Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating the number of independent components for functional magnetic resonance imaging data

Multivariate analysis methods such as independent component analysis (ICA) have been applied to the analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to study brain function. Because of the high dimensionality and high noise level of the fMRI data, order selection, i.e., estimation of the number of informative components, is critical to reduce over/underfitting in such methods. Dependence among fMRI data samples in the spatial and temporal domain limits the usefulness of the practical formulations of information‐theoretic criteria (ITC) for order selection, since they are based on likelihood of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) data samples. To address this issue, we propose a subsampling scheme to obtain a set of effectively i.i. d. samples from the dependent data samples and apply the ITC formulas to the effectively i.i. d. sample set for order selection. We apply the proposed method on the simulated data and show that it significantly improves the accuracy of order selection from dependent data. We also perform order selection on fMRI data from a visuomotor task and show that the proposed method alleviates the over‐estimation on the number of brain sources due to the intrinsic smoothness and the smooth preprocessing of fMRI data. We use the software package ICASSO (Himberg et al. [ 2004 ]: Neuroimage 22:1214–1222) to analyze the independent component (IC) estimates at different orders and show that, when ICA is performed at overestimated orders, the stability of the IC estimates decreases and the estimation of task related brain activations show degradation. Hum Brain Mapp, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The complete chloroplast genome of Sinopodophyllum hexandrum (Berberidaceae)

Abstract The complete chloroplast (cp) genome of the Sinopodophyllum hexandrum (Berberidaceae) was determined in this study. The circular genome is 157,940 bp in size, and comprises a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 26,077 bp each, a large single-copy (LSC) region of 86,460 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 19,326 bp. The GC content of the whole cp genome was 38.5%. A total of 133 genes were identified, including 88 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes and eight rRNA genes. The whole cp genome consists of 114 unique genes, and 19 genes are duplicated in the IR regions. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that S. hexandrum is closely related to Nandina domestica within the family Berberidaceae.
Steroidogenesis in the fetal testis and its susceptibility to disruption by exogenous compounds.

Masculinization depends on adequate production of testosterone by the fetal testis within a specific "masculinization programming window. " Disorders resulting from subtle deficiencies in this process are common in humans, and environmental exposures/lifestyle could contribute causally because common therapeutic and environmental compounds can affect steroidogenesis. This evidence derives mainly from rodent studies, but because there are major species differences in regulation of steroidogenesis in the fetal testis, this may not always be a guide to potential effects in the human. In addition to direct study of the effects of compounds on steroidogenesis, information also derives from study of masculinization disorders that result from mutations in genes in pathways regulating steroidogenesis. This review addresses this issue by critically reviewing the comparative timing of production and regulation of steroidogenesis in the fetal testis of humans and of rodents and its susceptibility to disruption; where there is limited information for the fetus, evidence from effects on steroidogenesis in the adult testis is considered. There are a number of fundamental regulatory differences between the human and rodent fetal testis, most notably in the importance of paracrine vs. endocrine drives during masculinization such that inactivating LH receptor mutations block masculinization in humans but not in rodents. Other large differences involve the steroidogenic response to estrogens and GnRH analogs and possibly phthalates, whereas for other compounds there may be differences in sensitivity to disruption (ketoconazole). This comparison identifies steroidogenic targets that are either vulnerable (mitochondrial cholesterol transport, CYP11A, CYP17) or not (cholesterol uptake) to chemical interference.
Natural resource scarcity and the closed‐loop supply chain: a resource‐advantage view

Purpose – This research aims to provide a theoretical framework for exploring how firms can respond to the growing threat of natural resource scarcity. Specifically, the role of closed‐loop supply chain management is examined as a means for creating resource advantages that can lead to marketplace competitive advantages.Design/methodology/approach – The research extends previous theoretical research, integrating natural resource scarcity and closed‐loop supply chain management for the first time. Resource‐advantage theory is employed as the theoretical lens for the research model and propositions.Findings – The findings deepen understanding of the forces that create natural resource scarcity conditions in the supply chain, and highlight the need for higher order closed‐loop capabilities that have the ability to mitigate natural resource scarcity.Research limitations/implications – The theoretical model and six research propositions suggest relationships between natural resource scarcity, closed‐loop capab.
The direct marketing‐direct consumer gap: qualitative insights

The need to explore consumer reactions to any form of marketing is central to the marketing concept and this paper reports part of an industry‐funded project to investigate how consumers interact with direct marketing. The programme was qualitative, based on both individual depth interviews and group discussions. A theme of “paradox” emerged from the research in a variety of ways. Consumers generally take a pragmatic view of marketing activity, but at the same time they are sceptical of much direct marketing. The research identifies consumers’ key concerns with direct marketing as: privacy, control and relevance. The resulting “gaps” between direct marketing practice and consumer expectations and desires produce clearer areas for the direct marketer to address.
Research on Customer Segmentation Theories and Their Application Strategies

Customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the three magic weapons used by modern enterprises to enhance their competitive power. Customer segmentation is an important part of CRM theories, and also an important management tool of CRM. Focused on customer value, this thesis points out the defects of traditional customer segmentation theories and puts forward two new segmentation theories: the customer relative value segmentation theory and the customer value lifecycle forms segmentation theory. The thesis studies these theories and their application strategies thoroughly, so enriches and develops theories of CRM. 
Machine tool component manufacturing – a lean approach

This paper presents the application of lean manufacturing concept in the production of machine tools. Normally, lean principles are applied in the production of discrete parts, which are produced in large quantities and variety. But in machine tools, the production volume is comparatively low and variety is high. The machining operations and the cycle time required for the machining of major components of machine tools are normally high. In this paper, the manufacturing of main structure for the conventional high precision, centre lathe using cellular manufacturing is dealt with in detail. Traditionally, a process-type layout or a group technology layout is adopted in the manufacturing of lathe components. Both the methods have inherent problems and hence, the new method using lean manufacturing tools is introduced. The case study of a turning machine manufacturing company is considered for the detailed analysis. The performance improvements achieved through lean manufacturing is converted into mathematical equations and is optimised. The methodology described in this paper includes mathematical formulae that balance the work being performed to optimise the production resources necessary to achieve customer demand.
CREATING AND VALIDATING A MEASURE OF CUSTOMER EQUITY IN HOSPITALITY BUSINESSES: LINKING SHAREHOLDER VALUE WITH RETURN ON MARKETING

Understanding the contribution of marketing to the shareholder value of a company has been a major challenge for marketing research. The purpose of this dissertation was creating and validating an attitudinal measure of customer equity in hospitality businesses, thus providing a link between return on marketing and the shareholder value of a company. The theoretical background of the customer equity construct was examined, and then systematic scale development processes were initiated. The results produced two concise scales: (1) 17 items that represent the six dimensions of customer equity in the restaurant industry and (2) 19 items that represent the six dimensions of customer equity in the hotel industry. Six dimensions of customer equity achieved strong convergent validity, discriminant validity, and internal consistency, indicating unidimensionality of the constructs. To further validate the newly developed scale, criterion validity was checked in correlation with six criterion measures using data collected from 590 hospitality industry consumers. The results demonstrate that customer equity closely reflects the shareholder value of a company. Also, it was found that value equity, brand equity, relationship equity, and service quality are significantly and positively correlated with overall customer equity of a company. In conclusion, customer equity represents the long-term value of a company, and reflects shareholder value of the company, thus providing a link with return on marketing investments. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
SXGA pinned photodiode CMOS image sensor in 0.35 /spl mu/m technology

A 30 frames/s SXGA 5.6 /spl mu/m pinned photodiode pixel column parallel CMOS image sensor achieves 340 /spl mu/V noise floor and 40 pA/cm/sup 2/ dark current. Performance is limited by pixel 1/f noise, not by the ADC noise floor of 140 /spl mu/V. The column ADC memory employs a custom DRAM to save area. The sensor utilizes a 0.35 /spl mu/m 1P 3M CMOS process.
The Relationship of Supply Management Performance with Financial Performance and Customer Service: An Empirical Analysis

The linkages between supply management performance, financial performance, and customer service have been the focus of interest in recent years. However, most of the financial data used in these studies are based on respondents’ perceptions. This study investigates firstly the relationship of supply management performance with financial performance based on data mined from accrual statements (balance sheets, profit and loss statements) and secondly the relationship of supply management performance with customer service. The research involved the mailing of questionnaires to a large number of enterprises operating in Greece as well as the collection of financial data from accrual statements of the responding firms. Results indicate that supply management performance generally has a significant impact on profitability and short-term liquidity ratios. Moreover, one factor of supply management performance, suppliers’ quality, has a positive significant impact on three of the four factors of customer service.
Antigenic determinants of the attachment protein of Mycoplasma pneumoniae shared by other pathogenic Mycoplasma species

In previous studies with hyperimmune rabbit antisera, we found evidence of serologic cross-reactivity among Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Mycoplasma genitalium, and Mycoplasma gallisepticum. Because of certain biologic and morphologic similarities of these species, attempts were made to determine if this cross-reactivity related to the attachment protein (P1) of M. pneumoniae. Monoclonal and monospecific antibodies against P1 were used to probe proteins of the other species by immunoblotting. One of the P1 monoclonal antibodies was reactive with a smaller protein of M. genitalium; rabbit antiserum raised by immunization with P1 excised from a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gel was found to react with a similar-sized protein of M. gallisepticum. These preliminary findings suggest antigenic sharing among the species examined; however, limitations of the methods used are discussed.
Multichannel image identification and restoration using continuous spatial domain modeling

In this paper, a novel identification technique for multichannel image processing is presented. Using the maximum likelihood estimation (ML) approach, the image is represented as an autoregressive (AR) model and blur is described as a continuous spatial domain model. Such a formulation overcomes some major limitations encountered in other ML methods. Moreover, cross-spectral and spatial components are incorporated in the multichannel modeling. It is shown that by incorporating those components, the overall performance is improved significantly. Also, experimental results show that blur extent can be optimally identified from noisy color images that are degraded by uniform linear motion or out-of-focus blurs.
Interactive graphics for functional data analyses

Although there are established graphics that accompany the most common functional data analyses, generating these graphics for each dataset and analysis can be cumbersome and time‐consuming. Often, the barriers to visualization inhibit useful exploratory data analyses and prevent the development of intuition for a method and its application to a particular dataset. The refund.shiny package was developed to address these issues for several of the most common functional data analyses. After conducting an analysis, the plot_shiny() function is used to generate an interactive visualization environment that contains several distinct graphics, many of which are updated in response to user input. These visualizations reduce the burden of exploratory analyses and can serve as a useful tool for the communication of results to non‐statisticians. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
What do I want? The effects of individual aspiration and relational capability on collaboration preferences

Research summary: We examine individuals' collaboration preferences in the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) for the UK plastics electronics sector. Using conjoint analysis, we investigate how aspiration gaps and relational capability affect the value placed on potential organizational collaborations. Aspiration gaps reflect individuals' perception of whether they are ahead of or behind peers on their career trajectory, and relational capability captures three distinct dimensions: networking skills, openness to collaborate, and network awareness. Our findings suggest that positive and negative aspiration gaps augment preferences to form organizational partnerships. These effects are positively moderated by networking skills and openness and negatively moderated by network awareness. We discuss the implications of these findings for theories of partnership formation, scientific collaboration, and behavioral strategy. Managerial summary: University–industry collaboration is important to the creation and application of new knowledge. Such collaboration requires individuals of different backgrounds to work together, which can be difficult. We investigate what drives individuals' preferences to collaborate. We find that individuals who consider themselves ahead of or behind their peers are more favorable toward collaboration. We also find that networking skill and openness augment this positive collaboration disposition whereas awareness of the network members makes one more selective and reduces the proclivity to collaborate. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Replacement of butter on bread by rapeseed oil and rapeseed oil-containing margarine: effects on plasma fatty acid composition and serum cholesterol

The effects of zero-erucic acid rapeseed oil and rapeseed oil-containing margarine on plasma fatty acid composition and serum cholesterol were studied in butter users (n 43). Compliance to the substitution was followed by fatty acid analysis of total plasma and plasma phospholipids. The amount of substitute fats represented, on average, 21% of total fat and 8% of total energy intake. Changes in the relative fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids indicated further fatty acid metabolism, and were closely related to the serum cholesterol level. The reduction in saturated fatty acids led to a significant increase in the proportion of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) with the rapeseed oil diet, whereas the margarine caused a significant rise in n-6 PUFA only. The increase in the proportions of the two PUFA families occurred in accordance with their competitive order, most completely with the rapeseed oil diet. When butter was replaced by rapeseed oil, low-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol decreased by an average of 9.1% without a reduction in high-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol. During margarine substitution the reduction was 5.2%, on average. Of the plasma phospholipids, α-linolenic acid and the linoleic:stearic acid ratio, but not oleic acid, were the components most significantly correlated with serum cholesterol levels or the decrease in these levels. The results show that rapeseed oil can act primarily as a source of essential fatty acids, rather than that of monoenes, in the diet of butter users.
Sensory Focus as Therapeutic Treatments for Acute Pain

This study examined the hypothesis that instructing patients to focus on their sensations (sensory focus) during root canal therapy reduces painful response.Before dental treatment, patients were randomly assigned to one of four audiotaped conditions: sensory focus with and without procedural information, procedural information, or no-intervention. Patients were categorized as to how much control they desired and felt. The "high desire for control/low felt control" subgroup's sensory pain intensity scores in the sensory focus condition were significantly lower than the "high desire for control/low felt control" subgroup's sensory intensity scores in the no-intervention comparison condition. This was true immediately after treatment (F(1,303) = 13.37; p less than or equal to.001) and 1 week after treatment (F(1,303) = 14.30; p less than or equal to.001). Immediately after treatment, the high desire for control/low felt control subgroup in the sensory/procedural condition was significantly lower on sensory pain intensity scores than the high desire/low felt subgroup in the no-intervention condition (F(1,303) = 3.75; p less than or equal to.001). This difference was not observed on the 1-week recall of pain. Adding procedural information to the instructions to focus on sensation did not increase the pain-reducing effects. Results extend prior findings that sensory focus significantly reduces sensory pain intensity only among patients who are classified as having a high desire for control and low perceived control. These results are congruent with theoretical arguments that coping preferences moderate the reaction of patients to various therapeutic strategies.
Budgeting basics and beyond : a complete step-by-step guide for nonfinancial managers

Here, at last, is a complete, easy-to-follow guide for nonfinancial managers who need practical, hands-on help preparing budgets and solving budgeting problems. Budgeting Basics and Beyond: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide for Nonfinancial Managers makes it easy for managers with little or no budgeting experience to prepare and analyze budget information - and build the knowledge and skills needed to handle increasingly complex budgeting issues. Step-by-step, the guide discusses what budgets are, how they work, how to prepare and present them, and how to monitor actual results against budget figures. It shows you how to employ financial modeling techniques in the budgeting process; get the most out of the most current software, including Lotus 1-2-3 and specialized plans such as Simplan; use budgeting as an effective tool to reduce departmental expenses through planning and control; project sales, costs, and cash flow with easy-to-use forecasting techniques; evaluate the difference between actual and budgeted revenue and costs to improve efficiency; identify problem budget areas and take corrective action; select the best long-term alternative investment proposal using capital budgeting techniques; and much more. Best of all, Budgeting Basics and Beyond comes with a work-saving disk that features a number of Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet templates. It also outlines budgeting approaches by area of manager responsibility, including marketing, production, engineering, personnel, purchasing, and others, and includes illuminating "what if" analyses throughout. Packed with case studies, illustrations, exhibits, checklists, examples, tables, and graphs, Budgeting Basics and Beyond is a truly valuableresource guaranteed to make the budgeting process effective and hassle-free for all nonfinancial managers who use it.
Identifying the key concepts of marketing: attention, interest, desire and action

In Jason Ratcliffe's second column on brand development, he discusses the use of the AIDA formula by reflecting on a business case study and applying the main elements to a clinic email marketing campaign. This article gives aesthetic practitioners advice on setting goals, capturing interest, staying focused, creating a desire for the service and calling potential clients to action
Interprocedural dynamic slicing applied to interprocedural data flow testing

During the past ten years several variants of an analysis technique called program slicing have been developed. Program slicing has applications in maintenance tasks such as debugging, testing, program integration, program verification, etc. and can be characterized as a type of dependence analysis. A program slice can loosely be defined as the subset of a program needed to compute a certain variable value at a certain program position. A novel method for interprocedural dynamic slicing which is more precise than interprocedural static slicing methods and is useful for dependence analysis at the procedural abstraction level was given by M. Kamkar et al. (1992, 1993). It is demonstrated here how interprocedural dynamic slicing can be used to increase the reliability and precision of interprocedural data flow testing. The work on data flow testing reported by E. Duesterwald et al. (1992), which is a novel method for data flow testing through output influences, is generalized. <<ETX>>
The 'Bear' and the Benefits of International Portfolio Diversification

The objective of this paper is to review literature on capital asset pricing models relatively to investment in international assets. Furthermore, we applied the concepts in an empirical analysis of risk diversification and capital asset pricing. We provided a practical exercise on the risk diversification by using recent data that goes through a bear market period. We found evidence that the correlation was time-varying depending on the status of the market.We applied the simple CAPM model to the international setting. The results were consistent with the required restrictions. In the first part of the paper we revised the foundations of the portfolio diversification literature; in the second part we addressed the problem of the diversification of the risk in international investments, in the third part we tested the basic International Capital Asset Pricing Model to the Italian data and in the final part we presented our conclusions.