Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
UTTERANCE-LEVEL REPRESENTATIONS FOR SPEECH EMOTION AND AGE / GENDER RECOGNITION USING DEEP NEURAL NETWORKS

Accurately recognizing speaker emotion and age/gender from speech can provide better user experience for many spoken dialogue systems. In this study, we propose to use deep neural networks (DNNs) to encode each utterance into a fixed-length vector by pooling the activations of the last hidden layer over time. The feature encoding process is designed to be jointly trained with the utterance-level classifier for better classification. A kernel extreme learning machine (ELM) is further trained on the encoded vectors for better utterance-level classification. Experiments on a Mandarin dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed methods on speech emotion and age/gender recognition tasks.
Intake of Phytoestrogen Foods and Supplements Among Women Recently Diagnosed With Breast Cancer in Ontario, Canada

Phytoestrogens are found in foods such as soy (isoflavones) and flaxseed (lignans), and certain botanical supplements. Their role in estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer recurrence and treatment is controversial, and it is unknown how this affects intake among patients. The Ontario Cancer Registry was used to identify 417 population-based breast cancer cases (mean time from diagnosis was 57 days). A questionnaire was mailed to determine intake of phytoestrogen foods and supplements in the last 2 mo, changes since diagnosis and differences by ER tumor status or hormonal treatment. Of 278 (67%) respondents, 56% consumed soy foods, 39% consumed isoflavone-rich foods (tofu, soybeans, soy milk, soy nuts), and 70% ate lignan-rich foods, including flaxseed (33%). Only soy milk, flaxseed, and flaxseed bread were commonly consumed more than once/wk. Few patients (4%) took isoflavone (soy, red clover, kudzu, licorice, isoflavones) or lignan/flaxseed supplements. Since diagnosis, 17% started or stopped soy foods (most stopped); this was more prevalent among those receiving hormonal treatment (20%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 14, 26) than not (6%; 95% CI: 1, 12). No other differences by ER status or hormonal treatment were observed. Research is needed to confirm this and to explore influencing factors.
Fine Mapping of the N-Terminal Cytotoxicity Region of Clostridium perfringens Enterotoxin by Site-Directed Mutagenesis

ABSTRACT Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) has a unique mechanism of action that results in the formation of large, sodium dodecyl sulfate-resistant complexes involving tight junction proteins; those complexes then induce plasma membrane permeability alterations in host intestinal epithelial cells, leading to cell death and epithelial desquamation. Previous deletion and point mutational studies mapped CPE receptor binding activity to the toxin's extreme C terminus. Those earlier analyses also determined that an N-terminal CPE region between residues D45 and G53 is required for large complex formation and cytotoxicity. To more finely map this N-terminal cytotoxicity region, site-directed mutagenesis was performed with recombinant CPE (rCPE). Alanine-scanning mutagenesis produced one rCPE variant, D48A, that failed to form large complexes or induce cytotoxicity, despite having normal ability to bind and form the small complex. Two saturation variants, D48E and D48N, also had a phenotype resembling that of the D48A variant, indicating that both size and charge are important at CPE residue 48. Another alanine substitution rCPE variant, I51A, was highly attenuated for large complex formation and cytotoxicity, but rCPE saturation variants I51L and I51V displayed a normal large complex formation and cytotoxicity phenotype. Collectively, these mutagenesis results identify a core CPE sequence extending from residues G47 to I51 that directly participates in large complex formation and cytotoxicity.
Exploring the impact of employees’ self-concept, brand identification and brand pride on brand citizenship behaviors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify how employees’ perceived congruity of their employers’ corporate brand with their own actual and ideal self may affect their brand identification (BI), brand pride (BP) and brand citizenship behavior (BCB). Design/methodology/approach – This cross-sectional paper involved 283 employees in Germany who completed an online survey. Findings – Congruity of the brand with employees’ actual self and with their ideal self has similar effects on employees’ BI. However, effects differ with respect to the other outcome variables. BP is only affected by congruity of the brand with the ideal self, whereas BCB is only affected by congruity of the brand with the actual self. Brand identity is positively related to BP and BCB; BP also affects BCB. Research limitations/implications – Future studies could include different sources for evaluation of BI, BP and BCB; for temporally separate measurement of identification, pride and BCB; and for use of fictitious brands or expe.
Review of Occupational Health Nurse Data from Recent National Sample Surveys of Registered Nurses—Part I

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services obtains information about U.S. registered nurses through the periodic National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN). Occupational health nurses comprise less than 1% of the U.S. nursing population and published NSSRN reports usually include only estimates of the total occupational health nurse population and minimal information about occupational health nurses' characteristics. The objectives of this study were to develop a knowledge base of occupational health nurses' characteristics; examine characteristics that may influence entry and retention in occupational health nursing practice; and explore indications of demand for occupational health nurses. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in a secondary analysis of data from recent (1992 to 2004) NSSRN. The findings are reported in two parts. This article, Part I, provides descriptive data about occupational health nurses based on responses to the 1992 through 2004 NSSRN questionnaires. Part II will provide findings from analysis of 2004 responses indicative of occupational health nurses' entry, retention, and demand characteristics.
Corporate environmental information disclosure: factors Influencing companies success in attaining environmental awards

This study will identify the factors that may influence companies' success in attaining environmental awards. Based on existing literature, several variables that are expected to have an influence on the receipt of an environmental award were selected and their levels of disclosure were tested empirically using a sample of UK FTSE 100 companies. The selected variables considered were industry membership; stakeholder engagement; external (formal) assurance; the presence of an environmental management system (EMS); and specific environmental activities in the areas of packaging, waste management, recycling, climate change risk, climate change activities, and carbon footprint. The results reveal that the influencing factors for receipt of an environmental award are the presence of an environmental management system (EMS); stakeholder engagement; and disclosure on specific environmental activities (waste management, climate change risk, and climate change activities). The results also show that the level of environmental disclosure and the consequent possibility of receiving an award, are influenced by industry membership; the extent of environmental information disclosure are not the same in all industries. Companies belonging to carbon-intensive industries were found to be more likely to receive an award than companies from non carbon-intensive industries. Contrary to expectations, no evidence was found to support the influence of disclosure on formal or external assurance and some specific environmental activities (packaging, recycling). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Ownership Concentration and Corporate Performance: A Simultaneous Equation Framework for Turkish Companies

One of the key elements for the development of financial markets is better protection of outside investors. Ownership concentration is a typical feature of firms in emerging countries where laws are not sufficient to protect investors from expropriation of their funds. This chapter investigates whether concentrated equity ownership creates an agency problem or better monitoring on expropriation of minority shareholders by using Turkish industrial firms as a laboratory. Our analysis depends on a simultaneous equation system in which concentrated ownership measured by the total percentage of shares owned by the three largest shareholders is endogenous. While OLS regression estimates show that there is a reverse causation, 2SLS estimation suggests that there is no systematic relationship between ownership concentration and the firm market performance. We find some evidence that ownership concentration is affected by the firm accounting performance rather than it affects the performance.
Tacit Knowledge as Competitive Advantage in Relationship Marketing: A Literature Review and Theoretical Implications

An increasing interest in relationship marketing (RM) has occurred recently. RM has been presented as a strategic response to firms in the attainment of competitive advantages through the creation of interdependence, trust, and commitment between the firm and the customer. RM is important for firms in general and for service firms, particularly those characterized by high interpersonal contact, in which the service is inherently more relational. Tacit knowledge of employees as a result of interactions could allow a firm to obtain and maintain customer satisfaction in visits or/and subsequent uses. In this research we discuss a set of theoretical implications for service firms in which different relationships between tacit knowledge and the elements of RM are shown. In addition we argue that tacit knowledge should be seen as a source of sustainable competitive advantage in RM.
CEO Departures and Market Uncertainty

This study investigates the effect on stock return volatility of a significant event in the life of a firm, a change in its CEO. Citing weaknesses in the prior literature, we bring a new approach to re-examine the issue. First, we use a relatively unbiased classification system using both company announcements and media reports. Second, we use short-term stock return volatility as a more accurate estimator to isolate the effect of a single disclosure. We find strong evidence that the level of stock return volatility increases following announcements of CEO departures, and that the increase is significantly higher following announcements of forced departures compared to voluntary departures. The results are consistent with signalling effect theory in that forced dismissals convey previously unknown information to the market. Signed cumulative abnormal returns are also more negative for a forced CEO departure.
1 Asymmetric Information in Health Insurance: Some Preliminary Evidence from the Croatian State-Administered Supplemental Plan RESEARCH PAPER

In this paper, we conduct simple micro-level econometric tests for the presence of the moral hazard and adverse selection manifestations in the Croatian supplemental health insurance program. Despite the fact that the obtained results are rather preliminary, they seem to be indicating the statistically significant presence of both adverse selection and moral hazard types of problems with various degrees of difficulty that they actually cause to the functioning of the Croatian health insurance system. The obtained results are then used to outline several policy recommendations in the realm of health insurance reform.
Posaconazole as first line treatment for disseminated zygomycosis

We describe the first case report of posaconazole use as first line agent in the treatment of disseminated zygomycosis with prosthetic hip joint and pulmonary involvement due to Rhizopus microsporus. This infection occurred in a heavily immunosuppressed patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.
College Students Classified with ADHD and the Foreign Language Requirement

The conventional assumption of most disability service providers is that students classified as having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will experience difficulties in foreign language (FL) courses. However, the evidence in support of this assumption is anecdotal. In this empirical investigation, the demographic profiles, overall academic performance, college entrance scores, and FL classroom performance of 68 college students classified as having ADHD were examined. All students had graduated from the same university over a 5-year period. The findings showed that all 68 students had completed the university's FL requirement by passing FL courses. The students' college entrance scores were similar to the middle 50% of freshmen at this university, and their graduating grade point average was similar to the typical graduating senior at the university. The students had participated in both lower (100) and upper (200, 300, 400) level FL courses and had achieved mostly average and above-average grades (A, B, C) in these courses. One student had majored and eight students had minored in an FL. Two thirds of the students passed all of their FL courses without the use of instructional accommodations. In this study, the classification of ADHD did not appear to interfere with participants' performance in FL courses. The findings suggest that students classified as having ADHD should enroll in and fulfill the FL requirement by passing FL courses.
IMPACT OF AGENCY RISKS AND TASK UNCERTAINTY ON VENTURE CAPITALIST-CEO INTERACTION

This study examined the impact of agency risks and task uncertainty on venture capitalist-chief executive officer (VC-CEO) interaction. Results from 51 VC-CEO dyads indicate that the frequency of interaction depends on the extent of VC-CEO goal congruence, the degree of the CEO's new venture experience, the venture's stage of development, and the degree of technical innovation it is pursuing. However, contrary to conventional expectations, the degree of management ownership had no impact on the frequency of interaction.
Important role of mucosal serotonin in colonic propulsion and peristaltic reflexes: in vitro analyses in mice lacking tryptophan hydroxylase 1

• Previous studies have indicated that neither neuronal nor mucosal 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) are important for colonic migrating motor complexes (CMMCs) or faecal pellet propulsion. Therefore, tryptophan hydroxylase 1 knockout (TPH1KO) mice were used to examine the role of mucosal 5‐HT in generating CMMCs and faecal pellet propulsion, as TPH1 is the regulatory enzyme necessary for the synthesis of 5‐HT in enterochromaffin cells in the mucosa. • Control mice generated a robust CMMC when the mucosa was mechanically stimulated, which was blocked by ondansetron (5‐HT3 antagonist), and could propagate faecal pellets that did not significantly distend the bowel, suggesting that they were propelled by mucosal reflexes in the absence of stretch reflexes. • TPH1KO mice exhibited no mucosal reflexes, reduced responses to intraluminal distension and propelled only larger faecal pellets, suggesting that they relied upon stretch reflexes alone. • In control mice, CMMCs, which can propel a faecal pellet, propagated in an oral to anal direction, whereas, in TPH1KO mice, they rarely propagated. • Both the propagation and amplitude of CMMCs were reduced by ondansetron in control mice, whereas this drug did not affect CMMCs in TPH1KO mice. • This suggests that 5‐HT release from the mucosa and stretch reflexes are important for normal colonic propulsion.
Boozing or branding? Measuring the effects of free wine tastings at wine shops

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on both the sales effects of free wine tastings and the effects on attitudes towards future purchases four weeks after the tastings.Design/methodology/approach – Store scanner data for the four weeks before and after each of ten wine tastings are used to measure the effect tastings had on sales. A total of 170 consumers, who attended a free tasting in wine shops across 4 cities, are interviewed as they leave the store and 37 of these consumers respond to a call back survey one month after the free tasting.Findings – Scanner data shows a 400 per cent increase in sales of the wines tasted on the day of tasting, and a small but significant effect on sales during the four weeks afterwards. The survey shows that there is no difference in purchasing between those attending a tasting with the intention to purchase and those just stopping by. Both groups purchase at about the same rate. Only about 33 per cent of the attendees purchase; the other two‐thirds are boozi.
Marked increase in gastric acid secretory capacity after omeprazole treatment.

BACKGROUND: In contrast with the histamine2 (H2) blockers, proton pump inhibitors have not been shown to give rebound hypersecretion of acid. Taking into consideration the hyperplasia of the enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cell provoked by hypergastrinaemia secondary to profound acid inhibition and the central role of histamine from ECL cells in the regulation of acid secretion, the lack of any rebound acid hypersecretion after treatment with proton pump inhibitors has been questioned. AIMS: To reassess the effect of treatment with omeprazole on post-treatment acid secretion. METHODS AND PATIENTS: Basal and pentagastrin stimulated acid secretion were determined in nine patients with reflux oesophagitis before and 14 days after termination of a 90 day treatment period with the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole (40 mg daily). Basal gastrin release were determined before and during omeprazole treatment. Furthermore, biopsy samples from the oxyntic mucosa were taken before and at the end of the treatment period for chemical (histamine and chromogranin A (CgA)) evaluation of the ECL cell mass. RESULTS: A substantial increase in meal stimulated gastrin release during omeprazole treatment resulted in an increased ECL cell mass. Furthermore, CgA in serum increased during omeprazole treatment suggesting that serum CgA may be used as a test to evaluate ECL cell hyperplasia. A significant increase in basal and a marked (50%) and significant increase in pentagastrin stimulated acid secretion were found after treatment with omeprazole. CONCLUSIONS: Increased acid secretion after a conventional treatment period with a proton pump inhibitor is probably due to ECL cell hyperplasia and may have negative consequences for acid related diseases.
Analyzing frequent acquires in emerging markets and futures markets linkage

This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself.
Fashion models as cultural intermediaries: the mobilisation of affect

Author: Patrick P. Lonergan Title: ‘Fashion Models as Cultural Intermediaries: The Mobilisation of Affect’ This research thesis consists of a theoretical and empirical exploration of cultural mediation. It articulates current conceptualisations while also questioning the mystified nature with which cultural in termediaries are d ealt in C onsumer Culture T heory (CCT). A dopting a non representational ap proach, t his r esearch au gments cu rrent r epresentational d escriptions b y analysing w hat c ultural in termediaries o f h igh f ashion do when t hey frame aes thetic consumption experiences as legitimate and desirable. Despite their s ignificant influence on c onsumption, current theorisations in CCT have been limited to describing cultural intermediaries as ‘sorcerers’, who possess a magical capacity to bewitch consumers and leave them spellbound. A non-representational mode of theorising does not explicitly focus on t he meaning embodied b y these agents, but r ather de constructs t his ‘magical’ veil by following the embodied processes that mobilise affect. I conceptualise affect as a trigger for bodies’ imaginative consumption and a core influence on bodies’ inevitable interpretation of meaning. It is an ineffable, embodied and contagious life energy t hat i nvokes a c hange t o bodi es’ di spositions a nd pe rceptions o f r eality. In a l ate capitalist, af fective economy, value derives f rom cu ltural intermediaries’ expert capacity to frame the consumption experience for bodies in relation by forging an emotional tie. This thesis adopts narrative inquiry and personal introspection to trace intermediaries’ embodied processes that mobilise affect and to contextualise the impact felt upon being affected. I conclude that cultural intermediaries mobilise affect by acting as conduits for the flow of contagious energies that pervade the atmosphere. In doing so, they evoke an affecting presence that w orks w ith ima gining te chnologies to imp act b odies in r elation th rough th e e ffortless modulation of a ffective flow. The result o f such enchants bodies’ and f rames the aesthetic consumption experience as one that has become elevated to an authentic, transcendent reality.
Donor Screening for Human T‐cell Lymphotrophic Virus 1/2: Changing Paradigms for Changing Testing Capacity

Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) policy currently requires the testing of all potential organ donors for human T‐cell lymphotrophic virus (HTLV)‐1/2. Most Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO) use the Abbott HTLV‐I/HTLV‐II Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA). This assay will no longer be manufactured after December 31, 2009; the only commercially available FDA‐licensed assay will be the Abbott PRISM HTLV‐I/II assay which poses many challenges to OPO use for organ donor screening. As a result, screening donors for HTLV‐1/2 in a timely manner pretransplant after December 31, 2009 will be challenging. The true incidence of HTLV‐1 in United States (U.S.) organ donors is not well described but appears to be low (∼0.03–0.5%). HTLV‐1 is associated with malignancy and neurological disease; HTLV‐2 has not been convincingly associated with disease in humans. Donors that are HTLV‐1/2 seropositive are infrequently used despite most results being either false positive or resulting from HTLV‐2 infection. There is urgent need to encourage the development of assays, instruments and platforms optimized for organ donors that can be used to screen for transmissible disease in donors; these must have appropriate sensitivity and specificity to identify all infections while minimizing organ loss through false positive testing.
Internationalization modes of European firms

Using survey data from firms in France, Italy and Spain, we describe similarities and differences among firms by three types of internationalization: indirect trade, direct trade and FDI. Motivated by a heterogeneous firm international internationalization model allowing firms to choose from these three internationalization modes we analyze the prevalence of manufacturing firms choosing each category and the variables affecting this choice. As indirect traders are few and similar to non-traders we conclude that, contrary to exporting directly and conducting FDI, sorting models do not describe well this choice. We also find that the likelihood of direct exporting and FDI is positively correlated with being a member of a group, importing and innovation.