General Issues Research Articles

Leveraging LLM: Implementing an Advanced AI Chatbot for Healthcare

Using the application of Large Language Models (LLMs) in healthcare settings, mainly focusing on addressing general illness inquiries through chatbot interfaces. Leveraging the capabilities of LLMs, explore their potential to provide accurate and contextually relevant responses to users seeking information about common health concerns. LLM have the capacity continuously learn and improve from user interaction. Through benchmarking experiments, this paper evaluates the accuracy (61%) of LLM-based chatbots in understanding and responding to user queries related to general illnesses. The findings demonstrate the performance of LLMs against established benchmarks, shedding light on their efficacy in healthcare applications. By examining the intersection of LLM technology and healthcare, this research contributes to advancing the development of intelligent chatbot systems capable of providing reliable and informative support to individuals seeking medical guidance for general health issues.

Deep graph contrastive learning model for drug-drug interaction prediction.

Drug-drug interaction (DDI) is the combined effects of multiple drugs taken together, which can either enhance or reduce each other's efficacy. Thus, drug interaction analysis plays an important role in improving treatment effectiveness and patient safety. It has become a new challenge to use computational methods to accelerate drug interaction time and reduce its cost-effectiveness. The existing methods often do not fully explore the relationship between the structural information and the functional information of drug molecules, resulting in low prediction accuracy for drug interactions, poor generalization, and other issues. In this paper, we propose a novel method, which is a deep graph contrastive learning model for drug-drug interaction prediction (DeepGCL for brevity). DeepGCL incorporates a contrastive learning component to enhance the consistency of information between different views (molecular structure and interaction network), which means that the DeepGCL model predicts drug interactions by integrating molecular structure features and interaction network topology features. Experimental results show that DeepGCL achieves better performance than other methods in all datasets. Moreover, we conducted many experiments to analyze the necessity of each component of the model and the robustness of the model, which also showed promising results. The source code of DeepGCL is freely available at https://github.com/jzysj/DeepGCL.

Long-Term Functional Outcomes in Pediatric Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review.

The multimodal treatments for pediatric head and neck (H&N) malignancies can have significant long-term functional consequences for growing patients. This systematic review aims to analyze the current knowledge of functional outcomes for pediatric H&N cancer survivors. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines were followed, and 1356 papers were reviewed by 3 team members with conflict resolution by a senior member. Fourteen studies were included. Nine of 14 (64%) papers reported issues with swallowing, characterized as either dysphagia, odynophagia, oropharyngeal fibrosis, esophageal stenosis, xerostomia, trismus, or general issues with the throat and mouth. Six of 14 papers noted nutritional and feeding deficiencies, and 5 of 14 additionally noted issues with speech and voice changes. Four of 14 (29%) reported hearing impairments and/or loss. A majority of papers (9/14) reported long-term functional characteristics as a secondary outcome. Three of 14 (21%) reported a quality of life (QoL) measure. Heterogeneity in methodology and reporting precluded analysis of any relationship between treatment type and functional outcomes. Recommendations include integration of objective measures of feeding support and swallowing, as well as regular measurements of function and QoL parameters during treatment to better understand the evolution of QoL and function throughout care. Relatively few studies focus on functional outcomes following the treatment of pediatric H&N cancer. Swallowing difficulty is the most frequently reported deficit, but objective data is rarely reported. Standardization of functional outcome assessment could improve the quality of evidence for pediatric patients treated for H&N cancer.

Molecule Crowding Strategy in Polymer Electrolytes Inducing Stable Interfaces for All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries.

All-solid-state lithium batteries with polymer electrolytes suffer from electrolyte decomposition and lithium dendrites because of the unstable electrode/electrolyte interfaces. Herein, a molecule crowding strategy is proposed to modulate the Li+ coordinated structure, thus in situ constructing the stable interfaces. Since 15-crown-5 possesses superior compatibility with polymer and electrostatic repulsion for anion of lithium salt, the anions are forced to crowd into a Li+ coordinated structure to weaken the Li+ coordination with polymer and boost the Li+ transport. The coordinated anions prior decompose to form LiF-rich, thin, and tough interfacial passivation layers for stabilizing the electrode/electrolyte interfaces. Thus, the symmetric Li-Li cell can stably operate over 4360h, the LiFePO4||Li full battery presents 97.18% capacity retention in 700 cycles at 2C, and the NCM811||Li full battery possesses the capacity retention of 83.17% after 300 cycles. The assembled pouch cell shows excellent flexibility (stand for folding over 2000 times) and stability (89.42% capacity retention after 400 cycles). This work provides a promising strategy to regulate interfacial chemistry by modulating the ion environment to accommodate the interfacial issues and will inspire more effective approaches to general interface issues for polymer electrolytes.

Plasmonic Near-Infrared-Response S-Scheme ZnO/CuInS2 Photocatalyst for H2O2 Production Coupled with Glycerin Oxidation.

Solar fuel synthesis is intriguing because solar energy is abundant and this method compensates for its intermittency. However, most photocatalysts can only absorb UV-to-visible light, while near-infrared (NIR) light remains unexploited. Surprisingly, the charge transfer between ZnO and CuInS2 quantum dots (QDs) can transform a NIR-inactive ZnO into a NIR-active composite. This strong response is attributed to the increased concentration of free charge carriers in the p-type semiconductor at the interface after the charge migration between ZnO and CuInS2, enhancing the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect and the NIR response of CuInS2. As a paradigm, this ZnO/CuInS2 heterojunction is used for H2O2 production coupled with glycerin oxidation and demonstrates supreme performance, corroborating the importance of NIR response and efficient charge transfer. Mechanistic studies through contact potential difference (CPD), Hall effect test, and finite element method (FEM) calculation allow for the direct correlation between the NIR response and charge transfer. This approach bypasses the general light response issues, thereby stepping forward to the ambitious goal of harnessing the entire solar spectrum.

GGT-SNN: Graph learning and Gaussian prior integrated spiking graph neural network for event-driven tactile object recognition

Spiking neural networks possess asynchronous, discrete, and sparse characteristics that enable direct processing of event-based tactile sensor data and more efficient transmission of information. These networks have been widely applied in the tactile perception field. However, due to the sparsity of tactile data, these models are prone to generalization issues. Additionally, existing methods for tactile graph construction are constrained when spatially connecting high-dimensional tactile data, making it challenging for the model to fuse and process such information effectively. To address these challenges, we propose the GGT-SNN, which introduces a parameter estimation method with Gaussian priors to alleviate generalization problems caused by sparse tactile data. Furthermore, we design M-tree and Z-tree tactile graph construction methods to compensate for deficiencies of other approaches when handling high-dimensional tactile spatial connections. This approach enhances the model’s ability to efficiently process high-dimensional event-driven tactile information. We introduce an approximate LIF neuron activation function to enable backpropagation within the model and comprehensively compare and evaluate its performance against different approximate functions. The experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method performs significantly better than SOTA methods, exhibiting a 10.83 % improvement over TactileSGNet on the EvTouch-Containers dataset and a 2.92 % improvement over TactileSGNet on the EvTouch-Objects dataset.

Trust but Verify: Lessons Learned for the Application of AI to Case-Based Clinical Decision-Making From Postmarketing Drug Safety Assessment at the US Food and Drug Administration.

Adverse drug reactions are a common cause of morbidity in health care. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluates individual case safety reports of adverse events (AEs) after submission to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System as part of its surveillance activities. Over the past decade, the FDA has explored the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate these reports to improve the efficiency and scientific rigor of the process. However, a gap remains between AI algorithm development and deployment. This viewpoint aims to describe the lessons learned from our experience and research needed to address both general issues in case-based reasoning using AI and specific needs for individual case safety report assessment. Beginning with the recognition that the trustworthiness of the AI algorithm is the main determinant of its acceptance by human experts, we apply the Diffusion of Innovations theory to help explain why certain algorithms for evaluating AEs at the FDA were accepted by safety reviewers and others were not. This analysis reveals that the process by which clinicians decide from case reports whether a drug is likely to cause an AE is not well defined beyond general principles. This makes the development of high performing, transparent, and explainable AI algorithms challenging, leading to a lack of trust by the safety reviewers. Even accounting for the introduction of large language models, the pharmacovigilance community needs an improved understanding of causal inference and of the cognitive framework for determining the causal relationship between a drug and an AE. We describe specific future research directions that underpin facilitating implementation and trust in AI for drug safety applications, including improved methods for measuring and controlling of algorithmic uncertainty, computational reproducibility, and clear articulation of a cognitive framework for causal inference in case-based reasoning.

Uses and abuses of the concept of race in genomics of sport performance and sport-related traumatic brain injury: epistemological and ethical considerations

ABSTRACT In this article, we tackle the epistemological and ethical issues related to the use of race concepts in the genomics of sport performance and sport-related concussion (SRC). In the first part of the article, we show how the concept of race is ubiquitous in scientific literature, besides the fact that ‘race’ as other analogous population descriptors like ‘ancestry’ and ‘continent’ carry ancestral genetic heterogeneity and therefore they cannot be used to infer any kind of genetic or physiological property. Then, we investigate the question of whether genomics research focusing on racial categories and race-specific genes of sport performance and of risk of health outcomes due to repetitive head impacts (RHI) is justified from an epistemological point of view, arguing that it is not; we show that the evidence supporting the existence of genetic variants determining an elite athlete status or a predisposition to health outcomes after SRC is scarce, and the use of racial categories (e.g. African or Black, Caucasian or White, Asian, etc.) as proxies for genetic variants associated with an elite athlete status/a predisposition to health outcomes after SRC is ill-conceived. In the second part of the article, we analyze the main ethical issues concerning the reification of race concepts in sport genomics, also considering the more general issue of the ethical and social impact of the use of a genetic framework in the explanation of individual differences in sport performance and SRC.

Research on the generalization issue of the heterogeneous QC-EMMS drag model for gas-solid fluidization

In the circulating fluidized bed (CFB), the non-uniform mesoscale structure formed by the particle clustering effect causes a substantial decrease in the gas-solid drag. Since the degree of particle clustering varies with operating conditions, an accurate drag model needs to be universal in different heterogeneous flow conditions. In this study, the relationships between the Ψ factor in clusters' solid holdup model that characterizes the flow non-uniformity and the operating parameters of CFB (including slip velocity Reynolds number, Re*, bed-averaged solid volume fraction, εs,bed, and solid mass circulation rate, Gs) are established. It improves the adaptability of the QC-EMMS drag model under different working conditions. In previous research, we established two types of models that related Ψ factor to Re* and εs,bed respectively. However, there exists a problem of high dispersion of points, indicating that the selected parameters cannot fully describe the flow non-uniformity. Therefore, Gs is reintroduced to modify the two types of models. The results show that the prediction accuracy of the modified models is improved and the relative error is <10%, indicating that the non-uniform factor Ψ has a strong correlation with Gs. In addition, the quantitative relation between Re*, εs,bed, and Gs is derived from modified models, and the trend of relation is highly consistent with the fluidization diagram proposed by Yerushalmi J., which verifies the accuracy of modified models. Finally, numerical simulation of typical CFB cases proves the adaptability of the modified models in wide operating conditions of fluidization.

Electronic Money Institution and Protection Framework

This study aims to address a notable gap in the existing literature concerning electronic money (e-money) in Malaysia. While numerous studies have explored advantages and disadvantages of e-money, consumer behaviors and general issues on e-money, there remains limited understanding of e-money-related institutions and the protective measures they afford. Employing a structured interview guide, primary data were gathered from professionals actively engaged in the e-money sector, who concurrently serve as users. Additionally, secondary data were extracted and analysed from official government websites. Semi-structured interviews formed the primary data collection method, and an in-depth thematic analysis was conducted using Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS), specifically Atlas.ti version 22. The study identifies four key institutions contributing to e-money consumer protection: government entities, private organizations, nongovernmental institutions (NGOs), and international entities. Moreover, it delineates five types of protection extended to e-money consumers during payment transactions. These protections encompass security measures, safeguards provided by the Central Bank of Malaysia, merchant-based protections, measures enacted by Telecommunications Companies (TELCOs) and Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) as well as non-governmental organisations (NGO). The findings of this research offer valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers involved in the e-money ecosystem. Understanding the diverse institutions and protection mechanisms is crucial for fostering a secure and reliable e-money environment for consumers. This research contributes significantly to the current body of literature by presenting insights derived directly from experts with firsthand experience in e-money institutions and protective measures. The study enriches our understanding of the multifaceted landscape of e-money consumer protection, filling a crucial research gap in the existing knowledge base.

VSEMERA: pilot project assessing health profession students’ experiences in an international virtual research program

BackgroundThe “Virtual Semester for Medical Research Aachen” (vSEMERA) is an international, interdisciplinary, virtual education program developed for health profession students. The first edition (2021) was hosted by the Medical Faculty of RWTH Aachen University (Germany) in cooperation with Centro Universitário Christus (Brazil) and Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Peru). The primary aim of the 12-weeks program was to provide students with skills in health science research and prepare them for scientific career paths.MethodsvSEMERA was built on a virtual learning platform, the “vSEMERA-Campus”, designed to foster students’ learning process and social interactions. Maximum flexibility was offered through synchronous and asynchronous teaching, enabling participants to join via any device from any part of the Globe alongside their regular studies. For the program’s first edition (September - November 2021), health profession students from Germany, Brazil, Peru, Spain, and Italy filled all 30 available spots. Satisfaction, quality of the program and courses offered, as well as perceived learning outcomes, were examined using questionnaires throughout and at the end of the program.ResultsThe program received a rating of 4.38 out of 5 stars. While it met most expectations (4.29 out of 5), participants were unable to attend as many courses as intended (2.81 out of 5), mainly due to scheduling conflicts with the home university schedule (46%), internships (23%), and general timing issues (31%). Participants acknowledged considerable improvements in their scientific skills, English language skills, confidence in scientific project management, research career progression, and enthusiasm for a scientific career.ConclusionsvSEMERA represents a promising example of an online international learning and exchange program using pedagogical and technological elements of virtual collaboration and teaching. In addition to advancing future vSEMERA editions, our results may offer insights for similar projects that address the targeted integration of scientific research education into an international, digital learning environment.

ASP: Learn a Universal Neural Solver!

Applying machine learning to combinatorial optimization problems has the potential to improve both efficiency and accuracy. However, existing learning-based solvers often struggle with generalization when faced with changes in problem distributions and scales. In this paper, we propose a new approach called ASP: Adaptive Staircase Policy Space Response Oracle to address these generalization issues and learn a universal neural solver. ASP consists of two components: Distributional Exploration, which enhances the solver's ability to handle unknown distributions using Policy Space Response Oracles, and Persistent Scale Adaption, which improves scalability through curriculum learning. We have tested ASP on several challenging COPs, including the traveling salesman problem, the vehicle routing problem, and the prize collecting TSP, as well as the real-world instances from TSPLib and CVRPLib. Our results show that even with the same model size and weak training signal, ASP can help neural solvers explore and adapt to unseen distributions and varying scales, achieving superior performance. In particular, compared with the same neural solvers under a standard training pipeline, ASP produces a remarkable decrease in terms of the optimality gap with 90.9% and 47.43% on generated instances and real-world instances for TSP, and a decrease of 19% and 45.57% for CVRP.

Peculiarities of teaching a second/third foreign language based on English

Problem. The article deals with general issues relating to the main features of teaching a second or third foreign language (German and French, based on English) to students specializing in applied linguistics. A short list of similarities and differences between English, German and French in the context of their learning is given. This study presents an overview of the concept of multilingual education and analyses the main methods of teaching a third language. The problems associated with teaching a second foreign language are not sufficiently revealed, as this discipline is not very widespread in non-language educational institutions. It generally holds that the methodology of teaching a second foreign language does not differ from that of teaching a first foreign language, except that the second language is taught to a lesser extent. This approach does not take into account a number of characteristics that affect the effectiveness of learning the subject. Goal. The aim is to present the main features of teaching the second/third foreign language (German and French based on previously learnt English) to students majoring in Applied Linguistics. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to find more effective methods of teaching a second foreign language. Methodology. To achieve this goal, a number of research methods were used: theoretical analysis and generalization of pedagogical and methodological sources on the issues of third language teaching didactics and the concept of multilingual education. The term «multilingualism» is used in official European terminology to refer to both the linguistic diversity of a society and the ability of a person to speak several languages. The concept of "multilingual education" applies to both the development of an individual language repertoire and to «plurilingual education» i.e., education in a context of linguistic and cultural diversity. English, German and French have many things in common: Latin spelling and lexical similarities. All three languages contain many cognates - words that are similar in spelling and pronunciation and mean the same thing. All of these languages have a subject-verb-object syntactic structure. Consequently, the main problems in learning a second/third language after learning English, in the context of three foreign languages in contact with the mother tongue, are interference not only from the mother tongue but also from the second/third language, as well as positive language transfer, given that they both belong to the same Roman language group. Originality. The modern didactic approaches to multilingualism cause a major change not only in the way we teach, but also in the way we learn, develop curricula, and train future professionals. Practical value. The integration of work on language representation and multilingual learning, as well as explaining the plurilingual didactic approach to students, will make the language learning process more focused on students' real skills, more flexible and more creative.

Hybrid Vibration Sensor for Equipment Monitoring and Diagnostics.

Vibration diagnostics based on vibroacoustic signal data belong to the most common ways to monitor the technical condition of equipment and technical structures. The paper considers the general issues of vibration-based diagnostics and shows that in general, it is required to monitor both axial and torsional oscillations, as well as the inclination angle, occurring during the operation of various technical objects. To comprehensively monitor these parameters, a hybrid vibration sensor is proposed, simultaneously implementing three operating modes: recording linear displacements of the vibrating object; recording the rotation angle of the object at its torsional oscillations; recording the object angular deviation from the vertical component of the natural local geomagnetic field, i.e., the inclinometer mode. The proposed hybrid sensor design is described, and a theoretical analysis of the sensor's operation in each of the aforementioned operating modes is performed. The authors show that in the inclinometer mode the sensor actually operates as a fluxgate meter. Generalizing the results of the sensor's operation simultaneously in all three operating modes, an equation for the total output data signal has been obtained, which allows for obtaining the required information on the current values of linear displacements and rotation and inclination angles by selectively filtering it with respective three filters tuned to specific frequencies. The experimental studies of the proposed hybrid vibration sensor confirmed its ability to record various vibrational disturbances and changes in the inclination angle of the monitored object.

(Nonequilibrium) Dynamics of Diffusion Processes with Non-conservative Drifts

The nonequilibrium Fokker–Planck dynamics with a non-conservative drift field, in dimension N≥2\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$N\\ge 2$$\\end{document}, can be related with the non-Hermitian quantum mechanics in a real scalar potential Vand in a purely imaginary vector potential -iAof real amplitude A (Mazzolo and Monthus in Phys Rev E 107:014101, 2023). Since Fokker–Planck probability density functions may be obtained by means of Feynman’s path integrals, the previous observation points towards a general issue of “magnetically affine” propagators, possibly of quantum origin, in real and Euclidean time. In below we shall follow the N=3\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$N=3$$\\end{document} “magnetic thread”, within which one may keep under a computational control formally and conceptually different implementations of magnetism (or surrogate magnetism) in the dynamics of diffusion processes. We shall focus on interrelations (with due precaution to varied, not evidently compatible, notational conventions) of: (i) the pertinent non-conservatively drifted diffusions, (ii) the classic Brownian motion of charged particles in the (electro)magnetic field, (iii) diffusion processes arising within so-called Euclidean quantum mechanics (which from the outset employs non-Hermitian “magnetic” Hamiltonians), (iv) limitations of the usefulness of the Euclidean map exp(-itHquant)→exp(-tHEucl)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\exp (-itH_{quant}) \\rightarrow \\exp (-tH_{Eucl})$$\\end{document}, regarding the probabilistic significance of inferred (path) integral kernels in the description of diffusion processes.

AUTHENTIC VIDEO IN TEACHING UKRAINIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

In the article, the author analyses the scientific achievements of Ukrainian linguodidactics in the field of theoretical and practical comprehension of working with authentic audiovisual materials as an additional teaching source in the study of foreign language. Numerous publications by Ukrainian scholars on this topic (from the early 2000s to the present day) are divided into 3 groups. The first group of articles focuses on the general issues of using the audiovisual method in the process of developing foreign language communicative competence. The second group of studies includes articles reviewing the most frequent “audiovisual practices” in the course of UFL. The third group of articles is in-depth research on working with certain genres of authentic video for foreign audiences. The range of genres of authentic video products that can be used for educational purposes in the process of mastering UFL is outlined. These include feature films, documentaries, animated films, informative and entertaining TV programmes (news release, video interviews, academic lectures, video presentations, virtual tours of museums and cities of Ukraine, video blogs, TV shows, stand-up comedy, etc.), video messages from public figures, advertising blocks, trailers, music videos, etc. It is emphasized that among the above, Ukrainian methodologists pay the most attention to films of various genres (primarily short films). The article highlights the key issues that Ukrainian film didactics is working on. The article analyses the scientific studies of Ukrainian methodologists on the use of other genres of authentic video for linguodidactic purposes – video interviews, song videos, commercials, virtual tours, professional videos, etc. The author presents her own comments on the stated topic and outlines issues for the future. It is emphasised that working with authentic video requires the teacher to understand the specific purpose of its use in the classroom, knowledge of the repertoire of Ukrainian authentic material and its linguistic and didactic potential, and special methodological study for presentation in a foreign language audience. Key words: authentic video, genre, listening, Ukrainian as a foreign language, linguodidactics.

Identifying the Impact Factors on the Land Market in Nepal from Land Use Regulation

Measuring the impact of land use regulation on the land market involves identifying and classifying relevant impact factors related to the land market. The objective of this study was to identify land market impact factors in the context of the introduction of land use regulation in Nepal. Through a combination of desktop review and the incorporation of stakeholder perspectives, the paper presents a new approach for determining land market impact factors due to land use regulation where both generic and country issues are considered. A desktop review was carried out to identify a preliminary set of impact factors, which were reclassified through intuitive analysis based on the degree of thematic closeness. Perspective-based impact factors were identified through the qualitative analysis of primary data collected through semi-structured interviews with the Nepalese land market stakeholders. These independently derived impact factors were compared with the desktop literature review impact factors, resulting in 14 land market impact factors across four dimensions, including transaction cost, valuation, mortgage availability, taxation, and compensation across the economic dimension; lot size, subdivision restrictions, and coordination across the institutional dimension; awareness, expectation, and proximity across the social dimension; and risk reduction, quality of residential land, and suitability of zoning classification across the environmental dimension. There was significant overlap and commonality across factors identified from both the literature review and semi-structured interviews. The land market impact factors determined in this study may be adapted and generalized across other countries and could be utilized to better understand the impacts of land policy decisions on urban planning and development. Further research is recommended on the process to operationalize the use of these factors to quantify the impact of land use regulation on different land markets.

Determining Risk Management Priorities and Suggesting Strategies in the Management of Family Health Centres

Aim: The purpose of this study is to identify the risks faced by decision-makers in the management of Family Health Center (FHC) and to propose strategies according to their relative importance. Materials and Methods: Eight different risks were identified as a result of the literature review. In order to evaluate the identified risks, four different physicians with at least ten years of managerial experience in FHCs and two health managers with at least ten years of experience in their field were included in the study. SWARA (Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis) method was used to evaluate and analyze the opinions. SWARA method is a weight calculation method based on expert opinions developed for the finalization of decision problems. Results: According to the results of the analysis, experts ranked financial risks (%27), clinical and patient safety risks (%21), and operational risks (%15) as the most important risks, respectively. Hazard risks (%4) were assessed as the least risky in relative terms. For FHCs to carry out their activities effectively, financial risks should be minimized first. Conclusions: Additional measures should be taken by the public for the use and rental of FHCs. Diversification of other sources of income can be ensured by expanding the health services provided beyond the resource transfer linked to the public budget. Regional investment and incentives can be developed by municipalities. Strengthening data protection policies to assess the compliance of medical practices with legal standards and to ensure the security of personal patient data can also reduce legal risks. In FHCs, general safety issues, especially patient safety, are also priority issues that should be investigated and legislation should be developed. In addition, management courses/training can be added to the family medicine specialty curriculum to improve the managerial skills of physicians.

How Close to the Mark Might Published Heritability Estimates Be?

The behavioural scientist who requires an estimate of narrow heritability, h2, will conduct a twin study, and input the resulting estimated covariance matrices into a particular mode of estimation, the latter derived under supposition of the standard biometric model (SBM). It is known that the standard biometric model can be expected to misrepresent the phenotypic (genetic) architecture of human traits. The impact of this misrepresentation on the accuracy of h2 estimation is unknown. We aimed to shed some light on this general issue, by undertaking three simulation studies. In each, we investigated the parameter recovery performance of five modes- Falconer’s coefficient and the SEM models, ACDE, ADE, ACE, and AE- when they encountered a constructed, non-SBM, architecture, under a particular informational input. In study 1, the architecture was single-locus with dominance effects and genetic-environment covariance, and the input was a set of population covariance matrices yielded under the four twin designs, monozygotic-reared together, monozygotic-reared apart, dizygotic-reared together, and dizygotic-reared apart; in study 2, the architecture was identical to that of study 1, but the informational input was monozygotic-reared together and dizygotic-reared together; and in study 3, the architecture was multi-locus with dominance effects, genetic-environment covariance, and epistatic interactions. The informational input was the same as in study 1. The results suggest that conclusions regarding the coverage of h2 must be drawn conditional on a) the general class of generating architecture in play; b) specifics of the architecture’s parametric instantiations; c) the informational input into a mode of estimation; and d) the particular mode of estimationemployed. The results showed that the more complicated the generating architecture, the poorer a mode’s h2 recovery performance. Random forest analyses furthermore revealed that, depending on the genetic architecture, h2, the dominance and locus additive parameter, and proportions of alleles were involved in complex interaction effects impacting on h2 parameter recovery performance of a mode of estimation. Data and materials: https://osf.io/aq9sx/

U.S. beef producer perspectives on “sustainable beef” and implications for sustainability transitions

Beef production systems are at the center of ongoing discussion and debate on food systems sustainability. There is a growing interest among beef producers, consumers, and other beef supply chain stakeholders in achieving greater sustainability within the industry, but the relationship of this interest to general sustainability issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, food security, livelihood risks, and animal welfare concerns is unclear. Specifically, there is very little research documenting how beef producers define and view the concept of sustainability and how to achieve it. Producer perspectives are critical to identifying constraints to sustainability transitions or to help build agreement with other producers about the shared values such transitions may support. Through a secondary analysis of survey data of U.S. beef producers (n = 911) conducted in 2021 by the Trust in Food division of Farm Journal, a corporation that provides content, data, and business insights to the agricultural community (e.g., producers, processors/distributors, and retailers), we investigated what “sustainable beef” means to U.S. beef producers, highlighting the key components and constraints they perceive to achieving desirable sustainability outcomes. Leveraging the three-pillar model of sustainability as a framework for analysis, we identified key themes producers use to define “sustainable beef.” We found that producers collectively viewed sustainability as: (1) multidimensional and interconnected; (2) semi-closed and regenerative; (3) long-lasting; and (4) producer-centered, although an integrated perspective uniting these aspects was rare. We discuss how these perspectives may be the basis for sustainability efforts supported by producers and raise future research considerations toward a shared understanding of what sustainability is and what is needed for enduring sustainability solutions in the U.S. beef industry.