Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Virtual reality applied to sports: do handball goalkeepers react realistically to simulated synthetic opponents?

Virtual reality is currently used in several application fields. In those applications and, especially in sports, the motor behavior of the subjects plays a major role. We propose to test the specific problem of handball goalkeeper and thrower duel. To this end, we studied if real handball goalkeepers react in a virtual scenery as in real game. The virtual scenery is composed of virtual opponents that are driven by a kinematical animation model. This model enables to change a specific parameter in the virtual thrower's motion and to examine the resulting effects on the goalkeepers' reactions. This paper aims at verifying if this animation model reproduces real motions with an enough accuracy to engender realistic goalkeepers reactions. Our results show that this kind of model enables to carry-out virtual experiments without modifying the natural gestures of the subjects.
Do guidelines offer implementation advice to target users? A systematic review of guideline applicability

Objective Providers and patients are most likely to use and benefit from guidelines accompanied by implementation support. Guidelines published in 2007 and earlier assessed with the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation (AGREE) instrument scored poorly for applicability, which reflects the inclusion of implementation instructions or tools. The purpose of this study was to examine the applicability of guidelines published in 2008 or later and identify factors associated with applicability. Design Systematic review of studies that used AGREE to assess guidelines published in 2008 or later. Data sources MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched from 2008 to July 2014, and the reference lists of eligible items. Two individuals independently screened results for English language studies that reviewed guidelines using AGREE and reported all domain scores, and extracted data. Descriptive statistics were calculated across all domains. Multilevel regression analysis with a mixed effects model identified factors associated with applicability. Results Of 245 search results, 53 were retrieved as potentially relevant and 20 studies were eligible for review. The mean and median domain scores for applicability across 137 guidelines published in 2008 or later were 43.6% and 42.0% (IQR 21.8–63.0%), respectively. Applicability scored lower than all other domains, and did not markedly improve compared with guidelines published in 2007 or earlier. Country (UK) and type of developer (disease-specific foundation, non-profit healthcare system) appeared to be associated with applicability when assessed with AGREE II (not original AGREE). Conclusions Despite increasing recognition of the need for implementation tools, guidelines continue to lack such resources. To improve healthcare delivery and associated outcomes, further research is needed to establish the type of implementation tools needed and desired by healthcare providers and consumers, and methods for developing high-quality tools.
Master ’ s Thesis : A Tuning Approach Based on Evolutionary Algorithm and Data Sampling for Boosting Performance of MapReduce Programs

The Apache Hadoop data processing software is immersed in a complex environment composed of huge machine clusters, large data sets, and several processing jobs. Managing a Hadoop environment is time consuming, toilsome and requires expert users. Thus, lack of knowledge may entail misconfigurations degrading the cluster performance. Indeed, users spend a lot of time tuning the system instead of focusing on data analysis. To address misconfiguration issues we propose a solution implemented on top of Hadoop. The goal is presenting a self-tuning mechanism for Hadoop jobs on Big Data environments. To achieve this, our self-tuning mechanism is inspired by two key ideas: (1) an evolutionary algorithm to generate and test new job configurations, and (2) data sampling to reduce the cost of the self-tuning process. From these ideas we created a framework for testing usual job configurations and get a new configuration suitable to the current state of the environment. Experimental results show gains in job performance against the Hadoop’s default configuration and the rules of thumb. Besides, the experiments prove the accuracy of our solution which is the relation between the cost to obtain a better configuration and the quality of the configuration reached.
A Location Map Free Reversible Data Hiding Scheme for VQ-Compressed Images Based on Search Order Coding

Most VQ based reversible data hiding schemes in the literature generate non-legitimate codes as output. Therefore such schemes are not suitable for some applications. In this paper a reversible data hiding scheme for VQ-compressed images based on search order coding (SOC) is proposed. The output of the proposed scheme is legitimate SOC code. Moreover the proposed scheme doesn't need any side information to achieve reversibility and also flexibility adjusts hiding capacity and stego image quality. Experimental results show feasibility and superiority of the proposed scheme when compared with the current scheme.
Automatic alignment of electron tomography images using markers

Electron tomography means reconstructing the interior of an object from its electron microscope images. In order to successfully perform the 3D reconstruction, the motion between consecutive images must be solve, i.e., the images have to be aligned or registered. Using a set of two- dimensional electron microscope images of a three- dimensional object, we propose a method where the registration is automated using small colloidal gold particles as reference markers between images. The alignment problem is divided into several subproblems: (1) Finding initial matches from successive images, (2) estimating the epipolar geometry between images, (3) finding and localizing the gold particles with subpixel accuracy in each image, (4) predicting the probably matching gold particles using the epipolar geometry with the disparity information, (5) matching and tracking the gold particles through the tilt series, and (6) optimizing the transformation parameters for the whole image set. The results show the reliability of the suggested method as well as high accuracy in registration.
Potential ] during the Cardiac Action 2+ Exchange Current and Submembrane [ca 2+ -ca + Na

Na -Ca exchange (NCX) is crucial in the regulation of [Ca ]i and cardiac contractility, but key details of its dynamic function during the heartbeat are not known. In the present study, we assess how NCX current (INCX) varies during a rabbit ventricular action potential (AP). First, we measured the steady-state voltage and [Ca ]i dependence of INCX under conditions when [Ca 2 ]i was heavily buffered. We then used this relationship to infer the submembrane [Ca ]i ([Ca 2 ]sm) sensed by NCX during a normal AP and [Ca 2 ]i transient (when the AP was interrupted to produce an INCX tail current). The [Ca 2 ]i dependence of INCX at 90 mV allowed us to convert the peak inward INCX tail currents to [Ca ]sm. Peak [Ca 2 ]sm measured via this technique was 3.2 mol/L within 32 ms of the AP upstroke (versus peak [Ca ]i of 1.1 mol/L at 81 ms measured with the global Ca 2 indicator indo-1). The voltage and [Ca ]sm dependence of INCX allowed us to infer INCX during the normal AP and Ca 2 transient. The early rise in [Ca ]sm causes INCX to be inward for the majority of the AP. Thus, little Ca influx via NCX is expected under physiological conditions, but this can differ among species and in pathophysiological conditions. (Circ Res. 2002;90:182-189.)
Effects of Gene Duplication, Positive Selection, and Shifts in Gene Expression on the Evolution of the Venom Gland Transcriptome in Widow Spiders

Gene duplication and positive selection can be important determinants of the evolution of venom, a protein-rich secretion used in prey capture and defense. In a typical model of venom evolution, gene duplicates switch to venom gland expression and change function under the action of positive selection, which together with further duplication produces large gene families encoding diverse toxins. Although these processes have been demonstrated for individual toxin families, high-throughput multitissue sequencing of closely related venomous species can provide insights into evolutionary dynamics at the scale of the entire venom gland transcriptome. By assembling and analyzing multitissue transcriptomes from the Western black widow spider and two closely related species with distinct venom toxicity phenotypes, we do not find that gene duplication and duplicate retention is greater in gene families with venom gland biased expression in comparison with broadly expressed families. Positive selection has acted on some venom toxin families, but does not appear to be in excess for families with venom gland biased expression. Moreover, we find 309 distinct gene families that have single transcripts with venom gland biased expression, suggesting that the switching of genes to venom gland expression in numerous unrelated gene families has been a dominant mode of evolution. We also find ample variation in protein sequences of venom gland–specific transcripts, lineage-specific family sizes, and ortholog expression among species. This variation might contribute to the variable venom toxicity of these species.
A Study of Image-Based Element Condition Index for Bridge Inspection

This paper presents an innovative computer vision method for condition assessments of bridges with multiple defects in bridge elements using digi tal mages. This work utilizes 3D model of existing bridges and overlays digital images on 3D model to simulate on-site visual inspection. The analysis of element condition index (ECI) of bridges requires i nformation about the severity and extent of defects in elements. In general, ECI is evaluated manually dur ing routine bridge inspection considering the sever ity of dominant defects. The evaluation of ECI with mul tiple defects needs to be addressed with considerat on of dominant defect as well as the interaction among defects. However, Image-based quantification tech niques largely depend on geometry of objects (i.e. shapes). Shape vectors of a given object change as they are translated, rotated, and scaled with different magnitudes. This work considers shape preserving al gorithms such as, affine and projective transformatio n for proper image alignment. Semi-automated approa ch for detection and quantification of concrete distre s such as cracks and spalling are considered for t he defects analysis. The proposed methodology ensures th e consistency in reporting ECI and eliminates the shortcoming of traditional approaches.
An inquiry into the significance of first-person research for the creation of knowledge to reduce suffering and enhance human flourishing

We (Sonia and Joan) have been discussing ideas with each other for several years, though not in any formal academic relationship. Both of us have a deep commitment to grounding research in the first person subjective experience of the researcher. However when we talk, we realise that although we share some perspectives, there are substantial differences in why we have come to believe in the significance of first person research, and our preferred methodologies for engaging in such research. We are currently engaged in an ongoing collaborative inquiry, the aim of which is to share our respective ideas, stories and research, in the hope that we can generate a form of knowledge that is different and greater than that which either of us can achieve independently. This inquiry is ongoing. The presentation of this paper provides a 'staging post' in which we reflect on what we have learned so far and consider where we might go from here. We begin by each of us sharing our individual stories as to how and why we came to believe in the value of first person research. We then identify the key issues that we have in common, followed by an exploration of points of difference.
Using Passive Measurements to Demystify Online Trackers

—While on the Internet, individuals encounter in- visible services that collect personal information, also known as third-party online trackers. Linked to advertisement, social sharing, and analytic services in general, hundreds of companies de facto track and build proﬁles of people. In this work, we present a measurement study to understand the extensiveness of this practice. We use passive measurements, naturally factoring users in the picture. In our measurements, we count more than 800 active trackers, of which 100 are regularly contacted by more than 40% of active users. The pervasiveness of trackers across the web is high, with websites that host hundreds of them, attracted by the chance to monetize visits. Conversely, privacy enhancing plugins are actually installed by few users (12.5%), and they mostly fail to protect people privacy. The resulting picture calls for a debate around privacy in the Internet, and for possible initiatives to regulate and control these practices.
Data Collection with In-network Fault Detection Based on Spatial Correlation

Environmental sensing exposes sensor nodes to environmental stresses that can lead to various kinds of sampling failure. Recognising such faults in the network can improve data reliability therefore making sensor networks suitable candidate for critical monitoring applications. We develop a technique that builds a spatial model of a sensor network and its observations, and show how this can be updated in-network to provide outlier detection even for non-stationary time series. The solution does not require local storage of learning data or any centralised control. The method is evaluated by both real world implementation and simulation, and the results are promising.
Key Agreement Protocols Resistant to a Denial-of-Service Attack

SUMMARY In this manuscript, two key agreement protocols which are resistant to a denial-of-service attack are constructed from a key agreement protocol in [9] provably secure against passive and active attacks. The denial-of-service attack considered is the resource-exhaustion attack on a responder. By the resource-exhaustion attack, a malicious initiator executes a key agreement protocol simultaneously as many times as possible to exhaust the responder’s resources and to disturb executions of it between honest initiators and the responder. The resources are the storage and the CPU. The proposed protocols are the first protocols resistant to both the storage-exhaustion attack and the CPU-exhaustion attack. The techniques used in the construction are stateless connection, weak key confirmation, and enforcement of heavy computation. The stateless connection is effective to enhancing the resistance to the storage-exhaustion attack. The weak key confirmation and the enforcement of heavy computation are effective to enhancing the resistance to the CPU-exhaustion attack.
Innovative tools and techniques to ensure effective employee engagement

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer innovative tools and techniques to ensure employee engagement. Design/methodology/approach The paper outlines the reasons for employee disengagement and enlightens the advantages of employee engagement for both employees and organizations. It unfolds several research findings on employee engagement and illustrates with the examples of global companies including Cummins, DHL Express, Southwest Airlines, Google, and Virgin. Findings It concludes that employee engagement is a two-way street. Practical implications The tools and techniques adopted by leaders can be applied in any industry and in any size of organization. Social implications The social implications of this research suggest that leaders can ensure employee engagement by following these innovative tools and techniques. Originality/value It implores both employers and employees to take ownership of their roles and responsibilities to achieve organizational excellence and effectiveness.
A Systenls Approach to Anlateur Radio Conlnlunications

S1.56 amateur service: A radiocommunication service for the purpose of self-training, Intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorized persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest. S1.57 amateur-satellite service: A radiocommunication service using space stations on earth satellites for the same purposes as those of the amateur service. From the Radio Regulation. (ITU-R). [1].
Telling the Story of Culture's Value: Ideal-Type Analysis and Integrated Reporting

ABSTRACT This article aims to encourage the reunion of economics and sociology in respect of culture's value underway in the work of David Stark and Michael Hutter. It proposes cultural reporting as an important domain it might address. Using Weberian ideal-type analysis, it examines the distinctive mode of contemporary cultural provision. I argue there are features of modern bureaucratic systems which account for the significant failures seen today. I introduce the Integrated Reporting Framework and explain its basic principles. has the capacity to streamline cultural reporting and equip it with appropriate narrative accounts, mitigating the reductive aspects of bureaucratic evaluation.
Observed successful collaboration in social work practice: coherent triads in Swedish juvenile care

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to analyse observed situations of successful cooperation, even if it unfolds during shorter interaction sequences. The aim is to analyse how and when the actors within juvenile care in Sweden present successful cooperation, and which interactive patterns are involved in the construction of this phenomenon. Forming the empirical basis for this study are 119 field observations of organised meetings and informal meetings before and after organised meetings, during visits to youth care institutions in Sweden, social services offices, and the Swedish National Board of Institutional Care. In this study, markers are used to define successful cooperation in the empirical material, so that actors who belong to at least three different categories will be identified (coherent triad). The professional actors can also shape a coherent triad with young people or parents in cases where past conflicts arise. When some professionals create a distance from other professional partners, conflicts can be erased so as to generate new conditions for coherence of the triad. Construction and reconstruction of collaboration success is an ongoing, interactive process. Presentation of the proper interaction moral is created and re-created during interactions and appears in the myriad of everyday interactions.
Hierarchical Modeling with Tensor Inputs

In many real applications, the input data are naturally expressed as tensors, such as virtual metrology in semiconductor manufacturing, face recognition and gait recognition in computer vision, etc. In this paper, we propose a general optimization framework for dealing with tensor inputs. Most existing methods for supervised tensor learning use only rank-one weight tensors in the linear model and cannot readily incorporate domain knowledge. In our framework, we obtain the weight tensor in a hierarchical way — we first approximate it by a low-rank tensor, and then estimate the low-rank approximation using the prior knowledge from various sources, e.g., different domain experts. This is motivated by wafer quality prediction in semiconductor manufacturing. Furthermore, we propose an effective algorithm named H-MOTE for solving this framework, which is guaranteed to converge. The time complexity of H-MOTE is linear with respect to the number of examples as well as the size of the weight tensor. Experimental results show the superiority of H-MOTE over state-of-the-art techniques on both synthetic and real data sets.
Predicting vocabulary development from co-speech gestures : duration or occurrences, that's the question

In this paper, we investigate whether or not the duration of exposures to co-speech gestures predicts later vocabulary development better than occurrence frequencies. To this aim we examine the impact of child-directed co-speech gestures on vocabulary development in infants from two cultural groups within Mozambique. We find that duration and occurrence are strongly related and both can predict later vocabulary development almost equally well. In addition, we find considerable cultural differences in the amount and style of co-speech gestures addressed to infants, as well as the way these predict later vocabulary development.
Reasons for encounter and diagnoses of new outpatients at a small community hospital in Japan: an observational study

Purpose Although many new patients are seen at small hospitals, there are few reports of new health problems from such hospitals in Japan. Therefore, we investigated the reasons for encounter (RFE) and diagnoses of new outpatients in a small hospital to provide educational resources for teaching general practice methods. Methods This observational study was conducted at the Department of General Internal Medicine in a small community hospital between May 6, 2010 and March 11, 2011. We classified RFEs and diagnoses according to component 1, “Symptoms/Complaints”, and component 7, “Diagnosis/Diseases”, of the International Classification of Primary Care, 2nd edition (ICPC-2). We also evaluated the differences between RFEs observed and common symptoms from the guidelines Model Core Curriculum for Medical Students and Goals of Clinical Clerkship. Results We analyzed the data of 1,515 outpatients. There were 2,252 RFEs (1.49 per encounter) and 170 ICPC-2 codes. The top 30 RFE codes accounted for 80% of all RFEs and the top 55 codes accounted for 90%. There were 1,727 diagnoses and 196 ICPC-2 codes. The top 50 diagnosis codes accounted for 80% of all diagnoses, and the top 90 codes accounted for 90%. Of the 2,252 RFEs, 1,408 (62.5%) included at least one of the 36 symptoms listed in the Model Core Curriculum and 1,443 (64.1%) included at least one of the 35 symptoms in the Goals of Clinical Clerkship. On the other hand, “A91 Abnormal result investigation”, “R21 Throat symptom/complaint”, and “R07 Sneezing/nasal congestion”, which were among the top 10 RFEs, were not included in these two guidelines. Conclusion We identified the common RFEs and diagnoses at a small hospital in Japan and revealed the inconsistencies between the RFEs observed and common symptoms listed in the guidelines. Our findings can be useful in improving the general practice medical education curricula.