Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk-Reduction Processes in Repetitive Consumer Behavior

This experimental study of consumer decision making over time explored risk-reduction processes of information seeking, prepurchase deliberation, and brand loyalty. Perceived risk was manipulated by creating low-risk and high-risk groups. The task was to choose among brands of hair spray. Results showed that information seeking and prepurchase deliberation declined over time and brand loyalty increased over time.
Towards an organic perspective on strategy

The strategy field's core issues—the concept of strategy, causal models relating strategy to other constructs, and models of strategic management and choice—have been previously addressed by two key progressions. The mechanistic perspective based on disciplinary-based theories, the design model, and a view of strategy as a planned posture, has provided a unified view, but a narrow and increasingly less pertinent one. The advent of organic developments that included strategy process research, evolutionary and process models, and interactive and integrative views, has provided richness and pertinence, but not a unified perspective. These two progressions marked an epistemological shift from mechanistic to organic assumptions: from discrete to incessant time, from directional to interactive flow, and from differentiated to integrated constructs and models. Building on this shift, this paper proposes an organic perspective that combines the insights and coherence of the mechanistic perspective with the more relevant organic ideas. It makes use of the organic assumptions to advance a view of strategy as an adaptive coordination, introduce the Organization–Environment–Strategy–Performance (OESP) integrative theoretical model, and present an organic model of strategic management. The organic perspective provides a basis for an upgraded, more unified, and better-attuned view on strategy's core issues. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Implementing a customer relationship strategy: The asymmetric impact of poor versus excellent execution

The benefits of developing customer relationships are well established. However, a well-intentioned relationship marketing strategy may fail because of poor implementation. In this study, the authors look at the effects of implementing a customer relationship strategy. Specifically, they examine the implementation of a personal-banker strategy as a means to developing customer relationships in the retail banking industry. The authors show that an “excellent” personal banker can increase overall customer satisfaction and loyalty compared to customers who do not have a personal banker. However, a poorly performing personal banker can result in lower overall customer satisfaction and loyalty than if no personal banker had been available. Moreover, the effects seem to be asymmetric, with the negative effects of a poor relationship strategy exceeding the positive benefits ofan “excellent” strategy.
A Limitation of the PAC-Bayes Framework

PAC-Bayes is a useful framework for deriving generalization bounds which was introduced by McAllester ('98). This framework has the flexibility of deriving distribution- and algorithm-dependent bounds, which are often tighter than VC-related uniform convergence bounds. In this manuscript we present a limitation for the PAC-Bayes framework. We demonstrate an easy learning task that is not amenable to a PAC-Bayes analysis. Specifically, we consider the task of linear classification in 1D; it is well-known that this task is learnable using just $O(\log(1/\delta)/\epsilon)$ examples. On the other hand, we show that this fact can not be proved using a PAC-Bayes analysis: for any algorithm that learns 1-dimensional linear classifiers there exists a (realizable) distribution for which the PAC-Bayes bound is arbitrarily large.
Social facilitation: a meta-analysis of 241 studies.

This article reports a meta-analysis of the effects of the presence of others on human task performance and physiology. In 241 studies involving nearly 24jOOO subjectSj the presence of others had small effects, accounting for . 3% to 3% of the variance in the typical experiment. We conclude that (a) the presence of others heightens an individual's physiological arousal only if the individual is performing a complex task; (b) the presence of others increases the speed of simple task performance and decreases the speed of complex task performance; (c) the presence of others impairs complex performance accuracy and slightly facilitates simple performance accuracy, though the facilitation is vulnerable to the "file drawer problem" of unreported null results; and (d) social facilitation effects are surprisingly unrelated to the performer's evaluation apprehension. These metaanalytic conclusions are contrasted with conclusions reached by narrative literature reviews. Implications for theories of social facilitation are discussed. Since beginning their study of social influence, psychologists have been interested in a minimal source of influence: the mere presence of others. In the first investigation, Triplett (1898) found that adolescents could spin fishing reels more quickly when in coacting pairs than when alone. In other early research, Pessin (1933) discovered that college students made more errors in memorizing nonsense syllables if they learned the syllables in front of a spectator. From such pioneering efforts, a massive research literature grew, a literature that has documented social effects on the performance of myriad tasks. Many researchers (following Triplett, 1898) have found that the presence of others can facilitate task performance; other investigators (following Pessin, 1933) have observed that performance can be impaired by the presence of others. The pres
Empowering or misleading? Online health information provision challenges

Purpose Patient empowerment (PE) is a key public health policy tool globally which is seen as unproblematic, but contains a number of unwarranted assumptions and unrecognised challenges to achieving effective implementation. Further, the theoretical foundations for understanding the impact of persuasive health communications on PE are weak. The purpose of this paper is to review these factors and to highlight major areas of concern. Design/methodology/approach First, the assumptions underpinning empowerment and the implicit theoretical foundations for active health information seeking behaviours are reviewed. This is then followed by a readability analysis of internet-based material relating to two general medical conditions, four chronic medical conditions and six patient information leaflets which was conducted to explore issues relation to the provision and readability of online health information. Findings The assumptions underpinning expectations of policy makers and health organisations regarding active health information seeking are shown to be problematic, with several potential impediments to effective PE implementation, including the fact that almost all of the online material reviewed is written in language too complex for the majority of the general public to comprehend, let alone act on. Practical implications Recommendations are made for guiding information seeking and a research agenda is outlined that would aid in strengthening theoretical underpinnings, expand knowledge and thereby help inform practice and policy debate regarding how PE can be improved. Originality/value This paper contributes to understanding of the challenges of effective health communication in the digital age by highlighting the need for a greater understanding of online health information seeking and the impact of limited health literacy and numeracy.
Vision based anti-collision system for rail track maintenance vehicles

Maintenance trains travel in convoy. In Australia, only the first train of the convoy pays attention to the track signalization (the other convoy vehicles simply follow the preceding vehicle). Because of human errors, collisions can happen between the maintenance vehicles. Although an anti-collision system based on a laser distance meter is already in operation, the existing system has a limited range due to the curvature of the tracks. In this paper, we introduce an anti-collision system based on vision. The proposed system induces a 3D model of the track as a piecewise quadratic function (with continuity constraints on the function and its derivative). The geometric constraints of the rail tracks allow the creation of a completely self-calibrating system. Although road lane marking detection algorithms perform well most of the time for rail detection, the metallic surface of a rail does not always behave like a road lane marking. Therefore we had to develop new techniques to address the specific problems of the reflectance of rails.
An Innovative Moodle Final Project Management Module for Bachelor and Master's Studies

Bachelor and master's qualifications include assignments that involve the preparation of final projects. Their underlying pedagogical model is often based on final or end-of-course projects, which carry a high number of ECTS credits (12 or more), to be completed over one semester. Each project, which simulates a real life professional situation, is completed by an individual student or a group of students in their last year of a university graduate or post-graduate course, in the case of engineering and architecture degrees. The special and complex perculiarities of these atypical assignments mean that they are not easily adapted to a virtual learning environment. This paper defines a management process for such projects and introduces a Moodle 1.9 module for its implementation.
Effects of acute gamma irradiation on soil invertebrates in laboratory tests

An understanding of the dose-effect relationships of ionising radiation for nonhuman biota establishes important baselines for the radiological protection of ecosystems. We used standard laboratory tests to examine the dose-effect relationships of gamma radiation on the survival, growth and reproduction of the earthworm, Eisenia fetida (Oligochaeta). Adult E. fetida were acutely irradiated with increasing doses of gamma radiation, and the subsequent survival, growth in wet weight and number of offspring were examined. The 50% lethal dose (LD50) was 825Gy, and the 10% and 50% effective doses (ED10 and ED50) for growth were 20.2 and 94.7Gy, respectively. The ED10 and ED50 for reproduction were 3.3 and 11.1Gy, respectively.
Serum opacity factor is a major fibronectin‐binding protein and a virulence determinant of M type 2 Streptococcus pyogenes

Serum opacity factor (SOF) is a fibronectin‐binding protein of group A streptococci that opacifies mammalian sera and is expressed by some strains that cause impetigo, pharyngitis and acute glomerulonephritis. Although SOF is expressed by ≈35% of known serotypes, its role in the pathogenesis of group A streptococcal infections has not been previously investigated. The sof genes from M types 2, 28 and 49 Streptococcus pyogenes were cloned, sequenced, and their deduced amino acid sequences were compared. The gene for FnBA, a fibronectin‐binding protein from Streptococcus dysgalactiae, was also cloned and found to express an opacity factor. The leader sequences, the fibronectin‐binding domains, and the membrane anchor regions of these proteins were highly conserved. Short spans of conserved sequences were interspersed throughout the remaining parts of the proteins. The sof2 gene was insertionally inactivated in an M type 2 S. pyogenes strain, T2MR. The resultant SOF‐negative mutant (YL3) did not express SOF or opacify serum, and exhibited a 71% reduction in binding fibronectin. Complementation of the SOF‐negative defect with sof28 in the recombinant strain YL3(pNZ28) fully restored fibronectin‐binding activity and the ability to opacify serum. To determine whether sof plays a role in virulence, mice were challenged intraperitoneally with these strains. None of the 10 mice infected with YL3(pNZ28) survived and only 1 out of 15 mice challenged with T2MR survived, whereas 12 out of 15 mice infected with YL3 survived. These data clearly indicate that SOF is a virulence factor, and they provide the first direct evidence that a fibronectin‐binding protein contributes to the pathogenesis of group A streptococcal infections in vivo.
Dynamic adjustment of stereo display parameters

This paper reports on an experimental approach to adjusting stereo parameters automatically and thereby providing a low eye strain, easily accommodated stereo view for computer graphics applications. To this end, the concept of virtual eye separation is defined. Experiment 1 shows that dynamic changes in virtual eye separation are not noticed if they occur over a period of a few seconds. Experiment 2 shows that when subjects are given control over their virtual eye separation, they change it depending on the amount of depth in the scene. Based partly on these results, an algorithm is presented for enhancing stereo depth cues for moving computer generated 3D images. It has the effect of doubling the stereo depth in flat scenes and limiting the stereo depth for deep scenes. It also reduces the occurrence of double images and the discrepancy between focus and vergence. The algorithm is applied dynamically in real time with an optional damping factor applied so the disparities never change too abruptly. Finally, Experiment 3 provides a qualitative assessment of the algorithm with a dynamic "flight" over a digital elevation map.
Iron overload and fragmented QRS in patients with Thalassemia major: Mechanisms, therapies, and new horizons

We read with great interest the manuscript written by Bayar et al. (1) entitled “Assessment of the relationship between fragmented QRS and cardiac iron overload in patients with beta-thalassemia major,” published in the February 2015 issue of the Anatolian Journal of Cardiology. In that study, they investigated the relationship between fragmented QRS (fQRS), which is a marker of depolarization abnormality, and the cardiac T2 value in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used as a screening tool to evaluate the cardiac iron load in patients with beta thalassemia major. In this study, significant correlations were found between the presence of fQRS and cardiac iron overload detected by cardiac MRI. Furthermore, the effects of various chelating agents on the cardiac iron overload and the presence of fQRS were also evaluated and remarkable results have been achieved; however, we think that there are some confusing points in this respect. Firstly, in univariate analysis, it was shown in Table 2 that deferoxamine or deferasirox users compared with non-users had a low incidence of cardiac involvement. It could be true for deferasirox (OR 0.38 and 0=0.021); however, it is not clear whether deferoxamine (OR 2.73 and p=0.015) was associated with cardiac involvement or not. Additionally, it was stated that in deferoxamine or deferasirox users, the cardiac iron overload was less than in non-users, and fQRS presence of these patients also were shown to be less in Tables 3 and 4. However, in deferoxamine users, both the cardiac iron overload and fQRS presence were observed more frequently. Another small detail about the results is that the age of the participants should be expressed as “mean” and not as “median. ” FQRS represents a conduction delay from inhomogeneous activation of the ventricles due to a myocardial scar and is thought to be associated with ventricular tachyarrhythmias (2). Although this arrhythmic marker has long been evaluated mainly in ischemic etiologies, it has been frequently investigated in non-ischemic cardiac diseases, particularly in systemic diseases associated with cardiac involvement, such as sarcoidosis and rheumatoid arthritis (3, 4). Patchy-like inhomogeneous deposition, localized fibrous replacement, and oxidative mechanisms seem to be responsible for the electrical heterogeneity of the ventricular myocardium (5). Beyond this “iatrogenic iron exposure,” toxic heavy metal and their chelation therapies that may have similar effects on myocardium may be considered to be a promising research subject.
Kinetics of glucose fermentation by a mixed culture in the presence of Linoleic, oleic, and stearic acid

Abstract The effects of long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) on glucose degradation were examined at 21 °C. A competitive inhibition model was used to determine the kinetics of glucose degradation. Half velocity constants (Ks) were a function of LCFA concentration only at 100, 300 and 500 mg l−1. The inhibitor constants (K,) for individual and mixed LCFAs were statistically the same. Glucose degradation rates for cultures receiving saturated (stearic add (SA)) and monounsaturated (oleic acid (OA)) LCFAs were statistically the same but statistically different when compared to cultures fed with a polyunsaturated LCFA (linoleic add (LA)). Individual and mixed LCFAs inhibited glucose degradation at threshold levels of 300 and 500 mg l−1, respectively.
Radiation efficiency improvement of RFID patch antenna using metamaterials

A new design of a periodic Metamaterials on the radiating patch antenna is presented in this paper. This method is used to improve the total radiation efficiency and optimize return loss S11 at resonance frequency of RFID rectangular patch antenna. Based on the simulation results, we found that the proposed metamaterials antenna has a maximum radiation efficiency of 95%, higher gain of 7dB, very narrow bandwidth of 40 MHZ and a better adaptation of −28dB in the operating frequency.
Supply of Nutrients to Cells in Engineered Tissues

Abstract A proper supply of nutrients to cells in engineered tissues is paramount for an optimal development and survival of these tissues. However, especially in tissues with clinically relevant sizes, the mass transport of nutrients into the tissue is often insufficient to sustain all the cells within the tissue. This is not only the case during in vitro culture. After implantation of an engineered tissue, a vascular network is not directly established. Therefore, the mass transport of nutrients is also critical during the initial period after implantation. This review introduces the basics of mass transport, leading to the conclusion that three main concepts can be used to increase nutrient supply in tissue engineering. These are; increasing the overall diffusion coefficient, decreasing the diffusion distance, or increasing convective transport. Based on these concepts, the main strategies that have been developed to enhance the supply of nutrients to cells in engineered tissues will be discussed.
Design of Efficient Router with Low Power and Low Latency for Network on Chip

The NoC consists of processing element (PE), network interface (NI) and router. This paper proposes a hybrid scheme for Netwok of Chip (NoC), which aims at obtaining low latency and low power consumption by concerning wired and wireless links between routers. The main objective of this paper is to reduce the latency and power consumption of the network on chip architecture using wireless link between routers. In this paper, the power consumption is reduced by designing a low power router and latency is reduced by implementing a on-chip wireless communication as express links for transferring data from one subnet routers to another subnet routers. The average packet latency and normalized power consumption of proposed hybrid NoC router are analyzed for synthetic traffic loads as shuffle traffic, bitcomp traffic, transpose traffic and bitrev traffic. The proposed hybrid NoC router reduces the normalized power over the wired NoC by 12.18% in consumer traffic, 12.80% in AutoIndust traffic and 12.5% in MPEG2 traffic. The performance is also analyzed with real time traffic environments using Network simulator 2 tool.
Mechanistic Insights into the Events That Lead to Synergistic Induction of Interleukin 6 Transcription upon Activation of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor and Inflammatory Signaling

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is the ligand-activated transcription factor responsible for mediating the toxicological effects of dioxin and xenobiotic metabolism. However, recent evidence has implicated the AHR in additional, nonmetabolic physiological processes, including immune regulation. Certain tumor cells are largely nonresponsive to cytokine-mediated induction of the pro-survival cytokine interleukin (IL) 6. We have demonstrated that multiple nonresponsive tumor lines are able to undergo synergistic induction of IL6 following combinatorial treatment with IL1β and the AHR agonist 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Such data implicate the AHR in tumor expansion, although the mechanistic basis for the AHR-dependent synergistic induction of IL6 has not been determined. Here, we demonstrate that ligand-activated AHR is involved in priming the IL6 promoter through binding to nonconsensus dioxin response elements located upstream of the IL6 start site. Such binding appears to render the promoter more permissive to IL1β-induced binding of NF-κB components. The nature of the AHR-dependent increases in IL6 promoter transcriptional potential has been shown to involve a reorganization of repressive complexes as exemplified by the presence of HDAC1 and HDAC3. Dismissal of these HDACs correlates with post-translational modifications of promoter-bound NF-κB components in a time-dependent manner. Thus the AHR plays a role in derepressing the IL6 promoter, leading to synergistic IL6 expression in the presence of inflammatory signals. These observations may explain the association between enhanced expression of AHR and tumor aggressiveness. It is likely that AHR-mediated priming is not restricted to the IL6 promoter and may contribute to the expression of a variety of genes, which do not have consensus dioxin response elements.
Rethinking Distributional Matching Based Domain Adaptation

Domain adaptation (DA) is a technique that transfers predictive models trained on a labeled source domain to an unlabeled target domain, with the core difficulty of resolving distributional shift between domains. Currently, most popular DA algorithms are based on distributional matching (DM). However in practice, realistic domain shifts (RDS) may violate their basic assumptions and as a result these methods will fail. In this paper, in order to devise robust DA algorithms, we first systematically analyze the limitations of DM based methods, and then build new benchmarks with more realistic domain shifts to evaluate the well-accepted DM methods. We further propose InstaPBM, a novel Instance-based Predictive Behavior Matching method for robust DA. Extensive experiments on both conventional and RDS benchmarks demonstrate both the limitations of DM methods and the efficacy of InstaPBM: Compared with the best baselines, InstaPBM improves the classification accuracy respectively by $4.5\%$, $3.9\%$ on Digits5, VisDA2017, and $2.2\%$, $2.9\%$, $3.6\%$ on DomainNet-LDS, DomainNet-ILDS, ID-TwO. We hope our intuitive yet effective method will serve as a useful new direction and increase the robustness of DA in real scenarios. Code will be available at anonymous link: this https URL.
How do product reviews help reduce uncertainty in online transactions? A discussion in the context of electronic device purchase

Products reviews have long been viewed as an important source of information for people to assess product quality in electronic business (e-business). Following a literature review of related constructs, we propose a research model and collect data from a mid-western university in US. After testing hypotheses by running a structural equation model and several ANOVAs, we find that 1) the concerns on potential losses have a significant impact on the overall risk perception toward online transactions; 2) the average rating on products has a stronger impact on risk perceptions than the volume of reviews; 3) risk perception is an important antecedent of the uncertainty in online transactions.