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Oxygen isotope dendrochronology allows dating of historical timbers across a wide geographical region
No full textWe explore the applicability and geographic reach of two northwest European stable oxygen isotope (δ18O) chronologies for the precision dating of annually resolved δ18O series developed from late 15th-century oak (Quercus sp.) roof timbers from St. James’ Church in Bruges, Belgium. In doing so this study assesses ring-width dendrochronology and provenance analysis alongside oxygen isotope dendrochronology in Belgium and its surrounding regions.The δ18O-series of the historical timbers display a high internal coherence, allowing the construction of a mean isotope series (1325 to 1468 CE). Cross-dating against master chronologies for Central England, U.K. and Fontainebleau, France, provide reliable matches that surpass statistical thresholds and quality control measures, corroborating the dating results obtained from conventional ring-width dating.Oxygen stable isotope dendrochronology emerges as a valuable tool for precise dating of historical timber structures. This pilot study demonstrates the applicability of existing reference chronologies beyond their core regions and underscores its significance in cultural heritage studies. Despite the demanding nature of the technique in terms of time and expertise, the potential benefits warrant continued investment in expanding the temporal and geographic coverage of well-replicated oxygen isotope reference chronologies
Exploring South Korean Foreign Direct Investment Motives and State-Level Location Decisions: US Evidence 1995-2008
Get PDFThis study uses a novel application of panel fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in the international management field. utilizing a unique database capturing reasons for foreign direct investment (FDI), and state-level location, we explain location decisions of high-technology South Korean (henceforth Korean) multinational enterprises (MNEs), when first entering the United States of America (henceforth US), from 1995 until the 2008 financial crisis. Various home country conditions, combined with a desire for technological upgrading, encouraged firms to seek locational advantages. Additionally, rather than assuming FDI to be driven by a single purpose over time, the addition of regional characteristics allows a typology of reasons for Korean FDI to be developed. We show evolving Korean FDI trends in the US with home country and regional perspectives interacting to attract FDI into US states with different characteristics, arguing this is consistent with US policy seeking to attract inward investment to foster economic development
Enhancing Fairness, Justice and Accuracy of Hybrid Human-AI Decisions by Shifting Epistemological Stances
Get PDFFrom applications in automating credit to aiding judges in presiding over cases of recidivism, deep-learning powered AI systems are becoming embedded in high-stakes decision-making processes as either primary decision-makers or supportive assistants to humans in a hybrid decision-making context, with the aim of improving the quality of decisions. However, the criteria currently used to assess a system’s ability to improve hybrid decisions is driven by a utilitarian desire to optimise accuracy through a phenomenon known as ‘complementary performance’. This desire puts the design of hybrid decision-making at odds with critical subjective concepts that affect the perception and acceptance of decisions, such as fairness. Fairness as a subjective notion often has a competitive relationship with accuracy and as such, driving complementary behaviour with a utilitarian belief risks driving unfairness in decisions. It is our position that shifting epistemological stances taken in the research and design of human-AI environments is necessary to incorporate the relationship between fairness and accuracy into the notion of ‘complementary behaviour’, in order to observe ‘enhanced’ hybrid human-AI decisions
Trajectory of health-related quality of life during and after hospitalisation due to worsening of heart failure
No full textThis study aimed to examine the trajectory in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during and after hospitalisation for worsening of heart failure (HF) in Malaysia. 200 patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) admitted into two hospitals in Malaysia due to worsening of HF were surveyed using the EQ-5D-5 L questionnaire. The primary outcomes were utility values at admission, discharge and 1-month post-discharge (1MPD). Secondary outcomes included the visual analogue scores (VAS) and the proportion of patients reporting each EQ-5D-5 L dimension levels. Missing data were imputed using multiple imputation, and generalised linear mixed models were fitted. At admission, the unadjusted mean utility values and VAS scores for HFrEF patients in Malaysia were as low as 0.150 ± 0.393 and 38.2 ± 20.8, respectively. After a median hospital stay of 4 days, there was a significant improvement in utility values and VAS scores by 0.510 (95% CI: 0.455-0.564) and 28.8 (95% CI: 25.5-32.1), respectively. The utility value and VAS score at 1-month post-discharge were not significantly different from discharge. The proportion of HFrEF patients reporting problems and severe problems in mobility, self-care, usual activities, and anxiety/depression, pain/discomfort reduced at varying degree from admission to discharge and 1MPD. HF is a progressive condition with substantial variation in HRQoL during the disease trajectory. During hospitalisation due to worsening of HF, HFrEF population has unfavourable HRQoL. Rapid and significant HRQoL improvement was observed at discharge, which sustained over one month. The study findings can inform future cost-effectiveness analyses and policies
Finerenone in the management of diabetes kidney disease
No full textPeople with type 2 diabetes are at risk of developing progressive diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and end stage kidney failure. Hypertension is a major, reversible risk factor in people with diabetes for development of albuminuria, impaired kidney function, end-stage kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. Slowing progression of kidney disease and reducing cardiovascular events can be achieved by a number of means including the targeting of blood pressure and the use of specific classes of drugs The use of Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone System (RAAS) blockade is effective in preventing or slowing progression of DKD and reducing cardiovascular events in people with type 2 diabetes, albeit differently according to the stage of DKD. However, emerging therapy such as non-steroidal selective mineralocorticoid antagonists (finerenone) is proven to lower blood pressure and further reduce the risk of progression of DKD and cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes. This consensus reviews current evidence and make recommendations for the use of finerenone in the management of diabetes kidney disease in the UK
Multi-objective Bayesian shape optimization of an industrial hydrodynamic separator using unsteady Eulerian-Lagrangian simulations
Get PDFThe shape of a hydrodynamic particle separator has been optimized using a parallelized and robust formulation of Bayesian optimization, with data from an unsteady Eulerian flow field coupled with Lagrangian particle tracking. The uncertainty due to the mesh, initial conditions, and stochastic dispersion in the Eulerian-Lagrangian simulations was minimized and quantified. This was then translated across to the error term in the Gaussian process model and the minimum probability of improvement infill criterion. An existing parallelization strategy was modified for the infill criterion and customized to prefer exploitation in the decision space. In addition, a new strategy was developed for hidden constraints using Voronoi penalization. In the approximate Pareto Front, an absolute improvement over the base design of 14% in the underflow collection efficiency and 10% in the total collection efficiency was achieved, which resulted in the filing of a patent.* The corresponding designs were attributed to the effective distribution of residence time between the trays via the removal of a vertical plume. The plume also reduced both efficiencies by creating a flow path in a direction that acted against effective settling. The concave down and offset tray shapes demonstrated the value of Bayesian optimization in producing useful and non-intuitive designs
Can ChatGPT-4o Really Pass Medical Science Exams? A Pragmatic Analysis Using Novel Questions
No full textChatGPT apparently shows excellent performance on high-level professional exams such as those involved in medical assessment and licensing. This has raised concerns that ChatGPT could be used for academic misconduct, especially in unproctored online exams. However, ChatGPT has previously shown weaker performance on questions with pictures, and there have been concerns that ChatGPT’s performance may be artificially inflated by the public nature of the sample questions tested, meaning they likely formed part of the training materials for ChatGPT. This led to suggestions that cheating could be mitigated by using novel questions for every sitting of an exam and making extensive use of picture-based questions. These approaches remain untested. Here, we tested the performance of ChatGPT-4o on existing medical licensing exams in the UK and USA, and on novel questions based on those exams. ChatGPT-4o scored 94% on the United Kingdom Medical Licensing Exam Applied Knowledge Test and 89.9% on the United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1. Performance was not diminished when the questions were rewritten into novel versions, or on completely novel questions which were not based on any existing questions. ChatGPT did show reduced performance on questions containing images when the answer options were added to an image as text labels. These data demonstrate that the performance of ChatGPT continues to improve and that secure testing environments are required for the valid assessment of both foundational and higher order learning
The Effect of Endurance Exercise and its Intensity in Middle- aged Runners; Are they Thrombogenic?
Get PDFIntroduction Despite the well documented benefits of regular exercise, acute exercise induces a transient hypercoagulable state with increasing risk of thrombotic disease with age and intensity. While prior studies have used various conventional coagulation tests in studying the influence of exercise on coagulation, limited attention has been given to clot microstructure and contraction profile in well-trained individuals of middle to older age. Our aim was to identify effects of exercise on these variables using hemorheological biomarkers. Materials and methods Twenty-eight male and female runners aged over 40 years completed a 10 km run at moderate intensity. Of these runners,14 were reinvited to complete a 3 km run to exhaustion. Blood samples were drawn at three time-points, baseline, immediately after exercise and after 1 hour of recovery. Structural biomarker df and measurements of mature clot mechanical properties (Maximum Contractile Force and G’Max) were analysed alongside conventional coagulation markers. Results While df remained stable following long moderate intensity exercise, higher intensity exercise caused an increase in df indicating a hypercoagulable phase. Following an hour of rest, df returned to baseline. These results indicate that the effect of acute exercise on hypercoagulability is intensity dependent and transient. Maximum Contractile Force (CFMax) was reduced by exercise, irrespective of intensity. This effect was lower after an hour of rest, suggesting that some unknown initial compensatory mechanisms are outlasted by a longer period of reduced contractile force. Conclusion df and CFMax detected the hypercoagulable phase that occurred in trained older individuals as a result of exercise. Investigating these effects in more sentient populations could allow risk stratification of exercise rehabilitation programmes and their intensity
Using Walking Approaches and Site-Specific Performance to Reveal Layers of Feeling Attached to Place
No full textThis paper aims to meet the desire for dynamic and multi-dimensional aspects of studying feelings attached to places. Starting with a contemporary example of a place in crisis and whose affective history seems linked to the 1984–85 UK miners’ strike, this paper argues for methodologies that avoid drawing straight lines from feelings attached to the past into the present-day. Rather than following dominant emotions, this work pursues Kathleen Stewart’s approach to ordinary affects: feelings that start and end in social worlds, but which are equally personal and intimate. A case study from Wales, UK, uses the creative mediums of walking tours and site-specific performances to bring the public into the research, which in turn helps to interpret feelings of the past revealed from 13 interviews focused on older people. This writing considers future methodological developments, such as focusing on younger people, encouraging local stakeholders as co-producers, and deepening artist collaborations
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