Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quasi-regulation and Principal—Agent Relationships

Market-oriented reforms and school choice policies have had a high political profile in a number of developed countries. This article examines the issue of school choice through the lens of the English market-oriented reforms; it focuses on the quasi-regulation and regulation of admissions to publicly funded secondary schools. It examines admissions to state-maintained secondary schools in London in terms of the criteria and practices used in the event of there being more applicants than places available. It also explores changes in admissions criteria and practices between 2001 and 2005 given the legislative and policy changes introduced in the intervening period. Principal—agent theory is used heuristically to explain the differing responses of schools with responsibility for admissions and local authorities to the legislative and policy framework. It is argued that while local authorities act broadly in line with government guidance and regulations as the agent of the government, schools acting as agents do not necessarily do so and more appear to select particular groups of children as opposed to others. This, it is argued, is because the regulatory mechanisms have been insufficient to motivate them to act as intended in relation to their admissions policies and practices in the light of the other policy goals and incentives accompanying the market-oriented reforms.
A dynamic reliability management framework for heterogeneous multicore systems

Dynamic Reliability Management (DRM) is an attractive system-level approach to mitigate the effects of aging and degradation phenomena in systems equipped with multiple computing resources, trading performance to improve lifetime reliability and/or power efficiency. In this paper, we propose a novel DRM controller for Heterogeneous System Architectures running on the top of Linux Operating System able to dynamically adapt to the system conditions and workload characteristics, leveraging on the applications' performance, power consumption and system lifetime. Based on the user's goal, the framework can be exploited to implement DRM policies optimizing the desired trade-off between the identified metrics. The implementation of the controller on the Samsung Exynos 5 architecture is reported together with the evaluation of a state-of-the-art mapping policy here enhanced to be reliability-aware.
Changes in Bone Architecture During Spinal Fusion: Three Years Follow-up and the Role of Cage Stiffness

Study Design. A morphometrical analysis of microcomputed tomography-based reconstructions of bone from the fusion zone in spinal cages. Objective. To describe the architectural changes of the fusing bone tissue in time and to study the effect of cage stiffness on the development of the bone architecture within the cage. Summary of Background Data. Interbody fusion within spinal cages is routinely evaluated as either successful or not successful. The quality of the fusion, however, strongly depends on the architecture (i.e., structure and density) of the bone tissue within the cage. Bone architecture obviously changes during the fusion process, and cage stiffness is known to play a pivotal role. Methods. Nine bone samples were available from a long-term in vivo study on resorbable spinal cages in Dutch milk goats described elsewhere. Follow-up periods of 3, 6, 12, 24, 30, and 36 months were considered for cages made of titanium or Poly L-Lactic Acid. The specimens were scanned with a resolution of 13 &mgr;m in a microcomputed tomography system. From the resulting reconstructions, the bone density; trabecular thickness, spacing, and number; connectivity density; and structure model index were assessed. Results. We found a homogenization of all bone structure indexes along the spinal axis with time, and remarkably faster in the Poly L-Lactic Acid cages than in the titanium cages. After longer follow-up periods, a coarser bone structure with larger trabecular thickness and intertrabecular spacing was found. The structure model index appeared to be sensitive for nonunions. Conclusions. More “mature” spinal fusions showed a coarser and more homogeneous bone structure. High cage stiffness had a deteriorating effect on the fusion rate. The structure model index appears to be an interesting parameter for quantifying the quality of bone in the fusion zone.
Learning Disabled Student Needs Met Through Curriculum Redesign of the Illinois Agricultural Education Core Curriculum

This quasi–experimental pilot study included agricultural education students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) in five high schools in the federally designated economically distressed area called the Illinois Delta Region. A unit of instruction taken from the existing 165 units of The Illinois Core Curriculum for Agriculture was redesigned in a manner appropriate to SLD students. Students from the five selected programs were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Results from pre– and posttests in this study found the redesigned curriculum for SLD students effectively increased learning for both SLD and traditional students.
Performance of Western Hemisphere Trading Blocs: A Cost-Corrected Gravity Approach

We study the performance of the four Western Hemisphere trading blocs during the period 1978-2001. For the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), trade integration outweighed trade diversion; for MERCOSUR, increased integration and trade diversion went hand in hand; for the Central American Common Market (CACM) and the Andean Community, the evidence points to trade diversion only. We also find that trade among neighboring countries has increased since the early 1990s. The estimations are based on a nonlinear gravity equation that incorporates the hypothesis that exports create externalities that affect trade costs. This hypothesis might help reconcile the theoretical unitary income elasticity with most empirical findings of a non-unitary income elasticity in studies using the gravity equation.
Identifying forest ecosystem services through socio-ecological bundles: a case study from northern Jordan

This study aims to identify services provided by forest ecosystems based on locals’ perceptions in the northern part of Jordan. By better understanding preferences of locals and by understanding why they value certain services more heavily, policy-makers and planning managers can make more effective decisions regarding development and conservation. Three hundred respondents were interviewed in order to collect information about forest ecosystem services (ES). Data collection was conducted using a structured questionnaire regarding ES provided by three forest types situated in northern Jordan. ES trade-offs and socio-ecological bundles were identified by analyzing respondents’ socioeconomic demographics and preferences of forest ES through multivariate canonical corresponding analysis (CCA). The statistical analysis indicated that the socioeconomic factors and forest type have an effect on social preferences toward ES. Results displayed a clear trade-off between provisioning services and regulating and cultural services. CCA demonstrated that 73% of the variation in ES value is explained by social factors (i.e. education level, income level, and gender), while 26% of perception variation was attributable to categories of ES supplied by each forest ecosystem. These findings imply that involving people in the place-specific management of public forests using the ES approach gives managers a clearer understanding of the benefits people recognize and value, as well as those they either are not aware of or do not value. Such information is useful in forest management and in public outreach. Although direct policy applications are limited by the research’s nature, the paper provides a starting point for incorporating forest users’ voices into policy discussions and management design.
Effect of Fatty Acids and Cholesterol Present in Bile on Expression of Virulence Factors and Motility of Vibrio cholerae

ABSTRACT Bile induces pleiotropic responses that affect production of virulence factors, motility, and other phenotypes in the enteric pathogen Vibrio cholerae. Since bile is a heterogeneous mixture, crude bile was fractionated, and the components that mediate virulence gene repression and enhancement of motility were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance, gas chromatography (GC), and GC-mass spectrometry analyses. The unsaturated fatty acids detected in bile, arachidonic, linoleic, and oleic acids, drastically repressed expression of the ctxAB and tcpA genes, which encode cholera toxin and the major subunit of the toxin-coregulated pilus, respectively. The unsaturated fatty acid-dependent repression was due to silencing of ctxAB and tcpA expression by the histone-like nucleoid-structuring protein H-NS, even in the presence of the transcriptional activator ToxT. Unsaturated fatty acids also enhanced motility of V. cholerae due to increased expression of flrA, the first gene of a regulatory cascade that controls motility. H-NS had no role in the fatty acid-mediated enhancement of motility. It is likely that the ToxR/ToxT system that negatively regulates motility is rendered nonfunctional in the presence of unsaturated fatty acids, leading to an increase in motility. Motility and flrA expression were also increased in the presence of cholesterol, another component of bile, in an H-NS- and ToxR/ToxT-independent manner.
The distance-based approach to the quantification of the world convergences and imbalances - comparisons across countries and factors

The paper presents a general empirical method of distance-based multifaceted systematic identifying of the positions of countries in relation to inequalities and imbalances. In order to understand the world economic relations in their entirety, we decided to analyze twelve most populous countries and eleven macroeconomic, environmental and demographic indicators relevant to them. Our analysis covering the period 1992-2008 attempts to identify core parts of the global economic system and countries that pose a potential risk of instability.
Defining threats across organizational boundaries

Threats against systems are continually changing and evolving. The ability to secure systems against them is an ongoing battle. One of the most difficult responsibilities that security experts face is the need to take the intangible threats and complex security information and explain it to stakeholders with enough clarity as to allow for decision making. There are typically, multiple levels of stakeholders, needing various levels of brevity or insight in order to react to the information. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) needs brevity, the lead security engineer needs enough information in order to make technical trade-offs.Both Bayesian networks and concept mapping are based on patterns. They both look to provide insight into information based on pattern relations. Bayesian networks provide a method to look at the probabilities associated with events occurring. Concept maps show perceived regularities in events or objects by the use of labels. The use of concept maps has been shown to provide a means of describing complex ideas in a simple manner, such as is necessary when dealing with higher levels of management. Bayesian networks can be used to describe the detailed probabilities of something occurring, as is useful when working with engineers. The purpose of this paper is to show how the hybrid use of concept maps and Bayesian networks to outline the same information can be useful for providing threat information across organizational boundaries.
Political party closures in European democratic order: comparing the justifications in DTP and Batasuna decisions

ABSTRACT This article investigates the influence of the institutions that aim to foster democracy in Europe, such as the European Union, European Court of Human Rights and Venice Commission on political party closure cases in Europe, through a comparative study on the Democratic Society Party (DTP) decision in Turkey and the Batasuna decision in Spain. Adopting the theory of communicative action, the arguments presented by the judges in the related reasoned decisions are analysed according to three categories: utility; values; and rights. It is argued that the European norms and principles constitute the main strand of justifications; hence, the European institutions have a considerable right-based influence on national courts.
Structural Basis for Increased Toxicity of Pathological Aβ42:Aβ40 Ratios in Alzheimer Disease*

Background: Amyloid β peptide plays a role in Alzheimer disease. Results: Interaction of amyloid β peptides with 40 and 42 amino acids has consequences for oligomer formation. Conclusion: Increased production of amyloid β peptide with 42 amino acids affects the behavior of the entire amyloid β peptide pool. Significance: This might explain the synaptotoxic effect observed with a shift in amyloid β peptide production. The β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) is directly related to neurotoxicity in Alzheimer disease (AD). The two most abundant alloforms of the peptide co-exist under normal physiological conditions in the brain in an Aβ42:Aβ40 ratio of ∼1:9. This ratio is often shifted to a higher percentage of Aβ42 in brains of patients with familial AD and this has recently been shown to lead to increased synaptotoxicity. The molecular basis for this phenomenon is unclear. Although the aggregation characteristics of Aβ40 and Aβ42 individually are well established, little is known about the properties of mixtures. We have explored the biophysical and structural properties of physiologically relevant Aβ42:Aβ40 ratios by several techniques. We show that Aβ40 and Aβ42 directly interact as well as modify the behavior of the other. The structures of monomeric and fibrillar assemblies formed from Aβ40 and Aβ42 mixtures do not differ from those formed from either of these peptides alone. Instead, the co-assembly of Aβ40 and Aβ42 influences the aggregation kinetics by altering the pattern of oligomer formation as evidenced by a unique combination of solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, high molecular weight mass spectrometry, and cross-seeding experiments. We relate these observations to the observed enhanced toxicity of relevant ratios of Aβ42:Aβ40 in synaptotoxicity assays and in AD patients.
Dimedone as an aldehyde blocking reagent to facilitate the histochemical demonstration of glycogen.

The demonstration of glycogen by the periodic acid-Schiff technique can be clarified by the interposition of a short dimedone blockade after the periodic acid oxidation. This blocks the PAS reaction of the vast majority of materials, but a very much longer blockade is required to abolish the reaction of glycogen. The dimedone-PAS method is valuable in situations where the demonstration of glycogen is otherwise difficult because of the proximity of diastase-fast PAS positive materials. For this purpose dimedone is best used in alcoholic solution (5% in absolute alcohol for about 3 hr at 60°C), since an aqueous solution permits diffusion of the aldehydes produced from the oxidation of glycogen. A saturated aqueous solution, or a 5% solution in 80% alcohol, is much more rapid in its blocking action, however, and may be more satisfactory when dimedone is used simply as an aldehyde blocking reagent.
Negative Correlation between Affective Symptoms and Prefrontal Activation during a Verbal Fluency Task: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

Only a few studies have examined the relationships between affective symptoms, cognitive function (e.g. verbal fluency), quality of life (QOL), and brain activation in a nonclinical population. The aim of the present study was to assess these relationships and examine the underlying cortical mechanisms in a nonclinical population. Fifty-two healthy male volunteers were assessed for depressive symptoms using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), for apathy using the Apathy Scale, and QOL using the Medical Outcomes Study short-form 36-item questionnaire (SF36). The volunteers also performed a verbal fluency test (VFT) while hemoglobin concentration changes were assessed on the surface of the frontal cortex using 24-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The SDS and Apathy Scale scores showed significant negative correlations with the scores of most of the SF36 subscales. Frontal activation had a significant negative correlation with the SDS scores and the Apathy Scale. These results suggest that the degree of affective symptoms is associated with a lower QOL in a nonclinical population, and that cortical hypoactivation during a VFT measured by NIRS may objectively identify individuals with a high degree of affective symptoms.
Voluntary Reporting Incentives and Reporting Quality: Evidence from A Reporting Regime Change for Private Firms in Taiwan†

This paper examines the effect of voluntary financial reporting on firms' reporting quality using a reporting regime change in Taiwan. Before 2001, Taiwan's Company Act imposed a mandatory public reporting requirement of filing audited financial statements on private firms with contributed capital exceeding a certain threshold. This requirement was rescinded in 2001 and private firms since have had discretion over public financial reporting. We divide private firms retroactively into two groups: voluntary reporting firms, those continuing the practice of filing financial statements after the regime change; and nonvoluntary reporting firms, those discontinuing the reporting practice after the regime change. We find that financial reporting quality is higher for voluntary reporting firms than for nonvoluntary reporting firms and that this quality difference translates into a lower cost of debt for voluntary reporting firms. Our results support the view that reporting incentives play an important role in determining reporting quality.
Motion-Based Rapid Serial Visual Presentation for Gaze-Independent Brain-Computer Interfaces

Most event-related potential (ERP)-based brain–computer interface (BCI) spellers primarily use matrix layouts and generally require moderate eye movement for successful operation. The fundamental objective of this paper is to enhance the perceptibility of target characters by introducing motion stimuli to classical rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) spellers that do not require any eye movement, thereby applying them to paralyzed patients with oculomotor dysfunctions. To test the feasibility of the proposed motion-based RSVP paradigm, we implemented three RSVP spellers: 1) fixed-direction motion (FM-RSVP); 2) random-direction motion (RM-RSVP); and 3) (the conventional) non-motion stimulation (NM-RSVP), and evaluated the effect of the three different stimulation methods on spelling performance. The two motion-based stimulation methods, FM- and RM-RSVP, showed shorter P300 latency and higher P300 amplitudes (<italic>i.e.</italic>, 360.4–379.6 ms; 5.5867–<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$5.7662~\mu {V}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) than the NM-RSVP (<italic>i.e.</italic>, 480.4 ms; <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$4.7426~\mu {V}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>). This led to higher and more stable performances for FM- and RM-RSVP spellers than NM-RSVP speller (<italic>i.e.</italic>, 79.06±6.45% for NM-RSVP, 90.60±2.98% for RM-RSVP, and 92.74±2.55% for FM-RSVP). In particular, the proposed motion-based RSVP paradigm was significantly beneficial for about half of the subjects who might not accurately perceive rapidly presented static stimuli. These results indicate that the use of proposed motion-based RSVP paradigm is more beneficial for target recognition when developing BCI applications for severely paralyzed patients with complex ocular dysfunctions.
A Phospholipid Substrate Molecule Residing in the Membrane Surface Mediates Opening of the Lid Region in Group IVA Cytosolic Phospholipase A2*

The Group IVA (GIVA) phospholipase A2 associates with natural membranes in response to an increase in intracellular Ca2+ along with increases in certain lipid mediators. This enzyme associates with the membrane surface as well as binding a single phospholipid molecule in the active site for catalysis. Employing deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, we have identified the regions of the protein binding the lipid surface and conformational changes upon a single phospholipid binding in the absence of a lipid surface. Experiments were carried out using natural palmitoyl arachidonyl phosphatidylcholine vesicles with the intact GIVA enzyme as well as the isolated C2 and catalytic domains. Lipid binding produced changes in deuterium exchange in eight different regions of the protein. The regions with decreased exchange included Ca2+ binding loop one, which has been proposed to penetrate the membrane surface, and a charged patch of residues, which may be important in interacting with the polar head groups of phospholipids. The regions with an increase in exchange are all located either in the hydrophobic core underneath the lid region or near the lid and hinge regions from 403 to 457. Using the GIVA phospholipase A2 irreversible inhibitor methyl-arachidonyl fluorophosphonate, we were able to isolate structural changes caused only by pseudo-substrate binding. This produced results that were very similar to natural lipid binding in the presence of a lipid interface with the exception of the C2 domain and region 466-470. This implies that most of the changes seen in the catalytic domain are due to a substrate-mediated, not interface-mediated, lid opening, which exposes the active site to water. Finally experiments carried out with inhibitor plus phospholipid vesicles showed decreases at the C2 domain as well as charged residues on the putative membrane binding surface of the catalytic domain revealing the binding sites of the enzyme to the lipid surface.
The Impact of Antitakeover Amendments on Corporate Financial Performance

Previous event studies that examine the impact of antitakeover amendments on the firm value provide mixed results. Some studies support the management entrenchment hypothesis, while others support the shareholder interest hypothesis. In this study, a longitudinal approach is used to examine the impact of antitakeover amendments on several financial attributes of the firm including: operating and net income to total assets, operating and overhead expenses to sales, research and development to total sales, capital expenditures to sales, and debt relative to total assets. It is concluded that antitakeover amendments are not deleterious in terms of their impact on various fundamental firm performance measures. Copyright 1997 by MIT Press.
MEASURING BRAND EQUITY ACROSS PRODUCTS AND MARKETS

This article presents managers with a framework for measuring the strength of a brand. It specifically examines ten sets of measures grouped into five categories: loyalty, perceived quality, associations, awareness, and market behavior. Employing these measures can be difficult and their results must be used carefully. However, they have the capacity to provide managers with a set of important and extremely useful measurement tools.