Related Uncertainties Research Articles

Perfectionism, intolerance of uncertainty and coping in relation to fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer patients.

Improved medical treatment has led to an increased cohort of cancer survivors. The prevalence of emotional problems in this group is high, with fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) being among the most prevalent and distressing conditions. In order to gain more insight in the psychological mechanisms playing a role in levels of FCR, this study examined the relationship between perfectionism and FCR in breast cancer patients, as well as the mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and coping in this relationship. In order to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms related to the experience of FCR in breast cancer patients, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationship between perfectionism and FCR, with IU and coping strategies as possible mediating factors. Validated Dutch versions of the FCR Inventory, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale and the Utrechtse Coping List were filled out by 146 breast cancer patients, at least one year after (finishing) medical treatment. Correlation analyses were conducted to administer the associations between FCR, perfectionism, IU, coping and demographic/medical variables. PROCESS was used to examine mediation mechanisms. A significant correlation was found between perfectionism and FCR (r=0.19, p=0.024). IU was found to mediate the relationship between perfectionism and FCR. In contrast, coping style did not emerge as a significant mediating factor. This study shows that intolerance of uncertainty mediates the relationship between perfectionism and FCR. Psychological interventions targeting FCR may benefit from incorporating specific modules on dealing with uncertainty. Future research is necessary to further increase understanding of the mechanisms that play a role in FCR, in order to optimize and personalize psychological treatment for cancer patients with this type of emotional distress.

Centrality measures in fuzzy social networks

Centrality measures have been widely used to capture the properties of different nodes in a social network, particularly when the edges are fully deterministic. Various models have also been proposed to calculate nodes’ centrality in graphs where there might be some uncertainty in relation to the edges. Their common characteristic is that graph uncertainty is essentially embedded into the calculation of centrality to compute a single crisp value. However, as the degree of uncertainty may vary, centrality values may also vary. In this paper, making use of fuzzy set theory, we assume that a social network is modelled by a fuzzy graph and a fuzzy variable is used to describe the truth degree of an edge between two nodes. Based on this formulation, appropriate definitions are given to determine the truth degree of different centrality values for a node and thereby centrality as a fuzzy relation. Three well-known centrality measures, degree, h-index and k-shell, are extended to calculate the truth degree for the centrality of a node in a fuzzy graph. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed centrality measures can determine the importance of nodes in a fuzzy graph more accurately than other fuzzy or deterministic centrality measures.

Relational Turbulence: A Latent Model Test of Theoretical Propositions

ABSTRACT In this study we simultaneously tested theoretically specified predictions from relational turbulence theory (RTT) using a fully latent structural regression model. A total of 807 college students in dating relationships responded to survey items measuring variables embedded in RTT, including relationship parameters (relational uncertainty and interdependence), biased cognitive appraisals, emotions, relational communication, and relational turbulence. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that RTT predictions were consistent with our data, but a respecified model with less restrictive constraints was a better fit. This less restrictive model allowed relational uncertainty to predict negative affect, and partner interference and facilitation to predict biased cognitive appraisals. Propositions of RTT were sustained.

Risk assessment for circular business models: A fuzzy Delphi study application for composite materials

Circular economy (CE) implementation requires the transition from linear business models (BMs) to circular ones, with related uncertainties and multi-disciplinary risks, which often discourage organisations. However, there is still a lack of understanding of risks associated with this process. This work thus aims to identify, classify and prioritise key risk factors for innovative circular BMs in order to enable the development of appropriate risk management strategies.A fuzzy Delphi method was tailored to assess the risk factors obtained from the literature and was applied to the industrial case of composite materials. 24 major risk factors for innovative circular BMs were identified and classified into six categories. The probability and impact of the risk factors were evaluated by experts and the risk factors were then ranked by calculating their risk scores. The resultant major risks appeared to be related to the external context in which organisations operate. Among those risks, the greatest were those generated by take-back systems and low customers’ acceptance of CE products.This research is the first to address risks for circularity in a structured way and contributes to the field of CE by providing an extensive list and classification of risk factors for innovative circular BMs as they are perceived by industry, acting as a reference for academics and practitioners. Furthermore, it provides the first evaluation and prioritisation of risk factors within the CE domain, highlighting critical risks within the specific industrial context of composite materials and suggesting action priorities for the establishment of circular BMs.

How U.S. college athletes manage COVID-19 related uncertainty

ABSTRACT Emerging adulthood is a period rife with uncertainty, even prior to COVID-19. Research suggests college athletes may be better adept at managing COVID-related challenges. Thus, we interviewed 16 U.S. college athletes to better understand their experiences related to uncertainty and uncertainty management. We found college athletes, who had to balance both academics and sports, experienced uncertainty related to health, academics, interpersonal relationships, and careers. Using the lens of uncertainty management theory (UMT), we found most college athletes viewed uncertainty negatively, attempting to reduce it via seeking social support and information, establishing schedules, and protecting against COVID. However, others learned to adapt to ambiguity by controlling what they could control and focusing on COVID’s positives. By adapting, college athletes were able to build resilience, informing strategies other emerging adults can use not only to navigate a global pandemic, but the unexpected challenges and adversity inherent in emerging adulthood.

The Role of Economic Policy Uncertainty in Relation to Financial Market Instability and Stock Liquidity in Tehran Stock Exchange Companies

The purpose of this article is to investigate the role of economic policy uncertainty in relation to financial market instability and stock liquidity in Tehran stock exchange companies. For this purpose, the panel threshold approach model (PSTR) was used based on the annual data of listed companies during the period of 1401-1392. Based on the obtained weights for economic policy uncertainty, the macro indicators section has the greatest effect in creating uncertainty. After that, the monetary and financial sector of the government have the most subsequent effects. Among the variables; The free exchange rate has the most influence, followed by the economic growth, inflation and monetary base and the real interest rate have the most influence on the uncertainty of the government's economic policies in Iran's economy. The estimation results of the nonlinear part of the model (second regime) show that for one percent increase in the variables of economic policy uncertainty, financial market instability, psychological biases, stock liquidity decreases by 8%, 5% and 17% respectively. Also, for one percent increase in profitability variables, asset structure, financial behavior of investors and company sales growth, stock liquidity increases by 7%, 10%, 2% and 28% respectively. In other words, the increase in the uncertainty of the economic policy leads to an increase in the amount of foreign debt by companies, and the increase in debt will lead to a lack of liquidity in general, which in general, the lack of liquidity of economic enterprises has a negative effect on the distribution of dividends, stock returns and increasing the index. They have a price, it should also be noted that with the increase in the uncertainty of the economic policy and the instability of the financial market, the possibility that the capital will leave the stock market and enter the money market will also increase. Therefore, it can be said that the increase in economic policy uncertainty and the instability of the financial market will continuously reduce the liquidity of the stock market.

Socioeconomic inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean: the post-pandemic future for the training of health professionals.

Inequality is a global, structural problem that is particularly marked in the world's poorest countries. The covid-19 pandemic exacerbated this historic problem in Latin America and the Caribbean and deepened uncertainties in relation to basic human needs. This study presents an overview of the subject on the basis of official reports from international agencies (PAHO, WHO, ECLAC) between 2019 and 2022 and discusses some paths for the training of health professionals in Brazil. It also investigates how health practices could be changed to ensure greater social protection for vulnerable populations, based on the proposals of Paulo Freire and Edgar Morin, which highlight current social and health problems.

Desigualdades socioeconômicas na América Latina e Caribe: o futuro pós-pandemia para a formação profissional na saúde

Abstract Inequality is a global, structural problem that is particularly marked in the world’s poorest countries. The covid-19 pandemic exacerbated this historic problem in Latin America and the Caribbean and deepened uncertainties in relation to basic human needs. This study presents an overview of the subject on the basis of official reports from international agencies (PAHO, WHO, ECLAC) between 2019 and 2022 and discusses some paths for the training of health professionals in Brazil. It also investigates how health practices could be changed to ensure greater social protection for vulnerable populations, based on the proposals of Paulo Freire and Edgar Morin, which highlight current social and health problems.

The Russia–South Korea Relationship after Russia's Invasion of Ukraine and Implications for the U.S.-ROK Alliance

executive summary: This essay examines the potential for shifts in Russia's strategy toward the Korean Peninsula in light of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and South Korea's reaction. main argumentFor nearly 30 years, Russia has pursued a strategy of "diplomatic equidistance" toward the Korean Peninsula. By striving to maintain relatively balanced ties with both North and South Korea, the Kremlin has attempted to preserve a degree of influence on its eastern periphery in Northeast Asia, which is largely dominated by the U.S. and China. Pyongyang's and Seoul's respective responses to Russia's military aggression in Eastern Europe, however, have opened the possibility that Moscow could shift toward a strategy that favors North Korea over South Korea. policy implications• Should Russia decide to pursue closer ties with North Korea at a time when Russia–South Korea relations have cooled, the Kremlin may find that supporting the North could increase its influence in Northeast Asia as well as present a challenge to the U.S. Nevertheless, Moscow would also risk losing the limited influence on the Korean Peninsula it has acquired as a result of its equidistance strategy. • South Korea faces a period of uncertainty in relations with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. While it is unlikely that Moscow and Seoul will enact the economic cooperation that they had previously envisioned, South Korea may hope to salvage ties with Russia to improve the balance on the Korean Peninsula. Yet with increased fears that North Korea–Russia relations may strengthen, South Korea has reason to be skeptical of cooperation. • The U.S. will need to be prepared for several possible developments in terms of Russia's standing on the Korean Peninsula. Should South Korea elect to try to preserve cooperation with Russia, this may cause a further rift in the U.S.–South Korea alliance. If Moscow doubles down on its relationship with Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington will need to be prepared to jointly address such a development with implications for the Northeast Asian subregion and Russia-U.S. ties.

Measurement and Characterization of Position and Posture of Conjunctive Multifreeform Surfaces Using Multisensors

Conjunctive multi-freeform surfaces play an important role in many advanced optical systems. The position and posture accuracy of freeform surfaces are the key to system performance. However, there is no effective method of measuring the positions and postures of multiple freeform surfaces. In this study, a conjunctive multi-freeform surface measurement system based on multi-sensors is developed, and a trust region registration based on the least squares method is proposed, with the aim of registering multiple freeform surfaces at different positions and postures. The performance of the proposed system was analyzed and the errors were calibrated. The calculation accuracy of the registration method was within 20 nm at Φ50 mm in terms of root-mean-of-squares (RMS) values. The positioning accuracy of the freeform surface measurement system proved to be 1.2 μm within the area of 120 mm × 120 mm; the related uncertainty was also analyzed. The proposed measurement approach provides a comprehensive solution to optical conjunctive multi-freeform surfaces.

Spent nuclear fuel management, characterisation, and dissolution behaviour: progress and achievement from SFC and DisCo

SFC is a work package in Eurad that investigates issues related to the properties of the spent nuclear fuel in the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Decay heat, nuclide inventory, and fuel integrity (mechanical and otherwise), and not least the related uncertainties, are among the primary focal points of SFC. These have very significant importance for the safety and operational aspect of the back-end. One consequence is the operation economy of the back-end, where deeper understanding and quantification allow for significant optimization, meaning that significant parts of the costs can be reduced. In this paper, SFC is described, and examples of results are presented at about half-time of the work package, which will finish in 2024. The DisCo project started in 2017 and finished in November 2021 and was funded under the Horizon 2020 Euratom program. It investigated if the properties of modern fuel types, namely doped fuel, and MOX, cause any significant difference in the dissolution behavior of the fuel matrix compared with standard fuels. Spent nuclear fuel experiments were complemented with studies on model materials as well as the development of models describing the solid state, the dissolution process, and reactive transport in the near field. This research has improved the understanding of processes occurring at the interface between spent nuclear fuel and aqueous solution, such as redox reactions. Overall, the results show that from a long-term fuel matrix dissolution point of view, there is no significant difference between MOX fuel, Cr+Al-doped fuel, and standard fuels.

Uncertainty Analysis in Cryptographic Key Recovery for Machine Learning-Based Power Measurements Attacks

The present work concerns side-channel attacks on cryptographic devices protected with the advanced encryption standard. In this regard, the assessment of guessing entropy and the related uncertainty is proposed for machine learning-based attacks based on power measurements. For the first time, the guessing entropy was assessed on the entire key while uncertainty was introduced in the field of side-channel attacks, thus allowing a more rigorous vulnerability test for a device. Notably, a state-of-the-art attack relying on a multilayer perceptron is exploited for classifying power traces leaked from physically accessible devices. A public database was exploited for the sake of results reproducibility. Thanks to cross-validation, the uncertainty associated with retrieving a single key byte can be quantified and then propagated to the entire key by means of the Monte Carlo method. It is thus shown that, when exploiting about 4000 attack records (traces), there is a 10% probability to retrieve the secret key as a whole with less than ten attempts. This implies that a full cryptographic key can be discovered on average ten times for every 100 similar devices by a side-channel attack. This poses security threats particularly relevant in an internet-of-things scenario and addresses the need for improved vulnerability testing and proper countermeasures.

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For the emergence of legal consequences, in addition to real factual circumstances, legally permissible assumptions about factual circumstances - legal presumptions and fictions - are of great importance. Inadequate study of the characteristics and correlation of presumptions and fictions causes difficulties in law-making and law-enforcement practice. The difficulty in distinguishing these two phenomena is due to the fact that they are quite similar and closely related. The purpose of this article is to investigate the characteristics and correlation of legal fictions and presumptions. In order to achieve the set goal, the following main tasks were identified: ➢ to study the nature of legal presumptions and fictions, highlighting their commonalities and features, ➢ to study the relationship between legal presumptions and fictions, ➢ to develop of proposals aimed at fixing presumptions and fictions in legal acts and improving their application in practice. The subject of the study was examined with the use of general and special scientific methods, such as dogmatic, comparative legal, logical and legal modelling. As a result of the conducted research, a number of conclusions were made, the main contents of which are as follows: Legal presumption and fiction perform similar functions in the process of legal regulation. Their existence is due to the need to overcome the gaps in the legislation, to eliminate uncertainty in public relations. The meaning of the existence of legal fictions and presumptions is to create, with the help of an assumption, a legal consequence that would normally result from an event or action, they replace legal facts in the service of overcoming uncertainty. Fiction and presumption are beyond reality. They do not exist in the real world, but they are an integral part of the legal reality. At the same time, the analysis of their relationship has shown that, despite existing similarities, these normative generalizations are different. A presumption is rebuttable, and the assumption to be asserted is probable, while a fiction is irrefutable, and a proposition defined by a fiction is false. Presumption is inductive in nature, in the form of incomplete induction, and fiction is deductive. The purpose of using fiction is to recognize as true a assumption that is consciously inconsistent with reality, which does not pursue the goal of establishing the truth, its main purpose is to regulate those relations that cannot be regulated in any other way. Presumptions establish a necessary legal fact based on the probability of its existence. Based on the results of the research was proposed to supplement the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Normative Legal Acts with a new article on the use of legal presumptions and fictions. The proposed addition will have a guiding significance from the point of view of modeling legal norms. With that addition, it will be possible to subject the legislative and sub-legislative field to systematic and comprehensive regulation in terms of the application of legal presumptions and fictions.

Социальные сети как правовой феномен

The emerging institution of legal regulation of social networking in different states appears in different ways. The comparative legal method of the studying made it possible to select two models: western (USA, Germany, France) and eastern (China). The Western model of legal regulation comes from “freedom of networked battlefield” and “freedom of speech”, the eastern one comes - from the “information security priority” and “deanonymiration of social networking”. Relations in the social networking have acquired independent features: big freedom of expression, a culture of clip thinking, “rudeness” in the relationships as the norm, as an impossible to nobility to identify the subject and the lack of responsibility. Under the studying of social networking, researchers form the conceptual provisions of “digital life” and “digital death” of personality. In Russia, the main problems of regulation social networking are the lack of legal definitions of the concepts “social networking”, “account”; industry uncertainty of public relations, which from in the social networking; a low level of safety for minors and the elderly people. It is proposed to consider social networking as public relations as an intersectoral legal institution of civil, labor, administrative and criminal law, also as procedural industries; legalize concept “social networking” and “account”; establish information security filters for minors and elderly people.

Reducing Uncertainty in Interpersonal Relationships of Batak - Java Students in Yogyakarta

This study reveals the reduction of uncertainty in the interpersonal relations of Batak and Javanese students in Yogyakarta. The character differences between the Batak and Javanese people are strongly influenced by language, culture, and habits. The Batak people have a violent character, are temperamental, rude, and speak at a loud volume. In addition, they also have a character that is firm, honest, open, and does not beat around the bush. As for the Javanese, they have a character that upholds the philosophy that a person's self-esteem depends on speech and language so everyone must take care of what they say. The theory used in this study is uncertainty reduction from Berger and Calabrese. This study used descriptive qualitative methods, with data collection techniques through in-depth interviews, informants were determined using purposive sampling techniques, validity testing used source triangulation, and data were analyzed through several stages, namely data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and concluding. The results of the data findings obtained an illustration that each pair of informants had a different process of reducing uncertainty. The pair of informants AW and KS is more significant in reducing uncertainty than the pair of informants LD and LF. Factors that influence the significance include the existence of socialization skills and the number of meetings between LD and LF, gender equality, and experience similarities between AW and KS.

Incorporating Co-Visibility Reasoning Into Surface Depth Measurement

Multi-view stereo (MVS) aims to measure the precise surface depth of a scene from observations at multiple photography angles and then densely reconstruct its 3D geometry information. Learning-based MVS approaches have been dominantly popular for their robustness to low texture areas and non-Lambertian surfaces. However, most existing methods focus on estimating depth maps for input images by constructing global cost volumes and designing ingenious yet large variance-based 3D-CNN networks for cost volume regularization. Such approaches ignore the co-visible relation embedded in multiple views, resulting in heavy computation, erroneous cost aggregation from invisible views, and finally inaccurate 3D reconstruction results. In this paper, we propose a Co-visibility Reasoning Multi-View Stereo Network (CR-MVSNet) to explore the co-visible relations hidden in multiple views for reliable multi-view similarity measurement and efficient reconstruction. Precisely, the proposed Co-visibility Reasoning Cost Aggregation (CRCA) module includes the adaptive inter-cost volume aggregation via mining the uncertainty of co-visibility relations in multiple views and the adaptive intra-cost volume aggregation by exploiting spatial contextual information. Moreover, the cost volumes are constructed via the proposed global-to-patch manner to speed up computation. Experimental results show that our approach achieves the best overall performance on the DTU, Tanks and Temples, and ETH3D-test datasets over recent state-of-the-art MVS algorithms. The consistently favorable results on three datasets with completely different depth ranges proved the superiority and generalizability of CR-MVSNet.

A Review of Sources of Uncertainty in Optimization Objectives of Water Distribution Systems

Many studies have applied optimization to the planning, design, rehabilitation or operation of water distribution systems. Recent reviews of the research literature in this area have identified hundreds of papers that address these topics. The objectives considered include variables measuring direct impact of the system such as cost, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, as well as performance variables such as pressure deficit and system reliability. Very few of these studies have considered the effects of the various sources of uncertainty on the objectives considered. The sources of uncertainty include model related uncertainty such as uncertainty in model structure and parameters (e.g., pipe roughness and chemical reaction rates for water quality studies), data related uncertainty such as uncertainty in water demand due to natural variability in the short-term or population growth and/or climate change in the long-term, and human related uncertainty such as lack of knowledge about the physical network as well as modelling errors. This paper is aimed at reviewing the relative importance of these various sources of uncertainty on the key optimization objectives. It also summarizes the key literature in this area and identifies areas where there have been few publications.

Geometric BIM verification of indoor construction sites by photogrammetric point clouds and evidence theory

Photogrammetric point clouds offer immense potential for various applications, especially for the AEC industry and ”as-built” BIM. However, despite many advantages such as time and cost efficiency, image based point clouds of indoor environments mostly suffer from inhomogeneous and strongly fluctuating point-wise uncertainties. This lack of area-filling geometric reliability represents a strong barrier for innovations and further development of image based applications for as-built BIM, regarding both software and hardware. Therefore, this paper presents a method for the geometric verification of indoor BIMs by images and uncertainty management in order to unleash the potential of photogrammetry in context of professional building documentation heading towards ”digital twinning”. Individual 3D point accuracies, object’s surface characteristics and BIM related uncertainties according to the Level of Accuracy (LOA) specification are assessed and taken into account. The final decision of whether or not a photogrammetric point cloud confirms a given model within its associated level of accuracy results from a combined reasoning pipeline based on Dempster–Shafer evidence theory. The novel Pho-to-BIM verification method is demonstrated on three real indoor construction sites, each 3D mapped with different image sensors. Based on the experiments it is shown how to set up belief functions for evidence based reasoning individually, depending on the measurement and site characteristics.

On the Issue of the Strategy for the Formation of the Trans-regional Integration Contour of the EAEU

The instability and uncertainty of international relations accentuate the role of new and inclusive platforms of interaction and cooperation. Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) alongside its regional and transregional partners represent an example of such a platform based on new principles and values, an element of international relation configuration.Aim. Assess the prospects for a zone (cluster) within the planned and potential transregional EEU’s expansion beyond the CIS borders.Task. To evaluate the dynamics of the consolidation concerning, first, current free trade EEU agreements (FTAs or the EEU FTAs) with Serbia, Iran, Vietnam and Singapore, second, potential agreements with listed in the EEU official strategy, third, other developing states with relevant economic and/or demographic potential.Methods. The authors use additional consolidation (share of intra-bloc trade) as a metric. It is calculated as the difference between the share of EEU intra-trade and within the existing or potential EEU FTA partnerships.Results. Based on the assessment of additional consolidation, the research revealed that the existing EEU FTAs with Iran and Vietnam are effective, while trade integration with Serbia, Singapore and China are ineffective. The presence of additional consolidation was revealed for Turkey, Egypt, and Bangladesh.Conclusions. The implementation of the transregional integration track is an important development step for the Eurasian Economic Union. However, trade partnerships have different trade efficiency.

Spatial and temporal evolution patterns of material, energy and carbon emission nexus for power generation infrastructure in China

Climate change and energy transformation has made huge alteration in power system, which led to great uncertainty in relation to material, energy and carbon emissions in power generation infrastructure. We aim to estimate material stock and carbon emissions of power generation infrastructure and explore material-energy-carbon emission nexus in China from 1993 to 2060 using stock-driven dynamic material flow analysis model for materials production and carbon emissions. Results indicate that cement is the largest used material and the southwest economic zone in China has highest cement intensity due to hydropower construction, whilst steel intensity is evenly distributed across the country, aluminum intensity the smallest and more distributed in northwest region, and copper stock is the lowest. Southwest and Yangtze River economic zone contributes most to carbon emissions from national power infrastructure. Material per unit installed capacity from 1993 to 2018 has an overall increasing trend, but carbon emissions per unit installed capacity of power generation are expected to decline. Carbon emissions of new installed capacity is expected to peak around 2028. This study provides a dynamic approach to assess resource consumption and carbon emissions intensity of power generation infrastructure for decision-making on China's carbon peaking and neutrality goals.