Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global Dreams, Enduring Tensions: International Baccalaureate in a Changing World

With the intensification of globalization, there is a growing consensus that international education has come of age. This book examines how the changing conditions of the present have given rise to an altered set of meanings and uses for international education, using the International Baccalaureate (IB) as its focal point. Currently adopted in over 2,500 private and state-run schools in 134 countries around the world, the IB has far surpassed the expectations of its founders, who struggled under considerable challenges in the 1960s to develop an internationally recognized diploma for university entrance. From its beginnings to its current prominence, the history of the IB richly illuminates the shifting meanings, uses, challenges, and progressive openings of international education in a global age. Documenting the ideals, goals, and complications faced by the IB movement, this book will be relevant to individuals interested in the IB in particular, as well as to those interested in the broader areas of global studies, progressive pedagogy, educational change, and globalization.
Securing Data by Using Cryptography with Steganography

Securing data is a challenging issue in today's era. Most of the data travel over the internet and it becomes difficult to make data secure. So Cryptography was introduced for making data secure. But alone cryptography cannot provide a better security approach because the scrambled message is still available to the eavesdropper. There arises a need of data hiding. So here we are using a combination of steganography and cryptography for improving the security.
Risk Management of a Credit Portfolio : An Alternative to Structural Approach

The reduced form models have been widely used in the literature to price the credit risk of defaultable assets. However, little has yet been done in using the reduced form model as a portfolio risk management tool. In this study, we propose a multi-firm reduced form model and use it to measure portfolio credit risk. We calibrate and back-test our model using corporate bond prices. Our results suggest that the implied hazard rate of our model can be a leading indicator of the creditworthiness of the firm. Moreover, credit risk is found to be highly systematic and the back-testing results suggest that discontinuity in hazard rate is needed to capture the occurrence of extreme loss events. ∗Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, tel: (416) 525-2818, e-mail: miu@rotman.utoronto. ca. I would like to thank my thesis supervisor Alan White and all the participants of the Learning Session (April 2002) of the Risk Management Group of Bank of Montreal, including Frederick Shen, Bogie Ozdemir, Stephen Bates, Scott Allen, Alexander Tchernitser, Paul Kim and Chaoyang Guo for their comments. I do not implicate any of these people in the errors that remain.
Influence of Student Engagement on the Career Transition of Division I Football Student-Athletes

OF DISSERTATION INFLUENCE OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT ON THE CAREER TRANSITION OF DIVISION I FOOTBALL STUDENT-ATHLETES College’s revenue sports, football and men’s basketball, fuel the billion dollar intercollegiate athletics industry. Historically, those same two sports have maintained the lowest grade point average among all student-athletes. This inverse relationship begs the question, “what academic sacrifices are being made at the expense of college’s revenue sports? ” Student engagement into educationally purposeful activities has been widely acknowledged as having influence on desirable college outcomes. The full extent of student engagement’s effect has yet to be determined. The purpose of this study was to conduct exploratory, qualitative research into the role of student engagement in educationally purposeful activities on the career transition of football student-athletes in the Southeastern Conference by answering the following research questions: how do SEC football players perceive their educationally purposeful engagement activities during college? To what extent do their perceptions of purposeful engagement activities influence career transitions? Results of this qualitative research uncovered the following four major themes: (a) Limited Purposeful Engagement Activities; (b) Desire for Internship Opportunities; (c) Undefined Career Path; and (d) Career Transition Regret. Results showed that former SEC football players in this study did not have enough experience with educationally purposeful engagement activities during college to make a determination. Additionally, student-athlete participants did not have the guidance or time required to participate in the only activity they perceived to be beneficial such as internships. Last, the former SEC football players did not perceive a positive relationship between their purposeful engagement activities and career transition. Creating a distinct set of student engagement criteria for student-athletes should be considered based on the study’s findings. Moreover, all stakeholders in student-athletes should collaborate effectively and share responsibility for their outcome.
BANKING SECTOR POLICIES AND FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN NEPAL

This paper examines the interaction between banking sector policies, financial development and economic growth in Nepal employing recently developed time-series techniques. Policies such as interest rate controls, directed credit programmes, reserve and liquidity requirements are identified and measured. A summary measure of repressive policies is constructed by the method of principal components. This measure is found to have a statistically significant influence, deepening independently of the real interest rate. We argue that our findings are consistent with the hypothesis of market failure. Exogeneity tests suggest that financial deepening and economic growth are jointly determined. Thus, policies which affect financial deepening may also have an influence on economic growth. Copyright 1996 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Government agencies : practices and lessons from 30 countries

PART I: AGENCIFICATION AS A GLOBAL PHENOMENON Introduction K.Verhoest & S.Van Thiel Comparing Agencies across Countries S.Van Thiel PART II: AGENCIFICATION IN DIFFERENT POLITICO-ADMINISTRATIVE TRADITIONS Section 2.1 Agencification in Anglo-American countries Australia C.Aulich & R.Wettenhall Ireland M.MacCarthaigh & R.Boyle New Zealand R.Gregory United Kingdom O.James , A.Moseley , N.Petrovsky & G.Boyne United States B.G. Peters Comparing Agencification in Anglo-American Countries J.Halligan & O.James Section 2.2 Agencification in Latin Countries Belgium K.Verhoest , S.Demuzere & J.Rommel France F.Lafarge Italy E.Ongaro , D.Galli , D.Barbieri & P.Fedele Spain S.Parrado Portugal S.Mendes , P.Gomes & J.F. Araujo Comparing Agencification in Latin Countries S.Parrado , E.Ongaro & K.Verhoest Section 2.3 Agencification in Continental Countries Austria G.Hammerschmid , A.Krischok & K.Steigenberger Germany T.Bach Netherlands K.Yesilkagit & S.Van Thiel Switzerland R.Steiner & E.Huber Comparing Agencification in Continental Countries T.Bach & E.Huber Section 2.4 Agencification in Nordic Countries Denmark M.B. Hansen & V.N. Andersen Finland A.Salminen , O.P.Viinamaki & J.Sokisuu Norway P.Laegreid , P.G. Roness & K.Rubecksen Sweden B.Niklasson Comparing Agencification in Nordic Countries M.B. Hansen , P.Laegreid , J.Pierre & A.Salminen Section 2.5 Agencification in CEE Countries Croatia I.Kopric & A.Musa Estonia K.Sarapuu Hungary G.Hajnal Lithuania V.Nakrosis & Z.Martinaitis Romania C.Hintea , A.E. Hudrea & D.O. Balica Slovakia J.Nemec Comparing Agencification in CEE Countries T.Randma-Liiv, V.Nakrosis & G.Hajnal Section 2.6 Agencification in Eastern and African Countries Hong Kong M.Painter Israel D.Levi-Faur & S.Livshitz Tanzania A.Sulle Pakistan M.Z. I.Jadoon, N.Jabeen & A.Rizwan Thailand B.Bowornwathana Comparing Agencification in Eastern and African Countries M.Painter Section 2.7 Agencification at Supranational Level EU-Level Agencies E.Ongaro , D.Barbieri , N.Belle & P.Fedele PART III: CURRENT CHALLENGES IN AGENCIFICATION IN EUROPE AND BEYOND Agencification in Europe and Beyond: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward S.van Thiel, K.Verhoest, G.Bouckaert & P.Laegreid Endnotes Bibliography
A Comprehensive Histological Assessment of Osteoarthritis Lesions in Mice

Objective: Accurate histological assessment of osteoarthritis (OA) is critical in studies evaluating the effects of interventions on disease severity. The purpose of the present study was to develop a histological grading scheme that comprehensively and quantitatively assesses changes in multiple tissues that are associated with OA of the stifle joint in mice. Design: Two representative midcoronal sections from 158 stifle joints, including naturally occurring and surgically induced OA, were stained with H&E and Safranin-O stains. All slides were evaluated to characterize the changes present. A grading scheme that includes both measurements and semiquantitative scores was developed, and principal components analysis (PCA) was applied to the resulting data from the medial tibial plateaus. A subset of 30 tibial plateaus representing a wide range of severity was then evaluated by 4 observers. Reliability of the results was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: Five factors were retained by PCA, accounting for 74% of the total variance. Interobserver and intraobserver reproducibilities for evaluations of articular cartilage and subchondral bone were acceptable. The articular cartilage integrity and chondrocyte viability factor scores were able to distinguish severe OA from normal, minimal, mild, and moderate disease. Conclusion: This newly developed grading scheme and resulting factors characterize a range of joint changes in mouse stifle joints that are associated with OA. Overall, the newly developed scheme is reliable and reproducible, characterizes changes in multiple tissues, and provides comprehensive information regarding a specific site in the stifle joint.
Spectral Separability among Six Southern Tree Species

Spectroradiometer data (350 to 2500 nm) were acquired in late summer 1999 over various forest sites in Appomattox Buckingham State Forest, Virginia, to assess the spectral differentiability among six major forestry tree species: loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana), shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea), white oak (Quercus alba), and yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). Data were smoothed and curve shape was determined using first- and second-difference operators. Stepwise discriminant analysis was used to decrease the number of independent variables, after which a canonical discriminant analysis and a normal discriminant analysis were performed. Cross-validation accuracies varied from 99 percent to 100 percent (hardwood versus pine groups), 62 percent to 84 percent (within pine group), and 78 percent to 93 percent (within hardwood group). The second difference of a nine-point weighted average proved most accurate overall, with cross-validation accuracies of 84 percent (within pine separability), 93 percent (within hardwood separability), and 100 percent (between group separability). Landsat simulation data had lower accuracies, varying from 93 percent to 96 percent (hardwood versus pine groups), 45 percent to 60 percent (within pine group), and 54 percent to 70 percent (within hardwood group). The relatively low accuracies for Landsat simulation data indicate the need for high spectral resolution data for within group separability. The variables significant in defining spectral separability within and between groups were largely located in the visible (350- to 700-nm) and shortwave infrared 1 (700- to 1850-nm) regions of the spectrum, with markedly less representation in the shortwave infrared I1 (1 700- to 2500nm) region. Some wavelengths related to nitrogen concentration and 0-H bond regions were evident, but not dominant.
Heat and risk of myocardial infarction: hourly level case-crossover analysis of MINAP database

Objective To quantify the association between exposure to higher temperatures and the risk of myocardial infarction at an hourly temporal resolution. Design Case-crossover study. Setting England and Wales Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) database. Participants 24 861 hospital admissions for myocardial infarction occurring in 11 conurbations during the warmest months (June to August) of the years 2003-09. Main outcome measure Odds ratio of myocardial infarction for a 1°C increase in temperature. Results Strong evidence was found for an effect of heat acting 1-6 hours after exposure to temperatures above an estimated threshold of 20°C (95% confidence interval 16°C to 25°C). For each 1°C increase in temperature above this threshold, the risk of myocardial infarction increased by 1.9% (0.5% to 3.3%, P=0.009). Later reductions in risk seemed to offset early increases in risk: the cumulative effect of a 1°C rise in temperature above the threshold was 0.2% (−2.1% to 2.5%) by the end of the third day after exposure. Conclusions Higher ambient temperatures above a threshold of 20°C seem to be associated with a transiently increased risk of myocardial infarction 1-6 hours after exposure. Reductions in risk at longer lags are consistent with heat triggering myocardial infarctions early in highly vulnerable people who would otherwise have had a myocardial infarction some time later (“short term displacement”). Policies aimed at reducing the health effects of hot weather should include consideration of effects operating at sub-daily timescales.
DRUG USE AMONG THE HOME-DWELLING ELDERLY

The elderly use drugs more commonly than younger persons. Many studies about drug use have concentrated on institutionalized elders. Knowledge of drug use by the oldest old, aged 85 years or over, is scant. Psychotropics are among the drugs most commonly used by the elderly. Psychotropics have many adverse effects, such as balance impairment, sedation, reduced cognition, depression, and extrapyramidal symptoms. We do not know the extent of sedative drug use, including psychotropics and drugs prescribed for somatic disorders that have sedative properties. Withdrawal of unnecessary drugs appears to be beneficial and to improve the functional capacities of the elderly. The aim of this study was to describe the changes in prescription drug use, polypharmacy, and psychotropic use among home-dwelling elderly Finns in the 1990s by using two cross-sectional community surveys. The specific aim was to classify all drugs used in Finland into four groups based on their sedative properties. Drug use, polypharmacy, and, to some extent, psychotropic use increased within a decade. The oldest old used prescription drugs most commonly. Polypharmacy was independently associated with higher age, and in 1998-99, with at least 3 chronic diseases, poor self-perceived health, and the use of home nursing services. Most psychotropic users were on regular medication. The use of hypnotics and antidepressants increased most. Persons with polypharmacy used significantly more commonly psychotropics compared to other people. Over 84-year-olds used psychotropics more commonly than younger persons. Sedative use was common, as 40 % of drug users used them. Sedative use was significantly more common among persons with polypharmacy than others. According to logistic regression models, the use of many sedatives was independently associated with age 80 years or over, female gender, chronic morbidity, smoking, poor self-perceived health/life satisfaction, and the use of home nursing. Both polypharmacy and abundant sedative use were associated with impaired physical functional abilities. Prescribers need to be aware of the increasing polypharmacy and abundant sedative use. Regular assessment of indications is needed to avoid overuse of drugs. Geriatric knowledge is needed to support health centers and specialized units in this demanding task.
Funds from Operations Versus Net Income: Examining the Dividend-Relevance of REIT Performance Measures

While the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry is traditionally viewed as a cash flow business, REIT investors have also relied on Funds from Operations (FFO) and net income to evaluate company performance. In this study, we compare FFO and net income by examining how well these two performance measures explain dividend policy of REITs beyond operating cash flows. Our investigation extends over the period of 2001-2008, subsequent to the provision of the new FFO definition by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). Specifically, by decomposing the performance measures into their cash and non-cash (accrual) components, we find that, while the non-cash component that is common to both FFO and net income is significantly associated with the level of dividends distributed by REITs, the additional non-cash component contained in net income but not in FFO has no association with dividends. We further find that the non-cash component in net income becomes significantly associated with dividends only when measurement errors in depreciation are low (i.e., reporting quality in depreciation is high). By suggesting that the inclusion of depreciation distorts the dividend-relevance of REIT net income, this paper provides further support to the dominance of FFO over net income for financial reporting in the REIT industry.
Extracellular MicroRNAs in Urologic Malignancies: Chances and Challenges

Small noncoding RNAs that are 19–23 nucleotides long, known as microRNAs (miRNAs), are involved in almost all biological mechanisms during carcinogenesis. Recent studies show that miRNAs released from live cells are detectable in body fluids and may be taken up by other cells to confer cell-cell communication. These released miRNAs (here referred to as extracellular miRNAs) are often protected by RNA-binding proteins or embedded inside circulating microvesicles. Due to their relative stability, extracellular miRNAs are believed to be promising candidates as biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of disease, or even as therapeutic agents for targeted treatment. In this review, we first describe biogenesis and characteristics of these miRNAs. We then summarize recent publications involving extracellular miRNA profiling studies in three representative urologic cancers, including: prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. We focus on the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic potential of these miRNAs in biological fluids, such as serum, plasma, and urine. Finally, we discuss advantages and challenges of these miRNAs in clinical applications.
Do Analysts Forecasts Vary Too Much?

In this paper we examine the time-series and cross-sectional volatility in analyst forecasts. We derive a bound on the degree of variation in forecasts, analogous to the variance bound literature in finance, and document the frequency and circumstances surrounding violations of this bound. We find that the time-series of individual forecasts are excessively volatile approximately 17 percent of the time, affecting up to 50 percent of the aggregate market value of stocks. We also find that the market-wide frequency of excessively volatile forecasts in a year is positively correlated with aggregate stock market volatility and market sentiment, and is negatively correlated with future aggregate stock returns. We find that the cross-section of analyst forecasts are excessively volatile approximately eight percent of the time, and observe that excessively volatile forecasts are more common for larger firms. As a precursor to identifying the underlying causes and consequences of excessively volatile forecasts, we describe the time period characteristics, analyst characteristics, and firm characteristics that are associated with these events.
Buoyant radio plasma in clusters of galaxies

Radio galaxies are known to inflate lobes of hot relativistic plasmas into the intergalactic medium. Here we present hydrodynamical and magnetohydrodynamical simulations of these hot plasma bubbles in FR II objects. We focus on the later stages of their evolution after the jet has died down and after the bow shock that surrounded the lobes at earlier stages has vanished. We investigate the evolution of the plasma bubbles as they become subject to Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities. From our simulations we calculate the radio and X-ray emissivities of the bubbles and discuss their appearance in observations. Finally, we investigate the influence of large-scale magnetic fields on the evolution of the bubbles. The issues of re-acceleration and diffusion of relativistic particles are briefly discussed.
Basin Modeling in Complex Area: Examples from Eastern Venezuelan and Canadian Foothills

Basin modeling aims at reconstructing the time evolution of a sedimentary basin in order to make quantitative predictions of geological phenomena leading to hydrocarbons accumulations. It accounts for porous medium compaction, heat transfer, hydrocarbon generation and fluid flow. Nevertheless, classical basin models handle simple geometry and are not usable in complex geometry area such as foothills. This is why, a numerical prototype Ceres, has been developed. This prototype is able to model three-phase flow in a 2D section of a basin, whose geometry changes through time accounting for deposition, compaction, erosion of the sediments, salt or mud creeping, and block displacement along faults. The classical flow chart to perform a case study is composed of three main steps. The first step is the building of the present day section. This is generally done with data coming from the seismic interpretation, wells, outcrops, and core data. At this stage, the section is generally balanced using software such as Locace. The second step is the restoration of the section. The section at present day is restored back in the past for each of the defined layer until the substratum is reached. In order to balance the section during time and to constrain the eroded parts of the section, we have to use a forward kinematic modeling tool such as Thrustpack. Thus, from a section restored with Locace before thrusting, the use of Thrustpack allows to construct intermediate sections during time, which are consistent from a kinematics point of view. The last step is the forward simulation. And, in order to solve the coupled equations that are generally used in basin models, we had to develop original numerical methods based on domain decomposition techniques. The previous methodology is the fruit of tests performed for an Alberta (Canada) transect and an eastern Venezuelan transect. When considering the origin of the fluids in the Oligocene sandstones of the El Furrial structure or in the Mississipian dolomite of the Canadian foothills, a general scenario of squeegee fluids is recognized. Before the flexuring and thrusting period, fluids are in equilibrium with the sediments. They are being continuously expelled toward the surface during the compaction related dewatering. Then, because of the tilting and thrusting with the deposition of synflexural sediments, an episode of squeegee fluid is created with flow along the stratification that can reach velocity of tens of kilometers per million of years. This squeegee episode stops when the thrusts of the considered area become active.
120-GHz-band millimeter-wave photonic wireless link for 10-Gb/s data transmission

A 120-GHz-band wireless link that uses millimeter-wave (MMW) photonic techniques was developed. The output power and noise characteristics of 120-GHz-band MMWs generated by converting a 125-GHz optical subcarrier signal were evaluated. It was then shown that the noise characteristics of the 125-GHz signal generated with these photonic technologies is sufficient for 10-Gb/s data transmission. We constructed a compact 120-GHz-band wireless link system, and evaluated its data transmission characteristics. This system achieved error-free transmission of OC-192 and 10-GbE signals over a distance of more than 200 m with a received power of below -30 dBm.