Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intra-Rater Test-Retest Reliability of Ely's Test Using Smartphone in Patients With Lumbar Extension-Rotation Syndrome

Ely's test is commonly used to assess rectus femoris muscle flexibility. however, a reliability limit of this test was demonstrated by a previous study. In this study, we present an alternative method using an application for a digital horizontal level in a smartphone (DHLS) to complement the reliability limit of Ely's test. The aim of this study was to examine the reliability of Ely's test using DHLS on the pelvis, compared to using visual observation (VO) of pelvic and hip motions. Nineteen patients with lumbar extension-rotation syndrome were recruited for this study. An examiner examined the rectus femoris flexibility (both pass/fail and goniometer scoring) through Ely's test using both DHLS and VO. A retest session was completed two hours later for within-day reliability and seven days later for between-day intra-rater test-retest reliability. Results showed higher Kappa values for pass/fail scoring and higher intraclass correlation coefficient values for goniometer scoring in Ely's test using DHLS, compared to using VO. Measurement error and Bland and Altman plots further demonstrated the degree of intra-rater variance during Ely's test using DHLS in a clinical setting, compared to using VO. These results demonstrated that Ely's test using DHLS showed acceptable reliability compared to using VO. Ely's test using DHLS could be widely used for measuring the rectus femoris muscle flexibility in patients with lumbar extension-rotation syndrome, although the inter-rater reliability needs to be established first.
Attention-Gated Graph Convolution for Extracting Drugs and Their Interactions from Drug Labels

Preventable adverse events as a result of medical errors present a growing concern in the healthcare system. As drug-drug interactions (DDIs) may lead to preventable adverse events, being able to extract DDIs from drug labels into a machine-processable form is an important step toward effective dissemination of drug safety information. In this study, we tackle the problem of jointly extracting drugs and their interactions, including interaction outcome, from drug labels. Our deep learning approach entails composing various intermediate representations including sequence and graph based context, where the latter is derived using graph convolutions (GC) with a novel attention-based gating mechanism (holistically called GCA). These representations are then composed in meaningful ways to handle all subtasks jointly. To overcome scarcity in training data, we additionally propose transfer learning by pre-training on related DDI data. Our model is trained and evaluated on the 2018 TAC DDI corpus. Our GCA model in conjunction with transfer learning performs at 39.20% F1 and 26.09% F1 on entity recognition (ER) and relation extraction (RE) respectively on the first official test set and at 45.30% F1 and 27.87% F1 on ER and RE respectively on the second official test set corresponding to an improvement over our prior best results by up to 6 absolute F1 points. After controlling for available training data, our model exhibits state-of-the-art performance by improving over the next comparable best outcome by roughly three F1 points in ER and 1.5 F1 points in RE evaluation across two official test sets.
Protective roles of nitric oxide on antioxidant systems in tall fescue leaves under high-light stress

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important molecule involved in many physiological processes. In this study, the effect of NO on oxidative damage caused by high levels of light was investigated in tall fescue leaves. Tall fescue was developed in relative low light intensity (100 mol m-2 s-1) for 21 days and then transferred to high light (500 mol m-2 s-1). Tall fescue leaves was supplied with NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), before high-light treatment to determine the physiological mechanisms of NO on tall fescue tolerance to high-light stress. Treatment of tall fescue leaves with 100 M SNP before highlight stress resulted in alleviated light-induced electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde and carbonyl contents in tall fescue leaves. The levels of H2O2 and superoxide radical ( ·- 2 O ) were reduced as well. Moreover, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) increased in tall fescue in presence of SNP under high-light stress. This pattern was reversed by application of NO scavenger, 2-(4-carboxy-2-phenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (PTIO) before light treatment. Pronounced increases of NO production were found in tall fescue leaves after exposure to high-light stress. The results suggested that high-light stress elevated NO level and that NO might act as a signalling molecule to enhance antioxidant enzyme activities, further protecting against injuries caused by high-light stress.
Outils de pré-calibration numérique des lois de commande de systèmes de systèmes : application aux aides à la conduite et au véhicule autonome. (Tuning tools for systems of systems control : application to driving assistances and to autonomous vehicle)

Cette these est dediee a la pre-calibration des nouveaux systemes d’aides a la conduite (ADAS). Le developpement de ces systemes est devenu aujourd’hui un axe de recherche strategique pour les constructeurs automobiles dans le but de proposer des vehicules plus surs et moins energivores. Cette these contribue a une vision methodologique multi-critere, multi-modele et multi-scenario. Elle en propose une instanciation particuliere pour la pre-calibration specifique au Lane Centering Assistance (LCA). Elle s’appuie sur des modeles dynamiques de complexite juste necessaire du vehicule et de son environnement pour, dans le cadre du formalisme H2/H∞, formaliser et arbitrer les compromis entre performance de suivi de voie, confort des passagers et robustesse. Les criteres elabores sont definis de maniere a etre d’interpretation aisee, car directement lies a la physique, et facilement calculables. Ils s’appuient sur des modeles de perturbations exogenes (e.g. courbure de la route ou rafale de vent) et de vehicules multiples mais representatifs, de maniere a reduire autant que possible le pessimisme tout en embrassant l’ensemble des situations realistes. Des simulations et des essais sur vehicules demontrent l’interet de l’approche.
Developing event identification methods for structured and unstructured data streams

Data, now more than ever before, are continuously being generated in huge volumes, andat rapid speed. Data may originate from various sources, for instance: sensor readings,financial transactions, social networks, etc. A data stream is a continuous sequence ofdata arriving in almost real-time and often at a high speed. In this thesis, we are interested in benefiting from the availability of such data anddeveloping methods for detecting the occurrence of events from data streams, such as atext stream and a price time-series stream. Hence, we have explored event identificationfrom structured and unstructured data streams in the domain of finance. We employ the Directional Change (DC) approach to high frequency time-seriesstreams to identify significant price transitions (i.e. events). DC is an event-basedapproach for summarizing price movements based on a fixed, a-priori threshold. Wepropose a dynamic threshold definition method, which replaces the fixed threshold andis appropriate for markets that operate over specific opening and closing times. Adynamic threshold provides more flexibility and extends the DC approach allowing theidentification of price changes in continuously changing environments. With the proliferation of social media data reporting on all aspects of human activ-ity, being able to automatically identify events is becoming increasingly important. Wepresent a framework for detecting the occurring events on a daily basis, via social net-work streams. We develop and extend a Frequent Pattern Mining method by proposinga dynamic support definition method to replace the fixed support. As the number oftext posts streamed each day is not fixed, a dynamic support, can adapt to the natureof data streams and can improve the identification of events. Finally, we explore whether we can bring together the insights from the time-seriesstream and the social network stream to understand if events as identified from bothstreams can be correlated.
TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION IN RELATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF FOREST MARGIN AREA OF GUNUNG SALAK ENDAH (Persepsi

Research and information on teachers’ perception of environment and environmental education (EE) in Indonesian context were insufficient. Therefore, this research aimed at identifying teachers’ perception of environment and EE, as well as the influencing factors. Results showed that: (1) Teachers from forest margin areas had limited environmental perception; (2) Most of them had positive perception on EE implementation; however they viewed their competence and self-efficacy as being low. (3) Differences in EE perception among teachers were influenced by their educational background, non formal education, level of teaching difficulties from the grade they taught, and organizational experiences.
Size effect in international markets: a survey of literature

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the size effect prevails in the international markets because there is a criticism that size effect is an outcome of data snooping bias. This study finds that size effect survives in capital markets in United States [US] as well as in other international markets. Further, the study reveals that the size effect appears only in the up-market condition. Recently, size factor has become a popular member in multifactor asset pricing models. However, the role of the size factor in multifactor models in conditional markets is still uncovered.
Delay-dependent stabilisation and disturbance tolerance for time-delay systems subject to actuator saturation

The problem of delay-dependent stabilisation of linear continuous-time systems with time delay in the state, additive bounded disturbances and limited actuators is presented. A design procedure based on the solution of coupled matrix inequalities and the use of the S-procedure is proposed. The links and the trade-offs between tolerance to both disturbance and delay, and the size of the region inside which the stability of the closed-loop saturated system is assured, are discussed.
Values and pragmatic action: The challenges of introducing ethical intelligence in technical design communities

Various Value-Conscious Design frameworks have recently emerged to introduce moral and ethical intelligence into business and technical design contexts, with the goal of proactively influencing the design of technologies to account for moral and ethical values during the conception and design process. Two attempts to insert ethical intelligence into technical design communities to influence the design of technologies in ethical- and value-conscious ways are described, revealing discouraging results. Learning from these failed attempts, the article identifies three key challenges of pragmatic engagement with technical design communities: (1) confronting competing values; (2) identifying the role of the values advocate; and (3) the justification of a value framework. Addressing these challenges must become a priority if one is to be successful in pragmatically engaging with real-world business and design contexts to bring moral and ethical intelligence to bear in the design of emerging information and communication technologies.
Disturbed sleep as a risk factor for aggression in prisoners with a psychotic illness: a brief report

The objective of the present study is to examine whether a relationship exists between disturbed sleep and aggression in 19 male prisoners with a psychotic illness, incarcerated in the Penitentiary Psychiatric Centre in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The sleep–wake rhythm was indirectly assessed by means of actigraphy. The results show that nocturnal restlessness was a significant predictor of aggression/agitation with a large effect size (R2 = .639, adjusted R2 = .536). It was concluded that future research should focus on nocturnal restlessness as a possible cause of aggression in this population.
Effect of seasonally changing tissue weight on trace metal concentrations in the bivalve Macoma balthica in San Francisco Bay

The influence of seasonal changes in the weight of soft tissues on temporal fluctuations in tissue concentrations of Cu and Zn was examined in 4 populations of the clam Macoma balthica sampled in San Francisco Bay for a period of 2 to 5 yr. Fluctuations in metal concentration expected from changes in tissue weight between sampling dates were estimated by assuming that whole body metal burden was constant during the sampling interval. Comparison of estimated and actual metal concentrations showed that the degree to which fluctuations in trace metal concentrations were driven by weight changes d~ffered considerably among stations, among years at a single station, and between metals.
Improved adaptive unscented Kalman filter algorithm for target tracking

An adaptive unscented Kalman filter (AUKF) algorithm is proposed to solve the problem that the statistical characteristics of the process noise are unknown in the target tracking, which leads to filter divergence or low filtering precision. The improved Sage-Husa estimator is used to estimate the statistical characteristics of the unknown process noise in the filtering process, and to judge and suppress the filtering divergence, which effectively improves the numerical stability of the filtering and reduces the error of the state estimation. The simulation results show that the improved AUKF algorithm not only keeps convergence but also improves the accuracy and stability of the target tracking under the condition of unknown time-varying process noise statistic, compared with the standard UKF algorithm.
Electronic travel aid based on consumer depth devices to avoid moving objects

We present a prototype for an electronic travel aid (ETA) for visually impaired persons based on consumer depth sensors. To provide more helpful information, our ETA system detects the velocity of moving objects and helps the user to avoid them with proper audible warnings. To achieve the stated goal, our system captures and processes depth images in front of a user to remove noises and acquire a bounding box for each object. Then, it traces the objects’ bounding boxes and their speeds and directions of movement in the captured depth images. According to the recognized directions and speeds, our system warns the user not only of immediately dangerous situations, but also of potential risks, via audio warnings and cautions.
Mitochondrial Genome Project on Endangered Birds in Japan: 2. Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda

In recent years, the Mitochondrial Genome Project on Endangered Birds in Japan has been undertaken by the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology. The project aims to determine entire nucleotide sequences of the mitochondorial genomes of endangered birds in Japan. Using the total mitochondrial sequence, one can analyze nucleotide variations, obtain information for haplotypes, and elucidate the present population structure of the endangered bird. Based on these analyses, a future counterplan for saving endangered birds from extinction will be designed. This is the second report from the Project. We have determined the entire nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome of the Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda. The Red-tailed Tropicbird inhabits tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including those of Australia, South Africa, Indonesia and New Guinea, but not quite as far east as South America (Marchant & Higgins 1990). In Japan, it breeds on the Kazan (Volcano) Islands, Nishi-no-shima Island in Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands and MinamiTorishima Island. In 1982, more than 200 birds were observed on the Minami-Iwojima Island of Kazan, a protected natural environmental area with restricted access. In the “Red Data Book of Japan” published by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment in 2002, the Red-tailed Tropicbird is classified as an “EN (Endangered)” species (Ministry of the Environment 2002).
Design of high-speed SerDes transceiver for chip-to-chip communications in CMOS process

With the continuous increase of on-chip computation capacities and exponential growth of data-intensive applications, the high-speed data transmission through serial links has become the backbone for modern communication systems. To satisfy the massive data-exchanging requirement, the data rate of such serial links has been updated from several Gb/s to tens of Gb/s. Currently, the commercial standards such as Ethernet 400GbE, InfiniBand high data rate (HDR), and common electrical interface (CEI)-56G has been developing towards 40+ Gb/s. As the core component within these links, the transceiver chipset plays a fundamental role in balancing the operation speed, power consumption, area occupation, and operation range. Meanwhile, the CMOS process has become the dominant technology in modern transceiver chip fabrications due to its large-scale digital integration capability and aggressive pricing advantage. This research aims to explore advanced techniques that are capable of exploiting the maximum operation speed of the CMOS process, and hence provides potential solutions for 40+ Gb/s CMOS transceiver designs. The major contributions are summarized as follows. A low jitter ring-oscillator-based injection-locked clock multiplier (RILCM) with a hybrid frequency tracking loop that consists of a traditional phase-locked loop (PLL), a timing-adjusted loop, and a loop selection state-machine is implemented in 65-nm CMOS process. In the ring voltage-controlled oscillator, a full-swing pseudo-differential delay cell is proposed to lower the device noise to phase noise conversion. To obtain high operation speed and high detection accuracy, a compact timing-adjusted phase detector tightly combined with a well-matched charge pump is designed. Meanwhile, a lock-loss detection and lock recovery is devised to endow the RILCM with a similar lock-acquisition ability as conventional PLL, thus excluding the initial frequency set-
AtGS1.2 Gene May Enhance Salt Stress Tolerance in Seed Germination and Overexpression of Arabidopsis thaliana

Glutamine synthetase (GS) is the key enzyme of ammonium assimilation in plants. In this research, we focus on GS1.2 ( AtGS1.2 ) in Arabidopsis thaliana , and study the function of ammonium assimilation in relieving salt stress. Semi-quantitative PCR was employed to investigate the expression of AtGS1.2 in different time. The expression level of AtGS1.2 under the salt-treatment during seed germination stage was analyzed by northern blot method. The result indicated that the expression of AtGS1.2 was induced by 100 mM NaCl treatment during seed germination, comparing with control. We also obtained the over-expression lines of AtGS1.2 to analyze the functions at salt stress. According to the results, we can infer that AtGS1.2 in Arabidopsis plays an important role in the defense of salt stress during seed germination and seeding stages.
Resource-Based View, Strategic Factors and University Performance

This study enhances the body of knowledge by remodelling the connection of strategic issues surrounding university performance by applying an underpinning theory that best explained the relationship. The paper reveals the interrelationship of organisational strategy, structure, transformational leadership, talent management, technology integration and university performance that could underpin by resource-based view. The study seeks to provide rational consideration on the integration of above-mentioned variables. As a significant contribution to the body of knowledge, it expands the competitiveness theory and strategy theory development. Furthermore, provides implications to the researchers and practitioners regarding the role of underlying theory in remodelling organizations’ strategic direction. Keywords: Resource-Based View, Strategic Factors, University Performance.
Ecological Assessment by Physical Chemical and Biological Interactions Analysis in Trophic State of Libelula´s Wetland – Bogotá - Colombia

Due to the serious problems that affect aquatic ecosystems around the world, human survival has been put in risk. _Colombia has been considered to have a great hydric wealth but its people are suffering of water supply limitation and the reception of less quality water due to inappropriate use of water resources. For this reason, many actions have been taken to keep in observation lotic and lentic water body’s performance, taking in count all nature and human contributions which may disrupt to greater of lesser degree the water quality and viability of aquatic species. Therefore, this permanent inspection has helped in the proposal of solutions to avoid or alleviate the harm done in water bodies and recover them to guarantee the typical functioning of hydric ecosystem. With this point of view, it was proposed an ecological assessment of an urban wetland called “Libelula”, injured by neighboring community. In this project, the Carlson ś Trophic State Index was employed and the inspection of the relationships between living species and physicochemical parameters by the application of PCA methodology was also done. Results show that eutrophic state has been reached generating an increase of certain phytoplankton, zooplankton and macrophytes species, which have been associated with nutrient and organic matter enriched water ecosystems. The change of bathymetry of Libelula ś Wetland in time was studied with GIS and UAV techniques showing a great negative impact principally because of residential activities which lead to lose important ecosystem services.
Data Mining utilization in Determining Strategic Business Area Restaurants by Using C4.5 Algorithm

The purpose of this study is to help in analyzing the feasibility of business locations quickly. The research method used is qualitative research to describe the decision tree with C4.5 algorithm to easily solve the problem by analyzing the data mining usage. The results of this study are in the form of knowledge as a basis for decision making. In this research, data mining will be carried out so it can produce decisions in determining strategic business locations. It can be concluded that the use of Data Mining in Determining the Strategic Restaurant Business Area by Using C4.5 Algorithm can help in analyzing the feasibility of business locations quickly.
THE IMPACT OF HORNWORT (Ceratophyllum demersum L.) ON CYANOBACTERIAL PHYTOPLANKTON IN HYPETROPHIC CONDITIONS. RESULTS FROM A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT

Summary. The effect of hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum L.) on natural cyanobacterial assemblages with Planktothrix agardhii (Gomont) Anagnostidis et Komarek and Limnothrix redekei (Van Goor) Meffert was studied. The research was conducted in the form of an ongoing 21 days laboratory experiment using nine aquariums with a volume of 16 dm 3 , planted with various density of hornwort shoots: 5 g·dm -3 and 10 g·dm -3 (tanks B and C) while aquariums without hornwort were used as a control (A). The concentration of chlorophyll a, total phytoplankton biomass, the concentration of dissolved oxygen, total organic carbon, phosphorus as well as pH and electrolytic conductivity were determined every few days. Larger decrease in the concentration of chlorophyll a (which was 38.2 ±9.3 μg·dm -3 at start) was found in aquaria B and C (to 13.3. ±9.6 μg·dm -3 and to 7.6 ±13.2 μg·dm -3 ) in comparison to control aquaria (to 20.3 ±12.5 μg·dm -3 ), but this difference was not confirmed statistically (F = 2.75, p = 0.101, ANOVA). The only parameters that differed significantly between the control and the planted aquarium was the concentration of phosphates (whose value has increased during the experiment), and electrolytic conductivity (which recorded a slight decrease in values).