Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
E-Tailing: Where Are All The Shoppers? Lessons for The Asia Pacific

The growth of the Internet has caused a dramatic business transformation. Traditional channels of distribution are being challenged by the Internet’s ability to offer products to distant consumers, with resulting increased competition in both product range and price. However to date, use of the Internet for retail purchases lags far behind more traditional channels of distribution, and while uptake has been much higher in the United States than in other countries, Internet retailing in both the US and in the Asia Pacific is marked more by high profile failures than by successes. This study analyses reasons for the limited success of online shopping, particularly in Australia and Hong Kong, examines whether there were warning signs that Internet shopping would not take off, and considers the implications for existing or potential e-tailers in the Asia-Pacific. WHITHER ONLINE SHOPPING? The potential of Internet shopping has received substantial attention in both academic literature and the popular press for a number of years [3]. Statistics have shown growth in online sales, depending on the product, from 40% to 340% over one year [30]. Exhortations such as ‘Catch the wave or drown’ were said to be the ‘advice of industry experts to retailers resisting the onslaught of the Internet’ [8]. However despite its rapid growth over the past five years, online shopping has still to make a substantial impact on retail figures. Some of the best known Internet names such as Amazon have yet to make a profit, perhaps in part due to their high customer acquisition costs, which have been said to be as high as $29 [30]. Established retailers might be expected to have lower acquisition costs, yet even experienced retailers like Barnes and Noble have made a loss on their Internet operations [10]. In Australia, successful in-store retailers such as David Jones and Harvey Norman abandoned on line retailing due to a lack of profitability [29], but subsequently re-commenced online shopping, in part due to pressure from the market to have an e-commerce strategy. High profile failures such as E-toys, Peapod and Webvan in the US, adMart in Hong Kong, and TheSpot.com in Australia have questioned the viability of the Internet shopping model. Business failures caused by the costs of selling online are not restricted to pure play e-tailers. Ag.com, a successful Australian fax and telephone business, was forced into voluntary administration in 2000 because it could not raise funds to pay for costs linked with its web site, and later sued Accenture, the consulting company who developed the site
Production Linkages and Rural-Urban Migration

Flexible production linkages between the rural and urban sectors are incorporated into the Harris Todaro (HT) model. Each sector uses a part of the otheri¯s output as an intermediate input in a small open economy. Implications of separability, elasticities of substitution, and input complementarity in a three-input production function are examined. The intermediate input in the minimum-wage sector has a more pervasive influence than its counterpart in the rural sector. The well known HT result from a final-goods-only (FGO) specification that an increase in expected urban wage causes an outmigration from the rural sector does not hold under several parametric configurations. Unlike the case of a non-traded intermediate good used in fixed proportions, an urban wage subsidy may lower rural employment, as in the FGO specification.
Iron deficiency anaemia and its association with malaria infection in children in Siaya County in Western Kenya

Iron deficiency anaemia contributes to 50% cases of anaemia and it remains a concern in the public health sector in sub-Saharan Africa and children under five years are at risk. It is associated with poor cognitive development and affects growth of preschool children. The interventions in most of sub-Saharan Africa focus on the improvement of hemoglobin (Hb) levels but it is not clear if Hb and iron levels relate in areas where there are multi-factorial causes of anaemia. The prevalence of malaria in the study area is 57% in children under 5 years of age. Research studies have reported the interaction between iron deficiency and malaria to be complicated. Also, studies have shown inconclusive results on whether iron supplement increases risk to malaria infections and this calls for an independent study to resolve the conflicts in malaria endemic areas. This study was both a prevalence and longitudinal study for a period of 12 months targeting 190 preschool children less than 5 years in Western, Kenya, to establish the relationship between the prevalence of iron deficiency and anaemia, association between iron deficiency and malaria infection and also examined the effect of iron status of an individual on the episodes of malaria infection/s. A blood sample obtained from the study participants was used to determine the haemoglobin (Hb), Iron status (Serum ferritin (SF) coupled to C-reactive protein (CRP)) and Plasmodium falciparum (Pf). Haemoglobin was determined by the hemocue. The iron level was measured using the serum ferritin coupled to CRP and Plasmodium falciparum infection was detected using malaria microscopy as the gold standard. The prevalence of iron deficiency was 36% and that of anaemia was 48% (P = 0.09). Those with normal Hb level but with iron deficiency were 35%. Children with no iron deficiency had 63% of malaria infection episodes compared to iron deficiency group with 37% (P<0.0001). However, survival analyses was not statistical significant (P = 0.90). Using continuous variables to reduce the bias, the difference in ferritin levels between individuals with one and more than three episodes was statistically significant (P = 0.02). This study reports that there is no difference between the prevalence of iron deficiency and anaemia (Hb level). The result further suggests that iron deficiency reduces risk to malaria. However, further study should be carried out with a larger sample size and more iron biomarkers to confirm the findings of this study.
Who's in Charge?: Using Personalization vs. Customization Distinction to Inform HRI Research on Adaptation to Users

This paper presents a conceptual approach regarding robot-to-user adaptation, with a focus on the psychological effects of this adaptation process during human-robot interaction (HRI). This approach emphasizes the pertinent role of users in shaping adaptation processes. First, a literature review revealed perceived personal relevance as the central determinant of successful robot-to-user adaptation. Second, we distinguish two main types of adaptations which depend on the extent to which a user is involved: Personalization and customization. We then illustrate effects of personalization vs. customization on potential end users. In particular, anthropomorphism and psychological ownership should be taken into account in prospective research. Finally, we propose to interpret personalization and customization as two opposites of a continuum to guide future empirical research about robot adaptation, before suggesting some leads for future research about the psychological effects of adaptation processes in HRI.
Seismic Response of Normally Consolidated Cohesive Soils in Gently Inclined Submerged Slopes

The geological profile of submerged slopes on the continental shelf typically includes soft cohesive soils with layer thicknesses ranging from a few meters to tens or hundreds of meters. The response of these soils in simple shear tests is largely influenced by the presence of an initial consolidation shear stress, inducing anisotropic stress-strain-strength properties which depend also on the direction of shear. In this paper, a new simplified effective-stress-based model describing the behavior of normally to lightly overconsolidated cohesive soils is used in conjunction with a one-dimensional seismic site response analysis computer code t illustrate the importance of accounting for anisotropy, small strain nonlinearity and pore pressure development. In particular, a simpl example is carried out to compare results for level ground conditions and a 10” slope. Depth profiling of the maximum shear 1 strain and permanent deformations provide insight into the mechanisms of deformation during a seismic event, and the effects of sloping ground conditions.
Human- or Machine-like Music Assistive Robots Effects on Fluency and Memory Recall

Assistive robots are expected to contribute to the solution of major societal problems in healthcare, such as the increasing number of elderly who need informal and professional care over a long period of time. Most of the research focuses on the development of human-like robots to facilitate human-robot interaction and strengthen the social, cognitive and affective processes. However, there are some possible downsides of this type of "robot humanizing", like raising high expectations and causing incorrect mental models of the robots. Machine-like robots, on the other hand, may help to build more realistic mental models and expectations but might bring about less fluent interactions and less pronounced experiences (i.e., less to remember). To test if a human-like robot indeed brings about better interaction fluency and memory recall, we designed two types of robots for a joint human-robot music listening activity: A human-like and a machine-like robot (Pepper). Thirty students participated in the experiment managed by a Wizard-of-Oz set-up. As expected, the human-like robot proved to perform better in terms of fluency and memory recall. Currently, we are preparing a follow-up experiment, consisting of longer sessions with the elderly to see whether this effect persists for this age group and how far the human- or machine-likeness influences the elderly's understanding and expectations of the robot's capabilities.
Biochemical variations in the synaptic level of dopamine precede motor fluctuations in Parkinson's disease: PET evidence of increased dopamine turnover

Motor fluctuations are a major disabling complication in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. To investigate whether such oscillations in mobility can be attributed to changes in the synaptic levels of dopamine, we studied prospectively patients in the early stages of Parkinson's disease with a follow‐up after at least 3 years of levodopa treatment. At baseline, 3 positron emission tomography (PET) scans using [11C]raclopride before and after (1 hour and 4 hours) orally administered levodopa were performed on the same day for each patient. Patients who developed “wearing‐off” fluctuations during the follow‐up period had a different pattern of levodopa‐induced changes in [11C]raclopride binding potential (BP) from that observed in patients who were still stable by the end of the follow‐up. Thus, 1 hour post‐levodopa the estimated increase in the synaptic level of dopamine was 3 times higher in fluctuators than in stable responders. By contrast, only stable responders maintained increased levels of synaptic dopamine in the PET scan performed after 4 hours. These results indicate that fluctuations in the synaptic concentration of dopamine precede clinically apparent “wearing‐off” phenomena. The rapid increase in synaptic levels of dopamine observed in fluctuators suggests that increased dopamine turnover might play a relevant role in levodopa‐related motor complications. Ann Neurol 2001;49:298–303
SSL Using Siamese Networks and Binary Classifier

In this thesis, we present several approaches for training a convolutional neural network using only unlabeled data. Our autonomously supervised learning algorithms are based on connections between image patch i. e. zoomed image and its original. Using the siamese architecture neural network we aim to recognize, if the image patch, which is input to the first neural network part, comes from the same image presented to the second neural network part. By applying transformations to both images, and different zoom sizes at different positions, we force the network to extract high level features using its convolutional layers. At the top of our siamese architecture, we have a simple binary classifier that measures the difference between feature maps that we extract and makes a decision. Thus, the only way that the classifier will solve the task correctly is when our convolutional layers are extracting useful representations. Those representations we can than use to solve many different tasks that are related to the data used for unsupervised training. As the main benchmark for all of our models, we used STL10 dataset, where we train a linear classifier on the top of our convolutional layers with a small amount of manually labeled images, which is a widely used benchmark for unsupervised learning tasks. We also combine our idea with recent work on the same topic, and the network called RotNet, which makes use of image rotations and therefore forces the network to learn rotation dependent features from the dataset. As a result of this combination we create a new procedure that outperforms original RotNet.
Preliminary Clinical Outcome of CXL in Keratoconus Patients

Original Research Article Background: Corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) is a promising method in the treatment of keratoconus (KCN); however, long-term results of this treatment modality are under-represented in the literature. Objective: In this study our main goal is to evaluate the preliminary clinical outcome of CXL in Keratoconus patients in Bangladesh after 1 year follow up. Method: This retrospective observational type of study was conducted among 40 patients who fulfilled criteria from Bangladesh Eye Hospital, Chittagong January 2014 to January 2019. Results: During the study, most of the patients belong to 31-40 years age group, 48%. Treated eyes showed a flattening of the steepest simulated keratometry value (K-max) by an average of 0.74 diopters (D) (P=.004) at 3 months, 0.92 D (P=.002) at 6 months, and 1.45 D (P=.002) at 12 months. A trend toward improvement in best spectacle-corrected visual acuity was also observed. In the control eyes, mean K-max steepened by 0.60 D (P=.041) after 3 months, by 0.60 D (P=.013) after 6 months, and by 1.28 D (P<.0001) after 12 months. Best spectacle-corrected visual acuity decreased by logMAR 0.003 (P=.883) over 3 months, 0.056 (P=.092) over 6 months, and 0.12 (P=.036) over 12 months. Conclusion: From our study we can conclude that, CXL could be considered as a promising first line treatment for most patients with progressive KCN, especially considering our encouraging long-term results.
Cellulose Nanocrystals: A Versatile Nanoplatform

The developing natural and ecological awareness has driven endeavors for advancement of new inventive products for different end-use applications. Nanotechnology executes a significant contribution in the improvement of such product. Cellulose nanocrystals are one of a kind nanomaterial obtained from the most copius and practically boundless natural polymer, cellulose. These nanomaterials have obtained remarkable interest due to their mechanical, optical, chemical, and rheological properties. Cellulose nanocrystals basically derived from naturally existing cellulose fibres, are biodegradable and inexhaustible in nature and consequently they fill in as an eco-friendly material for most applications. Considering the everexpanding interdisciplinary research being done on cellulose nanocrystals, this review means to collate the information accessible about the preparation technique, modification and application of cellulose nanocrystals. Cellulose nanocrystals can be sourced from biomass, plants, or microbes, depending on genuinely basic, versatile, and productive isolation methodology. Mechanical, synthetic, and enzymatic treatments, or a blend of these, can be utilized to separate nanocellulose from natural sources. Nanocrystalline cellulose surface modification strategies are commonly used to introduce either charged or hydrophobic moieties, and comprises amidation, esterification, etherification, silylation, polymerization, urethanization, sulfonation, and phosphorylation. This nanomaterial is a promising contender for applications in fields, for example, biomedical, pharmaceuticals, electronics, barrier films and so forth.
Optimizing a High Lateral Misalignment Tolerance of the Short-range Inductive Coupling Wireless Power Transfer System by Using Basic Capacitive Compensation Topologies

ngineering, Doshisha University E Electronic & Department of Electrical 2,3 1, ------------------------------------------------------------***------------------------------------------------------------Abstract An Inductive Wireless Power Transfer (IWPT) system is enhanced to have high lateral misalignment tolerance. Analytical and experimental comparison among the four basic capacitive compensation (CC) topologies is made to get the appreciated and optimized high lateral misalignment tolerance of the IWPT system. These four basic topologies are the Series-Series (SS-CC), the ParallelSeries (PS-CC), the Series-Parallel (SP-CC), and the Parallel-Parallel (PP-CC) topologies. The SS-CC topology is the most appropriate method for optimizing a high lateral misalignment tolerance in the IWPT system. Its advantages include the independence of its resonance frequency of the misalignment in addition to having high voltage and current gains in addition to having a zero phase shift angle at any misalignment, which is better for low switching losses.
Atrial Deformation Correlated with Functional Capacity in Mitral Stenosis Patients

Background: Mitral stenosis (MS) is the most common valve disease seen as a sequel of rheumatic fever and usually presents with exertional dyspnea, right sided heart failure and pulmonary arterial hypertension. Aim: To determine the functional class of dyspnea in patients with MS and to investigate the relationship between Left Atrial (LA) deformation as measured by two-dimensional Speckle Tracking Echocardiography (STE)-derived LA strain and heart failure symptoms. Patients and methods: This was a prospective study carried out on 25 patients referred for evaluation of MS using echocardiography and 25 control subjects, who were evaluated using 2D and color Doppler echocardiography, including STE-derived LA strain (LAS) and peak positive filling strain rate (LASRr) during the LA reservoir phase. Those results were then correlated with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the patients and the control groups in the LAS in the apical 4 chamber view (LAS A4) (64.240±15.271, 40.360±21.785, respectively; p=0.001), LASRr A4 (2.504±0.358, 1.740±0.716, respectively; p=0.001) and LASRc A4 (-2.796±0.226, -1.820±0.928, respectively; p=0.001). also, there was a highly significant relation between NYHA class and LAS A4, LASRr A4 and Peak Negative Conduit Strain Rate (LASRc A4), with P<0.001 with all data. Conclusion: This study showed that all left atrial (LA) reservoir, conduit and contractile functions showed prominent impairment in mitral stenosis patients. Speckle tracking strain and strain rate were useful in pointing out the different effects of MS on left atrial functions. The assessment of LA dimension and function can provide further insights in patients with MS, LA dimension and volume in patients with MS had a positive significant correlation with NYHA classes (heart failure symptoms). In stable patients (NYHA classes I & II) with MS, NYHA functional class independently correlated with LAS and LASRr as LAS and LASRr values of stable patients and control aspects were normal. While LA deformation (LAS and LASRr) was significantly correlated with heart failure symptoms (NYHA Classes III & IV) in patients with MS.
Healing response of skeletal muscle to implanted biomaterials in rabbit: An immunohistochemical study of desmin and alpha-smooth-muscle-actin positive cells

Healing response of rabbit-skeletal muscle to four implanted biomaterials was studied by routine histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Emphasis was given for studying the morphology of cells with contractile proteins like desmin and alpha-smooth-muscle-actin (ASMA), present around the implanted biomaterials. By using primary antibodies raised against these proteins, cells with six distinct morphological features were identified in the healing tissue; smooth muscle cells of blood vessels, muscle giant-cells, de-differentiated skeletal muscle cells, myofibroblasts, endothelial cells of neocapillaries and undifferentiated cells with stem-cell like morphology. Desmin- and ASMA-immunoreactivity to muscle-giant cells and striated muscles (de-differentiated skeletal muscle cells) around implanted biomaterials are novel observations. Detection of myofibroblasts and stem-like cells around the implanted biomaterial may have significance in determining the nature of the healing response to the implants.
Modeling Teenage Smoking Behavior with SAS Econometrics ® Software

Cigarette smoking is harmful to health and is estimated to have a yearly social cost of billions of dollars. Smoking behavior is often established during the teenage years, so understanding why teens start smoking is important in the development of smoking prevention policies. One issue in modeling smoking choice is that factors in a person’s choice to smoke are often correlated with unobserved characteristics or individual circumstances. If appropriate statistical techniques are not used, this endogeneity causes biased parameter estimates and incorrect inference. This paper demonstrates how to overcome the problem of endogeneity by using techniques from SAS Econometrics ® software.
Virtual Reality and Enterprise Training

This white paper seeks to review and synthesize previous research on the use of virtual reality (VR) for training purposes and to discuss how companies can leverage the growing potential of VR technology to revolutionize training and education within their organizations. Based on the existing research we found several key attributes of VR that make it an effective tool for training. The key attributes of VR include that it is more memorable than video content, a safe alternative to real world training, is easily repeatable and scalable, and provides isolation from distractions. What research exists to date already confirms that VR is effective for training of cognitive skills, psychomotor skills and affective skills. These are promising findings, given that the quality of hardware and content used in previous research was significantly lower than that available today. There is a strong likelihood that further research and development will lead to new and concrete ways in which VR can be used to change the way companies train their employees.