Are Neutral Sentiments Worth Considering When Investigating Online Consumer Reviews? Their Relationship with Review Ratings

Online consumer reviews (OCRs) play an important role for firms to understand consumer satisfaction. Prior research on OCRs has used sentiment analysis to identify and quantify consumers’ subjective impressions in terms of positive and negative sentiments. However, OCRs also contain objective facts about the product or service, which are represented by neutral sentiments. In this study, we argue that it is important to distinguish neutral sentiments from those of positivity and negativity when investigating consumer satisfaction. Through a lens of expectation-confirmation theory, we delineate the roles of subjective information in relation to consumer satisfaction, in the sense that consumer satisfaction is mainly formed by one’s subjective expectations and evaluations, not by objective facts of the product or service. The empirical results obtained from OCRs about hotels demonstrate that consumer satisfaction is significantly higher in positive OCRs than neutral ones, and significant lower in negative OCRs than neutral ones. Furthermore, neutral sentiments drastically improve the explanatory power of empirical models, thereby enhancing our understanding of consumer satisfaction. Academically, this study sheds light on the importance of neutral sentiments. Practically, neutral sentiments, when being separated from the other two sentiment categories, contribute to more accurately reflecting consumer satisfaction

COMPARATIVE CHEMOMETRIC PROFILES BETWEEN LEAF TISSUES OF WITHANIA SOMNIFERA CULTURED IN VITRO AND FIELD

Objective: Metabolomic profiling of herbal extracts is indispensable to standardize drugs and to inaugurate the scientific basis of their therapeutic properties. The present study was attempted with an objective to investigate a comparative GC-MS (Gas chromatography–Mass spectrometry) analysis of in vitro and field grown leaf tissues of “Indian ginseng”. Methods: GC-MS often serves the methods of option for screening and quantitative metabolite profiling. In the present study, metabolic profiling of methanolic extracts of field and in vitro cultured Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) leaf tissues were carried out using GC–MS technique. Results: A total number of 39 primary metabolites in leaf were identified. These include alcohols, organic acids, purine, pyrimidine, sugars and putrescine. Highly significant qualitative and quantitative differences were noticed between the leaf tissues cultured in vitro and from the field. Especially, significant elevation in the accumulation of GABA (γ amino butyric acid) and putrescine was recorded in in vitro cultured leaf samples. Conclusion: We conclude that in vitro cultures offers an intrinsic advantage to produce therapeutically valuable compounds, relatively in a short span of time and this principle determine its use as an alternative to field grown sample

Broussonetia papyrifera Root Bark Extract Exhibits Anti-inflammatory Effects on Adipose Tissue and Improves Insulin Sensitivity Potentially Via AMPK Activation

The chronic low-grade inflammation in adipose tissue plays a causal role in obesity-induced insulin resistance and its associated pathophysiological consequences. In this study, we investigated the effects of extracts of Broussonetia papyrifera root bark (PRE) and its bioactive components on inflammation and insulin sensitivity. PRE inhibited TNF-alpha-induced NF-kappa B transcriptional activity in the NF-kappa B luciferase assay and pro-inflammatory genes' expression by blocking phosphorylation of I kappa B and NF-kappa B in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, which were mediated by activating AMPK. Ten-week-high fat diet (HFD)-fed C57BL6 male mice treated with PRE had improved glucose intolerance and decreased inflammation in adipose tissue, as indicated by reductions in NF-kappa B phosphorylation and pro-inflammatory genes' expression. Furthermore, PRE activated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and reduced lipogenic genes' expression in both adipose tissue and liver. Finally, we identified broussoflavonol B (BF) and kazinol J (KJ) as bioactive constituents to suppress pro-inflammatory responses via activating AMPK in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Taken together, these results indicate the therapeutic potential of PRE, especially BF or KJ, in metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes

Interference-Aware Emergent Random Access Protocol for Downlink LEO Satellite Networks

In this article, we propose a multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (MADRL) framework to train a multiple access protocol for downlink low earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks. By improving the existing learned protocol, emergent random access channel (eRACH), our proposed method, coined centralized and compressed emergent signaling for eRACH (Ce2RACH), can mitigate inter-satellite interference by exchanging additional signaling messages jointly learned through the MADRL training process. Simulations demonstrate that Ce2RACH achieves up to 36.65% higher network throughput compared to eRACH, while the cost of signaling messages increase linearly with the number of users.Comment: 2 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; submitted to IEEE for possible publicatio

How to Overcome the Domain Barriers in Pattern-Based Machine Translation System

PACLIC / The University of the Philippines Visayas Cebu College Cebu City, Philippines / November 20-22, 200

Customizing an English-Korean Machine Translation System for Patent/Technical Documents Translation

PACLIC 23 / City University of Hong Kong / 3-5 December 200

Recognizing Coordinate Structures for Machine Translation of English Patent Documents

PACLIC / The University of the Philippines Visayas Cebu College Cebu City, Philippines / November 20-22, 200

Cultivating Spirulina maxima: Innovative Approaches

This chapter reports an annual production of Spirulina (Arthrospira) maxima in Ansan, South Korea (37.287°N, 126.833°E) with temperate four seasons climate for testing industrial application. Construction on pilot plant of semi-open raceway system (ORS) with each 20 ton culture volume has been established in early 2011 based on building information modeling (BIM). An optimized design of pilot culture system for microalgae scale-up culture in temperate area and details of culture was presented. In scale-up trials using two ORSs, the strain displayed satisfactory annual growth under batch condition. In an annual trial, average biomass concentration was recorded at 0.99 ± 0.16 g/L, which showed stable productivity in a year. Maximum concentration was estimated at 1.418 ± 0.09 g/L in August, while minimum production was estimated at 0.597 ± 0.05 g/L in October. Despite insufficient solar radiation and nutrients, ORS was favorable for S. maxima production. The technical strategies contribute to the annual production of S. maxima in this region: controlling the culture temperature, reducing production cost, and retrospective climatic data-based BIM construction of the greenhouse. Consequently, pilot production of S. maxima was feasible in Korean climates, a region previously thought to be outside its geographic limits

Facial reanimation with masseter nerve–innervated free gracilis muscle transfer in established facial palsy patients

Background The masseter nerve is a useful donor nerve for reconstruction in patients with established facial palsy, with numerous advantages including low morbidity, a strong motor impulse, high reliability, and fast reinnervation. In this study, we assessed the results of masseter nerve–innervated free gracilis muscle transfer in established facial palsy patients. Methods Ten patients with facial palsy who received treatment from January 2015 to January 2017 were enrolled in this study. Three patients received masseter nerve–only free gracilis transfer, and seven received double-innervated free gracilis transfer (masseter nerve and a cross-face nerve graft). Patients were evaluated using the Facial Assessment by Computer Evaluation software (FACEgram) to quantify oral commissure excursion and symmetry at rest and when smiling after muscle transfer. Results The mean time between surgery and initial movement was roughly 167.7 days. A statistically significant increase in excursion at rest and when smiling was seen after muscle transfer. There was a significant increase in the distance of oral commissure excursion at rest and when smiling. A statistically significant increase was observed in symmetry when smiling. Terzis’ functional and aesthetic grading scores showed significant improvements postoperatively. Conclusions Masseter nerve innervation is a good option with many uses in in established facial palsy patients. For some conditions, it is the first-line treatment. Free gracilis muscle transfer using the masseter nerve has excellent results with good symmetry and an effective degree of recovery