Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial aggregation, spatial dependence and predictability in the UK housing market

Abstract Most time‐series studies of UK housing markets are carried out on national data. However, housing markets may be better characterised as a series of interconnected sub‐national markets. In this paper, we use methods taken from the spatial econometrics literature and from cointegration to explore the nature of spatial interactions in UK regional house prices and housing starts. The three central spatial issues are the extent to which markets are (a) homogeneous (b) dependent and (c) convergent, across the English regions. We find that housing starts equations are remarkably similar across regions and hence construction can be characterised as a national market. There is a high degree of spatial dependence in terms of both house prices and starts; dependence is uni‐directional in the former, but not the latter. Finally, cointegration results suggest that regional prices converge to long‐run relationships, despite major short‐term variation.
Multidimensional Fuzzy Poverty and Pro-Poor Growth Measures in Nonmonetary Dimensions in Egypt Between 1995 and 2005

The main goal of this paper is to adopt a multidimensional approach to poverty that goes beyond focusing on a unidimensional measure of income or expenditure when attempting to ascertain the main aspects of the living conditions of households. In order to obtain multidimensional poverty measures the paper uses an approach based on fuzzy sets. This methodology is applied to data from the Demographic and Health Surveys for the years 1995 and 2005 in order to obtain an aggregated index of the Standard of Living for each household. The evolution of the Standard of Living of households between 1995 and 2005 as well as the uneven progress registered in the index of education as assessed by Egyptian HDR (2008) lead us to investigate the impact of non- income growth on poverty. Thus, following the study of Grosse et al. (2008), extended growth incidence curves (Ravallion and Chen, 2003) are applied to the index of the Standard of Living and to education in order to assess if progress has been biased in favour of the poor.
Welfare versus punishment? : the careers of young offenders with a background in public care

Young people with a background in public care are over-represented in the criminal justice system. The subject of the thesis concerns the relationship between these two systems. The main focus of this qualitative piece of research is an analysis of the cases of thirty young people who have had experience of both systems. Conducted on the site of a Welsh Social Services Youth Justice Team that - during the course of the fieldwork - was reconfigured as a Youth Offending Team, the research was guided by three related questions. Firstly, what was the nature of the relationship between the public care system and the criminal justice system? Secondly, how did such discourses as 'welfare' and 'punishment' influence what happened to young people with care backgrounds in the youth justice system? Thirdly, how did the youth justice reforms of the 1997-2001 Labour government impact on practice at ground level? These questions were addressed by a combination of methods: semi-structured interviews with young people, parents and practitioners; focus groups with professional staff; observation; and analysis of case files and other agency documents. The analysis identified a number of social and institutional processes that criminalised children in public care and accelerated their 'progress' through the criminal justice system.
Class - the ignored determinant of the nation's health.

In this article, the authors argue that although racial and ethnic disparities in health have attracted appropriate attention, the association between health and class (i.e., income, education, and occupation) is not widely appreciated. Pointing to strong correlations between higher income and educational levels and better health, they suggest that the nation's health would be greatly enhanced by investment in social and economic policies that address class differences.
CEO Succession in the UK: An Analysis of the Effect of Censuring the CEO-to-Chair Move in the Combined Code on Corporate Governance 2003

In 2003, a new UK corporate governance Code recommended that the CEO should not become chairman of the same firm. The UK regulator, adopting an agency theory perspective, argued that this prevents powerful CEOs from clinging to power, to the detriment of firm performance. An alternative viewpoint, offered by stewardship theory, proposes that managers are inherently motivated to act in the best interests of the company and such controls are unnecessary, bringing no benefits to shareholders. This study therefore asks: (i) Does allowing the CEO to remain as chair damage firm performance? (ii) Did the changes to recommended best practice affect the number of CEOs remaining as chairman? (iii) Did the Combined Code (2003) affect the use of relay-style succession in the UK? Analysing a sample of 225 CEO routine departure events from 1996 to 2007 produces the answers: (i) this practice caused no apparent harm to accounting or stock market performance; (ii) there was a significant reduction in the practice in the period following the reform; and (iii) while UK firms were employing relay-style succession practices prior to the reforms, this has since abated. Overall, the evidence fails to support the agency view adopted by UK regulators.
Cleavage of the NF-κB Family Protein p65/RelA by the Chlamydial Protease-like Activity Factor (CPAF) Impairs Proinflammatory Signaling in Cells Infected with Chlamydiae*

Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular bacteria that frequently cause human disease. Chlamydiae replicate in a membranous vacuole in the cytoplasm termed inclusion but have the ability to transport proteins into the host cell cytosol. Chlamydial replication is associated with numerous changes of host cell functions, and these changes are often linked to proteolytic events. It has been shown earlier that the member of the NF-κB family of inflammation-associated transcription factors, p65/RelA, is cleaved during chlamydial infection, and a chlamydial protease has been implicated. We here provide evidence that the chlamydial protease chlamydial protease-like activity factor (CPAF) is responsible for degradation of p65/RelA during infection. This degradation was seen in human and in mouse cells infected with either Chlamydia trachomatis or Chlamydia pneumoniae where it correlated with the expression of CPAF and CPAF activity. Isolated expression of active C. trachomatis or C. pneumoniae CPAF in human or mouse cells yielded a p65 fragment of indistinguishable size from the one generated during infection. Expression of active CPAF in human cells caused a mild reduction in IκBα phosphorylation but a strong reduction in NF-κB reporter activity in response to interleukin-1β. Infection with C. trachomatis likewise reduced this responsiveness. IL-1β-dependent secretion of IL-8 was further reduced by CPAF expression. Secretion of CPAF is, thus, a mechanism that reduces host cell sensitivity to a proinflammatory stimulus, which may facilitate bacterial growth in vivo.
Corporate taxation in the OECD in a wider context

Against the background of increased globalisation statutory corporate tax rates have shown a clear downward trend over the last two decades. The sharp decline in these rates was accompanied by substantial tax base broadening and a comparable reduction in personal income tax rates only until the early 1990s. This suggests that corporate tax competition is of increasing importance. So far corporate tax revenues remain fairly stable. But an analysis of corporate taxation in the context of the overall tax systems shows that a substantial shift towards value added taxes has taken place. While the trends so far have been driven by smaller European countries, recent tax reforms indicate that increasing tax competition is inducing a shift towards consumption even for larger economies.
Vilazodone lacks proarrhythmogenic potential in healthy participants: a thorough ECG study.

OBJECTIVE Vilazodone is a potent serotonin reuptake inhibitor and 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults. The effect of clinical and supratherapeutic doses of vilazodone on cardiac repolarization was determined in healthy volunteers. METHODS In this Phase 1, randomized, doubleblind, placebo- and active-controlled, 3-arm, parallel, single-center study, healthy subjects received placebo; moxifloxacin 400 mg; or vilazodone (sequentially escalated every 3 days) 10, 20, 40, 60, and 80 mg/day. The primary endpoint was the time-matched change from baseline in the QT interval corrected for heart rate (QTc) using an individual correction method (QTcI). RESULTS Placebo-corrected time-matched analysis of the QTcI duration for the vilazodone treatment effect indicated that no vilazodone dose had an upper bound that approached or exceeded 10 ms, demonstrating no signal for a significant vilazodone effect on cardiac repolarization. Vilazodone had no significant effect on heart rate, PR, or QRS interval duration. The pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model showed that the QTcI slope for vilazodone was not different from 0.0 and that the predicted increase from baseline in the QTc at Cmax for the highest therapeutic dose (156 ng/ml after 40 mg/day) was < 1 ms. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was higher in the vilazodone group (57.6%) than in the moxifloxacin (37.0%) and placebo (35.6%) groups, though AEs were generally mild to moderate in severity and resulted in few discontinuations. CONCLUSIONS Vilazodone had no significant effect on cardiac repolarization, heart rate, PR or QRS interval duration, or ECG morphology in healthy adult participants.
Conflicting Stakeholder Interests and Natural Gas

Creation of a less expensive, domestically sourced, and more environmentally neutral energy grid is becoming a global imperative and natural gas (NG) is seen as a crucial component of this impetus. But expansion of NG production is fraught with significant macromarketing challenges; especially in light of recent discoveries of substantial NG reserves beneath heavily populated metropolitan areas. To understand certain decision-making dilemmas involving the benefits and burdens encountered in this macromarketing context, the effect of individualistic and altruistic values (manifesting as personal and societal costs and benefits) on safety and regulatory concerns associated with NG exploration and production are examined. Results suggest cost-oriented values, both individualistic and altruistic, are positively associated with safety and regulatory concerns; whereas benefit-oriented values have a negative association with concerns. These findings yield insights into how various challenges that arise within an extremely complex alternative energy agora might be addressed at local and global levels.
Political Conflict, Fiscal Stress, and Administrative Turnover in American Cities

is often citedas a coveted feature of the civilservice, top-level administratorsat all levels of government usually cannot ex-pect to stay very long in any particular po-sition. Sometimes top administrators suffera falling out with elected officials and may bedismissed (or at least fail to gain reappoint-ment) for an additional term. In other cases,high-level executives may seek out greenerpastures, often with another government thatoffers higher salaries , better working condi-tions, or perhaps more satisfying work. Thistrend has been especially striking for high-ranking city administrators, including citymanagers. In response to this trend, severalrecent empirical analyses have examined thefactors that account for turnover of localgovernment managers (DeSantis and Renner1993; Renner 1990; DeHoog and Whitaker1990; Whitaker and DeHoog 1991; Feiockand Stream 1998). Much of this research suggests that tenureand turnover patterns of local governmentadministrators are affected by “push” and“pull” factors (see, e.g., DeHoog and Whit-
Robot-Aided Neurorehabilitation: A Pediatric Robot for Ankle Rehabilitation

This paper presents the pediAnklebot, an impedance-controlled low-friction, backdriveable robotic device developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that trains the ankle of neurologically impaired children of ages 6-10 years old. The design attempts to overcome the known limitations of the lower extremity robotics and the unknown difficulties of what constitutes an appropriate therapeutic interaction with children. The robot's pilot clinical evaluation is on-going and it incorporates our recent findings on the ankle sensorimotor control in neurologically intact subjects, namely the speed-accuracy tradeoff, the deviation from an ideally smooth ankle trajectory, and the reaction time. We used these concepts to develop the kinematic and kinetic performance metrics that guided the ankle therapy in a similar fashion that we have done for our upper extremity devices. Here we report on the use of the device in at least nine training sessions for three neurologically impaired children. Results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the performance metrics assessing explicit and implicit motor learning. Based on these initial results, we are confident that the device will become an effective tool that harnesses plasticity to guide habilitation during childhood.
Heterodera glycines in Indiana: II. Morphology of Geographical Isolates.

Although much morphometric overlap occurs among five geographical isolates of Heterodera glycines in Indiana, significant differences in means exist among the isolates for various comparisons of second-stage juveniles. By using combinations of means, most of the isolates can be distinguished from the rest: e.g., the Vanderburgh County isolate (southern Indiana) has the longest esophagus, tail, and tail terminus; the Vigo County isolate (also from the south) has the shortest esophagus; the White County isolate (northern Indiana) has the shortest tail and tail terminus and the greatest total length; the Benton County isolate (north) is the shortest. Morphological similarities and differences do not appear to be coordinated with reproductive behavioral patterns we observed in the northern versus the southern isolates.
Travel to Learn: the influence of cultural distance on competence development in educational travel

markdownabstract__Abstract__ Innovations in transport and information communication technology have led to an ever expanding global perspective and playing field, for both business and citizens. Educational institutes play an important role in preparing students for this new reality. One way of doing this is for students to engage in educational travel experiences. Indeed, over the past two decades increasing numbers of students participated in study abroad programs, study tours, international internships and relatively new short-term programs such as international research projects. Yet, at the same time, globalization seems to have reduced some of the traditional benefits of educational travel, as the challenge of adapting to a different cultural environment has become easier than it has been in the past. Equally, there is a need to reconsider the competencies that educational travel should develop, as there is a noticeable shift towards pointing out the professional relevance of these experiences. The aim of this research was to work towards a competence framework and investigate how the learning of competencies was related to overcoming cultural distance. Based on these findings, implications for learning programs were formulated.
A shape-based decomposition of the yield adjustment term in the arbitrage-free Nelson and Siegel (AFNS) model of the yield curve

The appealing feature of the arbitrage-free Nelson–Siegel model of the yield curve is the ability to capture movements in the yield curve through readily interpretable shifts in its level, slope or curvature, all within a dynamic arbitrage-free framework. To ensure that the level, slope and curvature factors evolve so as not to admit arbitrage, the model introduces a yield-adjustment term. This paper shows how the yield-adjustment term can also be decomposed into the familiar level, slope and curvature elements plus some additional readily interpretable shape adjustments. This means that, even in an arbitrage-free setting, it continues to be possible to interpret movements in the yield curve in terms of level, slope and curvature influences.
Malaysia Privatization: A Comprehensive Study

As the first comprehensive study on privatization in Malaysia, this paper compares financial and operating performance of a sample of 24 firms before and after privatization. The 24 firms were privatized via public listing on the Malaysian exchange -. Measures that improve following privatization include profitability, output level, and dividend payout; leverage declines. We also observe increased linkages between ownership and corporate governance with such performance changes. By and large, our results are similar to the results of the directly comparable multi-country studies of Megginson, Nash, and van Randenborgh (1994), Boubakri and Cosset (1998), and D’Souza and Megginson (1999).
Examination of price discrimination and internal subsidization by electric utilities

A price/marginal-cost technique is developed for detecting the presence and direction of regulatory bias in electric-utility rate structure. The method also tests for internal subsidies between customer classes. The procedure involves a regression analysis of short- and long-term cost forecasts. A sample of 80 privately-owned utilities reveals price discrimination in favor of industrial customers, but does not indicate any political motivation. The data shows intraclass discrimination in each consumer group, which suggests that efficiency will increase if marginal prices are raised in each block. 30 references, 3 tables. (DCK)
Genetic basis of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic Acinetobacter species

Antibiotic resistance in Acinetobacter spp. , particularly Acinetobacter baumannii, is increasing rapidly. A. baumannii possesses two intrinsic β‐lactamase genes, in addition to weak permeability and efflux systems, that together confer a natural reduced susceptibility to antibiotics. In addition, numerous acquired mechanisms of resistance have been identified in A. baumannii. The very high genetic plasticity of A. baumannii allows an accumulation of resistance determinants that give rise to multidrug resistance at an alarming rate. The role of novel genetic elements, such as resistance islands, in concentrating antibiotic resistance genes in A. baumannii requires detailed investigation in the near future. © 2011 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 63(12): 1061–1067, 2011
Oral valganciclovir leads to higher exposure to ganciclovir than intravenous ganciclovir in patients following allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a major complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT). Valganciclovir (V-GCV) is an oral prodrug hydrolyzed to the anti-CMV drug ganciclovir (GCV). A randomized, multicenter, crossover, open-label clinical trial compared exposure to GCV after V-GCV and intravenous GCV (IV-GCV) as preemptive therapy for CMV disease in SCT. The primary objective was to compare exposure to GCV in patients with CMV infection stratified for intestinal graft-versus-host disease (I-GVHD). Secondary objectives were the assessment of safety and efficacy. Patients without I-GVHD had a higher exposure to GCV after V-GCV when compared with IV-GCV (area under the concentration-time curve from drug administration to last observed concentration after 12 hours [AUC(0-12)] 53.8 +/- 17.97 microg/mL . h [mean +/- SD] vs 39.5 +/- 13.91; P < . 001; ratio of V-GCV/IV-GCV was 1.4; 90% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-1.5). This was also true in patients with I-GVHD grades I-II (AUC(0-12) 52.9 +/- 21.75 vs 33.1 +/- 12.97 mug/mL . h; P = . 018; ratio 1.6; 90% CI, 1.3-2.0). Absolute bioavailability of GCV after V-GCV was approximately 75% in individuals with or without I-GVHD grades I-II. No severe GCV-related toxicity was observed and efficacy and safety was comparable (84-day follow-up). This supports the use of V-GCV in SCT, even in patients with I-GVHD grades I-II. Due to higher exposure after V-GCV compared with IV-GCV, patients should be monitored carefully for safety reasons.
A case study of file system workload in a large-scale distributed environment

As large scale distributed ﬁle systems come into wide spread use supporting industrial organizations, the performance and scalability of ﬁle systems becomes important issues. Key factors such as ﬁle server bottlenecks and network congestion are heavily dependent on ﬁle system workload characteristics, yet no workload study on such systems has been reported to date. In this paper, we present a case study of a large industrial distributed ﬁle system supporting several thousand users. Our study is at the workgroup level, rather than at individual ﬁle access level. Our study reveals substantial departures from observations made in previous academic and centralized commercial environments. The average ﬁle size is 25-30 Kbytes, much larger than those from previous studies. Over weekly periods, we found that more than one-third of the ﬁles are active. Of the active ﬁles, read activities dominate writes 9:1. We found a very high level of ﬁle sharing: 50-60% of the ﬁles are shared among two or more workgroups. On the other hand, a single workgroup remains as the only writer for 97% of the write active ﬁles, suggesting that dynamic ﬁle replication at the workgroup level may effectively improve ﬁle access performance. It is also noted that shared ﬁles tend to be larger, and that write activities decrease as ﬁle sharing increases. We believe that these observations are representative of an important class of industrial computing environments, and are valuable input to future ﬁle system design.
R&D, innovation and output: evidence from OECD and nonOECD countries

This article uses data from 41 OECD and nonOECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries to examine the predictions of nonscale endogenous growth theories that an increase in the share of researchers in labour force leads to an increase in innovation and innovation raises per capita output. The results show that an increase in the share of researchers in labour force increases innovation only in the large market OECD countries. Moreover, an increase in innovation raises per labour GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in all nonOECD countries except for low income countries, while raising it only in the high-income OECD countries. These findings suggest that though the large market OECD countries are the world leader in innovation, nonOECD countries benefit more from it in promoting their growth.
Synchronous ethernet: a method to transport synchronization

This article discusses the evolving transport architecture, covering some of the synchronization distribution problems to many endpoints where mobile backhaul and TDM emulation occur. It shows how synchronous Ethernet fits into both the Ethernet and synchronization architectures, and discusses how this helped development in standardization bodies. Standardization allows the key building blocks of Ethernet silicon and specific timing devices to be developed, which allows a robust system implementation to be constructed while allowing interworking with and migration from existing SONET/SDH-based transport infrastructure. Finally, results are shown that indicate a very high level of performance is achievable with Synchronous Ethernet not subject to the normal packet delay variation and traffic load conditions that can occur in packet based networks.