Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Organizational Commitment among the Top-Level College Basketball Players in Japan: Focused on Bases of Power and School Stages at High School and University

This study examined the degree of organizational commitment, the content of bases of power, and the relationship between organizational commitment and bases of power of high school and university stages of elite university basketball players in Japan. One hundred sixty-six (166) university basketball players from the Kanto University Basketball Federation Men's Division 1 League took part in this study. They completed questionnaires about their high school and university coaches. For organizational commitment, affective commitment was significantly higher for the high school stage than the university stage (p 0.001). For bases of power, the university stage had significantly higher scores for expert power (p 0.001), while closeness-trust power and punishment power scores were significantly higher in the high school stage (p 0.001). For the high school stage, motivational power and for the university stage, motivational and expert powers showed as determinants of organizational commitment. In the relationship between organizational commitment and bases of power in the high school stage, it was noteworthy that no significant influence of expert power was confirmed. The results suggested that it is important for coaches to rely on motivational and expert powers to increase organizational commitment. To nurture players who want to contribute to a team, it was speculated that coaches should constantly have strong motivation for coaching and make efforts to maintain relationships with their targets so that their attitude is understood by players, and also not neglect daily information gathering, training, and interaction among coaches to maintain high expertise in coaching.
The relationship between ostracism and negative risk-taking behavior: the role of ego depletion and physical exercise

Background As a major public health problem globally, negative risk-taking behavior of college students may be related to their ostracism experience, but the reason for this association is unclear. Based on the limited resource theory, combined with the integrative model of athletic performance, we tested a moderated mediation model in which ego depletion mediated the association between ostracism and risk-taking, and physical exercise moderated the mediation process to examine the mechanisms underlying the association between ostracism and negative risk-taking behavior. Methods One thousand three hundred seven students (43% female) from four universities in China were recruited using cluster random sampling. The experience of being ostracized, ego depletion, physical exercise level, and negative risk-taking behavior were measured through an anonymous online questionnaire in “www.sojump. com. ” Results After controlling for gender and grade in college, ostracism was positively related to negative risk-taking behavior; ego depletion mediated this relationship; and physical exercise level attenuated these direct and indirect relationships. Conclusion The results highlight individual risk and protective factors associated with negative risk-taking behavior, and provide new perspectives on ways to prevent and reduce college students’ negative risk-taking behavior.
Reference Evapotranspiration Estimation Using Locally Adjusted Coefficient of Angstrom’s Radiation Model in an Arid-Cold Region

Acceptable estimation of reference Evapotranspiration (ET0) values by the PenmanMonteith FAO (PM FAO) equation requires accurate solar radiation (Rs) data. Rs values could be estimated using the Angstrom’s radiation model. The aim of this study was to determine the as and bs coefficient (as Angstrom’s parameters) for the Ardabil plain as an arid and cold region. Angstrom’s radiation model and PM FAO equation were calibrated for the study area, by optimizing the as and bs parameter using Generalized Reduced Gradient (GRG) method. Measured Rsdata were collected from the Ardabil Synoptic Station and measured ET0 data were determined using three lysimeters that were installed at the Hangar Research Station. Calibrated results showed that optimized as and bs values were 0.117 and 0.384, respectively. Compared to the original models, errors including RMSE, AE and RE values were decreased and fitted parameters including R and regression line slope (m) were improved in the calibrated models. The GMER values for the original models showed that Angstrom’s radiation model overestimated the Rs values and PM FAO equation underestimated the ET0 values. Locally calibrated models estimated Rs and ET0 values better than the original one. Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE) values proved that Rs and ET0 estimation by the original models were not satisfactory, but were acceptable in the case of the calibrated models. However, calibration of Angstrom’s radiation model and PM FAO equation is necessary for each region.
Substrip-based registration and automatic montaging of adaptive optics retinal images

Precise registration and montage are critical for high-resolution adaptive optics retinal image analysis but are challenged by rapid eye movement. We present a substrip-based method to improve image registration and facilitate the automatic montaging of adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO). The program first batches the consecutive images into groups based on a translation threshold and selects an image with minimal distortion within each group as the reference. Within each group, the software divides each image into multiple strips and calculates the Normalized Cross-Correlation with the reference frame using two substrips at both ends of the whole strip to estimate the strip translation, producing a registered image. Then, the software aligns the registered images of all groups also using a substrip based registration, thereby generating a montage with cell-for-cell precision in the overlapping areas of adjacent frames. The algorithm was evaluated with AOSLO images acquired in human subjects with normal macular health and patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Images with a motion amplitude of up to 448 pixels in the fast scanner direction over a frame of 512 × 512 pixels can be precisely registered. Automatic montage spanning up to 22.6 degrees on the retina was achieved on a cell-to-cell precision with a low misplacement rate of 0.07% (11/16,501 frames) in normal eyes and 0.51% (149/29,051 frames) in eyes with AMD. Substrip based registration significantly improved AOSLO registration accuracy.
Evaluation of approaches to estimate fish catches on Lake Victoria: a case study using CAS and frame data from Uganda

Since 2005, harmonized catch assessment surveys (CASs) have been implemented on Lake Victoria in the three riparian countries Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania to monitor the commercial fish stocks and provide their management advice. The regionally harmonized standard operating procedures for CASs have not been wholly followed due to logistical difficulties. Yet the new approaches adopted have not been documented. This study investigated the alternative approaches used to estimate fish catches on the lake with the aim of determining the most reliable one for providing management advice and also the effect of current sampling routine on the precision of catch estimates provided. The study found the currently used lake-wide approach less reliable and more biased in providing catch estimates compared to the district based approach. Noticeable differences were detected in catch estimates between different months of the year. The study recommends future analyses of CAS data collected on the lake to follow the district based approach. Future CASs should also consider seasonal variations in the sampling design by providing for replication of sampling. The SOPs need updating to document the procedures that deviate from the original sampling design.
First detection of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma ulmi’ in Switzerland and in Orientus ishidae Matsumura, 1902

‘Candidatus Phytoplasma ulmi’ (Ca. P. ulmi) belongs to the ribosomal subgroup 16SrV-A and is associated with dieback, shoot proliferation and yellows disease on various Ulmus spp. Other plant species, such as Carpinus betulus and Prunus spp. have also been reported infected by the same pathogen. In 2021, in the frame of research activities focused on grapevine’s Flavescence dorée (FD), one specimen of Orientus ishidae - an East Palearctic leafhopper that was identified as an alternative vector of FD phytoplasmas - was found harboring Ca. P. ulmi in southern Switzerland. No phytoplasmas were detected in plant samples taken in the same location. Orientus ishidae has already been reported to be able to acquire diverse phytoplasmas associated with other plant diseases, such as Peach X-disease. This is the first report of Ca. P. ulmi in Switzerland, as well as in O. ishidae. Ca. P. ulmi may potentially be present in the wild compartment of the Swiss Pre-alpine and Alpine range, but no dedicated survey has so far been conducted. In the case of O. ishidae, this finding highlights the broad affinity of such a species for the acquisition of several phytoplasmas. This calls for a further investigation regarding its potential role as a vector on various pathosystems of agronomic importance.
On-line parameter optimization strategies for metaheuristics

In this paper we describe different aspects of parameter tuning strategies for meta-heuristic algorithms. In contrast to many automated parameter adjustment methods in the field, special attention is given to parameter tuning strategies which are able to be applied during the run of a meta-heuristics. The basic idea we are using for this approach steams from self adaptive evolution strategies and this paper discusses different adaptations to this idea in order to find out, to which extent this concept can be transformed to other metaheuristics.
Response to Fingolimod in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Is Associated with a Differential Transcriptomic Regulation

Fingolimod is an immunomodulatory sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) analogue approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The identification of biomarkers of clinical responses to fingolimod is a major necessity in MS to identify optimal responders and avoid the risk of disease progression in non-responders. With this aim, we used RNA sequencing to study the transcriptomic changes induced by fingolimod in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of MS-treated patients and their association with clinical response. Samples were obtained from 10 RRMS patients (five responders and five non-responders) at baseline and at 12 months of fingolimod therapy. Fingolimod exerted a vast impact at the transcriptional level, identifying 7155 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) compared to baseline that affected the regulation of numerous signaling pathways. These DEGs were predominantly immune related, including genes associated with S1P metabolism, cytokines, lymphocyte trafficking, master transcription factors of lymphocyte functions and the NF-kB pathway. Responder and non-responder patients exhibited a differential transcriptomic regulation during treatment, with responders presenting a higher number of DEGs (6405) compared to non-responders (2653). The S1P, NF-kB and TCR signaling pathways were differentially modulated in responder and non-responder patients. These transcriptomic differences offer the potential of being exploited as biomarkers of a clinical response to fingolimod.
Modelling of intracerebral network interactions that co-occur with interictal epileptic discharges

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Risk and Return of Open-End Real-Estate Funds : The German Case by

Due to the recent downturn in international equity markets, the interest in real-estate investments has soared. However, the well-known problems of direct real-estate investments complicate becoming well-diversified with this investment class. Indirect real-estate investments can provide a solution to this problem. Shares of real-estate investment companies are very popular in this context. The German market for securitised real-estate investments additionally provides open-ended real-estate funds (so called “Offene Immobilienfonds”). An open-end real-estate fund is a pool of money from many investors, with which a special investment company, acting as a trustee, invests it in real estate. Thus, the individual investors are directly involved in the real-estate market. This study is based on monthly and yearly return data from January 1975 to December 2002. It seeks to identify the short and long-term financial characteristics of investments into open-ended real-estate funds, and to compare them with those of other major asset classes like bonds, equities, and money market investments. In this sense, the considerations comprise extensive univariate and multivariate analyses of real-estate fund returns. Furthermore, the long-term risk/return profile of real-estate fund investments relative to other investment opportunities is investigated. Additionally, this paper provides a brief overview of the institutional design and role of German open-end real-estate mutual funds. Empirical evidence suggests that the financial characteristics of open-ended real-estate funds clearly distinguish them from other (financial) asset classes. These characteristics are in many respects similar to those known from direct real-estate investments. Accordingly, the German open-end real-estate funds qualify themselves more for medium and long-term investment horizons, than for short holding periods. All in all, this indirect real-estate investment vehicle is characterised by moderate and relatively stable returns over time.
Techno-Economic Assessment of a Hybrid Renewable Energy System for a County in the State of Bahia

Installation of hybrid systems with storage is a way to maximize the amount of energy generated through exploring the complementarity of different sources. Understanding hybrid power plant (HPP) operation is crucial for optimizing new systems and reconfiguring existing plants, to their enhance efficiency. Alongside technical aspects, economic feasibility is also a fundamental feature. This study simulated an off-grid HPP to consider the energy consumption of Casa Nova in Bahia, Brazil. The methodology consisted of the selection of energy sources, choosing a reference location, acquisition of generation and operational data, modeling and simulating the system in different scenarios, and a financial analysis. HOMER Pro software Version 3.16. 2 was used to optimize the plant configuration, and the outputs were evaluated using the perspectives of levelized cost of energy (LCOE), simple payback, and power load fulfillment. As a result, scenario 3 was the most competitive, emphasizing that the use of different energy sources increased the system generation capacity. However, the addition of battery energy system storage (BESS) resulted in a high LCOE when compared to individual sources, which demonstrated that the cost of battery integration is not yet nationally competitive. Moreover, the results highlighted the importance of research investments, energy governance, and regulation in promoting hybrid system adoption.
Pre-Grasp Approaching on Mobile Robots: A Pre-Active Layered Approach

In Mobile Manipulation (MM), navigation and manipulation are generally solved as subsequent disjoint tasks. Combined optimization of navigation and manipulation costs can improve the time efficiency of MM. However, this is challenging as precise object pose estimates, which are necessary for such combined optimization, are often not available until the later stages of MM. Moreover, optimizing navigation and manipulation costs with conventional planning methods using uncertain object pose estimates can lead to failures and hence requires re-planning. Hence, in the presence of object pose uncertainty, pre-active approaches are preferred. We propose such a pre-active approach for determining the base pose and pre-grasp manipulator configuration to improve the time efficiency of MM. We devise a Reinforcement Learning (RL) based solution that learns suitable base poses for grasping and pre-grasp manipulator configurations using layered learning that guides exploration and enables sample-efficient learning. Further, we accelerate learning of pre-grasp manipulator configurations by providing dense rewards using a predictor network trained on previously learned base poses for grasping. Our experiments validate that in the presence of uncertain object pose estimates, the proposed approach results in reduced execution time. Finally, we show that our policy learned in simulation can be easily transferred to a real robot.
Prevalence of Depression Among Older Adults Visiting the Primary Healthcare Centers in Jizan City, Saudi Arabia: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

Background and objective Older adults are susceptible to various disorders, including depression. Depression manifests as a disorder characterized by a persistent depressed mood, feelings of sadness and loneliness, sleep disturbances, and loss of interest lasting for two weeks or more. This condition can significantly affect the quality of life for older adults, resulting in adverse outcomes that have a negative impact on their overall well-being. In this study, our objective was to assess the prevalence of depression and identify associated risk factors among individuals aged 60 years and above who attended Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCCs) in Jizan City. Methodology We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study among older people attending PHCCs in Jizan City between May and December 2022. In this study, we interviewed 300 participants using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to assess depression. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) was used for data entry and analysis. We used the chi-square test and binary logistic regression model to detect the associations and predictors of depression among older adults. Results One-third of the study participants experienced depression, with 49 (16%) exhibiting mild depression, 33 (11%) reporting moderate depression, and 17 (6%) individuals indicating moderately severe depression. Depression was more common among females (158, 52.7%) than males (142, 47.3%). The predictors of depression among the study participants were the dependency to perform daily tasks and abnormal sleep duration. Conclusions Depression is a prevalent health problem among older people in Jizan City, particularly among females, those who are divorced or widowed, individuals dependent on others for daily tasks, and those with abnormal sleep duration. We conclude that we need more research on older adults to assess their mental problems and fill in the literature gap.
Phenotypic and Genotypic Drug Resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strains Isolated from HIV-Infected Patients from a Third-Level Public Hospital in Mexico

Background: Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is associated with higher mortality rates in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In Mexico, the number of deaths due to TB among the HIV-positive population has tripled in recent years. Methods: Ninety-three Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from the same number of HIV-infected patients treated in a public hospital in Mexico City were studied to determine the drug resistance to first- and second-line anti-TB drugs and to identify the mutations associated with the resistance. Results: Of the 93 patients, 82.7% were new TB cases, 86% were male, and 73% had extrapulmonary TB. Most patients (94%) with a CD4 T-lymphocyte count <350 cells/mm3 were associated with extrapulmonary TB (p <0.0001), whilst most patients (78%) with a CD4 T-lymphocyte count >350 cells/mm3 were associated with pulmonary TB (p = 0.0011). Eighty-two strains were pan-susceptible, four mono-resistant, four poly-resistant, two multidrug-resistant, and one was extensively drug-resistant. In the rifampicin-resistant strains, rpoB S531L was the mutation most frequently identified, whereas the inhA C15T and katG S315T1 mutations were present in isoniazid-resistant strains. The extensively drug-resistant strain also contained the mutation gyrA D94A. Conclusions: These data highlight the need to promptly diagnose the drug resistance of M. tuberculosis among all HIV-infected patients by systematically offering access to first- and second-line drug susceptibility testing and to tailor the treatment regimen based on the resistance patterns to reduce the number of deaths in HIV-infected patients.
PDF Malware Detection: Toward Machine Learning Modeling With Explainability Analysis

The Portable Document Format (PDF) is one of the most widely used file types, thus fraudsters insert harmful code into victims’ PDF documents to compromise their equipment. Conventional solutions and identification techniques are often insufficient and may only partially prevent PDF malware because of their versatile character and excessive dependence on a certain typical feature set. The primary goal of this work is to detect PDF malware efficiently in order to alleviate the current difficulties. To accomplish the goal, we first develop a comprehensive dataset of 15958 PDF samples taking into account the non-malevolent, malicious, and evasive behaviors of the PDF samples. Using three well-known PDF analysis tools (PDFiD, PDFINFO, and PDF-PARSER), we extract significant characteristics from the PDF samples of our newly created dataset. In addition, we generate a number of derivations of features that have been experimentally proven to be helpful in classifying PDF malware. We develop a method to build an efficient and explicable feature set through the proper empirical analysis of the extracted and derived features. We explore different baseline machine learning classifiers and demonstrate an accuracy improvement of approx. 2% for the Random Forest classifier utilizing the selected feature set. Furthermore, we demonstrate the model’s explainability by creating a decision tree that generates rules for human interpretation. Eventually, we make a comparison with previous studies and point out some important findings.
Relative palaeointensity and reservoir effect on Lake Esmeralda, Antarctica

Abstract Four cores from the bottom sediments of Lake Esmeralda, Vega Island, Antarctica (60°48'S, 57°37'W) were studied. Analysis of rock magnetics indicates that the main carriers of magnetization are ferrimagnetic minerals, predominantly pseudo-single-domain (titano-) magnetite with a small proportion of paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic minerals. The magnetic grain size of the samples is in the range of 1–5 μm and the variation of the interparametric ratios is less than one order of magnitude. Demagnetization of the natural remanent magnetization shows a stable remanent magnetization in most of the samples. Thus, the samples fulfil the necessary conditions to calculate relative palaeointensity (RPI) and the curves obtained correlated with global models enabling dating of the cores. The 250 cm of sediment recovered spans the last 10 200 yr bp. Finally, some samples with high organic matter content were dated by accelerator mass spectrometry 14C. By comparison with the age defined by the RPI curves, a reservoir effect of c. 5200 years is suggested for this region of Vega Island.