Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional compromise reflected by sarcopenia, frailty, and nutritional depletion predicts adverse postoperative outcome after colorectal cancer surgery.

OBJECTIVE To determine the association of sarcopenia with postoperative morbidity and mortality after colorectal surgery. BACKGROUND Functional compromise in elderly colorectal surgical patients is considered as a significant factor of impaired postoperative recovery. Therefore, the predictive value of preoperative functional compromise assessment was investigated. Sarcopenia is a hallmark of functional compromise. METHODS A total of 310 consecutive patients who underwent oncologic colorectal surgery were included in a prospective digital database. Sarcopenia was assessed using the L3 muscle index utilizing Osirix on preoperative computed tomography. Groningen Frailty Indicator and Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire scores were used to assess frailty and nutritional compromise. Predictors for anastomotic leakage, sepsis, and mortality were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS Age was an independent predictor of mortality [P = 0.04; odds ratio, 1.17; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.37]. Thirty-day/in-hospital mortality rate in sarcopenic patients was 8.8% versus 0.7% in nonsarcopenic patients (P = 0.001; odds ratio, 15.5; 95% CI, 2.00-120). Sarcopenia was not predictive for anastomotic leakage or sepsis. Combination of high Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire score, high Groningen Frailty Indicator score, and sarcopenia strongly predicted sepsis (P = 0.001; odds ratio, 25.1; 95% CI, 5.11-123), sensitivity, 46%; specificity, 97%; positive likelihood ratio, 13 (95% CI, 4.4-38); negative likelihood ratio, 0.57 (95% CI, 0.33-0.97). CONCLUSIONS Functional compromise in colorectal cancer surgery is associated with adverse postoperative outcome. Assessment of functional compromise by means of a nutritional questionnaire (Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire), a frailty questionnaire (Groningen Frailty Indicator), and sarcopenia measurement (L3 muscle index) can accurately predict postoperative sepsis.
SCIAMACHY REFLECTANCE AND SOLAR IRRADIANCE VALIDATION

The top-of-atmosphere spectral reflectance measured by SCIAMACHY has been validated by comparisons between calibrated SCIAMACHY V6 Level 1 data and corresponding reflectances from AATSR and MERIS. The AATSR analysis is currently restricted to part of one specifically processed orbit containing a scene over a hurricane with high and homogeneous clouds for which results for V5 data are already available. The MERIS intercomparison is based on one individual state over Europe. These first comparisons between AATSR/MERIS and SCIAMACHY reflectances show a substantial improvement of the radiometric calibration of SCIAMACHY, although discrepancies still remain, especially at the wavelength 1600 nm. Furthermore, SCIAMACHY solar irradiances from the V6 Level 1 product have been compared with calibrated solar measurements by the LPMA/DOAS spectrometer which has been flown during various balloon campaigns (Kiruna 2003, Aire Sur l’Adour 2003, Kiruna 2004, Teresina 2004, 2005), SIM (Spectral Irradiance Monitor) UV/Vis/NIR spectra, the Atlas-3 shuttle composite spectrum, and the Kurucz solar reference spectrum. From these comparisons we conclude that an overall substantial improvement of SCIAMACHY V6 irradiances has been achieved, in particular with respect to the known irradiance offset (10-20%) in V5. The data in the overlap regions between channels have also improved but results are still not satisfactory there.
European Parliament elections and EU governance

The decision to establish direct elections to the European Parliament was intended by many to establish a direct link between the individual citizen and decision making at the European level. Elections were meant to help to establish a common identity among the peoples of Europe, to legitimise policy through the normal electoral processes and provide a public space within which Europeans could exert a more direct control over their collective future. Critics disagreed, arguing that direct elections to the European Parliament would further undermine the sovereignty of member states, and may not deliver on the promise that so many were making on behalf of that process. In particular, some wondered whether elections alone could mobilise European publics to take a much greater interest in European matters, with the possibility of European elections being contested simply on national matters. Evaluating these divergent views, the subject of this article is to review the literature on direct elections to the European Parliament in the context of the role these elections play in governance of the European Union. The seminal work by Reif and Schmitt serves as the starting point of our review. These authors were the frst to discuss elections to the European Parliament as second-order national elections. Results of second-order elections are infuenced not only by second-order factors, but also by the situation in the frst-order arena at the time of the second-order election. In the 30 years and six more sets of European Parliament elections since the publication of their work, the concept has become the dominant one in any academic discussion of European elections. In this article we review that work in order to assess the continuing value of the second-order national election concept today, and to consider some of the more fruitful areas for research which might build on the advance made by Reif and Schmitt. While the concept has proven useful in studies of a range of elections beyond just those for the European Parliament, including those for regional and local assemblies as well as referendums, this review will concentrate solely on EP elections. Concluding that Reif and Schmitt's characterisation remains broadly valid today, the article allows that while this does not mean there is necessarily a democratic defcit within the EU, there may be changes that could be made to encourage a more efective electoral process.
Obsolescence in hedonic price estimation of the financial impact of commercial office buildings: The case of Kuala Lumpur

This paper discusses the empirical findings of an analysis of the financial impact of obsolescence using the hedonic price technique. The difference between the rental price of a building and the highest rental price of office buildings in the market was used as the measure of the financial impact of obsolescence on the building. The analysis shows that the financial impact caused by obsolescence can be analysed and estimated for use in building design and investment appraisals.
"Folk" Soil Taxonomy and the Partial Adoption of New Seed Varieties

Traditional agricultural systems in less developed countries (LDCs) maintain not only the germplasm of local varieties of ancestral crop populations (landraces) but also the human knowledge and behavioral practices that reflect a long coevolution between crops and human populations. The germplasm of crop landraces provides the material from which high-yielding seed varieties (HYVs) have been developed by international and national agricultural research centers. Farmers' knowledge and behavioral practices, in turn, shape the manner and extent to which these new varieties are adopted and integrated back into the traditional farming system. Although farmers in traditional agricultural systems frequently adopt new seed varieties and other modern inputs, many adopters also continue to cultivate local varieties. High-yielding varieties are introduced into agricultural systems where high levels of crop diversity exist and where different varieties are selected to fill specific ecological (e.g., land-quality) niches. Small farmers in the tropics are often confronted with complex and heterogeneous environments. ' A household may own or work several plots, usually scattered in different physiographic zones and made up of different recognized soil qualities.2 Once farmers understand the principal characteristics of new HYVs, usually after a period of observation and experimentation, a "technology equilibrium" is eventually reached.3 This equilibrium may entail the complete displacement of local varieties, but frequently it does not.4 Instead, HYVs may simply be incorporated into one or more agroecological niches on farms. Efforts to explain partial adoption on farms have focused overwhelmingly on considerations of risk and farmer risk aversion.5 How
Asymmetry and Rigidity in Farm‐Retail Price Transmission

This article demonstrates how retail-price transmission asymmetry can arise from intertemporal optimizing behavior among spatially competitive retailers facing concave spatial demand and shows that vigorous competition among retailers may not necessarily result in the larger retail-price declines farmers expect during periods of declining farm prices. It also shows that, when this particular class of retailers incurs repricing costs, retail prices can be rigid over a range of upward and downward movements in the farm price. This suggests that the rigidity of retail prices, during periods of declining farm prices, could be due to repricing costs. It also suggests that the appropriate econometric model of price-transmission is the model of friction, where Tobit analysis is the proper method of estimation rather than nonreversible functions. Copyright 1999, Oxford University Press.
Authorized Service Vendors in Mobile Terminals Voice

This study examines whether authorized service vendors (ASV) for mobile terminals (MT) are satisfied with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in terms of service provided to them and also how the ASV is performing at their premises. A seamless relationship between the OEM and the ASV is essential for both sides to prosper in this business. When the ASV supplies good services to end-users, this contributes to an increase in the customer satisfaction rating, loyalty and retention. The study employs an exploratory research design; in-depth survey interviews were carried out in six different ASV in Europe. The study was conducted at Nokia Corporation in Finland. The survey analysis of the association between category variables is descriptively analyzed. The main findings in this work were that the ASV is satisfied with the MT product manufacturer, and that the internal working practice of the ASV organization was perceived as more positive than negative. From the OEM side, the issue resolution time (iRT) and training before product launch are items that should be focused on in the first place, as these affect customer satisfaction. The ASV management should seek a way to share the end-user customer feedback to the ASV teams, and internal information communication should also be improved.
Why Is There Mandatory Retirement?

This paper offers an explanation of the use of mandatory-retirement clauses in labor contracts. It argues that the date of mandatory retirement is chosen to correspond to the date of voluntary retirement, but the nature of the optimal wage profile results in a discrepancy between spot wage and spot VMP (value of the worker's marginal product). This is because it is preferable to pay workers less than VMP when young and more than VMP when old. By doing so the "agency" problem is solved, so the contract with mandatory retirement is Pareto efficient. A theory of agency is presented and empirical evidence which supports the hypothesis is provided.
A micropump for pulmonary blood flow regulation

Some congenital cardiopathies require "Fontan" pulmonary circulation. In this article, a special device to increase the flow and pressure in pulmonary arteries is presented. The system is formed by a dc motor plus a helix (generating a radial flow) and a stator, which converts the radial flow into a longitudinal flow. The main innovation of this device is the transmission between the motor and the helix. This is the critical point, since it is necessary to insulate the motor (to prevent short circuits) and it is also necessary to implement an adequate motor-helix transmission path. In other words, the challenge is to implement an axial pump that is going to operate submerged in blood.
Optimization of Non Binary Parity Check Coefficients

This paper generalizes the method proposed by Poulliat et al. for the determination of the optimal Galois field coefficients of a non-binary LDPC parity check constraint based on the binary image of the code. Optimal, or almost-optimal, parity check coefficients are given for check degree varying from 4 to 20 and Galois field varying from GF (64) up to GF (1024). For all given sets of coefficients, no codeword of Hamming weight two exists. A reduced complexity algorithm to compute the binary Hamming weight 3 of a parity check is proposed. When the number of sets of coefficients is too high for an exhaustive search and evaluation, a local greedy search is performed. Explicit tables of coefficients are given. The proposed sets of coefficients can effectively replace the random selection of coefficients often used in NB-LDPC construction.
The Rise of Corporate Governance in the U.K.: When and Why

While issues that prompt corporate governance responses are endemic to the corporate form, the term “corporate governance” only began to feature with any regularity in discussions of public companies in Britain as the 1990s got underway. It is well known that work done by the Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance, known as the Cadbury Committee, played a major role in fostering the rise of corporate governance in the U.K. at that point. This paper explains why the topic did not move into the spotlight in Britain in the 1970s, a development that might have been anticipated given that explicit references to “corporate governance” were beginning in earnest then in the United States. The paper also identifies trends that likely would have ensured that corporate governance would have risen to prominence in Britain in the early 1990s in the absence of the Cadbury Committee’s deliberations.
Posterior Thalamic Nucleus Modulation of Tactile Stimuli Processing in Rat Motor and Primary Somatosensory Cortices

Rodents move rhythmically their facial whiskers and compute differences between signals predicted and those resulting from the movement to infer information about objects near their head. These computations are carried out by a large network of forebrain structures that includes the thalamus and the primary somatosensory (S1BF) and motor (M1wk) cortices. Spatially and temporally precise mechanorreceptive whisker information reaches the S1BF cortex via the ventroposterior medial thalamic nucleus (VPM). Other whisker-related information may reach both M1wk and S1BF via the axons from the posterior thalamic nucleus (Po). However, Po axons may convey, in addition to direct sensory signals, the dynamic output of computations between whisker signals and descending motor commands. It has been proposed that this input may be relevant for adjusting cortical responses to predicted vs. unpredicted whisker signals, but the effects of Po input on M1wk and S1BF function have not been directly tested or compared in vivo. Here, using electrophysiology, optogenetics and pharmacological tools, we compared in adult rats M1wk and S1BF in vivo responses in the whisker areas of the motor and primary somatosensory cortices to passive multi-whisker deflection, their dependence on Po activity, and their changes after a brief intense activation of Po axons. We report that the latencies of the first component of tactile-evoked local field potentials in M1wk and S1BF are similar. The evoked potentials decrease markedly in M1wk, but not in S1BF, by injection in Po of the GABAA agonist muscimol. A brief high-frequency electrical stimulation of Po decreases the responsivity of M1wk and S1BF cells to subsequent whisker stimulation. This effect is prevented by the local application of omega-agatoxin, suggesting that it may in part depend on GABA release by fast-spiking parvalbumin (PV)-expressing cortical interneurons. Local optogenetic activation of Po synapses in different cortical layers also diminishes M1wk and S1BF responses. This effect is most pronounced in the superficial layers of both areas, known to be the main source and target of their reciprocal cortico-cortical connections.
Building on Forest Governance Reforms through FLEGT: The Best Way of Controlling Forests' Contribution to Climate Change?

Illegal logging is a major problem in the forestry sector, and legislation to combat it has recently been introduced in both the United States and the European Union (EU) – two of the world's largest importers of timber. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the timber industry have urged governments to use trade incentives to control illegalities, and this has been instrumental in the development of these laws. The Lacey Act, an American conservation law revised in 2008 to include illegal timber, requires businesses to demonstrate that their purchasing policies and mechanisms effectively avoid sourcing timber from illegal sources. Because tackling the problem depends on cooperation between importing and exporting countries, the EU has been working since 2002 on a comprehensive plan to control illegal timber imports: the EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). This Action Plan has led to new legislation to control illegal timber imports and help timber-producing countries to improve forest governance. It is hoped that in this way FLEGT will also contribute to keeping forests standing, thereby mitigating climate change. However, it is feared that World Bank and United Nations initiatives on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) may undermine the FLEGT initiative if they do not recognize the need to begin with forest governance reforms.
The spread and persistence of Campylobacter and Salmonella in the domestic kitchen.

Edited transcript of an oral presentation The unit that I currently head is involved in four areas of research: farm studies, the physiology of organisms such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli, and how they respond to hostile conditions, kitchen and factory hygiene. I want to concentrate on cross-contamination, and will try to share with you the difficulties of the average consumer in controlling the spread of bacteria like Campylobacter and Salmonella in the kitchen. I will end with a plea about not over-emphasizing the role of the consumer, because it is difficult to control these organisms with the busy and complicated lives we all lead. When one brings food into the kitchen environment, whether it is raw meat or poultry, or vegetables, it can be contaminated with potential human pathogens,1,2 which will, without doubt, spread widely over the kitchen. Organisms like Salmonella enteritidis phage type 4, E. coli O157 or, to a slightly lesser extent, Campylobacter, all have the ability of surviving in air and can easily move from one side of any kitchen to the other.3–6 Populations of Salmonella can be divided into two broad groups, those with a normal stress response that can adapt to change in their environment, and the minority group that has an impaired stress response and does not survive as well.7 From the public health view, it is the organisms that survive which are better able to cause infection.8 We did a study, which involved taking a contaminated egg and turning it into batter, adding milk, sugar and flour and then whisking it. While whisking, the area on the bench was covered with agar plates selective for Salmonella.9 When whisking was carried out with a fork, there was a spread of Salmonella 1 m either side of the
The prognostic value of quantitative parameters of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the evaluation of response to internal radiation therapy with yttrium-90 in patients with liver metastases of colorectal cancer

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to evaluate tumor response using fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients who received yttrium-90 selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) for colorectal liver metastases. The initial and sixth-week tumor lesion glycolysis values were calculated to evaluate the success of the treatment and compare it with patient survival. Materials and methodsThirty-five patients (15 female, 20 male, mean age: 61.9±9.0 years, range: 33–76 years) who received SIRT treatment for unresectable colorectal cancer liver metastases in our hospital between June 2008 and May 2011 were included in the study. All patients included in the study had liver-only or liver-dominant disease. The treatment response was evaluated by 18F-FDG PET/CT in the sixth week after treatment. Response was evaluated according to the change in total lesion glycolysis (&Dgr;TLG). The &Dgr;TLG was calculated using the following formula: &Dgr;TLG=100×[standardized uptake value (SUV)mean1×total functional tumor volumes (FTVs)1−SUVmean2×FTV2]/SUVmean1×FTV1. ResultsMean FTV1 and FTV2 values were calculated to be 235.7±203 and 107.3±67 mm3, respectively (P=0.04). The mean &Dgr;TLG was 43±35 (range: 0–100). Mean overall survival time was 12.7±8.0 months (range: 3–31 months). The cutoff value of &Dgr;TLG was calculated to be 26.5 using receiver operating characteristic analysis (sensitivity 64%; specificity 85%; AUC=0.717±0.087, P=0.034). Patients were allocated into those having values greater than the cutoff value (group 1) and those having values lower than the cutoff value (group 2) in order to calculate the effect of &Dgr;TLG on survival. Survival was 11.32±1.18 (95% CI 9.02–13.62) months in group 2 and 20.76±2.71 (95% CI 15.46–26.06) months in group 1 (P=0.016). &Dgr;TLG was found to be a significant factor in univariate analysis (P=0.01). ConclusionAn 18F-FDG PET/CT scan with calculation of &Dgr;SUVmax, &Dgr;FTV, and &Dgr;TLG before and at the sixth week after SIRT may play an important role in evaluating early tumor response and survival expectancy in these patients and help decide whether these patients should be referred to other treatment modalities or to follow-up.
Patterns of Welfare Dependence Before and after a Reform: Evidence from First Generation Immigrants and Natives in Germany

This paper studies the patterns of welfare dependence among first generation immigrants and natives in Germany before and after a substantial recent reform of the welfare system. Using data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel Study, the analysis presents life cycle trajectories of transfer receipt for immigrants and natives and studies the correlation between contextual factors and transfer receipt. We find no statistically significant differences in the probability of transfer receipt between immigrants and natives once socioeconomic characteristics are taken into account. Being a single parent, labor market status, and human capital are most closely correlated with the incidence of transfer receipt for both natives and immigrants. Interestingly, recent welfare reforms did not reverse prior patterns of welfare dependence.