Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Soda-can sized thermophotovoltaic battery replacement

A portable cylindrical thermophotovoltaic (TPV) battery replacement is described. This small 8 cm diameter unit is designed to consume fuel at a rate of approximately 200 W and to produce 20 W of DC power. It consists of a cylindrical TPV receiver assembly using simple diffused junction GaSb IR cells along with a novel omega recuperator and a novel doped ceramic matched IR emitter. With a TPV conversion efficiency of 10%, this lightweight TPV cylinder along with a fuel cylinder can have a very high specific energy of approximately 1000 Wh/kg. This specific energy is 6.5 times higher than the specific energy for a Li-ion battery with a similar power rating making this TPV unit very lightweight. The key is the 10% system efficiency. An earlier design for a TPV battery replacement is also reviewed with the key differences in the recuperator, IR emitter, and TPV converter circuit enumerated. The highlighted improvements then lead to the 10% overall system efficiency.
A small proportion of people with dementia and neuropsychiatric symptoms experience clinically significant worsening when antidepressants are discontinued

Commentary on: Bergh S, Selbaek G, Engedal K. Discontinuation of antidepressants in people with dementia and neuropsychiatric symptoms (DESEP study): double blind, randomised, parallel group, placebo controlled trial. BMJ 2012;344:e1566. Depression is common in dementia with prevalence over 20%,1 causing distress, reducing quality of life, exacerbating impairment, increasing mortality and increasing caregiver stress.2 Treating depression is a clinical priority to improve well-being, quality of life and function in people with dementia. Depression may also underpin other neuropsychiatric symptoms such as agitation.3 The overall evidence does not, however, suggest that antidepressants are an effective treatment for depression in Alzheimer's disease (AD),4–6 although there is preliminary evidence for potential benefits of some antidepressants …
Gingival crevicular fluid and its immune mediators in the proteomic era

The discovery of biomarkers for periodontal disease requires an in-depth understanding of the molecular basis of the initiation and progression of the disease. The gingival crevicular fluid is a biological medium suitable for identifying and measuring such biomarkers because it can be easily and noninvasively sampled from the immediate vicinity of the affected tissues. An ever-expanding pool of gingival crevicular fluid proteins associated with periodontal health or disease has been catalogued over the years, particularly with the recent implementation of proteomic technologies. 'Proteomics' refers to the large-scale study of entire arrays of proteins expressed by a genome and present in a cell, tissue, biological fluid or organism. Hence, such technologies provide a broad qualitative and quantitative insight of the proteins present in gingival crevicular fluid. Pertinent studies have amassed on the information gathered to date on protein signatures in periodontal health and disease, and have confirmed the nature of the immunological host response. This review discusses the application of proteomic technologies in characterizing the molecular networks present in gingival crevicular fluid, their potential for discovery of biomarkers that are meaningful for clinical practice, and the associated technical challenges.
THE CHILDREN’S COPING STRATEGIESCHECKLIST-REVISION1: A VALIDATION STUDYIN THE ITALIAN POPULATION

This study was aimed to validate the Italian version of the Children’s Coping Strategies Checklist-Revision1 (CCSC-R1; Ayers & Sandler, 1999). Seven hundred and forty-seven youngsters (50.5% boys) from two age groups (children: aged 9-10; early adolescents: aged 11-14) participated in the study. Dimensionality of the CCSC-R1 was explored by means of confirmatory factor analyses and testing alternative models. The scale internal consistency and invariance over age and gender were examined, as well as genderand age-related differences in the CCSC-R1 scores. The scale concurrent validity was explored by investigating the associations of the CCSC-R1 dimensions with forms of involvement in bullying and social status among peers in a subsample (N = 255). Analyses provided evidence that a five-factor structure model was most effective. Internal validity of the scale and its partial scalar invariance over age and gender were confirmed. Several of the CCSC-R1 dimensions were associated with involvement in bullying and social status in the expected directions.
Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension Mimicking Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

OBJECTIVEAn excruciating headache of instantaneous onset is known as a thunderclap headache. A subarachnoid hemorrhage is the prototypical cause, but other serious disorders may also present with a thunderclap headache, including cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, carotid artery dissection, and pituitary apoplexy. We report a group of patients with thunderclap headaches as the initial manifestation of spontaneous intracranial hypotension caused by a spinal cerebrospinal fluid leak. METHODSAmong 28 patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension due to a documented spinal cerebrospinal fluid leak, four (14%) initially experienced an excruciating headaches of instantaneous onset. RESULTSThe mean age of the four patients (two men and two women) was 35 years (range, 24–45 yr). Nuchal rigidity was present in the three patients who sought early medical attention, and they underwent emergency computed tomographic scanning, lumbar puncture, and cerebral angiography to rule out an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. The delay between the onset of headache and diagnosis of intracranial hypotension ranged from 4 days to 5 weeks. A fourth patient did not seek medical attention until 1 month after the ictus. CONCLUSIONSpontaneous intracranial hypotension should be included in the differential diagnosis of thunderclap headache, even when meningismus is present.
Dust emissivity in the star-forming filament OMC 2/3 (Corrigendum)

We present new measurements of the dust emissivity index, beta, for the high-mass, star-forming OMC 2/3 filament. We combine 160-500 um data from Herschel with long-wavelength observations at 2 mm and fit the spectral energy distributions across a ~ 2 pc long, continuous section of OMC 2/3 at 15000 AU (0.08 pc) resolution. With these data, we measure beta and reconstruct simultaneously the filtered-out large-scale emission at 2 mm. We implement both variable and fixed values of beta, finding that beta = 1.7 - 1.8 provides the best fit across most of OMC 2/3. These beta values are consistent with a similar analysis carried out with filtered Herschel data. Thus, we show that beta values derived from spatial filtered emission maps agree well with those values from unfiltered data at the same resolution. Our results contradict the very low beta values (~ 0.9) previously measured in OMC 2/3 between 1.2 mm and 3.3 mm data, which we attribute to elevated fluxes in the 3.3 mm observations. Therefore, we find no evidence or rapid, extensive dust grain growth in OMC 2/3. Future studies with Herschel data and complementary ground-based long-wavelength data can apply our technique to obtain robust determinations of beta in nearby cold molecular clouds.
How Difficult are Executive Remuneration Performance Targets

This paper provides a descriptive analysis of the use of performance targets in executive remuneration plans and its difficulty and attainability relative to past, expected and realised performance. From 31 December 2002, UK firms are required under the Directors‟ Remuneration Report Regulations (DRRR) 2002 to disclose performance targets and benchmarks used in executive remuneration plans in the Remuneration Report. This study uses the first instance of the disclosure of the targets and benchmark from the financial year 2002/3 for a sample of 1269 plans from 440 largest UK firms. Results indicate that earnings per share (eps) and total shareholder return (TSR) are the two most popular performance measures used in long term remuneration plans, while most firms provide vague information regarding performance measures in short-term (annual bonus) plans. More firms are using long term incentive plans (LTIPs) in place of share option plans relative to observations made by Conyon et al (2000). Plans that use eps as a performance measure often benchmark against growth relative to the retail price index (RPI) while plans that use TSR often benchmark against a peer group. For a sub-sample of 291 plans using eps as a performance measure, target attainability is analysed relative to past, forecasted and realised eps growth. Results indicate that targets set in executive remuneration contracts are highly attainable, with targets being met six times out of ten. The use of lower and upper threshold targets help control attainability, but less than half of plans specify an upper threshold target.
Reversal of the anaesthetic action of sodium gamma-hydroxybutyrate.

Physostigmine was administered intravenously to 25 patients, anaesthetised with sodium gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and their emergence from anesthesia was studied. Physostigmine (2 mg) brought about rapid, safe, reliable and sustained awakening after a "latent period" varying from 2-10 minutes (mean 6-2 minutes+/-S.D. 2-2) in 24 patients. In the one patient not awake at 10 minutes, a second dose of physostigmine produced awakening in an additional 8 minutes. No serious side effects were attributable to the physostigmine. This finding may warrant a reconsideration of the place of GHB in anaesthetic practice.
Are Institutional Investors with Multiple Blockholdings Effective Monitors?

We examine whether institutions’ monitoring effectiveness varies with the number of stocks they hold as the largest institutional blockholder. We find that a larger holding number is associated with higher nonroutine CEO turnover-performance sensitivity, more frequent proxy voting against management, and higher returns around forced CEO turnover announcements and 13D filings. These results are particularly evident when institutions have multiple blockholdings in the same industry, when they have prior monitoring experience in their portfolio firms, or when their holding periods are longer. Our results suggest that information advantages from multiple blockholdings are important channels through which institutions perform effective monitoring.
Women's empowerment and the goal of parity between the sexes in schooling in India

Greater ‘empowerment’ of women in India, measured by their education and autonomy, is associated with a reduction in the extent to which their sons' educational attainment exceeds that of their daughters. Improving both father's and mother's education increases the educational attainment of daughters more than that of sons, but raising mother's education is associated with a significantly greater reduction of the difference in attainment between sons and daughters. In families in which the mother has completed primary education, the average difference between boys and girls in years spent in school is almost a third of a year lower than it is where the mother has less education. A one-standard-deviation increase in mother's autonomy is associated with an increase in daughter's schooling of more than half a month but has no correlation with son's education. The findings highlight the importance of women's empowerment for the intergenerational transfer of equality in educational attainment of the sexes.
PTHrP and Skeletal Development

Abstract: Parathyroid hormone‐related protein (PTHrP) participates in the regulation of endochondral bone development. After the cartilage mold is established in fetal life, perichondrial cells and chondrocytes at the ends of the mold synthesize PTHrP. This ligand then acts on PTH/PTHrP receptors on chondrocytes. As chondrocytes go through a program of proliferation and then further differentiation into post‐mitotic, hypertrophic chondrocytes, PTHrP action keeps chondrocytes proliferating and delays their further differentiation. Indian hedgehog (Ihh) is synthesized by chondrocytes that have just stopped proliferating and is required for synthesis of PTHrP. The feedback loop between PTHrP and Ihh serves to regulate the pace of chondrocyte differentiation and the sites at which perichondrial cells first differentiate into osteoblasts. Activation of the PTH/PTHrP receptor leads to stimulation of both Gs and Gq family heterotrimeric G proteins. Genetic analyses demonstrate that Gs activation mediates the action of PTHrP to keep chondrocytes proliferating, while Gq activation opposes this action. Downstream from Gs activation, synthesis of the cyclin‐cdk inhibitor, p57, is suppressed, thereby increasing the pool of proliferating chondrocytes. PTHrP's actions to delay chondrocyte differentiation are mediated by the phosphorylation of the transcription factor, SOX9, and by suppression of synthesis of mRNA encoding the transcription factor, Runx2. These pathways and undoubtedly others cooperate to regulate the pace of differentiation of growth plate chondrocytes in response to PTHrP.
Seasonal movements of killer whales between Iceland and Scotland

Understanding the movements and distribution of killer whales Orcinus orca is important for evaluating the threats they face, as well as their impact as top predators in different ecosystems. Killer whales in the Northeast Atlantic are thought to follow specific prey stocks but their seasonal movements are still poorly understood. Here, we used recent killer whale photo- graphic data collected in Iceland and Scotland to show that some individual whales repeatedly move between these locations. Unlike other killer whales that appear to follow the movements of particular herring stocks, the whales we studied appear to feed on the Icelandic summer-spawning herring stock in winter, and then move outside the summer distribution range of this herring stock. Based on these new photographic recaptures and previously published movements of killer whales between Iceland and Scotland, we infer that movements between both locations have been occurring for several years at least. Although based on only 7 identified individuals, our results provide the first evidence of regular seasonal movements between Iceland and Scotland, and suggest individual or group variability in the movement patterns of killer whales that prey on herring. Understanding killer whale movements will aid our understanding of prey specialization, the whales' potential impacts on local prey resources, and their susceptibility to fluctuations in the availability of different prey species.
Effects of equity and debt financing on SME performance in Malaysia

This study is to examine and verify the existence of relationship between the source of capital via equity and debt financing, and the performance of small and medium enterprise (hereafter SME) in Malaysia.The study is run based on of postal survey using cluster sampling method. It comprises of 177 samples of Malaysian SMEs involving in manufacturing and agriculture sectors. Subsequently, two research hypotheses are developed and analysed.It is found that equity financing has significant positive relationship on the business performance, while debt financing is insignificant.The study suggests that SMEs in Malaysia to employ equity financing as a source of business capital, for its potential (capability) in affecting the performance of business.
A plea for data on the sexes of human offspring and the time of formation of the zygotes within the fruitful cycle.

Sir, Consider the proposition that the sex of a mammalian zygote is associated with the time of its formation within the mother’s cycle (herein Proposition 1). Hitherto, this has been regarded as, if true, a biological curiosity. However, it has been shown in a series of recent papers (James, 2008, 2009, in press) that if Proposition 1 were substantially true, then it could provide explanations for several well-established, but otherwise unexplained, phenomena including the following. (i) The sex ratio (proportion male at birth) rose during and just after hostilities in most of the belligerent countries in World Wars 1 and 2, but not in subsequent or previous smaller engagements (James, 2009). (ii) The regression of human sex ratio on duration of gestation is reverse-J-shaped. When very large quantities of data are examined, boys predominate at all reported gestations of 39 and fewer weeks, and at all reported gestations of . 42 weeks. At reported gestations of 40–42 weeks, there are almost exactly equal numbers of boys and girls (James, 1994). The reason for this phenomenon is not established, despite its relevance to the initiation of labour. The argument, sometimes advanced by obstetricians, that fetal weight (or size) initiates labour, is apparently disproved by the excess of boys among births after 42 weeks gestation. Acceptance of a counterargument (that the regression of sex ratio on gestation is caused by regression of sex ratio on time of formation within the cycle nine months earlier) is impeded by reluctance to accept Proposition 1 in the first place. Unfortunately, this remains the case, despite a meta-analysis of 10 independent studies, where the P-value of the resulting Mantel–Haenszel test statistic was 0.005 (James, 2000). To continue gathering evidence to elucidate this issue, I should like to appeal for more data relating offspring sex to the cycle day on which fruitful coitus occurred.
Atrioventricular Reverse Remodeling After Valve Repair for Chronic Severe Mitral Regurgitation: 1‐Year Follow‐Up

Chronic severe mitral regurgitation is associated with poor clinical outcome because chronic volume overload leads to hemodynamic changes and left ventricular and left atrial remodeling. Few data are available regarding left atrial volume index regression (LAVIR) and left ventricular mass index regression (LVMIR) after valve surgery for mitral regurgitation. We aimed to identify predictive correlates of LAVIR and LVMIR and to assess the relationship between these regressions.
Assessing Bond Market Integration in Asia

Development of the local bond markets has been a top priority for financial reforms in the region after the Asian financial crisis. Various initiatives have also been taken to foster the development of the regional bond market. This paper looks into the degree of integration of sovereign (government) bond markets in Asia. It provides a survey of indicators and measures to monitor the development, measure progress and assess the state of bond market integration in the region. Our empirical results broadly show that there is only weak bond market integration in the region and very little progress has taken place since 2003. The apparent lack of progress may be due to the "local" or "idiosyncratic" factors in some Asian economies.
Evaluation of state-of-the-art geodetic GPS receivers for frequency comparisons

In this paper we show results of a test campaign, designed to investigate the stability of GPS receiver clocks locked to an external frequency source. Two types of geodetic receivers and one timing receiver have been compared. The receivers were operated in pairs in zero and short baseline setups with common reference frequency. Care was taken to minimize environmental effects. The observation data were processed using both a simple carrier phase single difference algorithm and the Bernese GPS Software 5.0 in Precise Point Positioning (PPP) mode. Some shortcomings of previous studies in terms of receiver equipment and the experimental setup of the short baseline could be avoided. It is shown that using geodetic receivers and the ionosphere-free linear combination of the carrier phase observations, frequency comparisons at a level of σy(τ)=2·10−16 for averaging times of one day are feasible on a zero baseline, i.e. if all environmental effects are eliminated.
High temperature magnetism and microstructure of ferromagnetic alloy Si1−xMnx

The results of a detailed study of magnetic properties and of the microstructure of SiMn films with a small deviation from stoichiometry are presented. The aim was to reveal the origin of the high temperature ferromagnetic ordering in such compounds. Unlike SiMn single crystals with the Curie temperature ~30 K, considered Si1−xMnx compounds with x = 0.5 +Δx and Δx in the range of 0.01–0.02 demonstrate a ferromagnetic state above room temperature. Such a ferromagnetic state can be explained by the existence of highly defective B20 SiMn nanocrystallites. These defects are Si vacancies, which are suggested to possess magnetic moments. The nanocrystallites interact with each other through paramagnons (magnetic fluctuations) inside a weakly magnetic manganese silicide matrix giving rise to a long range ferromagnetic percolation cluster. The studied structures with a higher value of Δx ≈ 0.05 contained three different magnetic phases: (a)—the low temperature ferromagnetic phase related to SiMn; (b)—the above mentioned high temperature phase with Curie temperature in the range of 200–300 K depending on the growth history and (c)—superparamagnetic phase formed by separated noninteracting SiMn nanocrystallites.
A High-Dispersion Spectroscopic Survey of the Hot White Dwarfs: The IUE NEWSIPS SWP Echelle Data Set

This paper summarizes the results obtained from a comprehensive analysis of all of the SWP echelle spectra of the white dwarf stars contained in the IUE Final Archive. A total of 209 NEWSIPS spectra of 55 degenerate stars of various types have been systematically reduced and analyzed. These include, in addition to conventional white dwarfs, several examples of the hot planetary nebula central stars such as NGC 246, which represent the initial stages of He-rich degenerate evolution. A representative summary of the stellar, circumstellar, and interstellar features found to be present in these spectra is presented. For 33 of the 55 stars, multiple spectra of sufficient quality exist so that co-added spectra with improved signal-to-noise ratio can be constructed. Much previously unrecognized detail and many new features are evident in these data. In addition, it was found necessary to apply several corrections to the NEWSIPS extracted spectra. These corrections, involving the wavelength scale and flux uncertainty vector, are described.
[Use of levofloxacin in the antibiotic prophylaxis for diagnostic procedures in urology].

Chemoprophylaxis is the use of antimicrobial agents before contamination in the hope of preventing infections. The need for prophylaxis depends on the type of procedure and the risk for each individual patient. The risk for infection from urethral catheterization in a hospital setting is 5% for men and 10-20% for women, after routine cystoscopy is 4.7%, after transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) is 39%, after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is 6-43%, after transrectal biopsy of the prostate is 6.2-87%, and after shock wave lithotripsy is 5.7%. On this basis prophylactic treatment is recommended in all patients for transrectal prostate biopsy and transurethral surgery and in patients with increased risk of infection for diagnostic endoscopy of the urinary tract and SWL. Risk factors such as age, immunosuppression, metabolic dysfunction (e.g., diabetes), reduced general condition, prolonged operative time and bleeding, should be considered. Broad-spectrum cephalosporin, penicillins and fluoroquinolones are most often used. The choice of the drug also depends on its pharmacokinetic properties that should secure effective tissue levels during the procedure. Levofloxacin meets these criteria and reduces the incidence of infection after transrectal prostate biopsy and endoscopy of the urinary tract.