Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Internet Shopping Behavior of Turkish Customers: Comparison of Two Competing Models

In this Internet age, information technologies are increasingly penetrating our daily lives. Internet Shopping has become a daily activity for most of us. However, there are very limited studies to investigate cognitive factors influencing individuals' online shopping behavior in a developing country context. In this study, two widely used socio-psychology based theories, the extended version of Technology Acceptance Model (e-TAM) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), have been tested in Internet shopping context and the results are compared for a Turkish sample. The results have revealed significant theoretical relationships for all of the proposed paths in both theories, yet the Theory of Planned Behavior presented better fit indices and proven to be a more detailed explanatory framework.
The greatest myths in breast augmentation.

1. Bigger is better. Without debating social implications and from the perspective of tissue effects over time, bigger breasts are not better. If breast envelopes consistently supported weight over time, mastopexy would not exist. If bras could circumvent genetics, gravity, pregnancy, and aging, the price for bigger might be less and the spectacularly beautiful 18-year-old D-cup breast would not be spectacularly saggy with an empty upper pole by age 30. The envelope of the average breast is designed to support a certain range of weight. When genetics, hormonal influences, weight gain, pregnancy, nursing, or breast implants exceed that range, negative effects predictably occur. Consequences of excessively large breast implants include ptosis, tissue stretching, tissue thinning, inadequate soft-tissue cover over an implant, visible implant edges, traction rippling, parenchymal and subcutaneous tissue atrophy, potential implant exposure or extrusion, and a high likelihood of needing further operations with additional costs and risks in the future. Virtually all of these problems are preventable prospectively by limiting implant size. What is “too big”? To some patients and surgeons, too big does not exist. There is always a rationalization that it is “what the patient wants,” plus some level of psychological, physiological, or financial rationale as to why it is okay to do it. With luck, the patient may become a magazine centerfold or cover that the surgeon can frame as office-wall art for marketing. Never mind that over her lifetime the patient will likely experience substantial negative consequences and potential reoperations caused by excessively large implants. When implant volume exceeds 350 cc, even when that volume is required to adequately fill a previously stretched envelope, implant-soft tissue dynamics exert predictable negative consequences over time on the tissues of the breast. When patients request or require implants of 350 cc or greater, even for reconstruction, they should be educated thoroughly and acknowledge their acceptance of all of the risks listed previously in informed consent documents. Meeting a patient’s short-term desires is not as important as minimizing potential negative consequences for her over her lifetime. Will she really want breasts that large if she honestly knows what she is eventually going to get? The rationale that she will go somewhere else and get them anyway clearly exposes the priorities of the surgeons that use it. 2. Patients do not deserve choices, because they do not know what is best. The surgeon knows what is best. Patient choices are limited only by a surgeon’s commitment to skill development and patient education. In breast augmentation, no single “best” set of choices exists. Choices, each with unique benefits and tradeoffs, provide equally acceptable alternatives that can achieve similar excellent results. Informed consent law requires surgeons to educate patients about all available alternatives. If a surgeon’s skills and mindset are limited to one set of choices, that set of choices is the best that surgeon can offer.
Work characteristics and psychological health in East Asian police personnel

In this study, the impact of the psychosocial work environment, namely demand, control and support, upon symptoms of depression and ill-health is examined in a sample of East Asian police personnel. Demand is found to be negatively related to well-being, whereas control and support are positively related. Support and career satisfaction are both examined as potential mediators in the links between demand and control (predictors) and depression and ill-health symptoms (outcomes). Empirical evidence is found for both mediation paths. Potential methodological limitations of the research are considered and possible suggestions for future studies are proposed. Interventions designed to increase control and support alongside assistance for career development are identified as possible effective course of actions.
Transformation-Based Models of Video Sequences

In this work we propose a simple unsupervised approach for next frame prediction in video. Instead of directly predicting the pixels in a frame given past frames, we predict the transformations needed for generating the next frame in a sequence, given the transformations of the past frames. This leads to sharper results, while using a smaller prediction model. In order to enable a fair comparison between different video frame prediction models, we also propose a new evaluation protocol. We use generated frames as input to a classifier trained with ground truth sequences. This criterion guarantees that models scoring high are those producing sequences which preserve discrim- inative features, as opposed to merely penalizing any deviation, plausible or not, from the ground truth. Our proposed approach compares favourably against more sophisticated ones on the UCF-101 data set, while also being more efficient in terms of the number of parameters and computational cost.
On the Homotopy Test on Surfaces

Let G be a graph cellularly embedded in a surface S. Given two closed walks c and d in G, we take advantage of the RAM model to describe linear time algorithms to decide if c and d are homotopic in S, either freely or with fixed base point. After O(|G|) time preprocessing independent of c and d, our algorithms answer the homotopy test in O(|c| + |d|) time, where |G|, |c| and |d| are the respective numbers of edges of G, c and d. These results were previously announced by Dey and Guha (1999). Their approach was based on small cancellation theory from combinatorial group theory. However, several flaws in their algorithms make their approach fail, leaving the complexity of the homotopy test problem still open. We present a geometric approach, based on previous works by Colin de Verdière and Erickson, that provides optimal homotopy tests.
Non-Abelian strings in a dense matter

We consider gauge theories with scalar matter with and without supersymmetry at nonzero chemical potential. It is argued that a chemical potential plays a role similar to the Fayet-Iliopoulos term. We analyze theory at the weak coupling regime at large chemical potential and argue that it supports non-Abelian non-Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield strings. World sheet theory on the non-Abelian string in a dense matter is briefly discussed.
Characterization of the ear-to-ear propagation channel using microstrip dipole antennas

A planar dipole antenna for on-body channel propagation study has been designed. It operates at center frequency of 2.45 GHz. The antenna has an integrated balun on the same substrate, which makes its impedance and radiation performance less susceptible to the presence of a human body. The path gain between two identical antennas is measured as a function of their position on the human head. These results are verified by numerical simulations where a precise model of human head is implemented. The results are analyzed and discussed
TRPM7 is down‐regulated in both left atria and left ventricle of ischaemic cardiomyopathy patients and highly related to changes in ventricular function

The kinase ion channel transient receptor potential melastatin 7 (TRPM7) is considered a modulator of cardiac fibrosis progression; nevertheless, we lack of studies analysing its role in human ischaemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). Our objective was to analyse the expression of genes encoding cardiac ion channels in human ICM, focusing on the alterations in mRNA levels of TRPM7 and its relationship with changes in the ventricular function.
Full-Duplex MIMO Small-Cell Networks: Performance Analysis

Full-duplex small-cell relays with multiple antennas constitute a core element of the envisioned 5G network architecture. In this paper, we use stochastic geometry to analyze the performance of wireless networks with full-duplex multi-antenna small cells, with particular emphasis on the probability of successful transmission. To achieve this goal, we additionally characterize the distribution of the self-interference power of the full-duplex nodes. The proposed framework reveals useful insights on the benefits of full-duplex with respect to half- duplex in terms of network throughput.
Seed dispersal networks in the Galápagos and the consequences of alien plant invasions

Alien plants are a growing threat to the Galápagos unique biota. We evaluated the impact of alien plants on eight seed dispersal networks from two islands of the archipelago. Nearly 10 000 intact seeds from 58 species were recovered from the droppings of 18 bird and reptile dispersers. The most dispersed invaders were Lantana camara, Rubus niveus and Psidium guajava, the latter two likely benefiting from an asynchronous fruit production with most native plants, which facilitate their consumption and spread. Lava lizards dispersed the seeds of 27 species, being the most important dispersers, followed by small ground finch, two mockingbirds, the giant tortoise and two insectivorous birds. Most animals dispersed alien seeds, but these formed a relatively small proportion of the interactions. Nevertheless, the integration of aliens was higher in the island that has been invaded for longest, suggesting a time-lag between alien plant introductions and their impacts on seed dispersal networks. Alien plants become more specialized with advancing invasion, favouring more simplified plant and disperser communities. However, only habitat type significantly affected the overall network structure. Alien plants were dispersed via two pathways: dry-fruited plants were preferentially dispersed by finches, while fleshy fruited species were mostly dispersed by other birds and reptiles.
An improved bound for the exponential stability of predictive filters of hidden Markov models

We consider hidden Markov processes in discrete time with a finite state space X and a general observation or read-out space Y, which is assumed to be a Polish space. It is well-known that in the statistical analysis of HMMs the so-called predictive filter plays a fundamental role. A useful result establishing the exponential stability of the predictive filter with respect to perturbations of its initial condition was given in the paper of LeGland and Mevel, MCSS, 2000, in the case, when the assumed transition probability matrix was primitive. The main technical result of the present paper is the extension of the cited result by showing that the random constant and the deterministic positive exponent showing up in the inequality stating exponential stability can be chosen so that for any prescribed s exceeding 1 the s-th exponential moment of the random constant is finite. An application of this result to the estimation of HMMs with primitive transition probability densities will be also briefly presented.
Quality attribute scenario based architectural modeling for self-adaptation supported by architecture-based reflective middleware

Reflective middleware is proposed for guaranteeing desired qualities of middleware based systems which reside in the extremely open and dynamic Internet. Current researches and practices focus on how to monitor and change the whole system through reflective mechanisms provided by middleware. However, they put little attention on why, when and what to monitor and change because it is very hard for middleware to collect enough knowledge which is usually specific to the whole system. Being an important artifact in software development, software architecture records plentiful design information, especially the considerations for quality attributes of the target system. It is a natural idea to provide reflective middleware with enough knowledge via software architecture. This paper presents a demonstration of the idea. In this demonstration, the self-adaptations can be analyzed in a quality attribute scenario based way and specified by an extended architecture description language. Such knowledge prescribed at the design phase can be used directly by an architecture based reflective middleware which then automatically adapts itself at runtime.
Cyp1b1 Protein in the Mouse Eye during Development: An Immunohistochemical Study

We show, for the first time, the spatiotemporal appearance of Cyp1b1 protein during mouse eye ontogeny. The protein was unambiguously identified in the adult mouse eye and newborn (P0) whole mouse microsomes and was shown to be localized in inner ciliary epithelium, corneal epithelium, retinal inner nuclear cells, and ganglion cells. The enzyme protein was present in the lens epithelium adjacent to the developing ciliary body at 15.5 days postconception (E15.5) and was most strongly expressed during E17.5 to 7 days postnatally (P07). Subsequently, it declined to very low levels. The protein was also expressed in the corneal endothelial cells adjacent to the ciliary body at P07. Cyp1b1 was barely detectable in the inner ciliary epithelium before E17.5 but increased rapidly postnatally, reaching adult levels by P28. Levels of the enzyme protein in the corneal epithelium were seen from E15.5 onward, increasing sharply, and after a decrease at P07, were highest in the adult animal eye. The presence of Cyp1b1 protein in the inner nuclear layer of the retina was very low in the prenatal eye, increasing rapidly postnatally, and was highest in the adult animal eye. In the ganglion cell layer of the retina, it increased slowly from E15.5 to P07 and then rapidly reached adult levels. Interestingly, Cyp1b1 was not detected in the trabecular meshwork at any stage of development or in the adult eye. We conclude that the enzyme may play important roles in normal eye development and function in mice as in humans, and that the mouse may prove to be an excellent model for determination of the roles of CYP1B1 in human eye development and function.
Genome Analysis and Expression Patterns of Odorant-Binding Proteins from the Southern House Mosquito Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus

Olfactory-based behaviors in mosquitoes are mediated by odorant-binding proteins (OBPs). They form a multigenic family involved in the peripheral events in insect olfaction, specifically the transport of odorants to membrane-bound odorant receptors. OBPs contribute to the remarkable sensitivity of the insect's olfactory system and may be involved in the selective transport of odorants. We have employed a combination of bioinformatics and molecular approaches to identify and characterize members of the “classic” OBP family in the Southern House mosquito Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus ( = Cx. quinquefasciatus), a vector of pathogens causing several human diseases. By taking advantage of the recently released genome sequences, we have identified fifty-three putative Cx. quinquefasciatus OBP genes by Blast searches. As a first step towards their molecular characterization, expression patterns by RT-PCR revealed thirteen genes that were detected exclusively and abundantly in chemosensory tissues. No clear differences were observed in the transcripts levels of olfactory-specific OBPs between antennae of both sexes using semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Phylogenetic and comparative analysis revealed orthologous of Cx. quinquefasciatus OBPs in Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti. The identification of fifty-three putative OBP genes in Cx. quinquefasciatus highlights the diversity of this family. Tissue-specificity study suggests the existence of different functional classes within the mosquito OBP family. Most genes were detected in chemosensory as well as non chemosensory tissues indicating that they might be encapsulins, but not necessarily olfactory proteins. On the other hand, thirteen “true” OBP genes were detected exclusively in olfactory tissues and might be involved specifically in the detection of “key” semiochemicals. Interestingly, in Cx. quinquefasciatus olfactory-specific OBPs belong exclusively to four distinct phylogenetic groups which are particularly well conserved among three mosquito species.
The Anatomy of Onomatopoeia

Virtually every human faculty engage with imitation. One of the most natural and unexplored objects for the study of the mimetic elements in language is the onomatopoeia, as it implies an imitative-driven transformation of a sound of nature into a word. Notably, simple sounds are transformed into complex strings of vowels and consonants, making difficult to identify what is acoustically preserved in this operation. In this work we propose a definition for vocal imitation by which sounds are transformed into the speech elements that minimize their spectral difference within the constraints of the vocal system. In order to test this definition, we use a computational model that allows recovering anatomical features of the vocal system from experimental sound data. We explore the vocal configurations that best reproduce non-speech sounds, like striking blows on a door or the sharp sounds generated by pressing on light switches or computer mouse buttons. From the anatomical point of view, the configurations obtained are readily associated with co-articulated consonants, and we show perceptual evidence that these consonants are positively associated with the original sounds. Moreover, the pairs vowel-consonant that compose these co-articulations correspond to the most stable syllables found in the knock and click onomatopoeias across languages, suggesting a mechanism by which vocal imitation naturally embeds single sounds into more complex speech structures. Other mimetic forces received extensive attention by the scientific community, such as cross-modal associations between speech and visual categories. The present approach helps building a global view of the mimetic forces acting on language and opens a new venue for a quantitative study of word formation in terms of vocal imitation.
Measurement and Antecedents of Cooperation in Construction

The cooperation construct in construction lacks conceptual-definitional clarity. A multi-dimensional model of cooperation is proposed in which the construct is conceptualized as comprising four related yet conceptually distinct behaviors: in-role, extra-role, compliance, and deference behavior. The construct validity of this model is assessed using confirmatory factor analysis and a sample of 140 professional managers in Hong Kong. Structural equation modeling is then used to test specific predictions linking the four cooperative behaviors with two extrinsic (incentives and sanctions) and intrinsic (intrinsic job satisfaction and legitimacy) job cognition variables. Findings confirm the convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity of the proposed model. Between them, the two intrinsic job cognition variables predict all four behavior dimensions: intrinsic job satisfaction predicts in-role and extra-role behaviors; and legitimacy predicts compliance and deference behaviors. In contrast, the influence of the extrinsic job cognition variables on cooperative behavior is imprecise and weaker. The research suggests that initiatives aimed at improving the level of cooperation in construction project settings should focus more attention on stimulating the internal motivations (enhancing ‘personal causality’) of project actors.
Dependence of Variable Importance in Random Forests on the Shape of the Regressor Space

Figure: Averaged normalized importances for X1 from 100 simulated datasets (simulation process described below) for m=1,2,3,4 (left to right) with β1=(4,1,1,0.3) , corr(Xj,Xk)=ρ |j−k| with ρ=−0.9 to 0.9 in steps of 0.1 Grey line: true normalized LMG allocation; Black line: true normalized PMVD allocation : Variable importance (% MSE Reduction) from RF-CART; ×: Variable importance (% MSE Reduction) from RF-CI
An Energy Efficient Harmony Search Based Routing Algorithm for Small-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks

With the development of economy, technology and the continuous improvement of living standards, the application scopes of Small-scale Wireless Sensor Networks become wider and wider. In Wireless Sensor Networks consisting of sensor nodes with limited energy capabilities, energy efficiency is critical for extending the lifetime of networks, which is the most important goal for routing algorithms. During recent years, many energy efficient routing approaches based on intelligent algorithms such as Ant Colony Optimization, Particle Swarm Optimization have been proposed for wireless sensor networks to balance the energy consumption of networks and prolong the network lifetime. This paper proposes a new energy aware routing approach for small-scale wireless sensor networks, which is based on the harmony search algorithm (a popular meta-heuristic for optimization) and a new objective function model with energy efficiency. Part of the charm of the proposed routing algorithm are the encoding technology of harmony supporting for different dimension and the generation method of a new harmony. The detailed descriptions and performance test results of the proposed approach are included. The experimental results clearly show the great advantages of the new routing algorithm for small-scale wireless sensor networks.
Extra Wideband Polarimetry, Interferometry and Polarimetric Interferometry in Synthetic Aperture Remote Sensing

Both Optical and Radar Imaging have matured considerably, and the benefits of using one imaging modality over the other are discussed frequently. For example, ‘Hyper-spectral Optical (FIR-VIS-FUV) Radiometric Imaging’ is considered to become the exclusive remote sensing system of the twenty-first century, and thought to be superior to ‘Ultra-wide-band Microwave (HF-UHF-SHF-EHF) SAR Imaging’ Remote Sensing technology [2]. In either case, the inherent electromagnetic vector wave interaction processes are subjected to Maxwell’s equations; and constrained by the carrier frequency and bandwidth, the amplitude, phase and polarization; the dispersive and polarization-dependent material constituents of the propagation medium as well as of the illuminated scattering surface, its geometry and structure, and its voluminous vegetative over-burden as well as its composite geological under-burden. However, in order to identify parameters describing voluminous scattering scenarios beyond the skin depth of the vegetation canopy, the entire amenable air/space-borne frequency regime from MF (100 KHz) to FUV (10 PHz) needs to be implemented in remote sensing [3]. This implies that we require both radar and optical imaging together with full scattering matrix acquisition capabilities - in order to recover fully the intricate scattering mechanisms and bio-mass assessment tasks - as will be discussed in the following. 2. EWB-Hyper-Spectral (Spectrometric) Optical Imaging