Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH), a neglected tropical disease (NTD) remains a major health problem all over the world including Ghana, which has STH prevalence of 25.4%. To control the disease, the government of Ghana currently concentrates on implementing mass drug administration (MDA) efforts focusing only among school-aged children. However, various studies have suggested that focusing on only a specific group for MDA may not be cost-effective. Moreover, some adults such as teachers and school-workers spend large fraction of their time with children, who shed more parasite in environment due to unhygienic behavior, and thus have a higher risk of getting infected as compared to other adults. In this study we use a mathematical model to evaluate age-structured and risk-based policies for implementing MDA while capturing transmission dynamics of STH in Ghana. A cost model was developed that included various costs related to MDA to study cost-effectiveness of current policies of MDA in Ghana against novel policies to control STH in Ghana. We carry out analysis for five different scenarios— I: no MDA (baseline), II: current MDA policy (focusing children) in Ghana, III: MDA for different age groups (adults and children groups) for unlimited budget, IV: MDA for different age groups with limitations of number of individuals treated, and, V: MDA for different groups based on their risk of getting infected (adults school workers (high-risk group), adults non-school workers and children groups). Our results suggest that it might be more cost-effective to allocate treatment through MDA to at least some proportion of adults along with children. In case of unlimited budget, the best strategy in Scenario IV would be to treat approximately 22% of adults and approximately 45% of children. The most cost-effective among the 5 scenarios is suggested through scenario V, where high-risk adults group and children are provided MDA at higher level than low-risk adults. In conclusion, age-structured and risk-based allocation of treatment and resources is crucial to reducing STH load in developing countries.

The gas-water relative permeability curve plays a crucial role in reservoir simulation and development for condensate gas reservoirs. In this study, we conducted a series of high temperature and high pressure analysis experiments on real gas cores from Wells A and B in Block L of the Yinggehai Basin to investigate the effects of temperature, pressure, and different types of gas media on gas-water seepage. The experimental results demonstrate that: Temperature has a significant impact on both gas and water relative permeability, particularly on the former. As temperature increases, gas relative permeability shows a substantial increase while water relative permeability remains relatively unchanged. Under the same effective stress, increasing pressure causes downward shifts in both the gas and water relative permeability curves; however, there is a more pronounced decrease in gas relative permeability. Gas type has minimal influence on phase permeability except at higher water saturation where differences become apparent. When water saturation ranges from 80% to 50%, there is no significant variation observed in the measured relative permeability of different displacement gases; however, as water saturation exceeds 80%, distinctions gradually emerge. At bound water saturation conditions, nitrogen exhibits lower relative permeability compared to simulated gases with approximately 92% similarity between them. This investigation into the characteristics of gas-water relative permeability in high temperature and high pressure condensate reservoirs within Yinggehai Basin provides valuable insights for efficient development strategies for similar reservoirs.

This paper presents the design and experimental results of a long cavity length Nd: YAG laser with large stable zone for water jet guided laser (WJGL) applications. The design is based on the light transmission matrix and resonator stability conditions, aiming to achieve a large stable zone and a short cut-off thermal focal length (CTFL). A folded concave resonator is researched to enhance the cavity length, and the influence of the tun-able cavity arm length on the oscillating beam in the resonator and in the YAG crystal is theoretically studied. Moreover, the effects of the output mirror curvature and the cavity arm length on the range of the stable area and the cut-off thermal focal length are also investigated. Experimental results show that a stable green laser output is obtained after second harmonic generation (SHG), with a pulse width ranging from 43ns to 143ns within the laser operating frequency range of 5-20kHz. At an operation frequency of 10kHz, the output power is 21.33W, and the instability of the output power within 400 minutes is 0.88%. The laser source achieves a maximum power of 25.7W at 20kHz, and the maximum single pulse energy reaches 2.7mJ at 6kHz. Finally, this is used as the laser source to couple with a water jet with a diameter of 100 microns, achieving a lossless water conductivity transmission over 60mm length with a peak power density of 0.742GW/cm2. These results demonstrate the suitability of the designed laser source for WJGL technology research.

Indonesia's SUMBAGUT 150 kV transmission of High Voltage Alternating Current Network (HVAC) system has considerable power losses. These power losses are a critical problem in the transmission network system. Meanwhile, this study provides one solution to reduce power losses using a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) network system. Determining the location to convert HVAC into HVDC is very important. The authors use Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to get the optimal location on the 150 kV SUMBAGUT HVAC transmission network system. The study results showed that before using the HVDC network system, the power losses were 122.26 MW. Meanwhile, power losses with one transmission HVDC in the "Paya Pasir-Sei Rotan" are 84.16 MW, "Porsa-P. Siantar" 90.83 MW, "Paya Pasir-Paya Geli" 104.14 MW. Then power losses with two transmission HVDC in "Paya Pasir-Sei Rattan" and "Porsa-P. Siantar" is 71.24 MW, "Paya Pasir-Sei Rotan" and "Paya Pasir-Paya Geli" 77.46 MW, "Porsa-P. Siantar" and "Paya Pasir-Paya Geli" 78.52 MW. The last result, power losses with three transmission HVDC in "Paya Pasir-Sei Rotan," "Porsa-P. Siantar," and "Paya Pasir-Paya Geli" lost 64.57 MW.

This study analyses some of the leading technologies for the construction and configuration of IT infrastructures to provide services to users. For modern applications, guaranteeing service continuity even in very high computational load or network problems is essential. Our configuration has among the main objectives of being highly available (HA) and horizontally scalable, that is, able to increase the computational resources that can be delivered when needed and reduce them when they are no longer necessary. Various architectural possibilities are analysed, and the central schemes used to tackle problems of this type are also described in terms of disaster recovery. The benefits offered by virtualisation technologies are highlighted and are bought with modern techniques for managing Docker containers that will be used to build the back-end of a sample infrastructure related to a use-case we have developed. In addition to this, an in-depth analysis is reported on the central autoscaling policies that can help manage high loads of requests from users to the services provided by the infrastructure. The results we have presented show an average response time of 21.7 milliseconds with a standard deviation of 76.3 milliseconds showing excellent responsiveness. Some peaks are associated with high-stress events for the infrastructure, but the response time does not exceed 2 seconds even in this case. The results of the considered use case studied for nine months are presented and discussed. In the study period, we improved the back-end configuration and defined the main metrics to deploy the web application efficiently.

To enable the deployment of battery-electric vehicles (BEV) as passenger cars in the private transport sector, a suitable charging infrastructure is crucial. In this paper a methodology for efficient spatial distribution of charging infrastructure is evaluated by investigating a scenario with a market penetration of BEVs of 100 percent (around 1.3 million vehicles). It aims towards the development of various charging infrastructure scenarios - including public and private charging - which are suitable to cover the charging demand. Therefore, these scenarios are investigated in detail with focus on number of public charging points, their spatial distribution, the available charging power and the necessary capital costs. For the creation of those charging infrastructure scenarios a placement model is developed. It uses the data of a MATSim (Multi-Agent Transport Simulation) traffic simulation of the metropolitan area of Berlin to evaluate and optimize different distributions of charging infrastructure. The model uses a genetic algorithm and the principle of multi-objective optimization. The capital cost of the charging points and the mean detour car drivers must cover additionally are used as optimization criteria. Using these criteria should lead to cost efficient infrastructure solutions which provide high usability at the same time. The main advantage of the method selected is that multiple optimal solutions with different characteristics can be found and suitable solutions can be selected by using other criteria subsequently. The optimized charging infrastructure solutions show capital costs between 624 and 2950 million euro. Users must cover an additionally mean detour of 254m to 590m per charging process to reach an available charging point. According to the results a suitable ratio between charging points and vehicles is between 11:1 and 5:1. A share of fast charging infrastructure (>50kW) of less than ten percent seems to be sufficient, if it is situated at main traffic routes and highly frequented places.

Some time ago, Kobayashi et al. experimentally studied the so-called Lee-Naughton-Lebed's (LNL) angular effect in strong electric fields [K. Kobayashi, M. Saito, E. Omichi, and T. Osada, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{96}, 126601 (2006)]. They found that strong electric fields split the LNL conductivity maxima in $\alpha$-(ET)$_2$-based organic conductor and hypothetically introduced the corresponding equation for conductivity. In this Letter, for the first time we suggest quantum mechanical theory of the LNL angular oscillations in moderately strong electric fields. In particular, we demonstrate that the obtained by us approximate theoretical formula coincides with the hypothetical one and well describes the above mentioned experiments.

: The stability of semiconductor catalysts is a very important property in the field of catalytic reactions. Materials necessitate resistance to mechanical abrasion and chemical erosion for better overall performance. In this work, high crystallinity BiOCl nanosheets were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The photocatalysts demonstrate full UV light absorption ability and excellent photocatalytic norfloxacin degradation performance. 84 % of highly toxic norfloxacin were photocatalytically eliminated within 180 min. The internal structure and surface chemical state of BiOCl were analyzed by SEM, TEM, Raman, FTIR, UV-vis, XPS, and other techniques. Such high crystallinity makes BiOCl molecules closely arranged and the molecular chains strongly connected, thus exhibiting a high level of photocatalytic stability and recyclability.

UHPC is a type of cement-based composite used in new construction and/or rehabilitation of existing buildings to extend service life. It is a novel composite material that can serve as an alternative to concrete construction in hostile climates. Following decades of study and production, a diverse variety of commercial UHPC compositions are now available globally to meet the rising number of applicants and demand for high-quality building materials. Although UHPC offers major benefits over normal concrete, its utilization is restricted due to restrictive design rules and exorbitant costs. As a result, a thorough examination of the durability properties of UHPC is required to give important information for material testing requirements and processes, as well as to broaden its practical uses. This report is aimed at increasing basic understanding of UHPC and supporting more UHPC research and applications.

The dependence of the critical temperature $T_c$ of high-temperature superconductors of various families on their composition and structure is proposed. A clear dependence of the critical temperature of high-temperature superconductors (hydrides, Hg- and Y-based cuprates) on the serial number of the constituent elements, their valence and crystal lattice structure has been revealed. For cuprates, it is shown that it is possible to obtain even higher temperatures of superconducting transitions at normal pressure by implanting mercury atoms into the crystal lattice of cuprate.

The management of the electrical energy still raises a huge interest for end-users at the household level. Home electricity management systems (HEMS) have recently emerged both to warrant uninterruptible power and high power quality, and to decrease the cost of electricity consumption, by either shifting it in off peak time or smoothing it. Such a HEMS requires a bidirectional DC-AC converter, specifically when an energy transfer is required between a storage system and the AC-grid, and vice versa. This article points out the relevance of an innovative topology based on sinusoidal waveforms from the generation of sine half-waves. Such a topology is based on a DC-DC stage equivalent to an adjustable output voltage source and a DC-AC stage (H-bridge) which are in series. The results of a complete experimental procedure prove the feasibility to improve the power quality of the output signals in terms of total harmonic distortion (THD-values about 5%). The complexity of the proposed converter is minimized in comparison with multilevel topologies. Finally, wide band-gap semiconductor devices (SiC MOSFETs) are helpful both to warrant the compactness and the high efficiency (about 96%) of the bidirectional converter, whatever its operation mode (inverter or rectifier mode).

This paper presents the Aether Physics Model (APM), a novel theoretical framework that offers a unified description of the fundamental forces and weak interaction. The APM proposes a quantum Aether composed of discrete units, recognizes two distinct charge manifestations, and treats all charges as distributed. Using dimensional analysis and simple equations, the APM derives force equations that unify gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong forces and the weak interaction. The model makes specific predictions about force strengths, maximum mass density, and fine structure constants for protons and neutrons. These predictions align with existing observations and offer new avenues for experimental testing. The APM addresses the limitations of the Standard Model while providing a more intuitive explanation for phenomena like the quantum Hall effect and Casimir effect. If validated, the APM could revolutionize our understanding of space, matter, and fundamental forces.

Under the wave of technological advancement and industrial upgrading, new productivity is deeply influencing the field of vocational education and promoting fundamental changes in teachers' roles. Modern teachers must not only keep pace with technological development but also master innovative teaching modes and guide students to form correct values. They are gradually evolving from mere knowledge transmitters to guides for learning, stimulators of interest, explorers of in-depth research, and promoters of comprehensive growth. Through interdisciplinary knowledge structures and innovative abilities, combined with advanced tools such as information technology and artificial intelligence, teachers innovate teaching methods to meet students' diverse learning needs and focus on cultivating students' professional skills, comprehensive qualities, and innovative spirits. This multi-dimensional reshaping of roles is not only an inevitable choice for the development of vocational education but also provides important insights for educational reform.

Three-dimensional (3D) geological modeling technology offers intricate geological information services and technical support for the research of urban geological conditions and their evolutionary mechanisms. It further facilitates the analysis of environmental geological problems, encompassing their distinguishing features and genetic mechanisms. The precision of such three-dimensional models is predominantly influenced by the caliber of modeling data, the chosen modeling methodologies, and the intricacy of the modeled geological objects. This research, exemplified by the three-dimensional geological structure modeling of the Wuhan metropolitan development area, aims to explore a comprehensive three-dimensional modeling framework for urban geology, particularly in scenarios with large-scale and complex geological conditions. This study holds significant technical value in enhancing the application of 3D geological modeling, as well as practical importance for urban geological investigations and research.

The superfamily of Acid proteases has two catalytic aspartates for proteolysis of their peptide substrates. Here, we show a minimal structural scaffold, the Structural Catalytic Core (SCC), which packs all conserved substructure elements around the catalytic machinery, and which can be found in all enzymes of the Acid proteases superfamily. The SCC is a dimer of several structural blocks, such as the DD-link, the D-loop and the G-loop, around two catalytic aspartates in each protease subunit or within an individual chain. The dimer of two D-loop/DD-link substructures makes a DD-zone, and the dimer of two D-loop/G-loop substructures makes a psi-loop. These structural markers are useful for protein comparison, structure identification, protein family separation and protein engineering.

The coseismic surface three-dimensional deformation fields were significant for quantified the geometric and kinematic characteristics of earthquake rupture faults. Traditional geodetic techniques were constrained by their intrinsic limitations, such as InSAR, which could only extract far-field deformation fields due to its incoherence, and GNSS, which could only acquire deformations at discrete points. The recently developing optical pixel correlation technique based on high resolution remote sensing images could acquire the near-field coseismic horizontal deformation. In this study, the vertical displacement field of the 2022 Mw 6.6 Menyuan earthquake was obtained by differencing the pre- and post-earthquake DEMs from GaoFen-7 stereo satellite images. Further, the line-of-sight (LOS) and azimuthal (AZI) directions far-field deformations by InSAR, the horizontal near-field deformation by optical pixel correlation based on pre- and post-earthquake GF-2/7 images, and the vertical deformation by differencing the pre- and post-earthquake DEMs, were incorporated to comprehensively solve the complete three-dimensional deformation fields of the 2022 Mw 6.6 Menyuan earthquake. Firstly, the vertical displacement field by differencing DEMs indicated there were significant vertical displacements about 1 m at the bend region, which was induced by the local compressive stress. In addition, at the epicenter on the middle segment of ruptured Lenglongling fault (LLLF), the maximum lifting occurred on the southern sides of the main and secondary faults exceeded 2 m. Secondly, the three-dimensional deformation fields solved by multiple deformation data demonstrated that the near-field deformation field calculated by optical pixel correlation method could quantify the displacements distributed over the rupture fault zone, which were not available on the InSAR deformation maps. Finally, the surface 2D strain derived from the displacement maps calculated by optical pixel correlation revealed high strain concentration on the rupture fault zone. Our study focused on the complete surface three-dimensional deformation estimation from multiple far- and near-field deformation data, and provided a new perspective for a deeper understanding of the characteristics of coseismic surface deformation and the rupture pattern of the fault.

Smart City has emerged as the mainstream paradigm for urban governance innovation, sustainable development, and strategy upgrades, which is drawing attention from scholars worldwide. However, current frameworks for Smart City assessment remain incomplete and simplistic. In is paper, 30 national or provincial capitals in China were selected and we designed a tri-dimensional SPI model—Social, Physical, and Information Space—for smart city spatial development assessment. Utilizing methods such as entropy weighting, coupled coordination degree models, and the Dagum Gini coefficient, this study assesses the spatial development and coupled coordination of 30 cities from 2011 to 2019. Finally, by means of BP neural networks, the study examines the contribution of each indicator to the spatial coupled coordination. The results indicated that with a narrowing disparity in development speeds among different regions, the spatial coupled coordination development level of smart capitals in China has steadily increased, presenting a pattern of staggered distribution. Moreover, the IS subsystem plays the most significant role in coupled coordination. The significance of this research lies in its tri-dimensional spatial perspective of the spatial development and coupled coordination differences of the Smart City, providing evidence-based support for the regional layout and optimization in China.

Multiple valued logic (MVL) has proven to be a better alternative and solution to the challenges of traditional binary logic because of its fast computation, fewer interconnects, and small die. It is a potential candidate for future digital design because it allows energy-efficient, low-complex, and high-speed circuits. This paper introduces a new resistive-load two-dimensional field effect transistor-based ternary logic gates, wherein the active resistive-load is replaced with memristor to reduce chip area and power consumption. A memristor-based standard ternary inverter (STI) is designed using GNRFET, MoS2 FET, WSe2 FET, and FinFET, and their performance metric such as delay, power, and energy delay product (EDP) are analyzed. The results show that the proposed design achieves 50% reduction in circuit area, the average power dissipation is reduced by 11.7X, 6.8X, and 3.2X for GNRFET, MoS2 FET, and WSe2 FET, respectively, as compared to FinFET-based ternary inverter. Moreso, other logic gates such as OR, NOR, AND and NAND were simulated in T-SPICE EDA tool, and the results and truth table are in good agreement.

There are two major proposed forms of dark energy: the cosmological constant and the quintessence scalar field. However, the former has the cosmological constant problem and the latter does not have observational evidence to support the theory. In this paper, we propose a dark energy paradigm to solve the cosmological constant problem and to predict lepton masses as evidence. The dark energy paradigm is a unified dark sector that is based on Planck's dimensional analysis, Lambda CDM, energy conservation, and force equilibrium. We find that dark energy can vary from the cosmological constant to the Planck scale. We find that the predicted values of lepton masses based on the dark energy paradigm agree with the observed values to 1% (or within error ranges).

Two-dimensional (2D) materials show advantages as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate over traditional noble metals, such as chemically inert flat surface and uniform SERS signals. However, due to the low density of free electrons of 2D materials, the enhancement mechanism is mainly restricted to chemical enhancement instead of electromagnetic enhancement, resulting a relatively low enhancement factor. In this work, we reported a sensitive 2D SERS substrate based on chemical vapor deposited MoN nanosheets with electromagnetic enhanced mechanism. The maximum enhancement factor can be 3×105 with a limit of detected concentration of 4×10-8 M, which is comparable to those noble metal SERS substrates without hot spots. The MoN nanosheets show strong surface plasmon resonance in the visible range as evidenced by the UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and first principle calculation. The MoN nanosheets SERS substrates exhibit excellent Raman signal uniformity within the nanosheets. Meanwhile, Distinct thickness dependent sensitivity was observed in the MoN nanosheets, higher sensitivity can be achieved by decreasing the thickness of the nanosheets. Furthermore, the MoN nanosheets SERS substrate also show high thermal stability, which can be annealed in air for more than 300℃ and maintain its SERS activity. The high stability of MoN nanosheets allows it to be reused for 20 cycles without obvious signal decay. The high sensitivity, stability, reusability and Raman signal uniformity, makes MoN nanosheets an ideal 2D SERS substrate for practical applications.

A mathematical model that comprehensively captures the real behavior of riverbed deformation, encompassing all pertinent effects, is developed. The underwater slope reformation process, with the generatrix aligned along the flow velocity in the model, is considered. A numerical model is introduced to calculate the flow involving a deformable bottom, and the model's validation is established through rigorous analysis of experimental findings. The research firmly confirms the suitability of the proposed mathematical and numerical model for describing deformations in uneven and unsteady river flows, including the movement of dredging slots and channel quarries. The model's minimal equation count and reliance on empirical constants demonstrate the model's efficiency. The model's predictions align strongly with experimental data, although optimal values of empirical coefficients vary slightly across different experiments. Hence, there is a call for further investigation to derive more universally applicable closure relationships for the model. The importance of validating the model with reliable field data and its potential extension to accommodate hydraulically diverse soils is emphasized. Such an extension is feasible due to the concentration transfer equation, enabling independent calculations for particle fractions of varying sizes as long as the total particle concentration in the stream remains within reasonable limits. This dedicated research contributes significantly to understanding riverbed deformations and advancing accurate modeling and management of riverine environments.

Polyamide 11 (PA11) is a plant-based nylon made from castor beans. Powder bed fusion laser sintering (PBF-LS) is an additive manufacturing process used for PA11 which allows the reuse of the unsintered powder. The unsintered powder is mixed with virgin powders at different refresh rates which has been studied extensively for most semi-crystalline polyamides. However, there is lack of information on the effect of using 100% reused PA11 powder and the number of times it is reused on its own during powder bed fusion laser sintering. This paper investigates the effect of reusing PA11 powder in PBF-LS and number of times it is reused on the dimensional accuracy, density, thermal and tensile properties. From 100% virgin powder to 3rd use of the powder, there is a decrease in powder wastage, decrease in crystallinity and tensile strength. These was associated with the polymerisation and cross-linking process of polymer chains, upon exposure to high temperature. This results in a higher molecular weight and hence density. From the 4th use to 10th reuse, the opposite was observed which was associated to an increase in high-viscosity and un-molten particles which resulted in defects in the PBF-LS parts.

Consciousness results from comprehending the living creature from its existence in time and space. Thought and consciousness are distinguishing factors between humans and machines having artificial intelligence. No algorithm has been offered for artificial self-awareness based on Thinking. Previous studies have not studied the relationship between consciousness, thinking and time. In this study, the relationship between consciousness, thinking, memories and speech over time has been studied. A deep logical connection exists between consciousness, thinking, and time. An algorithm can be designed for artificial consciousness based on this research findings.

Over the past two decades, covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have become the most widely studied porous crystalline materials. Its specific physical and chemical properties are determined by the arrangement of atoms (crystal structure). Therefore, the determination of its structure is arguably the most important characterization step for COFs. Although single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) is the most widely used method for structure determination, the size of COF crystals is too small, or their crystal quality is so poor that confirmation of their structure is limited to lattice fringes by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). At present, many 2D-COFs have clear PXRD patterns, but not all 2D-COFs can obtain specific lattice fringes. This severely hinders the development of the COF field. Here, we discover the lattice shrinkage behavior of COFs under electron beam irradiation by comparing the lattice fringes of 2D-COFs under different conditions. By comparing the lattice fringes of TAPT-TFPT COF at room temperature and under liquid nitrogen freezing conditions, we found that the lattice fringes are in good agreement with the Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and theoretical values of COF (2.213 nm) under freezing conditions, however, the lattice fringe spacing is only 1.656 nm at room temperature. The discovery not only provides new insights into the TEM characterization of COFs, but also further expands the range of crystalline COF materials.

The field dynamics of neutral and charged matter (treated as gauge fields) beyond the event horizon of black holes are investigated. As an extension of the work done in Ganesan (2023) [1], the analysis was done using the combined dynamics of the two-dimensional Yang-Mills and Liouville gravity fields beyond the event horizon. The quantum interactions and symmetry breaking mechanisms of the combined two-dimensional fields are discussed. The second part of this paper explores the quantum dynamics occurring at the event horizon. By considering the structure of the event horizon as a Möbius strip (embedded in three-dimensional space), a formulation for the lower bound of the first energy eigenvalue of a quantum particle (electron) at the event horizon is obtained.

Human pose estimation is a complex detection task in which the network needs to capture the rich information contained in the images. In this paper, we propose MSTPose (Multi-Scale Transformer for human Pose estimation). Specifically, MSTPose leverages a high-resolution Convolution neural network (CNN) to extract texture information from images. For the feature maps from three different scales produced by the backbone network, each branch performs the coordinate attention operations. The feature maps are then spatially and channel-wise flattened, combined with keypoint tokens generated through random initialization, and fed into a parallel Transformer structure to learn spatial dependencies between features. As the Transformer outputs one-dimensional sequential features, the mainstream two-dimensional heatmap method is abandoned in favor of one-dimensional coordinate vector regression. The experiments show that MSTPose outperforms other CNN-based pose estimation models and demonstrates clear advantages over CNN + Transformer networks of similar types.

The three-dimensional structure of Gulf of Mexico’s warm-core rings, detaching from the Loop Current, is investigated using satellite altimetry and a large set of ARGO float profiles. Reconstruction of the Loop Current rings (LCRs) vertical structure from sea surface height observations is made possible by the use of the gravest empirical modes method (GEM). The GEMs are transfer functions that associate a value of temperature and salinity for each variable pair {dynamic height;pressure}, and are computed by estimating an empirical relationship between dynamic height and the vertical thermohaline structure of the ocean. Between 1993 and 2021, 40 LCRs were detected in the altimetry and their three-dimensional thermohaline structure was reconstructed, as well as a number of dynamically relevant variables (geostrophic and cyclogeostrophic velocity, relative vorticity, potential vorticity, available potential energy and kinetic energy density etc.). The structure of a typical LCR was computed by fitting an analytical stream function to the LCRs dynamic height signature and reconstructing its vertical structure with the GEM. The total heat and salt contents and energy of each LCR were computed and their cumulative effect on the Gulf of Mexico’s heat, salt and energy balance is discussed. We show that LCRs have a dramatic impact on these balances and estimate that residual surface heat fluxes of -13 Wm−2 are necessary to compensate their heat input, while the fresh water outflow of the Mississippi river approximately compensates for their salt excess input. An average energy dissipation of O[10−10−10−9] Wkg−1 would be necessary to balance their energy input.

This study aims to evaluate the land surface temperature (LST) and the thermal characteristics of the Urban Canopy Layer (UCL) of the urban canyon in Avenida Rio Branco in the Central Business District (CBD) of Rio de Janeiro during summer. In order to conduct this evaluation, two methods were employed: 1) TIRS Landsat-8 sensor for data selection and processing (latest generation, 2011-2020); ; 2) field survey using nine sampling points — seven along two mobile transects, one fixed point, and one vertical measurement point, which required the use of a RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft). Three categories of analysis were established for the field survey based on the prevailing synoptic situations: stability, instability, and post-instability. The CBD is characterized by extensive areas with surface heat islands, in which temperatures were higher than 38.9°C; the areas with milder LSTs were Campo do Santana, Avenida Rio Branco, and one of the Mixed-Use Zones (Praça Mauá). With respect to Rio Branco Avenue, the LST niches of lowest elevation were derived through building shadowing; however, the orbital data diverged from the observation data of the ten field-study days. In situ data revealed that the characteristics urban morphology of Avenida Rio Branco is susceptible to the formation of heat islands, presenting heat islands of very strong magnitude (over 6.1°C) in atmospheric stability, strong magnitude (4.1-6.0°C) in atmospheric instability, and moderate magnitude (2.1°C-4.0°C) in post-atmospheric instability. Despite the synoptic situation, thermal cores were concentrated at 1 pm. The intersection between Avenida Rio Branco, Rua do Ouvidor, and Praça Mauá stored most of the solar energy received during the day due to the greater sky obstruction caused by the verticalization. Finally, vertical analysis demonstrated the formation of a thermal inversion on the night of the highest mean air temperature (29.5°C), probably, due to the roughness and number of buildings in the urban canyon.

We create a model universe by equipping a topological surface (system) with compact dimensions insulated by an information blocking horizon. The insulated compact WF can produce entanglement independent of distance. Interaction between the system and the WF changes the curvature of the first and the quantum state (frequency) of the second in an interconnected relationship. Thus, the field curvature measures the evolution of the particle WF as time. Positive field curvature creates pressure, whereas negative field curvature generates a vacuum, satisfying the Borsuk-Ulam Theorem and the Page and Wootters mechanism of static time. The accumulation of pressure or vacuum generates poles with contrasting dimensionalities, two-dimensional black hole horizons (time infinite), and four-dimensional cosmic voids (time zero). The orthogonality of the field and the compact WF give rise to global self-regulation that fine-tunes the cosmic parameters and can promote fractal topology. The four-dimensional vacuum in cosmic voids can produce an accelerating expansion without dark energy. When gravity effects are eliminated, we find a new, so far unexplored, order-increasing side of entropy. The verifiable and elegant hypothesis satisfies Mach's principle.

Two-dimensional mass spectrometry (2D MS) is a method for tandem mass spectrometry that relies on manipulating ion motions to correlate precursor and fragment ion signals. 2D mass spectra are obtained by performing a Fourier transform in both the precursor ion mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) dimension and the fragment ion m/z dimension. The phase of the ion signals evolves linearly in the precursor m/z dimension and quadratically in the fragment m/z dimension. This study demonstrates that phase-corrected absorption mode 2D mass spectrometry improves signal-to-noise ratios by a factor of 2 and resolving power by a factor of 2 in each dimension compared to magnitude mode. Furthermore, phase correction leads to an easier differentiation between ion signals and artefacts, and therefore easier data interpretation.

In this paper, we analyze the Hawking radiation phenomenon for types of Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli-like (BTZ-like) black holes. For this purpose, using the Hamilton-Jacobi method, we consider semi-classical WKB approximation to calculate the tunneling probabilities of massive boson particles. For these particles, we use the equation of motion for the Glashow-Weinberg-Salam model. Using quantum tunneling process of charged massive bossons, we compute the corresponding Hawking temperatures. Furthermore, we discuss the effects of rotation parameter on tunneling probability and temperature.

This report describes the collection of a large dataset (6930 measurement) on dimensional error in the fused deposition modeling (FDM) additive manufacturing process for full-density parts. Three different print orientations were studied, as well as seven raster angles (0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90°) for the rectilinear infill pattern. All measurements were replicated ten times on ten different samples to ensure a comprehensive dataset. Eleven polymer materials were considered: acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), high-temperature PLA, wood-composite PLA, carbon-fiber-composite PLA, copper-composite PLA, aluminum-composite PLA, high-impact polystyrene (HIPS), polyethylene terephthalate glycol-enhanced (PETG), polycarbonate, and synthetic polyamide (nylon). The samples were ASTM-standard impact testing samples, since this geometry allows the measurement of error on three different scales; the nominal dimensions were 3.25mm thick, 63.5mm long, and 12.7mm wide. This dataset is intended to give engineers and product designers a benchmark for judging the accuracy and repeatability of the FDM process for use in manufacturing of end-user products.

This paper presents a new scientific contribution on the two-dimensional (2-D) subdomain technique in polar coordinates taking into account the finite relative permeability of the ferromagnetic material. The constant relative permeability corresponds to linear part of the nonlinear B(H) curve. As in conventional technique, the method of separation of variables and the Fourier’s series are used for the resolution of magnetostatic Maxwell’s equations in each region. Although, the general solutions of magnetic field in the subdomains and boundary conditions (BCs) between regions are different in the conventional and proposed method. In this later, the magnetic field solution in each subdomain is a superposition of two magnetic quantities in the two directions (i.e., r- and Q-axis) and the BCs between two regions are also in both directions. For example, the scientific contribution has been applied to an air- or iron-cored coil supplied by a constant current. The distribution of local quantities (i.e., the magnetic vector potential and flux density) has been validated by a corresponding 2-D finite-element analysis (FEA). The obtained semi-analytical results are in very good agreement with those of numerical method.

Using multi-color flow cytometry analysis, we studied the immunophenotypical differences between leukemic blasts/LSCs from patients with AML/MDS and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) from patients in complete remission (CR) following their successful treatment. The panel of markers included CD34, CD38, CD45RA, CD123 as representatives for a hierarchical hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) classification as well as programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1). Rather than restricting the evaluation on a 2- or 3-dimensional analysis, we applied a t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) approach to get a deeper insight and segregation between leukemic and normal HPSCs. For that purpose, we created a t-SNE map, which resulted in the visualization of 27 cell clusters based on their similarity concerning the composition and intensity of antigen expression. Two of these clusters were “leukemia-related” containing a great proportion of CD34⁺/CD38^- hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) or CD34⁺ cells with a strong coexpression of CD45RA/CD123, respectively. CD34⁺ cells within the latter cluster were also highly positive for PD-L1 reflecting their immunosuppressive capacity. Beyond this proof of principle study, the inclusion of additional markers will be helpful to refine the differentiation between normal HSPCs and leukemic cells, particularly in the context of minimal disease detection and antigen-targeted therapeutic interventions. Furthermore, we suggest a protocol for the assignment of new cell ensembles in quantitative terms, via a numerical value, the Pearson coefficient, based on a similarity comparison of the t-SNE pattern with a reference.

This paper reports a novel fabric phase sorptive extraction-high performance liquid chromatography-ultra violet detection (FPSE-HPLC-UV) method for the simultaneous extraction and analysis of four phenyltin derivatives that include triphenyltin hydroxide, triphenyltin acetate, triphenyltin chloride and tetraphenyltin in environmental water (agricultural waste water and municipal waste water) and canned food samples. The selected analytes were well resolved by Waters Nova pack C18 column (3.9 x 150 mm, 4 µm particle size) in isocratic elution mode within 15 minutes. The new microextraction media has been analytically evaluated using phenyltin derivatives as model compounds. The factors affecting the extraction efficiency of FPSE have been evaluated and the optimum extraction conditions were determined. Under these optimum conditions, the limits of detection (LODs) for sol-gel C18 coated fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) media in combination with HPLC-UV for the analysis of the phenyltin derivatives were in the range of 10-100 ng/mL with high precision (low relative standard deviation) at 10 ng/mL concentration with good absolute recoveries. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first FPSE extraction procedure applied to environmental water and canned food samples for the simultaneous determination of phenyltin derivatives and could be readily adopted as a rapid and robust green analytical tool for routine environmental and food analytical laboratories.

Ultrasonic imaging & NDE applications can greatly improve their signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) by driving each transducer (composing piezoelectric arrays) with a spike giving pulsed power of k-Watts, repetitively at a PRF = 5000 spikes/s, by using a HV capacitive-discharge generator. However very-high levels, of pulsed intensities (3-10 A) and voltages (300-700 V) must be considered for a rigorous spike modeling. Even though the consumed "average" power will be small, the intensity through each transducer achieves several amperes, so the pulsed powers delivered by each HV generator can attain levels higher than in CW high-power ultrasonic applications: e.g., up to 5 kW / spike. This is concluded here from a transient modeling of the loaded generator. Then, unforeseen phenomena rise: intense brief pulses of driving power & emitted force in transducers, and non-linearities in driver semiconductors, because their characteristic curves only include linear ranges. But fortunately, piezoelectric devices working in this intense regime do not show serious heating problems, because the average power remains being moderate. Intensity, power and voltage, driving a broadband transducer from a HV capacitive pulser, are calculated to drastically improve (in ≅ 40 dB) the ultrasonic net dynamic range available, with emitted forces ≅ 250 Newtons pp and E/R received pulses of 70 V pp.

Hubble diagrams are examined for SN1a supernovae in the redshift range z = 0.01–1.3 and for gamma ray bursts in the range z = 0.034–8.1. It is shown that in the low redshift range, the Hubble diagram shows an innate equivocality between the ΛCDM and the tired light model. This means that the strong agreement between the z/µ data, calculated with the parameters of the ΛCDM model, and the experimentally measured z/µ values cannot be considered as definite evidence for the expansion hypothesis. The exponential function , which is characteristic of the tired light redshift mechanism, fits the data with similarly high accuracy. Hence, on the premise of low redshift data, a decision for or against either model is completely arbitrary. The Hubble diagram for high redshift gamma ray bursts shows poor agreement with the ΛCDM model, but concurs with the exponential energy decay following from the tired light redshift hypothesis.

This article investigated the Automatic Generation Control(AGC) of multi-area multi-source interconnected systems with hydropower plants, thermal power plants, and wind energy. Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy controller integrated with the cascaded proportional-integral-derivative with filter (PIDF-PIDF) is a new cascaded controller (ANF-PIDF-PIDF) that has been presented as a secondary controller for applied hybrid power systems. The recent Skill Optimization Algorithm (SOA) is employed to optimize PIDF- PIDF controller parameter gains and the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy controller's inputs and output scaling factors. SOA is used to update the controller parameters with integral square error (ISE) employed as the objective function. A 1% step load disturbance was considered simultaneously in all three areas. The controller's performance is evaluated and compared with and without considering the effects of wind energy sources and non-linearity for ANF-PIDF-PIDF, PIDF-PIDF, and PIDF and it was determined that the ANF-PIDF-PIDF was the most efficient. The dynamic system performance is also compared with parallel high voltage direct current (HVDC) tie-lines. The investigation clearly shows that incorporating HVDC tie-line with multi-area, multi-source provides better dynamic performance in maximum amplitude, oscillation, and settling time. Additionally, sensitivity analysis is done and the optimum controller gains does not need to be reset to uncertain values in system loading conditions. All simulation results were evaluated using MATLAB 2016b.

Hypertension is one of the most common primary cardiometabolic diseases and is a major contributor to cardiac mortality and morbidity. Furthermore, cardiac risk factors such as obesity and sedentary lifestyle are often seen in hypertensive patients. Regular exercise acts against these risk factors and improves the overall health of an individual. High-intensity interval training appears to do so in a more efficient way. We used a systematic literature review (SLR) approach to provide an overview of the present literature highlighting the cardiovascular advantages of HIIT in hypertensive individuals. We reviewed 4004 articles from reputable journals published between 2013 and August 14, 2023, focusing on 7 selected papers for in-depth analysis. This systematic review revealed the protective effects of HIIT against cardiac complications in hypertension. All the reviewed articles showed a decrease in blood pressure and many other risk variables of cardiovascular diseases. However, guidelines for this exercise are needed for maximum benefits. Therefore, further research on HIIT is necessary to fully harness its potential.

In order to create a smart mine, it is necessary to digitize the existing emulsion pumping station. Existing research does not achieve this task, this paper designs and manufactures a high-pressure, high-flow, high-water-based mining digital controlled unloading valve (abbreviated as HLHMDCUV), which achieves good results in both theoretical analysis and experimental testing. In order to obtain the accurate dynamic characteristics, this valve was analyzed by simulation using AMESim. Based on the dynamic performance analysis and the flow field analysis inside the valve body, the structure has been optimized to improve the performance of HLHMDCUV. The results show that the HLHMDCUV has a better dynamic characteristics, which were also demonstrated in the experiment. At the same time, the HLHMDCUV is easy to disassemble and maintain. This paper provides a theoretical basis for the design of such valves, which is conducive to the subsequent promotion of intelligent mine transformation.

Although many policosanols from different sources, such as sugar cane, rice bran, and insects, have been marketed worldwide, there has been no comparative study of the in vivo efficacy using a hyperlipidemic animal model. This study compared the efficacy of treating dyslipidemia with four different policosanols, including one sugar cane wax alcohol from Cuba (Raydel®) and three policosanols from China (Xi’an Natural sugar cane, Xi’an Realin sugar cane, and Shaanxi rice bran) in hyperlipidemic zebrafish. After 12 weeks of consumption of each policosanol (final 0.1% in diet, wt/wt) and high cholesterol diet (HCD, final 4%, wt/wt) in a tetrabit, the Raydel policosanol group and Xi’an Natural policosanol group showed the highest survivability of approximately 81%, whereas the Xi’an Realin policosanol group and Shaanxi policosanol group showed 57% and 67% survivability, respectively. Among five HCD groups, the Raydel policosanol group showed the lowest serum total cholesterol (TC, p<0.001 versus HCD control) and triglyceride (TG, p<0.001 versus HCD control) with the highest percentage of high-density lipoproteins (HDL)-C in TC. The Raydel policosanol group also showed the lowest serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels with the least infiltration of inflammatory cells and interleukin-6 production in hepatocytes. In the ovary, the Raydel policosanol group also showed the highest contents of mature vitellogenic oocytes with the lowest production of reactive oxygen species and cellular apoptosis in ovarian cells. In the testis, the Raydel policosanol group also showed the healthiest morphology for spermatogenesis with the least interstitial area and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in testicular cells. In conclusion, 12 weeks of Raydel policosanol consumption resulted in remarkable improvement of the blood lipid profile, amelioration of inflammation in the liver, and enhancement of the cell morphology in the ovary and testis with the highest survivability under the HCD.

The poor oxidation resistance of refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) is a major obstacle for their use in high-temperature engineering applications. Anti-oxidation coating technology is an effective method for improving the oxidation resistance. In this paper, the Si-20Cr-20Fe coating was prepared on MoNbTaTiW RHEA by a fused slurry method. The microstructural evolution and compositions of the silicide coating under high-temperature oxidation environment were studied. The results show that the silicide coating could effectively prevent the oxidation of the MoNbTaTiW RHEA. The initial silicide coating had a double-layer structure; a high silicon-content layer mainly composed of MSi2 as the outer layer and a low silicon-content layer mainly contained M5Si3 as the inner layer. Under high-temperature oxidation conditions, the silicon element diffused from the silicide coating to the RHEA substrate while the oxidation of the coating occurred. After oxidation, the coating was composed of an outer oxide layer and an inner silicide layer. The silicide layer moved toward the inside of the substrate, led to the increase of its thickness. Compared with the initial silicified layer, its structure did not change significantly. The structure and compositions of the oxide layer on the outer surface strongly depended on the oxidation temperature. This paper provides a strategy for protecting RHEAs from oxidation at high-temperature environments.

The hospital indoor environment plays a significant role in shaping the microbial exposures that humans encounter. Resistance to antibiotics is one of the mechanisms employed by bacteria to develop resilience against stress in indoor environments. The extensive usage of antibiotics has been a key factor in driving changes in the ecological function of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and their acquisition by pathogenic bacteria. By integrating the 16S rRNA Illumina sequencing and high throughput-qPCR approaches with water and air dust samples across seven departments at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, China, this study yielded intriguing findings regarding the department-specific variation, transmission, and correlation of bacteria, ARGs and MGEs within the hospital indoor environment. One notable observation was that the seasonal variation played a vital role in shaping the bacterial composition in the overall hospital indoor environment across seven studied departments. Nevertheless, a similar significant seasonal impact was only observed in the blood test room and emergency departments, rather than in the other five departments. Another intriguing finding was the correlation between ARGs and MGEs abundance. This correlation was evident in the overall hospital indoor environment, which was conversely not found in the emergency, pneumology and gynecology departments. Additionally, while there was no significant relationship that occurred between bacterial communities and ARGs/MGEs within the hospital, the gynecology department demonstrated a close link between bacterial communities and the presence of ARGs/MGEs. Notably, the gynecology department also stood out as an important source of bacteria and ARGs/MGEs for other departments. This study underscores the need for careful surveillance and monitoring of antibiotic resistance, particularly in Legionella spp. in man-made water systems. The findings also show the importance of monitoring and understanding the genetic elements such as Tp614 involved in gene transfer and recombination, as well as their impact on antimicrobial treatment efficacy.

This study advances the field of solar irradiance nowcasting by introducing a discrete-level classification approach, diverging from traditional continuous measurement methods. Grounded in a need for cost-effective and modular solutions, the research employs high-resolution computer vision coupled with a deep learning framework to predict Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI). By harnessing the capabilities of a Logitech C900 1080p HD camera and an NVIDIA Jetson module, the study achieves real-time data processing, pivotal for CSP systems' operational efficiency. The core of the methodology is the ResNet-50 convolutional neural network, refined via transfer learning on a bespoke dataset, culminating in a predictive accuracy of 85.78%. This discrete classification model contrasts with conventional, costly instruments like the MS-57, offering a novel and accessible alternative for DNI estimation. Such innovation not only demonstrates high predictive accuracy but also signifies a shift towards less resource-intensive and more adaptable solar energy forecasting tools, contributing a significant leap towards optimizing renewable energy systems.

Acute high altitude illnesses are of great concern for physicians and people traveling to high altitude. High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) can be better understood through the Oxygen Transport Triad which involves the Pneumo-Dynamic Pump (Ventilation), the Hemo-Dynamic Pump (Heart and circulation), and Hemoglobin. The two pumps are the first physiologic response upon initial exposure to hypobaric hypoxia. Hemoglobin is the balancing energy-saving time-evolving equilibrating factor. The increased hemoglobin at high altitude reduces the percentage of dissolved oxygen in the arterial oxygen content with respect to sea level. At high altitude, the acid-base balance must be adequately interpreted using the high altitude Van-Slyke correction factors. Pulse-oximetry measurements during breath-holding at high altitude allow for the evaluation of high altitude diseases. The Tolerance to Hypoxia Formula shows that, paradoxically, the higher the altitude the more tolerance to hypoxia. All organisms adapt physiologically and optimally to a high-altitude environment to survive. Reduction of pulmonary hypertension in HAPE through oxygen administration results in a favorable outcome.

To address the issue of GNSS receivers being unable to function properly in tunnels due to the loss of Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS) signals, this paper proposes a two-dimensional differential positioning system for tunnel environments, based on dual leaky coaxial(LCX) cables with GNSS signal frequency relay forwarding. The system receives mixed GNSS signals from open environments and utilizes the frequency selection capabilities of the MAX2769E chip to separate and generate radio frequency signals at different frequencies corresponding to GPS, BDS, and GLONASS. These signals are then used to drive three ports of the LCX cables, which are laid in parallel within the tunnel. By leveraging the uniform radiation characteristics of the LCX cables, stable GNSS signal coverage is achieved throughout the tunnel. On the receiving end, the GNSS receiver achieves two-dimensional positioning by utilizing inter-satellite pseudorange differences and reference point error correction. Simulation results indicate that the dual T-shaped radiating LCX cables configuration offers excellent positioning accuracy and noise resistance, achieving meter-level positioning accuracy in tunnel environments.

The low coefficient of thermal expansion of Invar 36 represents a significant consideration in light of its potential effects, particularly in industrial applications where thermal stability is of paramount importance. In light of this, a three-step heat treatment was employed, to reduce the thermal expansion coefficient, and enhance the thermal dimensional stability. The ingots produced by vacuum induction melting were subjected to a warm rolling process at 900 °C, followed by a three-step heat treatment consisting of water quenching at 850 °C, tempering at 350 °C with a holding time of 1 hour, and aging at 100 °C for 24 hours. This process enabled the coefficient of thermal expansion to remain almost unchanged, exhibiting values between 0.5 and 0.6 x10-6/°C up to 150 °C. Following the heat treatment, the total elongation increased up to 40% as a natural consequence of the reduction of residual stresses, while a slight decrease in tensile strength was observed. The implementation of a three-step heat treatment process has facilitated an enhancement of the soft magnetic property, which has exhibited a decline in coercivity and an increase in saturation magnetization. As a consequence, three-step heat-treated invar 36 alloys are emerging as a potential candidate for utilization in the aerospace and precision electronics industries, given their satisfactory physical and mechanical characteristics.

While there are well-known synthetic methods in the literature to find the image of a point under circular inversion in l2−normed geometry (Euclidean geometry), there is no similar synthetic method in Minkowski geometry, also known as the geometry of finite-dimensional Banach spaces. In this study, we have succeeded in giving a synthetic construction for the circular inversion in l1−normed spaces, which is one of the most fundamental examples of Minkowski geometry. Moreover, this synthetic construction has been given using the Euclidean circle, independently of the l1−norm.

This paper introduces a rigorous and comprehensive approach for the assessment of marine shafting systems through the utilization of an advanced Pi-Theorem based scaling methodology. Integrating journal bearing similarity assessment and shaft-line scaling methodology with advanced dimensional analysis, the study aims to provide a methodology foundation for systematic replication and analysis of marine shafting systems through scaled models. The proposed scaling methodology ensures geometric and mechanical similarity in terms of shaft-line deflection, considering key scaling parameters such as shaft length, diameter, weight, loads, rotational speed, material properties, bearing locations, and offsets. The advanced dimensional analysis computes specific non-dimensional ratios to guarantee a close resemblance between a real-size system and a scaled lab model, enabling meaningful experimentation. The methodology is analytically derived and validated with numerical simulations for a case study, conducting comparative analysis, evaluating discrepancies, and utilizing the integrated framework for experimentation.

The Double Random Phase Encoding (DRPE) image encryption method has garnered significant attention in color image processing and optical encryption, thanks to its parallel encryption of R, G, B. However, DRPE-based color image encryption faces two challenges. Firstly, it disregards the correlation of R, G, and B, compromising the encrypted image's robustness. Secondly, DRPE schemes relying on Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and Discrete Fractional Fourier Transform (DFRFT) are vulnerable to linear attacks, such as Known Plaintext Attack (KPA) and Chosen Plaintext Attack (CPA). Quantum walk stands out as a remarkable tool for designing modern cryptographic mechanisms, offering resistance to potential attacks from both classical and quantum computers.Therefore, this study presents an optical color image encryption algorithm that combines two-dimensional quantum walk with 24-bit plane permutation, dubbed OCT. This approach employs pseudo-random numbers generated by Two-Dimensional Quantum Walking (TDQW) for phase modulation in DRPE and scrambles the encrypted image's real and imaginary parts using the Generalized Arnold Transform. The 24-bit plane permutation helps reduce correlation of the R, G, B, while the Generalized Arnold Transform bolsters DRPE's resistance to linear attacks. By incorporating TDQW, the key space is significantly expanded. Experimental results validate the effectiveness and security of proposed method.

Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is well recognized as a gold standard measure for the estimation of functional coronary stenosis. Technological progressions in image processing have empowered the reconstruction of three-dimensional models of the coronary arteries via both non-invasive imaging modalities, such as Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA), and invasive coronary angiography or intravascular imaging. The application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques to coronary 3D anatomical models allows the virtual evaluation of the hemodynamic significance of a coronary lesion with high diagnostic accuracy in comparison to the invasive FFR using pressure wires. These opportunities providing hemodynamic information based on anatomy have given rise to a new era of functional angiography and coronary imaging. However, further validations are needed to overcome several scientific and computational challenges before these methods are applied in everyday clinical practice. This review aims to present all the data on the studies and methodologies that have been presented for the virtual estimation of FFR, and the diagnostic execution of the virtual tools for the hemodynamic assessment of coronary lesions compared to the invasive FFR.

Agricultural drainage canals that connect upstream fish spawning areas to downstream rivers and lakes serve as crucial habitats for migrating fish. However, disconnections, such as drops and chutes, have been constructed in these canals due to agricultural modernization and flood control measures, hindering the movement of fish with limited swimming abilities. Portable fishways offer a promising solution to reconnect water bodies in agricultural canals, as they can be easily removed during high water discharges to avoid impeding the canals' drainage function. In addition to experimental assessments of fishway functionality, employing a hydrodynamic model to explore effective placement strategies for portable fishways is essential to maximize their effectiveness. This study presents a method to determine the best horizontal location of a portable fishway in an agricultural drainage canal using two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations within the specified cases. The applicability of this method is demonstrated by addressing the positioning challenge of a portable fishway on a chute in an agricultural drainage canal in Japan. Results indicate that the proposed method allows for the selection of a suitable location, considering preferable hydraulic conditions both within the portable fishway and around its entrance.

Due to the intermittency and fluctuation of photovoltaic (PV) output power, a high proportion of grid-connected PV power generation systems has a significant impact on power systems. Accurate PV power forecasting can alleviate the uncertainty of the PV power and is of great significance for the stable operation and scheduling of the power systems. Therefore, in this study, a feature rise-dimensional (FRD) two-layer ensemble learning (TLEL) model for short-term PV power deterministic forecasting and probability forecasting is proposed. First， based on the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Random Forest (RF), CatBoost, and Long-short-term memory (LSTM) models, a TLEL model is constructed utilizing the ensemble learning algorithm. Meanwhile, the FRD method is introduced to construct the FRD-XGBoost-LSTM (R-XGBL), FRD-RF-LSTM(R-RFL), and FRD- CatBoost - LSTM (R-CatBL) models. Subsequently, the above models are combined to construct the FRD-TLEL model for deterministic forecasting, and perform probability interval forecasting based on quantile regression(QR). Finally, the performance of the proposed model is demonstrated with a real-world dataset. By comparing with other models, the proposed model displays better forecasting accuracy for deterministic forecasting and reliable forecasting intervals for probability forecasting, and good generalization ability in the datasets of different seasons and weather types.

In this paper, we consider the one-dimensional Ising model (shortly, 1D-MSIM) having mixed spin-(s,(2t−1)/2) with nearest neighbors and the external magnetic field. We establish the partition function of the model by means of the transfer matrix. Under a null boundary condition, we compute certain thermodynamic quantities for the 1D-MSIM. We find some precise formulas to determine the model’s free energy, entropy, magnetization, and susceptibility. By examining the model’s associated iterative equations, we use the cavity approach to investigate the phase transition problem. We numerically determine the model’s periodicity.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the attachment types of the tibialis anterior tendon (TAT) in Japanese fixed cadavers and to determine the attachment site area in three dimensions. We examined 100 feet from 50 Japanese cadavers. The TAT was classified according to differences in the number of fiber bundles as: Type I, with one fiber bundle; Type II, with two fiber bundles; and Type III, with three fiber bundles. The attachment site area of the TAT was measured using a three-dimensional scanner. Cases were Type II in 95% and Type III in 5%, with no cases of Type I identified. In Type II, mean attachment site areas were 85.2 ± 18.2 mm2 for the medial cuneiform bone (MCB) and 72.4 ± 19.0 mm2 for the first metatarsal bone (1MB), showing a significantly larger area for MCB than for 1MB. These findings suggest the possibility of ethnic differences in TAT attachment types and suggest that TAT attachments in Japanese individuals are highly likely to be Type II, with rare cases of Type III. Accurate measurement of attachment site areas is possible with appropriate three-dimensional measurements.

Manipulation of radiation pattern control is challenging, especially at low frequencies. In this paper, we demonstrate that acoustic metamaterials as an effective array of quadrupoles can remarkably improve the directionality of acoustic radiation at low frequencies, compared with previous metamaterials as monopole and dipole structures. The directivity of the acoustic radiation can be adjusted by changing the characteristic parameter and the symmetry of the structure, which provide a flexible method of adjustable radiation di-rections. The directionality can be further improved by constructing linear array of structure. Our work opens an approach of acoustic radiation control via quadrupolar metamaterials.

The Finite size Lyapunov exponent (FSLE) has been used extensively since the late 1990’s to diagnose turbulent regimes from Lagrangian experiments and to detect Lagrangian coherent structures in geophysical flows and two-dimensional turbulence. Historically, the FSLE was defined in terms of its computational method rather than via a mathematical formulation, and the behavior of the FSLE in the turbulent inertial ranges is based primarily on scaling arguments. Here we propose an exact definition of the FSLE based on conditional averaging of the finite amplitude growth rate (FAGR) of the particle pair separation. With this new definition, we show that the FSLE is a close proxy for the inverse structural time, a concept introduced a decade before the FSLE. The (in)dependence of the FSLE on initial conditions is also discussed, as well as the links between the FAGR and other relevant Lagrangian metrics, such as the finite time Lyapunov exponent and the second order velocity structure function.

General Linear Modelling (GLM) has been widely employed to estimate the hemodynamic changes evoked by cognitive processing, which are more likely to be nonlinear than linear. First, this study re-analyzed the fNIRS data (N = 38, Mage = 5.0 years, SD = 0.69 years, 17 girls) collected in the Mixed-Order Design Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task. The results indicated that the quadratic equation was better than GLM to model HbO changes in this task. Second, analysis of a new set of data indicated that the Habit-DisHabit design of DCCS was more effective in identifying the neural correlates of cognitive shifting than the Mixed-Order Design. Third, this study found that the Non-users were more attentive and engaged than the Heavy-users, with a slower but more steady increase of brain activation in BA8 and BA9.

This study aims to examine the impact of tablet use on preschoolers’ executive function during the Dimensional Change Card Sort Task (DCCS) task using the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Altogether 38 Chinese preschoolers (Mage = 5.0 years, SD = 0.69 years, 17 girls) completed the tasks before the COVID-19 lockdown. Eight children never used tablets, while 16 children were diagnosed as the ‘heavy-user'. The results indicated that: (1) the 'Non-user' outperformed the 'Heavy-user' with a significantly higher correct rate in the DCCS task; (2) the two groups differed significantly in the activation of the prefrontal cortex (BA 9): the 'Non-user' pattern is normal and healthy, whereas the 'Heavy-user' pattern is not normal and needs further exploration.

Protein is the proteios building block of life. Evolutionarily, its sequence is not as conserved as its structure, making it more reasonable for protein structure, instead of protein sequence, to be the descriptor of protein function. Yet, in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database, the number of experimentally identified protein sequences is in great excess of that of experimentally determined protein structures inside the almost-half-a-century old Protein Data Bank (PDB). For instance, GPR151 is an proton-sensing G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) originally identified as homologous to galanin receptors. As of March 19, 2020, GPR151’s structure has not been experimentally determined and deposited in PDB yet. Thus, an ab initio modelling approach was employed here to build a three-dimensional structure of GPR151. Overall, the ab initio GPR151 model presented herein constitutes the first structural hypothesis of GPR151 to be experimentally tested in future with previously published, currently ongoing and future GPR151 studies.

Inspired by amazing result obtained by Semay [1], this study revisits generalised Kepler's third law of an n-body system from the perspective of dimension analysis. To be compatible with Semay's quantum n-body result, this letter reports a conjecture which had not be included in author's early publication [2] but formulated in the author's research memo. The new conjecture for quantum N-body system is proposed as follows: Tq|Eq|^3/2 = πG/√2[(Σ^N_i=1 Σ^N_j=i+1 m_im_j)³/(Σ^N_k=1 m_k)]^1/2. This formulae is, of course, consistent with the Kepler's third law of 2-body system, and exact same as Semay's quantum result for identical bodies.

The so-called controversy in elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) regarding the nature of the shear dependence of viscosity, Eyring versus Carreau, is truly a controversy regarding the pressure and temperature dependence of the low-shear viscosity. The Roelands hoax became acceptable in EHL because ignoring the universal previtreous piezoviscous response made the traction calculated with the Eyring assumption appear to be reasonable. Traction and minimum film thickness calculations sometimes require the description of viscosity at pressures up to the glass transition pressure. There have been few measurements of viscosity at pressures up to the glass pressure. Therefore, a need exists for a piezoviscous model that extrapolates accurately and the Hybrid model fills that need. Here, an improved relation for the temperature dependence of the divergence pressure is offered and extrapolation is demonstrated for a polyalphaolefin.

This article investigates and studies the current situation of implementing the credit system in ordinary high schools in Zhejiang Province, and puts forward relevant suggestions. Firstly, analyze the background and objectives of implementing the credit system in ordinary high schools in Zhejiang Province. Then, through a questionnaire survey method, a sample survey was conducted on the current status of the implementation of the credit system in ordinary high schools in Zhejiang Province. The results showed that there are some problems in the management of the credit system in schools, such as unreasonable credit course settings, inaccurate recording and statistics of credits, etc. Further analysis reveals that students and parents have biases and utilitarian motives in their understanding and evaluation of the credit system.

Yttria stabilized zirconia materials are frequently used in mechanical engineering and biomedical applications. Demanding loading conditions require materials combining a high level of strength and fracture toughness. A ready to press alumina doped 2 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia powder was shaped by axial pressing and sintering in air at 1250 - 1500 °C for 2 h. The best combination of strength and toughness value of 7.8 MPa√m. Materials sintered in the middle of the chosen temperature range combine fully density, high transformability and small grain size. Toughness measurements by direct crack length measurements delivered unrealistically high fracture toughness values.

Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common multifactorial disease, but high-risk PE s a life-threatening condition associated with high mortality and morbidity and a heavy prognostic burden. Systemic thrombolysis is the first-line treatment approach for severe high-risk PE, but only few agents are indicated for use by international guidelines. Tenecteplase, a thrombolytic agent, is proven to reduce mortality and right ventricle dysfunction in high-risk PE, but is not approved yet by major recommendations. Aim: We present a series of cases of high-risk PE treated with Tenecteplase, with satisfying hemodynamic and clinical outcomes. Our goal is to encourage the usage of Tenecteplase with secure safety and efficacy in situations of unavailability of guidelines-approved fibrinolytic agents. Cases : Patients were included from January 2022 to January 2024. We report 3 cases of patients with high-risk PE treated with Tenecteplase where rtPA and other second-generations agents were not available. Clinical, biological and imaging data were detailed for each case. Conclusion: Tenecteplase was effective in our patients, without bleeding complications, and should be suggested in settings of unavailability of first-line recommended agents.

Advanced lithography requires highly sensitive photoresists to improve lithographic efficiency, and it is critical yet challenging to develop high-sensitivity photoresists and imaging strategies. Here, we report a novel strategy for ultra-high sensitivity using hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP)-containing fluoropolymer photoresists. The incorporation of HFIP, with its strong electrophilic property and electron-withdrawing effect of the fluorine atoms, significantly increases the acidity of the photoresist after exposure, enabling imaging without conventional photoacid generators (PAGs). The HFIP-containing photoresist has been evaluated by electron beam lithography to achieve a trench of ~40 nm at an extremely low dose of 3 μC/cm2, which shows sensitivity enhancement by ~10 times to the commercial PAGs involved system, revealing its high-sensitivity and high-resolution features. Our results demonstrate a new type of PAGs and a novel approach to higher-performance imaging beyond conventional photoresist performance tuning.

The Antarctica and High Arctic regions are extreme environments, with average maximum temperatures below 0 °C for most days of the year. Interestingly, fungi inhabit these regions. This review describes the history of fungal surveys near the Syowa Station and the fungal diversity in this region. In the High Arctic region, I summarized the changes in fungal communities in glacial retreat areas of Ny-Ålesund, Norway and Ellesmere Island, Canada in response to climate change. In addition, growth and enzyme secretion ability of Antarctic and Arctic fungi at sub-zero temperatures are presented. Finally, I have also provided the future directions of Antarctic and Arctic fungal research.

Background of the Study: We investigated the link between hypertension and cancer since it has been suggested that hypertension may raise the long-term risk of cancer. Previous large observational cohort studies found that greater blood pressure (BP) was related to a higher risk of cancer. Mendelian randomization (MR) was utilized to produce less confounded blood pressure estimates (BP) on overall and site-specific malignancies. The study aims to draw conclusions on the relationship between high blood pressure and cancer. Methods: Studies on high blood pressure and various malignancies are inconclusive, except for renal cell carcinoma. However, given that most meta-analyses only contained a limited number of trials, some relative risks had small to moderate magnitudes, and several may have been impacted by residual confounding, careful interpretation is necessary. The study was conducted using the meta-analysis technique. Cochran's Q test and I2 test were used to assess statistical heterogeneity between studies in the current investigation for research involving two or more cause and outcome combinations. Results: Positive correlations were also reported between high blood pressure and esophageal adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, liver, and squamous cell carcinoma. However, most studies lacked multivariable adjustments. Physical and numerical risk of cardiovascular disease is linked to bowel cancer but no other cancers. According to a meta-analysis, hypertensive persons could also be at increased danger of gastrointestinal and breast cancer. Most meta-analyses comprised several trials with moderate or mild hazard ratios.ConclusionDifferent types of cancers have been noted to be directly caused by hypertension. In addition, some treatments have also been associated with the side effects of cancer treatments to cause hypertension. Women facing hypertension have an increased risk of getting breast cancer. Although some cancers showed a real relationship with hypertension, others had no connection at all.

This research work studies the characteristics of wear and wear resistance of composite powder coatings, deposited by high-velocity oxygen fuel, which contain composite mixtures Ni-Cr-B-Si having different chromium concentrations – 9.9%; 13.2%; 14%; 16% and 20% , at one and the same size of the particles and the same content of the remaining elements. The coating of 20% Cr does not contain B and Si. Out of each powder, composite coatings have been prepared without any preliminary thermal treatment of the substrate and with preliminary thermal treatment of the substrate up to 650оС. The coatings have been tested under identical conditions of dry friction over a surface of solid firmly attached abrasive particles using the tribological testing device „Pin-on-disk“. Results have been obtained and the dependences of the hardness, mass wear, intensity of the wearing process, absolute and relative wear resistance on the Cr concentration under identical conditions of friction. It has been found out that for all the coatings the preliminary thermal treatment of the substrate leads to a decrease in the wear intensity. Upon increasing Cr concentration the wear intensity diminishes and it reaches minimal values at 16% Cr. In the case of coatings having 20% Cr concentration, the wear intensity is increased, which is due to the absence of the components B and Si in the composite mixture, whereupon no inter-metallic structures are formed having high hardness and wear resistance. The obtained results have no analogues in the current literature and they have not been published by the authors.

Soliton crystal micro-combs are powerful tools as sources of multiple wavelength channels for radio frequency (RF) signal processing. They offer a compact device footprint, large numbers of wavelengths, very high versatility, and wide Nyquist bandwidths. Here, we demonstrate integral order RF signal processing functions based on a soliton crystal micro-comb, including a Hilbert transformer and first- to third-order differentiators. We compare and contrast results achieved and the tradeoffs involved with varying comb spacing, tap design methods, as well as shaping methods.

Background Pregnancy is a process of maturity for women that requires adaptation to the changes in their new roles. Adjustment to a new role is not easy, especially if the pregnancy is accompanied by risks, so it is necessary to get treatment to minimize complications. Dyad models that optimize husband or family support are very important to prevent the risk of complications and adapt mothers to their new roles. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the dyad model on high-risk pregnancies. The method used with a literature review is through the collection of articles from Scopus, ebsco, ProQuest and PubMed. The results obtained were articles from Scopus 9, Ebsco 107, PubMed 214 and ProQuest 85 which carried out identification, screening and eligibility for 25 articles. Overall results mention. Journals are categorized into 4 groups, Dyad Model and social support, high-risk pregnancy, maternal role and Self Efficacy. Conclusion, there is an effect of the dyad model on care for high-risk pregnancies.

We demonstrate an RF photonic fractional Hilbert transformer based on an integrated Kerr micro-comb source featuring a record low free spectral range of 49 GHz. By programming and shaping the comb lines according to calculated tap weights for up to 39 wavelengths across the C-band, we achieve tunable bandwidths ranging from 1.2 to 15.3 GHz as well as variable center frequencies from baseband to 9.5 GHz, for both standard integral and arbitrary fractional orders. We experimentally characterize the RF amplitude and phase response of the tunable bandpass and lowpass Hilbert transformers with 90 and 45-degree phase shifts. The experimental results show good agreement with theory, confirming the effectiveness of our approach as a powerful way to implement standard and fractional order Hilbert transformers with broad and variable bandwidths and center frequencies, with high reconfigurability and greatly reduced size and complexity. Tan, and D. J. Moss are with the Optical Sciences Centre, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia. (Corresponding e-mail: dmoss@swin.edu.au). Xu is with the Electro-Photonics Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer System Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, 3800 VIC, Australia

The aim of this research is to determine the factors that may prevent high school students from participating in recreational activities and to investigate whether these factors differ within the scope of various variables. This study consisted of total 1459 (681 women and 778 men) student volunteers who educated in high school level. Sampling method was preferred for easy sampling. The face-to-face survey method was used to collect the data. The "Leisure Constraints Scale" developed by Alexandris and Carroll (1997) and adapted to Turkish by Gürbüz, Öncü, and Emir (2012) was used to determine the factors that might prevent individuals from participating in leisure activities. The data obtained for the research were first transferred to the computer and then analyzed by SPSS packet program. The error margin level in the study was taken as p<0.05. The cronbach alpha of the study was found to be 0.91. As a result, it was found that women participated in the leisure time more than men. It was also observed that the participants met with more leisure constrain in Turkey's eastern regions.

The MAGIC (Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov) Florian Goebel telescopes are a system of two Cherenkov telescopes located on the Canary island of La Palma (Spain), at the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory, and operating in stereo mode since 2009. Their low energy threshold (reaching 15 GeV) allows the study of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) in the very-high-energy gamma ray range with an impressive sensitivity up to the redshift limit of the existing IACT systems. MAGIC has collected many discoveries and comprehensive studies of different kinds of galaxies and their AGNs, also in a multi-wavelength context, expanding the knowledge of our Universe. Here we report the highlights which have been achieved by the MAGIC collaboration since the beginning of the operations.

Southern highbush blueberry plantations have been expanded into worldwide non-traditional growing areas with elite cultivars and improved horticultural practices. This article presents a comprehensive review of current production systems – alternatives to traditional open field production – such as production in protected environments, high-density plantings, evergreen production, and container-based production. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each system and compare their differences to the open field production. In addition, potential solutions have been provided for some of the disadvantages. We also highlight some of the gaps existing between academic studies and production in industry, providing a guide for future academic research. All these alternative systems have shown the potential to produce high yields with high quality berries. Alternative systems, compared to the field production, require higher establishment investments and thus create an entry barrier for new producers. Nevertheless, with their advantages, alternative productions have potential to be profitable.

High pressure crystallization technique has been successfully used to prepare an elusive form II of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, Mefenamic acid. Single crystal of form II was grown at 0.3 GPa from an 4:1 methanol/ ethanol mixture as a solvent using Diamond Anvil Cell. Comparison of crystal structures show that the efficient packing of MA molecules in Form II results from the structural flexibility of MA acid molecules. Compression studies performed on the single crystal of form I resulted in 14 % decrease of unit cell volume up to 2.5 GPa. No phase transition was observed up to this pressure. A reconstructive phase transition is required to induce conformational changes in the structure, which is confirmed by crystallization at high pressure results.

Patients with pT1 high-grade (HG) bladder cancer (BC) and a very high risk of progression might benefit from immediate radical cystectomy (RC), but this option remains controversial. Validation of a standardized method to evaluate the extent of lamina propria (LP) invasion (with recognized prognostic value) in transurethral resections (TURBT) specimens is still needed. The Rete Oncologica Lombarda (ROL) system showed a high predictive value for progression after TURBT in recent retrospective studies. Our aim was to validate ROL system on a large mono-institutional prospective series of primary urothelial carcinomas. From 2016 to 2020, we adopted ROL for all patients with pT1 HG BC on TURBT. We employed a 1.0-mm threshold to stratify tumors in ROL1 and ROL2. A total of 222 pT1HGBC were analyzed. Median age was 74 years, with male predominance (73.8%). ROL was feasible in all cases: 91 cases were ROL1 (41%) and 131 ROL2 (59%). At a median follow up of 26.9 months (IQR 13.8-40.6), we registered 80 recurrences and 40 progressions. ROL was a significant predictor of tumor progression at both univariable (HR 3.53; CI 95% 1.56 – 7.99; p&lt;0.01) and multivariable (HR 2.90; CI 95% 1.25 – 6.75; p=0.01) Cox regression analyses. At Kaplan-Meier estimates, ROL showed correlation with both PFS (p=0.0012) and RFS (p=0.0167). Our results confirmed the strong predictive value of ROL for progression on a large prospective series. We encourage the application of ROL for reporting the extent of LP invasion, substaging T1 HG BC, and improving risk tables for urological decision making.

Analyses of the Hubble diagrams are presented for SN1a supernovae and gamma ray bursts in the redshift ranges z = 0.01–1.3 and 0.034–8.1, respectively. Data are presented on the typical z/μ scale and also on the less common yet increasingly sensitive photon flight time t/(z+1) scale. The primary conclusion is that on the basis of the presently accessible data in the redshift range z = 0.01–8.1, the slope of the Hubble diagram is, or is extremely close to, exponential.

The western Sulige gas field is a new and key reserve area for the rolling development of the Sulige gas field in China. However, due to the complex gas–water relationship and the difficulty in identifying gas and water formation, the scale and benefit deployment of the gas field are seriously restricted. In particular, almost all of the wells in the area produce water and no water measurement has been carried out for any single well, which leads to an unclear understanding of the dynamic characteristics of the production wells, thus affecting the productivity calculations of the gas wells and the overall regional productivity evaluation. Based on the testing data for a gas well, the impacts of the reservoir property parameters on the gas and water production were analyzed by combining the production performance and static geological characteristics. It was determined that the physical parameters K, Kh, and φSg had good positive correlations with gas production but not with water production; thus, effective prediction cannot be obtained for water production in gas well testing. After the analysis of the liquid loading law, the gas wells were classified into three types: continuous liquid carrying production, slight liquid loading, and liquid loading wells. In general, up to 96% of the gas wells were liquid loaded. According to the different production performances exhibited in the different stages of the gas wells, five types of methods for diagnosing water production wells were proposed (gas testing, pilot production, gas–liquid two-phase measurement testing, liquid level detection, and production performance analysis), as well as the diagnostic criteria and corresponding solutions. To obtain real-time water production data for each well and investigate the change of water-gas ratio (WGR) during the whole production process, a water production splitting method for gas wells based on three-dimensional geological modeling and numerical simulation combined with the constraints of the total water production of gas gathering stations was explored and established. The splitting results can be used to evaluate the water and gas productivity of gas wells and determine the best deliquification period. The gas well productivity when water production was considered was about 10% lower than that when water production was not considered. The best deliquification period was determined to be 125 days for wells with small water production, 20 days for wells with moderate water production, and 3 days for wells with serious water production. The results of this study could provide technical support for the scientific evaluation of gas well production indicators, reduction of development costs, and improvement of oil recovery.

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) cell-separation technology is an effective means of separating rare cells. To develop highly efficient cell-separation devices, detailed analysis of the nonuniform electric field’s intensity distribution within the device is needed, as it affects separation performance. Here we analytically expressed the distributions of the electric field and DEP force in a parallel-plate cell-separation DEP device by employing electrostatic analysis through the Fourier series method. The solution was approximated by extrapolating a novel approximate equation as a boundary condition for the potential between adjacent fingers of interdigitated electrodes and changed the underlying differential equation into a solvable form. The distributions of the potential and electric fields obtained by the analytical solution were compared with those from numerical simulations using finite element method software to verify their accuracy. The results showed excellent agreement. Three-dimensional fluorescence imaging analysis used live non-tumorigenic human mammary (MCF10A) cells. The distribution of cell clusters adsorbed on the interdigitated electrodes was compared with the analytically obtained distribution of the DEP force, and the mechanism underlying cell adsorption on the electrode surface was discussed. Furthermore, parametric analysis using the width and spacing of these electrodes as variables revealed that spacing is crucial for determining DEP force. The results showed that, by optimizing cell-separation devices using interdigitated electrodes, adjusting electrode spacing significantly enhances device performance.

Background: This study aims to investigate the influence of Body Mass Index (BMI) on the doses received by organs at risk (OAR) during high-dose-rate (HDR) vaginal cuff brachytherapy in pa-tients diagnosed with early-stage endometrial carcinoma. Understanding the relationship be-tween BMI and OAR doses could enhance treatment planning and minimize complications. Methods: We collected brachytherapy data for 242 endometrial cancer patients treated with ad-juvant HDR vaginal cuff brachytherapy. The patients were categorized based on their BMI into normal weight, overweight, and obese groups. Dosimetric data were collected for OARs, includ-ing the bladder, rectum, and sigmoid colon and also for dose fractionation, D90 and the active length of the brachytherapy cylinder. The analysis included comparing the doses received by each organ across different BMI categories using appropriate statistical methods Results: Preliminary findings indicated a significant variation in the doses to OARs correlating with BMI classifications. Obese patients exhibited slightly higher mean doses to the rectum and bladder compared to those with a normal BMI. The statistical analysis demonstrated that as BMI increased, the dose to these organs at risk also tended to increase, suggesting a need for ad-justed treatment planning strategies in this population. Conclusions: Obesity is a key concern in endometrial cancer patients, with higher BMI linked to slightly increased doses to the rectum and sigmoid, though treatment remained homogeneously delivered.Future work should focus on refining dosimetric techniques and exploring strategies to mitigate OAR exposure in patients with higher BMI.

This paper is devoted to the study of multi-dimensional integral transform with Fox H-function in the kernel in weighted spaces integrable functions in the domain R+n with positive coordinates. Mapping properties such as the boundedness, the range, the representations of the considered transformation are established.

First, a recently developed eigenfunction expansion technique, based in part on separation of the thickness-variable and partly utilizing a modified Frobenius type series expansion technique in conjunction with the Eshelby-Stroh formalism, is employed to derive three-dimensional singular stress fields in the vicinity of the front of an interfacial crack weakening an infinite bicrystalline superlattice plate, made of orthorhombic (cubic, hexagonal and tetragonal serving as special cases) phases, of finite thickness and subjected to the far-field extension/bending, in-plane shear/twisting and anti-plane shear loadings, distributed through the thickness. Crack-face boundary and interface contact conditions as well as those that are prescribed on the top and bottom surfaces of the bicrystalline superlattice plate are exactly satisfied. It also extends a recently developed concept of lattice crack deflection (LCD) barrier to a superlattice, christened superlattice crack deflection (SCD) energy barrier for studying interfacial crack path instability, which can explain crack deflection from a difficult interface to an easier neighboring cleavage system. Additionally, the relationships of the nature (easy/easy, easy/difficult or difficult/difficult) interfacial cleavage systems based on the present solutions with the structural chemistry aspects of the component phases (such as orthorhombic, tetragonal, hexagonal as well as FCC (face centered cubic) transition metals and perovskites) of the superlattice are also investigated. Finally, results pertaining to the through-thickness variations of mode I/II/III stress intensity factors and energy release rates for symmetric hyperbolic sine distributed load and their skew-symmetric counterparts that also satisfy the boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the bicrystalline superlattice plate under investigation, also form an important part of the present investigation.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques are widely used to identify pure substances and probe protein dynamics. Edible oil is a complex mixture composed of hydrocarbons, which have a wide range of molecular size distribution. In this research, low field NMR (LF-NMR) relaxation characteristic data of various sample oils were analyzed. We also suggest a new method for prediction size of edible oil molecules using LF-NMR relaxation time distributions. According to the relative molecular mass, carbon chain length, transverse relaxation time of different sample oils, combined with oil viscosity and other factors, the relationship between carbon chain length and transverse relaxation time rate was analyzed. Various oils and fats in the mixed fluid are displayed, reflecting the composition information of different oils. To study the correlation between the rotation correlation time and molecular information of oil molecules. The molecular composition of the resulting fluid determines its properties, such as viscosity and phase behavior. The results show that low-field NMR can obtain information on the composition, macromolecular aggregation, and molecular dynamics of complex fluids. Measurements of grease in the free fluid state show that the relaxation time can reflect the intrinsic properties of the fluid. It is shown that the composition characteristics and states of complex fluids can be measured by low-field nuclear magnetic resonance.

Magnetometric Resistivity(MMR) Method, which can use the power supply method of the traditional apparent resistivity method to measure the magnetic field. At present, the application research abroad is relatively extensive, but the domestic(China) research on the application of the MMR method is very few, and it is not even well-known. This paper is based on the MMR theoretical method under the point source DC condition, combined with the abnormal potential method and the modified Biot-Savart law, and using the three-dimensional numerical calculation method of the finite difference method to calculate the abnormal potential field, electric field, and magnetic field on the matlab2018a platform. Calculate, realize the multi-physics simulation in the electromagnetic field through Matlab platform programming, and verify the correctness of the algorithm by the spherical anomaly model with an analytical solution. Through the visual simulation of the three-dimensional data volume of the multi-physics field in the electromagnetic field, we can better understand the response mechanism of the electromagnetic field under DC conditions and grasp their three-dimensional spatial distribution rules. It is hoped that the research in this article can help the research of MMR Personnel better use this method for exploration.

The symmetry properties of an ornament contain information about its civilisation and its interactions with other cultural sources. Two-dimensional periodic ornaments can be strictly classified into a limited set of 17 mathematical symmetry groups, also known as wallpaper groups. The collection of ornaments thus classified for a civilisation is characteristic of the cultural group and serves as a fingerprint to identify that group. If the distribution of wallpaper groups is available for several societies, mathematical methods can be applied to determine similarities and differences between the art practices of these communities. This method allows a systematic approach to the general ornamental practices within a culture and their interactions in the form of similarity of fingerprints. We test the feasibility of the method on examples of medieval Armenians, Byzantium, Seljuks first in Persia and then in Anatolia and among Arabs in the Middle East. For this purpose we present the distribution of the planar ornaments and calculate the Euclidean distances in pairs. We tested to what extend geographical and religious factors could account for the observed similarity of ornamental groups between cultures. The results suggest an intensive interaction between the Seljuk Turks and Arab craftsmen who produced the ornaments. Therefore the cultural interactions are religiously motivated.

Multispectral remote sensing data may contain component images which are heavily corrupted by noise and pre-filtering (denoising) procedure is often applied to enhance these component images. To do this, one can use reference images – component images having relatively high quality and which are similar to the image subject to pre-filtering. Here we study the following problems: how to select component images that can be used as references (e.g., for the Sentinel multispectral remote sensing data) and how to perform the actual denoising. We demonstrate that component images of the same resolution as well as component images of a better resolution can be used as references. Examples of denoising of real-life images demonstrate high efficiency of the proposed approach.

The most significant assumptions in the subdomain technique (i.e., based on the formal resolution of Maxwell's equations applied in subdomain) is defined by: “The iron parts (i.e., the teeth and the back-iron) are considered to be infinitely permeable so that the saturation effect is neglected”. In this paper, the author presents a new scientific contribution on improving of this method in two-dimensional (2-D) and in Cartesian coordinates by focusing on the consideration of iron. The subdomains connection is carried out in the two directions (i.e., x- and y-edges). For example, the improvement was performed by solving magnetostatic Maxwell's equations for an air- or iron-cored coil supplied by a direct current. To evaluate the efficacy of the proposed technique, the magnetic flux density distributions have been compared with those obtained by the 2-D finite-element analysis (FEA). The semi-analytical results are in quite satisfying agreement with those obtained by the 2-D FEA, considering both amplitude and waveform.

High-grade advanced ovarian, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal (HGAOC) cancer are malignancies in which, apart from surgical treatment, systemic treatment plays an important role. The improvement in treatment results is associated with the introduction of polyADP-ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPis). The aim of this study is to present a cross-section of patients treated for HGAOC, in one center, including the distribution of treatment principles following the most up-to-date guidelines. We observed patients who reported to the Department of Gyneacological Oncology between January 2018 and December 2023. We analyzed 437 women with a first diag-nosis of HGAOC, who had not been treated before. The introduction of combined treatment with bevacizumab and PARPi into the first line of treatment, regardless of any remnants left during cytoreductive surgery, was introduced in November 2022. Since then, 30% (18/60) of patients (14 with olaparib and 4 with niraparib) have used the above regimen. Previously, in May 2021 - Oc-tober 2022, it was 27% of patients (13/81 with olaparib and 9/81 with niraparib). Among patients starting treatment in January 2018 - April 2021, only 4.7% (5/106) received the platinum + paclitaxel + olaparib regimen. In both groups – with and without BRCA1/2 pathogenic or likely- pathogenic variant, significantly more patients used PC + PARPi or PC + BEV + PARPi in periods II and III than in period I (p<0.01). The introduction of modern treatment in our center very quickly changed the structure of patient treatment. Carriers of BRCA1/2 pathogenic or likely-pathogenic variant had previously received only chemotherapy, disappeared after the introduction of PARPi, in favor of new therapies. Most patients with no BRCA1/2 pathogenic or likely-pathogenic variant, who used PARPi in therapy in our center – received niraparib and therefore they are beneficiaries of mo-lecular diagnostics in the field of HRD.

The safety and reliability of structures operating in cold regions are seriously threatened by icing. This has attracted researchers to explore de-icing/anti-icing methods. In this work, a bubble de-icing system was established and investigated for the removal of ice from frozen structures using bubble pulsation energy. Traditional de-icing method face high energy consumption, environmental pollution, and secondary icing issues. To avoid this and promote the development of de-icing techniques, the massive amount of energy generated by bubble pulsation can be used for de-icing. In the present work, experimental methods have been adopted to demonstrate the possibilities of de-icing using cavitation energy. Many test cases, in which the bubble distance from the target and thickness of ice layer were varied 5 - 35 mm, were examined to determine the mechanism of ice removal by the bubble energy. This research demonstrated that bubble energy can be used effectively for de-icing. Bubble energy should be further explored for de-icing techniques and engineering application prospects.

Current paper is aiming to show the obtained results in manufacturing and characterization of graphite-based and metal composite materials suitable to be used in high voltage application of automotive field. Thus, 4 types of materials have been processed and tested in order to assess their suitability to be used as current collector material for trolleybus. The novelty of this work is the new innovative technological process for obtaining the carbon/metal composite material used in the manufacture of sliding contacts for electrical current collector heads, as well as the character-istics obtained for this material. All 4 obtained materials have been characterized from structural (by optical microscopy), mechanical (density, electrical resistivity, hardness) and functional point of view (wear after 1000 working hours, electric discharge and electric load) and it was determined that the material which uses chemically copper covered graphite is the most suitable of them and has been chosen to be further developed by the end beneficiary.

Software quantum simulators are the most accessible tools for designing and testing quantum algorithms. This paper presents a comprehensive approach to building a software-based quantum simulator based on classical computing architectures. We explore fundamental quantum computing concepts, including state vector representations, quantum gates, and memory management techniques. The simulator prototype implements various memory optimization strategies, such as full-state representation, dynamic state pruning, and shared memory parallelization with OpenMP and distributed memory models using MPI. Additionally, data compression techniques, like ZFP, are explored to enhance simulation performance by reducing memory footprint. The results are validated through performance comparisons with leading open-source quantum simulators, such as Intel-QS, QuEST, and qsim. Our findings highlight the trade-offs between computational overhead and memory efficiency. This demonstrates that a hybrid approach using distributed memory and compression offers the best scalability for simulating large quantum systems. This work provides a foundation for developing efficient quantum simulators supporting more complex quantum algorithms on classical hardware.

Current paper is aiming to show the obtained results in manufacturing and characterization of graphite-based and metal composite materials suitable to be used in high voltage applications of automotive and/or aviation field. Thus, 4 types of materials have been processed and tested in order to assess their suitability to be used as current collector material for electric engines. The novelty of this work is the presentation of the new innovative technological process for obtaining the carbon/metal composite material used in the manufacture of sliding contacts for current collector heads, as well as the characteristics obtained for this material. All 4 obtained materials have been characterized from structural, mechanical and functional point of view and the most suitable of them has been chosen to be further developed by the end beneficiary.

Glioblastoma is a highly aggressive brain tumor and is considered to be the most common primary one. Recurrence after treatment is a major problem. The recurrence of GBM is related to different cellular mechanisms and molecular signaling. Therapies to prolong survival are not completely effective. Epigenetics and non-coding genetic elements play a crucial role in gliomagenesis. Non-coding RNAs are novel regulatory RNAs that play key roles in different physiological processes such as gene regulation, cell differentiation, and proliferation. Interestingly, some LncRNAs have a tumor suppressor role while others are oncogenic. In this review article, we are going to illustrate the role of a well-known lncRNA HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) in glioma and highlight the possible functions in glioma in both pre-clinical and clinically evident studies.

In this letter, we propose a pattern-diversity antenna with different radiation patterns at two different frequency bands (f1 and f2) (f1: broadside radiation pattern, f2: conical radiation pattern). The proposed structure consists of a central circular antenna and two annular ring antennas; each of the three antennas has individual ports. Two of the ports exhibit orthogonal broadside radiation patterns; the other two ports exhibit orthogonal conical radiation patterns. Thus, they have polarization diversity characteristics. To improve isolation between ports, the inner part of the annular ring antennas is shorted via array, and the outermost port is positioned orthogonal to the other ports. Using this configuration, the isolation between ports was measured as -26.7 dB and -30.1 dB at the two frequency bands, respectively. Experimental results based on the fabricated prototype show that the proposed antenna achieves -10 dB bandwidths of 240 MHz (5.71~5.95 GHz) and 210 MHz (7.69~7.9 GHz) at f1 and f2, respectively.

Background: Glioma surgery was remarkably renewed in the past 2 decades, with improved safety and limited but yet improved life expectations. Fluorescence-guided resection of high-grade gliomas (HGG) plays a central role in this sense, by allowing higher degrees of extent of resection (EOR). The introduction of the exoscopic guided surgery may be considered an implementation for fluorescence techniques over the traditional microscopes. We present the application and the advantages of the exoscopic guided surgery compared to the microscopic surgery in tumor resection guided by 5-ALA fluorescence in patients with HGG. Methods: ten consecutive patients underwent a surgery for HGG resection. The surgery was performed via an exoscopic-guided procedure (Olympus Orbeye) and after oral administration of Gliolan 5 hours before the procedure. During surgery, the procedure was shifted to microscope (Kinevo 900, Zeiss) view. The intensity of the fluorescence under the two different was subjectively measured in different picture samples during the surgery in a 1 to 5 (from minimum to maximum) scale. The brightness of the surgical field and the detailing of the anatomy were also analyzed comparatively. Results: among the ten patients the histopathological diagnosis was an high grade glioma in all cases. In 9 cases was possible to achieve the gross total resection. There was no perioperative mortality. The median fluorescence intensity, on a scale of 1–5, was 4.5 in the exoscope group and 3.5 in the microscope group (p<0.01). Conclusions: The exoscopic guided surgery adds advantages to the traditional fluorescence- guided surgery with 5-aminolevulinic acid. Beyond the important advantage of low cost and the possibility to perform collaborative surgeries, it adds a plain and continuous visualization of the tumor and the surgical field in the fluorescence guided glioma surgery compared to the microscopic guided one.

Since the implementation of the Materials Genome Project by the Obama administration in the United States, the development of various computational materials databases has fundamentally expanded the choices of industries such as materials and energy. In the field of thermoelectric materials, the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT quantifies the performance of the material. From the viewpoint of calculations for vast materials, the ZT values are not easily obtained due to their computational complexity. Here, we show how to build a database of thermoelectric materials based on first-principles calculations for the electronic and heat transport of materials. Firstly, the initial structures are classified according to the values of bandgap and other basic properties using the clustering algorithm K-means in machine learning, and high-throughput first principles calculations are carried out for narrow-bandgap semiconductors which exhibiting potential thermoelectric application. The present framework of calculations mainly includes deformation potential module, electrical transport performance module, mechanical and thermodynamic properties module. We have also set up a search webpage for the calculated database of thermoelectric materials, providing searching and viewing the related physical properties of materials. Our work may inspire the construction of more computational databases of first-principle thermoelectric materials and accelerate research progress in the field of thermoelectrics.

Abstract:High-pressure water jet technology has received extensive attention and application due to its high efficiency and environmental protection characteristics. The high-pressure water jet nozzle is its core component, and the research on the high-pressure water jet nozzle is conducive to improving the jet performance and improving the jet efficiency. This paper introduces the characteristics of water jet and the working principle of pure water jet, abrasive water jet, pulsed water jet and cavitation water jet, reviews the theoretical analysis and experiment of the predecessor's nozzle, briefly explains the application of high-pressure water jet and looks forward to the development trend of this technology.

A two element Multiple Input Multiple Output UWB (Ultra-wide band) antenna is presented in this paper. The antenna is backed by the FR-4 substrate with a thickness of 1.6 mm and dielectric constant of 4.3 covering an area of 52.8 × 29 mm2. The proposed MIMO antenna consists of two single UWB antennas and a stub placed between the two antennas to reduce the mutual coupling. The proposed antenna achieves the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of less than 2 and more than 86% radiation efficiency over the whole band of interest. Performance of the antenna is examined using both simulation and experiment. The design exhibits good performance characteristics in terms of bandwidth, gain, efficiency, return loss and VSWR. The proposed antenna is analyzed using the CST Microwave Studio software. The prototype model of the antenna is fabricated, tested, and measured to validate the simulation return loss results. There is acceptable agreement between the measured and simulated results.

Although cancer care is often contextualized in terms of survival, there are other important cancer care outcomes, such as quality of life and cost of care. The ASCO Value Framework assesses the value of cancer therapies not only in terms of survival but with consideration of quality of life and financial cost. Early palliative care for patients with advanced cancer is associated with improved quality of life, mood, symptoms, overall survival, and cost savings. While palliative care has been shown to have numerous benefits, the impact of real-world implementation of outpatient embedded palliative care on value-based metrics is not fully understood. We sought to describe the association of outpatient embedded palliative care in a multidisciplinary thoracic oncology clinic on inpatient value-based metrics. We performed a retrospective cohort study of 215 patients being treated for advanced thoracic malignancies with non-curative intent. We evaluated the association of outpatient embedded palliative care with inpatient clinical outcomes including emergency room visits, hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions, hospital charges, as well as hospital quality metrics including 30-day readmissions, admissions within 30 days of death, inpatient mortality, and inpatient hospital charges. Outpatient embedded palliative care was associated with lower hospital charges per day ($3,807 versus $4,695, p=0.024). Furthermore, patients who received outpatient embedded palliative care had decreased hospital admissions within 30 days of death (O.R. 0.50; 95% CI 0.34, 0.74; P<0.001) and decreased inpatient mortality (O.R. 0.46; 95%CI 0.23, 0.94; p=0.032). Our study further supports that outpatient palliative care is a high-value intervention and alternative models of palliative care, including one embedded into a multidisciplinary thoracic oncology clinic, is associated with improved value-based metrics.