Successive Periods Research Articles

Differences in Functional Connectivity between Normal Controls and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Motion Detection Tasks

AbstractBackgroundIt has long been observed that the abnormal brain functions in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are closely related to the weakening or loss of functional connectivity across certain brain regions. At the same time, the decreased cross‐connectivity is often accompanied by increased connectivity between some other regions, and this was considered to reflect the compensatory mechanisms of the brain. In this research, we investigate the differences in time‐varying functional connectivity between normal controls (NC) and MCI patients in motion detection tasks.MethodOur research is based on task‐based EEG (64‐channel), where the participants were asked to perform a motion direction discrimination task. The current dataset includes 60 consensus‐diagnosed, community‐dwelling African Americans (ages 60‐90 years, 30 NC and 30 MCI) recruited through the Wayne State Institute of Gerontology Healthy Black Elders Center and the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center with subjective cognitive complaints.We evaluated the time‐varying functional connectivity at different time periods of the motion‐detection task across all the possible EEG region pairs, in terms of the Pearson correlation vector of the current source density. For each task trial, the successive time periods being examined included: stimulus onset to Go/NoGo indication, Go/NoGo indication to motion‐stop, and the button‐press period. For each subject, we calculated the mean, maximum and minimum of the Pearson correlation vector for each EEG region pair and each time period as features, and then selected the features where NC and MCI show a significant difference (p‐value<0.05 in the t‐test).ResultOur analysis indicated that NC shows significantly higher connectivity across EEG region pairs Right Frontal‐Left Central (through most periods), Left Temporal‐Medial Central and Left Temporal‐Occipital (in button‐press period). On the other hand, MCI shows signigicantly high connectivity across Medial Parietal‐Occipital (through all the periods), which may reflect the compensatory mechanisms of the brain.ConclusionHC and MCI do show significant difference in functional connectivity during the motion detection task, and the EEG regions pairs Medial Parietal‐Occipital, and Right Frontal‐Left Central shown to be excellent choices for biomarker development for the discrimination of NC and MCI.Funding: NSF‐2032709/Li; NIH‐ P30AG05376004/Paulson; NIH‐1R21AG046637‐01A1/Kavcic and NIH‐1R01AG054484‐01A1/Kavcic;

Protection Conferred by COVID-19 Vaccination, Prior SARS-CoV-2 Infection, or Hybrid Immunity Against Omicron-Associated Severe Outcomes Among Community-Dwelling Adults.

We assessed protection from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and/or prior severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection against Omicron-associated severe outcomes during successive sublineage-predominant periods. We used a test-negative design to estimate protection by vaccines and/or prior infection against hospitalization/death among community-dwelling, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-tested adults aged ≥50 years in Ontario, Canada, between 2 January 2022 and 30 June 2023. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the relative change in the odds of hospitalization/death with each vaccine dose (2-5) and/or prior PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (compared with unvaccinated, uninfected subjects) up to 15 months since the last vaccination or infection. We included 18 526 cases with Omicron-associated severe outcomes and 90 778 test-negative controls. Vaccine protection was high during BA.1/BA.2 predominance but was generally <50% during periods of BA.4/BA.5 and BQ/XBB predominance without boosters. A third/fourth dose transiently increased protection during BA.4/BA.5 predominance (third-dose, 6-month: 68%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 63%-72%; fourth-dose, 6-month: 80%, 95% CI 77%-83%) but was lower and waned quickly during BQ/XBB predominance (third-dose, 6-month: 59%, 95% CI 48%-67%; 12-month: 49%, 95% CI 41%-56%; fourth-dose, 6-month: 62%, 95% CI 56%-68%, 12-months: 51%, 95% CI 41%-56%). Hybrid immunity conferred nearly 90% protection throughout BA.1/BA.2 and BA.4/BA.5 predominance but was reduced during BQ/XBB predominance (third-dose, 6-month: 60%, 95% CI 36%-75%; fourth-dose, 6-month: 63%, 95% CI 42%-76%). Protection was restored with a fifth dose (bivalent; 6-month: 91%, 95% CI 79%-96%). Prior infection alone did not confer lasting protection. Protection from COVID-19 vaccines and/or prior SARS-CoV-2 infections against severe outcomes is reduced when immune-evasive variants/subvariants emerge and may also wane over time. Our findings support a variant-adapted booster vaccination strategy with periodic review.

A network-based normalized impact measure reveals successful periods of scientific discovery across discipline.

The impact of a scientific publication is often measured by the number of citations it receives from the scientific community. However, citation count is susceptible to well-documented variations in citation practices across time and discipline, limiting our ability to compare different scientific achievements. Previous efforts to account for citation variations often rely on a priori discipline labels of papers, assuming that all papers in a discipline are identical in their subject matter. Here, we propose a network-based methodology to quantify the impact of an article by comparing it with locally comparable research, thereby eliminating the discipline label requirement. We show that the developed measure is not susceptible to discipline bias and follows a universal distribution for all articles published in different years, offering an unbiased indicator for impact across time and discipline. We then use the indicator to identify science-wide high impact research in the past half century and quantify its temporal production dynamics across disciplines, helping us identifying breakthroughs from diverse, smaller disciplines, such as geosciences, radiology, and optics, as opposed to citation-rich biomedical sciences. Our work provides insights into the evolution of science and paves a way for fair comparisons of the impact of diverse contributions across many fields.

Unfolding low-carbon reorientation in a declining industry: A contextual analysis of changing company strategies in UK oil refining (1990–2023)

The oil refining decarbonisation literature makes important analyses of technical and economic dimensions of low-carbon transition pathways but pays less attention to the contexts and strategic considerations that shape the practical implementation of low-carbon technologies by refineries, including investment decisions. To address this understudied issue, this paper makes a longitudinal analysis of changing external pressures and company response strategies in the UK's refining industry from 1990, when climate change rose on socio-political agendas, to 2023. We apply the Triple Embeddedness Framework, a five-phase model of industry reorientation, to analyse the unfolding low-carbon transition process over five successive periods (1990–2000, 2000–2008, 2008–2015, 2015–2019, 2019–2023). Using information from policy documents, reports by industry associations, company annual reports (including financial reporting), academic and practitioner publications, and 24 interviews with academics and industry experts, our analysis finds that the UK's refining industry moved from inaction and incremental change in the first period, to some exploration of alternatives in the second period, and back to incremental change in the third period (after the 2008 financial crisis). In the fourth period, refineries more seriously started to explore low-carbon technologies, which they began to deploy in the fifth period, notably carbon capture and storage (CCS) and low-carbon hydrogen. The paper analyses and explains this non-linear reorientation trajectory and elucidates why refineries have embarked on significant low-carbon reorientation despite long-term decline in the wider industry.

REFORM AND INCENTIVE MECHANISM ON EQUITY STRUCTURE OF FAMILY ENTERPRISES

From the perspective of realizing “everlasting business”, how the founders of family enterprises in China can promote the reform on the ownership structure of the enterprises and establish an inclusive incentive mechanism, so as to take into account the inheritance of family wealth, to improve the technological innovation ability and the valuation (market value) of enterprises, is an economic and legal issue that is well fit for the current demand of China’s economic situation, and is also related to the long-term development of China’s economy. Its legal practice is worthy of in-depth study by Chinese legal scholars. This article reviews the transformation and development process of the ownership structure of family enterprises since China’s “Reform and Opening-up”, through interviews with the founders of family enterprises and field research in Fujian Province, a representative area of China’s family business economy. The article pays special attention to the practice under the current on-going “business succession period” between the first-generation entrepreneurs and the second-generation leaders. The article collects the relevant legal and economic issues in the internal corporate governance mechanism, and explores the relationship between properly coordinating and optimizing the ownership structure of family enterprises, incentive mechanism and maintaining the allocation of wealth resources under the tradition in Chinese family society.

Assessing the impact of forest conversion to plantations on soil degradation and forest water conservation in the humid tropical region of Southeast Asia: Implications for forest restoration

The deterioration of soil and water resources resulting from tropical rainforest (TR) conversion to monoculture plantations (e.g., rubber monoculture; RM) could be restrained and restored through intercropping. However, the response of soil properties and forest water conservation function to forest conversion, i.e., the conversion of RM to rubber rainforest (RR: derived from the invasion of wild native plants in abandoned RM), is still unclear. We involved four forests types, TR, RM, rubber-tea agroforestry (RTA), and RR, as transitional steps of forest conversion through a space-for-time substitution approach to examine the dynamic of soil physical, hydrological and chemical properties during the forest conversion (from TR to RM, RM to RTA, RTA to RR, and retransformation into TR). The results show that SOC, TN, TP, and TK decreased in the order of TR > RR > RTA > RM, which was followed by the trend of soil hydrological and physical properties among these forest types. The interrelation between soil physical and chemical properties was mediated by water flow behaviours. High macroporosity and related low Ks in TR favoured the occurrence of water flow behaviours. Water flow behaviours not only influenced the distribution of soil chemical elements but also played a crucial role in forming appropriate conditions for nutrient turnover. The co-occurrence of preferential and matrix flow was more prevalent in the rainy season than dry season due to the higher frequency and higher amount of rainwater. The preferential flow promoted the soil water flow in the water flow paths and enhanced water storage in the soil pores. In short, the soil properties and soil water supply decreased in the following order: TR > RR > RTA > RM, suggesting that the severe soil degradation that occurred after TR conversion to RM can be restored back to the extent of TR after a period of succession. The results provided new insights for understanding the forest water conservation function and soil properties in response to forest conversion and highlighted that the RR appeared as a transitional stage during the course of forest restoration from RM to TR under low rubber demand. These findings improve the current knowledge of the relationship among soil physical, hydrological and chemical properties in the rubber-growing humid tropical region of Southeast Asia.

DIFFICULTIES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CREATIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOCIETY 5.0 ERA

This research aims to analyze the challenges and opportunities for creative economic development in the era of society 5.0. The research method used in this research is qualitative research. Qualitative research is a research method used to understand social phenomena in depth. This type of research is library research, which researchers carry out by collecting, studying, and analyzing references or sources. obtained in writing or written form, such as books, journals, articles, documents, and other sources of information that are significant to the topic or title being researched. The research results show that development economy creativity in Indonesia in the Society 5.0 era reflects a significant transformation in the methods used to create, produce, and promote products and services. Technology has become the primary driver of growth in the creative economy, as well as temporary creativity, local culture, and collaboration. Temporary, there is a challenge. Supporting the government and initiatives by private companies has helped push the development economy creatively in Indonesia. Taking lessons from the success period, then utilizing the opportunity period In the future, Indonesia can do it. Continue to develop as a key player in the global creative economy in the Society 5.0 era.

Mitigating CO2 emissions from cultivated peatlands: Efficiency of straws and wood chips applications in maintaining carbon stock in two contrasting soils

Repeated applications of straw and wood chips were recently proposed as a conservation strategy for preserving cultivated peatland carbon (C) stock. However, the variability in the amendment biostability and the possible divergent responses of contrasting peat soils need to be assessed. This study investigated the effect of amendment with different plant materials on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from two contrasting peat soils (sapric and hemic) in two laboratory experiments. The sapric soil received one application of plant materials and was incubated for 3190 degree-days (145 days at 22°C), while the hemic soil received three successive applications of plant materials and was incubated for three successive periods of 3150 degree-days (126 days at 25°C). CO2 emissions were measured at time intervals ranging from 2 to 14 days and the apparent proportion of the plant material’s C remaining in the soil was modeled using an exponential decay function. CO2 emissions from the 0-25 cm horizon of the unamended peats represented 0.7 t C-CO2 ha-1 yr-1 in the sapric soil and 7.3, 1.1, and 0.5 t C-CO2 ha-1 yr-1 in the hemic soil for the first, second, and third amendment periods, respectively. The apparent remaining C of the plant material varied from 52% to 81% in the two experiments, resulting in biomass requirements ranging from 2 to 32 t ha-1. The apparent remaining C was from 26% to 36% higher in the sapric soil than in the hemic soil. The apparent remaining C was also 9% to 38% higher for the treated softwoods than the untreated materials (straws: miscanthus, switchgrass, sorghum; wood chips: willow, birch). The repeated application of straw and wood chips increased CO2 emissions in the first 35 days following each application, resulting in an increased decomposition rate for the tested model. However, no change was detected for the final apparent remaining C across the three applications. These findings highlight the importance of considering soil properties, material types, and the impact of repeated applications for designing effective amendment programs and accurate C projection models for cultivated peatlands.

TOR Complex 1: Orchestrating Nutrient Signaling and Cell Cycle Progression

The highly conserved TOR signaling pathway is crucial for coordinating cellular growth with the cell cycle machinery in eukaryotes. One of the two TOR complexes in budding yeast, TORC1, integrates environmental cues and promotes cell growth. While cells grow, they need to copy their chromosomes, segregate them in mitosis, divide all their components during cytokinesis, and finally physically separate mother and daughter cells to start a new cell cycle apart from each other. To maintain cell size homeostasis and chromosome stability, it is crucial that mechanisms that control growth are connected and coordinated with the cell cycle. Successive periods of high and low TORC1 activity would participate in the adequate cell cycle progression. Here, we review the known molecular mechanisms through which TORC1 regulates the cell cycle in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that have been extensively used as a model organism to understand the role of its mammalian ortholog, mTORC1.

Changing Prevalence of Medication Use in People with Cirrhosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Data.

Safe and appropriate use of medicines is essential to improve health outcomes in cirrhosis. However, little is known about the number and type of medicines dispensed to people with cirrhosis in Australia, as this predominantly occurs in the community. We aimed to characterise the prescriptions dispensed to people with cirrhosis and explore changes in the use of medication groups over time. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme data between 1 January 2016 and 30 June 2020 was extracted for consenting CirCare participants (multi-site, prospective, observational study). Prescriptions dispensed from cirrhosis diagnosis until liver transplant or death were included. Safety classifications for dispensed medicines were defined using published evidence-based recommendations. The pattern of medication use was analysed in 6-monthly time intervals. Generalised estimating equations models were used to estimate the change in consumption of medicines over time. Five hundred twenty-two patients (mean age 60years, 70% male, 34% decompensated at recruitment) were dispensed 89,615 prescriptions during the follow-up period, representing a median of 136 [interquartile range (IQR) 62-237] prescriptions and a median of 16 (IQR 11-23) unique medicines per patient (total n=9306 medicines). The most commonly used medicines were proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) (dispensed at least once to 73% of patients), opioids (68%) and antibiotics (89%). Polypharmacy was prevalent, with 59-69% of observed participants in each time period dispensed five or more unique medicines. Prescription medication use increased over time (p<0.001) independently of age, comorbidity burden and liver disease aetiology. The likelihood of taking PPIs, opioids, antidepressants and inhaled medicines also increased with each successive time period. Use of angiotensin therapies, metformin and statins differed over time between patients with compensated versus decompensated cirrhosis. General practitioners prescribed 69% of dispensed medicines, including a higher proportion of 'unsafe' and 'safety unknown' medicines compared with consultants/specialists (p<0.001). Polypharmacy is common in people with cirrhosis and some medication groups may be overused. Pharmacovigilance is required and future medication safety efforts should target high-risk prescribing practices and promote medication rationalisation in the community.

Water-related fatalities: An examination of body displacement and recovery patterns in British Columbia, Canada.

Early recovery of human bodies from the water requires an understanding of how a body acts in the water. However, there is currently a lack of baseline data surrounding body movement in British Columbian (B.C.) waters. This study aims to assist Canadian response agencies with understanding and predicting body movement in outdoor waterbodies in B.C. One hundred and eighty-six water-related fatalities in B.C. waters, including lakes, rivers, and the coastal Pacific Ocean, were examined to determine the recovery times and displacement patterns of submerged decedents. Cases between 2010 and 2021 were extracted from the Police Records Information Management Environment (PRIME-BC) for analysis. Most deaths were unintentional, followed by suicide and homicide, and most often occurred in rivers, followed by lakes and the ocean. Regardless of waterbody, the first day was the most successful recovery period, with decedents most often recovered close to the incident location. Nearly 16% of individuals in this study were not recovered. Recovery success was greatest in lakes, followed by rivers and the ocean. Body displacement was the least in lakes, while rivers resulted in the furthest and most variable displacement. Low recovery success in the ocean is likely due to decedents being quickly displaced out of the search area, never to be found. The results of this study suggest that knowledge of body movement in outdoor aquatic environments remains incomplete. Further empirical research based on known data is necessary to continue improving prediction of body movement and increase early recovery success.

Changes in Autonomic Nervous System Activity in Children With Spina Bifida: A Case-Control Study.

We compared heart rate variability parameters between patients with spina bifida and a control group during urodynamic studies, with the goal of evaluating the autonomic nervous system dysfunction present in spina bifida. Continuous heart rate variability parameters were recorded during 3 successive periods (P0, the 2 minutes prior to the start of filling; P1, from the start of filling to the first desire to void; and P2, from P1 to the end of filling or the start of voiding). The control group consisted of children with vesicoureteral reflux who had undergone video-urodynamic studies. Our study included 11 patients with spina bifida and 9 control participants. At baseline, patients with spina bifida exhibited lower values for the root mean square of successive differences in NN intervals, the percentage of successive R-R interval differences exceeding 50 msec relative to the total number of intervals, and high frequency (HF). In contrast, the low frequency (LF)/HF ratio was elevated in these patients (5.04 ± 4.75 vs. 0.67 ± 0.42, P = 0.014). During bladder filling, LF/HF values increased in the control group (P0, 0.67 ± 0.42; P1, 0.89 ± 0.34; P2, 1.21 ± 0.64; P = 0.018), while they declined in patients with spina bifida (P0, 5.04 ± 4.75; P1, 3.96 ± 4.35; P2, 3.26 ± 4.03; P < 0.001). The HF values were significantly elevated in children with spina bifida during bladder filling (P = 0.002). In the time domain, the standard deviations of all NN intervals were elevated only in the control group during bladder filling. Parasympathetic activity domains were reduced in the children with spina bifida at the initial assessment. During the bladder filling phase, parasympathetic activity increased along with fixed sympathetic activity in the spina bifida group. In contrast, the control group exhibited a shift towards a sympathetic preponderance at the conclusion of bladder filling. These observations may be associated with the pathophysiology of neurogenic bladder in spina bifida.

The Politics of EU Gender Equality Policies: Prospects for Changing Gender Equality Paradigm at the EU

Gender equality has long been a central theme of the European social model since the Maastricht Treaty. Using the example of work - life balance policies, this article aims to identify two successive periods and explore the changing policy paradigm with respect to gender equality at the EU. In so doing, the article draws on two conceptual approaches in terms of theoretical basis: (a) Esping-Andersen’s three welfare pillar conceptualisation and (b) genderised and de-genderised distinction. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review and the content analysis of official EU policy texts, the article contends that the EU gender policies have shifted away from serving to change the redistribution of work between men and women, towards improving women’s employment opportunities.

КЫРГЫЗ САТИРАСЫ: ТЕК, ТҮР, ЖАНР МАСЕЛЕЛЕРИ

It can be said that after the October Revolution, namely in the 20s of the twentieth century, a period of great success, controversy and heated discussions began for the former Soviet literature. These materials alone would give grounds for considering them as objects of special scientific research. After all, at that time, the literature of the Union republics was making a new step in professional terms, and with the publication of the first samples of written literature, its theoretical and practical issues were put on the agenda and aroused considerable interest. New concepts for the literature of the 1920s often arose within the framework of the Russian literature of that time, and with great difficulty they reached the remote mountainous regions, especially those like us, whose literature lived and developed in oral form. Its objective reasons are also known to us. Nevertheless, in 1924 the first Kyrgyz national newspaper Erkin Too was published on November 7 and served as a source of our literature. Starting from the first issues of the aforementioned Erkin Toon, some genres of Kyrgyz written literature appeared. Kyrgyz professional satire is also created on the pages of this newspaper. In a satirical work, laughter is necessarily critical and sarcastic. He pokes fun at petty flaws in people's behavior, work, and character with mild humour. Humor can be found in all genres of fiction - novels, short stories, essays, short stories, dramas, feuilletons, fables and others.

Driven out: women’s employment, the transport sector and social reproduction in Grand Tunis

ABSTRACT Employment in the transport sector has historically proven to be male-dominated, even in countries like Tunisia which have evidenced public policy narratives and legal employment frameworks promoting gender equality. This paper presented the findings from a grounded research study examining women’s employment experiences in blue-collar roles in the transport sector of Greater Tunis. Drawing on extensive interviews with both female and male transport employees, as well as field observations, it demonstrates that familiar sectoral narratives of transport work as ‘too rough, too hard and too dirty for women’ can be understood through the broader political economy of the country and the transport sector within it. The research evidences the sustained and mutually-constitutive relationship between patriarchal cultural norms and capital’s development through successive periods of populist welfarism and neo-liberal governance, indicating that progressive advances in women's employment rights are not socio-economically embedded and suggesting that future research would be usefully informed by feminist social reproduction theory.

Hot streaks in the music industry: identifying and characterizing above-average success periods in artists’ careers

Hot streaks in the music industry: identifying and characterizing above-average success periods in artists’ careers

Omicron variant dominance and anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination are key determinants for a milder course of COVID-19 in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases

IntroductionThis study aimed to determine whether the introduction of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and the dominance of the omicron variant had a significant impact on the outcome of COVID-19 in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SAIRDs).MethodsUsing data entered to the Greek Rheumatology Society COVID-19 registry, we investigated the incidence of hospitalization and death due to COVID-19, during the successive periods of the pandemic according to the prevalent strain (wild-type, Alpha, Delta, Omicron) in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients. Variables independently associated with hospitalization and death were explored using multivariate regression analyses, while Kaplan–Meier curves were used to depict survival data.ResultsFrom August 2020 until June 30, 2022, 456 cases (70.2% females) of COVID-19 with a mean age (± SD) of 51.4 ± 14.0 years were reported. In unvaccinated patients, the proportions of hospitalization and death were 24.5% and 4%, compared to 12.5% and 0.8% in the vaccinated group (p < 0.001 for both comparisons). The rates of hospitalization for the wild-type, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron periods were 24.7%, 31.3%, 25.9%, and 8.1% respectively (p < 0.0001), while the case fatality rates were 2.7%, 4%, 7%, and 0%, respectively (p = 0.001). Using multivariable regression analysis, factors independently associated with hospitalization were infection by a non-Omicron variant, being non-vaccinated, exposure to rituximab, older age, and respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Independent predictors for death were contracting COVID-19 during the Alpha or Delta period, pulmonary disease, and older age, while being vaccinated was protective.ConclusionsIn this 2-year analysis, the rates of hospitalization and death among patients with SAIRDs have declined significantly. Vaccination and the dominance of the Omicron variant appear to be the major determinants for this shift.Key points• During the late phase of the pandemic, the proportion of severe COVID-19 cases, defined as requiring hospitalization or resulting in death, in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases has declined.• Anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and the dominance of the Omicron strain are the key factors that have independently contributed to this shift.

Economic lexis in the Polish language: development dynamics and extent of the influence of non-Slavic languages

The subject of the observation is the Polish economic lexis used in the discourse on economy: agriculture, industry, trade, and financial operations. Its present composiƟtion, with a considerable share of borrowings from English, is an effect of the development of the capitalist socioeconomic formation. New symbols have layered on top of the abundant lexical substratum composed of native units as well as Germanisms and Latinisms, including those of Greek provenance, which has been gradually enriched over the centuries. The aim of the analysis is to identify the development trends in the lexical layer that have evolved into the current Polish economic discourse, with a particular focus on the dynamics, extent, and nature of foreign-language influences. The statistical comparison of the lexical resource of three journalistic texts of similar volumes, representative of successive periods of the development of the economic discourse in the Polish language, permits the ascertainment that the broadest assimilation of non-Slavic components into the Polish economic lexis took place in the 19th century.

Using the Dynamic Programming Method to Determine the Optimal Decision

The most important problem facing any administration is making the appropriate decision to obtain lower costs, so the aim of this research is to find the ideal strategy for establishing electric power stations in Iraq because of its great importance in all aspects of life, with the adoption of one of the branches of the task of applied mathematics, which is programming dynamism While researchers use it to find optimal solutions for various problems. The principles of dynamic programming and how to use them in solving the research problem were discussed and analyzed by dividing the completion time of the project into successive periods of time, and dividing the project into five phases to be contracted by the entity that processed the electrical units and all other requirements for the procurement phase of the project, and the second phase is Allocating appropriate places for the project, and the third stage is preparing suitable places for establishing basic buildings and warehouses suitable for the project. Implementation of the project, the stage of shipment, transfer of supplies to the warehouses designated for the project, and the final stage, completing the installation of electrical units and connecting them to the main national network, and all these stages include partial stages (according to the opposite pattern, respectively)

Effect of a same day appointment initiative on racial disparities in access for radiation oncology

PurposeWe present our single-institution experience with the development of a same day access scheduling initiative for an outpatient radiation oncology unit, focusing on its potential influence on ameliorating racial disparities. Methods and materialsFrom March 2021 to August 2022, a pilot initiative was conducted such that all new patients referred to a tertiary care-based radiation oncology department were offered the ability to be seen as a same day consultation. The timespan of this analysis was categorized into 2 distinct successive periods over 36 months—a 18-month pre-initiative period (September 2019 to February 2021) and another subsequent one (March 2021 to August 2022). Descriptive statistics were used to study the impact of this initiative on access-related benchmarks. ResultsA total of 2897 patients were referred. Among the 2107 patients scheduled, three hundred and sixteen (15 %) opted for same day appointments. Black, Latino, and Asian patients were significantly more likely to use the same day access initiative versus Caucasian patients (p = 0.01). The same day access initiative increased the proportion of patients seen within 5 days from referral from 8 % to 34 % for Blacks, 12–57 % for Latinos, and 18–67 % for Asians, compared to 39–55 % for Caucasians (p < 0.001). The no-show rate was reduced from 20 % to 7 % and 14–5 %, for Black and Latino patients, respectively (p < 0.001). ConclusionsThe implementation of a same day access initiative narrowed disparities with respect to access-related benchmarks.