89 research outputs found
Supplemental material for The patient burden of opioid-induced constipation: New insights from a large, multinational survey in five European countries
No full textSupplemental Material for The patient burden of opioid-induced constipation: New insights from a large, multinational survey in five European countries by Viola Andresen, Vivek Banerji, Genevieve Hall, Amir Lass and Anton V Emmanuel in United European Gastroenterology Journal</p
The GATT and the Uruguay Round: An Exercise in Real Politik
No full textThe author explores the present status of the Uruguay Round. Banerji then reviews the discussions in the 15 major areas, all of which may not be of immediate interest to India. The author then moves on to analyse the progress in discussions in areas that are of interest to India. These are tariffs, non-tariff measures, GATT article, safeguards, functioning of the CATT system, MTN agreements and arrangements, subsidies, countervailing measures and dispute settlement. The author ends by outlining some polemical issues, viz., textiles and clothing, agriculture, TRIPS and TRIMS and services. The author endorses the multitiered flexible approach to the final deal as proposed by Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati. (Editor’s abstract.
The GATT and the Uruguay Round: An Exercise in Real Politik
No full textThe author explores the present status of the Uruguay Round. Banerji then reviews the discussions in the 15 major areas, all of which may not be of immediate interest to India. The author then moves on to analyse the progress in discussions in areas that are of interest to India. These are tariffs, non-tariff measures, GATT article, safeguards, functioning of the CATT system, MTN agreements and arrangements, subsidies, countervailing measures and dispute settlement. The author ends by outlining some polemical issues, viz., textiles and clothing, agriculture, TRIPS and TRIMS and services. The author endorses the multitiered flexible approach to the final deal as proposed by Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati. (Editor’s abstract.
Using advanced analytics to help identify women who are more likely to have a severe subjective experience of vulvovaginal atrophy: a modeling study
No full textObjective To develop a model to identify women likely to be severely impacted by vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA), based on their experience of symptoms and non-clinical factors.Methods Multivariate statistics and machine-learning algorithms were used to develop models using data from a cross-sectional, observational, multinational European survey. A set of independent variables were chosen to assess subjective VVA severity and its impact on daily activities.Results A final composite model was selected that included three categories of variables: clinical severity, patient demographics/clinical characteristics and Day-to-Day Impact of Vaginal Aging (DIVA) variables related to emotion/mood, impact on lifestyle and frequency of sex. The model accurately classified 71% of women. Three DIVA variables (feeling bad about yourself, desire/interest in sex, physical comfort related to sitting) explained much of the variation in the dependent variable of the model. Over 90% of the impact of VVA relates to certain psychosocial and behavioral aspects that can be identified without the need to consider physical signs/symptoms.Conclusion Non-clinical factors can contribute significantly to the overall VVA burden.Questions used in developing the composite model could form the basis of an instrument to help screen women prior to clinical consultation and improve VVA management
Galaxy Zoo:reproducing galaxy morphologies via machine learning
No full textWe present morphological classifications obtained using machine learning for objects in SDSS DR6 that have been classified by Galaxy Zoo into three classes, namely early types, spirals and point sources/artifacts. An artificial neural network is trained on a subset of objects classified by the human eye and we test whether the machine learning algorithm can reproduce the human classifications for the rest of the sample. We find that the success of the neural network in matching the human classifications depends crucially on the set of input parameters chosen for the machine-learning algorithm. The colours and parameters associated with profile-fitting are reasonable in separating the objects into three classes. However, these results are considerably improved when adding adaptive shape parameters as well as concentration and texture. The adaptive moments, concentration and texture parameters alone cannot distinguish between early type galaxies and the point sources/artifacts. Using a set of twelve parameters, the neural network is able to reproduce the human classifications to better than 90% for all three morphological classes. We find that using a training set that is incomplete in magnitude does not degrade our results given our particular choice of the input parameters to the network. We conclude that it is promising to use machine- learning algorithms to perform morphological classification for the next generation of wide-field imaging surveys and that the Galaxy Zoo catalogue provides an invaluable training set for such purposes
Political regimes, trade, and labor policies in developing countries
No full textWhat, if any, is the link between labor market policies that benefit insiders - for example, regulations guaranteeing high minimum wages and strict job security - and political regimes. Is it true that in a democracy outsiders vote and impose limits on what insiders can achieve, whereas in a dictatorship the government need worry only about insiders who have real power? Or are democratic governments more likely to succumb to trade union pressure and use labor policies to give them special privileges? To test these competing hypotheses, the authors designed a two-sector political economy model that demonstrates that labor market distortions depend directly on the trade regime: the more open the trade regime, the fewer distortions in the labor market. They use cross-country regressions to test the relationship between political and civil liberties and trade and labor policies. Using data for 90 developing countries, they apply existing indices of openness and political freedom and two different constructed measures of labor market distortion. Their conclusions, based on the regression results: authoritarian systems that repress labor are more likely than democratic systems to adopt inefficient labor policies inimical to development.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Labor Standards,Economic Theory&Research
The welfare effects of a large depreciation : the case of Egypt, 2000-05
No full textThe Egyptian pound depreciated sharply between 2000 and 2005, declining by 26 percent in nominal trade-weighted terms. The author investigates the effect of the large depreciation on household welfare operating through exchange rate-induced changes in consumer prices. He estimates exchange rate pass-through regressions using disaggregated monthly consumer price indices to isolate the impact of the exchange rate changes on consumer prices. Then he uses household-level data from the 2000 and 2005 Egyptian household surveys to quantify the welfare effects of these consumer price changes at the household level. The average welfare loss due to exchange rate-induced price increases was equivalent to 7.4 percent of initial expenditure. Stronger estimated exchange rate pass-through for food items imply that this effect disproportionately affected poorer households.Markets and Market Access,Access to Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Poverty Lines,Commodities
Dynamics and adaptive significance of the inducible trophic polymorphism of tetrahymena vorax
No full textThis dissertation provides a four-part synopsis of the methodology, results, and conclusions of an integrated set of experiments designed to explore the ecology of inducible trophic polymorphisms (ITPs). These experiments were conducted using isogenic populations of the polymorphic freshwater hymenostome ciliate, Tetrahymena vorax Kidder, in combination with other protozoa, bacteria, algae, and micro-invertebrates. Chapter 1 addresses the autecological significance of ITPs, revealing some of their potential costs and benefits to individuals in the context of competition under varying resource regimes. Chapter 2 demonstrates how ITPs can give rise to novel trait-mediated indirect interactions that affect community structure and population dynamics. Chapter 3 elucidates the extent to which the population dynamics of species exhibiting ITPs are affected by the trophic complexity of their habitat. Chapter 4 presents a detailed review of indirect offenses, a versatile adaptive strategy that ITPs can give rise to where inducing agents are symbionts. The contents of these chapters provide unique insights into the link between ITPs and related phenomena – such as cannibalism, intraguild predation, omnivory, and expanded diet breadth – and open new avenues of inquiry regarding the importance of the genetic and functional diversity of natural communities.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Aabir Banerj
Spontaneous perinephric hemorrhage (Wunderlich syndrome) secondary to polyarteritis nodosa: Computed tomography and angiographic findings
No full textWe report the case of a young man who presented with spontaneous left perinephric hematoma and per-rectal bleeding. Evaluation revealed renal and superior mesenteric arterial aneurysms secondary to polyarteritis nodosa (PAN). Computed tomography and angiographic findings are presented. The aetiology of spontaneous perinephric hemorrhage along with relevant features of PAN are discussed
The rise of securities markets : what can government do?
No full textUsing U.S. securities markets as a case history, the author explores the role securities markets play in economic development, how they emerge, and how regulation can make them more effective. Why the United States? Two centuries ago, it was a small undeveloped country with serious financial problems. It confronted those problems and, guided by Alexander Hamilton, creatively reformed its financial system, which then became a foundation of the U.S. economic infrastructure and a bulwark for long-term growth. When Hamilton's program established public credit and securitiesmarkets in the 1790s, U.S. citizens were immediately able to borrow from older, richer countries. U.S. wealth then increased until, by the end of the nineteenth century, U.S. residents began to lend and invest more abroad than they borrowed. During the 1820s and 1830s, the United States (usually state governments) borrowed large sums from foreign investors to build roads, canals, and early railroads, to make other transportation improvements, and to capitalize state banks. From the 1830s to the end of the century, still larger sums from overseas went into private U.S. railway companies that provided cheap transcontinental transportation. Most of this borrowing took the form of state and corporate bond sales to overseas investors. The pristine U.S. government credit established by Hamilton thus rubbed off on U.S. state and corporate debt. The British stock market did better than the U.S. market until the United States adopted security-market regulation (including disclosuire rules) under the SEC. Then the U.S. market became a world leader. The U.S. stock market developed more slowly than the bond market, but it both aided and benefited from foreign investment in U.S. bonds. Foreign investors preferred debt securities to equities, yet equities create a safety margin for bondholders who, because of this margin, are more willing to purchase and hold bonds. Foreign investors preferred bonds; U.S. investors, after exporting bonds, held more stocks than bonds at home. Why? Because good stock markets permit the conversion of equity securities into cash.Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Financial Intermediation,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research,Housing Finance,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Financial Intermediation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research
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