Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing the validity of new product development techniques in Spanish firms

Recent articles in the business press and academic literature affirm that one of the primary means for achieving competitive advantage through product development is by accelerating the development process. A wide range of advanced technologies and techniques have become available to accelerate the design, engineering and manufacture of new products. However, much attention has been focused on new product development techniques but little empirical research has been conducted to validate these techniques. In this exploratory study, we try to identify those techniques that are more useful to accelerating the product development process. Our findings, based on data from 54 Spanish firms, suggest that some available techniques are not effective in achieving this goal of reducing the time to market. Implications for researchers and managers are discussed.
Measuring the Influence and Intensity of Customer's Sentiments in Facebook and Twitter

Organisations these days are actively using social media platforms to engage with potential and existing customers and monitor what they say about the organisation’s product or service. The most important area within social media monitoring lies in how to gain insight for sentiment analysis. Sentiment analysis helps in effective evaluation of customer’s sentiments in real time and takes on a special meaning in the context of online social networks like Twitter and Facebook, which collectively represent the largest online forum available for public opinion. Sentiment Analysis is not about retrieving and analyzing the analytics purely on the basis of positive, negative or neutral sentiment. It is imperative to assess the influencers of the sentiments in terms of Retweet and Share option used by them on Twitter and Facebook platform respectively. Measuring the intensity is other important aspect of sentiment analysis process. What kind of nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs are used in the opinion across the Twitter and Facebook platform matters as well since it exhibits the intensity of the underlying emotion in the text written. This study was conducted to propose a framework to identify and analyse the positive and negative sentiments present in Twitter and Facebook platforms and an algorithm was prepared to measure the intensity and influence of the positive, negative sentiment in particular using the document and sentence level analysis technique.
CMAP dispersion, amplitude decay, and area decay in a normal population

The aim of this investigation was to define the boundaries of compound motor action potential (CMAP) dispersion, amplitude decay, and area decay in a control population and determine their dependence on external variables such as age and interelectrode distance. Measurements were made from median, ulnar, and common peroneal motor nerves of 110 normal subjects of ages 15–90 years. Significant differences between nerves were found in mean values of each parameter. Dispersion and amplitude decay increased with the square of age in all three nerves, while area decay increased with age in the median nerve. Dispersion was the main cause of amplitude decay. Use of regression equations to predict dispersion and amplitude decay in each nerve significantly tightened confidence limits and should therefore increase the accuracy of these parameters in detecting demyelinating pathology in peripheral nerve. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Dimension Reduction by Maximizing Pairwise Discriminations

Dimension reduction is an important pre-processing technique for high-dimensional data analysis. In this paper, we consider the process of linear dimension reduction (LDR) in multiclass problems. We propose a novel feature extraction method based on Minimax Probability Machine (MPM), named MPMbased Dimension Reduction (DR-MPM). Its objective naturally combines the discriminative information of all the class pairs and each pair of classes is well separated in the projected subspace. The algorithm is robust in the sense that it is insensitive to 'outlier' classes which lie far away from other classes. We evaluate DR-MPM on a number of synthetic and real-world data sets, and show that it outperforms other state-of-art feature extraction methods in terms of visual intuition and classification accuracy, especially when the distances between classes are unevenly distributed.
The penicillin sensory transducer, BlaR, involved in the inducibility of β‐lactamase synthesis in Bacillus licheniformis is embedded in the plasma membrane via a four‐α‐helix bundle

Prediction studies, conformational analyses and membrane‐topology mapping lead to the conclusion that the penicillin sensory transducer, BlaR, involved in the inducibility of β‐lactamase synthesis in Bacillus licheniformis, is embedded in the plasma membrane bilayer via four transmembrane segments TM1–TM4 that form a four‐α‐helix bundle. The extracellular 262‐amino‐acid‐residue polypeptide, S340–R601, that is fused at the carboxy end of TM4, possesses the amino acid sequence signature of a penicilloyl serine transferase. It probably functions as penicillin sensor. As an independent entity, this polypeptide behaves as a high‐affinity penicillin‐binding protein. As a component of the full‐size BlaR, it adopts a different conformation presumably because of interactions with the extracellular 63‐amino‐acid‐residue P53–S115 loop that connects TM2 and TM3. Reception of the penicillin‐induced signal requires a precise conformation of the sensor but it does not involve penicilloylation of the serine residue S402 of motif STYK. Signal transmission through the plasma membrane by the four‐α‐helix bundle may proceed in a way comparable to that of the aspartate receptor, Tar. Signal emission in the cytosol by the intracellular 189‐amino‐acid‐residue Y134–K322 loop that connects TM3 and TM4, may proceed via the activation of a putative metallopeptidase.
Individual initiative, skill variety, and creativity: the moderating role of knowledge specificity and creative resources

This study explores the effects of individual initiative and skill variety on individual creativity under the contexts of knowledge specificity and creative resources. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses in a sample of 245 employees of the Bureau of National Health Insurance in Taiwan. The results show that individual initiative and skill variety positively affect creativity. Knowledge specificity and creative resources play moderating roles in affecting the relationships. High knowledge specificity complements the deficiency of the low initiative, while abundant creative resources strengthen the effect of the high initiative in performing creativity.
Learning to Explain Non-Standard English Words and Phrases

We describe a data-driven approach for automatically explaining new, non-standard English expressions in a given sentence, building on a large dataset that includes 15 years of crowdsourced examples from UrbanDictionary.com. Unlike prior studies that focus on matching keywords from a slang dictionary, we investigate the possibility of learning a neural sequence-to-sequence model that generates explanations of unseen non-standard English expressions given context. We propose a dual encoder approach—a word-level encoder learns the representation of context, and a second character-level encoder to learn the hidden representation of the target non-standard expression. Our model can produce reasonable definitions of new non-standard English expressions given their context with certain confidence.
Aerosol Transmission of Filoviruses

Filoviruses have become a worldwide public health concern because of their potential for introductions into non-endemic countries through international travel and the international transport of infected animals or animal products. Since it was first identified in 1976, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) and Sudan, the 2013–2015 western African Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak is the largest, both by number of cases and geographical extension, and deadliest, recorded so far in medical history. The source of ebolaviruses for human index case(s) in most outbreaks is presumptively associated with handling of bush meat or contact with fruit bats. Transmission among humans occurs easily when a person comes in contact with contaminated body fluids of patients, but our understanding of other transmission routes is still fragmentary. This review deals with the controversial issue of aerosol transmission of filoviruses.
Concepts for Quality Assurance of Health Related Apps

The growing number and variety of available mobile health apps makes it increasingly difficult for users to identify apps that match their needs and are safe and trustworthy. Based on the results of a non-systematic search process (internet, PubMed) using terms related to quality and health apps, the presented work aims at giving a short overview over and categorizing existing approaches for assessing and rating the quality of apps to be used in health related contexts.
ELL, a novel TFIIH partner, is involved in transcription restart after DNA repair

Significance A variety of genotoxic agents cause DNA lesions which, when located on a transcribed gene, will block the RNA polymerase II and recruit DNA repair proteins, including the basal transcription factor IIH, to restore the genetic information via the pathway known as transcription-coupled repair. Once the repair process is completed, transcription is expected to restart to restore proper cellular functions. RNA polymerase II restart after DNA repair in higher eukaryotes has not been studied mechanistically. We have identified eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukemia as specifically involved in transcription resumption after DNA repair and have been able to measure the effect of its absence on transcription and the dynamic behavior of RNA polymerase II during transcription-coupled repair. DNA lesions that block transcription may cause cell death even when repaired, if transcription does not restart to reestablish cellular metabolism. However, transcription resumption after individual DNA-lesion repair remains poorly described in mechanistic terms and its players are largely unknown. The general transcription factor II H (TFIIH) is a major actor of both nucleotide excision repair subpathways of which transcription-coupled repair highlights the interplay between DNA repair and transcription. Using an unbiased proteomic approach, we have identified the protein eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukemia (ELL) as a TFIIH partner. Here we show that ELL is recruited to UV-damaged chromatin in a Cdk7- dependent manner (a component of the cyclin-dependent activating kinase subcomplex of TFIIH). We demonstrate that depletion of ELL strongly hinders RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II) transcription resumption after lesion removal and DNA gap filling. Lack of ELL was also observed to increase RNA Pol II retention to the chromatin during this process. Identifying ELL as an essential player for RNA Pol II restart during cellular DNA damage response opens the way to obtaining a mechanistic description of transcription resumption after DNA repair.
Fair Division Transportation Allocation Model for Funding Prioritization

AbstractDue to the increasing population and limited funding for maintenance and construction, the efficiency of the transportation network system in the U.S. is being challenged by a potential crisis that endangers the economic growth of the nation and the quality of life of the people. Although funding allocation can be approached using different methods, it is difficult to reach consensus on the criteria used to distribute limited funds among competing needs. Conventional funding allocation methods use weighted formulas based on population and other criteria. However, formula-based funding allocation methods may lead to the public’s disagreement if funding allocation final decisions are not perceived as fair or equitable by all agencies. A fair division transportation allocation model (FDTAM) is proposed as an alternative to fairly distribute limited funds among the agencies competing for funding. The FDTAM aims to maximize the participants’ project desirability and to minimize total envy due to budget.
Macroeconomic Determinants of European Stock Market Volatility

In this paper we investigate whether macroeconomic variability can explain time variation in European stock market volatility. We find that unlike the documented case of the USA, in many cases, the time variation in stock market volatility is found to be significantly affected by the past variability of either monetary or real macroeconomic factors. Our findings have important implications for capital and portfolio allocations.
Subsistence – A Bio-economic Foundation of the Malthusian Equilibrium

This paper develops a bio-economic Malthusian growth model. By integrating recent research on allometric scaling, energy consumption, and ontogenetic growth we provide a model where subsistence consumption is endogenously linked to body mass and fertility. The theory admits a two-dimensional Malthusian equilibrium characterized by population density and body mass (metabolic rate) of the representative adult. As a result, the analysis allows us to examine the link between, in particular, human biology and long run income, body mass and population size. Off the steady-state we investigate the possibility of cyclical behavior of the size of a population and the size of its representative member. We also demonstrate that a take-off into sustained growth should be associated with increasing income, population size, and body mass. The increase in the latter is, however, bounded and can be viewed as convergence to a biologically determined upper limit.
The Role of MDM4 SNP34091 A>C Polymorphism in Cancer: A Meta-Analysis on 19,328 Patients and 51,058 Controls

Background Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Several observational studies have suggested a significant association of the MDM4 SNP34091 A>C polymorphism with cancers. However, the results of the published studies are inconsistent. Materials and methods PubMed, Embase/Ovid and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched for relevant studies with a time limit of April 20, 2016. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the strength of the association between MDM4 polymorphism and cancer risk. Publication bias was estimated using Begg's funnel plots and Egger's regression test. Results A total of 19,328 patients and 51,058 controls were included in the analysis. Overall, a significantly decreased risk of cancer was associated with MDM4 SNP34091 polymorphism for the allele model (C vs. A, OR = 0.715, 95% CI: 0.622-0.821, p = 0.000), dominant model (CC + AC vs. AA, OR = 0.684, 95% CI: 0.563-0.831, p = 0.000), recessive model (CC vs. AC + AA, OR = 1.139, 95% CI = 1.055-1.230, p = 0.001) and heterozygote model (AC vs. AA, OR = 0.687, 95% CI = 0.568-0.832). In the subgroup analysis by cancer type, no significant association was found in the breast cancer subgroup. In the subgroup analysis by geographical region, 2 genetic models, the allele and heterozygote models, showed a significant association in Chinese populations. Conclusions The results of our meta-analysis showed that the MDM4 SNP34091 A>C polymorphism may function as a protective factor against cancer risk.
Interpretation of data from multiple trials: a critical review

The objective was to review the current status of meta‐analysis, the process of combining the results of similar investigations, which was described in 1976. It has evolved rapidly, and thousands have already been published. Meta‐analysis may be performed in a narrative form or in the preferred statistical format, which is more rigorous and demanding. The criteria for designing and performing a meta‐analysis of high quality are presented and discussed in detail, including selection criteria, quality, biases and heterogeneity, both of component studies and of results. Critical reviews of meta‐analyses are presented. Examples are given from my own field – hepatology – and from my own research experience. Although meta‐analysis is simple in concept, it is complex in execution. If performed with insufficient insight or attention to detail, it may give ambiguous or erroneous results.
The Schooling Quality-Earnings Relationship: Using Economic Theory to Interpret Functional Forms Consistent with the Evidence

This paper investigates the economic and empirical foundations of the evidence relating earnings to schooling quality. We replicate the Card-Krueger model for Census years 1970, 1980 and 1990 and find that it consistently produces a strong relationship between schooling quality and the rate of return to schooling. We test key identifying assumptions used by Card and Krueger and others. Several assumptions are rejected. When they are relaxed, the evidence for a strong effect of schooling quality on earning is greatly weakened. A crucial identifying assumption is the absence of selective migration on the basis of earnings. Nonparametric tests strongly reject this hypothesis. The conventional assumption of linearity of the earnings- schooling relationship widely used in the literature is also rejected. The only surviving evidence of any schooling quality effect is in the return to college education. We also test and reject conventional efficiency unit models of the pricing of labor services. The empirically concordant model of earnings is a model of heterogeneous human capital in which regional shocks affect the prices of less- skilled labor.
PHOTOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE INTERACTING BINARY BO MONOCEROTIS: EVIDENCE FOR MAGNETIC ACTIVITY

BO Monocerotis (BO Mon) is a severely neglected short-period (2.23 days) Algol-type eclipsing binary star system undergoing angular momentum variations that are likely due to the evolved secondary star experiencing cycles of magnetic activity. We present the first CCD light curves of BO Mon, which were observed at the Kutztown University Observatory (Kutztown, PA) in 2012 using B, V, and I filters. The analysis presented here is the first of its kind for BO Mon and provides the first physical model of the system's parameters. We also incorporate over 40 yr of published times of minimum light to provide a new ephemeris curve and perform a period study that greatly improves, while differing significantly from, an earlier ephemeris analysis that was done more than 13 yr ago. The observed variations in BO Mon's orbital period supply evidence for mass transfer and magnetic activity and our photometric model affords the basic properties of the system for use in future photometric and spectroscopic studies.
Advancing Statistical Thinking in Observational Health Care Research

Observational medical studies are becoming more prominent due to interest in using data from current medical practice to help guide treatment selection. We start by reviewing why current analysis strategies for observational data tend to produce findings that fail to replicate. We then argue that there is a real need for simple and objective statistical strategies that yield findings more likely to be dependable. Our proposed way forward is to focus on the empirical distribution of local treatment differences, LTDs, which reveal heterogeneity in effect-sizes. The LTD is the difference in mean outcomes for treated and control patients within a cluster of patients relatively well matched on their observed pretreatment characteristics. Because we focus on only one question (comparing two alternative treatment choices for a given disease or condition) and clustering is nonparametric, our proposed approach is more simple and objective than commonly used statistical analysis strategies. By studying graphical displays of information from an LTD distribution, a doctor and patient not only can see a full picture of current treatment outcomes but also can make a truly well-informed, individualized treatment choice.
Speaker recognition using a feature weighting technique

This paper describes a technique for increasing the ability of a text-dependent speaker recognition system to discriminate between speaker classes; this technique is to be performed in conjunction with the nonlinear time alignment between a reference pattern and a test pattern. Unlike the standard approach, where the training of the recognition system merely consists of storing and averaging or selecting the time normalized training patterns separately for each class, the training phase of the system is extended in that a weight is determined for each individual feature component of the complete reference pattern according to the ability of the feature to distinguish between speaker classes. The weights depend on the time axis as well as on the frequency axis. The overall distance computed after nonlinear time alignment between a reference pattern and a test pattern thus becomes a function of the given set of weights of the reference class considered. For each class, the optimum weights result from the ideal criterion of minimum error rate. Instead of this criterion, the closely related but mathematically more convenient Fisher criterion is used that leads to a closed from solution for the unknown weights. Based on these weights, the selection of subsets of effective features is studied in order to further improve the class discrimination. The feature weighting and selecting techniques are tested using a data base of utterances recorded off dialed-up telephone lines. The experiments indicate that feature weighting and feature selection can reduce the error rates by a factor of two or more both for speaker identification and speaker verification.
Design and Analysis of Simulated Consumer Choice or Allocation Experiments: An Approach Based on Aggregate Data

The authors integrate concepts in conjoint analysis and discrete choice theory in econometrics to develop a new approach to the design and analysis of controlled consumer choice or resource allocation experiments. The article is concerned with estimating the parameters of conjoint-type functions from discrete choice or allocation data. Emphasis is placed on the multinomial logit model and aggregate choice or allocation data to illustrate the concepts in a series of empirical examples ranging from simple to complex. The authors present limited external validity evidence to support the approach and make comparisons with traditional conjoint approaches.
Factors Related to Loss of Child Custody in HIV+ Women in Drug Abuse Recovery

Background: Mothers who are dually-diagnosed with HIV/ AIDS and drug abuse are particularly burdened and vulnerable to loss of child custody. Objectives: This study explores factors associated with child custody loss among HIV+ women in drug abuse recovery, and compares mothers who have custody of their children to mothers who do not have custody of all of their children. Methods: Descriptive analyses were conducted on 68 HIV+ mothers in drug recovery, 46% who had custody of all of their children, and 54% who did not. Results: The lost-custody group was less likely to be employed and had more history of violent impulses and arrest, particularly on drug charges. The groups reported similar recent and lifetime drug use patterns, but the custody group had received more drug treatment. Post-hoc analyses found the lost-custody group had lower rates of participation in the interventions offered in the parent clinical trial and higher avoidant coping. Conclusions: The sample in the current study supports that HIV+ women in drug recovery are at high risk of loss of child custody. Non-adherence to available treatment seems to be associated with loss of child custody. Scientific significance: Results suggest the need for further research and active treatment outreach for this population.