Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning Curve of Laparoscopy-Assisted Gastrectomy Using a Standardized Surgical Technique and an Established Educational System

Background and Aims: The learning curve of a trainee for laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy in a high volume center, in which an educational system and a standardized laparoscopic procedure are already established, remains unclear. Material and Methods: The early surgical outcomes of the patients of two trainees were investigated. Both trainees followed a training program where they performed at least 20 cases being the camera assistant, 20 cases being the first assistant, before performing the surgery as an operator. Results: The average operation time, intraoperative bleeding, the number of retrieved lymph nodes, and morbidity rate were 240.2 min, 45.7 ml, 35.4, and 13.0%, respectively. There was no learning curve effect observed except with the operation time of one trainee. Conclusions: In a high volume center with an established educational system, trainees could perform laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy safely, although there might be a learning curve effect in operation time and the surgeries took longer operation time in trainee's initial cases.
Student Engagement with Technology: So, what’s it got to do with Learning?

This chapter explores significant findings from a two-year study of 9 and 10 year old students working in a technology-rich classroom in the northern region of New Zealand. It specifically reports on outcomes relating to the nature of student engagement with learning tasks while using the technology, and poses some questions about the nature of this learning, and how it occurred. Using a case study methodology, the research utilized innovative screen recording software that allowed for authentic data to be collected about student work processes and interactions, as they navigated their way through learning tasks using the technologies at their disposal. Findings indicate that while student engagement and what appeared to be ‘on task’ behaviors were high, this was often not focused towards meeting planned learning outcomes, and that while the technology was a valuable resource to support the learning of more capable and independent students, others struggled to gain any significant learning benefit from its availability.
Target lysis by human lak cells is critically dependent upon target binding properties, but LFA‐1, LFA‐3 AND ICAM‐1 are not the major adhesion ligands on targets

The cytotoxicity mediated by the CD2+ CD3− lymphocyte subset, either NK or LAK, is puzzling since no specific antigen recognition structures, equivalent to the CD3− associated het‐erodimer T‐cell receptor, have been recognized on these cells so far. The possibility exists that the CD3− cytotoxic effectors recognize their targets through non‐specific adhesion mechanisms. The goal of this study was: (a) to examine the correlation between binding properties and susceptibility to lysis of 6 informative target cell lines; (b) to evaluate the role, as ligands on these targets, of adhesion molecules such as LFA‐I, LFA‐3 and ICAM‐I. The effectors used in this study were IL‐2‐activated LGL, predominantly CD3, or highly purified CD3− lymphocytes from normal human donors. The 6 target lines studied included 2 pairs of EBV‐transformed B‐cell lines (721 LCL vs. 721.134, and MM vs. MM‐10F2) in which the parental lines were resistant to lysis while HLA variants were susceptible. A third pair was the Daudi Burkitt cell line, susceptible to LAK lysis, and an HLA‐positive transfected Daudi line which was more resistant to lysis. The binding properties of these targets to LAK effectors (conjugate formation) were evaluated using a sensitive double fluorescence flow cytometry method. In each pair examined, the susceptible targets formed more conjugates and were surrounded by more cytotoxic LAK effectors than their resistant counterparts, indicating that the conjugation properties of targets are closely correlated with their susceptibility to LAK lysis. The expression of adhesion molecules on the informative targets was examined by indirect immunofluorescence and their role was evaluated by inhibition of lysis after pre‐coating the targets with the relevant antibodies. The differences in the expression of the classical cell‐cell adhesion molecules LFA‐1, LFA‐3 and ICAM‐1 on the target surfaces were only marginal, insufficient to explain the striking differences in susceptibility to lysis and in binding properties. Coating the target cells with antibodies directed against these adhesion determinants had no effects on the lysis of susceptible target cells. The same antibodies reacting with the LAK effectors did inhibit lysis. Taken together, these results suggest that, on the targets, presently undefined membrane adhesion structures may have a major role in conjugate formation between target and CD3 effectors and determine the susceptibility of the targets to lysis.
Who Chose the Forgone Alternative?: the Effects of Social Comparison on Regret

Previous work on regret theory has demonstrated that regret occurs due to comparisons to forgone alternatives. We argue that regret is also likely to be impacted by social comparison to other individuals. In the first study we demonstrate that the effect of comparison to forgone alternatives is impacted by who chose the forgone alternative. In the second study, the effect of individual differences in attention to social comparison information is found to moderate the effect of social context on regret.
Seasonal Variation of Nutrient Removal in a Full-Scale Artificial Aerated Hybrid Constructed Wetland

To improve nutrient removal, a full-scale hybrid constructed wetland (CW) consisting of pre-treatment units, vertical-baffled flow wetlands (VBFWs), and horizontal subsurface flow wetlands (HSFWs) was installed in August 2014 to treat sewage wastewater. Artificial aeration (AA) was applied continuously in the VBFW stage to improve the aerobic condition in the hybrid CW. Water samples were collected and analyzed twice a month between the period of August 2015 and July 2016. The results suggest that this new hybrid CW can achieve a satisfactory reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) with average removal rates of 85% ± 10% (35% ± 19 g/m2 per day), 76% ± 18% (7% ± 2 g/m2 per day), 65% ± 13% (8% ± 2 g/m2 per day), and 65% ± 21% (1 g/m2 per day), respectively. AA significantly improved the aerobic condition throughout the experimental period, and the positive influence of AA on nitrogen removal was found to be higher during summer that during winter. A significant positive correlation between water temperature and nutrient removal (p < 0.01) was observed in the system. Overall, this study demonstrates the application of AA in a full-scale hybrid CW with satisfactory nutrient removal rates. The hybrid CW system with artificial aeration can serve as a reference for future applications areas where land availability is limited.
Short‐term sublethal (sediment and aquatic roots of floating macrophytes) assays with a tropical chironomid based on postexposure feeding and biomarkers

This study proposes assays with a freshwater chironomid, Chironomus xanthus, distributed over South America, based on subindividual (acetylcholinesterase activity) and individual (survival and postexposure feeding) level endpoints. Sediment and aquatic‐rooted floating macrophyte assays were developed, due to the importance of both substrates for toxicant exposure in subtropical/tropical environments. Assays were evaluated under realistic exposure scenarios by simulating a runoff over an agricultural field dosed with deltamethrin. In situ assays were performed within microcosms to discriminate the effects of deltamethrin from those of additional potential stress factors (organism handling and caging, microcosms, use of aquatic roots, and runoff per se). A laboratory sediment assay based on feeding was conducted with samples from the microcosms. In all assays, both sublethal endpoints were responsive to deltamethrin and more sensitive than survival. Survival and feeding were more sensitive in situ than in the laboratory. In the in situ sediment assays, both sublethal endpoints were within a similar range of sensitivity; they were significantly inhibited as of the lowest Decis dose, from approximately 20 to 70%. In situ feeding was more sensitive in the sediment than in the macrophyte assay, where it was inhibited significantly only at the two highest Decis doses (up to ˜60%). Larval performance was not influenced significantly by any of the other potential stress factors.
Immunoscintigraphy with 131I‐labelled monoclonal antibodies HMFG2 and HMFG1 F(ab')2 versus abdominal CT scan in the detection of residual disease in ovarian cancer patients

131I‐labelled HMFG2 or HMFG1 F(ab')2 monoclonal antibody (MAb) was administered intraperito‐neally to 15 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer who had completed chemotherapy and were in complete or good partial remission. Each patient received 2‐3 mCi. Patients were scanned immediately after and until 7 days post‐injection. In 3/15 patients the immunoscan failed because extensive adhesions from the previous surgery prevented MAb diffusion. Of the remaining 12 patients, 9 underwent second‐look laparotomy (SL). Immunoscan was true positive in 8/9 (89%) patients and equivocal in 1/9 (11%), whereas the abdominal CT scan gave true positive results in 6/9 (67%) patients. In 8 out of 9 patients there was a good correlation between distribution of all sites of abnormal uptake and the surgical findings at SL. Of the 3 patients not undergoing SL, the immunoscan was positive in all, whereas clinical examination and abdominal CT scan were negative. All 3 patients relapsed after 3, 4 and 5 months. Thus the total true positivity of immunoscan reached 92%, CT scan remaining at 50%. Immunoscan with Intraperitoneal administration of 131I‐labelled MAbs can thus accurately detect the presence of residual disease in ovarian cancer patients and appears more sensitive than abdominal CT scan.
Design of an accelerator-rich architecture by integrating multiple heterogeneous coarse grain reconfigurable arrays over a network-on-chip

This paper presents an accelerator-rich system-on-chip (SoC) architecture integrating many heterogeneous Coarse Grain Reconfigurable Arrays (CGRA) connected through a Network-on-Chip (NoC). The architecture is designed to maximize the reconfigurable processing capacity for the execution of massively parallel algorithms. The central node of the NoC contains a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) core that manages distribution of computing functions and data within the SoC while the other nodes contain CGRAs of application-specific sizes. Prior approaches coupled only a few accelerators with a RISC core using special instructions and/or a direct memory access device. In contrast, our design couples a RISC core to many CGRAs through the NoC. This approach provides for independent and simultaneous execution of multiple computing kernels. Furthermore, the proposed architecture mitigates power dissipation as CGRA sizes are tailored for the individual application kernels. We present a proof-of-concept design with a total of 408 reconfigurable processing elements. This instance and its sub-systems are customized and tested for different computationally-intensive signal processing algorithms. The overall single-chip computing system is synthesized for a Field Programmable Gate Array device. We present comparison to and evaluation against some of the existing multicore systems in terms of multiple performance metrics.
Determinantes do Bond Spread e do Credit Default Swap: Por que são diferentes? O caso da Petrobras

In this article, we study the main determinants of Petrobras' credit risk, measured through asset swap spreads (ASWs) and credit default swaps (CDS), replicating the main papers on the theme and analyzing whether the two products price risk differently. Our results allow us to conclude that, curiously, firm-specific (microeconomic) variables are little or no significant to explain the discrepancy between the markets, and that a large part of the difference between them (also known as the CDS-Bond Basis) may be explained by the response of each product to macroeconomic variables. The main contribution of this article is being the first in the literature addressing the theme credit risk or liquidity of a Brazilian company, from the viewpoint of bond spreads and CDS, traded in the foreign market, besides discussing why there is a difference between them.
Philosophical Debates in Marketing and the Application of Critical Realism to Online Relationship Marketing

Research paradigms form a critical part of research, defining what is to be studied by a researcher and how it is to be studied. Marketing researchers have engaged in philosophical debates on paradigms arguing on which paradigm best fits marketing science. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ontological, epistemological and methodological debates in the field of marketing, and justify the choice of one of the paradigms to undertake a research on online relationship marketing practices in the Ghanaian banking sector. The paper reviews five paradigms, namely interpretivism, positivism, realism, relativism and critical realism, as they underpin the key debates in marketing. Concerning relationship marketing, though the debates have between positivist and interpretive/phenomenology, a conciliatory view, embracing the strengths of different research methods used in the two paradigms, have been echoed. The paper makes a case for using critical realism for a research seeking to describe how Ghanaian banks develop online relationship marketing practices, and to determine the constituents of these practices. The paper explains the fit of the paradigm with the research topic and discusses how the research could be undertaken. The paper concludes that marketing researchers need to understand the dynamism of marketing concepts and identify appropriate research problems and questions which can be adequately addressed within their research paradigms.
Impact of climatic shocks on child human capital: evidence from young lives data

ABSTRACT This study attempts to assess the impact of two different climatic shocks, drought and excessive rainfall/flood, as perceived by households on child human capital across four countries: Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam – countries with diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Human capital, in this context, subsumes both child learning and health outcomes. The data source is the Young Lives Study and cross-sectional household data on the older cohort of children (between 14 and 16 years of age) are utilized, for the year 2009. The enrolment rate, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Cloze test and Math test scores are used as proxies for child learning outcomes. The health outcome variables being studied are the WHO-defined Body Mass Index z-scores and Height for Age z-scores. The overall objective is to study heterogeneity in responses to shock in terms of the development of human capital across the set of countries considered. Additionally, the study elaborates on the role of institutional help, during crisis, and the role of household characteristics in buffering these climatic shocks.
The Quantification and Graphic Display of Correlations Among Three Spike Trains

The correlation among three nerve cells may be plotted as a three-dimensional graph. On the graph's base all possible sequences of three spikes (one from each spike train) may be represented. The relative abundance of each possible sequence is plotted vertically above this base. The correlation may be estimated by dividing the base into triangular bins and counting the number of occurrences of a particular sequence that fall within each bin.
A combined mechanical and X‐ray diffraction study of stretch potentiation in single frog muscle fibres

1 The nature of the force (T) response during and after steady lengthening has been investigated in tetanized single muscle fibres from Rana temporaria (4 °C; 2.15 μm sarcomere length) by determining both the intensity of the third order myosin meridional X‐ray reflection (IM3) and the stiffness (e) of a selected population of sarcomeres within the fibre. 2 With respect to the value at the isometric tetanus plateau (T0), IM3 was depressed to 0.67 ± 0.04 during steady lengthening at ≈160 nm s−1 (T≈ 1.7) and recovered to 0.86 ± 0.05 during the 250 ms period of after‐stretch potentiation following the rapid decay of force at the end of lengthening (T≈ 1.3); under the same conditions stiffness increased to 1.25 ± 0.02 and to 1.12 ± 0.03, respectively. 3 After subtraction of the contribution of myofilaments to the half‐sarcomere compliance, stiffness measurements indicated that (1) during lengthening the cross‐bridge number rises to 1.8 times the original isometric value and the average degree of cross‐bridge strain is similar to that induced by the force‐generating process in isometric conditions (2.3 nm), and (2) after‐stretch potentiation is explained by a residual larger cross‐bridge number. 4 Structural data are compatible with mechanical data if the axial dispersion of attached heads is doubled during steady lengthening and recovers half‐way towards the original isometric value during after‐stretch potentiation.
Land cover change detection using unsupervised kernel C-means and multi-temporal SAR data

Land covers and uses are dynamically being changed over the time. Detection and identification of these changes is necessary and is the first step of any study or planning for natural resource management. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, thanks to its independence to weather conditions and sun illumination, is a powerful tool for these studies. In this research an unsupervised change detection framework based on the kernel-based clustering technique is presented. Kernel C-means algorithm is employed to separate the changes classes from the no-changes. This method is a non-linear algorithm which considers the contextual information. Using the kernel functions, the projecting of the data into a higher dimensional space helps to make the non-linear features more separable in a linear space. The proposed methodology has applied to dual-pol L-band SAR images acquired by the ALOS from Urmia Lake. Results show because of non-linear behavior of changed phenomenon, the algorithm leads to more reliable results.
MOLECULAR INSIGHTS ON BASAL-LIKE BREAST CANCER ADVANCES ON BASAL LIKE BREAST CANCER

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Heterogeneity of Reference Effects in the Competitive Newsvendor Problem

This paper incorporates the recently-proposed optimism-based reference point formulation into a competitive newsvendor model. The analysis shows that the heterogeneity of newsvendors' reference points can explain several regularities observed in recent experimental studies of newsvendor competition. Specifically, the observations that a behavioral newsvendor may ignore the orders of the competitor, receive a significantly smaller profit, or over-order when there is no expected demand overflow can all be attributed to the effects of heterogeneous reference points in our model's equilibrium. Extending the model to a two-tier supply chain also provides insights onto how behavioral biases impact wholesale price contracts.
The Evolution of a Tangible for Children's Conversations: Research Questions and Progress

Conversations and discussions in classrooms among children and with teachers are an important part of a learning environment. Social Learning (SL) curricula place special emphases on using conversations as learning tools to teach children positive social norms. Smart tangible objects, briefly, tangibles can help scaffold such conversations by promoting a multimodal experience. The presented PhD research aims at creating such tangibles. The design process is participatory, based on action-research: prototype solutions are rapidly developed; these are used by users and experts of the SL domain in the field, and their usage is reflected over to stir design directions or uncover design possibilities. This DC paper reports on the evolution of tangible prototypes: it shows how new design ideas emerged by moving designers into the field and making users adopt prototype solutions in their environment.
Integrated Reporting: An International Overview

This article analyses the determinants associated with the use of the Integrated Report (IR) as a corporate reporting model for sustainability information. IRs provide information regarding the use and interdependence of different company resources. The previous literature has identified determinants behind the presentation of IRs at the country level (legal system, investor protection, economic development, cultural characteristics) as well as at the company level (size, industry, verification of the sustainability report). Our work contributes to the literature by using a novel statistical approach that addresses the likelihood of the non‐independence of data: companies in the same country are more similar to one another than are companies from different countries. Our results confirm significant inter‐country variance, which may be partially explained by the existence of specific regulations and the individualism vs. collectivism dimension. Although we confirm the effect of company‐level determinants, our results do not support the role of specific variables tested as determinants.
Predicting Performance in High Technology Fields Using Rate Measures

Modern organizations require dynamic, and cognitively-complex, information-bases from their personnel. Methodology and knowledge requirements change constantly with new technological innovations. The use of traditional paper-and-pencil measures of achievement and ability cannot accurately assess learning acquisition in novel situations. Prediction criteria based on rate at which information is acquired rely less on past experience and education, and more on changes in performance over time. The present research, based on these information-processing assessment techniques, used Computerized Experimental Learning Techniques (CELTS) to measure rate and level of learning. These CELTS were used to predict the performance of students enrolled in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering classes. CELT-based learning level parameters contributed to prediction of course grade in the Computer Science and Engineering courses. Unique contributions of CELT learning rate measures were also determined after the variance in students' grade point averages were accounted for. Applications of the current research are important in the development of selection criteria for dynamic personnel postions. Future research is needed to document specific cognitive requirements of individual professions, and to develop computer-based techniques which assess these functions.