Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Oxford Handbook of Venture Capital

Venture capital (VC) refers to investments provided to early-stage, innovative, and high growth start-up companies. A common characteristic of all venture capital investments is that investee companies do not have cash flows to pay interest on debt or dividends on equity. Rather, investments are made with a view towards capital gain on exit. The most sought after exit routs are an initial public offering (IPO), where a company lists on a stock exchange for the first time, and an acquisition exit (trade sale), where the company is sold in entirety to another company. However, VCs may exit by secondary sales, where the entrepreneur retains his or her share but the VC sells to another company or another investor, buybacks, where the entrepreneur repurchases the VC`s interest, and write-offs or liquidations. The Oxford Handbook of Venture Capital provides a comprehensive picture of all of the issues dealing with the structure, governance, and performance of venture capital. It comprises contributions from 55 authors currently based in 12 different countries. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordhandbooks. com/oso/public/content/oho_economics/9780195391596/toc.html
Trends in Technology Planning and Funding in Florida K-12 Public Schools.

This empirical research investigates trends in technology planning and funding in Florida’s K–12 public schools between the 2003–04 and 2005–06 academic years. Survey items that focused on funding and planning issues on Florida’s statewide school technology integration survey were analyzed using logistic models. Results indicate a significant increase in the number of schools revising their technology plans on a regular basis; a significant increase in the frequency with which Florida’s K–12 public schools are seeking funding for technology-related initiatives; a significant increase in parent, administrator, teacher, and student involvement in the technology planning process; and a significant decline in adequate funding for software and hardware needs. In addition, schools with low proportions of economically disadvantaged students sought and were awarded significantly more funds from donations and federal and state grants. Implications for educational leadership and policy are provided.
Effect of Peppermint as One of Carminatives on Relieving Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease ( GERD ) During Pregnancy

This is an intervention study aimed at studying the effectiveness of peppermint on relieving gastroesophageal reflux disease "GERD" during pregnancy . It was conducted at out patient antenatal clinic of Ain Shams Maternity University Hospital after obtaining faculty ethical committee approval. The sample was consisted of 221 pregnant women. Tools used for data collection consisted of woman's knowledge structured interviewing questionnaire regard peppermint; woman's diary regard GERD symptoms improvement with peppermint use, gastroesophageal reflux disease symptom assessment scale (GSAS) and supportive material in the form of an Arabic leaflet was used. Results revealed improvement in pregnant women knowledge regard GERD & peppermint, before and after intervention. As regard analysis and variation in women's GERD symptoms, mean number of symptoms and mean distress score before and after using peppermint a highly statistically significant difference was detected before and after intervention which indicated marked improvement in GERD symptoms after using peppermint. Also strong positive correlation was proved between pregnant women compliance regard peppermint use instructions & GERD relieve measures and means GERD distress score at pre and post intervention. The study concluded that use of carminatives as peppermint tea, beside compliance to lifestyle measures are effective on relieving GERD Grade 1 (NERD) during pregnancy. The study recommended using of peppermint tea in-between meals for relieving of GERD during early stages of pregnancy. Further studies are still needed to determine the effect of using peppermint in different forms on relieving GERD during pregnancy. [Eman M. Sayed Ahmed; Saher M. Soliman and Hisham M. Mahmoud. Effect of Peppermint as One of Carminatives on Relieving Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) During Pregnancy. Journal of American Science 2012; 8(4):132-143]. (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.americanscience. org. 17
Plasma Jet Ignition of a Propane–Air Stoichiometric Mixture (Cylindrical Jet)

Studies of a plasma jet formation and its injection into a propane-air mixture's counterflow have been performed regarding enhancing combustion and ignition by plasma jets. A computational model involves a realistic equation of state, plasma radiation associated with plasma formation inside the plasma generator, and coupling between the internal nozzle and external flow fields. A one-step effective propane-oxygen chemical reaction with energy release was used for modeling of ignition and combustion. Our model uses an Implicit Free-Lagrange method for the computations. The results of computations demonstrate the ignition of propane-air mixtures stimulated by plasma jet generators, each with a power of 15 kW. The incident propane-air stoichiometric mixture temperature is 1000 K.
Optimized Time Series Filters for Detecting Laughter and Filler Events

Social signal detection, that is, the task of identifying vocalizations like laughter and filler events is a popular task within computational paralinguistics. Recent studies have shown that besides applying state-of-the-art machine learning methods, it is worth making use of the contextual information and adjusting the frame-level scores based on the local neighbourhood. In this study we apply a weighted average time series smoothing filter for laughter and filler event identification, and set the weights using a state-of-the-art optimization method, namely the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMAES). Our results indicate that this is a viable way of improving the Area Under the Curve (AUC) scores: our resulting scores are much better than the accuracy scores of the raw likelihoods produced by Deep Neural Networks trained on three different feature sets, and we also significantly outperform standard time series filters as well as DNNs used for smoothing. Our score achieved on the test set of a public English database containing spontaneous mobile phone conversations is the highest one published so far that was realized by feed-forward techniques.
Transaction Risk Management in Online Auctions

The scenario of business sellers utilizing online auction markets to reach consumers and sell new products is becoming increasingly commonplace. We propose a class of risk management tools, loosely based on the concept of financial options, that can be employed by such sellers. We examine market conditions, and risk and option pricing scenarios where writing options is beneficial to sellers, and purchasing options is beneficial to buyers. We provide a framework to analyze the value proposition of options to potential buyers, option holder behavior implications on auction processes, and seller strategies to write and price options that maximize potential revenues. Preliminary results based on actual auction data suggest that options can provide significant benefits under certain conditions.
A measure of shopping behaviour: Scale development and preliminary validation

In a more competitive world, the retailers should understand the shopping behavior of the consumers. However the shopping behavior is a complex phenomenon and needs up gradation from time to time. Companies' competitiveness in such a scenario has, therefore become increasingly difficult. Their survival requires building competitive advantage by delivering brand related cues, which has influence on developing Brand attitude and thereby stimulating purchase decision. Thus the scale for shopping behavior is found to be Brand attribute, Brand attitude and purchase intension.
Interface engineering of highly efficient perovskite solar cells

A layered approach improves solar cells Perovskite films received a boost in photovoltaic efficiency through controlled formation of charge-generating films and improved current transfer to the electrodes. Zhou et al. lowered the defect density of the film by controlling humidity while the perovskite film formed from lead chloride and methylammonium iodide. Low-temperature processing steps allowed the use of materials that draw current out of the perovskite layer more efficiently. These and other modifications enabled a maximum cell efficiency of just over 19% and an average of 16.6%. Science, this issue p. 542 Optimizing the growth conditions of the perovskite layer and interlayer carrier transport boosts solar cell efficiency. Advancing perovskite solar cell technologies toward their theoretical power conversion efficiency (PCE) requires delicate control over the carrier dynamics throughout the entire device. By controlling the formation of the perovskite layer and careful choices of other materials, we suppressed carrier recombination in the absorber, facilitated carrier injection into the carrier transport layers, and maintained good carrier extraction at the electrodes. When measured via reverse bias scan, cell PCE is typically boosted to 16.6% on average, with the highest efficiency of ~19.3% in a planar geometry without antireflective coating. The fabrication of our perovskite solar cells was conducted in air and from solution at low temperatures, which should simplify manufacturing of large-area perovskite devices that are inexpensive and perform at high levels.
The sensory symptoms of diabetic polyneuropathy are improved with alpha-lipoic acid: the SYDNEY trial.

OBJECTIVE Because alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), a potent antioxidant, prevents or improves nerve conduction attributes, endoneurial blood flow, and nerve (Na(+) K(+) ATPase activity in experimental diabetes and in humans and may improve positive neuropathic sensory symptoms, in this report we further assess the safety and efficacy of ALA on the Total Symptom Score (TSS), a measure of positive neuropathic sensory symptoms. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Metabolically stable diabetic patients with symptomatic (stage 2) diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN) were randomized to a parallel, double-blind study of ALA (600 mg) (n = 60) or placebo (n = 60) infused daily intravenously for 5 days/week for 14 treatments. The primary end point was change of the sum score of daily assessments of severity and duration of TSS. Secondary end points were sum scores of neuropathy signs (NIS), symptoms (NSC), attributes of nerve conduction, quantitative sensation tests (QSTs), and an autonomic test. RESULTS At randomization, the groups were not significantly different by the criteria of metabolic control or neuropathic end points. After 14 treatments, the TSS of the ALA group had improved from baseline by an average of 5.7 points and the placebo group by an average of 1.8 points (P < 0.001). Statistically significant improvement from baseline of the ALA, as compared with the placebo group, was also found for each item of the TSS (lancinating and burning pain, asleep numbness and prickling), NIS, one attribute of nerve conduction, and global assessment of efficacy. CONCLUSIONS Intravenous racemic ALA, a potent antioxidant, rapidly and to a significant and meaningful degree, improved such positive neuropathic sensory symptoms as pain and several other neuropathic end points. This improvement of symptoms was attributed to improved nerve pathophysiology, not to increased nerve fiber degeneration. Because of its safety profile and its effect on positive neuropathic sensory symptoms and other neuropathic end points, this drug appears to be a useful ancillary treatment for the symptoms of diabetic polyneuropathy.
One-year follow-up of disulfiram and psychotherapy for cocaine-alcohol users: sustained effects of treatment.

AIM To evaluate outcomes 1 year after cessation of treatment for cocaine- and alcohol-dependent individuals. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial. SETTING Urban substance abuse treatment center. PARTICIPANTS Ninety-six of 122 subjects randomized to treatment. INTERVENTIONS One of five treatments delivered over 12 weeks. Cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) plus disulfiram; Twelve-Step facilitation (TSF) plus disulfiram; clinical management (CM) plus disulfiram; CBT without disulfiram; TSF without disulfiram. MEASUREMENTS Percentage of days of cocaine and alcohol use during follow-up, verified by urine toxicology screens and breathalyzer tests. RESULTS First, as a group, participants reported significant decreases in frequency of cocaine, but not alcohol, use after the end of treatment. Secondly, the main effects of disulfiram on cocaine and alcohol use were sustained during follow-up. Finally, initiation of abstinence for even brief periods of time within treatment was associated with significantly better outcome during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS These findings support the efficacy of disulfiram with this challenging population and suggest that comparatively brief treatments that facilitate the initiation of abstinence may have long-term benefits.
Paricalcitol Treatment and Arterial Tone in Experimental Renal Insufficiency

Aim: To examine whether treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism with paricalcitol provides benefits to arteries in uremic rats. Methods: 5/6-nephrectomized rats were treated (NX+Pari) or not treated (NX) with paricalcitol (200 ng/kg, thrice weekly) for 12 weeks. Aortic histology and isolated segments of the main and 2nd-order mesenteric arterial branches were studied. Results: Creatinine clearance was reduced by 54–61%, plasma phosphate increased 2.1- to 2.5-fold, and blood pressure by 40 mm Hg in both NX groups. PTH increased 13-fold in NX and 5-fold in NX+Pari rats. Calcification in aortic cross-sections increased from 2.1 to 7.1% after paricalcitol. In the large mesenteric artery, vasoconstriction to noradrenaline was reduced in NX+Pari rats. In the large and small arteries, vasorelaxation to acetylcholine was impaired in NX rats and unaffected by paricalcitol. In the small artery, paricalcitol increased nitric oxide synthase inhibition-resistant relaxation to acetylcholine, and maximal relaxation to levcromakalim. The small arteries of NX rats featured increased wall cross-sectional area, while paricalcitol further increased wall thickness and the wall:lumen ratio. Conclusion: Paricalcitol treatment showed both benefits and harmful effects in uremic rats: in the large artery vasoconstriction was reduced but calcification increased, while in the small artery vasorelaxation via potassium channels was moderately improved but hypertrophic remodeling was aggravated.
Incidence and mortality rate of esophageal cancer has decreased during past 40 years in Hebei Province, China.

BACKGROUND Hebei province is located in North of China with of approximately 6% of whole national population. It is known as a high-risk area for esophageal cancer in China and worldwide. The aim of our study was to estimate the esophageal cancer burden and trend in Hebei Province. METHODS Eight cancer registries in Hebei Province submitted cancer registry data to the Hebei Provincial Cancer Registry Center. All data were qualified and compiled for cancer statistics in 2011. The pooled data were stratified by gender and age group (0, 1-4, 5-9, 10-14…80+). Incidence and mortality rates were age-standardized to World Segi's population standard and expressed per 100,000 persons. In addition, proportions and cumulative incidence/mortality rates for esophageal cancer were calculated. Esophageal cancer mortality data during the periods 1973-1975, 1990-1992, and 2004-2005 were extracted from the national death surveys. Mortality and incidence rate data from Cixian and Shexian were obtained from population-based cancer registries in each county. RESULTS The estimated number of newly diagnosed esophageal cancer cases and deaths in 2011 in Hebei Province was 24,318 and 18,226, respectively. The crude incidence rate of esophageal cancer was 33.37/100,000 (males, 42.18/100,000 and females, 24.31/100,000). The age-standardized rate by world standard population (ASRW) was 28.09/100,000, ranking third among all cancers. The esophageal cancer mortality rate was 25.01/100,000 (males, 31.40/100,000 and females, 18.45/100,000), ranking third in deaths among all cancers. The mortality rates of esophageal cancer displayed a significant decreasing trend in Hebei Province from 1973-1975 (ASRW =48.69/100,000) to 2004-2005 (ASRW =28.02/100,000), with a decreased rate of 42.45%. In Cixian, the incidence of esophageal cancer decreased from 250.76/100,000 to 106.74/100,000 in males and from 153.86/100,000 to 75.41/100,000 in females, with annual percentage changes (APC) of 2.13 and 2.16, while the mortality rates declined with an APC of 2.46 for males and 3.10 for females from 1988 to 2011. In Shexian, the incidence rate decreased from 116.90/100,000 to 74.12/100,000 in males and from 46.98/100,000 to 40.64/100,000 in females, while the mortality rates declined, with an APC of 4.89 in males from 2003 to 2011. CONCLUSIONS Although the incidence and mortality rates of esophageal cancer remain high, an obvious decreasing trend has been observed in Hebei Province, as well as in high-risk regions, such as Cixian and Shexian, over the past 40 years.
Glucose Metabolism in Adipocytes of Obese Offspring of Mild Hyperglycemic Rats

ABSTRACT: Six pregnant rats were made mildly hyperglycemic by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin on d 5 of gestation. Four control rats were injected with citrate buffer. Thirty pups born to experimental dams who had increased birth weight (birth weight >1.7 SD of mean birth weight of pups from control dams) maintained accelerated growth through 10 wk of age. At 10 wk, oral glucose tolerance tests showed higher glucose and insulin levels than the controls (n = 37). In addition to the higher body weight, the experimental rats also had higher fat weight to body weight ratios. Adipocytes of epididymal fat from obese males and periovarian fat from obese females had higher lipid content with significantly larger cell size than the adipocytes of the controls. The adipocytes of macrosomic rats showed attenuated response to insulin-stimulated glucose conversion to total lipid and fatty acid when compared with the responses seen in the adipocytes of the control rats. Interestingly, although the insulin-stimulated glucose conversion to CO2 was similar in macrosomic and control males, the response in the macrosomic female was blunted when compared with that of the control females. Insulin receptor binding capacities of the macrosomic rats were lower than those of the controls, which is consistent with a phenomenon of down-regulation. However, the receptor affinities were higher in the experimental animals than in controls. Therefore, a postreceptor defect may account for the abnormality in glucose metabolism in the obese rats. In conclusion, the abnormal response to oral glucose loading in these experimental obese, hyperinsulinemic rats is due to peripheral tissue insulin resistance that is probably postreceptor in nature.
Inequities in Access to Health Services in India: Caste, Class and Region

Despite India’s impressive economic performance after the introduction of economic reforms in the 1990s, progress in advancing the health status of Indians has been slow and uneven. Large inequities in health and access to health services continue to persist and have even widened across states, between rural and urban areas, and within communities. Three forms of inequities have dominated India’s health sector. Historical inequities that have their roots in the policies and practices of British colonial India, many of which continued to be pursued well after independence; socio-economic inequities manifest in caste, class and gender differentials; and inequities in the availability, utilisation and affordability of health services. Of these, critical to ensuring health for all in the immediate future will be the effectiveness with which India addresses inequities in provisioning of health services and assurance of quality care. I ndia, over the last two decades, has enjoyed accelerated economic growth, but has fared poorly in human development indicators and health outcomes. Population averages of health status indicators, such as child health and maternal mortality, remain unacceptably high compared with countries in the south and east Asian region that have similar income levels and rates of economic growth. Underlying the low population level indicators, worrisome inequities coincide with the multiple axes of caste, class, gender and regional differences (Deaton and Dreze 2009; Claeson et al 2000; Subramanian et al 2006). In India, an important determinant of socio-economic inequities in nearly all spheres of well-being is caste. The official classi fication defines four categories of caste: scheduled castes ( SCs), scheduled tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and others. The SCs, the lowest level in the hierarchy, constitute around 16% of the Indian population, a large percentage of who live in rural areas and are landless agricultural labourers. The STs, or adivasis, often like SCs, suffer economic and social deprivation. They comprise around 8% of India’s population. OBCs and forward castes together comprise 76% of India’s total population (RGI 2001).
Cooperative Multi-relay Assisted Multicast Beamforming in Wirelessly Powered Communications

This paper studied downlink multicasting in a wirelessly powered communication network, where multiple energy-constrained relay nodes collaboratively assist the transmissions from a multi-antenna hybrid access point (HAP) to multiple receivers in the downlink. Each relay is equipped with a single antenna and capable of energy harvesting (EH) from the HAP's RF signals in a power splitting protocol. Due to the confliction between EH and information transmission at the relays, they need to optimally control the power splitting ratio, according to the relays' channel conditions and energy status, with the aim of improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at all receivers. We propose a SNR maximization problem by jointly optimizing the HAP's signal beamforming and the relays' EH parameters. Though it is non-convex and difficult to solve optimally, we design an iterative algorithm by efficiently solving semi-definite programs successively. Simulation results show the efficacy of the proposed algorithm and validate our findings that relays will choose not to broadcast signal when its channel condition is poor.
SMEs and Competition Law : A case Study on Suppliers of Goods to Large Retail Stores

Introduction The paper explores one of the complex issues in competition law that is how SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises)should be handled under competition law protection, promotion or exemption. A case study on suppliers who produce and supply their goods to large retail stores clearly illustrates this complex issue faced by both advanced economics e.g. the United States, Japan, Australia and emerging economics e.g. Indonesia and Thailand. The paper examines how the courts and competition commissions in the United States, Japan, Australia, Indonesia and Thailand deal with the problems relating to business relationship between large retail stores with far much more bargaining power and suppliers which are normal SMEs with little bargaining power. The complaints lodged to the Competition Commissions in most jurisdictions are relating to the abuse of market power by large retail stores e.g. to purchase products from suppliers at unjust low price, to force suppliers to pay extra fees to them etc. The paper also examines how these jurisdictions especially Thailand struggle to resolve this complex problem with minimum harm to consumer welfare.