Program Size Research Articles

A Comprehensive Survey of Benchmarks for Improvement of Software's Non-Functional Properties

Despite recent increase in research on improvement of non-functional properties of software, such as energy usage or program size, there is a lack of standard benchmarks for such work. This absence hinders progress in the field, and raises questions about the representativeness of current benchmarks of real-world software. To address these issues and facilitate further research on improvement of non-functional properties of software, we conducted a comprehensive survey on the benchmarks used in the field thus far. We searched five major online repositories of research work, collecting 5499 publications (4066 unique), and systematically identified relevant papers to construct a rich and diverse corpus of 425 relevant studies. We find that execution time is the most frequently improved property in research work (63%), while multi-objective improvement is rarely considered (7%). Static approaches for improvement of non-functional software properties are prevalent (51%), with exploratory approaches (18% evolutionary and 15% non-evolutionary) increasingly popular in the last 10 years. Only 39% of the 425 papers describe work that uses benchmark suites, rather than single software, of those SPEC is most popular (63 papers). We also provide recommendations for future work, noting, for instance, lack of benchmarks for non-functional improvement that covers Python, JavaScript, or mobile devices. All the details regarding the 425 identified papers are available on our dedicated webpage: https://bloa.github.io/nfunc_survey.

Development of a Training Course Based on Task-based Learning to Cultivate Film Academic Paper Writing Ability at Xi’an University

Background and aim: University students in China are required to complete an academic graduation thesis during their undergraduate studies. Therefore, it is particularly important to cultivate the academic paper-writing ability of undergraduates. The purpose of this study is to improve the film academic paper writing ability of students majoring in film literature at Xi’an University through the film academic paper writing training course. The purposes of this research were: (1) compare the film academic paper writing ability of students after the implementation of the training course based on task-based learning with the determined criteria at 70 % of each time. And (2) assess the students’ satisfaction with the training course based on task-based learning to cultivate students’ film academic paper writing ability. Materials and methods: The sample of this study was 12 students of film literature at Xi’an University, in the Xi’an City of Shaanxi Province which were selected by using a purposive sampling method. Set the sample size by using the G*Power program and set effect size = 0.80 (choose a large effect size), error prob. = 0.05 and power (1-B error prob.) = 0.80. After calculation, the size of the sample was 12. The instruments used in this research were 1) a Film academic paper writing training course based on task-based learning, 2) 8 lesson plans, 3) 4 film academic paper writing learning achievement tests (the reliability of each test was between 0.80 – 0.85), 4) film academic paper writing ability test with 0.84 of reliability, and 5) students’ satisfaction questionnaire with 0.85 of reliability. Data were collected four times during the implementation and one time after the implementation. The statistics used to analyze the data included the mean, standard deviation, and t-test for one sample. Results: From the study, it was found that: the results of the film academic paper writing ability of students after learning through the film academic paper writing training course, with the full score of 20. The mean score (time 1) of film academic paper writing ability was 16.83, SD was 1.70. The mean score (post-test 2) of film academic paper writing ability was 15.58, SD was 1.00. The mean score of (post-test 3) of film academic paper writing ability was 16.25, SD was 1.14. The mean score of (post-test 4) of film academic paper writing ability was 16.67, SD was 1.30. The mean score of the final test of film academic paper writing ability was 16.83, SD was 2.29. The finding of this table revealed that after learning through the film academic paper writing training course, every post-test score of students’ film academic paper writing ability after implementation of the training course is higher than the criterion set at 70% (14 scores) and the difference was statistical significance (p<0.05). The student's satisfaction with the film academic paper writing training course based on task-based learning was very high level (M= 4.53, SD=0.64). Conclusion: According to the research, the film academic paper writing training course based on task-based learning can effectively improve the academic paper writing ability of students majoring in film literature at Xi’an University and cultivate their ability to consult literature and integrate resources, ability to use the correct academic paper writing norms, ability to use words and organize language, ability to apply academic theories to analyze film and film phenomena.

The Availability of Paternity Leave in US Surgical Residencies: A Study of Program Websites.

As family dynamics evolve, an increasing number of male residents are embracing parenthood during their training. Consequently, paternity leave has emerged as a crucial consideration. The aim of this study was to determine the gap in public availability of paternity leave policies in surgical residency programs across the United States. We evaluated publicly available information regarding paternity leave policies across both program-specific and Graduate Medical Education (GME) websites of 1242 surgical residency programs across eight surgical specialties. This information was further evaluated in relation to program size, program director gender, specialty type, and geographic location using logistic regression models. Paternity leave policies were found on only 4.3% of program-specific websites and 18.8% of GME websites. Neurosurgery had the greatest number of programs that publicly advertised their policies-11.7% on program-specific websites and 82.5% on GME websites. Vascular surgery and ear, nose, and throat surgery had no policies available on program-specific websites, and general surgery had the least paternity leave policies publicly available as per the GME websites (7.9%). Programs in the northeast were significantly less likely to have paternal leave policies publicly available (odds ratio: 0.55; 95% confidence interval: 0.31-0.96; P = 0.034), whereas programs in the west were significantly more likely (odds ratio: 2.1; 95% confidence interval: 1.2-3.67; P = 0.009) compared to the midwest. This study highlights the pressing need for standardization and transparency across all surgical specialties regarding paternity leave policies. Addressing this gap is crucial for empowering applicants in family planning decisions and fostering a culture supportive of parental leave uptake.

Evaluation and Comparison of the Comprehensiveness of Canadian and American Ophthalmology Residency Program Websites

ABSTRACT Purpose We descriptively and comparatively evaluated the comprehensiveness of Canadian and US-accredited ophthalmology residency program websites as of August 28, 2024. Methods Using Canadian Resident Matching Service (n = 15) and US Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (n = 125), we assessed website content across seven criteria: recruitment, faculty, residents, education/research, teaching, benefits, and community. Two independent reviewers used a 40-point system, with Kruskal-Wallis and post-hoc pairwise tests for analysis by country and funding model. Results US programs more frequently had highly comprehensive websites than Canadian programs (US: 74.4%, Canada: 40%). Canadian programs mostly achieved moderate comprehensiveness (Canada: 60%, US: 22.4%). Larger program size and US origin were significantly linked to higher comprehensiveness scores (p < .01). Conclusion Our findings suggest that US-based, larger programs offer more extensive online resources. We recommend standardized guidelines to improve residency program website transparency and accessibility for medical learners.

Financial Barriers to Rural Graduate Medical Education: Medicare Funding Methods for Sole Community and Medicare-Dependent Hospitals.

Policymakers are exploring options to address rural-urban physician maldistribution, including reducing rural residency training barriers. This study estimated Medicare graduate medical education (GME) reimbursement that sole community hospitals (SCHs) and Medicare-dependent hospitals (MDHs) are disqualified from receiving compared with hospitals under the Prospective Payment System (PPS) and calculated the GME reimbursement per resident for MDHs and SCHs under different scenarios. This simulation study used Healthcare Cost Report Information System data on hospitals that had been SCHs or MDHs between 2011 and 2021 and did not have any resident full-time equivalents (FTEs) in the most recent year. Reimbursements were calculated under the PPS and hospital-specific rate (HSR), assuming all other hospital financing elements remained unchanged, apart from adding resident FTEs. A total of 242 hospitals were identified as current or recent SCHs or MDHs with an average daily census of 25 or more and no residents in their most recent cost reports; 139 (57.4%) were paid under the HSR. The median (interquartile range) reimbursement per resident was $179,442 ($153,078-$208,412) under PPS and $107,294 ($85,134-$128,259) under HSR, a difference of nearly $70,000 per resident. The median opportunity cost per FTE was approximately $73,000 for SCHs and approximately $65,000 for MDHs. No significant per-resident differences were observed in the GME payments based on program size. Due to higher GME payments from PPS vs HSR, the number of hospitals defaulting to HSR decreased, and by the end of the third year of the program, more than 10% hospitals switched from HSR to PPS. Under the current health care and GME reimbursement method, SCHs and MDHs face considerable financial barriers to launching or participating in GME programs. Policy adjustments to address this barrier may incentivize more rural facilities to launch or participate in GME, potentially mitigating the geographic maldistribution of physicians.

Recent court ruling could increase the size and administrative complexity of the 340B program.

The 340B program allows certain hospitals and clinics to use outpatient drugs purchased at substantial discounts on insured patients, generating profits to fund care. The size of these profits depends on the number of prescriptions filled by participating hospital or clinics' insured patients that also meet the Health Resources and Services Agency's definition of an eligible patient. A recent court case has challenged the Agency's longstanding definition of a patient, resulting in new definition that could significantly expand the size of the program and create conflicts when an insured patient satisfies the new definition for more than one hospital or clinic participating in the program. We use Medicare Part D data from 2018 to simulate the proportion of prescription drug fills eligible for 340B discounts and total program spending under both existing and new definitions. We found that the new definition could increase the share of 340B-eligible fills in Medicare Part D by 25%, from 12% of fills to 16%, and that the share of fills subject to a conflict could double, from 1% of fills to 1%-2%. Our results suggest that the new definition could increase covered entities' 340B profits by roughly a third.

A National Assessment of Pediatric Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Structure: Defining the Training Experience.

Pediatric Surgical Critical Care (PSCC) is a unique specialty incorporating fundamental principles of surgical, neonatal, and pediatric critical care. This study aims to characterize the current landscape of PSCC training to identify opportunities for educational standardization and improvement. An anonymous electronic survey-based assessment was distributed to the program directors (PDs) of all current ACGME-accredited PSCC fellowships (n=14). The survey investigated two main program domains: administrative (program size, accreditation, recruitment strategies) and educational (curricula components, learning resources, rotation schedule). Graduate outcomes (estimated board passage rates) were also assessed. Descriptive statistics were performed. The survey response rate was 100%. The majority of primary administrative ACGME accreditation responsibilities are managed either by the pediatric surgery section/department (79%) or the adult surgery department (21%). Only 29% of PDs use a pediatric specific structured curriculum that details specific benchmarks for medical and procedural knowledge. Formalized reading lists and standardized resources are utilized by 64%. All programs offer recurrent educational lectures to fellows by a variety of faculty. There is marked heterogeneity related to time spent in various core and elective rotations. Average duration spent on a PSCC service was 5.1 months (0-10months). However, only 14% of programs reported these months to consist of primary patient management responsibilities. This evaluation of PSCC fellowships demonstrated variability in curriculum, content, and resources. These results support future multidisciplinary efforts to more clearly standardize the fellowship experience in order to ensure practice readiness of these uniquely qualified surgeons. Level V.

Leveraging Virtual Containers for High-Powered, Collaborative AI Research in Radiology

Abstract Numerous obstacles confront radiologists interested in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) models within the field of radiology. For example, discrepancies between the radiologist's and an AI developer's hardware and software specifications pose a substantial hindrance to using AI models. Additionally, accessing and using GPU computers can lead to compatibility issues and add to these challenges. Finally, the dissemination of AI models and the ability to download preexisting AI models are not simple tasks due to the size and complexity of most programs. Virtual containers offer a solution to such compatibility issues and provide a simplified way for radiologists to use AI models. Virtual containers are software tools that bundle code, required programs, and necessary software packages to ensure that a program runs identically for all users, regardless of their computing environment. This article outlines the features of virtual containers (compatibility, versatility, and portability) and highlights an applied use case for virtual containers in the development of an AI model.

Who Is Perceived as Deserving? How Social Identities Shape Attitudes about Disaster Assistance in the United States

ABSTRACT Research has shown that as the size of government assistance programs grow, and the recipients of such programs are increasingly non-white and/or non-citizen, public support for them declines. Our study examines this phenomenon on the question of deservingness in federal disaster assistance. Using a 2018 survey experiment that leverages two devastating hurricanes—Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Harvey—that hit different parts of the United States in 2017, we explore how the social identities of race/ethnicity and partisanship affect attitudes about disaster deservingness. Our results demonstrate that although federal disaster assistance has broad support, it is contingent on perceptions about the disaster victim and the type of assistance. Respondents were less likely to support disaster assistance to Hurricane Maria–affected people than those affected by Hurricane Harvey. Moreover, white and Republican respondents were more likely to favor market-based assistance whereas race-/ethnic-minority and Democratic respondents were more likely to support more generous forms of disaster assistance. These findings have important implications for the allocation of disaster funds as climate change intensifies and the frequency of billion-dollar disaster events increases. This is exacerbated by political polarization and heightened social vulnerability due to changing population demographics.

Updated 5-Year Institutional Bibliometric Profiles for United States Neurosurgery Residency Programs and the Relationship Between Social Media Presence and Objective Departmental Metrics.

The authors report current 3-year and 5-year institutional bibliometric profiles and investigate the correlations between objective metrics of neurosurgical residency programs and social media presence, including residency program size, faculty count, Doximity rankings, and measures of research output. A list of neurosurgery residency programs was obtained through the Doximity Residency Navigator. Publication history of faculty members was compiled using Scopus and analyzed to create institutional bibliometric profiles from 2018-2022 to 2020-2022. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare departmental metrics for institutions with and without social media accounts. Spearman rank correlations were used to examine the relationship between social media following and metrics, and between Twitter following and methods of Twitter use. 74% (n = 86) of neurosurgery programs have a Twitter account, 47% (n = 55) have a Facebook account, 63% (n = 73) have Instagram accounts, and 16% (n = 19) have LinkedIn accounts. The most notable differences were found when comparing departments with and without Twitter accounts, where a difference was found in all metrics except the average H-index. Residency program size, faculty count, average H-index, 3-year and 5-year publication and citation counts per faculty, and institutional H-indices were significantly correlated with Twitter following. Higher Doximity rankings were correlated with Twitter following and Facebook likes. There is a greater increase in 5-year citations per publication from 2009-2013 to 2018-2022 for institutions that created departmental Twitter accounts after 2013. Articles that were tweeted about had higher 3-year citations per publication than the institution's overall 3-year citations per publication. Our findings provide updated insight into the relationship between social media presence and objective academic metrics of neurosurgery departments. We identify and quantify correlations between social media platforms and program characteristics, with a focus on research output. These metrics can be used to guide programs in their development of social media.

Social media adoption and utilization by Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residency programs and implications for remote resident recruitment.

We aim to investigate the association of Instagram and Twitter (rebranded X) adoption by Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) residencies with the number of National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) applications received in the 2020-2021 application cycle. Among 88 PM&R residency programs, 67 (77%) had Instagram accounts, 45 (51%) had Twitter accounts, and 41 (47%) had both. Forty (60%) Instagram accounts and 19 (42%) Twitter accounts were opened during the 2020-2021 application cycle, correlating with the introduction of virtual interviews and the COVID-19 pandemic. Residency programs with active Instagram or Twitter accounts had more NRMP applications (F(2,85) = 7.49, P = 0.001). Simple main effects analysis showed that programs with an Instagram account (P = 0.03) or a Twitter account (P = 0.03) received more residency applications. In multivariate linear regression analysis including presence of an Instagram account, program size, program setting, and program region, the presence of a Twitter account (coefficient 37.3, P = 0.04, 95% CI 1.71-72.96) and ≥ 16 residents in the residency program (coefficient 77.9, P < 0.001, 95% CI 44.43-111.31) were positively correlated with the number of residency applications. In conclusion, residency programs that were larger and adopted Twitter had more applicants in 2020-2021. Future research is needed to determine how social media activity impacts residency applicant decision-making.

One size does not fit all for URiM applicants: a comparison of NPM program size on URiM applications.

Neonatal-perinatal medicine (NPM) lacks a racially and ethnically diverse physician workforce. Fewer trainees from groups underrepresented in medicine (URiM) are entering NPM due to declining match rates in general pediatrics, financial burdens from delaying workforce entry, and ineffective recruitment into NPM. Annual surveys from the Organization of Neonatology Training Program Directors (ONTPD) were analyzed to assess URiM recruitment trends between 2021 and 2023. Concerningly, the number of URiM candidates applying to NPM fellowship programs remains low, highlighting the need for investment in pathway programming and enhanced recruitment strategies to diversify the NPM workforce. A multifaceted approach, including promoting early interest in pediatrics, minimizing financial disincentives, collecting robust URiM trainee and workforce data, and creating inclusive, diverse educational environments will be critical to increasing URiM representation in NPM and ultimately improving health outcomes for neonates.

The ART of Sharing Points-to Analysis: Reusing Points-to Analysis Results Safely and Efficiently

Data-flow analyses like points-to analysis can vastly improve the precision of other analyses, and enable powerful code optimizations. However, whole-program points-to analysis of large Java programs tends to be expensive – both in terms of time and memory. Consequently, many compilers (both static and JIT) and program-analysis tools tend to employ faster – but more conservative – points-to analyses to improve usability. As an alternative to such trading of precision for performance, various techniques have been proposed to perform precise yet expensive fixed-point points-to analyses ahead of time in a static analyzer, store the results, and then transmit them to independent compilation/program-analysis stages that may need them. However, an underlying concern of safety affects all such techniques – can a compiler (or program analysis tool) trust the points-to analysis results generated by another compiler/tool? In this work, we address this issue of trust in the context of Java, while accounting for the issue of performance. We propose ART: Analysis-results Representation Template – a novel scheme to efficiently and concisely encode results of flow-sensitive, context-insensitive points-to analysis computed by a static analyzer for use in any independent system that may benefit from such a precise points-to analysis. ART also allows for fast regeneration of the encoded sound analysis results in such systems. Our scheme has two components: (i) a producer that can statically perform expensive points-to analysis and encode the same concisely, (ii) a consumer that, on receiving such encoded results (called artwork), can regenerate the points-to analysis results encoded by the artwork if it is deemed “safe”. The regeneration scheme completely avoids fixed-point computations and thus can help consumers like static analyzers and JIT compilers to obtain precise points-to information without paying a prohibitively high cost. We demonstrate the usage of ART by implementing a producer (in Soot) and two consumers (in Soot and the Eclipse OpenJ9 JIT compiler). We have evaluated our implementation over various benchmarks from the DaCapo and SPECjvm2008 suites. Our results demonstrate that using ART, a consumer can obtain precise flow-sensitive, context-insensitive points-to analysis results in less than (average) 1% of the time taken by a static analyzer to perform the same analysis, with the storage overhead of ART representing a small fraction of the program size (average around 4%).

유아 대상 공감 프로그램의 효과에 대한 메타분석

This study used a meta-analysis method to examine the effectiveness of empathy programs for young children. Specifically, this study examined the effect size of empathy programs for young children and the heterogeneity of the effect size. For this purpose, 40 studies published between 2013 and 2024 (39 articles) were selected that included the effects of empathy programs for young children aimed at developing empathy. This study calculated the overall mean effect size of the studies, checked whether there was heterogeneity in the overall mean effect size, and conducted a meta-analysis of variance. The meta and metafor packages in R 4.3.3 were used for the analysis. The findings suggest that the empathy programs for young children are overall very effective (ES = 1.83). Meta-analysis of variance showed that four factors were associated with differences in the effect size: age, duration, main activity type, and main medium. Specifically, the effect size for empathy programs was larger in the order of 3-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 4-yearolds, and 4-5-year-olds. The study also found that empathy programs had the largest effect sizes when implemented for four months, and the largest effect sizes were found for activities focused on book-making, and using picture as the primary medium. However, these results need to be understood in light of the overall large effect sizes of the programs and the specific number of studies included in each moderator. The findings from this study provide important resources for early childhood teachers who want to plan and implement empathy programs.

Escalation Pathways of Remote Patient Monitoring Programs for COVID-19 Patients in Canada and the United States: A Rapid Review.

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals in North America were overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients and had limited capacity to admit patients. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) programs were developed to monitor COVID-19 patients at home and reduce disease transmission and the demand on hospitals. A critical component of RPM programs is effective escalation pathways. The purpose of this review is to synthesize the implementation of escalation pathways of RPM programs for COVID-19 patients in Canada and the United States. Methods: The search identified 563 articles from Embase, PubMed, and Scopus. Following title and abstract screening, 131 were selected for full-text review, and 26 articles were included. Data were extracted on study location, patient eligibility and program size, data collection, monitoring team, escalation criteria, and escalation response. Results: The included studies were published between 2020 and 2022; 3 in Canada and 23 in the United States. The RPM programs collected physiological vital signs and symptom data, which were inputted manually by patients and health care workers or synced automatically. Escalations were triggered automatically or following manual review by nurses and physicians when signs and symptoms were concerning or reached a specific threshold. Escalations included emergency department referrals, physician appointments, and increased monitoring. Conclusion: Many decisions are required when designing RPM escalation pathways for patients with COVID-19, which is crucial to promptly address patients' changing health statuses and clinical needs. Future research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of escalation pathways for COVID-19 patients through performance metrics and patient and health care worker experience.

Attitudes of Forensic Fellowship Psychiatry Directors towards an Applicant Match.

Forensic psychiatry fellowship programs recruit applicants through a nonstandardized process that differs by program. Although there are deadlines, informal guidance, and more recent communication guidelines, perceived differences in recruitment practices persist between geographic regions, small and large programs, and newer and more well-established programs. In the wake of a survey of fellowship applicants that found mixed opinions surrounding the application process, U.S. forensic fellowship directors undertook a mixed method quantitative-qualitative survey of their colleagues to assess interest in a match as a potential improvement and factors influencing that interest (e.g., program size, age, and unfilled positions). With responses from all 46 active U.S. programs, results indicated broad support for principles of fairness, transparency, and minimizing pressure on applicants, with an almost perfectly divided interest in a match. Respondents supported the use of a centralized database to standardize the application process and favored certain exceptions for internal applicants. Hypotheses about the reasons underlying program directors' attitudes toward a match did not yield significant results, with only the size of a program approaching significance. This novel comprehensive survey of forensic fellowship directors offers a model for assessing and monitoring the evolution of application processes for medical subspecialties interested in expanding and improving their recruitment.

Abstract Tu082: Novel Structural and Biochemical Effects of Nexilin Associated Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is primarily a genetic disease that results in abnormal cardiac muscle phenotypes characterized by ventricular hypertrophy, fibrosis, and contractile dysfunction. Both sarcomere structural and signaling genes are associated with HCM. Among various genes, one of the implicated genes for HCM is Nexilin (NEXN). Nexilin is an F-actin binding protein widely expressed in muscle cells and localized at sarcomere and T-tubules. It is known to have a surprising role in insulin signaling. The role of Nexilin mutations is poorly studied. We hypothesized that Nexilin missense variants in genetically engineered human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) perturb essential cardiac metabolic signaling pathways leading to HCM. In our Indian HCM cohort, we identified seven Nexilin mutations through exome sequencing and categorized them as pathogenic per ACMG/AMP classification. A representative novel mutant in Nexilin p.Q131T was introduced in hPSC with the CRISPR-Cas9 knock-in method and was differentiated into cardiomyocytes, recapitulating patient-specific heterozygous mutation. Our data shows that Nexilin p.Q131T causes an increase in cell size and activation of fetal gene transcriptional programs in hPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. Global transcriptomics was performed to understand transcriptional changes and investigate further. We observe the significant activation of insulin-related signaling pathways, including AKT/MTOR and MAPK, confirmed by immunoblotting. Akt-mTOR and MAPK cascades are well-known to be regulated by IRS-1 signaling. Our studies show hyperactivation of these cascades, suggesting IRS-1 involvement in the pathogenesis. Nexilin and IRS-1 interaction were probed and found to be perturbed, hence causing higher activation of IRS-1 and its downstream targets. In addition, Nexilin wild type and mutant protein structure-functional analysis were performed with purified proteins. Using cryo-EM structural analysis, we identified unique F-actin binding sites for Nexilin for the first time, and the mutant p.Q131T showed decreased binding affinity to F-actin. We report Nexilin's high-resolution cryo-EM structure and a novel metabolic signaling mechanism where mutations in Nexilin cause dysregulation of IRS-1 signaling in the gene-edited cardiomyocytes, leading to HCM pathogenesis.

An Evaluation of the Presence of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Information on Plastic Surgery Residency Program Websites.

Increasing the diversity of plastic surgery trainees is an important step in providing optimal care for our increasingly diverse patient populations. Given that information presented on residency programs' websites can strongly influence applicants' decisions to apply to or rank a program, demonstrating a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on program websites may aid in recruiting applicants with URM background. Using 8 DEI-related criteria, we evaluated the websites of 103 plastic surgery residency programs for the presence of DEI-related content during the month of June 2022. Each program was evaluated by 2 individual graders. We analyzed the data with confirmatory factor analysis in R using the Lavaan package. On average, programs fulfilled 2.1 ± 1.6 of the metrics with a range of 0-7 fulfilled per program. Our model revealed that the criteria were a high-quality (P < 0.0001) measure of DEI-related metrics. There was a significant association between program size and presence of DEI-related criteria (linear 0.039; quadratic -0.005; both P < 0.01), such that mid-sized programs (16-18 residents) had the highest quality of DEI advertising compared to both small and large programs. Programs associated with a USNWR Top 20 Hospital were less likely to achieve high level of DEI-related criteria than other programs (P < 0.0001). Mid-sized programs had greater DEI quality on their websites, while smaller and larger programs similarly had poorer assessed quality. There is room for all programs to improve the presence of DEI-related material on their websites, especially related to care of transgender populations.

Explaining Genetic Programming-Evolved Routing Policies for Uncertain Capacitated Arc Routing Problems

Genetic programming has been successfully used to evolve routing policies that can make real-time routing decisions for uncertain arc routing problems. Although the evolved routing policies are highly effective, they are typically very large and complex, and hard to be understood and trusted by real users. Existing studies have attempted to improve the interpretability by developing new genetic programming approaches to evolve both effective and interpretable (e.g., with smaller program size) routing policies. However, they still have limitations due to the trade-off between effectiveness and interpretability. To address this issue, we propose a new post-hoc explanation approach to explaining the effective but complex routing policies evolved by genetic programming. The new approach includes a local ranking explanation and a global explanation module. The local ranking explanation uses particle swarm optimisation to learn an interpretable linear model that accurately explains the local behaviour of the routing policy for each decision situation. Then, the global explanation module uses a clustering technique to summarise the local explanations into a global explanation. The experimental results and case studies on the benchmark datasets show that the proposed method can obtain accurate and understandable explanations of the routing policies evolved for uncertain arc routing problems. Our explanation approach is not restricted to uncertain arc routing, but has a great potential to be generalised to other optimisation and machine learning problems such as learning classifier systems and reinforcement learning.

Trends and predictors of unfilled emergency medicine residency positions: A comparative analysis of the 2023 and 2024 Match cycles.

The emergency medicine (EM) landscape has evolved due to the increasing number of programs paired with fewer applicants. This study analyzed the characteristics of EM residency programs associated with unfilled positions during the 2024 Match and compared them with data from the 2023 Match to identify persistent and emerging trends influencing these outcomes. In this cross-sectional, observational study, we investigated factors associated with unfilled EM residency positions in the 2024 Match. We used publicly accessible data from the National Resident Matching Program. To identify program-level predictors of unfilled positions, we constructed a Bayesian hierarchical logistic regression model, incorporating data from the 2023 Match season. In 2024, 54 out of 281 (19.2%) residency programs remained unfilled. Our Bayesian analysis reaffirmed that smaller program size, geographical location, prior osteopathic accreditation, and corporate ownership continue to be significant factors. Programs with vacancies in the previous year were also more likely to remain unfilled. Thus, several factors identified in 2023 remained associated with this year's Match outcomes, with the impact of previous unfilled positions being particularly pronounced. This study identified several factors associated with a greater likelihood of having unfilled EM residency positions, with previous unfilled positions emerging as the most significant predictor. These findings offer critical insights for residency programs and governing bodies, providing a basis for enhancing recruitment strategies, addressing the cyclical nature of unfilled positions, and tackling workforce challenges in EM.