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INTRODUCTION: An increasing number of sub-Saharan African countries are implementing national health insurance schemes (NHISs) to support the aspiration of universal health coverage (UHC). A growing body of literature recognises the private sector role in improving NHIS equity in service access, public provider complementarity and overall member satisfaction. Zambia has implemented the NHIS since

Predicting the evolution of complex systems governed by partial differential equations remains challenging, especially for nonlinear, chaotic behaviors. This study introduces Koopman-inspired Fourier neural operators and convolutional neural networks to learn solution advancement operators for flame front instabilities. By transforming data into a high-dimensional latent space, these models achiev

Given the important role of the land surface for climate, this study aims at (1) to evaluate the quality of the simulation of surface climate by the land-surface component of the EC-Earth3 ESM and (2) to assess the role of the coupling of the land surface with the atmosphere for the simulation of the surface climate in EC-Earth3. It is based on three simulations with different configurations of th

Background: Small airway dysfunction (SAD) is associated with impaired asthma control, but small airway physiology is not routinely assessed in clinical practice. Previously, we demonstrated impulse oscillometry (IOS)-defined small airway dysfunction (SAD) in dual responders (DRs) upon bronchoprovocation with various allergens. Aim: To compare lung physiology using spirometry and IOS following bro

The world of games is no longer a males-only field of cultural leisure and labor practices. Many women and girls, and other marginalized groups, have taken console controls to heart and hands, embraced a variety of computer games and player modes, design games and participate in e-sports. The industry and academy and governmental policies have attempted to help balance the gender equality of the f

Drought is a significant natural hazard that severely challenges water resource management and agricultural sustainability. This study aims to propose a novel approach for predicting streamflow drought indices (SDI-3, SDI-6, and SDI-12) in humid continental (Stockholm) and semi-arid (ELdiem) climates at different time-steps. The approach utilizes a Quantile Regression Neural Network (QRNN) coupled

Occupancy is one of the primary contributors to the energy performance gap, defined as the difference between actual and predicted energy usage, in buildings. This paper limits its scope to residential buildings, where occupant-centric consumption often goes unaccounted for in standard energy metrics. This paper starts from the hypothesis that a simple occupant energy efficiency label is needed to

When parametrizing multi-Higgs potentials, it is desirable to express its coefficients via observables. This is routinely done for the 2HDM, but this approach often fails in more elaborate models. Here, we show that the scalar sector of the CP4 3HDM, an intriguing model based on an order-4 CP symmetry, can also be parametrized in an observable-driven manner. The key feature that makes it work is t

The question of discretion in law is often framed as a technical question – how can we ensure that the decisions produced in administrative processes are accurate, predictable, non-discriminatory, free from bias, etc. If we conceive of discretion with this framing, then replacing human discretion with machine discretion seems eminently sensible.In this article, I question that framing of discretio

The x-ray absorption spectrum of the O2+ molecular cation is measured. The ions are stored in a cryogenically cooled radiofrequency ion trap and probed by tunable synchrotron radiation. The spectrum exhibits several salient features: a three-state composite π∗ resonance at the low-energy side followed by a two-component exchange split, a highly dissociative, σ∗ resonance pulled down well below the

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: There is no standardized regimen for follow-up after radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer (BC). To address this gap, we conducted a multicenter study involving urologist members from the European Association of Urology (EAU) bladder cancer guideline panels. Our objective was to identify consistent post-RC follow-up strategies and develop a practice-based framework b

We propose and analyze a novel scheme based on LDPC codes for quantitative group testing. The key underlying idea is to augment the bipartite graph by introducing hidden non-binary variables to strengthen the message-passing decoder. This is achieved by grouping items into bundles of size q within the test matrix, while keeping the testing procedure unaffected. The decoder, inspired by some works

Implicit bias interventions, qua attempts to decrease implicit bias measures, are often indirect prejudice interventions. As such, they face a number of potential problems. In particular, implicit bias interventions are more susceptible to generate unforeseen side-effects, are more prone to overcompensation, and less clearly decrease prejudicial behaviour, than at least some direct prejudice inter

The Chromosome-Centric Human Proteome Project (C-HPP) is an international initiative. It aims to create a protein list expressed in human cells by each chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA to enhance our understanding of disease mechanisms, akin to the gene list generated by the Human Genome Project. Transmembrane protein 160 (TMEM160) is a member of the transmembrane proteins (TMEM) family. TMEM pro

At a time of increasing environmental changes and geopolitical tensions, the need for collaboration in the Arctic is greater than ever. Top-down initiatives such as the Arctic Council have contributed to important increased collaboration and science diplomacy. Similarly, bottom-up initiatives have also played a major role in establishing diplomacy among researchers with spin-offs at government lev

Importance: The 2023 American College of Rheumatology and American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons Clinical Practice Guideline concluded that obesity alone should not delay joint replacement. Therefore, a substantially increased utilization of joint replacement among patients with obesity could be expected. However, patients with obesity are at increased risk of revision, posing unique challe

We study supercooled first-order phase transitions above the QCD scale in a wide class of conformal Majoron-like U(1)′ models that explain the totality of active neutrino oscillation data and produce a detectable stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) at LIGO, LISA and ET. We place constraints on the U(1)′ breaking scale and gauge coupling using current LIGO-Virgo-Kagra data. We find that

We investigate the electronic structure of high-density layers of Sb dopants in a silicon host, so-called Si:Sb δ-layers. We show that, in spite of the known challenges in producing highly confined Sb δ-layers, sufficient confinement is created such that the lowest conduction band states (Γ states, studied in depth in other silicon δ-layers), become occupied and can be observed using angle-resolve

PURPOSE: Adding salt to foods, a novel indicator for studying habitual sodium intake, has been positively associated with multiple diseases and mortality. However, little is known about its association with liver-related disorders. This study aimed to investigate the associations of adding salt to foods with risks of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), cirrhosis, and