A comparison of lactate indices during ramp exercise using modelling techniques and conventional methods

The aim of this study was to compare the lactate indices provided by single- and double-breakpoint models with lactate thresholds obtained with conventional methods. Arterial samples for the determination of lactate concentrations were drawn from eight participants at rest and every minute during a ramp test (15 W x min(-1)) on a cycle ergometer. Lactate thresholds were determined from a blood lactate concentration equal to 4 mM (LT(4)), from an increase of 1 mM above the resting level (Delta1 mM), and from indirect methods using ventilatory parameters. Other indices were computed from the modelling of the lactate curve using an exponential function (LSI), a polynomial function (Dmax), a semi-log model (SLog), a parabola plus delay model (Mod P), and a two-breakpoint model (Mod M). Mod P and Mod M showed poor agreement with the other methods. LT(4), Dmax, LSI, and respiratory exchange ratio equal to 1 were correlated with each other (0.81 相似文献   

Mario Bunge’s Philosophy of Mathematics: An Appraisal

In this paper, I present and discuss critically the main elements of Mario Bunge??s philosophy of mathematics. In particular, I explore how mathematical knowledge is accounted for in Bunge??s systemic emergent materialism. To Mario, with gratitude.     

The prehistoric rock paintings of the Sahara

The magnificent rock paintings in the Sahara are widely known—the ‘Round Head’ figures; the enigmatic compositions; and the great herds that are encountered from the Tassili to the Aïr. However, each new expedition still brings new discoveries which call into question what was previously believed. The author of this article analyses the different styles of Saharan rock painting, warning against rash interpretations. His analysis of the pastoral phase in the light of ethnographic evidence establishes an interesting relationship between the Neolithic herdsmen of the Sahara and the Peuls, the herdsmen from the bend of the Niger who are assumed to have migrated during the desiccation of the Sahara.     

Editorial

This article provides an overview of education cooperation in Europe seen though some of the major initiatives of international organizations (IOs) active in this field. The purpose of the article is two-fold:

• (i) mapping out IOs' most significant programmes according to their objectives and modes of cooperation as a pre-requisite to understand the mechanisms, achievements and shortcomings of education cooperation in Europe, and
• (ii) enquiring about the effectiveness of these programs in terms of effective influence on national education policies and systems.

Six modes of cooperation are identified and reviewed in the article, namely (i) promoting universal, normative values among the education community, (ii) setting and monitoring common (or shared) goals for education systems, (iii) developing comparable quality standards and performance indicators, (iv) enhancing a policy dialogue and disseminating good practices at country and regional levels, (v) providing financial aid for system governance through institutional development and (vi) promoting the European dimension of education through student/staff mobility and institutional networking.     

Object identification and retrieval from efficient image matching. Snap2Tell with the STOIC dataset

Traditional content based image retrieval attempts to retrieve images using syntactic features for a query image. Annotated image banks and Google allow the use of text to retrieve images. In this paper, we studied the task of using the content of an image to retrieve information in general. We describe the significance of object identification in an information retrieval paradigm that uses image set as intermediate means in indexing and matching. We also describe a unique Singapore Tourist Object Identification Collection with associated queries and relevance judgments for evaluating the new task and the need for efficient image matching using simple image features. We present comprehensive experimental evaluation on the effects of feature dimensions, context, spatial weightings, coverage of image indexes, and query devices on task performance. Lastly we describe the current system developed to support mobile image-based tourist information retrieval.     

A web information system for the management and the dissemination of Cultural Heritage data

Safeguarding and exploiting Cultural Heritage induce the production of numerous and heterogeneous data. The management of these data is an essential task for the use and the diffusion of the information gathered on the field. Previously, the data handling was a hand-made task done thanks to efficient and experienced methods. Until the growth of computer science, other methods have been carried out for the digital preservation and treatment of Cultural Heritage information. The development of computerized data management systems to store and make use of archaeological datasets is then a significant task nowadays. Especially for sites that have been excavated and worked without computerized means, it is now necessary to put all the data produced onto computer. This allows preservation of the information digitally (in addition with the paper documents) and offers new exploitation possibilities, like the immediate connection of different kinds of data for analyses, or the digital documentation of the site for its improvement. Geographical Information Systems have proved their potentialities in this scope, but they are not always adapted to the management of features at the scale of a particular archaeological site. Therefore this paper aims to present the development of a Virtual Research Environment dedicated to the exploitation of intra-site Cultural Heritage data. The Information System produced is based on open-source software modules dedicated to the Internet, so users can avoid being software driven and can register and consult data from different computers. The system gives the opportunity to do exploratory analyses of the data, especially at spatial and temporal levels. The system is compliant to every kind of Cultural Heritage site and allows management of diverse types of data. Some experimentation has been done on sites managed by the Service of the National Sites and Monuments of Luxembourg.