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Sociodemographic characteristics on behavioural risk factors of noncommunicable diseases in adolescents in Luxembourg.
Full text linkpeer reviewed[en] BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for 89% of deaths in Luxembourg in 2019, aligning with Europe's figures but exceeding the global average of 74%. Behaviours play a critical role in NCD management, with unhealthy lifestyles-like poor diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption-posing significant risks, especially when combined. The present study aims to explore sociodemographic characteristics of adolescents presenting behavioural risks for NCDs in Luxembourg.
METHODS: A representative sample of 8117 adolescents (11-to-18-years-old) took part in the 2022 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Luxembourg survey. We measured physical inactivity, daily sugar consumption, cigarette use and alcohol consumption, and their combination (1, 2 or 3 ≥ risks). The sociodemographic characteristics investigated were sex, age, migration background, family structure and perceived wealth. Binomial logistic regression crude and adjusted were performed with sociodemographic characteristics for each risk behaviour. In addition, multinomial logistic regression crude and adjusted were used to analyse the association between the combination of risk behaviours and the sociodemographic information of the adolescents in Luxembourg.
RESULTS: Girls had higher odds of physical inactivity (OR = 2.06) than boys, and older age groups exhibited elevated odds of physical inactivity (OR = 2.99), cigarette smoking (OR = 25.00), and alcohol consumption (OR = 35.56). Migration background emerged as a protective factor against alcohol consumption (parents' migration OR = 0.60; self-immigrated OR = 0.45) but a risk factor for physical inactivity (parents' migration OR = 1.50; self-immigrated OR = 1.72). Adolescents who did not live with both parents were more likely to be physically inactive (OR = 1.37), consume sugar daily (OR = 1.33), smoke cigarettes (OR = 1.26) and consume alcohol (OR = 1.80). Adolescents that reported their families were not well off had higher odds to be physically inactive (OR = 2.12) and to consume sugar daily (OR = 1.39). The simultaneity of risk behaviours reveals a worrying trend of increasing risk with age, highlighting the need for preventive interventions throughout adolescence. Furthermore, the results in relation to family structure and perceived wealth highlights the complexity and interrelationship of these factors in adolescent behavioural health. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides guidance to create more effective interventions aiming to promote healthy behaviours in adolescents
From Data to Decision: Enhancing SME Financial Health Prediction with Advanced Machine Learning Techniques
Full text linkSmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are critical to global economic stabil- ity; however, they are particularly vulnerable to financial risks and bankruptcy. This dissertation focuses on enhancing SME financial risk prediction through advanced data-driven methods. Leveraging financial and non-financial datasets, this research aims to address the limitations of traditional bankruptcy prediction models and to develop a robust, automated credit reporting system tailored to SMEs. The research begins with a thorough literature review that establishes a taxonomy of datasets used in bankruptcy prediction and highlights key challenges related to data quality and integration. It then introduces an automatic feature engineering (AFE) framework to extract meaningful features from financial data, outperforming traditional finan- cial ratio-based approaches. Further exploration of large language models (LLMs) for financial analysis demonstrates their potential in calculating financial ratios, con- ducting the Altman Z-score model and DuPont analysis, and predicting bankruptcy risk and key financial indicators with enhanced accuracy under optimized settings. Expanding beyond financial data, this dissertation integrates company adjustment behavioral data into hybrid datasets. Through uplift modeling and machine learn- ing techniques, it reveals how non-financial factors significantly influence financial health. Considering the dynamic nature of company adjustments, MTDnet is pro- posed to estimate the uplift with multiple time-dependent treatments. It outper- forms other uplift models, establishing the necessity of considering the sequence of treatments. These findings underscore the importance of combining financial and non-financial data for comprehensive financial risk assessment. The culmination of this research is the design of an automated credit reporting system that synthe- sizes financial ratios, company adjustments, and predictive analytics into actionable insights. This system offers SMEs and stakeholders a scalable, data-driven tool for real-time analysis of financial health and bankruptcy risk, fostering informed decision-making and proactive risk management. By advancing methods in feature engineering, hybrid datasets, uplift modeling, and the application of LLMs, this dis- sertation contributes to the interdisciplinary field of data science and financial risk management. It highlights the transformative potential of integrating diverse data sources and cutting-edge technologies, paving the way for more accurate, transpar- ent, and equitable financial systems for SMEs worldwide
How do children with Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI)-related visual difficulties perform on key academic domains in grade 1?
Full text linkpeer reviewedPrevious research estimated a prevalence of 3.4% Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI)-related visual problems within primary school children, potentially compromising students' performance. This study aimed to clarify how CVI-related visual difficulties relate to academic performance in standardized achievement tests. As part of the Luxembourg school monitoring programme, 1129 first graders (mean age of 7 years) participated in three competence tests (mathematics, early literacy and listening comprehension) and in student and parent questionnaires (background information). The same children took part in a CVI-related visual difficulties screening (Evaluation of Visuo-Attentional abilities battery, optometric and orthoptic measures). The sample was divided post-screening into 38 children with potential CVI-related visual difficulties (18 females, 20 males, mean age 7y, range 6-8y) and 890 typically developing (TD) children (445 females, 430 males, 15 missing, mean age 7y, range 5-10y). Compared to the TD sample children with CVI-related visual difficulties significantly underperformed in early literacy and mathematics, but not in listening comprehension, even when controlling for background characteristics known to influence performance (gender, socio-economic status, migration background, parental education, home language, age). The results confirm the association of CVI-related visual difficulties with learning processes already at primary school level and emphasize the need to implement a systematic screening for CVI-related visual difficulties, as early as possible within the school path, to ensure adequate measures are employed to aid students at risk
Keynote Plenary: Amazon & Co., Resistance is Not Futile – Mapping Big Tech’s Impact on Places, Politics, and Future
No full textOn the suitability of hugging face hub for empirical studies
Full text linkpeer reviewedContext. Empirical studies in software engineering mainly rely on the data available on code-hosting platforms, being GitHub the most representative. Nevertheless, in the last years, the emergence of Machine Learning (ML) has led to the development of platforms specifically designed for hosting ML-based projects, with Hugging Face Hub (HFH) as the most popular one. So far, there have been no studies evaluating the potential of HFH for such studies.
Objective. We aim at performing an exploratory study of the current state of HFH and its suitability to be used as a source platform for empirical studies.
Method. We conduct a qualitative and quantitative analysis of HFH. The former will be performed by comparing the features of HFH with those of other code-hosting platforms, such as GitHub and GitLab. The latter will be performed by analyzing the data available in HFH.
Results. We propose a feature framework to characterize HFH and report on the current usage of the platform, both in terms of number and types of projects (and surrounding community) and the features they mostly rely on.
Conclusions. The results confirm that HFH offers enough features and diverse enough data to be the source of relevant empirical studies on the development, evolution and usage of AI-related projects. The results also triggered a discussion on aspects of HFH that should be considered when performing such empirical studies.U-AGR-7344 - P20/IS/16544475/BESSER/Cabot - CABOT Jord
Gender Gaps in Job-Related Training during COVID-19? Longitudinal Evidence on Supply and Demand Changes from Germany
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated gender inequalities in the labour market. Less is known about its impact on gender gaps in training. Drawing on theories of labour market segmentation, time availability and gender roles, this study examines gender differences in pandemic-related changes in job-related training. Using panel data from the German National Educational Panel Study (2018–2022, N=7,857), results from fixed-effects regressions indicate an overall decline in training participation. Contrary to the expectations, mothers’ participation did not decline more than that of fathers and childless women and men. For all groups, declines in training were partly attributed to work-related changes and the regional severity of COVID-19, but for parents these declines were more closely linked to changes in private and family life. The findings highlight the complex impact of demand- and supply-side factors influencing job-related training and show that gender disparities in unpaid work did not translate into wider training gaps.</p
From profit to purpose: a systematic literature review and future research directions on B Corp certification
No full textpeer reviewedThe B Corp certification is a prominent voluntary standard for evaluating ventures’ commitments to governance, social justice, and environmental sustainability, reflecting a growing shift toward transparent and accountable business practices. Despite increasing scholarly interest, existing research on B Corp certification remains fragmented across various theoretical and empirical perspectives. This dispersion limits a comprehensive understanding of the B Corp certifications’ strategic implications and contextual drivers within management research and practice. Therefore, we conduct a systematic literature review to synthesize existing B Corp research and propose a conceptual model that clusters existing studies along four dimensions: theoretical frameworks, antecedents, outcomes, and certification cycles. For example, we find that B Corp research is predominantly grounded in the theories of hybrid organization, stakeholder engagement, institutional dynamics, identity, and legitimacy. The findings also show that ventures seek B Corp certification to align with stakeholder expectations, achieve market differentiation, and fulfill prosocial motivations, even though evidence of both economic and socio-environmental trade-offs remains. Building on these insights, we propose a forward-looking research agenda that calls for deeper theoretical engagement while providing actionable guidance for entrepreneurs, policymakers, and researchers.1. No poverty5. Gender equality8. Decent work and economic growth9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure10. Reduced inequalities11. Sustainable cities and communities12. Responsible consumption and production13. Climate actio
Influence of zinc oxide nanoparticles on the carbon accumulation on silver exposed to carbon dioxide hydrogenation reaction conditions.
Full text linkpeer reviewedThe strong influence of surface adsorbates on the morphology of a catalyst is exemplified by studying a silver surface with and without deposited zinc oxide nanoparticles upon exposure to reaction gases used for carbon dioxide hydrogenation. Ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy measurements indicate accumulation of carbon deposits on the catalyst surface at 200 °C. While oxygen-free carbon species observed on pure silver show a strong interaction and decorate the atomic steps on the catalyst surface, this decoration is not observed for the oxygen-containing species observed on the silver surface with additional zinc oxide nanoparticles. Annealing the sample to temperatures above 350 °C removes the contaminants by hydrogenation to methane
PubChemLite Plus Collision Cross Section (CCS) Values for Enhanced Interpretation of Nontarget Environmental Data
Full text linkpeer reviewedFinding relevant chemicals in the vast (known) chemical space is a major challenge for environmental and exposomics studies leveraging nontarget high resolution mass spectrometry (NT-HRMS) methods. Chemical databases now contain hundreds of millions of chemicals, yet many are not relevant. This article details an extensive collaborative, open science effort to provide a dynamic collection of chemicals for environmental, metabolomics, and exposomics research, along with supporting information about their relevance to assist researchers in the interpretation of candidate hits. The PubChemLite for Exposomics collection is compiled from ten annotation categories within PubChem, enhanced with patent, literature and annotation counts, predicted partition coefficient (logP) values, as well as predicted collision cross section (CCS) values using CCSbase. Monthly versions are archived on Zenodo under a CC-BY license, supporting reproducible research, and a new interface has been developed, including historical trends of patent and literature data, for researchers to browse the collection. This article details how PubChemLite can support researchers in environmental and exposomics studies, describes efforts to increase the availability of experimental CCS values, and explores known limitations and potential for future developments. The data and code behind these efforts are openly available. PubChemLite can be browsed at https://pubchemlite.lcsb.uni.lu
Biographie(s) et historiographie(s) dans les cantons de l’Est belges pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Retour sur une expérience d’historiens
No full textpeer reviewedEntre 2013 et 2023, un collectif d’historiens a publié une série de six volumes sur l’histoire de la Communauté germanophone de Belgique, entité fédérée dans l’Etat fédéral belge située à la frontière avec l’Allemagne, les Pays-Bas et le Luxembourg (1). Le volume 4, paru en 2019, traite de la période 1919-1945 qui comprend les trois changements de nationalité de 1919-20/1940/1944 du territoire alors connu sous la désignation d’Eupen-Malmedy entre l’Allemagne et la Belgique. Ce volume était alors le plus attendu de la série, tant cette période, en particulier l’annexion au Reich entre 1940 et 1944, a marqué l’histoire et la mémoire de la région.
Le concept de base des Grenzerfahrungen repose notamment sur l’histoire vécue des acteurs à travers des biographies – basée sur des travaux allemands se réclamant de l’Erfahrungsgeschichte (2). Au cours de la conception du volume 4, l’équipe d’historiens a discuté l’idée de travailler sur l’histoire familiale des auteurs, donc sur les biographies de leurs arrière-grands-parents, grands-parents ou parents. Cette démarche semble particulièrement pertinente : dans le cadre de la réflexion générale sur la positionnalité des historiens face à leur objet d’étude et, plus spécifiquement, dans le domaine de l’histoire régionale où le nombre d’historiens venant de la région ou aux attaches familiales avec celle-ci est souvent (largement) plus élevé que celui des spécialistes de l’extérieur.
Dans ma contribution, je propose de revenir sur ce travail qui a donné lieu au chapitre introductif du volume (3). Je présenterai trois enseignements tirés de notre expérience d’historiens à l’exemple de la période 1940-1944 et évoquerai leur transférabilité vers d’autres cadres régionaux comme l’Alsace : la problématique des concepts antonymes asymétriques (4) comme « pro-belge/pro-allemand », l’introduction du concept de l’« opportunisme situationnel » (5) et une réinterprétation des silences du long après-guerre (6). En problématisant à la fois le travail avec des biographies et la place de l’historien régional, la contribution s’inscrit dans une approche comparée de l’histoire des régions annexées à l’ouest