Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Online Shopping Behavior: A Study of Consumers in Bangkok

This research focuses on investigating factors that are associated with consumer attitude toward online shopping, and how attitude in turn, relates to online purchasing behavior. The target sample of 400 respondents was Thai and foreign consumers, both male and female, who are familiar with computer and the internet, aged 18 and over, and living in Bangkok. The data collection was conducted at business districts, department stores in the center of Bangkok, and universities. From the findings, age and education are found to have relationship with online shopping. Benefits perception and psychographics are also related to attitude toward online shopping. Attitude toward online shopping is found to have positive relationship with online purchasing in all three aspects (money spent, average time spent, and frequency of purchasing).
An Analysis of the Qualitative Factors which Influence

Introduction and method The qualitative data volunteered as responses to open questions in a self-administered questionnaire study we re analysed to identify the psychological factors influencing young people's behaviour in relation to orthodontic care and to gain an understanding of the psychological factors which influence adolescents’ acceptance of orthodontic care. The study was conducted in all Walsall and Dudley secondary schools. Results and discussion The responses of the young people who were in year 10 of education with an average age of 15.0 years demonstrated the importance of personal constructs, peer group and media influences, parental influences, conflicting messages, teasing, symptom perception, appearance and self-image, and interpersonal relationships in determining whether or not young people either seek and accept or reject orthodontic treatment. Conclusion The study concluded that it is essential that clinicians involve patients fully and honestly in discussions concerning their orthodontic therapy in order to enable them to make a considered consent.
ROSA26Flpo deleter mice promote efficient inversion of conditional gene traps in vivo

Gene trap mutagenesis in embryonic stem cells is an important tool to help elucidate gene function in current mouse mutagenesis efforts. Vector systems based on inversion of the gene trap module have recently been devised to allow for conditional mutagenesis. However, additional efforts are needed to improve this technology including improving the efficiency of site‐specific recombinases required to manipulate these conditional vectors in vivo. Here we describe a mouse line carrying the codon‐optimized FLP recombinase Flpo at the ROSA26 locus that functions at higher efficiency than a similar Flpe line in mediating the DNA inversion of a conditional gene trap cassette in vivo. genesis 48:603–606, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Quantitative Character Evolution under Complicated Sexual Systems, Illustrated in Gynodioecious Fragaria virginiana

Many taxa, especially plants, are famous for their diverse and complicated sexual systems. This diversity presents an obstacle to application of otherwise standard methods in evolutionary analysis. One example involves the quantitative genetics (Lande 1976, 1979; Lande and Arnold 1983) of phenotypic evolution. Standard methods of quantitative genetic analysis have been extended to and applied in separate sexed (Lande 1980; Meagher 1992, 1994; Ferguson and Fairbairn 2000) and hermaphroditic (Morgan 1992, 1994; Morgan and Schoen 1997) species, but quantitative genetic methods have not been developed to address other mating systems such as androand gynodioecy; andro-, gyno-, and monoecy; or heterostyly. In this note, we develop Gaussian quantitative genetic approximations to describe how selection shapes traits expressed in females and hermaphrodites of a gynodioecious species where sex is under simple nuclear gene control. We then illustrate the approach through analysis of selection acting on petal size in Fragaria virginiana. Results of the empirical analysis suggest diverse ways in which sexual systems influence the evolution of quantitative characters. Finally, we give examples of how concepts used here (i.e., the inheritance of sex determination, fertility-weighted sex morph ratio, and
Ethanol Causes Neurogenic Vasodilation by TRPV1 Activation and CGRP Release in the Trigeminovascular System of The Guinea Pig

Ethanol stimulating transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) on primary sensory neurons promotes neurogenic inflammation, including calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-mediated coronary dilation. Alcoholic beverages trigger migraine attacks and activation of trigeminal neurons plays a role in migraine. We have investigated in guinea pigs whether ethanol by TRPV1 stimulation causes neurogenic inflammation in the trigeminovascular system. Ethanolevoked release of neuropeptides from slices of dura mater was abolished by Ca2+ removal, capsaicin pretreatment and the TRPV1 antagonist, capsazepine. Intragastric ethanol increased plasma extravasation in dura mater, an effect abolished by capsazepine and the NK1 receptor antagonist, SR140333, and caused vasodilation around the middle meningeal artery, an effect abolished by capsazepine and the CGRP receptor antagonist, BIBN4096BS. Vasodilation of meningeal vessels by TRPV1 activation and CGRP release may be relevant to the mechanism by which alcohol ingestion triggers migraine attacks.
Regulation of Corticotropin‐Releasing Factor Receptor Function in Human Y‐79 Retinoblastoma Cells: Rapid and Reversible Homologous Desensitization but Prolonged Recovery

Abstract: Homologous receptor desensitization is an important regulatory response to continuous activation by agonist that involves the uncoupling of a receptor from its G protein. When human retinoblastoma Y‐79 cells expressing corticotropin‐releasing factor (CRF) receptors were preincubated with CRF for 10 min‐4 h, a time‐dependent reduction in both the peak and sensitivity of CRF‐stimulated intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) accumulation developed with a t1/2 of 38 min and an EC50 of 6–7 nM CRF. CRF receptor desensitization was slowly reversible after a 4‐h CRF preincubation with a t1/2 of 13 h and a full restoration of cAMP responsiveness to CRF at 24 h following the removal of 10 nM CRF. Because the ability of vasoactive intestinal peptide, forskolin, or (−)‐isoproterenol to stimulate cAMP accumulation was not diminished in Y‐79 cells desensitized with 10 nM CRF, the observed desensitization was considered to be a specific homologous action of CRF. CRF receptor desensitization was markedly attenuated by CRF receptor antagonists, which alone did not produce any appreciable reduction in CRF‐stimulated cAMP accumulation. Although recent reports have demonstrated a rapid decline in steady‐state levels of CRF receptor type 1 (CRF‐R1) mRNA in anterior pituitary cells during several hours of exposure to CRF, there was no observed reduction in CRF‐R1 mRNA levels when Y‐79 cells were preincubated with 10 nM CRF for 10 min‐24 h despite a rapid time‐ and concentration‐dependent loss of CRF receptors from the retinoblastoma cell surface.
Supervisory control and energy management of an inverter-based modular smart grid

A key element at the grid side of future smart power systems is the inverter. This paper introduces a robust hierarchical control strategy for realistic distributed power system with power electronics inverters as front-end. The proposed control architecture maintains the three phase voltages and frequency in the grid within limits and provides power sharing between the units according to their rating and user settings. The proposed system philosophy is totally flexible in that the developed control and management functions do not depend on the types, sizes, or numbers of the used energy conversion systems. The proposed system philosophy is also compatible with conventional grids. Therefore, the potential application areas of the proposed philosophy cover not only remote and rural electrification where stand-alone systems are required, but also distributed generation where interconnection to conventional grids is preferred.
Brand Authenticity and Brand Attachment: How Online Communities Built on Social Networking Vehicles Moderate the Consumers’ Brand Attachment

The purpose of this article is to analyse consumers’ attachment behaviour to a particular brand due to its perceived authenticity. The study aims to identify the relationship of brand authenticity with the consumers’ brand attachment behaviour in the presence of online brand communities (OBCs) built on social networking vehicles. The descriptive research was conducted on 354 Indian respondents and the findings were then analysed using SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 24.0. The analysis revealed that consumers’ brand attachment is fairly very high when the brand is perceived as genuine and authentic. Further, the relationship between brand authenticity and consumers’ brand attachment behaviour is moderated by the presence of OBCs. Therefore, companies should be attentive towards developing an authentic product in order to catch the consumers’ buying inclination and should consider to have their presence on communities and forums over social networking sites. This article is novel in the sense that it provides an understanding about the impact of perceived brand authenticity on brand attachment behaviour. Authenticity of the product articulates the consumers’ desire to discover meaning and purpose in their lives and is a process of living out one’s set of strongly held personal attachment with the brand.
Targeting Dynamin 2 as a Novel Pathway to Inhibit Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis Following Oxidative Stress

Background/Aims: Inhibition of Drp-1-mediated mitochondrial fission limits reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptosis in cardiomyocytes subjected to ischemia/reperfusion injury. It remains unknown if Dynamin 2 inhibition results in similar protective effects. Here we studied the role of Dynamin 2 in cardiomyocyte oxidative stress-induced apoptosis and ROS production. Methods: The effect of lentiviral shRNA (lv5-shRNA) mediated Dynamin 2 knockdown on apopotosis, mitochondria, and ROS production were studied in neonatal mouse cardiomycytes, which were further treated with either selective Drp1 inhibitor mdivi-1 or the Dynamin 2/Drp1 inhibitor Dynasore. Apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry. Mitochondrial morphology and transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) were studied by confocal microscopy, and ROS production was detected by dichlorofluorescein diacetate. Results: Inhibition of Drp1 and Dynamin 2 protected against mitochondrial fragmentation, maintained ΔΨm, attenuated cellular ROS production and limited apoptosis. Moreover, Lv5-shRNA mediated knockdown of Dynamin 2 alleviated mitochondrial fragmentation, and reduced both ROS production and oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. The protective effects of Dynamin 2 knockdown were enhanced by Dynasore, indicating an added benefit. Conclusions: Oxidative stress-induced apoptosis and ROS production are attenuated by not only Drp1 inhibition but also Dynamin 2 inhibition, implicating Dynamin 2 as a mediator of oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes.
Linear precoding for STBC to account for antenna correlation in next generation broadband systems

The presence of strong channel correlations reduces the amount of the available diversity in the multiple input multiple output (MIMO) channel, leading to performance degradation. These correlations are long-term statistics that the transmitter can obtain either by exploiting channel reciprocity or by low-rate feedback from the receiver. In order to account for this correlation, a linear precoding technique has been proposed for the adaptation of space-time block codes (STBC). This technique works well for orthogonal STBC but fails in the case of non-orthogonal STBC. In this paper, we present the adaptation of linear precoding to non-orthogonal STBC. Simulations in the case of ABBA codes are provided and comparisons are performed with respect to beamforming
The influence of customer based brand equity on consumer responses: the newly opened West Hills Mall in Ghana

The interest of this study is to understand customer based brand equity and its effect on consumers’ willingness to pay price premiums, consumers’ attitude towards brand preference and purchase intention at the newly open West Hills Mall in Ghana. The data for the study was collected from 400 customers who went to shop at the West Hills Mall. Using a confirmatory factor analysis and path analyses it was found out that brand preference and purchase intension is significantly related to band equity. However, consumers’ willingness to pay price premiums is not significantly related to brand equity. Possible future research could look at involving customers from more than one shopping Mall in the country because of the cultural differences in customer preference. Also, performance measurement and financial performance could by studied to help marketing managers and marketing planners to know the importance of brand equity in running shopping Malls.
The unified grass genome: synergy in synteny.

The grasses, members of the family Gramineae or Poaceae, are represented by over 10,000 species (Kellogg and Birchler 1993). Three of the domesticated grasses, rice, wheat, and maize, account for about half of total world food production. Although the oldest known grass fossils have been found in paleocene-eocene deposits that are ∼50–60 million years old (Crepet and Feldman 1991), morphological and molecular clock data suggest that the grasses had a monophyletic (single) origin over 70 million years ago (Linder 1986; Clark et al. 1995). Grasses are morphologically distinct from other plant families but are also highly diverse in morphology and growth habit. Grass species differ greatly in chromosome number and genome size. The genome of rice, for instance, is >11-fold smaller than the genome of barley (Arumuganathan and Earle 1991), despite their equivalent diploid states and apparently similar morphological and physiological complexity.
The Impact of Smartphone Adoption on Marketing Therapeutic Tourist Sites in Jordan

The aim of the study is to find out the effect of smartphone on marketing therapeutic tourist sites in Jordan. Several factors contribute to this study, including market type templates, therapeutic, demographic and their impact on tourist behavior in Jordan. We apply the technology acceptance (TAM) model to study through the incorporation of smartphone applications on marketing therapeutic tourist sites in Jordan. To achieve this, we use the quantitative research design and rely on appropriate data to test the hypothesis. We distributed questionnaire to 400 tourists as a sample of study but two hundred and four were collected. The researchers had used the structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for measuring relationships and correlations between variables and their impact on the behavior of tourists in Jordan. According to the study findings, there was a positive impact on market type template, therapeutic, and demographics on tourists' perceived ease of use of smartphone on marketing therapeutic tourist sites in the country. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use also led to an increase in tourists' intention to use smartphone.
A taxonomy of transaction-specific investments and its effects on cooperation in logistics outsourcing relationships

ABSTRACT This study attempts to identify the variations in the transaction-specific investments made in logistics outsourcing relationships and explore how such variations are related to outsourcing cooperation. Based on the assumption that the vendor and the client always make some level of investment in outsourcing relationships, we develop a cluster model that illustrates four situations that indicate varying levels of vendor-specific investment and client-specific investment. We use data from client firms in logistics outsourcing relationships from China to test the theorised configurations through cluster analysis. The results validate our proposed matrix of specific investments and confirm that systematic configurations of the investment taxonomy and corresponding cooperation behaviours of information sharing, joint action, opportunism and conflict exist in each situation.
[Effect of sodium tanshinone II (A) sulfonate on Ang II -induced atrial fibroblast collagen synthesis and TGF-beta1 activation].

OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of sodium tanshinone II (A) sulfonate (STS) on Ang II -induced atrial fibroblast collagen synthesis and TGF-beta1 activation. METHOD Atrial fibroblasts of neonatal rats were cultured to determine the content of collagen protein. The original synthesis rate determined by the [3H]-proline incorporation method was taken as the index for myocardial fibrosis. The content of active TGF-beta1 and total TGF-beta1 in cell culture supernatants were tested and cultured by ELISA. The expression of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) was assessed by using Western blot. RESULT Ang II could significantly increase the content of atrial fibroblast collagen and the collagen synthesis rate, the TSP-1 expression and the concentration of active TGF-beta1, without any obvious change in total TGF-beta1. After the STS treatment, all of the indexes, apart from total TGF-beta1, were obviously down-regulated. CONCLUSION STS could decrease the secretion of Ang II -induced atrial fibroblast collagen and the synthesis rate. Its mechanism is related to the inhibition of TSP-1/TGF-beta1 pathway.
Medial collateral ligament strain with partial posteromedial olecranon resection. A biomechanical study.

BACKGROUND Partial resection of the posteromedial aspect of the olecranon in the treatment of valgus extension impingement osteophytosis is a well-described technique. It has been hypothesized that removal of the normal olecranon process, beyond the osteophytic margin, increases the strain in the anterior bundle of the medial collateral ligament. METHODS We used an electromagnetic tracking device to investigate the strain in the anterior bundle of the medial collateral ligament as a function of increasing applied torque and posteromedial resections of the olecranon in seven cadaveric elbows. Applied torques under valgus stress consisted of hand weight, hand weight plus 1.75 Nm, and hand weight plus 3.5 Nm. Resections were conducted in sequential 3-mm increments, from 0 to 9 mm. We measured changes in the length of the anterior and posterior bands of the anterior bundle of the medial collateral ligament with strain gauges. The strains of the two bands were averaged, and the average was reported. RESULTS The strain in the anterior bundle of the medial collateral ligament was found to increase with increasing flexion angle, valgus torque, and olecranon resection beyond 3 mm. In two elbows, the anterior bundle of the medial collateral ligament ruptured during testing following the 9-mm resection. There was a significant difference between the strain following the 6-mm resection and that following the 3-mm resection at 110 degrees of flexion with 3.5 Nm of added torque (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS In this in vitro cadaver study, an increase in flexion angle, an increase in valgus torque, and resection of > or =6 mm led to an increase in strain in the anterior bundle of the medial collateral ligament. The non-uniform change in strain related to 3 mm of resection suggests that resections of the posteromedial aspect of the olecranon of >3 mm may jeopardize the function of the anterior bundle.
Enjoy driving from thought in a virtual city

Virtual reality (VR) technology allows users to communicate or interact with a virtual artifact in an immersive simulated environment. Most of the existing virtual reality platform uses standard input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, or through multimodal devices such as a wired glove. In this paper, a novel electroencephalo-graph (EEG) based virtual driving (EEG-VD) prototype is proposed, investigated, and designed. Users can enjoy driving a virtual car in a simulated and realistic city only through brain signals. User's EEG signals are obtained, analyzed, and recognized into control commands, which are used to control a virtual car in a three-dimensional (3D) city environment. The paradigm display of P300 in the proposed EEG-VD system is embedded in the display of VR, to realize closely combination of VR and P300. This guarantees the verisimilitude of the system. In addition, asynchronous BCI paradigm based on P300 signals used in the proposed EEG-VD system realizes a high degree of freedom, which can offer appropriate number of control instructions. In order to verify the effectiveness and performance of the designed EEG-VD system, eight volunteers are asked to drive the car in the 3D city. The experiment result shows that the accuracy of P300 recognition rate is larger than 90%. Most of the users (62.5%) can drive the car without any collisions in the first virtual environment, and all users can drive the car without any collisions in the second virtual environment. The designed system can not only be used as a tool to train a subject of BCI but also be used as a game for enjoying life. Potentially, the system can promote the research of BCI applications.
Cobalt-phosphate complexes catalyze the photoelectrochemical water oxidation of BiVO4 electrodes.

BiVO(4) semiconductor electrodes were coupled with cobalt-phosphate complexes (CoPi) to enhance the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance for water oxidation reaction. CoPi was deposited on a 550 nm-thick BiVO(4) film via electrodeposition (ED) and photodeposition (PD) methods for comparison of their effects. The CoPi on BiVO(4) exhibited Co : P atomic ratios of approximately 1 : 7 for the electrodeposited sample and approximately 1 : 18 for the photodeposited sample, and Co(2+) and Co(3+) co-existed in both samples. Optimized CoPi ED resulted in a CoPi overlayer of approximately 850 nm thick, which showed an electrochromic-like behavior that was likely due to limited access of phosphate into BiVO(4) across the CoPi layer. Optimized CoPi PD, however, had very thin and rather uniform CoPi dispersion and did not show electrochromic-like behavior. Despite the lesser amount of CoPi, the PEC performance of BiVO(4)/CoPi (PD) was comparable to that of BiVO(4)/CoPi (ED). Real-time measurements of the headspace molecular oxygen that evolved from water oxidation indicated that CoPi enhances O(2) production and photocurrent generation at BiVO(4) by a factor of around 15 and a maximum of 20, respectively, at 0.576 V(SCE) (equivalent to 1.23 V(RHE)) under air mass 1.5 irradiation (400 mW cm(-2)). Prolonged irradiation of BiVO(4)/CoPi (ED) resulted in a reduced Co : P ratio to 1 : 1.77 without changing the mixed valency of Co(II/III). This finding indicates that incorporation of phosphate into the CoPi was kinetically slower than water oxidation. The primary role of CoPi has been suggested as a hole-conducting electrocatalyst making the photogenerated electrons more mobile and, consequently, increasing conductivity and boosting the PEC water oxidation performance of BiVO(4).