Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the Short form of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale in New Zealand Adolescents

Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine the reliability and validity of the short form of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS-SF). Method: A sample of 9567 randomly selected New Zealand secondary school students participated in the Youth2000 Health and Wellbeing Survey that included the full-length version of the RADS. The reliability and validity of the subset of items that make up the RADS-SF and its comparability to the original version were assessed using Cronbach's alpha, kappa statistics, correlations between the two versions of the instrument, confirmatory factor analysis and correlation to other questions in the survey considered likely to be associated with depression. Results: The RADS-SF had Cronbach's alpha of 0.88, was strongly correlated (0.95) to the RADS, had acceptable fit for the data (χ2=2823.27, df=35, comparative fit index=0.96, root mean square error of approximation=0.092, 90% confidence interval=0.089–0.095, standardized root mean square residual=0.042), showed configural invariance across gender, age and ethnic groups, and was strongly correlated with other depression-related questions, such as suicidal ideation (r=0.48). While the overall agreement for classification of depression by the two scores was good (κ=0.75), a higher percentage of students were classified as having depressive symptoms using the recommended RADS-SF cut-off point of 26 compared with the RADS criteria. Conclusions: The RADS-SF was found to have acceptable reliability and validity and to have psychometric properties comparable to the RADS in a large population of New Zealand adolescents.
Pricing measures, forward measures and semigroups

In a Markovian setting, we introduce a class of pricing measures and forward measures. Using multiplicative perturbation theory of Markovian semigroups, we study the relationship between the pricing semigroup and the forward semigroup, and obtain the forward semigroup pricing method. Furthermore, we investigate the derivatives pricing associated with the spot and forward generators.
Effects of N-acetylcysteine on substance use in bipolar disorder: A randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial

Objective: To evaluate the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on substance use in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of NAC in bipolar disorder. It is hypothesised that NAC will be superior to placebo for reducing scores on the Clinical Global Impressions scale for Substance Use (CGI-SU). Methods: Participants were randomised to a 6-months of treatment with 2 g/day NAC (n = 38) or placebo (n = 37). Substance use was assessed at baseline using a Habits instrument. Change in substance use was assessed at regular study visits using the CGI-SU. Results: Among the 75 participants 78.7% drank alcohol (any frequency), 45.3% smoked tobacco and 92% consumed caffeine. Other substances were used by fewer than six participants. Caffeine use was significantly lower for NAC-treated participants compared to placebo at week 2 of treatment but not at other study visits. Conclusions: NAC appeared to have little effect on the participants who were using substances. A larger study on a substance-using population will be necessary to determine if NAC may be a useful treatment for substance use.
Learning Based Compressed Sensing for SAR Image Super-Resolution

This paper presents a novel approach for the reconstruction of super-resolution (SR) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images in the compressed sensing (CS) theory framework. Recent research has shown that super-resolved data can be reconstructed from an extremely small set of measurements compared to that currently required. Therefore, a CS to produce SAR super-resolution images is introduced in the present work. The proposed approach contributes in three ways. First, enhanced SR results are achieved using a framework that combines CS with a multi-dictionary. Then, the multi-dictionary pairs are trained after classifying the training images through a sparse coding spatial pyramid machine. Each dictionary pair containing low- and high-resolution dictionaries are jointly trained. Finally, the gradient-descent optimization approach is applied to decrease the mutual coherence between the measurement matrix and the representation basis. The CS reconstruction effect is related to incoherence. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated on TerraSAR-X data.
A Theory of Employment, Unemployment and Sickness

BEATTY C. , FOTHERGILL S. and MACMILLAN R. (2000) A theory of employment, unemployment and sickness, Reg. Studies 34, 617-630. This paper explains how the measurement of unemployment is distorted by the way that 'sickness' is defined and counted by social security systems. Drawing on the concepts of 'hidden sickness', 'the queue for jobs' and 'hidden unemployment', and on empirical observations from the UK, it shows how job loss can result in increased recorded sickness rather than recorded unemployment. It also shows how this process may vary between localities and countries. The argument has profound implications for perceptions of the true extent of unemployment and of labour market disparities between regions. BEATTY C. , FOTHERGILL S. et MACMILLAN R. (2000) L'emploi, le chômage et la maladie: une théorie, Reg. Studies 34, 617-630. Cet article cherchèaexpliquer comment la mesure du chômage s'avère fausséèacause de la fac¸on dont la Sécu définit 'maladie' et la comptabilise. Puisant dans des notions de 'maladie déguisée', 'file d'attente pour l'emploi' et 'chômage déguisé', et à partir des preuves empiriques provenant du R-U, on laisse voir comment la perte d'emploi peut entrâ L ner une hausse du nombre des maladies comptabilisées plutôt qu'une augmentation du nombre des chômeurs inscrits. On laisse voir aussi comment ce processus varie suivant la région et le pays. Les retombées de cet argument remettent clairement en question le vrai niveau du chômage et l'ampleur des disparités interrégionales entre les marchés du travail. BEATTY C. , FOTHERGILL S. und MACMILLAN R. (2000) Eine Theorie der Erwerbstätigkeit, Arbeitslosigkeit und Krankheit, Reg. Studies 34, 617-630. Dieser Aufsatz erklärt, wie die Messung der Arbeitslosigkeit durch die Art und Weise der Definition und Zählung von 'Krankheit' durch Sozialversicherungssystemen bestimmt wird. Gestützt auf die Begriffe, 'versteckte Krankheit', 'Warteliste der Arbeitsuchenden' und 'versteckte Arbeitslosigkeit' sowie auf empirische Beobachtungen in Großbritannien, zeigt er auf, wie Verlust des Arbeitsplatzes eher zu vermehrter Registrierung von Krankheit als Registrierung von Arbeitslosigkeit führen kann. Er zeigt auch, wie dieser Vorgang von Ort zu Ort und von Land zu Land schwanken kann. Das Argument hat tiefgreifende Implikationen für die Einschätzung des wahren Ausmaßes der Arbeitslosigkeit und regionaler Ungleichheiten im Arbeitsmarkt.
The Incidence of, Risk Factors for, and Sequelae of Herpes Zoster Among HIV Patients in the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy Era

Background:Whereas the incidence, risk factors, and clinical sequelae of herpes zoster have been studied in the general population and in HIV patients in the era before highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), they have yet to be fully understood in the current era of HAART. Methods:We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients enrolled in an urban HIV clinic between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2001. Patients with an episode of herpes zoster during this period were identified, and their charts were reviewed. A nested case-control analysis was used to assess factors associated with an initial episode of herpes zoster. Multivariate conditional logistic regression analyses were used to assess risk factors for zoster. Logistic regression was performed to assess factors associated with complicated zoster. Results:Two hundred eighty-two episodes of herpes zoster were identified in 239 patients. Of these episodes, 158 were new occurrences of zoster and 124 were recurrent zoster events. The incidence of zoster during the study period was 3.2 per 100 person-years of follow-up. The incident cases reflected the clinic population, with most patients being male (63%) and African American (77%) and having injection drug use as their HIV risk factor (49%). The mean age of the patients was 41 years. Sixty-seven percent of patients had single dermatomal involvement, and the thorax was involved in 41%. In multivariate regression, being on HAART (odds ratio [OR] = 2.39, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.65 to 3.49) and a CD4 count of 50 to 200 cells/mm3 (OR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.44 to 5.01) compared with a CD4 count less than 50 cells/mm3 were associated with an increased risk of zoster. Twenty-eight patients (18%) developed post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), and 29 patients (18%) had other complications. Male-to-male sex as an HIV risk factor (P = 0.02) and being on HAART at a zoster episode (P = 0.03) were protective against complicated zoster. Conclusions:Our results suggest that zoster infection rates have not changed in the current HAART era but that a significant percentage of patients develop complications, particularly PHN, which is quite remarkable considering the young age of our population.
Openness, Productivity and Growth: What Do We Really Know?

For over a century social analysts have debated the connection between trade policy and economic performance. This controversy continues today, even as the world is experiencing an unprecedented period of trade liberalization, and in spite of numerous empirical studies that claim to have found a positive effect of openness on growth. Two issues have been at the core of these controversies: first, until recently theoretical models had been unable to link trade policy to faster equilibrium growth. And second, the empirical literature on the subject has been affected by serious data problems. In this paper I use a new comparative data set for 93 countries to analyze the robustness of the relationship between openness and TFP growth. I use nine alternative indexes of trade policy to investigate whether the evidence supports the view that, with other things given, TFP growth is faster in more open economies. The regressions reported here are robust to the use of openness indicator, estimation technique, time period and functional form, and suggest that more open countries have indeed experienced faster productivity growth. Although the use of instrumental variables goes a long way towards dealing with endogeneity, issues related to causality are still somewhat open, and will require time series analyses to be adequately addressed.
Balancing Prolonged Survival with QoL Using Low-dose Pazopanib Maintenance: A Comparison with the PALETTE Study.

BACKGROUND A consensus has not been reached regarding the optimal pazopanib dosing schedule, which we determined in patients who received pazopanib at our Institution. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty-five patients who were prescribed pazopanib between 2012 and 2015 were included in this retrospective analysis. RESULTS The median progression-free survival (PFS) time was 7.7 months. This time (various doses) was similar to that achieved by high-dose pazopanib in the PALETTE study. The log-rank test revealed no significant differences in the PFS times between the low- and high-dose pazopanib groups, with the majority of patients receiving a dose of 400 mg, indicating that controlling the side-effects might be more critical than administering higher doses. CONCLUSION Pazopanib should be started from a low dose with careful increase to avoid pazopanib-related side-effects, which is necessary to provide a balance between the life-prolonging effects of pazopanib and quality of life (QoL) of patients.
Binding and growth‐inhibitory effect of heparin and oligo‐heparin (2 kDa) in Balb/c 3T3 cells: lack of effect on PDGF‐ or serum‐induced inositol lipid turnover

1 The ability of heparins (bovine heparin sm 1026, Av. mol. wt. 36.9 kDa and bovine heparin EP 756, Av. mol. wt. 12.9 kDa) and heparin fractions of different molecular weights (low molecular weight heparin, LMW 2123/OP, Av. mol. wt. 4.5 kDa and oligo‐heparin, Av. mol. wt. 2 kDa) to inhibit the proliferation and signalling of Balb/c 3T3 fibroblasts was investigated. 2 Heparin and heparin fractions of 4.5 and 2 kDa significantly inhibited DNA synthesis as monitored by [3H]‐thymidine incorporation. 3 3H‐labelled heparin fractions of 4.5 and 2 kDa were prepared by gel‐chromatography fractionation on Sephadex G‐75 of an 3H‐labelled commercial heparin after treatment with heparinase. 4 The binding of unfractionated and oligo‐heparin of 2 kDa to Balb/c 3T3 fibroblasts was studied; we determined the specificity of heparin and oligo‐heparin binding to the cells by means of displacement of bound 3H‐labelled compound in response to increasing concentrations of unlabelled compounds. Scatchard analysis of binding data obtained using [3H]‐heparin as ligand revealed the presence of a single class of high affinity binding sites (Kd = 28 nm) for heparin. Scatchard analysis of binding data obtained using [3H]‐oligo‐heparin as ligand revealed the presence of a single class of low affinity binding sites (Kd = 3.2 μm) for oligo‐heparin. 5 In addition heparin displaced [3H]‐oligo‐heparin at a concentration of approximately 100 fold of the Kd determined in displacement studies. Furthermore, oligo‐heparin significantly displaced [3H]‐heparin at a concentration of approximately 10 fold of the Kd determined by displacement studies. 6 Both heparin and oligo‐heparin exert their inhibitory effects on Balb/c 3T3 DNA synthesis stimulated by PDGF or serum. However these molecules did not affect the inositol lipid turnover triggered by PDGF at a concentration which did not produce maximal response. The increase of inositol phosphate metabolism produced by 20% serum was also unaffected by heparin. This concentration of serum elicited a response comparable to that induced by a submaximal concentration of PDGF.
Feature: Employment Protection Legislation*

Employment protection legislation (EPL) is an important labour market policy whose strictness differs greatly across OECD countries. The collection of articles in this Feature provides new theoretical and empirical results which highlight the impact of EPL on productivity, job and firm turnover, (un)employment and the incidence of temporary contracts. Importantly, the effect of EPL is shown to differ across types of workers and firms. This yields new insights on the incentives for labour market reform. Copyright 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation Royal Economic Society 2007.
Expression of a transgenic class II Ab gene confers susceptibility to collagen‐induced arthritis

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II region is assumed to influence autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. In the mouse, the H‐2q haplotype is associated with susceptibility to collagen‐induced arthritis, while the H‐2p haplotype is not. The class II A molecules of these haplotypes differ by only four amino acids in the first domain of the β chain. To test if this difference accounts for the MHC influence on susceptibility to collagen‐induced arthritis, H‐2p mice were made transgenic with an Abp gene altered to resemble the Abq gene. The transgenic Aβ chain hybridized with the Aαp chain and was shown to be physiologically expressed by testing antigen‐presentation capacity to Aq‐restricted T cell hybridomas and with FACS analyses. These transgenic mice developed an autoimmune response to type II collagen and also collagen‐induced arthritis. The data unequivocally suggest the Ab gene as a major genetic susceptibility locus for autoimmune collagen‐induced arthritis.
Understanding the Influence of Social and Technical Factors Testers in Software Organizations

This paper is presenting the research topic proposal "Understanding the influence of social and technical factors in software organizations". This research combines qualitative and quantitative methods while exploring the elements impacting the testing activities. The study's scope is to improve our understanding of the challenges faced on daily basis by testers in their activities, the motivation behind a testing career and to propose improvements for the testing practice and testers' image, while taking into consideration the social and technical nature of testing activities.
The Bentham Unit: A pilot remand and assessment service for male mentally disordered remand prisoners

Background Findings are presented from an evaluation of a pilot remand and assessment service - the Bentham Unit, The aims of the Bentham Unit are to provide rapid assessment, identify mentally disordered remand prisoners, and speed their transfer from prison to NHS care, where a need is indicated. Method The number, rate and speed of referral, assessment and transfer to NHS care of offenders remanded to Wormwood Scrubs prison during periods before and after the Bentham Unit opened were compared. Results The service attracted a large volume of referrals. Between the two periods, significant increases in the numbers of referrals and hospital disposals, and major reductions in the interval between reception on remand into the prison, NHS assessment and transfer to NHS care, were observed. Conclusions The aims of the unit were met. Implications for service configurations are discussed.
A Statistical Theory of Expenditures in Capital Maintenance and Repair

This study introduces an econometric model to explain the determinants of expenditures in capital maintenance and repair and, indirectly, to question the assumption implicit in most investment studies that such expenditures do not "matter" in the process of capital accumulation. The model is estimated by a consistent-systems technique, with data pertaining to the rolling stock of class-I line-haul railways in the United States from 1944-70. The empirical results indicate that maintenance expenditures are determined by gross additions to and retirements from the rolling stock as well as by the cost of funds and the rate of utilization. Moreover, in light of the uncovered rade-offs between maintenance expenditures and gross investment, the paper concludes that in estimating investment models, a proxy for maintenance expenditures should be included among the independent variables.
Banks Responses to Deregulation: Revenues, Costs and Profits-Evidence from Jordan

The main interest of this paper is to outline the major responses of banks toward deregulation and financial reforms. Thus, it examines the impact of the regulatory reform on banking efficiency performance. This was achieved by examining the effects of deregulation and banking reforms on revenues, costs and profits efficiencies given input and output prices. The examination was extended to investigate whether the regulatory reform creates structural changes in the banks' investing and financing behavior. While, the results show no substantial increase in banks profits, the overall indication specifies that most of the measure controls adopted by the CBJ improved the soundness of the banking sector in Jordan. The analysis reveals an increase in costs which attributed to change in the market conditions, in addition to the increase in the structural costs caused by the deregulation and the reform regimes. The low profit levels is attributed to increased competition that forced banks to follow a restricted behavioral policy of not widening their spreads, and focus on achieving stable interest rate margins instead. The results revealed that, because of increased competition, banks increased their relative dependence on the interbank funding, in addition to increase their access toward the deposit market. The results indicated also more reliance on using capital reserve.
The Protection of Traditional Foods in the EU: Traditional Specialities Guaranteed

Since the dawn of the common market, the European Union has enacted abundant legislation regulating the employment of specific food names. This process has led to the introduction of a regulatory framework for wines and spirits, and four quality schemes for food products: protected denominations of origin (PDO), protected geographical indications (PGI), traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG), and optional quality terms (OQT). This paper focuses on the TSG. It will first determine the collocation of this quality scheme in the EU legal framework; second, it will conduct a legal exegesis of the norms regulating the TSG under the previous Regulation 509/06 and analyse the ways in which they have been interpreted and applied; third, it will suggest reasons for the limited success of this scheme in the past; and fourth, it will explore the recently enacted Regulation 1151/12, seeking to establish whether it addresses the pre‐existing flaws that fettered the TSG.
In Search of the Audit Society: Some Evidence from Health Care, Police and Schools

Claims that we are moving towards an ‘audit society’ (Power 1994, 1997) are fuelled by the emergence of a wealth of audit and other performance monitoring initiatives. To date, however, very little empirical evidence has been gathered on the precise nature, role and scope of this ‘society’. This paper draws on academic literature, official and unofficial reports and interviews with auditors, inspectors and auditees across three major public service organisations. The paper argues that audit is just one aspect of a broader, but rapidly evolving, ‘performance measurement society’; other important elements of which include the growth of inspection and self-assessment. Public sector audit emerges as an increasingly questionable function. The remainder of the paper dismantles some of the myths associated with its practice, particularly regarding its public visibility and contribution in terms of enhancing processes of public service delivery, management and accountability.
Distant networking: The knowledge acquisition strategies of 'out-cluster' biotechnology firms

This paper addresses the conditions that enable new biotechnology firms (NBF) operating outside major biotechnology clusters, to obtain the resources and competences necessary to emerge and grow. Drawing on in-depth research on the structure, rationale and evolution of scientific and technological relationships of a group of Portuguese NBFs, the paper discusses the knowledge sourcing strategies devised by these firms and the type of factors that favour their adoption. NBFs are found to draw creatively from a diverse combination of local and distant technological relationships and to profit from a number of mechanisms that can reduce the impact of geographical distance on access to partners and on the transmission of knowledge. This behaviour is favoured by factors associated with the strength of the local science base in relevant fields and to the level of international mobility and exposure achieved by local scientists.
Active Preference Elicitation for Planning

We consider the problem of actively eliciting preferences from a human by a planning system. While prior work in planning have explored the use of domain knowledge and preferences, they assume that the knowledge must be provided before the planner starts the planning process. Our work is in building more collaborative systems where a sys-tem can solicit advice as needed. We verify empirically that this approach lead to faster and better solutions, while reducing the burden on the human expert.