Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of simulated biomass damage in forest ecosystems
induced by ozone against observation-based estimates

Abstract. Regional estimates of the effects of ozone pollution on forest growth depend on the availability of reliable damage functions that estimate a representative ecosystem response to ozone exposure. A number of such damage functions for forest tree species and forest functional types have recently been published and subsequently applied in terrestrial biosphere models to estimate regional or global effects of ozone on forest tree productivity and carbon storage in the living plant biomass. The resulting impacts estimated by these biosphere models show large uncertainty in the magnitude of ozone effects predicted. To understand the role that these damage functions play in determining the variability of estimated ozone impacts, we use the O-CN biosphere model to provide a standardised modelling framework. We test four published damage functions describing the leaf-level, photosynthetic response to ozone exposure (targeting Vcmax or net photosynthesis) in terms of their simulated whole-tree biomass responses against field data from 23 ozone filtration/fumigation experiments conducted with European tree species at sites across Europe with a range of climatic conditions. Our results show that none of these previously published damage functions lead to simulated whole-tree biomass reductions in agreement with the observed dose-response relationships derived from these field experiments, and instead lead to significant over- / or underestimations of the ozone effect. By re-parameterising these photosynthetic based damage functions we develop linear, plant functional type specific dose-response relationships, which provide accurate simulations of the observed whole-tree biomass response across these 23 experiments.
Does tree removal along railroads in Sweden influence the risk of train accidents with moose and roe deer

After the storm Gudrun in 2005, the Swedish Transport Administration started clear-cutting of railroad corridors to reduce the risk of trees falling down on the tracks. Simultaneously, train accidents with moose and roe deer have become more frequent and the costs for consequent delays and repairs of engines are of growing concern. There is reason to assume that tree-clearance of railroad corridors may have contributed to an increase in number of accidents with moose and roe deer because the cleared areas provide attractive forage and thus may attract wildlife. The objective of my study was to investigate how clearing of trees affected the number of accidents with moose and roe deer. I compared deer-train collision frequencies before and after clearance of the selected railroads and compared these with uncleared control railroads in a BACI (before-after control-impact) approach. I have further investigated possible differences between regions and seasons. The results suggest that although there was a significant increase in the frequency of accidents on both controls and tree-cleared railroads over time, there was no effect of tree-clearance. Only in two regions and only during the summer months, significantly more accidents were observed along cleared sections. However, when performing a Bonferroni correction, the p-values were very close to the adjusted significance level. I discuss possible reasons for the observed increase and the lack of effect of tree clearance. More research is needed to unveil the reasons for the overall increase and to better understand why and how train-deer collisions occur.
A theoretical cybernetic macro-script to articulate collaborative interactions of cyber entities in virtual worlds

Nowadays, the dissemination and exploitation of three-dimensional (3D) multi-user virtual worlds in Higher education have been disclosed from their widespread acceptance as candidate learning platforms. However, it is still lacking a theoretical cybernetic macro-script to elaborate the coordination of multiple complex interactions among users' participation. The purpose of this study is to present and articulate a cybernetic macro-script focused on the systemic organisational structure replicated through the conjunction of cybernetic structures proposed by the viable system model (VSM) and the Jigsaw teaching technique to be amplified an exploratory-collaborative learning process, which may engage students in argumentative knowledge construction. This approach may allow educators and scholars to handle efficiently the cyber entities' (avatars) in-world complex interactions through purposeful participatory learning tasks. A cybernetic macro-script held in Open Sim can be sufficiently established as valuable with insightful perspectives by surpassing irrefutable shortcomings for future-driven sustainable use and growth.
Equilibrium analysis of capacity allocation with demand competition

This article examines the capacity allocation decisions in a supply chain in which a supplier sells a common product to two retailers at a fixed wholesale price. The retailers order the supplier's product subject to an allocation mechanism preannounced by the supplier, and compete for the customer demand. We perform an equilibrium analysis of the retailers' ordering decisions under uniform and individually responsive allocations. Uniform allocation guarantees equilibrium orders, but is not necessarily truth inducing in the presence of demand competition. Further, we find that (1) neither the supplier nor either one of the retailers sees its profits necessarily increasing with the supplier's capacity, and the supplier may sell more with a lower capacity level, and (2) capacity allocation may not only affect the supply chain members' profits but also change the supply chain structure by driving a retailer out of the market. This article provides managerial insights on the capacity and ordering decisions for the supplier, the retailers, and the supply chain. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2012
Kinetic temperature of massive star-forming molecular clumps measured with formaldehyde II. The Large Magellanic Cloud

Context. The kinetic temperature of molecular clouds is a fundamental physical parameter affecting star formation and the initial mass function. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the closest star-forming galaxy with a low metallicity and provides an ideal laboratory for studying star formation in such an environment. Aims. The classical dense molecular gas thermometer NH 3 is seldom available in a low-metallicity environment because of photoionization and a lack of nitrogen atoms. Our goal is to directly measure the gas kinetic temperature with formaldehyde toward six star-forming regions in the LMC. Methods. Three rotational transitions ( J K A K C = 3 03 –2 02 , 3 22 –2 21 , and 3 21 –2 20 ) of para-H 2 CO near 218 GHz were observed with the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) 12 m telescope toward six star-forming regions in the LMC. These data are complemented by C 18 O 2–1 spectra. Results. Using non-local thermal equilibrium modeling with RADEX, we derive the gas kinetic temperature and spatial density, using as constraints the measured para-H 2 CO 3 21 –2 20 /3 03 –2 02 and para-H 2 CO 3 03 –2 02 /C 18 O 2–1 ratios. Excluding the quiescent cloud N159S, where only one para-H 2 CO line could be detected, the gas kinetic temperatures derived from the preferred para-H 2 CO 3 21 –2 20 /3 03 –2 02 line ratios range from 35 to 63 K with an average of 47 ± 5 K (errors are unweighted standard deviations of the mean). Spatial densities of the gas derived from the para-H 2 CO 3 03 –2 02 /C 18 O 2–1 line ratios yield 0.4–2.9 × 10 5 cm -3 with an average of 1.5 ± 0.4 × 10 5 cm -3 . Temperatures derived from the para-H 2 CO line ratio are similar to those obtained with the same method from Galactic star-forming regions and agree with results derived from CO in the dense regions ( n (H 2 ) > 10 3 cm -3 ) of the LMC. A comparison of kinetic temperatures derived from para-H 2 CO with those from the dust also shows good agreement. This suggests that the dust and para-H 2 CO are well mixed in the studied star-forming regions. A comparison of kinetic temperatures derived from para-H 2 CO 3 21 –2 20 /3 03 –2 02 and NH 3 (2, 2)/(1, 1) shows a drastic difference, however. In the star-forming region N159W, the gas temperature derived from the NH 3 (2, 2)/(1, 1) line ratio is ~16 K (, ApJ, 710, 105), which is only half the temperature derived from para-H 2 CO and the dust. Furthermore, ammonia shows a very low abundance in a 30′′ beam. Apparently, ammonia only survives in the most shielded pockets of dense gas that are not yet irradiated by UV photons, while formaldehyde, less affected by photodissociation, is more widespread and also samples regions that are more exposed to the radiation of young massive stars. A correlation between the gas kinetic temperatures derived from para-H 2 CO and infrared luminosity, represented by the 250 μ m flux, suggests that the kinetic temperatures traced by para-H 2 CO are correlated with the ongoing massive star formation in the LMC.
Bacterial enhancement of gel particle coagulation in seawater

Gel-like particles are ubiquitous in marine environments, affecting global carbon cycles, but the mechanisms controlling gel particle coagulation in seawater are not entirely clear. We investigated whether marine bacteria enhance the coagulation of gel particles. Gel particles composed of polysaccharides with an equivalent spherical diameter (ESD) of 0.01 cm were sus- pended in seawater contained in rotating tubes to examine time course changes in particle ESD and abundance. Marine bacterial assemblages strongly enhanced the coagulation of gel particles into large aggregates (ESD, 0.1 to 1 cm) over a period of 24 to 96 h. Catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that one group of bacteria that grew rapidly was affil- iated with the genus Pseudoalteromonas. Experiments using Pseudoalteromonas spp. isolates indicated that 6 of 11 isolates enhanced gel particle coagulation. This enhancement differed greatly by species. High settling velocities, up to 270 m d −1 , were determined for the large aggre- gates. Our results demonstrate that bacteria can substantially enhance gel particle coagulation and the formation of fast-settling large aggregates in seawater.
Identification of wavelengths from the visible spectrum by means of Arduino for the generation of a knowledge base managed by PROLOG

PROLOG is a programming language widely used in the generation of expert and intelligent systems, generally limited to data that is entered directly by a user in the form of software, having little or no interaction with data that is captured directly from a physical environment. This paper presents an implementation of an interface that detects the wavelengths of the visible spectrum, that is, identifies colors, colors that are stored in a knowledge base and then managed by PROLOG. This interface consists of two parts, software and hardware. The hardware is designed by means of the Arduino UNO development board, where a TCS3200 sensor is used. For the development of the software, two tools have been used, on the one hand, the standard programming of the Arduino IDE terminal has been used to manage the inputs and outputs of the Arduino board, and on the other hand, a data management system has been generated, in which PROLOG manages all the data obtained from hardware. This scheme seeks to generate color classifications in a dynamic and intelligent way in the future. The proposed system has the advantage that it is highly economical, easy to perform, uses the logical paradigm of programming, and opens the way to the design of intelligent systems managed by PROLOG from a monitoring of physical variables.
Job dynamics, correlated shocks and wage profiles

We generalize the Mortensen-Pissarides (1994) model of the labor market with a more realistic structure for the stochastic process of the shocks to the worker-firm match. In this way we can acommodate the empirical observation that hazard rates of job termination decrease and average wages increase with job tenure. Besides being able to fit better some observables of the model, the changes we introduce are nontrivial for the analysis of policies as well.
Privacy Enhancing Techniques on RFID systems

An RFID system is a tracking and tracing system, and is useful for the management of various items and animals in a supply chain, animal husbandry and so on. According to a Japanese investigation firm, the number of RFID tags in Japan will increase rapidly from 51 million in 2007 to 1.7 billion in 2012 (Yano Research Institute, 2008). In RFID systems, RFID tags, which have unique IDs, are attached to items, and RFID readers confirm whether something is there and identify what it is by obtaining its ID. It is, however, pointed out that exploiting RFID systems could lead to some privacy issues. One issue is that someone may know what you have by getting the IDs of your items. Another one is that someone may know when and where you were by recording the time and the place at which the IDs were obtained. Many kinds of countermeasures against these issues have been proposed. Some of them have been implemented in RFID products. This chapter explains the privacy issues concerning RFID systems, their countermeasures and finally compares them from the security point of view.
An Overview of the Effects of Age on Fertility in Women

For a variety of social and economic reasons, women (and couples) are putting off having babies until they are in their mid-thirties, or later. As shown in Figure 1, this trend is common to most industrialized countries. In the United States, the average maternal age at first birth increased from 21.4 to 24.9 years of age from 1970 to 2000. Overall, birth rates in the United States decreased from 1970 to 1980, but since then, the birth rates for women over 30 years of age have increased significantly (Figure 2). An Overview of the Effects of Age on Fertility in Women
RETINAL DEGENERATION IN A PIT BULL DOG: ELECTRORETINOGRAPHIC FINDINGS

O eletrorretinograma (ERG) consiste em exame objetivo, nao invasivo, capaz de avaliar a funcao retiniana tanto na oftalmologia humana como na veterinaria. Caso Clinico: com o recente surgimento em Sao Paulo, de caes da raca Pit Bull apresentando deficit visual severo, optou-se por realizar ERG de campo total em um filhote macho, 5 meses de idade, com baixa de visao desde os 40 dias de idade, com intuito de avaliar sua funcao retiniana. O animal, sob anestesia geral, foi submetido ao ERG, segundo o protocolo padrao da ISCEV (International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision). Em um dos olhos foi adaptado eletrodo de lente de contato monopolar, apos adaptacao ao escuro por 30 minutos e dilatacao completa da pupila. As respostas escotopicas e fotopicas mostraram-se nao detectaveis, confirmando o efeito devastador da degeneracao na funcao retiniana. Comentarios conclusivos: o Erg foi capaz de detectar a severidade da degeneracao retiniana e acredita-se que o estudo do heredograma destes animais possibilitara melhor compreensao desta nova doenca.
The significance of the balance between intracellular glutathione and polyethylene glycol ( PEG ) for successful siRNA release from gold nanoparticles

The therapeutic promise of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) for specific gene silencing is dependent on the successful delivery of functional siRNAs to the cell cytoplasm. Their conjugation to an established delivery platform, such as gold nanoparticles, offers a huge potential for treating diseases and advancing our understanding of cellular processes. The success or failure is dependent on both the uptake of the nanoparticles into the cells and subsequent intracellular release of the functional siRNA. In this paper, utilising gold nanoparticle siRNA-mediated delivery against C-MYC, we aimed to determine if we could achieve knockdown in a cancer cell line with low levels of intracellular glutathione, and determine the influence, if any, of polyethylene glycol (PEG) ligand density on knockdown, with a view to determine the optimal nanoparticle design to achieve C-MYC knockdown. We demonstrate that, regardless of the PEG density, knockdown in cells with relatively low glutathione levels can be achieved, and also the possible effect of steric hindrance in terms of PEG on the availability of the siRNA for cleavage in the intracellular environment. Gold nanoparticle uptake was demonstrated via transmission electron microscopy and mass spectroscopy, whilst knockdown was determined at the protein and physiological levels (cells in S-phase) by in-cell westerns and BrdU incorporation, respectively. Nano Res DOI (automatically inserted by the publisher) Research Article
(2016). Commentary: Should the analysis of observational data always be preceded by specifying a target experimental trial? International Journal of Epidemiology , (6),

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in International Journal of Epidemiology following peer review. The version of record "Didelez, V. 'Commentary: Should the analysis of observational data always be preceded by specifying a target experimental trial? ', International journal of epidemiology, 2016", is available online at: xxxxxxx [insert URL that the author will receive upon publication here].
Emotion as a Signal of Product Quality: Exploring Its Effects on Purchase Decisions In Online Customer Reviews

Two critical problems of online customer reviews is the caused information asymmetry and information overload. To reveal consumers’ information processing under this circumstance, this paper proposes a model to investigate pleasure versus displeasure embedded in reviews as a potential signal of product quality and the moderating effects of perceived empathy and perceived cognitive effort based on the signaling theory. A laboratory experiment with 120 subjects was used to empirically test the research hypotheses. The results show that pleasure and displeasure embedded in reviews influence perceived product quality, which subsequently affects purchase decisions. Additionally, pleasant online reviews were found to have a greater influence on perceived product quality compared to unpleasant online reviews when the perceived empathy and perceived cognitive effort are higher. The findings demonstrate positive effects of pleasant online customer reviews, and provide important practical implications for both sellers and consumers.
The Housing Market-Bank Credit Relationship: Some Thoughts on Its Causality

The dominance of the orthodox paradigm over the last decades prior to the â€œgreat recessionâ€ left no room for the notion of â€œendogenous moneyâ€ in the development of economic theory. However, this alternative direction of the causality of demand for money-credit and economic activity has been present in the heterodox economic thought since the 1930s and should be reconsidered in the current situation. In this context, the numerous episodes of housing bubbles, which have been taking place since 2007, create the perfect â€œenvironmentâ€ to explore the notion of â€œdynamic monetized production economyâ€ . Our theoretical framework is estimated econometrically by using a sample of 6 developed economies which spans from 1970 to 2011. The non-stationary â€œnatureâ€ of our data recommends the use of cointegration techniques (SA¸ren Johansen 1995) in order to estimate our models.
The impact of retail mergers on food prices: evidence from France

Using consumer panel data, we analyze the impact of a merger in the retail sector on food prices in France. In order to capture the local dimension of retail competition, we define local markets as catchment areas around each store. We develop a difference-in-differences analysis to compare price changes in local markets where the merger did modify the ownership structure (treated group) to price changes in local markets where the merger did not affect the ownership structure (control group). We find that prices of competing firms in areas where the merger occurred (treated group) increased significantly relative to the control areas where existing firms were not affected by a merger. In fact, our findings suggest that the merger significantly raised the competitors' prices. These results are consistent with a combination of local concentration and a decrease in differentiation.
Advances in Large Margin Classifiers

From the Publisher: The concept of large margins is a unifying principle for the analysis of many different approaches to the classification of data from examples, including boosting, mathematical programming, neural networks, and support vector machines. The fact that it is the margin, or confidence level, of a classification--that is, a scale parameter--rather than a raw training error that matters has become a key tool for dealing with classifiers. This book shows how this idea applies to both the theoretical analysis and the design of algorithms. The book provides an overview of recent developments in large margin classifiers, examines connections with other methods (e.g., Bayesian inference), and identifies strengths and weaknesses of the method, as well as directions for future research. Among the contributors are Manfred Opper, Vladimir Vapnik, and Grace Wahba.
A method based on active appearance model and gradient orientation pyramid of face verification as people age

Face verification in the presence of age progression is an important problem that has not been widely addressed. In this paper, we propose to use the active appearance model (AAM) and gradient orientation pyramid (GOP) feature representation for this problem. First, we use the AAM on the dataset and generate the AAM images; we then get the representation of gradient orientation on a hierarchical model, which is the appearance of GOP. When combined with a support vector machine (SVM), experimental results show that our approach has excellent performance on two public domain face aging datasets: FGNET and MORPH. Second, we compare the performance of the proposed methods with a number of related face verification methods; the results show that the new approach is more robust and performs better.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Will ageing lead to a higher real exchange rate for the Netherlands ?

Long-term projections for the Netherlands indicate that demand for nontradables – e.g. health care services – will increase relative to supply due to population ageing. If this leads to higher future real exchanges rates this will erode the return of the savings currently made to prepare for ageing. This paper explores the magnitude of potential price effects using a modified version of the ‘two country, four commodity framework’ developed by Obstfeld and Rogoff (2005) to explore the exchange rate effects of the balance of payments reversal in the US. When these price effects are substantial, this may have serious consequences for policies to enhance national saving in the Netherlands. Nederlandstalige samenvatting Als gevolg van de vergrijzing zal op lange termijn de vraag naar binnenlandse diensten, met name in de zorg, toenemen in verhouding tot het aanbod. Omdat deze diensten niet internationaal verhandelbaar zijn, kunnen binnenlandse prijzen, en daarmee de reële wisselkoers, oplopen, waardoor het rendement op de besparingen wordt uitgehold. Dit paper verkent de mogelijke omvang van dergelijke prijseffecten op basis van een aangepaste versie van het twee-landen, vier-goederenmodel dat Obstfeld en Rogoff hebben ontwikkeld om de wisselkoerseffecten te onderzoeken van het tekort op de lopende rekening van de VS. Wanneer deze prijseffecten substantieel zijn, kan dat belangrijke gevolgen hebben voor het beleid dat erop is gericht om de toekomstige vergrijzing op te vangen door extra besparingen. JEL codes: E40, F41, J11