Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A scheme to increase profitability in entrepreneurial SMEs

Purpose – This article aims to demonstrate how small entrepreneurial firms can employ low cost market research techniques in the area of service evaluation to prioritise the sales effort, increase sales and improve margins.Design/methodology/approach – “Triangulation” has been used. Secondary data included academic sources and internal company records. Primary data included exploratory depth interviews and group discussions, a questionnaire‐based survey and the construction of case studies.Findings – It can be seen from the case study results presented that a customer service appreciation survey can yield useful and actionable information, which can be used creatively by entrepreneurs to bring about significant improvements in business performance in a short space of time.Research limitations/implications – It would have been better if more extensive data were available on customers to allow for more sophisticated quota sampling controls.Practical implications – A model of small firm growth is discussed a.
Tri-band monopole antenna with rectangular ring resonator for GSM 1800/1900, WLAN and WiMAX applications

A tri-band antenna for GSM, WLAN and WiMAX applications has been presented in this paper. Overall size of the proposed antenna is 45 × 85 × 0.8 mm3. It is fabricated on FR4 epoxy substrate. This paper discusses the overall evolution of the design and also discusses simulated and measured results. The effects of rectangular ring resonator, symmetric parasitic element and rectangular slots have been presented. The proposed antenna has resonant frequencies at 1.8 GHz, 3.6 GHz and 5.05 GHz with impedance bandwidth of 40%, 20.8% and 5% respectively. The peak gain of the proposed antenna is 4.6 dBi at 3.7 GHz. Parametric variation has been employed to optimise the results and polynomial regression equation has been presented relating a design parameter with first resonant frequency. The results were simulated using Ansys HFSS.
Creative Virtual Tree Modeling Through Hierarchical Topology-Preserving Blending

We present a new method to efficiently generate a set of morphologically diverse and inspiring virtual trees through hierarchical topology-preserving blending, aiming to facilitate designers’ creativity production. By maintaining the topological consistency of the tree branches, sequences of similar yet different trees and novel intermediate trees with encouragingly interesting structures are generated by performing inner-species and cross-species blending, respectively. Hierarchical fuzzy correspondences are automatically established between two or multiple trees based on the multi-scale topology tree representations. Fundamental blending tasks including morph, grow and wilt are introduced and organized into a tree-structured blending scheduler, which not only introduces the randomness into the blending procedure but also wisely schedules the tasks to generate topology-aware blending sequences, contributing to a variety of resulting trees that exhibit diversities in both geometry and topology. Most significantly, multiple batches of blending can be executed in parallel, resulting in a rapid creation of a large repository of diverse trees.
Health-related quality of life outcomes of patients with coronary artery disease treated with cardiac surgery, percutaneous coronary intervention or medical management.

BACKGROUND Given the repeated findings of little or no difference in mortality outcomes between percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with or without stent and coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), there is a need to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes associated with revascularization decisions. OBJECTIVE To compare risk-adjusted HRQOL outcomes by treatment strategy one year following cardiac catheterization. METHODS Using an inception cohort study design, the sample included all Alberta residents, 18 years of age or older, referred for cardiac catheterization, from January 1, 1996, to December 31, 1998, with two or more diseased coronary vessels at catheterization. Patients received a follow-up questionnaire including the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ), one year following their index catheterization. The SAQ comprises five dimensional scales measuring exertional capacity, anginal stability, anginal frequency, treatment satisfaction and quality of life. RESULTS Three thousand three hundred ninety-two (78.1%) patients responded to the follow-up survey. Responders who were revascularized consistently reported significantly better HRQOL compared with responders treated with medical management. Responders undergoing CABG reported significantly better HRQOL in all but one SAQ dimension compared with responders who had either a PCI with or without stent. Responders who had a PCI with stent reported better HRQOL compared with responders who underwent a PCI without a stent. CONCLUSION The treatment decision to revascularize the coronary vessels, whether with PCI with or without a stent or with CABG, was consistently associated with significantly better HRQOL at one-year follow-up compared with patients treated with medical therapy.
Introduction: Philology in a Manuscript Culture

In medieval studies, philology is the matrix out of which all else springs. So we scarcely need to justify the choice of philology as a topic for the special forum to which Speculum, in a historic move, has opened its pages. On the other hand, if philology is so central to our discipline, why should one postulate a "new" philology, however ironically? While each contributor answers this question in a different, though complementary, way, the consensus seems to be that medieval philology has been marginalized by contemporary cognitive methodologies, on the one side, while within the discipline itself, a very limited and by now grossly anachronistic conception of it remains far too current. This version, formulated under the impulse of political nationalism and scientific positivism during the second half of the nineteenth century, continues to circumscribe the "discipline" of medieval studies. The forum presented here undertakes to explore and interrogate presuppositions underlying current philological practices. What is "new" in our enterprise might better be called "renewal," renovatio in the twelfth-century sense. On the one hand, it is a desire to return to the medieval origins of philology, to its roots in a manuscript culture where, as Bernard Cerquiglini remarks, "medieval writing does not produce variants; it is variance. "' On the other hand, a rethinking of philology should seek to minimize the isolation between medieval studies and other contemporary movements in cognitive methodologies, such as linguistics, anthropology, modern history, cultural studies, and so on, by reminding us that philology was once among the most theoretically avant-garde disciplines (cf. Vico, Ampere, Michelet, Dilthey, Vossler). Medievalists are frequently viewed by modernist colleagues as hostile or indifferent to contemporary theory. In such strictures, philology often figures both in the attack and in the defense: the modernists oppose theory to philology; the medievalists cite philology as a sufficiency that either precludes the need for theory or renders modern theories anachronistic in a medieval
An efficient perfect algorithm for memory repair problems

Memory repair by using spare rows/columns to replace faulty rows/columns has been proved to be NP-complete. Traditional perfect algorithms are comparison-based exhaustive search algorithms and are not efficient enough for complex problems. To overcome the deficiency of performance, a new algorithm has been devised and presented in this paper. The algorithm transforms a memory repair problem into Boolean function operations. By using BDD (binary decision diagram) to manipulate Boolean functions, a repair function which encodes all repair solutions of a memory repair problem can be constructed. The optimal solution, if it exists, can be found efficiently by traversing the BDD of a repair function only once. The algorithm is very efficient due to the fact that BDD can remove redundant nodes, combine isomorphic subgraphs together, and have very compact representations of Boolean functions if a good variable ordering is chosen. The remarkable performance of the algorithm can be demonstrated by experimental results. Because a memory repair problem can be modeled as a bipartite graph, the algorithm may be useful for researchers in other fields such as graph theory.
Novel, benign, solid catalysts for the oxidation of hydrocarbons

The catalytic properties of two classes of solid catalysts for the oxidation of hydrocarbons in the liquid phase are discussed: (i) microporous solids, encapsulating transition metal complexes in their cavities and (ii) titanosilicate molecular sieves. Copper acetate dimers encapsulated in molecular sieves Y, MCM-22 and VPI-5 use dioxygen to regioselectively ortho-hydroxylate l-tyrosine to l-dopa, phenol to catechol and cresols to the corresponding o-dihydroxy and o-quinone compounds. Monomeric copper phthalocyanine and salen complexes entrapped in zeolite-Y oxidize methane to methanol, toluene to cresols, naphthalene to naphthols, xylene to xylenols and phenol to diphenols. Trimeric μ3-oxo-bridged Co/Mn cluster complexes, encapsulated inside Y-zeolite, oxidize para-xylene, almost quantitatively, to terephthalic acid. In almost all cases, the intrinsic catalytic activity (turnover frequency) of the metal complex is enhanced very significantly, upon encapsulation in the porous solids. Spectroscopic and electrochemical studies suggest that the geometric distortions of the complex on encapsulation change the electron density at the metal ion site and its redox behaviour, thereby influencing its catalytic activity and selectivity in oxidation reactions. Titanosilicate molecular sieves can oxidize hydrocarbons using dioxygen when loaded with transition metals like Pd, Au or Ag. The structure of surface Ti ions and the type of oxo-Ti species generated on contact with oxidants depend on several factors including the method of zeolite synthesis, zeolite structure, solvent, temperature and oxidant. Although, similar oxo-Ti species are present on all the titanosilicates, their relative concentrations vary among different structures and determine the product selectivity.
Novel indexes of heterogeneity of ventricular repolarization in subjects with early repolarization pattern.

AIM The presence of early repolarization (ER) in inferior or inferolateral leads has been associated with malignant arrhythmias and increased mortality. Transmural dispersion of repolarization (TDR) has been proposed to underlie arrhythmogenesis in J-wave syndromes. The present study investigated specific electrocardiographic (ECG) markers including Tpeak-Tend interval and (Tpeak-Tend)/QT ratio that reflect TDR in subjects with ER. METHODS AND RESULTS The ECGs of 47 healthy individuals (43 males, mean age: 45.7 ± 13.1 years) with an ER pattern in lateral (n = 15) or infero-lateral leads (n = 32) who successfully completed an exercise stress test were analysed at rest, peak workload, and recovery. The ER pattern was defined as slurring or notching of the terminal part of the QRS complex (J-point) ≥ 1 mm, in at least two contiguous leads. Thirty-five age- and sex-matched healthy subjects without ER (28 males, mean age: 48.6 ± 10.2 years) served as comparative controls. Subjects with ER displayed increased Tpeak-Tend interval in lead V(2), Tpeak-Tend dispersion of the precordial leads, and (Tpeak-Tend)/QT ratio in lead V(2) compared with those without ER in all three phases of the exercise test (P < 0.05). In addition, Tpeak-Tend dispersion and the (Tpeak-Tend)/QT ratio in lead V(2) were significantly increased at recovery phase compared with peak exercise only in subjects with ER (P< 0.05). There were no significant differences among the studied ECG parameters regarding the ER location (lateral vs. infero-lateral), the ER type (slurring or notching), or the maximum J-point amplitude (≥ 1.5 vs. <1.5 mm) at baseline ECGs. CONCLUSIONS Individuals with ER display an increased TDR that may be related to an increased arrhythmic risk.
Generalized k-labelset Ensemble for multi label classification and cost-sensitive classification: Review

In multi-label classification, set of labels are associated with each example. An algorithm called Random k-labelsets (RAkEL) is an algorithm for multi-label classification that follows problem transformation approach and uses Label powerset (LP) classifier. RAkEL assumes equal weightage for each label set. To overcome this drawback, a new approach as reported in the literature that is Generalized k-labelset ensemble (GLE) advocates the basis expansion model to train LP classifier on random k label set. To reduce the global error between the estimate and ground truth, the expansion coefficients are learned. This model is further extended to solve the multi label misclassification problems. It is capable of handling noisy data sets such as social tagging by treating tag count as misclassification cost. This paper gives the review of GLE method.
Some Productive Mechanisms of Coining New Technical Terms in Developing Terminologies

The article considers some of the mechanisms and principles that are argued to be productive in coining technical terms in developing terminologies. The examples are mainly drawn from the fields of nanotechnology, information technologies, space research, genetics and some others. Special attention is paid to the principles of systemic organization of technical terms within a terminology and its reflection in the process of the creation of new technical terms. The structural and semantic peculiarities of one and multi-component technical terms are analyzed as well as the preferences in the number of components. The principles and types of the formation of terminological oppositions and their reflection in the underlying forms of technical terms are discussed. I also focus on the principles of choice of term elements, especially productive and systemic that builds up the corpus of “building blocks” for coining new terms for a certain terminology or the language of science on the whole. The role of productive spheres of borrowing term elements for coining new technical terms is also put into context.
Is bigger better? Size of the location and expatriate adjustment in China

China could be a challenging destination for Western business expatriates. However, their extent of adjustment to life and work could be contingent on the size of the location of their assignment. Maybe Westerners adjust more easily to large cities with their more Western-style way of life and consumption patterns than to less Westernized small towns and villages. To examine this proposition, a mail survey was directed at Western business expatriates assigned to locations of varying size in China. As expected, results showed that the size of the location was positively associated with adjustment to the general non-work environment as well as with work adjustment. Surprisingly, there was no relationship between the size of the location and adjustment to interacting with host nationals, presumably due to language problems. The distinct implications of these findings are discussed in detail.
High-efficiency crystalline si thin film solar cells with Si nanopillar array textured surfaces

In this paper, high-efficiency crystalline Si thin film solar cells are reported via the incorporation of the Si nanopillar (SiNP) array textured surface. The power conversion efficiency of ∼18.1% is predicted for the cell configuration of the 1000 nm thick SiNP array (array periodicity: 500 nm; SiNP diameter: 250 nm) + 800 nm thick underlying Si film with the minority carrier diffusion length of ∼0.6 µm based on the optical and electrical calculations. This work points out the potential of the aforementioned cell structure in boosting the performance of Si thin film based solar cells while maintaining the low costs without using high grade raw materials. Except the device performance projection, the underlying physics responsible is also clarified.
Why Do Countries Mandate Accrual Accounting for Tax Purposes?

This study investigates why countries mandate accruals in the definition of corporate taxable income. Accruals alleviate timing and matching problems in cash flows, which smoothes taxable income and thus better aligns it with underlying economic performance. These accrual properties can be desirable in the tax setting as tax authorities seek more predictable corporate tax revenues. However, they can also make tax revenues procyclical by increasing the correlation between aggregate corporate tax revenues and aggregate economic activity. We argue that accruals shape the distribution of corporate tax revenues, which leads regulators to incorporate accruals into the definition of taxable income to balance the portfolio of government revenues and expenditures. Using a sample of 26 OECD countries, we find support for several theoretically motivated factors explaining the use of accruals in tax codes. We first provide evidence that corporate tax revenues are less volatile in high accrual countries, but high accrual countries collect relatively higher (lower) tax revenues when the corporate sector grows (contracts). Critically, we then show that accruals and smoother tax revenues are favored by countries with higher levels of government spending on public services and uncertain future expenditures, while countries with procyclical other tax collections favor cash rules and lower procyclicality of corporate tax revenues.
The Simultaneous Relation between Auditor Switching and Audit Opinion: An Empirical Analysis

Previous studies examining the relation between the audit opinion and auditor switching assume a one-way causation, with the issuance of a qualified opinion triggering a switch. However, analytical studies dealing with auditor independence issues (e.g., Magee and Tseng, 1990; Dye, 1991; Teoh, 1992) suggest an opposite causation, in which the auditor is less likely to qualify the opinion for a client who may switch auditors. Some evidence of an opposite causation is provided by Krishnan (1994), who finds that auditors treat switchers more conservatively (relative to non-switchers) in issuing the audit opinion. The causation between switching and the audit opinion is clearly important for policy decisions regarding both opinion shopping and auditor independence. In this paper, we test the two-way causation hypothesis and find evidence in support of a two-way causation. Our simultaneity-adjusted estimates confirm previous findings of a positive effect of a qualified opinion on switching (Chow and Rice, 1982; Craswell, 1988; Citron and Taffier, 1992). However, we find in addition that auditors are more likely to issue qualified opinions to switchers. This finding does not support the analytical studies cited earlier.
Long–Short Extensions: How Much Is Enough?

Long–short extension strategies, such as 130–30, allow portfolio managers to reduce the implementation inefficiencies associated with the long-only constraint. Ample research using benchmark-specific and time period–specific numerical analyses indicates that long–short extensions increase expected information ratios. What is lacking is a general theory or mathematical model of long–short extensions based on underlying assumptions about benchmark composition, the security covariance matrix, and the portfolio optimization process. The analytical model developed here identifies the roles various parameters play in determining the size of the long–short extension. The impact of changes in the model parameters over time and across markets is illustrated with the use of historical and current equity benchmark data.
Automatic epileptic seizure detection in EEGs using MF-DFA, SVM based on cloud computing.

BACKGROUND Epilepsy is a chronic disease with transient brain dysfunction that results from the sudden abnormal discharge of neurons in the brain. Since electroencephalogram (EEG) is a harmless and noninvasive detection method, it plays an important role in the detection of neurological diseases. However, the process of analyzing EEG to detect neurological diseases is often difficult because the brain electrical signals are random, non-stationary and nonlinear. OBJECTIVE In order to overcome such difficulty, this study aims to develop a new computer-aided scheme for automatic epileptic seizure detection in EEGs based on multi-fractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) and support vector machine (SVM). METHODS New scheme first extracts features from EEG by MF-DFA during the first stage. Then, the scheme applies a genetic algorithm (GA) to calculate parameters used in SVM and classify the training data according to the selected features using SVM. Finally, the trained SVM classifier is exploited to detect neurological diseases. The algorithm utilizes MLlib from library of SPARK and runs on cloud platform. RESULTS Applying to a public dataset for experiment, the study results show that the new feature extraction method and scheme can detect signals with less features and the accuracy of the classification reached up to 99%. CONCLUSIONS MF-DFA is a promising approach to extract features for analyzing EEG, because of its simple algorithm procedure and less parameters. The features obtained by MF-DFA can represent samples as well as traditional wavelet transform and Lyapunov exponents. GA can always find useful parameters for SVM with enough execution time. The results illustrate that the classification model can achieve comparable accuracy, which means that it is effective in epileptic seizure detection.
An Evaluation of the Design and Usability of a Novel Robotic Bilateral Arm Rehabilitation Device for Patients with Stroke

Study design Case series. Evidence level IV (case series). Introduction Robot-assisted therapy for upper limb rehabilitation is an emerging research topic and its design process must integrate engineering, neurological pathophysiology, and clinical needs. Purpose of the study This study developed/evaluated the usefulness of a novel rehabilitation device, the MirrorPath, designed for the upper limb rehabilitation of patients with hemiplegic stroke. Methods The process follows Tseng’s methodology for innovative product design and development, namely two stages, device development and usability assessment. During the development process, the design was guided by patients’ rehabilitation needs as defined by patients and their therapists. The design applied synchronic movement of the bilateral upper limbs, an approach that is compatible with the bilateral movement therapy and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation theories. MirrorPath consists of a robotic device that guides upper limb movement linked to a control module containing software controlling the robotic movement. Results Five healthy subjects were recruited in the pretest, and 4 patients, 4 caregivers, and 4 therapists were recruited in the formal test for usability. All recruited subjects were allocated to the test group, completed the evaluation, and their data were all analyzed. The total system usability scale score obtained from the patients, caregivers, and therapists was 71.8 ± 11.9, indicating a high level of usability and product acceptance. Discussion and conclusion Following a standard development process, we could yield a design that meets clinical needs. This low-cost device provides a feasible platform for carrying out robot-assisted bilateral movement therapy of patients with hemiplegic stroke. Clinical Trial Registration identifier NCT02698605.