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The International Conference on Marine Engineering & Technology (ICMET 2025) https://iceast.mtc.edu.om/?page_id=379 The second International Conference on Marine Engineering & Technology, Oman 2025 (ICMET Oman 2025) is organized by the Marine Engineering Department of the Military Technological College (MTC), Oman under the umbrella of ‘International Conferences on Engineering Advancements, Science and Technology (ICEAST 2025)’. Building on the success of the inaugural conference held in 2019, ICMET 2025 will provide a unique platform for high-level interactions and discussions on a diverse array of marine engineering, science, and technology topics relevant to the international community. The ICMET will focus on the latest innovations, challenges, and opportunities in marine engineering, with a special emphasis on Oman Vision 2040 and its alignment with global trends. The industry leaders, policymakers, researchers, and maritime professionals will gather to discuss themes such as economic diversification through green and sustainable marine technologies, naval ships and shipbuilding, digital transformation in marine technologies, education, training, and workforce development, safety and risk management in marine environment, smart logistic support and infrastructure. The event will highlight Oman’s strategic role in shaping the future of the maritime industry while addressing global challenges like climate change, ocean and marine life conservation and maritime traffic safety. Taking place at the innovative and forward-thinking Military Technological College (MTC) in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, this is an excellent opportunity to attend a high level technical international conference located in the strikingly beautiful Gulf of Oman with its rich maritime history dating back more than a millennium. Key Themes: 1. Economic Diversification through Green and Sustainable Marine Technologies 2. Naval Ships and Shipbuilding Solutions 3. Digital Transformation in Marine technologies 4. Safety and Risk Management in Marine Environment 5. Smart Logistic Support and Infrastructure List of ICMET 2025 Keynote Speakers, ICMET 2025 Invited Speakers, ICMET 2025 Technical Workshops, ICMET 2025 Technical Sessions, International Advisory Committee (IAC) Members, Technical Program Committee (TPC) Members are available in this PDF.

Abstract Background Workforce diversity improves outcomes, teamwork, and patient trust, but disparities persist across surgical training and consultant levels. This study provides the first national analysis of ethnicity, gender, and LGBTQ+ representation among UK surgical trainees and consultant trainers, benchmarked against the 2021 Census. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of anonymised Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) and Joint Committee on Surgical Training (JCST) data (2024–2025) was performed. Demographics of trainees and consultant trainers were compared with Office for National Statistics benchmarks using χ2 and Fisher’s exact tests. Shannon diversity index (SDI) scores summarised heterogeneity. Results Data from 7906 trainees and 7621 consultant trainers were analysed. Compared to the population, white individuals were underrepresented among trainees (35.3% in General Surgery; OR = 0.12, 95% c.i. 0.10–0.14) and consultants (48.9% in General Surgery; OR = 0.21, 95% c.i. 0.18–0.26). Asian and other/Chinese groups were consistently overrepresented (for example Asian trainees in General Surgery; OR = 4.28, 95% c.i. 3.52–5.24). Women were underrepresented among consultants, particularly in Trauma and Orthopaedics (female trainees 20.5%, OR = 0.25, 95% c.i. 0.22–0.29). LGBTQ+ identification exceeded census levels among trainees (Core Surgery 7.1%, OR = 2.28, 95% c.i. 1.65–3.19) but was lower among consultants (for example Trauma and Orthopaedics 1.1%, OR = 0.33, 95% c.i. 0.16–0.63). SDI scores were higher in trainees (0.84) than consultants (0.72). Conclusions UK surgical trainees are more diverse than consultants, yet women and LGBTQ+ surgeons remain underrepresented at senior levels. Sustained demographic reporting, targeted mentorship, and inclusive recruitment are required to build a surgical workforce that reflects the population it serves.

BACKGROUND: Numerous international studies show that women continue to be underrepresented at scientific congresses. This applies particularly to their participation as invited speakers, chairpersons and members of program committees. This discrepancy raises the question of whether similar imbalances also exist in German speaking countries. In this study, gender specific differences in the representation of speakers, chairpersons and members of program committees at the national ophthalmological congresses in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland were examined to investigate the extent of gender differences. METHODS: Data were collected for the years 2013, 2022, and 2023 and included the respective national congresses of the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG), the Austrian Ophthalmological Society (ÖOG) and the Swiss Ophthalmological Society (SOG). RESULTS: The number of female speakers at DOG, ÖOG and SOG has increased over the last decade. Significant correlations between the proportion of female speakers, female chairs and women in the program committee were shown. CONCLUSION: Gender-related imbalances were shown for all three national conferences. We see our work as contributing to the improvement of the role of women in ophthalmology. Potential approaches for improvement - like support programmes and more female role models for female ophthalmologists, especially in the scientific field - could offer an approach to promoting a more balanced gender distribution.

With a focus on the maritime domain, but embracing the MDO approach, the Programme Committee of the 2024 MSG-217 Annual NMSG Symposium presented and discussed advances in the M&S community by inviting papers in areas such as the use of simulation for decision support, concept development and experimentation, and training. This issue of the NATO Journal of Science and Technology showcases five outstanding papers, presented at the above-mentioned symposium, illustrating the advances in these areas.

Collaborating with program committee members: effects on publications in leading security conferences

The Organizing Committee is pleased to present the Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Frontiers of Ocean Science and Technology (ICFOST 2025), which was successfully held from November 21 to 23, 2025, at the Beiyangyuan Campus of Tianjin University. The conference was jointly organized by the College of Meteorology and Oceanography, National University of Defense Technology, and the School of Marine Science and Technology, Tianjin University. ICFOST 2025 aimed to foster innovation in ocean science and technology, and strengthen the development of first-class disciplines in marine science. Under the theme “Embracing the Ocean, Advancing the Frontiers,” the conference provided a platform for more than 500 participants including scholars, students, engineers, and industry professionals to exchange ideas, discuss scientific advances, and explore emerging challenges across a broad spectrum of ocean science and technology. The Organizing Committee has invited experts from around the world for academic exchange. The Conference features a broad range of oral sessions, including Multiscale Ocean Dynamical Processes (OS1), Ocean Environmental Data Analysis and Security Assurance (OS2), Research on Marine Instruments and Equipment (OS3), Ocean Detection Technologies (OS4), Artificial Intelligence Oceanography (OS5), Underwater Acoustics (OS6), Underwater Acoustic Signal Processing (OS7), Practical Oceanography (OS8), Ocean Remote Sensing (OS9), Regional Oceanography: Polar Regions and Coastal Seas (OS10), Marine Renewable Energy Technologies (OS11), Marine Intelligent Navigation, Guidance and Cooperative Positioning Technology (OS12), Intelligent Perception and Cognitive Fusion Technology for Integrated Air-Space-Sea Systems (OS13), and New Engineering-Oriented Practice in Marine Education (OS14). These sessions promoted interdisciplinary collaboration and strengthened cooperation among academia, industry, and research institutions. List of Organizing Committee, Technical Program Committee are available in this PDF.

The 2026 6th International Conference on Arts, Law and Social Sciences (ALSS 2026) was held in Boston, USA during January 24-25, 2026. ALSS 2026 aims to bring researchers, engineers, and students to the areas of art, literature, law, and social sciences. The technical program committee worked very hard to have all manuscripts reviewed before the review deadline. All the accepted papers have been submitted to strict peer-review, and selected based on originality, significance, and clarity for the purpose of the conference. ALSS 2026 is extremely profound and featuring high-impact presentations of selected papers and additional late-breaking contributions. We sincerely hope that the conference would not only show the participants a broad overview of the latest research results, but also provide them with a significant platform for academic connection and exchange. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the members of technical program committee and organizers for their enthusiasm, time, and expertise. Our deep thanks also go to the volunteers and staffs for the long hours and hard work they have generously given to this conference. Finally, we would like to thank all the authors, speaker, and participants for their great contributions to the success of ALSS 2026. With warmest regards, ALSS Conference Organizing Committees Boston, USA

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This volume contains the papers accepted for presentation at ICAPS 2025, the Thirty-Fifth International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling, to be held in Melbourne, Australia, November 9-14, 2025. The annual ICAPS conference series was formed in 2003 through the merger of two pre-existing biennial conferences, the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Planning and Scheduling (AIPS) and the European Conference on Planning (ECP). ICAPS continues the traditional high standards of AIPS and ECP as an archival forum for new research in the field of automated planning and scheduling. ICAPS 2025 was co-located with two other events: The International Conference on the Integration of Constraint Programming, Artificial Intelligence, and Operations Research (CPAIOR), and The International Conference on the Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KR). Existing research into methods and representations for Automated Planning and Scheduling has drawn heavily from the research conducted by these communities. We believe that the co-location of these conferences with ICAPS can only boost these beneficial relationships.The frontmatter contains a Preface and lists both the ICAPS 2025 Organising Committee and the ICAPS 2025 Program Committee.

On behalf of the Program Committee, we are delighted to present the Proceedings of the 2nd Microarchitectural Security Conference (uASC 2026). uASC aims to fill a gap in the security research landscape, focusing on advancing our understanding of the security of microarchitectures of all kinds and on all layers. Our goal for this year was to attract high-quality research papers from academia and industry through various formats accommodating the different needs of the researchers. For this reason, we accepted three types of submissions: papers, posters, and talks. Some of the rejected papers were invited to be included as short work-in-progress papers by the Program Committee. For its second edition, uASC received 26 valid submissions. Of these 26 submissions, 17 were full paper submissions, 6 were talks, and 3 were poster submissions. Talks from papers that were already accepted to top-tier conferences (2 out of 6) and posters were directly accepted. From the 4 remaining talks, each received 2-3 reviews, and 2 were accepted for presentation at the conference, resulting in an acceptance rate of 50%. Of the 17 full paper submissions, each receiving 3-4 reviews, the Program Committee accepted 9 submissions, resulting in an acceptance rate of 53%. We highlight the paper with the title “WeMu: Effective and Scalable Emulation of Microarchitectural Weird Machines” that received the highest scores by the reviewers with a Best Paper Award presented at the conference. From the 8 rejected submissions, 4 were invited to be included in the program as work in progress, 3 of which accepted this invitation. All accepted papers, work in progress, and talks were invited to present a poster at the conference. In total, 8 posters will appear at the conference. We thank all members of the Program Committee for their high-quality reviews and deep engagement during the discussion period. We further highlight the excellent reviews by Alyssa Milburn with the Best Reviewer Award presented at the conference. The Program Committee also helped shepherding 3 of the accepted papers to ensure that the concerns from the reviewers were adequately addressed in the camera-ready versions of the papers. Finally, we thank the authors who submitted their work and will present their contributions, as well as the attendees who will participate in the conference. Doubling the number of participants from the first edition of uASC in 2025, we currently have 155+ registrations for uASC in 2026 that is being held in the campus of KU Leuven in Belgium. uASC brings together a large number of academic researchers and industry practitioners together, creating a unique opportunity to network, discuss, engage, and socialize over topics that span microarchitecture security. We look forward to future years and future contributions.​

While the field of interventional radiology (IR) has seen significant advancements in recent years, there remains a stark gender gap within the subspeciality. The study aims to evaluate how the gender composition of the faculty at the UK's national IR scientific meeting has evolved over a decade. A faculty list, including all speakers and moderators, of the British Society of Interventional Radiology Annual Scientific Meeting (BSIR ASM) from 2013 to 2022 was retrieved from program handbooks. The demographics of the faculty members and the organising committee (Scientific Programme Committee [SPC]) were obtained from institutional or personal professional websites. The primary aim of the study was to assess the percentage change of male versus female faculty at the BSIR ASM over this time. The number of female faculty grew from 1 to 22 from 2013 to 2022, an increase from 5.9% to 30.8%. Notably, there was a drop in female faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic (27% in 2019 before the pandemic vs 22.8% in 2021). Trendlines fitted with and without data from the COVID-19 years are shown. Overall, there was a mean increase of 3% of female faculty at the ASM each year. The highest percentage of women in SPC was 50%. Despite the continuing gender gap in IR trainee and consultant numbers, there has been a positive trend in female representation at the faculty level at this meeting over the decade. It is important to continue to address the factors which contribute to the gap and consider different ways of strengthening female recruitment and retention within IR.

BackgroundCDC Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship (AS) and national accreditation bodies prioritize the implementation of facility-specific treatment recommendations and monitoring of adherence to those recommendations. These activities are a challenge for resource-limited hospitals, which we sought to overcome with the Colorado Antimicrobial Resources, Education, and Pathway Adherence Tools for Hospitals (CARE PATH) initiative. Here we report interim findings.Table 1:Adherence RatesBreakdown of adherence rates to clinical pathways by hospital typeFigure 1:Local vs Firstline Pathway Adherence Rates Quarters 1 and 2 by Facility TypeGraphic representation of pathway adherence rates by disease state, pathway type, and facility typeMethodsChildren’s Hospital Colorado, in partnership with Denver Health, created a free mobile application using Firstline (Firstline.org) to share evidence-based clinical pathways across Colorado, which could be adapted for use as facility-specific treatment recommendations.From July 2024-March 2025 hospitals voluntarily submitted antibiotic use data for cases of pediatric or adult community acquired pneumonia (CAP), urinary tract infection (UTI), and/or skin/soft tissue infection (SSTI) via a web-based REDCap survey. AS experts assessed prescribing compared to local clinical pathways (LCPs) and Firstline. LCP adherence was based on self-report of antibiotic selection. Firstline adherence was met if 3 criteria were consistent with app recommendations: antibiotic selection, treatment duration, and clinical indication. Facilities received quarterly reports with feedback and recommendations for AS. To supplement the reports, our team hosted a series of interactive webinars and 1-on-1 mentorship sessions.Results26 facilities registered for CARE PATH, 11 critical access (42%) and 15 acute care (58%). 22 (85%) reported having a local adult or pediatric CAP pathway, 21 (81%) a UTI, and 21 (81%) a SSTI LCP. 12 (46%) did not monitor adherence prior to CARE PATH. 13 (50%) facilities reported data on at least one condition in quarter 1, and 8 (30%) for quarter 2. Adherence rates to LCPs and Firstline are presented in Table 1 and Figure 1.ConclusionCARE PATH has helped 13 Colorado hospitals meet priority core elements. Adherence rates varied, with SSTI the lowest. CAP adherence increased Q1 to Q2, though UTI and SSTI changes were variable. These findings represent a novel hospital-state health collaboration and inform state-wide antimicrobial stewardship efforts.DisclosuresLeigh Anne Bakel, MD, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment: Grant/Research Support|Pfizer: Grant/Research Support Sarah K. Parker, MD, Colorado Department of Health and Environment: Advisor/Consultant|Infectious Diseases Society of America: Reimbursement for Program Committee|Pfizer Global Bridges: Grant/Research Support|Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America: Honoraria|Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists: Honoraria

Every year, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) spearheads a series of Student Research Competitions (SRCs) at ACM-sponsored or co-sponsored conferences. These SRCs provide graduate (Masters or PhD program) and undergraduate students an opportunity to present one of their research projects to the conference. At ACM SIGMETRICS, the competition was held as follows. First, the students submitted an extended abstract to a program committee that selects a subset of the abstracts that will be presented at the conference. A few of these posters were selected for an oral presentation. Participating students have the opportunity to win cash prizes. In each category (graduate and undergraduate), the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners receive prizes of 500, 300, and 200, respectively. Additionally, first-place undergraduate and graduate student winners from the SRCs held during the year are invited to present their work at the SRC Grand Finals, where a different panel of judges evaluates these winners against each other.

Program Chair: Yuichi Itoh).Since its inception in 1997, this symposium has been held annually as a forum where researchers and practitioners from a wide range of fields-including user interfaces, CSCW, visualization, input/output devices, virtual and augmented reality, ubiquitous computing, and software engineering in computer science, as well as cognitive science, social science, cultural anthropology, media studies, and the arts-gather to exchange and discuss the latest research and technologies related to interaction.INTERACTION 2025 consisted of oral presentations and interactive presentations (demos and posters).Through a rigorous review process by the program committee, 25 oral presentations (including two invited papers from the journal special issue), 173 demo presentations, and 90 poster presentations were accepted.This resulted in one of the largest numbers of presentations to date, and lively discussions took place throughout the three-day event.

It is with great pleasure that we present the Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Social Sciences and Cultural Studies (ICSSCS 2025). This volume collects a selection of pioneering research papers presented at the conference, held from October 17 to 19, 2025, in the historic city of Athens, Greece—a cradle of Western civilization and a fitting backdrop for dialogues that seek to understand the complexities of human society and culture. The diverse scholarship contained within these pages reflects the interdisciplinary and dynamic nature of contemporary social sciences and cultural studies. The contributions in this proceeding traverse a wide spectrum of critical topics, demonstrating a shared commitment to addressing pressing issues in education, psychology, family dynamics, and societal transformation. The collection opens with innovative explorations in pedagogy, examining the application of drama in secondary school English classes and the predictive factors of English reading anxiety among university students. It then moves to the vital realm of mental health, presenting empirical research on the practical effects of art therapy for student anxiety. Further deepening the psychological inquiry, one study proposes the novel concept of "Meta-Integration" to deconstruct the psychological mechanisms of game addiction. Shifting focus to the fundamental unit of society, this volume includes research grounded in Family Ecosystem Theory, analyzing the factors that shape sibling relationships in two-child families. Finally, the scope expands to a macro-cultural and societal level with a literary analysis that draws profound educational implications from a narrative of social transformation in Bulgaria. We extend our deepest gratitude to the authors whose rigorous research and insightful perspectives form the core of this publication. Our sincere thanks also go to the dedicated program committee members and reviewers for their invaluable efforts in ensuring the quality and integrity of the scholarship presented here. It is our firm belief that the research contained in this proceeding will not only contribute valuable knowledge to the academic community but will also inspire further inquiry, collaboration, and positive impact across the multifaceted fields of social sciences and cultural studies.

This research aims to analyze the implementation of the mumarasah al-lughah program in improving the Arabic language skills of students of the Arabic Language Education Study Program (PBA) UIN Imam Bonjol Padang based on the classic management theory POAC (Planning, Organizing, Actuating, Controlling). The research used descriptive qualitative method, with the research subjects being PBA students of UIN Imam Bonjol Padang who participated in the mumarasah al-lughah program, the program committee, and other related parties totaling 30 people. Data collection techniques were conducted through in-depth interviews and official program documentation. Data analysis uses an inductive analysis model which includes data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The results showed that the implementation of the mumarasah al-lughah program has been managed systematically according to the POAC principle (planning, organizing, implementing and supervising): program planning involves identifying student needs and preparing a curriculum based on communicative methods; organizing is done through the formation of an implementation team and division of tasks; program implementation includes routine Arabic language practice and guidance by experts; and supervision is carried out through periodic evaluation and continuous improvement. The implementation of POAC management is proven to contribute significantly in improving students' Arabic language skills, creating a conducive learning environment, and building students' confidence in communicating. The findings provide theoretical and practical contributions to the development of Arabic language learning programs in higher education, especially in the management of a POAC-based program.

This volume presents the Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Linguistics, Psychology, and Creative Education (ICLPCE 2025), a compilation of the innovative research and insights shared during the conference held from September 26 to 28, 2025, in the vibrant and dynamic city of Hong Kong, China. As an interdisciplinary platform, ICLPCE 2025 successfully bridged the crucial fields of linguistics, psychology, and education, fostering a unique collaborative environment. The papers contained within these proceedings reflect this synthesis, offering a rich tapestry of inquiry that spans from the micro-level analysis of individual cognitive and emotional processes to the macro-level application of creative pedagogical strategies. The diversity and depth of the research are evident in the contents of this collection. The volume opens with explorations into creative educational methodologies, such as the application of drama pedagogy in language classrooms. It then delves into the psychological dimensions of learning, featuring studies on intervention for student anxiety and the psychological mechanisms underlying behaviors like game addiction. The intersection of language and individual cognition is further examined through research on the predictors of reading anxiety. Grounding this academic exploration in real-world contexts, other contributions analyze family ecosystems and their impact on child development, as well as the profound educational implications drawn from cultural and social narratives. We extend our sincere gratitude to all the authors for their valuable contributions and for sharing their pioneering work. Our special thanks go to the members of the international program committee and the numerous reviewers for their diligent efforts and expert judgment in selecting and refining the papers for this publication. We are also grateful to all the participants whose vibrant discussions and shared perspectives made the conference a truly enlightening event. It is our firm belief that the research presented in this proceeding will serve as a valuable resource for scholars, educators, and practitioners, inspiring further interdisciplinary collaboration and contributing to the advancement of knowledge in linguistics, psychology, and creative education.

The Proceedings of the ACM on Measurement and Analysis of Computing Systems (POMACS) focuses on the measurement and performance evaluation of computer systems and operates in close collaboration with the ACM Special Interest Group SIGMETRICS. All papers in this issue of POMACS will be presented at the ACM SIGMETRICS 2026 conference on June 8-12, 2026 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. The papers in this issue were selected during the Summer submission round by the 113 members of the ACM SIGMETRICS 2026 program committee via a rigorous review process. Each paper was conditionally accepted (and shepherded), or allowed to be resubmitted to one of the subsequent two SIGMETRICS deadlines, or rejected (with resubmission allowed only after a year). Of the 111 papers submitted, 23 papers were accepted by the program committee members (including one revised paper from last year out of three resubmissions). Each submission received between three and five reviews. Although most of the papers were decided in the online discussion phase, borderline cases were discussed during the online program committee meeting. There were two types of submission this year: regular papers and operational systems track - the latter being intended to report measurement studies on currently deployed systems - and the vast majority of the papers were regular papers (104 out of 111). Among these regular papers, each submission could indicate one or two possible tracks and roughly 45% of the submissions indicated Measurement & Applied Modeling, 23% Theory, 50% Systems, and 23% Learning. All papers went through the same review process. Many individuals contributed to the success of this POMACS issue. We thank the authors, who submitted their best work to SIGMETRICS/POMACS. We also thank the program committee members who provided constructive feedback in their reviews to authors and participated in the online discussions and program committee meeting. In addition, we thank several external reviewers who provided their expert opinions on specific submissions that required additional input. Finally, we are also grateful to the ACM SIGMETRICS Chair, Mor Harchol-Balter, to the SIGMETRICS Organization Committee, and to the SIGMETRICS Executive Committee for their ongoing efforts and initiatives for creating an exciting program for ACM SIGMETRICS 2026.

Materials and technologies are significant elements for all kinds of high-tech industries that pave the road for advancements in the manufacturing area. With the rapid development of computer technology, communications technology, and network technology, the traditional manufacturing process has evolved to intelligent manufacturing that is more technologically flexible and efficient. The Seventh International Conference on Materials Science and Manufacturing Technology 2025 (ICMSMT 2025) provided a premier interdisciplinary platform for researchers, academicians, and practitioners worldwide to present recent developments in materials sciences and manufacturing technology. This edition of the ICMSMT series was organized in partnership with Akshaya College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, and Diligentec Solutions, Coimbatore, India. The conference received submissions from 7 countries, and the editorial board of ICMSMT selected the papers for this edition after the stringent screening and review process. ICMSMT is a series of scientific meetings aiming to take place as an annual event. The 2025 meeting was organized in a hybrid format allowing both online and physical participation. Each presenter was given ten minutes for the presentation and three minutes for queries and discussion. The online meetings were conducted through the Google Meet platform. List of Executive Committee of ICMSMT 2025, Editorial Committee, Review Committee, Technical Program Committee Chairs and Technical Program Committee are available in this PDF.