Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEARCH, VOL

This study aims to identifying the impact of supply chain practices on the operational performance of Moroccan oil and fuel services firms by achieving the following sub-objectives. Frist, Identify the level of application of supply chain practices for Moroccan firms for oil and fuel services. Second, identify the relationship between supply chain practices and the operational performance of Moroccan firms for oil and fuel services. Third, identify the impact of supply chain practices and their components on the operational performance of Moroccan oil and fuel services. Finally, Provide recommendations for Moroccan firms and similar firms and industry to provide fuel and oil services and other industries and decision makers interested in the subject of oil in Morocco. As well as academics interested in the subject of supply chain. The study population include all branches of Moroccan firms for oil and fuel services. The study sample include 220 firms in the morocco capital Rabat. However, the study sample select in stereogram method. The study response include of managers and technicians in the fuel stations of the firms. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: First part relates to the demographic characteristics of the sample, represented by (gender, age, educational qualification, administrative level. The second part of the questionnaire consisted of independent variables (supply chain practices). The third part is the relationship with customers. 220 questioners were distributed to all the technicians and technicians working in the firms. (18) Were identified as incomplete and 202 remained (and 8% of the total) were canceled. Karroumi HananeSupply Chain Practices, Operational PerformanceEvidence from Moroccan Firms EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEARCH Vol. III, Issue 9 / December 2015 10259 This study find that the Moroccan oil and fuel service firms medium applied the supply chain practices, with the largest application of internal operations practices, then the relationship with the supplier and finally the customer relationship practices. Moreover, this study emphasizes that the relationship between the variables of supply chain practices is very strong, as is the relationship between each element with the overall practice of the supply chain. The study also shows that there is a strong correlation between the elements of supply chain practices and operational performance. In addition, the results of this study show that there is an impact of supply chain practices on operational performance. As for the elements of supply chain practices, the internal processes have the greatest impact and then the relationship with the supplier, while it is found that there is no statistically significant relationship with customers in the operational performance of the Moroccan firms.
A Research of Social Networks Application on Parent-Teacher Communication

The purpose of this study was to investigate the behavioral intentions of teachers in Kaohsiung using the instant messaging software LINE to conduct parent-teacher communication, and to use the technology acceptance model as a theoretical basis to further propose this research framework and construct a suitable application for the continuous use of LINE. Conduct research model of parent-teacher communication. In addition, the impact of various variables of the technology acceptance model in the model on the "continuous use of instant messaging software LINE" has been studied and the verification results are introduced.
Time–Harmonic Behaviour of a Cracked Piezoelectric Solid by BIEM

Time–harmonic behaviour of a cracked piezoelectric finite solid is studied by nonhypersingular traction Boundary Integral Equation Method (BIEM). A numerical solution for Crack Opening Displacement (COD) and Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) is obtained by using Mathematica. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the dependence of the solution on the crack position.
Central-local government relations in active labour market policy in Sweden

Theory suggests that relations between authorities affect implementation. This article studies the link between central and local government agencies in the Swedish labour market sector. The analysis is based on new quantitative data. The results indicate that central and local government agencies have very different priorities, but they nonetheless cooperate to a considerable extent. However, cooperation and ‘good’ implementation only coincide under certain conditions. If the collaborative endeavours are explicitly designed to lead to implementation of a specific and demanding task, cooperation is positively related to implementation performance. Agencies that collaborate to a considerable extent at a general level do not, however, perform better than others. Thus, I argue that theories should be developed and tested to indicate when cooperation between public authorities will promote implementation, instead of assuming that cooperation, in general, is a ‘good thing’. ♣ Department of Government, Uppsala University (P O Box 514, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden) and IFAU (e-mail: martin.lundin@statsvet.uu.se). I gratefully acknowledge comments from Hans Blomqvist, Jörgen Hermansson, Anders Lidström, Daniela Lundin, Eva Mörk, PerOla Öberg, and seminar participants at the Department of Government at Uppsala University, IFAU and the Annual Meeting of the Swedish Political Science Association 2004. I also thank Linus Lindqvist for very valuable data management and IFAU for funding.
Uncertainty quantification of isotopic densities in depleted fuel

Uncertainty quantification of interest outputs based on the nuclear data is an importantissue for nuclear safety, from operation of nuclear facilities to long termdeposit management. To be complete, the Verification and Validation process musttake into account the uncertainty quantification due to various sources input data,design, models.This work focuses on the VVUQ process for depletion code systems on a PWRfuel rod application. We compare the results of two CEA depletion code systems(namely DARWIN/PEPIN2.4 and MENDEL v1.2) and experimental data. Experimentaldata reported by a 2008 paper from Dr. Sasahara gives isotopic concentrationfor four UO2 fuel samples irradiated up to 64.7 MWd/t in a pressurized waterreactor. Nuclear data nominal data and uncertainties on decay data are taken fromthe JEFF-3.1. 1, when uncertainties on cross section data are chosen from the CEACOMAC data base.Concerning the choice of uncertainty quantification methods, DARWIN/PEPIN2deterministic approach is based on sensitivity profiles computation by direct forwardperturbation, thanks to INCERD module. MENDEL probabilistic method isbased on Monte Carlo correlated sampling. Those samplings are achieved throughthe CEA uncertainty platform URANIE.Experimental measurement errors and nuclear input data uncertainties are taken intoaccount, when modelisation biases or algorithm accuracy are supposed negligible.Output quantities of interest are the isotopic concentrations at given times.We show that both uncertainty propagation results give similar results, compatiblewith experimental data and validating both the methods and both code systems onthis application. We focus on the elaboration of a measure for sensibility coefficientsapplicable to the stochastic approach, where thousands of eventually correlateduncertain input parameters are taken into account.
www.econstor.eu International Environmental Agreements with Uncertainty, Learning and Risk Aversion

This paper analyses the formation of international environmental agreements (IEAs) under uncertainty, focusing on the role of learning and risk aversion. It bridges two strands of literature: one focused on the role learning for the success of IEA formation when countries are risk neutral and another that explores the implications of uncertainty and risk aversion on IEA formation under no learning. Combining learning and risk aversion seems appropriate as the uncertainties surrounding many international environmental problems are still large, those uncertainties are often highly correlated as for instance in climate change and hence pooling risks may be limited, but those uncertainties are gradually reduced over time through learning. It is shown that the negative conclusion with respect to the role of learning derived for risk neutrality has to be qualified: below a threshold level of risk aversion learning can impact positively on the success of IEAs, above the threshold the opposite is true. Moreover, in a world without full learning (i.e. partial and no learning), risk aversion can lead to better outcomes, but only if risk aversion is sufficiently high. JEL-Code: C720, D620, D800, Q540.
Causal Inference for Time Series: A Linear Systems Approach

We propose a new algorithm for causal inference of time-series data. The proposed test builds on ideas and techniques grounded in linear systems theory, specifically the Schur-Takagi extension problem. The test requires the solution of a pair of convex optimization problems, one corresponding to the causal direction and the other corresponding to the anti-causal direction. Crucially, in each direction the test seeks for the existence of a stable dynamic system with smallest system norm that explains the input-output data. The optimization problem, relies only on the input and output time series data, and requires a single parameter to account for the noise-level. We provide rigorous guarantees to characterize the performance of the test. We validate our approach with numerical experiments on both synthetic and real data, and compare the performance of our method with competing methods.
PILE GROUPS WITH NEGATIVE SKIN FRICTION

An efficient analysis method is presented for assessing the response of single piles and pile groups subjected to negative skin friction (NSF). The method involves two separate steps: (1) estimate of the free-field ground movements in the consolidating soil, and (2) analysis of the piles subjected to the computed free-field ground movements by means of PGROUPN, a computer program based on a 3D non-linear boundary element solution. The impact of various factors which affect the response of piles to NSF is examined, including the number of piles, the pile spacing, the additional presence of pilehead loading, and the influence of soil nonlinearity and pile-soil slip. Results provide insights into the correct understanding of NSF effects on pile behaviour and show the importance of considering such aspects as pile-soil slip and group interaction effects. In particular, it is demonstrated that the usual detrimental effect of group interaction among piles is diminished by the beneficial group effect for piles under NSF, thereby resulting in a lower values of drag force and drag settlement as compared to a single isolated pile.
Gender Differences in Musical Taste: The Mediating Role of Functions of Music

The aim of this research was to explore gender differences in musical taste and the mediating role of functions of music between gender and musical taste. The research included 740 Croatian and Slovenian students. The results confirmed the existence of gender differences in both musical taste and functions of music. Females preferred the Reflective-Complex musical style, while males showed greater preferences towards Intense-Rebellious style of music. There was no significant gender difference in preferring Traditional and Contemporary Ethno or Energetic and Rhythmic musical style. With regard to the functions of music, there were no significant differences between males and females in identity/culture and background and focus/concentration functions of music. Males assessed political attitudes as a more important function of music than females, while females assessed all other functions of music higher than males did. A complete mediation effect of functions of music was established for gender and Reflective-Complex and Slo-Yugo Pop musical style.
CMAR_A_208712 10427..10433

Minetta C Liu Wolfgang Janni Vassilis Georgoulias Denise A Yardley Nadia Harbeck 5 Xin Wei Desmond McGovern Robert Beck 7 1Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Clinic Ulm, Ulm, Germany; 3Department of Medical Oncology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Crete, Greece; 4Department of Medical Oncology, Breast Cancer Research Program, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, TN, USA; 5Department of Breast Center, Oncological Therapy and Clinical Trials Unit, University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany; 6Department of Translational/Clinical Development, Celgene Corporation, Summit, NJ, USA; 7Department of Clinical Research, Celgene Corporation, Summit, NJ, USA Purpose: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are prognostic biomarkers in metastatic breast cancer, but their role in predicting treatment outcomes in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) is less clear. The tnAcity trial demonstrated a significant progression-free survival (PFS) benefit with nab-paclitaxel (nab-P)/carboplatin (C) over nab-P/gemcitabine (G) or G/C in patients with mTNBC. We assessed the correlation between CTC dynamics and clinical benefit in all patients and by treatment arm. Methods: CTC enumeration, performed using CELLSEARCH technology (Menarini Silicon Biosystems, Huntingdon Valley, PA, USA), was a prespecified exploratory endpoint in the tnAcity trial. Patients with TNBC were categorized based on preand post-treatment CTC levels: Group 1 (+ + +; elevated CTCs at baseline and postbaseline), Group 2 (+ ± ±; CTCs elevated at baseline and cleared postbaseline [cycle 3 and/or cycle 5]), or Group 3 (−; no CTCs detected at baseline). The baseline cutoff was ≥1 CTC/7.5mL for the main analysis; cutoffs of ≥2 and ≥5 CTCs were used for supporting analyses. Results: Themain analysis included 126 patients (Group 1, n = 24; Group 2, n = 54; and Group 3, n = 48). The median PFSwas longer in Group 2 vs Group 1 (8.5 vs 4.7 months; HR, 0.30 [95%CI, 0.17–0.54]). These results were supported by the ≥2and ≥5-CTC cutoff analyses. The median overall survival rates were 17.8, 16.0, and 9.8 months in Groups 2, 3, and 1, respectively. The overall response rates were 79.6%, 43.8%, and 29.2%, respectively. A numerically higher percentage of patients had CTC clearance during nab-P/C treatment vs nab-P/G or G/C. Conclusion: Efficacy outcomes trended positively with chemotherapy-induced elimination of CTCs, suggesting that CTC clearance may predict the chemosensitivity of mTNBC tumors. Trial registration: EudraCT Number: 2013-000113-20; ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT01881230.
INFLUENCE OF CUSTOMER RETENTION STRATEGIES ON PERFORMANCE OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KENYA

The banking industry has been facing severe competition and major customers' switch off. Lack of customer retention strategies has not been profitable for both the banks and their clients. Existing customers, if retained effectively, have years of revenue-producing potential and are more likely to purchase new products and services than new customers. The General objective of this study was to find out the influence of customer retention strategies on the performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya. The specific objectives of this study were to establish the influence of customer focus on the performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya and to determine the effect of effective complain handling on the performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya. The study adopted the social exchange theory and customer bonding theory. A descriptive survey method was applied in this research in attempting to describe and explain the influence of customer retention strategies on the performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya, by using unstructured questionnaires to fully describe the phenomenon. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population of this study comprised of all the licensed commercial banks in Kenya. According to the Central bank supervision report, there are 41 operating commercial banks in Kenya as of December 2016. The study picked four respondents in each of the 41 banks, making a population of 164 respondents. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented on tables. The study also applied regression analysis to establish the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. The study also employed multiple regressions as an analytical tool to give more insight into the effect of customer retention on the performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The study found that customer focus and complain handling had a positive and statistically significant effect on Bank performance. The study concluded that customer focus and effective complain handling, were the key determinant of customer retention hence improving banks performance. Based on the finding the study recommends that managers and various stakeholder should emphasize enhancing customer focus and effective complaint handling as this would create a good reputation of the firm hence customer retention. The study further recommends that both the banks and other firms in the banking industry to ensure that they come with communication strategies that will ensure the retention of customers.
Mother to Child Transmission of HIV and Associated Factors Among HIV Exposed Infants at Public Health Facilities, Dessie Town, Ethiopia HIV/AIDS - Research and Palliative Care

Background: Vertical transmission of Human Immunode ﬁ ciency Virus (HIV) is the primary route of infection among children. Ethiopia is among the top ten countries in the world with the highest burden of HIV infections among children. Therefore we aimed to assess mother to child transmission (MTCT) of HIVand associated factors among HIVexposed infants (HEIs). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using retrospective data collected from HEIs paired with their mothers who had received the services in prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) programs from January 2014 to December 2017 in public health facilities in Dessie town. Data of a total of 313 HEIs paired with their mothers were obtained by using semi-structured data extraction proforma from their medical records. The data were processed in Epi-info version 7.1. 2.0 and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Crude and adjusted odds ratios with their 95% con ﬁ dence intervals and p-value were used to identify signi ﬁ cant factors. Results: The prevalence of HIV among exposed infants was 3.8%. Absence of maternal antenatal care visit (AOR = 4.6, 95% CI: 1.17 – 17.99), home delivery (AOR = 4.2, 95% CI: 1.04 − 16.76), absence of antiretroviral intervention to the mother (AOR= 5.7, 95% CI: 1.10 – 29.36), and failure to initiate nevirapine prophylaxis for the infant (AOR = 5.3, 95% CI: 1.11 − 25.44) were signi ﬁ cant factors of MTCT of HIV. Conclusion: Prevalence of MTCT of HIV was low (3.8%) in Dessie town public health facilities. Having ANC visit, delivery at health facility, maternal ARV drug intake, and infant ARV prophylaxis were the signi ﬁ cant protective factors against MTCT of HIV. Promoting ANC service utilization among pregnant women and providing counseling as well as setting up linkage with PMTCT and giving ARV intervention to all HIV positive pregnant women and timely initiation of NVP prophylaxis to all HEIs should be recommended by the minister of health and health facilities.
OTT_A_223242 11437..11451

Bingren Hu Huajie Cai Shouzhang Yang Jinfu Tu Xiaming Huang Gang Chen 1Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Hepato-Pancreatic Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, People’s Republic of China Background: Small molecular inhibitors such as gefitinib (Gefi), which target EGF receptor (EGFR), are considered to be a viable pathway for the selective inhibition of pancreatic cancer (PC) development. However, the large difference in Gefi response between PC patient individuals and PC cell lines severely limits the clinical efficacy of Gefi. Berbamine (BBM) is a well-known natural-derived antitumor agent. However, no study yet exists on whether BBM can enhance the sensitivity of PC cells to Gefi or its underlying mechanisms. Methods: MTS assay and clonogenic assay were used to determine whether BBM could enhance the anti-PC activity of Gefi by. Flow cytometric analysis was performed to study the cell cycle progression and rate of apoptosis after combined treatment with BBM and Gefi. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and Western blot experiments were carried out to detect the STAT3 binding affinity and the STAT3 inhibitory effect of BBM. Molecular docking and Molecular dynamic simulation were used to predicting the dominant interaction between BBM and STAT3. Results: This study found that BBM synergizes with Gefi to inhibit cell growth and induce cell cycle arrest and PC cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, our results showed that BBM and Gefi have synergistic inhibitory effects on STAT3 phosphorylation, but have little effect on other EGFR downstream pathways, suggesting that BBM may exert sensitization through the inhibition of STAT3. Besides, BBM has a high affinity for STAT3 and a good inhibitory effect on STAT3 activation, further indicating that BBM was a potent direct STAT3 inhibitor. Molecular modeling between STAT3 and BBM suggested that BBM formed several key hydrophilic interactions with STAT3. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the combination of BBM and Gefi could be further developed as a potential PC therapy.
Determinants of Stock Price Volatility in Karachi Stock Exchange: The Mediating Role of Corporate Dividend Policy

Corporate dividend policy has been remained a heavily investigated issue in corporate finance. After the work of Nobel Laureate Modigliani and Miller (1958), much has been written on the dividend policy of the firms. The present paper is also an attempt in this regard to investigate the role of corporate dividend policy in determining the volatility in the stock prices in Pakistan. A sample of 73 firms has been selected from Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) indexed (KSE-100) firms for the period of 2003-2008 and fixed effect and random effect models have been applied on the panel data. The results found that dividend policy has a strong significant relationship with the stock price volatility in KSE. The findings are consistent with the earlier researchers of developing economies that price volatility may be reduced by employing an effect corporate dividend policy (Rashid and Rahman, 2008).
A coach’s facilitation of developmental outcomes in Masters Athletes

3 Literature Review Coach Learning Situations . 4 Coaching Masters Athletes. 5 Conceptual Framework. 8 Methods Case study . 10 Participant . 10 Procedure . 11 Data Analysis . 12 Results . 13 Connection . 15 Confidence and Competence . 17 Commitment . 19 Cognitive Development . 21 Challenge . 23 Enjoyment . 24 Discussion . 27 Limitations . 31 Personal Reflection . 32 References . 34
Temporally Folded Convolutional Neural Networks for Sequence Forecasting

In this work we propose a novel approach to utilize convolutional neural networks for time series forecasting. The time direction of the sequential data with spatial dimensions $D=1,2$ is considered democratically as the input of a spatiotemporal $(D+1)$-dimensional convolutional neural network. Latter then reduces the data stream from $D +1 \to D$ dimensions followed by an incriminator cell which uses this information to forecast the subsequent time step. We empirically compare this strategy to convolutional LSTM's and LSTM's on their performance on the sequential MNIST and the JSB chorals dataset, respectively. We conclude that temporally folded convolutional neural networks (TFC's) may outperform the conventional recurrent strategies.