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This work is aimed at a comprehensive solution to the problem of reliable and safe operation of a transport energy system with a high energy concentration based on a universal energy carrier - cryogenic liquid hydrogen. The article discusses the possibility of using various methods and techniques to assess the reliability of machines and equipment operated in emergency situations and extreme conditions. The obtained results are analyzed. Currently, the oil and gas complex pays great attention to the development of hydrogen technologies, as well as hydrogen energy in connection with the relevance of the Climate Agenda. In this regard, hydrogen energy facilities are of the greatest interest: cryogenic hydrogen reservoirs, cryogenic hydrogen pipelines, cryogenic oxygen reservoirs and cryogenic oxygen pipelines, as well as cryogenic reservoirs and pipelines for storing process nitrogen gas. An important role for global energy exchange is played by LH 2 tankers for transporting cryogenic hydrogen. For example, Australia and Japan built the first LH 2 tanker to transport hydrogen from Australia to Japan. In addition, another 85 LH 2 tankers are expected to be built. After transportation, cryogenic hydrogen is stored in cryogenic hydrogen storages, usually also representing cryogenic hydrogen tanks with piping in the form of cryogenic pipelines, as well as cryogenic nitrogen tanks for storing process nitrogen gas. Further, hydrogen is used in road transport, aviation, ship fleet, industry, and energy. The main elements of mobile, stationary and airborne hydrogen storage systems are under critical loads and are in the area of increased study and attention. In this regard, we considered the functions of changing the main operational characteristics, made proposals on the possibility of predicting the development of accumulated faults and proposals for ensuring safety and extending the life of objects, taking into account the determination of local and integral damage to cryogenic tanks and pipelines. Project for the creation of a main cryogenic hydrogen pipeline from Azerbaijan to Europe across the Adriatic Sea. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methods such as literature method and expert interview method could reflect the important indicators of taekwondo athletes' physical function well: maximum oxygen uptake, respiratory quotient, heart rate, blood lactic acid. The physical function indexes of 9 (5 females and 4 males) master-level and first grade taekwondo athletes were tested, diagnosed and analyzed by physiological and biochemical tests and mathematical statistics. It was found that the overall functional level of taekwondo athletes in Shaanxi province of china was high through the early systematic training, and the training was scientific and reasonable. The coaches should not only emphasize the physical training, but also strengthen the training of the technical and tactical level of athletes in the usual training, in order to obtain better competition results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical trials of post-mastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) for early invasive breast cancer (EIBC) have included few older women. This study examined whether the association between overall survival or breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) and receipt of PMRT for EIBC altered with age. The study used patient-level linked cancer registration, routine hospital and radiotherapy data for England and Wales. It included 31 243 women aged ≥50 years diagnosed between 2014 and 2018 with low- (T1-2N0), intermediate- (T3N0/T1-2N1) or high-risk (T1-2N2/T3N1-2) EIBC who received a mastectomy within 12 months from diagnosis. Patterns of survival were analysed using a landmark approach. Associations between overall survival/BCSS and PMRT in each risk group were analysed with flexible parametric survival models, which included patient and tumour factors; whether the association between PMRT and overall survival/BCSS varied by age was assessed using interaction terms. Among 4711 women with high-risk EIBC, 86% had PMRT. Five-year overall survival was 70.5% and BCSS was 79.3%. Receipt of PMRT was associated with improved overall survival [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.75, 95% confidence interval 0.64–0.87] and BCSS (aHR 0.78, 95% confidence interval 0.65–0.95) compared with women who did not have PMRT; associations did not vary by age (overall survival, P -value for interaction term = 0.141; BCSS, P = 0.077). Among 10 814 women with intermediate-risk EIBC, 59% had PMRT; 5-year overall survival was 78.4% and BCSS was 88.0%. No association was found between overall survival (aHR 1.01, 95% confidence interval 0.92–1.11) or BCSS (aHR 1.16, 95% confidence interval 1.01–1.32) and PMRT. There was statistical evidence of a small change in the association with age for overall survival (P = 0.007), although differences in relative survival were minimal, but not for BCSS (P = 0.362). The association between PMRT and overall survival/BCSS does not appear to be modified by age among women with high- or intermediate-risk EIBC and, thus, treatment recommendations should not be modified on the basis of age alone. • Assessed if the association between PMRT and 5-year OS and BCSS changed with age among women aged 50+ years with EIBC. • Women stratified into three groups based on recurrence risk: low (T1-2N0), intermediate (T1-2N1/T3N0) high (T1-2N2/T3N1-2). • PMRT associated with improved survival for women in the high-risk group, but not in the low- or intermediate-risk groups. • Found no evidence that the association between OS/BCSS and PMRT varied by age among women in any of the three risk groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piecewise deterministic Markov processes (PDMPs) are a class of stochastic processes with applications in several fields of applied mathematics spanning from mathematical modelling of physical phenomena to computational methods. A PDMP is specified by three characteristic quantities: the deterministic motion, the law of the random event times, and the jump kernels. The applicability of PDMPs to real world scenarios is currently limited by the fact that these processes can be simulated only when these three characteristics of the process can be simulated exactly. In order to overcome this problem, we introduce discretisation schemes for PDMPs which make their approximate simulation possible. In particular, we design both first order and higher order schemes that rely on approximations of one or more of the three characteristics. For the proposed approximation schemes we study both pathwise convergence to the continuous PDMP as the step size converges to zero and convergence in law to the invariant measure of the PDMP in the long time limit. Moreover, we apply our theoretical results to several PDMPs that arise from the computational statistics and mathematical biology literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown continuous improved overall survival (OS) up to 2015 for young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). However, recently several important advances have been made justifying a more contemporary analysis of outcomes in adult with ALL. In this nationwide population-based cohort study, we included patients above 18 years of age diagnosed with ALL between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2020. Patients were followed until December 31, 2022. By employing flexible parametric survival models, we quantified progress in OS using the key endpoint of 2-year age standardized OS for all patients and clinical subgroups of interest. This study includes 657 patients and demonstrates a significant improvement in OS over time with the 2-year age standardized OS increasing from 36·4 % (95 % CI, 27·0–45·8 %) for patients diagnosed in 1998 to 68·6 % (95 % CI, 60·2–76·9)for patients diagnosed in 2020, corresponding to an absolute increase in 2-year OS of 32·2 % points (95 % CI, 19·1–45·2). Stratified analysis revealed improvements for both Philadelphia chromosome positive and negative ALL, across cytogenetic risk groups, and for B- and T-cell ALL, whereas the latter did not reach statistical significance. Improvements were seen across all ages; however, most pronounced for Philadelphia chromosome positive ALL and patients below 60 years of age. These results show a universal and continuous improvement in the treatment of adult ALL. Currently, novel treatment combination and advances in cellular therapy occur rapidly, and we expect even further improvements in the years to come. Northern Region of Denmark • Previous studies have shown continuous improvement in OS for adult ALL up to 2015. • Since 2015, important novel therapies have been approved, justifying a more contemporary analysis. • In this study we found a 32·2 % points increase in 2-year age standardized OS. • Improvements were seen across all age and cytogenetic risk group, including Ph+ ALL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicinal plants have shown promise in the search for new treatments of pulmonary emphysema. Anadenanthera colubrina , a species native to the Caatinga biome in northeastern Brazil, is widely recognized and traditionally employed in the treatment of pulmonary diseases. Many studies corroborate popular knowledge about the medicinal applications of A. colubrina , which has demonstrated a remarkable variety of pharmacological properties, however, its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties are highlighted. The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory potential of the crude hydroethanolic extract of A. colubrina var. cebil (Griseb.) Altschul on pulmonary emphysema in rats as well as to determine its potential genotoxic and cytotoxic effects using the micronucleus assay. The stem bark of the plant was collected in Pimenteiras-PI and sample was extracted by maceration using 70% ethanol. A portion of the extract underwent phytochemical analyses using TLC and HPLC. In this study, 8-week-old, male Wistar rats weighing approximately ±200 g was utilized following approval by local ethics committee for animal experimentation (No. 718/2022). Pulmonary emphysema was induced through orotracheal instillation of elastase, and treatment with A. colubrina extract or dexamethasone (positive control) concomitantly during induction. Twenty-eight days after the initiation of the protocol, plasma was used for cytokine measurement. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was used for leukocyte count. After euthanasia, lung samples were processed for histological analysis and quantification of oxidative stress markers. The micronucleus test was performed by evaluating the number of polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE) with micronuclei (MNPCE) to verify potential genotoxic effects of A. colubrina. A differential count of PCE and normochromatic erythrocytes (NCE) was performed to verify the potential cytotoxicity of the extract. Parametric data were subjected to normality analysis and subsequently to analysis of variance and Tukey or Dunnett post-test, non-parametric data were treated using the Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's post-test for unpaired samples. P value < 0.05 were considered significant. The A. colubrina extract did not show a significant increase in the number of MNPCE (p > 0.05), demonstrating low genotoxicity. No changes were observed in the PCE/NCE ratio of treated animals, compared with the vehicle, suggesting low cytotoxic potential of the extract. A significant reduction (p < 0.05) in neutrophilic inflammation was observed in the lungs of rats treated with the extract, evidenced by presence of these cells in both the tissue and BAL. The extract also demonstrated pulmonary antioxidant activity, with a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in myeloperoxidase, malondialdehyde, and nitrite levels. TNFα, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels, as well as alveolar damage, were significantly reduced in animals treated with A. colubrina extract. Phytochemical analyses identified the presence of phenolic compounds and hydrolysable tannins in the A. colubrina extract. The findings of this study highlights the safety of the hydroethanolic extract of Anadenanthera colubrina , and demonstrates its potential as a therapeutic approach in the treatment of emphysema. The observed properties of this medicinal plant provide an optimistic outlook in the development of therapies for the treatment of pulmonary emphysema. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This population-based study is the first to provide a detailed analysis of trends in incidence and survival of children and adolescents diagnosed with renal malignancies in the Netherlands. Data on all renal malignancies diagnosed in paediatric patients (0–18 years) between 1990 and 2014 [N = 648, 92% Wilms tumour (WT)] were extracted from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Five-year overall survival (OS) was estimated using the actuarial method. Time trends in incidence were assessed by calculating average annual percentage change. A parametric survival model was used to compare the multivariable-adjusted risk of dying from WT between two diagnostic periods. The incidence was 8 per million person-years and was constant over time (average annual percentage change -0.8%, p = 0.29). Patients with WT had a favourable outcome in both time periods; 5-year OS was 88% in 1990–2001 and 91% in 2002–2014. Multivariable analysis showed that the risk of dying from WT was not significantly decreased in the latest period (hazard ratio, 95% CI: 0.7, 0.4–1.3). Five-year OS decreased with increasing disease stage, ranging from 95 to 100% for stage I-II and about 80% for stage III–IV to 74% for bilateral disease. Five-year OS were 81% for renal cell carcinoma, 77% for clear cell sarcoma of the kidney and 20% for malignant rhabdoid tumour of the kidney. Incidence of paediatric renal malignancies in the Netherlands has been stable since the 1990s. Five-year OS of WT reached 91% and was similar to findings for other developed countries. Contrary to the excellent outcome for WT, the outcome of malignant rhabdoid tumour of the kidney remained inferior. • The incidence of paediatric renal tumours in the Netherlands was stable between 1990 and 2014. • 5-year OS of Wilms tumour reached 91% and was similar to rates in other developed countries. • 5-year OS were 81% for renal cell carcinoma, 77% for clear cell sarcoma of the kidney and 20% for malignant rhabdoid tumour of the kidney. • Particular attention should be paid to adverse prognostic subgroups, especially malignant rhabdoid tumour of the kidney. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Parents of children with medical complexity (CMCs) struggle with managing their children's care needs. Health coaching provides patients with tools to take ownership of their care. We sought to assess the impact of health coaching for parents of CMCs on activation, child's health related quality of life (HRQL), and utilization. Methods: Parents of CMCs receiving primary care at two academic primary care practices were randomized to receive 3-6 months of coaching from a trained health coach (n = 54) or usual care (n = 71). Parents were surveyed on activation, HRQL, and experience of care at baseline and the end of the study period. Markers of utilization (missed visit rates, ED, and admissions) were measured for 12 months prior to and after enrollment. Parametric, nonparametric, and Poisson regression were used to assess baseline differences in characteristics and average pre-post differences between the groups. Results: At baseline, activation and rating of patient experience were high in both groups, while HRQL was one standard deviation below the population-based mean. Both groups had slight increases in HRQL and P-PAM without significant differences between groups. ED visits declined significantly more in the intervention group than the usual care group (0.68 visits, (-0.03, -1.32) P = .04); there were nonsignificant differences in changes in other utilization metrics. CONCLUSION: Health coaching was associated with a decrease in ED use but not in changes in activation, patient experience, or HRQL. More inquiry is needed to understand whether health coaching is an effective modality for improving care for children with medical complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss a study by G. D. Tomova and colleagues, published within the issue, which investigated several modeling approaches for different substitutions using simulations with parameters informed by the United Kingdom (UK) National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Topics include a commonly used model when using the leave-one-out method to specify the substitution of meat instead of fish, lessons from the simulation studies by Tomova et al, and evolution of food substitution methods.

• The classification index gray difference similarity of depth image defect is proposed. • An adaptive two-dimensional defect repair algorithm is proposed. • An error compensation algorithm is established in three-dimensional space. • The accuracy of coal and gangue volume measurement is improved by 8.917% at least. To improve the accuracy of volume measurement for irregularly shaped coal gangue, defects in the depth image and various errors in volume measurement are analyzed. The gray difference similarity (Gds) is proposed for pre-classifying defects, and the depth and RGB information are used interactively for adaptive repair. To minimize the impact of abnormal gray distribution and irrelevant information on the repair process, the areas to be repaired are divided into abnormal regions or layers based on gray and distance weights. Taking into account parameters like geometric morphology (GeMo), volume (Ve), and GeMo × Ve, the influence of wrong imaging and gaps is fully considered. The reverse compensation of errors is achieved by applying the principles of mathematical statistics and the nonlinear surface fitting algorithm. The results show that compared with other algorithms, the proposed algorithm has the smallest measurement error of 6.614 % and is not easily affected by external factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracting weak impulses from vibration signals is a tricky technique in fault diagnosis and condition monitoring of the rotating machinery. The autocorrelation function is an effective method for enhancing repetitive signals, however, the effect deteriorates as the point number of autocorrelation calculation decreases. To resolve this problem, a novel algorithm entitled extended autocorrelation function is presented. Besides, an algorithm called local maximum instantaneous extraction transform is proposed to further improve the enhancement effect, combining short-time Fourier transform, gamma transform, and local maximum sampling. Therefore, the presented algorithm is called the local maximum instantaneous extraction transform based on the extended autocorrelation function (LMIET-EACF). Firstly, we discuss the mathematical statistics theory of the autocorrelation function for realizing signal enhancement. It is illustrated that, when the number of data points involved in the calculation decreases, the amplitude variances of the noise components will increase. This is the limitation of the autocorrelation function. Secondly, an extension operation is conducted in the extended autocorrelation function to make the variance constant by keeping the number of calculation points constant. This operation can improve the enhancement effect for the fault impulses. Furtherly, the short-time Fourier transform is employed to suppress the noise. The contrast of the time–frequency distribution is improved by the gamma transform. And the local maximum sampling is employed to extract the fault impulse peaks to improve the time–frequency concentration. These operations constitute the local maximum instantaneous extraction transform. The proposed method is validated by a series of simulated signals and two public experimental signals. And a comparison is done between the LMIET-EACF and other mainstream signal enhancement algorithms. The results indicate that the proposed method performs better than several common time–frequency distributions, by quantitatively evaluating with the Rényi entropy. In addition, it can catch the fault signal in a lower signal-to-noise ratio, compared with some novel post-processing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Experimental method of pedestrian wayfinding based on virtual reality. • Wayfinding model considering both spatial knowledge and visual information. • Analysis based on mathematical statistics analysis and deep learning framework. • Comparing the impact of dimensional differences on pedestrian wayfinding behavior. • Incorporating spatial knowledge at multiple scales. Understanding pedestrian wayfinding behavior is crucial for traffic management and building design. The use of virtual reality technology presents an efficient approach for investigating pedestrian wayfinding behavior in large public spaces, offering numerous advantages for data collection. However, the impact of different scenario dimensions on pedestrian wayfinding behavior in large public spaces remains unclear. Additionally, the selection of virtual experiment scenario dimensions currently relies primarily on researchers' experience and practical conditions, lacking sufficient evidence to support their rational. Another challenge is the limited focus on spatial knowledge's effect on wayfinding behavior, with insufficient analysis of the utility of pedestrian visual information and a lack of precise methods to quantify visual field information accurately. This study addresses these gaps by incorporating spatial knowledge at multiple scales and pedestrian visual field information as influencing factors in the analysis of wayfinding behavior. Furthermore, it distinguishes between three-dimensional and two-dimensional scenarios to compare the impact of dimensional differences on pedestrian wayfinding behavior. By analyzing behavior data from non-immersive wayfinding experiments, this research employs statistical analysis methods and a deep learning framework to derive results regarding the factors influencing wayfinding behavior. The findings demonstrate that considering both spatial and visual field information effectively enhances the predictive ability of the wayfinding model. Additionally, dimensional differences significantly influence the pedestrian wayfinding process. These results offer empirical evidence to guide researchers in selecting experimental scenarios of pedestrian behavior and provide insights for public space layout, signage design, and improving pedestrian efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With epidemiologic analyses of population-based trends in incidence and outcomes, we ascertained progress against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in children and young adolescents in the Netherlands since 1990. Tumour characteristics were extracted from the Netherlands Cancer Registry for patients aged <18 years at diagnosis, between 1990 and 2015. Mortality data for 1980–2016 were derived from Statistics Netherlands. NHL subtypes comprised lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL), Burkitt lymphoma (BL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Time trends in incidence and mortality rates and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were evaluated by average annual percentage change (AAPC) analyses and parametric survival models, respectively. Overall incidence of NHL remained stable at 11 per million person-years (AAPC -0.2%, p = 0.68), with a marked decrease among children of 5–9 years (AAPC -2.6%, p < 0.01), especially among those with BL. Treatment regimens comprised less radiotherapy over time, especially for LBL and BL. Since 2004, most 15–17-year-old patients with NHL have been treated at a paediatric oncology centre. Five-year OS improved from 71% in 1990–94 to 87% in 2010–15 (p < 0.01), the most gain has been achieved in patients with DLBCL and ALCL from 60% and 73%, respectively, to both 90%. Population-based mortality from NHL decreased significantly towards 1.4 per million person-years (AAPC -4.2%, p < 0.01). This population-based epidemiological study exhibited significant progress against childhood and young adolescent NHL in the Netherlands since 1990, before the advent of a national paediatric oncologic centre in 2018: incidence decreased among children of 5–9 years, survival improved, and mortality steadily decreased over time. • Incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma remained stable at 11 per million person-years. • Radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy decreased in favour of chemotherapy only. • Five-year overall survival improved from 71% in early 90's to 87% in 2010–15. • Mortality decreased by 4% per year towards 1.4 per million person-years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to compare the crowdsourcing platform Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) with in-person recruitment and web-based surveys as a method to (1) recruit study participants and (2) obtain low-cost data quickly from chiropractic patients with chronic low back pain in the United States. In this 2-arm quasi-experimental study, we used in-person clinical sampling and web-based surveys from a separate study (RAND sample, n = 1677, data collected October 2016 to January 2017) compared with MTurk (n = 310, data collected November 2016) as a sampling and data collection tool. We gathered patient-reported health outcomes and other characteristics of adults with chronic low back pain receiving chiropractic care. Parametric and nonparametric tests were run. We assessed statistical and practical differences based on P values and effect sizes, respectively. Compared with the RAND sample, the MTurk sample was statistically significantly younger (mean age 35.4 years, SD 9.7 vs 48.9, SD 14.8), made less money (24% vs 17% reported less than $30,000 annual income), and reported worst mental health than the RAND sample. Other differences were that the MTurk sample had more men (37% vs 29%), fewer White patients (87% vs 92%), more Hispanic patients (9% vs 5%), fewer people with a college degree (59% vs 68%), and patients were more likely to be working full time (62% vs 58%). The MTurk sample was more likely to have chronic low back pain (78% vs 66%) that differed in pain frequency and duration. The MTurk sample had less disability and better global health scores. In terms of efficiency, the surveys cost $2.50 per participant in incentives for the MTurk sample. Survey development took 2 weeks and data collection took 1 month. Our results suggest that there may be differences between crowdsourcing and a clinic-based sample. These differences range from small to medium on demographics and self-reported health. The low incentive costs and rapid data collection of MTurk makes it an economically viable method of collecting data from chiropractic patients with low back pain. Further research is needed to explore the utility of MTurk for recruiting clinical samples, such as comparisons to nationally representative samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital image watermarking used to be an important tool for copyright protection. However, as neural network-based watermark removal methods have been proposed in recent years, the embedded watermark is increasingly easy to be erased, which poses a great threat to copyright protection. To address this issue, we propose an adversarial visible watermark scheme, which combines the visible watermark with the adversarial perturbation. By attacking the watermark removal network, we maximize the resistance of visible watermark against removal while minimizing the visual distortion. To further improve the robustness against various transformations (e.g. cropping, JPEG compression), we employ the region of interest and random pre-processing to embed the adversarial visible watermark. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme can effectively resist the removal of watermarks on different datasets and network structures while having good transferability and robustness, which enables the watermark to continue to be an effective copyright protection method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst the robust development of the service economy and information technology, the information age has significantly transformed consumption concepts and service demands. The requirements for logistics services from customers have become increasingly stringent. Beyond price and speed, quality has steadily emerged as the most crucial factor. When evaluating express services, experts primarily choose indicators from an enterprise perspective, mainly overlooking customer perception. The purpose of this paper is to establish a key index system for assessing the quality of express services aimed at improving the service quality of express deliveries within the development mode of intelligent logistics. In terms of methodology, we proposed a quantitative and qualitative e-commerce logistics service evaluation system. Specifically, we developed a key index system for assessing the quality of express services based on the theory of the six senses and the selection from an index library at first. And then, we ascertained the weight of each index in the evaluation by analyzing the proportion of customer comments. We employed analysis methods of machine learning, text data processing, mathematical statistics, and big data technology to determine the evaluation index and evaluation model of express service. Finally, our primary findings from the empirical verification and analysis of a real express enterprise indicate that this evaluation model can effectively assess the quality of express services. Our model can evaluate the current service quality and predict the quality of future services. We have derived some interpretations and conclusions based on these analyses and findings. Firstly, the level of customer perception is of great importance in the evaluation of express service quality. Secondly, our model can provide valuable feedback for express enterprises to improve their services. Lastly, we proposed corresponding improvement strategies to enhance the service quality of express enterprises under the intelligent logistics development mode. • Customer perception, not just enterprise indicators, is critical for comprehensive express service quality evaluation. • A machine learning and big data driven model is developed to evaluate and predict express service quality. • The model is empirically shown to be effective and can aid service quality improvement for intelligent logistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hierarchical bootstrap as alternative to parametric Type I/II error simulations. • Identify inflated Type I & II errors of two most common approaches to RT analyses. • Identify substantial over-optimism of RT analyses in the literature. • Identify issues with past parametric validations of analysis approaches. • Provide recommendations for new standards in RT analyses. We investigate the statistical power and Type I error rate of the two most common approaches to reading time (RT) analyses: assuming normality of residuals and homogeneity of variance in raw or log-transformed RTs. We first show that the assumptions of such analyses—such as t -tests, ANOVAs, and linear mixed-effects models—are neither consistently met by raw RTs, nor by log-transformed RTs (or any other common power transforms, incl. inverse-transformed RTs). Only a non-power transform (log-shift) provides a decent fit for all data sets and data preparation steps we consider. We then compare the statistical power and Type I error rate for linear mixed-effects models over raw or log-transformed RTs. Previous studies on this matter relied on parametrically generated data. We show why this is problematic, and introduce as an alternative a hierarchical bootstrap approach over naturally distributed reading times. This approach yields substantially different—and arguably more informative—results than the parametric simulation approaches we compare it to. Our results suggests that it is time to heed the advice others have provided for reading research: for any but the simplest designs, we find both the rate of spurious significances and the rate of undetected true effects can strongly depend on the scale (e.g., raw or log-RTs) in which effects are assumed to be linear. Researchers should thus clearly motivate the choice of analysis based on theoretical grounds, assess the robustness of findings under different analysis approaches, and discuss potential mismatches between analyses. The R scripts and libraries shared in the accompanying OSF repo allow researchers to assess the reliability of their analyses via hierarchical bootstrap over their own data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kuitun River Basin of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China is the area experiencing the first large-scale endemic arsenic and fluorine poisoning incident in mainland China. However, existing studies mostly focused on the enrichment factors of high-arsenic groundwater in this area. In this study, the distribution characteristics and formation factors of high-fluorine groundwater in the Kuitun River Basin were investigated with the aim of clarifying the migration and enrichment mechanism of high-fluorine groundwater in the study area. The source, distribution, and geochemical characteristics of the fluorine in groundwater in this area were studied in detail by water sample collection, hydrogeological survey, and mathematical statistics. The results show that the F-concentration in groundwater in the Kuitun River Basin varied within the range of 0.48-6.41 mg L-1, with a mean value of 1.13 mg L-1; the distribution level of fluorine in groundwater was low in the south and high in the north; the majority of fluorine originated from the rock minerals in the aquifers of southern mountainous areas and plain areas. The formation of high-fluorine groundwater is related to the hydrochemical environment, where Ca2+ inhibits the enrichment of fluorine, while the weak alkaline environment, HCO3-, and Na+ facilitate the enrichment of F-. Dissolution and sedimentation of fluorine-containing minerals, cation exchange, and evaporation-concentration process are the major factors contributing to the formation of high-fluorine groundwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instability following reverse shoulder arthroplasty is influenced by various factors such as component design, component positioning, and soft tissue tensioning. Patients may achieve glenohumeral motion beyond initial scapular impingement during activities of daily living which could further compound instability. However, instability/subluxation risk postscapular impingement is not well documented. Conventional range of motion analysis tools cannot account for the restraining effect of soft tissues or subluxation risk after impingement. Using a previously validated finite element analysis approach, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of glenoid component lateralization and humeral component angle of inclination (AOI), with or without simulated subscapularis repair, on postimpingement subluxation. We hypothesized that lack of subscapularis repair, a valgus humeral component AOI, and glenoid medialization would all result in greater postimpingement instability. A FE model of the shoulder including the subscapularis tendon and middle deltoid was created, incorporating a general representation of a commercial reverse shoulder arthroplasty implant placed under the direction of a fellowship-trained shoulder surgeon. The deltoid and subscapularis were tensioned and wrapped around the reconstructed glenohumeral joint prior to simulating motion. Humeral rotations were then prescribed to simulate external rotation (neutral to 50°), extension (neutral to 50°), adduction (neutral to 30°), and abduction (neutral to 90°). The effects of three glenosphere lateralization offsets (2, 4, and 10 mm) and 2 humeral liner angles of inclination (varus-150° and valgus-155°) on subluxation propensities were investigated with and without the subscapularis tendon present. Simulated subscapularis repair resulted in 21%-34% less postimpingement subluxation. Presence of the subscapularis provided stability over a greater range of abduction. Impingement-free range of motion was similar regardless of the presence or absence of the subscapularis. The valgus AOI resulted in 23% less subluxation during abduction. During other motions however, the valgus AOI resulted in 67%-110% greater postimpingement subluxation (subscapularis present), which further worsened without the subscapularis. Implant design modifications to improve stability may not be beneficial for all motions, highlighting the importance of directionality when investigating instability. Liner-bone impingement appears to compound instability/subluxation and the subscapularis appears to restrain postimpingement instability. Basic Science Study; Computer Modeling [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of "correct" description of the dynamics of stochastic processes is the subject of numerous studies. The article deals with financial and economic indicators as the objects of research. Understanding the dynamics of financial indicators of the world market is becoming more and more relevant due to the growth of complex financial instruments, as well as due to political and economic events in the world. Observations of recent months indicate that a number of events can significantly affect the dynamics of financial indicators and, therefore, new approaches and methods are needed to quickly assess the impact of such events on financial indicators. The article investigates the possibility of predicting the dollar exchange rate against the ruble based on news reports using NLP and machine learning algorithms [1]. It is shown that the model constructed using text analysis is able to assess the trend of movement of the financial indicator. Fractal and statistical analysis of the selected indicators was performed. Time series clustering was performed using topological analysis methods. Neural network models of the indicator of interest are constructed on the basis of all the conducted studies [2]. The analysis of the obtained solutions is carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Quantitative structure - activity relationships (QSAR) is a random event. • QSAR must be checked up in several distributions into training and validation sets. • Models for skin sensitivity built up using the above principles are represented. • New criteria of the predictive potential of QSAR-models are demonstrated. Some new products, which include common personal-care products, drugs, household items, can be hazardous in aspect personal care products/cosmetics and their ingredients (i.e. the above can effect human skin). International organizations (e.g. the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development-OECD) recommend evaluating individual ingredients when assessing the safety of personal care or cosmetic products. Thus, checking up that "popular at the market" substances are non-toxic, do not penetrate into or through normal or compromised human skin, and therefore, pose no risk to human health is an essential element of modern toxicology. The development of reliable models of toxicological endpoints is a tool to carry out the above checking up via quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSARs). The reliability of the QSAR is the current task of mathematical statistics. Recently, the index of ideality of correlation (IIC) and correlation intensity index (CII) were suggested as criteria of predictive potential (i.e. reliability) of QSAR-models. Here, the abilities of these criteria were studied for the case of building up models for skin sensitivity (LLNA, local lymph node assay). Computational experiments have confirmed that the IIC demonstrates an obvious ability to improve the predictive potential of models of skin sensitization. The applying of the CII for the case of skin sensitization also improves the quality of the model. However, the best models for skin sensitization were observed if the above-mentioned criteria are applied jointly (n = 268; R2 = 0.60; RMSE = 0.63). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a multi-parametric analysis investigating the association between adiposity (as measured using body mass index [BMI] and computed tomography [CT]-based body composition), tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and clinical outcomes in patients with advanced-stage cancer treated with immunotherapy in phase I clinical trials. All consecutive patients (N = 153) with metastatic solid tumours treated within immunotherapy-based phase I clinical trials between August 2014 and May 2019 at our institution were included. Baseline characteristics, BMI, TILs value and CT-assessed fat indices (total fat area [TFA], subcutaneous fat area [SFA] and visceral fat [VFA]) were collected. The primary endpoints were to evaluate the impact of these parameters on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional-hazards model were used for survival analyses. At both univariate and multivariate analyses, BMI was not associated with PFS neither when considered as continuous variable (HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.74–1.09, P = 0.28) nor as dichotomous variable (underweight/normal versus overweight/obese) (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.55–1.14, P = 0.21). Interestingly, patients diagnosed with 'immunogenic' tumours and higher VFA/SFA ratio (1st and 2nd tertile versus 3rd tertile) presented an increased OS (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.78–1.00, P = 0.047). Our analysis showed that patients with tumours that are already known as responsive to ICIs with higher VFA/SFA ratio presented an increased OS. Further studies are needed to elucidate the effect of adiposity on the host immune response to immunotherapy. • No association links adiposity and outcome in patients treated with immunotherapy. • Patients responsive to immunotherapy with a higher VFA/SFA ratio have a better OS. • The results of our analysis need to be confirmed in subsequent prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of classic nonparametric tests (cNPTs), such as the Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests, in the presence of unequal variance for between-group comparisons of means and medians may lead to marked increases in the rate of falsely rejecting null hypotheses and decreases in statistical power. Yet, this practice remains prevalent in the scientific literature, including nutrition and obesity literature. Some nutrition and obesity studies use a cNPT in the presence of unequal variance (i.e. heteroscedasticity), sometimes because of the mistaken rationale that the test corrects for heteroscedasticity. Herein, we discuss misconceptions of using cNPTs in the presence of heteroscedasticity. We then discuss assumptions, purposes, and limitations of 3 common tests used to test for mean differences between multiple groups, including 2 parametric tests: Fisher's ANOVA and Welch's ANOVA; and 1 cNPT: the Kruskal–Wallis test. To document the impact of heteroscedasticity on the validity of these tests under conditions similar to those used in nutrition and obesity research, we conducted simple simulations and assessed type I error rates (i.e. false positives, defined as incorrectly rejecting the null hypothesis). We demonstrate that type I error rates for Fisher's ANOVA, which does not account for heteroscedasticity, and Kruskal–Wallis, which tests for differences in distributions rather than means, deviated from the expected significance level. Greater deviation from the expected type I error rate was observed as the heterogeneity increased, especially in the presence of an imbalanced sample size. We provide brief tutorial guidance for authors, editors, and reviewers to identify appropriate statistical tests when test assumptions are violated, with a particular focus on cNPTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the asymptotic behavior of the conditional least squares estimator of the offspring mean for subcritical strongly stationary Galton–Watson processes with regularly varying immigration with tail index α ∈ (1 , 2). The limit law is the ratio of two dependent stable random variables with indices α ∕ 2 and 2 α ∕ 3 , respectively, and it has a continuously differentiable density function. We use point process technique in the proofs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine cutoff scores for the Biodex Balance System (BBS) and verify if they could be used to discriminate older people with nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) with poor postural performance from those with good postural performance. This cross-sectional study included 52 participants with NSLBP older than 65 years. One level of stability (level 5; intraclass correlation ≥0.70) and 2 conditions (eyes open and eyes closed) were selected for the testing procedure. Anterior-posterior stability index (APSI), medial-lateral stability index (MLSI), and overall stability index (OSI) scores were calculated. The participants were classified into 2 groups: high risk of falling and low risk of falling. Both the receiver operating characteristic and the area under the curve were used to determine the best BBS cutoff values. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the ability of BBS scores to predict risk of falling. BBS cutoff scores in the eyes-open condition (APSI = 2.60, MLSI = 1.95, OSI = 2.95) and eyes-closed condition (APSI = 3.05, MLSI = 2.17, OSI = 3.25) were found to be sensitive and specific in determining postural performance. Participants with index values lower than the cutoff scores had, respectively, 6.42, 4.20, and 3.72 times lower risk of falling in the eyes-open condition and 3.33, 5.50, and 3.00 times lower risk of falling in the eyes-closed condition. The predictive characteristics of the models for risk analysis were excellent and good to excellent. Our study shows that BBS cutoff scores are sensitive and specific in distinguishing between poor and good postural performance in older people with NSLBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the immediate effects of ankle non-elastic taping on balance and gait ability in patients with chronic stroke. Thirty patients (inpatients and outpatients) with stroke were randomly assigned to 2 groups: the non-elastic taping group (n = 15) and the placebo-taping group (n = 15). Patients in the non-elastic taping group received Endura sports taping for their ankle joint, and patients in the placebo-taping group received Endura fix tape for their ankle joint. The Balance System SD assessed balance, and the GAITRite system assessed gait ability. We recorded measurements before and after intervention. The non-elastic taping group showed a significant improvement in static and dynamic standing balance (P ≤.001) after intervention; in addition, this group showed significant increases in the velocity, cadence, step length, and stride length of gait (P ≤.001) after intervention. However, the placebo-taping group showed no significant improvements in standing balance and gait ability after intervention (P >.05). Furthermore, significant differences in static and dynamic standing balance, cadence, and velocity were observed between the 2 groups after intervention (P ≤.001). Our results demonstrate that the application of ankle non-elastic taping is effective at improving balance and gait abilities in patients with stroke. Ankle non-elastic taping appears to be an effective method to facilitate active rehabilitation in patients with hemiplegia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex networks are widely used in the research of social and biological fields. Analyzing real community structure in networks is the key to the study of complex networks. Modularity optimization is one of the most popular techniques in community detection. However, due to its greedy characteristic, it leads to a large number of incorrect partitions and more communities than in reality. Existing methods use the modularity as a Hamiltonian at the finite temperature to solve the above problem. Nevertheless, modularity is not formalized as a statistical model in the method, which makes many statistical inference methods limited and cannot be used. Moreover, the method uses the sum-product version of belief propagation (BP) and its performance is not as good as the max-sum version, since it calculates per-variable marginal probabilities rather than the joint probability. To address these issues, we propose a novel Markov Random Field (MRF) method by formalizing modularity as an energy function based on the rich structures of MRF to represent properties and constraints of this problem, and use the max-sum BP to infer model parameters. In order to analyze our method and compare it with existing methods, we conducted experiments on both real-world and synthetic networks with ground-truth of communities, showing that the new method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral emergencies endanger hospital staff and patients. The objective of this study was to identify patient characteristics that could be used to predict and prevent these incidents. We analyzed a one-year consecutive series of behavioral emergencies that triggered the rapid response team at a general hospital, comparing study patients with controls who did not trigger a rapid response. Standard parametric or nonparametric tests, as appropriate, were used to compare the 2 groups in univariate analyses, and multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the best combination of variables for stratifying the risk of such an event. There were 109 behavioral emergencies involving 83 patients. Comparison of patients who did (n = 83) or did not (n = 22,849) trigger a rapid response revealed marked differences between the two groups with respect to age, sex, and the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities and various conditions that can diminish cognitive function. Substance use disorder was the most frequent principal diagnosis in the study group, accounting for 10.8% (9/83) of study patients vs. 0.6% (132/22849) of controls (p < 0.0001). The presence of a condition that can impair cognition (substance intoxication and withdrawal, epilepsy, cerebrovascular disease, traumatic brain injury, delirium, dementia) was associated with a 13-fold increase in the risk of a behavioral disturbance (95% CI, 8 to 22-fold). Brief cognitive assessment of patients susceptible to cognitive impairment, along with diligent prophylaxis and management of substance withdrawal and delirium, may facilitate prevention of behavioral emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the association of early involvement in cooking activities with cooking skills in adulthood, the importance of different sources for the acquisition, and the link between cooking skills and healthy eating. Cross-sectional survey. A random sample of 3,659 Swiss adults (47% men; average age = 58.8 years). Self-reported cooking skills. ANOVA, Pearson correlations, t tests, and multiple regressions. More frequent involvement in cooking activities during childhood predicted better cooking skills in adulthood in males (β =.13, P <.001) and females (β =.12, P <.001). Females were more involved than males in most age groups (P <.001). Women learned most about cooking from their mothers, cooking courses, and self-study using different media. Men identified their partners/spouses and mothers as the 2 most important sources. The study found associations between cooking skills and diet quality in men (r =.11; P <.001; r2 =.01) and women (r =.12; P <.001; r2 =.01). In children and adolescents, frequent involvement in cooking at home may promote better cooking skills in later life. Additional prospective research into the impact of cooking classes and interventions on developing cooking skills in children and adolescents is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• With active abduction, field hockey players have a larger AHD than controls • AHD measurement may help decide who could benefit from AHD enlarging exercises • Subacromial space enlargement may add to shoulder tenability and injury prevention. Targeting athletes with smaller acromiohumeral distance(s) with specific exercises may contribute to the tenability of the shoulder and add to shoulder injury prevention. Shoulders of elite field hockey players are loaded continuously during play. Frequent high shoulder loading is known to influence certain shoulder variables, such as acromiohumeral distance. However, the influence of elite field hockey play on acromiohumeral distance is not examined yet. To examine the acromiohumeral distance in elite male field hockey players compared to a non-athletic control group. Cross-sectional study. Fifty male participants were included; 25 elite field hockey players (age: 24.0 ± 2.72 years; weight: 77.2 ± 5.29 kg; height; 180.5 ± 5.37 cm) and 25 age- and gender matched non-athletes (23.0 ± 2.29 years; weight: 75.7 ± 9.53 kg; height: 181.8 ± 5.52 cm). A Telemed-Colormaster-128 EXT-IZ device was used to bilaterally obtain ultrasound acromiohumeral distance images at 3 different angles of shoulder abduction in the frontal plane. Field hockey players showed a bilateral larger acromiohumeral distance at 45° (mean difference: 1.46 mm [95% CI 0.46; 2.46]; p = 0.005) and 60° (mean difference: 1.07 mm [95% CI 0.21; 1.93]; p = 0.016) compared to controls. In both groups, a significant but clinically less relevant, side difference was established for the acromiohumeral distance at 60° (mean difference: 0.79 mm [95% CI 0.21; 1.34]; p = 0.009). With active shoulder abduction, elite field hockey players show a larger acromiohumeral distance in comparison to non-athletic participants. This may be a protective sport-specific adaptation, to better guard the shoulder from injury. Thus, acromiohumeral distance measurement may help physical therapists/coaches decide which athletes could benefit from specific, additional exercises aimed at enlarging the subacromial space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have analysed the effect of comorbidity on cancer outcomes, but evidence on the association between multimorbidity and short-term mortality among colorectal cancer patients is limited. We aimed to assess this association and the most frequent patterns of multimorbidity associated with a higher short-term mortality risk among colorectal cancer patients in Spain. Data were obtained from two Spanish population-based cancer registries and electronic health records. We estimated the unadjusted cumulative incidence of death by comorbidity status at 6 months and 1 year. We used a flexible parametric model to derive the excess mortality hazard ratios (HRs) for multimorbidity after adjusting for sex, age at diagnosis, cancer stage and treatment. We estimated the adjusted cumulative incidence of death by comorbidity status and identified multimorbidity patterns. Among the study participants, 1,048 cases were diagnosed with cancers of the colon and rectum, 2 cases with cancer of the anus with overlapping sites of the rectum and 11 cases with anal adenocarcinomas but treated as colorectal cancer patients. Among 1,061 colorectal cancer patients, 171 (16.2%) died before 6 months, 246 (23.3%) died before the 1-year follow-up, and 324 (30.5%) had multimorbidity. Patients with multimorbidity had two times higher mortality risk than those without comorbidities at 6 months (adjusted HR: 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.30–3.20, p = 0.002). The most frequent multimorbidity pattern was congestive heart failure + diabetes. However, patients with rheumatologic disease + diabetes had two times higher 1-year mortality risk than those without comorbidities (HR: 2.23; 95% CI: 1.23–4.07, p = 0.008). Multimorbidity was a strong independent predictor of short-term mortality at 6 months and 1 year among the colorectal cancer patients in Spain. The identified multimorbidity pattern was consistent. Our findings might help identify patients at a higher risk for poor cancer and treatment outcomes. • Multimorbidity was a strong predictor of short-term mortality in colorectal cancer. • Patients with multimorbidity had twice higher mortality risk than those without. • The most frequent multimorbidity pattern was congestive heart failure + diabetes. • Our findings can help identify patients at a higher risk for poor cancer outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to study the parameter estimation problem, using the Bayesian methodology, for the drift coefficient of some linear (parabolic) SPDEs driven by a multiplicative noise of special structure. We take the spectral approach by assuming that one path of the first N Fourier modes of the solution is continuously observed over a finite time interval. First, we show that the model is regular and fits into classical local asymptotic normality framework, and thus the MLE and the Bayesian estimators are weakly consistent, asymptotically normal, efficient, and asymptotically equivalent in the class of loss functions with polynomial growth. Secondly, and mainly, we prove a Bernstein–Von Mises type result, that strengthens the existing results in the literature, and that also allows to investigate the Bayesian type estimators with respect to a larger class of priors and loss functions than that covered by classical asymptotic theory. In particular, we prove strong consistency and asymptotic normality of Bayesian estimators in the class of loss functions of at most exponential growth. Finally, we present some numerical examples that illustrate the obtained theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methane steam reforming (MSR) is studied experimentally and numerically. The intrinsic kinetics of the reaction are determined using a micro fluidized bed with a catalyst containing more than 50 wt % NiO/α-Al 2 O 3. Intrinsic kinetic models are developed for parallel and serial reaction mechanisms, but the parallel mechanism is found to better match the experimental data. The activation energies for CO and CO 2 formation are 81.69 kJ/mol and 59.38 kJ/mol, respectively, and the pre-exponential factors are 316.6 mol/(g h kPa0.85) and 0.00263 mol/(g h kPa3.1), respectively. As the reaction temperature increases, the rate of CO formation increases and that of CO 2 decreases. At 800 °C, almost all the CH 4 is converted to CO and H 2 , and the methane conversion rate (X CH4), the hydrogen production rate (Y H2), and the CO selectivity (S CO) are 92.28%, 3.34, and 0.99, respectively. The effects of the steam-to-carbon ratio (S/C), inlet velocity, and preheating temperature at different reaction temperatures are simulated using the FLUENT software package. As S/C increases, X CH4 and Y H2 increase, but S CO decreases. The higher the reaction temperature, the less S/C promotes X CH4 and Y H2. When the reaction temperature is 700 °C and the inlet velocity is 0.2 m/s (residence time is 0.5 s), X CH4 is above 95%, and changes in the inlet velocity strongly influence the formation of CO. With increasing preheating temperature, X CH4 , Y H2 , and S CO all increase gradually. • Intrinsic kinetics of MSR was studied in a micro fluidized bed. • The model was tested by mathematical statistics. • Parallel reaction mechanism best describes MSR. • CH 4 is almost completely converted into CO and H 2 at 800 °C. • Residence time has a great influence on CO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel lower-limb prostheses aim to improve the quality of locomotion of individuals with an amputation. This study evaluates the biomechanics of a novel bionic foot during walking. Able-bodied individuals (n = 7) and individuals with a transfemoral (n = 6) or transtibial amputation (n = 6) were included. Able-bodied individuals conducted one experimental trial, whereas individuals with transtibial and transfemoral amputations conducted a familiarization (with current prosthesis) and two experimental trials using a passive and bionic prosthesis. Each trial consisted of 3 bouts of 2 min of treadmill walking at different speeds. Biomechanical data were gathered using a force platform and motion capture system and analysed using Statistical Parametric Mapping and (non)-parametric tests. Conventional prosthetic feet alter gait patterns and induce locomotion difficulties. While walking at a normal speed with the passive prosthesis, transtibial amputees display reduced maximum heel forces, increased ankle and trunk angular velocities at midstance, and increased knee angle during stance and swing phases on their effected side (P ≤ 0.026). Improved lower-limb kinematics was demonstrated during slow and normal speed walking with the bionic prosthesis; however, dynamic trunk stability was negatively impacted during this condition. The bionic prosthesis did not benefit transfemoral amputees at any walking speed. Transtibial amputees can better approximate typical movement patterns at slow and normal walking speeds using the novel bionic prosthesis; however the same benefit was not observed in transfemoral amputees. • The novel propulsive bionic foot contains springs and a smart locking mechanism. • Transtibial amputees mimic able-bodied walking when walking with the bionic foot. • Transfemoral amputees do not benefit from walking with the novel prosthesis. • Further development of the bionic foot is crucial to achieve a market-proof product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a new Kalman filter algorithm to provide a formal statistical analysis of space–time data with an autoregressive structure. The Kalman filter technique allows to capture the temporal dependence as well as the spatial correlation structure through state-space equations, and it is aimed to perform statistical inference in terms of both parameter estimation and prediction at unobserved locations. We put in relevance the nugget effect at the observation equation. We test our procedure and compare it with classical kriging prediction via an intensive simulation study. We show that the Kalman filter is superior in both the estimation, without using a plug-in approach, and prediction for spatio-temporal data, providing a suitable formal procedure for the statistical analysis of space–time data. Finally, an application to the prediction of daily air temperature data in some regions of southern Chile is presented. • A space–time autoregressive model is formulated. • Place in relevance the nugget effect at the observation equation does not cause difficulties in the estimation. • The predictions obtained are compared with those of simple kriging. • The use of the proposed model is better than that for the simple kriging, in terms of a prediction gain criterion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalized Rayleigh distribution is an important continuous life distribution, which plays a key role in reliability engineering research. In this paper, the statistical inference of reliability of Generalized Rayleigh distribution is studied based on the progressively type-II censored data. First we obtain the estimates through maximum likelihood estimation. And by using Bootstrap methods (Boot-p and Boot-t), we estimate the confidence intervals of parameters and reliability. In addition, based on the square error loss function, the Bayes estimation of the reliability function is carried out by adopting the Gibbs sampling method, and the point estimation, the highest posterior density (H P D) confidence interval estimation are carried out respectively. A numerical simulation and an authentic example are used to illustrate the proposed inference methods. Finally, the approximate estimation of stress–strength reliability is further studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railway ballast particles exhibit unique variations in shape, and this diversity significantly impacts the mechanical performance of ballast beds. An intuitive approach involves defining corresponding morphological parameters through morphological analysis of particle contours to randomly generate ballast particle contours. This involves deriving the probability distribution of these parameters based on mathematical statistics of ballast particle samples. However, due to the empirical nature and underlying assumptions of these morphological parameters, the accuracy of the generated particle contours is often compromised. To generate highly realistic ballast particle images, we propose a novel model named BallastGAN for random ballast particle contour generation. This model employs fractal dimension regularization and optimizes the loss function of the discriminator within the framework of StyleGAN3. This optimization effectively controls the roughness characteristics of generated ballast particle images. Mutual transformation and style blending between different ballast particle contours are achieved by decoupling the latent space. The ballast particle image dataset (BPID) is curated to train the model. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model's randomly generated ballast particle contours exhibit a remarkably high degree of consistency with real contours. This indicates that the generated contours can be directly applied to numerical simulations in mechanics. • Random generation method of ballast particle image based on deep learning. • Fractal dimension normalization is applied in the image generation model of ballast particles. • Engineering application of generative adversarial networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the estimation problem of misspecified ergodic Lévy driven stochastic differential equation models based on high-frequency samples. We utilize a widely applicable and tractable Gaussian quasi-likelihood approach which focuses on mean and variance structure. It is shown that the Gaussian quasi-likelihood estimators of the drift and scale parameters still satisfy polynomial type probability estimates and asymptotic normality at the same rate as the correctly specified case. In their derivation process, the theory of extended Poisson equation for time-homogeneous Feller Markov processes plays an important role. Our result confirms the reliability of the Gaussian quasi-likelihood approach for SDE models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new CDC algorithm. • 6 indicators to evaluate the results. • 26 experiments had been conducted. A variety of algorithms have recently emerged in the field of cluster analysis. Consequently, based on the distribution nature of the data, an appropriate algorithm can be chosen for the purpose of clustering. It is difficult for a user to decide a priori which algorithm would be the most appropriate for a given dataset. Algorithms based on graphs provide good results for this task. However, these algorithms are vulnerable to outliers with limited information about edges contained in the tree to split a dataset. Thus, in several fields, the need for better clustering algorithms increases and for this reason utilizing robust and dynamic algorithms to improve and simplify the whole process of data clustering has become an urgent need. In this paper, we propose a novel distance-based clustering algorithm called the critical distance clustering algorithm. This algorithm depends on the Euclidean distance between data points and some basic mathematical statistics operations. The algorithm is simple, robust, and flexible; it works with quantitative data that are real-valued, not qualitative, and categorical with different dimensions. In this work, 26 experiments are conducted using different types of real and synthetic datasets taken from different fields. The results prove that the new algorithm outperforms some popular clustering algorithms such as MST-based clustering, K-means, and Dbscan. Moreover, the algorithm can precisely produce more reasonable clusters even when the dataset contains outliers and without specifying any parameters in advance. It also provides a number of indicators to evaluate the established clusters and prove the validity of the clustering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans can use an intuitive sense of statistics to make predictions about uncertain future events, a cognitive skill that underpins logical and mathematical reasoning. Recent research shows that some of these abilities for statistical inferences can emerge in preverbal infants and non-human primates such as apes and capuchins. An important question is therefore whether animals share the full complement of intuitive reasoning abilities demonstrated by humans, as well as what evolutionary contexts promote the emergence of such skills. Here, we examined whether free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) can use probability information to infer the most likely outcome of a random lottery, in the first test of whether primates can make such inferences in the absence of direct prior experience. We developed a novel expectancy-violation looking time task, adapted from prior studies of infants, in order to assess the monkeys' expectations. In Study 1, we confirmed that monkeys (n = 20) looked similarly at different sampled items if they had no prior knowledge about the population they were drawn from. In Study 2, monkeys (n = 80) saw a dynamic 'lottery' machine containing a mix of two types of fruit outcomes, and then saw either the more common fruit (expected trial) or the relatively rare fruit (unexpected trial) fall from the machine. We found that monkeys looked longer when they witnessed the unexpected outcome. In Study 3, we confirmed that this effect depended on the causal relationship between the sample and the population, not visual mismatch: monkeys (n = 80) looked equally at both outcomes if the experimenter pulled the sampled item from her pocket. These results reveal that rhesus monkeys spontaneously use information about probability to reason about likely outcomes, and show how comparative studies of nonhumans can disentangle the evolutionary history of logical reasoning capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial issues have always been the top priority of tribology which directly affect tribological performance of friction materials and output characteristics of Ultrasonic Motors (USMs). Therefore, from the perspective of bionics, a series of surface textures with different parameters were designed to regulate friction interface. The tribological properties of textured friction materials were systematically analyzed. The results found that tribological performance was affected by positive and negative aspects. Consequently, there is an optimal parameter in the case of the best tribological behavior. The optimal parameter was obtained by virtue of orthogonal experimental design and matrix analysis based on mathematical statistics. Additionally, the energy conversion efficiency of USMs with textured friction materials compared to untextured samples increased by 29%. • The surface textures were used to increase the energy conversion efficiency of USMs. • The tribological properties of textured friction materials were systematically analyzed. • The reason for the improvement of the output characteristics of the USMs was revealed. • PTFE composites with surface textured show a high potential for using as tribo-materials for USMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in the integration of deep recurrent neural networks and statistical inferences have paved new avenues for joint modeling of moments of random variables, which is highly useful for signal processing, time series analysis, and financial forecasting. However, introducing explicit knowledge as exogenous variables has received little attention. In this paper, we propose a novel model termed s entiment- a ware v olatility forecast ing (SAVING), which incorporates market sentiment for stock return fluctuation prediction. Our framework provides an ensemble of symbolic and sub-symbolic AI approaches, that is, including grounded knowledge into a connectionist neural network. The model aims at producing a more accurate estimation of temporal variances of asset returns by better capturing the bi-directional interaction between movements of asset price and market sentiment. The interaction is modeled using Variational Bayes via the data generation and inference operations. We benchmark our model with 9 other popular ones in terms of the likelihood of forecasts given the observed sequence. Experimental results suggest that our model not only outperforms pure statistical models, e.g., GARCH and its variants, Gaussian-process volatility model, but also outperforms the state-of-the-art autoregressive deep neural nets architectures, such as the variational recurrent neural network and the neural stochastic volatility model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survey. Rotator cuff syndrome (RCS) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders reported in workers. The functional incapacity related to RCS may vary according to the sociodemographic context and to the medical management. The purpose of this is to analyze the RCS-related functional incapacity assessed by the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaires in workers according to their sociodemographic characteristics and the use of care. A cross-sectional study was carried out on a French sample of workers diagnosed with RCS. The DASH and DASH-work scores were studied according to the sociodemographic factors, musculoskeletal symptoms, and RCS medical management during the preceding 12 months. Two hundred seven workers who suffered from RCS filled out the questionnaire of which 80% were still working. The DASH score was significantly higher in women (24.0 vs 17.4; P <.01; effect size (d) = 0.39), in patients over the age of 50 years (23.6 vs 11.3; P <.005) and in case of another upper limb musculoskeletal disorder (P <.0001; d ≥ 0.4). The DASH and DASH-work scores were significantly higher in case of use of care for RCS (P <.005; d > 0.6). The demographic factors and the RCS medical management influenced the overall incapacity assessed by the DASH questionnaire. Work incapacity was more especially related to the use of care for RCS. The sociodemographic and medical parameters added to other established predictors could help guide clinicians in managing their patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health care aide position embodies one of the most basic paradoxes of long-term care for older adults: those who have the most contact and most intensive interaction with nursing-home residents are also those having the least training, authority, and status within the system. They therefore hold one of the keys to quality care in many settings, especially nursing homes. In the absence of agreement on the position's roles, responsibilities, and authority, it is important to examine how the position is perceived by the key members in the long-term-care framework. The current study examined and compared health care aides' and nurses' perceptions of the position in nursing-home settings in Israel, using a standardized tool developed for this inquiry. The comparison accounted for potential intervening factors that may help better understand the job requirements and boundaries. A comparative survey design. 30 nursing homes (of at least 20 beds) in northern Israel. We used convenience sampling to recruit 369 health care aides and 261 nurses (a total of 630 participants). The main instrument of data collection was specially designed and validated for this study. It was based on a qualitative study that defined basic content units representing tasks importance, knowledge, and personal characteristics for the job. Participants found it difficult to prioritize the job components or to differentiate between core tasks and characteristics and the secondary aspects of their job. General care, profession-specific knowledge, and emotional abilities were endorsed the most by participants. Cleaning, communication, and safety were ranked lower (although rankings were still considerably high). However, previous experience as a health care aide undermined incumbents' perceptions of their own responsibilities and professionalism. Incumbent health care aides rated most factors higher than nurses did, with the exception of the importance of communication. Our results may help decision makers understand the complexity around the health care aide position, manage and develop it more effectively while setting standards (training and certification, performance appraisal, and more) for professionalization processes and better defining the division of nursing work between health care aides and nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Discusses Basic Dempster–Shafer belief structure for modeling uncertainty. • Discusses entailment/inference of one belief structures from another. • Describes general belief structure with underling uncertainty based on measure. • Extends concept of entailment to these general measure based belief structures. • Provides concept of containment between general belief structures. Abstract We discuss the Dempster–Shafer belief structure on finite universes and note its use for modeling variables that have both probabilistic uncertainty as well as imprecision. We note for these structures the probability that the variable lies in a subset cannot be precisely known but only be known to an interval value. We discuss methods for deducing this uncertainty interval. We next discuss the issue of entailment of belief structures, inferring the validity of additional belief model of a variable from an already established belief model of the variable. We next discuss a more general belief structure were the underling uncertainty rather tha0n being based on a probability distribution is based on a general measure type of uncertainty. We then extend the concept of entailment to the case where the belief structures are these more general measure based belief structures. In order to accomplish this we must extend the idea of containment from classic Dempster–Shafer belief structures to measure based belief structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to propose a quantitative evaluation for mandibular opening–closing movement asymmetries and to verify the intraexaminer and interexaminer reliability using photogrammetry in individuals with and without myogenic temporomandibular disorders. Forty-nine female participants between ages 18 and 40 were enrolled in this study. They were assigned to 2 different groups: a temporomandibular disorder group, (n = 25; 28.1 ± 3.6 years) and an asymptomatic group (n = 24; 25.6 ± 5.1 years). Data were collected through photogrammetry using Corel Draw X3 software (Corel Corp, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) for angle measurements. Reliability analysis was done on the total sample, and the photographs were obtained by a singular examiner on 2 occasions (intraexaminer) 1 month apart and from measurement made by another examiner (interexaminer) on different days. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was applied with a significance level of 5%. The photogrammetry had excellent intrarater and inter-rater reliability for the evaluation of opening and closing movements of the jaw (intrarater: opening ICC = 0.99; closing ICC = 0.98; inter-rater: opening ICC = 0.89 and closing ICC = 0.82). Photogrammetry also demonstrated excellent intra- and inter-rater reliability in the evaluation of head posture (intra-rater: head deviation ICC = 0.96; head position ICC = 0.75; inter-rater: head deviation ICC = 0.98; head position ICC = 0.98). Under these experimental conditions, most angular values presented excellent intra- and interexaminer reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Many engineering technologies involve the moving boundary problems for the radial seepage flow with a threshold pressure gradient, such as the well testing in the development of low-permeability reservoirs, heavy oil reservoirs and groundwater resources. However, as a result of the strong nonlinearity, an exact analytical solution of the moving boundary problems for the radial seepage flow with a threshold pressure gradient has not been obtained yet. Here, a dimensionless moving boundary mathematical model for the radial fluid flow in an infinite low-permeability reservoir with a threshold pressure gradient is developed first. The setting of a variable well production rate for an inner boundary condition can make the mathematical model exhibit a full self-similarity property. Second, by introducing some similarity transformations, the nonlinear system of PDEs of the model can be equivalently transformed into a closed pseudo-linear system of ODEs, whose exact analytical solution can be easily obtained. What's more, the existence and the uniqueness of the exact analytical solution to the moving boundary model are also proved strictly through the mathematical analysis. Third, it is also strictly proved that the exact analytical solution can be degenerated to that of the model of the Darcy's radial fluid flow as the threshold pressure gradient approaches to zero. Finally, by a comparison of model analytical solutions, it is demonstrated that the moving boundary conditions must be incorporated in the modeling of the radial seepage flow with a threshold pressure gradient; otherwise, the effect of the threshold pressure gradient on the radial seepage flow can be overestimated largely. Highlights • A moving boundary model of radial flow with threshold pressure gradient is built. • Moving boundary must be incorporated in modeling this threshold problem. • Exact analytical solution of the model is obtained by similarity transformations. • Existence and uniqueness of the exact analytical solution are proved strictly. • It can be used for verifying the validity of two-dimensional flow simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract While there have been multiple recent reports in the literature of exceptional combinations of yield strength and ductility in high entropy alloys, there have been no reports discussing the extraordinary tunability of the mechanical properties in the same alloy in these systems. This paper shows that the tensile yield-strength of a single Al 0.3 CoCrFeNi high entropy alloy (or complex-concentrated alloy), can be enhanced from 160 MPa to over 1800 MPa (1.8 GPa), a 1025% increase, via microstructural engineering enabled by thermo-mechanical processing of the bulk alloy. Such strength variations for the same composition are unprecedented in any other class of alloys. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]