Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endurance training improves skeletal muscle electrical activity in active COPD patients

The effect of endurance training on muscle electrical activity during general exercise testing was investigated in physically active patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Before and after rehabilitation, patients performed identical incremental exercise tests. Pulmonary gas exchange, venous lactate and pyruvate concentrations, and the quadriceps electromyographic signal were sampled every minute throughout exercise testing. Three weeks of rehabilitation increased exercise capacity without modifying pulmonary function. M‐wave amplitude, root mean square (RMS) of electromyographic activity, and RMS/oxygen uptake were increased significantly during post‐rehabilitation testing at the same exercise intensity compared to pre‐rehabilitation. Median frequency was significantly lower after training. These modifications reflect greater muscle excitability, greater muscle activation for the same level of exercise, and higher recruitment of slow‐twitch fibers. Pulmonary rehabilitation in active COPD patients may normalize the electrical activity of skeletal muscles during incremental dynamic exercise. The electromyographic signal confirms neuromuscular changes after endurance training. Muscle Nerve 28: 744–753, 2003
A new control approach for PV system with hybrid energy storage system

In this paper, a new control approach is proposed for PV system with hybrid energy storage system (HESS) in isolated DC grid application. The proposed control approach solves the current controller conflict problem in HESS and provides faster DC link voltage restoration. In the proposed control approach a predictive term is used to control the battery current and the supercapacitor (SC) current. In the proposed control approach the voltage error term and the uncompensated power from the battery is added to the supercapacitor current reference to achieve faster DC link voltage restoration and less stress in the battery system. The system parameters design and closed loop system stability analysis of the proposed control approach are discussed in detail in the paper. The effectiveness of the proposed control approach is verified by simulation studies.
Surface Binding of Aflatoxin B1 by Lactic Acid Bacteria

ABSTRACT Specific lactic acid bacterial strains remove toxins from liquid media by physical binding. The stability of the aflatoxin B1 complexes formed with 12 bacterial strains in both viable and nonviable (heat- or acid-treated) forms was assessed by repetitive aqueous extraction. By the fifth extraction, up to 71% of the total aflatoxin B1 remained bound. Nonviable bacteria retained the highest amount of aflatoxin B1.Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG (ATCC 53103) and L. rhamnosus strain LC-705 (DSM 7061) removed aflatoxin B1 from solution most efficiently and were selected for further study. The accessibility of bound aflatoxin B1 to an antibody in an indirect competitive inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay suggests that surface components of these bacteria are involved in binding. Further evidence is the recovery of around 90% of the bound aflatoxin from the bacteria by solvent extraction. Autoclaving and sonication did not release any detectable aflatoxin B1. Variation in temperature (4 to 37°C) and pH (2 to 10) did not have any significant effect on the amount of aflatoxin B1 released. Binding of aflatoxin B1 appears to be predominantly extracellular for viable and heat-treated bacteria. Acid treatment may permit intracellular binding. In all cases, binding is of a reversible nature, but the stability of the complexes formed depends on strain, treatment, and environmental conditions.
User relevance feedback, search and retrieval of visual content

1 Acknowledgements.2 Table of Content.3 List of Figures.6 List of Tables . 11 List of Abbreviations . 12 CHAPTER 1 : Introduction.14 1.1. Problem and Motivation.14 1.2. Research Objectives . 15 1.3. Contribution of the Thesis.16 1.4. Structure of the Thesis . 17 CHAPTER 2 : Low-level Visual Features, and Reliability of Similarity Matching 18 2.
Effort-testing In Children Undergoing Psycho-Educational Assessment Using The Medical Symptom Validity Test

Suboptimal effort affects the reliability and validity of clinical data. Effort measures of a sample of French Canadian schoolchildren who had undergone a psycho-educational assessment were compared with eight other schoolchildren samples presumed to have exerted good effort, using the Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT) and the Reliable Digit Span (RDS). The study focused, more specifically, on the MSVT effort measures, Immediate Recognition (IR), Delayed Recognition (DR) and Consistency (CNS) because they are relatively insensitive to impairments. Overall, the majority of children, with and without impairment passed the MSVT effort measures with a fail rate of 13.1% for MSVT and 36.1% for RDS. The correlation between failure of each measure was only moderately significant. The failure rate on the MSVT dropped to 6.1% after removal of participants who read below a grade three level and the correlation between failure on the RDS and failure on MSVT became insignificant. This is consistent with the literature documenting the use of MSVT and WMT with adults, with and without impairments, and supports the assertion that insufficient effort is likely the only explanation for failure on MSVT when the participants have the required reading level [8]. Green suggested considering evidence of a Genuine Memory Impairment Profile (GMIP) in failing protocols (i.e., when the average of IR, DR, and CNS exceeds the average of PA and FR by at least 20 points). In this study, all but one child who failed MSVT demonstrated a GMIP profile.
Pay Equity and Community Based Organizations in Saskatchewan: Paradoxes and Challenges

Despite clear evidence of the wage gap and the prevalence of systemic wage discrimination, Saskatchewan does not have provincial pay equity legislation. The analysis put forward in this paper will focus on the inequities experienced by community based organizations in Saskatchewan. This sector provides a salient example of the urgent need for provincial legislation to address pay inequity in Saskatchewan particularly in light of contemporary changes to the provision of social services associated with rise of the “New Economy”. The experiences of community based organizations demonstrate that the current regime for addressing pay inequity inSaskatchewan is inadequate. The institutional and legal framework available is incapable of achieving pay equity in anything more than a token, piecemeal, ad hoc fashion. Pay equity is a fundamental human right and pro-active pay equity legislation is essential to its achievement.6 As such, the Saskatchewan government must take its obligations to promote substantive equality seriously and implement stand-alone, proactive pay equity legislation, covering all workers in every economic sector. As a latecomer to the Canadian pay equity statutory scene, Saskatchewan could benefit from the lessons learned in other jurisdictions in the development of its own provincial pay equity legislation.
ral Networks Expan orizons

tatistical signal processing covers an area where physics and mathematics meet and interact to solve a wide range of problems. Its origins may be traced back to the 1943 classified RCA report by North, republished in [l], the 1946 classic paper [Z] by Van Vleck and Middleton, and the pioneering work by Wiener [3] . In particular, the classical methods of statistical signal processing are founded on three basic assumptions: linearity, stationarity, and second-order statistics with particular emphasis on Gaussianity. These assumptions are invoked for the sake of mathematical tractability. Yet most, if not all, the physical signals that we have to deal with in real-life applications are generated by dynamic processes that are simultaneously nonlinear, nonstationary, and non-Gaussian. The end result of designing a signal-processing system along traditional lines is a suboptimal solution. One way in which the performance of the system can be improved is to consider the use of neural networks in combination with other suitable techniques (e.g., time-frequency analysis), depending on the task at hand. Interest in neural networks, or to be more precise, artificial neural networks, has always been motivated by the fact that the human brain functions in a manner entirely different from the conventional digital computer. The human brain is a gigantic, and yet highly efficient, information-processing machine that encompasses a wide variety of complex signal processing operations. To appreciate the enormous scale of these operations, we need only look at our visual and auditory systems and be amazed at the “seamless” nature of the way in which different forms of information gathered by our eyes and ears are individually processed and then finally fused together. Work on neural networks may be traced back to the pioneering paper [4] by McCulloch and Pitts in 1943, which was followed by Rosenblatt’s development of the perceptron [5] and Widrow’s development of the adaline [6] in the late 1950s. After going through a period of dormancy (in an engineering context) in the 1970s, neural networks reemerged in the 1980s with the publication of Hopfield’s
A System in Which Available Energy Per Se Controls Alpha Diversity: Marine Pelagic Birds

An attractive explanation for large‐scale gradients of species richness is that trophic energy flux defines living systems. It has yet to be shown that available energy may matter per se, that is, directly and independent of other potential determinants that are usually inescapably correlated (e.g., area, glacial history, or habitat complexity). By using a comprehensive conceptual framework addressing the variation of species richness, we report that in communities of birds regularly foraging in marine pelagic waters during the breeding season, species richness is above all directly linked to the appropriation of metabolic energy. Auxiliary energy supplied by wind and waves is likely to mitigate energetic constraints and thereby codetermine the expansion of niche space, along with an array of other subordinate factors. We emphasize that this system is markedly different from studied communities of terrestrial endotherms or marine exotherms in which habitat complexity and mutagenic solar radiation/temperature, respectively, may be more decisive than the appropriation of trophic energy flux shares as such. While the seabird system suggests that species‐energy curves may sometimes directly translate into species‐energy relationships, this situation may be rare rather than typical.
The AcrAB–TolC efflux system of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium plays a role in pathogenesis

The ability of an isogenic set of mutants of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium L354 (SL1344) with defined deletions in genes encoding components of tripartite efflux pumps, including acrB, acrD, acrF and tolC, to colonize chickens was determined in competition with L354. In addition, the ability of L354 and each mutant to adhere to, and invade, human embryonic intestine cells and mouse monocyte macrophages was determined in vitro. The tolC and acrB knockout mutants were hyper‐susceptible to a range of antibiotics, dyes and detergents; the tolC mutant was also more susceptible to acid pH and bile and grew more slowly than L354. Complementation of either gene ablated the phenotype. The tolC mutant poorly adhered to both cell types in vitro and was unable to invade macrophages. The acrB mutant adhered, but did not invade macrophages. In vivo, both the acrB mutant and the tolC mutant colonized poorly and did not persist in the avian gut, whereas the acrD and acrF mutant colonized and persisted as well as L354. These data indicate that the AcrAB–TolC system is important for the colonization of chickens by S. Typhimurium and that this system has a role in mediating adherence and uptake into target host cells.
Multiroute memories in desert ants

When offered a permanent food source, central Australian desert ants, Melophorus bagoti, develop individually distinct, view-based foraging routes, which they retrace with amazing accuracy during each foraging trip. Using a particular channel setup connected to an artificial feeder, we trained M. bagoti ants to either two or three inward routes that led through different parts of their maze-like foraging grounds. Here, we show that ants are able to adopt multiple habitual paths in succession and that they preserve initially acquired route memories even after they have been trained to new routes. Individual ants differ in the consistency with which they run along habitual pathways. However, those ants that follow constant paths retain their route-specific memories for at least 5 days of suspended foraging, which suggests that even multiple route memories, once acquired, are preserved over the entire lifetime of a forager.
Customer Satisfaction and Intellectual Property Protection: In the Case of Online Educational Institutions

The present study attempts to contribute to the knowledge of how intellectual property protection can improve student satisfaction in online courses? After the comprehensive literature review and demonstration of online student satisfaction concepts, the paper has reduced, classified and compared the data. The results reflects that the intellectual property protection is one of the latent factors in online student satisfaction assessment and this study should be enhanced by doing a descriptive research in a larger scale.
SMEs, FDI and Financial Constraints

This paper explores the problems experienced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions in gaining access to debt and equity finance for foreign direct investment (FDI) projects. We develop several arguments why such small businesses are expected to face severe financing constraints for foreign investments and provide an explorative empirical analysis of these issues for a sample of thirty-two Belgian SMEs. We find that the market of FDI finance for SMEs is subject to considerable capital market imperfections. The information problems, lack of collateral, the home bias of financiers and the capital gearing method used by banks to evaluate small firms' foreign projects give rise to financial constraints. The FDI finance gap hinders SMEs in their internationalization strategy and negatively affects their economic performance.
Brookite versus anatase TiO_2 photocatalysts: phase transformations and photocatalytic activities

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles consisting of pure anatase, anatase-rich, brookite-rich, and pure brookite modifications were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission-scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption. The phase transformations among the three modifications of TiO_2 (anatase, brookite, and rutile) and the photocatalytic activities of these nanoparticles were investigated by heat treatment over the temperature range from 400 to 800 °C and by the photooxidation of methanol, respectively. Direct transformation of anatase and brookite to rutile was observed, while in the case of the anatase-brookite mixture, anatase transforms firstly to brookite and then to rutile. The photocatalytic activity measurements indicate that brookite nanoparticles exhibit higher photocatalytic activities than anatase, and a comparable activity to that of the anatase-rich nanoparticles. The phase transformations and photocatalytic results are discussed regarding their dependence on crystallite size, surface area, and phase composition.
Torque‐based triggering improves stimulus timing precision in activation tests

The aim of this study was to assess whether automated torque‐based stimulator triggering could improve precision in delivering stimuli near peak torque during voluntary activation tests. The quadriceps activation test was used as a test model in 11 volunteers. Automated torque‐based triggering reduced stimulus delivery timing errors by 75% when compared with conventional automated time‐based triggering. Torque‐based stimulator triggering is recommended as an alternative to automated time‐based triggering in voluntary activation tests, as it improves stimulus timing precision and thereby reduces measurement error. Muscle Nerve 40: 130–133, 2009
S-NPP VIIRS thermal emissive band gain correction during the blackbody warm-up-cool-down cycle

The Suomi National Polar orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) has onboard calibrators called blackbody (BB) and Space View (SV) for Thermal Emissive Band (TEB) radiometric calibration. In normal operation, the BB temperature is set to 292.5 K providing one radiance level. From the NOAA’s Integrated Calibration and Validation System (ICVS) monitoring system, the TEB calibration factors (F-factors) have been trended and show very stable responses, however the BB Warm-Up-Cool-Down (WUCD) cycles provide detectors’ gain and temperature dependent sensitivity measurements. Since the launch of S-NPP, the NOAA Sea Surface Temperature (SST) group noticed unexpected global SST anomalies during the WUCD cycles. In this study, the TEB Ffactors are calculated during the WUCD cycle on June 17th 2015. The TEB F-factors are analyzed by identifying the VIIRS On-Board Calibrator Intermediate Product (OBCIP) files to be Warm-Up or Cool-Down granules. To correct the SST anomaly, an F-factor correction parameter is calculated by the modified C1 (or b1) values which are derived from the linear portion of C1 coefficient during the WUCD. The F-factor correction factors are applied back to the original VIIRS SST bands showing significantly reducing the F-factor changes. Obvious improvements are observed in M12, M14 and M16, but corrections effects are hardly seen in M16. Further investigation is needed to find out the source of the F-factor oscillations during the WUCD.
Reliable Restricted Process Theory

Malfunctions of a mobile ad hoc network (MANET) protocol caused by a conceptual mistake in the protocol design, rather than unreliable communication, can often be detected only by considering communication among the nodes in the network to be reliable. In Restricted Broadcast Process Theory, which was developed for the specification and verification of MANET protocols, the communication operator is lossy. Replacing unreliable with reliable communication invalidates existing results for this process theory. We examine the effects of this adaptation on the semantics of the framework with regard to the non-blocking property of communication in MANETs, the notion of behavioral equivalence relation and its axiomatization. We illustrate the applicability of our framework through a simple routing protocol. To prove its correctness, we introduce a novel proof process, based on a precongruence relation.
Centralized Sliding Mode Control of Power System with UPFC

In this article is proposed a Centralized Sliding Mode Control (CSMC) applied to a UPFC device for controlling power flow and enhancing power system stability. First, we establish a state-space dynamic model of UPFC based on Kirchhoff’s equations and (d-q) transformation. This model includes the two voltage source inverters and the DC bus voltage link. Furthermore, in order to cancel the effect of uncertainties which can affect this plant, we develop a centralized version of sliding mode control based on this state model. In the case where the proposed control scheme is used, we simulate the operation of UPFC equipping a High Voltage (HV) electrical line interconnecting two stable nodes. The simulation results show that it is possible and achievable to control the power flow with satisfactory performances regardless of the parameter uncertainties affecting the model plant. Key-Words: FACTS, UPFC, Electrical Power System, Real Power, Reactive Power, Sliding Mode Control, Lyapunov Function.
No Longer a Tax Haven? The Impact of Taxes on Internet Purchase Behavior

Using the online transaction data of 88,814 U.S. households in 2006, we analyze how local tax rates affect online purchasing behavior. Although earlier survey-based research has found that consumers who live in high-tax localities are more likely to shop online, our transaction-based data show the opposite. We find that higher local tax rates are associated with lower online expenditures, reduced transaction frequency, and a lower probability of making an online purchase. A disaggregate analysis shows that increased sales tax does not significantly boost demand from tax avoiding retailers but significantly lowers demand for online retailers that collect tax. In addition online shoppers are more than twice as sensitive to tax as traditional store shoppers. Finally, we document that tax losses from Internet sales are more moderate than previously estimated.
DRX : A LOD dataset interlinking recommendation tool

With the growth of the Linked Open Data (LOD) cloud, data publishers face a new challenge: finding related datasets to interlink with. To face this challenge, this paper describes a tool, called DRX, to assist data publishers in the process of dataset interlinking and browsing the LOD cloud. DRX is organized in five main modules responsible for: (i) collecting data from datasets on the LOD cloud; (ii) processing the data collected to create dataset profiles; (iii) grouping datasets using clustering algorithms; (iv) providing dataset recommendations; and (v) supporting browsing the LOD cloud. Experimental results show that DRX has a potential to be used as a dataset interlinking facilitator.
Stock Versus Cash Dividends: Signaling or Catering

This paper examines why firms choose to pay stock dividends. Using a sample of listed Chinese firms, we find that younger, more profitable firms, with lower leverage, high levels of retained earnings, private ownership prior to listing and investing more in fixed assets are more likely to pay stock dividends. Our evidence indicates that the initiation of a stock dividend is associated with a significant positive market reaction and increased analyst following, consistent with firms using stock dividends to attract analysts’ attention. In contrast, firms with non-tradable shares are more likely to pay cash dividends, catering to investor demands.
Extramedullary hematopoiesis in the adult mouse liver is associated with specific hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells

In previous work, two anatomically distinct‐liver sinusoid endothelial cells (LEC): LEC‐1 and LEC‐2, have been described. We also reported that extramedullary hepatic hematopoiesis occurs only in close contact with LEC‐1, suggesting that these cells may provide the microenvironment necessary for the maintenance and growth of hematopoietic cells. In the present work, we studied the capacity of LEC‐1 and LEC‐2 to maintain in vitro hematopoiesis. LEC‐1 and LEC‐2 were isolated and cloned from livers of adult mice. Bone marrow cells (BM) enriched with primitive hematopoietic progenitors were isolated from day‐2, post‐5‐FU‐treated mice (5‐FUBMC). LEC‐1 supported the maintenance and differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors for more than 6 weeks in vitro. In contrast, LEC‐2 cells poorly supported the proliferation of hematopoietic cells for only two weeks of the co‐ culture. LEC‐1 and 5‐FUBMC cocultures showed cobblestone‐area formation and the presence of hematopoietic progenitors that are able to form colonies (CFC) in the adhering fraction after six weeks of coculture. LEC‐1 co‐cultures treated with a cocktail of cytokines (stem cell factor, interleukin [IL]1α, IL‐3, and Epo) showed that megakaryocyte (CFU‐Mk) and erythrocyte progenitors (BFU‐e) were present during the entire period of the culture. Granulocyte‐macrophage progenitors (CFU‐GM) were present only during the first three weeks of the culture. These results suggest that LEC‐1, but not LEC‐2, provide an appropriate hematopoietic microenvironment for supporting the proliferation and differentiation of primitive hematopoietic cells. This could explain the anatomical restriction of hematopoietic cells for growing in LEC‐1 domains during liver extramedullary hematopoiesis.