ethicalabs/Research-Intent-Collab huggingface dataset:
Application of imputation techniques in collaborative filtering-based recommender systems

Aquest TFM se centra en els mètodes d'imputació com un enfocament per tractar el problema de les dades faltantes. És comú que els grans conjunts de dades continguin valors faltantes. No obstant això, la seva existència pot suposar un problema, ja que la majoria de les tècniques estadístiques habituals no poden utilitzar-se i poden ocultar característiques importants, la qual cosa porta a l'extracció de conclusions incorrectes. En aquest context, els mètodes d'imputació són mètodes estadístics utilitzats per inferir els valors faltantes d'un conjunt de dades utilitzant les seves propietats intrínseques i la correlació entre les seves variables. Diversos d'aquests mètodes s'han estudiat detalladament i s'han utilitzat en un estudi de cas de sistemes de recomanació.
Generative AI and Creativity: Enhancing Human Creativity Across Visual Arts, Content Creation, Music, Design, and Education

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the creative landscape by assisting humans in domains such as visual arts, writing, music, design, and education. This paper explores how generative AI contributes to idea generation, speeds up creative workflows, and democratizes artistic expression. At the same time, it highlights key challenges, including ethical issues around originality, authorship, and the tendency of AI to create repetitive or homogenized content. By analyzing multiple studies, the paper investigates AI’s potential as a collaborative partner for humans while emphasizing the importance of maintaining balance between machine assistance and human intuition. The study concludes with insights into the responsible integration of AI into creative practices for sustainable innovation.
Role of a quality management system in improving patient safety — Laboratory aspects

The aim of this study is to describe how implementation of a quality management system (QMS) based on ISO 15189 enhances patient safety.A literature review showed that several European hospitals implemented a QMS based on ISO 9001 and assessed the impact on patient safety. An Internet search showed that problems affecting patient safety have occurred in a number of laboratories across Canada. The requirements of a QMS based on ISO 15189 are outlined, and the impact of the implementation of each requirement on patient safety is summarized. The Quality Management Program - Laboratory Services in Ontario is briefly described, and the experience of Ontario laboratories with Ontario Laboratory Accreditation, based on ISO 15189, is outlined.Several hospitals that implemented ISO 9001 reported either a positive impact or no impact on patient safety. Patient safety problems in Canadian laboratories are described. Implementation of each requirement of the QMS can be seen to have a positive effect on patient safety. Average laboratory conformance on Ontario Laboratory Accreditation is very high, and laboratories must address and resolve any nonconformities. Other standards, practices, and quality requirements may also contribute to patient safety.Implementation of a QMS based on ISO 15189 provides a solid foundation for quality in the laboratory and enhances patient safety. It helps to prevent patient safety issues; when such issues do occur, effective processes are in place for investigation and resolution. Patient safety problems in Canadian laboratories might have been prevented had effective QMSs been in place. Ontario Laboratory Accreditation has had a positive impact on quality in Ontario laboratories.
Reduced-order modeling of neutron transport separated in axial and radial space by Proper Generalized Decomposition with applications to nuclear reactor physics

In this article, we demonstrate the novel use of Proper Generalized Decomposition (PGD) to separate the axial and, optionally, polar dimensions of neutron transport. Doing so, the resulting Reduced-Order Models (ROMs) can exploit the fact that nuclear reactors tend to be tall, but geometrically simple, in the axial direction $z$, and so the 3D neutron flux distribution often admits a low-rank "2D/1D" approximation. Through PGD, this approximation is computed by alternately solving 2D and 1D sub-models, like in existing 2D/1D models of reactor physics. However, the present methodology is more general in that the decomposition is arbitrary-rank, rather than rank-one, and no simplifying approximations of the transverse leakage are made. To begin, we derive two original models: that of axial PGD -- which separates only $z$ and the sign of the polar angle $α\in\{-1,+1\}$ -- and axial-polar PGD -- which separates both $z$ and the full polar angle $μ$ from the radial domain. Additionally, we grant that the energy dependence $E$ may be ascribed to either radial or axial modes, or both, bringing the total number of candidate 2D/1D ROMs to six. To assess performance, these PGD ROMs are applied to two few-group benchmarks characteristic of Light Water Reactors. Therein, we find both the axial and axial-polar ROMs are convergent and that the latter are often more economical than the former. Ultimately, given the popularity of 2D/1D methods in reactor physics, we expect a PGD ROM which achieves a similar effect, but perhaps with superior accuracy, a quicker runtime, and/or broader applicability, would be eminently useful, especially for full-core problems.
Process improvement and quality management in the textile industry using Lean Six Sigma methodologies and tools

An important part of global manufacturing is the textile industry, which produces a wide range of products. In this research, 3 primary textile hubs in Tamil Nadu were selected for data collection: Karur, Tiruppur, and Coimbatore. This study investigates the optimisation of production processes in industry by incorporating the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology. It also examined 5 key theories that addressed crucial issues such as production, defect rates, process inefficiencies, and cycle times. This research also used statistical tools such as Microsoft Excel and Minitab to conduct capacity assessment and process-control defect-rate analysis. This study also used Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and Measurement System Analysis (MSA) for rectifying the above defects. The Lean Six Sigma (LSS) techniques improved productivity in the textile industry by reducing cycle time from 62.5 to 53.1 minutes (15% improvement), lowering defect rates from 19.43% to 12.38% (36.3% improvement), and increasing the sigma level from –3.36 to 0.41 (3.77-unit improvement). The outcomes showed that, when supported by advanced statistical analysis and process mapping, LSS can dramatically boost productivity, product quality, and process reliability in the textile sector.
Defining Epigenetic Regulation of the Interleukin-9 Gene by Chromatin Immunoprecipitation

Regulation of gene expression is essential for the differentiation of pluripotent precursor cells into specialized effector cells and, thus, for the evolution of multiorgan systems. The regulation of gene expression is controlled by a variety of "extra-genic" mechanisms, termed as epigenetic mechanisms. Obviously, alterations in such control mechanisms of gene expression may result in alterations of cellular effector functions, resulting in for example defects in cellular functions, but also, if immune cells are involved, leading to the development of immunologic disorders such as malignancies and autoimmune diseases. The analysis of epigenetic modifications is therefore pertinent not only for the understanding of the regular function of the immune system, but also for the understanding of the pathophysiology of such diseases. As interleukin-9 (IL-9) is the signature cytokine for Th9 cells, and since IL-9 plays important roles in the orchestration of a protective immune responses, the analysis of epigenetic mechanisms underlying the development of IL-9 producing effector T cells is of great interest. Here, we describe a protocol to analyze epigenetic regulation of the IL-9 gene by chromatin immunoprecipitation.
Effect of Postcall Fatigue on Surgical Skills Measured by a Robotic Simulator

Purpose:                     To examine the effect of a 24-hour call on residents' performance of a suturing task using the objective results calculated by the da Vinci Skills Simulator (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA).                                                           Subjects and Methods:                     Residents from urology and general surgery completed a single suturing skill immediately before and after a 24-hour call. Residents completed the task at least twice and were scored on three measures: time to complete the exercise, time to load the needle, and time to tie the knot. These scores were correlated with previous simulator experience, trainee level, and level of postcall fatigue.                                                           Results:                                            Thirteen residents (four senior and nine junior) participated; six had no simulator experience. All time measures were significantly longer when residents were postcall (                       p                       &lt;0.05). In the precall measures, previous robotic simulator experience was associated with improved time for completion of the exercise, needle loading, and knot tying (                       p                       &lt;0.05). In the postcall measures, however, the difference in performance between residents with and without previous simulator experience was no longer statistically significant (                       p                       &gt;0.05). When examining factors that predicted an increased task time on multivariate analysis, being postcall consistently increased the time to complete the exercises, while previous simulator experience and trainee level decreased the time to complete tasks.                                                                                Conclusions:                     Previous studies have shown that postcall-related fatigue is associated with decreased surgical skills in the operative room. We demonstrate this effect by having residents test their skills, precall and postcall, using a novel easily reproducible technique. Time to complete the three measures analyzed was significantly increased following a 24-hour call for all participants. Fatigue acts as an equalizer of abilities in that the effects of fatigue nullify the benefits of having previous robotic simulator experience.
Sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture discards and side-streams

By some definitions, sustainability refers to a process-driven path of continuous improvement that aims to create more resource-efficient products that preserve functional ecosystems. Upcycling of underutilized or discarded marine materials can be a sustainable strategy for achieving a circular bioeconomy with the production of high value-added materials. The definition of “discards” includes many fish species or bycatch products that have little or no commercial value, undersized or damaged commercial species, and species that have commercial value but are not caught in sufficient quantities to warrant sale. Proper treatment and handling of this biomass would result in the conversion of waste to rest raw materials (RRM) or by-products. Depending on the species processed in fisheries and aquaculture industry, solid RRM may consist of low-grade whole fish, fish skeletons including heads and tails, viscera, skin and filet trimmings, and shell material in the case of shellfish and crustaceans. More than 20 million tonnes of food grade fisheries side-streams are generated, and between 7 and 10 million tonnes of commercial fisheries catch are discarded at sea each year. The EU’s Common Fisheries Policy aims to put an end to this wasteful practise, which is why a specific measure was adopted – the ‘Landing Obligation,” which was introduced in 2015 and has been fully in force since January 2019. Some of the landing obligation rules require that all catches of species subject to catch limits or minimum sizes must be landed and counted against fishermen’s quotas. In addition, undersized fish caught and landed should not be used (sold) for direct human consumption, but for products such as animal feed, fish meal and pharmaceuticals. EU countries are also required to help fishermen by making it easier to store undersized fish and find potential outlets. Nowadays, there is an increasing trend to use fishery by-products as material for the production of fish meal and fish oil. Also, many efforts have been made to use them for animal feed, fish silage, fertilizers, and biofuels, and to utilise more of them for human consumption. The use of various side-streams and discards in food remains a challenge in terms of proper handling and cold storage to maintain food grade quality. Developing new ingredients or new products in various forms based on aquaculture and fisheries RRM and by-products is a potentially viable alternative to add value to products, avoid economic losses, reduce environmental impact, and provide consumers with nutritious, cost-effective, and convenient foods with longer shelf lives. Development of technology for upcycling of discards and side-streams in the aquaculture and fisheries industry is promising with and is likely to make significant progress in the future. The research is part of a project Bilateral Cooperation in the Field of Sustainable Upcycling of By-products in Aquaculture and Fisheries (SAFE) and is co-funded by Iceland-Liechtenstein-Norway-Grants.
Memoryless Dynamic Output-Feedback Stabilization for Discrete-Time Closed-Loop Robot Systems With Nonlinear Uncertainties and Multiple Time-Delays

The dynamic output-feedback control problem is addressed for a class of nonlinear discrete uncertain systems with multiple time-delays. First, the system is decomposed into two subsystems based on the output and input matrix. Second, the compensator is designed for first the subsystem, and the output feedback controller is designed based on the second subsystem and compensator. Then, by choosing a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, we show that the developed controller makes the solutions of the closed-loop system exponentially convergent to a ball. Compared with previous work, the developed controller only depends on the system output. The design conditions of the controller are relaxed because of the proposed dynamic compensator. Furthermore, the results are extended to a general nonlinear system and a robot system. Finally, numerical examples are included to show the effectiveness of the theoretical results.
Analisis Pengungkapan Sustainability Reporting dan Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) terhadap Nilai Perusahaan dengan Manajemen Keuangan sebagai Variabel Mediasi

This study aims to analyze the influence of sustainability reporting and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm value, with financial management as a mediating variable. The research method uses a quantitative approach with panel data on banking companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for the 2022–2024 period. Data were obtained from annual reports, sustainability reports, and company financial reports. Path analysis and the Sobel test were used to examine the mediating role of financial management. The results show that sustainability reporting and CSR have a negative and significant effect on both firm value and financial management. Conversely, financial management has a positive and significant effect on firm value. The mediation test revealed that financial management does not mediate the effect of sustainability reporting on firm value, but it does mediate the effect of CSR on firm value. These findings confirm that sustainability and CSR disclosure practices are not yet viewed as primary considerations by investors. Therefore, their implementation needs to be carried out consistently, credibly, and aligned with core business strategies to increase firm value, providing clear implications for practice.
Diabetes and the direct secondary use of electronic health records: Using routinely collected and stored data to drive research and understanding

Introduction                     Electronic health records provide an unparalleled opportunity for the use of patient data that is routinely collected and stored, in order to drive research and develop an epidemiological understanding of disease. Diabetes, in particular, stands to benefit, being a data-rich, chronic-disease state. This article aims to provide an understanding of the extent to which the healthcare sector is using routinely collected and stored data to inform research and epidemiological understanding of diabetes mellitus.                                                           Methods                     Narrative literature review of articles, published in both the medical- and engineering-based informatics literature.                                                           Results                     There has been a significant increase in the number of papers published, which utilise electronic health records as a direct data source for diabetes research. These articles consider a diverse range of research questions. Internationally, the secondary use of electronic health records, as a research tool, is most prominent in the USA. The barriers most commonly described in research studies include missing values and misclassification, alongside challenges of establishing the generalisability of results.                                                           Discussion                     Electronic health record research is an important and expanding area of healthcare research. Much of the research output remains in the form of conference abstracts and proceedings, rather than journal articles. There is enormous opportunity within the United Kingdom to develop these research methodologies, due to national patient identifiers. Such a healthcare context may enable UK researchers to overcome many of the barriers encountered elsewhere and thus to truly unlock the potential of electronic health records.
Effects of Virginia’s 2019 Medicaid Expansion on Health Insurance Coverage, Access to Care, and Health Status

Virginia expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act beginning in January 2019, which substantially increased income eligibility up to 138% of the federal poverty level (FPL) for both childless adults and parents. In this study, we examined the effects of Virginia’s Medicaid expansion in 2019 on health insurance coverage, access to care, and health status by employing a difference-in-differences and a synthetic control design. The study included data on health insurance from the 2016–2020 American Community Survey (ACS) and data on access to care and health status come from the 2016–2020 Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (BRFSS). The samples from ACS and BRFSS were limited to non-elderly adults with income below 138% of the FPL. Separate models were estimated for individuals below 100% of FPL, and those within 100–138% of FPL. The Virginia Medicaid expansion was associated with a 9–11 percentage-point increase in Medicaid coverage rate and a 7–8 percentage-point increase in the insured rate among individuals below 100% FPL, in the first two years of expansion. There was a larger increase in Medicaid coverage among individuals within 100–138% of FPL which also led to a larger increase in the insured rate in 2020. Both income groups showed no changes in private coverage after the expansion in Virginia. We also found a decline in delaying necessary medical visits due to cost for individuals below 100% FPL in 2019 and for individuals within 100–138% FPL in 2020. There was overall no discernable change in health status outcomes. Virginia’s 2019 Medicaid expansion substantially increased insurance coverage among poor adults with suggestive early evidence for improved access. The findings highlight the missed opportunity for other states that have not yet decided to expand their Medicaid programs to improve coverage and access among their low-income individuals.
Female Sexual and Reproductive Health Beyond Foetal Right to Life : A Comparative Analysis of Gender Equality in Mexican Criminal Law with Relation to Abortion

The aim of this study has been to analyse the ways Mexican states articulates the actions of women undergoing an abortion and the effects it has on criminal sanctions specified for women. This study analyses the criminal code of Mexico City which decriminalised abortion in 2007, the criminal code of Jalisco reformed in 2009 and the criminal code of Yucatán reformed in 2009. The discrimination of women had been the major concern of International Human Rights Law as well as feminist jurisprudence. This research has attempted to problematise and highlight different aspects of discrimination taking place in Mexican law. Feminist liberal theory and radical feminism had been placed to analyse the criminal codes governing Mexican abortion law. Thus, in this thesis, the problems of women to access legal abortion had been discussed as a problem of discrimination based on sex. Therefore, this study does not touch upon tensions between the foetus and the mother but the conflict that emerges in the ways the law thinks of women.
The paradox of choice in the sexual and reproductive health and rights challenges of south-south migrant girls and women in Central America and Mexico: a scoping review of the literature

The last decade has seen high levels of displacement in Central America and Mexico, with women and girls representing a growing share of this flow. Women and girls face a unique set of sexual and reproductive health risks, both as a direct result of the migration process, and as a consequence of violence, conflict and oppressive gender norms in the region.This scoping review adopts a five-stage process to search for, identify, and review selected literature to answer two questions: (1) what sexual and reproductive health and rights risks, challenges, and needs do women and girls face before and during displacement; and (2) how do issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights influence women and girls’ coping mechanisms and decisions in displacement in the region? Extracted data from intersecting literature on migration, gender, and health in the corridors of migration in Central America and Mexico are mapped and analyzed against a framework adapted from the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on components of sexual and reproductive health and rights.Many Central American and Mexican women and girls flee conditions of gang-related conflict, gender-based violence, poverty, and other situations of extreme disadvantage. Findings from this study demonstrate they face further deprivation and suffering from the denial of health and rights throughout the migratory cycle. This review finds that migrant women and girls encounter considerable barriers to accessing services of sexual and reproductive health, are vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, and face many violations of sexual and reproductive rights.Young migrants and sex workers, who are often connected with irregular migration in border areas, appear to be particularly vulnerable. Findings also reveal that the literature tends to focus on sexual health and rights, with a relative paucity of evidence on wider reproductive health issues. Of critical importance is how women and girls must constantly balance risk and opportunity in situations of constrained choice, and how their coping strategies and decisions define and influence their migration trajectories and broader wellbeing. This review identifies a gap in the literature around comprehensive studies that define sexual and reproductive health and rights beyond the confines of disease and sexual behavior, as well as a need for greater focus on under-represented migrant groups such as adolescent girls.