Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The 12,460-Year Hohenheim Oak and Pine Tree-Ring Chronology from Central Europe—A Unique Annual Record for Radiocarbon Calibration and Paleoenvironment Reconstructions

The combined oak and pine tree-ring chronologies of Hohenheim University are the backbone of the Holocene radiocarbon calibration for central Europe. Here, we present the revised Holocene oak chronology (HOC) and the Preboreal pine chronology (PPC) with respect to revisions, critical links, and extensions. Since 1998, the HOC has been strengthened by new trees starting at 10,429 BP (8480 BC). Oaks affected by cockchafer have been identified and discarded from the chronology. The formerly floating PPC has been cross-matched dendrochronologically to the absolutely dated oak chronology, which revealed a difference of only 8 yr to the published 14C wiggle-match position used for IntCal98. The 2 parts of the PPC, which were linked tentatively at 11,250 BP, have been revised and strengthened by new trees, which enabled us to link both parts of the PPC dendrochronologically. Including the 8-yr shift of the oak-pine link, the older part of the PPC (pre-11,250 BP) needs to be shifted 70 yr to older ages with respect to the published data (Spurk 1998). The southern German part of the PPC now covers 2103 yr from 11,993–9891 BP (10,044–7942 BC). In addition, the PPC was extended significantly by new pine chronologies from other regions. A pine chronology from Avenches and Zürich, Switzerland, and another from the Younger Dryas forest of Cottbus, eastern Germany, could be crossdated and dendrochronologically matched to the PPC. The absolutely dated tree-ring chronology now extends back to 12,410 cal BP (10,461 BC). Therefore, the tree-ring-based 14C calibration now reaches back into the Central Younger Dryas. With respect to the Younger Dryas-Preboreal transition identified in the ring width of our pines at 11,590 BP, the absolute tree-ring chronology now covers the entire Holocene and 820 yr of the Younger Dryas.
The Impact of the 2003 Texas Medical Malpractice Damages Cap on Physician Supply and Insurer Payouts: Separating Facts from Rhetoric

In 2003, Texas adopted House Bill 4 ("HB 4") which capped non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases and included several other smaller reforms. To proponents, HB 4 is a silver bullet, encouraging physicians to move to Texas by reducing frivolous lawsuits, preventing excessive damage awards by run-away juries, and reducing malpractice insurance premiums. To critics, it is ineffective (because it will neither materially increase the number of physicians, lower malpractice premiums, nor reduce health care costs) and unfair (because it forces injured patients to accept inadequate compensation and hits plaintiffs who are severely injured, women, children, or elderly especially hard). In this short paper, prepared for a special issue on the effects of HB 4, we present new evidence of its effect on the number of physicians in Texas. There is, as yet, no evidence that HB 4 increased the number of physicians involved in direct patient care, but some evidence consistent with a delayed effect. There may have been a modest increase in the number of specialists engaged in direct patient care, in line with population growth. We also summarize our findings from a previous article on how the damages cap will affect payouts. We estimate that, if the same cases were brought, the cap would result in an18-25% drop in per-case payouts in settled cases, and a 27% drop in tried cases. We also find that a cap on non-economic damages will have different effects on different groups of plaintiffs, with larger effects on the unemployed and deceased, and likely on the elderly as well. Because one would expect the cap to dissuade some plaintiffs from suing at all, especially those in the more severely affected groups, the cap's effect on insurers' costs -- and thus its long-run effect on malpractice insurance premiums -- will likely exceed our per-case estimates.
The rise in student loan defaults in the Great Recession ∗

We examine the rise in student loan defaults in the Great Recession by linking administrative student loan data at the individual borrower level to student loan borrowers’ individual tax records. A Blinder-Oaxaca style decomposition shows that shifts in the composition of student loan borrowers and the massive collapse in home prices during the Great Recession can each account for approximately 30% of the rise in student loan defaults. Falling home prices affect student loan defaults by impairing individuals’ labor earnings, especially for low income jobs. By contrast, when comparing the default sensitivities of homeowners and renters, we find no evidence that falling home prices affect student loan defaults through a home equity-based liquidity channel. The Income Based Repayment (IBR) program introduced by the federal government in the wake of the Great Recession reduced both student loan defaults and their sensitivity to home price fluctuations, thus providing student loan borrowers with valuable insurance against negative shocks. ∗We thank Toni Whited (editor), an anonymous referee, David Berger, Jan Eberly, Caroline Hoxby, Amir Kermani, Theresa Kuchler, Andres Liberman, Adam Looney, Johannes Stroebel, Jeremy Tobacman, Eric Zwick, and seminar participants at NYU, Berkeley, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for helpful comments. Any opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Treasury or any other organization. †NYU Stern School of Business, NBER, CEPR, and ECGI. Email: hmueller@stern.nyu. edu. ‡NYU Stern School of Business. Email: constantine.yannelis@stern.nyu. edu.
Coxeter orbits and Brauer trees III

This article is the final one of a series of articles on certain blocks of modular representations of finite groups of Lie type and the associated geometry. We prove the conjecture of Brou\'e on derived equivalences induced by the complex of cohomology of Deligne-Lusztig varieties in the case of Coxeter elements whenever the defining characteristic is good. We also prove a conjecture of Hi{\ss}, L\"ubeck and Malle on the Brauer trees of the corresponding blocks. As a consequence, we determine the Brauer trees (in particular, the decomposition matrix) of the principal $\ell$-block of $E_7(q)$ when $\ell \mid \Phi_{18}(q)$ and $E_8(q)$ when $\ell \mid \Phi_{18}(q)$ or $\ell \mid \Phi_{30}(q)$.
Biocompatibility of Poly ( L-Lactic Acid ) Synthesized In Polymerization Unit By Cytotoxicity And Hemocompatibility Assay And Nanofibers Production

The absorbable polyacid is one of the most used and studied materials in tissue engineering. This work synthesized a poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) through ring-opening polymerization and produced nanofibers by the electrospinning process. The PLLA was analyzed by FTIR and the cytotoxicity was evaluated by the MTT assay and Live/Dead®. The hemocompatibility was tested by platelet adhesion and hemolytic activity assay. The tests were performed in contact with human mesenchymal cells at varying times. The high rates of cell viability and proliferation shown by MTT and Live/Dead® tests demonstrate that this PLLA is a non-toxic material and the hemocompatibility assay revealed that the biomaterial was also biocompatible. It was achieved as well the successful production of electrospinning nanofibers, which can be converted for specific biomedical applications in the future.
Contribution of Hydroxymethane Sulfonate to Ambient Particulate Matter: A Potential Explanation for High Particulate Sulfur During Severe Winter Haze in Beijing

PM2.5 during severe winter haze in Beijing, China, has reached levels as high as 880 μg/m3, with sulfur compounds contributing significantly to PM2.5 composition. This sulfur has been traditionally assumed to be sulfate, although atmospheric chemistry models are unable to account for such large sulfate enhancements under dim winter conditions. Using a 1‐D model, we show that well‐characterized but previously overlooked chemistry of aqueous‐phase HCHO and S(IV) in cloud droplets to form a S(IV)‐HCHO adduct, hydroxymethane sulfonate, may explain high particulate sulfur in wintertime Beijing. We also demonstrate in the laboratory that methods of ion chromatography typically used to measure ambient particulates easily misinterpret hydroxymethane sulfonate as sulfate. Our findings suggest that HCHO and not SO2 has been the limiting factor in many haze events in Beijing and that to reduce severe winter pollution in this region, policymakers may need to address HCHO sources such as transportation.
Plea Bargaining: Its Effect on Sentencing and Convictions in the District of Columbia

bargaining-the process by which the state grants sentencing and other concessions in exchange for guilty pleas in criminal cases-is frequently paramount in this concern for crime control and justice. Yet despite the general recognition of the importance of plea bargaining to American jurisprudence, disagreement persists about what plea bargaining should accomplish given prevailing norms of justice, what plea bargaining actually does accomplish given the reality of the judicial process, and how the existing practice could be modified (or preserved) through public policy. Research reported in this study addresses these concerns by posing and answering a broad question: Who gains and who loses from plea bargaining? Based on data contained in the Prosecutor's Management Information System (PROMIS) maintained by the United States Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., the analysis is essentially empirical, and the attempt to quantify observations and support conclusions statistically contrasts with an equally important existing body of research, which is more qualitative.
Transferring CNN Intermediate Layers via Weakly-Supervised Learning and Latent Semantic Analysis

Neuroscience research about neuron coding has found out that each item is encoded by strong activations of a relatively small set of neurons. The goal of this research is to identify the neuron set that are major contributors for recognizing specific object categories. To avoid biases introduced by human experiences, our approach uses neither dataset with part label or attribute caption, nor any semantic model assumption. Our approach only uses object-level labels in both pre-training and latent semantic learning. Given a convolutional neural network (CNN) that is pre-trained for object classification, this paper proposes a framework of trimming and transferring pre-trained CNNs for any given task from a variety of tasks. The challenge of learning latent semantics in intermediate layers via a weakly-supervised approach is solved by mining the correlation between neuron rapid firing statists and image stimulus of different object categories. In addition, our work also learns the latent semantics associated with major contributor neurons by visualizing patches that triggers rapid firing, which provides a better understanding of what CNNs have learnt from deep trainings.
Pregnancy diagnosis in Black Bengal goat by progesterone assay

Pregnancy is the main event in the life of a female mammal to reproduce the progeny and maintain the descents of the species. Progesterone level in the plasma is one of the indications of stages of pregnancy of an individual and the present study was undertaken to determine the progesterone level in different stages of pregnant Black Bengal does and to correlate blood progesterone level with stages of pregnancy in Black Bengal does. For this experiment the blood samples were collected from different stages of pregnant and non-pregnant Black Bengal does, kids and bucks, and subjected to use for further study. The progesterone level was measured at 3 different stages of pregnancy (25-30 days, 60- 70 days, and 90-92 days) using the test kit (EIA TEST KIT Progesterone, Biocheck, Inc. Foster city, CA 94404 USA). Progesterone was also assayed in different ages of non-pregnant does, kids and bucks blood as the control. The logarithmic graph paper was used to calculate the progesterone level. The progesterone levels were found 1.5 ng/ml, 6.6-9.3 ng/ml and 14-15.5 ng/ml in 25-30 days, 60-70 days and 90-92 days of pregnancy, respectively. In case of non-pregnant does the progesterone level varied from 0.19-6.6 ng/ml in different ages. Whereas the progesterone level was found between <0.1 ng/ml and 4.4 ng/ml in kids blood samples and in case of bucks the progesterone level was <0.1 ng/ml. So, it is clear that the progesterone level simultaneously increased as the stages of pregnancy advanced in the blood of pregnant Black Bengal does. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/bjas.v43i3. 21645 Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2014. 43 (3): 180-184
The Efficacy of Thyme Oil as Antitoxicant of Aflatoxin(s) Toxicity in Sheep

This study is an attempt to prevent or minimize the negative effects due to ingesting feed contaminated with aflatoxins (AFs). An exposure study extended for two different stages was conducted using eighteen Egyptian male sheep. The 1 st stage (pre-treatment) was suggested to compare the performance of animal groupings under the normal conditions before receiving any treatment, either level of contamination(s) or dosage(s) of additive, such stage extended for 2 weeks. The 2 nd stage (treatment), animals received aflatoxin(s)-contaminated diets (10 mg/kilogram concentrated diet) and / or the thyme oil at two levels (250 and 500 mg / head / day), such stage extended for 4 weeks. The average body weights, body weight gains and feed conversion ratios were dramatically affected during the exposure stage to AFs. The thyme oil treatment reduced the adverse effects of aflatoxins and improved the rumen activity and motility and animal performance in general, either at low or high dose. The activities of gamma-glutamyl transferase (γGT); aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) enzymes, were significantly elevated during exposure to aflatoxins. Also, serum uric acid level was increased; but the levels of serum glucose and albumin were decreased by dietary aflatoxin. On the other hand, the use of thyme oil either 250 or 500 mg / head / day; approximately normalizing such levels. The major excretory route of aflatoxins and their metabolites was found to be the urine (accounting for 39.71% to 68.32% of the tatoal AFs-excretion forms, whereas less than 10% of these forms were excreted in the feces. Only about 52% of the dose was recovered in the feces and urine in identifiable forms, mainly aflatoxin B2α (AFB2α) and unchanged aflatoxin B1(AFB1) without any detectable amount of aflatoxicol. In conclusion, our results may lead us to suggest that there is a significant liver dysfunction in these groups, 10 mg of aflatoxin/kg of diet was sufficient to impair performance and cause liver damage in male sheep, the thyme oil could be considered a potential natural antitoxicant for sheep and could protect sheep from hepato-toxicities which induced by aflatoxin-contaminated diet when used as a sole diet. (Journal of American Science 2010;6(10):948-960). (ISSN: 1545-1003).
Expressed Emotion and Levels of Family Psychopathology in Parents of Bipolar Adolescents

Objective. The objective for this study is to better understand the etiology of expressed emotion (EE) attitudes in parents by evaluating differences in psychopathology and family history among highand low-EE parents of youth with bipolar disorder (BD). The primary hypotheses were: (1) high-EE parents are more likely than low-EE parents to have a personal history of psychiatric disorders, and (2) high-EE parents are more likely than low-EE parents to have a family history of major affective disorders. Method. Levels of family psychopathology were assessed based on semi-structured interviews using the Family History Sheet to evaluate personal and familial psychiatric history. Included was a total of 63 parents of 56 bipolar adolescents who reported an acute mood episode within the past 3 months and were enrolled in family therapy. Parents were presented with a series of cards listing symptoms associated with various psychiatric conditions and were asked to indicate how many of the symptoms described themselves or first-degree relatives at any point in life. Parental EE attitudes were assessed using the Five Minute Speech Sample. Offspring of highand low-EE parents were compared on scores obtained using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Mania and Depression Rating Scales. Results. There were no differences among highand low-EE parents in their personal history of psychopathology, nor were there differences in levels of family loading of affective disorders. Secondary analyses revealed that high-EE/critical and critical/emotionally overinvolved (EOI) parents had a significantly greater personal history of anxiety than low-EE parents and parents who were EOI only. There were no differences between bipolar patients in high-EE and lowEE families in symptom severity. Discussion. Sensitivity and specificity of the family history interview may be compromised due to the difficulty of assessing the psychiatric histories of multiple subjects based on second-hand accounts. The findings should thus be viewed with caution. However, EE attitudes do not appear to be related to parental psychopathology or family history of affective disorders. However, anxiety may make parents particularly vulnerable to expressions of criticism during the open-ended FMSS. The EE/psychopathology relationship should be studied longitudinally using the FMSS and more rigorous genetic measures than those employed in the present study. EXPRESSED EMOTION AND FAMILY PSYCHOPATHOLOGY 3
Numbers Pattern Formation in the Rotating Cylindrical Annulus with an Azimuthal Magnetic Field at low

Patterns are theoretically formed in the frame of a hydromagnetic convection induced by radial buoyancy in an electrically conducting fluid contained by a rotating cylindrical annulus with a homogeneous magnetic field (B) in the azimuthal direction. The annulus is assumed to rotate with an angular frequency, under the small gap approximation with rigid cylindrical boundaries. The onset of convection is found in the form of axial, axisymmetric or oblique rolls with a broken symmetry. The roll angle depends on the ratio between the Chandrasekhar number, Q B2, and the Coriolis number, . In addition to fully three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations, weakly nonlinear and Galerkin analyses for roll patterns are performed for Prandtl number P 0 1. At finite amplitudes, secondary instabilities are encountered in the form of longwave and shortwave.
Mechanism of Strand-Biased and Codon-Contexted Somatic Hypermutation in Immunity and Cancer: Implications of the Finding that Adar-Deaminases Can Directly Mediate a-to-I Editing on Both the DNA and Rna Moieties of Rna:dna Hybrids.

This paper simply links the recent findings of Zheng, Lorenzo and Beal on ADAR-mediated DNA and RNA deamination at RNA:DNA hybrids, to our previous work on strand-biased and codon-context mutation signatures in B lymphocytes (Ig SHM) and codon-contexted exome-wide point mutation patterns in cancer genomes. We conclude that in vivo the A-to-I DNA editing component at RNA: DNA hybrids occurring in Transcription Bubbles, while important, is of far lower A-to-I editing efficiency than in dsRNA substrates (as shown in Zheng et al). Indeed the RNA moiety of RNA:DNA hybrids is also edited at similar lower frequency (relative to dsRNA substrates). Further if the A-to-I DNA editing at RNA:DNA hybrids were the sole cause of A-to-I (read as A-to-G) mutation events in vivo then the exact opposite strand biases at A:T base pairs (T>>>A) of what is actually observed (A>>>T) would be predicted. Thus we conclude that the extreme strand-biased somatic mutation patterns documented by us in vivo should be logically interpreted by the predicted sequential steps of the RNA/RT-based mechanism.
A theory for compressible binary lattice polymers: Influence of chain conformational properties

The influence of long-range chain connectivity on the thermodynamic properties of athermal compressible single component and binary polymer mixtures is studied for the lattice model both theoretically and by Monte Carlo simulations. Theoretical expressions for the thermodynamic properties are derived based on the chain insertion probabilities. The chain conformations enter the theoretical insertion probabilities by the number of intramolecular contacts. The distribution of the number of intramolecular contacts of a single athermal chain is taken as input, of which the dependence on density is predicted by the theory. The theory successfully predicts the Monte Carlo simulation data for the equation of state of pure components and mixtures. Also microscopic details on the different types of self-contacts and cross contacts in the mixtures are accurately predicted.
Perfil populacional de idosos encaminhados à seleção de próteses auditivas em hospital público

Objetivo : Identificar o perfil populacional de idosos encaminhados a selecao de proteses auditivas em um hospital publico, no que diz respeito as caracteristicas sociodemograficas, de saude geral e auditiva. Metodos : Estudo com 191 idosos e coleta de dados realizada por meio de prontuarios. Analise realizada por meio de estatistica descritiva, distribuicao de frequencias e analise de variância. Resultados : Predominância de participantes do genero feminino, nascidos no Estado de Sao Paulo, raca branca, residentes em domicilio proprio, escolaridade entre zero e quatro anos, nao ocupados, renda salarial entre zero e tres salarios minimos, situacao economica regular e ausencia de plano privado de saude. A maior parte dos encaminhamentos partiu do proprio Hospital Sao Paulo. Em media, os pacientes gastam mais de 60 minutos para realizar o trajeto desde sua residencia ate o ambulatorio. Foi observada relacao entre percepcao de saude regular ou ruim e presenca de doencas cronicas, tontura, zumbido, progressao da perda auditiva, ocorrencia de dificuldades visuais e de locomocao e tempo de privacao auditiva. Tipo, grau e configuracao audiometrica com predominância neurossensorial, moderado e descendente respectivamente. Quanto a selecao de proteses auditivas, houve predominio de aparelhos retroauriculares e moldes auriculares dos tipos invisivel duplo e canal. Conclusao : O perfil dos idosos foi obtido e nos levou a reflexoes importantes sobre acessibilidade aos servicos de saude e da educacao em saude.