Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling Long-Term Electricity Forward Prices

In contrast to forwards and futures on storable commodities, prices of long-term electricity forwards exhibit a dynamics different to that of short-term and midterm prices. We model long-term electricity forward prices through demand and supply of electricity, adjusted with a risk premium. Long-term prices of electricity, oil, coal, natural gas, emission allowance, imported electricity, and aluminum are modeled with a vector autoregressive model (VAR). For estimation, we use weekly prices of far-maturity forwards relevant for the Nordic electricity market. Although electricity prices experienced a few substantial shocks during the period we analyzed, there is no evidence of a structural break. Cointegration analysis reveals two stationary long-run relationships between all variables except the gas price, indicating that these variables move together over time. We find some influence of the risk premium, however not on the long-term electricity forwards at Nord Pool.
Positive Coombs test in acute leukaemia

Summary. We present the results of the immunohaematological tests performed in an unselected group of patients with acute leukaemia at the time of diagnosis, and when possible the follow‐up in remission and/or in relapse. Thirteen out of the 112 patients tested had a positive Coombs test at the time of diagnosis and, in six patients, the Coombs test became positive during remission. All the 19 positive Coombs test were of the complement type with, in 11 cases, an anti‐I antibody eluted from the patient's RBC. There was no relationship between the FAB morphologic subtype, the presence of other immune abnormalities, the course of the leukaemia and the immunohaematological abnormalities. Several hypotheses on the possible relationships between the acute leukaemias and the immunohaematological abnormalities are discussed.
MULTI-FEATURE CONTENT-BASED IMAGE RETRIEVAL

In this paper, we propose a model for the fast retrieval image data using multiple features based on multiresolution processing. We demonstrate our performance results by searching an image database of approximately 30,000 24-bit color photographic images. We use identical structures to build the index keys from the two features using histogram generation and wavelet transform. The experiments show that the results obtained with the quad-tree structure for the two features are more accurate than using just one feature; however, the retrieval time almost doubles. The retrieval time can be improved by applying our weighted cascading comparison scheme, which allows the weighting of the features to control a pipeline. We evaluate our multiplefeature similarity-matching algorithm by comparing its accuracy with a regular-matching algorithm. The results also show that the retrieval time of our weighted cascading scheme is faster than the regular matching algorithm with an acceptable accuracy.
The cosmic star formation rate evolution from z = 5 to z = 0 from the VIMOS VLT deep survey

Context. The VIMOS VLT Deep Survey (VVDS) was undertaken to map the evolution of galaxies, large scale structures, and active galaxy nuclei from the redshift spectroscopic measurements of ∼10 5 objects down to an apparent magnitude I AB = 24, in combination with a multi-wavelength acquisition for radio, infrared, optical, ultraviolet, and X-rays data. Aims. We present the evolution of the comoving star formation rate (SFR) density in the redshift range 0 < z < 5 using the first epoch data release of the VVDS, that is 11564 spectra over 2200 arcmin 2 in two fields of view, the VVDS-0226-04 and the VVDS-CDFS-0332-27, and the cosmological parameters (Ω M , Ω Λ , h) = (0.3, 0.7, 0.7). Methods. We study the multi-wavelength non dust-corrected luminosity densities at 0 < z < 2 from the rest-frame far ultraviolet to the optical passbands, and the rest-frame 1500 A luminosity functions and densities at 2.7 < z < 5. Results. They evolve from z = 1.2 to z = 0.05 according to (1 + z) x with x = 2.05, 1.94, 1.92, 1.14, 0.73, 0.42, and 0.30 in the FUV-1500, NUV-2800, U-3600, B-4400, V-5500, R-6500, and I-7900 passbands, respectively. From z = 1.2 to z = 0.2 the B-band density for the irregular-like galaxies decreases markedly by a factor 3.5 while it increases by a factor 1.7 for the elliptical-like galaxies. We identify several SFR periods; from z = 5 to 3.4 the FUV-band density increases by at most 0.5 dex, from z = 3.4 to 1.2 it decreases by 0.08 dex, from z = 1.2 to z = 0.05 it declines steadily by 0.6 dex. For the most luminous M AB (1500 A) < -21 galaxies the FUV-band density drops by 2 dex from z = 3.9 to z = 1.2, and for the intermediate -21 < M AB (1500 A) < -20 galaxies it drops by 2 dex from z = 0.2 to z = 0. Comparing with dust corrected surveys, at 0.4 ≤ z ≤ 2 the FUV seems obscured by a constant factor of ∼ 1.8-2 mag, while at z < 0.5 it seems progressively less obscured by up to ∼0.9-1 mag when the dust-deficient early-type population is increasingly dominating the B-band density. Conclusions. The VVDS results agree with a downsizing picture where the most luminous sources cease to efficiently produce new stars 12 Gyrs ago (at z ≃ 4), while intermediate luminosity sources keep producing stars until 2.5 Gyrs ago (at z ≃ 0.2). A modest contribution of dry mergers and morphologies evolving towards early-type galaxies might contribute to increase the number density of the bright early types at z < 1.5. Our observed SFR density is not in agreement with a continuous smooth decrease since z ∼ 4.
Limited bandwidth to affect processor design

This paper quantifies and compares the performance impacts of memory latencies and finite bandwidth. We show that the implementation of aggressive latency tolerance techniques aggravates stalls due to finite memory bandwidth, which actually become more significant than stalls resulting from uncongested memory latency alone. We expect that memory bandwidth limitations across the processor pins will drive significant architectural change. An execution-driven simulation measures the time that several SPEC95 benchmarks spend stalled for memory latency, limited-memory bandwidth and computing.
Speaking of Violence: The Politics and Poetics of Narrative in Conflict Resolution

Foreword by Mark Freeman Part I: The Pragmatics of Narrative Dynamics in Conflict Processes Introduction Chapter 1: Speaking of Violence Chapter 2: Conflict Narrative Structure and Relational Dynamics Chapter 3: The Evolution of Conflict Narratives Part II: Critical Narrative Theory: A Lens for the Analysis of Conflict Chapter 4: Radicalized Narratives Chapter 5: Power Dynamics of Conflict Narratives: Towards a Critical Narrative Theory Chapter 6: Witnessing the Speaking Subject within Conflict Narrative Regimes Part III: Aesthetics as an Ethics of Conflict Resolution Practice Chapter 7: Aesthetic Criteria for Humanizing Narratives Chapter 8: Aesthetic Ethics as Narrative Practice Chapter 9: Conflict Resolution as Narrative Practice: Emerging Better-formed Stories Chapter 10: Narrative Poetics as a Foundation for Politics in Conflict Resolution Index
Effect of Prenatal Exposure to Lead on Estrogen Action in the Prepubertal Rat Uterus

Lead is a widely spread environmental pollutant known to affect both male and female reproductive systems in humans and experimental animals and causes infertility and other adverse effects. The present paper investigated the effects of prenatal exposure to lead on different parameters of estrogen stimulation in the uterus of the prepubertal rat. In prenatally and perinatally exposed rats, estrogen-induced endometrial eosinophilia, endometrial stroma edema, and eosinophil migration towards the endometrium, and uterine luminal epithelial hypertrophy are enhanced while several other responses to estrogen appear unchanged. These effects may contribute to decrease in fertility following prenatal exposure to lead. The striking difference between most of these effects of prenatal exposure and the previously reported effects of chronic exposure to lead suggests that prenatal exposure to lead may neutralize the effects of chronic exposure to lead, providing partial protection of cell function against the adverse effects of chronic exposure to lead. We propose that the mechanism involved, named imprinting or cell programming, persisted through evolution as a nongenetic adaptive mechanism to provide protection against long-term environmental variations that otherwise may cause the extinction of species not displaying this kind of adaptation.
Research Paper: Do clinicians use online evidence to support patient care? a study of 55, 000 clinicians

OBJECTIVES To determine clinicians' (doctors', nurses', and allied health professionals') "actual" and "reported" use of a point-of-care online information retrieval system; and to make an assessment of the extent to which use is related to direct patient care by testing two hypotheses: hypothesis 1: clinicians use online evidence primarily to support clinical decisions relating to direct patient care; and hypothesis 2: clinicians use online evidence predominantly for research and continuing education. DESIGN Web-log analysis of the Clinical Information Access Program (CIAP), an online, 24-hour, point-of-care information retrieval system available to 55,000 clinicians in public hospitals in New South Wales, Australia. A statewide mail survey of 5,511 clinicians. MEASUREMENTS Rates of online evidence searching per 100 clinicians for the state and for the 81 individual hospitals studied; reported use of CIAP by clinicians through a self-administered questionnaire; and correlations between evidence searches and patient admissions. RESULTS Monthly rates of 48.5 "search sessions" per 100 clinicians and 231.6 text hits to single-source databases per 100 clinicians (n = 619,545); 63% of clinicians reported that they were aware of CIAP and 75% of those had used it. Eighty-eight percent of users reported CIAP had the potential to improve patient care and 41% reported direct experience of this. Clinicians' use of CIAP on each day of the week was highly positively correlated with patient admissions (r = 0.99, p < 0.001). This was also true for all ten randomly selected hospitals. CONCLUSION Clinicians' online evidence use increases with patient admissions, supporting the hypothesis that clinicians' use of evidence is related to direct patient care. Patterns of evidence use and clinicians' self-reports also support this hypothesis.
Liberty versus Security? EU Asylum Policy and the European Commission

The Common European Asylum System (CEAS) experienced significant developments during the Tampere programme (1999 – 2004). This article analyses how security is constituted or viewed by the European Union in the area of asylum policy; more importantly how the European Commission, in the face of the emerging discourse on the ‘war on terror’ decided to push for a more inclusive agenda. Thus, the European Commission can (though not always does) play a significant role in this process - the role of a supranational policy entrepreneur that enables the normative construction of a policy. The article analyses the high-profile case of the first phase of the CEAS, particularly the four main directives, its legal and political construction, and suggests the significance of the Commission in the political and normative process. Despite the challenges of the ‘war on terror’, the Commission managed to keep the CEAS within the limits of the Geneva Convention.
Diagnostic thresholds for quantitative REM sleep phasic burst duration, phasic and tonic muscle activity, and REM atonia index in REM sleep behavior disorder with and without comorbid obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVES We aimed to determine whether phasic burst duration and conventional REM sleep without atonia (RSWA) methods could accurately diagnose REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) patients with comorbid OSA. DESIGN We visually analyzed RSWA phasic burst durations, phasic, "any," and tonic muscle activity by 3-s mini-epochs, phasic activity by 30-s (AASM rules) epochs, and conducted automated REM atonia index (RAI) analysis. Group RSWA metrics were analyzed and regression models fit, with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves determining the best diagnostic cutoff thresholds for RBD. Both split-night and full-night polysomnographic studies were analyzed. SETTING N/A. PARTICIPANTS Parkinson disease (PD)-RBD (n = 20) and matched controls with (n = 20) and without (n = 20) OSA. INTERVENTIONS N/A. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS All mean RSWA phasic burst durations and muscle activities were higher in PD-RBD patients than controls (P < 0.0001), and RSWA associations with PD-RBD remained significant when adjusting for age, gender, and REM AHI (P < 0.0001). RSWA muscle activity (phasic, "any") cutoffs for 3-s mini-epoch scorings were submentalis (SM) (15.5%, 21.6%), anterior tibialis (AT) (30.2%, 30.2%), and combined SM/AT (37.9%, 43.4%). Diagnostic cutoffs for 30-s epochs (AASM criteria) were SM 2.8%, AT 11.3%, and combined SM/AT 34.7%. Tonic muscle activity cutoff of 1.2% was 100% sensitive and specific, while RAI (SM) cutoff was 0.88. Phasic muscle burst duration cutoffs were: SM (0.65) and AT (0.79) seconds. Combining phasic burst durations with RSWA muscle activity improved sensitivity and specificity of RBD diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence for REM sleep without atonia diagnostic thresholds applicable in Parkinson disease-REM sleep behavior disorder (PD-RBD) patient populations with comorbid OSA that may be useful toward distinguishing PD-RBD in typical outpatient populations.
Oestradiol and prostaglandin F2α regulate sexual displays in females of a sex-role reversed fish

The mechanisms regulating sexual behaviours in female vertebrates are still poorly understood, mainly because in most species sexual displays in females are more subtle and less frequent than displays in males. In a sex-role reversed population of a teleost fish, the peacock blenny Salaria pavo, an external fertilizer, females are the courting sex and their sexual displays are conspicuous and unambiguous. We took advantage of this to investigate the role of ovarian-synthesized hormones in the induction of sexual displays in females. In particular, the effects of the sex steroids oestradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) and of the prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) were tested. Females were ovariectomized and their sexual behaviour tested 7 days (sex steroids and PGF2α) and 14 days (sex steroids) after ovariectomy by presenting females to an established nesting male. Ovariectomy reduced the expression of sexual behaviours, although a significant proportion of females still courted the male 14 days after the ovary removal. Administration of PGF2α to ovariectomized females recovered the frequency of approaches to the male's nest and of courtship displays towards the nesting male. However, E2 also had a positive effect on sexual behaviour, particularly on the frequency of approaches to the male's nest. T administration failed to recover sexual behaviours in ovariectomized females. These results suggest that the increase in E2 levels postulated to occur during the breeding season facilitates female mate-searching and assessment behaviours, whereas PGF2α acts as a short-latency endogenous signal informing the brain that oocytes are mature and ready to be spawned. In the light of these results, the classical view for female fishes, that sex steroids maintain sexual behaviour in internal fertilizers and that prostaglandins activate spawning behaviours in external fertilizers, needs to be reviewed.
Quantitative EEG Neurometric Analysis–Guided Neurofeedback Treatment in Dementia

Dementia is a debilitating degenerative disorder where the sufferer’s cognitive abilities decline over time, depending on the type of dementia. The more common types of dementia include Alzheimer’s disease and vascular or multi-infarct dementia. In this study, 20 subjects with dementia (9 of Alzheimer’s type, and 11 with vascular dementia) were treated using qEEG-guided neurofeedback training. The Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) was used as the primary outcome measure. The results showed an increase of the MMSE scores for all subjects regardless of dementia type with an average MMSE score increase of 6 points, which was found to be significant. To our knowledge this is the first time the same modality was shown to be beneficial in both dementia groups.
A Novel Approach for Protecting Web Resources from Web Proxies

Static HTML was provided as a tool to display pictures and inert information. Consequently, as the internet and web access became more and more ubiquitous so too did the needs of those users who were accessing web applications. A “denial-of-service” attack is characterized by an explicit attempt by attackers to prevent legitimate users of a service from using that service. A novel server-side defense scheme is proposed to resist the Web proxy-based distributed denial of service attack. The approach utilizes the temporal and spatial locality to extract the behavior features of the proxy-to-server traffic, to protect weak signals from the interference of infrequent large values. Then, a new hidden semi-Markov model is proposed to describe the time-varying traffic behavior of Web proxies. The new method reduces the number of parameters to be estimated, and can characterize the dynamic evolution of the proxy-to-server traffic rather than the static statistics. It converts a suspicious traffic into a relatively normal one by behavior reshaping rather than rudely discarding.
Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oil of Six Pinus Taxa Native to China

The essential oils obtained by steam distillation from needles of six China endemic Pinus taxa (P. tabulaeformis, P. tabulaeformis f. shekanensis, P. tabulaeformis var. mukdensis, P. tabulaeformis var. umbraculifera, P. henryi and P. massoniana) were analysed by GC/MS. A total of 72 components were separated and identified by GC/MS from the six taxa. The major constituents of the essential oils were: α-pinene (6.78%–20.55%), bornyl acetale (3.32%–12.71%), β-caryophellene (18.26%–26.31%), α-guaiene (1.23%–8.19%), and germacrene D (1.26%–9.93%). Moreover, the essential oils were evaluated for antioxidant potential by three assays (DPPH, FRAP and ABTS) and tested for their total phenolic content. The results showed that all essential oils exhibited acceptable antioxidant activities and these strongly suggest that these pine needles may serve as a potential source of natural antioxidants for food and medical purposes.
Characterizing Uncertain Data using Compression

Motivated by sensor networks, mobility data, biology and life sciences, the area of mining uncertain data has recently received a great deal of attention. While various papers have focused on efficiently mining frequent patterns from uncertain data, the problem of discovering a small set of interesting patterns that provide an accurate and condensed description of a probabilistic database is still unexplored. In this paper we study the problem of discovering characteristic patterns in uncertain data through information theoretic lenses. Adopting the possible worlds interpretation of probabilistic data and a compression scheme based on the MDL principle, we formalize the problem of mining patterns that compress the database well in expectation. Despite its huge search space, we show that this problem can be accurately approximated. In particular, we devise a sequence of three methods where each new method improves the memory requirements orders of magnitudes compared to its predecessor, while giving up only a little in terms of approximation accuracy. We empirically compare our methods on both synthetic data and real data from life science. Results show that from a probabilistic matrix with more than one million rows and columns, we can extract a small set of meaningful patterns that accurately characterize the data distribution of any probable world.
Desarrollo y construcción de las puntuaciones de prevalencia del Inventario Millon de Estilos de Personalidad (MIPS) para la población adulta de la ciudad de Buenos Aries

Many researchers have assessed individual differences using empirically-derived instruments alone. The lack of theoretically-derived instruments in the field of normal personality led T. Millon to develop the MlPS (Millon Index of Personality Styles, 1994). The MIPS is based on an ecological- evolutionary theory which proposes an explanation of the development of normal and abnormal personality styles. From the technical point of view, the questionnaire includes prevalence scores instead of other common transformation scores (T scores and percentiles). Prevalence score are based only on comparisons between persons who possess the particular psychological trait, that is to say they do not take into account the entire population in order to derive transformed test scores. Goals: To provide guidelines for constructing plavalence score based on data from the Argentinian population, and to provide cut off scores to make the MIPS a useful assessment tool. Subjects: The sample comprised 450 males artd 489 females aged between 18 and 65, stratified for age and educational level in accordance with National Census data. Results: Enhancing, Modifying and Individuating were the predominant pairs of Motivational aims section. Extraversion, Feeling and Systematizing were the most prevalent cognitive modes. The more adaptive pairs of interpersonal behaviors were the more prevalent. Style response pattern was similar to those reported in normative samples from the US populotion.
Carers with chronic conditions: changes over time in their physical health

Objectives: To explore the experiences of individuals with chronic conditions who are also caring for another person, usually a family member. Method: A postal questionnaire was distributed to carers across Wales on three occasions approximately 18 months apart. It included the SF-12v2 together with fixed-choice and open-ended questions relating to carer demographics, carer assessment, support needs, services received and care recipient’s medical condition. A sub-sample of these carers was invited to take part in face-to-face interviews to allow for more in-depth exploration of their circumstances. Results: The carers with chronic conditions experienced a decline in their physical health over time whereas the physical health of carers without a chronic condition remained stable. There was also evidence of carers neglecting their own health because of their caring responsibilities. Despite their health problems, over time the carers with chronic conditions received no more support than other carers. Discussion: This article indicates that there are carers who are themselves suffering from a physical condition or conditions that suggest they are in need of care. Despite these difficulties, these carers are caring for people with quite severe conditions, without any help above that available to other carers.