Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of activity identity fusion on negative consumer behavior

Negative consumer behavior is an important research topic as it explores consumer behaviors that threaten a brand’s image and financial stability. However, prior research offers conflicting findings on whether a strong consumer-brand relationship hurts or protects a brand following a market disruption or brand transgression. In order to offer clarity to this issue, this work argues that disrupting the consumer-activity relationship motivates consumers to re-affirm and protect their identity thereby leading to negative consumer behavior. The data reveal that, following a brand initiated market disruption, consumers with high activity identity fusion are more likely to spread negative word-of-mouth, boycott the brand, and avoid repurchasing the brand in the future. Moreover, the data suggest that high brand identity fusion protects the brand during market disruptions; therefore, prior conflicting results may be due to the fact that the consumer-activity relationship was not accounted for. Theoretically, this work establishes that a consumer’s relationship with their consumption activities has significant impacts on consumer behavior. Brand managers and marketers are urged to develop strategies that focus on strengthening the consumer-brand relationship and not the consumer-activity relationship.
Evolution of dwarf early-type galaxies I. Spatially resolved stellar populations and internal kinematics of Virgo cluster dE/dS0 galaxies

Understanding the origin and evolution of dwarf early-type galaxies remains an important open issue in modem astrophysics. Internal kinematics of a galaxy contains signatures of violent phenomena which may have occurred, e.g. mergers or tidal interactions, while stellar population keeps a fossil record of the star formation history; therefore studying connection between them becomes crucial for understanding galaxy evolution. Here, in the first paper of the series, we present the data on spatially resolved stellar populations and internal kinematics for a large sample of dwarf elliptical (dE) and lenticular (dS0) galaxies in the Virgo cluster. We obtained radial velocities, velocity dispersions, stellar ages and metallicities out to 1-2 half-light radii by reanalysing already published long-slit and integral-field spectroscopic data sets using the NBURSTS full spectral fitting technique. Surprisingly, bright representatives of the dE/dS0 class (M B = -18.0 to -16.0 mag) look very similar to intermediate-mass and giant lenticulars and ellipticals: (1) their nuclear regions often harbour young metal-rich stellar populations always associated with the drops in the velocity dispersion profiles; (2) metallicity gradients in the main discs/spheroids vary significantly from nearly flat profiles to -0.9 dex r -1 e , i.e. somewhat three times steeper than for typical bulges; (3) kinematically decoupled cores were discovered in four galaxies, including two with very little, if any, large-scale rotation. These results suggest similarities in the evolutionary paths of dwarf and giant early-type galaxies and call for reconsidering the role of major mergers in the dE/dS0 evolution.
Construction of Deterministic , Consistent , and Stable Explanations from Numerical Data and Prior Domain Knowledge

In the explanation problem, training records randomly taken from two populations and, possibly, partial prior domain knowledge are given. Two deterministic explanations for the differences between the two populations are to be constructed, or it must be declared that such explanations most likely are not contained in the data. The explanations must be accurate and in conformance with the given prior domain knowledge. This paper presents a multi-step solution algorithm called EXARP for the explanation problem. A key feature is the use of several alternate random processes (ARPs) which attempt to distort data or otherwise disrupt the solution process. Appropriate counteractions prevent or at least mitigate the negative effects of the ARPs. EXARP is potentially useful in domains such as bioinformatics, economics, engineering, finance, medicine, and psychiatry. To-date, the algorithm has largely been used to explain medical data. The explanations may be used in several ways, for example, to define tailored or targeted therapies. In one such case, explanations produced by EXARP have led to a new breast cancer treatment that is currently being evaluated and has the potential of saving a large number of lives.
Factor structure, concurrent validity, and internal consistency of the beck depression inventory—second edition in a sample of college students

We examined the psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory‐Second Edition (BDI‐II) [Beck et al., 1996, San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation]. Four hundred fourteen undergraduate students at two public universities participated. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the BDI‐II two‐factor structure measuring cognitive‐affective and somatic depressive symptoms. In addition, the internal consistency was high and the concurrent validity of the BDI‐II was supported by positive correlations with self‐report measures of depression and anxiety. These findings replicate prior research supporting the validity and reliability of the BDI‐II in a college sample. Depression and Anxiety 19:187–189, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Impact of Face Skin Tone vs. Face Symmetry on Perceived Facial Attractiveness

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the relative contribution of skin tone and symmetry on judgment of attractiveness regarding female faces. Two hundred and fifteen Mozambican adults were presented with a set of faces, and instructed to rate their degree of attractiveness along a continuous scale. Chi-square, factorial weight analyses and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Face skin tone had a significant impact on the participants' attractiveness judgment of target faces. However, the target face skin tone contribution to the participants' attractiveness judgment (5% of the total variance) was much weaker than the contribution of the target face symmetry (85% of the total variance). These results imply that skin bleaching, common among Black people across sub-Saharan African countries, is not only dangerous to the health of those who practice it, but it is unlikely to make them appear much more attractive.
The Effects of Cultural Diversity, Conflict and Conflict Management on Performance in Global Virtual Teams

Globalization and advances in communication technology have fuelled the emergence of global virtual teams (GVTs), which have salient cultural diversity. Prior research has demonstrated that cultural diversity has both positive and negative effect on team performance, but the mechanism for this phenomenon is still unknown. This paper presents a theory model to explore the relationship among cultural diversity, conflict, conflict management behaviors and performance in GVTs. Compared with the traditional face-to-face (FTF) teams, culture diversity may produce more conflict and lead to different conflict management behaviors in GVTs, which in turn affects team performance. Conflict management behaviors are treated as moderating variables between conflict and team performance. An experiment design for testing the hypotheses is described.
Smart extraction of desired object from color-distance image with user’s tiny scribble

Image segmentation is an important problem because it is required for many different applications. In particular, visual extraction of an object that is the target of attention or manipulation, is an increasingly important issue in robot vision. In real-world applications, a robot needs to extract an object designated by a human in a complicated environment. There is a large literature on the problem of image segmentation, but most previous methods have a limited ability to extract desired objects from a cluttered scene. Moreover, from the perspective of human-robot interfaces, it is desirable to make it as easy as possible for the user to indicate an object. In this paper, we propose a segmentation method, CD-matting, which can correctly extract a target object in complicated real-world visual situations. This method exploits color and distance information in an integrated way. The system requires only a simple input to designate the target object. We verify the proposed system by real-world experiments. The results show the effectiveness of our method in complicated situations.
Verification of railway interlocking systems

In the railway domain, an interlocking is a computerised system that controls the railway signalling objects in order to allow a safe operation of the train traffic. Each interlocking makes use of particular data, called application data, that reflects the track layout of the station under control. The verification and validation of the application data are performed manually and is thus error-prone and costly. In this paper, we explain how we built an executable model in NuSMV of a railway interlocking based on the application data. We also detail the tool that we have developed in order to translate the application data into our model automatically. Finally we show how we could verify a realistic set of safety properties on a real-size station model by customizing the existing model-checking algorithm with PyNuSMV a Python library based on NuSMV.
Acceptance of post-adoption unanticipated is usage: towards a taxonomy

Information Systems (IS), as social artifacts, are open to interpretation during use. This flexibility creates opportunities for individuals to use systems in unanticipated ways to better fit particular tasks. Yet such unanticipated usage is counter to the use of IS as vehicles for managerial control and ensuring consistency in transaction processing across organizations. To effectively manage this tension a structured appreciation of post-adoption IS usage in its social context is required. Through a case study of users in a large Australian accommodation chain we develop a taxonomy of system usage, exploring unanticipated usage to meet workplace demands, its underlying motivations, implications for transaction processing consistency and ultimately operational and/or managerial decision making.
Mental health care in the community: An analysis of contemporary public attitudes towards, and public representations of, mental illness

Public tolerance of, and non-discrimination towards, people with mental health problems are key factors on which success in achieving the goal of community-based mental health care depends. This paper revisits Thomas Scheff's (1966) sociological theory of mental illness, and tests elements of this thorough critical review of recent UK literature relating to public attitudes towards, and media representations, of mental illness. Negative representations predominate in the media, while a significant minority of the UK public appear to possess negative attitudes towards people with mental health problems and their care and social participation in the community. These findings support aspects of Scheff's theory. Implications for policy and practice are discussed, including the need to challenge stigmatising and discriminatory attitudes and behaviours.
Restricted Distribution Automatizability in PAC-Semantics

We consider the proof search (--automatizability--) problem for propositional proof systems in the context of knowledge discovery (or data mining and analytics). Discovered knowledge necessarily features a weaker semantics than usually employed in mathematical logic, and in this work we find that these weaker semantics may result in a proof search problem that seems easier than the classical problem, but that is nevertheless nontrivial. Specifically, if we consider a knowledge discovery task corresponding to the unsupervised learning of parities over the uniform distribution from partial information, then we find the following: Proofs in the system polynomial calculus with resolution (PCR) can be detected in quasipolynomial time, in contrast to the nO(√n)-time best known algorithm for classical proof search for PCR. By contrast, a quasipolynomial time algorithm that distinguishes whether a formula of PCR is satisfied a 1-ε fraction of the time or merely an -ε-fraction of the time (for polynomially small -ε would give a randomized quasipolynomial time algorithm for NP, so the use of the promise of a small PCR proof is essential in the above result. Likewise, if integer factoring requires subexponential time, we find that bounded-depth Frege proofs cannot be detected in quasipolynomial time. The final result essentially shows that negative results based on the hardness of interpolation [31, 13, 11] persist under this new semantics, while the first result suggests, in light of negative results for PCR [22] and resolution [2] under the classical semantics, that there are intriguing new possibilities for proof search in the context of knowledge discovery and data analysis.
Defining the Transmurality of a Chronic Myocardial Infarction by Ultrasonic Strain-Rate Imaging: Implications for Identifying Intramural Viability An Experimental Study

Background—In a correlative functional/histopathologic study, we investigated the regional deformation characteristics of both chronic nontransmural and transmural infarctions before and after a dobutamine challenge. Methods and Results—After stenosing copper-coated stent implantation to produce circumflex artery endothelial proliferation, 18 pigs were followed up for 5 weeks. Posteuthanasia histology showed 10 to have a nontransmural and 8 a transmural infarction. Eight nonstented animals served as controls. Regional radial function was monitored by measuring ultrasound-derived peak systolic strain rates (SRSYS) and systolic strains (&egr;SYS) (1) before stent implantation and (2) at 5 weeks, at baseline (bs) and during an incremental dobutamine infusion. In controls, dobutamine induced a linear increase in SRSYS (dobutamine: bs, 4.8±0.4 s−1; 20 &mgr;g · kg−1 · min−1, 9.9±0.7 s−1;P <0.0001) and an initial increase of &egr;SYS at low dose (bs, 58±5%; at 5 &mgr;g · kg−1 · min−1, 78±6%;P <0.05) but a subsequent decrease during higher infusion rates. In the nontransmural group, bs SRSYS and &egr;SYS were significantly lower than prestent values (SRSYS, 2.9±0.5 s−1 and &egr;SYS, 32±6%, P <0.05 versus prestent). During dobutamine infusion, SRSYS increased slightly at 5 &mgr;g · kg−1 · min−1 (4.7±0.6 s−1, P <0.05) but fell during higher infusion rates, whereas &egr;SYS showed no change. For nontransmural infarctions, transmural scar extension correlated closely with &egr;SYS at bs (r =0.88). For transmural infarctions, SRSYS at bs was significantly reduced and &egr;SYS was almost not measurable (SRSYS, 1.8±0.3 s−1; &egr;SYS, 3±4%). Both deformation parameters showed no further change during the incremental dobutamine infusion. Conclusions—Ultrasonic deformation values could clearly differentiate chronic nontransmural from transmural myocardial infarction. The transmural extension of the scar could be defined by the regional deformation response.
An Empirical Study of Scenarios Gained and Lost in Architecture Evaluation Meetings

An important element in scenario-based architecture evaluation is the development of scenarios by holding meetings of stakeholders. As the team meeting is an expensive activity, studying the effectiveness of meetings is an important research question. In this paper, we report the findings from analyzing the data collected in a controlled experiment aimed at empirically studying the effectiveness of scenario development meetings in terms of gained and lost scenarios. A secondary researched issue was whether or not a top-down technique for eliciting scenarios can improve the performance of a team meeting compared to a bottom-up technique. Findings from data analysis question the effectiveness of holding meetings for developing scenarios since more important scenarios were lost than gained in these meetings. Data results also provide empirical support to our assertion that top-down scenario development technique is better than the bottom-up technique.
Surveys in Software Engineering: Identifying Representative Samples

Context: The representativeness of samples in Software Engineering primary studies is still a great challenge, mainly when identifying available sources for establishing adequate sampling frames, characterizing subjects and stimulating their participation in (opinion) surveys. The lack of survey guidelines taking into account the specificities of Software Engineering increases the research challenge. Goal: To introduce a conceptual framework for supporting the identification of representative samples for surveys in Software Engineering. Method: Based on knowledge acquired in the technical literature and researchers' experience, to organize a set of guidelines to systematically support sampling in Software Engineering surveys. To perform in vitro empirical studies to observe and evolve the guidelines. Results: An empirically evaluated set of planning activities and tasks with recommendations to support the identification of representative samples for surveys in Software Engineering is available. Conclusion: Surveys have been supporting relevant investigations in Software Engineering in the last decades. This conceptual framework can contribute to strength representativeness of their results. However, some important issues regarding survey research are still open and deserves attention from the empirical Software Engineering community.
Identification of Lymphatics within the Colonic Lamina Propria in Inflammation and Neoplasia Using the Monoclonal Antibody D2-40

CONTEXT: Lymphatic vessels are believed to be absent in the colon above the level of the mucularis mucosae. However, in our experience, lymphatic vessels are sometimes identifiable within the lamina propria in the setting of inflammation and neoplasia. OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess the presence of lymphatics within the colonic lamina propria in neoplastic and inflammatory conditions using the lymphatic endothelium-specific immunohistochemical marker D2-40. DESIGN: Representative sections of normal colon, inflamed colon, hyperplastic polyps, inflammatory polyps, adenomatous polyps, adenomatous polyps containing intramucosal carcinoma, and invasive colonic adenocarcinomas were subjected to immunohistochemical staining with D2-40. The presence of immunopositive lymphatic vessels was assessed. Lymphatic density within the lamina propria was calculated quantitatively, and the presence of inflammation was graded subjectively on a four-tiered scale (0-3). RESULTS: Lymphatics were not identified within the lamina propria of normal colon. However, lymphatics were identified within the lamina propria in the majority of cases with neoplasia and/or inflammation. Additionally, there was a non-significant trend toward higher lymphatic vessel density in cases with increasing inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Lymphatic vessels are present within the lamina propria of colon in pathologic states, including cases of intramucosal carcinoma. This “aberrant” lymphangiogenesis is likely to be driven by inflammation and/or neoplasia.
A Comparative Study of Three Land Surface Broadband Emissivity Datasets from Satellite Data

This study compared three broadband emissivity (BBE) datasets from satellite observations. The first is a new global land surface BBE dataset known as the Global Land Surface Satellite (GLASS) BBE. The other two are the North American ASTER Land Surface Emissivity Database (NAALSED) BBE and University of Wisconsin Global Infrared Land Surface Emissivity Database (UWIREMIS) BBE, which were derived from two independent narrowband emissivity products. Firstly, NAALSED BBE was taken as the reference to evaluate the GLASS BBE and UWIREMIS BBE. The GLASS BBE was more close to NAALSED BBE with a bias and root mean square error (RMSE) of −0.001 and 0.007 for the summer season, −0.001 and 0.008 for the winter season, respectively. Then, the spatial distribution and seasonal pattern of global GLASS BBE and UWIREMIS BBE for six dominant land cover types were compared. The BBE difference between vegetated areas and non-vegetated areas can be easily seen from two BBEs. The seasonal variation of GLASS BBE was more reasonable than that of UWIREMIS BBE. Finally, the time series were calculated from GLASS BBE and UWIREMIS BBE using the data from 2003 through 2010. The periodic variations of GLASS BBE were stronger than those of UWIREMIS BBE. The long time series high quality GLASS BBE can be incorporated in land surface models for improving their simulation results.
Temporal Continuity Learning for Convolutional Deep Belief Networks

The human visual system can robustly recognize objects, even though a single object can project many different images onto the retina. Furthermore, humans learn to perform this task from mostly unlabeled data. The goal of this work is to develop a computer algorithm which can replicate this sort of learning. One approach to this problem is called temporal continuity learning. This theory assumes that images close together in time are likely to contain the same object, and therefore that the visual system should learn representations that vary slowly in time. A different approach uses Deep Belief Networks. With DBNs, the goal of the learning is to maximize the likelihood of the training data in the marginal distribution of the Deep Belief Network. Interestingly, these approaches use entirely different heuristics to measure how ’good’ a representation is. In this work, I hope to create an algorithm which uses both of these heuristics to form a better representation of images than either heuristic could produce on its own.
A NEW POSSIBILITY FOR SURVEILLANCE: DO WE IDENTIFY ALL CASES OF LEPTOSPIROSIS?

SUMMARY Leptospirosis is a febrile disease with a typically underestimated global incidence, especially in regions where dengue is endemic. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately determine the number of leptospirosis cases in these areas, which contributes to significant under-reporting this disease. In this study, we estimated the number of possible leptospirosis cases among dengue-like cases that were reported during 2008, 2010, and 2012 in the city of Fortaleza, northeast Brazil. Patients were evaluated for dengue and leptospirosis using immunoenzymatic tests for IgM antibodies that were specific to each pathogen. Among the suspected cases of dengue that resulted as negative in laboratory tests, 10.8% (2008), 19.2% (2010), and 30.8% (2012) were confirmed to be leptospirosis. Considering the cases reported by the surveillance authority as dengue that were subsequently discarded based on the laboratory test results, we estimate that the number of actual leptospirosis cases may be 26 to 49 times higher than those diagnosed and reported by the Health Services. Furthermore, we believe that approximately 20% of dengue-like cases may be leptospirosis cases in areas where the two diseases are endemic.
Delay Analysis for a Reliable Message Delivery in Sparse Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

In this paper, we address the relation between message delivery delay and reliability for the communication between a vehicle and a road side unit (RSU). We focus on sparse or low density vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), where timely message delivery and reliable transmission are of significant importance. We present an exact message delivery delay distribution for a two-lane road, where vehicles in one direction act as message carriers for the ones in the other direction and have the freedom to leave the road from randomly distributed exits with a certain probability. Our analysis offers a tool for an intelligent transportation system (ITS) service provider to determine the minimal separation between two consecutive RSUs for meeting a probabilistic requirement of the message delay. Simulation results show the accuracy of our analysis.