Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporate brand expressions in industrial brand: Evidence from Malaysia

Purpose – Nowadays, suppliers in order to maintain and improve their positions against other national and international suppliers take advantage of their brand equity. The aim of this study was to identify the factors influencing industrial brand equity from the perspective of buying center members. Design/methodology/approach – Statistical population includes members of buying center of companies producing fridges, washing machines, and cookers in Pahang. 110 questionnaires were distributed among members of the buying center industry (managing director, production manager, finance manager, purchasing agent and senior engineer) and 98 questionnaires were completed for analysis. SPSS software was used to analyze data and PLS software was used to test hypotheses . Findings – Research findings indicate a significant positive effect of perceived quality, brand loyalty, social responsibility of supplier, reputation of supplier and quality of relationship between the buyer-supplier on industrial brand equity. The effect of brand awareness on industrial brand equity was insignificant. Originality/value – This comprehensive model includes major factors affecting industrial brand equity that is appropriate for Malaysiaian suppliers to maintain and improve industrial brand equity in B2B markets. And this study is the first research in this area in Malaysia. Keywords: perceived quality, brand awareness, brand loyalty, corporate social responsibility, corporate reputation, buyer–supplier relationship quality, industrial brand equity.
International Journal of Engineering

In this paper, we focus on the application of reinforcement learning to obstacle avoidance in dynamic environments in wireless sensor networks. A distributed algorithm based on reinforcement learning is developed for sensor networks to guide mobile robot through the dynamic obstacles. The sensor network models the danger of the area under coverage as obstacles, and has the property of adoption of itself against possible changes. The proposed protocol can integrate the reward computation of the sensors with information of the intended place of robot so that it guides the robot step by step through the sensor network by choosing the safest path in dangerous zones. Simulation results show that the mobile robot can get to the target point without colliding with any obstacle after a period of learning. Also, we discussed about time propagation between obstacle, goal, and mobile robot information. Experimental results show that our proposed method has the ability of fast adoption in real applications in wireless sensor networks.
Prospects for Indigenous Australians in the Welfare System

THE erable individual economic concern level status remain in recent of indigenous well government below Australians those policy. of other has Indigenous Australians been the focus incomes (see of Figure considat the 1) erable concern in recent government policy. Indigenous incomes at the i dividual l vel remain well be ow th se o other A stralian (s F gure 1) and over the period for which data exist there is only limited evidence that they are catching up. This article provides an overview of the changes which have taken place in individual indigenous incomes and employment, and documents the importance of social security as a source of income for this group. Welfare transfers from government have played an important role in maintaining indigenous incomes. The article considers some of the issues raised by welfare dependence and its implications for the future economic status of indigenous Australians.
Evangelical Strength and the Representation of Women and Gays

A woman’s femaleness is by definition the potential for motherhood---the experience and relationship in which a woman normally finds a joyous and unique fulfillment. But she has no capacity within herself alone to realize that possibility. She needs her male companion for that. The male by his very maleness has the potential for becoming a father. In that experience and relationship, a man finds fulfillment like nothing else he will experience. But he, like his companion, has no capacity in himself alone to find that fulfillment. He needs her. Each has the capacity to confer upon the other the fulfillment of his masculinity or of her femininity…The historical significance to all of this must not be ignored. The very future existence of the human race and the fulfillment of the divine purposes for God’s own creation hang on our sexual differentiation. (Kinlaw, 2005). In the two decades since the publication of
Understanding the meaning of social well-being at the end of life.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To advance understanding of the social well-being domain, a dimension of quality of life, from the perspective of dying individuals. RESEARCH APPROACH Qualitative, hermeneutic, and phenomenologic. SETTING Private residences in a community setting. PARTICIPANTS 8 terminally ill adult patients with cancer, aged 35-75, enrolled in hospice care. METHODOLOGIC APPROACH In-depth, semistructured, tape-recorded, and transcribed interviews were analyzed using the Giorgi method. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Social well-being and quality of life at the end of life. FINDINGS Six themes emerged that described the meaning of close personal relationships at the end of life: meaning of relationships with family, friends, and coworkers; meaning of relationships with God or a higher power; loss and gains of role function; love; gratitude; and lessons on living. CONCLUSIONS Patients who were terminally ill with advanced cancer expressed the importance of close personal relationships at the end of life and the need to communicate their importance through love and gratitude. All participants believed that personal relationships were strengthened by the end-of-life experience. INTERPRETATION Nurses can support terminally ill patients by understanding the importance of social relationships at the end of life. The relationships may be enhanced when nurses raise patients' conscious awareness of the relationships and encourage them to express their importance.
The mediation role of social capital in relationship between buyer-supplier relationship with green supply chain collaboration

The main aim of this study is to understand how buyer-supplier relationship and social capital influence green supply chain collaboration in manufacturing companies. Also, the mediating role of social capital between buyer-supplier relationship and green supply chain collaboration was examined. Because of that, a sample of 70 from logistic and middle levels' managers were chosen for distributing questionnaires. Collected data were analysed by partial least square method of structural equation modelling. The results indicated that there are positive relationships among buyer-supplier relationship (asset specificity, transaction frequency and competitive environment), social capital and green supply chain collaboration. Also, the mediating role of social capital are confirmed. But two hypotheses which are related to volume uncertainty are rejected. These findings provide considerable insights to managers and marketers of green supply chains that seek to respond to a growing interest of environmental performance of supply chain.
DTI and Structural MRI Classification in Alzheimer’s Disease

In this paper, we propose a fully automated method to individually classify patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and elderly control subjects based on diffusion tensor (DTI) and anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We propose a new multimodal measure that combines anatomical and diffusivity measures at the voxel level. Our approach relies on whole-brain parcellation into 73 anatomical regions and the extraction of multimodal characteristics in these regions. Discriminative features are identified using different feature selection (FS) methods and used in a Support Vector Machine (SVM) for individual classification. Fifteen AD patients and 16 elderly controls were discriminated using mean diffusivity alone, combination of mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy, and multimodal measures in the 73 ROIs and the overall accuracy obtained was 65.2%, 68.6% and 72% respectively. Overall accuracy reached 99% in multimodal measures when relevant regions were selected.
What Is the Relationship Between Conflict Management and Employee Empowerment? A Message Design Logic Perspective and its Importance for Managers and Supervisors

This study focused on how conflict management between employees affects employee empowerment. Conflict naturally occurs between individuals, and its management in organizations can result in positive or negative consequences. Employee empowerment influences greater job satisfaction and commitment to organizations. Based on the theory of message design logic, it was hypothesized that employees who employ rhetorical design while managing conflict will experience greater levels of empowerment. The sample consisted of 196 employees at an educational institution who completed a short, online survey. Results showed no relationship between levels of perception of empowerment and message design logic, thus not supporting the hypothesis.
Evaluating a Diabetes Screening Program in Older than Age 30 Rural Populations, Hamedan District, Iran

This study was conducted to assess validity (sensitivity and specificity) of a diabetes screening program in Hamedan, Iran district health centers. Eight hundred and thirty-five persons older than age 30 in Hamedan rural areas who had no diabetes risk factors were tested for fasting glucose, then the results of the national diabetes program in the area were added to these results. Finally, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV, respectively) of type 2 diabetes were calculated. Nineteen persons (2.28%) had impaired fasting glucose (110–126 mg/dl), and three (0.36%) had diabetes (fasting glucose ≥ 126 mg/dl) according to standard diagnostic criteria. Prevalence and incidence rates of diabetes were 2.97% and 7.53 per 1,000. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the diabetes screening test were 80.23%, 61.67%, 2.2%, and 99.65%, respectively. The study revealed that the primary screening program in district health centers had an acceptable sensitivity (80.23%) and a low specificity (61.67%).
Nasal Fractures: The Taming of the Shrewd

Objective/Hypothesis Closed reduction of nasal fractures has not been a satisfactory approach. Graduated protocols yield better results. Because a significant proportion of these closed reduction patients refuse a second operation, would it be better to resort to a full septorhinoplasty at the first operation and therefore decrease the post first operation deformity rate?
The trust–mistrust dynamic in the public governance of sport: exploring the legitimacy of performance measurement systems through end-users’ perceptions

ABSTRACT With increased government involvement in sport has followed a perceived need to audit the performance of sport organisations. This has created a wide range of performance measurement systems aiming at producing information to assist in managerial decisions and policymaking. Although thought of as improving organisational performance, it has also been argued that performance regimes, especially in the government/third-sector nexus, are threatening the self-determination of autonomous organisations. Thus, the purpose of this article is to add to the existing understanding of how audits and measurements affect the organisations they are supposed to monitor, not only in terms of minor and negligible side effects, but more importantly in terms of pervasive alterations of the autonomous club sport practice. To do so, data from 43 interviews with representatives from 20 sport clubs were analysed. Findings show how the performance measurement system under study leads to an alteration of sport clubs’ activities to maximise performance measures; a centralisation of work associated with measurement within the club; and an undermining of trust between the voluntary and public sectors, which challenges the legitimacy of this relationship. Thus, this study shows that performance measurement systems are dependent on the legitimacy bestowed by the agents affected by it.
RAPD Genome maps of Douglas-fir

We present linkage maps and estimate genome length for two hybrid individuals of Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco], a coniferous tree species of wide distribution in the western United States. The hybrids were produced by crosses between the coastal (var. menziesi~) and interior (var. glauca) varieties. Haploid megagametophytes from 80 seeds of each individual were analyzed using 81 10-by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers selected for polymorphism, fragment strength, and repeatability in preliminary segregation analysis. Most (82-90%) of the segregating fragments followed the expected 1:1 Mendelian segregation; however, 10-18% showed significant segregation distortion (P < .05) among megagametophytes of the two trees. In one tree, 201 of 221 segregating loci analyzed were combined into 16 major linkage groups of 4 or more loci (plus 1 group of 3 loci, 3 groups with pairs of loci, and 11 unlinked loci); in the other, 238 of 250 segregating loci were combined into 18 major groups (plus 2 groups of 3 loci each and 6 unlinked loci). Analyses of the distribution of markers indicated highly significant clustering in both trees (P < .001). Including flanking regions and unlinked loci, both trees had linkage maps of similar length, 2600 cM and 3000 cM; expected total map size ranged from 2800 to 3500 cM based on method-of-moments estimation. When a common RAPD protocol was used, more than one-third of the RAPD markers segregated in both hybrids. These maps of Douglas-fir are among the largest reported for conifers, a possible consequence of its 13 haploid chromosomes.
Structural Basis of Human Triosephosphate Isomerase Deficiency

Human triosephosphate isomerase deficiency is a rare autosomal disease that causes premature death of homozygous individuals. The most frequent mutation that leads to this illness is in position 104, which involves a conservative change of a Glu for Asp. Despite the extensive work that has been carried out on the E104D mutant enzyme in hemolysates and whole cells, the molecular basis of this disease is poorly understood. Here, we show that the purified, recombinant mutant enzyme E104D, while exhibiting normal catalytic activity, shows impairments in the formation of active dimers and low thermostability and monomerizes under conditions in which the wild type retains its dimeric form. The crystal structure of the E104D mutant at 1.85 Å resolution showed that its global structure was similar to that of the wild type; however, residue 104 is part of a conserved cluster of 10 residues, five from each subunit. An analysis of the available high resolution structures of TIM dimers revealed that this cluster forms a cavity that possesses an elaborate conserved network of buried water molecules that bridge the two subunits. In the E104D mutant, a disruption of contacts of the amino acid side chains in the conserved cluster leads to a perturbation of the water network in which the water-protein and water-water interactions that join the two monomers are significantly weakened and diminished. Thus, the disruption of this solvent system would stand as the underlying cause of the deficiency.
Lens Status as the Single Most Important Factor in Endothelium Protection After Vitreous Surgery: A Prospective Study

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of vitreous surgery on the corneal endothelium. Methods: A total of 113 eyes undergoing pars plana vitrectomy for variable indications at a tertiary care center were included prospectively. The mean age was 41 years (range, 9–84 years), and 60% were male. The endothelial cell count was measured preoperatively and on postoperative day 1, 30, 90, and 180. The rate of endothelial cell loss was measured and analysis performed based on gauge of surgery, lens status, and vitreous substitute used. Results: About 7.6% of endothelial cells were lost at postoperative day 1. This rate had decreased to 2.5% in the first 30 days, 1.5% between days 30 and 90, and 1.4% between days 90 and 180. Significant difference in endothelial cell loss was noted on day 1 between phakic (7.2%), pseudophakic (6.4%), and aphakic (11.4%) eyes with similar results at 6 months. There was no significant difference between the gauges of surgery (20 G vs. 23 G) or the vitreous substitutes used (air vs. gas vs. silicone oil) on day 1 or at 6 months. Conclusions: Endothelial decompensation is an important complication of vitreoretinal surgery. Precautions should be taken in aphakics and patients requiring anterior segment manipulation. Although there is immediate cell loss, the rate of cell loss approaches normative values with time.
Payout Policies of Privately Held Firms: Flexibility and the Role of Income Taxes

We study the importance of owner wages and dividends as alternative payout channels in privately held firms. Using data on all Swedish closely held corporations and their owner-managers over the period 2000 - 2009, we find that dividends comprise one-fourth of total payout to owner-managers. Dividends are used as a flexible payout channel. Wages are the preferred payout channel and are rather sticky. Choice of payout channel and level of payout are affected by dividend and wage taxation. Consistent with the difference in flexibility across payout channels, shareholder taxes have a stronger impact on dividends than on wages.
The effect of selective store location strategy and self-congruity on consumers’ apparel brand attitudes toward luxury vs. non-luxury

Abstract This research discusses the effect of selective store location strategy on consumers’ brand attitudes, its variation based on brand luxuriousness, and consumers’ psychological mechanisms underlying this choice. To test the selective location effect, consumers’ perceptions of three apparel brands with different characteristics (well-known luxury, well-known non-luxury, and unknown brand) were assessed. Self-congruity theory was employed to discuss the psychological mechanism of brand attitude formation. The result of analysis of variance and structural equation modeling on 312 cases collected in Japan showed selective store location influenced consumers’ luxury brand attitudes positively, while its impact was negative in the non-luxury case. In addition, its effect on the unknown brand was not significant. The selective location also contributed ideal social self-congruity with brand user imagery, while its impact was negative on actual self-congruity. Moreover, ideal social self-congruity contributed luxury attitude: In the non-luxury case, its impact was negative, while the impact of actual self-congruity was positive: Self-congruity affected the unknown brand very slightly. This result implies non-luxury brand equity is hard to increase via selective location strategy, while this approach may be effective for luxury. Our results also suggest the ability of self-congruity and brand luxuriousness to predict the selective location effect.
PENGARUH KUALITAS AUDIT TERHADAP KUALITAS LAPORAN KEUANGAN PEMERINTAH DAERAH

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of audit quality on the quality of local government financial statements (LKPD). The quality of the audit is measured by the proxy level of completion or follow-up on the recommendation of the audit result (TLRHP), covering three factors namely the problem of weaknesses of accounting and reporting control systems, budget execution control, internal control structure, and non-compliance factor to the provisions and laws. While the quality of LKPD is measured by the proxy of audit opinion. The study sample used LKPD data from 2011-2015 provinces, cities and districts in Java and Sumatera region covering 279 LKPD (51%) of LKPD population throughout Indonesia. The result of analysis with regression method (least square method) shows that follow-up improvement over weakness of accounting and reporting control, budget execution control, internal control structure, and compliance to regulation and legislation have positive effect to LKPD quality. The greatest influence is shown by improvements over the weaknesses of accounting and reporting control systems. The implications of the research results are to improve the quality of LKPD, monitoring the follow-up improvement on the recommendations of LKPD audit results by BPK auditors should be intensified, with priority monitoring on TLRHP issues of weaknesses of accounting and reporting control systems.
The Likelihood of Modified Audit Opinions : What factors may influence it?

When auditors detect irregularities within a company, the audit opinion issued that year should be modified. This may be inconvenient for the client who might try to influence the auditor not to issue a modification, thereby compromising auditor independence and thus audit quality. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the four factors audit firm, audit fee, client size, and client financial risk affect the likelihood of auditors issuing a modified audit opinion. Data were gathered from 850 Swedish limited companies of which 425 had received a modified audit opinion. Statistical tests, including logistic regressions, show that client size has a negative relationship with modified audit opinions and some indications are found of differences between the audit firms. The level of audit fee shows no relationship while client financial risk shows a negative relationship with the modification concerning depletion of the shareholders’ equity. The findings imply that larger clients may possess the ability to unduly affect auditors, but auditor independence and audit quality seem to be uniform among the Swedish audit firms and the shareholders’ interests largely protected. Based on the differences found between modifications, future research could benefit from examining additional factors on separate modifications.
Established and emerging targeted therapies in the myelodysplastic syndromes

ABSTRACT Introduction: Therapy for the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is an evolving area of research which has made significant use of the increased understanding of the complex biology of these disorders. Novel agents targeting multiple pathogenic pathways are being actively tested in preclinical and clinical settings and hold the potential to be available to clinicians before long. Areas covered: Herein we provide an historical framework for understanding the current use of hypomethylating agents in MDS and discuss recent developments in the field of targeted therapy in MDS including data from published and ongoing clinical studies with oral hypomethylating agents, PI3/polo-like kinase inhibitors, TGF-β inhibitor/ligand traps, and immune checkpoint inhibitors. A comprehensive review of recent literature was undertaken using PubMed and Medline. Expert commentary: Management of MDS patients will evolve substantially in the near future with the incorporation of molecular data into patient stratification models and with the introduction of novel targeted agents.