Hasil untuk "Costs"

Paul M. Romer

Bernadette A. Minton, Cathy Schrand

D. Reznick, L. Nunney, A. J. Tessier

P. Michael, R. Nobay, D. Peel

Charles R. Figley

G. Colditz

David Pimentel

Henrik Cronqvist, Mattias Nilsson

J. Davison

P. Katzmarzyk, I. Janssen

Xiaoqian Lv, Qiang Wei, Junjie Sun et al.

Chicken primordial germ cells (PGCs) hold significant value in avian gene-editing breeding and biomedical research. However, existing technologies are plagued by issues such as low transfection efficiency, high costs, and long screening and culture cycles, which have restricted their industrial application. In this study, an optimized electroporation knock-in system for chicken PGCs was established, comprising PGCs, a specific transfection vector (Z-NC_006127.4-200F-U6-TOP1-sgRNA-PGK-Puro-T2A-mCherry-Z-NC_006127.4-200R), Opti-MEM™ transfection buffer, and electroporation parameters (duration of Poring Pause: 10 ms, voltage of Poring Pause: 140 V, and cycles of poring pulses: 6). Additionally, a rapid enrichment method for positive cells based on limiting dilution and puromycin selection was developed. This system improved the transfection efficiency from < 5 % (using liposome transfection) to 54 %, reduced the cost per transfection by 90 %, and enabled the acquisition of positive cell lines with a purity of > 95 % within one month, while the cells retained their stem cell properties. This research provides an efficient and low-cost solution for the industrial application of avian gene-editing technology.

Jie Liu, Hailun Zhang, Jiheng Zhang

Matching platforms, from ridesharing to food delivery to competitive gaming, face a fundamental operational dilemma: match agents immediately to minimize waiting costs, or delay to exploit the efficiency gains of thicker markets. Yet computing optimal policies is generally intractable, sophisticated algorithms often rely on restrictive distributional assumptions, and common heuristics lack worst-case performance guarantees. We formulate a versatile framework for multi-sided matching with general state-dependent cost structures and non-stationary arrival dynamics. Central to our approach is a cost-balancing principle: match when accumulated waiting cost reaches a calibrated proportion of instantaneous matching cost. This equilibrium condition emerges from fluid-limit analysis and motivates a simple, adaptive Cost-Balancing (CB) algorithm requiring no distributional assumptions. We prove that CB achieves a competitive ratio of $(1+\sqrtΓ)$ under adversarial arrivals, where $Γ$ quantifies economies of scale, guaranteeing cost within a constant factor of the offline optimum. In contrast, standard greedy and threshold policies can incur unbounded costs in adversarial scenarios. We further establish a universal lower bound of $(\sqrt{5}+1)/2$ (the golden ratio), quantifying the fundamental price of uncertainty in online matching. Experiments on game matchmaking and real-world food delivery data demonstrate practical effectiveness, with CB consistently outperforming industry-standard heuristics.

V. Driver, M. Fabbi, L. Lavery et al.

Antoinette Weibel, K. Rost, M. Osterloh

A. Bernard, J. Jensen, Peter K. Schott

R. Vonlanthen, K. Slankamenac, S. Breitenstein et al.

Muhammad Azreen Mat Husin, Adrian Anthony Peirera, Thana Seelan et al.

Economic migrant workers are crucial for a country's development but may also contribute to transboundary transmission of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study aimed to investigate the silent carriage of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli (ESBLEC) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBLKP) among economic migrants from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal residing in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Between December 2023 and May 2024, 263 study participants of Indonesian, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese migrant communities were recruited and rectal swabs collected. Swabs were then cultured on CHROMagar™ ESBL; presumptive ESBL-positive strains were confirmed and antimicrobial susceptibility-tested using a VITEK 2 system. ESBL genotyping was also performed on confirmed isolates. A total of 67 and five strains were confirmed as ESBLEC and ESBLKP, respectively. Both ESBLEC and ESBLKP strains showed similar resistance to penicillin and 3rd generation cephalosporins, though more ESBLKP strains were resistant to 4th generation cephalosporins. More ESBLEC strains were resistant to ciprofloxacin. No carbapenem-resistant strains were detected. The blaCTX-M-1 gene family was predominantly found in ESBLEC strains from all three nationalities, while ESBLKP strains frequently harboured blaTEM, blaCTX-M, and blaSHV genes. The prevalence of ESBL-producing strains was highest among Bangladeshi participants (n = 16, 31.4 %), followed by Indonesians (n = 47, 29.7 %) and Nepalis (n = 9, 19.1 %) working in domestic or manufacturing sectors. These findings highlight the public health risks of high ESBLEC and ESBLKP carriage in healthy migrant workers, which may impact recruitment and retention, leading to labour shortages and higher costs. Screening and increased awareness are crucial to limit the spread of these pathogens.

Bo Zhu, Yufei Zhang, Xiru Li et al.

Given the strong interdependencies between the economic and financial systems, nonfinancial firms have a significant impact on systemic risk. In this scenario, we examine the influence of bank liquidity hoarding on risk spillovers of nonfinancial firms, as it can impact firms' financing environment and operational conditions. Using data from 118 publicly listed Chinese companies between 2008 and 2021, we find that bank liquidity hoarding increases nonfinancial firms' risk spillovers, especially in the manufacturing and real estate industries. Furthermore, the path analysis results show that bank liquidity hoarding exacerbates extreme risk spillovers by increasing financing costs and intensifying corporate maturity mismatches. Moreover, the effect of bank liquidity hoarding is mitigated in firms with higher profitability and lower corporate financialization. This research bolsters the efficacy of macroprudential policies aimed at managing systemic risks amplified by bank liquidity hoarding within the financial and economic systems.

Zhiyu Xiong, Yuan Yuan, Bopeng Qiu et al.

Abstract Background Sleep quality decreased can result in a major health issue in older people with age. While not all sleep changes are pathological in older people’s life, severe disturbances may lead to depression, cognitive impairments, deterioration of quality of life, significant stresses for careers and increased healthcare costs. Despite the known benefits of exercise for improving sleep quality, it is necessary to identify the optimal exercise type and dose. Objective This systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) combined to examine evaluated the existing evidence on the effectiveness of different exercises, and to examine the dose and response relationship between overall and specific types with improving sleep quality in older people. Methods PubMed, Cochrane Central, Web of Science, and Embase were systematically searched for this review, including studies up to April 2025. Only randomized controlled trials were included. Studies involved at least one type of exercise intervention and reported changes in sleep quality assessments. To address the limitations of relying solely on statistical significance, we also calculated the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) to determine the smallest meaningful improvement in sleep quality among older people, both overall and across different exercise doses. Data analysis and visualization were conducted using the “meta”, “netmeta”, “MBNMA”, and “ggplot2” packages in the R environment. Results A total of 62 RCTs involving 5005 older adults were included. Overall, exercise significantly improved sleep quality, with clinically meaningful improvements achieved from as early as 5 weeks of intervention. The optimal exercise type was combined aerobic and resistance training, followed by aerobic exercise, resistance training, walking, and yoga. The estimated optimal exercise dose was around 660 to 990 METs*min/week, with longer durations at 15 weeks producing the greatest benefits. Improvements were more pronounced among participants with poorer baseline sleep quality. Conclusion If older people receive the most appropriate exercise intervention, they can obtain clinically meaningful benefits of improving sleep in the elderly within the WHO guidelines for exercise doses. The results support the WHO recommendation that combine aerobic exercise and resistance training should be an important part of interventions for the older people. Protocol registration PROSPERO registration number: CRD42024566751. Graphical Abstract

Sreelatha Aihloor Subramanyam, Sina Ghaemi, Hessam Golmohamadi et al.

Flexibility is advocated as an effective solution to address the growing need to alleviate grid congestion, necessitating efficient energy management strategies for industrial operations. This paper presents a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP)-based optimization framework for a flexible asset in an industrial setting, aiming to minimize operational costs and enhance energy efficiency. The method integrates dynamic pricing and real-time grid analysis, alongside a state estimation model using Extended Kalman Filtering (EKF) that improves the accuracy of system state predictions. Model Predictive Control (MPC) is employed for real-time adjustments. A real-world case studies from aquaculture industries and industrial power grids in Denmark demonstrates the approach. By leveraging dynamic pricing and grid signals, the system enables adaptive pump scheduling, achieving a 27% reduction in energy costs while maintaining voltage stability within 0.95–1.05 p.u. and ensuring operational safety. These results confirm the effectiveness of grid-aware, flexible control in reducing costs and enhancing stability, supporting the transition toward smarter, sustainable industrial energy systems.