Similar Cost Research Articles

Real-World Treatment Outcomes Associated With Early Versus Delayed Vedolizumab Initiation in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis.

Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) typically receive a targeted inflammatory bowel disease therapy after treatment with conventional therapies and after the development of significant morbidity. Evidence suggests that early biologic treatment after diagnosis could improve treatment response and prevent disease complications compared with delayed biologic treatment after conventional therapy. RALEE was a retrospective study using claims data from IBM® MarketScan® Research Databases between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2019. Adults with UC and at least one claim for vedolizumab were categorized into Early or Delayed Vedolizumab groups according to whether they had received vedolizumab within 30 days of diagnosis or after conventional therapy (5-aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, and immunomodulators), respectively. Treatment response was assessed at 2, 6, and 12 months after vedolizumab treatment initiation and was analyzed with logistic regression (bivariate). At 2 months, Delayed Vedolizumab was associated with significantly higher odds of nonresponse than Early Vedolizumab (odds ratio [OR], 2.509; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28-4.90). Delayed Vedolizumab was not significantly associated with odds of nonresponse at 6 months (OR, 1.173; 95% CI, 0.72-1.90) or at 12 months (OR, 0.872; 95% CI, 0.55-1.37). Mean total healthcare costs were similar in the Early Vedolizumab ($6492) and Delayed Vedolizumab ($5897) groups, although there were small differences in costs from different types of claims. Patients who received vedolizumab early after UC diagnosis were less likely to experience nonresponse at 2 months and incurred similar healthcare costs at 12 months compared with patients who received delayed vedolizumab.

Applicability of Relatively Low-Cost Multispectral Uncrewed Aerial Systems for Surface Characterization of the Cryosphere

This paper investigates the ability of a relatively low cost, commercially available uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV), the DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral, to perform cryospheric research. The performance of this UAV, where applicable, is compared to a similar but higher cost system, the DJI Matrice 350, equipped with a Micasense RedEdge-MX Multispectral dual-camera system. The Mavic 3 Multispectral was tested at three field sites: the Lemon Creek Glacier, Juneau Icefield, AK; the Easton Glacier, Mt. Baker, WA; and Bagley Basin, Mt. Baker, WA. This UAV proved capable of mapping the spatial distribution of red snow algae on the surface of the Lemon Creek Glacier using both spectral indices and a random forest supervised classification method. The UAV was able to assess the timing of snowmelt and changes in suncup morphology on snow-covered areas within the Bagley Basin. Finally, the UAV was able to classify glacier surface features using a random forest algorithm with an overall accuracy of 68%. The major advantages of this UAV are its low weight, which allows it to be easily transported into the field, its low cost compared to other alternatives, and its ease of use. One limitation would be the omission of a blue multispectral band, which would have allowed it to more easily classify glacial ice and snow features.

Autoencoder-based inverse design and surrogate-based optimization of an integrated wet granulation manufacturing process

In pharmaceutical manufacturing, integrating model-based design and optimization can be beneficial for accelerating process development. This study explores the utilization of Machine Learning (ML) techniques as a surrogate model for the optimization of a three-unit wet-granulation based flowsheet model for solid dosage form manufacturing. First, a reduced representation of a wet granulation flowsheet model is developed, incorporating a granulation and milling process, along with a novel dissolution model that accounts for the effect of particle size, porosity, and microstructure on dissolution rate. Two optimization approaches are compared, including an autoencoder-based inverse design and a surrogate-based forward optimization. Both methods address the bi-objective problem of maximizing dissolution time and product yield by identifying the optimal granulation and mill process parameters. For this case study, both approaches were effective and incurred a similar computational cost, averaging under 4 s. However, the autoencoder approach offers an advantage through dimensionality reduction, a feature not available in surrogate-based optimization. Dimensional reduction is particularly beneficial for complex process designs with numerous inputs and outputs. The lower dimensional representation helps improve process understanding through enhanced visualization of the process design space and facilitates feasibility studies involving multiple constraints. The autoencoder-based inverse design introduced in this work showcases an implementation of AI and ML in pharmaceutical process development, demonstrating the potential to enhance process efficiency and product quality in complex manufacturing scenarios.

Hybrid simulation testing of two-storey low-aspect-ratio nuclear RC shear walls with normal- and high-strength reinforcement: Seismic performance evaluation and economic assessment

Low-aspect-ratio reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls have been commonly used in several nuclear facilities in containment and safety-related structures. Despite being a potential alternative to reduce rebar congestion and subsequently minimize complex construction activities typically associated with nuclear facilities, there has been limited experimental research on investigating the impact of using high-strength reinforcement (HSR) on the seismic performance of such walls, particularly in a multi-storey context. This lack of research is mainly due to considerable challenges imposed when testing such multi-storey nuclear RC shear walls in most laboratories. Therefore, the current study presents the experimental results of two two-storey low-aspect-ratio nuclear RC shear walls that were tested utilizing the seismic hybrid simulation testing technique. In this respect, walls W1-NSR and W2-HSR were designed using normal-strength reinforcement (NSR) and HSR, respectively, where the two test walls had comparable capacities to allow for direct comparisons. Both walls were subjected to various ground motion levels, spanning from operational to design and beyond-design earthquake scenarios. The experimental findings are then presented to include the force-displacement responses, the multi-storey effects, ductility capacities, lateral and rotational stiffnesses, rebar strains, and cracking patterns of the test walls. Subsequently, an economic assessment was carried out to quantify the total rebar weights and the corresponding construction costs of such walls. In addition, the expected seismic repair costs were determined based on a three-dimensional digital image correlation technique that provided information on the damage states of the test walls under different earthquake levels. The results show that although W1-NSR and W2-HSR attained similar force and moment capacities, W2-HSR achieved a relatively higher ductility capacity than W1-NSR. However, larger cracks were observed in W2-HSR compared to W1-NSR, which was attributed to the associated larger rebar spacing in the former relative to the latter. The economic assessment results demonstrate that using HSR minimized the rebar weights and construction costs, while both walls had similar seismic repair costs at their design and beyond-design earthquake levels. Both the seismic performance and economic assessment results presented in the current study are expected to aid future editions of relevant design standards in adopting HSR in nuclear construction practice.

Techno-economic analysis of geothermal combined with direct and biomass-based carbon dioxide removal for high-temperature hydrothermal systems

Limiting global temperature rise to between 1.5 and 2 °C will likely require widespread deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to offset sectors with hard-to-abate emissions. As financial resources for decarbonization are finite, strategic deployment of CDR technologies is essential for maximizing atmospheric CO2 reductions. Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), using either direct air capture (DACCS) or bioenergy (BECCS) technologies has a particular synergy with geothermal electricity generation. This is because expensive geothermal infrastructure can be leveraged to transport dissolved CO2 for storage in subsurface reservoirs.Here, we present a techno-economic comparison of renewable electricity generation coupled with either BECCS or DACCS at high-temperature, low-gas hydrothermal systems. We use a systems model that quantifies energy, carbon and financial flows through a generic hybrid power plant. At a CO2 market price of $100/tonne, the geothermal-BECCS system has a lower median cost of electricity generation ($88/MWh) than geothermal-DACCS ($181/MWh) and conventional geothermal ($89/MWh).Geothermal-BECCS also had the lowest costs of overall emissions abatement, $122/tCO2, accounting for carbon removal and assuming displacement of fossil-fuel generation. Abatement costs are even lower, $45/tCO2, for BECCS retrofit of existing geothermal plants, owing to discounted costs of pre-existing injection wells, steam fields, and plant equipment.For a case study based on a geothermal field in New Zealand's Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ), we determined that achieving CDR rates of 1 MtCO2/year via new geothermal-BECCS builds would require 62 standard geothermal wells and 790 kt/year of feedstock and result in 511 MWe in installed capacity. In contrast, geothermal-DACCS would need 49 wells and no external fuel source to achieve 1 MtCO2/year scale but result in only 190 MWe in installed capacity. Both pathways are calculated to require similar upfront investment costs at $2.2 billion and $2.3 billion for geothermal-BECCS and geothermal-DACCS respectively.Although geothermal-DACCS removes CO2 at high rates, its high parasitic load increases the overall decarbonization cost ($187/tCO2). In contrast, when biomass hybridization is considered, geothermal-BECCS has a lower cost of emissions abatement and produces 20 % more electricity than the benchmark geothermal plant. We conclude that this increase in electricity production makes geothermal-BECCS the more cost-effective geothermal-based CDR configuration. Finally, we argue that revenues from net-negative CO2 emissions and increased power production make geothermal-CDR a cost-competitive decarbonization technology.

Clinical and cost-effectiveness of clopidogrel resistance genotype testing after ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack: a systematic review and economic model.

Stroke or transient ischaemic attack patients are at increased risk of secondary vascular events. Antiplatelet medications, most commonly clopidogrel, are prescribed to reduce this risk. Factors including CYP2C19 genetic variants can hinder clopidogrel metabolism. Laboratory-based or point-of-care tests can detect these variants, enabling targeted treatment. To assess the effectiveness of genetic testing to identify clopidogrel resistance in people with ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack. Specific objectives: Do people tested for clopidogrel resistance, and treated accordingly, have a reduced risk of secondary vascular events? Do people with loss-of-function alleles associated with clopidogrel resistance have a reduced risk of secondary vascular events if treated with alternative interventions compared to clopidogrel? Do people with loss-of-function alleles associated with clopidogrel resistance have an increased risk of secondary vascular events when treated with clopidogrel? What is the accuracy of point-of-care tests for detecting variants associated with clopidogrel resistance? What is the technical performance and cost of CYP2C19 genetic tests? Is genetic testing for clopidogrel resistance cost-effective compared with no testing? Systematic review and economic model. Objective 1: Two studies assessed secondary vascular events in patients tested for loss-of-function alleles and treated accordingly. They found a reduced risk, but confidence intervals were wide (hazard ratio 0.50, 95% confidence interval 0.09 to 2.74 and hazard ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval 0.24 to 1.18). Objective 2: Seven randomised controlled trials compared clopidogrel with alternative treatment in people with genetic variants. Ticagrelor was associated with a lower risk of secondary vascular events than clopidogrel (summary hazard ratio 0.76, 95% confidence interval 0.65 to 0.90; two studies). Objective 3: Twenty-five studies compared outcomes in people with and without genetic variants treated with clopidogrel. People with genetic variants were at an increased risk of secondary vascular events (hazard ratio 1.72, 95% confidence interval 1.43 to 2.08; 18 studies). There was no difference in bleeding risk (hazard ratio 0.98, 95% confidence interval 0.68 to 1.40; five studies). Objective 4: Eleven studies evaluated Genomadix Cube accuracy; no studies evaluated Genedrive. Summary sensitivity and specificity against laboratory reference standards were both 100% (95% confidence interval 94% to 100% and 99% to 100%). Objective 5: Seventeen studies evaluated technical performance of point-of-care tests. Test failure rate ranged from 0.4% to 19% for Genomadix Cube. A survey of 8/10 genomic laboratory hubs revealed variation in preferred technologies for testing, and cost per test ranging from £15 to £250. Most laboratories expected test failure rate to be < 1%. Additional resources could enhance testing capacity and expedite turnaround times. Objective 6: Laboratory and point-of-care CYP2C19 testing strategies were cost-saving and increase quality-adjusted life-years compared with no testing. Both strategies gave similar costs, quality-adjusted life-years and expected net monetary benefit. Our results suggest that CYP2C19 testing followed by tailored treatment is likely to be effective and cost-effective in both populations. Accuracy and technical performance of Genedrive. Test failure rate of Genomadix Cube in a NationalHealthServicesetting. Value of testing additional loss-of-function alleles. Appropriateness of treatment dichotomy based on loss-of-function alleles. Lack of data on Genedrive. No randomised 'test-and-treat' studies of dipyramidole plus aspirin. This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42022357661. This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Evidence Synthesis programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR135620) and is published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 28, No. 57. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

Application of the Adiabatic Connection Random Phase Approximation to Electron-Nucleus Hyperfine Coupling Constants.

The electron-nucleus hyperfine coupling constant is a challenging property for density functional methods. For accurate results, hybrid functionals with a large amount of exact exchange are often needed and there is no clear "one-for-all" functional which describes the hyperfine coupling interaction for a large set of nuclei. To alleviate this unfavorable situation, we apply the adiabatic connection random phase approximation (RPA) in its post-Kohn-Sham fashion to this property as a first test. For simplicity, only the Fermi-contact and spin-dipole terms are calculated within the nonrelativistic and the scalar-relativistic exact two-component framework. This requires to solve a single coupled-perturbed Kohn-Sham equation to evaluate the relaxed density matrix, which comes with a modest increase in computational demands. RPA performs remarkably well and substantially improves upon its Kohn-Sham (KS) starting point while also reducing the dependence on the KS reference. For main-group systems, RPA outperforms global, range-separated, and local hybrid functionals─at similar computational costs. For transition-metal compounds and lanthanide complexes, a similar performance as for hybrid functionals is observed. In contrast, related post-Hartree-Fock methods such as Møller-Plesset perturbation theory or CC2 perform worse than semilocal density functionals.

Novel Use of Concentrated Solar Thermal Energy for Producing Highly Thermal Activated Materials for CCUS via Mineral Carbonation of Mine Waste

An assessment of the levelised cost and associated CO2-eq emissions for the thermal activation of serpentine mine tailings to be used as activated feedstock for CCUS processes via mineral carbonation, is reported here for the first time. Two main technological scenarios were assessed, based on either direct fuel sources heating (natural gas and hydrogen) or indirect, CST-based heating with a back-up burner and storage to provide continuous operations, for a 200 ton/hr of processed ore and a targeted roasting ore temperature of 700°C. For CST-based systems, 3 different solar input scales, namely 50, 150 and 450 MWth, were considered, and simulations performed over a year timeline with a 10 minutes time step, using Mt Keith Nickel mine in Western Australia as the reference location. The analysis highlighted that the proposed CST-hybrid plant layout can achieve similar cost to that of fuel-only cases with current Australian fuel prices for natural gas and hydrogen, with lower CO2-eq emissions, and a parity cost with fuel-only scenarios of some 16 USD/GJ. The proposed CST-hybrid plant layout was also identified as the potential, preferred route over direct CST routes to achieve 24/7 continuous heat supply while retaining fine tuning of activation temperature, given a very narrow temperature window of activation for the chosen mine tailings for mineral carbonation processes.

A novel and cost-effective biological denitrification associated with membrane process for treating pesticide wastewater: Excellent nitrogen removal effect and higher environment benefits

A two-phase anaerobic/aerobic/integrated deoxygenated and anoxic reactor associated with membrane process, namely biological denitrification associated with membrane process (BDMP), was designed to achieving effluent TN below 10 mg/L for pesticide wastewater. For 397 days, COD, TN, NH4+−N and alkali demand were investigated under different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) compared with conventional biological treatment process (CBTP), which was composed of anoxic-anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic process. The average COD effluent concentration of BDMP and CBTP was 36.41 mg/L and 984.42 mg/L. The average TN removal efficiency of BDMP (97.3 %) was significantly higher than that of CBTP (85.6 %), and the average NH4+−N removal efficiency of BDMP was 99.3 %. The alkali demand in BDMP decreased by 11.56 %. Through calculation, similar capital cost (776.132 and 753.812 US$ × 104) and operating cost (1.69 and 1.70 US$ × 104) and superior environmental benefits (746.71 and 695.72 US$/m3·d) were seen in BDMP and CBTP.

Healthcare utilisation and associated costs for methadone versus buprenorphine recipients: Examination of interlinked primary and secondary care electronic health records in England.

More evidence for patterns of healthcare utilisation and associated costs among people receiving opioid agonist therapy (OAT) is needed. We investigated primary and secondary healthcare usage and costs among methadone and buprenorphine recipients in England. We conducted a cohort study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD and Aurum databases of patients who were prescribed OAT between 1 January 2007 and 31 July 2019. The cohort was linked to Hospital Episode Statistics admitted patient care, outpatient and emergency department data, neighbourhood- and practice-level Index of Multiple Deprivation quintiles and mortality records. Negative binomial regression models were applied to estimate weighted rate ratios (wRR) of healthcare utilisation. Total and mean costs were calculated using Unit Costs of Health and Social Care and the National Healthcare Service Payment by Results National Tariffs. Among 12,639 patients observed over 39,016 person-years, we found higher rate of hospital admissions (wRR 1.18; 1.08-1.28) among methadone compared with buprenorphine recipients. The commonest hospital discharge diagnoses among methadone patients were infectious diseases (19.2%), mental and behavioural disorders (17.0%) and drug-related poisoning (16.5%); the three commonest among buprenorphine patients were mental and behavioural diseases (21.5%), endocrine (13.8%) and genitourinary system diseases (13.1%). Methadone patients had similar mean costs compared with buprenorphine patients (cost difference: £539.01; 432.11-1006.69). Differences in healthcare utilisation frequency for methadone versus buprenorphine recipients were observed. The differences in associated costs were mainly driven by hospital admissions. These findings offer valuable insights for optimising care strategies and resource allocation for OAT recipients.

Seawater Mixed with One Part Alkali Activated Material: An Environmental and Cost Evaluation.

Concrete production is associated with extensive energy consumption and significant CO2 emissions. In addition, tremendous amounts of freshwater are used as a mixing agent. Urgency is increasing to develop sustainable cementitious materials and promote freshwater-saving strategies. An environmentally friendly alternative binder, seawater mixed with one part alkali activated material, is studied. In this work, a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment was applied to study the equivalent CO2 emission and cost properties of the clinker-free binder. The seawater mixed mortar possesses comparable mechanical properties to Portland cement, with 3 d flexural and compressive strengths of 5.3 MPa and 25.2 MPa. In addition, the mortar developed in this work is of similar cost as commercial cement, but reduces CO2 emissions by 44.8%.

Economic and Environmental Assessment of Conventional Lemon Cultivation: The Case of Southeastern Spain

Spain is the world’s leading producer and exporter of fresh lemons, with production concentrated in the southeast. The significance of this region in lemon production and the impact of agriculture on the economy and environment make optimizing lemon cultivation crucial. The main production models of lemon in Southeastern Spain (conventional Fino and Verna) are established and evaluated economically and environmentally through life cycle costing (LCC) and life cycle assessment (LCA). Both models have a similar cost structure, with variable costs (94% of the total) being the most significant, particularly labor and irrigation, followed by fertilizers and pest control. The key difference is in productivity; Verna has a higher unit cost due to lower productivity. As in LCC, in LCA the contributions of the components to the impacts of the models are very similar due to the similarities in the production models. However, Fino shows lower absolute values due to higher productivity. Fertilizers are the component with the highest contributions to the impacts, specifically their manufacture. For global warming, low values were obtained: 0.063 and 0.081 kg CO2-eq·kg−1 for Fino and Verna, respectively, which may result from diverse factors: high productivity, low pesticide and machinery use, and low nitrous oxide emissions because of aridity. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis was performed on the origin of water sources and calculation methods of pesticide emissions.

The challenge in managing working capital in an emerging economy: The case of Bangladesh

The paper seeks to determine whether management can offset an increase in the age of inventory with a reduction in the age of receivables, and which variable is more important in managing the overall cash conversion cycle. Using data from 2011 to 2020 on 77 non-financial companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, we applied the generalized method of moments regression with a specific goal of examining the impact of receivables and inventory on profitability. When limiting the total amount tied up in working capital is a goal, a legitimate question is whether a firm can limit the total amount tied up in receivables alone, with inventory alone, or net the total reduction. Both variables should have a similar financial cost of working capital. This paper strongly indicates that in managing working capital, the focus needs to be on receivables management. Losing control of receivables will impact profitability much more than managing inventory, and the option to balance an increase in the age of receivables through a decrease in inventory is generally not possible. The results also indicate that larger firms generally do a better job than smaller firms.

Assessing the Feasibility of Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft: A Comparative Economic and Environmental Analysis

The aviation sector needs to become climate neutral with net zero emissions by 2050 in order to meet the Fly the Green Deal targets. Hydrogen has been identified as a potential energy source that could help the sector meet these ambitious targets. This study evaluated a new hybrid-electric hydrogen aircraft concept against conventional Jet-A1 and power-to-liquid (PtL) aircraft concepts in terms of economic and environmental impacts. The assessment methods that we adopted were adapted specifically for this purpose. The life cycles of the aircraft were modeled using discrete event simulations, and the results show that the hydrogen concept has similar costs to the conventional PtL concept and double the life-cycle CO2-equivalent savings compared to the conventional Jet-A1 concept. As such, the method allows early comparison of different aircraft concepts.

Spatial ecosystem monitoring with a Multichannel Acoustic Autonomous Recording Unit (MAARU)

Abstract Multi‐microphone recording adds spatial information to recorded audio with emerging applications in ecosystem monitoring. Specifically placing sounds in space can improve animal count accuracy, locate illegal activity like logging and poaching, track animals to monitor behaviour and habitat use and allow for ‘beamforming’ to amplify sounds from target directions for downstream classification. Studies have shown many advantages of spatial acoustics, but uptake remains limited as the equipment is often expensive, complicated, inaccessible or only suitable for short‐term deployments. With an emphasis on enhanced uptake and usability, we present a low‐cost, open‐source, six‐channel recorder built entirely from commercially available components which can be integrated into a solar‐powered, online system. The MAARU (Multichannel Acoustic Autonomous Recording Unit) works as an independent node in long‐term autonomous, passive and/or short‐term deployments. Here, we introduce MAARU's hardware and software and present the results of lab and field tests investigating the device's durability and usability. MAARU records multichannel audio with similar costs and power demands to equivalent omnidirectional recorders. MAARU devices have been deployed in the United Kingdom and Brazil, where we have shown MAARUs can accurately localise pure tones up to 6 kHz and bird calls as far as 8 m away (±10° range, 100% and &gt;60% of signals, respectively). Louder calls may have even further detection radii. We also show how beamforming can be used with MAARUs to improve species ID confidence scores. MAARU is an accessible, low‐cost option for those looking to explore spatial acoustics accurately and easily with a single device, and without the formidable expenses and processing complications associated with establishing arrays. Ultimately, the added directional element of the multichannel recording provided by MAARU allows for enhanced recording of sonic environments, further enabling a potential step change in the uptake of spatial acoustics in the wider field.

Wound vacuum-assisted closure temporization after tumor resection of soft tissue sarcomas-A cost analysis in a propensity-score matched population.

Vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) temporization is a technique associated with high local control rates used in myxofibrosarcoma. We sought to compare the costs and postoperative outcomes of VAC temporization and single-stage (SS) excision/reconstruction. We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with myxofibrosarcoma surgically treated at our institution between 2000 and 2022. Variables of interest included total, direct, and indirect costs for initial episode of care, 90 days and 1 year after initial admission, and postoperative outcomes. Costs were compared between the VAC temporization and SS groups. After matching, 13 patients in the SS group and 23 in the VAC group were analyzed. We found no difference in median and mean total inpatient costs, between the VAC temporization and SS group. While total 90-day and 1-year costs were higher in the VAC group compared to the SS group, mean costs were similar. There were no differences in postoperative complications between groups. A subanalysis of the entire cohort (n = 139) revealed lower local recurrence and overall death rates in the VAC temporization group. VAC temporization had similar inpatient costs and postoperative outcomes toSS excision/reconstruction. While median 90-day and 1-year costs were higher in the VAC group, mean costs did not differ.

CATRO: Channel Pruning via Class-Aware Trace Ratio Optimization.

Deep convolutional neural networks are shown to be overkill with high parametric and computational redundancy in many application scenarios, and an increasing number of works have explored model pruning to obtain lightweight and efficient networks. However, most existing pruning approaches are driven by empirical heuristics and rarely consider the joint impact of channels, leading to unguaranteed and suboptimal performance. In this article, we propose a novel channel pruning method via c lass-aware t race r atio o ptimization (CATRO) to reduce the computational burden and accelerate the model inference. Utilizing class information from a few samples, CATRO measures the joint impact of multiple channels by feature space discriminations and consolidates the layerwise impact of preserved channels. By formulating channel pruning as a submodular set function maximization problem, CATRO solves it efficiently via a two-stage greedy iterative optimization procedure. More importantly, we present theoretical justifications on convergence of CATRO and performance of pruned networks. Experimental results demonstrate that CATRO achieves higher accuracy with similar computation cost or lower computation cost with similar accuracy than other state-of-the-art channel pruning algorithms. In addition, because of its class-aware property, CATRO is suitable to prune efficient networks adaptively for various classification subtasks, enhancing handy deployment and usage of deep networks in real-world applications.

A Fair Contribution Measurement Method for Federated Learning.

Federated learning is an effective approach for preserving data privacy and security, enabling machine learning to occur in a distributed environment and promoting its development. However, an urgent problem that needs to be addressed is how to encourage active client participation in federated learning. The Shapley value, a classical concept in cooperative game theory, has been utilized for data valuation in machine learning services. Nevertheless, existing numerical evaluation schemes based on the Shapley value are impractical, as they necessitate additional model training, leading to increased communication overhead. Moreover, participants' data may exhibit Non-IID characteristics, posing a significant challenge to evaluating participant contributions. Non-IID data have greatly affected the accuracy of the global model, weakened the marginal effect of the participants, and led to the underestimated contribution measurement results of the participants. Current work often overlooks the impact of heterogeneity on model aggregation. This paper presents a fair federated learning contribution measurement scheme that addresses the need for additional model computations. By introducing a novel aggregation weight, it enhances the accuracy of the contribution measurement. Experiments on the MNIST and Fashion MNIST dataset show that the proposed method can accurately compute the contributions of participants. Compared to existing baseline algorithms, the model accuracy is significantly improved, with a similar time cost.

Streaming prediction-error filters

Prediction-error filters (PEFs) are essential for seismic deconvolution and other geophysical estimation problems. We find that nonstationary multidimensional PEFs can be computed in a “streaming” manner, wherein the filter is updated incrementally by accepting one new data point at a time. The computational cost of estimating a streaming PEF is reduced to the cost of a single convolution. In other words, the cost of the PEF design while filtering is equivalent to the cost of applying the filter. Moreover, the nonlinear operation of finding and applying a streaming PEF is invertible at a similar cost, which enables a fast approach for missing data interpolation.

Neural network energy management strategy for plug-in hybrid electric combine harvesters based on quasi-periodic samples

Energy management strategies are crucial for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Combine Harvester (PHECH). However, many existing approaches rely on rigid, pre-setting rules that struggle to adjust to the PHECH operational conditions. This paper first introduces a power estimation model tailored to the quasi-periodic process of harvester activity. Then, Dynamic Programming (DP) is applied to derive optimal samples of engine power ratio across various scenarios. Building on the samples, a Neural Network (NN) is developed to enhance the strategy's economic and real-time performance. Simulation tests evaluate the proposed algorithm's efficacy and its energy conservation potential. The findings suggest that, compared to fuel-driven harvesters, the NN strategy achieves similar energy cost savings to the DP approach, exceeding 11%, which is better than the Charge Depleting and Charge Sustaining (CDCS) strategy's 7.22% and the MPC-ECMS strategy's 7.87%. Moreover, the NN strategy reduces the time expense to roughly one-fifth of that required by the DP approach.