By partly generalizing the Lipschitz condition of existing results to the generalized Lipschitz one, the author utilizes a fixed point theorem, variational method and Lyapunov function method to derive the unique existence of globally asymptotical input-to-state stability of positive stationary solution for Gilpin-Ayala competition model with diffusion and delayed feedback under Dirichlet zero boundary value. Remarkably, it is the first paper to derive the unique existence of the stationary solution of reaction-diffusion Gilpin-Ayala competition model, which is globally asymptotical input-to-state stability. And numerical examples illuminate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed methods.

Despite great advances in understanding the dynamics of viral epidemics, the emergence of rapidly spreading, highly pathogenic viruses remains a realistic and catastrophic possibility, which current health systems may not be able to fully contain. An intriguing feature in many recent zoonotic viral outbreaks is the presence of superspreaders, which are infected individuals that cause dramatically more new cases than the average. Here I study the effect of superspreaders on the early dynamics of emerging viruses that have not gained the capacity for efficient human-to-human transmission, i.e viruses with R0 < 1. I show that superspreaders have a higher chance of rapid extinction, but under crowded conditions can lead to outbreaks, causing far more cases than regular viruses. I suggest that outbreaks of highly pathogenic superspreaders are more likely when they coincide in time and space with an unrelated outbreak leading to increased hospital admission rates. These superspreader outbreaks may be difficult to detect, especially in the context of a different epidemic in progress, and can significantly affect mortality patterns observed in affected areas.

: Arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus have been introduced to Florida on many occasions. Infrequently, these introductions lead to sporadic local transmission and, more rarely, sustained local transmission. Both mosquito species are present in Florida, with spatio-temporal variation in population composition. We developed a 2-vector compartmental, deterministic model to investigate factors influencing Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) establishment. The model includes a non-linear, temperature-dependent mosquito mortality function based on minimum mortality in a central temperature region. Latin Hypercube sampling was used to generate parameter sets used to simulate transmission dynamics, following the introduction of one infected human. The analysis was repeated for 3 values of the mortality function central temperature. Mean annual temperature was consistently important in the likelihood of epidemics, and epidemics increased as the central temperature increased. Ae. albopictus recruitment was influential at the lowest central temperature while Ae. aegypti recruitment was influential at higher central temperatures. Our results indicate that the likelihood of CHIKV establishment may vary, but overall Florida is permissive for introductions. Model outcomes were sensitive to the specifics of mosquito mortality. Mosquito biology parameters are variable, and improved understanding of this variation will improve our ability to predict the outcome of introductions.

The rapid development of China's economy has led to a rapid increase in energy production and use. Among them, the excessive consumption of coal in fossil energy consumption is the leading cause of air pollution in China. This paper incorporates renewable energy innovation, fossil energy consumption and air pollution into a unified analysis framework, and uses spatial measurement models to investigate the spatial effects of renewable energy green innovation and fossil energy consumption on air pollution in China, and decomposes the total impact into direct and indirect effects. influences. The empirical results show that China's air pollution, renewable energy green innovation and fossil energy consumption are extremely uneven in geographical space, generally showing the characteristics of high in the east and low in the west, and showing a strong spatial aggregation phenomenon. Fossil energy consumption will lead to increased air pollution, and the replacement of fossil fuels with clean and renewable energy is an important means of controlling pollution emissions. The direct and indirect effects of renewable energy green innovation on air pollution are significantly negative, indicating that renewable energy green innovation not only suppresses local air pollution, but also suppresses air pollution in neighboring areas. The consumption of fossil energy will significantly increase the local air pollution, and the impact on the SO2 and Dust&Smoke pollution in the adjacent area is not very obvious. It is recommended to strengthen investment in renewable energy green innovation, reduce the proportion of traditional fossil energy consumption, and pay attention to the spatial connection and spillover of renewable energy green innovation.

Investigating and classifying sentiments of social media users (e.g., positive, negative) towards an item, situation, and system are very popular among the researchers. However, they rarely discuss the underlying socioeconomic factor associations for such sentiments. This study attempts to explore the factors associated with positive and negative sentiments of the people about reopening the economy, in the United States (US) amidst the COVID-19 global crisis. It takes into consideration the situational uncertainties (i.e., changes in work and travel pattern due to lockdown policies), economic downturn and associated trauma, and emotional factors such as depression. To understand the sentiment of the people about the reopening economy, Twitter data was collected, representing the 51 states including Washington DC of the US. State-wide socioeconomic characteristics of the people (e.g., education, income, family size, and employment status), built environment data (e.g., population density), and the number of COVID-19 related cases were collected and integrated with Twitter data to perform the analysis. A binary logit model was used to identify the factors that influence people toward a positive or negative sentiment. The results from the logit model demonstrate that family households, people with low education levels, people in the labor force, low-income people, and people with higher house rent are more interested in reopening the economy. In contrast, households with a high number of members and high income are less interested to reopen the economy. The accuracy of the model is good (i.e., the model can correctly classify 56.18\% of the sentiments). The Pearson chi2 test indicates that overall this model has high goodness-of-fit. This study provides a clear indication to the policymakers where to allocate resources and what policy options they can undertake to improve the socioeconomic situations of the people and mitigate the impacts of pandemics in the current situation and as well as in the future.

Breast Cancer diagnosis is one of the most studied problems in the medical domain. In the medical domain, cancer diagnosis has been studied extensively which instantiates the need of early prediction of cancer disease. For obtaining advance prediction, health records are exploited and given as input to an automated system. This paper focuses on constructing an automated system by employing deep learning based recurrent neural network models. A stacked GRU-LSTM-BRNN is proposed in this paper that accepts health records of a patient for determining possibility of being affected by breast cancer. Proposed model is compared against other baseline classifiers such as stacked Simple-RNN model, stacked LSTM-RNN model, stacked GRU-RNN model. Comparative results obtained in this study indicate that stacked GRU-LSTM-BRNN yield better classification performance for predictions related to breast cancer disease.

The scope of a lucrative career promoted by Google through its video distribution platform YouTube 1 has attracted a large number of users to become content creators. An important aspect of this line of work is the feedback received in the form of comments which show how well the content is being received by the audience. However, volume of comments coupled with spam and limited tools for comment classification makes it virtually impossible for a creator to go through each and every comment and gather constructive feedback. Automatic classification of comments is a challenge even for established classification models, since comments are often of variable lengths riddled with slang, symbols and abbreviations. This is a greater challenge where comments are multilingual as the messages are often rife with the respective vernacular. In this work, we have evaluated top-performing classification models and four different vectorizers, for classifying comments which are a mix of different combinations of English and Malayalam (only English, only Malayalam and Mix of English and Malayalam). The statistical analysis of results indicates that Multinomial Naïve Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest and Decision Trees offer similar level of accuracy in comment classification. Further, we have also evaluated 3 multilingual sub-types of the novel NLP language model, BERT and compared its’ performance to the conventional machine learning classification techniques. XLM was the top-performing BERT model with an accuracy of 67.31%. Random Forest with Term Frequency Vectorizer was the best the top-performing model out of all the traditional classification models with an accuracy of 63.59%.

Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is the main DNA repair mechanism for the repair of double strand breaks (DSBs) throughout the course of the cell cycle. DSBs are generated in developing B and T lymphocytes during V(D)J recombination to increase the repertoire of B and T cell receptors. DSBs are also generated during the class switch recombination (CSR) process in mature B lymphocytes, providing distinct effector functions of antibody heavy chain constant regions. Thus, NHEJ is important for both V(D)J recombination and CSR. NHEJ comprises core Ku70 and Ku80 subunits that form the Ku heterodimer, which binds DSBs and promotes the recruitment of accessory factors (e.g., DNA-PKcs, Artemis, PAXX, Mri) and downstream core factors (XLF, Lig4 and XRCC4). In recent decades, new NHEJ proteins have been reported, increasing complexity of this molecular pathway. Numerous in vivo mouse models have been generated and characterized to identify the interplay of NHEJ factors and their role in development of adaptive immune system. This review summarizes the currently available mouse models lacking one or several NHEJ factors, with a particular focus on early B cell development. We also underline genetic interactions and redundancy in the NHEJ pathway in mice.

One of essential procedure nowadays to analyze a dynamic process in Science and Engineering is Computational modeling. Most of dynamic processes are distributed parameter systems, i.e., systems with state variables depend on the number of independent variables (such as space and time) which are expressed by a set of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). Lateral method of lines is a method which used for solving PDEs numerically by solving a set of boundary value problems sequentially. The aim is to report the development of PDE toolbox based on SCILAB. This paper provides users with a method that is very easy to understand in the applications related to dynamic process. The method uses a SCILAB template to develop numerical simulations in the new field. In this paper, a model of tropical fruit heat treatment for decimating insect is presented. The illustration will be given to show how the lateral method of line template works to solve the problem.

The study of turbulent heat transfer in liquid metal flows has gained interest because of applications in several industrial fields. The common assumption of similarity between the dynamical and thermal turbulence, namely the Reynolds analogy, has been proven to be not valid for these fluids. Many methods have been proposed in order to overcome the difficulties encountered in a proper definition of the turbulent heat flux, such as global or local correlations for the turbulent Prandtl number or four parameter turbulence models. In this work we assess a four parameter logarithmic turbulence model for liquid metals based on RANS approach. Several simulation results considering fluids with Pr = 0.01 and Pr = 0.025 are reported in order to show the validity of this approach. The Kays turbulence model is also assessed and compared with integral heat transfer correlations for a wide range of Peclet numbers.

The constant news about the corona virus is scary. It is not possible to separate treatment for Cancer due to COVID-19. An effective treatment comparison strategy is needed. We need to have a handy tool to understand cancer progression in this unprecedented scenario. Linking different events of cancer progression is the need of the hour. It is a methodological challenge. We provide the solutions to overcome the issue with interval between two consecutive events in motivating head and neck cancer (HNC) data.

A mathematical model is proposed for quantitative description of the outbreak of novel coronavirus COVID-19 Although the model is relatively simple, the comparison with the public data shows that an exact solution solution of the model (with the correctly-specified parameters) leads to the results, which are in good agreement with the measured data in China and Austria. Prediction of the total number of the COVID-19 cases is discussed and examples are presented using the measured data in Austria, France and Poland.

This work mainly aims to identify and understand the factors influencing the switching of transportation modes among higher-education students in Joinville, Brazil when traveling to universities. Furthermore, this study evaluates the possibility of switching from individual vehicles to other modes of transport (i.e., bus, bicycle, and walking) by employing a multinomial logit model. The results indicate that students would be interested in switching from individual motor vehicles to other options. The scenarios for switching to buses presented the highest switching probability. The bus cost was the most important factor for switching. Meanwhile, the parking space reduction does not affect the student's choice, indicating that restricting available spaces should not be an isolated measure for decreasing the car mode attractiveness. Finally, the transport mode switch would occur only if alternative modes to the car or their infrastructure are improved; otherwise, students maintain their usual choices.

Baggage overweight is a significant phenomenon in the air travel in- dustry which is both regulated by the governments and highly profitable for the airlines. The recent years increase in airlines' profits is attributed to so-called ancillary payments – all consumer costs excluding the actual transportation fare. Baggage overweight fees, being a part of such pay- ments, have high profit-generation potential. Is the pricing for baggage overweight positioned correctly? The rationality of policies currently used by airlines is questionable, as they lack a customer-oriented marketing ap- proach. The general purpose of this research is to explore the possibilities of rational baggage overweight pricing for airlines by developing a multi- level price optimization model aimed to maximize company revenue. The modeling is based on determining consumer Willingness-To- Pay values for baggage overweight, and providing an optimal ticket price for them to maximize company expected revenue. The total profit value is forecasted too, based on the company market share and revenue level.

At least one ultrasound is recommended to predict fetal growth restriction and low birthweight earlier in pregnancy. However, in low-income countries imaging equipment and trained manpower are scarce. Hence, we developed and validated a model and risk score to predict low birthweight using maternal characteristics during pregnancy, for use in resource limited settings. We conducted a prospective cohort study among 379 pregnant women in South Ethiopia. A step-wise multivariable analysis was done to develop the prediction model. To improve clinical utility, we developed a simplified risk score to classify pregnant women at high- or low-risk of low birthweight. The accuracy of the model was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) and calibration plot. We evaluated the clinical impact of the model using a decision curve analysis across various threshold probabilities. Age at pregnancy, underweight, anemia, height, gravidity, and presence of comorbidity remained in the final multivariable prediction model. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) of the model was 0.83 (95% confidence interval: 0.78 to 0.88). The decision curve analysis shows the model provides a higher net benefit across ranges of threshold probabilities. In general, this study showed the possibility of predicting low birthweight using maternal characteristics during pregnancy. The model could help to identify those at higher risk of having a low birthweight baby. This feasible prediction model would offer an opportunity to reduce obstetric-related complications and thus improving the overall maternal and child healthcare in low- and middle-income countries.

A novel strategy is presented for reliable diagnosis and progression prediction of diseases with special attention to COVID-19 pandemy. A plan is presented for how the model can be implemented worldwide in healthcare and how novel treatments and targets can be detected. The idea is based on poikilosis, pervasive heterogeneity and variation at all levels, systems and mechanisms. Poikilosis in diseases can be taken account in pathogenicity model, which is based on distribution of three independent condition measures – extent, modulation and severity. Pathogenicity model is a population or cohort-based description of disease components. Evidence-based thresholds can be applied to the pathogenicity model and used for diagnosis as well as for early detection of patients in risk of developing the most severe forms of the disease. Analysis of patients with differential course of disease can help in detecting biomarkers of diagnostic and prognostic significance. A practical and feasible plan is presented how the concepts can be implemented in practice. Collaboration of many actors, including the World Health Organization and national health authorities, will be essential for success.

Excessive nutrient discharge to tropical island coastlines drives eutrophication and algal blooms with significant implications for reef ecosystem condition and provision of ecosystem services. Management actions to address nutrient pollution in coastal ecosystems include setting water quality standards for discharging surface waters. However, these standards do not account for the effects of groundwater discharge, variability in flow, or dilution, all of which may influence assessment of true nutrient impacts on nearshore reef habitats. We developed a method to estimate dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) loads to coastal zones by integrating commonly available datasets within a geospatial modeling framework for Tutuila, American Samoa. The DIN loading model integrated an open-source water budget model, water sampling results, and publically available streamflow data to predict watershed-scale DIN loading to the island’s entire coastline. When compared to surface water pathways, submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) was determined to be the most important coastal delivery mechanism of terrigenous DIN, which supports findings from other tropical islands. Onsite wastewater disposal systems were also found to be the primary anthropogenic sources DIN to coastal waters. Our island-wide DIN loading model provides a simple and robust metric to define spatially-explicit sources and delivery mechanisms of nutrient pollution to nearshore reef habitats. Understanding the sources and primary transport modes of inorganic nitrogen to nearshore reef ecosystems can have significant implications for place-based management interventions aimed at increasing the adaptive capacity of unique island ecosystems to environmental variation and disturbances.

Wildfire susceptibility maps display the wildfires occurrence probability, ranked from low to high, under a given environmental context. Current studies in this field often rely on expert knowledge, including or not statistical models allowing to assess the cause-effect correlation. Machine learning (ML) algorithms can perform very well and be more generalizable thanks to their capability of learning from and make predictions on data. Italy is highly affected by wildfires due to the high heterogeneity of the territory and to the predisposing meteorological conditions. The main objective of the present study is to elaborate a wildfire susceptibility map for Liguria region (Italy) by applying Random Forest, an ensemble ML algorithm based on decision trees. Susceptibility was assessed by evaluating the probability for an area to burn in the future considering where wildfires occurred in the past and which are the geo-environmental factors that favor their spread. Different models were compared, including or not the neighboring vegetation and using an increasing number of folds for the spatial-cross validation. Susceptibility maps for the two fire seasons were finally elaborated and validated and results critically discussed highlighting the capacity of the proposed approach to identify the efficiency of fire fighting activities.

Flour yield determined the profitability of flour mill, but the intrinsic variability of the grain makes it very complex to analysis and estimate wheat grain flour yield. Simulation for flour yield attributes offer considerable advantages in flour mill, if reliable predictions of flour yield can be provided, because the wheat grain characteristics can be tested before milling. If this is possible, the characteristics thus observed could be quantified more reliably and objectively by Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). SEM was used to look for the most important wheat grain characteristics on flour yield, and then these wheat grain characteristics were used to simulate flour yield. Furthermore, the regressive equation was verified by the field experiment. The coefficient of variation of grain characteristics was low and distributed rather closely. The results of SEM showed that test weight had the most significantly effects on flour yield, followed by the hardness index. Test weight and hardness index could excellently estimate flour yield by multiplicative effect of test weight and hardness index, and which could determine 68% of the variation in flour yield. The simulation result can not only predict flour yield, but also look for the important grain characteristics for the flour yield.

Framed in a context with an emerging economy and with a high percentage of school failure, this study aimed to identify the factors that turn students with socioeconomic disadvantages into resilient students. Two questions guided the research: Can resilience be supported in students in adverse socioeconomic situations? What factors influence building resilient students? A cross-sectional study was carried out from 2011 to 2015 in Chile, using a multilevel logistic regression model with three levels, considering the hierarchical data structure. The behavior of 63100 to 76400 sampled students was analyzed. Results show five relevant factors in building resilience: self-efficacy in language, minor aggressions and violence perceived by students, norms and values of the establishment, interest in study, and self-efficacy. Some risk factors identified were an atmosphere of less respect and trust, engagement in physical education activities and good performance in carrying them out. These results could orient educational leaders interested in supporting the educational community in order to improve the academic success of disadvantaged students.

Farming systems prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa are exposed and vulnerable to climate change due to their high dependence on rainfall. However, most studies have only estimated the impacts of climate change on agricultural productivity at a regional or national level. We add to this literature by focussing on the sub-national impacts. This study uses 30 years (1981–2011) of yield and weather data in Zambia and applies the Just and Pope model to determine how rainfall and temperature affect yield and yield variability of maize and beans at the national and subnational levels. Results show a negative impact of temperature rise on yield and a positive impact of rainfall rise on yield, above the current mean levels. These results differ by agro-ecological region. Worst-case-scenario predicted impacts using HadGEM-ES2 global circulation model show that major yield decreases (25% for maize and 34% for beans) by 2050 will be in region II and will be driven mainly by temperature increase offsetting the positive gains from rainfall increase. The model mainly under-predicts yield for maize and overpredicts yield for beans. These findings call for agro-ecological region-specific adaptation strategies and well-planned policy interventions to make agriculture more resilient to climate change.

The center vortex model of quantum chromodynamic states that vortices, closed color-magnetic flux, percolate the vacuum. Vortices are seen as the relevant excitations of the vacuum, causing confinement and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking. In an appropriate gauge, as direct maximal center gauge, vortices are detected by projecting onto the center degrees of freedom. Such gauges suffer from Gribov copy problems: different local maxima of the corresponding gauge functional can result in different predictions of the string tension. By using non-trivial center regions, that is, regions whose boundary evaluates to a non-trivial center element, a resolution of this issue seems possible. We use such non-trivial center regions to guide simulated annealing procedures, preventing an underestimation of the string tension in order to resolve the Gribov copy problem.

Detailed kinetics for a 3-wavelength photopolymerization confinement (PC) system is presented for both numerical solutions and analytic formulas. The dynamic profiles are simulated for oxygen, free radical, and conversion for various situations of: blue-light only, 2-light (red and UV), and 3-light (red, blue, UV). An effective PC requires two conditions: (i) a strong N-inhibition for uncured regime with a low conversion (triggered by the UV-light); and (ii) a weak S-inhibition (oxygen-induced) for high conversion under the blue-light or blue and red-light initiation. Good PC candidates are governed by collective factors of: (i) the double ratio of light-intensity and initiator-concentration, (ii) monomers rate-constant; and (iii) effective absorption constants at specific wavelength and initiators. A new reverse feature for the role of N-inhibition on the blue-conversion is found. Higher oxygen concentration leads to a lower conversion, which could be enhanced by reducing the S-inhibition via a red or blue-light pre-irradiation, having a pre-irradiation time TP=200 s for red-light only, and reduced to 150 s, when both red and blue-light. System under UV-only leads a conversion lower than that of blue-only. However, conversion could be improved by the dual-light (blue and UV), and further enhanced by the pre-irradiation of red-light. The two competing factors, N-inhibition and S-inhibition, could be independently and selectively tailored to achieve: (a) high conversion of blue-light (without UV-light), enhanced by red-light pre-irradiation for minimal S-inhibition; and (b) efficient PC initiated by UV-light produced N-inhibition for reduced confinement thickness and for high print speed.

The kinetics and modeling of dual-wavelength controlled photopolymerization confinement (PC) are presented and measured data are analyzed by analytic formulas and numerical data. The UV-light initiated inhibition effect is strongly monomer-dependent and different monomers have different C=C bond rate constants and conversion efficacy. Without the UV-light, for a given blue-light intensity, higher initiator concentration (C₁₀) and rate constant (k’) lead to higher conversion, as also predicted by analytic formulas, in which the total conversion rate (R_T) is an increasing function of k’R, which is proportional to k[gB₁C₁]^0.5. However, the coupling factor b₁ plays a different role that higher b₁ leads to higher conversion only in the transient regime; whereas higher b₁ leads lower steady-state conversion. For a fixed initiator concentration C₁₀, higher inhibitor concentration (C₂₀) leads to lower conversion due to stronger inhibition effect. However, same conversion reduction was found for the same H-factor of H₀ = [b₁C₁₀ - b₂C₂₀]. Conversion of blue-only are much higher than that of UV-only and UV-blue combined, in which high C₂₀ results a strong reduction of blue-only-conversion, such that the UV-light serves as the turn-off (trigger) mechanism for the purpose of spatial confirmation within the overlap area of UV and blue light. For example, UV-light controlled methacrylate conversion of a glycidyl dimethacrylate resin formulated with a tertiary amine co-initiator, and butyl nitrite, subject to a continuous exposure of a blue light, but an on-off exposure of a UV-light. Finally, we developed a theoretical new finding for the criterion of a good material/candidate governed by a double ratio of light-intensity and concentration, [I₂₀C₂₀.]/[I₁₀C₁₀].

The calculation of the release of liquid hazardous chemicals storage tanks is an important part of the quantitative risk assessment of accidents. This paper mainly establishes a continuous real–time release model based on the instantaneous mass flow Q_m model. Meanwhile, the software function module was analyzed, and programming software was developed using C# language for model solving. A series of experiments for repeated leakage tests was designed and the discharges through three small holes with different heights for 200 s were observed. The results show that the continuous real–time leakage model is effective, and the deviation between theoretical and experimental release amounts are within a reasonable range. The higher the liquid level above the leak hole is, and the smaller the height of the leak hole from the ground is, the greater the flow rate at the leak orifice is and the smaller discharge rate change is. Therefore, the deviation between the theoretical release amount M_t and the experimental average release amount Ma is greater while the height of the leak hole from the ground is smaller, which indicates that the smaller the distance from the leak orifice to the ground, the greater the influence of the empirical discharge coefficient C₀ on the release amount M.

The complexity of Mixed-Integer Linear Programs (MILPs) increases with the number of nodes in energy system models. An increasing complexity constitutes a high computational load that can limit the scale of the energy system model. Especially in microgrid optimisation problems with multiple buildings and energy systems with a number of rival supply, distribution and storage technologies, methods are sought to reduce this complexity. In this paper, we present a new 2-Level Approach to MILP energy system models that determine the system design through a combination of continuous and discrete decisions. On the first level, data reduction methods are used to determine the discrete design decisions in a simplified solution space. Those decisions are then fixed, and on the second level the full dataset is used to extract the exact scaling of the chosen technologies. The performance of the new 2-Level Approach is evaluated for a case study of an urban energy system with six buildings and an island system based on a high share of renewable energy technologies. The results of the studies show a high accuracy with respect to the total annual costs, chosen system structure, installed capacities and peak load with the 2-Level Approach compared to the results of a single level optimization. The computational load is thereby reduced by more than one order of magnitude, while a significantly higher accuracy is reached in comparison to the common time series aggregation approach.

3D city models are being extensively used in applications such as evacuation scenarios and energy consumption estimation. The main standard for 3D city models is the CityGML data model which can be encoded through the CityJSON data format. CityGML and CityJSON use polygonal modelling in order to represent geometries. True topological data structures have proven to be more computationally efficient for geometric analysis compared to polygonal modelling. In a previous study, we have introduced a method to topologically reconstruct CityGML models while maintaining the semantic information of the dataset, based solely on the combinatorial map (C-Map) data structure. As a result of the limitations of C-Map's semantic representation mechanism, the resulting datasets could suffer either from semantic information loss or the redundant repetition of them. In this article, we propose a solution for a more efficient representation of both geometry, topology and semantics by incorporating the C-Map data structure in the CityGML data model and implementing a CityJSON extension to encode the C-Map data. In addition, we provide an algorithm for the topological reconstruction of CityJSON datasets to append them according to this extension. Finally, we apply our methodology to three open datasets in order to validate our approach when applied to real-world data. Our results show that the proposed CityJSON extension can represent all geometric information of a city model in a lossless way, providing additional topological information for the objects of the model.

The Universe, rather than being homogeneous, displays an almost infinite topological genus, because it is punctured with a countless number of gravitational vortexes, i.e., black holes. Starting from this view, we aim to show that the occurrence of black holes is constrained by geometric random walks taking place during cosmic inflationary expansion. At first, we introduce a visual model, based on the Pascal’s triangle and linear and nonlinear arithmetic octahedrons, which describes three-dimensional cosmic random walks. In case of nonlinear 3D paths, trajectories in an expanding Universe can be depicted as the operation of filling the numbers of the octahedrons in the form of “islands of numbers”: this leads to separate cosmic structures (standing for matter/energy), spaced out by empty areas (constituted by black holes and dark matter). These procedures allow us to describe the topology of an universe of infinite genus, to assess black hole formation in terms of infinite Betti numbers, to highlight how non-linear random walks might provoke gravitational effects also in absence of mass/energy, and to propose a novel interpretation of Beckenstein-Hawking entropy: it is proportional to the surface, rather than the volume, of a black hole, because the latter does not contain information.

In the present work, the charged dark matters of B1, B2 and B3 bastons are explained as the right-handed partners of the left-handed neutrinos. The new Higgs mechanism of SU(2)_DM×SU(2)_Weak×SU(2)_Strong including electromagnetic and gravitational forces is applied. And the rest masses of the elementary particles depend on their charge configurations. The left-handed neutrinos have only the lepton charges (LC) and the right-handed dark matters have only the electric charges (EC). This explains the fact that the rest masses of the left-handed neutrinos are so small, and the rest masses of the right-handed dark matters are relatively very large. The proposed rest mass (26.12 eV/c²) of the B1 dark matter is indirectly confirmed from the supernova 1987A data. The missing neutrinos are newly explained by using the dark matters and lepton charge force. The neutrino excess anomaly of the MinibooNE data is explained by the B1 dark matter scattering within the Cherenkov detectors. The quark mixing and neutrino mixing are not required in the present model. It is shown that our matter universe and its partner antimatter universe can be created from the big bang in the point of view of time -, charge -, space -, and quantum state – symmetric universe evolution.

Electron Beam Melting (EBM) is an increasingly used Additive Manufacturing (AM) technique employed by many industrial sectors, including the medical device and aerospace industries. In EBM process monitoring, data analysis for processed layer quality evaluation is currently focused on the extraction of information from the raw data collected in-EBM process, i.e. thermal/ optical / electronic images, and the comparison between the collected data and the Computed Tomography (CT)/ microscopy images generated post-EBM process. This article postulates that a stack of bitmaps could be generated from the 3D model at a range of Z heights during file preparation of the EBM process, and serve as a reference image set. In-EBM process comparison between that and the workpiece images collected during the EBM process could then be used for quality assessment purposes. In addition, despite the extensive literature on 3D model slicing and contour generation for AM process preparation, no methods regarding image generation from cross sections of the 3D models have been disseminated in details. This article aims to address this by presenting a piece of 3D model-image generation software. The software is capable of generating binary 3D model reference images with user-defined Region-of-Interest (ROI) of the processing area, and Z heights of the model. It is envisaged that this 3D model-reference image generation ability opens up new opportunities in quality assessment for the in-process monitoring of the EBM process.

Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV) is a zoonotic arbovirus of the Phenuiviridae family. Infection causes abortions in pregnant animals, high mortality in neonate animals and mild to severe symptoms in both people and animals. There is currently an ongoing effort to produce safe and efficacious veterinary vaccines against RVFV in livestock to protect against both primary infection in animals and zoonotic infections in people. To test the efficacy of these vaccines it is essential to have a reliable challenge model in relevant target species, including ruminants. We evaluated two goats breeds (Nubian and LaMancha), three routes of inoculation (intranasal, mosquito-primed subcutaneous and subcutaneous) using an infectious dose of 10⁷ pfu/ml, a virus strain from the 2006-07 Kenyan/Sudan outbreak and compared the effect of using virus stocks produced in either mammalian or mosquito cells. Our results demonstrated that Nubian goats achieved the highest levels and longer duration of viremia. In the Nubian goats, all three routes of inoculation were equally efficient at producing clinical signs, consistent viremia (peak viremia: 1.2x10³ - 1.0x10⁵ pfu/ml serum), nasal and oral shedding of viral RNA (1.5x10¹ – 8x10⁶ genome copies/swab), a systemic infection of tissues, and robust antibody responses. The Nubian goat breed and a needle-free intranasal inoculation technique could both be utilized in future vaccine and challenge studies.

Mechanism of traffic congestion generation is more than complicated, due to complex geometric road design and complicated driving behavior at urban expressway in China. We employ Cell transmission model (CTM) to simulate traffic flow spatiotemporal evolution process along the expressway, and reveal the characteristics of traffic congestion occurrence and propagation. Here we apply the variable-length-cell CTM to adapt the complicated road geometry and configuration, and propose the merge section CTM considering drivers' mandatory lane-changing and other unreasonable behavior at on-ramp merge section, and propose the diverge section CTM considering queue length end extending expressway mainline to generate dynamic bottleneck at diverge section. In the new improved CTM model, we introduce merge ratio and diverge ratio to describe the effect of driver behavior at merge and diverge section. We conduct simulation on the real urban expressway in China, results show that merge section and diverge section are the original location of expressway traffic congestion generation, on/off-ramp traffic flow has great effect on expressway mainline operation. When on-ramp traffic volume increases by 40%, merge section delay increases by 35%. And when off-ramp capacity increases by 100 veh/hr, diverge section delay decreases about by 10%, which proves the strong interaction between expressway and adjacent road networks . Our results provide the underlying insights of traffic congestion mechanism in urban expressway in China, which can be used to better understand and manage this issue.

Ziyuan-3 (ZY-3) satellite is the first civilian stereo mapping satellite in China and was designed to achieve the 1: 50000 scale mapping for land and ocean. Rigorous sensor model (RSM) is required to build the relationship between the three-dimensional (3D) object space and two-dimensional (2D) image space of ZY-3 satellite imagery. However, each satellite sensor has its own imaging system with different physical sensor models, which increase the difficulty of geometric integration of multi-source images with different sensor models. Therefore, it is critical to generate generic model， especially rational polynomial coefficients (RPCs) of optical imagery. Recently, relatively a few researches have been conducted on RPCs generation to ZY-3 satellite. This paper proposes an approach to evaluate the performance of RPCs generation from RSM of ZY-3 imagery. Three scenarios experiments with different terrain features (such as ocean, city and grassland) are designed and conducted to comprehensively evaluate the replacement accuracies of this approach and analyze the RPCs fitting error. All the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieved the encouraging accuracy of better than 1.946E-04 pixel in both x-axis direction and y-axis direction, and it indicates that the RPCs is suitable for ZY-3 imagery and can be used as a replacement for the RSM of ZY-3 imagery.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley, South Texas is considered one of the more vulnerable coastal areas to flooding related with abrupt climate changes. From 1980-2017, there were 7 flooding events, 57 severe storm events, and 8 tropical cyclone events with losses exceeding $1 billion in the State of Texas, according to NOAA NCEI. Coastal flooding is typically a result of storm surge and heavy rainfall produced by hurricanes and tropical storms. In this study, the two-dimensional hydrodynamic flow circulation model is developed to predict the Lower Rio Grande Valley coastal area inundation due to the hurricane storm surge, especially in the case of Hurricane Beulah, 1967. The tropical cyclone properties and tidal constituents were assigned to the updated watershed geographic information with the bottom bathymetric and roughness data. For model validation, the Hurricane Dolly 2008 storm surge due to Hurricane Beulah at the coast and the storm surge reaches up to approximately 40 kilometers west from the coast through a natural river channel. This model can be used for a reliable engineering tool for the coastal hazard emergency management and disaster mitigation.

The determination of the non-loading condition of the rail cable shifting (RCS) system, which consists of main cables, hangers and rail cables, is the premise of the girder erection for the long-span suspension bridges. An analytical form-finding analysis model of shifting system is established according to the basic assumptions of flexible cable structures. Herein, the rail cable is discretized into segmental linear cable elements and the main cable is discretized into segmental catenary elements. Moreover, the calculation and analysis equation of each member and their iterative solutions are derived by taking the elastic elongation of the sling into account. In addition, by taking the girder construction of Aizhai suspension bridge as engineering background, a global scale model of the RCS system is designed and manufactured; also the test system and working conditions are established. The comparison between the test results and analytical results shows the presented analytical method is correct and effective. The process is simplified in the analytical method, and the computational results and precision can satisfy the practical engineering requirements. In addition, the proposed method is suitable to apply to the computation analysis of similar structures.

Various sudden shifts in financial market conditions over the past decades have demonstrated the significant impact of market structural breaks on firms' credit behavior. To characterize such effect quantitatively, we develop a continuous-time modulated Markov model for firms' credit rating transitions with the possibility of market structural breaks. The model takes a semi-parametric multiplicative regression form, in which the effects of firms' observable covariates and macroeconomic variables are represented parametrically and nonparametrically, respectively, and the frailty effects of unobserved firm-specific and market-wide variables are incorporated via the integration form of the model assumption. We further develop a mixtured-estimating-equation approach to make inference on the effect of market variations, baseline intensities of all firms' credit rating transitions, and rating transition intensities for each individual firm. We then use the developed model and inference procedure to analyze the monthly credit rating of U.S. firms from January 1986 to December 2012, and study the effect of market structural breaks on firms' credit rating transitions.

We consider Pisot family substitution tilings in $\R^d$ whose dynamical spectrum is pure point. There are two cut-and-project schemes(CPS) which arise naturally: one from the Pisot family property and the other from the pure point spectrum respectively. The first CPS has an internal space $\R^m$ for some integer $m \in \N$ defined from the Pisot family property, and the second CPS has an internal space $H$ which is an abstract space defined from the property of the pure point spectrum. However it is not known how these two CPS's are related. Here we provide a sufficient condition to make a connection between the two CPS's. In the case of Pisot unimodular substitution tiling in $\R$, the two CPS's turn out to be same due to [5, Remark 18.5].

Secondary forests (SF) are important carbon sinks, removing CO₂ from the atmosphere through the photosynthesis process and storing photosynthates in their aboveground live biomass (AGB). This process occurring at large-scales partially counteracts C emissions from land-use change, playing, hence, an important role in the global carbon cycle. The absorption rates of carbon in these forests depend on forest physiology, controlled by environmental and climatic conditions as well as on the past land use, which is rarely considered for retrieving AGB from remotely sensed data. In this context, the main goal of this study is to evaluate the potential of full polarimetric ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 data for estimating AGB by taking into account the past-land use of SF areas in the Brazilian Amazon. We surveyed a chronosequence of 42 SF plots (20 ha) near the Tapajós National Forest in Pará state to quantifying AGB growth rates. We explored the full polarimetric data testing three regression models including non-linear (NL), multiple linear regressions models (MLR), and the semi-empirical extended water cloud model (EWCM). The results showed that the intensity of previous use has affected the structure of SF by reducing the AGB accumulation and being noticeable by several polarimetric attributes. The combination of multiple prediction variables with MLR improved the AGB estimation by 70% comparing amongst other models (R² adj. = 0.51; RMSE = 13.2 Mg ha^-1) bias = 2.1 ± 37.9 Mg ha^-1. The error propagation of the MLR model was estimated to be 15%.

A numerical model was developed for predicting the bead geometry and microstructure in Laser Beam Welding of 2 mm thickness Inconel 718 sheets. The experiments were carried out with a 1 kW maximum power fiber laser coupled with a galvanometric scanner. Wobble strategy was employed for sweeping 1 mm wide circular areas for creating the weld seams and a specific tooling was manufactured for supplying protective Argon gas during the welding process. The numerical model takes into account both the laser beam absorption and the melt-pool fluid movement along the bead section, resulting in a weld geometry that depends on the process input parameters, such as feed rate and laser power. The microstructure of the beads was also estimated based on the cooling rate of the material. Features as bead upper and bottom final shapes, weld penetration and dendritic arm spacing were numerically and experimentally analyzed and discussed. The results given by the numerical analysis agree with the tests, making the model a robust predictive tool.

This manuscript deals with the cavitation erosion resistance of low-velocity oxy-flame (LVOF) sprayed Al2O3–40%TiO2/NiMoAl cermet coatings, a new functional application of cermet coatings. The aim of the study was to investigate the cavitation erosion mechanism and determine the effect of feedstock powder ratio (Al2O3–TiO2/NiMoAl) of LOVF cermet coatings on their cavitation erosion resistance. As-sprayed coatings were investigated for roughness, porosity, hardness, Young’s modulus. Microstructural characteristics of the cross-section and the surface of as-sprayed coatings were examined by light optical microscopy (LOM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with the EDS and XRD methods. Coatings cavitation tests were conducted in accordance with the ASTM G32 standard with usage of reference samples made from steel, copper and aluminum alloys. Cavitation erosion resistance was measured by weight and volume loss, and normalised cavitation erosion resistance was calculated. Surface eroded due to cavitation was examined in successive time intervals by LOM and SEM-EDS. On the basis of coating properties and cavitation investigations, a phenomenological model of the cavitation erosion of Al2O3–40%TiO2/NiMoAl cermet coatings was elaborated. General relationships between their properties, microstructure and cavitation wear resistance were established. The Al2O3–40%TiO2/NiAlMo composite coating containing 80% of ceramic powder has a higher cavitation erosion resistance than the reference aluminium alloy.

Drainage systems are usually dimensioned for design storms based on intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves of extreme precipitation. For each location, different IDF curves are established based on local hydrological conditions. Recent research shows that these curves also vary with time, and should be updated with recent data. The purpose of this study is to evaluate IDF curves obtained from precipitation simulations from the Eta RCM, comparing them with IDF curves obtained from data of a rainfall station. Climate models can be a useful tool for assessing the impacts of climate changes on drainage systems, referring precipitation forecasts. In this study, the Eta RCM was forced by two global climate models: HadGEM2-ES and MIROC5. The bias of the precipitation data, generated by RCM models, was corrected using a Gamma distribution. The Juqueriquerê River Basin, in the cities of Caraguatatuba and São Sebastião, São Paulo State, Brazil, was chosen as a case study. The results show a good correlation between the IDF curves of simulated and observed rainfall for the control period (1960-2005), indicating the strong possibility of using the Eta RCM precipitation forecasts for 2007 - 2099 to establish future IDFs thereby, taking into account climate changes in urban drainage design.

In this paper we take China’s one child policy as an example and investigate its environmental impact. We develop a model for an economy using a standard overlapping generation model extended with human capital, endogenous fertility, and changing life expectancy. To model the environmental impact of economic activities, we use a modified IPAT model. We show that China’s one child has a very strong positive impact on the environment, particularly if we consider the whole human legacy.

Recently, the awareness of energy conservation, carbon emission reduction, and environmental protection in Taiwan has begun to gradually improve, and bicycles have become an important vehicle for residents. In 2009, Kaohsiung began promoting public bicycle sharing. The number of users in that year amounted to 140,000. By 2015, the accumulated number of users reached nine million. This study adopted the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explore the factors influencing the behavioral intentions of public bicycle users, including the three dimensions of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, and probed into the relationship between the factors influencing the behavioral intentions of public bicycle users in Kaohsiung City and the dimensions. This study used a questionnaire to collect data and SPSS & AMOS for statistical analysis. The empirical results demonstrated that the most prominent factors influencing the behavioral intentions of public bicycle users in Kaohsiung City included perceived behavioral control, attitude, and subjective norm, in order. Among the influencing factors in the three dimensions, personal interests, main groups, and self-competence had a positive and significant correlation. Administrators should provide more incentives related to the three influencing factors to encourage the public in Kaohsiung City to use public bicycles more frequently as their short-distance travel mode, so as to achieve the purposes of saving energy, reducing carbon emissions, and protecting the urban environment.

Corona loss generated from conductors is one of the important design factors on ac transmission lines. Based on helical charge simulation method, the 3-D corona loss calculation model considering the conductors’ outer strands in the corona cage is established. With regard to 2-D corona-loss calculation method, the calculation model proposed in this paper can take the electric field strength’s nonuniformity along the axial direction of stranded conductor into consideration, furthermore, it can also calculate the corona loss when the conductor has sag. The calculation results of the LGJ-300/40 and LGJ-400/35 in the small corona cage well coincide with the measurement results, which indicates that the corona-loss calculation model is appropriate. In addition, the corona loss of the bundle conductors 4 × LGJ720 with sag in UHV corona cage is also analyzed.

The goal of the study was to assess the farmers’ acceptance of three sustainable production strategies, namely ‘Agro-forestry’, ‘Alternative protein source’ and ‘Prolonged maternal feeding’. Data on the acceptance of these strategies were collected by a survey of dairy farmers in six EU countries (AT, BE, DK, FI, IT, UK). An extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was applied by means of Structural Equation Modelling to testing various hypotheses on attitudes and intentions of dairy farmers towards these novel production strategies, as well as the influence of organic practices and collaborative behaviours along the supply chain. We found that the most preferred strategy - across all countries - was soy substitution by alternative protein sources. We also found that the intention to adopt a sustainable production strategy may derive from the influence of opinions (and behaviours) of relevant others, showing the role of interactions among farmers and other stakeholders in the adoption of innovations. Finally, the perceived usefulness of all investigated strategies is higher for organic farmers, while collaborative patterns reduce the impact of subjective norm on usefulness and overall acceptance. Our findings should encourage policy makers to consider the important role of supply chain management practices, including collaboration, to enhance the sustainability of dairy farming systems.

The creep behaviors of TA2 and R60702 at low and intermediate temperature were presented and discussed in this paper. Experimental results indicated that an apparent threshold stress exhibited in the creep deformation of R60702. Meanwhile, the primary creep phase was found as the main pattern in the room temperature creep behavior of TA2. Compared with exponential law, the power law has been proved to be a proper constitutive model in the description of primary creep phase. It also showed that θ projection method had its significant advantage in the evaluation of accelerated creep stage. Thus, a composite model which combined power law with θ projection method was applied in the creep curves evaluation at low and intermediate temperature. Based on the multiaxial creep deformation results, the model was modified and discussed. A linear relationship existed between composite model parameters and applied load. Finally, the creep life could be accurately predicted and the composite model method is suitable for application in low and intermediate temperature creep life analysis.

Wetlands are among the most bio-diverse and highest productivity ecosystems on earth, making their monitoring a high priority to conservation, protection and management interests. Although visual interpretation of satellite images is generally precise for monitoring wetlands, recent works have emphasized computerized classification methods because of the reduction in analyst time. However, it is difficult to automatically identify wetland solely based on spectral characteristics due to the complexity of wetland ecosystems. The ability to extract wetland information rapidly and accurately is the basis and the key to wetland mapping at a large scale. Here we propose an operational method to map China wetlands based on Landsat TM data and ancillary data. On the basis of theoretical analysis of wetland automatic classification, we developed a revised multi-layer wetland classification scheme and a rule-based classification model. In the latter, supervised classification (SVM and decision tree) and unsupervised classification (ISODATA) methods were tested. Four Landsat TM images, representing various wetland eco-regions in China (i.e. the Sanjiang Plain in the northeast China, the North China Plain, the Zoige Plateau in the southwest China and the Pearl River Estuary in southeast China), were automatically classified. The overall classification accuracies were 86.57%, 96.00%, 84.51% and 88.30%, respectively, which we considered to be satisfactory accuracy. Our results indicate that issues such as the resolution of geographic data and the understanding of wetland samples should be carefully addressed in the future.

Background: Lynch syndrome, the most frequent form of hereditary colorectal cancer and involves mutations in mismatch repair genes. The aim of this study was to identify mutations in MSH6 from 97 subjects negative for mutations in MLH1 and MSH2. Methods: By direct sequencing, we identified 27 MSH6 variants, of which, nine were novel. To verify the pathogenicity of these novel variants we performed in silico and segregation analyses. Results: Three novel variants were predicted by in silico analysis as damaging mutations and segregated with the disease phenotype. While, a novel frameshift deletion variant that was predicted to yield a premature stop codon, did not segregate with the LS phenotype in 3 of 4 cases in the family. Interestingly, another frame-shift variant identified in this study, already described in the literature, also did not segregate with the LS phenotype in 1 of 2 affected subjects in the family. In all affected subjects of both families, no mutation was detected in other MMR genes. Therefore, it is expected that within these families other genetic factors contribute to the disease either alone or in combination with MSH6 variants. Conclusion: We conclude that caution should be exercised in counseling for MSH6-associated LS family members.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of constitutive equations on the prediction accuracy for springback in cold stamping with various deformation modes. In this study, two types of yield functions—Hill’48 and Yld2000-2d—were considered to describe yield behavior. Isotropic and kinematic hardening models based on the Yoshida–Uemori model were also adopted to describe hardening behavior. Various material tests (such as uniaxial tension, tension- compression, loading-unloading, and hydraulic bulging tests) were carried out to determine the material parameters of the models. The obtained parameters were implemented in the finite element (FE) simulation to predict springback, and the results were compared with experimental data. U-bending and T-shape drawing were employed to evaluate the springback prediction accuracy. Obviously, the springback prediction accuracy was greatly influenced by constitutive equations. Therefore, it is important to choose appropriate constitutive equations for accurate description of material behaviors in FE simulation.

In the last decades synthetic jet actuators have gained much interest among the flow control techniques due to their short response time, high jet velocity and absence of traditional piping, that matches the requirements of reduced size and low weight. A synthetic jet is generated by the diaphragm oscillation (generally driven by a piezoelectric element) in a relatively small cavity, producing periodic cavity pressure variations associated with cavity volume changes. The pressured air exhausts through an orifice, converting diaphragm electrodynamic energy into jet kinetic energy. This review paper faces the development of various lumped-element models (LEMs) as practical tools to design and manufacture the actuators. LEMs can quickly predict device performances such as the frequency response in terms of diaphragm displacement, cavity pressure and jet velocity, as well as the efficiency of energy conversion of input Joule power into useful kinetic power of air jet. The actuator performance is analyzed also by varying typical geometric parameters such as cavity height and orifice diameter and length, through a suited dimensionless form of the governing equations. A comprehensive and detailed physical modeling aimed to evaluate the device efficiency is introduced, shedding light on the different stages involved in the process. Overall, the influence of the coupling degree of the two oscillators, the diaphragm and the Helmholtz’s one, on the device performance is discussed throughout the paper.

In this paper, an original approach allowing the determination of the iron losses in the electromagnetic devices is presented. This new approach exploits the Loss Surface (LS) hysteresis model and the magnetic flux density waveforms resulting from a generalized nonlinear adaptive magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) using a mesh-based formulation in two-dimensional (2-D) or quasi three-dimensional (3-D). The model coupling has been applied to a 18-slots/16-poles radial-flux interior permanent-magnet (PM) synchronous machine (PMSM) dedicated to automotive applications, mainly for electric/hybrid/fuel cell vehicles (EVs/HEVs/FCVs). The obtained results have been compared with those made retrospectively in the 2-D transient finite-element (FE) Flux. The influence of the MEC discretization on the iron loss calculation and the electromagnetic performances has been analyzed. The computation time is divided by 3/2 with an error less than 7 %.

Hydrologic studies on rainfall-runoff have been extensively conducted in many regions around the globe to fulfill various desirable needs with a purpose of effective and proper planning and managing water resources for present and future uses, whereas such study is not well drawn much attention to river catchments of Tonle Sap Lake Basin in Cambodia, which may prevail to water insecurity. The Stung Sreng catchment, which is one among them considered to be a significant basin for water resources management in Cambodia, is remarkably increasing under intolerable pressures in water resources development. This study was to apply HEC-HMS (Hydrological Engineering Center-Hydrological Model System) model to predict streamflow of Stung Sangker catchment, located in Tonlesap Lake Basin in Cambodia. The result showed that the calibration was good at monthly basis. The model performance was given by Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency criteria followed by 0.44 for daily and 0.71 for monthly basis, respectively. Moreover, the Percent Bias (PBIAS) for daily and monthly simulation was 4.13% and 3.56%, indicating a satisfactory model fit. The HEC-HMS conceptual model can be used to simulate flow of Stung Sangke catchment on a continuous time scale particularly monthly basis. The result also indicated that there was a clear seasonal variation in monthly water availability, especially during both wet and dry season.

The relentless challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have placed immense pressure on densely populated regions, such as Hong Kong, particularly in the context of an aging population. The burgeoning demand for healthcare services has necessitated the optimization of resource al-location within healthcare systems. This research presents an innovative analytical queueing model specifically tailored to address the intricate gridlock dynamics prevalent in healthcare systems, with a focused application in the challenging landscape of COVID-19 management. Hong Kong, like numerous other regions, has experienced a demo-graphic transition leading to heightened healthcare demands. Traditional methodologies for scrutinizing gridlock issues in healthcare settings, including simulation models, often prove suboptimal within the context of sophisticated optimization frameworks. This study, however, delves into analytical queueing models, offering a more efficient and effective approach. These models have been underexplored, primarily due to the intricacies involved in modeling gridlock propagation within restricted capacity, a critical concern magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel Queueing Model introduced in this research incorporates the maintenance of queue capacities and topological aspects as exogenous parameters, rendering it exceptionally adaptable for diverse gridlock-related applications. This adaptability is especially pertinent to healthcare management during the COVID-19 crisis. The model meticulously integrates the concept of gridlock, furnishing a comprehensive comprehension of its origins and repercussions. Validation of this model involves rigorous comparison with established methodologies, exact results, and simulation data, consistently high-lighting its versatility and precision. By applying the model to healthcare management, we scrutinize the dynamics of patient flow within a Hong Kong hospital, placing specific emphasis on the critical issue of bed blockage, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The model's gridlock decomposition unearths the nuanced impact of bed blockage on distinct hospital units, addressing the imperative requirement for quantifying in-patient bed blockage within healthcare systems during a pandemic.

This study examines the activities conducted at the archaeological site of Aptera in Crete, Greece. The research was part of the DIACHRONIC LANDSCAPES International Design Workshop, organized by the CAM (Center for Mediterranean Architecture), TUC (Technological University of Crete School of Architecture), and UNIFE (University of Ferrara Department of Architecture). This article outlines the methods used for data acquisition and processing on a territorial scale, which generated digital outputs necessary for the analysis and design phases of the workshop, as well as for further examination of the results. The collected data, obtained through low-cost aerial photogrammetric surveying and GNSS terrestrial coordinate detection, were integrated in a Structure from Motion workflow that led to the creation and exportation of various digital outputs, such as point clouds, DTM, DSM, orthophotos, and contour lines. An accuracy analysis was performed to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the digital models compared to the implemented surveying strategies, including the Ground Control Point and Quality Check Point marker positioning strategy. The resulting digital models proved to be valuable assets for analysis and design within the workshop and provided insightful prospects for future research and territorial-scale projects.

This paper is referred to a top frontline research in life science, showing that in spite of the large variation of the physiological architecture and behavioral forms of the living systems, the fundamental structure of their informational system is basically the same, allowing the body growth/development by micro to macro-structuration processes, maintaining the same informational configuration and functions like the basic unit of life – the eukaryotic cell. Starting and based on the determination of the special/specific info-operability in living structures and the role of information in structuration and their functionality, there are discussed the informational functions of the eukaryotic/prokaryotic cells, the simplest units of life and is elaborated and presented the Informational Model of the Living Structures, showing that these structures operate on the basis of two main informational systems: one of them defined as the Programmed Informational System, composed by three components, assuring respectively the info-generation, maintenance and the proliferation/reproduction, and another one defined as the Operative Informational System, necessary for the continuous communication with the environment for adaptation, consisting in four main components referred to memory, decision, sentience and info-connection/info-selection. The revealed properties are compared with the Informational System of the Human Body, as a prototype of a living system on the top of the evolutionary scale, showing/demonstrating the compatibility of structuration and functions on the entire scale, from prokaryotic/eukaryotic unit cells to multicellular organisms – plants, animals and human, by means of a continuous adaptation process, which always follows the same line of micro to macro-structuration process based on the same Info-organization and functionality. These models are new and revolutionary in the information and life sciences

In this paper a Luenberger-type state observer for a class of nonlinear systems with multiple delays is presented. Sufficient conditions are provided to guarantee practical stability of the error dynamics. An exponential decay of the observation error dynamics is assured using Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals and the feasibility of Linear Matrix Inequalities. Also, a time-delay SIR compartmental epidemiological model is presented. Time delay corresponds to the transition rates between compartments. The model considers that a part of the recovered population becomes susceptible again after a period following recovery. Three time-delays are incorporated due to the exchange of individuals between the population compartments: $\tau_{1,2,3}$, for the dead-times of recovery, immunity loss and incubation, respectively. It is shown that the effective reproduction number of the delay model depends on the rate of the susceptible population which became infected but after a period starts to be infectious and the fraction of the infectious recovered after a time-delay. For the resulting delay model, the problem of state estimation is addressed. To illustrate the efficiency and performance of the proposed observer, we apply the developed results to the COVID-19 pandemic. The observer can estimate the compartmental populations of Susceptible $S(t)$ and Recovered $R(t)$ from only the availability of real data of the Infectious compartmental population $I_r(t)$. The $I_r(t)$ confirmed data used for the state estimation are from a 55-day window with the highest impact on the Mexican population, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO).

This study applied the principal-agent model to interpret the impact of routine biased technological change (RBTC) on the structure of employment relations. RBTC increases the proportion of routine tasks in work activities, due to their fixed procedural nature, routine tasks reduce uncertainties in the principal-agent problem. Employers, being able to predict work contingencies and to verify employee efforts, find the benefit of offering standard labor contracts is reduced, thereby increasing the ratio of non-standard employment. This study applied logistic regression based on the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) survey data to verify this framework. The results indicated that with each standard deviation increased in routine task intensity, the odds ratio of non-standard employment increased by 13.6%. This effect was heterogeneous in various institutional contexts. This study expends the toolkit for analyzing employment relations problems, and extends the scope of RBTC to employment relations.

The ever-growing student population and limited administrative resources strain traditional communication channels within educational institutions. Chatbot technology offers a promising solution, but current limitations can impede effective student-administration interaction. This paper proposes a hybrid chatbot model to enhance reliability in educational administration by addressing the limitations of generative models like ChatGPT. We investigate three individual chatbot approaches (rule-based, retrieval-based, and generative-based) to handle educational inquiries. An evaluation assessed their strengths, weaknesses, and user experience. Based on these findings, a hybrid model with an intelligent classifier for query routing was developed. This model leverages each approach's strengths and addresses uncertainty in the generative model to achieve increased accuracy and reliability. Our results demonstrate an accuracy improvement compared to individual models. This work contributes to developing adaptable chatbot systems capable of addressing a wider range of user inquiries, which is particularly beneficial in resource-constrained educational settings. Additionally, the proposed model demonstrates competitive performance when benchmarked against existing state-of-the-art administrative educational chatbots. Furthermore, by automating routine inquiries and offering 24/7 access to information and support, this model has the potential to reduce administrative workload and improve the overall student experience significantly. Moreover, the modular design of our hybrid model offers a foundation for future research on personalizing chatbot interactions and integrating domain-specific knowledge for enhanced communication within educational environments.

Although new industrialized construction technologies have the potential to improve industry performance by optimizing work processes and improving the working environment, the application of these technologies in the construction industry is still in its infancy, and its technical direction is not yet set. This study aims to put forward a theoretical framework for evaluating the level of new-type building industrialization of construction engineering projects, conduct integrated research on the existing domestic and foreign literatures on new-type building industrialization and intelligent construction, preliminarily construct the index system, and determine the evaluation index system of new-type building industrialization projects through the Delphi method. The index weight is determined by the combination of order relation analysis and entropy weight method. The evaluation model is constructed by matter-element theory and cloud model, and the evaluation grade standard is proposed. The research results will help guide the evaluation of new building industrialization projects, and provide a judgment reference for determining the development trend and direction of new building industrialization technologies in the future, and help formulate data-driven industrial policies to promote the adoption of new industrialization technologies and promote the digital transformation of the construction industry.

Evaluating aviation emissions and examining the dispersion properties of contaminants are crucial for understanding atmospheric pollution. To more properly assess the pollutant emissions and dispersion of aircraft during the landing and take-off (LTO) cycle, and to more effectively address air pollution surrounding the airport resulting from flight operations, this study assessed emissions throughout the LTO phase utilizing Quick Access Recorder (QAR) data in conjunction with the first-order approximation method. An improved Gaussian diffusion model for mobile point sources is employed to examine the diffusion characteristics of contaminants. Additionally, CFD calculation outcomes for various exhaust velocities and wind speeds were utilized to validate the trustworthiness of the improved Gaussian model. The discussion also encompasses the influence of diffusion time, wind direction, wind speed, temperature gradient, and particle deposition on the concentration distribution of contaminants. The findings indicated that the Gaussian diffusion model aligned with the results of the CFD calculations. The diffusion distribution of contaminants around airports varies over time and is significantly influenced by atmospheric environmental factors, including wind direction, wind speed, and atmospheric stability.

This study introduces a novel predictive model for atomization droplet size, developed through comprehensive data collected under elevated temperature and pressure conditions using a twin swirl airblast nozzle. The model, grounded in flow instability theory, has been meticulously parameterized using the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. Through rigorous analysis, including analysis of variance (ANOVA), the model has demonstrated robust reliability and precision, with a maximum relative error of 19.3% and an average relative error of 6.8%. Compared to the classical atomization model by Rizkalla and Lefebvre, this model leverages theoretical insights and incorporates a range of interacting variables, enhancing its applicability and accuracy. Spearman correlation analysis reveals that air pressure and the air pressure drop ratio significantly negatively impact droplet size, whereas the fuel-air ratio (FAR) shows a positive correlation. Experimental validation at ambient conditions shows that the model is applicable with a reliability threshold of ≥0.13 and highlight the predominance of the pressure swirl mechanism over aerodynamic atomization at higher fuel flow rates (q > 1.25 kg/h). This research effectively bridges theoretical and practical perspectives, offering critical insights for the optimization of airblast nozzle design.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted human health and daily life. Meteorological factors play a crucial role in virus transmission. Understanding these factors is critical for pandemic control, yet debates continue due to variations in research methods and data. This study uses a global dataset and focuses on administrative units smaller than 10,000 km². The relationship between daily COVID-19 incidence rates and meteorological factors—including temperature, relative humidity (RH), ultraviolet radiation (UVR), and diurnal temperature range (DTR)—was analyzed across 173 units in 62 countries. The results revealed significant nonlinear responses and lag effects between incidence rates and the meteorological factors. Key inflection points were observed at 0°C and 24°C for temperature, 63% for RH, 102 KJ/m² for UVR, and 15°C for DTR. Below 0°C, infection risk increased with rising temperatures; from 0°C to 24°C, risk decreased; and above 24°C, risk escalated rapidly. RH below 63% correlated inversely with infection risk, while above 63%, the correlation was positive. Infection risk decreased with UVR below 102 KJ/m² but increased beyond this threshold. These nonlinear responses are primarily driven by the differential effects of these factors on virus survival, transmission, and human immunity. Conditions around 24°C, 63% RH, 102 KJ/m² UVR, and DTR below 15°C appear optimal for human immunity, correlating with lower infection risk. High temperature and low UVR prompted immediate infection responses, while low temperatures, high UVR, and larger DTR showed delayed effects. These findings provide new, more reliable evidence for understanding the mechanisms driving COVID-19 pandemic dynamics and for preventing the future normalization of the epidemic.

The study compares three machine learning and deep learning models—Support Vector Regression (SVR), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)—for predicting market prices using the NGX All-Share Index dataset. The models were evaluated using multiple error metrics, including Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Squared Error (MSE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Percentage Error (MPE), and R-squared. RNN and LSTM were tested with both 30 and 60-day windows, with performance compared to SVR. LSTM delivered better R-squared values, with a 60-day LSTM achieving the best accuracy (R-squared = 0.993) when using a combination of endogenous market data and technical indicators. SVR showed reliable results in certain scenarios but struggled in fold 2 with sudden spike that shows high probability of not capturing the entire underlying NGX pattern in the dataset correctly as witnessed with the high validation loss during the period. Additionally, RNN faced the vanishing gradient problem that limits its long-term performance. Despite challenges, LSTM's ability to handle temporal dependencies, especially with the inclusion of On-Balance Volume, led to significant improvements in prediction accuracy. The use of the Optuna optimization framework further enhanced model training and hyperparameter tuning, contributing to the performance of the LSTM model.

This case study examined performance of rural cassava SMEs managed by small scale farmers in Busia and Kisumu Counties in the lake region of Kenya. Formal survey, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used to collect data from farmers and stakeholders in the region. The data were analysed descriptively using proportions (percentages and proportions), means and standard deviation and inferentially, using statistical tests of significance. The findings revealed gross inefficiencies in the management of cassava SMEs. Grass-root SMEs lack professional managers and exhibit inadequate organizational, quantity and quality management, high operational costs, lack of trust from farmers, inadequate financing, weak technical, agribusiness skills and weak linkages with markets. The findings challenge promotion of farmer-led organizations in rural areas to perform additional roles such as processing and marketing functions beyond their core business which is production. To remain relevant in a competitive value chain, grass-root farmer-led SMEs need to be re structured into viable economic entities with clear market-orientation. Ordinary smallholder farmers should specialize in producing sufficient quantity and quality of agricultural commodities, while processing and marketing functions are taken up by professional entrepreneurs. This study recommends an entrepreneur model rather than farmer-led SMEs as potentially best suited in creating efficiency in the cassava value chain in the lake region of Kenya.

This article develops duality principles and numerical results for a large class of non-convex variational models. The main results are based on fundamental tools of convex analysis, duality theory and calculus of variations. More specifically the approach is established for a class of non-convex functionals similar as those found in some models in phase transition. Finally, in some sections we present concerning numerical examples and the respective softwares.

Groundwater flow and transport models are essential tools for assessing and quantifying the mi-gration of organic contaminants at polluted sites. Uncertainties in the hydrodynamic and transport parameters of the aquifer have a significant effect on model predictions. Uncertainties can be quantified with advanced sensitivity methods such as Sobol’s High Dimensional Model Reduction (HDMR) and Variogram Analysis of Response Surfaces (VARS). Here we present the application of VARS and HDMR to assess the global sensitivities of the outputs of a transient groundwater flow model of the Gállego alluvial aquifer which is located downstream the Sardas landfill in Huesca (Spain). The aquifer is subject to the tidal effects caused by the daily oscillations of the water level in the Sabiñánigo reservoir. Global sensitivities are analysed for hydraulic heads, aquifer/reservoir fluxes, groundwater Darcy velocity and hydraulic head calibration metrics. Input parameters in-clude aquifer hydraulic conductivities and specific storage, aquitard vertical hydraulic conductiv-ities, and boundary inflows and conductances. VARS, HDMR and graphical methods agree to identify the most influential parameters which for most of the outputs are the hydraulic conduc-tivities of the zones closest to the landfill, the vertical hydraulic conductivity of the most permeable zones of the aquitard, and the boundary inflow coming from the landfill. The sensitivity of heads and aquifer/reservoir fluxes with respect to specific storage change with time. The aquifer/reservoir flux when the reservoir level is high shows interactions between specific storage and aquitard conductivity. VARS and HDMR parameter rankings are similar for the most influential parameters. However, there are discrepancies for the less relevant parameters. The efficiency of VARS was demonstrated by achieving stable results with a relatively small number of simulations.

Climate variability influences plant growth. With the variation in atmospheric CO2 concentration leading to global warming, it is urgent to monitor the performance of plant ecosystems for optimal carbon sequestration. Net primary productivity (NPP) is the perfect measurement tool as it measures the net carbon flux between the atmosphere and green plants and the factors that affect it. This study applied remote sensing techniques, specifically one of the radiation use efficiency models; the CASA model (Carnegie-Ames-Stanford approach) to assess the spatio-temporal dy-namics of NPP in Togo from 1987 to 2022 and the climatic parameters that influence it. The annual average NPP over the 36 years of the study is 4565.31 Kg C ha⁻¹. Variability is observed over the years with extremes in 2017 (6312.26 Kg C ha⁻¹) and 1996 (3394.29 Kg C ha⁻¹). Natural formations identified as high-production areas saw their productivity increase between 2000 and 2022. The interaction between climate change and land use changes negatively influences the variation of Total Production (PT) between 2000 and 2022, while individually, these parameters positively influence the variation of NPP (58.28% and 188.63%). The correlation result is positive and higher between NPP and light use efficiency (LUE) (r² = 0.75). Actual evapotranspiration also shows a positive correlation with NPP (r² = 0.43). A positive but weak correlation is observed between NPP and precipitation, potential evapotranspiration (r² = 0.20; 0.10 respectively). Temperatures have almost no correlation with NPP (r² = 0.5). Climatic parameters as a whole under the LUE banner influence NPP more. This study helps understand ecosystem performance in the context of To-go's commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.

The increasing frequency of urban flooding, driven by global climate change, poses significant threats to the safety and resilience of urban rail transit systems. This study systematically examines the cascading failure processes and resilience of these networks under flood conditions, with a specific focus on the Shanghai Metro. A comprehensive resilience evaluation model was developed by integrating geographic information, static network characteristics, and dynamic passenger flow indicators. This study employs an improved Coupled Map Lattice (CML) model to simulate cascading failures, considering the coupling effects of station centrality, geographic elevation, and passenger flow dynamics. Results indicate that stations with higher degree centrality are more likely to trigger rapid cascading failures across the network. However, incorporating dynamic passenger flow and geographic elevation data helps mitigate these effects, emphasizing the need for multi-dimensional resilience strategies. The findings provide valuable insights for urban transit management, offering a scientific foundation for developing targeted disaster response strategies to enhance network resilience against floods. This study advances the understanding of the vulnerability of urban rail transit systems and offers practical guidance for improving disaster preparedness in urban transportation infrastructure.

Grain trade plays a pivotal role in international trade, serving not only as a primary component of the global agricultural market but also as a crucial factor in ensuring global food security and price stability. This study utilizes panel data from Russia, one of the largest players in the grain market, to investigate the determinants of cereal exports. The results of the gravity model estimation reveal a positive impact of demand factors, population differences, and the level of economic openness of importing countries, while distance and tariffs exert a negative influence on exports. The findings also indicate that Russia possesses significant untapped potential for cereal export growth, which has only increased in the context of geopolitical instability. The paper identifies regions with potential for export expansion and outlines the conditions necessary for realizing this potential. The results of this study contribute to the development of evidence-based policies aimed at enhancing the sustainability of regional export flows in global systems.

Clockwork fermions represent a novel theoretical construct in high-energy physics, addressing such fundamental issues as mass hierarchies and dark matter. This review provides an examination of the theoretical underpinnings of clockwork fermions, their implications for particle physics, and the current state of experimental validations. Clockwork fermions represent a paradigm in particle physics, elegantly addressing the hierarchy problem and offering insights into the generation of small neutrino masses. We provide an analysis of the clockwork mechanism, emphasizing its theoretical innovation and the unique mass hierarchies it produces. We examine recent experimental efforts, including collider searches and direct detection experiments, that place constraints on clockwork models, while also exploring their potential cosmological implications.

Ammonium ion is a chemical species that is found in abundance in natural waters, whether underground or surface, but also in wastewater resulting from agricultural and industrial activities. Even if the removal of the ammonium ion from water has been studied for a very long time, it has been found that its removal is far from being solved. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the ammonium ions adsorption process on two adsorbents, zeolite clinoptilolite, ZR, (manufacturer Zeolite Develop-ment SRL, Rupea, Brasov, Romania) and the other granular activated carbon type Norit GAC 830 W. In the first step the paper presents the mineralogical (XRD) and structural (SEM and EDX) characterization of the ZR and determination of the pH zero-point charge, pHZPC, for all the adsorbents. Studies were carried out in equilibrium and kinetic conditions. The efficiency of the adsorbent was investigated in different experimental conditions by varying the initial concentration, particle size, temperature, pH, ionic strength and contact time. The mathematical models and parameters specific to the adsorption isotherms that best describe the experimental results were identified. Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich mathematical models were used for comparison. The Langmuir isotherm proved to be the most appropriate to describe the adsorption of ammonium ions on all types of adsorbents used. The adsorption capacity of ammonium ion from synthetic solutions, at 20 °C, pH = 6.09, for the range of initial concentrations 0 - 50 mg/L for Rupea Zeolite is in the range of 10.46 mg/g -12.34 mg/g and for granular activated carbon GAC W830 is 16.64 mg/g. It was found that the increase in temperature and pH have a positive effect on the adsorption capacity of the ammonium ion on the studied adsorbents, and the ionic strength determines the decrease in the adsorption capacity. Kinetic models were also identified that best describe the experimental processes. In this sense, pseudo first order, pseudo second order, intraparticle diffusion and the Elovich model were used. The results of the investigation showed that second-order kinetics governs the adsorption process on ZR zeolites and pseudo-first order for activated carbon.

The microbial communities are closely related to the overall health and quality of soil, but studies on microbial ecology in apple-pear orchard soils are limited. In the current study, 28 soil samples were collected from three apple-pear orchards in northeastern China, and the composition and structure of fungal and bacterial communities were investigated by high-throughput sequencing. Molecular ecological network showed that the keystone taxa of bacterial communities were Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Acidobacteria, Nitrospirae, and Chloroflexi, and the keystone taxa of fungal communities was Ascomycota. Mantel tests showed that soil texture and pH were important factors shaping soil bacterial and fungal communities, and soil water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) were also closely related to soil bacterial communities. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and variation partition analysis (VPA) analysis revealed that geographic distance, soil texture, pH, and other soil properties could explain 10.55%, 13.5%, and 19.03% of the overall variation of bacterial communities, and they explained 11.61%, 13.03%, and 20.26% of the overall variation of fungal communities, respectively. The key stone taxa of bacterial and fungal communities in apple-pear orchard soils and their strong correlation with soil properties could provide useful clues toward sustainable management of orchards.

We propose a theoretical Photocurrent - Voltage characteristic (PC-V) model to assess the interfacial phenom-ena for a photo-electrochemical cell (PEC). The origin of voltage deficits and the distribution of the photocur-rent across the semiconductor-electrolyte interface (SEI) are reported for the cell. The model predicts the hole exchange current parameter to extract the cell polarization data at the SEI. The potential drop across the SEI across the cell is mapped for the n-type cells. The simulation results of the Pc-V model are used to differentiate the effect of the bulk and space charge region (SCR) recombination in the semiconductor cells. A deep neural network model is developed to assess the electron-hole transfer mechanism using the Pc-V characteristic curve. The applicability of the model is tested and validated with the real time data. The results show good agreement with the experimental data.

Functional partially linear regression model, contains a functional linear part and a non-parametric part, in which testing the linear relationship between the response and the functional predictor is of fundamental importance. When functional data cannot be approximated with a few principal components, based on a pseudo estimate for the unknown non-parametric component, we develop a U-statistic of order-two in this paper. Under some regularity conditions, we use the martingale central limit theorem to prove that the proposed test statistic is asymptotically normal. The finite sample performance with simulation studies and real data application are assessed to verify the proposed test procedure.

This study delves into the impact of artificial intelligence on students’ learning.The paper pioneers the use of kmeans classification to reduce the dimensionality of features before the classification process, which minimizes redundant information and computational overhead. This step is not commonly found in prior research.Firstly, a random forest model is established with “whether AI assistance was used to complete the paper” as the output, and various features as inputs. The analysis of the predictive accuracy when changing input features reveals the degree of influence of each feature on using AI to complete the paper. After feature selection, the remaining 6 features can still effectively predict the use of AI to complete the paper, indicating the representativeness of the extracted indicators. Subsequently, the PCA-K-means algorithm is employed to classify the use of artificial intelligence. PCA algorithm is used for dimensionality reduction of the extracted features to better characterize students’ use of AI. Three representative variables are selected, and the contribution of each feature is computed based on the factor loading matrix. Finally, the K-means algorithm is used to classify students based on the three dimensional features, showing that students can be effectively classified into 2 categories. The results indicate that the majority of students support the use of AI technology to enhance their abilities, although some students may only intend to use AI to cope with exams and similar tasks.

Overconsumption of an unbalanced diet and overweight, leading to insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis, cardiovascular diseases and obesity, is nowadays a worldwide health issue, with different patterns of metabolic disturbances in the young and adult popula-tions, in both gender. Preclinical models that closely mimic the gradual weight gain that occurs in humans upon consumption of a “western-type” diet (WD) are of great interest. In particular, the diet-induced obesity (DIO) model in the C57BL/6J mouse sub-strain is often used in biomed-ical research, considering that it is prone to metabolic disorders and obesity, and is widely used to generate genetically modified mice. This study aimed to phenotypically characterize the C57BL/6J mouse strain fed a WD-like diet, using high-frequency ultrasound imaging (HFUS) as a complementary tool to longitudinally monitor morphofunctional changes in the liver, heart and kidney associated with DIO. Long term WD feeding increased mice body weight (BW), liver/BW ratio and body condition score (BCS), serum transaminases, glucose and insulin, as well as Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) indexes, and caused dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. According to the 3Rs, ultrasound imaging has enabled a comprehensive study of metabolic syndrome in mice, in vivo and non-invasive, improving the identification of early stages of diseases.

The heat transfer and fluid mechanics analysis in agitated vessels is usually performed using the Dittus-Boelter correlation. In this study, we propose the analysis of an agitated vessel with a draft tube through the analysis of dimensionless numbers correlations. The heat transfer and fluid mechanics simulation was conducted using ANSYS Fluent software. The simulation used the Sliding Mesh approach and the SST k-ω turbulent model to capture the vessel's fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena. A grid independence study was conducted by varying the number of time steps to obtain an appropriate time step size for the simulation. The convective heat transfer coefficient, as indicated by the mean values of the Nusselt number, was calculated. The local values along the radial coordinate of the heat transfer surface were also determined. These results provide insights into the distribution of heat transfer rates within the vessel, which can help optimize process efficiency and equipment design. The simulation results were analyzed by varying the c and m coefficients in the Nusselt correlation presented as Nu= c Rem Pr1/3. Furthermore, correlations describing the mean Nusselt number at the bottom and wall of the vessel are presented and compared with existing literature, contributing to advancing knowledge in this field.

Prunus armeniaca L. is the native species of cultivated apricot, which is important information for studying the origin, succession pattern, pest control, sustainable development of biodiversity of economic tree species of the genus Apricot, etc. However, with global climate change and increasingly intense human activities, the survival environment of Prunus armeniaca L. is under serious stress, and exploring the potential survival space of Prunus armeniaca L. is an important way to protect the health and development of Prunus armeniaca L.. Exploring the potential living space of Prunus armeniaca L. is an important way to protect the healthy development of Prunus armeniaca L. The Yili River Valley is a typical distribution area of Prunus armeniaca L. . Exploring the potential distribution suitable area of Prunus armeniaca L. in the Yili River Valley and analyzing its future change trend can provide scientific guidance for the protection, development, and utilization of Prunus armeniaca L.. Based on the Geographic Information System software platform combined with the MaxEnt Model, we simulated the potential distribution areas and the degree of adaptation of Prunus armeniaca L. in the Yili River Valley, and predicted the potential distribution changes of Prunus armeniaca L. in the future under different situations. Based on the above methods, the following results were obtained: (1) The MaxEnt Model simulated the geographic distribution of Prunus armeniaca L. with high accuracy and an AUC value of 0.969, and the area of the currently suitable area for Prunus armeniaca L. in the Yili River Valley was about 10407.77 km2, accounting for about 18.45% of the overall land area of the Yili River Valley; the area of the highly suitable area was about 1380.9 km², accounting for about 13.26%, the area of the medium suitable zone is about 2830.15km², and the area of low suitable zone is about 6196.05km². (2) The maximum increase in the total area of the suitable zone under the future low-radiation forcing scenario is 11.49%, and the minimum increase under the future medium-high forcing scenario is 4.94%. (3) The overall migration was in the southwest direction, with the largest migration angle under the SSP245 scenario and the largest migration distance under the SSP585 scenario. Under the background of future climate change, there is a tendency for the potential habitat of Prunus armeniaca L. in the Yili River Valley to expand from low altitude to high altitude, and altitude is the dominant geographic factor influencing the distribution of Prunus armeniaca L.. By simulating and studying the potential geographic distribution of Prunus armeniaca L. in the Yili River Valley under the background of climate change, we can reveal the response mechanism between the geographic distribution of Prunus armeniaca L. and the natural environment, which can provide scientific guidance and data support for the exploitation and protection of Prunus armeniaca L. in the future.

The marine region of the Zhongjieshan Islands is an essential component and location for enhancement and release in Zhoushan Fishing Ground. The scientific assessment of the target species' ecological carrying capacity serves as the foundation for augmentation and release efforts. Based on data from the 2021-2022 survey of biological resources in the waters of Zhongjieshan islands, the Ecopath model was built to analyze the trophic structure, energy flow, and overall characteristics of the ecosystem, as well as the ecological carrying capacity of the main enhancement and releasing species, Larimichthys crocea and Sepiella maindroni. The ecosystem's functional groups had trophic levels ranging from 1 to 3.48, with an average energy transfer efficiency of 8.11% and total flow of 2125.905 t·km-2. The ratio of total primary output to total respiration is 1.713. Zhongjieshan Islands' ecosystem was currently at an embryonic stage. The ecological carrying capacity of Larimichthys crocea and Sepiella maindroni was calculated to be 0.2325 t·km-2 and 0.1617 t·km-2, separately or individually. Larimichthys crocea and Sepiella maindroni showed enormous potential for development and release. The findings offered essential data for ecological studies on the waters of Zhongjieshan Islands, as well as a reference for enhancement and release efforts in this area.

Sick sinus syndrome (SSS) is a disease of sinus rhythm abnormalities. This study aimed to establish an SSS model by injecting 3% NaOH into the jugular vein(JV). Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham, 3% NaOH, and 10% NaOH groups. Anesthetized rats underwent electrocardiogram recording before right JV exposure. Rats in the experimental groups received NaOH injections at 0.01 ml/s, while the sham group did not. Model success was evaluated after one hour. Heart rate(HR) and rhythm were documented at 1 hour, 1 week, and 2 weeks post-molding, including HE staining, membrane ion transcription and expression, and calcium ion content test. In the 3% NaOH group, the model establishment rate was 87%, and the mortality rate was 13%, whereas in the 10% NaOH group, they were 57% and 43% respectively (P < 0.01). The HR of the 3% NaOH group decreased at multiple time points post-molding (P < 0.001), presenting as arrhythmias such as sinus bradycardia. The JV sustained less damage, with necrosis of P cells, changes in membrane ion channels, and reduced calcium ion distribution. In conclusion, JV injection of 3% NaOH can establish the SSS model and benefit animals.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a heterogeneous syndrome characterized by multiple risk factors and associated conditions. HFpEF prevalence is rising, and its prognosis remains poor after the first hospitalization. Using a two-hit HFpEF murine model, we aimed at studying cardiac reverse remodelling after stopping the causing stress (Angiotensin II [AngII]) and a high-fat diet [HFD]; MHS) and introducing voluntary exercise. We studied in young male and female C57Bl6/J mice fed or not with an HFD (60% calories from fat) the cardiac response to AngII (1.5 mg/kg/day for 28 days). Then, MHS was stopped, and VE was started for another four weeks (RR). We studied the effects of MHS and RR on the circulatory microRNA (miR) profile (miRNome) and the myocardial miRNome to characterize the cardiac and non-cardiac response of small RNAs. AngII alone and MHS but not the HFD caused cardiac hypertrophy (CH), left ventricular (LV) concentric remodelling and left atrial enlargement in male mice. HFD-induced CH and LV concentric remodelling only in female mice. Four weeks after RR, CH, LV concentric remodelling and atrial enlargement were reversed. We performed bulk circulatory and LV miR sequencing. We did not observe differences linked to biological sex. RR restored normality for circulatory miRNome, whereas LV miRNome remained relatively similar to the one after MHS. Among the 25 most abundant circulatory miRs, ten were modulated by MHS (9 upregulated). In the LV, 8 of the 25 most abundant miR were upregulated by MHS, and 10 were downregulated. MiRNomes from AngII, HFD or MHS shared many common modulated miRs (32), suggesting that the overall response of organs producing the bulk of circulatory small non-coding RNA was similar even for seemingly different stress.

The thermal conditions of transitional (ranging from warm to cold) coldwater streams impact the ranges and resource availabilities for biota inhabiting these lotic systems. With ongoing climate change and increasing land modifications, thermal boundaries may shift, altering thermal transition zones and their biotic communities. The objective of this study was to investigate the condition of trout across three forks of the Whitewater River catchment and to investigate factors influencing fish community composition and distribution. Each fork was characterized into three separate sections: headwater (coolwater), middle (warmwater), and lower (coldwater). Springs were identified throughout each fork, with greatest concentrations in the lower sections of each fork. Using single-pass electrofishing, we sampled 61 sites across the three forks in the Whitewater River system (North = 21 sites, Middle = 19, South = 21), and catch statistics were used to calculate diversity, trout abundance, and trout condition. In general, diversity increased, and trout were healthier but less abundant in middle and headwater sections, whereas diversity decreased slightly, trout condition decreased, and trout abundance increased in lower reaches, with changes differing somewhat among forks. Canonical correlation analysis had strong significant correlations showing simpson diversity and condition increase going upstream with high non trout abundance and catch rates while trout catch rates and reach width decrease. The Whitewater River is a catchment exhibiting transitional temperature-pattern characteristics with generally low fish community diversity and trout conditions that range from thin, normal, and robust. Dominated by a changing landscape (agriculture) and intensifying climate change, we may begin to see stream temperatures increase along with species diversity. Understanding how spring temperature influences species composition and distribution can bring potential stressors to light increasing our understanding of thermal conditions and to help mitigate the negative impacts from land use and climate change.

Epilepsy is known to cause alterations in neural networks. However, many details of these changes remain poorly understood. The objective of this study was to investigate changes in the properties of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons and their synaptic inputs in a rat lithium-pilocarpine model of epilepsy. In the chronic phase of the model, we found a marked loss of pyramidal neurons in the CA1 area. However, the membrane properties of the neurons remained essentially unal-tered. The results of the electrophysiological and morphological studies indicate that the direct pathway from the entorhinal cortex to CA1 neurons is reinforced in epileptic animals, whereas the inputs to them from CA3 are either unaltered or even diminished. In particular, the dendritic spine density in the str. lacunosum moleculare, where the direct pathway from the entorhinal cortex ter-minates, was found to be 2.5 times higher in epileptic rats than in control rats. Furthermore, the summation of responses upon stimulation of the temporoammonic pathway was enhanced by approximately twofold in epileptic rats. This enhancement is believed to be a significant con-tributing factor to the heightened epileptic activity observed in the entorhinal cortex of epileptic rats using an ex vivo 4-aminopyridine model.

Based on the two-flavors Polyakov quark-meson model, we study the bubble dynamics of a first-order phase transition in chiral phase diagram at high density but low temperature in the framework of the homogeneous thermal nucleation theory. Under the mean-field approximation, after obtaining the effective potential with inclusion of the fermionic vacuum term, we build a geometric approach to probe two possibly existing minima, which can actually tunnel through a bounce interpolated between a metastable vacuum to an adjacent true vacuum. By separating our discussions into a weak first-order hadron quark phase transition and strong ones, the bubble profiles, the surface tension, the typical radius of the bounce and the saddle point action in the presence of a nucleation bubble as a function of temperature are numerically calculated in detail as the chemical potentials are fixed at $\mu=306 \mathrm{MeV}$ and $\mu=310 \mathrm{MeV}$. our results show that the surface tension remains a small value even when the density is very high and phase boundaries for hadron and quark matter should be resized properly according to the saddle point action evaluated on the bounce. It is also noticed that the inclusion of the deconfinement phase transition in term of the Polyakov loop does not change chiral phase transition dramatically for light quarks.

As modern systems are becoming more complex their control strategy cannot longer relay only on measurement information that usually comes from probes but also from mathematical models. Those systems models can lead to unbearable computation times due to their own complexity, turning the control process non-viable, which leads to the implementation of surrogate models that enable to achieve estimates within acceptable time to take decisions. A control trained with Deep Reinforcement Learning algorithm, using a Physics-Informed Neural Network to obtain the temperature map on the following time step, replaces the need of running Direct Numerical Simulations. On this work we considered an 1D heat conduction problem, which temperature distribution feeds a control system to activate a heat source aiming to obtain a constant, previously defined, temperature value. With this approach, control training becomes much faster without the need of performing numerical simulations or laboratory measurements, as well the control is taken based on Neural Network enabling its implementation on simple processors to edge computing.

We leverage the explainability feature of KAN network and build an explainable language model where certain neurons encode individual words and neuron activation is fully interpretable in terms of the basis of a word. To do that, we propose a continuous word2vec model where a meaning of a word is expressed by a continuous profile of distances of this word from the words in the basis of words which is interpolated. As a result, the whole KAN network can be interpreted as a sequential procedure with word expressions. We then proceed from words to logic programs and develop a clause learning technique based on KAN. A logic program construction process from facts now become fully interpretable. We follow the differentiable inductive logic programming technique, representing a logic program as a matrix learned by KAN. Hence, we obtain an efficient and fully interpretable rule learning approach.

(1) Background: in the context of sustainable development goals (SDGs), this work explores the repair direction of future cultivated land protection policies based on the Smith policy implementation model from the historical evolution to ensure that the cultivated land protection policy does not deviate during the implementation process. (2) Methods: this paper uses literature research and inductive deduction methods to sort out the evolution process of Chinese cultivated land protection policy, summarize the successful experience of transferring the focus of cultivated land protection in chronological order, and conclude the repair direction of Chinese cultivated land protection. (3) Results: although the Chinese cultivated land protection policy in the historical evolution has through three significant phases, there are still certain issues in the development trend of Chinese cultivated land protection policy based on regional division of labor for grain transportation and sales. (4) Conclusion: directly utilizing feedback from farmers as stakeholders will contribute to the maturity and improvement of cultivated land protection policies in the specific implementation of cultivated land protection policies.

This work presents a Fault-Tolerant Model Predictive Control (FTMPC) algorithm applied to a simulation model for sewer networks. The control system will aim to prevent contaminated water from escaping the network, especially during periods of heavy rainfall, that can cause combined sewer overflows (CSO), while maintaining the flow of water towards the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) as close as possible to its nominal value. The main purpose of the work is to preserve the operation of the predictive controller as much as possible, in accordance with its operational objectives, when there may be anomalies affecting the elements of the control system, mainly sensors and actuators. Comparing the results obtained considering various types of faults, with situations of normal controlled operation and with the behavior of the sewer network when no control is applied, will allow some conclusions to be drawn at the end.

The intricate architecture of dendritic arborization is fundamental to the formation and functionality of neural networks, serving as the primary site for synaptic integration and signal propagation. This study presents a pioneering computational model that simulates dendritic growth dynamics, employing exponential and logarithmic scaling over an extended developmental period of 720 days. This model offers a valuable tool for investigating the implications of diverse dendritic growth patterns on neural development, synaptic connectivity, and ultimately, cognitive functions. The computational framework incorporates biologically plausible parameters, allowing for the systematic exploration of dendritic branching patterns and their potential impact on neuronal information processing. By simulating exponential and logarithmic growth scales, the model captures the inherent complexity and diversity of dendritic morphologies observed in various neuronal populations across different brain regions. The findings from this study hold significant implications for our understanding of neural circuit assembly, synaptic integration, and the potential functional consequences of aberrant dendritic growth patterns observed in neurodevelopmental disorders. Furthermore, the model's ability to simulate extended developmental trajectories over a prolonged period of 720 days offers insights into the dynamic interplay between dendritic growth and synaptic pruning, which is crucial for the refinement and optimization of neural networks.

The main challenges in oil platforms are how to define optimal setpoints and decision-making for controlling variables due to many existing dynamical production uncertainties while conceding safe operation and minimizing discharge to sea and atmosphere without killing plantwide inventory. A novel scheduling model to optimize the whole essential units of an oil platform production gathering topside and subsea variables is disclosed. A proper topside and subsea scheduling model enables and creates harmony between optimal production, supply chain, costs, and market dynamics, satisfying demands, environmental and operations constraints leading to stability. The interest of the present research lies in determining the optimal topside and subsea operational settings and decision-making, establishing maximum E&P performance and production control setpoints while predicting and manipulating reservoir lifespan and its revitalization. This objective is attained through a novel multiperiod large-scale model for the planning and operational production scheduling and model predictive control (MPC) in oil platforms complying with sustainability, profitability, platform design capacities, and offloading of oil and gas to supply chains or to pipeline exportation. The present model details heat and mass transfer, PVT, flow profiles along a planning horizon and can be used to any oil platform since comprises all the essential unit operations for oil, gas, CO₂, H₂S and water. The model maximizes the total oil production over any planning horizon. The model is versatile, and decision-making can be either linear or nonlinear but rather a MILP or LP as best choice on optimizing large-scale systems. If the model is applied with auto rescheduling on site within variable hours or minutes, it becomes a real-time optimization schedule approach. Due to its high-velocity performance and robustness, a novel multi-objective function strategy, acting as an LP generic plantwide MPC with industrial scope to maximize production while controlling the process is presented, and as an example is here used to control slug flow to avoid equipment trips and inventory instability, at the same time production is maximized. The output from the decision-making was compared to actual plant data, and the results proved compliance to the design capacity with process safety and sustainability. Comparing to official Brazil's government data for oil, the case study showed superiority to the same size platforms, like FPSOs P-75 and MV32, e.g., more than 101.5% more capacity to produce oil in beginning of campaign after first oil, and 10.5% during campaign. The present work indicates that: 1) the production of millions of barrels is being delayed or left aside; 2) not scheduling production harms the environment and diminish process safety; 3) not scheduling production can create stochastic supply chain deliveries instead of organizing it by deterministic offloading days; 4) scheduling is essential to manipulate, revitalize and monitor reservoir's pressure and content under uncertainty; 5) the oil platform can be automatic optimized by a plantwide MPC reducing human activity/dependency; 6) scheduling gives more transparency to stakeholders and contractors by forecasting business data and capability, and can design, develop or enable new businesses.

Soil organic matter (SOM) is important for the global carbon cycle, and hyperspectral remote sensing has proven a promising method for fast SOM content estimation. However, soil physical properties significantly affect the sensitivity of satellite hyperspectral imaging to SOM, leading to poor generalization ability of the estimation model. This study aims to improve the spatiotemporal transferability of the SOM prediction model by alleviating the coupling effect of soil physical properties on the spectra. Based on satellite hyperspectral images and soil physical variables, including soil moisture (SM), soil surface roughness (root mean squared height, RMSH), and soil bulk weight (SBW), a soil spectral correction strategy was established based on the information unmixing method. Two important grain-producing areas in Northeast China were selected as study areas to verify the performance and transferability of the spectral correction model and SOM content prediction model. The results showed that soil spectral corrections based on fourth-order polynomials and the XG-Boost algorithm had excellent accuracy and generalization ability, with residual predictive deviations (RPD) exceeding 1.4 in almost all bands. In addition, when the soil spectral correction strategy was adopted, the accuracy of the SOM prediction model and the generalization ability after model migration were significantly improved. The SOM prediction accuracy based on the XG-Boost corrected spectrum was the highest, with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.76, root mean square error (RMSE) of 5.74 g/kg, and RPD of 1.68. The prediction accuracy, R2, RMSE, and RPD of the model after migration were 0.72, 6.71 g/kg, and 1.53, respectively. Compared with the direct migration prediction of the model, adopting the soil spectral correction strategy based on fourth-order polynomials and XG-Boost reduced the RMSE of the SOM prediction results by 57.90% and 60.27%, respectively. The performance comparison highlighted the advantages of considering soil physical properties in regional-scale SOM prediction.

As a new plant slope protection technology, living stumps can effectively improve slope stability. The current study attemptes to investigate the mechanical characteristics of the root system of living stumps and their reinforcement mechanism on slopes by carrying out a three-dimensional living stump slope modeling test. Using ABS materials, a 3D model of a living elm stump was created by 3D printing and a slope model test was carried out. The reinforcement mechanism of the living stump was studied through a combination of model testing and numerical simulation. The results indicate that, due to the presence of living stumps in the lower and middle parts of the slope, the maximum shear stress area of the soil moved to a deeper direction. The stress state of the soil around the living stump was effectively improved due to the existence of the lateral root system.Living stumps in the lower part of the slope cross the potential sliding surface and transferred the soil shear stress gradually to the root system through root-soil interaction. Moreover, the tap roots and lateral roots of living stumps form a robust spatial structure that bears the shear stress of soil together, thus increasing the stability of the slope.

The article presents investigations of rail vehicle bogie of Y25 type. The Y25 bogie family is one of the most commonly used freight car bogie designs. In addition to several significant advantages characterising this design, it also has several disadvantages observed since the beginning of more than fifty years of operation in several types of cargo vehicles. One of these defects observed in real systems is "unsatisfactory running stability", particularly at long straight tracks. The article used commercial engineering software VI-Rail to create a model of the gondola car (type 412W Eaos) with two Y25 bogies. The car model was tested empty and loaded (maximum permissible load). Motion along straight and curved tracks with different radii values was analysed. The vehicle velocity was changed from a few m/s to the maximum values for which stable solutions of the model existed. For each route, a non-linear critical velocity was determined, defining the maximum operating velocity of the modelled car. The model solutions were recorded, while just one was selected to present the results - the first wheelset lateral displacement ylw. The opinion about the "imperfect running quality" in curved tracks was confirmed. The possible appearance of self-exciting wheelset vibrations in the modelled car's operating velocity range in the laden state was also observed. The research results on the impact of the bogie suspension parameters change on the vehicle model stability are presented. The crucial parameter in the bogie suspension was indicated. Reducing its value by several percent about the nominal value increases the critical velocity of the car to values higher than the maximum operating velocity of the modelled vehicle.

Recent research emphasises the importance of Artificial Intelligence applications as supporting tools for students in higher education. Simultaneously, an intensive exchange of views has started in the public debate in the international educational community. However, for a more proper use of these applications, it is necessary to investigate the factors that explain their intention and actual use in the future. With the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model, this work analyses the factors influencing students' use and intention to use artificial intelligence technology. For this purpose, a sample of 199 Greek students at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences from the University of Patras participated in a survey. The findings highlight that expected performance, habit, and enjoyment of these Artificial Intelligence applications are key determinants influencing teachers' intentions to use them. Moreover, behavioural intention, habit, and facilitating conditions explain the usage of these Artificial Intelligence applications. The study did not reveal any moderating effects. The limitations, practical implications, and proposed directions for future research based on these results are discussed.

This paper presents a compartmental model aimed at investigating the pharmacokinetics of medical THC after oral administration. The model was developed to be multi-compartmental, describing the kinetics of THC and its metabolites in bodily tissues. Utilizing the law of mass action, the model was converted into ordinary differential equations (ODEs), illustrating the rate of concentration changes of THC and its metabolites in each compartment. Subsequently, we applied the nonstandard finite difference (NSFD) method to construct numerical solution schemes. These schemes were implemented in the MATLAB program, along with estimated pharmacokinetic rate constants. The results of the investigation demonstrate that the simulation curves depicting the plasma concentration-time profiles of THC and THC-OH closely resemble the actual data samples, indicating that this model accurately describes the pharmacokinetics of medical THC and its metabolites. Moreover, the model exhibits predictive capabilities regarding the pharmacokinetics of THC and its metabolites in various tissues. Consequently, the model serves as a valuable tool for enhancing our understanding of the pharmacokinetics of THC and its metabolites and for guiding adjustments to dosage and administration durations for oral medical THC products.

This paper addresses the input coupling problem for the shape memory alloy (SMA) actuated parallel platform with completely unknown nonlinear dynamics. The problem means that in a parallel platform with multiple SMA actuators acting together, the displacement of one of the actuators will simultaneously affect the remaining actuators to change. Due to the coupling problem and nonlinear characteristics of the SMA actuators, it is not easy to control the platform to achieve bi-directional swing with completely unknown nonlinear dynamics. Therefore, a model-free adaptive sliding mode control method is proposed to improve the control accuracy of the complex motion of the platform, avoiding the complex modeling process of the SMA actuated parallel platform. Based on the model-free adaptive control (MFAC) theory, a multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) dynamic linearized mathematical model of the parallel platform is established using the online input and output data of the system. Then, a sliding mode controller is designed based on the dynamic model. A rigorous theoretical analysis proves that the proposed model-free adaptive sliding mode controller is able to stably control the SMA actuated parallel platform, and its tracking error is uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB). Finally, experiments are conducted on the established SMA actuated parallel platform. The results show that the proposed model-free controller is feasible and effective, and can control the system well to achieve the complex motion of bi-directional swing.

Underwater image often exhibit detail blurring and color distortion due to light scattering, impurities, and other influences, obscuring essential textures and details. This presents a challenge for existing super-resolution techniques in identifying and extracting effective features, making high-quality reconstruction difficult. This research aims to innovate underwater image super-resolution technology to tackle this challenge. Initially, an underwater image degradation model was created by integrating random subsampling, Gaussian blur, mixed noise, and suspended particle simulation to generate a highly realistic synthetic dataset, thereby training the network to adapt to various degradation factors. Subsequently, to enhance the network's capability to extract key features, improvements were made based on the symmetrically structured Blind Super-Resolution Generative Adversarial Network (BSRGAN) model architecture. An attention mechanism based on energy functions was introduced within the generator to assess the importance of each pixel, and a weighted fusion strategy of adversarial loss, reconstruction loss, and perceptual loss was utilized to improve the quality of image reconstruction. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieved significant improvements in Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Underwater Image Quality Measure (UIQM) by 0.85 dB and 0.19, respectively, significantly enhancing the visual perception quality and indicating its feasibility in super-resolution applications.

Aiming at the development of the application of massive and heterogeneous LEO constellations, the influence of typical perturbation forces on the orbit prediction of LEO satellites at different altitudes is analyzed. Firstly, the main perturbation force model of LEO satellites is introduced. Then experiments for analyzing the influence of orbit prediction on LEO satellites at different altitudes are designed. Finally, the influence of typical perturbation forces on the orbit prediction under different prediction durations by numerical analysis is assessed systematically, and the orbit prediction of LEO satellites with different non-spherical gravitational field orders, ocean tide orders and atmospheric density models were compared and calculated. The research results show that different orders of non-spherical gravitational fields should be considered when the altitude of satellites is different, the reasonable gravitational field orders for LEO satellites at 500km, 1000km, 1500km and 2000km under 1-hour forecast time are 140x140, 80x80, 60x60 and 40x40 orders, the reasonable orders of ocean tide perturbation for 1500km and 2000km satellites are 20x20 orders. Under the 24-hour forecast time, atmospheric resistance has a great influence on the precision of LEO satellites at orbit altitude below 1,000km. The forecast deviation of the LEO satellites orbit at 500km reaches 8751.576m. The difference of orbit precision between different atmospheric density models is in the meter level. The orbit deviation by the Standard Atmosphere 1976 and NRLMSISE 2000 atmospheric models respectively reaches 25.494m. Relevant conclusions provide support for the optimization and selection of dynamical models in high precision orbit determination and fast orbit prediction of LEO satellites.

The company strategic procurement function makes a significant contribution to overall corporate success, and yet remains under-researched in terms of digitalisation and digital maturity. This research adopts an inductive case study approach, using qualitative data from in-depth inter-views with industry practitioners, to develop and apply a digital maturity model for the deployment of strategic procurement analytics. The research presents a snapshot of the digital maturity of the strategic procurement function of a global aircraft manufacturer, and finds that current exploitation of analytics remains constrained by a range of factors, including the need for close compliance with regulatory norms. Thematic analysis of the interview material provides the basis for the development of the maturity model, which - although geared to a specific industry context - is nevertheless of relevance in other business environments. The research thus con-tributes to the existing literature in this field, and will also be of interest to procurement professionals. However, the research clearly has its limitations, not least in that it is based on just one industry case, and cross-industry generalisations from the findings must therefore be treated with caution.

Novolac phenol-formaldehyde resins have gained extensive commercial utilization across diverse applications due to their exceptional mechanical, thermal, and chemical resistance properties. In this investigation, we successfully synthesized a traditional novolac, and a biobased novolac phenol-formaldehyde resin by partially substituting phenol with a bio-oil obtained from the organic phase resulting from the fast pyrolysis of pinewood biomass. Despite extensive investigations into the curing behavior of novolac resins crosslinked with hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) through numerous model-fitting cure kinetic studies, a comprehensive model for predicting the crosslinking of bio-based phenol-formaldehyde resins in the presence of HMTA has not yet been studied. The primary objective of this research was to compare and apply several commonly used kinetic models to predict the degree of curing and cure rate of the synthesized resins, using DSC dynamic measurements. Our results demonstrated that the autocatalytic model exhibited excellent fitting for the traditional novolac resin and HMTA mixture, while the Kamal model showed better fitting with the experimental data obtained for the bio-based phenol-formaldehyde resin and HMTA system. In addition, the results evidenced a significant drop in the curing temperature by partially replacing phenol with bio-oil. Additionally, the results revealed a notable reduction in curing temperature when phenol was partially substituted with bio-oil. This substitution not only offers environmental benefits but also promotes energy efficiency and enhances production safety. The data collected in this study is pivotal for our subsequent research endeavors, which aim to develop environmentally sustainable materials optimized for use in 3D printing manufacturing processes.