This study explores wind energy resources in different locations through the Gulf of Oman and also their future variability due climate change impacts. In this regard, EC-EARTH near-surface wind outputs obtained from CORDEX-MENA simulations are used for historical and future projection of the energy. The ERA5 wind data are employed to assess the suitability of the climate model. Moreover, the ERA5 wave data over the study area are applied to compute sea surface roughness as an important variable for converting near-surface wind speeds to those of wind speed at turbine hub height. Considering the power distribution, bathymetry and distance from the coats, some spots as tentative energy hotspots to provide a detailed assessment of directional and temporal variability and also to investigate climate change impact studies. RCP8.5 is a common climatic scenario is used to project and extract future variation of the energy in the selected sites. The results of this study demonstrate that the selected locations have a suitable potential for wind power turbine plans and constructions.

Wind power as a renewable source of energy, has numerous economic, environmental and social benefits. In order to enhance and control the renewable wind power, it is vital to utilize models that predict wind speed with high accuracy. Due to neglecting of requirement and significance of data preprocessing and disregarding the inadequacy of using a single predicting model, many traditional models have poor performance in wind speed prediction. In the current study, for predicting wind speed at target stations in the north of Iran, the combination of a multi-layer perceptron model (MLP) with the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) used to build new method (MLP-WOA) with a limited set of data (2004-2014). Then, the MLP-WOA model was utilized at each of the ten target stations, with the nine stations for training and tenth station for testing (namely: Astara, Bandar-E-Anzali, Rasht, Manjil, Jirandeh, Talesh, Kiyashahr, Lahijan, Masuleh and Deylaman) to increase the accuracy of the subsequent hybrid model. Capability of the hybrid model in wind speed forecasting at each target station was compared with the MLP model without the WOA optimizer. To determine definite results, numerous statistical performances were utilized. For all ten target stations, the MLP-WOA model had precise outcomes than the standalone MLP model. The hybrid model had acceptable performances with lower amounts of the RMSE, SI and RE parameters and higher values of NSE, WI and KGE parameters. It was concluded that WOA optimization algorithm can improve prediction accuracy of MLP model and may be recommended for accurate wind speed prediction.

Deep coal beds have been suggested as possible usable underground geological locations for carbon dioxide storage. Furthermore, injecting carbon dioxide into coal beds can improve the methane recovery. Due to importance of this issue, a novel investigation has been done on adsorption of carbon dioxide on various types of coal seam. This study has proposed four types of Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) approaches with different kernel functions to estimate excess adsorption of carbon dioxide in terms of temperature, pressure and composition of coal seams. The comparison of GPR outputs and actual excess adsorption expresses that proposed models have interesting accuracy and also the Exponential GPR approach has better performance than other ones. For this structure, R2=1, MRE=0.01542, MSE=0, RMSE=0.00019 and STD=0.00014 have been determined. Additionally, the impacts of effective parameters on excess adsorption capacity have been studied for the first time in literature. According to these results, the present work has valuable and useful tools for petroleum and chemical engineers who dealing with enhancement of recovery and environment protection.

We present a generic and open-source framework for the numerical modeling of the expected transport and storage mechanisms in unconventional gas reservoirs. These unconventional reservoirs typically contain natural fractures at multiple scales. Considering the importance of these fractures in shale gas production, we perform a rigorous study on the accuracy of different fracture models. The framework is validated against an industrial simulator and is used to perform a history-matching study on the Barnett shale. This work presents an open-source code that leverages cutting-edge numerical modeling capabilities like automatic differentiation, stochastic fracture modeling, multi-continuum modeling and other explicit and discrete fracture models. We modified the conventional mass balance equation to account for the physical mechanisms that are unique to organic-rich source rocks. Some of these include the use of an adsorption isotherm, a dynamic permeability-correction function, and an embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) with fracture-well connectivity. We explore the accuracy of the EDFM for modeling hydraulically-fractured shale-gas wells, which could be connected to natural fractures of finite or infinite conductivity, and could deform during production. Simulation results indicates that although the EDFM provides a computationally efficient model for describing flow in natural and hydraulic fractures, it could be inaccurate under these three conditions: 1. when the fracture conductivity is very low. 2. when the fractures are not orthogonal to the underlying Cartesian grid blocks, and 3. when sharp pressure drops occur in large grid blocks with insufficient mesh refinement. Each of these results are very significant considering that most of the fluids in these ultra-low matrix permeability reservoirs get produced through the interconnected natural fractures, which are expected to have very low fracture conductivities. We also expect sharp pressure drops near the fractures in these shale gas reservoirs, and it is very unrealistic to expect the hydraulic fractures or complex fracture networks to be orthogonal to any structured grid. In conclusion, this paper presents an open-source numerical framework to facilitate the modeling of the expected physical mechanisms in shale-gas reservoirs. The code was validated against published results and a commercial simulator. We also performed a history-matching study on a naturally-fractured Barnett shale-gas well considering adsorption, gas slippage & diffusion and fracture closure as well as proppant embedment, using the framework presented. This work provides the first open-source code that can be used to facilitate the modeling and optimization of fractured shale-gas reservoirs. To provide the numerical flexibility to accurately model stochastic natural fractures that are connected to hydraulically-fractured wells, it is built atop other related open-source codes. We also present the first rigorous study on the accuracy of using EDFM to model both hydraulic fractures and natural fractures that may or may not be interconnected.

Calculating hydrocarbon components solubility of natural gases is known as one of the important issues for operational works in petroleum and chemical engineering. In this work, a novel solubility estimation tool has been proposed for hydrocarbon gases including methane, ethane, propane and butane in aqueous electrolyte solutions based on extreme learning machine (ELM) algorithm. Comparing the ELM outputs with a comprehensive real databank which has 1175 solubility points concluded to R-squared values of 0.985 and 0.987 for training and testing phases respectively. Furthermore, the visual comparison of estimated and actual hydrocarbon solubility leaded to confirm the ability of proposed solubility model. Additionally, sensitivity analysis has been employed on the input variables of model to identify their impacts on hydrocarbon solubility. Such a comprehensive and reliable study can help engineers and scientists to successfully determine the important thermodynamic properties which are key factors in optimizing and designing different industrial units such as refineries and petrochemical plants.

Advances in the availability of multitemporal and global built-/human-settlements datasets as derived from Remote Sensing (RS) can now provide globally consistent definitions of “human-settlement” at unprecedented spatial fineness. Yet, these data only provide a time-series of past extents and urban growth/expansion models have not had parallel advances at high-spatial resolution. We present a flexible modelling framework for producing annual built-settlement extents in the near future past last observed extents as provided by RS-based data. Using a random forest and autoregressive temporal models with short time-series of built-settlement extents and subnational level data, we predict annual 100m resolution binary settlement extents five years beyond the last observations. We applied this framework within varying contexts and predicted annual extents from 2010 to 2015. We found that our model framework preformed consistently across all sample countries and, when compared to time-specific imagery, demonstrated the capacity to capture human-settlement missed by the input time-series and validation extents. When comparing building footprints of small settlements to forecast extents, we saw that the modelling framework had a 12 percent increase in ground-truth accuracy. This framework shows promise for predicting near-future settlement extents, and provides a foundation for forecasts further into the future.

We examine the role of zonal Ekman transport along the coast of Senegal on 30 August, 2015 when the tropical disturbance associated with Tropical Cyclone Fred was located to the west of Senegal causing considerable coastal damage to coastal areas south of Dakar, Senegal. Ten-meter winds from three Weather Research and Forecast model simulations were used to estimate zonal Ekman transport, with the largest values found during the 30 August. The simulations are in agreement with limited coastal observations showing increasing southerly wind speeds during 30 August but are overestimated relative to the 3 coastal stations. The strong meridional winds translate into increased zonal Ekman transport to the coast of Senegal on 30 August. The use of a coupled ocean model will improve the estimates of Ekman transport along the Guinea-Senegalese coast. The observed damage suggests that artificial and natural barriers (mangroves) should be strengthened to protect coastal communities in Senegal.

Taking capital, manpower, and natural resources as inputs, regional GDP as expected output, and industrial pollution as undesired output, this study measures the ecological efficiency of various regions in China through the Global-Malmquist model. The results show a trend of an initial sharp decline in ecological efficiency followed by a gradual increase in the time dimension, but there is no significant correlation in the spatial dimension. Using the gravity model to quantify the attractiveness of the regions’ capital and human resources for collaborative innovation, it estimates the impact of collaborative innovation on eco-efficiency through the system-Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model. The results show that technological innovation capital in other regions has a negative “U” relationship with local ecological efficiency, while scientific and technological innovation human resources have a positive “U” relationship. In addition, government financial support in science and technology and the ecological efficiency of the previous period serve as promoting factors of the current local ecological efficiency, while the introduction of foreign technological innovation is likely to inhibit improvements in ecological efficiency. Based on these findings, this study puts forward corresponding policy recommendations for local governments to advance their development agendas alongside their environmental priorities in line with their specific circumstances.

This work focuses on expressing the TSP with Time Windows (TSPTW for short) as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) problem. The time windows impose time constraints that a feasible solution must satisfy. These take the form of inequality constraints, which are known to be particularly difficult to articulate within the QUBO framework. This is, we believe, the first time this major obstacle is overcome and the TSPTW is cast in the QUBO formulation. We have every reason to anticipate that this development will lead to the actual execution of small scale TSPTW instances on the D-Wave platform.

Temperature-index modeling is used to determine the magnitude of temperature depression in the northern Sawatch Range required to maintain steady-state mass balances of six reconstructed glaciers at their extent during the local Last Glacial Maximum (LLGM), dated at ~21 ka. Assuming no significant differences in precipitation compared to modern values, mean annual temperatures in the region were on average 8.8 +0.5/–0.8 °C cooler than they are today. Allowing for modest increases or decreases in precipitation, required temperature depressions only differ by ± 0.2 °C. Temperature depression in the northern Sawatch Range are consistent, although slightly greater, with those determined in other ranges in Colorado using similar approaches. The estimates presented here are, however, substantially less than those suggested by several downscaled simulations of global LGM climate, that might be due to the need for improved calibration of such downscalings, or the models from which they are derived. Our estimates of LGM temperature depression are considerably greater than that previously determined in the study area and those in two other ranges in Colorado derived using different methodologies, the latter being most likely responsible for the discrepancies.

The change in both streamflow and baseflow in urban catchments has received significant attention in the latest decades as a result of their drastic variability. In this research, effects of climate variation and dynamics of land use are measured separately and in combination on streamflow and baseflow in the Little Eagle Creek (LEC) watershed (Indianapolis, Indiana). These effects are examined using land use maps, statistical tests, and hydrological modeling. Transition matrix analysis was used to investigate the change in land use between 1992 and 2011. Temporal trends and changes in meteorological data were evaluated from 1980-2017 using the Mann-Kendall test. Changes in streamflow and baseflow were assessed using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model using multiple scenarios that varied in land use and climate change. Evaluation of the model outputs showed streamflow and baseflow in LEC are well represented using SWAT; however, comparing the calibration and validation period showed SWAT performs better for the calibration. During 1992-2011, roughly 30% of the watershed experienced change, typically cultivated agricultural areas became urbanized. Baseflow is significantly affected by the observed urbanization; however, the combination of land and climate variability has a larger effect on the baseflow in LEC. Generally, the variability in the baseflow and streamflow appears to be heavily driven by the response to climate change in comparison to variability due to altered land use. The results reported herein expand the current understanding of variation in hydrological components, and provides useful information for management planning regarding water resources, as well as water and soil conservation in urban watersheds in Indiana and beyond.

In this effort we propose a data-driven learning framework for reduced order modeling of fluid dynamics. Designing accurate and efficient reduced order models for nonlinear fluid dynamic problems is challenging for many practical engineering applications. Classical projection-based model reduction methods generate reduced systems by projecting full-order differential operators into low-dimensional subspaces. However, these techniques usually lead to severe instabilities in the presence of highly nonlinear dynamics, which dramatically deteriorates the accuracy of the reduced-order models. In contrast, our new framework exploits linear multistep networks, based on implicit Adams-Moulton schemes, to construct the reduced system. The advantage is that the method optimally approximates the full order model in the low-dimensional space with a given supervised learning task. Moreover, our approach is non-intrusive, such that it can be applied to other complex nonlinear dynamical systems with sophisticated legacy codes. We demonstrate the performance of our method through the numerical simulation of a two-dimensional flow past a circular cylinder with Reynolds number Re = 100. The results reveal that the new data-driven model is significantly more accurate than standard projection-based approaches

Biowaste generated in the process of Oxytree cultivation and logging represents a potential source of energy. Torrefaction (a.k.a. low-temperature pyrolysis) is one of the methods proposed for the valorization of woody biomass. Still, energy is required for the torrefaction process during which the raw biomass becomes biochar with fuel properties similar to lignite coal. In this work, models describing the influence of torrefaction temperature and residence time on the resulting fuel properties (mass and energy yields, energy densification ratio, organic matter and ash content, combustible parts, lower and higher heating values, CHONS content, H:C and O:C ratios) were proposed according to the Akaike criterion. The degree of the models’ parameters matching the raw data expressed as the determination coefficient (R²) ranged from 0.52 to 0.92. Each model parameter was statistically significant (p<0.05). Estimations of the value and quantity of the produced biochar from 1 Mg of biomass residues were made based on two models and a set of simple assumptions. The value of torrefied biochar (€123.4·Mg^-1) was estimated based on the price of commercially available coal fuel and its lower heating value (LHV) for biomass moisture content of 50%, torrefaction for 20 min at 200 °C. This research could be useful to inform techno-economic analyses and decision-making process pertaining to the valorization of pruned biomass residues.

A conventional 2D numerical model is improved by incorporating three submodels to consider different effects of secondary flow and a module for cohesive sediment transport. The model is applied to a meandering reach of Yangtze River to investigate secondary flow effects on cohesive sediment deposition, and a preferable submodel is selected based on the flow simulation results. Sediment simulation results indicate that the improved model predictions are in better agreement with the measurements in planar distribution of deposition as the increased sediment deposits caused by secondary current on the convex bank have been well predicted. Secondary flow effects on predicted amount of deposition become more obvious during the period when the sediment load is low and velocity redistribution induced by the bed topography is evident. Such effects vary with the settling velocity and critical shear stress for deposition of cohesive sediment. The bed topography effects can be reflected by the secondary flow submodels.

The beautiful and stable posture is essential for ballet. Especially the pirouette which dancers balance themselves on their one leg is one of the most impressive postures. During the pirouette motion, loads from the rotation and the body weight are concentrated to the one leg. Proper ballet shoes can reduce the muscle burden and improve the stability. Four types of shoes; bare feet, running shoes, pointe shoes, and dance sneakers are analyzed. The motion capture system and SIMM are used for the analysis of muscle burden and stability during pirouette. The major 6 muscles in the leg (beceps femoris long head, beceps femoris short head, soleus, rectus femoris, gastrocnemius medialis, and gastrocnemius lateralis) are analyzed, and the effect of rotating velocity is considered. Dance sneakers are outstanding for improving the stability and lessening the muscle burdens in all conditions for beginners. That comes from the design feature of the divided shoe soles and protecting the ankle of the axis leg. With the results and analysis, the direction for design optimization of ballet shoes is suggested. Consequently, this research is about the verification of sports equipment using computer simulation with the musculoskeletal model from a scientific viewpoint of biomechanics.

Lung nodule segmentation in CT images and its subsequent volume analysis can help determinethe malignancy status of a lung nodule. While several efficient segmentation schemes have beenproposed, only a few studies evaluated the segmentation’s performance for large nodules. In thisresearch, we contribute a semi-automatic system which is capable of performing robust 3-D segmen-tations on both small and large nodules with good accuracy. The target CT volume is de-noisedwith an anisotropic diffusion filter and a region of interest is selected around the target nodule ona reference slice. The proposed model performs nodule segmentation by incorporating a mean in-tensity based threshold in Geodesic Active Contour model in level sets. We also devise an adaptivetechnique using image intensity histogram to estimate the desired mean intensity of the nodule.The proposed system is validated on both lung nodules and phantoms collected from publicly avail-able diverse databases. Quantitative and visual comparative analysis of the proposed work withthe Chan-Vese algorithm and statistic active contour model of 3D Slicer platform is also presented.The resulting mean spatial overlap between segmented nodules and reference nodules is 0.855, themean volume bias is 0.10±0.2 ml and the algorithm repeatability is 0.060 ml. The achieved resultssuggest that the proposed method can be used for volume estimations of small as well as large-sizednodules.

In this study, a novel theory to investigate the mass oscillation of particles is proposed. It has been proven that, at high-energy conditions, the fermion field described by Dirac’s Lagrangian interacts with the half-integer spin tachyon field with negative energy, causing the formation of composite particles whose mass depends on the total angular momentum. The proposed theory is based on a new interpretation of the Majorana equation for particles with arbitrary spin and shows that mass oscillation is a phenomenon in which the component of particle decay prevails over that of mixing mass states. Using the kinematic of Lemke for spacelike particle decay, we propose a mechanism able to explain the neutrino flavour change. The proposed mechanism is also investigated concerning the shape of its spectrum. Finally, the Lagrangian field of composite particles is formulated.

The relationships among the potential causes of a car and motorcycle collision involving turn maneuvers as well as the perception of rear and front turn signal (on/off) configuration is examined in this paper. The investigation has been based on data pooled from the answers of a survey proposed to 136 people, with special regards to the correct detection of indicators aspect. Experimental videos have been realized during the tests campaign, both in urban and suburban areas, using a 360-camera attached to a motorcyclist’s helmet, reproducing vehicular conflicts able to potentially generate crash risks. The detection of the blinker was combined with other factors (e.g. age, gender, location of the test site, presence of the car behind tester vehicles and if the bikers are also habitual car or bike drivers) in a stepwise logistic regression that modelled the odds of detecting the turn signal turned on as a function of all of these factors. The results suggest the existence of a connection between the detection of the turn signal aspect and some of the variables considered (e.g. age, being a cyclist or a car driver and the presence of a protecting car).

A novel drive current model covering the effects of source/drain voltage (VDS) and gate voltage (VGS) and incorporating drift and diffusion current on the surface channel at the nano-node level, especially beyond 28nm node is presented. The effect of the diffusion current added is more satisfactory to describe the behavior of the drive current in nano-node MOSFETs, fabricated with the atomic-layer-deposition (ALD) technology. This breakthrough in model establishment can expose the long and short channel devices together. Introducing the variables of VDS and VGS, the mixed current model more effectively and meaningfully demonstrates the drive current of MOSFETs under the operation of horizontal, vertical, or mixed electrical field. In comparison between the simulation and experimental consequences, the electrical performance is impressive. The error between both is less than 1%, better than the empirical adjustment to issue a set of drive current models.

Enterprises that seek for sustainable development should align economic interests with environmental and social requirements. It is not enough to take into account just these basics components. Technology plays a significant role in company activity. The aim of this article is to highlight the relationship between the dimensions characterising sustainability and to take a deeper look at the structure of the concept of sustainability so that to understand in more detail the completeness of the dimensions of sustainability. For achieving this aim is necessary through the analysis of researchers’ opinions to apply the logical assessment, systematisation, and comparison of information, selects the most important information describing the sustainability of technology, highlights the relationships between the technological aspect of sustainability and other sustainability dimensions, evaluates the technological processes of the corporate product in terms of sustainability, clarifies and presents arguments highlighting the importance of the technological aspect in sustainable business activity, rejects inappropriate arguments, identifies links between the arguments, and, basing on the information, proves and/or formulates anew some logical considerations to justify the full competency of the technological dimension in the sustainable development framework.

Five fundamental problems—neutrino mass, baryogenesis, dark matter, inflation, strong CP problem—are solved at one stroke in a model, dubbed as “SM-A-S-H” (Standard Model-Axion-Seesaw-Higgs portal inflation) by Andreas Ringwald et. al. The Standard Model (SM) particle content is extended by three right-handed SM-singlet neutrinos $N_i$, a vector-like color triplet quark $Q$, a complex SM-singlet scalar field $\sigma$ that stabilises the Higgs potential, all of them being charged under Peccei-Quinn (PQ) $U(1)$ symmetry, the vacuum expectation value $v_\sigma\sim10^{11}$ GeV breaks the lepton number and the Peccei-Quinn symmetry simultaneously. We found that numerically SMASH model not only solves five fundamental problems but also the sixth problem “Vacuum Metastability” through the extended scalar sector and can predict approximately correct atmospheric neutrino mass splitting around 0.05 eV and the solar neutrino mass splitting around 0.009 eV.

The development and generalization of Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) on X-ray computed tomography data highlight the issue of long term storage. The present paper proposes a new model-free method for pruning the DVC data. The size of the remaining sampled data can be user-defined, depending on the needs concerning storage space. The data pruning procedure is deeply linked to hyper-reduction techniques. The DVC data of a resin-bonded sand tested in uniaxial compression is used as an illustrating example. The relevance of the pruned data is tested afterwards for model calibration. A new Finite Element Model Updating (FEMU) technique coupled with an hybrid hyper-reduction method is used to successfully calibrate a constitutive model of the resin bonded sand with the pruned data only.

In this article it is shown how Milgrom’s acceleration constant is related with the Ω_Λ, Ω_m and Ω_B values of the matter distribution within observable universe as defined in the Standard Model of Cosmology, established by the Planck Collaboration Group. The result is a two-parameter model for the observable universe. The two parameters are the age of the universe and Milgrom’s acceleration constant. It is shown that these are sufficient to calculate the amounts of matter and dark energy in the universe, as well as the contributions of dark matter and baryonic matter in the matter part. The numerical results are in agreement with those of the Lamda-CDM model.

During the last decades, the production systems have developed different strategies to increase their competitiveness in the global market. In a manufacturing and services systems, Lean Manufacturing has been consolidated through the correct implementation of its tools. The present paper presents a case study developed in a Food Packer company where a Simulation Model was considered as an alternative to reduce the waste time generated by the poor distribution of operations and transportation areas for a product within the factory. As a matter of fact, the company has detected problems on the layout distribution that prevents to fulfill the market demand. In addition, the principal aim was to create a simulation model to test different hypothetical scenarios and alternative designs for the layout distribution without modifying its facilities. Moreover, the implemented methodology was based on classical models of simulation projects and a compendium of the manufacturing systems optimization by simulation process used during the last ten years. Also, a mathematic model supported by the Promodel ® simulation software was developed considering the company characteristics; along with the model development, it was possible to compare the production system performance from the percentage of used locations, the percentage of resources utilization, the number of finished products, and the level of Work in Process (WIP). Finally, the verification and validation stages were performed before running the scenarios in the real production area. The results generated by the implementation of the project represent an increase of 68% in the production capacity and a reduction of 5% in the WIP. In addition, both outcomes are associated with the resources management, which were reassigned to other production areas.

Live fuel moisture content (LFMC) influences fire activity at landscape scale and fire behavior in laboratory experiments. However, field evidences linking LFMC to fire behavior are very limited despite numerous field experiments. In the present study, we reanalyze a shrubland fire dataset with a special focus on LFMC to explain this counterintuitive outcome. We found that this controversy might result from three reasons. First, the range of experimental LFMC data was too moist to reveal significant effect with the widespread exponential or power functions. Indeed, LFMC exhibited a strong effect below 100%, but marginal above this threshold, contrary to these functions. Second, we found that the LFMC significance was unlikely when the size of the dataset was smaller than 40. Finally, a complementary analysis suggested that 10 to 15% of random measurement error in variables could lead to an underestimation by 30 % of the LFMC effect. The effect of LFMC in field experiments is thus stronger than previously reported in the range prevailing during the actual French fire season and in accordance with observations at different scales. This highlights the need to improve our understanding of the relationship between LFMC and fire behavior to refine fire danger predictions.

A heat transfer model, has determined millimeter crude oil thicknesses on saltwater at night. Model inputs are calibrated thermographic imagery, weather station data, metrological observations, and crude oil thermal conductivity. Outdoor field-testing was performed at the National Oil Spill Response & Renewable Energy Test Facility (Ohmsett) to determine model accuracy. Alaskan North Slope (ANS), Hoover Offshore Oil Pipeline System Blend (HOOPS), and ROCK crude oils were placed at varying mm depths. A roof-top mounted thermal camera measured the average oil surface temperature for each target and converted to oil spill thickness. The fidelity of the thickness measurements is dependent on the accurate measurement of the atmospheric and weather parameters, sea state, heat transfer constants, crude oil evaporation rates, and calibration and stability of the thermal camera.

Safety management assessment systems for national level units’ in South Korea focus on responding capacity to cope with impending accident occurrence and danger occurrence. Since the four stage systems for prevention-preparation-response-recovery, which are core elements of national disaster management, assess the capacities by item such as those of individuals, disaster management departments, institutions, and management networks, there is no assessment function for the organic operation states of the entire systems. Therefore, for efficient disaster management, systematic evaluation indices that will enable active pre-checks in departments in organizations should be developed in place of the existing simply checking methods. In this study, an assessment model that will enable active disaster management centered on practice was developed using resilience engineering techniques. This model consists of disaster management items from the viewpoint of proactive responses instead of prevention. A total of 56 items that constitute four capacities; which are prediction (13 items), monitoring (14 items), proactive response (15 items), and safety learning (14 items) capacities were adopted in this model through Delphi analysis. Institutional capacities for infectious disease disaster management were evaluated based on this model and the resultant scores were prediction 4.41, monitoring 4.63, proactive response 4.69, safety learning 4.56 out of the full score of 5.0 points with an overall average of 4.51. This is an excellent capacity management score comparable to the score 4.57 of diagnosis of similar capacities by the WHO\_JEE (The Joint External Evaluation) in 2017. In fact, in 2015, when infectious disease capacity management was poor, in case of MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) infectious disease spread in South Korea, 36 patients died and 6,729 patients were isolated. However, through capacity reinforcement, in the case of MERS occurrence in South Korea in September 2018, a management capacity that prevented spread was shown as one confirmed case was completely cured in 10 days and 21 contacts were isolated and tested negative. Therefore, this capacity management assessment model is judged to be usable in enhancing disaster response and management capacities.

Regression models form the core of the discipline of econometrics. One of the basic assumptions of classical linear regression model is that the values of the explanatory variables are fixed in repeated sampling. However, in most of the real life cases, particularly in economics the assumption of fixed regressors is not always tenable. Under a non-experimental or uncontrolled environment, the dependent variable is often under the influence of explanatory variables that are stochastic in nature. There is a huge literature related to stochastic regressors in various aspects. In this paper, a historical perspective on some of the works related to stochastic regressor is being tried to pen down based on literature search.

The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) of the Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) increases the chance of acquiring images with greater clarity at eight times a day and is equipped with spectral bands suitable for monitoring crop yield with a moderate spatial resolution. The objectives of this study were to classify nationwide paddy fields and to project rice (Oryza sativa) yield and production using the grid-based GRAMI-rice model and GOCI satellite products over South Korea from 2011 to 2014. Solar insolation and temperatures were obtained from COMS and the Korea local analysis and prediction system for model inputs, respectively. The paddy fields and transplanting dates were estimated using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance and land cover products. The crop model was calibrated using observed yield data in 11 counties and was applied to 62 counties in South Korea. The overall accuracies of the detected paddy fields ranged from 89.5 to 90.2%. The simulated rice yields statistically agreed with observed yields, with root-mean-square errors of 0.219 to 0.451 ton ha-1 and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiencies of 0.241 to 0.733 in four years, respectively. According to paired t-tests (α = 0.05), the simulated and observed rice yields were not significantly different. These results demonstrate the possible development of a crop information delivery system that can classify land cover, simulate crop yield, and monitor regional crop production on a national scale.

This paper investigates how blocks of buildings could fit into load shedding strategies. It focuses in particular on what could be the effects on peak shaving, occupants’ thermal comfort or CO2 emissions reduction and how to quickly quantify them. To achieve this goal, we focused on a new residential district, thermally fed by heat pumps. Four modeling approaches were confronted in order to estimate buildings' responses to load shedding orders. On the one hand, a quick estimation of the peak shaving impact can rely on experimental results if the buildings' envelope and uses of the experimentation match those of the study case. On the other hand, thermal simulation models allow us to assess thermal comfort while considering the building physical response. Finally, a hybrid modeling approach can provide a good compromise between modeling rapidity and accuracy of the impacts estimation. At district scale, it may be necessary to mix modeling approaches, from experimental results to detailed thermal models. Accuracy is not guaranteed for all approaches so that the choice should be made carefully in regards to study needs. However, results are sufficient to compare the effects of load shedding strategies on peak shaving, thermal comfort, and CO2 emissions reductions.

This study presents a pre-processing approach adopted for the radar reflectivity data assimilation and results of simulations with the Harmonie numerical weather prediction model. The method shows an improvement of precipitation prediction within the radar location area in both the rain rates and spatial pattern presentation. With the assimilation of radar data, the model simulates larger water content in the middle troposphere within the layer from 1 to 6 km, with major variations at 2.5–3 km; it also reproduces better the mesoscale belt and cell patterns of precipitation fields.

Measuring farms sustainable innovativeness is a big challenge for both practitioners and academics. The need of sustainable innovativeness assessment in the agricultural business is reasoned in the article. Unfortunately, the features of the farms sustainable innovativeness measurement have not yet been investigated, and any objective methodology for innovativeness assessment is not presented as well. The objective of this article is to find possibility of use some methodology for measuring farm sustainable innovativeness, which would allow ranking farms by this aspect. The article demonstrates the need for multi-criteria method of innovativeness measurement and substantiates the complex proportional assessment method (Copras) as the most appropriate for solution of indicated problem. The model for use of offered method is presented and the practical application of the model is submitted. The final result refuted the opinion that farm innovation depends only on the possibilities to invest funds in a certain area. Indeed, staff creativity and the position of the management regarding certain areas of business make an essential contribution to the sustainable innovativeness level in the agricultural organizations.

The conventional rolled-up model for carbon nanocones assumes that the cone is constructed from a rolled-up graphene sheet joined seamlessly, which predicts five distinct vertex angles. This model completely ignores any effects due to the changing curvature and all bond lengths and bond angles are assumed to be those for the planar graphene sheet. Clearly curvature effects will become more important closest to the cone vertex, and especially so for the cones with the smaller apex angles. Here we construct carbon nanocones which in the assembled cone are assumed to comprise bond lengths and bond angles which are, as far as possible, equal throughout the structure at the same distance from the conical apex. Predicted bond angles and bond lengths are shown to agree well with those obtained by relaxing the conventional rolled-up model using the LAMMPS software. The major objective here is not simply to model physically realisable carbon nanocones for which numerical procedures are far superior, but rather to produce an improved model that takes into account curvature effects close to the vertex, and from which we may determine an analytical formula which represents an improvement on that for the conventional rolled-up model.

Background. A rat model of chronic tympanic membrane perforation was developed to be used in the search of new materials for the sealing of these perforations. Methods. A longitudinal study was carried out in rats subjected to incisional myringotomy followed by the application of mitomycin C alone or with dexamethasone. Rats were checked at days 3, 7, 10, 14 and weekly thereafter until perforation closure, for up to 6 months. Results. The addition of dexamethasone is a key component in order to obtain a chronic opening. Myringotomies treated with saline had a mean healing time of 8.5 days. At 8 weeks, 70.5% of these remained perforated and at 6 months this number fell to 21.4%. Conclusion. This technique is able to maintain more than 70% of tympanic membrane perforations patent for at least 8 weeks. This rat model is adequate for its use in preclinical or translational research.

Fetal weight estimation before delivery is important in obstetrics, which assists doctors diagnose abnormal or diseased cases. Linear regression based on ultrasound measures such as bi-parietal diameter (bpd), head circumference (hc), abdominal circumference (ac), and fetal length (fl) is common statistical method for weight estimation but the regression model requires that time points of collecting such measures must not be too far from last ultrasound scans. Therefore this research proposes a method of early weight estimation based on expectation maximization (EM) algorithm so that ultrasound measures can be taken at any time points in gestational period. In other words, gestational sample can lack some or many fetus weights, which gives facilities to practitioners because practitioners need not concern fetus weights when taking ultrasound examinations. The proposed method is called dual regression expectation maximization (DREM) algorithm. Experimental results indicate that accuracy of DREM decreases insignificantly when completion of ultrasound sample decreases significantly. So it is proved that DREM withstands missing values in incomplete sample or sparse sample.

In this work, we develop a self-consistent physical model of bubbles in a gas solid two-phase flow. Using the Peng-Robonson state equation and a detailed specific heat ratio equation of bubbles, we obtain the kinetic equations of the bubbles on the basis of the Ergun equation, thermodynamic equations, and kinetic equations. It is found that the specific heat ratio of bubbles in such systems strongly depends on bubble pressures and temperatures, which play an important role in the characteristics of the bubbles. The theoretical studies show that with increasing height in the systems, the gas flow rate shows a downward trend. Moreover, the larger particles in the gas solid flows are, the greater the gas velocity is. The bubble sizes increase with the increasing heights of the gas solid systems, and then decrease. The bubble velocity is affected by the gas velocity and the bubble size, which gradually increase and eventually quasi-stabilize. This shows that gas and solid phases in a gas solid two-phase flow interact with each other and a self-consistent system comes into being. The theoretical results have exhibited important value as a guide for understanding the properties and effects of bubbles in gas solid two-phase flows.

Economic development and advancements in information technology contributed to the shift on accounting objective from commission responsibility view to decision-making useful view. The decision-making useful view claims that the accounting measurement methods should be changed to improve the usefulness of accounting information, to enable information users to make correct decisions. In addition, the development of financial instruments leads to the birth of fair value accounting. In recent years, fair value has been one of the most important measurement methods in the International Accounting Standard and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. However, China has been quite cautious when it comes to applying fair value full time, especially after the global financial crisis happened in 2008, wherein fair value accounting was exposed to strong suspicion. Hence, studying the value relevance of fair value is of great significance to exploring the accounting profession and reforming accounting standards. This paper attempts to investigate the value-relevance of fair value based on the data of listed financial companies and manufacturing companies in China. The results indicate that the fair value information in the financial industry has a strong explanatory influence to corporate share price. In contrast, the fair value information shows limited relevance in the manufacturing industry. Finally, consulting with the results of normative analysis and empirical study, this paper suggests several rational advices for the application of fair value in China.

After decades of research, oncolytic virotherapy has recently advanced to clinical application, and currently a multitude of novel agents and combination treatments are being evaluated for cancer therapy. Oncolytic agents preferentially replicate in tumor cells, inducing tumor cell lysis and complex anti-tumor effects, such as innate and adaptive immune responses and the destruction of tumor vasculature. With the availability of different vector platforms and the potential of both genetic engineering and combination regimens to enhance particular aspects of safety and efficacy, the identification of optimal treatments for patient subpopulations or even individual patients becomes a top priority. Mathematical modeling can provide support in this arena by making use of experimental and clinical data to generate hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying complex biology and, ultimately, predict optimal treatment protocols. Increasingly complex models can be applied to account for therapeutically relevant parameters such as components of the immune system. In this review, we describe current developments in oncolytic virotherapy and mathematical modeling to discuss the benefit of integrating different modeling approaches into biological and clinical experimentation. Conclusively, we propose a mutual combination of these fields of research for more efficient development and effective treatments.

The purpose of this work is to present an adaptive sliding mode luenberger state observer with improved disturbance rejection capability and better tracking performance under dynamic conditions. The sliding hyperplane is altered by incorporating the estimated disturbance torque with the stator currents. Also, the effects of parameter detuning on the speed convergence is observed and compared with the conventional disturbance rejection mechanism. The entire drive system is first built in simulink environment. Then, the simulink model is integrated with RT-Lab blocksets and implemented in a relatively new real-time environment using OP4500 real-time simulator. Real-time simulation and testing platforms have succeeded offline simulation and testing tools due to their reduced development time. The real-time results validate the improvement in the proposed state observer and also correspond to the performance of the actual physical model.

In this paper, a land utilization efficiency evaluation model, which takes environmental loss into consideration, has been structured via taking advantage of the slack-based measure (SBM) model. Meanwhile, based on the panel data from 280 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2013, the paper thoroughly probed into, and discussed, the effect imposed by industry clustering and specialization on the utilization efficiency of urban land. Research results indicate several conclusions, as follows: (1) Taking environmental loss into account, the land utilization efficiency of prefecture-level cities in China is generally low. During the research period, the average value of the land utilization efficiency of prefecture-level cities in China is only 0.349, with, first, a declining trend, and then a rise. Geographically speaking, the land utilization efficiency presents a “depression in the center” phenomenon which means the land utilization efficiency of prefecture-level cities in the central China are relatively lower than in the east and west. Now, the difference among the urban land utilization efficiency in China significantly reflects the distinctions among Eastern, Western, and Central China. Moreover, the contribution degree of the difference of the land utilization efficiency among cities of central China to the aggregation difference shows an ascending momentum. Additionally, the relation between the population scale and land utilization efficiency in cities manifests as a U shape; (2) theoretically speaking, the relation between industry clustering and urban land utilization efficiency presents an inverted-U shape. However, this kind of relation is not significant in Western and Central China and medium-sized cities. Moreover, most of cities are still relatively far away from the inflection point or the critical value; and (3) the industry professional level has imposed a positive influence on urban land utilization efficiency. However, that influence is not significant in Eastern China and large cities. Consequently, strengthening the industry professional development of Western and Central China and small and medium-sized cities, facilitating diversified development of industries in Eastern China and large cities, and accelerating industrial clustering, all of these measures above will be conducive to improving urban land utilization efficiency in China.

The main objective of this work is the assessment of the annual number of hospital admissions for respiratory disease (HARD) due to the exposure to in-healable particulate matter (PM10), within the greater Athens area (GAA), Greece. Towards this aim, the time series of the particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10μm (PM10) recorded in six monitoring stations located in the GAA, for a 13-year period 2001-2013, is used. Initially, a descriptive statistical treatment of PM10 concentrations took place. Furthermore, the AirQ2.2.3 software developed by the WHO was used to evaluate adverse health effects by PM10 in the GAA during the examined period. The results show that, during the examined period PM10 concentrations present a significant decreasing trend. Also, the mean annual HARD cases per 100,000 inhabitants ranged between 20 (suburban location) and 40 (city centre location). Approximately 70% of the annual HARD cases are due to city centre residents. In all examined locations, a declining trend in the annual number of HARD cases is appeared. Moreover, a strong relation between the annual number of HARD cases and the annual number of days exceeding the European Union daily PM10 threshold value was found.

Computer simulation of normal and diseased human heart activity requires a 3D anatomical model of the myocardium, including myofibres. For clinical applications, such a model has to be constructed based on routine methods of cardiac visualisation such as sonography. Symmetrical models are shown to be too rigid, so an analytical non-symmetrical model with enough flexibility is necessary. Based on previously made anatomical models of the left ventricle, we propose a new, much more flexible spline-based analytical model. The model is fully described and verified against DT-MRI data. We show a way to construct it on the basis of sonography data. To use this model in further physiological simulations, we propose a numerical method to utilise finite differences in solving the reaction-diffusion problem together with an example of scroll wave dynamics simulation.

There are many uncertainties and risks in residential electricity consumption during the economic development. Knowledge of the relationship between residential electricity consumption and its key determinant—income—are important to the sustainable development of electric power industry. Using panel data from 30 provinces for the 1995-2012 period, this study investigates how residential electricity consumption changes as incomes increase in China. Previous studies typically used linear or quadratic double-logarithmic models imposing ex ante restrictions on the indistinct relationship between residential electricity consumption and income. Contrary to those models, we employed a reduced piecewise linear model that is self-adaptive and highly flexible and circumvents the problem of “prior restrictions.” Robust tests of different segment specifications and regression methods are performed to ensure the conservatism of the research. The results provide strong evidence that the income elasticity was approximately one, and it remained stable throughout the estimation period. The income threshold at which residential electricity consumption automatically remains stable or slows has not been reached. To ensure the sustainable development of the electric power industry, introducing higher energy efficiency standards for electrical appliances and improving income levels are vital. And government should emphasize electricity conservation in industrial sector rather than in residential sector.

Batteries are called to be part of the electricity grid by providing ancillary services. Area regulation services seem to provide substantial revenues and profit. But Li-ion batteries are still too expensive to enter widely into this market. On the other hand, electric vehicle batteries are considered inappropriate for traction purposes when they reached a state of health of 80%. The reuse of these batteries offers affordable batteries for second life stationary applications. This study analyzes how batteries may provide services to a gas turbine cogeneration power plant and how long these batteries may last under different loads.

Predicting the outcome of a future game between two National Basketball Association (NBA) teams poses a challenging problem of interest to statistical scientists as well as the general public. In this article, we formalize the problem of predicting the game results as a classification problem and apply the principle of maximum entropy to construct NBA maximum entropy (NBAME) model that fits to discrete statistics for NBA games, and then predict the outcomes of NBA playoffs by the NBAME model. The best NBAME model is able to correctly predict the winning team 74.4 percent of the time as compared to some other machine learning algorithms which is correct 69.3 percent of the time.

Leishmaniasis is the third most common vector-borne disease and a very important protozoan infection. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most common types of leishmaniasis infectious diseases with up to 2 million occurrences of new cases each year worldwide. A dynamic transmission multivariate time series model was applied to the data to account for overdispersion and evaluate the effects of three environmental layers as well as seasonality in the data. Furthermore, ecological niche modeling was used to investigate the geographical suitable conditions for cutaneous leishmaniasis using temperature, precipitation and altitude as environmental layers, together with the leishmaniasis presence data. A retrospective analysis of the cutaneous leishmaniasis spatial data in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2009 indicates a steady increase from 2003 to 2007, a small decrease in 2008, then another increase in 2009. An upward trend and regularly repeating patterns of highs and lows was observed related to the months of the year which suggests seasonality effect in the data. Two peaks were observed in the disease occurrence-- January to March and September to December -- which coincide with the cold period. Ecological niche modelling indicates that precipitation has the greatest contribution to the potential distribution of leishmaniasis.

We monitored the water quality and hydrological conditions of a horizontal subsurface constructed wetland (HSSF-CW) in Beijing, China, for 2 years. We simulated the area rate constant and the temperature coefficient with the first-order kinetic model. We examined the relationships between the nitrogen (N) removal rate, N load, seasonal variations in the N removal rate, and environmental factors, such as the area rate constant, temperature, and dissolved oxygen (DO). The effluent ammonia (NH₄⁺-N) and nitrate (NO₃⁻-N) concentrations were significantly lower than the influent concentrations (p<0.01, n=38). The NO₃⁻-N load was significantly correlated with the removal rate (R²=0.9566, p<0.01), but the NH^₄+-N load was not correlated with the removal rate (R²=0.0187, p>0.01). The area rate constants of NO₃⁻-N and NH₄⁺-N at 20 °C were 27.01±26.49 and 16.63±10.58 m∙yr⁻¹, respectively. The temperature coefficients for NO₃⁻-N and NH₄⁺-N were estimated at 1.0042 and 0.9604, respectively. The area rate constants for NO₃⁻-N and NH₄⁺-N were not correlated with temperature (p>0.01). The NO₃⁻-N area rate constant was correlated with the corresponding load (R²=0.9625, p<0.01). The NH₄⁺-N area rate was correlated with DO (R²=0.6922, p<0.01), suggesting that the factors that influenced the N removal rate in this wetland met Liebig's law of the minimum.

Urbanization is considered as a main indicator of regional economic development due to its positive effect on promoting industrial development; however, many regions, especially developing countries, are troubled by its negative effect — the aggravating environmental pollution. Many researchers have indicated that rapid urbanization stimulated the expansion of industrial production scale and increased industrial pollutant emissions. However, this judgement contains a grave deficiency in that urbanization not only expands industrial production scales but can also increase industrial labour productivity and change the industrial structure. To modify this deficiency, we first decompose the influence which urbanization impacts on industrial pollutant emissions into the scale effect, the intensive effect and the structure effect by using the Kaya Identity and the LMDI Method; second, we perform an empirical study of the three effects’ impacts by applying the spatial panel model with data from 282 Chinese cities between 2003 and 2013. Our results indicate that (1) there are significant reverse U-shapes between Chinese urbanization rate and its industrial pollutant emissions; (2) the scale effect and the structure effect have aggravated Chinese industrial waste water discharge, sulphur dioxide emissions and soot (dust) emissions, while the intensive effect has generated a decreasing and ameliorative impact on that aggravated trend. The definite relationship between urbanization and industrial pollutant emissions depends on the combined influence of the scale effect, the intensive effect and the structure effect; (3) there are significant spatial autocorrelations of industrial pollutant emissions between Chinese cities, but the spatial spillover effect from other cities does not aggravate local urban industrial pollutant emissions, we offer an explanation to this contradiction that the vast rural areas surrounding Chinese cities have served as sponge belts and have absorbed the spatial spillover of cities’ industrial pollutant emissions. According to the results, we argue that this type of decomposition of the influence into three effects is necessary and meaningful, it establishes a solid foundation for understanding the relationship between urbanization and industrial pollutant emissions, and effectively helps to meet relative policy making.

Reduced-order electrothermal models play a key role in the design and control of lithium- ion cell stacks, calling for accurate model parameter calibration. This paper presents a complete electrical and thermal experimental characterization procedure for coupled modeling of cylindrical lithium-ion cells in order to implement them in a prototype Formula SAE hybrid racing car. The main 4goal of the tests is to determine cell capacity variations with temperatures and discharge currents, to predict the open circuit voltage of the cell and its entropic component. A simple approach for the characterization of the battery equivalent electrical circuit and a two-steps thermal characterization method are also shown. The investigations are carried out on four commercial 18650 NMC lithium cells. The model demonstrated to predict the battery voltage at a RMS error lower than 20mV and the temperature to a RMS error equal to 0.5 ◦C. The authors hope that this manuscript can contribute to the development of standardized characterization techniques for such cells, while offering experimental data and validated models that can be used by researchers and BMS designers in different applications.

Here we mathematically model black holes following dynamics similar to RC electrical model, focusing on their similarities at the singularity. We use this mathematically modelling to hypothesize the origin and growth of a black Hole. Or model consists of several steps defined by: (1) the formation of a black hole following general relativity equations; (2) growth of the black hole modelled as a resistance-capacitance-like electrical circuit. Based on the mathematical modeling of a black hole following dynamics similar to an RC circuit, for a circular motion with constant acceleration, in which the condition is fulfilled, Vt = ω r, we are going to calculate the amount of dark matter in the Milky Way galaxies and the Andromeda galaxy and subsequently the rotation curve of both galaxies to compare them with observed or measured values.

Electrical energy demand increase does evolve rapidly due to several socioeconomic factors such as industrialization, population growth, urbanization and of course the evolution of modern technologies in this 4th industrial revolution era. Such rapid increase in energy demand introduces a huge challenge in power system. Such has paved way for network operators to seek for alternative energy resources other than the conventional fossil fuel system. Hence, the penetration of renewable energy into the electricity supply mix has evolved rapidly in the past three decades. However, the grid system has to be well planned ahead to accommodate such increase in energy demand in the long run. Transmission Network Expansion Planning (TNEP) is a well ordered and profitable expansion of power facilities that meets the expected electric energy demand with an allowable degree of reliability. This paper proposes a TNEP model that minimises the network reinforcements, operational costs and costs of renewable energy penetrations, while satisfying the increase in demand. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) problem. The developed model has been tested in several IEEE test systems in multi-period scenarios. The paper also carried out a detailed derivation of the new non-negative variables in terms of the power flow magnitudes, the bus voltage phase angles and the lines’ phase angles for proper mixed integer variables’ decomposition techniques. Moreover, this paper tends to provide additional recommendation in terms of which particular year (within 20 years of planning period) can the network operators install new line(s), new corridor(s) and/or additional generation capacity to the respective existing power networks. Such is achieved by running incremental periods simulations from base year through the planning horizon. The results show the efficacy of the developed model in solving the TNEP problem with a reduced and acceptable computation time even for large power grid system.

In the context of the Bridge Electromagnetic Theory, a quantum-relativistic theory based on Maxwellian electromagnetism, it has recently been shown that the characteristics of a hydrogen atom can be obtained through an electron-proton orbital capture process forming a non-radial emitting dipolar electromagnetic source. The model structurally different to the Bohr-Sommerfeld and Schrödinger models has now been deepened and completed by testing it on the properties of hydrogen and deuterium atoms and of helium and lithium in hydrogenoid form. These last two atoms are of cosmological interest as they are the heaviest elements produced by electron capture in the early universe. The theoretical results obtained regarding the atomic structure and spectra are in excellent agreement with the observational data by suggesting the implicit correctness of the model. It is also highlighted that the electron-nucleus interaction is influenced on an isotopic basis as a function of the value of the inertial mass of the nuclei considered.

The Bridge Health Index (BHI) serves as an essential tool for assessing the structural and functional condition of bridges, calculated based on the condition of structural components and the serviceability of the bridge. Its primary purpose is to identify the most deteriorated structures in an asset inventory and prioritize those in most urgent need of repair. However, a frequently cited issue is the lack of accurate and objective data, with the determination of BHI often heavily reliant on expert opinions and engineering judgment. Furthermore, the BHI systems used in most countries are dependent on the current state of bridge components, making it challenging to use as a proactive indicator for factors such as the rate of bridge aging. To address this issue, this study introduces a novel BHI as a quantitative evaluation metric for reinforced concrete slab bridges and details the process of deriving the BHI based on deterioration models. The deterioration models are derived by preprocessing the deterioration data of reinforced concrete (RC) slab bridges, wherein the relationship between time and deterioration is directly employed for training a long short-term memory model. The BHI was validated through a case study involving six RC-slab bridges, wherein accuracies of &gt;93% were achieved, confirming that the proposed quantitative evaluation methodology can significantly contribute to maintenance decisions for bridges.

In this study, we present a multicomponent lipid model membrane composed of six lipids, in-cluding cholesterol, which represent the structure of neuronal membranes found in grey matter. To our knowledge, no previous studies have attempted a model like this. We constructed our model membranes using an esterified form of the most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acid found in grey matter: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). It is the most prevalent fatty acid in the brain and is essential for maintaining cellular structural integrity, acting as a major phospholipid in neural membranes. The aim of this work is to analyse the effects that different proportions of DHA have on the proposed membrane model. For this purpose, transmission electron microscopy, zeta potential, and molecular acoustics were used. The results showed differences that may be attributable to the influence DHA has on the nanodomains of sphingomyelin and cholesterol.

Land cover refers to the combination of various material types and their natural characteristics on the Earth. Accurately mapping the spatial distribution and temporal changes of the earth's land cover is of great significance for studying the energy balance and carbon cycle of the earth system. However, there is still a high degree of human participation in the production of multi-temporal land cover products. Developing an automated method for multi-epoch land cover mapping has become a key research focus. To this end, an automatic training sample extraction method was first employed using multi-source prior land cover products. Then, based on the generated training dataset and the Random Forest classifier, local adaptive land cover classification models of the reference year were developed. Finally, by migrating the classification model to the target epoch, the multi-epoch land cover products were generated. Yuli County in Xinjiang and Linxi County in Inner Mongolia were used as test cases. The classification models were first generated in 2020 and then transferred to 2010 to enable automatic classification of multi-temporal land cover. The mapping results showed high accuracy in both regions, with Yuli County achieving 92.52% in 2020 and 88.33% in 2010, and Linxi County achieving 90.28% in 2020 and 85.28% in 2010. Additionally, uncertainty analysis of the model migration method revealed that land types such as water bodies, wetlands, and impervious surfaces, which exhibit significant spectral changes over time, are less suitable for the model migration. Our research can offer valuable insights for fine-resolution land cover mapping. Furthermore, the approach provides a scalable solution for multi-period land cover monitoring, which could facilitate more efficient and accurate environmental assessments.

Biologists often set out to find relevant data in an ever changing landscape of interesting databases. While leading journals publish descriptions of databases, they are usually not current and do not frequently update the list to discard defunct or poor quality database. These indices usually include databases that are proactively requested to be included by their authors. The challenge for individual biologists then is to discover, explore and select databases of interest from a large unorganized collection and effectively use them in analysis without too large an investment. The FAIR data principle being advocated to improve searching, finding, accessing, and inter-operating among these diverse information sources to increase usability is proving to be a difficult proposition and consequently, a large number of data sources are not FAIR compliant. Since linked open data does not guarantee FAIRness, biologists are now left on a solo hunt for information on the open network. In this paper, we propose SoDa, for intelligent data foraging on the internet by biologists. SoDa helps biologists discover resources based on analysis requirements, generate resource access plans, and stores cleaned data and knowledge for community use. A secondary search index is also supported for community members to find archived information in a convenient way.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can cause chronic infections, significantly increasing the risk of death from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A key player in chronic HBV infection is covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), a stable episomal form of viral DNA that acts as a persistent reservoir in infected hepatocytes and drives continuous viral replication. Despite the development of several animal models, few adequately replicate cccDNA formation and maintenance, limiting our understanding of its dynamics and the evaluation of potential therapeutic interventions targeting cccDNA. In this study, we aimed to develop a mouse model to investigate cccDNA formation and maintenance. We infected C57BL/6 mice with recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) carrying a 1.3-overlength HBV genome (genotype C) and collected liver tissue at various time points to assess cccDNA levels and viral replication. Our results demonstrated the successful establishment of a chronic hepatitis B mouse model using rAAV-HBV1.3, which supported persistent HBV infection with sustained cccDNA expression in hepatocytes. Serum levels of HBsAg and HBeAg were elevated for up to 12 weeks, while alanine transaminase (ALT) levels remained within the normal range, indicating limited liver damage during this period. We confirmed HBV DNA expression in hepatocytes, and importantly, cccDNA was detected using qPCR after Plasmid-Safe ATP-Dependent DNase treatment, which selectively removes non-cccDNA forms. This established model provides a valuable platform for studying the long-term maintenance of cccDNA in chronic HBV infection and offers an important tool for testing novel therapeutic strategies aimed at targeting cccDNA.

The failure of immunotherapies in cancer patients is being widely studied due to the complexities present in the tumor microenvironment (TME), where regulatory T cells (Treg) appear to actively participate in providing an immune escape mechanism for tumors. Therefore, therapies to specifically inhibit tumor-infiltrating Treg represent a challenge because Treg are distributed throughout the body and provide physiological immune homeostasis to prevent autoimmune diseases. Characterization of immunological and functional profiles could help to identify the mechanisms that need to be inhibited or activated to ensure Treg modulation in the tumor. To address this, quantitative in-silico approaches based on mechanistic mathematical models integrating multi-scale information from immune and tumor cells and the effect of different therapies have allowed the building of computational frameworks to simulate different hypotheses, some of which have subsequently been experimentally validated. Therefore, this review presents a list of diverse computational mathematical models that examine the role of Treg as a crucial immune resistance mechanism contributing to the failure of immunotherapy. In addition, this review highlights the relevance of certain molecules expressed in Treg that are associated with the TME immunosuppression, which could be incorporated into the mathematical model for a better understanding of the contribution of Treg modulation. Finally, different pre-clinical and clinical combinations of molecules are also included to show the trend of new therapies targeting Treg.

There are increasing needs for models of public garden with low-maintenance, and environmental stress to plant due to climate change is growing. Therefore, the demand for developing new plant varieties based on native plants as garden materials against climate change has increased fairly. Many plants in the family Poaceae are applied for various purposes such as food crops, fodder grasses, ornamental plants, or medical plants. Also, native plants have some economic and ecological benefits, and the utilization of native plants is positive in a garden. However, there are some difficulties in Poaceae breeding researches and utilization of wild native plants for breeding. To overcome these problems, model plants can be utilized in breeding researches of Poaceae plant species. In this study, to explore the possibility of utilizing Korean native Poaceae plants as model plants and for breeding new cultivars, the candidate species were selected from the Korean Plant Names Index (KPNI). A total of 3 Korean native plants in the family Poaceae including Brachypodium sylvaticum, Setaria viridis, and Zoysia japonica were selected, and their properties and their genome information were compared with the representative model plants, Arabidopsis thaliana and Brachypodium distachyon. The modern research status of B. sylvaticum, S. viridis and Z. japonica has been summarized, and the genome size, life cycle, and other characteristics of these model plants have been compared and discussed. Application of these newly selected candidate plants in breeding research would build a foundation for breeding of native Poaceae plants in Korea against the new climate regime.

This study provides a detailed numerical assessment of the productivity of single-slope solar stills across key cities in the Caspian region, including Aktau, Atyrau, Astrakhan, Makhachkala, Baku, Tehran, and Turkmenbashi. Employing a mathematical model based on heat balance equations and the 4th-order Runge-Kutta method, we simulated the distillation process under various climatic conditions. The results reveal that productivity is significantly influenced by geographic location and local meteorological conditions. Tehran demonstrated the highest productivity across all seasons, with values of 1.75 × 10³ kg/(m²·year) and an efficiency of 0.53, due to its optimal solar irradiation and ambient temperature. In contrast, Atyrau and Makhachkala exhibited lower productivity, particularly in colder months, highlighting the effect of ambient temperature on solar still efficiency. The analysis identified optimal water depth at 2 cm and insulation thickness between 4 and 9 cm for enhancing productivity in continental climates like Aktau. Additionally, the lowest cost of distilled water was $0.024 per kilogram in Baku. These findings align with existing literature, validating the numerical model's accuracy. Future research will explore integrating solar stills with other renewable and fossil fuel-based technologies.

In the context of high energy costs and energy transition, the optimal use of energy resources for industrial consumption is fundamental. This paper presents a decision-making structure for large consumers having flexibility to manage electricity or natural gas consume to satisfy the demands of industrial processes. The proposed modelling energy system structure relates monthly medium and hourly short-term decisions to which these agents are subjected, represented by two connected optimization models. In the medium term, the decision occurs under uncertain conditions of energy and natural-gas market prices, as well as hydropower generation (self-production). The monthly decision is represented by a risk-constrained optimization model. In the short term, hourly optimization considers the operational flexibility of energy and/or natural-gas consumption, subject to the strategy defined in the medium term and mathematically connected by a regret cost function. The model application of a real case of a Brazilian aluminum producer indicates a measured energy cost reduction of U$ 3.98 million over a six-month analysis period.

Citizens face online privacy threats from social media, organisations and governments. Privacy-enhancing tools (PETs) can help people to preserve their privacy, but the uptake of these is limited. We developed a conceptual framework for privacy self-protection, using a classification framework of four distinct privacy threats and our own novel staged model of PET adoption requisites. Through an expert survey (N = 12) and a lay user survey (N = 500), we identified suitable PETs for non-expert users and identified potential barriers to PET adoption. Based on the studies and our theoretical framework, we then developed and implemented a PET decision support tool called PEDRO, and conducted expert evaluations (N = 10).

Most available studies on the mechanical properties of apples lack the comprehensive results needed for the construction and validation of FEM models. Researchers typically focus on either the flesh and epidermis or the whole fruit, often overlooking the maturity stage of the examined apples. They usually report only firmness or the starch index as indicators of maturity. Furthermore, many studies use store-bought apples, which is impractical for industrial applications since this fruit have already undergone various treatments before reaching the shelf. This article aims to determine the mechanical properties of apples necessary for constructing FEM models that are both adequate and useful for the industry. The new Polish apple variety, Chopin, was selected as the research material. The study was conducted for three stages of apple maturity: development, ripening, and senescence. Mechanical properties of the flesh and skin were determined as material data for FEM models. Force-displacement curves and pressure-force functions were examined for future model validation. Using micro-computed tomography, the bruise volumes of fruit subjected to 20%, 50%, and 80% of the destructive force were determined. Significant differences were found between apples in the senescence stage and those in the development and ripening stages. Results of Micro-Ct and the results of modified and real compression tests of whole fruit have allowed us to formulate the research hypothesis regarding the influence of flesh cracking (characterized by local drops of force), influencing the bruise visibility and detection.

This is a methodological contribution to reference mode development in system dynamics model conceptualization. Existing behavior mode taxonomies-developed for various modeling phases-provide no comprehensive method for mode classification based on an exhaustive set of mutually exclusive modes, and derivation of questions the simulation model should answer. Novice modelers need such guidance. The article proposes a conceptual framework for systemic behavior with a hierarchical taxonomy of elementary, composite, and overlaid modes. A structured method identifies the intervals of each respective mode, orders them into episodes and then condenses the variables’ episodes to systemic episodes. Each transition then gives rise to a fundamental question for the model under development. Three classical cases illustrate the application and contrast the proposed taxonomy to others in the extant literature. The article then discusses some validation criteria referring to reference modes and their link to the dynamic hypothesis, current limitations, and questions for further research.

Background: Patients with mutations in the monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8) suffer from Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome (AHDS), characterized by developmental delay and a highly disabling movement disorder. Despite the potential of thyroid hormone derivatives to overcome the transporter defect, current trials did not achieve patient-oriented therapeutic goals. Objectives: Since most neurological symptoms are related to the dopaminergic system, we investigated the role of dopamine and its metabolites in MCT8 deficiency with regard to pathophysiology and potential therapeutic strategies in an observational cohort study. Methods: We present longitudinal data from the DEEPTYPE registry of ten patients with video-documentation, standardized phenotyping, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, treatment response to levodopa/carbidopa supplementation, and neuroimaging data. To establish a cell-based model for pathophysiological studies, we differentiated healthy human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) into dopaminergic neurons. Results: Children presented with signs of parkinsonism in childhood, including hypokinesia, hypomimia, inability to sit or stand, rigidity, dystonia, and autonomic dysfunction along the classification of Leuzzi and colleagues. Cerebrospinal fluid homovanillic acid concentrations were decreased (n=11), suggesting isolated dopamine pathway impairment. Six out of seven patients responded favorably to levodopa/carbidopa supplementation and we did not see any adverse drug reactions. Our cell-based studies showed that hiPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons expressed MCT8 and produced quantifiable levels of biogenic amines. Conclusions: Parkinsonism is part of AHDS's clinical presentation and may be amenable to treatment. The precise impact of MCT8 deficiency on the dopamine metabolism needs to be further elucidated, e.g. by using patient iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons in future studies.

In a V2V communication environment, the control of electric vehicle platoons faces issues such as random communication delays, packet loss, and external disturbances, which affect sustainable transportation systems. In order to solve these problems and promote the development of sustainable transportation, a longitudinal control algorithm for the platoon based on robust Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) and Model Predictive Control (MPC) is designed. First, a longitudinal kinematic model of the vehicle platoon is constructed, and discrete state-space equations are established. The robust UKF algorithm is derived by enhancing the UKF algorithm with Huber-M estimation. This enhanced algorithm is then used to estimate the state information of the leading vehicle. Based on the vehicle state information obtained from the robust UKF estimation, feedback correction and compensation are added to the MPC algorithm to design the robust UKF-MPC longitudinal controller. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed controller is verified through CarSim/Simulink joint simulation. The simulation results show that in the presence of communication delay and data loss, the robust UKF-MPC controller outperforms the MPC and UKF-MPC controllers in terms of MSE and IAE metrics for vehicle spacing error and acceleration tracking error, and exhibits stronger robustness and stability.

The purpose of this paper is to show how the self-exciting threshold autoregressive (SETAR) model could be an appropriate econometric framework for characterizing the dynamics of the U.S. public debt/GDP ratio after the Bretton Woods collapse. Our preferred SETAR specifications are capable in capturing the main stylized facts of the U.S. public debt/GDP ratio between 1974 and 2024. In addition, the estimated SETAR models are consistent with several theoretical frameworks that seek to explain the behavior of the U.S. public debt/GDP ratio before and after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Finally, the paper provides some arguments on why the previous studies that use the exponential smooth threshold autoregressive (ESTAR) models, or SETAR-type models for the first differences of the U.S. public debt/GDP ratio, are potentially mis-specified, both on econometric and economic grounds.

Currently, urban renewal activities in China are booming. And promoting the renovation of public buildings is the key due to its large scale, high cost and significant impact to the nature and social environment. To reduce the ambiguity and uncertainty in evaluating the potential for renewal of existing public buildings, a renewal potential evaluation model combining game theory combination weighting method and cloud model theory is proposed. The paper constructs a comprehensive evaluation index system based on relevant standards and literature. Game theory is used to optimize the weights obtained by AHP and entropy weight methods to obtain a combined weight. MATLAB programming is used to calculate the comprehensive cloud parameters of the evaluation index for the potential renewal of existing public buildings and therefore generate cloud Graphs. Through case study in Nanjing of China, it has been demonstrated that the combination empowerment cloud model can objectively reflect the relationship between the fuzziness and randomness of evaluation indicators for public building renewal potential. The expression of cloud Graphs can intuitively reflect the magnitude of renewal and renovation potential and the degree of uncertainty in evaluation results. The research result provides useful references for the sustainable utilization of building resources in the era of building.

The samples from lunar farside have great significance for the study of the Moon, and even the solar system. Chang’e-6 landed successfully on the southern mare of the Apollo basin and returned ~2 kg samples from lunar farside. To provide a better understanding for the background of the returned samples, we conducted detailed crater size-frequency distribution (CSFD) measurements in the Chang’e-6 landing region, the southern mare of the Apollo basin. The southern mare is divided into western mare (W region) and eastern mare (E region), and then subdivided into five sub-units (W1, W2, W3, W4, W5) and three units (E1, E2, E3), respectively, according to the elevation, Ti and Fe abundances. Within the W2 and W5 region, more detailed sub-units were divided. The results show that the southern mare generally have two epochs, one of the Imbrian period and the other of the Eratothenian period. The basalt eruption lasted for ~1.7 Ga, from 3.28 Ga of the eastern mare to 1.54 Ga of the western mare. W region is younger than E region, while the three units of E region has an age of ~3.2 Ga. The ages of the western mare basalts range from 2.98 Ga to 1.54 Ga, lasting for 1.4 Ga. It’s worth noting that the age of the basalt at the Chang’e-6 sampling site is ~1.68 Ga, indicating the samples returned may include components with this very young age.

Floods in various regions cause irreparable damage to infrastructure, agricultural lands, and industrial centers. In recent years, due to the effects of climate change and, in particular, the increased activity of the monsoon system in the Balochistan region located in southern Sistan and Baluchestan province, local rivers have overflowed, causing widespread flooding and significant damage. Accurate flood routing not only provides decision-makers with precise information about flood volume and flow behavior but also facilitates planning for effective preventive measures. In this study, the Muskingum-Cunge model was used to simulate floods in eight major rivers of Balochistan, including Kajou, Sarbaz, Nik Shahr, Kehir, Bahu, Sia Jangal, Rapch, and Kamb. The model parameters (K and X) were optimized using two machine learning algorithms: Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Harmony Search (HS). The results showed that in most stations, the PSO algorithm outperformed HS. The algorithms were evaluated using the coefficient of residual mass (CRM), normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), efficiency (EF), and agreement index (d). For instance, at the Kajou station, PSO improved CRM by 0.017, Ef by 0.921, d by 0.982, and NRMSE by 0.099 compared to HS. At the Kamb station, both algorithms yielded comparable results. Considering the overall better performance of the PSO algorithm in most evaluation indices, it can be concluded that this algorithm is a more suitable option for optimizing the parameters of the Muskingum-Cunge model and simulating flood hydrographs with higher accuracy at most of the studied stations.

Live-streaming commerce (LSC) is a new shopping method that combines the characteristics of social commerce and e-commerce. Since the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, the number of branded platforms is growing rapidly, and their competition is fiercer than ever. Understanding consumer needs and improving service quality become the key issue for survival. This study aims to develop and empirically validate a multi-dimensional hierarchical model for measuring service quality on LSC platforms. A hierarchical reflective construct was proposed to capture dimensions based on literature on e-retail and social commerce service quality. The pro-posed model was rigorously tested using two waves of survey data through the partial least squares method. Results showed that the service quality of LSC is a third-order, reflective con-struct and includes five primary dimensions (the streamer’s interaction quality, physical envi-ronment, website quality, outcome quality and ordering process) and twelve sub-dimensions (trustworthiness, expertise, responsiveness, telepresence, consumption scenarios, information quality, system operation quality, fulfillment and refund/compensation, privacy/security, contact and ease of use). Findings also supported the hypothesis that service quality has a significant impact on customers’ satisfaction and their behavioral intentions. Furthermore, we tested an al-ternative model, and the results showed that the relationship between dimensions and overall assessment is reflective rather than formative. We offered directions for further research on LSC service quality and discussed managerial implications stemming from the empirical findings.

The study objective is to evaluate the reliability of the Göttingen Mini-pig (G-MP) as a large animal model for preclinical studies addressing articular cartilage treatment procedures. Second this work compared the G-MP to the domestic pig (DP) in terms of surgical anatomy, postoperative management, and follow-up period possibilities and challenges. Six G-MP and four DP underwent a two-stage surgical procedure including cartilage harvesting using a superolateral approach followed by cartilage implantation using a medial parapatellar tendon approach. The superolateral approach exposed 11% (SD ± 5) of the entire trochlea in G-MP and 20% in the DP model. The medial parapatellar tendon approach in G-MP exposed 63% (SD ± 4) of the trochlear surface and exposed 34% (SD ± 13) of the medial femoral condyle, allowing 4 trochlear lesions of 6mm of diameter and one to the medial condyle in 4 out of 6 G-MP and in all DPs. Cartilage thickness was under 1mm in G-MP compared to more than 2mm in DP. Weight-progression was + 4 kg/week in DP and + 0.2 kg/week for G-MP. The G-MP is a feasible model for cartilage research, with adequate access to the joint via the dual approach. Thus enabling 4-5 lesions of 6mm, however a thinner cartilage in the G-MP needs to be considered.

Many systems in the manufacturing industry have spatial distribution characteristics, which correlate with both time and space. Such systems are known as distributed parameter systems (DPS). Due to the spatiotemporal coupling characteristics, the modeling of such systems is quite complex. The paper presents a new approach for three-dimensional fuzzy modeling using Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation (SPSA) for nonlinear DPS. The Affinity Propagation clustering approach is utilized to dynamically determine the optimal number of fuzzy rules and construct a collection of preceding components for three-dimensional fuzzy models. Fourier space base functions are used in the resulting components of three-dimensional fuzzy models, and their parameters are learned by the SPSA algorithm. The proposed three-dimensional fuzzy modeling technique was utilized on a conventional DPS within the semiconductor manufacturing industry, with the simulation experiments confirming its efficacy.

The task of automatically and intelligently diagnosing faults in marine equipment is of great significance due to the numerous duties that shipboard professionals must handle. Incorporating automated and intelligent systems on ships allows for more efficient equipment monitoring and better decision-making. This approach has attracted considerable interest in both academia and industry because of its potential for economic savings and improved safety. Several fault diagnosis methods are documented in the literature, often involving mathematical and control theory models. However, due to the inherent complexity of some processes, not all characteristics are precisely known, making mathematical modeling highly challenging. As a result, fault diagnosis often depends on data or heuristic information. Fuzzy logic theory is particularly well-suited for processing this type of information. Therefore, this paper employs fuzzy models to diagnose faults in a marine pneumatic servo-actuated valve. The proposed fault diagnosis framework analyzes the discrepancy signals between the outputs of the fuzzy models and the actual process outputs. These discrepancies, known as residuals, help in detecting and isolating equipment faults. The fault isolation process uses an intelligent decision-making approach to determine the specific fault in the system. This method is applied to diagnose abrupt faults in a marine pneumatic servo-actuated valve.

The Xihan River basin is located in the southern part of Gansu Province, where flood disasters occur frequently in summer and autumn, which easily pose significant risks to human life. In order to improve the accuracy of flood disaster predictions and early warnings, a flood model suitable for this region was constructed based on the HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Engineering Center's-hydrologic modeling system) model and used to determine the critical areal rainfall for flood disasters. Calibration of this model was performed using data of four flood events from May to October between 2020 and 2021, reserving data of two additional flood events for model validation. Using the calibrated HEC-HMS model, the critical areal rainfall was determined for the Pingluo and Tanjiaba hydrological stations in the basin through the model testing method. The results indicate that: (1) The stable infiltration rate of the XiHanShui River Basin was between 0.06 and 0.10 mm/h, with runoff concentration times primarily varying from 22.5 to 24.1 hours, a direct runoff storage coefficient was 0.2 hours, and a base flow index decay constant seted at 0.03 hours. (2) During the calibration and validation periods, the average peak flow relative error was 7.56%, the average runoff volume relative error was 14.76%, the average peak occurrence time difference was -0.5 hours, and the Nash efficiency coefficient was 0.769. (3) The warning areal rainfall for the Pingluo and Tanjiaba hydrological stations were 108.1mm and 128.5mm, and the guaranteed areal rainfall were 230.8mm and 184.6mm. The HEC-HMS model demonstrated high applicability and accuracy in simulating flood events in the XiHanShui River Basin, providing technical support for hydrological research and operational applications in the region.

The presence of clays in copper minerals has a significant negative impact during their processing, leading to low recoveries during the flotation process. In saline environments such as seawater, the presence of clays contribute to an increase in operational problems caused by salinity, a decrease in the grade of the copper concentrate, alteration of the rheology of the mineral pulp, a decrease in the selectivity of copper during the flotation process, a reduction in the quality of clarified water, and excessive corrosion of metallic components. This study explores the electroflotation of kaolinite and montmorillonite clays in NaCl solutions using a modified Hallimond tube coupled with Ti Gr. 2 electrodes for bubble generation via water electrolysis, and the corrosion analysis of these electrodes applying the superposition model. The electroflotation results show recovery of clays close to 72.68% for kaolinite, 88.44% for montmorillonite, and 67.36% for a mixtures of both clays. The presence of clays helps reduce the corrosive effects of Ti Gr. 2 from 0.069 A/m2 in NaCl to 0.0073 A/m2 in NaCl with montmorillonite clay.

Research interest in the occurrence, distribution, fate, and toxicity of N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N’-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) quinone, a derivative of the tire amino antioxidant 6PPD in urban environments, has surged. While several studies have found that 6PPD quinone exhibits acute, reproductive, and behavioral toxicity as well as mutagenicity and hepatotoxicity in aquatic and terrestrial animals, its environmental exposure data are fragmented and lack coherence across the source-to-exposure continuum, making it difficult to use for risk assessment and regulatory purposes. The present work developed an aggregate exposure pathway (AEP) framework to integrate the exposure data. An AEP network was developed for the atmospheric deposition of 6PPD quinone from tire wear in the Pearl River Delta, which led to human exposure. The 6PPD quinone research was organized, visualized, and evaluated with pertinent knowledge gaps identified using the weight of evidence assessment. Eight key exposure states were identified, with only two having high confidence levels and three having low confidence levels. Empirical support for the key transitional relationships decreased from High to Low from the source to the target site, indicating an urgent need for downstream mechanistic data. The proposed AEP framework integrated diverse 6PPD quinone research, facilitating a mechanistic understanding of the source-to-outcome continuum, as well as the development of quantitative predictive models for future research and environmental regulation.

In recent years, electroencephalogram (EEG) emotion recognition has emerged as a research hotspot in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite advancements in EEG-based emotion recognition, room for enhancing performance persists due to EEG signal redundancy and limitations in feature extraction, leading to inefficient models and emotional information loss. To fully utilize EEG's emotional information and improve recognition accuracy while reducing computational costs, this paper proposes a Convolutional-Recurrent Hybrid Network with a dual-stream adaptive approach and an attention mechanism (CSA-SA-CRTNN). Firstly, the model utilizes a CSAM module to assign corresponding weights to EEG channels. Then, an adaptive dual-stream convolutional-recurrent network (SA-CRNN and MHSA-CRNN) is applied to extract local spatial-temporal features. After that, the extracted local features are concatenated and fed into a temporal convolutional network with a multi-head self-attention mechanism (MHSA-TCN) to capture global information. Finally, the extracted EEG information is used for emotion classification. We conducted binary and ternary classification experiments on the DEAP dataset, achieving 99.26% and 99.15% accuracy for arousal and valence in binary classification, and 97.69% and 98.05% in ternary classification, surpassing relevant algorithms. Additionally, the model's efficiency is significantly higher than other models, achieving better accuracy with lower resource consumption.

In a trip planning service, travelers first set a starting point, a destination, and a sequential list of specific points of interest types (e.g., museums, restaurants, and parks). Based on this information, the service searches the spatial database to customize the best travel itinerary for the tourist. However, in previous studies, planners only considered the time factor when designing the optimal route, and failed to fully consider the quality of each point of interest. In this study, we specifically leveraged the capabilities of large language model to parse and respond to complex travel-related user queries. To apply large language model to route planning, we fine-tuned the model to understand geotagging and user travel preferences. We have introduced a novel graph search algorithm combined with large language model output, which optimizes the route search process to provide optimal travel recommendations by taking into account various factors such as distance length, budget constraints, and popularity of tourist attractions. In addition, we have integrated real-time traffic data and historical travel data to further improve the prediction accuracy and application usefulness of the model. In the experimental validation phase, we designed a series of benchmarks to compare the performance of the system with traditional algorithms and other machine learning-based route planning methods. Experimental results show that our model has a significant improvement compared with traditional methods in improving the speed and accuracy of path selection.

The global photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity, vital for the electric sector decarbonation, has reached 1,552.3 GWp in 2023. In France, the capacity stood in April 2024 at 19.9 GWp. The growth of the PV installed capacity over a year was nearly 32% worldwide and 15.7% in France. However, integrating PV electricity into grids is hindered by poor knowledge of rooftop PV systems, constituting 20% of France's installed capacity, and the lack of measurements of the production stemming from these systems. This problem of lack of measurements of the rooftop PV power production is referred to as the lack of observability. Using ground truth measurements of individual PV systems, available at an unprecedented temporal and spatial scale, we show that estimating the PV power production of an individual rooftop system by combining solar irradiance and temperature data, the characteristics of the PV system inferred from remote sensing methods and an irradiation-to-electric power conversion model provides accurate estimations of the PV power production. Our study shows that we can improve rooftop PV observability, and thus its integration into the electric grid, using little information on these systems, a simple model of the PV system and weather data.

Wave propagation in buildings analyzed from its response to earthquakes can be applied for tracking the dynamic characteristics changes based on impulse response functions. The velocity of traveling shear-waves and intrinsic attenuation in buildings can be retrieved for buildings. It is an approach of importance for system identification. The Factor Building at the University of California, Los Angeles campus (henceforth referred as the UCLA Factor Building), an instrumented 15-story steel-moment frame structure, are selected for dynamic response characteristics identification. They are inferred from wave propagation using seismic interferometry for recorded motions. The deconvolved waves are used to compute shear wave travel time and wave attenuation. The natural logarithm for the envelopes of the waveforms deconvolved with the signal at the basement constrains the attenuation. The waveforms from deconvolution with the motion at the basement suggest the fundamental mode of the building. The frequency and decay with time constrain the shear velocity and attenuation as well. The velocity are measured using arrival times picked from these deconvolved waves and the average velocity is 147.1 m/s. The quality factor is equal to 10.8 with the damping ratio at 5%. The shear wave velocity and damping ratio estimated from the deconvolved waves have a good match with these inferred from the waveforms deconvolved with the basement recording. This consistency suggests that wave deconvolution can be applied to extract the building response from the excitation and ground coupling. Based on the resonant frequencies and damping ratio, the finite element model of the building is updated. This study implies that wave deconvolution is powerful to extract the building dynamic characteristics. It helps to better the understanding of the dynamic response of buildings to earthquakes.

In this work, we propose a generalized partially functional linear regression model with an interaction term between functional predictors. The estimators of the regression coefficient of scalar predictors and regression coefficient functions of functional predictors and their interactions are obtained. The asymptotic property of the estimators is established. Extensive simulation studies illustrate the asymptotic results. Finally, the proposed model was applied to investigate the influence of air qualities, climate factors, medical and social indicators and the interactions on cancer incidence which is a binary response.

In this digital era, laundry applications come as an innovative solution to meet the laundry needs of modern people who often have busy schedules and limited time. This research aims to make a significant contribution to our broader understanding of how digital innovations can revolutionize mundane tasks. This research uses the Waterfall model, which is one of the methods in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The development process begins with the Requirement Analysis stage, where application requirements and specifications are collected and thoroughly analyzed to ensure that the developed application will meet user expectations. After that, the System Design stage is conducted, where the application architecture, user interface design, and database structure are designed in detail to ensure conformity with the previously identified needs.The next stage is Implementation, where program code is written and application features are developed according to the design that has been made. The final stage is Integration and Testing, where all application components are combined and tested thoroughly to detect and fix any errors or bugs that may exist. The results of this study produced a web-based shuttle laundry service application using the Laravel framework called "All Fresh Laundry". This application can order clothes washing services according to its membership, where there are 3 types of membership based on price and of course have different benefits. In addition, the testing phase of this application using black box testing shows that all menu features function properly according to their functions. Each component of the "All Fresh Laundry" app was thoroughly tested to ensure that no errors or malfunctions occurred. The results of this testing make it clear that every feature, from online ordering to laundry status tracking, works well and meets the specifications that have been set, so that this application can provide an optimal and reliable user experience.

We propose an $E_8 \otimes E_8$ unification of the standard model with pre-gravitation, on an exceptional Lie algebra-valued space . Each of the $E_8$ has in its branching an $SU(3)$ for space-time and an $SU(3)$ for three fermion generations. The first $E_8$ further branches to the standard model $SU(3)_c \otimes SU(2)_L \otimes U(1)_Y$ and describes the gauge bosons, Higgs and the left chiral fermions of the standard model. The second $E_8$ further branches into a right-handed counterpart (pre-gravitation) $SU(3)_{grav}\otimes SU(2)_R \otimes U(1)_g$ of the standard model, and describes right chiral fermions, a Higgs, and twelve gauge bosons associated with pre-gravitation, from which general relativity is emergent. We account for 208 out of the 496 degrees of freedom of $E_8 \otimes E_8$ and propose an interpretation for the remaining 288, motivated by the trace dynamics Lagrangian of our theory. We explain how the two copies of $SU(3)_{spacetime}$ together give rise to a 6D spacetime with signature $(3,3)$ which upon symmetry breaking gives rise to our 4D spacetime and to a second 4D anti-spacetime with flipped signature.

These findings have several policy implications, emphasizing the need for enhanced data collection, climate-resilient agricultural policies, and continued investment in research. The study contributes to the understanding of climate-smart agriculture, providing insights for informed decision-making towards resilient and productive agricultural systems in the face of climate change challenges.

The continuous casting process of helical fiber reinforced metal matrix composites was proposed, and the experimental equipment was designed and manufactured. The relationship model be-tween the process parameters and the helical shape of the fibers in the metal matrix is analyzed by differential geometry. Helical carbon fiber reinforced lead matrix composites were prepared under different conditions. When the melting temperature and cooling intensity were increased, the helical radius of helical carbon fiber in lead matrix was increased. When the fiber rotation speed was increased, the helical radius was decreased, and the helical pitch was de-creased proportionally. The experimental results are consistent with the process model. Carbon fiber rein-forced aluminum composites were prepared. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the infiltration between the aluminum matrix and the carbon fiber was not complete. As the volume fraction of carbon fiber which was added in composites is too small, the mechanical properties of the composites have not been significantly improved.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, anxiety, hyperactivity, and restricted interest for specific subjects. In addition to the genetic factors, multiple environmental factors have been related to the development of ASD. Animal models can serve as crucial tools for understanding the complexity of ASD and identifying potential therapeutic strategies. In this study, a chemical model of ASD has been developed in zebrafish by exposing embryos to valproic acid (VPA) from 4 to 48 hours post-fertilization. After the exposure, embryos were transferred to fish water and the effects on behavior and neurotransmitters profile were analyzed at both larval and adult stages. Larvae from VPA-treated embryos showed hyperactivity and decreased visual and vibrational escape responses, as well as an altered neurotransmitters profile, with increased glutamate and decreased acetylcholine and norepinephrine levels. Adults from VPA-treated embryos exhibited impaired social behavior characterized by larger shoal sizes and a decreased interest for their conspecifics. Neurotransmitter analysis revealed a significant decrease in dopamine and GABA levels in the brain. These results support the interest of this model in the study of ASD.

Modeling the reaction time required for the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) from wastewater is important because can be an indicator of harmful pollutants that may pose risks to human health.. Here, we evaluate the use of an inverse artificial neural network (ANNi) to optimize the removal of COD from aqueous herbicide solutions using sonophotocatalysis as the treatment process.. This algorithm takes the operating conditions as input and estimates the optimal reaction time to reach the required effluent COD. This model was validated by comparison with both experimental measurements and simulated analysis, resulting in low error (0.5%), high Pearson correlation (R2 = 0.9956), and short computing time (less than one minute). The results for the proposed methodology (ANNi-GAs) were efficient and attractive in a reasonable way providing a satisfactory picture of the relationships between the optimal input parameters. Such parameters control the degradation process of herbicides online and can be used to predict the behavior of COD removal, thus taking actions to reduce the impact of aqueous treatment with alazine and gesaprim herbicides on aquatic, soil biota, and human health. Therefore, this technique constitutes a promising framework for predicting the environmental impact of herbicides within a tolerable degree of error.

Applied talent is not only a builder of human civilization but also a promoter of economic development. They not only need systematic and solid engineering theoretical knowledge but also rich engineering practical experience. Applied undergraduate colleges are the cradle for cultivating applied talent and shoulder the important mission of cultivating various types of applied talent for society. With the rapid development of higher education, the number of applied undergraduate institutions has sharply increased, but the quality of applied talent cultivated by them has shown a significant decline, which greatly restricts the pace of industrial development in the world. This article proposes a new concept of promoting the "three certificates" (graduation certificate, degree certificate, and skill certificate) education model in applied undergraduate colleges, which is of great significance for the country to cultivate composite talents with the ability of "product design, production management, and product processing" at the same time.

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) face challenges in capturing long-distance text correlations, and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) networks exhibit limited feature extraction capabilities for text classification of work order. To address the abovementioned problems, this work utilizes an ensemble learning approach to integrate model elements efficiently. This study presents a method for classifying work order texts using a hybrid neural network model called BERT-BiLSTM-CNN. First, use Bert for preprocessing to obtain text vector representations. Then, capture context and process sequence information through BiLSTM. Next, capture local features in the text through CNN. Finally, obtain classification results through Softmax. Through comparative analysis, the method of fusing these three models is superior to other hybrid neural network model architectures in multiple classification tasks. It has a significant effect on work order classification.

In this study, using information theory tools, we investigate the quantum degree of mixedness, particle number fluctuations, and temperature variations in the paradigmatic Lipkin model, focusing on the interplay between these factors in a system of many fermions. Our analysis reveals intriguing dependencies of quantum mixedness on the total fermion number, showcasing distinct behaviors at different temperatures. Notably, we find that the degree of quantum mixedness exhibits a strong dependence on the total fermion number, with varying trends observed across different temperature regimes. Remarkably, this dependence remains unaffected by the strength of the fermion-fermion interaction (if it does not vanish, of course), underscoring the robustness of the observed phenomena. Through comprehensive numerical simulations, we provide illustrative graphs that depict these dependencies, offering valuable insights into the fundamental characteristics of many-fermion systems. Our findings shed light on the intricate dynamics of quantum degree of mixedness and particle number fluctuations in fermionic systems, with potential implications for diverse fields ranging from condensed matter physics to quantum information science.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a current trend in computer science, which extends itself its amazing capacities to other technologies such as mechatronics and robotics. Going beyond technological applications, the philosophy behind AI is that there is a vague and potential convergence of artificial manufacture and natural world although the limiting approach may be still very far away, but why? The implicit problem is that Darwin theory of evolution focuses on natural world where breeding conservation is the cornerstone of the existence of creature world but there is no similar concept of breeding conservation in artificial world whose things are created by human. However, after developing for a long time until now, AI issues an interesting concept of generation in which artifacts created by computer science can derive their new generations inheriting their aspects / characteristics. Such generated artifacts make us look back on offsprings by the process of breeding conservation in natural world. Therefore, it is possible to think that AI generation, which is a recent subject of AI, is a significant development in computer science as well as high-tech domain. AI generation does not help us to reach near biological evolution even in the case that AI can combine with biological technology but, AI generation can help us to extend our viewpoint about Darwin theory of evolution as well as there may exist some uncertain relationship between man-made world and natural world. Anyhow AI generation is a current important subject in AI and there are two main generative models in computer science: 1) generative model that applies large language model into generating natural language texts understandable by human and 2) generative model that applies deep neural network into generating digital content such as sound, image, and video. This technical report focuses on deep generative model (DGM) for digital content generation, which is a short summary of approaches to implement DGMs. Researchers can read this work as an introduction to DGM with easily understandable explanations.

Cell mechanics is a biophysical indicator of cell state, such as cancer metastasis, leukocyte activation, and cell cycle progression. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a widely used technique to measure cell mechanics, where the Young modulus of a cell is usually derived from the Hertz contact model. However, the Hertz model assumes that the cell is an elastic, isotropic, and homogeneous material and that the indentation is small compared to the cell size. These assumptions neglect the effects of the cytoskeleton, cell size and shape, and cell environment on cell deformation. In this study, we investigated the influence of cell size on the estimated Young’s modulus using liposomes as cell models. Liposomes were prepared with different sizes and filled with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or hyaluronic acid (HA) to mimic the cytoplasm. AFM was used to obtain the force indentation curves and fit them to the Hertz model. We found that the larger the liposome, the lower the estimated Young’s modulus for both PBS-filled and HA-filled liposomes. This suggests that the Young modulus obtained from the Hertz model is not only a property of the cell material, but also depends on the cell dimensions. Therefore, when comparing or interpreting cell mechanics using the Hertz model, it is essential to account for cell size.

Reliable hydrological monitoring is crucial for effective water resource management, but establishing observatories in remote areas with extreme weather presents significant challenges. This study aimed at identifying cost-effective methods for streamflow estimation in such environments. We evaluated the performance of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model using various precipitation data sources: ground-based rain gauge networks with different densities (one-gauge (1RG), two-gauge (2RG), and five-gauge (5RG) configurations) and satellite-derived Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data. The study focused on the Sahafihitry catchment, a 200 km² area in northeastern Madagascar. The results demonstrated that denser rain gauge networks (5RG and 2RG) captured the spatial variability of rainfall more effectively than a single gauge or IMERG data. This translated into superior SWAT model performance. Denser networks achieved higher statistical metrics (R², slope of regression a, Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency NSE, root mean square error RMSE, Kling-Gupta efficiency KGE) indicating a better fit between simulated and observed streamflow. Specifically, 5RG: R² = 0.84, a = 0.92, NSE = 0.83, RMSE = 3.33, KGE = 0.82; 2RG: R² = 0.85, a = 0.95, NSE = 0.83, RMSE = 3.36, KGE = 0.88; 1RG: R² = 0.73, a = 0.80, NSE = 0.72, RMSE = 4.28, KGE = 0.88; IMERG: R² = 0.48, a = 0.63, NSE = 0.37, RMSE = 6.46, KGE = 0.66. Furthermore, rain gauge data outperformed IMERG in simulating both flood events and low-flow periods. While IMERG offers low cost, readily available data, its lower performance introduces significant uncertainty into hydrological modeling. In contrast, the two-gauge network (2RG) achieved satisfactory streamflow simulations and represents the most cost-effective option for establishing reliable observatories within the specific characteristics of this study area.

This study explored factors influencing the adoption of blockchain technology in US educational settings using the UTAUT2 model. Results from 160 IT officers via an online survey and PLS-SEM analysis showed that performance expectancy and social influence significantly predict behavioral intentions towards blockchain adoption, impacting actual utilization. While some factors like effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, price value, and habit did not show significant relationships, this research underscores UTAUT2's relevance in blockchain acceptance in education. Future studies should address limitations and explore diverse stakeholder perspectives for strategic implementation approaches.

We present the use of interconnected optical mesh networks for early earthquake detection and localization, exploiting existing terrestrial fiber infrastructure. Employing a Waveplate model, we integrate real ground displacement data from seven earthquakes, magnitudes ranging from four to six, to simulate the strains within fiber cables and collect large set of light’s polarization evolution data. These simulations help to enhance a Machine-Learning model that is trained and validated to detect Primary waves arrivals that precede earthquakes’ destructive Surface waves. The validation results show that the model achieves over 95% accuracy. The Machine-Learning model is then tested against an M4.3 earthquake, exploiting three interconnected mesh networks as a smart sensing grid. Each network is equipped with a sensing fiber placed to correspond with three distinct seismic stations. The objective is to confirm earthquake detection across the interconnected networks, localize the epicenter coordinates by a triangulation method and calculate fibers to epicenter distance. This setup allows early warning generation to municipalities close to epicenter location, and progressing to those further away. The model testing shows 98% of accuracy in detecting primary wave and one-second of detection time, affording nearby areas 21-seconds to take countermeasures, and an extended 57-seconds in more distant areas.

Ti17 alloy is mainly used to manufacture aero-engine discs due to its excellent properties such as high strength, toughness and hardenability. It is often subjected to creep-fatigue cyclic loading in service environments. Shakedown theory describes the state in which the accumulated plastic strain of the material stabilizes after several cycles of cyclic loading, without affecting its initial function and leading to failure. This theory includes three behaviors: elastic shakedown, plastic shakedown, and ratcheting. In this paper, the creep-fatigue tests (CF) were conducted on Ti17 alloy at 300℃ to study its shakedown behavior under creep-fatigue cyclic loading. Based on the plasticity-creep superposition model, a theory model that accurately describes the shakedown behavior of Ti17 alloy was constructed, and ABAQUS finite element software was used to validate the accuracy of the model. TEM analysis was performed to observe the micro-mechanisms of shakedown in Ti17 alloy. The results reveal that the Ti17 alloy specimens exhibit plastic shakedown behavior after three cycles of creep-fatigue loading. The established finite element model can effectively predict the plastic shakedown process of Ti17 alloy, with a relative error between the experimental and simulation results within 4%. TEM results reveal that anelastic recovery controlled by dislocation bending and back stress hardening caused by inhomogeneous deformation are the main mechanisms for the plastic shakedown behavior of Ti17 alloy.

Colonoscopy, essential for diagnosing and treating colorectal cancer, relies on effective bowel preparation to inspect the colonic mucosa fully. Traditional education methods include printed instructions and verbal explanations, but these may not ensure clear patient understanding. Poor bowel preparation can obscure mucosal visibility, delaying cancer diagnosis and treatment. Using the outpatient’s Android mobile device, the mobile health care model is provided as a nursing guide to assist in bowel preparation for colonoscopy. This single-blinded, randomized trial en-rolled patients for colonoscopy at a Northern Taiwan gastroenterology center. Eligible patients were physically and mentally healthy and could communicate in Chinese. The study tested the ColonClean app during bowel preparation. After the procedure, endoscopists rated the prepara-tion quality using the Aronchick Scale. Data analysis with SPSS software (version 25.0) evaluated if the app significantly improved bowel preparation compared to those who did not use it. Forty patients were recruited for both the control (conventional method) and experimental (conven-tional method plus ColonClean app) groups. In the experimental group, endoscopists assessed bowel preparation quality; all achieved at least "Fair," with 75% receiving "Excellent" or "Good" ratings. The ColonClean App enhanced bowel preparation quality more effectively than tradi-tional nursing guidance.

Urbanization-induced land use transition results in a decline in ecosystem services, which has implications for regional ecological security. In order to explore the relationship between ecosystem services and land use transition, this paper utilizes the InVEST model, geographically weighted regression model to examine the impact of land use transition on ecosystem services in the Dongting Lake area (DLA). The results showed that (1) During the period 2000-2020, the intensity and motivation of land-use transition showed obvious spatial and temporal heterogeneity with the variation of urbanization development. (2) Habitat quality and Carbon sequestrations showed a downward trend. In contrast, food supply followed an upward trend; soil conservation and water yield services initially increased and dropped later. The overall spatial changes in habitat quality and Carbon sequestration appear to be insignificant. Food supply shows significant differences in the plains compared to other areas; while soil conservation and water yield service shows significant changes in places other than the DLA. (3) From 2000 to 2020, land use transition dynamics, population density, GDP density, night lighting and transition intensity had mainly negative effects on ecosystem services. Only the Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI) showed a positive effect on ecosystem services. The results of the research will provide valuable references for the development and implementation of spatial ecological restoration planning and land use policies in the national territory.

Precise monitoring of individual crop growth and health status is crucial for precision agriculture practices. However, traditional manual inspection methods are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often lack the spatial resolution required for detailed analysis. This research addresses the need for efficient and high-resolution crop monitoring by leveraging Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery and advanced computational techniques. The primary objective was to develop a methodology for precise identification, extraction, and monitoring of individual corn crops throughout their growth cycle. This was achieved by integrating UAV-derived data with image processing, computational geometry, and machine learning techniques. UAV imagery was ac-quired bi-weekly at altitudes of 40m and 70m, capturing the entire growth cycle of a corn crop from planting to harvest. A time-series Canopy Height Model (CHM) was generated by analyzing the differences between the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and the Digital Surface Model (DSM) derived from the UAV data. Local spatial analysis and image processing techniques were em-ployed to determine the local maximum height of each crop. Subsequently, a Voronoi data model was developed to delineate individual crop canopies, successfully identifying 13,000 out of 13,050 corn crops in the study area. For enhanced accuracy in canopy size delineation, vegetation indices were incorporated into the Voronoi model segmentation, refining the initial canopy area esti-mates by eliminating interference from soil and shadows. The proposed methodology enables precise estimation and monitoring of crop canopy size, height, biomass reduction, lodging, and stunted growth over time, providing valuable insights for precision agriculture practices. This work contributes to the scientific community by demonstrating the potential of integrating UAV technology, computational geometry, and machine learning for accurate and efficient crop mon-itoring at the individual plant level.