Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Managing Context to Improve Cruise Line Service Relationships

Interactions between customers and service employees have a strong influence on customers’ perceptions of service quality and their overall satisfaction. During service encounters, both physical and social dimensions of the service environment affect interpersonal dynamics and the subsequent relationships that develop. The study described here focuses specifically on the cruise experience and the distinct passenger-service employee relationships that develop during a cruise. An extensive review of related research combined with interviews and observations on six cruises suggests a framework of four specific role relationships: the passenger as expert, the passenger as manager, the passenger as friend, and the passenger as a team member. By focusing on dimensions of the context in which service occurs, managers can anticipate the types of relationship that develop. They are then better prepared to address the service challenges most likely to occur as they strive to enhance service delivery.
Impact of Fitness Characteristics on Tennis Performance in Elite Junior Tennis Players

Abstract Ulbricht, A, Fernandez-Fernandez, J, Mendez-Villanueva, A, and Ferrauti, A. Impact of fitness characteristics on tennis performance in elite junior tennis players. J Strength Cond Res 30(4): 989–998, 2016—The impact of fitness characteristics on tennis performance in adolescent players is not clearly understood. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to test whether physical characteristics are related to players' competitive level (i.e., national youth ranking). A secondary aim was to compare adolescent tennis players by performance level (i.e., regional selected players and the national team). A total of 902 male and female junior players (aged, 11–16 years) in Germany were evaluated using a physical testing battery: grip strength; countermovement jump; 10 and 20-m sprint; tennis-specific sprint; overhead, forehand, and backhand medicine ball throws (MBT); serve velocity and tennis-specific endurance test (hit and turn tennis test). Results showed that serve velocity (r = −0.43 to 0.64 for female subjects [♀]; r = −0.33 to 0.49 for male subjects [♂]) and upper-body power (e.g., MBT r = −0.26 to −0.49 ♀; r = −0.20 to −0.49 ♂) were the most correlated predictors of tennis performance (i.e., national youth ranking) in both female and male tennis players. Moreover, national selected players showed better performance levels than their regional counterparts, mainly in the most predictive physical characteristics (i.e., serve velocity: effect size [ES], 0.78–1.04 ♀; ES 0.92–1.02 ♂, MBT: ES, 0.66–0.88 ♀; ES, 0.67–1.04 ♂) and specific endurance (ES, 0.05–0.95 ♀; ES, 0.31–0.73 ♂). The present findings underline the importance of certain physical attributes, especially serve velocity and strength- and power-related variables (upper body), and suggest the need to include these parameters in the area of training, physical testing, and talent identification of young tennis players.
Lévy Processes in Credit Risk and Market Models

Preface During the last years banks have realized that default risk cannot be neglected. The subjective assessment of credit worthiness has to be replaced with a more objective way of estimating default risk. Mathematical credit risk models in the literature are mainly models based on Brownian motion although it is known that real-life financial data provides a different statistical behavior than that implied by these models. Lévy processes are an appropriate tool to increase accuracy of models in finance. They have been used to model stock prices, and term structures of interest rates, thus allowing more accurate derivative pricing and risk management. In this study we discuss how general Lévy processes can be applied to credit risk and market models. There are also a few jump-diffusion models where the jump-components have sample paths of bounded variation, but some of the very important subclasses are special types of Lévy processes. The emphasis in this study lies on the application of Lévy processes in credit risk models. We will mainly deal with the question of pricing defaultable corporate bonds. However we will also consider a portfolio model where the main question is the modeling of the loss distribution. Furthermore, we present a Lévy Libor model which contains the classical Libor model as a special case. In Chapter 1 we briefly survey some aspects of credit risk, generalized hy-perbolic distributions and Lévy processes. In the overview of the structural approach, we show how Lévy processes can be used to generalize the classical structural approach due to Merton (1974). In Chapter 2 we present and generalize the approach of the commercial software package CreditRisk +TM by Credit Suisse Financial Products. This chapter might be of some interest to practitioners since we introduce an alternative distribution to CreditRisk +TM which allows for heavier tails and still guarantees analytical tractability. Then we introduce a credit risk Heath-Jarrow-Morton-framework based on Lévy processes in Chapter 3, where we generalize the Gaussian approach in Bi-elecki and Rutkowski (1999, 2000). With a view to more realistic modeling we also include the topic of reorganization within this framework, which is based on an idea of Schönbucher (1998, 2000a). In Chapter 4 we show how the market practice of pricing caplets with the Black formula can be pushed further to a model where the driving process is a I Lévy process. At this point I want to express my warmest thanks to …
Food safety risk: consumer perception and purchase behaviour

Food safety has become a major issue of public concern, encouraging the UK Government and the food industry to take steps to rebuild consumer confidence. In this context, the paper draws on a review of research literature to develop a conceptual framework to identify and review the factors influencing consumer perception of food safety related risks and the likely impact on purchasing behaviour. The relevance of strategies adopted by consumers to reduce risk exposure and the influence on the likelihood of food purchase are also explored, together with the implication for the food industry.
Efficacy and Initial Safety Profile of CXCL12 Treatment in a Rodent Model of Urinary Sphincter Deficiency

Disappointing results of skeletal muscle precursor cell (skMPC) therapy for women with intrinsic urinary sphincter deficiency (ISD) associated urinary incontinence has increased interest in alternative sphincter regenerative approaches. This study was to measure the safety and efficacy of the cell homing chemokine CXCL12 versus skMPCs in a rat model of ISD. Thirty‐six adult female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 6 treatment (Tx) conditions: (a) no ISD/noTx [Control]; (b) ISD/noTx; (c) ISD + skMPCs; (d) ISD + 3.5 mg CXCL12; (e) ISD + 7mg CXCL12; and (f) ISD + 14 mg CXCL12. Tx's were injected directly into the sphincter complex 30 days post ISD and rats euthanized 30 days post Tx. Blood samples for measurements of kidney and liver function, white and red blood cell counts, were taken at baseline and at euthanasia. Leak point pressures (LPP) were measured prior to, and sphincter collagen/muscle content measured after, euthanasia. There were no effects of treatments on white or red/white blood cell counts, kidney/liver function tests or histopathology of the urinary sphincter complex or surrounding tissues. ISD lowered LPP 35% and sphincter muscle content by 17% versus control rats. CXCL12, but not skMPC injections, restored both LPP to control values in a dose‐dependent fashion. Both skMPCs and CXCL12 restored sphincter muscle content to control values. This chemokine approach may represent a novel therapeutic option for ISD and appears, at least short‐term, to produce little clinical or tissue pathology. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:1740–1746
A Difference-Based Feature Description Method of Image Target

This paper proposed a new method of feature description for target recognition and matching. Firstly, a method of calculating the difference was defined. The gray value matrix of an image was converted to a difference value matrix. Then the difference value, shape, angle and other features of a region and the combined features between regions were described. Finally, the method was applied to identify traffic signs. Experiments showed that the proposed method can represent multiple features of image such as the gray differences, the shape changes, and so on. Through theoretical and simulation analysis, even under rotation, shift or scale transformation, new features description method still can correctly recognize the target. http://dx.doi. org/10.11591/telkomnika.v12i12. 6568
Serum leptin and lipid profiles in Thai obese and overweight subjects.

The weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist/hip ratio, serum leptin and lipid profiles of 48 overweight (BMI > or = 25.00). Thai males and 166 overweight Thai females, compared with 26 males and 81 females in a control group (BMI = 18.5-24.9 kg/m2), were investigated. Subjects for the study were those persons who turned up regularly for physical check-ups at the out-patient department, general practice section of the Rajvithi Hospital, Bangkok. The study was conducted between March-October, 1998. Statistically significantly higher levels of serum leptin, cholesterol, LDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and triglyceride were found in the overweight compared with the control subjects. The median serum leptin concentration in overweight subjects was 19.6 (2.0-60.0 ng/ml) compared with 9.0 (range 1.0-30.0 ng/ml) in the control subjects (p < 0.001). The median values of leptin serum concentrations in the overweight and obese males were significantly higher than those of the overweight and obese females. A total of 66.7% (32 out of 48) of the overweight and obese males had elevated leptin levels, while elevated leptin levels were found in 87.3% (145 out of 166) of the overweight and obese females. A total of 18.8% and 21.1% of the overweight and obese males and females respectively had cholesterol concentrations of > or = 6.48 mmol/l. However, the prevalence of low HDL-C (HDL-C < or = 0.91 mmol/l) was found to be 41.7% in the overweight and obese males and 4.2% in the overweight and obese females. Statistically significant associations were found between weight, height, BMI, waist, hip, waist/hip ratio, HDL-C, and serum leptin in both overweight male and female subjects. A negative correlation was found between serum leptin and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio in both the overweight and obese subjects.
Gonadotrophin receptor hormone analogues in combination with add-back therapy: an update

Gonadotrophin receptor hormone analogues (GnRHa) have been used in a range of sex hormone-dependent disorders. In the management of premenstrual syndrome, they can completely abolish symptoms. The success of GnRHa in the treatment of endometriosis and adjuvant therapy in the management of fibroids is proven. This efficacy does not come without a cost and the side-effects of the hypo-estrogenic state have limited their application. The use of add-back therapy to counter these effects has enabled wider application, longer durations of treatment and an increase in compliance. This review article is an update on the evidence supporting gonadotrophin receptor hormone analogues in combination with add-back therapy.
Haptoglobin concentrations in a canine hospital population

MAVROGENIS, A. P., KOUMAS, A. , KAKOYIANNIS, C. K. & TALIOTIS, C. H. (1995) Use of somatic cell counts for the detection of subclinical mastitis in sheep. Small Ruminant Research 17, 79-84 MENZIES, P. I. & RAMANOON, S. Z. (2001) Mastitis of sheep and goats. Veterinary Clinics ofNorth America: Food Animal Practice 17, 333-358 MONTGOMERY, D. C. (1991) Design and Analysis of Experiments. 3rd edn. New York, Wiley MORONI, P. & CUCCURU, C. (2001) Relationship between mammary gland infections and some milk immune parameters in Sardinian breed ewes. Small Ruminant Research 41, 1-7 SARATSIS, P., ALEXOPOULOS, C. , TZORA, A. & FTHENAKIS, G. C. (1999) The effect of experimentally induced subclinical mastitis on the milk yield of dairy ewes. Small Ruminant Research 32, 205-209 SCHMIDT-MADSEN, P. (1975) Fluoro-opto-electronic cell counting on milk. Journal ofDairy Research 42, 227-239 WINTER, P. & COLDITZ, I. G. (2002) Immunological responses of the lactating ovine udder following experimental challenge with Staphylococcus epidermidis. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 89, 57-65
Early-Morning Hyperglycemia in Diabetic Individuals Treated with Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion

Significant early-morning hyperglycemia was observed in insulin-dependent diabetic individuals who were otherwise well controlled while receiving a continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) at standard doses. We measured the levels of the five key counterregulatory hormones (CRH) throughout the night for a total of 10 patient-nights in four such patients. No abnormalities in the patterns of glucagon, cortisol, growth hormone, epinephrine, or norepinephrine secretion were observed. Stepping up the daytime basal infusionrate in six affected patients before bedtime by 37.0 ± 7.5% and maintaining the increased infusion until breakfast significantly blunted this early-morning hyperglycemia without causing significant early nighttime hypoglycemia. Plasma glucose concentrations before breakfast averaged 106.8 ± 13.0 mg/dl after increase of the overnight basal infusion rate as compared with 269.8 ± 39.1 mg/dl while receiving a single basal rate over 24 h (P < 0.02). Thus, the “dawn phenomenon” may occur in patients receiving CSII by an unmodified algorithm and may be obviated by a carefully determined step-up in nocturnal basal infusion rate. The mechanism responsible for this phenomenon of increased early-morning insulin need remains to be elucidated.
The role of Trust, Commitment and Cooperation in Business Relationships

During the last ten years cooperation, commitment and trust have appeared as the three main concepts to understand and describe the phenomena business relationship in the major marketing journals. In the following paper, a thoroughly analysis is made of how the three concepts are defined, related to each other and used in marketing and close related disciplines. Finally, a dynamic model with the three concepts, is presented that challenges the static models used by many marketing researchers in their application of the concepts. The argument is made that since the concepts by themselves denotes dynamic interaction, then the models themselves need to be dynamic. 1 Ulf Andersson holds a Ph.D. at the Uppsala University, while Martin Johanson and Lars Silver both are doctoral students at Uppsala University. Correspondence should be adressed to: Lars Silver, Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University, Box 513, 751 20 UPPSALA. Telephone: +46 (0)18 4711616. Fax: +46 (0)18 555386. E-mail: Iars.silver@fei.uu. se. INTRODUCTION We have investigated how these concepts have been utilized by in marketing research primarily by focusing on articles presented in the major marketing journals. In these articles we have looked for explicit definitions of the concepts in question. We have from studying these definitions derived at the denotation of each concept, i. e. its precise, neutral described meaning. Further we have tried to depict the different qualities that different authors attach to them, i.e. their connotations. The purpose of this paper is to accurately define the properties of trust, commitment and cooperation develop the ideas presented by marketing researchers concerning these three concepts into a dynamic model of marketing interaction. CONCEPT ANALYSIS Trust The meaning of the word trust according to Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary is: if you trust someone, you believe that they are honest and sincere and that they will not deliberately do anything that will hurt you in any way. The denotation of trust, drawn from the articles studied is; A's reliance on B and A's belief and perception that B will not deliberately cause negative outcomes for A. This is the lowest common denominator among the definitions we could find in the chosen articles. As can be seen it is parallel to the definition offered by the dictionary. The definition and the denotation both contain two distinctive parts; (1) confidence in another person and (2) a safety chapter. The definitions explicitly used in the different articles can be divided in two categories, those that are parallel to the dictionary's definition i.e. have a confidence and a safety paragraph and, those who also contains a positive paragraph. Below two examples are shown, one with and one without the positive paragraph.
Are Formal Corporate News Announcements Still Newsworthy? Evidence from Three Decades of U.S. Data on Earnings, Splits, and Dividends

This paper considers the share price reaction to dividend, earnings, and stock split announcements over a 30 year period. It first considers whether there is differential information content in similar corporate news announcements for different types of firms. Second, it investigates whether the value of news information about these firms has declined over time (has become “less newsworthy”). We categorize firms into groups by whether corporate news announcements regarding the firms will be more valuable to the public. For example, since the public may know more about larger firms, we expect the market to react less strongly (in absolute value) to new information from large firms. We find strong support for this idea. We find little evidence that is consistent with the idea that “news is less newsworthy” over the past few decades. Although, we do find that the share price reaction to “good” dividend news has become less positive and to “bad” dividend news has become less negative over time, no such related evidence exists for stock splits and earnings announcements. Additional investigation of entire distributions of returns using kernel density estimators also rejects the “news is no longer newsworthy” idea.
Building Corporate Brands through Community Involvement: Is it Exportable? The Case of the Ronald McDonald House in Norway

Community involvement is recognized as part of an organization's attempts to build good will in the local community and as such can be thought of as part of corporate social responsibility. The argument has been made that there is a need for more examination of the content of CSR activities, in particular for firms operating in diverse domestic and foreign contexts (Gardberg and Fombrun, 2004, Academy of Management Review, 31(2), pp. 329–346). This paper explores some of these issues by presenting an in‐depth look at McDonald's community involvement initiative in Norway, where the attempts to build a Ronald McDonald House met much resistance and many barriers, many of them from political parties, doctors and academics.
Plateau Iris in Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma: An Ultrasound Biomicroscopy Study

Purpose:To determine prevalence and anterior segment morphology of plateau iris in patients with primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) after laser peripheral iridotomy using ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM). Methods:In this prospective study, 262 PACG patients and 144 normal controls underwent UBM examination. Plateau iris in a quadrant was defined by the presence of anteriorly directed ciliary process, absent ciliary sulcus, steep iris root from its point of insertion followed by a downward angulation, flat iris plane, and irido-angle contact in the same quadrant. At least 2 quadrants had to fulfill these UBM criteria. Results:UBM analysis showed plateau iris in 83/262 (31.68%, 95% confidence interval: 26.7%-37.9%) PACG eyes, it was common in female individuals (61.44%), and patients were significantly younger than PACG patients (P=0.006). Plateau iris was found in superior quadrant in 19/83 (22.89%) eyes, inferior quadrant in 19/83 (22.89%) eyes, nasal quadrant in 21/83 (25.3%) eyes, and temporal quadrant in 24/83 (28.91%) eyes. In plateau iris patients, the central anterior chamber depth was shallower, the anterior chamber angle, the scleral-iris angle, and the sclera-ciliary process angle were significantly narrower, and the trabecular ciliary process distance and the iris ciliary process distance were significantly shorter in patients than in PACG subjects. Conclusions:Patients with plateau iris had significantly shallow central ACD when compared with those with pupillary block and normal eyes. After laser peripheral iridotomy, about a third of PACG eyes had plateau iris. This is clinically important because these patients can develop synechial angle closure and should be followed up closely.
Activated protein C resistance in young adults with central retinal vein occlusion.

BACKGROUND: Central retinal vein occlusion is a disease that is most common in old people. While the disease in old people often is associated with atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, or glaucoma, this is much less evident in young people. However, a new defect in the anticoagulant system has recently been discovered, activated protein C resistance. This hereditary defect may well be associated with central retinal vein occlusion, and so this factor was analysed in patients younger than 50 years with a history of central retinal vein occlusion. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from 31 patients younger than 50 years with a history of central retinal vein occlusion, and analysed for activated protein C resistance with standard clinical laboratory methods. RESULTS: In this material 26% of all the patients and 36% of the patients younger than 45 years were resistant to activated protein C. The normal incidence of activated protein C resistance is 2-7%. CONCLUSION: Activated protein C resistance seems to be the most common known cause of central retinal vein occlusion in young people.
C-Sets-based sequential heuristic procedure for the one-dimensional cutting stock problem with pattern reduction

This paper presents a sequential heuristic procedure (SHP) for the 1D cutting stock problem with pattern reduction, where a set of items are cut from stock bars of the same length to minimize the bar cost, with a secondary objective being to reduce the pattern count of the cutting plan. The SHP generates the current pattern to produce some items, and continues until all items are fulfilled. The algorithm uses two candidate sets (C-Sets). The first is the set of the candidate items for generating the current pattern. The second is the set of candidate patterns from which the current pattern is selected. The algorithm generates candidate patterns using the candidate items, determines the estimated cutting-plan cost (ECP-cost) of each pattern using a look-ahead strategy, and selects the pattern of the minimum ECP-cost as the current pattern. The computational results indicate that the algorithm is efficient.
The Impact of Changes in Couples’ Earnings on Married Women’s Social Security Benefits

Women's labor force participation and earnings dramatically increased after World War II. Those changes have important implications for women's Social Security benefits. This article uses the Social Security Administration's Modeling Income in the Near Term (version 6) to examine Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiary wives. The projections show that fewer wives in more recent birth cohorts will be eligible for auxiliary benefits as spouses because their earnings are too high. If their husbands die, however, most wives will still be eligible for survivor benefits because, despite the increase in their earnings over time, they still typically have lower earnings than their husbands. Even so, the share of wives who would be ineligible for widow benefits is projected to double between cohorts.