The use of substances to improve sports performance is a widespread phenomenon among adolescents. Several anti-doping programs have been developed, mainly based on knowledge-based evidence. The main aim of the present study was to implement an anti-doping intervention in sports high school students, based on psychological framework, such as Socio-Cognitive Theory, through the development of a Serious Game (SG), i.e., a digital learning based on the game. The experimental design included an intervention group (n=167; F=37.7%; Meanage=17.5 years) and a control group (n=112; F=42%; Meanage=17.6). Both of groups completed the same questionnaire in two different occasions (i.e., time 1 and time 2), for measuring doping intention, self-regulatory efficacy to resist social pressure for the use of substances, moral disengagement, and doping knowledge. Data were analyzed through repeated measures of Group X Time ANOVA, demonstrating some degree of efficacy of the intervention, in particular, in terms of decrease of doping intention and the strengthening of doping knowledge. Moreover, we demonstrated that the score obtained during the implementation of the Serious Game partially could represent a coherent measure of the participants’ beliefs regarding doping. These results could be considered a starting point for future research to better develop technological anti-doping interventions.

The flow stress of face-centered cubic (FCC) metals exhibits a rapid increase near a strain rate of 104 s-1 under fixed strain conditions. However, many existing constitutive models either fail to capture the mechanical characteristics of this plastic deformation or use piecewise strain rate hardening models to describe this phenomenon. Unfortunately, the piecewise models may suffer from issues such as discontinuity of physical quantities and difficulties in determining segment markers, and struggling to reflect the underlying physical mechanisms that give rise to this mutation phenomenon. In light of this, this paper proposes that the abrupt change in flow stress sensitivity to strain rate in FCC metals can be attributed to microstructural evolution characteristics. To address this, a continuous semi-empirical physical constitutive model for FCC metals is established based on the microstructural size evolution proposed by Molinari-Ravichandran and the dislocation motion slip mechanism. This model effectively describes the mutation behavior of strain rate sensitivity under fixed strain, particularly evident in the annealed OFHC. The predicted results of the model across a wide range of strain rates (10-4 − 106 s-1) and temperatures (77 − 1096 K) demonstrate relative errors generally within ±10% of the experimental values. Furthermore, the model is compared to five other models, including Mechanical Threshold Stress (MTS), Nemat-Nasser-Li (NNL), Preston-Tonks-Wallace (PTW), Johnson-Cook (JC), and Molinari-Ravichandran (MR) models. A comprehensive illustration of errors reveals that the proposed model outperforms the other five models in describing the plastic deformation behavior of OFHC. The error results offer valuable insights for selecting appropriate models for engineering applications and provide significant contributions to the field.

Conclusions: HRCT is a valuable tool in preoperative assessment of cholesteatoma, helping in making surgical decisions. It can accurately predict the extent of disease and is helpful for detecting unapparent dangerous situations. However it is not very accurate in detecting Fallopian canal and stapes erosion.

Emerging evidence has indicated the involvement of extra-hypothalamic kisspeptin and GnRHR in reproductive function. In this study, we evaluate if maternal exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) and/or a high-fat diet (HFD) have an impact on the expression of kisspeptin and GnRHR in reproductive organ of offspring’s rats. 16 Pregnant rats are divided into 4 groups, control group (n=4), CPF group (4 rats exposed daily to 1/mg/kg/day), HFD group (4 rats randomly fed a 5,25 kcal/g HFD), co-exposed group (4 rats exposed to CPF and HDF). At postnatal development PND60, males and female offspring were sacrificed. The reproductive organs (ovary and testis) were removed and histological, immunohistological analysis and in silico quantification (software Tissuefax, HistoQuest) was assessed to investigate the impact of different treatment on kisspeptin and GnRHR expression in reproductive organs. The main outcomes of the study showed a significant decrease in rat offspring’s body weight in CPF group from PND30 andPND60 (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). Histological analysis shows a significant increase in atretic follicle and abnormal testis structure with germ cell desquamation at CPF exposed group. The immunodetection quantification of protein shows a significant decrease in GnRHR and kisspeptin in HFD and CPF exposed group, respectively in testis rat offspring. Perinatal exposure to CPF and HFD exposure affect the reproduction function of rat offspring.

Background: A prognostic index validated for the outcomes of advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) patients with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is still lacking. We therefore developed an ovarian neoadjuvant chemotherapy prognostic index (ONCPI) to enhance predictive accuracy. Methods: We analyzed clinicopathologic feature of advanced HGSOC patients receiving platinum-based NACT. Blood inflammatory composite markers were calculated and binary-transformed by optimal cutoffs. The omental hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained slides were selected for the assessment of chemotherapy response score (CRS). Logistic regression analyses and Cox proportional hazard regression model were utilized to develop a prognostic index. Results: Multivariate analysis showed that CRS and neutrophils-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are independent risk factors for platinum-chemotherapy response. Meanwhile, Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression analysis revealed that CRS score was significantly correlated with PFS and OS, and NLR-high patients was associated with poor OS. We further developed an ONCPI model based on the CRS score and NLR level. Survival analysis suggested that patients with score 0 and 1 of ONCPI were significantly associated with improved PFS and OS. Conclusions: The ONCPI score emerges as a significant prognostic marker for predicting NACT outcomes in advanced HGSOC patients. Its integration into clinical practice and risk-stratified trial design is conceivable.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is one of the most prevalent endocrinological diseases among children and young adults, with a growing incidence rate reaching up to 2.9 new cases per year per 100 000 persons below 15 years of age. We report the rare case of a 20-year-old female patient with T1D, hemoglobin D (HbD) heterozygote variant and high myopia of -10,00 spheric diopters and describe the retinal microvascular alterations visible on OCT angiography (angio-OCT). The patient also presented severe stature deficit (less than 3 standard deviations) and delayed puberty, which could not be explained only by suboptimal glycemic control, indicated a possible hypopituitarism. The HbA1c level evaluated with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was 6.5%, a falsely low value due to the HbD hemoglobinopathy. On ophthalmic evaluation the angio-OCT scan showed the following retinal microvascular alterations for the RE: the FAZ area vas 0.39 mm2, the FAZ perimeter was 2.88 mm and the circularity index was 0.58; for the LE: the FAZ area vas 0.34 mm2, the FAZ perimeter was 3.21 mm and the circularity index was 0.41. Clinicians should consider high performance retinal screening methods such angio-OCT evaluation for young T1D patients, especially for those with associated pathologies like high myopia and hemoglobinopathies. Moreover, multiple evaluation methods of the HbA1c values are mandatory as hemoglobinopathies can interfere with HbA1c assay methods accuracy.

Resonant light scattering by mesoscale dielectric spheres has received enormous attention and found many interesting applications. The recently emerged field of Mesotronics provides novel opportunities for wavelength-scaled optics and new fundamental aspects are still being uncovered. It has recently been demonstrated that high-order Mie resonances can be excited in homogeneous low-dissipation mesoscale dielectric spheres, leading to the generation of intense magnetic fields. This Letter describes a simple and effective way to drastically enhance the superresonance effect. Proof-of-principle results for the first time show that yet one more novel phenomenon of increasing the intensity of the magnetic field without changing the resonant Mie size parameter of the sphere by introducing an air cavity. In such a dielectric cenosphere (from two Greek words “kenos” - hollow and “sphaira” - sphere), by correct choosing of the air cavity size, it is possible to increase the intensity of the electromagnetic fields at the poles of the sphere by an order of magnitude due to increasing of amplitude of resonant partial wave coefficient.

This paper presents the design of a miniaturized polyimide-based antenna for Ultra-Wideband (UWB) communication. Miniaturization is achieved through the utilization of adhesive material with a high dielectric constant (high-Dk). The goal of this work is to investigate the impact of such material on the antenna performance and to optimize its design for UWB operation. The manufacturing of the antenna using the proposed structure was developed and the prototype of antenna for UWB high-band (6 - 9 GHz) is measured and analyzed. By leveraging the high Dk of the adhesive material, the simulation and measurement results showed that the proposed antenna with high Dk adhesive film can achieve the compact dimension with good performance in gain, and time domain characteristics. The results of this study show a potential of exhibiting a reduction in the size of the antenna and will contribute to the advancement of miniaturized UWB antenna technology.

The GPA is a universally recognised and utilised metric of academic performance that is considered to also measure a student’s potential for academic performance in the future. In this short communication we examine to what extent the GPA of the first grade of high school predicts performance in the later grades of high school, either generally (as classified in excellent student, strong student, weak student or very weak student) or more accurately (as indicated by the exact GPA in the next grade). We also put to the test the widely held notion that it might be best if core courses such as language and mathematics contributed more to the calculation of the GPA compared to secondary courses such as physical education or music. Our findings confirm the predictive properties of the GPA but strongly rebut the notion that a weighted GPA might achieve a better reflection of students’ potential. The study is based on the academic records of every student in Greece that progressed from first to third grade of high school in the 2016-2019 period. This data set contains records of more than 85,000 students, making it one of the most extensive studies ever conducted on the topic of the properties of the GPA.

High-fidelity patient simulation (HFPS) is widely used in professional training to enhance students’ competence in clinical management. Problem-solving (PS) and clinical reasoning (CR) skills are essential to developing students in professional competence in safe and effective care. These two skills should be initiated at the early training. However, little is known about the effects of HFPS on developing PS and CR skills in first year undergraduate students. Therefore, this pre- and post-experimental study aimed to investigate the effects of HFPS on development of PS and CR skills in first-year nursing students. The students were required to go through four sessions, preparation, pre-briefing and orientation, simulation role-playing, and debriefing, for the HFPS. The study utilized the Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI) and the Nurses Clinical Reasoning Scale (NCRS) to measure problem-solving and clinical reasoning abilities before and after HFPS. Bivariate analysis, one-sample t-test, and independent t-test were performed to evaluate the performance of the PS and CR skills at the two study periods. One hundred eighty-nine students were recruited, with a mean age of 20.56 years, and 73% were female students. The analytic results showed that the PSI, particularly in domains of Problem-Solving Confidence (PSC) (p<0.001) and overall PS (p<0.001), and the CR (p<0.001) had significant improvement after HFPS. The study concluded that HFPS is an effective innovative method to significantly improve students’ problem-solving and clinical reasoning abilities. Nurse educators play an important role in providing explicit learning instructions in a simulation guideline that directs and guides students to learn at each stage of HFPS. Students should take more initiative and engage in their learning through HFPS to enhance their competence in knowledge and higher intellectual skills for personal and professional developments.

In this study, we had investigated the use of high-pressure homogenization (HPH) as a novel pretreatment method for the extraction of sodium alginate (SA) from Laminaria japonica. Our results demonstrated that under optimal condition of 100 MPa HPH pressure, 4 cycles, pH 6.0, and 0.5% ethylene diaminetetra acetic acid tetrasodium salt (EDTA) concentration (w/v) for 3.0 hours, the extraction yield of HPH reached 34%, which was higher than that achieved by previous methods such as complex enzyme hydrolysis (CE), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE), and complex enzyme-ultrasonic combined method (CE-UC). To further characterize the extracted SA, we conducted a comprehensive analysis using SEM, FTIR, MRS, NMR, XRD, TGA, and T-AOC assay. Our findings revealed the following: 1) HPH treatment significantly disrupted the structure of L. japonica cells and reduced their crystallinity to 76.27%, the lowest among all pretreatment samples; 2) the extracted SA had a greater tendency to form elastic gels; and 3) the antioxidant activity of HPH-extracted SA reached 0.02942 mgVceq∙mg-1, which was the highest among all tested methods. Based on these results, we concluded that HPH extraction not only increased the yield of SA but also enhanced its antioxidant activity.

Graphene nanostructures (GNS) are among the most promising materials for creating supercapacitors. However, GNS are still not used in creating supercapacitors due to the impossibility of obtaining large volumes of high-quality material at an acceptable cost. In this work, we investigated the efficiency of using few-layer graphene (FLG) with the number of layers is not more than 5 synthesized under Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) conditions as basic material for supercapacitors. Using the SHS process makes it possible to synthesize large volumes of FLG without Stone-Wales defects. It was found that the synthesized FLG makes it possible to obtain better results than using classical materials, namely activated carbon (AC). It was found that the sample based on FLG has a higher specific capacitance – 65 F×g-1 compared to the sample from AC, the specific capacitance of which is 35 F×g-1, for a speed of 5 mV×s-1 these values are 170 and 64 F×g-1, respectively. The drop in capacitance over 1000 cycles was 4%, which indicates a sufficiently high stability of FLG and allows us to consider FLG as perspective material for use in supercapacitors.

Without doubt, the social and environmental business impact will become more important as the governments cannot take care about these problems. Thus, launching the EU Green deal rules, World Global Sustainable Development Goals, corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and strategies are part of this global commitment. Additionally, CSR is strongly connected to the exploration of (social) market awareness and technology development and application as it focusses on social, environmental and economic business impact. The main goal of the paper is to verify that contemporary greener CSR strategies are beneficiary activity for high-tech companies because of better competitive advantages acquisition through management of corporate reputation risk and patenting innovative technologies. The structure of the paper is the next: 1. Introduction – explanation the previous researches that explore the relation: CSR strategy – high-tech company competitiveness; 2. State of art – exploring the corporate reputation and patent rights as factors in CSR strategy; 3. Patent monopoly and CSR – research the connection between reputation risks of patents rights and CSR strategy; 4. Business performance and CSR reporting – briefly research methodology is presented as some results from Bulgarian companies; 5. Discussion and conclusions – summarizing a methodology for patent rights and reputation risk management for better CSR effects.

Although instructional feedback plays an essential role in regulating learning and improving performance, few studies have systematically investigated the needs of teachers and students for instructional feedback system or developed designs and experiments, especially at the high school level. To address this research need, the present study investigated the needs of selected students and teachers in a high school in Hubei Province, China, and designed and developed a diagnostic visual feedback system for an experimental study with 125 students from a 10th-grade biology class in the same high school. The results showed that this diagnostic visual feedback report improved student performance (ES=0.37) and that functions such as misconception location, knowledge diagnosis, and knowledge alert were well received by students. These findings have multiple implications for facilitating the design and development of diagnostic visual feedback system.

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for human beings and Se supplementation is of great significance. In this paper, high selenized Gastrodia elata Blume Polysaccharides (SeGEP) were obtained through pre-sulfation before conducting the selenylation modification process, which owned a maximum Se content reach to 2.29%. UV, FT-IR, NMR, SEM, EDX, HPLC, size-exclusion chromatography and periodate oxidation analysis showed that the seleninic group had been successfully introduced into GEP with the substitution position at C-6 of glucose. Immunostimulating assays were conducted in vitro and in vivo on RAW 264.7 cells and cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced mice model, respectively. The results showed that Se-GEP enhanced RAW264.7 cells proliferation, cell phagocytosis, and secretion of nitric oxide (NO) and interleukin (IL)-1β factors. In addition, Se-GEP enhanced the immunologic activity of CTX-treated mice by increasing the spleen and thymus indices, enhancing the phagocytic function, and activating both Th1 and Th2 lymphocytes. The current outcome also suggested that Se-GEP with covalently bonding Se group possessing increased safety and has a potential dietary selenium nutrient for improving human immunity.

Dicarbonyls are electrophiles able to generate the so-called advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). Human exposure occurs via ingestion (e.g., food), inhalation (e.g., electronic cigarettes) and dysregulation of endogenous metabolic pathways (e.g., glycolysis). Biological systems can prevent AGEs formation via enzymatic and nonenzymatic reactions. However, the continuous exposure to dicarbonyls may cause the depletion of endogenous substrates and the beginning of AGEs accumulation (i.e., carbonylation). Since this process has been associated with multiple disorders, several studies advocated the use of dicarbonyl binders as food preservatives or as drugs aimed at mitigating carbonylation damages. As reported for other toxicants (e.g., HNE, acrolein), the screening of selective and potent binders can be performed by measuring the residual amount of a selected dicarbonyl substrate, upon its incubation with candidate binders. Unfortunately, naturally occurring dicarbonyls are poorly responsive to many detectors (e.g., UV or MS). For this reason, most of the screening methods that have been reported to date relies on indirect quantification upon derivatization. However, this strategy can potentially lead to inaccurate results since the tested compounds can affect the derivatization yield. Therefore, we herein reported the use of benzylglyoxal (BGO) as a convenient, UV responsive, dicarboyl surrogate. By using BGO as a substrate, we setup an easy and cheap chromatographic assay for the direct measurement of the binding activity towards dicarbonyls, without derivatization. The method was qualified by assessing the binding ability of some known dicarbonyl binders, obtaining results consistent with literature.

This article investigates the potential for carbon reduction in urban parks in Shangqiu City using high-resolution remote sensing imagery. The aim is to guide modern urban carbon neutrality strategies. The carbon reduction potential is estimated based on the mitigation of the urban heat island effect by park greenery, which reduces energy consumption. The parks are regarded as cool island centers, and 100 cooling gradients are gradually formed outward until the temperature reaches that of impermeable urban surfaces. The energy saved by the parks in mitigating the heat island effect is statistically calculated as the carbon reduction potential of urban park greenery. Additionally, this article classifies the sample parks into different categories and selects 26 landscape metrics to analyze their relationship with carbon-saving potential and driving factors.

Increasing the loading density of nanoparticles on carbon support is essential for making Pt-alloy/C catalysts practical in H2-air fuel cells. The challenge lies in increasing the load-ing while suppressing the sintering of Pt-alloy nanoparticles. This work presents a 40% Pt-weighted sub-3 nm PtCo/C alloy catalysts via a simple incipient wetness impregnation method. By carefully optimizing the synthetic conditions such as Pt/Co ratios, calcination temperature and time, the size of supported PtCo alloy nanoparticles is successfully con-trolled below 3 nm, and a high electrochemical surface area achieves of 94 m2/g is achieved, which is 2.8 times of commercial PtCo/C-TKK catalysts. Demonstrated by elec-trochemical oxygen reduction reaction, PtCo/C alloy catalysts present an enhanced mass activity of 0.45 A/mg at 0.9 V vs. RHE, which is 1.7 times that of PtCo/C-TKK catalyst. Therefore, the developed PtCo/C alloy catalyst can potentially be a highly practical cata-lyst for H2-air fuel cells.

This paper presents a comprehensive study and the analysis of a topology of a no isolated DC-DC intituled Double Quadratic Boost converter with high static gain. This converter has the main advantage of high static gain and low voltage stress on its switches. The article will first present the theoretical analysis of the converter operating in an open loop. The objective of the work is the mathematical modeling and the control strategy of the converter, as well as the validation through closed-loop experimental results. Besides, we presented the practice test results to demonstrate the operation of the converter, such as the static gain experimental curve, the practice efficiency of the converter, and the control of the output voltage, as well as the capacitor voltage balance control. The authors designed a prototype for 1 kW, with a switching frequency of fs=50kHz, with FPGA-based command and modulation.

High-quality rice (Oryza sativa L.) is increasingly widely planted in China with the improvement of people's living standards and the achievement of rice breeding efforts in recent years. However, the agronomic and physiological performances of high-quality indica rice (HQIR) under different nitrogen(N) application conditions in southern China are little known. Two-year consecutive field experiments were conducted with two HQIR and two ordinary-quality indica rice (OQIR) varieties under moderate and high N application rates, with yield and yield components, biomass, N up-take, and their related traits investigated. We found that grain yields of HQIR were slightly de-creased, but grain yields of OQIR were significantly increased by 6.60%-8.88% under high N rate compared with moderate N rate in both years. Thereby, OQIR produced 8.34%-11.87% and 22.00%-22.50% higher grain yield than HQIR under moderate and high N rates, respectively. The different responses of grain yield to N application rates were mainly due to decreased grain set-ting rate in HQIR and increased spikelets m-2 in OQIR under high N rate. Furthermore, high N rate significantly reduced pre-anthesis AE and improved grain-leaf area ratio, while did not in-crease post-anthesis DM compared with moderate N rate in HQIR, which might result in carbon metabolic deterioration and imbalance of source-sink relationship and subsequently lower supply of carbohydrate to panicle. Our results suggest that a moderate N rate (165 kg N ha-1) is beneficial for HQIR varieties to balance the maximum grain yield and high quality in southern China

Many advanced reactor concept designs rely on high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel, enriched up to approximately 19.75% 235U by weight. Efforts are underway by the US government to increase HALEU production in the United States to meet anticipated needs. However, very little data exists for validation of computational models that include HALEU, beyond a few fresh fuel benchmark specifications in the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project. Nevertheless, there is other data with potential value available for developing into quality benchmarks for use in data and software validation efforts. This paper reviews the available evaluated HALEU fuel benchmarks and some of the potentially relevant benchmarks for fresh highly enriched uranium. It then introduces experimental data for HALEU fuel irradiated at Idaho National Laboratory, from relatively recent irradiation programs at the Advanced Test Reactor. Such data should be evaluated and, if valuable, collected into detailed benchmark specifications to meet the needs of HALEU-based reactor designers.

Co-doped SnO2 nanocrystals with tetragonal rutile-type (space group P42/mnm) structure have been investigated using in-situ high-pressure synchrotron angle dis-persive X-ray diffraction till 20.9 GPa at ambient temperature. The analysis of ex-perimental results based on Rietveld refinements suggest that rutile-type SnO2 un-dergoes a structural phase transition at 14.2 GPa to an orthorhombic CaCl2-type phase (space group Pnnm) with no coexistence during the phase transition. No further phase transition is observed till 20.9 GPa. The low-pressure and high-pressure phases are related via a group/subgroup relationship. However, as a discontinuous change in the unit-cell volume is detected at the phase transition, thus, the phase transition can be classified as first-order type. On decompression the transition is found to be re-versible. The results are compared with previous high-pressure studies on SnO2.

Large-scale land cover plays a crucial role in global resource monitoring and management, as well as research on sustainable development. However, the complexity of the mapping process, coupled with significant computational and data storage requirements, often leads to delays between data processing and product publication, creating challenges for dynamic monitoring of large-scale land cover. Therefore, improving the efficiency of each stage in large-scale land cover mapping and automating the mapping process is currently an urgent and critical issue that needs to be addressed. We propose a high-performance automated large-scale land cover mapping framework(HALF) that introduces high-performance computing technology to the field of land cover production. HALF optimizes key processes, such as automated sample point extraction, sample-remote sensing image matching, and large-scale classification result mosaic and update. We selected several 10°×10° regions globally and the research makes several significant contributions:(1)We design HALF for land cover mapping based on docker and CWL-Airflow, which solves the heterogeneity of models between complex processes in land cover mapping and simplifies the model deployment process. By introducing workflow organization, this method achieves a high degree of decoupling between the production models of each stage and the overall process, enhancing the scalability of the framework. (2)HALF propose an automatic sample points method that generates a large number of samples by overlaying and analyzing multiple prior products, thus saving the cost of manual sample selection. Using high-performance computing technology improved the computational efficiency of sample-image matching and feature extraction phase, with 10 times faster than traditional matching methods.(3)HALF propose a high-performance classification result mosaic method based on the idea of grid division. By quickly establishing the spatial relationship between the image and the product and performing parallel computing, the efficiency of the mosaicking in large areas is significantly improved. The average processing time for a single image is around 6.5 seconds.

The number of obese people worldwide is rising dramatically, with 51% of the global population expected to be obese or overweight by 2035. And it is usually involved in a variety of chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In the process of obesity, adipose tissue expands indefinitely, which induces metabolic dysfunction. Here, we confirm the role of succinate in the intervention of obesity. Through adding succinate to drinking water, high-fat diet induced obese mice were associated with the lower fat mass, and improved glucose tolerance and energy expenditure. These metabolic changes are accompanied by increased expression of lipolysis genes and decreased lipogenesis genes, especially in subcutaneous adipose tissue. In summary, supplement of succinate improves lipid deposition and metabolic health in obese mice.

Diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) has been employed in the sulfide ore flotation process, due to its excellent collection performance. Herein, we investigated the interfacial adsorption behavior of DDTC on four mineral phases of high-sulfur residue — sulfur, pyrite, sphalerite and lead sulfate. The adsorption behavior — adsorption structure and energy and electron localization function cross section — of DDTC and H2O were explored using density function theory calculation. The result was helpful to construct a co-adsorption model of DDTC and H2O, which was validated by the pure minerals flotation operation and the characterization of fourier transform infrared spectra. The co-adsorption model indicated that the DDTC adsorption on the sulfur, sphalerite and lead sulfate was weak with physical bonding, while its adsorption on the pyrite was strong with chemical bonding. Practical bench-scale operation of high-sulfur residue flotation was performed, whose result was different from that obtained from the pure mineral flotation. To explain the difference, our developed model predictions and the mineral fugacity pattern analysis on the high-sulfur residue flotation were synergistically used. Overall, this work first proposed the co-adsorption model of DDTC and H2O and provided important insights into the interfacial adsorption in the high-sulfur residue flotation.

The emergence of various electronic devices and equipment such as electric vehicles and drones requires higher energy density energy storage devices. Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are considered as the most promising new generation energy storage system owing to high theoretical specific capacity and energy density. However, the severe shuttle behaviors of soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and the slow redox kinetics lead to low sulfur utilization and poor cycling stability, which seriously hinder the commercial application of LSBs. Therefore, various catalytic materials have been employed to solve these troublesome problems. High entropy materials (HEMs), as advanced materials, can provide unique surface and electronic structures that expose plentiful catalytic active sites, which opens new ideas for the regulation of LiPSs redox kinetics. Notwithstanding many instructive reviews in the land of LSBs, while this review aims to offer a complete and shrewd summary of the current progresses in HEMs-based LSBs, including in-depth interpretation of design principles and mechanistic electrocatalysis functions as well as pragmatic perspectives.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular prevention is less effective than expected due to the concern about polymedication of professionals and the lack of adherence of patients. Polypills are presented as a possible solution, increasing therapeutic adherence in the medium or long term and improving therapeutic results compared to the administration of drugs separately: they increase effectiveness and Adherence of patients to primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention programs, without increasing the cost of the intervention. OBJECTIVES: Study #Trigeria: to specify the combined prevalence of Atrial Fibrillation, Dyslipidemia and Hypertension and analyze the pharmacological prescription for these pathologies and the possible indications and advantages that would have the prescription of a polypill for these risk factors.METHODS: Observational analytical study on the pathological history in elderly institutionalized in nursing homes and analysis of prescribed oral medication.RESULTS: 169 people analyzed (79.3% women) from 4 nursing homes; 8.9% had a history of Atrial Fibrillation, Dyslipidemia and Arterial Hypertension; these had a higher prevalence of heart disease (42.9%) and Cerebral Vascular Accident (35.7%). Polymedication was present in 88.5%, with an average of 6.94 oral drugs prescribed; among those with the three pathological antecedents, the average number of oral medications was 8.60. Only 26.7% of those with all three factors were prescribed drugs to control them.DISCUSSION: There are high rates of polymedication in the sample and low rates of prescription of antiplatelet agents in people with Atrial Fibrillation (26.5%); the low prescription of statins and antihypertensives of the ACE inhibitor or ARB-II groups may be due to good control with non-pharmacological measures or by the use of other groups of drugs . A polypill holding the drugs that control the three factors studied could increase the prescription rate while simplifying the administration schedule and reducing polymedication by 23.25% improving prescription, increasing adherence and control of risk factors without increasing pharmaceutical expenditure.CONCLUSIONS: There is a low rate of prescription of antiplatelet agents among people with atrial fibrillation. Combination methods (polypills) can increase the suitability of prescriptions in people with polypathology, improving prescribing, simplifying administration and increasing adherence to pharmacological treatments.

Catalyst with high catalytic activity and good stability are desirable in the electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose. Herein, Pt concave nanocubes with high-index facets (HIFs) supported by carbon black (Pt CNC/CB) are prepared through a hydrothermal method. The experimental results demonstrate that the peak current densities in different potential regions on the Pt CNC/CB anode are 0.22, 0.20, and 0.60 mA cm−2, respectively. The glucose oxidation reaction shows superior performances in basic and neutral conditions than in acid conditions. Better stability is achieved by Pt CNC/CB than Pt concave nanocubes (Pt CNCs). Abundant surface defects with low-coordinated atom numbers, such as the steps, kinks, and edges, are served as active sites in the electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose. With the addition of carbon black, the catalytic activity can be improved by facilitating the full exposure of the active surface defects on the HIFs of Pt CNCs. Moreover, to address the aggregation of Pt CNCs, caused by the high surface energy of HIFs, the introduction of carbon material is an effective way to preserve the HIFs, and thus enhance the stability of the catalyst. Hence, the prepared Pt CNC/CB electrocatalyst has great potential to be applied in the electrooxidation of glucose.

Controlled deposition of CoCrFeNiMo0.2 high entropy alloy (HEA) micro-particles was achieved using laser induced forward transfer (LIFT). Ultra-short laser pulses, 230 fs of 515 nm wavelength, were tightly focused into ∼ 2.4 μm focal spots on the ∼50 nm thick plasma-sputtered films of CoCrFeNiMo0.2. The HTA films were transferred onto glass substrates by magnetron sputtering in vacuum (10−8 atm) from the thermal spray coated substrates. The absorption coefficient of CoCrFeNiMo0.2 α ≈ 6 × 105 cm−1 was determined at 600 nm wavelength. The real and imaginary parts of refractive index (n + iκ) of HEA were determined from reflectance and transmittance using nano-films.

Background: Primary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSLs) are sensitive to chemotherapy. Standard treatment is high-dose methotrexate (MTX)-based chemotherapy. There are no reports of successful treatment of acute uric acid nephropathy with rasburicase after MTX administration in PCNSL. Case presentation: A 54-year-old man with a history of gout presented with character change and memory loss. MRI showed a large, enhancing mass spanning the bilateral frontal lobes and right temporal lobe. After endoscopic biopsy, MTX, procarbazine and vincristine (MPV) regimen was initiated for treatment of PCNSL. After initiation of chemotherapy, the patient suffered from a gout attack and blood examination revealed acute renal failure (ARF) and hyperuricemia. The considered causes of ARF included MTX toxicity and acute urid acid nephropathy. Since a good response to chemotherapy was observed, the latter was assumed. After improvement of renal function, MTX was resumed, initiating rasburicase for control of hyperuricemia. A complete response was obtained after induction chemotherapy. Hyperuricemia was controlled with rasburicase and renal function was preserved. Conclusions: Acute uric acid nephropathy should be considered when ARF occurs after initiation of MTX in PCNSL. For newly diagnosed PCNSL patients with large tumors or hyperuricemia, upfront usage of rasburicase should be considered to prevent it.

Spent batteries recycling is an important way to obtain low-cost graphite. Nevertheless, the obtaining of crystalline graphite with a rather low density of defects is required for many applications. In the present work, high-quality graphites have been obtained from different kinds of spent batteries. Black masses from spent alkaline batteries (batteries black masses, BBM), and lithium-ion batteries from smartphones (smartphone black masses, SBM) and electric and/or hybrid vehicles (lithium-ion black masses, LBM) were used as starting materials. A hydrometallurgical process was then used to obtain recycled graphites by acidic leaching. Different leaching conditions were used depending on the type of the initial black mass. The final solids were characterized by a wide set of complementary techniques.

Microcrystalline and near nanocrystalline AlCrFeCoNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) coatings were applied on Inconel 718 superalloy using air plasma spraying (APS) process. High-temperature oxidation behavior of the microcrystalline and near nanocrystalline AlCrFeCoNi HEA coated superalloy were examined at 110°C under the air atmosphere for 50 cycles under cyclic heating and cooling (1 h for each cycle). The oxidation kinetics of both nanocrystalline and microcrystalline coated superalloy was accordingly analyzed by weight change measurement. It was noticed that the uncoated and coated followed the parabolic rate law of the oxidation. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), and elemental mapping techniques were used to analyze the oxidized coated and uncoated samples. In the HEA coated superalloy, Fe, Ni, Co, and Al were oxidized in the inter-splat region, whereas the splats which consist mainly of Ni and Cr remained unoxidized. Because of the formation of compact and adhesive thin NiO, CoO oxides, and spinels together with the Al2O3 oxide scale on the surface of the coating during oxidation, the developed nanocrystalline HEA coating shows better oxidation resistance than the microcrystalline HEA coating.

In recent years, excessive heat in the urban texture has become the main problem in the humid and calm wind city of Babolsar with high density, especially in high-rise areas. Therefore, in order to create comfort in this region, it is necessary to establish and continue the wind circulation in space with an environmentally compatible and optimal configuration. The study applies combination of literature, field measurement, experimental validation of CFD simulation output, and comparative analysis. After field measurement and validation of FLOW-3D simulation software (V11.2.2), the relationship between these parameters (height, the width of passages, enclosure between buildings, and buildings' orientation) will be studied which affects the wind’s velocity and direction. The factors of the buildings' orientation and enclosure based on the passages' width have opposite reactions in the direction of the prevailing wind especially from perpendicular side. In this study, two effective factors are on wind velocity: 1- The orientation of the buildings towards the wind flow by creating permeability 2- Reducing the enclosure by increasing the width of the passage's perpendicular to the wind flow (w '= 3w, E' = 0.33E). According to the theoretical and practical study, first, the creation of permeability in the body of the block and the separation of buildings instead of aggregation has been studied, and then reducing the confinement of streets perpendicular to the wind flow has been discussed as effective solutions to improve the wind velocity and circulation between the urban environment.

Among the many neglected underutilized species, tuberous Andean root crops like the ahipas (Pachyrhizus ahipa) constitute a promising alternative for increasing diversity in nutrient sources and food security at a regional level. In this study, we present the content of some functional compounds in tuberous roots from several ahipa accessions and the progenies of the interspecific hybrid X207 (P. ahipa × P. tuberosus). A significant objective was to determine protein and free amino acids in the roots to evaluate their food quality as protein supply. The interspecific hybrids have been found to possess the root quality to provide the crop with a higher dry matter content. The high dry matter content of the P. tuberosus Chuin materials is retained in the root quality of the hybrids. Food functional components like carbohydrates, organic acids, and proteins were determined in several ahipa accessions and a stable (non-segregating) progeny of the interspecific hybrid, X207. The X207 roots showed a significantly higher dry matter content and a lower content in soluble sugars, but no significant differences were found in starch content or organic acids compared to the ahipa accessions. About the root mineral contents, Fe and Mn concentrations in X207 were significantly raised compared to the average of ahipa accessions. Among the ahipa and the hybrid, no prominent differences in protein content or protein amino acids were found, being both partially defective in providing sufficient daily intake of some essential amino acids. Root weight, a central component of root yield, was significantly higher in X207, but thorough field studies are required to substantiate the hybrid’s superior yield performance..

The Indus basin is considered as the one with the highest dependence on snowmelt runoff in High Mountain Asia. The recent High Mountain Asia snow reanalysis enables to go beyond previous studies by evaluating both snowmelt and snow sublimation at the basin scale. Over 2000-2016, basin-average snowmelt is 101 11 Gt.a^-1 (121 ± 13 mm.a^-1), which represents about 25-30% of basin-average annual precipitation. Snow sublimation accounts for 11% of the mean annual snow ablation, but with a large spatial variability across the basin.

Tuning fork gyroscopes (TFGs) are promising for potential high-precision applications. This work proposes and experimentally demonstrates a novel high-Q dual mass tuning fork microelectro-mechanical system (MEMS) gyroscope utilizing three-dimensional (3D) packaging techniques. Except for two symmetrically-decoupled proof masses (PM) with synchronization structures, a symmetrically-decoupled lever structure is designed to force the antiparallel, antiphase drive-mode motion and basically eliminate the low-frequency spurious modes. The thermoelastic damping (TED) and anchor loss are greatly reduced by the linearly-coupled, momentum- and torque-balanced antiphase sense mode. Besides, a novel 3D packaging technique is used to realize high Q-factors. A composite substrate encapsulation cap, fabricated by through-silicon-via (TSV) and glass-in-silicon (GIS) reflow processes, is anodically bonded to the sensing structures at wafer scales. A self-developed control circuit is adopted to realize loop control and characterize gyro-scope performances. It is shown that a high-reliability electrical connection together with a high-air-impermeability package can be fulfilled with this 3D packaging technique. Furthermore, the Q-factors of the drive and sense modes reach up to 51947 and 49249, respectively. This TFG realizes a wide measurement range of ±1800° /s and a high resolution of 0.1° /s with a scale-factor nonlinearity 720 ppm after automatic mode-matching. Besides, the long-term zero-rate output (ZRO) drift can be effectively suppressed by temperature compensation, inducing a small angle random walk (ARW) of 0.923°/√h and a low bias instability (BI) of 9.270°/h.

To design properly and optimizate liquid-assisted processes such as reactive infiltration for fabricating light weight and corrosion resistant SiC/TiSi2 composites, the interfacial phenomena taking place when liquid Si-rich Si-Ti alloys are in contact with glassy carbon (GC) were investigated for the first time by wetting tests performed by both the sessile and pendant drop methods at T = 1450°C. Specifically, two different Si-rich Si-Ti alloys were selected, and the obtained results in terms of contact angle values, spreading kinetics, reactivity, and developed interface microstructures were compared with experimental observations previously obtained for the liquid Si-rich Si-Ti eutectics processed under the same operating conditions. The increase of the Si content did not affected the final contact angle values. Contrarily, the final developed microstructure at the interface as well as the spreading kinetics were observed as weakly dependent on the composition. From the practical point of view, Si-Ti alloy compositions with a Si-content falling in the simple eutectic region of the phase diagram might be potentially used as infiltrant materials of C- and SiC-based composites.

The purpose of the present study was to compare heart rate (HR), blood lactate and training load between different CrossFit® workouts, with equalized total volume in men and women. The study included 23 individuals (13 men and 10 women) experienced in CrossFit® training, who performed two workouts with different training types (as many reps as possible - AMRAP and for time) but equalized volume. Measurements of lactate, HR and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were performed. The results showed that there was no HR interaction between workout time and sex (p = 0.822; η2 = 0.006] and between workout type and sex (p = 0.064, η2 = 0.803). HR significantly differed during each workout type (p <0.001, η2 = 0.621), but not between the two workout types (p = 0.552, η2 = 0.017). Lactate showed no difference between the workout types (p = 0.474, η2 = 0.768), although the training load was higher (p = 0.033, η2 = 0.199) in women when they performed AMRAP. Altogether, HR was not significantly different between training types or sex, while RPE, lactate and training load showed small differences depending on the group (women or men) or workout type (AMRAP or 'for time').

The contextual and risk perception of climate change plays a critical role in an individual’s decision-making process. It could also help people to respond appropriately to the consequences of global climate change and eventually take necessary adaptation actions. However, the perceptions of climate change are often gendered and vary among men and women. Therefore, this study explores different perceptions of climate change and its local adaptation options among ultra-poor vulnerable women, particularly in highly vulnerable flood-prone regions of Bangladesh. The research followed an empirical research methodology to collect primary and secondary information using qualitative and quantitative research tools. The study findings reveal that climate change perceptions at the individual level are relatively low (63%). Still, they have been observing significant changes in various climatic variables over the past 30 years. Moreover, this study identified some major adaptation options such as plinth raising (100%), livestock rearing (100%), homestead gardening (82%), seasonal migration (82%), and using indigenous knowledge (69%), and so on to tackle the adverse impacts of climate change-induced extreme events including flooding at the local level. For implementing these adaptation measures, the respondents spent a significant amount of financial resources from individual sources in the study area. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used in addition to the statistical analyses to understand any connections between the climate change perceptions and other variables associated with the community under study. The SEM result shows that climate change will be a long–term problem, which offers a strong predictor in this model, considering standardized regression weight β= 0.56. It means, despite inadequate knowledge on climate change of the respondent’s, climate change is occurring and becoming the worst factor limiting cultural, economic, and environmental development in the study area.

In this research paper, a high gain transformer less inverter modeling which is used for the smart grid technology or as the stand alone for home appliances is proposed. The proposed transformer less topology provides a higher voltage gain, low cost, small size and simple control stand alone transformer less inverter for home appliances. The above inverter is modeled by using software which is known as MATLAB/ Simulimk.

Plasma and serum are the most widely used blood-derived biofluids for metabolomics and lipidomics assays, but the isolation of these products from blood may introduce additional bias as indicated by the fact that many analytes that are present at high concentrations in blood cells cannot be measured and evaluated in those samples. Of particular concern, variable hemolysis during the pre-processing of blood products could compromise accurate and reproducible quantification. Compared with plasma or serum, whole blood may be a better alternative due to simplicity of processing. In this study, we provide a comprehensive method for quantification of the whole blood sphingolipidome and the concentrations were compared with those from plasma. Combining a single-phase extraction method with liquid-chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (R=120, 000), assisted by alkaline hydrolysis, we were able to identify and simultaneously quantify more than 150 sphingolipids. Furthermore, most of sphingolipids remained stable after a freeze/thaw cycle. Whole blood contained a higher concentration of most sphingolipids than corresponding plasma. Moreover, individual variations in the levels of sphingolipids were lower for whole blood than plasma. These findings demonstrate that whole blood could be a better alternative to plasma, and potentially guide the evaluation of sphinglipidome for biomarker discovery.

Increasing the quality factor (Q) of an optical resonator device has been a research focus to be utilized in various applications. Higher Q-factor means light is confined in a longer time which will produce a shaper peak and higher transmission. In this paper, we introduce a novel technique to increase further the Q-factor of a one-dimensional photonic crystal (1D PhC) cavity device by using an end loop-mirror (ELM). The technique utilizes and recycles the light transmission from the conventional 1D PhC cavity design. The design has been proved to work by using the 2.5D FDTD simulation with Lumerical FDTD and MODE softwares. By using the ELM technique, the Q- factor of a 1D PhC design has been shown to have increased up to 79.53 % from the initial Q value without the ELM. This novel design technique can be combined with any high Q-factor and very high Q-factor designs to increase more the Q-factor value of a photonic crystal cavity devices or any other suitable optical resonator devices. The experimental result shows that the device is measurable by adding a Y-branch component to the one-port structure and able to get the high-Q result.

This paper presents an advanced microstructural analysis of the AlSiMg, Ti64 and N700 powders used for additive manufacturing. The internal microstructure of the regular and irregular powder grains were characterized down to atomic resolution by using scanning electron microscopy and high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy.The accretionary forms on top of the irregular AlSiMg powder grains exhibit a slightly coarse microstructure with a network of eutectic Si consisting of nano-crystallites, suggestinga slower cooling than the grain itself that contain a predominately amorphous Si network. A nm thin amorphous C layer on the surface of some Ti64 plasma atomized powder grains promoted the attachment of satellites and growth of envelopes. In case of gas atomized N700 powder grains, we identified thin oxide and carbon amorphous layers as well as metal segregations at the interface between the grain body and the accretionary forms.

The effect of rare earth Pr6O11 on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high-strength steel weld metal was investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and mechanical testing. Three different contents of Pr6O11 were added to the flux-cored wires. The results showed that the addition of 1% Pr6O11 can promote the refinement and spheroidization of inclusions, refine the grains, form acicular ferrites, and significantly improve the toughness of weld metal. The addition of Pr6O11 promoted the formation of rare earth composite inclusions and acicular ferrites in the weld metal, refined the lath microstructure, inhibited the formation of martensite and bainite. The crack formation mode changed from the boundary cracking of the bainite clusters caused by the surface shear stress to the surface shear stress-induced decohesion of inclusion. However, excessive addition of Pr6O11 will reduce the number of inclusion nucleation and deteriorate the mechanical properties. The wire No.2 with 1% Pr6O11 had the good comprehensive mechanical properties, and the corresponding values were 835MPa of tensile strength and 72 J of impact toughness. These findings suggest that the control of Pr6O11 can be an effective way to improve the impact toughness of weld metal.

The effect of Pr6O11 on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high-strength steel weld metal was investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and mechanical testing. Three different contents of Pr6O11 were added to the flux-cored wires. The results demonstrate that the addition of 1% Pr6O11 can promote the refinement and spheroidization of inclusions, refine the grains, form acicular ferrites in the weld metal, and significantly improve the toughness. The addition of Pr6O11 promoted the formation of rare earth composite inclusions and acicular ferrites in the weld metal, refined the lath microstructure, inhibited the formation of martensite and bainite. The crack formation mode changed from the boundary cracking of the bainite clusters caused by the surface shear stress to the surface shear stress-induced decohesion of inclusion. Excessive addition of Pr6O11 will reduce the number of inclusion nucleation and deteriorate the mechanical properties. The wire No.2 with 1% Pr6O11 had the good comprehensive mechanical properties.

Background: Caring for a loved one can be rewarding but also associated with substantial caregiver burden, developing mental outcomes and affecting happiness. Eventually, these physical and psychological disorders can lead to an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system. Meditation has been found to offer multiple benefits to relieve these disorders and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a four-week 16-hour presential meditation program on physiological and psychological parameters and vagal nerve activity in high-burden caregivers, comparing the results with those not receiving this program. Methods: A non-randomized repeated-measures controlled clinical trial was conducted, dividing participants between intervention and control groups by convenience allocation because random assignment was ethically inappropriate. Results: After the meditation program, the experimental group showed a significant reduction in anxiety levels (F= 24.92, p<0.001), a non-significant amelioration of depression levels (F= 1.75, p=0.19), and significantly improved heart rate variability (F= 8.40, p<0.05) and SDNN (F=15.59, p<0.05). Conclusions: Meditation can be a useful therapy to enhance the mental health and autonomic nervous system balance of informal caregivers, improving symptoms of physical and mental overload.

Marine renewable energy technologies have a great potential in supplying clean electricity to millions of people across the globe, if technical and economic conditions are in right. So far, ocean energy projects are commonly started by SMEs or educational institutions with limited budgets. Therefore, any effort to reduce expenses is of great value. One of the areas involving substantial expenses are the inevitable seabed inspection prior to deployment of marine renewable energy device. Detailed seabed inspections can also reduce the risk of associated with deployment of structures on uneven seabed, especially marine renewable energy devices with gravity foundations. By reducing the costs and risks of such surveys prior and during the installation phases, the feasibility of marine renewable energy projects can be more favoured and competitive. In this perspective, this study proposes a cost and time effective technique for seabed surveys. The proposed technique involves the use of high precision and inexpensive sonar systems and underwater optical cameras integrated into a versatile and compact subsea monitoring platform. It also involves simple and practical data acquisition and processing protocols that do not requires hi expertise for operation. The results obtained showed that high resolution bathymetric maps and detailed seabed inspections imagery can be acquired. This study concludes that a simple and inexpensive subsea monitoring platform comprising a multibeam, dual beam and video cameras can be effective for high resolution seabed inspection and bathymetric measurements for marine energy applications.

Pore Forming Toxins (PFTs), formed mainly by virulence factors of bacteria, belongs to Pore Forming Protein (PFP) family. Secreted as soluble monomers, they bind specific targets in membranes where their oligomerization and insertion place. Lysenin, a member of the PFTs, forms and oligomer after sphingomyelin binding, the so-called prepore, which become inserted forming a pore after a conformational change triggered by a pH decrease. In crowded conditions, oligomers tends to stay in prepore form because the prepore-to-pore transition is sterically blocked. In this study, we investigate the effect of calcium ions in those crowded conditions, finding that calcium act as a trigger for lysenin insertion. We localize the residues responsible for calcium sensitivity in a small α-helix. Our results are not only one of the few complete structural descriptions of prepore-to-pore transitions but the very first that involves a calcium triggering mechanism. The presence of glutamic or aspartic acids in the insertion domains could be an indication that calcium may be a general trigger for PFTs and more generally PFP.

High fat-diet (HFD) feeding is known to induce metabolic dysregulation, however less is known on its impact in promoting the hypercoagulable state. The current study aimed to evaluate platelet-monocyte aggregate (PMA) formation following short-term HFD feeding. This is particularly important for understanding the link between inflammation and the hypercoagulable state during the early onset of metabolic dysregulation. To explore such a hypothesis, mice were fed a HFD for 8 weeks, with body weights as well as insulin and blood glucose levels monitored on weekly basis during this period. Basal hematological measurements were determined and the levels of spontaneous peripheral blood PMAs were assessed using whole blood flow cytometry. The results showed that although there were no significant differences in body weights, mice on HFD displayed impaired glucose tolerance and markedly raised insulin levels. These metabolic abnormalities were accompanied by elevated baseline PMA levels as an indication of hypercoagulation. Importantly, it was evident that baseline levels of monocytes, measured using the CD14 monocyte marker were significantly decreased in HFD-fed mice when compared to controls. In summary, the current evidence shows that in addition to causing glucose intolerance, such as that identified in a prediabetic state, HFD-feeding can promote undesirable hypercoagulation, the major consequence implicated in the development of cardiovascular complications.

Sulfonated carbon was used as an efficient and reusable heterogeneous solid acid catalyst for the synthesis of biodiesel via esterification of oleic acid with methanol under high voltage conditions. Using an inexpensive and reusable catalyst, environmental benignity, excellent yields in short times, synthesis in atmospheric pressure and low temperature conditions are some of the important features of this protocol. In the final results were confirmed by GC.

The open source CFD code OpenFOAM has emerged as one of the most popular alternative to commercial CFD solvers. The recent version of OpenFOAM supports overlapping grids, so called Overset mesh. In this type of mesh, one or more sub-collection of control volumes (or cells) are allowed to overlap with other set of cells. This allows for great flexibility in modelling Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) problems. Fluid mesh can be standard structured mesh of a rectangular/cuboidal/or cylindrical domain. The structure mesh can be generated separately by creating multiple layers around a given body. The overset mesh functionality allows for overlapping or immersing this structured mesh inside the fluid mesh and a relevant FSI or moving dynamics problems can be solved. The idea of overset mesh has been around since eighties but its support in OpenFOAM is very recent. Most CFD codes which support overset mesh have either been in-house or commercial CFD codes. OpenFOAM's support for overset is the first major open source code resource available for CFD problems. The aim of this research is to solve a classical benchmark airfoil problem using OpenFOAM overset mesh and compare the numerical results with experimental result. We report here flow simulations results around NACA 0018. The result obtained from overset mesh compares convincingly well with experimental results. Computations have been carried out for Reynolds numbers in the range of 10⁵ with angle of attack ranging from α= 5 degree to α= 30 degree with an interval of 5 degree. Turbulence is incorporated using k - ε turbulence model. This study helps developing confidence in using OpenFOAM overset support for more complicated flows and moving dynamics. This report is complemented with a brief description of finite volume discretization using overset mesh.

Currently the rapid growth of global economy has the competition among high-tech industries develop from regional to global, and the competition becomes fierce. In face of such fierce competition in global high-tech industry, it is realized that tangible assets could no longer be the differentiation basis, but intangible assets are regarded as the differentiation capital. An enterprise with sustainable innovation would dominate the world market and enhance the international competitiveness of domestic economy. When internal entrepreneurial culture is prevalent, an enterprise would naturally promote the innovation capability. Such a point of view also explains more popular of the innovative products or services of some enterprises than those with larger scales. Aiming at employees in high-tech industry in Guanxi Province, total 500 copies of questionnaire are randomly distributed, and 337 valid copies are retrieved, with the retrieval rate 67%. The research results reveal significantly positive correlations between 1.entrepreneurial culture and sustainable innovation capability, 2.sustainable innovation capability and patent, and 3.entrepreneurial culture and patent. According to the results, suggestions are proposed, expecting to explain how a high-tech business outperforms in the changeable digital era and acquires the sustainable innovation capability and patent to grasp the opportunity.

The Gleeble-1500D thermal simulation test machine was used to conduct the isothermal compression test on 21-4N at the strain rate ( ) of 0.01-10s-1, the deformation temperature (T) of 1273-1453K and the maximum deformation is 0.916. The data of the stress-strain ( - )were obtained. Based on the - data, the Johnson-Cook (J-C), modified J-C, Arrhenius and Back-Propagation Artificial Neural Network (BP-ANN) models were established. The accuracy of four models were verified, analyzed and compared. The results show that J-C model has a higher accuracy only under reference deformation conditions. When the deformation condition changes greatly, the accuracy of J-C model is significantly reduced. The coupling effect of T and of modified J-C model is considered, and the prediction accuracy is greatly improved The Arrhenius model introduces Zener-Hollomon (Z) to represent the coupling effect of T and , it has a fairly high prediction accuracy. And it can predict flow stress ( ) accurately at different conditions. The accuracy of BP-ANN model is the highest, but its learning rate is low, the learning and memory are unstable. It has no memory for the weights and thresholds of the completed training. So, there are certain limitations of it in use. Finally, a FEM of the isothermal compression experiment for four models were established, and the distribution of the equivalent stress field, equivalent strain field and temperature field with the deformation degree of 60% were obtained.

_{Superconducting foams of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ (YBCO) are proposed as trapped field magnets or supermagnets. The foams with an open-porous structure are light-weight, mechanically strong and can be prepared in large sample sizes. The trapped field distributions were measured using a scanning Hall probe on various sides of an YBCO foam sample after field-cooling in a magnetic field of 0.5 T produced by a square Nd-Fe-B permanent magnet. The maximum trapped field (TF) measured is about 400 G (77 K) at the bottom of the sample. Several details of the TF distribution, the current flow and possible applicatons of such superconducting foam samples in space applications, e.g., as active elements in flux-pinning docking interfaces (FPDI) or as portable strong magnets to collect debris in space, are outlined.}

Geologists employ high-spatial-resolution (HR) remote sensing (RS) data for many diverse applications as they effectively reflect detailed geological information, enabling high-quality and efficient geological surveys. Applications of HR RS data to geological and related fields have grown recently. By analyzing these applications, we can better understand the results of previous studies and more effectively use the latest data and methods to efficiently extract key geological information. HR optical remote sensing data are widely used in geological hazard assessment, seismic monitoring, mineral exploitation, glacier monitoring, and mineral information extraction due to high accuracy and clear object features. Compared with optical satellite images, synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) images are stereoscopic and exhibit clear relief, strong performance, and good detection of terrain, landforms, and other information. SAR images have been applied to seismic mechanism research, volcanic monitoring, topographic deformation, and fault analysis. Furthermore, a multi-standard maturity analysis of the geological applications of HR images using literature from the Science Citation Index reveals that optical remote sensing data are superior to radar data for mining, geological disaster, lithologic, and volcanic applications, but inferior for earthquake, glacial, and fault applications. Therefore, geological remote sensing research needs to be truly multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary, ensuring more detailed and efficient surveys through cross-linking with other disciplines. Moreover, the recent application of deep learning technology to remote sensing data extraction has improved automatic processing and data analysis capabilities.

Intercropping significantly improves land use efficiency and soil fertility. This study examines the impact of three cultivation systems (monoculture sugarcane, peanut-sugarcane and soybean-sugarcane intercropping) on soil properties and diazotrophs. Sugarcane rhizosphere soil was sampled from the farmers’ field. Soil properties and nifH gene abundance were analyzed by high throughput sequencing. Moreover, a total of 436,458 nifH gene sequences were obtained and classified into the 3201 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Maximum unique OTUs resulted with soybean-sugarcane intercropping (<375). The dominant groups across all cultivation were Alpha-proteobacteria and Beta-proteobacteria. On the basis of microbial community structure, intercropping systems were more diverse than monoculture sugarcane. In the genus level, Bradyrhizobium, Burkholderia, Pelomonas, and Sphingomonas were predominant in the intercropping systems. Moreover, diazotrophic bacterial communities of these cultivation systems were positively correlated to the soil pH and soil enzyme protease. Moreover, low available P recovered from intercropping system showed a strong correlation with higher nutrient uptake activity of soil microbes. Based on the results, our investigation concluded that intercropping system caused a positive effect on the growth of diazotrophic bacterial communities and it might boost the soil fertility and this kind of study helps to develop an eco-friendly technology for sustainable sugarcane production.

A critical discussion on the computation of the dispersion diagram in periodic one-dimensional guiding structures is carried out. In particular, an analysis is presented of the pros and cons of combined methods that make use of full-wave simulations done with commercial software packages with further analytical post-processing based on simplifications brought by an equivalent circuit model of the structure. Some of the most common methods reported in the literature are reviewed and their advantanges and limitations highlighted. Our discussion is complemented with several selected numerical examples in order to discuss the most relevant aspects that a potential user of these methods should be aware of. Special attention is paid to the relevant role played by the high-order coupling between the two halves of a symmetric unit cell of the periodic structure.

Novel high energy density materials N14 (1,6-dihydro-1,2,3,3a,4,5,5a,6,7,8,8a,9,10,10a-tetradecazapyrene) and N18 (1,2,2a,3,4,4a,5,6,6a,7,8,8a,9,10,10a,11,12a-octadecazacoronene) were designed, and their structures, detonation performance and stabilities were calculated employing density functional theory (DFT). Calculations reveals that they have a good balance between high energy and stability. Their energy gaps between LUMO and HOMO are all lower than that of TATB, while their impact sensitivity h_50% is estimated close to that of RDX. Concerning energy, detonation performance of the N14 (P = 43.6 GPa, D = 10040 m/s, Q = 2214 cal/g) and the N18 (P = 37.4 GPa, D = 9400 m/s, Q = 2114 cal/g) are comparable to CL-20.

Obesity and metabolic disorders can be risk factors for the onset and development of neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effects on dysmetabolism and neurodegeneration of a natural dietary supplement (NDS), containing Curcuma longa, silymarin, guggul, chlorogenic acid and inulin, on the brains of high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. A decreased expression of FACL-4, CerS-1 and CerS-4, reduced cholesterol concentration, increased IR expression and insulin signaling activation, were found in brains of NDS-treated HFD mice, suggesting that NDS is able to prevent brain lipid accumulation and central insulin resistance. In the brains of NDS-treated HFD mice, the levels of RNS, ROS and lipid peroxidation, the expression of p-ERK, H-Oxy, i-NOS, HSP60, NF-kB, GFAP, IL-1β, IL-6, and CD4 positive cell infiltration were lower than in untreated HFD mice, suggesting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of NDS. The decreased expression of p-ERK and GFAP in NDS-treated HFD mice was confirmed by immunofluorescence. Lastly, a lower number of apoptotic nuclei was found in cortical sections of NDS-treated HFD. All these data indicate that NDS exerts neuroprotective effects in HFD mice by reducing brain fat accumulation, oxidative stress and inflammation and improving brain insulin resistance.

Rockburst is a hazardous phenomenon in deep tunnels influenced by geological structural planes like faults, joints, and shear planes. Small-scale shear-plane-like structures have damaging impact on the boundaries of the tunnel, which accumulate high stresses. Such a shear plane was exposed in the side wall of the right headrace tunnel in the Neelum-Jehlum Hydropower Project. This project is constructed in the tectonically active Himalayas with high stress conditions. A shear plane combined with high stress conditions is very dangerous in deep excavations. The influence of a shear zone on rockburst occurrence near a tunnel is studied. The FLAC3D explicit code simulated the shear zone in the right tunnel, revealing that the stresses are concentrated near the shear zone, with no stress concentration in the left tunnel, which has neither shear zone nor rockburst. Rock mass was displaced near this shear zone even before excavation. Modeling results confirm that the side wall shear zone of the tunnel has a major influence on rockburst occurrence. A shear slip along this plane released huge amounts of energy, causing human fatalities and property damage. A numerical simulation validates the actual conditions and helps us understand the phenomenon of stress concentration near the shear zone and its impact during deep tunneling.

Fibrillin (FBN) is a plastid lipid-associated protein found in photosynthetic organisms from cyanobacteria to plants. In this study, 10 CsaFBN genes were identified in genomic DNA sequences of cucumber (Chinese long and Gy14) through database searches using the conserved domain of FBN and the 14 FBN genes of Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis of CsaFBN protein sequences showed that there was no counterpart of Arabidopsis and rice FBN5 in the cucumber genome. FBN5 is essential for growth in Arabidopsis and rice; its absence in cucumber may be because of incomplete genome sequences or that another FBN carries out its functions. Among the 10 CsaFBN genes, CsaFBN1 and CsaFBN9 were the most divergent in terms of nucleotide sequences. Most of the CsaFBN genes were expressed in the leaf, stem, and fruit. CsaFBN4 showed the highest mRNA expression levels in various tissues, followed by CsaFBN6, CsaFBN1, and CsaFBN9. High-light stress combined with low temperature decreased photosynthetic efficiency and highly induced transcript levels of CsaFBN1, CsaFBN6, and CsaFBN11, which decreased after 24 h treatment. Transcript levels of the other seven genes were changed only slightly. This result suggests that CsaFBN1, CsaFBN6, and CsaFBN11 may be involved in photoprotection under high-light conditions at low temperature.

The effects of psychological pressure on perceiving the height of a jump bar just before starting a high jump run was investigated. University students (N = 14) training for a high jump event performed 15 trials (3 practice, 6 pressure, and 6 non-pressure) in counterbalanced order in their daily practice environment. The height of the bar was judged as significantly higher on pressure trials compared to non-pressure trials. A regression analysis indicated that participants who reported increased subjective perceived pressure tended to judge the bar to be higher. There was no significant difference between pressure and non-pressure trials for the performance index, defined as the success rate. This study provides the first evidence that environmental perceptions prior to executing a motor task under pressure may make performance of the task appear to be more difficult.

The article reveals distinctive features of the interaction between architectural and structural solutions for the design of tall buildings as well as spotlights the most distinctive cases of expression. In the contemporary world, interaction is turning into the antithesis of the formerly dominant utilitarian attitude and standardization of tall buildings architectural solutions. Meanwhile, the search for rational structural solutions leads to new possibilities of architectural expression. This necessitates the transformation of a structural solution and its adaptation to the need of a modern architect to be exceptional and noticed. Interaction covers the current as well as retrospective and perspective periods. SWOT analysis was used by the authors of the article to assess the interaction between architectural and structural solutions in tall buildings design, select the most important criteria that could be used searching for rational architectural and structural solutions in future by applying multi-criteria decision making methods.

High temperature Ni-superalloys are limited by reliance on critical elements and complex processing steps. High entropy alloys (HEAs) have demonstrated stable single/dual phase microstructures with strong ordering tendencies. A dual phase (FCC+BCC) Al0.5Co0.5CrFeNi1.5Ti0.25 alloy (developed using CALPHAD) was tested for room and high temperature compression behavior. The microstructure mainly comprises of coarse ordered FCC(L12) surrounding decomposed lamellae of ordered FCC(L12) and BCC(L21) phases, which coarsened upon annealing at high temperature (1100 °C) into a bi-continuous structure of disordered FCC+BCC(B2). Additionally, cold rollability of the cast alloy increased from &lt;5% to ~40% after annealing, with a corresponding softening observed in room temperature compression mainly due to disordering of FCC and BCC phases. Peak flow stresses of 793.45MPa, 535.12MPa, and 324.40MPa were achieved at 800oC, 900oC, and 1000oC respectively for the high temperature annealed alloy.

This paper analyses the viability of different solutions to passively augment the axial stiffness of a horizontal axis radial levitation passive magnetic bearing (PMB) with topology previously studied. The zero-field cooling (ZFC) of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) bulks promotes higher magnetic impulsion and levitation forces and lower electromagnetic losses than with the field-cooling (FC), but on the other hand, the guiding stability is much lower than with FC. Because of stability reasons, FC was adopted in most superconducting maglev systems. The trend of this research group has been to develop an HTS ZFC horizontal axis radial levitation PMB presenting notable levitation forces with reduced electromagnetic losses, defined by a topology that creates guiding stability. Previous work has shown that even optimizing the bearing geometry to maximize magnetic guidance forces, could not be enough to guarantee the axial stiffness required for many applications. First, the extent to which guidance forces are augmented by increasing the number of HTS bulks in the stator is evaluated. Then, the axial stiffness augmentation by passively adding two limiting permanent magnet (PM) rings is evaluated. Results show that the axial stiffness is highly augmented by adding limiting PM rings with no significant additional investment. This change enables using the studied ZFC superconducting PMB in high-precision axial stability applications, such as precision gyroscopes, horizontal axis propellers and turbines.

High-frequency circuit performance is significantly impacted by impedance variations, particularly within the low-resistance regime. Traditional Ohm’s Law based modeling approaches often fail to accurately predict circuit behavior in these conditions, leading to design inaccuracies and potential system failures. The Standard Ohm’s Law based model’s prediction of infinite current as resistance approaches zero is physically unrealistic and hinders its application in practical scenarios. Despite the recognition of these limitations, existing models have not comprehensively addressed the complex impedance behavior observed in high-frequency circuits. To overcome these challenges, this paper introduces a modified version of the Ohm’s Law incorporating an exponential correction term. The Modified Ohm’s Law’s accuracy was evaluated through simulated experiments across a wide frequency range (1kHz to 1GHz) using various electronic components. The findings demonstrate the superior performance of the modified model in predicting currents under low-resistance and high-current conditions compared to the Standard Ohm’s Law model. By providing finite and accurate current values, the proposed model effectively mitigates the unrealistic infinite current predictions of the standard approach. The enhanced predictive capabilities of the Modified Ohm’s Law hold significant implications for high-frequency circuit design and analysis. Its application can lead to improved performance and reliability in power electronics, telecommunications, and other high-frequency systems. By incorporating non-linear impedance behavior, the model offers a more accurate representation of real-world circuit conditions. Future research should focus on refining the exponential term’s parameters to optimize the model's accuracy across a broader range of applications. Additionally, real-time implementation and hardware validation are essential to assess the model's practical utility in complex circuit environments.

Today electricity is distributed to the individual users via physical Copper connections. From the power stations, the energy is transported through transmission lines where the electricity, sinusoidally modulated at a fixed frequency of about 50 Hz, is raised up to a voltage in a range approximately variating between 30, and 110 kV. When electrons, aligned at this voltage, pass through the transmission lines, they cause coherent vibrations, sometimes even audible in the acoustic frequencies. In the spectrum of movements to which electric cables are subjected, there are also unexpected and sporadic movements caused by winds and rain. The problem of carrying out persistent, precise and spatially distributed monitoring of transmission line health is to use a large number of sensors physically distributed everywhere and somehow transmit the results to a control station. The use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data could be a viable solution of persistent and wide-area high-voltage vibration monitoring. In this paper we produce a comprehensive survey on how to monitor both movements in terms of vibrational displacement, due to weathering, and those due to electricity transmission, normally fixed at about 50 Hz. The results demonstrate the technical feasibility of an operational use of SAR for these purposes in the very short term. This would allow the possibility of monitoring malfunctions such as black-outs or other frequency anomalies.

When the power converter connected to the high-frequency transformer breaks through the bottleneck and reaches a frequency of 100kHz or even higher, the high-frequency transformer's inter-turn insulation faces more serious high-frequency discharge and high temperature problems. In order to improve the service performance of oil-immersed high-frequency transformer insulation paper, composite K-BNNSs particles are prepared by ultrasonic stripping, heat treatment and thermomagnetic stirring. Then, K-BNNSs particles are mixed with PMIA slurry to produce composite aramid paper. And the effects of K-BNNSs particles with different contents on the thermal conductivity, dielectric properties, partial discharge properties and mechanical properties of aramid paper are explored. It can be found that when the addition of composite particles (K-BNNSs) is 10%, the comprehensive performance of composite aramid paper is the best. Compared with Nomex paper, the in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivity of composite insulating paper F-10 is increased by 668.33% and 760.66% respectively. Besides, the high-frequency breakdown voltage is increased by 48.73% and the tensile strength is increased by 2.49%. The main reason is that the composite particles form a complete thermal conductive network in the aramid paper matrix and a large number of hydrogen bonds with the matrix, which enhances the internal interface bonding force of the material and changes the charge transport mechanism.

The increasing deployment of large-scale wind turbines in place of conventional generators is expected to lead to the dominance of asynchronous power sources in future power systems, further accelerating the trend toward grid electrification. As a result, the ability of power sources to support system voltage and frequency is gradually diminishing. Synchronous condensers (SC), which are synchronous machines operating without prime movers, serve as effective devices for providing both dynamic voltage support and inertia. They can significantly enhance the system’s capacity to maintain voltage and frequency stability. However, most existing studies on the optimization of synchronous condenser configurations tend to focus on only one aspect at a time, rather than addressing both simultaneously, limiting the full potential of these devices. Optimizing either voltage or frequency in isolation often results in suboptimal improvements in the other. Moreover, simultaneous optimization of both voltage and frequency can lead to non-convergent outcomes, complicating the search for an optimal solution. To address this, the paper proposes a hierarchical optimization strategy for synchronous condenser configuration aimed at enhancing both voltage and frequency stability. First, the configuration sites for the synchronous condensers are determined based on short-circuit ratio (SCR) constraints. Next, an outer layer optimization model is developed to minimize the total installed capacity of the condensers, while taking into account SCR and transient overvoltage levels as constraints. Following this, an inner layer optimization model is introduced, incorporating and as constraints. The model is solved using the bacterial foraging optimization algorithm (BFOA). Finally, a case study of a power grid with a high proportion of wind power validates the effectiveness of the proposed synchronous condenser configuration strategy. Compared to traditional methods, the total required capacity of synchronous condensers was significantly reduced.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating disease whose etiology is currently unknown. This paper presents a novel theory in which ALS is caused by an impairment of the alpha2de;ta subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs), most likely due to autoimmune targeting. I show how the impairment mechanistically induces chronic calcium, which in turn explains the major clinical, epidemiological, and pathological evidence known about the disease. The same theory explains the major variant of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) that greatly overlaps with ALS.

To explore cast HEAs reinforcement by MC carbides three equimolar CoNiFeCrC alloys without or with Carbon and either hafnium or tantalum were investigated. Their microstructures were specified and tests at 1100°C in oxidation by air and flexural creep tests were carried out. The HEAbase was single–phased. The HEAhfc and HEAtac contained eutectic script HfC and TaC carbides respectively, in the interdendritic spaces. After oxidation for 50h at 1100°C all alloys were covered by a (Cr,Mn)2O3 scale with various proportions in Cr and Mn. HfO2 or CrTaO4 also formed. The subsurface was depleted in Cr and especially in Mn. The HEAbase alloy deformed quickly. The MC carbides greatly improved the creep resistance, and divided deformation by five to ten times.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is widely used in team sports, particularly in soccer. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a short-term, progressive- load HIIT program on the performance of under-15 soccer players. The sample consisted of 30 adolescent soccer players, aged 14, who were randomly divided into two groups: the control group (CG, n=15) and the intervention group (EX, n=15), which performed additional HIIT sessions. The duration of the training program was six weeks, with progressive overload applied every two weeks. Performance indicators, including speed over 10 and 30 meters, change of direction (COD) to the right and left (505 right and left), maximal oxygen uptake (30-15IFT), and repeated sprint ability (RSA) (RSAtotal, RSAmean, RSAdecrement), were measured before and after the training program. Significant improvement were observed in the intervention group in COD (505 right and left), 30-15IFT, and RSAtotal and RSAmean (p=0.027, p=0.005, p=0, p=0.015, p=0.031, p=0.028, respectively). The findings of the present study suggest that a short-term, progressively overloaded HIIT program can enhance direction change ability, aerobic capacity, and repeated sprint performance.

Real-time simulation of toxic gas dispersion is critical for emergency management in high-sulphur gas fields. The CALPUFF (California Puff model) gas dispersion model, a Lagrangian Gaussian Puff model, is often used in mountainous environments due to its ability to handle complex terrain and weather conditions. Verifying the accuracy of toxic gas dispersion simulations under mountainous conditions is vital for emergency response and rescue. In this article, CALPUFF and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) gas dispersion modeling are compared, studying emissions from a hypothetical pipeline breakout accident in a mountainous area, focusing on range of Semi-Lethal Concentration (LC$_{50}$), Immediate Danger to Life and Health Concentration(IDLH). Thirteen groups of simulation conditions are set up for the experiment, including static wind and winds from the east(E), south(S), west(W), and north(N) at speeds of 1, 2, and 3$m/s$. Comparative experiments between CALPUFF and CFD models show consistent results, confirming the feasibility of CALPUFF for near-field moutainous applications. The overall dispersion range deviation between two methods under calm or light wind of N, E and W is about 300$m$. However,the simulation results of the CALPUFF model and the CFD model show significant differences in S wind. In CALPUFF simulation that the toxic gases are channeled by the valleys, while in the CFD model the toxic gases climb over the mountain top and continue to spread and extend towards the northern valley. The evaluation of CALPUFF’s suitability for applications in near-field mountainous environments indicates its potential use for high-sulfur gas fields and gas dispersion simulations in emergency scenarios.

Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEAs) are emerging as promising candidates for various applica-tions in robotics and optical devices due to their lightweight, miniaturization potential, high en-ergy density, simple structure, and low power consumption. However, their effective actuation always demands sophisticated high-voltage driving circuits that are compact and responsive. DEAs need to be capable of generating intricate high-voltage waveforms or simultaneously con-trolling multiple channels with distinct high-voltage levels. This paper proposes a high-voltage power supply for DEAs, featuring a four-channel high-voltage driving circuit. The circuit is ca-pable of independently generating high-voltage signals ranging from 100 V to 6000 V and can be programmed to produce arbitrary waveforms with adjustable frequencies. The independent op-eration of channels without crosstalk showcases the system's integration and potential for cross-disciplinary applications.

Fungi play important roles in the process of material cycling and energy transfers in aquatic ecosystems. Yet little is known about the fungal community in lake sediment. In this study, sediment samples from five habitat types in Baiyangdian Lake (BYD Lake) were collected across three seasons. High-throughput sequencing techniques were used to determine the compositions of fungal communities. Fungi are highly diverse in the sediment of BYD Lake, although some important fungi have not been accurately identified. The fungal diversity was highest in winter and lowest in summer, while the variations of species richness among sampling sites were not significant. The compositions of fungal community differed among seasons and habitats. Physicochemical properties of sediments were measured and the influence of the environmental factors on fungal communities were analyzed. Temperature, P, N, and heavy metals explained 48.98% of the variations of fungal communities across three seasons. Human activities have affected the species and biomass of fungi to some extent. Temperature is the most influential factor and is negative to fungal diversity. Nutrient element in different forms have different effects on shaping the fungal community. The effect of heavy metals is not clear.

As waterflooding multi-layer reservoirs get into the high-water-cut stage, inter-layer conflicts become increasingly serious, leading to a worsening development effect over time. Production layers regroup is an effective approach for resolving inter-layer conflicts and improving waterflooding efficiency. At the current stage, there are limitations for most of the methods of production layers regroup. This article proposes a smart method for optimizing the layer regroup plan based on genetic algorithm. Comprehensively considering various factors that affect the regroup of layers, based on the combination principle of "smaller intra-group variance and larger inter-group variance of each influencing factor are expected ", genetic algorithm is used to calculate the fitness value of the initial combination schemes, the advantageous schemes with higher fitness values are selected as the basis of the next generation. Then crossover and mutation operations are performed to those advantageous schemes to generate new schemes. Through continuous selection and evolution, until the global optimal solution with the highest fitness value is found, the optimal combination scheme is determined. Comparative analysis with numerical simulation results demonstrates the reliability of this intelligent method, with an increased oil recovery of 4.34% for the sample reservoir. Unlike selecting a preferable plan from a limited number of predefined combination schemes, this method is an automatic optimization to solve the optimal solution of the problem. It improves both efficiency and accuracy as compared to conventional reservoir engineering methods, numerical simulation methods and most of the mathematical methods, thus could provide effective guidance for EOR strategies of waterflooding reservoirs in high-water-cut stage.

Background: This study investigated the effect of indirect air-cooling on the variation in intrapulpal temperature (ΔT) during different light-curing protocols of bulk-fill resin composites in molars with class V cavities. Methods: A nonretentive class V cavity was prepared in an upper molar. The intrapulpal temperature changes with and without air-cooling were recorded with type K thermocouple. The cavity was restored with bulk-fill resin composites: Tetric PowerFlow and Filtek Bulk-Fill Flow. The tooth was exposed to different light-curing protocols (n=5) using the Valo Grand light-curing unit: (i) high-intensity light-curing of 3200 mW/cm² (3 and 6 s) and (ii) moderate-intensity light-curing of 1000 mW/cm² (10 and 20 s). The ΔT data were subjected to two-way ANOVA, followed by Bonferroni post hoc test. Results: A significant increase in temperature was observed with the use of the high-intensity light-curing resin composite without indirect air-cooling. In addition, the application of air-cooling significantly decreased the temperature in all the groups except for the Tetric PowerFlow bulk-fill resin composite at 3 s of light-curing. Conclusion: Indirect air-cooling resulted in a lower increase in intrapulpal temperature during the light-curing of bulk-fill resin composites, making it an effective alternative for controlling the temperature rise in class V restorations with 1 mm of remaining dentin.

Chronic stress, culminating in burnout, evolves gradually and is notoriously difficult to detect due to vague symptoms and individuals' hesitance to acknowledge their struggles. To expedite the identification and recognition of this condition, enabling timely psychological intervention, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly considered. This research does not assert the feasibility of an AI system managing all aspects of chronic stress's impact. However, it highlights the capability of current technology to detect stress indicators based on quantifiable data like Heart Rate (HR) and organizational climate dimensions. Although other physiological markers such as oximetry, skin galvanic response, and EKG have been explored, they have not shown reliable differentiation between stress and joy. Focused on the unique context of school principals in the Bedouin regions of Israel, this study investigates the interplay between HR, organizational climate, and stress levels. It introduces a novel application of a fuzzy logic tool that combines HR and organizational climate metrics to aid in stress diagnosis. This tool incorporates the psychologist's expertise to provide real-time data crucial for developing effective coping strategies. While the AI-supported fuzzy system does not replace professional psychological intervention, it significantly enhances the speed of condition identification and intervention planning, thus shortening the response time to stress-related issues in educational leadership within culturally specific settings. The application of such AI-driven tools is pivotal for sustaining the well-being and effectiveness of educational leaders, thereby supporting the broader goal of educational sustainability.

A high-gain broadband circularly polarized crossed dipole antenna is designed. This antenna utilizes two pairs of cross dipoles and a pair of phase delay lines to form circularly polarized radiation. Open-circuit stubs are loaded on the four arms of these two pairs of cross dipoles to introduce new circularly polarized resonating frequency. A rectangular ring patch is introduced directly below the cross dipoles to form the third circularly polarized resonating frequency, thereby broadening the axial ratio bandwidth of the antenna. In addition, metal posts are loaded at the four right angles of the rectangular ring patch to increase the antenna gain. Measurement results show that the antenna achieves a 3dB axial ratio bandwidth of 29.2% (1.9 GHz-2.55 GHz) and maintains a gain of 7.5 dB within the passband, exhibiting good circularly polarized radiation performance.

Background/Objectives: Encouraging results reported of Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment for knee osteoarthritis (KOA). The present retrospective study reports the efficacy and safety of a high dose of neutrophile and red blood cell-depleted PRP to treat 212 patients with KOA. Methods: 212 consecutive patients diagnosed with Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grading 1-3 KOA chronic knee pain for at least 1 year were treated with 3 injections at 15-day intervals with a high dose of neutrophil-depleted PRP (4 billion platelets). Clinical outcomes were retrospectively recorded as a percentage of responders at 3,6, and 12-month follow-up, following the OMERACT-OARSI criteria. Pain through VAS score and WOMAC score have also been recorded. Results: 4ml of PRP containing 4X109 platelets were obtained by single spin centrifugation and injected intra-articular into each patient with no pre-activation. The overall responder rate of patients responding to OMERACT-OARSI criteria at 3,6,12 months was 68.9%, 72,7% and 70,6%. There was a significant improvement in VAS and WOMAC scores at 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-up compared to the pre-treatment value (p&lt; 0.01). The lowest VAS score was observed at 6 months overall and in all three-grade KL groups. KL2 groups showed the best results regarding pain reduction and WOMAC score at 6 months (p&lt; 0.01). Conclusions: a high dose of neutrophil-depleted PRP is an effective treatment for KL1-3 KOA. It provides symptomatic relief, can potentially reduce disease progression, and has sustained effects for up to 12 months.

Aiming at the problems of inaccurate segmentation of long object and information loss of small object in real-time semantic segmentation algorithm, this paper proposes a lightweight multi-branch real-time semantic segmentation network based on BiseNetV2. The new auxiliary branch makes full use of spatial details and context information to cover the long object in the field of view. Meanwhile, in order to ensure the inference speed of the model, the asymmetric convolution is used in each stage of the auxiliary branch to design a structure with low computational complexity. In the multi-branch fusion stage, the alignment and fusion module is designed to provide guidance information for deep and shallow feature mapping, so as to make up for the problem of feature misalignment in the fusion of information at different scales, and thus reduce the loss of small target information. In order to further improve the model’s awareness of key information, a global context module is designed to capture the most important features in the input data. The proposed network uses NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU experiment, on the road street view data set Cityscapes and CamVid average occurring simultaneously ratio reached 77.1% and 78.4% respectively, with running speed of 127 frames/s respectively and 112 frames/s. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve real-time segmentation and improve the accuracy significantly, showing good semantic segmentation performance

Utilizing deep learning for semantic segmentation of cropland from remote sensing imagery has become a crucial technique in land surveys. Cropland illustrates diverse morphologies and degrees of fragmentation on the Earth’s surface, underscoring the importance of accurately perceiving the complex boundaries of cropland which are crucial for effective segmentation. This paper introduces a UNet-like boundary-aware compensation model BAFormer. Cropland boundaries typically exhibit rapid transformations in pixel values and texture features, often appearing as high-frequency features in remote-sensing images. To enhance the recognition of these high-frequency features as represented by cropland boundaries, the proposed BAFormer integrates a Feature Adaptive Mixer (FAM) and develops a Deep Wide Large Kernel Multi-Layer Perceptron (DWLK-MLP) to enrich the global and local cropland boundaries features separately. Specifically, FAM adaptively mixes high-frequency and low-frequency features through the advantages of convolution and self-attention; DWLK-MLP expands the convolutional receptive field by deeply decomposing large kernel convolutions. The efficacy of BAFormer has been evaluated on the Vaihingen, Potsdam, and LoveDA public datasets, as well as the Mapcup dataset. It has demonstrated advanced performance, achieving mIoU scores of 84.5%, 87.3%, 53.5%, and 83.1% on these datasets respectively. Notably, BAFormer-T, the lightweight iteration of the model, surpasses other lightweight models on the Vaihingen dataset with scores of 91.3% F1 and 84.1% mIoU. The source code is available at https://github.com/WangYouM1999/BAFormer.

The extensive metabolic diversity of microalgae, coupled with their rapid growth rates and cost-effective production, position these organisms as highly promising resources for a wide range of biotechnological applications. These characteristics allow microalgae to address crucial needs in both the agricultural, medical, and industrial sectors. Microalgae are proving to be val-uable in various fields, including the remediation of diverse wastewater types, the production of biofuels and biofertilizers, and the extraction of various products from their biomass. For decades, the microalga Chlamydomonas has been widely used as a fundamental research model organism in various areas such as photosynthesis, respiration, sulfur and phosphorus metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, and flagella synthesis, among others. However, in recent years, the potential of Chlamydomonas as a biotechnological tool for bioremediation, biofertilization, biomass, and bio-products production has been increasingly recognized. Bioremediation of wastewater using Chlamydomonas presents significant potential for sustainable reduction of contaminants and fa-cilitates resource recovery and valorization of microalgal biomass, offering important economic benefits. Chlamydomonas has also established itself as a platform for the production of a wide va-riety of biotechnologically interesting products, such as different types of biofuels, and high-value-added products. The aim of this review is to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the potential of Chlamydomonas in these aspects, and to explore their interrelationship, which would offer significant environmental and biotechnological advantages.

Previous studies show that women with a history of high-grade CIN have a greater risk of subsequent high-grade anogenital intraepithelial neoplasia or cancer, and the risk is greater for vaginal cancer than for anal and vulvar cancers. It is hypothesized that the laparoscopic hysterectomy procedure may cause a higher incidence of VaIN in hysterectomized women. There are few studies addressing this issue and they show mixed results. This study aimed to investigate the incidence of high-grade or worse VaIN in the population of women undergoing hysterectomy for CIN3 or benign uterine disease, illustrate treatment options and follow-up. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 170 women who underwent laparoscopic hysterectomy for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN3) or benign gynecological disease. The follow-up strategy included performing a cotest and colposcopy with biopsy if necessary. The median time between primary treatment and diagnosis of high-grade VaIN was 18 months. Results: High grade or worse VaIN was found in 8 patients after hysterectomy (4.7%). All cases of high-grade VaIN occurred in women with persistent HPV infection. The most frequent genotype was 16. Women hysterectomized for CIN3 showed an 8-fold greater risk than women hysterectomized for benign disease of developing high-grade VaIN. The risk of VaIN is low in women hysterectomized for benign disease. The risk of developing VaIN is greater in women with viral persistence Conclusion. All these elements suggest that it is the history of HPV-related disease of the lower genital tract and viral persistence, rather than hysterectomy itself, that should be considered a risk factor for the development of high-grade VaIN. After hysterectomy, patients with a history of CIN should undergo annual screening with vaginal dome cytology and HPV testing.

Thermal expansion of four alkaline-earth borates, namely Ca3B2O6 (0D), CaB2O4 (1D), Sr3B14O24 (2D) and CaB4O7 (3D), have been studied by in situ high-temperature powder X-ray diffraction (HTXRD). Strong anisotropy of thermal expansion is observed for the structures of Ca3B2O6 (0D) and CaB2O4 (1D) built up from BO3 triangles only: these borates exhibit the maximal expansion perpendicular to the BO3 plane, i.e. along the direction of weaker bonding in the crystal structure. Layered Sr3B14O24 (2D) and framework CaB4O7 (3D) built up from various B-O groups expand less anisotropically. Thermal properties of the studied compounds compared to the other alka-line-earth borates are summarized depending on the selected structural characteristics like anion dimensionality, residual charge per one polyhedron (BO3 BO4), cationic size, and structural com-plexity. For the first time these dependencies were established as an average for both types of polyhedra (triangle and tetrahedron) occurring in the same structure at the same time. The most common trends were identified for : (i) Melting temperature decreases as the dimensionality of the borate polyanion, and more precisely, as the residual charge per one polyhedron (triangle or tetrahedron) decreases; (ii) volumetric expansion decreases while the degree of anisotropy in-creases weakly when the residual charge decreases; (iii)both trends (i) and (ii) are most steady within borates built by the triangles only, while the borates built by both triangles and tetrahedra show a larger scatter in values.

The growing interest in benchtop NMR systems is visible in a vast number of applications in science and industry. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) became an instant in technologies that productions are dependent on the reliable structure identification, grade and purity control, chemical process inspection or reaction monitoring. Beyond the benefits of being cost-, space-, maintenance- and user friendly, insufficient sensitivity and low signal resolution are the main drawbacks, due to which the low-field NMR (LF-NMR) in the fields of organic chemistry and synthesis remains limited to solely academic teaching purposes. Herein, we discuss the possibilities of LF-NMR for the needs of organic chemistry and synthesis on a set of compounds 1-4 achieved as the products of student’s laboratory course and organic derivatives 5-8 that are from our research interests. Chemical structure determination of all compounds 1-8 presented herein was performed using the benchtop-type NMR instrument operating at 60 MHz (Pulsar Oxford Ltd.). Structure of novel compounds 5-7 prepared under the aims of our research was characterized by combined 1H/19LF-NMR and compared with an appropriate high-field NMR data from Bruker Ascend Instrument (400 MHz). Finally, possibilities of the low-field NMR as an analytical tool for the research purposes in the fields of organic chemistry and synthesis are documented on a set of 1H and 2D 1H-1H COSY for azomethine 8.

High pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b continues to have a substantial impact on wildlife, globally. A recent study has described the putative detection of HPAI in clinically healthy penguins, and those which were fitted with satellite tags reportedly engaged in apparently normal foraging behaviour in the months following sample collection. Herein we investigate the diagnostic approach utilised, and reveal that while the authors likely did detect subtype H5 influenza A virus, the most parsimonious conclusion is that they detected low pathogenicity H5 rather than HPAI H5N1. In response, we have provided an overview key considerations when selecting a diagnostic and outline published diagnostic assays that should be considered for future studies.

Nanoporous materials, such as Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), are renowned for their high selectivity as gas adsorbents due to their specific surface area, nanoporosity, and active surface chemistry. A significant challenge for their widespread application is their behavior and reduced gas uptake in wet conditions, attributed to competitive adsorption between gas and water. The current understanding of gas adsorption in wet materials is constrained by studies that utilize only small amounts of powdered porous materials (in the milligram range) within very small reactors (1-5 mL). This leaves a significant gap in knowledge about gas adsorption behaviors in larger reactors and when MOF sample sizes are increased (to the gram scale) for scaling up the process. Additionally, there is a notable dearth of experimental research in situations where MOFs are heavily saturated with water. To address these gaps, this study measures CH4 adsorption in MOFs under conditions of high moisture content, using larger samples of MOFs (in grams) and a large volume reactor. We selected commercially available MOFs, including HKUST-1, ZIF-8, MOF-303, and activated carbon. A high-pressure isotherms (at T = 274.15 K) using volumetric approach were measured to qualitatively compare the moles of gas adsorbed under both dry and wet conditions across different MOFs and weights. Experimental results show that the presence of water led to a decrease in total CH4 mmol adsorption in MOFs, with a more significant decrease observed in hydrophilic MOFs compared to hydrophobic ones. For hydrophilic MOFs, presence of crossover isotherms at crossover pressure provided evidence of water's conversion to hydrate and its positive role in enhancing total gas uptake, which varied among different hydrophilic MOFs. Oversaturated MOFs showed a larger deviation between dry and wet cases at higher pressures. The high-pressure isotherm data confirm the positive role of hydrophilic MOFs in the conversion of water to hydrate in oversaturated MOFs when MOFs sample size is large.

We present a study of the radio variability of bright, $S_{1.4}\geq100$ mJy, high-redshift quasars at $z\geq3$ on timescales up to 30--40 years. The study involved simultaneous RATAN-600 measurements at frequencies of 2.3, 4.7, 8.2, 11.2, and 22.3 GHz in 2017--2020. In addition, data from the literature were used. We have found that the variability index $V_S$ of the quasars ranges from 0.02 to 0.96, with about half of the objects in the sample showing a variability index in the range of 0.25--0.50, which is comparable to that of the blazars at lower redshifts. The distribution of $V_S$ at 22.3 GHz is significantly different from that at 2.3--11.2 GHz, which may be attributed to the fact that a compact AGN core dominates at the source's rest frame frequencies greater than 45 GHz, leading to higher variability indices obtained at 22.3 GHz (the $V_S$ distribution peaks around 0.4) compared to the lower frequencies (the $V_S$ distribution peaks around 0.1--0.2). Several source groups with distinctive variability characteristics were found using cluster analysis of quasars. We propose 7 new candidates for gigahertz peaked-spectrum (GPS) sources and 5 new megahertz peaked-spectrum (MPS) sources based on their spectrum shape and variability features. Only 6 out of 23 sources previously reported as GPS demonstrate a low variability level typical of classical GPS sources ($V_{S} < 0.25$) at 4.7--22.3~GHz. When excluding the highly variable peaked-spectrum blazars, we expect no more than 20\% of the sources in the sample to be GPS candidates and no more than 10\% to be MPS candidates.

Most works related to the identification of mathematical nonlinear systems make one suppose that such approaches can always be directly applied to any nonlinear system. This misconception produces a great deal of discouragement when the obtained results are not the expected ones. Thus, the current work hypothesizes that the most information one has about the mathematical structure of the model, the most precise the identification result should be. Therefore, a variant of the Sparse Identification of Nonlinear Dynamics (SINDY) approach is presented to obtain the full mathematical nonlinear model of a high-order system with coupled dynamics, namely, a commercial quadcopter. Furthermore, due to its high sensitivity to inputs, a control system is devised using the identified model to stabilize the quadcopter. This illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed identification method.

A novel process design for damage-free and highly accurate positional integration of an optical multi-axial force sensor into a hollow tube by means of rotary swaging is introduced. Numerical simulations reveal relevant process phenomena of thin disc joining inside a pre-toothed hollow tube and help to find an optimal process design. Experimental trials show a significant effect of axial material flow and the number of tools in a rotary swaging process. By taking these effects into account, a successful form- and force-fit joining of the sensor carrying discs into the tube can be achieved. A successful joining of an optical sensor for bending forces and torque measurement shows hysteresis-free sensory behavior and thus backlash-free joining of the sensor carrier discs. The paper finishes with presenting an approach for closed-loop position controlling during the joining process and numerically investigation of the process design.

Whole genome alignment (WGA) is a critical process in comparative genomics, facilitating the detection of genetic variants and aiding our understanding of evolution. This paper offers a detailed overview and categorization of WGA techniques, encompassing suffix tree-based, anchors-based, and graph-based methods. It elaborates on the algorithmic properties of these tools, focusing on performance and methodological aspects. The paper underscores the latest progress in WGA, emphasizing the increasing capacity to manage the growing intricacy and volume of genomic data. However, the field still grapples with computational and biological hurdles affecting the precision and speed of WGA. We explored these challenges and potential future solutions. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive resource for researchers, deepening our understanding of WGA tools and their applications, constraints, and prospects.

The performance analysis of the internal/external flows around a high speed vehicle in near-space is fundamental and critical to the configuration and structure design for high speed aircraft. In this paper, the two-dimensional coupled implicit Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver and RNG k–ε turbulence model is employed to numerically simulate the flow field of an integrated high speed vehicle. The flow field are divided three parts to solve separately and compared with that solved by integrated simulation. The flow field are decomposed to save computer storage and simulation time. The first part is inlet/isolator, the second part is combustion chamber and the third is nozzle. In the computation process, the outlet condition of isolator is endowed to the inlet boundary of combustion chamber and the outlet boundary of combustion chamber is endowed to the inlet boundary of nozzle, then the whole flow field of integrated high speed vehicle is solved. Aerodynamic characteristic of fragment-computation and integration-computation is comparatively analyzed at different angles of attack, the results show that the maximum deviation of lift coefficient obtained by fragment-computation is less than 3% compared with that by integration, the maximum deviation of drag coefficient fragment-computation is less than 5% compared with that by integration, while pitching moment coefficient deviation less than 12%. However, for simulation time-consumption, the time used by fragment-computation reduces 45% compared with integration-computation. Meanwhile, by components force analysis, it can be concluded that the aerodynamic property of inlet/isolator can been obtained separately and hardly effected by other parts.

The ratio between blade height and chord, named aspect ratio (AR), plays an important role in compressor aerodynamic design. Once selected, it influences stage performance, blade losses, and the stage stability margin. The choice of the design AR involves both aerodynamic and mechanical considerations, and a reasonable aim is frequently to achieve a desired operating range while maximizing efficiency. For a fixed set of aerodynamic and geometric parameters there will be an optimal choice in AR that achieves a maximum efficiency. However, for a state-of-the-art aero-engine design optimality means multi-objective optimality, that is reaching the highest possible efficiency for a number of operating points while achieving a sufficient stability margin. To this end, the influence of the AR on the performance of the first rotor row of a multistage multi-objective high-speed compressor design is analyzed. A careful setup of the high-speed aerodynamic design problem allows the effect of the AR to be isolated. Close to the optimal AR, only a modest efficiency variation is observed, but a considerable change in compressor stability margin (SM) is noted. Decreasing the AR allows for an increasing efficiency, but at the expense of a reduced surge margin. This allows the designer to trade efficiency for stability. Increasing the AR, however, is shown to reduce both surge margin and efficiency, hence a distinct optimality in stability is observed for the analyzed rotor blade row. In this work, the optimality in surge margin with respect to AR is observed whereas a close to optimal efficiency. The predicted range from AR=1.10 to AR=1.64, is only indicative, considering that the definition of a multi-objective optimality requires balancing efficiency and surge margin and that the choice of balancing these two criteria requires making a design choice along a pareto optimal front.

This study aimed to use biomineralization technology to improve the bond strength of fiber-reinforced lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) after exposure to temperatures of 300 °C and 500 °C. The specimens of a control group (Group A) and two experimental groups (Group B and Group C) were prepared. These specimens healed themselves in different ways after exposure to high temperatures and pull-out tests. The self-healing method of Group A involved placing the specimen into an incubator. The self-healing method of Group B was the same as that of Group A. The self-healing method of Group C involved immersing the specimen in a mixed solution of urea and calcium acetate for two days, then taking it out and placing it in an incubator for two days. A cycle of four days was undertaken until the desired age was reached. After the specimens were healed to the planned age, the first and secondary pull-out tests and repair compound identification were carried out. After exposure to a temperature of 300 °C and self-healing for 90 days, compared with the specimens in Group A, the relative bond strength ratios of the secondary pull-out tests of the specimens in Group C increased by 20.3%. This indicates that biomineralization can effectively improve the bond strength of LWAC after high-temperature damage.

In the broader landscape of cryptocurrency risk management, this study delves into the nuanced estimation of Value at Risk (VaR) for a uniformly weighted portfolio of cryptocurrencies, employing the bivariate Normal Inverse Gaussian distribution renowned for its semi-heavy tails. Utilizing high-frequency data spanning from January 1st, 2017, to October 25th, 2022, with a primary focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum, our research seeks to accentuate the resilience of VaR methodology as a paramount risk assessment tool. The essence of our investigation lies in advancing the comprehension of VaR accuracy by quantitatively comparing observed returns of both cryptocurrencies with their corresponding estimated values, with a central theme being the endorsement of the Normal Inverse Gaussian distribution as a potent model for risk measurement, particularly in the domain of high-frequency data. To bolster the statistical reliability of our results, we adopt a forward test methodology, showcasing not only a contribution to the evolution of risk assessment techniques in Finance but also underscoring the practicality of sophisticated distributional models in econometrics. Our findings not only contribute to the refinement of risk assessment methods but also highlight the applicability of such models in precisely modeling and forecasting financial risk within the dynamic realm of cryptocurrencies, epitomized by the case study of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

This study evaluated the effects of high-temperature and high-pressure treatment on the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of carrot extracts. The total polyphenol and flavonoid content of heated carrot extract increased as the heating temperature increased, with 403.93 mg GAE/100 g and 53.14 mg CE/100 g at 150°C. DPPH and ABTs radical scavenging activity (IC50) of heated carrot extract also increased as the heating temperature increased, with 4.65 mg/mL and 7.31 mg/mL, respectively, at 150°C. The reducing power increased with the heating temperature. Heated carrot extract did not exhibit any temperature- or concentration-dependent cytotoxicity. Nitric oxide (NO) generation was suppressed as the heating temperature and NO production increased. The heated carrot extract showed a decrease in the production of dose-dependent TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 compared to the control group. The above results show that heated carrot extract had effective antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.

Background: Oscillation and pulmonary expansion (OPE) therapy can decrease postoperative pulmonary complications in a general surgical population, but its effect after cardiac surgery has not been reported, to our knowledge. We hypothesized that using an OPE device after cardiac surgery before extubation would decrease pulmonary complications. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included adults undergoing elective open cardiac surgery at our institution from January 2018 through January 2019, who had an American Society of Anesthesiologists score of 3 or greater. For mechanically ventilated patients after cardiac surgery, a new OPE protocol was adopted July 1, 2019, comprising an initial 10-minute OPE treatment administered in-line with the ventilator circuit, then continued treatments for 48 hours after extubation. Severe postoperative respiratory complications (primary outcome measure) included need for antibiotics, increased supplemental oxygen use, and prolonged hospital length of stay (LOS). Demographic, clinical, and outcomes data were compared for patients before (usual care with postextubation hyperinflation) and after protocol implementation (OPE). Results: Of 104 patients, 54 patients received usual care, and 50 received OPE. Usual-care recipients had more men (74% vs 62%; P=.19) and were older (median, 70 vs 67 years; P=.009) than OPE recipients. The OPE group had a significantly shorter hospital LOS than the usual-care group (mean, 6.2 vs 7.4 days; P=.04). Other measures improved with OPE but did not reach significance: shorter ventilator duration (mean, 0.6 vs 1.1 days with usual care; P=.06) and shorter LOS in the intensive care unit (mean, 2.7 vs 3.4 days; P=.06). On multivariate analysis, intensive care unit LOS was significantly shorter for the OPE group (mean difference, 0.85 days; 95% CI, 1.65 to 0.06; P=.04). The OPE group had a lower percentage of postoperative complications (10% vs 20%). Conclusion: OPE therapy after cardiac surgery is associated with decreased ICU and hospital LOS.

We present a design of electrostatic comb driver to improve and investigate its actuation performance. The proposed electrostatic comb actuator (ECA) is composed of two set of interdigitated comb microstructures, the inner combs are fixed to form the fish-bone microstructures and the outer combs are movable and connected to crab-leg flexure beams microstructures. The ECA is investigated to optimize the actuation performance by changing the comb shape and the intersection angle of crab-leg flexure beams. The comb shapes are compared between the traditional rectangle shape and the trapezoid shape, while the intersection angles of crab-leg flexure beams are compared between 45°, 60°, and 90° on the influences of ECA displacement and stability characteristics. These parameters are investigated for their impacts on the dynamic comb displacement and driving voltage. Under the condition of a driving DC bias voltage of 100 volts, the ECA displacement is firstly increased and then gradually decreased by increasing the comb finger length. The maximum displacement of ECA with trapezoid comb is 47.2 μm while that of ECA with rectangle comb is 22.4 μm. By using trapezoid comb shape to replace the rectangle comb under the same conditions, the ECA displacement is improved 2-fold. To enhance the stability of ECA system, the intersection angle of 90˚ of crab-leg flexure beams shows highest stability that is great better than the intersection angle of 45° and 60° of crab-leg flexure beams by increasing the driving different DC bias voltage to 100 volts on ECA. The stability of the ECA with the intersection angle of 90° of crab-leg flexure beams is enhanced 1.1-fold and 1.4-fold compared to that of 45° and 60° of crab-leg flexure beams, respectively. This design provides an optimized approach to the electrostatic comb actuator that can be used expansively in the gyroscope, motion sensor, position sensor, imaging sensor, optical sensor, and so on.

We discuss how the interaction of electrons with an overdamped optical phonon can give rise to a strange-metal behavior over extended temperature and frequency ranges. Although the mode has a finite frequency, an increasing damping shifts spectral weight to progressively lower energies so that, despite the ultimate Fermi liquid character of the system at the lowest temperatures and frequencies, the transport and optical properties of the electron system mimic a marginal Fermi liquid behavior. Within this shrinking Fermi liquid scenario, we extensively investigate the electron self-energy in all frequency and temperature ranges, emphasizing similarities and differences with respect to the marginal Fermi liquid scenario.