Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
QUALITY OR RESPONSIBILITY ? THE IMPACT OF TWO CATEGORIES OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON THE CONSUMER-BRAND RELATIONSHIP

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives have become increasingly popular among corporations. However, the nature of CSR has been debated for decades. Brown and Dacin (1997) present CSR as two components: (1) the corporate ability relative to a company’s expertise in producing and delivering its products/services; and (2) a company’s image or reputation relative to its value system (Homburg, Stierl, & Bornemann, 2013), soul, or character (Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001). The purpose of this paper is to examine a fundamental, yet unexplored, question: Do consumers respond differently to these two specific types of CSR information? In answering this question, this paper first defines two major dimensions of CSR, namely, corporate operational performance (COP) and corporate social performance (CSP). The former captures a company’s publicly released information regarding product quality and innovativeness capability (Gatignon & Xuereb, 1997; Rust, Moorman, & Dickson, 2002); the latter includes a company’s activities and status related to its perceived societal or stakeholder obligations (Korschun, Bhattacharya, & Swain, 2014). The particular interest of this paper is given to the impacts of COP and CSP on the consumer-brand relationship. An assumption is that successful relationship marketing requires trust as the cornerstone (Morgan & Hunt, 1994; Delgado-Ballester & Munuera-Alemán, 2001) and relies on advocacy to flourish (Berens, van Riel, & van Bruggen, 2005). This study aims to reveal the relationship between COP/CSP and brand advocacy and brand trust. In this consumer-brand continuum, customers evaluate brand trustworthiness by two scopes: (1) the product or service the firm offers (i.e., product brand) that is usually associated with COP; and (2) the firm which provides the products and services (i.e., corporate brand) that is connected with CSP. In addition, consumer response to brand trust and brand advocacy will be moderated by product involvement. The objective of this study is to add to the body of empirical research in CSR by demonstrating that COP and CSP information can be applied to a consumer–brand relationship context.
BLENDED LEARNING STATION-ROTATION MODEL : EFFECTS ON GRADE 10 STUDENTS ’ PERFORMANCE IN AND ATTITUDE TOWARD MATHEMATICS

This experimental study was conducted to determine the effects of Blended Learning StationRotation Model on Grade 10 students’ performance in and attitude toward Mathematics. A quasi-experimental design was utilized to two intact classes consisting of 60 students of City of Bacoor National High School – Green Valley. Two groups of students were exposed to different strategies: the control group was taught using the traditional approach while the experimental group was taught using the integration of StationRotation Model. A 40-item multiple choice type DepEd validated test and a modified Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scale were used in gathering data. The respondents of both groups were given pretest and posttest to measure their performance in and attitude toward mathematics and then the t-test for dependent and independent samples were used to determine whether there exists significant difference between the respective mean gain scores of the two groups. Findings showed that there is a significant difference in the respective pretest and posttest mean performance of each group although only the experimental group showed significant difference in their attitude toward mathematics. Moreover, there exists a significant difference in the mean gain scores of the two groups as well as in their attitude toward mathematics in favor of the experimental group. Also, a weak positive correlation between the performance and attitude toward mathematics was noted from the experimental group.
ENTRY DETERRENCE BY NON-HORIZONTAL MERGER* BY ROBERT INNES+

We study when and how pure non-horizontal mergers, whether cross-product or vertical, can deter new entry. Organizational mergers implicitly commit firms to more aggressive price competition. Because heightened competition deters entry, mergers can occur in equilibrium even when, absent entry considerations, they do not. We show that, in order to prevent a flood of entrants, mergers arise even when a marginal merger costs incumbent firms more than does a marginal entrant. *I owe special thanks to Yeon-Koo Che and two anonymous reviewers for meticulous and insightful comments on earlier versions of this paper. I also want to thank Larry Karp and Steve Hamilton for vibrant discussions that helped stimulate this research. The usual disclaimer applies. +Departments of Economics and Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. email: innes@ag.arizona. edu.
Pneumatic-driven ankle stretching machine

Paralysis after a stroke typically causes equinovarus, for which ankle stretching is a major treatment to facilitate the recovery of the ankle's range of motion. To provide patients with long-term stretching at home after discharge from the hospital, we have been developing a pneumatic-driven stretching machine that stretches the ankle plantar flexor muscles that cause equinovarus. Thus far, commercial products for this purpose have not been available. In the present study, we conducted experiments on healthy young people (22.3±3.6 years of age) in order to test the effectiveness of our prototype. The participants' ankle stiffness, which is an index used to assess the joint contracture, was significantly decreased $(F(1,84)=20.8,\ p < 0.001)$ by their use of our prototype machine.
A New Method for Characterizing NOAA-20/S-NPP VIIRS Thermal Emissive Bands Response Versus Scan Using On-Orbit Pitch Maneuver Data

The on-orbit calibration of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Thermal Emissive Bands (TEB), onboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-20 (NOAA-20) and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellites, have been stable during nominal operations. However, larger than expected scan angle/scene temperature dependent biases, relative to the co-located Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) observations, were observed in the NOAA-20 longwave infrared (LWIR) bands. The Response Versus Scan (RVS) effect—the variation of instrument reflectance of source radiance with scan angle, is a significant contributor to VIIRS calibration. TEB RVS is characterized using prelaunch test data and verified on-orbit using pitch maneuver data. This study presents a new method that characterizes VIIRS on-orbit TEB RVS at both Earth View (EV) and Space View (SV) scan angles simultaneously. This method was compared with an existing on-orbit RVS method (the Wu et al. method), which derives RVS at EV scan angles using pitch maneuver data and extrapolates SV RVS from EV. The new method derived on-orbit RVS differ from prelaunch values up to 1.0% at the beginning of scan in the NOAA-20 LWIR bands, and ~0.5% in S-NPP M15. VIIRS–CrIS inter-comparison results indicates that the new method derived on-orbit RVS can effectively minimize LWIR scan angle/scene temperature dependent biases, with scan averaged biases reduced from 0.40K to 0.15K for NOAA-20 LWIR bands, and from 0.24K to 0.08K for S-NPP M15. The Wu et al. method can also reduce the scan angle dependent biases, but at the expense of increasing the scene temperature dependent biases.
Factors Affecting the Capital Structure in Textile and Garment Listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange

The purpose of this study was to determine and analyze the influence simultaneously and partially on these factors. The data used is secondary data. The study population was textile and garment companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2004-2008. Sampling was done by purposive sampling method and generated eight qualified company. The data analysis used is multiple linear regressions test. The results showed: (1) size of the company, the characteristics / type of industry, sales growth, asset structure, operating leverage, NonDebt Tax Shield and profitability simultaneously affect the capital structure, but other factors greater influence, among others : economic conditions, political, social, state security unfavourable. In the company it is a management attitude, the attitude of lenders, market conditions, the company's internal conditions, and financial flexibility. (2) The size of the company, industry characteristics, sales growth, asset structure and profitability is partially effecting on the capital structure, while the operating leverage and Nondebt Tax Shield has no effect on the capital structure. Leverage operation has no effect because the sales from year to year are relatively the same, which is sometimes up and sometimes down. This means that funding by using the fixed costs do not affect the capital structure decisions made by management. While Non-Debt Tax Shield has no effect because the textile and garment companies have total assets remained low so it does not obtain a tax advantage in the form of depreciation expense / depreciation can be deducted in calculating the amount of tax payable. This indicates that the value of depreciation and amortization, the company is not meaningful enough to add cash flow of the company, so it does not count towards the reduction of corporate debt portion.
Representation of visual information within the dendritic tree of pyramidal cells in primary visual cortex

A fundamental aim in system neuroscience is to understand how sensory information is represented in the brain. While a wealth of studies investigated how visual stimuli are encoded in populations of neurons, little is known about how visual information is represented in a single cell at the level of the dendritic tree. This is due in part to difficulties in measuring dendritic activity within dendritic arbours, which are typically fine three dimensional structures. To overcome this, we have used a custom 3D two-photon acousto-optic lens microscope to measure visually-evoked dendritic activity in pyramidal cells in mouse primary visual cortex. Pyramidal neurons were sparsely co-labelled with the genetically-encoded calcium indicator GCaMP6f and with the red fluorophore TdTomato. Dendritic activity was monitored with GCaMP6f, and simultaneous recording of the activity-independent red TdTomato fluorescence was used to detect movement of the tissue. Random access point measurements were made at 80-120 Hz from multiple locations distributed in three dimensions, and this enabled me to monitor neuronal activity in a substantial fraction of the dendritic tree and in the soma near-simultaneously. Patterns of dendritic activity were characterized in layer 2/3 neurons and in the tuft of layer 5 pyramidal neurons during presentation of gratings in awake animals. In the tuft of layer 5 neurons, calcium transients tended to be either localized to 1-2 dendritic branches, or to occur in the full-dendritic tuft and in the soma. In contrast, in layer 2/3 neurons calcium transients were mainly local, and somatic calcium transients were rarely accompanied by global events. Visually-evoked dendritic activity was evident in layer 2/3 neurons, and I observed that dendrites tend to have similar orientation tuning curves as the soma. But several dendrites with different preferred orientations were present in all the cells imaged. Dendritic activity in layer 2/3 neurons was little affected by anaesthesia and locomotion. In contrast, apical dendrites of layer 5 neurons showed little response to visual stimuli, but they were strongly modulated by the state of the animal. Indeed, anaesthesia suppressed dendritic activity in these cells, while locomotion enhanced it compared to the resting state. These data suggest that dendrites in layer 5 and in layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons have different integration mechanisms in vivo, and that they process different types of synaptic inputs. While layer 2/3 neurons receive mainly feedforward (bottom-up) visual inputs, apical dendrites in layer 5 cells are driven primarily by top-down inputs (animal state).
Multiple Null Values Estimating In Generating Weighted Fuzzy Rules Using Genetic Simulated Annealing

Several methods are proposed to estimate null values in relational database systems. Usually it’s only for one or several null values. In this paper, we present a method to generate weighted fuzzy rules from relational database systems for estimating multiple null values using Genetic Simulated Annealing (GSA), where the attributes appearing in the antecedent part of generated fuzzy rules have different weights. The only constraint is at least there’s one value in the column/field at the database is not null value to estimate another values (if it is a null value).
AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF DEEP PENETRATION INTO POLYCARBONATE TARGETS

Deep penetration experiments were conducted with polycarbonate targets at normal impact and within a striking velocity range of 600-900 m/sec. Three different projectile nose shapes (ogive, hemisphere and flat) were used in impact tests. Projectile penetration location, velocity and acceleration, were monitored using high-speed cameras for tracking the depth of penetration path and orientation. Data provided by tests was analyzed and compared to several theories available in current literature. We have examined in detail, for each nose profile, the dependence of resisting force on projectile velocity and sensitivity to projectile mass and contact surface friction. Best fit formulae for variation of penetration depth with striking velocity are suggested. Universal relations are constructed in non-dimensional variables with remarkable fit to experimental results. Contact is made with a recent study [8] on deep penetration of rigid projectiles with ogive head into polycarbonate targets. Finally, we have studied the predictive power of several deep penetration theories available in the literature, e.g. [11]-[12]. In particular, validity of cavitation model is assessed in context of Mises type plasticity constitutive response of polycarbonate.
Tilburg University Flexible pension take-up in social security

This paper studies the redistribution and welfare effects of increasing the flexibility of individual pension take-up. We use an overlapping-generations model with Beveridgean pay-as-you-go pensions and heterogeneous individuals who differ in ability and lifespan. We find that introducing flexible pension take-up can induce a Pareto improvement when the initial pension scheme contains within-cohort redistribution and induces early retirement. Such a Pareto improving reform entails the application of uniform actuarial adjustment of pension entitlements based on average lifespan. Introducing actuarial non-neutrality that stimulates later retirement further improves such a flexibility reform.
The effects of N-acetylcysteine on hepatic function surgery patients

Introduction: Although most general anaesthesia procedures are performed without any complications, volatile agents may have adverse effects on various living systems. This study N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on liver function. Methods: Forty-one patients in the ASA I-II risk groups, who were scheduled to undergo gynaecologic laparoscopy, were randomly divided into two groups: The placebo (group P, n=21) and the NAC group (group N, n=20). In both groups, anaesthesia was maintained with 1–2% 2O at 6 l/min, also administered by inhalation. Venous blood samples were obtained before anaesthesia induction, and then in the postoperative 1st hour and at the 24th hour. The samples were centrifuged and serum levels of glutathione S-transferase (GST), malondialdehyde (MDA), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), gamma glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and international normalised ratio were determined. Results: postoperative 1st hour. Postoperative values of GST in the two groups were higher when compared to preoperative values (P<0.05). When postoperative levels were compared with preoperative P<0.05). Levels of AST, st hour and postoperative 24th hour compared to preoperative values (P<0.05, P<0.001). PT values were st hour and 24th hour (P<0.05, P<0.001), although there were no differences in aPTT levels. Conclusion: Our results showed that liver
DILUTION FACTOR AFFECTS THE ABILITY OF RAM SPERM TO SURVIVE CRYOPRESERVATION : SHORT COMMUNICATION

In this preliminary study, the fresh and frozen-thawed sperm from the original Valachian sheep breed were analysed for its quality. Semen was collected from two rams by electroejaculation and used for motility analysis using computer-assisted sperm analysis immediately after collection and following 60 and 120 min of incubation at 37 °C, or for rapid freezing. Semen was equilibrated at 15 °C for 20 min and diluted with a commercial diluent OviXcell (IMV Technologies) supplemented with 100 mM trehalose to a ratio of 1:1 (DR 1:1 group) or 1:2 (DR 1:2 group) (v:v). After 90 min of equilibration at 5 °C, the straws were suspended horizontally in liquid nitrogen vapours for 10 min before being plunged into a liquid nitrogen for storage. After one month, the straws were thawed by immersing into a water bath at 38 °C for 60 s. Sperm motility analysis was done immediately after thawing and after 30 and 60 min of incubation at 37 °C, as stated above. Our results showed that the dilution ratio has considerable effect on ram sperm survivability. Higher percentage of total motility and progressive movement (P ≤ 0.05) was found in the DR 1:2 when compared to the DR 1:1 group. In addition, our results confirmed inter-male variability in the susceptibility to the cryopreservation process. Nevertheless, results of this study are of preliminary character. Experiments using higher number of samples (individuals) as well as other methodology approaches need to be tested in order to find the best procedure for semen cryopreservation of Slovak national sheep breeds.
In vitro- exploration of Fungal Endophytes of Egyptian Cynara scolymus L. (artichoke) and Investigation of some their bioactive potentials

Plant-associated microorganisms, especially endophytic fungi, represent an untapped resource for the discovery of biologically active natural products. The objectives of this study were to isolate, identify endophytic fungi, and produce their bioactive metabolites from the leaves of two varieties of Egyptian artichoke namely: French Hyrious and Egyptian Baladi. In addition, assess of their total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC). The results of this novel study show a total of 35 endophytic fungal species belonging to 14 genera were isolated from both artichoke leaves with gross total counts of colonizing endophytic fungi ranged from 71 to 123 cfu which is matching 78.89% to 136.67% of colonization frequency. All taxa recovered were assigned to Ascomycetes. In addition, there is high species richness and diversity indices of endophytic filamentous fungi in the leaves Baladi Artichoke as compared to its French rival. Alternaria alternata were found to be the most frequently isolated dominant species. The TAC, TPC and TFC of the fungal cultures ranged from 163 to 681 mgAAE/gDW, 10.38 to 40.30 mgGAE/ gDW, and 13.92 to 173.55 mgQE/gDW, respectively. Furthermore, LC-ESI-MS/MS conﬁrmed the presence of 1,3-dicaffeoylquinic acid and 1,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid in the methanolic extract of A. alternata. Hence, this novel study suggested that the metabolites produced by endophytic fungi associated with Egyptian artichoke could be explored as an economic and potential natural resources with diverse pharmaceutical and biological activities.
S-SIW-008-1-How is M & S Interoperability different from other Interoperability Domains ?

During every standard workshop or event, the examples of working interoperability solutions are used to motivate for 'plug and play' standards for M&S as well, like standardized batteries for electronics, or the use of XML to exchange data between heterogeneous systems. While these are successful applications of standards, they are off the mark regarding M&S interoperability. The challenge of M&S is that the product that needs to be made interoperable is not the service or the system alone, but the model behind it as well. The paper shows that the alignment of conceptualizations is the real problem that is not yet dealt with in current interoperability standards.
PREVALENCE OF FUNGI IN LOCALLY PRODUCED CHEESE AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF ISOLATED TOXIGENIC MOLDS

One hundred and forty samples of locally produced Tallaga, Kareish, Processed and Ras cheese (35 each) collected from dairy shops and supermarkets for mycological studies. Our results revealed that, the moulds and yeasts could be detected in all examined samples of Tallaga, Kareish, processed and Ras cheese with mean count values of 8.3x102±0.2x102 6.9x10±0.4x10,5.3x103±2.3x102 and 4.1x103 ±1.6x102 for moulds and 0.5x102±1.1x 10,1.4x102± 0.5x 102,6.5x1040±. 4x104 and 5.4x1031±. 1x103 for yeasts respectively. Various types of molds and yeasts were isolated at varying percentages from all examined samples. The isolated moulds were species of genera Asprigallus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Mucor. and Rhizopus, while yeast genera were species of genera Candida and Rhodotorula. When the obtained results compared with the Egyptian and international standards, the examined Kareish cheese samples were found to be of lower quality than the other types of cheeses examined, although all types of the present study need to be improved microbiologically. In this study, rapid assessment of five isolates of A. flavus was accomplished using a primer pair for the Aflatoxin regulatory gene afl.R1 in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and only 2 isolates obtained from processed and Ras cheese (one each of) were positive the presence of the target gene.
Series Number 245 Perceiving Prospects Properly

When an agent chooses between prospects, noise in information processing generates an effect akin to the winner’s curse. Statistically unbiased perception systematically overvalues the chosen action because it fails to account for the possibility that noise is responsible for making the preferred action appear to be optimal. The optimal perception patterns share key features with prospect theory, namely, overweighting of small probability events (and corresponding underweighting of high probability events), status quo bias, and reference-dependent S-shaped valuations. These biases arise to correct for the winner’s curse effect.
Knowledge of Home Based Care of HIV and AIDS Patients in Butula Division , Kenya

While Home Based Care (HBC) of HIV/AIDS patients i s predominantly gaining recognition in most of developing countries in Africa as an altern ative approach to Hospital Based Care, its knowledge among the members of local communities in Ke ya remains scanty. This study aimed at examining the knowledge of Home Based Care of HIV and AIDS Patients among the people of Butula Division in Kenya. The study was a descriptive study which employed a cross sectional survey design. The sample included three undred and seventy seven respondents from Butula Division. Questionnaire method was used to c olle t data owing to its appropriateness in collecting data from a large sample. A statistical application, namely SPSS aided data analysis process. The study revealed that the majority of th e respondents (67.3%) were aware of the existence of Home Based Care of HIV and AIDS Patien ts in Butula. The major source of their knowledge of HBC was Community Based Organizations. Family and relatives, media, governmental and non governmental organizations wer e other sources of their knowledge. The study suggested an initiation of awareness and sens itization programs in the local communities with collaborated efforts from health institutions, government and non governmental agencies for a sustained knowledge development of HBC of HIV and AIDS patients in rural areas.