Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low temperature heat storage with phase change materials

SYNOPSIS A group of promising phase change heat-storage materials was selected through study of the literature, laboratory tests of freeze—melt behaviour and determination of thermophysical properties. Means were developed of encapsulating these materials in metal or plastic containers. Four of these phase-change materials, suitably encapsulated, were tested in a sub-kale thermal storage unit of about 20MJ capacity, using air as the heat-transfer fluid. In most cases, measured thermal-storage capacity exceeded 90% of the theoretical value. After considering a number of heating and cooling schemes employing phase-change heat storage, we selected a forced hot air, central storage design, using CaCl2.6H2O encapsulated in plastic pipes. A home was designed, using a two-storey conservatory for solar collection with vertical glazing and movable insulation.
Factors affecting citation rates of research articles

This study examines whether there are some general trends across subject fields regarding the factors affecting the number of citations of articles, focusing especially on those factors that are not directly related to the quality or content of articles (extrinsic factors). For this purpose, from 6 selected subject fields (condensed matter physics, inorganic and nuclear chemistry, electric and electronic engineering, biochemistry and molecular biology, physiology, and gastroenterology), original articles published in the same year were sampled (n = 230–240 for each field). Then, the citation counts received by the articles in relatively long citation windows (6 and 11 years after publication) were predicted by negative binomial multiple regression (NBMR) analysis for each field. Various article features about author collaboration, cited references, visibility, authors' achievements (measured by past publications and citedness), and publishing journals were considered as the explanatory variables of NBMR. Some generality across the fields was found with regard to the selected predicting factors and the degree of significance of these predictors. The Price index was the strongest predictor of citations, and number of references was the next. The effects of number of authors and authors' achievement measures were rather weak.
Surface Electrode Somatosensory-Evoked Potentials in Spinal Surgery: Implications for Indications and Practice

Study Design. A retrospective study of 442 major spinal operations with spinal cord monitoring performed in a University Hospital between 1982 and 1992 was performed. Objectives. To assess the reliability of the authors’ method for monitoring by somatosensory-evoked potential recording, to determine criteria for intraoperative corrective action, and to redefine the need for the wake-up test. Summary of Background Data. The routine use of somatosensory-evoked potential monitoring in spinal surgery remains controversial. In Nottingham, the authors have used a method of recording from either scalp or high cervical electrodes. Methods. The recordings and outcomes of all monitored spinal operations between the years 1982 and 1992 were reviewed. Results. In 442 procedures, 23 technical failures (no reliable monitoring) occurred. Most technical failures were in patients with severe preoperative neurology, identifiable by somatosensory-evoked potential recording before operation. In the remaining 419 procedures, a significant intraoperative change in response occurred in 70 procedures (16.7%). Using the definitions of the American EEG Society, the authors identified 10 true-positives and 60 false-positives. There were no false-negatives. A wake-up test was performed if an amplitude drop greater than 50% from baseline value persisted after attempts to correct any possible identifiable intraoperative cause. This occurred in only 21 patients (5%). In the true-positive group, somatosensory-evoked potential recordings remained persistently abnormal despite an apparently normal subsequent wake-up test. The sensitivity of the method according to current definitions was 100% and the specificity 85.33%. Conclusions. Modified guidelines are needed for routine intraoperative use of somatosensory-evoked potential monitoring in spinal surgery. Such guidelines should avoid the term “false-positive” as currently defined and concentrate on the causative analysis of abnormal responses that warn of critical spinal cord dysfunction before that becomes irreversible and allow for appropriate action. Information from this monitoring method alerted the surgeon to the possible need for corrective action inan additional 9.78% of the reported patients, who traditionally would have been regarded as false-positives. A wake-up test still is indicated in patients with persistent suppression of their somatosensory-evoked potential despite correction of any identifiable cause and in cases of technical failure. The current method proved flexible, versatile, and reliable for future use.
Ubc9p Is the Conjugating Enzyme for the Ubiquitin-like Protein Smt3p*

At least one essential function of Smt3p, aSaccharomyces cerevisiae ubiquitin-like protein similar to the mammalian protein SUMO-1, involves its posttranslational covalent attachment to other proteins. Using Smt3p affinity chromatography, we have isolated the second enzyme of the Smt3p conjugation pathway and have found that it is identical to Ubc9p, a previously identified protein that has extensive sequence similarity to the ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2s) and that is required for yeast to progress through mitosis. A hallmark of E2s is the ability to form a thioester bond-containing covalent intermediate with ubiquitin (Ub). While we were unable to detect formation of a Ub∼Ubc9p thioester, Ubc9p was found to form a thioester with Smt3p, indicating that Ubc9p is the functional analog of E2s in the Smt3p pathway and that this step is distinct from the ubiquitin pathway. Ubc9p is required for attachment of Smt3p to other proteins in vitro, suggesting that it is the only such enzyme in S. cerevisiae. These results suggest that, like ubiquitination, Smt3p conjugation may be a critical modification in cell cycle regulation.
Amplitudes of stochastically excited oscillations in main-sequence stars

We present estimates of the amplitudes of intrinsi- cally stable stochastically excited radial oscillations in stars near the main sequence. The amplitudes are determined by the bal- ance between acoustical energy generation by turbulent con- vection (the Lighthill mechanism) and linear damping. Convec- tion is treated with a time-dependent, nonlocal, mixing-length model, which includes both convective heat flux and turbulent pressure in both the equilibrium model and the pulsations. Ve- locity and luminosity amplitudes are computed for stars with masses between0:9 M and 2:0 M in the vicinity of the main sequence, for various metallicities and convection parameters. As in previous studies, the amplitudes are found to increase with stellar mass, and therefore with luminosity. Amongst those stars that are pulsationally stable, the largest amplitudes are predicted for a 1:6 M model of spectral type F2; the values are approx- imately 15 times larger than those measured in the Sun.
Q A ] 3 A ug 2 00 5 A QUANTUM ANALOGUE OF THE BERNSTEIN FUNCTOR

We consider the Knapp-Vogan Hecke algebras in the quantum group setting. This allows then to produce a quantum analogue of the Bernstein functor as the first step towards the Knapp-Vogan cohomological induction for quantum groups. The cohomological induction is among the most important tools for producing unitarizable Harish-Chandra modules [7]. The present paper demonstrates that this method appears to be applicable as well to modules over quantum universal enveloping algebras [6]. Our way to this circle of problems was as follows. The papers [11, 9] introduce quantum analogues of bounded symmetric domains and the associated Harish-Chandra modules. A special case considered in [10] leads to two geometric realizations of the ladder representation of the quantum universal enveloping algebra Uqsu2,2 as well as to the intertwining linear operator, the quantum Penrose transform [1]. In [10] q-analogues of Čech cohomology were used, but those methods could be hardly generalized, as they are related to non-trivial problems of non-commutative algebraic geometry. We hope to overcome these obstacles via replacing q-analogues of Čech cohomology with q-analogues of Dolbeault cohomology. It is well known [1, p. 166] that a direct approach is in applying the method of cohomological induction by VoganZuckerman [7]. When applying this method for producing unitarizable Harish-Chandra modules, it is convenient to work with the Bernstein functor (the projective Zuckerman functor). Its definition uses essentially the algebra of distributions on a group G with supports in a maximum compact subgroup K. The principal difficulty to be overcame in this work is in producing a q-analogue for this algebra. We introduce it by listing its properties and then by proving that an algebra with such properties exist and is essentially unique. The authors are grateful to V. Kruglov for assistance in preparation of a preliminary version of this work and for helpful discussions. 1 The category C(l, l)q and the algebra R(l)q Everywhere below C will stand for the ground field. Let a = (aij), i, j = 1, 2, . , l, be a Cartan matrix for a simple complex Lie algebra of rank l. Its universal enveloping algebra is a unital algebra U determined by the generators
Cardiac Disease in the Dialysis Patient: Good, Better, Best Clinical Practice

Proven strategies to reduce cardiovascular events and cardiac mortality in hemodialysis patients are given on the basis of pathophysiology. This is an overview of our clinical know-how acquired during the last 30 years. We try to answer the following questions: (1) how to reduce cardiovascular events and cardiac mortality in hemodialysis patients; (2) how to achieve regression of left ventricular hypertrophy, the most important predictor of sudden cardiac death; (3) how to manage iron status during full correction of renal anemia to prevent iron deficiency-induced reactive thrombocytosis, which is recognized to cause fatal stroke and cardiovascular thrombosis; (4) how to maintain responsiveness to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents during correction of renal anemia, thereby avoiding unnecessarily high doses and so reaching ultimate cost-effectiveness. Conclusion: Normalization of renal anemia is not responsible for increased risk of cardiovascular events/cardiac mortality. The inability to adequately address iron status in hemoglobin normalization studies and the underprescription of effective cardiac/antihypertensive medication might explain the adverse outcome. Effective cardiac/antihypertensive medication, intensive iron therapy during normalization of hemoglobin, optimized correction of metabolic acidosis and supplementation of vitamins which are involved in the energy metabolism should be considered to significantly improve the outcome of hemodialysis patients.
Coliform Bacteria in New Jersey Domestic Wells: Influence of Geology, Laboratory, and Method

Following passage of the New Jersey Private Well Testing Act, 50,800 domestic wells were tested between 2002 and 2007 for the presence of total coliform (TC) bacteria. Wells containing TC bacteria were further tested for either fecal coliform or Escherichia coli (FC/E. coli) bacteria. Analysis of the data, generated by 39 laboratories, revealed that the rate of coliform detections in groundwater (GW) was influenced by the laboratory and the method used, and also by geology. Based on one sample per well, TC and FC/E. coli were detected in wells located in bedrock 3 and 3.7 times more frequently, respectively, than in wells located in the unconsolidated strata of the Coastal Plain. In bedrock, detection rates were higher in sedimentary rock than in igneous or metamorphic rock. Ice‐age glaciers also influenced detection rates, most likely by removing material in some areas and depositing thick layers of unconsolidated material in other areas. In bedrock, coliform bacteria were detected more often in wells with a pH of 3 to 6 than in wells with a pH of 7 to 10 whereas the reverse was true in the Coastal Plain. TC and FC/E. coli bacteria were detected in 33 and 9.5%, respectively, of sedimentary rock wells with pH 3 to 6. Conversely, for Coastal Plain wells with pH 3 to 6, detection rates were 4.4% for TC and 0.6% for FC/E. coli.
Neuronal Basis of Crossed Actions from the Reticular Formation on Feline Hindlimb Motoneurons

Pathways through which reticulospinal neurons can influence contralateral limb movements were investigated by recording from motoneurons innervating hindlimb muscles. Reticulospinal tract fibers were stimulated within the brainstem or in the lateral funiculus of the thoracic spinal cord contralateral to the motoneurons. Effects evoked by ipsilaterally descending reticulospinal tract fibers were eliminated by a spinal hemisection at an upper lumbar level. Stimuli applied in the brainstem evoked EPSPs, IPSPs, or both at latencies of 1.42 ± 0.03 and 1.53 ± 0.04 msec, respectively, from the first components of the descending volleys and with properties indicating a disynaptic linkage, in most contralateral motoneurons: EPSPs in 76% and IPSPs in 26%. EPSPs with characteristics of monosynaptically evoked responses, attributable to direct actions of crossed axon collaterals of reticulospinal fibers, were found in a small proportion of the motoneurons, whether evoked from the brainstem (9%) or from the thoracic cord (12.5%). Commissural neurons, which might mediate the crossed disynaptic actions (i.e., were antidromically activated from contralateral motor nuclei and monosynaptically excited from the ipsilateral reticular formation), were found in Rexed's lamina VIII in the midlumbar segments (L3–L5). The results reveal that although direct actions of reticulospinal fibers are much more potent on ipsilateral motoneurons, interneuronally mediated actions are as potent contralaterally as ipsilaterally, and midlumbar commissural neurons are likely to contribute to them. They indicate a close coupling between the spinal interneuronal systems used by the reticulospinal neurons to coordinate muscle contractions ipsilaterally and contralaterally.
LINGUISTIC STIMULATION IMPACT ON VERBAL WORKING MEMORY IN THE EARLY STAGES OF SCHOOL EDUCATION

When studying cognitive flexibility in young children in bilingual programmes, a positive correlation has been noted between working memory efficiency and bilingualism. Research results point to the advantage in early vs. late or more proficient vs. less proficient bilinguals. The goal of this exploratory research was to investigate the importance of intensive language stimulation for the development of phonological short-term and working memory in children at the beginning of their school education. The research was conducted in Northern Poland among 77 children attending two elementary schools: 42 children attended a Polish-language school (monolingual school group), and 35 children attended a school in which English was the language of instruction (bilingual school group). The children were tested twice: at the beginning and at the end of the first grade. Four tasks were administered: digit span, non-word repetition, pho neme discrimination and phoneme isolation. The analysis of longitudinal level changes showed a progressive development of the analyzed skills, irrespective of the school the children attended. However, different change dynamics in children attending the monoor bilingual school have been observed. The progressive performance improvement in Zetotest, phoneme discrimination and phoneme isolation tasks was substantially higher in the bilingual school group when compared to the monolingual one. However, we reported no differences in the digit repetition skill between the groups. Moreover, the sex of a child appeared to be a strong determinant of verbal working memory development. In both stages girls performed better than boys. Considerable advantage in phonological working memory processing has been reported after a year of bilingual education as compared to education within a monolingual context.
Accelerated lymphangiogenesis in malignant lymphoma: possible role of VEGF‐A and VEGF‐C

There is little information regarding the lymphangiogenesis of malignant lymphoma. In this study, we evaluated the lymphangiogenesis and angiogenesis in 44 lymph nodes of 39 malignant lymphomas and five non‐reactive normal lymph nodes, based on the lymphatic vessel density (LVD) and microvessel density (MVD) calculated by the computer‐assisted assessment of vessel density. The LVD of malignant lymphomas was significantly higher than that of non‐reactive normal lymph nodes, irrespective of subtypes (P = 0·00077). On the contrary, there was no difference in MVD between malignant lymphomas and non‐reactive normal lymph nodes, except for diffuse large B cell lymphomas, which had a significantly low value of MVD, in comparison with non‐reactive normal lymph nodes (P = 0·009). We further examined the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐C and VEGF‐A, which function on lymphangiogenesis in lymph node samples. VEGF‐C was expressed in 36 of 39 malignant lymphomas. All 39 of the malignant lymphoma samples expressed VEGF‐A. Furthermore, the level of LVD and VEGF‐A or VEGF‐C was positively correlated. These findings suggest that lymphangiogenesis is actively developed in lymph nodes of malignant lymphomas and it may be induced by both VEGF‐A and VEGF‐C secreted from lymphoma cells.
Numerical evaluation of the post-earthquake fire resistance of CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete joints based on experimental observations

This article describes experimental and numerical studies on the structural resistance of two reinforced concrete beam-column joints. While both specimens are of similar configurations as for geometry, amount and type of steel reinforcement and concrete strength, the second is strengthened by means of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) at the vicinity of the joint in order to relocate the plastic hinge away from the column extremity towards the beam. Both specimens are subjected to a cyclic load followed by a generalised exponential fire curve, which implicitly represents a post-earthquake fire (PEF). The PEF resistance of the specimens subjected to various damage levels such as immediate occupancy (IO), life safety (LS) and collapse prevention (CP) is then evaluated based on finite element analysis. The results show that while the fire resistances of the original specimen subjected to LS and CP damage levels are about 32 and 15 min, respectively, they increase in the CFRP-strengthened specimen to about 43 and 23 min, respectively. This represents a 25% increase at LS level and a 35% increase at CP level.
Acute versus Chronic Myocardial Ischemia: A Differential Biological Profile Study

Objective: To determine the possible differences in lipid, thrombogenic and inflammatory marker concentrations and the presence of chronic and acute coronary artery disease (stable and unstable angina, respectively), comparing them with a group of control patients with normal coronary arteries. Material and Methods: This prospective cohort study included 125 patients with unstable angina, 189 with stable angina and a control group of 83 patients with normal coronary arteries. Marker concentrations were measured in all 3 groups. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine whether such factors could predict unstable or stable angina. Results: Lipid parameter concentrations were similar in the 2 coronary disease groups and significantly lower than in controls. Haemostatic and inflammatory marker concentrations were higher in patients with coronary disease, but were statistically significant only when comparing unstable angina patients with normal controls. Unstable angina patients had significantly higher levels of lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)], fibrinogen, C-reactive protein (CRP) and leucocytes. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that CRP (OR 2.635, 95% CI 1.417–4.898), smoking (OR 3.416, 95% CI 1.773–6.584), leucocytes (OR 2.034, 95% CI 1.079–3.836) and Lp(a) (OR 2.269, 95% CI 1.188–4.334) were independent risk factors of unstable versus stable angina. Conclusions: Patients with unstable angina present a more atherogenic profile than patients with stable angina. Together with smoking, elevated Lp(a), CRP and leucocyte concentrations proved to be associated with the presence of unstable angina.
Different Patterns of Evolution in the Centromeric and Telomeric Regions of Group A and B Haplotypes of the Human Killer Cell Ig-Like Receptor Locus

The fast evolving human KIR gene family encodes variable lymphocyte receptors specific for polymorphic HLA class I determinants. Nucleotide sequences for 24 representative human KIR haplotypes were determined. With three previously defined haplotypes, this gave a set of 12 group A and 15 group B haplotypes for assessment of KIR variation. The seven gene-content haplotypes are all combinations of four centromeric and two telomeric motifs. 2DL5, 2DS5 and 2DS3 can be present in centromeric and telomeric locations. With one exception, haplotypes having identical gene content differed in their combinations of KIR alleles. Sequence diversity varied between haplotype groups and between centromeric and telomeric halves of the KIR locus. The most variable A haplotype genes are in the telomeric half, whereas the most variable genes characterizing B haplotypes are in the centromeric half. Of the highly polymorphic genes, only the 3DL3 framework gene exhibits a similar diversity when carried by A and B haplotypes. Phylogenetic analysis and divergence time estimates, point to the centromeric gene-content motifs that distinguish A and B haplotypes having emerged ∼6 million years ago, contemporaneously with the separation of human and chimpanzee ancestors. In contrast, the telomeric motifs that distinguish A and B haplotypes emerged more recently, ∼1.7 million years ago, before the emergence of Homo sapiens. Thus the centromeric and telomeric motifs that typify A and B haplotypes have likely been present throughout human evolution. The results suggest the common ancestor of A and B haplotypes combined a B-like centromeric region with an A-like telomeric region.
Global Connectivity of Prefrontal Cortex Predicts Cognitive Control and Intelligence

Control of thought and behavior is fundamental to human intelligence. Evidence suggests a frontoparietal brain network implements such cognitive control across diverse contexts. We identify a mechanism—global connectivity—by which components of this network might coordinate control of other networks. A lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) region's activity was found to predict performance in a high control demand working memory task and also to exhibit high global connectivity. Critically, global connectivity in this LPFC region, involving connections both within and outside the frontoparietal network, showed a highly selective relationship with individual differences in fluid intelligence. These findings suggest LPFC is a global hub with a brainwide influence that facilitates the ability to implement control processes central to human intelligence.