Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Micro Moments on Fashion Retail Shopper’s Journey

The new age of mobile technology and consumer relia nce on such devices has changed the dynamics of buy ing behaviour of retail shoppers. Today’s consumer is f ickle, savvy, yet very aware of technological advan ces that impact their everyday lives. It is imperative that contemporary retail organisations tap on such opportunities wher e they can optimize the use of technology by putting it to much use tow ards their branding and marketing strategies. This re earch paper explores the literature on the subject of micro-mom ents and how it impacts on retail shopper’s journey . Several academic contributions on the subject of m-commerce and its linkages to consumer buying behaviour have been rev iew d and discussed in detail. The thorough literature review on the subject clearly indicates opportunities and scope for further research on the subject area.
Regression modeling of longitudinal data with outcome‐dependent observation times: extensions and comparative evaluation

Conventional longitudinal data analysis methods assume that outcomes are independent of the data‐collection schedule. However, the independence assumption may be violated, for example, when a specific treatment necessitates a different follow‐up schedule than the control arm or when adverse events trigger additional physician visits in between prescheduled follow‐ups. Dependence between outcomes and observation times may introduce bias when estimating the marginal association of covariates on outcomes using a standard longitudinal regression model. We formulate a framework of outcome‐observation dependence mechanisms to describe conditional independence given observed observation‐time process covariates or shared latent variables. We compare four recently developed semi‐parametric methods that accommodate one of these mechanisms. To allow greater flexibility, we extend these methods to accommodate a combination of mechanisms. In simulation studies, we show how incorrectly specifying the outcome‐observation dependence may yield biased estimates of covariate‐outcome associations and how our proposed extensions can accommodate a greater number of dependence mechanisms. We illustrate the implications of different modeling strategies in an application to bladder cancer data. In longitudinal studies with potentially outcome‐dependent observation times, we recommend that analysts carefully explore the conditional independence mechanism between the outcome and observation‐time processes to ensure valid inference regarding covariate‐outcome associations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Induction of xylanase in thermophilic fungi Scytalidium thermophilum and Sporotrichum thermophile

ABSTRACT Regulation of xylanase production in two thermophilic fungi Scytalidium thermophilum and Sporotrichum thermophile was investigated. The expression of xylanase was found to be inducible in both the cases. Various carbon sources were tested so as to identify the inducers. Soy flour and oat spelt xylan induced maximum level of xylanase in Scytalidium thermophilum and Sporotrichum thermophile respectively. Induction of xylanase in Scytalidium thermophilum led to simultaneous induction of cellulase. The zymography of enzyme preparations revealed that different carbon sources caused differential expression of multiple isoforms of xylanase in Scytalidium thermophilum, but same isoforms were expressed by Sporotrichum thermophile irrespective of the carbon source used. Key words: Induction, isoforms, Xylanase, biobleaching * Author for correspondence: skhare@rocketmail.com INTRODUCTION Xylan is the principle type of hemicellulose. It is a heterogeneous polysaccharide consisting of a homopolymeric backbone of 1,4-linked-β-D-xylopyranose units and short chain branches including O-acetyl, α-L-arabinofuranosyl, α-D-glucuronyl residues (Whistler and Richards 1970). Xylan originating from different plant sources show differences in xylan branching and composition (Badhan et al. 2004). Cooperative action of multiple xylanases is required for xylan hydrolysis. These xylanases, therefore, have overlapping yet different specificities (Dekker and Richards 1976). The main activities involved in xylan hydrolysis are 1,4-β-xylanase and β-xylosidase (Polizeli et al. 2005). Presence of multiple forms of xylanases is reported in several microorganisms. Thermophilic fungi viz. Melanocarpus albomyces, Talaromyces byssochlamydoides (Hayashida et al. 1988), Humicola insolens (syn. Scytalidium thermophilum ) (Dusterhoft et al. 1997) , Chaetomium thermophile (Ganju et al. 1989), Myceliophthora sp (Badhan et al. 2004) are specially known to produce multiple xylanases. Xylanases (in general all endoglycanases) act against large polysaccharides. Because of their size, polysaccharides cannot pass through the cell membrane to trigger the response for the synthesis of xylanases. However it is believed that low molecular-mass soluble catabolites are released from the action of low, constitutive amounts of hydrolases on xylan polymers. These catabolites enter the cell and signal to stimulate the synthesis of the respective enzymes (Sachslehner et al. 1998). Thus, the xylanases can be quite specifically induced. Xylanases have attracted considerable research interest because of their potential application in the
PERSONALITY TRAITS, ALTRUISM AND INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF INDIVIDUALISTIC AND COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURES

The present study aimed to investigate personality traits, altruism and intercultural sensitivity among undergraduate students of individualistic and collectivistic cultures. The basis for categorization of countries as individualistic and collectivistic was referred from Hofstede‟s research (Hofstede, 2010). The present research used comparative research design. Population for the research comprised of undergraduate students who were approached via purposive sampling. The sample size consisted a total of N=190 participants comprising of 95 Pakistani and 95 American undergraduate students. Cultural Orientation Scale was used to assess the nature of culture along with three other scales namely Intercultural Sensitivity Scale, Big Five Inventory and Adapted Self-Report Altruism scale to measure intercultural sensitivity, personality traits and altruism respectively. In order to find significant differences between the two distinct cultures i.e. individualistic and collectivist cultures, independent sample t test was used. The results indicated individualistic cultures to have higher intercultural sensitivity and altruism as compared to collectivist cultures. As far as the personality traits were concerned, significant differences among extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness were found with higher levels of extraversion, conscientiousness and openness to experience in individualist cultures and higher levels of agreeableness in collectivist cultures. Neuroticism however tended to be same between the two identified cultures. Findings from this research suggest several implications for Pakistani community such as exposing the student population to mixed communities, spreading awareness about diverse groups, arranging several study abroad trips and counseling them about helping others.
Development of a combined filtration-enrichment culture followed by a one-step duplex PCR technique for the rapid detection of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli in human faecal samples.

A new combined filtration-enrichment culture followed by a PCR technique for the rapid detection of Campylobacterjejuni and C. coli in human faeces has been developed. Only bacteria that passed through the membrane could multiply in the enrichment culture; target bacteria were detected by a one-step duplex PCR technique with combinations of primers that are specific for different Campylobacter spp. , which should allow for the detection of a mixed infection in a single patient. A Falcon cell-culture insert and 24-well tissue-culture plates were used. After 2 days, both C. jejuni and C. coli were reliably detected in diluted faeces that were seeded with as few as 10 cells which corresponds to a concentration of 10(3) cfu/g. Even allowing for the dilution of faecal samples, this represents an increase in sensitivity of two-to-three orders of magnitude over the conventional filtration method.
Crowfunding and Innovation

Entrepreneurs have started relying on crowdfunding to fund their investments. This paper surveys the literature linking crowdfunding with innovation in entrepreneurial firms. Two distinct areas are discussed. First, crowdfunding has the potential to foster innovation by offering new sources of capital to innovation‐driven firms and thereby reduce the funding gap for innovative startups. Second, crowdfunding offers a way for the crowd to participate in the innovation process by providing feedback to the entrepreneur. This feedback can take various forms, including providing ideas on the development of the product during and after the campaign (in the spirit of crowdsourcing), and providing valuable information on the future demand for the new product.
Professionals on Corporate Boards: How Do They Affect the Bottom Line?

Licensed professionals, such as accountants and lawyers, play a variety of roles when they sit on corporate boards. This paper sheds light on what role professional-directors play under what circumstances, and its consequences for corporate performance. We develop a two-dimensional framework, enabling us to identify the â€˜wise counselâ€™ role in relation to the professional-capital dimension, and the â€˜copâ€™ and â€˜entrepreneurâ€™ roles in relation to the risk-taking dimension. Using a dataset of all publicly quoted companies in Japan during 2004-2015, we demonstrate that the presence of professional-directors increases profitability and corporate value in all sectors, indicative of their â€˜wise counselâ€™ role. We also show that the presence of professional-directors leads to higher stock return volatility in regulated industries, evidence of their role as â€˜entrepreneursâ€™. By contrast, professional-directors lower stock return volatility in less regulated industries, indicative of their role as â€˜copsâ€™. Our theory and findings on the contingent effects of professional roles on firm performance have implications for corporate governance. They also shed light on a key question in strategic management, that is, the role of professionals as a specific type of resource in explaining performance heterogeneity.
Superpixel-based Road Segmentation for Real-time Systems using CNN

: Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) contributed considerable improvements for image segmentation tasks in the ﬁeld of computer vision. Despite their success, an inherent challenge is the trade-off between accuracy and computational cost. The high computational efforts for large networks operating on the image’s pixel grid makes them ineligible for many real time applications such as various Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). In this work, we propose a novel CNN approach, based on the combination of super-pixels and high dimensional feature channels applied for road segmentation. The core idea is to reduce the computational complexity by segmenting the image into homogeneous regions (superpixels) and feed image descriptors extracted from these regions into a CNN rather than working on the pixel grid directly. To enable the necessary convolutional operations on the irregular arranged superpixels, we introduce a lattice projection scheme as part of the superpixel creation method, which composes neighbourhood relations and forces the topology to stay ﬁxed during the segmentation process. Reducing the input to the superpixel domain allows the CNN’s structure to stay small and efﬁcient to compute while keeping the advantage of convolutional layers. The method is generic and can be easily generalized for segmentation tasks other than road segmentation.
Corporate Governance and Stock Liquidity: Panel Evidence from 2001 to 2013

Constructing a new index of corporate governance quality (CGQ), we provide comprehensive and robust evidence for the association between governance quality and stock liquidity in the pure order-driven stock market of Australia. We hypothesize that governance quality affects stock liquidity because effective governance alleviates information asymmetries between insiders (e.g., managers) and outsiders (e.g., investors), as well as among outsiders by improving the financial transparency of a firm. Consistent with this theoretical argument, by using a large sample of 1,207 firms (10,179 firm-year observations) over the long period from 2001 to 2013, we find a significant positive relationship between governance quality and stock liquidity, suggesting that better governed firms have greatly improved stock liquidity. Specifically, we find that better governed firms have a lower trading cost, smaller price impacts of trade, and higher trading speed. The findings are robust to alternative liquidity proxies and dimensions, to alternative estimation methods, to different sample specifications, and to endogeneity bias.
Periodic solutions for nonlinear oscillations of nanowires using variational iteration method

Nonlinear oscillation of nanowires, based on the Timoshenko beam theory, are investigated. The analytical solution of the nanowire structure using the Galerkin technique together with the variational iteration method is developed. A coupled nonlinear differential equation is obtained utilizing the Galerkin technique. Subsequently, the frequency-amplitude relationships are found for the nonlinear vibration of the nanowires using the variational iteration method. The main objective of this work is to obtain the frequency-amplitude relationships of the nanowires and also to investigate the effects of different parameters, such as the surface effect, transverse shear deformation and the aspect ratio, on their dynamic behaviors. Furthermore, the influence of varying amplitude on the nonlinear oscillations of the nanowires is analyzed.
Using a Model of Economic Solvency to Understand the Connection between Economic Factors and Intimate Partner Violence

Poverty is a risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV); however, little is known about the economic state at which women are no longer at risk for IPV due to their economic status, which is economic solvency. A Model of Economic Solvency in women has been developed from the literature that includes four factors: human capital, social capital, sustainable employment, and independence. The purpose of this research is to validate the model in a sample of women reporting IPV. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the model using data from 280 abused women. Examination of the model yielded adequate fit with the data, indicating that the model is valid for use with women reporting IPV. The validation of the model offers strength of association between constructs and can be used to plan interventions to improve economic solvency in abused women to potentially reduce violence and facilitate recovery.
Proteinuria In Pregnancy: A Review Of The Literature

Background: Proteinuria can be encountered in pregnant and non-pregnant patients, and is a worrying feature for clinicians and pregnant ladies as it is related to preeclampsia. Aim: Literature review on proteinuria in pregnancy. Materials and methods: Using several search engines, information was gathered from 68 references as the foundation for the review. Results: Proteinuria is a consequence of two mechanisms, the abnormal trans-glomerular passage of proteins due to increased permeability of the glomerular capil lary wall and the impaired re-absorption by the epithelial cells of the proximal tubules. It is most commonly associated with urinary tract infections in pregnancy or longstanding renal disease, but is related to pre-eclampsia after 20 weeks gestation in the presence of hypertension. Blood vessel endothelial cell damage plus an exaggerated maternal inflammatory response leads to increased vascular permeability, vasoconstriction, reduced placental blood flow and clotting abnormalities. Studies imply that the correlation between dipstick urinalysis and 24 hour protein estimation is weak and NICE recommend that with significant proteinuria, automated dipstick readers be used to improve the rate of false positive and false negatives and a dipstick finding of proteinuria should be confirmed by 24 hours urine collection/protein creatinine ratio. In pregnant ladies with renal disease the main aim is to have delivery at term but patients with preeclampsia quite often develop progressive disease which ends up in the need for iatrogenic delivery. In situations when it is difficult to distinguish preeclampsia from pre-existing renal disease, it is pertinent to assume a working diagnosis of preeclampsia because of its potential for rapid development of serious maternal and foetal complications. Proteinuria (or hypertension) which persists longer than 3 months post-delivery should be followed up closely. Conclusions: The gestational age at which proteinuria is first documented is important in establishing the likelihood of preeclampsia versus other renal disease. Proteinuria prior to or early in pregnancy suggests pre-existing renal disease. In late pregnancy, the presence of hypertension or aspects of severe preeclampsia also helps to distinguish preeclampsia from underlying renal disease. Renal biopsy is best left until the post-partum period unless unexplained rapidly progressive loss of renal function is occurring.
Physical Activity as a Buffer for Anxiety Symptoms in Rural African AmericanAdolescent Females

The study examines how physical activity buffers the development of anxiety symptoms in response to racerelated stress and negative youth experiences. The participants are 72 adolescent females from an understudied population of rural African American students residing in South Central Louisiana. Recent literature suggests that physical fitness increases one’s ability to cope with psychological stress and may prevent or combat anxiety disorders. However, American adolescents are becoming less physically active, particularly African American females. Previous literature shows that adolescent females report higher levels of mental health challenges than their male counterparts. The results indicate that physical activity is an effective buffer against increased anxiety symptomology. In addition, the results present this population as resilient rather than “at risk” for developing vulnerability to mental health challenges.
Evaluation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Vitamin E in Treatment of Infertile Male Albino Rats

The present study describes the effect of mesenchymal stem cells and vitamin E on infertility of adult male rats. Induction of infertility by oral administration of cadmium chloride (cdcl2) for 30 days. Induction of infertility caused a reduction in body weight as well as in genital sex organs weight. The epididymal sperm counts and their motility were significantly decreased following cdcl2 administration, while significantly increased in fructose in semen. A reduction in serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone, and an elevation in serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and prolactin (PRL) were also noticed in infertile rats. Significant increases in malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) and catalase (CAT) levels were observed in testicular homogenate of infertile rats. Decreased in reduced glutathione (GSH) content, Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant were also found in induced infertility rats. Results showed that stem cells significantly increased of SOD in testes, LH and total antioxidant in serum, fructose in semen and fix all disruption caused by induction of infertility. Results demonstrated the beneficial influences of stem cells and vitamin E in reducing the harmful effects of cdcl2 while vitamin E was less effective than stem cells. DNA fragmentation of testes from experimental animals was examined. Liver functions, kidney function, were estimated.
Virtual environments as an aid to the design and evaluation of home and work settings for people with physical disabilities

One of the major challenges facing the professionals involved in the home modification process is to succeed in adapting the environments in a way that enables an optimal fit between the individual and the setting in which he or she operates. The challenge originates primarily from the fundamental characteristic of design - one can see and test the final result of home modifications only after they have been completed. The goal of this study was to address this problem by developing and evaluating an interactive living environments model, HabiTest, that will facilitate the planning, design and assessment of optimal home and work settings for people with physical disabilities. This paper describes the Habitest tool, an interactive model that has been implemented via an immersive virtual reality system which displays threedimensional renderings of specific environments, and which responds to user-driven manipulations such as navigation within the environment and alteration of its design. Initial results of a usability evaluation of this interactive environment by users are described.
Continuous Time Markov Models for Binary Longitudinal Data

Longitudinal data usually consist of a number of short time series. A group of subjects or groups of subjects are followed over time and observations are often taken at unequally spaced time points, and may be at different times for different subjects. When the errors and random effects are Gaussian, the likelihood of these unbalanced linear mixed models can be directly calculated, and nonlinear optimization used to obtain maximum likelihood estimates of the fixed regression coefficients and parameters in the variance components. For binary longitudinal data, a two state, non‐homogeneous continuous time Markov process approach is used to model serial correlation within subjects. Formulating the model as a continuous time Markov process allows the observations to be equally or unequally spaced. Fixed and time varying covariates can be included in the model, and the continuous time model allows the estimation of the odds ratio for an exposure variable based on the steady state distribution. Exact likelihoods can be calculated. The initial probability distribution on the first observation on each subject is estimated using logistic regression that can involve covariates, and this estimation is embedded in the overall estimation. These models are applied to an intervention study designed to reduce children's sun exposure. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)