Results Of Measures Research Articles

The Best of Times: 30 Years of US Airline Service Quality

The Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) was first published in 1987. The Service Disquality Index (SDI) was created to compare airline performance (Rhoades & Waguespack, Managing Service Quality, 9(6), 396–401, 1999). The 25 year report found that airline quality went up when traffic was down (Waguespack & Rhoades, Research in Transportation Business & Management, 10, 33–39, 2014). While traffic has not recovered to its 2007 high before the Global Financial Crisis, the 30 year results suggest that this cycle has been broken. The last five years have produced SDI averages that are among the lowest in 30 years. Results for individual measures and airlines also provide interesting detail on US airline service quality.

Simulation of collective neutrino oscillations on a quantum computer

In astrophysical scenarios with large neutrino density, like supernovae and the early universe, the presence of neutrino-neutrino interactions can give rise to collective flavor oscillations in the out-of-equilibrium collective dynamics of a neutrino cloud. The role of quantum correlations in these phenomena is not yet well understood, in large part due to complications in solving for the real-time evolution of the strongly coupled many-body system. Future fault-tolerant quantum computers hold the promise to overcome much of these limitations and provide direct access to the correlated neutrino dynamic. In this work, we present the first simulation of a small system of interacting neutrinos using current generation quantum devices. We introduce a strategy to overcome limitations in the natural connectivity of the qubits and use it to track the evolution of entanglement in real-time. The results show the critical importance of error-mitigation techniques to extract meaningful results for entanglement measures using noisy, near term, quantum devices.

Memory effects and quantum speedup for a quantum emitter near a molybdenum disulfide nanodisk

We study memory effects (non-Markovian evolution) in the spontaneous emission dynamics of a quantum emitter near a molybdenum disulfide nanodisk by going beyond the analysis of the reversible population dynamics of the excited state and considering the dynamics of the non-Markovian open system. Specifically, we quantify the non-Markovian spontaneous emission dynamics using different non-Markovianity measures and also investigate the potential quantum speed up of the dynamics in relation to its non-Markovian features. We find that the values of the non-Markovianity measures and of the potential quantum speed up are large under strong coupling conditions, while in both cases the non-Markovianity measures and the quantum speed up decreases as the coupling between the emitter and the nanodisk becomes weaker. A comparison of the different non-Markovianity measures is also presented for the system under study. • Memory effects in the photon emission of a quantum emitter next to a MoS 2 nanodisk are analyzed. • The system is treated as a non-Markovian open quantum system . • For obtaining the results, we use a combination of quantum dynamics calculations with electromagnetic calculations. • Results for different non-Markovianity measures are presented. • The quantum speed limit of the quantum emitter next to the MoS 2 nanodisk is also calculated.

English

Acoustic recordings of birds have been used by conservationists and ecologists to determine the population density and bio- diversity of bird species in a region. However, it is hard to analyze and visualize the presence/absence of a specific bird species by aurally hearing these recordings even by an expert bird song specialist. In this paper, we present a computational tool to cluster and recognize bird species based on their sounds and visualize relationships of within-species and between-species sounds based on their similarity measures. The tool has been evaluated on two datasets of varying complexity containing acoustic recordings of eleven birds’ songs and calls using various similarity measures. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used for feature selection. Euclidean distance, Mahalanobis distance, and cosine similarity among features was used for pair-wise similarity calculation. The results of similarity measures have been compared using 3-fold cross-validation and validated by spectrograms patterns obtained from frequency representation of acoustic recordings of the selected birds’ songs and calls. Cosine similarity performed better to measure underlying patterns of birds’ sounds and identify mutual relationship among species. It was concluded that the proposed tool can be used as a novel method for conversationalists, ecologists, ornithologists, and evolutionary scientists as well as tourists and bird watchers to recognize different birds’ species, study their mutual relationship, locate the area with highest population density, estimating the predators, and biodiversity in a specific region.

Influential Factors on Aerosol Change During COVID-19 in Ayutthaya, Thailand

Various interventions were made by the Thai government to prevent the COVID-19 spread by controlling socioeconomic activities, but the effectiveness of these interventions and other factors have not yet been fully clarified. Thus, this study aims to provide further scientific evidence on those potential factors which affect the socioeconomic activities changes during the pandemic, by using spatial analysis on atmospheric composition. By taking Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, Thailand as the case area. Results of the government's COVID-19 measures and statuses of industries were compared with changes in aerosols, including PM 2.5 which was analyzed by Google Earth Engine with nine open datasets including meteorological and hydrological factors. The analysis revealed that the aerosol index in ueban area of the province decreased at 28.03% in 2020 compared in 2019. Besides, PM 2.5 drastically decreased from March 2020, even without the influence of wind speed which as the highest causal relationship, and kept low level compared with previous years. The reason of the tendency would be explained that other than government interventions including national-level state of the emergency decree, reduction of factories' activities at Rojana Industrial Park and reduction of the number of tourists had significant influence to reduce the mean value of PM 2.5.

Transient and steady-state analysis of hybrid arrivals of single and batch customers queueing systems with switch-off period

In this paper, we analyze the transient behavior of a novel single server queueing system with hybrid arrivals of single and state-dependent batch of customers. Whenever the system becomes empty the server undergoes the switch-off state for random duration of time. Explicit expressions for transient probabilities of the status of the server and system size are obtained. In addition, the first-passage-time probability density function is determined along with its first two moments. We have also derived analytical results for time-dependent performance measures of the system. Further, under stability condition, the corresponding steady-state probabilities and key performance measures of the system are also discussed. Finally, we have provided extensive numerical illustrations to visualize the behaviors of system performance measures graphically by varying the values of system parameters.

Self-similar measures and the Rajchman property

For classical Bernoulli convolutions, the Rajchman property, i.e. the convergence to zero at infinity of the Fourier transform, was characterized by successive works of Erdos [2] and Salem [12]. We prove weak forms of their results for general self-similar measures associated to affine contractions of the real line.

Admissibility of Evidence Obtained as a Result of Issuing an European Investigation Order in a Polish Criminal Trial

This article analyses the admissibility of evidence gathered by the Polish procedural authorities as a result of issuing an European Investigation Order, on the basis of provisions implemented due to the adoption on the 3th of April 2014 of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding the European Investigation Order in criminal matters. This Directive created a mechanism that allows for transfer of evidence between EU Member States. In this text the question will be answered how to deal with results of investigative measures that have been legally obtained in the executing state but despite acting in accordance with the legality principle by both states, happen to be illegal in the issuing Member State. Another discussed problem is how the rules of admissibility of evidence obtained from the result of issuing an EIO work in Poland – or at least how they should operate. The second discussed issue thus will refer to the current provisions in force in Poland regulating the method of dealing with evidence obtained abroad – that is also with evidence transferred from other Member States. It will be shown that they are unclear and may lead to undesirable results. In addition, suggested changes in Polish law will be proposed.

Climate Change Policies and the Carbon Tax Effect on Meat and Dairy Industries in Brazil

This study analyzes the impacts of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the meat and dairy industries. To achieve this goal, the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database was used in a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) setting, which allows for the inclusion of carbon taxes and the definition of four alternative environmental policies scenarios using both Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Global Temperature Potential (GTP) as GHG emissions measures. All scenarios analyze the main effects of carbon-based tax economic instruments on the industry and national production, trade, and emissions, comparing the results for different measures of GHG, GWP, and GTP from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation System (SEEG) sectoral Brazilian emissions database. In contrast with other industries, relatively lower taxes on the meat and dairy industries seem to be the most adequate in terms of cost distribution in the Brazilian economic structure when only the GWP measure is considered. Urban activities and less-methane-intensive industries benefit from climate change policies designed using GWP-based rather than GTP-based carbon taxes. The article also highlights the importance of a gradual introduction of carbon taxes, allowing the most vulnerable industries a transition moment to adopt clean technologies and/or redirect economic activity to less-GHG-emitting segments.

Learning new word meanings from story reading: the benefit of immediate testing.

This study investigated how word meanings can be learned from natural story reading. Three experiments with adult participants compared naturalistic incidental learning with intentional learning of new meanings for familiar words, and examined the role of immediate tests in maintaining memory of new word meanings. In Experiment 1, participants learned new meanings for familiar words through incidental (story reading) and intentional (definition training task) conditions. Memory was tested with cued recall of meanings and multiple-choice meaning-to-word matching immediately and 24 h later. Results for both measures showed higher accuracy for intentional learning, which was also more time efficient than incidental learning. However, there was reasonably good learning from both methods, and items learned incidentally through stories appeared less susceptible to forgetting over 24 h. It was possible that retrieval practice at the immediate test may have aided learning and improved memory of new word meanings 24 h later, especially for the incidental story reading condition. Two preregistered experiments then examined the role of immediate testing in long-term retention of new meanings for familiar words. There was a strong testing effect for word meanings learned through intentional and incidental conditions (Experiment 2), which was non-significantly larger for items learned incidentally through stories. Both cued recall and multiple-choice tests were each individually sufficient to enhance retention compared to having no immediate test (Experiment 3), with a larger learning boost from multiple-choice. This research emphasises (i) the resilience of word meanings learned incidentally through stories and (ii) the key role that testing can play in boosting vocabulary learning from story reading.

Referral of adults with obstructive sleep apnea for surgical consultation: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine systematic review, meta-analysis, and GRADE assessment.

This systematic review provides supporting evidence for the accompanying clinical practice guideline on the referral of adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for surgical consultation. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine commissioned a task force of experts in sleep medicine. A systematic review was conducted to identify studies that compared the use of upper airway sleep apnea surgery or bariatric surgery to no treatment as well as studies that reported on patient-important and physiologic outcomes pre- and postoperatively. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the clinical significance of using surgery to treat obstructive sleep apnea in adults. Finally, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) process was used to assess the evidence for making recommendations. The literature search resulted in 274 studies that provided data suitable for statistical analyses. The analyses demonstrated that surgery as a rescue therapy results in a clinically significant reduction in excessive sleepiness, snoring, blood pressure (BP), apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), respiratory disturbance index (RDI), and oxygen desaturation index (ODI); an increase in lowest oxygen saturation (LSAT) and sleep quality; and an improvement in quality of life in adults with OSA who are intolerant or unaccepting of positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy. The analyses demonstrated that surgery as an adjunctive therapy results in a clinically significant reduction in optimal PAP pressure and improvement in PAP adherence in adults with OSA who are intolerant or unaccepting of PAP due to side effects associated with high pressure requirements. The analyses also demonstrated that surgery as an initial treatment results in a clinically significant reduction in AHI/RDI, sleepiness, snoring, BP, and ODI and an increase in LSAT in adults with OSA and major anatomical obstruction. Analysis of bariatric surgery data showed a clinically significant reduction in BP, AHI/RDI, sleepiness, snoring, optimal PAP level, BMI, and ODI and an increase in LSAT in adults with OSA and obesity. Analyses of very limited evidence suggested that upper airway surgery does not result in a clinically significant increase in risk of serious persistent adverse events and suggested that bariatric surgery may result in a clinically significant risk of iron malabsorption that may be managed with iron supplements. The task force provided a detailed summary of the evidence along with the quality of evidence, the balance of benefits and harms, patient values and preferences, and resource use considerations. Kent D, Stanley J, Aurora RN, etal. Referral of adults with obstructive sleep apnea for surgical consultation: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine systematic review, meta-analysis, and GRADE assessment. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(12):2507-2531.

Body Massa Index with Premenstrual Syndrome in College Students

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms may range from mild to severe. PMS severity is affected by hormonal, psychological, and physiological variables in women. Nutritional status was determined using the body mass index (BMI). According to one research, each kilogram/m2 rise in BMI was linked with a 3% increase in the chance of developing PMS. Respondents with normal height and weight who dominated the results of BMI measures in this study were found to be in the same BMI category as female students experiencing mild PMS. When it comes to female students, there is a significant disparity between BMI and PMS degree levels. There is a strong relationship between BMI and the intensity of PMS symptoms. A significant relationship exists between BMI and PMS degrees in female university students. There is a strong relationship between BMI and the intensity of PMS symptoms.

Efficacy Of Telerehabilitation On Exercise Capacity And Frailty In Veterans With Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects nearly 5 percent of US Veterans. Reduced exercise capacity and increased vulnerability are key features associated with COPD. Center-based exercise programs are effective treatments, however efficacy of the delivery of exercise programs through telemedicine is largely unknown. PURPOSE: To investigate the efficacy of 12-week pulmonary telerehabilitation on exercise capacity and vulnerability in Veterans with COPD. METHODS: Veterans with COPD (n = 41 [39 men]; age = 68.1 ± 8.7 years; body-mass index = 30.06 ± 5.34 kg/m2; forced volume in one second [FEV1] = 46 ± 15%; forced volume in one second/forced vital capacity [FEV1/FVC] = 53 ± 14%; oxygen saturation [SPO2] = 93 ± 3%) participated after signing a written informed consent. Participants received exercise treatment consisted of strengthening and balance exercises, respiratory exercise and related educations (i.e., smoking cessation, nutrition, sleep hygiene) provided by a physical therapist and a respiratory therapist through Veterans Affairs telehealth service. Outcome measures were 6-minute walk distance (exercise capacity measure) and Fried frailty phenotype (vulnerability measure). RESULTS: Results for the outcome measures are shown in Table 1. Across all participants, 6-minute walk distance increased by 15.7% after the telerehabilitation program (p < 0.001; medium effect size). For frailty status, compared to baseline, eight more Veterans (19.5% of all participants) were classified as non-frail after the telerehabilitation program, however, these improvements did not reach a statistically significant level (p = 0.069). CONCLUSIONS: The 12-week cardiopulmonary telerehabilitation is effective in improving exercise capacity and may also be effective in treating vulnerability in Veterans with COPD.

Types and Functions of Taxes in a Market Economy

The purpose of this article is to explain the role and importance of taxes in a market economy based on economic analysis. There are also economic considerations about the types of taxes, and the importance of the functions of taxes in today’s market economy has been scientifically demonstrated. The role of taxes and types of taxes in the regulation of the economy, the results of economic measures taken to introduce taxes in the economic growth of the country are presented in statistics. Through an in-depth analysis of the role of tax functions in the economy, we can identify them as a key factor in ensuring the country's budget. The large-scale work carried out in our country to ensure greater transparency of tax policy determines the relevance of this sector for today's market economy.

The effect of altitude on the prediction of momentum for rainfall erosivity studies in Mexico

Soil erosion is a mechanical process described by indices, such as kinetic energy or momentum of rainfall (M), which alters the protective cover of the ground surface. Optical disdrometer (PWS100) data, obtained between 2014 and 2018 at four sites across Mexico, were used to study the features of power and linear relationships between M and rainfall amounts (Acc). A comparison of the measurements showed that PWS100 usually estimated larger amounts of rainwater (PBIAS from 2 to 25%) with respect to gauges. The M-Acc relationships exhibited low dispersion, and the coefficients of the fitted expressions suggest an increase in M based on site altitude. Normalization of M based on the rainwater amount (M/Acc in N m−2 mm−1, hereafter Mmm) depended on the median volumetric diameter, D0, and speed of raindrop fall. The D0 was used as a proxy of raindrop spectrum broadness. Effect size results exhibited large values (d > 1.1) when Mmm means were compared between coastal and continental platforms. Furthermore, y-coefficients of the Mmm–D0 relationships suggested an effect of the altitude (related to the air density in the sampling site) over Mmm estimates. Based on the v(D) empirical formulas, a set of expressions were proposed to fit the Mmm observations of the four sampling sites using D0 and the corresponding atmospheric pressure or air density estimates. The results of performance measures showed that all equations predicted Mmm adequately thus suggesting that this erosivity parameter depended on both the amount of precipitation and the altitude (expressed as air density or atmospheric pressure) of the site at which the measurements were performed. These findings reinforce ideas regarding magnification of soil particle detachment via individual drops at higher altitude locations, as the force exerted is more significant with a decrease of air pressure and density.

Medicaid physician fees and access to care among children with special health care needs

The objective of this study is to use data from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN) to test whether Medicaid physician fees are correlated with access to health services and adequacy of insurance coverage among CSHCN. We start with a difference-in-differences method, comparing the effects of Medicaid physician fees on outcomes of publicly-insured children in states that raised fees vs. in states that did not. As our preferred specification, we then estimate a triple difference model using privately-insured children as the comparison group. Our findings indicate that raising the Medicaid primary care fee level close to at least 90 percent of the Medicare level reduces the likelihood that publicly-insured CSHCN lack a usual source of care in a doctor’s office by about 15 percent. Fee increases are associated with improved access to specialty doctor care and large improvements in caregivers’ satisfaction with the adequacy of health insurance coverage among publicly-insured CSHCN. Results for some other access measures, such as global measures of having difficulties and delays accessing services, were mixed.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SCHOOL ACTIVITIES IN THE FORMATION OF STUDENT DISCIPLINE CHARACTERS IN MADRASAH TSANAWIYAH RIYADHATHUL JANNAH VILLAGE SIALANG PANJANG INDRAGIRI HILIR DISTRICT

School is one place that can shape the character of students. In shaping the character of these students, of course all elements of this school must collaborate and take responsibility for the learning objectives themselves, especially the purpose of forming the character of students. Scout activities are activities that contain a lot of character values, character formation apart from learning in class as well as scout activities. This study aims to determine the activities of scouting in the formation of student discipline character in MTs Riyadhatul Jannah, Sialang Panjang Village. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach. In obtaining data researchers used interview, observation, and documentation methods. Data analysis in this study includes data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. Checking the validity of the data uses the researcher's diligence and triangulation of data sources. The research stages in this study include the pre-field stage, the stage of field work, the stage of data analysis and the stage of report writing. The results of this study concluded that: 1) Scout activities in the formation of student discipline character at MTs Riyadhatul Jannah have been going as expected. 2) the effectiveness of Scouting activities in establishing students' discipline character in MTs Riyadhatul Jannah can be declared effective, although there are still students who come late to school and practice scouting because of illness or rain, besides that it is also obtained from the results of effectiveness measures namely, accuracy of program targets, and monitoring program. 3) and the visible impact of scouting activities such as Discipline in keeping with the schedule of lessons, discipline in dealing with the temptation to delay time, and self-discipline focuses on student self-reliance.

Firm uncertainty and corporate policies: The role of stock return skewness

We study the interaction between firm uncertainty and corporate policies, emphasizing the role of skewness in the distribution of performance shocks reflected in stock returns. Conditional on volatility and other characteristics, firms with more negatively skewed performance shocks adopt more conservative policies, including greater cash holdings, a lower likelihood of dividend payments and increases in payout levels, and less financial leverage. These relationships are significant and robust for asymmetry proxies constructed from stock return innovations, in contrast to results for measures based on accounting performance shocks. This disparity highlights the importance of asymmetries in long-run performance shocks for corporate policy choices.

Sampling rate influences the regularity analysis of temporal domain measures of walking more than spatial domain measures.

The spatiotemporal dynamics of stepping can provide useful information about walking performance. Most often, the identification of gait motion is performed using 3-D cinematography. The sampling rate of motion capture systems may influence the accuracy of these measures albeit in varying degrees for measures within the spatial versus temporal domain. What are the effects of sampling frequency on common analysis methods of measures within the spatial and temporal domain? Specifically, mean, variability (i.e. standard deviation), and regularity (i.e. sample entropy) of step length (i.e. spatial domain) and step time (i.e. temporal domain) measures were assessed following ten minutes of preferred-speed treadmill walking in eleven young adults. The spatiotemporal mean measures were not affected by changing sampling frequencies. Frequencies ≥120 Hz showed consistent results for spatial variability measures, while temporal variability increased due to decreased resolution in capturing variability when data was sampled at 120 Hz or less. In assessing regularity, poor temporal resolution at lower sampling rates led to "binning", limiting the variety of vector patterns. As a result, more vectors were classified as similar, leading to a signal appearing more periodic. For the spatial domain, sample entropy was not affected, indicating the greater sensitivity of step time to sampling rate compared to step length. Sampling rate influenced recognition of gait events. By reducing the sampling rate, the time intervals were increased and reduced the resolution leading to less accurate gait event detection in the temporal domain. The sampling rate of 120 Hz is the minimum sampling rate that should be used to calculate spatiotemporal data for variability and sample entropy.

Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of Total Shoulder Arthroplasty With a Nonspherical Humeral Head and Inlay Glenoid in Elite Weight Lifters: A Prospective Case Series.

Background:Weight lifting after total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) can place significant stresses on implants that could lead to instability, loosening, and increased wear. A TSA system with nonspherical humeral head resurfacing and inlay glenoid—which improves the biomechanics and thus reduces instability, wear, and potential loosening—may be able to tolerate repetitive loads from weight lifting.Purpose:To determine clinical and radiographic outcomes after TSA in weight lifters.Study Design:Case series; Level of evidence, 4.Methods:We prospectively enrolled 16 weight lifters (mean ± SD age, 57.2 ± 7.8 years; 15 male) undergoing primary anatomic TSA (n = 17 shoulders, 1 staged bilateral) with nonspherical humeral head resurfacing and inlay glenoid replacement for glenohumeral osteoarthritis between February 2015 and February 2019. Exclusion criteria were rotator cuff deficiency, revision TSA, post-traumatic arthritis, and inflammatory arthritis. Outcome measures included the rate of return to weight lifting, results of patient-reported outcome measures (Penn Shoulder Score, Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, and 12-Item Veterans RAND Health Survey), radiographic outcomes, and complication rate.Results:Follow-up was obtained on all patients at a mean of 38 months (range, 14-63 months). All patients returned to competitive weight lifting at 15.6 ± 6.9 weeks. Compared to the preoperative weight lifting level, at last follow-up patients reported performance at the following level: lighter weight, 1 (6%); same weight, 8 (50%); heavier weight, 7 (44%). Preoperative eccentric posterior glenoid wear was common (71% Walch B2 classification; 12/17), but posterior humeral subluxation improved at follow-up according to the Walch index (mean, 55.5% preoperative vs 48.5% postoperative; P < .001) and contact point ratio (mean, 63.9% preoperative vs 50.1% postoperative; P < .001). Pre- to postoperative improvements were seen in Penn Shoulder Score (44.3 vs 82.6; P < .001), Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic (50.6 vs 91.1; P < .001), and 12-Item Veterans RAND Health Survey physical component score but not mental component score. No signs of radiographic loosening were detected in follow-up images, nor were there any postoperative instability episodes or revision surgeries.Conclusion:There were substantial improvements in shoulder function and a high rate of return to weight lifting after TSA with a nonspherical humeral head resurfacing and inlay glenoid component. Radiographically, the humeral head centralized on the glenoid after surgery, and there was no evidence of component loosening at a mean 38-month follow-up.