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Inference is central to pragmatic theories of meaning and communication, but most studies of inference to date have been undertaken in adjacent fields rather than in pragmatics. The aim of this special issue is to bring together pragmatic perspectives on inference in order to further our understanding of the role that inference - as both a product and a process - plays in pragmatic models of communication. This aim is realised through a set of six papers that collectively address key questions arising when we go beyond the traditional focus in pragmatics on inferences by the hearer about the speaker's intended meaning. These articles draw from a range of different methodological and theoretical standpoints to examine the inferential, interactional, and developmental processes that underpin different types of pragmatic inference. It is concluded that more sophisticated theoretical accounts of pragmatic inference are needed to account for the wide range of inferential phenomena that can be empirically observed in communication. • Demonstrates the importance of studying inference in pragmatics. • Shows pragmatic inference goes beyond hearers inferring speaker's intended meaning. • Highlights the role that inference plays in pragmatic models of communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital health definitions are abundant, but often lack clarity and precision. We aimed to develop a minimum information framework to define patient-facing digital health interventions (DHIs) for outcomes research. Definitions of digital-health-related terms (DHTs) were systematically reviewed, followed by a content analysis using frameworks, including PICOTS (population, intervention, comparator, outcome, timing, and setting), Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Measures, and the World Health Organization's Classification of Digital Health Interventions. Subsequently, we conducted an online Delphi study to establish a minimum information framework, which was pilot tested by 5 experts using hypothetical examples. After screening 2610 records and 545 full-text articles, we identified 101 unique definitions of 67 secondary DHTs in 76 articles, resulting in 95 different patterns of concepts among the definitions. World Health Organization system (84.5%), message (75.7%), intervention (58.3%), and technology (52.4%) were the most frequently covered concepts. For the Delphi survey, we invited 47 members of the ISPOR Digital Health Special Interest Group, 18 of whom became the Delphi panel. The first, second, and third survey rounds were completed by 18, 11, and 10 respondents, respectively. After consolidating results, the PICOTS-ComTeC acronym emerged, involving 9 domains (population, intervention, comparator, outcome, timing, setting, communication, technology, and context) and 32 optional subcategories. Patient-facing DHIs can be specified using PICOTS-ComTeC that facilitates identification of appropriate interventions and comparators for a given decision. PICOTS-ComTeC is a flexible and versatile tool, intended to assist authors in designing and reporting primary studies and evidence syntheses, yielding actionable results for clinicians and other decision makers. • Abundant, yet vaguely defined definitions in digital health represent a challenge for clinicians, decision makers, developers, and researchers. Despite having several guidelines/checklists for the standardization of evidence generation and assessment for digital health interventions (DHIs), the identification of comparable DHIs remains difficult because of their personalized nature, complex technologies, and linkages to larger systems. This may restrict the validity of evidence syntheses. • We introduce the PICOTS-ComTeC (population, intervention, comparator, outcome, timing, setting, communication, technology, and context) framework, a newly developed, flexible, and versatile tool to help the formulation of sufficiently specific and detailed definitions for patient-facing digital health interventions and related research questions. • To overcome the limitations of terminology in digital health, the PICOTS-ComTeC framework of patient-facing DHIs should be specified in sufficient detail, to allow the identification of comparable interventions and allow for the selection of appropriate comparators that deliver similar effects to patients; therefore, the fit of DHIs in clinical, financing or development decision contexts, and specific research questions can be assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study mainly focuses on finding new forms of optical soliton solutions of a modified complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. A versatile integration approach, the extended sinh-Gordon expansion technique is utilized. This technique yields complex hyperbolic, hyperbolic, complex trigonometric and trigonometric solutions of the proposed model. A graphical illustration of the obtained solutions is also given to demonstrate the physical behavior of obtained solutions. Further, bifurcation and chaos techniques are used to study the qualitative analysis of the governing model. The planer system is extracted from the given equation. All possible phase portraits are mapped. It is also determined that the purposed strategies are beneficial to getting exact traveling wave solutions for a wide range of problems in the mathematical sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication is an effective and rich tool to transmit information to others. Different models of communication, though, disagree on how beliefs are acquired via testimony. While the Intentional-Inferential Model conceives communication as a matter of expressing, recognizing and evaluating intentions, the Direct Perception Model views communication as a means for direct belief transfer. What kind of experimental data can be brought to bear on this debate? We argue that developmental research can provide relevant insights for advancing the present debate. Drawing on recent experimental findings on the ontogeny of vigilance and trust, we question the idea that communication involves direct belief transfer and illustrate how children's reliance on communication is the result of smart processes of trust calibration. • Two models of communication are compared from a developmental perspective. • The Direct Perception model does not capture data on early epistemic vigilance. • New findings on the ontogeny of trust contrast with the Direct Perception model. • The Intentional-inferential model can account for children's vigilance and trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Crisis management strategies for worksite fatalities. • Discuss consequences of construction fatalities. • Identify stakeholders impacted by worksite fatalities. • Identify barriers to crisis management implementation in construction. • Two crisis communication models created for construction industry. Introduction : The construction industry is high risk and unpredictable, requiring extensive safety preparation, practices, and effectiveness on worksites. While preventative measures are important and well documented, the industry, in general, lacks effective crisis management strategies when safety measures fail. The focus of this study was to evaluate dominant crisis communication and management best practices and adopt those methods into models that could be used following a construction worksite fatality. Methods: Through literature review, this study acknowledged barriers to crisis management implementation within the construction industry, defined worksite fatalities as a preventable crisis type, identified major organizational implications of a crisis event, determined applicable response strategies following a worksite fatality, and identified major stakeholder groups impacted by fatality events. Prominent communication theories and models that have been used in multiple industries were identified and researched for this study. The literature review revealed general crisis communication theories and models that could be adapted specifically to the construction industry. Results: Two proactive communication models were created from the collected research. These models were designed to be adapted and utilized by construction organizations as a fundamental crisis communication tool and as a basis for individualized crisis management strategies following emergency events. Conclusions: This study concludes that worksite fatalities are considered a preventable crisis type, with the risk of legal, financial, and reputational damage to an organization. Appropriate response methods include ingratiation, mortification or corrective action strategies which are dependent on an organization's stakeholders, perceived responsibility, reputation, and crisis history. Practical Applications: Construction organizations could apply the models proposed in this study as foundational building blocks in alignment with strategic crisis management planning and safety failure preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the level of enterprise supply chain security management, with the rise of network technology big data technology methods such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing, it has had a multi-level impact on its supply chain management mode, including operation mode, operation mode, and security management mode. The traditional supply chain management model is based on old-fashioned communication methods and manual intervention for judgment and processing. Information and communication technology has advantages such as immediacy and strong correlation. Based on this, this article applies the data interconnection technology of the Internet of Things to the construction of supply chain management models and combines it with efficient algorithms of cloud computing. This article also explores the construction of supply chain security management models from the perspectives of participants, activity modes, module operations, and conducts data comparisons based on them. The experimental results show that in the running tests of the model, its average accuracy is about 89.60%, and the prediction accuracy of benefits is as high as 98.48%. In stability testing, it is also evident that the average stability of the model after multiple iterations is about 96.02%. Research has shown that the Internet of Things and cloud computing technology have great application potential in the construction of supply chain security management, which can provide enterprises with more effective supply chain security management tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear perturbed Radhakrishnan-Kundu-Lakshmanan (RKL) equation is a significant model in the engineering field for analyzing data transmission through nonlinear optical fibers. The two-variable (ψ ′ / ψ , 1 / ψ)-expansion method is a reliable scheme to compute self-controlled solitary wave solutions. In this study, we have constructed a wide range of geometric shapes and further inclusive soliton solutions comprising rational, trigonometric, and hyperbolic functions and their integration to the stated equation, devising the acknowledged method. The physical details of the ensued solitary wave solutions and the effects of fractional parameters are explained by sketching three- and two-dimensional graphs. For the appropriate values of the parameters, the periodic, V-shaped, bell-shaped, compacton, singular periodic, flat bell-shaped, plane-shaped, and some other types of solitons are formulated. The effect of the fractional derivative has been demonstrated by plotting the two-dimensional graphs for different values of the fractional order. It is important to note that changes in physical and auxiliary parameters cause variations in the wave profile. The formerly described physical phenomena may be better understood using the standard and new types of solitons. The results obtained exhibit the effectiveness, compatibility, and reliability of the two-variable (ψ ′ / ψ , 1 / ψ)-expansion approach for extracting soliton solutions of fractional-order nonlinear evolution equations in science, technology, and engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce and study a new search-type problem on the line with 2 searchers. As in so-called evacuation search problems with multiple searchers, we require that all searchers reach a hidden item (the exit), placed in an unknown location on a line. The novelty of our problem, weighted group search on a line , pertains to the cost function of a search trajectory, which is defined as the weighted average (1 for the light searcher and w ≥ 1 for the heavy searcher) of the times that each searcher reaches the exit and stays there indefinitely. For that problem, we design searchers' trajectories (algorithms) that aim to perform well under the lens of (worst case) competitive analysis. Our work follows seminal works in the area, in which a hidden item is searched by 1 or more searchers. For 1 and 2 searchers, when they perform in the so-called face-to-face model it is well known that the optimal trajectory has competitive ratio 9, whereas in the wireless model the optimal competitive ratio is 3. Our results are multi-fold. In our first main contribution, we provide searchers' trajectories which, in the wireless model, have competitive ratio at most 1 + 2 , for every w ≥ 1 , and we prove our algorithm to be optimal. In our second main contribution, we provide searchers' trajectories which, in the face-to-face model have competitive ratio at most 6.603, for every w ≥ 1. Somehow surprisingly the more unbalanced the weighted average is (i.e. the larger w is), the better our search algorithm performs. Both these results heavily utilize the knowledge of weight w and the searchers' identities. Finally we complement our results with some easy observations which establish upper bounds for weighted group search when either the weight and/or the identities of the robots are not known. For all our search strategies we establish closed formulas for their competitive analysis, as a function of searchers' weight w. As a byproduct of our results, we also establish upper bounds for a related search problem, known in the literature as priority evacuation , in which the termination cost is solely determined by a distinguished searcher. To the best of our knowledge, the problem has been previously considered only for the circle. In a nutshell, our results imply that one distinguished searcher can evacuate, with the help of some peer searcher, faster than what it takes both searchers to evacuate, both in the wireless and the face-to-face communication models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To use human-centered design approaches to engage adolescents and young adults in the creation of messages focused on dual method use in the setting of over-the-counter hormonal contraception access Baseline survey and self-directed workbooks with human-centered design activities were completed. The workbooks were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative methods to determine elements of the communication model, including sender, receiver, message, media, and environment. Indiana and Georgia People aged 14-21 years in Indiana and Georgia Self-directed workbooks Elements of the communication model, including sender, receiver, message, media, and environment We analyzed 54 workbooks, with approximately half from each state. Stakeholders self-identified as female (60.5%), white (50.9%), Hispanic (10.0%), sexually active (69.8%), and heterosexual (79.2%), with a mean age of 18 years. Most strongly agreed (75.5%) that they knew how to get condoms, but only 30.2% expressed the same sentiment about hormonal contraception. Exploration of the elements of the communication model indicated the importance of crafting tailored messages to intended receivers. Alternative terminology for dual protection, such as "Condom+____," was created. There is a need for multiple and diverse messaging strategies about dual method use in the context of over-the-counter hormonal contraception to address the various pertinent audiences as this discussion transitions outside of traditional clinical encounters. Human-centered design approaches can be used for novel message development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loopholes offer an opening. Rather than comply or directly refuse, people can subvert an intended request by an intentional misunderstanding. Such behaviors exploit ambiguity and under-specification in language. Using loopholes is commonplace and intuitive in everyday social interaction, both familiar and consequential. Loopholes are also of concern in the law, and increasingly in artificial intelligence. However, the computational and cognitive underpinnings of loopholes are not well understood. Here, we propose a utility-theoretic recursive social reasoning model that formalizes and accounts for loophole behavior. The model captures the decision process of a loophole-aware listener, who trades off their own utility with that of the speaker, and considers an expected social penalty for non-cooperative behavior. The social penalty is computed through the listener's recursive reasoning about a virtual naive observer's inference of a naive listener's social intent. Our model captures qualitative patterns in previous data, and also generates new quantitative predictions consistent with novel studies (N = 265). We consider the broader implications of our model for other aspects of social reasoning, including plausible deniability and humor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macroscopic oscillations in the brain are involved in various cognitive and physiological processes, yet their precise function is not completely understood. Communication through coherence (CTC) theory proposes that these rhythmic electrical patterns might serve to regulate the information flow between neural populations. Thus, to communicate effectively, neural populations must synchronize their oscillatory activity, ensuring that input volleys from the presynaptic population reach the postsynaptic one at its maximum phase of excitability. We consider an Excitatory–Inhibitory (E–I) network whose macroscopic activity is described by an exact mean-field model. The E–I network receives periodic inputs from either one or two external sources, for which effective communication will not be achieved in the absence of control. We explore strategies based on optimal control theory for phase–amplitude dynamics to design a periodic control that sets the target population in the optimal phase to synchronize its activity with a specific presynaptic input signal and establish communication. The control mechanism resembles the role of a higher cortical area in the context of selective attention. To design the control, we use the phase–amplitude reduction of a limit cycle and leverage recent developments in this field in order to find the most effective control strategy regarding a defined cost function. Furthermore, we present results that guarantee the local controllability of the system close to the limit cycle. • Optimal-control strategies provide controls that suitably adjust the dynamics for enhanced communication. • Controlled synchronization is decisive for effective communication in mean-field models of E–I networks. • Using phase–amplitude description, optimal periodic controls minimally alter the oscillation, while enhance communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider search by mobile agents for a hidden, idle target, placed on the infinite line. Feasible solutions are agent trajectories in which all agents reach the target sooner or later. A special feature of our problem is that the agents are p -faulty, meaning that every attempt to change direction is an independent Bernoulli trial with known probability p , where p is the probability that a turn fails. We are looking for agent trajectories that minimize the worst-case expected termination time, relative to the distance of the hidden target to the origin (competitive analysis). Hence, searching with one 0-faulty agent is the celebrated linear search (cow-path) problem that admits optimal 9 and 4.59112 competitive ratios, with deterministic and randomized algorithms, respectively. First, we study linear search with one deterministic p -faulty agent, i.e., with no access to random oracles, p ∈ (0 , 1 / 2). For this problem, we provide trajectories that leverage the probabilistic faults into an algorithmic advantage. Our strongest result pertains to a search algorithm (deterministic, aside from the adversarial probabilistic faults) which, as p → 0 , has optimal performance 4.59112 + ϵ , up to the additive term ϵ that can be arbitrarily small. Additionally, it has performance less than 9 for p ≤ 0.390388. When p → 1 / 2 , our algorithm has performance Θ (1 / (1 − 2 p)) , which we also show is optimal up to a constant factor. Second, we consider linear search with two p -faulty agents, p ∈ (0 , 1 / 2) , for which we provide three algorithms of different advantages, all with a bounded competitive ratio even as p → 1 / 2. Indeed, for this problem, we show how the agents can simulate the trajectory of any 0-faulty agent (deterministic or randomized), independently of the underlying communication model. As a result, searching with two agents allows for a solution with a competitive ratio of 9 + ϵ (which we show can be achieved with arbitrarily high concentration) or a competitive ratio of 4.59112 + ϵ. Our final contribution is a novel algorithm for searching with two p -faulty agents that achieves a competitive ratio 3 + 4 p (1 − p) , in expectation and with arbitrarily high concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the problem of secure synchronization for coupled dynamic networks subject to two types of deception attacks. Deception attacks are considered in both the controller-to-actuator and sensor-to-controller communication channels and modeled as Bernoulli distributions. The same and different attack probabilities of each node in dynamic networks are considered, respectively. A novel secure impulsive controller is introduced, mitigating malicious information from deception attacks and ensuring bounded synchronization. The average impulsive interval (AII) method is employed to relax the constraints on the upper and lower bounds of consecutive impulses, which is not adequately addressed by the previous secure impulsive control methods. Additionally, the paper establishes an upper bound for synchronization errors and proposes a method to design the AII based on attack probabilities. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to show the validity of our control approach. • Two types of attacks are simultaneously considered. • The results ensure the uniform boundedness synchronization of coupled DNs. • No requirement on the lower/upper bounds of consecutive impulsive signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of array geometry on enhancing channel hardening in mm-wave massive MIMO systems is investigated. As the number of physical radio links increases, small-scale fading is averaged out, leading to a hardened channel and increased communication capacity. A comprehensive analysis is conducted using the physical ray distribution model (3GPP) to investigate the impact of various array geometries on channel hardening. A clear insight is obtained through the derivation of a closed-form relation, providing an understanding of the corresponding effect. Additionally, a novel measure called Array Spread is introduced, offering a practical tool for designing array geometry that minimizes channel variations in every specific physical scenarios. The findings of this study contribute to the overall understanding and optimization of MIMO communication systems, particularly in the context of massive MIMO deployments in mm-wave frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most challenging questions in the film industry is to rank superstars, which ultimately affects some performance indicators like movie success. In this work, we address this question by means of opinion dynamics models, where the evolution of opinions in a population is analyzed. We apply a model of this kind to study the evolution of opinions about a set of well-known movie superstars in a real-world population. Also, we use real-world data from a specialized cinema website to model mass communication processes (representing film releases and their related news and marketing campaigns), and to measure the performance of our model. Our results show that the proposed model is able to accurately represent this complex system, where the opinion dynamics of superstars are mostly driven by emotional mechanisms, and reveal that film releases and their corresponding marketing campaigns only have a short term effect on those opinions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that applies opinion dynamics models to the study of opinions about superstars in the film industry. • An innovative study of film performance indicators using opinions about superstars. • An interaction-based opinion dynamics model to rank superstars in the film industry. • A mechanism of mass communication used to represent film releases and related news. • An experimental analysis using real-world data. • Experimental results show that these dynamics are driven by emotional mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incentive-based management is an encouraging option in the quest for sustainability, and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the most prestigious certification standard. It implies sustainability and resilience, but the latter has yet to be explored. Accordingly, we selected two MSC-certified fisheries, the small-scale red lobster fishery (RL) in Baja California (BC) and the small pelagic industrial fishery in Sonora (SP), to prove whether the certification success is reflected in a resilient governance network structure. To do so, we identify structural patterns that drive the resilience of the governance network in two MSC-certified fisheries. Data obtained through stakeholder interviews on different types of stakeholder relationships were used to construct weighted communication matrices to model governance networks. We assessed the individual role of each actor using centrality indices. We also analyzed how stakeholders are integrated into cohesive subgroups of the network. To evaluate resilience, we compared changes in the structure of governance networks by analyzing how network properties change each time the loss of an actor and/or its functionality is simulated. In both fisheries, most of the stakeholders belonged to the productive sector, actors involved in capture, processing, commercialization, and industrialization in the case of SP. For all centrality indices, the most relevant actors were similar or the same in both fisheries and belonged mainly to the regulatory and productive sectors. Cohesive subgroup analysis revealed that both networks are highly connected and collaborative systems. The simulations showed that in both fisheries, the decrease in the number of stakeholders did not cause abrupt changes in the structure of the governance systems. This approach reveals that, even in worst-case scenarios, the tolerance of governance systems to this severe loss of stakeholder diversity is high and suggests that following sustainable certification standards can lead to the promotion of effective and resilient governance networks. • Sustainable certification improves collaboration and learning among stakeholders. • Polycentric governance networks are very tolerant to loss of stakeholder diversity. • Simulation scenarios approach allows to determine governance vulnerability. • Sustainable certification promotes effective and resilient governance systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last two years have taught us that we need to change the way we practice medicine. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, obstetrics and gynecology setting has changed enormously. Monitoring pregnant women prevents deaths and complications. Doctors and computer data scientists must learn to communicate and work together to improve patients' health. In this paper we present a good practice example of a competitive/collaborative communication model for doctors, computer scientists and artificial intelligence systems, for signaling fetal congenital anomalies in the second trimester morphology scan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Identify the three reasons why seriously ill families/ patients ask for things that you think are unreasonable. 2. Clearly understand a headline. 3. Acquire the skills to learn about an incapacitated patient's values. Part 1: How To Deal With Family Requests For Treatment You Think Are Unreasonable Dealing with families who request treatments that the medical team think is unreasonable often leads to moral distress, and ruptured relationships. The goal of this talk is to give clinicians both a mental model and the communication skills needed to handle these difficult conversations. 1. Describe how the theories of psychological schema and linguistic relativism impact our use-and misuse-of language. 2. Provide examples of how words, phrases, metaphors, euphemisms, and/or "code words" can affect our thoughts and derail effective communication with peers, students, and patients and families. 3. Apply content to case studies. 4. Create an actionable change to apply to their own clinical and/or educational setting. Part 2: Words Matter: How Words and Phrases Shape Thoughts and Actions (and sometimes make us cringe!) This preconference builds upon the session Words Matter: Words and Phrases That Make Us Cringe, presented at the Annual Assembly in 2023. Using the theories of psychological schema and linguistic relativism as springboards for discussion, we will discuss how preconceived ideas, often unconscious, can impact our use – and misuse – of language and determine what we pay attention to and act on. This can result in unintended and harmful assumptions and actions about, for example, symptom management, family relationships, goals of care, and prognosis. Literacy level, culture and native language, and written language will also be explored. Careful and mindful use of language is especially important in hospice and palliative care as we often only have one chance to "get it right." - How to Foster Joy, Celebration and Empathy while Sparking Resilience Rakia Reynolds, Skai Blue Media 1. Facilitate learner approaches to employ equitable communication techniques to help people better understand our mission and vocation. 2. Develop skills to successfully navigate the ever-increasing complex cultural and social media landscapes. This session is designed for attendees to improve their competence as compassionate storytellers, a crucial skill when caring for patients and families experiencing serious illness. At the conclusion of this activity, learners will self-report the ability to apply, analyze and evaluate: • listening skills, especially in conjunction with a patient's needs and wishes. • the importance of community to foster resilience among the patient's clinical and emotional-based support systems. • storytelling skills to communicate overall empathy to the patient and family, acknowledging how much this can improve their outlook throughout the serious illness continuum. • an enhanced appreciation of how much words do matter. • joy and celebration, which can often be overlooked, as an essential component to successful palliative and hospice patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bounded confidence model has become a popular tool for studying communities of epistemically interacting agents. The model makes the idealizing assumption that all agents always have access to all other agents' belief states. We draw on resources from network epistemology to do away with this assumption. In the model to be proposed, we impose an explicit communication network on a community, due to which each agent has access to the beliefs of only a selection of other agents. A much-discussed result from network epistemology shows that densely connected communication networks are not always preferable to sparser networks. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether there are any noteworthy network effects in a version of the bounded confidence model augmented with communication networks, and in particular whether the aforementioned result from network epistemology can be replicated in that version. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mammalian organisms, enhancers can regulate transcription from great genomic distances. How enhancers affect distal gene expression has been a major question in the field of gene regulation. One model to explain how enhancers communicate with their target promoters, the chromatin looping model, posits that enhancers and promoters come in close spatial proximity to mediate communication. Chromatin looping has been broadly accepted as a means for enhancer-promoter communication, driven by accumulating in vitro and in vivo evidence. The genome is now known to be folded into a complex 3D arrangement, created and maintained in part by the interplay of the Cohesin complex and the DNAbinding protein CTCF. In the last few years, however, doubt over the relationship between looping and transcriptional activation has emerged, driven by studies finding that only a modest number of genes are perturbed with acute degradation of looping machinery components. In parallel, newer models describing distal enhancer action have also come to prominence. In this article, we explore the emergence and development of the looping model as a means for enhancer-promoter communication and review the contrasting evidence between historical gene-specific and current global data for the role of chromatin looping in transcriptional regulation. We also discuss evidence for alternative models to chromatin looping and their support in the literature. We suggest that, while there is abundant evidence for chromatin looping as a major mechanism for enhancer function, enhancer-promoter communication is likely mediated by more than one mechanism in an enhancer- and context-dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Discontinuous dynamic for multiple aerial agents with artificial potential field are firstly studied. • A new method to alarming onset of "chatter" due to artificial potential field is proposed. • The proposed method in this paper can be extended for more than two aerial agents case. This paper presents a dynamic problem with moving discontinuous boundary for two aerial agents. One of the agents is assigned as the leader, and the other follows such a leader based on artificial potential field. The artificial potential field technique is designed to make the two agents repel each other when the relative distance is less than r 1 in order to avoid collision, and such two agents will attract each other when the distance is greater than r 1. The interaction between two agents becomes zero when the relative distance is greater than r 2 (r 2 > r 1) to model the communication disconnected. Since the mathematic function for the artificial potential field is discontinuous, the dynamics of such two aerial agents might be also discontinuous. The main contributions of this paper are: 1) the dynamics of such two aerial agents switching on the discontinuous boundaries are firstly studied based on the complexity theory of flow switchability; 2) the "chatter" phenomenon due to the artificial potential field is explained as the onset of sliding motion on such a moving discontinuous boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial provides an overview of some of the new horizons that are visible from the pragmatic framework of relevance theory. While its roots lie firmly in linguistic pragmatics, the influence of relevance theory has spread – indeed, continues to spread – to a range of disciplines, some of which might be said to lie beyond its original domain. As well as contributing to cognitive sciences such as developmental and evolutionary psychology and the emergent domain of experimental pragmatics – relevance theory was, after all, originally conceived as a model of communication and cognition – a growing number of researchers is bringing a relevance-theoretic perspective to work in: literary and artistic studies; anthropology, cross-cultural studies and the social sciences; and disciplines as diverse as affective science, internet-mediated discourse and clinical practice. • The influence of relevance theory continues to spread to other disciplines. • Researchers draw on other disciplines and domains of study to inform relevance theory. • The boundaries of the theory are continually being expanded and redefined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examined whether the structure of consultations in which physicians were tasked with sharing information corresponded to the chronological stages proposed by an established educational model of clinical communication.Method: Seventy six simulated consultations from a postgraduate examination for general medical hospital physicians were transcribed verbatim and converted into diagrams showing consultation structure. All doctor-patient/relative talk was allocated into six phases: Initiating, Gathering information, Summary, Explanation, Planning and Closing, using the 'communication process skills' from the Calgary-Cambridge Guide to the Medical Interview.Results: The majority of consultations included four or five of the expected phases, with most talk (41-92%) in Explanation and Planning. There was no discernible consistency of structure across the consultations or in consultations from the same scenario. Consultations varied in the presence, sequential order, size, location and reappearance of phases.Conclusions: The structure of consultations in this standardised setting bore little resemblance to the chronological order of phases predicted by an educational model.Practice Implications: Educational guidance and interventions to support patients in preparing for consultations need to take account of doctors' behaviour in practice. Assumptions about the organisation of medical consultations should be queried in the absence of an evidence base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In joint radar-communications (JRC) applications such as secure military receivers, often the radar and communications signals are overlaid in the received signal. In these passive listening outposts, the signals and channels of both radar and communications are unknown to the receiver. The ill-posed problem of recovering all signal and channel parameters from the overlaid signal is termed as dual-blind deconvolution (DBD). In this work, we investigate DBD for a multi-antenna receiver. We model the radar and communications channels with a few (sparse) continuous-valued parameters such as time delays, Doppler velocities, and directions-of-arrival (DoAs). To solve this highly ill-posed DBD, we propose to minimize the sum of multivariate atomic norms (SoMAN) that depend on unknown parameters. To this end, we devise an exact semidefinite program using theories of positive hyperoctant trigonometric polynomials (PhTP). Our theoretical analyses show that the minimum number of samples and antennas required for perfect recovery is logarithmically dependent on the maximum of the number of radar targets and communications paths rather than their sum. We show that our approach is easily generalized to include several practical issues such as gain/phase errors and additive noise. Numerical experiments show the exact parameter recovery for different JRC scenarios. • Multi-antenna dual-blind deconvolution (M-DBD) is a general formulation for ISAC receiver. • Atomic norm minimization exploits sparsity to estimate the unknown continuous-valued variables. • Strong theoretical guarantees for exact recovery. • Generalization for practical scenarios with gain/phase errors in the receiver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To make full use of the flexible adjustment capability of DC tie-lines in multiarea AC/DC systems and to coordinate the generation resources and load demand of multiarea AC/DC systems, this paper presents an intraday two-stage hierarchical optimal scheduling model for multiarea AC/DC systems based on analytical target cascading (ATC). To avoid repeated adjustment and overadjustment of DC tie-lines after wind power integration, a two-stage rolling coordinated scheduling model for the area subsystem based on model predictive control (MPC) is proposed. The two-stage rolling coordinated scheduling method takes into consideration the influence of the predicted value in the future finite time domain and the latest measured DC tie-line power on the current scheduling state. Based on the ATC and the area decomposition criterion of the AC/DC grid, an optimal scheduling model for the upper-level system is proposed that takes into consideration the DC tie-line adjustment constraints and the area coupling constraints. The optimal scheduling model for the upper-level system formulates the two-stage DC tie-line plan for the multiarea AC/DC system, and the two-stage rolling coordinated scheduling model of the area subsystem solves the subproblems of the generation plan for each area subsystem in a parallel manner considering the area coupling constraints. The proposed method can achieve intraday two-stage decoupling scheduling of multiarea AC/DC systems and promote the cross-area consumption of large-scale wind power through flexible adjustment of the DC tie line. This approach also reduces the communication burden between the area subsystems and ensures the efficiency of the solution algorithm. • Based on analytical target cascading technology (ATC), we integrate the hierarchical control structure of decomposition-coordination into the model predictive control (MPC) method to achieve decentralized dispatch for multiarea AC/DC systems. • A two-stage rolling coordinated scheduling model for the area subsystem considering the area coupling constraints based on the MPC is proposed. • Based on the ATC and the area decomposition criterion of the AC/DC grid, an optimal scheduling model for the upper-level system is proposed. • Flexible adjustment of the DC tie-line and decoupling scheduling of multiarea AC/DC systems are achieved. • The hierarchical optimal scheduling model reduces the communication burden between the subsystems and ensures the efficiency of the solution algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous aerial access networks (AANs), comprising a hierarchical model of a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation and multiple high-altitude platforms (HAPs), provide a radio access medium from the sky to enhance the service experience of ground terminals (GTs) in remote areas. In this scenario, aerial edge caching addresses the challenge of delivering on-demand content requests to GTs. Although existing caching schemes for AANs have improved caching efficiency, they often overlook important concerns related to privacy preservation and overhead. This paper proposes an intelligent, proactive content-caching scheme to maximize cache efficiency while ensuring privacy preservation for GTs. The proposed caching scheme employs hierarchical federated learning (HierFL) that involves GTs, HAPs, and LEO satellites in heterogeneous AANs. In particular, the proposed HierFL-based proactive content-caching (HierFL-PCC) scheme leverages a deep neural network employing multiple linear regression to predict the dynamically changing content popularity of GTs, maximizing the cache efficiency. The HierFL-PCC also reduces the delay and overhead associated with content delivery. Additionally, the proposed HierFL-PCC scheme reduces communication overhead in model training owing to the hierarchical learning architecture. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed HierFL-PCC scheme exhibits improvement of about 13%, 43%, 178%, and 457% in cache efficiency, and reduces average content delivery delay by approximately 10%, 20%, 31%, and 37%, along with an improvement of around 89% in training overhead, respectively, compared to the cloud-based FAVG, LFU, LRU, and Random caching schemes. • Heterogeneous aerial access networks (AANs) enhance GTs' service in remote areas. • Aerial edge caching meets on-demand content request challenges for GTs. • HierFL-PCC enhances cache efficiency, ensures privacy, and reduces delays in AANs. • HierFL-PCC reduces communication overhead in model training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future conflicts will increasingly take place in complex, urban environments. This calls for a change from operating in large formations and from static encampments to dispersed, networked, decentralized and small-scale operations. Concept development for dispersed operations and their accompanying strategies has only just begun. To aid in this early phase of concept development, this study presents (i) a framework for modeling the effects of communication strategies during dispersed land operations in a complex environment using the Agent-Based Modeling method, and (ii) a case study to illustrate the framework using the research question 'What are the effects of communication strategies that make use of either a cloud or bundling on the shared Situational Awareness of units in dispersed operations in a complex environment?', using a peace enforcement scenario in an urban area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present an experimentation and analysis framework that utilizes a public cloud infrastructure for most of the experimentation environment but also supports interaction with services installed on servers or dedicated hardware on-premises. The framework is enriched with a set of tools that allow for powerful scenario generation and modeling of radio communication in real time. We believe such experimentation and analysis frameworks can promote better cooperation between researchers, product developers and the military end users. We present an example experiment utilizing the framework, that studies the exchange of position updates between BMS applications on 4 moving vehicles and a forward command post, and share our lessons learned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Tell Me More (TMM)® program provides a template for guided interviews to help providers procure an expansive social history from patients and connect with them as people beyond their illness. (TMM)® may provide a dual benefit: it improves the patient's experience with their healthcare team and the medical students' experience in developing their identity as a physician. Our aim was to characterize the impact of the patient-student conversations in TMM® on the participating medical students through analysis of their written reflections throughout the program.Methods: Students conducted interviews with hospitalized patients using the TMM® template, Through narrative medicine and individualized posters, patients were able to highlight their unique qualities.Results: Qualitative analyses of 63 journal reflections from 14 students, across 7 hospital settings, identified 6 themes. These included connection, humanism, discovery, impact, privilege, and perspective.Conclusion: Reflective practice as a learning pedagogy created an opportunity to enhance the medical students' awareness of empathy and compassion during the TMM® program. Documentation of reflections assured students would process the encounter as a profound learning experience and develop their professional identity formation as a student preparing to become a physician.Practical Implications: TMM® provides an opportunity for medical students to practice and apply their interpersonal and communication skills through authentic patient encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Patients with vascular anomalies and their caregivers experience many challenges because clinicians are unfamiliar with these complex conditions. • Patients with vascular anomalies can experience delays in care for complex VAs that require early intervention by a team of specialists. • Currently, only four empirical studies examine the communication challenges faced by caregivers of patient with vascular anomalies. • More research is needed to create evidence-based models of communication that meet the needs of caregivers and patients with vascular anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of the article relates to the barriers occurring in the use of social media in organizational activities aimed at creating a positive image of an organization. Marketing communication plays an important role in the process of shaping the image. The new model of marketing communication is based primarily on social media. Social media are already used in business activities on a large scale. Unfortunately, a frequent problem is the low effectiveness of their use. The primary objective of the article is to identify the main reasons for the low efficiency of using social media in the process of managing an image of an organization, with an example of educational institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This project developed an innovative methodology for visualising consultation structure by categorising doctor-patient talk into the phases proposed by an established educational model of clinical communication.Method: Consultation phases were identified from verbatim transcripts using the tasks and process skills of the Calgary-Cambridge Guide to the Medical Interview. Seventy-eight simulated consultations from a 'History-taking' station of a postgraduate examination for physicians were analysed by two independent raters. Transcripts were converted into diagrams comprising up to six phases: Initiating, Gathering information, Summary, Explanation, Planning and Closing.Results: The dominant phases were Gathering information, Planning and Explanation (66 %, 10 % and 12 % of talk respectively). While consultations broadly followed the expected chronological sequence, less than a third (23/78) contained all six phases, with Closing and Summary most frequently absent. Half of consultations (40/78) did not include phases in the predicted order, with intertwined phases commonly observed.Conclusions: In this standardised setting, doctors created variable consultation structures, typically omitting phases involving consolidation and agreement of plans going forward.Practice Implications: The method enables visualisation and comparison of consultation structure. The findings pose questions about the alignment of practice with educational guidance and the opportunities afforded to patients to actively engage in consultations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper develops a methodology for the design of coherent equalizing filters for quantum communication channels. Given a linear quantum system model of a quantum communication channel, the aim is to obtain another quantum system which, when coupled with the original system, mitigates degrading effects of the environment. The main result of the paper is a systematic equalizer synthesis algorithm which relies on methods of state–space robust control design via semidefinite programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several intelligent transport systems in vehicular networks (VANETs) rely on IP-based models for inter-vehicle communication. However, many approaches for Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems and distributed systems are not secure and appropriate for VANETs, using specific technologies, centralized network architectures, or limited communication models. In addition, many applications are forced to deal with complex services that the network layer does not provide. This paper proposes NDN-Waze, a comprehensive distributed and lightweight system for vehicular traffic management using Named Data Networking as the main underlying communication protocol. NDN-Waze is a proof-of-concept design that has applications in vehicular route guidance, traffic and mobility monitoring, as well as roadside units as a service in urban areas. We use the NDN-Waze route guidance module to compare the VANET model via Named Data Networking (NDN) and Internet Protocol (IP). Our study employs traditional network metrics to support the hypothesis that the communication architecture has a direct impact on both efficiency and the quality of service operations. The simulation results demonstrate that NDN properties can override traditional IP-based forwarding proposals in VANET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consider the control-flow model of transaction execution in a distributed system modeled as a communication graph where shared objects positioned at nodes of the graph are immobile but the transactions accessing the objects send requests to the nodes where objects are located to read/write those objects. The control-flow model offers benefits to applications in which the movement of shared objects is costly due to their sizes and security purposes. In this paper, we study the ordered scheduling problem of committing dependent transactions according to their predefined priorities in this model. The considered problem naturally arises in areas, such as loop parallelization and state-machine-based computing, where producing executions equivalent to a priority order is needed to satisfy certain properties. Specifically, we study ordered scheduling considering two performance metrics fundamental to any distributed system: (i) execution time - total time to commit all the transactions and (ii) communication cost - the total distance traversed in accessing required shared objects. We design scheduling algorithms that are individually or simultaneously efficient for both the metrics and rigorously evaluate them through several benchmarks on random and grid graphs, validating their efficiency. To our best knowledge, this is the first study of ordered scheduling in the control-flow model of distributed transaction execution. • Studies ordered scheduling of dependent transactions in the control-flow model. • Impossibility result for no simultaneous minimization of time and communication. • Optimal algorithms for execution time and communication cost in the offline setting. • O (log 2 n)-competitive algorithm in the partial dynamic setting. • O (D)-competitive algorithm in the fully dynamic setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems assist individuals with complex communication needs, allowing them to construct sentences by selecting communication cards. The facilitation of sentence construction primarily entails enabling efficient communication card selection. An approach to this involves using language models for communication card prediction. Nonetheless, the heterogeneity of the AAC population poses unique challenges due to diverse vocabulary needs, suggesting one-size-fits-all approaches may be insufficient. This study introduces PrAACT, a method that leverages large, transformer-based language models, such as BERT, for communication card prediction. This method focuses on easy adaptability to incorporate user-specific vocabularies into the model. The method involves adapting a text corpus to the AAC domain, fine-tuning a transformer-based language model, and replacing the language model weights with an encoded representation of the user's vocabulary. We conducted an assessment of PrAACT under both zero-shot and few-shot scenarios. The performance of the models produced using PrAACT was superior to those pre-trained for the task. In addition, the main advantage of PrAACT is that it allows to quickly adapt a transformer-based language model to communication card prediction according to the user's vocabulary. • Developed PrAACT, a new method for communication card prediction in AAC systems. • PrAACT enhances message authoring by accommodating diverse vocabularies. • PrAACT models outperform pre-trained in zero-shot and few-shot settings. • Demonstrated the potential of LLMs to improve communication in AAC system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban planning exhibitions have been a long-standing element in planning culture, on a worldwide level. Until now, there has been a considerable gap in researching the efficiency of urban planning exhibitions in communication, especially from a quantitative perspective. Rooted in communicative planning and built on Generic Learning Outcomes and Contextual Model of Learning theory, this paper aims to explore the role of urban planning exhibitions in communication and the factors that influence their efficiency, using the recently opened Guangzhou Urban Planning Exhibition Hall (UPEH) as an example. The 115 participants in this study were divided into two groups (experimental and control) and asked to answer a series of urban planning questions before and after visiting the Guangzhou UPEH. Results showed that except for the level of education, the personal and sociocultural factors had no significant effect on changes in participants' knowledge on the subject. However, the physical factors of participants' visits, including the length of the visit, the number of exhibits seen by participants and the degree of engagement with the top-rated exhibits, significantly influenced learning about urban planning. The results demonstrated that urban planning exhibitions can provide inclusive platforms in facilitating planning communication and public engagement. • Measurement of public learning in a permanent urban planning exhibition • Participants significantly gain knowledge about urban planning after their visits. • Physical attributes of participants' visits significantly influence their learning. • Socio-cultural background of participants generally does not affect their learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS) is an emerging technology to improve the performance of wireless systems. As implementing IRS in a wireless network with complex indoor environments is a challenging task, how to perform a realistic simulation study of such a system becomes a necessary and important topic. This paper presents a framework for modeling wireless propagation channels for an IRS-based indoor wireless communication system. The framework adopts ray tracing as the base engine for calculating the power delay profile (PDP) of the transmission paths. Moreover, we propose an approximate method to speed up the simulation without compromising on the level of accuracy. The PDPs calculated by the framework are used to model a deterministic channel for a wireless communication system enhanced by a 20 × 20 IRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) are expected to save lives by reducing the frequency and severity of traffic accidents and offer additional benefits to the world by reducing travel time and congestion. Challenges exist preventing widespread implementation of CAV technology; notably CAV susceptibility to rear-end collisions, suspected to be due to poor handling of longitudinal distance control in mixed-fleet traffic. This study aimed to determine if it was possible to improve this longitudinal distance control; increasing safety without sacrificing the performance benefits conferred by CAVs. A fixed coupling distance in a custom CAV control protocol was replaced with a linear dynamic model by incorporating a distance and relative velocity modifier. A sensitivity analysis of the modifiers was performed, comparing network performance statistics and conflict and collision rates. Accident frequency and network performance were observed to be more sensitive to the distance modifier than the relative velocity modifier. An increase in the number of CAVs on the road resulted in a faster network, generally at the expense of safety for conventional vehicles (MVs). A select few combinations of velocity and distance modifiers produced networks that outperformed the base case benchmark in both safety and network performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of Energy Internet and Smart Grid, power communication equipment has gradually become an important pillar supporting the information transmission. However, when equipment failure occurs, more and more attention has been paid to the rapid realization of equipment fault research and judgment from a large amount of equipment fault information. Based on the fault data of power communication equipment, a fault model of power communication equipment is designed in this paper. It combines BERT and BiLSTM-CRF model for knowledge extraction, and constructs the equipment fault knowledge graph to realize the visual display of power communication equipment. Through this model, fault knowledge extraction can be realized accurately, and a visual model of fault analysis can be formed, which can effectively improve the fault research speed and work efficiency of maintenance personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current studies on compliment responses are largely confined to the dyadic model of communication, without taking into consideration the influence of third parties present. The most commonly used methods of data collection in compliment response research are discourse completion tasks (DCT), role play, etc., the objectivity and accuracy of which remain unconfirmed. With the method of natural conversation recording and targeted elicitation, this article collects 233 cases of female college students' compliment responses in both dyadic and triadic contexts in Beijing and analyzes the data in the model of "acceptance-mitigation-evasion-rejection". The results show that the frequency of accepting compliments among Chinese college students has increased greatly compared to the findings of Chen (1993), indicating noticeable Western influence on Chinese compliment response strategies. However, there is a significant difference between the acceptance ratio in dyadic and triadic contexts. In dyadic communication, the compliment receivers generally prefer the acceptance strategy, while in triadic contexts, they choose evasion and rejection. This finding indicates that the westernization of compliment response strategies in Chinese culture is a gradual and heterogeneous process and the Self-denigration Maxim still plays an important role in the culture at a deeper level. This study also indicates that the use of DCT tends to raise the ratio of acceptance strategy in general in Chinese compliment response research. • First, the result of this paper shows that in triadic contexts Chinese college students accept much less compliments than they do in dyadic contexts, which challenges a dominating view that under the influence of westernization, Chinese have mostly shifted from rejection to acceptance in responding to compliments. • Second, this paper takes into account the presence of a third party, which calls for and inspires reconsideration of other speech acts such as apology, invitation and so on. • Third, the findings of our study suggest that DCT as a method of data collection systematically increases the percentage of Chinese interactants' acceptance of compliments in naturally-occurring conversations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wine Influencers (WIs) represent a new type of independent third party endorsers that are progressively establishing themselves within social networks. This study analyzes the characteristics of the activity of WIs and the communication model used via Instagram. Netnographic Analysis, Factor Analysis and AGIL methods were applied. The results show five Key-findings within specific relationships established during discussions: advice from Wine Influencers and generalized reciprocity in relationships; structural and social bonds established based on the frequency of messages from regular followers; peer-to-peer relationship development through recommendation; development of trust established through online relationships; wine influencer's influence on followers regarding everything about the wine. The study derives a model that explains the communication dimensions used by WIs that are: advertising (information about product/brand) (35.71%); persuasion--added value to brand and product (42.62%); brand democratization (10.07%); and identity (8.03%). This study provides a novel contribution to the open innovation process of small and medium-sized wine industries for their marketing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article concerns presentation and comparison of the performance of a set of the Internet Of Things protocols in the application layer and others that are used to link objects such as: Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT), Constrained Application Protocol (COAP), Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (EMPP), RESTFUL Services, Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP), and Websockets. This comparison will be carried out in terms of security, transport, architecture and quality of service (QoS). This work will enable us to specify the strong and weak points of each protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the gossip-based model of communication for disseminating information in a network, in each time unit, every node u can contact a single random neighbor v but can possibly be contacted by many nodes. In the present paper, we consider a restricted model where at each node only one incoming call can be answered in one time unit. We study the implied weaker version of the well-studied pull protocol, which we call restricted pull. We prove an exponential separation of the rumor spreading time between two variants of the protocol (the answered call among a set of calls is chosen adversarially or uniformly at random). Further, we show that if the answered call is chosen randomly, the slowdown of restricted pull versus the classic pull protocol can w.h.p. be upper bounded by O (ψ (G) ⋅ log ⁡ n) , where ψ (G) = max { u , v } ∈ E ⁡ d (u) / d (v) ≤ Δ δ with Δ and δ being the largest and smallest degree of the network G = (V , E) and d (u) being the degree of u. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]