Education Policy and Equality of Opportunity

We provide a measure of equality of educational opportunity in 54 countries, estimated as the effect of family background on student performance in two international TIMSS tests. We then show how organizational features of the education system affect equality of educational opportunity. Our model predicts that late tracking and a long pre-school cycle are beneficial for equality, while pre-school enrollment is detrimental at low levels of enrollment and beneficial at higher levels. Using cross-country variations in education policies and their interaction with family background at the student level, we provide empirical evidence supportive of these predictions.equality of opportunity, educational production, family background, student performance, tracking, pre-school, efficiency-equity tradeoff

A bounded heuristic for collection-based routing in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks are used to monitor and control physical phenomena and to provide interaction between clients and the physical environment. Clients have been typically users or user applications, but next generation wireless sensor networks will also work in machine-to-machine scenarios where some nodes can be interested in some other nodes' data. These scenarios may run the risk of becoming overloaded with messaging, a pernicious fact in particular for constrained networks where both bandwidth and power supply are limited. Resource collections can be used in wireless sensor networks to improve bandwidth usage and to reduce energy consumption, reducing the overall number of notification packets and wrapping overhead, required for the delivery of sensor data. This article proposes a heuristic algorithm for the planning of both routing and collections, in wireless sensor networks. Results show that collections are always worthwhile, and that the heuristic is able to find feasible and cost effective solutions, approaching its lower bound.FCT from Portugal within the CEOT research center [UID/MULTI/00631/2013

Wie lässt sich die Ungleichheit der Bildungschancen verringern?

In allen nationalen und internationalen Schülerleistungstests erweist sich nahezu ausnahmslos der familiäre Hintergrund der Schülerinnen und Schüler als der bei weitem stärkste Einflussfaktor auf ihre erzielten Leistungen. Daher befasst sich der vorliegende vierte und letzte Beitrag zum Abschluss der Serie "Ökonomische Beiträge zur Schuldebatte" mit der Frage, welchen Einfluss die Bildungspolitik auf die Gleichheit von Bildungschancen ausüben kann. Dazu werden Ergebnisse mikroökonometrischer Studien anhand internationaler Schülerleistungstests vorgestellt, welche nun den Bestimmungsgründen für internationale Unterschiede in der Ungleichheit der Bildungschancen für Kinder mit unterschiedlichen familiären Hintergründen nachgehen. Es zeigt sich, dass der Leistungsunterschied zwischen Kindern gut ausgebildeter Eltern und Kindern aus bildungsferneren Schichten in Ländern mit einem ausgebauten System frühkindlicher Bildung und mit einer später einsetzenden Selektion in unterschiedliche Schultypen systematisch geringer ist - ohne dass dort das Leistungsniveau niedriger wäre. Demgegenüber findet die Untersuchung keinen systematischen Zusammenhang zwischen Ganztagsschulsystemen und der Leistungsungleichheit.Bildungschancen, Familie, Bildungspolitik, Schüler, Vergleich, OECD-Staaten, Deutschland

Chancengleichheit im Schulsystem: Internationale deskriptive Evidenz und mögliche Bestimmungsfaktoren

Mikroökonometrische Schätzungen anhand internationaler Schülerleistungstests zeigen,dass das Ausmaß, in dem Schülerleistungen mit dem familiären Hintergrund variieren,international sehr unterschiedlich ist. So weisen etwa Frankreich und Kanada wesentlichausgeglichenere Bildungschancen für Kinder unterschiedlicher familiärer Herkunft aufals Deutschland und Großbritannien. Verschiedene empirische Identifikationsstrategienbelegen, dass Schulsysteme mit späterer Mehrgliedrigkeit und einem umfassenderenVorschulsystem systematisch ausgeglichenere Bildungschancen bieten. Dagegen findetsich kein systematischer Zusammenhang der Chancengleichheit mit Ganztagsschulsystemen,dem Ausgabenniveau oder der Durchschnittsleistung.Chancengleichheit, Bildungsökonomik, Schülerleistungen, TIMSS, familiärer Hintergrund, soziale Selektivität, Mehrgliedrigkeit, Vorschulsystem

Protein markers for the identification of cork oak plants infected with phytophthora cinnamomi by applying an (α, β)-k-feature set approach

Cork oak decline in Mediterranean forests is a complex phenomenon, observed with remarkable frequency in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, causing the weakening and death of these woody plants. The defoliation of the canopy, the presence of dry peripheral branches, and exudations on the trunk are visible symptoms used for the prognosis of decline, complemented by the presence of Phytophthora cinnamomi identified in the rhizosphere of the trees and adjacent soils. Recently, a large proteomic dataset obtained from the leaves of cork oak plants inoculated and non-inoculated with P. cinnamomi has become available. We explored it to search for an optimal set of proteins, markers of the biological pattern of interaction with the oomycete. Thus, using published data from the cork oak leaf proteome, we mathematically modelled the problem as an α, β-k-Feature Set Problem to select molecular markers. A set of proteins (features) that represent dominant effects on the host metabolism resulting from pathogen action on roots was found. These results contribute to an early diagnosis of biochemical changes occurring in cork oak associated with P. cinnamomi infection. We hypothesize that these markers may be decisive in identifying trees that go into decline due to interactions with the pathogen, assisting the management of cork oak forest ecosystems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Resolução de problemas de optimização combinatória em máquinas paralelas

Tese de Doutoramento, Matemática, especialidade Investigação Operacional, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 1999Em muitas e variadas áreas, tais como, transportes, logística, telecomunicações, informática, gestão e planeamento, etc., depara-se com problemas em que se tem como objectivo encontrar a melhor solução entre um número finito ou infinito numerável de alternativas discretas. São os chamados Problemas de Optimização Combinatória. A enorme quantidade de aplicações concretas com que se defrontam a generalidade das empresas e instituições levou, nas últimas décadas, a uma intensa actividade no sentido de desenvolver teorias e técnicas eficientes para a resolução destes problemas de Matemática Discreta

An energy-aware resource design model for constrained networks

The Internet of Things is expected to incorporate objects and sensor networks of all kinds, and in particular, constrained sensor networks where energy consumption is a critical issue. In order to increase the lifetime of such networks, intelligent and standard-based solutions should be used. Here, we address this challenge through the use of CoRE interfaces for the resource design. These interfaces allow the server side to compose/organize resources and the client side to discover and determine how to consume such resources, besides allowing decisions to be easily integrated into the operation of the network. An energy-aware resource design model is proposed, based on CoRE interfaces, for the design of resources matching client needs. Based on this model, we develop an algorithm that proved to be energy efficient

Disclosing proteins in the leaves of cork oak plants associated with the immune response to Phytophthora cinnamomi inoculation in the roots: a long-term proteomics approach

The pathological interaction between oak trees and Phytophthora cinnamomi has implications in the cork oak decline observed over the last decades in the Iberian Peninsula. During host colonization, the phytopathogen secretes effector molecules like elicitins to increase disease effectiveness. The objective of this study was to unravel the proteome changes associated with the cork oak immune response triggered by P. cinnamomi inoculation in a long-term assay, through SWATH-MS quantitative proteomics performed in the oak leaves. Using the Arabidopis proteome database as a reference, 424 proteins were confidently quantified in cork oak leaves, of which 80 proteins showed a p-value below 0.05 or a fold-change greater than 2 or less than 0.5 in their levels between inoculated and control samples being considered as altered. The inoculation of cork oak roots with P. cinnamomi increased the levels of proteins associated with protein-DNA complex assembly, lipid oxidation, response to endoplasmic reticulum stress, and pyridine-containing compound metabolic process in the leaves. In opposition, several proteins associated with cellular metabolic compound salvage and monosaccharide catabolic process had significantly decreased abundances. The most significant abundance variations were observed for the Ribulose 1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase small subunit (RBCS1A), Heat Shock protein 90-1 (Hsp90-1), Lipoxygenase 2 (LOX2) and Histone superfamily protein H3.3 (A8MRLO/At4G40030) revealing a pertinent role for these proteins in the host-pathogen interaction mechanism. This work represents the first SWATH-MS analysis performed in cork oak plants inoculated with P. cinnamomi and highlights host proteins that have a relevant action in the homeostatic states that emerge from the interaction between the oomycete and the host in the long term and in a distal organ.FCT:UID/Multi/00631/2019 and UIDB/00631/2020 CEOT BASE to CEOT and ACC, GS and RP; UIDB/ 04326/2020 to CCMAR; Norma Transitoria- DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0015 to PP; contract NIBAP (ALG-01-0247-FEDER-037303) to RP; projects POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007440 (Ref. UIDB/04539/ 2020), POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016428 (Ref. SAICTPAC/0010/2015), POCI-01-0145- FEDER-029311 (Ref. PTDC/BTM-TEC/29311/ 2017), POCI-01-0145-FEDER-30943 (Ref. PTDC/ MECPSQ/30943/2017) and PTDC/MED-NEU/ 27946/2017 to CNC, BM and CS. The work at CNC was also funded by the National Mass Spectrometry Network (RNEM) under contract POCI-01-0145-FEDER-402-022125info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Directed evolution of G protein-coupled receptors in yeast for higher functional production in eukaryotic expression hosts

Despite recent successes, many G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) remained refractory to detailed molecular studies due to insufficient production yields, even in the most sophisticated eukaryotic expression systems. Here we introduce a robust method employing directed evolution of GPCRs in yeast that allows fast and efficient generation of receptor variants which show strongly increased functional production levels in eukaryotic expression hosts. Shown by evolving three different receptors in this study, the method is widely applicable, even for GPCRs which are very difficult to express. The evolved variants showed up to a 26-fold increase of functional production in insect cells compared to the wild-type receptors. Next to the increased production, the obtained variants exhibited improved biophysical properties, while functional properties remained largely unaffected. Thus, the presented method broadens the portfolio of GPCRs accessible for detailed investigations. Interestingly, the functional production of GPCRs in yeast can be further increased by induced host adaptation

Canakinumab in patients with COVID-19 and type 2 diabetes - A multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity have chronic activation of the innate immune system possibly contributing to the higher risk of hyperinflammatory response to SARS-CoV2 and severe COVID-19 observed in this population. We tested whether interleukin-1β (IL-1β) blockade using canakinumab improves clinical outcome. METHODS: CanCovDia was a multicenter, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of canakinumab plus standard-of-care compared with placebo plus standard-of-care in patients with type 2 diabetes and a BMI > 25 kg/m$^{2}$ hospitalised with SARS-CoV2 infection in seven tertiary-hospitals in Switzerland. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to a single intravenous dose of canakinumab (body weight adapted dose of 450-750 mg) or placebo. Canakinumab and placebo were compared based on an unmatched win-ratio approach based on length of survival, ventilation, ICU stay and hospitalization at day 29. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510493. FINDINGS: Between October 17, 2020, and May 12, 2021, 116 patients were randomly assigned with 58 in each group. One participant dropped out in each group for the primary analysis. At the time of randomization, 85 patients (74·6 %) were treated with dexamethasone. The win-ratio of canakinumab vs placebo was 1·08 (95 % CI 0·69-1·69; p = 0·72). During four weeks, in the canakinumab vs placebo group 4 (7·0%) vs 7 (12·3%) participants died, 11 (20·0 %) vs 16 (28·1%) patients were on ICU, 12 (23·5 %) vs 11 (21·6%) were hospitalised for more than 3 weeks, respectively. Median ventilation time at four weeks in the canakinumab vs placebo group was 10 [IQR 6.0, 16.5] and 16 days [IQR 14.0, 23.0], respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in HbA1c after four weeks despite a lower number of anti-diabetes drug administered in patients treated with canakinumab. Finally, high-sensitive CRP and IL-6 was lowered by canakinumab. Serious adverse events were reported in 13 patients (11·4%) in each group. INTERPRETATION: In patients with type 2 diabetes who were hospitalised with COVID-19, treatment with canakinumab in addition to standard-of-care did not result in a statistically significant improvement of the primary composite outcome. Patients treated with canakinumab required significantly less anti-diabetes drugs to achieve similar glycaemic control. Canakinumab was associated with a prolonged reduction of systemic inflammation. FUNDING: Swiss National Science Foundation grant #198415 and University of Basel. Novartis supplied study medication