Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Diabetes on Oncologic Outcome of Colorectal Cancer Patients: Colon vs. Rectal Cancer

Background To evaluate the impact of diabetes on outcomes in colorectal cancer patients and to examine whether this association varies by the location of tumor (colon vs. rectum). Patients and methods This study includes 4,131 stage I-III colorectal cancer patients, treated between 1995 and 2007 (12.5% diabetic, 53% colon, 47% rectal) in South Korea. Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to determine the prognostic influence of DM on survival endpoints. Results Colorectal cancer patients with DM had significantly worse disease-free survival (DFS) [hazard ratio (HR) 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00–1.37] compared with patients without DM. When considering colon and rectal cancer independently, DM was significantly associated with worse overall survival (OS) (HR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.11–1.92), DFS (HR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.15–1.84) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR: 1.32, 95% CI: 0.98–1.76) in colon cancer patients. No association for OS, DFS or RFS was observed in rectal cancer patients. There was significant interaction of location of tumor (colon vs. rectal cancer) with DM on OS (P = 0.009) and DFS (P = 0.007). Conclusions This study suggests that DM negatively impacts survival outcomes of patients with colon cancer but not rectal cancer.
Review article: Impact of 12‐lead electrocardiography system of care on emergency medical service delays in ST‐elevation myocardial infarction: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

To assess the impact of prehospital 12‐lead electrocardiography (PH ECG) on emergency medical service (EMS) delay in patients with ST‐elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), we systematically searched five online electronic databases, including MEDLINE, Embase, Emcare, Cochrane Library and CINAHL, between 1990 and August 2017. Controlled trials and observational studies comparing EMS time delays with and without PH ECG in STEMI patients were eligible. Two reviewers independently screened studies for eligibility, extracted data and appraised study quality. The primary outcome was the time elapsed between scene arrival and hospital arrival. The secondary outcomes were response time, scene time, transport time and emergency call‐to‐hospital arrival time. Random effects models were used to pool weighted mean differences in EMS delay. Seven moderate‐quality studies (two controlled trials and five observational) involving 81 005 participants were included in the data synthesis. The primary treatment strategy was in‐hospital thrombolysis and percutaneous coronary intervention in four and three studies, respectively. PH ECG was associated with a 7.0 min increase in scene arrival‐to‐hospital arrival time (three studies; n = 80 628; 95% CI 6.7–7.2; I2 = 0.0%) and a 2.9 min increase in scene time (four studies; n = 377; 95% CI 1.2–4.6; I2 = 0.0%). PH ECG had no effect on transport or call‐to‐hospital intervals, although both measures showed evidence of heterogeneity. In patients with STEMI, PH ECG is associated with a modest increase in EMS delays. Measurement and improvement of EMS system delays may help to expedite treatment for STEMI.
An Empirical Study of Subjective Information Quality

Having quality information is crucial for effective operations and decision making within organisations. There is little agreement, however, about how information quality should be defined and measured. The Semiotic Information Quality framework provides a sound theoretical basis for defining information quality at three levels: syntactic (form), semantic (content), and pragmatic (usage). Objective measures have been defined for the syntactic and semantic levels. In this paper we focus on the pragmatic level by developing and empirically testing an instrument that aims to measure subjective aspects of information quality based on the perceptions of information consumers. The study serves as the basis for refining the framework’s pragmatic level and for further development of an associated measurement instrument for subjective information quality. In combination, such a framework and instrument have the potential to aid organizations in identifying problems and planning improvement strategies for information quality.
The influence of high autistic personality traits on the attribution of intentionality in typically developing individuals

ABSTRACT The present study investigated the association between autistic personality traits and cognitive and affective Theory of Mind abilities, as well as whether intentionality attribution was atypical in individuals with autistic personality traits, such as in individuals with autism spectrum disorder, who tend to over-attribute intentions when facing accidental harm involving negative outcomes. One-hundred individuals performed tasks assessing autistic personality traits, Theory of Mind abilities, and provided intentionality judgments to scenarios characterized by side effects, which involved unintended negative outcomes as well. Results showed that autistic personality traits are associated with reduced cognitive and affective Theory of Mind abilities, as well as with increased intentionality attributions towards side effects. Reduced cognitive Theory of Mind ability mediates the relationship between autistic personality traits and over-attribution of intentionality, suggesting that individuals with autistic personality traits base their intentionality evaluations more on side effects than on agent’s intentions, as in autism spectrum disorder.
The relative role of vocabulary and grammatical knowledge in L2 reading comprehension: a systematic review of literature

Abstract The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize the findings in the literature on the relative contribution of two types of linguistic knowledge (i. e., vocabulary and grammatical knowledge) to L2 reading comprehension; and to discuss the possible factors that might have led to the complexity and incongruity of the research findings. Nineteen studies were identified for this review through a systematic process of selection, and were analyzed in terms of the relationship of vocabulary and grammatical knowledge with L2 reading comprehension and their relative significance. The result of this review showed that there was no clear evidence supporting which type of linguistic knowledge is more contributive than the other; and the inconclusive findings might be attributed to the variations in the design of the studies. Two factors emerged, including participants’ language proficiency and construct definition, operationalization, and measurement. Some considerations for future research are suggested.
Different tiers of government in port governance: some general remarks on the institutional geography of ports in Europe and Canada

For the last thirty years, port governance has been marked by a new level of complexity which has resulted in the reshaping of the system of actors involved in the organization of ports. Devolution, which is taking place on most of the world's port ranges has thus altered the public-private division, i.e. the respective roles played by the different tiers of overnment and private operators in operation and regulation functions. There is an abundant literature on this topic, particularly in economics and management and the work of international organizations. This research has cast much light on the new modes of governance and is now attempting to explain how they are linked to port performance Models of port governance frequently consider the "public sector" to be a homogeneous entity and rather less research has examined its variety, i.e. the different categories of public sector actors that run the institutional levels that control the ports. The aim of this paper is thus to provide some insights into this question of the institutional geography of ports by identifying the various tiers of government, the functions they perform and how they are linked with each other in a number of ports. It draws on the main findings of research carried out for the French General Directorate for the Sea and Transport that aimed to shed light on public decision-making and the institutional models applied in port governance in 7 European countries and Canada. It therefore examines port statuses and legislation, supervision, monitoring, management and public finance in order to understand the diversity of the public sector presence in port models that are founded on different institutional geographies.
To do or not to do with feedback. A study of undergraduate students’ engagement and use of feedback within a portfolio assessment design

Abstract Feedback is important for student learning; however, research shows that students can have a number of difficulties when attempting to learn from feedback. Based on an in-depth analysis of undergraduate students’ self-reported reflection logs, we present findings about students’ experiences with oral and written feedback and how they act upon this feedback when a portfolio is the main assessment and learning tool. Our findings indicate that, within our context, students’ overall experiences with receiving feedback are positive. Oral feedback was perceived as particularly valuable to the students while written feedback challenged their understanding. We identified four specific actions the students engaged in to create meaning from the feedback: internal feedback, using oral feedback, initiating dialogue and interacting with peers. The findings indicate that the students take responsibility in the feedback process. The findings are discussed in relation to current perspectives on feedback in higher education.
Teaching foreign languages through audiovisual translation resources: teachers’ perspectives

In the past decade, techniques traditionally used in the audiovisual translation (AVT) industry have been applied to teaching foreign languages (FL) with promising results. Both teachers and researchers have provided useful data on various AVT typologies (i.e. subtitling, dubbing, audio description) in order to improve specific learning areas: vocabulary acquisition, listening comprehension, pronunciation, intercultural awareness, etc. (Ibanez & Vermeulen, 2014; Banos & Sokoli, 2015). The following study aims to provide information in two relevant areas identified in the field: (1) the direct experience of those teachers who have been using AVT techniques in the classroom in recent years, and (2) their perspectives on in the combination of FL and AVT in the future. A total of 56 respondents from Europe, the USA and Asia participated in the study, these being teachers of French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Japanese and Catalan as an FL. The results obtained are applicable to different languages and useful to any professional interested in using AVT in their classroom or carrying out further research.
The Nuance of Meaning and Kind of Synonymy Sensory Response Adjective in Indonesian

Absolute synonymy never encountered in any language. The near synonyms still have different meanings, though only in nuances. If there is no difference in nuance between the pairs of synonyms then one of the words will disappear from the vocabulary. This study aims to explain the nuances of meaning and kind of pair synonym sensory response in Indonesian adjektive. This research is a qualitative descriptive method. The results showed that: (1) not all sensory responses Indonesian adjectives have a pairs synonym; (2) there are different nuance of meaning in every pair of synonymous sensory response adjektive; and (3) only two kind of synonymy in pairs synonymous sensory response adjectives was found, they are complete and absolute, and incomplete and not absolute. Synonyms word can concretize the use a personal language, so that trought language the communication is clear interesting. Paying attention to nuances of meaning that is synonymous Indonesian adjectives in speaking and writing can add color, sharpness, and precision of the wording.
PENGARUH PENGGUNAAN FAKTOR PRODUKSI TERHADAP PRODUKSI PADI DI DESA BARUGAE KABUPATEN BONE

Penelitian ini bertujuan untukmengetahuipengaruh luas lahan, tenaga kerja, bibit, pupuk, dan pestisida terhadapproduksipadi di DesaBarugaeKabupaten Bone.Pendekatan penelitian ini adalah pendekatan kuantitatif dengan jenis penelitian yaitu denganmengumpulkan data yang adakaitannyadenganvariabel yang akanditelitimelalui observasi,dokumentasidanangket. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan yaitu observasi, dokumentasi dan angket. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah model fungsiregresi linear berganda dilanjutkan dengan uji f dan uji t.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa uji f secara simultan luas lahan, tenaga kerja, bibit, pupuk, dan pestisida secara simultan mempunyai pengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap produksi padi di Desa Barugae Kabupaten Bone.Melalui uji t secara parsial variabel luas lahan berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap produksi padi, variabel bibit berpengaruh positif namun tidak signifikan terhadap produksi padi, sedangkan tenaga kerja, pupuk dan pestisida berpengaruh negatif tidak signifikan terhadap produksi padi di Desa Barugae Kabupaten Bone. Kata Kunci: Faktorproduksi, ProduksiPadi
A Cross-National Study of Evolutionary Origins of Gender Shopping Styles: She Gatherer, He Hunter?

By investigating gendered shopping styles across countries, the authors explore whether the differences between male and female shopping styles are greater than the differences in shopping styles exhibited by consumers across countries. With a conceptual model, this study tests an extant convergence hypothesis that predicts that men and women should grow more similar in their shopping styles as traditional gender-based divisions in wage and domestic labor disappear. The results of a survey of shopping behavior across 11 countries indicate though that men and women are evolutionarily predisposed to different shopping styles. These differences in shopping styles also are greater in countries with higher levels of gender equality. Empathizing, or the ability to tune in to others’ thoughts and feelings, mediates shopping styles more for women; systemizing, or the degree to which a person possesses spatial skills, mediates shopping styles more for men. These results suggest that gender-based retail segmentation is more strategically relevant than country-based segmentation. The authors discuss the implications of their findings for international marketing theory and practice.
Saturation Mutagenesis of Lysine 12 Leads to the Identification of Derivatives of Nisin A with Enhanced Antimicrobial Activity

It is becoming increasingly apparent that innovations from the “golden age” of antibiotics are becoming ineffective, resulting in a pressing need for novel therapeutics. The bacteriocin family of antimicrobial peptides has attracted much attention in recent years as a source of potential alternatives. The most intensively studied bacteriocin is nisin, a broad spectrum lantibiotic that inhibits Gram-positive bacteria including important food pathogens and clinically relevant antibiotic resistant bacteria. Nisin is gene-encoded and, as such, is amenable to peptide bioengineering, facilitating the generation of novel derivatives that can be screened for desirable properties. It was to this end that we used a site-saturation mutagenesis approach to create a bank of producers of nisin A derivatives that differ with respect to the identity of residue 12 (normally lysine; K12). A number of these producers exhibited enhanced bioactivity and the nisin A K12A producer was deemed of greatest interest. Subsequent investigations with the purified antimicrobial highlighted the enhanced specific activity of this modified nisin against representative target strains from the genera Streptococcus, Bacillus, Lactococcus, Enterococcus and Staphylococcus.
XMM-Newton observation of the NLS1 galaxy Ark 564 - I. Spectral analysis of the time-average spectrum

Context: . We present the results from the spectral analysis of the time-average spectrum of the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy Ark 564 from a ~100 ks XMM-Newton observation. Aims: . Our aim is to characterize accurately the shape of the time-average, X-ray continuum spectrum of the source and search for any emission and/or absorption features in it. Methods: . We use the XMM-Newton data to obtain the X-ray spectrum of the source and we fit various spectral models to it. Results: . The time-average, 3-11 keV spectrum is well fitted by a power-law of slope 2.43. We detect a weak (equivalent width ~80 eV) emission line at ~6.7 keV, which implies emission from ionized iron. There is no compelling evidence for significant broadening of the line.We also detect a possible Doppler shifted absorption line at 8.1 keV. At energies âa‰2 keV, the spectrum is dominated by a smooth soft excess component which can be fitted well either by a model consisting of two black body components (kT ~ 0.15 and 0.07 keV) or by a model consisting of a black body plus reflection from a relativistically-blurred, photoionized disc. We detect a broad, shallow flux deficit in the 0.65-0.85 keV band, reminiscent of the iron unresolved transition array (UTA) features. We detect neither a strong absorption edge around 0.7 keV nor an emission line around 1 keV. Conclusions: . The soft excess emission is consistent with being reflected emission from a geometrically flat disc, with solar abundances, illuminated by an isotropic source. The weakness of the iron line emission can be explained by relativistic blurring. The UTA feature implies the presence of warm material with a column density of 2-5 × 1020 cm-2. If the absorption line at 8.1 keV corresponds to FeXXVI Kalpha, it suggests the presence of highly ionized absorbing material with N_H>1023 cm-2, outflowing at a high velocity of ~0.17c.
Effects of Differentiated Levels of Nitrogen Fertilization and the Method of Magnesium Application on the Utilization of Nitrogen by Two Different Maize Cultivars for Grain

A field experiment was carried out at the Didactic and Experimental Farm in Swadzim near Poznan in 2004-07. Two maize cultivars were studied, six nitrogen doses and magnesium doses. The effects of the mentioned factors exerted on the utilization of nitrogen from the applied mineral fertilizer and on the nitrogen harvest index were studied. The impact of nitrogen fertilization on the mineral intake of traditional maize cultivars has been widely presented in national and foreign literature. However, there are a limited number of papers comparing the volume of mineral intake and use between the traditional and the “stay-green”-types of cultivars. Moreover, according to the “minimum” principle, the component most deficient in the soil determines harvest volume. Magnesium is obviously one of the ingredients whose deficiency has been found in most of the soils in Poland, and this justifies research focusing on improving the precision of the technology concerning “stay-green”-type maize cultivar fertilization with nitrogen and magnesium, including the environmental aspects. The hybrid LG 2244 “stay-green”-type utilized to a higher degree nitrogen from the applied mineral fertilizer and showed a higher nitrogen harvest index, as compared with a traditional hybrid cultivar: Anjou 258. Increasing levels of nitrogen fertilization decreased N utilization by the plants and the nitrogen harvest index. The application of 15 kg Mg·ha -1 both broadcast and in rows caused increased nitrogen utilization from the mineral fertilizer, which was distinctly shown by the smaller amount of Nmin in the soil after the maize harvest.
Culture Wires the Brain

There is clear evidence that sustained experiences may affect both brain structure and function. Thus, it is quite reasonable to posit that sustained exposure to a set of cultural experiences and behavioral practices will affect neural structure and function. The burgeoning field of cultural psychology has often demonstrated the subtle differences in the way individuals process information—differences that appear to be a product of cultural experiences. We review evidence that the collectivistic and individualistic biases of East Asian and Western cultures, respectively, affect neural structure and function. We conclude that there is limited evidence that cultural experiences affect brain structure and considerably more evidence that neural function is affected by culture, particularly activations in ventral visual cortex—areas associated with perceptual processing.
Hybrid method to update the design flood shape for spillway operation in a dam: case study of the Huites Dam, Mexico

ABSTRACT To design and review the operation of spillways, it is necessary to estimate design hydrographs, considering their peak flow, shape and volume. A hybrid method is proposed that combines the shape of the design hydrograph obtained with the UNAM Institute of Engineering Method (UNAMIIM) with the peak flow and volume calculated from a bivariate method. This hybrid method is applied to historical data of the Huites Dam, Sinaloa, Mexico. The goal is to estimate return periods for the maximum discharge flows (that account for the damage caused downstream) and the maximum levels reached in the dam (measure of the hydrological dam safety) corresponding to a given spillway and its management policy. Therefore, to validate the method, the results obtained by the flood routing of the 50-year hydrograph are compared with those obtained by the flood routing of the three largest historical floods. Both maximum flow and elevation were in the range of values observed within 37.5–75 years corresponding to the length of the historical record.
A  $\mu $ -Controller-Based System for Interfacing Selectorless RRAM Crossbar Arrays

Selectorless crossbar arrays of resistive randomaccess memory (RRAM), also known as memristors, conduct large sneak currents during operation, which can significantly corrupt the accuracy of cross-point analog resistance (Mt) measurements. In order to mitigate this issue, we have designed, built, and tested a memristor characterization and testing (mCAT) instrument that forces redistribution of sneak currents within the crossbar array, dramatically increasing Mt measurement accuracy. We calibrated the mCAT using a custom-made 32 × 32 discrete resistive crossbar array, and subsequently demonstrated its functionality on solid-state TiO2-x RRAM arrays, on wafer and packaged, of the same size. Our platform can measure standalone Mt in the range of 1 kΩ to 1 MΩ with <;1% error. For our custom resistive crossbar, 90% of devices of the same resistance range were measured with <;10% error. The platform's limitations have been quantified using large-scale nonideal crossbar simulations.
Efficient RGB-D object categorization using cascaded ensembles of randomized decision trees

This paper presents an efficient framework for the categorization of objects in real-world scenes (captured with an RGB-D sensor). The proposed framework uses ensembles of randomized decision trees in a hierarchical cascaded architecture to compute consistent object-class inferences of unseen objects. Specifically, the proposed framework computes object-class probabilities at three levels of an image hierarchy (i.e., pixel-, surfel-, and object-levels) using Random Forest classifiers. Next, these probabilities are fused together to compute a cumulative probabilistic output which is used to infer object categories. This fusion results in an improved object categorization performance compared with the state-of-the-art methods.