Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social Background, Ethnicity, School Composition and Educational Attainment in East London

This paper discusses the effect of social background and ethnicity on educational performance in an area with traditionally poor levels of attainment. It begins by examining the variation in school performance for London and specifically east London. It shows how the disadvantaged nature of the area, as measured by such variables as Mosaic group and ethnic heritage, helps to explain the poor results at GCSE. The paper then changes the focus to schools within a seven-borough area of east London. Using the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) linked to the geodemographic Mosaic codes based on pupils' home postcode, the authors demonstrate that, although ethnicity accounts for some of the variation in performance, this is considerably less than that accounted for by pupil social background. In addition, they show that it is not simply the social background of the individual pupil that affects school performance at GCSE. The proportion of pupils from a given social background plays some role in boosting or diminishing the overall school performance and will influence the performance of individual pupils whatever their background. It is argued that these social background effects together with the school composition effects have a considerable impact on school performance.
Endogenous R&D Networks among Upstream Firms

This paper studies the endogenous formation of R&D networks among upstream firms and the welfare implications thereof. Both under an upstream price setting and an upstream quantity setting, it is shown that the complete R&D network emerges in equilibrium but only if spillovers are sufficiently low. Yet, under a quantity setting, the complete network arises within a larger range of spillovers. In both cases, however, there is a potential conflict between private incentives for R&D collaboration and societal ones. We discuss policy measures that may help to steer firms towards a more socially desirable outcome. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Strategy or Structure? Capital, Labour and Control

The literature on and for management makes increasing use of notions of strategy. Is such an approach compatible with analyses of capitalism as structurally determined? The first part of the paper argues that contradictions within capitalist enterprise both create openings for strategic choice, and entail that no strategy will prove successful. The second part examines, in the context of six distinct managerial functions, the extent to which the control of labour can be regarded as a dominant management strategy.
The effect of fluticasone on the airway inflammatory response to organic dust

Exposure to organic dust in a swine house causes acute airway inflammation and increased bronchial responsiveness to methacholine in healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to investigate whether an inhaled glucocorticoid, fluticasone propionate, alters the acute airway responses induced by exposure in a swine barn. In 15 healthy subjects, analysis of nasal lavage fluids, serum samples and bronchial methacholine responsiveness were performed before and after exposure to organic dust in a swine house for 3 h. Seven subjects received fluticasone propionate (500 µg b.i.d. by inhalation and 100 µg intranasally once daily) and eight subjects received placebo during the 2 weeks prior to exposure. Post-exposure plasma interleukin (IL)-6 levels and body temperature were significantly lower in the fluticasone group than in the placebo group. Intranasally administered fluticasone propionate significantly attenuated the plasma protein (assessed as albumin concentrations) leakage and IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor-α response induced by exposure. Fluticasone propionate inhalation exerted no influence on the increased bronchial responsiveness to methacholine induced by exposure. In conclusion, glucocorticoid treatment attenuated the inflammatory response to inhaled organic dust without influencing the increased bronchial responsiveness to methacholine.
Pairs trading using cointegration in pairs of stocks

Pairs Trading strategy using co-integration in pairs of stocks by Manda Raghava Santosh Bharadwaj The aim of this project is to implement pair trading strategy, which aims to generate profits in any market conditions by examining the cointegration between a pair of stocks. Pair Trading, also known as a relative spread trading, is a strategy that allows a trader to benefit from the relative price movements of two stocks. A trader can capture the anomalies, relative strength or fundamental differences in the two stocks to create profit opportunities. Pair Trading primarily involves finding correlated stocks and exploiting the volatile market conditions, which lead to a diversion in their correlation. A trader takes a short position in one stock and simultaneously takes a long position in the other. If the market goes down, the short position makes money. On the other hand, if the market goes up, the long position makes money. Creating such a portfolio enables the investor to hedge the exposure to the market. Furthermore, by taking a long-short position on this pair, when prices diverge, and then closing the position when the spread retreats to its mean or a threshold, a profit is earned. In this project, we implement pair trading strategy using an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) process based spread model, is applied on stocks from three different sectors-Energy, HealthCare and Banking of the NYSE. Stocks were selected based on a combination of Distance Test, ADF Test and Granger-Causality Test. The paper concludes by summarizing the performance of this strategy and offers possible future enhancements and applying it to more complex scenarios.
Conception et modelisation logicielles des systemes interactifs : application aux interfaces multimodales. (Software design and implementation of interactive systems: A case study of multimodal interfaces)

Cette these s'inscrit dans le domaine de l'ingenierie des Interfaces Homme-Machine. Elle a pour theme la conception et la realisation des systemes interactifs. Parmi ces systemes, nous etudions les interfaces utilisateur qui integrent les aspects innovants de la technologie actuelle en communication homme-machine : les systemes a caracteristiques multiples. L'approche adoptee s'appuie sur une analyse conceptuelle des systemes e caracteristiques multiples en prenant en compte a la fois les activites du systeme et de lOutilisateur. Cette etude nous conduit a distinguer des etapes dans les mecanismes d'abstraction et de concretisation des informations echangees entre l'utilisateur et le systeme que nous organisons en un canevas : l'espace Pipe-lines. De l'espace Pipe-lines, canevas integrateur des activites de l'utilisateur et du systeme, nous derivons une methode de raisonnement et de classification des systemes en fonction de leurs utilisations : la methode UOM. En adoptant comme fondement l'espace Pipe-lines, nous identifions les besoins pour la realisation logicielle. Nous proposons un modele d'architecture logicielle, PAC- Amodeus qui repond a ces besoins. Ce modele est complete d'un guide d'application constitue d'un ensemble de regles heuristiques que nous avons concretisees par un systeme expert PAC-Expert. En symbiose avec PAC-Amodeus, nous proposons un moteur de fusion des informations specifiees par l'utilisateur. De part ses criteres et sa technique de representation des informations, le moteur est generique. PAC-Amodeus correle au moteur de fusion constitue une plate-forme pour la realisation logicielle de systemes a caracteristiques multiples.
Deterministic extraction of direct source/load coupling and its application to multi-mode filter designs based on transversal array network theory

This is the first report on quantitative evaluation of a direct source/load (S/L) coupling in physical filter models and its application to a synthesis-theory based filter design. The value and sign of the direct S/L coupling can be theoretically synthesized in a circuit model, but they have not been numerically extracted from a physical filter model so far. Using the proposed extraction method makes it possible to predict the direct S/L coupling in physical filter models, thereby enabling filter designs based on a transversal array network theory. As an example, bandpass filters composed of a dual-mode resonator in conjunction with S/L coupling are designed. As a result, both symmetric and asymmetric frequency responses are realized because the maximum number of transmission zeros can be precisely generated at specified finite frequencies with the help of S/L coupling extraction. The usefulness of the proposed method is confirmed through filter designs and measurements.
The Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer risk index: A multinational scoring system for identifying low-risk febrile neutropenic cancer patients.

PURPOSE Febrile neutropenia remains a potentially life-threatening complication of anticancer chemotherapy, but some patients are at low risk for serious medical complications. The purpose of this study was to develop an internationally validated scoring system to identify these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS Febrile neutropenic cancer patients were observed in a prospective multinational study. Independent factors assessable at fever onset, predicting low risk of complications, on a randomly selected derivation set, were assigned integer weights to develop a risk-index score, which was subsequently tested on a validation set. RESULTS On the derivation set (756 patients), predictive factors were a burden of illness indicating absence of symptoms or mild symptoms (weight, 5; odds ratio [OR], 8.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.15 to 16.38) or moderate symptoms (weight, 3; OR, 3.70; 95% CI, 2.18 to 6.29); absence of hypotension (weight, 5; OR, 7.62; 95% CI, 2.91 to 19.89); absence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (weight, 4; OR, 5. 35; 95% CI, 1.86 to 15.46); presence of solid tumor or absence of previous fungal infection in patients with hematologic malignancies (weight, 4; OR, 5.07; 95% CI, 1.97 to 12.95); outpatient status (weight, 3; OR, 3.51; 95% CI, 2.02 to 6.04); absence of dehydration (weight, 3; OR, 3.81; 95% CI, 1.89 to 7.73); and age less than 60 years (weight, 2; OR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.51 to 4.01). On the validation set, a Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer risk-index score >/= 21 identified low-risk patients with a positive predictive value of 91%, specificity of 68%, and sensitivity of 71%. CONCLUSION The risk index accurately identifies patients at low risk for complications and may be used to select patients for testing therapeutic strategies that may be more convenient or cost-effective.
Thrombolysis for pulmonary embolism and risk of all-cause mortality, major bleeding, and intracranial hemorrhage: a meta-analysis.

IMPORTANCE Thrombolytic therapy may be beneficial in the treatment of some patients with pulmonary embolism. To date, no analysis has had adequate statistical power to determine whether thrombolytic therapy is associated with improved survival, compared with conventional anticoagulation. OBJECTIVE To determine mortality benefits and bleeding risks associated with thrombolytic therapy compared with anticoagulation in acute pulmonary embolism, including the subset of hemodynamically stable patients with right ventricular dysfunction (intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism). DATA SOURCES PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, EBSCO, Web of Science, and CINAHL databases from inception through April 10, 2014. STUDY SELECTION Eligible studies were randomized clinical trials comparing thrombolytic therapy vs anticoagulant therapy in pulmonary embolism patients. Sixteen trials comprising 2115 individuals were identified. Eight trials comprising 1775 patients specified inclusion of patients with intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Two reviewers independently extracted trial-level data including number of patients, patient characteristics, duration of follow-up, and outcomes. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcomes were all-cause mortality and major bleeding. Secondary outcomes were risk of recurrent embolism and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Peto odds ratio (OR) estimates and associated 95% CIs were calculated using a fixed-effects model. RESULTS Use of thrombolytics was associated with lower all-cause mortality (OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.32-0.88; 2.17% [23/1061] vs 3.89% [41/1054] with anticoagulants; number needed to treat [NNT] = 59) and greater risks of major bleeding (OR, 2.73; 95% CI, 1.91-3.91; 9.24% [98/1061] vs 3.42% [36/1054]; number needed to harm [NNH] = 18) and ICH (OR, 4.63; 95% CI, 1.78-12.04; 1.46% [15/1024] vs 0.19% [2/1019]; NNH = 78). Major bleeding was not significantly increased in patients 65 years and younger (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 0.50-3.14). Thrombolysis was associated with a lower risk of recurrent pulmonary embolism (OR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.22-0.74; 1.17% [12/1024] vs 3.04% [31/1019]; NNT = 54). In intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism trials, thrombolysis was associated with lower mortality (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.25-0.92) and more major bleeding events (OR, 3.19; 95% CI, 2.07-4.92). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among patients with pulmonary embolism, including those who were hemodynamically stable with right ventricular dysfunction, thrombolytic therapy was associated with lower rates of all-cause mortality and increased risks of major bleeding and ICH. However, findings may not apply to patients with pulmonary embolism who are hemodynamically stable without right ventricular dysfunction.
Cardio-respiratory responses evoked by transient linear acceleration.

INTRODUCTION Predictive control of the responses to re-orientating stimuli and its interaction with vestibular signals may be an important factor in protecting against spatial disorientation. Here we evaluated the influence of stimulus predictability on the cardio-respiratory responses to transient fore-aft linear accelerations. METHODS There were 13 normal subjects and 6 patients with bilateral loss of vestibular function who were exposed to linear acceleration of +0.26 Gx peak while seated upright and restrained on a motorized bogie. Accelerations were: (1) 'unpredictable', triggered by the experimenter either at the end of expiration or at the end of inspiration; or (2) 'predictable', triggered by the subjects pressing a button. The two conditions included false trials when nothing would happen. Respiratory frequency, electrocardiogram, and trunk acceleration were recorded. RESULTS For unpredictable accelerations, in all subjects, the RR interval decreased within the first to second beat after acceleration onset. In normal subjects this decrease was maintained or more evident during the third, fourth, or fifth heart beat after onset. Cardiac responses were not significantly different when acceleration was triggered at the end of inspiration or at the end of expiration. Self-triggered acceleration also provoked prolonged, but attenuated, heart rate responses in healthy subjects, while responses were absent in the patients. All subjects responded with a consistent rapid inspiration to the onset of acceleration, whether predictable or not. DISCUSSION A vestibulo-cardiac response is evoked by transient linear acceleration, independently from the phase of the breathing cycle and from the predictability of the stimulus. A vestibular signal of motion appears to be required to produce a prolonged increase in heart rate.
Direct and self-reported measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviours by weight status in school-aged children: results from ISCOLE-Kenya

Abstract Background: Previous work has shown little association between self-report and directly measured physical activity. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between self-reported and directly assessed measures of physical activity and sedentary time by weight status in Kenyan children. Methods: Direct assessment of body weight, physical activity and sedentary time of 563 children was collected through anthropometry and accelerometry, while self-reported assessment was achieved by administering a questionnaire. Results: Under/healthy weight children had significantly higher directly measured mean daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to overweight/obese children (39 vs 20 minutes); had lower mean weekend-day minutes of sedentary time (346 vs 365 minutes); had a higher proportion who met accepted physical activity guidelines (15.3% vs 2.6%); and a higher number reported using active transportation to/from school (49.2% vs 32.4%). Self-reported time spent outside before and after school and active transport to/from school were significantly associated with mean weekday minutes of MVPA (r-value range = 0.12–0.36), but only for the under/healthy weight children. Conclusions: The results of this study found a number of differences in the accumulation of MVPA and sedentary time by weight status and weak-to-moderate correlations between self-report and direct measures of weekday and weekend-day physical activity among the under/healthy weight children.
Bulbospinal control of spinal cord pathways generating locomotor extensor activities in the cat

1 Intracellular recording of lumbosacral motoneurones in the decerebrate and partially spinalized cat injected with nialamide and L‐dihydroxyphenylalanine (l‐DOPA) was used to investigate the interneuronal convergence of two bulbospinal pathways and of the segmental pathways involved with the generation of extensor activities during locomotion. 2 Deiter's nucleus (DN) or the medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) was stimulated in alternation with, and in combination with, stimulation of group I afferents from extensor muscles or of contralateral flexor reflex afferents (coFRA). The evoked polysynaptic EPSPs were recorded in extensor motoneurones when long‐latency, long‐lasting discharges were evoked by the stimulation of coFRA and when the group I autogenetic inhibition in extensors was reversed to polysynaptic excitation. Spatial facilitation was inferred when the amplitude of the EPSPs evoked by the combined stimuli was notably larger than the algebraic sum of the EPSPs evoked by individual stimulation. 3 Both DN (16 motoneurones) and MLF inputs (8 motoneurones) showed spatial facilitation when preceded by coFRA stimuli and both could reset the rhythm of fictive stepping by triggering a precocious extensor phase. MLF showed spatial facilitation with extensor group I inputs in 69 % of trials but DN failed to show spatial facilitation in any cells. 4 These results indicate that DN and MLF project to the coFRA pathways of the extensor half‐centre for locomotion and MLF, but not DN, converge on segmental interneurones of the extensor group I pathways. The implications of such convergence patterns on the functional organization of the extensor half‐centre are discussed.
CSE1 and CSE2, two new genes required for accurate mitotic chromosome segregation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

By monitoring the mitotic transmission of a marked chromosome bearing a defective centromere, we have identified conditional alleles of two genes involved in chromosome segregation (cse). Mutations in CSE1 and CSE2 have a greater effect on the segregation of chromosomes carrying mutant centromeres than on the segregation of chromosomes with wild-type centromeres. In addition, the cse mutations cause predominantly nondisjunction rather than loss events but do not cause a detectable increase in mitotic recombination. At the restrictive temperature, cse1 and cse2 mutants accumulate large-budded cells, with a significant fraction exhibiting aberrant binucleate morphologies. We cloned the CSE1 and CSE2 genes by complementation of the cold-sensitive phenotypes. Physical and genetic mapping data indicate that CSE1 is linked to HAP2 on the left arm of chromosome VII and CSE2 is adjacent to PRP2 on chromosome XIV. CSE1 is essential and encodes a novel 109-kDa protein. CSE2 encodes a 17-kDa protein with a putative basic-region leucine zipper motif. Disruption of CSE2 causes chromosome missegregation, conditional lethality, and slow growth at the permissive temperature.
Economic and social dimensions of aquaculture management

Abstract Aquaculture management patterns are greatly influenced by the economic or social purpose of the project. Though some types of farms may yield both economic and social benefits, they can generally be classified on the basis of their major objective. Economic benefits, in one form or the other, gets considered in the planning stage of all farming activities; but it is necessary to ensure social and environmental viability as well to achieve sustainability. Subsistence and family farming, crop/animal integrated farming and farming for recreational purposes, are largely orientated to social benefits; whereas small‐scale farming enterprises, cooperative and state farms, as well as vertically integrated large‐scale farms are run mainly for economic gains. Stock enhancement and creation of culture‐based fisheries represent a mix of all the three elements of sustainability, with a stronger base of environmental improvement. The complexity of management differs significantly between these types of enterpr.
The Relationship between Corporate Investments and Components of Working Capital: An Iranian Case

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate investments and components of working capital in companies accepted in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) for a period of 2002-2006. Design/methodology/approach- In this paper we will answer the question: Is there any relationship between corporate investments and components of working capital in companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE)? We used panel data method for testing research hypothesis. In prior research was not applied the panel data procedure. Findings- The findings show that there is no relationship between corporate investments and components of working capital (net liquidity balance and working capital requirement). We also found that operating expenditure has relationship with the components of working capital. This result shows that companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) like to preserve in current status. Therefore, firms do not search for growth opportunities with the components of working capital. Practical implications – The findings have implications for managers to use components of working capital for corporate investments and do not use for the purpose of meeting their daily business transaction. Originality/value – The paper updates and extends previous research on corporate investments and components working capital of Iranian firms.
Enhancing Fed Credibility

The Fed's credibility regarding control of inflation helps to anchor public expectations of price stability. This makes the Fed's actions more predictable in any given set of circumstances and thus strengthens the monetary policy transmission mechanism and shortens policy lags. The importance of the Fed's credibility can be illustrated by the consequences of its absence in the 1970s. This paper discusses the roots of the Fed's current credibility: a systematic approach to controlling inflation, transparency of its policy decisions, and timely communication of the decisions and the considerations upon which they are based. The paper also discusses areas in which there is room for further improvement. It argues that the most important future step would be to adopt specific inflation targets. Such a step would not only enhance credibility, it would help to focus policy-making itself. While there are some risks to establishing specific numerical targets, these risks can be managed and are outweighed by the benefits of explicit targets.