Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of brand crisis on brand evaluation and consumer's willingness of brand relationship rebuilding: The moderating effect of self-image congruence

Nowadays, enterprises are more likely to encounter brand crises. Once brand crises happen, consumers tend to have a negative evaluation on the brand. Different types of brand crisis will lead to different damage to brand evaluation. Compared to passive brand crises, initiative brand crises will make consumers have much more negative evaluation on the brand. Consumer's self-image congruence will moderate the relationship between brand crisis and brand evaluation. If the self-image congruence is high, the negative evaluation will be small; if the self-image congruence is low, the negative evaluation will be relatively large. Brand evaluation will mediate the relationship between brand crisis and consumer's willingness of brand relationship rebuilding. In this paper, experimental method is used to verify all the hypotheses.
Consumers' taste for rarity drives sturgeons to extinction

The international market for luxury goods puts pressure on many wildlife species, with potentially irreversible consequences for many of them. Although classical economic theory suggests that trade alone would not drive a rare species to extinction, in practice numerous species are being threatened by overexploitation. This is for example the case for sturgeons, exploited for their caviar, of which all 27 species are threatened with extinction. We performed a caviar‐tasting experiment, combined with a modeling approach merging ecological theory and psychosociology. This allowed us to demonstrate that the human predisposition to place exaggerated value on rarity drives sturgeons’ overexploitation, despite caviar's ever‐increasing price and the imminent loss of these species. These findings suggest that this mechanism probably drives the entire market for wildlife based luxury goods.
Compression and the origins of Zipf's law of abbreviation

Languages across the world exhibit Zipf's law of abbreviation, namely more frequent words tend to be shorter. The generalized version of the law - an inverse relationship between the frequency of a unit and its magnitude - holds also for the behaviours of other species and the genetic code. The apparent universality of this pattern in human language and its ubiquity in other domains calls for a theoretical understanding of its origins. To this end, we generalize the information theoretic concept of mean code length as a mean energetic cost function over the probability and the magnitude of the types of the repertoire. We show that the minimization of that cost function and a negative correlation between probability and the magnitude of types are intimately related.
Analysis of pattern-dependent and timing-dependent failures in an experimental test chip

This paper presents the results for very detailed studies of pattern and timing-dependent failures from the 309 dies in the retest of an experimental test chip. 22 out of the 50 CUTs with pattern-dependent failures had test escapes if the test sets were reordered. Some timing-dependent failures became timing-independent combinational (TIC) defects at very low voltage. Multiple-detect single stuck fault test sets have high transition fault coverage. Most dies with TIC or non-TIC defects were close to gross failures or next to the wafer periphery.
A multi-echelon inventory model with fixed reorder intervals

This paper develops a new model for studying multi-echelon inventory systems with stochastic demand. For the model we assume that each site in the system orders at preset times according to an order-up-to policy, that delivery times are deterministic, and that the demand processes are stochastic with independent increments. We introduce a new scheme for allocating stock in short supply, which we call virtual allocation and which permits significant tractability. We exercise the model on a set of test problems for two-echelon systems to get insight into the structure of good policies. We find that the least-inventory policy puts the safety stock at the retail sites (lower echelon) with the central warehouse (upper echelon) primarily serving as a central ordering agent. Nevertheless, the test problems show some benefit from holding stock at the central warehouse, even though it will stock out with high probability. Furthermore we are able to show that the virtual allocation rule is near optinal for the set of test problems.
Simulation of Electricity Demand Function in Agricultural Sector: An Application of Genetic Algorithm (Case Study: Electricity-Fed Wells of Iran)

Due to several problems arisen from consumption of gas oil, it is necessary to electricity substitute fossil fuels in agriculture wells in Iran. Problems such as lack of opportune and adequate supply of fuel, air and soil pollution, noise pollution and huge costs of installation, operation and maintenance imply the necessity of replacing gas oil systems by electricity-consuming ones in agriculture sector of Iran.However, it is essential to study on the demand of electricity, nowadays, substituting other energy sources.As waterwells are the main electricity consumersin agriculture sector, the estimation of energy demand function would be beneficial for policy makers to achieve their goals. The present paper investigates on energy demand function in agriculture sector of Iran. Genetic algorithm techniques are appliedto estimate electricity demand in agricultural sector in three forms: linear, quadratic and exponential equations. Based on the conventional criteria, the exponential model is selected as the best model for estimation. Furthermore, electricity demandof agricultural sector is forecasted under three scenarios for years next three years.
Mutual Fund Trading Pressure: Firm-Level Stock Price Impact and Timing of SEOs

We use price pressure resulting from purchases by mutual funds with large capital inflows to identify overvalued equity. This is a relatively exogenous overvaluation indicator as it is associated with who is buying – buyers with excess liquidity – rather than what is being purchased. We document substantial stock price impact associated with purchases by high-inflow mutual funds, and find the probability of an SEO, insider sales, and the probability of a stock-based acquisition increase significantly in the four quarters following the mutual fund buying pressure. These results provide new evidence that firm managers are able to identify and exploit overvalued equity.
Roles of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 in mouse postnatal growth.

To examine the relationship between growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) in controlling postnatal growth, we performed a comparative analysis of dwarfing phenotypes manifested in mouse mutants lacking GH receptor, IGF1, or both. This genetic study has provided conclusive evidence demonstrating that GH and IGF1 promote postnatal growth by both independent and common functions, as the growth retardation of double Ghr/Igf1 nullizygotes is more severe than that observed with either class of single mutant. In fact, the body weight of these double-mutant mice is only approximately 17% of normal and, in absolute magnitude ( approximately 5 g), only twice that of the smallest known mammal. Thus, the growth control pathway in which the components of the GH/IGF1 signaling systems participate constitutes the major determinant of body size. To complement this conclusion mainly based on extensive growth curve analyses, we also present details concerning the involvement of the GH/IGF1 axis in linear growth derived by a developmental study of long bone ossification in the mutants.
Sampling Light Field for Photometric Stereo

—To implement the photometric stereo technique, the radiance distribution of the respective light sources from the different illumination directions must be accurately known. Most previous work has tended to assume distance point sources, so that a collimated and uniform illumination distribution can be approximated, thereby allowing the photometric stereo problem to be easily solved in a linear way. However, there can be significant practical difficulties in realizing such idealized light sources in real world applications. In addition, the strategy of using distant light sources produces a low signal/noise ratio for the system, and is also unsuitable for applications where setup space is limited. These problems potentially limit new opportunities for the wider applications of photometric stereo beyond the research laboratory in evolving areas such as industrial inspection, security and medical applications. This paper proposes a compensation method for illumination radiance to allow the possibility of employing normal low-cost commercial light sources. A flat diffuse surface with either homogeneous or heterogeneous albedo distribution is used to sample the radiance distribution before implementing photometric stereo. The unevenly distributed light radiance is eliminated by using the acquired reference information. The experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.
Opportunistic conduct and governance structure in startup firms

This dissertation contains three essays exploring the risk of opportunistic conduct between entrepreneurs and investors. The first essay formally models the risk of opportunism under alternative governance arrangements, including arrangements involving a thirdparty independent director. The second essay provides a new theory for the role of independent directors in the governance of VC-backed firms. The third essay measures VC opportunism related to CEO replacement and follow-on financing. This project has implications for the literature on financial contracting and the design of fiduciary obligations under corporate law. Brian Broughman Kauffman Dissertation Fellowship Opportunistic Conduct and Governance Structure in Startup Firms
Performance Enhancement Effects of RFID: An Evaluation Model and Empirical Application

This paper presents an evaluation model for measuring performance effects resulting from the integration of RFID in company processes, applies the model to empirical data to evaluate RFID-attributable performance enhancement in sample companies, and provides suggestions for increasing the performance benefits of RFID. We validate the evaluation model through structural equation modeling, and employ it to assess the performance effects of RFID, using survey data. Based on the evaluation results, we formulate strategies for improving the performance enhancement effects of RFID and other policy and practical implications.
Improving Power Utilization Factor of Broadband Doherty Amplifier by Using Bandpass Auxiliary Transformer

In this paper, a novel Doherty power amplifier (DPA) configuration with an auxiliary transformer is proposed for broadband operation. Theoretical analysis reveals that the proposed design can offer enhanced power utilization factor (PUF) and wideband Doherty behavior. The optimal design of the auxiliary transformer is identified with an aim to provide good impedance matching and minimal group delay. Based on the proposed theory, a 1.6-2.4-GHz 20-W DPA with improved PUF is designed, simulated, and measured. Under continuous wave excitation, measurement results indicate that the proposed DPA can achieve a PUF of 0.9, good Doherty behavior over the entire frequency band with a 6-dB back-off efficiency of 55%-64%, and saturated efficiency of 68%-76%. In addition, by the use of single-carrier WCDMA signal (centered at 2 GHz) with peak-to-average power ratio of 6.6 dB and at an average output power of 37 dBm, an average drain efficiency of 56% is obtained with adjacent channel leakage power ratio of better than -37 dBc.
List-Processing Optimizations in Curry ?

The multi-paradigm language Curry integrates features from functional, logic, and concurrent programming. In this work, we consider two well-known list-processing optimizations: short cut deforestation (from functional programming) and diierence-lists (from logic programming), and study their adaptation to our integrated setting. While short cut deforestation adapts smoothly, the use of diierence-lists in Curry is impractical due to the absence of non-strict equality in the language. Despite all, we have developed a novel transformation which achieves a similar effect over functional logic programs. Both transformations combined together yield a simple and practical method for optimizing list-processing programs.
Methanogenic Bacteria from the Bondyuzhskoe Oil Field: General Characterization and Analysis of Stable-Carbon Isotopic Fractionation

Selective enrichment culture techniques were employed to obtain mixed cultures of methanogenic rods and sarcina from surface flooding waters and deep subsurface (∼1650 m) oil-bearing sedimentary rocks and formation waters sampled from an old oil field in the U.S.S.R. previously reported to display active biological methanogenesis. The methanogens were selectively isolated as colonies on agar petri dishes that were incubated in a novel container. The general cellular and growth features of three Methanobacterium isolates were determined. These strains grew optimally at 37 to 45°C in anaerobic pressure tube cultures with a doubling time of 16 to 18 h on H2-CO2 and proliferated as autotrophs. Acetate addition significantly enhanced the final cell yield. Growth of these strains was completely inhibited by either 0.6 g of sodium sulfide per liter or 31.0 of sodium chloride per liter, but growth was not inhibited by either 0.3 g of sodium sulfide per liter or 1.0 g of sodium sulfate per liter. One novel isolate, Methanobacterium sp. strain ivanov, was grown on H2-CO2, and the stable-carbon isotopic fractionations that occurred during synthesis of methane, cell carbon, and lipids were determined. The results of this study were used to examine the anomalous relationship between the isotopic and chemical compositions of natural gas occurring in the deep subsurface environment of the oil field.
2-GHz band cryogenically-cooled GaN HEMT amplifier for mobile base station receivers

This paper presents a 2-GHz band gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) amplifier cryogenically cooled to 60 K as a part of the cryogenic receiver front-end (CRFE) for mobile base station receivers. The GaN HEMT amplifier attains the output power of 3 W and the maximum power added efficiency of 62% with a 50 V drain bias for class-AB operation. The results reported herein are the first on the performance of a cryogenically cooled GaN HEMT amplifier aiming at use in a 2-GHz band CRFE.
Relation between Beamforming and Diversity in MIMO System: A Capacity Perspective

In mobile communication, space is a very important domain to use. Two kinds of leading techniques are beamforming and STBC in MIMO system. This paper investigates the relation between beamforming and STBC at the capacity perspective. Both techniques can improve system performance at the cost of the capacity, which shows that they convert the matrix channel into a scalar AWGN channel. At low SNR, the MIMO capacity is less than that of beamforming system, and vive versa in independent MIMO channel. But in highly correlated channel, the capacity of beamforming is larger than that of MIMO system, and MIMO capacity is same with that of STBC. It is proven that beamforming is robust at both independent and correlated channels, and STBC is optimal with respect to capacity when it is code rate one over a channel of rank one. Simulations are conducted at the actual applications.
Self-Stigma and Its Relationship with Victimization, Psychotic Symptoms and Self-Esteem among People with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

Objective Self-stigma is highly prevalent in schizophrenia and can be seen as an important factor leading to low self-esteem. It is however unclear how psychological factors and actual adverse events contribute to self-stigma. This study empirically examines how symptom severity and the experience of being victimized affect both self-stigma and self-esteem. Methods Persons with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (N = 102) were assessed with a battery of self-rating questionnaires and interviews. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was subsequently applied to test the fit of three models: a model with symptoms and victimization as direct predictors of self-stigma and negative self-esteem, a model with an indirect effect for symptoms mediated by victimization and a third model with a direct effect for negative symptoms and an indirect effect for positive symptoms mediated by victimization. Results Results showed good model fit for the direct effects of both symptoms and victimization: both lead to an increase of self-stigma and subsequent negative self-esteem. Negative symptoms had a direct association with self-stigma, while the relationship between positive symptoms and self-stigma was mediated by victimization. Conclusions Our findings suggest that symptoms and victimization may contribute to self-stigma, leading to negative self-esteem in individuals with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Especially for patients with positive symptoms victimization seems to be an important factor in developing self-stigma. Given the burden of self-stigma on patients and the constraining effects on societal participation and service use, interventions targeting victimization as well as self-stigma are needed.
Optimizing a 3D-FWT Code in a Heterogeneous Cluster of Multicore CPUs and Manycore GPUs

Clusters of nodes composed of many core GPUs and multicore CPUs are used to solve scientific problems with high computational requirements. The development and optimization of parallel-heterogeneous codes for these systems is a complex task which requires a deep knowledge of the different components of the hybrid, heterogeneous and hierarchical computational system, and also of the scientific problem to be solved and the different programing paradigms to be used for its efficient solution. Techniques for efficient development and optimization of scientific codes for these systems are needed. This paper presents an analysis of the development and optimization of the 3D-Fast Wavelet Transform (3D-FWT) for a heterogeneous cluster of multicores+GPUs. Different parallel programming paradigms (message passing, shared memory and SIMD GPU) are combined to fully exploit the computing capacity of the different computational elements of the cluster, so resulting in an efficient combination of basic codes developed previously for individual components (individual nodes, multicore or GPU) and an important reduction of the compression time of long video sequences.
Multi-operand Floating-Point Addition

The design of a component to perform parallel addition of multiple floating-point (FP) operands is explored in this work. In particular, a 3-input FP adder is discussed in more detail, but the main concepts and ideas presented in this work are valid for FP adders with more inputs. The proposed design is more accurate than conventional FP addition using a network of 2-operand FP adders and it may have competitive area and delay depending on the number of input operands. Implementation results of a 3-operand FP adder are presented to compare its performance to a network of 2-input FP adders.
Lipopolysaccharide is a potent monocyte/macrophage-specific stimulator of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 expression

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) potently stimulates human immunodeficiency virus type 1-long terminal repeat (HIV-1-LTR) CAT constructs transfected into monocyte/macrophage-like cell lines but not a T cell line. This effect appears to be mediated through the induction of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B). Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrate that LPS induces a DNA binding activity indistinguishable from NF-kappa B in U937 and THP-1 cells. LPS is also shown to dramatically increase HIV-1 production from a chronically infected monocyte/macrophage-like cloned cell line, U1, which produces very low levels of HIV-1 at baseline. The stimulation of viral production from this cell line occurs only if these cells are treated with granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) before treatment with LPS. This stimulation of HIV-1 production is correlated with an increase in the level of HIV-1 RNA and and activation of NF- kappa B. LPS is not able to induce HIV-1 production in a cloned T cell line. The effect of LPS on HIV-1 replication occurs at picogram per milliliter concentrations and may be clinically significant in understanding the variability of the natural history of HIV-1 infection.
Detecting API documentation errors

When programmers encounter an unfamiliar API library, they often need to refer to its documentations, tutorials, or discussions on development forums to learn its proper usage. These API documents contain valuable information, but may also mislead programmers as they may contain errors (e.g., broken code names and obsolete code samples). Although most API documents are actively maintained and updated, studies show that many new and latent errors do exist. It is tedious and error-prone to find such errors manually as API documents can be enormous with thousands of pages. Existing tools are ineffective in locating documentation errors because traditional natural language (NL) tools do not understand code names and code samples, and traditional code analysis tools do not understand NL sentences. In this paper, we propose the first approach, DOCREF, specifically designed and developed to detect API documentation errors. We formulate a class of inconsistencies to indicate potential documentation errors, and combine NL and code analysis techniques to detect and report such inconsistencies. We have implemented DOCREF and evaluated its effectiveness on the latest documentations of five widely-used API libraries. DOCREF has detected more than 1,000 new documentation errors, which we have reported to the authors. Many of the errors have already been confirmed and fixed, after we reported them.
Invertible three-dimensional analysis/synthesis system for video coding with half-pixel-accurate motion compensation

Three-dimensional subband coding with motion compensation (MC- 3DSBC) has been demonstrated [1-4] to be an efficient technique for video coding applications. With half-pixel- accurate motion compensation, images need to be interpolated for motion-compensated (MC) temporal filtering. The resulting analysis/synthesis system is not invertible. In this paper, we propose a new three-dimensional analysis/synthesis system which guarantees perfect reconstruction and has a nonrecursive coding structure. We replaced the analysis/synthesis system of [1] by the new scheme. The resulting coding system does not have distortion from the analysis/synthesis system and allocate bits among classes of 3-D subbands optimally in the sense of rate-distortion function. The experimental results show that the proposed video coding system improves [1] by PSNR . 3 - 2.0 dB and TM5 MPEG [10] by PSNR 2.1 - 3.0 dB over a range of bit rates.