Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring and Managing the Benefits of Customer Retention

Past research on the benefits of customer retention (BCR) has been characterized by the lack of a psychometrically adequate criterion. Research has primarily operationalized the BCR by using only repurchase intent or a factor score of several measures including repurchase intent, word of mouth, and price tolerance. In the process, it has ignored the possibility of a hierarchical ordering of the BCR measures that would lead to a unidimensional and cumulative BCR scale. In this article, the authors investigate this issue using a set of intent measures developed based on past work in customer retention, customer loyalty, brand loyalty, and satisfaction. As hypothesized, support is foundfor a unidimensional and cumulative BCR scale. The authors also investigate howfirms can use BCR along with satisfaction to monitor and manage customers. They propose that vendors use a customer management strategy that is based on managing both satisfaction and BCR.
Measuring impact of twelve information scientists using the DCI index

The Discounted Cumulated Impact (DCI) index has recently been proposed for research evaluation. In the present work an earlier dataset by Cronin and Meho (2007) is reanalyzed, with the aim of exemplifying the salient features of the DCI index. We apply the index on, and compare our results to, the outcomes of the Cronin-Meho (2007) study. Both authors and their top publications are used as units of analysis, which suggests that, by adjusting the parameters of evaluation according to the needs of research evaluation, the DCI index delivers data on an author’s (or publication’s) “lifetime” impact or current impact at the time of evaluation on an author’s (or publication’s) capability of inviting citations from highly cited later publications as an indication of impact, and on the relative impact across a set of authors (or publications) over their “lifetime”or currently.
Ovarian cancer symptom awareness and anticipated time to help-seeking for symptoms among UK women

Objectives To determine levels of awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms and to identify barriers to help-seeking and predictors of a longer time to help-seeking in a UK female population-based sample. Methods A UK population-based sample of women [n=1000, including a subsample of women at higher risk due to their age (≥45 years, n=510)] completed the Ovarian Cancer Awareness Measure by telephone interview. Questions measured symptom awareness (using recall and recognition), barriers to medical help-seeking and anticipated time to help-seeking. Regression analyses identified predictors of a higher score on a scale of anticipated time to help-seeking. Results Most women (58% overall sample; 54% subgroup) were unable to recall any symptoms but 99% recognised at least one. Recognition was lowest for difficulty eating and persistently feeling full. In the sample overall, higher socio-economic status and higher endorsement of practical and service barriers independently predicted a longer anticipated time to help-seeking for more symptoms. White ethnicity was an additional predictor in the older subgroup. Conclusions This study suggests awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms is low in the UK, and varies widely between symptoms. It identifies variables that may be involved in a longer time to help-seeking for possible ovarian cancer symptoms and highlights the need for more in-depth research into the factors related to time to help-seeking in real-world situations.
Movement Kinematics During a Drinking Task Are Associated With the Activity Capacity Level After Stroke

Background. Kinematic analysis is a powerful method for an objective assessment of movements and is increasingly used as an outcome measure after stroke. Little is known about how the actual movement performance measured with kinematics is related to the common traditional assessment scales. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between movement kinematics from a drinking task and the impairment or activity limitation level after stroke. Methods. Kinematic analysis of movement performance in a drinking task was used to measure movement time, smoothness, and angular velocity of elbow and trunk displacement (TD) in 30 individuals with stroke. Sensorimotor impairment was assessed with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), activity capacity limitation with the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), and self-perceived activity difficulties with the ABILHAND questionnaire. Results. Backward multiple regression revealed that the movement smoothness (similarly to movement time) and TD together explain 67% of the total variance in ARAT. Both variables uniquely contributed 37% and 11%, respectively. The TD alone explained 20% of the variance in the FMA, and movement smoothness explained 6% of the variance in the ABILHAND. Conclusions. The kinematic movement performance measures obtained during a drinking task are more strongly associated with activity capacity than with impairment. The movement smoothness and time, possibly together with compensatory movement of the trunk, are valid measures of activity capacity and can be considered as key variables in the evaluation of upper-extremity function after stroke. This increased knowledge is of great value for better interpretation and application of kinematic data in clinical studies.
Retinal light damage in rats with altered levels of rod outer segment docosahexaenoate.

PURPOSE To compare retinal light damage in rats with either normal or reduced levels of rod outer segment (ROS) docosahexaenoic acid. METHODS Weanling male albino rats were maintained in a weak cyclic light environment and fed either a nonpurified control diet or a purified diet deficient in the linolenic acid precursor of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Half the rats on the deficient diet were given linseed oil, containing more than 50 mol% linolenic acid, once a week to maintain ROS DHA at near normal levels. Diets and linseed oil supplementation were continued for 7 to 12 weeks. To replenish DHA in their ROS, some 10-week-old rats on the deficient diet were given linseed oil three times a week for up to 3 additional weeks. Groups of animals were killed at various times for ROS fatty acid determinations or were exposed to intense green light using intermittent or hyperthermic light treatments. The extent of retinal light damage was determined biochemically by rhodopsin or photoreceptor cell DNA measurements 2 weeks after exposure and morphologically by light and electron microscopy at various times after light treatment. RESULTS Rats maintained for 7 to 12 weeks on the linolenic acid-deficient diet had significantly lower levels of DHA and significantly higher levels of n-6 docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6) in their ROS than deficient-diet animals supplemented once a week with linseed oil or those fed the nonpurified control diet. As determined by rhodopsin levels and photoreceptor cell DNA measurements, deficient diet rats exhibited protection against retinal damage from either intermittent or hyperthermic light exposure. However, the unsaturated fatty acid content of ROS from all three dietary groups was the same and greater than 60 mol%. In 10 week-old deficient-diet rats given linseed oil three times a week, ROS DHA was unchanged for the first 10 days, whereas 22:5n-6 levels declined by 50%. After 3 weeks of treatment with linseed oil, ROS DHA and 22:5n-6 were nearly the same as in rats supplemented with linseed oil from weaning. The time course of susceptibility to retinal light damage, however, was different. Hyperthermic light damage in rats given linseed oil for only 2 days was the same as for rats always fed the deficient diet. Six days after the start of linseed oil treatment, retinal light damage was the same as in rats given the linseed oil supplement from weaning. Morphologic alterations in ROS of linseed oil-supplemented rats immediately after intermittent light exposure were more extensive than in either the deficient-diet animals or those fed the control diet. The deficient-diet rats also exhibited better preservation of photoreceptor cell nuclei and structure 2 weeks after exposure. CONCLUSIONS Rats fed a diet deficient in the linolenic acid precursor of DHA are protected against experimental retinal light damage. The relationship between retinal light damage and ROS lipids does not depend on the total unsaturated fatty acid content of ROS; the damage appears to be related to the relative levels of DHA and 22:5n-6.
Targeted socialization and production

We study a model that integrates productive and socialization efforts with network choice and parental investments. We characterize the unique symmetric equilibrium of this game. Individuals underinvest in productive and social effort. However, solving only the investment problem can exacerbate the misallocations due to network choice, to the point that in the presence of congestion e ects the intervention may generate an even lower social welfare than no intervention at all. We also study the interaction of parental investment with network choice. In many scenarios, intergenerational transmission of abilities leads to a tendency towards to conformism, which aggravates potential problems of network overpopulation. We relate our equilibrium results with the existing evidence on parental occupational transmission.
Dynamic Performance of Lumped Parameter Model for Superconducting Levitation

This paper presents modeling and validation testing of the 3-D lumped parameter translational model, which describes the dynamics of a levitated permanent magnet over an array of bulk high-temperature superconductors. Previous model development and verification focused on measuring the static force-displacement curve of a magnet over a single-grain bulk superconductor. The methodology presented in this paper uses multiple multigrain yttrium barium copper oxide superconducting bricks, which is more relevant to actual bearing and magnetic levitation designs, and a larger cylindrical permanent magnet. The dynamic step input response of the system is evaluated. These tests show that, with proper consideration of brick and grain boundaries, the lumped parameter method can be used to describe the dynamic behavior and local translational stiffness of a levitated permanent-magnet assembly.
mechanisms of disease Acute Renal Failure and Sepsis

N Engl J Med 2004;351:159-69. Copyright © 2004 Massachusetts Medical Society. cute renal failure occurs in approximately 19 percent of patients with moderate sepsis, 23 percent with severe sepsis, and 51 percent with septic shock when blood cultures are positive (Tables 1 and 2). 1,2 A progressive increase in the acute respiratory distress syndrome also occurs with moderate and severe sepsis and septic shock. In the United States, an estimated 700,000 cases of sepsis occur each year, resulting in more than 210,000 deaths; this number accounts for 10 percent of all deaths annually and exceeds the number of deaths due to myocardial infarction. 3 The combination of acute renal failure and sepsis is associated with a 70 percent mortality, as compared with a 45 percent mortality among patients with acute renal failure alone. Thus, the combination of sepsis and acute renal failure constitutes a particularly serious medical problem in the United States. 4 Substantial progress has been made toward understanding the mechanisms whereby sepsis is associated with a high incidence of acute renal failure. Moreover, recently identified clinical interventions may be able to decrease the occurrence of acute renal failure and sepsis and the high associated mortality. The cytokine-mediated induction of nitric oxide synthesis that occurs in sepsis decreases systemic vascular resistance. 5 This arterial vasodilatation predisposes patients with sepsis to acute renal failure, the need for mechanical ventilation, and ultimately, increased mortality. In this article, we review the effects of nitric oxide–mediated arterial vasodilatation on resistance to exogenous pressors and hypotension (Fig. 1), and we discuss the use of arginine vasopressin in patients with septic shock. We also review the effects of increased plasma concentrations of several endogenous vasoconstrictor hormones, including catecholamines, angiotensin II, and endothelin, which support arterial pressure in patients with sepsis who have vasodilatation but also cause renal vasoconstriction and predispose patients to acute renal failure. Patients who have a combination of sepsis and acute renal failure may have some effects of systemic arterial vasodilatation, such as altered Starling forces in the capillaries, pulmonary edema, hypoxia, a need for mechanical ventilation, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and multiple-organ dysfunction syndrome, which together may increase mortality to more than 80 percent (Fig. 2). 6,7 We discuss interventions that may prevent this dire sequence of events. Finally, we review several prospective, randomized clinical trials of interventions that have the potential to prevent or attenuate acute renal failure in patients with sepsis and thus decrease mortality. Such trials have addressed anticoagulant therapy, early resuscitation, the treatment of hyperglycemia, the use of corticosteroids, a shortened duration of mechanical ventilation, and various types of renal-replacement therapy.
Analysis of economic crisis based on double-layer network of international investment and trade

Countries in the world have formed a huge network by international investment and trade, where economic turmoil in some areas may lead to a worldwide financial crisis. In this paper, based on the international investment and trade data of 155 countries from 2007 to 2010, a double-layer network is constructed to analyze the economic crisis's influence that how countries' economic situation evolves over time and affects each other. First, an improved epidemic model is developed on the double-layer network, where each country possesses three candidate states including susceptible, contagious and influenced. Second, DebtRank of each layer is calculated to quantify the propagation of financial distress and crisis, which shows that DebtRank is basically consistent with the GDP of countries, and countries with small DebtRank are more vulnerable in trade network, while countries with big DebtRank are more vulnerable in investment network.
Molecular Characterization and Panton-Valentine Leucocidin Typing of Community-Acquired Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus Clinical Isolates

ABSTRACT Limited comprehensive molecular typing data exist currently for Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL)-positive, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (PVL-MSSA) clinical isolates. Characterization of PVL-MSSA isolates by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and spa typing in this study showed a genetic similarity to PVL-positive, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (PVL-MRSA) strains, although three novel spa types and a novel MLST (ST1518) were detected. Furthermore, the detection of PVL phages and haplotypes in PVL-MSSA identical to those previously found in PVL-MRSA isolates highlights the role these strains may play as precursors of emerging lineages of clinical significance.
Vibrated powders: Structure, correlations, and dynamics.

The structure and dynamics of powders subjected to vibration are investigated by a nonsequential and cooperative computer-simulation approach in three dimensions. Starting from a microscopic model of the physics, we are able to probe independent and collective effects in the dynamics of vibrated powders, as well as in the resulting structures. In particular, we analyze the role of cooperative structures such as bridges, which are always present in reality and which cannot be formed by purely sequential processes. We look in depth at the behavior of the volume fraction and coordination number as a function of the intensity of vibration, as well as at correlation functions describing contacts between neighboring grains, also as a function of intensity. Satisfying agreement with the qualitative predictions of earlier analytic work is obtained, and a framework is laid for future investigations.
Caldariellaquinone, a unique benzo(b)thiophen-4,7-quinone from Caldariella acidophila, an extremely thermophilic and acidophilic bacterium.

Caldariellaquinone {6-(3,7,11,15,19,23-hexamethyltetracosyl)-5-methylthiobenzo[b]thiophen-4,7-quinone (7)} has been isolated from cultures of Caldariella acidophila, an extremely thermophilic and acidophilic bacterium. The structure was determined by degradation, spectroscopic, and 13C biosynthetic studies.
Optimizing the dose of intrathecal morphine when combined with continuous 3-in-1 nerve block after total knee replacement.

BACKGROUND Continuous femoral 3-in-1 block alone is insufficient for the treatment of severe pain after total knee replacement (TKR). Intrathecal (IT) morphine provides effective postoperative analgesia but may result in many side effects. The optimal dose of spinal morphine when combined with continuous 3-in-1 block after TKR is not known. METHODS Patients were randomized to receive IT morphine in five groups (n = 20 per group): 1) 0.0 mg, 2) 0.05 mg, 3) 0.1 mg, 4) 0.15 mg, and 5) 0.2 mg. All patients received continuous 3-in-1 block performed with 20 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine, followed by a continuous infusion of 0.125% bupivacaine at the rate of 2 ml/h plus PCA boluses of 1 ml with a lockout of 10 minutes. The intensity of pain at rest and on movement of the knee was assessed by using a visual analog scale for the first two postoperative days. RESULTS All treatment groups produced effective pain relief and decreased cumulative femoral PCA bolus use of 0.125% bupivacaine compared with control, respectively (P < 0.05); however, there were no significant differences among the treatment groups. The incidence of vomiting was significantly more frequent with 0.1-0.2 mg IT morphine groups compared with control, respectively (P < 0.05). The rate of administration of antipruritic medication was increased as IT morphine dose increased (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Use of 0.05 mg IT morphine would appear to provide the optimal balance between pain relief and adverse effects following TKR.
Role of autophagy in β‐cell function and mass

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by decreased insulin secretion and action. Decreased insulin secretion results from a reduction in pancreatic β‐cell mass and/or function. Apoptosis, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress responses including JNK activation have been suggested as mechanisms for the changes of pancreatic β‐cells in T2D; however, the underlying causes were not clearly elucidated. Autophagy is an intracellular process that plays crucial roles in cellular homeostasis through degradation and recycling of organelles. We have reported increased apoptosis and decreased proliferation of β‐cells with resultant reduction in the β‐cell mass in β‐cell‐specific autophagy‐deficient mice. Morphological analysis of β‐cells revealed accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins, swollen mitochondria and distended ER. Insulin secretory function ex vivo was also impaired. As a result, β‐cell‐specific autophagy‐deficient mice showed hypoinsulinaemia and hyperglycaemia. These results suggested that autophagy is necessary to maintain the structure, mass and function of pancreatic β‐cells. In addition, as autophagy may play a protective role against ER stress and rejuvenates organelle function, impaired autophagy may lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and ER stress, which have been implicated as potential causes of insulin resistance. Therefore, in addition to β‐cell homeostasis, dysregulated autophagy may possibly be involved in diverse aspects of the pathogenesis of diabetes.
Structure and function of the median finfold in larval teleosts

SUMMARY This paper offers a structural and mechanical analysis of the median finfold in larval teleosts. The median finfold is strengthened by bundles of collagen fibres, known as actinotrichia. We demonstrate that these structures contribute to increase the mass of backward accelerated water during swimming. The amount, dimensions, orientation and growth of actinotrichia were measured at various locations along the finfold in several developmental stages of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and zebrafish (Danio rerio). Actinotrichia morphology, using light microscopy (e.g. diameter, orientation) and electron microscopy (which revealed their anchoring at proximal and distal ends), correlated with expected lateral forces exerted on the water during swimming. An analytical model is proposed that predicts the extent of camber from the oblique arrangement of the actinotrichia and curvature of the body. Camber of the finfold during swimming was measured from high-speed video recordings and used to evaluate the model predictions. Based on structural requirements for swimming and strain limits for collagen, the model also predicts optimal orientations of actinotrichia. Experimental data confirm the predictions of the model.
Refactoring of Heterogeneous Meta-Program into k-stage Meta-Program

The paper presents: (1) a graph-based theoretical background to refactoring a correct heterogeneous meta-program into its k-stage representation; (2) the refactoring method; (3) refactoring experiments with tasks taken from different domains, including real world tasks, such as meta-programs to teach Computer Science (CS) topics using educational robots. Refactoring meta-programs by staging enables to flexibly adapt them to the different context of use. To do that (semi-)automatically, we use the contextual information as a priority relation (e.g. highest, lowest, etc.) introduced within the meta-program specification. We implement the refactoring method using the so-called activating/de-activating label (index) to change the role of meta-language constructs at different stages. The contribution of the paper is: (1) applying the known (in programming) staging concept to heterogeneous meta-programming; (2) a theoretical background, properties and the method to solve tasks of this kind of refactoring. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.5755/j01.itc. 43.1. 3715
Affective commitment and customer loyalty in crowdsourcing: antecedents, interdependencies, and practical implications

Crowdsourcing, the outsourcing of previously internal processes within the corporate value chain to an external crowd of people, has become increasingly popular in retail. In applying this practice, retailers aim not only at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of their value creation process, but also at increasing the affective commitment and loyalty of their customers. Surprisingly, the effects of crowdsourcing on affective commitment and customer loyalty, and the factors influencing these objectives have hardly been researched. This paper closes this research gap. Through expert interviews and experimental studies, it comes to the conclusion that especially satisfaction with the crowdsourcing process and sense of virtual community are relevant factors impacting affective commitment and customer loyalty. The paper concludes with recommendations for optimizing these factors in retail practice.