Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio as a Prognostic Biomarker for Morbidity and Mortality in Patients Undergoing Benign Surgery: A Systematic Review

page no: 106/122 www.ommegaonline. org Vol:5 Issue: 2 Abstract Background: Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) reflects the degree of systemic inflammation. Several clinical trials have shown that a high preoperative NLR predicts morbidity and mortality after surgery for malignant disease. Whether preoperative NLR predicts morbidity and mortality after benign surgery is uncertain. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate whether preoperative NLR predicts postoperative morbidity and mortality after benign surgery. Method: A systematic review was performed according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses. The population was limited to adults undergoing benign surgery. The search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Embase and the Cochrane Library. Risk of bias was evaluated with ACROBAT-NRSI. Results: 25 clinical observational studies with a total of 10,015 patients were included. Types of surgery were cardiac surgery (N = 11), vascular surgery (N = 6) and non-cardiac non-vascular surgery (N = 8). The studies in cardiac and vascular surgery showed associations between preoperative NLR and postoperative mortality. 11 out of 13 studies in cardiac and vascular surgery showed a significant association between NLR and postoperative morbidity. In orthopaedic surgery, NLR predicted troponin elevation after hip surgery and postoperative infections after knee surgery, while no association was shown between preoperative NLR and postoperative complications in patients amputated due to diabetic foot ulcers. NLR predicted postoperative complications after prosthesis implantation and bowel resection. NLR did not predict the risk of postoperative complications after abdominal and miscellaneous non-cardiac surgery. Conclusion: In cardiac and vascular surgery, a high preoperative NLR was significantly associated with postoperative morbidity and mortality. The predictive value of NLR in non-cardiac non-vascular surgery was unclear and should be investigated in larger clinical studies.
Cross Validation of the Turkish Version of Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI). Methods: The CDLQI is a 10 item dermatology specific-index developed originally in English. Using a standard “forward-backward” translation procedure, the English language version of the questionnaire was translated into Turkish language by four bilinguals. One hundred and fifty four children with skin problems and 58 children with problems unrelated to the skin completed both the Turkish CDLQI and the Turkish KINDL® questionnaires. Internal consistency was tested using the Cronbach a value. KINDL® was used in parallel with CDLQI in order to test convergent validity. Results: One hundred and fifty four children with skin problems (65 boys and 89 girls; mean age 11.83 years) and 58 children with problems unrelated to the skin (25 boys and 33 girls; mean age 11.20 years) completed both the Turkish CDLQI and the Turkish KINDL® questionnaires. The reliability of the Turkish CDLQI questionnaire was obtained by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (a = 0.82). There were no statistically significant differences in the subscales and total CDLQI scores according to the gender (Student’s t-test, p>0.05). There was no correlation of the subscales and total CDLQI with age (Pearson correlation test, p>0.05). The total score of CDLQI was found to be related to all seven subscales of the KINDL® with negative correlation. The total score of KINDL® was found to be related to all subscales (except “treatment” subscale) of the CDLQI with negative correlation. Conclusion: The results of this study have demonstrated that the translated version of CDLQI is reliable and valid, and therefore available to measure the quality of life in Turkish children with skin diseases. Introduction Skin diseases are usually not lifethreatening, but can affect the social relationships, daily activities and emotional conditions of the patients [1]. Many generic instruments such as KINDL® and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory have been designed to measure the quality of life in various diseases for pediatric patients [2, 3]. Children’s and Teenagers’ versions of KINDL® which was originally designed in German language was validated and developed for the Turkish children [4, 5, 6]. Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) translated and validated for the Turkish adult patients who have dermatological diseases [7]. Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) is a dermatological disease-specific QoL measure for the children aged 5-16 years. It was originally created in English by Lewis-Jones and Finlay [8]. Page 1 of 5 (page number not for citation purposes) eISSN 1307-394X
Sounds Wilde. Phonetically Extended Embeddings for Author-Stylized Poetry Generation

This paper addresses author-stylized text generation. Using a version of a language model with extended phonetic and semantic embeddings for poetry generation we show that phonetics has comparable contribution to the overall model performance as the information on the target author. Phonetic information is shown to be important for English and Russian language. Humans tend to attribute machine generated texts to the target author.
Modeling recurrent circuits of the primary visual cortex using neural network models

There has been great interest in the primary visual cortex (V1) since pioneering studies decades ago. However, existing models cannot explain V1 neural responses to complex stimuli satisfactorily. One possible reason for this failure is the models’ lack of recurrent connections, which form the bulk of synaptic connections in V1 and greatly contribute to the complexity of the visual system. The goal of my thesis is to develop, test, and understand neural network models of recurrent circuits in V1 and the visual system in general. I have completed two studies and propose to finish an additional study. My first study has demonstrated that the Boltzmann machine, a type of recurrent neural network, is useful for conceptualizing certain V1 recurrent computations. My second study has demonstrated that the CNN’s key components are crucial to its superior performance in explaining V1 data and are consistent with previous V1 studies. While not directly related to recurrent circuits, this project has demonstrated that neural response prediction is a useful metric for selecting models with high correspondence with biological reality. The metric and analysis methods here will be used in the proposed work. In the final project, I propose to advance our understanding of recurrent circuits of V1 in a two-part investigation. First, I will find candidate models for V1 recurrent circuits, by designing models with recurrent computation components for predicting neural responses as well as predicting certain phenomena observed in V1 studies. The models to be explored will feature two new complementary designs: model architecture and training methodology. Preliminary results show that models with these designs can perform as well as state-of-the-art approaches using fewer parameters and less data. Second, I will explain the role of recurrent connections in the candidate models for modeling V1 using various tools in machine learning as well as existing knowledge about V1. Overall, this investigation will provide new neural network models with recurrent connections for explaining more V1 phenomena with higher accuracy, establish correspondence between model components and biological reality, and provide new insights about the roles of recurrent circuits in V1 and visual signal processing in general.
Differences of Opinion, Information and the Timing of Trades

This paper focuses on the impact that dispersion of opinions and asymmetric information have on turnover near releases of public information, using the probability of information-based trading (PIN) to proxy for information asymmetry and analysts' forecast dispersion for differences of opinion. For earnings announcements of US firms, I find that a one standard deviation increase in dispersion accelerates trading, reducing the difference between turnover around and before announcements by 8.50%. A similar increase in the PIN delays trading, raising the difference by 8.29%. These results help to explain why a large number of events have high turnover before earnings announcements relative to turnover after their release. Furthermore, the information contained in the time-series difference between trading around and before announcements helps to separate the impact of information asymmetry from the impact of proxies for differences of opinion. I also present a theoretical model in which agents who receive private information of heterogeneous quality trade a stock before and after observing a public signal. This public signal is interpreted differently across agents, leading to differences of opinion. I obtain closed-form solutions for expected aggregate volume and its derivatives with respect to these variables, showing that extending static models of asymmetric information is not enough to match the empirical findings.
A study of relationship effectiveness between marketing and sales managers in business markets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a structural model of the factors that explain the level of perceived relationship effectiveness between marketing managers and sales managers.Design/methodology/approach – The model integrates trust‐based and power/influence/interdependence‐based models of relationship effectiveness. The data were collected from 113 sales managers in the UK and Australia. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the validity of the measures, while AMOS Version 4 was employed to estimate the model using structural equation modelling with observed variables.Findings – The study found, on average, that the perceived level of relationship effectiveness between sales managers and marketing managers is surprisingly high. The findings clearly demonstrate the potency of interpersonal trust (both cognition‐based and affect‐based) in building effective cross‐functional relationships (CFRs) and also show how interdependence affects both dimensions of trust and the mark.
Investigations on Stage Acoustic Preferences of Solo Trumpet Players using Virtual Acoustics

Acoustical conditions on stage have an influence on the sound and character of a musical performance. Musicians constantly adjust their playing to accommodate to the stage acoustics. The study of acoustical preferences of musicians is part of the characterization of this feedback loop, which impacts on the musicians’ comfort as well as on the aural experience of a concert audience. This paper presents an investigation on preferences of solo musicians on stage. By means of spatial acoustic measurements and real-time auralization, the acoustics of different real rooms are resynthesized in laboratory conditions. Two formal tests are conducted with solo trumpet players: a room preference test and a test investigating the preferred directions of early energy. In the first test, musicians are presented with four different rooms and asked about their preference in five different aspects: practice of instrument technique, practice of concert repertoire, concert performance, ease of performance and sound quality. In the second test the auralized rooms are modified to provide early reflections from different directions (front-back, top-down, sides, no early reflections) and the preference of musicians is investigated. The results show that the judged aspect or performance context is a key factor in determining the preference of musicians’ stage acoustics preference. Drier rooms are preferred for practicing instrumental technique while louder rooms help to reduce the fatigue of the players. Bigger rooms with slightly longer reverberation are preferred for concert piece practice and concert performance. The easiness of performance is proportional to the amount of early energy. Regarding the preference of direction of early reflections, the results suggest that there are no clear differences between preferred directions, and the level of early energy is more important for the comfort of solo musicians on stage.
3-D thermo-mechanical laboratory modeling of plate-tectonics: modeling scheme, technique and first experiments

Abstract. We present an experimental apparatus for 3-D thermo-mechanical analogue modeling of plate tectonic processes such as oceanic and continental subductions, arc-continent or continental collisions. The model lithosphere, made of temperature-sensitive elasto-plastic analogue materials with strain softening, is submitted to a constant temperature gradient causing a strength reduction with depth in each layer. The surface temperature is imposed using infrared emitters, which allows maintaining an unobstructed view of the model surface and the use of a high resolution optical strain monitoring technique (Particle Imaging Velocimetry). Subduction experiments illustrate how the stress conditions on the interplate zone can be estimated using a force sensor attached to the back of the upper plate and adjusted via the density and strength of the subducting lithosphere or the lubrication of the plate boundary. The first experimental results reveal the potential of the experimental set-up to investigate the three-dimensional solid-mechanics interactions of lithospheric plates in multiple natural situations.
Dynamics of a Floating Exchange Rate Regime

We study the full equilibrium dynamics of a two-country world economy with a floating exchange rate, traded and nontraded goods, and explicit modeling of the use of money. The resulting exchange rate equation depends on several details of the economic structure, such as the supply structure and propensities to spend on various goods. Although real exchange rate movements have the usual association with the current account, the ordinary exchange rate may appreciate or depreciate when there are deficits on current account even when the quantities of money do not change. Deviations from purchasing-power parity and the Fisher equation are shown to be the rule rather than the exception.
Diet of the common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis ( Linnaeus , 1758 ) ( Cephalopoda : Sepiidae ) in the Southern Moroccan Atlantic waters , Cap Boujdour , Cap Blanc

The diet of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis was studied for the first time in the Southern Moroccan Atlantic waters during an annual cycle between September 2013 and October 2014. Samples were collected from bottom trawl surveys and commercial artisan catches taken between cap Boujdour to cap Blanc (26°N-21°N latitude). A total of 479 individuals (252 male and 227 female), ranging between 4 and 40 cm DML and of total weight (W) ranging between 18 and 4,750 g are studied. A qualitative and quantitative analysis was realized according to sex, size and sampling season. The stomach contents were analyzed using five indices: frequency of occurrence (F%), percentage by number (Cn%), percentage by weight (Cp%), Index of Relative Importance (IRI %) and Feeding Coefficient (Q). Trophic activity was assessed using the stomach vacuity coefficient (V%). A MANOVA test was used to compare the quantitative composition of the diet according to seasons, size and sexes. According to the results of the index of relative importance (IRI%) of the stomach contents (which takes into account weight, number and frequency of occurrence), fish and crustaceans are the most consumed prey category representing respectively 51.36% and 42.56% and are considered as a principally prey of S. officinalis. Cephalopods occurring in 13.78% of non-empty stomachs, accounting for 7.71 % of preys in number and 18.79% in weight are considered as a secondary prey for S. officinalis. The evolution of the vacuity coefficient shows that this index varies according to the sexual cycle and season. Significant seasonal variations in the diet were observed. It is proposed that seasonal differences in diet composition are caused by spatial and temporal variations in abundance and distribution of some of the major prey species. No significant differences in the diet between males and females were found. Differences in food composition between jveniles and adult individuals appeared to be influenced by the S. officinalis size and the reproduction period. In specimens with dorsal mantle lengths up to 15 cm crustaceans dominated, occurring in 54.63% of examined stomachs and made up (57.27%) of (IRI%). Important prey categories of the adults (≥15 cm DML) were fish with (IRI%= 54.49%), followed by crustaceans (IRI%=37.86%) and cephalopods (IRI%=5.73%). The variations of S.officinalis diet in the studied area indicate an opportunistic character of this predator as cited in many studies in other regions of the world.
Gender and Say: A Model of Household Behavior with Endogenously-Determined Balance of Power

The evidence that the same total income can lead a household to choose different consumption vectors, depending on who brings in how much of the income, has led to an effort to replace the standard unitary model of the household with the "collective model", which recognizes that the husband and the wife may have different preferences and depending on the balance of power between them the household may choose differently. One weakness of this new literature is that it fails to recognize that the household's choice could in turn influence the balance of power. Once this two-way relation between choice and power is recognized we are forced to confront some new questions concerning how to model the household. This paper tries to answer these by defining a "household equilibrium", examining its game-theoretic properties and drawing out its testable implications. It is shown, for instance, that once we allow for dynamic interaction a household can exhibit inefficient behavior, and that (for a certain class of parameters) children will be less likely to work in a household where power is evenly balanced, than one in which all power is concentrated in the hands of either the father or the mother. The paper also draws out the implications for female labor supply.
ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY OF Tinospora cordifolia ( WILLD . ) MIERS . ( MENISPERMACEAE ) : PHARMACOGNOSTICAL AND PHYTO-PHYSICOCHEMICAL

INTRODUCTION The therapeutic use of herbal medicine is gaining considerable momentum in the world during the past decade. Hence, quality control standards for various medicinal plant used in indigenous system of medicine are becoming more relevant, unlike in the past when traditional doctors would themselves dispense the medicines. The varied geographical conditions, coupled with problem of different vernacular names these plants are known by, a great deal of adulteration is encountered in the commercial markets. Therefore, reproducible standards of each plant are necessary for effective quality control. An important factor, which contributes the consistent quality of herbal products, is to have adequate control on the quality of medicinal plants.
Critical fields of Nb3Sn prepared for superconducting cavities

Nb3Sn is currently the most promising material other than niobium for future superconducting radiofrequency cavities. Critical fields above 120 mT in pulsed operation and about 80 mT in CW have been achieved in cavity tests. This is large compared to the lower critical field as derived from the London penetration depth, extracted from low field surface impedance measurements. In this paper direct measurements of the London penetration depth from which the lower critical field and the superheating field are derived are presented. The field of first vortex penetration is measured under DC and RF fields. The combined results confirm that Nb3Sn cavities are indeed operated in a metastable state above the lower critical field but are currently limited to a critical field well below the superheating field.
What Factors Influence Pioneering Advantage of Companies?

Rapid rate of change in technologies, markets, and other environmental factors makes order of entry as one of the most crucial decisions for business survival and performance in today's world. Pioneering (first-mover) is an important strategy for a firm in today's dynamic and competitive environment. Researchers have shown that, in the developed markets of the world, the pioneers have better performance and profitability than the followers. In this paper, the authors develop a conceptual framework to explain the various factors that might influence a firm's pioneering efforts in the Indian market. They propose specific hypotheses regarding the effect of order of entry on performance (market share, sales, return on investment, and profit before tax) and strategic components (R&D, advertising, promotion, and distribution). They also propose additional hypotheses to examine the association between the strategies and performance, variations within the pioneers group, and the moderating effect of competitive environment on the other relationships. The authors use secondary data from the CMIE PROWESS database to test the various hypotheses. The sample consists of 394 companies across 32 industry segments which include consumer goods industries such as fast-moving consumer goods, beverages, and consumer durables and industrial goods industries such as cables and mining. They have used the same sample of companies at three different points of time (1993, 1997, and 2001) to test the various hypotheses. The sampling frame is the list of Top 500 Indian companies (Business World, October 7, 2002). The results confirm the following aspects: In general, the pioneers perform better than the followers and firms which enter early into the market have larger sales, market share, and profit than followers. Firms which enter first into the market are generally more aggressive in pursuing various strategies such as R&D, advertising, promotion, and distribution. Investments in strategies create entry barriers for competitors who may find it difficult to compete with existing firms as resource requirements are quite high in this scenario. Pioneering advantage seems to be a long-term competitive advantage for busi- nesses as pioneers' performance is consistently better than that of the followers over the years. Although the pioneering effect starts reducing over time in terms of market share, profit margins for pioneers are higher even after considerable length of time. The authors find that there are large variations in the performance within the pioneers group itself which indicates that there are other factors also, apart from order of entry, with potential bearing on firm's performance. The results show that performance (market share) and strategic variables are closely related and dependent upon each other. Further, they find that the effect of order of entry on performance is stronger for those firms that operate in less intense competitive environment than those that operate in more intense competitive environment.