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The study examines links between automated advisory services and irrational individual investors’ behaviour based on dual-process theory. The study contributes to the literature on active vs. passive digital nudges in robo-advisors and the disposition effect. Self-reporting online experiment revealed that robo-advisors help investors to resolve cognitive dissonance, with passive robo-advisors being more efficient. We contribute by introducing and indicating the moderating role of financial literacy. Though moderating feminine gender role was not supported, the need for customized automated advisory services is highlighted. The results are important for individual welfare, as demographic shifts and evolving retirement systems transfer investment decisions to individuals.

Until recently, the output-unemployment relationship (Okun's coefficient) was believed to follow two regimes, implying a uniform effect of expansionary fiscal policy on unemployment during economic booms and declines. However, research by Oh (2018) and Donayre (2022) introduced a three-regime approach, suggesting this relationship varies over different economic phases. Building on this, we propose a multinomial Okun's coefficient model using a gap model and quantile regression to estimate the coefficient at various unemployment levels. Our findings reveal that Okun's coefficient is significantly higher during severe recessions and lower at the onset of economic decline compared to the two-regime model. This indicates that the effectiveness of expansionary fiscal policy in reducing unemployment is limited when implemented at the start of a recession and is more effective during severe recessions, suggesting a need to re-evaluate the timing of such policies.

Over the last few decades, the European Union (EU) has made progress in reducing economic disparities between Member States. However, persistent differences in employment rates remain, prompting a concerted effort to foster economic development conducive to job creation. However, the previous research does not address the impact of labour productivity on the output-employment relationship. While they provide insights into the complex interplay between productivity, output, and employment, they do not comprehensively analyse how labour productivity affects the output-employment relationship. Using panel data from 27 EU countries and the UK over 2000–2022, we aim to evaluate whether economic growth led by increased productivity can enlarge employment when the complexity of interrelationships is specified in the model. While initial estimates using pooled OLS and 2SLS methods yield insignificant results, 3SLS estimates reveal a significant mediating effect of productivity on the output-employment nexus. The results imply that raising labour productivity can boost employment prospects during economic expansions. However, the mediating effect weakens during downturns, highlighting the need for multifaceted policy interventions. These findings provide crucial insights for policymakers navigating the complex and challenging dynamics of employment and economic growth in the EU context.

Abstract Background To assess the feasibility of CBCT-based adaptive intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) using automated planning for treatment of head and neck (HN) cancers. Methods Twenty HN cancer patients who received radiotherapy and had pretreatment CBCTs were included in this study. Initial IMPT plans were created using automated planning software for all patients. Synthetic CTs (sCT) were then created by deforming the planning CT (pCT) to the pretreatment CBCTs. To assess dose calculation accuracy on sCTs, repeat CTs (rCTs) were deformed to the pretreatment CBCT obtained on the same day to create deformed rCT (rCTdef), serving as gold standard. The dose recalculated on sCT and on rCTdef were compared by using Gamma analysis. The accuracy of DIR generated contours was also assessed. To explore the potential benefits of adaptive IMPT, two sets of plans were created for each patient, a non-adapted IMPT plan and an adapted IMPT plan calculated on weekly sCT images. The weekly doses for non-adaptive and adaptive IMPT plans were accumulated on the pCT, and the accumulated dosimetric parameters of two sets were compared. Results Gamma analysis of the dose recalculated on sCT and rCTdef resulted in a passing rate of 97.9% ± 1.7% using 3 mm/3% criteria. With the physician-corrected contours on the sCT, the dose deviation range of using sCT to estimate mean dose for the most organ at risk (OARs) can be reduced to (− 2.37%, 2.19%) as compared to rCTdef, while for V95 of primary or secondary CTVs, the deviation can be controlled within (− 1.09%, 0.29%). Comparison of the accumulated doses from the adaptive planning against the non-adaptive plans reduced mean dose to constrictors (− 1.42 Gy ± 2.79 Gy) and larynx (− 2.58 Gy ± 3.09 Gy). The reductions result in statistically significant reductions in the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of larynx edema by 7.52% ± 13.59%. 4.5% of primary CTVs, 4.1% of secondary CTVs, and 26.8% tertiary CTVs didn’t meet the V95 > 95% constraint on non-adapted IMPT plans. All adaptive plans were able to meet the coverage constraint. Conclusion sCTs can be a useful tool for accurate proton dose calculation. Adaptive IMPT resulted in better CTV coverage, OAR sparing and lower NTCP for some OARs as compared with non-adaptive IMPT.

Universities employ numerous approaches to integrate ethics into programs of study that can range from faculty-led case studies integrated into course curricula (distributed model) to standalone ethics courses (consolidated model). The approach described here enhanced a distributed model in which several courses are assigned responsibility to integrate an ethical component into the assignments capped with an integrative experience. We created a problem-solving studio (PSS) environment wherein an ill-defined current case study was presented to the students and the program's board of advisors (BOA). The students role-played as staff engineers (early-career employees with less than three years of experience), and BOA members provided the perspective of specific stakeholders relevant to the case study (e.g., state or federal regulator, principal engineer in a consulting firm, civic leader, etc.). Both groups were provided with the same preparatory materials. Small groups (student--BOA dyads) were established to review the current state and context of the problem, investigate specified or potential ethical considerations, and propose strategies to prevent or address the ethical dilemmas identified. The session was structured around three rounds of discussion (12-15 min) to explore the problem through the ethical considerations of "willful negligence" and "acts of omission." The session ended as a large group, and each BOA member would share one ethical consideration from their career that was evoked during this case study. Students would then submit a short paper to provide their insights into the case study (results of the dyad interactions) and how the event expanded their understanding of the ethical considerations. The ethics PSS provided an opportunity for increased interaction between students and "experienced mentors" equally valued by each group. Assessments revealed that the experience positively contributed to student confidence in meeting course objectives and integrating different perspectives into their development.

Interneto plėtra neatsiejama nuo informacijos perdavimo spartos didinimo tarp kompiuterių tinklo įrenginių, signalų perdavimui panaudojant optinius kabelius, kuriuose gali būti kelios dešimtys ar keli šimtai optinių skaidulų. Atskira optine skaidula, tuo pačiu metu, gali būti perduodama skirtingų informacijos šaltinių informacija panaudojant signalus, kurių bangų ilgiai yra skirtingi. Tokias galimybes turinti tinklo infrastruktūra vadinama pasyviuoju optiniu tinklu. Naudojant atskirą optinę skaidulą jau dabar yra galimybė realiu laiku informacijos perdavimo spartas padidinti iki 106 Gb/s lyginant su esamomis informacijos perdavimo spartomis 1 Gb/s. Didelių informacijos perdavimo spartų poreikis iškyla tarpusavyje apjungiant svarbius valstybės vidaus ar tarpvalstybinius tinklus. Atskiram interneto paslaugų vartotojui pakanka daug mažesnės informacijos perdavimo spartos. Naudojami optinės prieigos tinklai, kuriuose atskiros optinės skaidulos prijungiamos prie paslaugų vartotojų įrenginių, o pačios skaidulos tarpusavyje sujungiamos medžio principu: prie kamieno pirmiausia prijungiamos pirminės skaidulos šakos, toliau prie jų nutolusių galų prijungiamos antrinės skaidulos šakos ir taip toliau. Prijungimai atliekami panaudojant optinius daliklius. Tokio tinklo pagrindinė savybė – nuo kamieno pradžios iki skaidulų nutolusių galų atstumai dažniausiai yra palyginti nedideli (iki kelių kilometrų) ir tokiose linijose optinių signalų slopinimai skiriasi nedaug (iki kelių dB). Taip sudaryti tinklai vadinami FTTx (angl. Fiber To The x). Darbe ištirta tinklo konfigūracija, kurioje vartotojų įrenginiai nuosekliai gali būti prijungti prie tos pačios optinės skaidulos, kuri pavadinta magistrale. Tokios magistralinės skaidulos ilgis gali siekti keliasdešimt kilometrų. Šiuo atveju nuo linijos pradžios iki atskirų vartotojų įrenginių galimi skirtingi optinės linijos ilgiai ir jose signalų slopinimai gali būti skirtingi (iki 30 dB). Optinių signalų slopinimų suvienodinimui, kiekvienoje vartotojo įrenginio prijungimo prie magistralės vietoje, turi būti panaudotas tinkamų parametrų optinio signalo daliklis. Pateikiama prie magistralės prijungtų optinių daliklių parametrų skaičiavimo metodika. Rasta pasyviojo optinio tinklo aprėpties priklausomybė nuo magistralės daliklių skaičiaus.

The focus of this research is on assessing the perception of public service quality through a customer-centred approach. Public service quality comprises multiple factors that are prioritised differently by customers. Therefore, the study aims to conduct a literature review to identify the primary quality dimensions of public services and evaluate the heterogeneity of their perception within the context of Lithuania. The research measures the user perceptions of public service quality. The literature review allowed for identifying service quality indicators and grouping them into dimensions based on unifying characteristics. Such identification of service quality dimensions grounded the research methodology. An adapted SERVQUAL model was used to analyse data collected by a survey to interview customers of Lithuanian public service organisations. Logit and probit models were applied to examine the effect of socio-demographic characteristics and the type of service on customer perceptions of different quality aspects of the provided public services. Explored heterogeneity of attitudes and detailed analysis of socio-demographic factors revealed that women with higher education are the most satisfied users of public services, while less educated men usually have a negative attitude towards the quality of public services. The study confirmed that marital status and income level are not related to customer satisfaction with service quality. Although gender, age, family size, education level, and employment status explain heterogeneity in customer satisfaction, they still account for only a small amount of variance compared to the place of residence and type of service. The study is a significant contribution to the field of service engineering as it introduces a systematic approach to the development of service quality, incorporating models and methods that enable the assessment of service quality and efficiency. The literature review has identified several research gaps related to public service quality, including a lack of research on general public services and areas such as tourism, real estate management, fire protection and rescue.

This study aims to examine the perspective of public sector resilience development, which is explored as a three-stage construct: Planning, Adaptation, and Enhanced Learning. We analyzed whether these three stages are equally important in developing organizational resilience in the public sector. To assess the developmental importance of the three stages of organizational resilience, this study adopted a quantitative methodology. First, expert research was conducted to analyze whether all three stages were equally important in developing organizational resilience. Second, the level of resilience of public sector organizations in Lithuania was assessed by analyzing the survey results of 401 organizations. The results revealed that according to experts, the Adaptation stage is the most important in developing resilience, while Enhanced Learning is the least important. Meanwhile, resilience assessment in the Lithuanian public sector showed that Planning and Adaptation were equally developed, while Enhanced Learning demonstrated a significantly higher score.

Territorial cohesion and improved accessibility are among the main objectives of the European Union (EU) Cohesion policy. Although there is a wealth of literature on the impact of investment in transport infrastructure on overall accessibility levels, only a few studies have tried to evaluate the possible link between transport infrastructure investment (TII) and economic growth in the EU. Our research aims to evaluate the impact of TII on economic growth in the EU. The methodology is based on nonlinear neoclassical specification, which includes a multiplicative term to evaluate if the absence of corruption mediates the effect of TII on growth. Our unbalanced panel data covers 27 EU countries (Cyprus is excluded due to missing data and the United Kingdom is a part of the sample) from 2000 through 2019. Our research confirms a positive and statistically significant impact of TII on economic growth but with a diminishing return. Estimating the absence of corruption as a possible moderator of the effect that TII has on growth shows that control of corruption plays a significant role in the TII growth nexus. We find that in countries with a low level of control of corruption, TII has a statistically significant negative effect on growth.

Most work on attention (in terms of both psychophysical experiments and computational modeling) involves selection instatic scenes. And even when dynamic displays are used, performance is still typically characterized with only a singlevariable (such as the number of items correctly tracked in Multiple Object Tracking; MOT). But the allocation of attentionin daily life (e.g. during foraging, navigation, or play) involves both objective performance and subjective effort, and canvary dramatically from moment to moment. Here we attempt to capture this sort of rich temporal ebb and flow of attentionin a novel and generalizable adaptive computation architecture. In this architecture, computing resources are dynamicallyallocated to perform partial belief updates over both objects (in space) and moments (in time) flexibly and according totask demands. During MOT this framework is able to explain both objective tracking performance and the subjective senseof trial-by-trial effort.

Abstract Background To assess the impact of systematic setup and range uncertainties for robustly optimized (RO) intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans in patients with localized prostate cancer. Methods Twenty-six localized prostate patients previously treated with VMAT (CTV to PTV expansion of 3-5 mm) were re-planned with RO-IMPT with 3 mm and 5 mm geometrical uncertainties coupled with 3% range uncertainties. Robust evaluations (RE) accounting for the geometrical uncertainties of 3 and 5 mm were evaluated for the IMPT and VMAT plans. Clinical target volume (CTV), anorectum, and bladder dose metrics were analyzed between the nominal plans and their uncertainty perturbations. Results With geometric uncertainties of 5 mm and accounting for potential inter-fractional perturbations, RO-IMPT provided statistically significant (p

The results of previous research suggest that the elasticity of employment with respect to output is not constant within each phase of the business cycle and might depend on the maturity of that phase. Nevertheless, empirical evidence is almost non-existent. Using the unemployment gap as the proxy for the maturity of the business cycle phase, this paper seeks to determine heterogeneous elasticity across different business cycle phases. Furthermore, we aim to evaluate specific elasticities for separate demographic groups, considering gender, age, and educational attainment level, to identify the most vulnerable to jobless growth. Our specification is based on the employment version of Okun’s law, and estimates are provided for the whole EU-27 panel covering the period from 2000 to 2022. Our results suggest that elasticity is higher when the unemployment gap is positive and increasing and lower when the gap decreases, regardless of the business cycle phase. Thus, it can be argued that the possibility of growth increasing employment is very limited when the economy operates at its potential level (full employment) for all demographic groups.

Mechanism of Action: External beam, whether with photons or particles, remains as the most common type of radiation therapy. The main drawback is that radiation deposits dose in healthy tissue before reaching its target. Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is based on the nuclear capture and fission reactions that occur when 10B is irradiated with low-energy (0.0025 eV) thermal neutrons. The resulting 10B(n,α)7Li capture reaction produces high linear energy transfer (LET) α particles, helium nuclei (4He), and recoiling lithium-7 (7Li) atoms. The short range (5-9 μm) of the α particles limits the destructive effects within the boron-containing cells. In theory, BNCT can selectively destroy malignant cells while sparing adjacent normal tissue at the cellular levels by delivering a single fraction of radiation with high LET particles. History: BNCT has been around for many decades. Early studies were promising for patients with malignant brain tumors, recurrent tumors of the head and neck, and cutaneous melanomas; however, there were certain limitations to its widespread adoption and use. Current Limitations and Prospects: Recently, BNCT re-emerged owing to several developments: (1) small footprint accelerator-based neutron sources; (2) high specificity third-generation boron carriers based on monoclonal antibodies, nanoparticles, among others; and (3) treatment planning software and patient positioning devices that optimize treatment delivery and consistency.

Objective: The objective of the article is to assess the impact of economic growth on employment mediated by international trade and regulation, considering the gender-, age- and educational attainment levels of employed in the European Union (EU). Research Design & Methods: The analysis incorporates the role of international trade and its interaction with regulation in 27 European Union countries over the 2000-2020 period, utilizing an unbalanced panel dataset. The mediating effect of international trade on employment elasticities specific to gender, age, and educational attainment levels is assessed by introducing multiplicative terms involving changes in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and various international trade variables. A three-way interaction model is employed to capture the mediating effects of international trade and regulation, i.e. labour market and business regulation, on the relationship between output and employment in the EU. Findings: The findings suggest that the increased imports and exports in the EU are generally associated with a decline in the employment response to economic growth, especially for youth. Notably, we may observe a possible positive impact in the context of women's employment response to economic growth. The results confirm the significance of regulation and international trade in strengthening the impact of economic growth on employment, especially for highly educated 40-64-year-old women. Implications & Recommendations: The study revealed the mediating effect of international trade and regulation on the relationship between output and employment in the EU. The findings indicate that global trade plays an important role in decreasing the employment response to economic growth. Policymakers should focus on creating adaptive regulatory frameworks to address the relationship between regulation and the demand for skilled and unskilled labour as the reaction to output growth when a high volume of imports and exports occurs in a country. Strategies to mitigate the negative impact of international trade on employment reaction to economic growth need to address issues related to labour productivity growth, emphasising ongoing research on the mediating effect of total factor productivity. Contribution & Value Added: Our contribution is to complement the previous research by considering regulation as the factor which simultaneously to international trade can boost the impact of economic growth on gender-, age-, and educational attainment level-specific employment in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vertical distribution of radiocarbon (14C) was examined in two bottom sediment cores, taken from Lake Drūkšiai which had been used as a cooling pond for the Ignalina nuclear power plant (INPP) with two RBMK type reactors. The aim of this work was to reconstruct 14C amounts in the lake ecosystem during an 8-year period after the INPP was closed, as any official monitoring of 14C in liquid releases from the INPP was not performed. The possibility of comparing the variation of the 14C specific activity in the corresponding layers of the same period of 3 different cores (one taken in 2013 and two in 2019) revealed the variability of the determined values of liquid radiocarbon discharges from the INPP into the lake. Cores taken in 2019 showed a permament14C release rate of 0.76±0.06 GBq/y all eight years after the closure of the INPP. The 14C release rate established from radiocarbon measurements in both cores did not differ by more than 0.8 GBq/y. However, including data from the core taken several years ago, the estimated radiocarbon release rate values varied within 1.3 GBq/y.

The Grid computing environment is very important for solving scientific problems. To get the best performance from Grid, it is important to know where to send tasks. This paper is about one of the suggested methods for a Grid resource broker to find the best resources for the task. This method requires defining the parameters of the resources and knowing the importance of the weights of parameters. This paper also presents the self-learning method of parameter weights.

Infrastructure development is seen as an essential tool for boosting economic growth. Infrastructure is funded under various programs to contribute to economic growth, and reduce regional disparities. Evaluations of the results achieved have to be carried out to develop efficient infrastructure development and investment allocation policy. This is highlighted in both the reports of policymakers and scientific publications. The main limitation of these studies is that they focus on assessing the return on infrastructure development at the national level, leaving the question of what outcomes were achieved at the regional level. This article aims to evaluate the economic outcomes of transport and ICT infrastructure development at the NUTS 2 regional level in the EU-28 countries, using 2000–2019 data. The research is based on the neoclassical production function complementing it with an infrastructure indicator. Based on previous research, it is hypothesized that economic outcomes may depend on the institutional environment of the region. Consequently, the research model specification is supplemented by government quality as a possible moderator. Research findings suggest just motorway and internet infrastructure are significantly positively related to production outcomes. Estimations show higher government quality and less corruption are related to the bigger production output of the infrastructure input.

This paper examines age- and gender-specific employment sensitivity to growth across different economic sectors. By applying a non-linear panel specification of Okun’s first-difference equation on EU-28 countries for 1995-2019, we estimate age-, gender-, and sector-specific employment intensities to growth. Our study examines the ability of growth in different sectors to generate total employment opportunities. Results show that regardless of gender or age, the employment growth is mainly driven by the services sector growth. Still, if we consider the share of a sector in the economy, the construction sector is found to be the most employment-intensive. Our estimates show that the male and female employment intensities of growth in services are quite equal. Considering the employment opportunities by gender, the main differences were found in the construction sector. Expansion and recession were confirmed to have a significantly different effect on the employment rate only in the construction sector regardless of age and gender.

BackgroundAdjuvant radiotherapy (RT) following surgical resection confers a survival benefit for adult patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We aim to investigate if adjuvant RT provides a similar survival advantage to patients ages 80+ through a national curated database.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study queried the National Cancer Database (NCDB) for all cases of HNSCC between 2004-2016. Patients treated with surgical resection alone were compared to those treated with surgery plus adjuvant RT. Overall survival (OS) was compared within adult (age

Computer-guided dynamic navigation systems have elevated dental implant surgery into a more patient-friendly and efficient procedure. However, commercially available systems use displays as an output for guidance. This implies that surgeons have to take their eyes off the surgery site frequently in order to accurately adjust surgical instruments. The solution for such an issue is to use augmented reality (AR) head-mounted devices to showcase all necessary guiding instructions without any distractions. In this work, the implementation of augmented reality in dental surgery using the HoloLens 2 AR headset for the assessment of accuracy is described. The experiments were performed in vitro with two implementation steps, evaluating calibration and perspective of the virtual dental model alignment accuracies using a newly created marker. The calibration results showed overall accuracy and precision surpassing the 1 mm threshold in distance-related measurements. Dependency on the side on which the marker was observed and the movement of the user’s head were considered to be the most influential factors regarding the perspective of the virtual dental model alignment accuracy estimate.

Purpose: To assess the performance of a proton-specific knowledge based planning (KBPP) model in creation of robustly optimized intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans for treatment of patients with prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: Forty-five patients with localized prostate cancer, who had previously been treated with volumetric modulated arc therapy, were selected and replanned with robustly optimized IMPT. A KBPP model was generated from the results of 30 of the patients, and the remaining 15 patient results were used for validation. The KBPP model quality and accuracy were evaluated with the model-provided organ-at-risk regression plots and metrics. The KBPP quality was also assessed through comparison of expert and KBPP-generated IMPT plans for target coverage and organ-at-risk sparing. Results: The resulting R2 (mean ± SD, 0.87 ± 0.07) between dosimetric and geometric features, as well as the χ2 test (1.17 ± 0.07) between the original and estimated data, showed the model had good quality. All the KBPP plans were clinically acceptable. Compared with the expert plans, the KBPP plans had marginally higher dose-volume indices for the rectum V65Gy (0.8% ± 2.94%), but delivered a lower dose to the bladder (−1.06% ± 2.9% for bladder V65Gy). In addition, KBPP plans achieved lower hotspot (−0.67Gy ± 2.17Gy) and lower integral dose (−0.09Gy ± 0.3Gy) than the expert plans did. Moreover, the KBPP generated better plans that demonstrated slightly greater clinical target volume V95 (0.1% ± 0.68%) and lower homogeneity index (−1.13 ± 2.34). Conclusions: The results demonstrated that robustly optimized IMPT plans created by the KBPP model are of high quality and are comparable to expert plans. Furthermore, the KBPP model can generate more-robust and more-homogenous plans compared with those of expert plans. More studies need to be done for the validation of the proton KBPP model at more-complicated treatment sites.