Continuous Dimensions Research Articles

The maxcut of the sunrise with different masses in the continuous Minkoskean dimensional regularisation

We evaluate the maxcut of the two loops sunrise amplitude with three different masses by direct use of the loop momenta in the Minkoskean (as opposed to the usual Euclidean) continuous dimension regularisation, obtaining in that way six related but different functions expressed in the form of one dimensional finite integrals. We then consider the 4th order homogeneous equation valid for the maxcut, and show that for arbitrary dimension d the six functions do satisfy the equation separately. We further discuss the d=2,3,4 cases, verifying that only four of them are linearly independent. The equal mass limit is also shortly considered.

Improving personal continuity in general practice: a focus group study.

Personal continuity is an important dimension of continuity of care in general practice and is associated with many benefits including a higher quality of GP care and lower mortality rate. Over time, changes in society and health care have challenged the provision of personal continuity. Older patients in particular experience more negative consequences from receiving discontinuous care. To explore the perspectives of GPs, older patients, practice nurses, and assistants on improving personal continuity in general practice, and to identify barriers and facilitators that affect this improvement process. A qualitative study using focus groups was conducted from May to August 2019. We organised four focus groups: two with GPs (n = 17), one with patients (n = 7), and one with practice assistants (n = 4) and practice nurses (n = 2). Focus groups were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Personal continuity was viewed as being provided by the entire general practice team and not just by the patient's own GP. It was suggested that investing in team communication and stability (for example, by efficient use of the electronic health records) and retaining the availability and accessibility of the patient's own GP for patient care, especially for frail older persons, (for example, by delegating tasks) could improve personal continuity. Barriers and facilitators were perceived at the individual (for example, GPs' involvement in tasks), organisation (for example, staff shortages), and societal level (for example, payment system). As general practice moves towards a more team-based approach to ensure personal continuity, efforts to improve personal continuity should focus on supporting team-based provision of continuous care.

Live Dimension Detection During Machining of Workpiece using Smart Detection Set up on General-Purpose Lathe

In a manufacturing setting, the profile dimensions of the workpiece are key quality factors. Various automatic inspection approaches currently assess dimensions based on characteristics and variables, tool paths as OK or Not OK in CNC, and online inspection methods for other machines after manufacturing. However, continuous on-machine profile dimensions and simultaneous manufacturing were left to focus. An intelligent recognition system based on a laser lines sensor using a smart profile dimension detection algorithm (SPDA) communicates real-time measurement information to the operator. It plots the current status of the Workpiece, mapping linear distance by accurate laser reflection of the exact mid-surface line of the workpiece as profile data of a symmetric shaft. It compares the length-diameter obtained from longitudinal and lateral sensors with the master data provided. The algorithm implements Python libraries for displaying panels and organizing workpieces. The standard image changes color from red to green as it is relevant to the status. The predetermined order of manufacturing parts and gradient descent optimization feature sets benchmarks to display the status of the workpiece. The real-time live measurement is facilitated with an error of less than 10%, i.e., 0.1 mm, saving manufacturing time by 30%. It also eliminates the inspection stage, and no reduced job rejection is found.

The level of organizational loyalty in its emotional, continuity and ethical dimensions among employees government organizations and ways to strengthen it - A field study applied to some governmental institutions in Cairo Governorate

The level of organizational loyalty in its emotional, continuity and ethical dimensions among employees government organizations and ways to strengthen it - A field study applied to some governmental institutions in Cairo Governorate

A Preliminary Data Visualization Approach to Vestibulocochlear Diseases Based on Multiple Scalar Dimensions.

For vestibulocochlear diseases, traditional clinical history-taking, and the terminology of widely taught nosologic taxonomy, have misleading implications that can lead to errors in diagnosis and therefore in treatment. In the interest of facilitating differential diagnosis while simultaneously recognizing that many of these diseases may not be as discrete as textbooks suggest, we propose a data visualization approach focusing on several continuous scalar dimensions in the domains of anatomy, physiology, and chronology. We illustrate the application of this approach to several categories of clinical presentation.

Measurement properties of the Spanish COPM in older adult rehabilitation inpatients

Aims To analyse the measurement properties of the Spanish version of the COPM (Canadian Occupational Performance Measure) in older adult rehabilitation inpatients. Method A sample of 172 users from 17 inpatient care facilities for older adults (47% nursing homes) participated in a quantitative prospective study. We examined validity by correlating the COPM with the Barthel Index (BI), the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale (IADL), the EuroQol-five domains-three level questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L), and the Client-Centred Rehabilitation Questionnaire (CCRQ) and by examining associations with demographic variables. Reliability was evaluated through test-retest and responsiveness through differences in change scores in two types of care facilities. Results Participants prioritised 637 occupational performance problems, mainly in the area of self-care (70.5%). The COPM scale scores were significantly correlated with BI, IADL, EQ-5D-3L (except the pain dimension), and CCRQ (except the family involvement and continuity dimensions). COPM scores did not show statistically significant differences concerning educational level. Regarding reliability, high test-retest correlations were obtained (>.80). Nursing home users showed less responsiveness to rehabilitation than other users (change score < 2 vs. > 2 points). Conclusion and significance The Spanish COPM provides satisfactory measurement properties as a client-centred instrument in older adult rehabilitation inpatient.

Contextual emotion detection in images using deep learning.

Computerized sentiment detection, based on artificial intelligence and computer vision, has become essential in recent years. Thanks to developments in deep neural networks, this technology can now account for environmental, social, and cultural factors, as well as facial expressions. We aim to create more empathetic systems for various purposes, from medicine to interpreting emotional interactions on social media. To develop this technology, we combined authentic images from various databases, including EMOTIC (ADE20K, MSCOCO), EMODB_SMALL, and FRAMESDB, to train our models. We developed two sophisticated algorithms based on deep learning techniques, DCNN and VGG19. By optimizing the hyperparameters of our models, we analyze context and body language to improve our understanding of human emotions in images. We merge the 26 discrete emotional categories with the three continuous emotional dimensions to identify emotions in context. The proposed pipeline is completed by fusing our models. We adjusted the parameters to outperform previous methods in capturing various emotions in different contexts. Our study showed that the Sentiment_recognition_model and VGG19_contexte increased mAP by 42.81% and 44.12%, respectively, surpassing the results of previous studies. This groundbreaking research could significantly improve contextual emotion recognition in images. The implications of these promising results are far-reaching, extending to diverse fields such as social robotics, affective computing, human-machine interaction, and human-robot communication.

The multifaceted perspectives of future business continuity- aftermath of COVID 19

"The Multifaceted Perspectives of Future Business Continuity- aftermath of COVID-19" explores the diverse and complex dimensions of business continuity in the post-pandemic era. This study examines the various challenges and opportunities faced by organizations as they navigate the aftermath of COVID-19 and adapt to the new normal. It examines the multifaceted perspectives that encompass economic, technological, social, environmental, and organizational aspects, shedding light on the potential strategies and innovative solutions that can enhance resilience and ensure sustainable business continuity. The findings highlight the critical importance of agility, digital transformation, stakeholder collaboration, risk management, and adaptive leadership in shaping the future of business continuity. The study uses mixed methodology to capture the expert opinion and the stakeholder’s views on this topic.

Common principles for odour coding across vertebrates and invertebrates.

The olfactory system is an ideal and tractable system for exploring how the brain transforms sensory inputs into behaviour. The basic tasks of any olfactory system include odour detection, discrimination and categorization. The challenge for the olfactory system is to transform the high-dimensional space of olfactory stimuli into the much smaller space of perceived objects and valence that endows odours with meaning. Our current understanding of how neural circuits address this challenge has come primarily from observations of the mechanisms of the brain for processing other sensory modalities, such as vision and hearing, in which optimized deep hierarchical circuits are used to extract sensory features that vary along continuous physical dimensions. The olfactory system, by contrast, contends with an ill-defined, high-dimensional stimulus space and discrete stimuli using a circuit architecture that is shallow and parallelized. Here, we present recent observations in vertebrate and invertebrate systems that relate the statistical structure and state-dependent modulation of olfactory codes to mechanisms of perception and odour-guided behaviour.

A joint model of residential mobility and location choice decisions

ABSTRACT Residential relocation is a process involving the interdependent decisions of mobility (i.e. the decision to move) and location choice. Location choice is a discrete choice decision, whereas mobility has a continuous time dimension. Since households relocate along their life course for different reasons such as the birth of a child, these reasons could influence the duration of stay as competing events. This paper develops a joint model for mobility and location choice decisions. Data come from a retrospective survey conducted in the Central Okanagan of British Columbia, Canada. A reason-based competing hazard model is developed for the mobility component of the joint model. For the location choice component, a latent segmentation-based logit model is developed to capture unobserved heterogeneity. The influence of location utility on mobility is addressed through log sum parameters. The model confirms the effects of life-cycle events, parcel, socio-demographic, land use, transportation, neighbourhood and accessibility characteristics. The findings reveal that households relocating for the occurrence of life-cycle events are active in the housing market following the birth of a child, marriage and vehicle purchase. Relocation to live in a desirable neighbourhood is found to delay the move for the reason of living closer to activity points. Results also indicate that duration is likely to be shorter with the increase in expected utility from the following location. Regarding the location choice, preferences for dwellings closer to schools are evident. In the case of heterogeneity, it is observed that urban dwellers are more likely to prefer locations closer to the workplace with the addition of jobs in the household. In contrast, suburban dwellers are more likely to prefer residing far from the workplace. The developed joint model has been included in an integrated urban model, currently under development at the University of British Columbia.

What do you learn from a single cue? Dimensional reweighting and cue reassociation from experience with a newly unreliable phonetic cue

In language comprehension, we use perceptual cues to infer meanings. Some of these cues reside on perceptual dimensions. For example, the difference between bear and pear is cued by a difference in voice onset time (VOT), which is a continuous perceptual dimension. The present paper asks whether, and when, experience with a single value on a dimension behaving unexpectedly is used by the learner to reweight the whole dimension. We show that learners reweight the whole VOT dimension when exposed to a single VOT value (e.g., 45 ms) and provided with feedback indicating that the speaker intended to produce a /b/ 50% of the time and a /p/ the other 50% of the time. Importantly, dimensional reweighting occurs only if 1) the 50/50 feedback is unexpected for the VOT value, and 2) there is another dimension that is predictive of feedback. When no predictive dimension is available, listeners reassociate the experienced VOT value with the more surprising outcome but do not downweight the entire VOT dimension. These results provide support for perceptual representations of speech sounds that combine cues and dimensions, for viewing perceptual learning in speech as a combination of error-driven cue reassociation and dimensional reweighting, and for considering dimensional reweighting to be reallocation of attention that occurs only when there is evidence that reallocating attention would improve prediction accuracy (Harmon, Z., Idemaru, K., & Kapatsinski, V. 2019. Learning mechanisms in cue reweighting. Cognition, 189, 76–88.).

Disrupting dorsal hippocampus impairs category learning in rats

Categorization requires a balance of mechanisms that can generalize across common features and discriminate against specific details. A growing literature suggests that the hippocampus may accomplish these mechanisms by using fundamental mechanisms like pattern separation, pattern completion, and memory integration. Here, we assessed the role of the rodent dorsal hippocampus (HPC) in category learning by combining inhibitory DREADDs (Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs) and simulations using a neural network model. Using touchscreens, we trained rats to categorize distributions of visual stimuli containing black and white gratings that varied along two continuous dimensions. Inactivating the dorsal HPC impaired category learning and generalization, suggesting that the rodent HPC plays an important role during categorization. Hippocampal inactivation had no effect on a control discrimination task that used identical trial procedures as the categorization tasks, suggesting that the impairments were specific to categorization. Model simulations were conducted with variants of a neural network to assess the impact of selective deficits on category learning. The hippocampal inactivation groups were best explained by a model that injected random noise into the computation that compared the similarity between category stimuli and existing memory representations. This model is akin to a deficit in mechanisms of pattern completion, which retrieves similar memory representations using partial information.

Comparing stimulus preference and response force in a conjugate preparation: A replication with auditory stimulation.

This study examined a conjugate approach for evaluating auditory stimulus preference for 81 participants using force as a continuous response dimension. First, the researchers used a verbal preference assessment to evaluate each participant's preference for listening to five genres of music. This process identified high-preference and low-preference music for each participant. Thereafter, the researchers exposed each participant to the five music genres in a randomized order while using a hand dynamometer to measure their response force to increase the auditory clarity of the music. The results indicate (a) 63% of the participants' high-preference music genres corresponded to the genre for which they exerted the highest mean force and (b) most participants' low-preference music genres corresponded to the genre for which they exerted the lowest mean force. These findings are consistent with those from Davis et al. (2021) and further support using conjugate preparations for measuring the relative value of some stimulus events.

Physics-informed neural networks in groundwater flow modeling: Advantages and future directions

In recent years, there has been enormous development in soft computing, especially artificial intelligence (AI), which has developed robust methods for solving complex engineering problems. Researchers in the field of water resources engineering have applied these AI methods to solve a variety of hydrological problems. Despite their widespread use in the surface and atmospheric hydrology fields, groundwater hydrologists have not widely used AI methods in their routine field-scale modeling efforts. This is because AI models have been primarily considered black box models that lack physical meaning. Furthermore, using AI models to generate the space-time distribution of transient groundwater level variations is challenging and requires further flux balance and mass transport analyses. More recently, a new type of physics-informed neural network (PINN) model has been developed to address several limitations by integrating governing physics (groundwater flow equations) into the AI tools. This study presents the systematic advantages of the PINN algorithm for solving groundwater problems using a set of classic test problems. As discussed in detail in the article, these advantages and potentials are associated with the meshless nature of PINN, its continuous time and space dimensions, its independence from time-stepping and incremental marching in space, and its efficiency in running time. However, despite PINN's promising attributes, it is important to acknowledge its nascent stage of development and the inherent limitations of all neural network models, such as training challenges and hyperparameter selection. Thus, collaborative efforts between groundwater modelers and computer scientists are imperative to explore and exploit the full potential of PINN in tackling increasingly complex groundwater problems and nurturing PINN into a dependable modeling tool in industry and academia.

Raising the degree of organizational loyalty and its impact on the quality of employee performance A field study on employees of the Saudi Electricity Company in the southern region

This study examines the importance of organizational loyalty in harnessing human resources in the Saudi Electricity Company. The addition of voluntary religious accountability as a dimension of loyalty is explored, alongside ethical, emotional, and continuance dimensions. Passion, including voluntary religious accountability rooted in Islamic civilization, is found to enhance loyalty and drive improvement. The study employed a descriptive-analytical methodology with a sample of 329 employees, with a nearly equal distribution between those hired by the company (166) and those hired by contractors (163). Results indicate that organizational loyalty significantly improves employee performance (85.3%). Recommendations include reviewing job descriptions to enhance continuance loyalty and decrease turnover.

Continuity of care for children with anorexia nervosa in the Netherlands: a modular perspective

Care provision for children with anorexia nervosa is provided by outpatient care teams in hospitals, but the way these teams are organized differs per hospital and hampers the continuity of care. The aim of this study is to explore the organization and continuity of care for children with anorexia nervosa in the Netherlands by using a modular perspective.We conducted a qualitative, exploratory case study and took the healthcare provision for children with anorexia nervosa, provided by outpatient care teams, as our case. We conducted nine interviews with healthcare professionals involved in outpatient care teams from six hospitals. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.The modular perspective offered insights into the work practices and working methods of outpatient care teams. We were able to identify modules (i.e. the separate consultations with the various professionals), and components (i.e. elements of these consultations). In addition, communication mechanisms (interfaces) were identified to facilitate information flow and coordination among healthcare professionals. Our modular perspective revealed gaps and overlap in outpatient care provision, consequently providing opportunities to deal with unnecessary duplications and blind spots. Conclusion: A modular perspective can be applied to explore the organization of outpatient care provision for children with anorexia nervosa. We specifically highlight gaps and overlap in healthcare provision, which in turn leads to recommendations on how to support the three essential parts of continuity of care: informational continuity, relational continuity, and management continuity.What is Known:• Care provision for children with anorexia nervosa requires a network of health care professionals from different organizations, as a result the organization and provision of care faces challenges.What is New:• Modular care provision sheds light on the complexity and organization of outpatient care provision and supports the three dimensions of continuity of care as experienced by children with anorexia nervosa and their parents/caregivers.

Leveraging trust for joint multi-objective and multi-fidelity optimization

In the pursuit of efficient optimization of expensive-to-evaluate systems, this paper investigates a novel approach to Bayesian multi-objective and multi-fidelity (MOMF) optimization. Traditional optimization methods, while effective, often encounter prohibitively high costs in multi-dimensional optimizations of one or more objectives. Multi-fidelity approaches offer potential remedies by utilizing multiple, less costly information sources, such as low-resolution approximations in numerical simulations. However, integrating these two strategies presents a significant challenge. We propose the innovative use of a trust metric to facilitate the joint optimization of multiple objectives and data sources. Our methodology introduces a modified multi-objective (MO) optimization policy incorporating the trust gain per evaluation cost as one of the objectives of a Pareto optimization problem. This modification enables simultaneous MOMF optimization, which proves effective in establishing the Pareto set and front at a fraction of the cost. Two specific methods of MOMF optimization are presented and compared: a holistic approach selecting both the input parameters and the fidelity parameter jointly, and a sequential approach for benchmarking. Through benchmarks on synthetic test functions, our novel approach is shown to yield significant cost reductions—up to an order of magnitude compared to pure MO optimization. Furthermore, we find that joint optimization of the trust and objective domains outperforms sequentially addressing them. We validate our findings with the specific use case of optimizing particle-in-cell simulations of laser-plasma acceleration, highlighting the practical potential of our method in the Pareto optimization of highly expensive black-box functions. Implementation of the methods in existing Bayesian optimization frameworks is straightforward, with immediate extensions e.g. to batch optimization possible. Given their ability to handle various continuous or discrete fidelity dimensions, these techniques have wide-ranging applicability in tackling simulation challenges across various scientific computing fields such as plasma physics and fluid dynamics.

Is Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) a Dimension or a Category? What Does the Relationship Between ADHD Traits and Psychosocial Quality of Life Tell Us?

Objective: The question of whether attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a discrete category or a continuous dimension remains clinically relevant. We report the first examination of this question from the viewpoint of the relationship between ADHD traits and psychosocial quality of life (QoL), and whether the level of QoL declines markedly around a certain high ADHD trait range suggestive of a categorical boundary. Methods: Parents/caregivers of 1,967 schoolchildren aged 6 to 11 from the general population completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory and the ADHD-Rating Scale IV. Piecewise linear and non-linear regression analyses were performed. Results: No evidence for a non-linear association or an abrupt change in the rate of decrease in QoL was observed in the high end of the ADHD traits continuum. Instead, the relationship was consistent with linearity. Conclusion: Psychosocial QoL gradually declines in a linear manner as ADHD trait levels increase providing further support for a dimensional model.

One more piece of the family firm debt puzzle: the influence of socioemotional wealth dimensions

The literature on debt financing in family firms is still inconclusive. Initial studies have usually focused on the influence of family involvement on firm’s debt levels by using the explanations of traditional economic theories. More recent studies have begun to focus on the role of family goals in family firm debt levels, particularly drawing on socioemotional wealth (SEW), which has helped in the development of financial theories of family business. Nevertheless, existing arguments have usually not considered SEW as a multidimensional construct that covers diverse family goals. In addition, literature has usually drawn on arguments considering SEW as a stock, but have not considered the importance given to SEW (SEWi), which specifically acknowledges SEW as a goal. Our paper responds to recent calls to extend theoretical arguments on the effect of diverse dimensions of SEWi on family firm behavior and to focus on the role of SEWi on the family firms’ debt. Specifically, we test how the CEOs’ assessment of the importance that their family attaches to the continuity, prominence, and enrichment dimensions of SEWi influences the level of debt. To do so, we use a sample of 126 Spanish unlisted family businesses. Our results show that the continuity dimension of SEWi leads family businesses to increase their debt level being a key determinant of this financing decision.

Continuity of Clinician Type and Intrapartum Experiences During the Perinatal Period in California.

Continuity of care with an individual clinician is associated with increased satisfaction and better outcomes. Continuity of clinician type (ie, obstetrician-gynecologist or midwife) may also impact care experiences; however, it is unknown how common it is to experience discontinuity of clinician type and what its implications are for the birth experience. We aimed to identify characteristics associated with having a different clinician type for prenatal care than for birth and to compare intrapartum experiences by continuity of clinician type. For this cross-sectional study, data were from the 2017 Listening to Mothers in California survey. The analytic sample was limited to individuals with vaginal births who had midwifery or obstetrician-gynecologist prenatal care (N = 1384). Bivariate and multivariate analysis examined characteristics of individuals by continuity of clinician type. We then examined associations of clinician type continuity with intrapartum care experiences. Overall, 74.4% of individuals had the same type of clinician for prenatal care and birth. Of individuals with midwifery prenatal care, 45.1% had a different birth clinician type, whereas 23.5% of individuals who had obstetrician-gynecologist prenatal care had a different birth clinician type. Continuity of clinician type was positively associated with having had a choice of perinatal care clinician. There were no statistically significant associations between clinician type continuity and intrapartum care experiences. Findings suggest individuals with midwifery prenatal care frequently have a different type of clinician attend their birth, even among those with vaginal births. Further research should examine the impact of multiple dimensions of continuity of care on perinatal care quality.