125,147 research outputs found
Predicting sports betting outcomes
No full textV diplomski nalogi se ukvarjamo z napovedovanjem rezultatov košarkarskih tekem. Želimo si ustvariti napovedni model, ki bo dovolj natančen, da bomo z njim lahko zaslužili denar na športnih stavnicah. Ena tekma v redni sezoni lige NBA je en učni primer. Vsak primer ima več atributov, ki opisujejo nasprotujoči ekipi. Preizkusili smo veliko statističnih atributov, za katere smo verjeli, da so pomembni za napoved zmagovalca. Preizkusili smo različne napovedne modele, ki bodo vračali verjetnost domače in verjetnost gostujoče zmage. Vrnjene verjetnosti bomo uporabili za analizo tveganja. Najboljši model smo uporabili na stavnicah in izmerili potencialni dobiček. Ugotovitve te diplomske naloge bi bile lahko koristne tudi na drugih področjih, ki se ukvarjajo s tveganjem in napovedovanjem prihodnosti. Rezultati te naloge niso popolni, v zaključku smo omenili še možne izboljšave.We wish to build a model, which could predict the outcome of basketball games. The goal was to achieve an sufficient enough accuracy to make a profit in sports betting. One learning example is a game in the NBA regular season. Every example has multiple features, which describe the opposing teams. We tried many methods, which return the probability of the home team winning and the probability of the away team winning. These probabilities are used for risk analysis. We used the best model in hypothetical sports betting and measured potential net profit. The results are not perfect, so we mentioned possible improvements. I think that a lot of the ideas could also be of use in other fields, which deal with risk and predicting the future
NON - PARTY PARLAMENTARY SYSTEM AND VIRTUAL FORUM
No full textV diplomski nalogi obravnavam možnost izboljšanja parlamentarne ureditve z uvedbo nestrankarskega parlamenta in virtualnega foruma. Prikazal bom različne ureditve in rešitve, s katerimi bi lahko izboljšali delovanje državnih organov in dosegli bolj demokratično in učinkovito ureditev. V prvem poglavju je predstavljen pojem demokracije oziroma to, kako se je vsebina tega pojma spreminjala skozi zgodovino. Pojem demokracije se je prvič pojavil v obliki neposredne demokracije Atenske mestne države. Nadaljujem s predstavniško obliko demokracije, v kateri so politične stranke \u27\u27najpomembnejši igralec na političnem parketu\u27\u27 in je danes v svetu prevladujoča oblika političnega sistema. Sodobne politične stranke se vse bolj posvečajo lastnim strankarskim interesom ter obvladovanju državnih organov, kar ni optimalno za delovanje države. V tretjem pogavju je opisana tristebrna zasnova nestrankarske ureditve. Ureditev bi temeljila na nestrankarskih volitvah, nestrankarskem parlamentu in vladi ter na virtualnem forumu. S pomočjo teh treh stebrov želim predstaviti elemente, ki bi vsak na svojem področju nadomestili politične stranke. V četrtem poglavju predstavim značilnosti večinskih in proporcionalnih volitev, ki jih uporabljamo v Sloveniji, iz negativnih in pozitivnih lastnosti obeh tipov volitev pa izpeljem nestrankarsko obliko, v kateri bi imeli državljani zelo poudarjeno vlogo. V petem poglavju je predstavljen odnos med parlamentom in vlado v predsedniškem in parlamentarnem sistemu ter načelo zavor in ravnovesij. Nato obravnavam delovanje nestrankarskega parlamenta kot samostojnega organa in značilnosti mandata samostojnega poslanca ter položaj vlade, ki bi zaradi neposredno izvoljenega predsednika vlade delovala kot strokoven organ vladanja. Zadnje poglavje je namenjeno virtualnemu forumu, ki bi, po vzoru skupščine Atenske mestne države, odpravljal demokratične deficite reprezentativnosti.The thesis deals with the possibility of improving parliamentary systems with the introduction of a non-partisan parliament and a virtual forum. I present various solutions that could improve the functioning of state bodies and enable a more democratic and effective state. In the first chapter I describe how the meaning of democracy has changed throughout history. It all began in ancient Athens as direct democracy and reapeared in the 18th century in the form of representative democracy that continues to be the preferred form of political system in modern countries. The second chapter deals with political parties. Modern political parties tend to concentrate on their own interests due to fierce party rivalry which has a negative effect on the functioning of the state. In the third chapter I outline the three pillar concept of the non-party system. It consists of non-party elections, a non-party parliament and government and a virtual forum. The three pillars combined would act as substitutes to party activity. The fourth chapter is dedicated to non-party elections. At the beginning I analyse the characteristics of both the majority and proportional systems that are used in Slovenia. From both types I than derive a non- party system which would enable maximum voter input. The relationship between parliaments and governments in presidential and parliamentary systems is described in the fifth chapter. The principle of ’’checks and balances’’ should assure balance between the two branches. Next I describe the workings of the independent non-party parliament and the characteristics of the independent representative. The government would act as a professional body because of the directly elected prime minister. The final chapter is dedicated to the idea of a virtual forum, which would in a way similar to the assembly of ancient Athens eliminate the deficits of representation
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Importance of Campylobacter jejuni FliS and FliW in flagella biogenesis and flagellin secretion
No full textFlagella-driven motility enables bacteria to reach their favorable niche within the host. The human foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni produces two heavily glycosylated structural flagellins (FlaA and FlaB) that form the flagellar filament. It also encodes the non-structural FlaC flagellin which is secreted through the flagellum and has been implicated in host cell invasion. The mechanisms that regulate C. jejuni flagellin biogenesis and guide the proteins to the export apparatus are different from those in most other enteropathogens and are not fully understood. This work demonstrates the importance of the putative flagellar protein FliS in C. jejuni flagella assembly. A constructed fliS knockout strain was non-motile, displayed reduced levels of FlaA/B and FlaC flagellin, and carried severely truncated flagella. Pull-down and Far Western blot assays showed direct interaction of FliS with all three C. jejuni flagellins (FlaA, FlaB, and FlaC). This is in contrast to, the sensor and regulator of intracellular flagellin levels, FliW, which bound to FlaA and FlaB but not to FlaC. The FliS protein but not FliW preferred binding to glycosylated C. jejuni flagellins rather than to their non-glycosylated recombinant counterparts. Mapping of the binding region of FliS and FliW using a set of flagellin fragments showed that the C-terminal subdomain of the flagellin was required for FliS binding, whereas the N-terminal subdomain was essential for FliW binding. The separate binding subdomains required for FliS and FliW, the different substrate specificity, and the differential preference for binding of glycosylated flagellins ensure optimal processing and assembly of the C. jejuni flagellins.</p
Importance of Campylobacter jejuni FliS and FliW in Flagella Biogenesis and Flagellin Secretion
No full textFlagella-driven motility enables bacteria to reach their favorable niche within the host. The human foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni produces two heavily glycosylated structural flagellins (FlaA and FlaB) that form the flagellar filament. It also encodes the non-structural FlaC flagellin which is secreted through the flagellum and has been implicated in host cell invasion. The mechanisms that regulate C. jejuni flagellin biogenesis and guide the proteins to the export apparatus are different from those in most other enteropathogens and are not fully understood. This work demonstrates the importance of the putative flagellar protein FliS in C. jejuni flagella assembly. A constructed fliS knockout strain was non-motile, displayed reduced levels of FlaA/B and FlaC flagellin, and carried severely truncated flagella. Pull-down and Far Western blot assays showed direct interaction of FliS with all three C. jejuni flagellins (FlaA, FlaB, and FlaC). This is in contrast to, the sensor and regulator of intracellular flagellin levels, FliW, which bound to FlaA and FlaB but not to FlaC. The FliS protein but not FliW preferred binding to glycosylated C. jejuni flagellins rather than to their non-glycosylated recombinant counterparts. Mapping of the binding region of FliS and FliW using a set of flagellin fragments showed that the C-terminal subdomain of the flagellin was required for FliS binding, whereas the N-terminal subdomain was essential for FliW binding. The separate binding subdomains required for FliS and FliW, the different substrate specificity, and the differential preference for binding of glycosylated flagellins ensure optimal processing and assembly of the C. jejuni flagellins
Importance of Campylobacter jejuni FliS and FliW in flagella biogenesis and flagellin secretion
No full textFlagella-driven motility enables bacteria to reach their favorable niche within the host. The human foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni produces two heavily glycosylated structural flagellins (FlaA and FlaB) that form the flagellar filament. It also encodes the non-structural FlaC flagellin which is secreted through the flagellum and has been implicated in host cell invasion. The mechanisms that regulate C. jejuni flagellin biogenesis and guide the proteins to the export apparatus are different from those in most other enteropathogens and are not fully understood. This work demonstrates the importance of the putative flagellar protein FliS in C. jejuni flagella assembly. A constructed fliS knockout strain was non-motile, displayed reduced levels of FlaA/B and FlaC flagellin, and carried severely truncated flagella. Pull-down and Far Western blot assays showed direct interaction of FliS with all three C. jejuni flagellins (FlaA, FlaB, and FlaC). This is in contrast to, the sensor and regulator of intracellular flagellin levels, FliW, which bound to FlaA and FlaB but not to FlaC. The FliS protein but not FliW preferred binding to glycosylated C. jejuni flagellins rather than to their non-glycosylated recombinant counterparts. Mapping of the binding region of FliS and FliW using a set of flagellin fragments showed that the C-terminal subdomain of the flagellin was required for FliS binding, whereas the N-terminal subdomain was essential for FliW binding. The separate binding subdomains required for FliS and FliW, the different substrate specificity, and the differential preference for binding of glycosylated flagellins ensure optimal processing and assembly of the C. jejuni flagellins
Effect of <i>fliS</i> mutation on motility of <i>Salmonella</i> cells.
No full text<p>Cells were transformed with pTrc99A-based plasmids encoding various FlhB proteins. Soft agar plates were incubated at 30°C for the indicated time. (A) Motility of Δ<i>flhB Salmonella</i> strains producing Sal/AquFlhB F343 frame shift. One of the strains contains additional mutation in <i>fliS</i>. 1 - empty vector, 2 - wild type <i>Salmonella</i> FlhB, 3 - Sal/AquFlhB F343 frame shift, 4 - Sal/AquFlhB F343 frame shift plus FliS (A22T). The asterisk “*” marks the previous emplacement for the wild type strain that was removed because it would have overgrown after 20 hours. (B) Comparison of the motility of Δ<i>flhB</i> and Δ<i>flhB fliS</i>(A22T) <i>Salmonella</i> strains producing different FlhB variants.</p
Pragmatic Case Studies as a Source of Unity in Applied Psychology
No full textTo unify or not to unify applied psychology: that is the question. In this article we review pendulum swings in the historical efforts to answer this question—from a comprehensive, positivist, “top-down,” deductive yes between the 1930s and the early 60s, to a postmodern no since then. A rationale and proposal for a limited, “bottom-up,” inductive yes in applied psychology is then presented, employing a case-based paradigm that integrates both positivist and postmodern themes and components. This paradigm is labeled “pragmatic psychology” and, its specific use of case studies, the “Pragmatic Case Study Method” (“PCS Method”). We call for the creation of peer-reviewed journal-databases of pragmatic case studies as a foundational source of unifying applied knowledge in our discipline. As one example, the potential of the PCS Method for unifying different angles of theoretical regard is illustrated in an area of applied psychology, psychotherapy, via the case of Mrs. B. The article then turns to the broader historical and epistemological arguments for the unifying nature of the PCS Method in both applied and basic psychology.Peer reviewe
Delaying the superficial inferior epigastric artery flap: a solution to the problem of the small calibre of the donor artery
No full textBACKGROUND:
Superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA) flap has a great advantage over other flaps of the area, that is, readily non-existent donor-site problems. The main reason why the SIEA flap has never been extensively used in breast reconstruction is the small diameter and variable anatomy of its donor artery. This study presents a possibility of enlarging the SIEA diameter using the delay-phenomenon mechanism.
METHODS:
A prospective clinical study of 26 patients was undertaken. Prior to surgery, ultrasound examinations were performed, measuring the diameter of SIEA and the velocity of blood flow in SIEA. The ipsilateral deep inferior epigastric artery (DIEA) was then ligated in all patients who had a measurable SIEA preoperatively. Two weeks later, measurements were repeated. The blood flow through SIEA was calculated and statistical analysis was applied.
RESULTS:
Twenty-one patients had an identifiable SIEA on preoperative measurements. On postoperative measurements, we confirmed ligation of DIEA in 19 patients, of these 17 patients had an augmentation in diameter (mean: 29%) and 18 in blood flow (mean: 127%).
CONCLUSIONS:
This study shows that ligating a single of the three main arteries (DIEA, SIEA and superficial circumflex iliac artery) irrigating skin/soft tissue of the lower abdomen, although the dominant one, results in widening of diameter and enlarging of blood flow of another artery (SIEA) supplying the same angiosome. The results of the present study might be used in future to increase the diameter and flow in SIEA when the vessel diameter found on preoperative imaging was too small for clinical microsurgical transfer. The drawback of the proposed delay procedure is the sacrifice of ipsilateral DIEA and an added operative procedure. STATEMENT: The clinical trial is registered with Clinical Trials (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/). The clinical trial registration number is NCT01247129
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