Academic literature on the topic 'Small categories'
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Journal articles on the topic "Small categories"
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Baues, Hans-Joachim, and Günther Wirsching. "Cohomology of small categories." Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra 38, no. 2-3 (November 1985): 187–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-4049(85)90008-8.
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Noguchi, Kazunori. "Ramified coverings of small categories." Homology, Homotopy and Applications 16, no. 2 (2014): 159–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.4310/hha.2014.v16.n2.a8.
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del Hoyo, Matias L. "On the subdivision of small categories." Topology and its Applications 155, no. 11 (June 2008): 1189–200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.topol.2008.02.006.
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Leech, Jonathan. "Constructing inverse monoids from small categories." Semigroup Forum 36, no. 1 (December 1987): 89–116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf02575008.
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Antieau, Benjamin, and Greg Stevenson. "Derived categories of representations of small categories over commutative noetherian rings." Pacific Journal of Mathematics 283, no. 1 (June 14, 2016): 21–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.2140/pjm.2016.283.21.
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White, David, and Donald Yau. "Arrow categories of monoidal model categories." MATHEMATICA SCANDINAVICA 125, no. 2 (October 19, 2019): 185–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.7146/math.scand.a-114968.
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We prove that the arrow category of a monoidal model category, equipped with the pushout product monoidal structure and the projective model structure, is a monoidal model category. This answers a question posed by Mark Hovey, in the course of his work on Smith ideals. As a corollary, we prove that the projective model structure in cubical homotopy theory is a monoidal model structure. As illustrations we include numerous examples of non-cofibrantly generated monoidal model categories, including chain complexes, small categories, pro-categories, and topological spaces.
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Estrada, Sergio, and Simone Virili. "Cartesian modules over representations of small categories." Advances in Mathematics 310 (April 2017): 557–609. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aim.2017.01.030.
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Xu, Fei. "On the cohomology rings of small categories." Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra 212, no. 11 (November 2008): 2555–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpaa.2008.04.004.
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Tanaka, Kohei. "Čech complexes for covers of small categories." Homology, Homotopy and Applications 19, no. 1 (2017): 281–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.4310/hha.2017.v19.n1.a14.
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Hu, Hongde. "Flat functors and free exact categories." Journal of the Australian Mathematical Society. Series A. Pure Mathematics and Statistics 60, no. 2 (April 1996): 143–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1446788700037575.
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AbstractLet C be a small category with weak finite limits, and let Flat(C) be the category of flat functors from C to the category of small sets. We prove that the free exact completion of C is the category of set-valued functors of Flat (C) which preserve small products and filtered colimits. In case C has finite limits, this gives A. Carboni and R. C. Magno's result on the free exact completion of a small category with finite limits.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Small categories"
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Khan, Sakif. "Aspects of Isotropy in Small Categories." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/36118.
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In the paper \cite{FHS12}, the authors announce the discovery of an invariant for Grothendieck toposes which they call the isotropy group of a topos. Roughly speaking, the isotropy group of a topos carries algebraic data in a way reminiscent of how the subobject classifier carries spatial data. Much as we like to compute invariants of spaces in algebraic topology, we would like to have tools to calculate invariants of toposes in category theory. More precisely, we wish to be in possession of theorems which tell us how to go about computing (higher) isotropy groups of various toposes. As it turns out, computation of isotropy groups in toposes can often be reduced to questions at the level of small categories and it is therefore interesting to try and see how isotropy behaves with respect to standard constructions on categories. We aim to provide a summary of progress made towards this goal, including results on various commutation properties of higher isotropy quotients with colimits and the way isotropy quotients interact with categories collaged together via certain nice kinds of profunctors. The latter should be thought of as an analogy for the Seifert-van Kampen theorem, which allows computation of fundamental groups of spaces in terms of fundamental groups of smaller subspaces.
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Pasku, Elton. "Finiteness conditions for monoids and small categories." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2006. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6171/.
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Chapter 1 covers some basic notions and results from Algebraic Topology such as CW-complexes, homotopy and homology groups of a space in general and cellular homology for CW-complexes in particular. Also we give some basic ideas from abstract reduction systems and some supporting material such as several order relations on a set and the Knuth-Bendix completion procedure. There are only two original results of the author in this chapter, Theorem 1.4.5 and Theorem 1.7.3. The material related to Topology and Homological Algebra can be found in [12], [21], [40], [62], [82], [91] and [92]. The material related to reduction systems can be found in [5] and [11]. The original work of the author is included in Chapters 2, 3 and 4 apart from Section 3.2 which contains general notions from Category Theory, Section 3.5.2 which contains an account of the work in [67] and Section 4.1 which contains some basics from Combinatorial Semigroup Theory. The results of Section 4.2 are part of [83] which is accepted for publication in the International Journal of Algebra and Computation. The material related to Category Theory can be found in [59], [64], [66], [67], [74], [75], [76], [82] and [93]. The material related to Semigroup Theory is in [24] and [34].In Chapter 2 we show that for every monoid S which is given by a finite and complete presentation P = P[x, r], and for every n ~ 2, there is a chain of CW-complexes such that ~n has dimension n, for every 2 ~ s ~ n the s-skeleton of ~n is ~s and F acts on ~n. This action is called translation. Also we show that, for 2 ~ s ~ n, the open s-cells of ~n are in a 1-1 correspondence with the s-tuples of positive edges of V with the same initial. For the critical s-tuples, the corresponding open s-cells are denoted by Ps-I and the set of their open translates by F.Ps-I.F. The following holds true. if s ~ 3 if s = 2, where U stands for the disjoint union. Also, for every 2 ~ s ~ n - 1, there exists a cellular equivalence "'s on Ks = (~s X ~8)(s+1) such that Ks/ "'s= (V, PI, ... ,Ps-I) and the following is an exact sequence of (ZS, ZS)-bimodules where (D, Pl, ... , Ps-2) = V if s = 2. Using the above short exact sequences, we deduce that S is of type bi-FPn and that the free fi~ite resolution of'lS is S-graded. In Chapter 3 we generalize the notions left-(respectively right)-FPn and bi-FPn for small categories and show that bi-FPn implies left-(respectively right)-FPn . Also we show that another condition, which was introduced by Malbos and called FPn , implies bi-FPn . Since the name FPn is confusing, we call it here f-FPn for a reason which will be made clear in Section 3.1. Restricting to monoids, we show that, if a monoid is given by a finite and complete presentation, then it is of type f-FPn . Lastly, for every small category C, we show how to construct free resolutions of ZC, at lea..'lt up to dimension 3, using some geometrical ideas which can be generalized to construct free resolutions of ZC of any length. vi In Chapter 4 we study finiteness conditions of ~onoids of a combinatorial nature. We show that there are semigroups S in which min'R., is independent of other conditions which S may satisfy such as being finitely generated, periodic, inverse, E-unitary and even from the finiteness of the maximal subgroups of S. We also relate the congruences of a monoid with the finiteness condition minQ, and show that, if S is a monoid which satisfies minQ, then every congruence JC on S which contains Q is of finite index in S. If a semigroup satisfies minQ and has all its maximal subgroups locally finite, then we show that it is finite. Lastly, we show that, for trees of completely O-simple semigroups, the local finiteness of its maximal subgroups implies the local finiteness of the semigroups.
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Tunsi, Laila. "Ample monoids and the theory of small categories." Thesis, University of York, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.423599.
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Ohrmann, Tobias [Verfasser], and Christoph [Akademischer Betreuer] Schweigert. "Non-semisimple modular tensor categories from small quantum groups / Tobias Ohrmann ; Betreuer: Christoph Schweigert." Hamburg : Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg, 2018. http://d-nb.info/1169358497/34.
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Ohrmann, Tobias Verfasser], and Christoph [Akademischer Betreuer] [Schweigert. "Non-semisimple modular tensor categories from small quantum groups / Tobias Ohrmann ; Betreuer: Christoph Schweigert." Hamburg : Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg, 2018. http://d-nb.info/1169358497/34.
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Pereira, Diego Campos. "Sistemática para implantação de gerenciamento por categorias em supermercados de pequeno e médio porte." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/164601.
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Com maior acesso à informação, disponível em múltiplos meios de comunicação, o comportamento do consumidor vem sofrendo uma acelerada transformação. O cliente, neste trabalho denominado de shopper, que realiza compras em um ponto de venda, está cada vez mais consciente e exigente com relação a o quê, quando, como e onde comprar. Diante deste desafio, a presente dissertação se propõe a definir um sequenciamento de etapas e ferramentas para operacionalização do gerenciamento por categorias (GC) em varejos de pequeno e médio porte, de forma a auxiliar o gestor no processo de tomada de decisão, visando atender às necessidades dos seus clientes. Desta forma, primeiramente, foi desenvolvido e aplicado um método para a identificação e priorização de atributos de compra que influenciam o shopper. Com base nestes atributos, em um segundo momento, foi desenvolvida uma sistemática para implantação de GC em varejo de pequeno e médio portes. Esta sistemática está baseada em um conjunto de ferramentas e de indicadores de desempenho que permitem às organizações melhorar a gestão dos seus departamentos. Por fim, a sistemática foi aplicada a um supermercado de médio porte, em seu departamento de hortifrutigranjeiros, sendo apresentados os resultados oriundos desta aplicação.Considering the easier access to information, available in different types of media, the customer’s behavior is changing and very fast. The customer, so called shopper, who makes purchases in a selling point, is increasingly aware of what, when, how and where to buy things. Based on this challenge, this thesis aims to define a sequence of steps and tools for implementation of category management (CM) in small and medium-sized retailers, to help managers in the decision-making process, to meet the customer needs. Thus, first, it has developed and implemented a method for identification and prioritization of purchase attributes which influence the shopper. Based on these attributes, in a second moment, it was developed a systematic of CM applied to small and medium-sized retail. This systematic is based on a set of tools and performance indicators that enable organizations to improve their departments’ management. In the end, the systematic developed was applied to a medium-sized supermarket, in their fresh produce department, and the results arising from this application were presented.
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Aguas, Walisson Gobbo de. "Aplicação de FPGA para controle de sistemas embarcados multiagentes: robôs jogadores de futebol da categoria IEEE very small size soccer." Universidade Federal de Goiás, 2018. http://repositorio.bc.ufg.br/tede/handle/tede/9000.
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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
The development of new technologies is mainly related to the construction of devices that aim in some way to assist the human being in his tasks, making them faster, easier and more precise. Since the discovery of the transistor, more than 70 years ago by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, there has been a huge revolution, and new research areas have been created, especially in cooperative robotics and multi-agent. With the steady increase in the number of robots in an industrial environment, scientists and technologists have often faced problems of cooperation and coordination between different robots and their self-control in a workspace. This led to the evolution of autonomous multirobotic cooperative systems. Developers of multi-robotic autonomous systems needed a model to test the proposed theories in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. Not surprisingly, they began to focus on robot soccer. Robots soccer players have great demands in all areas of robot technology, mechanics, sensors and artificial intelligence. Thus, the objective of this work is to develop a small multi-agent system (7.5x7.5x7.5cm) intended to play soccer in a predetermined dynamic environment. A prototype will be developed for comparison purposes with a previously developed robot focusing on improvements to the multiagent controller system and the physical structure of the hardware.
O desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias está ligado principalmente à construção de dispositivos que visam de alguma forma auxiliar o ser humano em suas tarefas, tornando-as mais rápidas, fáceis e precisas. Desde a descoberta do transistor, a mais de 70 anos por John Bardeen e Walter Brattain, ocorreu uma revolução enorme, fazendo com que novas áreas de pesquisas fossem criadas, principalmente em robótica cooperativa e multiagentes. Com o aumento constante do número de robôs em um ambiente industrial, cientistas e tecnólogos frequentemente enfrentaram problemas de cooperação e coordenação entre diferentes robôs e seu autocontrole em um espaço de trabalho. Isso levou à evolução dos sistemas autônomos cooperativos multi-robóticos. Os desenvolvedores de sistemas autônomos multi-robóticos precisavam de um modelo para testar as teorias propostas em termos de eficácia e eficiência. Não é uma surpresa que eles começaram a se concentrar no futebol de robôs. Os robôs jogadores de futebol possuem grandes demandas em todas as áreas da tecnologia de robôs, mecânica, sensores e de inteligência artificial. Dessa forma o objetivo desse trabalho é desenvolver um sistema multiagente de dimensões reduzidas (7,5x7,5x7,5cm) destinado a jogar futebol em um ambiente dinâmico pré determinado. Um protótipo será desenvolvido para fins de comparação com um robô já desenvolvido anteriormente tendo como foco melhorias no sistema controlador do multiagente e na estrutura física do hardware.
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SANTOS, José Luando de Brito. "Multiplicidade de soluções para equações de Schrödinger com campo magnético externo." Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, 2016. http://dspace.sti.ufcg.edu.br:8080/jspui/handle/riufcg/1407.
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CNPq
Neste trabalho, estudamos a existência e multiplicidade de soluções não triviais para uma classe de equações de Schrödinger envolvendo um campo magnético externo via categoria de Lusternik-Schnirelmann.
We study the existence and multiplicity of nontrivial solutions for a class of nonlinear Schr¨odinger equations involving a external magnetic field via the LusternikSchnirelmann category.
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Edie-Michell, Cain. "The classification of categories generated by an object of small dimension." Phd thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/146634.
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The goal of this thesis is to attempt the classification of
unitary fusion categories generated by a normal object (\refi{an
object comuting with its dual}{1}) of dimension less than 2. This
classification has recently become accessible due to a result of
Morrison and Snyder, which shows that any such category must be a
cyclic extension of an adjoint subcategory of one of the $ADE$
fusion categories. Our main tool is the classification of graded
categories from \cite{MR2677836}, which classifies graded
extensions of a fusion category in terms of the Brauer-Picard
group, and Drinfeld centre of that category.
We compute the Drinfeld centres, and Brauer-Picard groups of the
adjoint subcategories of the $ADE$ fusion categories. Using this
information we apply the machinery of graded extensions to
classify the cyclic extensions that are generated by a normal
object of dimension less than 2, of the adjoint subcategories of
the $ADE$ fusion categories. Unfortunately, our classification
has a gap when the dimension of the object is $\sqrt{2+\sqrt{2}}$
corresponding to the possible existence of an interesting new
fusion category. Interestingly we prove the existence of a new
category, generated by a normal object of dimension
$2\cos(\frac{\pi}{18})$, which we call the DEE fusion category.
We include the fusion rules for the DEE fusion categories in an
appendix to this thesis.
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CHIANG, MENG-WEN, and 江孟文. "The project source, the project categories, bid strategies and the enterprise competition abilities research --- Small and medium scale mechanical and electrical engineering case study." Thesis, 2004. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/55580134038132612753.
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碩士長庚大學
企業管理研究所
92
For half-century long in Taiwan's economic development, construction has been regarded as the “ leading industry” in our business world for its important role. Mechanic and electric aspect of construction (M&E) is the nerve of construction. In recent years, as high standards and quality are required for automaton, environmental comfort, flexible living, working efficiency, and environmental friendliness, M&E has become the most important part of construction business. Following the progression and diversification of society, M&E engineering has developed individual professional phases such as civil, commercial, industrial, and accommodation applications. Very recent, M&E has ramified detailed divisions. Small and medium sized M&E engineering firms with their relatively small in size making the most of their competitiveness, utilizing the strategy of concentration and decide from different strategies to ally are the purpose of this study. According to 2003 white paper of the Ministry of Economy, small and medium firms dominated with a 98% strong in company number and 78% of employment take up only 30% of inland market share. For people in the same category, there is still a large market available worth of our efforts to develop.
Books on the topic "Small categories"
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M, Haworth Jean, and Brearley Sally 1952-, eds. The entrepreneurial personality: Concepts, cases, and categories. London: Routledge, 1991.
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Peña, José Heriberto García. Derecho empresarial: Tópicos y categorías : una revisión comparada en el sector PYME Latinoamericano. México: Editorial Porrúa, 2011.
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Masuoka, Natalie. Exclusive Categories. Oxford University Press, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190657468.003.0002.
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This chapter presents a historical analysis that traces changes in American norms concerning race over time. In particular, it highlights the cultural shift from perceiving race as a form of assigned classification to perceiving it as a product of personal identification. The chapter first establishes why Americans rely on racial categories and how race is practiced by classifying individuals in a small set of discrete groups. It then identifies events that occurred largely during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s that cultivated the new cultural norms that created opportunities to express race as a form of personal identity.
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Studios, Vismont. Enjoy the Small Things - Christmas Password Log Book: Simple, Discreet Username and Password Book with Alphabetical Categories for Women, Men, Seniors, Teens. Independently Published, 2020.
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Studios, Vismont. Enjoy the Small Things - Discreet Internet Password Keeper: Simple and Discreet Password Book with Alphabetical Categories to Write Internet Passwords for Adults - Women. Independently Published, 2020.
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Ink, Doukkali. Passwords Notebook Sorted by Categories: Password Log Book, Internet and Mobile App Password Organizer, Password Book, Logbook to Protect Usernames and Small 6 X 9. Independently Published, 2020.
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Masamichi, Okuda. Trivia Book: Fun Games with 6 Categories a Small Age Activity of Q and Ultron Question Quiz Books for Adults, Boys, Girls Get Well Gifts. Independently Published, 2022.
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Small Business Participation in Air Force Procurement: Participation Trends and the Effect of Acquisition Reform Initiatives on Air Force Procurement via Selected Contract Types in Selected Product Categories. Storming Media, 2004.
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Hempton, David, ed. Organizing Concepts and ‘Small Differences’ in the Comparative Secularization of Western Europe and the United States. Oxford University Press, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198798071.003.0019.
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This chapter offers a long-range historical perspective on the comparative secularization trajectories of Western Europe and the United States, built around the idea of ‘small differences’ which, over time, produce different patterns. The main categories of analysis include the separation of church and state, the democratization of Christianity and the role of free markets, the relationship between religion and political culture, the organizational characteristics of religious congregations, the contrasting roles played by social elites and a correspondingly different relationship between religion and popular culture, the differential importance of evangelical Christianity and the impact of immigration. The chapter finishes with a plea for more attention to the social historical dimensions of transatlantic comparison, including how churches were funded, the impact of fertility rates and generational transmission, and a preliminary look at current trends and future projections.
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Ink, Doukkali. What I Can't Remember: A Large Print Organizer for All Your Passwords Tracker Book Small Password Keeper Log Book Sorted by Categories Pocket Size 6 X 9 100 Pages. Independently Published, 2020.
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Bridge, Simon, Ken O’Neill, and Stan Cromie. "Small Business Categories and Variations." In Understanding Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 101–35. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1998. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26171-0_6.
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Moser, Philippe. "Baire’s Categories on Small Complexity Classes." In Fundamentals of Computation Theory, 333–42. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2003. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-45077-1_31.
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Pirashvili, Teimuraz. "Cohomology of small categories in homotopical algebra." In Lecture Notes in Mathematics, 268–302. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1990. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bfb0086724.
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El Kaoutit, Laiachi. "BOCSES over Small Linear Categories and Corings." In Associative and Non-Associative Algebras and Applications, 273–86. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35256-1_15.
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Fleischer, Vladimir, and Ulrich Knauer. "Endomorphism monoids of acts are wreath products of monoids with small categories." In Lecture Notes in Mathematics, 84–96. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1988. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bfb0083423.
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Arpadžić, Ammar, Ermin Šunj, Ajla Merzić, Adnan Bosović, and Mustafa Musić. "Hybrid Power System Concepts for Two Different Consumption Categories – Industrial Consumers and Small Village." In Advanced Technologies, Systems, and Applications IV -Proceedings of the International Symposium on Innovative and Interdisciplinary Applications of Advanced Technologies (IAT 2019), 91–106. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24986-1_7.
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Grano, Simona A., and Ralph Weber. "Strategic Choices for Switzerland in the US-China Competition." In China-US Competition, 85–112. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15389-1_4.
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AbstractThis chapter explores the case of Switzerland as a “small power” in the currently emerging new world order. Particularly, we address the Swiss position amid the growing strategic competition between the United States (US) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and given its long-standing but evolving practice of neutrality. In our chapter, we set off by discussing Switzerland’s foreign policy positioning against the backdrop of three theoretical perspectives: Switzerland as a state like all others; Switzerland as a small state; and, finally Switzerland as a small neutral state. With the help of these three categories, we further locate Switzerland’s foreign policy firmly in the “hedging zone,” especially concerning the country’s China policy. The chapter then discusses four key documents, all of which have been released in recent years, drawing out the country’s foreign policy framework, before reaching some conclusions.
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van Lieshout, Jan, and Robert Beeres. "Economics of Arms Trade: What Do We Know?" In NL ARMS, 13–30. The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Press, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-471-6_2.
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AbstractTaking an economic perspective, and underpinned by a literature review, this chapter analyses the development of explicit sets of relationships between dependent and independent variables in the international arms trade from 1995 onwards. We distinguish five main categories within the markets of military and dual-use goods and services, comprising weapons of mass destruction, major weapon systems, small arms and light weapons, dual-use goods, and services. Per category, papers are ordered by research type and methodology. Based on our findings thus far, the final section of the chapter offers a research agenda for further studies.
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Çağatay, Selin, Mia Liinason, and Olga Sasunkevich. "Conclusion." In Feminist and LGBTI+ Activism across Russia, Scandinavia and Turkey, 239–48. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84451-6_6.
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AbstractThis chapter revisits the points of departure for the book and approaches Russia, Turkey, and Scandinavia as contested, multiple, ambivalent, and fluid categories. Recognizing the multiple convergences and shifts that have characterized feminist and LGBTI+ resistances throughout this book, the chapter locates these enactments within a broader context of more spectacular, attention-seeking forms of political expression as well as less visible and small-scale, everyday forms of resistance. Within such broader contexts, this chapter argues, it is possible to catch sight of the fluidity between various scales of resistance—individual/collective, micro/meso/macro, local-transnational—which can incite and inspire new practices of resistance. By so doing, it is concluded, these struggles can also be seen to carry hope for more open-ended futures.
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Snaibi, Wadii, and Abdelhamid Mezrhab. "Livestock Breeders’ Adaptation to Climate Variability and Change in Morocco’s Arid Rangelands." In African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation, 1853–72. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45106-6_18.
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AbstractSince the mid-1970s, the high plateaus of eastern Morocco have experienced proven trends of climate change (CC) such as a significant decrease in rainfall amounts and an increase in the droughts’ frequency. Consequently, the CC threatens the sustainability of this pastoral ecosystem and negatively affects the breeding of small ruminants, the main local-level livelihood, which becomes more vulnerable due to its high dependence on climatic conditions. This chapter aims to analyze breeders’ adaptation practices by taking into account their social stratification based on the size of the sheep flock in possession. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests to examine the differences in the adoption’ frequency of CC adaptation measures according breeders’ classes and Chi-square independence test to identify the factors explaining these observed differences. The analysis of local adaptation practices reveals that they are endogenous but above all curative, aiming at a short-term logic and have a low to medium relevance compared to the specific objective of adaptation to CC. In addition, there are significant differences in the frequency of adoption of CC adaptation strategies (chi-square value = 8.1112, p = 0.017, df = 2) within categories of breeders, in particular between small and larger breeders (U statistic = 58.000, p = 0.008). The significant factors explaining these differences are socioeconomic (age, household size, equipment, training, and membership of a basic professional organization). It is therefore recommended to target small breeders as a priority and to set up support measures (equipment, training, funding, organization of breeders).
Conference papers on the topic "Small categories"
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Forsell, Marko, and Kaarlo Paloniemi. "Critical realism based entrepreneurial action theory." In 18th Annual High Technology Small Firms Conference, HTSF 2018. University of Twente, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.3990/2.268473605.
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We propose to use critical realism as the basis for ontology and epistemology in entrepreneurship research. Further, we argue that the teleology of entrepreneurship is value creation. Based on these assumptions we propose that an essential part of the entrepreneurial process is the creation of a business model that shows conceptually how the value will be created. This model can be categorized in three different categories along with the value system continuum: stable value system, redefined value system and emerging value system. We propose an entrepreneurial value creation framework that describes elements that are essential to the value creation.
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Liu, Yanzhu, Adams Wai Kin Kong, and Chi Keong Goh. "Deep Ordinal Regression Based on Data Relationship for Small Datasets." In Twenty-Sixth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. California: International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence Organization, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.24963/ijcai.2017/330.
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Ordinal regression aims to classify instances into ordinal categories. As with other supervised learning problems, learning an effective deep ordinal model from a small dataset is challenging. This paper proposes a new approach which transforms the ordinal regression problem to binary classification problems and uses triplets with instances from different categories to train deep neural networks such that high-level features describing their ordinal relationship can be extracted automatically. In the testing phase, triplets are formed by a testing instance and other instances with known ranks. A decoder is designed to estimate the rank of the testing instance based on the outputs of the network. Because of the data argumentation by permutation, deep learning can work for ordinal regression even on small datasets. Experimental results on the historical color image benchmark and MSRA image search datasets demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the traditional deep learning approach and is comparable with other state-of-the-art methods, which are highly based on prior knowledge to design effective features.
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Fast, Ethan, Binbin Chen, and Michael S. Bernstein. "Lexicons on Demand: Neural Word Embeddings for Large-Scale Text Analysis." In Twenty-Sixth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. California: International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence Organization, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.24963/ijcai.2017/677.
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Human language is colored by a broad range of topics, but existing text analysis tools only focus on a small number of them. We present Empath, a tool that can generate and validate new lexical categories on demand from a small set of seed terms (like "bleed" and "punch" to generate the category violence). Empath draws connotations between words and phrases by learning a neural embedding across billions of words on the web. Given a small set of seed words that characterize a category, Empath uses its neural embedding to discover new related terms, then validates the category with a crowd-powered filter. Empath also analyzes text across 200 built-in, pre-validated categories we have generated such as neglect, government, and social media. We show that Empath's data-driven, human validated categories are highly correlated (r=0.906) with similar categories in LIWC.
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Kern, Sander, and Rik van Reekum. "The use of patents in Dutch biopharmaceutical SME: A typology for assessing strategic patent management maturity." In 16th Annual High Technology Small Firms Conference, HTSF 2008. University of Twente, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.3990/2.268580303.
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In this paper a typology is presented that ideal typically describes strategic patent management practices in four developmental categories. The underlying framework integrates patent functions with strategic planning attitudes. Policy makers can apply it to survey the actual use of patents in order to identify potential for improvement in SME owned patent exploitation. Managers of these organisations can use it to evaluate the current patent management practice for making a next step towards a more active use of patents. Operationalisation of the framework into a questionnaire is grounded in a pilot study of three biotechnology firms, differing in size and age. The result has consequently been applied in a case study consisting of sixteen small-sized biopharmaceutical companies in the Netherlands. After presenting results from this sample of patent management practices, we present our findings and discuss the validity and use of the typology for abovementioned purposes.
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Rao, Velliyoor Nott Vimal, Jeffrey Bye, and Sashank Varma. "Graduate Students’ Effect Size Category Boundaries." In Bridging the Gap: Empowering and Educating Today’s Learners in Statistics. International Association for Statistical Education, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.52041/iase.icots11.t3c2.
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Statisticians increasingly decry ritualistic categorizations of statistical measures. The interpretation of effect sizes is often guided by benchmarks, i.e., Cohen’s d = .2 represents a ‘small’ effect size; .5 represents a ‘medium’ effect size; and .8 (‘large’) represents a large effect size. We employed a cognitive science approach to investigate how researchers systematically categorize values between these benchmarks. We find effect size categories are typically separated by fuzzy boundaries, as predicted by psychological theories of categorization. Understanding the cognitive processes underlying statistical reasoning can help us consider how to move beyond ritualistic interpretation of statistical measures.
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Shepheard, Mark, Carolyn Q. Judge, and Christine M. Gilbert. "Classification of Slamming Events in Irregular Waves Measured through Tow Tank Experiments." In SNAME International Conference on Fast Sea Transportation. SNAME, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.5957/fast-2021-001.
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Slamming events are the source of critical design loads for small, high-speed craft. Categorization of slamming events can prove useful by identifying cases of interest for more in-depth analysis, such as high-fidelity modeling and experiments. Inspired by developments in facial recognition techniques, a quantitative method is proposed to sort slamming events using various experimental measurements. A singular value decomposition method on a matrix assembled of vectors of time-histories of rigid body motions recorded in free-to-heave-and-pitch tow tank experiments on a planing hull. While some of the categories identified in this work show distinct features in slamming accelerations consistent with previously identified categories, other categories have also been identified. These results can be used when evaluating ride quality, and design loads, and performing more in-depth studies on specific slamming categories.
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Jaatinen-Värri, Ahti, Janne Nerg, Antti Uusitalo, Behnam Ghalamchi, Nikita Uzhegov, Alexander Smirnov, Eerik Sikanen, Aki Grönman, Jari Backman, and Matti Malkamäki. "Design of a 400 kW Gas Turbine Prototype." In ASME Turbo Expo 2016: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/gt2016-56444.
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Decentralized power and heat generation is a growing trend throughout the world. In smaller applications, electrical power output less than few megawatts, reciprocating engines have dominated the market. In recent years, small sized gas turbines have emerged as challengers for the reciprocating engines. The small gas turbines have a growing share of the decentralized energy market, which itself is rapidly growing. Hence, improvements in small gas turbine efficiency have a significant impact from the economic and environmental perspective. In this paper, the design of a high efficiency 400 kW gas turbine prototype is described and discussed. The prototype is a two-spool, recuperated and intercooled gas turbine where both spools comprise of a radial compressor and turbine, a permanent magnet electric generator, an axial and two radial active magnetic bearings and two safety bearings. The prototype design was divided into five categories and each of the categories are discussed. The categories were: the process design, the turbomachinery design, the generator and electrical design, bearing design and rotor dynamic analysis, and mechanical design. The design of recuperator, intercooler, and combustion chamber were outsourced. Hence, they are not discussed in this paper. The prototype design process showed the readiness of the chosen technological selections, as well it showed that the type of machine under discussion can be designed and manufactured.
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Gusak, Julia, Daria Cherniuk, Alena Shilova, Alexandr Katrutsa, Daniel Bershatsky, Xunyi Zhao, Lionel Eyraud-Dubois, et al. "Survey on Efficient Training of Large Neural Networks." In Thirty-First International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence {IJCAI-22}. California: International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence Organization, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.24963/ijcai.2022/769.
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Modern Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) require significant memory to store weight, activations, and other intermediate tensors during training. Hence, many models don’t fit one GPU device or can be trained using only a small per-GPU batch size. This survey provides a systematic overview of the approaches that enable more efficient DNNs training. We analyze techniques that save memory and make good use of computation and communication resources on architectures with a single or several GPUs. We summarize the main categories of strategies and compare strategies within and across categories. Along with approaches proposed in the literature, we discuss available implementations.
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Robinson Beachboard, Martine. "How Small Advertising Agencies Brand Themselves on the Web: A Pilot Study." In InSITE 2016: Informing Science + IT Education Conferences: Lithuania. Informing Science Institute, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.28945/3498.
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Marketing communication agencies are in the business of branding other companies. In the current media landscape, ad agencies need to demonstrate their communication expertise through the Internet including their homepages. This pilot study collected data and user impressions on the websites of 42 randomly selected small advertising agencies. Companies with 10 or fewer employees were of specific interest because of the limited resources they bring to the competitive process. We used content analysis to compare the studied sites with validated criteria for quality websites in seven categories. These areas addressed design, navigation, technology, functionality and content. The content areas concerned reputation, relationship-building opportunities and distinctive branding features. Researchers found mixed results concerning the key branding elements of clarity, competence and credibility, distinctive personality, and demonstrations of expertise. There seems to be room for small ad agencies to improve the way they brand themselves through their websites. The conference presentation shares preliminary findings on how well agencies did at validating their credentials, building relationships, and communicating clearly. Recommendations are offered.
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Milošević, Rastko, Ana Komlenić, Nemanja Kašiković, Bojan Banjanin, and Davor Menzildžić. "Instagram influencers’ responsiveness to a small business collaboration outreach." In 11th International Symposium on Graphic Engineering and Design. University of Novi Sad, Faculty of technical sciences, Department of graphic engineering and design, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.24867/grid-2022-p25.
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Collaborations between social media influencers (SMIs) and brands have become increasingly popular in recent years, so many marketers and brands either start implementing influencers or intensify SMI use in their marketing strategies. Influencer marketing is the practice of compensating influencers for posting about a product or a service on their social media profiles. Influencers usually specialize in a particular niche area and possess highly devoted follower bases of different sizes. Their incentivized brandrelated messages are very effective and achieve increased engagement because of their personal manner, subtlety, and authentic advertising approach. One of the first steps in the influencer marketing process is to reach out to the right influencer with the aim of partnering up and collaborating in order to engage new potential customers and consequently grow a business. Therefore, influencer marketing basically starts with an influencer’s positive response to a brand’s outreach and collaboration consent. This research study aims to determine the responsiveness of Instagram influencers to a small business outreach offering an unpaid collaboration (a free product in exchange for a feed post). It was also analysed how different Instagram influencer categories, in terms of follower count, responded to the selected small business’ outreach (and consequently collaborated) and which Instagram influencer category is more likely to accept this kind of collaboration proposal. In addition, several practical recommendations are made regarding how small businesses should focus their efforts to make their Instagram influencer outreach marketing strategy more successful.
Reports on the topic "Small categories"
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Omotilewa, Oluwatoba, Thomas Jayne, and Milu Muyanga. The Farm Size-Productivity Relationship: Evidence From Panel Data Analysis of Small- and Medium-Scale Farms in Nigeria. APRA, Future Agricultures Consortium, September 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.19088/apra.2022.040.
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The finding that smaller farms are more productive than larger farms has long been documented. At present, evidence in the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) region has been largely limited to data from farms operating 5ha and below. Examining changes in farm size distributions and their relationship with agricultural productivity is important not only for agricultural economists and development researchers but also for evidence-based policymaking which goes beyond the current smallholder-led strategies for development in the region. This study examined the dynamics of farm operations between small-scale farms (SSFs) and medium-scale farms (MSFs) over time in different farm size categories and their relationship with agricultural productivity using farming household data spanning 0–40ha in Nigeria.
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Mracek Dietrich, Anna, and Ravi Rajamani. Unsettled Issues Regarding the Certification of Electric Aircraft. SAE International, March 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.4271/epr2021007.
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The aerospace industry is beginning to grapple with the reality of certifying electric aircraft (EA), signaling the maturing of the field. Many players are ramping up their activities to respond to imminent technical, safety, and regulatory requirements. While there are gaps in EA knowledge as well as the processes for certifying them, some leading standards development organizations (SDOs) such as SAE International, ASTM International, and RTCA—ably supported by representatives from regulatory agencies—are stepping in to address many of these issues. Of special importance are the new rule changes in the normal category (14 CFR Part 23, Amendment 64) that shift from a prescriptive philosophy to “performance-based rules.” Regarding system knowledge, there has been a trend in the use electrical energy to power systems that have long employed mechanical hydraulics. In the new EA paradigm, these components will be employed at criticality levels not previously witnessed in conventional aircraft, calling for a specific set of certification demands. Unsettled Issues Regarding the Certification of Electric Aircraft tackles the certification challenges faced by EA manufacturers in both the small (normal) and large (transport) categories, addressing technical, business, and process issues.
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Stern, Jonathan M. B., and Benjamin Piper. Resetting Targets: Examining Large Effect Sizes and Disappointing Benchmark Progress. RTI Press, April 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.3768/rtipress.2019.op.0060.1904.
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This paper uses recent evidence from international early grade reading programs to provide guidance about how best to create appropriate targets and more effectively identify improved program outcomes. Recent results show that World Bank and US Agency for International Development–funded large-scale international education interventions in low- and middle–income countries tend to produce larger impacts than do interventions in the United States, as measured by effect sizes. However, these effect sizes rarely translate into large gains in mean oral reading fluency scores and are associated with only small increases in the proportion of students meeting country-level reading benchmarks. The limited impact of these low- and middle–income countries’ reading programs on the proportion of students meeting reading benchmarks is in large part caused by right-skewed distributions of student reading scores. In other words, modest impacts on the proportion of students meeting benchmarks are caused by low mean scores and large proportions of nonreaders at baseline. It is essential to take these factors into consideration when setting program targets for reading fluency and comprehension. We recommend that program designers in lower-performing countries use baseline assessment data to develop benchmarks based on multiple performance categories that allow for more ambitious targets focused on reducing nonreaders and increasing beginning readers, with more modest targets aimed at improving oral reading fluency scores and increasing the percentage of proficient readers.
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McDonagh, Marian S., Jesse Wagner, Azrah Y. Ahmed, Benjamin Morasco, Devan Kansagara, and Roger Chou. Living Systematic Review on Cannabis and Other Plant-Based Treatments for Chronic Pain: May 2021 Update. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), June 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.23970/ahrqepccerplantpain3.
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Overview This is the third quarterly progress report for an ongoing living systematic review on cannabis and other plant-based treatments for chronic pain. The first progress report was published in January 2021 and the second in March 2021. The draft systematic review was available for public comment from May 19 through June 15, 2021, on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Health Care website. The systematic review synthesizes evidence on the benefits and harms of plant-based compounds (PBCs), such as cannabinoids and kratom, used to treat chronic pain, addressing concerns about severe adverse effects, abuse, misuse, dependence, and addiction. The purpose of this progress report is to describe the cumulative literature identified thus far. This report will be periodically updated with new studies as they are published and identified, culminating in an annual systematic review that provides a synthesis of the accumulated evidence. Main Points In patients with chronic (mainly neuropathic) pain with short-term treatment (4 weeks to <6 months): • Studies of cannabis-related products were grouped based on their tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to cannabidiol (CBD) ratio using the following categories: high THC to CBD, comparable THC to CBD, and low THC to CBD. • Comparable THC to CBD ratio oral spray is probably associated with small improvements in pain severity and may be associated with small improvements in function. There was no effect in pain interference or serious adverse events. There may be a large increased risk of dizziness and sedation, and a moderate increased risk of nausea. • Synthetic THC (high THC to CBD) may be associated with moderate improvement in pain severity and increased risk of sedation, and large increased risk of nausea. Synthetic THC is probably associated with a large increased risk of dizziness. • Extracted whole-plant high THC to CBD ratio products may be associated with large increases in risk of withdrawal due to adverse events and dizziness. • Evidence on whole-plant cannabis, low THC to CBD ratio products (topical CBD), other cannabinoids (cannabidivarin), and comparisons with other active interventions was insufficient to draw conclusions. • Other key adverse event outcomes (psychosis, cannabis use disorder, cognitive deficits) and outcomes on the impact on opioid use were not reported. • No evidence on other plant-based compounds, such as kratom, met criteria for this review.
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Mayfield, Colin. Higher Education in the Water Sector: A Global Overview. United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, May 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.53328/guxy9244.
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Higher education related to water is a critical component of capacity development necessary to support countries’ progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) overall, and towards the SDG6 water and sanitation goal in particular. Although the precise number is unknown, there are at least 28,000 higher education institutions in the world. The actual number is likely higher and constantly changing. Water education programmes are very diverse and complex and can include components of engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, hydrology, hydrogeology, ecology, geography, earth sciences, public health, sociology, law, and political sciences, to mention a few areas. In addition, various levels of qualifications are offered, ranging from certificate, diploma, baccalaureate, to the master’s and doctorate (or equivalent) levels. The percentage of universities offering programmes in ‘water’ ranges from 40% in the USA and Europe to 1% in subSaharan Africa. There are no specific data sets available for the extent or quality of teaching ‘water’ in universities. Consequently, insights on this have to be drawn or inferred from data sources on overall research and teaching excellence such as Scopus, the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities, the Times Higher Education, the Ranking Web of Universities, the Our World in Data website and the UN Statistics Division data. Using a combination of measures of research excellence in water resources and related topics, and overall rankings of university teaching excellence, universities with representation in both categories were identified. Very few universities are represented in both categories. Countries that have at least three universities in the list of the top 50 include USA, Australia, China, UK, Netherlands and Canada. There are universities that have excellent reputations for both teaching excellence and for excellent and diverse research activities in water-related topics. They are mainly in the USA, Europe, Australia and China. Other universities scored well on research in water resources but did not in teaching excellence. The approach proposed in this report has potential to guide the development of comprehensive programmes in water. No specific comparative data on the quality of teaching in water-related topics has been identified. This report further shows the variety of pathways which most water education programmes are associated with or built in – through science, technology and engineering post-secondary and professional education systems. The multitude of possible institutions and pathways to acquire a qualification in water means that a better ‘roadmap’ is needed to chart the programmes. A global database with details on programme curricula, qualifications offered, duration, prerequisites, cost, transfer opportunities and other programme parameters would be ideal for this purpose, showing country-level, regional and global search capabilities. Cooperation between institutions in preparing or presenting water programmes is currently rather limited. Regional consortia of institutions may facilitate cooperation. A similar process could be used for technical and vocational education and training, although a more local approach would be better since conditions, regulations and technologies vary between relatively small areas. Finally, this report examines various factors affecting the future availability of water professionals. This includes the availability of suitable education and training programmes, choices that students make to pursue different areas of study, employment prospects, increasing gender equity, costs of education, and students’ and graduates’ mobility, especially between developing and developed countries. This report aims to inform and open a conversation with educators and administrators in higher education especially those engaged in water education or preparing to enter that field. It will also benefit students intending to enter the water resources field, professionals seeking an overview of educational activities for continuing education on water and government officials and politicians responsible for educational activities
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Yan, Yujie, and Jerome F. Hajjar. Automated Damage Assessment and Structural Modeling of Bridges with Visual Sensing Technology. Northeastern University, May 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.17760/d20410114.
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Recent advances in visual sensing technology have gained much attention in the field of bridge inspection and management. Coupled with advanced robotic systems, state-of-the-art visual sensors can be used to obtain accurate documentation of bridges without the need for any special equipment or traffic closure. The captured visual sensor data can be post-processed to gather meaningful information for the bridge structures and hence to support bridge inspection and management. However, state-of-the-practice data postprocessing approaches require substantial manual operations, which can be time-consuming and expensive. The main objective of this study is to develop methods and algorithms to automate the post-processing of the visual sensor data towards the extraction of three main categories of information: 1) object information such as object identity, shapes, and spatial relationships - a novel heuristic-based method is proposed to automate the detection and recognition of main structural elements of steel girder bridges in both terrestrial and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based laser scanning data. Domain knowledge on the geometric and topological constraints of the structural elements is modeled and utilized as heuristics to guide the search as well as to reject erroneous detection results. 2) structural damage information, such as damage locations and quantities - to support the assessment of damage associated with small deformations, an advanced crack assessment method is proposed to enable automated detection and quantification of concrete cracks in critical structural elements based on UAV-based visual sensor data. In terms of damage associated with large deformations, based on the surface normal-based method proposed in Guldur et al. (2014), a new algorithm is developed to enhance the robustness of damage assessment for structural elements with curved surfaces. 3) three-dimensional volumetric models - the object information extracted from the laser scanning data is exploited to create a complete geometric representation for each structural element. In addition, mesh generation algorithms are developed to automatically convert the geometric representations into conformal all-hexahedron finite element meshes, which can be finally assembled to create a finite element model of the entire bridge. To validate the effectiveness of the developed methods and algorithms, several field data collections have been conducted to collect both the visual sensor data and the physical measurements from experimental specimens and in-service bridges. The data were collected using both terrestrial laser scanners combined with images, and laser scanners and cameras mounted to unmanned aerial vehicles.
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Lubowa, Nasser, Zita Ekeocha, Stephen Robert Byrn, and Kari L. Clase. Pharmaceutical Industry in Uganda: A Review of the Common GMP Non-conformances during Regulatory Inspections. Purdue University, December 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284317442.
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The prevalence of substandard medicines in Africa is high but not well documented. Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) are likely to face considerable challenges with substandard medications. Africa faces inadequate drug regulatory practices, and in general, compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) in most of the pharmaceutical industries is lacking. The majority of pharmaceutical manufacturers in developing countries are often overwhelmed by the GMP requirements and therefore are unable to operate in line with internationally acceptable standards. Non-conformances observed during regulatory inspections provide the status of the compliance to GMP requirements. The study aimed to identify the GMP non-conformances during regulatory inspections and gaps in the production of pharmaceuticals locally manufactured in Uganda by review of the available 50 GMP reports of 21 local pharmaceutical companies in Uganda from 2016. The binary logistic generalized estimating equations (GEE) model was applied to estimate the association between odds of a company failing to comply with the GMP requirements and non-conformances under each GMP inspection parameter. Analysis using dummy estimation to linear regression included determination of the relationship that existed between the selected variables (GMP inspection parameters) and the production capacity of the local pharmaceutical industry. Oral liquids, external liquid preparations, powders, creams, and ointments were the main categories of products manufactured locally. The results indicated that 86% of the non-conformances were major, 11% were minor, and 3% critical. The majority of the non-conformances were related to production (30.1%), documentation (24.5%), and quality control (17.6%). Regression results indicated that for every non-conformance under premises, equipment, and utilities, there was a 7-fold likelihood of the manufacturer failing to comply with the GMP standards (aOR=6.81, P=0.001). The results showed that major non-conformances were significantly higher in industries of small scale (B=6.77, P=0.02) and medium scale (B=8.40, P=0.04), as compared to those of large scale. This study highlights the failures in quality assurance systems and stagnated GMP improvements in these industries that need to be addressed by the manufacturers with support from the regulator. The addition of risk assessment to critical production and quality control operations and establishment of appropriate corrective and preventive actions as part of quality management systems are required to ensure that quality pharmaceuticals are manufactured locally.
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Allen, Kathy, Andy Nadeau, and Andy Robertston. Natural resource condition assessment: Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. National Park Service, May 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.36967/nrr-2293613.
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The Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program aims to provide documentation about the current conditions of important park natural resources through a spatially explicit, multi-disciplinary synthesis of existing scientific data and knowledge. Findings from the NRCA will help Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument (SAPU) managers to develop near-term management priorities, engage in watershed or landscape scale partnership and education efforts, conduct park planning, and report program performance (e.g., Department of the Interior’s Strategic Plan “land health” goals, Government Performance and Results Act). The objectives of this assessment are to evaluate and report on current conditions of key park resources, to evaluate critical data and knowledge gaps, and to highlight selected existing stressors and emerging threats to resources or processes. For the purpose of this NRCA, staff from the National Park Service (NPS) and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota – GeoSpatial Services (SMUMN GSS) identified key resources, referred to as “components” in the project. The selected components include natural resources and processes that are currently of the greatest concern to park management at SAPU. The final project framework contains nine resource components, each featuring discussions of measures, stressors, and reference conditions. This study involved reviewing existing literature and, where appropriate, analyzing data for each natural resource component in the framework to provide summaries of current condition and trends in selected resources. When possible, existing data for the established measures of each component were analyzed and compared to designated reference conditions. A weighted scoring system was applied to calculate the current condition of each component. Weighted Condition Scores, ranging from zero to one, were divided into three categories of condition: low concern, moderate concern, and significant concern. These scores help to determine the current overall condition of each resource. The discussions for each component, found in Chapter 4 of this report, represent a comprehensive summary of current available data and information for these resources, including unpublished park information and perspectives of park resource managers, and present a current condition designation when appropriate. Each component assessment was reviewed by SAPU resource managers, NPS Southern Colorado Plateau Network (SCPN) staff, or outside experts. Existing literature, short- and long-term datasets, and input from NPS and other outside agency scientists support condition designations for components in this assessment. However, in some cases, data were unavailable or insufficient for several of the measures of the featured components. In other instances, data establishing reference condition were limited or unavailable for components, making comparisons with current information inappropriate or invalid. In these cases, it was not possible to assign condition for the components. Current condition was not able to be determined for six of the ten components due to these data gaps. For those components with sufficient available data, the overall condition varied. Two components were determined to be in good condition: dark night skies and paleontological resources. However, both were at the edge of the good condition range, and any small decline in conditions could shift them into the moderate concern range. Of the components in good condition, a trend could not be assigned for paleontological resources and dark night skies is considered stable. Two components (wetland and riparian communities and viewshed) were of moderate concern, with no trend assigned for wetland and riparian communities and a stable trend for viewshed. Detailed discussion of these designations is presented in Chapters 4 and 5 of this report. Several park-wide threats and stressors influence the condition of priority resources in SAPU...
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Paynter, Robin A., Celia Fiordalisi, Elizabeth Stoeger, Eileen Erinoff, Robin Featherstone, Christiane Voisin, and Gaelen P. Adam. A Prospective Comparison of Evidence Synthesis Search Strategies Developed With and Without Text-Mining Tools. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), March 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.23970/ahrqepcmethodsprospectivecomparison.
Full textAbstract:
Background: In an era of explosive growth in biomedical evidence, improving systematic review (SR) search processes is increasingly critical. Text-mining tools (TMTs) are a potentially powerful resource to improve and streamline search strategy development. Two types of TMTs are especially of interest to searchers: word frequency (useful for identifying most used keyword terms, e.g., PubReminer) and clustering (visualizing common themes, e.g., Carrot2). Objectives: The objectives of this study were to compare the benefits and trade-offs of searches with and without the use of TMTs for evidence synthesis products in real world settings. Specific questions included: (1) Do TMTs decrease the time spent developing search strategies? (2) How do TMTs affect the sensitivity and yield of searches? (3) Do TMTs identify groups of records that can be safely excluded in the search evaluation step? (4) Does the complexity of a systematic review topic affect TMT performance? In addition to quantitative data, we collected librarians' comments on their experiences using TMTs to explore when and how these new tools may be useful in systematic review search¬¬ creation. Methods: In this prospective comparative study, we included seven SR projects, and classified them into simple or complex topics. The project librarian used conventional “usual practice” (UP) methods to create the MEDLINE search strategy, while a paired TMT librarian simultaneously and independently created a search strategy using a variety of TMTs. TMT librarians could choose one or more freely available TMTs per category from a pre-selected list in each of three categories: (1) keyword/phrase tools: AntConc, PubReMiner; (2) subject term tools: MeSH on Demand, PubReMiner, Yale MeSH Analyzer; and (3) strategy evaluation tools: Carrot2, VOSviewer. We collected results from both MEDLINE searches (with and without TMTs), coded every citation’s origin (UP or TMT respectively), deduplicated them, and then sent the citation library to the review team for screening. When the draft report was submitted, we used the final list of included citations to calculate the sensitivity, precision, and number-needed-to-read for each search (with and without TMTs). Separately, we tracked the time spent on various aspects of search creation by each librarian. Simple and complex topics were analyzed separately to provide insight into whether TMTs could be more useful for one type of topic or another. Results: Across all reviews, UP searches seemed to perform better than TMT, but because of the small sample size, none of these differences was statistically significant. UP searches were slightly more sensitive (92% [95% confidence intervals (CI) 85–99%]) than TMT searches (84.9% [95% CI 74.4–95.4%]). The mean number-needed-to-read was 83 (SD 34) for UP and 90 (SD 68) for TMT. Keyword and subject term development using TMTs generally took less time than those developed using UP alone. The average total time was 12 hours (SD 8) to create a complete search strategy by UP librarians, and 5 hours (SD 2) for the TMT librarians. TMTs neither affected search evaluation time nor improved identification of exclusion concepts (irrelevant records) that can be safely removed from the search set. Conclusion: Across all reviews but one, TMT searches were less sensitive than UP searches. For simple SR topics (i.e., single indication–single drug), TMT searches were slightly less sensitive, but reduced time spent in search design. For complex SR topics (e.g., multicomponent interventions), TMT searches were less sensitive than UP searches; nevertheless, in complex reviews, they identified unique eligible citations not found by the UP searches. TMT searches also reduced time spent in search strategy development. For all evidence synthesis types, TMT searches may be more efficient in reviews where comprehensiveness is not paramount, or as an adjunct to UP for evidence syntheses, because they can identify unique includable citations. If TMTs were easier to learn and use, their utility would be increased.
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McDonagh, Marian S., Jesse Wagner, Azrah Y. Ahmed, Rongwei Fu, Benjamin Morasco, Devan Kansagara, and Roger Chou. Living Systematic Review on Cannabis and Other Plant-Based Treatments for Chronic Pain. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), October 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.23970/ahrqepccer250.
Full textAbstract:
Objectives. To evaluate the evidence on benefits and harms of cannabinoids and similar plant-based compounds to treat chronic pain. Data sources. Ovid® MEDLINE®, PsycINFO®, Embase®, the Cochrane Library, and SCOPUS® databases, reference lists of included studies, submissions received after Federal Register request were searched to July 2021. Review methods. Using dual review, we screened search results for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies of patients with chronic pain evaluating cannabis, kratom, and similar compounds with any comparison group and at least 1 month of treatment or followup. Dual review was used to abstract study data, assess study-level risk of bias, and rate the strength of evidence. Prioritized outcomes included pain, overall function, and adverse events. We grouped studies that assessed tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and/or cannabidiol (CBD) based on their THC to CBD ratio and categorized them as high-THC to CBD ratio, comparable THC to CBD ratio, and low-THC to CBD ratio. We also grouped studies by whether the product was a whole-plant product (cannabis), cannabinoids extracted or purified from a whole plant, or synthetic. We conducted meta-analyses using the profile likelihood random effects model and assessed between-study heterogeneity using Cochran’s Q statistic chi square and the I2 test for inconsistency. Magnitude of benefit was categorized into no effect or small, moderate, and large effects. Results. From 2,850 abstracts, 20 RCTs (N=1,776) and 7 observational studies (N=13,095) assessing different cannabinoids were included; none of kratom. Studies were primarily short term, and 75 percent enrolled patients with a variety of neuropathic pain. Comparators were primarily placebo or usual care. The strength of evidence (SOE) was low, unless otherwise noted. Compared with placebo, comparable THC to CBD ratio oral spray was associated with a small benefit in change in pain severity (7 RCTs, N=632, 0 to10 scale, mean difference [MD] −0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.95 to −0.19, I2=28%; SOE: moderate) and overall function (6 RCTs, N=616, 0 to 10 scale, MD −0.42, 95% CI −0.73 to −0.16, I2=24%). There was no effect on study withdrawals due to adverse events. There was a large increased risk of dizziness and sedation and a moderate increased risk of nausea (dizziness: 6 RCTs, N=866, 30% vs. 8%, relative risk [RR] 3.57, 95% CI 2.42 to 5.60, I2=0%; sedation: 6 RCTs, N=866, 22% vs. 16%, RR 5.04, 95% CI 2.10 to 11.89, I2=0%; and nausea: 6 RCTs, N=866, 13% vs. 7.5%, RR 1.79, 95% CI 1.20 to 2.78, I2=0%). Synthetic products with high-THC to CBD ratios were associated with a moderate improvement in pain severity, a moderate increase in sedation, and a large increase in nausea (pain: 6 RCTs, N=390 to 10 scale, MD −1.15, 95% CI −1.99 to −0.54, I2=39%; sedation: 3 RCTs, N=335, 19% vs. 10%, RR 1.73, 95% CI 1.03 to 4.63, I2=0%; nausea: 2 RCTs, N=302, 12% vs. 6%, RR 2.19, 95% CI 0.77 to 5.39; I²=0%). We found moderate SOE for a large increased risk of dizziness (2 RCTs, 32% vs. 11%, RR 2.74, 95% CI 1.47 to 6.86, I2=0%). Extracted whole-plant products with high-THC to CBD ratios (oral) were associated with a large increased risk of study withdrawal due to adverse events (1 RCT, 13.9% vs. 5.7%, RR 3.12, 95% CI 1.54 to 6.33) and dizziness (1 RCT, 62.2% vs. 7.5%, RR 8.34, 95% CI 4.53 to 15.34). We observed a moderate improvement in pain severity when combining all studies of high-THC to CBD ratio (8 RCTs, N=684, MD −1.25, 95% CI −2.09 to −0.71, I2=50%; SOE: moderate). Evidence on whole-plant cannabis, topical CBD, low-THC to CBD, other cannabinoids, comparisons with active products, and impact on use of opioids was insufficient to draw conclusions. Other important harms (psychosis, cannabis use disorder, and cognitive effects) were not reported. Conclusions. Low to moderate strength evidence suggests small to moderate improvements in pain (mostly neuropathic), and moderate to large increases in common adverse events (dizziness, sedation, nausea) and study withdrawal due to adverse events with high- and comparable THC to CBD ratio extracted cannabinoids and synthetic products in short-term treatment (1 to 6 months). Evidence for whole-plant cannabis, and other comparisons, outcomes, and PBCs were unavailable or insufficient to draw conclusions. Small sample sizes, lack of evidence for moderate and long-term use and other key outcomes, such as other adverse events and impact on use of opioids during treatment, indicate that more research is needed.