Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Redness Enhances Perceived Aggression, Dominance and Attractiveness in Men's Faces

In a range of non-human primate, bird and fish species, the intensity of red coloration in males is associated with social dominance, testosterone levels and mate selection. In humans too, skin redness is associated with health, but it is not known whether – as in non-human species – it is also associated with dominance and links to attractiveness have not been thoroughly investigated. Here we allow female participants to manipulate the CIELab a* value (red-green axis) of skin to maximize the perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness of photographs of men's faces, and make two findings. First, participants increased a* (increasing redness) to enhance each attribute, suggesting that facial redness is perceived as conveying similar information about a male's qualities in humans as it does in non-human species. Second, there were significant differences between trial types: the highest levels of red were associated with aggression, an intermediate level with dominance, and the least with attractiveness. These differences may reflect a trade-off between the benefits of selecting a healthy, dominant partner and the negative consequences of aggression.
Usefulness of the abbreviated injury score and the injury severity score in comparison to the Glasgow Coma Scale in predicting outcome after traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND Assessment of injury severity is important in the management of patients with brain trauma. We aimed to analyze the usefulness of the head abbreviated injury score (AIS), the injury severity score (ISS), and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) as measures of injury severity and predictors of outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS Data were prospectively collected from 410 patients with TBI. AIS, ISS, and GCS were recorded at admission. Subjects' outcomes after TBI were measured using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS-E) at 12 months postinjury. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS Outcome information was obtained from 270 patients (66%). ISS was the best predictor of GOS-E (rs = -0.341, p < 0.001), followed by GCS score (rs = 0.227, p < 0.001), and head AIS (rs = -0.222, p < 0.001). When considered in combination, GCS score and ISS modestly improved the correlation with GOS-E (R = 0.335, p < 0.001). The combination of GCS score and head AIS had a similar effect (R = 0.275, p < 0.001). Correlations were stronger from patients <or=48 years old. We found comparable correlations between patients who suffered severe injuries (GCS <or=8) and those who suffered mild and moderate injuries (GCS >8). CONCLUSIONS GCS score, AIS, and ISS are weakly correlated with 12-month outcome. However, anatomic measures modestly outperform GCS as predictors of GOS-E. The combination of GCS and AIS/ISS correlate with outcome better than do any of the three measures alone. Results support the addition of anatomic measures such as AIS and ISS in clinical studies of TBI. Additionally, most of the variance in outcome is not accounted for by currently available measures of injury severity.
Ethical climate, corporate social responsibility and organizational performance: evidence from the UAE public sector

PurposeResearch about ethical governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the United Arab Emirates is still in its infancy. This study aims to explore the public sector employee’s perception toward ethical climate, codes of ethics and CSR and its impact on organizational performance. This research sheds light on the link between formalized ethical procedures and employee responses including CSR, organizational engagement and organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 426 middle-level public sector employees in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, using structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe findings of this study suggest that an ethical climate is an important organizational component, and that the incorporation of effective codes of ethics and CSR initiatives is desired. Perceptions of public sector employees are positively influenced by the organization’s ethical climate and CSR activities, which in turn affect organizational performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides managerial insights for improving the ethical climate and CSR within the public sector context in the United Arab Emirates.Practical implicationsThe study offers implications for public sector employers and points out that public sector employers should formulate policies to boost the ethics and CSR environment at workplace to attain competitive advantage.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the literature by being one of the first to study organizational ethical climate and CSR within a Middle Eastern public sector context and offers implications for theory and practice.
Performance Analysis of a Connection Admission Scheme for Future Networks

Future networks are to deliver any-traffic, anytime, anywhere with full quality of service (QoS) guarantees. They will evolve from typical heterogeneous networks (HetNets) into dense, organic, and irregular heterogeneous networks called DenseNets. They will be complex and face additional challenges of heterogeneity in many design dimensions like different radio access technologies (RAT's) shrinking in structure. Radio Resource Management (RRM) is one of the key challenges in providing for QoS for these networks. Connection Admission Control (CAC) scheme and intelligent scheduling techniques are employed on the links for RRM. In this paper a CAC scheme is developed that features multiple traffic classes, multiple admission parameters at both packet and connection level. The CAC scheme uses both signal to interference ratio (SIR) and delay as admission parameters since the single parameter based CAC algorithm is not adequate for the emerging traffic classes. The performance analysis of the model features Batch Markovian Arrival Process (BMAP) traffic, a better representative of the future traffic characteristics than the traditional Poisson traffic. A simple approximate Markovian analytical model is developed and used to analyze the complex network. The developed model with more admission parameters outperforms those with less admission control parameters for future networks traffic.
Does intellectual capital help predict bankruptcy

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether intellectual capital affects the probability that a particular firm will default. The authors also test whether including intellectual capital performance in bankruptcy prediction models improves their predictive ability. ,Using a sample of US public companies from the period stretching from 1985 to 2015, the authors test whether intellectual capital performance reduces the probability of bankruptcy. The authors use the VAIC as an aggregate measure of corporate intellectual capital performance. ,The findings show that the intellectual capital performance is negatively associated with the probability of default. The findings also indicate that the bankruptcy prediction models that include intellectual capital have a superior predictive ability over the standard models. ,This paper contributes to prior research on intellectual capital and firm performance. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study to show that the benefits of intellectual capital extend from superior performance to long-term financial stability. The research can also contribute to bankruptcy studies. By using a time frame covering decades, the findings suggest that intellectual capital performance measures can be included in bankruptcy prediction models and can effectively complement traditional performance measures. ,This paper highlights that intellectual capital is associated with long-term financial stability and a lower bankruptcy risk. Firms realising the potential of their intellectual capital can produce a virtuous circle between higher performance and greater financial stability.
Peace for Keeps: United Nations Peacekeeping and Government Power

In 1997, President Mobutu of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was overthrown by rebels. Throughout the civil war, President Mobutu repeatedly called for a UN peacekeeping operation (UNPKO). Strangely, however, Mobutu refused all other offers by international organizations and country leaders to broker a peace. Why would Mobuto want a UNPKO and nothing else? I argue that besides encouraging peace, UNPKOs influence the government-rebel balance of power. More precisely, governments select into UNPKOs that help them stay in power for longer. To support this argument, I first examine the criteria for UNPKO deployment, particularly the issue of consent. I find that no UNPKO has deployed without host government consent, suggesting government consent is a necessary condition for UNPKO deployment. I next analyze the relationship between UNPKOs and government power using government tenure as a proxy for power. I find that of all the post-Cold War governments that experienced civil war those that have hosted a UNPKO have much longer tenures than those without. To examine motives for consent and mechanisms for the power effect, I examine four cases. DRC President Mobutu consented to a UNPKO for as a means for power and not peace, but rebels fearing the UNPKO’s power effect preempted UNPKO deployment. In comparison, the next DRC Presidents Laurent and Joseph Kabila did receive a UNPKO and have used it to stay in power. In the Angola case the Dos Santos government is able to defeat Savimbi’s threatening rebellion through a UNPKO. Finally, in Cambodia the exiled government of Prince Sihanouk regains some power, but ultimately a UNPKO is not enough to retake control from Hun Sen’s regime. Policymakers and academics alike must understand the complex roles and influences of UNPKOs. While the international community largely uses UNPKOs as instruments of peace, civil war belligerents view them as tools for power. This perspective helps us understand previously unexplained government and rebel actions. It also raises difficult questions on
Disruption of the Arabidopsis CGI-58 homologue produces Chanarin–Dorfman-like lipid droplet accumulation in plants

CGI-58 is the defective gene in the human neutral lipid storage disease called Chanarin-Dorfman syndrome. This disorder causes intracellular lipid droplets to accumulate in nonadipose tissues, such as skin and blood cells. Here, disruption of the homologous CGI-58 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in the accumulation of neutral lipid droplets in mature leaves. Mass spectroscopy of isolated lipid droplets from cgi-58 loss-of-function mutants showed they contain triacylglycerols with common leaf-specific fatty acids. Leaves of mature cgi-58 plants exhibited a marked increase in absolute triacylglycerol levels, more than 10-fold higher than in wild-type plants. Lipid levels in the oil-storing seeds of cgi-58 loss-of-function plants were unchanged, and unlike mutations in β-oxidation, the cgi-58 seeds germinated and grew normally, requiring no rescue with sucrose. We conclude that the participation of CGI-58 in neutral lipid homeostasis of nonfat-storing tissues is similar, although not identical, between plant and animal species. This unique insight may have implications for designing a new generation of technologies that enhance the neutral lipid content and composition of crop plants.
2D Semiconductor FETs—Projections and Design for Sub-10 nm VLSI

Two-dimensional (2D) crystal semiconductors, such as the well-known molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), are witnessing an explosion in research activities due to their apparent potential for various electronic and optoelectronic applications. In this paper, dissipative quantum transport simulations using nonequilibrium Green's function formalism are performed to rigorously evaluate the scalability and performance of monolayer/multilayer 2D semiconductor-based FETs for sub-10 nm gate length very large-scale integration (VLSI) technologies. Device design considerations in terms of the choice of prospective 2D material/structure/technology to fulfill sub-10 nm International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) requirements are analyzed. First, it is found that MoS2 FETs can meet high-performance (HP) requirement up to 6.6 nm gate length using bilayer MoS2 as the channel material, while low-standby-power (LSTP) requirements present significant challenges for all sub-10 nm gate lengths. Second, by studying the effects of underlap (UL) structures, scattering strength, and carrier effective mass, it is found that the high mobility and suitably low effective mass of tungsten diselenide (WSe2), aided by the UL, enable 2D FETs for both HP and LSTP applications at the smallest foreseeable (5.9 nm) gate length. Finally, possible solutions for sub-5 nm gate lengths, specifically anisotropic 2D semiconductor materials for HP and sub-kT/q switch (2D tunnel FET) for LSTP, are also proposed based on the effects of critical material parameters on the device performance.
A validated search assessment tool: assessing practice-based learning and improvement in a residency program.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to validate an assessment instrument for MEDLINE search strategies at an academic medical center. METHOD Two approaches were used to investigate if the search assessment tool could capture performance differences in search strategy construction. First, data from an evaluation of MEDLINE searches from a pediatric resident's longitudinal assessment were investigated. Second, a cross-section of search strategies from residents in one incoming class was compared with strategies of residents graduating a year later. MEDLINE search strategies formulated by faculty who had been identified as having search expertise were used as a gold standard comparison. Participants were presented with a clinical scenario and asked to identify the search question and conduct a MEDLINE search. Two librarians rated the blinded search strategies. RESULTS Search strategy scores were significantly higher for residents who received training than the comparison group with no training. There was no significant difference in search strategy scores between senior residents who received training and faculty experts. CONCLUSION The results provide evidence for the validity of the instrument to evaluate MEDLINE search strategies. This assessment tool can measure improvements in information-seeking skills and provide data to fulfill Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies.
Differential metabolism of cellobiose and glucose by Clostridium thermocellum and Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum

Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum consumed glucose in preference to cellobiose as an energy source for growth. The rates of substrate uptake in glucose- and cellobiose-grown cell suspensions were 45 and 24 nmol/min per mg (dry weight), respectively, at 65 degrees C. The molar growth yields (i.e., grams of cells per mole of glucose equivalents) were similar on cellobiose and glucose (19 and 16, respectively). Both glucose- and cellobiose-grown cells contained a glucose permease activity and high levels of hexokinase (greater 0.34 mumol/min per mg of protein at 40 degrees C). Growth on cellobiose was associated with induction of a cellobiose permease activity. In contrast, Clostridium thermocellum metabolized cellobiose in preference to glucose as an energy source and displayed lower growth rates on both substrates. The substrate uptake rates in cellobiose- and glucose-grown cell suspensions were 18 and 17 nmol/min per mg (dry weight), respectively. The molar yields were 38 on cellobiose and 20 on glucose. Extracts of glucose- and cellobiose-grown cells both contained cellobiose phosphorylase and phosphoglucomutase activities, whereas only glucose-grown cells contained detectable levels of glucose permease and hexokinase activities. The general catalytic and kinetic properties of the glucose- and cellobiose-catabolizing enzymes in the two species are described, and a model is proposed to distinguish differential saccharide metabolism by these thermophilic ethanologens.
Structural and Chemical Evolution of the Spontaneous Core-Shell Structures of Al x Ga1-x N/GaN Nanowires

Abstract A study by electron microscopy techniques of the structural and compositional properties of Al x Ga1-x N/GaN nanowire (NW) heterostructures on Si(111) is presented. Al x Ga1-x N depositions grown without catalyst by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy were designed to form NWs in the range of 0.20<x<0.40 with different lengths and growth temperatures. The NWs exhibit a well-defined core-shell radial structure with a complex chemical distribution along and across the growth direction that finally affects the NW morphology. All the wires have an initial stage with a maximum Al content in the core slightly above the GaN/Al x Ga1-x N interface, which initially decreases exponentially with the NW height depending on the nominal Al content and the growth temperature. In longer NWs, this trend changes and evolves increasing both the Al/Ga ratio and the core diameter as well as sharpening the shell. Adatom surface kinetic differences and the geometrical shadow effect during the growth are the probable drivers of this behavior.
Relevance of ureteric bud development and branching to tissue engineering, regeneration and repair in acute and chronic kidney disease

Purpose of reviewChronic kidney disease is expected to continue to be a major health problem. There remains a huge shortage of donor tissues. A potential solution is to engineer a kidney-like tissue capable of performing differentiated renal functions. These functions are strikingly dependent upon appropriate three-dimensional relationships established during development, including those arising from branching morphogenesis of the ureteric bud. Recent findingsThe ureteric bud, an ‘iterative tip-stalk generator’ (ITSG) forming the scaffold around which the kidney is built, can be cultured and propagated ex vivo while retaining the capacity to induce and appropriately interact with nascent nephrons. Progress has been made toward construction of a ureteric bud from cells. SummaryThe myriad functions of the kidney are critically dependent upon its three-dimensional spatial architecture established by branching of the ureteric bud. Ureteric bud branching morphogenesis can be recapitulated ex vivo; we discuss how this intrinsic property of the ureteric bud might be exploited for engineering of kidney-like tissues potentially useful for the treatment of chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, and/or other renal diseases.
Real‐Time Quantitative PCR Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA Content

Mitochondrial disorders are a group of complex and heterogeneous diseases that may be caused by molecular defects in the nuclear or mitochondrial genome. The biosynthesis and integrity of the small 16.6‐kb mitochondrial genome require a group of nuclear encoded genes. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) depletion syndromes (MDDSs) are autosomal recessive disorders caused by molecular defects in nuclear genes, and characterized by a reduction in mtDNA content. To date, mutations in at least nine genes (POLG, DGUOK, TK2, TYMP, MPV17, SUCLA2, SUCLG1, RRM2B, and C10orf2) have been reported to cause various forms of MDDSs. In the clinical setting, a simple method to determine mtDNA depletion would be useful prior to undertaking gene sequence analysis. This unit outlines the real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis of mtDNA content in tissues. MtDNA content varies among different tissues and at different ages in the same individual. Detailed protocols for the selection of nuclear genes for normalization, PCR set up, validation procedures, tissue and age matched controls, and sensitivity and specificity in various tissues, as well as interpretation of results are discussed. Curr. Protoc. Hum. Genet. 68:19.7. 1‐19.7. 12 © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Patient Satisfaction in an Academic Chronic Pain Clinic

Patient perception of healthcare quality is of growing interest. It has been shown that patient satisfaction is associated with compliance with medical advice and clinical outcome. The 3‐fold purpose of this study was to identify which attributes of the patient–physician interaction most strongly correlated with patients' perceptions of provider quality of care, to identify key drivers that move patients' perception of overall provider quality from “very good” to “excellent,” and to identify features of the pain clinic experience that were most important to patients but were simultaneously perceived as lacking.
Quantifying tumour vascularity in non-luminal breast cancers

Aims Microvessel density (MVD), proliferating MVD (pMVD) and vascular proliferation index (VPI) are methods used to quantify tumour vascularity in histopathological sections. In this study, we assessed MVD, pMVD and VPI in non-luminal subtypes of breast cancer. Differences between subtypes were studied, and the prognostic value of each method was assessed. Methods All non-luminal subtypes (61 basal phenotype (BP), 60 human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) type and 30 five negative phenotype (5NP)) were selected from a series comprising 909 cases of breast cancer. Sections were stained for Ki67 and von Willebrand factor. Associations between MVD, pMVD and VPI, molecular subtypes and prognosis were studied. Results MVD was highest in 5NP (Δ54.3 microvessels/mm2 compared with BP, 95% CI 30.3 to 78.3), whereas no clear difference was found between HER2 type and BP (Δ8.8 microvessels/mm2, 95% CI −9.6 to 27.1). pMVD and VPI did not differ between subtypes. For MVD, HR was 1.07 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.11) per 10 vessel increase and 1.9 (95% CI 1.2 to 3.1) if MVD was greater than median value. High MVD was associated with poor prognosis in the HER2 type (HR 1.07 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.12)) and 5NP (HR 1.13 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.23)), but not in BP (HR 1.04 (95% CI 0.94 to 1.14) per 10 vessel increase). pMVD and VPI were not associated with prognosis. Conclusions MVD appears to be an independent prognostic factor in HER2 and 5NP subtypes of breast cancer, where high MVD is associated with poor survival. MVD was higher in the 5NP compared with both BP and HER2 type.