Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Firms' Strategic Leverage of Unplanned Exposure and Planned Advertising: An Analysis in the Context of Celebrity Endorsements

Using data on advertising and sales of an innovative piece of golf equipment and the performance of its celebrity endorsers, the authors build a discrete-choice model that incorporates consumer awareness and preferences. They empirically investigate how celebrity endorsements affect consumer choices during new product introductions, the roles of planned advertising and unplanned media exposure, and how firms can strategically leverage the unplanned component. Model estimates reveal that wins in professional golf tournaments (which proxy for unplanned television exposure during weekly golf tournaments) affect awareness and that paid planned advertising impacts awareness and preferences. Focusing on Titleist equipment, counterfactual analysis demonstrates that the unplanned media exposure and planned advertising account for 22% and 24% of sales, respectively. The results also suggest that firms would benefit from coordinating the two. The planned portion should serve as a substitute for unplanned media exposure in the early stage and a complement as products age.
A Customer Satisfaction-Based Strategic Planning Method for Tourism Companies: Coping with Different Levels of Customer Loyalty

This study seeks to develop an instrument for the strategic planning process based on customer satisfaction. To identify the quality dimensions, a Critical Incident instrument was adopted. The result was the creation of 13 macro-dimensions to evaluate tourism services. A competitive position matrix was developed based on the differences between evaluations of the service received and the expectations, in their three levels, ideal, predicted and minimum. The proposed matrix yielded seven competitive positions. Based on those competitive positions, we suggest four sets of loyalty strategies: sales effort, non-interactive communication strategies, benefits and interactive communication strategies.
Effects of Intervention upon Precompetition State Anxiety in Elite Junior Tennis Players: The Relevance of the Matching Hypothesis

The matching hypothesis proposes that interventions for anxiety should be matched to the modality in which anxiety is experienced. This study investigated the relevance of the matching hypothesis for anxiety interventions in tennis. Elite junior tennis players (N=100; Age: M=13.9 yr., SD = 1.8 yr.) completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 before and after one of four randomly assigned intervention strategies approximately one hour prior to competition at a National Junior Championship. A two-factor multivariate analysis of variance (group x time) with repeated measures on the time factor gave no significant main effect by group but indicated significant reductions in somatic anxiety and cognitive anxiety and a significant increase in self-confidence following intervention. A significant group by time interaction emerged for self-confidence. The results question the need to match intervention strategy to the mode of anxiety experienced.
Uncertainty, Information, and Shareholder Democracy: Evidence from Voting on Shareholder Proposals

An integral aspect of shareholder democracy is the shareholder proposal process, through which shareholders can pressure firms to make changes. We find that shareholders’ uncertainty about the firm reduces their participation in voting on shareholder proposals and also reduces the likelihood of the proposals’ passage and implementation. In further analyses, we find that the negative effects of uncertainty on the shareholder proposal process are mitigated when there is comparable peer information and more information intermediation. Overall, our paper provides new insight into the role of shareholder uncertainty and the information environment in a shareholder democracy.
Multi-stream 3D FCN with multi-scale deep supervision for multi-modality isointense infant brain MR image segmentation

We present a method to address the challenging problem of segmentation of multi-modality isointense infant brain MR images into white matter (WM), gray matter (GM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Our method is based on context-guided, multi-stream fully convolutional networks (FCN), which after training, can directly map a whole volumetric data to its volume-wise labels. In order to alleviate the potential gradient vanishing problem during training, we designed multi-scale deep supervision. Furthermore, context information was used to further improve the performance of our method. Validated on the test data of the MICCAI 2017 Grand Challenge on 6-month infant brain MRI segmentation (iSeg-2017), our method achieved an average Dice Overlap Coefficient of 95.4%, 91.6% and 89.6% for CSF, GM and WM, respectively.
On diagnosis of faults in a scan-chain

Testing screens for good chips. However, when test fall out is high (low yield) it becomes necessary to diagnose faults so that the manufacturing process or physical design can be fixed to improve yield. Several scan based diagnostic schemes are used in industry. They work when the scan chain itself is fault free. This paper describes a diagnosis system that can diagnose faults in a scan chain. <<ETX>>
High-Intensity Intermittent Cycle Ergometer Exercise: Effect of Recovery Duration and Resistive Force Selection on Performance

The purpose of this study was to compare the exercise performance and postexercise recovery of 8 male subjects using four different maximal high-intensity intermittent cycle ergometry protocols. Resistive forces were calculated by multiplying fat-free mass (FFM) or total-body mass (TBM) by 0.75 g.kg−1. Rest periods between successive sprints were 30 s (R30) or 60 s (R60) duration. Higher pedal velocities were recorded using FFM as opposed to TBM (P < 0.05). Rest intervals of R60 (P < 0.05) influenced the peak power output values (903.88 ± 184.01W; TBM/R30 vs. 852.98 ± 209.68W; FFM/R30 vs. 965.64 ± 177.48W; TBM/R60 vs. 968.66 ± 173.70W; FFM/R60). Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was lower than resting values (P < 0.05) postexercise in all protocols. These findings demonstrate that power outputs rely on resistive force selection and recovery duration, and that high-intensity exercise may provide an alternative to aerobic activity in the management of hypertension.
Efficient Ca2+ buffering in fast‐spiking basket cells of rat hippocampus

Fast‐spiking parvalbumin‐expressing basket cells (BCs) represent a major type of inhibitory interneuron in the hippocampus. These cells inhibit principal cells in a temporally precise manner and are involved in the generation of network oscillations. Although BCs show a unique expression profile of Ca2+‐permeable receptors, Ca2+‐binding proteins and Ca2+‐dependent signalling molecules, physiological Ca2+ signalling in these interneurons has not been investigated. To study action potential (AP)‐induced dendritic Ca2+ influx and buffering, we combined whole‐cell patch‐clamp recordings with ratiometric Ca2+ imaging from the proximal apical dendrites of rigorously identified BCs in acute slices, using the high‐affinity Ca2+ indicator fura‐2 or the low‐affinity dye fura‐FF. Single APs evoked dendritic Ca2+ transients with small amplitude. Bursts of APs evoked Ca2+ transients with amplitudes that increased linearly with AP number. Analysis of Ca2+ transients under steady‐state conditions with different fura‐2 concentrations and during loading with 200 μm fura‐2 indicated that the endogenous Ca2+‐binding ratio was ∼200 (κS= 202 ± 26 for the loading experiments). The peak amplitude of the Ca2+ transients measured directly with 100 μm fura‐FF was 39 nm AP−1. At ∼23°C, the decay time constant of the Ca2+ transients was 390 ms, corresponding to an extrusion rate of ∼600 s−1. At 34°C, the decay time constant was 203 ms and the corresponding extrusion rate was ∼1100 s−1. At both temperatures, continuous theta‐burst activity with three to five APs per theta cycle, as occurs in vivo during exploration, led to a moderate increase in the global Ca2+ concentration that was proportional to AP number, whereas more intense stimulation was required to reach micromolar Ca2+ concentrations and to shift Ca2+ signalling into a non‐linear regime. In conclusion, dentate gyrus BCs show a high endogenous Ca2+‐binding ratio, a small AP‐induced dendritic Ca2+ influx, and a relatively slow Ca2+ extrusion. These specific buffering properties of BCs will sharpen the time course of local Ca2+ signals, while prolonging the decay of global Ca2+ signals.
What causes cell death in Parkinson's disease?

Currently, there is no proven neuroprotective or neurorestorative therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). Several advances in the genetics of PD have created an opportunity to develop mechanistic‐based therapies that hold particular promise for identifying agents that slow and even halt the progression of PD, as well as restore function. Here we review many of the advances in the last decade regarding the identification of new targets for the treatment of PD based on understanding the molecular mechanisms of how mutations in genes linked to PD cause neurodegeneration. Ann Neurol 2008;64 (suppl):S3–S15
Implementation and Improvement of Match-LSTM in Question-Answering System

In this paper, we tackle the popular machine comprehension task derived from Stanford Question Answering Dataset (SQuAD), which consists of more than 100 thousand questions whose answers are segments of text from Wikipedia articles. We implemented the Machine comprehension system based on the model of[2], and made two extensions on top of that: 1. incorporate the word-level similarity in calculating attention; 2. use bi-attention (question-to-context and context-toquestion) mechanism to infuse the information flow to the decoder. In our experiment, these two extensions improve the F1 score by 3% and EM by 2.3%. Our model ranks among top 10 in the test leaderboard by the end of March 20th, 2017.
Did the establishment of specialised courts affect the frequency of business bankruptcy petitions in Spain

Spanish small businesses rarely file for bankruptcy, and Spanish bankruptcy rates are among the smallest in the world. The historical inadequacy of the Spanish insolvency system has led most enterprises to rely on the de facto alternative mortgage system, which implies, among other things, overinvestment by debtors in fixed tangible assets. This latter effect can be particularly detrimental to the enabling environment of novel entrepreneurship. It is therefore of interest to examine whether the change in the bankruptcy regime that took place in Spain some ten years ago, with the establishment of specialised commercial courts (Juzgados de lo Mercantil), had any positive effect on bankruptcy rates. In this paper, the staggered timing of the new courts establishment is exploited in order to estimate an endogenous treatment model with a binary policy variable. The results support the direction of the reform, but the size of the estimated parameter suggests further efforts in that direction.
Pulmonary lobe segmentation with level sets

Automatic segmentation of the separate human lung lobes is a crucial task in computer aided diagnostics and intervention planning, and required for example for determination of disease spreading or pulmonary parenchyma quantification. In this work, a novel approach for lobe segmentation based on multi-region level sets is presented. In a first step, interlobular fissures are detected using a supervised enhancement filter. The fissures are then used to compute a cost image, which is incorporated in the level set approach. By this, the segmentation is drawn to the fissures at places where structure information is present in the image. In areas with incomplete fissures (e.g. due to insufficient image quality or anatomical conditions) the smoothing term of the level sets applies and a closed continuation of the fissures is provided. The approach is tested on nine pulmonary CT scans. It is shown that incorporating the additional force term improves the segmentation significantly. On average, 83% of the left fissure is traced correctly; the right oblique and horizontal fissures are properly segmented to 76% and 48%, respectively.
Private Waste Contractors and Solid Waste Management in Anambra State

The rapid growth of urban population in Anambra State has far-reaching implications for waste generation and management. This study therefore examines the role of private waste contractors in solid waste management in the state. The study anchored on the New Public Management theory. The descriptive survey research method was adopted and data was collected from primary and secondary sources. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed. The data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics like frequency count, percentages and mean scores. The hypotheses formulated were tested with regression analysis. The findings show among others that solid waste recycling has not been adequately adopted by the state government and the private waste contractors as a waste management strategy. The State government is therefore encouraged to thoroughly review their contractual agreement with the private waste contractors to ensure that perceived inadequacies in their operations are addressed for enhanced service delivery. There is also need for intensified enlightenment campaign to ensure that citizens imbibe the right sanitary habit.
DETERMINING LEARNER PRONUNCIATION MODELS WITH THE K-NN ALGORITHM

Most phonetic learner corpora are dictionary-based and transcribe a target / pronunciation model for learners [1], which is usually an American pronunciation model, because the electronic resources for British English are scarce. This paper proposes to investigate which reference pronunciation model learners aim to emulate, by comparing their realisations with two reference formant datasets, which represent pronunciation models for British and American speakers. Reference varieties (and their putative rejection or adoption in the name of ELF) have been the topic of a heated debate, sometimes laden with political and economical considerations ([9], [12]). The whole debate ([5], [7], [10], [12]) and the economic issues surrounding prestige [9], as well as ideological and political implications have been commented upon, as well as the potential need for a “Lingua Franca Core” [12]. Various methods have been used to determine a variety of English on segmental criteria. Wieling et al. [13] have adopted another methodology to “evaluate the suitability of a computational pronunciation comparison method” and have used ready-made transcriptions from the ACCENT project archives and have shown the Levenshtein distance to be a good metrics for the measure of pronunciation distance, congruent with on-line native judgements.
A literature review on resource transfer between clusters

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An investigation into environmental coopetition in the South African wine industry

Environmental problems can often not be solved in isolation and need to be solved in a cooperative manner, sometimes even by collaborating with competitors. The coopetition body of literature would be ideal to address this need, but this body of literature has, historically, considered only a relatively narrow interpretation of what value is created and to whom such value is appropriated. Furthermore, multiple authors in the coopetition field have noted the need for research dealing with the dynamics of value creation and appropriation. This dissertation addresses the need for understanding the dynamics of value in an expanded view of value creation and appropriation. It does so by introducing stakeholder theory into the coopetition field to create a typology of value creation and appropriation, referred to as the Coopetition Value Matrix (CVM). The CVM serves as both a diagnostic tool and an instrument to better articulate and understand value creation, value appropriation, and the interaction of different types of value. The dissertation applied the CVM to ten cases of environmental coopetition in the wine industry. Environmental coopetition can be defined as actions of competitors to cooperate to reduce environmental impact and/or create environmental value. The methodology was based on qualitative interviews with partners and stakeholders in the cases of environmental coopetition. Applying the CVM to the cases led to some interesting observations, including the identification of three generic dynamics in the creation and appropriation of value. The dissertation represents an extension and refinement of some elements of coopetition literature, while it also introduces new theory in other aspects. Even though the ten cases in the study were from the wine industry, the findings are of much broader implication. Ultimately, the study calls for a broadening of the understanding of how value is created in coopetition and how it may be appropriated. The findings should therefore be of interest to a much broader group of researchers than those who are only interested in solving environmental problems.
The Occurrence of Beer Spoilage Lactic Acid Bacteria in Craft Beer Production.

Beer is one of the world's most ancient and widely consumed fermented alcoholic beverages produced with water, malted cereal grains (generally barley and wheat), hops, and yeast. Beer is considered an unfavorable substrate of growth for many microorganisms, however, there are a limited number of bacteria and yeasts, which are capable of growth and may spoil beer especially if it is not pasteurized or sterile-filtered as craft beer. The aim of this research study was to track beer spoilage lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inside a brewery and during the craft beer production process. To that end, indoor air and work surface samples, collected in the brewery under study, together with commercial active dry yeasts, exhausted yeasts, yeast pellet (obtained after mature beer centrifugation), and spoiled beers were analyzed through culture-dependent methods and PCR-DGGE in order to identify the contaminant LAB species and the source of contamination. Lactobacillus brevis was detected in a spoiled beer and in a commercial active dry yeast. Other LAB species and bacteria ascribed to Staphylococcus sp. , Enterobaceriaceae, and Acetobacter sp. were found in the brewery. In conclusion, the PCR-DGGE technique coupled with the culture-dependent method was found to be a useful tool for identifying the beer spoilage bacteria and the source of contamination. The analyses carried out on raw materials, by-products, final products, and the brewery were useful for implementing a sanitization plan to be adopted in the production plant.
International Student Satisfaction and Loyalty: A Comparative Study of Malaysian and Australian Higher Learning Institutions

Abstract Purpose – Factors affecting international student satisfaction and loyalty are crucial for higher learning institutions of Malaysia as the country wants to become a global education hub. The purpose of this paper is to determine the most contributing factors affecting the level of international student satisfaction and how these factors affect loyalty of the students. These factors are academic issues, economic considerations, image and prestige and infrastructure of the university. The study involved the same research in Australia in order to compare situations in these two nations. Methodology – A structured questionnaire was used to collect data to determine the significant factors affecting the level of satisfaction and loyalty of international students of Malaysian and Australian public universities. Findings – The primary results demonstrated that towards international students, academic issues and economic considerations are more important than rest of two other factors in Malaysia where in Australia image and prestige are quite significant. Value – This study contributes to the research of Malaysian educational field and research of Malaysia as a global educational hub as it involves comparison with a developed country like Australia.
Anthelmintic resistance and management of nematode parasites on beef cattle-rearing farms in the North Island of New Zealand

Abstract AIM: To provide information on current farmers’ opinions and farming practices thought to be related to anthelmintic resistance, and to test for associations between the presence of anthelmintic resistance and management practices on beef cattle- rearing farms in the North Island of New Zealand. METHODS: A study using an interview-based questionnaire about management of internal parasites was conducted on 62 beef cattle-rearing farms in the North Island of New Zealand, using case-control analyses to test for associations between management practices and the presence or absence of resistance to ivermectin or albendazole. Resistance was inferred from faecal nematode egg count (FEC) reduction (FECR) tests (FECRTs) when there was <90% reduction in FEC 7-10 days after treatment of calves <12 months of age. RESULTS: Of the 59 farmers who completed the questionnaire, most (n=40) ranked parasites highly, and at about the same level as quality and quantity of feed, as important production-limiting factors for their enterprises. In contrast, anthelmintic resistance was not perceived to be a problem on 13 farms, and its importance was rated low on 24, moderate on 15, and high on only six farms. Despite all farms having planned parasite control programmes, there was heavy reliance on clinical signs of parasitism to determine frequency of treatments. About one in three farmers with beef breeder cows routinely treated their calves at marking, one in five treated mixed-age cows, and almost half treated rising 2-year-old cows before calving. One in four farmers used anthelmintics on calves on 8–12 occasions in their first year of life. Co-grazing with other species was rare, but follow-on grazing within 3 months after older cattle or sheep was common. On most farms, grazing cattle was restricted to part of the farm, a finding with implications for parasite control and persistence of larvae in refugia. Macrocyclic lactone (ML) anthelmintics or their combinations with other action families were currently, and for the past 5 years, used more frequently than benzimidazoles and levamisole, and benzimidazole-levami- sole combinations. The prevalence of resistance to ivermectin was high (82%) and no plausible model of associations could be constructed from the data. The prevalence of resistance to albendazole was 60%, and the risk of resistance increased as the number of rising 1-year-old cattle present mid-winter increased, and decreased as the number of breeding cows >2 years old present mid-winter increased. CONCLUSION: It is clear that in practice anthelmintic resistance is a secondary consideration to obtaining productivity advantages from the use of anthelmintics in beef cattle. Farmers’ opinions were divided on many issues and the overall impres- sion was of confused and diverse thinking regarding the principles of the use of anthelmintics. The overall outlook regarding anthelmintic resistance in cattle is bleak unless the need for integrated and long-term research activities is acted upon soon.