Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality of Work Life as a Determinant of Social Responsibility in the Public Sector: The Case of the Governmental Sector of the Northern Borders Region in Saudi Arabia

In this study, we investigated the effect of Quality of Work Life (QWL) on social responsibility (SR) in the Saudi public sector, taking the Northern Borders Region as a case study. We attempt to provide a framework for administrators to better understand employee behavior and assess the various dimensions of QWL and SR in governmental organizations. Questionnaires were administered among employees from the public sector, from which a research model was constructed to identify the dimensions of SR and determine the effect of QWL as its antecedent. The results indicate that QWL has a significant and positive effect on the two dimensions of SR— paternalistic and consultative—whereas survival has no significant relationship to consultative SR. Local QWL affects the SR of employees by signifying the moderating role of educational level and confirms that educational level impacts the perception of the importance of SR in improving QWL among employees. However, the findings show that gender has no moderating effects on employee perceptions of SR and QWL. Keywords: Social Responsibility, Quality of Work Life, Public Sector, Saudi Arabia.
Intraoperative conversion of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

PURPOSE To assess the incidence of conversion from laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) to open surgery or laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) when liberal selection criteria are utilized. PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective review of medical records was done for all patients scheduled for LPN at our institution from January 2000 through March 2004. The preoperative risk factors, intraoperative course, and pathologic outcomes of patients who were converted to LRN were compared with those of the cohort of patients who underwent LPN as originally scheduled. RESULTS Among the 257 operations that started as LPN, 35 (13.6%) were converted to LRN and 4 (1.6%) to open surgery. Age, tumor size, operating time, and hypertension were significantly higher in patients requiring conversion in than those who underwent completed LPN. Patients over the age of 70 had a 3.8-fold higher risk of requiring conversion, and, independent of age, patients with tumor>4.0 cm had a 4-fold increase in the likelihood of conversion to LRN. CONCLUSION Of the preoperatively determined factors compared across the cohort of patients who underwent LPN and the cohort of patients converted to LRN, only tumor size and patient age were predictive of an increased risk of conversion. Other variables, including sex, side of affected kidney, clinical stage, ASA score, comorbidity with hypertension or diabetes mellitus, and surgeon were not significant in predicting conversion.
Coherent versus Non-Coherent Quantum-Assisted Solutions in Wireless Systems

Each mobile phone transmits its own uplink information to the base station, which results in their superposition. Therefore, the base station has to determine which symbol each of the users has transmitted with (coherent), or without (non-coherent) the knowledge of the channels' estimates. In both scenarios, an optimization problem has to be addressed. Conventional, low-complexity solutions experience degraded performance when the number of receive antenna elements at the base station is lower than the number of mobile terminals. The optimal, full-search-based equivalent multi-level symbol detector offers the best bit error ratio performance, but at a potentially excessive complexity. Quantum search algorithms may be invoked for achieving near-optimal performance at low complexity.
Association of hematological parameters with insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction in nondiabetic subjects.

OBJECTIVE Previous studies reported independent associations of hematological parameters with risk of incident type 2 diabetes, although limited data are available on associations of these parameters with insulin resistance (IR) and (especially) pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction in large epidemiological studies. Our objective was to evaluate the associations of hematological parameters, including hematocrit (HCT), hemoglobin (Hgb), red blood cell count (RBC), and white blood cell count with IR and beta-cell dysfunction in a cohort of nondiabetic subjects at high metabolic risk. METHODS Nondiabetic subjects (n = 712) were recruited in Toronto and London, Ontario, Canada, between 2004 and 2006, based on the presence of one or more risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus including obesity, hypertension, a family history of diabetes, and/or a history of gestational diabetes. Fasting blood samples were collected and oral glucose tolerance tests administered, with additional samples for glucose and insulin drawn at 30 and 120 min. Measures of IR included the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) and Matsuda's insulin sensitivity index, whereas measures of beta-cell dysfunction included the insulinogenic index divided by HOMA-IR as well as the insulin secretion-sensitivity index-2. Associations of hematological parameters with IR and beta-cell dysfunction were assessed using multiple linear regression and analysis of covariance with adjustments for age, gender, ethnicity, smoking, cardiovascular disease, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and waist circumference. RESULTS HOMA-IR increased across quartiles of HCT, Hgb, RBC, and white blood cell count after adjustment for age, gender, ethnicity, and smoking (all P (trend) <0.0001). Similarly, there was a strong stepwise decrease in the Matsuda's insulin sensitivity index across increasing quartiles of these hematological measures (all P (trend) <0.0001). The associations remained significant after further adjustment for previous cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, and waist circumference (all P (trend) <0.0001). Similarly, there was a strong pattern of decreasing beta-cell function across increasing quartiles of all hematological patterns (all P (trend) <0.0001). The findings for HCT, Hgb, and RBC were attenuated slightly after full multivariate adjustment, although the trend across quartiles remained highly significant. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that standard, clinically relevant hematological variables may be related to the underlying pathophysiological changes associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Evaluating of Call Stock Options in the Kuwait Stock Exchange

The options pricing on financial assets represents a subject of great interest to academics and practitioners in the financial markets; it is also a phenomenon that has preoccupied specialists in financial and mathematics domains. The Black-Sholes model (1973) is the benchmark model of many models; this model provides us with a basic tool for the pricing option contracts traded in markets. Moreover, it was based on many assumptions that are the stability of volatility, the risk free rate, and the normal distribution. The main objective of the present study is the exhibition and the interpretation methods that are related to the assessment and pricing of options on financial stocks market through the comparison between the theoretical options prices under Black-Scholes model, Monte Carlo Simulation method, and the current option prices on market; in addition to the validity test of both models in order to predict the market prices by an empirical study for the period from 26 December 2013 to 08 May 2014, with daily data using R software and its packages. Finally, It was found that the Black-Sholes model does not perform when the volatility is higher in both periods 6 and 9 months, but for one year the B-S model proved its ability to predict the current prices with a positive relationship. Other findings highlighted the outperformance of the Monte Carlo Simulation Method to predict the current price only when the volatility is lower for both periods 6 and 9 months.
Does Public Servants’ Low Trust in Citizen Raters Really Matter? Evidence from Mainland China

This article examines the trust that public servants have in Chinese citizens using a typical public service rating and ranking system: the Assessment and Discussion of Professional Ethos (ADPE). We pose questions on whether public servants expressed concerns about trusting citizens as raters, whether the seemingly low interest of citizens in rating means that their ratings are reliable, what the relationship was between low trust and the citizens, whether the ADPE was an incentive, and public service responsiveness after the ADPE had been completed. These questions are assessed by (1) a content analysis of official and scholastic ADPE articles, (2) a survey of municipal officials in Yuncheng City where an ADPE operated for several years and (3) the opinions of interviewees. The content analysis reveals that public servants seemed to trust citizens, but the survey data reveals that the opposite might be true. Nevertheless, low trust in citizens did not affect either public service responsiveness or incentivization. Using a gaming perspective, we argue that the ADPE might be an ineffective institutional arrangement. We suggest methods for eliminating public servants lack of trust that include enhancing the value of trust shown in citizens, making trust matter, developing techniques to select citizens experienced in using public services for rankings, and enhancing the transparency of the rating information.
Early father's and mother's involvement and child's later educational outcomes.

BACKGROUND Few studies have investigated the individual long-term contributions that mothers and fathers make to their children's schooling. AIMS (1) To explore the role of early father involvement in children's later educational attainment independently of the role of early mother involvement and other confounds, (2) to investigate whether gender and family structure moderate the relationship between father's and mother's involvement and child's educational attainment, and (3) to explore whether the impact of father's involvement depends on the level of mother's involvement. SAMPLE The study used longitudinal data from the National Child Development Study. The initial sample were those 7,259 cohort members with valid data on mother involvement at age 7, father involvement at age 7, and school-leaving qualification by age 20. Of those, 3,303 were included in the final analysis. METHOD The measures were control variables, structural factors (family structure, sibship size and residential mobility), child factors (emotional/behavioural problems, cognitive ability and academic motivation), and father's and mother's involvement. RESULTS Father involvement and mother involvement at age 7 independently predicted educational attainment by age 20. The association between parents' involvement and educational attainment was not stronger for sons than for daughters. Father involvement was not more important for educational attainment when mother involvement was low rather than high. Not growing up in intact two-parent family did not weaken the association between father's or mother's involvement and educational outcomes. CONCLUSION Early father involvement can be another protective factor in counteracting risk conditions that might lead to later low attainment levels.
Experimental Study on Thermal Behavior of HTS Coils With Quasi-Insulation Winding Method at Overcurrent Operation

Recently, superconducting power applications by using the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape have been widely researched due to the development of the HTS tape. In particular, the HTS coils cowound with insulation materials have been dominantly used for the power applications. However, the insulated HTS coil has low thermal stability at overcurrent operation, which causes much likely to be damaged. To relieve this issue, other insulation methods such as insulation-free or partial insulation have been investigated. These methods have good thermal stability; however, they have weaknesses such as magnetic field saturation and charge-discharge delay as well. In particular, charge-discharge delay is a significant obstacle for superconducting magnetic energy storage due to a frequently variable current operation. Therefore, a quasi-insulation (QI) coil that compensates the disadvantages has been proposed. In this paper, two QI coils according to the width of the insulation tape were fabricated since the performance of this winding method is affected by the exposure area to the coolant. In addition, insulation-free coil and partial insulation coil were fabricated and tested as the control group. The terminal coil voltage and center magnetic field were measured to compare the characteristics of each coil. The experimental result shows the QI coil has good thermal stability at overcurrent operation without magnetic field saturation and degradation. In addition, cooling effect is proportional to the exposed area to the coolant and adjustable with a different width of insulation tape.
Stratified and defensive planning democracy: Hearings on objections to plans in nine Israeli cities

This article contributes to the debate on inclusion and democracy in planning by comparing the answers given by five Israeli district committees to objections to planning proposals in nine cities, and by analysing their discourse in terms of socio-spatial inequality. We investigate how the committees’ answers to various professionals and civil actors, and how the type and degree of effort they invest in justifying their decisions, reflect their views of existing social divisions. We consider current theses on compromises to planning democracy. First, we follow urban regime theorists and compare the planners’ answers to objections submitted by their professional and development peers, and by ordinary people. Second, we follow theories on identity and class-related biases, and compare the committees’ answers to objectors along Israeli socio-spatial and ethnic disparities. Third, we trace planners’ post-political methods to simultaneously protect and legitimate their decisions. We demonstrate evidence of a combination of a positive bias towards the most powerful actors, a negative bias towards the least powerful ones, and many less obvious and neutral answers to those in the middle. We argue that with this array of answers and justifications, Israeli committees preserve a superficial display of inclusion and legitimation.
Human Skeletal Muscle Fatty Acid and Glycerol Metabolism During Rest, Exercise and Recovery

This study was conducted to investigate skeletal muscle fatty acid (FA) and glycerol kinetics and to determine the contribution of skeletal muscle to whole body FA and glycerol turnover during rest, 2 h of one‐leg knee‐extensor exercise at 65 % of maximal leg power output, and 3 h of recovery. To this aim, the leg femoral arterial‐venous difference technique was used in combination with a continuous infusion of [U‐13C]palmitate and [2H5]glycerol in five post‐absorptive healthy volunteers (22 ± 3 years). The influence of contamination from non‐skeletal muscle tissues, skin and subcutaneous adipose tissue, on FA and glycerol kinetics was studied by catheterization of the femoral vein in antegrade and retrograde directions. Substantially higher net leg FA and glycerol uptakes were observed with a retrograde compared to an antegrade catheter position, as a result of a much lower tracer‐calculated leg FA and glycerol release. The whole body FA rate of appearance (Ra) increased with exercise and decreased rapidly in recovery but stayed higher compared to pre‐exercise. The leg net FA uptake decreased immediately on cessation of exercise to near pre‐exercise level, but the tracer FA uptake and release decreased slowly and reached constant values after ≈1.5 h of recovery similar to pre‐exercise. Whole body FA reesterification (FA Rd ‐ FA oxidation; Rd, rate of disappearance) was ≈400 μmol min−1 at rest and during exercise, and increased during recovery to 495 μmol min−1. Leg FA reesterification was 17 μmol min−1 at rest and decreased to 9 μmol min−1 during recovery, due to a larger fraction of leg FA uptake being directed to oxidation. A net glycerol exchange across the leg could not be detected under all conditions, but a substantial leg glycerol uptake was observed, which was substantially higher during exercise. Total body skeletal muscle FA and glycerol uptake/release was estimated to account for 18–25 % of whole body Rd or Ra. In conclusion: (1) skeletal muscle FA and glycerol metabolism, using the leg arterial‐venous difference method, can only be studied if contamination from skin and subcutaneous adipose tissue is prevented; (2) whole body FA reesterification is unchanged when going from rest to exercise, but is increased during recovery; (3) in post‐absorptive man total body skeletal muscle contributes 17–24 % to whole body FA and glycerol turnover and FA reesterification at rest; (4) glycerol is taken up by skeletal muscle and the uptake increases many fold during exercise.
Training emotional intelligence related to treatment skills of staff working with clients with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour.

BACKGROUND Staff working with clients with intellectual disabilities (ID) who display challenging behaviour may contribute to the continuation of this behaviour, because it causes emotional reactions such as anxiety, anger and annoyance, which may prohibit adequate response behaviour. To enhance staff behaviour and treatment skills a training that aimed at improving emotional intelligence (EQ) was developed. AIM The goal of this study was to assess whether an EQ training in combination with a video-feedback training programme improves emotional intelligence of staff working with clients with ID and challenging behaviour. METHODS Participants were 60 staff members working with individuals with ID and challenging behaviour. Thirty-four staff members participated in a 4-month training programme and 26 constituted the control group. A pretest-posttest control group design was used. Effectiveness was assessed by using the Dutch version of the Bar-On EQ-i and the judgments of experts on emotional intelligence. RESULTS Emotional intelligence of the experimental group changed significantly more than that of the control group. Judgments of experts on emotional intelligence indicated that the change of emotional intelligence of the experimental group improved positively. CONCLUSIONS The positive effect of the training programme on emotional intelligence is consistent with previous research on emotional intelligence and suggests that emotional intelligence of staff working with clients with ID and challenging behaviour can be influenced by training.
Vegas Over Access Point: Making Room for Thin Client Game Systems in a Wireless Home

Cloud-based entertainment is gaining momentum. With the cost of commodity hardware lowering by the day and the consumer market penetration of in-house digital entertainment systems, a new generation of interactive services has come into being. This new technological wave has launched new content producers and providers that are rapidly adapting to match the consumer demand. In this context, thin client or cloud-based gaming is attracting much attention, shifting the computational burden to the cloud while the consumer enjoys a fat video feed accessed through its thin client via the shared wireless gateway. However, this model of interaction raises new challenges that demand for specific networking solutions aimed at addressing the heterogeneous flow coexistence problem at the home wireless gateway. We propose a solution to this problem by devising a Transmission Control Protocol Vegas-like congestion control algorithm deployed on top of the home gateway. Our solution works out of the box with the standard protocols at the server, router, and client levels, thereby making deployment straightforward. Experimental assessment with real traffic traces shows that our solution addresses the problem effectively.
Signal Processing and Coding System for TDMR Data From Grain-Flipping Probability Model

This paper presents a signal processing and coding system for processing realistic two-dimensional magnetic recording (TDMR) data generated by a grain-flipping probability model. The data set was generated at the Data Storage Institute, Singapore, and will be referred to as the DSI data. Three types of 2-D intersymbol interference (2-D-ISI) detectors with varying complexity are proposed. The first detector is a two-sided feedback (TSF) detector with known boundaries, which simultaneously detects the three tracks of received data. This detector uses only one of the two samples provided by the reader for each bit. The second detector is a joint TSF (JTSF) detector which uses both samples provided by the reader for each bit. The third detector is a 1-D state-input decision-feedback (ODSIDF) detector which detects the data based on a 2-D-ISI mask. Each of the 2-D-ISI detectors is utilized in a turbo iterative approach with an irregular repeat-accumulate (IRA) decoder in the proposed system. We use a coset coding approach in our IRA decoder for decoding the received data based on a known block of the data. A TDMR log-likelihood ratio (LLR) function is used to pass LLRs from the 2-D-ISI detector to the IRA decoder. The read head sensitivity function (2-D-ISI mask) is estimated based on the first sample alone (for TSF and ODSIDF detectors) and both samples (for JTSF detector) from the reader by using the least squares approach based on known data bits for a given set of reader outputs. The best simulation results show that the proposed signal processing and coding approach can achieve up to 1.7 Tb/in2 density at 18 nm track pitch (TP). Using a squeeze margin to account for the imperfect tracking of the track center by the read and write heads in a practical system, the proposed system achieves a realistic areal density of 1.25 Tb/in2 at TP = 18 nm.
Sodium sulfite aggravated allergic sensitization and airway inflammation in mite allergen sensitized BALB/c mice

Sulfur dioxide is a typical air pollutant. Sulfite, which is formed at the bronchial mucosa from inhaled sulfur dioxide, might play a role in the exacerbation of asthma. In this study, we investigated the effects of sodium sulfite and its interaction with a house dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Der p) on allergic sensitization and airway inflammation. BALB/c mice were divided into four groups: control (n = 10), mite intranasal (mIN, n = 12), sodium sulfite intranasal (sIN, n = 12) and mIN + sIN (n = 12). In non-control groups, the mice were sensitized on day 8 and day 15 with mite allergen subcutaneously. Mite allergen was then administrated intranasally from day 15 to day 22 in mIN and mIN+sIN groups. Sodium sulfite was administrated in sIN and mIN + sIN groups intranasally from day 1 to day 22. Plasma Der p-specific IgE, IgG2a, lung histopathology and cytokine levels (IL-5 and IFN-γ) were analyzed. In comparison between mIN (or sIN) and mIN + sIN group, Der p-specific IgE levels were significantly higher in mIN + sIN group (p < 0.01). Besides, Der p-specific IgG2a level was significantly lower in mIN + sIN group than mIN (or sIN) group (p < 0.01). The peribronchiolar, alveolar and total inflammatory scores were increased in the mIN + sIN group comparing with the control group (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, respectively). Lung supernatant in mIN + sIN group has higher IL-5/IFN-γ ratio than control, mIN or sIN group (all p < 0.05). Our study concluded sodium sulfite may enhance allergic sensitization as well as airway inflammation in mite allergen sensitized BALB/c mice.