Greater Weight Research Articles

Morphological and Morphometrical Studies on the Radius and Ulna of Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus)

Background: The fore and hind limbs of the elephant are arranged in an almost vertical position under the body, similar to a pillar or leg of a table rather than being in the angular position seen in many other quadruped mammals to support great weight. The aim of this study was to elucidate the morphological and morphometrical outline on the radius and ulna in Elephants, thereby making more contribution in filling the gap of knowledge and skills framework in this field. Methods: For the present study, the materials from three Indian elephants were used. Some of the specimens were available at the Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Mhow. Few skeletons were dug out from the ground which was buried from the last 5-10 years in the premises of college. Result: The radius was situated obliquely in the anterior aspect of forearm region. Radius had two extremities proximal and distal extremity and a shaft. The distal end of the radius was thick, flattened and slightly prismatic in shape. The ulna was more massive than radius. It had two extremities and a body.

Systematic Review of Combined Pelvic Ring and Acetabular Injuries: What Do We Know From the Literature?

The purpose of this review is to examine the literature on combined pelvic ring and acetabular fractures. We hope to further define the classifications, severities (ISS & Mortality), healing, radiographic parameters, and functional outcomes of such injuries to report all potential recommendations based on findings. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and a systematic search on PubMed and Google Scholar was performed. Articles included were in the English Language or through English translation, between the years 1996 and 2022. Articles that had met the inclusion criteria were systematically assessed for the relevance of their content. Eleven articles were identified with a total of 985 patients.All eleven were retrospective case series and the presence of both an injury within the pelvic ring and another injury within the acetabulum, either ipsilateral or contralateral, was the indication of a combination injury. The overall mortality rate averaged over all studies was 7.9% and the Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 22.98. When considering the higher mortality rate seen in pelvic ring injuries compared to the isolated acetabulum, there appears to be survivability beyond reductive means as a reason for reducing and fixing the pelvic ring first. However, accurate reduction of the acetabulum has a greater weight in overall patient recovery compared to the reduction of the pelvic ring and thus surgical emphasis on the anatomic reduction of the acetabulum may be paramount. Despite this good to excellent outcomes can be achieved with careful preoperative planning and surgical execution in patients with fractures of the pelvic ring and acetabulum. Further research as well as uniform radiographic scoring system and outcomes scores should be required to better evaluate and treat these injuries.

A retrospective observational study of real-time ultrasound-guided peripheral arterial cannulation in infants.

To examine first attempt success and overall success of real-time ultrasound guided peripheral arterial cannulation in infants. Retrospective review of 477 ultrasound guided peripheral arterial cannulations in infants less than 1 year of age. Procedural and patient characteristics were evaluated to better understand factors related to procedural success. Ultrasound guided peripheral arterial cannulation had a first attempt success rate of 65% and an overall success rate of 86%. Success rates significantly differed by arterial location (p < 0.001). First attempt success and overall success were highest in the radial artery (72%, 91%) and lowest in the posterior tibial artery (44%, 71%). Success was more likely with greater age and greater weight (p = 0.006, p = 0.002). Success rates are high when using a real-time ultrasound-guided technique for peripheral arterial cannulation in infants. An infant's weight and selected artery are strong predictors of success when performing peripheral arterial cannulation. The use of procedural ultrasound may reduce unnecessary attempts and minimize procedure-related harm.

Multivariate analysis for yield and yield-related traits of amaranth genotypes from Ethiopia

The genus Amaranthus is one of the few dicotyledonous, non-grass mesophytes that use specialized C4 annuals or short-lived perennials to produce significant amounts of edible small-seeded pseudo cereals. In this study, we characterized the genetic diversity of 120 genotypes of amaranths collected from diverse amaranth-growing regions of Ethiopia using multivariate analysis of yield and yield-related traits. The experiments were carried out at Hawassa University, in the years 2020 and 2021. The experimental design was set up using an alpha lattice design and replicated two times. The collected data were examined for 24 descriptors. Principal component analysis showed that the first six principal components with eigenvalues greater than one contributed 80.41% of the variability. However, the first two principal components explained 52.42% of the total variation. The highest contributing traits in the first component were days to flowering, basal stem diameter, plant height at flowering, plant height at maturity, auxiliary inflorescence length, number of branches, terminal inflorescence lateral length, days to maturity, terminal inflorescence stalk length, leaf number, leaf length, top lateral branch length. The traits with the greatest weight on the second component were leaf area, basal lateral branch length, leaf length, and leaf width, grain filling period, grain sinking filling rate, and grain yield. Therefore, selection based on these traits would be effective for yield improvement in amaranth genotypes. Additionally, the hierarchical clustering grouped all the genotypes into five clusters. The pairwise generalized squared distance (D2) among the five clusters based on Mahalanobis's D2 statistics revealed the maximum and highly significant genetic distance was observed between II and III (277.79), while the minimum inter-cluster distance observed between clusters I and II (39.50). The findings suggest that amaranth genotypes in Ethiopia have a lot of genetic variation, which might be used for future breeding and ought to be conserved.

Survey of coffee damage by coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei Ferr.) attack in Purwabakti, Pamijahan – Bogor

The coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei Ferr. (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), is the main pest that causes damage to coffee berries. The attack caused a decrease in the quality and quantity of coffee fruit production. This study aimed to determine the level of CBB attacks in Purwabakti Village, Pamijahan, Bogor. The method was to take ripe coffee berries from 25 trees diagonally and then calculate the level of damage to the coffee berries due to CBB attacks. The results were from 25 robusta coffee trees with as many as 405 grains (568.2 g) with a percentage of fruit that was symptomatic at 86.99% and asymptomatic at 13.01% based on visual characters. Asymptomatic fruit had a smaller mean weight (12.42 g/10 berries) than symptomatic fruit (14.32 g/10 berries) (P<0.0002). This indicated that the fruit with symptomatic characteristics still had a greater weight even though CBB had attacked it.

Green bonds’ connectedness with hedging and conditional diversification performance

Investments in green assets are becoming increasingly significant, and they present a new asset class for investors. Consequently, the resulting connectedness among these green assets has implications for investments. Our work therefore studies 12 international green bonds markets using data from February 12, 2008 to May 21, 2021. We looked for spillover across these markets and found low values for it, suggesting there are avenues for portfolio diversification, except for with the Japanese and Hong Kong markets, which receive significant spillover from the US market. Relative to the US market, there are hedging opportunities when greater weights are assigned to the UK, Australian, Canadian, Japanese, Norwegian, and New Zealand markets for green bonds. We also highlight that these diversification benefits are conditional on the expected shortfall and the creation of an equally weighted portfolio when combining US green bonds with other green bonds.

ОЦЕНКА КАЧЕСТВА ДОЗИРОВАНИЯ ПРИМЕСНОГО КОМПОНЕНТА ЛЕНТОЧНЫМ ПИТАТЕЛЕМ

The necessity of separate supply of grain mixture components to the experimental trier in the study of the process of separating long impurities from wheat was established. It is proposed to use distribution boxes without a bottom with dimensions of 0.6×0.06×0.07 m and a screeder with adjustable gate reach to ensure uniform distribution of the impurity component. The structure of the total error in the dosing of the impurity component during the interval control of its flow has been established. The errors in counting time intervals and the reaction of the operator with measuring containers to the sound signal have the greatest weight. Relationships between the dosing quality indicators: the standard deviation (σ) and the coefficient of variation (ν) with the time interval for monitoring samples leaving the belt feeder with an impurity mass in the distribution box of 0.360 kg were established, while with a decrease in the time interval for monitoring samples (toot) ν increased . With a change in t from 25 to 5 s, ν of the sampled impurities increased by 5.25 times. Isolation of the two most significant errors by summing the masses of the impurity over repetitions eliminates the error of discrete dosing - the difference from equivalent distributed masses is 0.67 - 2.33%, which is quite acceptable for the continuous dosing of the impurity under study. with the mass of impurities in the distribution box mp = 0.725 kg. With an increase in mp by 2 times, the value of the coefficient of variation for the time interval for sampling samples tot = 5 s decreased by 1.94 times.

Prediction of Corporate Bankruptcy using Machine Learning

Over the past few decades, corporate bankruptcy has become a source of concern for various business stakeholders such as investors and management. It has also piqued the interest of researchers worldwide. Because there are so many variables that contribute to bankruptcy, it is insufficient to rely solely on a single predictive model; instead, the difficulty is in pinpointing the crucial elements that carry the greatest weight. The significant class imbalance in the data is another significant obstacle that impairs the model's functionality. While many methods, such as Decision Trees, Support Vector Machines, Neural Networks, etc., have been studied before with various pre-processing approaches, we advance this research by applying a novel combination of a Random Forest feature selection technique and SMOTEENN hybrid resampling technique on Polish Bankruptcy dataset. We next apply four classifiers to the altered data: Random Forest, Decision Tree, KNN, and AdaBoost, and assess the effectiveness of each model. As a result of our suggested approach, the Random Forest classifier had the highest accuracy of 89%, while the AdaBoost model as a whole outperformed it with a Recall of 73% and a Geometric Mean of 80%.

Assessment and Ranking of the Behavioural Leadership Model in the Process of Implementing Reforms in Public Sector of the Republic of Serbia Using the PIPRECIA Method

The establishment of sustainable leadership is essential for the process of implementing reforms in public sector. Sustainable leadership implies effective leadership capable of responding to changes that come from both the internal and external environment. To achieve this, it is necessary to apply multi-criteria decision-making methods. In this paper, the new multi-criteria decision-making method PIPRECIA was used to assess the criteria and five models of leader behaviour that are significant for the process of implementing reforms in the public sector of the Republic of Serbia. In essence, the paper aims to emphasise the simplicity of the practical application of the PIPRECIA method, which was discussed through a numerical illustration on the basis of which the conclusions were drawn. The research results indicate that the criterion Individual competence of the leader (C4-0.24) has the greatest weight. By ranking the alternatives, it was estimated that the Charismatic model of behaviour (A5-0.219) is the leader’s behaviour model that can have the greatest importance in the process of implementing public sector reforms. The Directive model of behaviour (A3-0.197) was derived as the second most important, which is understandable if we consider the fact that this model of leader’s behaviour traditionally dominates the work of the public sector. Furthermore, Participatory behaviour model (A1-0.193), Supportive behaviour model (A2-0.193) and Transformational behaviour model (A4-0.193) have equal rank, which means that they have the same importance for the decision-maker. The findings provide significant information to leaders of public organisations on how to implement reforms and manage human resources more effectively.

Associating phthalate exposure during pregnancy with preschooler's FMI, ABSI and BRI trajectories via putative mechanism pathways

Phthalates are well-known obesogens, but a few studies have explored their impacts on the childhood fat mass index (FMI), body shape index (ABSI) and body roundness index (BRI). Information from 2950 participants recruited in the Ma'anshan Birth Cohort was analyzed. The relationships between six maternal phthalate metabolites and their mixture and childhood FMI, ABSI and BRI were investigated. FMI, ABSI and BRI in children aged 3.5 y, 4.0 y, 4.5 y, 5.0 y, 5.5 y and 6.0 y were calculated. The latent class trajectory modeling categorized the FMI trajectories into “rapidly increasing FMI” (4.71%) and “stable FMI” (95.29%) groups; ABSI trajectories were categorized as “decreasing ABSI” (32.74%), “stable ABSI” (46.55%), “slowly increasing ABSI” (13.26%), “moderately increasing ABSI” (5.27%) and “rapidly increasing ABSI” (2.18%) groups; BRI trajectories were categorized as “increasing BRI” (2.82%), “stable BRI” (19.85%), and “decreasing BRI” (77.34%) groups. Prenatal MEP exposure was associated with repeated measurements of FMI (β = 0.111, 95% CI = 0.002–0.221), ABSI (β = 0.145, 95% CI = 0.023–0.268) and BRI (β = 0.046, 95% CI = −0.005–0.097). Compared with each stable trajectory group, prenatal MEP (OR = 0.650, 95% CI = 0.502–0.844) and MBP (OR = 0.717, 95% CI = 0.984–1.015) were linked to a decreased risk of “decreasing BRI” in children; there was a negative relationship between MBP and the “decreasing ABSI” group (OR = 0.667, 95% CI = 0.487–0.914), and MEP increased the risks of “slowly increasing ABSI” (OR = 1.668, 95% CI = 1.210–2.299) and “rapidly increasing ABSI” (OR = 2.522, 95% CI = 1.266–5.024) in children. Phthalate mixture during pregnancy showed significant relationships with all anthropometric indicator trajectories, with MEP and MBP always being of the largest importance. In conclusion, this study suggested that prenatal phthalate coexposure increased the childhood probability of being in higher ABSI and BRI trajectory groups. That is, children were more likely to be obese when they were exposed to higher levels of some phthalate metabolites and their mixture. The low-molecular weight phthalates, including MEP and MBP, contributed the greatest weights.

Impact of innovative rearing strategies for the Italian heavy pigs: Technological traits and chemical composition of dry–cured hams

To explore the influence of 4 feeding strategies on dry-cured ham quality, 336 barrows and gilts (3 batches, 112 pigs/batch) of 90 kg body weight (BW), were divided into 4 groups and housed in 8 pens with automated feeders. In the control group (C), the pigs were fed restrictively medium-protein feeds and slaughtered at 170 kg BW (SW) and 265 d of slaughter age (SA). With the older age (OA) treatment, the pigs were restrictively fed low protein feeds and slaughtered at 170 kg SW and 278 d SA. The other two groups were fed ad libitum high protein feeds, the younger age (YA) group was slaughtered at 170 kg SW and 237 d SA, the greater weight (GW) at 265 d of SA and 194 kg SW. The hams were dry-cured and seasoned for 607 d, weighed before and after seasoning and deboning. Sixty hams were sampled and sliced. The lean and the fat tissues were separated and analyzed for proximate composition and fatty acid profile. The model of analysis considered sex and treatment as fixed factors. With respect to C: i) OA lowered the ham weight, the lean protein content, increased marbling and decreased the PUFA proportion in intramuscular and subcutaneous fat; ii) YA hams had thicker fat cover with lower PUFA in intramuscular and subcutaneous fat; iii) GW increased the deboned ham weight, fat cover depth and marbling, reduced PUFA in intramuscular and subcutaneous fat, without alteration of the lean moisture content. Sex had a negligible impact.

Use of cigarettes and heated tobacco products during pregnancy and maternal–fetal outcomes: a retrospective, monocentric study

PurposeTo compare the effects of using heated tobacco products (HTP) or traditional cigarettes (C) on maternal and neonatal outcomes.MethodsThis is a retrospective, monocentric study conducted at San Marco Hospital from July 2021 to July 2022. We compared a cohort of pregnant patients who smoked HTP (HS), with pregnant women smoking cigarettes (CS), ex-smoker (ES) and non-smoker (NS) pregnant women. Biochemistry, ultrasound, and neonatal evaluations were performed.ResultsIn total, 642 women were enrolled, of which 270 were NS, 114 were ES, 120 were CS, and 138 were HS. CS had the greatest weight gain and had more difficulty getting pregnant. Smokers and ES experienced more frequently threats of preterm labor, miscarriages, temporary hypertensive spikes, and higher rates of cesarean sections. Preterm delivery was more associated with CS and HS groups. CS and HS had lower awareness of the risks to which the mother and the fetus are exposed. CS were more likely to be depressed and anxious. Biochemical parameters did not show significant differences between the groups. CS had the greatest difference in days between the gestational age calculated based on the last menstrual period and the one based on the actual ultrasound age. The average percentile newborn weight range of CS was lower, as well as the mean 1st minute and the 5th minute Apgar scores.ConclusionThe comparison of the data obtained between CS and HS underlines the greater danger of C. Nevertheless, we do not recommend HTP because the maternal–fetal outcomes are not superimposable to the NS outcomes.

3D‐Printed Inherently Porous Structures with Tetrahedral Lattice Architecture: Experimental and Computational Study of Their Mechanical Behavior

AbstractIncreasing demand in automotive, construction, and medical industries for materials with reduced weight and high mechanical durability has given rise to porous materials and composites. Materials combining nano‐ and microporosity and a well‐defined cellular macroporous architecture offer great potential weight reduction while maintaining mechanical durability. To achieve predictable mechanical performance, it is essential to apply experimental and computational efforts to precisely describe material structure–properties relationships. This study explores polymer structures with polymerization‐inherited porosity and well‐defined macroporous geometry, fabricated via digital light processing (DLP) 3Dprinting. Pore size and relative density are varied by ink composition and printing parameters to track their influence on the structure stiffness. Simulated stiffness values for the base polymer correspond to the experimentally determined elastic properties, showing Young's moduli of 554–722 MPa depending on the cosolvent ratio, which confirms the structure–properties relationship. Macroporosity is introduced in the form of a 3D tetrahedral bending‐dominated architecture with the resulting specific Young's moduli of 79.5 MPa cm3 g−1, comparable to foams. To merge the gap in stiffnesses, further investigation of structure–property relationships of various 3D–printed lattice architectures, as well as its application to other stereolithography methods to eliminate the negative effects from printing artifacts and resolution limit of the DLP 3D‐printing, are envisioned.

A neuromarker for deficit syndrome in schizophrenia from a combination of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Deficit schizophrenia (DS), defined by primary and enduring negative symptoms, has been proposed as a promising homogeneous subtype of schizophrenia. It has been demonstrated that unimodal neuroimaging characteristics of DS were different from non-deficit schizophrenia (NDS), however, whether multimodal-based neuroimaging features could identify deficit syndrome remains to be determined. Functional and structural multimodal magnetic resonance imaging of DS, NDS and healthy controls were scanned. Voxel-based features of gray matter volume, fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations, and regional homogeneity were extracted. The support vector machine classification models were constructed using these features separately and jointly. The most discriminative features were defined as the first 10% of features with the greatest weights. Moreover, relevance vector regression was applied to explore the predictive values of these top-weighted features in predicting negative symptoms. The multimodal classifier achieved a higher accuracy (75.48%) compared with the single modal model in distinguishing DS from NDS. The most predictive brain regions were mainly located in the default mode and visual networks, exhibiting differences between functional and structural features. Further, the identified discriminative features significantly predicted scores of diminished expressivity factor in DS but not NDS. The present study demonstrated that local properties of brain regions extracted from multimodal imaging data could distinguish DS from NDS with a machine learning-based approach and confirmed the relationship between distinctive features and the negative symptoms subdomain. These findings may improve the identification of potential neuroimaging signatures and improve the clinical assessment of the deficit syndrome.

Weight change and risk of obesity-related complications: A retrospective population-based cohort study of a UK primary care database.

To examine associations between weight loss/gain and risk of developing 13 obesity-related complications (ORCs), stratified by baseline body mass index (BMI). In this retrospective cohort study, we included adults with obesity (>30 kg/m2 ) from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD database with weight change (-50% to +50%) between Years 1 and 4 (N = 418 774 [median follow-up: 7 years]). Associations between weight change, baseline BMI and risk of developing ORCs during follow-up were assessed using Cox proportional hazard models. The impact of weight change on ORCs was generally dependent on baseline BMI. Four clear patterns were seen across the 13 outcomes. Pattern 1 showed greatest weight loss benefit for people with low baseline BMI (type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea, hypertension and dyslipidaemia); Pattern 2 showed most weight loss benefit at lower baseline BMI but no significant weight loss effect at higher baseline BMI (asthma, hip/knee osteoarthritis and polycystic ovary syndrome); Pattern 3 showed benefit in most cardiovascular diseases with weight loss (chronic kidney disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism), but no additional benefit with >10% weight loss; Pattern 4 showed no clear relationship between weight change and unstable angina/myocardial infarction and depression. We found similar but opposite patterns for weight gain. Weight loss benefit is dependent on weight loss magnitude and initial BMI, and weight gain is associated with a similar risk increase. Four patterns of association were identified between degree of weight change, baseline BMI and 13 ORCs.

A Multicriteria-Based Comparison of Electric Vehicles Using q-Rung Orthopair Fuzzy Numbers.

The subject of this research is the evaluation of electric cars and the choice of car that best meets the set research criteria. To this end, the criteria weights were determined using the entropy method with two-step normalization and a full consistency check. In addition, the entropy method was extended further with q-rung orthopair fuzzy (qROF) information and Einstein aggregation for carrying out decision making under uncertainty with imprecise information. Sustainable transportation was selected as the area of application. The current work compared a set of 20 leading EVs in India using the proposed decision-making model. The comparison was designed to cover two aspects: technical attributes and user opinions. For the ranking of the EVs, a recently developed multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) model, the alternative ranking order method with two-step normalization (AROMAN), was used. The present work is a novel hybridization of the entropy method, full consistency method (FUCOM), and AROMAN in an uncertain environment. The results show that the electricity consumption criterion (w = 0.0944) received the greatest weight, while the best ranked alternative was A7. The results also show robustness and stability, as revealed through a comparison with the other MCDM models and a sensitivity analysis. The present work is different from the past studies, as it provides a robust hybrid decision-making model that uses both objective and subjective information.

Improvement of the Shielding Effectiveness of PMMA/MWCNTs/Ag Hybrid Composite for X-Band Application

Herein, the PMMA/MWCNT/Ag hybrid composite films are prepared by solvent casting method to be used in an electrical application. The AC conductivity and dielectric characteristics have been investigated at room temperature. The electrical conductivity of the hybrid composite reaches a percolation critical concentration of 2.14×10-4 S/cm by Ag doping. For all PMMA/MWCNT/Ag hybrid composites, the frequency-dependent dielectric constant decreases as the frequency area widens. As the concentrations of MWCNT and Ag increase, the AC conductivity exhibits an increasing trend. The MWCNT and Ag content was found to significantly affect the SE of the given composites. A high electromagnetic (EM) shielding efficiency (SE) was achieved between 8.2 and 12.4 GHz (X-band). The highest EM attenuation of 18 dB at 12 GHz was achieved using 0.5 wt% MWCNT and Ag. The thermal analysis of the formed PMMA/MWCNT/Ag hybrid composites showed that exothermic reactions with the greatest weight loss took place between 200°C and 300°C. FESEM show that PMMA/MWCNT/Ag hybrid composites had uniform dispersion of the carbon nano tube and silver particles within the PMMA matrix .

Discriminação racial prediz o aumento do peso corporal e do IMC em indivíduos pretos da coorte ELSA-Brasil

We investigated whether racial discrimination accelerates the weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) gain in Blacks and Browns participants of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) in four years of follow-up. We compared body weight and BMI between the 1st (2008-2010) and 2nd visit (2012-2014) of 5,983 Blacks and Browns participants. Exposure to racial discrimination and covariates (age, sex, education, and research center) were obtained at the 1st visit. Linear mixed effects models stratified by race/skin color were used. Report of racial discrimination was more frequent among Blacks (32.1%) than Browns (6.3%). During the follow-up period, Blacks and Browns gained an average of 1.4kg and 1.2kg, respectively. This increase was greater among those who reported discrimination when compared to those who did not, both in Blacks (2.1kg vs.1.0kg, p < 0.001) and Browns (1.9kg vs. 1.1kg, p < 0.05). The results of the interaction between racial discrimination and time showed that Blacks, but not Browns, who reported racial discrimination had greater weight and BMI gains between visits. Our results suggest that reducing racial discrimination would contribute to prevent and/or control obesity increase in the country.

Economic Burden of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis in Spain: A Prospective Real-World Data Study (OASIS Study).

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and fatal lung disease associated with dyspnoea, cough and impaired quality of life affecting around 7500 patients in Spain. Our aim was to estimate the economic impact of IPF according to forced vital capacity (FVC) % predicted level in adult patients. We conducted a prospective, observational, multicentric study of patients with confirmed IPF in Spain. Total annual IPF-related costs were estimated per patient, and categorised according to the FVC% predicted value (FVC < 50%, FVC 50-80%, FVC > 80%) and total sample. Incurred direct health- and non-health-related costs and indirect costs were calculated considering the IPF-related healthcare resource use and the corresponding unitarian costs. Results were updated to 2023 euros. Two hundred and four consecutivepatients with IPF were included: 77% male, average age (standard deviation) 70.8 (7.6) years. At baseline, FVC% was < 50%, 50-80% and > 80% of predicted value in 10.8%, 74.5% and 14.7% of patients, respectively. The final cost-evaluable population included 180 subjects. The mean (standard deviation) total annual IPF-related cost was €26,997 (17,555), with statistically significant differences (p = 0.0002) between groups: €44,412 (33,389) for the FVC < 50%, €25,803 (14,688) for the FVC 50-80% and €23,242 (13,642) for the FVC > 80%. Annual direct health costs had the greatest weight and included pharmacological treatments [€22,324 (13,773)] and hospitalisation days [€1659 (7362)]. 14 patients had ≥ 1 acute exacerbation of IPF during the study; mean total cost of an acute exacerbation of IPF was €10,372. According to the multivariate analysis, an impaired lung function (FVC < 50%) and use of antifibrotic treatment were determinants of cost (p < 0.0001 both). We observed a significantly higher annual IPF-related cost at a lower level of predicted FVC%, the direct cost having the greatest weight to the total costs. Maintaining patients at early disease stages by slowing IPF progression is relevant to reduce the economic impact of IPF. EU PAS register number EUPAS19387 (1 June, 2017).

Attention Constraints and Learning in Categories

Many decision makers are thought to economize on attention by processing information at the simpler level of a category. We directly test whether such category focus reflects an adaptive response to attention constraints, in five preregistered experiments using an information sampling paradigm with mouse tracking. Consistent with rational principles, participants focus more on category-level information when individual differences are small, when the category contains more members, and when time constraints are more severe. Participants are sensitive to the statistical structure of the category even when it must be learned from experience, and they respond to a latent shift in this structure. Beliefs about category members tend to cluster together more when category focus is high—a key element of rational inattention. However, this is counteracted by greater weight placed on salient and idiosyncratic information when the category is large. Our results broadly substantiate influential theories of categorical thinking, giving us a clearer view on the drivers and consequences of inattention. This paper was accepted by Marie Claire Villeval, behavioral economics and decision analysis. Funding: This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research (N00014-21-1-2170), the Pershing Square Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior, and an NWO Vidi grant (VI.Vidi.201.059). Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4803 .