Functional Areas Research Articles

Optimization of Material Flow and Product Allocation in Inter-Unit Operations: A Case Study of a Refrigerator Manufacturing Facility

Background: Logistics operations are integral to manufacturing systems, particularly in the transportation processes that occur not only between facilities and stakeholders but also between warehouses and workstations within a facility. The design of functional areas and allocating goods to appropriate zones within the warehouse management system (WMS) are critical activities that substantially influence the efficiency of manufacturing logistics operations. Methods: This study develops a mixed-integer programming (MIP) model to optimize material flow and product routing in manufacturing. The model identifies efficient pathways, assigns products to routes, and determines the required material-handling equipment. It is implemented in Python (3.11.5) using the Pyomo (6.7.3) package and the CBC solver (2.10.11), with sensitivity analysis performed on constraints and decision variables to evaluate robustness. Results: The findings indicate that Material Flow 3 and Material-Handling Equipment 1 represent the optimal configurations for managing the majority of goods within the manufacturing system. Conclusions: The proposed mathematical model supports the decision-making process by enabling adjustments to the proportions of functional areas within the manufacturing logistics system, ensuring operational efficiency and flexibility in response to changing demands. Furthermore, the study offers managerial insights and suggests directions for future research.

Impact of Green Marketing And Total Quality Management (TQM) Dimensions on Improving the Financial Performance of Indonesian Sharia Banks: New Concept

Green marketing is an advertising technique that focuses on promoting and selling products or services that have minimal or positive environmental effect. Given the growing awareness of environmental and sustainability concerns, this concept has gained increasing importance and attention in the fields of marketing and business management. Quality management is a strategy for continuously enhancing (continuous performance improvement) performance at all levels of an organization's operations and processes, as well as in all functional areas, by leveraging its people and financial resources. How to implement green marketing and total quality management to the financial performance of Bank Syariah Indonesia is the focus of this study. This study aims to investigate the effects of ecological marketing and total quality management on financial performance. This method of research employs multiple linear regression with a sample of 237 individuals, including financial administrators and employees. Consumer awareness has a positive effect on financial performance, consumer loyalty has a positive effect on financial performance, increased resource efficiency has a positive effect on financial performance, an obsession with quality has a positive effect on financial performance, teamwork has a positive effect on financial performance, and engagement and empowerment have a positive effect on financial performance, according to the findings of this study.

The spatiotemporal evolution and prediction of vegetation NPP in the Huangshui River Basin of Qilian Mountains

The Qilian Mountains and Huangshui River Basin (HRB) represent significant ecological functional areas and carbon reservoirs within China. The estimation and prediction of vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) in this area is beneficial for the management of China’s terrestrial ecosystems. Nevertheless, the existing estimation methods for vegetation NPP at the local scale are characterised by considerable uncertainty and error, and have not accounted for the influence of multi-factor interactions. Accordingly, this study initially sought to quantify the vegetation NPP data within the HRB from 2000 to 2019 through the implementation of an improved Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model. Subsequently, it endeavoured to elucidate the spatiotemporal evolution patterns and influencing factors of vegetation NPP within the HRB over the years. Subsequently, the ConvGRU spatiotemporal prediction model was employed to investigate the prospective trajectory of vegetation NPP in the HRB. The findings revealed a notable upward trajectory in the annual variation of vegetation NPP in the HRB between 2000 and 2019. The majority of regions have demonstrated a notable increase in vegetation NPP, although a few areas have exhibited a decline. Furthermore, the correlation between vegetation NPP and PRE, TEMP, SR, and NDVI exhibits regional disparities. Furthermore, the spatial variation characteristics of vegetation NPP in the HRB in the future also demonstrate an overall increasing trend. Additionally, the vegetation NPP in the HRB exhibits significant spatial distribution characteristics, with evident trends of hot spot contraction or cold spot expansion. This study provides pivotal methods and theoretical support for the assessment of carbon sequestration status in the HRB of the Qilian Mountains and analogous regions.

Urban flood risk assessment and evacuation planning: a bi-level optimization model for sustainable high-density coastal areas

ABSTRACT Flooding caused by extreme climate change is becoming increasingly severe, especially in high-density coastal areas worldwide. Although many studies have conducted risk assessments of urban floods, most have not formed a comprehensive evacuation plan considering population distribution and flood disaster risk. To further enhance urban flood planning and emergency management for coastal areas, this study uses Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, a typical flood-prone region, as a research area. The study first conducts a flood exposure risk assessment and classifies different regions according to flood risk levels. Then, by combining evacuation ability with the changing flood disaster and road evacuation flows, a novel bi-level optimization model is proposed to allocate zones for the citizens day and night. With the upper level using a genetic algorithm to minimize the total system evacuation time and the lower level applying a user equilibrium model for evacuee allocation, this model forms an evacuation that considers the distribution of population hotspots and the impact of flood risks on the road network. The findings of the study show that functional urban areas with high pedestrian flow, tourist spots, commercial centres, and schools are exposed to higher flood risk. Besides, the evacuation simulation of the bi-level optimization model proposed in this study matches the zoning results of actual urban activities and can effectively achieve the goal of evacuating 480,000 people within 12–18 minutes. This study innovatively proposes an effective evacuation plan that can reference the government’s emergency evacuation planning work.

The Predictive Value of Multifidus Degeneration in Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fracture Patients with Kyphosis Deformity.

Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) causes pain, kyphosis and neurological damage, which significantly affect patients' quality of life. Patients with OVCF are often elderly and have severe osteoporosis, which makes preoperative symptom more serious, postoperative recovery worse and the incidence of postoperative complications high. The paraspinal muscles have been well studied in adult spinal deformities, but there is no conclusive evidence that their findings can be applied to OVCF. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations between multifidus (MF) parameters including fat infiltration (FI), relative functional sectional area (rFCSA), relative gross cross-sectional area (rGCSA) and the sagittal parameters, symptom score, and postoperative complications. To figure out the potential associations between multifidus muscle (MF) degeneration and patients' quality of life (QoL), sagittal parameters and mechanical complications in osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) patients with kyphosis deformity. Retrospective cohort study PATIENT SAMPLE: OVCF patients with kyphosis deformity who underwent corrective surgery between 2008 to 2021. MF fat infiltration (MFFI), relative functional cross-sectional area (MFrFCSA), MF relative gross cross-sectional area (MFrGCSA), VAS, ODI, JOA, SRS-22, preoperative, postoperative and last-follow up spine sagittal parameters, postoperative mechanical complications. The study included 108 OVCF patients with kyphosis deformity who underwent corrective surgery and were followed for two years. MRI were performed preoperatively to evaluate the paraspinal muscle morphology, including MF fat infiltration (MFFI), relative functional cross-sectional area (MFrFCSA), and MF relative gross cross-sectional area (MFrGCSA). VAS, ODI, JOA, and SRS-22 were conducted preoperatively. Preoperative, postoperative and last-follow up spine sagittal parameters were recorded, as well as sagittal balance, loss of correction results and improvement and deterioration of sagittal parameters. The occurrence of postoperative mechanical complications, including adjacent segment disease, screw loosening, proximal junctional kyphosis, and distal junctional problem were recorded. We analyzed the relationship between MF degeneration and the above parameters. Strong crrelation was observed in VAS and MFFI(rr=0.597,p=0.000),MF rFCSA(RR=-0.520,p=0.001) and MF rGCSA(RR=-0.461,p=0.005), as well as ODI and MF rFCSA(RR=-0.336, p=0.042). Preoperatively, strong correlations were observed between MF rFCSA and LL(rr=-0.320,p=0.010),TLK(RR=-0.271,p=0.026),TK(rr=-0.251,p=0.048).MF rGCSA and LL(rr=-0.259, p=0.039),TLK(rr=-0.247, p=0.043),TK(rr=-0.273, p=0.030),GK(rr=-0.381, p=0.002) were also strongly correlated. Our study showed strong correlations between MF FI and TLK loss(rr=0.406, p=0.003),TK loss(rr=0.332, p=0.045);MF rGCSA and SVA loss(rr =-0.367, p=0.050),TPA loss(rr =-0.404, p=0.030);MF rGCSA and TPA loss(rr =-0.401, p=0.031),MF FI and GK loss(rr =0.397, p=0.027). MF FI was significantly higher in the complication-presence group(p=0.045). Multifidus degeneration is significantly associated with QoL, sagittal parameters and mechanical complications in OVCF patients with kyphosis deformity. The pathological changes of paravertebral muscles should be included in the surgical strategy and postoperative paravertebral muscle rehabilitation should be adopted to improve the clinical outcomes of OVCF patients.

Research on Multi-Source Data Fusion Urban Functional Area Identification Method Based on Random Forest Model

Research on Multi-Source Data Fusion Urban Functional Area Identification Method Based on Random Forest Model

Examination of Spatial and Temporal Evolution Characteristics of Carbon Emission and Influencing Factors in Territorial Spatial Functional Areas: A Case Study of Mountainous City-Chongqing

Abstract The rapid development of China's economy and the acceleration of the urbanization process have led to a significant increase in carbon emissions, and more effective policies are urgently needed. As the first city in China to be approved for the overall master plan of territorial space, Chongqing is facing new opportunities in urban construction. This research has constructed the classification system of the Territorial Space Functional Areas in Chongqing (CQ-TSFA) and matched the corresponding carbon emission and carbon sequestration projects. Under this classification system, the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of its carbon emissions have been examined, and at the same time, the main influencing factors have been investigated based on the STIRPAT model. This paper draws the following conclusions: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the carbon emissions of CQ-TSFA increased from 48.87 million tons to 148.05 million tons; (2) The main expansion areas of the urban living sub-areas are the central urban area and the vicinity of the seats of various district and county governments. The main expansion areas of the urban production sub-areas are the edges of the central urban area around the Yangtze River Basin within Chongqing, including many industrial parks; (3) The contributions to carbon emissions in descending order are the economic development effect, the carbon emission intensity of CQ-TSFA, and the population size effect, and the utilization rate of CQ-TSFA plays a strong inhibitory role. Finally, based on the above conclusions, this paper puts forward some policy suggestions to address the challenges of carbon emissions, so as to provide references for promoting the sustainable development of Chongqing and even the whole country.

NH3 release during the snow evaporation process in typical cities in Northeast China

NH3 is the most important alkaline gas in the atmosphere and functions as a precursor to secondary ammonium salts. Therefore, identifying its sources and quantifying its emissions is imperative. NH4+ represents a principal component of atmospheric particulate pollutants. As particulate matter acts as a condensation nucleus for wet deposition, the NH4+ concentrations in precipitation are typically elevated. During the evaporation process of wet deposition, NH4+ is likely to be re-emitted as a gas (NH3). In Northeast China, heavy and frequent snowfall occurs, making it crucial to elucidate the NH3 release flux and the factors influencing this release during the snow evaporation process in representative cities of this region. This study collected snow samples from five notable snowfall events in Changchun, Jilin Province that occurred from November 2023 to March 2024, to conduct indoor simulated evaporation experiments (among them, the actual phase changes of two snowfall events consisted mainly of evaporation, whereas those of the other three events consisted mainly of sublimation). The results indicated that during the snow evaporation process, the average ratio (R) of NH4+ re-emitted as NH3 was 39.28 ± 12.07%. The average release flux (F) was 1624.58 ± 2064.5 μg/m2, and the average release rate (V) was 361.33 ± 465.31 ng/(m2·s). Within the 100-m atmospheric boundary layer, the total NH3 flux that was released subsequently during the evaporation of all snowfall events in Changchun during the study period was 46.97 mg/m2. The average release flux for individual snowfall events was 688.66 μg/m2, which constituted approximately 2.44% of the NH3 concentration documented in the winter atmosphere of Changchun. During the snow evaporation or sublimation process, R was positively correlated with the environmental temperature (P < 0.05) and negatively correlated with both the environmental wind speed and snowfall amount (P < 0.05). Significant variations in R were observed across multiple functional areas, which were ranked in descending order as follows: commercial areas (R = 26.16%), residential areas (R = 22.01%), cultural and educational areas (R = 20.7%), and industrial areas (R = 18.01%). The influence of a snow-melting agent (NaCl) on the conversion rate of NH3 initially increased but then subsequently decreased as the dose increased. The lowest measured value (R = 22.02%) was 0 mg/L, whereas the peak measured value (R = 30.31%) was attained at a concentration of 200 mg/L. The findings of this research are important for illuminating the cycling process of NH3 in the atmosphere and for the comprehensive management of air quality.

Water–energy–carbon nexus among different functional areas of campus: pattern, flow, and efficiency

Water, energy, and carbon, integral to human activities on Earth, directly influence ecosystems and social development through interactions and utilization efficiency. Campuses, as special societal communities, boast diverse functional areas and dense populations with substantial water–energy consumption and carbon emissions. Taking campus as special case allows effective exploration of water–energy–carbon (WEC) nexus at the micro–community scale, which can promote sustainable development on a wider scale. This study calculated the WEC footprints of a campus to reveal the underlying patterns and flows among different functional areas. The efficiency of WEC utilization was evaluated and key areas of the campus suitable for carbon reduction were identified. Results indicated that the water, energy, and carbon footprints of the campus in 2021 were 2.7925 million t, 582.8 thousand GJ, and 56,315.77 t, respectively. The WEC system exhibited intricate nexuses, and the correlations increased annually with direct nexuses proving stronger. The correlations for the WEC, energy–carbon, and energy–water systems were 0.7462, 0.9227, and 0.6436, respectively. Residential areas exhibited higher totals/intensities and the lower utilization efficiency of WEC. The findings provide a new perspective for optimizing regional human–environment systems with multielement nexuses that could transform campuses into efficient, water–saving, energy–conserving, low–carbon communities adapted to and supporting mitigation of the effects of climate change.

A novel biochar adsorbent for treatment of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contaminated water: Exploring batch and dynamic adsorption behavior

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are of concern worldwide given they are ubiquitous in the environment. In this study, the treatment of PFOA-contaminated water was assessed using biochar adsorbents produced from raw canola straw (RCS) through chemical activation with H3PO4 and ZnCl2 and microwave-assisted pyrolysis (MWP). MWP conditions were evaluated to create optimal H3PO4-treated (PBC) and ZnCl2-treated (ZnBC) biochar adsorbents with treatments determined using a central composite design (CCD) based on the response surface methodology (RSM) considering activator concentration, and microwave heating time and power. The highest PFOA removal efficiency for PBC (3.0 mol/L) was achieved at 92 % (368 μg/g), while for ZnBC (0.55 mol/L) it was 84 % (336 μg/g). In contrast, untreated biochar and RCS had markedly lower PFOA removals of 5 % and 1 %, respectively. Activation of biochar under optimal pyrolysis conditions (6 min at 600 W) led to increased chemical functional groups, porosity, and surface area, as confirmed by FT-IR, XPS, and BET. The kinetic study indicated that chemisorption was the primary PFOA adsorption mechanism, while the Freundlich isotherm model suggested heterogeneous multilayer adsorption for PFOA removal. Further, background salts enhanced PFOA adsorption through divalent bridges and salting-out mechanisms. PBC and ZnBC adsorbents performed well over a broad pH range of 3 to 9. Lastly, Yan and Yoon-Nelson models were used to assess adsorption breakthrough for a model fixed-bed adsorption system. This study exhibits that PBC and ZnBC adsorbents, derived from accessible biomass, offer an environmentally friendly solution to remove PFOA from contaminated water.

The Impact of Campus Soundscape on Enhancing Student Emotional Well-Being: A Case Study of Fuzhou University

As the primary setting for students’ daily life and learning, university campuses are facing a growing concern about the impact of increased stress on students’ emotional well-being. The sound environment plays a critical role in affecting students’ mental health, learning efficiency, and overall well-being. However, research on the influence of campus soundscapes on students’ emotions is limited, and the mechanisms behind these effects remain to be explored. This study, using the Qishan Campus of Fuzhou University as a case, investigates the impact of campus soundscapes on students’ emotional perception and restorative effects. Four typical functional areas (academic zone (ACZ), residential zone (RDZ), recreational zone (RCZ), and administrative zone (ADZ)) were selected to analyze the effects of natural and artificial sounds on students’ emotions and physiological states. Based on EEG, eye tracking, sound level measurements, and questionnaire surveys, a one-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess students’ emotional arousal, valence, and physiological restoration under different soundscape conditions. The results showed that natural sounds, such as the sound of wind-blown leaves and flowing water, significantly improved students’ emotions and restorative effects, while artificial noises like construction sounds and traffic noise had negative impacts. Additionally, subjective perceptions of soundscape restoration were positively correlated with arousal, valence, and acoustic comfort, and negatively correlated with gaze frequency and pupil size. The findings provide a theoretical foundation for optimizing campus soundscape design and highlight the importance of natural sounds in enhancing students’ mental health and academic environment.

Typology of morphotypes of monastic complexes on the example of monasteries in the Kaluga region

In the course of their historical development, the architectural ensembles of the monastic complexes of the Kaluga province were growing more complex, acquiring a well-developed complex structure that would regularly include new components either in symbiosis with existing ones, organically complementing them or replacing them. This process is inextricably linked with a gradual increase in the share of built-up space and, accordingly, a decrease in open space and constant reorganization of spaces. The need to identify and rationalize formation regularities in monastic architectural ensembles makes it necessary to typify the development of both the monastery as a whole and its functional zones separately. For this purpose, it is advisable to use the same type of typological structures, the role of which may be the building morphotype of a certain functional area of the monastery’s territory.

Scientific Supervisor and Scientific Mentor: Updating Old Roles and Meanings

This article examines the development of the scientific mentoring institute in Russian universities. The authors assume that it should be based on scientific ideas about the content and features of the professional roles of a scientific supervisor and a scientific mentor. Despite all the similarities, these roles of research and teaching staff correspond to different functional areas of their activities with their own set of tasks, results, and features of interaction with students. The purpose of this article is to compare the professional roles of a scientific mentor and a scientific supervisor of undergraduate and graduate students for the purpose of updating the meaning of mentoring activities in the field of university research work. The subject of the analysis is the features of the professional role of a student's scientific mentor. Their presence substantiates the independent nature of mentoring activities and &amp;amp;quot;legitimises&amp;amp;quot; it in the role repertoire of research and teaching staff of universities. The empirical basis of the article is the materials of semi-structured interviews with research and teaching staff of Russian universities, conducted within the framework of an all-Russian study (n = 30, 2024). The interpretation of the empirical data is based on the theoretical provisions of the sociological theory of roles, the theory of social identity, the concept of professional morality and ethics. The study not only substantiates the differences in the functional content of professional roles and everyday practices of a supervisor and a mentor, but also reveals the paradoxes of the professional identification of supervisors and mentors, the moral and ethical dimension of their activities. It is shown that the features of the prescriptions, expectations and performance of their roles by supervisors and mentors are manifested in the degree of formality of their rights, duties and responsibilities, the level of individualisation and the nature of the temporal organisation of interactions with students. The practical significance of the results obtained is associated with the possibility of developing university programs to support mentors as key actors in involving students in the academic profession and university science. The role differences between a scientific mentor and a scientific supervisor allow us to further specify the management requirements for different types of professional activity of scientific and pedagogical workers, as well as optimize their resource support. The practical significance of the study for academic workers is to obtain grounds for self-assessment of their readiness for the professional role of a scientific mentor and to determine the areas of professional responsibility associated with this role.

Comprehensive assessment of pollution status, health risks and source apportionment of heavy metals in surface wetland soils of Yellow River Delta using Monte Carlo simulation and positive matrix factorization.

Excessive heavy metals (HMs) exposure in surface soils may cause non-negligible health risks to human beings; however, the potential health risk assessment of HMs in Yellow River Delta wetland (YRDW) soils has rarely been evaluated. In this study, we sampled surface wetland soils from ten typical functional areas in YRDW, assessed the HMs pollution status, evaluated their potential health risks, stimulated their probabilistic distributions of health risks and analyzed their potential source apportionment using Positive matrix factorization and Monte Carlo simulation. Enrichment factor (EF) and geo-accumulation index (Igeo) indicated significant anthropogenic impacts, particularly in oil-contaminated sites, while Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs) comparison results suggested potential ecological risks, especially for As and Ni, which were occasionally above threshold effect levels. The potential health risks based on Monte Carlo simulations revealed no non-carcinogenic health risks to all populations, but highlighted potential carcinogenic risks within the acceptable range (1E-06 to 1E-04), especially for children. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) identified primary HMs sources as industrial emissions, agricultural activities and local geochemical background. This study underscores the need for continuous monitoring and remediation to mitigate health and ecological risks in the YRDW soils.

Artificial Neural Networks as a Method for Forecasting Migration Balance (A Case Study of the City of Lublin in Poland)

Internal migration regulates both the size and structure of human resources and affects the labor market at different spatial scales. It therefore has not only a demographic dimension, but also a spatial one, which is why it can significantly affect development on both a local and regional scale. The main objective of this study was to examine the usefulness of artificial neural networks (ANN) for predicting the internal migration balance for the city of Lublin in Poland. Another objective was to develop an experimental neural network model for forecasting the internal migration balance for the city of Lublin (for one year ahead) based on selected economic and social factors. The study area included the city of Lublin and 14 municipalities located in the vicinity of the city and functionally connected to it (they form the Lublin Functional Area), i.e., a total of 15 spatial units. Data for the analysis covered the years 2005–2022 and were obtained from the Local Data Bank (BDL) of the Central Statistical Office (GUS). The number of input variables for the ANN model was reduced using principal component analysis (PCA), allowing for the inclusion of the most relevant demographic and economic features. These components can thus be considered reliable predictors of the migration balance for the city of Lublin. This suggests that artificial neural networks may be an effective tool in supporting decision-making processes for forecasting the migration balance of this city.

The accumulation process of pollutants in deposited particles of different sizes on different roads in Beijing, China.

Road-Deposited Sediments (RDS) samples were collected from four different roads in Beijing, and the distribution of pollutants in RDS with various particle sizes was compared. In this study, the cumulative mass of RDS exhibited a positive correlation with the number of dry days, and the RDS load below 75μm was also influenced by road traffic volume. As traffic volume escalated, there was a corresponding increase in the load of these smaller RDS. Most pollutants accumulated within RDS with sizes below 150μm, rendering them the primary contributors to the pollution. In terms of the antecedent dry-weather days, fifteen days emerged as a potentially pivotal point, with both the rate of pollutant accumulation and the contribution of pollution sources to RDS having stabilized after this duration. The origins of pollutants in roads of different functional areas exhibited certain disparities. The pollutants on major roads with high traffic volume were attributed to frequent vehicular activities. The pollutants on residential roads stemmed from soil particles and fallen leaves in the roadside green belts as well as from human activities. And the pollutants on urban-rural crossroad might be attributed to the industrial contamination with factories located on one side.

Foveal avascular zone enlargement correlates with visual acuity decline in patients with diabetic retinopathy.

The foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area has been explored as a measure of macular ischemia in diabetic retinopathy (DR) but is limited by its wide variability even in healthy individuals. We hypothesized that FAZ enlargement, which we defined as the difference between the functional FAZ (on optical coherence tomography angiography; OCTA) and structural FAZ (en face OCT), may be a more accurate metric of macular ischemia. In this study, we test the hypothesis that FAZ enlargement is associated with decreased best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and low luminance visual acuity (LLVA) and performs better than the functional FAZ as a marker of vision loss. Cross-sectional study SUBJECTS: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and a wide range of DR severity METHODS: For 264 eyes from 174 patients, we measured BCVA and LLVA using ETDRS letter scores. Averaged en face OCT and OCTA scans identified the structural and functional FAZ areas, respectively. Spearman's rho quantified relationships between FAZ enlargement and VA, which were further assessed with linear mixed-effects models that accounted for potential confounders, which were identified as significant factors on univariate analysis. Relationship between FAZ enlargement (or functional FAZ area) and visual function RESULTS: Age, axial length, lens status (phakic or pseudophakic), hypertensive status, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, renal disease, dyslipidemia, DR severity, and functional FAZ area correlated with BCVA on univariate analysis. Age, BMI, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, renal disease, dyslipidemia, smoking status, DR severity, and functional FAZ area correlated with LLVA on univariate analysis. FAZ enlargement demonstrated a weak negative correlation with BCVA (ρ = -.364, p < .001) and LLVA (ρ = -.306, p < .001), which remained significant in mixed-effects regression analysis. Functional FAZ area was not a significant predictor of BCVA or LLVA in models where FAZ enlargement was also included as a predictor. Model comparison using ANOVA indicated that inclusion of FAZ enlargement improved the prediction of BCVA (χ2=5.62, p = .018) and LLVA (χ2 = 4.99, p = .025). FAZ enlargement performed better than the functional FAZ providing an improved imaging metric of the influence of foveal ischemia on vision impairment in DR.

Predicting Occupational Outcomes for Individuals with ADHD: The Role of Hyperactivity/Impulsivity and Executive Functioning.

The present study adds to the literature by evaluating the differential risk of ADHD symptom dimensions and executive functioning (EF; time management, organization, motivation) to key occupational outcomes. Participants were adults (N = 100; 51% male) with ADHD working full-time between the ages of 19-30 (M = 26.61, SD = 2.28). Participants reported on their ADHD symptoms and EF as well as on five areas of occupational functioning (income, written warnings, boredom at work, satisfaction with coworkers and supervisors). Over and above medication status, sex, and age, path analyses revealed hyperactivity/impulsivity and time management were the most consistent predictors of outcomes. Higher levels of each predictor were associated with lower income, more written warnings, greater boredom at work, as well as lower satisfaction with coworkers and supervisors. Executive function difficulties with organization and motivation were risk factors for all evaluated outcomes, except written warnings. Higher levels of inattention symptoms were associated with more written warnings and lower satisfaction with coworkers. The present study is one of the first to document the differential risks of ADHD symptoms and EF to a comprehensive set of occupational functioning outcomes. Future research is needed to replicate the present findings and expand this line of work to identify factors that may protect against these ADHD-related risks on workplace success.

Intra-articular hyaluronic acid and platelet-rich plasma as monotherapy or combination therapy in knee osteoarthritis?

To systematically identify best current evidence on intra-articular combination therapy with hyaluronic acid (HA) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP), compared to monotherapy in knee osteoarthritis. Using the McMaster University and National Health Service five-step systematic approach, we conducted a bottom-up literature search of all existing evidence through Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, and Cochrane (Central - Wiley) from January 2021 to June 2024. Of 258 articles retrieved, we systematically narrowed best current evidence to one meta-analysis when evaluating combination therapy versus HA alone. This demonstrated superior outcomes with combination therapy against HA only at 3, 6, and 12 months on the visual acuity scale (VAS, p < 0.001), and with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) at 12 months in areas of stiffness and physical function (p < 0.001). For combination therapy versus PRP alone, one randomized controlled trial qualified as best current evidence. This demonstrated superior VAS outcomes with combination therapy compared to PRP monotherapy at 6 months (p < 0.02). Best current evidence indicates that intra-articular HA and PRP as combination therapy has superior short and long term symptom control over HA or PRP as monotherapy. Due to the extensive heterogeneity in the studies, results should be interpreted with caution.

A time-series-based model to detect homogeneous regions of residents’ dynamic living habits

ABSTRACT The identification of homogeneous regions representing the dynamic living habits of residents has long been a central focus in human activity research. Although extensive studies have been conducted in this area, the majority of these efforts have concentrated on static residential behaviors, neglecting the temporal fluctuations in urban residents’ activities throughout the day. This study introduces a novel model that integrates facility operation data with a time-series-based regionalization approach to detect residents’ dynamic living habits at the block scale and identify homogeneous regions. The model first transforms textual data into temporal Origin-Destination (OD) flows and introduces the concept of an “urban schedule” to represent the Temporal OD of various resident activities within a specific unit. Building on this foundation, the urban schedule is subsequently converted into operating probability curves over time, revealing the spatial structure of residents’ dynamic living habits. Our findings demonstrate that the homogeneous regions of residents’ dynamic living habits not only reflect the intensity of human activity but also show a significant correlation with distinct urban functional areas, highlighting their importance for urban planning and development.