LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The impact of Nintendo Wii to physical education students' balance compared to the traditional approaches

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference between an exergame-based and a traditional balance training program, in undergraduate Physical Education students. Thirty two third-year undergraduate students at the Democritus University of Thrace were randomly divided into two training program groups of 16 students each, a traditional and a Nintendo Wii group. The two training program groups performed a specific balance program for 8 weeks, two times per week, and 24 min per session. The Nintendo Wii group used the interactive games Wii Fit Plus of the Nintendo Wii console, as a training method to improve their balance, while the traditional group used an exercise program with mini trampoline and inflatable discs. Before and after the completion of the eight-week balance program, participants completed a single leg static balance assessment for both limbs on the Biodex stability system. Two-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs), with repeated measures on the last factor, were conducted to determine effect of training program groups (traditional, Nintendo Wii) and measures (pre-test, post-test) on balance test indices (SI, API, and MLI). Where initial differences between groups were verified, one-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were applied. Analysis of the data illustrated that both groups demonstrated an improvement in SI, API and MLI mean scores for the right and the left limp as well. Conclusively, findings support the effectiveness of using the Nintendo Wii gaming console as an intervention for undergraduate Physical Education students, and specifically, its effects on physical function related to balance competence. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Evaluating impact of security on OPC UA performance

The widespread use of OPC UA specification in client/server data exchange in industrial environment introduces many benefits as it allows to keep open the market of the industrial applications, due to the presence of a standard, worldwide and vendor-independent specification. On the other hand, the use of a software infrastructures (complex in the case of OPC UA) between industrial applications and devices (e.g. mainframes, PLC, microcontroller), may impact on the overall performance of the communication between industrial applications. The aim of this paper is to deal with the performance evaluation of OPC UA, pointing out all the main features which could influence performance in the client/server exchange of information. On the basis of the considerations about performance of OPC UA specification, outlined in the paper as said before, some results of a performance evaluation carried on by the authors will be presented; it will focus on the impact of OPC UA security mechanisms on the relevant performance.
A Framework for the Cooperation of Learning Algorithms

We introduce a framework for training architectures composed of several modules. This framework, which uses a statistical formulation of learning systems, provides a unique formalism for describing many classical connectionist algorithms as well as complex systems where several algorithms interact. It allows to design hybrid systems which combine the advantages of connectionist algorithms as well as other learning algorithms.
The relationship between school characteristics and the availability of mental health and related health services in middle and high schools in the United States

Problems related to mental illness are increasingly becoming the focal point of public concern over the safety and performance of schools, yet little is known about the availability and quality of school-based mental health services in the United States. In this article it is estimated that approximately 50% of US middle and high schools have any mental health counseling services available onsite and approximately 11% have mental health counseling, physical examinations, and substance abuse counseling available on-site. There are substantial differences in mental health counseling availability by region, urbanicity, and school size, with rural schools, schools in the Midwest and South regions, and small schools being least likely to offer mental health counseling. Multivariate estimates suggest that disparities between schools in the availability of mental health counseling and related health services may be partly explained by differences in access to Medicaid for financing of health services provided at school.
PonyGE2: grammatical evolution in Python

Grammatical Evolution (GE) is a population-based evolutionary algorithm, where a formal grammar is used in the genotype to phenotype mapping process. PonyGE2 is an open source implementation of GE in Python, developed at UCD's Natural Computing Research and Applications group. It is intended as an advertisement and a starting-point for those new to GE, a reference for students and researchers, a rapid-prototyping medium for our own experiments, and a Python workout. As well as providing the characteristic genotype to phenotype mapping of GE, a search algorithm engine is also provided. A number of sample problems and tutorials on how to use and adapt PonyGE2 have been developed.
Economic and public health impact of 2007-2010 tobacco tax increases in Ukraine.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impact of the dynamic 2007-2010 tobacco tax policy in Ukraine on cigarette prices, cigarette consumption, tobacco tax revenue and the tobacco industry's price strategy.


METHODS
Using data on cigarette sales, cigarette prices, income and tobacco control policies, price elasticities of cigarette demand in Ukraine were estimated using two methods. Annual data were used to generate point price elasticity estimates, while monthly data were used in a two-step Engle-Granger procedure.


RESULTS
The point price elasticity estimate is data sensitive and ranges from -0.11 to -0.62, centring around -0.32. The regression model estimates a long-run price elasticity of -0.28. Cigarette consumption fell by 13% in 2009 and 15% in 2010 while the tax revenue increased by US$700 million and by US$500 million in 2009 and 2010, respectively, compared to the previous year. Tax increases have changed the tobacco industry's price strategy from one of shielding consumers from the impact of smaller tax hikes in 2007-2008, to one of increasing industry net-of-tax prices, after recent, larger tax increases.


CONCLUSIONS
The higher real tobacco excise taxes of 2009 and 2010 have significantly reduced tobacco consumption in Ukraine, resulting in encouraging public health and fiscal gains. It will be important for cigarette prices/taxes to keep pace with inflation and income growth for this impact to be sustained.
Washington State recreational marijuana legalization: parent and adolescent perceptions, knowledge, and discussions in a sample of low-income families.

BACKGROUND
In November 2012, Washington State and Colorado became the first states in the United States to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults, and Uruguay became the first country to allow the cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of marijuana. One possible consequence of these changes is increased adolescent marijuana use. Parents may mitigate this adverse consequence; however, whether parents and adolescents have accurate knowledge about the laws and are discussing marijuana use in light of the law changes is unknown.


OBJECTIVE
We examine perceptions, knowledge, and parent-child discussions about Washington State's recreational marijuana law in a sample of low-income families.


METHODS
Participants were a subset of families (n = 115) in an ongoing study that originally recruited parents and adolescents from middle schools in Tacoma, Washington. In summer 2013, when students were entering the 11(th) grade, students and their parents were asked questions about the recreational marijuana law.


RESULTS
Participants perceived that their marijuana-related attitudes and behaviors changed little as a result of the law, and displayed uncertainty about what is legal and illegal. Most parents reported discussing the new law with their children but only occasionally, and conversations emphasized household rules, particularly among parent lifetime marijuana users compared to non-users. Conclusions/Importance: Results suggest that there should be a public health campaign focused on families that provides clear information about the recreational marijuana laws.
Measuring Service Quality in the Banking Industry : A Hong Kong Based Study

The goal of this study is to identify the interrelationships between service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the retail banking sector in Hong Kong. The study also aims to find out the most important attributes of service quality in retail banks, which can be used to evaluate the characteristics of banking service quality as perceived by customers. A sample of 119 retail banking customers was drawn from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in Hong Kong. The questionnaire developed for this study was based on a SERVQUAL model that identified the influence of five dimensions (i.e. tangibility, responsibility, reliability, assurance and empathy) in banking service environments on customer satisfaction. The results indicate that the five SERVQUAL dimensions have a positive influence on customer satisfaction. Tangibility, responsibility, reliability and assurance were more significant in contributing to customer satisfaction, while empathy was the least significant. This study suggests that SERVQUAL is a suitable instrument for measuring service quality in the retail banking sectors in Hong Kong. Hence, banking Contemporary Management Research 264 industry practitioners can consider this instrument as a tool to assess and help improve their service quality.
Using Tags and Latent Factors in a Food Recommender System

Due to the extensive growth of food varieties, making better and healthier food choices becomes more and more complex. Most of the current food suggestion applications offer just generic advices that are not tailored to the user's personal taste. To tackle this issue, we propose in this paper a novel food recommender system that provides high quality and personalized recipe suggestions. These recommendations are generated by leveraging a data set of users' preferences expressed in the form of users' ratings and tags, which signal the food's ingredients or features that the users like. Our empirical evaluation shows that the proposed recommendation technique significantly outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms. We have found that using tags in food recommendation algorithms can significantly increase the prediction accuracy, i.e., the match of the predicted preferences with the true user's preferred recipes. Furthermore, our user study shows that our system prototype is of high usability.
Randomized trial of presenting absolute v. relative risk reduction in the elicitation of patient values for heart disease prevention with conjoint analysis.

BACKGROUND
The authors performed a randomized controlled trial to test the effect of 2 different formats of risk reduction information when using conjoint analysis to elicit values about heart disease prevention.


METHODS
Participants ages 30 to 75 were enrolled and presented the same hypothetical scenario: a person with a 13% ten-year risk of heart disease. Participants then worked through a values elicitation exercise using conjoint analysis, making pairwise comparisons of hypothetical treatments that differed on 5 attributes. For the attribute "ability to reduce heart attacks," participants were randomized to receive either absolute risk reduction (ARR) or relative risk reduction (RRR) information. Participants selected which attribute they felt was most important. Participants' responses to the pairwise comparisons were then used to generate their most important attribute using ordinary least squares regression. Outcomes included differences between groups in the proportion choosing and generating ability to reduce heart attacks as the most important attribute.


RESULTS
In total, 113 participants completed the study: mean age was 51, 29% were male, 52% were white, and 42% were African American. The proportion who selected the ability to reduce heart attacks as the most important treatment attribute did not differ significantly (64% RRR; 53% ARR, Fisher's P=0.26). For the conjoint-generated most important attribute, those receiving the RRR version were significantly more likely to generate ability to reduce heart attacks as the most important attribute (59% RRR; 35% ARR, Fisher's P=0.01).


DISCUSSION
Risk presentation format appears to affect the perceived value of different treatment attributes generated from conjoint analysis.
Transformer Parameters Monitoring System using MATLAB Simulink

Transformer is an important component of an electrical distribution system. Hence it is important to monitor transformers for problems before faults occur. This system is about design and implementation of embedded system to monitor and record key parameters of a distribution transformer like load currents,voltage and temperature. It is installed at the distribution transformer site and the above parameters are recorded using the analog to digital converter (ADC) of the embedded system. The obtained parameters are processed and recorded in the system memory. If any abnormality or an emergency situation occurs the system takes immediate action to avoid it. This system will help the transformers to operate smoothly and identify problems before any failure. proposed system is low cost, easy to use capable of monitoring and displaying data using matlab[1,6]. Keywords— Transformer, Sensors, Microcontroller, MATLAB
Alendronate and indapamide alone or in combination in the management of hypercalciuria associated with osteoporosis: a randomized controlled trial of two drugs and three treatments.

BACKGROUND
The role of bisphosphonates (BPs) in the management of patients with hypercalciuria (HC) associated with osteoporosis is still uncertain. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of alendronate and indapamide alone or in combination on bone mineral density (BMD) and 24-h urinary calcium excretion (24-CaU) in post-menopausal women with HC and low BMD.


METHODS
A total of 77 post-menopausal women with HC (24-CaU > 4 mg/kg/day) and low BMD [T-score < -2.0 at lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN) or total hip (TH)] from two centres of Northern Italy were randomized to receive indapamide 2.5 mg daily alone (24 patients, IND group), alendronate 70 mg weekly alone (27 patients, ALN group) or the combination therapy (26 patients, ALN + IND group). Throughout the study, all subjects received daily calcium supplements, depending on their dietary intake, to maintain a daily input of 1000 mg. Patients were instructed to increase water intake up to 2000 mL daily. The percentage and absolute changes of BMD at LS, FN and TH, and the variation of 24-CaU from baseline at 1 year were the primary outcomes. Serum calcium, phosphate, parathyroid hormone and bone alkaline phosphatase were also measured.


RESULTS
Overall 67 women completed the study and were included in the final analysis. Patients in the three groups were similar with regard to baseline characteristics. BMD did not significantly change from baseline after 1 year of treatment with indapamide (LS: +1 +/- 3.1%; FN: -0.3 +/- 3.5%; TH: -0.4 +/- 3.1%), while it showed a significant increase from baseline in the other two groups (ALN; LS: +5.8 +/- 4.2%, P < 0.001; FN: +3.9 +/- 7.9%, P = 0.018; TH: +2 +/- 3.6%, P = 0.006) (ALN + IND; LS: +8.2 +/- 5.3%, P < 0.001; FN: +4.9 +/- 6.7%, P = 0.007; TH: +2.9 +/- 4.2%, P = 0.004). Patients in the combination group showed a significantly higher increase of BMD at LS compared to ALN (P = 0.04). After 1 year, 24-CaU values significantly decreased from baseline in all groups (IND, 239 +/- 78 versus 364 +/- 44, P < 0.001) (ALN, 279 +/- 68 versus 379 +/- 79, P < 0.001) (ALN + IND, 191 +/- 68 versus 390 +/- 55, P < 0.001). The mean percentage decrease of 24-CaU in ALN + IND group (-50%) was significantly greater compared to ALN (-24%, P < 0.001) and IND (-35%, P = 0.012).


CONCLUSIONS
These results show a benefit, in terms of BMD improvement and 24-CaU reduction, associated with BPs' therapy in combination with indapamide in HC associated with osteoporosis. The combination therapy demonstrated a reduction of 24-CaU and an increase in LS BMD superior to that observed with alendronate alone. Our results support a new potential approach with BPs associated with thiazide diuretics or indapamide in the management of post-menopausal women with HC and associated bone loss. Studies on the larger sample size are needed to demonstrate the efficacy on the fracture outcome.
An Empirical Analysis of the Ethical Reasoning of Tax Practitioners

How tax practitioners approach ethical dilemmas remains generally unexplored in academic literature. We use here Rest’s original Defining Issues Test (Development in judging moral issues. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1979; Moral development. Advances in research and theory. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1986), combined with a tax context-specific test and in conjunction with a control group of non-tax specialists, to examine tax practitioners’ moral reasoning in a social and tax context. We investigate: (i) the effect of a tax context on issues raised (finding that practitioners generally reason at lower levels than in social scenarios); (ii) whether the profession attracts people who reason at certain levels (finding that it does not); and (iii) whether practitioners are affected by training/socialization in their professional context (finding that that they are).
Regional differences in the coverage and uptake of bariatric-metabolic surgery: A focus on type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND
There is high-quality evidence that bariatric-metabolic surgery (BMS) generates positive health outcomes in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D).


OBJECTIVES
To understand the regional variations in the coverage and uptake of BMS, with a focus on T2D.


SETTING
An Australian diabetes research institute.


METHODS
A survey was conducted via a questionnaires sent to national leaders in BMS. The respondents provide their nations' BMS annual numbers, general and any T2D-specific indications for surgery, and source of surgical funding. The total population and adult diabetes prevalence (age 20-70 yr) of the countries were used to model the uptake of BMS for those with T2D.


RESULTS
Data were provided from 22 countries, representing approximately 75% of BMS procedures performed in 2014. BMS uptake varied from 885 per million total population per year in Belgium to 2 per million per year in Japan. The estimated proportion of eligible individuals with diabetes treated annually varied from 1.9% in The Netherlands to<.01% in China and Japan. Few countries treat>1% of estimated eligible patients annually. Of 22 countries, 19 have national guidelines for BMS, and all incorporate BMI in the selection criteria. Several countries have specific criteria for patients with T2D.


CONCLUSION
Results indicated that BMS has a negligible impact on the global burden of T2D. The low uptake indicates that BMS has not become an established treatment for T2D and emphasizes the need to define when it should be recommended as a standard of care. BMS needs to be integrated into the clinical pathways for managing T2D.
Priority Dropping in Network Transmission of Scalable Video

By constructing a model which takes into account the frame dependence of multimedia streams, we analyze the performance of different packet-dropping mechanisms and find that scalable video combined with the priority dropping mechanism can bring higher throughput, lower delay and lower delay jitter. We also find the optimum system parameters for multimedia transmission. This study is important for achieving better performance for video transmission over IP networks.
CyberCIEGE TM : An Information Assurance Teaching Tool for Training and Awareness

Good security is not intrusive and can be almost invisible to typical users, who are often unaware of or take it for granted. However, good security practice by user populations is a critical element of an organization’s information assurance strategy. This is reflected in government information assurance teaching mandates such as DoD Directive 8570.1, which outlines objectives and requirements for information assurance (IA) education, training and awareness. Although mundane education, training and awareness programs may temporarily raise user interest, for many, mandatory education is considered a distracting waste of time. A new approach is needed to convey IA concepts that will engage the user’s imagination. CyberCIEGE is an innovative computer-based tool to teach information assurance concepts. The tool enhances information assurance education and training through the use of computer gaming techniques. In the CyberCIEGE virtual world, students spend virtual money to operate and defend their networks, and can watch the consequences of their choices, while under attack. This paper describes CyberCIEGE and will present ways in which this tool can be used to achieve Federal and DoD information assurance teaching objectives. * Development of CyberCIEGE was sponsored by the US Navy, the Naval Education and Training Command, the Office of Naval Research, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors. + CyberCIEGE is a Trademark of Rivermind, Inc.
Peptides and Peptidomimetics for Antimicrobial Drug Design

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and highlight a few classes of traditional antimicrobial peptides with a focus on structure-activity relationship studies. After first dissecting the important physiochemical properties that influence the antimicrobial and toxic properties of antimicrobial peptides, the contributions of individual amino acids with respect to the peptides antibacterial properties are presented. A brief discussion of the mechanisms of action of different antimicrobials as well as the development of bacterial resistance towards antimicrobial peptides follows. Finally, current efforts on novel design strategies and peptidomimetics are introduced to illustrate the importance of antimicrobial peptide research in the development of future antibiotics.
An efficient local Chan-Vese model for image segmentation

Article history: Received 28 September 2008 Received in revised form 14 May 2009 Accepted 2 August 2009