Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Customer loyalty and the role of relationship length

Purpose – The objective of this study is to examine the effect of corporate image, perceived value, and switching costs on customer loyalty in customer/provider relationships of different length.Design/methodology/approach – Five key constructs, namely: corporate image, perceived value, switching costs, customer loyalty, and length of relationship, were employed. Using a systematic sampling technique, student interviewers randomly approached customers exiting hair salons. The final survey sample consisted of 279 respondents.Findings – This paper supports a contingency model with regard to customer loyalty and its antecedents. The results suggest that corporate image impacts customer loyalty in both newer and older relationships. Whereas in newer relationships, corporate image has a cardinal influence on switching costs, in more‐established relationships switching costs are influenced primarily by perceived value. In both cases, switching costs influence customer loyalty.Research limitations/implications –.
Determinants of Online Waqf Acceptance: An Empirical Investigation

This study explores the factors influencing the acceptance of online waqf, generally termed as Islamic e‐donations in Malaysia. The technology acceptance model (TAM) was used as a baseline theory. Questionnaire survey was conducted. The data of the survey were analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS) approach. Results indicate that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived religiosity and amount of information are instrumental in influencing one's decision to perform online waqf. Importantly, the results of this study will extend current knowledge on technology acceptance, and online waqf particularly. The results propagate valuable insights for Islamic banking institutions to introduce online waqf in the future where the factors analyzed could be used as a guideline for better planning and implementation of online waqf. Limitations and future researches are provided.
The Dentoalveolar Compensatory Mechanism: Background and Clinical Implications *

The present paper aims to survey the background and clinical implications of the dento-alveolar compensatory mechanism by which the teeth and alveolar arches are adapted to the varying jaw relationships. The background, a large individual variability in the growth pattern of the jaws, is presented in some detail. The operation of the system is described, and possible underlying factors outlined. The relation to the development of malocclusion is analysed, and some consequences for the interpretation of cephalometric analysis systems and for orthodontic treatment planning are discussed.
Carousel and conveyor belt: the migration of doctors in New Zealand

This paper explores the issues surrounding the shortage, distribution and retention of medical practitioners in New Zealand. In particular, we examine different factors affecting the migration pattern: carousel (international) or conveyor belt (internal), of locally and foreign-trained doctors. Using administrative data from the New Zealand Medical Association, linked to census derived local socio-economic data we model mobility of doctors over the period 2000–2008. We find that doctors are becoming more mobile, especially doctors practicing in more affluent rural areas. We also find that foreign medical graduates tend to be more mobile than locally trained doctors. These findings could have important implications on developing retention policies for rural practice, not only within the New Zealand context, but also for other countries reliant on migrant health workers.
Knowledge management and organizational innovativeness in Iranian banking industry

Knowledge management has changed its nature from theoretical concept to an instrument that assists innovativeness. The originality of this study lies in its purpose to explore issues of knowledge management and its relation to the innovativeness of organizations. The study focuses on three selected Iranian banks (in public and private sector), an industry and a setting that has received less attention by researches so far. This paper studies the effectiveness of managers’ mindset in leading or misleading the organizations to achieve organizational innovativeness through KM. Based on a questionnaire survey, the authors argue that applying knowledge management makes it simpler to achieve the innovativeness in organizations. What we found significant in this study is that employees, provided with appropriate training and mentoring opportunities to generate novel ideas, would create new services in banking. The mindset of bank managers about their human resources absorbs diversity of opinions and provides equal opportunity for all employees to present ideas.
Chromosome Evolution in the Free-Living Flatworms: First Evidence of Intrachromosomal Rearrangements in Karyotype Evolution of Macrostomum lignano (Platyhelminthes, Macrostomida)

The free-living flatworm Macrostomum lignano is a hidden tetraploid. Its genome was formed by a recent whole genome duplication followed by chromosome fusions. Its karyotype (2n = 8) consists of a pair of large chromosomes (MLI1), which contain regions of all other chromosomes, and three pairs of small metacentric chromosomes. Comparison of MLI1 with metacentrics was performed by painting with microdissected DNA probes and fluorescent in situ hybridization of unique DNA fragments. Regions of MLI1 homologous to small metacentrics appeared to be contiguous. Besides the loss of DNA repeat clusters (pericentromeric and telomeric repeats and the 5S rDNA cluster) from MLI1, the difference between small metacentrics MLI2 and MLI4 and regions homologous to them in MLI1 were revealed. Abnormal karyotypes found in the inbred DV1/10 subline were analyzed, and structurally rearranged chromosomes were described with the painting technique, suggesting the mechanism of their origin. The revealed chromosomal rearrangements generate additional diversity, opening the way toward massive loss of duplicated genes from a duplicated genome. Our findings suggest that the karyotype of M. lignano is in the early stage of genome diploidization after whole genome duplication, and further studies on M. lignano and closely related species can address many questions about karyotype evolution in animals.
Impact of Product-Harm Crises on Brand Equity: The Moderating Role of Consumer Expectations

Brand equity is a valuable yet fragile asset. The mounting frequency of product-harm crises and ill-prepared corporate responses to such crises can have profound consequences for brand equity. Yet there is little research on the marketing impact of crises. The authors employ the expectations–evidence framework to understand the impact of firms' responses to crises on customer-based brand equity. The results of a field survey and two laboratory experiments indicate that consumers interpret firm response on the basis of their prior expectations about the firm. The interaction of expectations and firm response is shown to affect postcrisis brand equity. The authors draw implications for the expectations–evidence framework and for the outcomes of different types of firm response (i.e., unambiguous support, ambiguous response, and unambiguous stonewalling) on brand equity.
Clinical, histopathological, and immunological responses of ponies to Ehrlichia sennetsu and subsequent Ehrlichia risticii challenge

Ehrlichia risticii has a close antigenic relationship to E. sennetsu. Sera of ponies experimentally infected with E. risticii, the etiologic agent of Potomac horse fever, consistently reacted with E. sennetsu, a human pathogen, in indirect fluorescent-antibody (IFA) testing, while human E. sennetsu convalescent serum reacted with E. risticii by IFA testing and immunoferritin labeling of cells infected in vitro. Two ponies injected intravenously with live E. sennetsu did no develop clinical illness. Subsequent injection with live E. sennetsu did not develop clinical illness. Subsequent injection with live E. risticii also did not induce any disease, in contrast to two control ponies given E. risticii without prior exposure to E. sennetsu. Both controls developed fever, anorexia, depression, dehydration, and diarrhea, which are typical clinical signs of Potomac horse fever, and had characteristic lesions of enteritis and lymph node histiocytosis at postmortem examination. E. sennetsu-exposed ponies had normal gastrointestinal morphologies and lymph node hyperplasia. Ponies primed with E. sennetsu before E. risticii challenge developed high titers of immunoglobulin G antibody which reacted against both E. sennetsu and E. risticii antigens by IFA testing. The most prominent antigenic polypeptide in Western (immuno-) blot analysis of sera collected from ponies primed with E. sennetsu before subsequent challenge with E. risticii was present in lysates of both Ehrlichia species and had an apparent molecular mass of 44 kilodaltons. This band was not prominent in Western blots performed with sera of ponies injected with E. risticii alone. Thus, injection of E. sennetsu protects ponies from clinical and pathological manifestations of the disease induced by injection with E. risticii. Immunologic cross-reactivity of the two organisms with IFA testing and strong immunologic recognition by ponies of the 44-kilodalton antigen common to the two organisms may be related to the development of protective immunity against E. risticii.
Development of an Optical Brain-machine Interface

We have developed a brain-machine interface (BMI) by using a method based on near-infrared spectroscopy. We call our interface ldquoOptical-BMIrdquo. It functions as a practical, unrestrictive, non-invasive brain-switch without the need for large equipment. During an experiment with the prototype system, an operator manipulated external electrically controlled equipment while we measured the corresponding spatiotemporal changes in the hemoglobin concentration in the blood flowing through his or her pre-frontal cortex by using a probe cap with 22 measurement points.
Online Shopping Orientation and Purchase Behavior for High-Touch Products

The development of e-Commence means that many customers are familiar with this channel. While retailers have used the online channel to increase sales some items, such as socks, are less frequently purchased this way. In this study we examine the relationship between shopping orientation and online shopping behavior in the context of sock purchase. We sample 307 online shoppers. We examine whether shopping orientation affects the behavior to purchase socks online. Our analysis also considers whether the relationship between shopping orientation and purchase behavior differs according to sock types (i.e. general or specific). Recreation orientation positively, and price negatively relates to purchase behavior. Gender and sock types affect the relationship between consumer shopping orientation and purchase behavior. Males have a higher convenience orientation than females. Customers who purchase specific socks online are recreationally oriented and not concerned about price. The results indicate that when people experience more enjoyment shopping, they are more likely purchase socks online. Making online shopping interactive increases customersâ€™ recreational value and purchase behaviors. To cite this document: Nai-Hua Chen and Ya-Wen Hung, "Online shopping orientation and purchase behavior for high-touch products", International Journal of Electronic Commerce Studies, Vol.6, No.2,Â pp.187-202, 2015. Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi. org/10.7903/ijecs.1401 Â
Measuring Islamic Work Ethics and its Consequences on Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intention an Empirical Study at Public Sector of Pakistan

This study examined the impact of Islamic work ethics on organizational commitment and Turnover intention on public sector of Pakistan. The study used random sampling technique to collect data of 395 respondents from 36 institutions of public sector of Pakistan. The empirical testing indicates that Islamic work ethics has positive impact on organizational commitment and turnover intention of employees. Results also indicate strong negative relationship between organizational commitment and turnover intention. Implications, limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.
Identification, Characterization, and Intracellular Distribution of Cofilin in Dictyostelium discoideum(*)

We identified and purified an actin monomer-binding protein of apparent molecular weight of 15,000 from Dictyostelium discoideum. The 15-kDa protein depolymerized actin filaments in a pH-dependent manner. The protein also had an activity to decrease apparent viscosity of actin solutions in a dose-dependent manner. This activity was inhibited by phosphatidyl inositides. Molecular cloning of genes encoding this protein revealed that the protein is 42% identical in its primary sequence to yeast cofilin. We concluded that the 15-kDa protein is cofilin of this organism. D. discoideum cells contain two cofilin genes (DCOF1 and DCOF2) whose nucleotide sequences were entirely identical in their exsons while the promoter and intron regions were different. Promoter assay experiments revealed that D COF1 is expressed both in vegetative and differentiating cells and that D COF2 is not expressed under any conditions examined. Gene disruption experiments suggested that D COF1 might be essential for the proliferation of D. discoideum cells whereas the disruption of D COF2 was proven not to alter any phenotypes. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopic observations showed that cofilin is distributed diffusely throughout cytoplasm in vegetative cells. In flattened cells under starvation stress, cofilin localized at dramatically reorganizing actin-cytoskeletons in ruffling membranes of the leading edge, but not at rigid actin meshwork in focal adhesion plaques. These results suggest that cofilin may be involved in dynamic reorganization of membranous actin cytoskeletons.
Clustered breast microcalcifications: evaluation by dynamic contrast-enhanced subtraction MRI.

OBJECTIVE Our goal was to evaluate dynamic contrast-enhanced subtraction MRI in the diagnosis of isolated clustered calcifications of the breast. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred seventy-two patients underwent surgical biopsy for isolated clustered breast calcifications. Their mammograms showed round (n = 88) or linear/irregular (n = 84) microcalcifications. All patients had a preoperative Gd-DOTA-enhanced subtraction dynamic study. Any early contrast enhancement in the breast parenchyma concomitant with early enhancement of normal vessels was considered positive. RESULTS Fifty-eight in situ carcinomas, 22 invasive carcinomas, and 92 benign lesions were found at histological analysis. Dynamic MR sequences showed early contrast enhancement in 76 of 80 malignant lesions (sensitivity 95%) and in 45 of 92 benign lesions (specificity 51%). Two invasive and two intraductal carcinomas did not show early contrast enhancement. Three independent observers agreed in rating early contrast enhancement in 143 of 172 lesions. CONCLUSION Poor specificity limits the diagnostic accuracy of dynamic contrast-enhanced subtraction MRI in distinguishing benign from malignant microcalcifications on mammography.
Autoclave Sterilization of PEDOT:PSS Electrophysiology Devices

Autoclaving, the most widely available sterilization method, is applied to poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) electrophysiology devices. The process does not harm morphology or electrical properties, while it effectively kills E. coli intentionally cultured on the devices. This finding paves the way to widespread introduction of PEDOT:PSS electrophysiology devices to the clinic.
Assessing Health System Provision of Adolescent Preventive Services: The Young Adult Health Care Survey

Background.Adolescents often do not receive recommended preventive counseling and screening services. Few measures are available to assess health care system performance in this area. Objective.Develop a reliable, valid, and feasible method for measuring adherence to consensus guidelines for adolescent preventive counseling and screening services. Methods.The 45-item Young Adult Health Care Survey (YAHCS) was tested with a diverse group of commercially and publicly insured adolescents enrolled in managed care organizations (n = 4,060). Psychometric, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and patterns of variation in the preventive care measurement scales derived from the YAHCS. Results.YAHCS measurement scales demonstrated strong construct validity (mean factor loading = 0.64) and reliability (mean Cronbach’s alpha = 0.77). Average preventive counseling and screening scores ranged from 18.2% for discussing risky behavior topics to 50.4% for discussing diet, weight, and exercise topics. Adolescent demographic, health care use, and payer factors explained a small amount of variation across adolescent scores on YACHS scales (mean R2 = 0.086). Females and older teens were more likely to report private time with providers and counseling and screening on topics related to sex. Overall, the odds of receiving preventive counseling and screening for adolescents who reported having private time with providers, engaging in risky behaviors, or both were higher than for adolescents who did not meet privately or report risky behaviors (private visit OR, 3.60; 95% CI, 2.91–4.47; risky behaviors OR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.62–2.52). Conclusions.The YAHCS provides a feasible, reliable, and valid method for assessing adherence to adolescent preventive services guidelines. It differentiates among varied aspects of preventive care provided to adolescents and is promising as a potential measure of health plan and provider quality. Improved performance on the YAHCS would indicate progress toward the achievement of Healthy People 2010 goals.
Sensibility of the Breast After Reduction Mammaplasty

Changes in breast sensibility after reduction mammaplasty remain a controversial subject and most previous studies report only qualitative results. There is more accurate measuring of the sensibility of the skin with the Pressure-Specified Sensory Device (PSSD), which measures the pressure perception of the skin in grams per square millimeter. The evaluation of breast sensibility before and after reduction mammaplasty using the upper medial pedicle technique was undertaken in 25 patients. The PSSD was used to measure one dynamic point threshold in nine points of the breast during the preoperative period and 6 months after surgery. After surgery all patients had decreased sensation in all points studied, and this was significant. There are few reports of breast sensibility after mammaplasty using the PSSD, and the discrepancy in results reported using other methods of evaluation could be related to precision in evaluation.
Epileptic patients with de novo STXBP1 mutations: Key clinical features based on 24 cases

Mutations in the syntaxin binding protein 1 gene (STXBP1) have been associated mostly with early onset epileptic encephalopathies (EOEEs) and Ohtahara syndrome, with a mutation detection rate of approximately 10%, depending on the criteria of selection of patients. The aim of this study was to retrospectively describe clinical and electroencephalography (EEG) features associated with STXBP1‐related epilepsies to orient molecular screening.
Large‐scale impact of climate change vs. land‐use change on future biome shifts in Latin America

Climate change and land‐use change are two major drivers of biome shifts causing habitat and biodiversity loss. What is missing is a continental‐scale future projection of the estimated relative impacts of both drivers on biome shifts over the course of this century. Here, we provide such a projection for the biodiverse region of Latin America under four socio‐economic development scenarios. We find that across all scenarios 5–6% of the total area will undergo biome shifts that can be attributed to climate change until 2099. The relative impact of climate change on biome shifts may overtake land‐use change even under an optimistic climate scenario, if land‐use expansion is halted by the mid‐century. We suggest that constraining land‐use change and preserving the remaining natural vegetation early during this century creates opportunities to mitigate climate‐change impacts during the second half of this century. Our results may guide the evaluation of socio‐economic scenarios in terms of their potential for biome conservation under global change.
The use of quality of life measures in multiple sclerosis research

Q uality of life research contributes knowledge essential to the health and healthcare of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. This article reviews 83 MS studies in English that have presented data on quality of life. The studies may be classified into three categories, according to the application and the main focus: 1) evaluating the development and validity of quality of life questionnaires and clinical scales (n-27); 2) evaluating factors that might influence the quality of life or comparing the quality of life among various groups (n-37); and 3) using quality of life questionnaires as outcome measures in medical trials and other interventions (n-19). The studies have shown that quality of life questionnaires more broadly measure the impact of MS than do the most frequently used measures of disease activity and effects. Using quality of life measures provides additional information in evaluating the effects of treatment and in studying the development of the disease. Such information is crucial in planning interventions for MS patients. A challenge in this field is to improve the study designs, including reaching some agreement on how to measure the quality of life.
Periodic Solutions in the Generalized Sitnikov (N+1)-Body Problem

This paper studies a special restricted $(N+1)$-body problem which can be reduced to the Sitnikov problem with an appropriate positive parameter. According to the number of bodies we prove the existence (or nonexistence) of a finite (or infinite) number of symmetric families of periodic solutions. These solutions bifurcate from the equilibrium at the center of mass of the system.
Influence of B Ring Structure on Cell Cycle Inhibitory Activities of Flavonols in a Human Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma Cell Line (OE33)

The effects of three structurally related flavonols (kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin) on anti-proliferation and cell cycle arrest in human oesophageal adenocarcinoma OE33 cells were determined and compared by MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis. The results showed that three flavonols not only inhibited proliferation but also induced G 2 /M arrest in OE33 cells. Moreover, G 2 /M arrest-inducing activity of quercetin (with two hydroxyl groups in the B ring) was better than that of kaempferol (with one hydroxyl group in the B ring) and myricetin (with three hydroxyl groups in the B ring). It was further corroborated by comparing G 2 /M arrest-inducing activity of two flavones (apigenin and luteolin) whose B rings were same to kaempferol and quercetin, respectively. Additionally, the results of real-time RT-PCR and Western-blot analysis showed that the expressions of GADD45beta and 14-3-3sigma were upregulated but the expression of cyclin B1 was downregulated by flavonols at the mRNA and the protein levels. It is suggested that the influence of B ring structure on cell cycle inhibitory activities of flavonols might result from the regulatory expression of these genes at the mRNA and protein levels.