Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Variations in Movement Patterns during Active Video Game Play in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Aim: Low-cost active video games (AVG) are of growing interest for use in home-based physical therapy regimes. This study investigates typical upper-limb movement patterns and variations during AVG play in children with cerebral palsy. Methods: Sixteen children (9.5 ± 1.6 years ) with hemiplegic or diplegic cerebral palsy (GMFCS Level I) participated in the study. A 7-camera Vicon MX 3D Optical Capture System was used to measure and record their upper limb movements as they played three different AVGs on the Nintendo Wii system. Results: Play style during Wii sports games tended to be either realistic or non-realistic. All players used realistic movements when playing Wii Bowling, while 69% (n=11) and 63% (n=10) played realistically during Wii Tennis and Wii Boxing, respectively. Realistic movements tended to elicit greater use of: (a) the more proximal joints, and (b) the non-dominant/hemiplegic limb (in bilateral games). Play style may be influenced by personal or predisposing factors (e.g. MACS level, gender, experience with AVGs). Conclusion: Movement patterns and styles vary widely between children during AVG play with the Nintendo Wii. The design of AVG-based therapies should consider these variations and their implications in order to maximize therapeutic benefit. Future studies should focus on measuring the efficacy of AVG-based therapies for home use.
Seasonal variation of tropospheric bromine monoxide over the Rann of Kutch salt marsh seen from space

Abstract. The Rann of Kutch (India and Pakistan) is one of the largest salt deserts in the world. Being a so-called "seasonal salt marsh", it is regularly flooded during the Indian summer monsoon. We present 10 years of bromine monoxide (BrO) satellite observations by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) over the Great and Little Rann of Kutch. OMI spectra were analysed using Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) and revealed recurring high BrO vertical column densities (VCDs) of up to 1.4 × 1014 molec cm−2 during April/May, but no significantly enhanced column densities during the monsoon season (June–September). In the following winter months, the BrO VCDs are again slightly enhanced while the salty surface dries up. We investigate a possible correlation of enhanced reactive bromine concentrations with different meteorological parameters and find a strong relationship between incident UV radiation and the total BrO abundance. In contrast, the second Global Ozone Monitoring Instrument (GOME-2) shows about 4 times lower BrO VCDs over the Rann of Kutch than found by OMI and no clear seasonal cycle is observed. One reason for this finding might be the earlier local overpass time of GOME-2 compared to OMI (around 09:30 vs. 13:30 LT), as the ambient conditions significantly differ for both satellite instruments at the time of the measurements. Further possible reasons are discussed and mainly attributed to instrumental issues. OMI additionally confirms the presence of enhanced BrO concentrations over the Dead Sea valley (Israel/Jordan), as suggested by former ground-based observations. The measurements indicate that the Rann of Kutch salt marsh is probably one of the strongest natural point sources of reactive bromine compounds outside the polar regions and is therefore supposed to have a significant impact on local and regional ozone chemistry.
Time consumption and productivity of a forwarder operating on a slope in a cut-to-length harvest system in a Pinus radiata D. Don pine plantation

Time consumption and productivity of a Valmet 890.3 8 wheel forwarder were evaluated on an Australian radiata pine clearfell site with a slope of 21 to 45% (12 to 24°). Cycle time was significantly related to extraction distance. Productivity was significantly related to extraction distance and load volume. Slope did not have a significant effect on cycle time or productivity. Productivity was considerably greater than that for many published studies, which was likely to have been the result of many factors at the study site affecting load sizes and cycle times, including the large load capacity of the studied forwarder, larger mean log volumes, larger log volumes per loading stop, fewer log assortments, potentially larger forwarder grapple volume capacity, log lengths suited to efficient loading and higher travel speeds. ; ;
REVERSE LOGISTICS PRACTICES IN THE SPANISH SMEs CONTEXT

Consumers and retailers return product to manufacturers due to a variety of reasons: the product does not meet customer expectation, the product is defective or there is excess inventory, among others. Therefore manufacturers need to handle the returned product in an effective way to improve customer's relationship and decrease its associated costs.This paper describes the return processes of two Spanish companies, pertaining to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) group, focusing on the forward and reverse flows in the supply chain and highlighting the relevance of managing reverse supply chain issues efficiently. The methods used are interviews with the main managers at both companies. We have found that the main motivation of these companies to accept returns is to create a good company's image. Additionally, the same design of return processes and logistics networks has been identified in both companies, independently of the company's industry sector and the management qualification.
Remittances and Reputations in Hawala Money- Transfer Systems: Self-Enforcing Exchange on an International Scale

Migrant worker remittances often take place outside the scope of government enforcement. Through an examination of the informal remittance transfer system of hawala, this paper argues that self-enforcing exchange mechanisms can support high volume trade in the absence of formal contract enforcement. Hawala networks employ ex post reputation mechanisms between agents and ex ante signaling to uphold obligations under conditions of contract uncertainty. JEL Codes: D85, F33, G29, N25, P48, Z13
Democracy and Growth: Evidence of a New Measurement

We present a novel approach for measuring democracy based on Support Vector Machines, a mathematical algorithm for pattern recognition. The Support Vector Machines Democracy Index (SVMDI) is continuously on the 0-1-interval and enables a very detailed measurement of democracy for 188 countries between 1981 and 2011. Application of the SVMDI highlights a robust positive relationship between democracy and economic growth. We argue that the ambiguity in recent studies mainly originates from the lack of sensitivity of traditional democracy indicators. Analyzing transmission channels we conclude that democratic countries have better educated populations, higher investment shares, and lower fertility rates, but not necessarily higher levels of redistribution.
THE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION SYSTEM QUALITY ON THE ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE : A MODIFICATION OF TECHNOLOGY-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEM ACCEPTANCE AND SUCCESS MODEL

This study aims to examine the effect of information system quality on technology-based accounting information systems usage and their impact on organizational performance on local government. This study is based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), IS Success Model, and the success of technology-based information systems. This study is a combination of previous studies conducted by Seddon and Kiew (1997), Saeed and Helm (2008), and DeLone and McLean (1992). This study used survey method and took 101 respondents from accounting staff working in Malang and Mojokerto regencies. This study uses Partial Least Square to examine research data. Research result exhibits information system qualities affecting benefit perception and user satisfaction. Technology-based accounting information systems usage in local government is influenced by benefits perception and user satisfaction. Research result concluded that technology-based accounting information systems usage will affect the performance of local government organizations.
Impacts of Pesticides on Arthropod Biological Control Agents

Information about the side-effects of pesticides on biological control agents is an essential requirement of integrated pest management (IPM). Different methods to test the effects of pesticides on natural enemies have been used and new methods are being developed. In the past, evaluations were mostly based on individual level (lethal or sublethal) endpoints. Differences in the used methods and the measured endpoints make it difficult to compare the results. There is increasing emphasis on using standard methods to combine the lethal and sublethal effects to a total effect. Especially, population-level effects or demographic toxicology has been concluded as a better measure because of its ecological relevance and is the current centre of attention. Very recently, molecular and biochemical methods, primarily, have been developed for detecting potential damage to populations at early stages. But these types of responses (i.e. biomarkers) to toxic stress are only demographically relevant if the response can be linked to effects at higher organism levels. We describe the methods used to study the effects of pesticides on beneficial arthropods and the current status of the evaluation of side-effects. We also provide new suggestions. In addition to methodological discussion, in the last part we presented a table containing summary database on the effect of key classes of commonly used pesticides on various natural enemies. This data may be helpful for researchers or IPM users.
Using syntactic rules to combine opinion elements in Chinese opinion mining systems

Most Chinese opinion mining systems use the specific pattern and nearby approach to combine relevant opinion elements (feature words and opinion words) to express the opinion tendencies of authors. In this paper, we propose a rule-based ad hoc method to study the combination problem of Chinese opinion elements. We extracted the opinion elements of articles based on lexicons and then combined them with the different sentence patterns and grammars to analyze the authors’ opinions. Because the articles on the online communities such as blogs, wikis, online forums, etc. do not have a defined format, there are often opinion comments that do not refer to the topic, resulting in information loss and significantly reduced recall. Therefore, the “default topic” method is proposed to correct this type of problem. Additionally, there might be errors when using the nearby approach to combine opinion elements. Thus, we propose the concept of “clause priority” to increase precision. After 20 months of long-term tracking and analysis, the experimental result indicates that the method proposed in this paper had good precision, recall, and F1 of opinion tendency analysis for review articles.
A generic model for guiding the integration of ICT into teaching and learning

Effective integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into teaching and learning is becoming an essential competency for teachers. However, teachers do not usually follow linear instructional design models when they are planning for ICT integration. This paper proposes a generic model, which consists of three fundamental elements: pedagogy, social interaction and technology. Sound design of these components should help teachers to integrate ICT into their curricula in effective ways. Constructivist learning theories, the design of interactivity and the notion of usefulness provide the theoretical foundations for the construction of this model. Some examples of applying this model to the design of Web‐based learning environments, facilitation of online discussions and comparison of ICT tools are presented.
LONG-TERM ANALYSIS OF AIR TEMPERATURE TRENDS IN CENTRAL ASIA

Different phenomena, as the enhanced shrinking of glaciers in the Tien Shan and Pamiro Alay, the increase of runoff amounts of mountain rivers which are glacier-fed during the summer, as well as the fluctuation in the water levels of Central Asian lakes indicate that a climate warming has occurred in Central Asia in the recent past. In the following, this is to be examined using long near-surface air temperature. It is noticeable that an obviously intensified melting process of the glaciers in the Tien Shan, Pamiro Alay and Dzhungarskiy Alatau has set in at the beginning of the 1970s, accompanied by an increased water runoff. Calculations of long-term mass balances exist for the Centralniy Tuyuksu Glacier in the Zailiyskiy Alatau (northern Tien Shan), the Kara Batkak Glacier in the Terskey Alatoo (central Tien Shan; Issyk Kul Basin) and Glacier No. 1 in the Borokhoro Shan (eastern Tien Shan) (cf. TURSUNOV 2002; HAGG 2003; DIKICH 2004). They suggest that a long-term glacier reduction, which has gained in intensity over the last 30 years, commenced in Central Asia with the beginning of the 20th century. This way it can be explained that the runoff amounts of rivers which are glacier-fed, as the Dzhuuksu or Chong Kyzylsu (fed by the Kara Batkak Glacier), have successively increased in summer months since the mid-1970s. It is irrefutable that a general climate warming has occurred in Central Asia in the recent past. It is uncertain, though, whether this is due to a cyclic or a trendlike development of annual temperatures. As unclear is, at which point in time the climate warming has begun. Trend analyses, which were carried out, begin at different times and accordingly lead to different results. AIZEN et al. (1997) performed trend calculations of annual averages and annual amounts of precipitation for 110 hydroclimatic measuring stations in the Tien Shan (including foothill areas) for the time between 1940 and 1991. They did not carry out the calculations based on the time series of individual climate stations, but on the basis of spatially aggregated time series, in order to reduce the strong high frequent fluctuations (‘noise’) within the time series. To this end the method 186 Erdkunde Band 61/2007
Un Serious Game pour le développement des compétences professionnelles des opérateurs en zone aseptique : définition d'un modèle holistique de conception et études d'usage

Les Serious Games (SGs) sont des dispositifs de formation de plus en plus utilises dans les differents secteurs de l’education initiale et continue. Dans le cadre de cette these, notre objectif est de concevoir, d’abord, et developper, ensuite, un SG pour la formation et l’evaluation des personnels travaillant en environnement aseptique. Nous presenterons dans ce travail de recherche les approches theoriques qui sont a l’origine de la demarche de conception. Nous en viendrons a la definition d’un modele unitaire et holistique (PEGADE) qui decrit le processus collaboratif et optimal de conception des SGs et qui s’articule autour d’une nouvelle figure professionnelle, le Pedagogical Game Designer (PGD). Une etude de l’efficacite sera realisee pour comprendre dans quelle mesure un developpement des competences via le SG est possible et quelle est sa plus-value par rapport aux methodes traditionnelles de formation pour les memes matieres. Nous proposerons egalement une evolution de la theorie du conflit instrumental sur laquelle cette these s’appuie qui sera a l’origine d’une nouvelle methode d’analyse de l’utilisabilite des dispositifs d’apprentissage utilisant les technologies informatiques.
Effect of pH and temperature on vinasse decolorization by lactic acid bacteria in batch processes

The waste‐free policy is part of the process of sugar production from beets in which the resulting molasses are used for ethanol production. However, during this process another byproduct, namely vinasse, is created. Therefore, there is a problem with the utilization of wastewater, which cannot be disposed to the environment without being treated. Melanoidins, caramels, and hexoses alkaline degradation products contained in the vinasse give it a dark brown color. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the pH and the temperature on the decolorization of vinasse by lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum, L. casei, and Pediococcus parvulus). Experiments were performed in batch mode in a BioStatB bioreactor for 72 hrs. The medium consisted of 25% v/v sugar beet molasses vinasse, 77.34 gdm−3 of glucose, and 2.24 gdm−3 of yeast extract. The maximum decolorization was 25.14% and was achieved at noncontrolled pH 6.5 and at 30°C.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools in Low-Income Countries: A Review of Evidence of Impact

Many schools in low-income countries have inadequate access to water facilities, sanitation and hygiene promotion. A systematic review of literature was carried out that aimed to identify and analyse the impact of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions (WASH) in schools in low-income countries. Published peer reviewed literature was systematically screened during March to June 2018 using the databases PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. There were no publication date restrictions. Thirty-eight peer reviewed papers were identified that met the inclusion criteria. The papers were analysed in groups, based on four categories of reported outcomes: (i) reduction of diarrhoeal disease and other hygiene-related diseases in school students; (ii) improved WASH knowledge, attitudes and hygiene behaviours among students; (iii) reduced disease burden and improved hygiene behaviours in students’ households and communities; (iv) improved student enrolment and attendance. The typically unmeasured and unreported ‘output’ and/or ‘exposure’ of program fidelity and adherence was also examined. Several studies provide evidence of positive disease-related outcomes among students, yet other assessments did not find statistically significant differences in health or indicated that outcomes are dependent on the nature and context of interventions. Thirteen studies provide evidence of changes in WASH knowledge, attitudes and behaviours, such as hand-washing with soap. Further research is required to understand whether and how school-based WASH interventions might improve hygiene habits and health among wider family and community members. Evidence of the impact of school-based WASH programs in reducing student absence from school was mixed. Ensuring access to safe and sufficient water and sanitation and hygiene promotion in schools has great potential to improve health and education and to contribute to inclusion and equity, yet delivering school-based WASH intervention does not guarantee good outcomes. While further rigorous research will be of value, political will and effective interventions with high program fidelity are also key.
Nonparaneoplastic autoimmune cerebellar ataxias

Purpose of review The current review develops the clinical presentations of nonparaneoplastic autoimmune cerebellar ataxia (ACA) and analyzes the association with autoantibodies. Recent findings Emerging evidence suggests that autoimmunity is involved in a significant proportion of sporadic ataxia cases. Moreover, numerous autoantibodies have recently been described in association with sporadic cerebellar ataxia, improving diagnosis and patient categorization. Summary Nonparaneoplastic ACA encompasses postinfectious acute cerebellar ataxia, opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome, and pure cerebellar ataxia with or without autoantibodies. There is still confusion about how to diagnose and classify the patients, and retrospective data suggest that these very rare entities are in fact largely underrecognized. Numerous autoantibodies have been found associated with sporadic ataxia, improving diagnosis accuracy, and patient categorization. However, although anti-glutamate decarboxylase isotype 65 (GAD65), anti-contactin-associated protein 2 (CASPR2), and anti metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR1) antibodies are well recognized biomarkers, many other autoantibodies have been described in very small numbers of patients and their specificity is unknown. Efficient biomarkers for ACA are still lacking and in many cases the diagnosis has to rely on a body of converging evidence.
Cluster Set Loading in the Back Squat: Kinetic and Kinematic Implications.

Wetmore, A, Wagle, JP, Sams, ML, Taber, CB, DeWeese, BH, Sato, K, and Stone, MH. Cluster set loading in the back squat: Kinetic and kinematic implications. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2018-As athletes become well trained, they require greater stimuli and variation to force adaptation. One means of adding additional variation is the use of cluster loading. Cluster loading involves introducing interrepetition rest during a set, which in theory may allow athletes to train at higher absolute intensities for the same volume. The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinetic and kinematic implications of cluster loading as a resistance training programming tactic compared with traditional loading (TL). Eleven resistance-trained men (age = 26.75 ± 3.98 years, height = 181.36 ± 5.96 cm, body mass = 89.83 ± 10.66 kg, and relative squat strength = 1.84 ± 0.34) were recruited for this study. Each subject completed 2 testing sessions consisting of 3 sets of 5 back squats at 80% of their 1 repetition maximum with 3 minutes of interset rest. Cluster loading included 30 seconds of interrepetition rest with 3 minutes of interset rest. All testing was performed on dual-force plates sampling at 1,000 Hz, and the barbell was connected to 4 linear position transducers sampling at 1,000 Hz. Both conditions had similar values for peak force, concentric average force, and eccentric average force (p = 0.25, effect size (ES) = 0.09, p = 0.25, ES = 0.09, and p = 0.60, ES = 0.04, respectively). Cluster loading had significantly higher peak power (PP) (p < 0.001, ES = 0.77), peak and average velocities (p < 0.001, ES = 0.77, and p < 0.001, ES = 0.81, respectively), lower times to PP and velocity (p < 0.001, ES = -0.68, and p < 0.001, ES = -0.68, respectively) as well as greater maintenance of time to PP (p < 0.001, ES = 1.57). These results suggest that cluster loading may be superior to TL when maintaining power output and time point variables is the desired outcome of training.
Hydrophobic Organic Pollutants in Soils and Dusts at Electronic Waste Recycling Sites: Occurrence and Possible Impacts of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers

Concerns about the adverse consequences of informal electronic waste (e-waste) recycling is increasing, because e-waste contains some hazardous substances such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) which is used as flame retardants in electronics. There is dearth of information on the concentrations of PBDEs and the pattern of distribution at the various e-waste recycling sites in Nigeria. This study therefore measured the concentrations of 13 PBDE congeners, in top soils (0–10 cm) and in various dust samples from different e-waste recycling sites (burning, dismantling, repair). PBDE concentrations at e-waste sites were compared with the concentrations in samples from corresponding control sites in three study locations in Nigeria (Lagos, Ibadan, and Aba). There were significant differences in the level of PBDEs congeners between each of the e-waste recycling sites and the corresponding control sites. The levels of PBDEs at the e-waste recycling sites exceeded the levels at the controls sites by a factor of 100 s to 1000 s. In general, PBDE concentrations at the e-waste sites decreased with the intensity of the e-waste recycling activities: burning sites > dismantling sites > repair sites > control sites. Our results suggest that the informal e-waste recycling has negative impacts on the enviroment and human health.