Direct Path Research Articles

Modeling field measurements of sound insulation for multi-layered CLT-based floor systems: A means of a prediction model using artificial neural networks

A neural network-based prediction tool is developed to calculate the standardized sound level differences and the standardized impact sound pressure levels for multi-layered CLT-floor systems. The data for this model is derived from 104 sound insulation measurements in one-third-octave bands from 50 Hz to 5 kHz taken from 15 buildings in Europe with different room sizes and functions. The network model is developed using various structural parameters such as floor components, wall types, junction types and interlayers, receiving room volume, surface separating area, and more. The network developed shows good performance in predicting standardized airborne and impact sound insulation curves over all frequencies. The weighted standardized level differences DnTw are estimated with an accuracy of 1 dB, while the standard impact sound pressure level LnTw′ is accurate up to 2 dB. The airborne predictions are correlated in the middle-frequency range (200–1000 Hz), while some deviations may occur in higher frequencies. Impact insulation estimations, on the other hand, are more accurate in the high-frequency range (1.25–5 kHz). A sensitivity study is conducted to understand the model’s dependence on parameters. In both types of estimations, the direct sound path through the floor is the most influential factor, with the flanking paths affecting the results in the second order. Additionally, the volume of the receiving room significantly affects impact estimations at low frequencies. The study’s results also emphasize the importance of a visco-elastic interlayer for accurate airborne predictions in all frequency ranges.

Impact of fashion influencers on consumers' purchase intentions: theory of planned behaviour and mediation of attitude

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of fashion influencer measures on consumers' purchase intentions and the mediation of attitudes to understand the phenomenon of influencer marketing in the backdrop of the fashion industry.Design/methodology/approachThe present study employs a conceptual model based on extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) with added perceived trust. Data were collected from 341 participants from different regions of the country and analysed using direct path analysis and mediation technique.FindingsThe study found that attitudes toward fashion influencers are positively influenced by perceived trust, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. However, perceived behavioural control is not directly related to purchasing intents in the research model. The results confirmed that attitudes have a positive association with purchase intentions both directly and indirectly (partially mediation).Research limitations/implicationsThe study advocates market practitioners and advertisers to acknowledge the increasing importance of influencer marketing and the promotion of their fashion offerings in the setting of emerging fashion industry.Originality/valueThe present study adds crucial value to enhance the understanding of fashion influencer marketing in the Indian context. This research offers several insights into the continually growing knowledge domain of influencer marketing by predicting the direct relationships with purchase intents and the mediation of attitudes.

The Relationship Between Academic Burnout and Hope for the Future in Medical Students: Mediating Role of the Stress

Background: Academic burnout, in addition to affecting different aspects of the students' personal lives, can have many negative impacts on their academic and family conditions. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between academic burnout and hope for the future through examining the mediating role of stress in medical students. Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive-correlational study included all students at Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences in 2022. Multistage cluster sampling was used to select 301 students. The research instruments included the Academic Burnout Questionnaire, the Attitudes towards Education and Career Prospects Scale, and Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire. The proposed model was evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: The results showed that the direct path from hope for the future to stress was significant (P < 0.001). The indirect path from hope for the future to academic burnout was significant with the mediation of stress (P < 0.001), while the direct path from hope for the future to academic burnout was not significant. Conclusions: Stress mediated the relationship between hope for the future and academic burnout. It was also found that the proposed model had a desirable goodness of fit and may have been considered a major step in identifying the factors responsible for academic burnout in medical students. Given that stress was a central factor in academic burnout, it was suggested that policymakers should appreciate the necessity of providing the stressed students with support from family members and instructors.

Predicting lymphedema self-management behaviours in breast cancer patients: A structural equation model with the Integrated Theory of Health Behaviour Change.

To explore predictors of lymphedema self-management behaviours among Chinese breast cancer survivors based on the Integrated Theory of Health Behaviour Change, and to clarify the interrelationship among these variables. Further analysis of a multicentre cross-sectional and survey-based study. A total of 586 participants with breast cancer were recruited from December 2021 to April 2022 in different cities in China. We used self-reported questionnaires to collect data. Descriptive analysis, bivariate analysis and structural equation model were performed. The Integrated Theory of Health Behaviour Change is suitable for predicting lymphedema self-management behaviours. The final structural model showed good model fit. Social support, self-efficacy and lymphedema knowledge positively affected lymphedema self-management behaviours, directly and indirectly. Self-regulation acted as a crucial mediator between these variables and self-management. The direct path between social support and self-regulation was not significant. Lymphedema knowledge and social support also influenced self-management via illness perception, self-efficacy and self-regulation, sequentially. These variables explained 55.9% of the variance in lymphedema self-management behaviours. The modified model based on the Integrated Theory of Health Behaviour Change fitted well in predicting lymphedema self-management behaviours among breast cancer patients. Lymphedema knowledge, illness perception, self-efficacy, social support and self-regulation directly and indirectly influenced lymphedema self-management behaviours. This study provides a theoretical basis for the assessment and interventions of lymphedema self-management behaviours in breast cancer patients. Lymphedema self-management behaviours should be assessed regularly and comprehensively, taking these predictors into consideration to identify potential barriers. Further research is needed to explore effective interventions integrating these significant predictors. This study was reported following Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist for cross-sectional studies. No patient or public contributed to the design or conduct of the study, analysis or interpretation of the data, or in the preparation of the manuscript. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER CONTRIBUTE TO THE WIDER GLOBAL CLINICAL COMMUNITY?: This study focused on identifying and predicting mechanism of self-management based on a theory of behaviour change. The results can be applied among patients with other chronic diseases or high-risk populations, and inspire the assessment and interventions facilitating self-management behaviours. This study was registered as an observational study at Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: http://www.chictr.org.cn (ChiCTR2200057084). For breast cancer patients with poor lymphedema self-management behaviour, attention should be raised among nurses and involved healthcare staffs that lymphedema self-management is multi-faced. Strategies targeted at improving social support, self-regulation, knowledge, self-efficacy and illness perception should be also addressed in lymphedema self-management programs, to facilitate more effective improvement of lymphedema self-management behaviours.

Cognitive-affective changes mediate the mindfulness-based intervention effect on endometriosis-related pain and mental health: A path analysis approach.

There is poor knowledge about the therapeutic mechanisms of the conservative interventions for endometriosis. We hypothesized that the effects of a brief mindfulness-based intervention (bMBI) on pelvic pain intensity (PPI), pain unpleasantness (PU) and quality of life mental health (QoL-MH) are mediated by direct and indirect paths of changes in pain catastrophizing (PC), positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). A secondary analysis of a pilot randomized controlled trial of women with endometriosis, assigned to standard medical treatment (n = 32) and standard medical treatment plus bMBI (n = 31). We tested a series of parallel and serial mediators (PC, PA and NA) of the relationship between bMBI and outcomes (PPI, PU and QoL-MH). The bMBI group demonstrated improvement in PA (Cohen's f2 = 0.12 [0.01, 0.36]), decreases in NA (Cohen's f2 = 0.06 [0.00, 0.24]) and PC (Cohen's f2 = 0.16 [0.02, 0.42]). The PC reduction mediated the effect of the bMBI on PPI and PU directly; however, the PC effect through PA increase mediated the PU marginally but not PPI changes. bMBI effect on Qol-MH was mediated directly by PA and NA. The PC improved Qol-MH through PA increase and Pain decrease but not via NA. Our findings showed that bMBI impacts pain through changes in pain-related cognitive-affective factors. bMBI can improve QoL-MH by multiple pathways, including but not limited to pain reduction, highlighting the independent potential of improvement in affect to restore mental health in endometriosis. Brief mindfulness-based intervention improves endometriosis pain through pain-related cognitive-affective factors and quality of life mental health via pain and affect changes unrelated to pain.

Examining the Pathways from General Trust Through Social Connectedness to Subjective Wellbeing

The broad conceptualisation of wellbeing has allowed researchers to establish subjective wellbeing as a valid indicator of social development. However, changing social patterns, norms, and values suggest changes in how social determinants may predict subjective wellbeing. The current analysis tests a serial mediation hypothesis in which social participation and social resources mediate the effect of general trust on subjective wellbeing.Data from 8725 participants were pooled from the German part of the European Social Survey (ESS) Wave 10. Structural models were estimated to access the path from general trust to subjective wellbeing (SWB). Three separate mediation analyses were performed to test (1) the indirect effect of general trust on SWB through social participation, (2) through social resources and (3) through social participation and social resources. A full-mediation model reveals the direct and indirect paths predicting SWB through general trust, social participation, and social resources. Gender, age, education, and household size were included as control variables.The full-mediation model suggests significant results for direct paths from general trust to social participation, social resources, and SWB. Direct paths from social participation to social resources and SWB were also significant. However, the path from social resources to SWB became non-significant.Results highlight general trust as a critical predictor of SWB. The finding that social participation is significant while social resources are not significant in a mediation model suggests that social participation directly affects wellbeing, independent of the effect of social resources. This highlights the importance of social participation in promoting wellbeing.

Time of arrival estimation for underwater acoustic signal using multi-feature fusion

Underwater target detection (UTD) is widely applied in ocean exploration. A key issue for the time-of-arrival (ToA)-based UTD algorithm is to localize the first direct path in an underwater multipath channel. However, the conventional Matched Filter (MF) suffers from a deterioration of the estimation accuracy when the direct arrival of the received signal is non-strongest. Therefore, this paper proposes a multi-feature fusion ToA estimation algorithm. First, a multi-decision strategy including the coarse ToA range estimation and the fine ToA estimation is proposed to realize a balance between computational complexity and estimation accuracy. Second, the coarse ToA range estimation is realized by multi-level spectrum analysis. Then, the coarse ToA range is used to localize the fine ToA utilizing the multi-feature fusion ToA estimation. Finally, the simulation and experimental results are provided to validate the proposed ToA estimation algorithm. It clearly shows that without training data, the proposed algorithm can not only deal with the multipath acoustic channel problem but also improve the accuracy of the ToA estimation compared to other algorithms.

Influence of Si content on selective oxidation and oxide scale phase transition during hot-rolled coiling

The internal oxidation formed during the advanced high-strength steels hot-rolled coiling process can be inherited into the cold-rolled sheet and impact the final product quality. Herein, the influence of Si on the internal oxidation and oxide scale phase transition behavior of Fe–Mn–Si advanced high-strength steel after hot-rolled coiling are investigated. The results indicate that the internal oxidation depth increases with the increase of Si content and is accompanied by severe intragranular oxidation. Moreover, the interface between Mn–Si oxide and substrate provides a direct diffusion path, which accelerates the rate of internal oxidation. In addition, the displacement reaction of Si/Mn is the primary cause for the formation of continuous pure Fe at the interface of oxide scale/substrate.

Entangled Photon Correlations Allow a Continuous-Wave Laser Diode to Measure Single-Photon, Time-Resolved Fluorescence.

Fluorescence lifetime experiments are a standard approach for measuring excited-state dynamics and local environmental effects. Here, we show that entangled photon pairs produced from a continuous-wave (CW) laser diode can replicate pulsed laser experiments without phase modulation. As a proof of principle, picosecond fluorescence lifetimes of indocyanine green are measured in multiple environments. The use of entangled photons has three unique advantages. First, low-power CW laser diodes and entangled photon source design lead to straightforward on-chip integration for a direct path to distributable fluorescence lifetime measurements. Second, the entangled pair's wavelength is easily tuned by adjusting the temperature or electric field, allowing a single source to cover octave bandwidths. Third, femtosecond temporal resolutions can be reached without requiring major advances in source technology or external phase modulation. Entangled photons could therefore provide increased accessibility to time-resolved fluorescence while also opening new scientific avenues in photosensitive and inherently quantum systems.

Nonlinear changes in delayed functional network topology in Alzheimer’s disease: relationship with amyloid and tau pathology

BackgroundAlzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with the abnormal deposition of pathological processes, such as amyloid-ß and tau, which produces nonlinear changes in the functional connectivity patterns between different brain regions across the Alzheimer’s disease continuum. However, the mechanisms underlying these nonlinear changes remain largely unknown. Here, we address this question using a novel method based on temporal or delayed correlations and calculate new whole-brain functional networks to tackle these mechanisms.MethodsTo assess our method, we evaluated 166 individuals from the ADNI database, including amyloid-beta negative and positive cognitively normal subjects, patients with mild cognitive impairment, and patients with Alzheimer’s disease dementia. We used the clustering coefficient and the global efficiency to measure the functional network topology and assessed their relationship with amyloid and tau pathology measured by positron emission tomography, as well as cognitive performance using tests measuring memory, executive function, attention, and global cognition.ResultsOur study found nonlinear changes in the global efficiency, but not in the clustering coefficient, showing that the nonlinear changes in functional connectivity are due to an altered ability of brain regions to communicate with each other through direct paths. These changes in global efficiency were most prominent in early disease stages. However, later stages of Alzheimer’s disease were associated with widespread network disruptions characterized by changes in both network measures. The temporal delays required for the detection of these changes varied across the Alzheimer’s disease continuum, with shorter delays necessary to detect changes in early stages and longer delays necessary to detect changes in late stages. Both global efficiency and clustering coefficient showed quadratic associations with pathological amyloid and tau burden as well as cognitive decline.ConclusionsThis study suggests that global efficiency is a more sensitive indicator of network changes in Alzheimer’s disease when compared to clustering coefficient. Both network properties were associated with pathology and cognitive performance, demonstrating their relevance in clinical settings. Our findings provide an insight into the mechanisms underlying nonlinear changes in functional network organization in Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that it is the lack of direct connections that drives these functional changes.

Workplace bullying, psychological distress, and work engagement in the hospitality industry: The moderating effect of self- compassion

The present study investigates the structural associations between workplace bullying, employee psychological distress, and work engagement within the hospitality setting. It also evaluates the moderating impact of self- compassion on the direct path between workplace bullying and employee psychological distress. Employing a quantitative approach, PLS-SEM has been applied to analyse the data, collected by survey, from full-time employees at 2-star and 3-star hotels in Antalya. The results indicated that workplace bullying significantly predicted psychological distress and deteriorated employee engagement. In addition, there is a significant effect of employees’ psychological distress on their engagement. However, employee self-compassion did not significantly moderate the effect of workplace bullying on psychological distress. The study findings add solid and valuable contributions to concerned scholars and hoteliers by illustrating how bullying behavior could impact employees’ psychological distress and their work engagement, considering the interaction role of self-compassion on the link between bullying behavior on employees’ psychological distress. Limitations and future research are further discussed.

DOA Estimation Assisted by Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces

A reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) assisted scheme is proposed for direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation in this work. In the scheme, the RIS is utilized to provide a reflected path, and the RIS-reflected signal is received by array antennas together with the direct-path signal. The model consisting of the direct-path signal and the RIS-reflected signal is proposed, and the Cramer-Rao Bound (CRB) is derived based on the signal model to assess the ultimate estimation performance. In order to enhance the estimation performance of RIS-assisted scheme, two possible strategies for the phases design of RIS are presented. The first possibility considers RIS phase shifts that maximize the coherence of signals from the direct path and the RIS-reflected path. The other possibility considers to obtain the phase shifts that minimize the CRB of DOA estimation in the proposed scheme through a manifold optimization method. Moreover, DOA estimation methods are proposed for the RIS-assisted scheme to validate the scheme feasibility. Target tracking is proposed as a practical application for the RIS-assisted scheme. In the end, both theoretical analysis and simulation results illustrate that the accuracy of DOA estimation and target tracking has been improved with the aid of RIS.

Factors Affecting Students’ Decision to Undertake Online Learning

The expansion in the scale of online higher education has been accompanied by a paradigm shift in the quality enhancement of online higher education, with from an emphasis on the adequate supply of institutional resources and the expansion of student numbers to a focus on student learning outcomes directly related to the benefits of student learning. This paradigm shift is also reflected in national policy. This paradigm shift is also reflected in national policy, which has been in place since 1998 when the Ministry of Education officially. Since 1998, when the Ministry of Education formally approved pilot institutions for online higher education, online higher education has entered a phase of rapid development. As the scale of online higher education enrolment has expanded dramatically, student learning outcomes have become a focal point for measuring quality improvement. In 2018, the Ministry of Education launched the Notice on the Annual Report on the Development of Continuing Education in Higher Education, which includes student learning effectiveness as an indicator for assessing the quality of continuing education in higher education. So, how should we evaluate the effectiveness of student learning? What are the factors that influence it? How can these factors be effective to achieve the purpose of influence? This study attempts to empirically investigate the mechanisms of the factors influencing the learning effectiveness of online higher education students in an engineering university in Beijing based on institutional influence theory, using structural equation modelling. The study found that. (1) More than 70% of students believe that their professional and vocational knowledge and skills have been developed through online higher education study, and they have greater hopes for career advancement and wider career choices. More than 70% of students also believe that their professional knowledge and skills and problem-solving skills have been improved, and they are more satisfied with the curriculum, the school platform and the work of teachers. (2) There are differences in the influence paths of each influencing factor. There are two pathways for the influence of curriculum and self-efficacy on students' learning outcomes: a direct pathway and an indirect pathway mediated by behavioural engagement and student-teacher interaction. Behavioural engagement and teacher-student interaction are both direct influences and also play a mediating role in moderation. In contrast, there is only a direct path of influence on student motivation, and the learning platform can only indirectly influence student learning outcomes through teacher-student interaction. (3) This study verifies the applicability of the institutional influence theory to students in online higher education, as environmental and student background factors can have direct or indirect effects on student learning outcomes.

Cross-national associations of IQ and infectious diseases: Is the prevalence of Corona an exceptional case?

BACKGROUND: Previous studies reported negative associations between a country’s mean IQ and economic development at the one side and the prevalence of infectious diseases on the other, arguing that a more rational behavior and better living conditions decreased health risks. The purpose of this study was to transfer these previous findings on the relationship between IQ and the burden of infectious diseases on a cross-national level to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Countries with higher IQ results and rich countries in North-East Asia and the West are more affected by Corona than poorer countries in the Middle East or in sub-Saharan Africa (IQ: _r_IQ↔Cases = .41 and _r_IQ↔Deaths = .28; wealth: _r_GDP/c↔Cases = .45 and _r_GDP/c↔Deaths = .22). Intelligence can have contradicting effects on Corona, i.e., it increases health and makes people more rationally cautious, but at the same time leads to an older population that is more susceptible to corona health problems and allows societies to detect more Corona cases. METHODS: The effects of IQ on the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (per capita: reproduction rate_ R_0, hospitalizations due to Corona, Intensive Care Unit treatments, cases, deaths, excess mortality) were controlled in a sample of up to 207 countries for climatic conditions, air pollution, wealth, demographic factors, health burden (e.g., cardiovascular diseases), peoples’ mobility, test coverage and anti-Corona regulations. The stability of effects was checked in six country sub-samples and controlled for the factors named above in regressions with 73 successful runs. RESULTS: The effect (standardized β) of IQ shows an average negative (reducing) effect of –.19 on the pandemic’s impact. Intelligence has a small effect on the spread of corona and the severity of its consequences. Stronger effects are given by climatic conditions (colder climates) and air pollution. Detailed regressions and additional path analyses show that the reducing effect of IQ is limited to the direct path and the long term (β = .08 in 2020 but –.21 in 2021). CONCLUSIONS: In the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the previous findings about the relationship between IQ and the burden of infectious diseases could only be partially reproduced. The assumption of a weakening effect on the impact of the pandemic was confirmed, but only to a limited extent and along unknown ways.

Direct and indirect effects of self-directed learning on creativity in healthcare undergraduates: a chain mediation model of openness to challenge and diversity and creative self-efficacy.

Creativity and self-directed learning (SDL) are prominent for undergraduate healthcare students to provide quality patient care in an increasingly complex healthcare environment. Research suggested that SDL is linked with creativity, yet the mechanism underlying the relationship between SDL and creativity has not been fully understood. This study examined the relationship between SDL and creativity and constructed a chain mediation model to identify the mediating effect of openness to diversity and challenge (ODC) and creative self-efficacy (CSE). Through convenience sampling, 575 healthcare undergraduates (average age = 19.28 years, SD = 1.124 years) were surveyed from Shandong Province in China. Creativity, SDL, ODC, and CSE were assessed using corresponding scales. Pearson's correlation analysis, hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, a serial multiple mediation analysis, and bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap method were conducted by using structural equation modeling by AMOS 26.0. The direct path between SDL and creativity was significant. SDL can positively predict both ODC and CSE, and the latter two variables can significantly and positively predict creativity. ODC and CSE played a significant partial mediating role in the relationship between SDL and creativity. The mediating effect consists of three indirect effects: SDL → ODC → creativity (the mediating effect value is 0.193, p = 0.012), SDL → CSE → creativity (the mediating effect value is 0.096，p = 0.001), and SDL → ODC → CSE → creativity (the mediating effect value is 0.035, p = 0.031). SDL can positively predict creativity. ODC and CSE had significant mediating effects between SDL and creativity, including single partial mediating effects of ODC and CSE and chain mediating effects of ODC-CSE.

Efficient Selective Oxidation of Aromatic Alkanes by Double Cobalt Active Sites over Oxygen Vacancy‐rich Mesoporous Co3O4

AbstractThe development of efficient catalyst for selective oxidation of hydrocarbon to functional compounds remains a challenge. Herein, mesoporous Co3O4 (mCo3O4‐350) showed excellent catalytic activity for selective oxidation of aromatic‐alkanes, especially for oxidation of ethylbenzene with a conversion of 42 % and selectivity of 90 % for acetophenone at 120 °C. Notably, mCo3O4 presented a unique catalytic path of direct oxidation of aromatic‐alkanes to aromatic ketones rather than the conventional stepwise oxidation to alcohols and then to ketones. Density functional theory calculations revealed that oxygen vacancies in mCo3O4 activate around Co atoms, causing electronic state change from Co3+(Oh)→Co2+(Oh). Co2+(Oh) has great attraction to ethylbenzene, and weak interaction with O2, which provide insufficient O2 for gradual oxidation of phenylethanol to acetophenone. Combined with high energy barrier for forming phenylethanol, the direct oxidation path from ethylbenzene to acetophenone is kinetically favorable on mCo3O4, sharply contrasted to non‐selective oxidation of ethylbenzene on commercial Co3O4.

Efficient Selective Oxidation of Aromatic Alkanes by Double Cobalt Active Sites over Oxygen Vacancy-rich Mesoporous Co3O4.

The development of an efficient catalyst for selective oxidation of hydrocarbon to functional compounds remains a challenge. Herein, mesoporous Co3O4 (mCo3O4-350) showed excellent catalytic activity for the selective oxidation of aromatic-alkanes, especially for oxidation of ethylbenzene with a conversion of 42% and selectivity of 90% for acetophenone at 120 oC. Notably, mCo3O4 presented a unique catalytic path of direct oxidation of aromatic-alkanes to aromatic ketones rather than the conventional stepwise oxidation to alcohols and then to ketones. Density functional theory calculations revealed that oxygen vacancies in mCo3O4 activate around Co atoms, causing electronic state change from Co3+(Oh) → Co2+(Oh). Co2+(Oh) has great attraction to ethylbenzene, and weak interaction with O2, which provide insufficient O2 for gradual oxidation of phenylethanol to acetophenone. Combined with high energy barrier for forming phenylethanol, the direct oxidation path from ethylbenzene to acetophenone is kinetically favorable on mCo3O4, sharply contrasted to non-selective oxidation of ethylbenzene on commercial Co3O4.

Cross-Tier Interference Mitigation for RIS-Assisted Heterogeneous Networks

With the development of the next generation of mobile networks, new research challenges have emerged, and new technologies have been proposed to address them. On the other hand, reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) technology is being investigated for partially controlling wireless channels. RIS is a promising technology for improving signal quality by controlling the scattering of electromagnetic waves in a nearly passive manner. Heterogeneous networks (HetNets) are another promising technology that is designed to meet the capacity requirements of the network. RIS technology can be used to improve system performance in the context of HetNets. This study investigates the applications of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) in heterogeneous downlink networks (HetNets). Due to the network densification, the small cell base station (SBS) interferes with the macrocell users (MUEs). In this paper, we utilise RIS to mitigate cross-tier interference in a HetNet via directional beamforming by adjusting the phase shift of the RIS. We consider RIS-assisted heterogeneous networks consisting of multiple SBS nodes and MUEs that utilise both direct paths and reflected paths. Therefore, the aim of this study is to maximise the sum rate of all MUEs by jointly optimising the transmit beamforming of the macrocell base station (MBS) and the phase shift of the RIS. An efficient RIS reflecting coefficient-based optimisation (RCO) is proposed based on a successive convex approximation approach. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in terms of its sum rate in comparison with the scheme HetNet without RIS and the scheme HetNet with RIS but with random phase shifts.

Simple View of Reading Across the Transition from Kindergarten to Grade 1 in a Transparent Orthography

ABSTRACT Purpose This longitudinal study investigated the simple view of reading (SVR) model and its cognitive basis in a transparent orthography of the Lithuanian across the transition from kindergarten to Grade 1. Method The language and early literacy skills of 229 children (Mage = 6.79, SD = .47) were tested at the end of kindergarten (vocabulary, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and RAN); listening comprehension and word reading fluency were tested at the start of Grade 1; and reading comprehension was measured at the end of Grade 1. Results Together with parental education, word reading fluency and listening comprehension predicted reading comprehension (R2 = 43.2%). The second model, which also included language and early literacy skills, showed that vocabulary and phonological awareness indirectly predicted reading comprehension via listening comprehension, while phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and rapid automatized naming (RAN) indirectly predicted reading comprehension via word reading fluency (R2 = 43.6%). However, after allowing the direct paths from language and early literacy skills in kindergarten to reading comprehension, listening comprehension and word reading fluency were no longer significant predictors of reading comprehension, whereas vocabulary and letter knowledge were (R2 = 58.9%). Conclusion The results provided support for the SVR model in transparent Lithuanian orthography in that linguistic and decoding components are important for early reading comprehension. However, the results also suggested that, in the Lithuanian context, kindergarten vocabulary and letter knowledge are stronger measures in predicting reading comprehension than listening comprehension and word reading fluency in Grade 1.

Direct and configurational paths of servant leadership to career and life satisfaction in higher education: Cross-cultural study of Spain, China, and Pakistan

ABSTRACT This study investigates how academic staff achieves career satisfaction (CS) and life satisfaction (LS) under direct and different configurations of servant leadership (SL) dimensions. Using a survey of academics in Spain, China, and Pakistan, this study uses Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the direct relationship, and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to find configurations of SL dimensions that lead to career and LS. Direct relationships revealed that in each country, almost all dimensions failed to create any individual impact on CS and LS. The fsQCA results revealed an asymmetric relationship between the different SL dimensions and outcomes. Prior SL, CS, and LS research has primarily relied on symmetrical correlational methods. This is one of the first studies to use fsQCA in SL, CS, and LS in higher education literature. Furthermore, there is significantly limited research on SL in a cross-country setting.