Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Capturing complex processes of human performance : Insights from the domain of sports

Het leveren van prestaties is een complex en dynamisch proces, waarbij psychologische-, lichamelijke- en omgevings factoren elkaar continue beinvloeden en veranderen over tijd. Het is daarom moeilijk om specifieke factoren te identificeren die prestatieprocessen in de sport en daarbuiten verklaren. Mijn proefschrift heeft zich gericht op het begrijpen van prestatieprocessen vanuit het complexe samenspel tussen allerlei factoren. Hoe komen sporters bijvoorbeeld in een positief momentum (positieve spiraal) of negatief momentum? Dit gebeurt vaak wanneer sporters het gevoel hebben dat de winst dichterbij komt, of juist verder weg raakt, wat gepaard gaat met verschillende motorische en psychologische veranderingen. Wanneer teams van twee roeiers werden ingehaald door een tegenstander, vonden wij dat hun coordinatie relatief zwak werd en dat de kracht van de roeislagen relatief snel afnam, vergeleken met een periode waarin de roeiers zelf inliepen. Psychologisch gezien kwamen roeiers ook relatief snel in een “dip” als hun positie in de race verslechterde, terwijl een positief momentum zich juist vrij langzaam ontwikkelde. Daarnaast hebben we ook gevonden dat roeiers minder snel in een dip kwamen als zij daarvoor al een aantal successvolle races geroeid hadden. Momentum kan dus ook overgedragen worden naar toekomstige wedstrijden. Als we kijken naar prestatieprocessen van sporters, musici en wetenschappers over de jaren heen, vonden we dat er geen algemeen traject is naar de top. Ieder persoon ontwikkelt zich op een andere manier, wat verklaard kan worden vanuit een model waarin verschillende factoren (steun van ouders, hoeveelheid oefening, iemands motivatie, etc.) veranderen over tijd en elkaar op verschillende manieren beinvloeden voor verschillende individuen.
The Fourth Estate in the USA and UK

This thesis examines the ways in which political journalists in the USA and UK talk about issues of truth and power as it relates to journalism‟s role as the Fourth Estate. The theoretical basis comes from a critique of the two major structures underpinning the Fourth Estate, that of epistemology (the study of truth) and ideology (broadly, the study of power and ideas). This involves unpacking and critically examining the ability of news media to convey „true‟ information and the ideological formations in which the news media production practice is situated. The epistemological theories of Realism, Pragmatism, Antirealism and Hyperrealism will first be elucidated in an in-depth theoretical discussion, focusing on the contributions of Baudrillard. Four major theories of ideology, that of personal ideological bias, chaos, control, and ideology as fetishistic disavowal will be examined, this time focusing on the work of Žižek. This theoretical discussion is complimented by an analysis of interview questions relating to epistemological concerns and to ideology. The empirical data consists of twenty interviews conducted with political correspondents in the USA and UK. A version of critical discourse analysis is used to examine the ways in which journalists talk about the issues raised by the questions, what is termed their „discursive strategies. ‟ The categories for analysis are grounded in the discursive strategies used by the journalists themselves, examined to elaborate not simply the explicit content, but the deeper implicit meanings inherent in the way they answer. This provided both an original theoretical discussion and an original set of empirically-derived data. It also allows us to further understand the role of journalism as the Fourth Estate, the types of „truth‟ it brings to us, the types of ideologies that underpin the news production process via news media professionals, and how the system is maintained despite its inherent contradictions.
Portal vein reconstruction in pediatric liver transplantation from living donors.

OBJECTIVE The authors analyze the surgical pattern and the underlying rationale for the use of different types of portal vein reconstruction in 110 pediatric patients who underwent partial liver transplantation from living parental donors. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA In partial liver transplantation, standard end-to-end portal vein anastomosis is often difficult because of either size mismatch between the graft and the recipient portal vein or impaired vein quality of the recipient. Alternative surgical anastomosis techniques are necessary. METHODS In 110 patients age 3 months to 17 years, four different types of portal vein reconstruction were performed. The portal vein of the liver graft was anastomosed end to end (type I); to the branch patch of the left and right portal vein of the recipient (type II); to the confluence of the recipient superior mesenteric vein and the splenic vein (type III); and to a vein graft interposed between the confluence and the liver graft (type IV). Reconstruction patterns were evaluated by their frequency of use among different age groups of recipients, postoperative portal vein blood flow, and postoperative complication rate. RESULTS The portal vein of the liver graft was anastomosed by reconstruction type I in 32%, II in 24%, III in 14%, and IV 29% of the cases. In children <1 year of age, type I could be performed in only 17% of the cases, whereas 37% received type IV reconstruction. Postoperative Doppler ultrasound (mL/min/100 g liver) showed significantly (p < 0.05) lower portal blood flow after type II (76.6 +/- 8.4) versus type I (110 +/- 14.3), type III (88 +/- 18), and type IV (105 +/- 19.5). Portal vein thrombosis occurred in two cases after type II and in one case after type IV anastomosis. Portal stenosis was encountered in one case after type I reconstruction. Pathologic changes of the recipient native portal vein were found in 27 of 35 investigated cases. CONCLUSION In living related partial liver transplantation, portal vein anastomosis to the confluence with or without the use of vein grafts is the optimal alternative to end-to-end reconstruction, especially in small children.
Service-aware network function placement for efficient traffic handling in carrier cloud

Carrier Cloud is a promising concept towards the decentralization of mobile networks, to, in turn, alleviate mobile traffic load and reduce mobile operator cost. Carrier cloud is enabled by two main approaches, namely virtualization of the mobile network functions and networking over federated cloud. For intelligent carrier cloud dimensioning, the placement of mobile network functions over federated cloud is of vital importance. In this vein, this paper argues the need for adopting service/application type and requirements as metrics for (i) creating virtual instances of the Packet Data Network Gateways (PDN-GW) and (ii) selecting adequate virtual PDN-GWs for User Equipment receiving specific application type. After modeling this procedure as a nonlinear Optimization Problem and proving it as a NP-hard problem, we propose three solutions to solve it. The proposed solutions are evaluated through computer simulations and encouraging results are obtained.
Evaluating Different Methods for Automatically Collecting Large General Corpora for Basque from the Web

In the last few years, much work has been done to build Basque corpora. But we still lack a large general corpus of a size comparable with those existing in other major languages, and much more so if we take into account the corpora lately built automatically from the web, which nowadays account for billions of word-sized corpora for English, German, Spanish, etc. As Basque is an under-resourced language, it is thus logical that we should also turn to this cheap and fast method of collecting corpora. In this paper we present the research we have done to build a large general corpus of Basque from the web. We have tried and evaluated which of the two methods mentioned in the literature, that is, by crawling or by using search engines, best suits Basque, in terms of parameters such as speed, cost, size or quality. Our conclusion is that crawling is the one that has the potential for building the largest corpora for Basque. Using this method we have built a good quality corpus of more than 100 million words, and we expect to build a much larger one in the near future. TITLE AND ABSTRACT IN BASQUE Webetik euskarazko corpus orokor handiak automatikoki biltzeko metodoen ebaluazioa Azken urteotan lan handia egin da euskarazko corpusgintzan. Baina oraindik ez dago tamainari dagokionez beste hizkuntza handiagoetakoekin konpara daitekeen corpus orokor handirik; are gehiago kontuan hartzen baditugu azkenaldian automatikoki webetik bildu diren corpusak: milaka milioi hitzetakoak daude ingelesa, alemana, gaztelania eta abarrerako. Euskara baliabide urriko hizkuntza izanik, logikoa da corpusak biltzeko metodo merke eta azkar honetara jotzea. Artikulu honetan webetik euskarazko corpus orokor handi bat biltzeko egin dugun ikerketa aurkezten dugu. Literatura zientifikoan aipatzen diren bi metodoetatik, hau da, crawling bidez edo bilatzaileak erabiliz, euskararentzat hobekien zeinek funtzionatzen duen aztertu eta ebaluatu dugu, abiadura, kostua, tamaina edo kalitatea moduko parametroei erreparatuz. Gure ondorioa da crawling bidezkoa dela euskarazko corpus handiena eraikitzeko aukera ematen duena. Metodo hori erabiliz 100 milioi hitz baino gehiagoko corpus kalitatezko bat osatu dugu, eta etorkizun hurbilean askoz handiago bat eraikitzea espero dugu.
Putting the Parts Together: Trade, Vertical Linkages, and Business Cycle Comovement

Countries that trade more with each other exhibit higher business cycle correlation. This paper examines the mechanisms underlying this relationship using a large cross-country industry-level panel dataset of manufacturing production and trade. We show that sector pairs that experience more bilateral trade exhibit stronger comovement. Vertical linkages in production are an important explanation behind this effect: bilateral international trade increases comovement significantly more in cross-border industry pairs that use each other as intermediate inputs. Our estimates imply that these vertical production linkages account for some 30% of the total impact of bilateral trade on the business cycle correlation.
A Bayesian Approach to Conceptualization and Place Classification: Using the Number of Occurrences of Objects to Infer Concepts

The future of robots, as our companions is dependent on their ability to understand, interpret and represent the environment in a human compatible manner. Towards this aim, the presented work is part of an attempt to create a hierarchical probabilistic concept-oriented representation of space, based on objects. Specifically, this work details efforts taken towards learning and generating concepts and attempts to classify places using the concepts gleaned. Inference is based on the number of occurrences of various objects. The approach is based on learning from exemplars, clustering and the use of Bayesian network classifiers. Such a conceptualization and the representation that results thereof would be useful for enabling robots to be more cognizant of their surroundings and yet, compatible to us. Experiments on conceptualization and place classification are reported. Thus, the theme of the work is conceptualization and classification for representation and spatial cognition.
CD4 T-Cell-Mediated Heterologous Immunity between Mycobacteria and Poxviruses

ABSTRACT The bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) strain of Mycobacterium bovis is used in many parts of the world as a vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Some epidemiological evidence has suggested that BCG immunization may have unpredicted effects on resistance to other pathogens. We show here in a mouse model that BCG immunization followed by antibiotic treatment to clear the host of the pathogen rendered three strains of mice partially resistant to infection with vaccinia virus (VV) but not to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). VV-challenged BCG-immune mice developed a striking splenomegaly and elevated CD4 and CD8 T-cell responses by 6 days postinfection (p.i.). However, resistance to VV infection could be seen as early as 1 to 2 days p.i. and was lost after antibody depletion of CD4 T-cell populations. BCG- but not LCMV-immune memory phenotype CD4 T cells preferentially produced gamma interferon (IFN-γ) in vivo after VV challenge. In contrast, LCMV-immune CD8 T cells preferentially produced IFN-γ in vivo in response to VV infection. In BCG-immune mice the resistance to VV infection and VV-induced CD4 T-cell IFN-γ production were ablated by cyclosporine A, which inhibits signaling through the T-cell receptor. This study therefore demonstrates CD4 T-cell-mediated heterologous immunity between a bacterium and virus. Further, it poses the question of whether BCG immunization of humans alters resistance to unrelated pathogens.
Carbon nanotube FET-based low-delay and low-power multi-digit adder designs

Several field-effect transistor (FET)-based device technologies are emerging as powerful alternatives to the classical metal oxide semiconductor FET (MOSFET) for computing applications. The focus of this study is on arithmetic circuit design in carbon nanotube FET (CNTFET) technology. In particular, the authors develop low-delay and low-power multi-ternary digit CNTFET-based adder designs. The proposed designs are based on unary operators of multi-valued logic. Efficient designs for primitives such as ternary half-adder (HA) and full-adder are developed and they are used to obtain low-complexity multi-digit adders based on the notions of conditional sum and carry lookahead. Extensive HSPICE simulations reveal that the power-delay product of the proposed CNTFET-based HA and full-adder are roughly 20 and 50%, respectively, of that of recent designs. Further, the proposed CNTFET-based conditional sum adder has a power-delay product of approximately 27% of that of a multi-trit design derived from a recent single-trit adder design (for a load capacitance of 2 fF). Moreover, the proposed CNTFET-based carry lookahead adder has low delay in comparison with the conditional sum strategy for different supply voltages. Studies on robustness of the designs are also reported.
Neurophysiological Correlates of Central Fatigue in Healthy Subjects and Multiple Sclerosis Patients before and after Treatment with Amantadine

In ten healthy subjects and in ten patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS), we investigated the cortical functional changes induced by a standard fatiguing repetitive tapping task. The Cortical Silent Period (CSP), an intracortical, mainly GABAB-mediated inhibitory phenomenon, was recorded by two different hand muscles, one acting as prime mover of the fatiguing index-thumb tapping task (First Dorsal Interosseous, FDI) and the other one not involved in the task but sharing largely overlapping central, spinal, and peripheral innervation (Abductor Digiti Minimi, ADM). At baseline, the CSP was shorter in patients than in controls. As fatigue developed, CSP changes involved both the “fatigued” FDI and the “unfatigued” ADM muscles, suggesting a cortical spread of central fatigue mechanisms. Chronic therapy with amantadine annulled differences in CSP duration between controls and patients, possibly through restoration of more physiological levels of intracortical inhibition in the motor cortex. These inhibitory changes correlated with the improvement of fatigue scales. The CSP may represent a suitable marker of neurophysiological mechanisms accounting for central fatigue generation either in controls or in MS patients, involving corticospinal neural pools supplying not only the fatigued muscle but also adjacent muscles sharing an overlapping cortical representation.
The Efficacy of Vocational Education for Students with Disabilities Concerning Post-School Employment Outcomes: A Review of the Literature

Assessing the efficacy of educational programs designed to help people with disabilities gain employment is important, both for public policy and educational practice. In this article, the author reviews literature on the efficacy of vocational technical education for students with disabilities in the United States (US). Studies that were selected for the review all originated after the implementation of formalised transition service development within the field of special education and the article begins by outlining the legislative mandates in special education and vocational education that have influenced secondary programming and transitional planning for students with disabilities. The review of literature is divided into four main themes: (1) the percentage of students with disabilities participating in secondary vocational education programming; (2) the post-school employment rates for students with disabilities; (3)the status of employment and job-satisfaction for students with disabilities; and (4) value of vocational education in relationship to post-school employment outcomes for students with disabilities. The article includes recommendations for future best practices in program and transitional planning for vocational special needs and a comprehensive listing of the literature reviewed is included as an appendix.
Altered Small-World Brain Networks in Schizophrenia Patients during Working Memory Performance

Impairment of working memory (WM) performance in schizophrenia patients (SZ) is well-established. Compared to healthy controls (HC), SZ patients show aberrant blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activations and disrupted functional connectivity during WM performance. In this study, we examined the small-world network metrics computed from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data collected as 35 HC and 35 SZ performed a Sternberg Item Recognition Paradigm (SIRP) at three WM load levels. Functional connectivity networks were built by calculating the partial correlation on preprocessed time courses of BOLD signal between task-related brain regions of interest (ROIs) defined by group independent component analysis (ICA). The networks were then thresholded within the small-world regime, resulting in undirected binarized small-world networks at different working memory loads. Our results showed: 1) at the medium WM load level, the networks in SZ showed a lower clustering coefficient and less local efficiency compared with HC; 2) in SZ, most network measures altered significantly as the WM load level increased from low to medium and from medium to high, while the network metrics were relatively stable in HC at different WM loads; and 3) the altered structure at medium WM load in SZ was related to their performance during the task, with longer reaction time related to lower clustering coefficient and lower local efficiency. These findings suggest brain connectivity in patients with SZ was more diffuse and less strongly linked locally in functional network at intermediate level of WM when compared to HC. SZ show distinctly inefficient and variable network structures in response to WM load increase, comparing to stable highly clustered network topologies in HC.
Hepatitis C Virus Structural Proteins Assemble into Viruslike Particles in Insect Cells

ABSTRACT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of chronic hepatitis in the world. The study of HCV has been hampered by the low level of viral particles in infected individuals, the inability to propagate efficiently the virus in cultured cells, and the lack of a convenient animal model. Due to these obstacles, neither the structure of the virus nor the prerequisites for its assembly have been clearly defined. In this report, we describe a model for the production and purification of HCV-like particles in insect cells using a recombinant baculovirus containing the cDNA of the HCV structural proteins. In insect cells, expressed HCV structural proteins assembled into enveloped viruslike particles (40 to 60 nm in diameter) in large cytoplasmic cisternae, presumably derived from the endoplasmic reticulum. Biophysical characterization of viruslike particles by CsCl and sucrose gradient centrifugation revealed biophysical properties similar to those of putative virions isolated from infected humans. The results suggested that HCV core and envelope proteins without p7 were sufficient for viral particle formation. Analysis of particle-associated nucleic acids demonstrated that HCV RNAs were selectively incorporated into the particles over non-HCV transcripts. The synthesis of HCV-like particles in insect cells may provide an important tool to determine the structural requirements for HCV particle assembly as well as to study viral genome encapsidation and virus-host interactions. The described system may also represent a potential approach toward vaccine development.
Are sex differences in fundamental motor skills uniform throughout the entire preschool period?

The aim of this study was to assess differences in fundamental motor skills (FMS) proficiency between boys and girls of each age group, independently, across the entire preschool period. Using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children–second edition, FMS proficiency was tested in 325 preschoolers (4.9 ± 1.1 y, range 3–6) using a cross-sectional design. Compared to boys of the same age, 3- and 4-year-old girls had greater total (p < .01), fine motor skill (p < .01), and balance scores (p < .05). There were no sex differences for total test or balance scores in 5- and 6-year-olds, but 6-year-old boys outperformed girls in aiming and catching (p < .001). These data not only agree with previous research in that sex differences in FMS proficiency exist in preschool children, but the data also show that differences may not be uniform throughout the whole preschool period when analyzing by age. To avoid under- or overestimating FMS proficiency and subsequently prescribing inaccurate motor intervention programs, FMS proficiency normative values should be age- and sex-specific throughout the entire preschool period.
Problematic Use of Social Networking Sites: The Role of Self-Esteem

Social networking sites (SNSs) are a flourishing component of the Internet, with enormous potential for growth. The distinctive social-oriented features of social networking platforms provide a pleasant social interaction experience for users. This pleasant experience tends to encourage individuals to continue using these platforms excessively without their knowledge, and thus results in problematic use behaviors and negative outcomes in different aspects of life. In view of the increased attention to the issues of problematic use of social networking sites and their relation to psychological well-being variables, the main objective of this paper is to investigate how self-esteem affects the development of problematic Internet use in the context of social networking sites. The authors integrated selfe-steem as a hypothesized antecedent into the model of generalized problematic Internet use and empirically tested the model with 200 Facebook users. Structural equation modeling analysis confirmed that low self-esteem predisposes individuals to develop a preference for online social interaction (POSI). This preference and the use of social networking sites to regulate mood in turn predict deficient self-regulation and result in negative outcomes. The paper concludes with a discussion of practical and theoretical implications.