Specific Preferences Research Articles

LTE network deployment based on open-source solutions

In recent years, the landscape of LTE network deployment has experienced a significant shift from reliance on proprietary solutions provided by established vendors to the exploration of open-source alternatives. Open-source solutions have gained traction due to their cost-effectiveness and flexibility, allowing network operators to customize their deployments according to specific requirements and preferences. This article examines the deployment of a 4G LTE network based on open-source solutions. In the context of open-source, the options of using software and hardware for network deployment were discussed. Through meticulous analysis and testing procedures, a viable and robust solution for 4G LTE deployment based on open-source projects is outlined. The aim of this paper is to explore the possibility of 4G deployment based on open-source projects and provide a potential option for deployment. Through this exploration, the article contributes valuable findings to the evolving field of telecommunications, paving the way for future advancements and innovations in open-source LTE network technologies.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Stock Investment Recommendations Based on the Liquor Industry: Risk, Profitability, and Ratio Perspectives

Focusing on the liquor industry, this study takes Kweichow Moutai Liquor Co., LTD., Shanxi Xinghuacun Fen Distillery Co., LTD., and Sichuan Tuopai Shed Liquor Co., LTD., as the objects, and provides targeted investment suggestions for different types of investors by analyzing risk, profitability, valuation and other indicators. The results show that Kweichow Moutai has an excellent performance in market value and ROA, which is suitable for index investment and ratio analysis investors. Shanxi Xinghuacun Fen Distillery attracts the attention of income investors with its high dividend rate; Sichuan Tuopai Shede Wine's low PE Ratio may attract value investors. Depending on the type of investment, we provide investment advice for index investors, ratio analysis investors, income investors, value investors, PEG investors, discounted cash flow investors, momentum investors, insider trading investors and share buyback investors. The results and analysis of this study can help investors more accurately evaluate the investment value of different liquor companies to meet their specific investment objectives and risk preferences.

Understanding school-going adolescent’s preferences for accessing HIV and contraceptive care: findings from a discrete choice experiment among learners in Gauteng, South Africa

BackgroundMany Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa do not access HIV and reproductive health services optimally. To improve uptake of these services, it is important to understand the Learners’ preferences for how services are delivered so that implementation strategies can reflect this.MethodsA discrete choice experiment (DCE) was used to elicit preferences. The DCE was completed between 07/2018 and 09/2019 and conducted in 10 high schools situated in neighbourhoods of varying socio-economic status (SES) in Gauteng (South Africa). Learners aged ≥ 15 years (Grades 9–12) were consented and enrolled in the DCE. Parental consent and assent were required if < 18 years old. Conditional logistic regression was used to determine preferred attributes for HIV and contraceptive service delivery. Results were stratified by gender and neighbourhood SES quintile (1 = Lowest SES; 5 = Highest SES).Results805 Learners were enrolled (67% female; 66% 15–17 years; 51% in grades 9–10). 54% of Learners in quintile 1 schools had no monthly income (family support, grants, part-time jobs etc.); 38% in quintile 5 schools had access to R100 ($7.55) per month. Preferences for accessing HIV and contraceptive services were similar for male and female Learners. Learners strongly preferred services provided by friendly, non-judgmental staff (Odds ratio 1.63; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.55–1.72) where confidentiality was ensured (1.33; 1.26–1.40). They preferred services offered after school (1.14; 1.04–1.25) with value-added services like free Wi-Fi (1.19; 1.07–1.32), food (1.23; 1.11–1.37) and youth-only waiting areas (1.18; 1.07–1.32). Learners did not have a specific location preference, but preferred not to receive services within the community (0.82; 0.74–0.91) or school (0.88; 0.80–0.96). Costs to access services were a deterrent for most Learners irrespective of school neighbourhood; female Learners were deterred by costs ≥$3.85 (0.79; 0.70–0.91); males by costs ≥ R100 ($7.55) (0.86; 0.74-1.00).ConclusionsPreferences that encourage utilisation of services do not significantly differ by gender or school neighbourhood SES. Staff attitude and confidentiality are key issues affecting Learners’ decisions to access HIV and contraceptive services. Addressing how healthcare providers respond to young people seeking sexual and reproductive health services is critical for improving adolescents’ uptake of these services.

Are rural firms left behind? Firm location and perceived job attractiveness of high-skilled workers

Abstract We conduct a discrete choice experiment to investigate how the location of a firm in a rural or urban region affects the perceived job attractiveness for university students and graduates and, therewith, contributes to the rural–urban divide. We characterize the attractiveness of a location based on several dimensions (social life, public infrastructure and connectivity) and vary job design and contractual characteristics of the job. We find that job offers from companies in rural areas are generally considered less attractive, regardless of the attractiveness of the region. The negative perception is particularly pronounced among persons of urban origin and singles. In contrast, for individuals with partners and kids this preference is less pronounced. High-skilled individuals who originate from rural areas have no specific regional preference at all.

Methane emission reduction in China's natural gas industry: Construction of technology inventory and selection of optimal technology programs

Methane (CH4) is a potent yet short-lived greenhouse gas (GHG), and CH4 emissions from China's natural gas industry hinder its low-carbon and high-quality development. This paper addressed this challenge by compiling emission reduction technology inventory targeting CH4 emissions from process and vented within the natural gas industry. Using a multi-objective optimization model and the NSGA-II algorithm, various technology programs were generated to minimize both emissions and costs simultaneously. These programs underwent classification using quadrants and the osculating value method to identify optimal programs for emission reduction and cost-effectiveness. This paper examined 30 potential programs as samples for upstream and midstream. The study demonstrated that for decision-makers with preferences, this paper employed quadrant classification, categorizing all potential programs into three categories: “emission reduction,” “cost,” and “comprehensive.” This categorization met the demand preferences of different decision-makers. For decision-makers lacking specific preferences, the paper identified the best emission reduction technology programs under the current target using the osculating value method. Specifically, in the upstream, the most effective program achieved a 37.85 % reduction in emissions, highlighting “Reduced Emissions Completions for Hydraulically Fractured Gas Wells” as the critical technology. In the midstream, the best program achieved a reduction efficiency of 25.80 %, with “Replacing Wet Seals with Dry Seals in Centrifugal Compressors” contributing the most to emissions reduction. This study offers guidance and illuminating reference cases for the selection of CH4 emission reduction technologies within China's natural gas industry.

Patients' Choices for Yoga Therapy: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional, Convenience-Sampling Survey from India.

In conventional healthcare, patients' preferences for their treatment are determined, though this practice has not been reported for yoga therapy. The present convenience sampling exploratory survey attempted to determine whether those seeking yoga therapy would report preferences for the way yoga therapy is implemented, the therapist's knowledge, and related aspects of yoga therapy. Responses from 426 people attending a yoga therapy institution in India were analyzed. Based on the chi-square test (p < 0.05) and Cramer's V (> 0.10), most people wished to receive yoga therapy in a group of others with a similar disease (42.25%), in a yoga institution (83.57%), and as in-person sessions (48.83%). Patients preferred yoga therapists to know about the principles of yoga (40.38%), to be well-informed generally (61.97%), and to be able to give suggestions for emotional well-being. For the majority of participants (59.4%), the reason for selecting yoga therapy was "a belief in yoga as therapy" (rather than as an add-on therapy or as a last resort). Patients' expectations of yoga therapy were positive, namely a cure of disease (79.34%) and improvement after 1 year (95.8%). Most patients (91.6%) wanted their conventional medicine practitioner to know that they were receiving yoga therapy. Although limited by the study design, survey design, and participant details available, overall results suggest that patients (1) reported specific preferences (for the implementation of yoga therapy and for yoga therapists' knowledge), (2) had expectations of yoga therapy, and (3) most often were interested in their conventional care physicians being informed about the yoga therapy they received.

Scientific reference style using rule-based machine learning

Regular Expressions (RegEx) can be employed as a technique for supervised learning to define and search for specific patterns inside text. This work devised a method that utilizes regular expressions to convert the reference style of academic papers into several styles, dependent on the specific needs of the target publication or conference. Our research aimed to detect distinctive patterns of reference styles using RegEx and compare them with a dataset including various reference styles. We gathered a diverse range of reference format categories, encompassing seven distinct classes, from various sources such as academic papers, journals, conference proceedings, and books. Our approach involves employing RegEx to convert one referencing format to another based on the user's specific preferences. The proposed model demonstrated an accuracy of 57.26% for book references and 57.56% for journal references. We used the similarity ratio and Levenshtein distance to evaluate the dataset's performance. The model achieved a 97.8% similarity ratio with a Levenshtein distance of 2. Notably, the APA style for journal references yielded the best results. However, the effectiveness of the extraction function varies depending on the reference style. For APA style, the model showed a 99.97% similarity ratio with a Levenshtein distance of 1. Overall, our proposed model outperforms baseline machine learning models in this task. This study introduces an automated program that utilizes regular expressions to modify academic reference formats. This will enhance the efficiency, precision, and adaptability of academic publishing.

Biological Integrity of Azorean Native Forests Is Better Measured in Cold Season

The Azorean archipelago, recognized as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, is home to a diverse and unique community of arthropod species, highlighting a notable degree of endemism. However, the native forests that support these species are facing significant degradation due to habitat loss and fragmentation. In this study, we aimed to determine the ideal season for measuring the biological integrity of forest sites using a biological integrity index (IBI) based on arthropod communities captured with Sea, Land, and Air Malaise (SLAM) traps. Drawing on more than thirty years of research experience in the Azorean forests, we selected twelve reference sites, six representing preserved native forest and six representing disturbed native forest, and compared how IBI values vary between seasons. IBI values exhibited consistent variations between seasons in disturbed sites, indicating that measuring the biological integrity in these areas can be conducted at any time of the year without a specific seasonal preference. In contrast, significant differences were observed in pristine forest sites, with the winter season and the combination of winter and spring data (cold semester) showing notably higher values compared to other seasons and semesters. This finding suggests that measuring the biological integrity of preserved sites is best optimized in the cold seasons, while the detection of exotic species impact is most effective in summer and autumn. Consequently, if resources are limited, monitoring efforts should be concentrated in the winter and summer seasons to obtain the maximum and minimum values of IBI, respectively. Additionally, our study suggests that the summer season is the optimal time to detect potentially invasive exotic species.

Treatment Outcome Priorities of Older Adults with Newly Diagnosed Blood Cancers Elicited with Best-Worst Scaling

Background: A clear understanding of patients' preferred treatment outcomes is necessary to guide treatment decision-making. In this study, we sought to quantify the treatment outcome priorities of older adults (≥ 60 years old) newly diagnosed with hematologic malignancies and to describe individual patient's willingness to tolerate specific treatment-related benefit-risk tradeoffs. Methods: We developed a values elicitation measure using best-worst (BW) scaling and direct elicitation through a community-centered approach engaging diverse stakeholders. The measure includes 7 treatment priorities: Living longer, Maintaining day-to-day activities, Avoiding becoming more dependent on others, Avoiding hospitalizations/Increasing time at home, Avoiding long-term side effects, Avoiding short-term side effects, and Avoiding high financial costs. Patients complete repeated choice tasks choosing the most and least important treatment priority among repeated subsets using a balanced-incomplete block design. Direct elicitation was used to determine specific benefit-risk tradeoff preferences. Recruitment occurred at a public safety-net hospital following pathologic diagnosis. Patients completed the measure prior to the initial treatment decision and longitudinally each month. Data from the BW scaling measure were analyzed using the count method (best minus worst) and standardized. Results: In total, 48 patients consented (48% lymphoma, 40% leukemia/myelodysplastic syndrome, 12% other). Mean age was 74 years (range 60 - 95); 59% were male; 96% were white; 67% had a bachelor's degree or higher. Fifty-two percent (n=25) fully completed the BWS instrument at least once. The ranked importance of priorities for the entire cohort was 1) Maintaining day-to-day activities (standardized best minus worst, 23.8), 2) Living longer (12.4), 3) Avoiding becoming more dependent on others (7.9), 4) Avoiding hospitalizations/Increasing time at home (2.2), 5) Avoiding long-term side effects (-5.2), 6) Avoiding short-term side effects (-19.5), and 7) Avoiding high financial costs (-21.5). The most important outcomes (including ties) for individual patients were Maintaining day-to-day activities (40% of patients), Living longer (40%), and Avoiding becoming dependent on others (20%), while the least important outcomes were Avoiding high financial costs (52%), Avoiding short term side-effects (32%), and Living longer (20%). Thirteen (52%) patients completed subsequent BWS surveys; 69% changed their most important outcome at least once. Direct elicitation demonstrated that patients were willing to accept additional hospital stays of 1 week (88%), 1 month (58%), and 3 months (25%) in exchange for an additional 6 months of life. Only 25% of patients indicated willingness to require a full-time caregiver in exchange for an additional 2 years of life, whereas patients were more willing to accept a part-time caregiver in exchange for an additional 1 month (38%) or 6 months (79%) of life. Some patients were unwilling to accept an additional 6 months of life if it meant requiring assistance dressing (33%) or bathing (54%). In exchange for an additional 6 months of life, patients were willing to spend $250 (83%), $500 (58%), or $1000 (42%) per month. Conclusions: Older adults with newly diagnosed blood cancers differed when prioritizing treatment outcomes. Maintaining function was highly valued and was frequently more important than prolonging survival. Some patients felt prolonging survival was least important. Many patients changed their treatment priorities over time. These results highlight the need to elicit treatment outcome priorities at the time of each significant treatment decision for older adults. Further, they suggest that endpoints other than overall survival should be considered for clinical trials in this population as prolonging survival may not be prioritized by most patients. This study also demonstrated that a combination of BW scaling and direct elicitation was able to quantify patients' treatment outcome priorities and benefit-risk tradeoff preferences, highlighting the potential for the development of similar values elicitation measures to be used to inform specific treatment decisions in various clinical contexts.

Development of the Treatment Preference in Myelodysplasia Questionnaire (TPMQ) for Clinicians (mTPMQ), Carers (cTPMQ), and Patients (pTPMQ)

Objective: Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a disease of the hematopoietic stem cells and leads to an increased risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia (AML).[1] The injectable hypomethylating agents (HMA) azacitdine and decibtabine have been shown to be superior to best supportive care in improving cytopenias in intermediate to high-risk patients.[2, 3] These injectable HMAs regimens are commonly administered in a healthcare facility, with patients traveling to the facility on consecutive days. The recent availability of an oral form of decitabine, ASTX 727 (a fixed-dose combination of decitabine and the cytidine deaminase inhibitor cedazuridine), may significantly impact patient, carer, and clinician choices. To assess preference for an injectable vs. orally administered HMA, three questionnaires were developed based on qualitative input from clinicians, patients, and carers: the Treatment Preference in Myelodysplasia Questionnaire (TPMQ) for clinicians (mTPMQ), carers (cTPMQ), and patients (pTPMQ). Methods: This was a non-interventional, cross-sectional qualitative interview study consisting of interviews with patients with MDS who were eligible for or were being/had been treated with injectable azacitidine, their carers and their treating clinicians. Data were collected from qualitative mixed method interviews composed of concept elicitation and cognitive debriefing. Two sites were identified to enrol participants. During concept elicitation, participants were asked about MDS and treatment options to best understand the constructs of interest relative to their specific circumstance and preferences. Cognitive debriefing occurred after participants reviewed a draft of the questionnaire. Based on the interviews, the questionnaires were revised to ensure the constructs of importance were captured and the questionnaires, response options, and instructions were all well understood. Results: 15 participants completed interviews (5 clinicians for the mTPMQ, 5 patients for the pTPMQ, and 5 carers for the cTPMQ). Concepts identified as important included across groups included: easier to be compliant, less travel time, less time in the clinic, less painful, costs and convenience (Table 1). The mTPMQ underwent 3 revisions. Overall, clinicians indicated the directions, items and response options were understandable and clear. Comments that significantly modified the questionnaire concerned splitting the last question from 1 to 2 questions, depending on which treatment the patient would be receiving. Patient participants thought the pTPMQ captured concepts of interest and was easy to understand. Modifications were made to the questionnaire either as a direct result of patient participant comments (e.g., changed skip directions to “turn to page X, question X”), study team discussions of the interviewer's comments and notes and making items consistent between questionnaires. Carer participants thought the cTPMQ captured the constructs of interest and the questions were clear and the questionnaire was easy to answer. Modifications were made to the questionnaire as a direct result of carer participant comments (e.g., changed “We spend less time in the clinic” to “It means less time in the clinic for the patient”), study team discussions of the interviewer's comments and notes (e.g., added “It makes it easier for the patient to continue treatment”) and making items consistent between questionnaires. Conclusions: The findings of the participant interviews suggest the concepts assessed in the assessments are complete. Respondents could respond to items and talk about all aspects assessed in the questionnaires in meaningful ways and were able to comprehend the instructions and response options on a categorical scale. The TPMQs are based on direct input from the population of interest and assess the constructs of importance to each group. 1. Bell, J.A., et al., Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk, 2018. 18(4): p. e157-e166. 2. Kantarjian, H., et al., Cancer, 2006. 106(8): p. 1794-803. 3. Fenaux, P., et al., Lancet Oncol, 2009. 10(3): p. 223-32.

Variation of weekly home range characteristics of Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) in Bentang Seblat, Bengkulu Province, Indonesia

Abstract. Ningrum IK, Santosa Y, Setiawan Y. 2023. Variation of weekly home range characteristics of Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) in Bentang Seblat, Bengkulu Province, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 24: 5854-5862. Bentang Seblat is one of the areas of conflict between Sumatran elephants and humans arising from space use problems because Sumatran elephants have specific preferences for habitat characteristics. This study aims to identify the characteristics of the weekly home range and analyze the relationship of weekly home range with habitat characteristics of Sumatran elephants in Bentang Seblat. GPS collar data from November 2020 until August 2022 were obtained from the Natural Resources Conservation Agency of Bengkulu-Lampung Province and habitat characteristics were obtained from Landsat 8 imagery. The data obtained were analyzed using chi-square test and Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA) with five variables: land cover, slope, distance from water sources, roads, and settlements. The results showed that the weekly home range was between 2.67 ha-239.98 ha, averaging 46.1 ha. The highest percentage of each habitat characteristic includes secondary forest (55.38%), flat slopes (59.01%), distances of 0-450 m from water sources (35.11%), distances of 0-400 m from roads (70.81%), and distances of 6-8 km from settlements (50.37%). The weekly home range is closely related to all habitat characteristics, with the highest level of relationship significance being the distance from water sources and the distance from the settlement.

Probabilistic calibration of the p-y method considering model uncertainty for ultimate limit state design of monopiles

ABSTRACT The API p-y method is widely used in the design of offshore wind turbines (OWTs) monopiles at present. This study systematically evaluates the model uncertainty of the p-y method for OWT monopiles and proposes a two-stage calibration approach for evaluating the model bias factor. To overcome the difficulty of limited field tests, a high-fidelity base model is employed as a bridge between the field test data to the p-y method. The field test data is used to calibrate the base model and determine the model error of the base model. Synthetic numerical cases are subsequently generated using the base model to evaluate the correction factor of the p-y method. By combining the model error of the base model and the correction factor of the p-y method, the model bias factor of the p-y method can be evaluated. The reliability analysis of the monopile in an offshore wind project in China is taken as an example. The results serve as a valuable tool for correcting the lateral bearing capacity of OWT monopiles based on the specific soil conditions and risk preferences for the offshore wind turbine project.

Eliciting risk preferences: is a single item enough?

Economists and psychologists frequently use single-item measures of risk preferences despite potential limitations in reliability and criterion validity compared to their multi-item counterparts. This can be particularly problematic when individual differences in risk preferences are used to predict real-world economic, health, and financial outcomes. In this paper, we compare a popular single-item measure of risk preference, the General Risk Question (GRQ), to multi-item measures of domain-general and specific risk preference measures. In a two-wave survey study of 434 adults, we found that the GRQ had good psychometric reliability and converged with other multi-item measures of risk preferences. The GRQ also exhibited a similar pattern of associations with other personality and demographic variables as compared to multi-item measures. However, the predictive validity of the GRQ was lower than multi-item measures for most of the outcomes examined. The GRQ also explained less incremental variance for real-world outcomes over the Big Five personality traits than the multi-item counterparts. Although the GRQ is a construct-valid measure of risk preferences, researchers should nonetheless consider the trade-off between survey efficiency and predictive efficacy when deciding whether a single item is enough.

Voter Preferences for EU Asylum Policies: The Role of Government Cues

AbstractWe study whether and how governments influence public opinion about immigration policies in Europe. At the European level, conflicts about policy are generally territorial in nature – that is, they involve conflicts between member states, which are represented by their governments. Distinguishing between four types of situations, depending on whether the national governments support or oppose EU policy proposals, we formulate and test hypotheses concerning the positions of incumbent and opposition voters/non-voters on four different asylum-policy proposals in 16 European countries. We test both direct effects of incumbent cues on voters' preferences, and moderating effects, where the cueing affects the way in which individual attitudes to immigration and European integration translate into specific preferences for EU asylum and immigration policies. Our results suggest that voters, indeed, follow the cues provided by their governments when forming their preferences on EU policies.

What are the differences in urban citizens’ preferences for the colour of condominium building facades?

The colour of a building facade is an important attribute that significantly influences consumers’ purchasing intentions towards commodity buildings. This influence is often reflected in transaction prices, allowing researchers to extract consumers’ colour preferences and analyse their psychological states. However, there is a significant lack of relevant research in this area. Therefore, this research is the first attempt to explore urban consumers’ preferences for the colour of building facades using a housing price measurement system. It also conducts comparative analyses of the consumption psychology of different homebuying consumer groups. The innovative approach in this research can serve as a reference for exploring similar issues in other regions worldwide, and the empirical results of this research hold important professional value for fields such as social psychology and urban planning. Specifically, this research takes the city of Fuzhou, China, as an example, and it uses cross-sectional transaction data from second-hand residential communities in 2020 as its research reference. Through economic and geographical research methods, this study explores consumers’ preference for colour among various consumer groups. The research reveals that the overall homebuying consumer groups in Fuzhou have specific preferences for the quantity and characteristics of facade colours. Furthermore, consumer preferences vary among different income levels and geographic locations of homebuying consumer groups. Finally, the research estimates the possible reasons for these preference differences.

Tracking seabird migration in the tropical Indian Ocean reveals basin-scale conservation need

Understanding marine predator distributions is an essential component of arresting their catastrophic declines.1,2,3,4 In temperate, polar, and upwelling seas, predictable oceanographic features can aggregate migratory predators, which benefit from site-based protection.5,6,7,8 In more oligotrophic tropical waters, however, it is unclear whether environmental conditions create similar multi-species hotspots. We track the non-breeding movements and habitat preferences of a tropical seabird assemblage (n= 348 individuals, 9 species, and 10 colonies in the western Indian Ocean), which supports globally important biodiversity.9,10,11,12 We mapped species richness from tracked populations and then predicted the same diversity measure for allknown Indian Ocean colonies. Most species had large non-breeding ranges, low or variable residency patterns,and specific habitat preferences. This in turn revealed that maximum species richness covered >3.9 million km2, with no focused aggregations, in stark contrast to large-scale tracking studies in all other ocean basins.5,6,7,13,14 High species richness was captured by existing marine protected areas (MPAs) in the region; however, most occurred in the unprotected high seas beyond national jurisdictions. Seabirds experience cumulative anthropogenic impacts13 and high mortality15,16 during non-breeding. Therefore, our results suggest that seabird conservation in the tropical Indian Ocean requires an ocean-wide perspective, including high seas legislation.17 As restoration actions improve the outlook for tropical seabirds on land18,19,20,21,22 and environmental change reshapes the habitats that support them at sea,15,16 appropriate marine conservation will be crucial for their long-term recovery and whole ecosystem restoration.

Jak to z kołem i obtaczaniem być mogło. Innowacje i techniki we wczesnośredniowiecznej ceramice – nieustannie aktualny problem

The article engages with the issue of changes in the technology of producing clay vessels based on the example of early medieval pottery from Wielkopolska. The focus was on the issue of the introduction of innovations and the process of technological change from the perspective of the techniques used and their importance in a broader cultural and social context. Ecological, economic and technical factors are indicated as the main reasons for changes in the technological style, while less importance is attached to social behaviour or cultural norms. Pottery making is a social act, as it takes place in a specific community with its own tradition and past, specific preferences and cultural patterns. Pottery production techniques, more resistant to change than form or ornament, have become a good variable for identifying cultural groups and recognizing communication between communities and relationshipsbetween their members. The presented comments and interpretations indicate the research potential of the analysis of technology and innovations emerging in this process.

An experimental study of information transparency and social preferences on donation behaviors: the self-signaling model.

Certain segments of the population reply on charitable or other non-governmental organizations as their main source of support, with these organizations largely funded by those in society who can afford to give. The present study investigated to what extent information transparency influences donation decisions, and whether specific preferences for charities influences information seeking behavior. We recruited 114 participants via Prolific and employed a binary online Dictator Game to address these two study objectives. The results showed that participants' actual donation behavior was not influenced by their charity preference or the level of information transparency. However, they were more prone to seek out additional information when deciding about the most preferred category of charity. These results raise important questions as to whether the perceived anonymity of online choices may differ from choices carried out in person.

Abstract 18727: Outcomes of Utilization of Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE) vs Intracardiac Echocardiogram (ICE) for Atrial Fibrillation Ablations in the Real-AF Registry

Introduction: Transesophageal (TEE) and intracardiac (ICE) echocardiogram are widely used strategies to rule out LAA thrombus prior to atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. We compare the utilization of TEE and ICE, outcomes and complications of each strategy. Methods: The Real-world Experience of Catheter Ablation for the Treatment of Symptomatic Paroxysmal (PAF) and Persistent (PsAF) Atrial Fibrillation registry (Real-AF) is a multicenter prospective registry that is enrolling patients undergoing AF ablation at high-volume centers. We compared complications rates (Table 1) between TEE and ICE in patients with AF underdoing index ablation for AF in the REAL-AF registry. Patients who underwent both TEE and ICE were excluded from the analysis. Bleeding complication was defined as bleeding that occurs within the first 72 hours of the procedure requiring transfusion or resulting in &gt;20% drop in hemoglobin. Vascular access complications included AV fistula or pseudo-aneurysm needing intervention. Results: A total of 1628 patients were included in the analysis.The mean age was 64.78 (SD=11.43) years, 45.7% were women, mean BMI was 30.36 (SD=6.71) and mean CHAD2DS2VASc score was 2.49 (SD=1.51). TEE was used in 911 patients (58.5%) and ICE was used in 717 (46.1%) ] prior to ablation. There were 0% strokes reported in the TEE group vs 0.1% in the ICE group (p = 0.095). Among other complications reported there was no statistical difference between the two groups (Table 1). There was no significant difference between the two groups on recurrence of arrhythmias at 12 months (HR: = 0.983, CI: 0.79,1.3 , p &lt; 0.894) Conclusion: Both TEE and ICE are acceptable strategies for pre-ablation assessment of left atrium and LAA. There are no significant differences in stroke rates between the two groups. Other reported complications are also similar between the two groups. Choice of either TEE vs ICE depend on patient specific characteristics, hospital resources and operator preference.

Personalized robotic control via constrained multi-objective reinforcement learning

Reinforcement learning is capable of providing state-of-art performance in end-to-end robotic control tasks. Nevertheless, many real-world control tasks necessitate the balancing of multiple conflicting objectives while simultaneously ensuring that the learned policies adhere to constraints. Additionally, individual users may typically prefer to explore the personalized and diversified robotic control modes via specific preferences. Therefore, this paper presents a novel constrained multi-objective reinforcement learning algorithm for personalized end-to-end robotic control with continuous actions, allowing a trained single model to approximate the Pareto optimal policies for any user-specified preferences. The proposed approach is formulated as a constrained multi-objective Markov decision process, incorporating a nonlinear constraint design to facilitate the agent in learning optimal policies that align with specified user preferences across the entire preference space. Meanwhile, a comprehensive index based on hypervolume and entropy is presented to measure the convergence, diversity and evenness of the learned control policies. The proposed scheme is evaluated on nine multi-objective end-to-end robotic control tasks with continuous action space, and its effectiveness is demonstrated in comparison with the competitive baselines, including classical and state-of-the-art algorithms.