Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the Effectiveness of Sales Promotion Activities on Brand Loyalty: A Study on COCA COLA

The study is descriptive in nature measuring the effect and relationship in between sales promotion activities and brand loyalty. The study is done on COCA COLA brand in the open market. The research problem observed here as to measure the efficiency of sales promotion and brand loyalty to get the real effectiveness on sales promotion activities. The research objectives formulated are to know the importance of component of sales promotion activities, to know the effect of advertising on sales promotion activities, to realize the importance of brand loyalty on sales promotion activities. A quantitative method was used to accomplish the purpose of the study. A survey instrument developed taking items to measure all variables with five points likert scale. A sample size of 159 (from 210) incorporated in the study having the reliability of 0.851(more than 0.7). The data analyzed using SPSS for descriptive statistics and regression to measure the effect of independent variable on dependent variable. It is recommend that COCA COLA should improve more on its different activities and produce different product and with tasty fast food or build up different production of equipment to expand its business in the whole world’s market .
Sampling of finite elements for sparse recovery in large scale 3D electrical impedance tomography

This study proposes a method to improve performance of sparse recovery inverse solvers in 3D electrical impedance tomography (3D EIT), especially when the volume under study contains small-sized inclusions, e.g. 3D imaging of breast tumours. Initially, a quadratic regularized inverse solver is applied in a fast manner with a stopping threshold much greater than the optimum. Based on assuming a fixed level of sparsity for the conductivity field, finite elements are then sampled via applying a compressive sensing (CS) algorithm to the rough blurred estimation previously made by the quadratic solver. Finally, a sparse inverse solver is applied solely to the sampled finite elements, with the solution to the CS as its initial guess. The results show the great potential of the proposed CS-based sparse recovery in improving accuracy of sparse solution to the large-size 3D EIT.
Localization of sense and antisense transcripts of Prdx2 gene in mouse tissues

Recently, it has been reported that antisense RNAs are transcribed from a large number of genes in various species including human and mouse. The Prdx2 gene, which is indicated to be involved in signal transduction related to platelet-derived growth factor as well as to protection from oxidizing agents, has been shown to produce sense and antisense transcripts. To obtain clues for possible roles of Prdx2 antisense transcripts, we have performed Northern blot analysis and in situ hybridization on tissues of 8-week-old C57BL/6J mice. The Northern blot analysis revealed that major parts of sense and antisense transcripts were poly(A–)-RNA. The analysis of the fractionated RNA of fibroblasts indicated that the poly(A–)-RNA would be localized in the cytoplasm of cells. The in situ hybridization demonstrated that the sense and antisense transcripts were localized in almost the same limited areas of brain, testis, and spleen. It also revealed that the sense and antisense transcripts coexisted in Purkinje cells. In thymus and stomach, the antisense transcripts were detected, but sense transcripts were not. When tissues of BALB/c mice were examined by in situ hybridization, the observations were essentially the same as those of C57BL/6J except that it appeared that the amounts of sense and antisense transcripts in testis of BALB/c were greater than those in C57BL/6J, and that the amounts of antisense transcripts in stomach of BALB/c were much smaller than those in C57BL/6J.
Resistive Effects on the Spatially Resolved Absolute Electroluminescence of Thin-Film Cu(In, Ga)Se2 Solar Cells Studied by a Distributed Two-Diode Model

Electroluminescence (EL) images with absolute photon emissions from Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells were obtained under different forward current injections, with the spatially distributed EL emission becoming non-uniform as the current density gradually increases. A distributed two-diode electrical three-dimensional model was established which simulated the dark current density-voltage curves and the absolute EL images of the CIGS solar cells very well. Then, the resistive effects were analyzed using this model and simulation results show that the sheet resistance of the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer dominates the non-uniform distribution of the EL emission in the studied CIGS thin-film solar cells. The effect of the sheet resistance of the TCO and the series resistance of the micro-diode on the EL variations is found to become obvious under high-current-injection conditions, whereas the effect of shunt resistance of the micro-diode on the EL variations becomes more obvious under low-resistance value or low-current-injection conditions.
When NOT to Learn: Misguided Teaching in the DCX-MMC Strategic Alliance

cooperation between the two companies, most notably the formation of NMKV, a joint venture that serves the kei (micro) car market in Japan. Pending completion of the Nissan-MMC alliance and a stable resolution to the current crisis, Part I of the present paper is limited to presenting the DCX-MMC case. Detailed discussion of the case and its implications for theory and practice will be left to Part II, which will be published in a subsequent issue of this journal. and Lubatkin (1998), relative absorptive capacity is measured by similarity of the partners' basic knowledge, degree of management formalization, degree of research centralization, compensation practices, and level of participation in research communities. They found that this relative absorptive capacity concept explained interpartner learning better than the absorptive capacity concept.
Fecal Calprotectin: Diagnostic Accuracy of the Immunochromatographic CalFast Assay in a Pediatric Population

Fecal calprotectin is a noninvasive marker for bowel diseases and it is high valuable to follow disease activity in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of the recently introduced immunochromatographic assay CalFast in comparison to the well‐known ELISA tests for calprotectin assay to obtain a rapid diagnosis of bowel inflammation in pediatric patients.
A New Image-scaling Algorithm Eradicating Blurring and Ringing to Apply to Camera Phones

This paper proposes the algorithm that can implement high resolution images using a camera module at low cost. The result when using proposed algorithm is superior to that of bicubic, but the hardware structure is simpler than that of bicubic and it is equipped with the boost of high frequency to remove blurs. It also eradicates ringing effectively when removing blurs.
Live imaging of X chromosome inactivation and reactivation dynamics

The epigenetic phenomenon called X chromosome inactivation plays critical roles in female development in eutherian mammals, and has attracted attention in the fields of developmental biology and regenerative biology in efforts to understand the pluripotency of stem cells. X chromosome inactivation is routinely studied after cell fixation, but live imaging is increasingly being required to improve our understanding of the dynamics and kinetics of X chromosome inactivation and reactivation processes. Here, we describe our live imaging method to monitor the epigenetic status of X chromosomes using a gene knock‐in mouse strain named “Momiji” and give an overview of the application of this strain as a resource for biological and stem cell research.
Rapid modulation of the silent information regulator 1 by melatonin after hypoxia‐ischemia in the neonatal rat brain

Increasing evidence indicates that melatonin possesses protective effects toward different kinds of damage in various organs, including the brain. In a neonatal model of hypoxia‐ischemia (HI), melatonin was neuroprotective and preserved the expression of the silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) 24 hours after the insult. This study aimed to gain more insight into the role of SIRT1 in the protective effect of melatonin after HI by studying the early (1 hour) modulation of SIRT1 and its downstream targets, and the consequences on necrosis, apoptosis, autophagy, and glial cell activation. We found that melatonin administered 5 minutes after the ischemic insult significantly reduced necrotic cell death assessed 1 hour after its administration. In parallel, we found a reduced activation of the early phases of intrinsic apoptosis, detected by reduced BAX translocation to the mitochondria and preservation of the mitochondrial expression of cytochrome C, indicating a reduced outer mitochondrial membrane permeabilization in the melatonin‐treated ischemic animals. These effects were concomitant to increased expression and activity of SIRT1, reduced expression and acetylation of p53, and increased autophagy activation. Melatonin also reduced HI‐induced glial cells activation. SIRT1 was expressed in neurons after HI and melatonin but not in reactive glial cells expressing GFAP. Colocalization between SIRT1 and GFAP was found in some cells in control conditions. In summary, our results provide more insight into the connection between SIRT1 and melatonin in neuroprotection. The possibility that melatonin‐induced SIRT1 activity might contribute to differentiate neuronal progenitor cells during the neurodegenerative process needs to be further investigated.
A Factorization Machine-Based Approach to Predict Performance Under Different Parameters in Cellular Networks

The performance of network elements depends heavily on their parameter setting in cellular networks. Current practice of parameter setting relies largely on expert experience and self-organizing networks, which is often suboptimal. Therefore, how to find the optimal parameter combinations automatically is increasingly concerned by mobile network operators. In this article, a collaborative learning approach is proposed to meet this demand by predicting the performance of network elements under different parameter combinations before setting. The proposed approach captures the time-aware correlation between different network elements and their parameter combinations based on factorization machine to boost the prediction accuracy. Extensive experiment results demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms the existing prediction approaches on a large-scale real-world network dataset from a metropolitan LTE network.
Doherty's Legacy: A History of the Doherty Power Amplifier from 1936 to the Present Day

Eighty years ago, William Doherty invented a PA architecture that has played-and will continue to play-an important role in the development of energy-efficient radio transmitters for a variety of wireless communication applications. Although the original concept is still equally valid, the development of new semiconductor processes and digital signal processing techniques has served as a basis for an evolution of the DPA topology into the 21st century. The need for energy-efficient power amplification will be further emphasized in future wireless systems (5G and beyond) through the projected exploration of dense-antenna arrays and millimeter-wave frequencies. Recent developments of the Doherty concept make it one of the most attractive candidates for realizing energy-efficient wireless systems into the future.
On dynamic stability of manipulators mounted on mobile platforms

This paper presents the development of a model which can adequately simulate the dynamic stability of manipulators mounted on moveable platforms. The model takes into account the dynamics of the base that can potentially rock back-and-forth. Particularly, the model predicts the changes in the velocities of the manipulator links and the base due to impact with the ground. The application of the study is directed at industrial machines that carry human-operated hydraulic manipulators. The model is therefore used to simulate for the first time, planar movements of'a Caterpillar 215B excavator-based log-loader. The results clearly show the effect of the manipulator movement on turning the base over. The results also show that by proper manipulation of the arms, one can achieve a stable condition and even reverse the ‘tipover' situation in such machines.
Accelerated MAP reconstructions using an accelerated factor

In emission tomography, statistical reconstruction has been proved outperforming FBP (filtered backprojection) [1]. ML-EM (maximum likelihood expectation-maximization) [2] algorithm is one of the most widely used statistical reconstruction methods. Although with good image quality, the ML-EM algorithm is challenged by its slow convergence speed and ill-condition problem. To solve for the problems, based on the ideas from the accelerated EM (AEM) [3] and maximum a posteriori EM (MAP-EM) [4] algorithms, we derived two approaches (MAP-AEM1 and MAP-AEM2) in this study to accelerate MAP reconstruction using a bigger step size instead of ordered subsets. The results were compared with ordered-subset methods of both BSREM and MAPCOSEM. From the preliminary results, our methods showed the speedup ability for the traditional MAP-EM.
Polysaccharide labelling: impact on structural and biological properties

Three sulphated polysaccharides labelled at the reducing end with three different chemical treatments [2-aminopyridine (2-AP), 8-amino-1,3,6-trisulphonic acid (ANTS) and 6-(biotinyl)-aminocaproylhydrazide (BACH)] were compared. Molecular weight, chemical composition, nuclear magnetic resonance features and anticoagulant activity expressed as activated partial thromboplastin time were studied to determine whether structural and biological properties were retained or not after labelling. Partial depolymerisation and reduced biological activity were observed when reductive amination was performed with 2-AP. The initial properties were better retained with ANTS, and BACH did not modify the anticoagulant and structural properties.
An Improved 2-step Liquid Culture System for Efficient In Vitro Shoot Proliferation of Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.)

An efficient procedure for in vitro shoot production of the medicinal plant sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.) was developed. Of three cytokinins tested, zeatin (ZEA) at a concentration of 2 μM resulted in the formation of large numbers of adventitious shoots on leaf explants. A larger size of the small shoots was achieved by combining a 2-weeks preculture with ZEA (step 1: shoot induction) with a 5-weeks main culture without plant growth regulators (step 2: shoot elongation). Liquid media were superior to semisolid media: An average of 27.4 shoots per leaf explant, and 53.3 shoots per shoot explant were achieved. The 2-step culture system with liquid media permits a comparatively cheap micropropagation of sundew as well as in vitro biomass production, with potential for scale-up.
Customer knowledge management: development stages and challenges

Customer knowledge management (CKM) is necessary fo r firms in order to benefit from customer engagement which is referred as active involvement in innovative product or service development. Providing customized product and enhancing quality of service and product without successful CKM is no t possible. However, organizations face major challen ges concerning CKM. In this study, organizational, human and technological challenges of CKM were inve stigated. Then, the CKM development phases in the organizations are discussed. Finally, the organizat ional, human and technological challenges of each p hase and the main CKM process of each phase are identifi ed. Scholars and practitioners can use this researc h to estimate the current CKM phase of each organization and the challenges that the firms might face durin g the current and upcoming phases.
HRAS mutations and resistance to the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells

The purpose of this study was to identify mechanisms of innate resistance to an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, erlotinib, in a panel of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines. Specifically, we analyzed the role of HRAS mutations in erlotinib resistance.
Studies on Information as an Asset I: Definitions

This paper describes the development of a definition information assets within the information science accounting field. Information assets are included those assets which promise future economic benefits organizations. The desirability of achieving a valuation for information assets is questioned. A of information as an asset is proposed and situated the information resources management (IRM) and asset tradition.
A Hedonic Analysis of Feeder Cattle Auction Prices in Northeast Texas

The U.S. has the largest fed cattle industry in the world (USDA-NASS, 2016) and makes about $10.5 billion dollars in cash receipts from beef cattle sales (Texas Department of Agriculture, 2015). Our study analyzes sales of pre-conditioned calves from 22 auctions between 2010 and 2013 in Northeast Texas, determines which intrinsic quality attributes add most value, and examines the extent to which physical attributes along with the futures market help explain variation in feeder cattle prices. Our results showed that lot size, weight, sex, breed, and feeder cattle futures prices are all statistical significant factors affecting feeder cattle cash prices. A unit gain in weight resulted in a very slight discount, heifers were discounted compared to steers, and the English breeds received premiums over crossbreds. Feeder cattle cash and futures price were positively associated with the October futures contract providing the largest bump to cash prices. Understanding of the quality attributes and the relationship between feeder cattle cash and future prices may assist local producers in formulating price risk management strategies that have implications on profitability.
The Italian Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (I-ADNI): validation of structural MR imaging.

BACKGROUND The North American Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (NA-ADNI) was the first program to develop standardized procedures for Alzheimer's disease (AD) imaging biomarker collection. OBJECTIVE We describe the validation of acquisition and processing of structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in different Italian academic AD clinics following NA-ADNI procedures. METHODS 373 patients with subjective memory impairment (n = 12), mild cognitive impairment (n = 92), Alzheimer's dementia (n = 253), and frontotemporal dementia (n = 16) were enrolled in 9 Italian centers. 22 cognitively healthy elderly controls were also included. MRI site qualification and MP-RAGE quality assessment was applied following the NA-ADNI procedures. Indices of validity were: (i) NA-ADNI phantom's signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratio, (ii) proportion of images passing quality control, (iii) comparability of automated intracranial volume (ICV) estimates across scanners, and (iv) known-group validity of manual hippocampal volumetry. RESULTS Results on Phantom and Volunteers scans showed that I-ADNI acquisition parameters were comparable with those one of the ranked-A ADNI scans. Eighty-seven percent of I-ADNI MPRAGE images were ranked of high quality in comparison of 69% of NA-ADNI. ICV showed homogeneous variances across scanners except for Siemens scanners at 3.0 Tesla (p = 0.039). A significant difference in hippocampal volume was found between AD and controls on 1.5 Tesla scans (p < 0.001), confirming known group validity test. CONCLUSION This study has provided standardization of MRI acquisition and imaging marker collection across different Italian clinical units and equipment. This is a mandatory step to the implementation of imaging biomarkers in clinical routine for early and differential diagnosis.
Best Practices in Open and Distance Learning Systems in India: An Assessment

The success of Open Distance Learning (ODL) institutions has contributed to increased credibility and acceptance of distance learning systems as an effective mode of teaching and learning. This genre of education has made significant contributions to human resource development. At least 40 per cent of incremental students’ populations at post-secondary level, of the total of about students 0.5 million students per year, prefer to study through stance mode. They opt for different types and levels of degree/diploma programmes that are offered by the ODL institutions. The factors, which contribute to the growth and sustainability of distance education system, are identified in this paper with a view to designing appropriate strategies to effectively face the challenge of promoting human resource development through ODL systems. In view of this, an attempt has been made to describe the best practices in open and distance education, especially with regard to (a) policy initiatives; (b) design and development of courses; (c) methods and strategies of instruction, (d) media for learning; (e) student support services and (f) management and financing of institutions. Some of the major challenges that are confronted in quality assurance of programmes are discussed in this write up.
Domain-General Learning of Neural Network Models to Solve Analogy Task - A Large-Scale Simulation

Several computational models have been proposed to explain the mental processes underlying analogical reasoning. However, previous models either lack a learning component or use limited, artificial data for simulations. To address these issues, we build a domain-general neural network model that learns to solve analogy tasks in different modalities, e.g., texts and images. Importantly, it uses word representations and image representations computed from large-scale naturalistic corpus. The model reproduces several key findings in the analogical reasoning literature, including relational shift and familiarity effect, and demonstrates domain-general learning capacity. Our model also makes interesting predictions on cross-modality transfer of analogical reasoning that could be empirically tested. Our model makes the first step towards a computational framework that is able to learn analogy tasks using naturalistic data and transfer to other modalities.
Advantages of Simple MIMO Schemes for Robust or High Data Rate Transmission Systems in Underground Tunnels

Robust, reliable and high data rate transmission systems are key components of underground information systems particularly in the case of driverless ones. In this context, wireless systems must be able to maximize data rate and/or robustness while avoiding increases in transmitting power and/or in transmission bandwidth. MIMO techniques are today well known in the scientific community for indoor applications where the propagation channel experiences multipath effects. The work presented in this paper concerns the evaluation of conventional MIMO techniques such as the Alamouti code, spatial multiplexing, and linear precoding in tunnels environments usually considered as correlated channels. After the choice of the best suited channel model and antenna configuration, the simulation of the physical layer based on Wi-Fi IEEE802.11 a/g standards gives rise to the comparison of the MIMO algorithms.