Detailed Code Research Articles

The chemical structure effects of alkylbenzenes on soot formation in a laminar co-flow flame

Alkylbenzene isomers are often used in transportation fuel surrogates but have different sooting tendencies. There is a need to understand how their chemical structures affect the soot formation mechanism. In this study, the chemical structure effects of alkylbenzenes (1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (124TMB) and n-propylbenzene (PBZ)) on soot formation in a laminar diffusion flame were experimentally and numerically investigated. In the experiment, the optical time-resolved laser-induced incandescence (LII) and spectral soot emission (SSE) diagnostics were used to measure radial soot volume fraction, primary particle diameter and flame temperature profiles. The radial number density was also experimentally derived. The results are consistent with the literature as 124TMB exhibits higher soot concentration than PBZ. From the analyses of the primary particle diameters and the derived number density, this is caused by the higher soot nucleation rate for 124TMB. This conclusion is supported by numerical modeling, which utilized the detailed CoFlame code with a moderately reduced CRECK mechanism. The simulation results show that 124TMB has earlier soot inception and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) addition than PBZ. Consistent with both earlier soot inception and PAH addition, the 124TMB model predicts earlier pyrene (A4) formation, suggesting 124TMB has alternative reaction pathways for pyrene formation. The reaction pathway analysis suggests that pyrene is formed via the aromatic radical recombination route, as opposed to the conventional HACA mechanism. Bypassing the formation of the second ring could be the reason for 124TMB having earlier soot nucleation. In contrast, the PBZ model predicts that the formation of pyrene follows the slower HACA pathways, leading to later soot nucleation.

Facilitating the Expression of Emotions by Alleged Victims of Child Abuse During Investigative Interviews Using the Revised NICHD Protocol.

Children's testimony is often critical to the initiation of legal proceedings in abuse cases. In forensic interviews, the expression of emotions can powerfully enhance both the quality of children's statements and perceptions that their statements are coherent and credible. However, children rarely express their emotions when reporting abusive events. The Revised The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Protocol (RP) was designed to emphasize socioemotional communication during forensic interviews and thus should be associated with more extensive and diverse expressions of emotions by alleged victims of abuse. The present study focused on forensic interviews (178 using the Revised and 100 using the Standard NICHD Protocol) with victims of physical child abuse whose allegations were corroborated using independent evidence. Detailed content coding showed that the RP was associated with the expression of more different emotions, more expression of abuse-related emotions, and more expression of emotions related to the interview context. Emotional expressiveness was associated with increased informativeness, and the association between the type of protocol and informativeness was fully mediated by emotional expressiveness. These results suggest that the Revised Protocol facilitates the expression of emotions by alleged victims of abuse in a way that enhances the value of children's testimony in multiple ways.

Measuring clinical competencies in facilitating group-based rehabilitation interventions: development of a new competency checklist

Objective: Group-based intervention formats are common in rehabilitation, but no tool for objectively measuring clinical competencies in group facilitation currently exists. We aimed to develop a psychometrically sound group facilitation competency checklist for use in clinical, training, and research settings. Method: The Delphi method of expert consensus was used to establish checklist items that clearly describe competencies considered important for effective group facilitation. Inter-rater reliability was determined with two experienced psychologists who used the checklist to rate the competencies of psychology trainees facilitating a memory skills group. Results: After two Delphi rounds, consensus was reached on 17 items, defined as at least 80% agreement among the panel of 15 experts. The four checklist item categories were (a) Facilitating focused group discussion, (b) Communication skills, (c) Interpersonal style, and (d) Session structure. One item was removed after piloting. Inter-rater reliability was excellent (88% agreement) using a simple coding method (competent/incompetent). When using a detailed coding method that discriminated between ‘done adequately’ and ‘done well’, inter-rater reliability was weaker (κ = 0.481, 55% agreement); however, it improved to almost perfect after the raters calibrated their standards. Conclusion: The new group facilitation competency checklist is fit for purpose for measuring clinical competencies in delivering group-based rehabilitation interventions and can be used in the training of effective group facilitators.

Feasibility and Reliability of Automated Coding of Occupation in the Health and Retirement Study

Due to advances in computing power and the increase in coverage of longitudinal datasets in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) that provide information about detailed occupations, demand has increased among researchers for improved occupation and industry data. The detailed data are currently hard to use because they were coded at different times, and the codeframes are, therefore, not consistent over time. Additionally, the HRS gathers new occupation and industry information from respondents every two years, and coding of new data at each wave is costly and time-consuming. In this project, we tested the NIOSH Industry and Occupation Computerized Coding System (NIOCCS) to see if it could improve processes for coding data from the HRS. We tested results from NIOCCS against results from a human coder for multiple datasets. NIOCCs does reasonably well compared to coding results from a highly-trained, professional occupation and industry coder, with kappa inter-rater reliability on detailed codes of just under 70 percent and agreement rates on broader codes of around 80 percent; however, code rates for NIOCCS for the datasets tested ranged from 60 percent to 72 percent, as compared to a professional coder’s ability to code those same datasets that ranged from 95 percent to 100 percent. In its current form, we find that NIOCCS is a tool that might be best used to reduce the number of cases human coders must code, either in coding historical data to a consistent codeframe or in coding data from future HRS waves. However, it is not yet ready to fully replace human coders.

Analyzing Patterns in NewSTEPs Site Review Recommendations: Practical Applications for Newborn Screening Programs.

The Newborn Screening Technical assistance and Evaluation Program (NewSTEPs) conducts non-regulatory site reviews of state newborn screening programs in the US with the goal of providing comprehensive reports and recommendations to support quality improvements within the system. A detailed coding and qualitative analysis of data extracted from reports of seven programs visited between 2012 and 2017, of thirteen pre-site visit surveys completed by state newborn screening programs, and of information from interviews conducted with three site review experts revealed four common themes that exist across states within the national newborn screening system. These themes include opportunities to implement improvements in: (1) communications inside and outside of the state newborn screening program, (2) education, (3) information technology, and (4) operations. The cross-cutting recommendations provided by NewSTEPs within the comprehensive site review reports may prove valuable for all state programs to consider and to incorporate as quality improvement measures in the absence of a full site review. The analysis of the site review process and recommendations identified important opportunities for improvement, many of which were previously unknown to be common across programs, and also provided affirmation of known challenges.

Initiation, Response, Follow-up and Beyond: Analyzing Dialogue Around Difficulty in a Tutorial Setting

With the advent of Common Core-based assessments, and resulting concerns about academic achievement, more and more students may require the level of instructional intensity tutoring affords. The extent of knowledge regarding the discourse that occurs within the tutoring context is, however, limited. As a result, it is difficult to envision and implement a protocol that incorporates responsive tutor/tutee interaction. This article describes an analysis of discourse patterns that occur as a tutor responded to student difficulty. The study is framed using Bakhtin’s concept of dialogue—the ways in which interactions are influenced by the joint speaker/listener identity that is characteristic of interlocutors—and the way this played out in a dialogic instructional context. Excerpts from eight previous tutoring studies served as a foundation for the present research. The primary data source for the analysis was start-to-finish audio-recordings of 40 hours of instruction with two fourth grade readers. After preliminary open coding, overarching categories such as questioning, providing information, and demonstrating strategy use—and more detailed codes within these categories—were applied to the transcripts. Major findings demonstrated that: (a) the tutor’s moves were varied and balanced and differed somewhat from child to child, (b) some interactional sequences appeared more effective than others depending on the topic and child, and (c) interactions in this setting differed in important ways from those found in the research literature. I argue here that the dialogic characteristics of tutor/tutee interactions served the children involved and should serve as the basis for additional tutoring protocols.

Targeted Subcutaneous Vibration With Single-Neuron Electrophysiology As a Novel Method for Understanding the Central Effects of Peripheral Vibrational Therapy in a Rodent Model.

Very little is known about the effects of whole body vibration on the supraspinal central nervous system. Though much clinical outcome data and mechanistic data about peripheral neural and musculoskeletal mechanisms have been explored, the lack of central understanding is a barrier to evidence-based, best practice guidelines in the use of vibrational therapy. Disparate methods of administration render study to study comparisons difficult. To address this lack of uniformity, we present the use of targeted subcutaneous vibration combined with simultaneous in vivo electrophysiological recordings as a method of exploring the central effects of peripheral vibration therapy. We used implanted motors driven by both Grass stimulators and programmed microcontrollers to vary frequency and location of stimulation in an anesthetized in vivo rat model while simultaneously recording firing rate from gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area. We show that peripheral vibration can alter GABA neuron firing rate in a location- and frequency-dependent manner. We include detailed schematics and code to aid others in the replication of this technique. This method allows for control of previous weaknesses in the literature including variability in body position, vibrational intensity, node and anti-node interactions with areas of differing mechanoreceptor densities, and prefrontal cortex influence.

Digital Trade Provisions in Preferential Trade Agreements: Introducing a New Dataset

The article introduces a new data-set that seeks to comprehensively trace developments in the area of digital trade governance. The TAPED (Trade Agreements Provisions on Electronic-commerce and Data) data-set includes a detailed mapping and coding of all preferential trade agreements (PTAs) that cover chapters, provisions, annexes and side documents that directly or indirectly regulate digital trade. This article presents the methodology behind TAPED and provides an overview of the evolution of digital trade provisions in PTAs, highlighting also some emerging trends. It then takes a look at the substance of selected rules found particularly in electronic commerce chapters and maps the diversity of approaches in tackling issues meant to facilitate online trade, such as the customs duty moratorium on electronic transactions or paperless trading, and discusses the very recent rule-making with regard to cross-border data flows. This is of course merely a glimpse of the wealth of information that TAPED provides and the goal of this article is simply to uncover the great variety and the complexity of the norms found in the PTAs on digital trade governance, which reveals the value of the TAPED data-set.

Intimate partner problems and suicide: are we missing the violence?

:Background:Suicide consistently ranks in the top ten causes of death nationally. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel coding scheme to determine what percentage of suicide cases from 2005-2015 in Kentucky involved violence when intimate partner problems were identified. Currently, researchers using the national dataset, containing these data, only have the option to identify in-timate partner problems unless each case is reviewed individually. Methods:Data from the Kentucky Violent Death Reporting System from 2005-2015 were used to create a subset of cases where intimate partner problems were identified and qualitative and quantita-tive analysis of the death scene investigation incident narratives was conducted to identify cases where intimate partner violence also contributed to the suicide.Results:Intimate partner problems were identified in 1,327 (26%) of all suicide cases where circumstances were known and intimate partner violence in 575 (43%) cases identified as having intimate partner problems. There was an argument or fight in 30% of cases where intimate partner problems were identified and most were immediately followed by the suicide.Conclusions:We did find supporting evidence of our hypothesis that there is a great deal of underlying and outright violence in intimate relationships, which is exacerbating the risk of suicide. This detailed coding schema guided abstractors to better identify intimate partner violence in suicides, which could be easily replicated.

Low-mass X-ray binaries: the effects of the magnetic braking prescription

We present a population study of low- and intermediate-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) with neutron star accretors, performed using the detailed 1D stellar evolution code MESA. We identify all plausible Roche-lobe overflowing binaries at the start of mass transfer, and compare our theoretical mass transfer tracks to the population of well-studied Milky Way LMXBs. The mass transferring evolution depends on the accepted magnetic braking (MB) law for angular momentum loss. The most common MB prescription ("Skumanich MB") originated from observations of the time-dependence of rotational braking of Sun-type stars, where the angular momentum loss rate depends on the donor mass $M_d$, donor radius $R_d$, and rotation rate $\Omega$, $\dot{J} \propto M_d R_d^{\gamma} \Omega^3$. The functional form of the Skumanich MB can be also obtained theoretically assuming a radial magnetic field, isotropic isothermal winds, and boosting of the magnetic field by rotation. Here we show that this simple form of the Skumanich MB law gives mass transfer rates an order of magnitude too weak to explain most observed persistent LMXBs. This failure suggests that the standard Skumanich MB law should not be employed to interpret Galactic, or extragalactic, LMXB populations, with either detailed stellar codes or rapid binary population synthesis codes. We investigate modifications for the MB law, and find that including a scaling of the magnetic field strength with the convective turnover time, and a scaling of MB with the wind mass loss rate, can reproduce persistent LMXBs, and does a better job at reproducing transient LMXBs.

SGX-LEGO: Fine-grained SGX controlled-channel attack and its countermeasure

The introduction of Intel Software Guard eXtension (SGX) prompted security researchers to verify its effectiveness. One of the frequently discussed attacks against SGX is the side-channel attack by gathering page-fault information (controlled-channel attack). Owing to SGX’s hardware features, the faulting address of the enclave memory is page-masked. Because of this, both the controlled-channel attack and the defenses of SGX are built under the assumption that an attacker observes the memory access attempts of the enclave code with page-granularity. However, Van Bluck et al. recently demonstrated a controlled-channel attack technique which negates the prior assumption of page-granularity. In this paper, we introduce a new class of attack that stems from the reduced controlled-channel granularity, i.e., the Version IDentification attack (VID). The goal of VID attack is identifying the detailed code information inside SGX enclave by analyzing the fine-grained SGX controlled-channel. To protect enclave memory from such attack, we design and implement SGX-LEGO, an automated system that adopts execution polymorphism to the SGX enclave code. Previous defense approaches against controlled-channel attacks can be broadly categorized into two types: (i) disclosing the fault information and (ii) rendering the fault information useless. SGX-LEGO uses the latter approach by permuting the memory access sequence at the instruction level. In SGX-LEGO design, we leverage the concept of code-reuse-programming to overcome the implementation challenges regarding SGX page management. In the evaluation, we show how VID attacks the cryptographic functions, and demonstrate the efficacy of SGX-LEGO in security perspective and performance.

An automated system for CE-MALDI and on-target digestion under a fluorocarbon lid applied on spermatophore proteins from Pieris napi

A method for off-line CE-MALDI-TOF-MS and MS2, and on-target digestion under a fluorocarbon lid was developed and applied for the analysis of proteins in the spermatophore of the butterfly Pieris napi. Fractionation revealed many peptides otherwise not detected or resolved. Automated fractionation was performed with an in-lab developed robotic system, and automated on-target tryptic digestion under a fluorocarbon lid was demonstrated with the same system. Fractionation onto a pre-structured MALDI-concentration plate facilitated aligned deposition of trypsin and MALDI-matrix with the deposited sample, also under the fluorocarbon lid. Some indications of indigenous proteolysis of spermatophore proteins were seen, and searching MS2 spectra suggested three tentative sequence homologies to P. rapae. The study demonstrates the functionality of the lab-made robot. Detailed manufacturing instructions and code are provided. The feasibility of automated on-target digestion under a fluorocarbon lid, and the usefulness of a structured concentration plate in CE-MALDI fractionation was shown. Further, it constitutes a preliminary study of P. napi spermatophore proteins.

Evaluation of the accuracy and availability of cancer-related physical activity and sedentary behaviour information on English-language websites

Purpose: To assess the quality and accuracy of cancer-related physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) information provided on major cancer websites from English-speaking countries.Design: The study used a cross-sectional design.Sample: A list of major cancer websites (N = 11) was generated from countries that speak English primarily (e.g., Canada, Australia).Methods: These websites were assessed for quality and accuracy based on a detailed coding framework (e.g., PA guidelines, PA and cancer prevention). Frequencies and descriptive statistics were derived for website characteristics of interest.Findings: All sites reviewed within this study offered PA information for cancer prevention and cancer survivorship. However, while 81% of the sites presented information for SB and cancer prevention, very little information was presented for SB and cancer survivorship, with only 18.2% of the information being offered.Conclusions: The quality and accuracy of cancer-related PA and SB information presented on leading cancer websites is variable. Further information is warranted in the areas of SB, resistance training, and behaviour change strategies.Implications: Websites have considerable value as knowledge translation tools and, therefore, presenting evidence-based information that is easy to understand may positively impact the health and behaviours of cancer populations, as well as the general population.

HMDD v3.0: a database for experimentally supported human microRNA-disease associations.

Comprehensive databases of microRNA–disease associations are continuously demanded in biomedical researches. The recently launched version 3.0 of Human MicroRNA Disease Database (HMDD v3.0) manually collects a significant number of miRNA–disease association entries from literature. Comparing to HMDD v2.0, this new version contains 2-fold more entries. Besides, the associations have been more accurately classified based on literature-derived evidence code, which results in six generalized categories (genetics, epigenetics, target, circulation, tissue and other) covering 20 types of detailed evidence code. Furthermore, we added new functionalities like network visualization on the web interface. To exemplify the utility of the database, we compared the disease spectrum width of miRNAs (DSW) and the miRNA spectrum width of human diseases (MSW) between version 3.0 and 2.0 of HMDD. HMDD is freely accessible at http://www.cuilab.cn/hmdd. With accumulating evidence of miRNA–disease associations, HMDD database will keep on growing in the future.

Ordonanse królewskie we Francji

The issue of royal ordinances in France is not a subject avoided by Polish authors, especially in legal history textbooks. However, the information included in these books is fragmentary in its character, and some pieces require verification. In this extensive legislative material one can distinguish specific ordinances (spéciales), which regulate single issues, as well as general ones (générales), which constitute acts pertaining to a wide spectrum of issues, or even detailed codes. The latter, i.e. the ordinances general in their character, can be further divided into two groups. The first of them encompasses the ordinances published between the 14th and the 17th century (I), while the second one includes the so-called Great Ordinances enacted during the reign of Louis XIV and Louis XV (II). The purpose of the following publication is not to perform a detailed characteristic of the ordinances but, first and foremost, to show that although certain significant institutions were regulated by the ordinances from group I in a way which left a permanent mark on the French legal system, the Great Ordinances by Louis XIV and Louis XV, which represent a completely different character from all the previous general ordinances, constituted codes in the strict sense of the word. As a result of that codification work, performed in stages during the reign of two sovereigns, the ancien régime France did not lack generaland unified legal acts, created with an understanding of the creative role of law in modifying the reality, regulating select fields of law in a comprehensive way and binding in the entire territory of the country. The code of civil procedure, the code of criminal procedure, as well as the commercial code and the maritime code, were enacted at the time. Some areas of civil law were also regulated. The only thing which was not elaborated, or evenapproached in those days, was the penal code. Napoleonic codes should be therefore considered as the subsequent chapter of codification activities in France, carried out for the first time by Louis XIV. The popularity of this issue in the Enlightenment literature and the fact that it was a common phenomenon in other European countries is not a sufficient argument to justify applying this term only to those French acts which were enacted in the 19th century and afterwards.

A BIM-based Detailed Electrical Load Estimation, Costing and Code Checking

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has established into a powerful solution for our construction requirements throughout its life cycle. Compared to conventional methods, BIM offers simple, faster and accurate methodology for modelling, estimation and analysis. In this paper, a novel Autodesk Revit add-in tool named as “Electrical System Estimation and Costing Tool”(ESECT) is proposed for the simultaneous estimation of electrical connected load, demand load, Volt Ampere per square meter, cost of electrical system construction and monthly bill from a residential building model and the add-in tool is developed by using Visual basic C# language. Research results indicate that wide range of BIM automated tools are possible for code-checking and estimation for design analysis at all stages of electrical system development and eventually leads to better design and cost reduction.

Advancing data collection of hospital-related harms: Results from hospital discharges dually coded with ICD-10 and ICD-11

IntroductionHospital safety performance is difficult to monitor when under-coding of hospital harms is common. The beta version of ICD-11 includes a 3-part model for coding harms to enhance adverse event descriptions. This method includes code clusters to detail each condition/event (e.g. bleed), cause (e.g. anticoagulant drug), and mode (over-dose).
 Objectives and ApproachThe study objective was to compare the proportion of adverse events captured using different classification systems. A large field trial of inpatient charts, previously coded in ICD-10 were coded with ICD-11. Coding training for the new ICD-11 focused on new codes, code clustering, and extension codes for cause and mode of the harm. Sensitivity, Specificity, NPV and PPV were reported for ICD-10 compared to ICD-11.
 ResultsOf the 1,009 records reviewed and coded using ICD-11 to date, 128 cases were coded as a harm in ICD-10 using our previously published PSI work. Coders identified 88 cases with the new ICD-11. Sensitivity and specificity were as follows: 31.3% and 94.6%. ICD-11 had NPV and PPV of 45.5% and 90.5% respectively compared to ICD-10. Detailed clinical comparison of mismatched codes will be completed. Study case examples will demonstrate advanced features of ICD-11, the coding rules being collaboratively developed by our team, CIHI, and WHO representatives, and potential analytic challenges.
 Conclusion/ImplicationsThe new ICD-11 found 8% of hospital admission were associated with a harm. Although the sensitivity was modest, specificity is quite high and correctly Identifies those cases without a harm. Clinical review of mismatched codes will provide further detailed code comparisons.

Development of a frailty score based on hospital discharge data linked to cohort data

IntroductionFrailty is strongly associated with adverse health outcomes and health care costs in elders. However, we have almost no idea of the prevalence of frail older inpatients in Swiss hospitals. Hospital discharge data could contribute to predicting frailty in these patients, and eventually improving SwissDRGs system or casemix-adjustment.
 Objectives and ApproachThe HFrailty project aimed to develop a predictive model of Fried’s Frailty Phenotype (FFP) based on hospital discharge data. We linked Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) discharge data to clinical data from the Lausanne cohort study (Lc65+) over the period 2004-2015. The Lc65+ is a longitudinal population-based cohort comprising three random samples of approximately 1500 Lausanne residents aged 65 to 70, born respectively before, during and after World War II. With stepwise and lasso penalized logistic regression, random forest and neural networks, we identified the best-performing model for predicting FFP using CHUV’s data recorded within 12 months prior to frailty assessments.
 ResultsAmong Lc65+ participants, 1649 were assessed for frailty and hospitalized at least once during the follow-up period, resulting in 3499 FFP assessments of which 544 were preceded by at least one hospitalization within 12 months. In total, 45.7% of the participants were men and 9.4% were frail (FFP score ≥ 3). As expected, prevalence of frailty increased with age from 4.1% in the 66-70 age group, to 5.3% and 10.5% in the 71-75 and 76-80 groups, respectively. Logistic regression with lasso penalty was finally the best model regarding both performance and complexity. It had an area under receiver operating curve of 0.67 to predict FFP based on detailed diagnosis and procedure codes.
 Conclusion/ImplicationsHospital discharge data may be used to identify frail and non-frail individuals and estimate their prevalence in the Swiss non-institutionalized population. Our predictive model showed limited performance and could be improved. We are currently testing groups of diagnosis and procedure codes, as predictors, instead of detailed ones.

A replicable, low-burden mechanism for observing, recording, and analysing mother-child interaction in population research.

There is growing evidence that specific styles of parent-child interaction benefit child development, particularly child language development. Direct observational techniques help clarify the behaviours and styles within parent-child interactions that may influence child language outcomes; however, these techniques tend to be labour-intensive and costly. We report on the development of a replicable, low-burden mechanism for observing and coding specific maternal linguistic behaviours in a population-based cohort of 2-year-olds. The coding scheme was developed as part of a prospective, longitudinal study examining the associations between maternal responsive behaviours and child language outcomes in slow-to-talk toddlers. In the first phase of the study, three coding systems were tested by coding five sample parent-toddler interactions and then comparing them based on (a) the ease of method and thus likely intrarater and interrater reliability and (b) the number of data points. The second phase was to demonstrate how the chosen method could be used in practice with a large at-risk group of toddlers. Of the three coding systems explored, the Observer® XT software was selected for ease of use and because detailed coding of free-play videos could be achieved in close to real time. Intrarater and interrater reliability were established in 251 mother-child free-play videos, producing high intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.95 to 0.99 for the six behaviours. The study provides evidence that numerous parent-child interactions can be rigourously yet efficiently coded without substantial information loss. The observational mechanism in the current study has been fully developed and is shown to be feasible for research purposes focusing on parent-toddler interactions. However, further testing of the observational mechanism is required to examine whether the same results could be produced if coding was conducted "live" and for shorter duration thereby making it readily useable for clinicians.

A Granular Approach to International Equity Data from Thomson Datastream

We provide detailed guidelines and code to derive high quality international equity data from Thomson Reuters Datastream (TDS) data. Our approach increases stock and country coverage (to 91 countries), improves data accuracy, filters problematic data and reduces survivorship bias and data staleness. We validate our approach by demonstrating that our U.S. TDS factors are statistically and economically indistinguishable to standard Fama-French CRSP factors. On the other hand, when we compare our international factors to other publicly available international factors, differences are significant so we justify and detail every aspect of our proposed guidelines. Our guidelines and accompanying code and data should be especially useful for international research focused on wide coverage, equal weighted portfolios, small stocks and countries with a limited number of stocks and for researchers wishing to analyze the US market with access to only TDS but not CRSP-Compustat data.