Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Managing Internet Product Returns: A Focus on Effective Service Operations

Product returns present one of the biggest operational challenges in the world of Internet retailing due to the sheer volume and cost of processing returns. But returns also represent an often-missed opportunity to manage customer relationships and build customer loyalty to the retailer. Based upon data from a survey of 464 customers of five different Internet retailers, this paper explores how firms' returns management systems affect loyalty intentions. We draw upon extant literature in the fields of Internet retailing, service quality, supply chain management, and customer satisfaction/loyalty to develop a model and a set of hypotheses relating ten latent variables in the service returns offering area. Our resulting structural equation model provides evidence of the impact of the returns management system upon customer loyalty intentions. The model also identifies effects on loyalty intentions arising from customers' satisfaction with and perceptions of the value of the returns service offered. These findings will help inform managers' choices regarding investment in the returns management system as an element of service quality improvement and a potential means of improved profitability. In addition, this study's empirical exploration and testing of a returns management model in the Internet retailing environment is a contribution to the currently underrepresented body of academic literature linking marketing and supply chain management in the context of end consumers.
Interaction of Kelvin-Helmholtz and salt sheet instabilities in a sheared , fingering-unstable layer

Motivated by observations of thermohaline staircases in the midlatitude oceans, we have conducted direct numerical simulations (DNS) of the evolution of a diffusively unstable shear layer. This flow supports both KH and salt sheet instabilities, and we wish to see how the two mechanisms work together to drive the transition to turbulence. The main controlling parameters are the bulk Richardson number Ri and the density ratio Rρ. For oceanic values of these parameters, the linear growth rates of KH and salt sheet instabilities are similar. When the two growth rates are equal, salt sheets dominate, because the spreading of the layer removes the gradients driving shear instability more effectively than it does those driving salt sheets. Nonetheless, over the range of observed parameter regimes, either mode may dominate. At finite amplitude, the system manifests a new secondary instability that we call the “propagating” mode. It is spatially localized and propagates like a bore, though the fluid within it is positively buoyant. Together with the known secondary instabilities of salt sheets and KH billows, this mechanism leads the flow to a fully turbulent state.
Determinants of IJV performance using alternate indicators of performance

In this paper, we look at the factors determining IJV performance in a developing country. In doing so, the paper lays emphasis on two other aspects of performance: firstly the measure of performance and secondly the perspective from which it is evaluated. Our analysis draws on the results of a primary survey of 56 Indo-British IJVs in India. By extending our survey to include both partners involved in an IJV, the paper presents a framework which incorporates the perspectives of both the host and the foreign partner involved in the IJV. Several explanatory factors proved to be significant in understanding the performance of IJVs. Good partner relations, high degree of control and previous history of cooperation between the partners emerged as important determinants of the subjective indicator of performance. In the predictors of objective performance, dominance of the foreign partner in the initial years, an expectation of long-term as opposed to short-term financial gains, and the fulfilment of the motivation for minimising costs, all contributed positively to performance.
Lessons of the Asian Financial Crisis: What Can an Early Warning System Model Tell Us?

Using an early warning system model, this paper provides empirical evidence on the causes of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, with a view to shedding light on policy lessons. The model shows that there were warning signals of heightened economic and financial vulnerabilities in each of the five most affected countries prior to the crisis, suggesting that weaknesses in economic and financial fundamentals in these countries played an important role in causing the crisis. The warning signals point to fundamental weaknesses, including real appreciation of domestic currencies, deterioration in current account positions, excessive external borrowing by banks and currency mismatches in their balance sheets, excessive growth of domestic credit, economic slowdown, and burst of asset price bubbles.
Full Abstraction in the Lazy Lambda Calculus

Abstract A theory of lazy λ-calculus is developed as a basis for lazy functional programming languages. This is motivated by a mismatch between the "standard" (i.e., sensible) theory of the classical λ-calculus and the practice of lazy functional programming. Part I sets up the fundamentals of the lazy λ-calculus starting from the pure lazy language λl. We develop the rudiments of weakly sensible λ-theory and characterize λl as the maximal such theory. The axiomatic framework of our theory is based on the notion of applicative transition systems which gives rise to lazy λ-models. The subclass of lazy λ-models which are operationally extensional are called lambda transition systems (lts′s). The canonical model of the lazy λ-calculus is the initial solution to the domain equation D ≅ [D → D]⊥. We set up the domain logic corresponding to the same type expression. In part II, we recast the full abstraction problem in the lazy λ-calculus. The pure lazy language λl is not equationally fully abstract w.r. t. D. In fact, λl, λlω, (a labelled version of λl), and λlc (λl augmented with a convergence testing constant) are all not equationally fully abstract w.r. t. D. We illustrate two approaches to full abstraction: • The expansive approach consists in enriching the language by augmenting it with appropriate constants, thereby enabling all finite semantic information to be represented syntactically as program phrases using the machinery of domain logic developed in Part I. We show that λ, which is λ augmented with a parallel convergence testing constant, is conditionally fully abstract . • The restrictive approach regards the language as prescribed and tailors the model to fit by "cutting down" (i.e., "quotienting out" by a bisimulation logical relation) the existing "over-generous" canonical model to an appropriate substructure. We establish a general method to construct inequationally fully abstract lazy λ-models which are retracts of for a class of sufficiently expressive lts′s in which the -projection maps are internally definable. The restrictive approach solves the abstraction problem for λlc and λlω but not λl. The full abstraction problem for λl is reduced to a conjecture of the conservativity of λlω over λl. Finally, we study lazy languages with ground data and show that it is wrong to conflate parallel or with parallel convergence testing.
Alternative exon‐encoding regions of Locusta migratoria muscle myosin modulate the pH dependence of ATPase activity

Whereas the vertebrate muscle myosin heavy chains (MHCs) are encoded by a family of Mhc genes, most insects examined to date contain a single Mhc gene and produce all of the different MHC isoforms by alternative RNA splicing. Here, we found that the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, has one Mhc gene, which contains 41 exons, including five alternative exclusive exons and one differently included penultimate exon, and potentially encodes 360 MHC isoforms. From the adult L. migratoria, we identified 14 MHC isoforms (including two identical isoforms): four from flight muscle (the thorax dorsal longitudinal muscle), three from jump muscle (the hind leg extensor tibiae muscle) and seven from the abdominal intersegmental muscle. We purified myosins from flight muscle and jump muscle and characterized their motor activities. At neutral pH, the flight and the jump muscle myosins displayed similar levels of in vitro actin‐gliding activity, whereas the former had a slightly higher actin‐activated ATPase activity than the latter. Interestingly, the pH dependences of the actin‐activated ATPase activity of these two myosins are different. Because the dominant MHC isoforms in these two muscles are identical except for the two alternative exon‐encoding regions, we propose that these two alternative regions modulate the pH dependence of L. migratoria muscle myosin.
Bone mineral density in patients with rapidly destructive or common hip osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND Recent findings that subchondral insufficiency fracture in the femoral head may precede rapid chondrolysis suggest a role for systemic low bone mass in the genesis of rapidly destructive hip osteoarthritis (RDHOA). OBJECTIVE To compare bone mineral density (BMD) in females with RDHOA and those with common hip osteoarth-ritis (OA). METHODS This prospective case-control study involved 26 females with RDHOA recruited from our institution between March 2000 and November 2006. BMD was measured at the femoral neck and lumbar spine (L1-L4) by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. For comparison, BMD was measured in 33 women with common hip OA who were scheduled for primary total hip arthroplasty. RESULTS Patients with RDHOA and those with common hip OA were similar in age (74.9+/-9.9 vs. 74.7+/-8.8 years) and BMI (26.3+/-4.3 vs. 26.3+/-5 g/m2) and did not differ in mean BMD at the lumbar spine (1.0+/-0.2 vs. 1.1+/-0.2 g/cm2; mean T-score: -0.6+/-1.3 vs. -0.8+/-1.5) or at the femoral neck (0.7+/-0.1 vs. 0.8+/-0.2 g/cm2; mean T-score: -1.5+/-1.1 vs. -1.4+/-1.4). CONCLUSION The results of this study do not suggest a role for systemic low bone mass in the pathophysiology of RDHOA.
Hybridizing Genetic Algorithm with Cross Entropy for Solving Continuous Functions

In this paper, a metaheuristic that combines a Genetic Algorithm and a Cross Entropy Algorithm is presented. The aim of this work is to achieve a synergy between the capabilities of the algorithms using different population sizes in order to obtain the closest value to the optimal of the function. The proposal is applied to 12 benchmark functions with different characteristics, using different configurations.
International Differences in Lean Production, Productivity and Employee Attitudes

The study examines US-European productivity and worker attitude differences, focusing on changes in incentive structures. We analyze productivity and worker attitudes in five plants in the UK and US belonging to the same multinational producer of automotive sensors and actuators. We examine the firm's efforts to make complementary changes in product strategy and human-resource policies. In particular, we look at the impact of a Value-Added Gainsharing plan (VAG) that was introduced at different times among the four plants. Our analysis draws on multiple plant visits, surveys of almost all of the workforce, and confidential financial data. Our study offers a rare look inside a low-wage, non-union firm. We find that the VAG had an impact on productivity and profitability. We find that the UK plant's productivity and worker satisfaction was well below that of the US plants. However, neither our analysis nor interviews with managers suggest that differences in national institutions play a key role in explaining these results.
The power–speed relationship is U-shaped in two free-flying hawkmoths (Manduca sexta)

A flying animal can minimize its energy consumption by choosing an optimal flight speed depending on the task at hand. Choice of flight speed can be predicted by modelling the aerodynamic power required for flight, and this tool has previously been used extensively in bird migration research. For insects, however, it is uncertain whether any of the commonly used power models are useful, as insects often operate in a very different flow regime from vertebrates. To investigate this, we measured aerodynamic power in the wake of two Manduca sexta flying freely in a wind tunnel at 1–3.8 ms−1, using tomographic particle image velocimetry (tomo-PIV). The expended power was similar in magnitude to that predicted by two classic models. However, the most ubiquitously used model, originally intended for vertebrates, failed to predict the sharp increase in power at higher speeds, leading to an overestimate of predicted flight speed during longer flights. In addition to measuring aerodynamic power, the tomo-PIV system yielded a highly detailed visualization of the wake, which proved to be significantly more intricate than could be inferred from previous smoke trail- and two-dimensional-PIV studies.
Viremia Copy-Years as a Predictive Marker of All-Cause Mortality in HIV-1–Infected Patients Initiating a Protease Inhibitor–Containing Antiretroviral Treatment

Background:Viremia copy-years (VCY) has been reported as a short-term predictor of mortality. We evaluated the association of this parameter with 10-year outcome within the APROCO-COPILOTE cohort. Methods:Prospective data from 1281 HIV-1–infected patients who started a first protease inhibitor–containing regimen in 1997–1999 were analyzed. Patients with baseline plasma viral load (pVL) > 500 copies per milliliter and at least 2 pVL measures from the eighth month of follow-up were selected. VCY was calculated individually over the follow-up as the area under the pVL curve. Multivariate Cox models analyzed the relation between all-cause mortality and the following variables: age, sex, geographical origin, transmission group, HIV infection duration, ART-naive, pVL at baseline, time-dependent CD4 count, and VCY. Results:Nine hundred seventy-nine patients were followed up for a median of 10 years (interquartile range: 5–11.5). At baseline, median (interquartile range) values for duration of HIV infection, pVL, and CD4 cell count were 43 (4–95) months, 4.6 (3.9–5.2) log10 copies per milliliter, and 278 (125–416) cells per cubic millimeter, respectively. At censoring date, 77 patients (8%) had died. VCY >1.4 log10 copies × yrs/mL was an independent predictor of death (hazard ratio: 2.0; 95% confidence interval: 1.2 to 3.5), which was no longer the case after adjustment for the latest pVL value [risk ratio (RR): 1.2 for 1 additional log10 copies per milliliter; 95% confidence interval: 1.1 to 1.4]. Conclusions:VCY was associated with mortality in HIV-infected patients under combined antiretroviral therapy but did not overweigh the predictive value of the latest pVL. VCY might be more useful as a marker of persistent viral replication than for routine clinical care.
Effectiveness of piezoelectric surgery in preparing the lateral window for maxillary sinus augmentation in patients with sinus anatomical variations: a case series.

PURPOSE The present article sought to evaluate the effectiveness of a piezoelectric surgical unit for maxillary sinus augmentation surgeries in avoiding perforation of the sinus membrane and other possible procedural complications in patients with anatomical variations of the sinus. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-five patients presenting sinus anatomical variations, who were indicated for a total of 40 sinus grafting procedures performed by the lateral window approach with a piezoelectric device, were analyzed. After 6 months of healing, implants were placed. Information collected included clinical and computed tomographic information on anatomical variations in the sinus bone walls, in the size of the sinus, and in the thickness of the sinus membrane. Occurrence of sinus membrane perforation and computed tomographic measurements of the amount of bone height gained with the grafting procedures were also recorded. RESULTS Only two patients presented a small perforation (less than 5 mm in diameter) of the sinus membrane, which occurred only after osteotomies of the lateral windows and did not compromise the surgical outcome. No implants were lost during a mean follow-up period of 19 months. CONCLUSION The use of piezoelectric surgery allowed for the accomplishment of all rehabilitation treatments within the follow-up period of this study.
Continuous action recognition with weakly labelling videos

Continuous action recognition plays an important role for human behavior analysis. Most existing approaches require fully labelled action videos, which is labour and time consuming to get. In this paper, we propose a continuous action recognition approach for weakly labelled videos data, where only the orders of action labels are needed without its temporal location's. We build a deep network combing convolutional neural network (CNN) and latent-dynamic dynamic conditional random field (LDCRF) to learn action features and recognize actions in a unified procedure. A visual similarity extended connectionist temporal classification (CTC) layer is put on the top of the network to evaluate all possible of temporal locations of weakly labelled videos data. The whole network can be trained end-to-end under weakly supervision. Experimental results on dataset HumanEva show our approach is promising and practical.
Rating scales for dystonia: A multicenter assessment

The evaluation of dystonia requires a reliable rating scale. The widely used Fahn‐Marsden Scale (F‐M) has not been sufficiently tested across multiple centers and investigators. The Dystonia Study Group developed the Unified Dystonia Rating Scale (UDRS) and a Global Dystonia Rating Scale (GDS) to serve as instruments to assess dystonia severity. In this study, 25 dystonia experts evaluated the UDRS, F‐M, and GDS for internal consistency and reliability. One hundred dystonia patients were videotaped using a standardized videotape protocol. Each examiner rated 20 patients using the UDRS, F‐M, and GDS in random order. The examiner then assessed each scale for ease of use. Statistical analysis used Cronbach's α, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), generalized weighted κ statistic, and Kendall's coefficient of concordance. The UDRS, F‐M, and GDS showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α 0.89–0.93) and good to excellent correlation among the raters (ICC range from 0.71–0.78). Inter‐rater agreement was fair to excellent (Kendall's 0.54–0.87; κ 0.37–0.91) being lowest for eyes, jaw, face, and larynx. The modifying ratings (Duration in the UDRS and Provoking Factor in the F‐M) showed less agreement than the motor severity ratings. Among scales, the total scores correlated (Pearson's r, 0.977–0.983). Overall, 74% of raters found the GDS the easiest to apply. The GDS with its simplicity and ease of application may be the most useful dystonia rating scale. © 2002 Movement Disorder Society
Look-ahead economic dispatch of microgrids with energy storage, using linear programming

Microgrids can provide economic benefits, and those benefits can be maximized through intelligent control. This paper applies a fast and reliable linear programming (LP) approach to the economic dispatch of grid-tied microgrids containing any or all of the following resources: conventional generators, energy storage, demand response resources, and non-dispatchable resources (e.g. solar or wind). The proposed method minimizes the cost to operate the microgrid while meeting various resource constraints. Forecast load and renewable resource power profiles are used to generate linear constraints. Storage conversion losses, which can be much more significant in microgrids, are innovatively accounted for within LP using auxiliary variables. Non-linear constraints on the dispatchable resources are applied by preprocessing the input to LP and post-processing its output.
Framework for Performance Measurement in Hospitality Industry – Case Study Slovenia

Abstract Hotel organizations in transition economies must create effective competitive methods for survival, since they exist in an environment where both customer and investor are demanding more from every organization. In search of solutions they should use performance measurement system that meets the requirements of a changed environment. The aim of this paper is to present how developed is performance measurement in hotel organizations in Slovenia. The article is based on the research carried out in Slovenia in hotels with over 100 rooms. First the necessary information for various decision-making levels will be introduced together with the criteria for efficiency measurement and then the basic hypothesis will be tested by relevant statistical methods.
Advances in Brief p 14 ARF Modulates the Cytolytic Effect of ONYX-015 in Mesothelioma Cells with Wild-type p 53

ONYX-015 has been reported to kill selectively tumor cells lacking functional p53. Genetic alterations of INK4a/ARF locus, which is a predominant event in malignant pleural mesothelioma, may result in loss of p14 and subsequent disruption of p53 pathway in cancer cells. In the present study, ONYX-015 was able to kill three mesothelioma cell lines (H28, H513, and 211H) with wild-type p53 but lacking p14. In contrast, MS-1 mesothelioma cells, which expressed both p53 and p14, were resistant to ONYX-015. Introducing p14 gene into the H28 cell, a mesothelioma cell without p14 expression, significantly increased the resistance of this cell line to the cytolytic effect of ONYX-015. Our results suggest that human mesotheliomas with wild-type p53 yet lacking p14 are potential candidates for ONYX-015 therapy.
Informational Needs of Women with Vulvar Neoplasia in the First Week after Hospital Discharge – A Mixed Methods Study

This study aimed to describe (1) the prevalence of informational needs in surgically treated women with vulvar neoplasia during the first week after hospital discharge, (2) associations between informational needs and age, type, disease stage and the extent of surgery and (3) additional informational needs. This convergent parallel designed mixed-methods study was conducted in eight hospitals across Germany and Switzerland (Clinical Trial ID: NCT01300663). Outpatients (n=65) rated items of the WOMAN-PRO instrument and added further notes. Five items concerning informational needs were analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. For notes (n=38) a qualitative content analysis was done. The mean prevalence of unmet informational needs was 81.8%. The most prevalent unmet informational needs concerned disease (56 out of 65) and treatment (56 out of 65). Informational needs were found to increase in relation to the type (i.e. pre-cancer, cancer) (b = 3.05, p = 0.039), whereas they decreased in relation to the extent of surgery (b = -2.411, p = 0.035). Notes showed three main topics regarding additional informational needs “understanding the illness”, “caring for yourself” and “going forward”. Data revealed a high prevalence of informational needs and the WOMAN-PRO instrument can guide patients and clinicians in assessing informational needs.