Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Labour, welfare reform and conditionality : "Pathways to Work" for incapacity benefit claimants

The empirical basis is a focus upon three substantive areas: IB claimants' routes on to IB; experiences of compulsory Work Focussed Interviews with Jobcentre Plus Advisors; and experiences of the Condition Management Programme in each of these areas will be covered within a chapter. A review of selected literature occurs before presenting the original findings alongside existing research. The discussion returns to the issues of policy intention, policy implementation and claimant engagement.
Distance , Trade and FDI : A Hausman

This paper analyzes the effects of distance as a common determinant of exports and FDI in a three factors New Trade Theory model assuming that distance affects both pure trade costs and plant set-up costs. Exports and FDI are not necessarily substitutes with respect to distance since the predicted sign depends on its importance for fixed plant set-up costs relative to transportation costs. For the empirical specification, we suggest that the impact of of time-invariant variables such as distance is most appropriately analyzed in a Hausman-Taylor SURmodel. In our application, outward FDI is negatively affected by distance while its effect on exports is insignificant. Exports and outward FDI are complementary with respect to the time-invariant unobserved factors and also with respect to the majority of the exogenous observed determinants.
Performance study of an ultra wideband multifunction phased array

This paper proposes and evaluates an advanced ultra wideband multifunction phased array. Ultra wideband phased arrays have to make use of true time delay into an array of phase shifters, in order to avoid strong limitations in the system field of view[1]. The methodology applied relies on a mixed beamforming technique, based on true time delay behind each subarray and phase shifters down to the T/R module level. True time delay can be implemented by using analog switched delay lines, optical fiber delays or digital filters. Whichever technology is considered, the use of a mixed beamforming methodology introduces signal distortion and antenna pattern corruption. Therefore, suitable array tapering is necessary, in order to reshape the antenna pattern. The performance study focuses on an ultra wideband phased array (2–18 GHz), with the goal to show pattern degradation, sidelobe level and grating lobe level in a typical implementation and to study how to improve the ultra wideband array figures.
Physical layer aspects of wireless IoT

Internet of Things (IoT) is receiving important attention from industries and research communities as an important enabler for Fifth Generation (5G) of wireless communications. It has a wide range of application areas ranging from telecommunications to building smart communities, which will improve various aspects of our everyday lives. However, designing IoT-enabled wireless networks which can deliver a variety of services with desirable quality of experience under energy/resource constrained practical wireless scenarios is crucial. One of the important aspects here is to design the physical (PHY) layer of IoT-based wireless systems considering the practical constraints of energy efficiency, spectral efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and Quality of Service (QoS). In this regard, this paper provides an overview of the related existing works from the PHY layer perspective. Various PHY layer enabling techniques are highlighted and the PHY layer aspects of different IoT enabled wireless networks are discussed. Finally, it provides some interesting research issues and future recommendations.
The Implications of Alternative Litigation Cost Allocation Systems for the Value of Audits

When an auditor's effort is not observable, auditor liability becomes an important mechanism for motivating the auditor to exert an appropriate level of audit effort. However, although the presence of legal liability helps to preserve the value of an audit to investors, some aspects of the liability system may motivate suboptimal behavior and perhaps, ultimately, detract from investors' welfare. This paper seeks to contribute to the analysis of litigation-related issues by examining the effects of alternative legal cost allocation systems—the so-called American versus British rules—on the value of audits. Using a game theoretic model, the paper characterizes investors' and an auditor's equilibrium strategies in pretrial negotiation and the auditor's effort decisions. The paper finds that the American system (where the parties pay their own litigation costs) provides a higher audit value than the British system (where the loser of a case pays the winner's litigation costs), although the auditor's total expected costs are higher in the American system than in the British system.
The nature of latent cerebral irradiation damage and its modification by hypertension.

Abstract The cerebral hemispheres of normotensive and hypertensive rats were irradiated using exposures from 1,000 R to 4,000 R. Hypertension was shown to shorten the latent period between irradiation and death for exposures of 2,000 and 3,000 R and to lower the threshold for radiation damage to 1,000 R. Following an exposure of 4,000 R no differential shortening of the latent period occurred, normotensive and hypertensive animals dying after similar lengths of time. The hypothesis is put forward that with low exposures of X rays (2,000–3,000 R) radiation death is due to sudden vascular damage while with high values of exposure (3,000–4,000 R) death is due to white matter necrosis which follows glial depletion and subependymal stem cell damage respectively. Hypertension only accelerates vascular radiation damage and reduces the effective threshold dose of radiation. The latent period and both modes of damage are explained on the basis of the known slow mitotic replacement of vascular and glial cells in th.
Safety and Efficacy of Adjunctive &THgr; Burst Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Right Inferior Parietal Lobule in Schizophrenia Patients With First-Rank Symptoms: A Pilot, Exploratory Study

Background First-rank symptoms (FRS) in schizophrenia have been found to be associated with various cognitive and biological markers. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been shown to modulate such factors. We hypothesized that rTMS adjunctive to antipsychotics will be safe and effective in treatment of FRS in schizophrenia. Methods Schizophrenia patients with FRS randomly received either active or sham-magnetic resonance imaging navigated continuous &THgr; burst stimulation (cTBS)-rTMS to right inferior parietal lobule for 2 weeks; assessments were repeated. While primary outcome variables were safety profile, FRS and overall psychopathology; secondary outcomes were &ggr; oscillatory activity, brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels, and self-monitoring function. Results No significant adverse events were reported in either group. None of the outcome measures showed sufficient power on the time by group analysis. Conclusions This study fails to demonstrate whether or not adjunctive cTBS to right inferior parietal lobule could significantly alleviate FRS. We also fail to provide evidence for whether this protocol has any effect on brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels, self-monitoring function, and right hemispheric &ggr; oscillations.
Proactivity Directed Toward the Team and Organization: The Role of Leadership, Commitment and Role-Breadth Self-Efficacy

Employees' proactive behaviour is increasingly important for organizations seeking to adapt in uncertain economic environments. This study examined the link between leadership and proactive behaviour. We differentiated between organizational leadership and team leadership and proposed that transformational leadership by team leaders would enhance commitment to the team, which would predict team member proactivity. In contrast, transformational leadership by leaders of the organization would enhance commitment to the organization, which we expected to predict organization member proactivity. Transformational leadership on both levels was expected to increase employees' role-breadth self-efficacy, the confidence necessary to engage in proactive behaviour. Our results demonstrate the importance of leadership as an antecedent of proactive work behaviour and suggest that leadership at different levels influences proactivity via different mediators. Transformational team leaders seem to facilitate proactivity by increasing employees' confidence to initiate change. Transformational organizational leaders on the other hand increase proactivity by enhancing employees' commitment to the organization.
Fixed-Income Pricing in a Non-Linear Interest-Rate Model

This paper introduces a novel kind of interest-rate model offering simple analytical pricing formulas for swaps, futures, swaptions, caps and floors. The model is based on an original use of regime-switching features that makes it consistent with the non-linear behavior of interest rates. In particular, it accommodates the fact that short-term rate fluctuations are mainly driven by discrete changes in the central-bank policy rates. An application on euro-area data shows how the model can be exploited to infer risk-neutral probabilities of central-bank rate decisions.
Banks’ Balance Sheets and the Macroeconomy in the Bank of Italy Quarterly Model

We investigate the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and banks' balance sheets by referring to a modified version of the Bank of Italy Quarterly Model (BIQM), regularly used for forecasting and policy analysis. In particular, we examine how regulatory bank capital and private sector default probabilities affect interest rates on loans and, ultimately, economic activity. To this end, we build an enriched version of the model to include a number of banking variables. The changes introduced in the model result in an amplification of the responses of macroeconomic variables to monetary policy and world demand shocks, although, in normal times, the effect is not large.
Bank Risk-Taking in a Prospect Theory Framework Empirical Investigation in the Emerging Markets' Case

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the validity of some behavioral conjectures as alternative explanations of bank risk-taking behavior. We especially focus on the different valuation of gains and losses relative to a reference point, and the changing attitude toward risk conditional on the domain (gains vs losses) features (Tversky and Kahneman 1992). We follow a methodology based on Fiegenbaum and Thomas (1988) and the Fishburn (1977) measure of risk, applied to a sample of banks from emerging market economies. Preliminary results show that the Tversky and Kahneman (1992) framework could provide an alternative for explaining risk-taking behavior in the banking industry. Bankers located above benchmark levels, exhibit risk aversion. Although, further investigations are needed in order to consolidate our conclusions.
Um modelo espacial de demanda habitacional para a cidade do Recife

This paper shows the importance of using spatial econometrics in the studies related to the analysis of housing market's behavior. In empirical analysis carried out on the object of estimating a Housing Demand Function for the city of Recife, Brazil, based in information from the Demographic Census (2000) and data from real state financed by Caixa Economica Federal, strong indications of spatial dependency were verified in all explored economical variables. One verifies that the manner of considering the spatial issue as a function of distances of housing to influence poles or space division in regions, like currently occurring in literature, is not capable of explaining entirely the behavior of the housing demand. The results indicate that the demand equations traditionally estimated, without considering the effects of spatial dependency may generate biased results, where the price-elasticity by the traditional model represents less than 50% of the estimates of the spatial model.
Efficacy and Safety of Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt in the Treatment of Nongastric Extraesophageal Variceal Bleeding

Objectives: Although esophageal varices are the most common site of variceal bleeding, extraesophageal varices cause up to 30% of variceal bleeding. Unlike esophageal variceal bleeding, the experience in management of extraesophageal variceal bleeding, especially nongastric extraesophageal variceal bleeding is limited, and there are no established guidelines for treatment of nongastric extraesophageal variceal bleeding. This study aims to provide experience in treatment of nongastric extraesophageal variceal bleeding with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt in a tertiary medical center. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all cases, admitted or transferred to Emory University Hospital, with extraesophageal variceal bleeding who had transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt as the final resolution to control bleeding over a period of 4 years, from January 1999 to January 2003. We also compared the outcomes after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt for bleeding from gastric varices and nongastric extraesophageal varices. Results: Forty-one patients (33 gastric varices and 8 nongastric extraesophageal varices) with extraesophageal variceal bleeding who had transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt performed were identified in this study period. Bleeding was controlled immediately in 90% (37/41) of those patients. The mortality was 7% (3/41). The rebleeding rate was 10% (4/41). Encephalopathy occurred in 24% (10/41) of the patients. Patients with gastric varices bleeding appeared to have more advanced liver disease than patients with nongastric extraesophageal varices bleeding. The outcomes after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt for bleeding from gastric varices and nongastric extraesophageal varices were similar. Conclusions: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt is an effective and safe treatment of extraesophageal variceal bleeding, including bleeding from gastric varices and nongastric extraesophageal varices.
CHANGES IN THE U.S. WAGE STRUCTURE 1963-1987: APPLICATION OF QUANTILE REGRESSION

A recently developed quantile regression technique, which parsimoniously describes the entire conditional distribution, is applied to every March Current Population Survey since 1964. The study examines changes in the returns to schooling and experience at different points of the wage distribution and changes in within-group wage inequality. The results from the one-group and sixteen-group linear models show that the returns to schooling and experience differ across quantiles of the wage distribution but that their patterns of change are similar. Significant differences in wage inequality are also found across the various skill groups. Copyright 1994 by The Econometric Society.
PTEN and p27 expression in mature T-cell and NK-cell neoplasms

PTEN is a tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 10q23 and is amongst the most commonly mutated genes in human cancers. The lipid phosphatase activity of Pten enables it to dephosphorylate PIP3, thereby antagonizing growth factor stimulated PI3-kinase signaling mediated by AKT/PKB. The growth inhibition effect of PTEN has been shown to be mediated by p27 which is one of the important effector molecules downstream of the AKT pathway. Recently the importance of the Pten and AKT pathway in the regulation of the immune system and development of hematological malignancies has been shown. Loss of Pten and p27 expressions were examined immunohistochemically in 45 patients with peripheral T- and NK-cell lymphoma. Partial or complete loss of Pten was detected in 66.7% of the cases of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) compared to only 12.5% of all other mature T-/NK-cell lymphomas combined. Loss of p27 was identified in 64.9% of cases, which showed a positive correlation with Pten loss. In this study, we showed that loss of Pten is more frequent in ALCL as compared to other mature T-/NK-cell lymphomas, which strongly correlates with the loss of p27 expression. Our findings provide further evidence for the importance of the deregulation of the PI3K-AKT pathway in ALCL.
PCAOB Inspections of Smaller CPA Firms: Initial Evidence from Inspection Reports

We examine 316 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspection reports issued to smaller CPA firms (100 or fewer issuer clients) through July 2006. We find that 60 percent of the inspected firms have audit deficiencies. Firms with audit deficiencies are smaller, have a larger number of issuer clients, and are growing more rapidly than firms without deficiencies, suggesting an over‐extension into the issuer client market by some firms. Deficiencies are more likely for inspections conducted in 2004 than 2005, and the PCAOB appears to have targeted smaller, riskier, rapidly growing audit firms for its 2004 inspections. In addition, we find some evidence that clients of deficiency firms are smaller, less profitable, and more highly leveraged. We also summarize the most common audit deficiencies and offer implications and directions for future research.
Appropriate Public Involvement in Local Environmental Governance: A Framework and Case Study

Public participation involving local people has become a basic principle of contemporary environmental governance. However, the extent to which members of the public are interested in, and capable of, being involved effectively in governance varies widely, and often is not addressed satisfactorily. Context is a key determinant of the appropriate degree of public involvement, but contextual factors that determine an appropriate degree of public involvement are not well specified. This article presents a framework that can be used to assess public involvement in local environmental governance. Five characteristics shape the appropriate degree of public involvement. The framework is used in a critical assessment of a process used to develop a water sharing plan for the Hunter River Catchment, Australia.
The Influence Exerted by a Restricted Phospholipid Microenvironment on the Expression of Tissue Factor Activity at the Cell Plasma Membrane Surface

Summary Phosphatidylserine (PhtdSer) is an anionic aminophospholipid necessary for the development of optimal tissue factor (TF) activity at the cell surface. This study investigates the implication of a restricted lipid environment with respect to PhtdSer availability on TF expression and activity. K562 cells, showing a reduced ability to externalize PhtdSer, were transfected with human TF cDNA. PhtdSer exposure and TF activity were examined in transfected cells and compared to monocytic THP-1 cells expressing constitutive and inducible TF or megakaryocytic HEL cells showing a high PhtdSer externalization potency. TF expression was evidenced by flow cytometry and its activity measured using functional assays. PhtdSer exposure was monitored by enzymatic prothrombinase assay. One clone (DC9) expressed a stable amount of TF antigen without global modification of its membrane status. Despite a noticeable TF expression level, clone DC9 presented only a weak TF activity even after ionophore stimulation. The apparent Km , relative to factor X (FX) activation by TF-factor VIIa (FVIIa) complex, was 335 nM versus 70 nM for THP-1 cells. The velocity of the reaction was found 3-fold slower in DC9 than THP-1 cells. Ionophore treatment resulting in slightly enhanced amounts of available PhtdSer abolished this difference. The DC9 clone appears suitable for further investigations on the biology of TF expressed at the surface of cells where the contribution of PhtdSer is significantly attenuated. Such cells should enable further assessment of the role of TF as a receptor coupled to intracellular signaling pathways and its fate during apoptotic cell death. Abbreviations: TF: tissue factor, FX: factor X, FVII(a): factor VII(a), PhtdSer: phosphatidylserine, PhtdCho: phosphatidylcholine, PhtdEth: phosphatidylethanolamine, BSA: bovine serum albumin, dcTF: des-cyto tissue factor (TF1-244: membrane-anchored TF lacking the cytoplasmic tail)
High Skills: Globalisation, competitiveness and skill formation

This book is an impressive consolidation of previous work done by the three writers on ‘high skills’, particularly the results of their research report of the same name funded by the Economic and Social Research Council in the United Kingdom. The project’s initial  ndings were published in a special edition of this journal in 1999. The analysis also builds on the initial work on high skill equilibria pioneered by Finegold and Soskice in the late 1980s, who in turn applied the ‘Societal Analysis’ of Maurice, Sellier and Silvestre [1]. It is a pity this genesis is not more centrally traced and accredited in the book. Nonetheless, the book makes a very valuable contribution in its own right. The book has many disciplinary identities. Firstly, the very lengthy Chapter Two (by Andy Green with Akiko Sakamoto) provides a comparative study of skill formation systems across  ve countries in the world—Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, and to a lesser extent, South Korea. The central question within this work has been to ascertain the key determinants underpinning the considerable variability existent in differing national routes to a high skills economy. And in answering this question, the authors develop an analytical framework which they term a ‘new political economy’ of high skills which borrows strongly from economic sociology and the new institutionalism of Ronald Dore and Wolgang Streeck. The book argues that skill formation and economic performance are socially constructed and experienced within social institutions such as schools, of ces and factories. The relationship between skill formation and economic performance can be organised in highly divergent ways, shaped largely by the very different national contexts in each case study—which are based on culture, history, politics and social mores. In short, the book attempts to re-insert the ‘social’ back into the academic practice of political economy, something that has been amiss in the past decades given the dominance of neo-classical economics and the hegemony of ‘returns to investment’ theories of human capital formation. The core of the book, however, lies with its development in Chapters Three and Four (authored by Hugh Lauder) of a four-part typology of skill diffusion systems. These typologies are derived theoretically from the differing forms of interaction and interlocking between: a nation’s: (i) labour market structure; (ii) its education and training system; (iii) its key social and cultural characteristics; and lastly (iv), the form of interaction between the state and market in each national context. The four-part typology has the following ideal-type characteristics:
Image Pattern Recognition - Synthesis and Analysis in Biometrics

Analysis in Biometrics: A Statistical Model for Biometric Verification (S N Srihari & H Srinivasan) Force Field Feature Extraction for Ear Biometrics (D J Hurley) Behavior Biometrics for Online Computer User Monitoring (A A E Ahmed & I Traore) Synthesis in Biometrics: Introduction to Synthesis in Biometrics (S N Yanushkevich et al.) Local B-Spline Multiresolution with Example in Iris Synthesis and Volumetric Rendering (F F Samavati et al.) Computational Geometry and Biometrics: On the Path to Convergence (M L Gavrilova) Biometric Systems and Applications: Large-Scale Biometric Identification: Challenges and Solutions (N K Ratha et al.) Issues Involving the Human Biometric Sensor Interface (S J Elliott et al.) Signature Analysis, Verification and Synthesis in Pervasive Environments (D V Popel) and other papers.