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Worldwide museums hold collections of eggshells representing material for descriptive studies. However, an obstacle to this is the lack of information about the original contents and weight of the entire egg (W). This study aimed to fill this gap though development of a methodological mechanism for calculating the volume of the egg interior (Vi), its density (Di) and W. To determine Vi, it is sufficient to measure four geometric dimensions of the egg and shell thickness. The Di value depends on the surface area-to-volume ratio (S/V) and can be calculated from an empirical relationship. For its derivation, data on 454 eggs from 447 avian species, 95 families and 13 orders were used. Imputing data on the contents and shell weight (Ws), we proposed a theoretical relationship for calculating W. We found a negative correlation between Di and S/V (which reflects the egg metabolism level) and suggest that a female in most species maintains the duration of egg incubation at a constant level that has practically an unchanged value for the respective species. A mathematical algorithm for calculating the Di value depending on the S/V ratio provides the missing link in calculating W of a whole egg from archived collection material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly customized products and rapid delivery are essential in modern assembly systems, while efficient and error-free assembly processes are crucial. Supporting assembly operators with assembly instructions is paramount, but creating and maintaining qualitative instructions for high-variety, low-volume production systems is complicated and labor-intensive. Consequently, quality problems in assembly instructions are frequent and usually result in severe adverse outcomes. Recognizing and addressing these problems is challenging, as available assembly information on the shop floor is often not monitored, and instruction authors are overwhelmed by the workload. This research proposes a novel methodology for automatically and objectively evaluating the quality of assembly instructions based on the Behavioral Observation Theory. A behavioral coding scheme for manual assembly activities was developed, and the effects of low-quality instructions were explored through an empirical study. In a series of assembly experiments, subjects performed tasks guided by intentionally flawed instructions. The most impactful behavior types were identified and used as input features for a classifier algorithm, which computes a probability score for quality issues in an instruction version. This approach enabled us to identify low-quality instructions via operator behavior with an accuracy of 64% and estimate the type of quality problem with 54% accuracy. While there is room for improvement in accuracy, the most significant quality problems were successfully identified. By highlighting these issues, the method engineer can address them effectively, substantially enhancing the set of assembly instructions. We pinpointed areas for further research and improvements, which will enhance the monitoring of the quality of assembly instructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I estimate the effect of tightness on wages in Hungary and Slovakia. The Mortensen Pissarides model predicts a positive relationship but the empirical evidence is scarce. I instrument tightness by the distance of a district from the Austrian border, interacted with a dummy that marks the opening of the Austrian labour market to these countries in 2011. I find a positive effect of tightness on wages, which is in line with the conclusion of the models. If tightness increase by 1 per cent than ceteris paribus wages increase by roughly 0.2 per cent both in Hungary and Slovakia as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a rich body of research concerning Jews who lived in Germany before 1933. Publications on the Holocaust are equally numerous, a significant proportion of this output tackling historical (and contemporary) antisemitism in Germany from a non-Jewish perspective. Much less is known about the post-1945 Jewish population of the former East and West (now reunited) Germany: in terms of Jewish socio-demography, life-worlds, cultural heritage, praxes and about Jewish perspectives on antisemitism. The aim of this article is threefold. Content-wise, it sets out to summarise the existing social scientific research on the post-1945ers, and to identify gaps therein in terms of empirical research, both quantitative and qualitative. Structurally, it seeks to determine the scope and frame of research concerning the post-1945 Jewish population of Germany, demonstrating thus that the study of contemporary Jews is replete with lacunae. Practically, the article outlines the consequences of patchy knowledge, and the hampered knowledge transfer within academia and to the public – consequences which have become painfully clear in the wake of October 7, 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial studies were made and proposed empirical relationships for the thermal conductivity of nanofluids. The influence of nanoparticle fraction, shape, size, and thermal behavior of nanoparticles, concurrently, is lacking in many of the established thermal conductivity relations. This paper proposes a model that reflects the effect of such omitted aspects on hybrid nanofluids' thermal conductivity. Various Al2O3 hybrid nanofluids having different particle volume concentrations (0.1 and 0.01 v%), shapes (sphere, cylindrical, and flake), and sizes were prepared with DI water as base fluid. In a few cases particle ratio is changed (0:5, 1:4, 2:3, 3:2, 4:1, 5:0) keeping fixed total particle concentration. Various nanoparticle combinations considered are AlN–Al2O3, SiC–Al2O3, TiO2–Al2O3, MWCNT–Al2O3, Graphene–Al2O3, and MgO–Al2O3. Also, examined the impact of different particle volumetric ratios and the liquid temperature (283 K–308 K). Results have shown a 3.4% rise in the thermal conductivity of alumina-graphene hybrid nanofluids (having 0.01% volume concentration). A model for the thermal conductivity of hybrid nanofluids is developed using the AI technique (Symbolic regression) and validated by taking discrete particle size, particle volume ratio, thermal conductivity of nanoparticles and base fluid, temperature, and shape function into consideration. The experimental data were compared with the existing correlation and found a deviation of up to 6%. A comparison of test results with the present model indicates a 3.1% deviation that is acceptable. Hence, the present model will provide the thermal conductivity data with accuracy of 3.1%. The proposed formula will reduce the experimental cost and time taken to determine the thermal conductivity of alumina-water hybrid suspensions. Please check the edit made in the article title.Article title is correct Please check the clarity of the sentence 'Also, examined the impact of different particle...'. Correct sentence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human oversight has become a key mechanism for the governance of artificial intelligence ("AI"). Human overseers are supposed to increase the accuracy and safety of AI systems, uphold human values, and build trust in the technology. Empirical research suggests, however, that humans are not reliable in fulfilling their oversight tasks. They may be lacking in competence or be harmfully incentivised. This creates a challenge for human oversight to be effective. In addressing this challenge, this article aims to make three contributions. First, it surveys the emerging laws of oversight, most importantly the European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act ("AIA"). It will be shown that while the AIA is concerned with the competence of human overseers, it does not provide much guidance on how to achieve effective oversight and leaves oversight obligations for AI developers underdefined. Second, this article presents a novel taxonomy of human oversight roles, differentiated along whether human intervention is constitutive to, or corrective of a decision made or supported by an AI. The taxonomy allows to propose suggestions for improving effectiveness tailored to the type of oversight in question. Third, drawing on scholarship within democratic theory, this article formulates six normative principles which institutionalise distrust in human oversight of AI. The institutionalisation of distrust has historically been practised in democratic governance. Applied for the first time to AI governance, the principles anticipate the fallibility of human overseers and seek to mitigate them at the level of institutional design. They aim to directly increase the trustworthiness of human oversight and to indirectly inspire well-placed trust in AI governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Productive peer interactions are often characterized by productive peer talk moves. This study aims to synthesize an empirical list of productive peer talk moves from existing studies, quantify the efficacy of talk moves in promoting peer interaction and collaboration outcomes, and understand the preconditions of talk moves benefits in authentic settings. A total of 24 empirical studies were included in the systematic review, where 17 of the experimental studies (k = 39, n = 2636) were analyzed in meta-synthesis. The study offers three main contributions: (1) an ordered list of 24 productive peer talk moves extracted from a range of empirical studies; (2) the aggregate sizes of the positive effects that productive peer talk moves have on interaction quality (Hedges' g = 1.27), domain-specific knowledge (g = 0.96), domain-general knowledge (g = 1.02), and solution quality (g = 0.70); and (3) common explanations for the malfunction of productive peer talk moves in existing interventions. This review confirms the robust positive effects of productive peer talk moves on peer interaction, learning, and problem-solving, and may inform future research on the analysis of peer interaction or the design of peer talk scaffolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recommender systems facilitate the discovery of relevant content in several online communities by analyzing users' past interactions and preferences. With the expansion of data-intensive online activities and online content, cybersecurity risks have increased. Users may not be adequately protected by traditional collaborative recommendation systems. Sparsity and cold-start are common challenges for traditional recommendation systems. Advances in deep learning have enabled recommender systems to enhance user behavior prediction precision, a task previously deemed unattainable. To enhance privacy and speed up neighbor searches, we propose locality sensitive hashing (LSH) in neighbor-based embedded learning. Through an adversarial approach, LSH enables efficient neighbor searching. Deriving multi-view embeddings from diverse behavioral data enhances the accuracy of predictions. By using multi-view preference embeddings, user preferences can be depicted more intricately. LSH, neighbor-centered embedding, self-embedding, and interaction-aware embedding are all used to accomplish this task. In addition to providing efficient similarity search capabilities, neighbor-based embedding learning and adversarial search provide robust privacy protection. As a result, the outcomes are consolidated into an advanced prediction system based on long short-term memory. Numerous empirical studies with authentic datasets demonstrate that our proposed methodology outperforms existing state-of-the-art benchmarks in terms of predictive accuracy, while maintaining robust security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2006 to 2018 to empirically test the influence of the Internet on the innovation gap between regions. Contrary to our intuition, the test results show that the development of the Internet has increased the innovation gap between regions. At the same time, we found that this impact is different in different regions, and the impact on those underdeveloped regions is more significant. We analyze the mechanism that causes this effect through the mediation effect model, and the results show that the Internet mainly affects the unbalanced flow of labor, thereby increasing the innovation gap between regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students' academic engagement is greatly informed by a classroom's social climate. However, more research is needed regarding how specific peer behavior, especially prosocial behavior, come to shape academic engagement. The present study investigated whether students' perceptions about their classmates' prosocial behavior were associated with their academic engagement (cognitive, behavioral, affective) across the school year. Indirect effects via increases in students' own prosocial behavior were examined. Participants were 905 middle school students from rural, low-income communities in the Midwestern United States (50% girls, 46% boys; Mage = 12.94 years). Students completed self-report surveys in the fall and spring of the 2022–2023 school year. Results revealed that students' perceptions of their classmates' prosocial behavior were positively associated with students' own prosocial behavior. Students' own prosocial behavior was positively associated with all three dimensions of engagement. The positive indirect effect of classmates' prosocial behavior on engagement through students' own prosocial behavior was significant. The findings highlight the importance of classmates' behavior on individuals' academic engagement and offer insights into classroom-based interventions aimed at improving collective behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of translation quality self-evaluation represents a shift of focus from product to process in the field of translation quality research. As this is a new and rarely explored field of investigation, a complete description of the research object will serve as a strong foundation for its future development. This research uses screen-recording software as an instrument to observe the phenomena of translation quality self-evaluation as manifested by expert translators. The results of the observation prove that translation quality self-evaluation is an essential part of any translation process, and that it takes place not only in the revision stage but also in the very first stage of meaning generation. The research also sheds some light on the content, criteria, and external and internal resources used in the process of translation quality self-evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the relationship between pre-service teachers' understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS), epistemic beliefs (EB), and pseudoscientific beliefs (PSB), and whether there is a difference between pre-service teachers' understanding of NOS and pseudoscientific beliefs with sophisticated and naive epistemological beliefs. The sample consisted of 159 pre-service science teachers. The empirical study is based on correlational design. Nature of Science, Epistemic Beliefs, and Pseudoscience Beliefs Scales were used to collect the data. The results revealed that the pre-service teachers having sophisticated epistemic beliefs have also more sophisticated views of nature of science. According to the findings, no significant correlation was found between pre-service teachers' pseudoscientific beliefs, epistemic beliefs, and nature of science views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the ways in which two distinct spiritual traditions, Ghazālī's Ṣūfīsm and Śaṅkarian Advaita Vedānta, articulate an exclusive metaphysical affirmation of the Ultimate Reality with an empirical recognition of relative existence. Both perspectives are shown to be radically absolutist in their discernment of the Real and in their denying metaphysical reality to other-than-the-Absolute. This raises the question of the ontological status of relativity and empirical existence. Although Islam would seem to assign a greater reality to the world of relativity and human experience, Ghazālī's most metaphysical treatise, Mishkāt al-anwār (The Niche of Lights), utterly denies the intrinsic reality of creatures in themselves. Similarly, Śaṅkara affirms the non-existence of māyā, the principle of ignorance and duality, as a superimposition upon ātman, the Divine Self immanent to all. Ghazālī concedes, however, that relative existence is "metaphorically" existent (majāz) while Śaṅkara acknowledges the "transactional" reality (vyāvahārika) of empirical existence. Such recognitions involve a multi-stratified view of reality that must account for both metaphysical consistency and empirical access to Reality. This essay shows that although fundamental parallels between the two worlds of meaning can be highlighted, their respective metaphysical perspectives and views of relativity are also quite distinct inasmuch as they are informed by profoundly different religious and traditional contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sheds new light on the debate between the Discovery and Creation views of entrepreneurial opportunity by drawing on quantum theory. We develop the Quantum view of opportunity, which explains how opportunity is both discovered and created. The Quantum view holds that the ontology and epistemology of opportunity are fundamentally inseparable, which explains why opportunity can never be fully specified. We argue, similar to the Discovery view, that opportunity exists as latent states irrespective of entrepreneurs and that, similar to the Creation view, opportunity is instantiated through entrepreneurial action, which changes opportunity. We use the Quantum view as a thought-provoking metaphor that facilitates the breaking out of the mold of ingrained thinking and moves beyond the Discovery-Creation dichotomy to further our understanding of entrepreneurship. We discuss how the Quantum view relates to established theoretical and empirical research in the entrepreneurship field. Plain English Summary: Rethinking Entrepreneurial Opportunity: A Quantum view! Discover how opportunities are both found and made. #QuantumOpportunity. Entrepreneurial opportunities have long been debated: are they discovered or created? Inspired by quantum mechanics, this article introduces a fresh perspective called the "Quantum view." Instead of seeing opportunities as either discovered or created, the Quantum view suggests that they are both created and discovered. It urges us to rethink conventional wisdom. Instead of just "finding" or "making" opportunities, the Quantum view suggests that opportunities exist in potential states and are realized through entrepreneurial enactment. Entrepreneurs can gather information about opportunities, but they can never fully specify them because every time they interact with an opportunity, they change it. Thus, the Quantum view emphasizes that we can learn about, but never fully specify, opportunities. This helps researchers think differently about opportunities and avoid extreme positions such as that entrepreneurs create something from nothing or that some entrepreneurs can accurately predict the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines obstacles and tactics in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-oriented public sector innovation (PSI). We analyzed 137 SDGs-oriented PSIs in Thailand and Korea. First, our results indicate that the configuration of obstacles is influenced by politico-administrative context and innovation type. Organizational level obstacles are more frequent in Thailand, whereas interaction level obstacles are more common in Korea. Second, we reveal the tactics used to overcome various kinds of obstacles and develop a classification that identifies a new tactics type, forming & coordinating for tackling obstacles originating from the governance of collaboration in the innovation process. This empirical study provides public managers with insights to comprehend PSI obstacles and choose effective tactics for overcoming them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the estimation of the marginal excess moment (MEM), which is defined for a random vector (X, Y) and a parameter β > 0 as E [ (X - Q X (1 - p)) + β | Y > Q Y (1 - p) ] provided E | X | β < ∞ , and where y + : = max (0 , y) , Q X and Q Y are the quantile functions of X and Y respectively, and p ∈ (0 , 1) . Our interest is in the situation where the random variable X is of Weibull-type while the distribution of Y is kept general, the extreme dependence structure of (X, Y) converges to that of a bivariate extreme value distribution, and we let p ↓ 0 as the sample size n → ∞ . By using extreme value arguments we introduce an estimator for the marginal excess moment and we derive its limiting distribution. The finite sample properties of the proposed estimator are evaluated with a simulation study and the practical applicability is illustrated on a dataset of wave heights and wind speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality strategic environmental assessment (SEA) guidelines are essential for ensuring effective SEA implementation. However, empirical studies appraising the quality of existing guidelines are scarce, particularly in Africa. This paper evaluates the quality of national SEA guidelines in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, focusing on their potential to support strategic thinking and practice. Data were drawn from guideline documents and analysed using content analysis against best practice, strategic criteria. The analysis reveals that while guidelines share some commonalities, they differ in scope, specificity and strategic orientation. They all incorporate important guiding principles, but only partially address other best practice criteria. Notably, they offer inconsistent guidance on structuring the assessment process and engaging decision windows, which may limit their practical usefulness. The findings highlight opportunities for improving future guideline development, revision and updates. This research and policy recommendations will benefit practitioners, policy-makers and other stakeholders in the case countries and similar jurisdictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducts a meta-analysis on the day-of-the-week effect to shed more light on the replication crisis of this stock market anomaly. The findings confirm that Mondays and Tuesdays provide, on average, lower daily returns. In addition, Wednesdays and Fridays indicate higher returns, with an unexpectedly strong middle-of-the-week effect on Wednesdays. The study highlights the influence of study design on these findings and notes a more substantial effect in the 1980s and 1990s. While differences in empirical methods do not impact the anomaly, index choices affect findings on day-dependent returns. The real estate sector especially stands out with a stronger day-of-the-week effect. However, geographic differences are mostly insignificant except for Oceania. Cultural differences demonstrate a weak but significant effect on abnormal daily returns. From a meta-perspective, outliers remain an essential driver for this stock market anomaly, indicating that study design is not the only factor driving the replication crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the widely recognized importance of metacognition in language learning, relatively few empirical studies have investigated the role of metacognitive strategies with a cross-linguistic perspective. Drawing on the mixed-method design combining questionnaire and interview data, this study systematically investigated the effects, the transfer potential, and the cross-language facilitation of metacognitive strategies between L1 and L2 contexts. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and multigroup analysis results revealed that metacognitive strategies afforded a more prominent predictive role in English (L2) writing than in Chinese (L1) writing; such strategy use transferred between the two writing contexts, which kept invariant between lower- and higher- L2 proficiency groups and between English and non-English major groups; and there was a cross-language facilitation effect of L1 writing metacognitive strategies on L2 writing performance via the mediation of L2 writing metacognitive strategies. Complementary to the quantitative results, the qualitative interview data was analyzed to provide deep insights into the participating students' metacognitive strategy use in the two task-situated writing. Findings are extensively discussed to offer theoretical and pedagogical implications in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In responding to Harvey Lederman's essay on the "unity of knowledge and action," this essay takes up Wang Yangming's 王陽明 writings on war to consider what Lederman calls Wang's theoretical and therapeutic approaches to philosophy. Wang's writings on his experiences in war provide a unique lens to think through the "unity of knowledge and action" as they point to several tensions within that idea. Battle is thus described both as an illustration of how knowledge and action can be unified, but also, somewhat counterintuitively, as a sordid state of affairs that might be avoided altogether if knowledge and action were actually unified. I also show how Wang's ethical reflections on war point to what I call Wang's compartmentalized understanding of genuine knowledge, namely, when one has genuine knowledge of one relationship (e.g., loyalty to ruler) without genuine knowledge of another (e.g., filiality toward parents). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lederman makes a distinction between the ben ti 本體 ("original natural condition") of knowledge and action and the gong fu 工夫 ("training") of knowledge and action, associating "unity" with ben ti and "joint advancement" with gong fu. This essay argues that both "unity" and "joint advancement" are used to describe the ben ti of knowledge and action, and Wang Yangming 王陽明 emphasizes the unity of the ben ti and gong fu of knowledge and action. Yangming's doctrine of the ben ti of knowledge and action is ultimately for practical potency and should not be reduced to a theoretical philosophy of the truth about knowledge and action. Yangming's philosophy is for genuine knowledge of genuine knowledge and action. If Yangming's philosophy is genuine, it must be characterized by the unity of knowledge and action. In other words, the appropriate methodology to read Yangming must be the unity of knowledge and action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I aim to explore and demonstrate a specific mode of transcultural philosophical comparison by introducing an innovative theoretical model that I tentatively call the "method of sublation." Through an illuminating case study centered around Li Zehou 李澤厚, a prominent figure credited with pioneering this method, its profound potential for generating creative innovation comes to light. Li Zehou skillfully combined Kant's transcendental philosophy and Marx's historical materialism, creating a unique synthesis that sublated traditional divides. This sublation elevates the empirical, seamlessly integrating it into the transcendental domain. The foundation of this paper lies in providing a concise yet comprehensive overview of the method's theoretical underpinnings, closely followed by a meticulous dissection of its operational structure. A tangible application of the method is then vividly demonstrated through Li Zehou's adept process of seamlessly sublating static Kantian a priori forms with the dynamic principles of Marxist social development theory, exemplifying the potency of this transformative approach in the realm of philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational ethics—defined as the alignment of an institution's practices with its mission, vision, and values—is a growing field in health care not well characterized in empirical literature. To capture the scope and context of organizational ethics work in United States healthcare institutions, we conducted a nationwide convenience survey of ethicists regarding the scope of organizational ethics work, common challenges faced, and the organizational context in which this work is done. In this article, we report substantial variability in the structure of organizational ethics programs and the settings in which it is conducted. Notable findings included disagreement about the activities that comprise organizational ethics and a lack of common metrics used to assess organizational ethics activities. A frequently cited barrier to full engagement in these activities was poor institution-wide understanding about the role and function of organizational ethics resources. These data suggest a tension in the trajectory of organizational ethics' professionalization: while some variability is appropriate to the field's relative youth, inadequate attention to definitions of organizational ethics practice and metrics for success can impede discussions about appropriate institutional support, leadership context, and training for practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the current empirical accounting research paradigm. We ask: In general, do the estimated regressions support the promoted narratives? We focus on a regression model's main variable of interest and consider the extent to which it contributes to the explanation of the dependent variable. We replicate 10 recently published accounting studies, all of which rely on significant t-statistics, per conventional levels, to claim rejection of the null hypothesis. Our examination shows that in eight studies, the incremental explanatory power contributed by the main variable of interest is effectively zero. For the remaining two, the incremental contribution is at best marginal. These findings highlight the apparent overreliance on t-statistics as the primary evaluation metric. A closer examination of the data shows that the t-statistics produced reject the null hypothesis primarily due to a large number of observations (N). Empirical accounting studies often require N > 10,000 to reject the null hypothesis. To avoid the drawback of t-statistics' connection with N, we consider the implications of using Standardized Regressions (SR). The magnitude of SR coefficients indicates variables' relevance directly. Empirical analyses establish a strong correlation between a variable's estimated SR coefficient magnitude and its incremental explanatory power, without reference to N or t-statistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical studies on the relationship between shareholder litigation and corporate disclosure obtain mixed results. We develop an economic model to capture the endogeneity between disclosure and litigation. Equilibrium disclosure is determined by two countervailing effects of litigation, a deterrence effect and an insurance effect. We derive four key results. (i) Decreasing litigation risk leads to less disclosure of very bad news, due to a weakening of the deterrence effect, but to more disclosure of weakly bad news, due to a weakening of the insurance effect. (ii) Given a sufficiently large information asymmetry, litigation risk dampens (boosts) overall disclosure of bad news for low (high) litigation risk firms. (iii) Capital markets respond more to the disclosure of bad news than of good news if the deterrence effect is strong, which arises if both insiders' penalties and litigation risk are high. (iv) In an extension, we highlight real effects of litigation on corporate innovation and establish that innovation first decreases and then increases (strictly decreases) with litigation risk if insiders' penalties are small (large). We reconcile our findings with results from a large set of U.S.-based empirical studies and make several novel predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forecasting emergency medical service (EMS) call volumes is critical for resource allocation and planning. The development of many commercial and free software packages has made a variety of forecasting methods accessible. Practitioners, however, are left with little guidance on selecting the most appropriate method for their needs. Using 5 years of data from 3 cities in Alberta, we compute exponential smoothing and benchmark forecasts for 8-hour periods for each ambulance station catchment area and with a forecast horizon of two weeks—a spatio-temporal resolution appropriate for tactical planning. The methods that we consider differ on three spectra: the number and type of time-series components, whether forecasts are computed individually or jointly, and the way in which forecasts at a specific resolution are converted to forecasts at the resolution of interest. We find that it is important to include a weekly seasonal component when forecasting EMS demand. Multiplicative seasonality, however, shows no benefit over additive seasonality. Adding other time-series components (e.g., trend, ARMA errors, Box-Cox transformation) does not improve performance. Spatial resolutions of station catchment area and lower, and temporal resolution of 4–24 hours perform similarly. We adapt an existing hierarchical forecasting framework to a two-dimensional spatio-temporal hierarchy, but find that hierarchical reconciliation of forecasts does not improve performance at the forecast resolution of interest for tactical planning. Neither does jointly forecasting time series. We show that added complexity does not materially improve forecasting performance. The simple methods that we find perform well are easy to implement and interpret, making implementation in practice more likely. In a simulation study we alter the empirical weekly patterns and demonstrate how extreme differences between the weekly seasonality patterns of different regions cause hierarchically-reconciled bottom-up approaches to outperform top-down approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond health, physical activity (PA) is associated with better creative ideation performance. People who are habitually more physically active produce more original ideas when asked to think creatively about an alternative use of an everyday object such as a brick. This aligns with findings indicating a positive relationship of PA with more basic cognition, such as memory, attention, as well as executive functioning. However, to the best of our knowledge, to date, no empirical research examined the link between PA (or inactivity) and real-life creative behavior. Therefore, this study investigated how objective and subjective assessments of PA relate to creative activities and achievements. In a sample of 156 participants wearing a mobile sensor for up to five consecutive days, less sedentary behavior and more moderate-to-vigorous PA were associated with more frequent creative activities. A similar pattern of associations occurred for self-rated habitual PA, which explained additional and unique variance of creative activities as well as creative achievements. For objective PA (assessed via sensor), we did not find associations with creative achievements, openness, and creative behavior. The results of this study suggest that the positive effects of habitual PA may generalize from better health, cognition, and creative ideation performance outcomes to more real-life creative behavior such as cooking original dishes and making music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Containment, as a way of restricting mobilities, ranges from physical infrastructures to diffused control practices in everyday life. Alongside their physical, social, and political dimensions, such restrictions also engender various temporal borders and experiences of time particular to situations of containment. A prolific field of research has identified waiting and hope as strategies for both enforcing and surpassing containment. In response, anthropological research on future-making has highlighted a more diverse set of contextual and emergent practices that derive from imagining and realising migrants' futures. Yet, in contrast to waiting, migrants' future-making practices have seldom been related to containment. Besides containment informing future-making, migrants and control actors also manipulate time as they plan or experiment with futures to overcome or reinforce containment. Carrying elusive promises of a better future, containment infrastructures can also motivate migrants to stay put and accommodate restrictions to their mobility. This paper addresses how such different relational, often conflicting, practices of envisioning and realising migrant futures contribute to or subvert different types of containment. Building on empirical studies from Turkey, Niger and Kenya we suggest future-making as a relational, practice-oriented and contextual approach suited to trace the negotiation of migrant futures between migrants, control actors, and infrastructures in situations of spatiotemporal containment. We give special attention to resettlement as a form of containment due to its ability to limit mobility through promises of future mobility and its role in negotiating migrant futures. This article serves as a theoretical introduction into the emerging research field of contested future-making in containment and to the corresponding paper cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical count histograms involve the publication of count statistics at various granularities based on a predefined hierarchy within a dimension table in a data warehouse. This task finds extensive applications in on-line analytical processing (OLAP) scenarios. This paper focuses on the rigorous privacy-preserving constraint when dealing with an untrusted server. We conduct a systematic investigation of this task and uncover the limitations of the straightforward baseline approach using local differential privacy, as it fails to strike an optimal balance between privacy and utility. We are thus motivated to propose DP-HORUS, a novel crypto-assisted Differentially Private framework for Hierarchical cOunt histogRams under Untrusted Server. DP-HORUS consists of a series of novel designs, including (1) Encrypted hierarchical tree (EHT) structure, which maintains the concept hierarchy in the input data; (2) Random matrix (RM), which reduces communication and computational cost; (3) To further boosted the utility, we propose DP-HORUS+ encompassing two additional modules of histograms structure (HS) and hierarchical consistency (HC), which are respectively introduced to reduce the noise caused by data sparsity and to ensure the hierarchy consistency; (4) To further boost the robust performance, we propose a series of schemes for workload queries based on DP-HORUS. We provide both theoretical analysis and extensive empirical study on both real-world and synthetic datasets, which demonstrates the superior utility of the proposed methods over the state-of-the-art solutions while ensuring strict privacy guarantee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical cyclone forecasting relies on accurate sea surface temperature, yet the errors in available sea surface temperature products remain unclear. Here, I evaluate the sea surface temperature errors under tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific based on surface drifters across eight widely-used datasets, including satellite, atmospheric and oceanic analysis-or-reanalysis products, spanning from 2014 to 2023. The ensemble mean bias and root-mean-squared-error are firstly quantified. Both satellite and oceanic analysis sea surface temperatures exhibit a cold bias, while atmospheric analysis-or-reanalysis sea surface temperature shows a warm bias. Specifically, atmospheric analysis-or-reanalysis products consistently show a warm bias in the right-rear quadrant of the tropical cyclone coordinate system. Regarding root-mean-squared-error, for most products, the right side consistently exhibits higher errors than the left side. SST bias significantly impacts tropical cyclone intensity change as indicated by empirical relationship. These results provide direct insights for operational tropical cyclone forecasting and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate statistical properties of the optimal value of the Sample Average Approximation of stochastic programs, continuing the study (Krätschmer in Nonasymptotic upper estimates for errors of the sample average approximation method to solve risk averse stochastic programs, 2023. Forthcoming in SIAM J. Optim.). Central Limit Theorem type results are derived for the optimal value. As a crucial point the investigations are based on a new type of conditions from the theory of empirical processes which do not rely on pathwise analytical properties of the goal functions. In particular, continuity or convexity in the parameter is not imposed in advance as usual in the literature on the Sample Average Approximation method. It is also shown that the new condition is satisfied if the paths of the goal functions are Hölder continuous so that the main results carry over in this case. Moreover, the main results are applied to goal functions whose paths are piecewise Hölder continuous as e.g. in two stage mixed-integer programs. The main results are shown for classical risk neutral stochastic programs, but we also demonstrate how to apply them to the Sample Average Approximation of risk averse stochastic programs. In this respect we consider stochastic programs expressed in terms of absolute semideviations and divergence risk measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools and friendships represent important but distinct contexts for adolescent identity development. However, research has yet to explore the long-term interplay between these factors on ethnic/racial identity (ERI). This study included a sample of 640 adolescents from 9 public high schools in a diverse United States metropolis (Mage = 14.50, SD = 0.67; 44% Asian, 20% Black, 36% Latinx; female = 68%, male = 32%, non-binary = 0%). Latent growth curve modeling was conducted to investigate longitudinal associations in friendship ethnic/racial composition and ERI exploration. From the 9th–11th grades, same-race friends and ERI exploration increased linearly whereas friendship ethnic/racial diversity decreased linearly. Adolescents attending more ethnically/racially diverse schools maintained more ethnically/racially diverse friends over time but did not differ in changes in ERI exploration compared to adolescents in less diverse schools. There was no association between the rates at which adolescents' friendship ethnic/racial composition and ERI changed over time. More ethnically/racially diverse friends in the 9th-grade predicted faster increases in subsequent ERI exploration. The findings highlight important differences in the roles of friendship and school contexts on ERI, suggesting that friendship ethnic/racial diversity, but not school ethnic/racial diversity, facilitated ERI exploration over time. School ethnic/racial diversity did facilitate a slower decline in friendship ethnic/racial diversity, emphasizing the importance of school integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Parental combinations determined by genomic estimated usefulness and parental contributions of the lines in bridging population can enhance the genetic gain of traits of interest in maternal haploid inducer breeding. Parent selection in crosses aligns well with the quantitative trait performance in the progenies. We herein take advantage of estimated genetic values (EGV) and usefulness criteria (UC) of bi-parental combinations by genomic prediction (GP) to compare the empirical performance of doubled haploid inducer (DHI) progenies of eight elite inducers crosses in a half-diallel. We used parental contribution and discovery of superiors from elite-by-historical bridging populations to enhance genetic gain for long-term selection. In this empirical study, the narrow-sense heritabilities of four traits of interest (Days to flowering, DTF; haploid induction rate, HIR; plant height, PHT; Total primary branch length, PBL) in DHI population were 0.81, 0.71, 0.45 and 0.46, respectively. The genomic estimated EGV_Mid/Mean and EGV/UC_Inferior was significantly correlated with the sample mean of progenies and inferiors in four traits in the breeding and bridging population. EGV/UC_Superior were significantly correlated with the mean of superiors in DTF, PHT, and PBL in breeding and bridging populations. The genomic estimated parent contributions in DH progenies of bridging populations enabled discovery of favorable genome region from historical inducers to improve the genetic gain of HIR for long-term selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional viscoelastic-viscoplastic constitutive model is presented for predicting the dynamic mechanical behavior of an epoxy resin at low-to-medium strain rates. The model utilizes the generalized Maxwell model, incorporating two Maxwell elements in parallel with a nonlinear spring to represent the viscoelastic response at low and medium strain rates. By utilizing an empirical logarithmic relationship to predict the material properties at different strain rates, a nonlinear exponential relation based on overstress concepts is proposed for modeling the viscoplastic behavior. Comparing the tensile and shear stress–strain curves predicted by the proposed model with the experimentally measured curves, a good agreement is observed. Implementing the viscoelastic-viscoplastic model in commercial finite element software, a three-dimensional numerical discretization is performed. Through simulations of stress-relaxation and loading–unloading tests at various strain rates using the proposed material model, relaxation and hysteresis responses are analyzed. The model successfully predicts the experimentally measured hysteresis response of a specific epoxy resin during the loading cycle, consistent with other nonlinear viscoelastic models. This material model not only well replicates the nonlinear viscoelastic responses below the yield strain but also captures plastic nonlinearities at different strain rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding pathways to enable values-for-sustainability transformation is crucial. Despite the emergence of strategic insights and theoretical frameworks like the Four Perspectives, there remains a scarcity of empirical work to directly engage with values for pragmatic learning. We address this gap by presenting an empirical case study of an intervention designed to move two groups from non-collaborative to collaborative on the basis of newly found shared values. By conceptualizing values as tacit knowledge and employing the Knowledge Creation Theory, our intervention facilitated the development of cross-group shared values through Externalization and Combination modes. Our results demonstrate empirical evidence of values-engagement processes including Surfacing and Negotiation from Four Perspectives (i.e. Surfacing values, Negotiating values, Eliciting values, Transforming through values), and informs their sequence of appearance. We highlight the importance of a pool of shared experiences as basis for Surfacing, and demonstrate the utility of the SECI (Socialization, Externalization, Combination, Internalization) model to plan the utilization and sequencing of values-engagement processes towards achieving sustainability transformations. The findings suggest that starting with participants having shared experiences facilitates Surfacing and Negotiation of values, and enables developments of cross-group collaboration valuable for providing preparedness for a diversity of sustainability transformation contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the evaluation of multi-step point forecasting models. Currently, deep learning models for multi-step forecasting are evaluated on datasets by selecting one error metric that is aggregated across the time series and the forecast horizon. This approach hides insights that would otherwise be useful for practitioners when evaluating and selecting forecasting models. We propose four novel metrics to provide additional insights when evaluating models: 1) a win-loss metric that shows how models perform across time series in the dataset , allowing the practitioner to check whether the model is superior for all series or just a subset of series. 2) a variance weighted metric that accounts for differences in variance across the seasonal period. It can be used to evaluate models for seasonal datasets such as rush hour traffic prediction, where it is desirable to select the model that performs best during the periods of high uncertainty. 3) a delta horizon metric measuring how much models update their forecast for a period in the future over the forecast horizon. Less change to the forecast means more stability over time and is desirable for most forecasting applications. 4) decomposed errors that relate the forecasting error to trend, seasonality, and noise. Decomposing the errors allows the practitioners to identify for which components the model is making more errors and adjust the model accordingly. To show the applicability of the proposed metrics, we implement four deep learning architectures and conduct experiments on five benchmark datasets. We highlight several use cases for the proposed metrics and discuss the applicability in light of the empirical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicle to Everything (V2X), introduced in Release 14 of Long Term Evolution (LTE), incorporates specific types of vehicular communications. V2X uses the uplink spectrum in LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), and it can offer very low latency using direct data transfer. However, the management of interference in the uplink spectrum is a major challenge in V2X due to the coexistence of vehicular and ordinary cellular users in the cell. Thus, the signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) may degrade, jeopardizing the overall data transfer rate. An appropriate selection of underlay and overlay modes, for the users, can significantly improve the interference in a cell. However, there are so far no direct suggestions for this mode selection with optimum results. In this paper, formulations have been presented to clarify the decisive factors for the proper selection of the modes. Then a suboptimal solution has been proposed, for the selection of underlay or overlay modes, using the layering of a cell and an empirical relationship. Simulation has been performed to compare the proposed scheme with relevant works and alternative solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shear strength of sandy gravel with cobbles is difficult to determine for usually an in situ test needs to be performed. Six group of in situ tests were conducted to investigate the shear strength of sandy gravel with cobbles. However, the inner friction angle was highly underestimated compared with those from the other methods. This failure result could be explained comprehensively. The strength parameters were also investigated using a DCP test, an experimental method and a theoretical method. Moreover, a numerical simulation method was also used to determine the failure mode of the in situ test. Through comprehensive comparison of these results, the soil failure mechanism in the tests did not follow the direct shear failure but did follow the bearing-capacity failure model. The bottom boundary could not provide enough capacity during the test; hence, the shear strength was underestimated. Moreover, the in situ test results could be explained through the Meyerhof bearing-capacity theory on shallow foundations subjected to inclined loads. With increasing normal load, the horizontal force decreased, resulting in a small inner-friction angle. The theoretical result of the inner-friction angle of sandy gravel with cobbles was 42 ~ 47.5° in these test, which coincided with the numerical simulation and empirical methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates six commonly used detrending methods and discuss how detrending may change the timing of events, the identification of lead-lag relations between GDP and employment, and the identification of cycle periods. The detrending methods examined includes linear detrending, polynomial detrending, the first-order differencing, locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOESS), Hodrick–Prescott filter, and the Hamilton filter. We apply the detrending methods to the United States and United Kingdom gross domestic product (GDP) from 1977 to 2020. We find that for the GDP series the first-order differencing score best on all three criteria, however, it also shows more false recessions than the other detrending methods. A linear, a polynomial, and a LOESS trend all scored well. The three methods miss-specified the timing of the recessions with less than one quarter and all three gave results that would comply with stylized facts in macroeconomics. The Hodrick–Prescott (HP) filter and Hamilton filter did not achieve high scores on one or two of the criteria and scored worst on average performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical method and numerical simulation were developed to investigate the shear performance of fiberglass rock bolts (20-tonne and 30-tonne) by conducting sixteen double-shearing tests with both clean and infilled shear interfaces. Following the preparation of the required samples, each test set-up was subjected to different ranges of pretension values. The infilled scenario involved 5 mm thick sandy clay infilled shear interfaces. The results of the double shearing tests unveiled that as pretension increased, so did the confining pressures at the shear interfaces for both clean and infilled joints. Also, an analytical model was developed utilising the Fourier transform, energy balance theory, and linear elastic theory. The result was an empirical relationship that could determine the double shear performance of fibreglass rock bolts in close agreement with the experimental data. Coefficients were incorporated to facilitate model calibration and tuning. Eventually, fast Lagrangian analysis of continua (FLAC) three-dimensional (3D) modelling was utilised to conduct numerical simulations of fibreglass rock bolts subjected to double shearing scenarios. The numerical model was calibrated against experimental data and then extended to conduct a sensitivity analysis on fibreglass rock bolts subjected to double shear test setup variations. Scenarios included rock bolt installation angles, shearing rates, and various host rock strengths. The results revealed that increasing the shear speed from the experimental test baseline yielded substantial displacement increases in the post-failure residual performance of the rock bolts. Changing the installation angle resulted in greater peak shear forces and extended residual zones. The least significant impacts were observed when changing the host rock UCS, suggesting neither rock bolt was drastically impacted by weak or strong host rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visualization and argumentation are central processes in the learning of geometry, giving rise to specific lines of research in mathematics education. However, it is worth asking whether they should be developed independently or if it is possible and in what way an articulation between them can be promoted. The objective of this paper is to search for this articulation within the most recent advances in empirical research on the teaching and learning of geometry in Spain. The analysis is approached through the tasks used in research employing two theoretical frameworks which have been developed in Spain, the Onto-Semiotic Approach and Configurational Reasoning. Two main types of task were found in the selected studies: visual tasks and conjecture-and-proof tasks. The results show that in visual tasks the articulation between visualization and argumentation is only necessary in some tasks, in which argumentation aims to justify or to describe the external representation provided as a solution. However, in conjecture-and-proof tasks the articulation between visualization and argumentation must always be present to resolve the task. Analyzing this articulation helps to detect and gain a better understanding of the difficulties that students encounter in solving these types of task. In visual tasks, argumentation helps to understand difficulties associated with the use of visualization. In conjecture-and-proof tasks, visualization determines the argumentation followed, in such a way that many of the difficulties originate more from the visualization than from the process of argumentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our objective in this study is to critically review and discuss the extensive theoretical and empirical literature on the relationship between gender equity and fertility. While discussing the main distinct arguments and perspectives of various theoretical propositions, we present a novel angle by underscoring how different foundational theories can complement each other, ultimately advocating for a holistic approach to research and policy development in this domain. Moreover, we conduct a thorough investigation of the empirical evidence by analyzing a wide set of recurring studies and discussing potential explanations for the observed diverse findings. Even though the use of distinct datasets with different variables and measurements often emerges as a commonly discussed reason for the varied empirical findings (particularly at the micro level), we also explore other factors, such as the differences between housework and childcare regarding perceptions of fairness and the heterogeneous contextual and societal conditions across countries. Ultimately, although the theoretical framework has found considerable support in empirical investigations (particularly at the macro level), caution must be exercised when making definitive claims about increased gender equity in the family being the paramount solution for reversing fertility decline in high-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper develops a conceptual framework for interpreting the process of border changes in Poland since 1945. In this article, the author presents directions of change, and the functions, characterising Poland's borders. A synthesis of relevant literature on borders shows how the specific functions of borderlands can be categorised into at least four overarching types, including by reference to barriers, peripherality and isolation, line of differentiation, and axis of integration. This then gains verification through empirical analysis of processes actually taking place along the borders of Poland. It proves possible to identify and take account of periods of isolation, transformation and European integration. However, the analysis also takes account of the most recent phenomena characterising the last few years (2020–2024), during which the Polish borders have moved back in a "rebordering" direction. The Author proposes the new concept of dynamic (cyclical) change of border function types after using Polish borders as an example of empirical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marker variables provide an efficacious means of post hoc detection of common method variance (CMV) in data. These variables are measured in the same way as substantive variables, but because they are conceptually unrelated to the variables of interest, they are believed to be a proxy for CMV. Although marker variables have demonstrated effectiveness, questions remain as to what they actually measure, and thus, why they work. This lack of knowledge prevents researchers from choosing appropriate marker variables to include in same source surveys. The purpose of this research is to determine how four different marker variables account for common rater effects which can cause CMV. A metacognitive approach is used to develop an empirical study using two samples, with a focus on the specific rater effects of mood state, transient mood, consistency motif, and illusory correlations. Findings indicate that these marker variables elicit similar respondent reactions and do not create a notable psychological separation between substantive variables. Additionally, there is evidence that respondents' use of consistency motifs and illusory correlations influence substantive variable relations. Finally, using the confirmatory factor analysis marker technique, data from two samples indicate the presence of CMV, but not bias from CMV, indicating that the problem of artificially inflated results due to CMV may be overstated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to discover the continuance and recommendation intention of higher education students who are using ChatGPT. Specifically, we proposed an extend technology continuance theory (TCT) by integrating the recommendation intention. A structured Google form is used to collect the data from the higher education students especially engineering college students in India. A sum of 307 responses gathered and employed for the purpose of data analysis. Structured equation model (SEM) was used to test the research hypothesis. The study found that perceived usefulness, attitude, and satisfaction were significant predictors of continuance intention, while satisfaction and continuance intention themselves predicted recommendation intention, indicating that students who perceive ChatGPT as useful, have a positive attitude towards it, and are satisfied with it are more likely to continue using it and recommend it to others. These results underscore the importance of user satisfaction and positive attitudes in fostering continued engagement and advocacy for AI-driven chat systems. The study's findings were evaluated in terms of their discussion, limitations and implications for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is based on a comprehensive review of existing literature. Drawing upon the theories of task-technology fit (TTF) and technology adoption model (TAM), an integrated theoretical framework is developed. The framework places adaptability as a critical outcome variable and quality standard. This study constructs a student-centered online learning process model oriented towards effectiveness. The research is intended to utilize data from the "National Survey of Undergraduate Education Teaching Quality in Ordinary Universities" encompassing 123,894 Chinese university students from 272 undergraduate institutions. Through a questionnaire-based survey, the study comprehensively investigates the influence paths and mechanisms of several key factors, including environmental support (ES), teaching satisfaction (TS), perceived ease of use (PEU), task-technology fit (TTF), and learning adaptability (LA). The structural equation model largely validates the study's hypotheses, demonstrating significant correlations among the variables. The task-technology fit (TTF) and adaptability of university students are found to be influenced by teaching satisfaction (TS), perceived ease of use (PEU), and environmental support (ES). task-technology fit (TTF) emerges as a pivotal process variable in online learning. teaching satisfaction (TS) and perceived ease of use (PEU), as foundational elements, positively influence learning adaptability (LA) through the mediating role of task-technology fit (TTF). However, environmental support (ES) negatively predicts task-technology fit (TTF). The study findings offer empirical support for designing an environment conducive to enhancing students' adaptability in online learning. Furthermore, the outcomes guide policy formulation and practical strategies in various aspects, including optimizing teacher instruction in the online setting, enhancing students' perceived usability of digital technologies, and promoting the supply of online technological functionalities. Ultimately, these efforts contribute to the welfare of students' learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the importance of feedback in education is well established, the effects of structured knowledge in collaborative academic writing remains uncertain. This study introduces an academic writing feedback tool that combines structured knowledge mining, analysis, and visualization. An empirical experiment was conducted in a second-year university class with fifty-five students to examine the impact of the tool on different writing phases. Multiple data sources (i.e., scores, peer comments, discussions, surveys, and interviews) are collected and analyzed using a mixed-method approach. The findings demonstrate that structured knowledge feedback significantly improves specific metrics used to assess academic writing, leading to an overall enhancement in writing quality. The intervention also influences students' engagement, both behaviorally and cognitively, during online discussions and peer comment phases. Moreover, all students exhibited a positive perception of the writing feedback tool and considered peer comments as the most beneficial collaborative phase when structured knowledge intervention was employed. However, their preferences regarding the presentation form of feedback varied. Finally, the study provides implications for the development and research of NLP-powered (Natural Language Processing) feedback tools. These insights aim to inspire future studies on collaborative academic writing, emphasizing the potential of structured knowledge feedback in fostering effective writing practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare data accessibility for machine learning (ML) is encumbered by a range of stringent regulations and limitations. Using synthetic data that mirrors the underlying properties in the real data is emerging as a promising solution to overcome these barriers. We propose a fully automated synthetic tabular neural generator (STNG), which comprises multiple synthetic data generators and integrates an Auto-ML module to validate and comprehensively compare the synthetic datasets generated from different approaches. An empirical study was conducted to demonstrate the performance of STNG using twelve different datasets. The results highlight STNG's robustness and its pivotal role in enhancing the accessibility of validated synthetic healthcare data, thereby offering a promising solution to a critical barrier in ML applications in healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold spray is a material deposition technology with a high deposition rate and attractive material properties that has great interest for additive manufacturing (AM). Successfully cold spraying free-form parts that are close to their intended shape, however, requires knowing the fundamental shape of the sprayed track, so that a spray path can be planned that builds up a part from a progressively overlaid sequence of tracks. Several studies have measured track shape using ex situ or quasi-in situ approaches, but an in situ measurement approach has, to the authors' knowledge, not yet been reported. Furthermore, most studies characterize the track cross section as a symmetric Gaussian probability density function (PDF) with fixed shape parameters. The present study implements a novel in situ track shape measurement technique using a custom-built nozzle-tracking laser profilometry system. The shape of the track is recorded throughout the duration of a spray, allowing a comprehensive investigation of how the track shape evolves as the deposit is built up. A skewed track shape is observed—likely due to the side-injection design of the applicator used—and a skewed Gaussian PDF—a more generalized version of the standard Gaussian PDF—is fit to the track profile. The skewed Gaussian fit parameters are studied across two principal nozzle path parameters: nozzle traverse speed and step size. Empirical relationships between the fit parameters and the nozzle path parameters are derived, and a physics-based inverse relationship between nozzle speed and powder mass deposition rate is obtained. One of the fit parameters is shown to be an effective means of monitoring deposition efficiency during spraying. Overall, the approach presents a promising means of measuring track shape, in situ, as well as modeling it using a more general shape function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although several studies have examined a diagnostic conversion from major depressive disorder (MDD) to bipolar disorder (BD), only a few studies specifically focused on adolescents and young adults who are at the peak ages of BD onset. Data from participants (N = 130,793) aged 10–29 years who were diagnosed with MDD were extracted from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. We applied demographic analyses, survival analysis, Aalen Johansen curves, and Cox regression, investigating the diagnostic conversion rate and factors that were most or less predictive of conversion. Among the adolescents and young adults with MDD, the number of participant conversion subsample is 14,187 and the conversion rate was 13.80% (95% confidence interval: 13.54–14.06%) during the 11-year follow-up. The conversion rate was highest in the first year (4.50%; 4.39–4.61%) and decreased over time. The significant predictors were younger age of diagnosis with MDD (p < 0.001), moderate and high antidepressant resistance (p < 0.001), obesity (p < 0.001), psychiatric comorbidities (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, substance use disorder, and cluster B and C personality disorder, all p < 0.001), a family history of mental disorders (schizophrenia and mood disorders, all p < 0.05), lower monthly income (p < 0.001), and more mental health visits to the clinic each year (p < 0.001). A composite of demographic characteristics, antidepressant resistance, physical and psychiatric comorbidities, and family history significantly predicted diagnostic conversion from MDD to BD (area under the curve = 0.795, p < 0.001). Compared to adult population, the adolescents and young adults had different factors that were most or less predictive of conversion, which warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]