Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
When Demand Projections are Too Optimistic: A Structural Model of Product Line and Pricing Decisions

A methodology is proposed to estimate structural models of product line competition. This methodology enables researchers to estimate demand systems accounting for the endogeneity of the mix of products available in each market, an issue which is typically ignored in the empirical literature. In particular, it is observed that not accounting for this form of endogeneity leads to overoptimistic estimates of total demand due to a sample selection bias. More importantly, biased estimates of demand can generate inaccurate inferences about consumer welfare or imply misleading managerial recommendations.The proposed model jointly considers the interplay between consumer preferences, pricing and assortment decisions. Consumer demand is characterized by a utility maximization process with unobserved heterogeneity in consumer preferences. Price decisions are assumed to be the outcome of a Bertrand-Nash game among firms offering differentiated products. Product line decisions are modeled using a Bayesian-Nash equilibrium concept where firms form beliefs about the profits of their competitors and anticipate the prices and demand they would observe for any given set of products that could be introduced in the market. The estimation approach is implemented relying on parallelization decomposing some of the most computationally intensive steps into a series of independent and much smaller problems.The methodology is illustrated using both simulated and real data, where the latter refers to purchases in the liquid laundry detergent product category. The results show that ignoring this form of endogeneity leads a researcher to overestimate the demand, prices and profits for products that have not yet been introduced in the market, while for existing products market shares and profits are substantially underestimated when performing policy simulations involving the addition of products to current assortments.
The research of digital recognition technology based on bp neural network

BP neural network is widely used in nonlinear modeling, pattern recognition and forecasting etc. Based on principles of BP neural network to digit recognition, using several training functions prepared by the MATLAB neural network toolbox, the paper focus on training of the BP neural network, and uses the Smolensk neural networkmodeling to simulate it. The result shows that the BP neural network used for the digit recognition is capable for recognition to some extent, its algorithmoperated easily, and properly choosing relative variables can achieve better recognition effect of the system.
Comparison of Mutual Coupling Phenomena in Subwavelength Ridged Circular Apertures and Half-Wavelength Dipole Antenna Arrays

The resonant microwave transmission characteristics of several coupled subwavelength ridged circular aperture arrangements in a thin metallic film are investigated using the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D FDTD) method. Simple equivalent circuits represented by the self and mutual conductances that have been quantitatively extracted for each resonance condition, including the mutual coupling effects, are also devised with the help of virtual magnetic current elements. Furthermore, a duality is identified between the ridged circular apertures and conventional half-wavelength dipole arrays based on comparing the respective resonance conditions.
Impact of size, shape, and composition on piezoelectric effects and electronic properties of In ( Ga ) As ∕ Ga As quantum dots

The strain fields in and around self-organized $\mathrm{In}(\mathrm{Ga})\mathrm{As}∕\mathrm{Ga}\mathrm{As}$ quantum dots (QDs) sensitively depend on QD geometry, average InGaAs composition, and the $\mathrm{In}∕\mathrm{Ga}$ distribution profile. Piezoelectric fields of varying sizes are one result of these strain fields. We study systematically a large variety of realistic QD geometries and composition profiles, and calculate the linear and quadratic parts of the piezoelectric field. The balance of the two orders depends strongly on the QD shape and composition. For pyramidal InAs QDs with sharp interfaces, a strong dominance of the second-order fields is found. Upon annealing, the first-order terms become dominant, resulting in a reordering of the electron $p$ and $d$ states and a reorientation of the hole wave functions.
Screening of Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia

INTRODUCTION: Identifying people with an increasing risk of diabetes provides a chance to change some factors before the occurrence of serious sequelae and permits the expectation of diabetes tendencies and the necessitated means to manage emerging diabetes. This current research aimed to screen students versus employees in Rabigh campus, King Abdulaziz University for the incidence of prediabetes and diabetes mellitus Type 2.METHODS: A sample of 279 was proportionally taken from student and employee study groups. Structured Modified Diabetic Risk Test (MDRT) questionnaire was adapted to be filled by each participant. Impaired glucose tolerance, body mass index, waist circumference and blood pressure of all participants were quantified. This study was done from January 2017 to March 2017.RESULTS: Higher pre-diabetic and diabetic risks were observed in employee as compared to students (ORPre-Dia=4.07 with 95% CI =1.518-10.95; ORDia=2.913 with 95% CI 0.815-10.41). Waist circumference and body mass index of students showed significant association with glucose level with p values 0.003 and 0.002 respectively.CONCLUSION: There are an alarming number of individuals with the risk of being affected by diabetes in both students and employees among this study population. These findings emphasize on the need for a primary healthcare clinic role in the screening, management, follow up and promoting community awareness of Diabetes Mellitus.
A Guide on How to Create a Credible Tourism Website

Author Barbora Hrobařová Title Guide on How to Create a Credible Tourism Website Year 2015 Language English Pages 50 + 3 Name of Supervisor Thomas Sabel The goal of this thesis was to offer a guide for website administrators which would detail the complex topic of how the users evaluate credibility online. The research question “A comparison between credibility theories and their use in real life” tried to further examine how the process of credibility evaluations works. This thesis consisted of two sections. In the first theoretical section, theories and findings presented in previously published literature were discussed. In this section also the most important processes of credibility evaluations were explained. In the second empirical study, the qualitative research process was described. 236 answers to the published questionnaire were collected and analyzed. The results of this research helped to further clarify the processes of credibility evaluation and offered new perspectives on what factors users consider to be important. Detailed advice for the web administrators based on the results of the research was given.
Chromosome 17 Aberration of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Malaysia

In most tumours including Oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), acquisition of genetic instability is an essential step during carcinogenesis that involves generalized increased rate of errors during DNA replication, and defective repair of DNA. The genomic change results in numerical and structural chromosomal alterations, particularly in chromosomes 3, 9, 11 and 17. Chromosome 17 abnormality was chosen in my study because it shown strong correlation with neoplastic development and progression. In my study, twenty Oral SCC archival blocks were selected retrospectively from two referred Malaysian oral cancer centres. Histopathological findings were prior diagnosed by experienced Oral Pathologist, then Fluorescent in-situ Hybridization (FISH) technique was conducted subsequently by using specific probe of chromosome 17 in these oral SCC cases. In this study, the numerical aberration of chromosome 17 by FISH method in oral SCC in apparently normal tissues was evaluated. In this study, normal control cases showed 67.8±11% cells of disomic signals in their nuclei, whereas the numerical aberration of chromosome 17 is frequent demonstrated in oral SCC (17/20, 85%) cases. In hence, FISH can be used as a possible prognostic marker for the degree of genomic instability and aneuploidy in excised specimens of oral SCC containing invasive cancer in Malaysia.
Tracking for proton Computed Tomography

In hadron therapy a highly conformed irradiation field is delivered to the target by precisely moving the particle beam and, at the same time, modulating its energy with the aim to cover the tumor volume with the requested dose sparing the surrounding healthy tissues as much as possible. To setup a robust treatment plan the Stopping Power (SP) map for each patient should be measured and the volume to be irradiated precisely located. To improve the precision of the SP map determination the use of a proton beam to perform a 'proton Computed Tomography' (pCT) could be the ideal solution. To be effective in reducing the uncertainties in dose spatial distribution, this novel method should keep the SP map spatial resolution below one millimeter. Tracking in presence of large multiple scattering will be discussed in these proceedings together with the concept of ‘most likely path’ (MLP). A generalization of the studies on this issue will be introduced with the aim to describe instrumental effects on the MLP spatial resolution. The pCT apparatus, based on a Silicon microstrip tracker followed by a calorimeter to measure single protons trajectory and their residual energy, will be reviewed with particular emphasis on the R&D ongoing on this subject and the results already obtained. New prototypes presently under construction, which will be suitable for pre-clinical studies, will be described too.
SEX-TYPING OF BLUE-CROWNED LAUGHINGTHRUSH (GARRLUAX COURTOISI) USING CHD1-BASED POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

Blue-crowned laughingthrush (Garrluax courtoisi), an endemic species in China, is a critically endangered and sexually monomorphic bird. It is difficult to identify the gender of this species through the observation of its external morphology. To solve this problem, we herein established a CHD1-based PCR method for sex-typing of Garrluax courtoisi. We first collected blood samples from six Bluecrowned laughingthrush raised in Nanchang Zoo, and then extracted high-quality genomic DNA from blood clots using an optimized phenol/chloroform method. We designed a degenerate primer pair to amplify fragments of the CHD1 gene, resulting an amplicon of 700 bp for males and an extra PCR product of 600 bp for females. We also performed extensive behavioral observations of these six birds and the obtained data allowed us to deduce the sexes of these birds. The sex-typing results are generally consistent with the behavior-deduced results. This study sheds light on the sex determination of other endangered birds, and also paves a road to further test the reproduction mechanism, taxonomic classification and population relationships of Garrluax courtoisi.
Mode Choice Modeling Using Personalized Travel Time and Cost Data

4 Introduction . 5 Literature Review . 6 Study Area and Data . 7 Descriptive Study . 9 Choice Set Formation Methodology . 13 Personalized Travel Time and Cost . 13 Resource Constraints . 14 Model Analysis . 14 MNL Models Comparison . 14 Nested Logit Model . 20 Conclusion . 24 References . 25
Efficient Linear Fusion of Distributed MMSE Estimators for Big Data

Many signal processing applications require performing statistical inference on large datasets, where computational and/or memory restrictions become an issue. In this big data setting, computing an exact global centralized estimator is often unfeasible. Furthermore, even when approximate numerical solutions (e.g., based on Monte Carlo methods) working directly on the whole dataset can be computed, they may not provide a satisfactory performance either. Hence, several authors have recently started considering distributed inference approaches, where the data is divided among multiple workers (cores, machines or a combination of both). The computations are then performed in parallel and the resulting distributed or partial estimators are finally combined to approximate the intractable global estimator. In this paper, we focus on the scenario where no communication exists among the workers, deriving efficient linear fusion rules for the combination of the distributed estimators. Both a Bayesian perspective (based on the Bernstein-von Mises theorem and the asymptotic normality of the estimators) and a constrained optimization view are provided for the derivation of the linear fusion rules proposed. We concentrate on minimum mean squared error (MMSE) partial estimators, but the approach is more general and can be used to combine any kind of distributed estimators as long as they are unbiased. Numerical results show the good performance of the algorithms developed, both in simple problems where analytical expressions can be obtained for the distributed MMSE estimators, and in a wireless sensor network localization problem where Monte Carlo methods are used to approximate the partial estimators.
Adaptive HOG-LBP Based Learning for Palm Tracking

Hand tracking is a challenging research direction in computer vision field. Although gesture tracking algorithm has been widely applied to the system of human-computer interaction, it is difficult to meet the robustness and the real-time requirements because of the hand lacks sufficiently rich texture information for discrimination. In this paper, we propose a new method named Adaptive HOG-LBP features to track the palm in the unfettered color images by fusing the HOG features and LBP features. The fused features could give more texture information of the edge features and sub-structure of the palm, and are less sensitive to light variations and background clusters. Macro structural features of the palm contain the maximum amount of information that can be used for discrimination, so we can use the fusion of HOG features and LBP features to process palm detection. The fusion features are inputted into linear SVM classifier learning. Experimental results show that in our own established palm dataset, performance has been improved significantly. Particularly worthy of note is that in our own established database, most of gesture pictures are of low quality, and the palm library contains a wealth of inter-plane and out-of-plane rotated pictures.
Mobilizing Science to Break Yield Barriers

Yield barriers must be broken. The diminished stock of staple foods, higher grain prices, and increases in production failing to keep up with demand, coupled with 80 million people being added to the world population every year, suggests that we are on a collision course with famine unless greater investments are made in research and development, as well as education. Genetic improvement of staples has accounted for more than half of the past increases in yields. Fortunately, a revolution in genetic knowledge is co-evolving with the increased demand for food, feed, fi ber, and fuel. Utilizing genetic diversity has been a mainstay of past production improvements High throughput DNA sequencing, the related bioinformatics, and a cascade of genetic technologies can now be employed to detect previously hidden genetic variability, to understand gene functions, to make greater use of accessions in germplasm banks, and to make breeding schemes more effi cacious. The involvement of outstanding scientists who can bring interdisciplinary ideas to the question of how to break yield barriers must be part of the strategy. Educational programs at all levels, even high school, should emphasize the opportunities in international agriculture to build a cadre of dedicated scientists for the future. Regents Professor and McKnight Presidential Chair in Genomics, Dep. of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, Univ. of Minnesota, 1991 Upper Buford Cir. , St. Paul, MN 55108. Received 21 Sept. 2009. *Corresponding author (phill005@umn.edu). Abbreviations: MAS, marker-assisted selection; QTL, quantitative trait locus. Published in Crop Sci. 50:S-99–S-108 (2010). doi: 10.2135/cropsci2009.09. 0525 Published online 6 Jan. 2010. © Crop Science Society of America | 677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher. Published March, 2010
The Determinants of Auditor Changes in the Voluntary Sector: Evidence from UK Charities

The market for audit services in any given country comprises distinct sub-markets, typically listed private sector, unlisted private sector, charity and non-charity not-for-profit. Audit market research has focused heavily on the private sector. Auditor change studies have examined a wide range of factors that could trigger a change decision, including agency variables, corporate governance characteristics, top management changes and opinion shopping. However, to our knowledge, no study has previously examined auditor changes in the charity sector in any country. The objective of the present paper is to investigate the generalisability of auditor change determinant models developed in the private sector and to identify factors that are peculiar to the charity sector. Based on a large dataset of 276 UK charities (138 that changed auditor between 1999 and 2003 and a matched set of charities), this study develops a logit regression model of the determinants of auditor change. The results show that charities are more likely to change auditor if the incumbent auditor is ‘top tier’, if the new auditor has greater expertise in the charity sector, if the charity has an audit committee and if the charity income has fallen significantly. In contrast with the private sector, the desire to reduce the audit fee is not a determinant of change. This probably reflects the relatively low audit fees paid by charities.
Overview of zoonotic porcine Sarcocystis infection in India

Mandeep Kaur. Pig farming is very common throughout the world and large numbers of people are associated with it directly or indirectly. Pigs are also source of many zoonotic diseases especially parasitic diseases. Sarcocystis is one of the important coccidian protozoan parasite of pig. This parasite has broad host range and can induce infection and clinical signs in both carnivorous and herbivorous host. Humans acquire infection by ingestion of cyst or eating raw and undercooked infected meat. Three species of Sarcocystis viz. S. suihominis, S. miescheriana and S. porcifelis are found in pigs. Among these S. suihominis is zoonotic in nature and causes intestinal infections in humans because of consumption of raw infected pork. Pigs usually become infected by contact with contaminated human faeces. The objective of this review is to highlight importance of Sarcocystis in pigs and its zoonotic potential, along with recent advancement in the diagnosis from meat samples.
Direct evidence for decomposition of antigorite under shock loading

[1] Detailed wave profiles of antigorite (a serpentine mineral) under plate-impact shock loading have been measured to a pressure of 131 GPa in order to understand its dynamic behavior because serpentine is present in pristine meteorites as well as in the Earth mantle. All the profiles indicate single wave structures, and a sudden decrease in density was detected at ∼60 GPa with increasing pressure when shock-loaded for a long duration (∼0.6 μs) using a thick flyer. Such a drop in density also was observed during recompression by a high-impedance window material (LiF). Although exothermic decomposition is generally considered to be fast, the decomposition of antigorite under shock loading requires a reaction time so that the Hugoniot may represent a metastable state at which stable phase cannot appear in a timely way. Based on these observations, antigorite decomposes exothermically into an assemblage of either brucite + stishovite + periclase or brucite + perovskite above a shock pressure of 60 GPa, but does not dehydrate endothermically into assemblages with water fluid. The observed dynamic behavior of serpentine, coupled with the previous results of the shock-recovered serpentines, reinforces that serpentine plays a key role to carry water within the snowline of the solar system.
Plasmonic absorption enhancement in organic solar cells with thin active layers

The influence of silver nanoparticles on light absorption in organic solar cells based on poly(3-exylthiophene):(6,6)-phenyl-C61-butyric-acid-methyl ester is studied by means of finite element method simulations. The metallic nanoparticles are embedded directly inside the active layer. We investigate the enhancement mechanism and the influence of factors such as the spacing between neighboring nanoparticles, the particle diameter, and the coating thickness. The plasmonic resonance of the particles has a wideband influence on the absorption, and we observe a rich interaction between plasmonic enhancement and the absorption characteristics of the active layer material. An enhancement with a factor of around 1.56 is observed for nanoparticles with a diameter of 24 nm and a spacing of 40 nm, bringing the structure to the absorption level of much thicker active layers without nanoparticles. In addition, a significant effect of the particle coating thickness is observed.
Field repair and replacement part fabrication of military components using ultrasonic consolidation cold metal deposition

Timely repair and replacement of military components without degrading material properties offers tremendous opportunities for cost and schedule savings on a number of military platforms. Effective field-based additive manufacturing repair approaches have proven difficult to develop, as conventional additive metal deposition technologies typically include a molten phase transformation and controlled inert deposition environments. The molten stage of laser and electron beam based additive processes unfortunately results in large dimensional and microstructural changes to the component being repaired or re-fabricated. As a result, high residual stresses and unpredictable ductility profiles in the repair area, or the re-fabricated part, make the final product unsafe for redeployment. Specifically, the heat affected zone associated with traditional deposition-based repair methods can produce a low strength, non-homogenous region at the joint; these changes in the materials properties of the repaired parts are detrimental to the fatigue life, and are a major concern where cyclic loading is experienced. The use of solid state high power Ultrasonic Consolidation (UC) technologies avoids the liquid-solid transition complexity and creates a predictable “cold” bond. This method then allows for strong, homogenous structures to be manufactured and repaired in the field and opens the door for the use of high strength repair material that may reduce the frequency of future failure itself. In addition, UC further offers the opportunity to provide enhanced functionality and ruggedness to a component either during repair or from original manufacture by allowing the embedding of passive and functional elements into the new fabricated component or feature.