High gravity brewing (HGB) and adjunct use are common practices in industrial breweries. This work studied the impact of HGB and wheat adjuncts on beer characteristics. Parameters were evaluated in full-malt beer and beers prepared with 30 % wheat grits (WG) and wheat flakes (WF) in the grist and the effect of HGB was examined. Five beers were prepared; one control, two with different original gravity (OG) with WF and two with WG. Beers with higher OG were diluted to a lower OG and control beer was prepared too. The application of wheat adjuncts increased foam stability but HGB did not affect the beer foam. HGB beers had a remarkably higher ester concentration than other samples, and beers with WG also had a significantly higher ester content. Decreased higher alcohols to esters ratio in HGB beers affected the balanced flavour profile of the lager beer. There was a significantly lower content of unwanted volatiles such as vicinal diketones and dimethyl sulphide in HGB beers. The application of HGB mostly did not affect the beer ageing characteristics such as carbonyl compounds and thiobarbituric acid number.

In this study, alfalfa silage with different packing densities (500 kg/m3, 600 kg/m3 and 700 kg/m3) were set up under outdoor high temperature and indoor normal temperature. The chemical composition, fermentation quality and microbial community of alfalfa silage were analyzed. The results showed that DM and WAC content decreased with the increase of density. When the density is 600kg/m3, CP content reaches the maximum and ADF content is the lowest. Temperature has a certain effect on alfalfa silage. The content of Lactobacillus plantarum fermented at high temperature is lower than that fermented at normal temperature. At the same time, the content of Lactobacillus plantarum decreased with the increase of packing density. However, the content of Lactobacillus plantarum was the lowest when the packing density was 600 kg/m3 at high temperature. In summary, this study explained the effects of different temperature and density on alfalfa fermentation quality and microbial community, and clarified that the density should be reasonably controlled within 600 kg/m3 during alfalfa silage, providing theoretical support for production practice.

This work presents a unique two-element high-isolated orthogonally CPW-fed UWB Multiple Input Multiple Output (Ultra-wideband) antenna. The antenna is supported by the 52.8 × 29 mm2 FR-4 substrate, which has a dielectric constant of 4.3 and a thickness of 1.6 mm. The suggested MIMO antenna reduces mutual coupling by separating the two single UWB antennas that make up the antenna. The suggested antenna achieves a voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of less than two and more than 86% radiation efficiency over the whole range of interest. The antenna's performance is assessed using both modeling and experimentation. Return loss, efficiency, gain, bandwidth, and Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) are all factors in which the design performs well. The suggested antenna is evaluated using the CST Microwave Studio. The antenna prototype model is constructed, tested, and measured in order to validate the simulation return-loss results. There is good agreement between the measured and simulated results.

Landscape changes based on spectral responses allow showing plant cover changes through diversity, composition, and ecological connectivity. The spatial and temporal vegetation dynamics of the Bijagual Massif from 1986 to 2021 were analyzed as a measure of ecological integrity, conservation, and territory. The covers identified were high open forest (Hof), dense grassland of non-wooded mainland (Dgnm), a mosaic of pastures and crops (Mpc), lagoons (Lag), and bare and degraded lands (Bdl). The Bijagual Massif has 8,574.1 ha. In 1986, Dgnm occupied 42.6% of the total area, followed by Mpc (32.8%) and Hof (24.5%); by 2000, Mpc and Hof increased (43.7 and 28.1%, respectively), while Dgnm decreased (28%); by 2021, Dgnm was restricted to the northeastern zone and continued to decrease (25.2%), Mpc occupied 52.9%, Hof 21.7% and Bdl 0.1%. Of the three fractions of the connectivity probability index, only dPCintra and dPCflux contribute to ecological connectivity. Hof and Dgnm show patches with biota habitat quality and availability. Between 1986 and 2021, Dgnm lost 1,489 ha (41%) and Hof 239.5 ha (11%). Mpc replaced various covers (1,722.2 ha; 38%) in 2021. Bijagual has a valuable biodiversity potential limited by Mpc. Territorial planning and sustainable agroecological and ecotourism proposals are required due to the context of the ecosystems.

Runaway electrons (RAEs) generation in high-pressure gases is an important physical phenomenon that influences significantly discharge shapes and properties of initiated plasma. The diffuse discharges formed due to RAEs in air and other gases at atmospheric pressure find wide application. In the present review, theoretical and experimental results that explain the reason for the RAEs occurrence at high pressures are analyzed and recommendations are given on the implementation of conditions under which the runaway electron beam (RAEB) with the highest current can be obtained at atmospheric pressure. Experimental results were obtained using subnanosecond, nanosecond, and submicrosecond generators, including those specially developed for runaway electron generation. The RAEB were recorded by oscilloscopes and collectors with picosecond time resolution. To describe theoretically the phenomenon of continuous electron acceleration, the method of physical kinetics has been used based on the Boltzmann kinetic equation that takes into account the minimum but sufficient number of elementary processes, including shock gas ionization and elastic electron scattering. Results of modeling allowed the main factors to be established that control the RAE appearance, the most important of which is electron scattering on neutral atoms and/or molecules. Theoretical modeling has allowed the influence of various parameters (including the voltage, pressure, gas type, and geometrical characteristics of the discharge gap) to be taken into account. The results of research presented here allow the RAEs accelerators with desirable parameters to be developed and the possibility of obtaining diffuse discharges to be accessed under various conditions. The review consists of the Introduction, 5 Sections, the Conclusion, and the References.

This paper presents the experimental campaign conducted near the Condoroma dam at 4075 m a.s.l. in an experimental setup consisting of a series of standard profile spillways with a vertical upstream face of up to five different dimensionless heights (P/Hd). The experimental results indicate that for all P/Hd ratios studied, the discharge coefficients adjusted to the Condoroma altitude are lower than those reported by classical formulations used in conventional spillway design. As a result, a generalized equation is proposed to estimate the discharge coefficient for standard spillways located in dams at similar elevations above sea level.

With nearly 1,700 species, Microsporidia represent a group of obligate intracellular eukaryotes with veterinary, economic and medical impacts. To help in understanding the biological functions of these microorganisms, complete genome sequencing is used routinely. Nevertheless, the proper prediction of their gene catalogue is challenging due to taxon-specific evolutionary features. As innovative genome annotation strategies are needed to obtain a representative snapshot of the overall lifestyle of these parasites, the MicroAnnot tool, a dedicated workflow for microsporidian sequence annotation using data from curated databases of accurately annotated microsporidian genes, has been developed. Furthermore, specific modules have been implemented to perform small genes (< 300bp) and transposable element identification. Finally, functional annotation was performed using the signature-based InterProScan software. MicroAnnot’s accuracy has been verified by the re-annotation of four microsporidian genomes for which structural annotation had previously been validated. With its comparative approach and transcriptional signal identification method, MicroAnnot provides accurate prediction of translation initiation sites, efficient identification of transposable elements, as well as high specificity and sensitivity for microsporidian genes including those under 300 bp. Thanks to its web interface (https://microannot.org), MicroAnnot is available to the community to ensure high quality annotation of microsporidian genomes.

(1) Background: Lifestyle changes, eventually associated with a nutraceutical, are recommended strategies for managing high-normal blood pressure (BP) patients with low-moderate cardiovascu-lar (CV) risk. Nitrates-enriched products (i.e., red beet extracts) may help reduce BP, exerting vas-oactive properties and enhancing adherence to lifestyle advice. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness in clinical practice of generic written lifestyle advice and a beetroot-based nutraceu-tical prescription based on the 2018 ESC/ESH guidelines on 24-hour BP in a population with high-normal BP and low-moderate CV risk.; (2) Methods: A longitudinal observational study was con-ducted in two ESH hypertension excellence centres on 43 consecutive subjects with high-normal BP based on repeated office BP (OBP) measurements and a low-moderate CV risk. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) was carried out at baseline and three months after ge-neric written ESC/ESH advice for lifestyle changes associated with a nutraceutical containing 500 mg of dry beetroot extract; (3) Results: Mean age 50±11 years, 54% males, 58% overweight/obese, mean OBP 135±3/85±3 mmHg. At baseline, 24-hour BP, daytime BP and night-time BP were 127±7/80±6 mmHg, 131±8/83±6 mmHg and 118±8/70±5 mmHg, respectively, BP profiles compat-ible with hypertension status in some subjects. After a median follow-up of 98 (92-121) days, all BPs, except night-time diastolic BP, were significantly decreased: -3±6/-2±4 mmHg for 24-hour BP, -3.9±6.0/-3.0±4.0 mmHg for daytime BP and -3.3±7.4/-1.3±4.7 mmHg for night-time BP, respec-tively. No significant clinical changes in weight were detected. BP decreased independently of baseline BP level, gender, smoking status and BMI, while a more substantial decrease in BP was observed in older patients; (4) Conclusions: Our pilot study shows for the first time that written generic lifestyle advice based on ESC/ESH hypertension guidelines coupled with a beetroot-based nutraceutical may represent a valid initial non-pharmacological approach in subjects with high-normal BP and low-moderate CV risk even without personalized diet interventions.

Infrastructure and urban network operators, city users and industrialists are faced with complex issues to ensure the sustainability of the service, maintain, operate and develop their urban systems, while integrating environmental, economic and societal impacts and being resilient to unexpected geopolitical and climatic upheavals. Digital Twins are now recognized as the cornerstone of digital transformation. In the field of smart cities, they can enable all stakeholders to collaborate across disciplinary silos and foster digital transformation in urban and territorial projects to ensure sustainability, resilience and increased inventiveness. However, the application of the Digital Twin technology to Smart Cities lacks of standards. This paper proposes a high-level architecture for Digital Twins as an enabler of various levels of interoperation between key stakeholders of a Smart City. Such a technology-agnostic architecture, when implemented for a given Smart City, produces a middleware for large scale interoperability between actors involved in multiple supply chains of this territory.

Early-life exposure to high-fat diet (HF) can program metabolic and cognitive alterations in adult offspring. Although the hippocampus plays a crucial role in memory and metabolic homeostasis, few studies reported the impact of maternal HF on this structure. We assessed the effects of maternal HF during lactation on physiological, metabolic and cognitive parameters in young adult offspring mice. To identify early-programming mechanisms in hippocampus, we developed a multi-omics strategy in male and female offspring. Maternal HF induced a transient increased body weight at weaning, a mild glucose intolerance only in 3-month-old male mice with no change in plasma metabolic parameters in adult male and female offspring. Behavioral alterations revealed by Barnes maze test were observed both in 6-month-old male and female mice. Multi-omics strategy unveiled sex-specific transcriptomic and proteomic modifications in the hippocampus of adult offspring. These studies that were confirmed by regulon analysis, showing that, although genes whose expression was modified by maternal HF were different between sexes, the main pathways affected were similar with mitochondria and synapses as main hippocampal targets of maternal HF. The effects of maternal HF reported here may help to better characterize sex-dependent molecular pathways involved in cognitive disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.

The high protein content of several microalgal species makes them attractive and unconventional for applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Due to microalgae's robust cell wall, cell rupture is necessary to improve the extraction of their intracellular proteins. Thus, choosing a suitable cell-breaking treatment before protein extraction is a vital downstream processing step. Additionally, it is necessary to use an effective technique for monitoring and measuring the impact of rupture treatments on microalgal cell walls. In our study, Tetradesmus obliquus cells were disrupted by three different mechanical rupture methods: high-pressure homogenization (HPH), ultrasound (US), and ball milling (BM). The ruptured biomass cells were counted, and soluble proteins were extracted and quantified. The cell counting technique did not detect differences between intact and damaged cells after BM treatment because the dye (erythrosine B) did not permeate the microalgae biomass accurately. The US treatment promoted the highest yield of total protein extraction (19.95%). The yields of protein extraction of T. obliquus with HPH (15.68%) and BM (14.11%) were significantly (p value ≤ 0.05) lower than that achieved in the US treatment. The increase in the number of extraction steps increased the protein recovery. Thus, the content of extracted soluble protein was a reliable indirect index for a quantitative comparison of the cell disruption level.

This study deals with two different aspects of the high-strength low-alloyed 1100 MC steel. The first is associated with the remarkable heterogeneity in the surface state produced during sheet rolling with respect to the sheet width. The variable-thickness surface layer exhibits a microstructure different from that of the deeper bulk. Variation of the thickness of the thermally softened near-surface region strongly affects Barkhausen noise, as well. This technique can be considered a reliable tool for monitoring the aforementioned heterogeneity. It can also be reported that the opposite sides of the sheet are different with respect to the surface state, heterogeneity distribution, and corresponding Barkhausen noise. These aspects indicate the different conditions during hot rolling followed by rapid quenching on the upper and lower rollers. The second aspect is related to the remarkable asymmetry of Barkhausen noise emission with respect to two consecutive bursts. This asymmetry is due to the presence of remnant magnetisation in the sheet produced during manufacturing. The remnant magnetisation is coupled to the magnetic field produced by the excitation coil of the Barkhausen noise sensor and strongly contributes to the aforementioned asymmetry. As soon as sufficient removal of this remnant magnetisation is carried out in the vanishing magnetic field (demagnetisation), the aforementioned remarkable asymmetry is fully lost.

Accretionary and collisional orogeny are often accompanied by the disturbance of the geothermal gradient, leading to high-temperature metamorphism. High-temperature metamorphic rocks are significant in their ability to help the reconstruction of the thermal histories of orogenic belts. The Tianshan Orogenic Belt, at the southwest margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, is a record of the long-term subduction–collision–post-collision orogenic process that has taken place in the Phanerozoic Eon. Here, we report the discovery of mafic granulites in the Muzhaerte area, SW Tianshan. Petrographic observation reveals that the mafic granulites underwent two metamorphic stages. The peak mineral assemblages of the first stage are dominated by clinopyroxene + orthopyroxene + plagioclase + quartz + hornblende ± biotite, and the post-peak mineral assemblages of the second stage are dominated by clinopyroxene + plagioclase + quartz + amphibole + biotite. The calculated results obtained from the two-pyroxene thermobarometers and the Al-in-hornblende barometer for the mafic granulites indicate that the metamorphic conditions of mafic granulites are 760–860 ℃ and < 0.39–0.41 Gpa. The mafic granulites recorded a high-grade granulite facies thermal metamorphic event with the highest temperature limit currently recorded in the Central Tianshan Block.

In this paper, COMSOL Multiphysics software was used to simulate and analyze the process of cleaning oily sludge by high-speed stirring rotor. The physical phenomena such as velocity field, pressure field, heat dissipation and cavitation generated by the rotor during the process of the oily sludge cleaning were analyzed. The results showed that in the process of cleaning the oily sludge by high-speed stirring rotor, the shear force, heat dissipation and pressure increased with the enhance in the rotor speed. Cavitation occurs in the impeller area of the rotor because of the change of pressure, so the cavitation bubbles were formed. Shear force, heat dissipation and cavitation contributed to the separation of oil phase in oily sludge. Meanwhile, the simulation results were verified by experiments.

The purpose of the current study was the level of the self-confidence among with high musical abilities Student? The randomly selected sample consisted of students (n= 130, M= 65, F= 65) . The analytical descriptive approach was applied in the study and self-confidence Scale developed by the author was administered to participants. Results indicated that: - The self-confidence among the high musical abilities Student students was rated high. There were no statistically significant differences at (α=≤0.05) attributed to effect of sex on the self-confidence overall degree. There were statistically no significant differences at (α≤0.05) attributed to effect of achievement on the self-confidence overall degree,

The coronaviral pandemic has led to a shift in traditional teaching methods to more innovative approaches, such as high-fidelity patient simulation (HFPS), which can improve students’ clinical judgement and decision-making for quality patient care. A modified guideline was introduced to enhance students’ satisfaction and self-confidence in learning through HFPS. The study involved 189 baccalaureate nursing students, with 92 in the intervention group and 97 in the control group. The intervention group received the modified HFPS guideline, while the control group received standard treatment with basic instruction. After the HFPS debriefing session, students provided narrative feedback on their learning experience. The quantitative results showed that students in the intervention group reported a significant improvement in satisfaction and self-confidence in learning compared to the control group. The modified HFPS guideline provided clear guidance for students to learn and apply knowledge and skills more effectively, leading to increased engagement during interactive simulation sessions. The results suggest that the HFPS guideline should be added to the curriculum to enhance students’ satisfaction and self-confidence in learning, even in junior students. Innovative teaching methods, such as HFPS, can be necessary and beneficial for healthcare professional training, after the pandemic.

The popularity and growth of additive manufacturing(AM) in recent years are due to its ability to provide innovative solutions to complex manufacturing challenges and its potential to transform the way products are designed, developed, and produced. In this work, the numerical simulation geometry of the model extruder from nozzle is established along with the material extrusion process. The high gravity material extrusion system (HG-MEX) properties and characteristics during filament fabrication are evaluated. This work investigates the effects of gravity on the material extrusion process from nozzle extrusion. This work is unique in the incorporation of fluid surface characteristics to represent the performance and contact with the material extrusion in additive manufacturing. The use of simulation in high gravity material extrusion in additive manufacturing is a meaningful and valuable approach to improving the quality and efficiency of the process.

Hessenberg differential algebraic equations (Hessenberg-DAEs) with high index play a critical role in the modeling of mechanical systems and multibody dynamics. Motivated by the widely used Lie Group Differential Algebraic Equation (LGDAE) method which only handles index 2 systems, we propose a Modified Extended Lie Group Differential Algebraic Equation (MELGDAE) method for solving index 3 Hessenberg-DAEs, and provide theoretical analysis to deepen the foundation of the MELGDAE method.The performance of the MELGDAE method is compared with the standard methods RADAU and MEBDF on index 2 and 3 DAE systems, and it is demonstrated that the MELGDAE integrator exhibits competitive performance in terms of high accuracy and the preservation of algebraic constraints. In particular, all differential variables in index 3 Hessenberg DAEs achieve second-order convergence using the MELGDAE method, which suggests potential for extension to Hessenberg-DAEs with an index of 4 or higher.

This study assessed the literature about the use of high tunnels (HTs) in agricultural systems in the United States since the 2009 launch of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) High Tunnel Initiative. This NRCS program led to an increase in HT adoption nationwide. The literature searches were conducted using the Web of Science (WoS) database. The final sample was 133 peer-reviewed articles published between 2009 and February 2023. We used CiteSpace 6.2.R1 and Gephi 0.9.2 to conduct co-citation, co-author, co-institution, and clustering techniques. The findings showed that the peer-reviewed literature about HT use has increased since 2009, substantially rising between 2017 and 2021. Horticulture was the top subject category in the literature, and most articles were published in peer-reviewed journals of the American Society for Horticultural Science (i.e., HortTechnology and HortScience). The research field evolved from general HT practices, nutrient management, and plant pathology to focus on trials of specific crops and integrated pest management. The institutions with the most contributions to the HT literature were Kansas State University, the University of Florida, Michigan State University, Purdue University, and the University of Minnesota. The patterns of HT research revealed in this study offer a greater understanding of the current state of knowledge to inform the focus of future research.

The overcrowding of high-rise buildings in the city adversely affects the wind environment by changing the air currents in the surrounding areas. In particular, extreme climate phenomena caused by climate change are stronger and more frequent, causing social damages in cities. To comprehensively better understand the wind properties around high-rise buildings, actual filed measurement is necessary to determine the environment assessment of wind effect. We performed the on-site measurement on LCT residential complex regions (411.6m tall) with highly concentrated high-rise buildings in coastal city Busan, South Korea under extreme weather conditions such as typhoon invasions to determine wind fluid characteristics. In the field monitoring, five anemometers were installed to analyze the wind environment around high-rise buildings when typhoon 'Hinnamnor' invaded. Compared to the nearby weather station operated by KMA(Korea Meteorological Administration), the gust was 3.7 times stronger and the max 1 min-mean wind speed was 3.1 times stronger, and the characteristics of the downward wind and the canyon wind were shown depending on the location characteristics of the point. Turbulence intensity decreased as the wind speed increased and converged to a certain value. Likewise, the gust factor also decreased as the wind speed increased and converged to 2.0, which is considered to be the parameter that best represents the intensity of the instantaneous gust caused by the skyscraper wind effect.

In the context of the Atmospheric Observing System (AOS) international program, a new generation spaceborne lidar is expected to be in polar orbit for deriving new observations of aerosol and clouds. In this work, we analyze the added values of these new observations for characterizing aerosol vertical distribution. For this, synthetic observations are simulated using the BLISS lidar simulator in terms of backscatter coefficient at 532 nm. We consider two types of lidar instruments, an elastic backscatter lidar instrument and a high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL). These simulations are performed with atmospheric profiles from a Nature Run (NR) modeled by the MOCAGE Chemical Transport Model. In three case studies involving large events of different aerosol species, the added value of the HSRL channel for measuring aerosol backscatter profiles with respect to simple backscatter measurements is shown. Observations independent from an a-priori lidar Ratio assumption, as done typically for simple backscattering instruments, allows probing the vertical structure of aerosol layers without divergence, even in case of intense episodes. Relative error in the backscatter coefficient profiles are observed to lay between +40% and -40% for low abudancies, with mean biases between +5% and -5%. A 5-day study in the case of desert dust completes the study of the added value of the HSRL channel with relative mean bias from the NR of the order of 1.5%.

UHPC is a cement-based composite that is used in new construction and/or renovation of existing structures to increase their service life. It is a unique composite material that may be used as an alternative to concrete in harsh conditions. Following decades of research and development, a wide range of commercial UHPC compositions are now accessible across the world to fulfill the growing number of applications and demand for high-quality construction materials. Although UHPC has significant advantages over conventional concrete, its use is limited because of rigid design restrictions and excessive pricing. As a consequence, a detailed analysis of UHPC's durability qualities is necessary to provide critical information for material testing requirements and methods, as well as to widen its practical applications. The goal of this study is to learn more about UHPC and to encourage more research and use of UHPC.

To realize precise control of the quantum dots (Qdots) device, multi-channel precision bias source plays the key role. In this paper, the 16-channel high precision bias source with 18-bit resolution for Qdots device was designed. The prototype was made and its performance was tested. The short time fluctuations can reach 50μV. The step response time is less than 3μs. The resolution, stability, linearity and dynamic range of the bias source exhibits good performance. What's more, the bias source can be controlled locally and online. The results show that it is one effective and feasible topology for experiments in Qdots device application.

High temperatures (HT) and high hydrostatic pressures (HHP) are characteristic of deep-sea hydrothermal vents and other deep crustal settings. These environments host vast and diverse microbial populations, yet only a small fraction of those populations have been successfully cultured. This is due, in part, to the difficulty of sampling while maintaining these in situ conditions and also replicating those high-temperature and high-pressure conditions in the laboratory. In an effort to facilitate more HT-HHP cultivation, we present two HT-HHP batch culture incubation systems for cultivating deep-sea vent and subsurface (hyper)thermophilic microorganisms. One HT-HHP system can be used for batch cultivation up to 110 MPa and 121°C, and requires sample decompression during subsampling. The second HT-HHP system can be used to culture microorganisms up to 100 MPa and 160°C with variable-volume, pressure-retaining vessels that negate whole-sample decompression during subsampling. Here, we describe how to build cost effective heating systems for these two types of high-pressure vessels, as well as the protocols for HT-HHP microbial batch cultivation in both systems. Additionally, we demonstrate HHP transfer between the variable-volume vessels, which has utility in sampling and enrichment without decompression, laboratory isolation experiments, as well as HHP filtration.

Abstract: Abstract: The objective of this article is to analyze the dimensions of creativity concerning students with high abilities. Firstly a review of the most relevant scientific contributions on creativity is carried out. Next the dimensions of creativity in secondary school students who have been previously identified as high- ability students are analyzed. Those abilities associated to di-vergent thinking were assessed by means of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking [19]. The flu-ency, flexibility and originality dimensions were assessed with the Scientific-Creative Thinking Test (TPCC, [7]). The results obtained evidence that high-ability students achieve greater scores in both the figurative creativity and scientific-creativity dimensions. A significant relationship between creativity and high ability can therefore be established. This study is of an exploratory nature and the results obtained contribute to develop future studies in application of its findings in the teaching-learning process..

Significant problems have arisen in the last years, such as climate change, global warming, and hunger. These complications are correlated with the depletion and exploitation of natural resources and environmental contamination. Due to overcrowding, the list of challenges for the next few years is growing. A comprehensive approach was made to the agro-industrial production of Avocado (Persea americana) and the management of all its biomass waste. So, bioprocesses and biorefinery can be used to produce high added-value products. A large number of residues are composed of lignin and cellulose. They have many potentials to be exploited sustainably for chemical and biological conversion; physical, chemical, and natural treatments improve the following operations. There are some applications to many fields such as pharmaceutical, medical, material engineering, and environmental remediation. Possible pathways are mentioned to take advantage of Avocado as biofuels, drugs, bioplastics, and even in the environmental part and emerging technologies such as nanotechnology using bioprocesses and biotech. In conclusion, Avocado and its waste could be transformed into high value-added products in industries above to mitigate global warming and save non-renewable energy.

Objective: To study the changes in urine metabolism in female water polo players before and after high-intensity training by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and to explore the biometabolic characteristics of urine after training and competition. Methods: Twelve young female water polo players (except goalkeepers) from Shanxi Province were selected. A 4-week formal training was started after one week of acclimatization according to experimental requirements. Urine samples (5 ml) were collected before formal training, early morning after 4 weeks of training, and immediately after 4 weeks of training matches, and labeled as T1, T2, and T3, respectively. The samples were tested by LC-MS after pre-treatment. XCMS, SIMCA-P 14.1, and SPSS16.0 were used to process the data and identify differential metabolites. Results: On comparing the immediate post-competition period with the pre-training period (T3 vs T1), 24 differential metabolites involved in 16 metabolic pathways were identified, among which niacin and niacinamide metabolism and purine metabolism were potential post-competition urinary metabolic pathways in the untrained state of the athletes. On comparing the immediate post-competition period with the post-training period (T3 vs T2), 10 metabolites involved in 3 metabolic pathways were identified, among which niacin and niacinamide metabolism was a potential target urinary metabolic pathway for the athletes after training. Niacinamide, 1-methylnicotinamide, 2-pyridone, L-Gln, AMP, and Hx were involved in two metabolic pathways before and after the training. Conclusion: Differential changes in urine after water polo games are due changes in the metabolic pathways of niacin and niacinamide.

The lipid composition of biomembranes influence the properties of the lipid bilayer as well as that of the proteins. In this study, the lipidome and the lipid/protein ratio of membranes from High FiveTM insect cells overexpressing mouse P-glycoprotein was characterized. This provides a better understanding of the lipid environment in which P-glycoprotein is embedded, and thus of its functional and structural properties. The relative abundance of the distinct phospholipid classes and their acyl chain composition was characterized. A mass ratio of 0.57 +/- 0.11 phospholipids to protein was obtained. Phosphatidylethanolamines are the most abundant phospholipids, followed by phosphatidylcholines. Membranes are also enriched in negatively charged lipids (phosphatidylserines, phosphatidylinositols and phosphatidylglycerols), and contain small amounts of sphingomyelins, ceramides and monoglycosilatedceramides. The most abundant acyl chains are monounsaturated, with significant amounts of saturated chains. The characterization of the phospholipids by HPLC-MS allowed identification of the combination of acyl chains, with palmitoyl-oleoyl being the most representative for all major phospholipid classes except for phosphatidylserines, which are mostly saturated. A mixture of POPE:POPC:POPS in the ratio 45:35:20 is proposed for the preparation of simple representative model membranes. The adequacy of the model membranes was further evaluated by characterizing their surface potential and fluidity.

Melanophryniscus admirabilis (admirable red-belly toad) is a microendemic and critically endangered species found exclusively along 700 meters of the Forqueta River, in a fragment of Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil. One of the greatest concerns regarding the conservation of this species is the extensive use of pesticides in areas near their natural habitat. In recent years, the adaptation and persistence of animal species in impacted environments have been associated with microbiota. Therefore, the current study aimed to characterize the oral bacterial community of wild M. admirabilis and to address the question of how this community might contribute to toad’s adaptation in the anthropogenic environment and its general metabolic capabilities. In the present study, 11 oral samples collected from wild M. admirabilis were characterized and analyzed via high-throughput sequencing. A total of 181,350 sequences were obtained, resulting in 16 phyla, 34 classes, 39 orders, and 77 families. Proteobacteria dominated (53%) the oral microbiota of toads followed by Firmicutes (18%), Bacteroidetes (17%), and Actinobacteria (5%). No significant differences in microbial community profile from among the samples were reported, suggesting that the dietary restriction may directly influence the bacterial composition. Functional inference of microbiome was performed using PICRUSt2 and important pathways, such as xenobiotic degradation pathways to pesticides and aromatic phenolic compounds were detected, suggesting that the bacterial communities may have important roles in M. admirabilis health and survival in the anthropogenic environment. Overall, our results have important implications for the conservation and management of this microendemic and critically endangered species.

This paper presents a numerical algorithm for solving high-order BVPs. We introduce the construction method of multiscale orthonormal basis in W^m[0; 1] by multiscale orthonormal basis in W¹[0; 1]. We define approximate solution, and obtain the approximate solution of high-order BVPs by using the approximate theory. Moreover, the convergence and stability of the algorithm are improved. At last, several numerical experiments show the feasibility of the proposed method.

The complexity of the design in high-rise residential projects is a challenge for the construction industry in completing projects that fit the needs of users. Performance-Based Building Design (PBBD) appears as a design concept that can describe these needs into performance requirements. In this case designing a building can be considered as an iterative process of exploration, where desired functional properties can be created, the shapes are suggested, and evaluation processes is used, so as to bring together the shapes and functions of the building. This concept is a container for designers to produce high-performance buildings. This study aimed to identify the performance-based building design factors applied by architect designers and engineers in high-rise residential building in Surabaya. As part of this study, primary data was collected based on surveys conducted through observation and questionnaire distributed to designers who had or were involved in the high-rise residential design process in Surabaya. A total of sixty-eight respondents were included in this study. Descriptive analysis through a mean and standard deviation scatter plot was used to rank the application of PBBD. Meanwhile, factor analysis was used in the analysis of PBBD application factors. From the results of the analysis, four factors were obtained for the application of PBBD in high-rise residential buildings in Surabaya, namely; the interests of occupants, the sustainability of building operations, the design collaboration process, and the risk of loss. Future research is the influence relationships and measure the success model of PBBD at a higher level into BIM (Building Information Modeling) interoperability.

The purpose of this study was to assess if self-regulation of intensity based on rating of perceived exertion (RPE) is a reliable method to control the intensity of metabolic conditioning of functional-fitness session. In addition, the relationship between RPE and changes in heart rate and lactate responses was also analyzed. Eight male participants (age 28.1 ± 5.4 years; body mass 77.2 ± 4.4kg; VO₂max: 52.6 ± 4.6 mL·(kg·min)⁻¹) completed three randomly sessions (5 to 7 days apart) under different conditions: (1) all-out (ALL); (2) self-regulation of intensity based on a RPE of 6 (hard) on the Borg CR-10 scale (RPE6); and (3) a control session. Rate of perceived exertion, LAC and HR response were measured pre, during and immediately after the sessions. The RPE and LAC during the ALL-OUT sessions were higher (p ≤ 0.05) than the RPE6 and control sessions for all the analyzed time points during the sessions. Regarding HR, the 22 min area under the curve of HR during ALL-OUT and RPE6 sessions were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) than the control session. The average number of repetitions was lower (p ≤ 0.05) for the RPE6 session (190.5 ± 12.5 repetitions) when compared to the ALL session (214.4 ± 18.6 repetitions). There was a significant correlation between RPE and LAC (p = 0.001; r = 0.76; very large) and number of repetitions during the session (p = 0.026; r = 0.55; large). No correlation was observed between RPE and HR (p = 0.147; r = 0.380). These results indicate that self-regulation of intensity of effort based on RPE may be a useful tool to control exercise intensity during a metabolic conditioning session of functional-fitness.

The expansion of concrete subjected to extreme elevated temperature is linked with intricate micro-structural variations, such as the transformation of the constituent phases. This study proposes a model to predict the thermal expansion of cement paste and concrete considering micro-structural changes under elevated temperatures ranging from 20°C to 800°C. The model presented can consider characteristics of various aggregates in the calculation of thermal expansion for concrete. The model is a combination of a multi-scale stoichiometric model and a multi-scale composite model. At the cement paste level, the model satisfactorily predicted a test result. At concrete level, upper bounds from the model were matched relatively well with test results by previous researcher. If the mechanical properties, such as elastic modulus (E), Poisson’s ratio (ν), and thermal deformation, of the aggregates used in concrete are given, it is likely that the model will reasonably predict experimental results.

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture is considered more clinically relevant in mimicking the structural and physiological conditions of tumors in vivo compared to two-dimensional cell cultures. In recent years, high-throughput screening (HTS) in 3D cell arrays has been extensively used for drug discovery because of its usability and applicability. Herein, we developed a microfluidic spheroid culture device (μFSCD) with a concentration gradient generator (CGG) that enabled cells to form spheroids and grow in the presence of cancer drug gradients. The device is composed of concave microwells with several serpentine micro-channels which generate a concentration gradient. Once the colon cancer cells (HCT116) formed a single spheroid (approximately 120 μm in diameter) in each microwell, spheroids were perfused in the presence of the cancer drug gradient irinotecan for 3 days. The number of spheroids, roundness, and cell viability, were inversely proportional to the drug concentration. These results suggest that the μFSCD with a CGG has the potential to become an HTS platform for screening the efficacy of cancer drugs.

Beginning with the discovery of the BRCA ovarian cancer susceptibility genes and subsequent detailed examination of risk reduction salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) specimens, a new paradigm of ovarian carcinogenesis has unfolded with attention to the distal fallopian tube. The primary focus has been an early cancer in the fallopian tube which is seen in virtually all incidentally discovered high-grade serous cancers in asymptomatic women. This high-frequency of tubal involvement in early serous cancer - serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma or STIC - has galvanized attention to this organ as a primary source of this disease. However, an enduring mystery has been the relatively low frequency of STIC in fallopian tubes of women with advanced malignancy. This paradox, a high-frequency of tubal involvement early and a low-frequency late in the disease process has spurred interest in other potential sources, such as the ovarian surface or secondary Mullerian system. However, because essentially all high-grade serous carcinomas are linked by TP53 mutations, and because fallopian tubes frequently contain early serous proliferations (ESPs) with these mutations, attention has turned to the possibility that nonmalignant but TP53 mutated tubal epithelium could be responsible for an eventual malignancy. Recent data have shown evidence of lineage continuity between ESPs and concurrent serous carcinomas prompting the concept of "precursor escape". This creates a 2nd component of the paradigm by which cells from early lesions can escape the fallopian tube and undergo future malignant transformation later, emerging suddenly as widespread malignancy. This dualistic model thus explains the paradox and opens new questions pertaining to the challenge of both early detection and prevention of this lethal malignancy.

The photoreduction of CO2 is an intriguing process, which allows the synthesis of fuels and chemicals. One of the limitations for CO2 photoreduction in the liquid phase is its low solubility in water. This point has been here addressed by designing a fully innovative concept of pressurized photoreactor, allowing operation up to 20 bar and applied to improve the productivity of this very challenging process. The photoreduction of CO2 in the liquid phase was performed using commercial TiO2 (Evonink P25), TiO2 obtained by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) and gold doped P25 (0.2 wt% Au-P25) in the presence of Na2SO3 as hole scavenger (HS). The different reaction parameters (catalyst concentration, pH and amount of HS) have been addressed. The products in liquid phase were formic acid and formaldehyde. Moreover, for longer reaction time and with total consumption of HS, gas phase products formed (H2 and CO) after accumulation of significant amount of organic compounds in the liquid phase, due to their consecutive photoreforming. Enhanced CO2 solubility in water was achieved by adding a base (pH= 12-14). In basic environment, CO2 formed carbonates which further reduced to formaldehyde and formic acid and consequently formed CO/CO2+H2 in the gas phase through photoreforming. The deposition of small Au nanoparticles (3-5 nm) (NPs) onto TiO2 was found to quantitatively influence the products distribution and increase the selectivity towards gas phase products.

We conducted an in-situ crystal structure analysis of ferroselite at non-ambient conditions. The aim is to provide a solid ground to further the understanding of the properties of this material in a broad range of conditions. Ferroselite, marcasite-type FeSe2, was studied under high pressures up to 46 GPa and low temperatures, down to 50 K using single-crystal microdiffraction techniques. High pressure and low temperatures were generated using a diamond anvil cell and a cryostat. We found no evidences of structural instability in the explored P-T space. The deformation of the orthorhombic lattice is slightly anisotropic. As expected, the compressibility of the Se-Se dumbbell, the longer bond in the structure, is larger than that of the Fe-Se bonds. Less obvious is the behavior of the octahedral bonds, the shorter bond is the most compressible determining a small increase in the octahedron distortion with pressure. We also achieved a robust structural analysis of ferroselite at low temperature in the diamond anvil cell. Structural changes upon temperature decrease are small but qualitatively similar to those produced by pressure.

Moisture and thermal are the key factors for influencing methane desorption during CBM exploitation. Using high pressure water injection technology into coalbed, new fractures and pathways are formed to methane transport. It is existed a phenomenon of water inhibiting gas flow. This study is focused on various water pressures impacted on gas adsorbed coal samples, then the desorption capacity could be revealed under different conditions. And the results are shown that methane desorption capacity was decreased with water pressure increased at room temperature and the downtrend would be steady until water pressure was large enough. Heating could promote gas desorption capacity effectively, with the increasing of water injection pressures, the promotion of thermal on desorption became more obvious. These results are expected to provide a clearer understanding of theoretical efficiency of heat water or steam injection into coalbed, they can provide some theoretical and experimental guidance on CBM production and methane control.

Although extracorporeal membrane ventilation offers the possibility for low frequency ventilation, protocols commonly used in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) vary largely. Whether strict adherence to low frequency ventilation offers benefit on important outcome measures is poorly understood. Background/Objectives: This pilot clinical study investigated the efficacy of low frequency ventilation on ventilator free days (VFDs) in patients suffering from ARDS treated with ECMO therapy. Methods: In this single-center randomized controlled trial, 44 (70% male) successive ARDS patients treated with ECMO (aged 56 ± 12 years, SAPS III 64 (SD ± 14)) were randomly assigned 1:1 to control group (conventional ventilation) or treatment group (low fre-quency ventilation during first 72 hours on ECMO: respiratory rate 4-5/min; PEEP 14-16cm H2O; plateau pressure 23-25 cm H2O, tidal volume: < 4mL/kg). The primary endpoint was VFDs at day 28 of ECMO start. The major secondary endpoint was ICU mortality, 28-day and 90-day mortality. Results Twenty-three (52%) patients could be successfully weaned from ECMO and were discharged from intensive care unit (ICU). Twelve patients in the treatment group and five patients in the control group showed more than one VFD at day 28 after ECMO. VFDs were 3.0 (SD ± 5.5) days in the control group and 5.4 (SD ± 6) days in the treatment group (P = 0.117). Until day 28 after ECMO initiation, patients in the treatment group could be more often successfully weaned from ventilator (OR of 0.164 of 0 VFDs at day 28 after ECMO start; 95% CI 0.036-0.758; P = 0.021). ICU mortality did not differ significantly (36% in treatment group and 59% in control group; P = 0.227). Conclusions: Low frequency ventilation is comparable to conventional protec-tive ventilation in patients with ARDS treated with ECMO. However, low frequency ventilation may support weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation in patients suffering from ARDS treated with ECMO therapy.

Airborne Frequency Diversity Array (FDA) radar operating at a high pulse repetition frequency encounters severe range-ambiguous clutter. The slight frequency increments introduced by the FDA result in angle and range coupling. Under these conditions, conventional space-time adaptive processing (STAP) often exhibits diminished performance or fails, complicating target detection. This paper proposes a method combining elevation oblique subspace projection with azimuth-Doppler STAP to suppress range-ambiguous clutter. By analyzing the relationship between elevation frequency and range, the proposed method compensates for quadratic range dependence. Through the construction of an elevation oblique subspace projection technique, an elevation adaptive filter is used to separate clutter from ambiguous regions. Residual clutter suppression is achieved through azimuth-Doppler STAP, enhancing target detection performance. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively addresses range dependence and ambiguity issues, improving target detection performance in complex airborne FDA radar environments.

Hyperspectral small target detection (HSTD) is a promising pixel-level detection task. However, due to the low contrast and imbalance number between the target and background spatially and high dimensions spectrally, it is a challenging one. To address these issues, this work proposes a representation learning-based graph and generative network for hyperspectral small target detection. The model builds a fusion network through frequency representation for HSTD, where the novel architecture incorporates irregular topological data and the spatial-spectral feature to improve its representation ability. Firstly, a graph convolutional network (GCN) module better models the non-local topological relationship between samples to represent the hyperspectral scene’s underlying data structure. The mini-batch-training pattern of the GCN decreases the high computational cost of building an adjacency matrix for high-dimensional data sets. In parallel, the generative model enhances the differentiation reconstruction and the deep feature representation ability with respect to the target spectral signature. Finally, a fusion module compensates for the extracted different types of HS features and integrates their complementary merits for hyperspectral data interpretation while increasing detection and background suppression capabilities. Experiments on different hyperspectral data sets demonstrate the advantages of the proposed architecture.

This paper presents the development of an analytical model of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) internal vibrating ring gyroscope. The internal ring structure consists of eight semicircular beams that are attached to the externally placed anchors. The research work analyses the vibrating ring gyroscope inplane displacement behavior and the resulting elliptical vibrational modes. The elliptical vibrational modes appear as pairs with the same resonance frequency due to the symmetric structure of the design. The analysis commences by conceptualizing the ring as a geometric structure with a circular shape, possessing specific dimensions such as thickness, height, and radius. We construct a linear model that characterizes the vibrational dynamics of the internal vibrating ring. The analysis develops a comprehensive mathematical formulation for the radial and tangential displacements in local polar coordinates, considering the inextensional displacement of the ring structure. By utilizing the derived motion equations, we highlight the underlying relationships driving the vibrational characteristics of the MEMS vibrating ring gyroscope. These dynamic vibrational relationships are essential in enabling the vibrating ring gyroscope's future utilization in accurate navigation and motion sensing technologies.

Flood frequency analysis at large scales, essential for the development of flood risk maps, is hindered by the uncertainty in outputs of process-based hydrological models and the scarcity of gauge flow data. We develop a Bayesian hierarchical model (BHM) based on the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution for regional flood frequency analysis at high resolution across North America. Our model leverages annual maximum flow data from ≈20000 gauged stations and a dataset of 130 static catchment-specific covariates to predict extreme flows at all catchments over the continent as well as their associated statistical uncertainty. Additionally, a modification is made to the data layer of the BHM to include daily gauge discharge data when available, which improves the precision of the discharge level estimates. We validated the model using a hold-out approach and found that its predictive power is very good for the GEV distribution location and scale parameters and improveable for the shape parameter, which is notoriously hard to estimate. The resulting discharge return levels yield satisfying agreement when compared with available design peak discharge from various government sources. Assessment of the covariates’ contributions to the model also informs on the most relevant underlying factors influencing flood-inducing peak flows. The key covariates in our model are temperature-related bioindicators, the catchment drainage area and geographical location.

This paper is a brief review of our work on the Planck quantized version of general rela- tivity theory. It demonstrates several straightforward methods to rewrite the same equations that we have already presented in other papers. We also explore a relatively new general relativity-inspired field equation based on the original Newtonian mass, which is very differ- ent from today’s kilogram mass. Additionally, we examine two other field equations based on collision space-time, where both energy and matter can be described simply as space and time. We are thereby fulfilling Einstein’s dream of a theory where energy and mass are not needed, or are just aspects of space and time. If this is extended beyond the 4-dimensional space-time formalism of general relativity theory to a 6-dimensional framework—with 3 space dimensions and 3 time dimensions—this ultimately reveals that they are two sides of the same coin. In reality, it is a three-dimensional space-time theory, where space and time are just two sides of the same coin.

In drilling small holes with diameters of 1 mm or less, minute clogging and twining of chips or adhesion of the workpiece material can become factors in causing breakages of the drill bit; moreover, it can be difficult to identify the machining state. Acoustic emission (AE) sensing is a nondestructive inspection technique that measures the elastic-stress waves that are generated when a material is deformed and fractured. AE sensing permits highly sensitive measurements to be made without changing the rigidity of the experimental system, unlike force sensing of cutting resistance, etc. In the present study, attempts were made to identify the machining state and tool wear, and to predict abnormalities in small-diameter drilling by using the change in the frequency of AE signal waveforms arising from deformation and fracture. It was shown that it is possible to predict the breakage of the drill bit by detecting the high-frequency AE signals caused by adhesion. In addition, a correlation map of the AE frequency spectrum for identifying the machining state in a drilling operation is suggested.

Modern power systems are confronted with a spread concern on the frequency stability issue due to the widespread integration of randomly fluctuating renewable resources. To address the above concern, this work introduces a load frequency control (LFC) scheme based on a hydrogen based energy-storage unit and a parameter tuning strategy for fractional-order proportional-integral-derivative (FOPID) controller. Firstly, a two-area interconnected power system (IPS) model, including thermal, hydro, solar, wind, gas power generator, and hydrogen based energy-storage unit, is established. Then, a FOPID controller is designed for this IPS model, and an improved gradient-based optimizer (IGBO) is developed to adaptively regulate the parameters of the FOPID controllers. Finally, the effectiveness of the offered LFC scheme are tested through load disturbance and renewable energy fluctuations test scenarios, and provides comparison and robustness analysis among different schemes. The test results validated that the offered LFC scheme can effectively suppress the frequency fluctuations of IPS and has excellent robustness.

Clinical work conducted over the last seventeen years at the EEG Institute in Los Angeles and by other neurofeedback providers around the world has demonstrated the utility of extending frequency-based neurofeedback deep into the infra-low frequency (ILF) region, using the method of endogenous neuromodulation described herein. The method is characterized by the absence of any overt reinforcements, which makes it possible to extend the clinical reach to extremely low frequencies. As the training frequency is lowered, the signal becomes more difficult to discriminate, and ultimately it can only be discerned by the brain itself, in the process of endogenous neuromodulation. The method emulates how the brain does skill learning in general: It must observe itself performing the skill, with feedback on its performance. While the immediate target of ILF neurofeedback is enhanced self-regulatory competence--with symptomatic relief and functional recovery the secondary consequences, progressive lowering of the target frequencies has led to improved outcomes in application to challenging dysfunctions such as episodic suicidality, migraine, seizures, and bipolar mood swings. The work has also yielded insights into how the frequency domain is organized. The training proceeds best at frequencies that are specific to each individual, and these are referred to as optimal response frequencies (ORFs). These frequencies differ for various placements but stand in two fixed relationships to one another, one that holds over the EEG spectral range, and another that holds over the entire ILF range. Training in the ILF region engages the dynamics of the glial-neuronal networks, which govern tonic, resting state regulation. The collective clinical experience with ILF neuromodulation within a large practitioner network supports the case for making protocol-based, individualized ‘homeodynamic’ regulation a therapeutic priority, particularly for our most impacted clinical populations: addiction, trauma formations, traumatic brain injury, and the dementias. The case is made for further outcome studies and foundational research.

The Stepped Frequency Waveform (SFW) is commonly employed in radar technology to synthesize wideband signals through the aggregation of narrow-band pulses, thereby achieving high-resolution range profiles without the need to increase the radar's instantaneous bandwidth. However, the inherent large time-bandwidth product of SFW introduces substantial ranging errors and energy dispersion, which significantly hinders its efficacy in detecting high-speed objects. This paper introduces a pioneering velocity estimation technique utilizing the fractional Fourier transform (FrFT) to address these limitations. Leveraging the characteristic of the Doppler signal from a moving target, which manifests as a chirp signal with a rate proportional to the target's velocity, the FrFT is utilized for precise velocity estimation. Subsequent to this, velocity compensation is applied using the deduced metrics, followed by the application of the inverse fast Fourier transform (iFFT) to pinpoint the target's exact location. To optimize the computational efficiency of determining the FrFT's optimal order, we propose an iterative algorithm founded on the golden section search method. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified by simulation data, and the results demonstrate that the proposed approach can accurately estimate the velocity and the range of the high-speed targets with a relatively low computational complexity.

To investigate the variation patterns of spectral characteristics of main branches in fruit trees due to uneven distribution of growth, pruning, and fruit quality, as well as to determine the optimal fruit vi-bration harvesting, a vibration differential model of tree branches was constructed using the concen-trated mass method. A three-dimensional model of the fruit tree was built using finite element software. The spectral characteristics of each branch were obtained using the linear sweep frequency method. The method of changing the mass of each branch was employed to simulate the variation in branch mass. The frequency of occurrence, mean acceleration, and coefficient of variation of the inherent frequencies were used as evaluation indicators. The results revealed that when the vibration frequency of the fruit tree was at the peak frequency in the tree trunk spectrum, the frequency of occurrence and mean accel-eration were optimal. And the coefficient of variation of branch acceleration was less than 1, indicating a moderate dispersion. Additionally, reducing the branch mass resulted in an increase in the peak fre-quency of the tree trunk spectrum. Therefore, the growth, pruning, and uneven distribution of the branches in fruit trees can alter the spectral characteristics. When harvesting fruit by vibration, selecting the peak frequency in the trunk vibration spectrum as the excitation force frequency yields the best fruit detachment.

This paper describes developing and analyzing an analytical model of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) internal vibrating ring gyroscope. The internal ring structure consists of eight semicircular beams attached to the externally placed anchors. The paper analyses the vibrating ring gyroscope inplane displacement behavior and the resulting elliptical vibrational modes. The elliptical vibrational modes appear as pairs with the same resonance frequency due to the symmetric nature of the design. The analysis commences by conceptualizing the ring as a geometric structure with a circular shape, possessing specific dimensions such as thickness, height, and radius. We construct a linear model that characterizes the vibrational dynamics of the internal vibrating ring. The analysis encompasses comprehensive mathematical formulations for the radial and tangential displacements in local polar coordinates, considering the inextensional displacement of the ring structure. By utilizing the derived equations, we highlight the underlying relationships driving the vibrational characteristics of the MEMS vibrating ring gyroscope. These dynamic vibrational relationships are essential in enabling the vibrating ring gyroscope's future utilization in accurate navigation and motion sensing technologies.

The E-learning system has achieved great development after the pandemic. In this work, we proposed three artificial intelligence-based enhancements to our linguistic interactive E-learning system from different aspects. Compared with the original phonetic transcription exam system, our enhancements include an MFCC+CNN-based disordered speech classification module, a Transformer-based Grapheme-to-Phoneme converter, and a Tacotron2-based IPA-to-Speech speech synthesis system. This work not only provides a better experience for the users of this system but also explores the utilization of artificial intelligence technologies in the E-learning field and linguistic field.

The generalized dynamic model of the rotor system, presented in the paper, is the first model that takes into account the interconnected oscillations of the “rotor - weakly conductive fluid – foundation” system under the action of such parameters as fluid and rotor motion, linear eccentricity, friction forces, foundation vibration and nonlinear characteristics of rolling bearings, as well as the action of a magnetic field on the fluid. Consistent equations of motion for the system “rotor - weakly conductive fluid – foundation” were derived and solved analytically. Forced and natural oscillations of the system were analyzed, and the distinctive features of the rotor system dynamics were revealed. The values of frequencies and amplitudes, which are one of the main factors determining the dynamic behavior of the system, were obtained and studied.

Artworks play a fundamental role in the cultural and economic asset of communities, enforcing their identity and helping the social integration. Despite their importance, they are not always adequately protected against degradation, which can be induced by the aging, atmospheric and human-induced occurrence, and catastrophic events. Earthquakes certainly represent one of the main risks for art goods; however, traffic, construction works, and shipment can also represent a threat for art goods. Therefore, the assessment of the vulnerability of art collection to dynamic excitations plays a crucial role in their conservation, and it has been collecting an increasing attention by researchers, academics, and Museums’ managers. This work focuses on the vulnerability of the art collections exhibited at the Museum “Gaio Cilnio Mecenate” in Arezzo. Namely, it aims at assessing the effective dynamic loading experienced by the artworks, which is a function of the dynamic propagation plaid by the foundation soil, by the building and by the displayers used for exhibition. In this study the dynamic properties of some of the displayers used for exhibiting the art collections are investigated by performing an experimental survey. The analysis of the experimental data lead to assess the proper frequencies of the displayers, which have been compared to the ones of the building and the foundation soil of the Museum.

Detecting, especially locating local degradations at an incipient stage, is very important for mission-critical high voltage rotating machines. One particular challenge of the existing testing techniques is that the characteristic of a local incipient defect is not prominent due to various factors such as averaging with the healthy remainder, attenuation in signal propagation, interference, and varied operating conditions. This paper proposes and investigates the frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) technique based on scattering parameter measurement. The FDR result presents the object length, wave impedance, and reflections due to impedance discontinuity along the measured windings. Experiments were performed on two commercial coils with artificially made defects. These defects include turn-to-turn short, surface creepage, loose coils, and local overheating, which are commonly seen in practice. Two practical water pumps in the field were also selected for investigation. The study outcome shows that the FDR can identify and locate both structure and insulation degradations of both shielded and unshielded objects with good sensitivity. This makes the FDR a comprehensive tool for fault diagnosis and aging assessment.

Initially introduced almost thirty years ago for the express purpose of providing electronic warfare systems the capabilities to detect, characterize, and identify radar emitters, Specific Emitter Identification (SEI) has recently received a lot of attention within the research community as a physical layer technique for securing Internet of Things (IoT) deployments. This attention is due in large part to SEI’s demonstrated success in passively and uniquely identifying wireless emitters using traditional machine learning and the success of Deep Learning (DL) within the natural language processing and computer vision areas. SEI exploits distinct and unintentional features present within an emitter’s transmitted signals. The existence of these distinctive and unintentional features is attributed to slight manufacturing and assembly variations that exist within and between the components, sub-systems, and systems that comprise an emitter’s Radio Frequency (RF) front end. Although sufficient to facilitate SEI, these features do not hinder normal operations such as detection, channel estimation, timing, and demodulation. However, despite the plethora of SEI publications, it has remained largely a focus of academic endeavors that primarily focus on proof-of-concept demonstration and little to no use in operational networks for various reasons. The focus of this survey is a review of SEI publications from the perspective of its use as a practical, effective, and usable IoT security mechanism, thus we use IoT requirements and constraints (e.g., wireless standard, nature of their deployment) as a lens through which each reviewed paper is analyzed. Previous surveys have not taken such an approach and have only used IoT as motivation, a setting, or a context. In this survey, we consider operating conditions, SEI threats, SEI at scale, publicly available data sets, and SEI considerations that are dictated by the fact that it is to be employed by IoT devices or IoT infrastructure.

In order to better understand the extent to which global climate variability is linked to the frequency and intensity of heat waves and overall changes in temperature throughout the United States (US), correlations between long-term monthly mean, minimum, and maximum temperatures measured at sites throughout the contiguous US and low-frequency variability of multiple climate indices (CIs) are analyzed over the period 1948 to 2018 using correlation analysis. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient is used to assess correlation strength, while Leave-One-Out Cross-Validation and a bootstrapping technique (p-value) are used to address potential serial and spurious correlation and assess the significance of each correlation. Three parameters defined the sliding windows over which surface temperature and CI values were averaged: window size, lag time between the temperature and CI windows, and the beginning month of the temperature window. A 60-month sliding window size and 0 lag time resulted in the strongest correlations overall; beginning months were optimized on an individual site basis. Strong (r &gt;= 0.60) and significant (p-value &lt;= 0.05) correlations were identified. The Western Hemisphere Warm Pool (WHWP) and El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) exhibited the strongest links to temperatures in the western US, tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures to temperatures in the central US, the WHWP to temperatures throughout much of the eastern US, and atmospheric patterns over the northern Atlantic to temperatures in the Northeast and Southeast. The final results were compared to results from previous studies focused on precipitation and coastal sea levels. Regional consistency was found regarding links between the northern Atlantic and overall weather and coastal sea levels in the Northeast and Southeast as well as on weather in the upper Midwest. Though the MJO and WHWP revealed dominant links with precipitation and temperature, respectively, throughout the West, ENSO revealed consistent links to sea levels and surface temperatures along the West Coast. These results help focus future research regarding specific mechanisms of climate variability that appear the exhibit strong links to US regional weather and sea level variability and prediction.

Transition delaying is of great importance for the drag and heat flux reduction of hypersonic flight vehicles. The first mode within low frequency and the second mode within high frequency exist simultaneously during the transition of hypersonic boundary layer. This paper proposes a novel bi-frequency synthetic jet to suppress low- and high-frequency disturbances at the same time. Orthogonal table and variance analysis are used to compare the control effects of jet with different frequencies, amplitudes and positions. Linear stability analysis results show that, low frequency synthetic jet can suppress the first mode when it is arranged upstream of synchronization point, while the second mode control effect is relatively weak. The higher the high frequency is, the stronger the suppression effect is on the first mode. For the second mode, the suppression effect is only at f2=89.09kHz. The larger the amplitude, the weaker the promoting effect for the first mode and the second mode, and the more obvious the suppressing effect. For the cases with synthetic jet downstream of synchronization point, all levels of the three parameters promote the unstable mode. In terms of the growth rate with the spanwise wave number, the control effect of the same factor and level under different spanwise wave number is different. In order to obtain the optimal control effect on transition, the three factors and the arrangement position of the synthetic jet should be selected as follows: the position is arranged in the upstream, with f1 = 17.82kHz, f2 = 89.9kHz, a =0.007, so that the maximum growth rate of the first mode is reduced by 9.06% and that of the second mode is reduced by 1.28% compared with the uncontrolled state.

In this paper, four types of open service signals of BDS-3 satellite (B1I, B1C, B2a, and B3I) and B2I signals broadcasted by BDS-2 satellites were used in the time frequency transfer and positioning experiments with signal coexisting in BDS system, and the single frequency PPP (precise point positioning) method was used. Modified GRoup And PHase Ionospheric Correction (GRAPHIC) method was proposed and verified by the experiment. The results show that 18 selected stations can achieve decimeter-level positioning results with single frequency. Compared with the general observation method, the proposed modified GRAPHIC method improves the stability and precision of positioning and timing significantly, and the positioning accuracy of 5 frequency signals is increased 40.4%, 32.2%, 80.3%, 12.4%, and 10.3%, respectively. The frequency stability can reach the same accuracy as that of dual-frequency with BDS in the current state.

After proposing a natural metric for the space in which particles spin which implements the principle of maximum frequency, E=hf is generalised and its inverse Fourier transform is calculated. As a necessary result, a metric is found for the space in which quantum particles spin, hence the possibility of explanation of correlation of spacelike-separated particles is opened up.

A microwave-photonics method has been developed for measuring distributed acoustic signals. This method uses microwave-modulated low coherence light as a probe to interrogate distributed in-fiber interferometers, which are used to measure acoustic-induced strain. By sweeping the microwave frequency at a constant rate, the acoustic signals are encoded into the complex microwave spectrum. The microwave spectrum is transformed into the joint time-frequency domain and further processed to obtain the distributed acoustic signals. The method is first evaluated using an intrinsic Fabry Perot interferometer (IFPI). Acoustic signals of frequency up to 15.6 kHz were detected. The method was further demonstrated using an array of in-fiber weak reflectors and an external Michelson interferometer. Two piezo-ceramic cylinders (PCCs) driven at frequencies of 1700 Hz and 3430 Hz were used as acoustic sources. The experiment results show that the sensing system can locate multiple acoustic sources. The system resolves 20 nε when the spatial resolution is 5 cm. The recovered acoustic signals match the excitation signals in frequency, amplitude, and phase, indicating an excellent potential for distributed acoustic sensing (DAS).

Background: Most prevalence surveys on nocturia have focused on older populations. This study aimed to measure the nocturia prevalence across the full spectrum of male adults living in Hong Kong, where severity and associated quality-of-life (QoL) were also explored. Methods: A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted in men aged 18 or above using the ICIQ-NQoL Questionnaire. Results: With 1,239 respondents at age ranged 18-99, the overall nocturia prevalence were found to be 63.0% (ranged 41.6-84.6% at different age groups) and 31.2% (ranged 13.0-56.3% at different age groups), for ≥1 and ≥2 bedtime voiding episodes, respectively. The chance of nocturia was dramatically increased at age 60 or above while both prevalence and voiding frequency were increased with advancing age. About 83% of the nocturia men experienced 1-2 voiding episodes per night, but many of them had self-rated their QoL poor or very poor and indicated moderate-to-high bothersome. Younger men at age 18-39 were found to have high prevalence as 41.6% and almost 30% of them rated poor or very poor QoL. Conclusions: Nocturia was not only affecting the older populations but also caused significant bothersome and negative impacts on QoL in younger males.

This article examines the impact of some system parameters on an industrial system composed of two dissimilar parallel units with one repairman. The active unit may fail due to essential factors like aging or deteriorating, or exterior phenomena such as Poisson shocks that occur at various time periods. Whenever the value of a shock is larger than the specified threshold of the active unit, the active unit will fail. The article assumes that the repairman has the right to take any of two decisions at the beginning of the system operation: either a takes a vacation if the two units work in a normal way, or stay in the system to monitor the system until the first system failure. In case of having a failure in any of the two units during the absence of the repairman, the failing unit will have to wait until the repairman is called back to work. We suppose that the value of every shock is assumed to be i.i.d. with some known distribution. The length of the repairman’s vacation, repair time, and recall time are arbitrary distributions. Various reliability measures have been calculated by the supplementary variable technique and the Markov’s vector process theory. At last, numerical computation and graphical analysis have been given for a particular case to validate the derived indices.

Defect detection in ferromagnetic substrates is often hampered by non-magnetic coating thickness variation when using conventional eddy current testing technique. The lift-off distance between the sample and the sensor is one of the main obstacles for the thickness measurement of non-magnetic coatings on ferromagnetic substrates when using the eddy current testing technique. Based on the eddy current thin-skin effect and the lift-off insensitive inductance (LII), a simplified iterative algorithm is proposed for reducing the lift-off variation effect using a multi-frequency sensor. Compared to the previous techniques on compensating the lift-off error (e.g., the lift-off point of intersection) while retrieving the thickness, the simplified inductance algorithms avoid the computation burden of integration, which are used as embedded algorithms for the online retrieval of lift-offs via each frequency channel. The LII is determined by the dimension and geometry of the sensor, thus eliminating the need for empirical calibration. The method is validated by means of experimental measurements of the inductance of coatings with different materials and thicknesses on ferrous substrates (dual-phase alloy). The error of the calculated coating thickness has been controlled to within 3 % for an extended lift-off range of up to 10 mm.

Maxwell equation for the electric field has been solved for any medium by suggesting the wavenumber and angular frequency be complex quantities. This accounts for the field decay by interaction with the medium.This expression for the time and special decay of the electric field in a medium is used to construct a new wave function sensitive to the medium physical properties. This new wave function, unlike the conventional one, differentiates between a beam of particles in a vacuum and that enters a medium which is an attenuated due to the scattering effect.Another expression for time decaying electric field was obtained using Newton’s laws for frictional medium. This expression shows that the electric field diminishes due to friction.Fortunately, this time decaying part of the electric field is typical to that derived from Maxwell’s equations. Finally, a new Schrodinger equation sensitive to the medium properties was derived. This equation, fortunately, describes some scattering processes for Protein scattering, scattering of x-rays, opto-acoustic phonons, and Raman scattering for some materials successfully .

This paper presents findings of a study on continuous feed-in management and continuous synthetic inertia contribution with wind turbines. A realistic case study, based on real measurements, is outlined. A wind turbine feeds into a weak feeder, such that its power has to be adapted to the permissible loading of this feeder. At the same time the wind turbine is to provide inertia to the grid by applying the previously published variable inertia constant controller. It is discussed that optimal grid utilisation and simultaneous inertia contribution are mandatory for the frequency control in power systems that are heavily penetrated with renewable energies. The study shows that continuous feed-in management can be combined well with continuous inertia provision. There are hardly any negative consequences for the wind turbine. The benefits for the grid are convincing, both in terms of increased system utilisation and in terms of provided inertia. It is concluded that wind turbines can enhance angular stability in a power system to a larger extent than conventional power plants.

Over the past few years, the importance of video surveillance in securing the national critical infrastructure has significantly increased, whose applications include detecting failures and anomalies. Accompanied by video proliferation is the increasing number of attacks against surveillance systems. Among the attacks, false frame injection (FFI) attacks that replay video frames from a previous recording to mask the live feed has the highest impact. While many attempts have been made to detect FFI frames using features from the video feeds, video analysis is computationally too intensive to be deployed on-site for real-time false frame detection. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of FFI attacks on compromised surveillance systems at the edge and propose an effective technique to detect the injected false video and audio frames by monitoring the surveillance feed using the embedded Electrical Network Frequency (ENF) signals. An ENF operates at a nominal frequency of 60 Hz/50 Hz based on its geographical location and maintains a stable value across the entire power grid interconnection with minor fluctuations. For surveillance system video/audio recordings connected to the power grid, the ENF signals are embedded. The time-varying nature of the ENF component is used as a forensic application for authenticating the surveillance feed. The paper highlights the ENF signal collection from a power grid creating a reference database and ENF extraction from the recordings using conventional short-time Fourier Transform and spectrum detection for robust ENF signal analysis in the presence of noise and interference caused in different harmonics. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of ENF signal detection and/or abnormalities for FFI attacks.

Effective discharge, which represents the flow, or range of flows, that transport the most sediment over long term, was determined based on the mean daily flow discharge and mean daily suspended sediment discharge recorded between 1994 and 2014 at four gauging stations along the Trotuș River. This study proposes an efficient method for the estimation of effective discharge based on observed values of the suspended sediment load. By employing this method the suspended sediment load is no longer either under- or overestimated as in the cases when the assessment is based on sediment rating curves. The assessment on effective discharge was performed at two distinct levels: for the entire data series during the investigated time spans and, subsequently, for flows less than the bankfull discharge. The effectiveness curves of the suspended sediment transport characteristics revealed highly multimodal characteristics with many peaks, indicating ample ranges for the effective discharges. The main effective discharge corresponded to large flood events, which are typical for the upper end of the discharge range, whereas the secondary effective discharges corresponded to sub-bankfull flows, which are more frequent. The changes that occurred in the channel bed are reflected by the temporal variations in the effective discharge.

Vibration measurement serves as the basis for various engineering practices such as natural frequency or resonant frequency estimation. As image acquisition devices become cheaper and faster, vibration measurement and frequency estimation through image sequence analysis continue to receive increasing attention. In the conventional photogrammetry and optical methods of frequency measurement, vibration signals are first extracted before implementing the vibration frequency analysis algorithm. In this work, we demonstrated that frequency prediction can be achieved using a single feed-forward convolutional neural network. The proposed method is verified using a vibration signal generator and excitation system, and the result obtained was compared with that of an industrial contact vibrometer in a real application. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve acceptable prediction accuracy even in unfavorable field conditions.

Star block-copolymers (SBCs) are macromolecules formed by a number of diblock copolymers anchored to a common central core, being the internal monomers solvophilic and the end monomers solvophobic. Recent studies have demonstrated that SBCs constitute a self-assembling building blocks with specific softness, functionalization, shape, and flexibility. Depending on different physical and chemical parameters the SBCs can behave as flexible patchy particles. In this paper, we study the rotational dynamics of isolated SBCs using a hybrid mesoscale simulation technique. We compare three different approaches to analyse the dynamics: the laboratory frame, the non-inertial Eckart's frame, and a geometrical approximation relating the conformation of the SBC to the velocity profile of the solvent. We find that the geometrical approach is adequate when dealing with very soft systems while in the opposite extreme, the dynamics is best explained using the laboratory frame. On the other hand, the Eckart frame is found to be very general and to reproduced well both extreme cases. We also compare the rotational frequency and the kinetic energy with the definitions of the angular momentum and inertia tensor different from recent publications.

This paper attempts at applying adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for analysis of the resonant frequency of a microstrip rectangular patch antenna with two equal size slots which are placed on the patch vertically. The resonant frequency is calculated as the position of slots is shifted to the right and left sides on the patch. As a result , the antenna resonates at more than one frequency . Commonly, machine algorithms based on artificial neural networks are employed to recognize the whole resonant frequencies. However ,they fail to estimate the resonant frequencies correctly as in some cases variations are not very sensible and the resonant frequencies overlap each other . It can be concluded that artificial neural networks could be replaced in such designs by the adaptive network-based fuzzy Inference system due to its high approximation capability and much faster convergence rate.

The mitigation of NLOS (non-line-of-sight) propagation conditions is one of main challenges in wireless signals based indoor localization. When RFID localization technology is applied in applications, RSS fluctuates frequently due to the shade and multipath effect of RF signal, which could result in localization inaccuracy. In particularly, when tags carriers are walking in LOS (line-of-sight) and NLOS hybrid environment, great attenuation of RSS will happen, which would result in great location deviation. The paper proposes an IMU-assisted (Inertial Measurement Unit) RFID based indoor localization in LOS/NLOS hybrid environment. The proposed method includes three improvements over previous RSS based positioning methods: IMU aided RSS filtering, IMU aided LOS/NLOS distinguishing and IMU aided LOS/NLOS environment switching. Also, CRLB (Cramér-Rao Low Bound) is calculated to prove theoretically that indoor positioning accuracy for proposed method in LOS/NLOS mixed environment is higher than position precision of only use RSS information. Simulation and experiments are conducted to show that proposed method can reduce the mean positioning error to around 3 meters without site survey.

Traditional high pressure mechanical compressors account for over half of the car station’s cost, have insufficient reliability and are not feasible for a large-scale fuel cell market. An alternative technology, employing a two-stage, hybrid system based on electrochemical and metal hydride compression technologies, represents an excellent alternative to conventional compressors. The high-pressure stage, operating at 100-875 bar, is based on a metal hydride thermal system. A techno-economic analysis of the metal hydride system is presented and discussed. A model of the metal hydride system was developed, integrating a lumped parameter mass and energy balance model with an economic model. A novel metal hydride heat exchanger configuration is also presented, based on mini-channel heat transfer systems, allowing for effective high-pressure compression. Several metal hydrides were analyzed and screened, demonstrating that one selected material, namely (Ti_0.97Zr_0.03)_1.1Cr_1.6Mn_0.4, is likely the best candidate material to be employed for high-pressure compressors under the specific conditions. System efficiency and costs were assessed based on the properties of currently available materials at industrial levels. Results show that the system can reach pressures on the order of 875 bar with thermal power provided at approximately 150 °C. The system cost is comparable with the current mechanical compressors and can be reduced in several ways as discussed in the paper.

Research on high-volume fly ash concrete, which utilizes large quantities of fly ash, has been actively conducted to promote resource recycling and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. However, while cement mixed with fly ash exhibits different temperature sensitivities compared to traditional cement, its hydration and mechanical properties vary depending on curing conditions. Despite this, there is a significant gap in research on this topic. In this study, high-volume fly ash concrete was produced with fly ash replacement rates of 35 % and 55 %. Compression strength tests were performed at various curing ages under three different curing temperature conditions, and the results were analyzed. Additionally, an isothermal calorimeter was used to analyze hydration characteristics under different curing conditions. The results indicated that concrete with high fly ash content was more sensitive to curing temperature compared to ordinary Portland cement.

Through the geometric relationships and force analysis of the main components of the panto-graph on high-speed trains, coefficients of aerodynamic forces and lift transmission between the pantograph and main components under crosswind conditions were derived. Based on the aer-odynamic forces acting on the pantograph at different crosswind speeds, wind angles, and oper-ating speeds, the aerodynamic lift of the pantograph and main components was ultimately de-termined. The results indicate that the aerodynamic lift of the pantograph is mainly distributed on the bow structure, with the aerodynamic lift of the upper frame all being negative values, while the absolute value of the aerodynamic lift of the lower arm rod is the smallest. The oper-ating speed of the pantograph and the wind angle of the crosswind have a significant impact on the aerodynamic lift of the main components, while the impact of the crosswind speed is rela-tively small. At the same operating speed of the pantograph, the lower the corresponding crosswind speed, the smaller the aerodynamic lift of the pantograph. The aerodynamic lift of the pantograph tends to decrease gradually with the increase of crosswind speed, and the impact of crosswind speed decreases gradually with the increase of pantograph operating speed. A com-prehensive relationship formula between the aerodynamic lift of the pantograph and the oper-ating speed, crosswind speed, and wind angle is obtained, and the empirical formula for the contact force of the bow net and train operating speed is modified. The research results are of great significance and value for the study and application of lift forces on pantographs under crosswind conditions.

Within the phenomenology of particle physics, the theoretical model of 4-zero textures is validated using a chi-square criterion that compares experimental data with the computational results of the model. Traditionally, analytical methods that often imply simplifications, combined with computational analysis, have been used to validate texture models. In this paper, we propose a new meta-heuristic variant of the differential evolution algorithm that incorporates aspects of the particle swarm optimization algorithm called "HE-DEPSO" to obtain chi-squared values are less than a bound value, which exhaustive and traditional algorithms cannot obtain. The results show that the proposed algorithm can optimize the chi-square function according to the required criteria. We compare simulated data with experimental data in the allowed search region, thereby validating the 4-zero texture model.

Constructing a globally consistent high-precision map is essential for the application of mobile robots. Existing optimization-based mapping methods typically constrain robot states in pose space during the graph optimization process, without directly optimizing the structure of the scene, thereby causing the map to be inconsistent. To address the above issues, this paper presents a three-dimensional (3D) LiDAR mapping framework (i.e., BA-CLM) based on LiDAR bundle adjustment (LBA) cost factors. We propose a multivariate LBA cost factor, which is built from a multi-resolution voxel map, to uniformly constrain the robot poses within a submap. The framework proposed in this paper applies the LBA cost factors for both local and global map optimization. Experimental results on several public 3D LiDAR datasets and a self-collected 32-line LiDAR dataset demonstrated that the proposed method achieves accurate trajectory estimation and consistent mapping.

In order to serve the online monitoring of the aging state of high-voltage (HV) cables, a novel method based on impedance spectroscopy has been proposed. Firstly, the method uses the Debye model to restore the dielectric response of the insulating material from the mechanism. Secondly, based on the transmission line equation, a calculation model for the impedance spectroscopy of HV cables was established. Then, the characteristics of the impedance spectroscopy under different overall aging and local deterioration states were analyzed. Further, the simulation analysis of the influence of factors such as load factor, length, metal resistivity, and geometric parameters on the impedance spectroscopy was carried out. Finally, diagnostic criteria were proposed, which are divided into two major categories: known cable parameters and unknown cable parameters. If the geometric parameters are known, the aging state can be determined using the resonance peak values and the resonance peak frequencies. If the geometric parameters are unknown, it is necessary to test the impedance spectroscopy in the healthy condition of the cable as the baseline curve. By comparing the impedance spectroscopy of the cable under test with the baseline curve, the aging development trend of the cable can also be determined.

In a new construction of a seventeen-storey building, it is necessary to remove a prop on the second floor, which has made it possible to complete the structure of the building. In the drafting of the executive project, no security measures were described, because it was understood that they were not necessary. In the construction phase, the need to monitor the process was raised, and to be able to stop it, or reverse it if necessary. It is a reinforced concrete structure, with metal elements and composite elements, with a torsional behavior of the cores making the slabs serve as horizontal diaphragms, so the final behavior could be different from what was expected. To make this process possible, two pairs of four metallic cantilevers were introduced into which four Hydraulic pistons were inserted. Before starting the process, they were loaded to be sure that they would not fail. Strain gauges were also placed to control the stresses and how the situation changed during the unshoring process. The process of cutting the provisional pillar was a success, obtaining less deformations than expected, having a complementary safety.

This study explores the effects of tempering on the precipitation behavior and impact toughness of high-nickel steel. The specimens underwent double quenching at 870°C and 770°C, followed by tempering at various temperatures. Advanced characterization techniques including optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to elucidate precipitation phenomena. Additionally, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was employed to assess the misorientation distribution after tempering. Charpy impact tests were performed on specimens tempered at different temperatures to evaluate their toughness. The findings reveal that with increasing tempering temperature, the fraction of low-angle grain boundaries decreases, which correlates positively with enhanced impact toughness. The impact toughness peaks at 580°C and then diminishes with further temperature increases.

Succinate is proposed to be a mediator of muscle exercise-induced adaptations. We studied metabolic health and changes of muscle mass in 6-month-old male mice after 12 weeks of feeding regular diet (RD, 13.4 kcal% fat, 66.8 kcal% carbohydrate, 29.8 kcal% protein), high fat diet (HFD, 60 kcal% fat, 20 kcal% carbohydrates, 20 kcal% protein) and ketogenic diet (KD, 80 kcal% fat, &lt;1 kcal% carbohydrates, 20 kcal% protein) with or without 2% succinate supplements (SUS) in drinking water (n=8-12 per group). Functional overloading of the plantaris muscle (PL) was induced in a group of mice by denervation of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles at week 6 of feeding different diets. HFD induced the greatest (p &lt; 0.001) increase in body and fat mass. HFD and KD lead to significant (p &lt; 0.01) impairment in glucose tolerance compared to RD. SUS blunted (p &lt; 0.01) initial surge in energy intake when mice were switched from RD to HFD, but did not influence any measures of metabolic health after 12 weeks of the study. Functional overloading lead to ~25% increase in PL mass which was not affected by diet or SUS. In conclusion, SUS does not have a long-term effect on metabolic health or muscle mass.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDMs) is worldly wide pregnancy complication. Gestational Diabetes can significantly impact the fetus development. However, the effects of high glucose on embryological development post-fertilization are yet to be researched. Danio rerio embryos are great model to study the embryonic development. In this study, the effects on embryological (morphological and genetic) development were examined in the presence of a high glucose environment that mimic the developing fetus in pregnant women with GMD. Fertilized Zebrafish embryos were treated with normal media and high glucose for 5 days from 3 hours post-fertilization(hpf) to 96hpf respectively as control and experimental groups. Morphological changes are recorded with Microscope images. Hatch rate and heart rate are compared between groups in set up time points. RNA-Seq is performed to examine the gene changes in experimental group. Glucose delayed the zebrafish embryo development by slowing the hatch rate about 24 hours. The brain, heart, and tail started showing morphology smaller in the glucose group compared to the control group at 24 hpf. Heart rate is faster in the glucose group compared to the control group on day 2 and 3 with a statistically significant difference. Among zebrafish whole genome, the significantly changed genes are 556 genes up-regulated and 1118 genes down-regulated respectively in high glucose group. The metabolic and Wnt pathways are altered under high glucose condition. These conditions contribute to significant physiological differences that may provide insight on functionality post-embryological development.

High temperature stress affects tomato production both in tropical and sub-tropical environments worldwide. To explore genetic variation for heat tolerance in tomato, 329 transcontinental tomato varieties were evaluated at The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) greenhouses near Doha, Qatar. Preliminary phenotypic analysis identified a diverse set of 71 hybrid and pure line tomato varieties for more detailed studies. The selected subset was examined in the greenhouse in a randomized complete block design under heat stress. The materials were phenotyped for fruit size, fruit weight, fruit hardness, fruit locules, fruit set (%), total soluble solids (TSS), and fruit yield. Significant phenotypic differences among genotypes were observed for all the traits assessed. To explore the genetic basis of variation among varieties the subset was genotyped using 104 SNP markers identified in previous heat tolerance genome wide association studies (GWAS). Nineteen QTL associated SNP markers could reliably select heat tolerant varieties in terms of better fruit yield, fruit set, and TSS. These markers are located on Chromosome 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 12. Interestingly, two clusters of markers on chromosome 6 were linked to significant effects on yield, fruit set, and TSS under high temperature. Some markers located within these QTL regions were also reported as associated with heat tolerance in other studies. Eighteen out of nineteen SNP markers were mapped within a gene body. Based on the phenotypic and the genotypic analysis, an elite set of five varieties was selected for approval for heat stress environments in Qatar. These findings have significance not only for Qatar, but they are also valuable for wider application at other locations worldwide. The 19 markers presented here could be adopted by breeders for marker-assisted selection (MAS) for heat tolerance.

Background and Objectives To compare navigator-gated three-dimensional T1-weighted gradient-echo sequences (NG-3D T1W-GRE) with standard breath-hold T1W-GRE (BH T1W-GRE) for the detection of HCC nodules in patients with chronic viral hepatitis which undergo at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using gadoxetic acid. Methods and materials We evaluated 58 patients with hepatic nodules at least 1 cm in diameter detected by ultrasound who underwent liver MRI including NG-3D T1W-GRE sequences and breath hold T1-weighted gradient-echo sequences with different flip angles(FA) at 10-25-40° after contrast administration of gadoxetic acid at magnetic scanner operating at1.5 Tesla. Image quality and relative hepatic and nodular enhancement were evaluated by three blinded reviewers. Results In these patients, image quality of NG-3D T1W-GRE was assessed significantly better than quality of BHT1W- GRE (P < 0.005) and relative enhancement was significantly higher than that of BH- T1W-GRE ( P

In the context of rapid urbanization, the spatiotemporal patterns of socio-economic exposed to high seismic hazard in large cities lacks quantitative assessment, thus, it is difficult to understand the evolution of earthquake catastrophe risk there. In this paper, exposure change rate, and absolute and relatively exposure indices were proposed to quantitatively study the changes of spatiotemporal exposure to high seismic hazard in urban areas of large cities (i.e., permanent residents in urban areas more than 1 million) in Chinese mainland, using a set of multi-temporal population, GDP, and built-up datasets and a seismic hazard zoning map. The results show that, 64 out of 78 large cities are entirely or partially located in high seismically hazardous zones. Although the urban areas of large cities in high seismically hazardous zones (HSHUAs) cover only 1.73% (167177 km²) of mainland China, their share of population, GDP, and built-up land amounted to 18.14%, 30.24% and 24.55%, respectively, in 2015. Unprecedented urbanization has led to a dramatic exposure growth in HSHUAs between 1990 and 2015. The population, GDP, and built-up land in HSHUAs increased by 110 million people (with an average annual growth rate of 2.37%), 273.71 trillion USD(average annual growth rate of 11.15%), and 10593 km2 (average annual growth rate of 2.02%), respectively. HSHUAs experienced much faster population and GDP growth than the whole country, while relatively slower growth in built-up land. Exposure growth in HSHUAs also was varied for different types of large cities. Megacities had a higher proportion of increased GDP and population in HSHUAs, induced by industry and population agglomeration. Whereas, Type II large cities had a higher proportion of increased built-up land in HSHUAs, driven mainly by urban sprawl. Our analysis indicates that, for large cities under rapid urbanization, it is an urgent need to strengthen resilient urban planning, renewal and construction.

A dynamic impact test was performed on as-rolled AZ31 alloy with gradient microstructure under various strains. The microstructural evolution and mechanical properties were systematically investigated. As the strain rate gradually increases, an increasing number of twins are formed, facilitating dynamic recrystallization (DRX), and the mechanical properties are also gradually improved as well. The microstructure becomes heterogeneous at higher strain rates, but the peak stress decreases. The impact process results in significantly higher performance due to microstructural refinement, work hardening by dislocations and precipitates. In addition, both the adiabatic shear band and the adjacent crack experience a temperature rise that exceeds the recrystallization temperature of the alloy. This observation also explains the presence of ultrafine recrystallized grains within the adiabatic shear band and the appearance of molten metal around the crack.

The objectives of this study was to assess the impact of a reproductive approach in high-yielding nulliparous and parous Holstein cows on the interestrus interval, estrus detection rates, conception rates, and pregnancy rates. The strategy involved giving GnRH on day 5 following artificial insemination (AI). For nulliparous cows, there appears to be no noticeable effect of GnRH therapy on the interestrus interval. In both groups, nearly all of the cows exhibited an 18–25-day cycle interval (P < 0.05). In the 18–25 day cycle period, the untreated multiparous cows exhibited the highest proportion (P < 0.05), while the treated group demonstrated the highest proportion (P < 0.05) in the 26–35 day cycle interval. The study found that the conception rate was higher in repeat breeder nulliparous and 3+ lactation treated Holstein cows compared with untreated ones. However, the cumulative heat detection rate, pregnancy rate and conception rates were similar in both groups (P > 0.05). Also, this study found that in the hottest months of the year, this therapeutic approach can't counteract the negative effect of heat stress in high-yielding dairy cows. Thus, it is not advised of using the hormonal method to create supplementary corpus luteum across the herd.

Global warming and the associated increasing frequency of heatwaves are on the rise leading to numerous health complications. Diabetic patients are more vulnerable to heat exposure than healthy individuals, owing to their impaired sweating ability, however, little is known about how heat exposure may impact the function of skin cells, commonly keratinocytes. Our recent report provided the first proof-of-concept revealing that the metabolic composition of sweat EVs is associated with metabolic changes in healthy individuals and type 2 diabetes patients. Given this and the shared cellular proprieties of eccrine sweat glands with keratinocytes, we questioned whether the metabolic changes in sweat EVs may mirror the responses of keratinocytes upon heat exposure. To this, we exposed HaCat, which were maintained in low (mimicking healthy condition) and high glucose (mimicking diabetes condition) to acute (90 min), chronic (48 h), and repetitive heat exposure at 40 ⁰C. Through conducting a set of experiments including a targeted metabolomics approach, Greiss assay, western blotting analysis, and electron microscopy studies. The data demonstrate that heat exposure results in substantial changes of metabolite levels belonging to amino acids, pyrimidine metabolism, and glycolysis pathways in high glucose maintained HaCat cells when compared to those noted in low glucose condition. Exploring the molecular mechanisms through which heat exposure may impact the metabolic composition in keratinocytes, our discoveries highlight nitric oxide (NO) as a novel biomarker that the level is correlated with heat duration and frequency. Furthermore, data reveal that the HSP-70 protein levels and mitochondrial morphology are consequently altered. This study provides evidence of shared metabolic alterations in keratinocytes and sweat EVs collected from clinical study and proposes, for the first time, NO as a novel biomarker for monitoring changes in health and diabetes upon heat exposure.

Background: high-altitude work exposes individuals to reduced oxygen levels, imposing physi-ological adaptations. These conditions can induce alterations in the cardiovascular system, po-tentially exacerbating pre-existing health issues and impacting overall well-being of workers in such environments. This study has investigated the cardiovascular challenges for the high-altitude worker on Etna volcano. Methods: Through an observational study, ten healthy, non-smoking male participants underwent cardiovascular and pulmonary function tests at alti-tudes below 500m and above 3000m, simulating work conditions on the volcano. Results: signif-icant findings include elevated systemic blood pressure and heart rate, indicating an increased cardiovascular workload necessary for adaptation to hypoxia. Conclusions: the study highlights the importance of acclimatization to high altitude for minimizing cardiovascular risks among workers. It calls for the development of safety protocols, underlining the critical role of preven-tative measures and specific safety protocols for high-altitude workers.

The fusion of global contextual information with local cropped block details is crucial for segmenting ultra-high resolution images. In this study, we introduce a novel fusion mechanism termed Global-Local Deep Fusion (GL-Deep Fusion) based on an enhanced transformer architecture, which efficiently integrates global contextual information and local details. Specifically, we propose the Global-Local Synthesis Networks (GLSNet), a dual-branch network where one branch processes the entire original image, while the other branch handles cropped local patches as input. The feature fusion of different branches in GLSNet is achieved through GL-Deep Fusion, significantly enhancing the accuracy of ultra-high resolution image segmentation. Particularly effective is GLSNet in identifying tiny overlapping items. To optimize GPU memory utilization, we meticulously design a dual-branch architecture that proficiently leverages the features it extracts, seamlessly integrating them into the enhanced transformer framework of GL-Deep Fusion. Extensive experiments conducted on challenging benchmarks, including DeepGlobe and Vaihingen datasets, demonstrate that GLSNet achieves a new state-of-the-art performance in terms of GPU memory utilization and segmentation accuracy tradeoff.

Aiming at the problem of small size of some spots on apple leaves and the difficulty of accurate detection of spot targets brought by the complex background of the orchard, this paper takes the alternaria leaf spot, rust, brown spot, grey spot and frog eye leaf spot on apple leaves as the research object, and proposes a high-accuracy detection model YOLOv5-Res and lightweight detection model YOLOv5-Res4 are proposed. Firstly, a multiscale feature extraction module ResBlock is designed by combining the Inception multi-branch structure and ResNet residual idea. Secondly, a lightweight feature fusion module C4 is designed to reduce the number of model parameters while improving the detection ability of small targets. Finally, a parameter streamlining strategy based on optimized model architecture is proposed. The experimental results show that the performance of YOLOv5-Res model and YOLOv5-Res4 model is significantly improved, the mAP@0.5 value is improved by 2.8% and 2.2% compared with YOLOv5s model and YOLOv5n model, respectively, and the size of YOLOv5-Res model and YOLOv5-Res4 model is only 10.8MB and 2.4MB, and the number of model parameters is reduced compared with YOLOv5s model and YOLOv5n model. counts are reduced by 22% and 38.3% compared to the YOLOv5s model and YOLOv5n model.

Viral contamination in the aquaculture industry is a significant challenge that requires further research. Emerging evidence suggests that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a role in regulating various biological processes, including immunity. However, most studies have focused on model organisms, and little is known about non-coding RNAs in the immune response to viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) in rainbow trout. In this study, we investigated the listing of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in rainbow trout challenged with VHS virus. We explored their potential role in defense-like responses based on transcriptomic analysis of the virus-treated and control groups. As a result of this research, 4207 lncRNAs were identified, of which 182 lncRNAs were differentially expressed between treated and untreated samples. Among 7753 lncRNA transcripts, 1920 were novel intergenic (class code “u”), and 3748 transcripts were potentially novel isoform of lncRNAs. Gene ontology analysis revealed biological pathways associated with the stress response and immune signaling. Pairs of genes such as TP63-MSTRG.62, IL10-MSTRG.9783, IL10-MSTRG.9784, TK1-MSTRG.22826, and MSTRG.17881-GLI1 showed cis interactions, while DOCK10-MSTRG.30015, MSTRG.36357-LOC101268921, and MSTRG.34190-ENPP2 showed trans interactions. In this study, the role of lncRNAs in regulating the expression of the target genes was clearly identified. This finding is consistent with the regulatory processes of immune system responses mediated by cytokines, as well as the regulation of oxygen levels in response to viral infection. The information presented here highlights the various regulatory mechanisms of lncRNAs in the expression of immune system genes in fish treated with VHS virus.

Hydrogen is now recognized as the primary alternative to fossil fuels due to its renewable, safe, high energy density and environmentally friendly properties. Efficient hydrogen production through water splitting has laid the foundation for sustainable energy technologies. However, when hydrogen production is scaled up to industrial levels, operating at high current densities introduces unique challenges. It is necessary to design advanced electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under high current densities. This review will briefly introduce chal-lenges posed by high current densities on electrocatalyst, including catalystic activity, mass dif-fusion and catalyst stability. In an attempt to address these issues, various electrocatalyst design strategies are summarized in detail. In the end, our insights into future challenges for efficient large-scale industrial hydrogen production from water splitting are presented. This review is expected to guide the rational design of efficient high current density water electrolysis electro-catalysts and promote the research progress of sustainable energy.

Benveniste’s experiments – known in the lay press as the “water memory” phenomenon – are generally considered to be a closed case. However, the amount of data generated by twenty years of well-conducted experiments prevents closing the file so simply. An issue, which has been little highlighted so far, merits to be emphasized. Indeed, if Benveniste failed to persuade his peers of the value of his experiments, it was mainly because of a stumbling block, namely the difficulty of convincingly proving the causal relationship between the supposed cause (“informed water”) and the experimental outcomes in different biological models. To progress in the understanding of this phenomenon, we abandon the idea of any role of water in these experiments (“water memory” and its avatars). In other words, we assume that “control” and “test” conditions to be evaluated were physically identical and differed only by their respective designations. We show in this article how simple probabilistic considerations allow to build a model that accounts for all aspects of Benveniste’s experiments. In this model based on probability amplitudes, constructive and destructive interferences emerge – or not – according to the experimental context. The recording of a statistical regularity shapes the intertwined whole constituted by the probability amplitudes of the states of the experimenter’s cognitive structures and of the experimental system. This model provides an alternative explanation to Benveniste’s experiments where water plays no role and where the place of the experimenter is central.

Objective: The goal of this review is to provide a succinct, yet comprehensive, guide to the an-tepartum management of multiple gestations. Methods: This narrative review on twins and multiple gestation provides a concise guide for providers with this ever-growing patient population. PubMED was utilized for literature search. Each reference was evaluated and graded for quality of evidence by US Preventative Services Task Force and Cochrane Review guidelines. Screening, surveillance, and management strategies are delineated succinctly and organized by type of multiple gestation being managed from the lowest risk dichorionic twin pair to the increasingly escalating risks of twins and higher order multiples sharing a placenta and/or amniotic sac. Results: The incidence of twin pregnancies has grown over the past several years, due in large part to delayed reproductive timing and surge in assisted reproductive technologies. Twin pregnancies are associated with higher morbidity for both gravidas and offspring, warranting evidence-based approach in counseling and management. Conclusions: We note the important differences among multiples in chorionicity and amnionicity, in the importance of close surveillance and early delivery. Graded clinical pearls and evi-dence-based recommendations are presented to guide obstetric providers.

As the most serious of the many worse new pathological changes caused by diabetes, there are many risk factors for the occurrence and development of DR. It mainly includes hyperglycemia, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and so on. Among them, hyperglycemia is the most critical cause, which plays a key role in the pathological changes of DR.High-sucrose diets(HSDs) lead to elevated blood glucose levels in vivo, which, through oxidative stress, inflammation, the production of AGEs and VEGF, causes plenty of pathological damages to the retina and ultimately bring about loss of vision. The existing therapies for DR primarily target the terminal stage of the disease, when irreversible visual impairment has appeared. Therefore, early prevention is particularly critical. Early prevention of DR-related vision loss requires adjustments to dietary habits, mainly by reducing sugar intake. This article primarily discusses the risk factors, pathophysiological processes, and molecular mechanisms associated with the development of DR caused by HSDs. It aims to raise awareness of the crucial role of diet in the occurrence and progression of DR, promote timely changes in dietary habits, prevent vision loss, and improve the quality of life. The aim is to make people aware of the importance of diet in the occurrence and progression of DR. According to the dietary modification strategies we give, patients can change their poor eating habits timely, avoid the retinopathy that can be avoided theoretically, and obtain a excellent outcome.

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) may convey high current and sustain high breakdown voltages; it may provide high power control. In a sense, how IGBT demonstrates the capability of power control was not specifically described, and the equivalent bipolar junction transistors (BJT) activated by an applied bias to the insulated gate is intriguing. As seen in Figure 1, IGBT shows an equivalent circuit structure containing two types of BJT, (NPN-type Bipolar transistor and PNP-type Bipolar transistor), which can be modeled as diode-associated transistor. Apparently, as a bias applies to the controlling gate, the channel beneath the gate oxide gets strongly inversed and turns out to be conductive just like what happens on metal-oxide-silicon field effect transistor (MOSFET), which provides necessary igniting currents to both BJTs and thus causes high current gain flowing through them-selves from the bottom. A proposed and renewed formula provides addressing the above scenario and successfully fitting the measured data that forms the characteristic curves. Some parameters in the proposed formula, which includes size and mobility associated constant, threshold voltage, and Early-Voltage-related lambda for MOSFET, explain and explore the underlying physics. IGBT thus enjoy high input impedance and high current gain due to MOSFET (Insulated Gate) and BJT, respectively. This formula combines both merits of MOSFET and BJT in order to fit the measured data. Indeed, the formula intimately fits IGBT electrical characteristic curves, and thus may be qualified and served as a model. The new model is then advisable for designing power integrated circuit to exactly achieve power saving, power control, and power efficiency.

Among the major systems of high-speed rail, the arch network relationship, wheel-rail relationship and fluid-structure coupling relationship are important links affecting the performance of high-speed rail, and also the main control factors affecting the speed limit of high-speed rail. From this perspective, the contact state and interactive relationship between pantograph and catenary are the key factors affecting the forward performance of high-speed rail. As a key component in the pantograph system, the actuator is responsible for adjusting the contact force and position between the pantograph and the contact line. The performance characteristics of the actuator, such as response speed, accuracy, stability and durability, directly affect the control performance of the whole pantograph system. In this paper, the research status of the active control technology of high-speed railway pantograph is reviewed, and the future development direction is pointed out, which provides a new idea for the development of pantograph technology.

Background: Early postoperative airway management after laryngo-tracheal surgery is crucial. Acute respiratory failure due to glottis’ oedema may occur, requiring reintubation. This can prolong ventilatory assistance, jeopardizing the anastomosis. To date, only judicious steroid administration and fluid management are available to avoid more invasive procedures. High-Flow-Oxygen-Therapy(HFOT) is a noninvasive O2 support method providing humidification, warmed air, Positive-End-Expiratory-Pressure(AIRVO2). No data exist about HFOT use to prevent early complications after laryngo-tracheal surgery. Methods: Between Sept.2020-Sept.2022, 107 consecutive patients underwent laryngo-tracheal surgery received HFOT(Group A). Data and long-term results were compared with those of 80 patients operated between Sept.2018-Aug.2020(Group B), when HFOT was not available. All patients were operated in a single center. No pre- or post-operative settings changed, except for HFOT introduction. We analyzed and compared the risk for “delayed” reintubation (unexpected reintubation within the first 24-48 hours after extubating/laryngeal mask removal) in the two groups. Results: No patients reported HFOT-related adverse events. Control group(B) presented “delayed” reintubation in 37% (p= 0.027), Intensive Care Unit admission in 67%(p=0.005) and longer hospital stay(p=0.001) compared to HFOT group(A). Minor complications rate was 3% in both group and overall mortality was 0%. Re-stenosis was described in 4.6% of HFOT group, without a statistically significant difference (p=0.7006). Conclusions: Our study is the first to investigate HFOT use in patients undergoing laryngo-tracheal surgery, potentially representing a consistent innovation in the peri-operative management of these patients. With the limit of a retrospective series, we would suggest HFOT use for preventing post-operative reintubation rate, possibly reducing ICU admission and hospital stay.

Semantic segmentation of high-resolution remote sensing images provides detailed and precise feature information, playing a pivotal role in decision-making and analysis in sectors such as water management, agriculture, military, and environmental protection. However, most methods merely combine features from various branches directly, without a mechanism for spatial location feature screening, and treat all extracted features as equally important. To overcome these limitations, we introduce a novel spatially adaptive interaction network (SAINet) for dynamic interaction across different features in remote sensing semantic segmentation task. Specifically, we propose a spatial refined module that leverages local context information to filter spatial locations and extract salient regions. Following this, we introduce an innovative spatial interaction module that uses a spatial adaptive modulation mechanism to dynamically select and allocate spatial position weights. This facilitates interaction between local salient areas and global information, allowing the network to focus more on relevant regions. This flexible approach enables the network to capture more informative features, thereby enhancing segmentation accuracy. Experiments conducted on the DeepGlobe, Vaihingen, and Potsdam public datasets confirm the effectiveness and capability of SAINet. Our code and models will be publicly available

This study aimed to identify miRNA editing sites during adipose tissue development in Ningxiang pigs and analyze their characteristics and functions. Based on the small RNA-seq data from subcutaneous adipose tissue samples of Ningxiang pigs at four stages (30, 90, 150 and 210 days), we constructed a developmental atlas of the miRNA editome in adipose tissue of Ningxiang pigs. The characteristics and functions of this editome were further explored through bioinformatics analysis. The findings revealed that a total of 505 miRNA editing sites were identified with C-to-U editing types being the most prevalent, followed by U-to-C, A-to-G and G-to-U. Importantly, these four types of miRNA editing exhibited a base preference. The number of editing sites showed obvious differences among age groups, with the highest occurrence of miRNA editing events observed at 90 days of age and the lowest at 150 days of age. In the miRNA seed region, a total of 9 miRNA editing sites were identified with significant differences in editing levels (P &lt; 0.05), and located in ssc-miR-23a, ssc-miR-27a, ssc-miR-30b-5p, ssc-miR-15a, ssc-miR-497, ssc-miR-15b, and ssc-miR-425-5p, respectively. Target gene prediction and enrichment analysis revealed that the editing of miR-497 may potentially regulate fat deposition by inhibiting adipose synthesis via influencing target binding. These results provide new insights into the regulatory mechanism of pig fat deposition.