sampling technique was used to recruit 842 participants. Pretested and structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data were entered into Epidata version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the association of independent variables with the outcome variables. Odds ratio with their 95% confidence interval and P value was used to identify the significant variables. Results More than half 423 (53.2%) of the respondents had taken a drink that contains alcohol in the last one year of the study period. Out of 324 khat chewers, 190 (58.64%) had sex after chewing khat. More than one-thirds, 323(38.4%) homeless people were smoking cigarette during the study period. Factors associated with alcohol use were age 19-25 years (AOR: 0.49; CI: 0.34, 0.72), ≥26 years (AOR: 0.40; CI: 0.25, 0.65), level of education (AOR: 0.61; CI: 0.39, 0.94), place of residence: major urban (AOR: 0.31; CI: 0.18, 0.51), small town (AOR: 0.38; CI: 0.23, 0.63), ever heard about STDs (AOR: 0.14; CI: 0.07, 027), and being a cigarette smoker (AOR: 2.67; CI: 1.94, 3.71). Conclusions In this study, significant percentage of respondents had taken a drink that contains alcohol. Age, level of education, place of residence, ever heard about STDs, and smoking cigarette were variables significantly associated with alcohol use. Awareness creation on the effect and outcome of substance use is recommended.
Did Economic Crisis Affect Mortality Due to Infectious Diseases? Trends of Infectious Diseases Mortality in Greece Before and After Economic Crisis

Introduction Economic crisis and the restrictive policies applied in Greece and other countries raise questions about whether financial crises may affect the declining trend of infectious diseases. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of the economic crisis on mortality due to infectious diseases in Greece and its possible correlation with socio-economic variables affected by the crisis. Methods Data including all deaths due to infectious diseases in Greece during 2001-2016 were analyzed. Annual total and cause-specific standardized death rates (SDR) and age-specific mortality rates were calculated. Cumulative SDRs and standardized rate ratios of the exposed and the non-exposed to austerity periods were computed. The correlation of mortality with Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment, long-term unemployment and hospital expenditure was explored. Results During the exposed-to-austerity period, the SDR of infectious diseases recorded a significant increase by 5% (2.4%-7.7%), exhibiting different trends in the various groups of diseases. The cause-specific SDR increased significantly in intestinal infections, viral diseases, pneumonia, and influenza, and declined in tuberculosis and meningitis. Overall mortality was positively correlated with GDP and unemployment, and adversely with hospital expenditure. Conclusions The mortality of infectious disease was adversely affected by economic crisis and austerity, but the effects were found disease-dependent, with significant differences between the various groups of infectious disease. Unemployment and hospital expenditure were the main socio-economic determinants of mortality. Causal mechanisms of the impact remain unclear, requiring further research.
SARS-CoV-2 Emergency and Long-Term Cognitive Impairment in Older People

The SARS-CoV-2 infection has spread to all continents, affecting particularly older people. The complexity of SARS-CoV2 infection is still under study. Despite respiratory involvement is the main clinical manifestation of COVID-19, neurological manifestations are common. Although it is obvious to give priority to infectious emergency and the infectious disease itself, at present, however, data on potential long-term damages generally and on long-term cognitive functions impairment of older COVID-19 survivors have yet to be investigated. Because the hypothesis on the involvement of SARS-CoV-2 on the long-term cognitive decline pathogenesis would seem difficult to prove, we wanted to explore the brain mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2, in order to provide more in-depth analysis and to draw attention to a topic relevant to basic scientific research and, more generally, to the elderly population.Looking forward, we argue that an early clinical and instrumental cognitive assessment can help prevent and slow down this possible complication or at least improve the quality of life for older people Covid-19 survivor.
Weaning from Impella and mobilization of Impella patients

Abstract Weaning of patients from Impella is complex and includes evaluation of the underlying disease, which is essential for estimating the potential for heart recovery. Monitoring during the weaning phase with echocardiography and pulmonary artery catheters will be discussed, as well as the use of intravenous and oral heart failure drugs. Patients who are candidates for weaning must be stable, without inotropes, and must have recovered from acute end-organ damage. Coronary artery disease and valvular heart diseases should be appropriately addressed before weaning to take the maximum advantage of haemodynamic stability provided by the support and to maximize the possibility of weaning. Tips and tricks for the mobilization of Impella patients will also be discussed.