Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bridging worlds: ethnic minority pupils in Catholic schools in England

Aggregated attainment data for each of the four Key Stages of the National Curriculum during 2006–07 are used to compare the performance of schools having differing proportions of ethnic minority pupils on roll. The data are for all maintained primary and secondary schools that completed the 2007 Annual Schools’ Census. There are noticeable differences across the phases between schools in the Catholic and non‐Catholic sectors. The average levels of pupil attainment in Catholic schools tend to be higher than in other institutions, the differentials between the sectors increasing the greater the proportion of ethnic minority pupils on roll. The significance and limitations of the findings are discussed and areas for further study suggested.
Field of Study, Earnings, and Self-Selection

Why do individuals choose different types of post-secondary education, and what are the labor market consequences of those choices? We show that answering these questions is difficult because individuals choose between several unordered alternatives. Even with a valid instrument for every type of education, instrumental variables estimation of the payoffs require information about individuals' ranking of education types or strong additional assumptions, like constant effects or restrictive preferences. These identification results motivate and guide our empirical analysis of the choice of and payoff to field of study. Our context is Norway's post-secondary education system where a centralized admission process covers almost all universities and colleges. This process creates credible instruments from discontinuities which effectively randomize applicants near unpredictable admission cutoffs into different fields of study. At the same time, it provides us with strategy-proof measures of individuals' ranking of fields. Taken together, this allows us to estimate the payoffs to different fields while correcting for selection bias and keeping the next-best alternatives as measured at the time of application fixed. We find that different fields have widely different payoffs, even after accounting for institutional differences and quality of peer groups. For many fields the payoffs rival the college wage premiums, suggesting the choice of field is potentially as important as the decision to enroll in college. The estimated payoffs are consistent with individuals choosing fields in which they have comparative advantage. We also test and reject assumptions of constant effects or restrictive preferences, suggesting that information on next-best alternatives is essential to identify payoffs to field of study.
Therapeutic targeting of EGFR-activated metabolic pathways in glioblastoma

Introduction: The highly divergent histological heterogeneities, aggressive invasion and extremely poor response to treatment make glioblastoma (GBM) one of the most lethal and difficult cancers in humans. Among key elements driving its behavior is epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), however, neither traditional therapy including neurosurgery, radiation, temozolomide, nor targeted EGFR therapeutics in clinic has generated promising results to date. Strategies are now focusing on blocking the downstream EGFR-activated metabolic pathways and the key phosphorylated kinases. Areas covered: Here, we review two major EGFR-activated downstream metabolic pathways including the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and RAS/RAF/MAPK pathways and their key phosphorylated kinase alterations in GBMs. This review also discusses potential pharmacological progress from bench work to clinical trials in order to evaluate specific inhibitors as well as therapeutics targeting PI3K and RAS signaling pathways. Expert opinion: Several factors impede clinical progress in targeting GBM, including the high rates of acquired resistance, heterogeneity within and across the tumors, complexity of signaling pathways and difficulty in traversing the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Substantial insight into genetic and molecular pathways and strategies to better tap the potential of these agents include rational combinatorial regimens and molecular phenotype-based patient enrichment, each of which will undoubtedly generate new therapeutic approaches to combat these devastating disabilities in the near future.
Public Pension Funding in Practice

Public pension funding has recently become a front-burner policy issue in the wake of the financial crisis and given the pending retirement of large numbers of baby boomers. This paper examines the current funding of state and local pensions using a sample of 126 plans, estimating an aggregate funded ratio in 2009 of 78 percent. Projections for 2010-2013 suggest that some continued deterioration is likely. Funded status can vary significantly among plans, so the paper explores the influence of four types of factors: funding discipline, plan governance, plan characteristics, and the fiscal situation of the state. Judging the adequacy of funding requires more than just a snapshot of assets and liabilities, so the paper examines how well plans are meeting their Annual Required Contribution and what factors influence whether they make them. The paper also addresses the controversy over what discount rate to use for valuing liabilities, concluding that using a riskless rate of return could help improve funding discipline but would need to be implemented in a manageable way. Finally, the paper assesses whether plans face a near-term liquidity crisis and finds that most have assets on hand to cover benefits over the next 15-20 years. The bottom line is that, like private investors, public plans have been hit hard by the financial crisis and their full recovery is dependent on the rebound of the economy and the stock market.
Health status, service use, and costs among veterans receiving outreach services in jail or community settings.

OBJECTIVE This study compared client characteristics, service use, and health care costs of two groups of veterans who were contacted by outreach workers: a group of veterans who were contacted while incarcerated at the Los Angeles jail and a group of homeless veterans who were contacted in community settings. METHODS Between May 1, 1997, and October 1, 1999, a total of 1,676 veterans who were in jail and 6,560 community homeless veterans were assessed through a structured intake procedure that documented their demographic, clinical, and social adjustment characteristics. Data on the use and costs of health services during the year after outreach contact were obtained from national databases of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Chi square and t tests were used for statistical comparisons. RESULTS The veterans who were contacted in jail obtained higher scores on several measures of social stability (marital status and homelessness status) but had higher rates of unemployment. They had fewer medical problems but higher levels of psychiatric and substance use problems, although the rate of current substance use was lower among these veterans than among the community homeless veterans. One-year service access for the jailed veterans was half that of the community homeless veterans. No differences were observed in the intensity of use of mental health services among those who used services, but the jailed outreach clients used fewer residential, medical, and surgical services. Total health care expenditures for the veterans who received outreach contact in jail were $2,318 less, or 30 percent less, than for those who were contacted through community outreach. CONCLUSIONS Specialized outreach services appear to be modestly effective in linking veterans who become incarcerated with VA health care services. Although it is clinically challenging to link this group with services, the fact that the rate of current substance use is lower during incarceration may provide a window of opportunity for developing linkages between inmates and community rehabilitative services.
Drosophila Mud regulates spindle orientation in asymmetric cell division

The Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds does not intervene in the scientific work of its scholarship holders who, together with their supervisors, decide whether new findings should induce them to modify or alter their original goals. To what extent intentions and results correspond at the end of their scholarship is demonstrated in the final account rendered by the scholarship holders. They give a brief account of their scientific publications which have appeared in renowned international journals. 224
Differential expression of genes related to purinergic signaling in smooth muscle cells, PDGFRα‐positive cells, and interstitial cells of Cajal in the murine colon

Purinergic signaling provides regulation of colonic motility. Smooth muscle cells (SMC), interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC), and platelet‐derived growth factor receptor α‐positive (PDGFRα+) cells are electrically coupled and form a functional (SIP) syncytium that constitutes the receptive field for motor neurotransmitters in the tunica muscularis. Each cell type in the SIP syncytium has specialized functions in mediating motor neurotransmission. We compared gene transcripts for purinergic receptors and membrane‐bound enzymes for purine degradation expressed by each cell type of the SIP syncytium.
Expression of microRNA processing machinery genes in rhesus monkey oocytes and embryos of different developmental potentials

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small RNAs that silence gene expression. In animal cells, miRNAs bind to the 3′ untranslated regions of specific mRNAs and inhibit their translation. The correct regulation of mRNA expression by miRNAs is believed to be important for oocyte maturation, early development and implantation. We examined the expression of 25 mRNAs involved in the microRNA processing pathway in a nonhuman primate oocyte and embryo model. We observed that mRNAs related to miRNA splicing are downregulated during oocyte maturation while those related to miRNA processing are upregulated, indicating that there may exist a temporal difference in their activities related to transcriptional activity in germinal vesicle stage oocytes. We also observed that the vast majority of mRNAs examined were insensitive to α‐amanitin at the 8–16 cell stage. The expression data did not reveal a major impact of embryo culture, and hormonal stimulation protocol affected only a small number of mRNAs, suggesting that the components of the pathway may be accumulated in the oocyte during oogenesis and resistant to exogenous insults. In comparison to published mouse array data, we observed species differences and similarities in the temporal expression patterns of some genes, suggesting that miRNA processing may be regulated differently. These data extend our understanding of the potential roles of miRNA during primate embryogenesis. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 76: 255–269, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Big hat, no cattle? The relationship between use of high-performance work systems and managerial perceptions of HR departments

This study examines the relationship between the use of high-performance work systems (HPWS) and managers' perceptions of the strategic value of their HR departments. On the basis of survey responses from 132 firms, we match HR managers' descriptions of human resource practices with the evaluations of HR departments provided by firms' general managers. Results indicate that managers' assessments of the strategic value of their firms' HR departments are significantly influenced by relative HPWS use. When HR managers report higher utilization of high-performance HR practices, managers perceive their HR departments as having more strategic value. We also find that this relationship is mediated by workforce human capital and social capital.
Post mortem muscle metabolism and meat quality in three genetic types of turkey

1. A standard (FG, fast-growing), a black local or 'label', type (SG, slow-growing) turkey line, and the crossbreed between these two lines were compared for muscle post-mortem metabolism and related meat quality traits. 2. Ninety male turkeys (30 of each genetic type) were raised under the same experimental conditions until slaughter at 16 weeks of age. 3. Live weights at 16 weeks of age differed significantly (7.8, 6.0 and 4.2 kg, for the FG, crossbred and SG lines, respectively). Collagen content of Pectoralis superficialis (PS) muscle was higher in SG birds than in the other two types. 4. The rate of post-mortem glycogen depletion and lactate accumulation in PS and Ilio tibialis (IT) muscles were similar in the 3 lines, as were the rate and extent of post-mortem pH fall in PS muscle. In IT muscle, however, SG birds showed a slight but significantly faster pH decline. 5. Colour measurements indicated a paler breast muscle and a higher degree of myoglobin oxidation in SG birds at 24 h post mortem , than in both other lines. But these differences had disappeared after 4 and 7 d post mortem 6. SG birds showed higher drip loss and instrumentally-assessed toughness in breast muscle, compared with crossbred and FG birds. FG birds, however, had the lowest yield of breast meat after curingcooking. 7. No marked differences in post-mortem metabolism were found between the three lines. However, differences in water-holding capacity of fresh and cured-cooked meat suggest that factors other than the rate and extent of post-mortem pH fall may contribute to the respective characteristics of these lines.
Adverse effects of near current-electrode placement in non-invasive bio-impedance measurements

A major problem confronting application of impedance techniques to studies of disease is the extraction of intrinsic properties of the tissue from the measured impedances, which unavoidably involve geometric factors as well. Amongst the foremost are the sizes and locations of the measuring electrode arrays, and this paper addresses one of these, the location of current injecting electrodes. Tetrapolar impedance measurements on a 17.5 cm segment of the thigh gave R and X values three to four times larger when the current injecting electrodes were placed 2.5 cm from the sensing electrodes than when very distant placement was used. The frequency dependences of R and X were affected as well, though the X versus R plots still showed virtually perfect depressed-center semicircles, as in the Cole model. R(f) and X(f) for the set of contiguous 2.5 cm wide sub-segments show that these behaviors can be explained by a combination of the transverse orientation of current flow lines near the injecting electrodes and the anisotropy of the resistivity associated with the bundled fiber structure of muscle tissue. The measured impedance was found to be a separable function of geometric and intrinsic tissue variables, but far more complicated than is implicit in the usual cylindrical models. The results also suggest that many full and segmental body composition studies in the literature may be prone to substantial errors due to too close placement of the current injecting electrodes.
I plan, you participate: A southern view of community participation in urban Australia

Community participation, an imperative ingredient in any intervention, in spite of all the recent emphasis on, it has continued to remain a form of collective bargaining. Instead of reversing its position in face of com- munity opposition, governments are tempted to reinforce it by seeking the scientific opinion from experts. By favouring this opinion as the rational approach, the government undermines the essence of com- munity participation. To illustrate this point, the paper traces the recent history of M5 East Motorway Tunnel Exhaust Stack located in a residential area of Sydney. I show how, between two modes of knowledge systems of two groups opposing each other, a privileging process subordinates citizens' preferences and understandings to those held by experts. Thus the process of participation becomes circumscribed by the government's implicit preferences that are imposed on the community in the name of a more 'scientific' view irrespective of citizen opinions.
Enumeration of Vertices, Edges and Polygons in Tessellations of the Plane

In this work, we consider the tessellations (or tilings) of Euclidean and hyperbolic planes using copies of a regular polygon. We introduce the concept of k-type of vertices and edges, which allow a thorough control of these elements when the tessellation increases, and we obtain an enumeration for the vertices, edges, and polygons at a given distance. Partially funded by a grant from Fapesp (2014/25463-6).
Measures Assessing the Quality of Case Conceptualization: A Systematic Review.

CONTEXT The quality of case conceptualization differs across clinicians. It is unclear which case conceptualization quality assessment measure researchers, clinicians, and trainers might use for their specific purpose. OBJECTIVE We evaluated measures that purport to assess the quality of case conceptualizations. METHOD We searched EMBASE, PubMed, Medline, and PsycINFO databases with the terms case formulation* OR case conceptuali*ation*. Further specific terms were then used to narrow the search. RESULTS Of all the articles reviewed, 8 measures of case conceptualization met inclusion criteria. There is no single measure that has been validated across a range of different settings. However, the Case Conceptualisation Coding Rating Scale, Case Formulation Content Coding Method, and Case Formulation Quality Checklist have been most robustly tested. CONCLUSION Further research is required to test the psychometric properties of measures so that robust quality measures can be used across different settings/client groups.
Sharpe (Ratio) Thinking About the Investment Opportunity Set and CAPM Relationship

In the presence of a risk-free asset the investment opportunity set obtained via the Markowitz portfolio optimization procedure is usually characterized in terms of the vector of excess returns on individual risky assets and the variance-covariance matrix. We show that the investment opportunity set can alternatively be characterized in terms of the vector of Sharpe ratios of individual risky assets and the correlation matrix. This implies that the changes in the characteristics of individual risky assets that preserve the Sharpe ratios and the correlation matrix do not change the investment opportunity set. The alternative characterization makes it simple to perform a comparative static analysis that provides an answer to the question of what happens with the investment opportunity set when we change the risk-return characteristics of individual risky assets. We demonstrate the advantages of using the alternative characterization of the investment opportunity set in the investment practice. The Sharpe ratio thinking also motivates reconsidering the CAPM relationship and adjusting Jensen's alpha in order to properly measure abnormal portfolio performance.
Influence of trade on national CO2 emissions

International trade has an impact on national CO2 emissions and consequently on the ability to fulfil national CO2 reduction targets. Through goods and services traded in a globally interdependent world, the consumption in each country is linked to greenhouse gas emissions in other countries. It has been argued that in order to achieve equitable reduction targets, international trade has to be taken into account when assessing nations' responsibility for abating climate change. Especially for open economies such as Denmark, greenhouse gases embodied in internationally traded commodities can have a considerable influence on the national "greenhouse gas responsibility". By using input-output modelling, we analyse the influence from international trade on national CO2 emissions. The aim is to show that trade is the key to define CO2 responsibility on a macroeconomic level and that imports should be founded in a multi-region model approach. Finally, the paper concludes on the need to consider the impact from foreign trade when negotiating reduction targets and base line scenarios.
FROM THE GOLDEN AGE TO THE NEW INDUSTRIAL AGE: FISHERY MODELING IN THE EARLY 21ST CENTURY

ABSTRACT. If the Golden Age of fishery modeling is over, the New Industrial Age is beginning. In this new age (the early decades of the 21st century), we1 expect to see increasing use of high‐level modeling tools, assessments closely tailored to each stock and its data, more multi‐agency collaboration, wider use of multiple‐model assessments, and extensive peer review of stock assessments. We hope that fishery management, as well, will be seen as a proper object of peer review, from which it should benefit substantially. We believe that increasing attention will be paid to financial efficiency, both in shaping data collection programs and in specifying what information must be modeled to effect management. If presently depleted stocks start to recover, analysts will be required to examine in more detail the dynamics of increasing stocks. That would constitute a pleasant duty, and one that may yield new insights in population biology.
Assessing learning styles of adults with intellectual difficulties

The development of an electronic inventory to assess learning styles of adults with intellectual difficulties was seen as an inclusion strategy to aid learning and achievement. Some argue for the ‘centrality of e-learning to educational diversity’, for example. The use of VAK inventories (whether electronic or paper based), however, has been derogated as leading to theory-practice pedagogy that is misinterpreted and ill-informed. The focus here is dual in that the vigour and ‘user friendliness’ of the tool developed is analysed in the midst of a critical appraisal of its use. Assessments conducted using the inventory developed showed 34 percent of the participants have visual preferences, 34 percent have auditory, 23 percent have kinaesthetic, and 9 percent have multimodal learning preferences. Thus, this participant group requires a varied and diverse learning programme. The inventory was found to be user friendly but in need of further development, and would best be used as part of a self-reflective learning package.
Older employees under pressure? Theorizing reasons for declining commitment

If employees are asked to extend their working lives, equity requires that their conditions of work should be improved or at least maintained. This article argues that employees have in the past received relatively favourable treatment from employers in their later careers, consequent on the long-term employment relationship that employers maintain for motivational purposes. But changes in costs, competition and technologies are likely to have affected motivational policy, leading employers to renege on the implicit bargain with older employees. The analysis provides strong evidence of declining organizational commitment, consistent with the proposed theory.