Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Man vs machine Relational and performance outcomes of technology utilization in small business CRM support capabilities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of technology in customer relationship management (CRM) support capabilities by using an environmental contingency perspective. By examining the moderating effects of microand macro-environmental characteristics in which CRM support capabilities are used, the authors seek to extend the literature on CRM technology effectiveness in both customer commitment and overall firm performance. The authors also seek to advance managerial knowledge about CRM support capability technology utilization strategies in variousmarket offering and dynamicmarket settings. Design/methodology/approach – The authors utilized a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 276 small business CRM managers across a wide range of industries. Measures were adapted from the existing literature, and these were largely multiple-item measures of latent variables. The hypotheses were tested using a combination of Ridge regression and a bootstrapping test of mediation. In addition, residual centering was used to reduce multi-collinearity in the interaction analysis. Findings – The contingency/fit analysis performed in this research highlights the complex nature of the use of technology in CRM support capabilities. The benefits of a man vs a machine CRM support capability depend on the support function (whether marketing, sales, service, data access or data analysis), as well as upon the characteristics of the operating environment. Machine-based marketing support is positively related with customer commitment in turbulent markets, and machine-based service support is preferred in technologically turbulent markets. Sales support, on the other hand, is positively related to customer commitment in technologically turbulent markets when performed byman rather than machine. Practical implications – CRM support capabilities differ across firms and markets, thus a “one size fits all” approach is not appropriate. This research shows under what conditions a machine-based approach to CRM can be effective for small businesses. Originality/value – This research is the first to consider market offering and turbulence variables as moderators of the relationship between technology use in CRM support capabilities and customer commitment. Taking this contingency approach, the authors find that resource-based competitive advantage is obtainable based on the fit of the resources (e.g. CRM capabilities) to the environmental characteristics of the firm. Through this perspective that is unique to CRM research, the authors are able to provide both general and specific recommendations to managers and researchers.
Liouville quantum gravity and the Brownian map I: The QLE(8/3,0) metric

Liouville quantum gravity (LQG) and the Brownian map (TBM) are two distinct models of measure-endowed random surfaces. LQG is defined in terms of a real parameter $\gamma$, and it has long been believed that when $\gamma = \sqrt{8/3}$, the LQG sphere should be equivalent (in some sense) to TBM. However, the LQG sphere comes equipped with a conformal structure, and TBM comes equipped with a metric space structure, and endowing either one with the other's structure has been an open problem for some time. This paper is the first in a three-part series that unifies LQG and TBM by endowing each object with the other's structure and showing that the resulting laws agree. The present work uses a form of the quantum Loewner evolution (QLE) to construct a metric on a dense subset of a $\sqrt{8/3}$-LQG sphere and to establish certain facts about the law of this metric, which are in agreement with similar facts known for TBM. The subsequent papers will show that this metric extends uniquely and continuously to the entire $\sqrt{8/3}$-LQG surface and that the resulting measure-endowed metric space is TBM.
DETECTING DECEPTION 1 Detecting Deception in Face to Face and Computer Mediated Conversations

Detecting deception is difficult. In order to detect deception in face to face conversations one must examine changes in body language. Detecting deception in an online conversation does not rely on body language but rather psycholinguistics cues. I compared participant’s ability to detect a lie in either face to face or email conditions with either honest or deceptive content. After viewing the video (face to face) or email sales pitch participants completed a questionnaire to evaluate how honest the sale was perceived. I hypothesized that the email-deceptive condition would be better detected compared to the face to face-deceptive condition due to the increased time one has to analyze what they are being presented with. The hypothesis was confirmed, the email-deceptive condition was detected as deceptive significantly more than the face to facedeceptive condition. Thus psycholinguistic cues may be better detected than body language cues in deceptive conversations.
Epidemiology of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia at the KK Women ’ s and Children ’ s Hospital , Singapore

Introduction: The incidences and characteristics of pre-eclampsia (PE) and eclampsia in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), a tertiary obstetrical referral centre in Singapore, were studied. Methods: The incidences and types of PE between July 1999 and June 2003 were derived from the pregnancy disease databases. The characteristics of women with PE in relation to the general obstetric population were analysed on the age, race, parity, types of delivery, gestation at delivery and mortality. Case records of eclampsia
Hereditary form of prion disease in Poland Postaæ dziedziczna choroby prionowej w

Background and purpose: The aim of the study was to perform molecular analysis in a group of patients affected with prion disease. Diagnosis was based on results of clinical and/or histopathological examination of the brain. This is the largest investigation of this type performed so far in Poland. Material and methods: Analysed material contained 36 cases of prion disease, including 35 cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and one case of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease, as well as two familial cases initially suspected of Huntington disease and Alzheimer disease. The control group consisted of 87 subjects. The most frequent known mutations in the PRNP gene were looked for, namely those in codons 102, 117, 178, 200, 217 and OPRI; the polymorphism Met/Val in codon 129 was also analysed. The methods applied were PCR-RFLP and DNA sequencing. Results: The following mutations were found: E200K in 5 families, P102L in one family (previously identified), D178N in one family and 6OPRI in one family. Overall, mutations were detected in 17 persons (including 8 preclinical ones) from 8 pedigrees. Highly significant difference of codon 129 Met/Val heterozygosity frequencies was found between the affected subjects and the controls. Frequency of the familial form of prion disease in the material analysed was 14%. Conclusions: Screening for mutations in the PRNP gene should be performed in all diagnosed cases of prion disease and Hereditary form of prion disease in Poland
Intergenerational risk-sharing in funded pension schemes under time-varying interest rates DRAFT

In the economic literature, high potential welfare gains have been reported from intergenerational risk-sharing (IRS) in funded collective pension schemes. In the calculation of these gains a wide range of challenges faced by collective pension schemes however, were ignored. We provide a welfare analysis for a more realistic institutional setup of the collective scheme. Additionally, contrary to earlier papers, we allow for time variation in interest and (expected) inflation. Time-variation provides a challenge for collective pension schemes to optimally allocate risk to individuals, since hedging demands differ across generations. Considering a more realistic institutional setup and more complex financial market, we find that the welfare gains from IRS almost completely disappear. As a matter of fact, we find that an optimally invested individual retirement account, even if subject to several constraints, outperforms the funded collective pension scheme with IRS in welfare terms. ∗University of Chicago, ilja@uchicago.edu. The author would like to thank Servaas van Bilsen, Jan Bonenkamp, Kees Bouwman, Lans Bovenberg, Dirk Broeders, Theo Kocken, Marcel Lever, Roel Mehlkopf, Bas Werker, and all (other) participants in the Netspar workgroup on intergenerational risk-sharing for insightful discussions and helpful comments to earlier versions of this paper.
Automatic Calibration of Conceptual Rainfall-Runoff Models

An automatic calibration strategy applied to land and channel components of the National Weather Service River Forecast System is outlined. Aspects discussed include the objective function to be used, nonlinear optimization technique used, and reparameterization issues. An example of the use of this strategy on Bird Creek, Oklahoma, is presented and results discussed. A new optimization technique based on linear model approximations is presented which explicitly incorporates parameter interaction effects. The interaction between the complex model structure and the optimization technique is addressed.
Risk Management and Challenges in Islamic Banks

The use of financial services and products that confirm with the Shari’ah principles cause special issues for supervision and risk management. Efficient risk management in Islamic financial institutions has assumed particular importance as they try to cope with the challenges of globalization. This paper highlights the special and general risks surrounding Islamic banks. It also explains the key challenges ahead to promote further development of Islamic banking in the global financial system. The development of a new financial instruments and institutional arrangements for providing an enabling operational environment for Islamic finance is also emphasized. JEL Classification Numbers: G21, G24, G32
CAMA Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis Cooperative banks and local economic growth CAMA Working Paper 11 / 2018 February 2018

In this paper we study the impact of cooperative banks on local economic development. Working on Italian municipality data in the period 2001-2011, we find that this type of banks plays a distinct role in enhanced local economic performance – particularly income, employment and firms’ birth growth rates – and that their presence is more effective compared to conventional banks. This evidence upholds the view that their more widespread presence would be beneficial, especially in those areas that suffer from lower economic growth, and accords with other studies underlining the decisive role of cooperative banks in supporting traditional credit provision to local borrowers.
Modeling Ion Motion in a Miniaturized Ion Mobility Spectrometer

Ion mobility spectrometry provides fast detection of very low concentrations of chemical substances. Simple instrumentation combined with high sensitivity and high selectivity are the advantages of this technique. One well established field of application is the detection of hazardous compounds in air, such as chemical warfare agents, explosives and pollutants. A numerical model based on finite element analysis has been developed for rapid design and optimization of ion mobility spectrometers with respect to physical and economic constraints. All significant physical effects on the ion transport in an IMS are considered within the simulation, such as diffusion, coulomb repulsion, electric fields and gas flows. For developing, studying and optimizing a new concept of a miniaturized low-cost IMS COMSOL Multiphysics has been successfully used.
Precipitation in the Pearl River basin , South China : scaling , regional patterns , and influence of large-scale climate anomalies

This study examines the temporal patterns of precipitation and the influence of large-scale climate anomalies in the Pearl River basin (South China), with particular focus on sub-basin scale. Three popular data analysis techniques are employed: (1) wavelet analysis; (2) principal component analysis (PCA); and (3) rank correlation method. With due consideration to hydrologic factors, water resources activities, and large-scale climate data, the entire basin is divided into ten sub-basins and the analysis is performed on monthly data. The wavelet analysis reveals discernible differences in temporal scales of fluctuation embedded in the monthly precipitation anomalies over the basin. The PCA delineates three coherent regions exhibiting similar distribution of variability across scales. Analysis of linkages between precipitation and teleconnection patterns using cross-wavelet transform and wavelet coherence reveals that the dominant variabilities of precipitation are essentially depicted by the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), especially for the central and eastern part of the Pearl River basin. On the influence of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signal on precipitation, more significant correlation is detected for the eastern part of the basin, long-term relationships (within 4–8 years band) are found for the western part of the basin, while the central part seems to be acting as a transition zone. Rank correlations of scale-averaged wavelet power between regional precipitation and climate indices for the dominant low-frequency variability band (0.84–8.40 years) provide further support to the different precipitation-climate relationships for different regions over the basin. The present results provide valuable information towards: (1) improving predictions of extreme hydroclimatic events in the Pearl River basin, based on their relationships with IOD or ENSO; and (2) devising better adaptation and mitigation strategies under a future changing climate.
Dynamic Tax Competition, Home Bias and the gain from Non-preferential Taxation Regimes: A case for unilateral commitment

A country has an incentive to unilaterally commit to a non-preferential taxation regime even though the competitor adopts a preferential taxation regime. We show that a mixed taxation regime arises in a dynamic two-period model of tax competition between two symmetric countries where an investor has home-bias for the country where he/she invests in the initial period. A scenario where competing countries jointly adopt non-preferential taxation regimes is also a subgame-perfect equilibrium. The tax revenue of the country which adopts a preferential taxation regime in a mixed taxation regime is equal to the tax revenue a country receives when competing countries jointly adopt a non-preferential taxation regime.JEL classification: F21; H21; H25; H87
Do Tax Credits Stimulate R & D Spending ?

This paper examines the impact of the U.S. federal R&D tax credit between 19811991 using confidential IRS data from corporate tax returns. This paper makes two key advances on previous work. First, this paper implements a new instrumental variables (IV) strategy based on tax changes that directly addresses the simultaneity of R&D spending and marginal credit rates. Second, it makes use of new restrictedaccess IRS corporate return data describing R&D expenditures. Estimates imply that a ten percent reduction in the user cost of R&D leads the average firm to increase its research intensity—the ratio of R&D spending to sales—by 10.4 percent in the short-run. Long-run estimates imply that the average firm faces adjustment costs and increases spending over time, though small and young firms show evidence of reversing initial increases. Analysis of the components of qualified research shows that wages and supplies account for the bulk of the increase in research spending. Elasticities of qualified and total research intensities from a smaller sample suggest firms respond to user cost changes largely by increasing their qualified spending, meaning that the type of R&D the federal credit deems qualified research is an important margin on which the credit a↵ects firm behavior.
Explicit Solutions of a Simplified Model of Capillary Sprout Growth During Tumour Angiogenesis

K e y w o r d s T u m o u r angiogenesis, Chemotaxis, Nonlinear waves. 1. I N T R O D U C T I O N Angiogenesis is crucial to the growth and development of solid tumours, forming a vital link between avascular and vascular tumour growth. Unless it is furnished with an adequate blood supply and a means, other than diffusion, of disposing of its waste products, a solid tumour cannot grow beyond a few millimetres in diameter and remains in an avascular stake [1]. In order to escape from this dormant, avascular state, a solid tumour may secrete chemical compounds which stimulate any neighbouring endothelial cells (EC) into a well-ordered sequence of events [2]. Experiments performed using tumour implants in the cornea of test-animals [3] have enabled the detailed documentat ion of these events. The EC first secrete enzymes which degrade their basal lamina and they begin to migrate into the extracellular matrix. Small capillary sprouts are formed which grow towards the tumour by migration. Subsequently, EC close to the sprout tip undergo mitosis. Neighbouring capillaries fuse together to form closed loops (anastomoses) and from the pr imary loops, new capillary buds and sprouts emerge and a well-established capillary network is formed, which continues to advance towards the tumour eventually penetrat ing it. Vascularization of the tumour is achieved and vascular growth, with its insidious consequences of invasion and metastasis, may take place. In this paper, we focus upon the migration of the capillary sprouts towards the tumour, developing and extending a continuum model of Balding and McElwain [4]. We assume unidirectional capillary sprout growth in the direction of the line connecting the tumour to the nearest site of EC (e.g., the limbus [3]) and we introduce dimensionless independent variables t and x to measure t ime and distance from the tumour (in contrast to [4], here the model is posed on a finite, ra ther than semi-infinite domain, with the tumour situated at x = 0, and the limbus at x = 1). The model equations describe interactions between the capillary sprout tip density (n), the vessel density within a sprout (p), and the chemottractant concentration, for example TAF, (c). The capillary tips move by random motion and also in response to the chemotactic gradient, are depleted by t ip-to-branch collisions, that is anastomoses, and are produced by two differ-
KI and WU Polyomaviruses in Children, France

James S. Gill,* Amy J. Ullmann,† Amanda D. Loftis,‡ Tom G. Schwan,§ Sandra J. Raffel,§ Merry E. Schrumpf, § and Joseph Piesman† *Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA; †Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; ‡Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; and §Rocky Mountain Laboratories of National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, USA
Independent Scientific Review of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and Associated Epidemiological Research Report to Mr

Professor H Charles J Godfray FRS (Chairman) Director, NERC Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College London Professor Robert N Curnow Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics, University of Reading Dr Christopher Dye Coordinator, TB Monitoring & Evaluation, World Health Organization, Geneva Professor Dirk Pfeiffer Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology, Royal Veterinary College, London Professor William J Sutherland Professor of Ecology, University of East Anglia Professor Mark E J Woolhouse OBE Professor of Veterinary Public Health and Quantitative Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh
DEVELOPMENT OF EFFICIENT REGENERATION AND GENETIC TRANSFORMATION SYSTEMS IN LOCAL CULTIVARS OF CHICKPEA ( Cicer arietinum L . )

The yield of chickpea in Pakistan is unexpectedly low and unstable that may be due to biotic and abiotic stresses. To combat with these stresses, genetic make of chickpea should be improved incorporating important genes. For successful gene incorporation, an efficient tissue culture system may be established. Therefore, this study was conducted in two local chickpea genotypes namely Bittle-98 and Dasht-2000 for the establishment of an efficient tissue culture system. Among various concentrations of BAP, MS medium fortified with 3.0 mg/l BAP showed the highest multiple shoot formation (69.2 and 70.66%) in cvs Dasht-2000 and Bittle-98, respectively. Similarly, the highest elongation of regenerated shoots (58.33 and 91.66%) was recorded in Bittle-98 and Dasht-2000, respectively on MS media supplemented with 0.25 mg/l IAA. The highest rooting formation (60 and 80%) was recorded in Dasht-2000 and Bittle98, respectively on MS media having 1.0 mg/l IBA. Half Embryo with single cotyledon was found to be the best explant for genetic transformation. During this study, hygromycin (75 mg/l), acetosyringone (100 μM) and cefotaxime sodium (500 mg/l) were found to be optimum for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in chickpea. The putative transgenic plants were subjected to GUS and microscopic observations that confirmed the presence of uidA gene in both genotypes. The optimized protocols will provide a base line to improve transformation system and incorporate important genes in chickpea in future research programs.
Number of Tables : 0 Title : Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic advantages of a liganded protein nanocarrier targetingDouble targeting to tumor and stromal cancer cells in an aggressive CXCR 4 + cancer colorectal cancer mice modelscells

Unliganded drug-nanoconjugates accumulate passively in the tumor while liganded nanoconjugates, accumulate actively, promoting drug internalization in tumor cells via endocytosis and increasing the antitumor efficacy. However, the mechanism underlying this effect remains poorly studied. We compared tumor uptake of T22-GFP-H6, a liganded protein carrier targeting the CXCR4 receptor, and the unliganded GFP-H6 carrier in subcutaneous and metastatic colorectal cancer models. The liganded carrier had a higher tumor uptake and a longer residence time than the unliganded carrier. T22-GFP-H6 was detected in the cytosol of the CXCR4 tumor cell subset while GFP-H6 was detected in tumor stroma. SDF1- co-administration switched T22-GFP-H6 internalization from the CXCR4 epithelia to the stroma. Our results suggest that a targeting ligand confers pharmacokinetic advantages such as enhanced uptake in the tumor and pharmacodynamic advantages such as high and selective accumulation in the cytosol of the tumor cell. These results validate T22-GFP-H6 as a CXCR4-targeted drug carrier.
Measuring bank competitiveness : Has financial liberalization increased competition ?

PIDS Policy Notes are observations/analyses written by PIDS researchers on certain policy issues. The treatise is holistic in approach and aims to provide useful inputs for decisionmaking. This Notes is heavily based on the paper titled “Effect of liberalization on banking competition” by G. Pasadilla and M. Milo. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of PIDS or any of the study's sponsors. Gloria O. Pasadilla
Interactive comment on “ Secondary organic aerosol formation from gasoline passenger vehicle emissions investigated in a smog chamber ”

Major points: The vehicles used in this study do not comply with current Euro 5 legislation. Most experiments were performed with a car meeting Euro 2 standards, outdated as of January 2000. Specifically, hydrocarbon emissions have been lowered in the intervening period. The results of this study are only atmospherically relevant if they apply to the current vehicle fleet. Therefore can the authors provide assurances, from for example literature or their own analyses that emissions have been reduced in a