Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time of Day Effect on Repeated Sprint Ability, Aerobic Capacity and Physiological Responses in Team-Sport Athletes

The aim of this study was to examine the time of day effect on aerobic capacity, repeated sprint ability and physiological responses in team-sport athletes. Ten male athletes (age: 21.60 ± 1.42, height: 185.10 ± 7.30cm, body weight: 82.15 ± 4.88, % body fat: 12.98 ± 2.39) who regularly exercise and engage in team sports, participated in this study voluntarily. Athletes were subjected to Repeated Anaerobic Sprint Test and 20m Shuttle Run Test at three different times of the day in the morning (09.00-10.00), afternoon (12.00-13.00) and evening (16.00-17.00) at two-day intervals. As a result of Repeated Measures ANOVA, statistically significant differences were observed when comparing body temperature (F(2,18)=10.042, p=. 001), vertical jump height (F(2,18)=9.216, p=. 005), maximal power (F(2,18)=9.059, p=. 002), mean power (F(2,18)=8.617, p=. 002), minimum power (F(2,18)=7.120, p=. 002), aerobic capacity (F(2,18)=6.967, p=. 006), maximal heart rate F(2,18)=6.859, p=. 006), and blood lactate levels after exercise tests (F(2,18)=6.041, p=. 010) measured at morning, afternoon and evening time periods. According to Bonferroni test results; body temperature, vertical jump height, maximal power, aerobic capacity values were found to be statistically higher in the evening hours than the morning hours (p<0.05). Blood lactate level and maximal heart rate were increased significantly after tests in the evening (p<0.05). In this study, factors such as having a good sleep quality, body temperature and circadian type can be shown as reasons for the performance of the athletes to be good in the evening compared to the morning hours. In conclusion, while planning the athletic training programs, it is thought that it is important to perform training which include aerobic and anaerobic capacity, explosive power and jumping exercises in the evening hours because of the significant increases in performance of the athletes
Calibration of residential water meters by using computer vision

We present an artificial vision based system that quickly and semi-automatically calibrates water meters. The system operates with an artificial neural net architecture which is able to visually read analog needles and dynamically track the float position of a lab rotameter. By using a closed water flow circuit powered by a low power centrifugal pump, the computer reads through a web camera the water meter needles position, measuring the time required for a full turn and calculating the associated water flow. Simultaneously a second camera tracks the float of a rotameter connected to the water circuit and digitalizes the indicated flow. The two amounts are compared by using column indicators, telling the operator to correct the water meter by excess or defect if necessary. The system has been tested in real time and with real instruments.
The College Wage Premium, Overeducation, and the Expansion of Higher Education in the UK

This paper provides findings from the UK Labour Force Surveys from 1996 to 2003 on the financial private returns to a degree – the "college premium". The data covers a decade when the university participation rate doubled – yet we find no significant evidence that the mean return to a degree dropped in response to this large increase in the flow of graduates. However, we do find quite large falls in returns when we compare the cohorts that went to university before and after the recent rapid expansion of HE. The evidence is consistent with the notion that new graduates are a close substitute for recent graduates but poor substitutes for older graduates. There appears to have been a very recent increase in the number of graduates getting "non-graduate" jobs but, conditional on getting a graduate job the returns seem stable. Our results are consistent across almost all degree subjects – the exception being maths and engineering where we find that for men, and especially for women, there is a large increase in the proportion with maths and engineering degrees getting graduate jobs and that, conditional on this, the return is rising.
The importance of MT for the survival of minority languages: Spanish-Galician MT system

Our society is coming through a lot of changes that are connected, basically, with information. Maybe those languages that are present in this challenge will survive, and languages that will not meet those changes will dissapear. The Linguistics section of the Centro Ramón Piñeiro para a Investigación en Humanidades (CRP) is devoted to the development of basic language resources for Galician for trying to solve the gap existing in computational resources and to made it possible for Galician to be present in the new information society. The aim of this paper is to explain how we have developed a Spanish-Galician Machine Translation system, what tools we have made use of, which difficulties we have found in our task and what are the final results of the project.
Design space exploration for dynamically reconfigurable architectures

By incorporating reconfigurable hardware in embedded system architectures it has become easier to satisfy the performance constraints of demanding applications while lowering system cost. In order to evaluate the performance of a candidate architecture, the nodes (tasks) of the data flow graphs that describe an application must be assigned to the computing resources of the architecture: programmable processors and reconfigurable FPGA, whose run-time reconfiguration capabilities must be exploited. In this paper we present a novel design exploration tool - based on a local search algorithm with global convergence properties - which simultaneously explores choices for computing resources, assignments of nodes to these resources, task schedules on the programmable processors and context definitions for the reconfigurable circuits. The tool finds a solution that minimizes system cost while meeting the performance constraints; more precisely it lets the designer select the quality of the optimization (hence its computing time) and finds accordingly a solution with close-to-minimal cost.
Comparative study of marker-based camera tracking using extended and unscented Kalman filters

camera pose tracking is an important issue for several modern applications like augmented reality, surveillance systems, robot localization, etc. In this paper, we compare the performances of unscented and extended Kalman filtering for improving camera pose estimation. For that, we propose to use external square markers to provide an accurate motion measurements. Several experiments are achieved in order to compare the accuracy of the two filters. Our results show that, for this kind of applications, the extended Kalman filter (EKF) can perform better than an unscented Kalman filter (UKF) but at a much lower computational cost.
A behaviour-based optimisation strategy for multi-robot exploration

To efficiently explore an unknown environment with a team of robots, a coordinated strategy that maximises the exploration area is required. This is a difficult optimisation problem, as there may exist many suboptimal solutions. In order to reduce the search space to a region that is near the optimal, a behaviour-based exploration strategy is used to define the region in which an optimal solution can be found. A numerical optimisation technique is then used to find the solution in this region. In particular, the proposed strategy uses a potential-fields technique to obtain a coarse movement direction for each robot. A nonlinear optimisation method is then used to calculate the velocity and angle deviation from the coarse direction to achieve the maximum exploration for each move. Simulation results have shown that the proposed method provides an efficient exploration strategy.
An Analysis of Student Persistence in Online Education

This study examines the relationship between instructional interaction and student persistence among adult students in online courses. A survey research methodology was used to examine the frequency and the method of instructional interaction in online courses, student attitudes regarding instructional interaction, and the reasons online students provide for persisting in, or withdrawing from, online courses. The results indicate that student perceptions regarding the contribution of asynchronous, discussion forum use combined with frequent use of asynchronous discussion account for 26% of the variance in course persistence rates. Consistent with the literature on adult student dropout, the findings identify additional situational and institutional barriers to persistence among students in online courses. The findings suggest that strategies to facilitate student persistence in online courses should address online instructional techniques, faculty development, technology development, and program development.
Voltage Control in Low-Voltage Distribution System Based on Distribution Control

Recently, LVDC (Low Voltage Direct Current) distribution system have been evolving into one of the most interesting topics in the field of distribution system due to its advantages in terms of power quality, reliability and power conversation loss reduction. Voltage control in LVDC distribution system is becoming important to improve the power quality and system reliable, it can keep voltage profile within accepted limits range, from 0.95pu to 1.05pu. In this paper, we propose a voltage control method using multiple distributed resources as well as the main AC/DC converter in LVDC distribution systems. The voltage control method is implemented in distributed control concept that consists of the main central controllers in the distributed generators. The performance of the proposed voltage control method is demonstrated with multiple case studies in the paper
Chronic Testosterone Replacement Exerts Cardioprotection against Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Attenuating Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Testosterone-Deprived Rats

Background Although testosterone deficiency is associated with increased risks of heart disease, the benefits of testosterone therapy are controversial. Moreover, current understanding on the cardiac effect of testosterone during cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) periods is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that testosterone replacement attenuates the impairment of left ventricular (LV) function and heart rate variability (HRV), and reduces the infarct size and arrhythmias caused by I/R injury in orchiectomized (ORX) rats. Methodology ORX or sham-operated male Wistar rats (n = 24) were randomly divided and received either testosterone (2 mg/kg, subcutaneously administered) or the vehicle for 8 weeks. The ejection fraction (EF) and HRV were determined at baseline and the 4th and 8th week. I/R was performed by left anterior descending coronary artery ligation for 30 minutes, followed by a 120-minute reperfusion. LV pressure, arrhythmia scores, infarct size and cardiac mitochondrial function were determined. Results Prior to I/R, EF and HRV were impaired in the ORX group, but were restored in the testosterone-treated group. During I/R, arrhythmia scores and the infarct size were greater, and cardiac mitochondrial function was impaired, whereas the time to 1st VT/VF onset and the LV end-systolic pressure were decreased in the ORX group when compared to the sham group. Testosterone replacement attenuated the impairment of these parameters in ORX rats during I/R injury, but did not show any benefit or adverse effect in non-ORX rats. Conclusions Testosterone replacement restores cardiac function and autonomic regulation, and exerts cardioprotective effects during the I/R period via mitochondrial protection in ORX rats.
The Environment of Active Galactic Nuclei in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We present the observed fraction of galaxies with an active galactic nucleus (AGN) as a function of environment in the early data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Using 4921 galaxies in the redshift range 0.05 ≤ z ≤ 0.095 and brighter than M(r*) = -20.0 (or M* + 1.45), we find at least ~20% of these galaxies possess an unambiguous detection of an AGN, but this fraction could be as high as ≃40% after we model the ambiguous emission-line galaxies in our sample. We have studied the environmental dependence of galaxies, using the local galaxy density as determined from the distance to the 10th nearest neighbor. As expected, we observe that the fraction of star-forming galaxies decreases with density, while the fraction of passive galaxies (no emission lines) increases with density. In contrast, the fraction of galaxies with an AGN remains constant from the cores of galaxy clusters to the rarefied field population. We conclude that the presence of an AGN is independent of the disk component of a galaxy. We have extensively tested our results, and they are robust against measurement error, definition of an AGN, aperture bias, stellar absorption, survey geometry, and signal-to-noise ratio. Our observations are consistent with the hypothesis that a supermassive black hole resides in the bulge of all massive galaxies, and ≃40% of these black holes are seen as AGNs in our sample. A high fraction of local galaxies with an AGN suggests either that the mean lifetime of these AGNs is longer than previously thought (i.e., ≥108 yr) or that the AGNs burst more often than expected: ~40 times over the redshift range of our sample.
Involvement of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and associated transforming growth factor-β/Smad signaling in paraquat-induced pulmonary fibrosis

Paraquat (PQ) is a highly toxic herbicide which is able to induce pulmonary fibrosis in humans and animals. The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was demonstrated to be an important factor in pulmonary fibrosis. However, it has remained elusive whether PQ induces pulmonary fibrosis via EMT, which was therefore investigated in the present study. In addition, the underlying mechanisms of PQ-induced EMT were examined in vitro. Hematoxylin and eosin staining of rat lung tissues demonstrated that PQ induced pulmonary fibrosis in vivo. Western blot analysis then revealed that the expression of epithelial cell marker E-cadherin was significantly decreased, while the expression of mesenchymal markers α-smooth-muscle actin and vimentin was significantly increased in rat lung tissues and A549 cells following PQ treatment. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β/Smad signaling was also induced by PQ as evidenced by increased expression of TGF-β1 and Smad2. However, PQ-induced EMT in A549 cells was abolished by transfection with TGF-β1-specific small hairpin RNA. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that PQ induced EMT in vivo and in vitro, which may be an important process in the development of PQ-induced pulmonary fibrosis. In addition, TGF-β/Smad signaling was involved in PQ-induced EMT.
Syntax Sensitive and Language Independent Detection of Code Clones

This paper proposes a new technique to detect code clones from the lexical and syntactic point of view, which is based on PALEX source code representation. The PALEX code contains the recorded parsing actions and also lexical formatting information including white spaces and comments. We can record a list of parsing actions (shift, reduce, and reading a token) during a compiling process after a compiler finishes analyzing the source code. The proposed technique has advantages for syntax sensitive approach and language independency. Keywords—Code Clones, Source Code Representation, XML, Parser, Parser Generator
The research of user model based on hierarchical semantic context for digital library

Nowadays the research on user model built in digital library for personalization service is lack of the collection of user context information. The paper analyses the Contextualized Attention Metadata(CAM), and constructs a CAM template to collect the user behavior context information. Depending on the information, a semantic context model of digital library is dynamically built.
Distal landmarks and hippocampal place cells: Effects of relative translation versus rotation

Hippocampal neurons are selectively active when a rat occupies restricted locations in an environment. These place cells derive their specificity from a multitude of sources, including idiothetic cues and sensory input derived from both distal and local landmarks. Most experiments have attempted to dissociate the relative strengths and roles played by these sources by rotating one set against the other. Few studies have addressed the effects of relative translation of the local cue set versus salient distal landmarks. To address this question, ensembles of place cells were recorded as a rectangular or circular track was moved to different locations in a room with controlled visual landmarks. Place cells primarily maintained their firing fields relative to the track (i.e., occupying new locations relative to the distal landmarks), even though the track could occupy completely nonoverlapping regions of the room. When the distal landmarks were rotated around the circular track, however, the place fields rotated with the landmarks, demonstrating that the cues were perceptible to the rat. These results suggest that, under these conditions, the spatial tuning of place cells may derive from an interaction between local and idiothetic cues, which define the precise firing locations of the cells and the relationships between them, and distal landmarks, which set the orientation of the ensemble representation relative to the external environment. Hippocampus 2003;13:604–617. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Class Size in Early Grades, Student Grit and Later School Outcomes

The increasing recognition of non-cognitive skills in economics has led many researchers to investigate how educational practices enhance these skills. In this paper, we focus on the non-cognitive skill known as 'grit', and we study the causal relation between class size and grit. Using data from follow-up surveys of Project STAR, we show that fourth-grade pupils who experienced small classes during early grades are 0.12 standard deviations higher in grit than their peers in regular classes. We also show that grit matters, because nearly half of the effect of smaller classes on test scores operates through grit. The effects of grit are far-reaching: students with higher grit have better grades at the end of compulsory schooling, are more likely to graduate from high school on time and are more likely to take a college entrance exam.
Connections on Modules Over Quasi-Homogeneous Plane Curves

Let k be an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0, and let A = k[x, y]/(f) be a quasi-homogeneous plane curve. We show that for any graded torsion free A-module M, there exists a natural graded integrable connection, i.e., a graded A-linear homomorphism ∇: Der k (A) → End k (M), that satisfies the derivation property and preserves the Lie product. In particular, a torsion free module N over the complete local ring admits a natural integrable connection if A is a simple curve singularity, or if A is irreducible and N is a gradable module.
PRÁTICAS AMBIENTAIS E GESTÃO DE RESÍDUOS DE SAÚDE: ESTUDO DE CASO EM UMA ORGANIZAÇÃO MILITAR

O desenvolvimento economico e tecnologico gera reflexos para a sociedade e para o meio ambiente ocasionando mudancas economicas, sociais e ambientais. O objetivo do estudo consiste em analisar a gestao de residuos de servicos de saude (RSS) em uma Organizacao Militar do Exercito Brasileiro. Foi realizado um estudo de caso no Posto Medico de Guarnicao de Cascavel (PMGu) e os resultados mostraram que a gestao de RSS esta em consonância com a legislacao ambiental vigente. O Plano de Gerenciamento de Residuos de Servicos de Saude (PGRSS) implantado na Organizacao Militar e o documento que aponta e descreve as acoes relativas ao manejo de residuos solidos, evita problemas ambientais, colabora com a saude das pessoas e atende as exigencias legais.
Practice of Epidemiology Estimation of HIV Incidence Using Multiple Biomarkers

The incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the rate at which new HIV infections occur in populations. The development of accurate, practical, and cost-effective approaches to estimation of HIV incidence is a priority among researchers in HIV surveillance because of limitations with existing methods. In this paper, we develop methods for estimating HIV incidence rates using multiple biomarkers in biological samples collected from a cross-sectional survey. An advantage of the method is that it does not require longitudinal follow-up of individuals. We use assays for BED, avidity, viral load, and CD4 cell count data from clade B samples collected in several US epidemiologic cohorts between 1987 and 2010. Considering issues of accuracy, cost, and implementation, we identify optimal multiassay algorithms for estimating incidence. We find that the multiple-biomarker approach to cross-sectional HIV incidence estimation corrects the significant deficiencies of currently available approaches and is a potentially powerful and practical tool for HIV surveillance.
Recognition of Traffic Lights in Live Video Streams on Mobile Devices

A mobile computer vision system is presented that helps visually impaired pedestrians cross roads. The system detects pedestrian lights in the environment and gives feedback about the current phase of the crucial light. For this purpose the live video stream of a mobile phone is analyzed in four steps: localization, classification, video analysis, and time-based verification. In particular, the temporal analysis allows us to alleviate the inherent problems such as occlusions (by vehicles), falsified colors, and others, and to further increase the decision certainty over a period of time. Due to the limited resources of mobile devices very efficient and precise algorithms have to be developed to ensure the reliability and the interactivity of the system. A prototype system was implemented on a Nokia N95 mobile phone and tested in real environment. It was trained to detect German traffic lights. For the prototype training and testing, we generated image and video databases including manually specified ground truth meta-data. These databases described in this paper are publicly available for the research community. Quantitative performance analysis is provided to demonstrate the reliability and interactivity of the prototype system.
INTELLIGENT AGENTS IN DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM

Several investigations have been done on agents which can take their own decisions as per requirement or data entered by end user in Decision Support System. This paper explains an intelligent software agent framework designed for DSS. Software Agents have been proclaimed as fast growing area of Information Technology of the last two decades. Many software companies are keenly trying to incorporate these software agents known as autonomous programs into their product. Many researchers in this field try to define the concept of agencies and to develop architectures improving agents' capabilities. DSS researchers have been keen to incorporate agents into their applications.
Design and Deployment of Long-term Outdoor Sensornets : Experiences from a Sugar Farm

This paper describes a wireless sensor network that monitored water extraction rate, salinity and water table level. The network collected real-time water quality measurements in order toinvestigate the impacts of current irrigation practice on the environment, in particular underground water salination. Particular challenges incl uded a large coverage area, a sparse network with mean link distances of 8 00 metres, and strong diurnal and seasonal effects on communications p erformance. In response we developed protocols that provided high end-t o-end packet delivery rates in a hostile deployment environment. We describe the design, implementation, performance and le ssons learned for 18 months of remote operation. The results show t hat the technology is mature enough for large-scale real-time datacollection, and has promise for ensuring large-scale sustainable irrigati on.