Search Results (576)

This paper explains why the critical line sits at the real part equal to one-half by treating it as an intrinsic boundary of a reparametrized complex plane (“z-space”), not a mere artifact of functional symmetry. In z-space the real part is defined by a geometric-series map that gives rise to a rulebook for admissible analytic operations. Within this setting we rederive the classical toolkit—the eta–zeta relation, Gamma reflection and duplication, theta–Mellin identity, functional equation, and the completed zeta—without importing analytic continuation from the usual s-variable. We show that access to the left half-plane occurs entirely through formulas written on the right, with boundary matching only along the line with the real part equal to one-half. A global Hadamard product confirms the consistency and fixed location of this boundary, and a holomorphic change of variables transports these conclusions into the classical setting. Full article

Child marriage remains a major threat to adolescent girls’ health, development, and rights worldwide. Despite decades of progress, recent policy backsliding and sociopolitical instability have created new risks, with examples from Iraq, Afghanistan, and The Gambia illustrating how legal and political shifts are reshaping vulnerabilities for girls. This paper presents an integrated framework linking developmental science with legal and policy advocacy, emphasizing how evolving capacities and psychosocial maturity should inform marriage laws and protection mechanisms. It reframes advocacy and rights-based action as essential components of adolescent health systems, drawing on recent policy analyses and country examples to identify actionable, multisectoral strategies. The paper highlights an urgent need for collective, evidence-informed advocacy to protect adolescent girls and advance gender equality, an issue of growing importance amid renewed global attention to legal reforms on child marriage. Full article

Money laundering poses a serious threat to financial stability and requires effective national frameworks for prevention. This study investigates how the quality of legal and institutional frameworks affects the effectiveness of national anti-money laundering (AML) systems and their implications for financial risk management. We conducted an empirical analysis of 132 jurisdictions in 2024 using the Basel AML Index (AMLI) and the WJP Rule of Law Index (RLI). The Random Forest method was employed to model the relationship between rule-of-law indicators and AML risk levels. Findings reveal a significant inverse relationship between rule-of-law indicators and AML risk levels, with an overall classification accuracy of 69.6%. The model performed best for low-risk countries (precision 75%, recall 92.31%), moderately for medium-risk countries (precision 65.22%, recall 78.95%), but failed to identify high-risk jurisdictions, suggesting a legal institutional “threshold” necessary for effective AML functioning. Key predictors included protection of fundamental rights and mechanisms for civil oversight, with strong negative correlations between AML risk and criminal justice impartiality (−0.35), civil justice fairness (−0.35), and equality before the law (−0.41). These results show that legal factors strongly affect AML risk and can guide regulators in improving risk-based standards, enhancing regulatory certainty, and managing financial risk. Full article

While the legal framework in Mozambique in principle provides equal rights to land for women and men, its underlying assumptions imply that customary tenure is patrilineal, that women get access to land through their relationships with men, while men in practice own and control land. This article focuses on matrilineal land institutions in Makhuwa communities in northern Mozambique. It argues that local matrilineal institutions have provided women with transferable rights to land, while men get access to land in various ways within the matrilineal institutional framework. Based on the Land Law of 1997, the Mozambican government in 2015 launched a large-scale land tenure formalisation programme, Terra Segura (“Secure Land”), with World Bank funding. The Mozambican Land Law recognises local community rights to customary land, while Land Law Regulations define the requirements for both community and individual formalisation of such rights. Field data collected in Makhuwa communities, where individual titling was carried out in the period 2019–2023, indicate that both women and men received titles. But what is secured through these individual titles? The article discusses to what extent formalised “secure land tenure” for individuals can weaken women’s land rights and traditional rights to subsistence—provided by matrilineal land institutions over time, across generations. Full article

This study examines the impact of Kosovo’s matrimonial property and inheritance laws on intergenerational inheritance and family connections. It explores how the division of property during marriage or upon divorce influences inheritance outcomes and the continuity of family lineage. The research employs a comparative approach, including genealogical case studies, to analyze these effects. Findings demonstrate that legal provisions significantly influence the preservation of family property and help prevent intra-family disputes. Well-structured laws ensuring the participation of children and the surviving spouse promote gender and social equality, respect heirs’ rights, and support economic sustainability. Comparative experiences from Germany and France offer practical examples for harmonizing property management in Kosovo. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of accurate property data and the use of genealogical records to maintain continuity in material inheritance and the construction of family history. Overall, matrimonial property and inheritance laws are more than legal instruments; they uphold social order and safeguard families’ material legacies. The study concludes with concrete recommendations for policy and legal practices that address communities’ real needs while acknowledging family history. Full article

Score fusion is a technique that combines the matching scores from multiple biometric modalities for an authentication system. Biometric modalities are unique physical or behavioral characteristics that can be used to identify individuals. Biometric authentication systems use these modalities to verify or identify individuals. Score fusion can improve the performance of biometric authentication systems by exploiting the complementary strengths of different modalities and reducing the impact of noise and outliers from individual modalities. This paper proposes a new score fusion method based on the Sine Cosine Algorithm (SCA). SCA is a meta-heuristic optimization algorithm used in various optimization problems. The proposed method extracts features from multiple biometric sources and then computes intra/inter scores for each modality. The proposed method then normalizes the scores for a given user using different biometric modalities. Then, the mean, maximum, minimum, median, summation, and Tanh are used to aggregate the scores from different biometric modalities. The role of the SCA is to find the optimal parameters to fuse the normalized scores. We evaluated our methods on the CASIA-V3-Internal iris dataset and the AT&T (ORL) face database. The proposed method outperforms existing optimization-based methods under identical experimental conditions and achieves an Equal Error Rate (EER) of 1.003% when fusing left iris, right iris, and face. This represents an improvement of up to 85.89% over unimodal baselines. These findings validate SCA’s effectiveness for adaptive score fusion in multimodal biometric systems. Full article

Objective: The aim of this preliminary study was to recognize motion patterns by classifying time series features extracted from electromyography (EMG) data of the upper limb muscles. Methods: In this study, we tested six machine learning (ML) classification models (decision trees, support vector machines, linear discriminant, quadratic discriminant, k-nearest neighbors, and efficient logistic regression) to classify time series features segmented from processed EMG data that were acquired from eight superficial muscles of two upper limbs over performing given physical activities in two main stages (supination and neutral forearm configuration) in initial and target (isometric) positions. Results: Findings indicate that in aiming to classify stages of the upper limb with the highest performance, the following ML models should be used: (1) K-NN cityblock (F1 equals 0.973/0.992) and K-NN minkowski (0.966/0.992) for the left limb in initial or target position; (2) K-NN seuclidean (0.959/0.985) and K-NN minkowski (0.957/0.986) for the right limb in initial position; (3) K-NN cityblock (0.966/0.986), K-NN seuclidean (0.959/0.985), and K-NN minkowski (0.957/0.986) for the right limb in target position. Conclusions: Upper limb positions tested in this study can be recognized based on classification of surface EMG data by using the k-nearest neighbors models (K-NN cityblock, K-NN seuclidean or K-NN minkowski) that have to be trained separately for the right and left upper limbs. Full article

Background: With ageing populations and increasing labour force participation among women over 50, their mental health and psychological well-being require attention. The multifactorial etiology of depression has been extensively studied at both the individual and societal levels. Longitudinal analyses exploring socioeconomic and political determinants and whether they influence depression severity across European countries are lacking. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine a possible correlation between socioeconomic and political factors with depression severity in women aged 50 and older in Europe and to what extent these possible correlations vary across countries. Methods: This longitudinal observational study was conducted using data from 47,426 women aged 50–89 years across 15 European countries, drawn from seven waves (2004–2015) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Depression symptoms were measured by the validated European Depression Scale (EURO-D). The Andersen Model of Health Service Utilization was applied to contextualize twelve macro-level predictors of depression. These were organized into four overarching domains—health, education/employment/finance, equality, and security. Mean EURO-D scores were calculated with respect to age group and country. Correlations between predictors and depressive symptoms were assessed using Pearson’s and Adjusted Pearson’s correlation coefficients to determine the strength and rank of associations. Results: Significant correlations between predictor variables and depression were identified in nine countries, especially among women aged 80–89 years. Spain and Estonia showed strong predictors across several age groups. Eastern European countries exhibited the broadest range of significant correlations. Italy and France, despite high depression levels, revealed few significant predictors. Sweden, the Netherlands, and Switzerland had lower depression scores and demonstrated clearer correlations. Factors related to LGBTQ+ rights, perceived corruption, and peace indices emerged as influential. Conclusions: Country-specific historical, cultural, and sociopolitical factors appear to shape severity of depression in older women, with the strongest effects in the oldest age groups. Predictors of EURO-D scores varied by country and age group, with differences in explanatory power. The importance of predictors varied across age groups; listing them without context misrepresents the findings. The interplay between objective indicators and public perception, especially concerning minority rights and governance, highlights the need for culturally sensitive interventions. Future prevention efforts should incorporate these determinants to improve mental health across Europe. Full article

Temporary agency work (TAW) has expanded globally as organizations seek flexibility amid skill shortages and demand volatility. In 2015 the United Nations recognized ‘decent work’ as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 8), emphasizing sustainable economic growth, fair employment opportunities accessible to all without discrimination, environmental responsibility, and social inclusiveness. This study examines why user organizations (clients) adopt TAW and how these drivers materialize in stakeholder practices that align—or fail to align—with SDG-8 dimensions of decent work. Within a qualitative-dominant, explanatory sequential mixed-methods case study, documentary and statistical analyses were combined with 19 semi-structured interviews across agencies, clients, agency workers, trade unions, and relevant authorities. Inductive thematic analysis identified seven demand-side driver categories and assessed their effects using the SDG-8 pillars as an analytical lens (employment creation, rights at work, social protection, social dialogue). Findings indicate that TAW is primarily deployed to buffer volatility and labour shortages, accelerate hiring, and shift HR administration and parts of risk to agencies, with limited integration of SDG-8–consistent practices. Three cross-cutting gaps emerged: (i) social dialogue is narrow and compliance-oriented, with little strategic focus on decent-work outcomes; (ii) agency-worker voice and representation are weak, and agencies are not consistently recognised as social partners; and (iii) social-sustainability efforts are sparse and ad hoc, with few structured measures for skill development, equal treatment, or clear conversion pathways, while environmentally friendly initiatives are almost completely absent. In Slovenia, TAW fills systemic labour gaps but remains weakly integrated with SDG-8 practices. The study links demand-side drivers to specific decent-work shortfalls and proposes a multi-level policy roadmap—regulatory, industry, TAW agency, and social-dialogue platforms—to advance progress toward social sustainability and environmental responsibility. Full article

This paper introduces a novel framework for designing fair and sustainable unemployment benefits, grounded in cooperative game theory and real-time fiscal policy. The labor market is modeled as a coalitional game, where a random subset of participants is employed, generating stochastic economic output. To ensure fairness, we adopt equal employment opportunity as a normative benchmark and propose a dichotomous valuation rule that assigns value to both employed and unemployed participants. Within a continuous-time, balanced budget framework, we derive a closed-form payroll tax rate that is fair, debt-free, and asymptotically risk-free. This tax rule is robust across alternative objectives and promotes employment, productivity, and equality of outcome. The framework naturally extends to other domains involving random bipartitions and shared payoffs, such as voting rights, health insurance, road tolling, and feature selection in machine learning. Our approach offers a transparent, theoretically grounded policy tool for reducing poverty and economic inequality while maintaining fiscal discipline. Full article

We consider a Student process based on independent copies of a random variable X. If X is in the domain of attraction of the normal law (DAN), a weighted version of the Student process is known to follow a functional Central Limit Theorem (FCLT). Accordingly, appropriate functionals of such a process converge in distribution to the same functionals of the similarly weighted standard Wiener process. We use such a convergence for an integral functional and derive asymptotic confidence intervals (CIs) for the mean of X. For right-skewed distributions of X in DAN, we show that the obtained CIs have higher finite-sample coverage probabilities than, and may be preferred over, a CI $I_1$ of the same asymptotic confidence level $1-\alpha$ that is based on the CLT for the Student t-statistic, since the finite-sample coverage probabilities of the latter CI may be lower than $1-\alpha$. Moreover, for such distributions, the finite-sample coverage probabilities of our best two CIs are also higher than those of their respective equal-expected-length $I_1$ counterparts. Full article

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse the opinions and experiences of older adults regarding age-based discrimination in healthcare. Method: The study is based on the analysis of data from 492 older adult respondents aged 60–84, with the mean age of 71.6 ± 6.6 years, who completed and returned anonymous questionnaires sent to their homes. Results: Most of the respondents (74.8%) believed that the state does not consistently improve the protection of older persons’ rights. Nearly half (42.5%) reported that healthcare services are not provided equally to younger and older people. A significant proportion of respondents (41.1%) reported experiencing age-based discrimination themselves, having responded affirmatively to at least three out of nine statements indicating discriminatory experiences. Poor health status and financial hardships emerged as the primary factors associated with multidimensional discrimination experienced by older adults. More than half (64.0%) of respondents believed that discriminatory attitudes towards older people are rooted in healthcare professionals’ internal cultural norms. Conclusions: The findings of the study indicate the need to change the attitudes of healthcare professionals towards older adults. There is an urgent need for the targeted professional education on this issue. Full article

Introduction: ‘Associative prosopagnosia’ and ‘associative phonagnosia’ are high-level post-perceptual face and voice recognition defects due to right anterior temporal lesions, but the relations between these two disorders are uncertain. It is, indeed, not clear if face and voice recognition disorders observed in these patients must be considered as independent modality-specific recognition defects or as fragments of a more general semantic disorder concerning the multimodal representation of known persons. Aims of this study: In this review, the relations between associative forms of face and voice recognition disorders were investigated in all patients with right anterior temporal lesions reported in the literature. A prevalence of ‘pure’ (modality-specific) forms could indicate that these are independent, modality-specific recognition defects, whereas a high frequency of voice- and face-associated disorders could suggest that they are components of a multimodal semantic disruption. Results: Results show that ‘associative prosopagnosia’ and ‘associative phonagnosia’ are observed sometimes as ‘pure’ forms, other times as associations between verbal and non-verbal defects of person recognition, and still other times as associations restricted to the non-verbal (face and voice) modalities of person recognition. Furthermore, in a patient with a multimodal face and voice recognition disorder, the lesion involved the right temporal pole, considered as the locus of convergence of face and voice recognition modalities. Discussion: These data suggest that specific lesions of the right anterior temporal lobes can disrupt the highest modality-specific levels of face and voice representations, whereas other equally selective lesions can disrupt the locus of convergence of face and voice recognition modalities. Full article

The concept of symmetry is fundamental to the study of algebra; it serves as the basis for a branch of group theory that is essential to abstract algebra. A semigroup is a structure that builds upon the concept of a group, similarly extending the idea of symmetry found within groups. In this study, we specifically focus on semigroups. The main objective of this research is to apply the notion of m-polar picture fuzzy sets (m-PPFSs), with m being a natural number, in investigations into semigroups, as this concept generalizes m-polar fuzzy sets (m-PFSs) and picture fuzzy sets (PFSs). This research introduces the concepts of m-polar picture fuzzy left ideals (m-PPFLs), m-polar picture fuzzy right ideals (m-PPFRs), m-polar picture fuzzy ideals (m-PPFIs), m-polar picture fuzzy bi-ideals (m-PPFBs), and m-polar picture fuzzy generalized bi-ideals (m-PPFGBs) in semigroups. This study examines the relationships between these concepts, showing that every m-PPFL (m-PPFR) in the semigroups is also an m-PPFB, and that every m-PPFB in the semigroups is an m-PPFGB. However, the opposite is not true. Additionally, we provide the characteristics of the m-PPFLs, m-PPFRs, m-PPFIs, m-PPFBs, and m-PPFGBs in semigroups. We further discuss the connections between the m-PPFLs (m-PPFIs) and the m-PPFBs within the framework of regular semigroups, and most importantly, we show that, if the semigroup is regular, then the m-PPFBs and m-PPFGBs are equal. Finally, we utilize the properties of the m-PPFLs, m-PPFRs, m-PPFIs, m-PPFBs, and m-PPFGBs within semigroups to explore the classifications of regular semigroups. Full article

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of surface disinfectant solutions against COVID-19 on the surface roughness, gloss, and color of removable denture materials. Fifty rectangular metallic specimens made of Co-Cr alloy and fifty disk-shaped specimens made of PMMA were prepared according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Fifty maxillary right central incisors were also included in the study. The above-mentioned specimens were equally divided into five groups (n = 10). Four disinfectant solutions were tested (0.1 wt% NaOCl, 0.5 wt% H₂O₂, 78 wt% ethanol, and 1 wt% Povidone Iodine), and freshly distilled water was used as the control. To simulate clinical practice, each specimen was immersed in the disinfectant solution 15 times. All specimens were marked, and surface roughness, gloss, and color were measured before and after immersion. All roughness parameters (Sa, Sq, Sz, Sc, and Sv) and gloss values before and after immersion were statistically compared. ΔE*ab values were statistically compared with perception and acceptability thresholds according to ISO/TR 28642. No significant differences were identified for surface roughness parameters for all groups tested. All materials demonstrated a significant increase in gloss after aging regime, while only the metallic specimens illustrated ΔE*ab values higher than the acceptability threshold after disinfection with H₂O₂. None of the surface properties deteriorated after exposure to tested disinfectants, and thus, all of them can be effectively implemented in everyday practice. Full article