Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Systematic Positive Expected Returns in the UK Fixed Odds Betting Market: An Analysis of the Fink Tank Predictions

We report striking evidence of semi-strong inefficiency in the UK fixed-odds football betting market using a reputable newspaper tipster which offers probabilities of match outcomes rather than simple result indicators. Betting on the Fink Tank probabilities of home wins across 10 bookmakers, when there are positive expected returns, would have generated positive returns in each of the seasons from 2006–07 to 2011–12 for a variety of different betting strategies. These returns could have been enhanced by employing the best odds from a greater number of bookmakers. However, the fact that pure arbitrage bets have existed for years and appear to last for several hours or days suggest they are in practice not exploitable to a magnitude that poses any threat to bookmakers.
ISO 9000 and TQM: are they complementary or contradictory to each other?

The ISO 9000 series of standards has formalised systems for evaluating the ability of organisations to consistently design, produce and deliver quality products and services. Total quality management (TQM) is seen as a relatively new concept and a way for organisations to improve the quality of their products and services, but it may well be the key to survival and achieving competitive advantage in today’s turbulent business environment. However, there are mixed views in the literature concerning whether ISO 9000 and TQM complement or contradict each other. The primary objective of this paper is to address the competing views on both concepts in an attempt to show that both concepts complement each other and ISO 9000 should be used in association with TQM to secure organisational success.
Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism of CYP3A5 Impacts the Exposure to Tacrolimus in Pediatric Renal Transplant Recipients: A Pharmacogenetic Substudy of the TWIST Trial

Background: The pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus (TAC) and mycophenolic acid (MPA) are highly variable. An impact of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the genes coding for enzymes and transporters involved in the pharmacokinetics of TAC and/or MPA is intuitively conceivable. Accordingly, we sought to analyze the influence of different SNPs on TAC and MPA exposure in pediatric renal transplant recipients. Methods: A subpopulation of 37 patients (median age: 12.8 years, range 2.2–18.3 years) participating in the TWIST study was included in the analysis of SNPs of CYP3A5, ABCB1 (MDR1), ABCG2, SLCO1B3 (coding for OATP2), ABCC2 (coding for cMOAT), and UGT1/2. TAC trough concentrations and abbreviated area under the concentration–time curves (AUC) of MPA were measured on days 7, 28, 91, and 183 after transplant. Both of these were adjusted to the respective dose the patient received. Results: The allele frequencies of analyzed SNP's were comparable to those reported previously for white populations. Dose-adjusted trough concentrations of TAC were approximately 60% lower in patients with the CYP3A5*1/*3 allele as compared with the CYP3A5*3/*3 allele (P = 0.004). Steroid-free patients in CYP3A5*3/*3 and CYP3A5*1/*3 carrier subgroups had comparable dose-adjusted TAC concentrations to the subgroup on steroids (P = 0.13). Patients younger than 10 years had a significantly lower median dose-adjusted TAC C0 concentration than patients older than 10 years; this age effect was comparable in heterozygous and homozygous CYP3A5 carriers as well as in patients on and off steroid medication. As for MPA, the genetic variability of transporters or enzymes had no impact on dose-adjusted MPA-AUC due to the low allele frequencies. Patients off steroids had a higher dose-adjusted MPA-AUC (0.18 mg·h/L per mg/m2, 0.012–0.27) compared with patients on steroids (0.12 mg·h·L−1·mg−1, 0.09–0.19; P = 0.04). Conclusions: Genetic variability of CYP3A5 has an impact on TAC metabolism in pediatric renal transplant recipients, contributing partly to the variability of TAC exposure. Therefore, adjusting initial TAC dosing to the genotype of CYP3A5 might be of clinical benefit.
Phytoplankton blooms in the Huon Estuary, Tasmania: top-down or bottom-up control?

The roles of "top-down" and "bottom-up" factors were investigated in terms of their influence on the diatom and dinoflagellate abundances in the microtidal, salt wedge Huon Estuary, Tasmania, Australia. Long-term (1996-2005) changes in Chl a, the peridinin: Chl a ratio and the abundance of autotrophic dinoflagellates were observed to coincide with the warming of regional surface waters. There were significant seasonal differences in pigment-specific net growth rates for Chl a, peridinin andfucoxanthin. Diatoms dominated the spring bloom when species such as Skeletonema costatum had the highest net growth rates and fucoxanthin-specific gross growth rates were ∼ 0.9 day -1 . During late summer, the peridinin-specific grazing mortality was significantly less than the fucoxanthin-specific grazing mortality and dinoflagellates increased their dominance of the phytoplankton community. This late summer relaxation of grazing pressure on dinoflagellates was associated with a decline in the overall abundance of microheterotroph (MH) grazers and a peak in the abundance, biomass and estimated grazing rates of mesozooplankton. We suggest the composition of the autumn phytoplankton community was dependent upon a trophic cascade where mesozooplankton, such as Noctiluca scintillans, preyed upon MHs and reduced their grazing upon some species of dinoflagellates.
Brain complexity increases in mania

An important challenge in measuring whole brain activation is to develop a measure that could distinguish between normal and abnormal mood states. The application of chaos theory and non-linear dynamics to problems in biological sciences has resulted in a growing body of advancements and the notion of brain as a complex, non-linear system has attracted physicists, mathematicians, biologists and psychologists alike. To search for a correlation between alterations in chaotic brain states and mood disorders, we compared the fractal dimension of the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal in patients going through a manic episode of bipolar mood disorder (BMD) type I to a control group of healthy adults and showed that the EEG fractal dimension is significantly augmented in our patients. Thus, for the first time, we draw a clear objective distinction between normal and abnormal mood and associated brain states.
FSK zero-crossing demodulator for 802.15.4 low-cost receivers

This paper presents an asynchronous binary-FSK demodulator (AZCD) for 802.15. 4 (ZigBee) low-cost receivers. Based on the zero-crossing demodulator (ZCD) principle, the proposed demodulator architecture is asynchronous, e.g operating without symbol synchronization. Compared to the Zero Intermediate Frequency Zero-Crossing Demodulator (ZIFZCD) technique, the AZCD performances, in terms of BER as a function of Eb/N0, are degraded of about 3.5 dB but its complexity is much lower since no recovery timing device is needed and AZCD is mainly built with logic gates. Moreover, AZCD performances (BER) are good enough to fulfil 802.15. 4 requirements. Indeed, the use of AZCD involves the design of zero-IF receiver with a noise factor (NF) of about 10 dB, which is achievable in a low-cost CMOS process.
Motivation to become an entrepreneur: a study of Nigerian women's decisions

Purpose – The paper aims to draw on rational choice theory (RCT) to explore factors underpinning the decision by female entrepreneurs in Nigeria to enter self‐employment.Design/methodology/approach – A survey research design involving the use of questionnaire and structured interviews to obtain primary data was adopted. Primary data pertain to 300 female entrepreneurs currently engaged in their businesses in three states within the south‐west of the country. A model developed from reviewed literature and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyse data.Findings – Findings suggest the significance of “educational” and “family” capital, an “internal” orientation to social recognition as well as an “external” environment characterised by deregulation of the economy. Results broadly conform to RCT theory postulates of rational behaviour.Research limitations/implications – Inter‐regional variances could not be addressed since the data are analysed in aggregate. Analysis of disaggregate data a.
Using Accountability to Reduce Access Policy Violations in Information Systems

Access policy violations by organizational insiders are a major security concern for organizations because these violations commonly result in fraud, unauthorized disclosure, theft of intellectual property, and other abuses. Given the operational demands of dynamic organizations, current approaches to curbing access policy violations are insufficient. This study presents a new approach for reducing access policy violations, introducing both the theory of accountability and the factorial survey to the information systems field. We identify four system mechanisms that heighten an individual's perception of accountability: identifiability, awareness of logging, awareness of audit, and electronic presence. These accountability mechanisms substantially reduce intentions to commit access policy violations. These results not only point to several avenues for future research on access policy violations but also suggest highly practical design-artifact solutions that can be easily implemented with minimal impact on organizational insiders.
Raised speed limits, speed spillover, case-fatality rates, and road deaths in Israel: a 5-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVES We assessed the 5-year, nationwide impact on road deaths of the raise in the speed limit (November 1, 1993) on 3 major interurban highways in Israel from 90 to 100 kph. METHODS We compared before-after trends in deaths as well as case fatality-an outcome independent of exposure (defined as vehicle-kilometers traveled). RESULTS After the raise, speeds rose by 4.5%-9.1%. Over 5 years, there was a sustained increase in deaths (15%) and case fatality rates (38%) on all interurban roads. Corresponding increases in deaths (13%) and case fatality (24%) on urban roads indicated "speed spillover. " CONCLUSIONS Immediate increases in case fatality predicted and tracked the sustained increase in deaths from increased speeds of impact. Newtonian fourth power models predicted the effects of "small" increases in speed on large rises in case fatality rates. Countermeasures and congestion reduced the impact on deaths and case-fatality rates by more than half.
A New Model for Assessing Proteolysis in the Intact Mouse Lens in Organ Culture

Purpose: To develop a new method to investigate proteolysis in the intact lens in organ culture. Methods: Intact mouse lenses were assayed at regular intervals for proteolytic activity using fluorogenic peptide substrates ± addition of ionomycin. Specific inhibitors were used to determine the activity of calpains, the proteasome and acid lysosomal enzymes. Results: Significant levels of proteolytic activity were present in the intact lens. Proteolysis was stimulated by ionomycin. Preincubation with an inhibitor to the proteasome significantly decreased proteolysis whereas inhibitors of calpain and acid lysosomal enzymes did not. Conclusion: This study indicates that in the intact mouse lens in culture, the proteasome is an important protease. Its activity is at least partially regulated by calcium.
Cryptosporidium and Dairy Cattle in the Catskill/Delaware Watershed: A Quantitative Risk Assessment

We carried out a study to estimate the public health risk posed by dairy cattle located in New York City's Catskill/Delaware watershed, as measured by daily C. parvum‐like oocyst loading. A Monte Carlo simulation model that takes into account the nature of the dairy cattle population within the target area, age‐specific incidence/prevalence rates, as well as differential fecal production and oocyst‐shedding intensity rates was used to address the objectives. Additionally, the model was designed to distinguish between zoonotic and nonzoonotic species/genotypes of Cryptosporidium. Total estimated daily C. parvum‐like oocyst shedding across all age/production categories was estimated at 4.15 × 1010. The zoonotic C. parvum comprised 93.5% of this load. It was estimated that preweaned calves produce 99.5% of the total daily C. parvum ocyst burden. The recently described nonzoonotic C. bovis was estimated to have a daily load of 2.2 × 109 oocysts across all age/production strata. C. parvum deer‐like genotype was estimated to have a total daily load of 1.3 × 109 oocysts. The results of this study support earlier assertions that strategies aimed at reducing the cryptosporidial risk posed by dairy cattle to public health will be most efficacious if aimed at preweaned calves.
Valuation of the option of abandoning ISO 9001 certification: an empirical study in Spain

The main objective of the present work is to provide a tool that facilitates the valuation of the existing option in any business with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 certification to be able to abandon it if deemed appropriate. By comparing the value of the business under the assumption of whether or not it has implemented the ISO 9001 quality system, a first approximation of the value that this certification benefits the business has been obtained. However, the value thus obtained does not present operational flexibility that permits management to give up the certification. To assess this abandonment option, fuzzy real options were used. This tool is validated with an empirical study in Spain. The proposed methodology is applied at 13 small companies belonging to the same sector. Furthermore, their behaviour in the context of the current Spanish economic crisis is analysed.
Declining Equivalence Scales and Cost of Children: Evidence and Implications for Inequality Measurement

Abstract This article estimates expenditure-dependent equivalence scales for Italian couples with and without children. Following Donaldson and Pendakur (2006), the generalised absolute equivalence-scale exactness (GAESE) restrictions are incorporated into a translated quadratic almost ideal demand system. We obtain declining-with-expenditure equivalence scales, a pattern that tends to strengthen when the number of children increases. Thus, scale economies in current consumption are lower for families with poor expenditure capacities. We also show that families living in the South bear a substantial additional cost to achieve the same well-being of those living in the North. Finally, we find that ignoring the declining with expenditure pattern may involve a relevant understatement of measured inequality.
Changes in the Structure of World Trade in the Agri‐Food Industry: The Impact of the Home Market Effect and Regional Liberalization From a Long‐Term Perspective, 1963–2010

ABSTRACT This study examines the reasons for changes in the composition of international trade in agricultural and food products. We use a Gravity Model to compare the impact of the key factors in bilateral agri‐food trade, which we split into three main product groups following Rauch's classification of goods, between 1963 and 2010 for a representative sample of 40 countries. Our results show that the greater rhythm of growth in differentiated and reference priced products can be explained by the existence of the home market effect. Regional trade agreements have had an unequal impact on distinct product types, being especially important in the processed product markets. [JEL Classification: F14, N70, Q17]
A cluster‐randomised, controlled trial of the impact of Cogmed Working Memory Training on both academic performance and regulation of social, emotional and behavioural challenges

BACKGROUND We explored whether school-based Cogmed Working Memory Training (CWMT) may optimise both academic and psychological outcomes at school. Training of executive control skills may form a novel approach to enhancing processes that predict academic achievement, such as task-related attention, and thereby academic performance, but also has the potential to improve the regulation of emotion, social problems and behavioural difficulties. METHODS Primary school children (Mean age = 12 years, N = 148) were cluster-randomised to complete active CWMT, a nonadaptive/placebo version of CWMT, or no training. RESULTS No evidence was found for training effects on task-related attention when performing academic tasks, or performance on reading comprehension and mathematics tasks, or teacher-reported social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. CONCLUSIONS CWMT did not improve control of attention in the classroom, or regulation of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Re-Legitimating ‘Voice’ and ‘Loyalty’ within Economic Theories of Democracy and Accountability: Brazilian Exemplars

Introduction Albert Hirschman (1971: 243) had once said that the ‘quick theoretical fix has taken its place in our culture alongside the quick technical fix’. When he made this statement, Hirschman (1971) was not despising the use of theory in the social sciences but, rather, arguing against theoretical frameworks that reduce the complexity of society into an ‘explain all’ mechanism. Although Hirschman (1971) was not referring specifically to economics when he voiced his concern against theoretical abuse, Public Choice Theory has been the most visible ‘quick fix’ in Public Management and Public Policy in recent times. This accounts for the amazing emergence of New Public Management prescriptions that have been the basis for government reform in the UK (Rhodes, 1991), in the USA — under the inspiration of Osborne and Gaebler’s (1993) Re-inventing Government, in New Zealand and Australia (Dixon and Kouzmin, 1994) and many other countries, including Brazil (Andrews and Kouzmin, 1998). Due to the hegemonic dominance of an economistic approach to public administration, most debates on the social control of public services have reduced the role of the citizen to that of a ‘consumer’ and ‘client’ of the state (Habermas, 1987; Clarke, 1993). The prescriptions offered by New Public Management advocates have been in the direction of enlarging the ‘choice’ of the consumer as a means of enhancing ‘quality’ in public organizations. In addition, the behaviour of public servants is reduced to obedience to a system of financial incentives and sanctions, according to the underlying assumption, adopted by Public Choice Theory, that individuals are primarily motivated by rational ‘egoism’ (Udehn, 1996). In this regard, New Public Management proponents believe that productivity in the public sector can be improved only when connected to a payment system that rewards managers for performance. While in the private sector this belief has been already challenged (Kohn, 1993), financial incentives are being
In Vitro Cytochrome P 450 Activity Decreases in Children with High Pediatric End-Stage Liver Disease Scores Lies

To improve the modeling and simulation of pharmacokinetics in pediatric patients, research into developmental and disease-specific determinants is needed. This article describes the evaluation of the activity of in vitro cytochrome P450 (P450), an important enzyme family in drug metabolism, in children with hepatic dysfunction. The activity of six P450 isoforms (CYP1A2, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1, and 3A4) was evaluated in 31 patients with different pathologies, predominantly biliary atresia (n = 23). Hypervariable activity was observed for all the isoforms. Compared with average adult activity, low activity levels were seen for CYP1A2, 2C19, 2E1, and 3A4. For CYP2E1 and 3A4, a positive correlation between activity and abundance was observed. Age, comedication, and genotype could not be used as predictors for P450 activity in this patient population. In contrast, the pediatric end-stage liver disease score was negatively correlated with the ln(activity). This finding suggests a decrease in P450 activity with deteriorating hepatic function. Moreover, the activity of all isoforms was correlated, demonstrating a concomitant decrease of all isoforms in young patients with liver disease. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate P450 activity in children with hepatic impairment. The presented data may provide support in the further optimization of a diseasespecific model in this patient population.
World development report 2006 : equity and development

World Development Report 2006 analyzes the relationship between equity and development. The report documents the persistence of inequality traps by highlighting the interaction between different forms of inequality. It presents evidence that the inequality of opportunity that arises is wasteful and inimical to sustainable development and poverty reduction. It also derives policy implications that center on the broad concept of leveling the playing field-both politically and economically and in the domestic and the global arenas. The report recognizes the intrinsic value of equity but aims primarily to document how a focus on equity matters for long-run development. It has three parts: Part I considers the evidence on inequality of opportunity, within and across countries. Part II asks why equity matters, discussing the two channels of impact (the effects of unequal opportunities when markets are imperfect, and the consequences of inequity for the quality of institutions a society develops) as well as intrinsic motives. Part III asks how public action can level the political and economic playing fields. In the domestic arena, it makes the case for investing in people, expanding access to justice, land, and infrastructure, and promoting fairness in markets. In the international arena, it considers leveling the playing field in the functioning of global markets and the rules that govern them-and the complementary provision of aid to help poor countries and poor people build greater endowments.
Erythema migrans-like rash illness at a camp in North Carolina: a new tick-borne disease?

BACKGROUND Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, has never been isolated from a patient thought to have acquired Lyme disease in any southeastern state. OBJECTIVE To investigate 14 cases of an erythema migrans (EM)-like rash illness that occurred during 2 summers at an outdoor camp in central North Carolina in an effort to determine the etiologic, epidemiological, and clinical aspects of this illness. METHODS Using active surveillance, we identified cases of clinically diagnosed EM in residents and staff of the camp. We collected clinical and demographic information; history of exposure to ticks; acute and convalescent serum antibodies to B. burgdorferi, Rickettsia rickettsii, and Ehrlichia chaffeensis; and cultures for spirochetes from biopsy specimens of skin lesions. Serum samples from a group of residents and staff who did not develop rashes were tested for the same antibodies. We speciated ticks removed from people and collected from vegetation. RESULTS We identified 14 cases of EM-like rash illness during the 2 summers. Of the 14 case-patients, 10 had associated mild systemic symptoms and 1 had documented fever. All 14 case-patients had removed attached ticks, and 8 remembered having removed a tick from the site where the rash developed a median of 12 days earlier (range, 2-21 days). One tick removed from the site where a rash later developed was identified as Amblyomma americanum, the Lone Star tick; 97% of ticks collected from vegetation and 95% of ticks removed from people were A. americanum. No spirochetes were isolated from skin biopsy specimens. Paired serum samples from 13 case-patients did not show diagnostic antibody responses to B. burgdorferi or other tick-borne pathogens. CONCLUSIONS This investigation suggests the existence of a new tick-associated rash illness. We suspect that the disease agent is carried by A. americanum ticks. In the southern United States, EM-like rash illness should no longer be considered definitive evidence of early Lyme disease.