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Abstract The compressive strength of concrete depends on various factors. Since these parameters can be in a relatively wide range, it is difficult for predicting the behavior of concrete. Therefore, to solve this problem, an advanced modeling is needed. The aim of the literature is to achieve an ideal and flexible solution for predicting the behavior of concrete. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new approaches. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have evolved from a theoretical method to a widely utilized technology by successful applications for a variety of issues. Actually, ANNs are a strong computing tool that provides the right solutions to problems that are difficult to use conventional methods. Inspired by the biological neural system, these networks are now widely used for solving a wide range of complicated problems in civil engineering. This study’’s target is evaluating the performance of developed African vulture optimization algorithm (DAVOA)-Elman neural networks (ENNs) by considering different input parameters in predicting the self-compacting concrete compressive strength. Hence, once 8 parameters and again to get as close as possible to the prediction conditions in the laboratory, 140 parameters entered to the improved version of Elman Neural Networks as input. According to the results, the element network has the lowest mean squares of the test error in predicting the compressive strength of 7 and 28 days in 100 repetitions. Further, in predicting both compressive strengths, the element grid with the Logsig-Purelin interlayer transfer function has the lowest test error, which determines the optimal transfer function. Moreover, the results showed that DAVOA as a reliable tool with time and cost savings have high power in predicting the desired characteristics. Also, in predicting both 7-day and 28-day compressive strength, networks built with 140 parameters have a 74.54 and 70.44% improvement in test error over 8-parameter networks, respectively, which directly affects this effect. Further parameters are considered as input to the network error rate in predicting the desired properties.

Delays in infected wound healing are usually a result of bacterial infection and local inflammation, which imposes a significant and often underappreciated burden on patients and society. Current therapies for chronic wound infection generally suffer from limited drug permeability and frequent drug administration, owing to the existence of a wound biofilm that acts as a barrier restricting the entry of various antibacterial drugs. Here, we report the design of a biocompatible probiotic-based microneedle (MN) patch that can rapidly deliver beneficial bacteria to wound tissues with improved delivery efficiency. The probiotic is capable of continuously producing antimicrobial substances by metabolizing introduced glycerol, thereby facilitating infected wound healing through long-acting antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. Additionally, the beneficial bacteria can remain highly viable (>80 %) inside MNs for as long as 60 days at 4 °C. In a mouse model of Staphylococcus aureus-infected wounds, a single administration of the MN patch exhibited superior antimicrobial efficiency and wound healing performance in comparison with the control groups, indicating great potential for accelerating infected wound closure. Further development of live probiotic-based MN patches may enable patients to better manage chronically infected wounds.

The supply operation is widely used among professionals, which is why it has imposed the regulation of the relations between them. The supply contract complements the provisions of the sales contract, concerning the effects of the contract, specifically the obligations of the parties: those of the supplier, namely the transfer of ownership of the supplied goods, delivery of goods and provision of services, bearing the risk of loss of the goods up until they are handed over, the warranty obligation for eviction, and the warranty obligation for the defects of the supplied goods, as well as those of the beneficiary, namely taking over the goods and paying the price of the products or services. An aspect that adds specificity to the supply contract is the possibility of subcontracting the supply, which, we believe, raises issues due to the lack of regulation regarding the possibility of changing the price by conventional means.

The thesis is a polemic against Jan Mukařovský’s method of structural analysis of acting. The author accuses him of excluding the actor’s subjectivity as well as the psychological factor. Instead, he is proposing to extend the reasoning with the theory of communication psychology — a field of study dealing with the relationship between emotions and their articulation. In the first part, Mukařovsky’s conclusions are confronted with communication psychology. The second one describes the representation of female hysteria in film as an example of acting that is resistant to structural analysis.

Purpose – This study investigates the optimum size for manufacturing firms and the impact of subcontracting on firms' likelihood of achieving their optimal scale in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from the enterprise census in 2017 and 2021, the paper first estimates the production function to identify the optimum firm size for manufacturing firms and then applies the logit model to investigate factors associated with the optimal firm size. Findings – The study reveals that medium-sized firms exhibit the highest level of productivity. Nevertheless, a consistent trend emerges, indicating that nearly 90% of manufacturing firms in Vietnam operated below their optimal scale in both 2017 and 2021. An analysis of the impact of subcontracting on firms' likelihood to achieve their optimal scale emphasizes its crucial role, especially for foreign firms, exerting an influence nearly five times greater than that of the judiciary system. Practical implications – The paper's findings offer crucial policy implications, suggesting that initiatives aimed at enhancing the overall productivity of the manufacturing sector should prioritise facilitating contract arrangements to encourage firms to reach their optimal size. These insights are also valuable for other countries with comparable firm size distributions. Originality/value – This paper provides the first empirical evidence on the relationship between firm size and productivity as well as the role of subcontracting in firms' ability to reach their optimal scale in a country with a right-skewed distribution of firm sizes.

Abstract Introduction Dry eye can compromise corneal astigmatism measurement repeatability during preoperative cataract surgery examination. No previous studies have analyzed the effectiveness of long-acting 3% diquafosol sodium (LA-DQS) on astigmatism measurement repeatability. This research assessed the effect of LA-DQS on astigmatism measurement repeatability in preoperative patients with cataract and short tear break-up time (TBUT) type dry eyes in both eyes of the same patient. Correlations between repeatability and TBUT, corneal high-order aberrations (HOAs), and corneal astigmatism magnitude were also analyzed. Methods In total, 122 eyes (61 patients) with short TBUT-type dry eye were enrolled. Preoperatively, only one eye of all patients was treated with LA-DQS for 4 weeks. TBUT and corneal HOAs were checked using CASIA 2 before and 4 weeks post-treatment. The cylindrical power and meridian of astigmatism were measured at 3- and 4-week post-treatment using IOLMaster 700. Power vectors J0 and J45 were used for astigmatism calculations. Repeatability of astigmatism measurements was assessed as the within-subject standard deviation (Sw). The relative effects of TBUT and HOAs on J0 Sw and J45 Sw were also analyzed. Comparative changes in these variables were evaluated between treated and non-treated eyes, with additional analysis of their correlations. Results Treated eyes exhibited significant improvements in TBUT, HOAs, and post-treatment measurements of J0 Sw and J45 Sw at 3 and 4 weeks. In non-treated eyes, J0 Sw and J45 Sw showed significant correlation with TBUT and corneal HOAs. HOAs showed stronger relative associations with J0 Sw and J45 Sw than TBUT. In non-treated eyes, no significant correlation was found between cylindrical power and astigmatism measurement repeatability. Conclusions In short TBUT-type dry eye, preoperative treatment with LA-DQS significantly improved astigmatism measurement repeatability. This may improve the precision of intraocular lens (IOL) power calculations regardless of the magnitude of corneal astigmatism, especially when toric IOLs are used.

This research aims to identify and analyze the utilization of social capital in developing tourist attractions and networking in Kampar Regency. This study focuses on two potential tourist attractions owned by Kampar Regency, namely the Pulau Cinta tourist attraction and the Ulu Kasok views. The research design used is qualitative interpretative; in collecting information, primary data was obtained through observation and in-depth interviews. The interview results were entered into the Nvivo 12 Plus data processing application for coding and then analyzed using graphs and crosstab. The triangulation technique was used to obtain valid and credible results. The research findings show that the identified social capital in developing tourist attractions in Ulu Kasok and Pulau Cinta are networks built online and offline. First, tourist attraction organized online and offline promotions to attract visitors, but the improvement of the online platform requires further enhancement. Second, communication with stakeholders and the local community necessary to improve. Third, trust building between tourism destinations organizer and the local community enables tourist attractions to develop, and the fourth is Information openness about tourism destinations. The contribution of this research suggests maximum efforts in utilizing social capital in developing sustainable tourism destinations, through strengthening social networks, building trust, and enhancing communication among stakeholders and local communities.

Introduction: Dalbavancin is a semisynthetic lipoglycopeptide long-acting antibiotic approved for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSIs). Its features can be useful in the current healthcare scenario characterized by the shortage of available hospital beds. Materials, methods and results: We implemented several actions in order to optimize the use of dalbavancin allowing an improvement strategy both from the healthcare system and the patient’s perspective in two hospital settings. In the Emergency Department we hospitalized only patients who met the clinical criteria and not the logistic criteria (i.e., the need for antibiotic therapy infusion). During the years 2017-2023, this strategy was applied in 40 cases, thus avoiding 40 hospitalizations for a total saving of 280 days of hospitalization. In the Internal Medicine ward and surgery department when there was no longer any need for hospitalization, we discharged the patient as early as possible. During the years 2017-2023, this strategy was applied in 189 cases, saving at least 1,134 days of hospitalization. The outcome of the treated patients was favorable in 228 out of 229 patients (99.5%). Conclusions: Our experience using dalbavancin in ABSSSI has been very satisfactory overall. The efficacy was close to 100%. Minor adverse events of slight severity occurred rarely. At the same time, this strategy allowed a more efficient allocation of hospital beds. Dalbavancin presents an ideal pharmacodynamic/pharmacokinetic profile for the management of ABSSSI especially in settings where shortage of hospital beds is critical.

BackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses encountered substantial infection risks and psychological strain, which severely affected their emotional well-being, professional attitudes, and job performance. This study investigated the impact of nurses’ fear of COVID-19 on their intention to leave the occupation and emotional labor as well as the moderating role of the implementation of knowledge management on these primary variables.MethodsTo mitigate common method bias, this research adopted a two-phase questionnaire approach, targeting nurses at a medical center in central Taiwan. In the first phase, 300 copies of questionnaire were distributed for participants to complete self-assessment surveys covering fear of COVID-19, knowledge management implementation, and demographic information. After 1 month, the participants were invited to complete a follow-up questionnaire, focusing on the intention to leave the occupation and emotional labor. The questionnaire was conducted from June to July 2022. Through this two-phase distribution method, after exclusion of invalid responses, a total of 288 valid responses were collected, resulting in a response rate of 96%. The proposed hypotheses were verified using hierarchical regression conducted with SPSS version 25.0.ResultsThe findings indicated that nurses’ fear of COVID-19 was significantly and positively associated with their intention to leave the occupation and surface acting, but negatively associated with their deep acting. Moreover, the implementation of knowledge management significantly moderated the positive relationship among fear of COVID-19, intention to leave the occupation, and surface acting. A robust knowledge management system weakened the positive association among fear of COVID-19, intention to leave the occupation, and surface acting.ConclusionIn summary, nurses’ fear of COVID-19 may increase their tendency to leave the nursing profession and engage in more surface acting and less deep acting. However, effective knowledge management practices can mitigate these adverse effects. Hospitals can thus establish and employ comprehensive knowledge management systems to enhance nurses’ resilience and help alleviate their fear of future pandemics and their potential negative repercussions.

The effects of workplace incivility have been understudied in educational settings. To expand incivility research to educational professions, the present research investigates whether, how, and when workplace incivility deriving from different sources (coworkers, supervisors, and outsiders) is related to work-to-family interference (WFI) of preschool teachers. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, the present study proposes that workplace incivility and subsequent maladaptive emotion labor strategies (i.e., surface acting) jointly create a resource-depletion mechanism contributing to elevated WFI and two resource-providing variables (supervisor work–family support and psychological detachment after hours) function as potential mitigating factors to break the resource-depletion mechanism. This study used a female-dominated sample (i.e., preschool teachers) found that workplace incivility from insiders (supervisors and coworkers respectively) and external stakeholders (child’s family members) all positively linked to WFI, and surface acting mediated these relationships. Moreover, moderated mediation analyses indicated that psychological detachment buffered the mediated effect of surface acting on WFI, whereas supervisor work–family support did not. Findings deepen the understanding of why and when workplace incivility influences employees’ family lives, as well as point to future intervention strategies.

Self compacting concrete is incorporated with a high amount of fines and chemical admixtures with a low w/c ratio, which leads to shrinkage and microcracks. Shrinkage in the concrete, along with the congested reinforcement, leads to a heavy number of cracks. To stop the damage due to these cracks, the self-healing property was developed in self-compacting concrete by incorporating self-healing materials like bacteria and calcium lactate into it. To optimise the self-healing materials, including the reference mix, 10 mixes are cast and tested for strength and healing properties. In those mixes, both bacteria and lactate are used by 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.5%, 0.6%, 0.8%, 1%, and 1.2% by weight of cement. The compressive strength, UPV, and rebound hammer tests are done on cubes with 100 mm sides. Split tensile strength and self-healing tests are done on cylinders with a 100 mm diameter and a 200 mm height. When a small amount of calcium lactate was used, the compressive strength of the concrete was higher compared to the reference mix. However, increasing the amount of calcium lactate resulted in a decrease in the strength of the concrete. Maximum healing and relatively good strength were found with 0.5% bacteria and 0.5% calcium lactate. FESEM-EDS and XRD results make it clear that the precipitation formed is in the form of rhombohedral calcite.

Abstract Rapid-hardening concrete (RHC) is becoming more popular as a cast-in-place jointing material in precast concrete bridges and buildings due to its high tensile strength and crack resistance. RHC’s technical properties are highly regarded due to the working conditions of mega projects. The study assessed the impact of modern modifiers on concrete in order to select a composition of rapid-hardening concrete (RHC) with superior mechanical properties. Following an analysis of previous studies by other authors, microsilica and a polycarboxylate ether-based chemical additive was chosen as basic modifiers in the manufacture of RHC. In addition, four reinforced rapid-hardening concrete beams were tested for operational reliability and durability after 3 days of casting. The structural performance of RHC beams was evaluated in comparison to normal concrete beam specimens, and it was determined that crack distribution, load deflection, reinforcement strains, ductility, and toughness were all important factors in the evaluation. RHC beams exhibit higher ductility, toughness, ultimate loads, and deformability than NC beams. The tensile strength analysis revealed a positive impact of RHC, but the shrinkage crack related to heat hydration was crucial.

Abstract Background Rapid-hardening concrete (RHC) is a specialized type of concrete that gains strength at an accelerated rate, allowing for faster construction and reduced project timelines. The use of RHC in structural applications, such as in beams subjected to flexural loads, has gained significant attention due to its potential for improving construction efficiency. This study focuses on the flexural performance of RHC beams with tension lap splice, which is considered a common method for joining reinforcement bars in concrete structures. Results Several parameters were taken into consideration, such as concrete type, concrete cover, and reinforcement bar diameter. The loading test was performed on sixteen beams to show results of load capacities, moment–displacement response, energy absorption, and ductility. As a result, the flexural performance of RHC beams is compared to that of NC beams. Conclusions Results indicate that RHC beams require 30 Φ splice length after 3 days of casting, while NC beams require 40 Φ splice length after 28 days. The RHC beam had higher load capacities, ductility, resilience, and toughness than NC beams, by 73%, 41%, 82%, and 88%, respectively. The bar diameter and concrete cover had a significant effect on increasing loads and resilience, while toughness decreased.

At present, the in-situ forging devices do not have the ability to flexibly adjust impacting forces over a wide frequency range and cannot be easily integrated, which restricts its application on DED-arc (directed energy deposition-arc) technology for additive manufacturing. A novel method and system of in-situ micro-impacting assisted DED-arc based on a compact high-dynamic linear actuator was proposed, developed and verified in arc deposition of 5B06 aluminum alloy. The terminal impacting head could be sufficiently close to the molten pool to enforce the obtaining of flat surface of the deposited layer. The results show that the in-situ micro-impacting could produce accumulating rapid micro-deformation and thus induce a gradient microstructure. DDRX (discontinuous dynamic recrystallization) and CDRX (continuous dynamic recrystallization) hybrid dynamic recrystallization behavior was observed. The microhardness of impacted samples was increased by 9.5 % and 8.0 % in vertical and horizontal direction, respectively. The process of rapid micro-deformation contributes to the retaining of the in-situ work-hardening effect at high temperatures, which made the proposed in-situ impacting method a preferred option for DED-arc additive manufacturing.

Abstract Background This study investigated the mediating and moderating impact of core self-evaluations in the path from emotional labor to burnout. Our hypothesized associations are based on Hobfoll (Rev Gen Psychol 6:307–24, 2002) conservation of resources theory. Method Three hundred nurses from four hospitals in Abadan, Iran, were invited to participate in our study. Of the 300, 255 completed all sections and questions in our survey for an 85% response rate. The posited direct and indirect effects were evaluated with structural equation modeling and the interaction effects were evaluated with hierarchical moderated regression and simple regression slope plots. Result Deep acting has indirect effects on burnout through core self-evaluations. Though unrelated to surface acting, core self-evaluations moderate its impact: under low core self-evaluations, surface acting is strongly related to emotional exhaustion and inversely related to personal accomplishment, whereas, under high core self-evaluations, surface acting is unrelated to these burnout dimensions. Conclusion Our findings reveal the dual functions of CSE as a psychological resource and buffer to offset the interpersonal demands of patient care. Limitations, directions for future research, and practical implications are discussed.

David Kerr,1 Jigar Ramesh Rajpura,2 Tarlan Namvar3 1Center for Health Systems Research, Sutter Health, Santa Barbara, CA, USA; 2Department of US Health Economic and Outcomes Research – Rare Disease Portfolio, Novo Nordisk Inc, Plainsboro, NJ, USA; 3Department of Evidence Synthesis and Value Assessment, Novo Nordisk Inc, Plainsboro, NJ, USACorrespondence: David Kerr, Diabetes Research and Digital Health Equity, Sutter Center for Health Systems Research, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, Tel +1 (805) 624-8688, Email david.kerr@sutterhealth.orgPurpose: The global burden of disease of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is significant, and insulin currently plays a central role in T2D management. This study sought to assess the preferences of patients with T2D and healthcare providers (HCPs) involved in T2D care regarding a hypothetical once-weekly basal insulin in comparison to current basal insulin options.Patients and Methods: In a survey-based study in the United States that included a discrete choice experiment (DCE), patients with T2D (insulin naïve and current insulin users) and providers who treat individuals with T2D were asked to evaluate current basal insulins and identify attributes of importance regarding a hypothetical once-weekly basal insulin. A regression analysis was conducted to identify drivers of preference by relevant demographics, attitudes, and behaviors.Results: Most respondents (91% of patients with T2D and 89% of HCPs in the base case scenario) would choose a once-weekly basal insulin product over another type of basal insulin. Both patients with T2D and HCPs rated insulin type and delivery method to be attributes of highest importance in the discrete choice exercise. Current basal insulin users (“insulin experienced”) reported higher levels of confidence that a once-weekly insulin would help them to achieve their desired blood sugar levels compared to their current basal insulin (5.7 vs 5.2 on a 7-point Likert scale). Most insulin-experienced respondents (88%) were likely to inquire about once-weekly basal insulin, and most HCPs (85%) indicated willingness to educate patients on management of their T2D using a once-weekly basal insulin.Conclusion: Discussing preferences for T2D medication management is important for patients and HCPs to ensure treatments are offered for patients based on their preferences. This study showed that patient and provider preferences are similar towards a once-weekly basal insulin over current basal insulin preparations.Plain Language Summary: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a medical condition where the body has difficulty managing insulin, a hormone used to control glucose, or sugar, that is broken down in the bloodstream. Many people with T2D have to take insulin to help their bodies manage their blood sugar effectively. We aimed to find out what people with T2D and healthcare providers (HCPs) think about a new type of basal insulin that only needs to be taken once a week, as compared to current basal insulins that are taken every day. We found that most people with T2D (91%) and HCPs (89%) would prefer a once-weekly insulin rather than another type of basal insulin. People with T2D currently taking insulin were also more confident that a once-weekly insulin could help control their blood sugar. Many people who are already using basal insulin (88%) said they would ask their HCP about a once-weekly insulin. HCPs said they were willing to educate patients about a once-weekly insulin (85%). This study shows that it is important for people with T2D and their HCPs to discuss what type of insulin is best for them, including the type of insulin and how often it is taken. Sharing preferences about medication options may be helpful in reducing the overall impact of the condition. Keywords: diabetes mellitus, type 2, insulin, long-acting, surveys and questionnaires, patient preference, provider preference

This study explores internal executive coaches’ sense-making of organisational role boundaries within a rail industry organisation. This cross-sectional qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with three coaches sourced from the organisation’s internal executive coach pool, was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Findings showed that coaches made sense of role boundaries by reflecting on their organisational roles, relationships within coach-coachee and non-coaching organisational contexts, and the coaching contracting process. Future research focused on exploring role boundary management strategies, potential benefits of internal coaching relationships, and the link between confidentiality, contracting and the internal coaching relationship, is suggested.

In times of shrinking margins, researchers are looking for more cost-effective and profitable ways to improve the post-production support of large-scale, complex systems. There is an inherent tradeoff between the system design and the design’s long-term support. A system’s design largely determines its reliability that, in turn, influences the demands on its post-production support network necessary to maintain the proper use of the system over its intended, economic useful-life. Performance-based contracts are a successful financial instrument between suppliers and buyers for long-term support contracts. This research leverages the tenets of performance-based contracting, especially its foundation in transactional cost economics and management control theory, and agency theory, to develop and test an analytical model. This research proposes a novel, analytical model that maximizes the profit margin of a large-scale, complex system simultaneously considering its design and post-production support network. To date, these decisions are largely understudied. This model uses redundancy allocation to represent a design decision, and the post-production support network decisions are the location, quantity of spares, and logistics footprint. The post-production support network is a non-arboreal, multi-echelon sustainment network, and the design is a series-parallel configuration. The model is constrained by customer-specified, minimum reliability, mean-time-between-failure (MTBF), and a maximum logistics footprint (LF) measured in pounds. A meta-heuristic algorithm was used to address the nonlinearity of the objective function and constraints. Afterward, a numerical example was solved, and comparative experiments were conducted to test the algorithm. The results showed a profit for the supplier of ${\$}$ 14,505.12 with 78.45 hrs of MTBF out of the 75 hours minimum allowed and a logistic footprint of 6,285.25 lb. out of the 10,000 lb allowed. The solution demonstrates the economic importance of system engineers, contract personnel, and program managers in understanding the inherent tradeoff space connecting the design and support of a system.

This research investigates the hydrometallurgical processing of molybdenum middlings extracted from copper-molybdenum ore in the Shatyrkul-Zhaysan cluster in Kazakhstan. A molybdenum intermediate obtained after selective flotation of the copper-molybdenum concentrate was used, with a recovery of 0.07%, a molybdenum content of 22.23% and an extraction of 74.91%. The mineralogical analysis shows molybdenite and chalcopyrite as the main minerals. In experiments, atmospheric leaching with nitric acid in single-stage and two-stage countercurrent processes was investigated to optimize molybdenum extraction and reduce acid consumption. The optimum conditions obtained were: 300 g/L nitric acid, 100 g/L sulfuric acid, 90°C temperature and 2 hours leaching time in the single-stage leaching, which extracted 98.8% molybdenum. The two-stage leaching under optimized conditions allows the extraction of 94.3% molybdenum in solutions with lower residual acidity (0.89 g-eq/L) and redox potential (550 mV) without reducing the extraction of valuable component. Molybdenum extraction reaches 94.3% in the subsequent solvent extraction stage from two-stage leaching solutions. The final product, calcium molybdate with a molybdenum content of 46.83%, meets commercial grade specifications. This research demonstrates an effective process for hydrometallurgical production of commercial grade calcium molybdenite from copper-molybdenum ore, with high molybdenum recovery, reduced acid consumption through two-stage leaching, and minimal hazardous discharges.

The following ends have been established via an in-depth examination and assessment of numerous prior studies on olive fruit classifications: First, several of these researches rely on the use of an unrelated image library. Since every image features a single fruit with a background that contrasts sharply with the fruit’s hue, they are all ready for testing. As was previously stated, this issue is unrelated to reality. In practical application, one must deal with a frame that holds hundreds of fruits. To keep the fruits steady, they are put on a conveyor with multiple channels. It’s also notable that the majority of this study offered suggestions for useful technology that could yet be developed. Finally, it is important to emphasize that processing speed data is essential in this type of application and has not been collected in many of these experiments. The presented work deals with a new strategy based on two principles: first, a successful extraction of the fruits from the background; and second, the classification of olive fruits into eight categories based on colors and defects. The fruits were extracted from the backdrop using a modified version of the K-Means technique. The outcomes of the suggested fruit extraction were examined utilizing several assessment techniques. By contrasting the outcomes of pertinent procedures with the suggested proposal for fruit extraction, the efficacy and precision of the proposed method were verified. Depending on why the fruit needed to be separated, there were two stages to the process. Three colors were separated using the SVM algorithm, and five distinct defects were separated using the ANN algorithm Approximately 15,000 photos of olive fruits that were shot straight from the fruit conveyor were included in a robust database that was used in the proposed study to validate the effectiveness of the suggested technology. Efficiency was further validated by contrasting our outcomes with those of related technology. When the fruits were set on a white backdrop, the test accuracy results of the suggested approach showed that it was highly efficient in classifying the fruits in the shortest period; the suggested method had an effectiveness of 99.26% for fruit classification. The most important discovery was that it could classify fruits with an efficiency of 97.25% while they were being put on a fruit conveyor, which was in contrast to other approaches. The unique findings of the study that was presented hold promise for practical implementation.

The Indian national tuberculosis (TB) prevalence survey conducted during 2019–2021 revealed a 31% TB infection (TBI) burden among individuals above 15 years of age. India has an ambitious plan of eliminating TB by 2025, 5 years ahead of the global agenda, thus focusing on the burden of TBI and management of TBI with TB preventive treatment (TPT) is of utmost importance in achieving the same. States in India adopt different models of implementation of testing and treating the TBI. Some of the states select subcontracting agencies to provide end-to-end TPT and some do adopt the in-house mechanism using the existing health system in providing the same. Moreover, the “Programmatic Management of TPT in India” guideline prioritizes population group for TPT based on elevated risk of progression from infection to TB disease or increased likelihood of exposure to TB disease. Given the background, we propose two models of implementation of TBI diagnosis using interferon-gamma release assay and treatment; one using a subcontracting agency and the other one using the existing health system machinery to test and treat the TBI.

Abstract Introduction COVID-19 remains a significant risk for the immunocompromised given their lower responsiveness to vaccination or infection. Therefore, passive immunity through long-acting monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) offers a needed approach for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Our study evaluated safety, anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity, nasal penetration, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of two half-life-extended investigational mAbs, AER001 and AER002, providing the first demonstration of upper airway penetration of mAbs with the LS-modification. Methods This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase I study enrolled healthy adults (n = 80) who received two long-acting COVID mAbs (AER001 and AER002), AER002 alone, or placebo. The dose ranged from 100 mg (mg) to 1200 mg per mAb component. The primary objective was to describe the safety and tolerability following intravenous (IV) administration. Secondary objectives were to describe PK, anti-drug antibodies (ADA), neutralization activity levels, and safety evaluation through 6 months of follow-up. Results The majority (97.6%) of the reported adverse events (AE) post administration were of grade 1 severity. There were no serious adverse events (SAE) or ADAs. AER001 and AER002 successfully achieved an extended half-life of 105 days and 97.5 days, respectively. Participants receiving AER001 and AER002 (300 mg each) or AER002 (300 mg) alone showed 15- and 26-fold higher neutralization levels against D614G and omicron BA.1 than the placebo group 24 h post-administration. Single 300 or 1200 mg IV dose of AER001 and AER002 resulted in nasal mucosa transudation of approximately 2.5% and 2.7%, respectively. Conclusion AER001 and AER002 showed an acceptable safety profile and extended half-life. High serum neutralization activity was observed against D614G and Omicron BA.1 compared to the placebo group. These data support that LS-modified mAbs can achieve durability, safety, potency, and upper airway tissue penetration and will guide the development of the next generation of mAbs for COVID-19 prevention and treatment. Trial Registration EudraCT Number 2022-001709-35 (COV-2022-001).

Abstract Background This research investigated the interplay of emotional labor, job burnout, and leader-member exchange on turnover intentions among office workers in South Korea. Methods An online survey was conducted with 333 employees working in Korean small- and medium-sized enterprises. The target sample consisted of in-house employees who do not deal with external customers. All the measurement and structural models of this study were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 and Amos 28.0. Results The survey revealed that emotional labor indirectly influenced turnover intentions via job burnout and leader-member exchange. Deep acting intensified job burnout, thereby elevating turnover intentions, while surface acting mitigated job burnout. Conclusions The findings underscored the importance of managing emotional labor and job burnout and fostering robust leader-member relationships to reduce staff turnover. Moreover, leader-member exchange was found to mitigate the effects of emotional labor on job burnout and turnover intention, with higher leader-member exchange reducing the negative impact of deep acting on turnover intention through job burnout.

Shenzhen Innovation Light source Facility (SILF) is a 3.0 GeV fourth generation diffraction limited synchrotron light source currently under construction in Shenzhen. The SILF storage ring is proposed to use two 500 MHz single cell superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities to provide 2.4 MV RF voltage. In this study, we examined the geometric structure of mature CESR superconducting cavities and adopted a beam-pipe-type extraction scheme for high-order modes (HOM). One of the objectives of SRF cavity design and optimization in this study is to reduce Ep/Eacc and Bp/Eacc as much as possible to reduce power loss and ensure stable operation of the cavity. To reduce the risk of beam instability and thermal breakdown, the HOM and Multipacting (MP) are simulated. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the cavity are analyzed, including frequency sensitivity from pressure of liquid helium (LHe), stress, tuning, Lorentz force detuning (LFD), the microphone effect, and buckling. By comprehensive design and optimization of 500 MHz single-cell SRF cavities, a superconducting cavity for SILF storage ring was developed. This paper will detailed present the design and simulation.

Background Recently, injectable cabotegravir/rilpivirine (ICAB/RPV) became available for HIV treatment. However, there are no real-life data on the impact of switching to ICAB/RPV on sleep disturbances (SD). Therefore, we aimed at assessing and investigating this aspect in our cohort. Methods A SD multidimensional assessment (Epworth Sleepiness scale, Insomnia severity Index, Berlin Questionnaire, and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, PSQI) was performed to all people who consented before starting ICAB/RPV and 12 wk after the switch. Demographics, life-style habits, laboratory, and clinical data were collected from medical health records. Results To June 2023, 46 people were included, 76.1% males, with a median age of 48.5 (IQR: 41–57), 50% had multimorbidity, 13% was on polypharmacy. Median age with HIV and CD4 + T cell count nadir were 10 (5–19.5) years and 360 (205–500) cell/mm3, respectively. The reason to start a long-acting strategy was person’s choice in all cases. Baseline antiretroviral regimens were mostly: tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine/rilpivirine (39.1%) and dolutegravir/lamivudine (32.6%). No significant changes were observed in any of the scores for each questionnaire, but for a worsening PSQI. 37% people reported a subjectively improved sleep quality, even if statistically significant changes were not observed in almost all the sleep parameters. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study exploring impact of switching to ICAB/RPV on SD. Despite integrase inhibitor have been associated with SD, we did not observed a negative impact on sleep quality after the switch to ICAB/RPV. More studies and with larger number of people are necessary to confirm our results.

Distributed energy sharing is an effective means for enterprises to improve energy utilization efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. With the continuous improvement of consumers' low-carbon awareness, low-carbon preference has an important impact on distributed energy sharing strategies. In this context, we introduce the energy saving benefit sharing contract and use the backward induction method to analyze the optimal equilibrium strategies of distributed energy sharing in industrial clusters. Then we conduct a comparative analysis of the equilibrium results. Finally, the above results are analyzed and verified by numerical simulation. The results show that when the ratio of energy low-carbon cost coefficient is within a certain range, energy sharing with integrated energy service providers is the optimal choice for enterprises in industrial clusters, and the centralized decision is better than the decentralized decision; The higher the consumer's low-carbon preference, the higher the product's low-carbon level and total system profitability; As the energy saving benefit sharing ratio increases, the low carbon level of the product and the profit of the integrated energy service provider also increases, and the total profit of the enterprises first increases and then decreases.

AbstractThe objective of this systematic review was to know the role of the bid examination committee in administrative contracting in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Following the PRISMA protocol, we conducted a review of papers published in 3 databases (Google scholar, JSTOR, Researchgate). It was conducted in September and October 2023. Moreover, studies that addressed the bid examination and published since 2000 were included. The focus was made upon comparing the role of bid examination committee in administrative contracting in KSA and UAE. From the initial 543 studies reviewed, 40 met the inclusion criteria. The principles of the bid examination committee have been considered by the relatively small number of studies included in the review. We did find a variety of researchers from different countries examining the phenomenon, often using qualitative approaches to explore the topic. Although the link between bid examination committee and government projects in Saudi Arabia and UAE has been qualitatively and quantitatively found, the link between bid examination committee and administrative contracting remains lacking.

Background Days alive out of hospital (DAOH) is an objective and patient‐centered net benefit end point. There are no assessments of DAOH in clinical trials of interventions for atrial fibrillation (AF), and it is not known whether this end point is of clinical utility in these populations. Methods and Results ROCKET AF (Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared With Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation) was an international double‐blind, double‐dummy randomized clinical trial that compared rivaroxaban with warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation at increased risk for stroke. We assessed DAOH using investigator‐reported event data for up to 12 months after randomization in ROCKET AF. We assessed DAOH overall, by treatment group, and by subgroup, including age, sex, and comorbidities, using Poisson regression. The mean±SD number of days dead was 7.3±41.2, days hospitalized was 1.2±7.2, and mean DAOH was 350.7±56.2, with notable left skew. Patients with comorbidities had fewer DAOH overall. There were no differences in DAOH by treatment arm, with mean DAOH of 350.6±56.5 for those randomized to rivaroxaban and 350.7±55.8 for those randomized to warfarin (P=0.86). A sensitivity analysis found no difference in DAOH not disabled with rivaroxaban versus warfarin (DAOH not disabled, 349.2±59.5 days and 349.1 days±59.3 days, respectively, P=0.88). Conclusions DAOH did not identify a treatment difference between patients randomized to rivaroxaban versus warfarin. This may be driven in part by the low overall event rates in atrial fibrillation anticoagulation trials, which leads to substantial left skew in measures of DAOH.

Abstract The PPP/BOT is a product of institutional arrangement. Institutional arrangements related to increasing the coverage of piping water systems are challenged by the socio-technical complexity of the drinking water provision system. The Institutional Development Framework provides opportunities to learn how the institution capable of delivering the precondition of the actor interacts at the preparation level. The operation started from January 1998 to December 2022, departed from 32.69% coverage, and reached only 61% of the target of 95% after 25 years. As a result, the cases confirmed that there could be vast differences between rules in form and rules in use or that the quality of preparation affects the financial and system performances. The more compliance of the collective choice to the constitutional rules that comply with the International Best Practice showed, the better the performances of the PPP/BOT proved. Keywords: Contracting, financial performances, institution, PPP/BOT, system performances Abstract Kerjasama Pemerintah dan Swasta dengan skema Bangun Guna Serah (PPP/BOT) adalah produk institusi. Proses aransemen institusi yang dihadapkan dengan komplesitas sosio-teknis dalam penyediaan air minum perpipaan. The Institutional Development Framework (IAD) membuka peluang untuk mempelajari bagaimana institusi mampu menjadi prakondisi bagi actor yang berinteraksi pada saat penyiapan PPP/BOT. PPP/BOT di Jakarta berjalan mulai pada Januari 1998 dan berakhir pada Desember 2022. PPP/BOT dimulai dengan cakupan 32,69% dan berakhir setelah 25 tahun dengan hanya mencapai 61%, padahal target awal PPP/Bot pada tahun 1998 adalah mencapai target 95% selama 25 tahun kerjasama. Situasi ini menunjukkan ada disparitas signifikan antara kontrak kerjasama yang disepakati dengan implementasi. Focus penelitian menyoroti bagaimana kualitas persiapan memengaruhi kinerja keuangan dan sistem. Kepatuhan actor yang berinteraksi (pilihan kolektif) terhadap peraturan yang baik dan sesuai dengan best practice internasional, berkorelasi sngat erat dengan peningkatan kinerja PPP/BOT. Keywords: Kontrak, kinerja keuangan, institusi, PPP/BOT, kinerja sistem.

Цель исследования – выявление особенностей интонационного оформления элементов автокомментирования и описание устойчивых специфических моделей их оформления. В статье раскрываются основные понятия и категории, касающиеся специфики использования элементов автокомментирования в академической сфере общения в ситуации выступления с презентацией на конференции. Научная новизна исследования заключается в описании устойчивых интонационных моделей оформления высказываний, содержащих элементы автокомменирования и их классификации. В результате выполнен комплексный анализ и классификация высказываний, содержащих элементы автокомментирования, используемых носителями языка в академической презентационной речи в жанре выступления на конференции, определена их роль и прагматическое значение.

Objective: this research examines the collaborative development of a standard for publishing open data in public procurement and contracting, drawing on regional and international initiatives. The study posits that disseminating such a standard can potentially enhance the municipalities’ ability to disclose data for citizens and control agencies, complying with open data principles. Method: the study started with an examination of a specific issue encountered within a municipality, engaging a network of stakeholders possessing diverse perspectives and insights into the problem and potential solutions. A proposal to resolve the issue was formulated and subjected to a pilot test in a municipality, evaluating its capacity for interoperability and scalability to other municipalities and public agencies. Result: alongside the proposal for an open data standard comprising three classes of data — public notice, adjudication, and contracting —, the study yielded two additional outcomes: the development and systematization of a co-production methodology to address public issues, and the initiation of a project to establish a statewide network for open data standardization. Conclusion: the development of the open data standard involved the integration of diverse knowledge, resources, and stakeholders. In addition, it encountered challenges, underwent iterations, and imparted valuable lessons. The emphasis on problem-solving and collaborative engagement among municipalities, academia, civil society, and government agencies was an aspect that stood out. Constructed collaboratively, the open data standard demonstrated potential for replication and is recommended for adoption by other organizations seeking to promote open data initiatives. The technopolitical and ontological aspects of the process, along with the perspectives and challenges for its sustainability, contribute to advancing knowledge and enhancing the practice of collaborative governance.

At the heart of the debate about generative or autonomous AI is the concern that it could take action away from humans. Hannah Arendt, who gave the concept of action a political profile and opposed the automation tendencies of modernity, provides a basis for assessing fears that humans will cede their political action to AI. After an introduction to Arendt’s political theory of action, the paper examines whether AI can and should act. The focus is on linguistic models.

Energy performance contracting (EPC) as a market instrument has been effective in promoting energy efficiency worldwide, but it has encountered many insurmountable obstacles in rural energy management. In this study, based on the characteristics of energy management in rural areas, three EPC modes are designed and tested in 24,000 rural households. The test results show that two adapted EPC modes of local government involvement and energy payment directly from the national grid can effectively overcome the barriers encountered in the traditional EPC modes and work well under the economic and social environmental conditions in rural areas. The key to the adaptation of the traditional EPC modes is the introduction of the local government as the third party. Participation of the third party can effectively reduce and remove the barriers and risks and increase the mutual trust between the clients (households) and the energy service companies (ESCOs). Based on the testing results, this study suggests that governmental departments should formulate relevant EPC policies and technical guidelines within the rural context. This research recommends that farmers should not manage their energy services by themselves and it is suggested to out-contracting ESCOs by applying the modes developed and tested by this paper.

The phenomenon of customer incivility poses significant challenges for frontline employees whose expression of emotion determines the service experience. Few studies have explored the mediating mechanisms linking customer incivility to frontline employees' emotional labor. Drawing on the dualistic model of job passion theory, we proposed job passion as a feasible mediator of the links from customer incivility to frontline employees' emotional labor. Using data from 1040 frontline employees across the retailing, banking, and hospitality sectors, the results indicate that job passion acts as the psychological mechanism underlying the relationships between customer incivility and frontline employees' emotional labor. Specifically, customer incivility is positively associated with frontline employees' surface acting through both obsessive passion and harmonious passion. Conversely, customer incivility is negatively linked with deep acting only through harmonious passion. Our findings clarify the psychological mechanisms through which customer incivility affects frontline employees' emotional labor from the perspective of job passion. Furthermore, the current study also extends the job passion model to the boundary-spanning context to explain how frontline employees respond to customer incivility. This study sheds light on how service practitioners can support frontline employees in dealing with customer incivility.

Contractual agreements are a type of administrative contract that usually institutions, public and responsible administrative organizations, as employers (which are the manifestation of the public interest), enter into contracts with individuals within the framework of accounting financial rules and regulations and the provisions of general conditions. Among these contracts are contracting contracts in the field of urban construction, which have important effects and require the necessary attention and policy-making according to the urban components in the field. In this article, with an analytical-descriptive method and in the form of a library, we will examine the effects and policies of contracting contracts in the field of urban construction in the Iranian legal system because; In these contracts, more obligations are imposed on the other party, which is not a government. Therefore, in construction construction contracts, which are examples of urban construction contracting contracts, in relation to policy and provisions related to guarantee and compensation, the responsibility of the parties for urban construction, modification of construction contract and relative It is the effect of the contract, to make the necessary inquiries and the agreement must be made taking into account these components, otherwise the contract and its effects will not be complete.

Unlike many Hollywood stars of her generation, Barbara Stanwyck extended and diversified her film career during the 1950s by starring in numerous B-series westerns, where her dominant image of independent, tough woman, questioned the limits of gender and genre. Postwar Hollywood production system has changed and veteran film stars were less in demand. This paper aims to investigate the role of Barbara Stanwick as "mature women’s role model". If it is true that her maturity, emphasized by premature gray hair and the refusal to dye them, influenced her roles and transformed her into a model for mature women, aging certainly not helped fostering her film career. As the scholar Susan Hayward states, "aging is too real - not the “real we want to see" (1996, p. 340). Moreover, Stanwyck’s fascination with the western genre is consistent with his image as a mature woman with Republican tendencies. In 1973, she was the first woman to be included in the "Hall of Fame of Great Western Performers" at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

This paper studied the flexural behavior of bridge deck link slabs made with polyvinyl alcohol–strain-hardening cementitious composites (PVA-SHCC). The tensile and flexural properties of the self-compacting PVA-SHCC with four volume fractions, i.e., 0%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2%, were evaluated first. Next, using the similarity theory, composite models with a geometric similarity ratio of 1:5 were designed to represent the bridge deck with the link slabs. The models considered three materials for link slabs, including concrete, cement mortar, and self-compacting PVA-SHCC, and two different curing ages at 7 and 56 days. Bending tests were performed to investigate the flexural behavior of the models. Based on the fractal theory, the cracking characteristics of the models with different types of link slabs were compared, and the relationship between fractal dimensions and the flexural behavior of the models was studied. Numerical models were built to correlate with the results from the bending tests. It was illustrated that the flexural behavior of the self-compacting PVA-SHCC link slab is better than that of concrete and cement mortar link slabs, where the crack initiation and propagation can be postponed. The results can provide theoretical support and design guidance for the self-compacting PVA-SHCC bridge deck.

Rapid organizational changes due to technological advancements, high-efficiency expectations, and uncertainties, particularly in healthcare, have led to a global stress epidemic among em-ployees. This has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and evolving workplace practices. Surface acting, or the suppression and faking of emotions, significantly contributes to this stress and burnout, impacting not only individual healthcare professionals but also healthcare systems’ overall effectiveness and sustainability. Providing adequate resources in high-demand work environments is, thus, essential to mitigate these negative experiences. Leader–member exchange (LMX) can play a pivotal role in understanding and addressing the needs and expectations of healthcare professionals. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR), Job Demands-Resources (JD-R), Social Exchange theories, and Grandey’s Emotional Regulation Model, this study analyzed data from a convenience sample of 350 healthcare professionals. The results reveal that surface acting intensifies healthcare professionals’ experiences of job stress and emotional exhaustion. Notably, the study empirically demonstrated that high levels of LMX in healthcare professionals’ relationships with their leaders can mitigate the impact of surface acting on job stress and emotional exhaustion. These findings offer valuable insights for managers and policymakers, highlighting the importance of LMX in maintaining sustainable management practices in complex and stressful healthcare organizations.

The water-impacting behavior of a wedge is often studied in the slamming phenomenon of ships and aircraft. Many scholars have proposed theoretical models for studying the water-impacting problem of a wedge, but these models still have some shortcomings. This study combines Von Karman’s method, the Generalized Wagner Model (GWM), and Modified Logvinovich Model (MLM) to establish a converged theoretical Von Karman-GWM-MLM (VGM) model. The VGM model utilizes added mass to replace the fluid influence, which is derived from the velocity potential and boundary conditions. Considering the influence of impulse, the velocity is determined by the momentum theorem. Subsequently, the pressure, resultant force, and acceleration of the wedge can be calculated. By comparing with the published test data of other scholars, it is found that the velocity, acceleration, pressure, and force of the wedge obtained by the VGM model reached a consensus with experiments. The validity and accuracy of the VGM model are also verified. The efficiency and accuracy of problem-solving are both balanced when using the VGM model. The establishment of the VGM model is significant for solving water-impacting problems related to wedges.

DNA steganography is a technique for securely transmitting important data using DNA sequences. It involves encrypting and hiding messages within DNA sequences to prevent unauthorized access and decoding of sensitive information. Biometric systems, such as fingerprinting and iris scanning, are used for individual recognition. Since biometric information cannot be changed if compromised, it is essential to ensure its security. This research aims to develop a secure technique that combines steganography and cryptography to protect fingerprint images during communication while maintaining confidentiality. The technique converts fingerprint images into binary data, encrypts them, and embeds them into the DNA sequence. It utilizes the Feistel network encryption process, along with a mathematical function and an insertion technique for hiding the data. The proposed method offers a low probability of being cracked, a high number of hiding positions, and efficient execution times. Four randomly chosen keys are used for hiding and decoding, providing a large key space and enhanced key sensitivity. The technique undergoes evaluation using the NIST statistical test suite and is compared with other research papers. It demonstrates resilience against various attacks, including known-plaintext and chosen-plaintext attacks. To enhance security, random ambiguous bits are introduced at random locations in the fingerprint image, increasing noise. However, it is important to note that this technique is limited to hiding small images within DNA sequences and cannot handle video, audio, or large images.

Abstract Background Paliperidone palmitate 3-monthly (PP3M) has been tested in 1-year controlled studies. The aim of this study was to examine the relapse outcomes with PP3M monotherapy at 3 years in patients with schizophrenia. Methods This was an observational, non-interventional study of patients started on PP3M according to their clinical need. All patients had a diagnosis of schizophrenia (ICD-10 F20) and were between 18 and 65 years of age. The study took place in a mental health facility in South East London, UK. Results Among the 166 patients who started PP3M, 97 (58%) met inclusion criteria and were observed for 36 months. In total, five patients (5%) experienced a relapse (defined as step-up in clinical care) while on PP3M. There were no relapses between months 18 and 36. Of the original 97 patients, 56 (58%) remained on PP3M monotherapy at 3 years, and 71 (73%) remained on either PP3M or paliperidone palmitate one-monthly. Reasons for discontinuation of PP3M included patient refusal (n = 11, 33% of discontinuations) and adverse effects in (n = 8, 24%). Conclusion PP3M is a highly effective monotherapy treatment for reducing relapse in people with schizophrenia.

Abstract The enormous progress achieved with high‐performance thermoelectric materials has yet to be implemented in high‐performance devices. The bottleneck for this is the material‐specific design of the interface between the thermoelectric material and the electrical connections, particularly identifying suitable contacting electrodes. This has mainly been empirical, slowing down device maturation due to the vast experimental space. To overcome this, an electrode pre‐selection method based on first‐principles electronic structure calculations of charged defect formation energies is established in this work for the first time. Such method allows to predict thermoelectric leg degradation due to impurity diffusion from the electrode into the thermoelectric material and formation of charge carrier traps, causing a majority carrier compensation and performance deterioration. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, the charged point defect formation energies of relevant metal electrodes with Mg2(Si,Sn) are calculated. Five hundred ten defect configurations are investigated, and the interplay between intentional doping and electrode‐induced point defects is predicted. These predictions are compared with Seebeck microprobe measurements of local carrier concentrations near the Mg2(Si,Sn)‐electrode interface and a good match is obtained. This confirms the feasibility of electrode screening based on defect formation energy calculations, which narrows down the number of potential electrodes and accelerates device development.

BackgroundLow-and middle-income countries (LMICs) are implementing health financing reforms toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In Tanzania direct health facility financing of health basket funds (DHFF-HBF) scheme was introduced in 2017/18, while the results-based financing (RBF) scheme was introduced in 2016. The DHFF-HBF involves a direct transfer of pooled donor funds (Health Basket Funds, HBF) from the central government to public primary healthcare-PHC (including a few selected non-public PHC with a service agreement) facilities bank accounts, while the RBF involves paying providers based on pre-defined performance indicators or targets in PHC facilities. We consider whether these two reforms align with strategic healthcare purchasing principles by describing and comparing their purchasing arrangements and associated financial autonomy.MethodsWe used document review and qualitative methods. Key policy documents and articles related to strategic purchasing and financial autonomy were reviewed. In-depth interviews were conducted with health managers and providers (n = 31) from 25 public facilities, health managers (n = 4) in the Mwanza region (implementing DHFF-HBF and RBF), and national-level stakeholders (n = 2). In this paper, we describe and compare DHFF-HBF and RBF in terms of four functions of strategic purchasing (benefit specification, contracting, payment method, and performance monitoring), but also compare the degree of purchaser-provider split and financial autonomy. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a thematic framework approach.ResultsThe RBF paid facilities based on 17 health services and 18 groups of quality indicators, whilst the DHFF-HBF payment accounts for performance on two quality indicators, six service indicators, distance from district headquarters, and population catchment size. Both schemes purchased services from PHC facilities (dispensaries, health centers, and district hospitals). RBF uses a fee-for-service payment adjusted by the quality of care score method adjusted by quality of care score, while the DHFF-HBF scheme uses a formula-based capitation payment method with adjustors. Unlike DHFF-HBF which relies on an annual general auditing process, the RBF involved more detailed and intensive performance monitoring including data before verification prior to payment across all facilities on a quarterly basis. RBF scheme had a clear purchaser-provider split arrangement compared to a partial arrangement under the DHFF-HBF scheme. Study participants reported that the RBF scheme provided more autonomy on spending facility funds, while the DHFF-HBF scheme was less flexible due to a budget ceiling on specific spending items.ConclusionBoth RBF and DHFF-HBF considered most of the strategic healthcare purchasing principles, but further efforts are needed to strengthen the alignment towards UHC. This may include further strengthening the data verification process and spending autonomy for DHFF-HBF, although it is important to contain costs associated with verification and ensuring public financial management around spending autonomy.

The present study presents an analysis of Casson nanofluid flow in small expanding/contracting vessel with permeable walls. Further, we have presented the coupling of expanding/contracting parameter with low seepage Reynolds number. Similarity transformation is used to convert the governing partial differential equation into set of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations which are solved numerically using R–K method after converting the system of boundary value problem into initial value problem with the help of a shooting technique numerically. The behavior of emerging parameters are presented graphically for velocity, temperature, and nanoparticles fraction. Most important effect of physical parameter skin friction, Nusselt and Sherwood number are presented in table form. It is found that, reduced Nusselt number is decreasing function of Prendtl number and reduce Sherwood number is the increasing Brownian motion parameter Nb and Thermophoresis parameter Nt.

The main aim of the present study is to design an innovative self-compacting material modified with recycled steel fibers (RSF) from waste tires and spent equilibrium catalyst (Ecat) from the petrochemical industry for ultra-high performance application. For this purpose, 17 different mixtures were developed and analysed using different percentages of RSF (0%-3%) and replacement of cement by different percentages of Ecat (0%-15%). The developed mortars' self-compatibility was evaluated in a fresh stage using mini-cone tests. Regarding the hardened stage, the mortars were characterized at the ages of 7 days and 28 days using compression and unnotched flexural tests. The abilities of RSF to increase the post-cracking behavior of the specimens and to use Ecat to increase the bond performance between RSF and the cement matrix were assessed by performing notched three-point bending tests. The results of notched flexural tests were used to obtain the residual flexural strength in service limit state (SLS), ultimate limit state (ULS), and two equivalent flexural strengths. The experimental results for the fresh stage demonstrated that inclusion of RSF and Ecat significantly reduced the workability of mortars. The beneficial use of RSF and Ecat was observed to increase compressive strength and flexural strength for 7 days and 28 days of tested specimens. Notched flexural tested specimens showed that the addition of RSF and Ecat can significantly decrease the brittle behavior of cement-based materials by improving its toughness and post-cracking resistance. Middle-span deflection, crack initiation load, and ultimate flexural load were also increased with the addition of RSF and Ecat. In this sense, the results of this research showed that RSF and Ecat seem to have the potential to constitute a sustainable material for structural and nonstructural applications.

Abstract The existing abstractive text summarisation models only consider the word sequence correlations between the source document and the reference summary, and the summary generated by models lacks the cover of the subject of source document due to models' small perspective. In order to make up these disadvantages, a multi‐domain attention pointer (MDA‐Pointer) abstractive summarisation model is proposed in this work. First, the model uses bidirectional long short‐term memory to encode, respectively, the word and sentence sequence of source document for obtaining the semantic representations at word and sentence level. Furthermore, the multi‐domain attention mechanism between the semantic representations and the summary word is established, and the proposed model can generate summary words under the proposed attention mechanism based on the words and sentences. Then, the words are extracted from the vocabulary or the original word sequences through the pointer network to form the summary, and the coverage mechanism is introduced, respectively, into word and sentence level to reduce the redundancy of summary content. Finally, experiment validation is conducted on CNN/Daily Mail dataset. ROUGE evaluation indexes of the model without and with the coverage mechanism are improved respectively, and the results verify the validation of model proposed by this paper.

Trans-acting hammerhead ribozyme inherits the advantages of being the smallest and best-characterized RNA-cleaving ribozyme, offering high modularity and the ability to cleave any desired sequence without the aid of any protein, as long as the target sequence contains a cleavage site. However, achieving precise control over the trans-acting hammerhead ribozyme would enable safer and more accurate regulation of gene expression. Herein, we described an intracellular selection of hammerhead aptazyme that contains a theophylline aptamer on stem II based on toxin protein IbsC. Based on the intracellular selection, we obtained three new cis-acting hammerhead aptazymes. Moreover, the corresponding trans-acting aptazymes could be efficiently induced by theophylline to knock down different targeted genes in eukaryotic cells. Notably, the best one, T195, exhibited a ligand-dependent and dose-dependent response to theophylline, and the cleavage efficiency could be enhanced by incorporating multiplex aptazymes.

ABSTRACT: Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of people living with HIV (PLWH) eligible for the long-acting injectable (LAI) regimen with cabotegravir (CAB) and rilpivirine (RPV), in comparison with ineligible individuals. Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional study from the ARCA cohort, including virologically suppressed PLWH with at least one genotypic resistance testing (GRT) for reverse transcriptase and integrase from plasma and/or PBMCs. Eligibility criteria for LAI CAB+RPV were: negative HBsAg, absence of previous virological failures and/or resistance-associated mutations for non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and/or integrase strand transfer inhibitors. Potential differences between eligible and ineligible individuals were investigated by univariable and multivariable analyses. Results: A total of 514 individuals were included: 377 (73.3%) were male, median age was 51 (IQR: 43–58), on ART for 9 years (IQR: 4–17), virologically suppressed for 63 months (IQR: 35–105). Eligible individuals for CAB+RPV were 229 (44.5%, 95%CI: 40.8–48.8); compared with ineligible individuals, they received a lower number of previous regimens (aOR 0.76, 95% CI 0.71–0.83, P < 0.001) and were on current NNRTIs (aOR 2.16, 95% CI 1.38–3.37, P = 0.001). Conclusions: Less than half of virologically suppressed PLWH in the ARCA cohort were potentially eligible for CAB+RPV. They seem to be “less complicated” with shorter exposure to ART and preferably already on NNRTIs.

Purpose – In the construction industry, an under researched area of study is how main contractor (MC) sub-contract design responsibilities to sub-contractor (SC). This lack of knowledge is particularly serious in the context of delivery methods such as design and construct where design responsibilities are pushed down the supply chain. In this study, it is aimed to explore which level of design responsibility MCs sub-contract to SCs, for what reasons, and what the impact of sub-contracting decisions is on projects. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative in-depth multiple case study was conducted. Six sub-contracting cases were examined in two civil engineering projects. In each project, the MCs sub-contracted pre-fabricated beams, reinforcement and railing to SCs. Data collection included document analysis and interviews. A within-case and cross-case analysis was conducted to examine emerging empirical patterns. These patterns were used to elaborate theory and develop propositions. Findings – MCs sub-contracted design responsibilities to SCs as suggested by literature. However, despite that sub-contracting was in keeping with literature, several problems were reported in the cases where MCs involved SCs no earlier than in the construction stage. This is not to be expected according to theory. Originality/value – This study adds value to the sub-contracting field as it provides new insights in relationships between the level of design responsibilities sub-contracted and the impact of that on projects. The study also revealed new factors such as building information modelling (BIM) interoperability that should get more attention in sub-contracting.

The paper is focusing on historical particularities in close connection with spaces described in terms of geospatial mapping, as enduring places (as recognizable dots on maps). At the same time, different dynamics are to be reckoned with; as such, the once existing stone theatre building in Cluj is considered as a stock of functions and forms tied to processes of the past and the present. On the one hand a geospatial mapping highlights the spatial spreading of Hungarian acting against the backdrop of the ethnically mixed population of the so-called theatre towns in the second half of the 19th century. On the other hand, given the network of theatre scenes established as a consequence of touring companies, the particularity of the theatre in Cluj as it appears, it may be best described by taking into account institutional and artistic perspectives. A parallel between quantitative and qualitative dimensions presents the necessary intertwining of the structural determination (i. e., the theatre as a network element) and artistic career.