Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Crime Reduction Programme in England and Wales

The article contrasts the original vision behind the Crime Reduction Programme - an ambitious plan (initially intended to run for 10 years) to accumulate, disseminate and use research-based knowledge about the effectiveness of a wide variety of interventions - with the reality of the multiple problems experienced during its implementation in England and Wales between 1999 and its premature end in 2002. Ultimately, few projects were implemented as planned, with the knock-on effect of a dearth of conclusive research findings. It is argued that the Crime Reduction Programme benefitted initially from an unusual ‘window of opportunity’ when such a programme appeared attractive to politicians, administrators, practitioners and researchers alike, resulting in a level of funding for pilot projects and evaluation which was unprecedented in the UK in the crime reduction field. However, it was undermined significantly by inherent risks and tensions that became increasingly prominent as circumstances (and the political climate) changed. While initially conceived as research-driven, it was ‘sold’ to politicians as contributing to the government’s challenging crime reduction targets, an aim which progressively took priority over research. It was over-ambitious in scale and raised unrealistic expectations of its outcomes. It suffered from major practical problems caused by unfeasible timescales, slow-moving bureaucratic procedures, and shortages of ‘capacity’. Low commitment to project integrity, cultural resistance among practitioners, and insufficient attention to differences between academics’ and policy makers’ understandings of research, also contributed to its problems. While some useful outcomes can be claimed, the results of the Crime Reduction Programme as a whole were unquestionably disappointing. In the light of these experiences, it might be argued that - tempting as it was to seize the rare opportunity of major funding - the ideal of ‘evidence-based policy’ may be more effectively pursued as a quiet iterative process over the longer term, rather than through a risky investment in one high profile and rapidly implemented ‘programme’ which promises more than it can guarantee to deliver.
Stimulatory effect of short-chain fatty acids on epithelial cell proliferation in the rat intestine: a possible explanation for trophic effects of fermentable fibre, gut microbes and luminal trophic factors

1. Effects of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) on epithelial proliferation of the intestine were studied in ileally fistulated rats fed on an elemental diet. 2. The stimulatory effect of daily doses of acetic, propionic and n-butyric acids (100,20 and 60 mM respectively; pH 6.1) per fistula (3 ml, twice daily) on crypt cell production rate (CCPR) appeared within 2 d and lasted for at least 5 d. 3. The daily doses of SCFA for 14 d increased daily CCPR three to four fold. This effect was independent of the presence of gut bacteria. 4. Effects of SCFA were dose-dependent and varied among acids (butyrate > propionate > acetate). The effect was independent of low lumen pH. 5. In contrast, SCFA inhibited epithelial proliferation of isolated rat caecal tissue in vitro. 6. These results suggest that SCFA are physiological lumen trophic factors mediated by a systemic mechanism in vivo. 7. It is concluded that SCFA are involved in the trophic effects of gut microbes, ingestion of fermentable fibre, and lumen contents.
Economic Growth, TFP Convergence and the World Export of Ideas: A Century of Evidence

This paper examines the effect of international patent stock on total factor productivity for 16 OECD countries over the past 120 years. The results show that the international patent stock is highly influential for economic growth and, together with knowledge spillovers through the channel of imports, has contributed significantly to TFP growth and σ-convergence among the OECD countries over the past 120 years. Copyright © The editors of the "Scandinavian Journal of Economics" 2008 .
Variation in the Monitoring Incentives of Outside Stockholders*

We examine abnormal returns around the announcement of antitakeover amendment proposals for evidence on variation in the effectiveness of monitoring by outside stockholders. The evidence suggests that the market views large stockholders who are outsiders but have potential business ties to a firm (affiliated blockholders) as less effective monitors than other outside blockholders (unaffiliated blockholders). Abnormal returns tend to be lower at firms where holdings of affiliated blockholders exceed holdings of unaffiliated blockholders than at firms where the reverse is true. The difference in the stock ownership of these two classes of blockholders explains more of the variation in abnormal returns than factors such as management stock ownership and board composition. The evidence for affiliated and unaffiliated blockholders is consistent when we focus on the relation between abnormal returns and institutional ownership. No evidence is found of systematic variation in the effectiveness of monitoring by institutional stockholders who are not blockholders.
The Information Intermediary Role of Short Sellers

This paper examines the conditions under which the market responds to disclosures of significant increases in short selling, and whether proxies for earnings expectations and alternative information sources help explain this response. Our sample is based on firms that experience abnormal short interest increases (“short spikes”) during 1989–1998. We find that the mean abnormal return around short spike announcements is significantly more negative for firms with low analyst following, consistent with short sellers providing perceived value when there are limited alternative sources of guidance available. For firms with high analyst following we find the market response is dependent on earnings levels, consistent with investors viewing a short interest increase as providing information about the sustainability of earnings. Additional analyses reveal that these inferences are not affected by measures of firms' earnings quality or by the relative size of the short spike. We infer from our analyses that the in.
Firm and industry effects on firm performance: A generalization and extension for new ventures

Our study extends a long-running debate into the domain of entrepreneurship by examining firm and industry effects on the performance of new ventures. We examine to what extent firm and industry levels explain sales, sales growth, and survival among 7,256 young Swedish firms over a five-year period, and compare these findings to a sample of 12,692 established firms. We found that the industry level ‘matters’ little for the survival of either sample of firms, and industry membership matters less for the sales and sales growth of new ventures than for established firms. Post hoc analysis revealed that size affects new venture performance, and that new venture funding is related to both sales and survival. At a broad level, our findings shed new light on the roles of the liabilities of newness and smallness for the performance of new ventures. Copyright © 2009 Strategic Management Society.
Intestinal parasitic infections in different groups of immunocompromised patients in Kashan and Qom cities, central Iran

Abstract Introduction: Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are important causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with immunocompromising conditions. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of IPIs in different groups of immunocompromised patients, including hemodialysis patients (HD), renal transplant recipients (RTR), cancer and HIV/AIDS patients in comparison with healthy individuals in two central cities of Iran (Kashan and Qom). Methods: In this case–control study, the stool samples of 135 HD, 50 RTR, 60 cancer patients, 20 HIV/AIDS patients and 120 healthy subjects were tested using direct-smear, formol-ether concentration, Ziehl–Neelsen staining and Agar plate method. Results: The overall infection rate was 11.7% (31/265) in patient groups and 0% (0/120) in the control group. The frequency of parasites was 25% in HIV/AIDS patients, 11.9% (16/135) in HD, 12.0% (6/50) in RTR and 6.7% (4/60) in cancer patients. Blastocystis hominis (4.2%) and Giardia lamblia (3.0%) were the most prevalent parasites in patient groups. The infection rate was significantly higher in male (17.6%) than female (5.4%) patients (p = .002), but no statistically significant association was observed according to the age and educational levels. Conclusions: This study showed a high prevalence of IPIs in immunocompromised patients. The results of this study suggest that periodic stool examinations for screening of IPIs should be included as a part of routine medical care in these patients.
Immune responses associated with susceptibility of C57BL/10 mice to Leishmania amazonensis

Leishmaniae are protozoans which, depending upon both the host and parasite species, can cause either a healing or nonhealing infection. While C57BL/10 mice are able to heal following infection with Leishmania major, they fail to heal following infection with Leishmania amazonensis. In order to address the role of Th1 and Th2 cell responses in the outcome of these infections in C57BL/10 mice, gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) production was assessed. While cells from L. major-infected C57BL/10 mice produced high levels of IFN-gamma, cells from L. amazonensis-infected animals produced little or no IFN-gamma. On the other hand, IL-4 was produced only by cells from L. amazonensis-infected C57BL/10 mice, but this production was restricted to the first few weeks of infection. Later in infection, when lesions were evident, no IL-4 was detected. Treatment of BALB/c mice with a monoclonal antibody (11B11) directed against IL-4 induced a dramatic reduction in L. amazonensis lesions. This reduction was associated with a decrease in IL-4 levels and an increase in IFN-gamma production. However, only a slight reduction in lesion sizes and parasite numbers was observed when anti-IL-4-treated C57BL/10 mice were infected with L. amazonensis. These results suggest that IL-4 may have an important role in mediating susceptibility to L. amazonensis in BALB/c mice, as previously demonstrated for L. major. More importantly, however, the data suggest that susceptibility to L. amazonensis in C57BL/10 mice is due to the absence of a Th1 cell response, rather than to the presence of a Th2 cell response.
Revisiting the Significance of Warfarin Protein-Binding Displacement Interactions

Most clinicians who manage patients on warfarin therapy are aware of the transient nature of changes in the prothrombin time (PT) secondary to protein-binding displacement interactions. However, anecdotal case reports and clinical impressions by some healthcare professionals continue to inflate, on occasion, the importance of warfarin protein-binding displacement interactions,1 despite the fact that the transient nature of the interaction has been well described for >30 years.2-7 Thus, it is timely and important to revisit the pharmacokinetic explanation for the relative lack of clinical significance of these interactions. Three proteins in human plasma account for the binding of most drugs: albumin, α1-acid glycoprotein, and lipoproteins.8 Racemic warfarin is approximately 99% bound to plasma proteins, primarily to albumin.9 The addition of other highly protein-bound drugs to a warfarin drug regimen may result in changes of the binding characteristics of either drug. Protein-binding displacement of warfarin will result in an increase in the unbound (free) fraction (fu), which may or may not affect the pharmacodynamic response.9 Chan1 has suggested that the clinical significance of protein-binding displacement in warfarin drug interactions has been overstated. Many drugs can displace warfarin from plasma albumin-binding sites with a resultant increase in the pharmacologically active unbound drug concentration. What many clinicians forget, however, is that plasma is an open compartment and the increase in unbound drug redistributes not only to warfarin receptor sites in the tissue, but also to sites of metabolism.10 Thus a new steady-state is achieved, with the unbound drug concentration returning to its predisplacement concentration.11 Therefore, the transient increase in the warfarin fraction may or may not elicit a significant pharmacodynamic response (increased PT). 9 In our experience in a large anticoagulation clinic in a major medical center (University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center, The Kirklin Clinic; average of 250 pts./wk), major problems have been infrequent when protein-binding displacement drugs have been added to a patient’s warfarin regimen. The displacement may be clinically significant in a patient on chronic warfarin therapy only at the time the displacing drug is either added or withdrawn. In these situations, the effect will be transient and a CSS should be reached in 7–10 days.1 In explaining this phenomenon to residents and clerkship students rotating through the anticoagulation clinic, we have successfully used the following pharmacokinetic reasoning process (largely adapted from Bauer12). The concept of drug clearance (Cl) from the body is important to the understanding of the protein-binding displacment/warfarin interaction. Because Cl determines the average Css,avg for a given rate of drug administration (k0). Css,avg = k0 / Cl Eq. 1
Creating infrastructure supportive of evidence-based nursing practice: leadership strategies.

BACKGROUND Nursing leadership is the cornerstone of successful evidence-based practice (EBP) programs within health care organizations. The key to success is a strategic approach to building an EBP infrastructure, with allocation of appropriate human and material resources. PURPOSE This article indicates the organizational infrastructure that enables evidence-based nursing practice and strategies for leaders to enhance evidence-based practice using "the conceptual model for considering the determinants of diffusion, dissemination, and implementation of innovations in health service delivery and organization. " DISCUSSION Enabling EBP within organizations is important for promoting positive outcomes for nurses and patients. Fostering EBP is not a static or immediate outcome, but a long-term developmental process within organizations. Implementation requires multiple strategies to cultivate a culture of inquiry where nurses generate and answer important questions to guide practice. IMPLICATIONS Organizations that can enable the culture and build infrastructure to help nurses develop EBP competencies will produce a professional environment that will result in both personal growth for their staff and improvements in quality that would not otherwise be possible.
The Pricing Effects of Interfirm Cash Tender Offers

The tools provided by option pricing theory of tender offer analysis provides evidence consistent with the "synergy" theory of corporate takeovers and has implications conce rning the economic effects of regulations of cash tender offers. The analysis further suggests that the market prices information uncertai nty in a manner not captured by the standard Capital Asset Pricing Mo del. The study introduces a technique for unbundling the prices of a primary asset and a contingent claim when only the prices of the comb ination are observed. Copyright 1987 by American Finance Association.
The reporting of risk in real estate appraisal property risk scoring

Purpose – Aims to examine financial risk management. The UK valuation profession has been criticised for inconsistencies and failures to reflect risk and uncertainty in certain valuation assignments such as the pricing of urban regeneration land. Also the Investment Property Forum/Investment Property Databank specifically concluded that a new approach is needed which combines conventional analysis of returns uncertainty with a more comprehensive survey of business risks. This debate has been brought into sharper focus by the publication of the Carsberg Report, which emphasised the need for more acceptable methods of expressing uncertainty, particularly when pricing in thin markets.Design/methodology/approach – The paper commences with an examination of risk analysis within investment decision making and the property industry, drawing on the findings of the most recent literature that assesses the utilisation of risk management approaches.Findings – Financial risk management is examined and the workings of.
Real Estate Assets and Consumer Spending

In an interesting contribution to this Journal, Elliott [1980] shows that consumer spending is better explained if permanent income is estimated from explicit measures of wealth (the wealth approach) rather than current and past incomes (the income approach). In the income approach, permanent income (Yp,) is computed as a distributed lag mechanism. In the wealth approach this procedure is followed for labor income, but permanent nonhuman income is specified as a constant multiple (72) of actual nonhuman wealth at the beginning of a period (Ant,-). The distinction between income and wealth approaches is intuitively appealing and has been tried before: Elliott's equation (12) is the same as equation (5) in Bhatia [1972] except that Elliott uses actual wealth instead of Bhatia's expected wealth. The novelty in Elliott's specification lies in considering different components of wealth, which is also appealing, because measures of wealth ranging from real money balances to broad aggregates of human and nonhuman wealth have been used in the literature. Elliott's most striking result that real assets (mainly real estate and durable goods) have no significant effect on consumer spending, however, is disturbing because real estate is a major household asset, in fact, the largest one in many years, according to FRB balance sheets [1983], and accrued gains on real estate have often been larger than gains on corporate equities during the last decade or two. Also, there is some recent empirical evidence that gains on real assets significantly reduce personal saving [Peek, 1983]. The main purpose of this note is to reexamine and rehabilitate the role of real assets. One can question Elliott's specification, which does not adequately allow for expected gains, or his use of undistributed corporate profits as a contemporaneous proxy for all capital gains (tenuous, at best), but the heart of the matter is the residential value series derived by Elliott from perpetual inventory benchmarks [pp. 533-34], which, being accumulations of construc-
Upper Boundedness for the Measurement of Relative Deprivation

A new index of relative deprivation is derived axiomatically. Thanks to an asymptotically concave individual contribution function, the new measure provides a sounder quantification to the concept of relative deprivation as conceptualized in the seminal work of Runciman (1966) and better reflects the sociological connotations of the phenomenon.
'That's not the way I was taught science at school!' How Pre- service Primary Teachers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates are affected by their own Schooling Experiences

Government schools in Abu Dhabi, as part of widescale educational reforms undertaken in the whole of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have undergone significant change since 2007 across cycles and across subjects including science. Science had been taught historically in the UAE using fairly traditional 'chalk and talk', teacher-centered approaches. Nowadays, schools under Abu Dhabi Educational Council (ADEC) favour a modern approach towards teaching science, with new teachers being required to be proficient in teaching science skills such as inquiry-based learning in order to implement the curriculum effectively. However, there is a wide body of literature research to suggest that pre-service teachers hold beliefs about science education embedded from their own experience prior to their teacher-training, particularly from their own schooling experience, which can be difficult to overturn. In a didactic schooling system, Emirati pre-service teachers may have had few role models of the kind of teacher they will be required to be when they take up a post with ADEC upon graduation. We explored the schooling experiences of the first and fourth year pre-service teachers in our training college, comparing their teaching and learning experiences for differences due to the reforms in the UAE, and explored the ways in which these experiences may influence kind of science teacher they will become.
Household Water Consumption in an Arid City: Affluence, Affordance, and Attitudes

Reducing consumption in affluent urban households is perhaps the most important driver of future natural resource conservation. This article examines how water consumption in individual households is affected by income and determines whether household amenities or attitudes toward community and the environment mediate the effect of income on residential water use, net of other factors. We matched household social surveys, property characteristics, and climate variables with 24 months of individually metered water usage records for single-family houses in Phoenix, AZ. Household income had a positive, significant effect on consumption that was mediated by house size. Irrigable lot size and landscape type also had significant effects on consumption, although attitudes did not. In order to promote environmentally sustainable behavior we must develop better models of the social organization of consumption and encourage affluent households to be more attuned to the water affordances of their lifestyles.
Models of Mathematical Programming for Intuitionistic Multiplicative Preference Relations

In order to capture/model uncertainty associated with imprecision or vagueness, a decision maker may express her/his judgments in terms of intuitionistic multiplicative preference relation (IMPR). Two important research topics with this regard are studied in the paper: 1) checking consistency of IMPR and 2) generating weights on the basis of this relation. A new definition of consistent IMPR is proposed. In light of this new definition, the properties of consistent IMPR are studied in detail. A transformation formula is proposed to construct a consistent IMPR from a given normalized intuitionistic fuzzy weight vector. By minimizing the differences between the constructed consistent IMPR and the given IMPR, some fractional programming models are developed to derive the intuitionistic fuzzy weight vector. Moreover, the models are also extended to group decision making. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and practical relevance of the proposed models.