Social learning (learning through observation or interaction with other individuals) is widespread in nature and is central to the remarkable success of humanity, yet it remains unclear why copying ...is profitable and how to copy most effectively. To address these questions, we organized a computer tournament in which entrants submitted strategies specifying how to use social learning and its asocial alternative (for example, trial-and-error learning) to acquire adaptive behavior in a complex environment. Most current theory predicts the emergence of mixed strategies that rely on some combination of the two types of learning. In the tournament, however, strategies that relied heavily on social learning were found to be remarkably successful, even when asocial information was no more costly than social information. Social learning proved advantageous because individuals frequently demonstrated the highest-payoff behavior in their repertoire, inadvertently filtering information for copiers. The winning strategy (discountmachine) relied nearly exclusively on social learning and weighted information according to the time since acquisition.
A newly developed analytical method was used to measure concentrations of nine pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in samples from two surface water bodies, a sewage treatment plant ...effluent and various stages of a drinking water treatment plant in Louisiana, USA, and from one surface water body, a drinking water treatment plant and a pilot plant in Ontario, Canada. The analytical method provides for simultaneous extraction and quantification of the following broad range of PPCPs and endocrine-disrupting chemicals: naproxen; ibuprofen; estrone; 17β-estradiol; bisphenol A; clorophene; triclosan; fluoxetine; and clofibric acid. Naproxen was detected in Louisiana sewage treatment plant effluent at 81–106 ng/l and Louisiana and Ontario surface waters at 22–107 ng/l. Triclosan was detected in Louisiana sewage treatment plant effluent at 10–21 ng/l. Of the three surface waters sampled, clofibric acid was detected in Detroit River water at 103 ng/l, but not in Mississippi River or Lake Pontchartrain waters. None of the other target analytes were detected above their method detection limits. Based on results at various stages of treatment, conventional drinking-water treatment processes (coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation) plus continuous addition of powdered activated carbon at a dosage of 2 mg/l did not remove naproxen from Mississippi River waters. However, chlorination, ozonation and dual media filtration processes reduced the concentration of naproxen below detection in Mississippi River and Detroit River waters and reduced clofibric acid in Detroit River waters. Results of this study demonstrate that existing water treatment technologies can effectively remove certain PPCPs. In addition, our study demonstrates the importance of obtaining data on removal mechanisms and byproducts associated with PPCPs and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals in drinking water and sewage treatment processes.
Symmetric informationally complete positive operator-valued measures provide efficient quantum state tomography in any finite dimension. In this work, we implement state tomography using symmetric ...informationally complete positive operator-valued measures for both pure and mixed photonic qudit states in Hilbert spaces of orbital angular momentum, including spaces whose dimension is not power of a prime. Fidelities of reconstruction within the range of 0.81–0.96 are obtained for both pure and mixed states. These results are relevant to high-dimensional quantum information and computation experiments, especially to those where a complete set of mutually unbiased bases is unknown.
Single-port robotic surgery is being adopted for various surgical procedures. There have been interest in and clinical use of single-port robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (spRARP), but little ...reported data on feasibility and early outcomes.
To describe our institution's initial experience with spRARP utilizing the da Vinci single-port (SP) robotic system.
A retrospective review of the initial experience of three high-volume robotic prostate surgeons performing an spRARP utilizing the da Vinci SP robotic system was carried out.
An spRARP using the da Vinci SP robotic system was performed following the traditional retropubic or Retzius-sparing approach.
Patient demographics, operative time, blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, complications, and catheter duration were obtained and analyzed.
In a cohort of 49 patients undergoing spRARP, median age was 62yr and prostate-specific antigen 6.4. Of the patients, 35 (71%) had cT1c disease on presentation, 92% had Gleason grade group ≥2 disease, and 85% were pT2 on final pathology. Median operative time was 161min. Median blood loss was 200ml. Seven Retzius-sparing cases were performed. Four Clavien 2 complications occurred (complication rate 8.1%). Median hospital stay was 1d and median catheter duration 7d. Operative time was <200min for all three surgeons by their third case.
The da Vinci SP system spRARP is safe and feasible, with acceptable operative time and blood loss. Further research is needed to establish noninferiority to the da Vinci Xi and Si systems, and impact of spRARP on patient-assessed cosmesis and pain.
Robotic prostatectomy using a purpose-built da Vinci single-port robotic system is safe and feasible, and warrants further study to determine whether it can improve patient outcomes.
Single-port robot-assisted radical prostatectomy utilizing the da Vinci SP system is safe and feasible, and has an acceptable learning curve. Retropubic and Retzius-sparing approaches can be undertaken with acceptable immediate postoperative outcomes.
Previous work in urology has shown that men have higher h-indices than women. However, the degree to which h-indices vary by gender within urological subspecialties has not been well defined. Herein, ...we assess gender differences in h-index among different subspecialties.
Demographics were recorded for academic urologists using residency program websites as of July 2021. Scopus was queried to identify h-indices. Gender differences in h-index were estimated from a linear mixed-effects regression model with fixed effects for gender, urological subspecialty, MD/PhD status, years since first publication, interactions of subspecialty with years since first publication, and interactions of subspecialty with gender and random effects for AUA section and institution nested within AUA section. The Holm method was used to adjust for multiplicity (7 hypothesis tests).
Of 1,694 academic urologists from 137 institutions, 308 were women (18%). Median years since first publication was 20 for men (IQR 13, 29) and 13 for women (IQR 8, 17). Among all academic urologists, the median h-index was 8 points higher for men (15 IQR 7, 27) vs women (7 IQR 5, 12). There was no significant gender difference in h-index for any of the subspecialties after adjusting for urologist experience and after applying the Holm method for multiplicity correction.
We were unable to demonstrate a gender difference in h-index after adjusting for urologist experience for any urological subspecialties. Future study is warranted as women become more senior members of the urological workforce.
Aim
Up to 10% of patients who undergo nonurological abdominopelvic operations suffer a ureteral injury. While preoperative ureteral stenting to facilitate identification of the ureter is common, it ...does not reduce the incidence of intraoperative ureteral injury and is not without risk. As we continue to broaden the application of minimally invasive surgical techniques, a new form of ureteral identification and avoidance that does not rely on tactile feedback is needed. We report our initial experience with intraureteral indocyanine green (ICG) for ureteral identification and avoidance during complex robotic‐assisted colorectal surgery.
Method
Patients undergoing adjunctive ureteral identification during robotic‐assisted colorectal surgery were prospectively identified. Each patient underwent intraureteral ICG administration using rigid cystoscopy (22 Fr). A 5‐Fr open‐ended ureteral catheter was inserted up to 20 cm and used to inject 5 ml of 2.5 mg/ml ICG as the catheter was withdrawn to the ureteral orifice. Intraureteral ICG was then detected using near‐infrared laser fluorescence technology (Firefly®).
Results
Successful ICG‐enhanced ureteral identification and avoidance was performed in 15 of 16 (94%) patients undergoing robotic‐assisted colorectal surgery. The median ICG instillation time was 11.5 min (range 4–21 min) and the median operative time with ICG visualization was 489 min (8 h 9 min) range 268–738 min (4 h 28 min–12 h 18 min). No patient experienced intraoperative ureteral injury and there were no adverse sequelae or complications associated with intraureteral ICG administration.
Conclusion
Intraureteral ICG is a safe and effective method of intraoperative ureteral identification and avoidance during complex robotic‐assisted colorectal surgery. Precise and prolonged ureteral visualization was achieved, allowing for long operative times compatible with complex robotic‐assisted operations.
The light produced by parametric down-conversion shows strong spatial entanglement that leads to violations of EPR criteria for separability. Historically, such studies have been performed by ...scanning a single-element, single-photon detector across a detection plane. Here we show that modern electron-multiplying charge-coupled device cameras can measure correlations in both position and momentum across a multi-pixel field of view. This capability allows us to observe entanglement of around 2,500 spatial states and demonstrate Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen type correlations by more than two orders of magnitude. More generally, our work shows that cameras can lead to important new capabilities in quantum optics and quantum information science.
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) experience deficits in nonverbal reasoning. The SMART online cognitive intervention has been associated with gains in IQ and nonverbal IQ in previous studies in ...typically developing school-aged children and children experiencing learning difficulties.
To assess the efficacy of an online cognitive intervention in school-aged children with CP.
21 children with CP (male n = 17; 76.2%), mean age 9 y 8 m, SD 1 y 1 month (range 8 y 3 m to 12 y 6 m) were randomised into the intervention group (n = 9) or a waitlist control group. A mixed-methods approach with an explanatory sequential design was used, with a randomised controlled trial followed by qualitative interviews. Participants were assessed on measures of intelligence, academic ability, attention and executive functioning, and social-emotional functioning at baseline, then after completing the training, or the waitlist period. Analyses included ANCOVAs and paired samples t tests. Semi-structured interviews explored participants’ experiences with the training.
Training completion was low with a mean of 16.9 modules completed out of 55 available. No significant effect of training was found for the primary outcome of intelligence, or for any secondary outcomes. Participants reported barriers and facilitators for accessing the program.
Cognitive training programs addressing relational framing ability may require significant modifications before they can be effectively tested with children with CP.
•RCT of a novel online cognitive intervention in children with cerebral palsy.•Intervention grounded in relational frame theory to train relational abilities.•Qualitative data on acceptability and accessibility of online intervention.•Results highlight importance of targeted, individualised intervention.•Concrete and visual aids may assist children to engage with training.
To determine the role of near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIFI) combined with indocyanine green (ICG) to assess ureteral tissue perfusion in a benign genitourinary reconstruction cohort with a ...high prevalence of prior abdominopelvic radiation and surgery.
A prospective, single-surgeon series, between June 2018 and April 2022, of patients who underwent open genitourinary reconstructive surgeries in which NIFI/ICG was utilized to intraoperatively assess ureteral tissue perfusion prior to ureteral anastomosis. Primary outcome was ureteroanastomotic stricture (UAS). Secondary outcomes included impact of NIFI/ICG on surgical decision-making and ureter resection length.
Thirty nine patients, median age 66, underwent 40 multimodality reconstructive surgeries during which NIFI/ICG was utilized in the open setting. Radiation-induced etiology was present in 32 of 40 (80%) patients. UAS occurred in 1 of 57 (1.8%) anastomoses with median follow-up of 23.4 months. Use of NIFI/ICG changed intraoperative decision-making in 63% of cases. Change in intraoperative decision-making was more common in patients with prior abdominopelvic radiation (66%) compared to non-radiated patients (13%), P = .007. Discordance between subjective (white-light) and objective (NIFI/ICG) ureteral perfusion (white-light) occurred in 61% of ureters. Mean length of resected ureter was higher following objective assessment with NIFI/ICG (3.6 cm) versus subjective assessment (white light) conditions (1.8 cm), P = .001.
Use of NIFI/ICG was associated with low rates of UAS at 2-year follow-up in a cohort with high prevalence of prior radiation. NIFI/ICG was associated with longer lengths of ureter resection and ureteral perfusion assessment discordance compared to subjective surgeon assessment under white-light conditions.
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