Heterogeneity,school-effects and the North/South achievement gap in Italian secondary education: evidence from a three-level mixed model

With the aim of assessing the extent of the differences in the context of Italian educational system, the paper applies multilevel modeling to a new administrative dataset, containing detailed information for more than 500,000 students at grade 6 in the year 2011/2012, provided by the Italian Institute for the Evaluation of Educational System. Data are grouped by classes, schools and geographical areas. Different models for each area are fitted, in order to properly address the heteroscedasticity of the phenomenon. The results show that it is possible to estimate statistically significant “school effects”, i.e., the positive/negative association of attending a specific school and the student’s test score, after a case-mix adjustment. Therefore, the paper’s most important message is that school effects are different in terms of magnitude and types in the three geographical macro areas (Northern, Central and Southern Italy) and are dependent on specific students’ and schools’ characteristics.     

Association between long-term erectile dysfunction and biochemical recurrence after permanent seed I125 implant brachytherapy for prostate cancer. A longitudinal study of a single-institution

We aimed to investigate the predictive factor of erectile dysfunction (ED) in prostate cancer (PCa) patients who underwent low-dose permanent I¹²⁵ seed implant brachytherapy and to investigate if ED could represent a patient’s reported outcome measures (PROMs) of efficacy of BT and indirectly associated with biochemical recurrence free survival (BRFS). From 2000 to 2012, 176 consecutive patients with low-risk PCa underwent BT. ED was evaluated with the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5). Cox regression analysis was performed to assess significant predictors of mild-to-severe ED and BRFS after BT, including covariates. The 10-year actuarial rate of ED was 66%. Subjects with severe ED had higher values of D90 (183.0 versus 177.0; p?p?p?p?=?0.20), while D90?≤?180?Gy independently predicted BCR (HR: 4.65; [95%CI: 1.25–17.34]; p?125 implant, but it is not associated with better BRFS.     

A Quality Risk Management Model Approach for Cell Therapy Manufacturing

International regulatory authorities view risk management as an essential production need for the development of innovative, somatic cell‐based therapies in regenerative medicine. The available risk management guidelines, however, provide little guidance on specific risk analysis approaches and procedures applicable in clinical cell therapy manufacturing. This raises a number of problems. Cell manufacturing is a poorly automated process, prone to operator‐introduced variations, and affected by heterogeneity of the processed organs/tissues and lot‐dependent variability of reagent (e.g., collagenase) efficiency. In this study, the principal challenges faced in a cell‐based product manufacturing context (i.e., high dependence on human intervention and absence of reference standards for acceptable risk levels) are identified and addressed, and a risk management model approach applicable to manufacturing of cells for clinical use is described for the first time. The use of the heuristic and pseudo‐quantitative failure mode and effect analysis/failure mode and critical effect analysis risk analysis technique associated with direct estimation of severity, occurrence, and detection is, in this specific context, as effective as, but more efficient than, the analytic hierarchy process. Moreover, a severity/occurrence matrix and Pareto analysis can be successfully adopted to identify priority failure modes on which to act to mitigate risks. The application of this approach to clinical cell therapy manufacturing in regenerative medicine is also discussed.     

中国边疆史之“边缘社会”的管辖范围问题——以“匈奴模型”为例来探讨中原文化如何看待西北边疆地区的民族

我们对于中国西北边疆发展史进行研究分析时,不管是何种历史阶段都必要考虑以下几个方面的问题:中国的所谓"中原文化常规模式(Chinese norm)"①及其与"边缘社会(marginal societies)"的互动和交流程度在于何种发展阶段。在此值得注意的是草原的游牧部落逐步引入到中原文化的社会模式而演变为其常模中的重要组成部分;"中心"与"边疆"(centerand periphery)在各自文化模式中的张力平衡和调节程度;从上述这两个文化模式显露的混合社会(mixed societies)及其复合型结构。本文在此强调的是边缘社会内的某些群体可以同时属于两个文化圈,即置身于中原农耕文化与草原游牧文化之间,从没被赋予其文化身份的合法性,逐渐发展成游牧半农耕社会独有的生活方式。无论是何种历史朝代,在中华文明发展史中游牧社会与中原之间的关系是沿着中国的边疆互动格局的演变而变化,也是上述三方面问题的必然结果。     

Testing a censoring hypothesis through an identity test

Given two samples drawn from the same, unknown, population, it is assumed to be known that only one has possibly been censored and which one it is. A nonparametric procedure to test the no censoring null hypothesis against the alternative censoring hypothesis is discussed.     

Low-pass filter design using locally weighted polynomial regression and discrete prolate spheroidal sequences

The paper concerns the design of nonparametric low-pass filters that have the property of reproducing a polynomial of a given degree. Two approaches are considered. The first is locally weighted polynomial regression (LWPR), which leads to linear filters depending on three parameters: the bandwidth, the order of the fitting polynomial, and the kernel. We find a remarkable linear (hyperbolic) relationship between the cut-off period (frequency) and the bandwidth, conditional on the choices of the order and the kernel, upon which we build the design of a low-pass filter.The second hinges on a generalization of the maximum concentration approach, leading to filters related to discrete prolate spheroidal sequences (DPSS). In particular, we propose a new class of low-pass filters that maximize the concentration over a specified frequency range, subject to polynomial reproducing constraints. The design of generalized DPSS filters depends on three parameters: the bandwidth, the polynomial order, and the concentration frequency. We discuss the properties of the corresponding filters in relation to the LWPR filters, and illustrate their use for the design of low-pass filters by investigating how the three parameters are related to the cut-off frequency.     

What's in a name? Language ideology and social differentiation in a Swedish print‐mediated debate1

This paper investigates a recent print‐mediated discussion about linguistic phenomena that are perceived by many commentators to be ‘deviant’ from ‘standard Swedish.’ The aim of the paper is to illustrate how this language debate is built on two closely entwined discursive processes: a struggle to define the name, meaning, and value of a specific linguistic phenomenon; and the indexical processes through which such a phenomenon is bound up with a multifaceted image of its purported speakers, in which gender is imbricated in age and ethnicity. Essentially, the argument is that the metalinguistic pronouncements in this debate are ultimately the outer manifestation of deeper social concerns about what it means to be a ‘non‐Swedish’ young man.     

School factors helping disadvantaged students to succeed: empirical evidence from four Italian cities

This research investigates a particular category of disadvantaged students, namely those who are able to overcome a situation of socio-economical disadvantage and obtain good academic results (here named ‘resilient students’). We have used micro-data provided by the Italian National Evaluation Committee for Education and focused on class and school-level characteristics that help disadvantaged students to become resilient students when they move from primary (grade 5) to lower secondary school (grade 6), concentrating our analysis on four major cities. We employed a probit regression and a propensity score matching model, finding that class and school factors do matter. In particular, we looked at whether the performance of their peers has a positive impact on that of disadvantaged students, estimating the increased probability of these students becoming resilient.     

RFID technology for increasing visibility in ETO supply chains: a case study

This paper presents the application of an innovative system for increasing visibility along an Engineer-To-Order supply chain. The system has been applied in a leading Italian company that manufactures vessels and tube heat exchangers. By means of this method, the company shares information about its shop floor activities with other actors in the supply chain, i.e. clients and suppliers. The system elements are as follows: Radio-frequency identification transponders (to identify either components, operators, tooling machines (e.g. welding machines) or production phases), a Wi-Fi network (to communicate data) and a web-based application that is accessible by the company’s clients. This paper shows the methodology that is used to define the system’s architecture and the technical solutions adopted. Benefits in terms of reduction in costs for monitoring and control have been observed. Moreover, customers perceived the increased visibility of the production process to be a valuable service.