Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling wine consumers preferences: How different can consumers be?

Wine is a complex product. The preferences for it are not only highly heterogeneous throughout the population, but also susceptible to context. The objective of this study is to discover and measure these preferences, focusing on non-sensory attributes of wine. To identify the most relevant non-sensory attributes of wine, from the consumers’ standpoint, four sources were considered: existing literature, a Delphi survey (short questionnaire applied to wine marketing experts), 14 in-depth interviews to consumers and a web survey answered by 843 wine consumers. Not all sources were consistent on which attributes were the most important. Notably, consumers did not pointed out price as a relevant attribute on the web survey, even though several in-depth interviewed consumers mentioned it as a relevant. Six wine attributes were selected for inclusion in the choice experiment: grape variety, alcohol level, label design, recommendations, price and discounts. An efficient experimental design was developed. A web based stated preference survey was applied to 274 regular wine consumers (all of whom had already answered the previous web survey). All of these consumers have high income (among the richest 20% of the Chilean population), 28% of them are women and 33% are 35 years old or younger. The experiment simulated a purchase, at a retail store, for a casual meal with friends. A fixed fictional brand was used for all wines on the experiment. With this data several discrete choice models were estimated, including mixed logit and hybrid choice models. Grape variety was found to be the main driver of preferences. Evidence of preference for higher alcohol levels was also discovered. Price proved to be highly endogenous, as it is strongly related to wine’s expected quality. Recommendation by a friend was preferred to that of wine critics, except in the case of (self-declared) expert consumers. Preferences over label designs showed high variability. The results also suggest that price is a key attribute in the construction of expected quality by the consumer, before tasting the product.
Feature classification for multi-focus image fusion

Image processing techniques have witnessed increased usage in various real world applications. For any image processing technique, such as image segmentation, restoration, edge detection, stereo matching etc., to be applied successfully, the image under consideration must contain all of the scene objects in focus. Usually, due to inadequate depth of field of optical lenses, especially with larger focal length, it becomes impossible to obtain an image in which all of the objects are in focus. Image fusion deals with creating an image by combining portions from other images to obtain an image in which all of the objects are in focus. In this paper, a novel feature-level multi-focus image fusion technique has been proposed which fuses multi-focus images using classification. Ten pairs of multi-focus images are first divided into blocks. The optimal block size for every image is found adaptively. The block feature vectors are fed to feed forward neural network. The trained neural network is then used to fuse any pair of multi-focus images. The results of extensive experimentation performed are presented to highlight the efficiency and usefulness of the proposed technique. Key words:
An investigation of the polarization dependence of a temperature sensor based on an optical microfiber coupler

The dependence on polarization of the performance of a microfiber coupler based temperature sensor is experimentally investigated. The optical microfiber coupler based temperature sensor has a diameter circa 2 μm and can sense temperature in the range from 100°C to 1000°C, with an average sensitivity of 18.9 pm/°C. It is shown that different polarization states of the input signal have a significant influence on the proposed temperature sensing accuracy, with an estimated peak error of 63°C at 1000°C.
Automated Detection of Near-miss Fall Incidents in Iron Workers Using Inertial Measurement Units

1 Ph.D Student, Construction Engineering and Management, Charles Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, University of NebraskaLincoln, W113 Nebraska Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588; PH (402) 472-5631; email: kyang11@unl.edu 2 M.S. Student, Computer Science and Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, W113 Nebraska Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588; PH (402) 472-5631; email: saria@cse.unl.edu 3 Assistant Professor, Construction Engineering and Management, Charles Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, W113 Nebraska Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588; PH (402) 4727431; email: cahn2@unl.edu 4 Associate Professor, Environmental, Agricultural, Occupational Health Science, 984388 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-4388 and Construction Engineering and Management, Charles Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, W113 Nebraska Hall, College of Engineering, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0500; PH (402) 472-5078; email: tstentz1@unl.edu
ULTRASTRUCTURE OF MALE GENITAL SYSTEM AND SPERMATOZOA OF A MEXICAN CAMEL-SPIDER OF THE EREMOBATES PALLIPES SPECIES GROUP (ARACHNIDA, SOLIFUGAE)

Abstract The male genital system of Solifugae is divided into three different parts: a) a common genital chamber, b) the paired tubular vasa deferentia and c) the long, thin testes. On each side, the vas deferens splits into two smaller branches resulting in the thin, extremely long testes such that one individual possesses four tubular testes in total. The epithelium of a testis consists mainly of a glandular part and of a germinal part surrounded by a small layer of muscles. In Eremobates sp. , within the germinal part the sperm cells are groups of a few, probably four, mature sperm cells each surrounded by thin extensions of somatic cells. These somatic cells can clearly be distinguished from the cells forming the glandular part which contain large amounts of rough endoplasmic reticulum. Once released into the narrow testicular lumen, the spermatozoa float more or less individually in a proteinaceous secretion. Earlier stages of spermatogenesis could not be detected, suggesting that spermatogenesis may occur in the subadult male (not examined in this study). In general, the sperm is rather simple, representing a round or slightly elongated cell devoid of a flagellum. The relatively small and flat acrosomal vacuole is attached to the disc-like nucleus. The acrosomal filament penetrates the nucleus and is coiled several times around it. In contrast to species of the family Ammotrechidae or Karschiidae, for which sperm cells have already been described, the sperm cells of the Mexican Eremobates sp. , which belongs to the family Eremobatidae, show no tendency to form any piles or well ordered groups in the lumen of either the testes or the vasa deferentia.
Econometric Asset Pricing Modelling

The purpose of this paper is to propose a general econometric approach to no-arbitrage asset pricing modelling based on three main ingredients: (i) the historical discrete-time dynamics of the factor representing the information, (ii) the Stochastic Discount Factor (SDF), and (iii) the discrete-time risk-neutral (R.N.) factor dynamics. Retaining an exponential-affine specification of the SDF, its modelling is equivalent to the specification of the risk sensitivity vector and of the short rate, if the latter is neither exogenous nor a known function of the factor. In this general framework, we distinguish three modelling strategies: the Direct Modelling, the Risk-Neutral Constrained Direct Modelling and the Back Modelling. In all the approaches we study the Internal Consistency Conditions (ICCs), implied by the absence of arbitrage opportunity assumption, and the identification problem. The general modelling strategies are applied to two important domains: security market models and term structure of interest rates models. In these contexts we stress the usefulness (and we suggest the use) of the Risk-Neutral Constrained Direct Modelling and of the Back Modelling approaches, both allowing to conciliate a flexible (non-Car) historical dynamics and a Car R.N. dynamics leading to explicit or quasi explicit pricing formulas for various derivative products. Moreover, we highlight the possibility to specify asset pricing models able to accommodate non-Car historical and non-Car R.N. factor dynamics with tractable pricing formulas. This result is based on the notion of (Risk-Neutral) Extended Car process that we introduce in the paper, and which allows to deal with sophisticated models like Gaussian and Inverse Gaussian GARCH-type models with regime-switching, or Wishart Quadratic Term Structure models.
Non-Invasive Genetic Identification of the Red Fox Vulpes vulpes in the Shiretoko National Park, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract. In order to assess the genetic usefulness of feces that were obtained from field, we conducted genetic identification by microsatellite analysis on fecal samples of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) collected in the Shiretoko National Park, Hokkaido. Consequently, 59 fecal samples resulted in 22 as the minimum number of individuals. The cumulative P (ID)sibs in the 22 samples was less than 0.01. Two pairs of fecal samples having the identical genotypes (P (ID)sibs < 0.01) were considered to be dropped by the same foxes, and the distribution of these feces was almost overlapped with the home range of one fox, revealed by a previous study. Although few reports had revealed the absolute number of red foxes in field, the present study showed that the genetic analysis of their feces is useful for estimating a presumable number of individuals in the area. However, the lower genotyping success rates (23.3–69.8%) and genotyping reproducibility (53.5–88.4%) indicate the difficulty of genetic analysis by using these fecal samples. In order to improve the efficiency of the analysis, it may be effective to select and use a marker set which has smaller allele sizes, because the genotyping success rates and reproducibility increased when the average allele size decreased.
A Morse Membrane Boltzmann Machine Model with Applications in Cluster Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new kind of P system on chain structure. We present the basic discrete Morse structure, membrane structures on complexes, objects with positive and negative charges and communication rules on chains. The computation completeness of Morse P system is proved by simulation of register machine. The process of Boltzmann Machines are implemented by Morse P system. A new clustering technique is described on Morse P system based Boltzmann Machines. Examples are given to show the effect of the algorithm.
Promoting permanent employment: Lessons from spain

This paper analyzes whether the two major labor market reforms implemented in Spain in the 1990s to reduce the share of temporary employment succeed in promoting ﬂows into permanent employment. The 1994 reform severely restricted temporary contracts and the 1997 reform introduced a new permanent contract ﬁgure with lower payroll taxes and dismissal costs than the ordinary. To evaluate these non-targeted treatments I present an estimation procedure that uses pre-treatment out-comes to predict the one that would have been otherwise observed in the post-treatment period in the absence of the treatment and I derive its large sample properties. Using data from the Spanish Labor Force Survey I ﬁnd that both reforms failed at reducing the share of temporary employment because they had no impact on contract conversions, which account for most new permanent contracts. The 1997 reform succeed in increasing permanent hirings for some groups of workers. My ﬁndings suggest that Spanish employers took advantage of wage and dismissal cost reductions to substitute permanent contracts for otherwise temporary ones.
Tunable-angle wedge transducer for improved acoustophoretic control in a microfluidic chip

We present a tunable-angle wedge ultrasound transducer for improved control of microparticle acoustophoresis in a microfluidic chip. The transducer is investigated by analyzing the pattern of aligned particles and induced acoustic energy density while varying the transducer geometry, transducer coupling angle, and transducer actuation method (single-frequency actuation or frequency-modulation actuation). The energy-density analysis is based on measuring the transmitted light intensity through a microfluidic channel filled with a suspension of 5 µm diameter beads and the results with the tunable-angle transducer are compared with the results from actuation by a standard planar transducer in order to decouple the influence from change in coupling angle and change in transducer geometry. We find in this work that the transducer coupling angle is the more important parameter compared to the concomitant change in geometry and that the coupling angle may be used as an additional tuning parameter for improved acoustophoretic control with single-frequency actuation. Further, we find that frequency-modulation actuation is suitable for diminishing such tuning effects and that it is a robust method to produce uniform particle patterns with average acoustic energy densities comparable to those obtained using single-frequency actuation.
Analytic influence functionals for numerical Feynman integrals in most open quantum systems

Fully analytic formulas, which do not involve any numerical integration, are derived for the discretized influence functionals of a very extensive assortment of spectral distributions. For Feynman integrals derived using the Trotter splitting and Strang splitting, we present general formulas for the discretized influence functionals in terms of proper integrals of the bath response function. When an analytic expression exists for the bath response function, these integrals can almost always be evaluated analytically. In cases where these proper integrals cannot be integrated analytically, numerically computing them is much faster and less error-prone than calculating the discretized influence functionals in the traditional way, which involves numerically calculating integrals whose bounds are both infinite. As an example, we present the analytic discretized influence functional for a bath response function of the form \alpha(t)=\sum_{j}^{K}p_{j}e^{\Omega_{j}t}, which is a natural form for many spectral distribution functions (including the very popular Lorentz-Drude/Debye function), and for other spectral distribution functions it is a form that is easily obtainable by a least-squares fit . Evaluating our analytic formulas for this example case is much faster and easier to implement than numerically calculating the discretized influence funcitonal in the traditional way. In the appendix we provide analytic expressions for p_{j} and \Omega_{j} for a variety of spectral distribution forms, and as a second example we provide the analytic bath response function and analytic influence functionals for spectral distributions of the form J(\omega)\propto\omega^{s}e^{-(\omega/\omega_{c})^{q}}. The value of the analytic expression for this bath response function extends beyond its use for calculating Feynman integrals.
Histomorphometric Study of the Aorta and Brachiocephalic Artery in Neonate and Adult Cat

Knowledge of the structure of the aorta and brachiocephalic artery is important for properly functioning arteries. Morphometrical and histological studies were performed on 20 cats (10 adults and 10 neonates). After euthanizing, routine tissue processing was carried out by autotechnicon. The processed tissues were embedded in paraffin and sectioned serially into 5 μm thickness. The sections were stained with Masson’s trichrome and orcein. Sections were measured with special digital microscope. In both ages, aorta and brachiocephalic artery were of elastic type and the number of elastic lamellae in the tunica media of aorta was more than brachiocephalic artery. In both arteries diameter of artery and thickness of tunica intima, media and adventitia were more in adult than neonate. In both ages the diameter of artery and thickness of tunica intima and media were more in aorta compared with brachiocephalic artery but tunica adventitia in brachiocephalic artery was thicker than in aorta.
Improving Soil Physical Indicators by Soil Amendment to a Saline-Sodic Soil

The application of organic amendments can be an appropriate solution to reclaim and improve physical properties of saline-sodic soils. In this research, an experiment was performed under greenhouse conditions to study the effect of amendments to the physical properties of loamy saline-sodic soil. The five treatments were control (without amendment), municipal solid waste compost (MC), vermicomposting (VC), poultry manure (PM), and gypsum powder (G). They were carried out in a completely randomized design with three replications. Each treatment comprised 10 ton/ha of the specified soil added to the soil. The results showed that soil amendments decreased bulk density (p<0.05) and increased mean weight diameter of aggregates (MWD) (p<0.05) over the control. The saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) for the G treatment was significantly higher than other treatments (p<0.05). The addition of amendments significantly increased the Sgi index, which is defined as the slope of the retention curve at its inflection point, but the Sgi index between the G and MC treatments was not significant (p<0.05). In addition, plant available water content (PAWC) increased significantly (p<0.05) for organic amendments over the G and control treatments, and a maximum value was observed for the PM treatment. The positive effects of the amendments showed that the application of organic and/or inorganic amendments can be recommended for saline-sodic soil to improve soil physical quality.
Analysis of Highly Sensitive Photonic Crystal Biosensor for Glucose Monitoring

In this study, a novel compact and fully integrated 2D photonic crystal (PhC) biosensor with high sensitivity has been proposed for Glucose monitoring. The simulation results are obtained using 2D finite element time domain method (FETDM). To evaluate the performance of the suggested design, the transmission spectrum through the reported structure has been calculated. The effect of the structure geometrical parameters of the biosensor is studied to maximize the biosensor sensitivity. The suggested biosensor offers high sensitivity of 422 nm/RIU with high linearity. Additionally, the suggested biosensor has a simple design and is easy for fabrication. The enhancement of the sensitivity of the PhC biosensor is very important to amplify the detection of the small variation in analyte’s physical properties. Therefore, the achieved sensitivity enhancement can improve the applications of Glucose monitoring. Index Terms Biosensor, finite element time domain method, photonic crystal, sensitivity, transmission.
Structure, pace and balance in Twitter conversations

Twitter is both a micro-blogging service and a platform for public conversation. Direct conversation is facilitated in Twitter through the use of @’s (mentions) and replies. While the conversational element of Twitter is of particular interest to the marketing sector, relatively few data-mining studies have focused on this area. We analyse conversations associated with reciprocated mentions that take place in a data-set consisting of approximately 4 million tweets collected over a period of 28 days that contain at least one mention. We ignore tweet content and instead use the mention network structure and its dynamical properties to identify and characterise Twitter conversations between pairs of users and within larger groups. We consider conversational balance, meaning the fraction of content contributed by each party. The goal of this work is to draw out some of the mechanisms driving conversation in Twitter, with the potential aim of developing conversational models.
Cluster quality assessment by the modified RenyiClip X algorithm

This paper presents the modified RenyiCLIPx clustering algorithm and shows that with this algorithm more accurate groupings can be obtained, it gives higher accuracy rates as well. The combination of Renyi entropy based clustering and CLIP3, CLIP4 rule derivation algorithms is used to discover clusters and create rules to explain them. The algorithm itself contains refinements that are used while improving the goodness of obtained clusters and rules. Results on researching the influence of data discretization and so called negative examples data set to the rule complexity and cluster quality are presented as well.
Natural p-BEM for the electric field integral equation on screens

In this paper we analyse the p-version of the boundary element method for the electric field integral equation on a plane open surface with polygonal boundary. We prove the convergence of the p-version with Raviart-Thomas parallelogram elements and derive an a priori error estimate that takes into account the strong singular behaviour of the solution at the edges and comers of the surface. The key ingredient of our analysis is the orthogonality of discrete Helmholtz decompositions in a Sobolev space of order ―1/2.
Impact of geomagnetic excursions on atmospheric chemistry and dynamics

Abstract. Geomagnetic excursions, i.e. short periods in time with much weaker geomagnetic fields and substantial changes in the position of the geomagnetic pole, occurred repeatedly in the Earth's history, e.g. the Laschamp event about 41 kyr ago. Although the next such excursion is certain to come, little is known about the timing and possible consequences for the state of the atmosphere and the ecosystems. Here we use the global chemistry climate model SOCOL-MPIOM to simulate the effects of geomagnetic excursions on atmospheric ionization, chemistry and dynamics. Our simulations show significantly increased concentrations of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the entire stratosphere, especially over Antarctica (+15%), due to enhanced ionization by galactic cosmic rays. Hydrogen oxides (HOx) are also produced in greater amounts (up to +40%) in the tropical and subtropical lower stratosphere, while their destruction by reactions with enhanced NOx prevails over the poles and in high altitudes (by −5%). Stratospheric ozone concentrations decrease globally above 20 km by 1–2% and at the northern hemispheric tropopause by up to 5% owing to the accelerated NOx-induced destruction. A 5% increase is found in the southern lower stratosphere and troposphere. In response to these changes in ozone and the concomitant changes in atmospheric heating rates, the Arctic vortex intensifies in boreal winter, while the Antarctic vortex weakens in austral winter and spring. Surface wind anomalies show significant intensification of the southern westerlies at their poleward edge during austral winter and a pronounced northward shift in spring. Major impacts on the global climate seem unlikely.
Are Underwriter-Analysts More Informed? Scandinavian Evidence

Excess returns for Scandinavian IPO-firm initial buy recommendations registered on the First Call database from underwriter analysts (informed analysts) for 1996-2002 were compared to those of non-underwriter analysts (uninformed analysts). Underwriter analysts recommendations outperformed non-underwriter analyst recommendations during the first year after publication, yielding 28 percent higher mean excess returns. Supporting the superior-information hypothesis and contradict earlier research, the result may be explained by two factors: (1) a lower regional competition between banks for winning corporate finance deals in Scandinavia than the regional competition between banks in the U.S.; and (2) an extended analyst coverage of IPO firms today than during earlier periods making it costlier for underwriter analysts to be caught with giving positively biased buy recommendations.