Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Service tangibility on repeat visits in two-five star rated hotels in Nairobi County

This study evaluated the influence of service tangibility on repeat visits in two-five star rated Hotels in Nairobi County. The significance of service quality cannot be overemphasized it is generally accepted that the interplay of service quality, customer satisfaction, and repeat visitation represents an attractive, cost-effective approach to gain a competitive advantage for most companies though the hotel industry is a very important sector in Kenya as it has many contributions to the economy. The tourism industry in Kenya is currently facing slow progress and the hotels are losing a lot of revenue due to poor services. The main objective of the study was to determine the influence of service tangibility on repeat visits in two-five star-rated hotels in Nairobi County. The specific objectives were to examine Quality and Cleanliness, the influence of Good Menu, and the impact of Comfortable Beds on repeat visits in two-five star-rated hotels in Nairobi. Mixed methods research design was applied based on a cross-sectional survey. The target population comprised of customers in 2-5 star rated hotels in Nairobi County. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data and the researcher conducted a pre-test of the research instruments to establish their validity. The study showed that there is a positive effect of quality attributes on customer satisfaction and customers’ repeat visits to hotels. The study concluded that majorly, the individual service quality attributes and the level of customer satisfaction influence repeat visits in star-rated hotels in Nairobi County
Selecting Mutual Funds from the Stocks They Hold: A Machine Learning Approach

We select mutual funds in real time by combining individual fund holdings and a large number (94) of stock characteristics to compute fund-level characteristics on the basis of the stocks they hold. We show that, first, the majority of funds are largely exposed---both positively and negatively---to approximately 40-50 characteristics. Second, fund performance is non-linearly related to fund characteristics and there are significant degrees of interaction between different fund characteristics and fund performance. Third, when we predict fund performance, these non-linearities and interactions prove important as machine learning methods such as Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) outperform significantly standard linear frameworks and the BRT-generated forecasts encompass the ones generated by the predictors of mutual fund performance that have been proposed in the literature so far. Fourth, while in our setting BRT outperform the LASSO, elastic nets, random forests, and neural networks with 1 through 5 hidden layers, these other machine learning methods deliver good performance and they all outperform ordinary least squares models. Finally, while we detect signi cant predictability using machine learning methods, the fund characteristics that matter the most in predicting fund returns and the functional relation between fund characteristics and fund performance are time-varying.
Inclusion of broken rice in meat-quail diets at different ages

The aim of this study was to evaluate the inclusion of 50% broken rice (BR) in diets for meat quail from 1 to 35 days old, starting at different ages. A total of 875 mixed quail were allocated to five treatments in a completely randomized design with five replicates of 35 birds. The treatments consisted of a maizeand soybean meal-based control diet and four other similar diets in which the inclusion of 50% BR was started at different ages, namely, 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd days. Feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion and mortality rate were evaluated weekly. At 35 days, 10 quail per plot were weighed and selected to be slaughtered for evaluations of live weight, carcass yield and gizzard yield. Lastly, a study of economic viability was carried out. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was detected for the performance parameters, live weight or carcass yield, but a higher gizzard yield was found (p < 0.05) in the treatment without BR. The inclusion of BR from the first day of life provided better economic viability. Diets with a maximum inclusion of 50% BR can be formulated for meat quail at any age.
Data protection for the common good: Developing a framework for a data protection-focused data commons

Abstract In our data-driven society, personal data affecting individuals as data subjects are increasingly being collected and processed by sizeable and international companies. While data protection laws and privacy technologies attempt to limit the impact of data breaches and privacy scandals, they rely on individuals having a detailed understanding of the available recourse, resulting in the responsibilization of data protection. Existing data stewardship frameworks incorporate data-protection-by-design principles but may not include data subjects in the data protection process itself, relying on supplementary legal doctrines to better enforce data protection regulations. To better protect individual autonomy over personal data, this paper proposes a data protection-focused data commons to encourage co-creation of data protection solutions and rebalance power between data subjects and data controllers. We conduct interviews with commons experts to identify the institutional barriers to creating a commons and challenges of incorporating data protection principles into a commons, encouraging participatory innovation in data governance. We find that working with stakeholders of different backgrounds can support a commons’ implementation by openly recognizing data protection limitations in laws, technologies, and policies when applied independently. We propose requirements for deploying a data protection-focused data commons by applying our findings and data protection principles such as purpose limitation and exercising data subject rights to the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework. Finally, we map the IAD framework into a commons checklist for policy-makers to accommodate co-creation and participation for all stakeholders, balancing the data protection of data subjects with opportunities for seeking value from personal data.
What explains the EU north-south gap in institutional trust: socioeconomic conditions or behavioural differences? A case study

ABSTRACT A characteristic of institutional trust levels in EU members is the difference detected between north and south. Using the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition methodology, the paper examines whether behavioural or socioeconomic conditions explain the observed differences in institutional trust. The findings indicate that the biggest part of the observed gaps in trust towards both EU and national institutions are primarily attributable to the observed characteristics of the individuals and not to behavioural or cultural differences.
Expert Advice: Industry Expertise of M&A Advisors and Acquirer Shareholder Returns

Abstract We find that acquirers create higher shareholder returns when advised by investment banks with more experience in the target industry. This finding is stronger when acquirers face more difficulties understanding and evaluating the targets. Further analyses show that these banks help acquirers avoid overpaying for targets and thus capture more of the deal synergy rather than making deals generating higher synergy. Our results are robust to controlling for an exhaustive set of determinants of acquirer returns and an identification strategy that exploits exogenous shocks to the supply of investment banks with target-industry experience.
Effects and Retention of Self-Re-Learning Using Video Recording of Advanced Life Support (ALS) On Nursing Students’ Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Skills Performance

Background In-hospital cardiac arrests account for 80% of hospital deaths, and the survival rate is not significantly different from that of pre-hospitalized cardiac arrest patients. The nurses would presumably be the first to see an in-hospital cardiac arrest patient. This study proposed to measure nursing students’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills performance of advanced life support (ALS) 6 months after the training by sending their videos taken during the final skills test after the ALS training.Methods This is an experimental study with a randomized control group design. The participants’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and skill performance of ALS were evaluated immediately after the training and participants were videotaped during the final skills test. Thereafter, we sent the video to the experimental group through the mobile phone messenger application once a month from the third month after training. Approximately six months after the training day, we conducted a follow-up test of the measured variables using the blinded method.Results Six months after the ALS training, knowledge scores decreased significantly in both groups (p<0.001). Self-efficacy decreased by about 3 from 50.55 to 47.18 in the experimental group (p = 0.089), while it decreased by 10 in the control group from 50.67 to 39 (p<0.001). The skills performance decreased from 27.5 to 26.68 in the experimental group, while it decreased significantly from 27.95 to 16.9 in the control group (p< 0.001). Conclusion Self-study with videos taken during an ALS skills test helps enhance the sustainable effects of training, such as knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills performance.
The Psychological Responses and Associated Factors of Chinese College Students During COVID-19 Outbreak in February

BackgroundThe novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) is a highly contagious and highly pathogenic disease caused by a novel coronavirus（SARS-CoV-2）and has become pandemic within a short period of time. The epidemic has brought not only the risk of death from infection but also unbearable psychological pressure. College students as a special group, their mental health status need to be studied during the outbreak of COVID-19.MethodsWe used the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the compulsive behavior part of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS), combined with demographic information, using online questionnaires to research, and the study was conducted between February 21 and 24, 2020. A total of 2270 valid questionnaires were collected, the respondents of these questionnaires included 563 medical students and 1707 non-medical students. We separately analyzed the mental health status of medical and non-medical students during the outbreak of COVID-19.ResultsOf the 563 medical students, 20 (3.55%) students had anxiety symptoms, and 57 (10.12%) students had depressive symptoms. Gender, PMH, compulsive behavior, and regularity of daily life during the epidemic outbreak were correlated with their anxiety symptoms and age, PMH, compulsive behavior, and regularity of daily life during the epidemic outbreak were associated with their depressive symptoms. Of the 1707 non-medical students, 66 (3.87%) students had anxiety symptoms, and 180 (10.54%) students had depressive symptoms. Gender, contact history of similar infectious disease, PMH, compulsive behavior, regularity of daily life and exercise during the epidemic outbreak and concern on COVID-19 were correlated with their anxiety symptoms and contact history of similar infectious disease, PMH, compulsive behavior, regularity of daily life and exercise during the epidemic outbreak and concern on COVID-19 were associated with their depressive symptoms.ConclusionsResults indicated that gender, age, contact history of similar infectious disease, past medical history (PMH), compulsive behavior, regularity of daily life, and exercise during the epidemic outbreak are the key factors making college students anxious or depressed. The results provided a theoretical basis for relevant interventions; it is also essential for medical education and public health epidemic prevention.
Incentives or restrictions: policy choices in farmers’ chemical fertilizer reduction and substitution behaviors

Based on 804 samples of farmers in Hubei Province, a typical major grain-producing area in China, this study empirically analyzed the effects of two different policy tools, i.e. economic incentives (subsidies) and order enforcements (regulatory restrictions), as well as the effects of their interaction, on farmers’ chemical fertilizer reduction and substitution behaviors. Samples were grouped according to the degree of concurrent employment to analyze the effects on different groups. The results show that (1) the influences of these policies on the behaviors were significantly positive; (2) after constructing the interactive variables of the policies, the influence of the order enforcement policy was no longer significant, but the influence of the interaction was significantly positive; (3) the low-degree concurrent employment farmers were more likely to be affected by the order enforcement policy, whereas the high-degree ones were more affected by the economic incentive policy; and (4) the behaviors of the low-degree ones were strongly affected by family management characteristics, whereas the high-degree ones were more affected by the farmers’ individual characteristics.
Decoding the Pricing of Uncertainty Shocks

Uncertainty affects business cycles and asset prices. We estimate firm-level productivity and decompose total uncertainty risk measured as cross-sectional productivity dispersion into macro uncertainty (an aggregate component) and micro uncertainty (an idiosyncratic component). We find that macro uncertainty is strongly counter-cyclical and priced among stocks, but micro uncertainty is acyclical and not priced. Moreover, we show that the expected investment growth factor proposed in Hou et al. (2020) captures macro uncertainty risk, which helps us understand the success of the q5-model.
Numerical Model of a Vertical-Axis Cross-Flow Tidal Turbine

An array of close-packed contra-rotating cross-flow vertical-axis tidal rotors, a concept developed to maximize the fraction of flow passage swept, has potential advantages for hydrokinetic power generation. To predict the commercial feasibility of such rotors in large-scale application, a numerical model of a vertical-axis turbine (VAT) with a torque-controlled system is developed using an actuator line model (ALM). The open-source OpenFOAM computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code is first coupled with this ALM model, and efficiently parallelized to examine the characteristics of turbulent flow behind a vertical axis tidal turbine. The numerical model is validated against previous experimental measurements from a 1:6 scale physical model of a three-bladed reference vertical axis tidal turbine at the University of New Hampshire (UNH-RM2). Satisfactory overall agreement is obtained between numerical predictions and measured data on performance and near-wake characteristics, validating the numerical model. Details of the model setup and discussions on its output/results are included in the paper.
IP-10 and MCP-1 as biomarkers predicting disease severity of COVID-19

Background: COVID-19 is a viral respiratory disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-Coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Patients with this disease may be more prone to venous or arterial thrombosis because of the activation of many factors involved in it, including inflammation, platelet activation and endothelial dysfunction. Therefore, this study focused on coagulation and thrombosis-related indicators (IP-10, MCP-1 and MIP1a) in COVID-19, with the hope to find biomarkers that can predict patients’ outcome. Methods: This is a retrospective single-center study involving 74 severe and critically ill COVID-19 patients recruited from the ICU department of the Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China. The patients were divided into two groups: severe patients and critically ill patients. The serum IP-10, MCP-1 and MIP1a level in both groups was detected using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. The clinical symptoms, laboratory test results and the outcome of COVID-19 patients were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The serum IP-10 and MCP-1 level in critically ill patients was significantly higher than that in severe patients (P < 0.001). However, no statistical difference in MIP1a between the two groups was found. The analysis of dynamic changes showed that these indicators remarkably increased in patients with poor prognosis. Since the selected patients were severe or critically ill, no significant difference was observed between survival and death. Conclusions: IP-10 and MCP-1 are biomarkers predicting the severity of COVID-19 disease and could be related to the risk of death in COVID-19 patients. In addition, anti-IP-10 antibody treatment may represent a new approach in COVID-19 patients, especially the ones with thrombotic events.
Corporate Governance, Bank Performance and Value:-Evidence from Pakistan

The study aims to investigate the relationship between ownership structure, board structure and bank-specific variables with bank performance and value. Panel Data is collected from eighteen conventional commercial banks of Pakistan from 2012 to 2017. The analysis is carried out by employing pooled OLS model estimation, descriptive statistics and correlation analysis, using Eviews-9, with 108 observations. The board size and board independence are found to have a determinant effect on the bank performance and value. This implies that the larger board is more probably to increase corporate performance. Also, an ample number of independent directors, in the board of directors, results in better bank performance. The study also reveals that ownership structure does not contribute directly to bank performance and value; however, foreign shareholding is found to have a positive relationship with the value of banks which reduces agency problems. Additionally, adequate capital reserves help banks sustain in the market while the size of the bank and non-performing loans contribute to bank performance. The study established a link between corporate governance attributes with the performance and market value of banks while taking bank-specific variables as well. This study implies for all the stakeholders in banks i.e. corresponding banks, shareholders, central banks, practitioners and academicians. The study includes only conventional commercial banks and can be extended to study the overall financial sector in a setting or a comparative manner.
Numerical simulation and industrial investigation on the melt stratification phenomena in ladles holding molten steel

The melt stratification phenomenon, which results from the natural convection in ladles holding molten steel, is of fundamental importance for the temperature control in the continuous casting process. The progressively increasing stress on the quality of continuously cast products necessitates much tighter tundish temperature control, which in turn will require a more precise definition of the extent of melt temperature stratification in ladles. For this reason, ladle melt stratification phenomena were studied both by numerical simulations, using the PHOENICS package, and by plant measurements at SSAB Tunnplat AB's steelworks in Lulea. The parameters studied in the numerical simulations were the fluid flow velocity field, the temperature distribution field, ladle initial heat content and height to diameter ratio of ladles. One of the important boundary conditions that was used in these numerical simulations was the time and geometry-dependent heat loss rate through the ladle walls, which is the major cause of the natural convection. This transient boundary condition was obtained from the temperature simulation model TempSim. Steel temperatures measured at different positions along the ladle height are compared in the paper with results from the numerical calculations. The possibility of expressing the stratification with a simple formula was discussed. However, to propose this model for industrial use, experimental verification with prolonged holding time is needed.
Isolation of autochthonous microorganisms to formulate a defined inoculum for small-scale cocoa fermentation

In cocoa fermentation exists a wide microbial diversity; the most important microorganisms are yeasts, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and acetic acid bacteria (AAB). Such diversity can result that fermented cocoa quality is not always the same. The use of microbial consortia can steer the process, allowing the production of fermented cocoa beans with homogeneous quality and safety. For that reason, it was proposed to use indigenous microorganisms to formulate defined inoculums to conduct the small- fermentation of Mexican cocoa. A total of 54 strains were isolated from the spontaneous fermentation of cocoa. These included yeasts (Candida, Rhodotorula, Saccharomyces and Yarrowia), LAB (Lactobacillus and Lactococcus), and AAB (Acetobacter and Gluconobacter). The cocoa fermentations were inoculated with an inoculum composed of lipolytic Yarrowia, Lactococcus lactis, and Acetobacter aceti, only varying the form of inoculation (mixed or microbial succession) and were compared with spontaneous fermentation. It was observed that fermentation conducted by succession inoculation form showed similar behavior to the spontaneous process, obtaining well-fermented cocoa beans with homogeneous quality and safety.
THERMAL, DYNAMIC MECHANICAL ANALYSIS AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYBUTYLENE TEREPHTHALATE/POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE BLENDS

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and mechanical tests were conducted to characterize the properties of polybutylene terephthalate/polyethylene terephthalate (PBT/PET) blends. PBT and PET were blended at different PBT/PET ratios (80/20, 60/40, 40/60, 20/80) via twin screw extruder prior to injection molding. DSC characterization showed a single glass transition temperature for all PBT/PET blends indicating that the miscibility occurred in the amorphous region. From DMA results, loss modulus and tan I´ also showed a single peak for all PBT/PET blends, confirming the DSC results. At room temperature, PBT/PET 20/80 has the highest storage modulus followed by PBT/PET 80/20 blend. PET has higher tensile strength, flexural strength, Youngâ€™s and flexural modulus than PBT but lower in elongation at break and impact strength. PBT/PET 80/20 blend has the highest tensile strength, flexural strength, elongation at break, and impact strength compared to other PBT/PET blends. PBT/PET 80/20 blend can be suggested as an optimum formulation with balanced mechanical properties in terms of stiffness and toughness.