Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Promising Approach for Primary Cytoreductive Surgery for Advanced Ovarian Cancer: Survival Outcomes and Step-by-Step Description of Total Retroperitoneal en-Bloc Resection of Multivisceral-Peritoneal Packet (TROMP)

(1) Background: A complete tumor resection during primary cytoreductive surgery has been reported to be the most important and perhaps the only independent prognostic factor in advanced ovarian cancers. The goal of complete cytoreduction needs to be weighed against the potential morbidities and long-term survival outcomes. (2) Methods: in this retrospective analysis of a prospectively obtained database, 208 consecutive patients with advanced ovarian cancer who underwent a conventional primary cytoreductive surgery (150 patients) or TROMP technique (58 patients) were included. Progression-free and overall survival rates were calculated using Kaplan–Meier analysis as well as the 95% confidence interval of the hazard ratio between treatment groups. (3) Results: After a median follow-up phase of more than 3 years (range 1–72 months), there are no statistically significant differences between both groups in progression-free and overall survival rates. Albeit, the TROMP group included statistically significant more advanced-stage cases compared to the conventional surgery group. (4) Conclusions: the TROMP technique is a promising tool for successful primary cytoreductive surgery in a selected group of patients with high tumor burdens in order to achieve optimal surgical results and survival outcomes without introducing any additional risks or complications.
A novel privacy preserving blockchain based secure storage framework for electronic health records

Abstract Despite the continuous improvement of healthcare technology, implementing a patient health record system still has a significant challenge due to its sensitivity. Apart from storing and sharing patient data across various healthcare facilities, the system also has a tendency to distribute the data among various providers. Most patient health record systems (EHRs) use a centralized management structure to store and transmit patient information. This approach can create privacy concerns as it transfers sensitive information to a healthcare facility. Digitized Electronic Health Record EHRs that stores the patient’s medical history gathers from various IoT devices or from the centralized or decentralized database. These database records are often shared among various healthcare organizations. Most patient health record systems typically adopt a centralized approach and store their patient information in the cloud. This approach can raise privacy concerns due to the amount of sensitive information that is stored in the cloud. This paper proposes blockchain framework for secured electronic health records sharing and provides full data access to the patient, who is the owner of his health records. With this novel approach, our framework applies the Ethereum blockchain smart contracts, the Inter-Planetary File System (IPFS) as an off-chain storage system and key management. Blockchain based encryption creates an effective approach while sharing health records in distributed framework. Proposed framework is more secure than previously available framework. EHR’s will not be accessible from unauthorized users.
Engaging with self-tracking applications: how do users respond to their performance data?

ABSTRACT Self-tracking devices and applications have become popular in recent years and changed user behaviour. Previous research has primarily focused on the adoption of self-tracking devices and their effects on self-assessment. As adoption increases, user engagement becomes prominent for the continuous use of the devices and the applications. In this study, we focus on user engagement with activity tracking applications, e.g., Fitbit Flex and Jawbone Up that offer data on user performance. We collected data from semi-structured interviews with 54 participants. We propose a process model comprising four stages which involve distinct user interactions with data: review, react, reflect, and respond. We advance research in this domain by the proposed process model that explicates user engagement in two cases: when the user encounters satisfactory or unsatisfactory results. In the latter case, we depict four response tactics when users are confronted with unsatisfactory results.
Proper Power Azimuth Spectrum Estimation for MIMO Channels via Gans Mapping Inversion

The use of antenna arrays is indispensable in radar and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communications areas, as it permits the treatment of wavefronts in the spatial domain, enabling important applications such as beamforming and target detection. Spatial information is commonly given in terms of spatial correlation functions (SCFs), but its representation in terms of angular domain, such as the power azimuth spectrums (PASs), is sometimes more convenient. Therefore, transforming from SCF to PAS, and vice versa, is often required. This is commonly done by employing so-called beamformers, where the Bartlett beamformer (BB) is the most commonly utilized. However, the use of beamformers alone is not enough for retrieving PAS information from a given SCF. Particularly, this paper shows that a non-linear operation is missing in relating SCFs to PASs as provided by current beamformers. The paper also shows the mathematical expressions that correctly relate SCFs to PASs and wavenumber spectrums (WNSs) for the general case of systems with antenna arrays. The developed theory results in two new beamformers, which, corroborated by simulation results, solve any previous inconsistency in estimating PASs from SCFs.
Microbial Limit and Bioburden Tests: Validation Approaches and Global Requirements,Second Edition

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Performance Evaluation of Photo-Voltaic fed Brushless Direct Current Motor for Agricultural applications

This work presents an effective approach towards reduction of steps in power conversion from solar photovoltaic system to load. When a Photovoltaic system is fed to an induction motor, it requires MPPT controller and an Inverter circuit in first and second stages since Induction motor works with a.c supply. By eliminating the Inverter circuit and employing a BLDC motor the efficiency of the system can be improved. The BLDC motor works under Electronic commutation principle with VSI embedded in the motor. A PV Panel fed to the "R" load with Hill Climbing MPPT is considered along with practical irradiance data. Simulation is carried out by formulating the mathematical model for the photovoltaic source, MPPT, Motor. System performance‟s are investigated under different levels of solar insolation.
Occlusion-aware Motion Planning with Visibility Maximization via Active Lateral Position Adjustment

As the operational domain of autonomous vehicles expands, encountering occlusions during navigation becomes unavoidable. Most of the existing research on occlusion-aware motion planning focuses only on the longitudinal motion of the ego vehicle and neglects its lateral motion, resulting in output motion that can be overly conservative. This paper proposes a motion planner capable of actively adjusting the ego vehicle’s lateral position to minimize occlusions. The proposed planner is applicable in various scenarios and can function under perception uncertainty. This work also extends our previously proposed 3D visibility estimation approach for addressing occlusions caused by objects which are not present in HD maps. The proposed planner first generates candidate trajectories. The current and future visibility of each trajectory is then estimated using live LiDAR data and HD maps. These estimated visibilities are converted into visibility costs, which are then used to determine the optimal output trajectory in conjunction with other planning costs. The proposed planner is tested in three scenarios using the CARLA simulator: an occluded T-junction crossing, turning at a low-visibility corner and preparing to pass a parked vehicle, using live localization and object detection results. The experimental results reveal that the proposed planner allows the ego vehicle to minimize occlusions by diverging from the center of the lane and, consequently, to discover occluded vehicles earlier than a baseline planner in most situations. Moreover, occlusions caused by a parked vehicle not present in the HD maps were estimated correctly using our extended visibility estimation method.
DEEP LEARNING-BASED ROAD SEGMENTATION OF 3D POINT CLOUDS FOR ASSISTING ROAD ALIGNMENT PARAMETERIZATION

Abstract. The need for transportation infrastructure digitalization is becoming more important, and efficient data collection and processing workflows have to be established and pose a great research challenge. This paper presents a fully automated method for the geometric parametrization of the road alignment from 3D point clouds acquired with a low-cost mobile mapping system. It exploits the Point Transformer Deep Learning architecture in order to segment the 3D point cloud in four different classes, which include road markings. Those markings are then used as a reference to extract the alignment trajectory path, classify its geometries (straight lines, circular arcs, and clothoids) and then parametrize it, extracting data to easily generate alignment data that may follow the standard schema of the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). Both the deep learning architecture and the geometry parametrization process show promising results to develop automatic workflows that extract precise as-built data of the infrastructure from 3D point clouds.
A generic topography reconstruction method based on multi‐detector backscattered electron images

Surface topographies can be reconstructed from backscattered electron (BSE) images captured from different detector orientations. This article presents a very general approach to this problem, in the spirit of photometric stereo methods, allowing for arbitrary BSE detector number (at least 3) and shapes. The general idea is to both determine the (non‐linear) model parameters and compute the surface topography so that the modelled images match at best the acquired ones. Three samples are used for validation of the measured topography with respect to atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements. Root mean square (RMS) errors in the range of 10–35 nm, or 1–1.5% of total sampleheight, are obtained.
A Periodic Coplanar Strips Leaky-Wave Antenna with Horizontal Wide-Angle Beam Scanning and Stable Radiation

A periodic leaky-wave antenna with unidirectional horizontal radiation and wide-angle beam-scanning capacity through broadside is presented. The proposed antenna is made of a slow-wave coplanar strips line with open-ended slots and short-ended slots etched on the two strips respectively. The energy leaks mainly from the open-ended slots, contributing to the horizontal radiation of the antenna. Consequently, the constraint of the ground plane on the radiation patterns is reduced, suggesting the potential of the proposed structure to break the scanning range limitation of the traditional leaky-wave antennas. The scanning range of leaky-wave antennas are determined theoretically by the normalized phase constant. Therefore, the slow-wave structure is utilized to ensure the normalized phase constant of the n = -1 harmonic varying from -1 to 1. Subsequently, a pair of extended slots are introduced to the slow-wave leaky-wave antenna unit cell to eliminate the open-stop band effect. As a validation of the proposed antenna, a prototype with broadside frequency of 10 GHz is designed, fabricated, and measured. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulated results. It is shown that the fabricated antenna scans from -75° to 83° in the horizontal plane with eliminated open-stop band and measured gain variation of 2.65 dB.
Modeling and control techniques for a class of mobile-robot error recovery problems

A robot's locomotion mode fails when its environmental contacts fail, a situation called a locomotion error. For example, a legged robot cannot move when its leg becomes trapped in a crevice, and a wheeled robot is handicapped when its wheels skid. How can a robot recover when its standard locomotion mode fails? One way is to utilize any remaining freedoms to move the robot to a situation where the robot's standard locomotion mode is again feasible. However, planning and control for such unconventional motion is difficult, since the relationship between the robot's controls and its motion in a locomotion error is unclear. This complexity when combined with the uncertainty in environmental interaction (perceived as an "element of luck") in a locomotion error appears as a lack of structure, inducing operators to sometimes use random escape maneuvers. This thesis proposes finding recovery strategies by exploiting the structure inherent to the robot's constrained mobility and environmental interaction in the locomotion error. A robot equipped with multiple locomotion modes can choose between them depending on the circumstance, ultimately contributing to robust mobility. While robotic locomotion fails in many ways depending on the robot's design and the environmental interaction, this thesis finds novel recovery modes involving a combination of direct actuation and dynamically coupled actuation for two specific locomotion errors: first, a high-centered legged robot, where the robot's legs dangle in air; and second, a car trapped in a slippery pit. In the high-centered robot problem, we present a novel locomotion mode called "legless locomotion", that allows the robot to locomote by rocking its body back and forth using leg swing without feedback about the robot's body motions. We use experiments and computer simulation to identify legless locomotion's properties and use simple models to derive an approximate control technique. In the car-in-ditch problem, we use computer simulation to find a control strategy involving wheel torques and an active-suspension that allows the car to roll out of the pit, while minimizing work done and perturbations to the car body. Finally, we present a classification structure for locomotion errors based on environmental influence.
Turkish Pre-Service Teachers' Experiences with Contemporary Technology Games and Perceptions About Teaching with Instructional Games

The present study investigates pre-service teachers' experience about playing technology games and their opinions about using contemporary technology to play games as an instructional tool. The participants are 272 pre-service teachers from a university in Middle Anatolia. The present study used mixed methods. The data was collected through an online survey that was created by the authors. The survey contains demographic questions about the participants` gender, major, whether they play technology games or not, and questions about which technology games they play, their opinions about using technology (IWBs and tablets) to play games for instruction, and for which instructional purposes they plan using technology to play games. Following research questions were investigated for the current study: 1. Whether pre-service teachers play technology games or not? If yes, which technology games they play? 2. Whether pre-service teachers plan to use interactive white boards and tablets that were distributed by the government under FATIH project to play technology games for educational purposes? 3. Whether pre-teachersâ€™ opinions about using the IWBs and tablets to play instructional games associated with their gender and playing technology games? 4. For which instructional purposes pre-service teachers plan to use IWBs and tablets to play instructional games? For the second and third questions descriptive statistics and crosstabs were conducted. For the first and fourth questions content analysis was applied. Fifty-four percent (n=148) of the pre-service teachers agreed to use the IWBs and tablets to play technology games for educational purposes while 46% (n=124) did not. There is no statistically significant association between gender and plans using the IWBs and tablets to play instructional games. There was a statistically significant association between who Playing Technology Games and Plans Using IWBs and Tablets to Play Instructional Games. Pre-service teachers who play technology games reported higher scores than the ones who do not play technology games. The participants suggested that using IWBs and tablets to play games would make learning fun and easy. The study has implications for teacher education and K-12 education policy. The present study also adds to the knowledge of whether the Y-generation pre-service teachers find the recent technology games useful for education or not.
Enterprise Support Systems: Nature and Relevance

The ‘nature versus nurture’ debate on entrepreneurship and new venture facilitation has been inconclusive. This is apparently because of an improper understanding of the differential roles of the various elements constituting the entrepreneurial environment. In an earlier paper by Manimala (2008)* the entrepreneurial environment was classified into the General and Task environments – the former constituted by the economic, legal-political, infrastructural, and socio-cultural (including the family socialization and early stage education) that contribute to the development of entrepreneurial individuals in the society, and the latter by the higher education and research institutions, banking and financial institutions, training and consulting organizations, legal and commercial services, and industry-specific infrastructure (such as industrial estates, science and technology parks, business incubators, etc) that channelize the entrepreneurial individuals into the fields of industry and commerce. The present paper renames these major categories as ‘Formative’ and ‘Facilitative’ environments respectively to bring out the nature of their impact more clearly, and describes the roles of their constituent elements more specifically based on a comprehensive review of prior research on them. Recognizing that the changes in the facilitative environment will be ineffective without the corresponding changes in the formative environment and that the latter is slower and more difficult to change, this paper recommends that the most feasible and productive intervention in this regard would be to make changes in the ‘Learning System’ of the country. [*Manimala, M. J. (2008) “Entrepreneurship education in India: An assessment of SME training needs against current practices”, international Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 8(6): pages 624-647].
A Grid Frequency Support Control Strategy of The Three Phase Cascaded H-bridge based Photovoltaic Generation System

Due to advantages such as being clean and safe, photovoltaic (PV) generation has become an effective way to solve the energy crisis and environmental pollution problems. However, the PV inverter does not have inertia and damping characteristics. With the increased penetration of the PV generation into the power system, large-scale PV grid-connection has posed a great challenge to grid frequency stability. Cascaded H-bridge (CHB) inverter has become a promising candidate for the PV generation system by virtue of advantages such as modular structure and direct grid-connection without power frequency transformers. An inverter control strategy with grid frequency support function is proposed in this paper for the three phase CHB based PV generation system. With the PV string active power reserve, grid frequency dynamic characteristics are improved without energy storage devices. In order to solve the common module power unbalance problem for the CHB topology, the PV string output power is controlled to be balanced with the reserved power distribution control between PV strings proposed in this paper. The H-bridge inverter input power balance is maximized, and balanced three phase grid-connected current output is achieved. The over-modulation risk of H-bridge modules is reduced. At last, simulation models are built in Matlab/Simulink, and a 10kW experimental platform is also built. The effectiveness of the control strategy proposed is validated by simulation and experimental results.
Marine Biomass-Supported Nano Zero-Valent Iron for Cr(VI) Removal: A Response Surface Methodology Study

Heavy metal ions such as Cr(VI) pose great hazards to the environment, which requests materials and methods for decontamination. Nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) has emerged as a promising candidate for Cr(VI) removal. Herein, harnessing the merits of marine biomass, a heterogeneous water treatment system for the decontamination of Cr(VI) is developed based on the in situ immobilization of nZVI on the seashell powder (SP)-derived porous support. A response surface methodology (RSM) study involving three independent factors is designed and conducted to direct material synthesis and reaction design for products with optimal performances. Under optimal synthetic conditions, the nZVI-loaded seashell powder (SP@nZVI), which is characterized in detail by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), results in a 79% increase in the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) compared to free nZVI. Mechanism studies show that the removal of Cr(VI) by SP@nZVI conforms to the Langmuir adsorption model with a quasi-second order kinetic equation, in which redox reactions between nZVI and Cr(VI) occurred at the SP surface. The results of this work are expected to benefit the reuse of bioresource waste in developing environmental remediation materials.
Does the Response Options Placement Provide Clues to the Correct Answers in Multiple-choice Tests? A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT Multiple-choice tests are widely used in education, often for high-stakes assessment purposes. Consequently, these tests should be constructed following the highest standards. Many efforts have been undertaken to advance item-writing guidelines intended to improve tests. One important issue is the unwanted effects of the options’ position on test outcomes. Any possible effects should be controlled through an adequate response options placement strategy. However, literature is not straightforward about how test developers arrange options. Therefore, this research synthesis systematically reviewed studies examining adherence to options placement guidelines. Relevant item features, such as the item source (standardized or teacher-made tests) and the number of options were considered. Results show that answer keys’ distribution across tests is often biased, which might provide examinees with clues to select correct options. Findings also show that options are not always arranged in a “logical” fashion (numerically, alphabetically…) despite being suited to be so arranged. The reasons underlying non-adherence to options placement guidelines are discussed, as is the appropriateness of observed response options placement strategies. Suggestions are provided to help developers better arrange items options.