Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Why Measuring Fertility Matters

Is fertility relevant to evolutionary analyses conducted in modern industrial societies? This question has been the subject of a highly contentious debate, beginning in the late 1980s and continuing to this day. Researchers in both evolutionary and social sciences have argued that the measurement of fitness-related traits (e.g., fertility) offers little insight into evolutionary processes, on the grounds that modern industrial environments differ so greatly from those of our ancestral past that our behavior can no longer be expected to be adaptive. In contrast, we argue that fertility measurements in industrial society are essential for a complete evolutionary analysis: in particular, such data can provide evidence for any putative adaptive mismatch between ancestral environments and those of the present day, and they can provide insight into the selection pressures currently operating on contemporary populations. Having made this positive case, we then go on to discuss some challenges of fertility-related analyses among industrialized populations, particularly those that involve large-scale databases. These include “researcher degrees of freedom” (i.e., the choices made about which variables to analyze and how) and the different biases that may exist in such data. Despite these concerns, large datasets from multiple populations represent an excellent opportunity to test evolutionary hypotheses in great detail, enriching the evolutionary understanding of human behavior.
Terrain-based propagation model for rural area-an integral equation approach

A terrain-based propagation model for vertically polarized radio waves is described, based on the field integral equation for a smooth surface. The model is simplified from a 3D integral equation model to a one-dimensional integral equation by assuming that the surface is magnetically perfectly conducting (a soft surface) with no transverse variations. By assuming no back scattering, the integral equation is turned into a simple integral. The method is tested numerically with known solutions. The integral equation model is also applied to actual terrain profiles at four frequencies (144, 435, 970, 1900 MHz), and the results are compared with results from the Hata model and measurements. The standard deviation (STD) of the error is a growing function of frequency, from 3 to 9 dB. >
Linear Decision Fusion under the Control of Constrained PSO for WSNs

A major application of a distributed WSN (wireless sensor network) is to monitor a specific area for detecting some events such as disasters and enemies. In order to achieve this objective, each sensor in the network is required to collect local observations which are probably corrupted by noise, make a local decision regarding the presence or absence of an event, and then send its local decision to a fusion center. After that, the fusion center makes the final decision depending on these local decisions and a decision fusion rule, so an efficient decision fusion rule is extremely critical. It is obvious that the decision-making capability of each node is different owing to the dissimilar signal noise ratios and some other factors, so it is easy to understand that a specific sensor contribution to the global decision should be constrained by this sensor decision-making capability, and, based on this idea, we establish a novel linear decision fusion model for WSNs. Moreover, the constrained particle swarm optimization (constrained PSO) algorithm is creatively employed to control the parameters of this model in this paper and we also apply the typical penalty function to solve the constrained PSO problem. The emulation results indicate that our design is capable of achieving very high accuracy.
The Protective Role of Anise Oil in Oxidative Stress and Genotoxicity Produced in Favism

ABSTRACT The metabolic disease favism is an acute hemolytic anemia. Anise oil was obtained from Pimpinella anisum L. seeds (family Apiaceae). The objective of this study was to establish the protective effect of anise oil in favism disorders. Forty-eight male albino rats were divided into six groups: group 1 orally administrated 1 mL distilled water, group 2 orally received 300 mg/kg anise oil, and group 3 orally administrated 100 mg/kg anethole over a seven-day period, group 4 favism-induced rats, group 5 orally administrated 300 mg/kg anise oil and group 6 orally administrated 100 mg/kg anethole once a day over a seven-day period prior to favism induction. The result obtained revealed that oral administration of either anise oil or anethole into normal rats over a seven-day period did not induce any change. Following favism induction, hemoglobin, hematocrit, red and white blood cell counts, serum glucose, blood glutathione, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, total protein, globulin, alanine and aspartate aminotransferases levels were significantly decreased, while serum alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin showed significant increase. Pretreatment with either anise oil or anethole into favism-induced rats prevented these changes. Favism also induced deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage and prior treatment of anise oil maintained liver DNA content. These results were supported by histopathological evaluation. In conclusion, anise oil pretreatment into favism-induced rats decreased the favism disorders, and this effect was related to the anethole ingredient of the oil.
Parameter Identification of the 2-Chlorophenol Oxidation Model Using Improved Differential Search Algorithm

Parameter identification plays a crucial role for simulating and using model. This paper firstly carried out the sensitivity analysis of the 2-chlorophenol oxidation model in supercritical water using the Monte Carlo method. Then, to address the nonlinearity of the model, two improved differential search (DS) algorithms were proposed to carry out the parameter identification of the model. One strategy is to adopt the Latin hypercube sampling method to replace the uniform distribution of initial population; the other is to combine DS with simplex method. The results of sensitivity analysis reveal the sensitivity and the degree of difficulty identified for every model parameter. Furthermore, the posteriori probability distribution of parameters and the collaborative relationship between any two parameters can be obtained. To verify the effectiveness of the improved algorithms, the optimization performance of improved DS in kinetic parameter estimation is studied and compared with that of the basic DS algorithm, differential evolution, artificial bee colony optimization, and quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization. And the experimental results demonstrate that the DS with the Latin hypercube sampling method does not present better performance, while the hybrid methods have the advantages of strong global search ability and local search ability and are more effective than the other algorithms.
Collaborative Method to Develop an Enterprise Architecture in a Public Institution

The growth of organizational complexity degrades business processes efficiency. Enterprise Architecture (EA) is an instrument to manage organizational complexity, through the improvement of organizational self-awareness. EA improves alignment between business and IT to ensure the business value of IT, and enables rationalization of organizational resources. However, depending of organizational culture and characteristics, there are several issues hindering the EA development within an organization. Actual frameworks, like TOGAF, require a significant number of skilled human resources (HR), which some organizations, like public institutions, cannot assign to EA activities. Our research goal is to provide an EA capability to public institutions, enabling these institutions to take advantage of EA benefits. Public institution contexts and stakeholder concerns were explored as well as issues acting as enablers or as inhibitors for an EA development. We propose a collaborative method to develop an EA, applying lean and agile principles, focusing on public institution specificities. Our collaborative method tries to capture organizational knowledge, spread among employees, into an EA model, to map the enterprise cartography of the institution. Our method has been demonstrated and evaluated in the IT sector of the
ISOLATION AND PURIFICATION OF GLUTATHIONE-S-TRANSFERASE (GST) AND ITS ROLE ON OXIDATIVE STRESS IN HEPATIC TISSUES OF MAREK’S DISEASE AFFECTED CHICKEN

A study was conducted to isolate and purify Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and to determine its role on oxidative stress in liver tissues of Marek’s disease (MD) affected chicken. Ten healthy and MD suspected layer birds of 35-40 weeks age for each group were procured from poultry farms in Chittoor district of A.P. The postmortem examination of MD affected birds revealed enlarged liver with discrete grayish nodules of various sizes. Histopathological examination of liver revealed extensive proliferation and infiltration of pleomorphic cells. The purified DNA samples from liver tissue of MD suspected birds were further used for PCR analysis which was found to be positive yielding a 314 bp product indicating the presence of two copies of 132 bp tandem repeat and a 50 bp primer sequence. The liver samples positive for MD were used for further analysis. The GST enzyme was isolated, purified and characterized from liver tissue of both healthy and MD affected layer chicken using glutathione agarose affinity chromatography. The enzyme was purified to 2.38 fold with a yield of 32.27% in healthy chicken whereas in MD affected chicken it was purified to 4.54 fold with a yield of 41.98%. The analysis of active fractions using SDS-PAGE showed GST-α expression with a molecular weight of 25.6kDa in both healthy and MD affected liver. In addition GST-π was expressed in MD affected chicken with a MW of 27 kDa. These results confirm that Marek’s disease in chicken induces oxidative stress which in turn leads to alterations in antioxidant enzymes. The oxidative stress induced in liver is responsible for GST π expression as a defense mechanism in MD affected chicken.
Determination of harvest maturity in Capsicum baccatum L. seeds using physiological and biochemical markers

This work aimed to determine the harvesting time of pepper ('Capsicum baccatum' L.) seeds, cv. Dedo-de-mo a, based on physiological markers and patterns of metabolite consumption and reserve deposition. Seeds were harvested at different maturation stages from 10 to 90 days after anthesis and seed quality was assessed according to water content, dry weight, germinability, electrolyte leakage, content of starch, neutral lipids, soluble proteins, total soluble sugars, non-reducing sugars, and total free amino acids. Physiological maturity was reached at 40 days after anthesis, when seeds displayed maximal dry weight and 60% of water loss; however, harvesting maturity was established 50 days after anthesis, taking into account maximal germinability, minimal electrolyte leakage, reserve deposition, and non-reducing sugar accumulation. Our results show that biochemical markers are very useful to characterize the developmental phases and harvesting maturity during 'C. baccatum' seed formation.
Fidelity to the Housing First Model and Variation in Health Service Use Within Permanent Supportive Housing.

OBJECTIVE Permanent supportive housing (PSH) programs are being implemented throughout the United States. This study examined the relationship between fidelity to the Housing First model and health service use among clients in PSH programs in California. METHODS Data from a survey of PSH program practices were merged with administrative data on service utilization to examine the association between fidelity to a benchmark program, the Housing First model, and health service use among 5,067 clients in 77 PSH programs. Regression analyses were used to compare inpatient, crisis and residential, and outpatient mental health service use between high-, mid-, and low-fidelity programs in a pre-post design. RESULTS During the preenrollment period, clients in mid- and high-fidelity PSH programs, compared with low-fidelity programs, used inpatient and crisis and residential services more but used outpatient mental health services less. Postenrollment, patients in high-fidelity programs showed the largest increase in the number of outpatient visits, followed by clients in mid- and low-fidelity programs: 71.6 versus 48.2 and 29.0, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Clients in housing programs with higher fidelity to the Housing First model had greater increases in outpatient visits. Compared with lower-fidelity programs, higher-fidelity programs also enrolled clients who used fewer mental health outpatient services in the year before enrollment. Higher-fidelity programs may be more effective than lower-fidelity programs in increasing outpatient service utilization and in their outreach to and engagement of clients who are not appropriately served by the public mental health system.
Examining the relationship between firm internationalization and firm performance: A nonparametric analysis

This paper by performing a bootstrapped Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) tries to constitute to the existing literature by investigating if firms’ internationalization levels have an impact on their performance. Using a sample of ten Transnational corporations from South-East Europe the paper provides information regarding their efficiency levels. Finally, using the “Transnationality Index” (TNI) provided by UNCTAD in order to capture the levels of internationalisation, our results reveal that there is a positive influence on firms’ performance.
Radio frequency magnetron sputtered ZnO / SiO 2 / glass : role of ZnO thickness on structural and optical properties

Optically transparent zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films h aving thickness of 70, 150, 200 and 270 nm are deposited on heated glass substrates using the radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering method to examine their structural and waveguide pr operties. The XRD analyses show that the ZnO films on SiO2/Glass substrate are poly-oriented and have a hexag onal wurtzite structure. All thin films exhibit optical transmittance of >80% in the visible range. The increase in film thickness to 270 nm leads to growth of crystallinit y and grain size to 35 nm, increase in the transmittance and refractive indexes for both TM an d TE modes, and decrease in the bandgap energy. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) exhibit UV (~3.20-3.23 eV) and green (~2.37 eV) emission for all samples. However, the p eaks intensity for UV emission gradually decreases which is attributed to decrease in the co ncentration of photo-carriers, their aggregations and larger amount of energy transfer t o the down layer. Achieving the high optical transmittance of 95%, high refractive indexes and high level of crystallinity for 270 nm ZnO film s prepared by socio economic rf magnetron sputtered m ake it appropriate transparent conductors for waveguide applications. The excellent features of the results suggest that our systematic growth and analysis methods may establish a basis f or the tunable growth of ZnO/SiO 2/glass hetero-structure thin films suitable in nanophotoni cs particularly waveguide application.
Progress towards photonic crystal quantum cascade laser

The paper describes recent progress in the design, simulation, implementation and characterisation of photonic crystal (PhC) GaAs-based quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). The benefits of applying active PhC confinement around a QCL cavity are explained, highlighting a route to reduced threshold current operation. Design of a suitable PhC has been performed using published bandgap maps; simulation results of this PhC show a wide, high reflectivity stopband. Implementation of the PhC for the device is particularly difficult, requiring a very durable metallic dry etch mask, high performance dry etching and a low damage epilayer-down device mounting technique. Preliminary shallow etched PhC QCLs demonstrated the viability of current injection through the metal etch mask and the device mounting technique. Development of the etch mask and dry etching have demonstrated a process suitable for the manufacture of deep etched PhC structures. All the necessary elements for implementing deep etched PhC QCLs have now been demonstrated, allowing for the development of high performance devices.
Density dependence in an experimental boreal forest understory community

Density-dependent regulation in plants may occur at the level of the entire community and may differ in magni- tude and direction at different life history stages such as germination, survival and growth, and under different abiotic con- ditions. We constructed semi-natural communities of boreal forest understory species planting 10 of the most abundant species. The experimental communities were established from seed or from cuttings and grown in sandboxes at six den- sities that extended far above and below average natural field density, while maintaining constant relative species propor- tions (a community density series (CDS)). We used two watering and fertilization levels in a factorial design. At the community level, both emergence and final per-plant shoot mass were negatively density dependent, while survival to the end of the season was facilitative. The effect of water was positive at seed emergence, whereas fertilizer negatively af- fected survival. Species-specific responses were also dependent on life stage. We demonstrated that density dependence is important in structuring this unproductive boreal understory habitat. The CDS approach allows us to quantify the effects of plant competition at the community and species levels, and to determine whether the importance of these biotic interac- tions depend on abiotic factors.
Non conventional keystroke dynamics for user

This paper introduces an approach for user authentication using free-text keystroke dynamics which incorporates the use of nonconventional keystroke features. Semi-timing features along with editing features are extracted from the users’ typing stream. Decision trees were exploited to classify each of the users’ data. In parallel for comparison, Support Vector Machines (SVMs) were also used for classification in association with an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) feature selection technique. The results obtained from this study are encouraging as low False Accept Rates (FAR) and False Reject Rates (FRR) were achieved in the experimentation phase. This signifies that satisfactory overall system performance was achieved by using the typing attributes in the proposed approach. Thus, the use of non-conventional typing features improves the understanding of human typing behavior and therefore, provides significant contribution to the authentication system.
The Swedish 1990 Agricultural Reform - Adjustments of the Use of Land

This paper provides an empirical analysis of adjustments of land use as a result of the conversion programme in the Swedish agricultural reform of 1990. The determinants of farmers' choice to voluntarily convert arable land to other uses and the share of land converted are analysed with the Heckman selection model. The results suggest that the decision to convert is significantly affected by a farmer's age, the size and location of the farm, the type of farming, and the macroeconomic situation in the region. Farm operators on farms highly specialised in grazing livestock and farmers on large farms were found to be more prone to convert.
Vertical and Horizontal Redistributions from a Carbon Tax and Rebate

Are carbon taxes regressive? To calculate effects of a carbon tax on each family’s expenditures, plus distributional effects of three revenue-recycling mechanisms, we employ the US Treasury Distribution Model. It includes 322,000 tax returns, matched social security information, imputations from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, and an input-output matrix to calculate output prices. Accounting for statutory indexing of federal transfer programs, the calculated carbon tax burden as a fraction of consumption is progressive. Rebate of revenues via transfers makes it even more progressive. Within each decile, we find large variation in energy demands such as for heat in winter and cooling in summer. As a result, commonly ignored horizontal redistributions within deciles are shown to exceed vertical redistributions between deciles. Rebates via transfers widen horizontal redistributions. Some reforms deliver net income gains to the poorest families on average, even as a majority of those poor families incur losses.
Heterosis and combining abilities for multiple resistance to Turcicum leaf blight and maize streak virus

Résumé Research Application Summary Fifty two single crosses were evaluated for resistance to Turcicum Leaf blight (TLB) and Maize Streak Virus (MSV) resistance across several locations in Uganda in 2009. The crosses were grown in 1-row plots with 2 replications. Subsequently108 triple crosses from the 54 F1s were evaluated in 2-row plots for both diseases and agronomic performance in multi-environments during the second season of 2009. Genotypes were considered fixed and environment random. GCA and SCA effects were significantly different among parents and among crosses. Interactions of Environment with GCA and SCA were significant for both TLB and MSV. Plant height and yield were also significantly affected by Crosses x Environment interaction.
A noncausal approach for PID control q

A new approach for the improvement of the set-point following performances achieved by a PID controller is presented. Basically, it consists of applying a suitable command signal to the closed-loop control system in order to achieve a desired transient response when the process output is required to assume a new value. This command signal is determined by means of a stable input–output procedure for which a closed-form solution is presented, thus making the technique suitable to implement in the industrial context. Simulation and experimental results show that high performances are obtained despite the presence of model uncertainties and, above all, almost independently on the PID tuning. Thus, the PID gains can be selected in order to guarantee good load rejection performances without impairing the set-point transient responses. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Imports and Intellectual Property Rights on Innovation in China

In an open-economy R&D-based growth model with two intermediate production sectors, we find that strengthening intellectual property rights (IPR) has a positive effect on innovation in the sector that uses domestic inputs but both positive and negative effects on innovation in the sector that uses foreign inputs. We test these results using an empirical analysis of matching samples that combine Chinese provincial IPR data with industrial enterprises database and customs database.
Corruption in migration management: a network perspective

This article explores the relation between networks as an emerging mode of public governance and corruption. Adopting the theoretical lens of actor-network theory, the article investigates an Italian episode of corruption related to the awarding of government contracts for the management of Mineo’s CARA, Europe's largest reception centre for migrants. The analysis shows that a governance network may turn corruption itself into a network where abuse of power can proliferate thanks to the opacity resulting from the multiplicity of actors, interactions and fragmentation characterizing the governance system. Points for practitioners The article develops an analysis useful to foster the effectiveness of anti-corruption strategies by analysing the criticalities of the governance system implemented by the Italian government to deal with migration inflows. In so doing, the article offers relevant insights to policymakers and national and European institutions.