Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Development of a Brief Actuarial Risk Scale for Sexual Offense Recidivism 1997-04 By

Estimating a sexual offender's recidivism risk is important to many areas of the criminal justice system. The present study used data from seven different followup studies to develop a brief, actuarial risk scale, which was then replicated on an additional independent sample (total sample size of 2,592). The scale contains four items that are easily scored from administrative records: prior sexual offenses, age less than 25, extrafamilial victims and male victims. The scale showed moderate predictive accuracy (r = .27, ROC area = .71) with little variation between the development and replication samples. The predictive accuracy of the scale was sufficient to justify its use as a screening instrument in settings that require routine assessments of sexual offender recidivism risk.
Prediction of 305-day milk yield from a limited number of test days using a test day model

Four test day models were compared for their ability to predict 305-day milk yield production in an experimental farm with weekly milk recording. Individual lactation deviations from the average lactation curve were modeled by a constant (model LEVEL), a straight line (model LINE), a constant before the production peak and a line thereafter (model SPLINE), and Wilminks (1987b) lactation curve (model WILMINK). The LEVEL model had higher residual variance, lower correlations with true average daily milk yields and generally higher mean square error of predicted missing observations than the other models, which yielded very similar results for these statistics. The model LINE was preferred over the models SPLINE and WILMINK, because of its simplicity. ________________________________________________________________________________
Clinical Characteristics, Treatment Outcomes and Predictive Factors in Optic Neuritis

Background: The causes, clinical presentations and treatment outcomes of optic neuritis are distinct among different populations. Early diagnosis based on clinical presentations plays an important role in treating optic neuritis patients. Objective: The study aimed to determine clinical characteristics, treatment outcomes and predictive factors of treatment outcomes in optic neuritis patients with and without demyelinating disease. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study of optic neuritis patients carried out between January 2009 and December 2016 was done. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the predictive factors of treatment outcomes. Results: Among 150 patients with optic neuritis, 58 patients were diagnosed with Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disease (NMOSD), 23 patients were diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and 69 patients were idiopathic. The age at presentation in the NMOSD group was significantly younger than the MS group and the idiopathic group. The female:male ratio was significantly lower in the idiopathic group than in the NMOSD group. The initial Best Corrected Visual Activity (BCVA) of 20/20-20/60 (p = 0.001) and the idiopathic group (p =0.030) was associated with good visual outcomes. Initial BCVA of < 20/200 (p = 0.009) and the NMOSD group (p < 0.001) was associated with poor visual outcomes. Conclusion: NMOSD is a more common cause of optic neuritis than MS in Thai population. Female patients with poor initial VA, poor response to steroids treatment, and presenting recurrent attacks are highly suspicious for NMOSD. Optic neuritis without associated demyelinating disease has a better visual outcome and lower recurrence rate.
Central Bank Policies and the Debt Trap Athanasios Orphanides

The combination of high government debt levels and the unprecedented monetary expansion implemented by central banks around the world since the 2008 financial crisis has raised concerns about the potential for money mischief. Whenever a government faces the prospect of a high debt trap, money printing can be a tempting way out. Relying on inflation to eat away the real value of the debt may be far more appealing politically than raising more taxes to repay it. Since 2008, through quantitative easing policies, central banks in many large economies have been effectively printing money and purchasing government debt with the proceeds.
Characteristics of Pollutants and Boundary Layer Structure during Two Haze Events in Summer and Autumn 2014 in Shenyang, Northeast China

The characteristics of pollutants and the boundary-layer structure during two haze events in the summer and autumn of 2014 in Shenyang, Northeast China, were comparatively analyzed by using measurements of the mass concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO; vertical profiles of meteorological parameters from a 100-m high tower; and radiosonde data. The results showed that PM concentrations increased rapidly during the two haze events, resulting in visibility that decreased to 1400 and 405 m, respectively. The weak haze event on 16 June was characterized by high O3 but low NO2 mainly due to the photochemical reaction, while all the pollutants increased during the severe haze event on 31 October, which was affected by pollutant emissions and meteorological conditions. The PM2.5 concentration had a good correlation with friction velocity (u*) but did not have an obvious relationship with , which means that the haze events were largely affected by the dynamic effect of turbulence and less so by its thermal effect. According to the radiosonde data, a single inversion layer with an inversion intensity of 1.6°C/100 m existed during the weak haze event, whereas double inversions and even more occurred during the severe haze event, with the inversion intensity larger than 2–4°C/100 m. Such stable atmospheric conditions favored the accumulation of pollutants. Backward trajectory analyses showed that the weak haze event was probably caused by pollutant transport from North China, whereas the severe haze event was generated mostly by local pollutants.
Establishing the rationale for green infrastructure investment in Indian cities: is the mainstreaming of urban greening an expanding or diminishing reality?

Green infrastructure planning in India has the potential to rationalise current development issues relating to economic growth and rapid urban expansion. Independence from the British facilitated progressive shift to an economically driven development based on modernisation and partial-deregulation of infrastructure provision. The impact of this process has been a decoupling of human-environmental approaches to urban planning and reliance on the utilisation of landscape resources beyond their capacity. Utilising a discussion of Nehruvian and Gandhian perspectives to urban development, this paper argues that whilst both approaches offer valuable mechanism for growth, an integrated analysis which links them provides a more responsive and effective structure for planning to deliver change. Green infrastructure approaches to urban investment are proposed in this paper to create equilibrium between the difficulties of balancing economic growth with sustainable urban development. Through an evaluation of state and alternative investment drivers this paper proposes that urban greening can form a mainstream framework to facilitate a sustainable approach to urban expansion. The paper concludes by stating that approaching investments in green infrastructure through an understanding of a state-interactions provides scope to plan economic development and ecological sustainably effectively.
Teachers and the Education of the People: Elementary School Teachers and Images of Citizenship in Scandinavia during the 19th and 20th Centuries.

This paper explores the historical formation of the teaching profession in Scandinavia in the 19th and 20th centuries, with special reference to developments in Finland. It focuses on the process by which mass education has assigned teachers a crucial role in the initiation ceremonies characteristic of modern society in relation to changing models of citizenship. It examines: (1) the role of the state in Scandinavian society; (2) the role of education in culture; (3) the teacher as the model of the fully enfranchised citizen; (Li) the role of parish clerks and schoolmasters as the antecedents of elementary school teachers; (5) the emergence of professionally-trained elementary school teachers in the mid-19th century; (6) the evolution of teacher training and selection; (7) changing models of citizenship in Finland and Scandinavia; and (8) explanations of the changing role of teachers in Scandinavia. Contains 65 references. (MDM) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************
The states of water in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) studied by low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LFNMR) relaxometry: assignment of free-water populations based on quantitative wood anatomy

Abstract Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LFNMR) relaxometry was applied to determine the spin-spin relaxation time (T2) of water-saturated Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. ) specimens cut from mature sapwood (sW) and mature and juvenile heartwood (hW), where earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) were separated. In combination with quantitative wood anatomy data focusing on the void volumes in various morphological regions, the NMR data served for a more reliable assignment of free-water populations found in water-saturated solid wood. Two free-water populations were identified within most sample types. One was assigned to water in the tracheid lumen and the other to water inside bordered pits. Whether water in the ray cell lumina was included in one or the other of these two populations depends on the curve-fit method applied (continuous or discrete). In addition, T2 differences between the different tissue types were studied and, for comparison, sorption isotherms were measured by means of a sorption balance. There was a significant difference between EW and LW as well as between juvenile wood and mature wood in terms of T2 related to the cell wall water. However, no differences were seen between the sorption isotherms, which indicates that the observed T2 differences were not due to differences in cell wall moisture content (MC).
Hellmann-Feynman theorem and the definition of forces in quantum time-dependent and transport problems

The conventional Hellmann-Feynman theorem for the definition of forces on nuclei is not directly applicable to quantum time-dependent and transport problems. We present a rigorous derivation of a general Hellmann-Feynman-like theorem that applies to all quantum mechanical systems and reduces to well-known results for ground-state problems. It provides a rigorous definition of forces in time-dependent and transport problems. Explicit forms of Pulay-like forces are derived and the conditions for them to be zero are identified. A practical scheme for ab initio calculations of current-induced forces is described and the study of the transfer of a Si atom between two electrodes is presented as an example. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.
Supplementary Materials : Bilinear Factor Matrix Norm Minimization for Robust PCA : Algorithms and Applications

NOTATIONS R denotes the l-dimensional Euclidean space, and the set of all m×n matrices1 with real entries is denoted by Rm×n. Tr(XY ) = ∑ ij XijYij , where Tr(·) denotes the trace of a matrix. We assume the singular values of X∈Rm×n are ordered as σ1(X) ≥ σ2(X) ≥ · · · ≥ σr(X) > σr+1(X) = · · · = σn(X) = 0, where r = rank(X). Then the SVD of X is denoted by X = UΣV T , where Σ = diag(σ1, . . . , σn). In denotes an identity matrix of size n×n. Definition 5. For any vector x ∈ R, its lp-norm for 0<p<∞ is defined as
Effect of Inoculum Density of Stromatinia cepivora on the Ability of Sclerotial Mycoparasites to Suppress White Rot in Garlic

White rot, an garlic disease caused by the soil-borne fungus S. cepivora , is a serious problem of garlic productions in Egypt. This study examines the potential of controlling the disease biologically by using three sclerotial mycoparasites i.e . , Chaetomium globosum (Chg6), Clonostachys rosea (Cr12) and Penicillium oxalicum (Po9) employed either alone or in combinations. In in vitro assays, these sclerotial mycoparasites showed high antagonistic effect against S. cepivora isolate (Sc8). In greenhouse experiments, the chemical treatment of tebuconazole was the most effective, with the lowest incidence of white rot in garlic compared to the control. Sclerotial mycoparasites either alone or in combinations significantly reduced the incidence of white rot in garlic. In general, dual and triple combinations of the sclerotial mycoparasites were more effective than these isolates used individually. In field experiments, under low (40 sclerotia/kg of soil) and high (600 sclerotia/kg of soil) inoculum levels, the standard fungicide programme gave statistically significant white rot control, decreasing disease incidence by 67.7 & 32.4% in 2016/2017 season and 72.6 & 31.1 % in 2017/2018 season, respectively. Under low inoculum levels, significant control, equal to the fungicide treatment, was achieved with the triple combination of three sclerotial mycoparasites. However, no sclerotial mycoparasites employed alone give significant control of garlic white rot under high inoculum levels. The triple combination of three sclerotial mycoparasites decreasing disease incidence by 70.8 & 25.9 % in 2016/2017 season and 73.7 &27.6 % in 2017/2018 season, under low and high inoculum levels, respectively. The activities of defense enzymes, i.e. peroxidase, polyphenoloxidase and chitinase due to application of sclerotial mycoparasites were enhanced in garlic plants either grown under low or high inoculum levels. Reduction of white rot disease incidence was accompanied by increasing growth parameters and bulbs yield of garlic plants grown under field conditions. These results concluded that the performance of sclerotial mycoparasites may be influenced as much by the absolute disease pressure. At the low disease pressure site, the low level of S. cepivora inoculum enabled sclerotial mycoparasites to bring about disease control.
Clinical and Etiological Profile of Fever with Thrombocytopenia - A Tertiary Care Hospital Based Study.

Objectives Febrile thrombocytopenia is a condition commonly caused by infections. The present study is intended to know the underlying etiology of fever with thrombocytopenia, the various presentations and complications in our community. Material and Methods A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted including 1217 patients aged more than 14 years with fever and thrombocytopenia admitted in the medical wards from October 2013 to September 2014. Detailed clinical examination and routine investigations were done; specific investigations like blood culture, widal test, antigen test for malaria, IgM ELISA leptospira, IgM ELISA dengue, bone marrow aspiration/biopsy etc. were done as and when indicated. The data are presented as percentage and numbers. Rates and ratios are computed. Results Infection was the commonest cause of thrombocytopenia and dengue was the commonest of the infections followed by malaria. Bleeding manifestations were seen in 42.7% of patients. 91.40% of patients with bleeding tendencies had petechiae/purpura as the commonest bleeding manifestation, followed by spontaneous bleeding in 57%. Spontaneous bleeding was noted when platelet counts were less than 20,000. Petechiae/Purpura were seen more commonly when platelet count was in the range of less than or equal to 50,000. Good recovery was noted in 95%, while 5% had mortality. Septicemia accounted for 85.24% of deaths followed by malaria (6.55%) and dengue (5%). Conclusion Fever with thrombocytopenia is an important clinical condition commonly caused by infections, particularly dengue and malaria. In majority of patients thrombocytopenia was transient and asymptomatic, but in significant number of cases there were bleeding manifestations. On treating the specific cause drastic improvement in platelet count was noted. Mortality in febrile thrombocytopenia is not directly associated with degree of thrombocytopenia but with concomitant involvement of other organs leading to multiorgan dysfunction.
Characteristics of Atmospheric Small Ions and Their Application to Assessment of Air Quality in a Typical Semi-Arid City of Northwest China

Observations of atmospheric air ions at most geographic areas have been undertaken, but there are still very few observations at middle-latitude semi-arid areas throughout the world. To quantify characteristics of small air ions in semiarid areas of China, measurements of small air ions and particulate matter (PM10) were conducted at 16 different sites in Xi'an (34°26′N, 108°94'E), China, from August 2009 to July 2010 along with meteorological parameters. The influences of meteorological parameters and PM10 concentration on small air ions as well as their influence mechanisms were discussed in detail. The results showed that both spatial and temporal distributions of small ions were uneven in Xi’an city. Spatially, the concentration of small ions increased gradually from city center to the suburbs. The mean annual concentration of small negative ions was in the range of 200–400 cm –3 with the mean value of 261 ± 39 cm –3 at urban areas, while more than 500 cm –3 at suburban areas. Significant seasonal variations of small ions were observed with highest level in summer, followed by spring and autumn, and lowest in winter at various types of sites. The positive correlations were found between small ions concentration and temperature as well as relative humidity, while negative correlation between the small ions concentration and PM10 concentration. Air ions concentration was also applied to the assessment of air quality in Xi’an. The assessment results indicated that the air quality was better at suburban areas than at urban areas, suggesting that the unipolarity model is reasonable to indicate air cleanness.
Consumer Preferences for Tomatoes: The Influence of Local, Organic, and State Program Promotions by Purchasing Venue

A choice experiment of consumers from five Mid-Atlantic states was conducted to compare marginal willingness to pay for fresh tomatoes with the attributes locally grown, state marketing program promoted, and organic from either a grocery store or farmers’ market. Data were analyzed using a mixed logit model. Results show that consumers in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia prefer local tomatoes, while those in Delaware and New Jersey prefer state program versions. Unexpectedly, price premiums for organic over conventional tomatoes were only exhibited in Maryland, and Virginia was the only state with a significant premium for the farmers’ market venue.
Spanning Tree of Residual Energy Based on Data Aggregation for Maximizing the Lifetime of Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) consist of small low-cost sensor nodes with limited energy. Because of the inherent energy constraint, prolonging the lifetime of a WSN is an essential challenge in research and practice. Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSNs), a special type of WSNs, mainly focus on cooperatively passing their complex multimedia data such as pictures or video to base stations. However, two key factors must be considered in designing routing algorithms in WMSNs. The first one is the energy cost for data aggregation, which is not negligible but comparable to transmission cost in WMSNs. The other key factor is the complex data aggregation behavior that results in various compression ratios. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical routing algorithm, Spanning Tree Of Residual Energy (STORE), which considers these two important factors. We studied four different types of data aggregation models, and the simulation results indicate that our algorithm achieves a better lifetime than traditional routing algorithms such as SPT, MST, MTE, PEGASIS, LEACH, and PEDAP-AP.
Effects of Some Dietary Factors on Ruminal Microbial Protein Synthesis

The effects of some dietary factors, other than source and amount of N and carbohydrate, on the amount and efficiency of microbial protein synthesis are discussed in this review. Specifically, these factors include dry matter intake of animals, forage:concentrate ratio of diets, rate of N and carbohydrate degradation, synchronized release of N and energy from diets, rate of passage, and other factors, such as vitamins and minerals. It seemed that diets containing a mixture of forages and concentrates increase the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis because of an improved rumen environment for the growth of more diverse bacteria species. Ozet: Bu derlemede, N ve karbonhirat kayna¤› ve miktar› d›fl›nda, mikrobiyel protein sentez miktar› ve etkinliini etkileyen kimi diyetsel faktorler tart›fl›lm›flt›r. Spesifik olarak bu faktorler, hayvanlar›n yem tuketimi, rasyonlar›n kaba:konsantre yem oranlar›, rasyon N ve karbonhidrat y›k›l›m h›z›, rasyonlar›n N ve enejilerinin mikrobiyel protein sentezi icin senkronizasyon durumu, rumen iceriinin rumeni terk etme h›z› ve vitamin-mineral gibi dier diyetsel faktorlerden oluflmaktad›r. Mikrobiyel protein sentez etkinliinin kaba-konsantre yem kar›fl›m› iceren rasyonlar› tuketen hayvanlarda, daha fazla bakteri turunun ureyebilmesi icin uygun rumen ortam›n›n salanmas›na bal› olarak artt›¤› yonunde bir izlenim ortaya c›kmaktad›r.
From Action Potential-Clamp to "Onion-Peeling" Technique – Recording of Ionic Currents Under Physiological Conditions

Upon stimulation, excitable cells generate a transient change in the membrane potential called Action Potential (AP). The AP is governed by numerous ionic currents that flow in or out of the cell membrane. The goal of cellular electrophysiology is to understand the role of individual ionic currents and the interplay between currents in determining the profile and the time course of AP. A critically important question of the field is how different ionic currents behave individually and interact collectively during the AP cycle in an excitable cell. To answer this question we need to know the dynamic behavior of ionic currents during AP and how these currents work in concert to determine the cell’s membrane potential at every moment.
Chemical communication in the lacertid lizard Podarcis muralis: the functional significance of testosterone

Chemical signals are essential for intersexual communication in many animals, including lizards. While faeces have been suggested to contain socially relevant chemical stimuli, epidermal gland secretions are generally believed to be the leading source of chemosignals involved in lizard communication. Early research has shown that sex hormones affect epidermal gland activity, with androgens stimulating gland/pore size and/or gland productivity. However, the functional significance of hormone-induced glandular activity in lizard chemical communication remains unclear. In this study, we manipulated testosterone (T) concentrations in male Podarcis muralis lizards. While T-supplementation did not change pore size, it did increase secretion production substantially. Chemosensory tests showed that female conspecifics tongue-flick at a higher rate and more quickly towards the secretion of males with experimentally increased T levels than towards the secretion of control males, suggesting that females can discriminate between males with dissimilar T levels based on chemical cues of secretion alone. Based on the scent of faeces, however, females were unable to discriminate between males with differential T levels. Also, females reacted more quickly when offered larger amounts of secretion – irrespective of whether secretions were obtained from control or T-increased males. This result indicates that secretion quantity affects chemosignal detectability in Podarcis muralis.