Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuromuscular Responses to Conditioned Soccer Sessions Assessed via GPS-Embedded Accelerometers: Insights Into Tactical Periodization.

PURPOSE To examine the reliability of field-based running-specific measures of neuromuscular function assessed using global positioning system (GPS)-embedded accelerometers and their responses to 3 typical conditioned sessions (ie, strength, endurance, and speed) in elite soccer players. METHODS Before and immediately after each session, vertical jump (countermovement jump [CMJ]) and adductor squeeze strength (groin) performances were recorded. Players also performed a 4-min run at 12 km/h followed by four ∼60-m runs (run = 12 s, r = 33 s). GPS (5 Hz) and accelerometer (100 Hz) data collected during the 4 runs and the recovery periods, excluding the last recovery period, were used to derive vertical stiffness (K), peak loading force (peak force over all the foot strikes [Fpeak]), and propulsion efficiency (ie, the ratio between velocity and force loads [Vl/Fl]). RESULTS Typical errors were small (CMJ, groin, K, and Vl/Fl) and moderate (Fpeak), with moderate (Fpeak), high (K and Vl/Fl), and very high ICCs (CMJ and groin). After all sessions, there were small decreases in groin and increases in K, but changes in F were all unclear. By contrast, the CMJ and Vl/Fl ratio responses were session dependent. There was a small increase in CMJ after speed and endurance, but unclear changes after strength; the Vl/Fl ratio increased substantially after strength, but there were a small and a moderate decrease after endurance and speed, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Running-specific measures of neuromuscular function assessed in the field via GPS-embedded accelerometers show acceptable levels of reliability. Although the 3 sessions examined may be associated with limited neuromuscular fatigue, changes in neuromuscular performance and propulsion efficiency are likely session-objective dependent.
Eco‐Efficiency: Achieving Productivity Improvements through Environmental Cost Management

The purpose of this study is to assess how identifying, tracking, and monitoring environmental costs can assist an agenda adopted to improve environmental performance. We do so by providing a theoretical discussion and contextual model of eco‐efficiency that includes cost management as part of its activities. This approach draws on the quality management literature and the Porter hypothesis, which assumes that pollution is a form of technical inefficiency and that properly designed regulations stimulate firms to develop pollution control innovations. Our paper provides several specific contributions. First, for all stakeholders we provide additional insight into the ongoing debate over the value relevance of environmental cost management by developing a general model of eco‐efficient behavior. Second, our models demonstrate that there is room for opportunities to reduce pollution while simultaneously improving the value of the firm. To do so, however, requires a coordinated effort on the part of both the .
Aclidinium bromide in experimental asthma

Underlying inflammation in asthma increases the activity of the cholinergic nervous system, contributing to bronchoconstriction/airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) and mucus hypersecretion. Inhaled anticholinergics with shorter duration of action were initially used and then discontinued when other bronchodilators became available. Previous preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that tiotropium bromide, a long-acting anticholinergic currently approved for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, might be an effective therapy in asthma. Aclidinium bromide is an inhaled compound in the same class as tiotropium, which is currently being investigated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. In the evaluated study, it was found to reduce AHR and eosinophilic airway inflammation in an acute model of asthma.
MEKK2 Associates with the Adapter Protein Lad/RIBP and Regulates the MEK5-BMK1/ERK5 Pathway*

MEKK2 and MEKK3 are two closely related mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase kinases. The kinase domains of MEKK2 and MEKK3 are nearly identical, although their N-terminal regulatory domains are significantly divergent. By yeast two-hybrid library screening, we have identified MEK5, the MAPK kinase in the big mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (BMK1)/ERK5 pathway, as a binding partner for MEKK2. MEKK2 expression stimulates BMK1/ERK5 activity, the downstream substrate for MEK5. Compared with MEKK3, MEKK2 activated BMK1/ERK5 to a greater extent, which might correlate with a higher affinity MEKK2-MEK5 interaction. A dominant negative form of MEK5 blocked the activation of BMK1/ERK5 by MEKK2, whereas activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) was unaffected, showing that MEK5 is a specific downstream effector of MEKK2 in the BMK1/ERK5 pathway. Activation of BMK1/ERK5 by epidermal growth factor and H2O2 in Cos7 and HEK293 cells was completely blocked by a kinase-inactive MEKK3 (MEKK3kin−), whereas MEKK2kin− had no effect. However, in D10 T cells, expression of MEKK2kin− but not MEKK3kin− inhibited BMK1/ERK5 activity. Two-hybrid screening also identified Lck-associated adapter/Rlk- and Itk-binding protein (Lad/RIBP), a T cell adapter protein, as a binding partner for MEKK2. MEKK2 and Lad/RIBP colocalize at the T cell contact site with antigen-loaded presenting cells, demonstrating cotranslocation of MEKK2 and Lad/RIBP during T cell activation. MEKK3 neither binds Lad/RIBP nor is recruited to the T cell contact with antigen presenting cell. MEKK2 and MEKK3 are differentially associated with signaling from specific upstream receptor systems, whereas both activate the MEK5-BMK1/ERK5 pathway.
The Emperor Has No Clothes: Confronting the DC Circuit’s Usurpation of SEC Rulemaking Authority

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 introduced the most sweeping reforms of financial markets since the Great Depression. Nestled among its numerous provisions was the amendment to section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act expressly authorizing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to adopt rules for shareholders to nominate directors to the boards of reporting companies. Earlier, financial institutions had long lobbied the SEC for a rule providing shareholders access to the nominating process of publicly held corporations. Their cause gained momentum with a 2003 SEC staff report recommending that large, long-term holders, under very limited circumstances, should have the right to nominate a minority of the directors to be elected. After that report, a battle royal ensued, a pro-access chairman was terminated, and under the new SEC chairman the SEC side-tracked shareholder access and even curbed the institutions’ access to the proxy machinery as a means to authorize shareholder nominations to the board. Then, with the imprimatur of Dodd-Frank, the SEC acted, albeit timidly, to provide, in Rule 14a-11, a process for limited shareholder board nominations. In broad overview, Rule 14a-11 permitted a shareholder or group of shareholders that has held at least three percent of the voting power for over three years to nominate a maximum of 25 percent of the board. Institutions rejoiced, but only briefly. Rule 14a-11 never became operative. The rule was immediately challenged so that the SEC suspended its effect until the legal challenge to the rule was resolved. Ultimately the D.C. Circuit held that Rule 14a-11 was invalid due to the SEC’s failure to “consider, in addition to the protection of investors, whether the action will promote efficiency, competition, and capital formation” when adopting rules approved.
Les conséquences d'un marché monétaire inefficace

The financial and sovereign debt crisis has had a lasting impact on the euro money market. A lack of confidence among market participants and pronounced uncertainty have led to segmentation and are seen as impediments to the effective allocation of liquidity. Assessing an ineffective money market and its possible consequences, however, is likely to require more information than is currently available. In this article, I argue that the pre-crisis situation on the money market is not well suited as a benchmark for effectiveness. Insofar as the prevailing circumstances reflected a bubble, a return to such a situation may not be a desirable outcome, and the money market therefore needs to find a new normal environment. Furthermore, as limited information can impair a normalisation and make it more difficult for the central bank to decide on a given course of action, there is a need to establish greater transparency in the money market. Classification JEL: E44, E52, E58.
Mechanism of fluoride action on the L-type calcium channel in cardiac ventricular myocytes.

The modulatory actions of fluoride on the function of the dihydropyridine-sensitive (L-type) Ca2+ channel were studied in rabbit cardiac myocytes. In cell-attached voltage-clamp experiments, using barium as the charge carrier, fluoride increased the activity of the Ca2+ channel dose-dependently. Low concentrations (<10 mM) of fluoride increased the number of traces with channel activities, and decreased the number of traces without channel activities, resulting in a net increase in the open-channel probability. The effect of 5 mM fluoride on the Ca2+ channel was inhibited by the presence of non-hydrolyzable guanosine diphosphate analog in the cell. On the other hand, high concentrations (>10 mM) of fluoride increased the open-channel duration, resulting in a marked increase in open-channel probability. A pretreatment of myocytes with a phosphatase inhibitor, okadaic acid, virtually abolished the additional effect of fluoride on the open-channel duration or open probability. A concentration of up to 75 mM fluoride had no effect on the Ca2+-channel activity when the myocytes were pretreated with a potent inhibitor of protein kinases, indicating that fluoride increased the Ca2+- channel activity via modulation of the phosphorylation state of the myocyte or the channel protein alone.
A focused service quality, benefits, overall satisfaction and loyalty model for public aquatic centres

This study supports a parsimonious range of key service quality dimensions that have a strong influence on customer loyalty at public aquatic centres using data from two major centres in Australia (n = 367 and 307). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a model that included three process services quality dimensions and two benefits (outcomes) dimensions. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), it was found that one of the outcome dimensions (relaxation) and two process dimensions (staffing and facility presentation) significantly influenced overall satisfaction, which mediated significant relationships with three attitudinal loyalty variables. The data from the second centre provided a validation sample to confirm the potential to replicate the model for a different respondent profile. The parsimonious set of dimensions identified in this research could provide a common core suitable for inclusion in service quality research for a range of contexts.
Burgernomics: a big MacT guide to purchasing power parity

The theory of purchasing power parity (PPP) has long been a staple of international economic analysis. Recent years have seen the rise in popularity of a tongue-in-cheek, fast-food version of PPP: The Big Mac™ index. In this article, Michael Pakko and Patricia Pollard describe how comparisons of Big Mac prices around the world contain the ingredients necessary to demonstrate the fundamental principles of PPP. They show that the Big Mac index does nearly as well as more comprehensive measures of international price comparisons and that deviations from “McParity” illustrate why PPP often appears not to hold as a practical matter.
Bacteria Foraging-Based Solution to Optimize Both Real Power Loss and Voltage Stability Limit

Optimal location and control of a unified power flow controller (UPFC) along with transformer taps are tuned with a view to simultaneously optimize the real power losses and voltage stability limit (VSL) of a mesh power network. This issue is formulated as a nonlinear equality and inequality constrained optimization problem with an objective function incorporating both the real power loss and VSL. A new evolutionary algorithm known as bacteria foraging is applied for solving the multiobjective multivariable problem, with the UPFC location, its series injected voltage, and the transformer tap positions as the variables. For a single objective of only real power loss, the same problem is also solved with interior point successive linearization program (IPSLP) technique using the LINPROG command of MATLAB. A comparison between the two suggests the superiority of the proposed algorithm. A cost effectiveness analysis of UPFC installation vis-agrave-vis loss reduction is carried out to establish the benefit of investment in a UPFC
Applying Choice Based Conjoint Measurement to Forcast Demand for a New Restaurant Category

Abstract This paper examines the use of Choice Based Conjoint experimentation for forecasting demand for a new restaurant category. The results of the forecasting experiment are compared to demand for existing restaurant categories to determine whether the choice experiment replicates actual category shares in the sampled region. The analysis shows that Choice Based Conjoint experiments are able to predict category shares for existing restaurant categories. It is then shown how the approach may be used to estimate demand for a new category.
Impact of individual acute phase serum amyloid A isoforms on HDL metabolism in mice[S]

The acute phase (AP) reactant serum amyloid A (SAA), an HDL apolipoprotein, exhibits pro-inflammatory activities, but its physiological function(s) are poorly understood. Functional differences between SAA1.1 and SAA2.1, the two major SAA isoforms, are unclear. Mice deficient in either isoform were used to investigate plasma isoform effects on HDL structure, composition, and apolipoprotein catabolism. Lack of either isoform did not affect the size of HDL, normally enlarged in the AP, and did not significantly change HDL composition. Plasma clearance rates of HDL apolipoproteins were determined using native HDL particles. The fractional clearance rates (FCRs) of apoA-I, apoA-II, and SAA were distinct, indicating that HDL is not cleared as intact particles. The FCRs of SAA1.1 and SAA2.1 in AP mice were similar, suggesting that the selective deposition of SAA1.1 in amyloid plaques is not associated with a difference in the rates of plasma clearance of the isoforms. Although the clearance rate of SAA was reduced in the absence of the HDL receptor, scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI), it remained significantly faster compared with that of apoA-I and apoA-II, indicating a relatively minor role of SR-BI in SAA’s rapid clearance. These studies enhance our understanding of SAA metabolism and SAA’s effects on AP-HDL composition and catabolism.
Effects of voltage unbalance on induction motors

This paper investigates the effects of different voltage magnitude unbalances with the same voltage unbalance factor (VUF) on the stator loss and rotor copper loss and total copper loss of three classes of three-phase induction motor. Under six different voltage magnitudes unbalance conditions, the copper losses of three different three-phase induction motor under full load conditions has been analyzed through simulation. Following the investigations, the importance of the positive-sequence voltage and the negative-sequence voltage has been pointed out. In the present work, the relative percentage increase in the stator copper loss, rotor copper loss and total copper losses have been computed for the motor working under unbalanced and balanced voltages. For this analysis Matlab environment using Simulink toolbox has been used. In this paper the three definitions (line voltage unbalance in percent-LVUR, phase voltage unbalance in percent-PVUR and voltage unbalance factor-VUF) of voltage magnitude unbalance have been considered. The operation of the induction motor has been considered at full load. The analysis shows the effects of resulting losses during unbalanced voltage supply. The increase in losses under unbalanced voltages leads to the necessity of derating the motor.
The Political Economy of Kenya's Crisis

Abstract Using political economy analysis, this paper discusses three precipitating factors that were ignited by Kenya's 2007 election, which was too close to call beforehand and highly contested afterwards. These factors were: the gradual loss of the state's monopoly of legitimate force and the consequent diffusion of violence; the deliberate weakening of institutions outside the executive in favour of personalized presidential power, raising questions about the credibility of other institutions to resolve the election on the table rather than in the streets; and a lack of programmatic political parties which gave rise to a winner take all view of parties that were inherently clientist and ethnically driven, something that raised the stakes of winning and gave rise to violence. The paper discusses each of these factors in historical perspective. It explains how and why they arose and what made each so dangerous. It also aims to place what happened in Kenya into a wider framework of understanding by drawing on a broad range of literature in political economy ranging from Max Weber to Douglas North. Of the three factors discussed, the diffusion of violence followed by institutional issues constitute serious challenges. The resilience of both has the potential to undermine Kenya's transition to democracy.
Some Reflections on the Economic and Political Organisation of Private Neighbourhoods

The spreading of privately organised and often gated neighbourhoods in many regions of the world has triggered a widespread discussion about the relations between social and urban development. This paper presents some reflections on the economic and political organisation of this type of housing. First, the club goods theory is used to explain the potential attractiveness of this form of housing for developers, local governments as well as residents. However, the club goods theory alone does not enable one to understand the global but regionally differentiated development. Therefore, second, this paper proposes to view the analysis of private neighbourhoods as club economies against the background of historically and regionally differentiated patterns of urban governance which render urban development path-dependent. Third, in order to evaluate the political and social consequences, the private neighbourhoods are analysed as a new form of political organisation and are compared with a territorial organisation with public municipalities.
The Growth‐Finance Relationship: The Case of Jordan 1970‐2002

The present study investigates the dynamic effects of domestic credit measured by claims on non financial public enterprises and claims on private sector on the real GDP in Jordan for the period 1970-2002. The stationarity properties and the order of integration of the data employed were empirically examined using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test. The cointegration test proposed by Johansen was also employed to test for the existence of longrun relationship among the non stationary time series data. The result of the cointegration test suggests that there exists a cointegrating relationship between real GDP and claims on private sector. The short-run and long-run relationships between real GDP and claims on private sector were examined using the VEC technique. In the short run, real GDP turns out to have an impact which is statistically significant on the claims on private sector, while in the long run, the claims on private sector turn out to affect real GDP at the 1% significance level.
FOSTERING INNOVATION FOR THE AUSTRALIAN SUGAR INDUSTRY: SRDC'S PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE AND PROSPECTS

The Sugar Research and Development Corporation (SRDC) has invested $108 m of industry and Government funding for Research and Development (RD increasing the involvement of new RD increasing accountability for RD enhancing focus on outcomes; increasing investment in strategic RD and fostering greater industry involvement throughout the R&D process. The 21 st century presents an increasingly complex operating environment. Not only is there the need to address profitability and competitiveness, but also there is a need to devote greater attention to resource use and environmental sustainability and to deliver economic, environmental and social outcomes. Responding to this complexity presents immense opportunity for R&D to underpin the continued success of the Australian sugar industry. New opportunities will be realised by using whole of system multidisciplinary approaches to integrate across the growing, harvesting, transport and milling and marketing sectors. Systems solutions will be underpinned both by the use of novel technologies that increase productivity and efficiency, and value-add to the sugar system, and by the development of processes and human capacity to implement change considering the sugar system as a whole. In shaping its future R&D investment portfolio, SRDC will continue to take a strategic view of these needs and opportunities, and encourage and fund appropriate research to meet the expectations of its industry, Government and community stakeholders.
Device Modelling for Bendable Piezoelectric FET-Based Touch Sensing System

Flexible electronics is rapidly evolving towards devices and circuits to enable numerous new applications. The high-performance, in terms of response speed, uniformity and reliability, remains a sticking point. The potential solutions for high-performance related challenges bring us back to the time-tested silicon based electronics. However, the changes in the response of silicon based devices due to bending related stresses is a concern, especially because there are no suitable models to predict this behavior. This also makes the circuit design a difficult task. This paper reports advances in this direction, through our research on bendable piezoelectric oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (POSFET) based touch sensors. The analytical model of POSFET, complimented with Verilog- A model, is presented to describe the device behavior under normal force in planar and stressed conditions. Further, dynamic readout circuit compensation of POSFET devices have been analyzed and compared with similar arrangement to reduce the piezoresistive effect under tensile and compressive stresses. This approach introduces a first step towards the systematic modeling of stress induced changes in device response. This systematic study will help realize high-performance bendable microsystems with integrated sensors and readout circuitry on ultra-thin chips (UTCs) needed in various applications, in particular, the electronic skin (e-skin).