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Earth-based gravitational waves interferometric detectors are shot-noise limited in the high-frequency region of their sensitivity band. While enhancing the laser input power is the natural solution to improve on the shot noise limit, higher power also increases the optical aberration budget due to the laser absorption in the highly reflective coatings of mirrors, resulting in a drop of the sensitivity of the detector. Advanced Virgo exploits Hartmann Wavefront Sensors (HWSs) to locally measure the absorption-induced optical aberrations by monitoring the optical path length change in the core optics. Despite the very high sensitivity of Hartmann sensors, temperature fluctuations can cause a spurious curvature term to appear in the reconstructed wavefront due to the thermal expansion of the Hartmann plate, that could affect the accuracy of the aberration monitoring. We present the implementation and validation of a control loop to stabilize the Advanced Virgo HWS temperature at the order of Δ T ⩽ 0.01 K, keeping the spurious curvature within the detector's requirements on wavefront sensing accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carpooling is one of the travel demand management strategies to mitigate road congestion. Incentive-Based Travel Demand Management (IBTDM) strategies are pivotal for carpool promotion by providing incentives to address inconveniences and privacy apprehensions, yet their efficacy lacks validation. Considering the constraints of incentive budget as well as the penetration rate, it is important to assess the long-term impact of incentives on carpooling, improve the programs in term of information feedback and identify the individuals who are most inclined to carpool. To achieve the goals, we conducted a laboratory experiment through WeChat applet platform focused on carpooling and departure time choices. 194 participants successfully completed the entire experiment. The experiment emphasizes several crucial elements, including long term (participants making daily travel choices in one month), the interactivity and information feedback mechanisms, instruments enhancing participant engagement (redeeming incentives at the end of the experiment, etc.), exit questionnaire to collect travelers' behavioral strategies. The findings elucidate several key insights: 1) Incentives have a significant long-term influence on encouraging travelers to carpool, and compensatory mechanisms for unsuccessful carpool matches further amplify travelers' impetus. 2) IBTDM administrations can promote carpooling by improving feedback information according to travelers' learning effect in each round, such as introducing real-time displays of the numbers of carpool drivers and passengers. 3) Drawing from the analysis of travelers' participation, behavioral compliance and psychological strategies of carpooling, it can be inferred that individuals with higher incomes, fewer commuting days who have a solid grasp of the experimental mechanism, constitute prospective candidates for carpooling programs. This work contributes to helping IBTDM administrations clarify the target participants and develop a more reasonable carpooling program. The behavioral data collection approach based on our laboratory experiment is portable for future studies. • An interactive long-term laboratory experiment was conducted by WeChat applet. • Incentives have a significant long-term impact on promoting carpool. • Participants' information-based learning effects affect their travel behaviors. • Young, high-income travelers with good experimental understanding tend to carpool with incentives. • Low-income travelers with private cars tend to adjust departure times with incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is a popular method to infer, based on the sampled data, whether the true means of a set of subpopulations differ from each other. The variance of conditional expectation (VOCE) is the variance of these effects in sub-populations, and this is estimated by sampling a sub-population of size n k , for each sub-population labeled k, and by sampling K such sub-populations in the experiment. For the general case of varying n k , it is unknown what the variance of the VOCE estimator is, though it is known for the special case n k = n , n ≥ 2 for all k ∈ 1 , 2 , ... , K as derived in the literature. The following derivation settles the former question and is of value in situations where sampling has constraints or only a skewed sampling budget is available. Our first application is with regard to the decision of whether samples from pilot simulation can be included in the regular simulation to estimate VOCE. The second application is an estimation technique where the estimate of optimal inner-loop size n * can be updated throughout the duration of simulation. We demonstrate with these 2 applications where we observe a 20% reduction in the variance of the VOCE estimate, when the proposed method is applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To obtain feedback from school nutrition stakeholders on an agent-based model simulating school lunch to inform model refinement and future applications. Qualitative study using online discussion groups. School nutrition professional stakeholders across the US. Twenty-eight school nutrition stakeholders. Perceptions and applicability of MealSim for school nutrition stakeholders to help reduce food waste. Deductive approach followed by inductive analysis of discussion group transcripts. Stakeholders appreciated the customizability of the cafeteria characteristics and suggested adding additional characteristics to best represent the school meal system, such as factors relating to school staff supervision of students during meals. The perceived utility of MealSim was high and included using it to train personnel and to advocate for policy and budgetary changes. However, they viewed MealSim as more representative of elementary than high schools. Stakeholders also provided suggestions for training school nutrition administrators on how to use MealSim and requested opportunities for technical assistance. Although agent-based models were new to the school nutrition stakeholders, MealSim was viewed as a useful tool. Application of these findings will allow the model to meet the intended audience's needs and better estimate the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parliament and the separation of power are essential elements of democratic consolidation. However, what role does parliament take if democracy is in retreat? Following a comparative approach, this article analyses the role of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) during a process of democratic decline. Indonesia is seen as a success story of democratisation. Since 1998, the country has transitioned from an autocratic regime to a vibrant multi-party democracy. However, twenty years on, academics have been highlighting far-reaching patterns of democratic regression. Whereas there have been studies of the democratic setback globally and more in-depth analyses of aspects of the Indonesian democracy in retreat, there has been little attention on the role of the country's legislature in this situation. This article analyses how the DPR has been executing its legislative mandate during Joko Widodo's second presidential term from 2019 to 2024. Examining three cases of legislation, it found the DPR is not actively resisting the democratic decline. On the contrary, the hypothesis has been proven that the parliament is an active factor in autocratic legalism. This has been most visible in the reduced scrutiny of draft legislation, limited deliberation, and narrow public consultation to serve elite interests. In addition to a weakened legislative role by the DPR, there has been reduced oversight and scrutiny of government policies, visible through limited questioning of ministers or inquiries into the use of the budget and the appointment of government-favoured candidates to national commissions, courts, and state bodies. Moreover, the nature of a consensus-based decision-making system has allowed the executive to effectively control the parliament, instead of the other way around. This is despite some reminders from the Constitutional Court to respect the legal provisions that require deliberation and consultation of the people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the effects of agreement formalization and partners on cooperation costs in twelve local government services in New York State. Our survey differentiates agreement formalization (informal, memorandum of understanding, joint production, contracting and special districts) and controls for cooperation duration and non-profit partners. Cost data (1996–2016) enable panel models which find agreement formality often has no effect on costs. Non-profit partners typically reduce costs. Formality is associated with higher costs in services where quality improvements are sought, and lower costs where formality shifts budget authority. In general the costs of formality appear to be balanced by savings over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of smallholder farmers into emerging value chains for fine‐grain and aromatic 'premium quality rice' (PQR) could prove to be crucial to improving rural livelihoods in Bangladesh, though efforts could be constrained by farmers' differing levels of agronomic knowledge. Based on a pre‐analysis plan, we analyse farmers' ability to efficiently allocate production enhancing inputs in PQR cultivation based on a survey of 1420 farmers in key PQR producing areas. Farmers received a hypothetical budget to allocate to six different inputs advised for efficient production of PQR, mimicking familiar production decisions made seasonally on their own farms. Our results suggest that even without budget or input access constraints farmers tend to inefficiently allocate inputs in PQR in this hypothetical setting. In particular, they tend to overspend on seeds, fertiliser and pesticides. Farmers with better access to agricultural information, such as through PQR specific extension services, conversely reach substantially higher efficiency scores and decided to spend significantly less on fertiliser. Without future adjustments such as more targeted extension services, implied higher production costs will likely lower the profitability of PQR cultivation for smallholder farmers, thereby limiting potential income gains. Besides these economic concerns, excessive input use is associated with environmental externalities. Improved efficiency is therefore desirable from both an economic and environmental standpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over recent decades, optimal experimental design has surged in popularity due to affordable computing and efficient algorithms. However, some researchers highlight that this focus has often side‐lined the importance of including pure experimental replication in designs, as many optimality criteria do not inherently suggest designs with replicates. In this study, we introduce an approach that allows the designer to input a desired replication structure into the optimal design search. We list all potential replication structures, indicate the corresponding budget for pure‐error (PE) and lack‐of‐fit (LOF) degrees‐of‐freedom, and use particle swarm optimization to search for the optimal design in each scenario. We demonstrate our approach on various unexplored I$I$‐optimal design scenarios and several scenarios recently discussed in literature. Our findings reveal the existence of highly‐efficient I$I$‐optimal designs with unique replication structures, offering designers informed choices on allocating a limited budget for PE and LOF degrees‐of‐freedom. This method is versatile and compatible with other optimizers, such as the coordinate exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warranty is a standard and essential policy for today's products. The period and cost of warranty are majorly affected by the reliability of products. Therefore, validation and verification of product reliability are required to control warranty costs and sustain the brand reputation. In this paper, we propose a modified reliability acceptance sampling plan (MRASP) for product reliability validation. The operating characteristic function of the MRASP is derived by considering the accelerated time‐to‐failure data with Type‐II censoring, which follows a Weibull distribution. To minimize the number of failures required for the accelerated life test and consider the sampling risk constraints, we constructed an optimization model to determine the optimal plan design of the proposed MRASP. Following the optimal plan design, practitioners can set the number of failures required in the accelerated life test to estimate the lifetime capability of the submitted lot and decide the lot disposition using the acceptance benchmark. In addition, the lifetime capability estimation can be used to infer the warranty return rate and warranty cost of the lot, which is valuable for practitioners to formulate the warranty budget. Finally, we illustrate a real‐world case to demonstrate the practicality and applicability of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited research has been directed toward coastal protection infrastructure compared to other types of infrastructure, despite the increasing global population in low-elevated coastal regions and the threats posed by climate change. This paper presents a risk-based asset management framework for coastal protection structures that improves accuracy with each inspection. The framework consists of five components: the Coastal Asset Inventory (CAI), Inspection and Condition Assessment (ICA) module, Backward Markovian Deterioration Model (BMDM), Forward Markovian Deterioration Model (FMDM), and Intervention Policy Engine (IPE). The framework addresses challenges in accurately predicting coastal structure deterioration due to uncertainties in wave loading conditions and the need for frequent inspections. It is applied to rubble-mound breakwaters in Alexandria, Egypt. The BMDM and FMDM models are developed based on inspection data, and the IPE optimizes interventions considering structural condition, risk thresholds, and budget constraints. Results showed that long-term deterioration estimates occur at an accelerated rate with an increase in inspection points, triggering earlier interventions. However, the framework proves reliable even with only two inspection points, allowing asset managing agencies to implement the model based on the structural condition at the year of construction and a minimum of two inspections. The proposed risk-based asset management framework provided a comprehensive approach to managing coastal protection infrastructure, reducing risks to life and property. By accurately predicting deterioration and optimizing intervention decisions, the framework can greatly assist in the effective management and maintenance of coastal assets. This is vital in ensuring the safety of coastal populations facing global climate change and demographic growth. Coastal protection structures are crucial for safeguarding coastal populations in the face of climate change and demographic growth. This research paper introduces a risk-based asset management framework for coastal protection structures, with practical applications for coastal management agencies and practitioners. The framework addresses the challenges of predicting coastal structure deterioration and optimizing intervention decisions. The framework consists of five components: the Coastal Asset Inventory (CAI), Inspection and Condition Assessment (ICA), Backward Markovian Deterioration Model (BMDM), Forward Markovian Deterioration Model (FMDM), and Intervention Policy Engine (IPE). It has been successfully applied to rubble-mound breakwaters in Alexandria, Egypt. The practical implications are significant: The framework enables asset managers to make informed decisions on coastal infrastructure maintenance and interventions, reducing risks to life and property. It provides a comprehensive approach to managing coastal protection infrastructure and ensuring the safety of coastal populations. By accurately predicting deterioration and optimizing interventions, the framework supports effective management and maintenance of coastal assets. Its reliability and flexibility make it a valuable tool for coastal management practitioners, promoting sustainable development and safeguarding coastal areas. With its potential for broader application, this risk-based asset management framework offers practical solutions for coastal protection worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, policy initiatives involving increases in the tobacco tax have increased pressure on budget allocations in poor households. In this study, we examine this issue in the context of the expansion of the social welfare state that has taken place over the last two decades in several emerging economies. This study explores the case of Colombia between 1997 and 2011. In this period, the budget share of the poorest expenditure quintile devoted to tobacco products of smokers' households doubled. We analyse the differences between the poorest and richest quintiles concerning the changes in budget shares, fixing a reference population over time to avoid demographic composition confounders. We find no evidence of crowding-out of education or healthcare expenditures. This is likely to be the result of free universal access to health insurance and basic education for the poor. For higher-income households, tobacco crowds out expenditures on entertainment, leisure activities, and luxury expenditures. This finding should reassure policymakers who are keen to impose tobacco taxes as an element of their public health policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several Lyman Continuum (Ly C) emitters have been detected so far, but their observed ionizing spectra sometimes differ from attenuated stellar spectra predicted by stellar population synthesis modelling. This discrepancy may be due to a significant contribution of Ly C nebular emission. We aim to quantify the importance this emission in Ly C leakers: its contribution to the ionizing photons budget, and to measurements of Ly C escape. To estimate the nebular contribution to the Ly C spectra of galaxies, we run photoionization models with Cloudy for a range of Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis templates, varying the column density of the surrounding gas, from density-bounded (N H  i  = 1016 cm−2) to ionization-bounded (N H  i  = 1019 cm−2) regimes. In the limits of very optically thin (f esc = 1), or thick configurations (f esc = 0), there is no nebular contribution to the emergent Ly C spectra. This contribution matters only at intermediate Ly C opacities (0 < f esc < 1), where it alters the shape of the Ly C spectrum chromatically, so that escape fractions estimates are highly sensitive to the wavelength range over which they are calculated. We propose a formula to estimate integrated escape fractions using F λ700/ F λ1100 flux ratios, since this wavelength range is not affected by nebular emission. Regarding simulations, the boost of hydrogen ionizing photons escaping galaxies is inversely proportional to the stellar escape fractions, but since typical simulated escape fractions are low, Ly C photons escape is important. Nebular Ly C is a non-negligible additional source of ionizing photons from galaxies, whose contribution has been overlooked so far in observations and in cosmic reionization simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media is commonly used by governments to disseminate information related to transparency and institutional promotion, but its potential for the dissemination of cultural resources is often overlooked. This research proposes a strategy for adopting social media to achieve cultural dissemination in the municipality of Lamas, Peru, which has tourism potential and has been awarded the "Best Tourism Villages" seal of the World Tourism Organisation. Methodologically, we propose a case study at a propositional exploratory level. We start by determining the current state of dissemination of tangible and intangible resources, as well as the practical use of social media, through a survey of 20 officials. The results reveal that crafts are the most widely disseminated tangible resource in the municipality (according to 55% of officials), and intangible resources are occasionally disseminated (50%). We also find that Facebook is the only digital channel used to disseminate cultural information. In this context, we formulate a strategy for adopting social media to improve cultural dissemination, which consists of six phases: (i) forming a work team, (ii) preparing a budget plan, (iii) strengthening capacities, (iv) taking inventory of cultural resources, (v) coordinating community interests and (vi) preparing a cultural dissemination plan. The findings can contribute to formulating public initiatives for the institutionalisation of social media in governments for the purposes of preserving, promoting and guaranteeing the accessibility of cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Goal: Boarding emergency department (ED) patients is associated with reductions in quality of care, patient safety and experience, and ED operational efficiency. However, ED boarding is ultimately reflective of inefficiencies in hospital capacity management. The ability of a hospital to accommodate variability in patient flow presumably affects its financial performance, but this relationship is not well studied. We investigated the relationship between ED boarding and hospital financial performance measures. Our objective was to see if there was an association between key financial measures of business performance and limitations in patient progression efficiency, as evidenced by ED boarding. Methods: Cross-sectional ED operational data were collected from the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance, a voluntarily self-reporting operational database that includes 54% of EDs in the United States. Freestanding EDs, pediatric EDs and EDs with missing boarding data were excluded. The key operational outcome variable was boarding time. We reviewed the financial information of these nonprofit institutions by accessing their Internal Revenue Service Form 990. We examined standard measures of financial performance, including return on equity, total margin, total asset turnover, and equity multiplier (EM). We studied these associations using quantile regressions of added ED volume, ED admission percentage, urban versus nonurban ED site location, trauma status, and percentage of the population receiving Medicare and Medicaid as covariates in the regression models. Principal Findings: Operational data were available for 892 EDs from 31 states. Of those, 127 reported a Form 990 in the year corresponding to the ED boarding measures. Median boarding time across EDs was 148 min (interquartile range [IQR]: 100–216). A significant relationship exists between boarding and the EM, along with a negative association with the hospital's total profit margin in the highest-performing hospitals (by profit margin percentage). After adjusting for the covariates in the regression model, we found that for every 10 min above 90 min of boarding, the mean EM for the top quartile increased from 245.8% to 249.5% (p < .001). In hospitals in the top 90th percentile of total margin, every 10 min beyond the median ED boarding interval led to a decrease in total margin of 0.24%. Practical Applications: Using the largest available national registry of ED operational data and concordant nonprofit financial reports, higher boarding among the highest-profitability hospitals (i.e., top 10%) is associated with a drag on profit margin, while hospitals with the highest boarding are associated with the highest leverage (i.e., indicated by the EM). These relationships suggest an association between a key ED indicator of hospital capacity management and overall institutional financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Recovery Colleges (RCs) have been implemented across England with wide variation in organisational characteristics. The purpose of this study is to describe RCs across England in terms of organisational and student characteristics, fidelity and annual spending, to generate a RC typology based on characteristics and to explore the relationship between characteristics and fidelity. Methods: All RC in England meeting criteria on recovery orientation, coproduction and adult learning were included. Managers completed a survey capturing characteristics, fidelity and budget. Hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted to identify common groupings and generate an RC typology. Results: Participants comprised 63 (72%) of 88 RC in England. Fidelity scores were high (median 11, IQR 9–13). Both NHS and strengths-focussed RCs were associated with higher fidelity. The median annual budget was £200,000 (IQR £127,000–£300,000) per RC. The median cost per student was £518 (IQR £275–£840), cost per course designed was £5,556 (IQR £3,000–£9,416) and per course run was £1,510 (IQR £682–£3,030). The total annual budget across England for RCs is an estimated £17.6 m including £13.4 m from NHS budgets, with 11,000 courses delivered to 45,500 students. Conclusion: Although the majority of RCs had high levels of fidelity, there were sufficiently pronounced differences in other key characteristics to generate a typology of RCs. This typology might prove important for understanding student outcomes and how they are achieved and for commissioning decisions. Staffing and co-producing new courses are key drivers of spending. The estimated budget for RCs was less than 1% of NHS mental health spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hospitals are the biggest consumers of health system budgets and hence measuring hospital performance by quantitative or qualitative accessible and reliable indicators is crucial. This review aimed to categorize and present a set of indicators for evaluating overall hospital performance. Methods: We conducted a literature search across three databases, i.e., PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, using possible keyword combinations. We included studies that explored hospital performance evaluation indicators from different dimensions. Results: We included 91 English language studies published in the past 10 years. In total, 1161 indicators were extracted from the included studies. We classified the extracted indicators into 3 categories, 14 subcategories, 21 performance dimensions, and 110 main indicators. Finally, we presented a comprehensive set of indicators with regard to different performance dimensions and classified them based on what they indicate in the production process, i.e., input, process, output, outcome and impact. Conclusion: The findings provide a comprehensive set of indicators at different levels that can be used for hospital performance evaluation. Future studies can be conducted to validate and apply these indicators in different contexts. It seems that, depending on the specific conditions of each country, an appropriate set of indicators can be selected from this comprehensive list of indicators for use in the performance evaluation of hospitals in different settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning longitudinal studies can be challenging as various design decisions need to be made. Often, researchers are in search for the optimal design that maximizes statistical power to test certain parameters of the employed model. We provide a user-friendly Shiny app OptDynMo available at that helps to find the optimal number of persons (N) and the optimal number of time points (T) for which the power of the likelihood ratio test (LRT) for a model parameter is maximal given a fixed budget for conducting the study. The total cost of the study is computed from two components: the cost to include one person in the study and the cost for measuring one person at one time point. Currently supported models are the cross-lagged panel model (CLPM), factor CLPM, random intercepts cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM), stable trait autoregressive trait and state model (STARTS), latent curve model with structured residuals (LCM-SR), autoregressive latent trajectory model (ALT), and the latent change score model (LCS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, approximately 98% of the predicted total surface water resources are already being used up. Consequently, the National Water Resource Strategy considers groundwater to be important for the future planning and management of water resources. In this case, quantifying groundwater budgets is a prerequisite because they provide a means for evaluating the availability and sustainability of a water supply. This study estimated the regional groundwater budgets for the Inkomati‐Usuthu Water Management Area (Usuthu, Komati, Sabie‐Sand, and Crocodile) using the classical hydrological continuity equation. The equation was used to describe prevailing feedback loops between groundwater draft, recharge, baseflow, and storage change. The results were coarser scale estimates which, beforehand, were derived from the 2006 study. In the years to follow, groundwater reliance intensified and there was also the historic 2015/2016 drought. This inevitably led to an increased draft while the rest of the components of the groundwater budgets experienced decreases. Both Crocodile and Sabie‐Sand experienced groundwater storage depletion which led to reduced baseflow and groundwater availability, while groundwater recharge contrarily increased due to capture. Conversely, the other two catchments experienced relatively lower drafts with correspondingly higher groundwater availability and recharge while storage change was positive. The results highlighted the need for adaptive water management whose effectiveness relies on predictive studies. Consequently, future models should be developed to capture the spatial and temporal dynamism of the natural groundwater budget due to climate change, water demands, and population growth predictions. Article impact statement: Updated quantitative estimates of the regional groundwater budget following severe draughts and increased groundwater reliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the mixed layer variations near mesoscale eddies in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) using satellite altimeter and Argo data. Furthermore, the factors responsible for sea surface variations near mesoscale eddies are analyzed using the mixed layer heat and salinity budgets estimated from Argo profiles. In the diagnostic mixed layer heat budget analysis, the entrainment term is parametrized based on the presence and absence of the barrier layer. The role of inversion and barrier layers on eddy-induced temperature variations is also examined near eddy locations. Results showed that anti-cyclonic eddies deepen mixed layer depth (MLD) and barrier layer thickness (BLT). Whereas, near cyclonic eddies shallower MLD and BLT is evident. However, MLD and BLT variations near mesoscale eddies are prominent during monsoon and winter seasons, respectively. Heat budget analysis near eddy locations depicts that surface heat fluxes and vertical entrainment are the primary factors responsible for temperature variations near mesoscale eddies. Similarly, the salinity budget analysis near eddy locations reveals that horizontal advection (stirring effect) is the predominant processes responsible for the salinity variations. The outcome of the present study is believed to be useful in validating and improving the eddy-resolving ocean models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governmental budgets and the priorities they reflect are the subjects of recurring political debate. Research on political representation commonly focuses on relative spending preferences, mostly in isolated domains that are unconstrained, and so provides only limited information about people's preferences. Recent survey work considers the effects of asking about absolute spending levels in different substantive areas and in the face of revenue constraints. No studies do all three, though two studies get close and provide more fine-grained measures of preferences for spending change. We follow their lead but in a more general way, offering budget profiles that include increases as well as decreases in spending levels, embedded in a conjoint experiment in Sweden. Our results reveal that people appear to hold preferences on specific magnitudes of spending change, budgetary constraints matter, and the effects of increases and decreases in spending are not symmetrical. Although the implied preferences for spending are similar in direction to expressed relative preferences that are unconstrained, the levels of support across domains are different. The findings have implications for assessments of opinion representation, as inferences about the responsiveness of policy to preferences – and the congruence between them – differ depending on measurement of the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing use of artificial intelligence, search engine providers are increasingly pushing advertisers to use automated bidding strategies based on machine learning. Such automated decision‐making systems leave advertisers in the dark about the data being used and how they can influence the outcome of the decision‐making process. Previous literature on artificial intelligence lacks an understanding of the dangers related to artificially intelligent systems and their lack of transparency. In response, our paper addresses the inherent risks of the automated optimization of advertisers' bidding strategies in search engine advertising. The selected empirical case of a service company therefore demonstrates how data availability can trigger a long‐term decline in advertising performance and how search engine advertising performance metrics develop before and after an event of data scarcity. Based on data collected for 525 days, difference‐in‐differences analysis shows that the algorithmic approach has a considerable and lasting negative impact on advertising performance. Furthermore, the empirical case indicates that self‐regulated learning can initialize a downward spiral that gradually impairs advertising performance. Thus, the aim of this study is to increase awareness regarding automated decision‐making dangers in search engine advertising and help advertisers take preventive measures to reduce the risks of algorithm missteps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper builds on an intensive and unique survey of all Czech municipalities (n = 6,258) regarding the geoparticipatory spatial tools used in the decision-making processes of local administrations and the Index of Geoparticipation derived from the dataset. Furthermore, we have collected and analysed data regarding 238 participatory budgeting events in the Czech Republic from the years 2012–2020. This paper is divided into two sections. We investigate the relationships among the municipalities' membership in the Healthy Cities of the Czech Republic network (HCCZ), as well as the municipalities' levels of indebtedness and their performances in the Index of Geoparticipation and their usage of participatory budgeting. Our primary theory states that membership in HCCZ and higher values in the Index of Geoparticipation will support the use of participatory budgeting, while indebtedness will discourage municipalities from implementing participatory budgeting. We deepen the knowledge of participatory budgeting in the Czech Republic, while focusing on the qualitative analysis of projects that have been approved and implemented through the tool of participatory budgeting at the municipal level. Additionally, we examine what type of projects the funds are allocated to and how the characteristics of these projects change over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This study aimed to evaluate the current status and related factors of practice environments of nurse managers in China. Background. Insufficient nurse staffing and poor working environment directly increase the burnout and turnover of nurse leaders. Nurse managers play a pivotal role in healthcare organizations, and their performance has been inextricably linked to achieving optimal patient, staff, and healthcare organizational outcomes. However, there are few studies exploring the influencing factors of nurse manager practice environment. Methods. A cross-sectional study was undertaken to examine a sample of 405 nursing managers who were selected from 10 hospitals located across three provinces in China. The general characteristics questionnaire, the Nurse Manager Practice Environment Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Career Growth Scale were used. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, univariate analysis, and multiple stepwise linear regression. Results. The total scores of the nurse manager practice environments were 236.71 ± 27.635 (with 270 being the highest possible score), which was at a generally high level. The three lowest scores were adequate budgeted resources, fair and manageable workload, and nurse manager-physician relationships. Nurse manager practice environment was predicted by hospital geographic location, having (or not) training experience in higher ranked hospitals, levels of perceived stress, and career growth scores. Conclusion. Chinese nursing managers reported a relatively favorable nursing practice environment. Policymakers should pay more attention to the practice environment of nursing managers in small city hospitals, and they could regularly evaluate, monitor, and promote practice environment determinants that are sensitive to disparities between different hospitals. In addition, hospital managers can take action by implementing diversity training programs, developing stress-reduction initiatives, and creating robust career development programs for nurse managers to support nurse managers better. Implications for nursing management: a better understanding of the current practice environment of nursing managers is beneficial for improving nursing managers' work environment, which in turn will promote the quality of care delivered and nursing management work. For nurse managers, the characteristics of the management and work environment of the small city hospitals should be benchmarked and learned against the district capital hospitals. Also, hospital administrators were required to adopt strategies to foster psychological support of nurse managers and create pathways and opportunities for professional growth to create a supportive working environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET) security, using federated learning (FL) to deploy intrusion detection models in VANET has attracted considerable attention. Compared to conventional centralized learning, FL retains local training private data, thus protecting privacy. However, sensitive information about the training data can still be inferred from the shared model parameters in FL. Differential privacy (DP) is sophisticated technique to mitigate such attacks. A key challenge of implementing DP in FL is that non-selectively adding DP noise can adversely affect model accuracy, while having many perturbed parameters also increases privacy budget consumption and communication costs for detection models. To address this challenge, we propose FFIDS, a FL algorithm integrating model parameter pruning with differential privacy. It employs a parameter pruning technique based on the Fisher Information Matrix to reduce the privacy budget consumption per iteration while ensuring no accuracy loss. Specifically, FFIDS evaluates parameter importance and prunes unimportant parameters to generate compact sub-models, while recording the positions of parameters in each sub-model. This not only reduces model size to lower communication costs, but also maintains accuracy stability. DP noise is then added to the sub-models. By not perturbing unimportant parameters, more budget can be reserved to retain important parameters for more iterations. Finally, the server can promptly recover the sub-models using the parameter position information and complete aggregation. Extensive experiments on two public datasets and two F2MD simulation datasets have validated the utility and superior performance of the FFIDS algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For breathing humans, the respiratory quotient (RQ = CO2 moles released/O2 mols consumed) ranges from 0.7 to 1.0. In Part I, the literature on the RQ was reviewed and Keeling's data on atmospheric CO2 and O2 concentrations (1991–2018) were used in the estimation of the global RQ as 0.47. A new interpretation of RQGlob is provided in Part II by treating the planet as a "Hypothetical Biological system (HBS)". The CO2 and O2 balance equations are adopted for estimating (i) energy-based RQGlob(En) and (ii) the CO2 distribution in GT/year and % of CO2 captured by the atmosphere, land, and ocean. The key findings are as follows: (i) The RQGlob(En) is estimated as 0.35 and is relatively constant from 1991 to 2020. The use of RQGlob(En) enables the estimation of CO2 added to the atmosphere from the knowledge of annual fossil fuel (FF) energy data; (ii) The RQ method for the CO2 budget is validated by comparing the annual CO2 distribution results with results from more detailed models; (iii) Explicit relations are presented for CO2 sink in the atmosphere, land, and ocean biomasses, and storage in ocean water from the knowledge of curve fit constants of Keeling's curves and the RQ of FF and biomasses; (iv) The rate of global average temperature rise (0.27 °C/decade) is predicted using RQGlob,(En) and the annual energy release rate and compared with the literature data; and (v) Earth's mass loss in GT and O2 in the atmosphere are predicted by extrapolating the curve fit to the year 3700. The effect of RQGlob and RQFF on the econometry and policy issues is briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive uncertainty can affect the efficiency and fairness of consensus in the consensus reaching process (CRP), but few scholars have studied consensus modeling that focuses on fairness and efficiency in uncertain environments. Additionally, the weight of the decision maker (DM) in the CRP is influenced by multiple factors. Therefore, this paper proposes robust consensus models (EFCMs) focusing on fairness and efficiency under uncertain costs to address these issues. Firstly, this paper constructs multiple uncertainty sets to describe the uncertainty of the unit adjustment cost. Secondly, the fair utility level and opinion adjustment distance are used to measure the fairness and efficiency of reaching consensus, respectively. Furthermore, this paper uses a data-driven method based on the KDE method combined with trust propagation in social networks to determine the DMs' weights jointly. Finally, this paper also applies the proposed models to the carbon emission reduction negotiation process between the government and enterprises. The experimental results and sensitivity analysis show that the consensus cost budget and the DMs' jealous preference behavior particularly affects the efficiency of reaching consensus, which provides a theoretical basis for solving practical decision making problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delivery of nitrogen (N), one of the most important elements for life, to Earth thought to have occurred via both undifferentiated and differentiated bodies, lasting at least 50–100 Ma from the birth of the Solar System. Therefore, to understand how Earth got its N, it is imperative to know the N budget of the earliest formed bodies in our Solar System. The best astromaterials available for providing constraints on N budget of the earliest formed planetesimals are the iron meteorites. However, iron meteorites are crystallized products of a liquid alloy and do not represent the N budget of the bulk cores of various iron meteorite parent bodies (IMPBs). Therefore, to determine how N partitioned between solid alloy (sa) and liquid alloy (la) (D N s a / l a ) during crystallization of molten metal alloy core, we present a series of equilibrium partitioning experiments at 1–2 GPa and 1150–1550 ℃ for various initial starting compositions having different sulfur (S), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe) and fixed nitrogen (N) concentrations. We observe that N changes from mildly incompatible to mildly compatible with increasing S concentration in the liquid alloy. Furthermore, we observed that N concentration in solid alloy decreases with increasing temperature, while pressure and Ni content showed almost no effect on the partitioning behavior of N. We used a regression model based on the results of our study and a previous study to establish a parameterization for D N s a / l a . Using our parameterized D N s a / l a , we determine potential siderophile element proxies of N in metallic systems and model the initial N budget of various IMPBs groups pertaining to the inner (Non-Carbonaceous (NC) reservoir) and outer Solar System (Carbonaceous (CC) reservoir). Between two possible end-member styles of IMPB differentiation (IMO – Internal Magma Ocean; EMO – External Magma Ocean), EMOs result in a higher initial N budget with a major fraction getting lost via atmospheric loss. Importantly, our calculations suggest a gradation in the N budget of CC and NC IMPBs with CC IMPBs hosting lesser N than NC IMPBs. Therefore, the early Solar protoplanetary disk likely showed a gradation in N both in its elemental and isotopic composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Integrated care, in particular the 'Blended Collaborative Care (BCC)' strategy, may have the potential to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in multimorbid patients with heart failure (HF) and psychosocial burden at no or low additional cost. The ESCAPE trial is a randomised controlled trial for the evaluation of a BCC approach in five European countries. For the economic evaluation of alongside this trial, the four main objectives were: (i) to document the costs of delivering the intervention, (ii) to assess the running costs across study sites, (iii) to evaluate short-term cost-effectiveness and cost-utility compared to providers' usual care, and (iv) to examine the budgetary implications. Methods: The trial-based economic analyses will include cross-country cost-effectiveness and cost-utility assessments from a payer perspective. The cost-utility analysis will calculate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) using the EQ-5D-5L and national value sets. Cost-effectiveness will include the cost per hospital admission avoided and the cost per depression-free days (DFD). Resource use will be measured from different sources, including electronic medical health records, standardised questionnaires, patient receipts and a care manager survey. Uncertainty will be addressed using bootstrapping. Discussion: The various methods and approaches used for data acquisition should provide insights into the potential benefits and cost-effectiveness of a BCC intervention. Providing the economic evaluation of ESCAPE will contribute to a country-based structural and organisational planning of BCC (e.g., the number of patients that may benefit, how many care managers are needed). Improved care is expected to enhance health-related quality of life at little or no extra cost. Trial registration: The study follows CHEERS2022 and is registered at the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00025120). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, undernutrition is the leading cause of mortality among under-five children. Bangladesh and India were in the top ten countries in the world for under-five mortality. The aim of the study was to investigate the nutritional status of Bengali under-five children. Methods: Data on 25938 under-five children were retrieved from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017–18 (BDHS) and the National Family Health Survey of India 2015–16 (NFHS-4). Stunting, wasting, underweight and thinness were considered to understand the nutritional status of under-five children. Binary logistic regression was used to identify associated factors of undernutrition among children. Results: Over one-quarter of Bengali under-five children were found to be suffering from the problem of stunting (31.9%) and underweight (28.1%), while other nutritional indicators raised serious concern and revealed inter-country disparities. In the cases of wasting, underweight and thinness, the mean z-scores and frequency differences between Bangladesh and India were significant. The nutritional status of Bengali under-five children appeared to have improved in Bangladesh compared to India. Child undernutrition had significant relations with maternal undernutrition in both countries. Girls in Bangladesh had slightly better nutritional status than boys. In Bangladesh, lack of formal education among mothers was a leading cause of child undernutrition. Stunting and underweight coexist with low household wealth index in both counties. Conclusions: The research revealed that various factors were associated with child undernutrition in Bengalis. It has been proposed that programmes promoting maternal education and nutrition, along with household wealth index be prioritised. The study recommends that the Governments of Bangladesh and India should increase the budget for health of children so as to reach the sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the cost-effectiveness and budget impact of olaparib as a maintenance therapy in platinum-responsive, metastatic pancreatic cancer patients harboring a germline BRCA1/2 mutation, using the Swiss context as a model. Methods: Based on data from the POLO trial, published literature and local cost data, we developed a partitioned survival model of olaparib maintenance including full costs for BRCA1/2 germline testing compared to FOLFIRI maintenance chemotherapy and watch-and-wait. We calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for the base case and several scenario analyses and estimated 5-year budget impact. Results: Comparing olaparib with watch-and wait and maintenance chemotherapy resulted in incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of CHF 2,711,716 and CHF 2,217,083 per QALY gained, respectively. The 5-year costs for the olaparib strategy in Switzerland would be CHF 22.4 million, of which CHF 11.4 million would be accounted for by germline BRCA1/2 screening of the potentially eligible population. This would amount to a budget impact of CHF 15.4 million (USD 16.9 million) versus watch-and-wait. Conclusions: Olaparib is not a cost-effective maintenance treatment option. Companion diagnostics are an equally important cost driver as the drug itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual Health Budget (IHB) is used for social and health integration and to facilitate processes of resource reorientation in healthcare. Despite its increased use in mental health settings, few studies investigated its effectiveness in severe mental disorders. 383 IHB beneficiaries were recruited among Mental Health Departments users of the Italian region Friuli Venezia Giulia. Data involved sociodemographic and clinical variables, IHB type and scores of Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS) at admission to IHB programme (T0), after 12 months (T1), and after 24 months (T2). The length and the mean number of hospitalisations and healthcare interventions decreased at T1. A significant scores' reduction from T0 to T1 evaluation was found in HoNOS total score (T-test (P) < 0.05) and in most of its items. An improvement throughout the whole evaluation period (T0 vs. T2) was found in 36% of the IHB beneficiaries, while more than 60% of them remained in the same HoNOS severity category. Our results support the use of IHB in patients with severe mental problems, since it may contribute to an improvement in social and clinical functioning, consequently lowering the burden on MHDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, academic libraries saw a shift toward remote learning leading to increased dependency on electronic resources. This article explores the implications of the pandemic on electronic resource management, focusing on modifications in budget allocation, licensing, accessibility, and staffing. Drawing from a data set of 120 survey responses in 2023 in the United States, this article illustrates the challenges academic libraries faced and changes made during the pandemic. These findings reiterate the essential role of electronic resources and emphasize the need for academic libraries to continually adapt their management strategies to meet user needs in the post-pandemic era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to examine the influence of performance-based budget planning, internal control, and reporting systems on performance accountability with organizational culture as a moderating variable. This study uses a quantitative approach. The research objects are performance-based budget planning, internal control, reporting systems, performance accountability, and organizational culture. The population of this study were employees from the Surabaya Class I Port Health Office and the sampling technique was carried out using the Slovin probability sampling technique, therefore the number of research samples was 88 samples. The type of data used is primary data originating from a questionnaire that was distributed to employees of the Surabaya Class I Port Health Office. Data analysis technique uses PLS (Partial Least Square) using SmartPLS 4 software. The research results state that performance-based budget planning has no effect on performance accountability, while internal control and reporting systems have an effect on performance accountability. Then organizational culture cannot moderate performance-based budget planning, internal control, and reporting systems for performance accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the generation of secondary flows of Prandtl's second kind in the actuator-disk simulation of wind-turbine wakes. Leveraging large-eddy simulation data and conducting an analysis of the mean streamwise vorticity budget, we uncover the physical mechanisms contributing to this phenomenon. Our investigations attribute the emergence of such flows to the spatial gradients of the Reynolds stresses in the wake downstream of the turbines, which are, in turn, influenced by ground effects. To further investigate the phenomenon, we specifically isolate the impact of secondary flows on the wake by employing a model recognized for its incapacity to capture such dynamics: a two-equation Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) model founded on the linear eddy-viscosity hypothesis. By comparing the predictions of the RANS model with those of large-eddy simulations and wind-tunnel experiments, we highlight the effect of secondary flows on the wake structure and, in particular, the upward shift of the wake. Motivated by the obtained results, we then enhance the baseline RANS model by introducing a non-linear term within the Reynolds stress tensor. This modification leads to a more accurate representation of Reynolds stresses, enabling the RANS model to capture the secondary flows in the wake. Our analysis emphasizes the importance of employing advanced RANS models in the simulation of wind farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study models a container routing problem using multimodal transportation to improve its economy, timeliness, and reliability. Pickup and delivery time windows are simultaneously formulated in optimization to provide the shipper and the receiver with time-efficient services, in which early pickup and delayed delivery can be avoided, and nonlinear storage periods at the origin and the destination can be minimized. Furthermore, the capacity uncertainty of the multimodal network is incorporated into the advanced routing to enhance its reliability in practical transportation. The LR triangular fuzzy number is adopted to model the capacity uncertainty, in which its spread ratio is defined to measure the uncertainty level of the fuzzy capacity. Due to the nonlinearity introduced by the time windows and the fuzziness from the network capacity, this study establishes a fuzzy nonlinear optimization model for optimization problem. A chance-constrained linear reformulation equivalent to the proposed model is then generated based on the credibility measure, which makes the global optimum solution attainable by using Lingo software. A numerical case verification demonstrates that the proposed model can effectively solve the problem. The case analysis points out that the formulation of pickup and delivery time windows can improve the timeliness of the entire transportation process and help to achieve on-time transportation. Furthermore, improving the confidence level and the uncertainty level increases the total costs of the optimal route. Therefore, the shipper and the receiver must prepare more transportation budget to improve reliability and address the increasing uncertainty level. Further analysis draws some insights to help the shipper, receiver, and multimodal transport operator to organize a reliable and cost-efficient multimodal transportation under capacity uncertainty through confidence level balance and transportation service and transfer service selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative alternatives need complex multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) consideration, especially in resource allocation, where the alternatives exhibit interdependent relationships. Traditional MCDM methods like the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) often overlook the synergistic potential of cooperative alternatives. This study introduces a novel method integrating AHP/ANP with Shapley values, specifically designed to address this gap by evaluating alternatives on individual merits and their contributions within coalitions. Our methodology begins with defining problem structures and applying AHP/ANP to determine the criteria weights and alternatives' scores. Subsequently, we compute Shapley values based on coalition values, synthesizing these findings to inform resource allocation decisions more equitably. A numerical example of budget allocation illustrates the method's efficacy, revealing significant insights into resource distribution when cooperative dynamics are considered. Our results demonstrate the proposed method's superiority in capturing the nuanced interplay between criteria and alternatives, leading to more informed urban planning decisions. This approach marks a significant advancement in MCDM, offering a comprehensive framework that incorporates both the analytical rigor of AHP/ANP and the equitable considerations of cooperative game theory through Shapley values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In groundwater hydrology, aquitard heterogeneity is often less considered compared to aquifers, despite its significant impact on groundwater hydraulics and groundwater resources evaluation. A semi‐analytical solution is derived for pumping‐induced well hydraulics and groundwater budget with consideration of vertical heterogeneity in aquitard hydraulic conductivity (K) and specific storage (Ss). The proposed new solution is innovative in its partitioning of the aquitard into multiple homogeneous sub‐layers to enable consideration of various forms of vertically heterogeneous K or Ss. Two scenarios of analytical investigations are explored: one is the presence of aquitard interlayers with distinct K or Ss values, a common field‐scale occurrence; another is an exponentially depth‐decaying aquitard Ss, a regional‐scale phenomenon supported by statistical analysis. Analytical investigations reveal that a low‐K interlayer can significantly increase aquifer drawdown and enhance aquifer/aquitard depletion; a high‐Ss interlayer can noticeably reduce aquifer drawdown and increase aquitard depletion. Locations of low‐K or high‐Ss interlayers also significantly impact well hydraulics and groundwater budget. In the context of an exponentially depth‐decaying aquitard Ss, a larger decay exponent can enhance aquifer drawdown. When using current models with a vertically homogeneous aquitard, half the sum of the geometric and harmonic means of exponentially depth‐decaying aquitard Ss should be used to calculate aquitard depletion and unconfined aquifer leakage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile Crowdsensing (MCS) has shown the greatest potential that allows smart devices to collect and share different sensing data. Mobile users (or participants) send the desired sensing data to the service providers and collect rewards. However, the reward needs to be given such as, it does not increase platform costs. On the other hand, the unsatisfactory reward may reduce the interest of the participant which may degrade the quality data. Therefore, increasing sensing data quality with a constrained budget is a crucial challenge. There has been extensive research on the reward mechanism for MCS, but, most of the work is on the basic assumption that participant will complete their assigned task positively. In this paper, we propose an efficient user selection mechanism for Mobile Crowdsensing System (MCS) by considering the Probability of Success (PoS) of users (i.e. participant may fail to complete the assigned task with some probability). For the selection of an efficient user, the proposed mechanism also accounts the parameters like data quality and platform cost. We also propose a reward calculation model for the selected users. Minimizing the platform cost with a constrained budget is an NP-hard problem. To provide a sub-optimal solution to this problem Chaotic Krill-Herd optimization algorithm is used. The extensive simulation results reveal that the proposed method outperforms the existing work by considerable margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a QI project focused on the development and implementation of a financial and budgeting educational program to strengthen the financial skills of nurse leaders. Results demonstrated improvements in knowledge acquisition and self-efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship emphasizes the need for mission-oriented innovation policies (MOIPs) to tackle grand challenges and the importance of dynamic capabilities in innovation agencies for their implementation. However, the development of dynamic capabilities in innovation agencies, especially in relation to the legal and institutional design of such agencies, remains understudied. We propose a framework integrating research on innovation policy, dynamic capabilities, and legal institutionalism, adapting the three high-order dynamic capabilities—sense, seize, and transform—into nine more concrete low-order capabilities for implementation of MOIPs. We also look at rules and institutional design related to five groups of routines affecting the development of dynamic capabilities: (1) governance, (2) organizational design, (3) budget and finance, (4) public procurement and partnerships, and (5) human resources. We conclude by outlining the analytical and policy implications for (re)designing innovation agencies to implement MOIPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unpredictable income poses a significant threat to economic stability for many U.S. households. While budgeting may help to mitigate some of the negative effects of unpredictable income, the process of budgeting can also be more challenging under such circumstances. This paper presents new descriptive evidence on the relationship between income predictability, financial wellbeing, and budgeting behavior using data from a nationally‐representative survey of nearly 4000 U.S. adults. We document a strong negative relationship between income unpredictability and financial wellbeing. However, the strength of this negative relationship is substantially attenuated for those who budget. This suggests that budgeting may be a useful tool for mitigating the adverse effects of unpredictable income. Despite these benefits, the propensity to budget is significantly lower among those with the most unpredictable income. These findings indicate the need for policy reforms that insure households against unpredictable income in addition to efforts targeting individual‐level financial management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to empower cardiovascular (CV) researchers by promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) principles throughout the research cycle. It defines DE&I and introduces practical strategies for implementation in recruitment, retention, and team dynamics within CV research. Evidence-based approaches supporting underrepresented populations' participation are outlined for each research phase. Emphasizing the significance of inclusive research environments, the paper offers guidance and resources. We invite CV researchers to actively embrace DE&I principles, enhancing research relevance and addressing longstanding CV health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a key socioeconomic and environmental concern in South Africa. The South African government introduced several climate change initiatives to address the impacts of climate change, resulting in the proliferation of climate adaptation policies across spheres of government. This paper studies different climate change adaptation policies and climate policy paradigms (CPP) to understand the adaptation landscape; it explains and compares the changes in CPP in South Africa over time. We mapped 40 policy documents from 2004 to 2022, which shows 12 national policies, 12 provincial (sub-national) policy documents and 14 metropolitan city policy documents. We then used 12 national policy documents to illustrate and understand the CPP. The research shows that different stakeholders have shaped climate change adaptation policy, both private and public firms advised on climate change policy and there are a number of different funding partners supporting the adaptation policy like GEF, C40 and GIZ. The changing policy environment has introduced new frameworks, objectives and processes. Therefore, more efforts will be needed going forward to guide adaptation policy across national, provincial and local governments. We find that several CPPs have emerged, that is different paradigms encompassing a range of policy goals, framings and instruments. The present National CC Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) mandates adaptation across all levels of government and allows all important stakeholders to address climate change consequences. This NCCAS increases the number and ambition of adaptation policy, encourages integrated approaches, policy coherence and clear direction on how to handle climate risks and impacts in varied South Africa and its global commitment. Changes in policy paradigm enable the use of new policy instruments, including funding and budget mechanisms. Finally, climate adaptation policy has become more ambitious and stringent, requiring all levels of government to plan for climate change. The climate change policy landscape in South Africa has grown over the past 18 years, with policy development across different spheres of government (national, sectoral, provincial and metros), New CPPs have emerged, supported by new policy frames, goals and instruments. The NCCAS provides a clear policy goal, which also provides new policy instruments to implement climate actions and acts to enhance integrated approaches, The lack of domestic budget allocation remains a challenge for national government, but external partnerships have begun to provide support for policy development. Notably, a shift from a flexible to stringent approach to climate policy is needed to deliver effective climate action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitalization with integrated devices, digital and physical assistants, automation, and simulation is setting a new direction for laboratory work. Even with complex research workflows, high staff turnover, and a limited budget some laboratories have already shown that digitalization is indeed possible. However, academic bioprocess laboratories often struggle to follow the trend of digitalization. Due to their diverse research circumstances, high variety of team composition, goals, and limitations the concepts are substantially different. Here, we will provide an overview on different aspects of digitalization and describe how academic laboratories successfully digitalized their working environment. The key aspect is the collaboration and communication between IT‐experts and scientific staff. The developed digital infrastructure is only useful if it supports the laboratory worker and does not complicate their work. Thereby, laboratory researchers have to collaborate closely with IT‐experts in order for a well‐developed and maintainable digitalization concept that fits their individual needs and level of complexity. This review may serve as a starting point or a collection of ideas for the transformation toward a digitalized laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands are the largest natural source of methane (CH4) emissions globally. Northern wetlands (>45° N), accounting for 42 % of global wetland area, are increasingly vulnerable to carbon loss, especially as CH4 emissions may accelerate under intensified high-latitude warming. However, the magnitude and spatial patterns of high-latitude CH4 emissions remain relatively uncertain. Here we present estimates of daily CH4 fluxes obtained using a new machine learning-based wetland CH4 upscaling framework (WetCH4) that applies the most complete database of eddy covariance (EC) observations available to date, and satellite remote sensing informed observations of environmental conditions at 10-km resolution. The most important predictor variables included near-surface soil temperatures (top 40 cm), vegetation reflectance, and soil moisture. Our results, modeled from 138 site-years across 26 sites, had relatively strong predictive skill with a mean R2 of 0.46 and 0.62 and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 23 nmol m-2 s-1 and 21 nmol m-2 s-1 for daily and monthly fluxes, respectively. Based on the model results, we estimated an annual average of 20.8 ±2.1 Tg CH4 yr-1 for the northern wetland region (2016–2022) and total budgets ranged from 13.7–44.1 Tg CH4 yr-1, depending on wetland map extents. Although 86 % of the estimated CH4 budget occurred during the May–October period, a considerable amount (1.4 ±0.2 Tg CH4) occurred during winter. Regionally, the West Siberian wetlands accounted for a majority (51 %) of the interannual variation in domain CH4 emissions. Significant issues with data coverage remain, with only 23 % of the sites observing year-round and most of the data from 11 wetland sites in Alaska and 10 bog/fen sites in Canada and Fennoscandia, and in general, Western Siberian Lowlands are underrepresented by EC CH4 sites. Our results provide high spatiotemporal information on the wetland emissions in the high-latitude carbon cycle and possible responses to climate change. Continued, all-season tower observations and improved soil moisture products are needed for future improvement of CH4 upscaling. The dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10802154 (Ying et al., 2024). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each year, major league baseball (MLB) teams face complex decisions about which players to retain and which players to recruit. In addition to operational, team and budget constraints, these decisions are further complicated by the fact that an athlete's future performance and its impact on the team are both uncertain. In this paper, we combine prediction modeling with decision optimization to study the MLB free agent market. We develop optimization models for the allocation of a team's recruitment budget using six different metrics that evaluate a player's contributions to a team's success. We consider both an ideal case, where each team can choose among all free agents, and a sequential case, where we assume that teams with stronger appeal (big market) are more successful in attracting talent, while teams with less pull must optimize their rosters over a much smaller pool of remaining players. Using the best-performing metric, which takes into account both players' positions and their positional flexibility, we develop a series of quantitative tools that help teams, especially those with small budgets, identify (1) the players who deliver a key competitive advantage to their teams, appearing in both their ideal and sequential rosters and (2) the players who are in many ideal rosters and thus are likely to be hired by teams with big budgets, perhaps at a substantial salary premium. In order to gain and maintain an edge in the fiercely competitive free agent market, teams need to continuously adapt their strategies, and our models represent a first step towards prescriptive (not just predictive) analytics designed to help them do so. Further, our analysis indicates that a few players are in high demand from many teams (for instance, in every year of the period considered, the ten most in-demand players appear in the ideal rosters of at least seven teams), while most players appear in one ideal roster or none at all. Our models go beyond players' individual performance metrics to help teams understand which players will be in high demand due to teams' position needs in a given year. The results further emphasize the increasing importance of contract extensions as a strategy to bypass the free agent market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth observation aims at monitoring the Earth in increasingly more detail by improving the spatial, spectral and temporal resolution of image acquisitions. This can now be achieved in more cost-efficient ways by the miniaturization of instruments and platforms. New initiatives have emerged to accommodate hyperspectral instruments on CubeSats despite inherent platform limitations in terms of volume, power consumption, computing and downlink capacity. However, the adoption of CubeSat data for operational and scientific applications requires sufficient trust in dependability and data quality. Achieving reliable data quality from CubeSats remains challenging and requires advanced geometric, radiometric, and spectral calibration techniques. We present the successful in-orbit calibration of the HyperScout-1 mission. This In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) mission, equipped with a miniaturized hyperspectral instrument based on Linear Variable Filter technology (LVF), was launched in 2018 by the European Space Agency (ESA). Rigorous inflight calibration has been applied to HyperScout-1 to ensure the accuracy of its data. The radiometric calibration of the HyperScout-1 instrument was performed vicariously based on modelled spectral radiances over a desert site. Independent validation using data from a CEOS RadCalNet site showed good radiometric accuracy with absolute radiometric errors <5%. Geometric errors due to inaccuracies in attitude measurements and sensor focal plane distortions were corrected using a bundle adjustment technique combined with matching to accurate Ground Control Points. This resulted in excellent geometric performance, with sub-pixel average absolute geolocation errors (~0.48 pixels across track and 0.51 pixels along track). The very limited data budget was a major challenge, forcing us to make some trade-offs in the calibration. Despite this, our robust vicarious calibration strategy allowed effective instrument calibration. As a result, the HyperScout-1 demonstrated the capability of an LVF Hyperspectral instrument on a CubeSat to deliver high-quality imagery and serve applications like land cover classification, change detection and disaster monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider reallocation problems in settings where the initial endowment of each agent consists of a subset of the resources. The private information of the players is their value for every possible subset of the resources. The goal is to redistribute resources among agents to maximize efficiency. Monetary transfers are allowed, but participation is voluntary. We develop incentive-compatible, individually-rational and budget-balanced mechanisms for two settings in which agents have complex multi-parameter valuations, both settings include double auctions as a special case. The first setting is combinatorial exchanges, where we provide a mechanism that achieves a logarithmic approximation to the optimal efficiency when valuations are subadditive. The second setting is Arrow–Debreu markets for a single divisible good, where we present a constant approximation mechanism. The first result is given for a Bayesian setting, where the latter result is for prior-free environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity continues to decline despite protected area expansion and global conservation commitments. Biodiversity losses occur in existing protected areas, yet common methods used to select protected areas ignore postimplementation threats that reduce effectiveness. We developed a conservation planning framework that considers the ongoing anthropogenic threats within protected areas when selecting sites and the value of planning for costly threat‐mitigating activities (i.e., enforcement) at the time of siting decisions. We applied the framework to a set of landscapes that contained the range of possible correlations between species richness and threat. Accounting for threats and implementing enforcement activities increased benefits from protected areas without increasing budgets. Threat information was valuable in conserving more species per spending level even without enforcement, especially on landscapes with randomly distributed threats. Benefits from including threat information and enforcement were greatest when human threats peaked in areas of high species richness and were lowest where human threats were negatively associated with species richness. Because acquiring information on threats and using threat‐mitigating activities are costly, our findings can guide decision‐makers regarding the settings in which to pursue these planning steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]