Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Planetary Nebulae as Standard Candles. XII. Connecting the Population I and Population II Distance Scales

We report the results of [O III] λ5007 surveys for planetary nebulae (PNe) in six galaxies: NGC 2403, NGC 3115, NGC 3351, NGC 3627, NGC 4258, and NGC 5866. Using on-band/off-band [O III] λ5007 images, as well as images taken in Hα, we identify samples of PNe in these galaxies and derive their distances using the planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF). We then combine these measurements with previous data to compare the PNLF, Cepheid, and surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) distance scales. We use a sample of 13 galaxies to show that the absolute magnitude of the PNLF cutoff is fainter in small, low-metallicity systems, but the trend is well modeled by the theoretical relation of Dopita, Jacoby, & Vassiliadis. When this metallicity dependence is removed, the scatter between the Cepheid and PNLF distances becomes consistent with the internal errors of the methods and independent of any obvious galaxy parameter. We then use these data to recalibrate the zero point of the PNLF distance scale. We use a sample of 28 galaxies to show that the scatter between the PNLF and SBF distance measurements agrees with that predicted from the techniques' internal errors and that there is no systematic trend between the distance residuals and stellar population. However, we also find that the PNLF and SBF methods have a significant scale offset: Cepheid-calibrated PNLF distances are, on average, ~0.3 mag smaller than Cepheid-calibrated SBF distances. We discuss the possible causes of this offset and suggest that internal extinction in the bulges of the SBF calibration galaxies is the principal cause of the discrepancy. If this hypothesis is correct, then the SBF-based Hubble constant must be increased by ~7%. We also use our distance to NGC 4258 to argue that the short distance scale to the LMC is correct and that the global Hubble constant inferred from the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project should be increased by 8% ± 3% to H0 = 78 ± 7 km s-1 Mpc-1.
Testicular Damage by Microcirculatory Disruption and Colonization of an Immune-Privileged Site during Borrelia crocidurae Infection

The agent of African relapsing fever, Borrelia crocidurae, causes reversible multiple organ damage. We hypothesize that this damage is caused when the spirochete forms aggregate with erythrocytes in vivo, creating rosettes that plug the microcirculatory system. To test this hypothesis, we compared testicular microcirculation over an extended time period in two groups of rats: one experimentally inoculated with B. crocidurae, the other with the nonerythrocyte rosette–forming Borrelia hermsii. In the B. crocidurae group, erythrocyte rosettes formed during spiro-chetemia blocked precapillary blood vessels and reduced the normal pattern of microcirculatory blood flow. After spirochetemia, erythrocyte rosettes disappeared and flow was normalized. Decreased blood flow and focal vascular damage with increased permeability and interstitial bleeding adjacent to the erythrocyte microemboli induced cell death in seminiferous tubules. Interestingly, we found that B. crocidurae could penetrate the tubules and remain in the testis long after the end of spirochetemia, suggesting that the testis can serve as a reservoir for this bacteria in subsequent relapses. The group infected with B. hermsii displayed normal testicular blood flow and vasomotion at all selected time points, and suffered no testicular damage. These results confirmed our hypothesis that the erythrocyte rosettes produce vascular obstruction and are the main cause of histopathology seen in model animal and human infections.
The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History

Human rights offer a vision of international justice that today's idealistic millions hold dear. Yet the very concept on which the movement is based became familiar only a few decades ago when it profoundly reshaped our hopes for an improved humanity. In this pioneering book, Samuel Moyn elevates that extraordinary transformation to center stage and asks what it reveals about the ideal's troubled present and uncertain future. For some, human rights stretch back to the dawn of Western civilization, the age of the American and French Revolutions, or the post - World War II moment when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was framed. Revisiting these episodes in a dramatic tour of humanity's moral history, "The Last Utopia" shows that it was in the decade after 1968 that human rights began to make sense to broad communities of people as the proper cause of justice. Across eastern and western Europe, as well as throughout the United States and Latin America, human rights crystallized in a few short years as social activism and political rhetoric moved it from the hallways of the United Nations to the global forefront. It was on the ruins of earlier political utopias, Moyn argues, that human rights achieved contemporary prominence. The morality of individual rights substituted for the soiled political dreams of revolutionary communism and nationalism as international law became an alternative to popular struggle and bloody violence. But as the ideal of human rights enters into rival political agendas, it requires more vigilance and scrutiny than when it became the watchword of our hopes.
Computer Courses in Adult Education in a Gender perspective

A gender gap in computing—a digital divide between women and men (Cooper & Weaver, 2003; Wilson et al, 2003), even in western society—has been troubling researchers and policymakers; firstly, because women are seen as being at risk of being left behind in the new citizenship, and, secondly, because computer competence is essential in a well-qualified workforce. However, today 60% of Swedish women and 69% of Swedish men use a computer daily, either at home or at work (Statistics Sweden, 2006). The picture of women as not being interested in computers and computer competence does not hold true any more. Women do use computers, and they also enrol on computer courses. But how are these courses functioning for the students—men and women? Do women and men come to the course with similar interests and similar knowledge? What about different age ABstRACt
Transmission Potential and Design of Adequate Control Measures for Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever

Marburg hemorrhagic fever is rare yet among the most severe diseases affecting humans, with case fatality ratio even higher than 80%. By analyzing the largest documented Marburg hemorrhagic fever epidemic, which occurred in Angola in 2005 and caused 329 deaths, and data on viral load over time in non-human primates, we make an assessment of transmissibility and severity of the disease. We also give insight into the control of new Marburg hemorrhagic fever epidemics to inform appropriate health responses. We estimated the distribution of the generation time to have mean 9 days (95%CI: 8.2–10 days) and standard deviation 5.4 days (95%CI: 3.9–8.6 days), and the basic reproduction number to be = 1.59 (95%CI: 1.53–1.66). Model simulations suggest that a timely isolation of cases, starting no later than 2–3 days after symptoms onset, is sufficient to contain an outbreak. Our analysis reveals that Marburg hemorrhagic fever is characterized by a relatively small reproduction number and by a relatively long generation time. Such factors, along with the extremely high severity and fatality, support the rare occurrence of large epidemics in human populations. Our results also support the effectiveness of social distancing measures - case isolation in particular - to contain or at least to mitigate an emerging outbreak. This work represents an advance in the knowledge required to manage a potential Marburg hemorrhagic fever epidemic.
Aetiology and surgical treatment of childhood blepharoptosis

Aims: To describe the aetiology, demography, surgical management, and outcome of a cohort of paediatric ptosis patients in a large tertiary referral oculoplastic centre. Methods: A case note review of all patients undergoing ptosis surgery below the age of 16 years in a tertiary referral oculoplastic unit documenting the laterality, aetiology, severity of ptosis, indications for and type of surgery undertaken, the proportion of good, suboptimal, and poor surgical outcomes, re-operations, and level of patient satisfaction. Results: 340 patients (82% (280/340) unilateral, 18% (60/340) bilateral ptosis) with myogenic (79%, 269/340), aponeurotic (5%, 16/340), neurogenic (11%, 37/340), mechanical (2%, 6/340), apparent (1%, 2/340), and syndrome related (3%, 10/340) ptosis underwent anterior (41%, 141/340) and posterior (26%, 90/340) levator resection, frontalis suspension with mersilene (9%, 29/340) and autogenous fascia lata (17%, 59/340), levator transposition (5%, 15/340) and other surgery (1%, 6/340) for visual (43%, 141/333) and cosmetic (57%, 189/333) indications. 77% (260/340) of patients achieved a good outcome, 10% (35/340) a suboptimal outcome, and 13% (45/340) a poor outcome requiring re-operation. There was no statistically significant difference in surgical outcome between patients with mild, moderate, or severe ptosis and with good, moderate, or poor levator function. The level of recorded patient satisfaction with the surgical outcome was 90% (206/229). Conclusions: Results suggest that most groups of paediatric ptosis patients, including those with poor levator function and severe ptosis, achieve satisfactory results with the appropriate ptosis surgery.
Knowledge management and innovativeness: The role of organizational climate and structure

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of organizational climate and structure on knowledge management and firm innovativeness from the social capital and social network perspectives. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical study employed a questionnaire approach. The sample for this study was drawn from the population of the top 5,000 Taiwanese firms listed in the yearbook published by the China Credit Information Service Incorporation. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses in a sample of 146 Taiwanese firms. Findings - The findings suggest that knowledge management is positively related to firm innovativeness. In addition, the effect of knowledge management on innovativeness is positively moderated by supportive climate and decentralized, integrated, and less formalized structure. The study also examines the effects of organizational climate and structure on knowledge management and the results indicate that innovative and supportive climate are positively related to knowledge management. When the organizational structure is less formalized, more decentralized and integrated, knowledge management is more enhanced. Practical implications - Firms need to be aware of the critical role of organizational structure and climate in the transition process of knowledge management to innovative products or services. Originality/value - This study contributes to the literature by investigating the relationships among organizational contexts of climate and structure, knowledge management, and firm innovativeness from the social capital and social network perspectives.
Efficacy and Safety of Beating Heart Mitral Valve Replacement

Background: The interest in beating heart surgery is growing since better results can be obtained with this procedure compared to conventional myocardial protection techniques using cardioplegic solutions. This led us to consider mitral valve replacement with beating heart. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of beating heart mitral valve replacement without cross clamp. Methods: This prospective study was conducted on the patients with isolated mitral valve disease requiring mitral valve replacement according to ACC / AHA guidelines. In this study, 15 patients underwent mitral valve replacement using beating heart technique (Group A) and 15 ones underwent mitral valve replacement using arrested heart technique (Group B). The patients were randomized using block randomization. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software. Results: Preoperative parameters were comparable in the two groups. Most of the patients in both study groups were in NYHA class III or IV. Postoperatively, however, most of the patients in the two groups were either in NYHA class I or II. No mortality occurred in the beating heart group, while one mortality occurred in the arrested heart group. The results showed a significant difference between the two groups regarding the mean bypass time, mean operating time, mean ICU stay, and mean length of hospital stay. Conclusions: Beating heart mitral valve replacement is equally safe as the arrested heart technique. Thus, it is recommended as an appropriate alternative to the arrested heart technique for mitral valve replacement.
Discovering vessel activities at sea using AIS data: Mapping of fishing footprints

Maritime Situational Awareness (MSA), the capability of understanding events, circumstances and activities within and impacting the maritime environment, can be greatly improved by the automatic identification and classification of vessel activity. Enhancing coverage of existing technologies such as Automatic Identification System (AIS) provides the possibility to integrate and enrich services and information already available in the maritime domain. In this paper, we propose a method that automatically extracts knowledge from ship reporting positioning data. In particular, we apply this architecture to the practical scenario of automatically discovering fishing areas based on historical AIS data broadcast by fishing vessels.
Deriving Linguistic Variation from Learnability Conditions : the Chunking Procedure ∗

A parametric model must not only account for linguistic variation but also provide elements that guide the learner in the process of acquiring a particular I-language. Indeed, we stress that the central problem of parametric theory is the so-called Plato’s problem (how do humans learn a language? ), whereas what we may call Greenberg’s problem (what is the shape and degree of linguistic variability? ) is derivative. We review several macroand micro-parameters and we show that they do not satisfy certain intuitive learnability conditions, whereby they are not plausible learning paths, nor plausible elements of UG. This leads us to explore a different parametric approach, which conjoins, on one hand, a mechanism of data analysis parametrically defined (the Chunking Procedure) arguably used by the Language Acquisition Device to attain a morphological analysis of its Primary Linguistic Data and, on the other, bootstrapping mechanisms that use the attained morphological analysis to specify more abstract syntactic properties of the target language, the clustering properties which standard parameters range over.
IMPACT OF GREY WATER HEAT RECOVERY ON THE ELECTRICAL DEMAND OF DOMESTIC HOT WATER HEATERS

Grey water heat exchangers (GWHE) are used to recuperate part of the energy contained in grey waters. The configuration used in this study recuperates part of the energy contained in the grey water from showers to pre-heat domestic hot water. Previous simulations studies have shown that this configuration can recuperate part of the energy that would otherwise be lost and allow the use of smaller electric domestic hot water (DHW) tanks. This paper focuses on the impact that GWHE have on peak electrical demand from electric DHW tanks. Simulations are performed using TRNSYS with a standard DHW tank model and a special GWHE model. A total of ten different yearly water draw profiles are statistically generated at 1 minute intervals. This small time step is required in order to capture the transient effects in the GWHE. It is shown that the aggregated effect of these profiles corresponds to the electrical consumption measurements performed on 600 residential electric DHW tanks. Simulation results show that GWHE have an impact on the peak electrical demand with reductions of 119.4 Watts (10.4% reduction) at 8:00 and 184.0 Watts (21.5% reduction) at 22:00. On an annual basis, the energy required for DHW heating is 4501 and 5299 kW-hr with and without a GWHE, respectively.
PENGARUH SIZE, RETURN ON ASSETS DAN FINANCIAL LEVERAGE PADA TINGKAT UNDERPRICING PENAWARAN SAHAM PERDANA DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA

ABSTRAK Underpricing adalah suatu fenomena dimana harga saham lebih rendah pada saat perusahaan melakukan penawaran perdananya di pasar primer. Pada saat penawaran saham pertama kalinya ini, harga ditentukan oleh emiten (perusahan) dan Underwriter (penjamin emisi). Sedangkan di pasar sekunder harga ditentukan oleh hasil mekanisme penawaran dan permintaan. Perusahaan yang melakukan penawaran perdana menghindari terjadinya underpricing , karena perusahaan tidak mendapatkan dana yang maksimal dari penjualan saham perdananya. Berdasarkan pernyataan tersebut peneliti bertujuan meneliti pengaruh ukuran perusahaan, return on asset (ROA), dan financial leverage terhadap tingkat underpricing pada perusahaan yang menggunakan kebijakan IPO di Bursa Efek Indonesia tahun 2008-2011. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode pengambilan sampel dengan kreteria tertentu memperoleh 40 perusahaan. Kata kunci: underpricing, ukuran perusahaan, return on asset (ROA) dan financial leverage
The First Pillar and the French Experience ∗

This paper argues that the exchange rate regime between France and Germany prior to the EURO has led to a destabilized French demand for money function. To that aim the German dominance hypothesis is re-stated and empirically confirmed in a covered interest rate parity model with non-stationary variables and time varying parameters. Furthermore, in a multivariate time series model a stable long-run money supply but no money demand function is found. This leaves the ECB with some uncertainty with respect to the feasibility of the monetary targeting approach expressed in its so-called first pillar of monetary policy strategy. JEL classification: C32, E43, E51
Specialized Recruitment: An Examination of the Motivations and Expectations of Pre-Service Urban Educators

This paper reports on a cross-sectional analysis of survey data collected on over three hundred pre-service teachers enrolled in a specialized teacher education program focused on the preparation of teachers for high-poverty urban schools. Initial analyses indicate that the background characteristics of individuals attracted to the specialized program and their reasons for entering the profession differ from those of pre-service teachers in the population at large. Program entrants tend to be motivated by activist ideals, expressing high levels of initial commitment to teaching and to furthering social justice through education. Laying the groundwork for comparison studies, the author argues that the specialized recruitment of pre-service teachers may combine with specialized teacher preparation to increase the retention of educators in high-poverty, hard-to staff schools.
Quantitative Assessment of Global and Regional Air Trappings Using Non-Rigid Registration and Regional Specific Volume Change of Inspiratory/Expiratory CT Scans: Studies on Healthy Volunteers and Asthmatics

Objective The purpose of this study was to compare air trapping in healthy volunteers with asthmatics using pulmonary function test and quantitative data, such as specific volume change from paired inspiratory CT and registered expiratory CT. Materials and Methods Sixteen healthy volunteers and 9 asthmatics underwent paired inspiratory/expiratory CT. ΔSV, which represents the ratio of air fraction released after exhalation, was measured with paired inspiratory and anatomically registered expiratory CT scans. Air trapping indexes, ΔSV0.4 and ΔSV0.5, were defined as volume fraction of lung below 0.4 and 0.5 ΔSV, respectively. To assess the gravity effect of air-trapping, ΔSV values of anterior and posterior lung at three different levels were measured and ΔSV ratio of anterior lung to posterior lung was calculated. Color-coded ΔSV map of the whole lung was generated and visually assessed. Mean ΔSV, ΔSV0.4, and ΔSV0.5 were compared between healthy volunteers and asthmatics. In asthmatics, correlation between air trapping indexes and clinical parameters were assessed. Results Mean ΔSV, ΔSV0.4, and ΔSV0.5 in asthmatics were significantly higher than those in healthy volunteer group (all p < 0.05). ΔSV values in posterior lung in asthmatics were significantly higher than those in healthy volunteer group (p = 0.049). In asthmatics, air trapping indexes, such as ΔSV0.5 and ΔSV0.4, showed negative strong correlation with FEF25-75, FEV1, and FEV1/FVC. ΔSV map of asthmatics showed abnormal geographic pattern in 5 patients (55.6%) and disappearance of anterior-posterior gradient in 3 patients (33.3%). Conclusion Quantitative assessment of ΔSV (the ratio of air fraction released after exhalation) shows the difference in extent of air trapping between health volunteers and asthmatics.
A history of Ulster

Volatile and dynamic, Ulster has for centuries been at the eye of the storm between Ireland and Britain, the complexity of its history embroiling its people and baffling the outside world. A History of Ulster achieves what few other books have attempted a comprehensive account of the province, spanning nine thousand years of social, political and economic life: the early settlements; the Viking and Norman invasions; the plantations and the Penal Laws; the rise of the United Irishmen and Orangeism; the Act of Union; emigration and the Great Famine; the linen industry and shipbuilding; the Home Rule crisis and partition; the Second World War and the blitz; civil rights and the turmoil of the current troubles. First published in 1992, A History of Ulster was an instant success with historians and the wider reading public, and quickly became established as the definitive book on the subject. For this edition Jonathan Bardon has written an introductory chapter covering events since 1992. His description of the process that saw the region emerge from thirty years of brutal conflict and move haltingly towards peace is a fitting coda to this classic of Irish history. Through compelling narrative and masterly use of contemporary sources, this major new history disentangles the past and captures Ulster in all its energy and obduracy.
Ghost condensate and generalized second law

Dubovsky and Sibiryakov recently proposed a scenario in which particles of different species propagate with different speeds due to their direct couplings to ghost condensate. It was argued that this extended version of ghost condensate allows a gedanken experiment leading to violation of the generalized second law. However, in the original ghost condensate scenario, difference in propagation speeds is suppressed by M2/MPl2, where M is the order parameter of spontaneous Lorentz breaking and MPl is the Planck scale. In this case the energy transfer necessary for the gedanken experiment is so slow that the timescale of decrease of entropy, if any, is always longer than the Jeans timescale of ghost condensate. Hence the generalized second law is not violated by the gedanken experiment in the original ghost condensate scenario. This conclusion trivially extends to gauged ghost condensation by taking into account accretion of gauged ghost condensate into a black hole.