On-road evaluation and regulatory recommendations for NOx and particle number emissions of China VI heavy-duty diesel trucks: A case study in Shenzhen.

This research analyzed the real-world NOx and particle number (PN) emissions of 21 China VI heavy-duty diesel trucks (HDDTs). On-road emission conformity was first evaluated with portable emission measurement system (PEMS). Only 76.19 %, 71.43 % and 61.90 % of the vehicles passed the NOx test, PN test and both tests, respectively. The impacts of vehicle features including exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) equipment, mileage and tractive tonnage were then assessed. Results demonstrated that EGR helped reducing NOx emission factors (EFs) while increased PN EFs. Larger mileages and tractive tonnages corresponded to higher NOx and PN EFs, respectively. In-depth analyses regarding the influences of operating conditions on emissions were conducted with both numerical comparisons and statistical tests. Results proved that HDDTs generated higher NOx EFs under low speeds or large vehicle specific powers (VSPs), and higher PN EFs under high speeds or small VSPs in general. In addition, unqualified vehicles generated significantly higher NOx EFs than qualified vehicles on freeways or under speed≥40 km/h, while significant higher PN EFs were generated on suburban roads, freeways or under operating modes with positive VSPs by unqualified vehicles. The reliability and accuracy of on-board diagnostic (OBD) NOx data were finally investigated. Results revealed that 43 % of the test vehicles did not report reliable OBD data. Correlation analyses between OBD NOx and PEMS measurements further demonstrated that the consistency of instantaneous concentrations were generally low. However, sliding window averaged concentrations show better correlations, e.g., the Pearson correlation coefficients on 20s-window averaged concentrations exceeded 0.85 for most vehicles. The research results provide valuable insights into emission regulation, e.g., focusing more on medium- to high-speed operations to identify unqualified vehicles, setting higher standards to improve the quality of OBD data, and adopting window averaged OBD NOx concentrations in evaluating vehicle emission performance.

Long-term follow-up demonstrates change in conformation shape of the focal choroidal excavation lesions.

PURPOSE: This study aims to present long-term observation of 5 eyes with focal choroidal excavation (FCE), focusing on morphological changes in conformity of the lesion. METHODS: A retrospective case series was conducted, including 5 eyes of 5 patients with FCE. The study utilized multimodal imaging including color fundus photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), enhanced depth imaging OCT (EDI-OCT), fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA), fundus autofluorescence (FAF), red free imaging, and OCT angiography. RESULTS: The mean age at diagnosis was 51 ± 10.65 years, with a mean follow-up period 37 ± 13.59 months. All cases were unilateral, with 1 presenting FCE as an isolated lesion, and one patient exhibiting 2 FCEs in one eye. The mean choroidal thickness measured by EDI-OCT was 268.2 ± 63.39 µm in the affected eye. One patient displayed choroidal thickening and pachyvessels. Of the 5 eyes, one had conforming and 4 non-conforming FCE. We observed a conversion in conformity in all patients, with 4 cases transitioning from non-conforming FCE to conforming type (3 spontaneously, 1 treatment-induced). In conforming FCE, a hyporeflective space appeared twice between neuroretina and retinal pigment epithelium with spontaneous regression. CONCLUSION: We observed change in shape from the conforming to non-conforming FCE and vice versa in all patients. We consider this small change in the hyporeflective space as non-pathologic and clinically insignificant.

Bayes Optimal Integration of Social and Endogenous Uncertainty in Numerosity Estimation.

One of the most prominent social influences on human decision making is conformity, which is even more prominent when the perceptual information is ambiguous. The Bayes optimal solution to this problem entails weighting the relative reliability of cognitive information and perceptual signals in constructing the percept from self-sourced/endogenous and social sources, respectively. The current study investigated whether humans integrate the statistics (i.e., mean and variance) of endogenous perceptual and social information in a Bayes optimal way while estimating numerosities. Our results demonstrated adjustment of initial estimations toward group means only when group estimations were more reliable (or "certain"), compared to participants' endogenous metric uncertainty. Our results support Bayes optimal social conformity while also pointing to an implicit form of metacognition.

Observing heroic behavior and its influencing factors in immersive virtual environments.

Studying heroism in controlled settings presents challenges and ethical controversies due to its association with physical risk. Leveraging virtual reality (VR) technology, we conducted a three-study series with 397 participants from China to investigate heroic actions. Participants unexpectedly witnessed a criminal event in a simulated scenario, allowing observation of their tendency to physically intercept a thief. We examined situational factors (voluntariness, authority, and risk) and personal variables [gender, impulsivity, empathy, and social value orientation (SVO)] that may influence heroism. Also, the potential association between heroism and social conformity was explored. In terms of situational variables, voluntariness modulated participants' tendency to intercept the escaping thief, while perceived risk demonstrated its impact by interacting with gender. That is, in study 3 where the perceived risk was expected to be higher (as supported by an online study 5), males exhibited a greater inclination toward heroic behavior compared to females. Regarding other personal variables, the tendency to engage in heroic behavior decreased as empathy levels rose among males, whereas the opposite trend was observed for females. SVO influenced heroic behavior but without a gender interaction. Finally, an inverse relationship between heroism and social conformity was observed. The robustness of these findings was partly supported by the Chinese sample (but not the international sample) of an online study 4 that provided written descriptions of VR scenarios, indicating cultural variations. These results advance insights into motivational factors influencing heroism in the context of restoring order and highlight the power of VR technology in examining social psychological hypotheses beyond ethical constraints.

Individualism, collectivism and conformity in nine countries: Relations with parenting and child adjustment.

This study investigated how individualism, collectivism and conformity are associated with parenting and child adjustment in 1297 families with 10-year-old children from 13 cultural groups in nine countries. With multilevel models disaggregating between- and within-culture effects, we examined between- and within-culture associations between maternal and paternal cultural values, parenting dimensions and children's adjustment. Mothers from cultures endorsing higher collectivism and fathers from cultures endorsing lower individualism engage more frequently in warm parenting behaviours. Mothers and fathers with higher-than-average collectivism in their culture reported higher parent warmth and expectations for children's family obligations. Mothers with higher-than-average collectivism in their cultures more frequently reported warm parenting and fewer externalising problems in children, whereas mothers with higher-than-average individualism in their culture reported more child adjustment problems. Mothers with higher-than-average conformity values in their culture reported more father-displays of warmth and greater mother-reported expectations for children's family obligations. Fathers with higher-than-average individualism in their culture reported setting more rules and soliciting more knowledge about their children's whereabouts. Fathers who endorsed higher-than-average conformity in their culture displayed more warmth and expectations for children's family obligations and granted them more autonomy. Being connected to an interdependent, cohesive group appears to relate to parenting and children's adjustment.

The forgotten adaptive social benefits of social learning in animals.

Theoretical and empirical scholars of cultural evolution have traditionally studied social learning strategies, such as conformity, as adaptive strategies to obtain accurate information about the environment, whereas within social psychology there has been a greater focus upon the social consequences of such strategies. Although these two approaches are often used in concert when studying human social learning, we believe the potential social benefits of conformity, and of social learning more broadly, have been overlooked in studies of non-humans. We review evidence from studies of homophily, imitation, and rapid facial mimicry that suggests that behaving like others affords social benefits to non-human animals and that behaviour matching may be deployed strategically to increase affiliation. Furthermore, we review studies of conformity in dispersers, and suggest that forgoing personal information or preferences in favour of those of the new group during immigration may be a strategy to facilitate social integration. We therefore propose that the informational and social functions of conformity apply to humans and animals alike. We use this perspective to generate several interesting research questions to inspire work in this field. For example, under what conditions do animals use informational or social conformity and what role does uncertainty play in social learning in immigrant individuals?

Use of Zernike moments to characterize dose conformity for radiotherapy treatment plans.

Dose conformity is an essential parameter used in radiotherapy and radiosurgery that measures the correspondence of the dose distribution derived from a Treatment Planning System (TPS) with the actual volume to be treated, the Planning Treatment Volume (PTV). The present work uses a method based on the expansion of dose distributions and PTVs by three-dimensional Zernike polynomials and further comparison of their moments to define a general criterion of dose conformity. To carry on this study, data coming from 20 patients comprising 80 datasets exported from the TPS, which included imaging data (PTVs) and dose distributions corresponding to different treatment modalities: three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), were used. The expansions in Zernike polynomials were obtained up to order 6 and reconstructed dose distributions and PTVs were obtained and compared, and several definitions for a general dose conformity index were proposed. Results indicate agreement between the proposed dose conformity index and the Conformation Number CN. The proposed method allows for a systematic approach to the analysis of dose distributions with further extensions in AI applications.

Action Speaks Louder: The Role of Proactive Behavior between Creative Leadership and Employees' Creativity.

Drawing on social learning theory, this study presents a moderated mediation model to examine the role of proactive behavior and conformity value in the positive relationship between creative leadership and employees' creativity. Two-wave data are collected from 230 employees and their leaders in an automobile manufacturing enterprise in China, in which employees are encouraged to be creative because they need to implement novel designs and proposals to attract consumers. Statistical analysis reveals that proactive behavior partially mediates the influence of creative leadership on employees' creativity. Conformity value moderates not only the relationship between creative leadership and proactive behavior but also the indirect effect of creative leadership on employees' creativity via proactive behavior. The relationship and the mediating mechanism are stronger in the presence of employees' higher conformity value. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications as well as future research directions of the findings.

On the significance of the measurement evaluation method in decision making: A synthesis of JCGM 101 and JCGM 106 applied to gross alpha and gross beta measurements using LSC.

In decision making, e.g. conformity to a specification like a reference value or a requirement, the decision rule applied shall be documented. Furthermore, if the measurement uncertainty is considered in the decision process the associated probability, or risk, that a measurement result is above (or below) a reference value shall be taken into account. In this work it is shown that for gross alpha and gross beta measurements the evaluation method, GUMUF (GUM Uncertainty Framework) or MC (Monte Carlo), may also be important and influence the decisions taken when measurement results are very close to the reference value. Therefore the evaluation method and assumptions of the input quantities may also be important to document. Moreover, decision makers or users of measurement results should be aware of possible differences and/or consequences due to the evaluation method regardless of the decision rule and the choice of evaluation method.

Associations between gendered racism, racial identity, and nicotine use among Asian American men.

OBJECTIVES: The present study utilized an intersectional framework to examine if two forms of gendered racism, psychological emasculation and messages about Asian American men being undesirable partners, were associated with Asian American men's nicotine use. We also examined the potential mediating roles of two racial identity statuses, racial conformity and racial immersion. METHODS: A sample of 356 Asian American men living in the United States of America (USA) completed a cross-sectional survey via Qualtrics containing measures assessing the aforementioned constructs of interest. The primary analysis examined separate parallel mediation models, situating psychological emasculation and undesirable partner as separate independent variables, racial conformity and racial immersion as parallel mediators, nicotine use as the outcome, and age and employment as covariates. RESULTS: In separate parallel mediation models, the links between psychological emasculation and undesirable partner on one hand, and nicotine use on the other, were completely mediated only by racial conformity, and not significantly mediated by racial immersion. Specifically, greater endorsement of gendered racism was associated with greater conformity with (and internalization of) these gendered racist beliefs, which in turn were associated with greater nicotine use. CONCLUSION: Researchers and practitioners may consider racial conformity as an interventional target to ameliorate Asian American men's nicotine use. Future studies should continue to examine other culturally relevant and/or potentially protective constructs (e.g., on the basis of gender, race, and its intersection) that may mitigate Asian American men's nicotine use.

QHFSS DNA laboratory - ISO/IEC 17025 conformance and accreditation.

This paper reviews evidence placed before a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) established by the State of Queensland, Australia, to consider the quality and reliability of DNA evidence. It also assesses whether the criticism levied in that report, of ISO/IEC 17025 being insufficient to assure the quality and reliability of DNA evidence, is warranted. The main conclusion drawn is that properly applied and embraced as a means of continuous improvement, conformance with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 alone is sufficient to assure the quality and reliability of the scientific outputs from a forensic science laboratory. Furthermore, it is clear from the observations and findings of the CoI and those recorded in this paper that the forensic science laboratory in question did not conform to ISO/IEC 17025:2017. Had it done so then the risk of the quality failures that led to the CoI would at least have been reduced and perhaps even avoided.

Long-term results of a rotationally unconstrained fixed-bearing total knee prosthesis.

PURPOSE: Introduced in the market in 1990 by Ceraver (France), the posterior-stabilised (PS) Hermes prosthesis has limited literature regarding long-term survivability. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the survival and functional outcomes of the prosthesis. METHODS: A retrospective case series was performed including 164 patients (176 knees) having undergone total knee arthroplasty with the Hermes prosthesis between 1997 and 2000 with a follow-up period of 18 years. RESULTS: Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a survival rate of 99.4% (95% CI. 96.0-100.0%) at 18.4 years with one revision. At final follow-up, the International Knee Society (IKS) functional score was 93.2 ± 15.6 and IKS knee score was 99.1 ± 2.5. CONCLUSION: The Hermes PS model is a low conformity prosthesis that offers reliable durability that is comparable to other popular designs while minimizing rotational constraints and having an approachable learning curve for new users.

Experimental Verification of the Impact of the Contact Area between the Defect Site and the Scaffold on Bone Regeneration Efficacy.

In the field of bone tissue engineering, which is being developed for the ideal restoration of bone defects, researchers are exploring the improvement of the bone regeneration efficacy of scaffolds through various approaches involving osteoconductive, osteoinductive, and angiogenic factors. In the current trend of research, there is also a suggestion that the topological factors of recent scaffolds may influence the attachment, migration, proliferation, and differentiation of bone cells. Building upon experimental confirmation of the effect of scaffold conformity with the defect site on enhanced bone regeneration in previous studies, we conducted this research to experimentally investigate the relationship between contact area with the defect site and bone regeneration efficacy. The results demonstrated that as the contact area of the scaffold increased, not only did the resistance to bone tissue growth increase, more significant bone regeneration also occurred, as evidenced through histological analysis and micro-CT analysis. This research confirms that the contact area between the scaffold and the defect site is a critical variable affecting bone regeneration efficacy, emphasizing its importance when designing customized scaffolds. This finding holds promising implications for future studies and applications in the field.

Cultural values, parenting and child adjustment in Colombia.

This study examined associations of mothers' and fathers' individualism, collectivism and conformity values with parenting (warmth, rules/limit-setting, knowledge solicitation and expectations regarding children's family obligations) and child internalising and externalising behaviours in Colombia. Mothers, fathers and children (N = 100) from Medellín, Colombia were interviewed when children were, on average, 10 years old. Higher maternal collectivism and conformity values were associated with higher maternal warmth and fewer child externalising problems, whereas higher paternal collectivism was associated with lower maternal warmth and more child externalising problems. Fathers' cultural values also were related to their expectations regarding children's family obligations. The findings suggest differences in how mothers' and fathers' cultural values are related to parenting and child adjustment in Colombia, as well as the need to examine cultural values beyond individualism, collectivism and conformity values.

Bolder together: conformity drives behavioral plasticity in eastern gartersnakes.

Personality traits drive individual differences in behaviour that are consistent across time and context. Personality limits behavioural plasticity, which could lead to maladaptive choices if animals cannot adapt their behavior to changing conditions. Here, we assessed consistency and flexibility in one personality trait, boldness, across non-social and social contexts in eastern gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis). Snakes explored a novel open arena either alone or in a pair. Pairs were assigned based on the data from the solo trials, such that each snake was paired once with a bolder and once with a less bold partner. We predicted that snakes would conform when in a social context, displaying plasticity in their personality, and causing boldness scores to converge. We found that snakes were consistent within contexts (solo or paired), but changed their behavior across contexts (from solo to paired). Plasticity in boldness resulted from an interaction between conformity and repeatable individual differences in plasticity. In line with some data on other species, snakes conformed more when they were the less bold partner. Personality reflects a consistent bias in decision-making, but our results highlight that the cognitive processes that drive the expression of personality traits in behavior are flexible and sensitive to social context. We show that both consistency and plasticity combine to shape snake social behavior in ways that are responsive to competition. This pattern of behavior may be particularly beneficial for species in which group-living is seasonal.

Calculation of the detection limits with the least-squares method in gamma-ray spectrometry: A simple procedure.

A metrologically consistent procedure for assessing the detection limits of activity measurements for gamma-ray emitters with high-resolution spectrometers using the LSQ method is described and tested. As the input to the assessment, besides the measured contents of the spectral channels, the results of the peak analysis, i.e., the indication and its uncertainty, are used. The unfolding of the spectral region of interest into its components corresponding to the peak representing the indication and its background allows us to take into account the uncertainty budget, describing the uncertainty of the indication and the shape of the corresponding peak, making possible to include these sources of uncertainty in the calculation of the decision threshold. To assess the detection limit, the variance of the indication is calculated as a function of the indication itself, while considering the relative uncertainty of the conversion factor. The variance of the indication observed is approximated by a polynomial of the second order of the indication, thus making it possible to calculate the detection limit analytically. The method was tested on measured spectra using the empirically determined spectral shape of the peak representing the indication. It was shown how the empirically determined shape of an isolated and expressive peak close to the peak representing the indication can be used in the calculation of the decision threshold and how the presence of a peak overlapping with the peak representing the indication affects the decision threshold and the detection limit. It is explained that besides the counting statistics, the sources of uncertainty due to the shape of the peak representing indication also contribute to the decision threshold. However, to the increase of the detection limit over the decision threshold, besides the counting statistic, only the uncertainty of the conversion factor contributes. It is shown that in the presence of the indication, the decision threshold and the detection limit can be used to quantify the comparison between the observed value and the true value of the measurand with a predetermined quantity value in terms of the probabilities of making errors of the first and second kind. The application of the decision thresholds and detection limits to a conformity assessment is proposed.

Act generously when others do so: Majority influence on young children's sharing behavior.

Children's sharing behavior is profoundly shaped by social norms within their society, and they can learn these norms by directly observing how most others share in their immediate environment. Here we systematically investigated the impact of majority influence on the sharing behavior of young Chinese children through three studies (N = 336, 168 girls). Four- and 6-year-olds were allowed to choose 10 favorite stickers and had an opportunity to engage in anonymous sharing. Before making the sharing decision, children were assigned to one of two conditions: watching a video in which three peers all shared 8 out of 10 stickers (i.e., the majority sharing condition) or making their decisions without watching the video (i.e., the control condition). Results showed that both the 4- and 6-year-old children shared more stickers in the majority sharing condition than in the control condition (Studies 1 & 2). Moreover, the influence of the majority had a stronger effect compared to the influence of a single role model. Children shared more stickers after observing three peers sharing, compared to watching one peer sharing three times (Study 2). Furthermore, children were less likely to copy the majority's non-sharing behavior when it came to giving away stickers without prosocial outcomes, which was particularly evident among 4-year-olds (Study 3). The results reveal that majority influence uniquely shapes children's sharing behavior and that children selectively follow the majority based on whether the behavior exhibits prosocial attributes. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/8qNNhf9754I?si=7YfpaFpcD_IjlXjJ RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Observing a majority of three peers' unanimous generous sharing promoted sharing behavior in both 4- and 6-year-olds. The influence of three peers on children's sharing was stronger than that of one peer sharing three times. Four-year-olds, but not 6-year-olds, did not copy the non-sharing behavior of the majority as it did not lead to prosocial outcomes.

When norm change hurts.

Applied cultural evolution includes any effort to mobilize social learning and cultural evolution to promote behaviour change. Social tipping is one version of this idea based on conformity and coordination. Conformity and coordination can reinforce a harmful social norm, but they can also accelerate change from a harmful norm to a beneficial alternative. Perhaps unfortunately, the link between the size of an intervention and social tipping is complex in heterogeneous populations. A small intervention targeted at one segment of society can induce tipping better than a large intervention targeted at a different segment. We develop and examine two models showing that the link between social tipping and social welfare is also complex in heterogeneous populations. An intervention strategy that creates persistent miscoordination, exactly the opposite of tipping, can lead to higher social welfare than another strategy that leads to tipping. We show that the potential benefits of miscoordination often hinge specifically on the preferences of people most resistant to behaviour change. Altogether, ordinary forms of heterogeneity complicate applied cultural evolution considerably. Heterogeneity weakens both the link between the size of a social planner's intervention and behaviour change and the link between behaviour change and the well-being of society. This article is part of the theme issue 'Social norm change: drivers and consequences'.

Cultural values, parenting and child adjustment in Jordan.

This study examined associations between maternal and paternal cultural values (individualism, collectivism and conformity) and parenting dimensions (warmth, psychological control, autonomy granting, rule setting, knowledge solicitation and family obligations) and children's adjustment (internalising and externalising behaviours) in 113 families with children (Mage = 10.8 years) recruited from Zarqa, Jordan. Bivariate correlations and multiple regression analyses were used to examine study question. Results revealed that mothers' individualism was positively correlated with more maternal warmth, more rules/limit-setting and fathers' and children's perceptions regarding children's greater family obligations. Fathers' individualism was not significantly correlated with any parenting or child adjustment variables. Mothers' and fathers' higher collectivism was correlated with more maternal and paternal warmth, respectively; however, mothers' and fathers' higher conformity values were not significantly correlated with any parenting or child adjustment variables. Mothers' collectivism was not associated with any parenting or child adjustment variables after taking into account the other cultural values, child gender and mothers' education; however, fathers' higher collectivism was associated with more paternal warmth, fathers' higher expectations for children's family obligations and less child internalising behaviour. The findings have implications for understanding how cultural values are related to parenting and children's adjustment in Jordan.

Social influence and social identity: A diffusion model analysis.

Building on the seminal studies of Solomon Asch and Muzafer Sherif, recent research has advanced our understanding of the mechanisms underlying social influence by applying a diffusion model analysis. Here, we combined the social identity approach to social influence with a diffusion model analysis to unravel the mechanisms underlying social influence. In particular, we aimed to disentangle whether the difference between in-group and out-group influence on perceptual decision-making is driven by a judgmental bias (i.e., changes in decision criteria) or a perceptual bias (i.e., changes in the uptake of sensory information). Preregistered analyses indicated that in-groups exerted stronger social influence than out-groups because in-groups induced a stronger perceptual bias than out-groups. This finding is in line with the single process assumption of the social identity approach because it implicates that the single process driving social influence (i.e., self-categorisation) translates into a change in a single subprocess of decision-making (i.e., biased information uptake). In conclusion, our results highlight that our theoretical understanding of social influence can be expanded by integrating the social identity approach with a diffusion model analysis.