Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and application of expertise in elite-level coaches

Research providing insight into how coaches behave has mainly been sourced from an athlete perspective or from observing and recording coach behaviour in context. Only a few studies have recognized the views of the expert coach as a potentially valuable source of information. Yet only coaches can provide insight into their histories, learning, goals, beliefs, knowledge, and decision making, and decode the complex interactions that occur in the dynamic context of coaching. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how elite-level coaches developed and used expertise. Twenty successful coaches working with Australian junior, elite sport participants were purposefully sampled to cover a diversity of sports (team and individual) and to provide a gender balance.
Snowdrift Around Antarctic Buildings - Effects Of Corner Geometry And Wind Incidence

Modelling of Antarctic snowdrifting was conducted in a turbulent boundary layer wind tunnel. A series of 7 models was designed, based on the extended dimensions of a shipping container. Tests were carried out to investigate the effects of varying the model corner geometry and the angle of wind incidence on snowdrift formation. The results were used to formulate design guidelines for buildings in Antarctica.
Alluring Monsters: The Pontianak and Cinemas of Decolonization by Rosalind Galt (review)

Firpo investigates illicit sex work in Western ballrooms. The female ballroom dancers attracted male clients by selling the alluring image of the ‘modern girl’. Adhering to the latest Western-style fashions and lifestyles, the ‘modern girl’ symbolized the idea of independence and sexual liberation. The majority, however, were migrants who worked as dancers to escape rural poverty. Black Market Business is an absorbing historical study of clandestine female sex work, a poorly understood topic of late colonial Vietnam. While the inherently hidden nature of such work renders the topic challenging to investigate, this rigorously researched study testifies to Firpo’s high scholarly calibre. Accessibly and lucidly written, the book will be of interest to general readers, students and scholars alike from many disciplines, including anthropology, criminology, law, literature and cultural studies, as well as gender and sexuality studies.
The New Economy Business Model and Sustainable Prosperity

The Internet boom of the last half of the 1990s seemed to herald the arrival of a "New Economy" with its promise that, after the stagnation of the early 1990s, innovation in information and communication technologies (ICT) would regenerate economic prosperity. The subsequent collapse of the Internet boom at the beginning of the 2000s called into question the New Economy's ability to deliver on this promise - and even raised questions about whether there had really been anything "new" about the economy of the late 1990s after all. Perhaps the journalist John Cassidy (2002) was correct to entitle his well-documented book on the Internet boom "dot.com: the greatest story ever sold". If the "New Economy" was just all smoke and mirrors, one would expect that, once the debris left behind by the storm of speculation and corruption had been cleared away, economic life would return to what it had been before the boom took place.
The implementation of best value: an empirical investigation

This thesis is concerned with the transition from compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) to best value (BV) in local government. Based upon primary research conducted in three local authorities, between 2000 and 2003, it examines the differences between the two policies at both a national and local level and considers how far BV represents an advance over CCT. More specifically, the study addresses four key objectives. These are to review the rationale, policy, outcome and impact of CCT; to trace the rationale and development of BV and to examine critically the attributes of it that can be seen to represent an improvement on CCT; to compare empirically the implementation of BV policy within three specifically chosen contexts; and to examine how far the claimed attributes of BV appear, in practice, to resolve the difficulties the Labour Government identified with CCT. In completing the empirical objectives of the thesis, case study research was conducted in three local authorities using a threefold combination of in-depth semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis and observations. In each case, the research began by tracing the experience of CCT in the services of interest before moving on to an examination of the implementation of the BV review process and the response of the BV inspectorate to it. The findings obtained from the three case studies were then compared to identify the impact of four key attributes of BV that had earlier been identified as representing potential sources of advance over the system CCT - 'public involvement,' 'flexible tendering', 'public-private partnerships' and 'inspection'. Overall, the case study findings suggest that whilst the four investigated attributes of BV have gone some way to improve upon the situation under CCT, in doing so, they have also created a new set of complications and controversies that, arguably, stem from the fact that BV remains overly committed to counteracting the potential perceived threat posed by the state provision of public services. Consequently, whilst the official raison d'etre of BV is to continuously improve the performance of local services, underlying and at times conflicting with this objective is an attempt to ensure a mixed economy of local service provision which necessitates a degree of central control that interferes negatively with much of the potential that the policy has to offer. As a result, while the policies of CCT and BV clearly differ in terms of their means and impact, it cannot straightforwardly be concluded whether the introduction of the latter has resulted in a significant advance on the former.
Measuring the quality of a work schedule - Guidelines to develop a tool to evaluate workschedules

The present research is commissioned by Integral. Integral is a Dutch software company that develops employee scheduling software. The goal of this research is to formulate guidelines that can be used to develop a tool that will be able to evaluate work schedules. The guidelines are presented as a list of criteria. The content of the criteria is determined through a literature study and interviews. The interviews are held with scientific experts (n=5) and practitioners (n=5). They are asked about what they thought were important aspects when evaluating a work schedule. Further questions were about the relative importance of these aspects. Regarding to the relative important of the different aspects, there was no general view. Therefore it is concluded that the importance can vary between organizations. The first design of the guidelines is tested through a pilot study. In this pilot study, work schedules of three organizations were evaluated with the help of organizations that use the scheduling software of Integral: Checks. After the pilot study, a few minor changes were made to the design. The result of the present research is a set of guidelines to develop a tool to evaluate work schedules. The criteria listed are divided between six different categories: work-life balance, flexibility, health, legal regulations, predictability and finance. The evaluation of work schedules can be performed while looking from three different perspectives: the employee perspective, the organizational perspective and the customer perspective. To be able to use this tool, organizations have to follow three steps. Step 1: select criteria, step 2: give standards to criteria, step 3: weight criteria and categories. Recommended is that the guidelines presented in the present research first have to be validated. Also, the scheduling program of Integral, Checks, has to be adapted if Integral intends to develop and integrate a tool using the guidelines presented here. There is some output that cannot be extracted from the schedules with the use of Checks, but which is needed to be able to get a valid evaluation.
Effect on Material Removal Rate and Surface Finish in ECM Process When Machining Stainless Steel-316 with Cu Electrode

Electrochemical Machining process is one of the popular non-traditional machining processes which is used to machine materials such as super alloys, Ti-alloys, stainless steel etc. Its working principle is based upon Faraday law of electrolysis. The aim of the present work is to optimize the ECM process parameters with the combination of SS 316 (job material) and Copper electrode (tool material). To explore the effect of ECM process parameters such as electrolyte concentration, voltage and current, feed rate on MRR and surface finish (Ra) of the job, total 27 experiments were conducted as per experimental scheme. The results of these experiments revealed that increase in electrolyte concentration decrease the mrr and surface roughness initially increases then decreases. Further, increase in current increases mrr initially and then decreases, surface roughness also increases. It is also noticed that increase in Feed rate mrr decreases and then increases, also surface roughness decreases then increases. Through RSM analysis it is found that the optimum conditions for maximum MRR, and minimum Surface roughness (Ra) is electrolyte concentration 150gm/lit, Voltage 13.5 V & feed 0.8 mm/min. The findings are discussed in the light of previous researches and subsequently conclusions are drawn.
Parathyroidectomy is a reliable treatment option for chronic kidney disease patients with secondary hyperthyroidism (SHPT)

Background: Secondary hyperthyroidism (SHPT) is a common complication in chronic kidney disease patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. It develops as a result of distortions in the regulation of calcium, phosphorus and parathyroid hormone (PTH). SHPT increases with decreasing kidney function. Factors that affect the levels of calcium, phosphorus, and PTH include diet, residual renal function, peritoneal transport properties, and dialysate calcium concentration. Treatment options for SHPT include pharmaceutical and surgical removal of parathyroid glands. Although there are treatment options for kidney disease patients with SHPT, little improvement has been made in the overall outcome of the patients. Method: Here, we present that parathyroidectomy is a treatment option for patients with SHPT. A test group (peritoneal dialysis patients with SHPT who had surgery plus forearm transplantation) were compared with control group (normal peritoneal dialysis patients without surgery). In both groups, clinical, biochemical and haematological profile assessments were done. Results: The test group after surgery show improved clinical, biochemical and haematological profile comparing with the control (non-surgery) group. Conclusion: parathyroidectomy (PTX) is a reliable treatment option for patients with SHPT, which brings about improvement in the biochemical, haematological, physiological and clinical parameters as compared with peritoneal dialysis patients with secondary hyperthyroidism without parathyroidectomy plus forearm transplantation.
The Bent Hip and Bent Knee Gait and its Possible Role in the Evolution of Modern Human Bipedalism

iv List of Tables vi List of Figures vii Acknowledgements viii 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Experimental Proposal 1 1.2 Expectations 9 2. Materials and Methods 11 3. Results 15 3.1 Kinetic and Kinematic Data 15 3.2 Energy Exchange 21 4. Discussion 23 4.1 Kinetic and Kinematic Data 23 4.2 Energy Exchange 33 4.3 A Broader Perspective of the Evolution of Bipedalism 33 4.4 Conclusions 36 References 39
Schoolwide Planning to Improve Paraeducator Supports: A Pilot Study

This pilot study chronicled the use of a process called, A Guide to Schoolwide Planning for Paraeducator Supports, by teams in four schools, grades K-12. Data reflect the utilization and outcomes of the process along with the perspectives of 27 study participants. Findings indicated that the process assisted all four schools to self-assess their paraeducator practices, identify priorities in need of improvement, develop action-plans, and implement them. Study participants reported that the process did what it purported to do and rated it highly on a series of consumer-oriented variables (e.g., ease of use). Implications for schools and future use are discussed for improving paraeducator supports.
Modelling phase transformations in steel

Abstract: This chapter discusses aspects of the physical and numerical modelling of phase transformations in steels. The basic features of these phase transformations are described. Dilatometric tests, which are performed to identify the parameters of phase transformation models, are explained. Four models of phase transformations of various complexity and various predictive capability are described. The chapter includes a case study of the simulation and optimization of two industrial processes for dual-phase steel strips: laminar cooling after hot rolling, and cooling after continuous annealing.
Validation of the diagnostic efficiency of folate receptor-positive circulating tumor cells in lung cancers: a prospective observational study

Background This study sought to validate the clinical value of folate receptor-positive circulating tumor cell (FR+CTC) for the diagnosis of lung cancers. Methods Seventy-five lung cancer patients and 71 non-malignant participants (including 48 benign lung disease patients and 23 healthy subjects) were enrolled in this study. Three milliliters of the whole blood sample was collected from all the participants (before surgery for cancer patients). FR+CTC analysis was performed using “CytoploRare Detection Kit”. The expression level of serum biomarkers, including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin fragment 19 (CYFRA21-1), and neuron-specific enolase (NSE), were also tested in cancer and benign lung disease patients. Results The median FR+CTC level in lung cancers (10.5 CTC units/3 mL blood) was significantly higher than that of the non-malignant group (5.9 CTC units/3 mL blood, P<0.0001). No significant difference in FR+CTC level was observed between patients with different age, gender, and pathological subtype (P>0.05), except for clinical stage (stages I–III versus stage IV: P=0.0169). With 7.9 CTC units/3 mL blood as the cut-off threshold, FR+CTC showed superior sensitivity (78.7%) and specificity (81.7%) in the diagnosis of lung cancers. The detection rate of FR+CTC was significantly higher compared to CEA (24.0%), CYFRA21-1 (48.0%), and NSE (16.0%). The diagnostic efficiency of FR+CTC was similar in stage I lung cancers (n=25, sensitivity =68.0% and specificity =90.1%). Conclusions Our results support that FR+CTC is an independent and efficacious biomarker in the diagnosis of lung cancers. FR+CTC detection can be used to assist in early-stage thoracic cancer diagnosis.
Identification of fibroinflammatory and fibrotic transcriptomic subsets of human sclerotic cutaneous chronic graft-versus-host disease

Cutaneous sclerotic chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a common and highly morbid complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We identified genes that are significantly upregulated in the skin of sclerotic cGVHD patients (n = 17) compared to HSCT patients without sclerotic cGVHD (n = 9) by bulk RNA sequencing. This revealed two transcriptomic groups of affected patients: those with fibrotic and inflammatory/Th1 gene expression, the fibroinflammatory group, and those with predominantly fibrotic/TGFb-associated expression, the fibrotic group. This transcriptomic heterogeneity was also associated with histopathologic heterogeneity, with the fibroinflammatory sub-cluster showing more histopathologic features of epidermal cGVHD and inflammation. Further study will help elucidate if these gene expression and histopathologic findings can be used to tailor treatment decisions. Multiple proteins encoded by highly-induced genes in the skin (SFRP4, SERPINE2, COMP) were also highly induced in the plasma of sclerotic cGVHD patients (n = 16) compared to control HSCT patients without sclerotic cGVHD (n = 17), suggesting these TGFb and Wnt pathway mediators as candidate blood biomarkers of disease.
Missing the Bus: An assessment of service improvements to metro-bus transfers in Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok’s mass transportation systems lack coordination to complement overall quality of service. The relatively new MRT rail rapid transit or “metro” has been built at considerable expense yet operates without any integration for transfers (fare or physical) with the existing and extensive public bus services. Minimizing the burdens of transferring from one vehicle to another is a strategy that many transit agencies in North America and Europe have implemented to retain or attract ridership, but has not been attempted in Bangkok. This thesis identifies specific actions which could improve out-of-vehicle connections between metros and buses in Bangkok, Thailand. The assessment is based on 310 surveys that asked metro passengers to rate importance and satisfaction with specific attributes related to metro-bus transfers. The survey data was used to calibrate Importance/Satisfaction analysis and ordinal regression models to produce a concise list of improvements to service attributes at metro-bus transfers. The study finds that most passengers are unsatisfied with the conditions of intermodal connections. The improvements that would have the greatest impact on transfer experience are increased safety and security from crime and changing the location of bus stops relative to metro exits. Smaller improvements to passenger comfort and amenities are considerably less important to metro users. The findings could be applied to improve intermodal integration between two highly mismatched services to increase public bus ridership.
Analysis of the Advantages of Wiltse Approach Ligamentotaxis Method for Thoracolumbar Fractures

Objective: The Wiltse approach ligamentotaxis (WALT) is a combination of paravertebral muscle natural gap access and posterior longitudinal ligament tension, which can achieve good fracture repositioning and indirect spinal canal decompression, thus avoiding the disadvantages of traditional posterior direct decompression approach. This paper provides a detailed explanation and analysis of WALT through clinical cases. Methods: 103 patients with thoracolumbar vertebral fractures classified as AO.A surgically treated with the spinal screw bar system from 2017.01 to 2020.06 were included, of whom 52 were performed with indirect decompression and repositioning of the spinal canal by the WALT method (hereafter referred to as the Wiltse group) and 51 were performed with direct decompression and repositioning of the spinal canal by traditional posterior direct decompression approach (hereafter referred to as the traditional group), and the results were compared by operating time, bleeding, incision length, preoperative and postoperative changes in relative vertebral body height and Cobb angle, preoperative and postoperative Visual analogue scores (VAS) and Frankel scores, postoperative Oswestry disability index (ODI), postoperative drainage flow, postoperative time to remove drainage devices, and postoperative hospitalization days to compare the surgical results of fractures in the two groups. Results: The Wiltse group had an operative time of 76.5(65-110) min, bleeding volume of 90(50-180) ml, incision length of 9.4(7.8-11.3) cm, postoperative drainage of 97.4 ± 34.7 ml, postoperative drainage removal time of 2(1-4) days, postoperative hospitalization of 4(3-6) days, VAS score of 0(0-1) for 1 year postoperatively and ODI score 5(2-8) for 1 year postoperatively. In the traditional approach group, the operative time was 120(90-145) min, bleeding volume was 190(140-300) ml, incision length was 16.5(14.0-18.5) cm, postoperative drainage flow was 181.7 ± 41.0 ml, postoperative drainage removal time was 4(2-6) days, and postoperative hospital stay was 6(3-8) days. days, VAS score 1(1-2) 1 year postoperatively, ODI score 6(3-10) 1 year postoperatively. The differences were significant in both groups (P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in changes of vertebral height, Cobb Angle and Frankel score 1 year postoperatively (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The Wiltse approach reveals the vertebral pedicle and vertebral body through the paravertebral muscle gap separation without stripping the paravertebral muscle from the lamina and without removing and destroying bony structures such as the lamina, thus reducing the operative time and bleeding and avoiding the medically induced injuries caused by traditional surgery. This approach combined with the ligament tension repositioning method for indirect decompression and repositioning of the spinal screw bar system can achieve the same effectiveness as traditional surgery, which is a minimally invasive surgical method that can replace most traditional surgeries and is worth studying and promoting.
Computer Model of Mechanisms Underlying Dynamic Electrocardiographic T-wave Changes

Computer Model of Mechanisms Underlying Dynamic Electrocardiographic T-wave Changes by Ashish Nikhil Doshi Department of Biomedical Engineering Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Salim F. Idriss, Supervisor ___________________________ Craig S. Henriquez ___________________________ Wanda K. Neu ___________________________ Patrick D. Wolf ___________________________ Warren M. Grill An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Graduate School of Duke University 2010 Copyright by Ashish Nikhil Doshi 2010
Impact Properties of Adult and ATD Heads

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes 1.1 million trips to the hospital each year in the United States, with 235,000 of these injuries requiring admissions. Given the importance of TBI, head injury has been studied extensively using both cadavers and anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs). However, few studies have benchmarked the response of ATD heads against human data. The goal of this study was to investigate the response of the adult and ATD heads in impact, and to compare ATD and human responses. In this study, six adult heads and seven ATD heads were used to obtain impact properties. The heads were dropped from 15cm and 30cm onto five impact locations. No statistical differences were found between the adult human heads and the adult Hybrid III head for 15cm and 30cm rigid surface impacts (p<0.05). For the human heads, the mid-sagittal impact locations produced the highest head injury criterion (HIC) and peak acceleration values. The parietal impacts were found to produce HICs and peak accelerations that were 26% to 48% lower than the mid-sagittal impacts. For the ATD heads, the acceleration and HIC generally increased with represented age, except for the 3-year-old Q3 head, which produced the HIC values up to 56% higher than the other heads.