The effect of parental wealth on children’s outcomes in early adulthood

Using data from the British Household Panel Survey we show that parental wealth has a positive association with a range of outcomes in early adulthood. The outcome that exhibits the strongest association with parental wealth is higher educational attainment. This association is mainly concentrated at the lower half of the distribution and remains strong after controlling for a wide range confounding family characteristics. Parental wealth also has a positive relationship with children’s employment probability and earnings, although the gradient for both outcomes is rather weak and largely mediated by children’s education. A potential driver of the small size of the latter effects is the young age of the sample

Simulation for facility layout redesign : Coventry city council : reengineering a multi-activity depot layout

This paper presents an application of simulation modelling within a facility layout reengineering on behalf of a services' organisation; Coventry City Council (CCC). This organisation was burdened with its operational activities that take place at its depot. The available parking places were not adequate to meet the fleet's needs and, in addition, were disproportionally dedicated to the operational activities. Some parts of the depot were bustle with life whereas others were laid idle. Consequently, the poor depot design resulted in inefficiencies in terms of heavy congestion at the entry-exit points, at the resources (fuel station, waste transfersite etc.), Health and Safety issues, lack of control, low space utilisation, high risk of vandalism, and untidy appearance. Therefore, the major objective of this project constitutes the redesign of the depot's layout after evaluating alternative viable plans and deciding on the most valuable. To address this facility layout problem, simulation modelling was employed. Testing various risk-free scenarios, managers could study the performance characteristics of the proposed layouts without affecting the real system. The recommended layout involved the reallocation of resources, the reorganisation of the network of roads, the operational vehicles to be parked at dedicated parking places, and explicit operating rules to be followed by the drivers. © ECMS, 2006

Prognostic significance of 24-h blood pressure and variability indices in the outcome of acute ischaemic stroke

Background: The association between blood pressure (BP) levels and BP variability (BPV) following acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) and outcome remains controversial. Aims: To investigate the predictive value of systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) and BPV measured using 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) methods during AIS regarding outcome. Methods: A total of 228 AIS patients (175 without prior disability) underwent ABPM every 20 min within 48 h from onset using an automated oscillometric device (TM 2430, A&D Company Ltd) during day time (7:00–22:59) and night time (23:00–6:59). Risk factors, stroke subtypes, clinical and laboratory findings were recorded. Mean BP parameters and several BPV indices were calculated. End-points were death and unfavourable functional outcome (disability/death) at 3 months. Results: A total of 61 (26.7%) patients eventually died. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that only mean night-time DBP (hazard ratio (HR): 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00–1.07) was an independent prognostic factor of death. Of the 175 patients without prior disability, 79 (45.1%) finally met the end-point of unfavourable functional outcome. Mean 24-h SBP (HR: 1.03; 95% CI: 1.00–1.05), day-time SBP (HR: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.00–1.05) and night-time SBP (HR: 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01–1.05), SBP nocturnal decline (HR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.88–0.99), mean 24-h DBP (HR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.03–1.13), day-time DBP (HR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.03–1.12) and night-time DBP (HR: 1.06; 95% CI: 1.02–1.10) were independent prognostic factors of an unfavourable functional outcome. Conclusions: In contrast with BPV indices, ABPM-derived BP levels and lower or absence of BP nocturnal decline in the acute phase are prognostic factors of outcome in AIS patients. © 2022 Royal Australasian College of Physicians