Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Competitive Performance of Elite Olympic-Distance Triathletes: Reliability and Smallest Worthwhile Enhancement

PURPOSE. The reliability of competitive performance of athletes in a given sport provides an estimate of the smallest worthwhile change in performance, which is crucial when testing athletes and when assessing factors that affect performance in that sport. We have therefore analyzed the reliability of athletes competing in international Olympic-distance triathlons. METHODS. We obtained official results from websites for triathlons performed before drafting in the cycling stage was permitted. We analyzed times for 103 athletes who en-tered two or more of nine such races over 19 months. Our measure of reliability was the typical race-to-race variation of an athlete's time, derived as a coefficient of variation by analysis of log-transformed times. RESULTS. (a) Typical race-to-race variations were: swim 1.6%, cycle 2.3%, and run 3.6%. When combined independently or dependently with the durations of each phase (20, 60 and 35 min), these variations yielded predicted variations in total time of 1.6% or 2.6% respectively, whereas the observed variation was 1.8%. (b) Transition times, which were available for three races, averaged 89 s for the swim-cycle and cycle-run transitions combined. Between-athlete variation in these times in each race was 5.2, 5.6 and 7.8 s, or ~0.1% of the mean total time of 115 min. (c) Analysis of reliability between all possible pairs of races showed no substantial effect of time between pairs (14-567 days). (d) Reliability between pairs of races held in normal environmental temperatures was better than when at least one of the pair was held in hot conditions (typical variations of 1.6% and 2.0% respectively). (e) The top 10% of triathletes, who averaged 3.4% faster than the average triathlete, had substantially smaller variations than the other triathletes for total time (1.1%) and for each of the three stages (swim, 1.2%; cycle, 1.3%; run, 2.5%). In triathlons where drafting in the cycle stage is permitted, variation in total time of the top triathletes is probably determined by the run alone and is therefore ~0.8%. CONCLUSIONS. (a) Factors that affect performance of individual elite triathletes act largely independently in the three phases. (b) No worthwhile gains in performance are possible in the transitions. (c) Elite triathletes' performance is remarkably sta-ble over a 19-month period. (d) The outcome of a triathlon staged in a hot environment is somewhat less predictable than normal. (e) The smallest impor-tant change in race time for a top triathlete (half the variation in total time) is ~0.5%, which in current triathlons has to be achieved via changes of at least 1.2% in running speed.
Integrating GRID Computing Technology in Modifing Modern Power System

With the need for ever increasing reliable, powerful, and clean power generation in power systems is becoming a major challenge, particularly against cascading failures that lead to blackouts. As a result power systems have become more complicated, the operation and control of the power system is actually becoming a huge data-intensive, information-intensive, communicationintensive and computing-intensive application. The philosophy of grid computing play an important role in power system distributed monitoring, control and distributed parallel computing. Grid computing can provide services in power generation, transmission distribution and in its marketing [1]. A review is presented on the research which has been carried out in the last few years in this area regarding the applicability of grid computing technology in modern power system reliability and security analysis, operations, monitoring and control systems.
On the Efficiency of Field Star Capture by Star Clusters

Abstract An exciting recent finding regarding scaling relations among globular clusters is the so-called ‘blue tilt’: clusters of the blue sub-population follow a trend of redder colour with increasing luminosity. In this contribution we estimate by means of collisional N-body simulations to which extent this trend can be explained by field star capture occurring over a Hubble time. We investigate star clusters with 103 to 106 stars. We find that the ratio between captured field stars and total number of clusters stars is very low (≲ 10−4), even for co-rotation of the star cluster in a cold disk. This holds for star clusters in the mass range of both open clusters and globular clusters. Therefore, field star capture is not a probable mechanism for creating the colour-magnitude trend of metal-poor globular clusters.
Sampling at a Random Time with a Heavy-Tailed Distribution

Let Sn = 1 + + n be a sum of i.i. d. non-negative random variables, S0 = 0. We study the asymptotic behaviour of the probability PfX(T ) > ng, n! 1, where X(t) = maxfn 0 : Sn tg, t 0, is the corre- sponding renewal process. The stopping time T has a heavy-tailed distribution and is independent of X(t). We treat two dierent approaches to the study: via the law of large numbers and by using the large deviation techniques. The rst approach is applied to the case when T has a heavier tail than exp( p x). The second one is mostly applied to the case of the so-called \moderately heavy tails" when T has a lighter tail than exp( p x). As a corollary, the distribu- tional Little's law allows us to obtain the tail asymptotics for a stationary queue length in a single server queue with subexponential service times. More gener- ally, if a stable queueing system satises the distributional Little's law and if a stationary sojourn time distribution of a \typical" customer is heavy-tailed and its asymptotics is known, then the results of this paper provide a way for obtaining the tail asymptotics for a stationary queue length.
Are Preexisting Retinal and Central Nervous System-Related Comorbidities Risk Factors for Complications Following Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy?

ABSTRACT Purpose: To assess whether retinal and central nervous system (CNS) comorbidities are risk factors for complications following robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of our RALP database identified 1868 patients who underwent RALP by a single surgeon between December 10, 2003-March 14, 2014. We hypothesized that patients with preexisting retinal or CNS comorbidities were at a greater risk of suffering retinal and CNS complications following RALP. Perioperative complications and risk of recurrence were graded using the Clavien and D'Amico systems, respectively. Results: 40 (2.1%) patients had retinal or CNS-related comorbidities, of which 15 had a history of retinal surgery and 24 had a history of cerebrovascular accident, aneurysm and/or neurosurgery. One additional patient had a history of both retinal and CNS events. Patients with retinal or CNS comorbidities were significantly older, had elevated PSA levels and CCI (Charlson Comorbidity Index) scores than the control group. Blood loss, length of stay, surgical duration, BMI, diagnostic Gleason score and T-stage were not statistically different between groups. No retinal or CNS complications occurred in either group. The distribution of patients between D'Amico risk categories was not statistically different between the groups. There was also no difference in the incidence of total complications between the groups. Conclusions: RALP-associated retinal and CNS complications are rare. While our RALP database is large, the cohort of patients with retinal or CNS-related comorbidities was relatively small. Our dataset suggests retinal and CNS pathology presents no greater risk of suffering from perioperative complications following RALP.
The simulation of cluster tools: a new semiconductor manufacturing technology

Semiconductor manufacturers can improve product yields and decrease chip geometry by using cluster tools to improve their process manufacturing environment. A cluster tool consists of wafer processing chambers, one or more internal robots to transport wafers, and one or more load locks where the wafer-to-cassette exchange takes place. This paper presents a flexible, cluster tool simulation model built using a general purpose simulation language. This data-driven model serves as a template which can be easily configured to emulate actual cluster tool configurations, providing statistical and graphical output. Wafer process routings are also defined through easy-to-use data input tables. The flexibility of this model is discussed, including robot parameters, tool configuration options, chamber options, and wafer processing steps. The advantages of this flexible, cluster tool simulation model as both an analysis tool and as a marketing tool are presented.
The complexity of microRNAs in human cancer

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that have key regulatory roles in cancer, acting as both oncogenes and tumor suppressors. Due to the potential roles of miRNAs in improving cancer prognostic, predictive, diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, they have become an area of intense research focus in recent years. MiRNAs harbor attractive features allowing for translation to the clinical world, such as relatively simple extraction methods, resistance to molecular degradation, and ability to be quantified. Numerous prognostic, predictive and diagnostic miRNA signatures have been developed. To date however, miRNA analysis has not been adopted for routine clinical use. The objectives of this article are to provide an overview of miRNA research and review a selection of miRNA studies in breast cancer, cervical cancer, sarcoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma to highlight advances and challenges in miRNA cancer research.
The bit value of working memory

memory. The main objective was to determine the capacity of working memory under experiment conditions and express it in terms of bits of information. The bit values of the selected objects used in the experiment were determined using Shannon’s formula. The objects were presented to the participants as a set of charts. Each chart presented a four-element object with a particular bit value. The elements constituted commonly known signs, with no difficulty in perception. The efficiency of object recollection from working memory decreased as the bit value of the object increased. In each of the experiments, the bit value of the recollected information oscillated between 26.7 and 31.9. The present results did not confirm sex differences in working memory function. Keywords: working memory, memory capacity, object bit value.
Minimizing total completion time on uniform machines with deadline constraints

Consider <i>n</i> independent jobs and <i>m</i> uniform machines in parallel. Each job has a processing requirement and a deadline. All jobs are available for processing at time <i>t</i> = 0. Job <i>j</i> must complete its processing before or at its deadline and preemptions are allowed. A set of jobs is said to be <i>feasible</i> if there exists a schedule that meets all the deadlines. We present a polynomial-time algorithm that given a feasible set of jobs, constructs a schedule that minimizes the total completion time ∑<i>C<sub>j</sub></i>. In the classical α | β | γ scheduling notation, this problem is referred to as <i>Qm</i> | <i>prmt</i>, <i>&dmacr;<sub>j</sub></i> | ∑<i>C<sub>j</sub></i>. It is well known that a generalization of this problem with regard to its machine environment results in an NP-hard problem.
Architecture of 4-way tensor factorization for context-aware recommendations

Contextual information has been recognized as an important factor to consider in user-aware Recommendation Systems. Since contextual information can be used as a significant factor in modeling user behavior, various context-aware recommendation methods are proposed. However, the state-of-the-art context modeling methods treat contexts as other dimensions similar to the dimensions of users and items, and cannot extract the special semantic operation of contexts. On the other hand, some works on multi-domain relation prediction can be used for the context-aware recommendation, but they have problems in generating recommendation under a large amount of contextual information. In this paper, we propose the 4-way Tensor, a parallel tensor factorization algorithm, to accelerate the tensor factorization of large datasets to support efficient context-aware recommendations. The basic idea of this algorithm is to partition a tensor into partition and then exploit the inherent parallelism to perform tensor related operations in parallel.
Preference-based multi-objective software modelling

In this paper, we propose the use of preference-based evolutionary multi-objective optimization techniques (P-EMO) to address various software modelling challenges. P-EMO allows the incorporation of decision maker (i.e., designer) preferences (e.g., quality, correctness, etc.) in multi-objective optimization techniques by restricting the Pareto front to a region of interest easing the decision making task. We discuss the different challenges and potential benefits of P-EMO in software modelling. We report experiments on the use of P-EMO on a well-known modeling problem where very promising results are obtained.
An investigation on the formation of mono- and multilayers of metal complexes of N-(10,12-pentacosadiynamidopropyl)imidazole at the air-water interface

The monolayer characteristics of N-(10,12-pentacosadiynamidopropyl)imidazole have been studied at the air-water interface by measuring surface pressure-area isotherms. The amphiphile forms stable monolayers with a welldefined liquid-expanded (LE) to liquid-condensed (LC) phase transition. The liquid-expanded (LE) phase of this monolayer film is thermodynamically not stable. As can be seen by changes in the isotherms metal complexes at the airwater interface are formed even when the subphase has a metal ion concentration as low as 5·10 -7 M. The extent of complexation can easily be tuned by variation of metal ion concentration, the counter ion, the temperature and ionic strength of the subphase. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that the monomer monolayer has a smooth appearance while upon UV irradiation at the air-water interface, the red form of the polymer is formed, which has a striated structure. Multilayers with a regular layer structure can be built up when the subphase contained CuCl 2, with a Z-type transfer. These multilayers, however, have a Ytype structure as was shown by small angle X-ray reflection (SAXR) measurements, therefore the molecules have “turned over” to form a Y-type structure. XPS measurements confirmed the presence of Cu(II) ions in these multilayers, giving a direct proof of the formation of metal complexes at the air-
Climate change vulnerability for species – assessing the assessments

Climate change vulnerability assessments are commonly used to identify species at risk from global climate change, but the wide range of methodologies available makes it difficult for end users, such as conservation practitioners or policy makers, to decide which method to use as a basis for decision-making. Here, we compare the outputs of 12 such climate change vulnerability assessment methodologies, using both real and simulated species, and we test the methods using historic data for British birds and butterflies (i.e., using historical data to assign risks, and more recent data for validation). Our results highlight considerable inconsistencies in species risk assignment across all the approaches considered and suggest the majority of the frameworks are poor predictors of risk under climate change – two methods performed worse than random. Methods that incorporated historic trend data were the only ones to have any validity at predicting distributional trends in subsequent time periods.
A New Universal Code Helps to Distinguish Natural Language from Random Texts

Using a new universal distribution called switch distribution, we reveal a prominent statistical difference between a text in natural language and its unigram version. For the text in natural language, the cross mutual information grows as a power law, whereas for the unigram text, it grows logarithmically. In this way, we corroborate Hilberg’s conjecture and disprove an alternative hypothesis that texts in natural language are generated by the unigram model.
Exotic scalar states in the AdS/CFT correspondence

We investigate a family of solutions of type-IIB supergravity which asymptotically approach AdS5 × S5 but contain a non-constant dilaton and volume scalar for the five-sphere. These solutions preserve an SO(1,3) × SO(6) symmetry. We discuss the solution in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, and we find that as well as running coupling from the nontrivial dilaton, the corresponding field theory has no supersymmetry and displays confinement at least for a certain range of parameters.
Special Issue: Chemoinformatics

Chemoinformatics techniques were originally developed for the construction and searching of large archives of chemical structures but they were soon applied to problems in drug discovery and are now playing an increasingly important role in many additional areas of chemistry. This Special Issue contains seven original research articles and four review articles that provide an introduction to several aspects of this rapidly developing field.
Arm motion perception and interaction platform design and implementation

This paper introduces an arm motion perception and interaction platform using motion perception and touch/force interaction devices (wireless data glove, inertial tracking unit and force feedback device). The platform implements finger bend sensing, three dimensional motion tracking, and is able to feed back force to operator's hand on condition that it grasps the virtual object successfully. The paper first demonstrates the platform's hardware and software architecture. Then according to the physical constraints of arm motion and characteristics of the sensing and interaction devices used, an arm motion model and corresponding arm motion tracking method is proposed. Finally, in order to enhance the system real-time response, a collision detection algorithm with force feedback based on OBB and penetration depth is used to detect collision between arm model and virtual object.
Texture Analysis Methods: A Brief Review

Texture analysis is most emerging research topic in the field of image processing that finds significant application in different fields including image processing in terms of feature extraction, texture classification and much more. This paper discusses and review the various approaches of texture analysis based on the literature availability and research work either carried out or supervised by the different researchers so far. This review has been prepared depending upon the various methods and technique used for texture analysis is addressed. Here all the existing texture analysis algorithms are carefully studied and each categorized methods, models of texture, feature extraction technique and texture classifications are outlined.
Sensei Applied: An Auto-Generated Toolchain for Q-MIG

Large software evolution, migration, or reengineering endeavors require integrated tooling to support their specific goals [1]. While some functionality is project-specific, for many standard software evolution tasks, tools are readily available. Those tools usually provide little means for interoperability, making integration a tedious and error-prone struggle. Furthermore, software evolution projects must usually follow iterative processes – even with fully elicited requirements, subjected legacy systems, being large, complex, and undocumented, obscure the view to a clear path through a project. Rigid, ad-hoc tool integration impedes experimentation, encumbers adaption and extension, and overall slows down the project. Sensei (Software EvolutioN SErvices Integration [2]) is a conceptual framework developed to ease the toolchain-building process, by combining serviceoriented, component-based, and model-driven techniques. Sensei provides the means and structures to describe required functionality and their interplay as services and orchestrations, respectively, and enables automatic mapping to appropriate implementing components and auto-generation of integration code. The utility of Sensei has been put to the test by using it to (re-)build the toolchain for the Q-MIG [3] research project. This paper aims to demonstrate Sensei’s advantages by explaining its application, and comparing it to “manual” toolchain-building. To this end, Section 2 gives a brief overview over the goals of Q-MIG. Section 3 outlines the key principles of Sensei, and how it is practically applied, using Q-MIG as example. Section 4 exemplifies the utility of Sensei regarding flexibility, reusability, and productivity using tooling-related issues that arose during the project. The paper concludes with a summary in Section 5.
Fingerprint’s Core Point Detection using Gradient Field Mask

Fingerprint recognition is a widely used biometric identification mechanism. In case of correlation based fingerprint recognition detection of a consistent registration point is a crucial issue; this point can be a core point of a fingerprint. Many techniques have been proposed but success rate is highly dependent on input used and accurate core point detection is still an open issue. Here we discuss a core point detection algorithm which is computationally simple and gives consistent detection of a core point. The proposed technique is based on orientation field of the fingerprint which is calculated using gradient based technique and optimized neighborhood averaging to generate a smoother orientation field, on which we operate a specially designed mask for detecting core point as the orientation field in the region of the core point is different than the other area. Though all fingerprints don’t possess core point still this algorithm is useful to detect high curvature regions. This algorithm is helpful in the development of correlation based Automatic Fingerprint Recognition System (AFIS).
The Effect of FPGA Size on Software Speedup from Hardware / Software Partitioning

We examine the relationship between FPGA size and software speedup when an on-chip FPGA is used to implement critical software loops through hardware/software partitioning. We studied seven benchmark programs taken from Mediabench and Netbench. We profiled the programs on the SimpleScalar architecture, rewrote the critical loops in VHDL, synthesized and mapped those loops to a Xilinx FPGA, and calculated the gate requirements and performance speedups. We created several versions of each program, each version having successively more critical code moved to the FPGA, to see the relationship between size and speedup. Our results show that surprisingly few FPGA gates are needed to obtain most of the reasonably achievable speedup – an average speedup of 6x was obtained with only about 20,000 gates.
Failure of E-Government Implementation: A Case Study of South Sulawesi

This study analyzes several factors that contribute to the failures of e-government implementation in local government of South Sulawesi, Indonesia during 1996 to 2000. ITPOSMO model clearly shows significant gaps in all aspects of the case study. Three key points are also addressed as main obstacles for further e-government development. The study ends up with recommendations as the solution for better e-government implementation in the future.