Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Climate, grain production and nutritional status in southern Germany during the XVIIIth century.

What determined nutritional status in the 18th century? Long time series have been created on European climatic history in recent years, making it possible to compare these data sets with new estimates of nutritional status, grain production and real wages in Southern Germany. From the late 1720s to the late 1740s, winter temperatures in central Europe rose by 0.6 degree Celsius, and fell in subsequent decades by about 0.8 degree Celsius. Milder winter temperatures around mid-century influenced food production positively in Southern Germany. It kept pace with the growing population during this time period, and real wages did not decline up to the 1750s. Therefore, the development of nutritional status was positive. The cold winters after mid-century, however, had an extremely negative effect on food production, real wages, and nutritional status. 1 I wish to thank John Komlos, Brian A'Hearn, Tommy Bengtsson, J.W. Drukker, Markus Heintel, Paul Mageli, Douglas Puffert, Rolf Walter, Ulrich Woitek and participants of the 1995 SSHA conference in Chicago, 1997 EHA conference in New Brunswick 1998 EHS conference in Leeds and 1998 ESSHC in Amsterdam, especially Roderick Floud, Michael Haines, Bernard Harris, Peter Lindert, Richard Steckel, David Weir, Robert Whaples, and Sir Edward A. Wrigley for their important comments and criticisms on earlier versions of this paper. I am especially indebted to Peter Waugh and Ursula Guett for helping with the data collection and to Ruediger Glaser for providing data on European climate. Our common research results will be published in related papers. Research support by the DFG (German Science Foundation) is gratefully acknowledged.
On the Impact of Closed Access and Users Identities in Spectrum-Shared Overlaid Wireless Networks

This paper develops analytical models to investigate the impact of various operation terms and parameters on the downlink performance of spectrum-shared overlaid networks under closed-access small cells deployment. It is considered that closed-access small cells (i.e., femtocells) can not reuse available channels, and can serve only active authorized user equipments (UEs). On the other hand, the macrocell base station can unconditionally reuse available channels to serve active macrocell UEs. The analysis characterizes UEs identities, their likelihoods of being active, and their likelihoods of initiating interference. Moreover, it quantifies interference sources observed from effective femtocells considering their over-loaded and under-loaded cell scenarios. The developed results to characterize an active UE performance and the impact of the number of available channels are thoroughly examined. The obtained results are generally applicable for any performance measure and any network channel models. Numerical and simulation examples are presented to clarify the main outcomes of this paper.
Outdoor landmark recognition using fractal based vision and neural networks

A new approach using fractal based vision is presented to solve the problem of mobile robot navigation in outdoor environments. Mobile robots rely on landmarks such as mile markers and street signs for information on global position and local traffic conditions. Due to the motion of the robot, the location, size and orientation of the landmarks are varying. Also, other objects in the scene might partially occlude the landmark. Thus, a robust recognition system is required to recognize the landmarks that may be distorted by a combination of these effects. A new fractal model called incremental fractional Brownian motion (BM) model, is developed to locate these landmarks. A new neural network architecture, reconfigurable neural network (RNN), is developed to recognize the landmarks. The fractal model is shown to be invariant to changes in intensity of incident light. The landmark candidate regions detected by the ifBM model are analyzed by the RNN. New learning rules based on update normalization are developed to decrease learning time and increase system stability. The network also has the ability to learn new patterns with minimal retraining time. The network is tested with images of actual street signs that were distorted by scale changes, rotations and occlusions.
Bounding efficiency loss of multiclass stochastic user equilibrium traffic assignment against stochastic system optimum under road pricing

The efficiency loss of multiclass stochastic user equilibrium traffic assignment under road pricing against stochastic system optimum was investigated. Variational inequality models of the time-based and monetary-based decision making were formulated, respectively. It is shown that the upper bound of efficiency loss caused by the time-based decision making depends on the class of link travel time functions and the total experienced travel cost. The upper bound of efficiency loss caused by the monetary-based decision making depends on the users' socio-economic characteristics besides the aforementioned factors.
A novel fabrication method of macroporous biodegradable polymer scaffolds using gas foaming salt as a porogen additive.

Highly open porous biodegradable poly(L-lactic acid) ¿PLLA scaffolds for tissue regeneration were fabricated by using ammonium bicarbonate as an efficient gas foaming agent as well as a particulate porogen salt. A binary mixture of PLLA-solvent gel containing dispersed ammonium bicarbonate salt particles, which became a paste state, was cast in a mold and subsequently immersed in a hot water solution to permit the evolution of ammonia and carbon dioxide within the solidifying polymer matrix. This resulted in the expansion of pores within the polymer matrix to a great extent, leading to well interconnected macroporous scaffolds having mean pore diameters of around 300-400 microm, ideal for high-density cell seeding. Rat hepatocytes seeded into the scaffolds exhibited about 95% seeding efficiency and up to 40% viability at 1 day after the seeding. The novelty of this new method is that the PLLA paste containing ammonium bicarbonate salt particles can be easily handled and molded into any shape, allowing for fabricating a wide range of temporal tissue scaffolds requiring a specific shape and geometry.
The development of non‐essentialist concepts of ethnicity among children in a multicultural London community

Ethnic constancy, the belief that a person cannot change ethnicity, is an important component of ethnic essentialism, the conviction that members of ethnic groups share an immutable underlying essence. Most children in previous research viewed ethnicity as increasingly immutable with age. However, some evidence suggests that children growing up in communities, which define ethnicity primarily in terms of changeable features (e.g., lifestyle) rather than fixed features (e.g., ancestry), may not follow this trajectory. This study examined ethnic constancy development in a community which defined ethnicity primarily in terms of changeable features. It was hypothesized that older children would view ethnicity as more changeable than younger children, but that because of personal investment which increases with age, children would view their own ethnicity as more stable than a peer's ethnicity, entailing a significant interaction between age and self–other. Ninety‐two children in three age groups (mean ages 7, 9, and 11 years) from a multicultural school in London were interviewed individually. Their ethnicities were 45% Indian, 16% English, 7% Pakistani, 7% Somali, 2% unknown, and 25% other. Children's explanations were analysed thematically. All hypotheses were supported. Children's conceptions of others’ ethnicity as changeable were supported by definitions focusing on religion, and by the concept of freedom of choice. This suggests that in a community in which ethnicity is primarily defined in terms of attributes which are seen as mutable (in this case, religion), children may not essentialize ethnicity. Still, ethnic change may rarely occur in practice due to an emotional commitment to one's own ethnic group. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Most research finds that children develop concept of ethnicity as fixed and essential; But limited evidence of non‐essentialist developmental pathways for ethnicity For gender, children assert constancy more for themselves than others What does this study add? Evidence of developmental pathway to non‐essentializing, mutable concept of ethnicity Evidence that definitions of ethnicity centred on religion may encourage ethnic non‐essentialism Children are more willing to embrace ethnic mutability for others than for themselves
Overactive Bladder Syndrome: The Social and Economic Perspective

Overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) is a highly prevalent condition associated with a significant impairment of patients’ Quality of Life (QoL) because of its adverse effects on social, sexual, interpersonal, and professional functions. Cost-of-illness analyses showed the huge economic burden related to OAB for patients, public healthcare systems, and society, secondary to both direct and indirect costs. These types of cost analyses, however, exclude intangible costs related to QoL impairment. Recently, many novel therapies have been introduced, arising the need to apply the modern methodology of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to new therapies in order to evaluate objectively their value in terms of both improvement in length/Quality of Life and costs. By producing information on the clinical, economic, organizational, social and ethical impact of health technologies, HTA has been used worldwide to inform decision makers at different levels in health systems. The HTA approach demonstrated, worldwide, to be a useful approach to increase the level of appropriateness in the use of medical technology and, as a consequence of that, of resources. Health utilities are instruments that allow a measurement of QoL and its integration in the economic evaluation using the Quality-of-life-Adjusted-Life-Years (QALYs) model and cost-utility analysis. The development of suitable instruments for quantifying utility in the specific group of OAB patients is vitally important to extend the application of cost-utility analysis in OAB and to guide healthcare resources allocation for this disorder. Studies are required to define the cost-effectiveness of available pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapy options.
Lightweight and Scalable Intrusion Trace Classification Using Interelement Dependency Models Suitable for Wireless Sensor Network Environment

We present a lightweight and scalable method for classifying network and program traces to detect system intrusion attempts. By employing interelement dependency models to overcome the independence violation problem inherent in the Naive Bayes learners, our method yields intrusion detectors with better accuracy. For efficient and lightweight counting of -gram features without losing accuracy, we use a -truncated generalized suffix tree (-TGST) for storing -gram features. The -TGST storage mechanism enables us to scale up the classifiers, which cannot be easily achieved by Support-Vector-Machine- (SVM-) based methods that require implausible computing power and resources for accuracy. Experimental results on a set of practical benchmark datasets show that our method is scalable up to 20-gram with consistent accuracy comparable to SVMs.
Spontaneous Reactivation of Clusters of X‐Linked Genes Is Associated with the Plasticity of X‐Inactivation in Mouse Trophoblast Stem Cells

Random epigenetic silencing of the X‐chromosome in somatic tissues of female mammals equalizes the dosage of X‐linked genes between the sexes. Unlike this form of X‐inactivation that is essentially irreversible, the imprinted inactivation of the paternal X, which characterizes mouse extra‐embryonic tissues, appears highly unstable in the trophoblast giant cells of the placenta. Here, we wished to determine whether such instability is already present in placental progenitor cells prior to differentiation toward lineage‐specific cell types. To this end, we analyzed the behavior of a GFP transgene on the paternal X both in vivo and in trophoblast stem (TS) cells derived from the trophectoderm of XXGFP blastocysts. Using single‐cell studies, we show that not only the GFP transgene but also a large number of endogenous genes on the paternal X are subject to orchestrated cycles of reactivation/de novo inactivation in placental progenitor cells. This reversal of silencing is associated with local losses of histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation extending over several adjacent genes and with the topological relocation of the hypomethylated loci outside of the nuclear compartment of the inactive X. The “reactivated” state is maintained through several cell divisions. Our study suggests that this type of “metastable epigenetic” states may underlie the plasticity of TS cells and predispose specific genes to relaxed regulation in specific subtypes of placental cells. Stem Cells 2014;32:377–390
Evaluación in vitro del efecto bactericida de extractos acuosos de laurel, clavo, canela y tomillo sobre cinco cepas bacterianas patógenas de origen alimentario.

Se evaluo el efecto bactericida de extractos acuosos de canela, clavo, laurel y tomillo, sobre cepas de E. coli, Salmonella spp. , Ps. aeruginosa, S. aureus y B. cereus. El extracto de canela mostro un amplio espectro de accion, al detener el crecimiento de todas las bacterias ensayadas. Los demas extractos, demostraron accion inhibitoria contra algunas de las cepas bacterianas. En este estudio, tambien se observo, la diferencia en la sensibilidad frente a los extractos, entre las cepas Gram negativas y las Gram positivas.
Principles of Natural Regeneration of Tropical Dry Forests for Restoration

Tropical dry forests are the most threatened tropical terrestrial ecosystem. However, few studies have been conducted on the natural regeneration necessary to restore these forests. We reviewed the ecology of regeneration of tropical dry forests as a tool to restore disturbed lands. Dry forests are characterized by a relatively high number of tree species with small, dry, wind‐dispersed seeds. Over small scales, wind‐dispersed seeds are better able to colonize degraded areas than vertebrate‐dispersed plants. Small seeds and those with low water content are less susceptible to desiccation, which is a major barrier for establishment in open areas. Seeds are available in the soil in the early rainy season to maximize the time to grow. However, highly variable precipitation and frequent dry spells are important sources of mortality in seeds and seedlings. Collecting seeds at the end of the dry season and planting them when soil has sufficient moisture may increase seedling establishment and reduce the time they are exposed to seed predators. Germination and early establishment in the field are favored in shaded sites, which have milder environment and moister soil than open sites during low rainfall periods. Growth of established seedlings, however, is favored in open areas. Therefore, clipping plants around established seedlings may be a good management option to improve growth and survival. Although dry forests have species either resistant to fire or that benefit from it, frequent fires simplify community species composition. Resprouting ability is a noticeable mechanism of regeneration in dry forests and must be considered for restoration. The approach to dry‐forest restoration should be tailored to this ecosystem instead of merely following approaches developed for moister forests.
High PSRR and accuracy receiver active equalizer

High accuracy equalization and high power supply rejection ratio equalizer in the receiver of a high-speed serial link presented. To validate the proposed architecture, conducted experiments, for examples, with various injected faults, for which the conventional approach of examining the eye opening at the output of the equalizer results. Proposed equalizer have supply noise with 35% higher rejection ratio than USB specification required and hence this equalization mechanism can be used in the special input/output circuits of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and some other protocols as well.
Nodular breast lesions during pregnancy and lactation

A review of the clinical and pathological features of 30 lactating nodules which were retrieved over the period 1975–1991 was undertaken. Clinically, the nodules occurred during any pregnancy and in subsequent pregnancies no further nodules developed. There were no favoured sites or lateralization of nodules, nor was there any correlation between nodule occurrence and ethnic background. Morphologically, a pre‐existing underlying lesion was readily recognized in 18 cases. Seven fibroadenomas, five tubular adenomas, two of which were infarcted, and six breast hamartomas were identified. The other 12 cases were well circumscribed nodules with a variable degree of inflammation and lobular hyperplasia. It is best to recognize these lesions as a heterogeneous group and designate them as lactating nodules, noting any underlying pathological process rather than using the older term lactating adenoma which implies a single neoplastic entity.
INVARIANZA TOPOLÓGICA DEL ÍNDICE DE INTERSECCIÓN

Vamos a considerar campos vectoriales holomorfos con singularidad aislada dicritica, cuyos transformados estrictos no presentan singularidades en el divisor. En estas condiciones, es posible asociar a cada hoja del transformado estricto, un indice de interseccion con el divisor. El resultado principal de este trabajo, es probar que este indice es un invariante topologico.
Maternal age, parity, and reproductive outcome in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

As early as the 1970s, it was suggested that nonhuman primates may serve as models of human reproductive senescence. In the present study, the reproductive outcomes of 1,255 pregnancies in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were examined in relation to parity and its covariate, maternal age. The results show that the percentage of positive pregnancy outcomes was negatively correlated with increasing parity. In addition, spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and caesarian sections (C‐sections) were positively correlated with increasing parity. Maternal age, rather than parity, was found to be the most important predictor of negative birth outcome. This study supports research demonstrating reproductive decline and termination in nonhuman primates, and is the first to quantitatively account for this phenomenon in captive female chimpanzees. Am. J. Primatol. 67:199–207, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Reducing Harmonics Distortion in Five-Phase VSI Using Space-Vector-Based Optimal Hybrid PWM

Compared with three-phase motors, multiphase motors offer several advantages such as higher efficiency, lower torque pulsation, and higher fault tolerance. To exploit these advantages, a multiphase modulator with low current harmonics is essential. However, the switching sequence of conventional space-vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) is not optimal because of high stator flux ripple, which is proportional to line current harmonics. In this study, all possible switching sequences for a given switching number and carrier frequency were explored. On the basis of stator harmonic current analysis, the optimal switching sequence was selected for different modulation indices and reference angles. Then the optimal spacial distribution of each sequence to minimize root-mean-square harmonic current was derived, yielding optimal hybrid pulse width modulation (OHPWM). Similar to SVPWM, the proposed OHPWM produces an equivalent phase voltage to a reference in average means. By employing different switching sequences, the proposed method can reduce the total current harmonics distortion. Both simulations and experiments confirmed the correctness of the theoretical derivation of the proposed modulator.
Ajuste de la calificación del riesgo de mercado de las empresas más activas que cotizan en la Bolsa Mexicana de Valores con la implementación de una red neuronal artificial clasificadora

En Mexico la aplicacion de redes neuronales artificiales para medir el riesgo de mercado es un tema poco conocido y explorado. Por tal motivo, esta investigacion parte de que si el riesgo sistemico es la perdida que puede presentar un portafolio, un activo o un titulo en particular, originada por cambios y/o movimientos adversos que afectan su precio o valor final, entonces la medicion del mismo. El objetivo de este estudio puede llevarse a cabo con el uso de una red neuronal artificial de tipo clasificador planteada como la hipotesis a probar, que ayude a establecer un ajuste a la medicion y clasificacion del riesgo de mercado mexicano con la aplicacion de una red alimentada en su capa de entrada con 384 observaciones trimestrales utilizadas como el conjunto de datos correspondientes a las 16 empresas mas activas y volatiles, de un total de 35 emisoras que conforman el Indice de Precios y Cotizaciones y que cotizaron en la Bolsa Mexicana de Valores de 2004 a 2009. Los resultados de clasificacion del riesgo de mercado (segmentados como bajo, medio y alto riesgo) obtenidos por la red muestran que las variables que contribuyen significativamente a la medicion y clasificacion del riesgo son la tasa de rendimiento requerida, los cetes a 91 dias y los rendimientos accionarios en comparacion con otras ya utilizadas anteriormente. Finalmente, la aportacion original de este trabajo es que propone un ajuste a la medicion del riesgo de mercado mexicano con el proposito de obtener informacion mas objetiva para los inversionistas, acreedores, accionistas y demas organismos economicos y financieros que requieran de un indice mas eficiente, que les permita una adecuada toma de decisiones.
A Reuseable Framework for Designing Socially Assistive Robot Interactions

Robots are increasingly tested in different socially assistive scenarios. Future applications range from dieting, coaching, tutoring to autism therapy. In such applications the success of the system is commonly evaluated by the ability to encourage the user to keep up with a task. Hence, one important requirement for supportive systems is to have an interactional motivational model that formalizes the way how users can be assisted. In this paper we describe our framework for coordinating motivational interaction scenarios with socially assistive robots (SAR) in the context of sport assistance. We exemplify three different sport scenarios where we have used the same motivational interaction model. Furthermore, we show how this model can be used to systematically test the different aspects of motivation in the context of SAR in sport domains. Therefore, we have conducted an experiment to evaluate the importance of acknowledgement from SAR for human interaction partners. The results show that users exercise longer if acknowledgment is included into the motivational model.