Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pricing and Prioritization in a Duopoly with Self-Selecting, Heterogeneous, Time-Sensitive Customers under Low Utilization

Time is often used as a differentiating factor in several service operations contexts by service providers (SPs) who prioritize their customers. We investigate the competition between two SPs involving a three-stage game. In the first stage, the SPs decide whether single service, in which customers are not prioritized, or differentiated service, with two service classes, should be offered. In the second stage, they set their prices. In the third stage, customers self-select and decide which option they should purchase. There are two types of time-sensitive customers, impatient and patient, with different delay sensitivities. We use a novel approach to model customers' self-selection through an optimization problem with appropriate individual rationality (IR) and incentive compatibility (IC) conditions. We analyze the following three kinds of service delivery by the SPs, and we characterize different types of equilibrium associated with them: (i) SS in which both SPs provide single service, (ii) SD in which one SP provides single service and the other SP provides differentiated service, and (iii) DD in which both of them provide differentiated service. We then use these results to obtain the overall equilibrium under different numerical examples. We find that whether this equilibrium is SS, SD, or DD depends on key parameters such as customer heterogeneity, mix of impatient/patient customers, and how much customers value the service.
Reverse logistics in the electronic industry of China: a case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on research undertaken to investigate whether current reverse logistics theories and models can be totally applied in developing countries like China using the electronic industry as a case study.Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach was adopted with information collected from company web sites, direct observation, and in‐depth interviews with four major consumer electronic product manufacturers in China. Findings were analyzed and compared across all the cases studied to determine the common external and internal drivers for reverse logistics implementation as well as the obstacles faced by the whole electronic industry. A comparison with the literature was made to identify the gaps between current theories and models and actual practices in China.Findings – The findings suggest that while reverse logistics drivers vary from company to company, barriers to reverse logistics are common and are mainly external. The major difficulty in implement.
UK National Audit of Early Syphilis Management. Clinics audit: screening for and management of early syphilis

Data were provided by 131 clinics, and 56% of cases were managed in clinics in the London regions in 2003. Three clinics (2%) do not routinely screen new patients for syphilis, and 28 clinics (21%) do not routinely screen 'rebook' patients who have had a new partner. More than 80% of clinics routinely conduct cardiovascular and neurological examinations, although chest radiography is only performed by 50% of clinics and lumbar puncture by 13%. Only 19 (14%) clinics indicated not routinely using the recommended procaine penicillin G (PPG) regimen or one- or two-dose benzathine penicillin G (BPG) regimens for early syphilis, with 57% providing two doses of BPG 2.4 g, 40% providing PPG 750 mg for 10 days, and 15% providing one dose of BPG 2.4 g. Only seven clinics (5%) indicated that they provided treatment for early syphilis with PPG that is inferior to that recommended in the national guidelines. Only 18 clinics specified using the recommended dose and duration (or in excess of this) of PPG for neurosyphilis for cases with HIV infection. Provision for management of severe penicillin reaction is good, although few patients are desensitized. All clinics report that contact tracing for early syphilis is provided, and is mainly the responsibility of health advisers. Compared with auditing outcomes, audit of management policies overestimated performance in contact tracing and provision of dark ground microscopy.
Toll‐like receptor ligands as adjuvants in allergen‐specific immunotherapy

Background Allergen‐specific immunotherapy (SIT) leads to long‐term amelioration of T‐helper type 2 (Th2)‐mediated allergic symptoms and is therefore recommended as a first line therapy for allergies. The major disadvantage of SIT is its low efficiency, requiring treatment over years.
Baseline sensorimotor GABA levels shape neuroplastic processes induced by motor learning in older adults

Abstract Previous research in young adults has demonstrated that both motor learning and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) trigger decreases in the levels of gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the sensorimotor cortex, and these decreases are linked to greater learning. Less is known about the role of GABA in motor learning in healthy older adults, a knowledge gap that is surprising given the established aging‐related reductions in sensorimotor GABA. Here, we examined the effects of motor learning and subsequent tDCS on sensorimotor GABA levels and resting‐state functional connectivity in the brains of healthy older participants. Thirty‐six older men and women completed a motor sequence learning task before receiving anodal or sham tDCS to the sensorimotor cortex. GABA‐edited magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the sensorimotor cortex and resting‐state (RS) functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired before and after learning/stimulation. At the group level, neither learning nor anodal tDCS significantly modulated GABA levels or RS connectivity among task‐relevant regions. However, changes in GABA levels from the baseline to post‐learning session were significantly related to motor learning magnitude, age, and baseline GABA. Moreover, the change in functional connectivity between task‐relevant regions, including bilateral motor cortices, was correlated with baseline GABA levels. These data collectively indicate that motor learning‐related decreases in sensorimotor GABA levels and increases in functional connectivity are limited to those older adults with higher baseline GABA levels and who learn the most. Post‐learning tDCS exerted no influence on GABA levels, functional connectivity or the relationships among these variables in older adults.
Direct Iterative Protein Profiling (DIPP) - an Innovative Method for Large-scale Protein Detection Applied to Budding Yeast Mitosis*

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a major model organism for important biological processes such as mitotic growth and meiotic development, it can be a human pathogen, and it is widely used in the food-, and biotechnology industries. Consequently, the genomes of numerous strains have been sequenced and a very large amount of RNA profiling data is available. Moreover, it has recently become possible to quantitatively analyze the entire yeast proteome; however, efficient and cost-effective high-throughput protein profiling remains a challenge. We report here a new approach to direct and label-free large-scale yeast protein identification using a tandem buffer system for protein extraction, two-step protein prefractionation and enzymatic digestion, and detection of peptides by iterative mass spectrometry. Our profiling study of diploid cells undergoing rapid mitotic growth identified 86% of the known proteins and its output was found to be widely concordant with genome-wide mRNA concentrations and DNA variations between yeast strains. This paves the way for comprehensive and straightforward yeast proteome profiling across a wide variety of experimental conditions.
Comparison between coelioscopy and coeliotomy for liver biopsy in channel catfish.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate endoscopic liver biopsy and compare that technique with a standard coeliotomy biopsy technique in fish. DESIGN Randomized controlled clinical trial. ANIMALS 30 channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). PROCEDURES 10 fish were randomly assigned into control, coeliotomy, and coelioscopy groups. Anesthesia was performed with a recirculating anesthesia machine. Body weight, PCV, and total protein (TP) concentration in blood as well as plasma activities of aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and sorbitol dehydrogenase were measured before and after surgery. Standard ventral coeliotomy or coelioscopy was performed, and the biopsy specimens were scored histologically. RESULTS Coeliotomy and coelioscopy procedures were well tolerated without acute deaths. Blood TP concentration and PCV decreased after surgery in the coelioscopy group because of intracoelomic fluid administration to aid visualization. Minor changes in activities for hepatic and muscular enzyme activities were apparent, but were not significantly different between the coelioscopy and coeliotomy groups. Coelioscopy and coeliotomy yielded biopsy specimens of similar diagnostic quality. However, coelioscopy permitted a more extensive evaluation of the viscera, and all 10 surgical wounds healed completely, compared with severe wound dehiscence in 3 of 10 fish that underwent coeliotomy. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Both coelioscopy and coeliotomy were capable of yielding antemortem liver biopsy specimens of diagnostic quality in catfish. Coelioscopy permitted a more detailed examination of the coelomic viscera through a smaller surgical incision, was less traumatic, and resulted in decreased wound dehiscence.
Dissociation of Genetic and Hormonal Influences on Sex Differences in Alcoholism-Related Behaviors

Differences between men and women in alcohol abuse prevalence have long been attributed to social and hormonal factors. It is, however, becoming apparent that sex differences in substance dependence are also influenced by genetic factors. Using a four core genotype mouse model that enables dissociation of chromosomal and gonadal sex, we show that habitual responding for alcohol reinforcement is mediated by sex chromosome complement independent of gonadal phenotype. After moderate instrumental training, chromosomal male (XY) mice became insensitive to outcome devaluation, indicating habitual responding. Chromosomal female (XX) mice remained sensitive to outcome devaluation, signifying goal-directed behavior. There was no effect of gonadal phenotype on habitual responding. Conversely, alcohol drinking was predicted by gonadal phenotype independent of sex chromosome complement. These results indicate that different alcoholism-related behaviors are determined independently by gonadal and chromosomal sex.
Adaptive Critic-Based Event-Triggered Control for HVAC System

The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system is an important component for achieving desired thermal condition in rooms or spaces in buildings, office complex, or airports. This paper proposes a real-time event-triggered adaptive critic controller for generating near optimal control actions to achieve desired temperatures. The desired temperatures may have variable or fixed values over time. The real-time controller is designed in two phases. Initially event-triggered control actions are generated by linear quadratic regulator for small period while the actor-critic network of controller is trained. Later, adaptive critic controller takes over for event-based actions. Hence, the event triggering conditions for both general linear and nonlinear discrete time systems using Lyapunov stability analysis are derived in this paper. The event-based actor-critic network weight update formulation and ultimate boundedness of parameters are also presented in this paper. The proposed approach has been validated for different and common temperature sets for four zones, where the control execution events are minimized to 20<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\%$</tex-math></inline-formula> and 26<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\%$</tex-math></inline-formula>, respectively.
The effects of Spatial and Temporal dispersion on Virtual Teams' Performance

It is been more than 20 years since organizations started relying on virtual teams which are geographically separated. Previous research has outlined several dimensions of the separation; however the consequences of different dimensions of separation and their impact was still unclear due to the challenges of conducting empirical research. In this study, we employ simulation approach and systematically assess the performance of virtual information systems development (ISD) teams under different spatial and temporal settings. Our framework gives us the way to analyze the impact of spatial and temporal dispersion and their components. Our results provide the theoretical and practical insights into management of virtual ISD teams.
LATERAL SUPRAORBITAL APPROACH APPLIED TO OLFACTORY GROOVE MENINGIOMAS: EXPERIENCE WITH 66 CONSECUTIVE PATIENTS

OBJECTIVEThe lateral supraorbital approach for safely and completely removing olfactory groove meningiomas was assessed. METHODSBetween September 1997 and June 2008, a total of 656 meningiomas were operated on by the senior author (JH) at the Department of Neurosurgery, Helsinki University Central Hospital; 66 were olfactory meningiomas. We retrospectively analyze the clinical data, radiological findings, surgical treatment, histology, and outcome of all the olfactory groove meningioma patients and discuss the operative techniques used. RESULTSSixty-six patients were operated on by the lateral supraorbital approach. The median preoperative Karnofsky Performance Scale score was 80 (range, 40–100). Three patients were redo cases in which the primary operation had been performed elsewhere. Seemingly complete tumor removal was achieved in 60 patients (91%); there was no surgical mortality. Postoperatively, 6 patients (9%) had cerebrospinal fluid leakage, 5 (8%) had new visual deficits, 4 (6%) had wound infections, 4 (6%) had cotton granulomas, and 1 (2%) had a postoperative hematoma. The median Karnofsky score at discharge was 80 (range, 40–100). Six patients had recurrent tumors; 3 underwent reoperations after an average of 21 months (range, 1–41 months); 1 was treated with radiosurgery, and 2 were only followed. During the median follow-up time of 45 months (range, 2–128 months), there were 4 recurrences (6%) diagnosed on average 32 months (range, 17–59 months) after surgery. CONCLUSIONThe lateral supraorbital approach can be used safely for olfactory groove meningiomas of all sizes with no mortality and relatively low morbidity. Surgical results and tumor recurrence with this fast and simple approach are similar to those obtained with more extensive, complex, and time-consuming approaches.
H 2 state feedback controller design for continuous Markov jump linear systems with partly known information

This article addresses the H 2 control problem for continuous Markov jump linear systems with partly known information. The considered partly known transition probabilities cover the cases where the transition probabilities are exactly known, unknown and unknown but with known bounds. By decoupling the unknown transition probabilities from the Lyapunov matrices, new sufficient conditions for the H 2 performance analysis of the considered systems are derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Based on the result, an LMI-based method for designing H 2 controllers is given. Two numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Atrial Fibrillation: A Call for Increased Awareness and Effective Management

Many studies have noted a correlation between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and atrial fibrillation (AF). Although there is a need for large randomized control trials, the present data are quite convincing and can be used to improve current treatment procedures. Reviews, randomized control trials, and meta-analyses were obtained using electronic search strategies such as Medline and Cochrane Library. References of electronically obtained studies were then used to conduct hand searches for additional relevant studies. Sources were deemed relevant if they discussed the relationship between AF and OSA in respect to incidence, mechanism, recurrence, or treatment. Selected sources were then stratified on the basis of quality. Correlations between OSA and AF are present, and OSA seems to lend itself to the development, progression, and post-ablation recurrence of AF. Treatment of OSA before ablation can help reduce AF recurrence, allowing for more efficient treatment of AF. It is thus important for physicians to monitor AF patients for OSA and monitor those with OSA for AF.
Efficient Training of Kalman Algorithm for MIMO Channel Tracking

In this paper, a Kalman algorithm is applied to track a time-varying flat fading MIMO channel. The importance of training and appropriate initialization in combination with the Kalman tracking algorithm is shown. Adopting a periodical training scheme with a given bandwidth efficiency, a trade-off between investing pilots for good initialization and training the algorithm exclusively leads to the lowest BER. We also introduce a training on request scheme, in order to overcome the error propagation encountered by the Kalman filter after a series of detection errors. For this purpose, two metrics to detect the Kalman filter divergence are developed.We show the effectiveness of the new aperiodical training scheme in reducing the channel estimation error and saving bandwidth at the same time.
Strain hardening in 2 D discrete dislocation dynamics simulations : a new ‘ 2 . 5 D ’ algorithm

The two-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics (2D DD) method, consisting of parallel straight edge dislocations gliding on independent slip systems in a plane strain model of a crystal, is often used to study complicated boundary value problems in crystal plasticity. However, the absence of truly three dimensional mechanisms such as junction formation means that forest hardening cannot be modeled, unless additional so-called ‘2.5D’ constitutive rules are prescribed for short-range dislocation interactions. Here, results from three dimensional dislocation dynamics (3D DD) simulations in an FCC material are used to define new constitutive rules for short-range interactions and junction formation between dislocations on intersecting slip systems in 2D. The mutual strengthening effect of junctions on preexisting obstacles, such as precipitates or grain boundaries, is also accounted for in the model. The new ‘2.5D’ DD model, with no arbitrary adjustable parameters beyond those obtained from lower scale simulation methods, is shown to predict athermal hardening rates, differences in flow behavior for single and multiple slip, and latent hardening ratios. All these phenomena are well-established in the plasticity of crystals and quantitative results predicted by the model are in good agreement with experimental observations.
HOW SAFE IS ANESTHESIA FOR DOGS AND CATS ?

Introduction “What are the risks of anesthesia in dogs and cats today? ” – This was a question that until recently we did not have an accurate answer to. The data generated by the Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Small Animal Fatalities (CEPSAF), a prospective cohort study conducted in the United Kingdom is the most comprehensive information we have available. This study collected data from veterinary practices, including referral centers and universities and recorded patient outcome (alive, dead or euthanized) after pre-medication and within 48 hours of the end of the procedure and calculated species specific (cat, dog, rabbit and “other small animals”) risks of anesthetic related death. Anesthesia or sedation related death was defined as “death where surgical or pre-existing medical causes did not solely cause death”. This study has generated risk factors for the different species and paves the way for improving anesthetic management in small animals .
Value Creation and Value Capture under Moral Hazard: Exploring the Micro-Foundations of Buyer-Supplier Relationships

type="main" xml:id="smj2271-abs-0001"> We combine the formalism of a principal–agent framework with a value-based analysis in order to investigate the micro-foundations of business partner selection and the division of value in contracting relationships. In particular, we study how the key contracting parameters such as efficiency, transactional integrity, incentive alignment, and gaming affect outcomes when buyers face competing suppliers. We show that integrity and efficiency increase value creation and capture for all parties and are complements. While incentive gaming is unambiguously bad for value creation, and reduces buyers' value capture, it can benefit some suppliers. For alignment, we find that neither party has an incentive to use fully aligned performance measures that maximize total value creation. We conclude by analyzing buyers' and suppliers' incentives to invest in integrity. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Developing an Instrument to Measure Customer Service Quality in Branch Banking

A 17‐item scale emerges following the study to develop an instrument for measuring customer service quality at trading bank branches, with a focus on retail banking. The conceptual framework addresses the psychometric shortcomings of the existing work in service quality research. A robust research design takes the study through multiple stages of development where the construct is pretested and piloted; in the main survey stage, data collection methods are triangulated, returning 791 completed questionnaires. Analysis of instrument reliability, dimensionality and validity present gratifying results; for example, scale alpha is recorded at 0.9249. The instrument can be applied as part of branch performance measurement, as well as help diagnose problems in delivery of service, and segment the bank′s customer base for healthier decision making in marketing.
CARBON PRICING IN DYNAMIC REGULATION AND CHANGING ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT - AGENT BASED MODEL

Like many industries, the financial services sector increasingly confronts a market environment in which both consumers and regulators are anxious to see organizations develop green products and services that hold the promise of mitigating environmental degradation and encouraging sustainable use of resources. Industry players must therefore be adept at reading demand signals from each of the primary financial services sectors (retail banking, corporate and investment banking, asset management, and insurance) while also keeping a sharp eye on evolving changes in these highly regulated businesses driven by proactive government policies (Porter and Kramer, 2006). Weather derivatives, energy trading and natural resource exploration are only few of the sustainability topics vital for the economic future of our province (Alberta), and the entire world. Our paper presents an overview of complex adaptive systems and the basics of building a model of CAS. We consider CAS to be well suited to the modeling of market behavior because it is robust to micro-level behavioral influences and allows the inclusion of heterogeneous agents. CAS also offers the possibility of capturing the dynamics of agents experience through features such as learning and memory. We present an agent-based model for pricing carbon emissions and results of simulations based on Alberta's current data of demand, supply, and regulation of carbon emissions. Pricing carbon drives innovation in technologies that improve efficiency, reduce pollution and recognize the social cost of business. We analyze the results of simulations in a dynamic framework of changing parameters and input variables. Keywords: Agent Based Modeling, Carbon Market, Alberta Carbon Trading Scheme, Swarm software