Sarah Lawrence College

The rapid growth of IoT has created an emerging demand for scalable and energy-efficient communication systems that can support millions of devices connected to the Internet. Essentially, LPWANs are meant for low-power, low-throughput networking, and they definitely are useful in enabling devices to connect to the internet. All in all, LPWAN is the future! It is very difficult to enhance the performance of LPWANs because of trade-offs between the important factors like energy efficiency, latency, throughput and reliability. This research puts forward a cross-layer optimization model which aims to enhance the IoT communication in LPWAN systems. The three proposed strategies are complementary. First, there is the adaptive spreading factor (SF) allocation to maximize physical layer performance. Second, the traffic scheduling based on reinforcement learning maximizes medium access control efficiency. Lastly, energy harvesting mechanisms increase lifetime of devices. When used in tandem, the modules respond dynamically to different network conditions, saving energy while improving the reliability of the transmitted data. According to the results of the simulations, the proposed framework can greatly outperform standard static schemes. According to relevant metrics the results attain a significant gain in energy efficiency and capacity of mobile networks compared to conventional operation. Above all, optimum energy efficiency and capacity is achieved with a distance of 9metres either side. We can say, integrating adaptive and intelligent systems is useful to optimize the IoT networks based on LPWAN. The model that is being suggested is a sustainable solution with scalability that will help to enhance the efficiency, reliability and sustainability of the next-generation IoT systems.

ABSTRACTWildlife tourism can support conservation but also imposes stress on wildlife, particularly cognitively complex and social species like Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), highlighting the need for science‐based management regulations. We assessed the behavioral responses of wild Asian elephants in Kuiburi National Park, Thailand, against varying levels of tourism pressure using scan and focal sampling over three years, including during park closures. We hypothesized that tourism pressure influences elephant behavioral responses, with the strength and nature of responses varying according to disturbance intensity, demographics, and environmental variables. Tourism pressure was measured at two scales: sighting tourism pressure (STP; number of people, vehicles, distance, and noise at each elephant sighting) and Daily Tourism Pressure (DTP; total daily tourists). Elevated numbers of vehicles, people, noise, and close distances significantly increased rates of stress‐related, vigilance, and passive aggressive behaviors while reducing affiliative behavior and prompting retreat. The most consistently selected tourism‐related predictors of behavior were number of vehicles, number of people, proximity to humans, and noise level, with affiliative behavior emerging as the most sensitive indicator of disturbance. Behavioral thresholds were identified for “ideal” and “acceptable” tourism conditions: > 100 m/125 m viewing distance, < 4/< 8 vehicles, < 10/< 21 people, and noise < 32/< 42 dB, beyond which negative behavioral responses increased significantly. Following park re‐openings, elephant detections declined, especially for cow‐calf groups, indicating increased avoidance and vulnerability to tourism of socially cohesive groups. These results support evidence‐based regulations for wildlife tourism, including the use of thresholds for management such as buffer zones, quiet viewing protocols, daily and sighting vehicle and visitor caps, guide training, and adaptive seasonal closures. Integrating empirically derived behavioral thresholds into protected area and national policies provides a scalable and transferable model to reduce disturbance, improve animal welfare, and promote ethical and sustainable elephant tourism in Thailand and beyond.

Successful communication requires frequent inferences. Such inferences span a multitude of phenomena: from understanding metaphors, to detecting irony and getting jokes, to interpreting intonation patterns. Do all these inferences draw on a single underlying cognitive ability, or does our capacity for nonliteral language comprehension fractionate into dissociable components? Using an approach that has successfully uncovered structure in other domains of cognition, we examined covariation in behavioral performance on diverse nonliteral comprehension tasks across two large samples to search for shared and distinct components of pragmatic language use. In Experiment 1, n = 376 participants each completed an 8 h battery of 20 critical tasks. Controlling for general cognitive ability, an exploratory factor analysis revealed three clusters, which can be post hoc interpreted as corresponding to i) understanding social conventions (critical for phenomena such as indirect requests, conversational implicatures, and irony), ii) interpreting contrastive and emotional intonation patterns, and iii) making causal inferences based on world knowledge. This structure largely replicated in a new sample of n = 400 participants (Experiment 2, preregistered) and was robust to analytic choices. This research uncovers structure in the human communication toolkit and can inform our understanding of pragmatic difficulties in individuals with brain disorders. The hypotheses put forward here about the underlying cognitive abilities can now be evaluated in new behavioral studies, as well as using brain imaging and computational modeling, to continue deciphering the ontology of the component pieces of linguistic and nonverbal communication.

Abstract This chapter focuses on education for certified genetic counselors in the United States and Canada, including the history of genetic counseling education, drivers of genetic counseling education, general and curricular development of genetic counseling graduate programs, relevant educational models, and development of advanced genetic counseling skills. Drivers include education consensus conferences; competency-based certification and accreditation; licensure, billing, and reimbursement practices; genetic counseling practice changes such as the expansion of subspecialty and nondirect patient care; consumer self-advocacy; professionalization of the genetic counseling field; and international growth of the profession. Curriculum development includes typical and variable features of genetic counseling programs, influence of the Genetic Counselor Educators Association, and challenges to genetic counseling education. The most influential general education models are experiential learning, self-directed learning, and communities of practice. Advanced education includes continuing education, additional paths to advanced skill development, a model of advanced genetic counseling education, and a career trajectory framework.

The structure and function of plant-associated fungal communities (i.e. mycobiome) is shaped by biotic and abiotic factors, and can impact plant community dynamics. We evaluated the effects of different environmental factors in structuring the communities of seedling-associated fungi in temperate tree species, considering both the Janzen-Connell hypothesis as well as the impacts of climate warming. We tested the hypothesis that fungal host-specialization is observed at both the individual fungus and fungal community levels and is modulated by environmental conditions. The seedling fungal communities were characterized from tree species grown in two forests, under experimental manipulation of light, warming, and distance to and density of conspecifics. Fungal communities were analyzed using generalized joint attribute models. While warming, light, and forest site played a role in structuring seedling fungal communities, host, distance to, and density of conspecifics were stronger contributors. Furthermore, we could identify which fungal taxa responded to which predictors. This work supports the concept of fungal host-specialization at the community level, and points to particular fungal taxa which may play roles in density- and distance-dependent regulation of plant species diversity in the studied forests.

<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d931711e55">This paper presents the design and implementation of a nine-piece generative art installation, conceptualized as a family of intelligent shapes. Each shape is represented by a distinct 3D mesh that interprets and transforms a shared set of AI signals based on its unique morphology. The installation explores the hypothesis that ‘the way an entity is shaped affects the way it thinks’. An AI system broadcasts identical parameter signals to all meshes, but each shape processes these signals in a way that reflects its structure. The AI continuously monitors each shape’s deformation, creating a feedback loop in which morphological changes influence subsequent signal processing on the part of the AI. This results in a range of diverse evolutionary behaviours, demonstrating how form shapes computational ‘thought’ processes in autonomous systems. This interplay between uniform inputs and form-specific responses suggests that a geometric mesh’s physical properties can serve as inputs for reasoning, with emergent shape changes reflecting cognitive-like processes. The paper details the conceptual motivation, system architecture, technical implementation, and observed outcomes, offering insights into how morphology guides information processing in generative art and AI, and proposing new directions for form-driven intelligence.

Educational use of clinical simulation is a way for students to immerse themselves within a realistic yet safe and structured environment as they practice clinical skills. It is widely used in healthcare training and evaluation, and there are best practices for design, implementation, debriefing, and assessment. An increasing number of genetic counseling graduate programs use simulation in various ways, ranging from role-plays to working with professional simulated/standardized patient (SP) actors. At this time, there is very little consistency across programs, research on the approaches, and standards by which simulation is incorporated into training. Simulation is an understudied but promising approach for genetic counselor (GC) education and assessment. After graduation, GCs demonstrate their competence as entry-level providers through American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) multiple-choice examination (MCE), along with their participatory clinical encounters from graduate training. Data from genetic counseling and other professions highlight the limitations and biases of MCEs, suggesting they not only fail to accurately capture competency, but also that they disadvantage underrepresented individuals from entering the field. In addition, MCEs are limited as a tool for assessing nuanced counseling and communication skills, as compared to more quantitative scientific knowledge. We propose that innovative, evidence-based approaches such as simulation have the potential to not only enhance learning, but also to allow GCs to better demonstrate competency during training and in relation to the board examination. Collaborative approaches, research, and funding are needed to further explore the viability of routinely incorporating simulation into GC training and assessment.

In the past decade, prenatal cell‐free DNA screening (cfDNA) has become ubiquitous as a screening tool for fetal aneuploidy and sex chromosomes. Healthcare provider (HCP) discussions and public perceptions of sex and gender uniquely impact transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals, and existing cfDNA guidelines lack recommendations regarding how to discuss sex and gender prenatally. The aim of this exploratory qualitative study was to examine TGD individuals' opinions regarding fetal sex chromosome disclosure sessions. Twelve semi‐structured virtual interviews were conducted with TGD individuals regarding their perspectives on the discussion of fetal sex chromosomes by HCPs within the prenatal setting. Interviews were coded and analyzed using a reflexive thematic approach, generating four major themes: (1) Current practices in prenatal care exclude gender diverse people; (2) HCPs' responsibility to de‐gender discussions of sex chromosomes in prenatal care; (3) HCPs' responsibility to acknowledge gender diversity; and (4) HCPs' influence on societal perceptions of sex and gender. More guidance is needed from professional societies regarding best practices for HCP discussions of sex chromosomes, sex, and gender. Participants recommended HCPs educate patients about sex chromosomes and their relevance to health while avoiding the conflation of sex and gender terms. Additionally, there is an acute need for trans‐inclusive prenatal healthcare. Ultimately, HCPs' and organizations are in a prime position to deconstruct rigid gender binaries and promote societal inclusion of TGD people.