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Background: Although cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) has lower resolution compared to planning CTs (pCT), its lower dose, higher high‐contrast resolution, and shorter scanning time support its widespread use in clinical applications, especially in ensuring accurate patient positioning during the image‐guided radiation therapy (IGRT) process. Purpose: While CBCT is critical to IGRT, CBCT image quality can be compromised by severe stripe and scattering artifacts. Tumor movement secondary to respiratory motion also decreases CBCT resolution. In order to improve the image quality of CBCT, we propose a Lung Diffusion Model (L‐DM) framework. Methods: Our proposed algorithm is based on a conditional diffusion model trained on pCT and deformed CBCT (dCBCT) image pairs to synthesize lung CT images from dCBCT images and benefit CBCT‐based radiotherapy. dCBCT images were used as the constraint for the L‐DM. The image quality and Hounsfield unit (HU) values of the synthetic CTs (sCT) images generated by the proposed L‐DM were compared to three selected mainstream generation models. Results: We verified our model in both an institutional lung cancer dataset and a selected public dataset. Our L‐DM showed significant improvement in the four metrics of mean absolute error (MAE), peak signal‐to‐noise ratio (PSNR), normalized cross‐correlation (NCC), and structural similarity index measure (SSIM). In our institutional dataset, our proposed L‐DM decreased the MAE from 101.47 to 37.87 HU and increased the PSNR from 24.97 to 29.89 dB, the NCC from 0.81 to 0.97, and the SSIM from 0.80 to 0.93. In the public dataset, our proposed L‐DM decreased the MAE from 173.65 to 58.95 HU, while increasing the PSNR, NCC, and SSIM from 13.07 to 24.05 dB, 0.68 to 0.94, and 0.41 to 0.88, respectively. Conclusions: The proposed L‐DM significantly improved sCT image quality compared to the pre‐correction CBCT and three mainstream generative models. Our model can benefit CBCT‐based IGRT and other potential clinical applications as it increases the HU accuracy and decreases the artifacts from input CBCT images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) has set a target to achieve carbon-neutral building stock and generate 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050. While Model Predictive Control (MPC) can contribute significantly to energy flexibility in buildings, its remote implementation remains relatively unexplored, especially in the residential sector. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the reliability, robustness, and computational efficiency of a cloud-based application of an MPC called Smart Energy Management (SEM) on a multi-family residential building. The SEM was tested on a virtual building model in TRNSYS using an open-source distributed event streaming platform for data exchange and synchronization. Simplified models for thermal behavior prediction, including an R3C3 model of the building, were developed in C++. The SEM was evaluated in eight scenarios with varying weather conditions, optimization criteria, and runtime periods. The results demonstrate that the SEM maintains stability and robustness over a 2-week period with a 15-minute planning resolution while ensuring thermal comfort. The C++ implementation of the optimization algorithm enables SEM deployment on low-spec servers, supporting cost-effective applications in real buildings with minimal intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the monetary value of Canadians' family care work, to highlight inequalities within the family care sector and place this work within the care economy. Using Statistics Canada's 2018 General Social Survey, we estimated the replacement cost of the 5.7 billion hours of respondents' care work at between $97.1 billion and $112.7 billion. We used descriptive, backward stepwise regression and dominance analyses to examine the distribution of care responsibilities among caregivers. Caregivers comprised 22.1% of the sample (6.8 million Canadians). Living arrangement explained most (81-83%) of the variance in the value of unpaid care work, followed by generation (14-15%), income (2%) and gender (1-2%). These findings provide powerful evidence of the economic value of family care work and of the inequalities among family caregivers in the magnitude of their contributions. Monetizing the value of family care makes it more visible, locates it in the context of the broader care economy and establishes its relationship to the much more visible and valued realm of paid care work. This contextualization also responds to global action plans and resolutions urging governments to create systems of long-term and continuing care for people with chronic conditions and disabilities rather than imposing sole responsibility on unpaid caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local stakeholders need information about areas exposed to potential flooding to manage increasing disaster risk. Moderate- and large-scale flood hazard mapping is often produced at a low spatial resolution, typically using only one source of flooding (e.g., riverine), and it often fails to include climate change. This article assesses flood hazard exposure in the city of Vancouver, Canada, using flood mapping produced by flood risk science experts JBA Risk Management, which represented baseline exposure at 5 m spatial resolution and incorporated climate-change-adjusted values based on different greenhouse gas emission scenarios. The article identifies areas of both current and future flood exposure in the built environment, differentiating between sources of flooding (fluvial, pluvial, storm surge) and climate change scenarios. The case study demonstrates the utility of a flood model with a moderate resolution for informing planning, policy development, and public education. Without recent engineered or regulatory mapping available in all areas across Canada, this model provides a mechanism for identifying possible present and future flood risk at a higher resolution than is available at a Canada-wide coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Raumforschung und Raumordnung is the property of Oekom Verlag GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The object of research is the enterprise. The subject of research is a complex of theoretical, methodological and practical issues related to the improvement of planning as a tool of effective enterprise management. The work is directed to the generalization of theoretical provisions and the development of organizational and methodologi- cal aspects of planning, as well as the development of practical recommendations regarding the mechanism of implementation of planning at enterprises. Among the sources for analysis when considering issues of the economic essence and content of planning were the methodological and legal foundations of legislative acts and government resolutions in the field of planning. The following research methods were used: abstract-logical, economic-statistical, system-functional analysis, analytical, balance, program-target, economic-mathematical, calculation-constructive, experimental and others. The main one was the systematic analysis of theory and practice, with the ultimate goal of developing methodologi- cal recommendations for the creation and development of the planning system at the enterprise. The task of improving planning at the enterprise was solved in the work. Insufficient use of all types of plan- ning affects the results of enterprises, lack of maximum efficiency. Requirements for productivity and product quality require the use of new technologies and approaches, especially in the processes of resource management and enterprise planning. Preparation of a detailed plan can help objectively assess business opportunities, trends and development of the enterprise. The practical significance of the conducted analysis lies in the development and implementation of recommen- dations for improving the forms and mechanism of planning at the enterprise. The implementation of proposals regarding the methodology of implementation and functioning of planning will allow the enterprise to increase the efficiency of management based on the clear implementation of strategic goals in the system of planned indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local stakeholders need information about areas exposed to potential flooding to manage increasing disaster risk. Moderate and large-scale flood hazard mapping is often produced at a low spatial resolution, typically using only one source of flooding (e.g., riverine), and it often fails to include climate change. This article assesses flood hazard exposure in the City of Vancouver, Canada, using flood mapping produced by flood risk science experts JBA Risk Management, which represented baseline exposure at 5-metre spatial resolution and incorporated climate change-adjusted values based on different greenhouse gas emission scenarios. The article identifies areas of both current and future flood exposure in the built environment, differentiating between sources of flooding (fluvial, pluvial, storm surge), climate change scenarios, and return periods. The case study demonstrates the utility of a flood model with a moderate resolution for informing planning, policy development, and public education. Without recent engineered or regulatory mapping available in all areas across Canada, this model provides a mechanism for identifying possible present and future flood risk at a higher resolution than is available at Canada-wide coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The RBI came out with a special restructuring package in August 2020 to address the stress induced due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Met with inhibitions of implementation, it was utilized by lenders while cautiously evaluating the genuineness and periodicity of stress. The era preceding the pandemic was of the 'Twin Balance Sheet' problem - overleveraged companies on one hand and bad-loan-encumbered banks on the other. Covid-19 extended the winter. Scepticism regarding the contours of a new restructuring package compounded with the uncertainty of pandemic came naturally. The macro view along with the future outlook of the industry coupled with an analysis of other alternatives and a bankable resolution plan helped in decision making which provided the most crucial element -'time', which helped maintain the business continuity and preserved the value of assets. We have tried to analyse the same with the help of an example where 15 months later, the business was sold to a financially strong entity culminating in a win-win for the seller, purchaser, lenders and employees of the company thus benefitting all the stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under what conditions does conflict resolution fail? This article identifies several undertheorized factors hindering conflict resolution. It argues that structural bias, inadequate leverage and a polarized mediation format render negotiations ineffective, undermining the peace process. Durable peace settlements are unlikely when mediators become parties to the conflict, patronize the rebels, shape the domestic politics of the parent-states, and promote resolution plans advancing their security interests. The concepts of structural bias and polarized mediation are further explored by employing a structured focused comparison of the conflict management strategies in Transnistria (Moldova) and Donbas (Ukraine). The comparative examination revealed that Russia, as a power mediator, displayed a structural bias towards the rebel side but lacked sufficient leverage to impose a settlement on both parties. It attempted to increase its influence over Ukraine by getting entangled in the Donbas conflict, recognizing the secessionist regions and launching a conventional war against Kyiv. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research has revealed that multi‐vehicle coordinated decision making and control can achieve an improvement in both traffic efficiency and driving safety. In the multi‐lane scenarios, a typical coordination method is multi‐vehicle formation control. The existing formation control methods predefine the formation switching process and have not considered or explained the collision‐free behaviour of vehicles in detail. In this paper, a multi‐lane formation control strategy for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) is proposed. The planning framework is bi‐level, which can switch the structure of multi‐vehicle formation in different scenarios smoothly and effectively. In the upper‐level, the relative coordinate system is built to plan the collision‐free relative paths for vehicles. In the lower‐level, multi‐stage trajectory planning and tracking are modelled as an optimal control problem with path constraints. The case study verifies the function of the formation control method in three lane‐number‐changing scenarios. Large‐scale simulations in the lane‐drop bottleneck scenario are conducted under different input traffic volumes, and the numerical results indicate that the proposed formation control method reduces congestion and improves both traffic efficiency and fuel economy at high traffic volumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Team-based projects are being used at work in various industries and in education. This paper aims to share a training strategy that integrates training with casual games to effectively prepare individuals to perform better in team-based settings due to their acquisition of team skills combined with their knowledge of tools including a team charter, communication plan and conflict resolution plan. Design/methodology/approach: A training module was developed, deployed and tested in a virtual classroom of an upper-level undergraduate business class to emulate real-world team experiences. In the study, 342 of the 631 participants enrolled chose to complete the optional training module, which included pre- and posttests followed by a perception survey. A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the impact of the training upon team skills including communication, conflict resolution and feelings of belonging. Findings: The pre- and posttest results for trainees indicated a significant increase in team process and development knowledge, which included concepts such as communication, conflict resolution methods, roles, goal-setting and expectation-setting. Survey results indicated a correlation between completing the team training module and improved communication within teams, particularly for teams developing a communication plan in addition to a team charter and conflict resolution strategies. Originality/value: This research contributes to the literature on preparing individuals for success in teams through training and education using interactive games, while equipping them with tools to contribute to favorable team dynamics and outcomes. The results are applicable to business, organizations and training settings that incorporate team-based projects in online, hybrid and face-to-face settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital guides (also known as stents) have become commonly used in daily dental practice. CBCT, digital impressions, and stereolithographic models are considered extremely helpful to create guides for the planning and resolution of surgical cases. In recent years, in periodontal surgery and in particular for the treatment of altered passive eruption (APE), there has been an increasing use of digitally designed guides to improve esthetic outcomes and achieve more predictable results. Digital custom-made guides can be used to improve safety and precision in crown lengthening procedures in patients with APE who have high esthetic expectations. Although most approaches described in the literature show guides used for primary flap or gingivectomy design, the precision of bone recontouring and ostectomy plays a key role in soft tissue rebound and in the final esthetic outcome. The present article describes a new approach using two different guides for soft tissue design in patients with APE. (Int J Esthet Dent 2022;17:252-263) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of financial technologies (FinTech) by financial market participants fostered a discussion among public authorities on the use technologies for regulatory (RegTech) and supervisory (SupTech) purposes. This paper discusses the application of innovative technologies to crisis resolution (ResTech) and sets out its potential scope of application. ResTech is the application of technologies: i) to support the work of resolution authorities in developing resolution plans and in resolving financial firms; and ii) to allow financial firms to achieve regulatory compliance and better risk management in a more effective and automated manner. This paper also argues that the features and market dynamics of resolution differ from those of RegTech and SupTech: there is little market incentive for the private sector to foster innovation in the area of crisis resolution. The lack of private sector incentives to invest in R&D on how to resolve a firm's crisis leaves the task to resolution authorities. In addition, resolution-technologies may support the identification of optimal liquidation strategy for small and medium-sized financial firms, by ensuring the maximisation of creditors' proceeds out of the insolvency estate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a temporal context, sure outcomes may yield higher utility than risky ones as they are available for the execution of plans before the resolution of uncertainty. By observing a disproportionate preference for certainty, empirical research points to a fundamental difference between riskless and risky utility. Chance Theory (CT) accounts for this difference and, in contrast to earlier approaches to separate risky and riskless utility, does not violate basic rationality principles like first-order stochastic dominance or transitivity. CT evaluates the lowest outcome of an act with the riskless utility v and the increments over that outcome, called chances, by subjective expected utility (EU) with a risky utility u. As a consequence of treating sure outcomes differently to risky ones, CT is able to explain the EU-paradoxes of Allais (Econometrica, 21(4): 503–546, 1953) that rely on the certainty effect, and also the critique to EU put forward by Rabin (Econometrica, 68(5): 1281–1292, 2000). Moreover, CT separates risk attitudes in the strong sense, captured entirely by u, from attitude towards wealth reflected solely through the curvature ofv. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Científica Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacia is the property of Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas y Farmacia de la USAC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The 2007–2008 international financial crisis was the worst since the 1929 Wall Street Crash – triggering the 1930s Great Depression, the rise of fascism and Hitler in Europe, and the Second World War. In the 1930s there were reforms to tackle the causes – particularly in the US with Roosevelt's New Deal – including splitting banks' 'casino' from 'high street' operations, and strengthening trade union rights. Following the Second World War, there were global reforms, including exchange controls to prevent cross-border financial speculation. But in the post-1980s era of privatisation and deregulation, these reforms were lobbied against and generally abandoned. The resulting speculative orgy, accompanied inevitably by increased inequality, led to the 2007–2008 international financial crisis. Reforms were promised, including increasing the degree of corporate diversity in the financial services sector, and creating 'resolution' plans for banks to prevent their collapse. However, the promised reforms regarding corporate diversity were reneged upon. Resolution plans were adopted in the UK, but in Europe this is being driven in a way that will strengthen the power of finance that created the problem in the first place. And the UK Government wants the regulator to promote the 'competitiveness' of financial services, which was tried before, and didn't end well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-arm robotic systems consisting of redundant robots are able to conduct more complex and coordinated tasks, such as manipulating large or heavy objects. The challenges of the motion planning and control for such systems mainly arise from the closed-chain constraint and redundancy resolution problem. The closed-chain constraint reduces the configuration space to lower-dimensional subsets, making it difficult for sampling feasible configurations and planning path connecting them. A global motion planner is proposed in this paper for the closed-chain systems, and motions in different disconnected manifolds are efficiently bridged by two type regrasping moves. The regrasping moves are automatically chosen by the planner based on cost-saving principle, which greatly improve the success rate and efficiency. Furthermore, to obtain the optional inverse kinematic solutions satisfying joint physical limits (e.g., joint position, velocity, acceleration limits) in the planning, the redundancy resolution problem for dual redundant robots is converted into a unified quadratic programming problem based on the combination of two diff erent-level optimizing criteria, i.e. the minimization velocity norm (MVN) and infinity norm torque-minimization (INTM). The Dual-MVN-INTM scheme guarantees smooth velocity, acceleration profiles, and zero final velocity at the end of motion. Finally, the planning results of three complex closed-chain manipulation task using two Franka Emika Panda robots and two Kinova Jaco2 robots in both simulation and experiment demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2021, the Fed put a new lending program in place: the Standing Repo Facility. The Fed's New Standing Repo Facility Stress and volatility in repo markets can sometimes spillover to other short-term funding markets. In particular, a lower demand for reserves would allow the Fed to conduct monetary policy using a (so called) floor system with a minimal necessary size of its balance sheet, as discussed in the 2019 article "Why the Fed Should Create a Standing Repo Facility." For decades, the Federal Reserve has used repurchase agreements (or "repos") as a tool to implement monetary policy and, occasionally, to stabilize short-term funding markets. [Extracted from the article]

Local and landscape features influence the spatial distribution of biodiversity. At the landscape scale, heterogeneity has compositional and configurational components that can be measured at different resolutions of conservation planning.We assess the importance of local and landscape features measured at different planning resolutions for maintaining taxonomic and functional butterfly diversity. In remnant conservation corridors that dissect alien tree plantations, butterflies were sampled along a gradient of successional stages, from open and recently burned grasslands to closed‐canopy woody habitats. Changes in local vegetation structure were represented by measures of canopy cover. At the landscape scale, compositional and configurational heterogeneity were measured at two resolutions: a simple binary classification of suitable habitat versus unsuitable transformed habitat, and a classification that accounts for the different successional stages within corridors (i.e. within‐corridor heterogeneity). Butterfly assemblages were characterized using taxonomic (Simpson's diversity index) and functional indices (Rao's quadratic entropy). The relationship between environmental filters and species traits was further assessed using multivariate modelling.Taxonomic diversity did not reflect functional diversity, as the latter showed differential trait specific responses to local vegetation structure.For both functional and taxonomic diversity, local and landscape variables representing within‐corridor heterogeneity were more important than landscape variables measured at the coarser planning resolution. Butterfly diversity showed a negative relationship with increasing edge density between grassy and woody habitats.Synthesis and applications. To promote the taxonomic and functional dimensions of biodiversity, management should aim to maintain both open‐ and closed‐canopy habitats within corridors. These habitats should be contiguous, and corridors as wide as possible, to increase the patch size of contiguous habitat while reducing the proportion of edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India aims at a time-bound resolution of stressed assets of corporates, providing the much-needed respite to creditors, particularly banks. Since its inception, there have been several upsides to the IBC's performance, such as instituting a creditor-friendly resolution regime and nudging debtors towards repayment. For banks, the IBC has ensured better recovery of largevalue industrial loans over the existing recovery channels. The IBC complements the RBI's Prudential Framework for resolution of stressed assets ensuring a more effective use of the framework as compared to the pre-IBC restructuring schemes. Even if liquidation is predominantly the method of resolution used till now, most of the liquidated cases are non-functional. Al though there are delays in resolution plan proceedings, it is the liquidation value of assets than the delays that influences recovery. Hence, admitting cases early under the IBC, through an appropriate incentive framework in banks, can help improve the IBC's efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Exacta is the property of Exacta - Engenharia de Producao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The fast development in the production of small, low-cost satellites is propelling an important increase in satellite mission planning and operations projects. Central to satellite mission planning is the resolution of scheduling problem for an optimised allocation of user requests for efficient communication between operations teams at the ground and spacecraft systems. The aim of this paper is to survey the state of the art in the satellite scheduling problem, analyse its mathematical formulations, examine its multi-objective nature and resolution through meta-heuristics methods. Finally, we consider some optimisation problems arising in spacecraft design, operation and satellite deployment systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]