Run Size Research Articles

The impact of major infectious disease events and government relief packages on the film industry: evidence from Taiwan

This study focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on the film industry and the effectiveness of government relief policies. Taiwan was a region with a low level of infection at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), and the film industry could be maintained under government policies; therefore, this case study was conducted. Multiple regression models were used to explore the explanatory factors for movie box offices based on running size, production studios and countries, vacations, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis covered a period from September 30, 2019, to September 27, 2020, encompassing a 52-week sample of 5686 films. The results indicated that weekly box office receipts (number of tickets sold) experienced a steep decline of more than 50% despite the implementation of various relief measures. While the number of locally produced films screened diminished significantly, the number of theatres, films, and rerun films and their market share increased substantially. This suggests that although the quantity of films remained stable during the pandemic, their quality or novelty did not correspondingly improve. Key findings from the regression models included the following: (1) there is a size effect (number of theaters screening the film) on the box office; (2) box offices decrease with the number of weeks since the opening week, and films from well-known producers and major studios, as well as products from the US, Japan, and Taiwan, can have positive effects on the box office; (3) student vacations have had a positive effect; and (4) the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative effect.

QC Constellation: a cutting-edge solution for risk and patient-based quality control in clinical laboratories.

Clinical laboratories face limitations in implementing advanced quality control (QC) methods with existing systems. This study aimed to develop a web-based application to addresses this gap, and improve QC practices. QC Constellation, a web application built using Python 3.11, integrates various statistical QC modules. These include Levey-Jennings charts with Westgard rules, sigma-metric calculations, exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) and cumulative sum (CUSUM) charts, and method decision charts. Additionally, it offers a risk-based QC section and a patient-based QC module aligning with modern QC practices. The codes and the web application links for QC Constellation were shared at https://github.com/hikmetc/QC_Constellation, and http://qcconstellation.com, respectively. Using synthetic data, QC Constellation demonstrated effective implementation of Levey-Jennings charts with user-friendly features like checkboxes for Westgard rules and customizable moving averages graphs. Sigma-metric calculations for hypothetical performance values of serum total cholesterol were successfully performed using allowable total error and maximum allowable measurement uncertainty goals, and displayed on method decision charts. The utility of the risk-based QC module was exemplified by assessing QC plans for serum total cholesterol, showcasing the application's capability in calculating risk-based QC parameters including maximum unreliable final patient results, risk management index, and maximum run size andoffering risk-based QC recommendations. Similarly, the patient-based QC and optimization modules were demonstrated using simulated sodium results. In conclusion, QC Constellation emerges as a pivotal tool for laboratory professionals, streamlining the management of quality control and analytical performance monitoring, while enhancing patient safety through optimized QC processes.

Maxpro Designs for Experiments with Multiple Types of Branching and Nested Factors.

Contemporary experiments often involve special factors known as branching factors. The levels of such factors determine the presence of some certain factors, referred to as nested factors. The design criteria for investigating the goodness of such designs are rarely developed. Furthermore, the existing criteria for such designs pay less attention to the space-filling property of low-dimensional projections of the design. The efficiencies of designs yielded by such criteria can markedly decrease when only a few factors are significant. To address this issue, this paper proposes a novel space-filling criterion based on the maximum projection criterion to evaluate the performance of the designs with branching and nested factors. A framework to construct optimal designs under the proposed criterion is also provided. Compared with the existing works, the resulting designs have better space-filling properties in all possible low-dimensional projections. Moreover, our strategy imposes no constraints on run size, level, and type of any factor, demonstrating its broad applicability.

On the construction of saturated split-plot designs for quadratic response surface models

Split-plot designs are commonly employed in experiments where the levels of some factors are difficult or costly to adjust. One of the primary objectives of many such experiments is to accurately predict responses using fitted response surfaces. While many split-plot designs have been proposed in the literature for this purpose, most of them require large run sizes and an excessive number of whole plots, resulting in expensive and time-consuming experiments. To address this issue, we conduct a study to determine the minimum requirements for a split-plot design that can be used to fit a response surface. Based on these requirements, we construct saturated or nearly saturated response surface split-plot (RSSP) designs that are cost-effective, featuring the fewest possible run sizes and the smallest number of whole plots. We use a motivating example and conduct simulations. Our study shows that the proposed RSSP designs not only provide cost savings, but also maintain good predictive efficiency.

A graphical comparison of screening designs using support recovery probabilities

A screening experiment attempts to identify a subset of important effects using a relatively small number of experimental runs. Given the limited run size and a large number of possible effects, penalized regression is a popular tool used to analyze screening designs. In particular, an automated implementation of the Gauss-Dantzig selector has been widely recommended to compare screening design construction methods. Here, we illustrate potential reproducibility issues that arise when comparing two-level screening designs via simulation, and recommend a graphical method, based on screening probabilities, which compares designs by evaluating them along the penalized regression solution path. This method can be implemented using simulation, or, in the case of lasso, by using exact local lasso sign recovery probabilities. Our approach circumvents the need to specify tuning parameters associated with regularization methods, leading to more reliable design comparisons. This article contains Supplementary Materials including code to implement the proposed methods.

An Optimised Hoffman Algorithm for Testing Linear Code Equivalency

The Hoffman’s algorithm to test equivalency of linear codes is one of the techniques that have been used over the years; it is achieved by a comparison of codewords of the linear codes. However, this comparison technique becomes ineffective in instances where it is applied to linear codes with larger dimensions as it requires much run time complexity, space and size in comparing the codewords of each linear code. This paper proposes an optimised algorithm for testing the equivalency of linear codes, specifically addressing the limitations of the Hoffman method. To assess and compare the efficiencies of the Hoffman algorithm and the optimised algorithm, a set of nine carefully selected linear codes were subjected to equivalency testing. The CPU runtime of both algorithms was recorded using the C++ chrono library. The recorded runtime data was then utilized to create a scatter plot, offering a visual representation of the contrasting trends in CPU runtime between the two algorithms. The plot clearly indicate exponential growth in CPU runtime for the Hoffman algorithm as the length and dimension of the linear codes increases, in contrast, the proposed algorithm showcased a minimal growth in CPU runtime, indicating its superior efficiency and optimised performance.

Construction of orthogonal maximin distance designs

Maximin distance designs and orthogonal designs are two attractive classes of space-filling designs for computer experiments, but their theoretical constructions are challenging, especially the construction of optimal designs in terms of both the maximin distance and orthogonality criteria. This paper presents a systematic method for constructing orthogonal maximin distance designs with flexible numbers of runs and factors. The method is carried out by rotating the subarrays of a saturated two-level regular design in Yates order or its circular shifting version. The principal objective is to construct high-level designs from two-level designs, and the method is effective because the performance of high-level designs is determined by that of two-level designs under both the maximin distance and orthogonality criteria. The proposed method is also generalized by rotating the subarrays of a saturated two-level nonregular design such that the resulting designs have flexible run sizes. Comparison results reveal that the resulting orthogonal designs are well worthy of recommendation under the maximin distance criterion. An illustrative example is provided to show that the proposed designs have a good two-dimensional stratification property. An application is given to present the effectiveness of the proposed designs in building statistical surrogate models.

Migratory passage and run size of American Shad and river herring in the Raritan River, New Jersey, USA

AbstractObjectiveRestoration of many populations of anadromous American Shad Alosa sapidissima and river herring (Alewife A. pseudoharengus and Blueback Herring A. aestivalis) has been hampered by the presence of barriers to their spawning migrations and insufficient monitoring of run size. Here, we describe results of a 10‐year (2012–2021) study of American Shad and river herring passage at the Island Farm Weir (IFW), the downstream‐most migration barrier on the Raritan River, New Jersey, United States.MethodsWe used passive integrated transponder tags applied to fish that were captured and released downstream of the IFW to estimate passage rates and migration delays associated with upstream movements through an antenna array on a vertical slot fishway within the weir. By combining estimated passage rates with video monitoring of the total numbers of American Shad and river herring transiting the fishway, we estimated the annual run size below the weir.ResultResults suggest that the fishway on the IFW is moderately effective for American Shad (passage rate = 41%; 95% credible interval [CI] = 21–61%) but ineffective for the smaller‐bodied river herring (passage rate = 0.5%, 95% CI = 0–2%; fallback‐adjusted passage rate = 1.1%, 95% CI = 0.0–4.5%). The IFW may have also delayed the spawning migrations of those fish that did pass, with total passage times ranging from 0.4 to 20.9 days (mean ± standard deviation = 8.2 ± 5.3 days) for American Shad and 15.0 days for the one river herring that passed within the same year that it was tagged. Run size estimates during the study period ranged from 103 to 2624 individuals for American Shad and from 1486 to 53,334 for river herring.ConclusionRestoration of these species in the Raritan River will likely require removal of the IFW or replacement of its current fish passage device with one that increases the passage rates of alosines.

On experimental designs for gauge R & R studies including some long forgotten ones

In this article, we consider experimental designs for gauge R & R studies used to assess measurement systems. We present standard full factorial designs with long forgotten block designs and compare them via a simulation study for various run sizes. The simulation study shows that the block designs which accommodate more parts and especially more operators provide better inference even though their run sizes are the same as the full factorial designs.

On the construction of nested orthogonal arrays with the adjacent numbers of levels

AbstractNested orthogonal arrays (NOAs) provide an option for designing an experimental setup consisting of two experiments, with the expensive higher‐precision experiment nested within a larger and relatively inexpensive lower‐precision experiment. Construction of NOAs with the adjacent numbers of levels is a challenging problem. In this paper, we present several methods for constructing such NOAs and obtain some classes of such new symmetric NOAs in which the larger arrays have minimum run size. These methods are also extended to construction of NOAs with more than two layers. Furthermore, by adding some columns to these symmetric NOAs, we can construct a lot of new asymmetric NOAs. Illustrative examples are given.

Construction and Analysis for the Optimal Supersaturated Designs with a Large Number of Inert Factors

Supersaturated designs (SSDs) refer to those designs in which the run size is much smaller than the main effects to be estimated. They are commonly used to identify a few, but critical, active factors from a large set of potentially active ones, keeping the cost as low as possible. In this regard, the development of new construction and analysis methods has recently seen a rapid increase. In this paper, we provide some methods to construct equi- and mixed-level E(f NOD) optimal SSDs with a large number of inert factors using the substitution method. The proposed methods are easy to implement, and many new SSDs can then be constructed from them. We also study a variable selection method based on the screening-selection network (SSnet) method for regression problems. A real example is analyzed to illustrate that it is able to effectively identify active factors. Eight different analysis methods are used to analyze the data generated from the proposed designs. Three scenarios with different setups of parameters are designed, and the performances of each method are illustrated by extensive simulation studies. Among all these methods, SSnet produced the most satisfactory results according to power.

On the security of JPEG image encryption with RS pairs permutation

Recently, a JPEG encryption scheme with RS (run/size) pairs multi-permutation and block permutation has been proposed, which mainly improves security by extracting the expected number of RS pairs for global permutations that need overflow processing. However, it still has the risk of information leakage under the chosen plaintext attack. This is because the limited embedding capacity in overflow processing makes the overflow blocks (OBs) less. On the one hand, a few OBs make the sketch generated by non-zero coefficients count after RS pair multi-permutation visually indistinguishable from the original sketch. On the other hand, a few OBs limit the number of extracted RS pairs that can participate in global permutation, so there are many partially extracted blocks (PEBs) containing unextracted RS pairs. More PEBs make the accuracy of the estimated block permutation sequence high, because the unique plaintext block can be constructed as long as there is an unextracted RS pair in an encrypted block. Simulation results show that the correct ratio of block permutation sequence is not less than 60 %. The highest and average PSNRs between the attacked sketch and the original one reach up to 47.07 dB and 27.42 dB, respectively.

Hatchery supplementation provides a demographic boost but alters age composition of sockeye salmon in Auke Lake, Southeast Alaska.

Evaluating salmon hatchery supplementation programs requires assessing not only program objectives but identifying potential risks to wild populations as well. Such evaluations can be hampered by difficulty in distinguishing between hatchery- and wild-born returning adults. Here, we conducted 3 years (2011-2013) of experimental hatchery supplementation of sockeye salmon in Auke Lake, Juneau, Alaska where a permanent weir allows sampling and genotyping of every returning adult (2008-2019). We identified both hatchery- and wild-born returning adults with parentage assignment, quantified the productivity (adult offspring/spawner) of hatchery spawners relative to that of wild spawners, and compared run timing, age, and size at age between hatchery- and wild-born adults. Hatchery-spawning females produced from approximately six to 50 times more returning adults than did naturally spawning females. Supplementation had no discernable effect on run timing and limited consequences for size at age, but we observed a distinct shift to younger age at maturity in the hatchery-born individuals in all three brood years. The shift appeared to be driven by hatchery-born fish being more likely to emigrate after one, rather than two, years in the lake but the cause is unknown. In cases when spawning or incubation habitat is limiting sockeye salmon production, hatchery supplementation can be effective for enhancing the number of returning adult fish but not without the risk of phenotypic change in the recipient population, which can be an undesired outcome of hatchery supplementation. This study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that phenotypic change within a single generation of captive spawning might be widespread in salmon hatchery programs.

Strength of small-bites abdominal wall closure using different suturing methods and materials in an experimental animal model.

Using small instead of large bites for laparotomy closure results in lower incidence of incisional hernia, but no consensus exists on which suture material to use. This study aimed to compare five different closure strategies in a standardized experimental setting. Fifty porcine abdominal walls were arranged into 5 groups: (A) running 2/0 polydioxanone; (B) interlocking 2/0 polydioxanone; (C) running size 0 barbed polydioxanone; (D) running size 0 barbed glycolic acid and trimethylene carbonate; (E) running size 0 suturable polypropylene mesh. The small-bites technique was used for linea alba closure in all. The abdominal walls were divided into a supra- and infra-umbilical half, resulting in 20 specimens per group that were pulled apart in a tensile testing machine. Maximum tensile force and types of suture failure were registered. The highest tensile force was measured when using barbed polydioxanone (334.8N ± 157.0), but differencesdid not reach statisticalsignificance. Infra-umbilical abdominal walls endured a significantly higher maximum tensile force compared to supra-umbilical (397N vs 271N, p < 0.001). Barbed glycolic acid and trimethylene carbonate failed significantly more often (25% vs 0%, p = 0.008). Based on tensile force, both interlocking and running suture techniques using polydioxanone, and running sutures using barbed polydioxanone or suturable mesh, seem to be suitable for abdominal wall closure. Tensile strength was significantly higher in infra-umbilical abdominal walls compared to supra-umbilical. Barbed glycolic acid and trimethylene carbonate should probably be discouraged for fascial closure, because of increased risk of suture failure.

Using a head‐start conservation intervention to boost spawning numbers of the endangered Clanwilliam sandfish

AbstractFreshwater ecosystems are the most threatened on Earth, with many species facing extinction. The Clanwilliam sandfish (Labeo seeberi) is South Africa's most threatened migratory freshwater fish and is endemic to the Olifants–Doring River system in the Cape Fold Ecoregion. Non‐native fish predation and river desiccation have caused a recruitment bottleneck, severely compromising juvenile survival and resulting in a declining population of aging sandfish. The Saving Sandfish Project launched an emergency head‐start intervention in 2020 to reduce extinction risk. We (1) rescued juvenile sandfish from drying pools in a key spawning tributary (the Biedouw River); (2) relocated them to 6 off‐stream reservoirs; and (3) released reservoir‐reared sandfish back into their natal river once large enough to evade non‐native fish predation. Here, we estimate survival in the reservoir environment, evaluate return rates relative to wild run size, and assess the probability of return based on conditions at release. Between 2020 and 2022, we stocked 33,391 juvenile sandfish into the 6 reservoirs. After 1 year, the estimated survival rate at one reservoir was 0.679 (range based on 95% CI: 0.385–0.973). Release and return results are presented only for the first (2020) rescue cohort. In 2021, we released 1277 sandfish from 2 reservoirs into the Biedouw River, comprising 16.6% of the 2020 rescue cohort. Mean size at release was 169 mm (SE 0.6) total length. Of those released, 994 were PIT‐tagged. A total of 77 PIT‐tagged sandfish were recorded during the 2022 spawning migration—a return rate of 7.7% of tagged releases in the first year of returns. Size of fish and distance from the Doring River at release were significant predictors of return probability, with larger fish released further from the Doring experiencing a higher probability of return. This program serves as a model for the conservation of freshwater fish where there is an imminent and high risk of extinction.

Comparing Fishery Impacts and Maturation Schedules of Hatchery-Origin vs. Natural-Origin Fish from a Threatened Chinook Salmon Stock

Central Valley Spring-run Chinook (CVSC) are listed as threatened under the California and federal Endangered Species Acts, but how ocean fisheries affect CVSC is not routinely monitored or managed, largely because of data limitations. Most tag data for CVSC are from a hatchery program that may not sufficiently represent natural-origin fish in ocean and inland fishery recovery data. However, a discontinued tagging program for Butte Creek Wild Spring-run Chinook (BCWSC) provides for estimation of fishery impacts and maturation schedules for a limited set of years, which we compared with estimates for hatchery-origin fish for common years, while extending the hatchery-origin estimates over a wider time-frame. Additional scale-age data from BCWSC allow inferences about more recent maturation rates, conditional on harvest-rate estimates borrowed from other stocks. Overall, CVSC appear to experience low age-3 ocean fishery impact rates, but age-4 impact rates can be comparable to ocean harvest rates estimated for Sacramento River Fall Chinook. Tagging data from the years available indicate that ocean fisheries may reduce spawning run sizes (all ages combined) by 40% to 60% during periods of high fishing effort. Effects of ocean fishing on spawner abundance are weaker in years of reduced fishing or for cohorts displaying earlier maturation. It appears that maturation rates of hatchery-origin CVSC may have increased (i.e., earlier maturation) over the full time-period examined, and there may be indications of increasing maturation rates for BCWSC as well.

Construction of optimal supersaturated designs by the expansive replacement method

Supersaturated design (SSD) plays an important role in screening factors. E(fNOD) criterion is one of the most widely used criteria to evaluate multi-level and mixed-level SSDs. This paper provides some methods to construct multi-level E(fNOD) optimal SSDs with general run sizes, which can also be extended to construct mixed-level SSDs. The main idea of these methods is combining two processed generalized Hadamard matrices with the expansive replacement method. These proposed methods are easy to perform. Besides, the non-orthogonality between any two columns of the resulting SSDs is well controlled by that of the source designs. Some illustrative examples are given and several new SSDs are provided in this paper.

Waiting for the right time and tide: The fine‐scale migratory behavior of river herring in two coastal New England streams

AbstractObjectiveAlewife Alosa pseudoharengus and Blueback Herring A. aestivalis, collectively referred to as river herring, are anadromous clupeids inhabiting the North American Atlantic coast. Although the seasonal patterns of their spawning migration are well studied and predictable, the fine‐scale movements are still poorly resolved.MethodsThis study used high‐resolution acoustic imaging to study the fine‐scale behavior of river herring during their spring spawning migration in two coastal rivers in Massachusetts, United States.ResultObservations suggest that seasonal patterns of migration appear to be influenced by temperature, while fine‐scale patterns in migration were associated with the time of day, tidal state, and their interaction. River herring were consistently observed during both day and night, with elevated peaks of activity in the early morning and late afternoon. Daytime movement consisted of the intermittent passage of large, dense schools, while nighttime movement consisted of the frequent passage of individuals or small groups. The highest numbers of herring observations were associated with flood and high tides. Additionally, the interactions between time of day and tidal state resulted in synergistic positive effects during crepuscular incoming tides, which were favorable to movement, and synergistic negative effects during midday low tides, which inhibited fish movement.ConclusionThe changing relationship between the time of day and tidal state within the season manifested in changing periodicity in fish movement to correlate with favorable movement conditions. Since movements may be related to both time of day and tide, previous run size estimates from visual counts made only during the day may be too low. Sampling methodologies that collect information during all 24 h would likely produce the most accurate run size estimates. This study highlights the need to view river herring migration in a holistic context predicated by multiple environmental and biological factors that vary at several temporal scales (i.e., seasonally, daily, and hourly).

Design for order‐of‐addition experiments with two‐level components

AbstractThe statistical design for order‐of‐addition (OofA) experiments has received much recent interest as its potential in determining the optimal sequence of multiple components, for example, the optimal sequence of drug administration for disease treatment. The traditional OofA experiments focus mainly on the sequence effects of components, that is, the experimenters fix the factor level of each component and observe how the response is affected by varying the sequences of components. However, the components may also have factorial effects in that changing their factor levels in a given sequence can affect the response. In view of this, we consider the design problem for OofA experiments where each component is experimented at two levels. A systematic method is given to construct OofA designs that jointly considers the sequence design and factorial design for all components. By appropriately choosing the sequence and factorial designs, we show that the combination of the two parts results in a balanced design with an economical run size. Moreover, the constructed designs enjoy a number of optimality properties such as ‐, ‐ and ‐optimalities under some empirical models. The design method proposed can be extended to some other practical situations like the number of process variables is different from the number of components, and OofA experiments with multilevel components.

Fast construction of efficient two-level parallel flats designs

Two-level parallel flats designs (PFDs) are nonregular designs that retain some of the simplicity of regular fractional factorial designs. PFDs have many desirable properties, such as flexible run sizes and block diagonal information matrices. In this article, we develop a fast algorithm for constructing efficient two-level PFDs, optimizing the parallel flats structure via a novel application of coordinate exchange. The resulting designs fill gaps among existing nonregular designs and outperform many comparably-sized designs in terms of G- and G2-aberration. An efficient implementation of the proposed algorithm in Matlab and GNU Octave can be found in the online Supplementary Material. Several new designs with desirable properties are generated and tabulated.