Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding the impact of Service Recovery and Switching Costs on the Customer Loyalty in Indian retail banks

Customer retention has become a critical issue for Indian bank managers in recent years due to liberalized economy, amplified competition and decreasing switching costs. Correspondingly, complaints against banks have noticeably increased. Therefore, the main purpose of this academic research is to explore and investigate the factors influencing Customer Loyalty in Indian Retail banks after Service Failure and Recovery efforts. Based on Adams’s Justice theory and typologies of Switching Costs, a conceptual model was developed encompassing constructs of Perceived Justice, Switching Costs and Customer Loyalty. For data collection, an online questionnaire envisaging five - point Likert scale was deployed by the researcher to inquire Indian customers about their Service Recovery experience. Thereafter, responses were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique in SPSS AMOS software. Subsequently, the results indicated that there was logical and empirical support for the argument that, all three factors (viz. Dimensions of Perceived Justice, Service Recovery Satisfaction and Switching Costs) affects Customer Loyalty. Judging from the findings, Distributive Justice (DJ) was found to be having strongest relationship with Service Recovery Satisfaction compared to the other two dimensions. On the other hand, considering the types of Switching Costs, Relational Switching Costs (RSC) was found to be most effective in preventing customer defection to other banks. However, perhaps the most noteworthy contribution of this research was the revelation that, Switching Costs helps more in retaining customers than Service Recovery Satisfaction. Thus, bank managers can prevent customer defection not only offering by fast and fair compensation, but also by increasing Relational Switching Costs. Inarguably, this is amongst the few investigations, which simultaneously examined the impact of all three types of Switching Costs on Customer Loyalty in Indian banks. Similarly, the study exhibits novelty as it proposed and tested new conceptual model.
Complete mitochondrial genome of the crinoid echinoderm, Florometra species (Echinodermata, Crinoidea)

Abstract In this study, we report the sequence of the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the crinoid echinoderm, Florometra species (Echinodermata, Crinoidea). The complete mitogenome of Florometra sp. was 15,792 base pairs long and was composed of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and three regions of unassigned sequence (UAS) including one putative control region. Unique nucleotide composition, a clear positive bias for T with an apparent loss of C in PCGs as observed in the Crinoidea mitogenomes, was also seen in the Florometra sp. mitogenome (45% T, 12% C). Phylogenetic analysis with the concatenated nucleotide sequences of entire PCGs of echinoderms confirmed that Florometra sp. is highly related to F. serratissima within the family Crinoidea.
Meniere’s Disease: Nonsurgical Treatment

Meniere ’ s disease or syndrome is one of the most common inner ear diseases. Meniere ’ s disease is characterized by episodic vertigo, sensorineural hearing loss that fluctuates during episodes, tinnitus, and ear fullness. Ideal treatment should stop vertigo attacks, restore hearing, get rid of tinnitus and ear fullness. Treatment options are decided upon the remaining hearing, severity, and intensity of vertigo attacks. Meniere ’ s disease is progressive on hearing levels of the patient; some of them develop profound hearing loss that also could affect the other ear. In order to plan a treatment scheme for patient, these conditions should be assessed. It has a destructive and progressive nature, so the first step of treatment should contain more conservative treatment options. If symptom control could not be obtained, destructive treatment options should be considered. evoked myogenic potentials show altered tuning in patients with Ménière ’ s disease.
From normal right ventricle to pathology : shape and function analysis with different loading conditions using imaging and modelling

The aim of this thesis is to study the right ventricle (RV) in different loading conditions using imaging and modelling. The first axis of this work was a prospective study in which we studied RV deformation in healthy controls and pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients (pressure overload) using 3D transthoracic RV echocardiographic sequences. Output RV meshes; obtained after myocardial tracking; were post-processed to extract area strain and spatiotemporal correspondences were checked before computing statistics on these meshes. RV shape and strain patterns were gradually deteriorated with the severity of PH and provided independent prognostic information. The second axis of this work focused on the role of a longitudinal evaluation in comparison with a single assessment at baseline, using the same methodology. We demonstrated the additional prognostic value of changes in RV area strain and the importance of septal segments. In the third axis, we assessed the complementary aspects of RV deformation and shape (using curvature index) in RV volume overload patients. While shape and strain are both altered in tetralogy of Fallot patients, only RV shape allows to differentiate atrial septal defects from normal controls. Finally, in the last axis, we focused on the added value of the personalisation of a 0D circulation model to characterize the pathology and predict the response to therapy in pulmonary arterial hypertension. The model was personalised to 11 PH patient data before and after advanced specific PH therapy. The model parameters reflected accurately the expected changes with therapy.
Propagated Preferences? Political Elite Discourses and Europeans’ Openness toward Muslim Immigrants

Immigration is among the most vividly discussed topics in Europe’s national parliaments in recent years, often with a particular emphasis on the inflow of Muslims. This article examines the link between articulations of national political parties (political elite discourses) and natives’ attitudes toward immigrants in Europe. It provides a nuanced view of this relationship by (i) distinguishing more (inclusionary) from less (exclusionary) immigration-friendly political elites and (ii) isolating natives’ openness toward two specific groups: Muslim immigrants and ethnically similar immigrants. Combining the European Social Survey with party manifesto data and other sources, the analysis reveals that political elite discourses perform better in explaining natives’ attitudes compared to national demographic or economic aspects. Native Europeans’ attitudes toward Muslim immigrants are more hostile in countries where political elites are more exclusionary and more welcoming where political elites are more inclusionary. In contrast, Europeans’ views on ethnically similar immigrants seem largely unaffected by exclusionary political elites. These findings suggest that political elites can play an important role in fostering or impeding immigrant integration by shaping public opinion, particularly toward more marginalized immigrant groups.
In vitro evaluation of antioxidant, antineurodegenerative and antidiabetic activities of Ocimum basilicum L., Laurus nobilis L. leaves and Citrus reticulata Blanco peel extracts

Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil) and Laurus nobilis (bay leaves or laurel) have been used in traditional medicine for centuries, and also extensively employed as spices for adding aroma and flavor to various food products. Citrus reticulata (mandarin) is mainly used in food industry for juice production, while its peel as main byproduct contains high concentration of valuable substances. The samples were collected in Lastva Grbaljska (Montenegrin coast) and purchased from the market. Since the oxidative stress results in development of numerous diseases, among them neurodegeneration and diabetes, the antioxidant activity, antineurodegenerative and antidiabetic activities were analyzed, aiming to compare potential of plants cultivated under natural conditions and commercially purchased from the market, as well as to compare the effect of different solvents applied in the extraction process. Water, methanol and acetone extracts of leaves and peel were tested by DPPH and total reducing power (TRP) methods for determination of antioxidant activity, and by acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and α-glucosidase inhibition assays for analyzing the other activities. Total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid (TFC) contents were also determined. The acetonic extract of L. nobilis from Lastva showed the highest TPC, DPPH, TRP, and α-glucosidase inhibition, while water extract of commercial L. nobilis exhibited the highest AChE inhibition. The leaves of L. nobilis are demonstrated to be promising antioxidant, antineurodegenerative and antidiabetic agent.
Percutaneous Pinning in Gartland Type-II and III Supracondylar Fractures -

Objective: To explore the safety and effectiveness of the percutaneous pinning technique in the management of Gartland type-II and III supracondylar humerus fractures. Methods: This study was carried out during January 2012 to March 2013. 30 children with age range 5-12 years with supracondylar fracture (Gartland type II & III) were included while others were excluded. Closed reduction and percutaneous pinning were performed after taking informed consent. Outcomes were recorded according to Flynn’s criteria, that is loss of elbow motion & carrying angle. Results: There were 21 (70%) males and 9 (30%) females in the current study. 18 (60%) patients were having right side affected while 12 (40%) had left side. The mean age of study subjects was 8.07+ 2.033 years. The distribution of Gartland Type-III and II fractures was 19 (63.33%) and 11 (36.66%) respectively. Hospital stay time was 6-28 hours with most of the patients discharged on the same postoperative day. Removal of Posterior slab and pin was carried out after 2-4 weeks and 3-4 weeks respectively. Flynn’s criteria showed 20 (66.66%), 8 (26.66%), 2 (6.66%) excellent, good and fair results respectively. Similarly Flynn’s criteria for assessing loss of range of motion, 17 (56.66%), 9 (30%), 4 (13.33%) patients had excellent, good and fair outcomes respectively. No neurovascular injury was observed during operation as well as postoperatively. Conclusion: Percutaneous pinning is an effective and safe technique in Gartland Type-II & III Supracondylar fractures in children.
The Carabattola—Vibroacoustical Analysis and Intensity of Acoustic Radiation (IAR)

Among the studies of musical instruments, one important, sometime underestimated discipline, is represented by ethnomusicology. The acoustic analyses on ethnic musical instruments (M.I.) are much more infrequent if compared to those on classical M.I. This article deals with the vibro-acoustic analysis on one of the most unknown ethnic, Italian M.I. , i.e., the carabattola (also called battola), which used to be played in Italy until the late 1960s during the Holy Thursday before Easter. The study includes modal analysis and Intensity of Acoustic Radiation measured on an original carabattola, which was played in the Romagna area until the early twentieth century. After a brief overview about the theory of acoustic and vibrational analysis on musical instruments, the Intensity of acoustic radiation and its correlation with modal analysis are recalled, based on previous studies. In the experimental part of the article, the measurements conducted on the carabattola are described. Afterwards, the results obtained both from modal analysis and IAR measurements are analyzed and compared with other measurements previously conducted on musical (particularly percussion) instruments and commented.
CO-EXISTENCE OF HIGH LEVELS OF UNDERNUTRITION AND HYPERTENSION AMONG SABAR MALES OF PURULIA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA: A PARADOX

Background: Undernutrition, particularly Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED), among tribal males is a major health problem in India. In the recent years, prevalence of Hypertension (HT) is increasing among them. Our cross sectional study assessed the nutritional status as well as prevalence of HT and compare the association of different anthropometric and blood pressure (BP) variables with age among Sabar adult males of Purulia District, West Bengal, India. Research Methods: Measurements of height, weight, hip and waist circumferences, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and pulse rate of 215 adults aged 18-63 years were taken following standard procedure and calibrated machines. Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR), Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR), Conicity Index (CI) and Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) were calculated. The ANOVA and Chi Square tests and correlation analysis were performed to test for significant differences and association between variables. Statistical significant was set at 0.05. Results: The coexistence of high prevalence of undernutrition based on BMI (CED = 47.0%) and HT (37.7%) among adult male Sabars was observed. Conclusion: Paradoxically, there existed a high prevalence of CED and HT among Sabar men. Further research is required to fully understand the mechanism behind this paradox. Apparently, this population seems to suffer from a double burden of high CED and HT. Similar studies should also be undertaken among other tribal populations (both men and women) to determine whether such a paradox exists among them.
Valsartan Attenuates Cardiotoxicity in Breast Cancer Patients A fter Chemotherapy

Objective: To determine whether valsartan would be useful in attenuating Adriamycin/Cyclophosphamide/ Herceptin (ACH)-induced cardiotoxicity and to assess the role of biomarkers as indicators of cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer undergoing cancer therapy.Background: Valsartan is indicated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization in patients with chronic heart disease. The administration of cancer drugs, in particular (ACH) is associated with increased risk of cardiotoxicity. The use of herceptin improves survival of women with early-stage positive human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) breast cancer but also adds substantially to cost, toxicity, and inconvenience. Little is known about the potential role of valsartan in the prevention of ACH-mediated cardiotoxicity and the predictive role of biomarkers.Method: A total of 60 untreated HER-2 positive breast cancer patients (ages 24 –70 yr, mean 56 yr) were enrolled in this study and were divided to two groups. Group 1 and 2 had 30 patients each, and group 1 received ACH plus valsartan, group 2 received ACH alone. HER2- positive patients were recruited at the Cancer Therapy Center in Najaf, Iraq. Ejection fraction % (EF%), cardiac Troponin I (cTnI) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were measured at baseline and at six months after ACH administration.Results: Chemotherapy induced significant transient increase in EF%, cTnI, and hsCRP compared to baseline values (P < 0.001). Within one week after valsartan treatment, all these increases returned back to nearly normal levels. Notably, valsartan administration caused a significant decrease in cTnI and hsCRP values compared to baseline (P < 0.001) and it improved EF% value.Conclusion: This study demonstrated that prophylactic administration of valsartan resulted in the partial attenuation of cardiotoxicity caused by chemotherapy which was characterized by the improvement of EF% and in lowering serum level of cTnI and hsCRP.
Molecular genetic determinants of pre-eclampsia

Background: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is still one of the most severe complications of pregnancy. Molecular genetic factors are involved in the formation of PE. The aim of the study: To study the involvement of rs3798577, rs2234693 and rs9340799 polymorphisms of the ESR1 gene in the development of preeclampsia. Materials and methods: The studied group consisted of 190 pregnant women with PE and 324 women with physiological pregnancy (control group). The clinical study and clinical laboratory examination of pregnant women were carried out at the time of delivery in the Perinatal Center of the St. Joasaph Regional Clinical Hospital, Belgorod. The polymorphic loci rs3798577, rs2234693 and rs9340799 of the ESR1 gene were geno-typed using the polymerase chain reaction of DNA synthesis using the corresponding primers and probes labeled with fluorochromes. The study of associations of the studied genetic markers and their epistatic interactions with the development of PE was carried out by the method of logistic regression in the program PLINK V. 2.050. Results: The interaction of polymorphic variants of rs9340799 x rs3798577 of the ESR1 gene is protective for the development of preeclampsia (OR = 0.56, p = 0.004, pbonf = 0.012). These polymorphic loci and strongly coupled (r2>0.8) with rs9340799 six SNPs have significant regulatory effects: they are in the region of more than 20 regulatory DNA motifs to transcription factors Foxa, Foxd1, Foxf2, Foxj1, Foxk, Foxo, HDAC2, Sox, TCF12, p300, etc., localized in DNA loci interact­ ing with regulatory proteins (NRSF, SIN3AK20, TCF12), are located in the region of modified histones marking enhancers and promoters, the region of hypersensitivity to DNase 1 in more than 30 different cell cultures, tissues and organs pathogenetically significant for the development of PE. Conclusion: Epistatic interaction of polymor­ phic loci rs9340799 x rs3798577 of ESR1 gene is associated with the development of PE.
Thermal Analysis, Compressibility, and Decomposition of Synthetic Bastnäsite-(La) to Lanthanum Oxyfluoride

Understanding basic material properties of rare earth element (REE) bearing minerals such as their phase stability and equations of state can assist in understanding how economically viable deposits might form. Bastnäsite is the most commonly mined REE bearing mineral. We synthesized the lanthanum-fluoride end member, bastnäsite-(La) (LaCO3F), and investigated its thermal behavior and decomposition products from 298 K to 1173 K under ambient pressure conditions through thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, evolved gas analysis, and high temperature powder X-ray diffraction. We also investigated the compressibility of bastnäsite-(La) via single crystal X-ray diffraction in diamond anvil cells at an ambient temperature up to 11.3 GPa and from 4.9 GPa to 7.7 GPa up to 673 K. At ambient pressure, bastnäsite-(La) was stable up to 598 K in air, where it decomposed into CO2 and tetragonal γ-LaOF. Above 948 K, cubic α-LaOF is stable. High temperature X-ray diffraction data were used to fit the Fei thermal equation of state and the thermal expansion coefficient α298 for all three materials. Bastnäsite-(La) was fit from 298 K to 723 K with V0 = 439.82 Å3, α298 = 4.32 × 10−5 K−1, a0 = −1.68 × 10−5 K−1, a1 = 8.34 × 10−8 K−1, and a2 = 3.126 K−1. Tetragonal γ-LaOF was fit from 723 K to 948 K with V0 = 96.51 Å3, α298 = 2.95×10−4 K−1, a0 = −2.41×10−5 K−1, a1 = 2.42×10−7 K−1, and a2 = 41.147 K−1. Cubic α-LaOF was fit from 973 K to 1123 K with V0 = 190.71 Å3, α298 = −1.12×10−5 K−1, a0 = 2.36×10−4 K−1, a1 = −1.73 × 10−7 K−1, and a2 = −17.362 K−1. An ambient temperature third order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state was fit with V0 = 439.82 Å3, K0 = 105 GPa, and K’ = 5.58.
SCAFFOLD: Stochastic Controlled Averaging for Federated Learning

Federated Averaging (FedAvg) has emerged as the algorithm of choice for federated learning due to its simplicity and low communication cost. However, in spite of recent research efforts, its performance is not fully understood. We obtain tight convergence rates for FedAvg and prove that it suffers from `client-drift' when the data is heterogeneous (non-iid), resulting in unstable and slow convergence. As a solution, we propose a new algorithm (SCAFFOLD) which uses control variates (variance reduction) to correct for the `client-drift' in its local updates. We prove that SCAFFOLD requires significantly fewer communication rounds and is not affected by data heterogeneity or client sampling. Further, we show that (for quadratics) SCAFFOLD can take advantage of similarity in the client's data yielding even faster convergence. The latter is the first result to quantify the usefulness of local-steps in distributed optimization.
Influence of annealing temperature of α- Fe2O3 nanoparticles on Structure and Optical Properties.

Abstract This work has been focused on the synthesis of the raw materials iron oxide nanoparticles; hematite (α-Fe2O3) from Iron (II) chloride tetra hydrate (FeCl2-4H2O) and iron (III) chloride hexahydrate (FeCl3-6H2O) using Solid State Chemical Reaction technique. Nanostructure powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and UV-visible spectroscopy. XRD confirmed the formation of crystalline α-Fe2O3 nanostructured and its average crystallite size increased from ~ 12 to 28 nm with increasing annealing temperature from 200˚C up to 800℃ while SEM confirmed the morphology and the purity of the sample was evaluated from the energy dispersive spectrum (EDS). Moreover, strain decreased with increasing annealing temperature. UV-visible characterization indicated the existence of both direct and indirect band gap in the samples. All the annealed samples showed the direct band gap at ~ 2.21 eV. However, the indirect band gap increased from 1.6 to 1.94 eV when the annealing temperature increased from 200 up to 700℃ and remained almost the same for sample annealed at 800℃. The observed values of optical band gaps were in close agreement with the reported values. Our results indicated that the annealing would give rise to a good crystalline α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with reduced strain
Adaptive Calibration of Soft Sensors Using Optimal Transportation Transfer Learning for Mass Production and Long‐Term Usage

Soft sensors suffer from high manufacturing tolerances and signal drift from long‐term usage, which degrades their practicality. Although deep learning has recently been proposed to address these issues, it is expensive in terms of data collection and processing. Therefore, an adaptive calibration method is proposed for soft sensors, suitable for mass production and long‐term usage. In addition to maintaining the original benefits of deep learning characterization, this method enables fast and accurate calibration by capturing the change in the characteristics of the sensor through domain adaptation, using optimal transportation. An offline calibration method is first described, which is for alleviating the difficulty in calibrating every single unit from mass produced soft sensors. The main advantage is that identically manufactured soft sensors in a large volume with variations can be calibrated with reduced time and effort for collecting and processing data. Online calibration is then discussed, which compensates for the parameter changes when a soft sensor is continuously used for an extended period of time. For a single sensor, even though the sensor shows signal drift from the long‐term usage, the calibrated network weights can be quickly adjusted online. Finally, the proposed adaptive calibration is experimentally evaluated using actual soft sensors.