Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growth sectors : data analysis on employment change, wages and poverty

This paper is concerned with setting the context for a focus on growth sectors in the light of two key policy issues. The first is an ongoing concern with in-work poverty which the analyses presented here show is more apparent in some sectors than in others. The second is renewed policy interest in a place-sensitive industrial strategy, with elements of sectoral focus as well as concerns with cross-sectoral issues. It explores the extent to which there is, or could be, overlap between these key policy issues.
T cell responses to the major allergen from the house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Antigen P1: comparison of patients with asthma, atopic dermatitis, and perennial rhinitis.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from the majority of the allergic patients that we tested who were skin test-sensitive to the house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (D. pt.) (46/67) showed significant proliferation in response to the purified major allergen Antigen P1; PBMC from 14/15 nonsensitive controls showed no significant response. Optimal responses were seen with 10 micrograms Antigen P1/ml, but 21 of 43 patients tested showed significant proliferation at 0.01 microgram Antigen P1/ml. The results of three types of experiments showed that the responding cells were T cells, predominantly of the helper phenotype. First, purified T cells in the presence of irradiated or mitomycin C-treated antigen-presenting cells showed good proliferation to Antigen P1. Secondly, flow cytometry analysis showed a progressive increase in the percentage of viable cells bearing the Leu-3a marker--up to 88% by day 7--and demonstrated that the larger, blast-transformed cells bore this marker. Finally, interleukin 2 production was demonstrated in antigen-stimulated cultures at days 3 to 5, i.e., about 2 days before the peak of proliferation. When patients were grouped according to their disease symptoms, no clear differences were seen between the T cell responses of patients with asthma, eczema, or rhinitis, or with asthma and eczema, although patients with rhinitis alone tended to show weaker responses. Overall, there was a significant correlation between serum IgE antibody to Antigen P1 and T cell proliferation (rs = 0.579, p less than 0.001); however, excluding individuals with no IgE antibody, the quantitative correlation was poor (rs = 0.26, p less than 0.1). These results indicate that most patients showing immediate hypersensitivity to D. pt. have circulating T cells sensitized to Antigen P1. These sensitized T cells probably act as helper cells for antibody production, but may also play a role in the pathogenesis of allergic lesions and in the delayed or chronic symptoms of these allergic diseases.
Stock Prices and Real Exchange Rate Movements in the Gulf Cooperation Council

In this paper, we examine the interaction between stock prices and the real and nominal exchange rates in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies (including only Kuwait (KW) and Saudi Arabia (SA). We consider the real and the nominal exchange rates of US dollar in terms of the Saudi Riyal and Kuwait Dinar and the values of Saudi and Kuwait exchange stock exchange indexes. The purpose is to investigate relationship between the volatility in stock prices in these markets and the large swings in global currencies given their alternative exchange rate arrangements. Real exchange rate appears to be insignificant in the case of Kuwait but significant in the case of Saudi Arabia.
Ondansetron-loaded chitosan microspheres for nasal antiemetic drug delivery: an alternative approach to oral and parenteral routes

Background: The aim of this study was to develop chitosan microspheres for nasal delivery of ondansetron hydrochloride (OND). Method: Microspheres were prepared with spray-drying method using glutaraldehyde as the crosslinking agent. Microspheres were characterized in terms of morphology, particle size, zeta potential, production yield, drug content, encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro drug release. Results: All microspheres were spherical in shape with smooth surface and positively charged. Microspheres had also high encapsulation efficiency and the suitable particle size for nasal administration. In vitro studies indicated that all crosslinked microspheres had a significant burst effect, and sustained drug release pattern was observed until 24 hours following burst drug release. Nasal absorption of OND from crosslinked chitosan microspheres was evaluated in rats, and pharmacokinetic parameters of OND calculated from nasal microsphere administration were compared with those of both nasal and parenteral administration of aqueous solutions of OND. In vivo data also supported that OND-loaded microspheres were also able to attain a sustained plasma profile and significantly larger area under the curve values with respect to nasal aqueous solution of OND. Conclusion: Based on in vitro and in vivo data, it could be concluded that crosslinked chitosan microspheres are considered as a nasal delivery system of OND.
Adaptive Natural Killer Cells Integrate Interleukin-18 during Target-Cell Encounter

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection induces adaptations in the natural killer (NK)-cell compartment. Expanded subsets of adaptive NK cells display potent effector functions against cellular targets, despite their apparent unresponsiveness to stimulation with classical dendritic cell-derived cytokines interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-18. However, it remains unclear whether adaptive NK cells have completely lost their ability to sense inflammation via IL-12 and IL-18 or whether these pro-inflammatory signals can be functionally integrated into defined contexts. Here, we demonstrate that adaptive NKG2C+ NK cells can be costimulated by the presence of pro-inflammatory cytokines during target cell-induced activation. Cytokine costimulation of adaptive NK cells resulted in elevated interferon (IFN)-gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production, which promoted protein expression of HLA class I and adhesion molecules as well as transcription of genes involved in antigen processing and antiviral states in endothelial bystander cells in vitro. We further show that IL-18 drove costimulation in functional assays and was sufficient for elevated cytokine production in the absence of IL-12. Hence, adaptive NKG2C+ NK cells—although poorly responsive to IL-12 and IL-18 as an isolated stimulus—integrate IL-18 as a costimulatory signal during target-cell encounter.
Impact of Take‐Back Regulation on the Remanufacturing Industry

As waste from used electronic products grows steadily, manufacturers face take-back regulations mandating its collection and proper treatment through recycling or remanufacturing. Environmentalists greet such regulation with enthusiasm, but its effect on remanufacturing activity and industry competition remains unclear. We research these questions using a stylized model with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) facing competition from an independent remanufacturer (IR). We examine the effects of regulation on three key factors: remanufacturing levels, consumer surplus, and the OEM profit. First, we find that total OEM remanufacturing actually may decrease under high collection and/or reuse targets, meaning more stringent targets do not imply more remanufacturing. Consumer surplus and the OEM profit, meanwhile, may increase when OEM-IR competition exists in a regulated market. Finally, through a numerical study, we investigate how total welfare changes in the collection target, what happens when the cost of collection is not linear, and what happens when IR products are valued differently by consumers. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Effect of the counterforce armband on wrist extension and grip strength and pain in subjects with tennis elbow.

This study investigated the effect of the lateral counterforce armband on wrist extension and grip strength, and pain of 14 subjects with tennis elbow. Dynametric strength tests and pain analogue scale assessments were obtained on the affected and unaffected arms of subjects, while wearing the armband and without wearing the armband. Use of the armband produced parallel effects in both the affected and unaffected arms, i.e., increases in wrist extension and grip strength. The greatest effects were seen in the affected arm. There was a statistically significant increase in wrist extension strength with the armband on relative to without the armband. The increase in wrist extension strength approximately doubled the increase in grip strength for both arms, indicating the armband's greater influence on wrist extension. Although there was a low negative correlation between changes in pain and strength, it was not statistically significant. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1989;11(5):192-197.
Dissociation of Genome Dimerization from Packaging Functions and Virion Maturation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1

ABSTRACT The dimer initiation site/dimer linkage sequence (DIS/DLS) region of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA genome is thought to play important roles at various stages of the virus life cycle. Recently we showed that the DIS/DLS region affects RNA-RNA interaction in intact virus particles, by demonstrating that duplication of the region in viral RNA caused the production of virus particles containing partially monomeric RNAs. We have extended this finding and succeeded for the first time in creating mutant particles which contain only monomeric RNAs without modifying any viral proteins. In terms of RNA encapsidation ability, virion density, and protein processing, the mutant particles were comparable to wild-type particles. The level of production of viral DNA by the mutant virus construct in infected cells was also comparable to that of the constructs that produced exclusively dimeric RNA, indicating that monomeric viral RNA could be the template for strand transfer. These results indicated that the RNA dimerization of HIV-1 could be separated from viral RNA packaging and was not absolutely required for RNA packaging, virion maturation, and reverse transcription.
Estimation of genetic parameters for stayability in Canadian Holsteins.

Hazard functions were plotted and troughs were used to define stayability traits that best coincided with the time of culling decisions. Traits evaluated were stayability to 17, 30, 43, and 55 mo of productive life and stayability to 42, 54, 66, and 78 mo of total life. Holstein data from Record of Performance and supervised Dairy Herd Improvement and Dairy Herd Analysis Service testing programs formed two data sets with 243,348 and 118,362 daughters of 10,723 and 4,583 sires, respectively, and were used to estimate stayability heritabilities and correlations. Variance components were estimated by Henderson's new method using a model that included a fixed herd-year-season of first calving effect and random sire and error effects. Heritabilities for stayability to 17, 30, 43, and 55 mo of productive life were . 025, . 040, . 039, and . 033, respectively, for the Record of Performance data and . 010, . 017, . 023, and . 033, respectively, for the Dairy Herd Improvement-Dairy Herd Analysis Service supervised data. Heritability estimates for stayability to 42, 54, 66, and 78 mo of total life were . 051, . 040, . 045, and . 059, respectively, for the Dairy Herd Improvement-Dairy Herd Analysis Service supervised data. Genetic correlations among productive life traits were usually very high and approached unity. Genetic correlations among total life traits were lower and more variable. Most phenotypic correlations were moderately high but some were low. Stayability to 17 mo of productive life was concluded to be the best trait for incorporation into a selection program if evaluation of sires for longevity is desired.
Assessing the Performance of Nonexperimental Estimators for Evaluating Head Start

This paper uses experimental data from the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS) combined with nonexperimental data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) to study the performance of nonexperimental estimators for evaluating Head Start program impacts. The estimators studied include parametric cross-section and difference-in-differences regression estimators and nonparametric cross-section and difference-in-differences matching estimators. The estimators are used to generate program impacts on cognitive achievement test scores, child health measures, parenting behaviors, and parent labor market outcomes. Some of the estimators closely reproduce the experimental results, but a priori it would be difficult to know whether the estimator works well for any particular outcome. Pre-program exogeneity tests eliminate some outcomes and estimators with the worst biases, but estimators/outcomes with substantial biases pass the tests. The difference-in-differences matching estimator exhibits the best performance in terms of low bias values and capturing the pattern of statistically significant treatment effects. However, the variation in bias is greater across outcomes examined than across methods.
PSO and Improved BSFS Based Sequential Comprehensive Placement and Real-Time Multi-Objective Control of Delta-Connected Switched Capacitors in Unbalanced Radial MV Distribution Networks

Delta-connected switched capacitors are common in three-wire MV distribution systems as found in Europe and Australia but the majority of past studies focus on star-connected capacitors as applied in North America. This study presents a comprehensive optimization based sequential strategy and a multi-objective optimization based real-time strategy for the optimal placement and control of delta-connected switched capacitors. Considering load variations, a comprehensive optimization for capacitor placement is formulated to maximize the net annual returns from network loss reduction and capacity release. A sequential strategy based on loss sensitivity analysis is presented for efficient capacitor placement on large-scale unbalanced distribution networks. Then a capacitor control strategy is proposed to simultaneously minimize network losses, voltage deviations and voltage unbalance factor (VUF) while a weighted sum method reflects the preferences on the mutually conflicting control objectives. For the mixed integer programming (MIP) problems of capacitor placement and control, an improved backward/forward sweep (BSFS) load flow based particle swarm optimization (PSO) method is used. Finally, the robustness of the proposed capacitor placement and control strategies are verified by comparison against existing popular schemes through detailed simulations over 24 h on a real unbalanced Australian MV network.
Examining anomalies in Islamic equity market of Pakistan

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to investigate the presence of anomalies named; January effect, Islamic calendar effect, Day of the week effect, Time of the month effect, Turn of the month effect and Half of the month effect in an Islamic equity market of Pakistan. This study considered daily data from 30 September 2008 to 30th June 2015. The behavior of the data is tested by using the descriptive statistics method. The Generalized Auto Regressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity Model (GARCH) model is applied to capture the seasonality in returns and volatility in the Islamic equity market. The results of this study highlight certain interesting key findings. The notable findings indicates the absence of prominent January effect and the Ramadan effect. However, this study finds significant Day of the week effect, Turn of the month effect, Time of the month effect and Half of the month effect in the Islamic index. This study suggests that investors would be able to gain abnormal returns, if they would formulate their investment strategies accordingly to the seasonal return patterns observed in this study.
When Elites Forget Their Duties: The Double‐Edged Sword of Prestigious Directors on Boards

Previous research indicates that the performance effect of prestigious directors is ambiguous. Our study addresses this issue by integrating the theoretical lens of board capital and the institutional perspective. We argue that prestigious directors can bring benefits as well as costs. We claim that the emergence of these costs depends on the institutional context, specifically the institutional characteristics of the country's corporate elite circle which is characterized by the elite cohesion and the elite exclusiveness. Our empirical results with a 15-country sample covering the period of 2005 to 2014 provide evidence for the overall existence of a positive performance effect of prestigious boards. However, our results also indicate that these beneficial effects of prestigious boards are mitigated in countries with high elite exclusiveness. Hence, under these certain institutional conditions, the elite-favouring behaviour of prestigious directors also brings costs.
Getting the measure of talent management: A discourse analysis approach to e-talent

Despite the assertion that talent management can benefit from e HRM , studies that explore the intersection of these two social phenomena are nominal. This is perplexing given the inherent assumption that organisations will need to appropriate and exploit the functionality of e HRM, or their ‘talent management system’ to generate analytics and data in order to make evidence based decisions about talent. Drawing on a qualitative case study of talent management, we examine the discursive processes through which certain employees come to the identified as “ talent ” and the role of e HRM in this specific talent management practice . By providing evidence of two approaches to talent identification, offered through either a “measurement” or an “ observing” discourse , the study indicates that executives prefer to identify valuable employees through intuition and executive experience, rather than analytics and data generated through e HRM. Disciplines Business Publication Details Wiblen, S. L. & Dery, K. (2014). Getting the measure of talent management: A discourse analysis approach to e-talent. Fifth International E-HRM Conference This conference paper is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow. edu.au/buspapers/949 1 Getting the Measure of Talent Management: A Discourse Analysis Approach to e-Talent Sharna Wiblen and Kristine Dery
Short communication: Impact of climate variability on the incidence of dengue in Mexico

We evaluated the impact of weather variables and climatic indicators associated with the incidence of dengue in two municipalities of the state of Veracruz, Mexico, from 1995 to 2003. A retrospective ecological study was conducted, using time‐series analysis in which we compiled the weekly reported cases of dengue and the weather and climatic parameters: temperature, rainfall and sea‐surface temperature (SST), the latter as an El Niño Southern Oscillation indicator. We statistically evaluated the data with autogressive models. The models’ predictive abilities were evaluated using data collected from 1995 to 2002 and were validated with those observed for 2003. Each degree Centigrade increase in SST was followed by an increase in the number of dengue cases: 46% in San Andrés Tuxtla (P = 0.001) 16 weeks later and 42% in Veracruz 20 weeks later (P = 0.002). Increases in weekly minimum temperature and rainfall were also significant factors in the increase in the reported cases of dengue. We recommend future studies using the same method, involving larger populations with different geographic location, climate and weather. We also recommend strengthening environmental, health and entomological surveillance systems to improve preparedness and emergency responses.
Expressive Disclosure and Health Outcomes in a Prostate Cancer Population

Objective: This pilot study explored the feasibility and the efficacy of a brief, well-defined psychosocial intervention (expressive disclosure) in improving behavioral, medical, immunological, and emotional health outcomes in men with diagnosed prostate cancer. Method: Thirty prostate cancer patients receiving outpatient oncology care were randomized into experimental (disclosure) and control (non-disclosure) groups. All had been previously treated by surgery or radiation within the last 4 years and were being monitored without further intervention for change in PSA levels. Psychological and physical health surveys were administered and peripheral blood for PSA levels and immune assays was obtained upon study enrollment and again at 3 and 6 months post enrollment. Multivariate analyses were used to examine how the expressive disclosure impacted the hypothesized domains of functioning: physical and psychological symptoms; health care utilization; and immunocompetence. Results: Compared to controls, patients in the expressive disclosure condition showed improvements in the domains of physical symptoms and health care utilization, but not in psychological variables nor in disease relevant aspects of immunocompetence. Conclusions: Study results support the feasibility of an expressive disclosure intervention for men with prostate cancer. The intervention was well accepted by this population, and participation/adherence was quite high. Results provide only limited support for the hypothesis that a written emotional disclosure task can positively impact health outcomes in a cancer population. However, this pilot study may have lacked adequate power to detect possible intervention benefits. Further studies with larger samples are needed to better assess the intervention's impact on psychological well-being and immunocompetence.
Scene Classification Based on the Multifeature Fusion Probabilistic Topic Model for High Spatial Resolution Remote Sensing Imagery

Scene classification has been proved to be an effective method for high spatial resolution (HSR) remote sensing image semantic interpretation. The probabilistic topic model (PTM) has been successfully applied to natural scenes by utilizing a single feature (e.g., the spectral feature); however, it is inadequate for HSR images due to the complex structure of the land-cover classes. Although several studies have investigated techniques that combine multiple features, the different features are usually quantized after simple concatenation (CAT-PTM). Unfortunately, due to the inadequate fusion capacity of k-means clustering, the words of the visual dictionary obtained by CAT-PTM are highly correlated. In this paper, a semantic allocation level (SAL) multifeature fusion strategy based on PTM, namely, SAL-PTM (SAL-pLSA and SAL-LDA) for HSR imagery is proposed. In SAL-PTM: 1) the complementary spectral, texture, and scale-invariant-featuretransform features are effectively combined; 2) the three features are extracted and quantized separately by k-means clustering, which can provide appropriate low-level feature descriptions for the semantic representations; and 3)the latent semantic allocations of the three features are captured separately by PTM, which follows the core idea of PTM-based scene classification. The probabilistic latent semantic analysis (pLSA) and latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) models were compared to test the effect of different PTMs for HSR imagery. A U.S. Geological Survey data set and the UC Merced data set were utilized to evaluate SAL-PTM in comparison with the conventional methods. The experimental results confirmed that SAL-PTM is superior to the single-feature methods and CAT-PTM in the scene classification of HSR imagery.