Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing the Moderating Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Online Customer Purchashing Behaviour in the Fashion Industry of Bangaldesh

Theoretical framework: The study measures influence of the independent variables such as product price, quality, brand image, data privacy concerns, and cultural dimension (UAI) over the past couple of years of the pandemic. The proposed conceptual framework has one dependent variable (online customer purchasing behaviour) and one mediator (online customer purchasing intention). Covid 19 Pandemic is hypothesized to moderate the relationship between the mediator and the dependent variable. Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors used inferential statistics to accomplish the purpose of the research. Via quantitative analysis using the SPSS, the factors that influence online shopping have been revealed by gathering and analysing data obtained over web-based surveys. The authors approached 500 respondents from the 12th of April 2021 to the 5th of June 2022 and got close to a 73% response rate, 364 responses. Findings: The results exhibit that all mentioned factors except brand image and data privacy concerns have a momentous and significant relationship with consumers’ online shopping behaviour which further gets stronger due to the moderating effect of Covid-19. Research practical and social implications: The study contributes to the existing literature and theories in terms of monitoring online customer purchase behaviour. The findings will also help companies to develop and enhance their current CRM strategy and innovations to manage online shopping behaviour and achieve their commercial targets. Originality/Value: The value of this study lies in its contribution to an understanding of online purchase behaviour, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. By identifying influential factors and exploring their impact, the findings provide actionable insights for companies to adapt to changing consumer behaviours.
Evolvability

Livingorganismsfunctioninaccordancewithcomplexmechanismsthatoperateindifferent ways depending on conditions. Darwin’s theory of evolution suggests that such mechanisms evolved through variation guided by natural selection. However, there has existed no theory that would explain quantitatively which mechanisms can so evolve in realistic population sizes within realistic time periods, and which are too complex. In this article, we suggest such a theory. We treat Darwinian evolution as a form of computational learning from examples in which the course of learning is inﬂuenced only by the aggregate ﬁtness of the hypotheses on the examples, and not otherwise by speciﬁc examples. We formulate a notion of evolvability that distinguishes function classes that are evolvable with polynomially bounded resources from those that are not. We show that in a single stage of evolution monotone Boolean conjunctions and disjunctions are evolvable over the uniform distribution, while Boolean parity functions are not. We suggest that the mechanism that underlies biological evolution overall is “evolvable target pursuit”, which consists of a series of evolutionary stages, each one inexorably pursuing an evolvable target in the technical sense suggested above, each such target being rendered evolvable by the serendipitous combination of the environment and the outcomes of previous evolutionary stages.
New host species for Chalara fraxinea

Fraxinus spp. are deciduous trees belonging to the family Oleaceae . Among about 70 known ash species in the world, the common ash ( Fraxinus excelsior ) is the most widely distributed in Europe; black ( F . nigra ), green ( F . pennsylvanica ) and…
Trade and exchange : archaeological studies from history and prehistory

Introduction: Perspectives on Trade and Exchange. - Prehistoric Exchange. - Long-Distance Exchange of Obsidian in the mid-Atlantic United States. - Ulua Marble Vases Abroad: Contextualizing Social Networks Between the Maya World and Lower Central America. - Exotic Goods, Chivay Obsidian, and Sociopolitical Change in the South-Central Andes. - The Supply of Stone to the City of Rome: A Case Study of the Transport of Anician Building Stone and Millstone from the Santa Trinita Quarry (Orvieto). - Interaction and Exchange Across the Transition to Pastoralism, Lake Turkana, Kenya. - Historic Exchange. - "Beholden to Foreign Countries": Trade and Clothing in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. - The Precarious "Middle Ground": Exchange and the Reconfiguration of Social Identity in the Hawaiian Kingdom. - Foreign Objects With Domestic Meanings: The Feast of Lanterns and the Point Alones Village. - What if the Local is Exotic and the Imported Mundane? - When the Foreign is not Exotic: Ceramics at Colorado's WWII Japanese Internment Camp. - Discussion. - The Exotic in Daily Life: Trade and Exchange in Historical Archaeology. - Exchange Systems in Prehistory.
On the equivalence of Stackelberg equilibrium and static equilibrium of symmetric multi-players zero-sum game

We study a Stackelberg type symmetric dynamic multi-players zero-sum game. One player is the leader and other players are followers. All players have symmetric payoff functions. The game is a two-stages game. In the first stage the leader determines the value of its strategic variable. In the second stage the followers determine the values of their strategic variables given the value of the leader's strategic variable. On the other hand, in the static game all players simultaneously determine the values of their strategic variables. We show that if and only if the game is fully symmetric, the Stackelberg equilibrium and the static equilibrium are equivalent.
Response of Soft Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to Slow-Release Nitrogen Fertilizers in a Semi-Arid Rainfed Mediterranean Climate Area of Morocco

Reasoned fertilization is an essential element of the agroecological approach, which aims first and foremost to improve soil and plant growth. The objective was to examine how slow-release nitrogen fertilizer will perform on the wheat productivity compared to conventional quick-release nitrogen fertilizers. A slow-release nitrogen cover fertilizer Duramon (24% N) was applied to soft wheat and compared to conventional nitrogen fertilizers as well as the local farmer practices. A randomized complete blocks design was adopted with four replications and four sites and repeated during three cropping seasons. Stand density, plant canopy height, tillers/plant, spikes/plant, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index were evaluated. Compared with conventional quick-release nitro - gen fertilizers, the slow-release nitrogen significantly (P≤0.05) improved tillering, spikes/plant, canopy height, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index. It achieved an average total biomass and grain yields of 3220 kg DM/ha and 978 kg/ha, respectively. The average gains for total biomass and grain yields were 14% and 21%, respectively. However, when compared with the local farmers’ practices, the gains obtained were significantly higher, with 123% and 175% for the slow-release N fertilizer and 95% and 128% for the conventional quick-release N fertilizer, respectively. The harvest index was improved by N application, rising from 25% in local con - trols up to 30% for slow-release N fertilizers. In conclusion, compared with conventional quick-release nitrogen fertilizers and local practices, the use of slow-release fertilizers with less units of nitrogen applied significantly improved spikes number, biological and grain yields and harvest index, even in dry years.
Long-term ef ﬁ cacy and safety of anastrozole for adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer in postmenopausal women

: For more than 20 years, tamoxifen has been the gold standard for the adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone-responsive early breast cancer. However, recent randomized trials have shown efﬁ cacy and tolerability beneﬁ ts with the third-generation aromatase inhibitor anastrozole, resulting in an increased use of this agent in the adjuvant setting. Data on anastrozole’s long-term efﬁ cacy and tolerability are therefore of interest in clinical practice and will be reviewed here, especially in the light of the 100-month analysis of the ATAC (Anastrozole, Tamoxifen Alone or in Combination) trial.
Learning to Correct Sloppy Annotations in Electron Microscopy Volumes

Connectomics deals with the problem of reconstructing neural circuitry from electron microscopy images at the synaptic level. Automatically reconstructing circuits from these volumes requires high fidelity 3-D instance segmentation, which yet appears to be a daunting task for current computer vision algorithms. Hence, to date, most datasets are not reconstructed by fully-automated methods. Even after painstaking proofreading, these methods still produce numerous small errors. In this paper, we propose an approach to accelerate manual reconstructions by learning to correct imperfect manual annotations. To achieve this, we designed a novel solution for the canonical problem of marker-based 2-D instance segmentation, reporting a new state-of-the-art for region-growing algorithms demonstrated on challenging electron microscopy image stacks. We use our marker-based instance segmentation algorithm to learn to correct all "sloppy" object annotations by reducing and expanding all annotations. Our correction algorithm results in high quality morphological reconstruction (near ground truth quality), while significantly cutting annotation time (~8x) for several examples in connectomics. We demonstrate the accuracy of our approach on public connectomics benchmarks and on a set of large-scale neuron reconstruction problems, including on a new octopus dataset that cannot be automatically segmented at scale by existing algorithms.
The Impact of Exploration on Convergence and Performance of Multi-Agent Q-Learning Dynamics

Understanding the impact of exploration on the behaviour of multi-agent learning has, so far, benefited from the restriction to potential, or network zero-sum games in which convergence to an equilibrium can be shown. Outside of these classes, learning dynamics rarely converge and little is known about the effect of exploration in the face of non-convergence. To progress this front, we study the smooth Q-Learning dynamics. We show that, in any network game, exploration by agents results in the convergence of Q-Learning to a neighbourhood of an equilibrium. This holds independently of whether the dynamics reach the equilibrium or display complex behaviours. We show that increasing the exploration rate decreases the size of this neighbourhood and also decreases the ability of all agents to improve their payoffs. Furthermore, in a broad class of games, the payoff performance of Q-Learning dynamics, measured by Social Welfare, decreases when the exploration rate increases. Our experiments show this to be a general phenomenon, namely that exploration leads to improved convergence of Q-Learning, at the cost of payoff performance.
Screening for Relative Energy Deficiency in Male Volleyball Players and the Usefulness of Accelerometers

In recent years, thinness has become a concern in athletes worldwide. The International Olympic Committee has proposed the concept of relative energy deficiency and sounded warnings about the importance of energy intake commensurate with energy expenditure due to exercise. However, it has been suggested that it is difficult to assess this energy intake and consumption in sports. Therefore, this study screened male volleyball players for relative energy deficiency, measured their energy expenditure using accelerometers, and examined the usefulness of accelerometers in sports settings. Methods: The subjects were 10 males who belonged to a working volleyball team. Their height, weight, body fat percentage, lean body mass, basal metabolic rate, hemoglobin concentration, and bone density were measured before early morning practice. To measure activity, players were asked to wear an activity meter during practice time. Result: Screening assessment standards have not been presented in Japan. Therefore, we used the value of adult BIM < 17.5 kg/m 2 used by the American College of Sports Medicine as the first stage of screening for available energy deficiency. No player had a BMI of < 17.5 kg/m 2 . In addition, no athlete had a hemoglobin concentration of < 13.0 g/dl. Discussion: All athletes measured in this study answered that they did not know their own daily energy consumption. Considering the paucity of data on male volleyball players and the concern about the lack of available energy, it is considered effective to prevent the lack of available energy by proactively measuring it if an activity meter is available for the sport.
A Deep Learning-Based Approach to Forecast Ionospheric Delays for GPS Signals

This letter proposes the implementation of ionospheric forecasting model based on the long short-term memory (LSTM) networks. Ionospheric region produces time delay for radio wave propagation of global positioning system (GPS) satellites. The ionospheric delays for GPS signals degrade the position accuracy in the measurements for precise navigation and positioning services. Utilizing the emerging artificial intelligence mathematical tools to forecast ionospheric disturbances using GPS-estimated total electron content (TEC) observations is decisive. In this letter, multi-input LSTM forecasting technique is investigated and tested for evaluating its capability in forecasting the ionospheric delays over Bengaluru station (16.26° N, 80.44° E) using eight years (2009–2016) of GPS measured vertical TEC (VTEC) time-series data. The assessment of the LSTM model performance during geomagnetic quiet and disturbed conditions is carried out in comparison with artificial neural networks model and International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2016) model based on statistical parameters like root-mean-square error and coefficient of determination ( $R^{2}$ ). The experimental analysis delineates that the proposed LSTM model has provided the correlation of 0.99 with the GPS-measured VTEC and with a forecasting error of 1–2 TEC units.
clinical outcomes of long-acting injectable risperidone in patients with schizophrenia: six-month follow-up from the electronic schizophrenia Treatment Adherence registry in Latin America

Background: Risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI) has been shown to be efficacious, improve compliance, and increase long-term retention rate on therapy. The aim of this work was to determine the effect of RLAI on clinical outcome and hospitalization rate in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder enrolled in the electronic Schizophrenia Treatment Adherence Registry in Latin America. Methods: Data were collected at baseline, retrospectively for the 12 months prior to baseline, and prospectively every three months for 24 months. Hospitalization prior to therapy was assessed by a retrospective chart review. Efficacy and functioning were evaluated using Clinical Global Impression of Illness Severity (CGI-S), Personal and Social Performance (PSP), and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores. Relapse and treatment were also registered. Results: Patients were recruited in Mexico (n = 53), Brazil (n = 11), and Colombia (n = 15). Sixty-five percent (n = 52) were male, and mean age was 32.9 years. Patients were classified as having schizophrenia (n = 73) or schizoaffective disorder (n = 6). The mean dose of RLAI at six months was 34.1 mg (standard deviation = 10.2 mg). The percentage of hospitalized patients before treatment was 28.2% and 5.1% at six months after initiating RLAI ( P , 0.001). Significant changes were registered on CGI-S, GAF, and PSP scores. Conclusions: RLAI was associated with an improvement in clinical symptoms and functioning, and a greater reduction in hospitalization.
Recherches en vision par ordinateur

Dans ce document, je decris mes activites professionnelles, pour la periode allant de 1998 a 2005. La plus grande partie de ce document (parties II a VI) est redigee en anglais. Elle contient la description des resultats scientifiques que j'ai obtenus durant cette periode. Un resume en francais en est donne dans la premiere partie du manuscrit. Il est precede d'une description de mes activites d'animation de la recherche (organisations de colloques, participations a des comites de programme, responsabilites scientifiques, participations a des projets, communications invitees, etc.) et des tâches administratives et d'enseignement dont j'ai eu la charge. Ce document est accompagne par une selection des articles les plus representatifs de mes activites de recherche pour la periode concernee.
Adjustable Price-Sensitive DER Bidding Within Network Envelopes

The increasing penetration of distributed energy resources (DER) has highlighted the role of aggregators as mediators who enable the participation of DER fleet in energy and reserve markets. Since DER are scattered across the distribution network, the overall bids reaching the market need to account for distribution network physical limits. This is challenging as the grid operator and aggregators are independent parties with separate roles and privacy requirements. The uncertainty around demand, solar power, and electricity price further complicates aggregators' job in calculating reliable network-secure bids. To overcome these challenges, we propose a price-sensitive bidding approach within network operating envelopes that enables aggregators to provide reliable market services. To ensure that data uncertainty neither leads to network violations nor leaves aggregators unable to deliver their market commitments, we introduce a piecewise affinely adjustable optimisation (PAARO) controller into our bidding problem. We also extend the aggregator bidding problem to account for cases where the overall consumer uncertainty cancels out, providing a less conservative solution. We illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed approach using 69-bus/906-bus distribution networks. The results show that our approach could increase aggregator and hence consumer benefits by up to 14%, compared to a price-insensitive and deterministic approach.
Work Engagement: Determinants and Its Effect On Organizational Citizenship Behavior

The purpose of this research is to know and analyze the influence of a person's job fit and job crafting on organizational citizenship behavior through work engagement. This study uses a causal type of research using a quantitative approach with a sample of 76 respondents who are employees of the Medan Mayor's Office. To investigate the seven hypotheses proposed in this study, data collection techniques such as interviews and questionnaires were employed, as well as data analysis techniques such as Partial Least Square (SmartPls). The results show that person-job fit has a significant effect on organizational citizenship behavior, job crafting has a significant effect on organizational citizenship behavior, person-job fit has a significant effect on work engagement, job crafting has a significant effect on work engagement, person-job fit has a significant effect on organizational citizenship behavior through work engagement, and job crafting has a significant effect on organizational through work engagement.
Human resources analytics: A legitimacy process

Correspondence María J. Belizón, UCD College of Business, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Email: maria.belizon@ucd.ie Abstract Taking a grounded theory approach, this paper explores human resources (HR) Analytics legitimacy in three organisations over a period of 3 years. The research aims to investigate (i) how the HR Analytics legitimacy process presents and develops and (ii) what decisions, activities, and events can shape the legitimacy of HR Analytics in organisations. We draw on institutional theory and industry creation literatures to understand what constitutes HR Analytics legitimacy through a three-dimensional perspective: cognitive, socio-political, and technological. A process theory lens as an analytical tool allowed for the mapping of the institutional process in order to isolate key individual decisions, activities, and events over time. Three related, non-linear sub-processes of HR Analytics legitimation are identified, namely, HR Analytics as a strategic commitment, the HR data infrastructure decision, and the focus of HR Analytics projects in addition to a number of delaying, enabling, and accelerating elements that influence this process.
Source-Region/Station Time Corrections for the Eastern Himalayan Region

Abstract : Source-region/station time corrections are developed for the eastern Himalayan region and 181 stations, including 48 stations of the World Wide Standard Seismograph Network. The study area encompasses the area within about 15 degrees of 30N 95E and includes the Himalayan front, the Tibetan platform and parts of the Central China fold system, the North China-Korean platform, the Burmese arc, the Indochina fold system, and the South China platform. For teleseismic stations, the median standard deviation of station residuals about their corrections ranges from 0.45 second to 0.83 second for different parts of the region. The very shallow focal depths of earthquakes throughout most of this region limit the usefulness of identification techniques based on computed depth. Focal depths of some earthquakes in the study area, previously reported as radiating anomalously weak surface waves, are not great enough to explain the weak surface wave radiation.