Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) have gained great popularity in land monitoring, 3-D mapping, search and rescue, among others. Existing studies on UAS path planning in these missions consider only a single region to be examined. However, it is frequently encountered that multiple regions need to be considered while performing a real life mission. How to design the optimal path for the UAS to cover multiple regions is then critical. From a strategical point of view, such a problem can be considered as a variant of the traveling salesman problem (TSP) combined and enhanced with the coverage path planning (CPP) problem. Although TSP and CPP have been studied extensively, its combination, which here is given the name TSP-CPP, hasn't received any attention. In this letter, a preliminary study on how to formulate and solve this problem is conducted. Two novel approaches including a grid-based approach and a dynamic programming based approach are introduced to find the (near) optimal solution. Both numerical analysis and simulation studies are conducted to prove and illustrate the optimality and efficiency of the proposed TSP-CPP approaches.

Monte Carlo (MC) simulation is widely used to solve the eigenvalue form of the Boltzmann transport equation that mathematically represents the neutron transport process through complex multiplying (fissionable) systems. Monte Carlo eigenvalue simulation starts with an assumed fission source distribution and uses the fission sites from the previous iteration (cycle) as the starting source in the current iteration. Important system parameters (MC tallies) such as fuel pin-power distribution are estimated over several cycles after the convergence of the fission source distribution to a stationary distribution. However, the MC fission source iteration algorithm that uses fission source sites from the previous cycle introduces a cycle-to-cycle correlation. Monte Carlo simulations that do not account for the cycle-to-cycle correlation systematically underestimate the variance of the estimated system parameters (sample mean). This paper presents the relationship between the spectral density in the frequency domain at frequency zero and the variance of the sample mean. This paper introduces a novel method in the frequency domain for the MC variance estimation. For the three test problems used in this paper, researchers have observed that the new method results in an improvement of more than one order of magnitude to the standard deviation of the sample mean. The new method also compares favorably with the previously introduced batch, bootstrap, and covariance-adjusted methods when applied to the three test problems investigated in this paper. This new method does not require modification of the MC eigenvalue algorithm (power iteration), is code agnostic, and is therefore easy to use when implementing in any existing MC code. The new estimate can be calculated without saving tally results of all active/stationary cycles.

This paper explores sociodemographic determinants and geographic disparities in COVID-19 booster uptake among fully vaccinated adults in Nueces County, Texas, USA with a population of over 353,000. A logistic generalized additive model was applied to analyze 184,252 official vaccination records of fully vaccinated adults over the period between December 2020 and August 2022. An individual's odds in receiving a booster shot were estimated with a host of sociodemographic characteristics as predictors. Model estimation results reveal that male (odds ratio 0.836, 95% confidence interval 0.835–0.836, p < 0.001) and Hispanic residents (odds ratio 0.944, 95% confidence interval 0.943–0.945, p < 0.001) in the county were less likely to take a booster shot. Between the ages of 25 and 75, booster uptake increased with age (age 75 vs. 45 odd ratio 3.058, 95% confidence interval 3.052–3.063, p < 0.001). Booster uptake was lower in rural areas (odds ratio 0.804, 95% confidence interval 0.795–0.814, p < 0.001) and communities with high social vulnerability (highest vs. moderate vulnerability odd ratio 0.800, 95% confidence interval 0.767–0.836, p < 0.001). Empirical results confirm that booster uptake varied across individuals and communities of different socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. To advance health equity, a more inclusive vaccine campaign should pay particular attention to those underserved populations.

Purpose: This study aims to examine factors associated with asthma prevalence among Hispanic participants in the United States, focusing on access barriers, socioeconomic indicators such as education and income, and BMI. Data from the All of Us Research Program were analyzed using both traditional statistical models and interpretable machine learning algorithms. Methods: We analyzed data from the All of Us Research Program, comparing individuals with and without asthma. Logistic regression models and interpretable machine learning algorithms, including MARS (Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines) and CIT (Conditional Inference Trees), were used to identify factors associated with asthma prevalence and their interactions. Results: The logistic regression analysis identified several variables associated with higher odds of asthma, including older age, female sex, greater access barriers, higher BMI, lower income, and higher education levels. Hispanic participants with greater access barriers had 26.3% higher odds of asthma prevalence (aPOR = 1.263, 95% CI: 1.114–1.433) compared to those without such barriers, and each unit increase in BMI was associated with a 2.9% increase in the odds of having asthma (aPOR = 1.029, 95% CI: 1.023–1.035). The MARS algorithm captured nonlinear relationships and interactions, highlighting BMI, age, sex, access barriers, income, and education as key predictors associated with asthma prevalence. Among participants younger than 60.6 years, younger age was linked with higher asthma prevalence. An interaction between age (above 21.5) and male sex indicated that the odds of asthma slightly decreased with age among males. Additionally, low-income and high BMI together were associated with elevated asthma prevalence, suggesting compounding vulnerabilities. The CIT identified BMI as the most influential variable and further stratified asthma prevalence by age, sex, education, income, and access barriers. Higher asthma prevalence was consistently observed among older females with high BMI, lower income, and greater access barriers. Conclusions: Among Hispanic participants in the All of Us Research Program, lower income combined with higher BMI and greater access barriers were significantly associated with increased odds of asthma. Males had lower odds of asthma, while older individuals showed higher asthma prevalence. These findings highlight important associations rather than causal relationships and may inform public health efforts to address asthma disparities related to weight and healthcare accessibility among Hispanic populations.