Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Results of European pooled analysis of IORT-containing multimodality treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer: adjuvant chemotherapy prevents local recurrence rather than distant metastases.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study is to analyze the pooled results of multimodality treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) in four major treatment centers with particular expertise in intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT). PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 605 patients with LARC who underwent multimodality treatment up to 2005 were studied. The basic treatment principle was preoperative (chemo)radiotherapy, intended radical surgery, IORT and elective adjuvant chemotherapy (aCT). In uni- and multivariate analyses, risk factors for local recurrence (LR), distant metastases (DM) and overall survival (OS) were studied. RESULTS Chemoradiotherapy lead to more downstaging and complete remissions than radiotherapy alone (P < 0.001). In all, 42% of the patients received aCT, independent of tumor-node-metastasis stage or radicality of the resection. LR rate, DM rate and OS were 12.0%, 29.2% and 67.1%, respectively. Risk factors associated with LR were no downstaging, lymph node (LN) positivity, margin involvement and no postoperative chemotherapy. Male gender, preoperatively staged T4 disease, no downstaging, LN positivity and margin involvement were associated with a higher risk for DM. A risk model was created to determine a prognostic index for individual patients with LARC. CONCLUSIONS Overall oncological results after multimodality treatment of LARC are promising. Adding aCT to the treatment can possibly improve LR rates.
The Team Coordination Game

Crisis response engenders a high-stress environment in which teams gather, transform, and mutually share information. Prior educational approaches have not successfully addressed these critical skills. The assumption has been that the highest fidelity simulations result in the best learning. Deploying high-fidelity simulations is expensive and dangerous; they do not address team coordination. Low-fidelity approaches are ineffective because they are not stressful. Zero-fidelity simulation develops and invokes the principle of abstraction, focusing on human-information and human-human transfers of meaning, to derive design from work practice. Our principal hypothesis is that crisis responders will experience zero-fidelity simulation as effective simulation of team coordination. We synthesize the sustained iterative design and evaluation of the Team Coordination Game. We develop and apply new experimental methods to show that participants learn to cooperate and communicate, applying what they learn in practice. Design implications address how to employ the abstraction principle to develop zero-fidelity simulations.
[CD40 ligandization promotes IL-6 and Flt3 ligand production of bone marrow stromal cells].

OBJECTIVE To analyze the expression of the CD(40) and its ligand (CD(40)L) on bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC), and investigate interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-6, Flt3 ligand (FL) and stem cell factor (SCF) production of BMSC after stimulated with CD(40) agonistic monoclonal antibody (5C11) and its role in the regulation of hematopoiesis. METHODS BMSC were freshly isolated from adult bone marrow. The expression of CD(40) on these cells was determined with flow cytometry, the concentrations of IL-3, IL-6, FL and SCF in the supernatant at 24, 48 and 72 hours after BMSC cultured with 5C11 at a dose of 20 micro g/ml were determined by the ELISA assay. After BMSC incubated with 5C11 for 24 hours, the supernatant was collected and cultured with purified cord blood CD(34)(+) cells for 7 days under 37 degrees C in a fully humidified atmosphere supplement with 5% CO(2). Colony formation assay and Annexin V assay were employed to determine the proliferation and apoptosis of the CD(34)(+) cells. RESULTS BMSC expressed CD(40) and the production of IL-6 and FL increased after stimulated with 5C11 while IL-3 and SCF had no change. The supernatant collected from the stimulated BMSC promoted proliferation of CD(34)(+) cells, increased the CFU-GM yields and had anti-apoptosis effects. CONCLUSION CD(40) ligandization on BMSC increased the production of IL-6 and FL and promoted the proliferation of CD(34)(+) cells. The couple CD(40)/CD(40)L may be involved in the control of hematopoiesis via modulation of the cytokine network in the bone marrow.
Computer Forensics Research and Implementation Based on NTFS File System

Based on NTFS file system, this paper proposed an algorithm of reconstructing directory tree above deleted files. Further more, by analyzing the internal structure of the NTFS file system in detailed, the storage principle of Data Runs in attribute 80 of MFT is clarified. Author analyzed some exceptions occurred during deleting files and compared the self-researched data recovery software named SmoothRecovery with the EasyRecovery appeared in the market. The result shows SmoothRecovery is more excellent than EasyRecovery on the efficiency of implementation.
The impact of volatility shifts on market efficiency: the case of four emerging Southeast Asian stock markets

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the behaviour of four Southeast Asian stock markets during the intervals of high uncertainties that accompany crises. Our analysis emphasises the effect of unexpected volatility shifts on market efficiency of the four emerging Southeast Asian markets over the past two decades. The purpose of this study is achieved through the iterated-cumulative-sum-of-squares-in-volatility (ICSS-EGARCH-M) model, a new approach in market efficiency studies. The empirical results of this study support rejection of the efficient market hypothesis for these markets, even when unexpected volatility shifts are integrated in the models. The results also provide significant empirical evidence for a positive risk-return tradeoff in the stock markets. Moreover, the stock markets are revealed to be more sensitive to global events than local. Except for the Philippines, asymmetrical responses to good and bad news are also part of the market behaviour for the markets.
Whose Agenda? "Partnership" and International Assistance to Democratization and Governance Reform in Indonesia

This article examines the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia, described as "an innovative co-operation arrangement among the Indonesian government, civil society organizations, the private sector and Indonesia's international development partners". It inquires into "whose agenda" prevails. Is there genuine "national ownership", with subordination of external activities to locally-devised reform strategies, as claimed? Alternatively, is "partnership" merely the latest ploy to disguise international intervention and simultaneously accord it greater legitimacy? Such questions are addressed by two means: first, by exploring whether the Partnership's reform agenda coincides with the main challenges to sustained democratization in Indonesia; and secondly, by examining the structure and activities of the Partnership and whether Indonesian or international influences predominate.
A context-aware, info-bead and fuzzy inference approach to notification management

Managing the growing influx of notification data being pushed at mobile phone users is an increasing necessity in today's world of social media and ubiquitous computing. The challenge of effectively managing a diverse range of notification types, and analyzing their current context with relation to an individual user, is a difficult task. This paper proposes a notification management framework which aims to contextually deliver notifications at the peak opportune time of users, thus relieving them of distractions caused by contextually irrelevant notifications. The proposed design is implemented using an info-bead modeling approach and fuzzy inference system and the solution is evaluated through a comparison between simulated and expected results for two real-world notification data-sets. It was concluded that the solution is effective when rich data sources are available and the fuzzy inference system is adequately personalized to the user.
Asymmetrical volumes of the right and left frontal and occipital regions of the human brain

The volume of a portion of the frontal and occipital lobes was measured in 40 brains in the Yakovlev Collection. In 32 cases the volume of the right frontal lobe was larger than that of the left; in the same number of cases the left occipital lobe was larger than the right (p < 0.01). The asymmetries existed in fetal brains as early as 20 weeks of gestation. The results confirm observations made with computed tomography and indicate that this nonrandom asymmetrical pattern is an early manifestation of human brain development.
UNCERTAINTY AND THE COST OF ACID RAIN CONTROL

This paper uses a utility capacity planning and dispatch model to examine the robustness of acid rain mitigation policies. The model meets electricity demand at the lowest economic cost while it responds to price or quantity signals for controlling emissions. The model is unique since it is couched in a risk analysis framework that captures the uncertainty in other economic parameters determining the utility's strategic choices–e.g., demand level and fuel prices. This permits one to compare various institutional settings for pollution control for both a world with perfect foresight and one with imperfect foresight. This exercise provides quantitative results on the cost of pollution control with price and quantity controls. It also provides a measure of the response of these cost functions to the uncertainty in other key parameters. Exploring the performance of various pollution control mechanisms has led to three findings: (i) that the performance of a price control mechanism is dependent on the level of emission reductions that one seeks, (ii) that regionally traded emission permits and emission fees are equally efficient regardless of the level of foresight, and (Hi) that emission fees lead to more stable electricity generation prices. Finally, the sensitivity analysis of the results under imperfect foresight suggest that uncertainties in the level of demand and load management success play an important role in determining future pollution control costs.
Property in Work: The Employment Relationship in the Anglo-American Firm

The notion of property in work has deep historical roots in the common law tradition, but is yet to receive the attention it deserves. In this timely and thought-provoking book, Wanjiru Njoya contrasts ideas of ownership and property rights in English, American and European labour law, and considers their practical implications. The author's contention that shared ownership within a stakeholder theory of the firm allows better protection of both shareholders' and employees' interests in the large public corporation, puts employee-participation firmly back on the corporate governance agenda. The book offers a refreshing new perspective on how a more socially desirable balance between economic flexibility and job security may be achieved.
NOTA TECNICA 1 TRANSMISION ELECTRICA Y LA "LEY CORTA": UNA NOTA SOBRE RIESGO Y LA TASA DE DESCUENTO *

Esta nota estudia los determinantes de la tasa apropiada para fijar peajes de transmision. Para ello se desarrolla un modelo simple que permite descomponerla en una suma de la tasa libre de riesgo y el premio por riesgo. Los principios generales son dos: (a) la tasa debiera ser variable y variar pari passu con la tasa libre de riesgo: si la tasa libre de riesgo sube, debiera subir la tasa, y lo contrario si baja. (b) Se deberia compensar al transmisor por (i) el “riesgo de oportunismo regulatorio”; (ii) la variabilidad no diversificable de las tarifas impuesta al transmisor por el metodo elegido para fijar tarifas, y (iii) tambien incluir un premio por iliquidez. La ley corta, sin embargo, le otorgaria al transmisor una tasa fija del 10%. Aproximando la tasa libre de riesgo por aquella pagada por un pagare reajustable del Banco Central (PRC) a 20 anos se utiliza el modelo para evaluar cual es el riesgo implicito que justifica una tasa de exactamente 10%. Finalmente, propongo un metodo para regular a
The Study on Incentive Mode Design of Pay-Through Phantom Equity

Phantom equity incentive in enterprises can be mainly divided into two modes: pay-through phantom equity and pure phantom equity. The main difference is whether the incentive object needs actual investment and whether they have phantom stock option. This research makes a comparative study on pay-through phantom equity and pure phantom equity, and designs a practical incentive mode of pay-through phantom equity.
Growth of infants and young children born small or large for gestational age: findings from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

OBJECTIVES To compare the growth profiles of infants and young children born small for gestational age (SGA, < 10th percentile birth weight for gestation) or large for gestational age (LGA, > or =90th percentile) with those appropriate for gestational age, and to document the expected growth patterns through early childhood based on national health examination survey data. SAMPLE Infants and children, 2 to 47 months of age, who were born in the United States and examined using the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Measurements of growth status based on normalized distributions (z scores or standard deviation units [SDUs] for weight, length, and head circumference. RESULTS Prevalence rates were as follows: SGA infants, 8.6%; appropriate for gestational age infants, 80.9%; and LGA infants, 10.5%. Infants who were SGA appeared to catch up in weight in the first 6 months, but thereafter maintained a deficit of about -0.75 SDUs compared with infants who were appropriate for gestational age. The weight status of LGA infants remained at about +0.50 SDUs through 47 months of age. Length and head circumference were also associated with birth weight status, averaging over -0.60 SDUs for SGA infants and +0.43 SDUs for LGA infants. CONCLUSIONS Birth weight status is related to growth rates in infancy and early childhood, which underscores the importance of considering child growth relative to birth status when using growth charts. Small for gestational age infants remain shorter and lighter and have smaller head circumferences, while LGA infants grow longer and heavier and have larger head circumferences.
A 100 MHz 91.5% Peak Efficiency Integrated Buck Converter With a Three-MOSFET Cascode Bridge

High-switching frequency dc-dc converters are present in many applications, where wide regulation bandwidth and high efficiency are needed. A three-MOSFET cascode bridge is presented to get full benefit from digital CMOS technology advancements. Three-dimensional assembly with a capacitive interposer is proposed for high-frequency efficient decoupling. A test-chip is designed in 40-nm CMOS technology, validating the operation and the efficiency performance of the converter using the proposed cascode bridge. A conversion peak efficiency of 91.5% is demonstrated when converting 3.3 to 2.4 V with a 150-mA load current, while switching at 100 MHz.
An audio-visual sensor fusion approach for feature based vehicle identification

In this article we present our software framework for embedded online data fusion, called I-SENSE. We discuss the fusion model and the decision modeling approach using support vector machines. Due to the system complexity and the genetic approach a data oriented model is introduced. The main focus of the article is targeted at our techniques for extracting features of acoustic-and visual-data. Experimental results of our "traffic surveillance" case study demonstrate the feasibility of our multi-level data fusion approach.
Escaping the Samaritan's Dilemma: Implications of a Dynamic Model of Altruistic Intergenerational Transfers

This paper explores how altruistic parents structure transfer rules in response to potential incentive problems and how the investment behavior of children is influenced by these transfer policies. To investigate these issues, I develop a dynamic model of altruistic transfers in which transfers can be tied to the purchase of human capital investment. Numerical solutions are examined to provide insight into the predictions of the model for transfer behavior and investment by family size. The dynamic framework developed in the paper is used to guide the interpretation of data on transfers and education investment by children in the Health and Retirement Survey. The data are consistent with the prediction of the model that children in larger families invest more in education conditional on initial transfers.
Nucleotide‐mediated calcium signaling in rat cortical astrocytes: Role of P2X and P2Y receptors

ATP is the dominant messenger for astrocyte‐to‐astrocyte calcium‐mediated communication. Definition of the exact ATP/P2 receptors in astrocytes and of their coupling to intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) has important implications for brain physiology and pathology. We show that, with the only exception of the P2X6 receptor, primary rat cortical astrocytes express all cloned ligand‐gated P2X (i.e., P2X1–5 and P2X7) and G‐protein‐coupled P2Y receptors (i.e., P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, P2Y6, and P2Y12). These cells also express the P2Y‐like UDP‐glucose receptor, which has been recently recognized as the P2Y14 receptor. Single‐cell image analysis showed that only some of these receptors are coupled to [Ca2+]i. While ATP induced rapid and transient [Ca2+]i increases (counteracted by the P2 antagonists suramin, pyridoxal‐phosphate‐6‐azophenyl‐2′‐4′‐disulfonic acid and oxidized ATP), the P2X1/P2X3 agonist αβmeATP produced no changes. Conversely, the P2X7 agonist BzATP markedly increased [Ca2+]i; the presence and function of the P2X7 receptor was also confirmed by the formation of the P2X7 pore. ADP and 2meSADP also produced [Ca2+]i increases antagonized by the P2Y1 antagonist MRS2179. Some cells also responded to UTP but not to UDP. Significant responses to sugar‐nucleotides were also detected, which represents the first functional response reported for the putative P2Y14 receptor in a native system. Based on agonist preference of known P2 receptors, we conclude that, in rat astrocytes, ATP‐induced calcium rises are at least mediated by P2X7 and P2Y1 receptors; additional receptors (i.e., P2X2, P2X4, P2X5, P2Y2, P2Y4, and P2Y14) may also contribute. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Decline of the Franchised Dealer in the Automobile Repair Market

In the past fifteen years, a pronounced trend has developed in the automobile repair market. Franchised vehicle dealers, once dominant in performing repair services, have lost a large share of this market to independent garages and gasoline service stations. While this trend might be expected with increasing size of local repair markets, the magnitude of the dealers' decline is so large as to require additional explanation.
Managed Activism: Two Union Organising Campaigns in the Not-for-Profit Sector

Two union recognition campaigns are contrasted: one focusing on developing workplace activism but with little sectoral focus (a 'bottom-up' campaign), and the other with a sectoral strategy and less emphasis on workplace campaigning (a 'top-down' campaign). The outcomes indicate the need for approaches, which allow both a strong workplace activism and a clear sectoral strategy as both the 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' strategies present difficulties. Although there are positive outcomes in both campaigns, the cases show that unions seeking to represent the interests of previously unorganised groups of workers need influence at both the sectoral and workplace levels if they are to demonstrate their effectiveness.
Employee involvement and quality management

This paper records the research on the investigation of the empirical relationship between employee involvement (EI) and quality management. It is based on data from a survey of 180 manufacturing companies. The main findings are: EI is positively correlated with total quality management (TQM) enablers; EI is positively correlated with improvements in business performance; EI positively influences the contribution of TQM to the improvement of business performance; EI is marginally related to ISO registration; and EI has no effect on the contribution of ISO 9000 registration. The conclusion is that EI should be incorporated into TQM and ISO 9000 registration. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed.
Financial Autarchy as Contagion Prevention: The Case of Colombian Pension Funds

Regulations restricting investment by pension funds in high-risk and foreign assets may quarantine member accounts from contagious transmissions during financial crises. We analyze contagion from U.S. equity markets to emerging market autarchic assets (Colombian private pension funds) during the recent financial crises. We test for volatility contagion between financial asset returns using a multivariate GARCH (M-GARCH) framework, where the S&P 500 is the source of contagion to the autarchic asset. We find no evidence of volatility contagion during the 2007-9 crises, indicating protection due to regulated portfolio restrictions. However, there is evidence of contagion during the recent sovereign debt crisis.
Uncommon School Spending, Uncommon Results: A Fiscal Analysis of Spending in New York State Schools Closing Racial Test Score Gaps

Do schools that have been successful at reducing test score gaps between white students and students of color allocate resources differently than unsuccessful schools? This paper aims to answer that question, as there is little work at the school level correlating education expenditures to student outcomes. This analysis benefits from three features of expenditure data available in one New York State school district. The first is that these data are available at the school level, not the district level as is often the case. Second, not only overall levels of spending per pupil are available (i.e., total spending per pupil and total instructional spending per pupil), but also functional areas of spending disaggregated to such line items as professional development, classroom paraprofessionals, and principal compensation. Third, the spending data allow us to analyze expenditures on these line items not only for all students but also for two types of students: full-time special education and general education. Up to this point, the literature linking financial resources to student outcomes does not strongly support a relationship between school inputs and outputs. However, not much of that work has benefited from the same disaggregated, school-level spending data for different types of students. It is hoped that this analysis - combined with lessons from previously completed case studies of three successful schools - will contribute some insight into the mechanisms involved in reducing test score gaps in middle and elementary schools. In the end analysis, we find that successful schools, despite instructional level and despite type of student, spend significantly more (statistically) on human resources than on other sorts of resources such as textbooks, library books, or instructional supplies, computer, and equipment. This overarching lesson reflects that taken from the original case studies: our analysis suggests successful schools emphasize human resources, resulting in better teacher and administrator attitudes, lower turnover, and teachers who are more satisfied with their school’s leadership, which in turn lead to better educated students and environments that allow for test score gaps to be eliminated. Further, we find that disaggregated data - such as those provided for this study - are necessary as statistically-significant measures of activities taking place inside schools.