Research works

National healthcare-associated infections surveillance programs – comparison between provincialand national case definitions in Canada

Abstract Background Provincial and national case definitions for healthcare-associated infections (HAI) differ. A key question is the extent to which these differences impact the estimated case proportions. Methods Analyses focused on two infections: Clostridioides difficile infe...

Clinical, Enamel, and Radiographic Features of Amelogenesis Imperfecta in Pediatric Patients: A Multicenter Study

This study aimed to characterize the clinical, enamel, and radiographic features of amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) in pediatric patients in Korea and to compare these features across AI phenotypes. This multicenter retrospective study reviewed records of 39 patients aged < 18 years...

Reference change: an enduring puzzle

Abstract I set up a puzzling contrast using two well-known cases: Evans’ (1973) case of Madagascar and Kripke’s (1977) Leaf Raking case. Despite their apparent similarity, only the former has traditionally been thought to involve reference change. However, it’s not clear why this...

Safety and efficacy of staged radiofrequency bilateral thalamotomy or pallidotomy in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease

Abstract Background Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by both motor and non-motor manifestations. Although pharmacological therapies remain the mainstay of treatment, their long-term efficacy is often limited and may be associated with...

Patient-Reported Oral Health-Related Experiences in Children and Adolescents Treated with Fixed Appliances or Clear Aligners: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study compared oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL)-related questionnaire scores according to appliance type in Korean children and adolescents undergoing orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances or clear aligners. This crosssectional study included 138 participan...

Protein adequacy is not protein optimality: a call to action in response to the new dietary guidelines for Americans

Abstract This paper argues that minimum protein adequacy should not be conflated with protein optimality in the interpretation and application of the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Although the updated guidelines provide practical, food-based protein messaging for th...

BOXBOX: Evaluating Large Language Models on Sequential Race-Strategy Decisions.

Large language models are increasingly proposed asdecision-makers in sequential, high-stakes settings, yet evaluatingtheir decision quality is difficult: benchmarks risk contaminationfrom training data, and the quality of a real decision is hardto score objectively. We introduce...

The Grand Unified Theory of Everyone Thinking They're Right

A formal analytical treatment of the persistent human tendency to assume personal correctness. The paper introduces a set of mathematical constructs describing confidence inflation, evidence minimisation, and the collapse of humility under social pressure. It defines the Rightnes...

The Multilingual Cache Tax: How a token-count cache threshold turns cross-lingual token inflation into an escapable, provider-dependent pricing artifact

Commercial LLM APIs bill a cached prompt prefix at a fraction of the normal input rate, but only once the prefix exceeds a fixed token count (a floor, commonly 1,024 tokens). Because the same content costs a different number of tokens in different languages, this token-denominate...

The Meaning of Life as a Fixed Point: A Multi‑Domain Carlo Hybrid Theorem

The Meaning of Life as a Fixed Point presents a multi-domain Carlo hybrid theorem showing that meaning is the unique solution to a self-referential equation. Life is the system that discovers, stabilises, and converges toward this fixed point. The paper unifies mathematics, physi...

Aether Metric Coordinates: Neutron-Induced Length-Density Strain and Photon-Path Curvature in Compact Objects

This work develops Aether Metric Coordinates (AMC) for compact objects within the Aether Physics Model (APM) and Quantum Measurement Units (QMU), connecting QMU source length density, material-space strain, neutron dense-matter geometry, and photon trajectories. Starting from the...

Never Delete, Supersede: Memory as Evidence for Long-Lived Agents

Never Delete, Supersede: Memory as Evidence for Long-Lived Agents. An agent's memory that edits-in-place destroys the very thing a long-lived agent needs most: the record of what it used to believe and when. The working rule — every correction is a strike-through band above the o...

Humanitarianism under cognitive attack: narrative delegitimation in the information environment

Abstract Humanitarianism is increasingly portrayed as being “under attack”, a diagnosis most commonly linked to violations of international humanitarian law, geopolitical obstruction, and direct violence against aid workers. While these accounts remain indispensable, they are inc...

Insights into spatial accessibility of primary healthcare in the Cape Town District, South Africa

Abstract Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right, yet structural inequalities persist despite public-sector efforts to strengthen primary healthcare. This paper analyses the spatial accessibility of public primary healthcare centres in the Cape Town District, situated i...

Modeling of Cu, Pb, and Zn reservoirs in crustal igneous rocks using explainable machine learning

Abstract Here we use explainable machine-learning (ML) analysis to determine which variables, so-called features, are most important for the prediction of trace concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Zn in a large data set for igneous rocks. After data filtering and preparation, a gradien...

Oxidation of multi‑principal component diborides at 2300 ℃ under ultra‑fast heating

Abstract Multi‑principal component diboride (MEB) ceramics are promising candidates for ultra-high-temperature thermal protection systems. However, their intrinsic oxidation behavior above 2000 ℃ remains poorly understood because conventional testing methods have limitations. Her...

Aether Metric Coordinates: Neutron-Induced Length-Density Strain and Photon-Path Curvature in Compact Objects

This work develops Aether Metric Coordinates (AMC) for compact objects within the Aether Physics Model (APM) and Quantum Measurement Units (QMU), connecting QMU source length density, material-space strain, neutron dense-matter geometry, and photon trajectories. Starting from the...

BOXBOX: Evaluating Large Language Models on Sequential Race-Strategy Decisions.

Large language models are increasingly proposed asdecision-makers in sequential, high-stakes settings, yet evaluatingtheir decision quality is difficult: benchmarks risk contaminationfrom training data, and the quality of a real decision is hardto score objectively. We introduce...

Aeolian morphodynamics on a humid tropical coastal dune field in Itaúnas, Brazil: insights into system dynamics and implications for coastal management

Abstract Coastal dune fields developed under humid tropical conditions exhibit complex aeolian morphodynamics controlled by climatic variability, vegetation cover, sediment availability, and anthropogenic disturbance. In the Itaúnas region, southeastern Brazil, the anthropogenic...

Dhh1 and Pat1 play a role in translational repression and reinitiation under iron deficiency in yeast

Abstract Iron is an essential micronutrient for all eukaryotes, required as a cofactor for fundamental biological processes, including protein synthesis. Iron depletion causes extensive reprogramming of gene expression and a complex translational response. While global repression...