Computational models of memory have achieved considerable success by formalizing how traces are encoded, cued, and retrieved. However, the role that individual linguistic experience plays in shaping representational structure has been relatively understudied. Where the issue has been examined, most models assume that a common population-level semantic space suffices, effectively treating individual variation in language experience as noise rather than signal. We test the theoretical adequacy of this assumption. In a large-scale experiment (N = 478), participants completed a cued recall task in which identical target words were paired with cues drawn from eight different genre-specific semantic spaces (mystery, fantasy, horror, literary fiction, romance, science fiction, thriller, and non-fiction). Participants reported their reading habits across the eight genres, and personalized semantic representations were constructed by weighting genre-specific corpora proportionally to each participant's reading profile. Two complementary analyses were conducted. In a model-free analysis, cosine similarity computed within each participant's personalized semantic space predicted recall and omission outcomes more reliably than similarity derived from generic semantic spaces. In a computational analysis, substituting personalized representations into the embedded Computational Framework of Memory improved cue–target-level predictions over generic alternatives, accounting for approximately 4 percentage points more explained variance. These findings provide proof of concept that variation in individual linguistic experience shapes semantic structure in ways that are both behaviourally detectable and computationally tractable. More broadly, they suggest that the predictive limits of memory models may reside not only in their retrieval mechanisms but also in the fidelity of the representations they assume.
This study presents a novel optimization framework for condition-based maintenance using a discrete-time absorbing Markov chain to balance maintenance costs and system availability. The framework employs a multi-threshold policy, in which degradation thresholds dynamically determine non-periodic inspection intervals and maintenance actions. The degradation process follows a continuous-time Gamma process. Preventive maintenance is triggered when degradation exceeds a preventive threshold but remains below the failure limit, whereas corrective maintenance occurs at the failure limit. The optimization ensures cost efficiency while maintaining availability above a predefined target. Key performance metrics, including degradation-dependent inspection costs, maintenance cycle length, and quality loss, are analytically derived and evaluated. Importantly, the total cost per unit time explicitly integrates a degradation-dependent quality-loss component alongside inspection, maintenance, and downtime costs, highlighting quality loss as a key driver of decision-making trade-offs. The framework jointly optimizes the number of degradation phases, inspection intervals, and degradation limits to minimize the total cost per unit time subject to an availability constraint. The mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem is solved using a two-stage approach: a greedy search to select the number of degradation phases, followed by a constrained nonlinear program to refine the inspection intervals and thresholds. Numerical results demonstrate cost-efficient policies with high availability, providing practical insights for decision-makers. The work presents a robust decision-support tool for managing complex degrading systems.
We numerically investigate in the present paper the P-1(o) resonance series in the B3+, N5+ and F7+ ions by using a B-spline-based spectral approach combined with the complex rotation method. We report highly accurate results of the energy positions, widths, natural lifetimes of these states and the precise X-ray photon energies needed to trigger their formation under the N = 2 and N = 3 hydrogenic thresholds and observe their autoionization. The present investigation has succeeded in the localization of new high-lying doubly excited P-1(o) states never reported before by another theoretical method and also in their classification into distinct resonant series that share similar angular correlation pattern.
We offer an integrative definition of the parental construct of logical consequences (LC), with the aim of stimulating research on their role in child socialization. Based on an exhaustive review of theoretical and empirical literature, we propose that LC are non-need-thwarting (i.e., ranging from need-neutral to need-supportive) parental constraints that address problems created by children's transgressions. Embedded in problem solving, they are hypothesized to promote child compliance and internalization of rules simultaneously, thereby fostering responsibility and social integration. Empirical evidence regarding LC is still nascent, as past research has often conflated LC with other parental interventions. To increase conceptual clarity, we present historical background on LC followed by an integrative definition. Next, we provide an overview of the emerging empirical evidence supporting the use of LC, emphasizing their role in fostering child socialization. Then, we distinguish LC from other well-known disciplinary interventions, including mild punishments and reasoning. We conclude with potential avenues for future research.
Experts highlight the urgent need to increase clinical capacity for the early diagnosis and treatment of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). FASD is a multifaceted and complex diagnosis that requires multidisciplinary care, yet few specialized clinics exist. Individuals often navigate the healthcare system for years before receiving a diagnosis. To better understand the pre-diagnostic healthcare trajectories of children and adolescents with FASD, this study aimed to describe the following: (i) the number and types of healthcare professionals consulted; and (ii) the number and types of medical diagnoses received prior to a FASD diagnosis. This retrospective descriptive study analyzed medical records from 155 patients diagnosed with FASD at the NB FASD Center of Excellence, a provincial specialized clinic in New Brunswick (Canada). Among the 155 youth included (63
