Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
VALIDATION OF TWO CLINICAL MEASURES OF CORE STABILITY.

BACKGROUND Emerging evidence suggests poor core stability is a risk factor for low back and lower extremity injuries in athletes. Recently the trunk stability test (TST) and unilateral hip bridge endurance test (UHBE) were developed to clinically assess core stability. Although these and other clinical tests of core stability exist, how well they assess core stability when compared to biomechanical measures of isolated core stability has not been thoroughly evaluated. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS The purposes of this study were to 1) determine concurrent validity of two novel clinical core stability assessments (TST and UHBE), and 2) assess relationships between these assessments and the trunk endurance and Y-Balance tests. The authors' hypothesized that the TST and UHBE would be highly correlated to the lab-based biomechanical measure of isolated core stability. Also, the TST and UHBE would be moderately correlated with each other, but not with the trunk extensor endurance and Y-Balance. STUDY DESIGN Cross-Sectional design. METHODS Twenty healthy active individuals completed the TST (recorded number of errors), UHBE (s), trunk extensor endurance (s), Y-Balance (% leg length) test (YBT), and biomechanical test of core stability. RESULTS Correlational analyses revealed a small, non-significant association between TST and biomechanical measures (rs = 0.2 - 0.22), while a moderate, significant relationship existed between UHBE and biomechanical measures (rs = -0.49 to -0.56, p < 0.05). There was little to no relationship between TST and UHBE (r = -0.07 to - 0.21), or TST and extensor endurance (r = -0.18 to -0.24). A moderate, significant association existed between TST and two reach directions of the YBT (r = -0.41 to -0.43, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Study data support the utility of UHBE as a clinical measure of core stability. The poor relationship between the TST and biomechanical measures, combined with observation of most control faults occurring in the lower extremity (LE) suggest the TST may not be an appropriate clinical test of core stability. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE Level 3.
Toward a Lifespan Metric of Reading Fluency

Much evidence suggests complexity in cognitive and motor task performances [Gilden, 2001]. The present study builds upon this work, treating reading of text as a kind of complex coordination or coupling between reader and reading conditions. Three self-paced reading conditions presented connect text in units of different sizes: word, phrase, or sentence units, and repeatedly measure times between spacebar presses to advance the text. The three conditions reveal different patterns across the data. These patterns were evaluated using fractal analyses and Recurrent Quantification Analyses to distinguish highly fluent readers, PhD candidates in English literature, from competent but less fluent undergraduate readers.
Indicators of Beef Quality for Consumers: a Systematic Review

Quality is a subjective term and means different things to different people. However there is general agreement that beef quality needs to be consistent, and needs to be improved. Furthermore, there is agreement that it will become an increasingly important factor in consumer decision making (Henchion et al., 2014). Informed by quality theory, this paper seeks to determine the relative importance of quality attributes from a consumer perspective through undertaking a systematic review of the literature on consumer attitudes to different beef quality attributes.
The weak-form efficiency of the Saudi stock market

THE WEAK-FORM EFFICIENCY OF THE SAUDI STOCK MARKET BY ABDULLAH M. AL-RAZEEN This study has examined the efficiency of the Saudi stock market by applying the weak-form test of the efficient market hypothesis, because the only information available is the prices of past years. To test for weak-form efficiency of SSM, the prices over a fouryears period from 1992 to 1995 have been statist ically analysed. This thesis is divided into nine chapters. Chapter one is as introduction to this thesis. Chapters two and three briefly outlines the structure of the Saudi Arabian economy and the financial system. The following two chapters review the classification of financial markets in general and the structure and regulation of the Saudi stock market . Chapter six reviews literature concerning the efficient market theory and its implications in many studies. Chapter seven discusses research methodologies used for market efficiency tests at the weak-form level in this study. In addition, data transformation and description are discussed. Chapter eight contains the empirical examination included tests for empirical distribution of log price changes, auto-correlation tests, runs test and filter rules. The results are summarised in chapter nine. However, this weak-form evidence indicates that the Saudi stock market has a lower level of efficiency than other large markets. The findings of this study are following the many researchers suggestions that small markets tend to have lower levels of eff iciency than large well-traded markets.
Analytical calculation of the no-load flux density in the stator core of slotless SPM machines

Slotless Surface Permanent Magnet (SPM) machines are used is some applications where the torque ripple and / or the additional losses due to slotting need to be eliminated. These machines have a geometric structure allowing for an accurate analytical solution for the magnetic fields, which is desirable especially for optimization purposes. This paper derives an analytical formula for the flux density in the stator core of slotless SPM machines during no-load operation. The derived formula is assessed by comparison with Finite Element (FE) analysis. It is shown how it can be used for the computation of no-load core losses including rotational eddy current effects. The method proposed can be naturally extended to determine the core field due to armature reaction as well.
Development of a biped walking robot adapting to a horizontally uneven surface

In this paper, as the first stage of biped walking adapting to an uneven surface using an anthropomorphic biped walking robot, the authors introduce a biped walking control method for adapting to a surface that is called a horizontally composed (HC) plane whose step height is unknown, and a special foot mechanism which is capable of shock absorbtion. The authors developed an anthropomorphic biped walking robot with a foot mechanism and performed walking experiments with the robot using the control method. As a result, adaptive dynamic biped walking over a step of unknown height was realized. The maximum walking speed was 0.96 sec per step with a 0.3 m step length, and the greatest step height was 12 mm. The authors believe that the adaptability is integral to an anthropomorphic robot that will support human living in the near future. The authors call the robot Humanoid. <<ETX>>
Banking Access for the Poor: Adoption and Strategies in Rural Areas of Bangladesh

The progress of Mobile Banking (M-banking) is unsatisfactory in terms of achieving a key objective, i.e. to reach the inaccessible unbanked customers at an affordable cost for financial inclusion. We identify the causes to this problem through the investigating the factors affecting the adoption of m-banking in remote areas of Bangladesh using a 236 primary sample of m-bank customers from seven geographical locations and across professions. We document a positive effect of perceived ease of use, trusts, and perceived usefulness, and a negative effect of user interface on adopting m-banking in rural Bangladesh. our findings provides significant policy implications for policy planners and the bank managers to enrich their policies and strategies for promoting financial inclusion as well as successful banking business in rural of Bangladesh.
Marketing With Twitter: Challenges and Opportunities

The increasing use of Twitter by businesses has created the challenge of how to measure its effectiveness for marketing communications. Using data based on two years of Twitter activity by leading global brands in the Auto, FMCG and Luxury industries, this chapter presents measures which can be used by practitioners and researchers to assess the effectiveness of marketing communications on Twitter. It discusses the factors that predict consumer engagement with organizational tweets, and different Twitter strategies that have been successfully (and less successfully) used by leading global brands. We also consider the implications for marketing with Twitter, for these and for smaller organizations.
Estimation of Fault Strength: Reconstruction of Stress Before the 1995 Kobe Earthquake

We have estimated the stress field before the 1995 Kobe, Japan, earthquake (moment magnitude 6.9) using in situ post-shock stress measurements obtained from hydraulic fracturing experiments near the fault. We reconstructed the pre-shock stress field using a kinematic source model inverted from seismic waveforms and geodetic deformations. We found that at the center of the fault, two sides of the fault surface coupled completely before the earthquake, with a coefficient of friction of 0.6, which is equivalent to strong crust. At the edge of the fault, a possible aseismic slip is expected to occur from the pre-shock stress orientation.
Temperature-sensitive transforming mutants of the v-rel oncogene

By making site-directed mutations in the avian retroviral oncogene v-rel, we created two temperature-sensitive (ts) transforming mutants; these changes were analogous to mutations previously shown to confer a ts function onto the Dorsal protein of Drosophila melanogaster. Chicken spleen cells infected with the ts v-rel mutants formed colonies in agar at 36.5 degrees C but not at 41.5 degrees C. In addition, spleen cells derived from the ts v-rel-transformed colonies could be propagated in liquid culture at 36.5 degrees C but rapidly senesced at 41.5 degrees C. Both mutant v-Rel proteins were also ts for DNA binding in vitro. These mutants may be valuable for identifying genes directly regulated by v-rel.
Differential effects of anoctamins on intracellular calcium signals

The Ca2+‐activated Cl‒ channel TMEM16A [anoctamin (ANO)1] is homologous to yeast Ist2 and has been shown to tether the cortical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the plasma membrane. We therefore examined whether ANO1 and other members of the ANO family affect intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) signals. It is shown that expression of ANO1 augments Ca2+ store release upon stimulation of GPCRs, whereas knockdown of ANO1, or lack of Ano1 expression in Ano1‒/‒ animals, as shown in an earlier report, inhibits Ca2+ release. ANO6, and −10 show similar effects, whereas expression of ANO4, −8, and −9 attenuate filling of the ER store. The impact of ANO1 and −4 were examined in more detail. ANO1 colocalized and interacted with IP3R, whereas ANO4 colocalized with SERCA Ca2+ pumps and interacted with ORAI‐1 channels, respectively. ANO1 Cl currents were rapidly activated exclusively through Ca2+ store release, and remained untouched by influx of extracellular Ca2+. In contrast expression of ANO4 caused a delayed activation of membrane‐localized ANO6 channels, solely through store‐operated Ca2+ entry via ORAI. Ca2+ signals were inhibited by knocking down expression of endogenous ANO1, −5, −6, and −10 and were also reduced in epithelial cells from Ano10‒/‒ mice. The data suggest that ANOs affect compartmentalized [Ca2+]i signals, which may explain some of the cellular defects related to ANO mutations. —Cabrita, I. , Benedetto, R. , Fonseca, A. , Wanitchakool, P., Sirianant, L. , Skryabin, B. V. , Schenk, L. K. , Pavenstädt, H. , Schreiber, R. , Kunzelmann, K. Differential effects of anoctamins on intracellular calcium signals. FASEB J. 31, 2123–2134 (2017). www.fasebj. org
Knowledge Spillover and Accounting Firms’ Competitive Strength in the M&A Advisory Market

Accounting firms participating in M&A advisory teams can leverage their knowledge accumulated through assurance services to give the teams a competitive advantage in advising on transactions with hard-to-value targets. Consistently, we document that bidders are more likely to select accounting firms to advise on transactions involving such targets. Knowledge spillover aids in estimating the target’s value, which translates into higher service quality offered by accounting firms as captured by higher acquirer announcement-period stock returns and lower likelihood of overpaying for the target. The effects we document are concentrated in cases when the accounting firm is the audit-specialist in the target’s industry or target’s auditor and the target has low reporting quality. Our results help explain why Thomson Reuters ranks accounting firms among top global advisors, particularly in the midand low-end M&A advisory market. (JEL G34, M41, M49)
Impact of unit commitment on the optimal operation of hybrid microgrids

This paper presents an energy management system to minimize the total combined operational and emission costs of a hybrid microgrid by optimal scheduling of the operating time of distributed generators and power exchange between the battery storage system and the utility grid. The impacts of unit commitment on the optimal operation of the hybrid microgrid are evaluated by formulating and solving the optimization problem using mixed integer quadratic programming technique. Both grid-connected and isolated modes on the hybrid microgrid, which comprises of a combination of distributed generators, renewable energy resources, storage batteries, and a variety of loads, are investigated. Realistic constraints and battery degradation are also factored into the optimization. The results show comprehensively that incorporation of the unit commitment into the optimization problem typically reduces the total operational and emission costs for both isolated and grid-connected modes. In addition, it helps to increase the penetration of renewable energy resources with microgrid.
Progesterone reverses 17β‐estradiol‐mediated neuroprotection and BDNF induction in cultured hippocampal slices

Due to the many similarities in mechanisms of action, targets and effects, progesterone (P4), estrogen and neurotrophins have been implicated in synaptic plasticity as well as in neuroprotection and neurodegeneration. In this study, we examined the interactions between 17β‐estradiol (E2) and P4 and brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on both plasticity and excitotoxicity in rat cultured hippocampal slices. First, we evaluated the neuroprotective effects of E2 and P4 against N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) toxicity in cultured rat hippocampal slices. As previously reported, pretreatment with 10 nm E2 (24 h) was neuroprotective against NMDA toxicity. However, P4 (10 nm) added 20 h after E2 treatment for 4 h reversed its protective effect. In addition, the same E2 treatment resulted in an increase in BDNF protein levels as well as in activation of its receptor, TrkB, while addition of P4 attenuated E2‐mediated increase in BDNF and TrkB levels. Furthermore, E2‐mediated neuroprotection was eliminated by a BDNF scavenger, TrkB‐Fc. Our results indicate that E2 neuroprotective effects are mediated through the BDNF pathway and that, under certain conditions, P4 antagonizes the protective effect of estrogen.
Clear cell renal cell carcinoma: validation of World Health Organization/International Society of Urological Pathology grading

In 2012, the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) introduced a novel grading system for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and papillary renal cell carcinoma. This system is incorporated into the latest World Health Organization renal tumour classification, being designated WHO/ISUP grading. This study was undertaken to compare WHO/ISUP and Fuhrman grading and to validate WHO/ISUP grading as a prognostic parameter in a series of clear cell RCC.
Distributed processing techniques of laser beam control for free space optics system

A laser transmission system for free space optical communication is described in this paper. The distributed processing techniques are investigated to apply to all-optical transmission systems. A pair of transmission nodes is equipped with an E/O and an O/E converter and each node is controlled independently. The distributed processing system transmits the positioning data of laser beam and the control commands using TCP/IP between two PCs. A prototype of active free space optics systems is constructed and employed for experiments of tracking mobile terminals. Results confirm that the proposed techniques enable the free space optics system to pursue the unstable transmission nodes and maintain broadband communication in high quality.
Prevalence of Abuse of Disabled Children — A Chronology

Open almost any recent social work magazine, or child protection text, and some reference to the abuse of disabled children will be included. Yet awareness of abuse within this group has resulted from a relatively recent growth of interest on the part of psychologists and social work and child protection professionals. Previously, sociocultural and political factors contributed to an otherwise muted response to research dating back to the 1960s, which clearly documents abuse of children who have an impairment or ‘‘developmental disability ’’ of some kind. Reviewing this research reveals as much about society’s reaction to disability and to disabled children, as it does about the abuse itself. ThisAnnotation presents research in relation to three issues : (1) prevalence of abuse of disabled children; (2) responding to abuse; and (3) preventing abuse.
Time-Domain Waveform Synthesis Using a Dual-Polarization Modulator

This letter proposes a time-domain waveform synthesis based on a dual-polarization modulator that is driven by single-frequency radio frequency signals. This is achieved by applying a dual-polarization modulator to generate a polarization multiplexed optical signal. By controlling the parameters of the driving signals, multiple waveforms can be generated by synthesizing optical intensity profiles along two orthogonal polarization states. Compared with previously reported signal generators, the proposed time-domain waveform synthesizer is simple, compact, and easy to implement. The generation of triangular, flat-top, and sawtooth pulse trains with 5- and 10-GHz repetition rates are demonstrated in this letter. The results indicate that the proposed system is feasible and would find applications in optical signal processing and microwave photonic signal processing systems.
Markers of Inflammation, Metabolic Risk Factors, and Incident Heart Failure in American Indians: The Strong Heart Study

Inflammation may play a role in increased risk of heart failure (HF) that is associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome (MS), and diabetes. This study investigated associations between inflammatory markers, MS, and incident HF in a population with a high prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and MS. The cohort consisted of 3098 American Indians without prevalent cardiovascular disease who had C‐reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen measured at the Strong Heart Study phase II examination. Independent associations between inflammatory markers, MS, and HF were analyzed by Cox hazard models. During a mean follow‐up of 11 years, 218 participants developed HF. After the adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, fibrinogen, (hazard ratio [HR], 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15–1.59) but not CRP (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 0.97–1.32) remained a significant HF predictor. In individuals without diabetes, concomitant presence of MS and elevated CRP or fibrinogen increased HF risk (for MS and CRP: HR, 2.02; 95% CI, 0.95–4.31; for CRP and fibrinogen: HR, 1.75; 95% CI, 0.83–3.72). In a population with a high prevalence of obesity, MS, and diabetes, elevated CRP and fibrinogen increased HF risk. These associations are attenuated by the adjustments for conventional risk factors suggesting that inflammation acts in concert with metabolic and clinical risk factors in increasing HF risk.
The first synapse in vision: Transmission and modulation

When light enters the eye, a visual image is focussed on a structure at the back of the eye that we call the retina. This structure contains several layers and is connected to the brain via a bundle of fibres we call the optic nerve. However, the brain does not simply receive the raw retinal image. The incoming visual information is first heavily processed by the various layers of the retina. The cells that first detect the light are called photoreceptors. There are two types: cones, which are highly concentrated in the fovea for detail and mainly function during the day, and rods that primarily function in very dark conditions because they are extremely sensitive. Incredibly, substantial processing is already taking place at the point where these cones communicate with two cell types in the next layer, which are known as horizontal cells and bipolar cells. The point at which two cells communicate is called a synapse and so we refer to this as the first retinal synapse. The mechanisms underlying the processing at the first retinal synapse form the topic of this thesis.
Profit Windfalls and Investments in Innovation: Evidence from Patent Term Extensions

I show that mature innovating firms respond to exogenous cash flow by engaging in external patent acquisitions that diversify their patent portfolios into new technologies. By exploiting the random timing of patent term expiry dates and their unexpected extensions due to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, I find that a one standard deviation increase in the citation-weighted patent portfolio share of term-extended patents leads to an increase in cash flow by 1.5 percent of book assets. Given these windfall profits, I find evidence of physical capital investment, debt issuance reduction, and acquisitions of new external technologies. Internal investments in R&D, on the other hand, show no response, suggesting high R&D adjustment costs for large, mature firms.
Just-in-Time Retail Distribution: A Systems Perspective on Cross-Docking

Cross-docking is a just-in-time strategy for distribution logistics. It is aimed at reducing inventory levels and distribution lead times by creating a seamless flow of products from suppliers to customers. Prior supply chain literature has argued that creating such a seamless product flows requires a holistic view on cross-docking management, aimed at synchronizing cross-docking operations at the distribution center with its inbound and outbound network logistics. This paper provides an in-depth case study illustrating how cross-docking operations can be managed more holistically in a retail distribution context. A discrete event simulation model has been developed to understand and improve the cross-docking operations of a large grocery retailer in The Netherlands. The model is used to quantitatively evaluate two proposed changes that exploit opportunities in the design and control of the retailer’s distribution network. An extensive real-world data set is used as input to the model. Overall, the case and simulation results show that a holistic cross-docking management approach can indeed improve system-wide performance, which further stresses the importance of making cross-dock operational decisions making and network decisions together.