Admissible Strategies Research Articles

Admission Strategy for International New Students at the University of Mataram

Recruiting international students is highly beneficial yet challenging for universities in Indonesia. This study raised research focusing on strategies applied by Indonesian Universities to attract international students' willingness to enroll. It also figured out the challenges and solutions encountered by the students in their initial studies. This study adopted Vincent Tinto's theory about the factors affecting students' academic accomplishments and learning failures. Qualitative design, case study approach, and open-ended questionnaires were implemented. This study invited three staff members of the International Affairs and International Center as the participants. Thematic analysis was adopted utilizing Atlas. Ti software to analyze the data from the respondents following Kawulich's (2004) framework, encompassing Narrative, Coding, Interpretation, Confirmation, and Presentation. The result demonstrated some strategies implemented by Mataram University for international students, such as providing proper facilities, including library and study spaces, access to technology, and a health center. The university also utilizes international alumni to endorse the university in their home country. Alongside the hurdles, the university provides students with a welcoming ceremony that includes a language course, academic orientation, and cultural adaptation programs upon their arrival

Comparing the effectiveness of universal admission testing and risk-based testing at emergency admission for preventing nosocomial COVID-19: a multicenter retrospective cohort study in Japan.

To compare the effectiveness of universal admission testing (UAT) and risk-based testing (RBT) in preventing nosocomial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after the implementation of strict infection control measures. Retrospective multicenter cohort study. Five community hospitals in Japan. 14,028 adult patients admitted emergently from June 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023. We calculated crude incidence density rates of community-acquired COVID-19 (positive test ≤4days postadmission), hospital-acquired COVID-19 (positive test ≥8days postadmission), total postadmission COVID-19 (all cases of positive test postadmission), and primary cases (sporadic and index cases). A generalized estimating equation model was used to adjust for local incidence (new COVID-19 patients per 100,000 population), single-bed room proportion, and admission proportion of patients older than 65years. The weekly local incidence in the study areas was less than 1,800 per 100,000 population (1.8%). Two hospitals implemented RBT and 3 implemented UAT. The median admission testing rate was higher in the UAT group than in the RBT group (95% vs 55%; difference 45.2%, 95% CI, 40.3%-48.8%). Crude and adjusted analyses revealed no significant associations between incidence density rates (IRR; >1 indicates higher incidence with UAT) and admission strategies for any of the outcomes: community-acquired cases (adjusted IRR = 1.23; 95% CI,0.46-3.31), hospital-acquired cases (1.46; 0.80-2.66), total postadmission COVID-19 (1.22; 0.79-1.87), and primary cases (0.81; 0.59-1.12). Compared with risk-based testing, universal admission testing may have limited additional benefits in preventing nosocomial COVID-19 transmission during a period of low-moderate local incidence.

Some Results on Pursuit Games for an Infinite System of Ternary Differential Equations

This paper aims to study a one-pursuer, one evader pursuit differential game for a higher level of infinite system that is an infinite system of first order ternary differential equations, and prove completion of pursuit in the game. Both integral constraints and geometric constraints are subjected on the players' control functions, thus two separate cases of pursuit games are examined. In the game, the pursuer wants to take the state of the system into the origin of l2 space at some finite time interval, whereas evader avoids this from happening. For every case, we solve the control problem by establishing the admissible control function. In order to achieve the pursuer's objective, we then construct an admissible strategy for the pursuer and develop an equation for the guaranteed pursuit time of the game.

Fully‐Optimized Quantum Metrology: Framework, Tools, and Applications

AbstractThis tutorial introduces a systematic approach for addressing the key question of quantum metrology: For a generic task of sensing an unknown parameter, what is the ultimate precision given a constrained set of admissible strategies. The approach outputs the maximal attainable precision (in terms of the maximum of quantum Fisher information) as a semidefinite program and optimal strategies as feasible solutions thereof. Remarkably, the approach can identify the optimal precision for different sets of strategies, including parallel, sequential, quantum SWITCH‐enhanced, causally superposed, and generic indefinite‐causal‐order strategies. The tutorial consists of a pedagogic introduction to the background and mathematical tools of optimal quantum metrology, a detailed derivation of the main approach, and various concrete examples. As shown in the tutorial, applications of the approach include, but are not limited to, strict hierarchy of strategies in noisy quantum metrology, memory effect in non‐Markovian metrology, and designing optimal strategies. Compared with traditional approaches, the approach here yields the exact value of the optimal precision, offering more accurate criteria for experiments and practical applications. It also allows for the comparison between conventional strategies and the recently discovered causally‐indefinite strategies, serving as a powerful tool for exploring this new area of quantum metrology.

Identifying factors influencing program selection in health sciences by underrepresented minority students—a scoping review

There is a critical need to diversify health professionals to better serve the growing minority population in North America. Unfortunately, minority groups remain underrepresented in health professions. Despite recruitment efforts by government and academic institutions, fewer underrepresented minority (URM) students choose careers in healthcare. Identifying the key factors influencing URM students’ decisions to pursue health sciences programs could enhance diversity in these programs through targeted admissions strategies, ultimately leading to a more diverse future healthcare workforce. This scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. Five electronic databases and gray literature were searched to identify North American papers published between 1942 and 2022. Identified studies focused on URM students’ perceptions of facilitators and barriers to matriculate into a health science degree. Twenty-one articles were analyzed. Following content analysis, the facilitators and barriers identified comprised personal, socio-cultural, institutional, and financial. The most frequent facilitators reported were scholarships, family support, and the presence of role models. Common barriers included high tuition fees, pre-admission criteria, lack of awareness about the health profession, availability of financial aid, and the admission process. The findings of this review will facilitate the development and implementation of customized, comprehensive strategies to recruit more URM students to health science programs in the future, thereby improving efforts toward creating a diverse healthcare workforce.

Mean-variance Dynamic Portfolio Allocation with Transaction Costs: A Wiener Chaos Expansion Approach

This paper studies the multi-period mean-variance portfolio allocation problem with transaction costs. Many methods have been proposed these last years to challenge the famous uni-period Markowitz strategy. However, these methods cannot integrate transaction costs or become computationally heavy and hardly applicable. In this paper, we try to tackle this allocation problem by proposing an innovative approach that relies on representing the set of admissible portfolios by a finite-dimensional Wiener chaos expansion. This method can find an optimal strategy for the allocation problem subject to transaction costs. To complete the study, the link between optimal portfolios submitted to transaction costs and the underlying risk aversion is investigated. Then a competitive and compliant benchmark based on the sequential uni-period Markowitz strategy is built to highlight the efficiency of our approach.

Optimal strategies for the decumulation of retirement savings under differing appetites for liquidity and investment risks

AbstractA retiree’s appetite for risk is a common input into the lifetime utility models that are traditionally used to find optimal strategies for the decumulation of retirement savings. In this work, we consider a retiree with potentially differing appetites for the key financial risks of decumulation: liquidity risk and investment risk. We set out to determine whether these differing risk appetites have a significant impact on the retiree’s optimal choice of decumulation strategy. To do so, we design and implement a framework which selects the optimal decumulation strategy from a general set of admissible strategies in line with a retiree’s goals, and under differing appetites for the key risks of decumulation. Overall, we find significant evidence to suggest that a retiree’s differing appetites for different decumulation risks will impact their optimal choice of strategy at retirement. Through an illustrative example calibrated to the Australian context, we find results which are consistent with actual behaviours in this jurisdiction (in particular, a shallow market for annuities), which lends support to our framework and may provide some new insight into the so-called annuity puzzle.

An online model-free adaptive learning control solution for robotic arms

This paper focuses on the online control of a class of nonlinear dynamical systems, specifically robotic manipulators. Solutions utilizing Proportional–Integral–Derivative (PID) control schemes are employed to control the joints of robotic manipulators. However, the existing control strategies utilize fixed gains, which do not fully account for the inherent nonlinearity of the dynamical structure or the dynamics of reference-tracking error. Additionally, the individual joint’s dynamic performance is optimized independently from the performance of other joints. This work introduces an adaptive integral Reinforcement Learning algorithm to control a four-DoF robotic arm in real time. This is done using a model-free Value Iteration process implemented in a continuous-time mode. The solution does not assume any knowledge of the dynamics of the robot arm and does not require any initial admissible control strategy to proceed with the adaptive learning solution. The self-learning algorithm provides adaptable strategies to control the turntable, forearm, bicep, and wrist joints of the robotic arm. The performance of the adaptive learning solution is compared with those of Proportional–Integral–Derivative and high-order model-free adaptive control schemes to highlight its effectiveness.

Choosing American Colleges from Afar

Chinese students studying abroad have been increasing rapidly in the past decades and become a significant financial contribution to receiving countries. Accordingly, understanding their enrollment choice is essential to facilitate college marketing and admission strategies. Though the decision process is believed to be different from domestic students, empirical analysis on Chinese students’ enrollment choice is still lacking. This paper fills the void by examining the influential factors of Chinese students’ enrollment choice with novel student-level data. We find that in addition to factors domestic students typically consider, Chinese students particularly emphasize college ranking, reputation, and location in their decision process. Furthermore, unlike domestic students usually preferring colleges with proximity to home, Chinese students’ location preference is linked to job prosperity. We also find that the impact of the factors varies for students from different regions of China, which can be attributable to uneven economic development within the country.

Characteristics and outcomes of cancer patients admitted to intensive care units in cancer specialized hospitals in China

PurposeStandard intensive care unit (ICU) admission policies and treatment strategies for patients with cancer are still lacking. To depict the current status of admission, characteristics, and outcomes of patients with cancer in the ICU.MethodsA multicenter cross-sectional study was performed from May 10, 2021 to July 10, 2021, in the ICU departments of 37 cancer-specialized hospitals in China. Clinical records of all admitted patients aged ≥ 14 years and ICU duration > 24 h with complete data were included. Demographic information, clinical history, severity score at admission, ICU critical condition diagnosis and treatment, ICU and in-hospital outcomes and 90 days survival were also collected. A total of 1455 patients were admitted and stayed for longer than 24 h. The most common primary cancer diagnoses included lung, colorectal, esophageal, and gastric cancer.ResultsPatients with lung cancer were admitted more often because of worsening complications that occurred in the clinical ward. However, other cancer patients may be more likely to be admitted to the ICU because of postoperative care. ICU-admitted patients with lung or esophageal cancer tended to have more ICU complications. Patients with lung cancer had a poor overall survival prognosis, whereas patients with colorectal cancer appeared to benefit the most according to 90 days mortality rates.ConclusionPatients with lung cancer require more ICU care due to critical complications and the overall survival prognosis is poor. Colorectal cancer may benefit more from ICU management. This information may be considered in ICU admission and treatment strategies.

Model‐free learning‐based distributed cooperative tracking control of human‐in‐the‐loop multi‐agent systems

AbstractThis article studies the model‐free learning‐based distributed cooperative tracking control of human‐in‐the‐loop multi‐agent systems in the presence of an active leader. The core role of human‐in‐the‐loop is to use the ground station to send control commands to the non‐zero control input of the leader, and then directly or indirectly control a group of agents to complete complex tasks. Meanwhile, three essential demands including the completely unknown system model, the control objective obtained optimally, as well as no initial admissible control strategy requirement, are satisfied simultaneously. It is worth emphasizing that the relevant results only satisfy one or two demands at most, which are essentially not applicable to this problem. In this article, a model‐based human‐in‐the‐loop learning algorithm is first presented to achieve the optimal tracking control, as well as the convergence of the proposed learning algorithm is proved. Then, a bias‐based data‐driven learning algorithm is proposed, which provides the potential opportunities to overcome the difficulties caused by the above‐mentioned three demands. Finally, the validity of theoretical results is testified by a numerical example.

The Demographic Factor in Shaping State Policy for Higher Education of Ukraine

The article examines key indicators of the demographic crisis in Ukraine, highlighting manifestations of the nation’s aging and natural population decline.It’s determined that understanding and analyzing the demographic situation allows for predicting changes in the size and structure of the student population, which is crucial for the effective development of higher education in Ukraine. Considering the trends of declining birth rates and an aging population, it is important to adapt admission strategies for students and educational programs accordingly. The examination of the demographic crisis helps identify key challenges, such as a decrease in the number of high school graduates, which can impact competition within the higher education environment.The trends examined in the article, including the decline in the birth rate of the Ukrainian population, the aging of the nation, the level of migration, and the loss of the civilian population due to the war, enable us to characterize the situation in Ukraine as depopulation. Notable changes in the demographic landscape and shifts in the population structure occurred after February 24, 2022, including irreversible human losses, population emigration (over 10 million people), and a decline in the average birth rate. A correlation was identified between the number of births each year and the dynamics of educational services’ capacity. It was observed that higher education in Ukraine will confront significant demographic challenges in the next 17 years. In the context of the strategic goal to restore Ukraine’s human capital, the article suggests viewing higher education as an effective instrument of state policy in a cyclical process: attaining higher education, integrating graduates into the national economy, ensuring financial stability, fostering active citizenship, and promoting loyalty to the state—all contributing to an improvement in the demographic situation.

The Jerusalem tribune collapse incident: Challenges in the management of a pediatric mass casualty incident.

Children comprise up to 30-50 percent of all disaster victims. Pediatric disaster medicine is a poorly established field, and most protocols are designed without adequate emphasis on the special needs of the pediatric population. During the 2021 Shavuot holiday in Israel, the collapse of temporary steel bleachers in a partially constructed synagogue resulted in a mass casualty incident (MCI) with a majority of pediatric casualties. This study analyzed the differences in post-incident casualty management, treatment, and outcomes in three Jerusalem medical centers. Multicenter retrospective data were collected from two tertiary level 1 trauma centers and one secondary hospital in Jerusalem. The data included demographics, triage scores, injury mechanisms, medical workups, and the management of the pediatric patients. A total of 171 children and adolescents aged 9-18 years presented to three centers. In two institutions, the triage was performed by a senior emergency medicine physician, and in the third institution, by a senior trauma physician. Different protocols were applied, resulting in significant differences in triage, identification and documentation, admission strategies, adherence, and analgesic treatment. Most patients presented with orthopedic injuries (115/171, 67 percent). A small number had head, chest, abdominal, and multisystem injuries (11, 5, 2, and 2 percent, respectively). Pediatric MCI management presents specific challenges. The lack of consistency in triage, registry, and management highlights the need for robust pediatric MCI training programs.

Assessing the predictive validity of pre-admission criteria on dental students’ academic performance: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundThis study examines the multifaceted factors influencing academic performance among dental students in Saudi Arabia, exploring the complex relationships between demographic, educational, and psychological variables and students' Grade Point Averages (GPAs) to enhance global dental education admission strategies.MethodsData on demographics, academic performance indicators (including GPA, high school grades, test scores), accommodation type, parental education, suspension history, and English proficiency were collected through an English-language electronic questionnaire from 900 dental students across multiple institutions in Riyadh. The study employed Pearson’s correlation analysis to examine relationships between GPA and various academic and demographic factors. A detailed regression analysis, using a stepwise selection based on Akaike’s information criteria (AIC), identified significant GPA predictors and evaluated the average marginal effects of pre-admission variables on GPA, alongside rigorous diagnostic checks to validate the model’s robustness.ResultsThe study revealed a complex interplay of factors impacting GPA among dental students. High school grades, achievement, and aptitude test scores showed moderate positive correlations with GPA, while negative correlations were observed with age and number of times suspended. Regression analysis highlighted age, marital status, high school grades, and test scores as key predictors, with complex interaction effects demonstrating the layered influences of these factors. For instance, the negative impact of age on GPA was moderated by high school grade and aptitude test score. The analysis also highlighted the significant marginal effects of various pre-admission variables on GPA, such as the negative average impact of age and the positive impact of high school grades.ConclusionsThis study provides valuable insights into the multifaceted determinants of academic success in dental education. Our findings underscore the significant roles of high school grades, achievement, and aptitude test scores, as well as the nuanced influence of age and marital status on GPA. These results advocate for a holistic approach in evaluating candidates for dental programs and have broader implications for global dental education, emphasizing the need for comprehensive admission strategies.

New stability results for discrete-time switched systems under admissible edge-dependent average persistent dwell-time or admissible edge-dependent persistent dwell-time switching

This paper is devoted to the stability analysis of a class of discrete-time switched systems under newly designed switching regularities. The utilized switching is extended from the primitive mode-dependent persistent dwell-time switching. By integrating the existing admissible edge-dependent average dwell-time switching into the mode-dependent persistent dwell-time regime, a novel admissible edge-dependent average persistent dwell-time strategy involving the notion of admissible transition edges is proposed. The integrated admissible edge-dependent average dwell-time switching has been confirmed to be superior to mode-dependent average dwell-time switching. This superiority makes the proposed switching more general than the relaxed mode-dependent persistent dwell-time switching in the literature. Even if the embedded admissible edge-dependent average dwell-time restrictions degrade to admissible edge-dependent dwell-time ones under special parameter settings, the resulting admissible edge-dependent persistent dwell-time switching retains the advantage of admissible transition edges to generalize the original mode-dependent persistent dwell-time switching. Meanwhile, to remove the switching information reliance in the existing multiple convex Lyapunov functions, an improved multiple convex Lyapunov function method is devised. The designed Lyapunov function can be used to implement broader feasible ranges and tighter lower bounds of admissible edge-dependent average persistent dwell-time (or admissible edge-dependent persistent dwell-time). Finally, the validity and efficiency of the presented approaches are illustrated by a three-phase inverter and a numerical example.

Cost Analysis of Outpatient Colectomy in a Tertiary Center: A Projected Medico-Economic Evaluation

Aim of the study: Short stay processes are incentives to unburden chronically stressed healthcare systems. The aim of this study is to analyze financial implications of day admission (DAS) and outpatient strategies for colon resections in a prospective payment system (PPS) using Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) coding. Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing left and right colonic resections between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2020 were included. Medico-economic evaluations of the virtual outpatient and day admission surgery groups based on predefined criteria were compared to the identical group of patients who underwent surgery in the actual traditional inpatient setting. In a second step, postoperative complications of the virtual outpatient group were assessed. Cost-revenue analysis was performed using a micro-costing approach including direct medical costs. Results: Overall (N = 257), 97 (37.7%) colectomies would have been potentially eligible for an outpatient strategy. The global costs of the actual inpatient strategy totaled USD 3 634 392 with a global revenue of USD 3 571 069, corresponding to a cost coverage rate of 98%. The result of the virtual DAS strategy would have been a net loss of USD 15 800 (coverage rate of 99%) due to 4 low length of stay outliers triggering a reimbursement reduction and preventing a positive net result of USD 16 208. The pilot reference outpatient case’s revenue and cost amounted to respectively USD 7479 and USD 6911 (cost coverage of 108%). Conclusion: From both any given hospital and healthcare system point of view, elective outpatient colectomy for selected patients is the most cost-saving option. However, in a prospective payment system implemented to avoid bad incentives, the latter can unintentionally disadvantage best performing hospitals and impede widespread adoption of high-value strategies.

Innovative Applications of the Core Ideas of Professional Knowledge in Financial Engineering for Developing Postgraduate Admission Strategies

Innovative Applications of the Core Ideas of Professional Knowledge in Financial Engineering for Developing Postgraduate Admission Strategies

Bubble CPAP as first ventilatory choice in extremely premature infants: Relation to outcomes and bronchopulmonary dysplasia

PurposePropose an admission strategy of very PTNB, for quality improvement and prevent adverse events, and risk of developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia-BPD, vascular, and neurological outcomes. Methodsobservational prospective cohort study, from 2020 to 2021. All preterms younger than 32 weeks of gestational age were admitted to bCPAP, recorded failure and main outcomes. Results26 very PTNB (30 weeks+2 days), 6 presented bCPAP failure and intubated. Outcomes: 1 nasal bleeding, 2 septal hyperemia, 1 septal lesion and 1 pneumomediastinum, 5 peri-intraventricular hemorrhages, negative retinopathy of prematurity in those who underwent the examination, 1 death and 2 had a diagnosis of BPD. A positive association was identified with the need for FIO2 greater than 21% and BPD. Conclusionsvery PTNB can be safely admitted to bCPAP with the implementation of the proposed protocol, provided that the multidisciplinary team is prepared with periodic training. Attention should be given to the proper positioning of the interface and the baby in the bed, in addition to constant monitoring of ventilatory parameters and air temperature. Supplemental oxygen is associated with an increased risk of developing BPD.

EXISTENCE OF MAXIMUM OF TIME AVERAGED HARVESTING IN THE KPP-MODEL ON SPHERE WITH PERMANENT AND IMPULSE COLLECTION

On a two-dimensional sphere, a distributed renewable resource is considered, the dynamics of which is described by a model of the Kolmogorov–Petrovsky–Piskunov–Fisher type, and the exploitation of this resource, carried out by constant or periodic impulse harvesting. It is shown that after choosing an admissible exploitation strategy, the dynamics of the resource tend to the limiting dynamics corresponding to this strategy, and that there is an admissible harvesting strategy that maximizes the time averaged harvesting of the resource.

Assessing the Efficacy of Test-Optional Policies in Enhancing Socio-Demographic Diversity in Higher Education Institutions

This study offers a comprehensive analysis of the interplay between standardized testing and the burgeoning holistic admissions approach within higher education admissions. We systematically examine the inherent biases present in standardized tests—spanning economic, racial, linguistic, and cultural sectors—and their potential implications for widening socio-demographic disparities. Utilizing the University of California system as a case study, the paper contrasts this with the holistic admissions approach which endeavors to encapsulate a multifaceted perspective of prospective students by factoring in both academic milestones and personal narratives. While this approach emerges as a promising alternative, we also discuss its innate challenges, especially concerning ensuring objectivity and uniformity. By evaluating these methodologies within the contemporary admissions ecosystem, the study emphasizes the urgency for transformative admissions strategies that champion both diversity and equity. In the realm of higher education admissions, the efficacy and equity of standardized testing have long been subjects of contention. Initially designed to provide a uniform measure of student achievement, these tests are now under scrutiny for potentially perpetuating socio-demographic disparities. As institutions grapple with the implications of such biases, there’s a growing inclination towards more holistic admissions approaches that aim to capture the multifaceted nature of a student’s potential. This paper delves into the inherent challenges and biases of standardized tests, examines the nuances of the holistic admissions approach, and explores the interplay between the two in the modern admissions landscape.