Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In search of factors that hinder the career advancement of women to senior leadership positions

Orientation: Despite promising legislative frameworks and policies to eradicate gender imbalances in the workplace, women have yet to earn their rightful place as senior business leaders.Research purpose: The primary goal of this study was to investigate the factors that prevent women from advancing to senior leadership positions in a variety of South African business contexts.Motivation for the study: More research is required to understand the unique challenges that senior women leaders experience in various South African business contexts.Research approach/design and method: This research followed a qualitative approach. Data were gathered using semistructured interviews with nine women (n = 9) who made significant inroads in their respective professions. Theme analyses were applied to analyse the data.Main findings: The findings revealed six factors that hinder the career advancement of women to senior leadership positions: societal perceptions and stereotypes, a lack of mentorship, masculine corporate cultures, leadership identity distortions, inadequate training and development and poor work-life balance.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations are encouraged to create more feminine workplace cultures that allow women to realise their full potential and establish their identity as senior leaders. Mentoring, networking, and professional development opportunities can all assist women in advancing their careers. Senior female leaders play an essential role in fostering workplace cultures that promote equal opportunity and combat unfair discrimination on various grounds. They pave the way for younger, upcoming female talent to move into senior management positions more quickly.Contribution/value-add: This study fills important gaps in the global understanding of the factors limiting women’s career advancement to senior leadership positions. The findings of this study emphasise the importance of recognising and embracing women’s leadership competence in the modern workplace.
Thiocoumarins: From the Synthesis to the Biological Applications

Coumarin is a privilege scaffold in medicinal chemistry. Coumarin derivatives are still an emerging class of highly potent pharmaceutical drugs, best known in the field of antimicrobials and anticoagulants. Thiocoumarins are a particular class of coumarins in which one or two of the oxygen atoms are replaced by a sulfur. They are chemically subdivided in three groups: Thiocoumarins, 2-thioxocoumarins, and dithiocoumarins. This review emphasizes the rationale behind the synthesis and biological applications of the most relevant publications related to this family of compounds. Particular attention has been given to their potential as drug candidates, with particular emphasis in the last 5 years. This article is based on the most relevant information collected from multiple electronic databases, including SciFinder, Pubmed, Espacenet, and Mendeley.
Erratum - the Photometric Properties of Box / Peanut Galactic Bulges

Optical and near-IR photometry is presented for a sample of 14 edge-on galaxies displaying «box/peanut» bulge structure. The observed luminosity distributions are modelled using a 2D non-linear, least-squares minimization scheme, and the resulting «best-fitting» model combinations subtracted from the observational data to study the deviations from the imposed models. In all cases, the models used underestimate the observed luminosity in the region of the box/peanut distortions by typically 5-15 per cent of the luminosity of the bulge as a whole in the same regions (rising to ∼60 per cent in some cases). This luminosity excess appears greater in later type galaxies―whilst the bulges in such systems are small, the box/peanut components contain a larger fraction of the total luminosity of the old stellar populations
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s perspective on racism

Although Christianity has abundant literature against racism, the menace negatively affects human relationships in contemporary westernised societies. The near silence of most Christian denominations leads to one crucial question: how should Christians deal with racial prejudice in contemporary westernised societies? This article is a social criticism of racism from the perspective of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. As a Christian, Bonhoeffer struggled with the morality of racism, particularly regarding the experience of black people in the United States and Jews in Germany. His reflections and action against racial injustice are a robust framework that could inspire a positive Christian attitude in dealing with racism. This article describes the causes and remedies of racial injustice from his perspective. The central argument is that faithfulness to the communal social character is a significant way to deal with racism in contemporary westernised societies.Contribution: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s reflections and actions against racial injustice are a robust framework for dealing with racism. The central argument is that faithfulness to the communal social character is a significant way Christians can deal with racism in contemporary westernised societies.
Variational Autoencoders For Semi-Supervised Deep Metric Learning

—Deep metric learning (DML) methods generally do not incorporate unlabelled data. We propose borrowing components of the variational autoen-coder (VAE) methodology to extend DML methods to train on semi-supervised datasets. We experimentally evaluate the atomic beneﬁts to the performing DML on the VAE latent space such as the enhanced ability to train using unlabelled data and to induce bias given prior knowledge. We ﬁnd that jointly training DML with an autoencoder and VAE may be potentially helpful for some semi-suprevised datasets, but that a training routine of alternating between the DML loss and an additional unsupervised loss across epochs is generally unviable.
Deep genetic divergence in Randall’s threadfin bream Nemipterus randalli Russell, 1986 population from northern Bay of Bengal inferred by mtDNA sequences

ABSTRACT Nemipterus randalli is one of the most commercially important fish species along the Indian coast. Specimens were sampled from Visakhapatnam, northern Bay of Bengal, along the east coast of India. We analysed the data generated in the present study with previously available sequences from the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Intraspecific variation in COI sequences between the Visakhapatnam and other locales varied from 0.7–1.1%. Also, analysis of D-loop sequences revealed deep genetic divergence with high pairwise ΦST values (0.77–0.89). Results identified a distinct population of N. randalli from Visakhapatnam. To conserve genetic integrity, special attention and detailed studies are needed on the Visakhapatnam population of N. randalli in the northern Bay of Bengal.
Documenting the short‐tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) clades historically present in British Columbia, Canada, through ancient DNA analysis of archaeological specimens

Abstract The short‐tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) is a threatened seabird whose present‐day range encompasses much of the North Pacific. Within this species, there are two genetic clades (Clades 1 and 2) that have distinctive morphologies and foraging ecologies. Due to a global population collapse in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the frequency of these clades among the short‐tailed albatross population that historically foraged off British Columbia, Canada, is unclear. To document the species' historical genetic structure in British Columbia, we applied ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis to 51 archaeological short‐tailed albatross specimens from the Yuquot site (Borden site number: DjSp‐1) that span the past four millennia. We obtained a 141 bp cytochrome b sequence from 43 of the 51 (84.3%) analyzed specimens. Analyses of these sequences indicate 40 of the specimens belong to Clade 1, while 2 belong to Clade 2. We also identified a single specimen with a novel cytochrome b haplotype. Our results indicate that during the past four millennia most of the short‐tailed albatrosses foraging near Yuquot belonged to Clade 1, while individuals from other lineages made more limited use of the area. Comparisons with the results of previous aDNA analyses of archaeological albatrosses from Japanese sites suggest the distribution of Clades 1 and 2 differed. While both albatross clades foraged extensively in the Northwest Pacific, Clade 1 albatrosses appear to have foraged along the west coast of Vancouver Island to a greater extent. Due to their differing distributions, these clades may be exposed to different threats.
Corporate Sustainability, NGOs, and the Role of Stakeholders: A Case Study

Sustainability is an important part of the global business practice. Companies’ sustainable actions are disclosed on sustainability reports to provide transparency on their contribution to society and the environment. This study analyzes the sustainability report of one of the leading companies in the Indonesian cement industry, PT. Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. (SIG). The reports have claimed their substantial contribution in developing Indonesia ethically through corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, the company is widely known to have conflicts with local people in the area where they have their cement plants. Using literature review and document analysis, this article examines the SIG’s sustainability commitment by detailing its stakeholders’ role in achieving good corporate governance and also the relationship of SIG with NGOs as the third party in protecting the minority of SIG stakeholders which is the local people. The findings show that although SIG has correctly published a sustainability report, it omitted the negative actions and focused on emphasizing its CSR activities. Keywords: sustainability, environment, business, corporate governance, Indonesia
Does Friend Support Matter? The Association between Gender Role Attitudes and School Bullying among Male Adolescents in China

This study investigated the association between gender role attitudes, perceived friend support, and school bullying among male adolescents from 11 schools in two cities in China. A total of 3172 Chinese adolescents between 12 and 20 years of age (48.80% girls and 51.20% boys) completed questionnaires that included measures of bullying, gender role attitudes, and perceived social support. In terms of outcome measures, the Chinese version of the Illinois Bully Scale (IBS), Attitudes toward Women Scale for Adolescents (AWSA), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used to assess bullying perpetration, gender role attitudes, and perceived friend support, respectively. Based on masculinity theories and the stress-buffering theory, the study found that male adolescents held more traditional gender role attitudes (t = 30.78, p < 0.001) and reported higher prevalence of bullying behaviors (36.02%) than girls (31.20%). In addition, boys’ bullying behaviors were significantly predicted by gender role attitudes through perceived friend support. That is, male youth with more conservative gender role attitudes reported less perceived friend support (adjusted OR = 1.055; SE = 0.013), which elevated their risks of bullying perpetration (adjusted OR = 2.082; SE = 0.302). These findings have critical implications for bullying intervention and prevention through gender equity education.
Making Full Use of Qualitative Data to Generate New Fish Product Ideas through Co-Creation with Consumers: A Methodological Approach

Co-creation is a process that directly involves different stakeholders in the idea generation phase of a new product development process. A pool of 112 new aquaculture fish product ideas was obtained by applying a combination of creative and projective techniques to the co-creation process with consumers in six focus groups conducted in three European countries (Germany, France, and Spain). The subjectivity of qualitative data analysis (e.g., focus groups) is one of its recognised disadvantages. To overcome this drawback, a combination of specialised software (i.e., Alceste), along with word frequency, co-occurrence, and context checking, was applied to provide a different approach to data analyses in qualitative studies. The method identified the most salient dimensions behind the participants’ discourse (naturalness, quality, ethics, price, and health) and inferred the importance those dimensions had for them, thus proving the existence of a correlation of 0.7 between what the participants said (frequency of mention) and what they liked the most (importance). Overall, the exploratory approach proposed is deemed useful for drawing key conclusions from qualitative research, thus offering an alternative to traditional content analysis. In future, the results obtained may be useful for selecting the co-created ideas with the greatest potential to be well received in the market.
Acute Effects of Percussive Therapy on the Posterior Shoulder Muscles Differ Based on the Athlete’s Soreness Response

Background Percussive therapy is hypothesized to speed recovery by delivering gentle, rhythmic pulses to soft tissue. However, patients often present with a differential soreness response after percussive therapy, which may lead to altered clinical outcomes. Purpose To compare the acute effects of percussion therapy on passive range of motion (ROM) and tissue-specific ultrasound measures (pennation angle [PA] and muscle thickness [MT]) between healthy individuals responding positively vs. negatively to percussive therapy performed on the dominant arm posterior rotator cuff. Study Design Cross-sectional laboratory study Methods Fifty-five healthy individuals were assessed on a subjective soreness scale before and after a five-minute percussive therapy session on the dominant arm posterior rotator cuff muscles. Participants with no change or a decrease in muscle soreness were assigned to the positive response group and participants who reported an increase in muscle soreness were assigned to the negative response group. Passive internal rotation (IR) and external rotation (ER) ROM and strength, and muscle architecture of the infraspinatus and teres minor were measured via ultrasound on the dominant shoulder. All dependent variables were collected before percussive therapy, and 20 minutes following percussive therapy. Results The positive response group had greater improvements than the negative response group in dominant arm IR ROM (2.3° positive vs. -1.3° negative, p=0.021) and IR strength (1.1 lbs vs. -1.2 lbs, p=0.011) after percussive therapy. No differences in ER strength or ROM were observed between groups. Regarding muscle architecture, the positive group had a lesser change in teres minor MT (0.00 mm vs. 0.11 mm, p=0.019) after percussive therapy. All other muscle architecture changes were not statistically different between groups. Conclusion Participants with a positive response to percussive therapy had increased dominant arm IR ROM and IR strength, and decreased teres minor MT, after percussive therapy compared to the negative response participants. Level of Evidence III
Safety of Biological Therapies in Elderly Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract Background and Aim: Newer biologics appeared safer in landmark clinical trials, but their safety is understudied in vulnerable populations. The aim of the present study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the safety of available biologicals in the elderly IBD population. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed/Medline and conference proceedings between 1 April 1969 and 1 June 2021 to identify eligible studies that examined the safety of biologics in elderly patients with IBD. Of the 2885 articles and 12 congress abstracts identified, 12 peer reviewed papers and 3 abstracts were included after independent evaluation by two reviewers. The identified studies collected safety data on anti-TNF, vedolizumab (VDZ) and ustekinumab (UST). Results: Rates of AE and infections were not different among the biologics (AE mean rate: 11.3 (CI 95% 9.9–12.7)/100 pts-years; p = 0.11, infection mean rate: 9.5 (CI 95% 8.4–10.6)/100 pts-years; p = 0.56) in elderly IBD patients on anti-TNF, VDZ or UST. Infusion/injection reaction rates were more common on anti-TNFs (mean rate: 2.51 (CI 95% 1.7–3.4/100 pts-years; p = 0.02). and malignancy rates were higher on VDZ/UST (mean rate: 2.14 (CI 95% 1.6–2.8)/100 pts-years; p = 0.01). Conclusions: Rates of AEs and infections were not different among biologicals. Infusion/injection reactions were more common on anti-TNFs. Current data are insufficient to suggest the sequencing of biologicals in elderly patients based on safety.
Co-Expression Network and Integrative Analysis of Metabolome and Transcriptome Uncovers Biological Pathways for Fertility in Beef Heifers

Reproductive failure remains a significant challenge to the beef industry. The omics technologies have provided opportunities to improve reproductive efficiency. We used a multistaged analysis from blood profiles to integrate metabolome (plasma) and transcriptome (peripheral white blood cells) in beef heifers. We used untargeted metabolomics and RNA-Seq paired data from six AI-pregnant (AI-P) and six nonpregnant (NP) Angus-Simmental crossbred heifers at artificial insemination (AI). Based on network co-expression analysis, we identified 17 and 37 hub genes in the AI-P and NP groups, respectively. Further, we identified TGM2, TMEM51, TAC3, NDRG4, and PDGFB as more connected in the NP heifers’ network. The NP gene network showed a connectivity gain due to the rewiring of major regulators. The metabolomic analysis identified 18 and 15 hub metabolites in the AI-P and NP networks. Tryptophan and allantoic acid exhibited a connectivity gain in the NP and AI-P networks, respectively. The gene–metabolite integration identified tocopherol-a as positively correlated with ENSBTAG00000009943 in the AI-P group. Conversely, tocopherol-a was negatively correlated in the NP group with EXOSC2, TRNAUIAP, and SNX12. In the NP group, α-ketoglutarate-SMG8 and putrescine-HSD17B13 were positively correlated, whereas a-ketoglutarate-ALAS2 and tryptophan-MTMR1 were negatively correlated. These multiple interactions identified novel targets and pathways underlying fertility in bovines.
Nuclear structure near the neutron dripline: lattice HFB calculations with high-energy continuum coupling

We have developed a new Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) code which has been specifically designed to study ground state properties of nuclei near the neutron and proton drip lines. The unique feature of our code is that it takes into account the strong coupling to high-energy continuum states, up to an equivalent single-particle energy of 60 MeV. We solve the HFB equations for deformed, axially symmetric even-even nuclei in coordinate space on a 2-D lattice with Basis-Spline methods. For the p-h channel, the Skyrme (SLy4) effective N-N interaction is utilized, and for the p-p and h-h channel we use a delta interaction. We present results for binding energies, deformations, normal densities and pairing densities, Fermi levels, and pairing gaps. In particular, we will discuss neutron-rich isotopes of oxygen (O-22) and tin (Sn-150).
Recent Advances in Nanoparticles-Based Platforms Targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 Pathway for Cancer Treatment

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis showed remarkable improvements in overall response and patient survival, which changed the treatment landscape for multiple cancer types. However, the majority of patients receiving ICIs are either non-responders or eventually develop secondary resistance. Meanwhile, immunological homeostasis would be destroyed as T cell functions are activated excessively, leading to immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Clinically, a large number of irAEs caused by ICIs occurred and affected almost every organ system, resulting in the discontinuation or even the termination of the ongoing therapy. Therefore, researchers are exploring methods to overcome the situations of insufficient accumulation of these drugs in tumor sites and severe side effects. PD-1/PD-L1-targeted agents encapsulated in nanoparticles have emerged as novel drug delivery systems for improving the delivery efficacy, enhancing immune response and minimizing side effects in cancer treatment. Nanocarriers targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis showed enhanced functionalities and improved the technical weaknesses based on their reduced off-target effects, biocompatible properties, multifunctional potential and biomimetic modifications. Here, we summarize nanoparticles which are designed to directly target the PD-1/PD-L1 axis. We also discuss the combination of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 agents and other therapies using nanomedicine-based treatments and their anticancer effects, safety issues, and future prospects.
Ranking and optimization of target tracking algorithms

In this thesis the performance of target tracking algorithms, and in particular the sequential multi-sensor joint probabilistic data association algorithm is analyzed. The main contribution is the development of a tool for ranking and selecting designs where the performance metric is the standard deviation (e.g., in target tracking, root mean square position error), and not the mean (e.g., network throughput), assuming that target tracking position error has Gaussian distribution. Further improvement in variance ranking and selection is achieved when position error data is modeled as a Gaussian mixture distribution (a weighted sum of Gaussian distributions, defined by a set of weights, means, and variances). Parameter estimation of a k-component Gaussian mixture distribution is obtained by applying a modified version of a well known expectation maximization algorithm. In order to reduce long simulations necessary to achieve good confidence in the observed ranking of multi-sensor fusion algorithms, an optimized computing budget allocation approach is applied, using the improved Gaussian distribution models of the root mean square track position error. The developed algorithm for variance ranking and selection leads to more than an order of magnitude reduction in computational effort and produces results with high confidence levels when comparing different orders of processing sensor information in the sequential multi-sensor joint probabilistic data association tracking algorithm. Application of the new ranking technique in comparing various types of particle filters also demonstrates that ranking can be accomplished efficiently and with high confidence levels. The proposed variance ranking and selection technique can be applied for comparing other types of designs and algorithms provided that the performance metric is a variance or root mean square position error.