Set Of Preferences Research Articles

Coevolved Canonical Loops Conformations of Single-Domain Antibodies: A Tale of Three Pockets Playing Musical Chairs.

Single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) are a promising class of biotherapeutics with unique structural traits within their paratope region. The distribution of canonical conformations explored by their complementarity determining region (CDR) loops differs to some extent from conventional two-chain Fv fragments of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). In this study, we explored in detail the canonical structures of sdAb CDR-H1 and CDR-H2 loops and compared those with mAbs from the IGHV3 and IGHV1 gene families. We surveyed the antibody structures catalogued in SAbDab and clustered the CDR canonical loops in Cartesian space. While most of the sdAb clusters were sub-populations of previously defined canonical Fv conformations of CDR-H1 and CDR-H2, our stricter clustering approach defined narrower clusters in sequence-space. Meticulous visual inspection of sub-populations allowed a clearer understanding of sequence-structure relationships. The packing densities within structural pockets contacted by CDR-H1 and CDR-H2 canonical conformations were analyzed on the premise that these pockets cannot be left vacant as they would leave exposed supportive hydrophobic residues. The fine resolution of the canonical clusters defined here revealed unique signatures within these pockets, including distinct structural complementarities between CDR-H1 and CDR-H2 canonical clusters, which could not be perceived with the previous coarser clusters. We highlight examples where a single residue change in CDR-H1 sequence is sufficient to induce a dramatic population shift in CDR-H2 conformation. This suggests that preferences in combining CDR-H1 and CDR-H2 emerged naturally during antibody evolution, leading to preferred sets of conserved amino acids at key positions in the framework as well as within the CDR loops. We outline a game of musical chairs that is necessary to maintain the integrity of the antibody structures that arose during evolution. Our study also provides refined CDR-H1 and CDR-H2 structural templates for sdAb homology modeling that could be leveraged for improved antibody design.

Factors Associated with Japanese Nurses’ Support on End-of-life Decision-making: A Cross-sectional Study

ABSTRACT Purpose This study aimed to clarify the factors associated with Japanese nurses’ end-of-lifedecision-making support. Design Cross-sectional study. Methods An online survey was conducted among 278 nurses. Findings Significantly associated factors included visiting nursing, nursing experience duration, female sex, workshopparticipation, and time spent on end-of-life care. Conclusion Visiting nursing was the most significant factor associated with nurses’ end-of-lifedecision-making support. Clinical Evidence Consideration should be given to the curriculum in basic nursing education related to visiting nursing. It shouldinclude end-of-life care as well as resources for end-of-life decision-makingto increase the number of patients who die in their preferred setting.

Life history adaptations of Carabus populations in a suburban park: A capture-recapture case study

A two seasons capture-recapture study was preformed between 2016 and 2017, focusing on the Carabus species living in a suburban park in Budapest, Hungary. Eighty-four live-capture non-baited pitfall traps were placed in a grid covering an area of 567 m 2 . Five Carabus species were captured in the park from the nine species in the potential species pool. The most numerous were C. scheidleri , C. ulrichii and C. coriaceus . C. convexus and C. intricatus were captured only a few times. All Carabus species were individually marked and released. We experienced high fluctuation in the estimated population size of C. scheidleri and C. ulrichii, the two most abundant species. The marking technique made possible to detect that the two dominant species overwinter both as larvae and as adults, and thus share remarkably similar life histories. Similar habitat preference, life cycle and low dispersal power sets stage for potential competition between the two species. Due to population sizes below viability limit and the potential for competitive interactions, we presume that a larger network of metapopulation structure makes it possible that these populations persist in a suburban park. The results indicate that urban parks, if they are sufficiently connected to other suitable habitat patches, can have a significant importance in preserving large bodied predatory Carabus species.

0342 Use of a Diffused Fragrance Before Bed May Contribute to Improved Objective and Perceived Sleep

Abstract Introduction This study examined if a diffused fragrance used at home before bedtime would contribute to sleep improvement in a sample of healthy females. Existing evidence regarding the sleep-promoting properties of fragrances often has been anecdotal or based on clinical research, thereby limiting the generalizability and ecological validity of results. Methods 26 women with self-reported interest in air care to support healthy sleep participated in a 9-week field study. A within-subjects, counterbalanced intervention design was implemented, comparing 3 weeks of nightly product use to 3 weeks without using the product after a baseline period. Intervention consisted of the use of a fragrance diffuser and fragrance by Reckitt’s Scientific Platform Fragrance Research for at least an hour at the participants’ preferred settings in the room where they spent the most time before going to bed. Sleep was measured objectively with SleepScore Max every night. Self-report data were collected at bedtime, in the morning, and after each measurement period. Multilevel regression and paired t-tests were used to test for statistical significance. Results Across all participants there were 835 nights of tracked sleep. Participants (100% female, age 21 to 55, average 36 years old) showed improvement in both objective and perceived sleep during the intervention. Participants got more deep sleep, spent a greater proportion of the night in deep sleep, and had an improved BodyScore, a measure of deep sleep (ps<.05). Additional objective improvements were related to sleep consistency: fewer awakenings during the night, less time awake during the night, and better sleep maintenance (ps<.05). Self-report results complemented the objective findings. Participants felt sleepier at bedtime, felt they woke up less often and spent less time awake after initially falling asleep, reported better sleep quality, and experienced better mood both at bedtime and in the morning (ps<.05). No significant negative impacts were seen on sleep in the objective and self-report measures. Conclusion Using the fragrance diffuser before bed may contribute to improvement of many aspects of sleep within this study population of females without underlying sleep conditions. Objectively improved sleep outcomes were supported by self-report, showing multifaceted benefits of the diffused fragrance on sleep. Support (If Any) Reckitt

Measuring and modeling context-dependent preferences for hearing aid settings

Despite having individual perceptual preferences toward sounds, hearing aid users often end up with default hearing aid settings that have no contextual awareness. However, the introduction of smartphone-connected hearing aids has enabled a rethinking of hearing aids as user-adaptive systems considering both individual and contextual differences. In this study, we aimed to investigate the feasibility of such context-aware system for providing hearing aid users with a number of relevant hearing aid settings to choose from. During normal real-world hearing aid usage, we applied a smartphone-based method for capturing participants’ listening experience and audiological preference for different intervention levels of three audiological parameters (Noise Reduction, Brightness, Soft Gain). Concurrently, we collected contextual data as both self-reports (listening environment and listening intention) and continuous data logging of the acoustic environment (sound pressure level, signal-to-noise ratio). First, we found that having access to different intervention levels of the Brightness and Soft Gain parameters affected listening satisfaction. Second, for all three audiological parameters, the perceived usefulness of having access to different intervention levels was significantly modulated by context. Third, contextual data improved the prediction of both explicit and implicit intervention level preferences. Our findings highlight that context has a significant impact on hearing aid preferences across participants and that contextual data logging can help reduce the space of potential interventions in a user-adaptive system so that the most useful and preferred settings can be offered. Moreover, the proposed mixed-effects model is suitable for capturing predictions on an individual level and could also be expanded to predictions on a group level by including relevant user features.

Multi-Temporal Landsat-8 Images for Retrieval and Broad Scale Mapping of Soil Copper Concentration Using Empirical Models

Mapping soil heavy metal concentration using machine learning models based on readily available satellite remote sensing images is highly desirable. Accurate mapping relies on appropriate data, feature extraction, and model selection. To this end, a data processing pipeline for soil copper (Cu) concentration estimation has been designed. First, instead of using single Landsat scenes, the utilization of multiple Landsat scenes of the same location over time is considered. Second, to generate a preferred feature set as input to a regression model, a number of feature extraction methods are motivated and compared. Third, to find a preferred regression model, a variety of approaches are implemented and compared for accuracy. In this research, 11 Landsat-8 images from 2013 to 2017 of Gulin County, Sichuan China, and 138 soil samples with lab-measured Cu concentrations collected from the area in 2015 are used. A variety a metrics under cross-validation are used for comparison. The results indicate that multi-temporal images increase accuracy compared to single Landsat images. The preferred feature extraction varies based on the regression model used; however, the best results are obtained using support vector regression and the original data. The final soil Cu map generated using the recommended data processing pipeline shows a consistent spatial pattern with a ground-truth land cover classification map. These results indicate that machine learning has the ability to perform large-scale soil heavy metal mapping from widely available satellite remote sensing images.

Conceptualizing safer sex in a new era: Risk perception and decision-making process among highly sexually active men who have sex with men.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at the epicenter of the HIV epidemic. Efforts to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV transmission have traditionally focused on condoms and abstinence from high risk sexual practices. Recently, additional methods such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and viral load sorting have been introduced. The aim of this study was to gain understanding about risk management and risk perception strategies for HIV among highly sexually active Swedish MSM with men in Berlin. Eighteen sexually active Swedish MSM who travelled to or lived in Berlin were recruited and interviewed in this study. The data were analyzed using content analysis. These men represent a group of knowledgeable MSM in terms of HIV. They acknowledged that having sex with men in Berlin was linked to high sexual risk taking due to the higher prevalence of HIV/STIs than in Sweden, but reported that they nevertheless did not alter their risk management strategies. The analysis resulted in a conceptual model of risk assessment that allows for a deeper understanding of the complexity of the risk reduction decision-making process. Three ontological perceptions of risk were identified: accepting, minimizing and rejecting risk. Seven practiced risk reduction methods were described. Some informants applied their preferred method or set of methods to all settings and partners, while others faced complex decision-making processes. HIV is integrated into the core of MSM's sexuality, independently of how they ontologically related to the idea of risk. A constant navigation between pleasure, risk and safety, alongside having to relate to risk created a complex process. Efforts were made to remove HIV from their lives by rejecting the idea of risk, and thereby reject the idea of the homosexual body being a possible vessel for a virus and an epidemic.

Translating quality-driven code change selection to an instance of multiple-criteria decision making

The definition and assessment of software quality have not converged to a single specification. Each team may formulate its own notion of quality and tools and methodologies for measuring it. Software quality can be improved via code changes, most often as part of a software maintenance loop. This manuscript contributes towards providing decision support for code change selection given a) a set of preferences on a software product’s qualities and b) a pool of heterogeneous code changes to select from. We formulate the problem as an instance of Multiple-Criteria Decision Making, for which we provide both an abstract flavor and a prototype implementation. Our prototype targets energy efficiency, technical debt and dependability. This prototype achieved inconsistent results, in the sense of not always recommending changes reflecting the decision maker’s preferences. Encouraged from some positive cases and cognizant of our prototype’s shortcomings, we propose directions for future research. This paper should thus be viewed as an imperfect first step towards quality-driven, code change-centered decision support and, simultaneously, as a curious yet pragmatic enough gaze on the road ahead.

Character: Three Inquiries in Literary Studies

Character: Three Inquiries in Literary Studies

MP59-14 CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ASSESSING UTILIZATION PATTERNS OF COMBINATION INTRAVESICAL GEMCITABINE AND DOCETAXEL IN THE MANAGEMENT OF BLADDER CANCER

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 May 2022MP59-14 CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ASSESSING UTILIZATION PATTERNS OF COMBINATION INTRAVESICAL GEMCITABINE AND DOCETAXEL IN THE MANAGEMENT OF BLADDER CANCER Andrew Gabrielson, Sunil Patel, Noah Hahn, Angela Smith, Eugene Pietzak, Peter Black, Trinity Bivalacqua, and Max Kates Andrew GabrielsonAndrew Gabrielson More articles by this author , Sunil PatelSunil Patel More articles by this author , Noah HahnNoah Hahn More articles by this author , Angela SmithAngela Smith More articles by this author , Eugene PietzakEugene Pietzak More articles by this author , Peter BlackPeter Black More articles by this author , Trinity BivalacquaTrinity Bivalacqua More articles by this author , and Max KatesMax Kates More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000002642.14AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Intravesical bacillus-calmette Guerin (BCG) is a mainstay treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), however BCG therapy is fraught with frequent drug shortages and its scarcity has prompted investigation into alternative agents. Intravesical gemcitabine and docetaxel (GemDoce) is a safe therapy for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC and BCG naïve NMIBC in times of BCG shortage with efficacy approaching BCG in retrospective series. We sought to assess utilization and barriers to administration of GemDoce to inform accrual for a phase 3 randomized trial. METHODS: A cross-sectional, web-based survey was distributed via the Society of Urologic Oncologists (SUO) and Canadian Urologic Oncology Group (CUOG) mailing lists using Google Forms. Provider prescribing patterns including the preferred setting of GemDoce use, annual prescribing rate, and description of barriers to administration of GemDoce were assessed. RESULTS: The survey was distributed to 982 addresses (661 report bladder cancer in their practice). A total of 198 participants completed the survey (30% response rate for target audience), of which 141 (71%) endorsed prescribing GemDoce over the last 12 months. The most common indication was BCG-unresponsive NMIBC +/- CIS (67%), followed by primary treatment of high-risk NMIBC (25%) and primary treatment of intermediate-risk NMIBC (15%). Based on conservative estimates of participant responses, at least 1,300 patients within the practices of the surveyed urologists are being prescribed GemDoce for NMIBC on an annual basis. Notably, 44% of participants endorsed at least one barrier to prescribing or administering GemDoce at their institution. Common barriers included problems with clinical workflow (i.e. clinic space to administer drug), challenges with hospital pharmacies supplying the drug, challenges with identifying who would benefit most from this regimen, and cost (Figure 1). CONCLUSIONS: Results from this cross-sectional web-based survey demonstrate that GemDoce is being widely utilized among urologic oncologists for several disease states of NMIBC. Several barriers exist that may hinder use of GemDoce and future clinical trial designs will need to account for these potential challenges in clinical workflow. Source of Funding: N/A © 2022 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 207Issue Supplement 5May 2022Page: e1007 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2022 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Andrew Gabrielson More articles by this author Sunil Patel More articles by this author Noah Hahn More articles by this author Angela Smith More articles by this author Eugene Pietzak More articles by this author Peter Black More articles by this author Trinity Bivalacqua More articles by this author Max Kates More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF DownloadLoading ...

Consumer's Preference on Food Retail Store Attributes in India

This paper examines how consumer prefer a variety of attributes of food retail stores while making food purchase decisions and evaluate the effects of socio-demographic factors on their preferences for these market attributes. A sample of 621 urban consumers was personally surveyed using structured questionnaire from six district headquarters of Uttar Pradesh. Simple statistical analysis were carried out such as descriptive statistics, frequency distribution, cross tabulation, analysis of variance and factor analysis to assess the consumer's preference for food store attributes. Analysis of consumers' responses on food store attributes indicates that food retailers should aim to offer a variety of products and services to attract them. The results may help the food processors and outlet owners to understand the diversified set of preferences for market attributes so that they can make better decisions in emerging organized food retail environment.

PrEP uptake and delivery setting preferences among clients visiting six healthcare facilities in Eswatini

Due to the high HIV incidence among the general population of Eswatini, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV-exposed individuals is recommended. However, little is known about PrEP uptake and preferences in PrEP delivery healthcare setting among the general population. We conducted a secondary analysis of a randomized trial that aimed to increase PrEP uptake. All clients eligible for PrEP in one of six public-sector healthcare facilities in Eswatini were included. PrEP uptake was stratified by initial reason for visit (e.g. outpatient). Preferences in PrEP delivery setting were collected among those clients who initiated PrEP. A total of 1782 clients had their HIV acquisition risk assessed. Of these, 72% (1277/1782) were considered at risk by healthcare providers and, among them, 40% (517/1277) initiated PrEP. Uptake was higher among clients visiting specifically to initiate PrEP (93%), followed by HIV testing visits (45.8%) and outpatient visits (40%). Among those who initiated PrEP, preferred delivery settings were outpatient services (31%), HIV testing services (26%), family planning (21%) and antenatal services (14%). Men or those at high risk of HIV acquisition were more likely to prefer HIV testing and outpatient services, while young women were more likely to visit and express a preference for antenatal and family planning services. Outpatient services and HIV testing services could be preferable choices for PrEP delivery integration, due to the high PrEP uptake and delivery setting preferences of the populations who use these services. Antenatal and family planning could also be considered with a view to targeting the youngest women.

Initial validations of an iterative hearing-aid self-fitting procedure with Monte-Carlo simulations

Self-directed gain adjustments may present a satisfactory solution for fitting a hearing aid (HA) without the requirement of supervision from a clinician. The current study develops a self-fitting procedure and provides initial evaluations of the procedure using Monte-Carlo simulations. In the procedure, the user interacts with the HA using a mobile device with a touch screen, while a continuous speech as a stimulus and a babble background noise is played in the room. The user explores the locations on the touch screen while hearing its effects on the hearing-aid processed audio in real time, until a preferred setting is identified. This adjustment process is repeated over trials, with the mathematical map between the touch-screen location (2D-coordinates) and the amplification profile of the HA being updated from trial to trial. This algorithm is evaluated using simulated listeners with known preferred amplification profiles serving as the ground truth. Results showed that estimates of the user preferred amplification profile, close to the ground truth, can be obtained by taking the mean of the user identified gain settings at the end of each trial.

Democracies’ support for illiberal regimes through sovereignty-protective regional institutions: the case of UNASUR’s electoral accompaniment missions

Why do democracies agree with contested illiberal regimes on the creation of regional institutions for election monitoring? This article tackles this puzzle by analyzing the creation of the Union of South American Nations’ (UNASUR) Electoral Council (ECU) and its electoral “accompaniment” missions. The case of the ECU is particularly relevant, since its missions allowed for the legitimization of illiberal electoral practices in a region predominantly populated by democratic states that have pursued democracy consolidation through regional cooperation. We show that the emergence of the ECU resulted from the interaction of the following conditions: Venezuela’s leadership; the mobilization of the transgovernmental network of South American electoral authorities; and the interaction between different sets of state preferences regarding election observation, which reached an equilibrium around an institutional design that did not impose a diminution of sovereignty on the contracting states. The article sheds light on the genesis of sovereignty-protective institutional designs, showing how they allow for the reconciliation of non-coincident preferences even in a sensitive field like election observation. The article also contributes to the literature on international election observation by explaining why democratic states may favor the emergence of monitoring mechanisms that contribute to the erosion of democracy in a region. In so doing, the article adds to the literature on regime-boosting regionalism, illuminating the conditions under which democratic regional organizations (ROs) create institutions that can boost illiberal regimes’ legitimacy. In particular, our findings show that secondary powers, like Venezuela, can strategically exploit transgovernmental networks’ mobilization to pursue their domestic and geopolitical interests (including illiberal ones) within ROs.

Spatial Decision-Making for Dense Built Environments: The Logic Scoring of Preference Method for 3D Suitability Analysis

As many urban areas undergo increasing densification, there is a growing need for methods that can extend spatial analysis and decision-making for three-dimensional (3D) environments. Traditional multicriteria evaluation (MCE) methods implemented within geographic information systems (GIS) can assist in spatial decision-making but are rarely suited for 3D environments. These methods typically use a simplified decision logic that limits the number of evaluation criteria and variability of output suitability scores. In this study, the logic scoring of preference (LSP) as a generalized MCE method is used for 3D suitability analysis to better represent human reasoning through flexible soft computing stepwise decision logic operators. This research: (1) implements the LSP–MCE method to compare the suitability of high-rise residential units in 3D, and (2) performs criteria weight sensitivity and cost–suitability analyses using datasets for the City of Vancouver, Canada. LSP aggregation structures are developed for unique priorities and requirements of three demographic profiles. The results demonstrate the method’s flexibility in representing unique preference sets comprising 2D and 3D criteria, and that cost has a significant effect on residential unit attractiveness in a dense built environment. The proposed 3D LSP–MCE method could be adapted to benefit other stakeholders, such as property tax assessors, urban planners, and developers.

Thulium fiber laser pre-settings during ureterorenoscopy: Twitter's experts' recommendations.

Thulium fiber laser (TFL) is a novel laser in the field of urology. There is no consensus for optimal parameters. As most urologists use social media, being Twitter the platform with the most dissemination in healthcare, we aim to review the preferred TFL settings chosen by the experts and, to evaluate their pros and cons. A Twitter review was performed from November 2019 (firsts TFL experiences in urology) until October 2021 using the hashtags: "thuliumfiber", "ThuliumFiberLaser", "TFL" "soltive", "fiberdust", "OlympusUrology", "quanta_system", "IPG_Photonics", "rocamed". Only board-certified urologists were considered. The "tweets" selected include information about TFL preferred settings for stone lithotripsy and tissue ablation. Additionally, we also seek information regarding laser technique, fiber size, laser time, stone type and equipment. A total of 42 opinions were identified. The 23 endourologists have a median of 2.298 followers (range 202-10.000). Most comments were about TFL settings for kidney stone dusting (61%). There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) for kidney stone dusting settings (dusting, frequency, and power) between endourologists. Only 24% reported their fiber size, 4 reported the stone composition and 2 endourologists mentioned their type of ureteroscope. There was no discussion about technique used (burst or continuous) nor equipment. Surgery time was reported 3 times. There is no consensus in TFL pre-settings. When a pre-setting is proposed, it should also recommend technique to be used. Settings are personal and related to multiple factors, such as training, technique, equipment and fiber size.

Rethinking Human Development Based on Ar Ra’d Verse 11: How Can Preferences Influence Human Development?

As human is the centre of development process, it is important to consider preferences of human behavior whether they prefer to change themselves or not. This explanation is inspired by Qur’an surah Ar Ra’d verse 11 that can be interpreted as the set of preferences which might influence someone’s state of condition. However, human development index which is widely used indicator for development study do not consider preference as the main factor of development. Therefore aim of this study is to examine interpretation of that surah whether set of preferences that consist of trust, altruism, patience, risk taking, and negative reciprocity, can influence the state of human development. This research Uses Linear Probability Model (LPM) which is estimated by OLS with 76 countries as observation. The result shows that altruism, patience and risk taking can influence human development significantly, whereas trust and negative reciprocity are not significant. Trust is not significant because there might be a condition of distrust economic activities, rather than trust, that signaled by complete contractual arrangement, whereas non significant of negative reciprocity might because the costly punishment opportunity to punish someone as the form of negative reciprocity, therefore people that think rationally will not take the revenge to others.

Effective strategies for testicular torsion education in adolescents: A qualitative study in educational environments

Objective: In the context of testicular torsion, research demonstrates a delay from the onset of testicular pain to attending hospital in adolescents, leading to high rates of testicular loss. This is due to a lack of knowledge about this condition. In this study, we aimed to investigate the methods adolescents and their parents felt would be effective in testicular torsion education. Design: Qualitative semi-structured interviews and focus group workshops were used to generate ideas and opinions regarding the ‘ideal’ education package for testicular torsion. Setting: One-to-one interviews with young men and a chosen chaperone recruited through purposive sampling from after-school clubs. Focus groups recruited from an active hospital youth forum. Method: Qualitative data analysis was undertaken to explore collective and normative views and to validate findings using a combination of thematic framework, and descriptive and content analysis. Results: In all, 16 young men aged 11–19 years with an attending chaperone were interviewed. Forty-four young people of both sexes participated in focus groups. Participants in all groups supported school-based teaching about testicular torsion, with focus group members mentioning Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) as the preferred setting. Members of all groups also advocated the use of video, but tone was a matter of debate. Reservations were expressed regarding the use of social and online media as primary means of dissemination but saw these as useful adjuncts to formal school lessons. Focus group members were supportive of teaching in a mixed sex environment and for repeat lessons at 11 and 13 years of age. Conclusion: Study findings support the development and use of PSHE teaching, using video methodology, to promote knowledge about testicular torsion in boys and young men. An evidence-based intervention to improve outcomes in testicular torsion for this cohort can now be developed.

Local Explanations via Necessity and Sufficiency: Unifying Theory and Practice

Necessity and sufficiency are the building blocks of all successful explanations. Yet despite their importance, these notions have been conceptually underdeveloped and inconsistently applied in explainable artificial intelligence (XAI), a fast-growing research area that is so far lacking in firm theoretical foundations. In this article, an expanded version of a paper originally presented at the 37th Conference on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence (Watson et al., 2021), we attempt to fill this gap. Building on work in logic, probability, and causality, we establish the central role of necessity and sufficiency in XAI, unifying seemingly disparate methods in a single formal framework. We propose a novel formulation of these concepts, and demonstrate its advantages over leading alternatives. We present a sound and complete algorithm for computing explanatory factors with respect to a given context and set of agentive preferences, allowing users to identify necessary and sufficient conditions for desired outcomes at minimal cost. Experiments on real and simulated data confirm our method’s competitive performance against state of the art XAI tools on a diverse array of tasks.

Essential item purchases during COVID-19: A cluster analysis of psychographic traits

ABSTRACT This research seeks to profile consumer segments formed during the COVID-19 pandemic via a set of psychographic consumption traits: Narcissism, Psychological Entitlement, Status Consumption, Fear of Embarrassment, and Fear of Missing Out. Based on a cluster analysis of 281 consumers, the data generated four distinct groups: Egalitarians, Agentic Egoists, Communal Egoists, and Conformists. Further, we compared the segments in their acquisition behavior as it pertains to importance of purchase, quantity of purchase, sharing of purchase, and willingness to pay for essential items. Our results showed that each cluster was associated with a unique set of consumer preferences. For instance, Egalitarians placed less importance on medical items. Conformists placed greater importance on acquiring disposable masks than others. Communal Egoists were interested in food-related items such as bottled waters and snacks. Agentic Egoists reported that they would spend more money on cold/cough medicines than Egalitarians and Conformists. Overall, our findings provide key insights and recommendations to retail managers. Some limitations include our sampling approach (i.e. US consumers) and determining clusters based on select psychographic traits. We acknowledge that there are other characteristics that can differentially influence consumers’ acquisition behavior during the pandemic.