Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of a mixed-mode data collection design on non response bias on a business survey

Many studies of data collection processes for business surveys focus on issues related to how to increase response rates and how to reduce response burden. Additionally, some have focussed on measurement error. Issues related to non response bias, on the other hand, do not seem to be explicitly part of the research agenda. The main reason why researchers should be concerned about non response is the potential for it to introduce bias. Our paper compares two alternative survey designs in terms of resultant response rates and non response bias. The first design is a simple postal survey with follow-up mailings; the second design is a two-phase multi-mode design, where the postal survey is followed at the second phase by a telephone survey of non-respondents. We found evidence that the sample obtained using only postal methods is biased in important respects. Bias is not apparent in the demographic characteristics of the employees. Bus bias is observed in some of the employeesâ€™ employment characteristics and some of the characteristics of the firms in which they work. The multi mode design seems, overall, to have reduced or removed the bias of the postal sample. Only in marginal respects was some further bias introduced. We also compare costs of the two designs, to enable a comparison of cost-effective at bias reduction.
Directing Curriculum through Standards: A Content Analysis of the 2010 Texas State Social Studies Standards

In 2010 the Texas Education Agency adopted newly rewritten curriculum standards for the state's social studies courses K-12. The period leading up to the adoption of the standards proved contentious as the new standards moved out of the writing committees and into the public realm. The issues brought forth from initial readings of the standards appeared in the national spotlight as educators and the general public from around the country voiced their concerns. Many concerns centered on the belief that the Texas State Board of Education had rewritten the standards to reflect a more politically conservative world view along with an emphasis on traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs. Members of the state board argued that the previous standards reflected a politically liberal world view and that the board needed to bring balance to the standards. Because of national criticism changes were made but on a limited scale. The purpose of this study was to assess if the rewritten standards demonstrated a politically conservative preference as well as an emphasis on Judeo-Christian beliefs. During the analysis I included information regarding a preference for capitalism, a focus on Texas and U.S. history while minimizing world history and a focus on memorization rather than critical thinking. The analysis revealed that the rewritten standards demonstrate a politically conservative leaning while promoting traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs. Analysis and research further revealed that the standards promote capitalism while limiting the study of other economic systems in the world. In regards to the preference for Texas and U.S. history versus world history my analysis confirmed a limited presence of world history; however, research also revealed that this issue is not limited to the state of Texas, but a number of other states in the U.S. Finally, my analysis demonstrated that many of the standards' objectives begin with verbs found on verb lists from Bloom's Taxonomy. By using Bloom's Taxonomy I learned that a majority of objectives throughout the K-12 standards operate in the lower half of the Taxonomy rather than the upper half meaning that there is an emphasis on lower order thinking skills rather than higher order thinking skills.
Two Micro-models of Tourism Capitalism and the (Re)Scaling of State–Business Relations

Abstract This paper aims to show that (i) there are two micro-models of tourism capitalism in Antalya (Turkey) and (ii) different trajectories of (re)scaling of state–business relations form an integral part of each model of tourism capitalism. The paper bridges two debates in the literature that generally are very isolated from each other, namely those on state (re)scaling and variety of capitalism. Based on written documents and in-depth interviews with representatives of tourism associations, an enclave-tourism capitalism is distinguished from a disorganized tourism capitalism. The former is characterized by (i) local tourism–infrastructure associations and corporate company associations founded by central state and strong relations with each other, (ii) administrative customization, (iii) a mixture of a dominant developmental and a business-corporatist state, (iv) downward and upward scaling managed by central state and (v) a partly compartmentalized and partly collaborative business system. Disorganized tourism capitalism is characterized by (i) an organic tourism development, (ii) local voluntary business associations dominated by big hotels, (iii) administrative uniformity, (iv) a mixture of an arm's length and a particularistic state, (v) a fragmented and project-based business system and (vi) downward scaling managed by big tourism businesses.
THE INITIAL IMPACTS OF A MATCHED SAVINGS PROGRAM: THE SAVER PLUS PROGRAM

A major emphasis in policy focus in recent years has been to promote greater levels of saving and financial inclusion in Australia. A number of studies have identified that low-income households and households with children have lower saving propensities. This paper explores the effectiveness of a particular matched savings program, Saver Plus, in promoting savings amongst low-income families that are typically at the margin of the financial sector. While noting the limitations of the lack of a formal control group, the results appear to suggest that the Saver Plus program, with its involvement of community groups, a financial education component, and co-contribution arrangements may have been successful in encouraging savings behaviour.
Normative Dynamics and Strategic Interests in the Eu's External Identity

Focus on the ideational dimensions of the EU's international presence has unduly diverted attention away from the persistence of power politics instrumentalism. De spite general recognition that these elements co-exist, analysis of EU external policies can benefit from a more precise exploration of how strategic calculation invests a broadly normative agenda with notable characteristics. The article demonstrates this in relation to the promotion of human rights. This sheds light on the way in which security concerns and normative values inform each other, and cautions against neglect of the strategic specificities to identity-representation dynamics. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004.
Determinants of C1q Binding in the Single Antigen Bead Assay

Background A modified single antigen bead (SAB) assay measuring C1q binding to human leukocyte antigen antibodies has recently been introduced. The aim of this study was to investigate the determinants of C1q binding on SAB. Methods Sera from 73 sensitized patients were analyzed by the generic IgGpan as well as IgG subclass specific SAB assays and correlated with the standard and an anti-human globulin (AHG) enhanced C1q test. Results Among 2,665 SABs with positive IgGpan results (mean fluorescence intensity [MFI]>500), strong complement-binding IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses accounted for a median of 99% (interquartile range, 76%–100%) of the total IgG amount. IgGpan MFI alone showed a very strong association with standard C1q positivity (r2=0.72), which was superior to a model including all IgG subclass MFI (r2=0.62). Combining all IgG subclass MFI and IgGpan MFI only marginally improved the prediction of standard C1q positivity compared with IgGpan MFI alone (&Dgr;r2=0.02). IgGpan MFI greater than 14,154 predicted standard C1q positivity, with 92% sensitivity and 96% specificity. Notably, 1,840 (93%) of the 1,974 C1q-negative SABs contained human leukocyte antigen antibodies with strong complement-binding IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses. Anti–human globulin significantly enhanced the signal in the C1q assay, but the association of AHG C1q positivity with IgGpan MFI was less strong (r2=0.51). Conclusion C1q binding on SAB is strongly associated with IgGpan MFI. IgG subclass information only marginally improves prediction of C1q binding likely because complement-binding IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses dominate regarding frequency and relative amounts. A negative C1q assay result does not indicate the absence of strong complement-binding IgG subclasses.
Is the Well-Being of Children Converging in the European Union?

Recent discussion of convergence in the European Union has focused on macroeconomic indicators, in line with requirements for participation in the single currency. But it is reduction of disparities in living standards that is an ultimate goal of European integration--the greater "economic and social cohesion" emphasised by the Treaty on Union. We assemble evidence on whether the well-being of children in Member States has been converging over the last two decades, taking a variety of indicators: poverty, household worklessness, youth unemployment, child mortality, youth suicide, educational enrollment, teenage fertility, and self-reported "life satisfaction".
Optimizing achievable throughput for cognitive radio network using swarm intelligence

Cognitive radio (CR) technology allows a secondary or cognitive user (CU) to opportunistically access frequency band of a primary user (PU) when it is not in use. However, a CU needs to perform spectrum sensing periodically to avoid causing harmful interference and thereby protecting the quality of service of PUs. A conventional frame structure for CR operation consists of sensing time slot and data transmission time slot which run consecutively. Basically, a longer sensing time produces a higher probability of detection and therefore, better PU protection. However, longer sensing time will reduce the amount of time for data transmission and hence affects the achievable throughput of a CU. In this paper, we study the fundamental tradeoff between sensing time and achievable throughput of the CUs. Based on energy detection scheme, we propose and investigate the feasibility of using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) in the design of sensing slot duration to maximize the achievable throughput for CUs for a given frame duration. The results show an encouraging 8.89% increase in throughput with respect to the probability of false alarm, a reduced sensing time by 80% while achieving 97.8% of normalized throughput for CU system with PSO.
A phase I dose escalation study of oral c-MET inhibitor tivantinib (ARQ 197) in combination with gemcitabine in patients with solid tumors.

BACKGROUND Tivantinib (ARQ 197) is an orally available, non-adenosine triphosphate competitive, selective c-MET inhibitor. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the safety, tolerability and to establish the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of tivantinib and gemcitabine combination. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors were treated with escalating doses of tivantinib (120-360 mg capsules) in combination with gemcitabine (1000 mg/m(2) weekly for 3 of 4 weeks). Different schedules of administration were tested and modified based on emerging preclinical data. Tivantinib was given continuously, twice a day (b.i.d.) for 2, 3 or 4 weeks of a 28-day cycle or on a 5-day on, 2-day off schedule (the day before and day of gemcitabine administration). RESULTS Twenty-nine patients were treated with gemcitabine and escalating doses of tivantinib: 120 mg b.i. d. (n = 4), 240 mg b.i. d. (n = 6) and 360 mg b.i. d. (n = 19). No dose-limiting toxicities were observed in escalation. The RP2D was 360 mg b.i. d. daily, and 45 additional patients were enrolled in the expansion cohort. Grade ≥3 treatment-related toxicities were observed in 54 of 74 (73%) patients with the most common being neutropenia (43%), anemia (30%), thrombocytopenia (28%) and fatigue (15%). There was one treatment-related death due to neutropenia. Administration of gemcitabine did not affect tivantinib concentration. Fifty-six patients were assessable for response. Eleven (20%) patients achieved a partial response and 26 (46%) had stable disease (SD), including 15 (27%) who achieved SD for over 4 months. Ten of 37 patients with clinical benefit had prior exposure to gemcitabine. CONCLUSION The combination of tivantinib at its monotherapy dose and standard dose gemcitabine was safe and tolerable. Early signs of antitumor activity may warrant further development of this combination in nonsmall-cell lung cancer, ovarian, pancreatic and cholangiocarcinoma. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER NCT00874042.
Cognitive Therapy versus Rogerian Supportive Therapy in Borderline Personality Disorder

Background: To date, there have been no studies comparing cognitive therapy (CT) with Rogerian supportive therapy (RST) in borderline personality disorder. Method: Sixty-five DSM-IV borderline personality disorder outpatients were recruited at 2 centres: Lyon and Marseille. Thirty-three patients were randomly allocated to CT and 32 to RST. The therapists were the same in both groups. Both treatments shared the same duration (1 year) and amount of therapy. Assessment by independent evaluators utilised the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) Scale, the Hamilton Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Hopelessness Scale, Young Schema Questionnaire II, Eysenck Impulsivity Venturesomeness Empathy (IVE) Inventory, a self-harming behaviours checklist and scales measuring quality of life and the therapeutic relationship. The response criterion was a score of 3 or less on the CGI, associated with a Hopelessness Scale score of <8. Results: No patient committed suicide during the trial. Fifty-one patients were evaluated at week 24, 38 at week 52 and 21 at week 104. Cognitive therapy retained the patients in therapy for a longer time. The response criterion found no significant between-group differences at any measurement point in the completers. However, at week 24, CT was better than RST on the Hopelessness Scale, IVE scale and regarding the therapeutic relationship. At week 104, the CGI improvement (patient and evaluator) was significantly better in CT than in RST. High baseline depression and impulsivity predicted dropouts. Conclusions: CT retained the patients in therapy longer, showed earlier positive effects on hopelessness and impulsivity, and demonstrated better long-term outcomes on global measures of improvement.
ICT maturity as a driver to global competitiveness: a national level analysis

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the role that information and communication technologies (ICT) maturity plays in the achievement of global competitiveness at the country level. The paper investigates the socio-economic and technological factors that are most likely to be associated with ICT maturity, and then assesses their role in driving the global competitiveness wheel forward. Design/methodology/approach - Secondary data were used, based on data sets generated by the World Bank, World Economic Forum, and UNESCO for the years 2003-2007. The countries common to all reports were included, yielding a study sample of 93 cases. Cluster analysis was used to categorize countries in terms of ICT usage, readiness, and environment. Structural equation modeling was used to test the fit of a model employing these factors. Findings - First, it was found that ICT plays an important role in driving a country's global competitiveness forward, with a stronger relationship existing in high readiness countries than in low readiness countries. Second, ICT maturity was found to mediate the relationship between ICT quality and R&D spending on one hand and global competitiveness on the other. Finally, the relationship between R&D spending and global competitiveness was found to be stronger for low readiness countries than for high readiness countries. Practical implications - The paper's findings provide insights to managers and government policy makers regarding the effects of economic, social and technological factors on ICT maturity, as well as the relationship between ICT maturity and global competitiveness. Such insights can influence the standards, programs, and strategies that governments implement in order to attain and maintain global competitiveness. Originality/value - The paper presents a holistic model that depicts the ICT maturity factors and their dynamic contributions to global competitiveness. Despite the considerable contributions of existing research in this domain, there is a lack of substantive research that examines the relationship at the country level between ICT maturity and its indicators on one hand and global competitiveness on the other. The paper is an attempt to fill this gap.
Minority status and schooling—John U. Ogbu’s theory and the schooling of ethnic minorities in Europe

This paper discusses the relevance of John U. Ogbu’s cultural‐ecological theory regarding the variability in educational performance of different ethnic minority groups against the background of comparative data on the schooling of ethnic minorities in Europe. Aside from cultural differences and institutional barriers, it addresses the impact of minority group status and community forces on educational achievement. The author calls for more comparative ethnographic research in European countries in order to generate a better understanding of the similarities and differences in educational experiences between various ethnic groups.
Effect of Cytosine Arabinoside and 5-Iodo-2′-Deoxyuridine on a Cytomegalovirus Infection in Newborn Mice

Murine cytomegalovirus was inhibited by 0.6 to 1.2 μg of cytosine arabinoside per ml and by 0.3 to 0.6 μg of 5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine in mouse embryo fibroblast cells. Human cytomegalovirus was inhibited by similar concentrations of the two drugs in WI-38 cells. Intraperitoneal inoculation of suckling mice with 104.5 plaque-forming units of murine cytomegalovirus provides a model for disseminated human cytomegalovirus infection in human newborn infants and is characterized by a widespread infection involving the liver, spleen, lung, kidney, and brain with a 70 to 90% mortality in 7 to 9 days. Treatment with 12.5 mg of cytosine arabinoside per kg or 25 mg of 5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine per kg twice daily for 8 days had no effect on final mortality or the pathogenesis of the infection with the exception of reduced viral titers in the spleen of 5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine-treated animals. These data indicate that neither cytosine arabinoside nor 5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine are effective in the treatment of murine cytomegalovirus infections in suckling mice and suggest that they may be of limited value in the treatment of severe cytomegalovirus infections in human neonates.
Serum KL-6 in pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: China compared historically with Germany and Japan.

BACKGROUND KL-6 is a biomarker of the severity of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP). We noticed a significant difference in the mean serum KL-6 level between Japanese and Caucasian patients. To assess the clinical value of serum KL-6 in Chinese PAP patients, and to compare the differences in serum KL-6 levels in Chinese patients and patients of other ethnicities. METHODS From 2014-2016, we prospectively examined 37 Chinese Han patients with PAP, measured their serum KL-6 levels, evaluated the correlation between initial KL-6 levels and clinical variables, and compared our results with studies from Japan and Germany (similar methods were used). We searched dbSNP for the MUC1 568 (rs4072037) genotype or allele frequency distributions in China, Japan, and Germany. RESULTS Initial serum KL-6 levels were significantly correlated with baseline PaO2, A-aDO2, DLCO, FVC, and LDH levels (all P<0.001). Compared with Chinese PAP patients, the mean serum KL-6 level was significantly lower in German PAP patients (P<0.001) but not in Japanese PAP patients (P>0.4). In the rs4072037 allele frequency distributions, the frequency of the A/A genotype was significantly higher while that of the G/G genotype was significantly lower in Chinese and Japanese cohorts than in Caucasian cohorts (both P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Serum KL-6 can be used as a biological indicator for disease monitoring in Chinese patients. The difference in serum KL-6 level among Chinese, German, and Japanese PAP patients may be associated with the distribution of the rs4072037 genotype.
Adeno-associated viral vector-mediated hypoxia response element-regulated gene expression in mouse ischemic heart model

Intramyocardial injection of genes encoding angiogenic factors could provide a useful approach for the treatment of ischemic heart disease. However, uncontrolled expression of angiogenic factors in vivo may cause some unwanted side effects, such as hemangioma formation, retinopathy, and arthritis. It may also induce occult tumor growth and artherosclerotic plaque progression. Because hypoxia-inducible factor 1 is up-regulated in a variety of hypoxic conditions and it regulates gene expression by binding to a cis-acting hypoxia-responsive element (HRE), we propose to use HRE, found in the 3′ end of the erythropoietin gene to control gene expression in ischemic myocardium. A concatemer of nine copies of the consensus sequence of HRE isolated from the erythropoietin enhancer was used to mediate hypoxia induction. We constructed two adeno-associated viral vectors in which LacZ and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expressions were controlled by this HRE concatemer and a minimal simian virus 40 promoter. Both LacZ and VEGF expression were induced by hypoxia and/or anoxia in several cell lines transduced with these vectors. The functions of these vectors in ischemic myocardium were tested by injecting them into normal and ischemic mouse myocardium created by occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. The expression of LacZ gene was induced eight times and of VEGF 20 times in ischemic myocardium compared with normal myocardium after the viral vector transduction. Hence, HRE is a good candidate for the control of angiogenic factor gene expression in ischemic myocardium.
Business Failure Prediction: A Case-Based Reasoning Approach

Case-based reasoning (CBR) is a problem-solving paradigm that uses past experiences to solve new problems. Nearest neighbor is a common CBR algorithm for retrieving similar cases, whose similarity function is sensitive to irrelevant attributes. Taking the relevancy of the attributes into account can reduce this sensitivity, leading to a more effective retrieval of similar cases. In this paper, statistical evaluation is used for assigning relative importance of the attributes. This approach is applied to predict business failures in Australia using financial data. The results in this study indicate it is an effective and competitive alternative to predict business failures in a comprehensible manner. This study also investigates the usefulness of non-financial data derived from auditor's and directors' reports for business failure prediction. The results suggest that the particular non-financial attributes identified are not as effective as the financial attributes in explaining business failures.