Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TELLING THE BRAND STORY: INCLUDING NEWS ARTICLES IN ONLINE PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES

Given the growing popularity of the Internet as a promotional medium, it is crucial for brand managers to examine the effects of combining the different brand communication sources online. According to social comprehension theory and knowledge from neuroscience, people exposed to a message spontaneously construct a mental simulation. People who are exposed to images or visuals are unlikely to assign verbal labels to their observations, whereas people who read a story may spontaneously form mental pictures of the narrative content. Mental processing of stories requires more extensive elaboration than processing of visuals. In a first study, survey results indicate online news articles about a brand are more likely to be acted upon by users than are advertisements. A second study considers integrating news articles and advertising when promoting new brands on the Internet in order to benefit from a synergistic effect. Previous studies examining a synergistic effect in marketing communications have looked at the increased effectiveness of combining multiple media or different tactics when promoting a brand. Experiment results from the second study indicate that when exposure to advertising combines with exposure to objective news about a new brand, effectiveness increases in terms of both ad and brand attitudes.
Sparse covariance matrix estimation in high-dimensional deconvolution

We study the estimation of the covariance matrix $\Sigma$ of a $p$-dimensional normal random vector based on $n$ independent observations corrupted by additive noise. Only a general nonparametric assumption is imposed on the distribution of the noise without any sparsity constraint on its covariance matrix. In this high-dimensional semiparametric deconvolution problem, we propose spectral thresholding estimators that are adaptive to the sparsity of $\Sigma$. We establish an oracle inequality for these estimators under model miss-specification and derive non-asymptotic minimax convergence rates that are shown to be logarithmic in $\log p/n$. We also discuss the estimation of low-rank matrices based on indirect observations as well as the generalization to elliptical distributions. The finite sample performance of the threshold estimators is illustrated in a numerical example.
Racetrack FFAG muon decay ring for nuSTORM with triplet focusing

The neutrino beam produced from muons decaying in a storage ring would be an ideal tool for precise neutrino cross section measurements and the search for sterile neutrinos due to its precisely known flavour content and spectrum. In the proposed nuSTORM facility, pions would be directly injected into a racetrack storage ring, where the circulating muon beam would be captured. In this paper we show that a muon decay ring based on a racetrack scaling FFAG (Fixed Field Alternating Gradient) with triplet focusing structures is a very promising option with potential advantages over the FODO based solution. We discuss the ring concept, machine parameters, linear optics design, beam dynamics and the injection system.
Sustainability Orientation and Entrepreneurship Orientation: Is There a Tradeoff Relationship between Them?

Sustainability and entrepreneurship are often regarded as binary concepts that have a tradeoff relationship, meaning that the higher the social and environmental consideration, the lower the private and economic benefits. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of individual sustainability orientation on opportunity recognition and sustainable entrepreneurship intention, and examine whether it has a tradeoff relationship with entrepreneurship orientation. The result of this study shows that sustainability orientation has a positive relationship with opportunity recognition and entrepreneurship intention related to sustainability. Analysis of the moderating effects of entrepreneurship orientation reveals the positive effect with sustainability orientation but negative effect with opportunity recognition on sustainable entrepreneurship intention. This study would suggest implications to entrepreneurs on how to balance sustainability and entrepreneurship and promote sustainability entrepreneurship.
An ensemble prediction approach to weekly Dengue cases forecasting based on climatic and terrain conditions

Introduction: Dengue fever has been one of the most concerning endemic diseases of recent times. Every year, 50-100 million people get infected by the dengue virus across the world. Historically, it has been most prevalent in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. In recent years, frequent dengue epidemics have started occurring in Latin America as well. This study focused on assessing the impact of different short and long-term lagged climatic predictors on dengue cases. Additionally, it assessed the impact of building an ensemble model using multiple time series and regression models, in improving prediction accuracy. Materials and Methods: Experimental data were based on two Latin American cities, viz. San Juan (Puerto Rico) and Iquitos (Peru). Due to weather and geographic differences, San Juan recorded higher dengue incidences than Iquitos. Using lagged cross-correlations, this study confirmed the impact of temperature and vegetation on the number of dengue cases for both cities, though in varied degrees and time lags. An ensemble of multiple predictive models using an elaborate set of derived predictors was built and validated. Results: The proposed ensemble prediction achieved a mean absolute error of 21.55, 4.26 points lower than the 25.81 obtained by a standard negative binomial model. Changes in climatic conditions and urbanization were found to be strong predictors as established empirically in other researches. Some of the predictors were new and informative, which have not been explored in any other relevant studies yet. Discussion and Conclusions: Two original contributions were made in this research. Firstly, a focused and extensive feature engineering aligned with the mosquito lifecycle. Secondly, a novel covariate pattern-matching based prediction approach using past time series trend of the predictor variables. Increased accuracy of the proposed model over the benchmark model proved the appropriateness of the analytical approach for similar epidemic prediction research. Journal of Health and Social Sciences 2017; 2,3:257-272
Multi-scale control structures sense of agency : Investigating intentional binding using event-control approach

Control exercised by humans through interactions with the environment is critical for sense of agency. Here we investigate how control at multiple levels influence implicit sense of agency measured using intentional binding. Participants are asked to hit a moving target hitting action. Perceptual-motor level control was manipulated through noise in the joystick controller (experiment 1) and goal-level control in terms of feedback about successful hit (experiments 2a and 2b). In the first experiment, intentional binding increased with amount of joystick control only when goal was not achieved and independent otherwise suggesting that the two levels interact hierarchically. In the second experiment, the estimated duration was dependent on when participants knew about goal completion. The results are similar to those obtained with explicit measures of sense of agency indicating that multi-scale event control influences agency.
Recent advances in understanding body weight homeostasis in humans

Presently, control of body weight is assumed to exist, but there is no consensus framework of body weight homeostasis. Three different models have been proposed, with a “set point” suggesting (i) a more or less tight and (ii) symmetric or asymmetric biological control of body weight resulting from feedback loops from peripheral organs and tissues (e.g. leptin secreted from adipose tissue) to a central control system within the hypothalamus. Alternatively, a “settling point” rather than a set point reflects metabolic adaptations to energy imbalance without any need for feedback control. Finally, the “dual intervention point” model combines both paradigms with two set points and a settling point between them. In humans, observational studies on large populations do not provide consistent evidence for a biological control of body weight, which, if it exists, may be overridden by the influences of the obesogenic environment and culture on personal behavior and experiences. To re-address the issue of body weight homeostasis, there is a need for targeted protocols based on sound concepts, e.g. lean rather than overweight subjects should be investigated before, during, and after weight loss and weight regain. In addition, improved methods and a multi-level–multi-systemic approach are needed to address the associations (i) between masses of individual body components and (ii) between masses and metabolic functions in the contexts of neurohumoral control and systemic effects. In the future, simplifications and the use of crude and non-biological phenotypes (i.e. body mass index and waist circumference) should be avoided. Since changes in body weight follow the mismatch between tightly controlled energy expenditure at loosely controlled energy intake, control (or even a set point) is more likely to be about energy expenditure rather than about body weight itself.
0 70 30 02 v 1 1 M ar 2 00 7 Non-Metric Gravity I : Field Equations

We describe and study a certain class of modified gravity theories. Our starting point is Plebanski formulation of gravity in terms of a tripple of 2-forms, a connection A and a “Lagrange multiplier” field Ψ. The generalization we consider stems from presence in the action of an extra term proportional to a scalar function of Ψ. As in the usual Plebanski general relativity (GR) case, the equations coming from variations with respect to Ψ imply that a certain metric can be introduced. However, unlike in GR, the connection A no longer coincides with the self-dual part of the metric-compatible spin-connection. Field equations of the theory are shown to be relations between derivatives of the metric and components of field Ψ, as well as its derivatives, the later being in contrast to the GR case. The equations are of second order in derivatives. An analog of the Bianchi identity is still present in the theory, as well as its contracted version tantamount to energy conservation equation. The arising modifications to the later are possibly of experimental significance.
Indefinite Linear Quadratic Optimal Control : Periodic Dissipativity and Turnpike Properties Master Thesis

In the present thesis, we study discrete-time indefinite linear quadratic (LQ) optimal control problems in the presence of constraints on states and inputs. Due to their high relevance in both theory and practical applications, these problems are under ongoing research. In the recent literature, a characterization of the optimal trajectories of LQ-problems was given in terms of strict dissipativity and turnpike properties at steady-states, provided that the stage cost is positive semidefinite. We extend these results to periodic dissipativity and turnpike properties in LQ-problems with indefinite cost functions. The contribution of this thesis is threefold: First, we state sufficient conditions for periodic dissipativity and turnpike properties in compactly constrained indefinite LQ-problems. It is shown that the corresponding optimal periodic orbit can be computed explicitly using a non-strict dissipation inequality and is, in many cases, located on the boundary of the constraints. A similar technique is applied to strict dissipativity and turnpike properties at steady-states, where some of the arguments simplify. Sufficient conditions for strict dissipativity at steady-states are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities, for which the compactness assumption made in the periodic case is not required to hold. Two kinds of conditions are proposed, one of which can handle more general cases while the other one establishes a direct link between negative cost eigenvalues, the shape of the constraints, and the exact location of the resulting optimal steady-state. Moreover, in the absence of state constraints and for ellipsoidal input constraints, necessary conditions for strict dissipativity with a quadratic storage function are stated. The third approach does not explicitly take the constraints into account and relies on the notion of P-step systems, which have been used in the recent economic model predictive control literature for handling periodic optimality. It is shown that, if the stage cost accumulated over multiple consecutive time steps satisfies a certain convexity assumption, then the occurrence of strict dissipativity and turnpike properties can be characterized by spectral properties of the involved matrices.
Parallelizing Stochastic Gradient Descent for Least Squares Regression: Mini-batching, Averaging, and Model Misspecification

This work characterizes the benefits of averaging schemes widely used in conjunction with stochastic gradient descent (SGD). In particular, this work provides a sharp analysis of: (1) mini-batching, a method of averaging many samples of a stochastic gradient to both reduce the variance of the stochastic gradient estimate and for parallelizing SGD and (2) tail-averaging, a method involving averaging the final few iterates of SGD to decrease the variance in SGD's final iterate. This work presents non-asymptotic excess risk bounds for these schemes for the stochastic approximation problem of least squares regression. Furthermore, this work establishes a precise problem-dependent extent to which mini-batch SGD yields provable near-linear parallelization speedups over SGD with batch size one. This allows for understanding learning rate versus batch size tradeoffs for the final iterate of an SGD method. These results are then utilized in providing a highly parallelizable SGD method that obtains the minimax risk with nearly the same number of serial updates as batch gradient descent, improving significantly over existing SGD methods. A non-asymptotic analysis of communication efficient parallelization schemes such as model-averaging/parameter mixing methods is then provided. Finally, this work sheds light on some fundamental differences in SGD's behavior when dealing with agnostic noise in the (non-realizable) least squares regression problem. In particular, the work shows that the stepsizes that ensure minimax risk for the agnostic case must be a function of the noise properties. This paper builds on the operator view of analyzing SGD methods, introduced by Defossez and Bach (2015), followed by developing a novel analysis in bounding these operators to characterize the excess risk. These techniques are of broader interest in analyzing computational aspects of stochastic approximation.
Quantum advantage of unitary Clifford circuits with magic state inputs

We study the computational power of unitary Clifford circuits with solely magic state inputs (CM circuits), supplemented by classical efficient computation. We show that CM circuits are hard to classically simulate up to multiplicative error (assuming polynomial hierarchy non-collapse), and also up to additive error under plausible average-case hardness conjectures. Unlike other such known classes, a broad variety of possible conjectures apply. Along the way, we give an extension of the Gottesman–Knill theorem that applies to universal computation, showing that for Clifford circuits with joint stabilizer and non-stabilizer inputs, the stabilizer part can be eliminated in favour of classical simulation, leaving a Clifford circuit on only the non-stabilizer part. Finally, we discuss implementational advantages of CM circuits.
On critical dynamics and thermodynamic efficiency of urban transformations

Urban transformations within large and growing metropolitan areas often generate critical dynamics affecting social interactions, transport connectivity and income flow distribution. We develop a statistical–mechanical model of urban transformations, exemplified for Greater Sydney, and derive a thermodynamic description highlighting critical regimes. We consider urban dynamics at two time scales: fast dynamics for the distribution of population and income, modelled via the maximum entropy principle, and slower dynamics evolving the urban structure under spatially distributed competition. We identify phase transitions between dispersed and polycentric phases, induced by varying the social disposition—a factor balancing the suburbs’ attractiveness—in contrast with the travel impedance. Using the Fisher information, we identify critical thresholds and quantify the thermodynamic cost of urban transformation, as the minimal work required to vary the underlying parameter. Finally, we introduce the notion of thermodynamic efficiency of urban transformation, as the ratio of the order gained during a change to the amount of required work, showing that this measure is maximized at criticality.
Functional and Morphological Evaluation of the Mesenteric Artery, Kidney and Liver from Obese Rats: Impact of a High Fat Diet plus Fructose

Obesity is a worldwide problem of public health which is taking epidemic proportions. One of the main consequences of obesity is the development of cardiovascular diseases, which in turn, is the main cause of death in Brazil and in the world. Aim: To evaluate functional and morphological changes in the mesenteric artery, kidney and liver in obesity induced by high fat diet plus fructose. Methods: Male Wistar rats were submitted to a normolipidic diet (3.8% of fat–control group) or hyperlipidic diet (59% fat–HFD+F group) associated with fructose (100 mg/ml) in the drinking water during 12 weeks, starting at the 4th week of life. Initial and final body weight and epididymal fat, glucose tolerance and lipidic profile were evaluated. The superior mesenteric artery was removed for functional and histological analysis. Renal and hepatic functions were measured by plasma levels of specific metabolites and enzymes. The kidney and liver were also collected for histology. Results: In HFD+F group, it was observed increased body weight gain, epididymal fat and plasma levels of triglycerides while glucose tolerance was diminished. In the mesenteric artery, endothelium-dependent relaxation was reduced, with no changes in the endothelium-independent relaxation. Morphologically, no changes were seen in the vascular endothelium and smooth muscle. The kidney did not present functional and histological changes whereas the liver presented lipid accumulation, without changes on its function. Conclusion: Our data suggest that the high fat diet plus fructose induced endothelial dysfunction without structural changes on the vascular endothelium and smooth muscle. In this model of obesity, renal function and morphology were preserved while the hepatic tissue showed histological changes which are suggestive of a simple non-alcoholic steatosis.
A meta-analysis and review of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) imagery for terrestrial applications

ABSTRACT Over the past decade, the remote-sensing community has eagerly adopted unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as a cost-effective means to capture imagery at spatial and temporal resolutions not typically feasible with manned aircraft and satellites. The rapid adoption has outpaced our understanding of the relationships between data collection methods and data quality, causing uncertainties in data and products derived from UAS and necessitating exploration into how researchers are using UAS for terrestrial applications. We synthesize these procedures through a meta-analysis of UAS applications alongside a review of recent, basic science research surrounding theory and method development. We performed a search of the Web of Science (WoS) database on 17 May 2017 using UAS-related keywords to identify all peer-reviewed studies indexed by WoS. We manually filtered the results to retain only terrestrial studies () and further categorized results into basic theoretical studies (), method development (), and applications (). After randomly selecting a subset of applications (), we performed an in-depth content analysis to examine platforms, sensors, data capture parameters (e.g. flight altitude, spatial resolution, imagery overlap, etc.), preprocessing procedures (e.g. radiometric and geometric corrections), and analysis techniques. Our findings show considerable variation in UAS practices, suggesting a need for establishing standardized image collection and processing procedures. We reviewed basic research and methodological developments to assess how data quality and uncertainty issues are being addressed and found those findings are not necessarily being considered in application studies.
Three Faces of Ecosystem Management

Abstract: The debate over the objectives and methods of ecosystem management has been confusing, in part because people truly mean different things when they use the term ecosystem management. These different meanings reflect differences in interests, values, and knowledge. I organized these meanings into three sets: “environmentally sensitive multiple use,” an “ecosystem approach to resource management,” and “ecoregional management. ” Environmentally sensitive multiple use takes an anthropocentric perspective that seeks to foster multiple human uses subject to an understanding of environmental constraints that goes beyond that considered in traditional multiple‐use management. An ecosystem approach incorporates a biocentric view in which ecosystems are understood as a metaphor for holistic thinking requiring an expanded consideration of the dynamism and complexity of ecological systems, scale phenomena, and the need for management across ownership boundaries. Ecoregional management takes an ecocentric perspective that focuses on the management of specific landscape ecosystems defined as real geographic spaces and that shifts management focus toward ecosystem processes and away from biota. Understanding these three conceptualizations as different points along a continuum of resource management paradigms helps clarify the different visions of ecosystem management held by different groups. Because different places and groups are at various points on the continuum, progress comes from moving along the continuum and not necessarily by seeking a single state called “ecosystem management. ” Policy prescriptions, such as changes in law, incentives, and information provision, can be targeted more effectively to the realities of different settings. Ultimately, the conceptualization suggests that heterogeneity of ecosystem management approaches is desirable, as long as we learn from the diverse experiences that result.