Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of a multidisciplinary percutaneous tracheostomy program*

Objective:The frequency of bedside percutaneous tracheostomies is increasing in intensive care medicine, and both safety and efficiency of care are critical elements in continuing success of this procedure. Prioritizing patient safety, a tracheostomy team was created at our institution to provide bedside expertise in surgery, anesthesiology, respiratory, and technical support. This study was performed to evaluate the metrics of patient outcome, efficiency of care, and cost-benefit analysis of the multidisciplinary Johns Hopkins Percutaneous Tracheostomy Program. Design:A review was performed for patients who received tracheostomies in 2004, the year before the Johns Hopkins Percutaneous Tracheostomy Program was established, and those who received tracheostomies in 2008, the year following the program’s establishment. Comparative outcomes were evaluated, including the efficiency of procedure and intensive care unit length of stay, complication rate including bleeding, hypoxia, loss of airway, and a financial cost-benefit analysis. Setting:Single-center, major university hospital. Patients:The sample consisted of 363 patients who received a tracheostomy in the years 2004 and 2008. Measurements and Main Results:The number of percutaneous procedures increased from 59 of 126 tracheostomy patients in 2004, to 183 of 237 in 2008. There were significant decreases in the prevalence of procedural complications, particularly in the realm of airway injuries and physiologic disturbances. Regarding efficiency, the structured program reduced the time to tracheostomy and overall procedural time. The intensive care unit length of stay in nonpulmonary patients and improvement in intensive care unit and operating room back-fill efficiency contributed to an overall institutional financial benefit. Conclusions:An institutionally subsidized, multi-disciplinary percutaneous tracheostomy program can improve the quality of care in a cost-effective manner by decreasing the incidence of tracheostomy complications and improving both the time to tracheostomy, duration of procedure, and postprocedural intensive care unit stay.
The internationalization of small computer software firms

Presents the findings of a comparative study into the export behaviour and internationalization of small computer software firms in Finland, Ireland and Norway. These findings challenge many of the underlying assumptions of conventional internationalization “stage” theories and lead to the conclusion that such theories do not adequately reflect the internationalization process among small computer software firms.
Does Social Couponing Stimulate Positive E-Word-of-Mouth and Referrals?

In the last years an increasing number of hotels have decided to run social coupon campaigns through Groupon and other daily deal sites. Available evidence suggests that several hotel managers have overlooked the “social” component of social couponing. In fact they have mainly considered the short-term effects (i.e. increased sales) of this marketing tool, underestimating its potential benefits in terms of e-word-of mouth (eWOM) and referrals. The aim of this study is therefore to shed light on the potential of social couponing to stimulate positive eWOM and referrals. For this purpose, the paper presents the results of a content analysis of 564 TripAdvisor reviews posted by guests that have stayed at 76 Italian hotels using a Groupon’s coupon. In addition, this study identifies the most important coupon-related factors which are able to explain the positive vs. negative eWOM. Beyond enriching theoretical knowledge on social couponing, this paper highlights that the decision of guests to engage in either positive or negative eWOM about the hotel is influenced by some coupon-related factors which can be managed by the hotels.
A chirp-z transform-based synchronizer for power system measurements

In the last few years, increased interest in power and voltage quality has forced international working groups to standardize testing and measurement techniques. IEC 61000-4-30, which defines the characteristics of instrumentation for the measurement of power quality, refers to IEC 61000-4-7 for the evaluation of harmonics and interharmonics. This standard, revised in 2002, requires a synchronous sampling of voltage or current signal, in order to limit errors and to ensure reproducible results even in the presence of nonstationary signals. Therefore, an accurate estimation of the fundamental frequency is required, even in the presence of disturbances. In this paper, an algorithm to detect the fundamental frequency is proposed; it is based on the chirp-z transform (CZT) spectral analysis and is able to observe all standards in force because of its accuracy and working characteristics. Theoretical aspects are discussed and various experimental tests are reported, comparing the proposed method with a similar well-known one based on interpolated fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis. Finally, a complete characterization of the proposed system was performed, and its accuracy was evaluated by means of a calibrator.
When More is Less: The Impact of Large Cash Holdings on the Recovery of Firms' Performance.

The paper investigates the impact of cash holdings on firm performance following an abrupt performance decline. Cash rich firms underperform cash poor ones following the performance shock. Low cash firms cut-off their assets and tighten capital expenditure, whereas high cash firms do not follow this pattern. The effect is stronger for firms with high propensity of managerial entrenchment, and less severe for firms operating in competitive product market, with ample investment opportunities or large institutional holdings. The analysis provides evidence on the potential downside of large cash reserves even in the context when cash is presumably most needed.
A computer system for coding occupation.

BACKGROUND Occupation information is widely used in epidemiologic studies and is collected on most death certificates and many birth certificates in the United States. Coding the massive amount of occupation information collected has been a challenge. METHODS A simple word-matching computer program to code occupation entries from vital records was developed. The accuracy of the program was evaluated by comparing its output to codes assigned by human coders. RESULTS In routine use in the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), the computer system codes 96-97% of the occupation entries on birth and death records. It assigned the correct code on 89% (95% confidence interval (87%, 91%)) of the records it coded. CONCLUSIONS The occupation-coding program is both efficient and accurate and can simplify the process of coding occupation entries from vital records. The system is adaptable and can be modified to use occupation classifications other than the one used by DOH.
The Complementary Roles of Audited Financial Reporting and Voluntary Disclosure: A Test of the Confirmation Hypothesis

We examine the complementarity between voluntary disclosure and reporting audited financial statement outcomes. We test the “confirmation” hypothesis, that reporting audited, backward-looking outcomes disciplines and hence enhances the precision and credibility of managers’ disclosure of private forward-looking information. Using management earnings forecasts as the voluntary disclosure variable, we report that committing to higher audit fees (a measure of the extent of financial statement verification and thus the accuracy and freedom from manipulation of reported outcomes), is associated with more frequent and more specific management forecasts, and with a larger market reaction to forecasts. These relations are not driven by litigation risk and are robust to a variety of controls. Disclosure of private information and audited financial reporting play complementary roles, which implies they cannot be evaluated separately.
Trade Dynamics in the Euro Area: The Role of Export Destination and Composition

We investigate to what extent the destination of exports and export composition affect the export performance of euro area countries, using a dataset on exports from euro area countries to their top 20 trade partners for the period 1980-2010. Our analysis shows that European integration has not led to an increase in the share of the core and the northern periphery in the exports of the southern periphery. Our results suggest that a higher share of high tech exports in total exports leads to a higher growth of total exports. Export composition also conditions the effects of the real exchange rate and partner income growth. The effect of the real exchange rate on export growth becomes smaller the higher the share of high tech exports in total exports. The effect of partner income on export growth becomes larger the higher the share of high tech exports in total exports.
FAULT-TOLERANT CONTROL FOR CONSTRAINED LINEAR SYSTEMS BASED ON MPC AND FDI

This paper considers fault-tolerant control (FTC) for constrained linear systems subject to partial actuator failures. An active fault-tolerant control scheme based on model predictive control (MPC) and fault detection and isolation (FDI) is proposed. The FDI module using a two-stage Kalman flltering algorithm provides simultaneous control parameter and state estima- tion, which are used to modify the MPC formulation such as internal model to accommodate partial actuator failures. The most important advantage of the scheme is that partial actuator failures and input constraints can be dealt with simultaneously. Simulation results show the efiectiveness of the proposed method.
Effect of electrical stimulation to long head of biceps in reducing gleno humeral subluxation after stroke.

BACKGROUND Glenohumeral subluxation is the most frequent complication in post stroke hemiplegia and its reduction has been considered an important goal. Though it has been demonstrated that cyclical electrical stimulation of posterior deltoid and supraspinatus muscles can reduce subluxation, the role of biceps has not been given due consideration. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether electrical stimulation to the long head of biceps could more effectively reduce gleno humeral subluxation. METHODS 24 patients were selected and consecutively assigned to group 1 (electrical stimulation to supraspinatus & posterior deltoid) and group II (electrical stimulation to supraspinatus, posterior deltoid & long head of the biceps) along with routine physiotherapy and occupational therapy for a period of 5 weeks. All patients were assessed for shoulder subluxation, pain and shoulder active abduction range of motion at the time of recruitment to study and after 5 weeks of therapy. RESULTS Both the groups showed significant improvement in parameters measured. Tukey's post hoc analysis showed the results were more significant in Group II. CONCLUSIONS Electrical stimulation to biceps along with the supraspinatus and posterior deltoid can more effectively reduce shoulder subluxation.
Plant regeneration from callus cultures in two ecotypes of reed (Phragmites communis Trinius)

SummaryDifferent ecotypes of reed (Phragmites communis Trinius) provide an ideal resource for studies on plant environmental adaptations and presence of genes relating to stress resistance. Dune reed is a drought-tolerant reed ecotype growing in the desert regions of north-west China. In this work, in vitro culture systems of dune reed and local swamp reed (as control) were established by optimizing the culture conditions for each of them. Bright yellow calluses were induced on a Murashige and Skoog medium containing 4.5 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 5.4 μM naphthaleneacetic acid and 2. 2μM benzyladenine. Benzyladenine promoted callus induction, but was not required for callus maintenance. Four types of callus have been identified from each of the reed ecotypes. Two types of callus, i.e. type A (formed normal green shoots) and type C (formed albino plants), were both found as embryogenic calluses. The optimal concentrations of 2,4-D to maintain embryogenic callus were 2.3–4.5 μM for dune reed and 9.0–13.5 μM for swap reed. Plant regeneration was achieved from types A and C callus in a hormone-free medium. The embryogenic calluses of swamp reed have been maintained for over 2 yr and still retain their strong embryogenic potential; however, those of dune reed gradually lost their embryogenic potential after only 7 mo. of culture. Regenerated plants from the two reed ecotypes showed, after a growth season, similar morphology and the same chromosome number (2n=8x=96, octoploid) as the wild plants.
Strategic human resource management: what does it mean in practice?

IV LIST OF FIGURES 6 LIST OF TABLES 7 CHAPTER 1: THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING 9 1.1 Background to the research 9 1.2 The research problem, questions and propositions 11 1.3 Justification for the study 15 1.4 Overview of the research design and methodology 16 1.5 Definitions 17 1.6 Limitations 19 1.7 Abbreviations 19 1.8 Outline of the thesis 20 1.9 Summary 20 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 22 2.
15 BASIC PROPERTIES OF CONVEX POLYTOPES

Convex polytopes are fundamental geometric objects that have been investigated since antiquity. The beauty of their theory is nowadays complemented by their importance for many other mathematical subjects, ranging from integration theory, algebraic topology, and algebraic geometry to linear and combinatorial optimization. In this chapter we try to give a short introduction, provide a sketch of “what polytopes look like” and “how they behave,” with many explicit examples, and briefly state some main results (where further details are given in subsequent chapters of this Handbook). We concentrate on two main topics:
Irregular Firing and High-Conductance States in Spinal Motoneurons during Scratching and Swimming

Intense synaptic transmission during scratch network activity increases conductance and induces irregular firing in spinal motoneurons. It is not known whether this high-conductance state is a select feature for scratching or a property that goes with spinal motor network activity in general. Here we compare conductance and firing patterns in spinal motoneurons during network activity for scratching and swimming in an ex vivo carapace-spinal cord preparation from adult turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans). The pattern and relative engagement of motoneurons are distinctly different in scratching and swimming. Nevertheless, we found increased synaptic fluctuations in membrane potential, irregular firing, and increased conductance in spinal motoneurons during scratch and swim network activity. Our finding indicates that intense synaptic activation of motoneurons is a general feature of spinal motor network activity. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Neurons embedded in active neural networks can enter high-conductance states with irregular firing. This was previously shown for spinal motoneurons during scratching. Because scratching is highly specialized rhythmic behavior, it is not known whether high-conductance states and irregular firing are a peculiarity for motoneurons during scratching. Here, using intracellular recordings from motoneurons in an ex vivo carapace-spinal cord preparation from adult turtles, we demonstrate that irregular firing and high-conductance states are present not only during scratching but also during swimming. Our findings suggest that irregular firing and high-conductance states could be a general feature for motor behaviors.
A Markov-Based Update Policy for Constantly Changing Database Systems

In order to maximize the value of an organization's data assets, it is important to keep data in its databases up-to-date. In the era of big data, however, constantly changing data sources make it a challenging task to assure data timeliness in enterprise systems. For instance, due to the high frequency of purchase transactions, purchase data stored in an enterprise resource planning system can easily become outdated, affecting the accuracy of inventory data and the quality of inventory replenishment decisions. Despite the importance of data timeliness, updating a database as soon as new data arrives is typically not optimal because of high update cost. Therefore, a critical problem in this context is to determine the optimal update policy for database systems. In this study, we develop a Markov decision process model, solved via dynamic programming, to derive the optimal update policy that minimizes the sum of data staleness cost and update cost. Based on real-world enterprise data, we conduct experiments to evaluate the performance of the proposed update policy in relation to benchmark policies analyzed in the prior literature. The experimental results show that the proposed update policy outperforms fixed interval update policies and can lead to significant cost savings.
Searching for expertise using the terrier platform

1. EXTENDED ABSTRACT In large Enterprise organisations, users often seek other members of their organisation to collaborate with. The use of an expert search system can help users in finding people that have relevant expertise to their need. In the TREC 2005 Enterprise track, we developed an expert search system based on the Terrier IR platform [1]. In this work, we demonstrate an improved version of our technology, applied in a different Enterprise setting, namely the University of Glasgow, Dept. of Computing Science. From the intranet of the organisation, we crawl all documents, such as mailing lists, staff Web homepages, CVs, research publications and administrative and teaching material. Using the staff list, our expert search system builds a profile of expertise evidence for each candidate expert, by associating documents to each candidate. The expert search system uses a retrieval methodology based on the Divergence from Randomness framework to rank candidate profiles in response to a user query. Each document is represented by a set of fields (e.g. Content, Title and Anchor text of incoming hyperlinks), and the used matching function takes these various fields of the documents into account when ranking candidate profiles. Based on our experience from the TREC 2005 Enterprise track, we assign different importance weights on the various sources of evidence. For example, the homepage or CV of a candidate are good sources of expertise evidence. Figure 1 presents the results for a typical query to the expert search system. A ranking of candidate experts for the query is displayed, along with a concise description of their job interests. In contrast to [2], the top-ranked documents for each candidate are also displayed, as found by the retrieval methodology. These related documents are important, as they allow the user to quickly assess the relevance of a candidate by scanning the related documents. This is similar to a user scanning summaries to assess the relevance of documents in classical retrieval.
Information Combining

Consider coded transmission over a binary-input symmetric memoryless channel. The channel decoder uses the noisy observations of the code symbols to reproduce the transmitted code symbols. Thus, it combines the information about individual code symbols to obtain an over-all information about each code symbol, which may be the reproduced code symbol or its a-posteriori probability. This tutorial addresses the problem of "information combining" from an information-theory point of view: the decoder combines the mutual information between channel input symbols and channel output symbols (observations) to the mutual information between one transmitted symbol and all channel output symbols. The actual value of the combined information depends on the statistical structure of the channels. However, it can be upper and lower bounded for the assumed class of channels. This book first introduces the concept of mutual information profiles and revisits the well-known Jensen's inequality. Using these tools, the bounds on information combining are derived for single parity-check codes and for repetition codes. The application of the bounds is illustrated in four examples: information processing characteristics of coding schemes, including extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) functions; design of multiple turbo codes; bounds for the decoding threshold of low-density parity-check codes; EXIT function of the accumulator.
An adaptive Markov random field based error concealment method for video communication in an error prone environment

Loss of coded data during its transmission can affect a decoded video sequence to a large extent, making concealment of errors caused by data loss a serious issue. Previous work in spatial error concealment exploiting MRF models used a single pixel wide region around the erroneous area to achieve a reconstruction based on an optimality measure. This practically restricts the amount of available information that is used in a concealment procedure to a small region around the missing area. Incorporating more pixels usually means a higher order model and this is expensive as the complexity grows exponentially with the order of the MRF model. Using previously proposed approaches, the damaged area is reconstructed fairly well in very low frequency portions of the image. However, the reconstruction process yields blurry results with a significant loss of details in high frequency, or edge portions of the image. In our proposed approach, a MRF is used as the image a priori model. More available information is incorporated in the reconstruction procedure not by increasing the order of the model but instead by adaptively adjusting the model parameters. Adaptation is done based on the image characteristics determined in a large region around the damaged area. Thus, the reconstruction procedure can make use of information embedded in not only immediate neighborhood pixels but also in a wider neighborhood without a dramatic increase in computational complexity. The proposed method outperforms the previous methods in the reconstruction of missing edges.
Mitochondrial D-loop mutations can be detected in sporadic malignant tumours in dogs

Abstract The aim of this study was to identify mutations in the D-loop region of mtDNA in head, neck, and limb tumours in dogs, and determination of their relationship with the process of neoplastic transformation. Blood and tumour tissue samples from 19 dogs with diagnosed sporadic malignant tumours were analysed. DNA extraction, amplification, and sequencing of the mtDNA D-loop, and bioinformatic analyses were performed. Five mutations and 19 polymorphisms were observed in 68.42% of all tumours. Polymorphic variants were noted in 42.86% of the head and neck tumours and in 58.33% of the limb tumours. Mutations were observed in 21.05% of dogs. The mutations were found in 28.57% of the head and neck tumours and in 16.66% of the limb tumours. The mutations were identified in 50% of the studied epithelial cancers. In the mesenchymal tumours, no mutations in the D-loop region were observed. Mitochondrial haplotype A17 was found in over 40% cases of limb tumours. No association between the age, breed, sex, type of tumour, and detected polymorphic variants were observed. Different mutational changes in the D-loop sequences of mtDNA identified in the blood and tumour tissues may indicate a relationship between the type of tumour and individual changes in the D-loop nucleotide sequences of mtDNA.