Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and Validation of Nomograms to Predict Cancer-Specific Survival and Overall Survival in Elderly Patients With Prostate Cancer: A Population-Based Study

Objective Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common non-cutaneous malignancy in men worldwide. Accurate predicting the survival of elderly PC patients can help reduce mortality in patients. We aimed to construct nomograms to predict cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) in elderly PC patients. Methods Information on PC patients aged 65 years and older was downloaded from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to determine independent risk factors for PC patients. Nomograms were developed to predict the CSS and OS of elderly PC patients based on a multivariate Cox regression model. The accuracy and discrimination of the prediction model were tested by the consistency index (C-index), the area under the subject operating characteristic curve (AUC), and the calibration curve. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was used to test the clinical value of the nomograms compared with the TNM staging system and D’Amico risk stratification system. Results 135183 elderly PC patients in 2010-2018 were included. All patients were randomly assigned to the training set (N=94764) and the validation set (N=40419). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression model analysis revealed that age, race, marriage, histological grade, TNM stage, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, biopsy Gleason score (GS), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were independent risk factors for predicting CSS and OS in elderly patients with PC. The C-index of the training set and the validation set for predicting CSS was 0.883(95%CI:0.877-0.889) and 0.887(95%CI:0.877-0.897), respectively. The C-index of the training set and the validation set for predicting OS was 0.77(95%CI:0.766-0.774)and 0.767(95%CI:0.759-0.775), respectively. It showed that the proposed model has excellent discriminative ability. The AUC and the calibration curves also showed good accuracy and discriminability. The DCA showed that the nomograms for CSS and OS have good clinical potential value. Conclusions We developed new nomograms to predict CSS and OS in elderly PC patients. The models have been internally validated with good accuracy and reliability and can help doctors and patients to make better clinical decisions.
Mega‐Depressions on the Cocos Ridge: Links Between Volcanism, Faults, Hydrothermal Circulation, and Dissolution

High‐resolution bathymetry and three‐dimensional seismic data along the Cocos Ridge reveal a 245 km2 field of ∼1–4 km in diameter seafloor depressions. The seafloor depressions are part of a two‐tiered honeycomb pattern. The lower‐tier depressions have steep faults that truncate strata with chaotic internal reflections consistent with sediment collapse into the depression. These extend into a lens shaped interval just above igneous basement. Overlying these depressions is a second broader set with rough seafloor morphology with gently dipping boundaries defined by pinch‐out stratigraphic patterns. Drilling results indicate that the lens‐shaped zones that host the deeper depressions represent anomalous regions of high porosity, low velocity, and low density within calcareous rich sediment. Analysis of nannofossils from IODP Site U1414 suggests the collapse structures formed during the late Miocene, whereas the younger shallower depressions likely formed between the early Pliocene and the Pliocene‐Pleistocene boundary. Geochemical and petrological analysis at Site U1414 suggests that hydrothermal circulation during the late Miocene led to carbonate dissolution and collapse. Following collapse, focused fluid‐flow and bottom current scouring resulted in formation of the overlying set of depressions and a honeycomb seafloor morphology. Similar sets of depressions along the Carnegie Ridge to the south support the hypothesis that two‐tiered depressions formed in response to processes that occurred broadly across the Panama Basin between the late Miocene and the Pliocene‐Pleistocene transition. Geochemical results at Site U1414, combined with geophysical data, suggest this two‐tiered system of depressions currently guides ongoing fluid outflow.
Keep calm—this is a judgment-free zone: teacher perceptions about classroom intervisitations

PurposeThis article aims to consider teacher's views about intervisitations regarding its application and its usefulness as a community-enhancer. Many educators venture into the world of teaching because they love learning and value learning from their peers (rather than merely from text or administrators); however, teacher reservations or hesitations towards the practice of engaging in intervisitations do exist and can serve as an obstacle.Design/methodology/approachThe findings reported in this study resulted from the analysis of two teacher's perspectives towards classroom intervisitations. The subset of data presented in this study resulted from the surveys and semi-structured interviews that were conducted. Qualitative methodology was used to address the research question as it allows for a greater exploration, description and ideally the emotions of participants/teachers. The coding process consisted of open coding, which then led to axial coding and the elevation of codes to themes.FindingsIn this study, teacher buy-in would be enhanced through the protocol feeling more personalized, less-dictated and more flexible in its execution, especially through the support of administrators and district leaders. In addition, teacher mindsets and perceptions also need some reshifting and should be part of the professional development process involving intervisitation roll-outs as any hesitations/limitations/and lack of willingness need to be honed in on and prioritized. Lastly, limiting teachers from an appropriate amount of time to complete such work may also encourage shallow collaboration among teachers instead of in-depth reflexive practice. By prioritizing intervisitations and/or inter-teacher collaboration in the building and allowing teachers to embark on professional development sessions with each other as a means of growing as a teacher and community, all will flourish.Originality/valueThrough examining the narratives of two educators, it was found that teacher willingness to partake in intervisitations is dependent on the school climate, particularly with regards to trust and a yearn-to-learn among inter-school peers and administrators. In addition, providing ample time and educating teachers on the benefits of such practices enhances one's wanting to independently venture into such work.
A Qualitative Review of Pre-Service Training of Educational Psychology Consultants in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT In the field of Educational Psychology, consultation is both a core competency to be achieved by the end of pre-service training and a practice that infuses all aspects of service delivery post-qualification. The present study aimed to explore the perspectives of university educators on preparing trainee educational psychologists to consult, especially following significant systemic change at social-political and professional standard levels. A qualitative exploratory design was chosen to inform semi-structured interviews with 14 participants from 16 universities in the United Kingdom providing post-graduate training. These interviews were analyzed thematically, with 10 over-arching themes identified. Themes are discussed across three aspects: (i) systemic factors, (ii) facilitators and barriers in consultation training in the current UK context and (iii) curriculum content and pedagogic methods used in consultation training at pre-service level. Strengths, limitations, and implications for applied practice and future research are discussed.
PRACTICE AND PROBLEMS OF HUMAN RESOURCES PLANNING IN ADDIS ABABA FOAM AND PLASTICS FACTORY

The purpose of the study was to describe the practice and the problems of planning human resources in Addis Ababa Foam and Plastics Factory. The quality of the products and the services offered and the production capacity are directly dependent on adequate planning and informed management of the human resources is essential. However, there are significant variations in actual practice of planning human resources and associated problems in companies which are being engaged in various business activities. The general objective of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the practice of planning human resources and the problems in the Factory in Akaki area. In the study, nonexperimental research design, quantitative and qualitative research approaches, particularly descriptive sample survey were used. In addition, formal interviews and documentary analyses of published and unpublished documents were conducted. Out of 128 employees in the Factory, a total of 96 respondents were selected and drawn from the four Departments through proportionate stratified simple random sampling method. The quantitative data and the qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques and content analysis respectively. The findings of the study show that there was no participatory planning of human resources because it was practised without considering its internal and external factors, as well as without clear standards. The judgments of the top level management of the Factory were found to be the sole sources of forecasting and planning human resources. Generally, the practice of planning human resources is not effective and efficient and also encounters multidimensional problems. Therefore, it is recommended that the Factory should practise participatory planning after it has engaged in SWOT analysis to avail the right number and kind of skilled manpower at the right place and at the time.
Efficient Privacy-Preserving Forensic Method for Camera Model Identification

To address the camera origin identification problem of inquiry images, many forensic methods have been proposed. However, the heavy computational overhead and the potential threat of privacy leakage for inquiry images make many existing forensic methods less applicable. Only a few research works have proposed secure forensic methods to address the aforementioned issues; however, they did not give a detailed analysis for the statistical performance. In this paper, we propose an efficient privacy-preserving forensic method with analytical statistical performance to solve the camera model identification problem efficiently and securely. To preserve the privacy of inquiry images, we propose a hybrid privacy-preserving scheme consisting of two operations: Position Scrambling Encryption to preserve the privacy of image content and Noise Linear-Mapping Processing to preserve the privacy of camera model identity for inquiry images. In the encrypted domain where the proposed privacy-preserving scheme is employed, we first propose a novel statistical noise model, which can accurately characterize an encrypted JPEG inquiry image. Then, a noise model-based detector is designed to identify different camera models. Experimental results verify the feasibility of our proposed method from both privacy-preserving and forensic effectiveness and report that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art secure forensic methods, especially when sample images used to estimate camera fingerprints are insufficient, such as only 2 available images.
Bioplastics in the Sea: Rapid In-Vitro Evaluation of Degradability and Persistence at Natural Temperatures

The progressive substitution of petroleum-based polymers, such as polyethylene, polyvinylchloride, or polyethylene terephtalate, by so-called bioplastics facilitated the development and production of many new materials. The continuously refined properties of bioplastic compounds and their blends enable various applications. With growing production and utilization of bioplastic products, these materials are increasingly discarded into the environment. Although many of these materials are labeled biodegradable, there is limited information about their degradability under environmental conditions. We tested the enzymatic degradability of five bioplastic compounds with the rapid pH-Stat titration assay at environmentally relevant seawater temperatures between 5 and 30°C and pH 8.2. These plastics, issued from the European Horizon 2020 Project ´Bioplastics Europe´, are based on polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), and poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV). Suspensions of microparticles (< 200 µm) were incubated with each of the three hydrolytic enzymes, protease, lipase, and esterase. A PLA-based compound blended with polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) showed the highest hydrolysis rate of 30 nmol·min-1 when incubated with lipase at 30°C. All other materials showed low hydrolysis rates of less than 10 nmol·min-1. Below 20°C, hydrolysis almost ceased. Plate clearing assays with the same enzymes at 37°C and pH 5 and pH 8, respectively, largely confirmed the results of the pH-Stat titration assays. Our findings indicate that there is a potential degradation of most of the materials with at least one of these hydrolytic enzymes. Nonetheless, the rate of enzymatic degradation under environmentally relevant conditions is low, which indicates only a marginal degradability of bioplastics in the marine environment.
The Association Between Sleep Quality and Working Memory of Medical Faculty Malikussaleh University Students

Background: Working memory is a form of storage of information that is relevant to the activity being worked out in a short time and a limited amount of information. The working memory capacity is influenced by sleep quality. Increased human activity in the modern era, causing less attention to the quality and quantity of sleep. Recent study showed that the prevalence of medical student who have poor sleep quality is quite high, reaching 76%. Poor quality of sleep will cause a person to think and work more slowly, make mistakes, and have a hard time remembering things. Objective: This research aims to know the relationship of sleep quality with working memory capacity in medical students of Malikussaleh University. Methods: This research was an analytical study with cross- sectional approach, and the Fisher test was used as the statistical test. Proportional stratified random sampling was used to obtained 71 samples of students who had qualified inclusion and exclusion criterias. Results: The results showed that 84,5% of students had poor quality of sleep and 56,3% of students had low working memory capacity. Statistical analysis by Fisher test showed the value of p < 0,05. Conclusion: there is an association between sleep quality and the capacity of working memory in the Faculty of Medicine students of Malikussaleh University.
Comparison of Retinal Changes Following Silicone Oil and Perfluoropropane Gas Tamponade for Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy Patients

Purpose: To investigate the different tamponade effects of intravitreal silicone oil (SO) and perfluoropropane gas on the retinal structure and vasculature in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients. Methods: Thirty-eight eligible patients (47 eyes) with PDR requiring pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) were enrolled in the prospective observational study. Subjects were divided into two groups after PPV: SO group subjects underwent SO tamponade, whereas Gas group subjects underwent perfluoropropane gas tamponade. The primary outcomes of this study were longitudinal changes in retinal structure and vasculature between 10 and 90 days after the operation. Secondary outcomes were longitudinal changes in peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness between 10 and 90 days after the operation in each sector. Results: Thirty-six eyes of 27 patients with a median age of 56.6 ± 9.8 years completed follow-up and were statistically analyzed. No significant difference in demographics or clinical characteristics was found between the two groups. Eyes in the SO group had a statistically significant decrease in pRNFL thickness at 90 days after PPV (p < 0.001), and there was a significant intergroup difference compared with the Gas group (p = 0.001), except for the temporal sector. Eyes in the Gas group had a statistically significant increase in parafoveal vessel density (VD) of the superficial vascular complex (SVC) at 90 days after PPV (p = 0.023), although there was no significant intergroup difference. The type of tamponade, changes in full retina thickness, and parafoveal SVC VD showed a significant correlation with changes in pRNFL thickness (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: SO tamponade resulted in a significantly greater decrease in pRNFL over 90 days than gas tamponade in patients with PDR. In addition, the change in the pRNFL was significantly correlated with changes in full retina thickness and SVC VD after the operation.
Getting Creative Again. Awaking Your Inner Creative Self

Abstract Imaginary thinking is an important quality within companies, needed for innovation and problem solving. Yet not everyone in a company is at ease when it comes to imagination. Apart from design school graduates, the majority of people are more trained in analytical thinking. Only few business school graduates are at ease in processes demanding a creative dimension. Empowering business students to gain confidence and experience in their creative thinking is a pedagogical challenge for business schools. This paper describes a pedagogical activity that helps business students onto the path of creativity. Pushing them outside their comfort zone through a guided effort, supported by a workbook, repeatedly surprising themselves and others with unexpected solutions. This activity makes them realize that they can further muscle their imaginative mind-set. Some students happily call it the development of their inner creative self. Academic peers awarded the Getting Creative exercise for its pedagogical innovation.
How should firms adapt pricing strategies when consumers are time‐inconsistent?

Empirical evidence indicates that consumers subjectively weigh the near future more heavily than the further future. When purchasing investment products, they make payments and exert efforts before receiving payoffs. Due to the time difference between incurring cost and receiving payoff, subjective discounting can cause consumers to exhibit time‐inconsistent purchase behavior. We investigate the impact of this consumer behavior on the pricing strategies of two competing firms that sell quality‐differentiated products. In a two‐period setting, each consumer purchases the product of a firm in period one or two or leaves without a purchase. Each firm adopts either dynamic pricing to adjust prices over periods or static pricing to commit to a price. We demonstrate that a firm should adopt a strategy alongside a price trajectory that suits the magnitude of consumers’ time inconsistency and the quality of its product. Stronger time inconsistency of consumers strengthens the firm's incentive to adopt dynamic pricing. The skimming policy to decrease prices over time is not necessarily optimal for a firm adopting dynamic pricing. Static pricing is not always effective in deterring purchase postponement by consumers but can undermine a firm's profit. Compared to when both firms adopt dynamic pricing, the firm selling the high‐quality product is more likely to suffer profit loss due to consumers’ self‐control problem by unilaterally adopting static pricing, while the firm selling the low‐quality product is more likely to suffer profit loss due to lack of pricing flexibility in managing demands from differential consumer segments when both firms adopt static pricing.
Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior in Omni-Channel Marketing of the Fitness Industry: Motivation and Attitude Towards O2O Channels

The Online to offline (O2O) model has been used as an important strategy for marketers to rethink their Omni-Channel marketing recently. Perceived factors have been studied to investigate the factors that really influence consumers’ attitudes towards channel adoption and their behavioral intentions. This study aimed to explore the relationship between the various dimensions of the O2O marketing model. The research model was conducted to test data collected from the survey questionnaires on 303 subjects. Two key factors of the O2O model, namely searching experience and purchasing experience, were believed to have a significant impact on consumers’ behavioral intentions for channel adoption. The findings of this study could verify the factors that influence the determinants of consumer adoption of O2O channels. The results could strengthen body of literature and provide fitness marketers with further insights into O2O strategy formulation.
Concepts and Trends in Autonomy for Robot-Assisted Surgery

Surgical robots have been widely adopted with over 4000 robots being used in practice daily. However, these are telerobots that are fully controlled by skilled human surgeons. Introducing “surgeon-assist”—some forms of autonomy—has the potential to reduce tedium and increase consistency, analogous to driver-assist functions for lane-keeping, cruise control, and parking. This article examines the scientific and technical backgrounds of robotic autonomy in surgery and some ethical, social, and legal implications. We describe several autonomous surgical tasks that have been automated in laboratory settings, and research concepts and trends.
Elastic Stable Intramedullary Fixation Using Epibloc versus Crossed Kirschner Wires Fixation for Distal Forearm Fractures in Children: A Retrospective Analysis

Background: Childrens' distal forearm fractures (DFFs) could be treated conservatively with closed reduction and immobilisation, but post-reduction displacements often occur. Displaced DFF should be surgically fixed, to avoid further displacement. Nevertheless, immobilisation after surgery is recommended. Epibloc system (ES), a system of stable elastic nail fixation, is widely used to stabilise adults extra-articular distal radius fractures, with advantages to not requiring post-surgical immobilisation. The present investigation represents a retrospective analysis of paediatric patients with DFF treated with ES applied with a minimal technical variation, to fix both ulna and radius fractures using a unique device. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 44 children (age 6–11 years) who underwent closed reduction and internal fixation because of DFF (both ulna and radius). Group A (21 patients): ES fixation. Group B (23 patients): K-wires and short arm cast fixation. The primary outcome was the subsistence of reduction monitored through X-rays. The secondary outcome was the measurement of active range of motion (AROM) and the time of recovery. Results: No differences were observed comparing Group A and B in terms of the maintenance of reduction (P > 0.05). Seven days after the implant removal, patients in Group A reached significantly better results compared to patients in Group B in terms of AROM (P < 0.05). No differences were revealed in terms of complications between the two groups. Conclusion: ES applied with a minimal technical variation is safe and effective in treating distal ulna and radius fractures, with minimal requirement of post-surgical rehabilitation.