Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PESSIMISM AND UNCERTAINTY OF THE NEWS AND INVESTOR BEHAVIOR IN BRAZIL

How investors impound qualitative information released by the media into prices, especially in a less efficient market such as Brazil, helps understand the types of news most sensitive to investors. This study investigates the relationship between the content of the daily editions of specialized financial media in Brazil, captured by a metric of textual tone, and returns and volatility of market indexes. Our database contains 1,237 daily editions of the newspaper “Valor Econômico,” between 01/02/2012 and 12/30/2016. The results indicate that the market put more weight on the words “uncertainty” and “negative” in the news. “Uncertainty” has negative relation to current market-returns and weak evidence that news with “negative” terms have positive associations with current market-volatility. The evidences obtained point to the existence of informative content in the news pub lished by specialized media in Brazil, especially with the words “negative” and “uncertainty. ”
How having an innovation strategy and process canimprove NPD outcomes for Irish SME’s

Having a defined innovation strategy and a formal process are generally found to be associated with superior NPD performance. Innovation is at the top of the business agenda in Ireland but despite its importance, little is known about how Irish organisations manage for innovation; whether they have a strategy or whether formal management processes are used, and with what effect. This study finds that two-thirds of innovation active firms do not have an innovation strategy with even less operating any formal innovation process. Having a more formal innovation process is associated with higher innovation returns; more radical or novel innovations and better exploitation of innovations at the diffusion stage of the innovation value chain. Structuring the innovation process has considerable advantages for small firms; in idea generation where they are more likely to develop ‘new to the market’ ideas; in conversion where they take a more risk taking attitude to investing in radical ideas and in diffusion, where they manage the launch process better by maximising sales and distribution channels and by rolling out new products faster.
THE RELATIONSHIP OF LANGUAGE SKILLS REQUIRED FOR READING AND SPEECH READING SKILLS FOR CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT A Thesis Presented for the Master of Arts Degree University of Tennessee, Knoxville

I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Christine McLoone entitled “The Relationship of the Language Skills Required for Reading and Speech Reading Skills for Children with Hearing Impairment. ” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts, with a major in Speech Pathology.
Critical behavior of the van der Waals bonded ferromagnet Fe3−xGeTe2

The critical properties of the single-crystalline van der Waals bonded ferromagnet Fe$_{3-x}$GeTe$_2$ were investigated by bulk dc magnetization around the paramagnetic (PM) to ferromagnetic (FM) phase transition. The Fe$_{3-x}$GeTe$_2$ single crystals grown by self-flux method with Fe deficiency $x \approx 0.36$ exhibit bulk FM ordering below $T_c = 152$ K. The M\"{o}ssbauer spectroscopy was used to provide information on defects and local atomic environment in such crystals. Critical exponents $\beta = 0.372(4)$ with a critical temperature $T_c = 151.25(5)$ K and $\gamma = 1.265(15)$ with $T_c = 151.17(12)$ K are obtained by the Kouvel-Fisher method whereas $\delta = 4.50(1)$ is obtained by a critical isotherm analysis at $T_c = 151$ K. These critical exponents obey the Widom scaling relation $\delta = 1+\gamma/\beta$, indicating self-consistency of the obtained values. With these critical exponents the isotherm $M(H)$ curves below and above the critical temperatures collapse into two independent universal branches, obeying the single scaling equation $m = f_\pm(h)$, where $m$ and $h$ are renormalized magnetization and field, respectively. The exponents determined in this study are close to those calculated from the results of the renormalization group approach for a heuristic model of three-dimensional Heisenberg ($d = 3, n = 3$) spins coupled with the attractive long-range interactions between spins that decay as $J(r)\approx r^{-(3+\sigma)}$ with $\sigma=1.89$.
Ant Colony Optimization with Three Stages for Independent Test Cost Attribute Reduction

Minimal test cost attribute reduction is an important problem in cost-sensitive learning. Recently, heuristic algorithms including the information gain-based algorithm and the genetic algorithm have been designed for this problem. However, in many cases these algorithms cannot find the optimal solution. In this paper, we develop an ant colony optimization algorithm to tackle this problem. The attribute set is represented as a graph with each vertex corresponding to an attribute and weight of each edge to pheromone. Our algorithm contains three stages, namely, the addition stage, the deletion stage, and the filtration stage. In the addition stage, each ant starts from the initial position and traverses edges probabilistically until the stopping criterion is satisfied. The pheromone of the traveled path is also updated in this process. In the deletion stage, each ant deletes redundant attributes. Two strategies, called the centralized deletion strategy and the distributed deletion strategy, are proposed. Finally, the ant with minimal test cost is selected to construct the reduct in the filtration stage. Experimental results on UCI datasets indicate that the algorithm is significantly better than the information gain-based one. It also outperforms the genetic algorithm on medium-sized dataset Mushroom.
Clusters and the development of supplier networks for transnational companies

Clusters, an important tool for providing matching answers to challenges from transnational companies, are regional concentrations of firms, research and education institutions, regional development bodies and other participants sharing some joint technological platform and aiming to increase their joint competitive strength through collaboration at various levels of activity. Transnationals may become involved in clusters in various countries, e.g. through affiliates in host economies. One form of cluster may be collaboration of transnationals and their partners and suppliers. The paper analyses the main attributes of clusters and the rationale behind them, before considering the inclination of transnationals to develop supplier networks. It goes on to describe the activities and levels of cooperation among transnationals—chiefly original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)—and local suppliers. Based on analysis of supplier network patterns, the paper compares this cooperation content with typical activities in successful clusters. It mainly deals with Hungarian experiences, though most may also be relevant to other transition economies. The main finding is that transnational companies’ primary interest lies elsewhere, not in cluster development, but that in the presence of strong local initiative and professional cluster management they may gain interest in cluster activity of certain types.
Short-Chain Fatty Acids Activate AMP-Activated Protein Kinase and Ameliorate Ethanol-Induced Intestinal Barrier Dysfunction in Caco-2 Cell Monolayers 1 , 2

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have been shown to promote intestinal barrier function, but their protective effects against ethanol-induced intestinal injury and underlying mechanisms remain essentially unknown. The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of SCFAs on ethanol-induced barrier dysfunction and to examine the role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) as a possible mechanism using Caco-2 monolayers. The monolayers were treated apically with butyrate (2, 10, or 20 mmol/L), propionate (4, 20, or 40 mmol/L), or acetate (8, 40, or 80 mmol/L) for 1 h before ethanol (40 mmol/L) for 3 h. Barrier function was analyzed by measurement of transepithelial resistance and permeation of fluorescein isothiocyanatelabeled dextran. Distribution of the tight junction (TJ) proteins zona occludens-1, occludin, and filamentous-actin (F-actin) was examined by immunofluorescence. Metabolic stress was determined by measuring oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, and ATP using dichlorofluorescein diacetate, dimethylthiazol-2-yl-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, and bioluminescence assay, respectively. AMPK was knocked down by small interfering RNA (siRNA), and its activity was assessed by a cell-based ELISA. Exposure to ethanol significantly impaired barrier function compared with controls (P < 0.0001), disrupted TJ and F-actin cytoskeleton integrity, and induced metabolic stress. However, pretreatment with 2 mmol/L butyrate, 4 mmol/L propionate, and 8 mmol/L acetate significantly alleviated the ethanol-induced barrier dysfunction, TJ and F-actin disruption, and metabolic stress compared with ethanol-exposed monolayers (P < 0.0001). The promoting effects on barrier function were abolished by inhibiting AMPK using either compound C or siRNA. These observations indicate that SCFAs exhibit protective effects against ethanol-induced barrier disruption via AMPK activation, suggesting a potential for SCFAs as prophylactic and/or therapeutic factors against ethanol-induced gut leakiness. J. Nutr. 143:
ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF PIED KINGFISHER (CERYLE RUDIS) AND STORK- BILLED KINGFISHER (PELARGOPSIS CAPENSIS) AT THE CHITTAGONG UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, BANGLADESH

The activity patterns of pied kingfisher ( Ceryle rudis Linnaeus, 1758) and stork-billed kingfisher ( Pelargopsis capensis Linnaeus, 1766) were studied in the Chittagong University Campus, Chittagong, Bangladesh, during January 2011 to December 2013. Eight activities (resting/perching, bathing, flying, feeding, calling, preening, hovering and diving) were observed in this study, of which pied kingfisher performed all eight activities and stork-billed kingfisher performed all except bathing and hovering. Both kingfisher species spent the maximum (pied kingfisher: 31.87%; stork-billed kingfisher: 45.82%) time in resting/perching and the minimum (pied kingfisher: 4.83%; stork-billed kingfisher: 1.90%) in preening. Pied kingfishers were mostly (28.3%) active during 0700 and 0900 h and stork- billed kingfishers were more (31.17%) active in between 0901-1100 h. Pied kingfishers spent their highest (9.01%) time in different activities in August and the lowest (7.68%) in February, whereas storkbilled kingfishers spent the maximum (8.69%) time in March and the minimum (7.80%) in May. Bangladesh J. Zool. 42 (2): 191-203, 2014
EMOCause: An Easy-adaptable Approach to Extract Emotion Cause Contexts

In this paper we present a method to automatically identify linguistic contexts which contain possible causes of emotions or emotional states from Italian newspaper articles (La Repubblica Corpus). Our methodology is based on the interplay between relevant linguistic patterns and an incremental repository of common sense knowledge on emotional states and emotion eliciting situations. Our approach has been evaluated with respect to manually annotated data. The results obtained so far are satisfying and support the validity of the methodology proposed.
Microservices Tenets : Agile Approach to Service Development and Deployment Overview and Vision Paper , SummerSoC 2016

Some microservices proponents claim that microservices form a new architectural style; in contrast, advocates of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) argue that microservices merely are an implementation approach to SOA. This overview and vision paper first reviews popular introductions to microservices to identify microservices tenets. It then compares two microservices definitions and contrasts them with SOA principles and patterns. This analysis confirms that microservices indeed can be seen as a developmentand deployment-level variant of SOA; such microservices implementations have the potential to overcome the deficiencies of earlier approaches to SOA realizations by employing modern software engineering paradigms and Web technologies such as domain-driven design, RESTful HTTP, IDEAL cloud application architectures, polyglot persistence, lightweight containers, a continuous DevOps approach to service delivery, and comprehensive but lean fault management. However, these paradigms and technologies also cause a number of additional design choices to be made and create new options for many “distribution classics” type of architectural decisions. As a result, the cognitive load for (micro-)services architects increases, as well as the design, testing and maintenance efforts that are required to benefit from an adoption of microservices. To initiate and frame the buildup of architectural knowledge supporting microservices projects, this paper compiles related practitioner questions; it also derives research topics from these questions. The paper concludes with a summarizing position statement: microservices constitute one particular implementation approach to SOA (service development and deployment).
A Website-Based Analysis Regarding CSR Practices of the Top Romanian Travel Agencies

The paper investigates the extent to which the largest Romanian travel agencies, in terms of net turnover and profitability, adopt and communicate CSR practices, as reflected by the contents of their websites. The analyzed data regards a number of twenty Romanian travel agencies, which during the last five years have been present at least once in an annual top 10 of the highest net turnover and/or most profitable such specialized businesses. The website of each company was analyzed considering several variables related to the adoption and communication of CSR practices: the existence of a website section dedicated to CSR, the presence of CSR aspects within the section dedicated to the company’s mission, vision, values etc., mentions of relevant stakeholder groups, CSR domains, actual CSR activities etc. Although the literature regarding the impact of perceived CSR in the tourism industry suggests a significant level of influence on corporate reputation and, indirectly, on consumers’ behavior, trust, loyalty and other important commercial aspects, the results of the current research show a relatively low engagement of the top Romanian travel agencies in CSR activities, at least considering the extent to which they communicate these aspects through their websites.
IC-FANRes 2015 ‘ Wader ’ ( Rasbora jacobsoni ) Protein Hydrolysates : Production , Biochemical , and Functional Properties

Considerable the amounts of Wader (Rasbora jacobsoni) are abundant in Indonesia for all year and also have a low economic value. By using Biduri (Calotropis gigantea) protease, production of wader protein hydrolysate (WPH) as food ingredients and industrial product may be possible. Hydrolysis condition was proposed depend on the effects of the time (t) (0, 1.5, and 3 hours), and enzyme concentration (E) (1, 2, and 3% (v/w)) on the degree of soluble protein. Significant differences were observed on chemical and biochemical characteristics of WPH. In addition, functional properties of WPH are described, including solubility, rancidity, maillard, water-holding capacity, emulsification, and foam-forming capacity. The composition of amino acids was observed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The highest proteolytic activity was at 3 hours and 3% (v/w) of enzyme concentration. The WPH contained of high protein solubility (65.90 mg/ml) and glutamate acids (12.72% (w/w)). The properties indicated that WPH was suitable for using as flavor enhancer with wide range of applications in the food industry. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of IC-FANRes 2015.
CERN – EUROPEAN ORGANIZATION FOR NUCLEAR RESEARCH VERY HIGH RESOLUTION OPTICAL TRANSITION RADIATION IMAGING SYSTEM : COMPARISON BETWEEN SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENT

B. Bolzon,1,2,3,* A. Aryshev,4 T. Aumeyr,5 S. Boogert,5 P. Karataev,5 K. O. Kruchinin,5 T. Lefevre,1 S. Mazzoni,1 L. Nevay,5 M. Shevelev,4 N. Terunuma,4 J. Urakawa,4 and C. P. Welsch2,3 1CERN, Switzerland 2The University of Liverpool, United Kingdom 3Cockcroft Institute, Daresbury, United Kingdom 4KEK: High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Japan 5John Adams Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London,, United Kingdom
Willingness-to-Accept and Willingness-to-Pay for GM and Non-GM Food: UK Consumers

Our research elicited UK consumersi¯ willingness-to-accept (WTA) discount in exchange for giving up non-GM food and willingness-to-pay (WTP) premium to purchase non-GM food. Eliciting only WTP does not provide sufficient information for determining substitutability between GM and non-GM food. Results indicate that there is a strong demand for non-GM food in the UK, but a non-negligible segment expressed their willingness to substitute non-GM food with GM version either without discount (12 %) or with discounts (34 %). This result suggests that there is an economic incentive for food industry in Europe to offer GM food to consumers.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Disrupting gatekeeping practices : Journalists ’ source selection in times of crisis

As gatekeepers, journalists have the power to select the sources that get a voice in crisis coverage. The aim of this study is to find out how journalists select sources during a crisis. In a survey, journalists were asked how they assess the following sources during an organizational crisis: news agencies, an organization undergoing a crisis, and the general public. The sample consisted of 214 Dutch experienced journalists who at least once covered a crisis. Using structural equation modeling, sources’ likelihood of being included in the news was predicted using five source characteristics: credibility, knowledge, willingness, timeliness, and the relationship with the journalist. Findings indicated that during a crisis, news agencies are most likely to be included in the news, followed by the public, and finally the organization. The significance of the five source characteristics is dependent on source type. For example, to be used in the news, news agencies and organizations should be mainly evaluated as knowledgeable, whereas information from the public should be both credible and timely. In addition, organizations should not be seen as too willing or too eager to communicate. The findings imply that, during a crisis, journalists remain critical gatekeepers; however, they rely mainly on familiar sources.
A Geospatial Assessment of Small-Scale Hydropower Potential in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa has been at the epicenter of an ongoing global dialogue around the issue of energy poverty. More than half of the world’s population without access to modern energy services lives there. It also happens to be a sub-continent with plentiful renewable energy resource potential. Hydropower is one of them, and to a large extent it remains untapped. This study focuses on the technical assessment of small-scale hydropower (0.01–10 MW) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The underlying methodology was based on open source geospatial datasets, whose combination allowed a consistent evaluation of 712,615 km of river network spanning over 44 countries. Environmental, topological, and social constraints were included in the form of constraints in the optimization algorithm. The results are presented on a country and power pool basis.
Understanding the Relationship between Genetic Markers and Skeletal Remains: Implications for Forensic Anthropology and Phenotype-Genotype Studies

abstract :Human identification techniques have been a leading tool to hold perpetrators accountable, give families closure, and approximate faces on skulls. This project is a pilot study to critically examine three disciplines that fall under the human identification umbrella: forensic anthropology, forensic genetics, and forensic art. Current facial research in genetics focuses on data from living individuals, identifying specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that influence specific regions of the face. This study assesses the translation of these regions to craniometric dimensions (interlandmark distances) of the underlying skull itself. The goal of this project is to provide information regarding the correlation of craniometric measurements and SNPs, as well as to encourage interdisciplinary work within the forensic sciences. We examined a selection of candidate SNPs currently identified in the literature to examine correlations between interlandmark distances and these SNPs within the same individual. A series of 99 craniometric landmarks were collected from 17 documented skulls from the Texas State Donated Skeletal Collection using a three-dimensional Microscribe digitizer. Criteria for inclusion in this study included European American ancestry, presence of intact skulls, and presence of associated donor blood cards collected at the time of body donation. Using these blood cards, DNA from each individual was extracted, amplified, and sequenced through next-generation sequencing for the chosen SNPs. Bioinformatics tests were then applied to observe the presence or absence of the major or minor alleles in specific locations on the genome. After determining the presence or absence of an SNP (minor allele), a set of statistical tests were performed, including Spearman's correlation between the craniometric measurements and the individual's genetic data variables; two-way hierarchical clustering and bootstrap forest modeling between variables that demonstrated significant correlation; a principal components analysis on the craniometric data (interlandmark measurements) and genetic data (SNP presence/absence) to check homogeneity of each data set; and a pairwise Procrustes analysis on the correlation of the two data sets as different groups. The results indicate correlations of varying degrees between the targeted craniofacial regions and the targeted SNPs. Eleven SNPs showed significant correlation (p < 0.05), but the correlations were not as expected and showed some interesting results. By group level there was no significant correlation, but there was correlation at the individual level. While some SNPs affected the soft tissues only, others showed correlations with the skull (hard tissue), a finding not previously reported. Combining craniometric and DNA analyses to leverage genotype-phenotype associations has great potential to expand the discourse of current facial approximation and thereby to provide new investigative tools for human identification in forensic anthropology.
Monojet searches for MSSM simplified models

We explore the implications of monojet searches at hadron colliders in the MSSM. To quantify the impact of monojet searches, we consider simplied MSSM scenarios with neutralino dark matter. The monojet results of the LHC Run 1 are reinterpreted in the context of several MSSM simplied scenarios, and the complementarity with direct SUSY search results is highlighted. We also investigate the reach of monojet searches for the Run 2, as well as for future higher energy hadron colliders.
Characterization of nanostructured SnO2 films deposited by reactive DC-magnetron sputtering

Nanostructured tin oxide thin films were deposited on silicon and glass slides substrates by reactive DC-Magnetron sputtering using a tin target in a mixture of argon and oxygen gases. The substrate temperature was varied in the range from 53 to 243 o C, keeping the other deposition parameters constant. The tin oxide films were characterized by: Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive Spectrometry, X Ray Diffraction, microRaman spectroscopy and UV-VIS spectroscopy. It was found that the substrate temperature has an effect mainly on the structural, morphological and optical properties of the thin films. At 53 and 90 o C the tetragonal crystalline phase was obtained while a mixture of crystalline phases (o-SnO2 and t-SnO2) was obtained at 148, 185 and 243 o C.