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Keywords: Food Research; Food Science EN Food Research Food Science 201 201 1 07/24/23 20230727 NES 230727 2023 JUL 27 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Food Weekly News -- Investigators publish new report on food science. Keywords for this news article include: University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States, North and Central America, Food Science, Food Research. [Extracted from the article]

A study conducted by researchers at Nanjing University in China compared the acceptance time of preprint papers to non-preprint papers in the field of life sciences and biomedical fields. The study found that manuscripts released as preprints before journal submission had significantly shorter acceptance times compared to those without preprints. However, if preprints were posted after submitting to a journal, they did not confer an advantage in terms of acceptance time. The research concluded that preprint papers released before journal submission have an advantage in acceptance time. This research has been peer-reviewed and can be accessed for further information. [Extracted from the article]

This article reports on results of a comparative analysis of the beliefs of European and the U.S. managers concerning the perceived importance of barriers to export. Barriers to export is a research issue with meaningful implications to export theory. The data used in this study was collected during two research projects. The first was a study completed by the Center for Industry Policy and Strategy of the University of South Carolina (USC). The second was an extension of the original research accomplished by the authors through the support of USC and Pulp and Paper International, a Belgium-based trade magazine with a worldwide readership. Like their U.S. counterparts, the European respondents marked few barriers as influential inhibitors to export. The most notable difference was the lower regard held by European managers for the obstacle enacted by managerial disinterest in export. This barrier had a mean response of approximately 2.0 versus the 3.0 marked by U.S. respondents. More tellingly, some 46.1% of the U.S. respondents indicated that management emphasis on developing the domestic market was more than somewhat important as a barrier to export, whereas only 11.3% of the European respondents held the same view.

This paper presents a complete control architecture for the implementation of adaptive sliding controllers (ASMC) in quadrotors. Aiming into presenting a control solution for real-world scenarios, this paper presents a comparative study evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of the three most common methods to implement adaptive sliding mode controllers in quadrotors. Namely, two of the compared methods aim to reduce the SMC gains to ones that keep the tracking errors inside a user-defined bound, while the third method consists of obtaining the minimal SMC gain which permits the sliding mode to exist. To inspect the compared methods in realistic and harsh conditions, the three controllers are tested far from quasi-static motion and under severe disturbances. The quadrotor was subjected to disturbances such as stabilization under intermittent wind, landing precisely subject to wind-gusts, high-speed trajectory tracking while carrying an unmodeled suspended payload with a center-of-mass offset, and trajectory tracking with a damaged propeller. The performance of the analyzed adaptive sliding mode controllers was also compared to the industrial standard PID controller. Our experimental analysis demonstrates that, in face of such disturbances, one of the analyzed adaptive sliding mode controllers excels when compared to the others, and every ASMC excels when compared to the PID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic review conducted by researchers at the Odette Cancer Centre in Toronto aimed to assess the use and trends of instrumental variables (IVs) in oncology research. The review analyzed empirical oncology papers that evaluated the comparative effectiveness of cancer treatments using IV methods. The study found limited use and variable quality of IV analyses in oncology, with a modest uptake of IV methods between 2011 and 2021. The researchers concluded that future research should establish standards to improve the quality, transparency, and completeness of IV reporting in oncology. [Extracted from the article]

Ten methods for finding through simulations the small-signal phase and gain margins of feedback circuits based on op-amps are described and analyzed in this mostly tutorial paper. The testbenches employed by these methods are presented and the corresponding analytical expressions of the return ratio are derived and compared against their “ideal” counterpart, obtained with standard circuit analysis; the requirement that the return ratio should not depend on the point it was measured at is also verified. These analyses are performed on a fairly general case: a generic reciprocal two-port network that closes a feedback loop around an op-amp acting as the forward amplifier. The four main types of op-amps were considered. The limitations of some of the tested methods are then highlighted by simulations. Besides the detailed analysis of previously reported methods, the paper proposes a novel method for deriving the return ratio of feedback circuits, that employs only current stimuli; it is demonstrated analytically that this method can be used for bilateral circuits, not only for op-amp-based (unilateral) ones. Also, a recent method for deriving directly the phase margin of a circuit is extended to estimating the gain margin, too. Conclusions on the accuracy and suitability of the analyzed methods for practical circuit cases are drawn. These results are then extended to other circuit topologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the suitability of fractional derivatives in the modelling of practical capacitors. Such suitability refers to ability to provide the analytical capacitance function that matches the experimental ones of each fractional derivative. Design/methodology/approach: The analytical capacitance functions based on various fractional derivatives of both local and nonlocal types including the author's have been derived. The derived capacitance functions have been simulated and compared with the experimental ones of aluminium electrolytic and electrical double layer capacitors (EDLCs). Findings: This paper has found that any local fractional derivative with fractional power law-based relationship with the conventional one is suitable for modelling the aluminium electrolytic capacitor (AEC) by incorporating with the conventional capacitance definition. On the other hand, the author's nonlocal fractional derivatives have been found to be more suitable than the others for modelling the EDLC by incorporating with the revisited definition of capacitance. Originality/value: The proposed comparative analysis has been originally presented in this work. The criterion for local fractional derivative, to be suitable for modelling the AEC, has been found. The nonlocal fractional operators which are most suitable for modelling the EDLC have been derived where the unsuitable one has been pointed out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domain decomposition method (DDM) is an efficient tool for solving multi-domain problems. Many kinds of DDM have been proposed in literature, such as the d -N alternating method and optimized Schwarz method, etc. The main difference between these methods lies in the transmission conditions on the interfaces between subdomains. Most DDMs have at least one relaxation parameter which must be properly chosen to ensure convergence. To avoid prior determination of a constant relaxation parameter, dynamic relaxation parameters are devised based on error analysis. Another, difficulty of DDM is that special preprocessor has to be used to handle cases where interior cross-points exist among the domains. In dual interpolation boundary face method (DiBFM), boundary integral equation (BIE) is collocated on nodes inside elements, therefore naturally avoids the interior cross-points problem. In this paper, we have implemented some main kinds of DDM in the frame of DiBFM and conducted comparative studies accounting for different interface conditions and relaxation parameters, using examples that involve different topological connections between subdomains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interval-valued fuzzy preference relations (IVFPRs) have been applied to many real-life decision-making problems. However, most definitions of consistency of IVFPRs do not satisfy invariability to compared objects' labels. To overcome this drawback, this paper mainly focuses on the multiplicative consistency analysis of interval-valued fuzzy preference relations (IVFPRs). Firstly, this paper proposes a new multiplicative consistency of complete IVFPRs. It is proved that this new multiplicative consistency is robust and invariable to compared objects' labels. Then, the definition of acceptable incomplete IVFPRs (In-IVFPRs) is presented. To make full use of all direct and indirect evaluations of decision-makers, an algorithm is devised to evaluate the missing elements of an acceptable incomplete In-IVFPR. To comprehensively describe the closeness between any two complete IVFPRs, the total deviation of two complete IVFPRs is defined based on the p -norm of a vector. By minimizing the total deviation of two complete IVFPRs, a programming model is built to determine an interval weight vector from a complete IVFPR. Subsequently, a novel decision-making method with an In-IVFPR is proposed. Lastly, three practical and numerical examples and simulation-based comparative analyses are provided to further validate the practicability and advantages of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comparative study of adaptive algorithms for digital predistortion (DPD) in multiple antenna transmitters. Crossover predistorter (CO-DPD) and crosstalk canceling predistorter (CTC-DPD) were proposed to overcome the deleterious effect of RF crosstalk before the power amplifiers (PA) on digital predistortion (DPD) in multiple antenna transmitters. This paper discusses the linearization performance and computational complexity of least mean square (LMS) and recursive least squares (RLS) adaptive algorithms for CO-DPD and CTC-DPD. The adaptive predistortion algorithms for a single antenna transmitter can be extended for CO-DPD, by incorporating the DPD coefficients of more than one branch in to one filter coefficient vector of the adaptive algorithm. The adaptive CTC-DPD involves predistorters for each transmitter running in parallel with the adaptive algorithms that track the coupling between the transmitters. The computational complexity of CTC-DPD is considerably lower compared to CO-DPD, as it has lesser predistorter branches. It is estimated that the number of computations needed per sample duration, for the real-time operation of the adaptive CTC-DPD is 47% lesser compared to CO-DPD for a two-antenna transmitter, when a 9th order memory polynomial with 3 memory taps was used. The linearization performances of these adaptive predistortion techniques for two and four antenna transmitters are evaluated through simulations using QPSK, 16-QAM, UMTS, and LTE signals. It is observed that CTC-DPD performs approximately identical to CO-DPD in all the examined cases. In the presence of frequency selective crosstalk, an extension of CTC-DPD which can pre-cancel such crosstalk, performs considerably better than CO-DPD, which cannot model the frequency selectivity of the crosstalk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate Social Responsibility by corporations and businesses helps alleviate the effect of the significant problems faced by the community such as poverty, environmental degradation, social inequality, health and illness, drugs, crime and terrorism and some others. This paper investigates the major Philippine banking institutions' awareness on these given social problems by content analysis methodology, which is done by understanding the use of media releases (such as Annual reports, Sustainability Reports and other online press releases and news releases) in the marketing and communication of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The scope of the CSR reports is based on the 4-year time period 2010-2014. This study tries to determine the coverage on the social aspects of the top Philippine banking institutions based on the classification: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Corporate Communication, Corporate Philanthropy, and Corporate Social Behavior in Banks. Moreover, the paper seeks to: (1) Examine the social-responsibility issues portrayed in the annual reports by banks; (2) Examine the nature of such issues handled by banks (3) Know what are the most important CSR issues being addressed by the top Philippine banking institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to promote governance quality by presenting a school of government model. Design/methodology/approach: To this end, seven schools were selected from among 25 outstanding existing schools of government by purposive sampling. Subsequently, these schools were carefully examined and categorized into primary and support processes through a comparative study and the categorical content analysis approach. Findings: The resulting four primary processes of education, research and agenda-setting, discourse-making and networking, and training and cadre-building, and the five sub-systems of schools of government were extracted. The outputs of the school of government model were classified into the three categories of training cadres experienced in public policy and administration, discourse-making and influencing the environment and theorizing. Finally, the extracted categories were approved by the relevant experts through the fuzzy Delphi method. Originality/value: This paper can contribute to the training of policymakers and policy researchers, as well as to the establishment, and more effective management, of schools of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to assess the strengths and weaknesses of four thermodynamic models used in aircraft icing simulations to orient the development or the choice of an improved thermodynamic model.Design/methodology/approach Four models are compared to assess their capabilities: Messinger, iterative Messinger, extended Messinger and shallow water icing models. They have been implemented in the aero-icing framework, NSCODE-ICE, under development at Polytechnique Montreal since 2012. Comparison is performed over typical rime and glaze ice cases. Furthermore, a manufactured geometry with multiple recirculation zones is proposed as a benchmark test to assess the efficiency in runback water modeling and geometry evolution.Findings The comparison shows that one of the main differences is the runback water modeling. Runback modeling based on the location of the stagnation point fails to capture the water film behavior in the presence of recirculation zones on airfoils. However, runback modeling based on air shear stress is more suitable in this situation and can also handle water accumulation while the other models cannot. Also, accounting for the conduction through the ice layer is found to have a great impact on the final ice shape as it increases the overall freezing fraction.Originality/value This paper helps visualize the effect of different thermodynamic models implemented in the same aero-icing framework. Also, the use of a complex manufactured geometry highlights weaknesses not normally noticeable with classic ice accretion simulations. To help with the visualization, the ice shape is presented with the water layer, which is not shown on typical icing results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comfort is one of the most important aspects of clothing. Fabric hand and touch feel along with its warm and cool feeling are very important properties, as a result of which a human can feel comfort or discomfort in various activities and environmental conditions. In this paper, the comfort properties of fabrics made from different man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCF) produce by Birla Cellulose, Mumbai/India, such as viscose, modal and Excel lyocell in comparison to conventional fibers such as cotton and polyester were studied. In the experimental study the most common method, Kawabata evaluation system for fabric (KES-FB), was used to evaluate objective hand-feel of fabrics made from different fibers along with its air-permeability, fabric coolness/warmth (Qmax) and moisture management properties. Analysis of test data demonstrated that the content of fabric significantly influences the comfort properties. Excel fabric showing best total hand value (THV) among all 3 man-made cellulosic fabrics (Excel, modal and viscose) followed by cotton and polyester fabric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the legal and practical implementation of the right to be heard and be represented of children in criminal proceedings, both in the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and in the context of Estonian and Cambodian legal systems. Estonia has been chosen as a model state of EU by which also the EU principles are reflected. Particularly, this paper provides a comparative analysis of the implementation of a child's right to be heard and be represented in Estonia and Cambodia by examining the legal standards concerning children's right to be heard and be represented enshrined under the CRC together with the regulations and policies of each respective country, and, to a smaller extent, how the principles of the CRC are reflected in EU law and policies. Examples of actual practices in Estonia and Cambodia are discussed to understand whether both countries are compliant with the principles of the CRC. This paper suggests that Estonia and Cambodia both acknowledge their human rights obligations regarding children's rights, and their legal regulations and policies are in accordance with the CRC principles. However, there remain gaps in the implementation of these policies and regulations in both countries. This view is justified by the analysis of the performance of judicial professionals, including judicial police, lawyers, prosecutors and judges. While critically analyzing the challenges, this article also suggests changes to address the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies and analyzes the Confucian ideal of music and applies its principles to music from the American folk revival. Confucius believed that music, unlike ritual, should promote both unity between people and harmony within the individual. He argued that music ought to inspire peace and positive emotions. The Folk Revival promoted togetherness inside the United States. It is best represented by protest anthems emphasizing change and solidarity. Such anthems upheld the Confucian standard for pure music by celebrating economic, racial, and gender diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In practical applications, there exists a large amount of heterogeneous data consisting of a mixture of numerical and categorical data, which are more complex and difficult to handle than a single class. In recent years, feature selection for heterogeneous data has received more and more attention from scholars. However, the current research on feature selection for heterogeneous data seldom takes into account the fineness of the granularity structure and the complementary information contained in the complements of each granularity. Addressing the shortcomings of existing efforts, this paper introduces complementary entropy into the neighborhood rough set model to define an uncertainty measurement system in heterogeneous data, and constructs the corresponding feature selection algorithm. First, the neighborhood complementary entropy and its associated uncertainty measures based on neighborhood relation are defined, and the relevant theoretical properties of these uncertainty measures are investigated. Then, based on the proposed uncertainty measures, a significance function is defined to assess the importance of candidate features. Next, a feature selection method for heterogeneous data is designed using neighborhood complementary entropy. Finally, the feasibility of the method proposed in this paper is demonstrated through an experimental comparative analysis with various existing feature selection methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a general framework for prediction based on nonparametric local estimation and bounding techniques. A set of historic input-output measurements of the system is stored in a database. When a prediction for a given point is required, data from the neighborhood of this point is retrieved and a prediction is formed. These prediction methods return an interval that bounds the considered system output. The width of the obtained interval prediction reflects the amount of information about the system available at the point to be predicted. In addiction, the midpoint of the interval prediction can be used as central estimate. The contribution of the paper is threefold. First, a general framework that covers previous methods proposed in the literature is presented. Second, the general properties of the framework are analyzed. Third, new predictors based on this framework are proposed. Finally, a benchmark example and a comparative study are provided for illustration purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A recent report from the University of Melbourne examines the unique financial conditions in Australia following the COVID-19 pandemic. The study focuses on the speed of interest rate changes and their implications on financial conditions, particularly in an environment characterized by negative real interest rates. The research concludes that rapid interest rate changes significantly impact financial conditions and require careful policy considerations. This study contributes to the literature on Australia's financial conditions and extends the financial conditions index developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to comparatively analyze the electrical circuits defined with the conventional and revisited time domain circuit element definitions in the context of fractional conformable calculus and to promote the combined usage of conventional definitions, fractional conformable derivative and conformable Laplace transform. Design/methodology/approach: The RL, RC, LC and RLC circuits described by both conventional and revisited time domain circuit element definitions has been analyzed by means of the fractional conformable derivative based differential equations and conformable Laplace transform. The comparison among the obtained results and those based on the methodologies adopted in the previous works has been made. Findings: The author has found that the conventional definitions-based solution gives a physically reasonable result unlike its revisited definitions-based counterpart and the solutions based on those previous methodologies. A strong agreement to the time domain state space concept-based solution can be observed. The author has also shown that the scalar valued solution can be directly obtained by singularity free conformable Laplace transform-based methodology unlike such state space concept based one. Originality/value: For the first time, the revisited time domain definitions of resistance and inductance have been proposed and applied together with the revisited definition of capacitance in electrical circuit analyses. The advantage of the combined usage of conventional time definitions, fractional conformable derivative and conformable Laplace transform has been suggested and the impropriety of applying the revisited definitions in circuit analysis has been pointed out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of the statistics of multistage (pipeline, SAR, and algorithmic) ADCs with redundancy is performed and the ability to achieve an extra 6 dB of resolution in ADCs with half-bit redundancy is shown due to probability density function (PDF) residue shaping. This paper classifies redundancy techniques to show that only some have properties leading to statistical resolution improvements. When properly implemented, resolution gains are maintained even in the presence of large sub-ADC nonlinearity. ADC design criteria for maximizing these resolution increases through PDF residue shaping are described including improved back-end ADCs, stage comparator offset bounds, and the use of scaled conventional restoring with Z added levels (CRZ) stage redundancy. PDF residue shaped structural improvements are also quantified in relation to ideal and nonideal traditional multistage ADC structures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the use of patients' records as a source of data for comparative effectiveness research (CER). Many supporters of CER are anticipating that existing data will become richer in the coming years as electronic health records become more sophisticated and widely used. But many experts are saying that it will be a long time before electronic health records become the norm because existing data tend to have slightly different information and are not precisely comparable enough for scientific investigation.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to comparatively study a synchronous reluctance machine (SynRM) and a permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance machine (PMASynRM) as alternatives of the interior permanent magnet synchronous machine (IPMSM), and to investigate the performance and conclude both advantages and disadvantages. Design/methodology/approach – A unified mathematical model is established for the IPMSM, SynRM and PMASynRM. Then finite element method (FEM) is used to compare the electromagnetic performance. Permeability-frozen method is utilized to distinguish basic electromagnetic torque and reluctance torque. Findings – The PMASynRM can improve the power factor of the SynRM, overcome the drawback of the IPMSM in the high-speed flux-weakening region and is more proper to operate over a wide speed region. The SynRM is mechanically robust for lacking of the permanent magnets, and the PMASynRM can keep similar rotor stress as the SynRM by optimizing the magnets. Assembly of the SynRM is the simplest, and the economic performance of the SynRM and PMASynRM could be much better than the IPMSM which even uses ferrite magnets. Practical/implications – The SynRM can produce identical torque and efficiency compared with the IPMSM except the poor power factor. The poor power factor could be improved by adopting the PMASynRM, which is proved to be able to act as an alternative of the IPMSM for low-cost high-performance application. Originality/value – This paper provides the theoretical model of the IPMSM, SynRM and PMASynRM in a unified format. The electromagnetic, mechanical and economic performances of the three kinds of synchronous motors are compared comprehensively. Then, both the advantages and disadvantages are summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Health and Medicine; Massage; Musculoskeletal Manipulations EN Health and Medicine Massage Musculoskeletal Manipulations 4060 4060 1 08/07/23 20230811 NES 230811 2023 AUG 11 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Week -- Data detailed on agriculture have been presented. The purpose of this paper is to compare the advantages of different massage manipulations in the treatment of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation, to understand the characteristics of medical massage manipulations of different ethnic groups, and to expand the ideas of massage for the treatment of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation.". [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: Life Sciences; Medical and Biological Mechanics EN Life Sciences Medical and Biological Mechanics 3703 3703 1 07/17/23 20230721 NES 230721 2023 JUL 21 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Week -- Current study results on medical and biological mechanics have been published. The paper summarizes the findings of a systematic review on gait measurement methods carried out using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) methodology. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose - Inductive power transfer (IPT) is a hands free user charging system, which allows the transfer of energy over a large air gap without physical contact. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate two magnetic coupling structures and its applicability to EVs charging systems. Design/methodology/approach - A brief introduction of IPT systems is initially presented, with the characterization of the chosen resonant topologies, series uncompensated (SU) and series parallel (SP). The magnetic coupling structures (MCSs) are then investigated and the principal characteristics required for EVs applications are outlined. The circular and the DD magnetic coupling structures are chosen due to its inherent advantages and a description of both physical and electrical most important aspects are made. Finally, different simulation and experimental results are analyzed and discussed for both magnetic structures. Findings - The SU topology is suitable for applications with low voltages sources at the cost of a more attuned control. The DD pad allows a higher power transfer when compared with the circular pad, with better efficiency for the same working conditions. The DD pad is more tolerant to misalignment in the axis y while the circular pad is independent of the misalignment direction. Both modeled pads can transfer at least 5 kW without saturating the core. Originality/value - This paper analyzes and compares the power transfer capability, misalignment tolerance and core saturation levels of the selected pads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- In most applications the active power filters (APFs) are used to reduce harmonic distortion of a nonlinear load which is located near the APF installation point. This classic approach allows to reduce the distortion introduced to the power system but do not guarantee that the cost of the APFs installation is optimal. The purpose of this paper is to compare the classic approach to harmonic compensation with an optimization method of sizing and placement of the APFs in an existing distributed power network. Design/methodology/approach -- An exemplary real-life power system with distributed nonlinear loads was modeled using PCFLO power analysis software. Next, Matlab was used to implement the classic method and the optimization algorithm. Between Matlab and PCFLO a specially written Java middleware was used to provide a seamless workflow integration. Findings -- It was shown that the presented optimization method may lead to superior results in comparison with the classic approach. Simulation results clearly showed that the APFs installation cost can be significantly reduced when the optimization algorithm is used. Moreover, the proposed optimization method can overcome some problems connected with the nonlinearity and discontinuity of the APF's price/current function. Research limitations/implications -- There are two main limitations of the presented method. First, the method needs much more computing power then the classic approach. Second, according to the authors' knowledge, currently there are no commercially available APFs, which allow to directly apply the optimization method in industrial applications. Practical implications -- The presented results showed that the approach, which is the most popular in the industry, is far from being optimal from the cost perspective. As it has been shown in the investigated example, it might be possible to significantly reduce the total cost of APFs installed in the power system. Originality/value -- The optimization method presented in the paper as well as all simulation results are the original authors work. It was shown that the existing harmonic compensation strategies can be significantly upgraded and the proposed optimization method may be a basis and a reference point for future commercial solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-attribute decision making (MADM) refers to a decision problem of choosing the best alternative or carrying out the ranking of alternatives under multiple attributes, and it is a key component of modern decision sciences. Three-way decisions (3WD) can effectively address MADM problems by reducing decision risks compared with traditional two-way decisions (2WD), and a decision model based on probabilistic dominance relations is presented in this paper. Particularly, we put forward a kind of 3WD-based MADM (3WD-MADM) with probabilistic dominance relations, where the two state sets are developed by virtue of probabilistic dominance classes. Afterwards, the independent innovation ability of high-tech enterprises is evaluated by using the proposed new method. At last, the newly proposed 3WD-MADM model in this paper is verified from different perspectives by comparative and experimental analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work is of both theoretical and tutorial value. Existing autonomous and non-autonomous paradigms are systematized for prescribed- and predefined-time controllers, and the scaling technique is revised for their analysis and synthesis. The fixed-time output feedback design is further developed in the paper under the paradigm with prescribed settling time upper bound. In the numerical study made for a closed-loop perturbed double integrator, pros and cons of the resulting algorithm are revealed and compared with those of prescribed/predefined-time output feedback. Thus, another contribution of the paper is in the exposition of the implementation feasibility for the different-type prescribed-time controllers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the impact of optimal hyper-parameter configuration in relational topic models. The main goal is to validate the hypothesis that single-objective Bayesian Optimization (BO) can discover a hyper-parameter setting that leads a set of relational topic models to simultaneously ensure good prediction capabilities and significant topics from a qualitative perspective. Our research, as a result of a comparative analysis performed on 7 state-of-the-art models, 5 performance measures and 3 datasets, has highlighted three main findings: (1) the majority of relational topic models are not able to offer a good trade-off between classification capabilities and topic interpretability; (2) single-objective optimization of hyper-parameters, targeted on maximizing the F1-Measure, is able to create topics that are also optimal with respect to the Kullback Leibler divergence measure; (3) the Pareto frontiers across several performance metrics reveals that the most promising trade-off between the performance metrics can be obtained by Constrained Relational Topic Models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imbalanced classification refers to problems in which there are significantly more instances available for some classes than for others. Such scenarios require special attention because traditional classifiers tend to be biased towards the majority class which has a large number of examples. Different strategies, such as re-sampling, have been suggested to improve imbalanced learning. Ensemble methods have also been proven to yield promising results in the presence of class-imbalance. However, most of them only deal with binary imbalanced datasets. In this paper, we propose a re-sampling approach based on belief function theory and ensemble learning for dealing with class imbalance in the multi-class setting. This technique assigns soft evidential labels to each instance. This evidential modeling provides more information about each object's region, which improves the selection of objects in both undersampling and oversampling. Our approach firstly selects ambiguous majority instances for undersampling, then oversamples minority objects through the generation of synthetic examples in borderline regions to better improve minority class borders. Finally, to improve the induced results, the proposed re-sampling approach is incorporated into an evidential classifier-independent fusion-based ensemble. The comparative study against well-known ensemble methods reveals that our method is efficient according to the G-Mean and F1-score measures, independently from the chosen classifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to the problem of nonlinear state estimation under multirate sampling in presence of disturbance inputs. Considering a general description of a nonlinear sampled-data system, we establish a prescriptive framework for multirate observer design via an approximate discrete-time model of the plant. This framework is shown to be input-to-state stable in a semiglobal practical sense with respect to the estimation error for the unknown exact discrete-time model. A numerical example of an aerospace vehicle with input and output channels of various sampling rates demonstrates how the multirate observer can drastically improve performance compared with the single-rate observer. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a low-power all-MOS delta-sigma ADC specifically optimized for the potentiostatic biasing and amperometric read-out of electrochemical sensors. The proposed architecture reuses the dynamic properties of the sensor itself to implement a continuous-time mixed electrochemical delta-sigma modulator with minimalist analog circuits fully integrable in purely digital CMOS technologies. A 25-µW smart electrochemical sensor demonstrator integrated in low-cost 1M CMOS technology with Au post-processing is presented. Experimental results show electrical dynamic range values exceeding 10-bit, while electrochemical figures exhibit linearity levels close to R² = 0.999 combined with RSD < 15% in terms of reproducibility. A comparative test with commercial potentiostat equipment is also included to qualify the performance of the proposed ADC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the study, "Using Social Media to Measure Labor Market Flows," by Dolan Antenucci and colleagues conducted to create indexes of job search, job loss and job posting using data from posts on social network Twitter and to compare these indexes to official data. The study showed variation in the social media index and found that the Beveridge curve, which relates the job vacancy rate to the unemployment rate, has been shifting inward since 2011.

Vietnamese economy has developed tremendously since the early 1990s, keeping its GDP growth rate above 7% for a long time. After a few years' slow down due to the Asian Crisis, it redeveloped after 2002. Unfortunately, since the Subprime Loan Crisis broke out in 2007, its economy development became slow and had shown no sign of recovery. Before the global crisis, HoChiMinh Stock Exchanges was established in 2000 and five years later, in the capital of Vietnam - Hanoi, the Hanoi Stock Exchanges was opened. These two markets did not evolve as quickly as expected. On the contrary, it is still underdeveloped even though it has existed for more than ten years. This paper discusses and analyses the overview and present status of Vietnamese Stock Market. By comparing it with the Chinese Stock Market, the similarities and differences between the two markets are determined. Then, the reasons of underdevelopment of Vietnamese Stock Market are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the electric vehicle (EV) drive efficiency of a traction motor considering regenerative braking according to various motor cores.Design/methodology/approach A software program was developed to predict the driving performance of an EV. It determines the driving mileage, the required power of the traction motor, and the operation points on a torque-speed map when drive cycles are given. The driving performance is calculated from the battery capacity, vehicle specification, and efficiency map of the traction motor computed using the finite element analysis.Findings As a result, the motor core is a significant design variable for raising the driving mileage of an EV. It is noted that the change of electrical steels used for the motor core is the lowest priced method of increasing the driving range by 2 km.Originality/value The comparative analysis of motor core by replacing 35PN250 to 25PNX1250F results in improvement effects traveling 4.62 and 5.16 km farther in the Simplified Federal Urban Driving Schedule (SFUDS) and Highway Fuel Economy Driving Schedule (HWFET), respectively. It was also verified that regenerative braking system is able to enhance drive efficiency by 29-31.3 km in the SFUDS and 6.5-7.3 km in the HWFET. From comparison of price rise for increasing driving mileage by 2 km, it is noted that the change of electrical steels used for the motor core is the lowest priced method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflict occurs in all aspects of life, and people tend to consider a variety of factors in the face of it and hesitate to make decisions among multiple choices. This paper performs a three-way conflict analysis in the dual hesitant fuzzy case. Firstly, we propose the concept of dual hesitant fuzzy situation tables (DHFSTs). Subsequently, we trisect the pairs of agents and objectively calculate issue weights by CRITIC method rather than subjective assignments. According to Bayesian minimum risk theory, we derive trisection of agents, in which the state set is calculated objectively. Then, we analyze three issue sets through the conflicting characters of issues, which provides a new way to consider the trisection of issues. In addition, we put forward the definition of maximal coalitions in DHFSTs and give an effective calculation method. Finally, we illustrate the feasibility of the proposed model by analyzing the development plan in Gansu Province, and conduct a brief comparative analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to better understand communication between musicians in a free jazz improvisation in comparison to traditional jazz. Design/methodology/approach - A cybernetic informative feedback model was used to study communication between musicians for free jazz. The conceptual model consists of the ears as sensors, an auditory analysis stage to convert the acoustic signals into symbolic information (e.g. notated music), a cognitive processing stage (to make decisions and adapt the performance to what is being heard), and an effector (e.g. muscle movement to control an instrument). It was determined which musical features of the co-players have to be extracted to be able to respond adequately in a music improvisation, and how this knowledge can be used to build an automated music improvisation system for free jazz. Findings - The three major findings of this analysis were: in traditional jazz a soloist only needs to analyze a very limited set of music ensemble features, but in free jazz the performer has to observe each musician individually; unlike traditional jazz, free jazz is not a strict rule-based system. Consequently, the musicians need to develop their personal symbolic representation; which could be a machine-adequate music representation for an automated music improvisation system. The latter could be based on acoustic features that can be extracted robustly by a computer algorithm. Practical implications - Gained knowledge can be applied to build automated music improvisation systems for free jazz. Originality/value - The paper expands our knowledge to create intelligent music improvisation algorithms to algorithms that can improvise with a free jazz ensemble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The effect of top predator interference on the dynamics of a tritrophic food chain model is the principal goal to study general framework for three species food chain models in which intermediate and top predators are specialist and generalist types respectively where the top predator grows by sexual reproduction. • This concept is used to design five different models in this paper by five different combinations of functional responses of specialist intermediate predator (food uptake process follows either prey dependent, Holling type III/IV or prey-predator dependent, BD-functional response) and sexually reproductive generalist top predator (food uptake follows strictly prey-predator dependent, BD/CM functional response) respectively assuming the fact that the growth of intermediate predator is mediated by gestation delay. • Stability of each equilibria of the non-delayed counterpart of each model and the existence of Hopf-bifurcation for the coexisting equilibrium point of all delayed systems are established. • The delayed and non-delayed models can blow-up in finite time under sufficient conditions on the initial data. Furthermore, some dynamic behaviors of the systems are clarified by some numerical tests. The numerical simulations show that the gestation delay can act as a damping mechanism and prevent blow-up in certain critical range of gestation period. • Ecological implications of this phenomenon are discussed. Depending upon the choice of food, availability of resource and growth structure, food uptake process of higher trophic level species are significantly complicated and gives interesting dynamical impacts on community food chain. The effect of top predator interference on the dynamics of a tritrophic food chain model is the principal goal to study general framework for three species food chain models in which intermediate and top predators are specialist and generalist types respectively where the top predator grows by sexual reproduction. This concept is used to design five different models in this paper by five different combinations of functional responses of specialist intermediate predator (food uptake process follows either prey dependent, Holling type III/IV or prey-predator dependent, Beddington-DeAngelis (BD)-functional response) and sexually reproductive generalist top predator (food uptake follows strictly prey-predator dependent, BD/Crowley–Martin (CM) functional response) respectively assuming the fact that the growth of intermediate predator is mediated by gestation delay. We establish the stability of each equilibrium point of the non-delayed counterpart of each model and investigate the existence of Hopf-bifurcation for the coexistence equilibrium point of all delayed systems. We also show that both the delayed and non delayed models can blow-up in finite time under sufficient conditions on the initial data. Furthermore, some dynamic behaviors of the systems are clarified by some numerical tests. The numerical simulations show that the gestation delay can act as a damping mechanism and prevent blow-up in certain critical range of gestation period. Ecological implications of this phenomenon are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the conventional direct torque control (DTC) of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), hysteresis controllers are used to choose the proper voltage vector resulting in large torque ripples, and the inverse voltage vector, employed in this system instead of the zero voltage vectors used in an induction motor, can accelerate the torque response but enlarges the torque ripples at the same time. To ameliorate the steady state effectiveness of the PMSM DTC system a SVM scheme is introduced in this paper. In the direct torque, control scheme using space vector modulation (DTC-SVM) for permanent magnet synchronous motor. The study of PMSM shows that the increase of electromagnetic torque is related to the increase of the angle between the stator and rotor flux linkages and therefore swift torque response can be obtained by increasing the rotating speed of the stator flux linkage as fast as possible. This paper presents a simulation and a practical implementation for the conventional DTC and the DTC-SVM based control of the PMSM, using a dSPACE-1104. To confirm the efficacy of the proposed technique, simulation and experimental results are presented. Besides, the system associated with these techniques can effectively decrease flux and torque ripples with better dynamic and steady performance. The results with the SVM technique show more performances than the results with the conventional DTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a scalar wave is solved in the fully explicit finite difference time domain scheme for different stencils based on the cubic crystal system. In particular, we study four systems: the simple cubic, the body-centered cubic, the face-centered cubic and the compact packing cubic. In many papers that are focused on the artificial anisotropy induced by these grids in the propagated wave, one candidate is often better than all the others. In this manuscript, we study the stability, the physical phase velocity error and the anisotropy under two views. Firstly, we consider the same burdens or density of nodes per cubic wavelength and secondly we look at the asymptotic case. We also investigate the computational complexity based on several considerations: burdens, asymptotic time and implementation difficulties. Therefore, we pointed out how each problem or application, due to its different characteristics, has an appropriate grid in order to be treated properly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the politicisation of urban water services governance, over a hundred European cities have implemented water services remunicipalisation reforms inspired by the theory of water management as a common. This paper aims to answer questions about the contextual variables that impact the water utility governance processes and the factors that determine the policymakers' choices. In particular, the work reconstructs the water remunicipalisation reforms of Paris (2009) and Naples (2011) with the Process-Tracing method, compares them, evaluates their outcomes and formulates previsions about their continuance. We base the analysis on qualitative data collected by documentary investigations and 27 in-depth interviews with protagonists of the remunicipalisation processes. Despite implementing the same management model, the water remunicipalisation has produced profoundly different governance processes and outcomes. The Parisian remunicipalisation was quick, efficient, almost conflict-free, and produced a slight implementation gap, whereas the Neapolitan one was long, complex, highly conflictual and generated a substantial implementation gap. Contextual variables and actors' behaviour are essential in explaining water policy reform outcomes. The protagonists of analysed reforms have taken decisions based on opportunities and limits defined by their local contexts and the relational systems in which they are historically embedded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the field of intelligent decision making continues to evolve, research on multi-attribute group decision making (MAGDM) is advancing at a steady pace. Nevertheless, existing research seldom addresses the aggregated solution of self-confidence and consensus in decision making information with diverse possibilities, despite its relevance to uncertain decision making environments. Consequently, this paper presents an approach to self-confidence and consensus-based group decision making. Firstly, the method provides a way for transforming three-parameter interval grey numbers into randomized decision making information. This establishes the foundation for the computation of possibility decision making information for uncertain decisions. Then, a method based on self-confidence and consensus is developed to determine the decision makers (DMs) weights, which is derived from the randomized decision making information. Next, a novel self-confidence index (SCI) for computing self-confidence and a new group consensus index (GCI) for computing consensus are demonstrated, and a reliability index (REI) method for randomized decision making information is given, which is used to identify high self-confidence and high consensus decision making information to improve the quality of decisions. Subsequently, a possibility ranking method is constructed based on pairwise comparisons of alternatives, taking into account density preferences, in order to obtain final possibility ranking conclusions. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to illustrate the concrete implementation process of the methods employed in this research. The efficacy of the proposed method is also demonstrated through a comparative analysis with the other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study conducted by Yancheng Teachers University in Jiangsu, China, examined the relationship between job performance, burnout, and psychological counseling among academics. The study found that higher job performance was associated with lower levels of burnout and psychological counseling. The researchers suggested that pre-counseling measures could be implemented to address burnout in the academic field and improve job performance. The study emphasizes the importance of employee competence in preventing burnout and ensuring better performance in higher education. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the increasing influence of digital platforms in shaping consumer behaviors and preferences. Topics include the role of data analytics in targeting marketing strategies, the impact of social media influencers on brand perception, and the shift towards personalized advertising in the digital age.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate in a self-designed closed loop reactor process conditions for thermal inactivation of B16 melanoma cells by microwave and conventional heating.Design/methodology/approach Besides control experiments (37°C), inactivation rate was determined in the range from 42°C to 46°C. Heating was achieved either by microwave radiation at 2.45 GHz or by warm water. To distinguish viable from dead cells, AnnexinV staining method was used and supported by field effect scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) imaging. Furthermore, numerical simulations were done to get a closer look into both heating devices. To investigate the thermal influence on cell inactivation and the differences between heating methods, a reaction kinetics approach was added as well.Findings Control experiments and heating at 42°C resulted in low inactivation rates. Inactivation rate at 44°C remained below 12% under conventional, whereas it increased to >70% under microwave heating. At 46°C, inactivation rate attained 68% under conventional heating; meanwhile, even 88% were determined under microwave heating. FE-SEM images showed a porous membrane structure under microwave heating in contrast to mostly intact conventional heated cells. Numerical simulations of both heating devices and a macroscopic Arrhenius approach could not sufficiently explain the observed differences in inactivation.Originality/value A combination of thermal and electrical effects owing to microwave heating results in higher inactivation rates than conventional heating achieves. Nevertheless, it was not possible to determine the exact mechanisms of inactivation under microwave radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to perform an optimal design of single phase permanent magnet brushless DC motor (SPBLDCM) using efficiency of the motor as objective function. In the design procedure performed on SPBLDCM, particle swarm optimisation (PSO) as an optimisation tool is used. Design/methodology/approach -- The created computer programme for optimal design of electrical machines is based on the PSO. According to the design characteristics of SPBLDCM, some of the motor parameters are chosen to be constant and others variable. A comparative analysis of both motor models based on the value of the objective function, as well as the values of the optimisation parameters, is performed. Findings -- From the comparative data analysis of both motor models, it can be concluded that the main objective of the optimisation is realised, and it is achieved by an improvement of the efficiency of the motor. Originality/value -- An optimisation technique based on PSO has been developed and applied to the design of SPBLDCM. According to the results it can be concluded that the PSO is a very suitable tool for design optimisation of SPBLDCM and electromagnetic devices in general. The quality of the PSO model has been proved through the data analysis of the prototype and optimised solution. At the end, the quality of the PSO solution has been again proved by comparative analysis of the two motor models using FEM as a performance analysis tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The news editors obtained a quote from the research from Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences: "The study's theoretical framework draws on scholarship on culturally responsive assessment. According to news originating from Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "This paper explores and compares student teachers' experiences and perspectives on culturally responsive assessment in compulsory schooling in Denmark and Iceland." Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Researcher Details New Studies and Findings in the Area of Education (Culturally responsive assessment in compulsory schooling in Denmark and Iceland - An illusion or a reality?. [Extracted from the article]

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of Western Australia, "In this paper we draw on set-theoretic theory and propose qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) as an analytical method able to complement and extend macromarketing research programs. Keywords: Perth; Australia; Australia and New Zealand; Biological Products; Fuzzy Logic; Health and Medicine; Immunization; Vaccines EN Perth Australia Australia and New Zealand Biological Products Fuzzy Logic Health and Medicine Immunization Vaccines 324 324 1 09/11/23 20230911 NES 230911 2023 SEP 13 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Vaccine Weekly -- Investigators publish new report on Immunization - Vaccines. Perth, Australia, Australia and New Zealand, Biological Products, Fuzzy Logic, Health and Medicine, Immunization, Vaccines. [Extracted from the article]