Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards an Approach to Early Modern Privacy: The Retirement of the Great Condé

In 1676 the Prince de Condé, Louis II de Bourbon-Condé, known as le Grand Condé (1621–1686) retired from his position as general in the army of Louis XIV (1638–1715) and withdrew to his country seat, the Château de Chantilly. Several contemporary commentators described Condé’s move as a withdrawal into a vie privée. 1 The biographers’ choice of words invites the question whether Condé’s retirement can be said to be a case of private life, let alone an instance of privacy. The answer to this question is a hearty ‘no’. In his retirement Condé was neither alone nor enveloped by secrecy nor protected from prying
The Antiviral Drug Efavirenz in Breast Cancer Stem Cell Therapy

Simple Summary Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for tumour initiation, chemo- and radiotherapy resistance and cancer recurrence. CSCs display plasticity that enables them to alter their phenotype and function making them challenging to eliminate. In this study we explore the effects of an antiretroviral medication used to treat HIV/AIDS (Efavirenz) on cancer stem cells derived from multiple breast cancer cell lines. Efavirenz has been previously found to be effective in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancers, and here we show that it is also capable of altering CSC numbers, cell morphology, RNA/microRNA gene expression and levels of epithelial/mesenchymal CSC subtypes. This study shows that, with Efavirenz, it is possible to not only eliminate primary breast cancer cells, but also to promote changes in cell morphology. Abstract Although many breast cancer therapies show initial success in the treatment of the primary tumour, they often fail to eliminate a sub-population of cells known as cancer stem cells (CSCs). These cells are recognised for their self-renewal properties and for their capacity for differentiation often leading to chemo/radio-resistance. The antiviral drug Efavirenz has been shown to be effective in eliminating triple-negative breast cancer cells, and here we examine its effect on breast CSCs. The effects of Efavirenz on CSCs for several breast cancer cell lines were investigated by examining cellular changes upon drug treatment, including CSC numbers, morphology, RNA/microRNA expression and levels of epithelial/mesenchymal CSC subtypes. Efavirenz treatment resulted in a decrease in the size and number of tumorspheres and a reduction in epithelial-type CSC levels, but an increase in mesenchymal-type CSCs. Efavirenz caused upregulation of several CSC-related genes as well as miR-21, a CSC marker and miR-182, a CSC suppressor gene. We conclude that Efavirenz alters the phenotype and expression of key genes in breast CSCs, which has important potential therapeutic implications.
Rapid Seismic Rehabilitation Strategy: Concept and Testing of Cable Bracing with Couples Resisting Damper

The goal of this study is to design and evaluate simple and rapid seismic retrofit devices for relatively small rehabilitation projects for steel structures. These designs are consistent with the tenets of sustainable design and will result in a more resilient building stock as well as minimizing environmental and economical effects and social consequences during the rehabilitation project. To achieve these goals, a unique approach to designing supplemental systems by using tension-only elements is proposed, one that eliminates undesirable global and local buckling. The first generation of these devices, a bracing system consisting of cables and a central energy dissipating device [couples resisting (CORE) damper], is presented in this paper. Both analytical studies with advanced and simplified models and proof-of-concept testing demonstrated stable, highly efficient performance of the system under seismic loads. Preliminary applications of the CORE damper system to the retrofitting of a braced steel fram.
R&D subsidiaries? innovative performance ?revisited?: a multilevel approach.

This paper examines the level of innovative performance sourced from foreign research and development (RD headquarters (HQ), host location and R&D subsidiary. Although numerous research studies have focused their interest on the above aspect, the multilevel nature of these three parameters is still greatly ignored. The empirical analysis draws on a dataset of 173 R&D subsidiaries classified by 57 parent companies (HQs) and 25 host locations (foreign countries). Accordingly, the contribution of this study is principally of a methodological nature, since a cross-classified multilevel model (MLM) is implemented using three different data sources (patent data, survey-based data and country-level data). The results suggest that the HQ? s influence is almost four times more important than host location aspects with respect to their total impact on the R&D subsidiary? s innovative performance. As concerns the multilevel regression results, it is suggested that collaboration between scientists belonging to different nationalities within the R&D subsidiary is a positive indicator of innovative performance. Furthermore, R&D subsidiaries mandated by their HQs to develop new products rather than improvements on existing inventions are found to perform better.
Oxytocin has ‘tend-and-defend’ functionality in group conflict across social vertebrates

Across vertebrate species, intergroup conflict confronts individuals with a tension between group interests best served by participation in conflict and personal interest best served by not participating. Here, we identify the neurohormone oxytocin as pivotal to the neurobiological regulation of this tension in distinctly different group-living vertebrates, including fishes, birds, rodents, non-human primates and humans. In the context of intergroup conflict, a review of emerging work on pro-sociality suggests that oxytocin and its fish and birds homologues, isotocin and mesotocin, respectively, can elicit participation in group conflict and aggression. This is because it amplifies (i) concern for the interests of genetically related or culturally similar ‘in-group’ others and (ii) willingness to defend against outside intruders and enemy conspecifics. Across a range of social vertebrates, oxytocin can induce aggressive behaviour to ‘tend-and-defend’ the in-group during intergroup contests. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Intergroup conflict across taxa’.
Radio Frequency Emissions From Streamer Collisions in Subbreakdown Fields

Lightning emits short wavelength radio waves from the very high frequency (VHF, 30–300 MHz) to ultrahigh‐frequency (UHF, 0.3–3 GHz) range. A lightning subprocess that has recently been shown to emit in this frequency range is streamer collisions. In this work, we report a modeling study of streamers colliding in ambient electric fields ranging from subbreakdown to overbreakdown values. The streamers are initiated from isolated hydrometeors similar in size to those typically seen in thunderstorms. In every case presented, the collision produces emissions extending into the UHF range. The emission spectrum from the subbreakdown ambient field cases falls off faster as frequency increases compared with the overbreakdown cases. It appears that the length of the streamers upon colliding, under the same ambient field, has a negligible effect on the shape of the spectrum. The results are important for interpreting observations of lightning processes that involve streamer collisions.
Influence of Some Antibiotics and Essential Oils Used Alone or in Combination on the Vitality of Presumptive Probiotic Lactic acid Bacteria

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro antibacterial activity of selected antibiotics and essential oils alone or in combination, on selected presumptive probiotic lactic acid bacteria. Study Design: Experimental studies. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Microbiology of the University of Yaounde I between August 2017 and December 2017 (5 months). Methodology: The chemical composition of five essential oils was determined by gas chromatography coupled with Solid-phase micro extraction. Then the sensitivity of four lactic acid bacteria to the essential oils and four antibiotics was assessed by the well diffusion and macrodilution method. Subsequently, two essential oils active on these bacteria and broad spectrum antibiotics were combined according to the central composite design plan. Results: In general, the chemical composition of essential oils is very diverse, with the example of carvacrol found only in Origanum compactum at 53.24% and thymol in Thymus vulgaris at 56.19% and in Origanum compactum at 15.28%. The antibacterial activity shows that the majority of antibiotics used are active on the bacteria in the study compared to the essential oils where two were active (Origanum compactum and Cymbopogon winterianus). The evaluation of the combinations of essential oils and antibiotics in terms of kinetics has given us three cases: the first case is the one with no acidity or no growth at all; the second is the one where growth is normal; the third where growth is delayed with a more pronounced latency phase. Conclusion: This study suggest that the effect of essential oils and medicinal plant used alone or in combination to antibiotics on the gut microbiota have to be evaluated for validation as well as their toxicity activities before using them for human therapy.
Exploring the relationships between teacher-led and learner-led mobile learning activities and their impacts on teacher evaluation results

ABSTRACT The impact of teacher-led and learner-led mobile learning activities on increasing learners’ motivation and learning outcomes has been reported as effective. However, the relationship between them remains unclear. In this study, the authors investigated the relationship through survey (n = 366) and interview (n = 7) data collected from students in one of the most prestigious medical schools in China. Three lessons are learned. First, confirmatory factor analysis validated a two-factor model on the use of mobile devices. The participants spend more time on studying with teacher-led than student-led activities. Second, structural equation modelling results suggest that the use of teacher-led mobile activities has a positive impact on learner-led activities and students’ satisfaction with overall teaching quality. Third, students perceive mobile devices as useful learning tools when teacher-led activities are present, whereas in the absence of teachers’ involvement, student-led activities are perceived as less efficient than other forms of learning.
Fully Dynamic Discrete-Time ΔΣ ADC Using Closed-Loop Two-Stage Cascoded Floating Inverter Amplifiers

This brief proposes a fully dynamic discrete-time <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta }{\Sigma }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ADC using closed-loop two-stage cascoded floating inverter amplifiers (FIA). The proposed FIA uses a non-cascoded FIA as the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1^{\mathrm{ st}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> stage and a cascoded one as the 2 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{\mathrm{ nd}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. By using this arrangement as well as applying metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors for floating reservoir capacitors, it stably achieves high gain even with the input common-mode voltage fluctuation without an additional CMFB nor calibrations. The proposed ADC fabricated in a 65nm standard CMOS process realizes a fully dynamic operation without calibration and achieves 88.5dB SNDR, 97.9dB SFDR with an OSR of 256. It consumes 43.5<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mu }\text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> from a 1V supply at a 10MHz sampling frequency.
Indirect Solar Cooking Using a Novel Fresnel Lens and Determination of its Energy and Exergy Efficiencies

This paper proposes a new kind of system for effective indirect solar cooking by utilizing a novel Fresnel lens. A semi-cylindrical vessel (solar boiler) for producing steam and a jacketed cooker was designed, fabricated and tested experimentally for cooking applications. The solar boiler produced high temperature steam of 146°C and pressure of 3.15 barg which was used for cooking purposes. The international standard for evaluating cooker performance was implemented on this system and heating power was determined to be 51.2 Watt at a temperature difference of 50°C. The maximum energy and exergy efficiencies for boiler were found to be 30.18 % and 2.86%, respectively. This represents a 92% increment in energy efficiency and 128.8% increment in exergy efficiency as compared to solar parabolic cookers. The maximum energy efficiency of 5.02% and maximum exergy efficiency of 0.378% were achieved in this cooking system.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Survey of Brazilian spotted fever in dogs and ticks in Itu, São Paulo state, Brazil

ABSTRACT Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF) is a potentially lethal, tick-borne disease, caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii. This study investigated the circulation of bacteria of the genus Rickettsia in dogs and ticks in the urban and rural areas of Itu, a BSF-endemic area in southeastern Brazil. During 2017–2018, blood serum samples were obtained from 289 domestic dogs. Through an indirect immunofluorescence assay with antigens of R. rickettsii, R. parkeri, and R. bellii, 21.8% (63/289) of the dogs reacted serologically to at least one Rickettsia species, with endpoint titres ranging from 64 to 2048. A total of 877 ticks were collected from the dogs, being 404 (2 Amblyomma sculptum, 5 A. aureolatum, 1 Amblyomma ovale and 396 R. sanguineus s.l.) tested for the presence of rickettsial DNA by molecular analyses, R. rickettsii was identified in 3 R. sanguineus s.l. from dogs. Our results provide serological and molecular evidence of R. rickettsii infection between dogs and ticks in a BSF-endemic area, where Amblyomma ticks have been previously implicated as vectors of the disease agent, R. rickettsii, to humans, however the role of R. sanguineus s.l. as a vector of R. rickettsii for humans in Brazil cannot be neglected.
A new model for the FDTD analysis of the shielding performances of thin composite structures

A new model is proposed for the transient analysis of the electromagnetic field penetration through air-embedded conductive structures realized by thin multilayered composite panels. A magnetic field controlled formulation is developed in the frequency-domain to express the tangential components of the electric field on the external faces of the composite slab as a function of the tangential components of the magnetic field by means of the surface and transfer impedances of the thin panel coated on a perfect magnetic medium. The corresponding time-domain model is obtained by applying the inverse Fourier transform to the field quantities; an efficient piecewise linear convolution procedure is developed for the numerical calculation of the resulting convolution integrals. The model is implemented in one-dimensional (1-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) FDTD codes and applied to the analysis of different shielding configurations, both in the frequency and in the time domain.
Probability density functions of the differential group delay in optical fiber communication systems

Fiber communication systems limited by polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) are usually analyzed using statistics. The probability density function (pdf) of the differential group delay (DGD) is then crucial to know. There are cases for which the commonly used Maxwellian pdf is only approximate, e.g., PMD emulators, or systems with components having single components with large deterministic PMD. Those cases are discussed in this paper, and their pdfs are derived. To do this, we present a very general theory that allows for the derivation of the pdf for almost any birefringent transmission line. As a side result, we are able to prove that the square-sum concatenation formula is valid in almost every case of interest, even if the pdf is far from Maxwellian.
Sampled-data modelling and analysis of the power stage of PWM DC-DC converters

The power stage of the PWM DC–DC converter is modelled and analysed using the sampled-data approach. The work addresses both continuous and discontinuous conduction mode under voltage mode control, and continuous conduction mode under current mode control. For each configuration, nonlinear and linearized sampled-data models, and control-to-output transfer functions are derived. Using this approach, both current mode control and discontinuous conduction mode can be handled systematically in a unified framework, making the modelling for these cases simpler than with the use of averaging. The results of this paper are similar to results of Tymerski, but they are presented in a simpler manner tailored to facilitate immediate application to specific circuits. It is shown how sampling the output at certain instants improves the obtained phase response. Frequency responses obtained from the sampled-data model are more accurate than those obtained from various averaged models. In addition, a new (‘lifted’) continuous-time switching frequency-dependent model of the power stage is derived from the sampled-data model. Detailed examples illustrate the modelling tools presented here and also provide a means for comparing results obtained from the sampled-data approach with those obtained from averaging.
Social challenges of adolescent secondary school students in Ghana: evidence from Cape Coast schools

ABSTRACT The study investigated the social challenges of adolescents in secondary schools in Ghana. A cross-sectional survey design was employed. Data were collected from 376 students from five public senior high schools within Cape Coast Metropolis via a multistage sampling procedure. The data were analysed using means, independent samples t-test and multiple linear regression. The results revealed that the most prevailing social challenges students experience are feeling of rejection by friends, fear or concern about the future, and feeling of not being attracted to the opposite sex. This study provides preliminary understanding into a group of adolescent students that are more susceptible to social challenges. Female adolescent, early adolescent, students without residence on campus and students in their final year of study are more likely to experience social challenges than other groups. Moreover, the study revealed that students prefer seeking help from teachers and parents rather than school counsellors.
A novel soft-switched PWM current source inverter with voltage clamped circuit

This paper develops a new series resonant (current resonant) DC link inverter with a voltage clamped circuit. The proposed circuit has a fixed pulse frequency operation. The fixed pulse frequency at 20-50 kHz enables the system to work without audible noise, and to involve the much smaller-sized DC inductance and output capacitors compared with hard-switched current source inverters. The proposed circuit has a voltage clamped circuit which could control the voltage stress of the switches. In this paper, explanations of the new circuit configuration, the simulation, design considerations, and some experimental results are included.
Neuron intelligent control for hydraulic turbine generators

In this paper, Wang and Chen's (1991) intelligent control using an adaptive neuron for hydraulic turbine generators is studied. With the abilities of self-learning and associative search,the neuron intelligent controller runs without modeling. Such a controller is very simple and almost has no parameters to determine. The real-time dynamic simulation results show its good performance. It is very convenient to use in practice. <<ETX>>
Rare presentation of FDX2‐related disorder and untargeted global metabolomics findings

We present the case of a 20‐year‐old male with a history of myopathy and multiple episodes of rhabdomyolysis, and lactic acidosis. He needed hemodialysis for severe rhabdomyolysis‐related acute renal failure at the time of initial presentation (age 10 years). Exome sequencing detected a homozygous likely pathogenic variant in FDX2 (c.12G>T, p.M4I). The FDX2 gene encodes a mitochondrial protein, ferredoxin 2, that is involved in the biogenesis of Fe–S clusters. Biallelic pathogenic variants in FDX2 have previously been associated with episodic mitochondrial myopathy with or without optic atrophy and reversible leukoencephalopathy. Only two cases with FDX2‐related rhabdomyolysis as a predominant feature have been reported in medical literature. Here, we report a third patient with FDX2‐related recurrent, severe episodes of rhabdomyolysis and lactic acidosis. He does not have optic atrophy or leukoencephalopathy. This is the oldest patient reported with FDX2‐related disorder and he has significantly elevated CK during episodes of rhabdomyolysis. In addition, we describe untargeted global metabolomic findings during an episode of metabolic decompensation, shedding light on the biochemical pathway perturbation associated with this ultra‐rare genetic disorder.
Analysis of the Oil Squeezing Power Losses of a Spur Gear Pair by Mean of CFD Simulations

Efficiency is becoming more and more a main concern in the design of power transmissions and the demand for high efficiency gearboxes is continuously increasing. Also the new restrictive euro standards for the reduction of pollutant emissions from light vehicles impose to improve the efficiency of the engines but also of the gear transmissions. For this reason the resources dedicated to this goal are continuously increasing. The first step to improve efficiency is to have appropriate models to compare different design solutions. Even if the efficiency of transmissions is quit high if compared to the efficiency of the engines and appropriate models to predict the power losses due to gear meshing, to bearings and to seals already exist, in order to have a further improvement, some aspects like the power losses related to the oil churning, oil squeezing and windage are still to be investigated. These losses rise from the interaction between the moving or rotating elements of the transmission and the lubricant. In previous papers [39, 40, 41 43, 44], the authors have investigated the churning losses of planetary speed reducers (in which there is a relative motion between the ―planets + planet carrier‖ and the lubricant). This report is focused on the oil squeezing power losses. This kind of losses is associated with the pumping of the oil at the gear mesh, where there is a contraction of the volume between the mating gears due to the rotation of them and a consequent overpressure. This overpressure implies a fluid flow primarily in the axial direction and this, for viscous fluids, means additional power losses and a decrease of the efficiency. In this work this phenomena has been studied by means of some CFD (computational fluid dynamic) simulations with a VOF (volume of fluid) approach. The influence of some operating conditions like the rotational speed and the lubricant temperature have been studied. The results of this study have been included in a model to predict the efficiency of the whole transmission.